Saw a great play in Marathi titled Aamne Saamne. It's a story of two couples, one old and one young. The young ones pretend to be married to live as tenants with the older couple. Their stories intermingle, and both learn from each other. A lot of hilarious and serious sequences later. Directed and acted in by Mangesh Kadam, the older husband in the play. Very good dialogue, acting and comic timing..
Went to a Hindi play that was a part of the week-long festival. Amol Palekar was in the audience. The play, Naam me Kya Rakhwo Hai? or What's in a Name? was a satire on several things including gender equality, Kings and Ministers, and touristy artefacts or performances presented as "culture" to foreigners visiting India. Brilliant set design, acting and direction. Music too.
Went to a concert where only vocals rule.. the band does not use any musical instruments. A fusion experiment from the University of Pennsylvania, USA, the play a mix of Hindi and English songs.. or sing them. Interesting experiment, and moderately good singing. There are ten men in the band, I think. No women. That reduces the diversity of what they can sing, but the energy levels are high. I was not familiar with the English songs, but a few Hindi ones were pretty decent. 6.5 on 10.
Innovation is misunderstood. It is not only breakthrough technology or products, it's many small things too. We see them around us every now and then. On the road, in a friend's home, or in a restaurant.
You may have heard of the Comparison of Economies using a Burger's Price in various countries.
I have a new model to compare the economies of Cities. It's called the number of Coaches on Suburban Trains. Economy Size is directly proportional to the number of coaches on your Suburban trains (metro or otherwise).
Mumbai has suburban trains (local) with 12 coaches. So does the Delhi Metro, on most lines.
Pune has 3-coach metro trains. Maybe more on suburban lines to Lonavala..
Hyderabad, likewise.
Kolkata has very few coaches on its metro trains.. maybe more on Suburban local trains to Belur and so on.
If you can do the Math, you will get an idea of the local economy. You can factor in the number of passengers using these as an additional factor in the calculation.
This is how new theories are born.. like an apple falling on your head!
Whenever we see a cockroach, the first instinct is to squat it, or run.. mostly the first. Because it can't attack you back.. at most it can fly.
But now we have a whole political party named after it. The most potent force in politics? We will have to wait and see. But the idea has caught on, apparently triggered by a remark made in a court by India's Chief Justice. He probably used a metaphor in the heat of the moment, but unwittingly gave birth to a lot of memes, cartoons and now, a whole Political Party too.
So it's probably going to lead to a re-look at Lizards, Flies, and my favourite- the Mosquito? I must go tell my friend Anopheles! We have been conversing about various things human for many years, but this- a Mosquito Political Party- is a brand new possibility!
Too much work, if I have to put it succintly. Matlab, there are no defined work hours. The buck stops with you, so everyone looks up to you for advice, guidance and operational decisions. How do I know? I have worked with promoters in the education sector.
Also, chasing payments is one part of their role- or any role- that I dislike. Of course, many of those I worked with had the reverse problem-they wouldn't pay vendors on time, until they were chased for months.
I would rather be at peace knowing that I can leave it all if I feel like it, and let the CEOs or promoters carry the burden the rest of the time.
Work-life balance is a thing, yaar.
Saw another musical show (on May 19th 2026) by a new bunch of singers, barring one- Rajabhau Tikhe, whom I had seen earlier. This was titled Main Sharabi Nahi and focussed on songs while the characters in films were drunk. Also a couple of ghazals about drinking, by Pankaj Udhas were on offer.
A couple of good songs from Haath ki Safai (Tu kya jaane wafa o bewafa) and Inteqam (Aa jaane jaan) brought back memories of those films. Sung by Sophiya Michael and Snehal Apte, which I recorded. Some pics-
We saw a sizzling musical show called Sadabahar Dharmendra yesterday (16 May 2026) at Pune. It was a great evening filled with memories of an evergreen hero who came from Punjab and won the hearts of many, including a Dream Girl. Some great songs were sung.. 4 very good singers, Ali Husain, Makarand Patankar, Swarada Godbole and Radhika Atre. Saira was the compere, and did a good job of it. Pics-
A very entertaining musical show by him and his team- Vyjayanti, Monali Dube and Elizabeth, and Shrikant Bhatt and himself. Songs from many of them were excellent. Vyju/Vyjayanti stood out. Shrikant Bhatt, 81, did well with Talat Mehmood, Saigal songs. Shola jo bhadke, Kajra mohabbat wala, aana merri jaan merri jaan Sunday ke Sunday etc. brought the house down. 3 songs from Jhumroo were sung! The ladies did Shamshad Begum songs well!
Pune is a vibrant city, with a lot of choices- even more if you understand Marathi- of things to do. Plays, music shows (some free!) and events are on all the time.
One such event we attended.. these two were good singers- Pournima Waghmare and Uday. (first pic)
Golf I am yet to play, but the plays and music shows have kept me busy. Food outings and meetings with friends are also pretty regular.
We also have karaoke parties once in a while!
And if you still have the time, Mumbai is not far!
I left IMT Nagpur in 2013. But I have been meeting alumni from the institute ever since. I met one in Kolkata just two months ago. After 2012, when she graduated. This week, I met three alums, including one who just moved to Pune, Ananya Nandi De. Two others, Harshad Lunavat and Phalguni Bannerjee Basu, have been here longer.
A fascinating film about some talking sheep, who solve a murder mystery.
Creatively written and directed, The sheep are the real sleuths in this whodunit involving their shepherd, Hugh Jackman. The usual suspects are lined up, and a twist in the tail nails the perpetrator, just in time.
Enjoyable for its novelty of plot, it is actually based on a novel. Great photography, dialogues and sheep! With a few messages for humans too, about prejudice, casting people out of the flock, exploring new frontiers and so on.
Jamun, and Mango, summer delights. Mangoes come in infinite varieties and sizes.
Ice apple, called Tadgola - a palm fruit, in the summer.
Corn, fresh, in the monsoon? Remember eating roasted bhutta on the way to Mandu on the roadside.
Strawberries are also seasonal, probably during the rainy season or winter.
Guavas are also seasonal, in July August.
Hurda, the raw grain (usually jowar), roasted, is available in winter months. Eaten with jaggery and spice, it's delicious.
If they were made on current happenings, their titles might be-
1. Khul ja Hormuz
2. Mamata ki Kshamata
3. Hormuz- Kabhi khushi de kabhi gham
4. LPG- a Neverland
5. Hormuz ki dum Tedhi ki Tedhi
6. Iran Yuddh ka Kahufnaak Sach
7. Israel ki Giraft mein Trump
8. Vijay hi asli cheez hai
9. Keralam aur Raga- ek Prem Kahani
When you are in a job, you can be useful to friends in your network, either due to your expertise, or your position, or contacts. Maybe you can get things done. Fix a summer internship for your friend's son/daughter, or call someone to do someone a favour.
When you stop working, most of these "powers" go away almost instantly. People who knew you 'forget' you, and you are pretty useless to anyone. It's a different feeling, and can affect you negatively.
But there's also a positive. It's liberating, the feeling that you are no longer going to be approached by anybody to do things for them. You can play God no longer, you are just a human on your own.
Freedom, at last?
Saw a musical show at Balgandharva in Pune- 60s to 90s. Singing by various artistes, reasonably good. Song selection could have been better, in my view. But the show was free, so worth the three hours or so. One good idea was visuals from Youtube were flashed along with the singing, so relived a theatre experience with original actors, alongside.. my favourite was Khatuba, from Alibaba aur Chalis Chor, filmed on Zeenat Aman. Ek main aur ek tu was good too, and Kanta lagaa..
Exit polls were Ok in Bengal and Assam, also in Kerala, but off in Tamil Nadu (except one I think).
Change happened in all states except Assam.
Maybe the lesson is that everything has an expiry date. Dictator or democrat, doesn't matter. Sometimes elections displace them, sometimes a revolution, or an assassination.
Many a time, electors have limited choices. They vote for what seems most likely to benefit, or least likely to harm them.
Congress ruled at the Centre for a long, long time. So did the Communists in Bengal. But at some point, the need for a change became apparent, and it happened. So it is this time.
And yes, the name Vijay helps you win. Not just in Hindi films.
Saw the film about Michael Jackson recently (April 2026). I was in the U.S. when he was a phenomenon, in the late 80s, and we saw a lot of his numbers on MTV then. Liked most of them. Some of them are reprised here, and quite well too- must have been tough for the choreographer and the actor who looks a lot like him.
The prejudice against Black singers coming on MTV is well depicted. So are his love for kids and animals, and cartoons. Of course, this is a positive film, so the only negative is his dominant father who tries to push him into things he does not want, after it is clear that he is a star creator and performer on his own. His social sensitivities are also brought out well.
The music selection is good, and is the highlight- as it should be, for a film about a musician. The signature moves are captured well.
I like Prabhu Deva, the Indian equivalent too. And I still remember the performance of I'm Bad! by Katarina Witt, chamion ice skater, at the Calgary Winter Olympics. It was Good!
West Coast of the U.S., I mean. We met in Bangalore, then they left for California, and came back to meet us yesterday- June 9, 2026. Pushka...
