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Why there can be no other Madhubala

A fan speaks about her fondness for yesteryear actor Madhubala, reminiscing about the late beauty on the latter’s birthday yesterday.
by Mamta D

February 14 is a day that has become popular in recent times as Valentine’s day. Few people know that this day also marks the birth of one of the most beautiful Indian actresses ever to have graced the silver screen. Madhubala, or if you prefer her real name, Mumtaz Jahan Dehlavi, was born on February 14, 1933.

I was but a child when the movie Mahal was being played for the umpteenth time at a local open air theater. It had first released in the ’50s, but was very popular even in the ’70s and ’80s. I still remember the awe with which I, as a child, first saw her stunning beauty. The pure innocence of the song ‘Aayega aayega aanewala’ overrode the surrounding suspense (the movie was a suspense thriller). The child that I was, I couldn’t comprehend the suspenseful story but was captivated by the gorgeous beauty who lit up the screen.

In the ensuing years, I came across many other movies starring this beautiful actress and I learnt to look beyond her obvious beauty at the talent she possessed. Those were the days long before the advent of the Internet, and all we had were film glossies if we wanted to know more about stars and their human personas (aside from their celluloid personas, that is). Some of these glossies carried write-ups on yesteryear actresses. It was in one such glossy that I chanced upon an article about my favorite actress. I read about early successes (she was a child artiste before she went to do lead roles), her relationship with Dilip Kumar, her marriage to Kishore Kumar, and finally her tragic death at a young age. Reading about her personal struggles only served to increase my respect and love for this iconic actress who, if she had lived longer, would have continued to rule the silver screen.

Even back then or until much later, I had no clue about her illness or about how she suffered for years.  I just knew that she had died young. Born with a heart defect, a “hole in the heart” condition as it is commonly called, she kept her ailment hidden from the film industry and cinema audiences, which though full of adulation for a beautiful and successful star, could also be cruel and insensitive.  Stoically, she continued to make films despite the illness getting worse with time. In her personal life too, she faced many hardships and unhappiness. A fallout with the man she truly loved, a short-lived marriage to Kishore Kumar, and a terribly demanding shooting schedule all took a toll on her.

Unaware of all these details, back then, all I (and countless others like me) could see was the beauty we beheld before us, and the talent that shone through. Bedazzled and smitten, we yearned for more. When she giggled and pranced, our hearts sang with delight. When she became melancholic, we grew somber and gloomy. Such was the power she held over us. The mellifluous songs picturised on her are hummed even today. And yet she had been long gone by the time I was born. Unlike the stars of today, whom you can spot in person, interact with on Facebook or tweet with on Twitter, in those days, there was no means to contact the star. Madhubala, in particular, was quite reclusive, in that she even declined to make public appearances or give interviews.

Despite some of her films not being huge box office successes, she was still one of the most sought-after actresses. Many actresses in recent years have been said to be new-age Madhubalas. But to hardcore Madhubala fans like me, no one can even hold a candle to her.

Mamta D works in the IT industry. Beyond her job, she writes, travels, paints and experiments with various side projects, among other things. 

(Picture courtesy indya101.com)

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‘Go Commando on vehicular lawlessness’

An annoyed Mumbaikar declares that the lawlessness on Mumbai’s roads has corrupted his driving discipline. Read on to know how.
by Rohan Naravane

I firmly believe the people of our country are responsible for corrupting my driving discipline. When I started learning to drive on the day of my 18th birthday, I had said to myself that I wasn’t going to be one of ‘them’, where ‘them’ refers to the unlawful sons-of-guns that you come across on the roads of Mumbai (probably many Indian roads, too).

These are the people who will break a signal after a quick glance to see if there aren’t any traffic cops around. Some of them even have the audacity to honk if you’re in front of them and trying to follow the law during low traffic hours. If that wasn’t enough, some even give you a “bloody law-abider dimwit” look as they overtake you.

Pedestrian signals are the biggest jokes I’ve seen in the city. If you ever see a green pedestrian light, brace yourself and keep an eye out for cars. On both sides. You might just find them coming at you from the opposite side – they’re trying to save U-turning at the next crossing.

With all this unlawfulness on the roads, it’s not too long before you subconsciously start breaking some rules yourself. If trucks or other cars keep driving at slow speeds on the fast lane, isn’t it instinctive for us overtake them from the left? ‘Slow is the new fast lane’ has become the unwritten law of this land. It is a vicious cycle, where one group of people breaks the law, frustrating the other group, thereby making them reciprocate in a similar way. When cars don’t have any consideration for the pedestrian signal, why would the latter respect their right of way?

And if you’re ever feeling courteous at a crossing to let other cars pass first, snap out of it. You might just be stuck there for an eternity! People are so impatient; it’s as if all of them have in-the-throes-of-labour pregnant women in their backseats at all times.

This impatience even goes beyond driving on the roads. Unless there is no designated marker that suggests forming a line, first-come-first-serve is a natural instinct. We’ve been reading boards that say, ‘Please let passengers alight the train first’ in our Mumbai locals since we started using the trains. But ever been to a point of origin (like Borivali, for example) during rush hours? It’s funny to see people who are wanting to alight, standing at the end of the other side, having the same look in their eyes that poultry does when it’s about to be slaughtered.

Then there’s the time I’m in my car, waiting in line to fill air in the tyres at a petrol pump, and almost every time I see two-wheelers callously driving past me, because their two tyres take half as long as my four.

If I kept writing on this subject, I could publish a book documenting such instances. The time to act is right now. It’s time to go Commando on vehicular lawfulness. The next time you see a slowpoke thinking he owns the fast lane, keep honking and flickering your lights till he gets the message. Slam down the accelerator the moment the signal turns green, scaring anybody who, wrongly so, is in your way. Show the finger to anybody behind you who honks, prompting you to jump the signal. Let’s uphold law before the line between right and wrong gets blurred right out of our minds.

And don’t think that this is an over-population problem. China has more people than us, but they’re doing just fine.

Rohan Naravane is a technology blogger based in Mumbai. When he’s not writing about technology (http://wherethegadgets.at/author/rohan/), he likes to talk about it and will ramble on if he finds you remotely technological. His other recent endeavours include getting back in shape, marathoning TV shows and movies. 

(Featured image courtesy conversation.cipr.co.uk)

 

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Back from Bharat bhraman

Two Mumbai men toured India, wishing to plant trees in all 35 States and UTs. Hari Chakyar tells the story.
by Hari Chakyar

It’s been two days since we got back from our ‘Bharat bhraman’ (the duo were out on their pet project, Project 35 Trees). I have been treating my weary traveller’s stomach to some ma ke haath ka khaana and sleeping in my own bed. It feels good to be back.

When we set out on October 10, 2012, the dream was to plant trees in all the 35 States and Union Territories of India and to encourage young Indians to do the same. Now, almost four months later, we are happy to announce that we have managed to do that in 32 states and Union Territories. The three that are left are Mumbai, Arunachal Pradesh and Lakshadweep.

We’ll do the Mumbai leg of the session soon. Plus, we’ll identify locations and guardians and plant a lot of trees in Mumbai and Pune.

We tried going to Arunachal Pradesh twice but both plans got squashed thanks to the Arunachal Pradesh Students Union elections. No host, no rooms in hotels or lodges, struck up public transport systems and no contact person; it didn’t seem like a risk we could take with expensive crowd-funded and crowd-sourced equipment.

The next ship to the archipelago of Lakshadweep leaves on February 27… that i,s if you take the tourism department’s package. Alternatively, if someone from the island invites you over with an attested letter that goes to the administrative office in Kochi, you can go on an official visit. We had neither the invite nor the time to wait till the next ship. Even if we did, there is no way one can break away from the package and do their own thing. One can take a flight to Lakshadweep too but would you really spend 17,000 rupees per head one way if you were us? We decided we would rather plant trees worth that much in places that need them the most.

Technically, we did not achieve what we had set out to do but then we feel we’ve got a lot more done. We feel fitter, probably from the regular routine of lugging heavy bags around. We’ve greater respect for time…we realise there is so much to do in life but there’s so little time. We met a lot of amazing people who are doing amazing work. We saw the country we call our own on every Republic Day and Independence Day, but which we had never seen with our own eyes. We heard languages never heard before and vowed to return when we could speak some of them.

We loved every moment of it. Now, while I can sit back and think of the amazing India tour, Anthony and team will be working on the film part of the project.

Honestly, I can’t wait to do this again!

Hari Chakyar and Anthony Karbhari left on their tour, which they call Project 35 Trees, on October 10, 2012. Read about the project here.

(Pictures courtesy Hari Chakyar)

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Sex and the city

Shifa Maitra recounts a recent late night ordeal in Mumbai, and says that Mumbai is only slightly safer than Delhi.

So Delhi is an awful place and women shouldn’t even visit. Well, Mumbai is just a tad better. Having lived in both cities and having returned here after a five-year stint in Delhi, I can tell you that living on your own as a single woman here isn’t as great
as it used to be. I am not comparing it to Delhi, but let’s put it this way, women can’t be as bindass as they used to be here. With women being molested outside a five star hotel on New Year’s eve, to a security guard sexually assaulting and killing a bright young lawyer, to acid attacks, stones being pelted at the ladies compartments in trains…all of it is a nightmare.

I recently had a shocker of an experience when I was returning home from a late night shoot. Thank God my driver was driving. It was around 3 am and at the Juhu beach turning, an SUV came very close to my car, with some guys inside it waving and screaming. My first reaction was to see if it was someone I knew, but my driver sensed trouble and stepped on the accelerator. I could see them screaming and making lewd gestures. I panicked and my driver warned me that he would be speeding – this car tried to block our way and stop in front of us. The entire ordeal lasted a few minutes but it was nightmarish. When I looked up, my driver had taken another route till we lost them.

I was telling a friend the next day about this incident, and she said that something similar had happened to her and a friend when they left from Wtf in Versova and were going home. We don’t have a Chief Minister, yet, who tells us that women should stay at home to avoid such incidents, but we are getting there.

Pepper sprays and learning taekwando are all very well. Drunk driving is something the city has been able to get under control, but all the same, driving alone past midnight is best avoided. A friend had a flat tyre late at night at the Garage Road in Santacruz, and she was pretty shaken up by the time she got home.

Another thing to avoid is going for a walk or a run at night. From Versova’s back road to the Carter Road promenade, women have had to deal with unwelcome attention for no fault of theirs.

Allowing electricians, plumbers and watchmen inside your home when you are alone is again a no-no. However inconvenient, call a friend or neighbour to hang around till the work is being done. Someone I know runs an agency for guards, and he was candid about the fact that background checks on those employed are not always done.

Taking an autorickshaw at night is asking for trouble. God help you if you light up a cigarette, you really may not get home. People who seem perfectly ‘normal’ when alone, when in a group become a mob that can’t be trusted. Colaba Causeway, Gateway of India, Linking Road and Juhu are areas that are hellholes, given that streetwalkers operate there and any woman out at night alone is instantly branded as one.

Crowded places are again a bane, whether it is Ganpati visarjan or Holi. New Year’s eve or the Bandra Fair, the minute a woman is in the crowd, it is assumed that the woman will ‘enjoy’ being groped and molested. Sad but true, that women are better off staying off the roads when these hooligans reign.

Well, the silver lining is that if a woman asks for help in a public place in Mumbai, people will step forward and help her. Walking into a cop station is also not as daunting as it would be in Delhi.

Keeping your mobile phone charged at all times helps, and calling up a friend when there is a hint of trouble makes sense. A friend who lived alone had a drunk neighbor banging on her door at one in the morning. Thankfully, she called us instantly and had only frayed nerves to deal with.

So, trust in God but lock your car, as the Dalai Lama said. Of course Mumbai is a rocking, fun city, but don’t push your luck.

Shifa Maitra is a media professional based in Mumbai.

(Picture courtesy Joshi Daniel)

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The autowallah knows my caste!

An autowallah selects those he deals with, passengers included, based on their ‘upper’ caste – even his wife’s a Brahmin.
by Nidhi Qazi

After taking a look at the long queue of passengers waiting for an autorickshaw outside Ghatkopar station, I set out to find my own autowallah. After a few misses, I finally come across a smiling bespectacled man – an autorickshaw driver. Seeing him ignore a few other passengers relieves the hurried soul in me, because I have to rush to college ASAP. I dash into his vehicle and thank him for waiting for me. Here begins a 20-minute long conversation till I reach the destination.

Me: Thank you, bhaiyya.

He: Thank you for what, madam? I had to wait for you. You see I couldn’t just let any lower caste people enter my rickshaw.

Me: But how do you know they were lower caste?

He (chuckles): What are you saying, madam? I am in this auto business for quite some time now, I am wise enough to know who is who.

Me: So according to you, which caste do you think I am from?

He: You could be a Gujarati Brahmin.

Me: No, wrong. I am not a Gujarati Brahmin.

He: Whatever you may be, you surely are not a lower caste person.

Me: Which caste do you belong to?

He: I am a Roman Catholic married to a Maharashtrian Brahmin.

Me: Why this aversion towards the ‘lower’ castes?

He (laughs): What madam, what a silly question to ask! Don’t you know how dirty these people are? They eat all sorts of meat, don’t take bath properly. How can I let them enter my autorickshaw? Moreover, they are nothing but a panauti (inauspicious). I don’t let them on board or else my entire day goes bad.

Me: Who told you these things?

He: Even though I am a 60-year old father of a girl, I have been listening to what my parents have to say. They have seen life, met people. It is their education and values that I abide by. What in life can one achieve if he doesn’t pay heed to their parents’ given ideals and principles?

Me: Yes right, bhaiyya. But here when we are talking about human beings, aren’t all of us the same?

He: Madam, let me ask you something. Are you working or studying?

Me: I have done my graduation and am studying further.

He: Okay, so tell me what’s a pig’s purpose of existence?

Me: I don’t know.

He: Your education is a waste if you don’t know the answer to this. A pig is born to clean the shit of this world. Similarly, everyone including humans have a certain purpose of their existence.

Me: That doesn’t really answer my question, does it?

He: Leave it, madam. You are immature to understand all of this.

Me: How come you got married to a non-Catholic?

He: She’s a Brahmin and that suits me well as we were also Hindu Brahmins before conversion .

Me: You are a convert? But why?

He: That again is what my parents had in store for us. Don’t really know why we converted but it is good.

Me: What is good?

He: That we are Catholics. You see, madam, we are one of the best religions. I don’t really like the other religions. They have so many negatives. Leave it, let’s not get started now.

Finally, the journey comes to an end and so does the lecture on caste and religion.

Nidhi Qazi is a student at Tata Institute of Social Sciences. She writes because it gives vent to her ideas and helps her explore and experience people.

(Picture courtesy thecityfix.com. Picture used for representational purpose only)

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We really love big fat weddings

In a grim economy and with inflation hitting the roof, one would think Indians were planning austere weddings. Think again.
by Khalid Isar

With the on-going wedding season in India, Indians the world over are spending more abundantly on celebrations this year.  Site analytics on Alibaba.com, an e-commerce platform for small businesses, seem to suggest that ‘extravagant is the theme that will lead this year’s wedding celebrations.

Given the wedding season, Alibaba.com has seen that ethnic clothing (21 per cent), suits and tuxedos (11 per cent) and dresses (19 per cent) all showed an overall year-on-year increase in searches from October 2011 v/s October 2012. Indian buyers are also increasingly searching for garment accessories and various gift items during the wedding season.

The preparations for the wedding season started a few months ago. The ethnic clothing category search, which saw an overall increase of 21 per cent (year-on-year), began seeing an increase in January 2012, in preparation for the wedding season. April 2012 saw the biggest monthly spike at 19 per cent, followed by a 17 per cent search increase in January 2012. Three months prior to the wedding season in India, Alibaba.com data saw another drastic increase in month-on-month search results at 14 per cent (July 2012).

In addition to clothing this year, event and party supplies witnessed a sharp year-on-year  increase in searches at 24 per cent, suggesting lavish celebrations this wedding season. When looking at the gift and craft category searches, there was also an increase in searches for items such as incense (5 per cent), frames (2 per cent) and gift sets (2 per cent).

Weddings are planned well in advance of wedding season. As such, small merchants and businesses are looking to source their related apparel and gifts far in advance of the retail season. For suppliers listed with us, not only can they can take advantage of India’s huge homegrown demand, but also supply to wedding-related merchants throughout the year, around the world.

During this season, India has emerged as the fifth largest buyer market while traditional buyer markets such as the US and the UK led the overall demand for various products. The US is the top buyer market for Indian suppliers, constituting 23 per cent of inquiries. Indian manufacturers also supply locally with the country being the second biggest buyer market with 17 per cent, followed by the UK at 8 per cent of inquiries.

Indian suppliers have also been receiving inquiries from other buyer markets, including Australia, Canada and France.

Khalid Isar is the Country Manager for Alibaba.com.

(Featured image courtesy daveandcharlotte.com)

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