It was in Goa that I first heard the name Prem Joshua. It was a whim, a mere moment's glance at the trinket shop of a Rajasthani lady wearing, what Sanket said, was a truckload of bangles, that I first saw that name. While the lady went to explain that the artist was a hit amongst the firangs and so we should buy it.You can either attribute the fact that we picked up that music album titled Prem Joshua and friends, to the lady's salesmanship or us trying to get a perfect Goan souvenir.
I had forgotten all about the disc until back in beloved Bombay, Sanket told me that he was blown away by the music. "It is brilliant fusion", he chimed. Now Sanket Chavan is a man who knows his music. So when he says something is unlike anything you have heard, you have to listen to it. And listen I did.
Prem Joshua and friends put me in a musical spell that brought memories of Goa and other journeys flooding back to me. So when I heard that these folks were going to be Bandra for a free music concert, I was ecstatic.
On November 22nd, 2009 at the Celebrate Bandra festival, inside the decadent Bandra fort, Prem Joshua and friends performed live to an audience that comprised of an expatriate population, Indian families, young students & some hippies.
The open air amphi-theatre, the palm and coconut trees that surrounded the artists and the crescent moonlight all added a slightly surreal feel to the entire event. The music was beautiful, melodious, soaring, swerving, at once taking you on a journey and then suddenly making you ponder.
Prem Joshua had the audience in splits with his funny takes on India. Another concert was playing about a stone's throw away. He quipped, "We have competition today. You know in India everything has to be loud." The crowd cheered, because it sounded more like an Indian's rant!
The sitar playing was taut, the tabla,the percussion and the entire music sounded exactly as it sounds on the disc. But the thing that stayed with me was the Soprano Sax, a hauntingly beautiful sound that pierced my heart.
The concert ended, but a lot of us wanted some more.A standing ovation and a few moments later we ended up meeting Prem Joshua himself. I had heard this line somewhere, "You never choose the music you listen to, its almost always that the music chooses you." That line struck a chord inside me that night.
P.S.A big thank you to Sanket for the concert pass. I am adding a link to Shiva Moon just in case you want to sample some of Prem Joshua's music.
I did mention that I would blog about my South East Asia trip and today I post the first of many posts.So here goes... I have always had a fascination for the West; nay let me put it more strongly, I love the West. So when I heard that my charming cousin had no qualms in hosting me in the UK, I shot off from my chair straight to the VFS global office with my visa application. I even planned an entire backpacking trip of Europe in my ridiculously imaginative mind. In retrospect if I had taken some more time in filling up the visa form or maybe added a tome on why I wouldn’t settle in the UK along with the form, I might have not ended up in Thailand or Malaysia or Singapore for that matter. I would have been writing something about the French or the Spanish. I might have written reams on my first Ashes experience but the Emigration Control Officer at the UK visa office had his own take on my brilliant plans. So he rejected my visa application.
I had tramped all the major bookstores in Bombay and spent countless hours poring over the Lonely Planet Europe guide. But then the best laid plans of men who look like mice almost always go astray. So instead of enjoying an English summer, I decided to pack my bags and go off on a semi-guided, semi backpacker tour of the Far East or as some prefer to call it the South - East of Asia.
I had created quite a lot of buzz with my plans of the Eurotrip, and when the whole trip came unstuck many a friend and acquaintance had a hearty laugh at my expense, Schadenfreude I say. So I was rather discreet about my new plans! I would leave for Thailand on 17th July and be back on 28th July, just in time for my date of joining Godrej IT on 1st August.
The Thailand trip happened, the Godrej IT joining didnt! But more on that later...
I know today isn't Monday so dont really tell me that! I wrote this on a bluesy Monday moment weeks ago. Felt like posting it. So here goes... I was waiting for my bus to arrive. It would take me to office. Now if you know me personally then you would know that, such an occurrence is rare. I mean it’s not as if I had reached the bus stop early but that the bus was late. I belong to the category of people who bound like a hunting hound after buses that are sprinting away to their destination. But today was different. I stood patiently with the Dave Matthews band playing through my head. As I heard “Where are you going?” I couldn’t help but laugh at the irony. And then I spied them, two kids with tiny bags, playing in a corner awaiting their pre-school bus. One of them was taller, with a blue water bottle hanging around his neck. A cherubic grin adorned his little face. The other one was short, with a band aid on his head. It was a curious game; they were trying to grab each others’ bags while going around in circles. No matter how hard the shorty tried he could never grab the taller one’s bag. I laughed at the silliness of it all and the simple joy that they derived out of it. Boy! They were happy, so radiantly happy that I missed being innocent. I missed being young, carefree, stupid and without responsibilities. A cagey sadness gripped me even as the song changed to Radiohead’s Lurgee. Soon their bus arrived and they left while I pondered on…
In what seems like a really long time ago, I happened to do a solo backpacking trip across South East Asia. I tramped my way through Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore in a matter of days. I have repeatedly promised to post about my misadventures and I believe the time has come for me to stay true to my words. So over the next few days { hopefully} I shall write in detail about those charming days. That's another promise!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
At 3.30 pm we decided it was time to head back. As is the case with students the world over, we realized that we were short on cash. How we managed to pool in enough to refuel so as to reach Bombay would serve as a lesson in economics. We decided to take the return journey a bit slowly as our asses were crying for mercy. Neither of us was accustomed to such long drives. At Lonavala and Khandala we passed a few chikki and fudge shops that we stared at wistfully, but we tarried on. We spotted a few monkeys near the valley ad something about our simian friends made us stop and shoot a bit of footage of the alluring Sahyadri valley. With the light fading and hunger creeping in our stomachs we decided to visit Ajinkya, a college friend. His benevolent mother fed us a scrumptious feast of dhokla. We visited another beautiful temple with Ajinkya. At 7.30 pm we set off again. In the dark Prasad transformed into a Night Rider and me into a Silent Rider. From Lodhivali for about 19 kms driving at a consistent 90kmph, he didn’t allow a single vehicle to overtake us. I was damn impressed. We reached Thane at about 9pm and thus the journey came to an end. The journey was an amazing success. A few people, who heard our story, said that it was a big risk. I guess it was and that possibly is one of the reasons why I jumped at the idea. I feel if you want to leave footprints in the sand you can’t do it by sitting, then you would just be leaving butt prints in the sand.
Some pertinent and possibly rude yet funny observations:
• Driving in Pune is like walking a tight rope. One stupid mistake and you will lie sprawling on the road, at times you will find yourself on the road, even without any mistake. • There is little road sense, or respect of trivialities like signals and lights. • Driving with headlights turned on during the day is Pune’s way of showing that it doesn’t face a power shortage. • More scarves are worn in Pune than in the coldest hill stations that surround it. Women cover up every bit of their face except the eyes, and zoom past you on their Scooties. Men on bikes with scarves do the same. If you have a scarf factory you know where to head. If you want a photograph of a terrorist riding on his next mission, still head to Pune. • If you ask for directions people will tell you to go left and indicate Right with their hands. • We spotted a rickshaw with a 4WD sticker on it!
Now I have a feeling that some of the few readers of this blog might wonder what I am thinking, posting this so late. Nevertheless, this is how things panned out.
Almost everyone has a tinge of insanity within us. We all possess a bit of zany sense of individuality, that streak of adventurism or sheer recklessness, whatever you want to call it. While some prefer to keep all that feeling bottled up beneath their staid faces, people like my friend Prasad and I revel in that sheer ecstasy.
I can picture us as some dark knights of an era bygone who look at the vast tracts of unconquered land and yelp in glee, “Let’s conquer this!” If you know your history then the Marathas reigned over Kalyan/Thane. In those ages, to reach there from their citadel in Pune some 160 kms away, it would take months of travel on tired horses. Aeons later the new age conquistadors journeyed from Mumbai to Pune and back, all in a matter of 12 hours and that too on a unicorn. Hang on! It wasn’t a flight of fantasy it was a Honda Unicorn.
It all happened thus. Prasad the brave and ebullient warrior of the Budhyal family had to seek blessings from a holy place in Pune. Then somewhere in that slightly cracked cranium of his, an idea took birth. So he came to me and asked if I would accompany him on a bike ride to Pune. I gave him a look that suggested he shouldn’t take me on the face value. I mean, I might look dumb. I ain’t! The earnestness on his face then convinced me that the freaking guy was serious. Thus I was entangled in this adventure. Not that I wasn’t game for it. It's just that, I wouldn’t have thought of it.On 26th February 2008, we decided to surreptitiously sneak out of hour homes and undertake this awesome road trip.
At 8.00 am, we met near the Indian Library, {how that place manages to feature in most of my clandestine activities is something of a mystery to me!}, both having informed our parents of our noble (?) intentions of attending extra practicals early in he morning. We were all set for the trip.A word, about the machine though. She was a Honda Unicorn like I said with the silver of Unicorn blood. She has enough firepower and is a comfortable ride.
Back to the ride. With a triumphant smile splattered on our angelic faces we set off on the Mumbra bypass road. The road had been reconstructed. It is wide and the ride is smooth. Prasad’s riding is instinctive and very good. He manages to squeeze through the narrowest of gaps at speeds that would make other riders queasy. We took our first pit stop at Khopoli at about 9am. A quick breakfast and some chai set us off for the rest of the ride.
We were back on the road. The surroundings are green and scenic. Tiny villages dot the landscape and the cattle also use the NH4 as its personal toilet. As we were cruising on, a few choppers with guys in black leather jackets zoomed past us. Soon we were doing 120 kmph. Prasad maintained an excellent control over the bike at those crazy speeds and I sat behind wondering when on earth would learn to ride a bike like that. Its different kind of fun to have the wind whooshing past you at 120kmph, it’s a wonderful sound and you feel on top of the world cruising like that. The road and vehicles rush past you in a blur.
Speed is a wonderful thing, it thrills, and it seems to have a sense of power almost as if it has a life of its own or as if it infuses life in to someone else. And a bike is one of the best ways to experience that high. I guess it’s the sense of shock, the sudden tremulous acceleration that gives that high and I was drunk on it.
The road is picturesque. The Sahyadris accompanied us like a watchful elder one. With their looming figure they always seem near and yet so far. I like that bit about them. Tall dark, giant like with shades of green and some white threads of water, that’s how the whole surroundings appear. Then there are large open spaces and a few green fields. Pink Floyd springs to mind as ever, “So you think you can tell...”
We reached Pune at about 11.30 am. Sanket’s handycam was useful to shoot a part of our trip. Just when we were about to reach take a turn in Pune, a car crashed on to us and we were accorded a Puneri welcome, by the driver in his typical Puneri Marathi. The bike took a tumble and both of us lay on the road. The helmets saved us. A few scrapes and bruises was all that we had on or body. A traffic constable made his way to the mess and asked us what we were up to. I held the handycam aloft and told him I was media student. God! He was positively scared. We slipped away from there and Prasad was a bit shaken from the whole incident. Even I wondered if I would reach home safely that night!
But we avoided taking too many pictures as it would have made our lies public. We took lunch at Dhankavdi and everything was fine. We had both recovered from that initial Pune shock. So we called that human GPS system- Nikhil Pai who directed us to the Osho Ashram. Sadly the tickets for the day were sold out. Yet we saw loads of firang chicks on our way out and maybe we might come here again. But I guess that’s another story.
I wake up every single morning with a similar question-Who am I? And every day throws a new aspect, that I struggle to come to terms with.
Like some Buddhist texts say “Know thyself” and that I believe, takes time. For now I am an electronics engineer working in SEO. I am creative, fun-loving and some even call me funny.
An avid reader, often a lonely traveler, a blogger, an arm chair philosopher, a yoga practitioner, a Vipassana meditator, a cricketer and a music buff all rolled into a single character.
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