nightlifemumbai

- by Deepa Krishnan Yesterday at The Magic Room, I attended a marvellous session organized by Expansions (curated by Sarayu Kamat). We listened to the very erudite scholar Dr. Harsha Dehejia speak on the many moods of Krishna Kavya. I do not reside in Vaikuntha,  nor in the hearts of yogis. Where my Bhaktas sing my songs,  there I reside, O Narada! The invitation for the event said: "Krishna’s romantic presence is best understood as kavya and not as a katha, and that too as muktak, or fragmented moment of romantic pleasure. While enjoying the sensuality of Krishna’s shringara, a committed Rasika will endeavour to move it to shringar bhakti. Krishna shringara ultimately should lead to brahma jnana and therefore ananda" It was a pleasure listening to Dr. Dehejia, as he led us through the history of Indian Aesthetics, from the Vedas and the Upanishads, down to Brathrhari (Vakyapadiya, Sphota theory), Bharatamuni (Natyashastra, rasa theory), and Abhinavagupta (commenta...

- By Deepa Krishnan Once Diwali is over, the Nandiwale begin to make their appearance in Mumbai, accompanied by their sacred bulls. They are one of the many nomadic tribes of Maharashtra. Nandiwale man with decorated bull and drums, Dadar Market The Nandiwale originally belong to the state of Andhra Pradesh. They migrated to Maharashtra in two waves: the first wave came about 800 years ago; and the second, more recent wave, came 250 years ago. Those who came in the first wave now number around 2500; and they are called the Tirmal Nandiwale. Those who came in the second wave are larger in number, currently around 5500, and they are called the Fulmali Nandiwale. The two sub-sects do not intermarry.  They speak Telugu and Marathi; and many can follow Hindi as well. For most of the year, the Nandiwale live where their cattle can find fodder - typically in the valleys and plateaus of Ahmednagar, Sangli, Kolhapur, Pune, Beed, Jalgaon etc. The primary occupation of the Nandiwale is a soo...

by Aishwarya Pramod This Sunday, I went to see a children's play at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (Chowpatty). The play was called Taoos Chaman ki Myna, meaning "The mynah from the Peacock Garden". I loved it. It was funny, witty, and extremely well-produced, with a mix of realistic and stylized scenes lending it a fairy-tale feel. And the music was great (my mom is still humming it). Taoos Chaman ki Myna is based on a short story written by Naiyer Masud, an Urdu writer from Lucknow. The play is set in Lucknow during the mid-1800s. Wajid Ali Shah, the Nawab of Awadh, has a large cage full of beautiful mynahs in his garden in Qaisar Bagh. Kaley Khan is a poor employee in the Nawab's garden. The play follows the story of Kaley Khan and his family, and specifically, what happens when he steals one of the mynahs for his daughter, who has long been asking for one. Lucknow in the background. Death of Kaley Khan's wife, with his daughter sorrowing. The acting incorporated a lot...

- By Deepa Krishnan I am having a magical Sunday morning, listening to this great lady sing.  This is M S Subbulakshmi, and she is singing Swati Thirunal's famous Aliveni . Her voice brings to my mind, visions of a blue-skinned lotus-navelled Lord Vishnu. The maiden yearns for a tryst with this beautiful God, and begs her friend to go fetch him. In her anguish, she wonders - why is he late? Is he dallying with someone else? She praises her friend, showers kind words on her, and begs her to go and bring him. In case you didn't know, Swati Thirunal Rama Varma was the ruler of the Travancore kingdom. He died in 1846 at the very young age of 33; but not before leaving behind an incredible legacy of poetry and song. How does a king manage to write like this? This is a woman's voice! Her love and longing! But he so beautifully becomes that voice...he dissolves the lines between personal and religious, creating an atmosphere of ecstatic longing for the Divine. Truly this King is n...

This Christmas we had what can only be described as a shaam-e-mehfil. Pramod invited a bunch of his work colleagues, and we sat down to an evening of song and music. There was wine (and whisky and rum and vodka) And food...  And lots of laughs  I was the only female in this group of 12 guys. But miraculously, in the entire evening, the sacred words "Sachin Tendulkar" came up only once. Amazing, no? :) As I looked back and wondered why, I realised that the real star of the evening was the music itself. The mehfil lasted 4 hours, and we played so many "oldies-goldies" that it was quite magical. Pramod brought his harmonica and played a song for us. I don't think I even realised how time flew until someone looked at the clock and announced that it was 1 in the night.  Here's my pick from the evening:  Kahe ko roye (why cry?) from the movie Aradhana.  I haven't been able to get it out of my head all day long.  The absolutely stunning lyrics of the song ar...