i love you, there i said it

Author : Banno      Blog : banno, dhanno and teja in bumm-bumm-bhole-land      Date : 3/19/2013 1:28:11 PM

'“The children show their love in strange ways”, I said to Dhanno. “They will run up excitedly and say ‘pranaam’ and then run off again. It’s not as if they talk much to me, or hang around me much. They will laugh and chatter amongst themselves, and be naughty. But they are still shy of …'

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then, and before, and after

Author : Banno      Blog : banno, dhanno and teja in bumm-bumm-bhole-land      Date : 2/25/2013 3:50:06 AM

'The day began with the deliciousness of nutan-gur rasogollas. I had my share of 2, then went for a bath. Teja left me 1, from his share, which I had without demur. Before that, there had been the pale blue house in the tube-lit street at 4 am, a walk up red stairs, and paintings …'

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passing time

Author : Banno      Blog : banno, dhanno and teja in bumm-bumm-bhole-land      Date : 2/24/2013 2:30:37 AM

'The coupe in the Duronto is clean, the sheets spotless. A far cry from the Haridwar Express. There are several people who keep dropping in, to lay out two folding tables and serve us food, to clean the coupe every time we eat, to ask us what we would like to eat. The food is …'

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sometimes baggage makes you lighter

Author : Banno      Blog : banno, dhanno and teja in bumm-bumm-bhole-land      Date : 2/22/2013 8:37:39 AM

'Our holiday in Puri begins with an evening in South Bombay. We travel by train but perhaps not often enough, because we have reached VT without checking if our train is leaving on time. We are enamoured by the idea of the Duronto train after Dhanno’s review of it, and smug in the fact that …'

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are these your dream girls?

Author : Banno      Blog : banno, dhanno and teja in bumm-bumm-bhole-land      Date : 2/21/2013 11:18:42 AM

'Woman 1 looks admiringly at the men around her, con-men/police/politicians, and says, “The real work is being done by these people. We are only getting …” The audience sniggers. Woman 2 weeps silently while she makes eyes at a man who lives in the house opposite hers. They exchange love notes and sit by the …'

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you just take it

Author : Banno      Blog : banno, dhanno and teja in bumm-bumm-bhole-land      Date : 1/16/2013 6:06:58 AM

'My encounter with a Person in Power the day before yesterday needs some reflection. In the last 2 days, I have moved from an emotional response, a desire to get back at the person with all the things I realized I should have said at the time, and which occurred to me only hours later, …'

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you work to pay

Author : Banno      Blog : banno, dhanno and teja in bumm-bumm-bhole-land      Date : 1/15/2013 2:51:21 PM

'At the signal, he swerved the rickshaw to the extreme left to avoid a pothole on the road. He then had to honk at the pedestrians standing on the left, and cut across a line of people, to take the left turn. The pedestrians had to shuffle to make way for him. One of them …'

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Man 1, Man 2, Man 3 and 4 women

Author : Banno      Blog : banno, dhanno and teja in bumm-bumm-bhole-land      Date : 12/25/2012 8:20:44 AM

'Less than 50 metres outside the gate of our housing complex, manned by several watchmen, a young man stood by the side of the road, masturbating as he watched Dhanno and me walk by. For some reason, I did not notice him. But Dhanno did. She whispered, “Mom, that guy is playing with his ..” …'

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jab tak hain jaan (2012) – you look just the same

Author : Banno      Blog : banno, dhanno and teja in bumm-bumm-bhole-land      Date : 11/14/2012 3:10:18 PM

'The Khan trio by dint of fate are born in the same year as me. For that reason alone, I’ve watched their failures and successes with a sense of camaraderie, and their aging, or lack of, with curiosity. Recently, we went to a farewell party of our girls hostel warden at FTII, and a large …'

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bollywood lane

Author : Banno      Blog : banno, dhanno and teja in bumm-bumm-bhole-land      Date : 11/10/2012 3:37:39 AM

'The road is named after a school. But everyone calls it Bollywood Lane. Through the lane, banners advertise cosmetic surgeons, power yoga classes, dieticians, dance classes, gyms, acting classes. I walk in from strong morning sunshine into blue halogen light. The light creates frameworks where there are none. I feel as if I am walking …'

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lessons on womanhood while buying a car

Author : Banno      Blog : banno, dhanno and teja in bumm-bumm-bhole-land      Date : 10/20/2012 8:15:14 AM

'If you earn a fair amount of money, you are in an equal relationship with your partner, you move in a social circle where almost everyone has a similar world view as you, you live in a city where you are not afraid to move around alone at any odd hour of day or night, …'

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english vinglish (2012) – the unstoppable woman

Author : Banno      Blog : banno, dhanno and teja in bumm-bumm-bhole-land      Date : 10/5/2012 7:34:07 AM

'Dhanno and I saw ‘English Vinglish’ (directed by Gauri Shinde) at a trial show early this week. Dhanno thought we were going to a premiere. The difference between a trial and a premiere is the difference between backstage and the limelights. So, Ranbir Kapoor did not show up, much to Dhanno’s disappointment, and the good …'

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ramesh and bhima smile reluctantly

Author : Banno      Blog : banno, dhanno and teja in bumm-bumm-bhole-land      Date : 9/29/2012 7:55:29 AM

'Ramesh and Bhima were begging outside a South Indian cafe. They are dressed as faux-sadhus, and carry thick ropes around their shoulders, with which they offer to whip themselves for money. I left my meal half-eaten because I wanted to talk to them and photograph them. Before I could squeeze my way past the narrow …'

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that’s us

Author : Banno      Blog : banno, dhanno and teja in bumm-bumm-bhole-land      Date : 9/29/2012 5:02:37 AM

'Badal took this photo of Teja, Dhanno and me, just off the highway. Well, no. I just appropriated the photo, and said, “That’s us.” Dhanno said, “Which one am I?” I said, “The pale one, of course.” Dhanno said, “So, I am old?” Badal said, “No, just lost some pigment. A little different.” Filed under: …'

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Author : Banno      Blog : banno, dhanno and teja in bumm-bumm-bhole-land      Date : 9/23/2012 6:08:52 AM

'They walked up to the taxi at the signal. I was ready with my camera. I rolled down the window and said, “I’m going to take a photo of you.” They looked a little confused. I asked, “Where do you live?” “Here,” she said. “And why are you begging? And making her beg too? What …'

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heroine – in the quicksand of glamour

Author : Banno      Blog : banno, dhanno and teja in bumm-bumm-bhole-land      Date : 9/22/2012 5:46:25 AM

'Dhanno keeps repeating incredulously, “This movie is a spoof of itself. When they make a spoof of this, it will be the actual film.” Shy keeps nudging me, and guffawing. “Really, really, but why?” K asks, “Whose idea was it to watch ‘Heroine’?” Shy says, “We had to see it. It’s so funny.” I say, …'

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deedar-e-yaar – the colors of love

Author : Banno      Blog : banno, dhanno and teja in bumm-bumm-bhole-land      Date : 9/9/2012 12:33:53 PM

'It could be a result of watching a 16:9 enhanced format without ‘adjusting’, but there is no ‘buxsomness’ in sight here, everyone courses through ‘Deedar-e-Yaar’ (1982, H S Rawail) with streamlined figures, even Preeti Ganguly. (Refer to the Stars of the Indian Screen here for delightful descriptions of buxsomness. And streamlined figures.) This is a …'

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sunghursh – of feuds, real and filmi

Author : Banno      Blog : banno, dhanno and teja in bumm-bumm-bhole-land      Date : 8/10/2012 5:11:47 AM

'I am impressed that ‘Sunghursh‘ (H S Rawail, 1968) is based on a story by Mahashweta Devi, and has dialogues by Gulzar and Abrar Alvi. Bhawani Prasad (Jayant) is a thug by caste. He belongs to a cult that worships Bhawani through killing and robbing, thus fulfilling the duties of their caste. It is Bhawani’s …'

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exhaling fear

Author : Banno      Blog : banno, dhanno and teja in bumm-bumm-bhole-land      Date : 8/8/2012 6:40:57 AM

'So while I am still not able to swing up on my own, with one gentle hands-up, I can prop up against the wall. Today, I could extend my heels without losing control. I didn’t breathe heavily, scared that my neck is going to snap, or roll my eyes around. I’ve realized that if I …'

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harud

Author : Banno      Blog : banno, dhanno and teja in bumm-bumm-bhole-land      Date : 8/7/2012 3:39:37 PM

'3 odd years ago, we drove into Manipur after a grueling 200 km ride from Mao, which by our calculations should have taken 4 hours at the most, and in fact, took around 7. It was evening when we crossed into Manipur, and we thought we would take another half-hour to reach our hotel in …'

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