16 December 2008

Christmas in good ol' Cal

Nearly a fortnight is left before we can wish each other a 'Merry Christmas', but my mind is already there, in good ol' Cal - conjuring up images of a brightly lit Park Street and Park Circus, the grand midnight mass at St. Paul's Cathedral, an effervescent Flurys and Nahoums selling its delectable fare, and a colourful New Market where frantic last-minute shopping for christmas trees, stuffed Santas and colourful confetti is on for the big day.
Its been over 6 years since I have been in the city for Christmas; and this time around, when I am keenly hoping to be there, the very thought of it makes my heart skip. For those who are not from Kolkata, its a feeling hard to come by and even fathom. Christmas in Kolkata, during a pleasant December end, is "different", charming and cheerful. Those fond memories kept crawling back every year...this year I will be there to relive them once more!

10 December 2008

Music, books and love…in a time of recession

The other day, while speaking to a friend, I learned, how the present economic slowdown has affected our lives in more ways than one…Apart from the financial crunch which we all seem to be struggling with i.e eating-out less, cutting down on movies as well as the habitual splurges - here’s what a few of my friends/acquaintances, who have either received the dreaded pink slip, or are sitting idle in office are up to these days.

Vikram – is learning photography and writing more.

Ritika – is detoxing somewhere near the turquoise shores of Thailand. Her new found interests post-the job loss, includes, yoga and reading books on spirituality.

Varun – has found “true love”…(wonder whether the girl shares the same sentiment though??)

Atul – is helping his wife with cooking these days…(my thumbs-up for that!!!)

Prachi – is seriously contemplating taking up music, her first love, as a full-time career option.

***All names have been changed to protect privacy of the individuals.

08 December 2008

It’s Cheers to the Bengali sondesh now…

The Bengali’s love for the venerable sweetmeat or ‘mishti’, as Bengalis call it, is as feted as is his intellectual fervour. Everytime I have returned from Kolkata, a bagful of mishtidoi (sweet curd), rasgolla, or sondesh (of different shapes and sizes) have been stuffed into malleable polythenes, each to be handed later to my many non-bengali and Bengali friends/colleagues residing in Delhi. Often the sweetmeats would dissapear within minutes of the boxes being opened – with my hungry friends hankering for more…and complaining simultaneously that the quantity was too less!!

The other day, while rummaging through the newspaper, I read that a well-known Bengali confectioner had introduced what he termed as the “Rum-Sondesh”, i.e sondesh laden with rum…. Now, I don’t know how many of my friends have already read that news piece…. but I can well imagine what my bagful of sweets would weigh on my next return from Kolkata!

P: S - In an unfamiliar little lane near Russel Street, in Kolkata, you can also find ‘rum-phuchka’ that’s nothing but delicious pani-puri served with rum instead of tamarind water...'Rum'-pum-pum...I can already hear you guys singing!!

07 December 2008

A musical tribute


Yesterday, music lovers from all across the city braved the chill of a crisp December evening to gather at Delhi’s Nehru Park. The occasion – Music at the Park, an event promoted by Spicmacay, which had invited sarod- maestro Amjad Ali Khan.

Dressed in his trademark churidaar-kurta, the sarod master took to the stage with an appeal for world peace and harmony; and thanked the 300-odd audiences who had turned up despite “red alerts” issued across the city post 26/11.

As he strummed the firm chords of the sarod, playing the lilting ‘Vaishnav jan to tene kahiye je’ (gandhiji’s favourite bhajan), a carnatic piece, a newly composed concerto and many more compositions, the crowds listened rapt - enjoying the Ustaad’s every delicate move and nimble manouever on the sarod, as well as the impish challenges he put forward to the tabla players, to match up to his skills.

P.S: music lovers, as I have already mentioned in this write-up had turned up to savour the fine tunes of the sarod. There were those who enjoyed music, those who were connoisseurs, some who wanted to learn more about Indian classical music and others who wanted to catch a glimpse of the Ustaad himself. However there was one cheerful Indian fellow sitting behind me, explaining frantically to his firaang friends about Amjad Ali Khan’s music and his mastery over the “santoor”. …WAIT. Did I hear that correctly – the SANTOOR? Yes, the SANTOOR it was, which he repeated time and again and confidently so, throughout his mini-lesson on Indian music to credulous foreign guests!!

02 December 2008

Is India still shining??

The much-hyped phrase “India shining” seems to have lost its sheen very drastically…its “India blazing” now…full of black smoke and soot, symbolically captured in the burning of the Taj hotel. The outpouring of anger and frustration of the citizens of this country is completely justified – after all, for years it’s the common man, who has borne the brunt of callous governance.

It has taken a 26/11 for us Indians to sit up and take note – the intelligentsia and the affluent are FINALLY speaking. These affluent voices were never so strong during the 2006 blasts of Mumbai or the series of terror strikes in Delhi, Jaipur or Bangalore. 26/11 is nothing but a rude shock for US, the affluent Indian – we are shaken out of our wits because we are finally scared.

In its 60 years of existence as a “free” nation India has added quite a few colourful feathers to its vast repertoire of achievements. However, basic minimum amenities of food, shelter and clean water still remain a distant dream for millions in this country – add to that widespread poverty, illiteracy, caste divide, female infanticide, regionalism, a neglected north-east…. well the list just goes on…So are we indeed free then?

To put it across very simply, in countries like Norway, Sweden, Australia, Japan, Switzerland and many other nations, the human development index is rich because the state and its citizens act ‘responsibly’ – social welfare, education, economic development and life expectancy are the prime pillars for a “quality life”. India on the other hand is a burning cauldron – with its own social ills, grave economic divisions between classes, and crass politics; and until these frayed issues are cooled it is in vain for a country like ours to proclaim itself to be “shining”.

Its time we did some serious soul-searching and asked some basic questions - are we indeed “responsible” citizens? Is it not time to get our own house in order first before pointing the finger of blame at others?