Romancing the Song

 The title is inspired by the English film I saw called Romancing the Stone-very entertaining film. But this is about Hindi film songs. We have a huge number of romantic songs in our films. Recalling a few on the occasion of Valentine's Day (need an excuse, that's all).

Choodi nahi yeh mera dil hai..

O mere dil ke chain

Aaja sanam madhur chandni mein hum tum

O mere sona re sona re sona re

Wada karo jaanam, na chhodoge yeh daaman, zamaana chahe chhoote

Bekhudi mein sanam uth gaye jo kadam, aa gaye paas hum

Tumko mere dil ne pukara hai bade naaz se..

Tum mile pyar se mujhe jeena gawara hua

Piya piya piya mora jiya pukare

Meri neendon mein tum mere khwabon mein tum..

Chura liya hai tumne jo dil ko nazar nahin churana sanam

Main kahin kavi na ban jaun tere pyar mein ae Kavita

End Game in Politics- A Satire

Actually, there is no such thing, as countless elections and their aftermath (Math is a pun, not intended) have shown us countless times. What appears to be a done thing, can turn out quite the opposite.

Well, this calls for a play, or at least, a play-let. So here goes-

A Multidimensional Romance

Dimension 1 (D1 for convenience) to D2: I am yours forever, but..

D2 (to D1): But what?

D1: I need you to part with your heart!

D3 to D4, in the meantime: I love you, and want you to show me your love, by giving me your heart.

D4 to D3: Love you I do, but cannot part with my heart.

D3: In that case, my heart is D1's...or D2's, if I get to have a heart-to-heart-chat with any one of them.

Soon after: D3 to D1: You want me? Promise that you will never look at D2 again.
D1: But,...Ok, I give you my word.

D2 to D4: My heart is yours, I am on the rebound, from this cheater D1.

D1 and D3 live happily thereafter, and D2 and D4, unhappily ever after.

No politician was harmed during the writing of this...voters, we are not too sure...

Romancing the Books- Launch at Pagdandi

 THIS WAY IS EASIER, DAD. The book is about conversations between Anjali, and her Dad. Both read out parts from the book.

 Smiling at 88. My mom with my niece Miskil.

Milind, Medha, Marla, Nikhil, and Anjali, Miskil, Anu and me.

Books have a way of enticing you-and book launches too. This was one where the subjects of the book were Hari and Anjali, two of my family. And many more in the audience, as the pics above show-Marla and Nikhil were imports from the U.S. and the rest of us from Mumbai, Indore and Hyderabad. The cute book store is in Pune. It was also special coz it was on August 10th, my mother's 88th birthday.

Romancing the Train

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i46jlVrrwdQ is the link to a song Gaadi bula rahi hai, from the film Dost. One of the songs I really like, shot on a train and about a train...and life.

Singing in a train is as good as singing in the rain..

Another one or two about romances that had one of the characters in a train, are these-

Jiya o, jiya o jiya kuch bol do..Rafi singing for Dev Anand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_xHTc6AP90

The same idea, later, with Kishore Kumar for Rajesh Khanna singing to Sharmila on the darjeeling mountain railway.

Mere sapnon ki rani kab aayegi tu..I grew up watching this, and it's still a favourite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo1MykK4u8U

Another old gem with Hemant Kumar for Dev Anand singing to Waheeda Rehman.
Hai apna dil to awara na jane kis pe aayega from Solva Saal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K8TH8LBs-w

Book Review- Love, Lies and Layoffs

I read mostly non-fiction, unless a Murakami strikes. Or a Wodehouse. But every once in a while (Old Jungle Saying, like in Phantom Comics), I read something that I picked up impulsively at the airport..just because it looks interesting.

This one is a well-written story of an office romance- utterly predictable, between a guy and a girl at a media house. Office politics is the villain, rather than any one person, that hangs like a cloud over the love-birds. The supporting cast is impressive, from bimbettes to well-meaning alcoholics. Sort of 'Na tum jaano na hum' in prose.

The corporate shenanigans instantly brought in thoughts of the ongoing Tata-Mistry saga that's playing out as we speak. This one's smaller in scale, but interesting nevertheless. One identifies with Frieda, the narrator, which is half the battle won for the author in any story.

Nice read, for its style, realism and wit. My first with Usha Narayanan, the author.

Rains. Pain and Gain

There are a few good things about the rains. The green surroundings, for instance. Our campus turns a green leaf with the first rain. The surroundings are lush as if it were a European countryside. Don't miss any of those countries during this season. The car gets a wash automatically, and the wipers get to wipe the tears forming on the windshield. Everything looks- no, is- cleaner.

Minor discomfort includes carrying umbrellas, and watching out for puddles. Not being able to go out often, worrying about heavy rain and the after-effects. Roads deteriorate rapidly, with that unique Indian thing-potholes-visible on most. I rarely saw one in my 5 year stay in The U.S.

The place actually is pleasing to the eye, come to think of it. Some would say, romantic..

Modern Lyrics

Old Hindi songs had lyrics such as these-

the guy sings, "How lucky your mascara/kajal/bindiya is- wish I could be as close to you as they are"

or, "I wish I was the anklet/ghungroo on your feet" .

These days, the girl and the guy would both have to sing along these lines-

"I wish I was the app on your phone,
I wish I was the text you read,
I wish I was far away,
So you would send me a 'poke'
If I am not connected on Facebook,
I am considered a joke."

In Hindi, romance would go-

Mujhe apni timeline pe jagah do,
WhatsApp se mila lo,
Instagram se sawaro,
O mere Candycrush ke saathi....

Mandu-- Historical Romances

Like the other legendary romances, there was one for which Mandu is famous. The one between a king Baz Bahadur and his queen, a local beauty called Roopmati. The palaces, one of which is named after her, are a visual delight, and one can easily spend a day roaming the ruins. Jahaz Mahal is well-preserved palace-lake complex with a water body on both sides of the building. On the way to Mandu from Indore there is a park with a million year old petrified wood and some dinosaur eggs in similar state. Here are some pics-

Rajesh Khanna- My First Love

I think even before I fell in love with the heroines, I fell in love with this guy. He was probably the ultimate romantic, though Dev Anand came close. What I liked about him was an innocence he projected in his early films, and the brilliant acting in some films like Anand, Aap Ki Kasam, Namak Haram, Hathi Mere Sathi, The Train, Ittefaq, Kati Patang, Aan Milo Sajna, Roti, Andaz, Aradhana, Safar, and Amar Prem.

His other unique achievement was to become a non-violent superstar. Most superstars are fairly violent, both here in India and outside. He was the only one (again, with Dev Anand as a possible exception) who charmed his way through his roles. And I really liked that, like it in retrospect too.

His songs on screen were a rage, and some all time greats of SD and RD Burman, and Kishore Kumar were  embellished by his screen persona. I cannot for moment imagine anybody else doing his Chingari koi bhadke, or Mere Sapnon ki rani, or  Maine tere liye hi saat rang ke chune, or Zindagi ke safar mein guzar jaate  hain jo makaam, woh phir nahin aate. How true the last sounds now!

The Great Gatsby

Just read this book in one sitting. Not many books can be read in one sitting-at least by me, these days. That is a huge plus, for this one. F.Scott Fitzgerald is the author-one might wonder, why is the F. hanging in front of his name? I don't know.

When you are through, the only thing which remains is an old-world romance, when men were men, presumably, and women were, well, women. Told from the third person's vantage viewpoint. The narrator is the heroine's cousin, and tries to help her (now married) rekindle an old love affair, justified by the fact that her husband is already having an affair of his own. The Gatsby in question, is a self-made plus inherited millionaire who throws big parties at his mansion across the bay from where his ex-girlfriend, the heroine, lives. He hopes to meet her one day (and does) to relive their earlier romance and take it forward. The twist in the tale comes from an unfortunate road accident that involves many of the players, and brings the story to an unexpected end.

Whether anyone would do such a thing today-particularly, a wealthy modern Gatsby, is a moot question. What I liked about the book is its style, and its brevity. Some social commentary too, on the 1920's America, but that's by the way.