Marathi novel "Shala" - a review

Ambika

Shala. School. Once you leave its precincts, you long for its familiar comfort, angst and some robust rib-tickling fun. I was quite terrified at the prospect of meeting my old school friends at a reunion. And,why not? They have seen me in my worst and to a lesser extent best form. Warts, blemishes, scars, heart aches, heart breaks and failures...they know it all. And, the reunion did remind me that they still remember a few episodes which I had forgotten. Put together, school and the students have an elephantine memory!

And, so every time I need to reassure myself that 'all izzzz well' in my world, I turn to Shala – a novel written in Marathi by Milind Bokil. 

Maybe you have also read that the movie based on the novel fetched National Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi.

The movie has its moments, but I prefer reading the book. It brings back memories of the fumbling, bumbling innocence, the worldly-wise friends, teachers who drone on and on on (like duracell batteries), and that one special person who makes the brick and mortar building so inviting.

It's a tale of four friends, from a town/village located on the railway line connecting its denizens to Mumbai. It's set in 70s, right during the Emergency period. And, so you can go right back to your childhood (I wasn't born in the 70s, but I know the allure of playing chess and carom with your neighbours, when TV was a rarity).

Looking back it seems that life was so peaceful. But, was it really? There was tumult caused by monster-teachers (I do apologise, but some teachers do instil fear in students), fear of failure, fear of losing out on that special person and so many irritants that you wish to grow up and fork out your own path.

In these tumult and angst filled years, you also forge a deep and abiding friendship. For Shala's protagonist Joshi, he has his mama (uncle) as his friend, philosopher and guide. Young, suave, but level-headed he keeps his nephew on the straight and narrow path. And, fathers too can be surprisingly receptive about the going-ons in the school.

It's not really a feel-good book, but, yes, it does offer you a chance to look back on your school years and laugh at the private miseries that had threatened happiness and unleashed a flood of tears. It lets you become a teenager again, to commit mistakes and set them right and hope for a thriving future.

Swimming against the tide !!

Megha Manchanda

The inhibition, apprehension, nervous energy before starting something new is inevitable.  Everyone’s a bundle of nerves before venturing into a new territory and so was I when I went to take my very first swimming lesson. It all started with my friend Jaya telling me that she had learnt swimming – a skill she really wanted to acquire from a long time.

This propelled me to start my “R&D process” to search for a sports center near my workplace that also complemented my office timings. The YMCA sports center was zeroed in, which is just a stone’s throw away from my centrally located workplace. I also managed to cajole two other of my friends to enroll for the swimming classes with me.

Now the new task before us was the purchase of swimming gear (read costume, cap, goggles, water-proof cream etc.). So after some shop hopping and bargaining for the right (cost-effective) price (after all we Indians love haggling!!)  we managed to get the “right” kind of swimsuits  (suitable for Indian sensibilities… Phew!!)  for all of us.

And then came the D-Day (the first day of our class) and we all reached the sports complex bang on time for our first lesson. We dressed up (pun unintended) for the class, (of course after applying a couple of coats of the water-proof anti-tan lotion) and reached the pool. To our dismay, we realized being in our late twenties we were the “oldies” in a class full of 8-12 year olds.

Moreover, thanks to the summer vacations the pool was filled more with I, II and III graders than water (of course, pun intended!!!!). As I was trying to acclimatize myself with the water my foot slipped and I wobbled a little inside the water. And before I could get up I heard a 10-year old scream “Didi!!! Daro matt dooboge nahi, shallow hai” (don’t be scared you won’t drown the water’s shallow).

Till date this sentence resonates in my ears when I try to remember my first swimming class. Also, what I cannot forget is that it took me as long as 40 minutes to learn the simple flotation lesson on that very first day.

The recurring thought in my mind till the class lasted – Oh damn! I wish I had learnt this way back in school and by now I would have been a “pro” (I AM SURE!!!).

I must confess it is really embarrassing to be singled out in a class full of wacky (also read unruly, boisterous and wicked) kids and told by your coach that you should be a little more ‘serious’ in the class. While the pep talk was on the bell rang, declaring the end of the hour long class. Thankfully cutting short those embarrassing moments for me !!.

But while coming out from the pool, I promised myself that I will not leave this place without learning the sport. After nearly 20 classes I finally achieved what I had targeted. Wow…it still gives me a high to think about this (my successful achievement of a personal milestone !!)

When I look back and think about my first swimming class I can only say – “there’s always a first time and it’s never too late to learn something.” :)    

 Megha is a guest blogger for "Hangout with Coffee"

Fine dining at Fio, Garden of Five Senses!

- By Malvi

Having discovered Fio Restaurant from my internet search on food places in South Delhi, I decided to try it out with my friends for lunch on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

The place is near to Saket metro station and there is a narrow road just next to the metro station which leads up to the Garden of Five Senses. The historic monument of "Kila Rai Pithoura" – the first city of Delhi is also at the entry of this approach road to the Garden.

The restaurant is inside the Garden of Five Senses premise so you have to buy the tickets for the garden to go to the restaurant.

The open air ambience of the restaurant appealed to me as we entered the premise. There is a decent sitting capacity in the open air and also inside the air conditioned enclosure. The decor is ethnic with a big Gujarati swing in one corner and stone benches with cushions for sitting in another. There is also the traditional table and chair sitting with pedestal fans all around to keep off the flies and mosquitoes.

 Although we had gone in the afternoon, the decor of lamps and hanging lights meant the place would be really coming alive in the evening for a cosy and romantic dinner for a couple and even for a small group of friends.

Tablet Menus !!

As it was really humid that day we decided to sit inside the AC enclosure. We sat in a cosy corner and the waiter bought us our menus. Surprise ...the menus are actually tablets with details of the food and beverages served with pictures of the dishes.

The menu includes Indian, Continental and Italian dishes with a decent drinks collection. We decided to order a chicken appetizer ‘pollo padella di most’ and for the main dish ‘Kosha murg’ with some butter garlic nans and steamed rice.The preparations were really delicious and stunned my taste buds :). 

Baked Blueberry Cheese Cake

For dessert, we ordered the ‘baked blueberry cheese cake’, which was looking really tempting in my tablet menu.

The amazing desert rounded up our meal but we lingered on to just absorb the nice ambiance of the place. A meal of two would cost you around Rs 2000/- but the place and food does justice to the cost.

After the hearty meal we decided to walk off some calories in the Garden of Five Senses with its well kept gardens replete with flowers and bushes. The Garden is a favorite of lovebirds too (i am talking about the human ones ;))  !!

So all in all, in my view it's a  must visit food place to celebrate your special day with close friends !

Reading books: A lost joie de vivre

-By Bipasha

Ever since my childhood, I remember books being an essential component in everyday conversations - be it be, aunties chatting over tea and biscuits or relatives getting together on special occasions or even my mum and dad catching up with each in midst of their everyday chores. My early memories of books were when the ever-generous maasis, aunties and uncles would gift me colorful story books and easy to read encyclopedias on their numerous visits and my birthdays! During each and every transfer order that my dad used to bring home, he used to also add one more packing carton for the new books in the collection. The rustlings of the old tattered pages while my mother sipping her morning cup of tea, the occasional dusting of the books, the memories associated with each book and my OCD of encasing each new acquisition of mine in cellophane are one of the many cherished occurrences of my life. However, in today’s fast paced world interspersed with casting ‘phrasey’ opinions on social media and BBMs, the romance of writing and reading have long gone.

Books were supposed to be one of the essential building blocks of a childhood instilling (whether knowingly or unknowingly) the virtues of patience, concentration and mnemonics. But in today’s technology-driven world, reading books have become passe. Video games, chats, twittering, FBing and BBming have taken over. Apparently social media usage among children expand their social horizons (as some of my friends have argued with me - but I doubt!) as opposed to reading a book in a corner, but my sense is that too much of the need for daily social acceptance has robbed us (not only the children) of spending time with our own selves and feeling comfortable with what we are. In fact, a recent research revealed that usage of excessive social media increases our sense of loneliness

(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2419419/All-lonely-Facebook-friends-Study-shows-social-media-makes-MORE-lonely-unhappy-LESS-sociable.html)

We are constantly harangued by the need to fit in, gain approvals and cast opinions (again to get inroads into preferred cliques) that unknowingly creates an invisible stress around us. On the other hand, reading books not only enriches our repository of knowledge but also can bring about revolutionary changes in a person’s outlook. It increases our capacity to think, understand and imbibe new linguistic skills. And for children, it is important that they read books to acquire a good vocabulary, instill self confidence in writing and oration and hone creativity. And if these are not reasons enough for you to embrace the goodness of reading books, atleast keep in mind that ‘ a book is your best friend who accepts you for what you are and never asks you what you could be!’