Cine bites: Dil Ek Mandir

Dil Ek Mandir – Heart is a temple where love, fear, sadness, faith, our perceptions and interpretations of life events all reside together in its purest form with no malice or lust.  The entire movie is based in 1963 in a hospital owned by Rajendra Kumar (Dr. Dharmesh).  Rajkumar (Ram)  is one of the cancer patient being treated by Rajendra Kumar. Both men love Meena Kumari  (Sita) – one as a husband and other as an ex-flame who cannot seem to get over his love. Sita has moved on and now worships her husband.  During the hospital stay, the two male leads bond as good friends.

The love and friendship is put to test when another cancer patient , a sweet kid dies a few days before Rajkumar’s scheduled surgery.  Meena Kumari and Rajkumar’s mind plays its own game and they believe that their surgery will also result in the latter’s death. Meena Kumari also feels that Rajendra Kumar’s love for her will not permit him to save her husband’s life. When she voices her doubts, Rajendra Kumar gives up sleep, food etc just to find a way to save her husband.

Rajkumar overhears the conversation and comes to know of his wife’s past and ex-love, yet continues his friendship with Rajendra Kumar. He has complete faith in his wife and his new friend – the doctor that is going to give back his life. 

The story ends up on a tragic note, Rajendra Kumar saves her husband but loses his life – out of the stress caused by sleep deprivation.

While the songs are evergreen and outstanding, few things stand out to me:

- Just like the rest of the story and dialogues, the names of the characters are also thought –through as Ram-Sita and Dharmesh (one who follows his dharma as a doctor and saves the patient).
- This is probably one of the few movies where,
 ----------   The patient’s cancer is not evident by excessive coughing. Throughout the movie, Rajkumar and the other cancer patients thankfully cough just once.

-----------  The patient is not moved to an ICU nor kept on oxygen immediately after surgery. Not sure if it was possible then..
-------  There is really no bad guy…just bad thoughts.

-------  Rajkumar’s attitude after the cancer diagnosis is really inspiring. Despite facing death, he stays cheerful.

-------  Songs are as terrific as the story. Lyrics and music go hand in hand and make all the songs best each other.

Cine bites: Movie - Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje (JJPB)

When I first watched the movie, I was a little kid who was fascinated by Sandhya’s peacock costume and eyebrow gestures in the song “Suno Suno Jee”. When I watched the movie again last weekend, I thoroughly enjoyed the simple yet modern, slow yet flowing performances by Gopi Krishna and Sandhya and appreciated them for their talent.

The story is about the struggles in the love life of Girdhar and his dance partner Neela as they both rehearse to win the coveted title of “Bharat Natraj” through a national dance contest.  Giridhar’s father, Mangal Maharaj is a dance teacher and a previous winner of the Bharat Natraj title.  Mangal Maharaj considers Girdhar’s love for Neela as a distraction and has the support of a local merchant with an evil eye to Neela’s beauty; together they cause grief to the love birds.

The story would have been an ordinary love story but for its music, choreography, the sets and costumes and not to miss out the chemistry between Gopi Krishna and Sandhya which makes it totally unique, not just in 1955 but also in 2014. The movie is a musical feast from the get-go with the songs composed in different classical ragas. The song “Saiyyan Jao” was composed in Raag Des with a flavor of natyasangeet, the sad song “ Mere Ae Dil Bata” was composed in Raag Bhairavi and the song “Nain so Nain” in Raag Malgunji . The song “Ruth Basant Ayi ban upvan” sung in different ragas and the title track sung by Ustad Amir Khan in Raag Adana is still a treat to my ears.  The music also marks its uniqueness by introducing Santoor in Indian cinema and by using some western steps in some smaller sequences in 1955.

The movie begins with its credits splashing over rangoli colors and designs, kathak footwork, and Ustad Amir Khan’s stunning voice! Each song that follows depicts a phase in the love life.  The song “Murali Manohar” adopts a narrative style in between traditional music, successfully depicting the mythological story of Radha-Krishna and the blossoming love between Girdhar- Neela. One of the few movies in technocolor from that era, the blue Girdhar, the man made lake, the entire backdrop in this song gives it a very theatrical look.  My fairy tale song however, is “Nain so nain”, a slow moving evergreen song in the divine voice of Hemant Kumar and Lata ji. And as Girdhar and Neela dance to the roles of Kama and Rati around colorful fountains in the Brindavan, I catch myself walking into a musical fairy tale.  The movie concludes with an energetic “tandav”; one that will always be the best one ever performed in Bollywood.  The movie won a lot of awards that year, including best film award but the music that gave the movie its success never won an award. To me this movie is a terrific tribute to the world of dance and music.

Naushad was the master of classical music in that era. When approached for the opportunity to compose for JJPB, he not only gave up the opportunity but also assured V Shantaram that Vasant Desai could compose classical based music. This support within the music fraternity was perhaps another aspect that was unique only to the golden era. 

Bicycling....and Me!

A bicycle is probably most affordable asset in India yet in my younger days, not many people owned it. Bollywood movies also used it rarely and so though affordable, it wasnt as popular as cars. In recent years though I see more people own one and use it for casual workouts or for endurance races. Perhaps one of the main reasons to celebrate National bike month is to encourage more folks to give biking a try and showcase the many benefits of bicycling.

As a little girl, I watched young and middle aged men carry heavy loads on their bicycle; some carried tiered Tiffin boxes for a bunch of hungry school kids, while others carried large courier packages or gas cylinders.  I remember watching them in admiration and wondering about the number of bournvita scoops they added in their milk. I also remember aspiring to be as strong as them and drinking milk with an extra scoop of bournvita...for at least a year.

As I entered my teens, only the ‘cool’ girls rode a bicycle. I would rent a bicycle from Minoo’s bike shop, just across the street, they had a lot of bikes, some leaning or hanging off a greasy oily wall. I'd try to learn how to ride, literally one frantic second at a time. Learning how to bike and dealing with the fears of falling down and getting hurt was probably one of the most challenging things I encountered at that age. Thankfully we were practicing on a straight road at a time when most sane people were listening to some soothing songs on all India radio or snoozing through their afternoon nap. 

Biking is a fun only when you free yourself or at least learn to deal with your worst fears. I still hold on to my bike for dear life and always look for lonely roads/trails to bike.  I am still terrified of losing control or being hit by another biker or a car and ending up in a hospital crippled but when I watch people enjoy their ride, I feel inspired. It helps to ride with some good company or like minded friends; In my case, music now accompanies me on my rides and makes it easier to relax. So whether I ride with fear or without, the one thing I am able to enjoy is the wind on my face!

Looking to enjoy some bollywood tunes sung on a bicycle? Check this out: http://www.mixcloud.com/Radioazad/radio-azad-june-5-bolly-talkies-bicycle-n-bike-theme/

Memory of a special day...

My closet is a treasure of memories and cleaning it promises an emotional roller coaster ride. For ten years I have unsuccessfully tried to throw away my faded and abnormally shrunk blue and orange salwar kameez; I don’t fit into it but it is a reminder of a beautiful memory.

We bought it on a hot sunny afternoon of Oct 16, 1993 at a local hand-loom fair. It was a special day; we had just returned from our final hospital visit and were hoping to celebrate the new lease of life. So, as we walked through the shops, a simple cotton outfit with a rare fusion of vibrant blue/orange colors caught our attention; it was love at first sight. Perhaps, we needed the color in our life that time. It was priced at Rs. 585; though not expensive, we were a middle class family with a lot of unpaid medical bills, so we bought it only after some sincere debate. As our thrilled vendor packed the outfit, he offered us free bangles as a special deal – just for us. I am certain he had overheard our hushed debate because the bangles looked expensive and surely didn't deserve to be freebies. We tried to decline the offer but he was determined and placed the neatly wrapped bangles on my discolored and scarred hand. I had not intended to show my scars and so I was really embarrassed. Noticing my reaction, he quickly justified by saying, 'Every pretty girl’s got to wear jewelry'. We walked away that day exchanging smiles and postponing our financial or health related worries.

I am not sure if it was the beautiful words or just buying something other than medicines that eased our pain that day. The wounds of painful memories were soothed with this happier one, the one this outfit continued to hold, perhaps much longer than the bangles... Should I then let go of the outfit?

Finally in an attempt to accumulate memories and not possessions (outfit), I gave it away. The memory is mine to keep. Now each time the gorgeous evening sky adorns its blue and orange shade, it reminds me of that special day.

Me - Time Sundays!

I love me-time Sundays!  The past few hectic weekends had me craving for some “me-time” and finally here it was....and it felt great! I hoped to catch up with my soul buddies but not before I check on my parents. And just then I wondered – Did my parents ever get any individual me-time? They probably enjoyed some when they’d chase us off to our grandparents but there is something therapeutic about individual me-time, something I am certain they never got to experience at least not as much as new parents do these days.

Few years ago, when life was not as busy and when there was no face book, I had a lot of such me-time Sundays. I would sip my piping hot cuppa chai on a squeaky swing chair looking across a creek. I’d hear the birds sing their song or envy the bunnies aimlessly hop around; my cardio class made us hop like bunnies one time and I sprained my ankle after 2 hops! Occasionally two ducks would wade in the creek and cast a glance at me (so I think). In silence, we all chatted – soul to soul. It meant a lot!

After almost 5 years, I am enjoying me-time Sunday again. I walked by the same swing, it looks unused. It greeted me with the familiar ‘squeak’ and I smile. The creek seems to have lost a lot of water, perhaps it cried a wee long time for some attention. When creeks cry, they lose water. The birds were still singing their song...I can’t remember if it’s the same song. I look out for the bunnies; I wanted to tell them I can do 10 hops now (after so many years) but they are perhaps hibernating.  The two ducks are now wading with 3 little ducklings. Sweet life! I missed out on a lot!

Our desire to accomplish and to be successful has overtaken our life so much that we forget to smell the roses, feel the cool breeze and smile for no reason. Not too long ago, the bunnies, the birds, their song, the creek, the ducks and the swing were all part of my me-time. As I pursued different interests, I cut them out of my life. Yet today, despite everything they still gave me their time and let me walk away with the one thing they still had intact – the peace within.  

Overcoming fear

As human beings, we take a lot of things for granted especially life.  Life is unpredictable and you never know when it’s time to cross the finish line. We live as if we were to live forever; we work long hours for a life we never seem to enjoy.  We talk about being blessed yet never bring out the blessed feeling in our daily actions. We dream, make goals but spend time in useless talk and activities.  Two precious souls  lost their battle with Leukemia last month and one of them was just 33.  Their death influenced me in a much bigger way than their life ever did and almost gripped my life with fear. It was the fear of losing life before time, before I could accomplish all my dreams – especially the ones that lacked any effort so far. 

I spent days and nights in fear, I could barely sleep and one fine morning I was so scared that I had to skip work! Living in fear is a curse, the one that comes with stagnation. Fear comes when action stops and so it can easily paralyze someone. One of the key steps in overcoming fear is in recognizing that fear is not an enemy; it’s just an emotion that we need to get over. Understanding the cause of fear, letting go of our inhibitions are integral to overcoming fear.

Few years ago, I wanted to learn how to bike but I was terrified. I could balance a whole lemon on my finger better than I could balance myself on the bike. Embarrassed at my struggle, I wanted to quit but I sucked at that too! After sweating it out a few sunny afternoons, it became clear that I was not really scared of biking; I was scared of falling down and getting hurt. Excess dose of Vitamin -D rocks!So thanks to my friends with kids, I learnt how to bike on a kid bike and then gradually transitioned to an adult road bike. I wore knee and elbow pads (only few days) – the ones soccer players wear so I could minimize any bruises. It was my way of addressing my fear of getting hurt. 

That was seven years ago! Every experience transforms us in some way, so when I am gripped with fear this time, a friend promptly reminds me of the learning to bike experience.  Although my fears this time are beyond anyone’s control, the cause was perhaps a stagnant or monotonous life, one that lacks action/effort.

As Yoda says- Fear is the path to the dark side! I am sure no one wants to be on the dark side - I surely don't ! 

Healthy breakfast – 30 day challenge!

I hope everyone is looking forward to an exciting Labor Day weekend...I know I am! Since September is the National breakfast month, I am going to challenge myself to have (healthy) breakfast every single day(this month).  For most people, breakfast is an essential meal, for me I am just fine skipping it. I totally enjoy good food but I am not a morning person. So cooking breakfast or making something first thing every morning is just not my cuppa of tea...And yes I skip tea too!

Challenges get me going and for those who know me, just pretending to be a morning person is a tough challenge in itself and adding ‘healthy breakfast’ to it...challenging enough I think!

Today is the first day of the challenge and I made myself a strawberry, kiwi smoothie. YUMM is the word! Turns out smoothies come with an easy logic (fruits + nuts + yogurt) – one of the many things I learnt from friends and family.  

Trying out new things adds an interesting twist to life; it makes it lot more fun. Next few days, I plan to try out different combinations of fruits and add a mix of other ingredients like oats, tofu, greens etc. I have tried smoothies with Oats in the past but it became so thick that...Ah well! Times change and so do skills, so I am sure this time it will be just fine.

There are just so many options out there that I hope when I get really tired of smoothies, some other idea with magically show up. As they say, where there is will..there is a way. So I pray that I keep up with this challenge and have my most essential meal through this month and maybe longer! Will try to post some of the recipes..wish me luck and keep checking on me! Ciao - Happy Labor Day then...