Vijay Dinanath Chauhan...Poora Naam…Hi!!!

With just a week left for the release of Hrithik Roshan’s AGNEEPATH on 26th Jan 2012, the film takes me exactly 22 years back; the day was 16th Feb 1990 when Amitabh Bachchan’s AGNEEPATH was all set for release. I was in Calcutta (Kolkata) in my final year. An AB film release in those days used to be a HUGE event for all die-hard AB fans. Being one of the most awaited films of that year, we were told AGNEEPATH was going to be premiered at Calcutta’s Nandan Film Center which will be attended by all the star cast of the film and all the proceeds from the film would go to the war widows of AWWA (Army Wives Welfare Association).

I just couldn’t believe my luck as my father (then serving in the army, HQ Eastern Command) somehow managed to get six tickets for the premier. We all reached an hour before the show with 3 rolls of Fuji films. Nandan was jam-packed amidst tight security as the army commander too was attending the premier. The event began with the army commander and his wife occupying the stage which was followed by the introduction of the star cast…starting with Yash Johar & Hiroo Johar (Producers), Director Mukul Anand, Jaya Bachchan, Archana Puransingh, Madhavi, Mithun Chakraborty, Danny….and finally….AMITABH BACHCHAN….walked in, it was maddening, the crowd went berserk…My camera just couldn’t get any good snaps of any of the Megastar as the crowd went MAD asking for his autograph. Somehow AB made his appearance on the stage and by the time the crowd settled back in their seats the movie started to roll. It was AGNEEPATH, AGNEEPATH and only AGNEEPATH with AMITABH, AMITABH and only AMITABH all the way!!! Phew! What an experience to see the man in flesh and blood, I still have the stills and his autograph. We were amazed to see him signing autographs after the show with both his hands simultaneously. The experience at Nandan was magical.

Although, the film received mixed reactions but it’s still considered to be one of AB’s best films. The dialogues still lingers in everybody’s memory…

• Vijay Dinanath Chauhan…Poora Naam…Gaon Mandva, Umr 36 saal….ye, solvaan ghanta chaalu hai…
• Is duniya mein seedha rehne ke liye ulta sochna bahut zaroori hai…
• Main apne maalik ka puraana wafaadaar hoon…har cheez soot ke saath waapas karta hoon…
• Jab dushman ki umr badh jaati hai, toh us se dosti kar leni chahiye…apni umr badh jaati hai…
• Awaaz bahut ho gaya, Kancha Cheena…ab dhamaka sun ne ka…
• Yeh kya Kancha…pistol bhi dikhaata hai aur peeche bhi hat ta hai…peeche hatne ka nahin…

…and so many more…I can just go on and on and on. Long-live AGNEEPATH!

It is more than just 12 ounces of paper, ink and glue....

It is a sextant…a compass…a telescope…a chart.

It can tickle you…riddle you…fiddle with you…dwindle you.

It can get you started….it can stop you with brakes sharper than Bugatti Veyron’s EB 16.4 brakes.

It can turn its back on you and still remain a friend….or tell you that the only way to have a friend is to be one.

It can transport you to places unknown and bring concepts unheard-of right back to you.

It can open your mind….challenge your convictions….push your limits.

It can cushion your comfort-zone….or yank you out of it.

It can tour you inside the minds of great people who have lived and continue to live interesting lives.

It can show you wisdom of Centuries.

It can show you what to dream…how to dream…and how to live them – wide awake.

It will show you HOPE…no matter what dire straits you’re in.

It can change you.

It is more than just 12 ounces of paper, ink and glue.

It is…..a book.

And if that didn’t convince you to embark upon this delightful ride called ‘reading’ then….these life-champions just might…

• Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. ~ Joseph Addison ~
• To read is to empower. To empower is to influence. To influence is to change! ~ Jane Evershed
• “We read to know that we are not alone.” ~ C.S. Lewis
• When I got my library card… that was when my life began. ~ Rita Mae Brown
• “It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.” ~ Oscar Wilde
• Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers. ~ Harry Truman, the only American president without a formal college education.
• I've traveled the world twice over, Met the famous; saints and sinners, Poets and artists, kings and queens, Old stars and hopeful beginners, I've been where no-one's been before, Learned secrets from writers and cooks …All with one library ticket …To the wonderful world of books. ~ Anonymous
• A wonderful thing about a book, in contrast to a computer screen, is that you can take it to bed with you. ~ Daniel J. Boorstin
• “No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.” ~ Confucius
• Beware of the person of one book. ~ St. Thomas Aquinas
• I can't bear art that you can walk round and admire. A book should be either a bandit or a rebel or a man in the crowd. ~ D. H. Lawrence
• If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Next to acquiring good friends, the best acquisition is that of good books. ~ Charles Caleb Colton
• The reading of all good books is like a conversation with all the finest men of past centuries. ~ Rene Descartes
• You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.
  Ray Bradbury

· A book store is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking. ~ Jerry Seinfield

• I divide all readers into two classes: those who read to remember and those who read to forget. ~ William Lyon Phelps
• If there's a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it. ~ Toni Morrison

Personally….I’ve experienced new stimuli; shared experiences of Wilde, Emerson, Wodehouse, Shakespeare, Doyle, Buffet, Fry, Christie, Adams, Gladwell, Bombeck, and Sharma in the comfort of my patio; learned wordplay; escaped from boredom and anger and got thrilled and entertained in the bargain; found other’s perceptions on ‘purpose of life’ got coached on ‘life and living’; and became an avid airport reader. In all…I can vouch for time well spent. The trick though….is knowing which book to read.

In every family and every circle of friends there exists a book-worm who could point you in the right direction. Else…you’re now blessed with the glorious tool – the internet where, not only can you find recommendations on the right book to read….you can find the book itself. The electronic book. It does pale in comparison to a paperback but that’s your next bet. And I will bet my favourite book that you will soon be pining for the next book sale!! Like I am right now…for the ‘Kolkata Book Fair’. It’s not your run-of-the-mill book fair….it’s the ‘baap of all book fairs’ in this country! Plus….it is the world's third largest annual conglomeration of books after the Frankfurt Book Fair and the London Book Fair with a footfall of 20, 00,000 (2 million) people.

Started in 1976 by the Kolkata Publisher’ and Booksellers’ Guild the Kolkata Book Fair is the most sought after event by the book-worms of India. The 36^th International Kolkata Book Fair 2012 would be inaugurated at Milan Mela Prangan on 24^th January 2012 at 4:30 pm and would last till 5^th February 2012. Timings - 10 am to 9 pm.

They say the prime attractions of the Book Fair are the various gates that are designed and decorated to match the theme of Santa Maria Novelle of Florence, Belur Math and the Art Centre of Chicago. I say that the prime attractors to this book fair are some literary stalwarts who are expected to visit the Fair. Some of them are Ruskin Bond, Vikram Seth, Omar Abdullah, Amish Tripathi, Chetan Bhagat, Tahmima Anah, Imraan Khan, Manu Joseph, Craig Taylor, John Keay, Upinder Singh, Moni Mohsin, Sugato Basu, Mahfuz Anam, Shehan Karunatilaka, Arunava Sinha, Anuja Chauhan, Arvind K. Mehrotra, Palash Mehrotra, Kapka Kassabova, Anita Nair, Rezwana Chowdhury, Ritu Dalmia, Dr Tomaso Belloni etc. Even Bollywood celebrities like Actor Imran Khan, Gulzar Saab are expected to visit the Kolkata Book Fair.

And if you wanna catch me there…..its easy. I’d be the one scurrying around stall to stall trying to bag as many books as I can carry….EVERYDAY!

When Amitji over powered Rajivji…

It was sometime in Dec 1989 when I and my brother were travelling from Guwahati (Assam) to Shillong (Meghalaya). Before undertaking the journey we had to stay at the army’s transit camp (which was just outside the Guwahati railway station) where all defence personals take a break journey before proceeding towards Arunachal Pradesh or Nagaland or any of the north-eastern states by road. We had to stay at the camp till the fog cleared on the route to Shillong.

Once we got the clearance we started immediately by jeep. The distance being just a 100 kms, we were told that it would take about 3 hrs to reach Shillong. We started at 5 pm and in no time it was dark. The jeep started making jerks mid-way as we felt we were running out of gas. As the jeep slowed down we were over taken by a lorry who’s driver shouted saying that our jeeps silencer had caught fire. We jammed brakes, got down and ran away from the jeep. The driver didn’t panic but took out one of the water bottles and threw water on the silencer. The driver said that we couldn’t go further as the jeep had broken down and he needed to call the unit to send us a recovery vehicle. We were in the middle of a forest and didn’t have a clue on how to contact the unit at Shillong.

It was past 7pm, cold, foggy and pitch dark with no lights around. The driver said that he’ll try to stop any army vehicle coming or going for help, meanwhile my brother was searching for place to answer nature’s call when he shouted…“Hey! I can see some light coming from that hut downhill.” I told the driver to continue what he’s good at and we both will go down the hill to get some assistance.

I and my brother slowly walked down the hill and knocked at the door. A 50 year old chinky tribal looking guy opened the door…before he could ask us I asked him…“Chai milegi”? The man couldn’t understand. I asked him again in Hindi- if we could get a mechanic as our vehicle had broken down. The man was clueless, my brother started guessing on how to explain the man…as the man asked- “Why don’t you both come in?” in English…we were completely zapped!!! I asked him how come he knew the language; he said it was their local lingo.

We both sat down inside as the man went in to get us some tea. We looked around his walls which had a few paintings, arrows and a huge poster of the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Amitabh Bachchan. My brother asked the man if he was more of a fan of the PM or AB. The man replied that he didn’t know who the posters were of but all he knew was that the right side poster was of a man who acts in Hindi films and got injured while shooting in 1982. Before we could ask why he didn’t know about our country’s PM, our driver shouted…“Sir, recovery van mil gaya!” We soon thanked the man and asked if we need to pay for the Tea, he said- “No, you are my guests!” We both thanked him again and left his hut to be carried away to Shillong by the recovery vehicle only to realize how much our Bollywood actors over power our politicians.

Wah Spa !!

One day I wanna pack my bags and take off - all by myself to a place totally ‘not-known’ to anyone in my ever-evolving network of friends or family. No advice……no map….no compass….no GPS….no asking for directions…..no newsletters from befriended (or not) planets….no screaming promos from travel companies who seem to know exactly when I oughtta take a break from work (even though I don’t) and ask me to leave NOW….no weddings to attend…..no family friends to visit with a ‘sweet-packet’.

It doesn’t matter that a city won’t charm and shock me at the same time. It doesn’t matter that a historic monument won’t stir my soul from within and make me feel nostalgic of an era that I did not witness. It doesn’t matter that a prehistoric artifact won’t fill me with awe and rake up the archaeologist in me. It doesn’t matter that the million flowers in the valleys won’t welcome me with a smile. It doesn’t matter that the salubrious air won’t embrace me with warmth. It doesn’t matter that the trickling brooks won’t tickle my feet. It doesn’t matter that snowflakes won’t land on my nose. It doesn’t matter that I won’t get the thrills of my life hanging upside down by a rope in a deep gorge. It doesn’t matter that I won’t race down a snowy mountain at a 40-degree angle at a maddening speed like a maverick on wheels who has nothing to lose. It doesn’t matter that a gushing river won’t drench me with its ice cold water as it tosses me around merrily. It doesn’t matter that I won’t laze around in a hammock with a book at hand and a German composition in my ear. It doesn’t matter that I won’t be rolling in laps of luxury with hot and smooth black pebbles dotting my spine. It doesn’t matter that I won’t do a ‘world-tour’ of India on a shoe-string budget. It doesn’t matter that I won’t have stunning backdrop photos of mine to share online. And it sure as hell won’t matter that my bank balance remained untouched.

Buuuuuut….what DOES matter is that I do things on my terms, at my pace in my own race. I decide ‘where’ and I decide ‘when’. And right now I feel like surrendering to the bliss of warm oil dripping on my head while a masseuse kneads my feet endlessly. I want to be enveloped in light Indian folk instrumental music and want lush green trees to surround me. I want to inhale moist cool air and I want beams of the sun to shower on me through the mosaic-like thatched roof. And when I’m done with this piece of paradise, I want to lazily walk over and park myself next to either splashing water or gushing water and just watch all of nature’s bounty on the roll. And I wouldn’t mind an occasional visitor or two – an Elephant or a bird that would sit along with me or flutter around me like as if I mean the world to them. No…it ain’t impossible. I heard that in Kerala - in quiet and quaint towns - there exist – what we now call ‘Spas’ which bring my dream to reality. These Spas are a legacy of certain select families. It’s almost as if it’s a trade secret. It must be. Why else do others not succeed in this endeavour of treating people’s lifestyle oriented ailments using this very technique? You may have other successful techniques but this technique behaves like it won’t survive if it switches hands. And who cares? From what I heard, I will walk my way…..all the way…..to Kerala just to be pampered by these Ayurvedic masseurs and practitioners. I’d indulge in Ayurveda from head to toe and ravel in the ‘magical’ balms, oils and lotions of Kerala.

Or……I could also head north to Himachal Pradesh where resorts are resorting to ‘Kerala-Style’ practice of Ayurveda – only…. at an altitude of about 6000 feet. An additional fringed benefit of Ayurveda treatment in Himachal Pradesh is the breathtaking and wondrous panoramic views of the Himalaya Mountains. Just imagining myself in those mountainous regions…sends a chill down my spine. To be soaking in all of nature’s bounty….the lush green meadows dotted with millions of wild flowers; the pleasantly chill weather with cool breeze; the clean air; the sparse civilization with no traffic (much less traffic jams); the open and vacant streets of these small Himalayan towns – all surrounded by the Great Himalayas is an experience by itself. And then to bask in the Himalayan sun with Ayurvedic oils from a different latitude is pure bliss!!

And while I’m up there kissing mountains in Himachal Pradesh, how would it be if I just drifted to 34.05°N 74.38°E? What say? In case you’re looking up these coordinates – don’t bother. They belong to an all-weather resort which sports millions of wild flowers in summers and radically changes to a ferocious snow-sports capital of India in winters. This is where we’ll find India’s highest skiing location; world’s 2^nd highest Cable Car; world’s 4^th highest golf course; and one of the very few Helicopter-skiing resorts in the whole of Asia. And what I’m really interested in the ‘apres ski’ in this place. I heard it one of the most happening international party places in the world with people from New Zealand, Australia, Europe, China, Russia and India converging after a whole day of ski-indulgence to let their hair down and chill and socialize. With the holistic and Ayurvedic treatments with which I’d feel totally invigorated, I think I’d be all ready for some action then. Now…all I’d need to do is rope-in a friend or two and I’m set for the best action-packed and picturesque vacations of my life. Oh….and 34.05°N 74.38°E belongs to Gulmarg in Kashmir!