Songs and Memories-1- German Christmas & Rains

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrTnxXI1AUg  You can listen to Taal se taal mila via this link...

Remember this song from Taal? I find it beautiful, the audio as well… Not just because of the amazing A.R. Rahman but also because this was one of the happy songs I would listen to, away from home in ‘students’  city Darmstadt, back in my German Internship days…

Since I had always idolized my father and wanted to be like him, I had taken along his favourite Talat Mehmood’s ‘dukhi’ tapes; which I somehow, later, understood were not good for me and confessed to an Indian elder-brother-like Indian friend the office people introduced me to. I called him ‘Basav bhai’. 

Office people's X-Mas treat for me- 'Kinder punch':)

AIESEC Darmstadt makes roll-call:) at Mainz.

Mr B. Patil and his wife Kiran were very kind to me. Basav Bhai asked me to not listen to those tapes. Simple enough… But I needed something and hung on to them and confessed again to another Indian friend I acquired at the Christmas fest Aiesecers took me to in, Mainz, a city nearby. This was

Devraj & I clicked by Rupa, @ Museum Apotheke

Devraj! The ever helpful and smiling brother to Devrupa, who in turn, was to become my confidante later… Devraj promptly invited me over to their place in beautiful Heidelberg for the weekend. The brother and sister are IT people and Bengalis with Hyderabadi accent! Devraj took us around the castle city and also sent me off with the Taal cassette tape! This music brought a new lease of life into my evening meal cooking time or simply after office hours!

Rupa & I, at the Heidelberg Castle, in the rain:)

Nils, my bubbly flat-mate had made fun of Aishwarya’s picture on the cassette-cover, “Indian girls make naked pictures? Are they not traditional?” I explained, “No, no, she is wearing skin coloured leotard!”

Nicole, my other flat-mate remarked on some instrumentation of one of the songs, probably ‘kanhin aag lage lag jaaye’… “This sounds like some European music I have heard before…” I had to say, “It is quite possible… Our film music has a lot of western influence…” But they all liked the whole album overall and I was in any case, very proud of our national treasure, A.R.Rehman. I probably left it for them before coming back, just like the red chilli powder requested by Frank my third flat-mate, along with other spices…

Frank, his grandma and sister Anne

Coming back to the song above, ‘taal se taal mila’, while for us Indians the rain is a wonderful phenomenon not just because we are an agricultural nation but also because it is a welcome change in the warm climate; whereas, for the westerners it is more of a hassle. So, when dancing and singing in the movies seem already funny to them, dancing in the rain must seem ridiculous! In their kind of cold weather, it is quite understandable. So, when during my Christmas invite at flat-mate and fellow AIESECer (Students Exchange organization), Frank’s parents’ place, after numerous questions whether to carry umbrellas by his younger sister Anne, Frank refused confidently, it was only natural that she gave it back to him when it rained heavily during our walk!

And I took a photo!:D 

Hope you enjoyed this:)

Smoked Baingan ka bharta, Mommy-style

Clicked by my brother at Botanical Gardens, Lucknow, circa 2004.

We miss the way people make us feel and she made me feel really special. Sharing today, my mother’s Baingan-ka-bharta recipe… My brother and I were planning to shoot the video but I was so tempted to cook and eat ASAP, and Bhai had a meeting to attend, so, we shall have to make do with my phone-photos. Here’s our favorite smoked bharta recipe... Hope you enjoy it too...

Smoked Baingan-ka-bharta:

Preparation & Cooking time: Total 20 mins.

Serves 3 people (We are voracious eaters of this dish)… We couple it with roTi/chapaati. Ideally we should have daal also, but we do not like anything to interfere with this favourite indulgence, not even coriander! The videos on youtube were also off today!

Ingredients:

2 large Brinjals

5 medium onions/ equal to more than the mass of brinjals

6 Green chillies (hot variety)

Half tea-spoon red chilli powder

Salt 2 teaspoons or to taste

A pinch of turmeric

Coriander leaves for garnishing

2 Table spoons Ghee or oil

Method:

1.       Slit brinjal on four sides to eliminate the possibility of worms, leaving the crown/top on.

2.       Roast the brinjals on open and low flame, carefully cooking it all over. The brinjal needs to leave skin and also become soft inside.

3.       In the meantime, you can chop onions while turning the brinjals around on flame (after every few seconds as the peel comes off), holding the crown.

4.       Keep roasted brinjals on a flat plate.  Now, press the water out of the brinjals by keeping some heavy vessel on them for 5 minutes.

5.       Chop green chilli. (You can also make roTis now if you want the bharta to be smoking hot, like I did).

Roasted, peeled, mashed brinjal

6.        Now, carefully allow to drop all the water from brinjals and take the burnt peels off them.

7.       In a round vessel, mash the brinjals with a fork. The top/crown can be very enjoyable so ensure the part close to it is also cooked well.

phulka/roTi

8.       Warm up ghee or oil in a wok.

9.       Saute onions for 2 seconds only. (We like the ‘khach-khach’ sound and taste of them in bharta!)

1.    Add red chilli, turmeric, mashed brinjal and green chilli and salt.

1.   Mix well, switch the stove off to keep the onions as firm as possible, garnish with chopped coriander and serve with roTi.

P.S. You could add tomatoes and ginger right after onions if you like but the smoked flavour would diminish...

My mother used to also make bharta with boiled brinjals… Then she would definitely add tomatoes, chopped green garlic leaves and also boiled peas.

Found Sharda, ‘isi khushi mein’- Polly Part II

Sharda and family

Sharda has two kids now, one boy and a girl. She smiles gracefully in photos now, with her husband and kids in fb pictures. Earlier she would giggle uncontrollably. We must meet soon.

So, anyway, we were in Class VI at the railway police station, explaining our end of the story when ‘Nazaaqat’ made that comment about ‘this hullaballoo just another way of making income’, when the officers got really angry and fined us. We requested them to reduce the fine, but they would not listen as they had to teach us a lesson. I do not know if ‘Nazaaqat’ learned. So, we reached Hind Motors late and also returned home late. But in between we had tons of lovely Bengali food and laughter. Polly and her family were unbelievably good hosts.

Sharda, Polly and Shadma in the middle, as they've discovered what my didi Barkha had done in Antakshari

Naughty Sharda was pretty hard working, unless she could avoid it… She generally brought aloo phulka in tiffin after cooking the same herself! She looked after her younger siblings and diligently helped out at home.

But in school, we got the best of her witty comments and giggles and also physical fights in good spirit. You ask her and she will tell you all about the comments made by one ‘bhaen’ (van- cart rickshaw) guy to our ‘bhaen’ (van- cart rickshaw) guy in Ballygunge, a village where Shadma had taken us for a picnic.

We were going from Shadma’s property in the village to the really large and ancient well near a dargaah. The mode of travel was a cart fitted with cycle, commonly pronounced as ‘bhaen’. Apparently, Polly and I were bringing the ‘bhaen’ down at the back and the driver could not cycle at optimum speed, according to Sharda who interpreted as well as related the passing van-driver’s comment, “peechhe mein weight jaada ho gaya hai”… We do not know what had really passed. But there were Nauras, Shadma, Sharda, Polly and Nazaaqat at least, if not Sushma also on the van…

Sharda and I, clicked by her niece Jil

Sharda suggested we make Polly jealous so she visits soon

I finally reached Mulund East yesterday to meet with Sharda at her home (It takes 2 hrs 30 mins from Malad West, where I live!). She came downstairs to greet me! Sweet, soft-spoken and ever so graceful, she fed me with delicious home-cooked food after apologizing umpteen number of times that she had not made anything special as I had made her cook special Gujarati delicacies twice already without turning up. I didn’t even bother to put her at ease, hungrily lapping up tasty alu-bhaji, daal, gazab roti, Tikiya on chutney toast, more chutney, ‘chhaas’, ‘mithai’ and unbelievable ‘Srikhand’. Some of it was prepared by her girls, (She wishes her son would learn cooking too) her own daughter and her ‘devrani’/sister-in-law’s daughter. Sharda introduced me to the latter and their ‘bua-saas’/aunt-in-law also.

Sharda's niece and nephew Jil & Deep.

Sharda still looks after her younger sisters who are married in Mumbai, what with her mother and younger brother gone in an accident. She sent me off with a beautiful necklace and some home-ground white dhokla-powder. An ideal human being, beautifully living in the joint-family set-up in separate floors of a building, where the children celebrate togetherness, busy to the T, I am so looking forward to our next meeting.

Family Fortunes ep- Can See Law of Attraction Working!

Ritesh, Rajat, Vivek & Dolly, ready to play at Family Fortune- Game show for Big Magic Channel.

It is funny how my brother and I discovered on youtube,  the American game show called ‘Family Feud’ hosted by the funniest Steve Harvey around six months ago… and three months ago I came across this post for audition for a similar-sounding show on fb…

After make up dada & hair didi sent me back

Like many aspiring actors in Mumbai, I had given auditions for roles of various kinds and had been waiting to start a new innings in front of the camera. 

Being close to my brother and my Theatre Teacher, Baba Sir, had taken me to a couple of studios/ set locations in Mumbai…

After Make-up and Costume; added blazer for shoot.

But I finally faced camera outside of my home cookery videos, when having fun with friends. 

Our participation in this show called ‘Family Fortunes’, hosted by adorable Mantra proves that when a dream is treated with fun, things manifest quicker. 

Ritesh's leg as he kept apologizing to the rickshaw wala

Dreams or desires spring forth involuntarily, but the mood or vibrations that we emit (if any less than happy/positive) can and should be changed constantly… The action that happens through us then and the result that emerges should not be judged; then it should all be considered His work… The Gita gyan, all over again… Many thanks

Friend Ritesh on left, brother Vivek on right.

to Esther Hicks.

So, when the call finally came about shooting for the show as the channel had liked our audition, three of our gang of four were out of town! 

But the casting people at Ideas Box were understanding and a convenient date was fixed. Amid doubts by two people about their availability, I kept watching more of the funny show, the American as well as the new Indian version of it.

Finally, a picture of Ritesh (like bhai, a hard working AD, Sindhi guy, grew up in Calcutta, met Vivek on a film set) and Vivek after lunch at Joey's Pizza. Rajat had already left as his parents are in town.

Rajat is a sincere actor who apologized before hand if he effed up on the show. So did my brother and incidentally, they both gave top answers.

Here is our episode aired on Big Magic Channel. BTW, we won the game and the jackpot! The amount is minuscule when you compare it with the U.S original show, minus the taxes and divide by four, but still highest till date from the beginning of this Indian series and I believe, we won because the amount was not so big in our minds and hence, 'believable' and achievable... Magic is in belief and by being happy we allow magical things to manifest:)  

Click here for Family Fortune Episode- Dolly & Friends

MAMI & Moving Fwd

Director Ruchika Oberoi & Team 'Island City'

So, I was invited to sit in the reserved gold class section by my shy friend Sagar Desai (you might have heard his work in Ankhon Dekhi and other award-winning films also) the music director of the film and I got scared, went to the 3^rd row from screen and sat down. The movie was fantastic- ‘Island City’, a must watch. It is playing again today, please try to watch it. This morning my right foot aches, the ankle… because I refuse to move forward- the metaphysical reason for the ailment. I hope it gets better soon so I can go again, tomorrow is the last day of the film festival.

Garam Hava Director- Padma Shri M.S. Sathyu and Actress Geeta ji.

Garam Hava (1973) was phenomenal! It was a privelege to watch the movie and I also got to interact with the Director, Padma Shri M.S. Sathyu and the lead actress Geeta ji.

I also liked Marry Me, a film by an Indian origin- German girl. A girl who wished to work on her dislike of the regressive culture actually ended up making a Bollywood film for German audience, with honesty! I loved characters and actors- ‘Karim’ and ‘Sujata’/Nani- Ms. Bharati Jaffery!

Rishi Kapoor & Nitu Singh

My first visit to Mehboob Studios happened because of MAMI again, where they had a Master Class by Rishi Kapoor ! Interviewed by Rajiv Masand and Anupama Chopra, Rishi Kapoor revealed how Nitu ji kicks him on the shin when he talks too much; Anupama Chopra said she has to do the same with Vidhu Vinod Chopra)...

Interview of Gurinder Chaddha by Huma Qureshi was very enjoyable and so was the Mr.India Reunion (unfortunately I do not have a picture of that, but I assure you, Anil Kapoor is just adorable!)

Security at PVR Andheri, pic by Manoj B (resembles Anjum Sir)

I took my tiffin on both the venues and kept them by the security. They were nice to me. I am really glad for that and thankful to Barkha who used to give me tiffin when I went for OSEAN in Delhi back in 2008. Where I had seen Irrfan Khan’s Dubai Return and A Tale of Three Friends (Teen Yaari Kotha, Bengali)… Those days it was difficult to make films and get them passed and released. Now it is much simpler.

I am glad I can see that.

This was my first visit to MAMI. I found it to be very organized and Book My Show people were extremely helpful. It was lovely to meet some really nice people. Things are definitely looking up :) I wish the mobile toilets become much better at Mehboob Studios soon. 

The lesson for me and my friends from all of the above is to be honest to your work and dream on. Stand straight, you will know, when the head comes at the position when you become free the neck down, where the respiration happens easily and you walk with accent on the hips. Otherwise, the knees and ankles suffer. Have faith. Now, do what you feel is right and keep a constant watch on your mood. The law of attraction picks up on your vibes. 

My First Cookery Video:)

So, my brother Vivek, took a day off from work to recuperate from fever and fatigue and we ended up shooting our first video together! We had been dreaming and planning of this since ages… it happened today.

My Mom used to be a brilliant cook.  I wish we could have done this then, with her… But things happen when they happen. My elder sister Barkha and I have inherited some of my mother’s talent, thankfully. While, Barkha has innovated a lot to her in-laws’ tastes and invented many new dishes to please her guests and children alike; I like to keep it simple… But Vivek being a boy missed out on that. When we were growing up, in our conservative household, it was not ok for boys to learn cooking. After much complaining when Vivek was living alone in Mumbai, my mother started giving him instructions on how to make poha. We will make that soon too, mumma-style...  

This video series is more for young people who wish  to eat healthy, tasty and low callorie food made at home.

I often like to cook for atleast two meals in one go; and that too, one curry which will have a mix of several kinds of nutrients so that it makes for a sort of balanced meal. So here is my variation of a favourite dish, ‘kaala chana’ with very little oil and spices. Cooked simply and combined with any kind of bread and salad, it makes for a healthy meal.

Here’s the recipe and the video. Happy Cooking:)

How to make Kaala Chana, video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zed_TsWmGT4

Prep Time - Over night soaking and  5 mins grating and chopping.
Cooking time - Sauteing 5 mins, pressure cooking 20 mins. 
Ingredients:- 

200 grams (2 cups) of kala chana (Black Gram) soaked overnight.
One Onion (Medium) - grated
1 & 1/2 inches of ginger - grated
6 green chilies
5 tea spoons of roasted zeera powder (Cumin seeds)
5 tea spoons of Dhaniya (Coriander) powder
2 tea spoons (to taste) of salt
2 table spoons of refined oil.
750 ml or 3/4th of a bottle of water

Recipe :-
Heat up the oil in a pressure cooker, add the grated onion and saute till it's brown. Add the grated ginger, coriander powder, soaked kala chana, salt and roasted cumin seed powder. Mix them all, then add 750 ml water and sliced green chilies. Close the lid with the whistle on it. After 20 whistles wait for 5-7 mins till the lid opens on its own and then enjoy! Bon Appetit!

P.S. You can add more spices and water for gravy.

How to make Kaala Chana Masaala (dry)

It’s Shadma’s Birthday Today:)

Very few people are remembered and revered the way we love and miss our friend Shadma Shamama Khanam. The one who got angry every time our School in Calcutta, under Bengali influence, (where ‘S’ is often pronounced as ‘Sh’ would think the ‘h’ to be redundant in her first name Shadma, meaning- Happiness) and print ‘Sadma’ (meaning- emotional shock/trauma). The girl who had lots of opinions, most of them showing irritation at people invading her privacy, was extremely intelligent and a very soft-hearted person and was the best friend to everyone in the group.

From R-L, Sushma, Shadma and I at BITM Science Fair; pic by Shadma's elder brother.

Sometimes, I hear her voice in my older niece, Manya and I love her more when she talks so much sense, much more than her years. I wish Shadma had Manya's kind of determination too... Determination to flout ‘saamjik’/ social pressures… Like Polly and myself, she did not want to get married… she had much too independent a spirit. Anyway, she performed her duties, gave birth to a girl and died of some illness. Her husband of course, got married and the child is living with him, his new wife and new son.

I’m not saying that marriage itself was the culprit; as nowadays, we can see people being happy and independent even within the institution… But in those days, we had these negative beliefs you see… And whatever your core belief is, comes true… That’s how the Law of Attraction works.

So, yes, we were this strange bunch of girls brought together by our friend Sushma. I was included in the group in class VI. That is when I learned to talk, as in, that’s when I began to act my age, be a child, because, I could trust and respect these girls, and begin to have fun in school… These were the people I could relate to, apart from my own family.

Having been kept on a separate floor from boys since class V, this gang of girls was free to behave wildly. They were good at studies, well behaved with the teachers, witty to the core and had hoodlum kind of ‘haatha-paayi’ with each other!

Girls of Class VIII on a picnic...:)

But the fact that we were not interested in boys bothered one girl. Let’s call her, Nazraana; who right from this tender age was very aware of what was ‘normal’. She had confessed to me in class VIII, that if a boy called so-and-so, (we used to have mixed classes, as in, boys would be sitting in separate columns in Second Language & Moral Science) was to touch her, she would not marry anyone else/ “Agar woh merko chhooega toh main kisi aur se shaadi nahin karoongi”. When I related this to Shadma, she was surprised, “Woh usko chhoega kyon?”/ ‘Why would he go to touch her?’… We generally did not speak with the boys and laughed at their stupidities. And Shadma had clearly not understood, so I had to explain, “woh  bahut baRe sense mein bol rahi thi”/ ‘She meant it in a much larger sense’… To which Shadma said, “ekdum paagal hai, bolne doh, humein usse kya?”/ ‘She’s totally crazy, let her say, does not matter to us’… We left it at that.

But Nazraana did not… Then there were two years of Classes IX and X, together as Co-ed with the boys… 

So, when we had reached class XI and had begun Inter College, Nazraana discussed about our lack of interest in boys with an older friend in her neighbourhood and related it to some of the group, that her ‘didi’s’ verdict for us was that we were abnormal!

'antaakshari' with boys at our place! :D

Now, a story was concocted and served with much spice, so they could laugh later… I say, they, because, I had continued at our old school, Sushma had also joined Goenka perhaps, Nauras and Nazraana had also separated only Shadma, Sharda and Polly were together at Bhawanipore College… a Co-ed Institute. These 3 girls were the most affected by this labeling. I think it was Sharda’s plan and Shadma was most enthused about teaching Nazraana a lesson…

So, Sharda planted in Nazraana’s mind that (since, Sushma would be too unbelievable:D) Dolly has a boyfriend, a new boy in school (I used to walk away when that guy came anywhere near) and Shadma likes a guy, (Shadma cooked up a name- HENRY RANGHAPPA) a senior from College… The best part is- Polly likes him too… So, Nazraana met up with Shadma, at the earliest, before our group meeting/picnic plan, alone and confronted her! She specifically advised her to go ahead with her relationship with the boy and ditch Polly :D

The idea was so abhorrent that Sharda spilled the beans, but Nazraana refused to believe that this was a cooked up story saying, “Shadma jab baat kar rahi thi uske aankh mein paani tha”/ ‘When Shadma spoke of this, her eyes were teary’!

Picnic in College, Nicco Park, Calcutta

Finally, all, Shadma, Sharda and Polly had to confess it together and also, told her that they were disappointed that she advised her to go against her friend… It was Polly only, who wanted to keep in touch with Nazraana, even though, when she’d reach outside her house and wish she weren’t home!

Sharda got married and lives somewhere in Thane. Sushma is a professor and lives with husband and son in California. Nauras is into alternative Medicine, lives in Calcutta with husband and son. Polly is just like me unmarried. Sushma, Polly and I are in touch again, and not just us from the group, but the boys from our class also miss Shadma a lot.  

More of our stupidities later :D

An old 'page' on Happy Mother's Day:)

Lying on her bed-spread (white cotton fabric with light pink flowers and green stems, that I got this time from a carton in Barkha’s go-down in Raipur, originally sent from home in Lucknow; that Barkha and she had gotten from an exhibition at Nathani Aunty’s back in Calcutta) I felt so ‘at home’ and started thinking of how she had instinctively known about colour therapy among other things like ‘the law of attraction’ that we are beginning to learn now (considering she had no college degree and had only liked reading Sharat Chandra novels etc; had once, day-dreamed about getting married to an Engineer and actually did, believe it or not, it was an arranged marriage… 

Just a few months ago we read the young couple’s letters and happily discovered, that they had actually fallen in love after getting married!)... I went about my day, getting the house cleaned, planning what changes to make with the furniture settings (of the minimum that we choose to keep now)… packing for Vivek’s trip abroad, I heard in her voice (in Sindhi), "haaNe kontho vanjayi"/ ‘he is not going now’. I still kept getting his warm clothes ready. My brother came back home last night and told me that the trip has been postponed... I had completely forgotten that yesterday, the 11th of April, was my mother’s 5th death anniversary.

Extremely camera-shy, and generally full of abundance, (that I wish to imbibe now) she had her phases of lack complete with superstitions too... Ideal daughter that used to be, I erupted when we had reached Lucknow in late 2001, that too thanks to her brother’s (my Uncle’s) instances of irrational behavior. But that really opened the floodgates of our good fortune by teaching us how to appreciate ‘what is’. We started communicating with complete honesty. It felt wonderful. She became a complete pillar of strength, whereas earlier she was treated as fragile (what with her heart-attack in ’86 and our father’s death in ’88)… Her transformation was phenomenal. Not that we still did not argue, she had promised in full filmy style, ‘tumko chhoRke kahaan jaayenge’/ where will I go without you/or rather ‘I shall never leave you’...

Now, I ask her for help whenever required and I hear her instructions when I am in the mood to listen:) On the 10th, I met one friend while shopping and then another friend decided to bring home his wife and two kids along with his neighbor Aunty. She was just so nice. Tomorrow, I have plans to meet another friend and her mother. The day after, I might meet another Aunty for Chinese-Checkers… We cannot replace people, but our loved ones are always around and life can be as beautiful as we allow it to be.

Ramblings- Read at your own risk…

Festivals are a time of mourning for us… ever since this Saraswati Puja (from photo)… It was the first and last time ‘rangoli/alpana’ was made in our house on the puja day. My mother became her superstitious best after my father passed away in a few weeks. I can understand now that she just wanted to keep us as safe as possible…

Learning, unlearning and relearning about the law of attraction does not help; the reactive mind wins…

How to be detached? And is there any fun without attachment? I used to love children; play with kids of cousins… My mother used to suggest I should join a Montessori school… But ever since my sister’s girls have come, I have realized that the affinity I feel for them is something else and touch wood, they love me back equally! ‘Me’ and mine are important to life and so is learning about the self… Although we know about it, the relearning has got to be done until it is genuinely and fully realized…

Until such a moment, the ‘jaddo-jehad’/struggle is on… Faith, that all is well, is the most important reminder in this age of awareness, as how we feel in the moment is determining the next experience in the making… Let’s count our blessingsJ Thank you for being a part of my lifeJ

Anger and Empathy- Creation of a Story

My nephew had come over last Saturday; you know how it was in those days, my aunt, (kindly read blogpost ‘Mrs. Aadi’) was married when my father was born and gave birth to a son after a year, and Prashant is her daughter’s son, who currently works at Earnst & Young, London (born in Mau and raised in Bareilly!)… So, he was asking how the process of writing stories works… Here’s the account of the creation of one of my favourite stories…

Lata, Umesh, Samrat and I with Sir... clicked by Snehveer

It was around 1:30 am or 2:00 am but definitely way beyond midnight and I was returning home alone in the auto-rickshaw after a long but very enjoyable day at the ‘Monday ManDali’… That was a story workshop with renowned Lyricist Neelesh Misra who now has the fourth season of a radio story show running successfully…

As soon as my rickshaw entered the building premises, and I could see some cars parked outside the small gate, a thought flashed in my mind, ‘If I were to get down silently and vanish (by the time security opened the main gate) behind a parked car, what would happen to the auto-rickshaw guy? Would he not get scared when he finds nobody around?’

I related this to my mentor, the next morning, as the new story idea and generally a serious person, he laughed out loud! We as a family have been through enough to realize the value of comedy. So I began writing, hoping for a segment of 450 words per week… In the middle of that, my niece, Manya, then in class VI, called up and asked for a poem to recite in class… I came up with something that she thought was too childish… So I narrated it to Sir, and asked if I could do series of ‘kid-ghost’ stories…  He liked the idea. It reminded him of Casper…  

Most of the manDali at my friend Yamini and Sir's wedding in Mussoorie

And then came the instruction from the channel- ‘Only love stories!’ What finally came about a couple of months later is a mixture of my own life experiences, theatre scene in Lucknow, coming to Mumbai with dreams, some news reports of fake ‘sadhu babas’, some anger and some empathy with auto waalas and some fantasy with the paranormal…

Here’s the story 'Locket ki tasveer waali laRki'... Hope you enjoy it... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjHsOZwv3TM