Well-known theatreperson Vijaya Mehta's disciples converged at a Dadar auditorium last Sunday to raise a toast to their mentor on her 79 th birthday as also to mark the release of Jhimma , her autobiography in Marathi . Nana Patekar , Reema Lagoo , Bharati Achrekar , Vikram Gokhale , Nina Kulkarni and Suhas Joshi, among others , read out from the voluminous tome even as Anupam Kher paid glowing tributes to 'Bai ' (as Mehta is known in the Mumbai theatre fraternity ). Kher fondly recalled Raosaheb and Pestonji , two Hindi flicks he did under Mehta's baton . Speaking about Mehta's enduring influence on him , Patekar said , "Bai gave me her little finger which I held in my fist and I learnt to walk . Years later , I realised that she had withdrawn her little finger and I was on my two strong feet. That is how she groomed her actors . She never put us in the pram." Patekar's Purush and Gokhale's Barrister, both directed by Mehta , are considered classics of the contemporary Marathi stage while others like Mudrarakshas, Hayavadan and Wada Chirebandi are equally memorable .
In the auditorium the Who's Who of the Marathi theatre and literary world were present to share Mehta's milestone year and achievements . The theatre doyenne wielded the director's megaphone with aplomb before the function , preparing her actors for the read , honing their diction and making sure that the curtain went up bang on time . After all , there's nobody quite as perfectionistic as Bai .
Flagging patriotism
National anthem time atcinema houses often leads to some funny moments . While most audience members are up on their feet promptly , eyes fixed on the screen (some even mouth the words fervently ), a few dissidents refuse to comply with the supposed solemnity of theoccasion .Onesuch person recently stood obediently through the anthem but attheendintonedin a high-pitched voice , "Good morning , teacher !" prompting a few giggles and a few dirty looks. On another occasion , two women speaking in undertones to each other were later reprimanded by a man in the row behind them , righteously asking them to "show some respect to our national anthem" . While one of the ladies lapsed into a bemused silence , the other turned around and asked the scolder , "Do you pay your taxes ? I do. Do you give bribes ? I don't . This is not my definition of patriotism , it may be yours ."
A personal quibble: if the authorities do want audiences to feel "patriotic " about the anthem , perhaps they should stick with the old visual of the Indian flag fluttering on screen . Watching sundry film and television casts mouthing the lines on screen is not exactly patriotism-inducing .
Spare their ears
Animal activists are gearing up to protect dogs and acts in the city from the onslaught of high-decibel firecrackers which hurt their supersensitive auditory system way more than they do human ears (a dog , says an email put out by canine counsellor T Madhavi , hears any sound seven times louder than a human does). Madhavi , along with very many Mumbaikars , has pledged support online to a noiseless Diwali-the sight of animals quivering at the boom of firecrackers and cowering in fear or trying to escape "takes away from the grace of the festival" , she says . However , while the activist is worried about the fate of animaldom in general as well as her pet cat , who flinches every time a firecracker goes off, she doesn't have to worry about her pet dog . Why not ? "He isn't bothered ," says Madhavi . "He's deaf ."
Train travails
The Saurashtra Mail is a favourite of Mumbaikars for going to Gujarat , thanks to its convenient timing , speed and service . But these days , the charm has chipped off a bit.
This writer had a foul experience each of the four times she travelled by the train in the last two months . The first time , when she was in bogey E1, the bed linen kit that she was givencomprising two bedsheets, a pillow and a blanket-was not exactly high on hygiene . The pillow exuded a terrible odour of stale sweat and the white linen was in varying shades of grey embellished by discoloured patches . To add to her agony , the curtain on the aisle seats spewed speckles of dust in protest each time they were touched, which gave her a heavy allergic reaction that ruined her trip . The journey back was much the same .
A couple of weeks later , when she tentatively and with some trepidation booked herself on the same train , she whooped with joy when she found herself in another compartment . But the jinx had not lifted. She tried sorting the piles of dirty linen around to find a clean sheet but gave up and settled for a random pick . In the morning , she watched the attendant let the blankets fall on the floor while folding them up for the next unfortunate passenger .
Evidently , the railway contractors hired for the job don't believe in washing dirty linen-in public or otherwise .
(Contributed by Sanjeev Shivadekar, Radha Rajadhyaksha, Sharmila Ganesan and Seema Kamdar. Compiled by Radha Rajadhyaksha)
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