The students who make me proud! - Photos from the Mumbai Local tour

- By Deepa Krishnan

We launched the Mumbai Local tour about 4 years ago - you know, the one that uses local trains, buses and black-and-yellow taxis to see the city? It's been a very successful partnership with The Akanksha Foundation. Akanksha helped us find students who were looking for additional income to put themselves through college, and also to support their families. We trained these students to work as guides for this tour.

Here's one of the early press shoot photos - from a training session, for an article that appeared in the Indian Express. Behind us is the Taj Mahal Palace and Towers. It was our first photo-shoot and neither I nor the kids could stop laughing at how fake it felt. I've got a copy of Sharda Dwivedi's "Fort Walks" in my hand, and I'm pointing like a school teacher! I want to grin every time I see it! 

Later that day I clicked a more 'real' photo, of Priyanka with a tourist. The tour starts at the Gateway of India, and in this colour photo you can see how the area in front of the Gateway is all dug up. They were opening up the whole area then, making it easier for tourists to stand and photograph the Gateway. It is now very nice, they laid cobbled stones and it looks good. 

This is the first batch of students who went through the training.

This is Freni, who shared her knowledge of the city with them, and became Freni "didi" in the process :)

Some of our initial experiments with the route, using buses and trains!

The kids did amazingly well. Thanks to the fun nature of the tour, and its genuine Mumbai flavour, before we knew it, we had more bookings than we expected. And of course, we then had more students training! 

Here are some recent photos taken this year during the tour, with two Australian families:

Looks like such a fun tour, no? Try it sometime! A part of the tour proceeds goes to Akanksha Foundation,  to support the excellent work they do in the education of children. The girls who work as guides for this tour have all benefited from Akanksha programs, and they are a credit to their community and to their parents. Through the tour I am glad we are able to provide them with some additional income. More important,  I think the tour provides them with opportunities to interact with people from different countries, to gain confidence and skills, and to learn and be proud of their own city. Three of the girls now work in my office as well, so they have taken their first steps towards a career in tourism.

Here's another recent photo from an article in the Times of India - this time with a family from New York:

Because of our success in Mumbai, I thought I would do a similar tour in Delhi, and not surprisingly, that tour is doing well too! Head over to Delhi Magic and take a look! I hope these tours go from strength to strength, and that more and more students benefit from them. 

Khichiya papad chaat in Bhuleshwar

For fantastic khichiya papad chaat, head to the Khau Galli in Bhuleshwar!

The papads are roasted over a coal sigdi, and then coated with two kinds of chutney, red and green. Then it is topped with potatoes, tomatoes, onions, and of course, finally garnished liberally with sev and coriander.

It's seriously tasty, folks. As you can see from the first photo, the papads are nice and thick, so they make a great base. Unlike the usual urad dal papads, khichiya papdi is made of rice and the taste is very different. If you live in Mumbai but haven't yet tried this, you're missing something!

I've only ever seen this in Bhuleshwar, but if you live in a Gujju neighbourhood, let me know if you've spotted this. I'm told Borivali West is another good place to find masala khichiya papad? 

Visiting the Nehru Centre, Mumbai

- by Deepa Krishnan

A couple of days ago, I went to the 'Discovery of India' exhibit at the Nehru Centre. I came away loving the feel of the place! 

The Nehru Centre was conceived in 1979. So everything, from the exterior architecture to the exhibit design, has a very 80's feel to it - neither too modern, nor too old-fashioned (er, just like me?). Anyway, it took me back to my school days; and reminded me of a quieter Mumbai, with lesser traffic, fewer people, and more open spaces. 

Exterior of Nehru Centre, Worli, Mumbai 

The first thing I noticed when I went through the gate was this sculpture, nicely positioned between two trees.

"Attraction" by Paresh Maity 

“My interaction with art began in Bengal when I would stand and watch idols being prepared for the Puja,” said Paresh Maity in a recent interview with Business Standard. “That was the beginning of my inspiration.”. Inspired or otherwise, I rather enjoyed the quiet conversation of these two stone creations, focused entirely on each other :) There were several other installations nearby, but I did not have the time to go look at them.

We walked inside into a cool area, and found the cleaning staff signing off for the day.

Lazy afternoon; the cleaning staff in their blue sarees

When you enter the building, you see a large open space, with a staircase leading up (on the right). The Discovery of India exhibit is on the first floor.

Immediately to the right, before the staircase, is a model of the HMS Trincomalee, built at the Mumbai docks by the Wadia shipping family. The Trincomalee is Britain's oldest warship still afloat (after nearly 200 years)! Master shipbuilder Jamsetjee Bomanjee Wadia supervised its construction in the early 1800's. It was one of 14 ships built for the Royal navy during Wadia's life. An engraved silver nail was hammered into the keel to ensure the vessel's well-being (ha! maybe that's why it's still afloat!).

Model of the Trincomalee in the lobby 

Actually - the real reason it hasn't fallen apart is probably that unlike most ships of that time, which were built using oakwood, the Trincomalee was built using Malabar teak. It is a particularly hardy wood. And a lot of money has gone into restoring the ship, which is currently a museum exhibit in the UK. Here's a photo from the real ship, from Hartlepool (North East of England).

Beautiful teak-wood, restored lovingly. There is a Maratha figure on the busthead, acknowledging the ship's origins in Bombay. Photo from website of HMS Trincomalee

The Wadia family continued to build over a 100 ships for Britain, becoming the leading family in the development of Bombay's shipbuilding industry. I'm glad the Nehru Centre offers this tribute to them. 

Passing the ship, we walked upstairs to the Discovery of India exhibit. It is a summary of 5000 years of Indian history. And although the story is complicated, it is told exceedingly well. If you have a child, and you're just introducing him or her to India, I can't think of a better way to do it. 

The exhibit is divided into sections, starting with the prehistoric, and then going on to the Harappan civilisation, the Golden Age of the first millennium, right up to Indian independence. It is really too much to do in one day, especially if you have a child with you, but you can spread it over 2 or 3 visits, as a story-telling session. The displays are interesting and interactive, visually pleasing, stimulating all the senses. Yes, it is from the 1980's, so you don't have touch-screens and what not, but it's still very interesting. For example, at the very beginning - the very first exhibit they have is a dome covered with stars and you stand under it, and you can hear from the Rig Veda, the hymn to the Creation of the Universe. Nice, no? I certainly loved it. If you want to hear what I heard, here is a link to the Sanskrit chant and the translation as well.

Here's a photo from the last display section, during British rule, it depicts the city of Calcutta, its bazaars, people and buildings. It is a 3-dimensional exhibit with cut-outs and props: see how nicely it is done?

Calcutta's "White Town" and "Black Town", both beautifully depicted

Seriously, the most appealing thing about the Discovery of India is that someone with intelligence, creativity and a great deal of knowledge has put it together. I don't who it was, but here's a little salute to them! I went with three guests from the USA; they were going on a long trip all over India, and for them, this was a great introduction to all the things they could expect ahead of them. 

Here's wishing you happy discoveries ahead, Roger, Alan and Richard!


This article was featured in the DNA Newspaper, April 24, 2012

Another musical Sunday

- By Deepa Krishnan
I am having a magical Sunday morning, listening to this great lady sing. 

This is M S Subbulakshmi, and she is singing Swati Thirunal's famous Aliveni. Her voice brings to my mind, visions of a blue-skinned lotus-navelled Lord Vishnu. The maiden yearns for a tryst with this beautiful God, and begs her friend to go fetch him. In her anguish, she wonders - why is he late? Is he dallying with someone else? She praises her friend, showers kind words on her, and begs her to go and bring him.

In case you didn't know, Swati Thirunal Rama Varma was the ruler of the Travancore kingdom. He died in 1846 at the very young age of 33; but not before leaving behind an incredible legacy of poetry and song. How does a king manage to write like this? This is a woman's voice! Her love and longing! But he so beautifully becomes that voice...he dissolves the lines between personal and religious, creating an atmosphere of ecstatic longing for the Divine. Truly this King is no ordinary man!

Here are the words of the maiden, sung to her friend:

Oh Aliveni, lady with tresses the colour of black bees! What shall I do now? Oh Maanini - most respected lady! 

Tell me, what shall I do, the lotus eyed Sri Padmanabha has not come yet! 

Oh Komalaangi, she of the charming form! Of what use are the humming of the bees, the gentle breeze, sandal paste and the fragrant jasmine; if my beloved does not come?

Who is the blessed damsel, I wonder, enjoying the company of Sarasaksha, he who resembles Cupid! 

I keep looking for him to come by the usual path, but I cannot see, as my eyes are brimming with tears. Has my darling forgotten all the sweet words he uttered when we were together!  

Kambukanthi,  oh lady with the graceful neck like a conch! Don't delay anymore. Please tell him of my misery and bring him at once to me.

Here is the song itself, in case you want to hear it. The way MS sings it, you can sense the devotion and grace.

And of course, this song has inspired classical dancers as well. I loved this Bharatanatyam version of Aliveni by Sujatha Srinivasan; look how poetically she shows the black tresses; and how masterfully she gestures "I have an idea, let me send Him a letter!"

And there is this piece in Mohiniattam as well - different genre, same emotion! The dance begins around minute 1:30, so some patience please! 

To me this dance is very familiar because it was part of a school program (I went to a South Indian school , right?). I saw it then, and did not see the meaning, nor understand its context in the larger stream of Vaishnavism or the Bhakti Movement. But I see it today and it speaks so much more to me. Perhaps you have to be a woman, not a schoolgirl, to feel this shringara rasa! :)

Mumbai Mehfil

This Christmas we had what can only be described as a shaam-e-mehfil. Pramod invited a bunch of his work colleagues, and we sat down to an evening of song and music.

There was wine (and whisky and rum and vodka)

And food... 

And lots of laughs 

I was the only female in this group of 12 guys. But miraculously, in the entire evening, the sacred words "Sachin Tendulkar" came up only once. Amazing, no? :)

As I looked back and wondered why, I realised that the real star of the evening was the music itself. The mehfil lasted 4 hours, and we played so many "oldies-goldies" that it was quite magical. Pramod brought his harmonica and played a song for us. I don't think I even realised how time flew until someone looked at the clock and announced that it was 1 in the night. 

Here's my pick from the evening: Kahe ko roye (why cry?) from the movie Aradhana. I haven't been able to get it out of my head all day long. The absolutely stunning lyrics of the song are here, in case any of you are interested. 

Safal hogi teri....aradhana....kahe ko roye
Kahee pe hai sukh kee chhaya, kahee pe hai dukhon kaa dhoop
Bura bhala jaisa bhi hai, yahi toh hai bagiya kaa roop
Phulon se, kanto se, mali ne haar piroye
Kahe ko roye....

The Diary of Riaz Samadhan @ The Museum Art Gallery, Mumbai

- By Deepa Krishnan

I don't really follow the contemporary Indian art scene.

But the very first thing that struck me about Riaz Samadhan's current showing (The Diary of Riaz Samadhan) is his refined sensibility. As soon as I stepped into The Museum Art Gallery, I knew this artist's sense of aesthetics was something that personally appealed to me.

Painting titled "Beauty lies in wholeness".

There is a bed of dried leaves strewn on the floor of the entire gallery. The whole effect looks really good, doesn't it?

Then I took some time to really see his work, and I found myself liking it more and more. He has a perceptive sensitivity about people, about the nature of things; and he combines that with a non-sentimental, restrained but rich way of expressing it.

For example, see this one, called Perception Diptych. As soon as you see it, you sort of mentally slow down and look deeper. On the black half of the diptych, the line drawing of the house invites you to see the inner dimensions of the man. On the other half, there is a farm, trees, perhaps this is how this person views himself, perhaps it is an accurate self-perception, but perhaps it is not. Perhaps the man cannot see all of it?

Painting titled "Perception Diptych".

As you can see, there's a lot going on, but the execution is disciplined and simple. There is no overstatement. I would have liked to buy this for my house, but suspect that I cannot afford it :) :)

Here is a view of the Museum Art Gallery; you can see how Riaz has used the gallery space. The centre installation has a set of daily objects. I'm guessing that each object is a memory from Riaz's personal "Diary", things that have meaning for him. The objects are displayed on a stand; the stand is set in a bed of leaves strewn on the entire gallery floor.

Gallery view with leaves on floor

I figured that apart from the objects, the leaves themselves - the dry rustling sound and the rich woody smell - were evocative of some personal memories for Riaz, and wondered what they were. Of course, modern "good manners" forbid you from asking such personal questions, but I would have dearly liked to know!

Standing in that air-conditioned room, smelling the fragrance of the dried leaves, taking in the aesthetic appeal of the paintings...it was a short but sweet treat for the senses. Thank you, Riaz Samadhan, for sharing your Diary :)

The Paris-Bombay Chanel Show - I like the glitz!

- By Deepa Krishnan

The Indian press has been writing scathing comments about Karl Lagerfeld and his rose-tinted view of India; but really, he's produced some neat stuff for a new India-inspired Chanel show.

The show is called the Paris-Bombay Metiers d'Art (meaning Paris-Bombay Crafts and Art). And while it is a pretty good homage to Indian textile and jewellery craft; it has a modern look that gives it global appeal. Most important, a lot of it is actually wearable. Which is more than can be said for the usual nonsense that passes off as high fashion.

Take this one for example, lovely soft drape, evocative of the saree, but such a beautiful outfit. My friend Sheetal who is tall and leggy would look fantastic in this. Me, alas, I'm too short and - let's face it - too dumpy - to even dream of wearing this.

Photos from ibtimes.com; they have a great set of photos in case you want to have a look

I like the jewellery, do you? Absolutely fantastic stuff that works very well with the bejwelled collars and the Shiva-inspired dreadlocks!! :) Looks like it was crafted in India, doesn't it? It isn't. Apparently it was all fashioned in the Chanel ateliers in Paris.

Here's another totally gorgeous blue saree-inspired outfit. But really, it's that silver tribal-looking belt across the shoulder that gives it that incredible look. I wish I had a bigger photo, so you could see the ghungroo-like detail on that shoulder-belt.

The gauzy transparent fabric reminds me of the story about Emperor Aurangazeb's daughter. Apparently Aurangazeb reprimanded his daughter for appearing nearly naked in public; only to discover that she was wearing fine chanderi; a mix of cotton and silk so fine that it was almost sheer. Only after she wore seven layers of it was he satisfied. The model above has no such father to please! :)

If you want to see the show, check out the show trailer on youtube. You'll be surprised at how wearable everything is. There are lots of kameez-churidar inspired pieces and skirts wrapped like dhotis. Flat sandals (that have been so popular in Linking Road!) have also made an appearance, with lots of embellishment. There are several day-wear outfits; skirts and jackets, trousers, etc. All of them have interesting Indian accents - but it is the evening wear and bling that I really like a lot.

The stuff will be in Chanel stores in May 2012, I'm told. Not that I will ever buy anything from this line, ever. The prices are eye-wateringly high :)

Chor Bazaar again!

- By Deepa Krishnan

Among the most fun things you can do on a Sunday is go to Chor Bazaar.

I went with Walt and Mary, a couple of fun Canadians, and they were great company. In the past they owned retail stores, so they understood the pleasure of pottering around looking for great finds.

The two photos below are from a shop that does "sets" for Hindi movies. Everything is over-the-top and glitzy, and would be perfect in scenes with grand villas and sweeping staircases!

Hah! Look at that lion! I can imagine a villainous Amrish Puri standing in some haveli with tiger-skins on the wall and his hand on the lion's head while a poor peasant trembles nearby :) And the marble fountain splashes water in the background.

Should I have brought those two little marble dogs home? I certainly could not have brought the rather grand-looking lions!

Apart from the marble stuff, there are lots of old posters, old metal biscuit tins, boxes of cigarettes, and other stuff that you simply don't see these days.

Is it just me or do you love this 'Little Stuff' shop too? It's like a magnet, no? It is very tempting to bring some of it home. Last time I went, I brought three brass milk-cans home, in three sizes, to arrange in a row.

I was quite taken with this poster of a wicked-looking Pran from the 1971 movie Adhikaar. Check out the video here. Pran is "Banne Khan Bhopali", a lipstick-wearing flamboyant singer. The hero of the movie is Ashok Kumar, and the plot involves an illegimate child and lots of misunderstandings. Ah, the seventies!

I simply can't get enough of this stuff. I'm going back again another day, of course! Anyone want to come with me?

The Perfect Balance

- By Aishwarya Pramod

My college, like a lot of other schools and colleges, organizes a ‘Traditional Day’ every year – a day when everybody dresses up in ‘traditional’ clothes, dances, eats good food and takes lots of pictures.

So why have a Traditional Day? Is it to celebrate our varied traditions? OK, that seems like a legitimate reason, but honestly I don’t know if it makes complete sense or not. Traditions change, some die out, and new ones are created through foreign influences and local changes. There are a lot of girls (including me) who combine jeans with T-shirts/western-style tops on some days, and kurtas on other days. Guys dress Western style, and wear kurtas less often than the girls. And on top of that, most people speak English 70-80% of the time, including outside classes (though this is only true of my college, not necessarily others).

Sometimes Traditional Day just seems like an easy way to assuage the guilt we feel about being so Westernized. Living in Mumbai, we’re disconnected from the lives of the millions of Indians in rural and semi-rural areas. But ‘the heart of India is its villages’ - we get bombarded with this message all the time. So we want in on that too. Sometimes I feel like Urban Indian Guilt is similar to The Great White Guilt :) subtly filled into us through overt and subliminal media messages and societal expectations.

What’s the solution? Celebrating our traditions, by clinging on to saris and salwar kameezes that we don’t really wear otherwise?

Well, alright, it’s not even as if *I* know the solution to our East vs. West confusion; in fact, Traditional Day maybe a good solution for some. It’s not Traditional Day that bothers me but the attitude that accompanies it, the comfortable “I’m in touch with my roots and therefore better than you” smugness. The whole “I’ve found the perfect balance between tradition and modernity with my strapless saree blouse and sexy heels” is simply ridiculous. Priyanka Chopra in Dostana spends the entire movie in shorts or little dresses and then suddenly in a (rather pointless) song sequence, she emerges as the 'Desi' girl. So much like Traditional Day, OMG.

All of us in India (and for that matter the developing world) are constantly faced with the choice of east vs. west, tradition vs. ‘modernity’. And each of us makes different choices in response to this, based on our family background, upbringing, media influence, peer group, conscious choice, etc. And every individual’s choice is okay by me.

Let me finally clarify what exactly I’m getting at:

THERE IS NO PERFECT BALANCE.

THERE IS NO RIGHT AND WRONG.

There is no need to be either proud or ashamed.

I know people who wear western clothes 90% of the time, hardly speak in Hindi (or other Indian language), whose values are completely western; I know people at the other end, who are completely traditional and perfectly happy about it. And I know a bunch of people in the middle of these two extremes. All these choices are perfectly valid.

When I was 13, I went to camp. We were speaking to a camp instructor about our mother tongues and when he found out I wasn’t fluent in my father’s family’s language, Kannada, he immediately proceeded to tell me I should learn it and it was really sad and shameful I didn’t know it and that we should uphold our traditions and culture lest they die out.

Well. Firstly, culture is not a static concept that needs to be preserved or for that matter even can be preserved permanently. What I am today is the result of my upbringing – I was brought up near my mother’s family, so I speak Tamil. I’m not going to go out of my way to learn Kannada, just to ‘preserve’ culture. Instead, I’m the daughter of a Palakkad-Tamil mother and a Kannadiga father living in Mumbai who knows Tamil, Hindi, English and a smattering of Kannada.

And secondly, O venerable camp instructor, what about the fact that you’re wearing a shirt and trousers at the moment? How would you like it if someone came and told you you should be wearing kurta-pyjama and that you were helping destroy our culture? No, wait, not even kurta-pyjama, it should be angvastram-dhoti. :) I’m not judging YOU, am I? So please extend the same courtesy to me.

(I didn’t actually say any of these things to him, I just mumbled something and looked sheepish.)

So even though it’s all supposed to be relative, we all get judged every day. Either we’re too westernized and not ‘Indian’ enough, or we’re too ‘ghaati’ and not modern enough. I think this just reflects our lack of empathy. We don't want to understand others; we want to hang on to our little value judgements and preferences and impose them on others.

Sorry about this rant; for all its length it probably isn’t very coherent. That’s because my own thoughts on tradition and western influence aren’t very well formed. If there’s one thing I think I’ve conveyed clearly, it’s my confusion. Also, in the article I’ve focused on being judged for not being ‘rooted’ enough but there’s probably even more judgement on the other side – in certain circles, not being Westernized enough is social suicide.

I guess that’s what writing your opinion on the internet is all about, isn’t it? Putting your thoughts out there so anyone who wants to can berate the hell out of you. Oh well :)

How to Buy a Saree Blouse

- By Deepa Krishnan

If you're female and Indian, there's one absolutely essential skill you must learn: how to buy the perfect blouse for a saree.

The Matching Centre is where you learn the ropes. It's almost a rite of passage, really.

My mom and sister, entering the Matching Centre

In the early days, when you enter the Matching Centre, you're filled with a gnawing, groping uncertainty about what to buy. So many shades to choose from! How can there be *that* many shades of green? And which of those is best for my saree? Should I buy a blouse the colour of the main saree? Or should it be maroon, the colour of the saree's border? If I buy the green will it also work for that *other* saree, the one that aunt gifted me? Two-by-Two or Cotton? 80 cms or 1 metre? Should I get lining for this blouse? Will it be see-through? Will this colour run? Will silk be too hot? Aaarrgh. A million questions, plaguing the rookie blouse-buyer.

See how difficult it is?

But then, just as you lose all hope, help emerges - and it's usually in the form of an unassuming guy with an unerring eye for colour. Every Matching Centre has this miracle guy, with a quiet manner, who will take your saree from your hands, find the *perfect* fabric with the *perfect* shade of grey or green or whatever. All you have to do is stand there with a grateful expression, and fork out the money.

Mr. Know-it-all-but-will-never-get-cheeky-about-it

As time goes along, you become more confident. You find yourself saying somewhat firmly "Two-by-two will do just fine, thank you". "No, I do NOT think that's the perfect shade. It needs a little more purplish-brinjalish-rani-pink, really." At this point in your life, you will find even older aunts turning to you and asking, "Deepa, do you think this blue shade is ok?". And you step in, inspect the fabric critically, and say "Uh-uh. Nope. Not sky-blue enough. It's got to have more white in it. See that piece? Fourth from the left? That's the one you need". If you're proved right, and that indeed is the right shade of sky-blue, you feel a wave of confident smugness that nothing can quite beat!

But is that all? Of course not. The goal (ahem) is to get to the point where you actually find yourself expressing your personality through the blouse you buy. What? You didn't know? Yep. The saree blouse is all about personality, baby :)

And how does one express personality? By going beyond the plain single-colour blouses, of course. You have to start using patterns and borders and coordinating them with your sarees - with just that little edgy difference to keep it from becoming boring. You'll buy some disastrous stuff in the beginning - but eventually you'll get there.

Some ghastly prints and some good ones

A nice but small selection of Maharashtrian khun

I bought this black and red one, to wear with a red Fab India saree.

Over time, you end up acquiring a set of printed blouses; and various combinations of plain sarees to wear with them.

Small part of my blouse collection!

And some sarees that I team them up with

I like this purple and ochre cotton saree; and this blouse with slightly different but similar shades looks very good when worn with it.

And *then* as you start to experiment, as you start to mix and match and reconfigure your wardrobe, people stop saying "Hey, nice saree!" and start saying "Hey, nice combo!".

That, my friend, is how you know you have arrived in Blouse Heaven. When they start noticing the blouse fabric, you've done it. You've finally cracked the Art of Buying A Saree Blouse.