Guru

Movie : An excellent one. I would watch it again and ,may be, again and, may be, again. In my list of movies that might have had an impact, this is the latest addition. Not as much emotionally, as was the case with Rang De Basanti, though. However, it gives a sneak view of the thought process of visionaries. All said, I have my own reservations about the success of this film because Maniratnam's movies in the north almost invariably defy the law of averages at the box office, for some unknown godly reasons. As most of you might have come to know by this time, it is the story of Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani, the one who is credited to have started the equity cult in India. Making an effort to atleast give a cursory glance at the biography of Dhirubai Ambani should not be a futile exercise. Most definitely, not. I would not bet on how precisely the personality of Ambani has been portrayed in the film. However, I tend to believe that he is, indeed, a man of very strong will, a man who relentlessly and ruthlessly pursued his dream. Actually speaking, this should come as no surprise to any of us because we are talking about someone who left a legacy behind, an empire behind.

Songs : As I am typing out this blog, guru is blaring in my onkyo! Needless to say, when the thumper scores music for Mani Ratnam, the album is a sure shot hit. 'Barso Re', 'Ek Lo Ek Muft', 'Ay Hairathe' fell straight into the 'love at first hear' category even before I watched the movie. Started liking the song 'Mayya' at the theatre. Sadly, I have difficulty in comprehending some of the words in hindi. So, I may not be able to appreciate the songs fully. But I can take solace, a heartening solace, that I can understand something more powerful than language - music - just a little bit better. One of the BGM's was really thumping. It would not be a bad idea, to release the movie BGMs along with the songs in an audio CD. I remember a Tamizh audio CD - Bose - including BGMs. With Rahman composing songs and some of the BGMs in his movies, the CD sale will rise further more. Maybe, I am biased towards him. But I am happy to be biased. I have not listened to any of these songs through earplugs yet. It will only help me in liking them more.

Adios.

New york Nagaram...

I had been to New york sometime last year, over a long weekend, to visit one of my friends. I felt that it is a very nice place to be in, as a tourist. I would not want to be a New yorker. I would dislike that pacy life. Every year, a trip to New york for a few days should not be a bad idea.

A truly cosmopolitan city it is, there are many places of attraction - those of architectural beauty, and/or those of historic importance. Though such structures were all pleasing to the eyes, the one thing that really overwhelmed me was the New York underground system. The sort of planning that went into making it into such an extensive network was written all over it. I was so impressed that I brought back an underground map with me, as a souvenir.

An underground station...


Sort of depicts the pacy life of a New yorker - New york Penn Station



I bumped into a website, some time back, that talked about the history of this underground network.

With tens of thousands of immigrants arriving into the city, in mid 1800's, New york became one of the most crowded places. In 1888, a ferocious blizzard brought the city to halt. Horse driven cars and omnibuses were of no use as twenty feet of snow engulfed the city. It was then realized that New york needed an underground system. Construction began in 1900 and a small part of the now existing network was completed in 4 years time, through the hard work of Irish americans, african americans and other immigrants. Atleast 7,700 men were involved in the project and the 21 mile route was laid down by hand. The system was first named Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT). With the success of the IRT, the government wanted to extend the network with the help of private constructors. An ambitious project of the network that would run 165 miles connecting Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx and the Queens was undertaken. Through some dirty politics, IRT and Brooklyn Rapid Transit (BRT) company entered into dual contract. However, as years passed by, the government realized that it was not profiting from these private contractors and took over the job by itself through the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). The underground system experienced a slight hiccup post WW II with the job boom offering enough freedom to the commuters to make use of the new found love - the automobile. However, in 1994, 90 years after the IRT started the underground construction, MTA approved $17.2 billion dollars for improvement of the existing system and the network would continue to grow.

This is just a brief story of the birth of underground network. I have left out some numbers here and there for want of memory space in my brain. Anyway, it is quite interesting getting into the history of anything that captures our attention.

"MODERN DAY MARTYDOM CAN BE SUCCINCTLY DEFINED AS RIDING IN A NEWYORK OMNIBUS"

That is Newyork Nagaram for you...


Adios.