Celebrity lookalike

Today afternoon around 12:00PM, South End Circle.

So, I am sitting on my friend's scooter (picture me in - Blue jeans, black t-shirt, dark blue baseball cap and dark goggles) in the blazing sun, waiting for my friend to come back from the bank on the other side of the road.
A smart young fellow walks up to me smiling and extends his hand with a lot of familiarity.
He : "Hello sir, how're you?"
Me : smiling and shaking his hand - "Hello, I am fine, thanks. I don't want to embarrass you but I don't believe we've met"
He : "Yes sir, we haven't met but I've seen you many times... you're an actor"
Me : "I was, a long time ago, in plays no one watched and even then it was much before you'd have started watching plays"
He : "Oh, you look very similar to a TV and movie actor... no problems, bye sir"
Me : "Thanks. Bye"

Now, I need to find who this TV and movie actor who resembles me, so that he can act as me in the biopic they're sure to make once I am famous, rich and dead.

UN vote on Sri Lanka

Am I the only one worried about how widespread the support is for a terrorist organization which killed hundreds of thousands of their own people including leaders of their own / similar organisations that differed in approach, forced children to fight a war against civilians, attacked Indian army and killed an Indian prime minister? How brazenly the organizations crimes are being whitewashed by the govt and it's allies just to stay in power is an indicator of the abysmal depths of depravity 'democratically' elected leaders will plumb just so that they can loot and fatten their own bank balances. If anything, Karunanidhi, Vaiko and other supporters of LTTE should have been arrested for waging a war against India. Instead, they are being pampered.
IF there is any honesty left, the UN resolution supported by India should also include a demand for the war crimes and genocide committed by LTTE to be thoroughly inquired into. Sri Lanka should pay the price for what it did, but absolving LTTE and whitewashing their crimes without an enquiry is abetting a crime.

Warsi Brothers Concert

The concert by Warsi Brothers starting with 'man kunto maula' and ending with 'mast kalandar', two and half hours later, was spellbinding and goose-pimple inducing, as usual. Never a dull moment, the connect with the audience was instantaneous from the word go. Their choice of songs, the singing, the pauses, the elucidation of tougher concepts was perfect. Two and a half hours of soul stirring music - it was as if all the metaphors in those compositions, the bar man, the wine, the cup, the friend and lover and the supreme being had all somehow become real, binding all audience into a unity, that was felt not just inside the auditorium during the performance but outside it too. The performers and the audience merged as one in total submission to the lyrics, rhythm, melody and devotion.

As I got out of the gate towards my bike, I saw an elderly muslim man, a religious man as I could make out from the ghatta on his forehead from regular namaaz, with long beard and skull cap, limping with the help of a Lofstrand crutch. He stopped beside a scooter parked a few feet away from my bike. Took off the crutch and slid it into some kind of a holding contraption made for it. As I got to my bike, there was eye contact. I held it for a moment, his eyes were shining with delight and you could sense the joy in his whole body. I gave a tiny nod and a smile. He grinned widely, the joy finally bursting through.

He: "mast kalandar! My favorite since I was a kid. I stayed back through the program only for it"

Me: "I understand, it is a song one never gets tired of"

He: "I have heard so many qawwals, but these guys are special"

Me: "umm, yes, this is my 3rd concert of Warsi Brothers, I agree"

Then suddenly he changes to Kannada, his pronunciation immaculate:

He : "ಉತ್ತರ ಭಾರತದವರಿಗೆ, ಅದರಲ್ಲೂ ಪಂಜಾಬ್ ಕಡೆಯವರಿಗೆ ಮಸ್ತ್ ಕಲಂದರ್ ಭಾರಿ ಪ್ರೀತಿ, ಅವರು ಎರಡೂ ಕೈಯೆತ್ತಿ ಭುಜ ಕುಣಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು  ಡ್ಯಾನ್ಸೇ ಶುರು ಮಾಡಿಬಿಡ್ತಾರೆ" demonstrates the typical Punjabi 'balle balle' move ("North Indians, especially from Punjab love 'mast kalandar', they will start dancing, lifting up their arms and moving their shoulders")

Me: "ಹೌದು" (true)

He: "ನಾನು ಚಿಕ್ಕವನಾಗಿದ್ದಾಗ ಕುಣೀತಿದ್ದೆ, ಈಗ ಅರವತ್ತೈದು ವಯಸ್ಸಾಯಿತು ಆಗಲ್ಲ." Points to his right leg ("I also used to dance when I was younger, no more, I am sixty five years old now")

Me: smiling, as if to console him "ನನಗೆ ಕುಣೀಬೇಕು ಅಂತ ಅನ್ಸಿದ್ರೂ ಕುಣಿಯಕ್ಕೆ ಬರಲ್ಲ" ("I don't know how to, even if I want to")

He has taken off the stand of the scooter and reversing it. I ask him if I should take the bike down from the footpath because it is at an awkward angle and there is a board behind him, blocking visibility of the road. He says thanks, I'll manage. I watch him till he is on to the road and starts the scooter. He gives me another broad smile and a nod and he is off.

I am sure he would have sung that song till he reached home and fell asleep.

I am still singing 'man kunto maula'.

PS: Before you ask me, yes, I missed Norah Jones concert and attended this instead. And, no, I don't, won't ever, regret it.

Cry me a river

A few years ago, I lost my sister. Of all the reasons in the world, because of childbirth and it's aftermath. Sepsis set in after delivery and then developed into a full blown multiple-organ failure. She was on ventilator and couldn't talk, but she was able to communicate for about 4 days when she was still in ICU. She would scribble on the notebook with a pencil asking how her daughter, my niece, was. Then came the convulsions and she was put on life support for 2 days. A week after delivering the most beautiful girl, my sister was gone. Eleven months later, my mother too passed on to the great beyond. I was sad then. Depressed even. I grieved for them in my own way and thought I had moved on. This year in March, my father passed away. I grieved for him in my own way and thought I had moved on.
I've always treated girls/ladies/women with respect and as my equals. I have fought with male classmates (and supposedly close friends) who made lewd or derogatory comments on girls. In fact, when a couple of them did not mend their ways even after a couple of warnings, slapped them and have stopped talking to them for all these years since then, not even acknowledging their presence, though they were my bus mates for years. I consciously avoid the company of men who talk about women behind their backs. Apart from the occasional grievance about my allegedly bohemian lifestyle (being my own boss instead of getting a steady job, not marrying and settling down, taking off wherever I please whenever I please, generally irresponsible towards myself) I have not caused any grief knowingly to my aunts,  cousins and female friends because of my attitude towards women. My mother (god bless her soul, for, she was a woman of complete faith) taught me valuable lessons on treating women with respect. My sister's only complaint about me was that I wasn't giving her advice on what she wanted to do. I always maintained that she had to think through her decisions and make them and if they go wrong, we will back her, no matter what. My mother or father never ever asked why I am friends with so many girls, nor did they ever ask my sister why she was friends with so many boys. My sister was allowed to stay in the University Hostel at Manasagangotri even as many people raised eyebrows at such freedom being given to her. Many days, her classmates, boys and girls (from MSc at Manasagangotri, Mysore), have come spent the nights at my place and enjoyed the awesome hospitality of my mother. Except for the occasional fight and accusation of discrimination when we felt one of us got more sweets or savouries, there was never a thought that we were different, one a boy and one a girl. In fact, in all respects, she was one up on me - she could draw/sketch and painted, I can't. She studied well, stood first and got scholarships, I was usually scraping through or failing and always having to pay my fees. She could act decisively on personal issues; I can't decide what's good for me even now. She even died first, though she was younger than me, I am still around.

Last evening, a friend dropped in at 6:00PM and asked me to join him for a movie. After we came home, I diligently checked the hospital update on this stranger, a girl of 23, who was raped and brutally mutilated in Delhi, as I have been doing for the last 10 days. When I read the latest report suggesting brain injury, the sequence of my sister's deteriorating health updates came rushing up. I told him it's just a matter of days if not hours till we get the news that she's dead. I wish I had not said that. I feel my one single negative thought cancelled out all those positive thoughts countrywide.

Ever since I read the news today morning around 8:30 or so, I'm having the longest crying spell of my life. I've washed my face so many times. Tried reading. Watching movies on TV. Soothing music. Nothing is working. It's just a stream of tears and sobs. I have been hiding under the pretence of having a massive cold and a sleepless night as excuses for a heavy voice (on phone, with a friend) and red, puffy eyes, when the cook asked me what was wrong.

I never had a reason to feel guilty or hopeless or empty. Now, I am feeling guilty, ashamed, hopeless, empty. Feelings I've never ever experienced before. Despair even, unthinkable, just last night. Truly alone. Thus I am broken, because a stranger died today.

If this is what happens when a stranger dies, imagine what that girl's family must be going through. After all these days of efforts, hope and prayers. I hope there's peace somewhere for them. I hope their grief ends with this. I hope they don't have to cry when strangers die. And I hope no more strangers die this way - being raped and killed, hurt and suffering. 

I will never forget this stranger, for whom I cry a river.

Skyfall, a review

Ian Fleming's haiku "You only live twice. Once when you are born. And once when you look death in the face." is perfect in the case of 'Skyfall'. 

The 23rd official Bond franchise is by far the best in content and execution. The story is simple and personal. No typical Bond villain and organization in the SMERSH, SPECTRE or Quantum mould. The movie has tons of action. It mines the relationships between Bond and M (superb Judi Dench) and more importantly between the villain Silva and M. M is simply M, the only authority figure Bond respects. M is mum for Silva, a renegade MI6 operative who believes M betrayed him (of course, she did) and M is Emma to Kincaid, the old gamekeeper at Skyfall. That's three aspects of M in one movie.

It goes back to James Bond's roots, to Skyfall. It is about doing things the old fashioned way because high technology doesn't always allow you to look at shadows where lurk the dangers. This is a recurrent theme through this movie hence there is no over dependence on gadgets. Bond's use of an old fashioned straight razor to shave is acknowledged by Eve (the field name of Moneypenny) as better, setting the tone for a return of the classic Aston Martin DB5. Shotguns and hunting knives become the trusted weaponry while fighting sub machine guns and grenades.

In an extended opening sequence which lasts about 12 minutes we get adrenaline pumping, heart thumping edge of the seat action and a glimpse into the character of M which sets the context of this movie. The bikes racing on the Grand Bazaar's rooftops is brilliantly done as is the fight sequence on the train. Commander Bond is presumed dead in a scene reminiscent of Sherlock's fall into Reichenbach. Adele's 'Skyfall' theme song is lush and gorgeous, a great background and teaser for the events about to unfold. As I said earlier, the story is simple and personal. The agenda for the villain Silva (played deftly and with usual panache by Javier Bardem) is simple - discredit M, get her thrown out of MI6 and kill her. Kill anyone else who tries to stop him from killing M. Silva has no intention to aquire nuclear warheads and blackmail world leaders for money, no setting off World War III, no other intention at all.

The plan is put into action with the stealing of a list of all embedded secret agents in all terrorist organizations and expose them. Five per week. This sets off a chain of events in the MI6 starting with an inquiry in to M's decisions and the way she is running Ops at MI6. Bond returns to England because as M says "we are under attack and you know we need you". Bond sets off trying to locate the killer who is working for the team which stole the confidential information, is eventually captured, turns the situation into an opportunity and arrests Silva, the mastermind. The high technology of MI6 and Q's ingenuity is turned on it's head and inwards to destroy the networks, steal information and help Silva escape. 

Knowing that Silva will not stop without killing M and not trusting that London could be safe, Bond takes M into hiding at his ancestral house in Scotland - Skyfall. We meet Kincaid (Albert Finney), the old gamekeeper of Skyfall when James Bond was a kid. We get to know that since James Bond was presumed dead, Skyfall and it's whole armory has been sold, except a hunting gun of Bond's father. Bond has to now save M by trusting only his improvisation and survival skills when the breadcrumbs Q deliberately throws Silva's way to lead him to Skyfall.

The return to roots and old fashioned ways has done wonders to this movie's treatment. Sam Mendes has pulled off a fantastic winner. Daniel Craig is awesome and Javier Bardem is phenomenal. Ralph Fiennes as Mallory is superbly cast. So, what we have is an ensemble cast delivering their best performances, stunning locales, superbly executed stunts. Typical Bond staples of witty repartees loaded with innuendoes, sultry; sexy Bond girls are present while inventive gadgetry, hot-toys-for-boys aka exploding pens/watches are out. New trend is lots of product placements (some people are offended that they show Bond drinking Heineken beer, but given the context of how and when it is done, those people should not be offended. After all, once Bond is back in action, he does drink his Vodka Martini, shaken, not stirred). A definite plus is the reinvented, refurbished and reintroduced characters of Q (Ben Whishaw of the 'Perfume' fame) and Moneypenny (an absolutely stunning Noamie Harris).

Skyfall is James Bond resurrected. You must watch it, for old times sake.

Santana, Bangalore concert, Oct 26, 2012

Oh, how we have longed to see him perform live in Bangalore and how it all came together! Ever since I watched the movie 'Woodstock' when I was about 14 or 15 (and can you believe it in the touring talkies / cinema tent, which was behind my house in BSK III Stage!), I have been a fan of all the bands which performed there. I had heard some of their music on the old faithful Murphy radio before, during my all night 'studying' sessions, it did not have the same impact as watching them perform on the big screen. Suddenly my perception of CSN, The Who, Hendrix, Joplin, Ten Year After, Canned Heat, Joe Cocker, Joan Baez and Richie Havens changed from "artistes-I've-heard" to "artistes-I-need-to-follow-more-of". And I discovered a new artiste, Santana that day and subsequently I watched this movie three more days, back to back to soak in it, never imagining that I could watch it again a few years later or even listening to the music. Remember these were the 80's, no CD, no DVD, no MP3s. There were people still using Spools, LPs, EPs and tapes. Some rich buggers owned smuggled VCPs and VCRs and watching rented video tapes on these were strictly limited to Saturday afternoons and Sundays. 

Around '90, I bought some pirated Billboard/PMT tapes of Santana, I remember 'Freedom' was the first album I bought, this had some super tracks, 'Mandela', 'Once it's gotcha' 'Deeper, Dig Deeper' 'Veracruz', a variant of 'Sweet Home Chicago' but an entirely different feel altogether. I was a convert to the Latin rhythm infused rock beats and the stunning guitar work. I had always wanted to watch Santana perform live, at least once.

On October 26th, 2012, that desire was fulfilled. And what an inspired performance it was! The usual suspects who accompany me for the concerts were all missing, either out of town because of the long holiday season or stuck with unforeseen circumstances and couldn't make it. I was resigned to riding the long distance to the venue alone. And suddenly around 1:30PM a high school classmate called me asking if I am going to the concert. It was a pleasant surprise for me. Eventually we decided to go together since he also stayed near my place. It was a good thing too for the venue is too far. The venue is a new place in Bangalore. Located way outside the city, it is called 'Bhartiya City'. This is supposed to be the alternative to the more accessible Palace Grounds. Cribbing about the distance apart, this place was neatly organized with food stalls and rock merchandise and of course there was a bar to quench your thirst (they even gave one free shot of Vladivar Vodka). The tickets priced at Rs. 2750/- was well worth it for the music. The timing mentioned on the ticket, as usual was stupid. Gates open at 3:00PM! Performances started only at 6:00PM. When Indus Creed opened the show at 6:00PM, the crowd wasn't much. But slowly by 7:00PM the arena filled up.

Indus Creed rocked and did their job of getting the audience pumped up with a superb set of about 45 mins. The highlight for me was their performance of 'Bulletproof' which was outstanding, they played mostly from their new album 'Evolve'. And, of course, there was 'Pretty Child' because everyone seemed to want it.

Santana started at around 7:00PM and it was pure brilliance. The fantastic backing band consisted of - Dennis Chambers on drums, Raul Rekow on Congas and percussions, Karl Perazzo on percussions, Benny Rietveld on Bass, David Mathwes on keyboards, Tommy Anthony on guitar, Tony Lindsay and Andy Vargas on vocals and assorted percussion instruments, Bill Ortiz on trumpet and Jeff Cressman on trombone.
The high energy performance was packed with superb chemistry between the artistes. The show was kicked off with an awesome "(Da Le) Yaleo". Then came "Love Is You Love Is Me", "Black Magic Woman", which I recorded very poorly on my mobile phone, I wish I had a better camera on the phone. And by the time it segued into "Gypsy Queen" the bloody battery was dead. "Oye Como Va" was superb. "Maria Maria" followed by a fantastic rendering of "Foo Foo" between which Tony Lindsay asked the audience to swing more saying 'should I ask you in Hindi?' 

"Corazon Espinado", "Jingo", "Samba Pa Ti", "Batuka / No one to depend on" were fascinating. "Everybody's everything" was great. "Se a Cabo" was the platform for Santana's wife Cyndi Blackman's drumming. She replaced Dennis Chambers on one track, sparred with Benny on bass for some time before taking off on a solid drum solo. That was her only part in the concert. But it was a funny interlude as Santana asked her to show off her shoes, which were high heels. Santana said she should've been wearing tennis shoes to play drums, instead, she is wearing high heels imitating 'Prince'. Then he asked Karl Perazzo to make the Prince sound to which Karl promptly let out a shriek, which according to Santana was Michael Jackson and Karl got it right the second time.

"Europa (Earth's Cry, Heaven's Smile)" followed by "Evil Ways" and "A love supreme". Introducing 'A Love Supreme' Santana said what they are saying is no different from what others like Lennon with Imagine, The Beatles with 'All you need is love', 'Rastaman' Bob Marley with 'One love' and John Coltrane with 'A Love Supreme'. In between Santana spoke of the universal message of light and love. 

"Smooth" segued into "Dame Tu Amor" and the artistes were off after taking a bow. The usual ritual of the crowd chanting "we want more" went on for a couple of mins before Santana and team came back for the encore. "Soul Sacrifice / Bridegroom", "Into the Night" and finally a fantastic "Toussaint L 'Overture" which also had samples of "While my guitar gently weeps".
The usual Louis Armstrong number " What a Wonderful World" was the perfect end to the evening.

Thank you Santana for coming over and giving us a fantastic experience.

PM's remark on RTI v/s Right to Privacy

Hmmm... Politicians should have NO right to privacy. They should be stripped naked, prodded and poked in all their orifices to check what they are hiding and If there is a technology to make their bodies completely transparent, it should be done. Transmitters should be embedded into their bodies. Every phone call should be public, every love letter they write to their mistresses should be public, every whisper recorded, every breath counted and kept record of. Cameras should be installed in every corner of their houses, every visitor's detail noted down. Every paise they own should be nationalised. In short, every politician should be public property like an electric pole or Govt. office wall, for any man or their dogs to piss on.
We don't need lessons on privacy from some robot without any sense of shame or morals.

WRT this article : Need fine balance between RTI and right to privacy: PM