Singapore-Mumbai ----Kane and Able??

Singapore—This little Island City never ceases to amuse me and frustrate me on multiple counts during each visit.. When you think that you have seen it all, there are new icons popped up where you never thought there is enough space,on many occasions you notice they have quite easily reclaimed Sea, MRT has expanded to new places  and some old landmarks go missing… amazingly, in spite of all the construction ,the Green cover and open spaces seldom vanish….The frustration stems from the inevitable but unjust comparison I tend to make with my beloved Mumbai….There are endless geographical similarities and limitations to both cities but they are at opposite ends of spectrum in terms of development , living comfort and discipline …the roads and footpath here are crowded like in Mumbai  but cars don’t honk and wait for signal , citizens use footpaths and walkways only and there is no Jay Walking .Even in heavy rush hour Cars STOP to let Pedestrians go first even if they are not on Zebra Crossing.

There is Rain almost daily and Thunderstorms quite routinely but City life seldom de-rails or stops, it slows down a bit to get back to normal soonest. Lesser we talk and compare  about the cleanliness is better.

The MRT is mostly underground in congested area and bus network beautifully complements the MRT covering entire city.I do have the soft corner for our BEST and Sub-urban rail network for the near impossible task they are doing but for the Political lack of will  and foresight hampering any improvement..

What is even more frustrating is that Asians and mostly Indians are leaving their Mark here also albeit in restricted way due to Fear Factor…. So you travel on Orchard Road  to appreciate the real Singapore and then you go to Serangoon Street and Little India to see Asian Flavor…Its dis-organized , comparatively dirty, everyone is Jaywalking whenever they have a chance, there is noise on the streets and in shops alike which you will not find on a crowded Orchard Street also. Its almost as if two different Singapore exist in one city…

So Everytime I visit this professional city ,I wish/dream that atleast in my lifetime I will see Mumbai emulating Singapore in small way…Its difficult but not Impossible!!

 
 
 
 I believe in the adage “Never Say “Never”….so I shall continue to be amused, amazed,  frustrated and still hopeful in all my future visits as wel!

एका क्षणात ....दीर्घकाळ मनात रेंगाळणारं नाटक

शरद पोंक्षे म्हटल कि " मी नथुराम गोडसे बोलतोय", "लहानपण देगा देवा" इत्यादी नाटक असो  किवा "उंच माझा झोका" हि सध्याची लाडकी मालिका असो...एक संवेदनशील,passionate  आणि तडफदार व्यक्तिमत्व डोळ्यासमोर येतं . त्याच्या  " मी नथुराम गोडसे बोलतोय" मधल्या गाजलेल्या आणि धाडसी भुमिके पासून तो मला अभिनेता म्हणून आवडतो .  "लहानपण देगा देवा" मधल्या त्याच्या पल्लेदार संवाद फेकीने आणि  तरल प्रसंगातल्या अभिनयाने मी फारच प्रभावित झालो होतो.एक सामाजिक बांधिलकी असलेला आणि आपली भूमिका जनतेत आणि प्रसार माध्यमातून स्पष्टपणे  मांडणारा ( मग ती भूमिका राजकीय दृष्ट्या सर्वाना आवडणारी असो व नसो) असा एक अभिनेता नाटक दिग्दर्शित करतोय म्हटल्यावर माझी उत्सुकता बऱ्यापैकी ताणली होती आणि लवकरात लवकर हे नाटक बघायच हे ठरवलं होतं आणि त्याप्रमाणे ठाण्याच्या Dr . काशिनाथ घाणेकर या अद्ययावत  नाट्यगृहात  एका क्षणात .... बघण्याचा  योग जुळून आला.

नाटका  बद्दल काहीच माहित नसताना म्हणजे विषय काय,विनोदी कि गंभीर इत्यादी ..नाटकाला जाण ह्यात एक वेगळीच मजा आहे पाटी  पूर्ण कोरी असते आणि  समोर जे घडणार असत ते तुम्ही मोकळ्या मनाने (with open mind n without prejudices ) स्वीकारायला तयार असता .. अर्थातच ह्यात एक मोठी रिस्क हि असते कि तुमचे २०० रुपये  आणि वेळ वाया जाऊ शकतो...  असं होणार नाही अशी अशा मी करत होतो ...

नाटकाचा पडदा उघडल्या उघडल्या नेपथ्य तुमच लक्ष वेधून घेतं ...vibrant रंगसंगती, polished  घर, मोजकच पण  दर्जेदार furniture  बघून छान वाटतं ... आजकाल नाटकात common असलेली आणि योग्य  उपयोग होणारी  मोठी प्रोजेक्टर स्क्रीन हि दिसते...

सुरुवातीच्या १५-२० मिनिटात नाटकाच्या विषयाचा व्यवस्थित अंदाज येतो  पण सदरीकारणातल्या नाट्यमय ते मुळे आपला इंटरेस्ट  जराही कमी होत नाही....पुढे काय होणार किंवा  कथानक काय आहे ह्याचा आपण अंदाज बांधत असतो आणि तो बरोबर आहे अस वाटत असतानाच काही नाट्यमय घटनांमुळे आपला अंदाज चुकणार कि काय असंहि  वाटतं हेच ह्या नाटकाचं , लेखकाचं आणि दिग्दर्शकाचं यश आहे.....

नाटकात खूप नाट्य आहे  पण ते भडक होत नाही ... शरद पोंक्षे च्या स्वभावविशेशानुरूप  आपल्या आजूबाजूला घडणाऱ्या घटनांबाद्दलचा दृष्टीकोण ,एकूणच बधीर समाज ह्यावरही योग्य टिप्पणी  आहे पण त्याचाही अतिरेक नाही ...संहीतेचा एक भाग म्हणूनच ती गोष्ट उर्धृत होते आणि तरीही अपेक्षित परिणाम करून जाते .....

दिग्दर्शक शरद पोंक्षे ला लेखक संदीप जंगम ने सुरेख साथ दिली आहे ...

पण ह्या नाटकाचा खरा हिरो आहे अभिनेत्री अश्विनी एकबोटे ....काय अप्रतिम काम केलं  आहे तिने..जवळजवळ सर्व वेळ ती रंगमंचावर असते , सर्व नाट्यमय प्रसंगात तीव्रतेच्या भावना दाखवण्याच उत्तम कसब तिने आत्मसात केलं  आहे आणि ते अतिरंजित वाटणार नाही इतका प्रामाणिक अभिनय केला आहे..दोन अडीच तासात इतक्या wide  ranging भावना प्रदर्शन करणं  हे मानसिक आणि शारीरिक दमवणूक करणार आहे पण हे आव्हान तिने अतिशय समर्थपणे पेललं आहे.....

शरद पोंक्षे ने तिला तेवढीच समर्थपणे साथ दिली आहे ... स्वतः  दिग्दर्शक असूनही कुठेही वरचढ भूमिका किवा कुरघोडी करायचा प्रयत्नही केलेला नाही हे दिग्दर्शक आणि अभिनेता म्हणून कौतुकास्पद आहे ...

मानसोपचार तज्ञ  म्हणून काम करणारा सचिन देशपांडे खूप confident  आहे  आणि मोकळेपणे रंगमंचावर वावरतो पण त्याच्या भूमिकेचं caricature  झालंय  असं  वाटतं ...त्याचा वापर रंगमंचावरील tension  दूर करून थोडा comic relief  देण्यासाठी झालाय ते थोड खटकतं ...

"सहन करायचं  पण त्रास होऊ द्यायचा नाही" ह्या रूढ होत चाललेल्या वृत्ती बद्दल नाटकातले संदर्भ लावून एकूण समाजावर केलेली टिप्पणी हि छान  आहे... ह्या प्रसंगातला अश्विनी एकबोटे चा अभिनयही लाजवाब ....

ह्या व अशा बर्याच नाट्यमय प्रसंगासाठी आणि अश्विनी आणि शरद पोंक्षे च्या अभिनय साठी हे नाटक नक्की बघायला हवं ...

खूप दिवसांनी एक गंभीर पण छान  नाटक बघायला मिळालं ...

Engliश Vingliश--Return of a SUPERSTAR

Comebacks are never Easy. Ask Jimmy (Amarnath) about them and he will explain.

If you are a  female superstar who had taken sabbatical of 15 years , got married, raised two daughters in between then its even more difficult.You have a mountain of your own expectations to overcome...
 It helps a bit if your husband is a somewhat successful Producer ,though.

With this background, when Sridevi decided to return to tinsel town, more than an eyebrows was raised about the film and its fate...

But what a COMEBACK it is...even the worst of her critic can not be but awed by the performance, the film and comeback vehicle  she has chosen.

No doubt she was extremely lucky to have an author backed ,sensitive yet engrossing story and script which was treated with even more sensitively by first time director Gauri Shinde( Mrs. Balki of Paa and Cheeni Kum fame).

It touched the raw nerve of majority of Indians who have this complex of not been able to speak fluent English and there by not able to progress in their lives.

We love watching the underdog winning against all odds. We visualize ourselves in the situation and derive satisfaction from the victory on screen...

So when a 'Low in Self Esteem" with a bit of  inferiority complex  Sridevi struggles to comprehend what her daughter or husband are speaking, the audience instantly empathise with her.We are constantly with her in her journey from a "Taken for granted Housewife who is born to make Laddoos' only" to a self confident ,"In love with herself again" women/mother". The journey is portrayed with humor and sensitivity without an iota of drama, forget melodrama. Right from the word go we know the happy ending but like they say " The Journey is more important than the Destination"  and what an endearing journey it is.

From the opening  frame till the last you have Sridevi  everywhere with trademark Balki style tight close-ups and you love it. Its a real treat to her loyal fans.You don't feel or realize that the lady is facing the camera after 15 years or she is touching 50.She looks so fresh and at ease with herself. Apart from few scenes , she never really ACTS, just emotes with the flow of character.The way she changes her facial expression  in reaction to  her husbands remarks or her daughter's outburst   or the french students' overtures  is simply amazing. Infact her reactions more than compensate for her Tamil accented ,high pitched voice..

Another important point where Sridevi scores 100 % is  backing the character throughout. When you are on a comeback trail , you run the risk of wanting to prov to the audience how you have not lost touch with your tread mark abilities vis a vis  to dance  or were modern cloths in spite of being  on the wrong side of age, or how well you have maintained  yourself   etc etc. ,even if your character does not demand so.
Due credit must be given to the Director for avoiding  these temptations. It must have been very very difficult  not to make an accomplished dancer like Sridevi  dance in the movie or show her wearing western cloths when abroad.
The simplicity  of the character is never lost and that is the biggest plus point...
We all know how beautiful she looks in sarees but to have her wear cotton sarees in New york also is a gamble wel paid off...I have always felt that the Saree is made for Indian women...It conceals all the "EXTRA"  while  perfectly emphasising the contours ..A well worn saree carried with ease by the likes of Sridevi is a treat even if its a simple cotton or chiffon...

The first time director has shown great maturity and handled the difficult scenes  very wel..

Few things which can be termed as director's cut are

1. When angry, you speak in a language you are most comfortable with. Even if the other person does not understand the words, the body language conveys the emotions pretty wel. So when sridevi is angry after her daughter's sudden outburst ,insulting her,she vents out in hindi and effortlessly and unknowingly gives the order for coffee in perfect american english...

2. Love knows no  language barrier so the french actor while expressing his affection speaks in french and still Sridevi understands his feelings...Their interactions are very mature and fulfilling.
3. The final exam cum toast by sridevi....again she is shown as hesitant english speaker speaking from heart and hence very effective.
4. While distributing the laddoos to french Colleague , she says...Thank You for making me see positive side of myself again thereby seeing the world around me positively.
5.The "Blink and you will miss HIM" special appearance of the Big B...Maybe because I like anything and everything he does, but he gives the impetus and push required by giving the MANTRA-"बेफिक्र  बिन्दास  Enjoy करो

6. The song Navrai Mazi and Manhatten are hummable and wel picturised.

There are many many moments in the film for Sridevi to show all her range in acting and she excels throughout.

The biggest thing I like about the movie was, I found the Sridevi of Chandani ..Vulnerable , slightly unsure and hence lovable...

She has always done solid author back roles but later part of her career, she had roles where she was shown as a   woman who is totally in control eg. Laadla, Khuda Gawah, Chalbaaz (one character),Lamhe to some extent...

Here she is vulnerable and still the HERO of the movie...One of the major differentiating factor I feel between Madhuri and Sridevi and the reason I like the later more...I know many won't agree to this but I strongly feel so...

The movie is not without its share of flaws, so you have a GODBOLE family reading Navbharat Times.Apart from Sulabha Deshpande nobody remotely looks like GODBOLE or  Marathi..She could wel have been shown as an Iyyer considering her accesnt.

Why Motichur Laddoos? Marathi people make Besan or Rawa laddoos more....

The "Zabaan Sambhalke ( Mind Your Language) portion of the film was always going to be humorous and enjoyable but seems stuck between, french, paki, madrasi and marathi speakers...it could have been more funny...Or maybe not...

The Husband is shown too clichéd and stereotype..Are we HUSBANDS so bad who are completely insensitive towards housewives?

These very minor flaws apart, the movie is an excellent watch and I'm very happy for Sridevi for choosing this script as her comeback film.

Seeing how desperate some of the heroine are for comeback and how bad their choices of films have been , Karisma, Raveena, Manisha,Rani, Preity are cases in point, my respect for SRIDEVI has increased manifold....Looking forward to many more such films from two of the greatest Heroines from my generations and filling the voide...

Go watch  Engliश  Vingliश ....It may change your perspective about a Housewife....

NASA-In search of the "UNKNOWN"

I was  in Houston for 3-4 days and thoroughly frustrated  already...with training (or lack of it),the food, the locality etc.The dependence on car to move around and my lack of skills in driving  on the "Other side" of road meant that I was almost stuck to Hotel after classes.The weekend was approaching and like my predecessors visiting Houston  and many of the current colleagues, I was also  planning a trip to famous Johnson Space Center a.k.a. NASA.
I started sounding my colleagues if anyone was interested and zeroed on  three Asian friends from Singapore. As one of them was fairly comfortable( but in reality  without any hands on experience) driving in USA, we decided to hire a car as we were told it is the best way forward if you don't own a car.
So we inquired  with the Hotel Concierge and decided on a Car Rental company called Enterprise.A telephonic conversation yields some valuable information with regards to Insurance, rental etc etc.and we formally decide to hire a car next day.
With childlike enthusiasm and little unsure of what was in store, all four of us met in the lobby at 0730 and after a healthy breakfast catch a shuttle to George Bush International Airport  where at departure Terminal E we disembarked  and boarded  a car rental bus after alighting stairs  one level down.The airport is MASSIVE and after a five minutes ride we reach the car rental terminal. Even this is big.Renting a car on an outstation trip is not a luxury but a requirement in US of A. People park their cars at home airport and hire cars at the other city airport where they are on a business tour.So even at this hour there were few people at the rental area.

At this point one of the friend doubted if the Car rental co. will ask for a Passport as an ID proof. All of us were like , Ohh S**t !!!, we will have to go back to the Hotel now...Luckily, the lady was satisfied with Driver License and credit Card.The cost of hiring car for locals  in US is negligible, but for foreigners like us who did not have any insurance and were first timers, we were  advised to take all insurances and the cost went up quite high.We decided to be safe than sorry and paid for the insurance. Another most important, mandatory and trusted ally for us was going to be the GPS .So another USD10 per day payment later we were set for a ride.We were pretty clear as to which car we wanted..basically any good looking sleek sedan which is not easily available in India. Among the cars on display we chose a black Chevy.
Ali my Singaporian friend and our driver for the day checked all the essentials . I took a sit next to him as  self declared Navigator for the day.

We fed the destination (Courtesy :MayBaap Google) in GPS and the Lady started giving us directions.We came out of the rental station and on the first intersection I had  to remind Ali to be on the RIGHT side of road and not the LEFT.Our black beauty was nice n smooth in acceleration and after some turns and with the help of Lady 's voice in  GPS we soon hit the Freeway towards Galvaston (IS 45 S) .Ali desperately wanted to test the speed limits of the car and I didn't blame him for that, even I would have done the same, but the passenger seat friends caution him against over speeding. Meanwhile I'm busy getting familiar with the GPS and also other controls and instruments.Though all of us drive cars regularly, finding buttons and knobs for routine functions like "adjusting the mirror" or "rolling the windows up/down" is a task in American cars.We do not have so much automation back home.Traffic is very light,it being a Saturday and soon we are driving at 70mph and can't feel a thing moving...The Roads are so spacious and smooth.....its a pleasure Driving.The markings , exits are so very wel written for the convenience of Driver.I was tempted to try my hand but was  apprehensive.
As per MaayBaap Google maps Johnson Space Center was around 41 miles from the Hotel, not considered as LONG in americas.

Driving on a freeway is easy and fun as you don't need to worry about directions till the EXIT or Intersection. At every intersection we are confronted with a web of flyovers in air thoroughly confusing as to which road/ direction to take. For amateurs like us this was tricky  to negotiate sans our trusted GPS.So after an hours drive or less we finally reach Johnson Space Center.

After a customary foto we proceed to ticket counter and opt for a City Pass .on the way We are greeted by a giant spaceship which has seen better days and now an exhibit at NASA.

After entering the Space Center ,the first thing that catches your eye is an International Space Station replica hanging over you....The biggest symbol of scientific collaboration in space among the technically most advanced nations on Earth. For the uninitiated, let me add that this is the 24x7fully manned space station  for last 12 years by astronauts around the world and is currently Captained by none other than  Sunny williams as she is called by NASA( don't know if we can call her our very own Sunita Williams).

The main entrance and the exhibits are in dimly lit space evoking mystery or the enigma about the Space.
There  are ,among other things, real head gears used by Astronauts kept in front of a mirror where I could not resist taking a photo of myself.Also one can see Astronauts hanging in space with all the space gear.

Like in any big sightseeing attraction where there are many things to see, show timings to adhered to, we took the area map and show time booklet at the customer service and meticulously planned our tour. The lady at the customer service suggested we take a tram tour first as it will be getting crowded later in the day.. We take the expert advice and head for tram tour.After getting through a serious security check we board the tram which takes us through the actual NASA premises where humans work to find things in space which us lesser mortals don't even imagine. En route we see buildings,one of which is a kitchen for Space food. Sort of R&D and actual kitchen.

Our next stop was Christopher Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center...A place from where all the activities in space, NASA's all space missions including MARS mission ROVER are controlled.All of us are excited in anticipation as you don't get to see these things "LIVE" everyday in your life. 

This is one of the many other good things I like about America. They may put you through rigorous safety scrutiny,looking suspiciously at every move of yours , but once you are through,no one stops you from moving around freely or stops you from clicking pictures, unlike in India where we are so very much insecure about almost everything that we put restriction everywhere resulting in violations.

In most places in America the objects/places  on display are used as a marketing tool to promote the cause or to earn money in other cases.Anyways, at this Mission Control center one of the Intern working at NASA gave us the small introduction about the place, what NASA is doing, future missions, when we will be landing a manned mission to Mars  etc. etc.

Apart from all the PR stuff , what struck me was the budget figures that NASA gets every year, though the intern very disappointingly referred to the continuous decline in budgets as a percentage of GNP of USof A (from 3-4% few years back to 0.4 % this year)

  Another very important aspect of that PR presentation was the passion and sincerity  the intern evoked . When he spoke about the need for this sort of researches, the justification for spending so much of taxpayers money when in current economic slowdown the same money can be utilized better , he came up with a very good line---Its about the finding the  UNKNOWN  in the Unknown and by the Unknown(ie. the untested equipment).The whole range of possibilities make it ever so important...And he conceded that this cannot be achieved by America alone...The efforts and contribution of best of the whole world is needed to search the existence of human life in space or possibility of us shifting to other planet




Our next stop was Space Vehicle Mockup Facility SVMP--A place where all the astronauts practice and prepare ....Here we can see the future space vehicles on display..I had a misconception that the spaceship or any other equipment used in space  would be of super finish, made up of some rare exotic materials but in reality it not so..We could see SOYUZ along with two more space vehicles, one built with collaboration of other countries and the one to be used on MARS mission.

Our Last stop on the tram ride was all about technical advancements in space program  with Apollo Mission series. Luckily for us there was this ex-engineer employee of NASA who had volunteered to explain this stage of exhibits that day. He was a very very proud and passionate employee who took immense pleasure in working for NASA and USA. He described in detail about all the Apollo missions, the engines at different stages , how they propel the spacecraft at the speed of 5miles per second to zip past earth's orbit and gravity, what type of fuel is used and most importantly how a spacecraft enters the orbit. The last bit is very much important and technically challenging.The problem in not achieving this is catastrophic and possibly the reason for the death of Kalpana Chawla.He was describing all this on the backdrop of an gigantic Apollo Spacecraft with all the stages and engines.This gentleman(in green T shirt) was so enthusiastic that apart from giving all the interesting technical information , he had some very good anecdotes to share.Without doubt Neil Armstrong and Eldritch were his heroes.He described in detail how Armstrong chose to lead a simple life sans any publicity after his famous trip to Moon and also how Mr. Eldritch reacted when some one persistently doubted  that they actually stepped on the Moon. He also discussed the failed Apollo missions leading to setbacks and cuts in budgets.
When Armstrong  landed on moon on an Apollo 11 he had very famously said...."The Eagle has Landed  " and
"A small step of a man but giant leap for a mankind."
You get the goosebumps hearing these passionate tales.Funnily enough all of us felt that this was our achievement and not America's alone.Again the human element in all this technological jargon makes it a more humbling experience.

After this amazing tour we head back to the museum part again.By now our meticulous planning had gone wary and we re-planned the schedule as per the show timings. There is so much information available and it is presented in such a enticing manner that even if you are not scientifically  too inclined, you can still enjoy the museum.There are short documentaries shown on a IMAX kind of theaters depicting HUMANE element ie. what the astronauts think when the are in SPACE, what they do, what they feel after returning, how the space station is now being used for biological research,stem cell research, how they are flying doctors, scientists  into space for research etc. etc. Also  one of the documentary  portrays all kinds of human emotions....the joy, the anxiety, elation , nervousness before the launch, excitement among the onlookers,the frustration and grief when the mission fails especially when human lives are lost....You can't help but be a part of those moments and feel the emotions...Extremely moving experience....






Then there are real life exhibits of a Lunar vehicle, mini space shuttle of olden times.Depiction of how Astronauts perform their daily chores like bathing, sleeping etc.

Lastly when we finished seeing all the simulations and exhibits and came out completely satisfied ,I could not help but think that about the intern who was disappointed by the diminishing budget of 0.4% of US GNP. this figure may look minuscule but in reality it still amounts to around 17 Billion USD per annum  which is still humongous.

Many many Indian origin scientists are working in NASA, for lack of opportunities in India, due to bureaucracy, politics or for greener pastures whatever may be the reason...But if hey are given similar budget in India how different ISRO will be? It is doing amazingly great job in limited funds and scope it has but in an ideal , unrealistic scenario we can achieve our goals much faster.....

Also can't imagine a scenario where we are allowed to visit ISRO and the launching sight at Sreeharikota....... 

Leaving you with some of the beautiful pictures taken by astronauts from space.