Wednesday 26 September 2007

Mumbai City Erupts with Joy


Mumbai was going crazy today. First of all it had been pouring all morning and had jeopardized my own program. I had to visit my school for the latest updates, but I was too afraid to venture on the wet streets and too afraid of a fall on a slippery road. But this rain did not deter the frenzy of the cricket fans who were bathing on the road under the heavy rains and waiting for the glimpse of the new cricketers who had made a history after 25 years by bringing home the world cup for India, and this comes just after people of India had begin to give up on this sport and were looking at empty barrels because of the poor performance of the endorsement-winning cricketers.

If you were in Mumbai today, you would wonder whether Mumbai is (really) always on the ‘move’. Today the Mumbai city had come to a ‘standstill’. People had shut their shops, student had bunked their colleges, housewives were not busy in their kitchens, and everybody was there (in great numbers) on Mumbai roads, waiting for a glimpse of our new, young heroes. I decided to watch it ‘live’ on TV and saw the road leading from Sahara airport to the Wankhede stadium dotted with cricketer fans; you could see them dancing, playing drums and singing ‘Chak de India’ songs.

The motorcade moved through Mumbai streets following the route via Bandra, Mahim, Haji Ali, Marine drive to the Wankhede Stadium and it took cricketers five and half hours to reach the stadium where the award winning ceremony was to take place and all the fifteen crickets were standing on the top of the open-air bus and waving to the crowd through out their journey.

The stadium was also full to its brim with no breathing space and they received a warm welcome from the cheering crowd of nearly fifty thousand audience. This was the first ever ‘20-20 World Cup’ and it was the historical moment of the cricket victory that nobody would want to miss. It was the reception that India has never witnessed before and will be remembered for a very long time. The ceremony was flagged off with the opening speech by Sharad Pawar, the president of the BCCI.

The players were honored with prize money of eighty lakhs per person, a shawl, bouquet and a gift (a silver plate).

Dhoni was very much impressed by the attitude of the fans and he realized that winning the match is not important only to the cricketers but also important to people of India and he promised to give his one hundred percent performance for every match. He thanked his team players who gave their best performance and promised that they would play the match as it was supposed to be play…play to win…..

What was disgraceful was that during the ceremony, the politician occupied the front row with only Dhoni sitting with BCCI official, while rest of the players occupied the back row and I was wondering who the real heroes were?

Tuesday 25 September 2007

Loquations (Talking poetry in Bombay)

October and November 2007

NOTE: Jane Bhandari is out of India from 6th October to end November. Loquations meetings will take place during this period at The Fourth Floor Gallery, Kitab Mahal, DN Road (near VT.)

'Re-Loquations' meets to read and discuss poetry on the first and third Tuesdays of the month from 6-8pm.

The first part of the meeting will be devoted to reading and discussing selected poems. These poems may be used as a trigger for your own poetry. Members’ poems will be read and critiqued in the last part of the meeting. There will be a short tea-break before this session.

September 25th (at 162, Sainara)Poetry in Hindi movies: looking at the lyrics and poetry of Gulzar, Javed Akhtar, and others. Presented by Shashikant Sawant.

October 2nd (at 162, Sainara)Narrative Poems: Poetry was originally used to tell stories, often of the exploits of heroes. Jane Bhandari looks at narrative poems spanning the centuries.

October 16th (at 4th Floor Gallery)Marathi poet Dahsar: presented by Shashikant Sawant:

November 6th (at 4th Floor Gallery)Poets and painters: presented by Shashikant Sawant

November 20th (at 4th Floor Gallery)
Walcot and Eliot: verse dramas. presented by Gitanjali Dang.

The Loquations bulletin publicises other poetry events. If you wish your event to be included in next month’s programme please let me know by 25th of the current month. Bulletins are sent out at the beginning of the month, or as separate emails if too late to be included in the bulletin.

Programme updates and coordination:
Jane Bhandari--------------- 98208 22291

Presentations:
Shashikant Sawant---------9821785618

Email loquations2003@yahoo.co.uk

Monday 24 September 2007

25th September, plan activities near your home…unless..

you wish to be the part of the festival and go to the beach to witness the spectacle…..

The traffic arrangement for Ganpati Visarjan have been made, lots of traffic jam is expected on the road, for safe journey you could check the details of traffic status at Traffic arrangements in Mumbai city

Saturday 22 September 2007

October 2nd, Gandhi's birthday

is being celebrated for the first time this year as the UN Day of Non-Violence.

Citizens for Peace, a Bombay-based NGO, is organizing a Peace Mela at Horniman Circle and the Asiatic Library steps on the evening of the 2nd, with performances by a variety of artists in different fields.

The United Nations General Assembly had decided on 15th June 2007, to observe the International Day of Non-Violence each year on 2 October – the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, who helped lead India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.

Introducing the resolution adopted by the 192-member body, Anand Sharma, India’s minister of State for External Relations, said the idea originated at an international conference on “Peace, Non-Violence and Empowerment – Gandhian Philosophy in the 21st Century” convened in New Delhi in January this year.

The late leader’s “novel mode of mass mobilization and non-violent action” brought down colonialism, strengthened the roots of popular sovereignty, of civil, political and economic rights, and greatly influenced many a freedom struggle and inspired leaders like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr., Mr. Sharma stated.

The Assembly, “desiring to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence,” invited States, UN bodies, regional and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and individuals to commemorate the Day, including through education and public awareness.

Wednesday 19 September 2007

POETRY at PEN for September 24th 2007

Time: 6.15 pm
Place: Theosophy Hall (3rd floor), 40 New Marine Lines, Churchgate, Bombay 400 020


Poetry@PEN is a platform for the celebration of poetry, its practice,understanding and enjoyment. A newly launched feature of the PEN All-India Centre, it aims to present voices both emergent and established, host discussions of craft and concept, and create spaces of encounter that are reading, workshop and master-class in equal measure.


This edition of Poetry@PEN, features readings from their own work by two Bombay-based poets: VIVEK TANDON and MANISHA LAKHE .

Thursday 6 September 2007

Ganpati Festival starts on 15th September

Mumbai is all dressed up with lights and mandaps (pavilions) for the arrival of Ganpati festival which is to begin on 15th September and will last for 10 days.

The annual festival in honor of Ganpati, the elephant-headed deity who is the remover of obstacles and the God of auspiciousness, been has observed for last 250 years

It is a community-based enterprise. Subscriptions are collected on behalf of a residential area, market, or organization for the purchase of large idols of Ganesh, which are then placed on pavilions and made the object of collective worship. Various song and parties are attached to each pavilion.


The festival is observed for ten days, and the immersions of the deity are carried out over the last twenty-four hours of the festival, and the honor of the last immersions, when immense crowds are gathered, falls to the most well known or affluent communities.

The Ganpati festival is an extraordinary testimony to the public place of religion in Indian life.

The name "Bombay" was derived from 'Bom Bahia' (The Good Bay),

.... a name given by Portuguese sailor Francis Almeida, in 1508 ....“Bounce back Mumbai” .....as it is called by the locals, it is a city that has been through a lot in the recent past – floods, bomb blasts, riots – and come out stronger each time.

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