My Interactions with Habib Tanvir: Part XXIII 'Mein isliye khafa hoon ki tum bambai gaye hi kyun?'( I am upset because why did you choose to go to Mumbai?)

  A small role in 'Slumdog Millionaire' was offered to me. The dates were clashing and I had to miss one of the shows of 'Raj Rakta' somewhere in the Northeast. I have huge qualms about missing a theater show that I am a part of for the reason that the whole show comes together with your small bit going into it. When one of these bits goes missing and someone else has to come in and replace an actor , it impacts the show and feels disrespectful towards the crew which works extremely hard to put it all together. However, this seemed like a big thing( and it eventually did become big, Slumdog won eight oscars) And we had to shoot on the same day when this show was going to happen. I spoke to Habib saab, nervously so, he could just shoot me down and he would have a fairly good reason to. Habib saab was very understanding as usual. These are his words then ' I understand it is your first work in cinema, I understand the excitement even if it is a small role they are offering you…mein is baat se khafa nahin hoon ki tum mera show chod kar film mein kaam karne ja rahe ho, mein is baat se khafa hoon ki tum bambai gaye hi kyun?' ( I am not upset that you are leaving my show for a small bit in a film, I am UPSET because I can't fathom why did you go to Mumbai?) What could I say to that? Though we did have a conversation about it later. I asked him what he would have me do as an actor. He said that I should have worked with Naya Theater in Bhopal. I did ask him to remember how much an actor at Naya Theater gets paid. He smiled, took a puff at his pipe and nodded. That was that.

A visit to Manori beach

If my understanding is correct, Manori is a small island close to Mumbai. It is very close to the suburb Malad west. For those who do not know most of Mumbai is divided in two parts- East and West and getting from one to the other is quite difficult so if someone does try to visit Manori based on this post, please remember that I wrote 'Malad West'

(Here is a link to the map of Mumbai from Google for you to understand the exact location)

I offered it to visiting kids of my sister in law. They chose 'Manori' over a trip to 'Gateway of India' . We did the car to Marve, jetty, bus to the village, through Manori village, beach and back in about six hours. The kids loved it. 

There are two ways of getting there as far as I know. One is to take the land route. Please do your own research on this. Apparently you really have to take a long way and go to Bhayandar etc to reach there directly by road. The other way is to reach Marve jetty and take a ferry from there. Marve is close to Malad station, if you are on a shoestring budget you can take a bus from the Malad or Kandiwili West stations to Marve, you could also take auto rickshaws from the two stations or else you could travel by car or in a cab/auto rickshaw on the new link road reach a place called Mid chowky, take a left, cross the Malvani fire brigade station which falls on your right and then go straight. After some distance is traversed there is a right turn you need to take to reach Marve , if you keep going straight you will reach Aksa beach. Best is to ask local shop keepers for the way. 

From Marve beach you take a ferry which takes 10 Indian rupees as the fee and takes you to Manori in about 10 minutes or less. The ferry is fairly safe and so are the people. Once you get down at Manori there is a bus, auto rickshaw or a horse driven cart that you can take to the Manori village and from there it is about a five minute walk through this 'fishing community' village to the beach.

At Manori Island

The sights it offers are wonderful.

There is not much here to do except for just sit and gape at the visuals nature offers you.

When the clouds split, Sun seemed to be in an orange bloom

Yes, like anywhere else human beings have messed up with this small yet more or less virgin beach. I think the weekend crowd that comes here really dirties the beach. There are no waste baskets to throw any waste in but even so, sure that the place could be kept cleaner.

There are some resorts here where you could stay the night. It is quite calm and peaceful.

I am told there is a resort called Manori bel which is located in a coconut plantation. It looked quite enticing.You can step on to the beach from the resort through a gate. 

Just one disclaimer, unlike JUHU beach there is nothing much to buy to eat at least on  weekdays. So if you do intend to do a day trip on a week day to Manori, please make sure you are carrying your own food.

My Interactions with Habib Tanvir: Part XXII, in continuation of part I

….well…something that I missed when I wrote part I…so to remind you, Habib Tanvir's troupe was in Delhi, it had to travel to UP but it could not. This happened because Dr Kiran Seth of SPICMACAY insisted that the govt of India had given a facility to artists, it ought to be availed of, this way the organization can save money which can be put to better use. But, to get these concessions approved from wherever they got approved was a herculean task. Kumar Pushan, a SPICMACAY volunteer then, managed to get that done but in the process he forgot to get the railway tickets and reservations. So, it was night, it was a theater company, which meant about twenty people or more stranded in Delhi with no place to go…and no budgets…it was a problem to be solved.

So, now there was a scramble for a place for the artists. Dharamshalas were looked into but they either were too expensive, inconvenient or too full. Hotels were out of question due to limited budgets. With some effort a temple was found which had two dormitory kind of rooms attached to it. The temple committee was willing to give the rooms to the troupe. 

So, for night halt a place was found. All naya theater actors would smoke and drink. Some of them even smoked 'chillums' with 'ganja'(grass). The group that was looking into this thought - okay one night , part of the day, doesn't matter…by the time the temple committee notices anything the artists will be gone…but as it so happened, travel arrangements were not so easy to come by and the naya theater troupe had to stay put there for I think about three nights-SPICMACAY continued to try and get the train tickets done, Habib saab refused to move without proper arrangements. There was a bit of a stalemate otherwise they could travel by road the next day.(which eventually they did) Kumar Pushan was no where to be found, he had gone underground in Faridabad.( I have to say this Pushan)

Now, we ( I got included in this ) were worried about the fact that the temple committee will notice people drinking and smoking and they will ask the artists to go so we were all searching for an alternative place to keep them. 

But then when we went to meet the artists on the second day and asked them if everything was okay, they said- yeah fine, everything is fine…one of us asked them- what about drinking and smoking? and they said- that is not a problem…We asked- what? how? They said- we have made friends with the people in the temple committee. They also sit and drink here in the temple complex. 

well...

My Interactions with Habib Tanvir: Part XXI Acting in a film to go to France

Habib saab stayed with us for one of the Prithvi theater festivals. It was our first year in Mumbai. That was the time when he was talking to Subhash Ghai about acting in the film 'Black and White'. He tried to negotiate a price with him. Mr Ghai quoted a certain sum. Habib Saab was not sure whether that was the right or appropriate amount for him and he asked us. We were absolutely new to the city and we knew nothing about the industry at all, so we really had not advice to give him except to say that it seemed a little less but Habib saab went ahead with the film. He wanted to go to France and he decided that this film should provide him with enough to make that trip. 

Cut to, the shoot was over, he was staying in a Juhu hotel for some time for the dub. The day that got over he told us that we should meet and that let's get some friends over. So, in our one bedroom hall apartment we got friends together and Habib saab came. The driver did not know where to go so at the yari road Barista I went to pick him up. He was in a production car and quiet. I think he would be quite upset. He was usually quite critical of the whole production process. Another actor, a contemporary of ours in Delhi saw him and wanted to say hello. I stopped him thinking that Habib saab could just lose his temper if he was in a foul mood. 

I got into the car, asked him if he was in a bad mood. He threw his hands in the air- on the contrary, I am happy , very happy, my work in the film is over.

That night was a small little party at our small little apartment. Habib saab did get drunk that night. His going to France was arranged after all.

My Interactions with Habib Tanvir: Part XX, 'Kaahil' ( lazy, slothful)

Once I travelled from Mumbai to Kolkata on a train!!! For a show of 'Agra Bazar'. It was a long journey. Almost 48 hours in a train if I am not wrong. I was traveling alone since I was going from Mumbai. I was tired and bored. I got off at Howrah , Kolkata was very humid. I was told by the volunteer who came to pick me up that Habib saab has asked you to be brought straight to the hall. I tried protesting - let me go wash at least. He said- you can do it at the hall, Habib saab said that. I could not refuse and went straight to the hall, very upset with him, thinking that he had no mercy.

And he didn't. He looked at me, probably understood and then said - good you came, these days there are these actors who first want to go to the hotel, take a wash, sleep and then come for the rehearsal. These idiots are 'kaahil', they will never be able to do anything in life. 

I stood there wondering…

Baithak with Sitara Devi: A SPICMACAY story

I didn't know much about Sitara Devi, the famous Kathak exponent. I saw her the first time in a SPICMACAY lecture demonstration at one of the colleges of University of Delhi. She was quite old but was charm personified even with that aged face and body of hers. This is something special that these artists carried within themselves which can't be defined. It is something to do with their personalities. 

I tried to keep a studied distance from SPIC MACAY but invariably got caught in the happenings of the organization. I think one such event (and I am so glad it happened) was when I think because I went to a SPIC MACAY meeting on insistence of Shalini( which I must have done very grudgingly), I ended up in a car with Dr Kiran Seth and Shalini and was told that we are going to meet a great artist.

Now, where we were going was in the opposite direction from where I lived. We were going towards Asiad Village accommodations close to Siri Fort. Kiran carried some expensive liquor, Sitara Devi did like her drink. From Kiran's side this was a gift to her for all her support. Every time I saw her on stage for SPIC MACAY, she would say- I am doing this for Kiran Seth. She was extremely fond of Kiran.( I gather)

The occasion was her birthday. So, we enter the house. Sitara Devi greets us. As I said earlier, there was some magic in the personality. The way she carried herself, her smile, her eyes, the way she talked- it wasn't someone who held herself back. And why would Sitara Devi hold herself back? I later heard stories about the kind of things she had to go through to become an artist and a kathak dancer.

So, this was the mehfil then, this was vintage stuff, she  joked and laughed and talked …and the interaction went on for some time. There was another artist - I think a tabla player whose son was learning some instrument- sitar? The older gentleman wanted his son to be blessed by Sitara Devi and the young man was heard…it was a full performance…like a baithak…the young artist sat in front on mattresses and durrees and we all sat facing him on sofas and chairs in a small room…the nervous young artist played in front of an encouraging stalwart who constantly maintained a benign smile on her face...in between when he would do something nice…there would be 'wash waahi' from Sitara Devi. She was abundant in her appreciation. The young boy was happy. 

After the fellow had finished, Sitara Devi talked to the young boy for some time, appreciating his hard work and goading him to keep working hard. She was a story teller , after all a 'kathak' dancer. She would say something about her own life and draw an example for the young talent. 

After this she started talking about her life. She talked about a tabla player with whom she really enjoyed dancing. In her opinion this tabla player was superior to ustaad Zakir Hussain, whom she said was very good too but not quite there yet to compete with this person's competence. I forget the name but obviously the tabla player must have come much before Ustaad Zakir Hussain. I was blessed to have spent some time there in Sitara Devi's presence…witnessing an impromptu baithak…grooming of a younger artist. 

Maybe I should thank Dr Kiran Seth for this...