Glimpses from the Jaya Utsav at IGNCA, Delhi

I say glimpses cause of 2 reasons, one being that the event is exhaustive in nature, explores varied mediums and is set across cultures and rituals unified only by its theme that of the epic Mahabharata. One visit is not enough since every day has something new to offer in terms of performances, ritual demonstrations and theatrical and literary programs.
The 2nd reason, though frivolous, being that the battery of my camera died down on me at the wrong time :(
I got fascinated by the theme and though i do not profess to know it as good as the Ramayana, one has grown up hearing about it and also being fed on the BR Chopra’s iconic televised series. Actually my son knows more of Mahabharata for his deep interest in the epic and also mythology.
The journey of the stories of Mahabharata has been traced to the sage Vyasa who composed the story in about 8800 stanzas and called it Jaya. Jaya Utsav brings together multiple traditions from all across the country on a single platform. Some of the performances appear for the 1st time in public domain outside of their ritual context.
When i reached the venue in the evening, the place looked a bit deserted and disappointment almost set in, just then i heard the drums and loud music coming from the lawns where a crowd had gathered.
On joining the many audiences i saw Pandav Leela being enacted. This particular rendition was by the local folks of Uttarakhand and local bard was singing in the Garhwali dialects. The thumping music and the dance lifted my spirits and though there were verses i could not understand clearly the jist was not lost. The Pandavas are worshipped in the western Uttarakhand area specially during the Pandav leela. During the Leela some of the vyoohs like the chakravyooh and kamal vyooh are popular theatrical performances.

After a while i went to the Maati Ghar were i was greeted by a range of paintings and arts and in various styles as also across mediums. The Madhubanis, patachitras, kalibari style and even pop art with Mahabharata theme were a visual delight. The exhibition provides a glimpse through photographs, maps, dioramas, paintings, calendar prints, ethnographic objects and installations too. Personally i was overwhelmed seeing such beautiful art.
Inside the maati ghar, a room with the arrowbeds has been created and the lighting effect is amazing.
Walking out the food court is aptly been renamed as Bhim ki Rasoi, the wafting aromas are irresistible and i gave in by chomping down a plate of alu tikkis;my ever favorite. Post this i wandered across to the Haat selling various hand crafted wares like the patachitra paintings, Gond art, madhubani paintings, leather puppets and dolls depicting various scened from the Mahabharata. The artists were forthcoming and the one from the patachitra painting stall showed me how they etched the figure on palm leaf and then paint over it. the paintings ranged from various the 10 avataras of Vishnu to different forms of Ganesha and even various etchigs from the animal world.
In an entirety the experience was artistically uplifting and better than expected. Would love to go back with a fully charged battery of my camera and to watch some more performances.
The event is on till 10th and the entry and parking is free and ample. If you live in Delhi don’t miss it.

Tom and Jerry and the Football Match….By Arnaav Bellani

One day after the school was over Tom and Jerry received a circular informing them of a football match. They were given the names of the teams and were requested to  confirm the team for whom they would like to play. The teams were;

1. Manchester United
2. Liverpool

Tom told Jerry that he would like to play for Manchester United and Jerry too selected the same team.
The next morning they returned the circular with their acceptance to the class teacher. The class teacher informed them that the match would be held on 27th April. Finally it was 27th-the day of the match. And the match was to start at 10.30am.
Tom and Jerry packed up their lunch and water bottle and walked to the school. They reached the school and walked to the ground where they thought the match would be held but they did not find anybody there. On inquiring from the guards they learnt that the match would be played in the Senior Block school field. so they walked to the Senior block and found everybody there. The teams were standing and the sports sir was standing between the two teams. Tom and Jerry walked to the MU team and joined them. The match started after the players took their positions. Jerry was the Captain and Tom the Goalkeeper.
The sports sir whistled to announce the start. jerry was fast to secure the control of the ball and was rushing towards the goal but 1 player took the ball from Jerry and hit towards his goal where Tom jumped and saved the goal. Tom had a goal kick and Tom kicked the ball to Jerry. Jerry pushed the ball and kicked the ball to his goal. The goal keeper missed the ball and therefore Jerry got a goal. The score was 1:0. Jerry  and his team members were very happy at the lead.
The goalkeeper kicked the ball to his player but the ball was very fast, the player touched the ball with his hand. jerry and his tem got a free hit.
Jerry passed the ball to his player. The player ran towards the goal and Jerry was on his right side. The player passed the ball to Jerry when the ball came in front of Jerry, he kicked the ball real hard to the goal. The goalkeeper tried to stop the ball but failed to save the goal. Half time was over and half time was left.
The score was 2:0. The sports sir whistled to the players to restart. The Liverpool’s striker kicked the ball which Tom missed and Liverpool got their first goal. Tom kicked the ball to his player. The player missed  and Liverpool was fast enough to kick the ball for another goal. The score was 2:2. The sports sir whistled as the time was up.
The sports sir then informed the players of a penalty stroke. The first turn was of ManU and Jerry came forward to kick the ball and it was a goal for Manchester United. It was now Liverpool’s turn for penalty stroke. Liverpool kicked the ball and sure enough, Liverpool got the goal. It was now MU’s turn and John came forward to kick the ball. John kicked the ball straight to the goal. Now it was Liverpool’s turn. A player kicked the ball to the goal which was promptly hel by Tom. It was now again MU’s turn. A player named Patrick came forward to kick the ball. He kicked the ball straight to the goal. Now Liverpool’s turn who kicked the ball hard but Tom comfortably held the ball and saved the goal. It was MU’s turn again. They got the goal once more. And on Liverpool’s turn Tom saved the goal again.
Manchester United was declared the winner by the sports sir. Tom and Jerry returned home to celebrate with some Delmonte juice and chips.

Note: Pics for this post have been downloaded from the net.

Tom and Jerry and The Challenge of the Cricket Match……By Arnaav Bellani (my yet to be 9 year old son)

 

One day, after the cricket period in the school, a boy teased Tom that he cannot play cricket at all. To this Tom told the boy back that “I challenge you to a “cricket match” on Sunday.”

On the following Sunday morning Tom and Jerry got up early and packed their lunch with the cricket kit to go to the cricket ground for the challenge. On the way they met Oswald the friendly octopus and his pet dog Winny.

Tom told the whole story to Oswald who told Tom that they would also like to join the cricket match. Oswald said that he and Winny love to play cricket.

So the whole team went to the cricket ground  finally they reached the cricket ground where they found the boy Patrick with his team ready to play the match.

The school boys came forward to facilitate Tom and Patrick select their teams.

After the selection of their team members Tom and Patrick went in for a toss. When the umpire flipped the coin Tom asked for Head and Patrick for Tail. The toss was won by Tom who elected to Bowl/field first.

Tom opened the bowling andhe was the right hand fast bowler. Tom bowled a Yorker to Patrick who missed the ball and John the wicket keeper caught the ball. Patrick’s team was at 0 for 0 after one over bowled by Tom.

Winny the dog was right hand medium paced. He bowled the ball medium paced to the batsman who drove the ball straight into the hands of Jerry. Jerry caught the ball and threw the ball in the air to celebrate the first wicket, the score was 0 for 1.

The second ball raced down Winny’s leg and Winny ran to stop but the ball went past to Oswald who dived to stop the ball. Oswald threw the ball to the wicket keeper John.

After Winny’s over Oswald patted Winny for his bowling.

The third over was bowled by Oswald. Oswald was a right-hand orthodox. His special delivery was Drifter. Oswald threw a drifter and Patrick was bowled. Patrick was shocked as he did not expect such a delivery from Oswald. Jerry and his team were very very happy. The score was 39 for the loss of 2 wickets.

The fifth over was bowled by Tom. Tom’s special delivery was toe crusher and a super seamer. Tom bowled a Toe crusher the batsman tried his best to sweep the ball but failed because Tom had bowled a very good Toe Crusher-the ball after hitting the batsman’s toe went into the wicket. This was the third wicket and the score was 45 for the loss of 3 wickets.

The seventh ove was bowled by Jerry. Jerry’s special delivery was a shooter and a Birdy. Jerry bowled a Birdy. The batsman thought the ball is on his left leg, he did not know that the ball was Birdy. He hit a sweep but after a while the ball suddenly swung into the middle wicket. this was the fall of the 4th wicket. Jerry and his team were very happy.

The score was 100 for the loss of 7 wickets before the last over.

Finally it was the last over. the last over was bowled by Jerry. he bowled a normal delivery but gave a very good off spin. The batsman came forward and hit the ball in the air. Oswald was at long on. winny was at staright long on, Both tried their best but clashed with each other throwing the ball up and the fielders down. Oswald quickly straightened himself to save the catch, whilst Winny went aside. The whole team celebrated the wicket. The score was 100 for the loss of 8 wickets.

Jerry bowled a special delivery called the “shooter”. the batsman came forward to bat the ball but missed it and was bowled. The score was 100 for the loss of 9 wickets. This was a hat-trick ball for Jerry who bowled a Birdy. The batsman tried a back shot but missed the ball. He tried to put the ball away with his leg but he threw the ball on to his stumps. Jerry got a hat-trick and everyone was happy. The target for Jerry’s team was 101.

Oswald and Jerry opened the innings with a target of 101. Jerry faced the ball which rose above him, Jerry jumped in the air and scooped the ball above the wicket keeper’s head for a six. Jerry faced the sceond ball which was very wide, the wicket keeper missed the ball and the ball went straight towards the boundary. The 3rd ball came upto Jerry’s height and Jerry swept the ball to the boundary for a six. At the end of the 1st over, the score was 20 for 0. The second over’s first ball was faced by Oswald which was a bumper. Oswald ducked and hit a six. The second ball was on the leg side and Oswald swept the ball for a six. The third ball was defensively played for 1 run. Jerry played the fifth ball and hit a six. Jerry played the sixth ball for a boundary. The score was 43 for 0.

Oswald was at the crease for the third over and was caught out at long on after 2 runs. Winny was the next batsman to join Jerry. Winny came forward and hit a six. Winny played the second ball defensively for 1 run. Jerry came forward to hit a six in the next ball. The score was 70 for the loss of 1 wicket. The next over was faced by Jerry, who came forward and swept the ball to a boundary making Jerry’s half-century. The next ball was a no ball and Jerry got a “free hit”. Jerry hit the next ball for a six. The next over was faced by Winny and the first ball was a yorker and Winny was bowled. Tom came in and faced the ball. Tom was bowled for a duck. The score was 80 for the loss of 3 wickets. The next batsman was John. Jerry faced the next over and hit a six in the first ball. Jery played the 2nd for a six making the score 92. The next ball was also pushed for a six making 98. The next ball was a hit for a boundary making a total of 102.

So the match was won by Tom and Jerry’s team! Hip hip Hurray!!

 

 

Of Birds, chimps and a lion

Like most 8 year olds my son Arnaav is also very enthusiastic and intrigued by the wildlife. Loves to watch the Animal Planet especially when the grandmother is eating food and lion on the screen tearing flesh. And when the grand mum  screams “please let me eat my dinner, change the channel” he gets vicarious pleasure in telling her “But Nani even the lion is eating his dinner…let him.” This friendly banter goes on…Anyway this is not what this is about. It is about a promise given and kept, the deal is that once during winter months we have to go to the Zoo and say hello to our animal friends.
This time this trip was with a twist, the twist being that India Habitat Center was organizing a walk with the Birder Shelia Chhabra at the Delhi Zoo. The husband had a thought-provoking question “why is the zoo called Chiriyaghar when it houses animals too and not just the birds?” Hmmm well the board at the entrance should rest his doubts it is also called Prani Udyog
We jumped at the idea and registered with the IHC. The slight hitch was getting up early in the morning on a Sunday and the major hitch the question by Arnaav “mumma but will we ONLY see the birds and NO Lion?” i had to convince him a bit and he decided to go with the flow; the walk i mean.
So the enthusiasts in us got up early, grabbed a sandwich and reached on time. Sheila is not only bird friendly she is also really children friendly. the kids took to her instantly; the parents were instructed to walk in a group behind and the kids with Sheila. Lining Up
Our first stop was a board which delineated the life cycle of different animals in captivity and in the wild, their gestation period, the weights of the males and females of the pack.
After this interesting bit of info we took a different route that the eco friendly Tram at the zoo usually takes and landed at the place swarming with painted storks. These are the resident birds we were told and lord did they create a ruckus, the entire area was full of their sound and chatter but even that mayhem against the backdrop of a gorgeous blue sunny winter morning sounded good. Sheila was walking with a telescope that she set up at this area for the kids to see the nest of the storks with their little bundles of white fluffy babies in them. It was an amazing sight that the little downy chicks presented. The pelicans with their large pouched bills made for another interesting stop over.


From here we moved along to see other birds of varied feathers. Some other birds that we spotted were the jungle babblers, wagtails, spoon billed ducks, and the usual suspects parrots, pigeons and peacocks.

The stop over at the Black Bear’s cave was really interesting too with a little one chipping in that “wow if they eat white ants/termite they are sooo useful to humans” another popular question by the kids was “Mam is this animal dangerous?” and this question was asked at almost all the stops.

Bengal tiger, lion as the white tiger elicited the most excited response. The big feline family was looked at by most reverence and awe. One little one pestered his poor dad by asking him time and again “but papa why is the lion not roaring.”
Lessons on conservation and captivity were nicely sugar coated by Sheila and imparted to the inquisitive minds. Arnaav heaved a sigh of relief that finally they did see the big cats.
At Giraffe’s area the keeper had just arrived and was readying the feed for an over hungry giraffe who nudged the keeper and was duly shunned by him. Finally the food got laid and the long neck bent to munch the goodies. Some smart ones knew that giraffe had as much as neck bones as the humans did 7 in number and the ones that didn’t were suitably enlightened.
langurs provided maximum entertainment by jumping over ropes and hanging and swinging by the trees. The male and the female walked and strutted their stuff and the kids kept calling and whistling at them.
After this enchanting stop over and clicking of many pictures the battery of both my camera and my son ran out. The camera stopped clicking and the son started the tongue clicks that normally come before a tantrum. And before push came to shove we decided to say our Byes and Thank Yous.

….and the award goes to….NDTV Good Times Food Awards

Just a small perk of being a wife to the guy working in the food industry. Husband’s company was part sponsors to the event, and moi tagged along happily. Now we all know of NDTV Good Times channel and the many number of food shows that they air, and just as an aside i watch them most. Just watching them whets my appetite and raises my cravings. That’s the foodie in me digressing from the main topic. But hey, the main topic is still food and yet more food. Now it seemed like an organic step forward for NDTV to start the Food Awards and that they did, this year 2010.
Though the invitation card in itself was pretty plain, the event was anything but that. Westin Gurgaon was the venue.  It was a very chilly evening but the news that Rocky and Mayur of the Highway on My Plate were hosting the show, was enough to warm me up. I find the duo very cute and love their sense of humor.
Almost all the food luminaries from India were present. Right from Ramola Bachchan of Manre, AD Singh of Olive, Prahalad Kakkar, Rashmi Uday Singh, Priya Paul, Vir Sanghvi, Zeba Kohli, Sanjeev Kapoor, Suhel Seth, Chetan Seth …phew.
The jury comprised of Aditya Bal, Marut Sikka, Vicky Ratnani, Ritu Dalmia, Rocky, Mayur and Vinod Dua. The show started bang on with a couple of witty remarks by the duo (Rocky and Mayur) and the announcements of, yes, the awards. We had settled on our round table laden with goodies including Cadbury’s Bournville, hummus and pita. sushi rolls and guess what khandavi and dhokla (*wink*). Reds and whites in place all from the Delmonte table were feeling sufficiently happy but not before checking the logo placements on the standees.
Soon the husband was called on stage with Prahalad Kakkar to give away the prize for the Sensational Debut. Secretly he wished it was a Sensational Debut Starlet but well this is foods awards night and the award was for a Restaurant. The award went to Indigo, Mumbai. Team Delmonte cheered the maximum, no not for the winner but for their man giving away the award. 2 glasses of red in and GP the young little girl was nudging her boss “sir, why did you not talk more with Prahala Kakkar” In answer the boss (husband in my case…which means i am his boss) got her yet another red. Oh well….the wine truly speaks. Some P3Ps looked regular and familiar but their names didn’t come to mind. Well for that DG was all help….he even told husband before entering about a lady who they have worked with earlier and who was nominated this night. Warning so that the husband doesn’t say well she looks familiar. Are we ageing? Nah we just multitask so much we forget (*wink).
After the awards were given and some friendly banter by the  hosts, the jury were invited up on the stage where they released a book done by Rocky and Mayur, who very nicely told the audience that though the food tonight is free the book isn’t. so go buy!


Then came the music performance by Shafqat Amanat Ali. My favorite song of his is but obviously “Tere Naina” form My Name Is Khan. He sang beautifully and soulfully. However he was also very particular no body gets up to leave to go out, no one talks and blah blah…he was in short quite fussy. But his music and renditions were awesome, with many in the audience going “encore” for a performance.
We left for food soon after and what a spread it was. The entire decor was around the Highway on My Plate theme and so was the cuisine. There were Maharashtra,Punjab, rajasthan, Lucknow, Bengal milestones serving up exquisitely popular dishes from these regions. Special mention goes to boti kebabs, prawns, chicken chettinad, and deliciously sinful paan flavored kulfi.
Time to go home, the return gift was a lovely scarf for the ladies and a tie for the men from none other than Satya Paul. Well put together show, it was a lovely evening out.

Of wineries, villages and us

Have you ever been to a winery? for those who haven’t let me tell you it is an amazing experience of the sensory kind. Scintillating aromas, grape vines, huge barrels, people passionate about wines, some sommeliers and others wishing to be them….it is an extraordinary world.
However wine tasting involves not getting drunk but allowing the taste to win you over, swirling wine in the right kind of glasses, smelling the divine and finally rolling it across your taste buds and then…………spitting it. Palette cleared, another sip and flavor and experience taken in and the wine spat out. They have large spittoons for the purpose. Though sometimes i wonder what they do with that much wine in the spittoon, but well that’s another flight of imagination, another story, fit for another time.
On the other hand, let us picture this, an old village in sadda own India..Paheli (i am besotted by SRK) movie like setting. A commanding patriarch with perfectly oiled and twirled mooch and a mile long turban, chewing tobacco reclining on the couch with a battery of servants around him pampering him and chatting the maibaap up, and one dutiful servant holding a spittoon. Yes, a spittoon for the bade sarkar to spit out the red liquid that fills up the mouth after chewing that perfect paan.
Yet another place, another scenario, picture this. A sleek world class city of high rise buildings, meteorically rising property prices,hi-tech gizmo toting public, the bling of solitaires, the swoosh of designer pallus, the metrosexual man with gelled hair, original Armani jeans from last phoren vacation zipping past in the swank car and then wait---here comes the red light. And on that red light the car screeched stopped, you are admiring its bumpers and the air is filled with blaring music and then the door opens. Just when you are starting to fantasize about the prince charming’s P3P like life, ptchak squirts the red liquid straight on the road. That is one thing that cuts across the barrier of caste, religion, age, and profession though not that much of the sex (thankfully not many women do it). Look around you, observe the peopl;e on bicycles, on scooters, people with designer glares and people glaring at you, all have this one thing in common and the world is their spittoon--sure they don’t do it in the Fine city of Singapore for the fear of caning ;)—thay claim their right on it. Majority of them are spitting old or young, boys or men, educated or no.Next time when you “Relax” on the red light just observe this phenomenon.
Come on guys, red light is to manage the traffic flow not a pit stop for spitting, please take a cue from the ultra-chic wineries or your native village, use the spittoon. Think about all those Civic lessons.

Kingdom of Dreams

 
The trip between Delhi and Gurgaon is full of unexpected adventures of the horrifying and nightmarish traffic jam. But but this is not what i am “musing” on today. With husband going to work to Gurgaon everyday, a trip in the evening for a show or a visit to KoD had remained a dream only so far for me. However the opportunity came right through when his business partners descended on the city with the wife. so when the boss calls….you go, and yours truly was ever so excited at the prospect. After all it was recommended by the heartthrob ShahRukh Khan.
Kingdom of Dreams is spectacular and dazzling, this is where culture, art, food, grandeur combined with mindboggling scale and technological wizardry all meet in a blend that is truly breath-taking.
Two huge elephants greeted us at the entrance, a photo-op was missed because soon the husband spotted the group we were to meet. When we entered the main space a lotus gate flanked by two huge urlis led us to the Culture gully. 


On entering was a spectacle we weren’t really prepared for. Huge air-conditioned space covered with a sky dome complete with clouds etched on the dome lent the place a clear-day kind of a feeling even though it was well past 7.20pm. We just had 10 more minutes before the show actually began. After a couple of gasps of awe and wows it was time to proceed towards the Nautanki Mahal. 


The cameras had to be deposited at the theatre entrance with the security as photography is prohibited. The entrance to the theatre was grand too.  We rushed in and occupied our plush red colored seats.





The show, Zangoora: The Gypsy Prince has all the ingredients that go on into making a succesful, opulent “Om Shanti Om”esque Bollywood bonanza. The story line, the selection of the music, the performances everything was at a grand scale. A sensory treat it is nothing like any Indian would have seen before, infact the wife of a delegate even commented that she has not seen anything like this even in the Vegas. Well that was some compliment, that made me feel proud to be an Indian. Seriously, it is quite a matter of pride when good things are being said about one’s country that is so underrated.
An elephant comes out of the floor, the throne of the king and the queen gets elevated, the heroine enters on an eagle, and the play bursts open with the Jodha Akbar’s signature “Azeem o Shaan Shehensha…” The beats and the spectacular stage design, the perfectly crafted Neeta Lulla dresses…each element has a life of its own and has a story to tell. The stage props and the LED lends an atmosphere of grandeur, of a feeling of being transported into the palace, a forest, being in the middle of a storm and all of it.
The story line is that of love,deceit,revenge, and of eventually the good triumphing over evil. At the end of the show many dancers come up in the aisles and dance with the audiences to a really fast beat and rhythmic Zangoora title track. A fitting end to the spectacle.
The flawless choreography by Shiamak Dawar is just that…flawless, and as always awesome. The acrobatics were perfectly in sync, a Macbeth kind of a witch hanging upside down, the arrival of the princess in an udan-khatola, everything was at a grand scale. Which was great and the visual treat made up for the lack of understanding of the Hindi language by the delegates and a few other foreigners. The visuals and the performances took everybody’s collective breath away.
The story line was a bit draggish at a couple of places but all else made up for it. It is actually high priced, i mean tickets costing Rs1500 each in the silver category…is exorbitant by any standards. But i guess the scale of economies in the case are such :)
After many oohs and aahs we were ready for more gasps and some chilled beer. Took the trip to Culture gully again and was greeted by the resounding thumping of drums and shouts…the tribal dance was on and the group surrounding them were trigger happy and a few even shook their leg. 


We visited the Indian restaurant for some curry in no hurry (bad one). But it rhymes. The ambience was great and in keeping with the entire look and feel of the place. The chaupal like seating, copper tumblers, a wall lined with lanterns and another with the kite manjha rolls in various hues, and yet another with matkas emanating soft light was good. But :( the food wasn’t much to talk home about, very regular fare.
It was a memorable evening and one that all thoroughly enjoyed. Next day husband’s office was abuzz with only Zangoora and it occupied a place of pride on my fb status too.
Kudos to the team behind this. Infact am planning to take my parents and in-laws there this winters. Inshallah!! Though the husband is still petrified of his Gurgaon trips he promises to indulge. It is a lingering experience that leaves a big grin on the face.