Musing Reminisce

Human life was lost.  Some say it was providence, some say it was an accident. I see it as murder.  It was murder!! I was a forced accomplice to the murder.                                     ----------////---------- It was 1980. The college cafeteria!!  My life had been a continuous rotation.  While I diligently worked my butt around, I always had a birds-eye view of the happenings. Andrews College in Bombay was a historic college welcoming newbies after they passed the SSC exams. Located opposite the beach of Bombay it had a panoramic view of the Arabian Sea. The stone-walled buildings were Gothic-styled and housed all three faculties of Arts, Science and Commerce. Students moved on after their Higher School curriculum or stuck around to complete their bachelor degrees.  As facilities were there for the post-graduation courses some students also continued their studies a...

”Dr Dang creates war” In an ideal world, doctors are supposed to be saving lives but delve into Bollywood and the silver screen.  You will be scared, surprised and amused by the idea of a doctor doing the opposite.  Take for example terrorist organization leader Dr Michael Dang, chillingly portrayed by Anupam Kher, in the movie Karma. He terrifies his victims and wants people to respect him out of fear. Who can forget the dramatic scene when he is slapped by Rana Vishwa Pratap Singh played by Dilip Kumar. A venomous response is spewed. ”Rana mujhe tumhaara thappad bhoolega nahi”  (”Rana I will not forget your slap") He follows with a dialogue that sent shivers down the spine of the moviegoers. ”Iss thappad ki goonj suni tumne, ab tumhe iss goonj ki goonj sunaai degi tumhe zindagi bhar”  (You heard the echo of this slap, now you will hear the echo of this echo, throughout your lifetime) However, all ‘unique doctors’ of Bollywood are not evil. Who can forget the k...

1985.   Bombay, the city of dreams. The mud is Gold, the dirt is Gold, the dust is Gold.  Here everything you touch can be gold. This is the story of Raju Ghamelawala.  It was Friday.  Clutching a small cloth bundle he was walking barefooted from his small hutment in Zaveri Bazar.  He was physically tired, sweaty and haggard but his heart was full of joy. Though his feet were sore and bleeding his mind was light and ecstatic. Quite some time back he had a dream. On waking up and recollecting his dream he had vowed to offer, in case the dream came true, a gold ornament to Goddess Laxmi. Two days earlier the dream had materialised and he was on his way to fulfil his part of the deal. He was on his way to Mahalaxmi temple near Haji Ali.  This temple was historic. It pans back to decades. It pans back to the birth of Bombay. It also pans back to a dream.                        -------///-------- Late 1...

  ’When we are watching a film everything we see consists technically of shadows—insubstantial, fleeting photographic representations of life projected as light effects on a flat rectangular surface of the screen.  Cast shadows are simply the essence of cinema.’ Bollywood, as other cinematic forms, basically operate on this science. The year was 1965 and the movie Waqt, with an ensemble cast of stalwarts, was playing on the large screen. Raja (Rajkumar) is in friction with Chenoy Seth (Rehman). In one such meeting, Chenoy’s underling Balbir (Madan Puri) senses the tension between Raja and Chenoy, and whips out his Rampuri knife. Just as Chenoy chastises Balbir for this childish act, Raja walks upto him and deprives him of his knife.  In his waxing eloquent style he says, “Ye bachchon ke khelne ki cheez nahi, haath kat jaaye toh khoon nikal jaata hai.” ( This is not a child's plaything ... if the hand gets cut, then blood oozes out.)           ...