Mad over Bandra!

If there's one place in Mumbai that I could visit again and again.... it would undoubtedly be Bandra. Such a intriguing place it is! Consider its myriad attractions - it has some of the most chic neighbourhoods & is centrally located - not too crowded though. It is also home to some of the best restaurants, pubs, bakeries & salons, nestled in the most unheard of bylanes (I have been through some very tapering lanes & was surprised to discover some very reputable hangouts there!) & is the undisputed shopper's paradise (two words - Linking Road!). For the star-struck, Bandra also boasts of addresses of most Bollywood stars, heritage-rich buildings, the famed Jogger's Park, heavenly churches and of course, the long, beautiful (ok ok.. slightly messy) promenades of Carter Road & Bandstand. I never tire of this quaint lil' neighbourhood :) So it was only inevitable that I visit the Bandra festival, if not to participate, yet only just to celebrate the place....

We (including Deepz... who has wonderfully described our night-out) started our soiree in Bandra by visiting the famed Mount Mary church..... it is so serene here, you can actually hear people breathing..... the altar looks more beautiful everytime I visit!

Everyone has seen this! The view from Mount Mary.... that building jutting out into the sky and the calm sea beyond..... beautiful view, if you ignore that stupid wire running across!

Tough on Tobacco, a band that I instantly liked..... with the talented Sid Coutto at the vocals & someone spectacular on the violins.... dunno his name (or number!)

Behold my surprise when I saw the kids of Ashray (where I go to teach) performing a dance!! I was delighted to watch them & cheered them on (apart from donating my water bottle to them - it was empty when it came back to me!). Strange as it may sound, I felt so proud of them, as if my own kids were on stage! :) I was beaming, full of pride throughout their performance & clapped the loudest at the end!

This is Monica, from Shair 'n Funk.... an emerging, exciting new band. Her eccentric ways took a little while to getting used to (more because she had a shock-to-impress style about her, what with bindis- yes, plural - dotting her face & her wild hair flying in the air), but nonetheless, the music was spellbinding....

Monica again, bathed in psychedelic colors

Pentagram came and conquered! The crowd which was until now just swaying to the music, suddenly became boisterous! Here's Vishal Dadlani of Pentagram (he was so close!).... they rocked the crowd with a cool rendition of 'Smack my B#tch Up' by Prodigy, amongst many other hits of theirs. Vishal came across as a talented crooner & an engaging entertainer, however he needs to tone down the foul language, please! Not cool!

I like this pic (took an effort to take pictures, what with the head-banging crowd thoroughly outta control!), Vishal here looks like he's eclipsed! An awesome night of good music & fun!

Starry, Starry Night

I'm fairly acquainted with Western rock music, having spent most of my teenage years listening to various rock bands (thereby angering many a flustered neighbour). The Indian rock scene is vague to me and I can only take a few names without resorting to the 'search' button on Google - Motherjane, Pentagram, Indus Creed etc. Now I can add Parikrama to the list. Having attended their concert at NITIE this Friday, I'm convinced our 'desi rock bands' (as Anusha Dandekar irritatingly chirrups on MTV) are as talented as their Western counterparts. We're not far behind!

The beautiful and sprawling campus of NITIE (It has a lake! It looked fabulous by night!) at Powai served as a perfect backdrop for this 2-hour rock extravaganza. Having entered the grounds, I nudged my way forward with my pals to the front, towards the moshpit of the sweaty, smoking, head-banging crowd (quite an eclectic bunch; we had one whale of a time yelling out at them!) and voila - there they were - Parikrama in their element! Special mention goes to Sonam Sherpa (we lovingly called him 'Motuu') who plays the lead guitars (and also the harmonica) in the band. He was the cutest & best-est!!! His fantastic rendition of 'Saare Jahaan Se Achcha' was superb and had us all chanting in rhythm. Another guy who stood out was the violinist - Imran Khan. What a stunning performer! He played the violin like someone possessed. Hats off to these wonderful, gifted guys - it ain't easy to get to the top - especially in a niche market like India. A google search revealed a surprising fact - these guys have been around for nearly 18 years! Sad that only a handful know of this extremely talented band's existence. Here are a few pics from the concert - hopefully these guys will be around, enthralling us for a long time to come :) Heartfelt thanks to Mayank for the passes and Vibz for some of the photos below (your digicam was a lifesaver!)

When we entered...

Lights, (my camera) and Action!

Imran, doling out a spellbinding performance

Imran & Sonam (Motuu.. I luv uuu) - what a duo!

Lakeside, fooling around :)

I'm not here, am I?

Have barely got the time to relax this past month - so blogging is a remote possibility. Allow me to tell you why (as if you, poor reader, have a choice). There's always a price to pay for being efficient. And one must inevitably and quite deservedly pay for being an insufferable workaholic. By the latter kind I refer to one of those smart-alecs you may bump into: the omnipresent geek, the irritating prissy or the self-righteous know-it-all -- take your p(r)ick. They're all equally disastrous. Now, I don't know which category I fall into, but I certainly know I am not a geek (atleast not anymore), I barely have the bodily-constitution to make my scrawny-self available at any occasion that may or may not demand my presence and neither I am a full-of-myself-know-it-all. In fact, I am just a beginner. Still the new-kid-on-the-block. Yet, I am given responsibilities way beyond my calibre and capability. Why? Because I am good at what I do. Organized work is my forte. Shabby jobs, incomplete reports or missed-deadlines are out of question. Blame the Virgo in me for being a tad too finicky (to the point of manic obsession). And this very inherent trait is taken advantage of by all who are aware of these vulnerabilities. 'Avanti kar legi,' is the widespread assumption. Avanti is the one you dump your worldly worries upon. Avanti is the one who will make life easy for everyone around her. And Avanti is inadvertently THE damsel who will respond to distress. Unflinchingly. Gee, I feel like Mother Teresa already.

In all fairness, I consider myself fortunate that I am the first person that comes to the stumped mind in the event of dire straits. Still, I'm tired of being the fallback gal. I'm tired of being the resident, local dump. I must learn to protest. I must learn to say 'No'. And most importantly, I must give myself more of my own attention. Till then, the object of my all-too-frequent rants should be me. No one else.

So if I don't fade away into oblivion soon, see you at the next post.

My Baby Shot Me Down

Nancy Sinatra for Beatrix Kiddo. Two incongruous personalities, yet this song is befitting both.

I was five and he was six

We rode on horses made of sticks

He wore black and I wore white

He would always win the fight

Bang bang, he shot me down

Bang bang, I hit the ground

Bang bang, that awful sound

Bang bang, my baby shot me down.

Seasons came and changed the time

When I grew up, I called him mine

He would always laugh and say

"Remember when we used to play?"

Bang bang, I shot you down

Bang bang, you hit the ground

Bang bang, that awful sound

Bang bang, I used to shoot you down

Music played, and people sang

Just for me, the church bells rang

Now he's gone, I don't know why

And till this day, sometimes I cry

He didn't even say goodbye

He didn't take the time to lie

Bang bang, he shot me down

Bang bang, I hit the ground

Bang bang, that awful sound

Bang bang, my baby shot me down...

Quiet please!

After a fitful sleep last night, I woke up this morning to a rather dubious headline on page 2 of The Times of India - 'City wakes up to a quieter celebration'. Unless you were encased in a soundproof padded cell, let me assure you that this claim is wholly unfounded. Mumbai did not have a quieter Diwali; it never has, and at the rate it is going every progressing year, it never will. In all fairness, a celebration must be a merry affair, and not a muted one. But atleast don't make me feel as though I am right at the epicenter of a war-zone, with every exploding bomb threatening to rip my ears apart. At the rate some maniacs in my locality were letting off crackers, chain bombs and other such deafening monstrosities, I for one, was left a disturbed (and severely hearing-impaired) person at the end of it all. One horrifying chain-bomb lasted a full 10 minutes. At the ungodly hour of 2 am. I can only hope the aged managed to keep their meek hearts in check. I had half a mind to open my windows and direct a well-aimed rocket at the heartless fiends. But they had already achieved their purpose and I would only be adding to the din. So yet again, Avanti suffered, without protest.

Diwali is essentially a festival of lights. Not noise. How lovely it is to see our houses lit with flashing bulbs, lanterns and diyas during this joyous festival! The well-designed rangolis, kids scampering about in new clothes, exchanging sweets and reminisces, lighting up diyas and not forgetting the basic premise of Diwali - that of the destruction of all that is dark and evil through light and bonhomie.

Sadly, these days people are more interested in destroying the tranquility of homes and minds. I humbly exhort all to please refrain from undue noise. Let us celebrate this festival in the right manner - for what it symbolizes. As Ranbir Kapoor wisely says in that ubiquitous Panasonic ad - let us turn down the volume :)