Maintaing a blog these days is equivalent to the act of clicking pictures. You know that self-imposed pressure of carrying your camera wherever you go to capture anything new you see or capture anything at all (!!!!) Especially if you are traveling to new places? In the end you become like this robot on auto-mode:click, click, click, click, click and you barely even seem to be noticing anything else happening around you because your brain is so busy getting the right light, worrying about the aperture ityadi ityadi....Blogs do the same thing to you! Barely have you had this life changing experience, or met someone you never imagined you would or made this adventurous trip somewhere, you are running back to your laptop to go 'clackity-cak' non-stop (as my friend puts it) so that your avid blog followers can be entertained with yet another juicy post.
I am almost an anomaly to the world of bloggers considering I write at my own pace and mostly for myself. But of late, the grey cells in my brain are tingling with ideas, screaming at me to cop in. Cop in to what you ask. Well, I am sometimes filled with wonder at how some fellow bloggers analyse their most personal experiences, encounters (ahem ahem) almost everyday in most scinitillating detail. The result being that the whole virtual domain seems to be diverting its traffic to that one post. I am no prude dudes but rather just an objective blogger almost envious at how some blogposts (you know the semi chick lit types that have loads of sex, 'ya's and 'na's in every sentence brimming over with 'Hinglish') are converted to a novel.
Fantabulous isn't it? That blogger gets to make a couple of lakhs in royalty (forget the amount that comes with signing the first draft off to a publisher) and attain fame good enough to get another book published.
I confess! I am tempted to do this sometimes. Just that the Mitras would turn scarlet of some of my personal travails were up for the whole public. Hmmmm I shall return to this train of thought later.
Getting back to what this post was really about. I am on a week long vacation in the west-coast visiting my sister and brother-in-law. From working as an Assoc Producer for UTV in Mumbai to my semi-sabbatical stint in Bhubaneswar in (my home town in Orissa, India) to beginning my sojourn as a Master's student in New York to now hopping between Berkley and San Francisco.....the things I need to pen down in this blog will exhaust both sides of an A4 sheet. And yet, I find this growing inertia or sometimes even a strong feeling of being intimidated about writing a new post. I can't help being so defensive folks. I am just very anti-journal format for a blog atleast for my own and it's ironic that I seem to be doing exactly that. This blog is increasingly resembling a journal. And I've realised it's easier to write this way. So here goes
Summer semester ended last Thursday and we were all on the verge of collapse. The final production of our non-fiction film seemed to be draining all our energy and leaving us with no time to prepare for Professor Thompson's test. I have to stop here for a moment and tell you about this prof. For 8 weeks we devoured his lectures in 'Critical Perspectives on TV and Film' (well more significant to American media but nevertheless eye-opening! The classes made me contemplate doing some serious research and writing on how Indian Television has evolved and the context within which it has come to what it is today, you know the challenges, political, cultural influences etc). Bob Thompson is a revered popular culture expert in the US. No guesses that this man is like a talking encyclopedia and that if you were is student you would be privy to screenings of the most popular American sitcoms and advertisements from the early 70s-90s that no network or archive would spare you easily. I am sure the entire class will miss his lectures.
Right after Thompson's test, 43 of us (split across three sections) finally got together to watch all our productions and I was almost so envious about the short films the other two sections had made. The writing was crisp and witty and I have to say the post production was very impressive. I almost hid behind my friend John when my film was screened. But Lee, John, Yu Xi helped me get through it with their superb acting and technical skills. Considering one of my main actors went missing an hour before our scheduled shooting time.
Pre and post screening had Chris, Anna, Carmine, Griff and Chuck at Chuck's (he swears the pub was named after him). I haven't done shots in a long while but what the heck, I did and man did I love it! Chris made some arbit declarations of affection and confirmed his undying love for me by picking me up in his drunken mightiness (he is pretty good at this considering he is carried Carmine who is super stronger than I am and I must add super attractive, brainy, funny. My soul sister in so many ways!!!) I also realised that I can play pool pretty decently considering the last time I did so was with my father when I was 12. Baba played billiards and snooker (I think) at the inter club level when I was really small and he was very good at it (just like he was the captain of the hockey team in his college days and this line has had some strange humour for two of my friends but more on that later :P) so I guess genetic inheritance ha!?
Next morning, waking up my legs felt like two wooden clubs weighing more than they usually do and my brain kept pushing me to hit my head against the wall to shake off my hangover. I had a plane to catch in an hour and a half. My sis and bro-in-law had generously booked me on a flight to San Francisco!!! So four hours later I find myself walking aimless and for really long at the Detroit airport looking for decent affordable food (ha ha what a joke!). I did find a greta sandwich with alfredo sauce and chicken and veggies (and you would think that's a combination you only get with pasta!). One tall glass of lemondade down (welcome to the US where even small is always ever a 6 inch tall glass and XS is only limited to clothing, so it breaks my heart to see large portions of food being served and most of it being thrown away..sigh! I guess being from a 'third world country' has its own moral dilemmas even when it comes to consumption of food) my head hurt less so I walked straight to the waiting area. An hour later I found myself sandwiched in the middle seat, like that thin slice of ham between symmetrical pieces of rotund bread. My co-passengers had fancy tatooes on their arms and resembled WWF fighters. They turned out to be gentle giants though:) One of them spoke to me in length about how they had flown to NY to conduct an apprentice workshop for plumbing. Indians will find this queer but I am so overwhelmed to see how seriously these skills are taken seriously in this country. I might get the details wrong but you have to study five years in a school to become a plumber and electrician etc etc..... India has miles to go with most such skills being categorised under 'manual labour' and the lack of professional training, salaried wages or medical insurance for the millions of men who maintain our homes, offices and institutions. More on this later.
I got off at SFO airport and was releived at how easy it was to travel to my sister's house in El Cerrito, Berkley. A few floors above was the BART (Bay Area Transit Station) so armed with directions, I hopped onto a train at the Pittsburg Bay point and set off for 12 Oakland Street. 40 mins later I barely arrived at my destination, that my connecting train to Fremont had just pulled in. I hopped in and 20 minutes later was at the El Cerrito Plaza. Getting off at Berkley, my bones rattled insanely against the gale and I resembled a quivering jelly. 15 minutes later, Didi had picked me up and we were attacking a large bowl of duck noodle soup at Daimon's. For those visiting Berkley especially students and my kinds who never seem to have enough dough, a trip to this restaurant is mandatory because of the large spread they offer at a very very reasonable priced. No wonder it's always packed!
Next morning, Pavan and me set off to SFO. Sightseeing with my bro-in-law is the most enjoyable experience. Apart from being a walking talking encyclopedia (he knows his history and trivia inside out), Pavan bhaiya as I refer to him, is one of the most genuine and fun loving people I have met. I keep telling my sister she's landed a catch :) Anyway, we drove all around SFO instead of walking around. It was like a quick recce covering key historical and cultural landmarks: civic square,San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Centre where the United Nations Treaty was signed,the Coite Tower, the Ferry building (it's overlooking the bay and there are lots of sit out cafes where you can sun yourself while munching very hip organic spreads but very touristy so very crowded) and well there were so many other streets we just drove by that I barely remember all the names (No guesses why if you remember how having a camera in your hand barely makes you attentive to your surroundings. I clicked atleast 60 odd pictures that day!!!)
At the end of it all we went to China Town because I wanted very specific paper-mache string lights for my drabby room back in Syracuse. Now most people love china town and it seems they can be found almost anywhere in the world. Singapore's was amazing with its art collection, clothes and food. My only two prized dresses were bought from here for barely 9 SGP Dollars and the crab meal we had was one of the best I've ever eaten. SFO's China Town is very very crowded and buzzing with tourists from all over the world. I wasn't too impressed with the clothes or art pieces becasuse everything looked almost the same with very little creativity. One shop though had great SFO souvenirs so I did buy 4 shot glasses and then headed to a shop dealing in utensils and kitchen accessories. Now this may surprise you, but I love looking at kitchen ware especially if it's clay, ceramic, wood and old world stuff. Walk into a 'Wok' shop in any China Town and if you are a foodie and you love cooking you can spend a very happy one-two hours picking up all kinds of amazing kitchen paraphernelia. Overall I would rate SF's China Town 2 stars down from the 4 I gave to SGP but you would have a good time at this place if
a) your pockets are jingling
b) you are a woman who loves and knows her jewellry
c) a kitchen-a-holic LIKE ME :D
Didi joined us midway through after attending a very boho wedding at Redwoods ((My sister's high point of delight was that the bride was crazy and happy enough to be dressed on the loveliest white gown ever sans clean underarms, threaded eyebrows or any make up evening and that she ate bison meat...I would have termed it a hippie-like wedding and envied her for the experience.
Talking about hippies, the Haight Ashbury street in SFO is where it all began. This street will leave you stunned, smiling and swearing for more as you make your way through street bands, weed smoking happy yet crazy dudes, the whackiest of shop displays and my favourite a shop that sells bongs and weed smoking apparatus in all shapes, sizes and colours. Didi is a potter ( the professional kind mind you, one who has studied pottery under contemporary Chinese masters in SGP, spends hours at a local studio on getting her glaze and chemical right) and recently set about exploring her skill with glass. So both of us just drooled away as we treated our eyes to the sight of beautifully blown painted glass bongs stacked away in shelves that we lost count of in a psychadelic trance that magnificent shop left us in. I walked away heavy hearted because a) I could not take pictures and b) because buying a thumb sized piece costs $20
My heart was heavy and my stomach rather empty so I was only too delighted at my sister's suggestion that we head to their favourite Burmese restaurant 'Mandalay'. I am not joking when i say this, but you can eat this food almost everyday without feeling cloyed by its taste. Can get super spicy but has so much fresh ingredients in it that it's wholesome and light both for your palette and ponch :) I can't recall what we exactly ate but there was this Pepper soup with bean thread (lovely transparent tendril like thin noodles made from what we Indians called 'urad' dal. As I played with some around my bowl, I couldn't help thinking of the 'tree of Souls' from Spielberg's Avataar :) ), followed by some yummilicious noodles that had chilli flakes, fried and raw onion, chicken, lemon, some herbs that gave the lime in it the perfect zing and wait for it lamb with veggies...aaah. And of there was rice wine, Haiku beer (nice rose flavoured light Japanese beer) and Sangria to go with our meals, so I would have gone to heaven very happy if I had to die that day. I was recalling the peanut, lime chilly delight to a friend back in India and he told me his sojourn with Naga food, so that's definitely next on my list when I am next visiting India. Think I should and must start a food blog..yep!
Sunday we walked around Golden Gate park competing and almost fighting to take pictures. The poor camera! But 40 pics down and an hour of touching them up with iPhoto, I think my 100 odd pics on facebook will have me gazing in narcissistic awe of my amateur photography skills. I am proud of some of those pieces! Th trail was peaceful and nice and the air smelled crisp and earthy...sigh! How I wish I could have access to parks like this back in India. And to top it all yesterday Didi and I drove down to Linden Park well it's more of a protected forest area. We chose a sunny expanse of rolling green dunes, plucked mulberries off nearby shrubs and plonked down out mats to sun ourselves. Green below, blue above and happiness running through my veins stained mulberry scarlet: heavenly!
The last two days have been dedicated to cooking at home, cleaning, catching up on a lot of films that I hadn't found time for. Watched the Royal Tenenbaums (I would kill to work with Wes Anderson), half of a spanish film called 'Cautiva', Satyajit Ray's 'Jalsaaghar' = 'The Music Room' and 3 episodes of 30 Rock which my sister is a die hard fan of (she would kill to work with Tina Fey :)). Tenebaums was a good exercise for a film student, I learnt trivia and style from Jugal who explained its 'mumblecore' style. I can't wait to write something in this style considering it's a challenging yet much easier form of dialogue since it's staged. Shall wait for Jugal to be dine with his book by end 2011 and my Dramatic Writing classes this fall with Hollenback. I am convinced if I put in enough effort and discipline we could have a great script under our belt.
A word for Ray fans. I am one too but don't get me wrong I think this was one of his bad pieces! The movie had three clear points where I though 'Yes this is the denoument' adn yet it stretched on to nothingness and pointlessness. Wasn't too kicked about watching this one but I'm hoping the next 3 I've lined up will more than make up for my disappointemnt :'Joy Baba Feloonath', 'Chidyaghar'and 'Ghorey Bairey' (one of my uncles gifted Pavan and didi the entire Ray collection for their wedding. Thank you Kaku!)
Which brings me to what I did today. My sister had an appointment with her physio so I was again ceremoniously handed (pampered) a google map with multiple art galleries marked out for me to visit. We parted ways at the the Montgomerry BART stop in downtown SFO (which is a mild version of walking down a crazy yet beautiful street in Manhattan) and I armed with my map bravely set out to search Xanadu, Frankel and Haines gallery. I suck at reading maps by the way and the biggest living testament to this is my dear friend Vasundhara who spared me none of her madness in Pondicherry while we looked around for old churches with a guide map I seemed to be holding wrong at any given point. I must have given off the 'I am completely lost....HELP!" look because the next minute, a guy walks upto me saying "Are you lost ? Need some help?" I was about to say no thank you wanting to avid a conversation with a stranger but suddenly that my saviour was no random guy but the city police (or was he a guide personnel??). I pointed at my map and mumbled Geary Street and mr saviour was thrilled that i was looking for an art gallery he once worked in so easy weezy, in ten minutes I am in this majestic building with three floors designated to art galleries! Tra la! I was treated to some strange but mostly great pieces of photography, an exhibit of black and white renditions by an artist doing his impressions of Gogol's famed short story 'The Nose', some breathtaking sculptures of glass fused with stone and my prized discovery of the day..tan ta da ta da...drums rolling.....a children's book gallery. Why is that exciting? Multiple reasons. I love children's literature, I hope to write and direct visual content for kids soon apart from fantasising my own picture book for Indian kids specifically and the fact that the lady who ran the gallery had ancient collector's manuscripts and books from all over Europe and UK. We chatted endlessly about Asian folklore and her experiences with setting up this business and shook hands hoping to be some day collaborating for something I'd like to produce/direct. What?!! Somebody rightly said "It's important to dream because without that you will never 'do'. I think that somebody was me :)
I shall stop here and settle into my couch with a tub of Ben and Jerry's Chocolate fudge Brownie (I love this country for its rich CREAMY FAT laden ice creams.......GOD!!!) and a flick that should make me laugh. (Ray will have to wait for tomorrow)
And yes this blog is so turning into a journal!
******R*******
