Desicritics Category: Culture: Urban

Travel Review: Ulsoor Walk, Bangalore

Anuradha Goyal — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:14:27 EDT

This seems to be a season of city walks. This Sunday I had the opportunity to go for the Ulsoor walk organized by INTACH. INTACH is in the process of organizing ‘Parichay’ series of walks, and this was the third walk in that series. The idea is to make people aware of the rich culture and heritage that is scattered around us, both in terms of built heritage and living heritage.

Here is an excerpt from the invitation mail for the walk:

The Ulsoor walk started from Someshwara temple, which is one of Bangalore's oldest temples. It dates back to the Chola period with several additions made during the Vijayanagar period by the founder of Bangalore, Kempegowda. The interesting thing is you can see the architectural elements from both these periods quite clearly in the temple. Ulsoor is, of course, one of Bangalore's oldest settlements.

I had always wondered what the Vijayanagara style of architecture is, and it was on this walk that I could understand it a bit. When you visit Hampi, look at the stone pillars, notice that pillars are square at the bottom and the top and round or with many faces in the middle. This is the typicality of the Vijayanagara style of architecture. I was also told that all the colored Gopurams that we say at the temple entrances and on top of the temples were originally not supposed to be colored, they were plain carvings in stone, but over the time they have been painted in multiple colors. INTACH team also introduced to the various carving and motifs on the temple walls, and shared the stories behind a lot of them. They told us how to identify the insignias of the Kempegowdas, which would typically tell that the construction had an association with the Kempegowdas, either by way of building it or patronizing it. They shared a story which indicates that temple was built way before the actual settlement happened around it. It is associated with Markandeya (not sure of the name though) rishi, who was doing his tapasaya and Lord Shiva instructed him to construct a temple at that spot.

There was a festival going on in the temple premises and there were celebrations with music and dance. Another interesting but intriguing thing that we saw was piercing of tongue by some of the dancers of the festival. There were small dagger like objects that they held in the middle of their tongue, which forced them to have their tongue stuck out all the while, and these people, including few old women were dancing while holding their dragger pierced tongues out.

I had written after my visit to Madurai temple about the bad state of Hindu temples and the absence of basic cleanliness. The same holds true for almost all temples including the Someshwara temple in Ulsoor. The inner areas of the temple have been completely changed by putting granite and ceramic tiles, which by logic would have been put to keep the temple clean, but I guess once the tiles were laid they assumed that cleanliness has been taken care of by itself. Things stick to your feet all the time as you walk around. The beauty of the temples is lost when the modern electrical fittings are fixed without any thought and wires are hanging everywhere.

We were also told that Ulsoor derives its name from Halasuru which is Jackfruit in Kannada. Apparently, the area was once a huge Jackfruit plantation. Like the rest of Bangalore, Ulsoor had people from various parts of the region coming and settling down. The area has some 150+ year old houses with centre courtyards, and had well developed water management system so that the area would never get flooded.

We had to miss the last part of the walk as it starting raining heavily. But look forward to more such walks to know the city that I live in…. :-)

The Bandra Skywalk - Skywalking to Stay Fit and Healthy

Rajen Nair — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 02:24:19 EDT

When I first heard the news of the completion of the Bandra skywalk project linking Bandra station to Bandra –kurla complex (BKC), I had a longing to walk on it. The opportunity came up this week, a month after it was open to the pedestrians.

The Bandra Skywalk is the first project to have been completed among the many such skywalk projects coming up all over Mumbai. It was built by the MMRDA (Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority) at an estimated cost of Rs 13.63 crore. The Bandra Skywalk is built 6 metres above ground level and is 4 metres wide. It is a 1.3 Km long stretch running parallel to the Slums near Bandra station, the Indian oil office and above the Western Express highway.

The entry and exit point is the Bandra station and BKC.

The idea of building skywalks is for quick thinning out of commuters from congested places like Railway stations, Bus stops, Taxi stands and shopping areas and off the roads which would help decongest the crowded areas.

In the past, people had to depend on the State-owned BEST buses for going from Bandra station to BKC. The long serpentine line at the bus stand for boarding the bus was a sheer waste of time. The Rickshaws had absolute monopoly on this route, taking one for a ride, choosing longer routes and fleecing the passengers. Now that the skywalk is in place, the commuters would be largely benefited.

The good news is that MMRDA is undertaking 50 such Skywalk projects in and round Mumbai at an estimated cost of Rs 600 crore.

I am a tireless walker who covers a minimum of 2 to 3 Km daily stretch on the Mumbai footpath. I avoid boarding the BEST bus by skipping 3 to 5 bus stops. Whenever I visit my bank at Dadar, I walk up to Matunga which is about 2.5 km. Being at Matunga, not having hot filter coffee at the Udipi Hotel is akin to a religious person missing a visit to the local temple. When I visit the town, I cover the whole stretch from VT to Colaba by foot, I know it is daunting task and at the end of the day it drains you of whatever energy is left but the sheer exhilarating experience of walking is too tempting for me.

As a photographer, walking on the streets gives me more photo-opportunities. The positive side of walking is that it helps keeps me fit and healthy and avoid falling sick thus I save on medical bills which is a costly affair in city of Mumbai.

I avoid taking my vehicle except for going long distances with my family. When I look at people, especially the car owners and motorists using vehicles even if they have to walk to the next door grocery shop, I think they are doing a disservice to their health. Sadly we have not cultivated the habit of walking to the next-gen. I see many of the college-going guys reluctant to walk. There is no substitute to walking as one of the best antidote to stay fit and healthy.

The Skywalk has many advantage in terms of saving time and money. At the same time, in today’s bustling life of Mumbai it would give an opportunity to many who has no time to exercise and can sky walk. With many more such skywalks being built in Mumbai, I hope urban people would imbibe the culture of walking, like in the villages. The next time you skywalk think of the therapeutic services it does to your health in making you stay fit and healthy.

Happy Walking!

Marriage Mania

Chaitanya S — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 03:04:14 EDT

"Some people claim that marriage interferes with romance. There's no doubt about it. Anytime you have a romance, your wife is bound to interfere" - Groucho Marx.

Exactly my point!

Lately my friends and acquaintances (of either gender) have been slowly but surely succumbing to the marketing wiles of these mushrooming matrimonial sites, social/ parental / peer pressures and sell by date college romances (not exactly in that order).

Yet, bravely I stood with a trusted few, guarding the haloed frontiers of bachelorhood. Grieving (at times sniggering at) the vanquished.

So while my "online albums" (on those dime for a dozen social networking sites) bore photographs of philandering boys on the beaches of Goa, "their" albums had beautiful wedding and honeymoon snaps.

I wish to clarify that I do not detest marriage. It is as sacred an institution as there can be (so I've read). But for everything in life, there is a certain age (always exception to the rule). Else 8 year olds would be driving just because they love fast cars. You need to be matured enough to peep through the veil of initial thrill and recognize the hazards that lie ahead.

Plus, marriage is akin to bungee jumping or sky diving. You sign a consent form before you actually take the plunge. Unfortunately if you enjoy the thrill of taking the deep plunge, let's just say you can't go sky diving in the immediate future when it comes to marriage. However much you wish to. (That's 10/10 for morals and 11/10 for commitment).

Finally when my impatience hit the roof on account of my friends' "suicidal" tendencies, I sent a mass email to all the vanquished. It had a simple question. "Life is to be enjoyed when you are young and free. So for God's sake, WHY ?"

I got varied responses mostly from the US, Bangalore, Pune and some from Mumbai. The tone of the response depended on the person's emotional proximity to me, their gender and their reasons to take the plunge.

The honest ones (exclusively males) were pretty forthright with their reply. Something on the lines of Joseph Barth saying, "Marriage is our last, best chance to grow up". I totally agree. Next time please do something macho in your teens so you won't have to take such drastic steps.

The ones who had arranged marriages quoted something on the lines of Tom Mullen's, "Marriages blossom when we love the ones we marry". As an antithesis to this, I just remembered Samuel Johnson's saying, "Marriage is the triumph of hope over experience". Amen!

My creative friends from the Oscar Wilde school of thought responded as the great man would have. "Marriage is the triumph of imagination over intelligence". No wonder we get along so well on most counts.

But my favorite, coming from my really close bosom buddies (of either gender) was on the lines of "now at least we get laid each night". "With the same partner", was my sardonic remark. "Not always" was their surreptitious reply. Case rested. Meet you in hell.

I took one last juvenile dig at my "hit list" (excluding my haloed bosom buddies of course). One last email was posted and it simply pleaded, "GET A LIFE!"

One unanimous response from them "GET A WIFE!"

Movie Review: Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na - Same Same But Different

Just Another Film Critic — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:56:24 EDT

This is not a review of Nagesh Kukunoor’s box office bomb Bombay To Bangkok (2007) but of debutant director Abbas Tyrewala’s Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. Even before the film was completed, the director had called it a typical Bollywood love story complete with its own quota of songs, fights and even the quintessential over-the-top airport climax. With that kind of a statement from a man who has some very successful scripts behind him, you can’t help but expect the film’s USP to be something completely fresh.

(Spoilers Ahead, yeah right!)

Jai (Imran Khan as a peace loving, meek yet mature guy) and Aditi (Genelia D’Souza in a zealous role) are two very close friends and are part of a small gang of youngsters who have their own share of pubbing, partying, cussing and fooling around. After their college gets over, they try to hook each other up with an apt partner. After they manage to find partners that they think are ideal, they slowly understand that this is not what they desired for. It is not soon when they realize that they have been with their best match all this time. As they struggle to reveal their love to each other, Aditi gets ready to leave for the USA. It is up to Jai to stop her at the airport and reveal his true love to her. Sounds familiar?

(End of already known spoilers)

The film’s almost effortless progress reminds us of the deluge of Korean rom-coms and the screwball comedies of the Clark Gable era. But that just shows how the international cultures have seeped into our own. Right from the generous dose of swearwords to the now-hackneyed dance floors, the movie would look totally outlandish for the village and town dwellers. The best part about the screenplay is that you know you have seen it all a thousand times, but are still attracted towards the film for some reason. That is where the director scores.

What separates Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na from its predecessors is its grey treatment of characters, actions and emotions. There are no extraordinary monologues, fights, melodrama or reactions in the film. Unlike the bickering leads of yesteryear, Jai and Aditi realize each others’ persona and are mature enough to not quarrel with them for that. There is not one false note in the characterization of the cast and their relationships, with the possible exception of Sushant, Aditi’s fiancé, who is handled with a pinch of coldness. Parents who have closed in on the so-called generation gap, a brother who is more sensible than he looks, a protagonist who thinks everything has a non-violent solution, the characters ring true and are omnipresent in the cities. Be it the sibling relationship between Aditi and Amit or the miserable one between Meghna’s parents, there is honesty written all over.

Abbas Tyrewala seems to know that his target audience is miniscule and is unperturbed by that. He has deliberately let some things go over the head of the audience outside his reach and does not care about that. He is quite sure that the young metropolitan crowd, at whom the film is aimed at, will find a page out of their own lives in the film. This confidence is, perhaps, the director’s biggest success in the film. Imran Khan manages well with his small set of expressions and is overpowered by the more experienced Genelia who seems tailored for the role. Arbaaz and Sohail Khan steal the show in the few scenes they are in and the same can be said about veterans Paresh Rawal and Nasseeruddin Shah.

So when do you know it’s love? You do not realize the importance of a commonplace object until it becomes not-so-common. The film handles the same issue handled in Mani Ratnam’s successful flick Alaipayuthey (2000), but gives a totally urban look to the concept. What is more interesting than the film itself is the question that what a confident and clear writer and director, such as Abbas Tyrewala, is going to do in the future where not only would he have the funds to experiment, but also the opportunity to reach a universal crowd. Guess only time will tell. As for now, enjoy this fresh lease of energy amidst stale and pretentious multi-starrers while it lasts in theatres.

The Benefits of Joblessness

Dr Bhaskar Dasgupta — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:56:40 EDT

Now here's a surprise for you. I quote:

The proportion of 16- to 24-year-olds without a job is higher than when Labour came to power in spite of government efforts to reduce unemployment among the young.......blamed the rise on the failure to raise the skills of many youngsters. The New Deal scheme to reduce youth unemployment by providing training, subsidised employment and voluntary work had also failed to maintain its initial success.

What are the solutions? And this is where I disagree:

The OECD said policies such as raising the age to which youngsters must remain training to 18 needed “fine tuning”. It called for increased support for free nursery education; a three-month limit for 16- and 17-year-olds to find work with part-time learning, after which they must return to full-time education or training; more involvement for trade unions in development of apprenticeship schemes; and an expectation that youngsters working under New Deal stay in a job for at least 26 weeks.

See, this is an issue of taking a horse to water but cannot or being unable to make it drink. And here's the actual problem, and I further quote:

One in five youngsters who found work under New Deal held a job for less than 13 weeks, leading to “short employment spells with benefit dependency”.

What these gits do not understand is that for entry level jobs and basic jobs, the difference between the salary and benefits enjoyed is marginal, and in many cases, negative. So what's the point of me dressing up, going to work for a boss who treats me like a coprolite, doing soul destroying work and then ending up after working 10 hours with an amount which is lesser than what my friends earned by sitting at home smoking and drinking and bonking?

Benefit dependency is the issue, link the continued employment to the continued benefit and you will see that economic incentives do work. If you do not work, you do not get the money. And all the kings horses and men, like this whiney article, says, will not make humpty dumpty go back to work again.

Take a look at what Polly is celebrating. She is looking at an estate of 7300 people, and I quote: This vast estate, in much disrepair, had 7,300 residents but virtually no community life, voluntary or council-run. It did have crack houses, prostitution, rubbish tips and violent crime. It did have exceptional numbers of the old, the sick and single mothers.

This is the problem, it was the state's mistakes, the centralised planning, the benefit dependency, the bad public service delivery and the like which landed the estate of Clapham Park in this mess. So Polly is basically saying that the state mucked up, and then the state tried to fix it, and then it again failed. Erm. yes, obviously it will fail, you silly girl, because it was not done by the residents, but to and for the residents by people who never stayed in there. And she is asking for more public money to fix it, keep it going and worse of all, to extend it to other estates and counties where the state has spectacularly failed. Dont you think you should stand back and let the citizens do it themselves?

But here is the problem which goes back to the benefits issue. This state has made a vast swathe of the populace dependent upon benefits and is therefore unable to shift them off it. Take a look at this by-election coming up in Glasgow East. Trace the history of the constituency back and you will see that it has been managed by Labour going back to 1922. Ok? Now let me bring some interesting statistics to bear.

1. From the Spectator:

Nick Clegg drew gasps at a reception in Westminster by observing that there are parts of Glasgow where life expectancy is the same as the Gaza Strip and North Korea. If only this were so. Glasgow City, as a whole, has a male life expectancy of 71 years which is actually lower than the 72 years of both Gaza and Pyongyang. But this includes its lush suburbs. Those in the welfare ghettoes of Glasgow East can only dream of such longevity. The life expectancy of its sink estates is worth recording here. A boy born in Camlachie is expected to live to 64.5 — the same as in Uzbekistan. In Parkhead it is 62, the same as Bangladesh. Just outside its boundaries lies Dalmarnock where the figure is 58 — lower than Sudan, Cambodia or Ghana. The lowest is Carlton, where the figure of 54 is lower than even Gambia’s equivalent.

2. BBC:

Figures for unemployment are also higher, with the rate for men over 25 about 10%, rising to 25% for women.

This year, NHS statistics showed that the east end of Glasgow had Scotland's highest rate of alcohol-related hospital admissions.

3. Blog:

Look beneath the lies, damned lies and statistics, and factor in the number of people on incapacity benefits, and we discover that around 50% of the adult 'working' population is unemployed.

4. Spectator again:

When you look at Scotland on any statistical dataset, it is one big horror story. Welfarism, health deprivation, drugs, drink – there are reams of data about what a socioeconomic nightmare the country is.

5. Financial Times:

Male life expectancy is 63, which is 14 years below the UK average. Unemployment runs at 25 per cent and about 40 per cent of the constituents live on benefits. About 40 per cent of the children live in workless households. Sadly, "household" is not always the most appropriate term. The teenage pregnancy rate is 40 per cent above the national average.

And this is from a city which, and I quote: Yet just a few generations ago Glasgow was the greatest industrial city of the British empire. At one time it produced half the world's ships and a third of its railway locomotives. It could be argued that many people in the UK enjoyed a prosperity that was in part built on the gargantuan efforts of industrial Glasgow.

6. The Times: male life expectancy is 14 years below the national average, 38% of constituents are welfare-dependent, 46% live in social housing, 60% of households have no access to a car, and deaths from heart disease among the under 75s are 83% above the national average.

Now yes, I agree that you cannot be up all the time, just look at Detroit, but hey, look at California, it reinvented it. And it did not do it by handing out benefits by the ton. The problem is that people are now accustomed to living by the state. So now why would you be surprised that the people will keep on voting Labour? As the quote goes, a government which promises to rob peter to pay Paul will always count on the support of Paul.

If you want to get people employed and productive members of the staff, you need to help them but just like pain killers, do not make them addicted to it, otherwise you will end up with estates like Clapham or Glasgow East. (Incidentally, the SNP and the Labour party are both the same, whosoever wins in this by election will do sweet sod all. Here's a prediction, 5 years time and the statistics will be worse! and I am very happy to be proven wrong).

Technorati Tags: Unemployment, United Kingdom, Welfare, Scotland

Travel Review: Bangalore's Innovative Film City

Anuradha Goyal — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:11:55 EDT

If you have enough money in your pocket, all the wonders and attractions in the world will walk up to you and park themselves near you, so that you can visit them as and when you want, without having to go around the world and hop cities. The Innovative Film City is one such ambitious project that brings a lot of world attractions to India. It is a place that is aiming to be one stop shop for all forms of modern day entertainment.

The Innovative Film City is located about 40 kms from Bangalore on Mysore road, a good strategic location as it will be accessible from both Bangalore and Mysore. The whole city is said to be spread over 58 acres, but to me it looks slightly larger than that. The place is still under construction but was opened formally in April, 2008. There are few attractions and amusements which are operational, some are in the process of coming up and some are planned to come.

The Film City is planned to provide 360 degree solutions for entertainment, both for the customers of entertainment industry and the industry itself. Its website says three major planned sections of entertainment. The first is Innovative Attractions which covers amusements, attractions, museums and entertainment. The second is Innovative Style which covers shopping, dining, leisure & lifestyle. The third is Innovative Studio which would have an academy, studio and facilities for film shooting and production.

Of the attractions, most are ready or almost ready. There are museums like Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, Ripley’s Believe it or Not! Museum, Guinness Book of World Records and Jurassic Fossil museum. There are attractions like Dinosaur world, miniature city, Snow Park, mock sets, cartoon city, haunted mansion. In Amusements, they have Funplex where you can play many video and high end games and also see a 4-D movie. Then there is go-karting, mirror maze, mini golf, aqua kingdom where you can go and play around for some time. There are two amphitheaters - one an open one with a seating capacity of more than 5000 people and another for children. A 21 screen multiplex is planned too. The other two segments Style and Studio are yet to come up.

The facade of the city gives a magnificent look. As you take a turn from the road, and enter the city it makes you feel as if you are entering something majestic. As you go inside, at this point in time you see a lot of construction going on, but you can also see that something world class is being built, both in terms of attractions and the way the facility is being managed. There are a lot of employees spread across the length and breadth of the city who keep guiding you towards various places, though there are well printed maps and guides that they hand you over with the tickets. The facility is very well maintained even though half of it is still under construction. There is a food court where you get various cuisines at reasonable prices, and there are Cafe Coffee Day outlets for your caffeine and snacking needs. Drinking water is available at various places.

Entry to the city is priced at Rs 50/- per person and each attraction comes at an additional cost which ranges from Rs 50/- to Rs 200/- . You can plan for Rs 800-1000 per person for a day to visit to the film city, and I am sure you can see only a part of it in a day. Once it is complete, it looks like there will be many things that will keep bringing people back to the film city, especially the huge and well designed amphitheater. I think this is going to become a major destination for the future shows in the city. Parking is outside the film city on the road at the moment, I am not sure if a proper parking area is planned, but I hope there is one, otherwise that may become a bottleneck very soon. Probably they may also want to come up with differential pricing for people who might not be able to afford the current or the future pricing. Maybe something like happy hours on weekdays…

Overall, this is a good project that brings something new and different to the city to keep it engaged. I usually do not like visiting artificial places but I would still say that it is definitely worth one visit, post which you can take a call if you want to visit it again.

Play Review: Lucknow 76

Tanay Behera — Mon, 7 Jul 2008 10:45:24 EDT

Few months back, Dr.BD had made a post on Lucknow, depicting few panoramas of the city sitting in a roof top restaurant relishing gorgeous food.

But why did this topic come into picture, the connecting chord is 'Lucknow', a city that I have never visited but have read about it and also heard lots about from my room-mate who graduated from IIM Lucknow. Last weekend, I was at Alliance Francaise de Bangalore, to watch a play titled 'Lucknow 76'.

The plot of the play was based on politics and history, shifting between two time frames of 1876 and 1976 looking at Lucknow city through the eyes of the common man. 1876 was a milestone for the Britishers, as that was the year, when Queen Victoria took over the command from the East India Company. 1976 was also significant in history because during that time, the once proud democracy, India was under the clutches of tin pot dictator, Indira Gandhi who had declared a state of Emergency as the Prime Minister of the nation.

So that reasons out for the numeral '76' in the title of the play.

But then why 'Lucknow' and why not 'Delhi' or 'Bombay' or 'Calcutta' or 'Madras' or 'Bangalore'. Because the director and playwright of the play, Abhishek Majumdar (AM) had spent some part of his childhood in this city. During AM's visits to Lucknow, his grand uncle, a scholar of history and geology had inundated his mind with tales and chronicles about the city from an old bungalow.

Now back to the play and the players on the stage.

The stage was a raised platform, bare minimal in terms of setting. A collage carpet dressed the entire floor. A ziz-zag geometrically-shaped stool, an artistically designed bench on one corner and few cushions were all the props used during the various scenes.

The play began with the entire cast of actors on stage firing words arbitrarily, and this state of confusion continued until two characters working in a press chisel in. Soon an old madam editor of the press enters and they discuss the sabotage of press and free speech during the 1976 emergency.

The sequence of the scenes in the plot follows a pattern like they do in these aerobic classes, one step back and then one step front. So one scene from 1876 and then one from 1976 and the flow continues. You get me right.

A greater part of the play covered, the 1876 era and it was masterly role-played.

The three lead actors for this part were a Muslim revolutionary, a Brahmin Compounder and a brownBritish madam. Now how can a British madam be brown, that's because her father, a Brit and a general on duty in India had married an Indian woman.

As the play moves to Victorian India, fervent and fiery debates rise about nation and ruler royalty neatly animated by the revolutionary and the Compounder. Questions are tossed about one's dedication to one's own motherland, supporting indigenous medicines against propagating Brit medical practices for general welfare, the language in which Vande Mataram was written and likewise. Though the two characters share views that are completely opposite, the Muslim revolutionary considering the very presence of Britishers in their own land a bane, the Hindu Compounder considering it a boon but yet they are the best of friends. These two characters expressed their school of views with downrightness.

The character of the British lady who wants to study India through the eyes of the common man was also commendable. She seeks the help of the Muslim revolutionary to take her on tours to the local bazaars, to the river bed of Gomti, to the sectors where the natives of Lucknow live, and where the street dogs, the cattle and innumerable flies add to the bustle. She is also introduced to mouth watering local food: the Dum Biryani, Sheermal, Zamin Doz, Kakri Kebab, Shami Kebab, etc.

During one of their saunters, the Muslim revolutionary cracks a joke to the Madam, the dialogue piece of which goes like this: 'Madam, you know what, in Lucknow we have more varieties of kebabs than you have Britishers in that small island.'

Few of the dialogues were engaging and just got glued to my mind. 'In a war, its beliefs that fight, not people.' You see the contemporary relevance, it was then, and it is the same, even today and I don't know what will happen in future.

The 1976 half of the play was more of a disjointed and garbled commentary. The unprovoked detention of innocent people, the abuse and torture of detainees in jails, the forced vasectomy of thousands of men under the infamous family planning initiative, the cutting down of electricity supply to publishing houses and the censorship on press were portrayed tactfully. The highlight of the 1976 era depiction was the naxal interaction which was arresting in terms of energizing acting and dialogue delivery. This bit was in Bengali which I feel quite a few in the audience could not understand.

The scenes were as sensitive as was the dark period but to add some easiness in the air, subtle and clever jokes were cracked like 'it's difficult to understand the philosophy of philosophy' (pun on Indira Gandhi's intent for the Emergency) and about the 'Mango tree on the Moon'. (Can someone guess what was actually pointed at here, for the second bit, though I have my own version but not sure if it fits perfectly to the context?)

The lighting was dim for most of the time, mostly because events showcased on stage were from pages of history. A quiet whiskered man, sitting on one corner, strumming his guitar and lending his voice to few evocative songs in Punjabi and Hindi in his countrified voice made the audience travel through the lanes of Lucknow both in 1876 and 1976. The music was a one-man-show, full credits to this gentleman.

Though I am not a connoisseur in the theatrical aspects of sound, lighting, music but still arrangements on the whole for 'Lucknow 76', appealed to me. The only glitch that I could notice, many in the audience had was that many crucial parts of the play were enacted in languages that was not deciphered by all (around 75% of the play was in English and the rest 25% in Malayalam, Hindu, Bengali, Tamil and Kannada).

There were around 12 performers for this play, (sorry, I don't remember their names, and I even lost the play's brochure) and each of them performed splendidly. This play was supported by the Black Coffee Productions in aid of the Concern India Foundation. The director Abhishek is an engineering graduate from NIT Trichy, one of the best technical institutes in India and then an MBA from Delhi University, after which he entered into his professional life in Bangalore. But his heart was in theater, Abhishek won the Charles Wallace Fellowship and went to do a course at the London International School of Performing Arts for a year in 2006. A couple of months back he was awarded the Metro Plus Playwright Award by 'The Hindu'. In a couple of months he is heading to the UK again armed with an Inlaks scholarship.

Bon voyage and wish you all the best.

The Heat, the Mosquitoes and New York Times

Ritu Chandra — Wed, 2 Jul 2008 01:07:53 EDT

Ever since I started working in New York city (over a year back), my disposition in relation to this aspect of my life has been grumpy at best. Here I am, a passionate crusader for the country-living-high-thinking kind of life-style, being thrust into the rat race of the financial nerve-centre of the world is disconcerting. The Big Apple has a remote chance of tempting me to bite. After all playing a daily dodge-me with the teeming mass of people that descend upon you in a frontal attack is hardly enticing right?. Neither is chasing 'walk’ signs at pedestrian crossings, running up stalled escalators or spending an hour every morning admiring the environs of New Jersey turnpike(NJTP) as your bus crawls along the serpentine queue into the City. Contrast this to the beautiful vistas of spring flowers, fall colours and rolling fields that are the staple on any kind of commute in suburban Pennsylvania. Think I am complaining too much? Check this out

My commute now

My commute in Pennsylvania

Yet, the City(New York i.e) has a slimy way of creeping up from behind to entrap the unsuspecting outsider in it's web. Take for example, the New York subway. A subterranean ant colony of humanity. However, within it’s folds hides the wayside musician, doing his thing, completely oblivious to the indifferent pattering of feet crossing him every second. Once in a while he will play the most compelling piece you ever heard. Sometimes you discover that ‘perfectest’ linger-in-your-mouth Tiramisu in an innocuous hole-in-the-wall shop down the block. At other times it is an impromptu street show by a maverick on the pavement. Then there are the occasional newsworthy scares like a fire outside Grand Central Station and the ensuing excitement (and lots of stories to tell people later. You know the I-was-there-on-that-day kind of stories). That is fun. The only exciting thing that ever happened in PA was a convention of Jehovah’s witnesses.

So as you see, the City's guiles are numerous. The indifference, pace and godlessness of the teeming metropolis throws up a surprising counter-balance of culture, humanity, passion and sometimes a wanton display of human quirks.

So where were we? Yes, wanton human quirks. It was at Times Square a couple of days back. I was footing my way from work towards the Port Authority bus terminal (from where I catch my scenic-NJTP-route bus back home everyday). Times Square was jam-packed, a little more than usual. "These tourists", I muttered grumpily to myself. "I should have taken the subway". With summer one is tempted to take advantage of the beautiful weather and walk down to the bus terminal. However the route to Port Authority is through the quagmire of Times Square. With the recent devaluation of the dollar, life has become very tough for us poor country-bumpkins-in-a-big-city. Now tourists are everywhere. At the bus terminals, peering down from their top-tier perches on city line buses (making you feel like an animal in the zoo). You dodge them in trains, on escalators and on the roads.

Tough, as I said, for only thing we train to dodge in PA is the occasional angry goose pecking at the legs. One is not prepared for handling this deluge of the human species. It was only the other day that I had a run-in with an extremely endearing Japanese variety in the subway. She was taking a video film balanced on the narrow escalator that leads down to the platform. I am proud to have provided her with a wonderful panorama of expressions for her film. Starting with amazement (WTF, a film here!), to urgency(my train.. it’s here), frustration and impatience (get out of the way, I need to get to it) and finally urghhhh... resignation (the train has gone). I could not disappoint her, after all I still retain all my Indian ‘Mehmaan bhagwaan hai’ values.

I digress, as usual. To get back, Times square was very crowded that day. Inching forward towards the next block, I realized it wasn't the poor tourists this time. 8th Avenue was closed to traffic. A lot of flashing lights and crowds. I hope not an accident, I prayed. However, as I neared the crossing I noticed something strange. Everyone was looking heaven-wards. “Oh my God, I am sure it is another plane.. damn this stupid city”. I looked upwards duly expecting a fireball. I was relieved .The sky was clear. No signs of airplanes. Phew!. (We have to note that however, important and enthused you might feel narrating first-hand tales of disasters in comfy desi family rooms, it is never as exciting to be there at the time of action).

I steered my vision in the direction the crowd was pointing. It was the fifty two floors tall New York Times building that seemed to be the object of their attention. My eyes darted around for a bit and then suddenly settled in on a figure..... a man. Yes, a man hanging on to the building some half-way up. “What in the good world is this?” I wondered. He seemed to be stuck there. Who was he? A window cleaner who got a little unlucky? Someone escaping some problem in the building? Who? A little asking around brought to light a story that could only be staged in NYC. This is how it goes...

This is Alain Robert, a stuntman with a fetish for climbing buildings, a Frenchman to the core, he thinks buildings are like mountains, only difference between the two is that new buildings get constructed regularly (How perspicuous!).

For a while he has had the realization that the heat in the South of France is getting unbearable. And no, it’s not only because Bollywood with all the B(ee)s(and fly Amar Singh) have descended en masse in Cannes. Nopes. Even the Ms Non-Recyclable Plastic Rai and her Ms World contestants know it is the green-house gases that cause it. I must digress, (yet again) to add that ‘Global Warming’ seems to have replaced ‘World Peace’ as the sure shot winner answer for all beauty pageant wannabes.

Getting back, the US ofcourse, takes the blame for all ills ailing mankind. Esp. from the French point of view. Think of it, not only did they pick the most un-evolved item of the French cuisine, the pommes de terre frites or pomme frites, (which are not French anyway) and branded them as France’s most identifiable contribution to the world cuisine… the ubitiqous French fries. Which self-respecting Frenchman would tolerate that? And now, they are adding ‘gas’ to the fire through these green-houses gases. Something obviously needs to be done about it.

Alain decided he had to climb a building to bring awareness. He has been climbing all over the world. Sometimes he succeeds and sometimes he is yanked off before he can ascend and other times he has been arrested and beaten up. Yet he persists. He is a professional afterall and these are nothing but hazards of the job. His latest fancy was the NYT building. It was easy to scale and a 'green' building. A clever choice. Ask any celebrity and they’ll tell you that they fantasize climbing over the media’s head. In this case he literally did it.

So one fine day he started to climb.

The same routine again. After a bit, he was discovered, the police called and a welcoming committee was waiting for him at the top of the building.

His act performed, Alain happily made his way to cool his heels in Jail.

He was done by mid-morning.

But that is not the end of the story.

Another man. Renaldo Clarke a denizen of the City . He had spent a particularly restless night punching mosquitoes in his Brooklyn quarters. The natural side-effect of heat is mosquitoes. Right? And what do mosquitoes carry? Malaria. So Mr Clarke had dreamt a dream, he wanted to do something about the mosquitoes of Brooklyn and in countering the Malaria they spread. He too wanted to climb a building to bring awareness.

Clarke watches the afternoon news. He sees Alain Robert waving into the screen. Holy heavens. This guy has stolen the march on him. "Damn these French. Even after we have declared ‘Freedom’ from their fries and threatened to return the Statue of Liberty, they continue to be a nuisance." Clarke had had his fill. And thus, at 6:00 PM he started his ascent.

When I looked up from my vantage point of 8th Avenue at around 7:00 PM, he had made his way up to the 30th floor. But now he seemed stationary. Probably tired? Nothing was moving up there. Down below there was a lot of movement. My country genes held me there for a while, wide-eyed and mesmerized. But then suddenly something within jerked me up. Knock! Knock! It is close to 7:00. You have already missed the 7:00 PM bus; you don’t want to miss the 7:20 bus, do you?. The charming NJTP awaits your passage. Get going!

So, I disengaged, and walked away…. Just like a New Yorker.

As my bus emerged from the bowels of Port Authority, the NY Times building loomed up in front. And there he was, that small figure, hanging on for his dear life. He hadn’t moved an inch since I had left. As the bus wound out of the city into Lincoln Tunnel, I wondered what his fate would be. I was slightly perturbed with the sense detachment that seemed to have taken root within me, but then I also started perceiving a new sensation, a gut feeling that told me he would get there. For at the end of the day he belongs to the City. The spirit of the City resides within him. A little heat, a few mosquitoes, a dream, some action and tons of tenacity….. That’s all it takes to get scale a height here.

New York City, it spins it’s web tighter and tighter; there is no escape.

Post Script
Mr Clarke did make it to the top, totally exhausted, but victorious. After his moment of fame in front of the cameras, where he revealed his concern for Malaria, he too went to join his French friend to cool down in jail. They were both freed a couple of days later.
Photographs courtesy New York Times

Old Parents Left Behind

DeeptiA — Tue, 1 Jul 2008 01:40:52 EDT

Recently I came across a situation that was terribly distressing. There was a school friend of mine (we are talking about the late 80's) with whom I had lost contact some years back. During the time that I remember spending with him in school, he was a good friend. However, as happens many times when you leave school, and then go to different colleges, we lose touch (even though he was in the same city).

Then, while browsing through the friends list of a friend in Facebook, I came across his name. I promptly added him to my friends list, and within a couple of days, we had regained contact. In email through Facebook, I got to know what he had done after school. He had an interest in going abroad, and so, he did the usual software engineering route, joined a services company, and within a year got the chance to go abroad. He jumped at the chance, and moved with the software company to its US office; and after a year or so, jumped jobs and joined an American company.

All the time, his parents were at home, here, along with his younger daughter. Soon, when the daughter finished her education and became a doctor, they found a good match for the daughter (another doctor settled in London) and the marriage happened; the daughter soon left with her husband to London. Now, the parents were left only to themselves in the house. Within a year, they found a suitable bride for their son, he came for the marriage, spent some time at home and then left back to the US. He was still devoted to his parents, coming once every year to visit.

However, and this is now the issue. I visited the parents a couple of days back, and found them to be in a bad position. They are growing old, and have only themselves to take care of each other. They are so used to the city and the circle around them that they are not taking up their son's offer to take them with him to the US, worrying about what they will do in a strange place, whether they will get along with their daughter-in-law (she is used to running the show in that house). The son is not willing to relocate back; he has a cushy life over there, children who are more American than Indian, and so on. And so, the have money (sent by their son), but do not have the moral support that is normally required. They also get testy when you talk to them about going abroad with their son, and I did not raise the issue again in visits. What is a good solution in such cases ?

Book Review : Cherry Bomb

Kim — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 01:00:46 EDT

The entire title Reads - Cherry Bomb : The Ultimate Guide to becoming a Better Flirt, a Tougher Chick and a Hotter Girlfriend, And to Living Life like a Rockstar

I don't read "how-to" books, but the title for this one by Carrie Borzillo-Vrenna had me intrigued and itching to get my hands on it, to read more.

Carrie Borzillo-Vrenna has been a music and entertainment journalist since the last 20 years and is best known for her books on Nirvana and Kurt Cobain, her sex and relationship advice column “Dr. Love” for the Gene Simmons Tongue magazine and her music related articles in People, Billboard, Spin, RollingStone.com and Alternative Press magazines.

The title "Cherry Bomb" comes from the song by Joan Jett of The Runaways. Carrie says "Joan Jett's attitude, style and music has always inspired me so I'm happy to reference the Runaways song (in the title) even if some younger people won't know what it means right away. That's ok because cherries are sweet and bombs are badass and the book is all about being a sweet badass! To me, those two words, sum up the book nicely and it's a killer song to boot!"

Cherry Bomb is an alphabetized reference from Absinthe (the new Drink of Choice for the Rock and roll set) to Zig Zags (The Cool Way to Roll a Joint) with Celebrity Pick-up tips, Fetishes, Infidelity Pacts, Orgasms, Piercings, Strip Tease and Tour Bus Etiquette in between .

The tips and techniques are invaluable to a rock chick. There are tips and detailed instructions on how to tie a cherry stem into a knot (using just your mouth- no hands), how to get backstage without being a whore, using bottle service to buy VIP status at the hottest nightclubs, how to perform a striptease (by Burlesque star - Ditta Von Teese) The tips are practical and easily doable, no matter who you are or what kind of budget you are on.

Being in the music industry as a writer and as a wife to a Grammy winning Rockstar - Chris Vrenna who plays keyboards with Marilyn Manson and drums with Gnarls Barkley- Carrie is more than qualified to write this guide. Most of the tips come from her own real life experiences. For the few areas that she did not have first hand experience with when she started writing, she enlisted the help of her celebrity friends including
Cherie Currie of THE RUNAWAYS (on "Cherry Bomb," the song that influenced the book)
Tori Amos (Life Advice)
Betsey Johnson (Breast Cancer Awareness and Personal Style)
Anna Sui (Fashion Inspiration)
Dancing with the Stars' Cheryl Burke (Dancing Tips)
Celeb hairstylist Dean Banowetz (Rockin' Up 'Dos)
Master Chef Dave Rubell (Black Vodka Recipes)
and Stylist Cynthia Freund (Rock Chick Style Tips) among others.

My favorite guest how-to chapter is the one by Peaches' drummer Samantha Maloney on how to play the Drums. It re-ignited an old flame and I just might be inspired enough to go out and get myself into classes and buy myself a drum set. My favorite chapters by Carrie are Jet Setting, Jobs, Money and Networking.

I always thought I had a more than fair knowledge about rock music and rock stars, but on reading Carrie's book, I know I have a lot more to learn and a lot more musicians that I need to listen to at least once. Her list of songs at the end of some chapters seems to be a good place to start. The lists are mood based - songs to Vacuum fast To (the Anger Stage), songs to Eat a Pint of Ice Cream to (the Depression Stage), Funk Fixers etc.

For the Relationship kinda quiz addicts, there are a couple of quizzes as well, to check if you are rockstar girlfriend material and which rock chick you are most like.

The illustrations by Liz Adams are apt and cute (not a word you would associate with rock, but thats truly what they are.)

There is something for everyone in this book. Men can find a lot of the chapters interesting and relevant too. The title hooked my husband and he browsed through the book and loved what he read.

You don't need to be in the rock industry or dating a rock star to use these tips. These tips are great for any independent, confident woman who is comfortable with herself and who she is. From a gangly pre-teen to a grandmother in her 60's, any woman with self assurance can find something of value in this guide and for someone who lacks self assurance, Cherry Bomb is a great place to start.

This book is due for release on the 5th of August 2008 and can be pre-ordered on Amazon. For anyone who has ever been interested in the lives of Rock Stars and been envious of their lifestyle, this book is a definite must-buy as it shows you step by simple step how to lead their life with panache and confidence. Cherry Bomb delivers on all its promises and does impart relevant and easy to follow tips on how to become a better flirt, tougher chick and hotter girlfriend.