Sathvaro Radhe Shyam No - Gujarati musical par excellence

i just came back after watching this musical. Every time i start writing immediately after the show means that the piece of art i just witnessed was exceptional and i just cannot wait to express it and let the world know about it.

Pa wanted to watch it and i was a little skeptical as it was devotional and stuff. But Pa was so right in telling me that it is simply superb. We watched it at the Iskcon auditorium of Juhu, Mumbai.

It is a representation of Lord Krishna's life, and more so, divine love life. His life too is not covered in chronological order, in fact, it does not cover all the events. But if you don't know about Lord Krishna, then you get a fairly good idea about Him. The way i looked at it, they just take an example of Kanhaji to show how life can be full of celebrations.

There was a narrator who did all the talking. 2 lead singers and 2 others to back them up, a whole team of musicians playing different instruments with perfection and the actors, actresses who expressed and performed dances so beautifully.

The songs, performances and artistic creations were created so exquisitely, that you just cannot help but get mesmerised. The choreography was almost godlike. There was nothing differently difficult in it but the way it was presented and put together was fantastic.
Spring in the artists' body and exuberance in every step....just describes what awesomeness is.

Right from baby Krishna to peacocks and idols, the artists personified them all perfectly. Special mention here about the last formation, the poornaswaroop of Krishna Bhagwan, it was just out of this world. Pa thought it was made up, but there was a living man standing there without moving even an inch.

Hats off to the artists for performing such pleasing steps, poses and expressions with so much ease and enthusiasm. From the stage, sometimes entering from the audience's gate, all they did was marvellous. And they keep adding other songs and dances into it. They performed one song without any visual representation, like dancing or else.

The director, who is also the writer of this Musical has to be honoured with a standing ovation. i didn't do it there, but he truly and completely deserves it. He gave up his cushioned job to make this one, and it is every bit applaudable.

This play is something that makes even the most unenthusiastic being cheer up. So colourful, so breathtakingly gorgeous, you just cannot take your thoughts off it. At the end of it all, you also start chanting Radhe-Radhe. You are sure to stay full of life for atleast a few days after watching this one.

Even if you are not Lord Krishna's bhakt, i recommend watching this musical. And if you cannot understand the Gujarati language, just enjoy the grandeur of dance and music, in one of its best form!

Brilliant!

Eleven Minutes........of immense praise!

Just finished another one by this great writer Paulo Coelho. Yea....i just can't get enough of him.

Eleven Minutes is about sex, love, companionship, adventure.
It is the story of a prostitute. But aa...don't make assumptions just as yet. This book doesn't exploit or victimise or sympathise with this much-hyped and sensationalised profession.

It is the story of a countryside girl, Maria, who on stepping beyond the boundaries of her village, finds her destiny. A destiny she chooses. There is no pressure on her to take the path she chooses. i liked the part where she says, who says you don't have a choice. You choose this profession, not the other way around. Clearly, it is not fate that leads her to the dark alleys of Rue De Berne.

She reveals the inner thinking of a sex-worker in a very dignified and as-is way. No drama, no emotional disturbance. In fact, she takes it up to experience some adventure in her life, without being frivolous about it. The respect and professionalism (not falling in love with her clients) she attaches to her work is amazing and compels you to think prostitution as just another job where the product you sell is your own body.
Many myths of sex, climax for one, are busted. :-)

Equally outstanding is the definition of love made in this book. i can't help but produce an excerpt here - Love is not to be found in someone else, but in ourselves; we simply awaken it. But in order to do that, we need the other person. The universe only makes sense when we have someone to share our feelings with. i think it demystifies love in the best form i have read so far.

Maria's quest for love is so actual. The way she goes about finding it is heartwarming. An interesting and completely different aspect of love and suffering is brought forth in this book. The fact that men don't really have an overpowering sexual urge, it actually is a notion that they are obliged to carry forward, is a revelation. And in true Paulo Coelho style, there are engrossing stories and legends that are shared. If nothing they open up a very different perspective, you'd never imagined.

i was stunned by the beautiful concept of gifting (specially for your life partner)i found in here. Just read it - Instead of buying something that you would like to have, i'm giving you something that is mine, truly mine. A gift. A sign of respect for the person before me, asking him to understand how important it is to be by his side. Now he has a small part of me with him, which i gave him with my free, spontaneous will.

All the small details, characterisations, settings, technicalities, they are all perfect. Maria's notes in her personal diary are fantastic. Another small excerpt i really like is - It was going to be impossible to escape her own trap, she would lose this man without ever really having him.

The male characters Ralf Hart and Terence among the many others are befitting too. Maria plunging into the uneven and unpredictable road to love holding on to her secure and practical dream of a farm and the works is brilliance personified.

i like happy endings. And in this book, i specially liked the end. It would have been easier to give it an ending otherwise, spiced up by martyrdom, justifiably so too. Actually the beauty lies in the fact that till the very end you don't know whether it is going to be happy or not. The end or maybe a beginning is very film-like and dream-like, like every girl wants it to be.

... i can go on and on about it.
Beautiful and pure is what it sums up to, if it has to be summed up.

The Winner Stands Alone.......absolutely!

Paulo Coelho can appeal to all audiences. This book, like his all others, proves it again. It has the Paulo Coelho signature style but it is so very different. i had read the first few chapters on Paulo's blog and i just could not wait for the book to release in India.

If this is the first book you are reading from this spiritually inclined author's dignified works, you wouldn't believe that he is the same one who has written a book about realising dreams, the masterpiece The Alchemist.

The research undertaken and the elaborate description of the subject matter for this fictional piece is amazing. The intricate details of the rarified murder techniques require intelligence way beyond google searches.

Igor's character is very well-etched. His unflinching acts without any guilt are too intriguing. Of course, the last scene is impeccable. I was present there on the beach...wow.

The way the characters merge into each other's stories is just too intelligent and plausible. Jut when you see one particular character coming to a happy ending, the twist surfaces and your emotions get worked up like the waves of a ocean.

An outside and inside view of the prestigious Cannes festival make you ask for more. It is superb, to say the least.

And i bought this full volume of Paulo Coelho's books available in a consolidated package, after reading this one.