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.

Love Aaj Kal.....Angle naya hai :)

Yea.... it brings a smile on your face. And maybe a tiny tear too...

Love aaj kal is Imtiaz Ali's (Director of the superb Jab We Met) second baby. And expectations were sky-rocketed. So, the burden was heavy and honestly, it barely manages to live up to the expectations.

The first half is slow and sluggish and makes you feel restless and think, "is anything gonna happen here" But the second half is very touching and gives the movie its integrity.

Well, some people found it boring in the 2nd half. To each his own.
(And after all, its my blog :))

As the title of this post suggests, Imtiaz Ali has given the portrayal of love a new angle. With the 2 parallel stories going on in the same vein, you see the similarity between the 2 generations. Even if the styles and the expression may have changed love always was, is and will remain just that.

Talking about the director's style, it is superb and fresh. Very modern, dynamic and international. i think, i have formed a soft corner for this cool director because i have been talking and will keep talking a lot about him more than the actors, actresses and technicians.

He has retained his signature style. Punjabi songs with lots of colour in it, soulful music, 1 Punjabi number, mauja hi mauja style, Ye dooriyan taking place of Naa hain ye. i really like one thing in his songs and style, really. The positivity. Ye dooriyan and tum se hi, aaoge jab tum songs. When the situation is not very favourable currently, you think of a positive overture. Listen to these songs and you'll know what i am talking about.

Of course, the performances will be mentioned. Saif Ali Khan, hmm...okey dokey. Just because he has produced the film, he is part of it. Some one younger like Hrithik Roshan or Akshaye Khanna might have depicted it better. Nothing against him, he is a great actor, but he looks just too tired. All the responsibilities of producing the film got to him, maybe.

Deepika, i don't really like her. Not looks-wise, nor acting-wise. She is ya...there. i like the calm and serenity that she portrays when she is all alone, though.

Rishi Kapoor is very good. An actor of his calibre, of course, very convincing and sweet. Neetu Singh, in that surprise small role is so adorable. Man, she has to come back into films full-time. She can make such a sweet, mature, lovely, naughty, with substance character, all into one.

The new Brazilian girl who the world is talking about. Well, i didn't like her that much. First of all, she didn't have much to do, secondly, there was something very odd about her. The way she was dressed, the way she looked. i don't know, didn't go down well with me.

Rahul Khanna, short and sweet, nothing overtly impressive but not too silly a role also.

i liked the honesty with which the movie is presented. Many youngsters didn't like it because the way the Mango people are shown, they found it a little too far-fetched. But no, that's what i liked about it. It is bordering on reality. They have shown the inner workings of the young.

The best part to me was showing the completion of each emotion. To have live that current feeling fully.
If you want fun without any promises, it was lived fully.
If you want to separate, that was shown with full gusto by being apart in two different continents.
If you want to fulfill your career dreams, you just go for it.

i just love the reply that Deepika gives Rahul Khanna when asked why does she not tell Saif about their annulment and her love for Saif. It is so very true. She says, Saif hasn't realised yet that he also loves me. He will definitely abandon his Lion Gate dream and settle with me but then after a few years he might regret the decision and blame our love.

i think it is very important to realise it yourself. Love cannot be circumstantial.

It can be watched once, for sure. It is for people who believe in love.

A Thousand Splendid Suns.... A Thousand Time Read

This one is by Khaled Hosseini. So, the expectations were super high. Before i began reading it, a few friends said it is amazing. And as a habit, i read all the words of praise, and that added up to the expectations enormously.

Of course, it lives up to the expectations. If not better than Kite Runner, it is definitely as good.

The shared emotions of the 2 protagonists are superbly portrayed.
The story narration is beyond extraordinary.

And i didn't know that women in Afghanistan have had babies delivered without anesthesia. A C-section delivery. (Leaves you dumbfounded)

The turn where Tariq comes back alive at first sounds dramatic and filmy, but then as you go on reading, the depth comes through.

There are just too many scenarios which are worth much more than applauding.
There are scenes that just don't let you sleep at night.

It definitely is a must-read!