hopscotch

Just read the news that Doordarshan will soon be airing the second part of Ek Tha Rusty – dramatised stories based on Ruskin Bond's life. I had a good time in the 90s watching the series with my mother. I continue to be a big fan of Ruskin Bond and his work. The old world charm, quirky aunts, and loving grandparents, plus a house and large garden full of animals, and yes, not to forget the possibility of ghosts lurking in some corner of Rusty's house ensured that I was glued to DD Metro every Saturday evening between 5.30-6.30 pm. This time, of course, the news says that they will be capturing Rusty when he's 33 and has garnered reputation as a writer. And, his stories full of romance, thriller, adventure will be adapted for the small screen. Well, Rusty has grown up! So have I! It will be fun to meet Rusty in his 30s!

And I would like to sleep in it! ---- I was yawning, or trying to cover my wide open mouth with the back of my palm, when I read this premise of Makarand Deshpande's new play. I yawned some more (this time without covering my mouth) and thought, “interesting”. The protagonists are two masseurs who sleep for others, their clients. The girls have their own reasons for sleeping for others. One hopes to learn this skill so that she can sleep for her insomniac father, while the other girl hopes that her bed-ridden sister can sleep uninterrupted for few hours. The only catch is that the masseurs who learn about their client's dreams, will keep them a secret. I hope to catch this play whenever it's staged in Pune because I love sleeping and dreaming. I have some very vivid dreams and I am able to recollect them when I get up in the mornings. I can also sleep at the drop of the hat. In fact there was a time when I was in school and college when I used to study by lying

Sitting on the lawns adjoining my hostel, a tall and stout woman, with her sari hitched half way up her legs, holding on to the hosepipe as if her life depended on it, suddenly appeared from nowhere. I blinked and she was gone. --- The cool winds and the lush green lawns did nothing to soothe my cranky nerves. Having passed with average marks in my SSC boards, I was pushing myself to score above average in my HSC boards. To save myself from the odious comparisons of studious and more bright roomies, I had taken to studying in the lawns adjoining my hostel. I pored over my books, frowned, scowled, walked up and down remembering, recalling and then going blank. My rather feeble and reluctant smiles were reserved only for the surly, gruff head gardener or Kaka as I called him. He was the one who called the shots in the lawns, shooing away students at will. Seeing that I posed no hindrance when he watered the lawns lavishly, trimmed the hedges, or cleaned the marble statue of o

I was never a Salman Khan fan. But, you have to give it to the man, he is everywhere. Or rather his "Being Human" t-shirts are seen everywhere. Not a day passes, when I don't see someone - student, slum dwellers, street-side Romeos - sporting the t-shirt. They are also selling on the footpath. His heroines/co-stars walk the ramp in his Tees and the man on the street also sports them. That I think sums up Sallu mian's mass and class appeal. Actors and actresses make news for launching their clothes line, perfumes and DVDs...but they have are/never sold on this scale. They never make news amongst the masses. Their products do not evoke, "we must buy Bipasha Basu's DVDs or her clothes" sentiments. They just come and we don't even know when they "go" or fade from public memory. This makes me think, perhaps Salman Khan is also an excellent marketing strategist!

Jaipur street Interiors of City Palace, Jaipur The armoury  City Palace, Jaipur

Javed Akhtar: Born to Act I think Farhan Akhtar is better off wielding the megaphone...and giving his father, Javed Akhtar a chance to show off his histrionics. He has the voice, he has an elephantine memory and he can act for sure. He can act happy when he's on the stage talking happily when unchallenged, acting up when presented with a contrary viewpoint, acting injured when his viewpoint is dismissed. An evening of You Know... The one phrase which was thrown around liberally, peppered all meaningful and meaningless conversations, discussions was..."You Know".  You know....accompanied by slow motion of bejewelled fingers, was sure to cast a hypnotic spell on you. Alka Pande, one of the panelist for 'Shringara...Costume is the temple of the mind',  began and ended her sentenced with "you know" A reluctant film-maker The bearded gentleman sulked. You could make that out right away. He was dressed to kill...the winter chill, I mean. He w

Watch out for these writers from the African continent- Shubnum Khan, Teju Cole, Taiwheyi and Ben Okri Vishal Bharadwaj, Prasoon Joshi, Javed Akhtar, Gulzar with moderator, Samit Basu at the Kahani Kise Kehte Hain session Good  girls come to Jaipur...Annie Zaidi (centre) with Manisha Kulshrestha and  Pakistani writer Huma