Shahwar Hussain rides through the beautiful Lahaul and Spiti Valley and buys his peace with the mighty Himalayas.

Words: Shahwar Hussain

Pic : Incredible Spiti

The call of the mountains is a dangerous thing….It tugs at the heart so strong that if you fail to heed it’s call, you will surely brood for a long time. You will regret the missed chance to return to the folds of the mighty mountains, breath the cold fresh wind, walk by the lakes, watch the football sized stars make holes in the black sky at night and make some more friends among the monks (they all look the same…don’t they?…For all you know, you might introduce yourself to an old friend once again!!).

Well, the higher Himalayas have been calling me for a while now and I didn’t want the calls to get any dangerous and so I paid heed last August.

I decided to ride to the beautiful Lahaul and Spiti valley. An overwhelming number of riders who point their front wheel beyond Manali, end up riding to the Leh region. It IS a beautiful ride indeed, through some of the world’s highest motorable roads, water crossings, snow peaks, deep gorges and with a number of pristine high altitude lakes thrown in. but of late it has become far too crowded and commercialized for my liking. Of course the tour operators, the hotels and the assorted business have to make money to survive and they are mushrooming all over Leh. I always try and avoid crowded touristy places and at this moment, Leh, certainly fits the bill of a crowded touristy place. But this is my personal point of view.

I wanted to ride to Spiti but didn’t really want to take the additional burden of getting all the logistic right. I spent a couple of days deciding on the trip when I met an old friend Vishesh, who run his motorcycle tours in the Lahul and Spiti valley (www.incrediblespiti.com) along with Tsering Bodh and Subhansu Singh.

Riding solo is a nice feeling as we drift with the wind without any set itinerary. But time was at a blue chip premium and I thought riding with Vishesh and his group of 4 riders would be a better idea.

It is a good idea to start the journey from Shimla as riding from Delhi through the plains of Punjab can be a rather boring affair. We started early from Shimla and stopped at Narkhanda for breakfast. Riding in the hills invariably gives me a good appetite and after having our fill we rode on to Sarahan. This 110 km is a lovely ride on winding roads through a Deodar forest. Although we rode for about 10 hours on winding roads, it was not overtly tiresome and we spent the night at Sangla in tents at the Kinnaur Camps. Foran overwhelmingnumber of riders, it is the ride that matters and the ride is considered a success if they can enjoy a good camp fire and that is exactly what we got. And yes…we did do the touristy kind of thing too as we went to see the 900 year old Bhima Kali temple. It is amazing and we didn’t regret this touristy bit of activity one bit.

An early morning start again as we made our way to Kalpa via Chitkul which is the last village on the Indo-Tibetian border. It is a very scenic ride from Chitkul to Kalpa and we could see the Kinnaur Kailash peak which seems to change its colour during the course of the day. The apple orchards along the way accentuates the feel good factor of the ride and the sparse traffic added to the ambiance. Vishesh had the tour nicely paced out. After the 10 hour ride the day before, it was a 4 -5 hours of easy ride and we arrived at the Apple Country hotel in much better shape.

The next day the terrain changed quite a bit as we again rode for 10 hours from Kalpa to Tabo via Nako. At Khab before Nako, we could see the confluence of the Sutlej and the Spiti rivers and the hills became barren and brown as we entered the cold desert. The two checkpoints at Spillo and Chango didn’t take much time as we were the only “tourists” around.

Travelling with people who knows the area has its advantages. After Kalpa, Vishesh suddenly pulled up by the side of a rather old tree and announced ‘lunch!’. I certainly didn’t see any place or anyone who would serve us lunch but as we climbed a few stone steps by the side of the tree, we saw this small dhaba and we had the most amazing paranthas ever.

After we crossed the Sumdo checkpoint, we took a diversion on the right that took us to Gheun, whose claim to fame is the naturally preserved 600 year old mummy of a Buddhist monk that was discovered after a landslide exposed it. It is a little off the way and not too many tourist visits this area…All the better. Gheun also has an ITBP base.

Tiger Den was our den at Tabo for the next two days as we moved in and around Tabo.

The Tabo Monastery is a marvel indeed. The monastery was built in 996 AD and is made of straw and mud,much like the City of Bam in Iran which was destroyed by an earthquake some years back. It is a pity that we were not allowed to shoot inside the main prayer hall of the monastery but just as well. The flashlights would surely destroy the thousand year old paintings and other priceless artifacts. The monks of the monastery have an apple orchard and a sizeable amount of finance come from that.

Do not forget to try the lovely cakes made by the small German bakery. I am a sinker for that.

The other 1000 year old monastery is the Dhankar monastery. As we rode up, we could see it from afar and it looked like an extension of the craggy brown mountain itself. Some part of the old structure has collapsed and it has been declared as one of the most endangered monuments in the world. The new monastery built below is not a patch on the old one and I made no attempt of going in.

Vishesh took us on a 45 minutes hike to the Dhankar lake…Like any other high altitude lakes, this one was just as beautiful. I have been to the monastery before but never heard about the lake.

As we came down from Dhankar to the Kaza highway, we found a ropeway constructed by the locals to cross over the confluence and on to their fields.We took a ride across for a smoke and a tea with the farmer.

After a 5 hour ride the next day, we reached Pin Valley and had a lovely home stay at Mudh. Sadly we couldn’t go to the Pin Valley National Park.

The 2 hour ride from Pin valley to Kaza sure is breathtaking to say the least. Motorcycle is the best way to enjoy this stretch as also the way up to Kye and Kibber. The Kye Monastery is a Centre of Buddhist learning and also an Old Age Home but with a difference. The inmates at the home stay there not because they have nowhere to stay but because they want to meditate undisturbed.

Kibber was till recently the highest motorable village in Asia and has some very good restaurant. Considering the altitude and the sparse movement of goods, the restaurants are not at all costly.

On the way back, we stopped at Langza and Komic villages. You can still find fossils at Langza and it is such an amazing thing to find fossils of fish and other marine animals in the high Himalayas!! And at Komic we did nothing but sat at the edge of the mountain and saw the red big sun dip over the imposing mountain and turn the sky into a flaming red canopy.

We climbed to Kunzumla (4551 mt) from Kaza and then came down to Chandratal. The 12 odd kilometers to the lake is very dusty with fine dusts like talcum powder and they settle everywhere on the eyelashes and eye brows, moustache and beards and make you look real funny. So we had some tea at Chandra Dhaba and off we rode through the dust.

The authorities do not allow any vehicle till the lake now and it had done the lake a world of good. It is a 45 minutes walk till the lake from the camp site and now the bank of the lake has less of those obnoxious plastic water bottle and other waste left behind by the tourists.

Camping out in the open was fun….I slept under a black canopy with a million stars for company;stars that seemed big and close enough to touch and woke up to an impossibly blue sky with not a speck of cloud on it.

On the way to Manali from Chandratal, we had two big stream crossing at Batal and at Gramphu that left us wet and shivering. And if this was not enough, we got stuck at that dirty, rotten, muck filled pass called Rothang.

After an incredible 9 days with Incredible Spiti, I suffered from a bad case of withdrawal symptoms as we hit Manali and the symptoms lasted for quite a few days.

Now I am at peace with the mountains…until they sound the call again!!!

Recipe By Aman Kahlon

Ingredients

1. 250 gms fresh full cream paneer cut in cubes and soaked in milk

2. 1 tea spoon shahi jeera

3. 2 tablespoon oil

4. 1/2 tsp grounded kali mirch 

5. 1 large onions cut into rings 

6. 1/2 large capsicum de-seeded and cut into slices

7. 2 green chilies diagonally cut 

8. 3-4 pinches kasoori methi 

9. Green Corriander leaves chopped 

10. 1/4 tsp turmeric (haldi) powder 

11. salt to taste

12. 4-5 tablespoons of fresh cream 

Preparation

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a kadai / frying pan

2. Add shahi jeera and let it crackle

3. Add onion rings , cut green chilies and slices of capsicum and sauté 

4. Reduce heat and add kali mirch (crushed black pepper), haldi (turmeric), salt, kasoori methi 

5. Add paneer cubes soaked in milk and mix well 

6. Add milk (1/2 cup milk) and cook for some time till the milk dries up

7. Add the cream and mix for 10-15  seconds 

8. Remove from heat 

9. Add the chopped dhaniya patta (coriander leaves) 

10. Serve with Roti /Naan/Parantha 

Ingredients

Balti Paneer in making

Balti Paneer

Aman Kahlon, a Doctor by profession delves into intricacies of delicacy. He likes to create, experiment and innovate recipes to suit his taste-buds. He is passionate about photography and loves to own the latest gadgets.

Fried Eye says- Below is an example of experimental write up where in four fifty five fictions have been incorporated to form one complete story. Fifty five fiction is a micro fiction limited within 55 words

The End
She gasped one last time before everything went limp and … dead. His hand grasped hers tightly willing her to live, his face contorted with rage and pain. Road traffic accidents were a major cause of deaths in that city.
She lost her life in one such accident. He , his sanity.

The Beginning of the end

Six months back she had discovered his infidelity.
Five months ago she lost hope.
Four months it was, when she went to the miracle man
Three months since he was back with her .
Two months into the affair, he was hopelessly in love with her all over again.
Last month the accident happened.

The Miracle

Four months ago The Miracle man had passed a paper and pen to her.
“Write down what you want and it will be granted”
She believed him, more because she wanted to believe that it could happen.
She wrote down obediently her wishes.
He came back
Miracle did happen but so did the curse.

The curse

The Miracle Man read it impassively.
Why?
Isn’t it obvious? She replied
He read it again just to be sure.
“I want him to come back to me, fall in love hopelessly with me to the point of no return and then I wish I Die”
“Ah! Revenge! “ and he shook his head sadly.

India Sixties and beyond music.

The sixties was an eventful time. The decade was marked with the success of the first man on space – Yuri Gagarin. It was the period of emergence of Che Guevara, John F Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr and their tragic deaths. Of the most severe and deadliest earthquake recorded in the recent times- The great Chilean earthquake ; Of cultural revolutions and social upheavals;of the rise of feminism and gay rights. Yes, the period was aptly called the Swinging sixties. It was in the sixties when a cultural revolution of sorts was noted in India when Beatles sang Norwegian wood,  a raga rock, inspired by Ravi Shankar and rise of some talented beat groups in the mid sixties like the Mystiks, Flintstones etc. What started back then with small baby steps is now an altogether snazzy scene in itself. But in the razzle dazzle of todays music scenario many youngsters have lost the connecting threads of history to our glorious times of the sixties and seventies. India sixties and beyond music is one such initiative that deserves applause in large measure for its attempts to preserve and promote those moments from history when the rock music industry was trying to carve a place for itself  and its future musicians  . And the promising scenario that it now boasts of is in fact due to the strong foundation that founders such as late Amit Saigal, editor of Rock Street Journal and magazines like Junior Statesman had built up back then.

India Sixties and beyond music is a facebook fan page started by Joseph Pereira, a journalist, music enthusiast, musician, music historian and author of books like Legends of Golden Venus. Indian by origin and now based in Singapore, Pereira had always been fascinated with Indian rock scene, an interest fueled by stories narrated to him by his cousin brother about the Indian music scene back in the sixties and probably that was when the germ of an idea for the fan page was formed. The memorabilia and information that the fan page boasts of in its archive is truly a treasure house. Fried Eye had the opportunity of interacting with the innovative Mr Pereira which we are sharing with you today as a part of our theme Music – A broader perspective.

FE- India sixties and beyond music- how would you describe it? A hobby? A passion ? a commitment? A project? Or everything ?

JP- It is to give Indians a sense of pride in their music scene. To let them know it is coming close to half century now. The bands and singers that started out in the early sixties and onwards into the seventies, eighties, nineties, and the first twelve years of this decade. Each generation gets inspired by those who came before them. Even the present generation take their cues from the Western scene. But surely they must have been aware of Indian musicians who have come before them and performed and recorded. They have added to the scene.

FE-You have mentioned in interviews of being fascinated by the music scene of India in the sixties. What exactly was the clinching point or the deciding factor that made you go ahead and form the fan page ?

JP- I knew there were blogs and other pages on the Net. I have seen them and I just decided to start one and add to it.

FE-What can a fan expect from the page?

JP- Initially we started with the page with visuals and links to songs that are on the Net. Then I set about building up data on the bands and singers. That will take a lot of work as I try to make contacts with musicians and get their stories down. Then we also mention current happenings when we hear about it especially if it is mentioned on the Net. I cannot compete with Rock Street Journal and the mainstream dailies. We just add another channel. Hopefully it builds.

George Harrison recording Wonder Wall in Bombay in 1969

FE-The normal course of action is a website leading to a fan page but here, you have started out on facebook first. You plan to chronicle a book on those lines too. Do you have any future plans of a website catering to a greater audience on this theme?

JP- Books will be done by other scholars and researchers. I am just trying to create excitement and awareness. Think of the Western scene where even stalwarts of eons ago like Beatles and Rolling Stones are dissected. We try to do similar for the Indian scene.

FE-As a suggestion you had mentioned , about selection criteria. I am genuinely intrigued. Is there a selection criteria for inclusions into the archives? If so, may we know what they are?

JP-No selection criteria. Initially I started the page titled India Sixties Music. Then Radha Thomas who sang with Human Bondage in the sixties suggested opening it up to include music that came later all the way to the present. I agreed to that and we changed the title to India Sixties And Beyond Music.

FE-Is India sixties and beyond music a one man show ? (other than the fans of course)

JP- Yes it is. It is one man now. But I have many mentors and friends who encourage and give help. I am grateful to them. I have also made many friends in India because of this site and I think that is wonderful.

FE-What I meant to ask was is there any other person officially on the team other than yourself? And If somebody wanted to volunteer to be on the team…

- I would welcome additions to the team because one single person could not possibly cover the entire Indian music scene.

FE-What were the challenges that you had faced on the project? Information? Manpower? Finances? Response from the people in general? Cynicism?

JP- Initially information. Because I am quite remote being in Singapore. But the net is a great help and there is much information on the Net and music on You Tube. I have made contact with a German who has an amazing blog titled www.hindustanivinyl.com

He made contact and made available some rare recordings on the blog. He sells Indian records but has been generous enough to share songs by artistes like Cavaliers, Raja Andrews And The Nawabs, Savages, Usha Iyer etc

Manpower is not a problem unless it grows really big. It is doable for now. The challenge is to keep it going. The response has been encouraging. I have had comments like “About time” and “More please”. Discussion about bands and music would be great to keep dialogue going. Then there have been people asking for information on a particular act and that gets me going finding information. I don’t really detect cynicism yet. It will come though.

FE-Any legacy if not passed down to the next generation becomes lost in history. And the gen next is a restless , inquisitive lot. How do you plan to involve them and hold their interest? What newer things can we expect from the page?

JP-Your first statement holds true. Once it gets too remote it loses touch. That is when it diminishes and vanishes in the mists of time. Capture it, documents it and then pass it on. More discussion, more suggestions and perhaps give the young generation a desire to be a journeyman musician. Musicians are called I think. Like people of the cloth, medicine, law, journalism. You cannot explain why.

FE-Fascination seems the primary response you had for India sixties music scene. Now that you have reached out, collected memorabilia, extracted data, observed and discussed about it, add to it you have done a similar project on the Singapore music scene of the sixties, a musician yourself-could we have a detailed dissection about the India sixties and seventies music scene? How different is the present scenario from the times back then?

JP- In the present days resources abound. In the old days meaning the sixties people learned to make do. For example, India had an import ban on music equipment and instruments. This resulted in people in bands resorting to home made amplification or amps made locally. But it created an opportunity for home grown luthiers to practise their craft. Meaning made in India instruments. Before the electric bass made their appearance, six string guitars were used in which the designated bass players played bass riffs. Of course they sounded tinny. Because they did not have the requisite bottom. In spite of handicaps like the above mentioned the bands persisted. Records were hard to come by and there was much sharing. In those desperate circumstances creation was all the more precious and remembered in that back drop becomes more poignant.

Hearts were big then and desire desperate. I needed to be in a band, I will sell my soul to learn an instrument. These are just touchpoints. I will need many hours and many lines in order to dissect the scene in a question. That is what the site is for. To do that. Dissect the scene ad nauseam. Out of that comes understanding and lessons for the present.

FE -Can we expect a bigger picture in the future? Like the general all encompassing Music scenario of the world? A kind of database, archives of the evolution of western music since the early twentieth century?( I ask this because in one of your comment thread in facebook, I read someone, a student of music I think expressing the need for one as there was hardly any organised content regarding this)

- That would be nearly impossible. At best one could do countries. Even a sub continent like India with over a billion people would theoretically have a huge scene. Look at the different states in India all having their own scene. Geographically it is wide. To cover it in depth requires work and resources and time. Best to start with a smaller area defined by time. Like India Sixties and focus on that. Another expert on India Seventies, another on India Eighties, another on India Nineties and so forth. Then cover it thoroughly. The resources are there and it is easier to reach out. But a World Database is a nearly impossible scenario. Lofty but impossible.

Well Mr Pereira certainly have overcome two humongous tasks that he had set out to do. (He has done similar research on the Singapore Music scene too) and though he humbly states that it is near impossible to create a world database, seeing his determination and dedication, it will not be surprising to see him exactly do that. At least our best wishes are certainly with him.

You can follow India sixties and beyond music fan page by visiting it through this link

http://www.facebook.com/pages/India-Sixties-and-Beyond-Music/147952891964475?ref=ts

Nagaland has always been touted as the Land Of Festivals…and now they have a brand new catch phrase – “Festival Of Festivals” as the state machinery referred to the annual Hornbill Festival held from 1^st to 7^th December.

The Hornbill Festival, held at the Kisama Heritage Village, certainly is a fest for the eyes – a riot of colours and costumes. Nagaland has an amazingly colourful culture and unique tradition…and this, coupled with a sense of the exotic and mysterious, draws in the crowd by the hordes especially during the Hornbill Festival.

What had initially started as a five day event 11 years back, has now graduated into a seven day event….and by the look of it this year, it has all the potential to grow into an even bigger event.

Not for nothing is Nagaland called “The Land Of Festivals”. There are 16 major tribes and numerous sub tribes in the state and every month one tribe or the other celebrates its festival.

The Hornbill Festival brings all the tribes of the state under one umbrella to showcase their rich culture and tradition. Of course the rituals are not as elaborate or as spontaneous as those held at the villages and at particular times of the year where the whole village participates in the rituals. But the Hornbill Festival lets you see the festivals and customs of the different tribes through a very wide window indeed.

Don’t get me wrong when I say that the rituals are not spontaneous. They are performed with a great deal of zest and pride. As Mr Yitachu, Parliamentary Secretary, Tourism, explained, “…a particular village that performs at the Festival might get its next chance after about 40 or 50 years and some even more. Each tribe is represented by a particular village each year and since the bigger tribes like the Ao and Angami have many villages, it would take a very long time indeed for a particular village to perform again at Kisama”. Many of the present day performers would not live to get the privilege to perform again at the festival and thus the pride.

The primary focus of the Hornbill Festival is to bring all the tribes of Nagaland in one platform and create a sense of unity among the different tribes and also to resurrect some of the culture and tradition that were dying a slow but sure death.

Although an overwhelming dances and rituals were based on agriculture and fertility, the warrior tribes like the Konyak, Chang, Yimchunger, Sema and a few other displayed some amazing war dances and head hunting rituals that were practiced in the days of yore…complete with log drum beating, mock fighting and torching of other villages.

The 2^nd day of the festival was meant for performers from the rest of the North Eastern states and what a fantastic show they put up throughout the day.

But if you think that the Hornbill Festival is all about dances and more dances…you are mistaken. There were ethnic Naga cuisine, exquisite handicraft and handloom, kids carnival, night bazaars, music – both traditional and contemporary, a superb show of fusion music comprising musicians from all the states of the North Eastern region, literary fest, fashion shows, beauty contest and fun events like climbing a greased bamboo pole, pork fat and Naga King Chilli eating contests which saw a whole lot of contestants crying “FIRE”!!

Stalls with Naga cuisine drew crowds like moths to fire. The lifting of the Protected Area Permits for foreigners resulted in a huge number of western tourists flocking to the Heritage Village and making a beeline to the ethnic food stall. Never mind the fire chilly, they had the sweet rice beer to wash it down!!!

Music is an integral part of Naga culture and the Rock Contest held as part of the festival was a huge draw. The contest, held by the Music Task Force set up by the Government to promote music in the state, is probably one of the biggest, if not the biggest, of its kind in the country. I am sure the bands didn’t mind the freezing cold as they performed under the open skies for the top prize of Rs 5 lakhs!

The other big draw was the Peace Rally to commemorate the battle of Kohima. The WWII Jeeps and their crew on period costumes drew in a lot of crowd. The Chief Minister Mr Neiphiu Rio in one of the jeeps led the rally. I guess his security guards must have had the jitters because the participants including the all women team, were carrying period guns and one could hardly make out the difference between the real and a fake gun!!

Seven days were over in a flash and the finale was a grand affair with each tribe lighting a bonfire. As the sun dipped over the hills at Kisama, the bonfire lit up the arena and the skies were filled with the war cries of the tribes as they all danced around the fire.

“Till next year” they said and by the look of it, it certainly is going to be a tourist magnet…definitely, a bigger magnet!

   You can read rest of the articles from the Chain reaction series here

While surfing through the net for sites dedicated to Indian classical music, we chanced upon Ragascape or www.ragascape.com which introduced itself as a website designed to discuss the melodic modes of Indian music. Though there were other sites that promoted Indian classical music, some in a totally no nonsense , commercial manner, ragascape stood out among them because of its sheer simplicity and yet with an unadulterated devotion and reverence for a subject as pure as Indian classical music. Another noteworthy fact was that the website was an initiative by an American Steven Landsberg who had been researching and practicing Indian classical music since last thirty years. He also carries the distinction of being the only Surbahar disciple of the great Ustad Mushtaq Ali Khan, the most outstanding surbahar player in the dhrupad style of this century and the greatest exponent of the Senia Sitar style.If morning shows the day, then surely Ragascape held a lot of promises as seen by the first few glimpses that we had the moment we entered the site.

The site itself is an artistically designed uncluttered , systematic one with the homepage having a dedication to the Godess Saraswati and a few words as an introduction to what the site and its categories were about. Navigation was easy and subjects and contents remain focused and direct. Though that was a somewhat technical overview , but again a neat , well structured interface is a mark of a website that knows what it wants to say to its readers. The content at such times can always be expected to be well researched and well articulated . And that is what Ragascape is. It is a well researched musical journey and a memorable experience in itself .

It was categorised into five main topics

Sources-

musical pilgrimage

Ragascapes

Raga exchange

Cd world

As can be deduced from the name, Ragascape covered essays on the various aspects of Indian music and also the intricacies of specific ragas and melodic scales . The contents featured multiple well researched subjects by various authors out of which the topic Kanailal and brothers : The history of an Indian instrument maker by Landberg himself is a great read and also a rare find. The essay detailed the development of a famous sitar manufacturer and the contributions he made to the modern sitar and chronicles the period starting from Bahadur Shah Zafar’s reign, when the first shop was set till 1995 when the shop was finally closed. So detailed is the article ( though never monotonous) and well researched, that the essay stands out as being one priceless piece of history. No wonder , it was supposed to be submitted in the Metropolitian museum in Art, New York city along with an instrument from Kanailal and brother shop.

Musical pilgrimage was about Landberg’s own journey into the realm of Indian classical music which is intriguing given by the fact that he is an American and who had no musical background when he first made his foray, on a whim, into the world of Indian classical music No doubt he was fascinated by it since the first time he came across it, but the story of how he was incorporated as one of its own by the close knit, disciplined, devoted and dedicated world of Indian classical music makes for an interesting read and is a potential autobiographical book material.It also gives a glimpse of the traditional aspect of the Gharanas, the Gurukul system and the purity of a Guru Shishya relationship  through his eyes and experiences and of their  importance in defining an artist. Landberg also shares interesting anecdotes of the period he spent learning classical music under the tutelage of Ustad Mushtaq Ali Khan . It will be interesting to let you know that Landberg happens to be the only disciple who was taught Surbahar by the Maestro. The write up also consists of rare photographs of some happy moments spend by Landberg with his master and some milestones of his student period.

Sources is all about the legacy of Landberg’s guru Ustad Mushtaq Ali khan and spans from a period as early as the early eighteenth century and traces the origin and spans across to show how with each age, the legacy of classical music was handed down to the descendants and how there were further additions of knowledge into the same due to their thirst for learning newer techniques and newer instruments. The article mentions in brief almost all the stalwarts of the Nayak Dhondu lineage, a dhrupad singer of Shahjahan’s court, of which Ustad Mushtaq Ali Khan was a descendent and carries information on Waras Ali Khan, Ashiq Ali khan and Barkatullah Khan . A rare collection of the recordings of Ustad Mushtaq Ali Khan are displayed in archives.

Raga Exchange interestingly is a recommendation of links on similar websites on music and can be called a virtual treasure trove.. Surely Landsberg did believe and also realise about the importance of peaceful coexistence. The site also has an option of literary contribution from other music aficionados or enthusiasts on the matter related to Indian classical music. . That ensures that a strong database of information is formed for sharing and promotion all over the web. Landsberg surely has offered the highest form of Gurudakshina to his Guru by way of immortality of his legacy through cyberspace and also proved his commitment towards knowledge and music by attempting on his part to spread the beauty and purity of Indian Classical music to the world.

Ragascape indeed is a collector item for your webpage bookmark list and if you are into classical music, both academically or otherwise then this site is one big treasure island.

I had been always fascinated by this wonderful instrument called Gogona which often awed me and which I had  tried only a few times out of awe.

Gogona is a type of Jew’s or Jaw harp, a vibrating reed instrument that is used primarily in the traditional Bihu music in Assam and that which is an integral part of Bihu as it gives an extra flavour to both Bihu song and dance. Gogona or Jew’s Harp or Jaw Harp is a simple musical instrument but I am sure it must have been a genius who designed it . It is found in different parts of the world, so it’s origin is a bit disputed or  maybe it will be safer to say that it perhaps developed simultaneously in different parts of the world.

The side facing the audience

So fascinated was I with it that I had written a post on it in Bamboo Lounge and maybe the fascination rubbed on Kavita Saharia who again shared it in her famous blog My Room. Maybe the fascination is contagious , hence I am here,reinventing the post again at the insistence of the issue editor for Fried Eye . Though the post was a very short one- more like a spurt of  my random thoughts on it, but it brought forth a thread of interesting discussions on it in My Room. The discussions on the other hand brought before us interesting yet unrecorded information on the gogona, which came like a blessing for us as there was very little on the internet about it. I am compiling all the information that were exchanged on the discussion thread of that post for you, as I had this passing thought that some of you out there might be interested in it.

The side facing the player

Lin from Brazil had added that such an instrument but different in the appearance which acted on the same principle was used in a fight dance form of Brazil called Capoiera . The instrument consisted of a bow and a basket, which they used to vibrate while playing it.

Kay , another visitor affirmed of hearing similar sounding instrument in Australia , though she could not provide further details on it.

Amatamari from Italy had an interesting bit of tidbit to add. He mentioned about scacciapensieri , a similar instrument found in Italy, slightly different in appearance , but which sounded exactly similar and enclosed a link too for reference.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aiSQvhK6rY

Patty also shared her bit by letting us know that her grandfather used to play a similar metal instrument called the juice harp and the similarity did not end there. It too was played by mouth like the gogona.

Kishore Choudhury shed more light on it by a comparatively detailed background report.  He traced the origins  to as early as the third century in South Asia which was later embraced all over the world. He also provided the names for it in different regions like-  Morsing in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, Mugursing in Tamil Nadu and Morchung in Rajasthan. Though it has a very basic and simple appearance, it holds a high place in carnatic music, he had added.

Gigi Hawaii , a visitor from Hawaii had brought up the topic of its nomenclature on why it was called Jews Harp when there has been no mention of it any where in Jewish history. Another visitor had mentioned it’s other name being Juice Harp while I had mentioned it being a sort of Jaw harp. But on checking wikipedia I was amused to find that all three of the names pointed towards the same instrument and the different names must have been variation of pronunciation.

I had also tried to demonstrate with this amateur video of mine the sound and the system of playing the instrument though I am not sure how far I have been successful with it.

You see, the easiest way to learn is to silently pronounce A-E-I-O-U while we give slight pushes to the right end. Now, you can play the instrument according to the beats of the music. Improvisations are your contribution and will be welcomed.

In today’s era where relationships are fast becoming functional (often loveless and meaningless), mystic poet Amir Khusro Dehlvi’s extrasensory love and devotion towards his mentor Nizamuddin Auliya, a great Sufi saint of the Chisti order seems an ideal. Somewhat akin to the sentiment expressed by metaphysical poet John Donne in his poem – ‘A Valediction: Forbidding mourning’ it is ‘Dull sublunary lovers’ love’ against something that is pure, absolute and transcendental- cutting across bounds of caste, creed, colour, race, religion and gender. In the Delhi of yore, where fragrant flowers were abundant and poetry flowed like sweet juices, Amit Khusro’s works, expressed in an aesthetic-spiritual trance blossomed. In his noted verse ‘Chaap Tilak’, which has captured the imagination of even contemporary artistes and aficionados of poetry, Hazrat Nizamuddin is portrayed as the beau towards whom the poet (Interestingly, depicting himself as a woman) expresses feelings of ardent, very intense surrender. The beloved (fondly and frequently referred to as the ‘Cloth dyer’) has seized her looks, adornments and even identity by the sheer mesmerizing power of his glance. The sentiment is especially strong in the following lines- ‘Prem bhatee ka madhva pilaykay; Matavali kar leeni ray mosay naina milaikay.’ (By making me drink the wine from the distillery of love; You have intoxicated me by just a glance.’) By the time the first stanza consummates, she has been made a ‘Suhaagan’ (bride) by a single glance of the Lord and Master. Turning a ‘Suhaagan’ here may suggest spiritual awakening or enlightenment of Khusro as opposed to ‘Spiritual innocence’ (symbolized by ‘Green bangles’ that adorn the hands of the maiden, initially in the stanza). In certain other couplets, there is a role reversal, where Hazrat Nizamuddin (Nijam) becomes a captivating woman Khusro is bewitched by. The Nijam has also been visualized as the quintessential cloth-dyer, or the guardian of the devotee’s honour and dignity. The protégée has fallen in surrender at the mentor’s door step (‘Aaan Pari darbaar tehaaray’) beseeching him to safe-guard her pride and help her flourish. She laments that amongst all her female companions her veil is the most soiled (Could imply dark spiritual ignorance or mental clogs) and pleads with Nijam to dye it in the hue of spring; to tinge it in his tinge (‘Ab ke bahar chunar more rang de’). This line could be an allusion to a desire to expand spiritual horizons or a behest for complete spiritual knowledge). This sentiment of total unreserved abandon to a power he perceives as higher is Khusro’s bliss. Spiritual love towards Nizamuddin Auliya was but an extension of Khusro’s universal love. Living in a period of friction and turbulence, he sought refuge in the beauty of spirituality and preached humanitarianism through his life and verses. Khusro coined the word ‘Hindawi’ meaning neither Hindu nor Muslim. The only religion he swore by was the religion of love.

The author also writes in her personal blog Nemesis and Multi facets . click on the link to visit her blog .

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Title :- COMPLETE your incompletes

BYLINE- Consciously or unconsciously , we all have an underlying urge to complete what has been set in motion says MAITRI GALA

What are you procrastinating? Make a list of Incompletes in your life that drain your energy. What dreams are unfulfilled, desires ungratified , aspirations abandoned, words unspoken , needs ignored , goals unattained ,people not yet forgiven , promises broken!

Grow yourself, everything seeks completion. Everything flows in or out of in spirals of contraction and expansion. And so life unfolds through cycles .Like the cycle of spring to summer , autumn and winter and back to spring again , everything comes around to complete the series and begin anew. The circumstances change , but there is always a tension to move to completion and wholeness.

Either consciously or unconsciously , we all have an underlying urge to complete what has been set in motion though our lower minds are often unaware of these forces. Believing in separation rather than wholeness, we get caught up in our daily life drama’s . We get off-track with our business. We create so many ‘priorities’ that we end up rarely getting anything done. Many of our desires , intentions and commitments remain incomplete. If we do not take the time to complete what we have set in motion , the energy of our intention get blocked .

The more our pile of unfinished business piles up , the more distress we feel and the more our energy drains. Our backpacks grows heavier , and our past constantly invades our present because the present is the only place where the past can be completed . The past keeps knocking at our door seeking attention but we don’t hear the knock because our stereo of life is turned up too loud or because we are never home.

GLOOMY SUNDAY…. by Rupam Phukan

The darkness in my mind burnt me out
my life turned into ashes
and blew away as I collapsed,
a black wind passes by me
and took them away
spreading the ashes all the way,

The blue sky turned into a scary black
leaves were falling
and the autumn looks frustrated..;
but the heartless wind
kept blowing and blowing..;

I tried to find the path of my destiny
but I lost the direction
as black wind took away all my hopes from my sight
and held the darkness over day and night,

I search for your love
it was missing
you were gone
and I never knew it was the reason,

No more sorrow
I will be alone in my way
but
every day without you
is I feel like a
‘Gloomy Sunday

DRIED COLOURS by Simona Tamuli

I write about a life,
Whose Sun never die,
Walked over the poodle of grief without a sigh,
Although the task of sunshine was never a piece of pie,
Still she survived your accusation which was just a lie.

Mother of two at the age of seventeen,
Busy preparing their tiffin,when you were enjoying your dreams,
Buried in debt at the age of seventeen,
She is a widow and you think it as her sin.

I am sure she wants to come to college,
But I don’t think that her in-laws will give her the courage,
Beaten by by destiny,she is lost in life’s maze,
But she says that she will fight for the surviving days.

She never failed to inspire,
Until the day she was on fire.
Her in-laws are mean liars.
They burned her and blamed a defective wire.

She was just like you and me.
But life wasnt easy for her as it is for me.
I still wonder how destiny could be so mean.
She was burried alive at the age of seventeen.

–

Music Festivals are nothing short than an experience of a lifetime. Part of the experience is dressing the part. Music festivals are the one place where you can wear whatever you want without being judged and break out of your comfort zone, shocking your friends and strangers with your original fashion sense.

 Fashion vs. function is always a tricky balance at music festivals. At most music festivals you can be sure that you’ll be on your feet all day, hot, smelly and sweaty. Let’s look at some essential items that are functional, fashionable and will help you make the most out of your festive experience. 

Accessories

Accessories are a fun way to play up your outfit/costume. Feathered earrings and necklaces are in style and will give you the “free spirit” look that music festivals encourage. Beaded stone belts are a cool accessory that will also add to an earthy, free spirited look. Color changing nail polish is a cool way to add a hint of style and changes colors from day time to night time. You can never have too many pairs of sunglasses and finding cheap sunglasses in funky colors are a good way to play up accent colors in your outfit. There are no rules for sunglasses at music festivals; you can never go too big or too trendy.

Some accessories that you’re better off leaving at are high heels and chunky necklaces/bracelets. Because you’re going to be walking a lot through grass and mud, avoiding heeled shoes all together is a good idea. Chunky bracelets/necklaces could get annoying in the hot heat so it’s best to save those for another occasion.

Get Creative

There are lots creative clothing options for a music festival. An old tee shirt that you never wear can be cut up in made into a tank top or made into a piece of fabric can be wrapped around your neck as a dust- covering- scarf. Hypercolor shirts change colors and designs throughout the day depending on sunlight and are cool way to change your outfit without having to change your clothes. At night time when the sun goes down, think about lighting up with glow sticks, glow in the dark hair extensions or blinking pins. You can go nuts with things like bunny ears, devil ears and butterfly wings. Anything really goes, so it’s your time to bust out the arts and crafts and see what you can come up.

Dresses, Skirts and Free Flowing Material

Dresses, skirts and free flowing material are functional and the boys will like the way they look too. Instead of wearing a bra that might look awkward with a loose shirt, wear a bikini top or bando instead. Dresses and shirts should be short enough so they aren’t really hot, but long enough so you can sit down on the grass if you want to. Lighter colored fabrics will keep you cooler, but they will also look dirtier faster.

Festivals are all about having fun and the more prepared you are the better your experience will be. There’s not more you could want besides being fashionable and comfortable while enjoying amazing music with friends and strangers. So get creative and take notes of what other people are wearing so the next festival you go to, you will have even more ideas to go off of.

Time: Half past ten on a pleasant autumn evening sometime in November

Place: Inside a taxi somewhere in the streets of Ho Chi Minh City

A football match between Malaysia and Indonesia is going on somewhere in the world and the enthusiastic taxi driver listens to the live commentary on the radio. It is half time and the commentary is interrupted by an intriguing piece of music that is followed by a song. Yours truly inside the taxi can almost feel her ears cocking as she tries to catch some words of the song. The singer’s voice sounds familiar but she can’t quite put her finger on it. She manages to catch “Come on to the dance floor” and some “It is the something flowing in your something” before the song is replaced by commentary.

Time: Midnight of that same pleasant autumn evening.

Place: A bedroom in a guest house in the same city.

Yours truly sits with her iPad cradled on her lap Googling “Come on to the dance floor” and checking lyrics of a hundred songs, before realizing the search is futile. The song remains elusive and she forgets the tune of the song while scanning the lyrics for the better part of an hour.

Time: Seven in the morning the next day

Place: The same bedroom in the same guest house.

Yours truly suddenly wakes up with the tune of the elusive song playing inside her mind on a loop, and realizes the song is still haunting her. And the next thought that comes to her mind, “If only there were a place to search a song by its tune!” which leads to the next thought, “Of course there is!”. Enter the hero of this true story, the iPad app called SoundHound. Thirty seconds of humming the tune into the microphone and a list of songs come up. Your truly finally finds her song, the very first on the list: “Forca” by Nelly Furtado.

Time: Five minutes later

Place: Duh!

Yours truly almost doubles up in laughter. No wonder she didn’t come up with the right song despite her obsessive hunt the previous night, given the chorus of the song is “Como una forca” and definitely not “Come on to the dance floor”.

Good story, you think? This is what I go through almost every other day. I am an obsessive compulsive music hunter and I am here to make you one. Yes, just like vampires.

Jokes apart, this piece is for those people who want to “find” good music, and do not know where to look for it. Specially if you are like me and love to discover good songs rather than having others suggest you songs of their choice. Having made quite a few playlists for my friends, and having spent a lot of time with people suggesting music to them, I realized that the “hunt for music” is in reality a very methodical task. With one basic requirement: obsession. Now if you are done with my effusive prelude we can move on to business.

Google thy songs: The most exciting way to “discover” a new song is to keep your ears open while watching a movie or your favorite soap. I have found quite a few jewels like that. If you are patient enough to wait till the end credits of the movie, chances are you will find the song and the artist, but if you are not, just keep a note of as many words in the song as you can, and Google the words. Even easier is to simply search for the soundtrack list of the movie. Finding a song from a series might not be that simple but knowing the season number and the episode number helps. Once you find the song, check if there are other versions of the song. See if you like them better.

Keep thy hunt on: Now while most people would stop once they find a song, my obsessive hunter instincts tell me to listen to more songs of that album, and then from different albums of the same artist. Sometimes it so happens that I actually end up listening to the other songs by the same artist more than the one that brought me there in the first place. I remember discovering Alexi Murdoch while watching “Away We Go” (almost all the songs in the movie are by the artist) and Michael Andrews while watching “Me and You and Everyone We Know). In case of the latter I didn’t even have a song to work with. It was just a piece of the background score that got me hooked. And in the process I found more brilliant pieces by the artists.

Know thy genre: While genres like Rock, Hip-Hop, and Jazz sound familiar and are easy to relate to, sometimes you might chance upon a whole new genre you had never known you could like. While hunting down the song “This is The Thing” after hearing it in some movie (or maybe in Castle, I forget) I ended up downloading the entire album “Sort of Revolution” by Fink and noticed the genre being shown as Lo-Fi on iTunes. Never having heard of it before I searched for more information and ended up with a list of Lo-Fi (Low Fidelity) bands. The next logical step was of course to listen to one or two songs each from as many bands as I could, and coming up with interesting ones. It was only then that I realized that one of my old favorites, “First Day of My Life” by Bright Eyes is actually a Lo-Fi number.

Subscribe to thy music: To YouTube channels, to be very specific really. Almost all artists/bands have a Vevo channel in YouTube, which is where you find the official videos of the latest releases. Vevo also provides with a small playlist of similar songs as suggestion. Hunt, hunt, hunt. Let the artist lead you to the song or let the song lead you to the artist; let the song lead you to other songs and let those songs lead you to the artists. The process is unending, and immensely satisfying. I also chanced upon the Tehelka Music Project once, and immediately subscribed to their channel in YouTube. Result? Interesting beautiful music delivered straight to my mail.

Befriend thy music sites (and apps): Although there are many such sites floating on the web, I am personally a big fan of Grooveshark. While letting me listen to my music without any interruptions, Grooveshark also provides me with a list of popular songs by the month and by the day. While popular doesn’t always equate likeable, it does help to know what the others are listening to. Over the years I have found out that most of the popular songs in Grooveshark match the ones in the Official UK Top 40 singles that get released every fortnight. Which reminds me, yes, for the latest hip-hop and R&B and the alternative, try catching up on the Official UK Top 40 singles once in a while. Even though most of the songs are of the “younger” taste with a lot of “mm-chk-mm-chk” there are some amazing songs tucked in there. As for the apps, there are a lot of virtual radios (like JazzFM for jazz) which play music all day long for you to chance upon a good song, as well as dedicated music apps (like SoundCloud) which let you listen to music of your choice.

So who has the time, you ask? That’s why I mentioned obsession as a requirement you see. If you really want to listen to some good music in that hour long commute to your office day in day out, isn’t it worth taking an hour out in the weekend to “find” some good music even as you check your mails? Specially since one never has to consciously pay attention to find good music. Good music will make you stop doing what you are doing, and demand attention. A good song will tease you and tempt you till you yield in and give it a listen. And a hundred more. A good song will wake you up in the morning and carry you through your day. And a good song will make you believe in the joy of discovery even if you have forgotten that life has something new to offer, everyday.

 Contd. from previous issue – Part I . Click here to read the first part

Once the initial hullabaloo on Sienna’s nature beguiling youth had ebbed they had stated socializing; that is what the invincible Jade did and with vengeance. Ethan and Sienna wooed solitude – not that they had too much of a choice to tell the truth. At every imaginable junction they were eclipsed by Jade – She of impossible incorrigibility – the ‘bubbly’ ‘spunky’ Jade in Sienna’s intimate opinion stretched out of her way like rubber woman; to prove to one and all the she was the most happening among the threesome in her family; in spite of her relatively advanced years. When the three of them went out as family and people happened to mumble a mere polite greeting it seemed like a tornado had seized Jade – She would turn the aggressive hawker trying to polarize customer akin human attention towards herself Never mind if the wares were just worthless pea- brained chatter. Jade was the undisputed belle of every ball. ‘So much for my nature beguiling youth!’ Sienna had once remarked to Ethan in amusement. If someone as much as spoke to Sienna hell and hell beyond broke loose in their house. Jade spewed flames like a dragon and demanded what they had been talking about for ‘sooo long’ and made poor Sienna repeat every line; verbatim. Sienna could now understand and even empathize with the plight of Jade’s butcher husband! Having taken every evidence into account Sienna had finally reached the conclusion that their Jade had too much vampirism in her altogether to be a mere vampire – vampire. She must have vampire in human form too; albeit a psychic one. Sienna as a mortal had known a few of that kind- Gloria of the O’sullivans was one such… Heather had been another. Such people always seem to bother others with their constant complaining. They have a clingy disposition and are a nagging pain in the head. They attract every bit of other people’s energy toward their vortex. These psychic vampires do not necessarily feed on blood but are leeches to human emotion, which is Sienna’s opinion was no loss a folly….

Now, Jade had made friends with a few men and women in the village. Incidentally she had chosen the worst hussies and louts. She pranced about in the day, drinking liquor with them and drank their life – blood during the night. Some little inconspicuous corner of the village daily listed ‘mysterious’ deaths of one or two coincidentally, they happened to be Jade’s cronies. These incidents did not draw much attention but were taken as stray happenings that struck one in a million. They were cases that seemed very remote – as if they had taken place in a different world, a world far removed from one’s own pristine one.

For reasons concealed beneath layers of their sub-conscious, Sienna and Ethan had ceased to enjoy their nocturnal exploits. But the need to survive is a strange thing- particularly paradoxical when seen in the already dead. People who might have done something considered ‘pettily criminal’ such as setting fire to a hut, stealing money or committing slander they hunted; the clean they conscientiously didn’t touch. There chain of deaths flummoxed the villagers. Who (or what) was causing these deaths they fretted. There were two points of similarity between all the victims, those with shrewd sense noted – they all had some skeleton or the other in their cupboards and their bodies bore two puncture marks at the base of their necks. Was there a serial killer with a strange fetish on the prowl? Time flew and no concrete evidence was unearthed. The villagers couldn’t continue to live in fear. So to feel secure they only had to invent an imaginary monster that killed solely the ‘bad’ people.

Now coming back to the outrageous Jade – Jade was particularly amiable with two worthies – the local village drunk cum wastrel – Chuck was the gentleman’s name and the village harlot Diana. These three could have been joined at the hip, so inseparable were they. They spent a lot of time together and did things that would have given the moral police of even Scandal Land, seizers. Some of the things were too shocking to be put down on paper. People went agape in horror at the sight of the atrocious trio running full monty in broad day light, their mouths squirting liquour on each others faces and adorable indeed were the fond games played by the three love birds. They hazed one moment… laughed hysterically the next and finally washed the whole course down with a loud wild brawl and by the time people parted their curtains to peep, the atrocious trinity would have kissed and made up and would have proceeded to their squiring agenda once more.

Metamorphosis – it is strange how this one word; rather concept can be so multidimensional, open to interpretation in many ways. Sienna had begun to pass through yet another phase of metamorphosis – she had started looking inwards, after having been sensitive only to external reality for a long time. She had adopted a faint quaint little personal ritual that brought a lot a solace. During the time when dusk nearly merged into dark, Sienna would light a few candles. Then she would wear her flowing white gown clinched by a red ribbon high at the waist. In the soft glow of candle light, she looked like the high priestess of some divine cult. She would then sit cross legged and gently close her eyes, experiencing tranquility. It was only during these times that she could clearly visualize the inner integral sienna. Then one day she felt a pulse, just a faint trace, at her finger tips. Eventually, there was a throb in the wrist; stirrings in the heart that waxed and waned with the life of the villagers; with their joys, agonies, achievements, losses, births and deaths. One could never have imagined vampires could ever feel this way, but it seems like they did. Sienna and Ethan at least did. They hadn’t exchanged a word about the transformations in them, but each knew about the other. After all, they were man and wife (oops, vampire and wife) for nothing. They were soul mates. Oh! But that’s not possible- vampires have no souls.

Sienna had become the sought after village seamstress and her goods sold like cakes, hot off the oven. Mere needle and thread work on cloth, under her skilled hands magically transformed into a hypnotic eye, an ethereal feather, a ray of gold, a dainty mermaid, an ancient urn, a blue unicorn. People had started calling her a mystic enchantress all over again! It seemed as if nothing had changed. Except a lot had. Sienna, a much more mature woman now, kept her head, amidst all the praise. She simply saw her talent as something that kept her occupied when Jade and Ethan were away. Jade had her hectic socializing schedule. Sienna sometimes vaguely wondered where Ethan went.

One fine morning Sienna came across Rose Waters, a local village woman. The jovial lady was full of admiration for Ethan. “Sienna, like Ethan’s one of the nicest boys on earth,” she started. Now Rose Waters (who incidentally uses the word ‘like’ very often) has a daughter called Carol who is a very sweet girl. Her husband had died a few weeks ago in a very unfortunate accident. It is indeed sad especially because Carol is expecting. But she carried on bravely like a soldier. “Why, like only the other day” continued Mrs. Waters “I had taken Carol to a little known temple quite for away from the village you know, quite beyond the outskirts. Our local priest had suggested offering prayers for the like good of the unborn child, like, you know…” She paused. Sienna nodded a great many times. She liked listening to the loquacious Rose. Rose went on duly encouraged “It was alright like when we started out… we had like arranged for a horse and a carriage and reached there safely. But on the way back the horse refused to budge, due to like exhaustion or what I don’t quite know. We were forced to abandon it. The area was deserted so we could hope for no transport or anything to reach us home. There was no choice but to cover all those miles by foot. Carol was quite ready, she is like a great walker you know. I tried my best to trudge a little… but with all my girth and arthritis and all, I soon had to plop down on a bench by the roadside. This was by the woods and it was getting dark. Carol panicked “Oh Mama” she said, “try and walk a few steps at least. This is a particularly lonely stretch. Anything could happen…” I tried to get back on my feet like but my knees hurt terribly and I was close to tears. We heard footsteps. We hugged each other close trying to prepare ourselves for what the good God had in store for us. A figure emerged from the woods holding an axe. Our breathing quickened and we shut our eyes in fear. ‘Mrs. Waters?’ questioned a familiar voice. We opened our eyes in relief to see it was only Ethan… not some murderer or dacoit. “What’s the matter?” he asked us ever so nicely. Carol explained the situation to him. I was silent like because of the pain. ‘Oh, is that all Mrs. Waters’ he said. Then he put me on the shoulder and carried me home all those miles without any fuss. I felt a little ashamed to tell the truth because I am very fat like and Ethan looked thinner than usual. But there was nothing I could do but to thank him silently for this timely help. Carol followed he reached us home to safety. He even went to the pharmacists’ and got me my fix for my arthritic pain and before we could thank him properly with a cup of hot chocolate or something, he was like gone. ‘Ok, I must get going, Sienna’, she said panting as she spoke having got everything out in the rush of agitated gratitude. ‘But I must tell you like how proud I am to know people like you and Ethan” she said and went off. All this was news to Sienna. Ethan in the woods with an axe? Whatever for…. like?

Ethan came home in the evening his tread as soft as a feline’s. Sienna heard the wooden cupboard creak; as it was opened and then shut firmly. Sienna knew he had kept the axe inside. Her attack was direct. ‘What were you doing in the woods with that deadly axe?’ she asked her eyes blazing as she looked straights into his. She was stumped by the reaction. Whatever she might have expected, it wasn’t this. There was a hint of shyness in those eyes that a gentlemen might have when caught doing something noble and there was unmistakably something else- pride. Sienna instantly felt bad about the brusque manner in which she had spoken. “You know I was a wood- cuter by profession when I was human” Ethan spoke awkwardly “I had forgotten what a delight it was to work until we arrived here. And believe me Sienna’, he went on with enthusiasm- ‘when I saw folks here sweat it out during the day and enjoy their well earned rest in the evening, I was actually envious. And then the itch to work grew so unbearable, that one day I actually picked an axe and went out. I work for a minor businessman at the outskirts of the village. They have promised a small sum and I can say I have never felt so content in a long time” he said sincerely. Sienna had never seen his eyes so bright and his face so full of glow and animation but he looked thinner than before as Rose Waters had mentioned. Sienna suddenly felt something gnaw as her head – a worry worm. “Ethan” she said very slowly ‘you look weak- why don’t you accompany me on our nightly rounds, anymore? “I only hunt when I need to” he answered. His eyes had taken on a hazy far away look “which is not very often nowadays. Work increases appetite for life and love and decreases appetite for food.” Sienna listened in amazement. This philosophy sounded strange coming from the lips of a blood-sucking vampire. Yet she was stuck by the poignancy of it. Little did she know that she had internalized the same principles herself.

Sienna was taking a stroll, one beaming morning when she heard heart – wrenching sobs. They emanated from the nicely built house of the Grants. Sienna didn’t know the Grants well; but knew them to be decent people. They were a well-to do middle aged couple who owned a chain of mills. God had blessed them with everything one could want, except children. If this fact caused them pain, they didn’t show it. They were one of those people who were always smiling.

Sienna was genuinely concerned. What could have possibly happened to these people to cry as if the world had come to an end? Sienna knocked on their door.. She didn’t case if this was indiscreet. She wanted to try and help. Arthur Grant opened the door. “Oh, it’s Mrs. Preston-Grey; please do come in” – he was quiet civility even in the midst of some enormous calamity that seemed to be crushing them. His eyes were red and his face furrowed with worry. Sienna was solicitously led to the sofa. Grants wife, who was also in a bad state, managed a smile. Sienna was filled with regard for the couple who maintained their hospitality even in the face of a problem of seemingly great magnitude. “I am sorry for having intruded; but can you please tell me what the matter is?” Sienna asked. Arthur was more than ready to share his troubles: “Well, Mrs. Preston-Grey, you know we have a chain of mills which are doing quite well. ‘Yes’ Sienna encouraged. We (Catherine and I) go out of town very often on work and to look up Catherine’s parents who haven’t been keeping well…. Catherine nodded quietly and so did Sienna.

“During these times I used to let a man who worked for me manage the mills. He seemed honest and capable. So charming a mask he had donned to conceal a heart full of deceit. He had won our trust totally and completely, only to stab us in the back…

On our previous (and fateful) visit out of the village, I as usual entrusted this man all charge. Also, this time I gave him the power of attorney; the permission to sign on my behalf in my absence.

And when we returned, it was as if lightening had struck our lives. This cunning bag of tricks had some devious ploy had become the ‘owner’ of all our mills! They are now all in his name! When I confronted him, the rascal smirked in my face. I could have killed him at that moment. My blood was boiling hot but there was nothing I could do. These mills are legacy. I couldn’t let them go just like that. I went down on my knees and begged him to sell them back to me. The viper assented and quoted a hefty sum. I had no choice but to agree. Then when I was heading out of what had just a few days ago had been my own office, he called out to me ‘Hey’ and warned me that if I didn’t arrange for the sum in the next ten days he would sell the mill to the first bidder. I ran from pillar to post to raise all I could. Today happens to be the last day of the ‘deal’ and I haven’t succeeded in raising the entire sum’

Arthur slapped and held his head in despair Catherine cried afresh. “I think we’ll have to say goodbye to our mills” she sobbed.

“I assure you, dear Madam, that will not be necessary” Sienna had spoken. She had stood unto her full height. Her voice was strong and firm. For such a petite woman, she surprisingly, seemed at that moment, towering. She took leave, her chin set in determination.

She was back by mid-day with the required sum. The Grants just stared; they had never witnessed such a miracle in action before. They bought their mills back from the con-man: Lee, immediately they thanked Sienna. There were tears of gratitude in their eyes. They promised her that they would return her money as soon as they could. Sienna told them that she would be very upset if they did for she had come to regard them family.

The local jewelers goggled at the contents in the ebony-box. Ravishingly beautiful ancestral jewellery his eyes took in- pearls set in the purest gold, diamond studded bracelets, many an emerald and ruby delight. A simple wedding ring. ‘What manner of a desperate situation could a woman have been in to sell all these marvels and even her wedding ring?’ he wondered. He had asked the customer in the morning if she was really serious about her decision. Her answer had been an unwavering ‘Yes’. He was struck by the solid firmness in the manner and had yielded without another word. She had quietly collected the money and walked off.

So Sienna had sold all her jewellery the heirlooms of the Preston-Grey’s .‘Preston – Grey’s she said along with relish as the wind caught, scattered and played with her words. Really how well the name sounded. Sienna Preston-Grey. Ethan Preston-Grey. Funny, she hadn’t thought of their last names before.

She had even traded her wedding ring. She had to admit that giving the ring away had been difficult for her. This loss had been compensated for by the Grant’s happiness and gratitude. This was but a small sacrifice. She vaguely wondered how Ethan would react. How much did these ancestral memoirs mean to him? She didn’t know. But she knew in her heart that her beloved Ethan approved of good.

Thus, Sienna Preston-Grey was without an ornament. But she felt beautiful. Her heart sang.

She hadn’t hunted in a long time. Today she was famished. She smiled suddenly as a thought came to her. This rogue Lee sounded like good dinner.

The horse of desire I mounted on

And romped on it around the city of joy

Somewhere along I lost its reins

The crazed mustang neighed and ran

At lightering speed across the town

And blew me off like a vexing fly

It trampled me beneath its hoofs

These lines could very well have been mouthed by Jade. It could be said to be an approximate gist of doom, Jade brought upon herself. To mince no words, Jade’s debauchery led to her death. After having tried and tired of every high – earthy and paranormal, a void started making its presence felt at the tip of her stomach; this null spread to such astronomical proportions that something in her deranged irreversibly. She needed something… something more but knew not what. Hunting meant to be a means of survival became a thrilling escapade for kicks. Wasted emaciated bodies of the young and the old rained on the village. Streams flowed red instead of transparent. The seed of fear a stray body here and there had planted in the villagers mind, spurted into a monstrous tree of panic whose slimy branches clutched at their throats until they feared they’d died of affixation alone if not any thing else.

“What had possessed our village” they cried at the skies. They demanded answer from the rumbling thunder. What unspeakable sin had they committed to suffer this blood curdling aftermath of some creature’s bloody tricks. They could no longer take comfort in the story of the fictitious monster that killed only the ‘bad’. Even good people were getting killed.

They were afraid. But also indignant. Furious. Adamant. Loyal. They stayed put in their homestead. They believed in the Day of Judgment.

Sienna and Ethan were helpless in preventing these murderous extravagances. Jade was stone deaf to their pleas. The Preston-Gray couple suffered tremendous strain in silence.

The ones who shut themselves out to the anxieties of the real world were few- Chuck, Diana and naturally Jade herself. The first two (especially Diana) wouldn’t have batted an eye lid even if a gigantic golden fish had usurped the liquid sky, which akin to the ocean would have frighteningly rushed downwards to suffocate the earth in its watery embrace. They were drowned in them drunken splendor much as usual. Except that Diana remembered some sudden work and left. Jade and Chuck remained to enjoy each other company. Jade had consumed three whole bottles.. neat the people moving past looked like teeny- weenie ants one second… corpulent elephants the next. The trees around her danced. It was all so funny… she suddenly felt very light… the world was such a wonderful place… very much like a candy store where she could have whatever she desired. Mirth flooded her and she let off a light bubble of laughter. “I didn’t catch the joke” her companion mumbled ‘what’? asked Jade her voice three decibels higher than usual. Hush Jadey girl, Chuck said pressing a finger to his lips. I only asked why you laughed. There is no need to holler to be heard by the entire village.’ ‘Hush’ Jade nodded pressing a finger to her lips. She laughed again – this time very wildly. She looked like a child who had a secret she wanted to tell real bad. ‘You know I have a secret’, she winked conspiratorially. ‘I am sure you do, honey’, Chuck mocked ‘you are going to tell me you are a witch’ Jade was incensed. Chuck had just insulted her by calling her something as banal as a witch. “I am no such common thing, you lout” she hissed “I am a VAMPIRE and can send you the place I have been sending many others to lately. Now Chuck was drunk; but not so much so as to miss the coherency of words even if they had come from a heavily drunken woman. ‘A vampire’ Chuck pretended to look aptly impressed and awe-struck. ‘My, I am really frightened of vampires. They can do amazing things…’. ‘Yeah’ giggled Jade. She was beginning to feel extremely flattered. We can turn to rats, bats, moths, spiders wolves – anything and fly around anywhere’. Chuck’s eyes grew rounder. ‘And?’ His voice was saccharine sweet… and fake. ‘And bite, you ninny,’ she said a tad impatiently. ‘And drink peoples’ blood!’, volunteered Chuck with ghoulish delight. ‘Right’ said Jade, ‘I say, Chucky boy, you are not as dim as I had thought’ and clucked him under the chin. A broad smile spread over Chuck’s foxy face.

From somewhere behind a tree, someone squirmed and slapped his head in frustration. Ethan had witnessed the exchange and had a fairly good idea of its outcome. If Chuck happened to blurt all this out in front of any living soul, it would spell the end of not only Jade herself but of himself and his sweet wife, Sienna as well. Trust Jade to have been so utterly careless. Anyway there was no use lamenting over spilt milk. He’d do what had to be done.

Chuck’s gait was staggering but his mind was steadfast. No less than the hen that laid golden eggs was the news that had fallen into his kitty. He was determined to reap all the benefits of this entire harvest. This hussy Jade! She’d seemed fun at the beginning but lately he had started feeling life was nicer before she had arrived – Diana had always given him had frosted peach- laced special smiles, but this Jade always made him look like a buffoon. The two women often made jokes and laughed at his expense – Diana had started acting pricy lately all thanks to this hussy always calling him ‘bozo’ or ‘ninny’- how he hated that. He’d show her he was no ninny. At his will he could usher a tempest in her world. He’d tell the entire village… he’d tell the tabloids. He maybe they’d give him good money, he thought avariciously. But he thought he’d start with telling Diana. Yes that was a good idea. She’d start giving him her special smiles again – soon. He rubbed his hands vigorously in pleasant anticipation. Lost in his reverie, he cut across the road and started walking in the direction of Diana’s house. Suddenly, something with heavy beating winds swooped low and then pirouetted to stand face to face with Chuck. No one heard Chuck’s cries for help.

Ethan reached home in a frenzied state. That had been close. Had the man as much as hinted all this to somebody… then… he shuddered to think of what might have been the consequence. But it was all over. Ethan shut his eyes for a moment- was it really? A disturbing thought suddenly flitted across his mind. What if Jade had prattled this in front of anyone else? Sienna walked in. She noticed his anxious brow. She shut the door behind her and sat down beside him. He took both her hands in his and looked into her eyes. They talked for a long time.

Diana appraised herself in front of the mirror. Yeah, her skin looked smooth. She tousled her hair… preened.. Applied some lipstick and pouted…. She liked this particular shade… frosty- peach it was called; Chuck had said it made her look very pretty. The thought of Chuck evoked a tiny prick of guilt… may be she was being too severe on the poor lad since Jade had joined them… teasing him so ruthlessly and all. But she’d make up for that….

She looked out of the window dreamily – something caught her eye… she squinted to see better in the murderous sunlight… it was a man- looked a lot like Chuck…. funny…. What was he doing lying here? Was he drunk? Suddenly alarm bells sounded in her innards. No… this wasn’t one of his drunken stupors. Something was definitely wrong – she rushed out and turned the man around. Chuck was dead.

It was time for serious congregation. Ethan, Sienna and Jade assembled around the round table in the hall; a single candle lit between them. The candlelight ceased to lend its ethereal glow to their faces, which bore a ghostly pallor. For once jade was listening. She now understood how her flighty confession could have finished them. They mutually decided that Jade should attend Chuck’s funeral. After all they had been very dear friends in the eyes of one and all. Her absence would definitely attract attention not to mention suspicion. Jade agreed.

The village cemetery was located close to Diana’s house. The village wanton lot were at the funeral i.e. all the aforementioned louts and hussies i.e. those who were still alive and breathing. They all carried rosaries in their coat pockets as was the custom in the village, followed even by the morally depraved. Jade dressed in black mourning, stood next to Diana as the priest read the last line……. “From ashes to ashes, from dust to dust”. Diana sobbed inconsolably. Jade gently led Diana to her house. They stepped inside; Jade sat the grieving woman on the sofa. Tears were rolling down her dress, damping it. ‘I’ll get a handkerchief’, Jade mumbled not meeting Diana’s eye. ‘It’s in the drawer in front of the mirror’ Diana rasped in between sobs. Jade went to the drawer and started rummaging among the contents. All of a sudden she heard the sound of breath sucked in quickly, in apparent shock. She turned to see Diana staring at the mirror, paralyzed. Jade looked into the mirror to only to see Diana’s horrified face reflected. And there was no Jade- naturally vampires cast no reflections, everyone knows that. Something changed in Diana’s stance. Before Jade could even move, she had bolted outside and nimbly locked the door. Jade was trapped -inside. It was a matter of seconds before Jade’s truth was stripped naked in front of the funeral crowd. They listened silently. Their expressions were cold and hard. Unsparing. They fished rosaries out of their coat pockets.

Jade heard the sound of thundering footsteps. Sweat drenched her body as they opened the lock. Her lips went dry as she heard the ominous sound of the door being unbolted. They marched in with purpose. Their eyes spoke murder. They approached her, rosaries held like missiles in front of them. Jade inched backwards. She desperately clung to the wall like a trapped animal. But the inevitable reality was that it was over- for her. The rosaries unleashed a torret of lightening that pieced and seared her core. Jade screamed. It was just a matter of time before her body crumbled and turned to ash.

So that was it. Jade was dead. Her unveiled truth made the cautious villagers carry torched of suspicion, the beams of which were always directed towards Sienna and Ethan; obliquely in the beginning. Not that the villagers were not civil. They were- their lips mouthed mechanical platitudes. But it was their eyes that were a dead giveaway – they shifted to and fro with a vigilance which made Sienna and Ethan’s stomachs clench in unease. Amongst the genuine well- wishers they could count only Rose Waters and daughter and the Grants. Their conversation was pleasant and natural as before and they made no mention of Jade. Probably the Preston – grey couple found solace in this. The villagers in their massive fear psychosis had become obsessed about the manner in which they dealt with those who had recently died. They placed poppy seeds, millets or sand at the graves (anybody could be a vampire going by the recent turn of events, they reasoned) apparently to keep the vampire occupied the whole night by counting scattered grains – a distraction from the creature’s predatory ways. Those who as much as raised a voice against the church were promptly banished because there was many an evidence to show that such characters often become ‘those’ creatures, i.e. most vampires were believed to have been people who had rebelled against the church.

The day Jade had died Ethan had come in looking extremely gaunt and pale.

He told his wife that he had renounced hunting people, for nourishment- the sponge who had been the risk that could have blunted Jade’s ‘Secret’ in public had been his final victim. And that had only been an act of desperation. That night the veil of reserve that had somehow always hung between Ethan and Sienna lifted. He laid his heart bare for her to see. He told her of the crisis that had been searing within and ripping him of late- the primeval battle between the spirit and the flesh, his rekindled love for mortality and the sacrifice of all cynicism that the wretchedness of forced vampirehood had bestowed. His lust for blood that clashed scimitars with his spirit. The triumph had been the spirit’s. Ethan’s spirit had emerged victorious- turning his being into something sublime, while his physical body languished day by day.

It was heart- wrenching for Sienna to see this once exquisite creature reduced to near cadaver- to a pitiable state of emaciation. There were hollows of dark beneath his eyes. Sad she might be but Sienna was also proud – her vampire- husband had proven himself worthier probably than any human- husband could have.

She kneeled on the ground.

He kneeled too. Brought his face close and fluttered his thick lashes against hers.

Their tears merged and splattered on the floor – the fused expression of their sorrows, celebrations, love and newly spurting spirituality.

If only these pristine drops could wash away their sins. Sienna wanted this moment – so beautiful… so true, to go on forever. She felt truly intimate for the first time with the man that had been hers for over twenty years.

Ethan’s tear cleansed gaze shifted to her ring finger – he questioned the absent wedding ring. Sienna told. She also swore that the man, who had wronged the Grants, had been her last prey and vowed never ever to hunt again, even if it meant disintegrating into nothingness. At this moment Ethan answered the question Sienna had been plaguing him with for a long time. He had chosen her given his instinctive ability to sense real strength of character – it may have lay dormant for sometime – but now she had justified his belief in her fully and completely and he loved her now more than ever before.

“The mills of the God’s grind slowly but they grind exceedingly fine”.

Unfortunately the Preston – Grey pair’s innate goodness that had surfaced couldn’t purge them of their bloodied pasts. They were not insolent enough to except leniency in any department of the Almighty they wanted their destinies to take the course God had chalked- however good or bad. They had ceased to be judgmental anymore. Little did they know that through their current paths they were moving steadily towards self-actualization -that is the best any entity could realize of his potential in every arena of existence.

Ethan left home when the cock crowed and returned only when the night descended heavily- his hands were rough and calloused. His lips and gone dry but still moved in prayer. He was a damned soul; he admitted but us one ever too damned to make amends?

Sienna worked endlessly with needle and cloth putting her dark death blood into what transformed into bewitching creations. Her bloodless cheeks and frame shrunken by half made Ethan giddy with anxiety and guilt. He felt he was shirking this duties as a husband by letting (and leading by example!) his wife waste away in such a pathetic manner. Once or twice he persuaded her to take nourishment, the oath be damned! Sienna looked in his eye unflinchingly and asked if we would do the same. Ethan’s eyes dropped. He never forced her to break the oath after that. The couple remained steadfast in their decision. They were single minded in their purpose.

The animosity was out in the open now. Nobody (except Rose, daughter and the Grants) acknowledged the Preston – Grays anymore. They used tried and tested methods to keep ‘THE VAMPIRES’ away which included spraying mustard seeds on the roofs of their houses. But Ethan and Sienna lived on with courage. They faced Ostracism now, when then hearts were pristine pure. Call this the irony of fate or their penance. They bore it and with equinanimity.

Ephemeral early infatuations and fluttering attractions aside, there now blossomed between our protagonists love – honest and strong, which arises only when life-changing adversities have been witnessed, faced and fought together. When the relationship between man and woman goes beyond merely sharing a home and touches the loftiest pinnacle imaginable. A metamorphosis cannot be greater than this.

With the winter fast approaching, Sienna and Ethan’s decline had become rapid and more apparent. Woolens refused to embrace their bodies and the fire by the hearth didn’t warm their hearts so forbidding was the chill in air and ambience. In the midst of such as ordeal the Preston-grey couples’ heart glowed to see a smiling woman, with a pamphlet in hand, at their doorstep. They were invited than day for the ‘Charity Night’ where ‘Generous People’ were requested to donate anything that could help the poor and the destitute. They promised that they would be present.

Sienna and Ethan put aside three fourths of the earnings of their hard toil and packed up twenty shawls that Sienna had embroidered. They reached the venue mentioned on the pamphlet – 45, Cherry Lane.

There was no one there. The sparrows that had twittered cheerily were silent. Winter was here. They must have migrated to sunny lands distant. But why does the wintry gnome of wind that mischievously howled so hush? If some thing was uncharacteristic of the characteristic the Preston-Grey twosome, didn’t note. If something was amiss, they did not know.

It was as if this arduous journey of metamorphosis had robbed them of their instinct. All that was left was naiveté – pure and childlike.

‘Have we got the timing wrong or the date…’ the (regressed) pair wondered with an innocence that was almost pathetic.

Then they heard.

The ominous clattering footsteps like horses’ hooves. The villagers approached. Their faces emanated miasma. Their bodies spoke vendetta. It was then Ethan and Sienna realized deception. The judgment day the villagers had spoken about had arrived.

Life had come a full circle. The villagers were the blood thirsty ones now. Ethan and Sienna closed their eyes for a second and opened them. They were peaceful and stoic as ascetics. The rest was muesli of images and voices. Someone spat on their faces. Verbal filth was hurled. They were beaten up without mercy. There were voices of protest coming Rose Waters and the Grants, beseeching the furious crowd to leave the Preston- Grays alone. They seemed to be pleading and persuading- there must be some misunderstanding that could be sorted out. Sienna and Ethan were good people. Their voices became faint as they were roughly pushed aside. The mob in its fury had lost all comprehension and mercy. Somebody drove a stake through Ethan’s heart that already weak and repenting, obediently crumbled. Sienna beheld his liquid soul floating, a little above his body and had energy for a lone tear. They then flashed a crucifix in front of her eyes she collapsed half unconscious. They presumed her dead and left.

Rose and Carol came rushing forward followed by the Grants. Carol was sobbing inconsolably. Sienna had just enough breath in her to beseech them to save their souls – Ethan and her soul that had by some inexplicable miracle flourished in the body of these two vampires. Had a speck (of soul) somewhere been retained sometimes to germinate so full- fledged? In the intervening period Ethan’s soul had varnished and was not to be found. Rose water led the heavily pregnant Carol away as all this had been too much for her. Further torment could be detrimental to her, in her present condition. Sienna breathed her last and lay peacefully next to her husband’s remains. Her soul- as lucid as water- rose in the air while Arthur and Catherine incarcerated it in a bottle and took it home; caressing it tenderly all the way as if it were a baby. Sienna’s body too soon disintegrated to cinder- ash, like Ethan’s. By the morning, the wind had swept them away like winter leaves leaving no trace of what was Sienna and Ethan…

A week later Carol gave birth to a bonny baby boy. They named him Chris. Rose often wondered where Ethan’s soul could have gone and still regrets not having been able to save it. Little dose she know that it had entered her daughters embryo on that fateful night of Ethan’s demise.

The night the Grants saved Sienna’s soul, they placed the precious bottle lovingly by the side of their bed. In the morning they had found the bottle lying open, usurped by some nuisance wind. They grieved that they lost dear Mrs. Preston-Gray’s soul forever. Little do they know that she is still very much with them. Nine months later, Catherine, who had yearned for a child for eighteen years of married life delivered an angelic baby girl. This event was hailed as a divine occurrence, as it was pronounced and confirmed by many a medical practitioner that Mrs. Grant could never conceive. The Grants were delirious with joy. They named this lovely (even if late) gift of God, Greta.

Here are excerpts from the diary of young Greta Grant, who often forgets that the diary knows her well by now and keeps introducing herself again, every now and then.

“Hi, I am Greta Grant, the Miller’s daughter. I am thirteen and attend the local school. Father worked himself into frenzy after he saw my mid-term grades. Well, I’ve got a ‘C’. That doesn’t sound too good I admit, but come on I haven’t failed, have I? My friend Eva got an ‘F’ in all her papers. Her old man had a fit after having seen them, I believe.

The principal keeps having my parents come over to school. She keeps complaining about me and says I need to be tamed. I am commonly accused of being over- imaginative and given to telling absurd tales. Well, why would I tell wild made up stories – I only tell what I recall of my previous birth. I believe I was this lady turned vampire turned lady called Sienna before I was me(Heavens! How clumsy I am at explaining things!). And I vaguely remember flying… with someone I loved, by my side… I do not recall who. Vampires … wings… all balderdash, they chide not meeting my eye. And this Sienna lady was dark they argue. I don’t recall even having mentioned she was dark and that sometimes makes me wonder… do they know more than they pretend to? Are they hiding something from me?

Anyway, I am strikingly fair- my skin is white like a rabbit’s and my pale blond hair falls lank over my shoulders like spinach – I hate it. I am real ugly you know- all legs and arms- I look like a “Maypole”- my long feet resemble sausages. My mother says I’ll be pretty when I grow up. That this is just a phase. I love mamma.

You know other day, mamma bought beautiful antique jewellry which had been lying with the local jeweler for a long time, because not many could afford it. She paid a fortune for it. She says they are all to be mine after my wedding oh! How happy that makes me. I just love all that jewellry especially that wedding ring of plain gold….”

Greta’s getting late for school. She closes her diary. Chris is outside, waiting impatiently for her. They walk to school together everyday. They are in the same grade. Greta had a kind of a crush on him. She feels she has known him for eternity. But she had never told anyone. They’d laugh at her and probably call her ‘loony” or something as mean as that. As it is her fascination for the occult has drawn enough laughs.

“Hello Maypole” he greets her. “Hi Shortie”, she retaliates. Chris just about reaches Greta’s shoulder even though he is a couple of months older. Boys growth spurt often begins later. Greta, content for now, uses this to her advantage and calls him ‘Shortie’ or ‘Little boy’ whenever he calls her “Ladder” or “Maypole” or anything. “That shuts him up pretty quick” according to her.

As they pass a particular clearing in the woods, Greta gets and intense sense of Deja vu – she known she’s been here before… with Chris. Her white skin turns paler.

“I say Greta”, Chris says suddenly, uncharacteristically serious, “I could swear I have been here before with you… at some other time. Not while going to school or anything.”

Greta Stares at him in awe. She starts to say something, but the words get stuck in her throat. They walk for a few minutes in silence. Chris seems immersed in thought. “You know Greta, he says after a while. I sort of like you. We could marry when we grow up.”

Greta’s cheeka turn hot and she feels even awkward than she usually does. “Oh, ok” she says trying to sound careless “i.e – if you ever plan to grow up – Shortie”. She sticks her tongue out at him. He lapses into his habitual sulky silence. But Greta knows it won’t last long. He will be talking to her soon.

As they hear the school bell ring a little distance away, they hold hands and run as fast as they can towards school.

You can read other works of the Author in her blog Nemesis and Multifacets by following this link

You know you have a hidden talent. You know you have a passion. You also know that you have a creative streak in you, but you shake off  the feeling with a sigh and lose yourself to day to day life and its struggle. After all everything needs to be planned well, everything needs an early start and everything needs a solid foundation to base a monument of talent. But you are wrong. All you need for your creative streak and talent to take wings are undying passion and a little bit of innovation. We bring before you three examples of how passion and innovation can give your hidden creativity the much needed leg up and open doors to bigger opportunities or simply present you with creative satisfaction and the feeling that- you did not let your talent and passion go to waste. You tried.

In the first of the group , we are sharing with you this short psycho thriller movie – Can’t Escape by Stephen Styris and Jikirani Mahanta,  the young and dynamic duo from Assam. What is interesting about this movie is that that both Stephen and Jiki have no formal training in film making , other than them being students of mass communications of Tezpur University which of course consists of the subject of Television and Multi camera . Stephen is an avid photographer and has had experience in Wild life photography with WWF and WTI (wildlife trust of India) and had the distinction of working with Mike Pandey. And this passion led him to try out some short films with Jiki’s able help . Their movies always have some underlying social message and which presently is aired in Stephen’s youtube channel.with each film he  is gaining higher ground and we have a gut feeling that he will go quite far in his chosen field.

The movie Can’t Escape is about drug addiction and has been shot within two nights and edited in three days. Though it has some rough edges in the dubbing department, the rest of the movie doesn’t fail to impress you seeing that it has been shot with zero budget and had cast amateurs as actors. Now that is a sure shot case of Passion , talent and innovation.

You can visit Stephen’s youtube channel in  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGYYSe93qxc&list=UUeyBWVXgIh7jGqFbnkBe_7g&index=1&feature=plcp

In the second of the series of Passion and Innovation , we are bringing before you a group called Delhi Jam and no they are not a band, nor a group of musicians, not even fan in the truest sense, but they are a group of people dedicated to music and who are bound by a common thread of Passion and who have found an innovative way to channelise their passion and creative streak.

After hour life for most of us is close to nothing. We are down by the time we return from office and it seems to be possible only in fictional life as they show in “After hour” TV commercial. However there are some who make it possible. The Delhi Jam is one such attempt. At first look, they seem to be a professional rock band with talented members however that is not true. “The Delhi Jam is, by no measure, a music band. To a naïve degree, we can maybe call it a music outfit or a weekend jamming platform. “ , says guitarist Parashar Kashyap who also happens to be the COO of online insurance provider Policy Tiger.

It all started when a group of friends decided to make a rendition of “Stand by Me”, inspired by the version of the same song from a cult movement called “Playing for Change”. Some kind words and positive feedback inspired them to take it forward and it became an open pad for anyone who could come, play and jam. However like all great sounding ideas it too started to reach its point of fatigue. Many left succumbing to the rigors of the mundane corporate life. Finally the sediments from this exercise resulted in four of the current members trying to keep the idea afloat- with some reservations of course.

“We decided to bring/sing back those songs which have left showbiz for quite some time now. Thus we started covering bands like Grateful Dead, Derek and the Dominoes, Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters, Peter Paul & Mary et al. The modus operandi was simple and it worked. We understood our limitations as working professionals. So we slogged our way through the corporate tantrums for five days of the week and jammed on weekends. Once a song is done, we made a video out of it and posted it on YouTube as The Delhi Jam.” , Parashar narrates.

At present the active members of this outfit are Krantik Bordoloi, an International Tax consultant at KPMG, Parashar Kashyap, COO at Policy Tiger, Rohit Kr Chaudhury, Assistant Producer and Director at Encompass and Bipasha K Kashyap, an IAS aspirant. These people are talented and very humble. Perhaps, that sets them apart from the crowd. So, if you are in Delhi or nearby areas and interested in what they do, do join them in one of their jam sessions.

In the third of the series of Passion and innovation, we are bringing before you a beautiful and inspiring account of how passion never dies and if you are innovative enough then, the hidden passion of  yours will always come to the fore, no matter how old you are.

High Street Phoenix is Mumbai’s Largest Shopping & Entertainment Destination located at Lower Parel  is also counted among the top engaging Indian brands on Facebook. With over 70,000 loyal fans, the page is a hub for all things fun!

We witnessed something amazing and special and it is now the latest engaging activity on their page. It was the ‘Bachpan after Pachpan’ flashmob. A group of enthusiastic 55+ years old adults gathered and danced away! They were thinking of nothing else but enjoying themselves & having a good time. As they say truly “Old is Gold” and these “young” adults have proved just that!

High Street Phoenix believes, you can’t stop the clock, but you can keep your spirits young with humor, gratitude, and creativity.

And so they took this a step ahead with a bunch of enthusiastic Wilson College students and organised a flashmob at High Street Phoenix for a group of 50 senior citizens who are truly young at heart. They grooved to hits like ‘dhinka chika’ and several others. They relived their youth!

We are pleased to share with you this remarkable and heartening information of the ‘Bachpan after Pachpan’ flashmob video .

We would love for you have a great time by experiencing the video yourself and share it with your friends.

Movies have come a long way. First it was those street plays, then theaters and then silent cinemas and then to the cinemas that we see with full fledged dialogues.But one thing that has been witnessing this transition by being a silent spectator is the sound or music as we know it today. Music in itself and by itself has undergone a sea of change right from how the songs were recorded live at the scene to now where all the music director needs is the lead singer

True music aficionados would scorn at the current standards of music in the film industry. To them music is synonymous to MS Subbalakshmi crooning her kritis or keertanas or the ghazal maestros weaving their magic. India being a country with a varied culture and dynamics is home to a plethora of genres of music. Some of it is influenced by the west but majority of our love for music comes from our descent and it is ingrained into our psyche.

The most popular genre of music today is film music or light music.

Film music itself falls under various categories- melody, folk, rap, jazz so on and so forth.

Typically a scenario when a song is born goes somewhat like this. There is a particular emotion that the director of the film wants to convey be it love, happiness, tragedy etc at a particular point in the movie. He then along with the lyricist visits the composer and explains the situation and justifies the necessity of a song in that point of the movie. The lyricist then writes the song and the tune for the same is composed. This entire process has now undergone a change. It so happens for any BIG star there has to be an introduction song. The song is conceived and tuned even before the rest of the script is hard bound. So these fall under the FORMULA category where there are typically 5 songs. One song for the hero introduction, One for the heroine introduction ( it could be the one where the hero teases the heroine ) one song when the heroine falls in love with the hero. One song when there is a change in their relationship status or there is a rift in short a melodramatic song that yearns to tug at the heart strings of the listeners. The Fifth song which is nowadays a must for any movie irrespective of the language of the movie-The ITEM song where we have a popular heroine (donning skimpy outfits which we would be ashamed to wear in the confines of our own homes) and in a few cases a popular hero dancing ( most of the time provocatively). So thats the long and short of the genre of film music today. Very rarely do we see or listen to a song in only a native language. Say for eg. a pure tamil song or a pure hindi song or a pure telugu song. Understood and agreed that we being a multilingual country can efficiently speak more than three languages but still the essence of the song is lost when tried to put too many ingredients in it.

This article about film music would be incomplete without the mention of AR Rehman. The man who put Indian music on the world stage  and the style with which he did that. Yes SLUM DOG MILLIONAIRE the movie that changed the way our music industry was perceived by the west and the rest of the world. Yes, the Oscars and Grammys and every thing followed and it was a glorious year for our music.

Well at this juncture it is a must for me to elucidate on the so called Piracy of Music. Well not in the sense that we get to download the songs on line and stuff but it is that the current crop of music directors blatantly lift off music from other languages and pass of as their own with incredible credulity. Such is their gall and such is our gullible nature that we happily lap up whatever is dished at us. No one sues another for copyright infringement. Such cases come up during the promotional phase of the print and giving the movie maximum media mileage but once the movie is released these cases meet their surreptitious ends. Gone are the days when the music directors prided themselves in making chart busters. Now is the era of the internet so we have copies of English songs in Telugu and Tamil and Copy of tamil songs in Bollywood. In most of the cases the music directors of such songs are same and they find it a waste of their talent to give new tunes or may be the producers are to be blamed to getting the same tunes for less. We had a chart topping hindi number recently that was a lift off from a telugu flick. When entire movies are being remade what’s the fate of a single song.

The advent of internet and the social networking sites are helping the publicity of the music of a particular movie. Gone are the days when we used to have posters announcing the release of music. We now have live streams of music release functions on line. Music promotions, Online radio stations etc are all adding to the publicity of a movie and in particular the music of the movie. We indians are suckers for freebees so we have garrulous radio jockeys announcing free music cds or movie tickets to their caller and celebs who are perceived as demigods by their fans, themselves promoting the music of their movies.

I must not fail to mention the recent song ” Kolaveri Di” from the Aishwarya Dhanush Directed tamil movie “3″ going viral. What was perceived as a leak then turned on to become the most viewed video as announced on CNN.It has more than 25 million hits on you tube. We have every one from a 4 year old boy to a 60 year old man and every nation from Pakistan to Germany making their version of the song and getting their two seconds of fame.

The movie industry and in particularly the music industry has seen a sea of change and will continue to see and experience the change for eons to come.

But the bottom line is music is our way of life and our love for it would never diminish no matter the genre no matter the language and no matter the period.

Music is ephemeral and so are lovers of music….

Magh Bihu or Bhogali Bihu marks the beginning of the year long celebration of festivals. The celebration day co-incides with the celebration of ‘Sankranthi’. Magh Bihu or Bhogali Bihu is celebrated to mark the end of harvesting season. With the granaries full of harvests, both old and young take part in the process of an eventful preparation by building ‘bhella ghor’ or ‘meji’ ,and preparing varieties of traditional dishes. ‘Bhella ghor’ ( looks more of a temporary shelter) and ‘meji’ ( conical in shapes) are temporary sheds made from dry leaves, hay , bamboos etc. On the evening prior to Magh Bihu, households enjoys ‘uruka’ where family members, communities gather to enjoy feasting. Early in the following morning the Bhela ghors and mejis are burnt with bursting of bamboos filling the air with sounds similar to fire-crackers. The event is followed by distribution of ‘proxad’ ( Prasad or offerings to God ) and enjoying with families and friends

In this issue of Fried Eye, Sharmin, makes some of the most popular traditional sweets prepared on the occasion of Magh Bihu

Ghila Pitha

Ingredients

1. 1 kg Bora/Glutinous Rice

2. ½ kg jagger, grated

3. 1 cup of warm water

4. Mustard oil for deep frying

Preparation

1. Wash rice thoroughly

2. Soak for a few hours and drain completely

3. Place in a colander and allow it to dry

4. Grind to a fine powder

5. Sieve if necessary and set aside

6. Mix the jaggery in warm water. Keep aside.

7. Add the rice flour to the jaggery water, mix well to make a soft dough

8. Cover and keep aside for 1/2 hour

9. Divide the dough into equal portions

10. Shape into a ball and flatten slightly with your palms

11. Heat oil in a deep wok .Deep fry until golden brown. 

12. Remove and drain well. 

Til Pitha

Ingredients

1. 1/2 kg Bora/Glutinous Rice 

2. 200 g black sesame seeds 

3. 100 jaggery,grated

Preparation

1. Wash and soak rice for a few hours.

2. Drain the rice completely and leave it in a colander to dry.

3. Grind the soaked rice to coarse powder. The powder should be damp but not wet to touch. Keep the rice flour covered and away from draft.

4. Lightly dry roast the sesame seeds, pound it slightly. 

5. Grate the jaggery. Mix sesame seeds and the jaggery together.

6. Heat an unseasoned tawa /girdle over medium flame and take a ladle of rice batter place it in the middle of the pan and spread to a small disc.

7. While it is being roasted, place some jaggery and sesame mix in the center.

8. When the rice batter begins to firm, lift one of the edges and hand roll into a cylindrical shape.

9. Keep aside for a while on the side of griddle so that the pitha is crisp then remove from pan.The pitha should remain white.

The pithas can be stored for about a week.

                                                         BLACK TIL PITHA

Ingredients

1. 500 gm Black Bora rice 1 fresh coconut

2. 100 grams sugar
   

Preparation

1. Wash and soak rice overnight.

2. Drain the rice completely and leave it in a colander to dry. Grind to coarse powder. The rice powder should be damp but not wet to touch. Keep the flour covered and away from draft.

3. Grate coconut .Mix in the sugar and cook over low heat for a few minutes .Remove and keep aside

4. Heat an unseasoned tawa /girdle over medium flame and take a ladle of rice batter place it in the middle of the pan and spread to a small disc.

5. While it is being roasted, place some coconut mix in the center.

6. When the rice batter begins to firm,lift one of the edges and hand roll into a cylindrical shape. Keep aside for a while on the side of griddle so that the pitha is crisp then remove from pan. The pitha should remain white.

The pithas can be stored for about a week.

Til Laru

Ingredients

1. 500gms Til (Sesame)

2. 2 cups grated Jaggery

Preparation

1. Clean and lightly roast the sesame seeds on a pan until crisp, taking care not to burn the seeds

2. Place a heavy bottomed wok on medium flame, heat jaggery and a few table spoon of water to make thick syrup. (To check the consistency, pour a drop of the syrup into a cup of cold water. It will become a soft ball).Make sure the jaggery does not get burnt.

3. Add the sesame seeds and m ix well

4. Wet hands, scoop out a spoonful of mixture and roll into walnut sized balls immediately

Happy Magh Bihu!

Assamese Cuisine and Recipes

 http://www.facebook.com/assameserecipes

We have brought before you a small quiz , just for fun, to see how much of a movie do you remember? Does the memory of a movie or a television go beyond the plot and cinematography to theme songs? How many of you can instantly recollect the movie  by listening to its theme music.  Here are a few themes for you to identify. The best part is that , you have to answer purely on the basis of your memory and power of instant recollection instead of googling. So, happy quizzing while munching on the winter goodies .

Theme one-

The next one- Bonus theme

Here is theme 2 for you to identify

Theme 3 for you-

Following theme 3 , we have for you Theme 4 , which is a nice sunny, groovy number.

And finally we have theme 5 for you.

So those were the themes for you. Please leave your replies in the comment thread and we will let you know the answers on 31st January.

Seven brides for seven brothers is a musical from Hollywood from which the movie Sattte pe Sattta derived “inspiration” Well but we are not writing about the movie nor does it figure in our recommendations for the week which we have named as Seven musicals for seven days.We are bringing before you our seven DVD picks for the coming week and going with our theme we will feature seven musicals that one should watch at least once for a totally enjoyable musical experience. With this we have attempted to offer you a diverse selection through our DVD picks.

Sound of Music-

No list for Musicals can be complete without mentioning the ultimate Musical – Sound of music. A 1965 movie by Robert Wise starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, which caught the imagination of both the viewers and the movie makers, who kept on churning variations of the time tested formula of the movie.The movie is a story of a Governess, who had been handed the charge of highly indisciplined  children of a disciplined person and how she wins them over is the basis of the movie. The music and lyrics are by Richard Ledger and consists of classics as Do re mi , Sixteen going on seventeen and the Sound of music.

My fair lady-

My fair lady , a 1964 movie adaptation of a stage musical of the same name  is again an adaptation of Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, directed by George Cukor and starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. The plot if you are familiar with , you will remember it as that of a wager by the snobbish professor Higgins that he could make a flower girl presentable enough to pass her off as a Lady of the high society. The movie won eight Oscar awards, including the one for Original music score and can be recommended as a collector’s item. The music by Frederick Loewe is melodious and consists of the numbers such as I could have danced all night, The rain in Spain and You did it.

Chicago-

 Let us move up a bit to the recent times. For a change from the pastel shaded romantic musicals to something red and hot. Yes Chicago , starring Catherine Zeta Jones, Rene Zeilwegger, Richard Gere . This 2002 release directed by Rob Marshall is just the thing to pump up your adrenaline with all the oomph and energy. It had won six Oscar awards and also was a huge commercial success. The plot in itself is a simple one about two murderesses Catherine and Rene who are on the death row for different charges and who fight for their fame as it is their only ticket to escape from the gallows. The performances of both the actresses are live wire and high energy and both sizzle their way through All that jazz! The music is by John Kander in almost all of the tracks and consists of popular numbers like All that Jazz, Chicago and Cell block tango.

Moulin rouge-

After the oomphy and red hot Chicago, lets move on to the colourful and glitzy Moulin Rouge with a comparatively mellower theme. Again a recent choice, from 2001, this Baz Luhrmann directed movie starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan Mc Gregor has all the elements of a masala bollywood movie , except  that it is a Hollywood production. The plot is  set in the nineteenth century with music from the current times, and the story builds up when the romance between a poet and the star courtesan of the Moulin Rouge, a night club unfolds with a third element, the Duke, a patron of the night club,who also desires Nicole . You will be interested to know that it features a track Hindi Sad Diamonds, which is a medley and features Chamma Chamma by Alka Yagnik. Other than that – The track, ‘The show must go’ on is the highlight of the movie

Grease-

This 1978 movie , directed by Randal Kleiser and starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton John is considered among the top musicals of all times. A teenage musical love story, but it has the added advantage of show casing some groovy moves by Travolta . Music by Jim Jacobs has some really peppy numbers like You are the one I want, La Bamba, Rock n Roll Party Queen and Greased Lightning.

Phantom of the Opera-

 Leaving out Andrew Lloyd Webber from any list on musicals will be sacrilege. Hence we have  Phantom Of The Opera, a film adaptation of the play of the same name for you . A 2005 release , with an intense love story in the backdrop of French Opera House as the setting,  can good music  be behind? The plot itself is a fantasy romance cum thriller which goes as- An opera ghost falls in love with a chorus girl, and not only does it tutor her but also terrorizes the other crew and cast to benefit her. Things turn murky when the girl falls in love with someone else though. The movie stars Gerald Butler and Emmy Rossum and the music and performances comes as strong and powerful.

Sweeny Todd and the Demon Barber of Fleet Street -

 To finish off we slightly deviate from the oft repeated themes of musicals , which is usually romance, to something more deadlier and menacing. Johnny Depp does look crazy and menacing as the Demon Barber of fleet street , Sweeny Todd. A Tim Burton directed, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter  starred movie hardly goes wrong, and though this 2007 released movie is a musical, the dark and brooding theme of the story is not lost even among the numerous musical scores. Other than the music and the stars it also stars Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall of Harry Potter fame and their performances never fail.

Those were our recommendations for your week. Of course there is a vast library of other Musicals, which too are classics in their own right, but since we could pick only seven, so here is our list. Hope you have an enjoyable experience with them

“You are a software engineer and you want to pursue movies and so you join Pune film institute but you know you weren’t wrong to do so when you top the final exams.

While the world plays safe and proceeds in a sure conventional way for their debut, you make your debut film on an offbeat subject but you know you weren’t wrong when you walk away with almost all the best directorial debut awards of India ( Gollapudi Srinivas National Prize for Best Debut Director, Aravindan Puraskaram for Best Debut Director and  Best Picture at International Film Festival of Mumbai) and earn international acclaim all over the globe.”

A genius in the making? A maverick? …

We are alluding to director Anup Kurian who created quite a ripple in 2004 in the national and international film festivals with his offbeat debut movie Manosarowar, and who will be again gambling with The Blueberry Hunt this January which has Naseeruddin Shah in the lead. The movie is a thriller but as is expected from an innovative person like him, it has a different brand of different-ness. If we go by the fact that he convinced an actor of Naseeruddin Shah’s caliber to act in it, then we can safely assume that he isn’t wrong this time too and in fact, has more chance of a mass acceptance, which was not that pronounced in Manosarwar, his first. Especially with some brilliant marketing strategy this time, noteworthy of which is the graphic novel of the same theme available and published in sequence in their fan page in facebook (a first in india), The Blueberry hunt is creating quite a buzz among the people.

Fried Eye managed to contact Mr Kurian for a brief and candid chit chat , where he spoke to us a little about the much awaited movie The Blue Berry hunt , the excerpts of which we are sharing here. We also had the opportunity to catch up with Baburajan, the illustrator of the novel about this ‘novel ‘ concept of promotion and who was very accommodating and entertained our curiosity about the movie and graphics.

Mr. Anup Kurian- Director, Manasarovar and The Blueberry Hunt

Q. 6 years from your last film, where was Anup Kurian in between?

I was all around the world. Traveling, working etc. I sold cakes in Toronto and Ontario, wrote software for some American companies in Portland, Charlotte, Chicago etc.

The way ‘Manasarovar’ turned had a tremendous impact. I had to make sure another film I make is unique, can attract top talent and be do-able with my resources. All of this takes time.

But I guess the gap between films will be lesser from now onwards.

Q. Your last film Manasarovar, had a different kind of story and it was well appreciated. Despite all this, it did not make a good business in India. So, what are your plans for the The Blueberry Hunt?

A-Theatrical collections do not signify the quality of a film.

We could not afford or manage a good campaign for Manasarovar – It was released with zero publicity. Whether the film is good or bad, it needs good publicity and a good campaign to attract viewers to theaters.

Also, a film can be good, but it may not work in theaters. The opposite is also true. ‘The Blueberry Hunt’ has Naseeruddin Shah – a star in his own right. The film automatically gets a bigger visibility. Plus we are better prepared with the Print and Advertisement campaign for TBH. A lot of our prospective audience is coming to know about the film through Facebook campaign where we publish a graphic novel based on the film – Such platforms did not exist when we made ‘Manasarovar’.

Q. Is this a niche film made for a niche audience?

A-Now a days what audience a film finds is purely depending on the amount of money spent on advertisement. More the money, more the audience knows about the film. So, there is no niche audience we are targeting with TBH

Q. How did the idea of a Graphic Novel for the film come?

Baburajan – our illustrator – created an amazing title sequence for The Blueberry Hunt. That was when this idea of a graphic novel occurred.

Both myself and illustrator Baburajan are big fans of the graphic novels. The Blueberry Hunt had a story line which could translate well to the format.

I wanted the graphic novel to be a separate entity, a work of art which can stand on its own two legs. So the same care we gave for making the film is given to the graphic novel

And that was a cue for us to shift our focus on Mr. Baburajan, the man behind the red hot graphics of The Blueberry hunt graphic novel in facebook and we literally Hunted him down for an at length interesting discussion

FE: What led to your interest in cartoons and illustrations?

BM:Since my early childhood I had the habit of drawing. My father used to buy many Soviet union children’s books for me to read and the illustrations in them really throbbed my mind. Those pictures had great influence on me and I still do believe that Russians drew great illustrations for kids – all around the world. Beyond any doubt this was the one reason which made me enter into the field of illustrations and so on.

FE: Our readers would like to know about you and your work before TBH.

BM:I had worked with many companies before I did TBH graphic novel.I had worked 6 years as a story board artist in Young and Rubicam at Dubai and I worked as a 2D animator in Toonz animation ,Trivandrum technopark. Now I am a fulltime freelancer. Graphic stores really thrill me and that is what I am doing now.

FE:How did the collaboration with you and Mr. Kurian happen for TBH?

BM:I had been for the shooting location with my colleagues Shibu and Mathukutty who had done the art direction for Anup Kurian’s film. I was quiet interested in doing one of that kind myself and when I found that this story suited for a graphic novel , I forwarded a suggestion to Mr.Kurian. Hence Kurian allowed me to do the graphic novel of the movie TBH , let me say quiet independently.

FE: Red is an evident colour in the graphic novel of TBH. Why so red?

BM: The nature of this story compelled me to use the colour red exclusively. The title illustration of the movie had also been done by me, and that was also in red. So I chose red

FE: You have been doing illustrations for a children magazine. How different was the work for TBH?

BM: TBH graphic novel is exclusively for elders. When the subject is so ,wont be picture too? Angles,beauty of picture and all were done that way. The difference from children’s illustration is that the picture for children must be exciting,curious and simple. Different columns shall be there ,and the way of narration must be simple.

FE: Graphic Novels in India has seen a sudden boom in popularity. What are the trends that are going to rule in the near future?

It is not advisable to use stereotypes in graphic stories. Different experiments in illustrations,diversity in narration,change in production will create interest among artists and readers. Definitely this treatment will bring popularity for graphic novels. I think in India we have a great possibility in this field -movies,literature,experiences and so on.

Fried Eye says- Well, it will be interesting to see how the audience receives the Movie and the novel next year when it is released and judging by the marketing strategy and response of the fans to the concept, it seems to be much anticipated. Maybe if the movie strikes gold then we will see a surge in some more innovative ‘graphical’ techniques by the industry , which will be a welcome change from the regular flashy bollywoodish promotions.