ramble for the old...

There’s something very charming about the very old Indian cities like Benares, Ayodhya , Ujjain which the modern cosmopolitan new crop does not possess. One way that can describe is an inherent way of life which is neither rural nor urban yet an earthy sense of being. But it’s not so easy to capture the soul of these cities which have survived for thousands of years and are part of our epics and folklore.

Among many of the older cities there has emerged a duality within; Delhi has got a polished extension in Noida and Gurgaon, so does Calcutta and Hyderabad which can be attributed to the burgeoning population and more importantly commerce. The funny thing is that the pace of life changes as one move from the older to the newly emerging quarters. The Chowk area of Lucknow would feature people having endless cups of tea, mulling over neighbour’s family issues, unplanned game of cards and such doings whereas a few kilometres and one arrive at the suave Gomtinagar and whoa! ...it can almost pass of as a swanky locality of Gurgaon.. There’s a romanticized life in the old maze and corner....which lingers without a destination like the kites flying in the sky. It almost appears that they are unwilling to let go of their past, they live their ‘yesterdays’ in today The same thing one would notice in the older Delhi (brilliantly captured in Delhi-6), nooks and crannies of North Calcutta, by-lanes of Benares. Apart from the sluggish pace of life there’s something else that’s common – the food; the authentic cuisine would naturally belong to one of these serpentine lanes. It’s almost symbolic... the newer, cleaner neighbourhoods can never capture the rich past.

And the other familiar sight is the innumerable religious landmarks be it temples or mosques. One can’t help but take notice of the undying faith of the people that keeps these institutions going.

But despite all of it the sadness lies in the sheer disdain that the Government and the people in general have towards the cleanliness and overall maintenance. The inhabitants are surrounded in their own maze of past glory and the Government is not bothered...it has its stakes in the ‘development’... development of concrete which are just waiting with a bulldozer to destroy the past.

Grand-Pa Diary: Conversation 3:

The conversation between my hard-of-hearing Grand-Pa & me!

Setting: Grand-Pa & me on the couch watching ‘Kaminey’ playing in DVD

Grand-Pa: I prefer old classics of Dharmendra, Raj Kapoor, Meena Kumari....never liked Amitabh Bachchan

Me: is it?

Grand-Pa: who’s this boy?

Me: Shahid Kapoor

Grand-Pa: Sunny Kapoor?

Me: na, Shahid Kapoor

Grand-Pa: Oh, shahid Kapoor... (With an afterthought) the one who married Kareena Kapoor?

Me: no, they were never married

Grand-Pa: oh, they got divorced?

Me: naaa, they were never married!

Grand-Pa: ok, they were engaged and now they have broken

Me: I am not sure if they were formally engaged too

Grand-Pa: then?

Me: they were just together aise-hi

He went quiet then & finally the subject was closed. So much for being interested only in classics!

Barnoporichoy....and the times now

In a typical middle-class Bengali family in the early 80s, there were no play-schools the kids were sent to. The Pre-school education began at home, and one of the key resources instrumental in the early years in the journey of education was “Barnoporichoy” when it came to learning Bengali. In those days not much stress was given to learning English in Calcutta, and more often than not considered to be more of a school’s responsibility. After all, who cared to speak English at home?!

The book came in multiple parts, going on from easy to difficult stages of the language and had its own versions by different publications, but the overall layout and the content remained same, I guess no one dared to revisit the great Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar’s thoughts! He was a man made of legendary stuff, and his stories form a part of a Bengali mother’s bedtime stories for her child. But that’s another story altogether… Barno-porichoy would have a couple of short stories at the end. The story’s main protagonist would be named like Ram, Subodh et al and the tales were basically black & white, rather good & evil. A clear demarcation would be laid down with respect to virtue & a human being’s character, and if you don’t follow the good…eventually you get punished for it. The virtues would be like, abstinence from lying, stealing, cruelty…and those who are not how they get punished at the end. The other very important focus was on sincerity towards studies, family…in all, what makes a responsible human being.

In the last two decades, as I stepped out from the coziness of home, with school, college and working now…I see the reality to be a stark contrary to what Barnoporichoy taught me to be, the ones who don’t lie, are not manipulative by nature are the losers. Corruption is the mantra world over! Can one really survive by being truthful? Can one survive by living what I learnt in those wee days of my childhood? Does a sincere man ever turn out to be “successful” as society defines it? We are a part of a rat-race… does it let us stay good?

Why I liked Raavan?

Well, contrary to all the film critiques’ opinion, I loved Raavan…& I loved most of it. To call the visuals beautiful is an understatement…it conformed & blended so well with the mood of the film, that none of it seemed like a “Setting”.

Now, the visuals cannot be an only reason for I would like a movie…well, there’s the story. I have grown up in a country, where Ramayan is an epic…its part of the mythology where I was born & brought up. It’s the story that binds the North & South India, in a geographical & physical format very similar to that of present times. Unfortunately Ram has been reduced to an iconic God (& I mean ‘unfortunately’)…with his character as white, undermining the darker shades in him. We forgot…that Ram conned Bali, Ram subjected his wife through torment, among his many other faults and on the other hand, Raavan has been painted as a villain! Shades in character are inherent…and a mature approach is to acknowledge those shades.

This film has characters which has been inspired by some of the characters in the epic, and the thing I liked most is the characters in the movie has shades…everyone has a reason behind their action. Raavan had a reason to seek revenge. Ram was not actually compassionate or considerate…he was ruthless, and to a certain extent quite heartless! The characters – Beera & Dev reflect those shades…each had their reason to do what they did. The tribals in the interior parts of India have reasons to side with ‘Maoists’.

A couple of moments which appear very un-Maniratnam like to me, is Ragini’s countless histrionics, polygraph test piece, or the way Ragini led Dev to Beera…but nevertheless, I loved Raavan!

And here I am...

Well…lots have been happening since the plane had touched down!

I got my den, the way I always wanted. Dude seldom says no to things I want for the house…so that’s a huge support! I got myself a DVD player (which I can operate!) & watch movies every now & then…I watch all those movies, which I never had the time to watch all these years…so that’s quite something! I have a small round dining table, where I love to sit & read my morning news paper, while sipping chai; I love the rocking chair where I read & relax, which we bought after hours of bargaining I cook, I clean…I am proud of my den…thanks Dude for supporting me in this!

I realized that I am a fantastic homemaker…I am sure Dude will vouch for that…he’s never missed his lunch-box in the past two & a half months :)

I have joined a new employer…I like the place & the people…in fact apart from the lousy traffic that I face on my way to work, I love everything about it! There’s this lake in front of the office& the road leading to the place is tree-lined…it’s beautiful!
I am off to hibernation in twitter & Orkut…but reasonably active in FB…in fact I have started liking FB!

Now most importantly…we have Minkie in our life now….my fiat Punto…she’s a beauty! It’s a different thing though, that Dude is the one who gets all the fun driving…but I am driven :)

When the plane touched down....

It was like coming home…I know, I know my Ma is not going to like it at all, but I just can’t help it! There is something about this city that so comforting, something that I don’t even know…yes, I can’t speak the local language, & I detest the local cuisine apart from a few exceptions…but I love the place & it’s not just the weather. In the past one year, everything seems to be the same except for a few flyovers of course! …and one more change, the Dude & I share rooms, kitchen & the rest…life’s good, more so that it’s in Bangalore…the hasty showers in the evening, the tree-lined streets, restaurants in every nook & cranny, the unbeatable traffic, appam & mutton stew at Koshy’s, window shopping at Forum….I am one happy soul!

Back from the voyage!

After a long sabbatical, I am back! A very hectic but perhaps the most defining phase of life that I have gone through since moving out of home in 2004 when I got a job & started fending for myself. I saw myself adopting nearly a hundred relationships within a few hours of wedding vows. A few hours that helped me discover another facet of my own self. I went through the complete ritual (primarily because my Parents, the Dude & in-laws wanted it)... & I am glad I did...it’s an experience I recommend to everyone....don’t skip it, short-cuts can rob you from an enriching journey!

The Engraver

Honestly, I was not sure what to write about him. This man has the most piercing eyes, that I can think of and he looks straight into the eye....His personality was no less than an artist whose work is showcased in an expensive gallery, hair dyed neatly with mehendi, he looked so much polished in contrast to the environment he is working!