charukesi August 28th, 2007
Another blog anniversary came and went - this blog completed four yesterday - what a great time this has been - for me, kind peoples, not you. Thank you, everyone I have met on this blog - the nice ones, the very nice ones and even the nasty ones. To think, but for this blog, I would never have heard of blogger meets. Or now get to hear of what happened in the last one.
charukesi August 24th, 2007
We have finally started watching the Jeeves and Wooster DVD set I bought recently. My husband and I have read each of the books so many times that it is great fun knowing what line is to come next - the anticipation and then the pure pleasure of hearing it said in those rich English tones.
As difficult as it is to recreate the magic that surrounds Wodehouse language, the series has managed it considerably. This is what I found on the P.G.Wodehouse books website - In 1989 Stephen Fry & Hugh Laurie were approached about playing Jeeves & Bertie Wooster in the first television adaptation of PG Wodehouse for over twenty years. They were initially unconvinced about taking on the characters However after seeing the quality of the scripts they agreed.
Hugh Laurie is just perfect as Wooster - he is my idea of Bertie - bumbling and clueless. Stephen Fry as Jeeves, while is superb, is taking a bit of getting used to. For one, I had always pictured Jeeves as older, much older than Bertie. I have no idea why. And then, there is that smug look on Fry-Jeeves’ face that I cannot digest - Jeeves does not smile that way, if Jeeves if feeling smug (as he no doubt does all the time, what with Bertie’s negligible intellect, I am sure he does not show it that way.
We were watching “Gussie presents the prizes” last night (one of my absolute favorite pieces from PG) - and in the first scene, As Gussie steps out of the cab, my husband and I both identified him correctly. And then at Brinkley Manor, Madeline Basset was just perfect, soppy and treacly as ever. However, a different Madeline Basset in the other episodes, nowhere near Wodehouse’s Basset - none of the soupiness.
And I immediately thought of Amisha Patel - my perfect Madeline - from whose lips ‘don’t you think stars are god’s daisy chains‘ would not sound terribly preposterous. Or even every time a fairy sneezes,a wee baby is born (which as we well know, is not the case). And from there to wondering who the other characters (from Indian TV / cinema) would be was for me but a morning’s job - the closest I could come to Wooster was Ritesh Deshmukh (yes, I know, it was a pleasant though not very fruitful morning I spent on this) - so who will your Wooster be? and Jeeves?
charukesi August 24th, 2007
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Krish Ashok’s post Priestly Matters - it clearly touches a chord in many of us, going by the number and content of the comments on that post. I personally sat through my Tambram wedding, too dazed by the circus, while my husband was even more dazed due to the fact that he spoke nor understood a word of Tamil then. Meaningless rituals, mispronounced Sanskrit, I agree but here is the thing. These rituals were all formulated at a time when child marriage was the norm - and given the social conditions prevailing then, I think they made immense sense.
To begin with, the Hindu (Tamil) marriage ceremony is full of games - I can imagine a small girl crying and refusing to walk up to her future husband for the maalai ceremony - and quietening down when her uncles carry her on their shoulders - even enjoying it when there is a tug-and-pull during the actual exchange of garlands. And hey, some fun for the boy too - send him off on kashi yatra - he is after all, at an age when he ought to be studying - and lure him back with the promise of a beautiful young girl. the maalai, the oonjal, fun and games during the nalangu. And I do not think the other ceremonies like the kanyadanam and Saptapadi were originally mean to be anti-woman or anything like that - the bride is a little girl and has been protected and sheltered so far - and now her husband (and his family) have taken over the role of her protectors and providers - and friends.
It is interesting that the Saptapadi mantras talk about companionship and friendship - “Ye who have walked with me, become my companion, whereby I acquire your friendship. We shall remain together – Inseparable. Let us make a vow together. We shall love, share the same food, share our strengths, the same tastes. We shall be of one mind. We shall observe the vows together. I shall be the Sama and you the Rig. I shall be the upper world and you the earth. I shall be the sukhilam and you the holder. Together we shall live, beget children and other riches. Come thou, o sweet worded girl.”
And all this hoopla about the sister-in-law - the naathanar - someone told me this - when the young bride enter her husband’s home, her sister in law is possibly the closest in age to her - she rarely sees her husband during the day, and as for the mother in law, oh never mind. And at a time when widowhood was possibly the worst thing to happen to a woman, I do not blame her parents for praying for her sumangali status.
And thus I can ramble on. But the point is this - I think the rituals were designed to provide entertainment and satisfaction for all - certainly the young kids being wedded, and the families too. These, remember, were times when the boy and girl were actually that - not twentieth century, mid-thirties, been-too-busy-to-wed-earlier-since-studying-and-earning-USD “boys” and “girls”. They have not only lost meaning in today’s context, but somewhere down the centuries, been twisted to suit an increasingly misogynist society. Feel free to blame it on Manu and friends. (A commenter on Krish Ashok’s post does say this - A rough analogy would be to skim through, say, the Manusmrti like a novel, look for the contentious bits, take it out of context and say that Manu was sexist and racist - but sorry, all I have read of Manu has so far shown only that side of him - if there is more, I would appreciate you telling me about it)
Rituals out of context are meaningless - can we question them, examine them, reformulate them - to make some meaning out of the original thoughts behind them? To begin with, get your priest to explain the meaning behind the mantras? I laud the way Krish Ashok’s sentiments- My point was that tradition and ritual need to be relevant and cognizant of changing social mores. Yes, yes.
charukesi August 17th, 2007
Patriotism takes on a different dimension in small town India - while we jaded urbanites sigh in delight over a midweek holiday (or if lucky, the prospect of a long weekend), real India brings out the tricolor and all the colors of patriotism. My fondest memory is of an Independence day procession on the road, early morning, in a village en route Mangalore from Bangalore, a hundred tiny tots moving their hands up and down, fists closed, in rehearsed frenzy, shouting Van-de Mata-lam,. And a tiny tot Bharat Mata in the middle of the group, trying to wave with one hand and trying to hold the escaping white-with-orange-border sari with the other. Loved it.
This is from Hampi, where I saw young India celebrate Independence day this year in many many ways :
Independence day at the local school
The colors of freedom
Patriotism written all over the face
Flag-waving future generations
Keeping the tricolor flying
charukesi August 14th, 2007
I walked into the Lalbagh Horticultural Trade Show today - also deceptively called the Lalbagh Flower Show. And walkedout in twenty minutes. For a few disoriented minutes, I believed I was back at Dadar station, the way I got pushed and elbowed, except I heard lots of Telugu around me (not Kannada, not Tamil) and not Marathi. I saw stalls for everything from Cockroach Vanishors and Nature Earth Aroma Products and Milk and Milky Products to Aquaguard Water Purifiers. I got pushed along to an enclosure where I finally spotted flowers but they were, sit down while you read this - in the shape of Taj Mahal. And atleast a hundred couples jostling to get themselves photographed in front of it. Just imagine this (no, no photo) - an emaciated Taj Mahal (must be all the fertilizers finally), the upper dome made almost entirely of red flowers, gleaming copper dome right on top. More stalls selling mirchi bhajji, mineral water, tea and coffee, samosa and pakoda, bonsai plants and seeds, flower pots and fertilizers. But where were the fresh flowers, I say?
Anyway, here is what I managed to salvage out of the twenty minutes I spent in there…
My bubbling model…
Some sunshine and cheer in all the crowd…
Someone with a better idea than mine…
Twins at Lalbagh
charukesi August 13th, 2007
Software to ease divorce pains, says this article on Smart Mobs - i read through it looking for signs of irony but no, this is serious. (The researchers’) divorce software is designed to handle negotiations. ‘Family Winner’ and ‘Family Mediator’ mix ‘artificial intelligence, game theory and an electronic or human external mediator to help divorcing couples settle their disputes in a fair and rational manner.’
Well, I did find some irony - I don’t know whether it was intended - the post is filed under ‘Technologies of Cooperation’ - why the divorce at all then?
charukesi August 10th, 2007
[Continued from an earlier post - let me count the ways…]
Atmosphere - that is the word that describes Crystal - the tiny place is thick with that elusive quality called atmosphere. Not to be confused with that other abused word ambience.
If Crystal had a cool ad agency to create a positioning statement for them, it would surely be No frills, only food. And you would be surprised how many people in Bombay buy into that statement. It is not about cheap food - although that mattered a lot in the days when IO first got introduced to Crystal and the ecosystem around it - the coconut vendor on one side - healthy non-alcoholic aperitif (if there is such a thing), the paanwala on the other - is there anything to beat the joy of a post prandial paan? It is about good food. Make that very good food.
Waiting for the food
Crystal is one of the few places I have known in Bombay where it is possible to get light and fluffy phulkas in place of the chewy maida dripping-with-oil-passed-off-as-butter naan. And it is the only place where I have known a waiter to snatch a roti midway between your greedy hand and hungry mouth - you look up with all intention of glaring at him and he says - yeh thanda ho gaya hai - yeh le lo - garam hai. You look at the smile peeping out from somewhere behind the mustache and meekly want to say ji, uncleji but the smell of the garam roti has worked its way into your brain and all you can do is pick it up and eat it before it disappears into a cold trail again. Crystal is also where old friends of the owner drop in just to chat with him as he sits behind the old fashioned counter near the steps, and waiters knows their regular customers by name and perhaps even food preference.
Over-the-counter gossip
That blur is the waiter hurry by - that is their usual speed
The exteriors and interiors of the restaurant do nothing to inspire confidence in the newbie. But I have been eating there since the time I first moved to Bombay ten years ago. And I love everything about the place, even the things that would make me recoil in horror anywhere else - the white plastic chairs, the crumbling walls, high ceiling fans, corner sink. My husband and I have fixed favorites from the menu; aloo jeera, baingan bharta, paneer bhurji, yellow dal, phulkas - and we usually end up ordering two or more of these each time we go there (which I regret to say, is very very infrequently).
Greed and gluttony at Crystal
The painless bill
The food is surprisingly light on the tummy and as I have said before, the wallet. Last night, we were with a friend and ended up ordering all of these. And ended up paying a grand sum of Rs.157 at the end of the meal. Then there is the kheer for those with a sweet tooth, served in quaint steel cups; it is an absolute must except when you are feeling particularly guilty nd decide to skip dessert. Or decide that a short brisk walk is in order and head to Bachelors’ along the road for a fresh fruit juice, or if you can convince yourself that you have digested the food by then, fresh mango with ice cream.
charukesi August 8th, 2007
Shubhangi here writes about Japanese pop-culture and the concept of Kawaii - Kawaii means cute and cute seems to be the all pervading trend in Japan.
She adds - The most popular fallout of Kawaii – the ‘Hello Kitty’ motif, adorns lunch boxes, clothes, office stationary, even kitchen appliances. Pink is the favorite color and several corporates have build multi million yen empires fuelling the Kawaii trend.
There is clearly more to pink than meets the eye. Further in the insightful post, she discussed what “cute and pink” means in the language of gender relations. If pink stands for girl power in Japan, I read that in Thailand, Bad cops to wear pink ‘Hello Kitty’ armbands - that is how female pink is.
“(Hello) Kitty is a cute icon for young girls. It’s not something macho police officers want covering their biceps,” Col. Pongpat Chayaphan tells the Associated Press. He says anyone who litters, arrives late or parks illegally will be subject to the unorthodox punishment.
charukesi August 7th, 2007
Mine is fursat ke raat din.Describes the mood of the moment perfectly.
Baithe rahen, tasavvurey, jaana kiye huey…
What’s yours?
charukesi August 6th, 2007
I caught the ads for Zapak mail for the first time the other day at a theatre in Vashi. I also found posters in the loo - just above the pot - quick downloads, in bold type, with two block arrows pointing down. Made me pause - and smile - I remember not being very impressed the last time I saw an ad inside the theatre loo. The ad campaign as a whole - what I have seen of the tvc and posters - built on the theme of fast, quick is very entertaining - and interesting use of media.
[Images: agencyfaqs]
But. Two things.
How relevant is quick as a proposition in emails now - is that not the least one expects from en email provider? Rediffmail said quick some years ago - and rediff was quick - compared to other email services at that time. But now, is quick enough - how does it make your service different from any other? And more importantly, if you have a bad internet connection, like say, sify as I used to, how quick is quick?
The other and larger question is, why has zapak suddenly shifted focus to email from gaming? After splashing hoardings across the city with Salman Khan saying inscrutable things, they have suddenly gone quiet on the gaming side of the business - which is their mainstay. This again made sense during the initial dotcom boom - offer email to attract visitors to the site and so on (rediff and indya and suchlike) but now? Why does it seem to me that zapak is trying to live in the past.
I do not understand this whole strategy in the first place - why an email service at all for a gaming business? If the idea is to attract a bunch of adolescents, then what is to say that email will do that better than gaming? And who else will this attract - apart from those with a mental age of 14 - I mean, come on, imagine an email id @zapak.com… why would anyone want it? (The only reason I can think of is to get the user name you want - which you probably cannot find on yahoo and gmail - but I cannot honestly imagine 14 year olds wanting their own name as their user name when there are a million weird handles out there)
gmail gave me all I wanted in an email but did not know who to ask - viz. storage space and more importantly, a series of email exchanges on one page - email as conversation, if you will. I am curious - what can a new email service offer customers? Is there anything that you have wished for and never found in any other service? Reliance has a lot of money - I am sure they have some long term strategy in place, the way the younger brother is pouring money into this venture. But what that is, eludes me for the moment.