Multi-tasking

Multi-tasking!! A dreaded word indeed. A prominent Indian Star says he would like to learn how to multi-task from his steady girlfriend of many years, and one of the top stars today. But alas! He doesn't know that he is not wired for it. And no other male of the same species is. After all there is some chemical ‘locha’ which was programmed by the ‘Vidhata’, when the male was created. After all, the male was an experiment of the Lord which was then improved upon drastically, when he created a female. And then there were millions of years of evolution, during which time the chores taken up by the male and female of the human species, reinforced and reiterated, what characteristics are being shown by them now.
From times pre-historic, the man took up the role of a provider. For this role, he had to go into deep jungle, with the weapons he developed, to hunt and kill animals for his and his family’s daily food. Since the animals were more better endowed in terms of strength, speed and agility, the human male soon realised that he cannot overcome such animals alone, he had to act in a group. For this he had to develop good working relationships with others. Thus his instincts of a provider and camaraderie with fellow males increased, and became second nature.
However once he came back to the community, since a lot of energy had been used up in hunting activities, he just wanted to rest and recuperate for the next day, so that the energies are stored for the next day, which was bound to bring its own challenges. Doing this over and over across innumerable generations, hard wired only one instinct of the male, and that was to be a provider and his other abilities did not develop to that extent.
And what was the female doing all this while? What was she not doing…first and foremost, she had been given the most difficult task by the Lord, i.e. to give birth to the next generation. So right from giving birth to looking after the children, but at the same time, maintaining cleanliness at the abode, washing clothes, ensuring that everyone has something to eat, so preparing meals, beautifying the abode, et al. And neither food nor water was always abundantly available, hence she had to make use of the same, most frugally. In pre-historic times, there was no money to buy any requirements, hence only alternative was bartering, in which goods are exchanged. Hence she developed negotiating and selling skills. For this she needed street smartness and convincing speech, which got developed to their highest peak performance. And doing all these activities together, day in and day out, is the same thing, which we refer to as, multi-tasking.
So friends, multi-tasking is something, which the female species has got a big lead in terms of generational evolution and when a male feels that he will learn it, just by observation and repetition, is living in a fools paradise. At best, the male can start attempting it now, and over the next million generations, we can be able to reach the same space, where the female is today.
Yatindra Tawde

The dabaang girls

The dabaang girls


The neighbourhood toughie is known as a Bhai in Bharat. I don't know why or how this nomenclature came about. After all, why should a bad boy be addressed by terms of endearment. To put it simply, ‘bhai’ means brother. But here is my theory. When the neighbourhood people were disturbed by the antics of the toughie, and desired to be left alone, they started addressing him as a bhai, just to get into his good books, that is, if he had any. They hoped that by calling him a ‘bhai’, his filial feelings were woken up, and directed towards them. It also was an attempt to massage the ego of the tough one.
Nowadays, the neighbourhood girls are giving the neighbourhood bhai’s a run for their money. Or so it seems, going by three small news articles in the corner of the inner pages of this week’s newspapers. One was in Kanpur and the other one, in Pune and the last one, in Kerala.
The city of Kanpur. The Khamaria household is happy and celebrating the long drawn out marriage ceremony of the second son, Atul Singh. Usually in an Indian marriage, the groom goes in a procession to the bride’s residence. But here, the groom and his family, is in for a surprise. Suddenly a girl arrives, with the usual band-baaja-baarat, and many men in her procession, dancing away with gay abandon. Suddenly the girl whips out a revolver and fires a few rounds into the air. Thinking that the girl is a little extra extravagant, the grooms family plays along, but not for long. For the girl aims the revolver at the groom, while at the same time, revealing her face by lifting her pallu. The groom is shocked to say the least. For, the girl wielding the revolver is non other than his ex-girlfriend, Akanksha. Akanksha then goes on to abduct the groom, with the help of her associates, directly from the wedding mandap. The grooms family is still in denial, with this sudden development. And the city of Kanpur is in awe of the dabang mahila.
It's Pune. The laid back city, known long back as a retirees heaven, but today taken over by a cosmopolitan culture due to the fast development of the IT industry. A wedding in the Kulkarni family, the groom, boisterously enjoying his last night as a bachelor with his friends. His wedding mandap constructed outside his house, whitewashed just the night before, by the wedding contractor, stands ready for the next day celebrations. As the night enters the early morning hours, the noise levels go down and the groom and his friends, retire for the night. A few shadowy figures, with shawls covering their faces, make their way to the mandap, with bottles in hand. The contents of the bottles are emptied on the mandap cloth and then with a flick of a matchstick, the entire mandap is up in flames and reduced to ashes in a few minutes. The heat and roaring fire wakes up the groom and his family, and he sees his ex-girlfriend, escaping into the shadows.
The incident from Kerala is the most mind numbing. It shows the world of counterfeit godmen who think nothing of stealing from men or raping women, all in the garb of religion. It is the story of a girl, abused and molested by one such character, who had to bear the humiliation and torture from last many years. One day she decided, enough was enough. So the next time he came on visit to her house for some ceremonies, she  feigned sleep, with a newly sharpened knife below her pillows. As expected, he came near her in the still of the night, and in a few minutes, he barged out of the room, howling aloud in severe pain, holding onto his loins. Bobbitised!
These incidents show that at least a few girls in the country, will now stand up for their honour and their rights and not be cowed down by society. More power to them.
Yatindra Tawde

Dapoli

Dapoli
My first visit to Dapoli was about 6 years after my marriage. It so happens that my wife’s native place is near Dapoli, due to which our visits started.  Dapoli is in Ratnagiri district which lies in Kokan area of Maharashtra. As most of you are aware, the Kokan is one of the most picturesque places in Maharashtra, blessed as it is, with miles of  beaches, greenery of the top order, and an undulating landscape. Dapoli is known as the Mahabaleshwar of the Kokan, since it is blessed with a mild climate and situated at a height. It was very popular with the British, who had their army camp here. Let's go on a tour of Dapoli and the surrounding towns and places of interest. Join me!

Let's go in the same order as I visited them. The first town is the beach facing, Murud. Please note that this Murud is different from Murud-Janjira. We had stayed in one of the beach facing resorts where the waves almost lap at your legs. If you want to spend your holidays lazing at the beach, hanging on a hammock tied between two coconut trees, this is the place you want to be in. If this is not heaven, I don't know what is. For the adventurous, the nearby beach of Karde village is the answer. There is a huge choice of the best water sports ranging from the common, speed boat pulled parachutes (parasailing), where you will be flying and feeling the sea wind against your face, to the sea-sofa. This is an unique experience, where, literally a air-filled sofa is attached to a speedboat, and you are supposed to catch hold of a few straps attached to the sofa and hold on, as the speedboat drags the sofa, with you hanging on for dear life. Believe me, it's a thrilling and adrenaline pumping experience. And safe too, since you don't enter the sea waters without a life jacket. And all the other water sports are available too. For those, not inclined to enter the water themselves, but would rather enjoy other species doing it, you can always go dolphin watching, early in the morning. This will certainly act as great stress buster. For the foodie minded, are sure to enjoy the wide variety of fish platters on offer. And these fish dishes can be had, fried or with curry, sitting on the beach, enjoying the hot afternoon sun. For those with devotional mindset, Murud has a beautiful medieval temple dedicated to Durga Devi. Nearby, is a memorial to the great social reformer, Maharshi Dhondo Keshav Karve.

Murud is also known as Murud-Harnai. Harnai, a neighbouring village known for the fish auction taking place at Harnai bunder and also for the sea fort, Suvarnadurg, situated a mile away from the mainland. Nearby, is the village of Anjarle and the Anjarle beach. But Anjarle is more famous for the Ganpati mandir, situated on a hilltop overlooking the beach, hence also known as ‘kadyavarcha Ganpati’. The Mandir is, of course beautiful and peaceful, and when you drive from Dapoli to the Mandir, you pass through winding roads, and climb small hills overlooking magnificent vistas of the Arabian Sea. The panoramic view of the beaches and sea, seen from the vantage point of the hill, will stay with you forever.
Asud is one village, which should not be missed, when you are anywhere near Dapoli, and with good reason too. Situated at a distance of just 8 km. from Dapoli, on the road to Murud, it is famous for the ancient temples of Keshavraj and Shree Vyagreshwar. Once you park your car on the road side, and enter the village, you are transported to a different world, where work related or  any other stress, just evaporates, as you start walking down the hill, on a winding path, covered by a canopy of coconut, betel and jackfruit trees, planted so densely together, that the rays of the Sun, cannot penetrate, even during the main summer months. The coolness of the place is enhanced by softly running streams of water, which have been channeled through rocks, an ingenious piece of aquatic engineering. Once you reach the bottom of the hill, you cross the main stream and then again start climbing the ancient steps, ushering you to the temple built on top of another hill. Once you reach the top, the ancient temple embraces you into its structure and provides you with cool water trickling down the Gomukh, for your parched throat. The silence of the serene surroundings is broken only by the chirping of the birds. Shree Vyaghreshwar mandir is situated on the riverbank and houses the Swayambhu Shivling. Asud village is certainly a must-visit.

Jump on a vehicle on the way to Dabhol, and reach the Chandikadevi Mandir, just before you enter the town of Dabhol. This temple, dedicated to goddess Chandika, is underground inside a natural cave. You are not supposed to carry any light inside, and the only an oil lamp allows you to take darshan. It's a real experience when you enter the temple for the very first time. Once you enter, the darkness envelopes you, as you feel your way inside. You proceed like this for sometime , and then the dim oil lamp near the main idol guides you, suddenly you are in her presence. This temple is known to be very ancient.
Finally Dapoli! Dapoli has one of the biggest Krishi Vidyapeeth or Agricultural University in India. There are many nurseries too, Amrute Nursery and Koparkar nursery, to name a few. Blessed with a good climate and fertile land, the nurseries of Dapoli offer a wide variety of flowering and decorative plants. The Amrute nursery also has staying arrangements, though not on a large scale. Don't miss having lunch or dinner at Amrute nursery, whether veg or non-veg. I had the tastiest foods here and you should too, though advance intimation needs to be given.

The ST stand is just on the exit road going out of Dapoli and is flanked by a huge ground. The roads are tree lined and offer shaded roads. There is a lots on offer in Dapoli and the surrounding villages. So friends, Chalo Dapoli!
Yatindra Tawde

Bahubali

Bahubali
I was one of the few miniscule Indians who had not watched the first part of Bahubali on the big screen. But then I watched it on TV , when one of the channels premiered it. The scale and grandeur of the film floored me. The waterfall scenes overwhelmed me, the love story of Bahubali and Avanthika sucked me into the narrative and the elaborate war scenes with Kalakeyas, an army of savages, having their peculiar communication language of clicks and grunts, mesmerised me. The battle chariot of Bhalladev, with its sharp rotating scythe, was a very novel contraption. All this, and the fact that I had missed this spectacle on a big screen, made me await for the second part, which I was surely not going to miss.
Finally last week I happened to see the second part and was totally bowled over. As expected, the VFX was totally awesome and took movie watching to a whole new level, the story was very relatable. Whatever maybe the era, the gamut of human emotions remain the same. There was romantic love, and then there was maternal love. If there was loyalty, jealousy was in equal measure. While the entire male cast acted well, their physical prowess was exponentially enhanced by VFX. The real heroes were the two lady stars, Ramya Krishnan and Anushka Shetty. While Anushka looked beautiful and has great personality, Ramya Krishnan exuded serious regal bearings. The role of a matriarch in power, suited her to a T. While the first half of the movie is mostly romantic, it gathers steam when the war games start. One must appreciate the imagination of the fight coordinators, who have really researched upon the war techniques of ancient times.
And finally the film is about Rajamouli’s vision. Rarely a Director is given such a free hand to bring his vision to the people, and how! It is never about just mindless action or VFX, but has its story telling soul firmly in place. Hats off to the makers of Bahubali…and all it's actors, who have really lived their characters, to create a real blockbuster of a film.
Yatindra Tawde