Daler Mehndi, Alisha of "Made in India" fame, Ranjita Kaur who was a regular in several 70s/80s films like Taraana, Damaad, Ankhiyon ke Jahronkhon Se, Rameshwari of Dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaaye and Sunayna, ...the list is long. The question is the same. Where are they? What are they up to?
And it's not just those from those days. Even recent ones are fairly infrequent in their appearance- or close to disappearance. Ayesha Jhulka, Amrita Rao after Vivaah (the film), Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Ashish Vidyarthi, and so on.
I saw Bombay Talkies the other day at Kolkata. Nice in a way, but the effect wears off pretty quickly after you leave the theatre. I liked the Dibakar Banerjee film the best, followed by the story of the kid who wants to be a dancer, directed by Zoya Akhtar.
Interesting Fictional Characters
Alice from Wonderland is probably the most fascinating, that appeals to the child in all of us. Other assorted characters like the Mad Hatter are also very appealing.
Sindbad the sailor was one of my favourites, with his myriad voyages, each an adventure in itself.
The famous five of Enid Blyton, in two sets- the mystery series and the others.
Phantom, Mandrake, their respective girlfriends Diana and Narda, the skull cave, the jungle mail, and the secret villains, ..fascinating.
Asterix, Obelix, Getafix, Unhygienix, ..the names alone brought a twinkle to your eyes.
Sherlock Holmes and Watson, an inseparable combination of wit and the lack of it.
Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin created by Rex Stout.
Bertha Cool and Donald Lam, and Perry Mason, all creations of Earl Stanley Gardner.
Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective of Agatha Christie. Par excellence!
An Indian detective in Bangla costume- Byomkesh Bakshi, immortalised in a TV serial.
Superman, with Christopher Reeve epitomising him.
Jeeves and Bertie, immortal creations from Wodehouse.
Remington Steele, starring Pierce Brosnan.
Birbal, and Tenali Raman- semi fictional, perhaps.
Mulla Naseeruddin, with his great wit.
James Bond, with his vodka Martinis.
Gabbar Singh, Mogambo, Mr. India, Amar, Akbar and Anthony, Gunmaster G-9.
Master Pillai from Padosan.
Babu Moshai from Anand. Anand from Anand.
Devdas, Paro and Chandramukhi.
Laurel and Hardy.
Charlie Chaplin's common man. R.K. Lakshman's common man.
Casper, the friendly ghost. Little Lotta. Dennis the Menace.
Goofy, Donald, Mickey, Uncle Scrooge, Huey, Luey, Duey.
Sindbad the sailor was one of my favourites, with his myriad voyages, each an adventure in itself.
The famous five of Enid Blyton, in two sets- the mystery series and the others.
Phantom, Mandrake, their respective girlfriends Diana and Narda, the skull cave, the jungle mail, and the secret villains, ..fascinating.
Asterix, Obelix, Getafix, Unhygienix, ..the names alone brought a twinkle to your eyes.
Sherlock Holmes and Watson, an inseparable combination of wit and the lack of it.
Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin created by Rex Stout.
Bertha Cool and Donald Lam, and Perry Mason, all creations of Earl Stanley Gardner.
Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective of Agatha Christie. Par excellence!
An Indian detective in Bangla costume- Byomkesh Bakshi, immortalised in a TV serial.
Superman, with Christopher Reeve epitomising him.
Jeeves and Bertie, immortal creations from Wodehouse.
Remington Steele, starring Pierce Brosnan.
Birbal, and Tenali Raman- semi fictional, perhaps.
Mulla Naseeruddin, with his great wit.
James Bond, with his vodka Martinis.
Gabbar Singh, Mogambo, Mr. India, Amar, Akbar and Anthony, Gunmaster G-9.
Master Pillai from Padosan.
Babu Moshai from Anand. Anand from Anand.
Devdas, Paro and Chandramukhi.
Laurel and Hardy.
Charlie Chaplin's common man. R.K. Lakshman's common man.
Casper, the friendly ghost. Little Lotta. Dennis the Menace.
Goofy, Donald, Mickey, Uncle Scrooge, Huey, Luey, Duey.
Metamorphosing Professions
A tailor had lots of work in the good old days. He was much in demand, because machines had not 'learnt' how to make clothes by themselves. So he used to make you wait, first for measurement-taking, and then for fitting, and then for delivery of the promised liverie (if that's the right word).
The ironing and buttoning of clothes would invariably be in progress on the promised day, and you would have to cool your heels waiting for the stuff to make an appearance.
I am not sure what these guys are doing nowadays. Probably working like machines in one of those factories which mass-produce the stuff. Only emperors must be able to afford them to get their 'new clothes' stitched, I suppose.
Similar is the story of other professions. The only guys who have prospered are the guys who deal with the yellow metal, I presume. With skyrocketing demand (at least in India), their stock must be rising (pun was unintended).
Stock analysts, on the other hand, despite attempts to wreck the world economy fairly successfully, are in constant demand and expound on the virtues of this stock or that based on 'expert analysis'- taking us towards the next (inevitable) crash. Because what's made of paper, can have only so much value for so long. The mighty Pounds, Dollars and Yens will one day find themselves in the dumps. Like their older counterparts.
The ironing and buttoning of clothes would invariably be in progress on the promised day, and you would have to cool your heels waiting for the stuff to make an appearance.
I am not sure what these guys are doing nowadays. Probably working like machines in one of those factories which mass-produce the stuff. Only emperors must be able to afford them to get their 'new clothes' stitched, I suppose.
Similar is the story of other professions. The only guys who have prospered are the guys who deal with the yellow metal, I presume. With skyrocketing demand (at least in India), their stock must be rising (pun was unintended).
Stock analysts, on the other hand, despite attempts to wreck the world economy fairly successfully, are in constant demand and expound on the virtues of this stock or that based on 'expert analysis'- taking us towards the next (inevitable) crash. Because what's made of paper, can have only so much value for so long. The mighty Pounds, Dollars and Yens will one day find themselves in the dumps. Like their older counterparts.
Generation Gap
When we were growing up, the young men wore bell-bottoms and some also (influenced by Rajesh Khanna, superstar) wore kurtas or guru-shirts as they were known for a while. Not sure what the difference is. I once wore a Hare-rama Hare krishna-inscribed kurta, may be inspired by the Dum-maro-dum film by Dev saab. Did not get around to imitating the lady- Zeenat, though.
Anyhow, our generation listened to Kishore kumar and his ilk, and detested K.L. Saigal or his contemps like Talat Mehmood (some also confused him with the comedian Mehmood, perhaps).
Now, I don't know what the young generation listens to any more, because it is not audible to me, being inside an Apple or a Samsung or their cousins. But one can make an intelligent guess, that it is different from what I listen to. But I do know what they are writing-at least for the large part, because it's so much in your face- not bookish at all. Some more shy types blog rather than facebook (the verb).
Also, I have discovered that there are techno-advances such as Skype, What's App and WHATNOT (that's not an app, at least as far as I know.
Now that I know what they are up to, I can sleep in peace. What a relief. Good night!
Anyhow, our generation listened to Kishore kumar and his ilk, and detested K.L. Saigal or his contemps like Talat Mehmood (some also confused him with the comedian Mehmood, perhaps).
Now, I don't know what the young generation listens to any more, because it is not audible to me, being inside an Apple or a Samsung or their cousins. But one can make an intelligent guess, that it is different from what I listen to. But I do know what they are writing-at least for the large part, because it's so much in your face- not bookish at all. Some more shy types blog rather than facebook (the verb).
Also, I have discovered that there are techno-advances such as Skype, What's App and WHATNOT (that's not an app, at least as far as I know.
Now that I know what they are up to, I can sleep in peace. What a relief. Good night!
Kolkata Lake Club
A nice part about growing old is that you have old friends. And some old friends are well-connected. And members of clubs where you can pile on. Like I do for golf sometimes. In Kolkata for an alumni meet last weekend, it all came home to me.
The club scene in Kolkata is a well-known sport. There was a friend who happened to be a member of the Lake Club built on the side of Dhakuria Lake. The club has some rowing with long fibreglass boats parked there. Went there for an afternoon of beer and (shooting the) breeze yesterday. Followed by lunch at the Tangra Chinese restaurant called Beijing something...It had stained glass on its door, made by the friend's wife, who is into these things.
All in all, a nice weekend, with a ferry ride across the Hooghly, a movie (Bombay Talkies) and some lunches and dinners and snacks thrown in. I liked the momos in the New Empire cinema complex. Good fiery sauce accompanied the bland modak-like momos.
The new Kolkata airport terminal is BIG, and if maintained well, can give the others a run for their money.
The club scene in Kolkata is a well-known sport. There was a friend who happened to be a member of the Lake Club built on the side of Dhakuria Lake. The club has some rowing with long fibreglass boats parked there. Went there for an afternoon of beer and (shooting the) breeze yesterday. Followed by lunch at the Tangra Chinese restaurant called Beijing something...It had stained glass on its door, made by the friend's wife, who is into these things.
All in all, a nice weekend, with a ferry ride across the Hooghly, a movie (Bombay Talkies) and some lunches and dinners and snacks thrown in. I liked the momos in the New Empire cinema complex. Good fiery sauce accompanied the bland modak-like momos.
The new Kolkata airport terminal is BIG, and if maintained well, can give the others a run for their money.
Fun Songs
Songs that sound like a lot of fun-
Priye praneshwari, hridayeshwari, yadi aap hamein aadesh kareinto prem ka hum sriganesh karein.
Hum kale hain to kya hua dilwale hain.
Hum the woh thi aur samaa rangeen samjh gaye naa.
Main hoon jhum jhum jhum jhum jhumoroo..
Ek chatur naar karke singaar
Main sitaron ka tarana, main baharon ka phasana..paanch rupiah baarah aana
Main kaa karoon ram mujhe buddha mil gaya
Sar jo tera chakraye ya dil dooba jaaye
Khaike paan banaras wala khul jaye band akal ka taala
Aiyyayya main kahan aa phasi..from Caravan
Ayyaiyya karoon main kya suku suku
Yahoo, chahe koi mujhe junglee kahe
Zindagi ek safar hai suhana
Priye praneshwari, hridayeshwari, yadi aap hamein aadesh kareinto prem ka hum sriganesh karein.
Hum kale hain to kya hua dilwale hain.
Hum the woh thi aur samaa rangeen samjh gaye naa.
Main hoon jhum jhum jhum jhum jhumoroo..
Ek chatur naar karke singaar
Main sitaron ka tarana, main baharon ka phasana..paanch rupiah baarah aana
Main kaa karoon ram mujhe buddha mil gaya
Sar jo tera chakraye ya dil dooba jaaye
Khaike paan banaras wala khul jaye band akal ka taala
Aiyyayya main kahan aa phasi..from Caravan
Ayyaiyya karoon main kya suku suku
Yahoo, chahe koi mujhe junglee kahe
Zindagi ek safar hai suhana
Original Jokes
How did corruption start in Karnataka?
It went, "Yeddy, steady, GO!"
How do you spell corruption there?
Karuption.
What does a Kannadiga mind?
Being illegally mined.
How do you describe the result of the recent election?
Yeddy, JD, Go.
How does a Mumbaikar greet Yeddy?
Yeda hai kya tu?
If a Star Wars sequel were made in Karnataka, it would be called....Return of the Yeddy.
It went, "Yeddy, steady, GO!"
How do you spell corruption there?
Karuption.
What does a Kannadiga mind?
Being illegally mined.
How do you describe the result of the recent election?
Yeddy, JD, Go.
How does a Mumbaikar greet Yeddy?
Yeda hai kya tu?
If a Star Wars sequel were made in Karnataka, it would be called....Return of the Yeddy.
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