Best of 2008....

It started like a pleasant dream in my eyes and ended even before I could feel fully awake. 2008 was more than I could have ever hoped for. It was a collection of wonderful moments...some of which will be remembered for a long time. The year will be forgotten but experiences will linger and slowly become a part of me. I thought of listing some of those here:

Top 2008 Experiences:

1) Taking off! Sitting in an airplane for the first time...
2) Walking in boulevards of Stockholm, getting lost there admiring colours of fall and being on my own...ahh
3) Clicking pictures with my Sony Cybershot
4) TSJ Convocation
5) Re-union with friends from Ahmedabad and trip to Ludhiyana
6) Seeing mom getting her first book published
7) Looking pretty at a certain office-party...hehe
8) Unexpected shift in job
9) Discovering that I am not such a bad dancer after all
10) Abstract conversations
Good Books I read in 2008:

a) Memoirs of a Geisha
b) Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl
c) Kahlil Gibran
d) A Bridge Across Forever
e) Jonathan Livingstone Seagull


Good Movies I watched in 2008:

i) The Fountain
ii) Rock On
iii) Final Destination I, II, III
iv) Dostana
v) Mona Lisa Smile
vi) Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na
vii) Madagascar

Shall add some more...Eagerly waiting for many more beautiful moments to paint my 2009 with brighter colours....Happy 2009 n Happy Living!

Bikhre Bimb (Shattered Images)

I have always told myself that it is easy to confront anyone in this world but your own reflection you see in mirror everyday.

What do you do when that image of yours questions you on things you have no answers for? You feel guilty...and there is so much anger in your eyes that the mirror breaks and you see yourself shattered like those broken pieces.

Now, picture such a situation written by playwright Girish Karnad. In 'Bikhre Bimb', Karnad sharply deals with conflict between one self and one's alter ego. It also talks about inexplicable relationship among other things. Since the play is one-act, its impact depends a lot on its actors. I gather that the original play (in Kannada, directed by Kanad himself)was staged by Arundhati Nag alone. I saw Sushma Seth and Rashmi Vaidyalingam performing under the direction of Rajinder Nath at IHC last week.

I haven't seen either of them on stage before. While Seth is a favourite (I guess from Hum Log days), I was more than impressed by Vaidyalingam's performance. She was flawless with her expressions and her voice was just like I hear myself when I do something wrong!

The story is essentially about an English professor, Manjula Nayak, who writes short-stories in Kannada. However, she finds sudden international fame when she writes a novel in English. The critics back home, however, are not pleased as they feel she has deserted Kannada.

A TV channel airs a telefilm based on her novel and invites her for a brief address. Manjula takes this as an opportunity to answer the critics and reveal that she took an inspiration from the life of her paralyzed younger sister, Manini, who passes away a couple of weeks before the novel is published.

After the emotional and powerful speech, just when a 'content' Manjula is about to leave studio, her inner soul affronts her. And then we witness a parley between Majula and her image which brings out true character of the protagonist as well as others involved.

I love the way Manjula, in her dialogue talks about the 'emotional affair' her husband had with Manini, who lived with them. It becomes very interesting when Manjula (and along with her the audience) realizes who had the last laugh after all.


Do watch it whenever it is in your city next.

The Mumbai I Know

I met Mumbai in September last year for a very brief time. About a week. I admired her from the very moment I saw her. It was 6:15 am when my eyes were still drowsy. But there she was - bubbly, zesty, vivacious...so full of life. It would be an interesting tryst, I was sure right then. I couldn't have been wrong. I am yet to meet to someone who'd have disliked her after being with her for sometime.
I decided there itself that I'll call her 'she'. She has to be a woman to be so nurturing and giving. Plus she is so beautiful and charming. But 'vulnerable'? That is not a trait I associated with her then. I still don't. Perhaps they did. Surprised how her charisma did not lure them.


I had work in the building exactly opposite the VT station. And wasn't I as fascinated to see VT as Bollywood shows people, with big dreams who come to Mumbai, are? More than fascinated, I'd say. Several movies would be made now, featuring the station albeit in a different light.
The memory of a couple of hours I spent in Leopold Cafe is quite crisp in my heart. It was my friend, a former Mumbaiker's suggestion to go there. "Your trip would not be complete unless you go there. You have to see it to believe it," were somewhat her words. And I couldn't thank her enough. Though I do not generally like noisy places, this space was different. "The music here is very loud usually," shouted my friend. I could barely hear her. I get shivers thinking that a year later, one night the silence would more deafening than the music they usually play.
Gateway of India is a few steps away. It was about 11 pm and we walked. I can still feel the mischief in air saying that it was about to bring some shower. The monument, I must say, looked very graceful that rainy night. And then I saw another iconic building - The Taj Mahal Hotel. As I write, I can just think of a white building with red top and rising black smoke...
So I just close my eyes and think about the beauty I have great admiration for. And I see... the promenade beside the majestic Queen's Necklace (or Marine Drive), my guest house at NepeanSea Road, Bhel Puri at Chowpatty, talkative waves at Worli, rocks at Bandra beach, cheerful people enjoying Jumbo King vada pav, bargaining for a trendy t-shirt at Fashion Street...I see a modest Haji Ali standing beautifully in Worli waters, some immodest people pushing you in Zaveri Bazaar and a crowd dancing away to glory in lighted streets (celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi)...Her beauty is apparent in everything she is made of.

I wonder if little Moshe Holtzberg would ever think of her like that.