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A whiff of Hollywood

Posted in The Magic of Movies!, tagged , , , , , , , on August 31, 2023| 4 Comments »

For someone like me who has been brought up on a healthy diet of movies since my tender years, it is not easy to visit a new place and the mind not veering off to recollect a movie which the place reminds me of. Besides, anything connected with movies in any way – be it a Walk of Fame, a theatre where the prestigious Oscar awards get presented, or even a drive past either Sunset Boulevard or Rodeo Drive and Beverly Hills – acts as a strong magnet, drawing me to it the way a moth would be captivated by a candle. Luckily, the analogy stops there, since, unlike a hapless moth, I do not perish. On the contrary, I live to tell the tale, merely in the spirit of sharing my experiences with those who are likewise besotted by the science and art of moving images.

Recently, an opportunity came up whereby I could visit the South-Western part of the United States of America. Here are some of my experiences.

The Grand Canyon

Irrespective of the viewing point one decides to visit, the stark beauty of raw nature here holds you mesmerized. Just like the many fjords in Norway, these unique rock formations would have taken millions of years to take their present shape. As one reads about the aboriginals who inhabited this area, believing in the forces of nature which protect them and guarding over the famous gold deposits which ended up sounding their death knell when those who consider themselves as ‘civilised’ ended up suppressing their rights, one wonders if there would ever be an end to human greed and avarice.

As the sun continued its journey in the clear blue sky above and the shadows of peaks falling on the opposite side of a narrow valley, my mind went back to Mackenna’s Gold (1969), with Gregory Peck and Omar Sharif chasing a pillar’s shadow to find the gold.

Meeting Some Orcas   

A visit to Sea World, a large aquarium-cum-amusement park in San Diego, enabled me to have a close look at a herd of pink flamingos, some sea lions, penguins, besides other sea creatures like orcas.

The last mentioned may be baby whales, but their immense size does not fail to impress. As they glide past you with effortless ease, making some sounds which normal human beings like me would not be able to interpret, the awe and admiration which follows holds you in thrall for a long time. I was recalling the movie Free Willy (1993) which showcased the bond which develops between Willy and Jesse.

It Happens Only in Las Vegas                    

The ‘Sin City’ is famous for its unique tourist attractions. An ode to many European cities such as Paris and Venice, it even boasts of a small volcano which displays the fury of fire and red-hot lava when a show takes place. A shopping mall which is designed to make you feel as if you are in Venice, what with a meandering canal on which you could enjoy a gondola ride and a blue sky above with white clouds flitting by.

Many other attractions dot the landscape, including a yet-to-be-commissioned Sphere which is said to be an auditorium with a seating capacity of 16,000 persons, equipped with the latest audio systems. The external surface of this structure offers enchanting displays which often leave one mesmerized at night.

The musical fountain outside Hotel Bellagio ended up reminding me of the series of Ocean’s Eleven (2001 onwards) movies.

The Dolby Theatre

The Dolby Theatre (formerly known as the Kodak Theatre) is a live-performance auditorium in the Ovation Hollywood shopping mall and entertainment complex, on Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue. This is where the annual Academy Awards ceremony takes place.

The Hollywood Walk of Fame

One may not expect to run into either Julie Andrews or Anne Hathaway here but walking over more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California leaves one in awe of the kind of multi-faceted talent nurtured and showcased in Hollywood offerings over the decades. It is a motley mix of actors, directors, producers, musicians, theatrical/musical groups, fictional characters, and others. Of course, it is a challenge to see many of these clearly, partly due to the sheer length of the walk, and owing to the jostling crowds which tread over these with gay abandon.

There is also a separate portion next to the Chinese Theatre where concrete slabs carrying either the signatures or the handprints of such yesteryear celebrities as Peter Sellers, Sophia Loren, Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin, Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon, and many others can be seen.

Hollywood and P G Wodehouse

Fans of P G Wodehouse are well aware that he had used Hollywood as a setting for some of his novels and short stories. He wrote a series of Broadway musical comedies during and after the First World War, together with Guy Bolton and Jerome Kern, which played an important part in the development of the American musical. Sometime during the 1930s, he began writing for MGM in Hollywood.

One may be disappointed to not to either find the offices of Perfecto-Zizzbaum Corporation or run into Montrose Mulliner and Rosalie Beamish in Hollywood. One may merely surmise that the couple might be quietly enjoying a peaceful time somewhere in Loas Angeles these days, listening to the prattle of the feet of their many grandchildren who are forever eager to sit around them and listen to them recounting the details of their marriage in a gorilla’s cage.

Likewise, Wilmot Mulliner, having retired as a manager of the affairs of a famous Hollywood celebrity, may be entertaining his grandchildren with some bird calls, at times fondly remembering Mabel Potter.

Wannabe starlets struggling to catch the eye of producers and studio owners would still be learning a few lessons from the case of Minna Nordstrom.

I did not come across any swamp of alcohol during my travels. In any case, running into Sister Lora Luella Stott, the woman who is supposed to be leading California out of the swamp of alcohol, was not on the agenda.

Some Lifelong Memories to Cherish

Travel is highly educational, said Jeeves. It is also a source of happiness, one may add. It is about experiencing the sights and sounds of a place. There is the sheer pleasure of soaking in its ambience.

When one passes by Hollywood, one feels having had a platonic brush with the many talented celebrities who, over the decades, have added all the glitz and glamour for which it is known.

(Visuals edited by Suman)

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Some Encounters of a Plummy Kind

Posted in What ho!, tagged , , , , , , on August 21, 2023| 4 Comments »

 

What happens when Plum fans get to meet each other at a gig? Some may be known to one from the virtual world most of us inhabit these days. Others may be genial souls whom one meets for the first time, though some of them may soon assume the character of long-lost friends.

After all, Plum himself said somewhere that “There is no surer foundation for a beautiful friendship than a mutual taste in literature.” It follows that if the term “literature” here covers his own oeuvre, a high degree of bonhomie and warmth soon fills one’s bosom. The excitement of discussing his works and discovering some hereto unknown facets of his characters soon surpasses the kind of inner satisfaction Aunt Dahlia would have felt after having managed to corner the much-coveted silver cow creamer for Uncle Tom, thereby brightening the chances of ensuring a fresh lease of life to Milady’s Boudoir.      

A feast of reason and flow of soul occurs. Over some browsing and sluicing, many issues get discussed. The myriad ways in which Bertie Wooster avoids many a walk down the aisle. The ethics of Rupert Psmith misleading Eve Halliday with a bunch of lies when on a boat ride in the lake at Blandings Castle. The curious case of Bingo Little who proves Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution wrong by undergoing a reverse metamorphosis -transforming from a butterfly during his pre-nuptial days into a caterpillar which is singularly devoted to Rosie M. Banks during his post-matrimony phase. The mystery of the disappearance of Psmith and Eve as a couple. Behavioural traits of not only the prominent loony doctors and ungentlemanly aunts but also of Batholomew, Augustus and Potato Chip come in for a detailed scrutiny.

On all such occasions, time invariably picks up speed, leaving many fans of Albert Einstein’s nodding in agreement. A duration of one hundred and twenty minutes, if spent in the enlightening company of Plum fans, sounds like a mere span of twenty minutes.

A concatenation of circumstances during the month of July 2023 led to yours truly having a couple of Plummy encounters. Here is a brief account of these.  

A Mind-bending Quiz at the UK Society Meeting in London   

Which breed of the canine species does Bartholomew (who, if you recall, biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder) belong to?!

Well, this was merely one of the twenty-five odd questions which got unleashed upon one at a recent meeting of the UK Society in London. Conducted with rare aplomb and felicity by Lasley Tapson, a committee member of the Society, the quiz helped all of us to assess the current level of our respective Pumpkin Quotients. I, for one, found mine to be higher than that of Gussie Fink-Nottle.

Besides the pleasure of meeting many other fans at the gig, I had the privilege of exchanging pleasantries with Tim Andrew, the Chairman of the Society, and Andrew Bishop, the Editor of Wooster Sauce.

Meeting a Fan from Across the Pond

It so happened that a fan of Plum’s from across the pond and yours truly were infesting the environs of London around the same time. Lia Marie Hansen, Doug, the Bingo Little of her life, and yours truly could meet for some time. Lia is a theatre professional who has worked in the past at Vanguard Lyceum Theatre and is currently a Professor at Vanguard University of Southern California.

Given her profession, the exploits of George Bevan were bound to come up for a mention. So was the fascination of Kid Blumenfeld, the dish-faced kid who, despite his tender age, controls the theatrical productions of his father, with McIntosh, Aunt Agatha’s Aberdeen terrier. Gushing references to many of Plum’s characters and instances in his narratives invariably followed. Challenges faced by the world of theatre were discussed. So were matters pertaining to advances in acoustics and a few other realms of human enterprise.

A Visit to the Dulwich College, UK

This was a lovely and instructive encounter with an important part of Plum’s life. Some of you might have already come across details of this visit of mine here.

The Orange Plums

Gangs of Plum fans, whether masquerading as societies or otherwise, can be found all over the world. Besides the United States of America, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, France, Italy, Russia, Japan, Australia, and Canada also boast of devoted fans and admirers who keep his works alive by organizing events and conducting various activities from time to time. India, with its sizeable population, also has a liberal smattering of fans, with a latent desire for some browsing and sluicing which often manifests when a fan from another city pops up.   

The Wodehouse Society (USA) has many Regional Chapters all over the country. One of these, located in the Orange County of California, is known as Orange Plums. Its members congregate once every month, thereby continuing to spread sweetness and light in their community. Their meetings take place at the Streamliner Lounge and Café which happens to be a diner located on the premises of the Orange train station. The credit of introducing me to the group goes to Thomas Langston Reeves Smith, a fan of Plum’s who infests another part of the country.

To ensure that the group members did not take me to be an imposter, as also to follow Jeeves’ advice that there are no times when ties do not matter, I had worn a Drones Club tie to the meeting. This, despite the sweltering heat outside. But what I had not imagined was the kind of warmth with which the members would greet and receive me. I might as well have worn an asbestos vest. After much ‘What ho’-ing and exchange of pleasantries, I was elated to receive a few mementos from the 2022 San Diego Convention of the Wodehouse Society. Precious gifts, indeed!

All of us are aware of the invigorating properties of the juice of an orange, especially when laced with a liberal dose of tissue restoratives. However, the sheer joy of meeting some fans of Wodehouse located in a different part of the world itself acts as a powerful intoxicant on someone like me. A generally shy, morose, and reticent person like me suddenly turns into a blabbering idiot. I am surely not a loquacious pub raconteur in the same class as that of Mr. Mulliner but a transient bout of chattiness does overtake me on such occasions.

Thus, the Double-Whisky-and-Splash, the Gin-and-Tonic and the Tankard of Ale who had assembled at the venue had to suffer a great deal of coarse buffoonery on my part for close to about one hundred and twenty minutes. However, it goes to the credit of Orange Plums that they withstood the onslaught upon their auditory senses with a chin up attitude which would have made Bertie Wooster proud of them. None of them exercised either of the two options of an escape available to them – either by using their jalopies parked upfront, or by using the back door to catch the trains which were chugging along at regular intervals. Climbing down pipes was ruled out because the café happens to be on the ground floor.      

Fans of Plum often hide their talents well. The Double-Whisky-and-Splash, who had coordinated the meeting, turned out to be someone who dishes out not only a monthly newsletter but also two regular submarine-related magazines. He has long studied the art of whipping up TV scripts and producers of shows are watching his progress with keen interest.

The Gin-and-Tonic, a history buff who is in the noble profession of teaching, is also open to schooling others in music appreciation and even participating in karaoke competitions. A genial soul, I am certain that her pupils would have never alluded to her as being a female lion-tamer cast in the mould of either Miss Mapleton or Miss Tomlinson.  

The Tankard of Ale happens to be in the service of the Almighty, perhaps delivering Sunday sermons the durations and handicaps of which keep the local betting syndicates agog with excitement. I am sure he has had the company of a goofy kid like Thos for some time and would thus be hotter at his job. A technology geek, he kept on locating various narratives and characters on his technical gizmo, in tandem with the flow of discussion of the group, which involved trading tales and sharing our mutual enthusiasm for The Master.       

It was fun meeting a few members of the group. Sometime soon, the Orange Plums are planning to organize a flowerpot throwing competition. They are also keenly looking forward to the next Society Convention, scheduled to take place in Nashville, Tennessee, September 26 – 29, 2024.  

I wish Orange Plums a goofy time ahead!

A Wish List

Perhaps the Bard was not much off the mark when he said that the world is an oyster. Just in case my Guardian Angels ever enable another visit either to the United Kingdom or to the southern parts of California, my travel plans may include the various spots said to be the inspiration of many of Plum’s narratives.

By way of an example, I believe that there are two claimants to the Drones Club – the Buck’s Club in London and the Montecito Country Club at Santa Barbara. As to Totleigh Towers, the Hearst Castle at San Simeon, where Plum is said to have stayed for several months during 1930, is said to be the inspiration.

Of course, brainy coves on both sides of the pond would have already listed out several such attractions.  

Each encounter of a Plummy kind leaves one feeling enthused about the future of humanity.

May the epidemic of Wodehousitis continue to spread all over the world!

Related Posts:

A meeting of the Pittsburgh Millionaires, USA
A visit to the Dulwich College, the Alma Mater of P G Wodehouse
The epidemic of Wodehousitis

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The Confessions of an Embarrassed Indian Abroad

Posted in What ho!, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 9, 2023| 14 Comments »

There are indeed instances in one’s life which leave one shaken and stirred. Scales fall from one’s eyes. Like Bertie Wooster, one feels befuddled, bewildered, fazed, flummoxed, and perplexed. The reality of one of the several facets of life gets revealed, much like a mountain making a reappearance once the fog has vanished and the sun has come out in all its glory.   

While travelling in a local train in Switzerland recently, I had a rather unpleasant experience when a gentleman of Swiss origin ridiculed me for being an Indian.

It happened on the 1st of January 2023. The family had boarded a train to Lucerne to enjoy the fireworks display in the evening hours. Few stops before Lucerne, very many people boarded the train. We are used to overcrowding in trains in India, but this was a new experience for me – to see this happening in one of the advanced countries. I was already sitting on one of the few spring-back chairs available.

A gentleman, surely cast in the mould of Roderick Spode, had just come in along with many others. He looked at me sternly and asked me to get up. I got up and enquired if the gentleman wanted to occupy the seat. The gentleman clarified that he had asked me to stand up so that there is more space for others to squeeze in. So far, so good. But then he went on to give me a supercilious look and added rudely that such things happen only in India.

The basic message from the gentleman was right, but the rude and insulting way he said it hurt all of us. The fact that he insulted my country really hit hard. My daughter-in-law and my son intervened to say that he could have discussed this cordially, rather than being abrasive about it. But he went on arguing about it, claiming that he had spent a good deal of time in India and knew about how things worked there. Other passengers nearby kept telling us to avoid listening to his comments.

To give him a benefit of doubt, perhaps he had had a fight with his wife before leaving home that evening. However, a realization also dawned – that beneath a veneer of polite manners and sweet smiles, quite a few people in other countries may carry some deep-seated prejudices against those of Indian origin.

Jeeves would concur with me if I were to say that our psychology is such that when we love something, we somehow feel entitled to criticize it and make fun of it. But when someone else does it, we take offence! We are left twiddling our thumbs. I confess this is what happened to me on the day. I felt deeply embarrassed and wondered what I had done to deserve a treatment of this kind.

I admit I am a bit fluffy headed and forgetful, but by no stretch of imagination can I match the high standards set by Lord Emsworth in that department. I found it very difficult to forget this incident. On the contrary, it made me recollect many earlier instances when I did not have a satisfactory response to some meaningful and thought-provoking questions asked about India by those living abroad.

  • A cabbie in New York asking me as to why the government in the country was against Muslims and Christians.
  • A tourist from Canada who had just returned from India asking why the cab drivers in most parts of the country tended to either overcharge or harass customers. I wonder if she had ever lapped up the book ‘India and the Indians’, written by Lady Malvern who had spent some time in India.  
  • A young lady in Norway enquiring whether it was safe for her to travel to India alone. She quoted frequently reported rape and murder cases in the country she had read about.
  • Another lady in Sweden checking as to why Indians have a practice of shaming the victim in a rape case rather than putting the spotlight on the perpetrator of the crime.
  • A person of German origin asking if our metro cities did not have enough storm drains to ensure that periodic flooding did not take place.
  • A movie enthusiast of French origin enquiring why, despite the presence of a film certification body, people kept calling for boycotts of some movies. She wondered how Indians have become so intolerant, especially when they pride themselves on being an ancient civilization and have really demonstrated how to be a multi-ethnic society.
  • A teenager from Denmark asking why Indian households do not segregate their domestic waste and why the country lacks enough capacity to handle such waste.
  • A person from Denmark who asked me why India was so noisy.
  • A group of businesspersons from Finland wondering why it was far easier to deal with businesses in the west and the south of India than with those in the north of the country. Some of them said they had been cheated by the latter.

What I quote above happen to be snippets of conversations with lay citizens of different countries, spread over the past few years. Those of us who believe we have already acquired the status of a Vishwa Guru – A Global Teacher – and who are swayed by the nationalistic fervour so very fashionable in India these days, may immediately jump to enquire who gave the rights to people in advanced countries to judge India and Indians. They might even suspect and allege a global conspiracy to defame India.

It is no one’s case that our First World countries happen to be perfect. Of course, these suffer from many ills. Graffiti in public spaces is a common sight. So are cigarette butts in otherwise pristine public gardens.

But the point here is that if we Indians can ape the west in terms of fashion, social relationships and in so many other ways, why can’t we do something about the kind of courtesy we show to tourists and fellow citizens in public spaces? Why do we need a Prime Minister to tell us to improve our levels of hygiene and keep our public spaces spick and span? Why can’t we respect the law, rather than priding ourselves in breaking it? Why do our political parties depend on criminals to win over the voters? Why do justices of our Supreme Court have to get involved in ensuring that road safety standards improve across the entire country? Why are we worried about elections and inane internal issues when an enemy is gleefully usurping our territory on our borders? The mind boggles.     

We live in a multipolar world where interdependence between countries is an essential fact. Yes, as a country, India remains a work-in-progress. But we have tremendous soft power, whether in terms of our ancient scriptures, rich culture, music, dance, movies and the like. The diverse cuisine we have is popular across all countries. When it comes to frugal engineering, we shine on the global stage. The manpower we offer to the world is unique in many ways.

It is surely not wrong to be proud of our heritage. Nor is it improper to demand respect from others. But to remain blissfully unaware of our weaknesses and to do nothing to address the same will simply go on to ensure that chinks in the Brand India armour continue to fester.

A sister of Bertie Wooster’s lives in India. It follows that he would be gravely concerned about this situation. Perhaps, he may seek Jeeves’ advice on the issue. If so, I wonder if Jeeves would recommend a public relation campaign to improve India’s brand image worldwide. He may also suggest a mass communication drive within the country and ways to make a genuine effort to improve our civic infrastructure. Someone like Rupert Psmith may get one of his rich uncles to buy out a premier media house in a western country.

But the nub of the matter is that we, the Indians, need to indulge in a bout of introspection, and work upon improving our own civic habits and our behaviour towards others. The buck stops at us!

(Illustration courtesy R K Laxman)

Related posts:

The Swiss Fondue Dished Out by Sir P. G. Wodehouse
Of China and the Soft Power of Bollywood
Cleaning Up Our Political Act!
Beating the GDP Blues
The Monkey Business in India

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A meeting of the Pittsburgh Millionaires, USA

Posted in What ho!, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »

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In order to celebrate the 137th birth anniversary of P G Wodehouse, the Pittsburgh Millionaires decided to meet up on the 14th of October, 2018. The meeting took place at one of the Panera Cafés in the Oakland area of Pittsburgh, USA.

Lest some of you get an impression that the millionaires foregathered to discuss some trustworthy sources from where one could secure either a cow creamer or a scarab, you would be sadly mistaken. If your ambitions lead you to believe that you could have run into an arts dealer offering The Girl in Blue, the famous Gainsborough miniature, to one of the millionaires present at the gathering, you would be even more off the mark.

Had you been able to make it to the gig, you would have discovered the Pittsburgh Millionaires to be a group of strong and adventurous folks, well endowed and successful…

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The Indian Curry Dished Out by P. G. Wodehouse (Part 8 of 9)

Posted in What ho!, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 11, 2021| 2 Comments »

(Continued)

Some Missing Ingredients in the Curry

In Plum’s narratives, we encounter American millionaires, French cooks, Russian peasants, Italian waiters, Spanish ladies and white hunters and huntresses who keep popping up in Africa. We also get to meet well-endowed American ladies who are on the lookout for castles which are owned by impecunious English gentlemen.

When it comes to India, we get introduced to military men, royals and others who narrate some juicy details or the other about that exotic land. He also gives us a sneak peek into the civil disobedience movement of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation of India. Rabindranath Tagore’s dietary habits, like those of Mahatma Gandhi, get commented upon. Taj Mahal finds a mention.

Some of his characters are even desirous of trooping down to India to study its social conditions while some emulate the mystics contemplating on the infinite in caves in Himalayas or elsewhere. We come to know of some cities as well.

To Plum’s credit, he even quotes Rudyard Kipling, the India-born author whose works were inspired by his country of birth:

‘I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – girls are rummy. Old Pop Kipling never said a truer word than when he made that crack about the f. of the s. being d. than the m.’ (Right Ho, Jeeves)

But if he had wanted to, Plum could have used a number of other Indian resources to further enrich his narratives.

Alas, we do not find any mention of such literary figures as Kalidasa, besides Aryabhata or Ramanuja, the famous mathematicians. The four Vedas are nowhere to be found. References to India’s soft power comprising such aspects as spirituality, its multi-layered scriptures and various dance forms are sadly missing.

Above all, the mind-numbing diversity of the spirit of India is missing. Its wide spectrum of ethnicities, languages, beliefs, practices and cuisines is nowhere to be found. These are facets of India which have missed out on his wit and wisdom. It is indeed a delectable irony of sorts that this write up is labelled as The Indian Curry Dished Out by P G Wodehouse, even though it has not thrown up even a single reference to any Indian dish!

Imagine a distraught Gussie Fink-Nottle pining for Madeline Bassett and sending messages to her through clouds passing overhead, a la ‘Meghadut’, the classic poem penned by Kalidasa. Poets like Ralston McTodd would have been found drawing some inspiration from the creative outpourings of Tagore. Personalities like Indian scientists and mathematicians would have helped some sleepless guardians of the peace – like Constable Oates – to improve their methods of investigation, improving the prospects of their being noticed by Scotland Yard. To improve Bertie’s intellect, all Florence Craye had to do was to insist that he peruse at least one of the chapters of the ‘Bhagavad Gita’. Laura Pyke could have drawn some inspiration from the science of ‘Ayurveda’, the healthy-lifestyle system that people in India have used for more than 5,000 years. Anatole could have been found whipping up ‘chhole bhature’ or ‘dosa’s!

Yoga could have helped someone like Ashe Marson to treat his clients suffering from acute dyspepsia to heal faster and better. Sir Roderick Glossop could have gone about advising his loonier patients to make meditation an essential part of their mundane lives. Vicars could have lived a happier Thos-infested life while brooding on spiritual tenets dished out by Indian scriptures, thereby becoming hotter at their jobs. George Bevan, while working on one of his next musical comedies, could have been drawing inspiration from the ‘Natya Shastra’ of Bharata Muni. Gentlemen aspiring for India rubber legs could have been practising such dance forms as ‘Kathak’ or ‘Bharatnatyam.’

The possibilities are endless. The mind boggles. But one would do well not to be concerned with what might have been. Instead, the focus needs to be on the rich legacy Plum left behind for us to rejoice in.

A Consistent Depiction, Despite 1947

The India that Plum would refer to belongs to an era which is long since bygone. India gained independence in 1947, but his works published during the period from 1947 (Joy in the Morning) till 1974 (Aunts Aren’t Gentlemen) do not reveal much change in his imagination. If one were to compare allusions to India based on Wodehouse’s works published before and after 1947, one notices a singular consistency. Astral bodies, scorpions and cobras continue to rule the roost.

The insignificance of the year of India gaining independence from the British Raj in Plum’s works has its own merits. Much like the relationship between Bertie Wooster and Tuppy Glossop, which soured for some time when the former was forced to take a dip in the water even when suitably attired, a friendly spirit of joie de vivre appears to have prevailed and both countries have moved on.

Malcolm Muggeridge, who was an editor of Punch, had spent two extended periods in India, once during 1923-26, as a lecturer in English at a college in Kerala, and then during the early 1930s as an assistant editor of the Statesman. According to Ruskin Bond, he is reported to have said that ‘the only real Englishmen to be found in the world were to be found in India.’    

Many enlightened Indians who take a broad view of things, or those who were born much after 1947 and have not suffered the birth pangs of their country, admire the Crown rule for having left behind a rich legacy in terms of a legal framework, a bureaucracy, a railway network, partial linguistic proficiency in English and a fine army with its own traditions. The genesis for such a legacy to have come about could have been rooted in stark commercialism and a stiff-upper-lip-type control over the people, but that need not distract us from the fine institutions created and left behind by the British in 1947.  

But many others, especially those who have been exposed to the personal trauma of partition which ended up displacing an estimated 10 to 20 million people along religious lines, or their descendants who have heard the horror stories of those trying times, and many others, would speak of the manner in which Indians of yore were exploited by the British. They would lament the decline of their country’s share in the global Gross Domestic Product from roughly 27 percent in the 1700s to roughly 3 percent in 1947. (Sources: Wikipedia and a talk by Dr. Shashi Tharoor, a famous fan of Plum’s and a Member of Parliament of India, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB5ykS-_-CI)

In the present scenario, both the countries, the erstwhile rulers as well as the ruled, enjoy a healthy and vibrant relationship. Even during the two World Wars in the 1900s, Indian soldiers had made the supreme sacrifice, supporting the British/Allied forces. Over time, close to 150,000 soldiers are said to have died while supporting the wars fought by the Empire. A private sector steel company in India had produced rails much to the satisfaction of the rulers. Sure enough, there were mutinies, internal skirmishes and episodes of non-violent civil disobedience, but there were clear signs of good collaboration between the two even prior to 1947.

In any case, it should come as no surprise that Plum maintains consistency throughout his canon while using Indian condiments for the curry he serves. During 1947, the Indian subcontinent was undergoing some major changes. But these did not register on the Plumsville radar.

From a global perspective, the devastation caused by the Second World War (1939–45) was then the main area of concern, rather than the fact of India gaining independence on 15 August 1947. Plum had personally suffered in his life owing to political developments then and had relocated from Europe to USA during April 1947, never to visit Europe again. One believes that the press in the USA had then covered the fact of India gaining independence rather prominently, probably because it was the first significant nation to have gained independence from the British after the USA, which had achieved the feat some 171 years earlier, in 1776. However, due to his preoccupation with other matters then, perhaps the last thing on his mind would have been the British (or American) reaction to the events unfolding in India. Hence his storylines and characters never touched upon the emergence of an independent India.

Even though his works do not offer any commentary on the politics of the day, at times he does not refrain from deploying the communist ideology to amuse and entertain his readers. Psmith brims over with socialist ideas. George Cyril Wellbeloved has strongly communistic views. At one stage, even Bingo Little becomes a member of the ‘Red Dawn’. Roderick Spode happens to be a born crusader and revolutionary. Vanessa Cook leads protest marches and appears to be gravitating towards politics by chance. Stilton Cheesewright, who is otherwise content being a vigilant guardian of peace at Steeple Bumpleigh, gets egged on by Florence Craye to pursue a career in politics.

(Continued)

Notes:

The inspiration for this essay comes from the scholarly work done by Ms. Masha Lebedeva, who had earlier whipped up a research paper entitled The Russian Salad by P. G. Wodehouse.

The author expresses his sincere gratitude to an eminent expert on Plummy matters for having spared the time to go through a part of this composition and provide insightful suggestions. Some fans of P. G. Wodehouse have also suggested improvements in its contents.

Thanks are also due to Mr. Suvarna Sanyal for dishing out the main illustration in Part 1; also, to Ms. Sneha Shoney, who has edited the text.

Those of you who wish to cruise through this essay in its entirety may kindly write to akb_usha@rediffmail.com for a PDF version of the complete document to be mailed to them.

Related Post:

The Indian Curry Dished Out by P. G. Wodehouse (Part 7 of 9)

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The Art Institute of Chicago: Thorne Miniature Rooms

Posted in The US Diaries, tagged , , , , , on November 28, 2018| Leave a Comment »

The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879 and located in the Grant Park of Chicago, happens to be one of the oldest and the largest art museums in the United States. Other than a sumptuous collection of art works, it also boasts of a gallery showcasing miniature rooms of different kinds from Europe, as also those from different states of America.

Some of these could be of interest to you:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is instructive to see how people in different regions choose to live. Given the variations in climatic conditions, individual tastes and local resources, there exist fine differences between these homes, represented in miniature form at the museum.

Essentially, these miniatures represent European interiors from the late 13th century to the 1930s and American furnishings from the 17th century to the 1930s. These were constructed on a scale of one inch to one foot. Conceived by Mrs. James Ward Thorne of Chicago and constructed between 1932 and 1940 by master craftsmen according to her specifications, the sheer attention to details in all of these is truly captivating.

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A meeting of the Pittsburgh Millionaires, USA

Posted in What ho!, tagged , , , , , , , on October 15, 2018| 5 Comments »

In order to celebrate the 137th birth anniversary of P G Wodehouse, the Pittsburgh Millionaires decided to meet up on the 14th of October, 2018. The meeting took place at one of the Panera Cafés in the Oakland area of Pittsburgh, USA.

Lest some of you get an impression that the millionaires foregathered to discuss some trustworthy sources from where one could secure either a cow creamer or a scarab, you would be sadly mistaken. If your ambitions lead you to believe that you could have run into an arts dealer offering The Girl in Blue, the famous Gainsborough miniature, to one of the millionaires present at the gathering, you would be even more off the mark.

Had you been able to make it to the gig, you would have discovered the Pittsburgh Millionaires to be a group of strong and adventurous folks, well endowed and successful in more ways than one.

Besides being successful at keeping their respective bodies and souls together, they possess an immense wealth which could make many of us green with envy. Their wealth is not to be measured in terms of the millions of dollars they possess, but in terms of the trillions of units of common love and fondness they have for the verbal musician of our times, P G Wodehouse. A profound knowledge of his canon is another wealth they possess.

Eve Halliday and Phyllis Jackson were already seated on the table when Rupert Psmith and the not-so-efficient Baxter trooped in. Stiffy Byng fluttered in like a rose-leaf on the wind. Pauline Stoker floated in pretty soon thereafter and the meeting was called to order. Picture post cards featuring The Empress of Blandings were gifted by Eve Halliday to those present.

The management of the Panera Café has a stiff-upper-lip policy. Target practice by throwing bread crumbs is out of the question. The place does not boast of fans of any kind, ceiling or otherwise. Hence, hurling boiled eggs at such contraptions is also ruled out. The ambience of the place is not such as to allow a boisterous rendering of The Sonny Boy.

Wisdom prevailed. A reading of the story ‘Goodbye to All Cats’ followed. Curious customers on nearby tables were taken aback by the intermittent ripples of mirth emanating from the table. The management was polite enough not to interrupt but ensured that the tray-carrying trolleys generated sound-bytes which were loud enough to deliver suitable admonitions to the members of the Plummy troupe. Needless to say, the same were duly ignored.

Bits and pieces of the Wodehouse canon were fondly recalled by those present. The Bertie-Jeeves relationship was dissected at length. The challenge of popularising his works amongst the youth of today was discussed. Eve Halliday recommended the practice of ‘fairy books’ where some of his works, duly gift wrapped, could be left in public places, spreading joy amongst those who venture to pick these up. Stiffy Byng commented that her interests included not only the narratives dished out by Wodehouse but also the ones whipped up by Alfred Hitchcock. Pauline Stoker lovingly mentioned the BBC series.

Deferring to the wishes of the café management, no cake was cut on the occasion. The meeting ended on a cordial note, with much ‘What-ho’-ing and ‘Pip-pip’-ing. Baxter was wished a happy travel back to India.

(Note: Yours truly is grateful to Abigail Thompson, Filomena Conti, Allison Thompson, Carol Colby and Sandip Chaudhury, who could spare the time to grace the occasion. Special thanks are due to Allison Thompson who took special interest in coordinating the gathering and even brought along an Augustus look-alike to attract the attention of incoming millionaires).

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A visit to the NASA Space Centre in Houston, USA (Part 1 of 2)

Posted in The US Diaries, tagged , , , , , on October 4, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Many of our globe trotters these days complain of long duration flights across continents, cooped up in a metal tube which cruises at a height of 35,000 feet or so. They might simply shudder at the prospect of hopping across to the Moon, or undertaking inter-galactic travel on some future date.

One cannot be really blamed at feeling overwhelmed at the courage, conviction, perseverance and scientific precision with which Homo sapiens have been doing just that – undertaking perilous journeys into deep space. With each such sojourn, they enrich the knowledge we have about the planetary bodies around us.

Yours truly recently had an opportunity to visit the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Manned Spacecraft Center, where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted.

Some of you may like some snippets from the visit.

General

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mission Control Center

 

 

The place is getting refurbished, so as to be ready in time for the 50th anniversary of the first human being stepping on to lunar soil in 1969.

Special Vehicle Mock-up Facility

 

 

 

 

 

 

Experiments which leave one dumb founded.

Saturn V: A rocket which was never used

 

 

 

 

 

On our way out, we were shown the area where memorial placards have been put and trees planted for each one of the astronauts and their family members who are no longer alive. A touching tribute and a truly humane gesture.

Mars already holds sway over human imagination. The sun is also under a closer scrutiny. Besides USA, Russia and China have already learnt the art of propelling men and women beyond the narrow confines of our planet. India is also planning to put a human being in space by the year 2022, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of its independence.

As a lesser mortal, one can merely wish all the space scientists across the world a great innings ahead in all their endeavours in the decades to follow, advancing the cause of scientific research and extending the boundaries of our knowledge about our universe.

One also wishes that our social scientists can match these efforts by building mental rockets which would propel our masses beyond the narrow confines of attitudes relating to caste, colour, creed, sex and nationality, hopefully prompting our politicians to work together to lower national barriers.

(Note: A note of gratitude is in order for the benevolent elderly couple who drove me down to NASA, followed by a drive through Galveston, a city by the side of the Gulf of Mexico. A ferry ride was the surprise part of the package!) 

(Related Posts:

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2011/12/25/living-on-another-planet-a-2112-fantasy

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2014/11/22/time-to-start-dismantling-the-invisible-walls)

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Chicago: Architectural Heritage Boat Cruise

Posted in The US Diaries, tagged , , , , , , , on September 18, 2018| 3 Comments »

Just like human beings, cities also have a unique personality and a collective consciousness of their own. The character of the residents is a major determinant of the same. This, in turn, is formed by the kind of livelihood opportunities the city provides. Some other factors are its political and economic profile, its infrastructure, the culture it espouses, the manner in which it showcases and markets its heritage and special features, and the kind of vision its founders and subsequent administrators have had and have acted upon.

One of the ways to discover some facets of a city is to soak in its architectural heritage. A recent trip to Chicago offered an opportunity for yours truly to do precisely this. I could see some of the city’s architectural masterpieces in a single 90-minute boat tour.

I learnt something about the city’s architectural history through an expert’s live narration. I am no expert in building designs, but was happy to be told of buildings which provide space for air to pass through them on higher floors, thereby making them more stable. This avoids residents getting jittery while either having a shower in their luxurious bath tubs or trying to have a quiet dinner with wine glasses and cutlery on the table doing a Salsa or a Chesterton. In a windy city like Chicago, this makes eminent sense.

A bunch of wide-eyed tourists like me attempted to absorb some of the rich information being provided by the narrator, duly laced with some Wodehousean humour.

Here are some of the visuals I could capture while on the cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cruise takes one through the famous ‘Y’ of the Chicago River. It is interesting to learn that since 1900 AD, civil engineering knowledge has been used to reverse the flow of this water body, creating a man-made hydraulic connection between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi watershed.

The boat cruise became possible due to the support of a loving family in Chicago which hosted me and put up with my tantrums for a few days, and also owing to the presence of a loving nephew and his family who took the trouble of flying in all the way from Los Angeles just to meet up – a creditable feat, what with a tiny toddler who behaved well and did not grudge the attention showered on yours truly by his loving parents for the time we happened to be together.

Travel is highly educational, said Jeeves. At times, one feels grateful to one’s Guardian Angels for being in a benevolent mood and ensuring that things fall in place for such an instructive experience as the boat cruise I could enjoy.

More to follow in some subsequent posts.

 

 

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Doggerel days

Posted in What ho!, tagged , , on March 21, 2018| 2 Comments »

Here is a juicy description of what transpired at the last Plummy Convention in the New World, from someone whose guardian angels have conspired to bless him with a grandson (very aptly named Clarence) who shares his birthday with Plum himself.

Noel Bushnell's avatarThe Traveller

Now where was I?* Oh yes . . . The Wodehouse Society convention in Washington DC, way back in October . . . hmmm. It was a big couple of days and I’ve tried to capture them in verse, given that’s less typing. My excuse for not expanding on the topic in my usual wordy way is that the doggerel ate my homework.

No really, thank you, the applause is too much . . .

PGW logo

The Stepper Goes to Washington†

What ho, old bean, they brayed
as The Stepper hove into view.
G’day, I grinned, undismayed
amid the Plummy crew.

I’m the boy from Oz, how’re’y’all
doin’ here in Washington?
What, what, what, they said ’n’ all,
just to be clear, what again?

Well, I knew I couldn’t keep this up
for a whole weekend so I reverted
to English and they offered the cup
of kindness usual to the…

View original post 1,199 more words

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