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Showing posts from July, 2009

Kadachit Movie, Gaytari Devi and Pebble Pedometer

What is the right English word for Marathi equivalent of ' आक्रस्थाळेपणा '. I think it is ' Being Berserk'. I thought of this word, day before y'day , while watching a Marathi Movie ' कदाचित '. Sadashiv Amrapurkar , a fine actor but often portrayed in Hindi movies as a ' loud man who has gone berserk'. Give him a role that brings out a controlled aggression in him in a checked manner ( संयमीः ) , his histrionic brilliance is at its best . In this movie, he vividly portrayed a character of a criminal who spent his life time behind the prison , for a crime he may not have committed and yet carries with him humane qualities that ever always present but never exuded through his rough exteriors. The website of this movie is very trendy like a Hollywood movie. I always have great admiration for woman who quit their gloried career to look after the family and raising children, used their spare time to enhance their skills and come back with a great

Lovely cartoons

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What would be The Times of India without R K Laxman. But with such lovely cartoons, it would still be enjoyable.

Raghu Kaka is no more.....

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Only Y’day, I thought of ‘Raghu Kaka’ while reminiscing about the event of total Solar Eclipse. Today, I got the news that he is no more. Strange are the ways of the connection between the mind and the incident. In late 80’s, I happened to meet Dr. Subramanium – a physician in the field of nuclear medicine at Hyderabad. He took an immediate liking for me. During the course of our discussions, he mentioned about the relatives from his wife’s side having surname ‘Pappu’. My being thoroughbred in Marathi with no connection with Andhra but having some link to Karnataka surprised him. He explained to me genesis of surname ‘pappu – a type of dal in Tamil. It seems, his wife’s relatives had come from Tanjore and subsequently settled in Andhra Pradesh. There are still many people with the surname ‘Pappu’ in AP. I have no idea how my grandfather came and settled in Hubli but my association with Kannada and Hubli began with Raghu Kaka and continued despite my being away from Hubli. Few months ag

Solar Eclipse

This week's incident of total solar eclipse in India took me back to the previous event that happened in early 80s. I was studying in the engineering. Nearest place to watch the solar eclipse was Hubli . We decided to descend on this city and watched it from the terrace of Raghu Kaka ’s palatial bungalow. Use of Sun glasses then was not popular . We had to make a special trip to photo studio to buy a square inch of blank developed photo film. The whole city of Hubli was galvanized for this event. The event was around 4pm and when it did happen, the sheer excitement was so exhilarating that seeing the spectacle through square inch of photo film seemed futile and inadequate. Go out of the hand this sharp edged square film and devour what you can with your naked eyes. Witnessing the diamond ring phenomenon, as the sun came out of the eclipse was terrific and also the effect of sand dunes type of images rapidly moving past your feet was electrifying. A lot of stories would float ar

Visit to Meerut and Agra : An eye opener to a corrupt environment

Last week, while being in Delhi, I made a day visit to Meerut and Agra. It made me realize the brutal reality that exists in India. Both these towns are next door to New Delhi and are backed up with bountiful agriculture, numerous medium and small Industries. Both cities have an access to tourism revenue. One with Taj Mahal and other with the proximity to Haridwar and Rishikesh . There is a stretch of road after Hapur town built on toll basis. However, I was in for rude shock when my car driver paid Rs 10 as cash to the man managing the extreme gate instead of paying the official fee of Rs 15. His argument was 'it saves time standing the queue plus saves the money '. 'Does he take all the money he collects?’ I questioned. 'No way, this loot goes to all the way to his boss and shared across the organization '. 'But how would Ms. Mayawati - UP CM get the revenue? My naive question must have surprised my driver. 'Are Bhaisaab . The person has already pa

A Chance Encounter

After almost a decade, unexpectedly, without any inkling, you bump on to someone who you had interacted before. Your past interactions were time and subject specific yet intense enough to know about each other. In the face of changing circumstances, the interaction had come to a complete halt. Now this chance encounter happens in a new country and a new settings, not in isolation but in the presence of others. What is the possible scenario that would emerge? Most likely could be the expression of delight of rediscovering some one who you had lost. Least likely could be that person may refuse to acknowledge you. If that happens, would you push yourself and make that person rekindle old memories? On the other hand, you may decide to slip away murmuring that there must be some confusion on your part and make dignified exit believing that there must be a justifiable reason for that person to behave in this manner. I faced similar situation y'day and I chose the later option. However, m

Michael Jackson a musical genius

Fashion world damsels who dream of being celebrity are always paranoid of maintaining their chiseled body shape; however, the necessities of their career growth also dictate the need to socialize upper society echelons to weave their magic and charm around the rich and famous. They wine and dine in gay abundance but before the food reaches their intestine and is metabolized, they rush to washroom and take out all they could by forcing fingers in the throat. ‘yuck’ is the only expression that my face could have displayed when I heard this story . What a way to ensure that no extra flesh is around the waist. The price paid by all the celebrities would generally not come to the light. The shocking news about the demise of Michael Jackson and his forced regimen with diet, health made me remember the above incident. Dubai newspaper headline one day reported the booking of Wild Wadi (water amusement park) by MJ; caption reflected obnoxious arrogance of money and fame but subsequent para show