Sharmaji ki chai, Bajpai ki kachori, Shukla Chaat, Royal Cafe, Ram Asrey, Prakash Kulfi and Tunday Kebab may be just names for an outsider, but all the above are mandatory visits when one is in Lucknow, as important as the iconic places such as Imambara, clock tower and Rumi Gate are.

Sharmaji’s kulhad chai, served piping hot is heavenly when eaten with bun Maska ( white butter) or samosa. For Bajpai’s Kachori, served with chana aloo and salad, there was a 50 metres long queue during lunch time, but luckily my wife was with me and ladies’ separate queue was slightly more manageable. Shukla chaat starts business at 4 PM and you are lucky to savour his delicacies if you make it to his nondescript place after 7 PM. Ram Asrey made us taste a full plate of Ras malai and gilauri ( sweet wrapped in a beetle leaf) but didn’t charge a penny, saying that tasting was free! Prakash Kulfi suggested that we should opt for half portion as the full would be difficult for two of us to finish! And Tunday Kebab advised that we could do some more shopping as our order would take at least 30 minutes to be executed!

And of course, Lucknow chikan work made my wife, her sisters and friends ( who were frequently taken on video calls) go berserk! Exquisite artistry, master craftsmanship and a variety that was simply mind boggling provided us with an experience that was unique! Ada, Nazrana, Nazakat were such household names amongst the chikan work lover surprised us as virtually everyone, for whom we shopped, seemed to be aware of the above iconic chikan shops, right in the heart of Lucknow in Hazratganj.

But the icing of the cake was our stay at Taj Mahal Lucknow. Their hospitality was unmatched, food delicious and Taj personal touch making us yearn for even a longer stay. The moment we mentioned of a Lucknawi delicacy – shami kabab, galouthi kabab, Zafarani biryani – they would serve us on the table ! Ultimately, we ended up lapping up all the food at Taj and yet couldn’t resist Lucknow street food, resulting in we over eating on each of the day of our stay there at! I am seriously thinking of some fasting after returning to Mumbai.

As our trip fast approaches it’s end, the very thought of leaving all this Lucknow’s hospitality, food and above all tehzeeb behind is making us go weak in the knees! And of course, my earlier blog of life changing experience of meeting Dr Ashok and his wife combined with this makes our this Lucknow visit very very special.

More of it in my next blog!

We have all heard about doctors who prefer holistic treatment of any ailment to symptomatic treatment. Holistic treatment goes a step beyond prescribing recommended medicines to treat the ailment and tries to address the underlying cause of the ailment.

Our body’s autonomous nervous system comprises sympathetic nervous system ( located between the thoracic and lumbar regions of the spinal cord) and parasympathetic nervous system ( located between spinal cord and medulla). Sympathetic nervous system’s primary function is to stimulate body’s fight and flight response, which it does by regulating heart rate, rate of respiration, pupillary response and more. Parasympathetic Nervous system on the other hand stimulates body’s rest and digest and feed and breed response. Both of these systems have “opposite” actions where one system activates a physiological response and the other inhibits it.

When we worry ( about job security, promotion, rat race, money, assets) or have other negative thoughts ( criticism, jealousy, envy etc) it stimulates sympathetic nervous system and leads to increased heart rate, respiration, sweating etc that in turns lead to lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, blood pressure and heart ailments. Parasympathetic Nervous Systems inhibits such excitement and leads to relaxation by lowering heart rate, respiration and any hyperactivity or excitement in general.

Therefore, the control of whether we want to live a healthy and rich lifestyle or a lifestyle filled with stress, tension and diseases lies with our mouth. Whether we are stimulating our sympathetic or parasympathetic nervous systems depends on what we eat and what we speak, both of which are functions of mouth. If we eat healthy food, at regular intervals, less than our appetite and speak a language that doesn’t cause any offence or hurt to anyone, we shall always be letting our bodies stimulate parasympathetic nervous system, which is a key to happy and healthy living.

The above and many such pearls of wisdom were gained by me today when we met a very old acquaintance Dr Ashok and his ever affectionate wife Neelam ( in fact, though we have been talking to them on phone, the meeting in person happened after 35 grand years! ). Dr Ashok is now fully into social causes, trying to spread the message of healthy and happy living to the society at large, besides being passionately devoted to his profession.

Meeting Doctor and his wife has been the highest point of out currently ongoing visit to Lucknow. More of this in next few blogs.

I was watching Doordarshan one evening and though I don’t exactly recall the period or the name of the programme, it featured the pop star Ajit Singh singing with a live orchestra. One number that made a very deep impression on my young musical heart was “ Chalte chalte mere yeh geet yaad rakhna “. Never heard of till then and full of melody that was typical to the music of early and mid 70’s, I soon came to know that the number sung by Ajit Singh was in fact a track from the film album titled “ Chalte Chalte” and that the original number was composed by Bappi Lahiri and sung by my favourite Kishore Kumar.

Those were still the days dominated by new sounds introduced by RD Burman and his scores for movies such as Caravan, Yaadon Ki Baraat, Jawani Diwani were making waves. These sounds and instrumentation inspired by global music, with generous contributions from Pancham’s own creativity and ingenuity, were unheard of by Indian music fans, who were by then only exposed a stray westernised composition by C Ramachandra, OP Nayyar and SD Burman!

In all this, young Bappi Lahiri had started making waves. While Chalte Chalte had hummable music but the movie was passable, other movies by Bappi were also not quite up to the mark, though his music had started carving out a niche for itself. Aap Ki Khatir introduced Bappi, the singer, to the audience who lapped up his Bengalicised diction and virtually made “ Bambai se aaya mera dost” a national anthem. I don’t recall any youth gathering , picnic or travel, when the groups were not singing this highly entertaining song! And he interspersed melodious Indian raaga and folk based music with generous doses of purely western music. I recall the rage amongst youth around the numbers such as Ramba ho samba ho and Hari om Hari. Usha Uthup was introduced by RD Burman much before in the movie Hare Rama Hare Krishna, but the aforesaid numbers by Bappi took her to dizzying heights! And who can forget the music of blockbusters like Namak Halaal ( pag ghungroo baandh Meera nachi thi and raat baaki) and sharaabi ( inteha ho chuki pyaar ki – my personal favourite, aaj rapat and manzilen apni jaga hai, apart from much hyped mujhe nau lakha mangwa de). And there were scores of such movies whose music lifted the mediocre movies to hit status. But I think the high point in Bappi’s career was Disco Dancer that gave him the coveted title of Disco King. A new singer, Vijay Benedict, belted out the title song that became a household favourite.

Bappi was like a factory churning out music and he replaced LP as the favourite music director of southern remakes. Who can forget the superhit music of Tohafa, some of whose songs have been remixed and presented again. Of course, Bappi’s most popular remixed number has been “ Kaliyon ka chaman”. A melodious but not an extraordinary number originally sung by Lata for a nondescript movie, the remixed number became a rage upon its release, being the most belted number by DJs!

Like all good things, with the demise of his favourite Kishore Mama, slowing down of singing by Lata and Asha and rise of new music directors like Anand Milind, Jatin Lalit, Nadeem Shravan and Anu Malik, music by Bappi in later years was mediocre. However, he made a grand comeback as a singer by singing Bambai Nagariya and later Ooh la la for the same composers, Vishal Shekhar. And he was a permanent fixture as guest in musical shows, especially for the episodes that featured his songs and the pride and satisfaction of having created such a vast repertoire was clearly written on his rather baby and innocent face. Who can also forget his love for gold, that adorned his body heavily!

I also had the fortune of seeing Bappida performing live with his orchestra, and his grandson, of whom Bappi seemed to be immensely fond of, reminded the audience of a young Bappi. It was electrifying experience watching Bappi singing his old gems

The news of Bappida’s sad demise this morning plunged millions of music lovers across the world into an even deeper sorrow, as they were yet to come to terms with the shock of Lata Didi’s death! A child prodigy, who played tabla and came from a musical family, Bappi leaves behind a legacy and work that will always remain in the hearts of millions of music lovers!

Rest in peace Bappi Da!

While I turned a regular blogger only a few years back, writing has been a passion for quite some time. I accidentally came across an old piece of paper containing an old anecdote. Like my most of the writing, this piece has no dependence on the date as the incident remains unique in spite of it being more than a decade old. I reproduce this anecdote, as written in hand on a scrap of paper sometime during May 2011. It reads:

This month I turn one short of half- century- 49 years old to be precise. All these 49 years, I have lived a very simple and straight life. I still retain my original moustache ( only occasionally trimmed during the hair cutting sessions at the salon) , worn no jewellery (ear studs, rings or thick gold chains flaunting hairy chest) , kept short crew cut hair and never indulged in luxuries such as facial or massage. The only liberty I have taken is to colour my hair the natural way using henna. Actually, I started greying quite early in my life and my wife suggested to cover streaks of grey with natural henna, soaked overnight in a black iron vessel mixed with some other proven herbs such as amla and shikakai powders. She had actually learnt that by applying this concoction at the very beginning restricted further greying and in fact, led to permanent blackening of strands already turned grey! However, these claims proved to be wrong and the frequency at which henna was applied on my head gradually increased from once a month to almost every week! My hair became dark red ( or rust coloured)!

My wife, being a proponent of the cause, persisted with her effort dutifully and indulgently affirmed that I looked good with this red top. The market seemed to think otherwise! I could make out the by the bemused looks on the face of people in my contact as also cheesy comments behind my back ( red haired/ horsey).

A few days ago, a very senior colleague of mine, while in the midst of a very serious official meeting, digressed from the topic to ask me as to why I was colouring my hair? As per him, with such good looks and sharp features, salt and pepper on my top would give me drop dead gorgeous looks! On returning home I told my wife that the time had come for me to stop hennaing my hair and keep my head top natural. Of course, she was crestfallen, but being a loving wife, she was also wary about my career prospects! Gradually, the last traces of henna wore off my head and in the midst of all the salt, I am trying to search for a few grains of pepper. In a few nights, my status has changed from bhaiya to uncleji and the worst scenario is, people offering me seats reserved for senior citizens in local train and BEST bus. The senior colleague looks at me sympathetically as drop dead gorgeous looks seem elusive, the only solace being these looks seem to be a tad better than red haired horsey one!

Nothing seems enough when it comes to paying tribute to the nightingale of India who breathed her last on 6th of February. People from all walks of life – film world, singing fraternity, politics, commoners and across the frontiers- have grieved at this great loss! While anything said in her honour will tantamount to showing light to the sun, some of the obituaries and tributes from Pakistan stand out. Their minister Fawad Chaudhry, cricket captain Babar Azam, iconic ghazal singer Ghulam Ali, singer actor Ali Zafar have all been at the forefront in paying glowing tributes to the nightingale. However, two of these stand out.

The first one is by an eminent surgeon of Pakistan, who’s also professor and principal of medical college. In a video post that I received on WhatsApp , he explains that when the students of his college once interviewed him as to how he perfected the art of surgery and from where he learnt this perfection, his reply took his students aback, when he mentioned that he learnt it from Lata Mangeshkar! Students, in a state of shock, asked him that Lata was not a surgeon then how he learnt the art from her? He explained to them that the way Lata perfected the art of singing – her diction, expression, notes, feelings, modulation; everything perfect every time- inspired him to be a surgeon par excellence. Like Lata, a surgeon has to be perfect in whatever he does and that too every time!

The second appeared in the Jang in the form of a couplet by the Jang’s in house poet, the redoubtable Anwar Shawoor, whose couplets are a daily dose in Pakistan’s top selling Urdu daily, like RK Laxman’s cartoon that used to be a daily staple in TOI. This couplet reads:

सोग

अब न लौटेगी लता मंगेशकर

लाख उसके सोग में हम रोएँ गाएँ

कूकने वाले परिंदे उड़ गए

सिर्फ़ कौए कर रहे हैं काएँ काएँ !

The above can be loosely translated as:

Grief

Lata will never come back

Grieve we may as much as we can right and left

Nightingale has flown away

Only caw caw by crows is now left !

While we are all expressing our grief in our own humble ways, to my mind the above two obituaries stand out!

Tu jahan jahan chalega

Mera saaya saath hoga

The famous wordings of the above Lara’s song now applies to her. Wherever we may be, her voice will never leave us!

We tend to personify gods by imagining their appearances to be like our idols. May be all devis or goddesses we see in our mothers, and hence the term Ma or mother we use in addressing all goddesses – Laxmi, Durga, Kali, Parvati, Seeta etc.

Yesterday was Basant panchami, celebrated as Saraswati Puja also in our country. Saraswati, the goddess of learning and arts, having a book, a water pot, a rosary ( Mala) and above all a Veena ( the musical instrument) is therefore, especially worshipped for wisdom and proficiency in fine arts. The moment you mention the name Saraswati, I am sure most of the music lovers in this country would imagine the face of the nightingale of India, Bharat Ratna, Lata Mangeshkar. It’s like the way we immerse Durga the day after Durgashtmi, Goddess Saraswati also chose immersion the next day of her festival in the form of demise of Lata.

A few days ago only in one of my blogs I had mentioned that we cherished the presence of these idols amongst us as they were born once in a century if not millennium! Starting her career very early to shoulder the responsibilities of her large family following the demise of her father, Dinanath, Lata had to struggle initially as at that time singers with husky and heavy voice ruled the roost. But her thin, sharp but absolutely delectable voice was soon to become the voice of all the top heroines on silver screen. Beginning with Shobhana Samarth ( mother of Nutan and Tanuja and grandmother of Kajol- Lata sang for all three generations) followed by Nargis, Madhubala, Suchitra Sen, Nutan, Mala Sinha, Sadhana, Asha Parekh, Mumtaz, Leena, Babita, Hema, Rekha, Rakhee to the next set comprising Madhuri, Meenakshi, Kajol- Lata was the voice!

And her songs are part of the compendium of Indians for all the occasions – from her early songs such aayega aane wala to later ones such as Didi Tera dewar dewana – she dominated Bollywood for more than 5 decades- from late 40s to late 90s ! There’s no singer in this country who doesn’t want to emulate her or be like her! No competition is complete without bouquet of her songs and no occasion is complete without her songs

Lata will always be remembered- for her persona, repertoire of her songs, her patriotism ( ae mere watan ke logon gives goose bumps whenever it’s played) and as a true Bharat Ratna, born once in millennium! The Goddess of music, “ Saraswati in person “ has left us but with a treasure load of ditties for generations to listen to!

I occasionally read Urdu publications, both – from India as well as Pakistan and sometimes, come across the stuff that leaves a deep impression, provoking me to translate the same for the larger audience.

The other day, I came across an article in which the author talks about his humble origin and very frugal childhood. A two room house occupied by large family comprising parents, siblings as also uncles, aunts and cousins would accommodate even visiting guests. Money was always short, yet the food eaten by the family was happily shared with the guests. Guests were never snubbed but rather egged on to stay for some more time. After completing 10th and that too from Government run school, the author’s father asked him to go to an automobile workshop ran by his friend to make him learn a trade as also earn some pocket money. After 12th, he was sent to a textile mill for part time job and to a publication house after completing graduation. Once the author got absorbed as a sub editor, he was married off and expected to fend for himself, his immediate family as also his parents, who had aged by then.

In contrast, author’s four children live a life of considerable comfort and luxury. They study in private schools and colleges, the younger ones get dropped to school by car while the elder ones go to college riding their bikes. They want independent bedrooms, the latest of the gadgets and are in no hurry to start earning, till they are offered a good white collared job.

Many of us from middle class strata would immediately identify with the Author’s story as children of today are privileged indeed. I understand that in western world and US, College going students are expected to become financially independent by undertaking side jobs along with college going. But in India Papa’s daughters and Mama’s boys have all the privileges even before they attain financial independence.

The author ends the article on a rather sombre note. He doesn’t mind doing all this and more for his children to make up for his deprived childhood, but he dreads their care me not attitude and their ungrateful uttering , “ what special have you done for us that you expect us to remain obliged to you for our entire life and take care of you in your old age? “

I think we are a generation caught in the middle – trying to be good sons and daughters on one hand and good parents on the other, but probably failing in both the roles!

I want to be a good child to my parents

And a good parent to my child

But I am caught in the middle of nowhere

Getting kick in the rear from one and from other – the chide!

In one of my earlier blogs, I talked about all time favourite iconic movie Sholay and how that apart from six main protagonists, even the minor characters – the Jailor, Soorma Bhopali, Sambha, Kaalia etc also acquired the cult status. Such was the power of that movie.

Another very popular movie of yore that along with Aradhana catapulted Rajesh Khanna to superstardom was Anand. Directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, the story about a terminal cancer patient Anand Sehgal, played by Khanna and his philosophy to live life fullest by spreading happiness, caught the nation’s imagination. Apart from Anand, the main protagonist, Dr Bhaskar, Dr Kulkarni, Moosa Bhai and Mother D’sa also became household names. A light hearted movie with a tragic end , Anand acquired cult status over the years.

Other day, the news of Ramesh Deo’s death, brought back the memories associated with Anand, in which Ramesh Deo played the character of Dr Kulkarni, with Seema Deo, his real life wife, playing his reel wife in the movie. And what an unassuming actor he was, completely melting into the character that he played. Villainous character evoked detestation, gentle role aroused empathy and an odd comical character the mirth! Where are the actors who neither possessed Greek god looks or gym toned muscular bodies and yet made deep and lasting impression in the hearts of cinema lovers.

He lived life to the fullest, dying at the ripe age of 93 after having fun with the family till the last moment. He might have been a minor actor, given the glitz and glamour of Bollywood, but the moment one reckons the variety of characters played by him with conviction and his contribution Marathi cinema and theatre, his stature rises multiple times.

His death creates a sense of déjà vu, for there seems to be a dearth of actors that looked person next door and played characters that we could readily identify with.

RIP Ramesh Deo.

I distinctly remember the year and the month – April 2012. I had just moved to the wholesale bank as Head CBO after spending 2 years in the unchartered territory of retail banking. As it was the promotion time, the then Head WBO was consolidating recommendations for eligible candidates from WBO comprising three verticals- CBO, TxBO and TO. That was the first time, I heard Jattender Dassi’s (JD) name. The then Head, TO was animatedly and passionately pushing JD’s name. Of course, I was pushing my own candidates’ names from CBO, but being very new to CBO and WBO, my voice didn’t carry the requisite weight. Though the results that year were not on the expected lines and I hardly had any major influence on the outcome, as aforementioned, for me it was a very strong first cut impressionistic view of JD’s virtues and qualities, for as a leader myself, I knew when would a leader go out of way in recommending a candidate! Of course, when I took over as Head WBO in 2015, I got the first whiff of what JD was all about and why his bosses rated him so high! Power house of knowledge, hard working, full of spirit of cooperation and camaraderie and yet humility personified that was my assessment of JD. Leave apart TO, for anything to do with WBO, I would run to him as my man Friday, like an administrative assistant and he never let me down, rather exceeded my expectation task after task. And this he did with perpetual smile and enthusiasm. I saw him as the future leader, which, given his versatility, could have been anything! But then he chose to rewrite his destiny and explore possibilities outside me, my vertical and my organisation. It was with heavy heart that I acceded to his request for severance. After all, what a boss is without a great team and how can a great team be formed without great talent like JD? I can only wish him a great journey ahead, which I am sure will be very eventful and rewarding. I will always have the satisfaction of having worked with the likes of JD, who helped me take my franchise to great heights! All the best JD! I shall follow your progress in life from the sidelines and likewise many other admirers of yours will also do the same and not necessarily from the sidelines for youngsters may have several milestones to cross before moving to sidelines!

All the best! Stay in touch and give us liberty to reach out to you, whenever we need you!

Sent from my iPhone

A few days ago, the thespian and one of the most respected Bollywood icons, Dilip Kumar left this world, losing a long fought battle with age related ailments. Yesterday, Birju Maharaj breathed his last and the country lost a legend of kathak dance and Hindustani music. Nightingale Lata Mangeshkar is fighting Covid related complications in Breach Candy hospital and the entire nation is praying for her early recovery.

If you take a realistic look, the above icons had long seized to be active. I don’t think Dilip acted in any movie in the 21st century. Birju Maharaj focused on his school Kalashram, but appeared rarely on the stage. I don’t think Lata has sung for a Bollywood film in the last few years. But there’s something about their stature, their significance in our lives that makes their presence amidst ourselves very comforting. Every time Dilip defeated death and returned home, it was an occasion to celebrate. Yesterday’s loss of Birju Maharaj almost appears to be a personal loss. And every day, we seem to be following Lata’s health bulletin with bated breath.

It’s a similar feeling about our parents. They may be old, infirm, battling ailments or leading a restricted life, but their presence is always comforting. That’s why the loss of a parent – either mother or father- seems so irreparable.

The above feeling just got evoked in my heart while penning the blog written in tribute to Birju Maharaj. Let’s cherish the presence of elderly people – our parents, other elderly relatives, icons from various walks of life, celebrate their achievements and contribution and treasure them. It’s most fulfilling .

Nothing is permanent in this world

Most uncertain is human life;

Cherish a person’s presence amidst us

Whether mother, father or wife!

But our parents and spouse are our own

Their lives for us is precious

There are so many other icons

Whose departure seems as much vicious!