The Final Frontier on Sunday

One of my nephews who’s a Corporate Executive, doesn’t discuss current affairs and the latest ‘breaking news’ however sensational and juicy it may be. Hefollows a non-partisan practice of not watching any TV channel irrespective of it’s content, and company policy regarding what the ‘nation must or wants to know ! ’. This he says helps him to lead a tension-free life, focus on family and job without losing too much sleep over burning national/global issues presented in hot debates, views and counter views of various parties concerned !Worthwhile subjects disseminate to public domains and can be sourced on-line, if one wants.

Like him there’s an increasing tribe slowly drifting away from what generally gets dished out ad nauseum as ‘News’ sans expected objectivity in reporting and often intended to influence the viewers to a particular way of thinking. We have certainly come a long way since the Door-darshan days of the 70s where news-readers unemotionally read the news and never offered their comments unlike where certain anchors of debates start acting as the spokes-persons. Another change is the number of ads, campaigns and sponsored shows along-side prime-time news – there arefrequent breaks from discussions apart from disconnect by technical glitches.

However, if one is a sports lover or more specifically a cricket afficionado, then fortunately in last three weeks or so, ‘News’ purveyors haverelegatedmany ‘breaking’ events into smaller spaces and global affairs into single page (live coverage from Gaza are seen on channels) and have been carrying healthy doses of the exploits of Rohit the ‘Hitman’ and his band of amazing men who haven’t dropped a single game this WC, to the absolute delight of a billion followers. Standing tall is ‘Emperor’ Virat (with magical fifty ODI 100s) but the latest sensation is ‘Shami’, highest wicket-taker now, who mightn’t have played but for Hardik’s (unfortunate?) injury !

While the few critical of this cricket frenzy as being quite over-the-top, there’s ‘method to this madness’ for the fans. Besides those who have planned months ahead to watch the Finals live at Ahmedabad’s Motera and afford the ‘luxury’, others have ensured that all Sunday activities have been cancelled for 2 pm onwards – eyeswill be glued for grand spectacle of India taking on the Aussies in some say, a grudge match for the ‘2003’ defeat that they landed Dada’s 11 !

But as one sports commentatorsaid ‘There’ll be two teams out there, let’s also clap for good shots from the other camp’. India is tops, let’s also lead in being the most sporting audience !

I am 69 now, going into the 70s, Maybe it’s time for the chill-pill,

Old friends that I, at times meet, Tell me I’m still young and neat,

Modestly, to that I must Agree..

Nothing comes from nothing, And surely, nothing ever could,

Somewhere in youth or childhood, My elders thought of me as good,

And the blessings remain with Me..

Every day is new day for learning, Wonders still continue to amaze,

There’s much left to see & know, Time ticks on, with it we all flow,

Live today, future’s not ours to see..

Birthdays come and go every year, Yet best gifts are being reminded of, 

Wonderful family, friends who care, And the loving wishes they all share,

I’m blessed, people still think of Me !

Somnath Sinha,

18^th, December, 2023

With age comes nostalgia of the many symbols that surrounded home and our growing up years and one film that almost all of our generation have carried in their souls and sung a thousand times, would be the magic of  the 1965 musical ‘Sound of Music’ and words of one song that lead actress Julie Andrews sings has that everlasting effect ‘Hills are alive with the sound of music, with songs they have sung for a thousand years’ !

 The film remains an all time classic that’s been loved by the generations that followed for the purity and melody of it’s music by Rodgers & Hammerstein and the heavenly voice of Julie Andrews, who won the ‘Oscar’ for her unforgettable role of ‘Maria’. One song, however was sung in the male voice and went on to become so hugely popular that it’s said that it was Andrew’s favourite song from the iconic musical score of the film !                                  

The song ‘Edelweiss’ was sung by Canadian actor, Christopher Plummer who superbly played the lead role of Captain Von Trapp. The Edelweiss flower was worn as a symbol of opposition to the Nazi party in the World War II years. In the film, Baron von Trapp sings “Edelweiss,” as a musical tribute to his homeland at the concert with his family.

Evoking an authentic Austrian folk ballad, the song serves as subtle protest against the Nazi annexation of the Captain’s beloved Austria. It was written for the musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein, who wanted to create a song for Captain von Trapp that would subtly convey his regret and his sadness and his pre-emptive nostalgia at having to leave Austria after the Nazi takeover.

Even now ‘Sound of Music’ is a go-to, feel good movie that takes us back in time and ‘Edelweiss’ in Plummer’s baritone is so soothing. Love to croon it when in the mood ! 

While the star-struck world celebrated the 58^th birthday of  ‘King’ Khan ( back into big business and superstardom with two back to back megahits ‘Pathan’ and ‘Jawan’ ) one is reminded of one of his sober, heart-wrenching & poignant films ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ (2003). With elements reminiscent of the sublime tragedy of the immortal ‘Anand’, it’s still a favourite along with inspiring ‘Chak De’ and ‘Swades’, where SRK wasn’t his usual self !

However, now that we are in our autumn years the film’s title does make us reflective. Without sounding morbid and unduly pessimistic, it can become heart-breaking when you have to refer to old friends you’ve grown up with, in the past tense suddenly and out of the blues. In the last one week, two of my old friends from the last over five decades left us to the utter dismay and grief of their families, kith & kin. Sadly, both weren’t in good health and narrowly missed even reaching their 70s, if we use cricketing jargon.  It’s again revelation, sans alarm signals, destiny’s vagaries can snatch away loved ones. 

That said, the message from above is quite clear, age is just a number and one is about as young as he thinks or she is but as a line in ‘Anand’ went ‘It’s not the years in life, but the life lived in those years, that truly matter’. For those who are blessed with good disposition and positive attitude must look towards the brighter side and seek to find joy in every little thing, that makes their heart ‘happy’. Friends are the best support system, they offer unconditional love and advice and occasionally ‘dirty’ pics and ‘bad’ jokes too !

Coming back to SRK’s film, the title song composed by Shanker Ehsan Loy, is beautifully penned by Javed Akhtar and says in essence that ‘life is uncertain and tomorrow may not come, live to the full each moment, each day’. Sonu Nigam’s voice creates magic and has become an unforgettable number. So in this moment, I decided to try it myself ! 

It was a different morning, The start of a different day,

Skies awash in bluest blue, With freshness, one may say

There she was, head bowed, And looking slightly pensive,

Her brows knitted together,Countenance a bit reflective,

It was a walk down old lanes, Of memories of yester-years,

Childhood days to her youth, The times that held no fears,

There was something wistful, That  flitted across her face,

Reflecting on ‘roller-coasters’, In ‘Life’ that had much Grace,

Her eyes then saw and lit up, Like the glow of night lights,

Wading into her ‘WhatsApps’, Her spirits rose new heights,

Messages from far and near, Urged her to celebrate today,

Her tears flowed as she read, Loving wishes, all exclaiming

TANDRA,HAPPY BIRTHDAY !

Being from the city of  Lucknow, we’ve had many with ‘Sharma’ Upadhi (surname) as classmates and teachers and later in life, as our colleagues and bosses. They come from various parts of North India including UP, Delhi, Punjab & Haryana and many have carved a niche in their fields such as the Late Shiv Kumar Sharma, santoor maestro and Yashpal Sharma, gritty cricketer & key member of 1983 WC Team and many others !

In recent times, stand-up comic artiste, Kapil Sharma anchors the most popular Sitcom ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’, a platform that Bollywood stars also use to promote their latest releases ! Much closer home, we recall the dignified ‘Sharmaji’ Uncle, who was our neighbor for many years and earned our respect for his rectitude and regal bearing.

However, one ‘Sharma’ who needs no introduction in our cricket-crazy world is India’s current Captain in all formats. Rohit hails from Mumbai (is originally from Dahisar, that’s actually close to our house in Kandivili !) and has earned the sobriquet of ‘Hitman’ for his heroic exploits and ‘Jayasuriya’ like fireworks in the first power-play. As a leader Rohit is considered the best choice with enviable record IPL wins for ‘Mumbai Indians’. His rivalry with King Kohli is overplayed and disproved by their on-field camaraderie !

An aspect of Rohit’s charisma is a cavalier, laid back style which hides sharp cricketing acumen. His comments laced with wonderful witticisms and humour specially in press conferences and interviews, keep his team-mates and associates in high spirits which is a far cry from the hype that superstar Captains carry. Sample some Sharma ji gems :

*In one meet, a foreign reporter asked his views on the last ODI World Cup Final and if the Cup should have been shared between English and the Kiwis. Like a bad ball thrown, he dismissed it saying ‘I’m not here to distribute awards but to lead the Indian team’ !

*In a press conference after an India win , firecrackers started as Rohit was replying to a question. Stopping in his tracks he said ‘Lets have the crackers after we win the Cup !’

* In an interview where he was asked about his six-hitting prowess, he opined that when you hit a six you get 6 runs, but for a big one you should 8 and a huge one 10 runs – he knows that no one takes such suggestions seriously, even our most generous BCCI ! 

* In his recent innings, he was clobbering sixes at will which made Umpire Erasmus ask ‘There’s something special in the bat ?’. Rohit said ‘No’, showing him his strong biceps !

Everyone expects ‘Hitman’ to lead India to repeat the 2011 World Cup victory at home but true to form, he downplays the incredible dream run (5 wins in 5 matches) that his team is having and states ‘they still have a long way to go’ but is happy with his boys !  He is a great team-man and plays for it’s cause but being a major celebrity has problems.

As reported by our alert press he drove down @ over 200 Kmph from Mumbai to Pune which got him 3 traffic violation tickets. So despite his phenomenal success, Rohit must know risks in fast driving are far more than penalties for slow over rates on the field !

We saw ‘The Vaccine War’ yesterday with a group of office friends. Since everyone has been affected in some way or the other in those two to three tragic years when the Corona virus had invaded lives, there was some curiosity on what to expect from the film. Some were aware it had received mixed reviews but were later moved to find many in the sparsely filled PVR cinema hall, vociferously clapping and cheering with fervour for all the good work shown in the two hours and forty minutes of screen time. 

We’ve all gone through the vaccination process in three phases, post the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2000 and it was done very efficiently on a very large scale. But how did we actually manage to get the vaccine ? The film is based on the book ‘Going Viral’ by Prof Balram Bhargava, who headed the ICMR in the critical years. We all truly felt that the herculean job in making a ‘vaccine’ indigenously in just about seven months, is well depicted given the complexity of the subject and must have involved intense study, research and interactions with those who’d worked tirelessly in a race against time !

It’s an awe-inspiring film with an interesting cast that etches out the professional and the  personal lives of the women scientists who turn out to be the real heroes though they were under the tutelage of the unstoppable Dr.Bhargava and Nana is in his elements in that super role. Veteran Pallavi Joshi, replete with ‘South Indian-ised ’ Hindi, Girija Oak, Nivedita Bhattacharya & others are perfect with their effortless sincerity and grace. The background score is hauntingly sombre and at times, unnerving in this grim context.  

However, two cameos caught attention for personal reasons. Vrinda, plays a small role which requires her to emote more than speak and she does it perfectly. She happens to be the talented actress daughter of our close friends, Reema and actor, Raju Kher Sir.

Other cameo (as the husband of one of the scientists) is nicely underplayed by Ashish Kapoor, who belongs to our hometown, Lucknow and is the son of one our old friends.

Talented Raima Sen, gets to represent the ‘baddie’ Indian media, as so called science’ reporter, responsible (in cahoots with foreign press and ‘videshi’ elements against our national interests) for all the hurdles in this slightly overblown ‘war’ that seems to lack overall objectivity in depicting the lockdown and pandemic horrors in the ‘Covid’ years ! 

That said, the film should be seen for the courage and grit of our medical teams and our brilliant scientists working on developing the vaccine with a zen-like attitude and 70% of whom were women with simple lives and families ! That’s so laudable by any yardstick !

Our culture of music, art and literature can never make us forget, escape or overlook the treasures from the past which are ageless. Among many others, one iconic song that has held centre-stage after more than a century is ‘Ekla Chôlo Re’- words of a song which essentially mean that if no one responds to your call, then go your own way alone.

It is a Bengali patriotic song written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1905 but though the lyrics are in that language it has had universal appeal for the song exhorts the listener to continue their journey, despite abandonment or lack of support from others. As an inspirational ‘tagline’ it’s still widely used by motivational speakers, is often quoted in the context of socio-political change movements and was a favourite of the Mahatma !

The song has a fascinating history that’s now in the public domain and has been the subject of research of Gurudev’s immense body of work. We understand that originally titled as “EKLA”, this most uplifting song was first published in September 1905 issue of  Bhandar magazine and was influenced by a popular Bengali Kirtan song. It was later  incorporated in “Swadesh” (Homeland) section of Tagore’s lyrical anthology ‘Gitabitan’.

Like many of Gurudev’s legendary songs, ‘Ekla Cholo’ has had renditions not only from leading exponents of ‘Rabindra Sangeet’ like Suchitra Mitra and Hemanta Mukherji but also by greats like Kishore, who trained to sing in this genre. Bollywood too was not to be  left behind in all this. In 2004, it’s tune was used with Hindi lyrics composed by A.R Rahman and sung by Sonu Nigam in ‘Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero’. In the celebrated ‘2012’ film ‘Vidya Balan’ starrer ‘Kahaani’, it is sung by yes, Amitabh Bachchan, under music direction of Vishal-Shekhar.

In a way, the theme seemed to have caught the fancy of our banking fraternity too in the 1970s era of huge bank branch expansion into remote unbanked interiors of the country. We then had the concept of ‘One-Man’ branches where the Branch Manager was ‘Ekla’ officer with another clerical and office staff and to go on a day’s leave he would have to find an officer willing to relieve him. Later, with computerization things got changed ! An example from business was the one-man show of the intrepid small manufacturers. 

That said, ‘Ekla Cholo’ has a wonderful message not only in the socio-political context, but for those with entrepreneurial ambitions and of realizing their dreams in any field. It’s lonely at the top, they say. The song exhorts us, we cannot be weak even if alone ! ‘Ekla Cholo’ is in ‘Rabindra Sangeet’ genre but importantly, it talks of a fighting spirit ! Here is a modest effort on my part to try this iconic song…

While there is justifiably  talk of empowering ‘women’ and how it’s being brought about, one section of society are the unsung working & retired men trying to lend a helping hand at home. Their attempts at domestic chores don’t get encouragement due to lack of proficiency and inability to cover shortcomings while ‘batting on lively home pitches’.  They are always reminded that Daddies & Uncles of yester-years quietly did all the ‘ghar ka kaam’ so neatly, without fuss and also attended their Office-work. Really, no sweat ?   

After first few years of marital bliss, today’s domesticated working guys accept that to remain in good books of the Missus (apart from proffering gifts and dining-out once in a while!) is to show keen interest in the ‘home ministry’ issues rather than only focusing on ‘external affairs’ that husbands tend to specialize at ! While the work allocated to the ‘worse-half’ by the ‘better-one’ may differ with households, visits to nearby ‘Sabji & Fruit’ (and Fish for Bong families) Markets or Malls, at least twice a week, is high on the list. But that’s just not enough, ‘mol-tol’ and buying right stuff is real work ! For mid-aged pairs, managing children’s homework & extra-curricular activities gets big priority.

What drives these talented men with noblest intentions to make a mess at home – small things like spilling ketchup, leaving wet towels on the bed, the toilet unclean, the fridge raided for milk, kitchen sink stacked with sundry utensils in just making ‘chai’ & so on. Blame it on the fact that husbands are basically like ‘unskilled workers’ who have no real experience or haven’t been brought up to do ‘ghar ka kaam’ which includes a variety of jobs from grocery shopping, cutting veggies, doing  basic cooking, to spring cleaning and operating the washing machine, drying and ironing apparels which ‘dhobis’ will not do ! If told to get five things, they will invariably forget two and bring the wrong brands !!

There are success stories too. I have some friends (generally now retired, senior citizen category) who’ve acquired skills over the years to become handy electricians, machine operators, house-keeping staff,  baby-sitters and watchmen in turns, to assist in smooth running of the house since maids are employed only for specialized jobs like cooking and Missus may be working. Many are now skilled in ‘veggie’ shopping and/or become unsung ‘Chefs’ in their penchant for cooking exotic dishes inspired by Sanjeev Kapoor !

There’s a big shift in perceptions too. Unlike earlier ’patriarchial’ ages, in today’s times a ‘real man’ helps around the house, cleans, washes dishes, helps with the kids and cooks. But like others, once in a while he needs to be patted on the back, if he does a good job !

I remember it as if it was yesterday. In the dark hours of the evening of 13th October in 1987, came a bolt from the blue in the form of some tragic news to all music lovers – Kishore Da, that versatile musical genius, had suddenly passed away in Mumbai at the untimely age of 58 and at the height of overwhelming popularity as the vibrant, majestic singing voice of almost all actors of past and present era, for more than three decades !

Much has been penned about his acting, singing & film career, life’s high and lows and comebacks, a maverick of unconventional ways and personal life-styles with prodigious musical talent sans formal training and amazing legacy of melody that he’s left behind ! Interestingly, barring one dear friend (an avid Mukesh fan) I’ve not met anyone who didn’t love his songs & not tried to croon his style. His clones are a legion themselves.

For me like others of my generation, 1970-80’s was the ‘coming of age’ era of dreams, aspirations, distractions and heartbreaks and bouncing back with resilience against the odds that came our way. It was also the ‘best of times’ in early 70’s when Kishore da was making a glorious comeback under Dada Burman. With Aradhana’s exuberant opening song ‘Mere Sapno Ki Rani’ he was the voice of Rajesh Khanna, later crowned superstar !

In our teens, we identified with all the emotions of romance, mirth, comedy, sorrow & pathos that magically emerged from Kishore da’s incomparable repertoire. My perpetual nostalgia remained with ‘Woh Sham Kuch Ajeeb..’ as I recalled numerous heartbreaks, ‘Jeevan Se Bhari Teri Ankhen..’ gave poetic resonance to love, ‘O mere dil ke chain..’ oozed romance and ‘Zindagi Ka Safar..’ spelt out inevitability of life and death. When I got my first rural posting and travelled by an old bus to the branch with trepidation, my heart sang ‘Musafir hoon yaaron, na ghar hai na thikana..’ but a voice within said to me ‘Ruk jana nahi tu kahi haar ke..’. Songs that brought solace and strength at every stage.

Fortuitously, my genes were inclined to love music and songs because my parents were avid music loving Bengalis and my Dad was an ardent Saigal ‘Bhakt’. After I started my addiction to Kishore songs, Dad grudgingly admitted that some of his soulful songs reminded him of Saigal Saab. My Mom also got into the fan club and had her own set of favourite songs which included ‘Panthi Hoon Main Us Path Ka..’ that was composed by and sung by Kishore himself for film’Door Ka Rahi’ and is considered one of his finest. What better than sing it, remembering Mom and paying a humble tribute to the legend.