Switzerland

It seems so silly to write about a Switzerland trip, as countless tourists from innumerable countries have travelled there. Millions of articles and photographs have been published. And yet when we reached there and started absorbing the visual delights , we were left not only thrilled but also annoyed. The reason for the annoyance started when we started comparing with the great natural beauty of our own country, and the difference in “display”. Switzerland was so clean, so underpopulated, so regulated, so orderly. We are dirtying our treasures, the mad and constant crowd rush is overpowering, the systems are so disorganised that many times it borders on the mad and chaotic. Switzerland surrounds you with its beauty, India overwhelms like a ballooning canvas hitting your face.

Lucerne, Mt.Titlis, Jangfrauschol, Zurich, Rhine Falls were stunning, but after a few days one yearned for the comfortable.mad rush of Kolkata. Call it inertia of the stationary, or the fear of adjustments in the elderly age, we all breathed a collective sigh of relief as we scurried home to our homes and families.

I looked at it like a photo trip, my mind and spirit assuaged by the plethora of pictures framed by the bus window or a camera viewfinder. Rolling verdant greens on one side with the traditional chalets on a niche beside the tall pine trees, lonely inviting paths winding past gurgling brooks, the tinkling of the cowbells reverberating off the omnipresent craggy mountains and gorges, the clear blue sky with an incessant passage of fluffy white clouds(we were blessed with good weather), and the snow and the glaciers shooting little arrows of reflected sunlight which blinded us, the lazy yachts with ballooning sails framed on the distant peaks, the crystal clear waters of the lakes, the wonderfully maintained tourist attractions like the Ice Palace and the maddeningly clean trains and buses and roads---all were drunk in by our parched eyes.

Everyone one of us must visit this heaven at least once in a lifetime.

Switzerland selected album

Look up the photos on this link.

Antaheen--the Endless

 

I did not get to see the film Antaheen earlier. Maybe I skipped seeing it deliberately , to watch it without the hype and the hoopla of being a golden harbinger of the "New" Bengali films. So. this evening , I settled down to it, with time on my hands, mobile phone switched off, and after an extremely rare great afternoon nap.

The storyline is difficult to narrate, as I sometimes wondered whether there was one. Abhik Choudhury (Rahul Bose) , a Police Officer and Brinda Menon (Radhika Apte), a Star Ananda reporter are chat mates and do not know their identities. They meet in common circles which includes Abhik's brother Ronno(Kalyan Roy) and his separated- but -still -friend-wife Paromita (Aparna Sen), who also happens to be the marketing manager of Star Ananda. Abhik's aunt is Sharmila Tagore who looks after  him and thinks Jasmine Tea(!!!!) is a solution to many problems.

 

V.K.Mehra (Shauvik Kundragani) is developing a property which has some irregularities (which are never quite revealed) and he had a stepdaughter who died in an accident for which he was blamed by his wife(Mita Vashisth). These characters are connected together by a few wonderful scenes of Kolkata, brilliantly penned songs by Chandril and Anindya, a magnificent musical score by Shantanu Moitra, and competent performances by skilled actors. Mention must be made of Radhika Apte who brings an innocence, intelligence and freshness into her role which for long periods command our attention.

However, the real stars are Avik Mukhopadhyaya , the Cinematographer and Arghya Kamal Mitra and Rabi Ranjan Moitra , the Editors. Abhik creates some wonderful frames, gloss, watershots of incredible relevance and beauty, and his lighting is mostly spectacular and accurate. Arghya Kamal's work is fascinating and instructional. He sets up scenes with a minimum of cuts and he holds the mood of the film throughout with elan. This is a "Mood" film and any deficiencies would have ruined it irrecoverably. Special mention must be made of Biswadip Chatterjee's sound designing, where even the twirling of a metal coin on the ground adds to the superior technical quality  of the film.

These were the achievements of the film. The look of the film was international--but not its contents. The style was commendable but not its impression.

The greatest failure was probably caused by the creators who happened to come from the Ad world. The film does not deliver as it should have. It deals with a microscopic portion of Bengali Society. It is a walk through a world dominated by whisky, English poetry, photography, cell phones, parties and potted plants and fancy lampshades.

There is no conflict, no great intellectual relationships, no telling moments of personal relationships. The plot and the script are weak  and contrived. Can an adult mature couple separate because one blames the other for going off on a photography tour during which the father in law dies ? Can a mother actually keep on blaming her husband for years for sending a driver to fetch her daughter from school and  thereby getting involved in a fatal accident? Do police officers and journalists get such easy ,relaxed lifestyles in such comfortable surroundings?

The interplay of words in the script is contrived, artificial, familiar and oft-repeated. How I raised my hands in frustration when I heard ad nauseum, the word "adjustment" as the key words in marriage, in the best style of marriage manual books. The episodes of the unknown afternoon male telephone caller and the response from the elderly Sharmila smacks of the Bengali short story style of the seventies and eighties. The scene of the confident adult, self sufficient female reporter crying (yes, crying) on hearing that her friendly superior was leaving, bordered on the ridiculous. The famous Bengali sentimentality had to come out in this unbecoming and obviously forced way!!!

Finally tragedy strikes and the heroine dies in an accident . Or was it a murder? The Director deliberately leaves it unclear. As a fall out Ronno and Paromita start their journey back to reconciliation. Again, the meandering plot was going nowhere, and it was half expected that the Climax would be like this. The Death thus appeared inevitable and bland. In a film with almost nil high voltage value, perhaps this situation could have been exploited better.

I could go on and on, but there seems to be an obvious discrepancy in the script, as if two persons had written it. Was Shyamal Sengupta the only script writer, or were there inputs from the director?

Overall, the film is eminently watchable, specially in the DVD version at home.That should satisfy the Director Aniruddha Roychoudhury. But for the discerning viewer, it leaves behind an endless(Antaheen} disappointment of an opportunity missed , and our hopes dashed of seeing a significant, rememberable Bengali film.

Sreya Ghoshal in a song for all times...

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Pluto and I

Indian cricket players

refuse to sign WADA

drug testing papers!!!!

                           

Pluto is our pug. Blessed with a sniffy pug nose, upturned tail and frequent shaking of his fawn body, he surprised us one day by his understanding of English and ability to speak in that language. Having got his audience (i.e.me ), he forced me to listen to him by his persistent barking.Having watched him lap up the Breaking News on TV, I was apprehensive that he would start a conversation with me about the future of  Indian Cricket. Sure enough on the evening before, he suddenly snuggled up at my feet (a sure sign he wants to talk).

His question was breathtaking. "How, "he asked, "Is it possible for me  to get  a drug test now?". I was aghast. "Drug test? But you don't take any drugs. Except for the ones I give you when you are sick." Pluto got up on his feet and looked disdainfully at me. "I know that," he said."But I want to get tested by WADA".

"Look, Pluto, that is only meant for sportspersons. That is, non-Indian cricketers and other lowly sportspersons," I said. Pluto's eyes glinted."That is exactly why," he  chortled. " I appear in dog shows. I stand for hours on the field, and in the pavilion. International judges come and poke me at odd places. But they don't test me for drugs. You know ,I could possibly win somewhere, if you drugged me and enhanced my performance."

"But, Pluto," I explained," There is no credit in winning with drugs. It is unethical and you are taking unfair advantage. Pluto looked astonished."I can understand with my little doggy brain, that the key issue here is not taking drugs, but being careful that you are not caught."

I was now getting hot under my collar." Pluto!!" I thundered."If you take a performance enhancing drug, and you hit a century, or score 3 goals, or win a dog show for that matter, you will be the first person to be called upon to take a drug test--and you will be CAUGHT...". Pluto can be most irritating when he shakes himself and gives you a victorious look. He did that, and stated triumphantly, " That is why you should take the drug months before, so that you get your improved physical attributes well before the matches---and when they test you they find no trace of the drug!!!".

I was tired. "Look Pluto, WADA persons are not fools. They examine you in off season as well. They can make surprise checks. They will catch you," I stated. Pluto smiled. "That is why I will oppose checks in the off season. I will delete that cause. I will get my Doggy Association to refuse to go under the bushes and to do it on the doorsteps. I am sure, then they will listen..."

"But Pluto, "I said," You surely can't imagine cricketers like Dhoni, Yuvraaj, Harbhajan  taking drugs???".

Pluto this time walked towards me shaking his puggy head in amazement at my ignorance. " Of course not. But who has opposed this Wada tests? Only the bachelors!!! Has Sehwag, Sachin, Dravid said anything? Look at me. I spend quality time with Coco in the next building and Reshmi  in the flat below and others, and I would be annoyed if I had to go the bathroom to give a urine test. So that is why I want a drug test when I want to and where I want to. So, I want to test now, when I am free and not in the middle of......."

I conceded defeat and sat down on the easy chair and looked at the setting sun.

Pluto then consoled me as he licked my hands. "Don't worry, someday you may just get to be as intelligent as me!!!!!!," he murmured, before curling down for his siesta.

 

 

Kishore--the GREATEST!!!!

 

There has been many singers of popular songs in India. Many great singers who have delighted us throughout the years. Many have been superbly trained. Many were at home with Classical music as well as modern music. Many were specially brilliant in romantic songs and many sang duets with great felicity. But there was none who could match the way Kishore Kumar made his way into the  heart of the everyday Indian. The raw student, the middle class hardworking clerk, the housewife in the middle of her humdrum daily routine, the retired civil servant sitting on his easychair---all were enamoured by him.

 

There was something in his tonal quality, something in the notes he hit,that no one could really reproduce but wanted to desperately, thinking it was achievable.He coud take a simple song and transform it into a major hit. Perhaps because he was not classically trained as other singers, his voice had a few rough edges which brought him closer to his listeners  like no one else. So 22 years after his death, he is still revered and respected and followed than ever before.

ChalKe_Tujhe Kisho...

Kishore lived in a world of his own. He talked to his trees, locked himself up for a couple of days, erected a notice stating Pagalkhana outside his house in Mumbai. He used to come to the studio with an imaginary boy and engage in a conversation with him. "A bakwas song", the boy would say(actually Kishore Kumar's voice) and Kishore would reply that these comments had better be made at home!!!!

Kishore was driving a car in a film shoot when the director missed saying "CUT". Kishore just went off driving right up to Khandala!!!!

Once when a producer failed to pay him his dues in time for a film in which Kishore was a hero. Kishore reported the next day with his hair shaved off the right side of his scalp, as well as his moustache shaved on the right side only. He further stated that he would shoot like that. Needless to say he got paid promptly!!!! A master at yodelling, comic songs, a wonderful dancer in his own style, and a comedian with impeccable timing, film maker and director, he inevitably was copied by many. Kumar Shanu, Abhijit, Gautam Ghosh, etc. to name a few. But no one could match his versatility. I do not think ANYONE still would dare to sing the following song!!!!

Ki kore bojhai - K...

Kishore was a restless personality who could not stand still. he fell in love and married the sweet Bengali singer Ruma Ghosh in 1951. Amit Kumar was their son. Amit did sing some great songs but did not have the special talent to overcome his technical deficiencies. Kishore divorced Ruma in 1958 and subsequently married the beautiful Madhubala in 1960. This marriage was opposed by both sides, as Madhubala was a Muslim and was suffering from a  hole in the heart which the doctors in London had predicted would kill her in a year. Kishore insisted on the marriage. Madhubala died nine years later and it was rumoured that Kishore had married her to give her emotional support . Both married on the rebound. Kishore, after his divorce from Ruma and Madhubala after the ending of an affair with Dilip Kumar. Madhubala died in 1969.

He surprised everyone by marrying Yogita Bali in 1976 but divorced her after 2 years. No one really found out the reason for this strange liason. In 1980 he finally married Leena Chandravarkar, who lost her previous husband Siddharth Bandodkar on her wedding night. Again it seemed that Kishore married her to give her solace and support. Their son Sumeet is a  promising musician but yet to do something world shaking.

 

Ruma Guhathakurta                     Madhubala

  

Yogita Bali                                             Leena Chandravarkar

            Sumeet Kumar                                    Amit Kumar

In the mid Seventies, he refused to support the Emergency imposed on the country and rejected Sanjay Gandhi's request to sing at a Congress rally. He was then subjected to numerous Income Tax raids and was blacklisted for a couple of years. He was refused contracts, his voice nor his songs could not be aired over AIR or Doordarshan, and he was not even allowed to sing duets. He flourished after Indira Gandhi lost the elections and produced some of his greatest hits after that.

In the mid Eighties, Amitabh Bachchan refused to do a guest role in one of his films. Peeved and irritated, Kishore hit back by refusing to sing for him. Amitabh ,then in great financial difficulties, was forced to take up Kaun Banega Crorepati and the rest is history.

After  Yogita Bali left Kishore and married Mithun, Kishore refused to sing for him. But he relented later and sang for him in Disco Dacer, Muddat etc.

Kishore died on October 13, 1987.

But he left us with the vision of a world of his own. And even now when I see teenagers listening to his songs and humming them, that I realise that his vision was universal. for all generations, for all times....

Neel e Neele Ambar...