Author Archives: Ish

Bangalore in the 70s, India, Kannada, Musings, Nostalgia

Barbed wire Fence…and Kannada

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We were watching the movie, “Boy in the striped Pajamas,” where Bruno meets Shmuel. Bruno is a privileged nine-year-old while Shmuel, is in striped pajamas. What separates them is the barbed wire fence.  Bruno envies Shmuel, as he imagines him playing with other kids his own age behind the fence, in the comfort of his Pajamas, while he is all alone in the open world outside the fence. Bruno is unable to comprehend the horrors of living in a camp, as he offers simplistic solutions to Shmuel’s problems. When Shmuel talks about being hungry all the time, Bruno gets him food from home.

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Bangalore in the 70s, India, Musings

Dancing like Sapna

“Talangu Tadigina thom tha thae thae thath… Kitta thaga tham dit thaam- Dit thaam kitta thaga thayi thath thae…

The opening sequence of Allarippu  – a Bharthanatyam dance remains embedded in my memory. It is a beautiful dance symbolizing the offering of respect to both God and the audience.

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Bangalore in the 90s, India, Musings

Pitcairn Island and three fools!

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Pitcairn Island

It is Geography club time again at the elementary school. Even though we are focusing on the prominent countries of Asia, the islands continue to be my absolute favorite. My sons and me have spent many a night savoring the stories. Each island has a unique story. Our favorite ones are from Fiji and Pitcairn. Fiji had cannibals at one point, and back then, the most respectful way of greeting each other was “Eat me!” Pitcairn, a tiny speck of an island, only 3000 miles from New Zealand was populated by mutineers of a ship named, HMS Bounty, which soon grew over populated with 200 people. So, some people volunteered to move to another island called the Norfolk, knowing fully well that the Norfolk island was a penal colony.

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Musings

Grand arrival of the Television

.There was a heated discussion going on at home, after all it was an important issue. An issue close to our hearts, a Television set. We (my mother, my brother and me) had our hearts set on watching the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics on a color TV set at home. After all our neighbors had one! We could hear the movie songs and the dialogs, and desperately wanted to have a TV set of our own. We lived in Bangalore, where – the people were quieter and calmer, unlike Delhi, where everyone spoke loudly and all at the same time.

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Bangalore in the 70s, India, Musings, Nostalgia

Cacophony – Adjust Maadi (Hallmark of India)

I was making matar paneer, – Peas with homemade cheese, when the aroma jolted me back  to my childhood, in India. It used to be my favorite dish, especially the way my mother made it. Cubed pieces of paneer – homemade cheese floating in a delicious orange colored sauce. I could hear ” Chalte Chalte ” Farewell –  blaring  from a neighbor’s radio at 6:00 in the morning. Watching movies and listening to movie songs is a huge part of people’s lives  in India. All my friends saw movies. So, I expressed my desire to see the movie Chalte Chalte  a popular movie in the mid 70s,  my mother glared at me and firmly declared, “No more movies  for the next few years, they promote wrong values.”

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Uncategorized

Rhubarb & more……

So here is my post, free writing, no editing – no looking back – no correcting the typos …….I love free writing I can tell…….

It is a beautiful day, as if to make up for the beautiful day, the wind decides to show its presence and the rain decides it does not want to be left far behind. So, here we have the wind and the rain, a perfect ending to a beautiful day. The garlic is sprouting, I have a ton of rhubarb, that I don’t know what to do with.

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