The Wire magician!!!

When I first saw those wire puzzles..I was fascinated, then.. I saw the man who made it....... he  looked so shabby and unassuming..but it just took me a few minutes to realize that he is a genius!

Harish Bai as everyone in the centre calls him, was here to help one of our graduate students to  make a double helical model of DNA..And in between, if you have the time and he has the mood, he will teach you few tricks..in his own words: "Once I teach you some simple tricks..then you can also create magic! Get me any waste you have, plastic bottles,lids,coins, papers, wires anything..I will show you how to transform them in to art, puzzle and magic" . When he saw our interest, he gave us a simple wire puzzle. After few minutes of our struggle to solve it we went back to him for help..and he understood that we poor souls could do with a clue..."its like buttoning and unbuttoning a shirt..I have buttoned it now you think and do "..WOW! and after a long struggle we "unbuttoned " it!

Armed with the confidence of knowing the secret of solving the puzzles, we  took a couple of different ones and started to solve them..only to realize that the there are a variety of buttons and unbuttoning one does not mean that others will be easy ..Also,there are not just buttons, some are even a lock and key or a needle and thread!!..

And when we thought that we have seen his best,he  opened the blue plastic bag kept on his side..and out popped a bundle of goodies..Wire art in form of cycles, rickshaws, female faces, Buddha,the Chanakya,different pandits (a difference in their status defined by their head marks) animal forms etc etc.. and the most fascinating..the Picasso lady who can have 25 different expressions..from happiness to gloom from bliss to danger..
His narrative through out the presentation was mind blowing..He is a perfect "India has got talent" material.
 And I who had  gone there just to see ..could not stop myself from buying a buddha and a cycle and a couple of puzzles..it was too good..and Iam sure my dad will love it..

Photo Courtesy: http://10yearitch.com 

I know very little about him, for he speaks only of his art and where it takes him to. but in between as an answer to someone's question, he told us about how he traveled without ticket from his home in Kutch  to Mumbai (He identifies Mumbai as his hometown)  to become an actor (he and his friends thought that any one can become an actor in Mumbai and the only challenge was to reach Mumbai) .. in just the first few days ,he realised that finding a square meal itself is a challenge ...but the most hardest thing for him was that he couldn't watch the movies!!he recalled the nights that he spent outside the theater as he did not have the money to go in ..

For the 50 paise  to watch the movie he started to collect garbage.. but he made only 25 paise.. and he and his friend had to share a movie..he watched half and his friend the other half., and they would share the story! Then one day,his first baby cycle got him 1Rs with which both of them watched the movie together..and from then on it was a steady income.

The  major turning point in his career,was when an article about him came in Times of India some where in 1979, and people started   knowing about him and his days as a wire artist began...On days when he is not working at some fest , school ,or at some parties (He caters to a wide variety of audience..from scholars to birthday kids..) you can find him at his regular stall (Have not yet been there..but found some pictures  of him on google taken by people who have been there..) on the footpath opposite Jahangir art gallery, Mumbai,near  the iconic KalaGhoda..

But like any other genuine artist, the shadow of exploitation haunts him too...his 3-D bikes sold for 60000 Rs inside the Jahangir Art Gallery , but no one even knew it was his... he had sold it to middle man only for 10000 with out knowing the real intentions of his client ..... "thats how it will be and we can do nothing about it!"....the hard truth that affects the poor whether they are farmers or carpenters or crafts men..Its not the one who sows that reaps the benefit but the crook who is in between...And the real artists are left to do it for the love of the art and their personal satisfaction..

Photo Courtesy: http://Mumbaimania.in

Every year in Feb, during the famous Kalaghoda festival, he has a permanent stall there ,Which he says the organizers give him free of any charge and its during this time he sells for his entire years living... He also talked about a few other incredible people that you can meet on streets then...I have decided.. 2012 Feb..Iam not going to miss the Kala Ghoda fest at any cost!

Alone in the Crowd...

WOW,The tittle is misleading..it does sound philosophical..but iam not going to write anything that is even remotely so!

Its been two weeks since I thought of the title but..words stopped its flow the moment I started to write..Guess sometimes expressing a thought through words is not so easy..So let me just tell you the story that led to the thought and l will leave you to do your thinking and reflection.

Well...it was the Dassera time and I was on my way to office..The train was as crowded as usual and everyone was in their own world..some reading ,some chatting,some just lost in their thoughts...I was also lost in some random thought when a little girl around  8-10 years of age hopped into our compartment..she was in her school uniform and very neat unlike hawker kids and so I was surprised when she took out a box from her bag that had some bangles,cosmetics and so on and  started walking around the compartment looking out for prospective buyers..Must say that she was smart business lady... She gave the right reasons to people as to why they should buy and what they should buy,she was very smart when it came to bargaining..and she knew very well how to use her cuteness to her advantage..Once she was done with her rounds she neatly put all her stuff back in her bag and sat down near the door..one of the passengers started enquiring about her whereabouts..With a very serious tone which had a strange innocence about it..she said that its her daily routine..her mother sells bangles in trains and stations and does other odd jobs like cleaning and manages to sent her and her little brother to school..Her mother wants her to become a teacher..but she wants to help her mother too..So every morning on the way to school and evening on her way back, she shares some of her mother's work...She ended her talk by saying that one day she will become a good teacher and then her mother will never have to work soo hard...And then silently got up as the next station was approaching and she needed to move on to next compartment..

Love in the time of cholera...a strange love story

Love in the time of cholera   is a beautiful  love story written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez..It takes you through a whirlwind of emotions..Happiness, longing ,fear, pain, hatred and a whole lot of confusing situations..

Set in an unknown Caribbean city, the book takes you through the changes through out the  life of Florentino Arizo, Fermina Daza and Dr. Juvenal Urbino..It starts at a stage where all are in the eve of their life and then certain circumstances  push on the story to a 50 year flashback to the time of cholera..

Florentino Arizo,only son of an unwed mother,and a young apprentice telegrapher with a flair for love poems..fell head over heels in love with Fermina Daza ,The daughter of a mule driver who became rich by unscrupulous means,  first time he saw her...and he started his pursuit to gain her attention and love,in which he succeeded and Fermina too started longing to read his long and hopelessly romatic letters and to catch his glimpse on her way to school...till the day her father discovered their secret affair and took her away.. They maintained their correspondence through secret telegrams..and Fermina felt that she was burning in passion and longing to meet her love..By then they had even decided when and where they will get married... But when she returned back home and he was there in front of her..It just took her a glimpse to realize that what she mistook to be love was just a childish infactuation and a stupid confusion that was cleared by the freedom of thought the journey away from home had given her and she told Florentino that this was the end..She later married Dr. Juvenal Urbino , not out of love but convenience...But was not the end of their love story but the beginning of fifty one years, nine months and four days of  Florentino 's wait to win her back...

The author then takes you though time and events that took place in next half a century in the life and minds of these three characters.Fermina and Juvenal finds and loses and then again finds love and contentment in their marriage that was a little diminished in the last years of their life due to the confession of an illicit affair by the doctor..but they reunite and find peace in coexisting and searching to find traces of their love..while Florentino searches for peace and freedom from thoughts of Fermina in the arms of many beautiful women..young and old ,unmarried,married and widowed including a very disturbing relationship with a  14 year old (For whom he was supposed to be a guardian!)when he was in his 70's..but in the end realizes that he is too selfish in his love for Fermina that he can never accept anyone else or be faithful to anyone else ...

And when Dr. Juvenal Urbino passes away in an accident while trying to retrieve his prized parrot from the mango tree ... Florentino Ariza,who by now was the chairman of RCC shipping company, seizes the opportunity and proposes to Fermina Daza at her husbands funeral...Wrong timing right? Well..Fermina shut the door at him asking him never to return( in her own words.. "don't show your face again for the years of life that are left to you . . . I hope there are very few of them."..)..But it does not end there... he continues with  his letters and slowly Fermina realises the intensity of his love and maturity of his thoughts(well i still debate this.)..and she accepts his proposal...

I call it a strange love story because I am not sure if someone can love anyone with so much passion that they fail to notice the passing time..they fail to notice their greying hair..they fail to notice the injustice they do to others in their selfish pursuit of love....It took me a long time to complete reading this book....if you ask me how it was..though  I dont agree with the glorification of  Florentino's affairs and would never ever want a lover like Florentino...I loved the story and emotions it took me through....it was a beautiful..strange love story..

                                   

How Grand pa met Grand ma...

This is my favorite story...And  every time I get a chance to narrate it to anyone interested,I re-live the excitement that I had when I first heard the story from my grand aunt(My grandma's elder sister).

Am not aware of the right time-lines these events took place..guess it should be around 58 years or so before based on the age of my eldest aunt..

My great grand father was a feudal land lord  and an art teacher in Kerala .My great grand mother was his second wife and they had five children and my Granny was the third one..Her elder sister was married of quite early and she and her husband was settled in Singapore then...During the course of his business interactions,her husband met this sufficiently rich unmarried gentleman who was doing very well in his work front,but was lonely as he had left this home and family back in Kerala years back..This gentleman slowly became a regular visitor at their house and became like a member of their family..And My Grand Aunt took it as her responsibility to ensure that this good man finds a suitable bride and get settled in life (She says that she was afraid that he might find a Singaporean or Chinese wife..What a loss it would have been!).

With this noble cause in her mind,She sent across the details of this person to her father back home and asked him to forward this proposal to one of her cousin sister,who was already in her 30's and hence apt for this man in terms of her age and was other wise also a good match..But her father had other plans..When he went through the proposal,he replaced his third daughter in place of the cousin as the bride..The only issue was that she was only 19 and the bride-groom 44..but it was difficult to get a such a good 'boy' with out making any compromises right? Age was anyways such a small issue..

So he replied back to his daughter with a photo of his other daughter(Which my granny says was her first photograph ever and a photographer came home to take it, as till then she was not allowed to travel outside the house except for temple visits) enclosed in the envelope..After few initial debates ,the elder daughter also agreed to dad's idea and showed the photo to the 'boy' ..Looking at that photo,I guess I know why there was not much resistance from that side..

The issue of bride was resolved , but there arose a new issue..Where will they get married ? Bride and family was in Kerala and the Bride groom in Singapore ..And he was not ready to go to Kerala then..My great grand dad found a solution to this also..he said why bother coming here, we will sent the bride to Singapore and the wedding will take place there..So it was decided that the bride,accompanied by her elder brother will take the ship to Singapore and the the ceremony will take place at bridegroom estate there.The elder brother ran to the tailor to get his coat sticthed and started preparing for his first trip abroad..as far as the bride was concerned..she should have been fighting mixed emotions of fear, longing and god knows what..(but till today she always told me that she was blank then..) no one had even asked her opinion..

Things went as decided except for a small twist..great grand dad decided that he should accompany his daughter and not his son..and uncle's new coat..never saw its way outside the cupboard(heard that he was upset about it for along time ;))...My Grandma who had till that day never even ventured out to the city from her village,took a ship to Singapore and the very next day of landing there was married of to Grand pa..

Now If you are wondering what happened afterwards...Well its sweet..They had a long happy married life with 6 healthy children..Fourth one being my father..And after my father was born they decided to come back and settle in India..And my father celebrated his first birthday in the ship on their way back...

TOTTO CHAN IS A MUST READ GUYS !!!! HERE IS A SUMMARY FOR YOU

Totto Chan : The Little Girl at the Window

By Tetsuko Kuroyanagi

Translated by Dorothy Britton

Tottochan: the little girl at the window is a delightful memoir of Tetsuko kuroyanagis's childhood at Tomoe Gakuen,the wonder school.This is one book that will remain in your mind for a long time after reading it.

Tottochan as Tetsuko was fondly called,was taken to Tomoe Gakuen,a school for special children , by her mother because she was expelled from her other “proper” school in first grade , for being a distraction to the rest of the class.Mother was worried whether the new school will understands that her daughter is just a curious little girl who though is careless about the world around and lives in her own little world, loves everything and everyone around her and never wants to do any harm to anyone. Tottochan on the other hand was unaware of being expelled and was looking forward to her new school and with the gates that grew, rail road cars for class rooms and a head master (who according to Tottochan should be a station master!) who allows you to talk about anything you want..she had no second thoughts, she loved Tomoe Gakuen and she loved Mr. Kobayashi, the head master.

Mr.Kobayashi was an exceptional teacher,who had very clear vision,that his school will impart knowledge to children in a way that they will all love.He made sure that the overall development of the child is taken care of.He ensured the every child had nutritious food(the parents had to include in their children's lunchboxes "something from the ocean and something from the hills." everyday). He knew every student inside out and he never scolded them, still the students understood what is expected of them and they behaved the right way.They all loved their train classes,the afternoon walks,farming lessons,field kitchen,music time and swimming hours.They all loved the fact that they could start the day with their favourite subject.They all accepted and accommodated the handicaps in their friends.They learned to respect each other and the world.No book or teacher taught them that..this was just a way of life at Tomoe Gakuen and all of them found joy in every thing they did there.

The events at world war II led to the shut down of Tomoe Gakuen and Tetsuko moved to another school,but years after when she became a an internationally famous actress, a talk show host, a best-selling author WWFN advisor, and a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, she does not fail to acknowledge the role Tomoe Gakuen played in her life.If not for Tomoe Gakuen and Mr. Kobayashi,she would never have been able to understand herself and her potentials.

The book ,written in simple language as a narrative of day to day events as seen through the eyes of a little girl, took me back to my school days and I so wish that my school was like Tomoe Gakuen,Some day we would have more such schools were all realise that every child is special and are given the freedom to discover, learn and grow.

This book is a must read!You will all love meeting the Totto chan-the little wonder,her patient and loving mother , and her class mates and Mr Kobayashi is sure to win your heart too.

Bangalore Days...

Bangalore to me is a lot more than just another city...It is synonymous with freedom and self discovery...It helped me break free of my shell..It gave me the freedom to commit mistakes, learn from them...Meet people,make many acquaintances,some enemies and in the process gain few life long friends..

My first Visit to Bangalore was as a part of my college trip..Lalbag, Commercial street and Ullsoor lake and the star attraction.. Visit to Biocon...After a half and hour pep talk by one of the scientists at Biocon, the entire 25 of us were sure that this is where we are heading to..Key to our future is here !!!But alas..It did turn out to be a momentary inf-actuation...

I then had no clue that this city had other plans for me..

It was after two and half years,that for a summer vacation,one of my friends,had this sudden plan for a summer internship at NIMHANS..and gave me a rare opportunity that opened up the door of unseen probabilities..I love to talk to all about how we traveled from Kollam to Bangalore that day...We two girls who never before that had traveled alone, ventured on our own(not actually, for my friends mom had ensured our safety by sending along her cousin, but till we reached Bangalore we where not aware of the fact as aunty had decided to respect our wish to be independent..he he!!) ignoring the opposition from our homes(that was our version)..Without reservation and any prior experience of a long distance train journey, travelling in an extremely crowded "handicapped compartment"(we just thought that it was an extremely small ladies compartment, until few scary looking blind men barged in and started shouting at us..) sitting on our bags and believe me till then I never ever imagined I will ever travel that way!..

The two months at NIMHANS with the lab, homology modeling, the meduvada at the canteen, the nun's hostel with its "rules", labelled dinner plates, the terrace that opens up only on one day wash day, the frequent visits to Forum Mall...actually marked a phase of my Bangalore experience...The day we went on a visit to the hospital..will forever remain in my memory..the kind of suffering we saw..could not be explained in words..

The next phase began with the end of year project at IISC and then the big two years at Cellworks..each loooong loong chapters...so this is a to be continued story.. 

My rendezvous with Mumbai

Looong time again..... we are all busy with our lives...so let me just take few seconds and pen down some experiences that I want to share with you all...on "my rendezvous with Mumbai  "...
Mumbai is a city with extreme living conditions..much much more extreme than i even imagined...

Here one side you have super super rich guys living in huge houses...

While on the other side you have People (read it more than 60%) living below the grade of human beings..or in short living in sub-human conditions(I didnt even know there was a word "Sub-human" )...

As I always tell my friends,this city holds unending thrills for me..some times,it gives me pleasant surprises and while other times it shocks me to the core ..

As with everything else, rains of Mumbai also has its own varied shades ....On one side it gives you a picture of unparalleled beauty and fun  on the other side it shames you with its display of multiplied woes of the people..

 

But some days, it just gives you some small things to laugh on and think later....

One such day,I was on my way to office,It was raining heavily and my rickshaw was stuck in traffic and suddenly the driver asked me to look outside...There was a slum on the other side of the road..There,men and children had lined up,all with soaps and shampoos on their body...taking long natural shower as if they were inside their own bathrooms.It was a funny scene and i wish i had my camera...but then on a serious note..the lack of proper sanitation for majority of them,would mean that this might be the best shower they could have this season!!

Through all these day to day life, there is a constant struggle...Fight for power,fight for money,fight for glamor...and at the other end of this endless list of struggle there is still a group for whom the fight is only for few morsels of food...What ever be their struggle,there is one-thing for sure,the people out here know how to survive..May be that is what the "Spirit of mumbai" is all about..But there is some thing very very infectious about this city...Two years in the city and Iam already a part of it...