November 2006

The Pride of Maharashtra: 'Marathi Baana'

November 14, 2006 Happenings

Frankly, I had not heard about this marathi musical until mom excitedly got the tickets for us. It’s called ‘Marathi Baana’ (Marathi Pride) and is playing to full houses all across the state (yesterday night was no exception). The 3 hour song and dance is a demo of the rich cultural heritage of Maharashtra featuring a live orchestra, singers and about 40-50 dancers from both sexes, all dressed up in the native colorful attire, dancing to the live music. The entire team comprises of 125 members. Ashok Hande, whose a veteran of Marathi stage has produced, written, directed and presented the show and also figures in the 4 male singing choir. The musical focuses on the long rich marathi traditions of festivals, folk songs and dances and discusses its plight under the current generation of the marathi population.

Firstly, the show is colourful and thats the only word that comes to my mind. The dancers are ‘fantabulous’ and the singers are mellifluous in their renditions as well. Its proof enough that they have worked pretty hard to get this show running on its feet what with the singers memorizing entire paras of songs and the dancers remembering their steps on every word of it. That said subtle references to the ‘paraprantiya’ (migrant population) during such shows involving the ‘marathi manoos’ (native maharastrian), is always on the cards and is a big turn off personally. This refers to the apparent displacement of the original marathi populace from their native land in mumbai to far-flung places in the northern suburbs and beyond, which is being attributed to the high influx of migrants from outside the state, their illegal settlement & economic progression in this city. One thought that the wonderful cultural platform that the musical ‘Marathi Baana’ offered should in no way be misused to fan the emotions of the patrons who come to enjoy the show. Art has to be set free of all biases against creed or race. But go and watch it for art’s sake and revel in the cultural celebration.

The Statement (2003)

November 12, 2006 Movies

It was time to renew the passion of watching movies. The sinister look of Michael Caine on the cover of this DVD intrigued me to pick it up. So for this week, I selected The Statement (2003). The story of the movie is about frenchman Pierre Brossad (Michael Caine) who belongs to the Vichy police, without whom the Nazis could never have murdered some 77,000 Jews in France. Brossad himself is responsible for murdering 7 Jews in a daybreak assault in a village called Dombay. He manages to evade justice by absconding and remains undetected under the protection of the clergy. However, a team of Jewish hit-men supported by some individuals in the seats of power are on his trail to avenge the killing of their brethren, 44 years later. A ‘statement’ proclaiming the justice and the avenging of the death of the Jews would be left on his dead body. Judge Annemarie Livi (Tilda Swinton) and Colonel Roux (Jeremy Northam) are assigned the task of reviving the case against Brossad for crimes against humanity and bring him to justice. Clearly it’s now the case of who-gets-him-first – the bullet or the long arm of justice.

Caine in his interview had said that he’s never played a character he’s disliked so much and it proves in the portrayal. He’s displayed the cunningness of Brossad who always seems to cover his tracks, with the same aplomb as the sick individual who clenches his chest in pain while moving around and shooting his predators. The movie, is based on a novel by Brian Moore and inspired from a real life incident.

» The Official Movie Website

Michael Caine in a scene from The Statement (2003)

IndiMix 06: The Microsoft India Event

November 10, 2006 Design

The web has become increasingly powerful and dynamic and we need to adapt to the newer technologies. That was the broad message given at the IndiMix 06 – The Next Web Now event which was organized by Microsoft in Mumbai. The highlight of the show was the introduction by none other than Steve Ballmer, the CEO of Microsoft Corporation. He set the tone for the day by introducing the audience to WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) and the next version of .NET Framework including an enthusiastic “hallelujah” on announcing the release of Windows Vista.

Continue reading…

A Momentous Day

November 8, 2006 General

Birthdays are a special reason to celebrate and most of the time I would prefer to do it alone within the confines of my humble abode. I would watch movies, eat junk, surf the net for all kinds of foolish things, shop for myself, receive birthday wishes on phone, mails wherever; yes that’s special for me.This time I ventured away from my 5 year tradition of not working on my birthday and considered celebrating it with my colleagues and friends. 2006 in many ways has been a “year of big changes” for me.

The day always starts with a visit to the Ganpati temple to offer my prayers and seek blessings for the next year. Then the heavy lunch at the India Tea Center, here in downtown Mumbai (with 16 of us) was amazing. If you decide to visit Mumbai, do plan a visit at this place in Churchgate for its traditional Indian interiors and good food but be aware of the slow service that they offer. Nevertheless, the highlight of the day was a book on the dutch graphic artist M C Escher gifted to me by the team, which contains some of his rare works and his “puzzled” artworks. The cake cutting ceremony in the office was made momentous by the laughter and the chatter over some silly innuendos. Someone was generous to shoot a video and I would see if I can share it here. Lastly it was my meeting with an old friend Randhir in the evening which bought some old memories back. At the end of this as I had anticipated, the celebrations and the joy had bought me crashing down on my bed too fast.

Check out the events that took place on 7th November, back in time.

Aussies win Champions Trophy (Yawnn!!)

November 6, 2006 Happenings

The Aussie win of their first ICC Champions Trophy tournament yesterday in Mumbai, came as no surprise to me. To say the least, Ricky’s Devils have become very predictable and it no longer excites me to watch them play Cricket. Boring might seem to be an apt phrase to use. The degree of clinical perfection that they have managed to bring in every game has become a matter of discussion in the cricketing corridors of the world. Yesterday’s 8 wicket win, came after a blazing start by the Windies who won the toss and elected to bat first. But some good bowling performances by Nathan Bracken and McGrath restricted them to just 138 in 30.4 overs. What makes them click? Is it the talent or the support staff that’s doing the job? or is it both? we try hard to unlock the code every time. But I beg to ask the managers of our cricketing legacy whether they have a road map ready for the coming months and the ICC world cup. The answer seems obvious to me.

Certainly, I would like to believe that amongst the other South Asian teams, the Indians are a better side to stop the Kangaroo’s hop, given their historic success rate but they aren’t doing well of late. Many a times it’s the psychological edge that proves the winner of the day and we seem to have lost it completely after our 16 match winning streak came to a sad end in the Caribbean tour. In the Champions Trophy, after the Indians won against the English in their first match, I thought they lost their rhythm coming back after a long 11 day holiday. They even failed to exploit the home conditions and looked very edgy in that match against West Indies which we should have won comfortably. After that loss, it was very improbable to defeat the Aussies, given their desperation to win the only trophy missing in their cabinet. Simply put, we don’t look like a team that wants to win anymore. Let’s hope we get our heads back together before the world cup and start winning a few matches. ‘Ooh aah India….Aaya India’ and the Blue Billion Express – such marketing jamboree is worthless if the team continues to downplay the emotions of a nation and keeps losing tournaments. Hope the sponsors are listening and taking notes.