Literary Carnival ’13 at Mehboob Studio

What pleased me the most about this 3-days-Literary Carnival was that it was happening in my side of the city at Bandra and it was just an auto ride away from my house but the sad part was that I was busy with other appointments and was able to attend only a fraction of this event. But, whatever event I attended was very satisfying to my mind and soul.

This year, the theme revolved around ‘Romance, Love and Violence’ and most of the panel discussions were inextricably linked to these topics.

There were writers, poets, serious thinkers, students, the ambience was fully charged. Large open space occupied the center stage that was surrounded by food kiosks, bookstore and different venues. Those who sat in this open space socialized discussing books and their area of interests, a big serpentine queue waited patiently to get the autographed copy of their favorite writers and those who grabbed a snack or drink kept their attention focused on which event to attend next. The four venues (Adhitya Birla Hall, Yes Bank Hall, Lodha Hall, HDFC Home Loans Lawns) were few steps away from each other and it was easy to move in and out of venues and try to absorb all the conversations. Two big screens and clear audio system at every location made it possible to pay attention even from a distance.

Day one of Literary Carnival ’13, I sat in the open lawn to take part in a workshop on ‘How to attract eye-balls on the story’ It was an hour session during which Indira Chandrashekar of ‘Out Of Print’ brought to our attention that the opening paragraphs of a short story should be powerful enough to arouse an interest of the reader. "There should be the element of curiosity" she said. She read an opening paragraph from a book ‘Too Much Happiness’ by Alice Munro and participants were asked to analyze the story. During the second segment of the session, she read an opening paragraph from her own story ‘She Can Sing’ and participants were asked to create a follow up and write a story.  Listening to the different perspective to the same opening paragraph of the story was very enlightening.

The session at ‘Yes Bank Hall’ on ‘If Food Be The Music Of Love’ was an enlightening one. We were given a box of chocolates, asked to eat one and share the emotion connected with it. Chocolate creates much pleasure on our moods. The session went on to discuss the different kinds of foods and its’ aphoristic effect on our emotions. Some Hollywood filmstrips were also shown where food plays the important part in producing sensuality. The sex associated with different fruits and spices was discussed. I realized, I was attending the session on sex and sensuality when I had thought I would learn some tricks on how to write on food literature…but it was an interesting session and I start to look at food with different approach… Madhu Jain, Managing editor of IQ, moderated the session with Prabeen Singh, food columnist, Pushpesh Pant, author of many cookbooks, and Fantasie Fine Chocolate entrepreneur Zeba Kohli as the guests..

'At Lodha Hall', I attended two sessions in a row: History and Fiction, ‘Blurring the lines’ and ‘How many liberties can a biographer take?’ It was interesting to hear the experiences of the historians and how they dealt with sensitive topics, especially of the living person and how much liberties can one take while writing fiction in real cities. A lot of research is required to get the facts right and one may even have to go to live in that city for months to understand the history of that city.

While the day was spend attending panel discussions of well-known authors or attending some literary workshops, evening was magical at Literature Carnival in Bandra. The music dominated the attention of every person at the open-air lawn, all mesmerized by sounds of sitar strings that were interspersed with the poetry of Hafeez and other Sufi mystics. Many people were busy with their mobiles checking their email or chatting on Watsapp, but their feet moved to the rhythm of the music that floated easily in the air....

The event was very well organized with volunteer fully in control working to their best of their efficiency. I think Mehboob studio is the perfect venue to hold such kind of events.

Sweet Memories Of Sugarcane Juice

Technology has advanced so much that the sugarcane juice is ready in seconds. The person just inserts the sugarcane into the machine, adds ginger and lime, and waits not more than 20 seconds for the machine to do the magic.

But it was not always so. During my teens I remember the man moving the handle of the iron wheel in a circle motions, using his strength to crush the cane between the wheels. He used lot of effort as he folded the cane several times to squeeze out the juice to the last drop.

Recently, in the rural areas, just on the outskirts of Mumbai, I came across this blue and red color cart. Approaching closer, I realized that it was cart carefully designed to squeeze out the sugarcane juice. Now I had never seen this kind of sugarcane juice extraction machine anytime before, so, naturally I was curious.

I requested a glass of cane sugar juice for me. She called her son to help her. While she inserted the cane between the two round wheels, her son came and held on to the long rod attached to the axle at the center of the cart. He walked around the cart, moving the long rod in the circular path around the cart. The sweet juice was extracted from the hard wood leaving behind the tasteless wad of pulp.

I was amazed to see the machine that used only the manual power. There was no electricity consumptions, no noise, it was easy to move and had high efficiency. Beside, it was a good exercise machine where a person moved for a cause. He walked in circles and the result was sweet!!!

For those of you wondering ... sugarcane juice is the national drink of India with a very long history. In those hot summer days, when soft drinks were unknown, and fruit juices were too expensive, available only to the elites, common man found respite from the scorching sun with a fresh glass of sugarcane juice with a little zest of lime, ginger and dry tangy spice.

It was enjoyable then, it is enjoyable even now.....

Redevelopment - 2

The deafening sound of the grilling machine under my window pierced through my deep sleep. 

I woke up with a start. Gently I lifted the curtain to peep down. Muddy water had replaced the four beautiful tiles of my building compound. 

“They are digging a bore well” I told S. 

“Shut the window.” she said. 

“No, I need to hear these sounds and would like to see how deep have my roots buried down under that soil since last 30 years.” 

Redevelopment 1

For five long years I have waited patiently for things to move. Many discussions, promises, agreements, disagreement, and friends nodding their head to tell me that paper work takes lots of time. 

I wait. 

Today, a gigantic machine parks under my window for soil testing, bore-well testing, pre-construction testing, it seems like a devil to me. 

I go to caress each wall of my house. It won’t be easy to see it crumble when it has given me so much happiness and security under its roof for so many years. 

The vibrations inside my house take a deep sigh.

Garachico – A picturesque suburb of Tenerife

Each time I come to Tenerife, this quaint little town, Garachico fascinates me.

I have blogged about this town several times.

Last year I made a general comment on castle ‘San Miguel Castle’

“Garachico was once a port where ships anchored but this port was completely destroyed during the volcanic eruption. However the castle with the stone doorway of ‘San Miguel Castle’ still stands there at the end of the promenade. This is the finest building, a 16^th century stronghold belonging to the Count of Gomera’ that survived a volcanic eruption in 1706 unscathed.”

Last week, I visited again and decided to walk inside the castle (which is now a small museum) to see the interiors of this stone structure. It was like entering a cave. It has windows on all sides. A big iron canon (with a thick layer of rust) stands in one corner, with its mouth jutting out of the tiny window. I could imagine the guards protecting their village in that era. There was a winding stoned steps leading up to the terrace of the castle. The view from the top was spectacular. Clean fresh breeze blowing over the vast sea and natural pools at the shores. On the other side of the castle lay a flowered lined motorway leading towards the by-lanes of the village.

I walked to the town square. People were in festive mood celebrating the annual festival ‘San Roque’. Every August, during the second week of the month, this village is glittered with music, dance and street market. There is no place to park. There were many people walking instead, their hips swaying slightly as they walk in a rhythm to the loud street music played at every food stall. The fragrance of freshly baked bread, pastries, cheese and roasted meat fill the air.

Farmers and artists display their products and handicraft stuff in their balconies and windows facing the road. There is procession during this festival, where people are dressed in their traditional clothes. They sing traditional songs, play the music on guitar and ‘Timple’. They bring along their farm products and their animals too and the prayers are offered to their deities.

What is interesting about is this village is the main square- ‘Plaza Juan Gonzalez de la Torre’. Numerous small red fishes swim in the small pond surrounding the fountain at the center of the plaza. There are wooden benches scattered all over the place where people gather in the evening for a friendly chitchat.

A big iron gate on one side of the plaza caught my attention. On the side of this huge gate is a plaque. I went up to read the plaque placed on a barbed gate

Behind the gate, there are stone steps leading down to the beautiful botanical garden called ‘Parque de la Puerta de Tierra’

The valley has been converted into a beautiful garden with neatly manicured trees. I wish they had installed some railings for support during climbing up the stairs. There were too many steps to climb and one needs stamina to enjoy solitude of this place. But it was very peaceful and picturesque.

I am never tired of visiting this place. There is so much to do, if nothing else, just go fishing? Yes, I blogged about that too…

“First thing that caught my attention were the rows and rows of boats parked side by side at ferry wharf. Creatively painted with bright colors and designs, they were a welcomed distraction.”

Modern civilization has not yet touched this rural suburb. There are no tall buildings or any fancy malls. This is a beautiful village with cobbled streets, centuries old stone buildings, tradition and culture retained and some of those quaint houses with beautiful patios, now converted into rural hotels. Here people can spend few days, away from hustle and bustle of the society, close to the nature, transported into the 18^th century…..