A part of my soul - the amazing Hyderabad

There’s almost no one who has stayed in Hyderabad and not liked it.  (Though it offers many many reasons to do so, still).

The Hyderabad I know and love is long gone but I saw traces of it and its a little wishful to think its essence will be retained. But for sure, its worth celebrating and cherishing.

Hyderabad is the original and possibly the only TRUE cosmopolitan city in India besides Mumbai, and the best place anywhere for the middle class in India.

Satyajit Ray Presents 1 & 2

Doordarshan is India’s legacy national TV channel, owned and managed by the Government.  This was the only TV station available for my generation in our childhood and we therefore had mostly limited choice and terrible stuff to watch.

Yet, sometimes they’d get it right.

One such was when the almighty Satyajit Ray, possibly India’s greatest film director, collaborated with his Son Sandip Ray, to produce a TV series aptly named… “Satyajit Ray Presents” (SPR)  They produced another sequel a few years later named SPR2.

The Guru-Shishya parampara in Hindi film songs

A common recurring theme employed  in Indian film music is the Guru (teacher) singing with his Shishya (pupil) and gently urging him/her to follow the lines s/he’s singing and then take wing...

The Ice Creams From South Kanara, Karnataka

Let me tell you about some of the best ice creams in the world. IMHO you’d find them in the South Kanara district of Karnataka around Mangalore (and Udipi).

India has some fabulous ice creams that have become famous locally - Jigar Thanda in Madurai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad also have some local ice creams that are hugely popular.

Jana Aranya (The Middleman / Agent) by Satyajit Ray

How time makes a difference - the same movie which I disliked as a teenager was something I absolutely relished when I saw it decades later.  

When I first saw Jana Aranya (JA) - I was in college and my mind was fully occupied about future employment prospects, what I need to be doing, what options lay ahead of me, etc. etc. And when I saw the movie I was doubly depressed and I don't think I saw it fully.