KESARI - FILM REVIEW

It was an impromptu decision to watch Kesari on opening day and I guess it was a good one. The Film which is based on the true story of one of the greatest battles fought - the battle of Saragarhi is an exceptional piece of cinema, a film very well made. 

War is gruesome, traumatic and depressing yet Anurag Singh documents the Battle of Saragarhi with an effervescence flavour of Indian cinema giving the audience a reason to laugh even in the midst of war and be involved in the narrative. Most of the 21 characters had a personality trait or an individual back story that is very deftly stitched along with the protagonist' Ishar Singh, essayed so naturally by Akshay Kumar. Patriotism is definitely Akshay's domain from the erstwhile repertoire of actor Manoj Kumar. 

Although the film is 150 minutes long, most times you are drawn into the narrative with the expectation of what's next. There are some moments in the first half where things are slow, perhaps it is to put you into that place of isolation 'the war ground'. The actual war sequence pans out in the second half and you can witness the bravery and valor of the men of the 36th Sikh Regiment, that stood their ground fighting, even though they knew; they would never come out alive. 

On a subliminal level, the film makes you question the very concept of war; is it about protecting and defending one's boundary or is it merely a tool used by those who perpetrate it; either for profit or personal gain? Kesari - The film is not only a cinematically documented account of history but also a lesson to the modern day students of Philosophy. A definite must watch!

- Ashford Menezes

RATING: 4/5

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016

It’s been a wonderful start to the New Year 2016 and I want to wish you a very Happy, Exciting, Adventurous & as you make it to be; year.  Every year we go through a cycle of how our life is, and sometimes we inevitably go through the same cycle and realize that nothing really changed except the days and months on the calendar. Maybe if we introspect we’d find that there are a lot of learning’s we go through each year, if we take time to ponder, we will see how the learning impacts us and how it fosters newness in all that we do and how we approach our lives. The previous year has been a good year of learning, a lot has changed, not just my place of residence but also life’s perspectives and I’d like to list my top learning’s of 2015.

·      Be Open to Change: At the beginning of 2015, I was still in the old, trying to reinvent the old and survive. But if you want to thrive and not just survive, you got to be open to change.  They say life happens to you while your busy making plans, and rightly so, I was in midst of a meeting pitching for a project, when an sms with an opportunity appeared on my phone, I don’t know why but something drew me to it, I call it the Grace of God, so I politely changed the course of that pitch as listened to the voice of my heart and I am so glad I did. Change is hard in the beginning and it does get messy in the middle, but I can truly vouch for this, its glorious in the end.  

·      Stop Running: We are often caught in a trap of a race and we all seem to be running without knowing where the destination is. Even if we know the destination, it’s the journey that we need to look forward and pay attention too. It’s not necessary to live life chronologically, we are humans and not machines, but life seems to be programmed and we are doing things either based on our age or circumstance. We need to do the things we want to do and we’d love doing. We shouldn’t blame age or circumstance for it, for the same boiling water than hardens an egg, also softens a potato.

·      Benefit of Doubt: Many times most of our understanding of a situation/person is based on our perception and hence there will always be a gap unless we are angelic and have in us divine wisdom. As human as we are, we are going to err, therefore it is only reassuring not just us but to every situation/person we interact with to give me them the benefit of doubt. In doing so I found that situations and people stop getting complex and life becomes much more simpler.

·    Let go: I don’t quite remember the name of the movie, but I very clearly remember the dialogue, in which Aamir Khan’s character blurts, that we as human live with one leg in the past and one leg in the future and all we’re doing is piddling on our present! and how true is that. We got to let go of all that was in the past; it rightfully belongs where it is, from past relationships to old resentments to grudges. We got to learn to let go of all the could’ve have and should’ve and free ourselves of past burdens we cannot change. 

·      God is Good:  I saved this for the last, cos this had to be a show stopper, I mean we all pray to God, but do we in the truest sense really know who God is; perhaps most of us don’t cause if we knew who God really was, then we wouldn't hurt so much, knowing full that God has our best interest and has placed where we need to be. To me this year has been a year of knowing, trusting and having a deep relationship with God, I didn’t do it on my own, it was His Grace and the people around me that help build it. But it all began because I took the first step. It is said seek and you will find, which is so true, All you have to do is seek him and once you come to know of him, you too will say God is Good.

I hope this sharing inspires you to make 2016 a year that you want it to be, may this New Year give you ample opportunity to make it a better than your previous one and my prayer for you is to find motivation, courage and strength to seize those opportunities!

Cheers & God Bless,

Ash

The Message of Peace

The Easter season is a reminder to us that the resurrection brings to us Peace of the risen Christ. Whenever Jesus appeared to his disciples he greeted them saying “Peace be with you” for he knew the heart of humans, and how troubled they are and till date they still are. In today's world we all seem to be running a race, however no one is clued in, as to where is the finish line, and that is perhaps why there seems to be no peace. From fast food to fast cars and even faster lives, we're always in the pursuit of something and most often than not we're searching for it on the outside. One very essential point to remember is that your life's journey is how much you travel within rather than how much you travel to and from. So how can we bring ourselves to peace, perhaps to begin with we can start of with the following steps:

* Pray. Meditate: Unlike our general perception of God being like a headmaster or principal, who is always waiting to lecture, scold or punish us. He is far from that, in fact he is more like a friend. We seemed to be caught in too much of activity based forms of prayer and fellowship, which is essential, but should not be our only form of connect with our maker. How often have we heard that hymn “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and grief’s to bear, what a privilege to carry everything to him in prayer. The only question remains is how often do we set aside time for this our friend?

* Forgive: We all know that that even after being crucified Jesus pleaded for forgiveness for his perpetrators, and that example should be more than sufficient for all of us in the most difficult of situations after all Jesus was just as much human as we are. And surely at some point in time we are going to be rubbed or we might rub a bad shoulder with another. The key then to healing would be forgiveness, for often the one who forgives sets their own hearts free.

* Love: A simple tenet that sums up everything that Christ is, it’s also his greatest commandment, “Love one another as I have loved you.” So think about it, Love is something that doesn't require things on the external, it is feeling and is in best effect when it’s genuine. And when you genuinely do, you will experience warmth that even a fireplace can't exude, Grace that is divine and an ease never felt before. Love is something that the more you give away, the more it comes back to you. 

To be at peace is to be in control of ones thoughts and emotions and that happens over time, therefore it is a constant endeavour which can come to being only when one takes small steps of change and that could begin with developing a relationship with your maker, Forgiving the ones who wrong you and by loving all. 

Peace be with you!

Are you thinking of Starting up??? Read this...

It’s 2015 and the so called Start-up culture is taking roots in as many places as almost around the world, everyone seems to want, to catch up on the Entrepreneur bandwagon. Surely success stories like Facebook, Whatsapp, Flipkart, Alibaba are the new age Blockbusters and the entrepreneurs behind them are the super stars that everyone wants to be like, but the new age entrepreneurs are not just superstars they want to contribute to world, bring about new paradigms, develop new technologies and build at disruptive scale. But there is a lot that goes into building a business, then just setting up shop or having a domain. It takes a lot of courage, effort, determination and patience to see an enterprise fructify. Ask any Entrepreneur and they will testify that most difficult aspect is not of starting up, but that of sustaining. This is why 8 out 10 Start-ups fail every year! Having said that I’d like to clarify that I am no business tycoon to spell out a success formula to cultivate and grow a Start-up business, however having had a firsthand experience at starting my own venture I’d like to share what it may take to really cultivate and grow one’s business. As cool as it may sound, being the boss does bring power, but with great powers, come great responsibilities, and exercising this responsibility with acumen will eventually make or break a business. So where do we being; is with what business to start with? I guess not. We start off with something more intangible, no I am not talking about brand value, but something that will probably give your brand; value. And that something is Faith.

Faith: You have to have faith in yourself and most importantly in what you’re doing. If you believe, and let me be clear, when I say believe it is a yes of your inner voice devoid of any dishonesty to any particular feeling, person or thing. You have to be rooted to what you stand for and it is that faith will help you take that jump to conquer the battle, whilst the war is still at large. Having said that it does not mean that faith turns to stubbornness or lacks discernment, faith is seeing with eyes of your conscience and knowing the difference. So you’ve got to first believe in yourself or else how would anyone else (read: partners, employees, customers) believe in you or your product.

Idea: In most cases of new Start-ups, the entrepreneur usually is extending his/her passion for a particular science/art or having a firsthand experience of a product of service and knowing that this can be done better, however a problem arises when you already have enough of a competition or face saturation in that market. The key to approaching this situation is, to streamline the idea to fill up a void of an existing product or service that has been there and remained unchanged or unnoticed and it is this filling up of the void that unlocks value. So how does one start? Off course by sowing the seed, and that seed is known as Capital.

Capital: You buy a domain, you set up a website, you may even start from home, but then you need to reach out to potential a customer, which means you have to market yourself, so you have to go out and meet people or you may want to place an advertisement. Soon you will realise that from the time you started up, the one thing that remains constant is that you have to spend money and not just that, the expenses reoccur, whether you sell or not. Therefore you can’t really start a business without capital, my reference to capital is in the context of having adequate capital: not that you need a Million dollars to start a venture, but you need enough to see you through any sudden and unforeseen circumstances and the reason is because when you start-up, you are setting foot in unknown territory and hence there’s lots of learning to be done and in this process you are bound to make mistakes. Today capital is supposedly easily available in the market, but it is really hard come by and when it does it come, it comes with its own terms and conditions superscripted with that tiny, almost unseen asterisk mark. Hence before you set out to Start-up, make sure you have adequate capital. 

Mentor: Have you ever thought of climbing atop Mount Everest? It’s a terrain, that everyone dreams of conquering but only a handful get to doing it, and even the handful who achieve climbing atop, are usually accompanied by a Sherpa(mountaineering guide), because they know the terrain, they know how to deal with an avalanche or a snow storm, they know the right routes, but most importantly their there to guide the climbers and once on top, they let you bask in the glory of conquering. You many not feel the necessity of having a mentor for various reasons, but having someone who has more experience than you always helps as they know the terrain be it good times or bad. Hence it is important to have a mentor, someone much more experienced, he/she may not necessarily be of the same field, but is there to guide you.

People: Products or Services are at the core of a business, but a real business is successful because of the people behind. Your product or service is for consumption and the end users are people again. The human factor is a very essential one, and it is very important for the people working with you to understand the people your catering your business too. Think about it, before you try something first, you always tend to ask someone you know, about the product or service, only then do you go forward with the decision process.   Therefore it is imperative that you to get the right people to be a part of your venture, and when that happens, you will see results that often go beyond your expectation.

The points mentioned above are part of my learning’s, off course there are other things  required to systematically run a business, but those are obvious ones like a business plan, company set-up, et al, but I have tried to shed light on more intuitive matter. Success is meant for those who really believe in it, and it won’t come walking to you, you've got to work hard and smart to make it work, and in the case of an entrepreneur, the fruitfulness of his/her venture is definitive when it is contributing to its people, to society and to the world at large making it better place to live in.

Open Letter to the Catholic Comedian: "With Great Powers, Comes Great Responsibilities"

Dear Jose,

It’s not that I am appointed by the Church to reply to your open letter, I do so as a fellow human being, an Indian and a Christian.

To begin with, yes it is not pertinent to know if the apology was asked for or given voluntarily, that it was accepted, reveals that our faith is about love, tolerance, and forgiveness. Let’s put it this way whether with intent or without one, if we were to hurt someone like our parents, spouse or friends, we would tender an apology, right? Or should we just leave it at that, as if it were a trivial matter and move on. Maturity does not come from saying big things; it comes when we understand small things, and it is in that maturity that the two parties came and sat across a table, voiced and discussed their concerns’ and have moved on with life.      

Yes, it is rightly said that laughter is the best medicine, but then to what extent can one go to make fun of or ridicule someone is what needs to be looked at. The stereotype that is really building is that, it’s absolutely okay to make fun of people, and not just that, if it is not funny you can go below the belt even to the extent of hurting someone mentally and/or maybe physically. My concern is, that when things happen too often they seem normal, thus setting a pattern, till a couple of decades back no kids abused in front of their parents, but today profanity seems relatively easy to use and to some, they even sound cool. Are we then waiting for more serious crimes to become normal?

The analogy of turning the other cheek refers to being non-violent, no matter how grave the situation is, and in this matter, the Church has always shown Grace even when she is being torn apart. So it is only reassuring that even in trivial matters such as these, the grace of God works, thus giving us the humility to ask forgiveness and the humility to forgive knowing that we need it too. To put this in perspective take a look at how the world deals with relationships today and we’ll realize the importance of humility. Yes, a couple of jokes cannot diminish our faith, but the humility that followed, will and can only strengthen our faith.

So yes, that is what the Church did; granted her forgiveness and will continue to do so, because that is what Love is all about. Acceptance. So tomorrow even if those that have vandalized the Churches in Delhi and other places realize their mistake and apologize, I am sure the Church will forgive. And let us not forget that, it is we as fellow Christians’ who make up the church and what we do reflects on society as who Christians truly are. Can we then say, they will know we are Christians by what we do?

As a celebrity, everything you express is lapped up by those who follow you; you have the power to form opinions and hence the adage “With great power, comes great responsibility” will always hold true for celebrities as well as the Church. Let’s not forget that, as little as seeds are, they can manifest themselves a hundred times over. What I have expressed is what I felt after reading your letter; I do hope you consider these thoughts, as they too come from a place of immense love and respect for our country its people and their beliefs.

Sincerely,  

Ashford Menezes

Off God's Grace and Miracles...

Miracles do happen and all it needs, is a little bit of faith. This is my story of a miracle

It was the late morning of 9^th of September 2014 and I was on my way to my workplace, I got into my train and before sitting down, I put my wallet into my bag and took out my phone as I was having a conversation online, as I reached my destination at Andheri, I put the bag on my shoulders, my compartment was not crowded as I was travelling opposite direction and the first class is always empty. I got off the train, there were two ticket collectors on the platform checking tickets, however they checked everyone but did not ask me, so I proceeded to the bridge, and to my surprise or should I say awe, there were about 20 ticket collectors on the bridge, as I walked to them I kept thinking to myself, my wallet is in the bag and if they ask me to show my ticket I will have to open my bag et al, but as I walked further not a single one of them asked me for my ticket.  And no, that’s not the miracle am refereeing too, I do travel with a valid season ticket.

I proceeded to the Metro Station, and that’s where I had to reach for my wallet as my Metro Card was in it, and I had to get it out, however as I reached for my bag, I was dumbstruck, the zipper on my bag was open, a stream of thoughts shot through my mind about my wallet, and rightly so, as I tucked my hand in to check on it, it was gone and along with it my debit card, my driving license, other gift cards, train pass and cash. At that instance I just felt a camera track back and its lens zoom in on me, yea um thinking Hitchcock. But I was fuming from within, how the hell can someone do something like that, I mean they’re not thinking the loss their causing to the other person. I lost my wallet- my LV and along with it important documents Arrggh!!!

I went about lodging complaints running from one place to the other, in all I had to lodge my complaints at 3 places, yea this was among the thoughts that ran through my head when I saw the zipper open, that I’d have some running around to do. Wallet lost, complaints filed, life continued as usual… I left to Delhi for a shoot and I had to carry my Aadhaar card and the complaint letter as my identity proof, we’ll the Aadhaar card is still subjective when it comes to being an identity proof, but that’s another story. Everyday then I kept thinking to myself, when it might have happened? How come I didn't feel anyone touch my bag etc, I was only hoping to catch the guy, for I genuinely wanted to thrash him. I came back to Mumbai and one day whilst saying my morning prayers, a sudden thought popped in my mind, maybe that guy needed money or was in some kind of need, but that doesn't justify his act, he should have at least asked me, rather than taking a shortcut, by just flicking my wallet, and to my good fortune, I had just paid whatever cash I had withdrawn wherever it was due and hence was not carrying too much of money that day. So that day on I just decide to say a prayer for the one who pick-pocketed me. I began saying 3 Hail Marys for that person, with the intention that a he be touched and send back my wallet with its belongings, Yea seems a little too far-fetched na, but as I said, a little bit of faith. 

I kept on going with the 3 Hail Mary’s for a few days, I occasionally even missed a few, however on the 9^th of October exactly a month later, as I said my morning prayers I remembered to pray for this guy, but at that instance a thought cropped up in my mind, which was, its been so long even the trains might have been cleaned so no chance of me really getting back anything, but I brushed the thought aside and said let me just say it, with all honesty I said the Hail Mary and perhaps the measure of my faith on that day would probably be smaller than a mustard seed, but nevertheless I did. And I went about as usual that day. At about 5 pm in the evening I got call from a girl, “hello”, she said, I acknowledged back with a hello, she then asked, “Aap Asshhford hai”, I said “haan”, “Appke kuch cards mile hai hume train mein”. (we found your cards in the train) I was speechless at that instance, I couldn’t believe it, it’s almost a month to when the incident happened, and on the same day that I almost gave up on the hope of finding what I had lost, I was getting it back. I was excited and at the same time anxious as to what she might have found. So I coordinated with her and met her at Mahalaxmi station the next day, she came along with her friend, I kept with me a constable just for witness sake as I had registered a complaint. The two young girls said they had found my cards in the train and hence they called up and gave it.  That day I got back my Debit Card and other cards, my license however was not in that. In a way what I got back was not much value as I had cancelled my debit card already, now the only worry was that my license was out and anyone could misuse it, I got it canceled and got a new duplicate issued, but it still bothered me that my license was out there, but God works in mysterious ways, and yesterday a gentleman came all the way to my place, with my license, he said his wife found it at Churchgate station, and since there was no contact number on it, he decided to come home with it.

All of this what happened seems so unreal, but it happened and is a miracle, and  I am witness to it. The Grace which came from God, which at first changed my thoughts, the Grace to persistently pray for the one I was intending to hurt and the Grace of Faith to trust in him. Every day is a miracle, from the time we wake up to the time we call it a day's end, but if you look closely at your lives, you will not just see, but also experience the Grace of God and in that you will see miracles, for which all you need is just about a little faith and God's Grace. 

That Thing Called Love...

I don’t know what really to call it, intriguing, amusing, impulsive etc etc and for all the words that don’t seem to come into my head to put into perspective what I want to say. I wanna talk about hmmm… you know what, and given that I love the filmy world, let me tell you a story, and I’ll stick to the characters made famous in Bollywood -  Rahul and Anjali…

Yup, you might have heard their names - Rahul and Anjali. They had never met before, they belonged to their own worlds and were comfortable in that space. And one fine day, as fate would have it, they crossed paths, at a common friend's typical page3 type party, but unlike cinematic journeys, this one was real, wherein they didn't stop and stare at each other, nor did violins play in the background. They were aware of the other’s presence, like at every party one is aware, but carried on with what they were doing mingling and dancing in good spirits, which was what all do at parties.

Life went back to normal and the two didn't even have memories of each other. But as fate would have it, they'd meet ‘again’, but this time it’s a not a hulabaloo kinda social gathering, but a close knit family affair. Rahul’s best friend had gone to see a girl, you know, the arranged marriage types, and that girl was Anjali’s first cousin. What a small world it is!!! So when the two familiar faces met, what happened next? No, they din’t break in to a song sequence. The personality type of the two individuals was far different from those we've seen on screen, and in this case, both of them were complete introverts, and let me tell you, similar personality types attract even better than opposites. Coming back, it was after a little fumble and some small talk, that Rahul and Anjali finally got know each other and with that phase1 was now complete. So what is this phase 1? Well, I’ll come back to it a little later… Moving on, as time passed by, the distance got shorter, and a 1000 sms, whatsapp, likes, comments, tweets, pings, later, like a typical scene out of a film, one proposed and the other accepted. No, it wasn't for a big fat Indian wedding; it was for some shuddh desi romance, which happened over coffee, cinema, Chowpatty and some more coffee. Phase 2 completed. Yea, now I know I haven’t told you what phase 1 was, and I am already talking about phase 2.

Relax, I will not only tell you about phase 1 & 2 but will also tell you all about all the 3 phases together. Yup, there are three. As the bond grew, somewhere and somehow so did the space, perhaps Rahul and Anjali had their own lives to manage and deal with and one thing led to another. Every conversation turned into a misunderstanding and that led to lesser talk, which led to even more misunderstandings till finally, there was no talk and that was the phase 3.

Together put, this is how it went:

· Phase 1: From being strangers to friends

· Phase 2: From being friends to more than friends

· Phase 3: And from being more than friends to complete strangers again

And this is what I find hard to put into words - the three steps - all put together, you can call it whatever you want, maybe for some it might be intriguing, to some other amusing, or maybe even impulsive. But I guess it is best described as ‘Crazy little thing called Love…’

Sombre Pessimism from an Unapologetic Optimist!!!

As India turns 67 today, its a happy sight to see joyous citizens celebrating, celebs doling out 'so-me' (social media) wishes to their fans, Tv channels running thematic shows and phones ringing with constant pings of Independence Day messages. What hoopla it is, seems as if reel has turned to real. And what really makes an Indian proud would undoubtedly be our National Anthem, from the beautiful lyrics of the Jana Gana Mana to its soulful sound, even if one croaks, one has to sing or hum along. 

Now, although I am an unapologetic optimist, there is a sombre bit of pessimism in the bigger picture that I see, to begin, our leaders and the political class seem to be doing very little in terms of really connecting with the nation and its people, all they focus is on personal vendetta of the opposition, if you have been entrusted with the mandate of governance, then prove your prudence to the people the trusted you and brought you to power. The same with the opposition, your coming to power will not be based on facts, truths and stories you bring forth, it will solely be on how much you inspire and instill faith by works to a development delayed and economically hungry nation. 

Next in line is the business class; now there are a few who stand out and apart. But the majority, toe the line of the herd, the only lobbying that they synergize with, is in which they see bigger top lines and better bottom lines. CSR is more of a viable and economically better PR exercise given that you get a tax relief and the junta to cross sell. 

And finally the aam aadami, somewhere has lost his consciousness in the realm of reality. I received so many texts of Independence Day messages that spoke negatively of our neighbouring country. Does our freedom give us the moral and ethical right to run down those that do us wrong? If so, then how are we any different from them. Add to that, the apathy that the junta shows, not just to politics, but to life in general makes me ponder...

But then again, as I said earlier, sombre bit of pessimism. I guess the 'Independent India' that our freedom fighters fought for will some day shine on.. Till then, we'll perhaps continue the reel to real celebrations of a Happy and Independent India. 

Happy Independence Day !!!

Making Heaven out of Hell… In Rs. 12/-

Not too long hours ago, a spokesperson of a leading political party, for reasons best known to him blatantly blurted out; Mumbai mein toh Rs. 12/- khana mil jata hai and that sentence caused a tsunami of a reactions in the media; from locals who were genuinely hurt on the comment, to political parties of the opposition, that got an opportunity to score some brownie points. And then, not too many hours into the controversy, the political party (of which the spokesperson was from) started a political game called ‘keeping distance’ (with the spokesperson )and that in turn, lead to a turn around of sought's; the so called statement was retrieved. 

As I write this piece, my phone just beeped, I received a broadcast, which joked about a popular burger brand, would soon launch a new burger for Rs. 12/- and no prizes for guessing it would be called the ‘McBabbar’ which brings me to the point I really want to talk about, that if a prankster thinking out of the box can come up with an innovative burger, even if its just for fun, why cant our netas?

Almost immediately post the controversy, the cat and mouse game began, like its the given for political parties to do in India, when they goof up, but that is not the need of the hour, especially when you have a tainted past, and there are many a questions with regards to the future? Here was an opportunity to make Heaven out hell… In Rs. 12/- …. How? Read on…

Among the many controversies surrounding the government is that off: The huge quantities food getting wasted and rotting away, which is a shame, given that in our country a fairly large number of people sleep hungry, to make it worse statements given out by its representatives saying one can get a full meal for Rs. 12/- What do you do then? Perhaps think up of solutions rather than running away from the problem. The answer lies in a simple product of a Maths equations; two negative make a positive. 

What could have or should have been done is simple exercise of innovative thinking, resource mobility and immediate action thus leading to solution. To elaborate; instead of letting those grains rot away, the govt could easily set up food centers (Read:on the lines of the Junka bhakar model, Mumbai) across the country, wherein they could employ locals, distribute these food grains and veggies and actually dish out meals for the intended Rs. 12/- and then when asked where do you get food for Rs. 12/- the answer could be ‘We’, we provide a wholesome meal for Rs. 12/-.  This action would perhaps then give some respite among the many controversies and perhaps restore confidence in the general public that bought them to power. 

So to all politicians and govt officials, when you do make a blunder, remember it is not all asunder,

A lil bit innovative thinking, resource mobility and immediate action, can get you laurels a thunder.

The Gud Ol' Dhobitalao

In a certain generation not too long ago, if you said Dhobitalao, you meant Little Goa.

In Toronto, Canada where I live, there is little Italy, little Greece, little Portugal, little India and even, just outside of Toronto, an entire suburb (officially called Brampton) known as Khalistan, where all the Sardars live.
 

Brampton used to be a farming area populated by whites, until the Sardars moved in. Now it is a place which abounds in Punjabi samosas, sarson-ka-saag and 'lawyers' who 'help' you with settling personal injury car accident claims. But you will not find any little Goa.

Now, to get back to Dhobitalao.

That area of Bombay was home to a large dhobi migrant community from UP that worked from a pond that was originally built by the Parsis to supply their Agiaries. Over time, as the water got stagnated, they turned it over to the dhobis who needed exactly such a spot to base their trade in  the city. Eventually, the pond was cemented over and the Parsis built residential buildings which they gave over as rentals to newcomers in Bombay.

It was exactly in such a condition that the first Goans started moving in. Soon the area was overflowing with Goan migrants who chose to live together, God knows why, given the crab mentality for which the community is famed. Not only did they live in harmony, but also in relative peace, although a typical large family of seven or eight lived in one room no bigger than 300 to 500 sq feet.

 In that space they hatched, matched and were dispatched.

Dhobitalao, as I knew it, was Goan enough to be known to the rest of Bombay and even outside and the Middle East, as the Goan hub outside Goa. Among well known features of the area were oasis of large rooms of about 1,500 sq feet or more in very old dilapidated buildings that became the homes of Goan Village Clubs about which much has been written. What I will add is, that the living conditions there were absolutely pathetic. But then, living in Portuguese Goa of the time was equally so, despite the large village spaces.

If this description has put in your mind a decrepit neighborhood you would not be entirely wrong, but I have not yet made a reference to the vibrancy of the place. Dhobitalao was the Bronx of the 1930s. People hung out their washed clothing to dry and sat on their building terraces. The terraces were the community arenas where every social celebration took place.  A birthday, a dance and even movie shows. Everyone was invited, both from the building and everywhere  else. Prohibition was in force and Aunty's famous rotgut was served.

On one occasion, while learning German from a Saligao resident of Indra Bhuvan , I was called to watch a movie on the terrace. The boys running the projector sat precariously with their equipment on a small patch on the roof, the white painted wall was the screen and the bar was lined along one side.

There were all kinds of home cooked snacks on a table and everybody sat hunched on the floor in the dark of an 8 pm evening. I don't remember the name of the movie, but it was smuggled in by the Goan usher of the nearby Metro cinema. There was dancing after the movie but by then I had left as I had a long hike back home to Byculla.

Dhobitalao's Main Street extended from the Sonapur Church (Dolours) to Crawford market, a distance of about 1 km. Along the way were butcher shops selling fresh pork, and the famous C D'Souza's and Vienna restaurants which were frequented by lonely sailors between trips.

They served excellent Goan-Bombay fusion food at ridiculously low prices. In 1965, you could get a plate of sorpotel, a loaf of bread and Crumb Chops (pork chops fried with batter and bread crumbs) followed by a plate of rice with fish curry and a fried mackerel on the side. It was excellent value.

 On Dhobitalao streets, other restaurants abounded. Along Main Street were also a couple of wax candle shops. Thinking about it now, I  wonder what kept them in business. Perhaps it was the yearly fairs at which body parts made of wax were sold. Main Street was the show-piece of Dhobitalao. Other side streets were not so clean nor as spacious.

There were the Wellington Terraces, a group of four buildings within a rough stony compound that was a village all by itself. Everybody in Dhobitalao had a relative or villager in Wellington. Outside Wellington were all sorts of trades-people - tailors, darners, cobblers and others.  All were excellent craftsmen and I remember my dad taking me to a cobbler there to custom make my leather shoes even though we lived in Byculla. Perhaps part of the reason might have been the opportunity to visit one of his friends where a glass of hooch was assured.

Within Dhobitalao on the southern and eastern ends, were the Irani restaurants about which the Canadian-Goan writer Marcos Catao has recently written. Two of them were Sassanian and Bastani. They made the best bread puddings and the most flaky and light meat patties that melted on your tongue. The pani-kum chai was a great chaser to these snacks.

A little beyond Bastanis was the standing place of the 'Dhobitalao Bandsters'. These were not band members but individual musicians who waited to be hired for any wedding or other occasion. They were not a cohesive unit and may never have played with the others, but once they were selected, without practice, they performed as if they were an accomplished orchestra.

That is a great thing about Goans. They make awesome musicians. Partly in the genes and partly due to their village choir-master training, playing is across the spectrum. In all the great Bombay swing bands of the sixties and seventies, like Micky Correia, Johnny Baptist, Maurice Concessio, Goody Seervai, Nelly, Ken Mac and Hal Green, the majority of the musicians were Goans. Nowhere could this be seen better than in Dhobitalao.

 A walk down the street of any neighborhood, especially after sunset, would produce harmonious wafting sounds of  lilting Portuguese marches and sambas, tangos, classical mandos, and even Louisana blues and Hollywood music scores. It was truly a music fest per gratis.

At the heart of Dhobitalao was the Sonapur (or officially, Dolours) Church. Women with sleeveless dresses were sent away from the Communion railing without the host and the ones without veils or scarves on their heads were publicly berated. Khomeini must have learnt his state-craft from the Sonapur priests.

But these same priests  did not bother the men folk. These they considered to be without redemption. As soon as the priest stepped to the pulpit to start the preaching, the men made off to C. D'Souza's next door for coffee and cigarettes. What they didn't hear, they didn't care about.

The vicar even attempted to put a loudspeaker inside C D'Souza's so as to disturb all conversation there during sermon time, but that only resulted in coffee-talk rising many decibels higher. Eventually their volumes outdid the loudspeaker, permeated the church and disturbed the semonizing priest himself. The vicar conceded defeat and removed the loudspeaker.

Religious feast processions winding through the streets of Dhobitalao were very unruly. There would be a massive crowd of people setting out from the church but as each Aunty's speakeasy was passed along the way, the numbers of men would get less and less until at the door of the church on returning, the only males in the procession were either below fifteen or those banned from their favorite Aunty's bars due to non-payment or the very frail who wanted nothing but peace with their God whom they were due to meet soon.

The boys and girls of Dhobitalao were indoctrinated in the value of education by their parents, whether they went to the nearby Jesuit school of St Xavier's or to Little Flower, St Sebastian, St Thresa's or Dolours. They might have had no place to study except under the dim lights of the passageways or during late nights with their parents' snores for company, but they learned their lessons well. Here in Toronto, there are many of those once-Dhobitalao-youngsters. They are 'solid buggers' now and their children go for the best higher education there is in Canada.

When my children were young kids growing up in Canada, we told them to eat their vegetables and not leave them. My wife used to  tell them, "Think of the starving children in India and finish the dinner."  And now they tell their children, "Finish your homework. Think of the children in India who would make you starve if you don't!"



~ Author unknown

Summer Thoughts .....

This is one time of the year, when the weather really gets to you, the sweltering heat of the sun constantly draining you out, can really be a dampener, quite literally as you are left most of the times drenched in sweat. And all you want to do is get into a place (read: shade or maybe an air-conditioned room) which will probably give you some respite, or maybe drink up some thing chilled to cool you down.

But a little closer look at this so called summer time, and you know that the summers are kind of necessary, for it is during this time that nature is in action, evaporating water which will then pour down as rains... And talk about rains don't we all love em... The cooling water, the pitter-patter, the smell of mud... ah the sweet sound of rains drops...,  and now, coming back to the summers, if it weren't for the summers how would we have the rains, or else how would we know the value of a winter.

Perhaps life too draws out parallels from nature, so many times we find ourselves into situations where we just find ourselves trapped and drenched without solutions, and in times like these all we want is some instant relief similar to the ones we want in summer (Read: Air-conditioning or a chilled beverage). Many a times, all we contemplate in those moments, are perhaps escape routes to our situations and somehow we fail to see, what this situation is bringing out of us, we fail to realize that this test of time will only make us stronger than what we were before, we don't understand that, the lesson we learn, will eventually pour down as wisdom at a different time. Every time you feel a summer like situation in your life think about how good or different the season in your life was a few months back or how good and different will it be a few months from now 

So the next time you feel that incessant need to escape because your life's season is going through its summer remember that: 

There's reason for every season and there is season for every reason 

All you gotta do, is make the most of every season without any particular reason

And that's when you"ll know, love and enjoy every season anew

perhaps because of reasons best known to you...

Happy Summer Time!!!