Following the dissapearing hill

My yearning to see a hill, took me to Tumkur, around 2 hours journey from Bangalore.

Got down at the bus station and walked eastwards (as I remember seeing on google maps).
The hills around this region are rather small. So, as I picked out one and walked towards it's direction, it would suddenly disappear behind some structure or tree. I panicked first and then smiled to myself at the thought that I'm following a disappearing hill.

It took me a good 45 mins to 1 hour of walking to reach the base of the hill. The hills of this region are particularly enchanting as they tend to be strewn with boulders, quite different from those found around the Pune region.

This particular formation of boulders is a result of erosion, by wind, water and vegetation. Some very interesting formations can be witnessed. I named quite a few as 'Noah's ark', Heaven's gate, the twin towers, the sphinx, etc.

Discovery of India on DD India

Was casually flipping through the channels this Saturday afternoon, and I caught onto an episode of the landmark series of Doordarshan based on Nehru's 'Discovery of India'.

The particular episode was based on the plight of the 'Indigo farmers' (Neel ke kisan). How, the unbridled exploitation of the farmers set's the spark for the first flames of a national movement against the British. This movement initially finds favor with the zamindars and the bhadralok, who try to rouse the peasants into confronting the British landlords.

The episode ends with the narrator (Roshan Seth as Nehru) saying - 'jo kaum kamzor hoti hai woh apni aafat ko khud nyota deti hai' (The weak community wreaks misery upon itself).
The episode ends as usual with the stirring incantation of a Rigvedic hymn, to the praise of the Sun god, set to the musical score by Vanraj Bhatia.

The 'plight of the farmers' is a constant refrain in Indian politics, true now as it was earlier. They still remain the vanguards to the fate of the nation.

Recently, the director and members of the cast of this series were felicitated by the Government of India.

Film review: Dev D

This is certainly one of the well made films from bollywood. Nikhat Kazmi's 5* review conveys it's impact not just on mainstream bollywood cinema, but to critic's eye as well.

The film achieves an seemingly impossible feat, by rehashing the well known story of Devdas by Bengali author Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. This was the fourth version of the story.
What's different about the film then, one is prompted to ask?
The impossibility is achieved by the strong characterization and a feel of contemporariness, so much so that the film outgrows the main storyline with it's sheer energy and feel.
The BMW car sequence, the MMS case, ... it's these fine elements that imbibes a feel of contemporariness around the story line. A voyeuristic view through the microcosm of Dev's existance and yet getting a glimpse of the prevailing cosmos of his world.
The single minded hedonism and purposelessness of Dev D's reality juxtaposes against the sheer magnanimity and fragmented reality of the world around him, as he seeks assimilation.

The shoulder-strap bag does seem to convey a certain sense of purpose in his demanour, but we are offered no such insights into the same, to the effect that it's of no relevance of consequence i.e., his purposelessness is intact.

The 'happy-ending' of his union with Chanda, is a departure from the actual story line, but is not a departure from his self-indulgence and hedonism. He finally lands up with her after encountering a close-shave from certain death.
For mainstream cinema, the soundtrack is truly path-breaking, we get a feel of the true assimilation power of Indian culture through the 'Patna-ka-Presley' sequence, the Punjabi hip-hop/rap duo's performance, ...
A film that breaks many stereotypes and is path-breaking in more ways than one. Definitely not to be missed by a film-buff.

'Alike but not quite' OR 'Migrants at two ends of the pole'

This is one incident that will remain in memory for long.
During my graduation days, I was on the lookout to enroll for a computer course, in my hometown, Pune. Walking up to the reception area of the institute, I met a lady with whom I made my inquiries.
After filling up the form, etc she asked me if I was from Tamil Nadu (after noticing my surname).
"Yes", I answered.
"Can you speak Tamil?", she asked.
"I can speak, but not too well. I can speak Marathi better."
She said, "My mother tongue is Marathi, but I would mostly speak Tamil".

In the conversation that ensued thus, I found out that, though Marathi, she was from the Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu.

The smile that followed was spontaneous as we paused and reflected on the peculiar condition that both of us had in common.

The Marathas (specifically, Shivaji's father, Shahaji) were given three districts of Tamil Nadu by the then Mughal empire.
She was part of the same legacy; Marathi - but, in a way, more Tamil than myself.

North Clarke Street

Memories of my wanderings in Chicago came up today (after mulling over an extemporaneous conversation I had with a chatty, likable Irani restaurant owner, in which he says that Punekar Brahmins are leaving in droves for the US of A). The context of our conversation was something different altogether.
This street of Chicago is a menagerie of people from different ethnicities and cultures. The particular street I'm talking about is the one which goes by the Wrigley stadium.
You have quaint old bookshops, small cozy pubs, yoga classes, comic book stores and much more. I guess it's true that any place is made lively by the people that inhabit it. This is true of Chicago, one of the most cosmopolitan centers of the world.
It's interesting how different places across the globe are witness to a dramatic flux of cultures.
To quote from this article by Benoy. K. Behl: "...People of different countries rubbed shoulders with each other in its marketplaces. Portuguese merchants brought the best horses from Arabia, diamonds came from Golconda, and textiles and spices flowed in from all corners of the world. It was one of the most thriving and cosmopolitan places in the world..."
The flavor of this cultural flux is quite unique though, as it emanates from the belly button of the world's economic and political super-bully...

Ruffian crow

This crow is unlike any other crow I have seen.
The terrace of our apartment is quite spacious, resembling a squared U-shape almost closing up on the right-end of the U.
Every morning I traverse the U from one end to the other. Now here's what happens - as soon as I approach the left end of the U he emerges like a phoenix crowing caw-caw and menacingly flying overhead as if you were targeted for attack.
He doesn't reserve this behavior to the human species, but also to his own with added viciousness. He fought with one of his brothers (i.e of his species) and caught hold of the poor fella by his toe-claw. The victim helplessly fluttered upside down, under his oppressor begging frantically for release. He was held like that for a few torturous moments before being finally released. The victim flew away, probably never to venture into the ruffian's territory again.

He has a distinct feature as he springs up and perches onto the TV antenna. His sprightly small hair on his head brings to one's mind of a super aggressive sports-person at work. Maybe Sreesanth would be a perfect match. (But we now know his bark is worse than his bite :-) )

Doughty public servants of Pune

He was the most unusual conductor I've encountered in a PMT bus. An expert in managing the crowd, courteous and efficient.
'Dost aage badho', 'Aji varti ya', 'Peeche kadhe rehne wale tumhare bhai hi hai, aage badho', are some of the comments he used to courteously manage the crowd.

It's been a while that I've been traveling by public transport. The drivers have to be commended on negotiating the bus through crowded streets and traffic cutting across recklessly. It's a superhuman feat surely. And the job of the conductor is no less difficult. Having to ask for change from each customer, keep an eye on the bus-stops, managing the crowd, etc is enough to keep his hands full.

The odds are stacked against these doughty public servants, but they go on with the show - day after day.