Chaitra – The Advent of Life
September 1, 2008 | Filed Under Theatre & Movies | 5 Comments
Happened to see a play today. It was called Chaitra. My first play in Pune. It was performed by students of National Center of Performing Arts in association with National School of drama. The play was directed by Mohit Takalkar. It was announced that he was leaving for London soon to work with the Royal Shakespeare Theatre for a few months. I hope he comes back, he is an amazing talent and theatre in India needs him. The two plays (his) that I have seen and he has directed seem to be inspired by the theatre of the absurd. Waiting for Godot by Beckett is the best example of such plays.
Chaitra is based on Tagore’s lyrical play and has sufi touches to it. Needless to say I thoroughly enjoyed it.
It was performed in two acts. One act was in the lobby and the second was in the theatre. The play was being shown inside Pune University at an auditorium called Namdeo Sabhagriha. The theatre was packed on both days and it just tells how beautiful an audience Pune has. Pune is probably culturally at par with Calcutta. Both the cities have an intellectual audience and love art. I am glad to be in this city.
In the first act I particularly liked the character of Kavi Rakhshasi Bhushan, played by a girl, playing man in a moustache, who for her dimunitive frame had a great throw of voice. In fact most of the students showed talent and the play was entertaining as well as thought provoking – like theatre of the absurd should be. Great team effort and it’s an absolute must watch.
Earlier in the day, I woke up from my afternoon siesta because of a loud bang. It almost felt like a bomb had exploded. But it was probably a cloud burst. Pune had heavy rainfall in the evening. I had bicycled to the auditorium. Oh! yes I have bought a bicycle 
. On the way back, I had to bicycle back in the rain.
As I was bicycling down a gentle slope of the university campus on a dark road with lots of rain splashin on my face, I wondered if that was what happiness in its purest form was. I was smiling and breathing through my mouth. Chaitra, which means Spring seemed to have paid a personal visit to me in another form.
I Am the Walrus
August 30, 2008 | Filed Under Point of View, beatles, confessions, life's answers | 5 Comments
When we woke up in the early 1950s we had a dream. A dream of shaping India into a beautiful country once again. But when we focus on trying to make it better, we forget about the demons that we house.
We did most things right but we ignored the demons. The demons came back strongly and today we are back in turmoil. We have constantly been manipulated by political parties for THEIR power struggle. What is it about wanting to rule the country that makes them do vicious things? What have they become?
Gandhi failed to see these demons. It was probably his biggest failure. Even Batman of Dark Knight failed to see these demons.
These demons build in a false sense of patriotism within us. This patriotism is sometimes of the country and sometimes of religion. They look into history books and pick out topics and point to us about some gross injustice that has happened ages ago. We can’t then think. Our sanity is lost and we are ready to die or kill. They have been extremely successful over the years.
Every day we build relationships, with friends and people around us. So much of effort goes in making this relationship happy and meaningful. You begin to start accepting the culture differences, in fact even valuing them. The foods they cook, the clothes they wear. The add so much value. But then we forget all that… as soon as an old grave is dug out. We become monsters.
Are we just trying to be politically correct then. Do we still feel that it is ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ and the twain shall never meet? Are we just tolerating each other?
India as a democracy let’s you think and practice what you want to. But why does a rightist philosophy have to mean that we only care about people of our religion? Isn’t Hinduism or Islam in its truest principle as socialist as it can get? Why do the communist parties believe that if we don’t all progress together we must not progress at all. A lazy communist and a religious fanatic are almost in the same league I would say. It’s just a question of which side of the river they are born on.
And yet, today… there are many people amongst us who see these demons. Who fight them everyday. It’s a silent revolution of sorts. Their numbers are not very large and their thoughts and ideas are too simple for people to take seriously. They do not carry flags or have agendas. They do not sport beards or rudrakshs, or even if they do, it does not characterize them. The change they are looking to bring will not happen overnight, it might not happen ever. They may get disillusioned and retract in their shell. They are after all humans. Yes they are humans and they never forget that.
I was talking earlier about ‘Us’ & ‘Them’ thing. A very interesting incident happened to me recently. I was in a rickshaw. And the rickshaw driver was wearing a skull cap, it was easy to say he was muslim. Though there was no way for him to know I was one too. I stirred up a conversation with him and asked him if there was something like the Mohammedali road food extravanza that happens during Ramzan in Pune, during Ramzan. He started telling me about where I would get these things. And then guilelessly he said that there you will find more people like ‘you’ than people like ‘us’. It was fun to talk to another muslim like i was a hindu. We still had great conversation.
I have never been a Hindu or a Muslim in the sense the world views them. But I am both. I am also a socialist. I love the agnostics and even the antheists. Communism has its own charm for me. And it should be noted that being Muslim, I have subscribed to everyone from Adam to Noah to Moses to Jesus to Mohammed. Of course I am an Indian, a Maharashtrian, a Bombaiya, a Punekar. I can go on for days not eating onion, garlic, potato, or killing cockroaches. I am complete believer of peace and non-violence.
I do not believe these are exclusive clubs. For me everyone is ‘Us’ but strangely the way life has played out, most people will categorize me as ‘Them’. Not everyone though.
Here’s something interesting -
From wikipedia – Lennon composed this song by combining three songs he had been working on. When he learned that a teacher at his old primary school was having his students analyse Beatles’ lyrics, he added a verse of nonsense words.
If the teacher comes to me, I will be able to tell him what the song exactly means. Here’s a snippet from the lyrics….
I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together.
…….I am the eggman, they are the eggmen.
I am the walrus, goo goo g’joob.
No Flag Will be Hoisted Here
August 14, 2008 | Filed Under Point of View | 2 Comments
On the eve of 62nd year of Independence, I have only one thought -
How did we manage to screw up Kashmir so badly?
We time and again let ourselves be manipulated by political honchos. I cannot help but think that we are in the hands of mafia and not leaders. It’s a Black Day for me.
We cannot have the gall to celebrate it.
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Thanks bluesprite for pointing out the mistake.