3 States

Wait, is this about 2 states, the movie ? I haven't watched it yet, No spoilers please 

Umm, Yes. But this is not exactly a film review. The account is personal & generic and does not give the finer plot details away. 

So, where has this 3rd state come from? Is it a gimmick?

Yes and No. Being a marketer, I could not help but have a flashy, perhaps gimmicky title to capture your attention. In advertising parlance, we call this 'Leaning in' and in consumer behavior lexicon, it is called 'Peripheral route to persuasion'.

Now that I am leaned in, are you risking a lean out with all the gyaan ? 

I hope not. Please bear with me a little more, Read on - I hope you will find this a paisa-vasool read (OK, enough of being a marketer - time to wear my writer hat)

I know I am living perilously close to being labeled as a self-styled city guru who loves to deliver sermons on City dwellers/ folks / manoos. But the movie that propelled me to pen this piece had such strong references to contrasts between folks from 2 cities (Actually states) that the City Subject Matter Expert in me could barely lie low. I had myself trawling through my travel bag for a pen to jot down a few things during the interval.

On a more serious note, I am a travel enthusiast. Apart from giving one generous breaks from general monotony of our impossible work lives - Travel also gives one the chance to meet and to get to know people better. I like to make 'people' observations, draw opinions, challenge stereotypes and put reasons to behavior. 

Set in Ahmedabad, apart from Chennai & Delhi of course - 2 States is an endearing narrative of love between two individuals from two different cultures, trying hard to get their families to love each other (Typical Bollywood plot, what’s remarkable here?) 

What is remarkable is the sincere storytelling and some stupendous albeit exaggerated portrayal by the cast . The plot is anybody's guess but there is never a dull moment in the movie making one wanting to throw away the popcorn and leave the cool and comfortable environs of the movie hall. 

What also stands out quite 'remarkably' is the hyperbole that the director has utilized, perhaps exploited to paint out a stark contrast.

The director borrows a few North-South stereotypes, which appear a bit too amplified at a few places,  and are accentuated by generous dosages of humor to make a few points.

I am not perfectly at peace with this hyperbole and would perhaps like to set the record straight :)

A Delhi boy, through my life, I have had to battle out a few stereotypes all these years. 

The movie does not make things any easier for Delhi folks. In fact it lands a few powerful blows to the Delhi-Punju combination. Amrita Singh plays her role with such aplomb and intensity that she single-handedly manages to bruise quite a few Delhi-Punjus.

Yes, Punjus enjoy being pompous sometimes - but not at the cost of steamrolling someone's self-esteem. I think Punjus are generally large hearted and like to get along well with people - their backgrounds being of little consequence. 

Yes, Punju weddings are lavish and extravagant affairs - but not all weigh the worth of a wedding in terms of the cash burnt or gold exchanged. Weddings are memorable affairs, as with any other culture, and probably the only way Punjus know to attach enough importance to these is by making them lavish & extravagant. 

Yes, a lot of Punjus like to be loud and often boisterous - but does that make them lack sophistication ?

Yes, a lot of Punjus like stuff that’s flashy and bright - but that does not mean they lack taste.

No, Punjus do not look down upon vegetarians - A lot of us are vegetarian ourselves :)

No, Punjus do not always expect to get big gifts and bigger cars during weddings - any modern, self-respecting boy would love to buy those on his own. I have never seen a mid wedding melodrama because the groom's family found the arrangements not matching their expectations. Why paint Delhi boys in such bad light ?

And no, Boys are not valuated in terms of dowry they can command. Educated and well to do families frown upon such such conversations. 

No, we are not obsessed with fair skin tones. Delhi summers are quite unforgiving :)

Yes, a lot of Punjus are diplomatic, and would sugar coat what they say - but that does not mean they mean to cheat or back stab.

The movie maker's description of the quintessential Tamil Brahman is quite well balanced, at least in comparison to the picture he paints for Punjus. 

Strict, disciplined,refined,frank and straightforward simpletons - I think that sums it up. There are a few stereotypes used and I think my friends from down south can help quash those.

Hang on - You mentioned 3 states, so it was a gimmick after all - I should have known, Never trust these marketers I say.

Having been to Jaipur a few times now - I had heard enough about Rajmandir that had me longing to catch a movie here. I Walked in with my dad, who had last watched Sholay here in his college days, to catch 2 States.

Rajmandir is the quintessential single screen theater that brings back memories of the first movies we ever watched at movie halls. 

Dreamy eyed, full of anticipation, I walked in to a large waiting area that promises to take you a decade or two back. Majestic Chandeliers,typical 70s designs on the walls, and the generous splash of pastels from the Eastman color palette made the expansive waiting area look similar to a ball room from a 70s movies set (the types where the actresses' father invited the rich and famous of the city for a party - including the odd expat). I couldn't help but notice the number of foreign tourists who had turned up to catch a movie here.

And as the lights lit up, I half expected a Shashi Kapoor to break into an impromptu melody,the sorts Bollywood actors sang in 70s in similar set ups as soon as the pretty actress walked in.

The auditorium is a different world in itself. I cannot recall having been to a movie hall where as many as 1000 people can sit together to enjoy a movie, with unobstructed and clear views from every corner.

With red lights glowing from behind intricate plaster of paris designs on the walls - the world did look surreal & very Bollywood like. (The tone of red I thought was a tad bit similar to the red used to light up Shakaal's den in the movie Shaan ;))

The red curtain on the screen lifted with grace, promising to immerse the audiences into what was to be an experience of a lifetime. 

I wouldn't be totally honest if I do not mention that the Delhi-waala in me, somewhat in love with the plastic lives we lead, found it difficult to adjust to the atmosphere in a Single Screen Non Delhi/Non Mumbai theater.

It was as if I found my self image at loggerheads with what I had decided to indulge in. The audience was loud, never missing a moment to whistle or hoot - making me a little uncomfortable.

As the movie pulled along, the cheering became louder and accentuated several defining moments in the film - one such moment being when Ananya's mom bowled over the audience with her SP Balasubramaniam & Kaho na Pyar Hai medley. I think the moment had a part to play in the overall plot, wouldn't dwell on it more in the interest of those who haven't watched the movie yet.

There are several such defining moments in the movie which get suitably interjected, or rather complimented by roars from the audience - almost as if the audience was wanting to get up on its feet and deliver a thunderous applause. I am a bit of a movie buff - But never in my life have I seen movie goers enjoy the little gems in the movie such unabashedly. 

As and when a tear or two swelled in the audience's eyes, ready to roll down the cheeks - the moment was brought alive, and the emotion magnified by the ever so familiar unabashed hooting - which suddenly was not beginning to seem cheap anymore.I was beginning to shed the illusional self image, and had started to enjoy the claps, the cheering and the whistles. 

The stiff upper lip of a Delhi waala was slowly beginning to complement the lower lip, which was now effortlessly stretching from one ear to another. 

But what made this movie watching experience so different ? 

I gave it some thought. I have never seen such unrestrained display of enjoyment. Purity of emotions , not weighed down by the burden of managing any perceptions defined the 

crowd in the movie hall that day. I think, this has a lot to do with the character of the city. Having been to the city several times, I find Jaipur dwellers unbridled, unshackled, unadulterated and immensely expressive - not scared for a moment to showcase their original selves. Perhaps there are no two sets of 'images' they maintain. 

  

Edit: Dad just got a call from a local Jaipur resident who helped us arrange for cab at midnight, to check if the cab arrived on time and if we got onto our Volvo. We had never met him before, and he wasn't a travel agent or something. Just another ordinary resident we happened to me on the street while having a post dinner stroll. How cool is that ?  Wonder how many of us would go out of our way to help strangers out, and then bother to check the next morning. This for me sums Jaipur up.

Metro dwellers, and particularly those in Delhi find themselves ensnared in perception management, carefully building and protecting layers around their true selves every single day, not allowing themselves to enjoy life enough.

Brickbats and bouquets welcome. 

Delhi, I had known

Last week, whiling away time on the internet, I stumbled upon something interesting. It was a blog post that I had written almost 5 years back. Drowned in a cocktail of emotions, I sifted through what I had written as a twenty one year old. This rendezvous with the past self was both embarrassing and thought provoking. Embarrassing because the 'twenty-something' who had once wanted to write, has lost interest and perhaps also the skill to write in these 5 years. Thought provoking because a couple of pieces I had written about Delhi & Mumbai had me at loggerheads with what I now think.

I hope to make amends. I hope to write more frequently from here on. And what better way to start than to revisit the pieces I had written about Delhi with a fresh lens.

On a sultry May evening, driving back from work, perhaps a little lost in recollecting what had happened at an office meeting, I was a little late to press the brake pedal at a traffic signal. Traffic these days in Delhi is unforgiving, and the slightest mistake on roads could have you cringing for days. What followed was eyeopening - quite literally. The sudden braking did shake me out of what I had been thinking, and what ensued shook me out of what I thought of Delhi. 

My car managed to stop just in time, or so I now think, as major damage to the white sedan that waited ahead was averted. I would be dishonest if I do not admit that my car had actually touched the car in front. I stepped out, so did the tall bouncer like figure from the white car. Reassured that there was no damage done, I tendered an immediate apology. Even if there had been any damage, I was prepared to make good for it. These days the word sorry perhaps has lost relevance. The bouncer like figure was furious, and was quick to dismiss the apology I had tendered. "What good is your sorry", he questioned with a crude overtone, in a manner that betrayed impatience, intolerance and angst people in Delhi have been harboring off late. The one-sided charge, which could have been the 'popular Delhi traffic light brawl', was cut short by the signal turning green and incessant honking by cars that had queued up behind ours. 

On yet another traffic stricken evening, and this time in pleasant February, I found myself in a similar situation - except that this time my car was at the receiving end. Rolling down the Rao Tula Ram flyover, which at best is fit to be only a foot over-bridge, my car was bumped into by another car from behind. I was furious for a few seconds - got off the car promising myself to stay cool. The damage was minimal and the lady in the other car offered an apology. I accepted the apology, perhaps with a little grudge, and chose to move on. 

Whats making the Delhiwaalahs live on a short fuse ? Why are people in Delhi getting increasingly intolerant of fellow city dwellers, unwilling to accommodate, and accept honest admissions ? Is this the "Dilwalon Ki Dilli" that I had known ?

P.S : You can still consider me as a fairly safe driver, ignoring the 'exceptional' incidents narrated above :)

To be continued...

Arnav had almost started to believe that he was destined to travel to one obscure corner of Delhi (read Bawana) for his Engineering Education until “that” happened. I have this fetish for using the word “that”. Now this “that” is not “that”. The actual “that” will come much later. “That” apart, let’s move on with the story.

One late October evening, while Arnav was busy preparing for a dreadful Engineering Drawing exam scheduled the next morning, a phone call from a friend made his day or rather evening. The day had already been lost in Pursuit of Engineering Designs and Drawings. Without wasting a minute more, leaving the “Isometric Projections” chapter unfinished; Arnav reached out for his car keys. No, Arnav was not going out for a drive after a long drawn battle with drafters , dividers and scales amongst other instruments; Exactly a kilometre and 200 metres away, Arnav’s fate had been put up on a rickety dusty notice board. In no time, Arnav was at NSIT, searching for the notice board. The final admissions list had been put up and Arnav had been upgraded to a course at NSIT. Arnav was now one among Netaji’s boys. “Wow”, Arnav said aloud – The idea of not having to travel the entire length of Delhi, each day for the next 4 years of his life, in the ever crowded Bahari Mudrikas made Arnav feel ecstatic.

Arnav engineered plans and drew and sketched dreams all night, and the book on engineering graphics was not read further. The unfinished chapter on Isometric Projections did haunt him the next day, but Arnav had just been too happy to worry about materialistic pursuits of the like of examination score.

The next 3.5 years were to be life changing.

To be continued...

The Road Ahead

Love this picture...The Road Ahead

If only....

This is what I wrote for a Blog Series started by livemint.com , published Dec 7 2008

If I were the PM ,I would

Enact a law to extend the voting right to only those who can read and write. For how long can a country's future be decided by those who can't even write their names? This can go a long way in promoting literacy. I would make free elementary education available to all.

Make graduation a minimum qualification for seeking election to the parliament and state legislatures. I would put higher educational standards in place for those seeking ministerial berths.

Put a blanket ban on all foreign trips by politicians and bureaucrats. Its time that India puts some austerity measures in place. I would allow foreign trips only in cases such as UN general assembly meetings, SAARC summits etc.

Take to task all politicians who have made umpteen foreign trips in the garb of attending conferences and meetings on terrorism. I would seek a detailed explanation as to what the country has so far achieved by such foreign trips.

Remove all special privileges extended to politicians.Its time that politicians realize that they are public servants and not public masters.

Make salary drawn by lawmakers a direct function of their attendance at Parliament.
Move a law to disqualify political parties trying to push caste, region and religion based policies.

Enact a law to empower people to bring down an under performing government by means of a referendum.

Re Introduce laws like POTA to effectively combat modern problems of terrorism.



If only.....

"Arranged Love"

Having received enough brickbats for the unsolicited city gyan, I thought I must switch streams. Also, the season of flying footwear that this has been, I decided that I need to be a little careful with my choice of topics. So here is the change, however a disclaimer first: People who know me well should not read between the lines too much :p.

I had been toying with this idea for quite some time until this funny facebook quiz happened. The quiz finally pushed me to go ahead with the idea. The quiz promises to predict if one is destined for a love or arrange marriage, needless to mention that the quiz has been an instant hit. Facebook quizzes have been notorious about the random results they throw up; however this one’s outcome is reason enough to believe or rather hope that it comes true.

Can love actually be arranged? I am sure that my readers are no strangers to this topic, after all Bollywood has churned out a zillion movies on the subject and has made each one of us a bit of an expert.

As things here in India have been, a marriage is first a union of two families and then a union of two souls. Arranged marriages have pretty much been the norm here and have astonishingly been very successful. I wonder how 2 young adults, in a matter of a few meetings, decide to spend the rest of their lives together. Or in fact how can two families quickly conclude that the boy and the girl are “made for each other”. Is it not too much of a gamble? What if the relationship fails to click, what if the two individuals are two opposite poles? It seems that we Indians have mastered the art of making adjustments and arrangements.
The statistics are certainly skewed in flavor of successful arranged marriages, however I still wonder Can Love Actually Be Arranged?

Yeh Dilli Hai Meri Jaan

It is nothing but mere coincidence that my third blog post also deals with Life and times of a mega Indian city. I might sound living perilously close to be labeled as an “obsessed self styled analyst of cities”-But my home of 21 years , New Delhi ,certainly deserves this blog post.

I am no City Guru, I am an avid traveler and this post is an attempt to amalgamate my varied experiences.

I have vivid memories of a Grade 6 social studies class where the teacher talked at length about Delhi being “Mini India”. To an unwilling, uninterested student Mini India obviously didn’t make much sense. All of 11, I just managed to grasp the crux of the matter – That the topic was an important one and a question could appear in the examination. The question did appear in the exam later that year and for my own good it’s important that I do not disclose how I fared in that exam. I would like to set the record straight now.

The student in question (Moi) has not changed a lot since then. Much of my undergraduate studies have been very very “question” oriented. Just that, on the verge of graduation (Which hopefully should happen this year.. :)) , I have a better understanding of “Mini India”.

A quick look at Delhi’s demographics will tell you that Delhi has people drawn from all corners of the country. There are in fact very few people who “originally” belong to Delhi, most trace their roots to distant and diverse areas of India. When people from such varied backgrounds blend together, it gives the city a very unique character .Languages and dialects spoken in Delhi are equally interesting. Delhi’s Hindi changes fairly quickly..In a span of few kilometers. Try hitching a ride on a Delhi Bus and you shall know this soon. The dialect these Buswallahs speak is hilarious (No offences intended) and interesting .My NSIT batch mates with years of 764 experience would know this better.

Delhi’s architecture is an interesting blend of structures from different periods and cultures. The Mughal structures in old Delhi lend the city its Grand Royal look.
Lutyen’s Delhi, on the other hand is imperial legacy. The lush green environs of the ridge make Delhi one of the greenest capital cities in the world. CP’s majestic skyline can give any modern city a run for its money. The modern structures coming up in the suburbs are the face of a young nation’s quest for growth and development. This amalgamation of the old and the new makes Delhi special. I wonder why Delhi hasn’t still caught the fancy of filmmakers, the way Mumbai has. I remember having watched a couple of 1970s movies shot in Delhi and the city looks gorgeous.

Delhi’s climate has it all too. My little knowledge of geography tells me that, 28 Degrees 35’ north of equator, away from the moderating effect of sea, Delhi enjoys continental climate. That essentially means that we Delhiwallahs get to enjoy all 4 seasons. The scorching summer followed by soothing monsoons and eventually ‘Dilli ki sardi’are seasons to savour. We people spent a few late December nights under the sky while working on a project and that was when I got the real taste of Dilli Ki Sardi.

Delhi is a foodie’s ultimate dream city. Authentic Indian Cuisine to Videshi stuff –Delhi has it all. Eateries in Chandni Chowk have built global reputation for themselves. I personally enjoy the South Indian food that I get here in Delhi (God Talk of food.. I am already hungry. I must wrap this up early). South Indian food lovers like me may want to try stuff served at 2 famous joints in Sector 2 & 12 RK Puram.

Delhi is a little India in itself with a distinct image and a distinct character. Delhi truly mirrors the vast diversity of India.