Random Musings

So you want to see some Bollywood stars at close quarters? Perhaps use your cell phone camera to click their pictures too?

Hey while you are doing this, how about also praying to Lord Ganesha? That way you manage to see God and the demi-Gods (or Goddesses)also.

So what is the full proof way that I have to suggest? Its simple really.

Just keep track of new movies that are due to release on the Thursday or Friday. And then, for 1-2 days before the release date, camp outside the Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai, early in the morning. Of course, duly equipped with your camera phone etc. And while you are waiting for the star/s to turn up, you can also pray to the Lord. Yes, after all, before all auspicious activity, you need to invoke Lord Ganesha. And so you do here too..

Once that is done, take a good position and wait. You could see an Abhishek Bacchan walking in or maybe an Aishwarya Rai. They’d be without make up. Usually all serious looking, as they come to pay their respects to the Lord, before the release of their film.

Yes, indeed, its become a fairly routine practise now. Like on Friday morning, if we are to see reviews in the papers, then before that, on Thursday morning, you would see the photo of the star/s at the temple. That predictable, its become now..

Hey, while you are waiting for the big star/s to arrive, you will usually also spot some of the lesser ones, like a Bakhtayar, who is preparing to take the big prize in Nach Baliye – he is doing the rounds of Siddhivinayak temple, each week. There are others as well.

Happy celebrity spotting!

I have been a very vocal fan of Team India as led by Rahul Dravid and Greg Chappell. The initial efforts, the thought process that was going in, was admirable I thought. Something simple like how a player had to be good in at least 2 things out of batting, bowling and fielding, was a very good idea, I thought. Also the youngsters seemed to be responding so well – Dhoni, Pathan, Patel, Sreesanth, Raina, etc. All of them seemed to be thriving in this new environ, it appeared.

So whats gone wrong suddenly? If it was just a 1-2 games loss, I would have not worried. I would trust the long term goals and efforts, and not worry about an occasional loss.

However its gone beyond that now, I think. Today’s game against Australia saw a lack of application in batting, very ordinary fielding for a supposedly young side, and extremely lacklustre bowling, with lots of wides and all.

This does not give me any kind of confidence in the team and its tactics.

Something seems to have gone wrong in the whole planning process. Somewhere there seems to be a lack of confidence in the methods or the players are just not able to cope up with the extent of effort that team Greg Chappel demands. If the sneaked out press report of Chappell’s firing to the team is any indication, there seems to be a disconnect between the players and the coach.

It would be easy to suggest that we change coaches then. But the fact is that the ones who are not delivering are the players on the field. The problem is there and not in the coach or the captain. So close to the world cup, we are in a sad state of affairs, it appears. To make things worse especially for our morale, we are going to visit South Africa and play 5 ODIs at the beginning. I wouldn’t be surprised if we lose 0-5! How will we then prepare mentally from that point on, to the World Cup, is beyond me!

A billion people can only pray.. the playing has to be done by the eleven on the ground, after all… !

Three times yesterday, I had a scary experience on the road, for the exact same reason.

I was going up a flyover. It was a one lane road. The speed was decent. As you drive in this manner on a flyover, you don’t expect surprises. So you tend to be looking in the rear view mirror, look to your left or right, veer a bit to the left or right extremes of the lane, etc. And some of which was what I was doing, as I drove up that road.

When all of a sudden, I see these two old ladies, cleaning the street on the side, without any kind of protection (like traffic divertors, etc.). It took me by such a surprise that I would have almost ran over them, if not for a last second switch. Wow..

A nearly same thing happened on one more flyover, only it was not as close a shave this time. Here there were these three chaps, merrily painting the side of the flyover. There IS NO side lane in these flyovers and the lane is almost touching the edge. So when these chaps work on the side, they are ‘on the road’. And at the pace at which cars are going, there is a genuine risk of driving over them. WHY do they not realise this? They are so cool, they work as if they were working in a lab, comfortably without a trace of worry. And for us drivers, there is so much anxiety..

And then on the way back, a similar incident happened, except it was not a pedestrian, but a car. Again, on a flyover, with fast paced holiday traffic. I was in the left lane. There was space between my vehicle and the edge of the road, and a motorcyle chose to pass me from the left. Which was fine. I saw him and kept room for him on my side. When suddenly, I saw a white van parked on the left, perhaps on account of some car problem. But no blinkers, no warning. Since I was off the edge, I had enough time and room to move in a bit and pass the vehicle from its right. But rememeber that motorbike which was coming from my left. Trying to pass me, at good speed, assuming the road ahead to be nice and empty, as it should be, on a flyover. Only to suddenly find a vehicle parked in the front, in the dark of the night, and with very little room to do anything at all, other than try and jam the brakes hard. Which is what he did and came to a halt, a few inches before that vehicle.

Whatever was the problem with that car, why did it have to stop on the side and stay there, on the top of the flyover?? And if it had to, where were the blinking lights??

In all three cases, the culprits concerned (the pedestrians in the first two cases, and this vehicle in the last case) would not even have an inkling to the kind of danger they were creating! They were just so cool, man. I felt like getting down and beating them up. After all, if they want to commit suicide, why don’t they do it some other way, without getting others into trouble??!

“Driver Tales” or “Chauffeur Stories” if you will….

How many times have I seen at parties, the chat veering off to driver idiosyncracies! About how one’s driver is funnier than others’, and how much one is bearing, with one’s driver! And yet, how “he’s an okay guy, so we tolerate him…”!

Often we hear elaborate stories about one’s driver. The extent of observations that one makes about the driver, shows a phenomenal level of interest in that chap that we take. Sometimes more than what we take in our spouses or children!!

So what prompts such thoughts?
I think, most of us are fundamentally, ‘back seat drivers’. And where we CAN help it, we want the car driven exactly as we’d like to drive, even if its someone else who is doing the driving. We do not feel like that at all, when we are in a taxi or in a bus. Somehow the mind adjusts to the fact that, here, we are not going to be able to dictate the way the vehicle is being driven. But as soon as we are in our car, and there is someone else driving, we want to comment on the style, on how to brake as you near the signal, about how to take to the left lane at certain times, about how to avoid the pedestrians, etc. etc.

Driver Tales..

Yes, I think we could actually compile a book with everyone’s experiences. Each of us has so many to recount. We just need to have the topic started and we can make our several contributions to it.

A deeper philosophy behind this?
I think the car is just a symbol. Its our life. We may give some part of the so-called control to someone else. Like we may entrust say, the responsibilities of our finances to someone – perhaps our spouse or an advisor. But we still do not like to give up control. We want to keep telling that person, to do this or do that, etc. And yet, there are times when we realise that this part is out of our control (we are in the cab or in the bus!), and we are relaxed to let that time pass.

In terms of drivers, I have been there and done that (backseat driving, I mean). However now, I have a different attitude. With my current chap, I just made it clear at the outset that I want him to be safe, never to be in a rush, drive comfortably, let me take care of my reading or other work, as I sit at the back, and don’t give me tension on account of the driving.

Many times, I feel that ‘why doesn’t he do this or that?’ as I observe his driving. But I quickly let that thought move out and pass. And resume my work or my other thoughts.

Does my own philosophical analogy carry through in my changed attitude? Perhaps, it does. I have realised that some things HAVE to be delegated. While delegating, you specify your priorities (“I don’t want you to cause tension to me, as I sit back”), but beyond that, you need to have the task get handled by the person to whom you have delegated. Undoubtedly, it will be done somewhat differently than what you would have done. But that you have to accept. It has freed you to do other things – more important to you at the time. And for that, you have compromised, in not having the ‘car driven, the exact way you would want to drive’. But thats a fair swap. He may actually take a better or more efficient route, he may take care of the car better – perhaps your own confidence with your own car might have pushed the car to some dangerous zones. He being an outsourced party, is generally more careful about your car, than you are yourself.

I think the analogy works. And works well.

But nonetheless, there is room for the book, Driver Tales, even if it turns out to be a funny piece, after all!

P.S. Speaking of analogies, with regards to car driving, I have an elaborate theory, perhaps justifying a Doctoral research level work, to relate the style of one’s driving to one’s character or personality. Maybe, I will get to that at some point of time. Meanwhile, if I see a person driving, I do pick up my own pointers about the person, just from that. I have been bang on target so far, in my assessment of the person, as per his driving style… !

As I drive around the lanes of Parel, Lower Parel, Dadar, etc., I pass by lots of areas, that are very typically representing the real middle class of the city. Those households where the earning member is perhaps a diploma engineer working in a textile mill, or a clerk, or a junior executive. Perhaps an average income of Rs. 5000 to Rs. 20000 per month. With kids, elders, etc. all staying together, in small sized flats or chawls.

What I have noticed over the years, is the one common piece of garment that the women wear, most of the time. One would expect this garment to be a sari or a salwar kameez. But indeed, its neither of these two.

What I have seen is that women typically wear what can be described as a nightie or a kaftan. A one-piece cotton garment, that is both sober, as well as cheap, easy to maintain, easy to wear, very comfortable. I would suspect that readymade versions of these may be starting at Rs. 40-Rs. 70 range. Its an amazingly popular piece of garment, and I have been stunned to see its universal appeal in these environs.

An observation so strong that I felt it worthwhile to share it here!

Yes, in spite of what I wrote about my expectations, I had to go and see the new Don anyway. After all, it was Don, it was Farhan Akhtar and it was Shah Rukh Khan. With whatever thoughts I may have had, I had to give them a chance and check the film out. And which I did.

And this is what I felt about it…

That if it wasn’t a remake, it might have been not too bad. As an entertainer.

But because it was a remake, and we had a reference point, we could not help but feel, how it failed to impress!

Amitabh had and has a personality to be a Don. Tall, lanky, smart style of a brisk walk, and that voice – wow – that voice itself, makes such a difference.

Shah Rukh is great for a DDLJ, a KKHH and the like. But a Don NEEDS an Amitabh. Or perhaps an Ajay Devgan (sorry, I keep going back to him; this role would have suited him well!).

Chandra Barot, when he made the first Don, used a rapid pace for the film, at that time. For those times, Don moved almost lighting fast. There was something happening all the time, and perhaps that was the reason for its success. Here, Farhan attempts a similar rapid style, but you get a little lost occasionally.

Boman Irani’s character for example, leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Somewhere in that pace, we miss a few pointers and leaves us with question marks. ** Spoiler – in case you have not see the film ** Like if he was a famous policeman, and whose face would be seen around, would Singhania have not seen it, and known that Bardhan is still around? And then, would it not have been public knowledge, at least with the mafia? Would someone not have attempted to knock him off earlier, then?

The end was the most pathetic one. Obviously it was supposed to be ‘the inspiration’ to make it “different” from the original. But in an over exerted attempt to be different, it turned out to be a terrible one. As you saw people coming out of the theatre at the end of the movie, you saw most heads shaking horizontally, disapprovingly. Thanks to that end.. !

SRK had to say _that_ dialogue like, 10 times in the movie, to get registered, “don ko pakadna…”. Without so many attempts, it would have not been noticed at all, or what?

Again, Kareena is no match for Helen. Bold attempt, but ultimately, did not measure up. The Khaike Paan Banaraswala song turned out to be a group dance of the kind you’d see on Boogie Woogie. In the original, it clearly aided the story and was an amazingly energetic attempt, by the bungling Vijay – the rustic village boy!

As I said at the outset, if there was no comparison to be made, we might have yet come out of the film feeling like we saw a fun entertainer. But with the unavoidable comparison, you have to feel sorry – that it clearly did not measure up!!