Dor...

~ A few thoughts penned after watching Nagesh Kukunoor's new movie 'Dor'

Dor - a single rope of hope that ties the destinies of a hapless young widow and a never-say-"die" fearless widow-to-be.

The rope brings the cold mountain breezes and lush green valleys of Himachal Pradesh to meet the hot desert winds and dusty sands of Rajasthan. With this rope in your hands, you meet vagabonds on your way - strangers essentially good at heart, but who may dupe you for their own survival; and the bonding of the rope ensures that the vagabonds reach out to you in your moment of distress, thereby becoming your friends for life.

In one moment, this rope defines the boundaries of societal norms & customs that define your life; and yet in another moment, it also helps you climb over those tall orthodox walls then they question your very own existence. A solitary rope that can become the path towards freedom for a person, can also be equally effective as a noose for another - the person who holds this rope, has the right of choice between forgiveness and revenge, life and death, joy and sorrow, freedom and bondage - a right of choice that even angels would be envious of.

How this rope will change your destiny, depends on how strong you pull it, or how loose you keep it - this rope is as strong as your determination is, as flexible as your heart is, as resilient as your will power is, and as long as the reach of your friend's arms is.

That is what Dor means to me...

Chote-chote shehro mein..."Experiencing a coal mine"

~ A mail I sent in July last year to my friends from CTS, about my experiences of visiting a coal mine @ Gadarwara, MP.

Hi everyone,

Hope this mail finds all of u in the best of your health. Good to hear from Jesse, PT, Bhavin bhai & Amit.

Things are fine at my end as well. Here's an update from my side..

Last week for my current project, I visited a coal mine at Gadarwara (MP).. just came back today.. had quite an interesting time.. had never been to a coal mine before.. pehli baar pataa chala ki not all mines are underground.. this one was a surface mine.. chaaro taraf koyla hee koyla.. coal mining is quite a different operation from the usual mfg stuff... abhi tak, I have seen automobile mfg, boiler mfg, paint mfg factories... lekin mining is totally hatke (ne one interested can get the details on www.worldcoal.org ).. had the good fortune of watching the live "blasting" of coal using explosives, before it is extracted..

Talking abt Gadarwara - its a sleepy little town, lying between Itarsi & Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh - a 16-hour train journey from Mumbai.. was instantly reminded of the song "chote-chote shehron mein" from Bunty & Babli, as soon as we landed at the Gadarwara (pronounced as GaaDarWaaDaa) railway station..

The coal mine is located at some 25 km from the town.. so, it used to be a daily nice 30-40 min drive in a Mahindra Bolero - a panoramic view of lotsa birds of the feathered kind, sugarcane fields, lush green fields & signboards in Hindi "aage paath-shaala hai".. which really bring me to the usage of hindi in this part of india.. sample the new (or previously known but now forgotten) words used in day-to-day lingo: samay-saarini ( = "timetable" @ rlwy stn), nirgam ( ="exit" @ movie hall)..

watched 2 movies - B&B, Paheli in the "VIP" seats.. yeah, the movie hall "Alka" had 3 classes - stalls, balcony & VIP.. and u wont believe it, but there was actually a 3-wheeler tempo having 2 loudspeakers attached in front & back, playing the song "kajra re" & advertising for the movie B&B in the town - "Dekhiye, dekhiye, dekhiye - Amitabh, Aishwarya aur Abhishek ka dhamakedaar superhit gaana.. Bunty Aur Babli picture mein, aap hee ke theatre Alka mein"!

The best part was probably the food - b'fast was usually samosas, pohe, garma-garam jalebi, gulab-jamun (each of the size of a tennis ball).. lunch or dinner was roti/naan, with some paneer sabzi, daal, rice, dahi & salad.. had some really good desserts in the form of rabdi, jalebi and some good chaat as well... and if u really wanna hv some fun post dinner, try taking a tanga ride post-dinner ;-)

Life was a little different than usual.. considering tht u never got mobile range in the hotel room, but had to step out to the open chowk inside the hotel if u wanted to speak.. even at the mine, the range was available only at the top of a tower, of the coal washery.. also, one has to wait for almost 20-30 mins at a rlwy passing if a train is gonna cross ur road (or is it the other way round?).. ;-)

Getting an English newspaper was quite a Herculean task.. on Sunday, we managed to locate the local newspaper vendor, who had just 1 copy of Hindustan Times, which he let me read there itself saying "saabji, yeh kaapi to graahak ki hai.. ise hum bech nahin sakte".. on asking him why he doesnt stock any extra copies, he said "saab, poore shahar mein 20-25 copies hee bikti hain.. jyaada rakhne ki jarurat kya hai"... thankfully, managed to sell him tht last copy to myself.. n the excuse he intended to give to the "grahak" was "aaj kaapi nahin mili"

We went searching for an internet cafe to check the PNR status of our waitlisted return tickets only to find out that the cafe closes at 6pm.. then being reminded by one of the town folks tht we can get the status on our mobile phones itself!!

Next on the agenda is a visit to a place called Mithapur in Gujarat next week, where i'll be getting to see a metallurgical coke mfg plant.. hopefully, tht shud be an interesting experience as well (no worry - wudnt wanna bore u guys again) ;-)

Newys, abhi ke liye itnaa hee..
Ciao,
Ketan

Apni to paathshaala, masti ki paathshaala

~ A few words on the long weekend on Labor Day spent at Orlando-Myakka-St Petersburg in Florida. You can check the snaps in the folder "Orlando-Myakka" posted here.

Throw in a 5-setter nerve-wracking tennis match, the opening show of an absolutely hilarious Hindi movie, an exhilarating Lezim dance in front of Lord Ganpati, an adventure fueled canoeing experience in the midst of rains & alligators, a soothing dip in the Gulf of Mexico at one of Florida's sunny beaches and... AND do you really need anything more in life?

Last Thursday evening was a treat for all Andre Agassi fans as he battled hard against Marcos Baghdatis (incidentally both are my favorites, but I wanted Agassi to win this one badly). Ever since my childhood, I have always admired the then flying maned, to the now bald-headed Andre for the sheer joy he brings to the game of tennis. Initially attracted by his flamboyance in the early 90s - the fluoroscent cycling shorts worn inside the denim shorts, the brash arrogance in the eyes & demeanour - how can anyone not play Wimbledon because they enforce a white-only clothing; and fast forward to the mature, calm n composed Agassi of today who takes the customary bows on all 4 sides of the court - he has indeed metamorphised big way, yet has retained the same fighting spirit, probably much more than before, that helps him beat all odds.

I still remember the Agassi poster from Sportstar that I put on the wall in my room, with the caption "Eyes on the ball", showing him focusing intently on a ball to be hit. It was precisely this dedication & intensity that he brought to his game that helped him dig deep when he plummeted to #141 in the world, to rebound back to winning the Slams and achieve the Numero Uno position. Unlike the highly efficient, almost machine-like Pete Sampras who won a record 14 slams, ended n number of years as the world's # 1 player, and who ended his career with a US Open Grandslam win over Andre - Pete's was indeed the "perfect" career; Agassi battled longer, went through the ups & downs, overcame physical pain & cortisone shots to remind us that he is after all, as human as you or me who has his own shares of failures as much as the successes - and for that, he becomes much more inspirational for me than anyone else.

To see him win over Baghdatis was a sheer pleasure, and the best thing for me was that the last match I saw him play was the one in which he won even though he was the underdog!

Friday night was the occasion for watching the latest Bollywood blockbuster "Lage Raho Munnabhai". For those of you who havent seen a Hindi movie in recent times, havent laughed your heart out, are dying to watch a simple movie that touches your heart, and need a desperate "jadoo ki jhappi" - this movie is highly recommended.

On Saturday, the Maharashtra Mandal at Orlando had organised a cultural evening as part of the Ganeshotsav celebrations at the Hindu temple in Orlando. A palkhi procession of Lord Ganpati interspersed with song & dance performances by children, women and the men dancing Lezim was the highlight of this cultural evening. This was followed by Ganesh pooja by all children who received the pooja thaali (a very good initiative to apprise the toddlers of our age-old traditions n customs by the old-aged), on the stage and the aarati. It was truly heartening to see the 150-200 odd Marathi people from all 3 "Kal, Aaj aur Kal" generations come together to celebrate one of the most beloved festivals, and even more satisfying for me n my friends who enjoyed the modaks in the prasad, and the dinner that followed.

Sunday took us to the Myakka River State Park , one of Florida's oldest and largest state parks which is located around 70 miles south of Tampa. The state park offers you to go camping, biking, hiking, fishing, canoeing/kayaking, bird watching, et al. Reaching the park in the midst of a heavy downpour, we had to wait for the rains to subside. This provided ample time to have a nice chat with John, one of the state park personnel, who rents out the canoes.
"Aww, so you guys wanna canoe?"
- Yeah, we want to canoe. Can you tell us how deep is the water here? (2 of us cant swim)
"Well, it aint that deep, its not more than 6-7 feet in the middle of the lake. (Thats more than enough considering that none of us is 6-foot plus)
- What about the alligators? Any particular care that we should take while canoeing? What if they come near us? (Extremely valid concerns considering that yours truly was the only person who had canoed before, that too just once)
"Yeah, we have quite a few alligators - you gonna see plenty of them. But we have never had any alligator attacks ever. Well, if you guys are gonna fish, just be careful - those guys just wait for you to catch a fish n then catch the one you have caught on your line, even before you can pull it out of the water. Also, even these guys are otherwise afraid of humans, please dont feed them - coz if you feed them, they lose that fear, and associate you with food."
- Well, that doesnt sound very encouraging. But yeah, we can give it a try. Suppose something happens in the middle of the river?
"Hope nothing happens - but if it does - just call 911." (Turned out later that there's no cell coverage on the river - curse T-Mobile & Cingular)

As soon as it stopped raining, armed with the life jackets, we rowed out on the canoe, our hearts filled with expectations - will we see the alligators, what will happen if the canoe overturns - and what followed was testimony to the Alchemist's wise words - "if you want something badly, the whole universe conspires to help you achieve it."
As soon as we reached the middle of the river, it started rained heavily, and our canoe rocked against the big waves; one of us actually holding onto both sides of the canoe hoping that it would help the canoe not being overturned. We finally managed to calm ourselves by rowing perpendicular to the waves and towards the shore, and then realising that the shore isnt the best place everytime - the mosquitoes or the ant-flies on the shore ensured that we got back into the water within moments of us touching land.

A new direction, a new enthusiasm, a new found confidence in our rowing abilities - call it whatever you may - but we bumped into (not literally) another canoe whose inhabitants (is that the right word) pointed us the way yonder where they claimed to have seen 3 alligators! That was enough for us to start pushing in the said direction, and boy! Within a minute or so, we laid our eyes on one of the first 10 or 12 alligators we saw that day!
"Hey, hey - look to the left.. there's an alli there...
arey baba.. right mein dekho... that one is bigger..."
and all this while... we were just heading into probably the biggest of them - HEAD ON! The lazy fellow just opened one of its eyes while we were 6-8 ft away, and peacefully slid into the water below - the excitement was such that we actually forgot to shoot him on our digicams. But that was indeed a very close encounter.
Our confidence levels had increased multifold, and we actually tried to follow one of the big alligators who was swimming at a decent pace, but finally had to give up - these creatures are lazy, but believe me - if they want, they can swim at a nice pace. Which doesnt give you much chances whether you can swim or not. ;-)

Getting out of the water for the final time, we went on a couple of nature trails & a bird trail - catching glimpses of the wild life in the state park. A pair of deer stared at us as intently as we looked at them, which surprised me; was expecting them to look and run away. Then there were the couple of eagles who were proudly displaying their wings and posing happily for all the state park visitors. The vultures perched atop the leafless tree-tops were quite a sight with their black silhouettes set against the white/grey sky. The pearl white storks looked more attractive while trying to catch some fish in the muddy waters; was in fact amazed to see how they can still remain so white despite all the darkness & muddiness all around them.

Labor day Monday was a day for relaxation - a day reserved for the soothing waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Had never been to the beach at St Petersburg, and though it isnt exactly one of the best beaches I have ever been to, it was a decent place. The water increases in depth with the distance, and 50 metres from land, the depth reduces again to only waist-high - so you can swim your way there, and then stand in the water again. I did this exercise a couple of times by swimming back n forth, and then just stayed in the water close to the land, chatting with friends, and trying to absorb the refreshing sea breeze as much as I could.

Today, a week later, the long Labor Day weekend now appears quite short, and not long enough. Feel like wanting a little more of everything - a little more adventure, a few more rain drops, a few more alligators, a little more of canoeing, a few more 5-set tennis matches (sans Agassi tho' now), a little more of Munna bhai & Circuit, a few more miles of drive, a little more of the sea breeze, a few more swims, a few more steps of Lezim, a few more modaks - kya karein, yeh dil basically maange more!

But then, I know... I dont have to wait long.... there will be quite a few more coming my way soon, considering that
Apni to paathshaala, masti ki paathshaala!

Alvida Omkara?

It is not often that you get to see two Bollywood movies in a week, in the first week of their release and more specifically at the first day, first show! And especially when the two movies come from master story tellers (movie directors should really be good story tellers) like Vishal Bharadwaj & Karan Johar.

Having seen Maqbool which was VB's interpretation of Shakespeare's Macbeth, I had been really looking forward to watching "Omkara" - his rendition of another tragedy from the bard, viz. Othello. If you have never read Shakespeare like me, this piece of info will do no good - but if you watch the movies, you will agree that the bard indeed captures human emotions, human relations & human behaviour so beautifully that even four centuries later - one is amazed that at the core we humans havent changed much.

Watching Omkara made me ponder over a few Qs. What is it within us that makes us jealous or suspicious of our companions or our near n dear ones? Why does it drive us to a point of no return, when we repent our actions, our words? Can we attribute it to lack of trust? Then is trust more important an attribute than unconditionality when it comes to love? Maybe all of us demand unconditional love all the time, but what we really need is a love which we can trust.

Karan Johar's Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna on the other hand is a serious departure from his earlier flicks; a good sign since this time he attempts to be bold rather than telling his usual fairy tales that end with "... and they lived happily together ever after."

KANK is a reflection of changing times as we love to call them. Of times when married couples look beyond the boundaries set by society n tradition, n decide to cross those boundaries; of times when individual happiness becomes more important than societal or traditional norms. But then, have times really changed or have they been the same? Did infidelity never occur before KJ decided to sugarcoat it with his tag line "what happens if you meet your soulmate after marriage?"

Both movies seem to point out that trust & understanding are the prerequisites for a relationship to succeed. No wonder, in the near absence of these, you are reminded of Konkona Sen Sharma's words,

"Hasi badi mehengi ho jaave is duniya mein."

Les étrangers

Very often than not, you meet a few strangers in life - strangers with whom you may interact only once or twice in your life - but they leave an indelible impression on you. You end up not even knowing their names in most cases - but, it is either the way they talk, the specific words they use, their body language or simply something that you never realise, that characterises each of them them uniquely. As time passes, you may not remember them vividly, and all that remain are some cherishable memories that you fondly remember.

What follows is a description of a couple of such souls I met during my recent trip to India - souls who make your life interesting, and you thank them for being a part of your life...

The "Puneri" Karyalaya (wedding hall) Manager
It was a typical Marathi wedding setting at my hometown Pune. All people on the bride's side were standing in line at the gate of the wedding hall to welcome the junta on the groom's side. A lovely rangoli decorated with myriad colors & petals, and deeyas awaited eagerly the arrival of the groom. Being a monsoon month, the hall was covered with a mandap (cloth), almost 20 ft high. Thats when the wedding hall manager came along, dressed immaculately in a well-ironed shirt & trousers, giving his instructions to different people working at the wedding hall. As he turned his attention towards the gate, he looked at the rangoli, and then thundered at us -

"Please remove the deeyas as soon as the groom passes by. The entire mandap is completely made of cloth - so, please remove the deeyas immediately."

When he said this, we immediately looked at the handful of deeyas on the floor - sparkling little flames, fighting for their survival against the wind, some of them which had already given up; and then at the mandap ceiling, brightly coloured cloth staring back at us from a height of atleast 20-25 ft. We couldnt help but chuckle at the thought of the deeyas attempting to accomplish a feat similar to Birbal's khichadi. I then wondered if the Karyalaya Manager was Birbal himself, who had a strong conviction that the khichadi would definitely get cooked. The only difference in the conviction maybe was that the Birbal in the 16th century wanted the khichadi to get cooked, while our Birbal from the 21st century didnt really want the khichadi (mandap) to get cooked!

The ever-friendly Sardarji taxi driver in Mumbai
Having reached Dadar station from Pune by the Intercity Express, I was tugging my 2 bags in the direction of Swami Narayan temple where I was to meet a friend who was coming to pick me up. As always happens, a plethora of taxi drivers came running towards me as soon as I was out of the platoform.

"Saab, taxi chahiye kya?"
"Jaana kahaan hai?"
"Saab, idhar aao - taxi aap ke liye khadi hain"

While I was politely refusing the offers made by everyone, a Sardarji taxi driver approached me with a big smile on his face,

"Sir ji, taxi chaahiye?"
- "Nahin ji. Thank you."
"Kyon sir, kya hua?"
- "Mera ek dost aa raha hai."
"O ji! To hum kya dushman hai, hum dost nahin hai?" retorted the Sardarji with his smile changing to an uncontrollable laughter that had me also into splits!
-"Arey nahin ji, aap bhi hamare dost ho!" was all I could say!
"Bilkul ji! Jab bhi taxi ki jarurat ho, apne is dost ko pakka bulaa lo!" was the immediate response from the Sardarji.

His words & laughter still echo in my mind, and I know I have a friend for life to pick me up at Dadar station whenever I need.

A champion, a loser & a legend

"Veni, Vedi, Vici"

These were the only words used by Julius Caesar as the full text of his message to the Roman Senate to describe his victory over Pharnaces II of Pontus in the Battle of Zela in 47 BC. Caesar's terse remark -- it translates to "I came, I saw, I conquered" -- simultaneously proclaimed the totality of his victory and served to remind the senate of Caesar's military prowess.

Two millenia have passed, but the same 3 words could have been used by a certain Roger Federer as he won the men's final at the Nasdaq 100 Open, ATP Master Series tournament at Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida on April 2, 2006 AD.

Federer, a 7-time Grandslam champion, is on a roll -- last year, he faced the Spanish matador, Rafael Nadal in the final at Nasdaq 100 Open -- winning it in 5 sets after being 2 sets and a break down in the 3rd set, and thus recording his first & only victory over Nadal.

This year, the finalist on the other side of the net was not Nadal, but Ivan Ljubicic, the gigantic Croat with a big serve and an even bigger heart. Matching Federer point for point, serve for serve - he made Fedex sweat for victory under the scorching sun. If Federer broke him, he would break Federer in the next match to level the match again.

The last point could well summarise the match - Federer's return just dropping off the net on the other side, and Ljubicic could do nothing else but just resign himself to his fate.

And fate is indeed cruel on the loser - while Federer basked in the glory of his victory - with cameramen running around him, and Mary Joe trying to get the victor's words - Ljubicic sat in his chair by the court - alone, no one bothering to look at him.

All the match statistics - be it # of points, winners, aces, unforced errors, double-faults, or even the final scoreline (7/6, 7/6, 7/6) - he had matched Federer in each of these... or almost. It is that thin line; it is those moments that matter the most (read the tie-break points) - when Fedex takes his game to another level, or simply to another planet when no meek Earthling can dare to challenge him, or even touch him. Another story that Rafael Nadal, is one fellow who comes from yet another planet and does not feel subdued at all when he faces Federer, especially on clay.

All said & done, Key Biscayne-Miami is Federer's favorite hunting ground - winning the Masters title for 2 consecutive years now.

The women's doubles final featured the 49-year young Martina Navratilova - a living legend attempting to win a record 175th career title in doubles. All other 3 players on the court were atleast 20 years younger to her in terms of age, but she more than overcame that difference in age with her zeal & never-say-die attitude. Her reflexes and fitness level are indeed inspiring. It certainly was not her day, but even in her acceptance speech as the runner-up, Ms Navratilova effused so much politeness in congratulating the winner, that you really feel elated to have watched the legend.

If life were to be defined in terms of a mathematical function, it would certainly have been sinusidal - the real challenge lies in adjusting our sails to the ever changing amplitude & frequency of this sine wave. And there are champions like Federer who adjust their sails such that for them the crests are longer; there are losers like Ljubicic who are just unfortunate that the wind doesnt favor them; and legends like Navratilova for whom, the sheer pleasure of riding the wave is more delightful than anything else.

~A few words on the experience of watching the men's singles & women's doubles final at the Nasdaq 100 ATP Tennis Masters Series tournament at Key Biscayne, Miami in April 2006

My first trip to New York

What if someone you never met, someone you never saw, someone you never knew was the only someone for you?
~ tagline of the movie "Sleepless in Seattle"

The human heart lives on hope. And that is probably what took me to the top of the Empire State Building in New York, secretly hoping to meet that "someone". She could have been Meg Ryan or Deborah Kerr, waiting for Tom Hanks or Cary Grant or maybe myself to come & meet her!

And thats when you realise - movies are nothing but illusion, they sell dreams. There was no Meg or Deborah - but the experience atop the Empire State building is one of the cherished treasures of life.



The setting was picture perfect - dusk had set in; the colors of twilight had painted the sky in different hues of orange, red & blue - and these merged beautifully with the tall Manhattan skyline that stood dwarfed from the 86th storey of the Empire State. The cold wind blowing in your face, and everyone rushing around you to click snaps with their beloveds made you look around for that "someone" special. Only to smile, and look into the sky and catch that glimmer of hope in the form of the fire burning in the torch of the hand of the Statue of Liberty.


Last weekend was my first visit to the city referred to as the Big Apple - made memorable undoubtedly by visits to the typical places of tourist pilgrimage - the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State building and Times Square. The city is to the US, what Mumbai is to India probably. It urges you to dream, dream BIG - it has its glamour & glitz, its own style & substance; its people rushing around on streets & metros; working hard to achieve their dreams; a city like no other city; a city that never sleeps.

Luckily for me, February is that time of the year, which despite being cold, is a good time to go skiing - something that I had never done before. A trip to a ski resort at Belleayre, 120 miles north of NYC, was therefore a mandatory item on the things-to-do list of an NY trip. Fortunately or unfortunately, skiing made way for snowboarding - which turned out to be real fun. Strapping both legs onto a snowboard, we bent our knees, and pushed hard on our toes or heels, coming down on the "bunny slopes" (easy slopes meant for kids or beginners) - falling hard onto the snow everytime when the speed became uncontrollable. No bones broken and tons of laughter & fun for us , coupled with some mesmerising 360-degree turns and other breathtaking stunts by our snowboarding tutor literally provided the icing on the cake of this snowboarding sojourn.

An NY trip cannot be complete without a visit to the Indian street at Journal Square in Jersey City - the whole street is lined up with Indian restaurants and shops for groceries, clothes, mithai, and even a paan-shop! The food is deliciously lip smacking, the language is Gujju by default and the rule of the thumb states that you can cross the street without even bothering to look at any of the cars plying on it, just like you can do in any of the crowded market streets back home. The Indianness is not limited only to this street, but you will find scores of Indians wherever you move around in NY - I met & spoke with a jolly good Sardarji on 34th street below the Empire State - whom I didnt even know! Or the Gujju boy who runs a Dunkin Donuts counter at Newark airport where I used Hindi to order a muffin & hot chocolate...

As our plane rose over Newark airport, I looked out of the window, and located the Statue of Liberty that appeared as tiny green speck with a small orange flame in its torch; the magnificent Empire State building standing out of the rest of the crowd with its red & blue colors display; remembered the tiny snow flakes @ Belleayre that disappeared on my palms as soon as they landed there... and wondered would I ever find that "someone"...

Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories... And we've already missed the spring!
~ Cary Grant in "An Affair To Remember"