Followers of great mystery novels would recall that strange eerie feeling one got from reading “Ten Little Niggers“, with its intricate plot of intrigue and revenge, where ten people of different backgrounds get trapped in an island and then start getting killed one after the other till none are left ! One is on tenterhooks right till the mystery is unravelled!

In a family of ardent lovers of murder mysteries, we’ve been hooked on the Agatha Christie novels and her uncanny characters – Poirot and Miss Marple were her most well-known detectives, possibly second only to the invincible Sherlock Holmes, created by Arthur Conan Doyle. Her success as an author of sleuth stories earned her titles like the “Queen of Crime” and the “Queen of Mystery.” Agatha Christie is also be considered a queen of all publishing genres as she is one of the top-selling authors in history, with her combined works selling more than 2 billion copies worldwide.

The world will celebrate her 135^th birth anniversary on 15^th Sept. Tandra and I were reminiscing the aura of mystery and suspense she’d created without resorting to the gore and violence of the modern day thriller genre. As her great detective Poirot ( always using his “little grey cells” ) would say, crimes were committed for the same reasons – greed, jealousy, revenge but our attention was always drawn to the obvious just like the magician would perform his trick by a sleight of hand under one’s nose. One may ask, when a woman is bumped off, why is her husband the prime suspect ?

My favourite Christie novel remains “Witness for the Prosecution” a spell binding courtroom drama which was also made into an unforgettable film starring Charles Laughton and Marlene Dietrich back in the Fifties. Fortunately the superb film is now available on Amazon Prime. Among the many others are the amazing “Murder on the Orient Express “ and “Death on the Nile” which later became popular films !

Set in an era gone by, Christie’s novels had a classical quality as she loved to borrow names not only from Shakespeare but also from nursery rhymes ! Titles of some of her novels were rhymes like “Hickory Dickory Dock “ or “Taken at the Flood“ drawn from the famous lines of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Later in the 80s, we also saw a wonderful film starring Elizabeth Taylor based on her novel “Mirror Crack’d From Side to Side“ (a line from a famous quote ! ). Agatha Christie died on January, 1976 , almost fifty years ago, but she left a huge legacy of literature for generations to come.

As the genial but astutely observant, Miss Marple would say “ Human beings remain the same everywhere , with all their follies & weaknesses …” & love for Dame Agatha !

Charles Dickens masterly work ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ was first published in 1859 and is possibly one of the most widely read classics by students of English literature and lovers of historical fiction across the world. Set in London and Paris before and during the 18^th Century French Revolution, the story takes place between 1775 and 1792.It tells a tale of sublime love and sacrifice against the  backdrop of the class conflict between the haves and have-nots, nobles, aristocracy and deprived proletariat that led to the Revolution !

While English Literature abounds in classics of many genres, this remains my all time favourite for a variety of reasons that are literary, emotional and personal in nature.  The best comes first in the form of the powerful opening lines ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..’ and has been quoted again and again by readers over the ages for its depth of bringing out contrast as if two parallel worlds existed side by side. Look closely & one finds striking resemblance to the class struggle taking place in society.

For heroism, drama and passion, Dickens has created one of the most poignant fictional characters in ‘Sydney Carton’, protagonist who’s a confirmed alcoholic lost to the world in self-denial (decrying ‘Who shall weep for Sydney Carton ?’). He finds love like of ray of sunshine seeping through dark clouds but it remains unrequited. There are shades of Sarat Chandra’s melancholic, self-destructive ‘Devdas’ but noble Sydney sacrifices his life for the love of the woman, he came to love. The last lines (in the book) in redemption tug at our heart strings ‘It’s a far, far better thing I do, than I have ever done…’.

This masterpiece has been transposed to celluloid many times over but the best known film on the novel was made in 1935. This version, starring Ronald Colman, is often cited as a classic and was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. I wasn’t around then but my Dad, a film buff, swore by actor Colman’s great performance. Much later I was able to see on TV the 1958 adaptation starring Dirk Bogarde and Dorothy Tutin and felt it was a moving experience. A 1980 version featured Chris Sarandon & Alice Krige. 

In our College days there was a lot of back and forth to libraries and I had read the novel very early and heard about the classic 1935 film. It was such a wonderful surprise when a couple of years ago, my Son & Daughter-in-law presented me on my birthday with a hard bound edition and I was able to revive recollections of ‘The Tale..’. Truly, it was ‘the best of times’ and for my flashbacks to youth ‘Far far better thing that had happened..’    

No music show is complete without clones singing his hits, all music maestros bow to his incredible talent and die-hard fans of every age and genre have him on their playlist, despite the fact that he left the world 38 years ago. 4^th August happens to be the amazing singer and artiste, Kishoreda’s 96^th Birthday- the Bengali Channel ‘Akash Aath’ devoted consecutive shows on the last three days where wonderful singers sang their heart’s out,  & where tributes from great composers were also shared. It’s testimony to his untrained virtuosity & versatility that he’s still remembered for all genres with such ‘timelessness’.  

So much has already been explored, delved into and written about the maverick genius with uncanny gift of an incredible manly voice & incomparable musical sense & timing. As a devout follower, however, one looks back on the impact he had on our lives when we were looking for inspiration and to emulate the best in manhood and romance. In 1970-71, in his comeback vehicle Dada SD made Kishoreda sang with gay abandon ‘Mere Sapno Ki Rani’ to become the staple voice for superstar Rajesh Khanna, rest was history. 

For those who could sing, Kishoreda’s voice resonated confidence, masculinity, melody & passion that had to be cloned in signature style in the 1970’s when we were in college. Many of my loyal friends (cant ‘say fans !) started associating me with Kishore songs & I realized that singing was a great way to attract folks ! In those days, match making for us started early in life. I recall in one such meeting, my Dad, a Saigal fan, joked that “ in addition to many talents, my Son can sing Kishore songs wonderfully & I’d have to sing. Fortuitously when I got married, my wife happily turned out to be a Kishore ‘bhakt’ too.

Decades have passed, we’ve become senior citizens, yet we’re still steadfastly young as we continue to croon the Kishoreda melodies in solitude or celebrating with friends. I do love other great singers and their songs, but am mostly asked to sing the ‘K’ numbers ! I know friends are loyal and appreciate our efforts but think of ‘happiness’ we all derive !

On my 70^th birthday, my dear niece ‘Shreya’ knowing the penchant and passion of her old ‘Mama’ gifted me a beautiful book ‘Kishore Kumar- the Ultimate Biography’. Pic is given below). In tracing the master’s journey the writers have beautifully divided into three Sections – Book 1 , Bhairav – The Morning’, Book 2 – Poorvi – The Afternoon and Book 3- Kalyan – The Evening’. I’ll not review the book or reveal the stories. As Keats had said ‘A thing of beauty is a joy forever’. Thanks for all that you’ve given us, KishoreDa !           

Remember when we’d express ire on our recalcitrant school going sons for not studying hard enough for their impending exams, warning that they’d fare badly and then getting a pleasant surprise to see them getting good marks – that gave a real high and make us eat our words albeit at times grudgingly. Something similar to that happened yesterday..

As veteran cricket aficionados we friends often air our considered opinions to each other on the fate of the Indian team now hanging in the balance and presently engaged in the England Test Series battle. When the team was announced for the Fifth Test, most of us were up in arms against choice of the weakened bowling attack that had no ‘Boom-rah’ ! Particularly irksome was return of  Prasidh Krishna who’s profligacy in leaking runs put India under pressure in earlier Tests. Most rooted for Kuldeep to be given final look in.  

To begin with, all our overt apprehensions seemed to come true- India put up a listless First innings display barring a valiant half-century by Karun Nair and England went into a superfast gallop as their two openers treated our pacers with utter disdain and we all felt that the series was pretty much sealed with the home-team running away to a huge 1^st innings lead. But we seem to have underestimated our boys and the fight wasn’t over. It all started with the audacious Duckett throwing away his wicket and Akashdeep giving him coziest of send offs. Apparently Duckie had cockily told him ‘You can’t get me Out ‘! 

Post lunch there was a dramatic transformation as the pacers led by a redoubtable prize fighter : DSP Md. Siraj bowled with such renewed aggression and intent that suddenly the English batters weren’t hitting 6s but at ‘sixes & sevens’. Spurred by Siraj’s intensity Prasidh also raised the bar and bowled his heart out. It’s now being noticed that when Bumrah plays the other pacers don’t perform to potential but in his absence the burden falls on Siraj to lead the attack & he delivers. Tireless, he hasn’t cared for the workload.

What’s clear is that we hype up some of the big players into ‘larger than life’ characters & put pressure on them to always perform. Interestingly while all talk is centred around Bumrah’s fitness and workload, the one Test India won was when Bumrah didn’t play. In the same vein, had we persisted with two veterans (also legends,as like to call them) Virat and Rohit, we’d have never witnessed the emergence of Shubhman Gill the leader !   

The old world exclamation “O Brother !’’ might not have appeared as friendly banter but most use the term ‘ Bhai’ signifying friendship & camaraderie, like the sobriquets “Dada” (for Bong men irrespective of age !), “Mota Bhai” (respectfully for Gujus) or “Bhai-jaan” (used by Lucknowis & Hyderabadis). What then can be said of your own kith and kin, the asli “Bhai”, guy who’d tease, make funny faces, sing & crack stupid jokes…. festivals like ‘Rakhi’ gives one a chance to say “Luv u Bro ! “ and “God bless, Sis” and feel good !

Truly, our brothers and sisters are the first real relationships we have outside of our parents. In growing up years we share parents, home, pets, celebrations, catastrophes and family secrets ! Generally, the elder brother or sister is your first friend and the first person you learned to play with, share with, and laugh with. He/She was also the first person who picked on you, fought with you but helped finish homework and taught you many good things like history, sums and the art of living  !

Traditionally, the eldest siblings are expected to play the role model of strong, caring characters and proverbial friend, philosopher and protector of their younger siblings. In the good old days, the responsibility and expectations of carrying on the family tradition was theirs too ! But how are they faring in their roles today ?

Since the break-up of the joint family concept, most siblings now quickly move on in life, forge and develop relationships and friendships that suit their beliefs and life styles. With latest technology on hand, the virtual contact with siblings may remain but distances and pressures of keeping pace with peers, often blur some of the old ties and reduce them into working relationships to be kept up as duties &  social commitments !  

Siblings as adults often find themselves at variance as they assess their own roles. Also we spend our whole lives putting parents on a pedestal, who were magical beings that raised us after all. But as we get older and go through our own struggle of life, we come to see our parents as human. We need to knock off being so hard on ourselves, we have to become okay with our own parents and we ourselves as parents, being human !

In the autumn years, there’s revival of a familial sense of belonging stitched together by old memories. Fortunately, our functions, customs & festivities come to our rescue as always. The bonding between brothers and sisters & the gen-next are strengthened with symbolic  rituals and reunions , to say  “We’re always there for you, like the old times” !

‘Tanvi the Great’ – Daringly Inspiring Film

If one were to rephrase the classic Shelly lines ‘Our sweetest movies are those that tell us happy ways how the human spirit uplifts and inspires’. With Anupam Kher, the creator of the film and young Shubhangi creating screen magic, watching ‘Tanvi the Great’ is quite an exhilarating experience ! Transcending the ordinary story-telling of mundane lives devoid of challenges, is a story of an extraordinary journey of an autistic girl who, as the film audaciously reveals to us, is ‘different but no less’ in daring to live her dream, notwithstanding the certain obstacles on the way.

As one of the principal protagonists is veteran thespian,  Anupam Kher, as the proud but lonely, grief-stricken army Colonel reprising the powerful intensity of his iconic role in his first film ‘Saaransh’. Faced with unexpected challenges thrown by his autistic grand-daughter, singer extraordinaire, recalcitrant in her thinking that disrupts his orderly life. His emotions range  from sheer desperation to gradual realization that there are greater things at stake than tradition & pride. He must fight the system for what he believes in & for his grand-daughter to realize her dreams. Truly, Anupam Kher is India’s ‘De-Niro’ ! 

There is an ensemble cast of talented actors who play the supporting roles, led by Pallavi Joshi, playing Tanvi’s mother who poignantly displays sensitivity to her daughter with matured understanding of autism and it’s special needs. Jackie Shroff, Arvind Swami and Boman Irani are actors who’ve honed their craft and leave impact even in cameos. But the film entirely belongs to ‘Shubangi’ who plays the title role of ‘Tanvi’ with the astute finesse of a seasoned actor. She lends great credibility to the character that has so many diverse shades & mixed emotions with eventual shift towards greater self-reliance.

Other high points of the film include its stunning cinematography, the beautiful locales.  a vibrant music score and pithy dialogues with humour & character. Asking ‘Permission to hug’ from someone close to you is endearing. Big message – to understand austistic people don’t try to manage them, let’s try to discover how they feel and think differently. There’s also the message of patriotism and love for our armed forces, that’s so inspiring. 

Tandra and I were privileged to witness this beautiful, thought-provoking film at it’s star-studded Premiere at the Neeta Ambani Cultural Centre at BKC yesterday. For Tandra it was a wonderful reunion of school friends arranged by the ever thoughtful Reema and Raju Kher and for us spouses, it was gift wrapped into watching, interacting, clicking pics with beautiful super stars and actors who had descended on the red carpet. What a ‘Great’ evening ! 

The news of South Indian actress B Saroja Devi’s passing away at the age of 87 had my earliest reminiscences of the 1960s to the fore. Many yester-year stars had iconic songs associated with them – ‘Chaudvi ka Chand’ with Waheeda Rehman, ‘Na Jao Saiyan’ with Meena Kumari’, ‘Sapno ki Rani’ with Sharmila & ‘Dum MaroDam’ with Zeenat & so on. 

Saroja Devi was paired with ‘Jubilee Hero’ Rajendra Kumar in the social film ‘Sasural’ (1961) which I recall very vaguely was a hit. More importantly, it had some nice music & an evergreen Rafi song ‘Teri pyaari pyaari surat ko..’ inimitably sung in his mellifluous voice. My memories revolve around this lilting number which was a rage in its time & featured in the Top 10 of Ameen Sayani’s Binaca Geet Mala for many weeks ! 

I was probably in Class III in 1961 when Mihilal, my Dad’s peon was assigned to bring me from school. On our return trip, being a music lover Mihilal would urge me “Bhaiya tum ‘Pyari pyari surat’ wala gana gao” and we’d have a great musical bike-ride every day. Later, after a few years, I remember a naughty classmate in Class V who dared to sing this song to our young Class Teacher. It resulted in his Dad being called to Principal’s Office to face a different kind of music. Surely our friend got a big walloping back home.

It wouldn’t be right to construe that such love songs had the wrong effect on young boys. Almost all Hindi films then, quintessentially had the hero wooing the leading lady with romantic songs and the writers would compose lyrics that had highest praise for their ethereal beauty. Metaphors & references to sun, moon & stars was common. There was poetry with grace but no indecency. For young boys and girls that ‘Mills & Boon’ era was full of idyllic notions of romance but today it would appear quite archaic and dated.

Surprisingly the retro music of the 1960-70s is much appreciated by the Gen Zee, who prefer singing vintage songs when performing. As for us, we still sing and swear by them and so here’s my effort as a tribute to the winsome B Saroja Devi & the voice of Md. Rafi.   

Some were born loving it, some acquired the passion and some had it thrust on them. We are talking here of the religion most of us share – Cricket, the sport that the pros play big time, and rest from all strata of society, follow and judge them with intense passion ! 

As Indians we rarely meet anyone not familiar with the legends of the game from Sunny ji & Sachin to King Kohli and Hitman and the fluctuating fortunes and vissitudes of our ‘Men in White (in Tests) or Blue (in Limited Overs)’. An India win brings a smile on a billion faces and raucous celebrations follow while a defeat quickly spreads gloom all around. India travels abroad to play an overseas series and there’s more high drama !

The final day of the Lords Test against England had raised hopes of another India win (with 135 runs to get and six wickets in hand) and resolute Rahul & Pant at the crease – but as Jofra got through Rishabh’s defenses, a famous nursery rhyme was playing itself out as three more wickets ‘came tumbling after’ ! There’s nothing more deflating for a die hard Indian fan (watching live telecast armed with celebratory snacks & beverages) to watch our batters fall in a heap and English fielders moving in for the kill.

Furious WhatsApp messages were being exchanged with shell shocked cricket-afflicted friends as to how soon the Barmy’s Army’s cheering would change into victory war cries. My wife who watches matches when India’s likely to win, decided to leave me to witness the debacle-she couldn’t endure the cat & mouse game, she said. A little later I finally changed the channel to watch a crime serial where I expected some real action. After half an hour, curiosity got the better of me. I was to find a great fight back in progress…

The story of Sir Jadeja waging a lone battle against the torrid pace attack lead by Archer and offering relentless resistance by forging partnerships with Nitish, Bumrah and Siraj for good four hours almost taking India home, has become another folklore at Lords. In the end it took an ironical played on from the solid defence of Siraj that sealed our fate. While English celebrated wildly, social media went into a frenzy at this amazing game.  

Next day, the papers/media were full of tributes, reports, articles and analysis but like a beacon of sportsmanship was a pic of the two great all rounders ( Ben Stokes & Jadeja) embracing each other. When I forwarded it to a friend who’s not addicted to cricket as we are, he innocently asked ‘What happened’ ?!. Being inclined to follow geo-political tension that grips the news, he felt it was a likely end to the ‘Middle-East Crises’ !

The wonderful thing about them

Is what they mean to us over time,

Not quite as strict as the daughter

Can often be partners too in crime,

Nieces carry old wisdom of the ages

Have knack of handling things right,

Learning ‘ropes’ from those around

Never giving up without a good fight,

Redefine ‘NIECE’ with no ‘N’ & ‘E’s

They’re warm as fire & cool as ‘ICE’

Steady & resolute in their promises,

Leave out an ‘E’, they’re just ‘NICE’,

We’re fortunate to have great Nieces

Our Nephews no less commendable,

Yet in pampering us Uncles & Aunts

Dear Nieces have been so admirable !

Blessings & Many Happy Returns

Shreya Baksi Sen, Niece No 1 !

What’s in the name ? Well, suddenly a film’s title with ‘Laapata’ attracts aesthetic senses from past experience. If an OTT releases it with rave reviews, better still ! Despite simple earthiness of the film’s trailer, it wouldn’t get overlooked by us, because ‘Small B’ has been Bollywood’s finest actors, without perks of big breaks. It’s monumentally tough for him being under shadows of the living legend ‘Big B’!

Yet on the heels of a stunningly off-beat role as the beleaguered, alcoholic Cricket Coach in‘Ghoomer’ here’s Abhishek as an old, disheveled man, prone to amnesia,  delivering one of his most controlled and thoughtful performances. It ranges from a helpless bewilderment on being abandoned by his own family to the awe and excitement of rediscovering the joy of living with a young amazing new friend. He underplays it without any over-the-top histrionics, aided by a brilliant script, a sparkling child co-star and pithy yet witty one-liners and satirical dialogues.

There’s simplicity, sincerity and depth to the film’s tale that will journey us back to the heartrending short stories we loved in our early years of writers like Guy De Maupassant, Munshi Premchand & Sarat Chandra. It carries the pathos of losing one’s own and  pain of failed relationships but then shifts to the quiet beauty of life that brings out the values of bonding, friendship, compassion and sacrifice. 

One other Small B’s (Boy’s) performance stands out in this masterful film like a beacon of hope and promise. Young Daivik Baghela who plays effervescent ‘Ballu’ is outstanding, wise beyond his years,acting as a perfect foil to reticent Kaalidhar.  His performance is very natural and moving and his scenes give the film whole lot of emotional depth. The bond between him and Abhishek, feels real and touching.

Zeeshan Ayub in the supporting cast and Nimrat Kaur in a heartwarming cameo, lend credibility to the belief that alongside greed, caprice, selfishness that exists in some people, there are those also, on whom their goodness shines like a halo.  No spoilers on the ending but the film will touch the heart and make us feel good.