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Music at a railway station

We catch up with Neeraj Arya as he performs at the Borivli railway station and quickly draws a big crowd.
by The Diarist | thediarist@themetrognome.in

It is 6.15 pm, and Borivli railway station’s platform number 1 is expectedly buzzing with commuters on their way home. But at a space near the main indicators, the unmistakable strains of a man singing to the accompaniment of a dholak fill the busy air. Edge closer, and you realise that you can no longer hear the passing trains.

I catch up with the next performer in line, Neeraj Arya. “What’s the time?” Neeraj asks me, clearly distracted. He is a few minutes away from his performance – he sings and plays the guitar – but he stops to chat and offer details. “I am a resident musician with the National Streets for Performing Arts (NSPA), and so far, we’ve played at three railway stations this month, every week. I have performed on at least 15 occasions,” he grins, adding that he also fills in for musicians who are scheduled to play but who cannot turn up at the last minute.

 

Arvind Ekrupe, coordinator at NSPA, joins us. “We perform at railway stations because train travellers are an extremely stressed lot, and live music helps bring their stress levels down. Besides, musicians and good artistes perform only at galleries and closed auditoria, so the common man on the street doesn’t get access to good music. This is our effort to make music accessible in a community space,” he explains, adding that with local trains being a mass transit travel mode, the initiative gets all kinds of audiences.

“We perform at Churchgate station on Monday, Borivli on Wednesday and Bandra on Saturday,” Neeraj chips in. “We have two artistes performing from 9 am to 11.30 am, and two others from 5 pm to 7.30 pm. And there is a good mix of music played out. So far, the response has been fabulous.”

He leaves us to prepare for his own act. By now, several curious commuters have stopped to watch, and listen, as Neeraj and a friend start tuning up their guitars. Three beggar children are the audience members closest to Neeraj, but he doesn’t seem to mind them.

And then he begins to play, and we forget the trains once more.


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Watch

Stunning pictures that won prizes

The Media Foundation of India’s (MFI) second National Press Photo Contest had some real stunners from over 6,500 entries received.
by The Diarist | thediarist@themetrognome.in

We attended the awards ceremony for the Media Foundation of India (MFI) and Yes Bank’s National Press Photo Contest at the Nehru Centre, Worli, yesterday. And the event was awesome! There were some truly stunning photographs in five categories – General News, Spot News, Daily Life, Art and Culture, Sports and Photo Story – and the press fraternity cheered madly as each award recipient made his way to the stage.

Chief Minister of Maharashtra officiated as the chief guest at the event.

In random order, a few of the award-winning entries and honourable mentions:

 

To know more about these photographs, and to see all the winners, click here

 

 

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Read

The most-read magazine in Maharashtra

…is a government publication! Lokrajya, over 60 years old, is the country’s only government magazine with a 3,05,000 print run.
by Vrushali Lad | vrushali@themetrognome.in

A magazine prepared and printed in Mumbai, finds resonance all over the state. It is sold out within a few days of hitting the stands, and has a staggering on-stands sale of about 50,000, higher than the glossiest magazines devoted to other topics. It has a stunning subscriber base of 3,05,000 people all over Maharashtra, apart from a strong online presence. And despite its huge popularity, it is priced at a modest Rs 10 per issue, and is produced on a non-profit basis.

The magazine is titled ‘Lokrajya’, and is a Government of Maharashtra Information and Public Relations (PR) production. The entire team working on the magazine, however, mention at the start of the interview that none of their names are to be made public. “We are only doing our jobs,” they say, before an official launches into an explanation of the magazine and how it came to be so popular.

“It was started 64 years ago, as a weekly, to cater to the strong reading culture of the state,” he explains. “Three generations have come up reading Lokrajya; it is not a gazette but it is a government mouthpiece. However, we maintain the highest editorial and production qualities for each issue. The cover is very scrupulously done, and we are very meticulous about minimising errors.” The magazine is backed by a team of in-house editors, and there are edit meetings held before production of each issue begins. “We try and gauge what people would be interested in reading, what is most current at the moment. We also bring out special issues that have always been well-received – our special issue on Babasaheb Ambedkar’s birth centenary even went into a reprint!”

He mentions that the magazine’s readers, and indeed its targeted niche, are not based in Mumbai. “A very small percentage of people in Mumbai are reading it. Our base is in the other cities and towns, and especially in the villages. Our most ardent readers are UPSC students, government servants, gram and zilla panchayat workers, rural schools and colleges, tribal students and economically backward students. We feature stories and interviews that are of especial interest to these groups.”

Lokrajya is printed in Marathi, Hindi, Urdu and English, though it used to be printed in Sindhi also. “It was too taxing to print it as a weekly, so it was later made a monthly,” the official explains. “Since the periodicity is monthly, we can pack more news and features in each issue.” says Director General Pramod Nalavade. He adds, “You should see our distribution process. With such huge bundles of magazines going out to distributors and to post offices all over the state, the magazine is almost a small industry in itself!”

 

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Read

An astonishing children’s library at Churchgate

The Vohu Mano library has a lifetime membership of Rs 350 only, plus children can read rare titles as well.
by The Diarist | thediarist@themetrognome.in

Inside the Theosophy Hall just opposite the American Centre at New Marine Lines, there is a lovely little children’s library that houses every sort of book, comic and encyclopaedia that a child could possibly desire. Books such as the Trixie Belden series, now not available in most bookstores, back issues of The National Geographic, a towering collection of Amar Chitra Katha comics and a host of beloved children’s authors are neatly displayed on its shelves.

The fourth floor library has a lifetime membership fee of only Rs 350. “It is actually a refundable deposit, and there are no other charges,” says a ‘student’ who manages the centre (all Theosophy followers in the building prefer not to use their names and call themselves ‘students’.) She adds, “The deposit is refundable only after six months, however. The idea behind such a small deposit is that even those chidren who cannot afford to purchase books can have access to good reading material at our library.”

Vohu Mano is ancient Persian for ‘The superior mind’. The student says, “People who come here for the first time are surprised at our vast collection of books, apart from the low lifetime fees. After the library started in 1962, its fees were Rs 5 for the longest time. However, we have had to progressively increase the deposit amount to meet our operational costs.” The library does not purchase any books but relies solely on donations from the public or the United Lodge of Theosophists. “It is lovely to see children as young as 10 years of age come with several books and leave them with us,” the student says. “So many children come with even 15 books sometimes, and some of the books are in mint condition.” The library also accepts monetary contributions for the upkeep of the library.

Interestingly, though the library insists on membership up to 18 years of age, several parents and older collegians also drop by to borrow books. “Since there are several offices in the area, it is the parents that come to borrow books for their children. But they also find books interesting to them, such as our encyclopaedias. College students, especially borrow our educational material for their project work,” she says.

The library now boasts of a 1,000+ membership. “There are 15 to 20 visitors every day,” she says. “It helps that we have a nice reading room where children can select a book and read without interruption.”

About the library:

– There is a refundable Rs 500 deposit to be paid if you want to borrow reference material.

– Children can borrow one old book and one new book at a time. Alternatively, they can borrow two magazines, or one book and one magazine.

– The library began in 1962 with over 1,000 books in English and over 100 books in Gujarati, Urdu, Hindi and Marathi.

(Picture courtesy www.childrensbooksandmusic.com)

The Diarist is always on the lookout for interesting book-related nooks. If you know of a good reading room or unexplored library, do write in to thediarist@themetrognome.in and the diarist will feature the place. 

 

 

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Watch

5 lame TV shows

These lame shows are LAME! We watch them only because it feels so good when we switch off our TVs.
by The Diarist | thediarist@themetrognome.in

Good heavens, the idiot box will surely make idiots out of all of us. I’m not saying watching TV is bad, I’m saying watching bad television programmes will give our brains serious injuries. And trust me, there are a LOT of bad television programmes on air right now. So bad, our eyes are bubbling over and our heads are throbbing with the question: Why? Why do I do this to ourselves?

And because I believe that misery, like the food you don’t like, must be shared, I present to you five lame TV shows I’ve tortured myself with in recent times.

Two Broke Girls (Star World)

The creators of this show claim that it is ‘the evil twin of chick lit’. Sure it is. It is also the evil twin of everything that is smart and funny. An interesting premise – two girls working at a diner to raise money for their own cupcake shop – is let down by severely bad acting and terrible writing. In fact, the writing itself could have been salvaged if the two lead actors were any good – but they are not good. At all. The girl who plays Max, especially, is terrible – her face is heavily Botoxed, her mouth is a constant pucker that you want to attack with a blunt instrument, and her imagined poker face when she is being sarcastic, is only reflective of the fact that she cannot do a convincing poker face. Avoid this one at all costs.

Zindagi Ki Haqeeqat Se Aamna Saamna (Colors)

I missed about 10 minutes of the start of a random episode of this show, because I was trying to memorise its name. Once I got the hang of the show, however, I was mesmerised. The channel has done well to periodically announce that the episode is a dramatic representation of real-life events. What Colors failed to say, however, was that the dramatisation was so extreme, you would begin to think about your life for a bit.

The show has two mediators, a panel of bad actors pretending to be the jury, a bickering family/couple, and an on-location ‘investigator’ called Vikram, whose job is to unearth the truth behind the participants’ claims. So, on the episode I watched, Vikram was entrusted with finding the bank details of a man who had encashed a cheque that belonged to his wife – she being unaware of the amount on the cheque (!) or that he had signed various contracts on her behalf (!!). So Vikram got actual bank records – surrendered by the bank without a single question – and got people to confess on camera that the man was a shady ‘un. What’s more, Vikram telephoned people from the studio and introduced himself as “Vikram bol raha hoon, Zindagi Ki Haqeeqat Se Aamna Saamna se,” and the people on the other end of the line fell over themselves to talk to him. He couldn’t have got a better response if he’d said he was Shahrukh Khan looking to cast newbies for his next film.

If you’ve had a bad day at work, this show, with its richly comical production values and casting, is the show for you.

The Vampire Diaries (Zee Cafe)

Let’s face it – vampires are stupid. And given that they are stupid, they should either remain firmly ensconced in their coffins, or when they do come out, they should keep their fangs to themselves. But no. This lot is unable to keep its trap shut. Plus, in the three episodes I watched, there was constant back-biting (and neck-biting) and everything was a bit of a muddle. There was one scene when one of the leads lies down in the middle of the road, thereby prompting a friendly motorist to stop and ask if he is hurt. After some puzzling dialogue, during which he admits that he must kill her but finally tells her that she is free to go, he leaps out at her from the air and bites her anyway. These vampires, I tell you.

Also, I don’t know if the creators wish to convey constant menace, but could they turn the lights up, please? The show is literally so dark, I have to turn up the brightness on my TV set. And when I do that, all these vampires look like crap. I’d much rather watch the really entertaining Supernatural, instead.

Sur Kshetra (Colors)

Answer me this: Who selected the two men on this show? What were they thinking when they put these two on the judges’ seat? When was the last time Atif Aslam did not sound like a goat? Or Himesh Reshammiya, like a soul in torment? And why is the singing on this show so mediocre? Also, who let Ayesha Takia out of her house?

After you’ve answered the above, can you also explain if you’ve been able to figure this show out? All everyone keeps doing is fighting with each other and going jingoistic on each other’s ass. The two men argue all the time, then they have individual slanging matches with the three women judges. From what I’ve seen so far, the show follows a loop – bicker, sing, bicker about the singing, sing, bicker…

Keeping Up With The Kardashians (Zee Cafe)

I have no words for this one? Like, it’s really terrible? And I really wish this entire family would be locked away someplace? Where they couldn’t do any more shows? Why am I talking like this? Because that’s how Kourtney and Kim talk?

 

(Pictures courtesy aapkacolors.com, picgifs.com, 2brokegirls.maxupdates.tv and shandsworld.blogspot.com)

 

Categories
Film

And…(long pause)…action!

The feisty Preity Zinta is back after a long sabbatical. But will she and her new film captivate the audience?
by M | M@themetrognome.in

‘She came, she saw and she came back,’ could very well sum up the Preity Zinta story. With her ‘comeback’ release next week Ishkq in Paris, (the film’s release has been delayed yet again), I am obliged to review her career. And there are several points to ponder over.

I think Preity was the only actress who could pull off the bubbly girl-next-door image effortlessly. On most other actors, it just looked forced and stupid. This ‘chirpy girl’ image had it going for her since her debut in Dil Se, when most of us thought she was here to stay. And she did, for quite some time, amidst the hits and the flops, exceeding viewers’ expectations with each movie.

A series of not-so-good movies were always topped with an in-your-face performance from Preity. She had it going for her, until a certain Mr Wadia rained on her parade. Loads of actresses fall in and out of love… but very few put everything they’ve earned (including their reputations) at stake.

Her relationship initially seemed like a fairy tale come true – a beautiful girl finds a handsome, rich boy who will take her on cruises around the world. But soon, the Preity dream turned into a (Loch) Ness nightmare. There were nasty rumours of Preity doing recreational drugs, that those drugs had now turned into a habit. They said that when she broke up with Ness, the ugliness of it all haunted Preity so much that she reportedly checked into rehab, and some even said that she had got a nose job done.

I really like her. Apart from being a reasonably good actress, Preity Zinta is an intelligent woman. She is educated, comes from a respectable family and was even a guest columnist with BBC Online for a brief while. It is unfortunate when a woman is mistreated by a man, and then by the industry. It was quite the task for her to get a distribution partner on board for Ishkq in Paris. The constant push-back from reputed distributors resulted in multiple delays in releasing the film. Now, it turns out that her film’s director is ill, so this week’s release date has been changed to next week’s for now.

But even after the heartburn distribution and release issues, and the lack of support from most of her friends in the industry, Preity seems to have pledged to never give up. Like her show on TV (which also tanked), she seems determined to ensure that her comeback film will see the light of day. But as much as I want her to succeed, as much as I respect her for picking up the pieces and getting her act together, I have serious doubts about Ishkq in Paris.

But if you are still craving some Zinta before her new film hits the theatres, I would advise you to stay at home with a tub of popcorn and grab DVDs of her earlier movies that are actually worth a watch, such as:

– Sangharsh (1999): India’s answer to Jodie Foster, Preity carries the complexities of a frail girl and tough cop brilliantly in this film.

– Kya Kehna (2000): Post-Juno, the teenage pregnancy issue has revealed its lighter side, but back in 2000, especially in India, this was still a hard-hitting issue. Her performance in the film did create quite a stir.

Lakshya (2004): This is my favourite Preity Zinta movie of all time. The staunch modernist/feminist side of Zinta was the inspiration for Romila Dutta’s character.

Heaven On Earth (2008): See Zinta shine as Chand, a timid housewife trapped in an abusive marriage. Beware, the movie will go haywire with a bizarre turn, but remember you’d rather watch this than Ishkq in Paris.

Dil Chahta Hai (2001): Finally, the chirpy girl-next-door. Enjoy!

(Picture courtesy g.ahan.in)

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