Dharwad Pedha – A delight from Line Bazaar

Babusingh Thakur Pedha, from the famous shop located at Line Bazaar in Dharwad, was always a favorite at home. I remember being told of its legacy in my childhood. I was told in childhood how the original proprietor used to prepare a limited quantity of his famed “Dharwad Pedha” and distributed it equally among the people waiting in queue early in the morning in front of his yet-to-be opened shop. Times have changed and so has the business model. The man, Babusingh Thakur, is long deceased and the enterprise is now run by some of his family members. The shop is now open like any other normal enterprise and the “Dharwad Pedha” is available over the counter at a quantity of the customers’ wish. I made my first trip to Dharwad recently and a visit to the shop was on my agenda. It was no difficulty to get directions to the shop as anyone and everyone in the city was more than eager to give the directions to the by lane which housed it. The shop is located in the Line Bazaar area, which was not crowded as one would expect it to be (at least that is the way it was when I visited). It was a modest shop, much less grand than any sweetmeat shop that one can find in residential suburbs of Bangalore. The shop had a pile of boxes of the “Pedha” right in the middle of the counter, guarded by the attendant-cum-salesman-cum-cashier. He had 2 sets of boxes – 500gms and 250gms. The “Pedha” was sold at 280 INR per kilogram and I picked up 1.5 Kilograms of them. I did not even bother to check out the other sweets on the display (except for “Kunda” of which I purchased 500gms).

Babusingh Thakur Pedha shop @ Line Bazaar, Dharwad. Photographed from my iPhone.

The “Dharwad Pedha” is a signature sweetmeat of many stores spread across Dharwad/Hubli. There are the ‘Mishras’ and ‘Sajjans’, but what sets the Thakur Pedha is its quality. The small chocolaty brown oddly shaped mound with a fine coating of sugar powder dust on it surface is a delight. The sweet that appears as a solid mass from outset, when broken into two and shoved into the mouth reveals its sweet soft textured interiors. The softness of the “Kova” like mixture inside with the sweetness enhances the exquisite pleasure that one derives from consuming a piece of the “Pedha”. The fresh stock of the “Pedha” adds to the richness of this experience.

I have never been a big fan of sweets, the Indian ones, except for a few – Sohan Papdi, Basundi, Jalebi, Chiroti, Bombay Halwa, Kaju Kathli, Paalkova/Kunda, Paruppu Payasam and Babusingh Thakur’s Dharwad Pedha. Any other “Dharwad Pedha” doesn’t just seem right.

If you get a chance, entertain your sweet loving taste buds with this “Pedha”. It would really be a sweet experience.

Dev Anand – Tribute to the undying spirit

Dev Anand in "Jewel Thief"

I was told Dev Anand was one of the great actors in Indian cinema and I grew up with that understanding. Those days the only source of films, film songs’ videos was Doordarshan. And thankfully unlike current telecasting practice of playing only portion of the song, good old DD used to telecast the whole song in programs like ‘Chitrahaar’ and ‘Rangoli’, un-buffered. That was how I got to watch Dev Anand in action, swaying and lip-syncing to some of the fantastic compositions in Hindi cinema. Frankly at that age, I wasn’t impressed.

When in college, with the newfound interest in old Hindi film music and particularly of Kishore Kumar, I watched a lot of songs picturized on Dev Anand. “Phoolon ke rang se..” from “Prem Pujari” is one of my favourites. That is the period when I started watching Dev Anand’s movies. He might not be a brilliant actor or a film maker, but he did bring out movies with themes that were bold and unheard of for those times. His penchant for technology is visible in the excellent cinematography complemented by rich color tones in the movies like “Jewel Thief” and “Hare Rama Hare Krishna”. He also seems to have had a keen ear to music which has resulted in his movies having some of the best soundtracks in Hindi cinema. In collaboration with the likes of S D Burman and R D Burman he has delivered musical hits like “Guide”, “Jewel Thief”, “Hare Rama Hare Krishna”, “Prem Pujari” and “Ishk Ishk Ishk” to name a few. Even as late as 2003 his movie “Love at Times Square” had some wonderful compositions by Lucky Ali.

In "Guide"

The person in front of the camera was no less flamboyant than the one behind it. He had created his own unique style – a fast paced dialogue delivery with varying pitch, a slight tilt of the head and swaying of arms and designer clothes usually with a scarf or headgear. It was impossible to miss Dev Anand’s “mannerisms” in his films. He never tried too hard to do the latest fad of ‘getting into the character’. He played his emotions right and it worked even though you saw more of Dev Anand than the character. His distinction of choosing different themes for his films was also one of its drawbacks, with many storylines never developing beyond the basic premise and resulting in a hotchpotch screenplay. Classic examples are “Swami Dada” and “Awwal Number”. Though his last credit commercial success was “Des Pardes” the film maker in him never seems to have been perturbed by the failures. Till his death in December 2011 he kept making films under his banner ‘Navketan Films’ and talked about his future projects in his last interviews (published as a tribute after his death).

Dev Anand will be remembered always for giving Hindi Cinema some of its classic movies. He will also be remembered for the energy and excitement that kept him active in movies till the end. I had the fortune to watch the colorized version of his 1961 hit “Hum Dono” (titled “Hum Dono Rangeen”) in cinema in 2011 and I remember the song “Main zindagi ka saath nibhatha chala gaya…” in the film. I think the song in a way described the legend Dev Anand was.

A Stranger City..

“Madras” was what I used to call it in my childhood. The very mention of “Madras” meant holidays and fun. It meant – train ride from Bangalore to Chennai, walking with excitement in Central Railway station at Chennai amidst the growing stink of dry fish,  being welcomed by the warmest and genuine smile from grandparents, visiting relatives after a long gap of time, evening visits to the Marina beach with paternal grandfather and cousins, playing around in grandfather’s heritage-like house with cousins, sugarcane juice and “Samosa” from Gopalapuram, waiting for the late evening “Sonpapdi”/”Kulfi” seller at the steps of my grandfather’s house, listening to stories from the past from maternal grandmother and enjoying the affection bestowed upon us by her, watching Tamil TV programs with grandfather and mocking the Tamil-dubbed advertisements, occasional late night shows of movies in cinemas and lots more.

 

And then we grew up and “Madras” became “Chennai”. But most of the fun and excitement remained till grandfather left us. The only other person who longed to see us visit Chennai was my mother’s mother. As infants, we were raised by my parents with her support. It would be difficult to imagine us children growing up in Bangalore without her helping out my mother. Naturally we had a great bonding and she showered us with abundant affection and care till her last breath, a few months ago. If my paternal grandfather one person who longed to see us visit Chennai, my maternal grandmother was the other person who sulked at the mention of our return to Bangalore from Chennai. Her frail looks are deceptive as she is a strong person who had fought many a battle valiantly in her life. It suddenly occurred to me very recently, that I have never ever seen her angry or with a frown on her face. She was always the ‘fairy book’ grandmother one can just hope for; but we were blessed with. She was a person who had very few needs and always content. One would usually find her with religious texts and sacred ash and giving away blessings, but if you would drop in by her in the mornings, she would be found reading the newspapers of the day. She used to read in Tamil and English and was aware of the happenings around the world even in her late 80s. When I read the words “compassion”, “unconditional love” I remember my grandmother, who for me is another ‘Mother Teresa’, for I owe her a lot for what I am today. The only consolation is that, both of the grandparents that I have mentioned above, left this world in a peaceful manner having led a life with very less complaints.

 

But “Chennai” changed for me after them. It’s a strange city for me now. There is no more frantic running inside my grandfather’s house playing “I-Spy” or the long chat with my grandfather in his living room about “those days”. There are no more tear-eyed goodbyes or the spreading of the sacred ash on my forehead by my grandmother during farewell. I also wish she would be there to give me money when we left for Bangalore. I am stuck up in Chennai when I visit now doing nothing and meeting very few people reluctantly. Chennai meant “paati” and “thatha”, but it now doesn’t mean much to me; it could very well be “Chennai” or “Madras”.

Animal Farm – Book Review

Book Cover

Frankly I am not sure if I had had heard about this book, by George Orwell, before my friend Rajesh mentioned it to me. And to be frank again, when he did I thought it should be one of those classic books with talking animals, that I had tried to avoid all these years. But he said it’s different. And I bought a copy for myself.

Yes, it is a classic novel by George Orwell, not a familiar name to me before I started reading this book. Yes, it has animals that talk. And the biggest relief is that as my friend Rajesh mentioned, IT IS DIFFERENT. The basic premise of the story is about the struggle between Men and the Beasts. The reader is seasoned, initially, to consider this as a struggle between the Evil and the Good. And that’s when the real story unfolds – leisurely peeling layer after layer of the assumed “Good”. For me it was too engrossing and interesting because of the current state of affairs in India. With a mammoth revolution against corruption as the backdrop, there is a whole lot of politics being played out with many players. The media and the self-appointed guardians of peoples’ interests have strongly convinced the people who should be thought of as “Good” and “Evil”. That is exactly what happens in the book too, when the animals are trained to chant “Four legs good, two legs bad”. In the course of time, they are re-taught and they are made to unlearn old beliefs and learn new ‘prophecies’. They are initially promised paradise and in the due course of time are taught to be reasonable and at the end are made to believe that the fight was never to create a paradise. The animals’ beliefs are constantly re-engineered to suit the plans of the “Administrators”. The end depicts clearly what happens if pigs take control.

George Orwell’s language is simple, but has deep meaning. He doesn’t hurry with the narration and builds up the anticipation. For a book that is 120 pages, the impact it leaves behind is huge and shocking. I am still not sure if he was laughing at this society, where people follow blindly into a mass movement without some thinking and retrospection, or was just warning them about doing so. It’s easy to rally around for a change – everyone wants to, but in the hurry it’s not prudent to not plan for the future if the change does occur. The seat of power, or even a chance at authority, is a very tempting proposition where the new occupants easily fall in line behind their predecessors against whose policies was their main fight against.

After reading Dan Brown, Archer and Grisham for the past few years this book was a good change. I called up Rajesh and thanked him for this recommendation. If you have missed reading this book, pick it now. It is a real classic that should not be missed.

 

Bangalore goes ‘Metro’

Bangalore's Namma Metro logo

I can’t call it as a proud moment, but it was a kind of happy expectation of something new happening in Bangalore. It is supposed to a new means of transport for the city at the verge of losing its nerves over traffic hassles. I decided to take my first Metro ride early Sunday morning (23rd October 2011), hoping that there would be less people thronging the Metro stations to take the ride. As usual my early morning plan got delayed due to my extended sleep and I reached the M G Road Metro station at 9:00AM.

There were quite a number of people, families like on a picnic day, all eager and thoroughly in awe of the plush M G Road Metro station. I had made my plan to take a ride from M G Road to Byappanahalli (current terminus) and back. I reached the ticket counter and asked for a return trip ticket but to my surprise the guy at the counter told me the return trip ticket has to be purchased at Byappanahalli. So I paid my fare of 15 INR from M G Road to Byappanahalli and was rewarded with a small round black token which had a plastic feel to it. I swiped the token over the sensor to let open the gates at the entrance to the stairs/escalators to allow me to the next level, though there were sentries at that point who were guiding people on how to swipe the token over the sensor to proceed further. I took the stairs to the next level and was suddenly overwhelmed by all the signboards, decorations, dozen security personnel and many commuters that it took some time for me to get my direction right and head towards Platform 1. Two security personnel at the platform were desperately trying to control the crowd to stay behind the yellow line. It was just a few seconds and the Metro train arrived at the platform at 9:10 AM. The people were more than eager to enter the train that they could not wait for it to open. One actually even was about to try to pry open the door when the automatic doors opened, and as is our custom the crowd just barged inside without caring for the elderly or the young ones. I took the last car of the train and preferred to stand at the end. After about 30-40 seconds of waiting time, the Metro rolled on its track. The interiors are sufficient, good looking and are no different from what I had seen in Singapore. The speed of the travel is also sufficient, though there are some harrowing curves in the 12 minute ride. The public address system inside the Metro train is good with announcements in English, Kannada and Hindi in the same order. There are also visuals indicating the upcoming station. It was a hassle free good ride.

Inside Bangalore's Metro Train

When all is good, the real success of this Metro can be gauged only when all the phases are complete. Even then, the reliability of the last-mile connectivity is an important factor for Bangaloreans to take the Metro. I hope in the other phases the number of curves in the tracks is reduced. One action for the general public is to not only cherish this property but also to maintain it. One gentleman in the last car of Metro that I travelled in was stress-testing the overhead handgrips to the extent that I feared the Metro would take its first tear.

Automatic doors of the Metro Train

I am eagerly waiting for the Metro to cover most parts of Bangalore. It should add enormous value to the life of Bangaloreans by making commuting less of a hassle. Take the Namma Metro ride, and know what is in store for us in the future.

The Music of ‘The Beatles’

'The Beatles' performing on stage

It’s not unusual when it comes to Wikipedia and YouTube that you start searching for something which leads you to other material and so on till you end up engrossed in something totally unrelated to what you had started your search for. That day I don’t know what I was searching in YouTube, but I clicked on a song – “Beatles – You’ve got to hide your love away”. With John Lennon singing about suppressing one’s feelings, there was revelation of sorts and I was entrapped by the music of the legendary band – The Beatles.

I was not sure that the olden days’ English pop would appeal to me, and hence I had always maintained a ‘sound’ distance from the artistes of the 60s, 70s and 80s till lately. Till a few years ago all that I listened to in English music was Michael Jackson and some odd soundtrack album songs here and there. Part of it is attributed to my deficiency in the English language which makes it tough for me to follow the lyrics. I had heard about ‘The Beatles’ before, but was not sure when it came to listening to their music. I had read about how one of the members of the band (George Harrison) had come to India to learn Sitar from our own Maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar and its influence on their music afterwards. I have watched few of the band’s pictures and their famous drop-T logo, but was still two minded about their music till “You’ve got to hide your love away” happened.

The famous drop-T logo of 'The Beatles'

Their music has variety and they don’t stick to a particular ‘sound’. Though the orchestration is minimalist, they infuse new sounds and enrich their music. Their music is a delight for Guitar enthusiasts, with the instrument being the major accompaniment in all the compositions. They have experimented with “Electrical Sounds” with some of their songs like “Baby you’re a Rich Man”. The other major highlight of their songs is the lyrics. The lyrics, mostly written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, are meaningful and poetic. One of the recurring themes in their lyrics is Love, which gives a certain creative space for some amazing melodies. The words are simple and put to good use to convey the emotion and meaning of a song. Their distinct voices elevate the song to a greater level, especially those that are sung with unquestionable passion by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. George Harrison’s Sitar pieces in some of the compositions are outstanding. It is amazing to see the way the classical Indian music piece blended into mainstream pop compositions.

 And NOW, I am a fan of their music. The Beatles’ music is a new experience. Their music is addictive often resulting in repeated playbacks of some favourite songs. It’s amazing that their music is enthralling audience across the world for so many generations. Truly good music has no expiration date. Below is a list of songs that are my favourites. Listen to ‘The Beatles’ and indulge in “Beatlemania”…

* Song – Album
 
* Ask me why – Please Please Me 
 
* There’s a place – Please Please Me 
 
* P.S I love you – Please Please Me
 
* Please Please Me – Please Please Me 
 
* Get Back – Let it be 
 
* Across the Universe – Let it be 
 
* Girl – Rubber soul 
 
* In my life – Rubber Soul 
 
* Norwegian Wood – Rubber Soul 
 
* Here comes the sun – Abbey road 
 
* I’m a loser – Beatles for sale 
 
* I feel fine – Past Masters 
 
* Rain – Past Masters 
 
* The night before – Help 
 
* Tell me what you see – Help 
 
* You’ve got to hide your love away – Help 
 
* Yesterday – Help 
 
* With a little help from my friends – Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band 
 
* Within you without you – Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
 
* Blackbird – White Album 
 
* Dear Prudence – White Album 
 
* Goodnight – Whitel Album 
 
* Ob La Di, Ob La Da – White Album 
 
* I will – White Album 
 
* Baby You’re a rich man – Magic Mystery Tour 
 
* Love you to – Revolver 
 
* Give Peace a change – John Lennon Single

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara – Movie Review

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara - Theatrical Poster

You walk into the cinema expecting something on the lines of “Dil Chahtha Hai”. The credits roll, after a brief introduction of the three friends – Kabir (Abhay), Imran (Farhan) and Arjun (Hrithik). Seeing the names on the title credits at the start you are all set for a “Dil Chahtha Hai” ride, like we would have had if we had had a movie based theme park. And you are entertained on those lines for few minutes with the witty one liners and depiction of real-life bonding between the friends.

But that is just skin deep. The more you go into it, the movie strips its outer layers of the “Dil Chahtha Hai” feel, to reveal a more serious theme. The film’s narrative takes in the 3 protagonists and carefully dissects their problems and hidden emotions. There is no concrete storyline. The road trip sets to loosen up them to cast away the veil and soak in the beautiful warmth of their present day in life. The problem and tribulations of some of the characters are mentioned and sympathized, whereas some are left unsaid (the character played by Katrina for instance).

To make such a serious theme lighter, the backdrop of Spain is a perfect ingredient. I could hardly count a shot or two of Mumbai/India, rest of the screen time was devoured by Spain. The most commendable part of the trip for sure is the underwater scuba diving. With Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy providing an apt near-to-silence BGM for those underwater scenes, the experience is magical. The other important and defining moment in the film is the sky diving scene. Just when all the three dance drop in the air and hold their hands together to form a circle, there is silence for a moment and the bond they share as friends is highlighted. These are the scenes that cannot be brought alive on a TV or a laptop. The dialogues are penned by Farhan Akhtar himself and he voices-over the poems in the movie too.

Running away from the Bulls

In the acting department, all the three male lead actors have done a wonderful job. They have refrained from showing any traits of larger-than-life persona on screen, save for their toned up physique. They laugh, brood and cry on screen like people do in normal life. For once the ladies are not arm candies and have a part to play, however small the part be. Zoya Akhthar has surely done a marvellous job of bringing such a huge cast together and extracting fine performances from them. None of the actors try to hog the limelight and seemed to enjoy the combined screen presence.

Cinematography and Music of the film come across as formidable allies to the director. The road scene where Hrithik breaks himself away from his cocoon, lost in thoughts of Katrina’s character, he throws inhibitions to winds and rests his head on the door of the car and watches the windmills and horses going past him, is a treat to watch. And so is the climatic sequence, where in the Bulls are depicted as problems in life and the need to run ahead of them.  Hats off to Carlos Catalan for such awesome cinematography. The metaphor is discreet and left to the viewer to interpret.

The movie does have its flaws and does drag a bit in the second half, but these are no reasons to discredit the film. It may not be “Cool” like “Dil Chahtha Hai” or a conventional potboiler that celebrates friendship. But it gives a good feeling about life and friendship. It celebrates the “Do what you love to do in life” attitude without any lengthy sermons. You will come out with a good feeling, and that really matters.

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara – so watch this movie now when you can.