From 4th November 1889 till 11 Feb 1942, Shri Jamnalal Bajaj* was a guest of Mother India.In his lifetime, though considerably a short period, he was able to make his mark both in business as well as public life. The fact that he came to be known as the "fifth son of Mahatma Gandhi" was no mean achievement.That I was asked to participate and design the first photographic exhibition to commemorate his ninetieth birth anniversary was an honor.
"LIFE & TIMES of JAMNALAL BAJAJ" was inaugurated by President Sanjeeva Reddy at the prestigious AIFACS, New Delhi. With Mahatma Gandhi and freedom movement
as background, the exhibition traveled all over India. The conversion of the last abode of Jamnalalji into a gallery-cum-museum inaugurated by RAHUL BAJAJ in the presence of Acharya Vinoba Bhave and now lies permanently at Wardha. The Legacy of 'JLB' continues and very recently, the great grandson Rajiv was chosen amongst the many leaders for the HT Summit to put forth his views on business.
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Nostalgia :
It was during our exhibition at Wardha that Sir Richard Attenburogh discussed with the Secretary General of Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation, the one & only US Mohan Rao, the script of his film Gandhi (amongst others). In fact, he was my main Mentor and the link to Mr Ramkrishna Bajaj. I have many such anecdotes about the latter's humility and regard for the professional. Lastly, in the film Gandhi, I was honored to play a small role as one of Gandhiji's companions at the place he was shot at. Incidentally, the film starts and ends with this scene. I truly believe this was my first hand experience of professionalism in films.
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* Freedom fighter, social reformer and humanitarian, Jamnalal Bajaj, was born in Kashi -ka- Bas in Rajasthan on November 4, 1889. He was essentially a sadhka (spiritual aspirant). Early in life he was in quest of a guru who could guide him to lead a pure and purposeful life. When Gandhiji returned to India from South Africa, Jamnalalji met him and paid several visits to the Sabarmati Ashram.....
Gandhiji on JLB....." In Seth Jamnalalji death has taken a mighty man. Whenever I wrote of wealthy men becoming trustees of their wealth for the common good I always had the merchant prince principally in mind."
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Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
ART, PUBLIC ART & ' i '
Hello again,
Art, assuming every one is familiar with; but what is this Public Art ?
Well I may not encounter this Query often, particularly since one is still in
New York, USA, but in India, I make it a point to explain !
So I might do it here as well, since what ever I try to say, now & in future will be ‘home grown’- self taught, will have the benefit of our readers correcting me,
Isn’t that a ‘Double Win’ situation, again this is my own terminology, just sprouted ! Double, it may induce that person to correct…. comment and of course our learning from hmmmm him /her; shall be happier with both. Here I may have to clarify, that our him/ his in future, includes her, where applicable !
Have you noticed how actresses…sorry female actors insist on being addressed
or referred to as ‘actors’ and I am pretty sure, in our times & in India it has been spearheaded by one & only*, Shabana Azmi ! Now why do I write so,with such finality...well, there has been her contemporary…slightly junior, Smita Patil, but, she died after almost 14 years of work, and it has been close to 21 years , since her death !
Am I digressing? Well, Art it is, both are ‘Artistes’ of the highest caliber, and worked in a medium, call it …Cinema, Films, Motion Pictures or in our colloquial, “Picture…Tasveer” can’t I call it Public Art ? Well we can leave that for a much informed debate, here in fact, I wished to introduce, my interpretation, thru what the undersigned has been able to do ‘humbly’… again I may add that one was lucky, being at ‘The right place at the right time’ Period !
Public Art, for me is that visual art which one sees, anywhere 'in or outside' a built form, building, and one has not gone to see it specially, as you would go to see art, in an art exhibition, where on display,are paintings, sculpture, murals or the latest “Installation”! Well, here I would invite ‘People’s participation’ for the definition of Installation.
I have done a vast variety of Art, murals, installations, and used to refer to my work as Art-n Architecture till in one of earliest visits to USA, sitting in a very
prestigious library in Florida, chanced upon ‘Public Art’ & it captured my imagination, so I am hooked to it ! It was also the time, while being in USA, I had to monitor the Public Art** one had already conceived, designed & delivered on paper, but its implementation was pending, so it was heartening to read on the email… “It is looking fantastic ” Imagine my Ecstasy !
In my present trip, a fairly long stay in New York, like a non tourist, had the chance to visit a ‘Product Fair’at the prestigious Crest Hollows Country Club, organized by the American Institute of Architects, ( Long Island Chapter).
Here, not only I saw some amazing products, attended a class, having a very lucid presentation by Ms Janet,*** who I learnt later was a qualified Architect like me, but in addition had a Doctorate as well. For answering a question correctly,a NanaWall pen drive, was the starting point of a Winning Spree !
What more did I win ? Moore, Benjamin Moore paints, purple & white, after I made my ‘inspired painting' in just about 6 minutes on a sample color board, 2’ x 2’, whose purple colored base was being made by visitors bit by bit ! So the painting, the paints…and lots of friends **** I won on a single afternoon !! The painting i plan to gift, the local library at East Meadow, NY !
Back here, in New York, the creative urge combined with small gifts made, me enter into painting, Public Art, since what I have done is in the inner corner of our backyard fencing & also on the rustic double door of the Tool Room Hut. The theme of the painting…how it started, how it assimilated the environment around, I shall deal in a separate chapter...another blog !
So here is wishing I am able to share..upload some visuals !
Some notes
* Smita Patil, actor par excellence,introduced by the renowned Shyam Benegal.
** On a Multi Storeyed Aptt House, Connaught Circus, City Centre New Delhi.
***Ms Janet Mellema, Director for sustainable Design for NanaWall
**** Friends...A I A Long Island Chapter Chairman...Ar Joseph Chearmonte..
Practising Architect John Notaro....Architect & Designer Ms Belle Smith &
her colleague at B Moore, Ms Diana Ratazzi...the photogenic
Mr JOHN RIGROD, Publisher & Editor, HAMMER Magazine, Northport, NY.
And finally, only after writing the above draft, had a sudden impulse, to look
for the definitions of Public Art etc, and my ,my ,they are pretty, BIG ! Still
my hunch is you will feel connected with me & support my little 'i'....
Sunday, June 28, 2009
BLOGGERS, BLOGS & ("i")
CELEBRITY BLOGGERS , BLOGS & ( “ i “)
Celebrities were coming to our homes,
Conquering our hearts, catching our eyeballs,
Thanks to the proliferation of TV…the cable television:
But now, they are also conquering our minds through the computers… By blocking…sorry ‘Blogging’ !
See even the MS Word does not still recognize Blogging as a legitimate word !
Should I ignore it ?
OK, I do and let me march ahead !
Who is leading the pack, guess it is the old war horse again!
Amitabh Bachchan !
Since I am presently in New York, moving along with all kinds of Americans, am conscious of the FAQ, Who is Amitabh Bachchan ? AB or Big B to us in India.
How do I respond ?
Is there any parallel to AB,in Hollywood or dare i say the World Cinema !
Let me digress, and remind ourselves, which movie unshackled Amitabh of
his series of flops as a hero, Zanjeer it was ! Zanjeer my dear means ‘Chain’.
And what screen name, it was VIJAY and then in countless movies he consolidated his new found success, his identity as an angry young man !
In 1973 it was Prakash Mehra’s Zanjeer, followed by Yash Chopra’s Deewar
& few years later Trishul (1978). Vijay means Victory, hence the name suited the character. Incidentally his other mega successes Kabhie Kabhie, 1976 (Amit a poetic character) and AMAR AKBAR ANTHONY,1977 the most entertaining movie of ‘Lost & Found Formula’ perfected by Manmohan Desai. Which character did Amitabh play, that of Anthony, the christen, middle brother to eldest Amar (Vinod Khanna) and youngest Akbar (Rishi Kapoor). The heroines to match the trio were, Shabana Azmi, Neetu Singh, the gorgeous Praveen Babi for Anthony !
All the above came running in my mind recently when, as I was listening in rapt attention to, a very businesslike but lucid explanation, my dear friend VIJAY Gandhi * announced, introducing the speaker, “ Meet our esteemed…..ANTHONY GONZALEZ” !!
At this point I made enquiries about the speaker’s familiarity with Indian Cinema. I did make it a point to introduce him to some interesting facets, of ‘Our Films’, and of course my ‘Nano'** appearance in GANDHI,*** the 8 Oscar winning film….followed by, after a good 27 years,the same number of Oscars by ‘Slumdog Millionaire’!
BLOGS
What prompted me to choose the above topic? Actually, as I have started to write a BLOG, difficult it is to type out my thoughts, wondered how other celebrities go about doing it ? Ghost writers for them would be an accusation, yet to think …well do they have ‘typists’ to help them, write from their longhand…or do they dictate to a steno…Perhaps Aamir & Shahrukh can type directly with ease ! What about Amitabh ? That is why, I opened his blog, which turned to be a very well,emotionally written tribute to Michael Jackson, who has just died. All the American channels are full of that! Since I find my self less qualified to offer my own comments/tributes, I shall take up those at a more appropriate time.
However, at a friendly dinner with a Pakistani family, staying opposite our Long Island house New York, Mr Tanvir opined that MJ’s popularity transcended all continents! Mr Mayank, an IT professional, opined that after careful thought, he was concluding there was no Singer-Performer anywhere with such range of excellence popularity & longevity: considering he began around 1963 at the age of 5, and was looking forward to his comeback in July 2009 ! ( all tickets were sold in advance, for the same!!) In Mayank’s opinion, No Celebrity, of such caliber had so much of
a down fall !( Because the family set up, in India helps, keep the person in relative check, says he: but I do not agree, there are a number of celebrities who have gone berserk, since they could not handle their instant stardom !
(“i”)
Having started this blog, no doubt I am enjoying writing, yet only I know how very taxing it is to write, whether alone or taking somebody’s help. I do hope to cover a very wide range of topics, in fact ideas keep brimming,but for me,the difficult part is to stay focused and deliver. Needs energy, consistency: but one thing is sure if I get some encouragement from the readers, patrons, I shall be able to continue, certainly my well wishers will not let me down, Would you ?
So why not a brief comment…even constructive criticism …oh! It will do wonders.
Many years back, visiting the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University, saw a slogan, which in my mind I continue to stare “Everything is difficult, before it is easy”, am sure, you will make my task easier, since I have lots to share !!
Notes
* Mr Vijay Gandhi, a civil engineer migrated India, post retirement from
New York City, is a Licensed Realtor with Prudential, staying in Long Island.
** Nano, means very small, also the name of the most cost effective inexpensive car coming from the house of TATAS (brain child of Ratan Tata)!
*** GANDHI, see on YouTube Part One, 5 mts 16 sec, i am near Gandhiji when he is shot at !! The movie a flashback, begins & ends with this scene !
Celebrities were coming to our homes,
Conquering our hearts, catching our eyeballs,
Thanks to the proliferation of TV…the cable television:
But now, they are also conquering our minds through the computers… By blocking…sorry ‘Blogging’ !
See even the MS Word does not still recognize Blogging as a legitimate word !
Should I ignore it ?
OK, I do and let me march ahead !
Who is leading the pack, guess it is the old war horse again!
Amitabh Bachchan !
Since I am presently in New York, moving along with all kinds of Americans, am conscious of the FAQ, Who is Amitabh Bachchan ? AB or Big B to us in India.
How do I respond ?
Is there any parallel to AB,in Hollywood or dare i say the World Cinema !
Let me digress, and remind ourselves, which movie unshackled Amitabh of
his series of flops as a hero, Zanjeer it was ! Zanjeer my dear means ‘Chain’.
And what screen name, it was VIJAY and then in countless movies he consolidated his new found success, his identity as an angry young man !
In 1973 it was Prakash Mehra’s Zanjeer, followed by Yash Chopra’s Deewar
& few years later Trishul (1978). Vijay means Victory, hence the name suited the character. Incidentally his other mega successes Kabhie Kabhie, 1976 (Amit a poetic character) and AMAR AKBAR ANTHONY,1977 the most entertaining movie of ‘Lost & Found Formula’ perfected by Manmohan Desai. Which character did Amitabh play, that of Anthony, the christen, middle brother to eldest Amar (Vinod Khanna) and youngest Akbar (Rishi Kapoor). The heroines to match the trio were, Shabana Azmi, Neetu Singh, the gorgeous Praveen Babi for Anthony !
All the above came running in my mind recently when, as I was listening in rapt attention to, a very businesslike but lucid explanation, my dear friend VIJAY Gandhi * announced, introducing the speaker, “ Meet our esteemed…..ANTHONY GONZALEZ” !!
At this point I made enquiries about the speaker’s familiarity with Indian Cinema. I did make it a point to introduce him to some interesting facets, of ‘Our Films’, and of course my ‘Nano'** appearance in GANDHI,*** the 8 Oscar winning film….followed by, after a good 27 years,the same number of Oscars by ‘Slumdog Millionaire’!
BLOGS
What prompted me to choose the above topic? Actually, as I have started to write a BLOG, difficult it is to type out my thoughts, wondered how other celebrities go about doing it ? Ghost writers for them would be an accusation, yet to think …well do they have ‘typists’ to help them, write from their longhand…or do they dictate to a steno…Perhaps Aamir & Shahrukh can type directly with ease ! What about Amitabh ? That is why, I opened his blog, which turned to be a very well,emotionally written tribute to Michael Jackson, who has just died. All the American channels are full of that! Since I find my self less qualified to offer my own comments/tributes, I shall take up those at a more appropriate time.
However, at a friendly dinner with a Pakistani family, staying opposite our Long Island house New York, Mr Tanvir opined that MJ’s popularity transcended all continents! Mr Mayank, an IT professional, opined that after careful thought, he was concluding there was no Singer-Performer anywhere with such range of excellence popularity & longevity: considering he began around 1963 at the age of 5, and was looking forward to his comeback in July 2009 ! ( all tickets were sold in advance, for the same!!) In Mayank’s opinion, No Celebrity, of such caliber had so much of
a down fall !( Because the family set up, in India helps, keep the person in relative check, says he: but I do not agree, there are a number of celebrities who have gone berserk, since they could not handle their instant stardom !
(“i”)
Having started this blog, no doubt I am enjoying writing, yet only I know how very taxing it is to write, whether alone or taking somebody’s help. I do hope to cover a very wide range of topics, in fact ideas keep brimming,but for me,the difficult part is to stay focused and deliver. Needs energy, consistency: but one thing is sure if I get some encouragement from the readers, patrons, I shall be able to continue, certainly my well wishers will not let me down, Would you ?
So why not a brief comment…even constructive criticism …oh! It will do wonders.
Many years back, visiting the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University, saw a slogan, which in my mind I continue to stare “Everything is difficult, before it is easy”, am sure, you will make my task easier, since I have lots to share !!
Notes
* Mr Vijay Gandhi, a civil engineer migrated India, post retirement from
New York City, is a Licensed Realtor with Prudential, staying in Long Island.
** Nano, means very small, also the name of the most cost effective inexpensive car coming from the house of TATAS (brain child of Ratan Tata)!
*** GANDHI, see on YouTube Part One, 5 mts 16 sec, i am near Gandhiji when he is shot at !! The movie a flashback, begins & ends with this scene !
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
New York, Mumbai & i
Wearing a T shirt saying 'I Love NYC' presented by my niece Kritee Gujral from Florida, USA, & she helped me get started on this...all of us are presently in Long Island, New York, so i thought why not start my blog while hugged by the t-shirt with a lively red heart that represents what lays behind. I begin with the L..L..Loves of my life, and here I am !Having lived in New Delhi, India almost all my life, yet my beloved city was & still remains 'Bombay', hate to call it Mumbai, but guess for official reasons can't escape that !
New York ? ...back in India, for decades if one was asked which city one yearns to visit...the answer was 1 New York..2 London / Paris.....Bombay i had been visiting since the age of Five, and by the time i was in College of Architecture, Chandigarh, reading The Fountainhead (which by the way, brought New York even closer to my heart), prescribed as a text book for English, and by the time i became an Architect had been to Bombay precisely Six times !!
So for Me "i" it is New York...& ' Bambai ', pronounced thus in our 'Filmcrazy' society...the word 'Bollywood' was coined much later !!
So here dear readers, i am going for a short break , You stay tuned , since i will be back soon !!
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