Oye! Lucky! Lucky! Oye!

No, This post is not about the movie or its inspiration.
It is about how I feel each time I cross someone who makes me feel lucky that I am not in his/her shoes.

Everyday when I climb the steps of the Kanjurmarg Station, I wish that beggar-woman, with a child in bandages, on the staircase would just vanish and her wails would just die out. Even as I stand at the platform waiting for my train, my ears can hear her cries as a distant din. I try to ignore it and pretend as if I am deaf. I am relieved that I haven't seen her in the past few days. I don't know what has happened to her. Hope it's something good.

When I reach Dadar, there inevitably is another beggar, a crippled one, sitting right in between the crowded foot-over-bridge. Sometimes I drop in change to him.

Day-in-and-day-out I see fellow commuters with some disability or the other. Who knows how many people out there in the world are sufferening - silently going on with their routine.

Then, comes the thought of those living on daily wages or doing all sort of obscure jobs for a living.

These sights and thoughts make me feel so blessed and lucky and I often say a small prayer to the good Lord watching us from up above - for the well being of the under privledged and for giving me such a beautiful life.

I feel blessed to have a family, a home, friends, good education, a respectable job (not that others' aren't) and an easy life.

And it makes all those other complaints of being underpaid and over worked just vanish.

Travails of travelling

You know that you are a regular Mumbai Local Train Commuter when:
1) You start recognizing other commuters
2) You start ignoring that ailing beggar whom you see daily on the stairs
3) You have the timetable stored on your phone memory
4) Your facebook status message is the latest railway announcement
5) You feel sad and disturbed (and yet you don't help) when you see a handicapped person travelling all by herself. And, you thank the Lord for what he has given you.
6) You know what 'jalad' means
7) You look out of the window to have a quick glance at the ruins of an old factory your train crosses-by daily
8) You are not flustered by the oily heads and sweaty hands. OK! Sometimes you ARE!
9) You carry a deodorant and a comb with you.
10) You know how to push yourself in and out a train with ease. Yeah Yeah, I know. Not Always!
11) You become apathetic to people around you.
12) You know where the First Class bogey will halt.
13) You know the train route by heart.
14) You have developed the skill to sleep while standing
15) You start tapping your feet to the tunes of a crappy 90's Bollywood number being played on someone's cell phone.
16) You have witnessed at least one cat-fight between the commuters in each week of your travel.
17) You know to which side the next station's platform will be
18) You have a monthly or a quarterly season ticket.
19) You start preferring a train over a more comfortable taxi ride in the peak hour.
20) You can recognise the face of the vendor selling 'pass covers' and ball pens outside the station.

Musicals

Though I generally like all movies I watch, there are some musicals that are my favourite and I think I can watch them over and over again.

My Fair Lady - The movie, based on GB Shaw's Pygmalion is a visual and aural treat. Audrey Hepburn is phenomenal as Eliza Doolittle and so is Reg Livermore as Professor Henry Higgins. I just love the song 'I could have danced all night' and the use of alliteration such as 'The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain'. Other songs such as 'Just you wait Henry Higgins, just you wait' is equally witty.

Manpasand - Closer home, our own Bollywood has made a remake of My Fair Lady starring Tina Munim and Dev Anand. This movie also has an amazing sound track with songs like 'charu chandra ki chanchal chitwan' that are on the lines of use of alliteration in the English version and the title song 'pankh bina udoo' which is the Hindi version of 'I could have danced all night'.

Thoda Sa Rumani Ho Jayein - This 1990 musical stars Anita Kanwar (of Lajoji fame from Buniyaad) and Nana Patekar. The movie compares a beautiful parallel of drought in a town to the drought in the lives of the movie's characters. Nana Patekar plays a rain seller (incidentally, many claim this movie is also a inspired by a Hollywood movie Rain Maker) who is able to get the rain back in the life of Anita Kanwar. Songs like 'Nanhi si Silu' celebrating the imending motherhood, 'main sundar hoon' celebrating moment of self realisation by Anita Kanwar, 'Do ghaton ke beech' celebrating victory over inhibitions and 'Thoda sa rumani ho jayein' celebrating victory over dismay are heart touching and leave a deep impact. Kanwar has done a class act in portraying the life of a not-so-charming-girl-nextdoors Binni Rai.

Morning Raga - Shabana Aazmi steals the show here. The movie is about Swarnalatha (played by Shabana), whos is a budding artist, who has taken to believe that she is the cause of death of her childhood friend and quits singing. The plot goes on to bring music back in Swarnlatha when her dead friend's son comes to her for a recording. Songs like 'Mahaganpati' and 'Thaye Yashoda' are a superb blend of Karnatic and Western music.

Sardari Begum - This movie is the cause of this entire post that I am writing at such an odd hour. The story which has Kiron Kher playing the main protagonist is a lovely story of a once famous thumri singer. The movie runs in a flashback after Sardari Begum dies in a minor religious tiff. What ensues is a reporter's (who also gets to know that she is the neice of Sardari Begum) further research into the life of the singer through interviews with people around Sardari. This movie would delight those who have an ear for thumri. If you ever enjoyed 'Piya tora kaisa abhimaan' from Raincoat, you would not be disappointed by songs in this movie.

Sound of Music - Julie Andrews is the show stealer. This cropped hair nun-to-be comes into the lives of a widowed naval captain's family as a governess to his children and overturns their monotonous routine. The plot is interesting with a hint at the pre-world war II Nazi era as well. 'Doe-a-deer' from this movie is the song which all of us have known since our childhoods. 'Edelweiss', 'My favourite things', 'How do we solve a problem like Maria', 'So long, farewell, auf weidersehen, good bye' are treat to one's ears.

As I write this post am reliving the experience which I have enjoyed I don't know how many times now. Though I wouldn't recommend these as a must-watch but they are an absolute treat for any 'parallel cinema' lover.

To any of you who may plan to watch any of these, just a word of caution. Do not watch these with a big group. You would end up listening more of 'uff yeh kya ho raha hai...fir ganaaaaa..nahinnn' rather than the film's musical score....