Chandi bar, dance bar, pauwa bar, hospital, burning ghat and the chicken stall - a post inspired by Opu's Tempting Conversations. Finally watched Chandi Bar. But this is not a review of the film. The reason for my post is about my experience in such a dance bar. Truly epiphanic and profound.
While on an office trip to Mumbai some friends invited me to accost them to a dance bar. For me it was a once in a lifetime thing. Whatever esoteric reasons I give, my intentions would obviously be questioned hence I will not make the effort. So we landed up in a bar called Talash in Bandra. I was told this was among the sophisticated ones that were around. We chose to go to the deluxe lounge and suddenly I found myself inside a D factory film.
Blaring music in a room completely mirrored on all sides. The floor littered with currencies and some waiters picking them up one by one. The clientele was varied. One could mistake it with any ordinary restaurant in Mumbai. From the typical district collector look to the variety D factory showcases - the underworld types, the Marwari/Sindhi business looks and ofcourse the khadi-kurta gandhi cap corporator look. In our little way we too were adding to the variety. It seemed the entire male diaspora of India was in full strength.
And then there were the women - of all kinds, of all ages, for all classes, for all tastes. There were the over the top aunties whose stock in the trade had diminished. And there were the upcoming stars to whom even someone as refined as me (am I not?? why cant refined men go to dance bars?) could easily take a liking. Unfortunately these types were much in demand. The Sindhi businessman types were taking the cake on the dint of money power. Whispering something to the girls they were plucking them from the dance floors and out of our sight.
The entertainment was simple. Racy hindi numbers blasting in full glory. The women dancing around each group of men. The game was about setting eye to eye contact with a customer and then the milking would commence. Every other time a waiter would be called by a willing goffer who would hand over a 100-500 currency to him. He would then return with bundles of 10 rupee denominations and toss around the chosen catch who would swirling around.
There was this nymphet who was incharge of our table. She tried her best to attract our attention with her facile moves and manoeuvres. But soon she realised the limitations. We were not to be milked. Her dancing became less facile and more inward. She now looked at the mirror and danced at herself. My folks took some drinks but I was unwilling to spend a penny. Later I took a Fanta at the astounding cost of Rs. 120 - my token of appreciation for the girl.
Initially when I decided to go the dance bar it was like going to the zoo - a human zoo. Living exhibits showcased - you pay you view. All of us are some kinds of voyeurs. My whole description of these dance bars might make the pseudo feminists (there are no feminists.. only the MCPs and the pseudo-feminists... the bra burner types.. ) squirm. The knives might be out. But the environment is as dehumanised as this.
For me the very existence of dance bars are a stark reminder of the realities of life. And Chandi Bar gave me a glimpse of the even starker behind-the-scene reality. Most of us have been brought up in a glass house environment. A middle class ethical family, a good schooling and a sacrificing set of parents. Slowly but surely we are repeating the act and creating our own sequel. We are rarely exposed to starkness - early in our life its our parents' protection and later its our own avoidance. Hence these kind of films or circumstances hit the gut.
The other day I was standing with June outside the chicken stall. A lady was giving me the looks (how can this fellow bring his 1 yr old to see all this.. should'nt infants be exposed to all kinds of niceties... the disney types, pink, light blue, flowers, polka dots etc..) I do agree that it was a pretty gory site for a 1yr old to partake. But doesnt June like chicken soup? Best part - June refused to come back. She had got an opportunity to see the colourful country chicken quacking and chirping beside the slain bland poultries.
But while I was inside the dance bar trying to avoid the gaze of the dancing girl the sensation was much akin to visiting a hospital or a burning ghat. All these places exposes stark facts of life - things that are inevitable and beyond control. It is a starkness we shouldnt mind. It helps us look inward. The world is God's idiot box. Remote in hand he surfs through all channels and laughs at us. What fools we are to take our roles so seriously sometimes.
The dance bars like the hospitals and burning ghats have a role in society. They are as much a basic necessity as the other two for social as well as economic reasons. As for the pseudo feminists there have films like "Oops" and the gay strippers. For once lets get out of the yin yan loop. There is everything for everyone. Live and let live.
Aug 31, 2005
Aug 24, 2005
The Power of Silence
There have been numerous ups and downs in both my personal and professional life. For someone as vivacious, animated and opinionated as me times can get very difficult both at home and at work. But as I am growing up along with June I am realizing the power of silence.
"Why does someone speak? Does anyone speak without an audience? If anybody is doing that he will labeled as senile or insane. Similarly why do people write? So that people may read. Its strange to me now but funny that I started my blog out of no reasons. I had little work because people gave as less work as possible lest I disturbed the applecart. I had lot of time in my hand.
Also it was a very significant period of my life. Sudeshna was pregnant and I was naturally overwhelmed with emotions. Then June was born and I shifted to Pune. Before I could cry halt I find myself in Bangalore and it hasnt got any less exciting or more foggy here.
I must not forget that there was no specific reasons for my blog and there cant be any. Just after those sundry comments I was busy trying to work up a response and think what should be my ideal next post. But three days and I could not figure out a word to write.
So Opu and sundry others I do agree. I must not get clouded by comments. That would color and even temper my thought process. It will impede me in my writing and I already know that... So thanks folks for bringing back on track......"
"Why does someone speak? Does anyone speak without an audience? If anybody is doing that he will labeled as senile or insane. Similarly why do people write? So that people may read. Its strange to me now but funny that I started my blog out of no reasons. I had little work because people gave as less work as possible lest I disturbed the applecart. I had lot of time in my hand.
Also it was a very significant period of my life. Sudeshna was pregnant and I was naturally overwhelmed with emotions. Then June was born and I shifted to Pune. Before I could cry halt I find myself in Bangalore and it hasnt got any less exciting or more foggy here.
I must not forget that there was no specific reasons for my blog and there cant be any. Just after those sundry comments I was busy trying to work up a response and think what should be my ideal next post. But three days and I could not figure out a word to write.
So Opu and sundry others I do agree. I must not get clouded by comments. That would color and even temper my thought process. It will impede me in my writing and I already know that... So thanks folks for bringing back on track......"
Aug 18, 2005
Smug with satisfaction
For two years since I started this blog I used to be smugly satisfied at the fact that I could finally write and let it all be up there. I was the writer and I, my own reader patting myself from time to time. And it all used to take me back to my college and university days (though I do not cherish this time too much).
But in Bangalore I have been witness to what true blogging is all about. For 6 long years I was away from my ilk (people who studied english with me - some out of chance and some by choice) and was caught amongst crap much away from the writing scene.. Often I feel a tard jealous at seeing a maximum of 4 comments in my 2 years of blogging. Unfortunately for me (though fortunately for others) there are very few who read my blog. Oh-god-who-am-I-writing-for-feeling never engulfed me till I saw blogs with comments galore. And today I was stuned to see 19 comments against Ms Bagchi's recent post. And then I came across Jabberwork and Samit Basu and I decided Rising was my last post..
I was low, I was sad. But just then I received a little one line mail from my dear sis-in-law. I am feeling happy again. I am up. I am alive. I am kicking and raring to go. I have a reason to continue. Its not about competition. Its about being there and letting be and letting others be... Am I going too overboard.. Sorry, excuse me.. But hold this was my zone.. And I can strut anyway I want...
If anyone out there is still reading this.. please continue further....
But in Bangalore I have been witness to what true blogging is all about. For 6 long years I was away from my ilk (people who studied english with me - some out of chance and some by choice) and was caught amongst crap much away from the writing scene.. Often I feel a tard jealous at seeing a maximum of 4 comments in my 2 years of blogging. Unfortunately for me (though fortunately for others) there are very few who read my blog. Oh-god-who-am-I-writing-for-feeling never engulfed me till I saw blogs with comments galore. And today I was stuned to see 19 comments against Ms Bagchi's recent post. And then I came across Jabberwork and Samit Basu and I decided Rising was my last post..
I was low, I was sad. But just then I received a little one line mail from my dear sis-in-law. I am feeling happy again. I am up. I am alive. I am kicking and raring to go. I have a reason to continue. Its not about competition. Its about being there and letting be and letting others be... Am I going too overboard.. Sorry, excuse me.. But hold this was my zone.. And I can strut anyway I want...
If anyone out there is still reading this.. please continue further....
| From: Sharmistha Gupta <sharmisthag@in.startv.com> To: kaushik <kaushiksom@gmail.com> Date: Aug 18, 2005 10:24 AM Subject: FW: the world is really small and this is why.......... u have to read this mail. its from my friend who is based in delhi. her name is kumkum. incidentally her husband's name is also kaushik |
Aug 17, 2005
Still Awaiting the Great Indian Epic
An objective review of Mangal Pandey is painful. For an Aamir fan, to look beyond the prism is but an ardous task. Four years is a long time. There was hype, there was Lagaan and there was Aamir himself. But there also was Ketan Mehta who of late has been stuck in a morass and then there was the tricky subject of a little known but much revered national hero.
If you forget the hype, forget Lagaan, forget Aamir's pedigree Mangal Pandey is a very good film. To be able to stitch together a story around Mangal Pandey about whom very little is known is in itself a commendable task. There was a certain humanising of a national hero which is rarely the hallmark of hindi films. We find the character so over hyped that they become too mythic to be true. Mangal's transformation from an average foot soldier who feeds from the British to one of the very first symbol of our Independence struggle is but sensitively handled. I found that to be the biggest strength of the film.
Then there was the performances of the two leading men Toby Stephens and Aamir Khan. This was the other good thing about the film. It did not allow itself to be Aamir centric. Yes, there were the jingoisms around Mangal but clearly he was not the end all and be all of the film. Its a trap on which many films have failed me before. The focus was not just on Mangal but also on a discerning British officer at pains with his circumstances.
Then there was the recreation of the period. In any period film this is but the biggest challenge. Time and again I have baulked at a village scene where all the villagers looked to be decked up in new clothes all the time. I admit at all times Mangal was not free from this defect but there were times where the period looked brilliantly recreated.
We have had the occasional Mughal-e-Azam or Mother India but no true great Indian epic. Lagaan and Sholay were magnificent films but none of them were epics. To weave an epic you not only need to tell a brilliant and mind boggling story but you also need to showcase it on an audacious and magnifcent scale. Besides, apart from quality an epic needs a whole of lot of quantity. Gandhi truly reached epic proportions. But we needed a Richard Attenborough to tell the story of the father of the nation. Even the prowess of Shyam Benegal and the rivetting story of Netaji (whose life reached epic proportions) could not give us an epic.
Mangal's story was against the backdrop of India's first war of Independence - an event which was epic in its proportions. The impact of it stretched across the span of the country and involved equally revered heroes like Tantia Tope, Bahadur Shah and Jhansi Rani. The film fails to recreate the magnitude of this happening. The war in Afghanistan, the arrival of the Rangoon regiment and events beyond Mangal's death cry of Hulla Bol all cried out for an epic treatment. The ingredients were all there but Mangal fails here. Unfortunately no Indian film maker has had the vision to create one. Some say Shekhar Kapur is making a film on Buddha. But his film will not be a truly Indian product.
So, overall did I like Mangal Pandey? Yes, I definitely liked Mangal Pandey. However I was left yearning for more. I wish there was no hype around it and we did not have to wait for 4 long years. That way I would not have had unreasonable expectations around it.
And would I recommend it? Yes I would definitely recommend it to all those who are not fed on false moustaches, starry histrionics, hammed speech delivery and the same old hairdo, people who go to theatres to watch a film for performances and not just the stars being themselves.
P.S. - Wondering why there was no word about Aamir's performance. One, I promised to be objective and two, watch out for my post titled Aamir, Mangal and Us
Another friend of mine has a brilliant take on the rising part of the Rising..
If you forget the hype, forget Lagaan, forget Aamir's pedigree Mangal Pandey is a very good film. To be able to stitch together a story around Mangal Pandey about whom very little is known is in itself a commendable task. There was a certain humanising of a national hero which is rarely the hallmark of hindi films. We find the character so over hyped that they become too mythic to be true. Mangal's transformation from an average foot soldier who feeds from the British to one of the very first symbol of our Independence struggle is but sensitively handled. I found that to be the biggest strength of the film.
Then there was the performances of the two leading men Toby Stephens and Aamir Khan. This was the other good thing about the film. It did not allow itself to be Aamir centric. Yes, there were the jingoisms around Mangal but clearly he was not the end all and be all of the film. Its a trap on which many films have failed me before. The focus was not just on Mangal but also on a discerning British officer at pains with his circumstances.
Then there was the recreation of the period. In any period film this is but the biggest challenge. Time and again I have baulked at a village scene where all the villagers looked to be decked up in new clothes all the time. I admit at all times Mangal was not free from this defect but there were times where the period looked brilliantly recreated.
We have had the occasional Mughal-e-Azam or Mother India but no true great Indian epic. Lagaan and Sholay were magnificent films but none of them were epics. To weave an epic you not only need to tell a brilliant and mind boggling story but you also need to showcase it on an audacious and magnifcent scale. Besides, apart from quality an epic needs a whole of lot of quantity. Gandhi truly reached epic proportions. But we needed a Richard Attenborough to tell the story of the father of the nation. Even the prowess of Shyam Benegal and the rivetting story of Netaji (whose life reached epic proportions) could not give us an epic.
Mangal's story was against the backdrop of India's first war of Independence - an event which was epic in its proportions. The impact of it stretched across the span of the country and involved equally revered heroes like Tantia Tope, Bahadur Shah and Jhansi Rani. The film fails to recreate the magnitude of this happening. The war in Afghanistan, the arrival of the Rangoon regiment and events beyond Mangal's death cry of Hulla Bol all cried out for an epic treatment. The ingredients were all there but Mangal fails here. Unfortunately no Indian film maker has had the vision to create one. Some say Shekhar Kapur is making a film on Buddha. But his film will not be a truly Indian product.
So, overall did I like Mangal Pandey? Yes, I definitely liked Mangal Pandey. However I was left yearning for more. I wish there was no hype around it and we did not have to wait for 4 long years. That way I would not have had unreasonable expectations around it.
And would I recommend it? Yes I would definitely recommend it to all those who are not fed on false moustaches, starry histrionics, hammed speech delivery and the same old hairdo, people who go to theatres to watch a film for performances and not just the stars being themselves.
P.S. - Wondering why there was no word about Aamir's performance. One, I promised to be objective and two, watch out for my post titled Aamir, Mangal and Us
Another friend of mine has a brilliant take on the rising part of the Rising..
Aug 3, 2005
The Divergence of Convergence
Some recents interactions with a couple of school chums has sparked this post.
If historians were to write the history of the world during our times what would they put as the defining moment or just how will they define it? I wish I could write a book now, on what might be written in 2040.
There have been so many occurences. The Y2K phenomena, the Iraq Wars, the Internet, Communism's replacement by religious fundamentalism (after Osama does anybody symbolises it more the George Bush - the messiah of the Christian Rights). Then there has been the simultaneous emergence of the world's two biggest nations. More recently the London blasts. Will UK have a more civic response than the nerve-stricken gun-totting Eastwoodian US? ...a nervous cowboy who has been scared to his balls and is now contemplating a response - the first thing he does is to light a cigarette but his hands are shaking and succeeds on the fifth or sixth attempt. He takes out his gun and kills the first person on sight.. he goes to check out the identity of the deadbody... who care, who dies... so long as someone dies in return of someone... US creates Osama and he turns against them, US creates Saddam and he turns against them.. some think it is madness, while some conpiracy theorists are out with their version, some say it is oil, some goes beyond that... but hey the reasons for my post was different. I am tempted to opinionate on each of the above mentioned episodes and I promise I will do so...why should I leave the opportunity of sticking my finger out. . but i have to get back...
There is a recent book called "The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century". I am yearning to read the same. From what little I have gathered it helps us "demystify this brave new world.......to make sense of the bewildering global scene".
We are lucky to be at the epicenter of the economic boom that has been experienced by the middle class in China and India. "Lucky" not for all the gadgets and gizmos that we can flex but for the excitement we face at each bends. Each one of us have seen drastic lifestyle changes (I still refuse to call them improvements) in our lifetime.
All this is attributed to technology convergence. Convergence is now a buzzword (there are others like Global Village, World Citizen etc.... what the #^&$& why cant I think of something more). However isnt it all leading to more and more divergence. To Converge is to "Be adjacent" or to "come together".
Sample this:
- Inspite of chat, email and mobile phone we are now further away from our parents than they were from theirs.
- I am more in touch with my friends in US, Singapore and Mumbai than with my two school chums in Bangalore.
- My next seat workmate instead of craning his neck and talking communicates by email which takes a circuitious route around the world to reach me 3-4 minutes later
As we acquire more and more knowledge (through the converged world) we develop stronger views. Hence both at work and at home I face arguments based on these diverse views. And I dont see anybody coming round and agreeing. Its fashionable first to disagree and then to force others to follow suit. Soon we we would all take over the nearby planets establish our settlements. And each of this takeover would be based on some sectarian issue or the other.
Are you guys getting it? Are my writing skills impeding what I am trying to mean? Fact is that I find most things so bloody obvious that I can rarely comprehend that others will not understand what I am trying to say. Words are failing me now. I cannot elucidate anymore or make it more comprehensible. Bear with me. Is this all sounding to gibberish?
I beg your pardon for this one moment...