WorldWar2: Old Bombay

A Blog begun years ago as a stroll on the Funny Side of Serious Street, highlighting India's problems. Revived by adding memories of old Bombay, including excerpts from Dreams of One Country.

World War II in Old Bombay

For me, as a child, watching the street below from the common balcony on the third floor of the 5-storey tenements on Dadar Main Road was fun. The Krishna Vishranti Graha hotel right in front and the two Irani restaurants at the corner would compete in blaring out film music on their radios. The local goondah's men would play crazy pranks on the road. But when they did things like knocking off a lame beggar's walking stick and then stood around laughing at the man's misery, I would fume at their meanness.

Those were the days of World War II. The Japanese army was racing north after knocking the British out of Singapore. Every now and then the air raid siren would start its winding music - sounding like the world's biggest saxophone. WAACs of the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (British, some Indians - mostly Anglo-Indians, all smart in jacket-and-skirt uniforms) and members of the air raid patrol wearing ARP armbands would shoo away people. Streets would empty. If it was nighttime all the street gaslights were put off and dark curtains were drawn across windows. I was thrilled to watch searchlights crisscrossing the skies and the Divali-like flares, explosions and showers of light as antiaircraft guns opened up on some suspicious object. Possibly groups of birds! The Japanese never tried to bomb Bombay.
In the evenings I would hang hang around the balcony to see my father returning from work. Some days he was late, and the longer I had to wait the more I worried. Then the boys ran by shouting 'Clojingggdalaay!' ('Closing Daily!') and sold slips of paper giving the last digit of the American cotton selling price for the day. (The last digits of the opening ('Opaaandalaay!'yelled the boys) and closing prices of American cotton were used for organized gambling across the city those days.) That meant it was past nine, and I would run to my mother for some kind of assurance. What a moment of relief (of joy) it was when my father finally appeared at the street corner!

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Tail Lights:
1. India Cinemascopic
My novel Dreams of One Country - for download on I-phone, pad or computer from Amazon.com - is a moving panorama of young dreams and ideas inspiring India's people to come together as Ek Desh (One Country) and build a truly modern nation.
2. A Happy Marriage
Everyone wants to be happily married...not married-and-harried! The most important ingredient for a happy marriage is love.The most important ingredient for love is for the partners to be the very best of friends.
The most important ingredient to be the best of friends is to accept each other as equals or equal partners - for neither to try to belittle, dominate or walk over the other or the other's family.

Needless to say, the reverse ideas are the perfect formula for an unhappy marriage!

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Juhu SunsetGlow Story

A Blog begun years ago as a stroll on the Funny Side of Serious Street, highlighting India's problems. Revived by adding memories of old Bombay, including excerpts from Dreams of One Country.

A Juhu SunsetGlow Story

(Excerpt 6 - from  A Three-day Lifetime, another chapter in Dreams of One Country - Amazon Books. There are many scenes of old Bombay in the novel, a story of young dreams and fresh ideas inspiring the people to unite, to build an India dedicated to humane and progressive ideas - indeed, to join the most developed countries of the world, like Denmark and the U.S.)

Priya placed an LP on a portable player she had brought. Begum Akhtar’s dreamy ghazals bridged their silences. She lay on him, snuggling in his arms.

After sunset they walked barefoot in the tide’s wash. A red gash showed where the sun had gone. He asked her the meaning of a ghazal’s refrain rewinding in his mind - Meyrey humnufus, meyrey humnawah, mujhey dosth bankey dagah na dey. A kiss cut off her explanation. Tidewater curled around their feet.

They found a seaside restaurant with a garden and ordered dinner. Coconut fronds dipped below the eaves like a giant bird’s pintails. In the distance shore lights danced on the waves. ‘Norman? I feel we’ve always been together,’ she said. 

‘Man and wife in the universal reality. So said Jack Kerouac.’

‘Who? Oh, the beat writer.’

A waiter gave them the evening paper. In a speech Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had again claimed great achievements.

‘I used to admire her,’ said Priya. ‘When the Grand Alliance threatened to defeat her, Papa and I were worried. After coming to Bombay we had to re-register to vote. A helpful local Congress leader took our forms. On election day we found our names missing. We learnt that the leader had charged poor illiterates to fill forms, but hadn’t submitted any. He pocketed campaign funds too. At his victory meeting Mrs Gandhi praised his patriotism. He’s now President of the Slum Dwellers’ Union. His goondah enforcers collect rent from slums. He and a builder opened a new hospital. Just a matriculate, but he is the hospital’s head. We heard rumours of nurses getting pregnant. A lady doctor resigned accusing him of molesting her. Nothing happens to him. I lost faith in Indira. If she supported such parasites, what hope have our poor?’

‘Their hope…as a great man said in another context…is as weak as soup…’

‘Made from the shadow of a pigeon that died of starvation.’

‘Right!’ he exclaimed, delighted she had quoted Lincoln back at him.

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Tail Lights
1. India Cinemascopic
My novel Dreams of One Country - for download on I-phone, pad or computer from Amazon.com - is a moving panorama of young dreams and ideas inspiring India's people to come together as Ek Desh (One Country) and build a truly modern nation.
2. Face Values Can Deceive: Whether it's people or events try not to jump to conclusions by Face Values. Look beyond sur-faces.In case of people what you initially see may be their cosmetic faces. In case of events look beyond the surface ripples. The deeper undercurrents are those which move events in different directions and determine their outcome.

Old Bombay's Bollywood

A Blog begun years ago as a stroll on the Funny Side of Serious Street, highlighting India's problems. Revived by adding memories of old Bombay, including excerpts from Dreams of One Country.

Old Bombay’s Bollywood

In my childhood and early youth we lived on Dadar Main Road, a street with three film studios. There were other studios like Famous at Mahalaxmi; but our Dadar street was the home of Bollywood those days. Later as an adult, by coincidence, we lived in Juhu surrounded by the homes of 'stars.’

On Dadar Main Road crowds gathered at the gates of the studios – Ranjit, Shree Sound and Ranjit Movietone - to mob the big name stars (but not the hardly known producers, financiers and directors) arriving in cars. Other denizens of the film world - among them stardom hopefuls, technicians and ‘extras’ who crowded the chorus lines of the innumerable song-and-dance numbers or ‘fight’ and crowd scenes so essential in every formula film - walked in through the gates. Even as a kid I had no interest in Hindi movies. I enjoyed Tarzans with Johnny Weissmuller, pirate movies with Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Errol Flynn adventures, Dean Martin-Jerry Lewis or Bud Abbot-Lou Costello comedies etc. My favourite Hollywood actress was Ava Gardner - whom I had every intention of romancing and marrying when I grew up. (I believed Ava had the most beautiful face in the world…till I met my wife-to-be in college. And, I was certain, here at last was someone who - with gentleness added on - could feature by feature give Ava a run for her money.) Those days Aurora at King’s Circle was my favourite theatre. My friend Atma and I would reach hours ahead of the show to line up between railings for the 5-anna or lowest stall tickets. Then the ‘ruffian’ boys would arrive and they would walk on our shoulders and even heads to go ahead of us in the queue. At times we wouldn’t get tickets though we went so early. We solved that problem by befriending a theatre usher called Bhaskar - who got us tickets, if we were walked-over.

When we moved to a Juhu flat we were surrounded by the homes of top stars (some of whom still get top billing today), as well as a whole host of Bollywood hopefuls, almost all of them poorly educated, most of them arriving from north India with dreams of making it big in the world of Hindi films. Most of them – both men and women - drifted away painfully into the nefarious underworld of Bollywood. Some became hangers-on or ‘chamchas’ of Bollywood personalities by specializing in saying: ‘Wah-wah! Kya kamaal kiya aapne!’ Some succeeded, further digging Bollywood into the hole of producing movies that often blissfully ignore reality. The curious thing about the ‘hopefuls’ was that if they got a chance to break into Bollywood they could no longer greet old neighbours. One such ‘hopeful’ was a next door neighbour. He was married to the sister of a top male star. As soon as he got the chance to assist a producer he stopped wishing us. And he would look right through us, as though his mind was preoccupied with ‘genius’ ideas for a Hindi film.

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Tail Lights:

1. India Illuminiscopic:
Check out Dreams of One Country on Amazoncom. If the novel's Revolutionary Theme - the March to a NewIndia - appeals to you, you can download it on any device: I phones, pads or computers. In the 21st Century story youth lead India's people to unite as Ek Desh (One Country), to strive together and build an enlightened and truly modern nation
2. Why never give up?
If your objective is good and fair, there's no point ever in giving up. Think. Plan. Keep trying, using fresh ideas or modifications. Look at history and remember how often success after success led to the greatest defeat. And, yes, how failure after failure has led to the greatest success! So never give up!

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