January 26
I haven’t managed to connect last few days. We recorded a few interviews but that was all. Everyone is on a holiday and an extended one at that. Himachal Day followed by Republic Day followed by weekend followed by another holiday on Tuesday! Right!
We spoke to some very interesting geologists and their perspective on Himachal, Shimla, science, nature and future was engaging and thought-provoking (for the want of a more spontaneous word).
Then we spoke to a group from Mandi, who was to perform their folk dance (they must have, we missed it today!), an old old man called Mangatram, a group of college students, Mayor and spoke to a few others who did not want to record their interviews but still did not mind sharing their views on Shimla.
Broadly, everyone agrees that there is a possibility of a natural disaster… Like earthquake striking the congested hill station. And that the city is not equipped to deal with one. However, no one is really worried as there has not been one and everyone accepts the suffocating dangerous concretisation as we all accept corruption, I guess. People very vaguely remember the Kangra earthquake and nothing more. They are more worried about lack of snow in the last couple of years.
It was heartening to see that so many people turned up for the Republic Day celebrations on the mall road. Otherwise, haven’t these days become just another holiday to sort things at home and catch up on urban-lifestyle-induced-lack-of-sleep?
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
curtain of rays, hopes for snow and italian pancakes...
started recording in a school, at basantpur, approximately 50 km from shimla. 201 children divided in 5 classes from 6th to 10th.
basantpur is as it sounds... overlooking valleys and mountains... (well, what does not but still) classes are held in old school style under trees and in the open... everybody sees everybody... this is perhaps for few months of winter, when they want to make the most of the "thandi thandi dhoop" and anyways, the classrooms are too cold for anybody's comfort...
simriti and i recorded interviews of the principal, a physical education teacher and a sanskrit teacher. (i will not elaborate about his super pure sanskrit laden hindi, i had the least number of questions for him, but of course, he was also the most articulte and sweet sounding... long live use of one pure language in normal speech!). then we spoke to the kids, some shy some could just replace the best anchors! (do they exist? wink, wink)
there had been a mock drill in this school couple of months back and it was a good idea to meet these kids. they knew their stuff, also it was a good brushing of memory session.
himanshu, seemed the head boy type, helped all the younger kids as well as shy shy girls..
basic pointers :
there hasn't been snow in shimla for more than two years.
temperatures are rising and people are not liking it.
earthquake training is required in schools
illegal congested construction should stop but will not
children not only pick up duck, cover, hold but an attitude of preventing and minimising the damages...
last but not the least, at tattapani, religious place of sulphur springs, there is an italian restaurant (owners or cooks or managers wife is an italian, i believe) which gave us much needed banana pan cakes... a bit weird, women, men, kids dipping for getting plus points with the man above and an italian menu... hmmm... an old old man smoking bidi...
on our way back as we came through the turn turn and turn more (man, my tummy goes through samudra manthan, mythical churning of the sea, all the time), i saw curtain of sunrays. curtain, coz it is so clearly divided - one half of the mountain is cold, in the shadow and the pine trees look like green balls of cotton... the other is warm, bright, in the sun and the pine trees shine, spike and look sharp...
remembered himanshu's plan of future... he wants to become an engineer and that too from bangalore... stepping from this side of curtain to the other, may be?
basantpur is as it sounds... overlooking valleys and mountains... (well, what does not but still) classes are held in old school style under trees and in the open... everybody sees everybody... this is perhaps for few months of winter, when they want to make the most of the "thandi thandi dhoop" and anyways, the classrooms are too cold for anybody's comfort...
simriti and i recorded interviews of the principal, a physical education teacher and a sanskrit teacher. (i will not elaborate about his super pure sanskrit laden hindi, i had the least number of questions for him, but of course, he was also the most articulte and sweet sounding... long live use of one pure language in normal speech!). then we spoke to the kids, some shy some could just replace the best anchors! (do they exist? wink, wink)
there had been a mock drill in this school couple of months back and it was a good idea to meet these kids. they knew their stuff, also it was a good brushing of memory session.
himanshu, seemed the head boy type, helped all the younger kids as well as shy shy girls..
basic pointers :
there hasn't been snow in shimla for more than two years.
temperatures are rising and people are not liking it.
earthquake training is required in schools
illegal congested construction should stop but will not
children not only pick up duck, cover, hold but an attitude of preventing and minimising the damages...
last but not the least, at tattapani, religious place of sulphur springs, there is an italian restaurant (owners or cooks or managers wife is an italian, i believe) which gave us much needed banana pan cakes... a bit weird, women, men, kids dipping for getting plus points with the man above and an italian menu... hmmm... an old old man smoking bidi...
on our way back as we came through the turn turn and turn more (man, my tummy goes through samudra manthan, mythical churning of the sea, all the time), i saw curtain of sunrays. curtain, coz it is so clearly divided - one half of the mountain is cold, in the shadow and the pine trees look like green balls of cotton... the other is warm, bright, in the sun and the pine trees shine, spike and look sharp...
remembered himanshu's plan of future... he wants to become an engineer and that too from bangalore... stepping from this side of curtain to the other, may be?
Monday, January 22, 2007
place changes, work doesn't...
And we are back.
From a slightly different place. Instead of reporting from humid, hot, wavy, oceany, randomly constructed Andaman’s... ... these bits come from cold, chilly, mountainy, valley, illegally congestedly constructed shimla. and it is freezing!!!
No, we are not doing community training here. Am here for a very short while to record for two programmes on earthquake and disaster management.
It is super cold by my modest minimum 30 c mumbai upbringing. I am starting recording tomorrow. Hoping to catch a glimpse of people’s life here and come up with more subjects for further programming which can be done by simriti in seeds office here.
Needless to say this is the beginning of the end. In some sense. (am back in office by mid feb, have to finish EVERYTHING, before that) Or let’s put it this way. It is just the beginning of wrap up of one process so that better processes and more beautiful tomorrows can begin.
Hoping that the teams set up in Wandoor and my soldiers in port blair seeds are working towards it. Haven’t managed to check on them. Must do it soon, before they get into “out of sight, out of mind,” way of life… it’s amazing how there are equal number of proverbs for exactly opposites thoughts and feelings… like "distance makes heart grow fonder"… by that logic radio lighthouse in Andaman’s should kick-continue (like kick start, hee hee)..
Signing off with a frozen nose… sniff sniff...
From a slightly different place. Instead of reporting from humid, hot, wavy, oceany, randomly constructed Andaman’s... ... these bits come from cold, chilly, mountainy, valley, illegally congestedly constructed shimla. and it is freezing!!!
No, we are not doing community training here. Am here for a very short while to record for two programmes on earthquake and disaster management.
It is super cold by my modest minimum 30 c mumbai upbringing. I am starting recording tomorrow. Hoping to catch a glimpse of people’s life here and come up with more subjects for further programming which can be done by simriti in seeds office here.
Needless to say this is the beginning of the end. In some sense. (am back in office by mid feb, have to finish EVERYTHING, before that) Or let’s put it this way. It is just the beginning of wrap up of one process so that better processes and more beautiful tomorrows can begin.
Hoping that the teams set up in Wandoor and my soldiers in port blair seeds are working towards it. Haven’t managed to check on them. Must do it soon, before they get into “out of sight, out of mind,” way of life… it’s amazing how there are equal number of proverbs for exactly opposites thoughts and feelings… like "distance makes heart grow fonder"… by that logic radio lighthouse in Andaman’s should kick-continue (like kick start, hee hee)..
Signing off with a frozen nose… sniff sniff...
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