Kaisi Paheli hai yeh?

Paheli [Link] has not made it to the Oscar nominations. The story from Rajasthan, whose highlights were beautiful picturization and soulful music, probably didn't meet the standards of a typical Academy nominee. Morning Raga[Link], the other Indian entry did not feature in the final list either. But I am sure it cannot dishearten the blossoming talents in Bollywood- where the scene has literally never been better. Movies like Rang De Basanti are already rocking the charts [Link]- and there is no other way to go but fast forward from here on. Watch out Hollywood!

Among the front runners this year at the Acdemy Awards are Hollywood blockbusters like Brokeback Mountain, Syriana, Walk the Line, Munich, and Crash. Foreign films under the spotlight are from Italy, Germany, Palestine, S Africa and France. See the complete list here. [Link]

Mohan Bhargava is real

So here's the real story behind the character Mohan from Swades[Link]; provided you haven't heard it already. I haven't investigated enough, but Gowariker (director) himself talks a lot on when he first started thinking about the Swades plot. Surprisingly, I haven't read him directly crediting the idea of the story to a rediff reporter although the rest of the account that I mention below is definitely in black and white.

Here's an excerpt from the article that reporter D'Souza wrote in the fall of 2000:

Her name is Khatri Vasave. She lives in a tiny village called Domkhedi, on the banks of the Narmada river in northern Maharashtra. The young man's name is Anil Kumar. He is from Pathanpara in Kannur District, Kerala. After a few weeks here, he is returning to his home. In those weeks, Khatri has grown very fond of this tall engineer from Kerala. And that fondness has its roots, I suspect, in a single bulb. Read complete article. [Link]

The connection was first reported by rediff as soon as buzz started:

Swades: The rediff connection
rediff Entertainment Bureau December 15, 2004 11:31 IST

- Go to http://www.swades.com/
- Click on Enter HTML Site.
- Click on Acknowledgements at the bottom right of the screen that comes up.
- You see rediff.com columnist Dilip D'Souza, right?

Explanation:
The director, Ashutosh Gowariker, says Dilip, got the idea for the film from a column Dilip did for rediff.com about two young engineers from Kerala who built a dam in rural Maharashtra and supplied electricity where there was none. That is what Swades is about. Says Dilip, "I had no idea about all this till about a month ago, when the person who told him (Ashutosh) about my article, a journalist friend called Rajni Bakshi, told me she had told him."

What does he think of Swades?
"Go see the film," says Dilip. "It's really very good, I think, better than Lagaan. Puts out some fine messages, does it subtly, Shah Rukh Khan is understated, there are no idiotic choreographed dance sequences, no fights."

"I don't know if you would also like to mention," adds Dilip, "that my articles about these two guys was used to nominate them for the MIT technovators prize last year, which they actually won (see the third entry here- Link).

Bollywood triggering a revolution?

Update: Paritrana website [Link]. Interview with Chandreshekhar [Link].

Real life stories often inspire some great stories on reel, and the opposite is also true. Bollywood movies can be powerful tools, with the audience stretching to the size of several millions. And like always, power brings it's own share of responsibility. So that lays a lot of social responsibility on the shoulders of our directors! Some directors have taken up the challenge and have lived up to it. Not that I can name all of them from memory, some do come to my mind right away. Satyajit Ray, Mani Ratnam, Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, Nagesh Kukonoor, Deepa Mehta, Shyam Benegal, V Santaram, Mira Nair so on ... Not that every film they made was a social churner- but they did make a sincere effort.

What could be a bigger purpose to anything one does than making a difference to someone else, to the the society, or to the world? I came upon the following stories which I thought was worth sharing. Not all of them are inspired by the silver screen, but you can notice the awe-inspiring parallels.

Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera ...
Haren Joshi, 65, has not seen the Shah Rukh Khan starrer Swades but people identify him with the NASA scientist, who left everything to bring light to a remote village. Four years back, Joshi, a vascular surgeon occupying the prestigious Chair of Surgery in Frankfurt Hospitals in Philadelphia, came to Ahmedabad with his ophthalmic surgeon wife Pratima Tolat and slogged it out, sometimes over 15 hours a day, at the Shamlaji Community Health Centre in the backward district of Sabarkantha. Joshi, who gave up 34 years of a comfortable life in America was thrilled to see the smile on the face of 3-year-old Radha, a tribal girl, who he operated for a congenital deformity

In Surat, Vibha Marfatia, who completed her PhD in immunology from London University, abandoned a bright career to spread awareness about HIV-AIDS among the high-risk diamond workers and other vulnerable groups. Her courageous move led to the launch of an NGO called Sahas. "Life here has been meaningful," says Marfatia admitting that it was not easy leaving her parents’ home of 27 years in the UK.

In Vadodara, Ashet Kikani is silently fulfilling a promise he made to himself — to serve his city and country.Instead of complaining about poor infrastructure, Kikani has gone ahead and revamped an old crematorium in Karelibaug (Rs 1.25 crore project) and hopes to revive the swimming pool in the old city’s Jumma Dada Vyayam Mandir (Rs 40-45 lakh) among other projects.

The honours, however, could go to the 'NRI sarpanch' Chandrakant Mukhi, 56, a businessman, who returned to his hometown Thamna, a small village in Anand, after 28 years in Tanzania and the US. Thanks to his efforts, the 4500 people of Thamna have between them 280 telephones, 24-hour water and electricity supply. The new English medium high school offers free education, lunch, uniforms and books to all 350 children. In fact, the Thamna panchayat was one of the three panchayats from the state selected for the President's award.

Meri Makhna, Meri Soniye ...
Gomtiben Nayak, 85, is no more. But her memory lives on with many elders of Chorania village in Limdi taluka of Surendranagar district. She is a beacon for the senior citizens of this village who have re-discovered love amongst their younger ones. In an age where stories like the movie Baghban find echo in urban settlements, Chorania village provides a unique example of traditional Indian family value system still holding out.

Harshad Panchal, sarpanch of Chorania, says the villagers have promised before the panchayat that they will take care of their parents or face social ostracism in contrast to what Gomtiben faced when her son deserted her at old age. The change of heart in this case was helped by workers of a voluntary organisation, Help Age India, who had been moved by plights of senior citizens. The organisation has helped resettle more than 15 village elders in the recent past. The village with a population of about 2,000 has now become an example for others. A short film on Chorania is now being circulated in other rural and urban settlements to be emulated.

Dhakka Laga Bukka ...
Five former IITians, probably drawing inspiration from Mani Ratnam's Yuva, have decided to take up mainstream politics. The youths, all in their 20s are campaigning for their national party, “Paritrana’’, which was launched in Jodhpur recently.“Giving up handsome pay packages, comfort of family and support of friends wasn’t that easy,’’ says Tanmay Rajpurohit, the national president of the party and B Tech in aerospace from IIT Bombay followed by an MS from GeorgiaTech and double masters in arts.

“People think we are crazy so much so that our families have also failed to understand our motto, but we won’t give up,’’ he added. The core team of “Paritrana’ ’ comprises Rajpurohit , Shukla, Amit Beesen, also the vice president and a B Tech (Mechanical) from IIT Bombay and a LLB graduate, Chandrashekhar (national treasurer), B Tech (computer science) from IIT Kanpur, Bharat Sundaram, the PRO of the party and B Tech from IIT Kanpur and PhD in electronics from Melbourne.

“Paritrana means complete relief from the various causes of distress, and that is what we want to do for our people,’’ added Chandrashekhar.

The zeal and burning desire of the five youngsters sounds sincere. “I believe that we are just five ordinary boys from the middle class family with no godfathers in politics but have dared to come forward and fight for our rights,’’ said Chandrashekhar. “And we will succeed in it,’’ he added. After the launch of the party at the Suchana Kendra in Jodhpur, the party members, as a part of their promotional campaign will tour Jodhpur, Udaipur, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Chennai.

Update: Paritrana website [Link]. Interview with Chandreshekhar [Link].

Stories adapted/ summarized from the Times of India. Pictures are from the respective movie websites.

Taraana Playlist: Jan 25th, 2006

Best wishes to all my fellow countrymen on the occasion of our 57th Republic Day! Here's the playlist from our special show tonight:

From the album: Vande Mataram
1. Revival (Vande Mataram):: AR Rahman
2. Missing (Vande Mataram):: AR Rahman
3. Thai Mannai Vanakkam:: AR Rahman

4. Voice of Dr. Karan Singh
5. Saare Jahan Se Achcha:: Lata Mangeshkar

6. Jana Gana Mana:: AR Rahman, Karthik:: Aayitha Ezhuthu (Tamil)

From the movie: Bose- The Forgotten Hero
7. Kadam Kadam
8. Ekla Chalo
9. Azaadi

10. Vaishnav Jan To:: Water
11. Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera:: AR Rahman:: Swades
12. Lalkaar:: Aamir Khan and Chorus:: Rang De Basanti
(Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna Ab Hamare Dil Mein Hai,
Dekhna Hai Ki Zor Kitna Baajuen Katil Mein Hai) Complete lyrics.

13. Aamra Korbo Joy:: Bhupen Hazarika (Bengali)
14. Mangal Mangal (Agni):: Kailash Kher and co:: Mangal Pandey- The Rising

From the movie: Lakshya
15. Lakshya:: Shankar Mahadevan
16. Kandhon Se Milte Hain Kandhe:: Shankar Mahadevan, Sonu Nigam, Hariharan, Roop Kumar Rathod, Kunal Ganjawala, Vijay Prakash

17. Gurus of Peace:: Nusrat Fateh Ali, AR Rahman:: Vande Mataram

More about India ...

Manas (Link): A very useful resource on the web about India. This site has been created and designed by two UCLA professors- Vinay Lal and Anju Relan. Vinay Lal is an Associate Professor of History, while Anju Relan is an Associate Professor at the School of Medicine.

Coming from two academicians, this site presents a heady mix of history, architecture, politics, religion, literature, culture, sociology and even cinema from trusted and reliable sources.

How I came across this site?
So if you have heard about the Bruin Alumni Asssociation at UCLA (Link) ... you've probably been curious about who those 'Dirty-Thirty' (Link) professors at UCLA are? Well, Vinay Lal (Link) is one of them. And happy witch-hunting to students at UCLA ... get your money back right after you are done with the Professor's classes ... just don't do something stupid before you get your grades!

Meanwhile, if you love Manas (means?) - the website, try helping them with some good pictures if you can. It is sad when such a resourceful site is handicapped by bad pictures.

Saare Jahan se Achcha Hindustan Hamara

We have often heard of couples renewing the vows in their marriage- and having a gala party afterwards to celebrate the occasion. What are we doing tomorrow to celebrate the renewal of our vows to our nation? Celebrate this day- the 26th of January; buy some sweets and surprise someone and of course vow to do something for your nation! Just one thing in your entire life- one small, tiny thing to make a tiny difference somewhere. Isn't that possible? It is! So let's do it!

Republic Day

The Constitution of India came into force on 26th January 1950 and India became a truly sovereign state. The country finally realized the dream of Mahatma Gandhi and the numerous freedom fighters who, fought for and sacrificed their lives for the Independence of their country. So, the 26th of January was decreed a national holiday and has been recognized and celebrated as the Republic Day of India, ever since.

Today, the Republic Day is celebrated with much enthusiasm all over the country and especially in the capital, New Delhi where the celebrations start with the Presidential address to the nation. The beginning of the occasion is always a solemn reminder of the sacrifice of the martyrs who died for the country in the freedom movement and the succeeding wars for the defense of sovereignty of their country. Medals of bravery are awarded to the people from the armed forces for their exceptional courage on the field and to civilians for their life-saving actions.

Wikipedia- the internet Encyclopedia describes a Republic as 'a state whose political organization rests on the principle that the citizens or electorate constitute the ultimate root of legitimacy and sovereignty.' Several definitions, including that of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, stress the importance of autonomy and the 'rule of law' as part of the requirements for a Republic. Nonetheless, in practice most nations that do not have a hereditary monarchy call themselves a Republic, and in its broadest sense the idea of a Republic can include almost any form of government that is not a Monarchy.

Rephrasing words and re-interpreting laws have been the evergreen hobbies of politicians, more so these days- so meanings are best left to individual interpretations as long as the intentions are good.

As always, today all we wish for is that India forever be 'Vasudeva Kutumbakam'- which means a "One World Family". Jai Hind!

Tot shots

Have you heard this story yet? Really very inspiring- you never know where the next talent will pop up from!

Kishan Srikanth, a 10 yr old has turned director in India ... moved by a purpose to help slum children. He took up acting at age four, and turned director in six years! He's directing a $200,000 movie which will be just over 2 hours- while school and grades keep most kids of his age terribly busy.

C/O Footpath, the movie is slated for release later this year. Check out his BBC interview here.

Taraana Playlist: Jan 18, 2006

1. Light, Passion, and Darkness: Chp 14 Bhagvad Gita

Sattva (purity), Rajas (passion) and Tamas (inertia)- these three Gunas (qualities) born of Nature tie down the imperishable Soul to the body. Sattva, being immaculate, gives the light and health of life: it binds by attachment to joy and to knowledge. Rajas, is the nature of passion, the source of thirst and attachment. Tamas, is born of ignorance and deludes all embodied beings, it binds fast ...
One who transcends the three gunas of this mortal body, freed is he from birth, death, old age and sorrow, and goes unto life eternal.
- The Bhagvad Gita

2. Across the River (Instrumental): Water
3. Do Kadam:: Sonu Nigam:: Meenaxi- Tale of Three Cities
4. Main Aisa Kyon Hoon:: Shaan:: Lakshya

5. Bure Bure:: DJ Yasee:: Bluffmaster
6. Bangri Marori:: Water
7. Rag. Shahana Kanada (Hindustani Classical):: Sri Kumar Mardur:: Abhinav

8. Bhooli Bisri Yaddon Mein:: Viruddh
9. Khaali Hai Tere Bina:: Hariharan:: Paheli
10. Soona Hai Man Ka Aangan:: Shreya Ghoshal, Sonu Nigam:: Parineeta

11. Rasiya:: Bonnie Chakraborty, Richa Sharma:: Mangal Pandey- The Rising
12. Right Here Right Now:: DJ Yasee:: Bluffmaster
13. Dil Di Nazar:: Bombay Vikings, Neeraj Shridhar, Priya, Shaan:: Maine Pyar Kyon Kiya

14. Jaadu:: Kunal Ganjawala, Sunidhi Chauhan:: Main Meri Patni Aur Woh
15. Paani:: Shweta Pandit, Sukhwinder Singh, Suresh Wadekar:: Iqbal
16. Mann Phoola (Classical bhajan):: Sri Kumar Mardur:: Abhinav

The Indian Thanksgiving

I have been hearing that analogy pretty much everywhere, so thought I'd share it with you. Here's wishing all fellow Indians a very Happy Pongal, Bihu, Bhogi, Lohri, Sankranti and so on ...

Pongal in the state of Tamil Nadu is celebrated during the same time as 'Bhogali Bihu' in the North Eastern State of Assam, 'Lohri' in Punjab, 'Bhogi' in Andhra Pradesh and 'Makar Sankranti' in the rest of the country, including Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal. From: http://hinduism.about.com/

This is traditionally a day of reflection. People express their graditude to Mother Nature for the plentiful harvest and pray for a successful future. These festiivals with different names throughout India, are comparable to the festival of Thanksgiving which is celebrated in the US and Canada in November, and to several other festivals from different parts of the world such as the Jewish- Sukkot, Chinese- Zhong Qui, Greek- Thesmophoria, Roman- Celeria, and the Eyptian custom of honouring Min the god of fertility and vegetation.

I remember as children, we left the praying and all those serious stuff to the elders and just had fun watching our moms drawing exquisite kolam patterns with rice powder at the door steps, cooking wonderful meals with sweet coconut stuffings, and of course hogging all the delicacies at our disposal. So have fun and stuff yourself if you can still afford some innocent indulgence.

Taraana Playlist: Jan 11, 2006

1. Hamd (Praise to the Lord):: Najam Sheraz
2. Raat Aadhi Kheench Kar Meri Hatheli:: Amitabh Bachchan recites Dr. Harivansh Rai Bachchan's poetry
3. Paap Mere Vaaste Hai:: As above

4. Shyam Rang Bhar Do:: Water
5. Train(Instrumental):: Water
6. Vaishnava Jan Ho:: WaterAcross
7. The River(Instrumental):: Water

8. Main Yahaan Hoon:: Udit Narayan:: Veer Zaara
9. Aisa Des Hai Mera:: Gurdas Mann, Lata Mangeshkar, Pritha Majumdar, Udit Narayan:: Veer Zaara
10. Do Pal:: Lata Mangeshkar, Sonu Nigam:: Veer Zaara
11. Main Kaidi Number 786:: Shahrukh Khan:: Veer Zaara

12. Kal Ho Na Ho:: Sonu Nigam:: Kal Ho Na Ho
13. Maahi Ve:: Sonu Nigam Sadhna Sargam, Shankar Mahadevan, Sujatha:: Kal Ho Na Ho
14. It's the Time to Disco:: Loy Mendonsa, Shaan:: Kal Ho Na Ho
15. Heartbeat:: Shankar Ehsaan Loy:: Kal Ho Na Ho

16. Jiya Dhadak Dhadak Jaaye:: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan:: Kalyug
17. Ganj-E-Shakar (qawwali):: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan:: The Last Prophet

Qawwali is the devotional music of Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam,which originated in the tenth century in what is present-day Iran. It began with the foundation of the Chisti order of Sufis by followers of the Khwaja (master)Abu-Ishak Chisti. Two hundred years later Qawwali travelled with the Sufis to India. Qawwali was spread by Khwaja Mueen-Ud-Din Chisti converting 9 million people to Islam throughout the sub-continent. The word 'sufi' means 'wearer of wool' and originally it designated a very specific religious sect. They called themselves 'faqara', meaning poor (in spirit). 'Faqara' is the plural of 'faqir'(in Persian, 'darvish') from which the English 'dervish' is derived. The whirling Sufi dances of Turkey are known as the dervishes- the physical equivalent of qawwali's spiralling vocals.
Description from The Last Prophet album jacket.

Sharmaji New York wale

I am not sure if Mr Sharma actually belongs to NY, but sure enough he's unwelcome there. Mr. Rakesh Sharma won innumerable accolades for his film Final Solution in 2002.

Final Solution is a study of the politics of hate. Set in Gujarat during the period Feb/March 2002 - July 2003, the film graphically documents the changing face of right-wing politics in India through a study of the 2002 genocide of Moslems in Gujarat. It specifically examines political tendencies reminiscient of the Nazi Germany of early/mid-1930s. Final Solution is anti-hate/ violence as “those who forget history are condemned to relive it”.

More here: http://rakeshfilm.com/finalsolution.htm
But little did he know that he was prophesizing his own future when he wrote that year:

Post-911, we live in a world where politics of hate and intolerance has gained mainstream acceptance, even grabbed centrestage. The right-wing seems to be tightening its stranglehold across Europe and USA, a nationalism being fuelled by the anti-immigrant/anti-Moslem rhetoric.

Rakesh Sharma was treated with hate and humiliation on the streets of New York this past summer as he tried to document the lives of the city's taxi drivers. The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) has since launched a suit on his behalf to highlight the injustice. Read today on the BBC.

Mr. Sharma is an independent documentary film maker who started as an assistant to the famed Shyam Benegal during the making of Discovery of India in 1986. His other film is Aftershocks: The Rough Guide to Democracy.

Comeback Queen!

Fanaa- Read latest review Apr 19, 2006. [Link]

The secret is out ... and you would have definitely heard it. But it doesn't hurt to say it once more- right? I am probably as excited about as you are.

The girl-next-door Kajol (pic on left) is staging a comeback in Yash and Aditya Chopra's Fanaah, being directed by Kunal Kohli. One website proclaims her as the finest actress on the planet! She's a pretty charming actress: it would have been surprising if it hadn't been so- after all her dad is Somu Mukherjee, mother is Tanuja, Nutan for Aunt, Rani Mukherjee (pic below) and Monish Behl as cousins, and of course Shobhna Samarth as grand-mother.

She gave a string of fine performances in over 25 films, which included DDLJ, Gupt, Minsaara Kanavu, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (KKHH), Kabhi Khushi Kabhhi Gam (KKKG) to name a few, and won 7 Filfare awards. She married her co-star Ajay Devgan and suddenly quit films altogether after KKKG in 2001. Kajol did make a guest appearance in Kal Ho Na Ho for the song Maahi Ve in 2003.

Fanaah has quite a brilliant cast besides Kajol- Aamir Khan (pic on left), Tabu, Shiny Abraham And Abhishek Bachchan. This is Kunal's 3rd major film after Hum Tum and Mujhse Dosti Karoge. Definitely ever-reliable Aamir might steal all the limelight, but Kajol was desperately missed for all these years and I am sure all the fans are waiting with bated breath for this release in 2006.

Fanaah- what's that word? The last time I heard, it was the song Fanaah in Yuva.

Squash legend Roshan Khan passes away

On April 30th, 1984 the NY Times wrote "ANOTHER KHAN IS SEEKING SQUASH RACQUETS TITLE". See the Khan family tree here.

They were talking about Jahangir Khan, the 20yr old emerging squash legend from Pakistan and son of the legendary Roshan Khan, one of the pioneers of the game of squash in Pakistan, who has died in Karachi at the age of 78.

Roshan Khan first rose to international prominence when he won the British Open in 1957, following up with three wins in the US Open.

Jahangir Khan became the youngest champion in the World at age 17 beating Geoff Hunt of Australia in 1981. That game marked the start of a streak of more than 500 unbeaten games over 5 years! Probably the best in any sport till date. Jahangir won the famed British Open ten straight years from 1982 to 1991. Towards the later part of the eighties, another Pakistani player had hit the headlines- he was Jansher Khan. Jansher Khan, though unrelated to Jahangir, was a top notch squash player who went on to capture the World Open 8 times and the British Open 6 times in his career.

Most of Pakistan's foremost squash players have come out of a small village called Noakili, close to the Pakistan Air Force Base in Peshawar, and have mostly come from very poor back grounds. It was their passion for the game that took them to unsurpassed heights in the game.

Peter Nicol, the English squash champ is the current World No.1.

Taraana Playlist: Jan 04, 2006

Raga Bhairavi:: Hariprasad Chaurasia:: Pure Joy (Instrumental)
Kainchi Hare Krishna:: Krishna Das:: Breath of the Heart (Spiritual)
Mann Ke Manjeere:: Shubha Mudgal:: Best of Shubha Mudgal

Ankhon Mein Tum:: Kishore Kumar:: Half Ticket
Tu Tu Hai Wahi:: Kishore Kumar & Asha Bholse:: I Love Rishi
Manzilein Apni Jagah Hain:: Kishore Kumar:: Bollywood Film Music
Dil Kya Kare:: Kishore Kumar:: Julie

Hay Re Pora Bashi:: Anuradha Paudwal:: Bengali
Chokhe Naame Brishti:: Asha Bhonsle:: Bengali
Sahasra jone prashna:: Bhupen Hazarika:: Bengali

Desert Heartbeat:: Zakir Hussain:: Music of The Desserts
Ho gaye teri Balle Balle:: Daler Mehndi:: Bhangra-Pop
Tunak Tunak Tun:: Daler Mehndi:: Bhangra-Pop

Main To Khelungi:: Bireshwar Gautam (Pandit):: Rangotsav
Ratwa Mein:: Bireshwar Gautam (Pandit):: Rangotsav (Hindustani Classical)

Pt. Bireshwar Gautam- He is a rare combination of being an ace Kathak dancer and an accomplished Thumri/ Dadra vocalist. Initiated by father late Shri Sailen Pal. Gurus- Smt. Bandana Sen, Late Pshri Pt. Gopi Krishna, Pshri Damayanti Joshi, & Shobha Gurtu.

Kissi Ke Mushkurhaton:: Mukesh:: Bollywood Film Music
Jis Gali Mein Tera:: Mukesh:: Bollywood Film Music

A Jibon Asha Bhalo:: Nochiketa:: Bengali
Banshuriya:: Suman Chottopadhyay:: Bengali

Malgudi Days Theme Music: Feeling nostalgic? Check this out ...

Black Beauty

There are some things in life that are hard to explain! Like- some unique people you meet or some unique experiences you have.

There was something about the postcard that my friend gifted me in the 5 or 6th grade- it touched me so much that I cannot forget that moment, even though I have long forgotten his name. To say the least, he was one of the craziest kid in the class; always ranking top on the principal's hit-list. We weren't best friends exactly, and the word 'enemy' didn't exist at that point in life.

But when he permanently left town giving me a very beautiful night-photograph of the 'Kaaba'-I was touched. For the first time in all those years I had known him, I felt closer. I don't know why he chose me to have the best card out of the whole pile he had; but I cherished it for years!

I am sure- that the slightly dog-eared card will still be sitting around in one of my treasure chests from those childhood days. I forgot his name, never kept track of him but have always remembered him whenever I saw a picture of the Kaaba. Hard to explain ... hmm? And I have never ever found another picture of the Kaaba that can beat that postcard!

Next week is Hajj- time for the annual pilgrimage to the Kaaba.

The Kaaba is a large masonry structure roughly the shape of a cube. (The name "Kaaba" comes from the Arabic word meaning cube). It is made of granite from the hills near Mecca. The structure is approximately 15 m (50 ft) high, 10 m (35 ft) wide, and 12 m (40 ft) long. It is covered by a black silk cloth decorated with gold-embroidered calligraphy. This cloth is known as the kiswah; it is replaced yearly.

The Qibla, for any point of reference on the Earth is the direction of the Kaaba. Muslims all over the world face this direction during their prayers. The global coordinates of the Kaaba are 21° 25′ 24″ N, 39° 49′ 24″ E. It should be noted that Muslims do not worship the Kaaba or its contents any more than Christians worship churches or crosses; the Kaaba is simply a focal point for prayer.

Excerpts from Wikipedia.com. Image courtesy: www.weltgebetsuhr.de/.../original/kaaba-02.html
Read more here ...

An unfortunate update: Thursday Jan 05, 2006. BBC report today.

Ode to the Chetak

Chunnu de munnu de papa di gaddi will soon be history ...

Bajaj Chetak- The reliable stallion of the middle class Indian family for the last 30 years is all set to retire. I was shocked to read this- 'Bajaj bids adieu to hamara Chetak' article this morning as I scanned the Times of India. Modern India has finally outgrown the utility of the omnipresent two-wheeler which till date has sold over 40 million pieces.

If the Indian middle-class man were to be reborn as a product, chances are it would be as the Bajaj scooter. Squat, a belly going to pot, wearing a grey safari suit, undist i n g u i s h e d but resourceful. With a wife perched uncomfortably at the back, Gudiya squeezed between the two and Cheeku standing up front. No product comes close to capturing the essence of middle-class India as well as the scooter. Ode to the vehicle that drove middle-class India 14 Feb 2005, Times of India. Read the complete article ...

The Boston Angle
Many many miles away from home, we hardly miss the taste of Indian culture here- every city has sprawling Indian strip malls hawking everything from Indian pots and pans to chaats and even paan. But, how can the tasveer (picture) ever be complete without a Bajaj Chetak (Aggie graduates '00-'03- see any connection)?

Check out a new Chetak today, call for color availability! Click here ...

Anyway, the point is ... wonder how fast is all this metamorphosis? All we can do is try to hold on to every shred of nostalgia as India turns over a new leaf every moment. Don't know why, I am suddenly humming to the tune of these words by Javed Akhtar:

Har Ghadi Badal Raha Hai Roop Zindagi
Chaav Hai Kahhi Hai Dhoop Zidnagi
Har Pal Yahan
Jee Bhar Jiyo Jo Hai Sama
Kal Ho Na Ho

Happy New Day!

2006 ... MMVI ... just rolled in ... nothing miraculously happened or changed as we sneaked into 06 from 05 ... it never does ... although for reasons better known to the Chinese they have already decided to call 2006 as the 'year of the dog'!

... yet as always, every new year brings with it so much joy ... so much hope ... this year wasn't any different ... although some of us have stopped going over the comedy of putting together a list of resolutions ... haven't we? Why suddenly decide to become a better individual just because we started adding an extra digit to the year? How different is any new day from the 1st of January?

So here's wishing all those bloggers out there a happy new day ... every day! Be happy and do the right thing!

Meanwhile, check out what the folks up North had been upto tonight? Click here ...