Concert for Tranquility - Pt. Shivkumar Sharma

Decided to attend a concert on 24 Aug at NCPA, Mumbai. Was supposed to be accompanied by R and two other people, but they all ditched last minute, so headed off alone. (There was no way I was going to miss a concert by Pt. Shivkumar Sharma! Even if it meant I had to go all alone!). Thanks to R, who always takes the bleakest view of the traffic situation in Mumbai, I ended up reaching Churchgate more than an hour earlier than required! With nothing better to do, I decided to check out the tiny Sarvodaya Book Stall inside the Churchgate Station. Sarvodaya is known for its collection of odd reads, but what I was looking for turned out to be not just odd, but also out of print! Did manage to find a few other good books though.

Couldn't spend much time at the book stall. It's really difficult, when you have huge crowds milling about you! So finally took a shared cab and reached NCPA, with still a lot of time to spare. Chose to settle down at a nice spot on Marine Drive and was treated to a rather amusing lover's tiff (quite a common sight around here)! Now, I am totally against eavesdropping, but can you be blamed of eavesdropping when someone is screaming at the top of their voice and creating a public spectacle? Anyway, the antics of the couple kept me entertained for a while and I killed the remaining time enjoying a lovely cup of coffee. And then, at last, headed for the concert.

The concert was organized in the memory of Mrs. Kiran and Mr. Jagdish Khanna by their family members (no, they are no Page 3 celebs or something like that. Just some nice individuals who loved music and who have loving family members surviving them) with a desire and hope to see peace and tranquility prevail over this world. And who better than Pt. Shivkumar Sharma to transport you into such a peaceful and tranquil world!

Born on Jan 13, 1938 in Jammu, Shivji not only rediscovered the Santoor, a little known, obscure folk instrument of the mountains, but also in a way reinvented it, by making numerous changes to the traditional instrument thus rendering it suitable for playing classical ragas. He has indeed, single-handedly, put the Santoor on the global stage. Panditji's relentless pursuit of excellence has earned him several national and international awards and honors, including both the Padmashree (1991) and the Padmavibhushan (2001). For all the recognition and success, Shivji remains a tremendously humble and jovial man. 'Research has proved that excessive exposure to cell phones causes brain damage. But exposure to music causes no damage! So why dont you put away your mobiles and enjoy the music instead?' he quipped, as someone's cell phone rang out aloud.

Just as I was getting ready to enjoy the upcoming treat of scintillating music, my nostrils were assaulted by a hideous stench! Giving away my extra passes turned out to be both good and bad. Good cause the passes ended up going to people who were obvious music lovers. Bad because the seat next to me ended up being occupied by someone who stank like he had just waded through all the gutters of Mumbai! All my life I have ridiculed women who roam around bathed in perfume that one can smell a mile away. And here I was now, desperately praying for precisely such a woman to walk in and save me! Sadly, no such thing happened. But thanks be to God who gave me the forethought of carrying a stole. After securely covering my nose with two rounds of cloth (which still did not manage to keep out the odor entirely), I let the music of Shivji take over my senses.

In keeping with the theme of the concert, Shivji chose to start the evening with Raga Bhoopali (or Bhupali), also known as Raga Bhoop, a beautiful evening raga evoking a devotional mood. The same raga in Carnatic music is known as Mohanam. Starting with an alap, jor and jhala, Shivji followed it up with a second composition in Raga Bhoopali, gat in Roopak Taal. After a brief break during which Shivji retuned the Santoor (and the audience relieved their bladders), he chose to play three compositions in Raga Mishra Shivranjani, a light classical raga. Interestingly, this raga can convey different moods depending on the tempo in which it is played, Panditji informed us. When played in a slow tempo, this raga conveys melancholy; in a medium tempo it evokes feelings of love and romance; whilst in a faster tempo the raga infuses the listeners with joy. Naturally, the maestro chose to play this raga in a faster tempo. And my joy was undoubtedly doubled considering that the stink-man next to me had disappeared during the break and had not returned!

Panditji enthralled the audiences, as ever, and at the end of three hours, we were left wanting to hear more of this incomparable genius. It just struck me that even to give a three hour long performance at the age of 73 is a commendable feat in itself! It is surely the eternal nature of music that keeps Shivji young even at this age!

God bless Shivji and the Khanna family, because of whom I could enjoy this wonderful treat!

Wings of Joy



The Striped Tiger

Mumbai - a city choking with pollution and population! Would you believe that tucked away somewhere not far away from this madness is a piece of heaven? Where countless butterflies spread their colourful wings in joy!



The Oakleaf Butterfly

Unbelievable, yet true. This piece of heaven is created through the hard work of a single man - Rajendra Ovalekar, who decided to convert his 2 acre plot of agricultural land into a garden for butterflies. India's foremost expert on butterflies, Isaac Kehimkar, lent his expertise and support in making this garden a reality.



The Common Grass Yellow (this fellow is really tiny!)



At the Ovalekarwadi Butterfly Garden, butterflies are not bred in an artificial environment. Instead, special varieties of plants are cultivated here that provide ideal food and breeding grounds for butterflies, thereby attracting these delicate winged creatures in large numbers.



The Danaid Eggfly



As can be expected, the garden has become a favourite hangout for butterflies, naturalists and shutterbugs alike.

The garden is home to more than 70 species of butterflies, with several migratory species visiting as well. On any good morning, it wouldn't be too difficult to spot atleast 20 to 25 varieties. We spotted quite a few ourselves....



The Common Crow



But capturing these creatures of flight in a camera is quite a task in itself! It requires tremendous amounts of patience and luck to get the right shot. And it is absolutely essential to stay quiet and not disturb the butterflies (sadly, something that a lot of visitors there simply refused to understand).



The Striped Tiger



The Blue Tiger

In order to really enjoy the Butterfly Garden and get good photographs, it is best to arrive as early in the morning as possible when butterflies are at their slowest. Butterflies become increasingly active as the day progresses.

The Common Jezebel



The Common Rose



Mr. Ovalekar and his team are always available at hand to guide the amateur visitors in spotting butterflies, cocoons, caterpillars and other interesting creatures found in the garden.

Located off Godhbunder Road, Thane (West), the Butterfly Garden is open on Sundays between 07:00 am to 02:00 pm. A nominal entry fee is charged. Space to park cars is available at the garden and breakfast can be arranged if adequate advance notice is provided to the team. Contact numbers are: +919892138338/ +919869323383.

For the Mumbaikar tired of seeing concrete jungles, the Ovalekarwadi Butterfly Garden is truly a sight for sore eyes....




The Great Eggfly Female

 
Photos contributed by Mr. Raman Sharaph















The Mumbai Museum

With almost all of Mumbai heading off to some or the other weekend destination close by, R and I decided to avoid crowded outstations and dedicate the long weekend to some long pending local city sightseeing.

We began Saturday with a visit to the Church of St John the Evangelist, more popularly known as the Afghan Church. This church was constructed by the British to commemorate the dead of the First Afghan War of 1838. Sadly for us, the Church was closed as now the Church holds very few masses. 

Next we visited the Jahangir Art Gallery. On display were several collections of modern art by renowned artists. But R and I don't quite understand modern art and hence we decided not to spend too much time here. After a quick bite at Samovar, the famous restaurant at the Art Gallery, we headed to the Mumbai Museum.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya

Originally known as the Prince of Wales Museum, this Museum was set up in the early 1900s in honor of the Prince of Wales (who later on became King George V) visiting India. The Museum architect George Wittet has designed this building in the Indo-Saracenic style, which incorporates features of Indian as well as Western architecture. Later, the Museum was renamed as the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya.

The museum has a collection of: 

• Stone Sculptures, predominantly from sites in Maharashtra, Karnataka and parts of western India; 
• Miniature Paintings from the various schools of miniature painting that developed in India; 
• Decorative Art Objects in ivory, silver, jade, etc; 
• Indian Coins, dating all the way back to the 7th Century B.C; 
• Nepalese Art, primarily being metal sculptures of the various gods, goddesses and demigods worshiped in Nepal; 
• Prehistoric stone age tools and artifacts; 
• Natural History Section which houses a collection of 'taxidermied specimens' of mammals, birds and reptiles. 
• Certain sections displaying Arms and Armors, European Oil Paintings, etc were closed for reorganization and renovation. 

I personally liked the Coin Gallery very much (who doesn't love money, eh!) as it illustrates how the usage of currency developed and flourished in different eras in India over the centuries. Some of the specimens in the Natural History Section are also mind blowing! I was totally astounded by the sheer size of the Rhino (as large as a Mahindra Scorpio!), a 21.5 foot long Whale Shark (these things normally grow to a size of about 50 feet!!!! Gulp! Thankfully, they are not interested in harming humans) and a 6 foot tall Bison (he was damn handsome too!). But overall, being the animal lover that I am, I was saddened to see all these dead creatures. The kids at the museum were having a good time though. I guess in a place like Mumbai, most kids don't get to see anything more than pigeons, dogs and cats!

A good part of the collection at this museum has been donated by generous individuals such as Sir Ratan Tata and Sir Dorabji Tata. Though the collection at this museum can not hold a candle to the Salarjung Museum of Hyderabad, it is certainly worth a visit. Ultimately, R and I enjoyed the time we spent here, though our legs were aching like hell!

Debit what comes in....

In response to a frantic call from my neighbour (who is a professor), I recently found myself addressing a classroom of some 40 odd 3rd year law students of the Pravin Gandhi College of Law, Mumbai. Earlier known as the SVKM College of Law, this is part of the Sri VileParle Kelavani Mandal (SVKM) which runs several educational institutes across Mumbai, including the prestigious Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics, Mithibai College of Arts, Commerce & Science and the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies.

As part of a student skill development program, the College had decided to conduct short (2 hours) sessions on various topics which would be useful, interesting as well as fun for the students. I was roped in to deliver a talk on 'Fundamentals of Accounting' (which honestly is neither useful, nor interesting nor fun). Wondering why law students need to know fundamentals of accounting? Well, that was the very first question I put to my prof neighbour who was part of the faculty incharge of organizing the skill sessions.

The fact of the matter is that lawyers are involved where there are disputes. Disputes occur over things that are worth some money. Where money is involved, accountants are surely involved. And when the lawyer and the accountant have to deal with each other, all hell usually breaks loose. So, the objective of the session was to familiarize the would-be lawyers with atleast the basic concepts and jargons of accounting so that they are on the same page as the accountants (which rarely is the case). Fair enough!

So I quickly put together a few slides on the topic and enthusiastically presented myself to the class (I dont know how much of my enthusiasm was shared by the class :-) ). Luckily for me, a good share of the class had opted for commerce in their Class 11 and 12 and had a decent idea of what I was talking about. For a subject as dry as accounting, I had a phenomenal amount of class participation (may be it was because of the fact that all my examples to explain the concepts had something to do with pocket money, pizzas and mobile phones). Just as we were discussing the golden rules of accounting, one of our latecomers walked into the class and the entire class erupted into 'Debit what comes in....'. Imagine applying one of the rules of accounting on flesh and blood persons!

Anyway, the session went well (nobody hooted, booed or threw stuff at me!) and one of the students even got me a nice cup of hot coffee during the break. It was great interacting with the younger generation (sad, but true, we are all aging), but what I enjoyed even more was interacting with other guest lecturers. One session which particularly interested me was on collecting forensic evidence from the crime scene. The lady who conducted the session is a professor at the Institute of Forensic Sciences, Mumbai, and was carrying this extremely interesting kit with all sorts of finger print dusting powers and what not. Obviously couldnt get to attend her session, but managed to get a few minutes with her where she explained some of the stuff they teach. Quite an interesting field of study!

Really look forward to more such opportunities to break away from the monotony of regular work and broaden my horizons!