The World Through A Looking Glass - R. K Laxman Cartoons

The Best Plays In Mumbai...

1. Tajamahal Ka Tender

A beautiful play which is very relevant and satirical in its context, a complete entertainer which is very thought provoking at the same time.
This play exposes the underbelly of the babu culture prevalent in government offices.
I love this play, because a play doesnt need to be penned by G.B Shaw, for it to be classy it should just connect with the audience - You relate with the characters that are being played out there, with every word being spoken you understand the apathy which is being pointed out and the every bit of relevance it has. I think this is one play which could go to any Indian city and play to packed houses as it does not need a very well-heeled audience to connect with it and that is, I think this play's greatest strength
Also if the meaning of art is to describe the milieu then this is it, its very Indian in its context, meaning and relevance comprising a multitude of characters in their diversity and outlandishness.
(Photo from IPTA Site)




2. Dastangoi
Razm, Bazm, Tilism aur Aiyyari (Battle, Romance, Enchantment, Black Magic) iss duniya se aapko rubaru karate huye, Dastango Mahmood Farooqui, Danish Hussain, aur Naserrudin Shah. Dastangoyon ki yeh khassiyat hai ki woh apne tasavuur se kahani ko badhate chadhate sunane walon ke saamne Amir Hamza ke kisse kaarnaame pesh kiya karte hain.
Is kahani ke hamare hero Amar Aiyaar aur villain Afrasiaab hain,ek hamari kahani ke Gabbar Singh aur doosre hamare Pran hain.:P kahani main hain ek mahal jis ke upar sipahi ek doosre se lad rahe hote hain, aur jinka khoon neeche neher main behta hai, aur wahin ussi imarat se doosri taraf jata hua ek pul bhi hai jo us mahal ke pehle maale main rehne wali behad khoobsurat, shehzadi ki wajah se pul-e-shahzadi kehlata hai.
(of course not exact but a glimpse of how characters and motifs and described and link to one another in the past tense)
Dastangoi ki kahaniyan aapas main lipati huyi behad rochak aur tilismi hain, shayad agar aap Urdu samajhte hon to aapka kahani dekhne ka maza diguna tiguna ho jaaye.
Jo Dastan maine prithvi main dekhi thi usmain ek rochak baat thi, aur woh yeh ki usmain brij bhaasha ka prayog bhi kiya gaya tha.
Bhasha ek aisi cheez hai jo aapko swachand ghuma sakti hai, vicharon ke saath, aur Dastangoi ki kalpanik Duniya se aap ko thoda saa andaz ho payega ki ek apni shaili main mahir dastango kisi tilismi jaadugar se kam nahin.

(Photo from Dastangoi.bogspot.com)




3. Katha Collage - 1
Sankraman
If something were to rip you away from where you were and transport you into another world.You are standing as a witness to a family and the various opinions,eccentricities of the family members ,you hear jibes and complaints.
I think at one point I was tugging at my hair because I was so engrossed and troubled by the old man(played by Naseeruddin Shah) who just went on and on complaining, by the end of it ,it was the most uplifting as well as enchanting experience as you could feel pain and you were mesmerized because you could realize a play had transported you so far, unimaginably beautiful. This was without question the most superlative performance I have ever witnessed in terms of direction and cast.
Shatranj Ke Khiladi
If music could transport the setting then Vishal Bharadwaj's music for Shatranj Ke Khiladi did.At one point a melodious voice speaking of fame, luxury and indulgence, in the marching of the soldiers - a heralder of doom and what an apt cast!! There is a certain cuteness in Manoj Pahwa possibly which is why which is easier to relate to simpler times which were, when the East India company annexed Lucknow. Om and Manoj Pahwa a stellar cast.
Bade Bhai Saheb
One would always remember an older sibling with the special look that they reserve for their younger siblings, to show once in a while who is the boss in the house, Jameel Khan was that older brother- giving his big brother looks that at certain times make you feel you want to run:D. The essence of the story of Bade BhaiSaheb is of a younger brother feeling scared and playing truant. He is trying to act bold and oversmart but is still cowed down by his older brother, how I wish Imaad Shah hadnt tried to act. Its the most natural role one could ever hope for and I so wish he were able to speak the language from the heart, speak with the same naughtiness and intent that the author had in his mind when he wrote--
"Mere Bade BhaiSaheb mujh se umar main paanch saal bade the par keval 3 darje aage....".
But all in all a spectacular performance. The most amazing aspect of theatre is that an actor has an audience at his whim and fancy and he can dictate how they feel. So so amazing, it really needs to be felt and experienced.

Photos from the tribune




Tumhari Amrita

A life well loved and a life well lived. An extremely passionate and romantic play and the mere props in the play are words :D.Two people sitting apart reading letters to each other and that constitutes all the emotions and all the turmoil that are their's to reach.
Zulfi falls in love with Amrita when she is six or seven and declares his love and tells her that she was looking like a princess. Amrita playful, naughty and a wild child sends him various drawings to decode (in childhoood)and remains an enigma(throughout, as an adult) forever difficult for him to reach. There is a certain tempestuosness that is part of Amrita ,an impatience to reach out to the world and a lot of hurt that is bottled inside and gives rise to her caustic speeches which cause so much concern to Zulfi. Zulfi forever the ideal son, the ocean into which the river will fall ,forever hers to know, forever hers to seek.
I like this play, I like challenging boundaries, and I admire the depth that has been potrayed in the play, by two people who are destined to be apart but are always within each other's reach. The world will never know or understand what was their's to share.
Photo from Hindu.com


Ismat Apa Ke Naam

Ismat Chugtai must have been a very very controversial author else I can hardly imagine my father stopping me from reading her.I am hardly stopped from reading anything at all, Beherhaal this post is about the play Ismat Apa ke Naam presented by Motley. I think I would put Katha Collage(for Sankaraman) over this play but it was overall a good experience. I think Heeba Shah put a lot of soul in the story 'Chui Muee' I really liked her presentation.
You can like Ratna Pathak generally but you love her when she is sarcastic :D and am really really glad I got to see her in this play; with a very droll face she can make the stingest sharpest rebuke at a society and time that is unflinching in allowing the 'zid' of a 'Mughal Baccha' to prevail and that story obviously does throw a big question mark at the indulgent atitude the society has towards its male population.
Naseeruddin Shah comes up with a delightful comic caper in 'Gharwali'.I do not think there will be any other play in which lust is so funnily and openly potrayed. Unabashedly looking at one very important aspect that constitutes the relationship of a man and a woman. It bring to the fore the jealousy of the lover, the ego of the husband, the possesiveness that drives him insane, his struggle with his various emotions as he tries to avoid her and control himself. Again an important question here is, the position of a woman as a wife does it change? is she supposed to be more submissive in accepting her husband's faults and is she supposed to toe the line carrying high the mantle of goodness? Luckily enough for the audience Lajjo isnt accustomed to anything such, she openly uses her logic that mocks the standards of the society and goes about being her usual happy - go - lucky self.
The stories were poignant thougtful and very well narrated, it takes a lot of skill to narrate a story and with the minimal use of props manage to hold their attention. The lighting in the plays was amazing, and the stage was taken up by the actors. Immensely skillful performances, all in all a very good play.

Photos from google images :D hindu.com

The Monsoon is here



The Battle in the heavens





The seed of life




My favorite painter Nicolas Roerich, I love his expression with colors. I first saw his paintings in Trivandrum Chitra Kala Art Gallery and just wanted to stand and stare. They are not detailed but very vivid and I find them gorgeous.

PS-Mohit and me sat on the beach and watched a wonderful sunset in Marine Drive.The other pics are from the train when I last came back from home.

Some Other Random

Memories from Yesterday

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.