Posted on: November 22, 2008 - 1:45 am
Prateeksha, Mumbai November 21, 2008 11:59 pm
“The winds blow strongest against those who stand tallest”
“Pray as if everything depends on God. Work as if everything depends on you.”
“Don’t place your mistakes on ur head, their weight may crush U. Instead place them under your feet and use them as a platform 2 view your horizon.”
“Don’t be afraid to take a big step when required; you can’t cross a chasm in two small steps.”
“If people around you are trying to pull you down be PROUD about it ! It only means one thing.. You are above them !”
The bounce and verve of the morning should remain with one throughout. Pity it fades away as you approach noon. So i try to pack in as much as one possibly can. Today a little more since the shoot timing changed to late evening. Why ? Its cooler when the sun goes down. The air conditioning at Kitab Mahal would be more effective. Rubbish !! There was no difference.
So there were important meetings in the morning. Plannings for the travel due in the not too distant future. Hong Kong, the Bill Clinton Global Initiative. He called again to request to come. Balki, the director of ‘Cheeni Kum’ wants me to travel to London for some presentations for his ‘Pa’ and a large fragrance company from France and US came in with a large team to discuss the perfume being designed for my endorsement. This will be the second time around.
Back then to yesterday’s location. And i was so right. No Ajay Devgan today, no crowds !! A quick in and out, some one shot takes and under the shower in the van to make over for a wedding reception to be attended to. Grand Hyatt, expansive and artistic and the wedding reception minus the bridegroom !! He was on the way and had not arrived. My blessings and presence acknowledged I rush out of the Hotel to be caught just outside with the ‘baraat’ that was coming in. The decorated horse, the veiled bridegroom, the ‘indu jea’ band dressed in their fineries, the ‘baratis’ in turbans dancing to the latest hits from film, emanating jarringly through massive brass horns. Friends relatives dressed in their shervani and brocaded saries and dripping jewelry, moving frantically to the rhythm, between minnows carrying chandelier lamps, heavy as hell. Peals and screams of excitement as female gold danglings collide with fiercely moving bhangra males.
We drive past after being held up by efficient self appointed traffic regulators. Cars to the left, baraat to… three quarters of the road. As I slide by the mass of celebration i glance on the opposite corner of the road. A sizable number of humanity has gathered there as well. They are not with the wedding party. They have come to watch this concert. They are not easily noticeable. They are parked in the darker corner of the street. Such humanity generally is in the dark mostly.
They are the poor living in abject poverty in nearby shanties. Torn shirts, bare bodied, sweaty exhausted eyes without a cheer. They stare with singular expression and daze, quiet without moving. Just standing there motionless.
What goes in their minds. Will they ever get to be a part of this opulent celebration. Ride the horse, dance with elation and expensive clothing and move into the ballroom area of the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Perhaps not. Mostly perhaps not. For them today it is a delight to be able to witness some other in happy circumstance. That is their joy and excitement for the day. To have just got an opportunity to see from close quarters this wedding procession. When they shall retire to the harsh floor of their tarpaulin roofed make shift home, they shall talk excitedly of the event. But that is all they shall do. Just talk about it and dream…
Harsh.. real.. and terribly disturbing..
My love
Amitabh Bachchan
