good evening!

when? just when will they ever blast off??!!

good morning!

view of the newly thriving "forest" and beyond!

old friends

mira and swati went to nursing school together some 25years ago!
Can you imagine us
Years from today,
Sharing a park bench quietly?
How terribly strange
To be seventy.
Old friends,
Memory brushes the same years
Silently sharing the same fears...

brother n sistah reunion!

when they were kids my dad would take them double-seat on his bicycle...ride out to town (nagpur/goa) and show them the sights. two years ago, anil (madman) n my sister came up here to taleigaon for the first time n feel in love with it. robbing mangoes n beros n getting pasting!...the older you get the more you reminisce... rohit didn't come coz he would get bored with us "old people"!...jim didn't make it nor did s or lin...but our hosts more than made up for them! ;)

wheeeee!

driving with my sister is to drive back in time...promptly she hooked up her ipod to the music system n we begun with "honey, you are my shining star" and wound right back to our childhood...riding the bicycle with her walkman blaring in my ears...remember "flashdance"? the unfolding swollen deccan landscape segued perfectly to scenes from teacher's colony to telenkari ...o to be able to stop up before rajmachi point n soak in the mist...something you can't do when you're whizzing past in a bus or cab...o what joy! thanks baby!

wheeee

i did it...finally! drove to pune and back on the expressway for the first time since learning to drive 2months ago! and man, it was such fun!...since the time i've been back from camp i've been aching to drive out of town n with everyone making plans for the long weekend, i didn't want to feel left-out...so quickly checked with mira n she was game...i was nervous but sooo excited i almost didn't sleep. the idea was to drive out of town, find a nice picturesque spot by a river/lake n pitch my newly acquired tent!but there wasn't need for that coz mira's friends' parents insisted on us coming to their cozy bungalow nestled in taleigaon, near pune.aunty o she made the most divine meal for us - alu leaves with kaju, stuffed capsicum, steamed rice coconut jaggery in tumeric leaves, etc...she n uncle tend this lil garden full of plants, veggies n fruit...uncleall of 80...what stories he had! how mr cambatta of cambatta aviation and eros cinema fame would step into his buick convertable, light his cigarette at four bungalows n wooosh! he's step out in front of eros n stub off the cigarette - that's how fast he drove way back then in the 1940's when there was only that much traffic! even then, he'd tip the cops along the way 5rupees to let his car zip thru!! amazing! his memory is razor sharp n i must go back for more stories...about the war, about independence, about the patils in andheri west...but it was the first drive that thrilled...my speedometer, i realised didn't go beyond 70kmph so i had no idea of the speed i was doing...but we reached in 2n half hours!! of course, i stalled once in the fast lane which made mira v nervous, but other than that it was fairly smooth! man, the car wasn't the fuel guzzler it was like it is while inching along in bombay...i did 300km n still had a quarter tank of gas left!! and whoever said lpg compromises pick-up etc...it was a breeze! i hope more n more people move to the less polluting gas option...so goa here i come ;)

yaay! our first gold in years!

cheers to abhinav bhindra! quiet, unassuming and sans emotion...he stood on top of the podium making us o so proud!...secretly i am hoping we lose cricket ;)

the dragon is king!

...if you caught even so much as a glimpse of the spectacular opening ceremony of the beijing olympics, you will agree that this century belongs to china...who tibet what tibet? while india pales into oblivion...higher faster stronger just got "bigger" added to the motto...the biggest, most expensive yet...

ranjan's forever young

...just watched ranjan palit's "forever young" - his latest film or should i say labour of love? i mean, we knew he'd been going each year to shillong for dylan's birthday celebrations and we knew ranjan's wonderful dylan act - guitar harmonica n song and we know how extraordinarily good a cinematographer he is...so when i heard it was ready, i couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy n see it...the usual suspects let me down, but thanks naresh...
...so much love!...in every frame, and tenderness...the man - lou majaw shone thru with all his imperfections and brilliance! what a character!...the narrative unfolding with just the right balance between the music and the spoken word. hardly felt the length, something ranjan seemed so concerned about when we spoke later. and some lovely transitions...of course, the end makes me want to send my daughter to that all-girls convent school in shillong where the head-mistress/principal invites the band to play for the students because exams are just over!! and what does the madman break out into? - everybody must get stoned!! :)
now to get a nice big screening going here in bombay...(and no, not a sweaty overcrowded sittingcrossleggedonthefloor screening ;)

when will we ever learn o when will we ever learn :(

another bleak black day for the child rights activists who doggedly pursued duncan grant n company to a lower court conviction, extradition n imprisonment...only to find the high court acquitting them. makes me angry makes me sad makes me despondent. how do we ever allow notorious previously-charged pedophiles to get away...even as their native country awaits their arrival to start child-abuse hearings against them.
what will we tell the kids who stuck to their statements?...how do we encourage so many more to speak up in future? by the time the appeal to the supreme court gets thru, those vile ol men will be laughing their asses off at us...twenty years later, we still hark back to freddy peats...sheila tai where are you??

navel gazing!

it's been some time now that i've been mulling a "belly-button" exhibit...a culmination of my unabashed obsession devotion passion for belly buttons. you can now be part of it...embellish it, keep it stark, it is yours...anonymously, if you so desire. email pics of your glorious centre to bellybutton69@gmail.com.
meanwhile, here's the first entry!

i have seen the light!

"No!" interrupted Owl,
who was wise. "I have good eye-sight, insight, and foresight. How could an
intelligent hare make such a silly mistake?" But all this time, Owl had been
sitting on the fence, scowling!..."
i'm kinda slow...very slow...sometimes when you divide 4 by 2 you don't necessarily get half...cheers to the next one fourth ;)

dark knight indeed!

what a performance!...may his soul rest in peace :)
ps: i don't think chris nolan is going to be making another film in a hurry

back to class!

so i finally heaved myself out of bed n out of the house yesterday...for my first class this year at scm. 3weeks late, i was anxious to catch up. 44 bright-eyed young uns lay in wait...mostly from bombay, mostly immediately after graduation...all having computer and digital camera which is a historic first...got me thinking about new ways of learning and sharing work. need to figure an efficient way they can submit text, images, video n audio clips, me to be able to review n comment on them n everyone able to see each other's work. a blog? any ideas?
while on the trip to harvard, heard stories of how mark zuckerberg hacked into the college computers n accessed students' data n started the local social network which went on to become the biggest rage - facebook! imagine, they expelled him :) ...walking around in harvard you cannot help but be overwhelmed...the place feels very special...

early morning blues!

each morning i wake up around 4am unable to fall back to sleep...one crazy koyal keep me company as night turns to light in the deepest hues of blue...i have returned but am still not all here. i wake up in time for line-up only to find a messy room around me. i'm back at camp - dialogue at the dl hut, swimming in the lake, volleyball, long chats on the bus, turkish coffee n the fireplace!...but the best part about camp, is that i have come back really fired up with some broader ideas for my space in goa.

meanwhile, who's taken the rain away? n now that singh is king, can we get on with some real, more pressing issues that bog our nation down?

dc

my first trip to the capital. we stayed at the liaison hotel 2blocks away from capitol hill!!...a far cry from the quiet woods of pleasant lake in otisfield, maine. but like most capital cities - gentrified and antiseptic. the same ol story plays out- blacks n hispanics as cleaners, drivers, waiters and america's growing poor out on the streets. my aunt cautions me n i'm happy to be back without losing anything this time round ;)
a brilliant full moon greeted us into dc that night
the jefferson memorial peeks over all the govt buildings n other landmarks...remember seeing something similar in buenos aires the seeds at the us state dept waiting to be interviewed by the media n meet with deputy secy negroponte
the national museum of modern art, where we breezed thru some matisse, picasso, giacometti, warhol, mondrain, miro, etc 'twas hot...very hot, close to 40! so was most happy to slip out into the night to meet george n sush one night in georgetown, then with a friend's friend in his beamer(beemer?) to dupont circle n on the last night with abi n hussain...after being moslty clean for over 3weeks, the beer sure tasted bloody good!

back in bombay :(

got in not so late last night...after a mind-numbing 16hr flight which was after a 5hr bus ride from dc to newark which was after half day at the pakistan consulate...back to the long lines at immigration, back to the chaotic airport makeover, back to the mosquito-infested stinky fiat taxis, back to the crotch-scratching bleary-eyed bhaiya driver, back to the pot-holed roads, back to traffic-jams...but right back to my c!, to my bed, to familiar tasty food n a stiff rum n cola ;)

i'm so sad i'm so sad

...camp ends tomorrow :(

no pics :(

damn!...been trying to post pics of all the wonderful things i've been up to at camp but for some reason haven't been able to do so :( let me see...we've gone kayaking, did zipline, went sailing on this beautiful wooden boat at bath, followed by a bbq dinner with the local community of sailors. then, we spent a day in boston day before. after being in camp amidst tall pines n a lake, the big city certainly looked bigger ;) just the kind of day i was looking fwd to....loitering around, watching street performers, live music, microbrewery beers, decent indian food, a visit to the state house, walking down what they call the freedom trail. the birth of the country happened here..so!...n of course, we went to harvard where i learnt that harvard is the second biggest non-profit org with endowments running into billions of dollars.
this trip, my second to the states, has been so so different from the first - when i worked on board a cruise ship in the caribbean. then i was like a second-class cheap third world labour...fear lurkink around...always...but this time round about 13years later, i feel special...v special. have met some really nice americans ;) bush-haters n antiwar...who worry about the govt policies n their country's future. they've embraced us whole-heartedly, taken us home, fed us n generally been so nice!...i must sound like a weirdo :)
of course, the dialogue sessions (what we are here primarily here for) are tough, real tough - not so much betw us pakistanis n indian, but the scene betw israelis n palestinians is explosive...some of their stories is totally gut-wrenching...everyday, day in n day out...i cannot even imagine what it must be like to live in those parts. i've been to kashmir n i thought that was real bad :(
got to go now...another new day some more dialogue some group physical challenge some swimming some singing but such a packed day i just drop off each night in seconds...but then what's new about that ;)

4th of july @ camp

tap tap tap! these americans are crazy!...now otisfield is this real small quiet town in the middle of nowhere...but today they ALL come out with the flags cheering an independence declaration thomas jefferson made way back in 1776...freedom, something and the pursuit of happiness...that they surely do unabashedly ;)
we @seedsofpeace joined the parade n made a lot of noise n got a lot of cheers!this is zoe, i think, one of the cousellors

day at camp

in case you've ben wondering the hell i been doing here...i wake up around 7am and join "line-up" at 7.30m, which simply means ALL at camp gather at one place before breakfast. so we're about 160 kids, 18 counsellors, facilitators n us delegation leaders. the kids have their own program n we have ours. we "dialogue" from 9 to 12.30 ...in small groups or all of us together, discussing the nature of conflict betw respective countries - india pakistan, israel palestine, etc. can be quite explosive sometimes.
afternoons, usually are free...we sleep, play volleyball, swim, or go out to portland or freeport. dinner is at 5.30 which is the hardest part:(
evenings, there's usually some activity, like last evening we the DL's did a treasure hunt for the kids n had a song n dance by the bonfire. the weather here is totally fickle! you can wake up to a nice bright sunny warm day n then an hour later the fog rolls in n it begins to rain making it all cold n wet.

camp site

here you go guys, eat your heart out!...my cabin by the lake!camp site, lake pleasant spread over a mile of waterfront, the camp houses over 200 people, mostly teenagers from around the world, counsellors, facilitators n delegation leaders like me. has a baseball field, basket ball, tennis courts, volleyball n of course the entire lake to swim, go boating, sailing, etc...

i mean, what a far cry from the camps we used to go to while at the ssl in xaviers. two of us went a couple of days earlier to dig bogs (loos) for the 40 that would follow. buy provisions, arrange transport, etc. but i think i've said that before ;)

off to america!

"Kathy, I'm lost," I said, though I knew she was sleeping
I'm empty and aching and I don't know why
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They've all gone to look for Americanew york arrived under cover of pre-dawn...i'll need to fly in again just to see more!

football nights n late mornings!

the european cup's been throwing too many suprises too late...am so pissed off that holland is out n my favs portugal :( germany is so boring, so i'm gonna be rooting for russia!

go see persepolis!...now

n if you haven't read marjane's satrapi's graphic novel yet...then do so, quick! it's just fantastic. the story itself n of course the illustration is brilliant in it execution n detailing, stark gripping tale of a young outspoken girl growing up in tumultuous iran. the film takes the novel to even greater heights - the way they've maintained the integrity of the style n adapted it to motion so beautifully!...go see!

off to camp!!

yes! so it is all happening...am off to an international youth peace camp by the lake pleasant in maine, usa!...as a delegation leader of 12 teenagers from india who will interact with other teens from around the world, from nations in conflict...india, pakistan, afghanistan, israel, palestine, lebanon, egypt, morocco, yemen, etc. it is a us state dept funded project called seeds of peace. no, not a shooting assignment...need to take the kids there n bring them back n be responsible for them at camp. 3weeks starting 24th june...with daily discussions/interactions in order to get to know each other better, reduce hatred n foster peace among the next generation...
all very well this, but we should not forget that the us has been the main culprit in a lot of the ongoing conflict n hate we are experiencing across the globe today. a good way to assuage guilt n spend some blood money, i guess ;) "they're not all bad, ajay", some of my friends have been beseeching me...
but i am so looking forward to this camp...while at xavier's we used to go to a rural camp in nov every year to do some kind of manual work at the jesuit-run schools in talasari distt. we dug wells, foundations for school buildings, helped build roads, etc. for 10days we'd be cocooned in some desolate village with no access to running water, electricity n toilets. two of us would go earlier n dig loos, organise rations n transport for the group of 50 that followed. we'd work our butts off n enjoy every minute there. but more than anything else, i learnt a lot there...learning for life - they'd call it. a lot of my insights i gained there which helped shape my outlook to life...
almost 20years later, i'm off again to camp...will keep you posted! :)

second workshop in goa

so once again the dried leaves were swept off n the fallen over-ripe cashews cleared...up went the blue tarp while tino n me anxiously waited for the participants to stream in. we weren't expecting a deluge for sure! but yes, to break even this time...by 9.15, we had 9 paying participants and we both smiled in relief. the previous evening, the sky grew dark n with the cloudburst, we lowered our expectations too! cursing the fact that we had to postpone this workshop till end may (thanks to paachvi pass)... >but all that was a haze when this enthu bunch landed up. from benaulim, from altinho, from vasco... the youngest - a 4th std boy n the oldest, a granmom...and two special kids! this time, we wanted to explore "summer" as a theme. but that kinda fizzled out with the overcast wonderfully cool weather! we started with associations, imagery n drawing before moving to story-telling. they brought along their digital cameras n wanted to know everything that was on it! tino did his thing - began with clay n went on to tile painting. o we even made it to the newspapers this year ;) n tino to page 3!!pooja, my niece came along...in her final year at shristi, i was keen she help me here. anything for beer n sausages, she said!! in fact, she even took the entire session one day when i had to fly back for p pass! the best part, this year was the decision to do a half day workshop. that way, afternoon siesta is taken care off n evenings by the sea gauranteed ;) but the bad part was we were hopelessly short on time, esp for the film-making part. we never got there. on the last day, one of the boys goes, "uncle, when's the next workshop?"...i beam widely, "soon, perhaps diwali"...then, i'll pursue once again my idea of exploring a theme, learning different media n then choosing any medium - be it clay, drawing, theatre, film, photography, writing to express oneself. We drove to the verna springs n tino goes shit shit shit...it's a mess now. empty beer bottles, styrofoam cups, food plates, etc...the usual gandh...and the spring reduced to a mere trickle...thinking about taking up issues/projects like these and get into every aspect thru a workshop/camp...what say you?

alien in transit!

...while applying for a US visa, you need to mention if you've travelled to the us before n what visa was issued to you. some lifetimes ago i went there as a cameraman on-board a cruise ship...a c1 visa it was...an alien in transit is what popped up!! :) ahay noronia, i was...very alien indeed!!
this time round i hope it's a regular b1 visitor visa...going there for an international peace camps for youth from conflict areas around the globe...more about that later...

here today there tomorrow!

what a month it has been...one weekend in delhi, the next in amba with the family, following weekend in goa...phew!...and if that wasn't enough, the guys at paanchvi pass decided to shoot the grand finale tomorrow, so i flew in back to bombay n fly back day after...dimaag ka toh poora dahi :)

the noronha clan @ amba ghat

the don looks on
the noro clan on the edge ;)
into the valley of death walked the six hundred!
paavan khind - 12km away from the resort...an area rich with maratha history...panhalal n vishaalgadh forts...here it was that auranzeb's troops were ambushed by a handful of bajirao's men...chatrapati shivaji maharaj ki jai!
sunil - the charming resort owner, energetic story-teller, excellent driver n cook...all rolled into one!
the deccan plateau rises over the western ghats

the cheera collection

cheera or cheerai are these laterite blocks used for construction in the konkan region...nice backdrop they make huh?! that's gaurav-mynephew, karen-my niece, lina-my sis in law :)

here we go again!

so the noronhas are off again!...this time to amba...bang in between ratnagiri n kohlapur nestled in the western ghats/deccan plateau. this annual family picnic thing which my mum does is getting to be quite a hit with the family!...anil helped design a resort there - hornbill, n we're all looking forward to a weekend of togetherness n rest n birds n of course the occasional rum n cola!...cheers!...will post pics when i'm back.

there's a lot we're celebrating - lina n jim's birthday, anillinababa shifting to chembur, anil's exciting new job...n mum's bday in advance ;)

bbye bd12f pic post

untitled

Sitting there slightly bent at his usual place at the table, he stares deep into the mosaic floor. These things are all transient, he says to me without looking up…after rattling off some figure in crores. His memory hazy… he recalls with so much pride the flat he bought way back in the early 70’s. After a full life, he now contemplates losing the last one big thing that was his…that had HIS name!

The world’s a blur around him now as his family whizzes in n out anxiously salvaging all that remains – memories, fragments, furniture, heritage, photographs, sarees, more memories. I don’t pick up anything…nothing here in mine…instead, I pick up moments…fractions really. Faces... in extreme close up…eyes, fingers, an outstretched hand…dust, light, shadow…over a hundred in one day! I surprise myself.

A smile breaks through…eyes moisten…laughter bounces off the bare walls…i move from room to room, face to face…the fragile soul slowly revealing…diving deeper. An email from afar ruptures the cracks, the floodgates burst open… I still don’t have the nerve “to make the final cut”!

my second summer workshop in goa

SummerTime - The Second Summer Workshop
in association with Red Earth Pottery, Verna
27th to 31st May 2008 9.00am to 1.00pm

A 5 day multi-media workshop introducing adults and children to the exciting world of digital video, photography, music, theatre and art. We will learn exciting new ways to express ourselves and learn about the environment around us.

The theme of this year’s workshop is “Summer”. What does the “Summer” mean to us? What are the memories, the textures and stories it evokes. Using various media, we will explore and deepen our own understanding of how it affects us. Participants will be encouraged to write, draw, paint, use clay and drama to express their ideas. In doing so, they will also learn the basics of creative writing, story telling, digital photography, film making and theatre.

The Workshop will be conducted by Valentino Gaspar and Ajay Noronha at the Red Earth Pottery Studio. It is tucked in a quiet verdant corner of Voddlem Bhath at Verna, 2km away from the old Panaji-Margao highway.

Valentino Gaspar – is a ceramic and terracotta artist who runs the rustic Red Earth Pottery Studio. He is an accomplished stain-glass restorer and theatre director.

Ajay Noronha – is a film-maker, cameraperson who divides his time between big television game shows, documentary film and teaching.

Course fees: Rs 1000 inclusive of consumables like paint, clay, video tape, etc. Please carry your own compass box, brushes and camera (if you have one).

Registration open! Hurry, limited seats only.
Email: redearthpottery@rediffmail.com or noro69@gmail.com
Call: Tino (0832) 6555862 or Ajay 09820291396