Events & Festivity – My Turing Machine

Those Dear Strangers

September 5, 2008 by prempiyush

Have you meet some persons, who are none to you!

When you meet them – just within some minutes, you start feeling that you know them since long back. Its not about the matching of right frequency and wavelength , etc. Even if you are two different levels of frequency , wavelength , age, profession, mental state, upbringing – just based on mutual respect they win you out.

The art of matching the two levels of brains – they are expert, its something that bring you down to a comfort level – keep you cool – and without being selfish, they talk something and you wish that such conversation go on and on…

I guess this is a rare trait, only very few persons are born with and few others develop it over the years after observation. And the most wonderful common thing, I have found in such persons is, they are artist to the core.

Those Dear Strangers ….

Love Letters

August 4, 2008 by prempiyush

Byomkesh Bakshi – the detective’s character of a TV serial, I liked a lot, whom I knew quite later as Rajit Kapoor. Today we four friends went to see his live performance of Love Letters at Rangashankara. This play written by A R Gurney had been nominated for Pulitzer Prize.

This play has been said to be performed more than 250 times. The dual character drama is based on the letters sent by each other over the span of 50 years. The act of “Andrew Makepiece Ladd III” performed by Rajit Kapoor bought the life in the character. And on the other side the role of “Melissa Gardner” was well justified by Shernaz Patel.

The narrative letters orated by both of them from the two side of stages over their changing years/ scenes was taking audience though the different times and moods of two persons sharing their almost all kind of feelings. Both the actors , in the roles of school students to aged people’s role – they seemed completely immersed into. A flawless performance indeed ! And at the end (when like all love stories) the drama was sad Andy(Andrew) was near to the grave of Melissa – Rajit was crying. And around 3 hours immersed in the role of Andy at the time of the final stage appearance – his eyes were still wet.

Adding to wetness of his eyes – was his happiness seeing the standing ovation of houseful Audience. He shared a really good chemistry with Shernaz and I guess they just perfected the characters of ‘Andy and Melissa” without memorizing the script word by word.

It was my first live classical theater experience and was a really satisfying experience. Wish to see more such live performances of great actors in coming days..

( Photo credits: The Hindu , The Tribune )

Children’s Day Special

November 14, 2007 by prempiyush

Today is Children’s day – the birthday of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India. The day is celebrated as children’s day because he used to love children’s very much and hence the children used to call him “Chacha” ( Uncle) . So he became popularly known as ” Chacha Nehru”. Though international children’s day is 20th Nov. but in India, as a mark of birthday of “Chacha Nehru” we do celebrate it on 14 Nov. each year. I would like to mention that “Chacha Nehru was born on 14th Nov. ~~1989~~ 1889 and died on May 27, 1964.

The above picture may look like as another snap. But I wish to say something about it. Few months back, in front of my house, where lower middle class people stays, I saw the kids playing “Teacher – Student ” . Their parents may be working in some factories or as house maids but the kids are really smart. The time was around 10 am in morning. Like every weekend their play was again “teacher-student” that day too. I have seen that, coming back from school, they do their homeworks first !

No one forces them to do so with sticks. At the same time, no one is needed to keep them away from video-games or TV screens. They are playing and enjoying “teacher-student” game on weekends. At the left door one little girl is sketching and other kid is seeing them. The little girl knows the school saraswati vandana complete. “नमस्ते सरस्वती देवी….. ” She sings that while playing. On the right door, a girl is reading the lessons of some story book loudly and others are listening to her. The Teacher madam sometimes lovingly scolds the students too.

Now a days, one family is not there now, so the teacher madam is not there to lead the play. Though I couldn’t understand their Kannada, but I can understand the language of budding childhood, which show the infinite prospects in them. It was a visual treat to my eyes. Happy Children’s Day !!

For your eyes only – 6

November 6, 2007 by prempiyush

On the Navami evening, I and my younger brother-in-law went out for the visiting the Puja pandals. My sister, Pinky decided not to go out because of the small kid, and so did Ma as she was not going. To us, walking hours, visiting the pandals through the crowd, meeting friends and relatives has been , great evening, once in the year. Though we could not spend time at any pandal much. Here are the more snaps of pandals, we visited.

Railway Colony Pandal (After seeing so many ballons, Still feeling kiddish 🙂

Railway Colony Deity (Dhupa Aarti is going on)

Deity made up of Glass @ Manoranjan Club ( that time under light show)

Durga Ma @ Lohar Patty Temple

Tribal Artwork @ Dompatty (See two sikhs praying at right side) Our town has the best example of communal harmony.

Ma Durga @ Subhash Pally Mandir ( Traditional way)

All Deity in one Singhashan @ Milan Pally Temple (All the deity is at one altar only- thats the traditional way )

For your eyes only – 5

November 4, 2007 by prempiyush

The month of the October and excellent climate in our home town, with the festivity around. The air was full of zeal and new energy.

Puja means shopping. Our small town has only few shops of branded dresses. At those town shops, even not finding so many ranges of colors and fabrics, I prefer to buy one from those shops on Puja occasion. In those shops, with my Ma, there is nostalgic shopping experiences since last 30 years. Another fact is, I am not very good at choosing dresses for myself, whereas I can find good ones for others. Still today, from the exclusive showrooms in Bangalore, I myself, have not bought an exclusive shirt or pant. Or better say I am a bit careless towards my updated dressing sense. ( p.s. Myself kanjoos in fashion consciousness ! No. Have you bought the inaugural launch issue of Vogue in India- its really good one, worth buying 🙂 )

Anyway, next day of reaching home was Ashtami and the main puja started. Here are the snaps of Durga Puja, from my hometown Kishanganj located at the border of Bihar- Bengal. In the first snap is Pushpanjali at Durga bari, where you may find the purely traditional way of Puja. While uploading the photo – I was searching for the possible hand of my Ma, as she did Pushpanjali before me ! Wow I found her 🙂 The gold ring !

Puspanjali @ Durga Bari, Dey Market

Navami Sandhya Puja is going on @ Durga Bari, Dey Market

Durga Puja Pandal @ Manoranjan Club

A Closer Look @ Deity

या देवी सर्व भुतेषू शक्ति रुपेण संस्थिता…

For your eyes only – 1

October 30, 2007 by prempiyush

This time my trip to home was all sudden but a good one. And I captured the moments. The shutter opened in Flight itself and I continued snapping across our lush green fields, for my eyes and yours. There are glimples of Durga Puja and Kids too. Hope to post them soon ( how soon? ).

The header image is of flower sewli, that blooms on the arrival of Puja season. The snap is taken around 4 am in morning outside our boundary wall. Below are the two kids of Didi. Lucky and Mridu looking at auto timed blinking of camera and waiting for snapped.

Wish to say, I had snapped such scenes on my last home trip too through my 35 mm film camera. After washing the negatives, I had planned to take all to home this time. But on the day of departure, somewhere I missed the packet, which contained all the negatives and positives of my last trip ! I felt SORRY as the photos captured some of the precious moments. But thanks God, I missed them here but they did not lost. Thanks to my hurried trip :).

Managing Personal and Professional fronts

October 29, 2007 by prempiyush

Personal commitments and professional commitments – both are equally important for any individual. We may want to excel in both the world, and manage both equally. And at the end, we do find it’s really difficult to manage the real chaos of situations.

As the Puja seasons arrived this year, personal responsibilities were around and on the other hand, mid term appraisals are there, I felt again hanging in between.

Personal commitments:
In personal arena, there are social responsibilities – made up of hundreds people around, who make us social(lizable) individual. Be it birth of individual, marriage or death or any thing important to life; family, relatives and society are the integral part of the same. They remain around to laugh, cry, criticize and praise.

It’s the circle that makes us grow, that keeps us enclosed and that keeps eyes wide open across the walls. Walking along this circle encircled around is a big challenge. But I do guess, when one maintains the individual integrity, the things gets easier.

Professional commitments:
Same situations do apply, while growing in the professional society, which is more demanding in terms of professional output and require high emotional quotient. The place, where emotions should take a backseat and demands a professional attitude (out of emotional zeal) on the priority.

Around 8 years back, I had bought a book, The IBM Way, by Buck Rodgers from a second hand road side vendor. (The brand new looking international best seller was very cheap as it had corners damaged by rat. But after flipping through the pages, I bought it, as I have equal respect for the second hand books as the new books. (But zero tolerance for pirated ones) ) Anyway the book consists very good lessons of marketing management and individual’s commitment towards the profession, detailed by Rodgers approach to manage both the worlds.

Now when both the worlds are demanding and commitments are there – and one asks sacrifice / compromise from the other. What to decide? A difficult situation, when none but only self instinct helps. There are instances of Mahatma Gandhi as well as Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam, when both failed at times on personal front and repented afterwards.

As we do grow and do learn to walk along the so called more mature groups, managing both the worlds seems challenging. I do personally guess that, the satisfaction and stronger will power due to commitments in personal front makes the professional challenges easier.