Amit's View

I'm back after a long absence because a lot of interesting things have happened in my life that I won't discuss here. In this case, the title of a blog appears to be very intriguing. Actually, rendezvous is one of the few French words I am familiar with. When Mr. Kennedy and his wife visited France for the first time, they coined the phrase. Okies!! Let's get back to the point of this blog. This was the first time I felt like I'd died, and it was a truly hellish experience.

It was early morning in Hyderabad, and I needed to get up early to catch my cab from Sikanderabad to Vijaywada. As usual, I awoke 30 minutes late. I needed to get there as soon as possible, so I decided to take the metro instead of the car. I boarded the 4.39 a.m. train from Nampally station. My compartment had about 10 to 12 people in it. Three men boarded at the next station, Lakdi ka Pool. All three men appeared to be inebriated, even unable to walk properly. They sat three rows ahead of me. One girl, about 20 years old, sat one row ahead of them. Unfortunately, the girl was lonely and felt completely threatened by them. They began making crude remarks and were using bad words. After passing the next station, a man switched next to her and began physically assaulting her. When they surrounded her and began pinching her here and there, it was disgusting and ridiculous. There were at least 10 to 12 people there, and they were mostly spectators.  People were present, but I was only one of them. In my opinion, I was a stranger in the city and was traveling alone.
When they began to get up from her chair, the situation grew worse. Two of the guys in the same row who were seated during this scene switched places. I found myself becoming more enraged as things got worse. As a typical Marathi man would, I stood up and pleaded with the other men to intervene and tell them to stop. There was not a single man in the compartment who responded.
II told those guys to stop. They continued to ignore me. I make two or three requests. That girl's resistance had also ended. She was powerless. I finally decided to solve the problem after receiving no response from the public. I dash there, full of energy, and grab one of the beasts. The skinny guy was the first one I chose. I could easily remove him. I throw a couple of punches and move on to the next guy. This guy was at least 4 to 5 inches taller than me and had a good build. I tried to pull him out but couldn't, so I kicked him up. Even kick was nothing more than a push for him. He returns to me and attacks me. Meanwhile, I freed that girl from the third guy and covered her. Before I could tell her to leave the compartment, a big guy attacked me and punched me in the jaw, my first blow. Despite the fact that it was huge blow to me, I still covered that girl. I did my best to repay what he had given to me. They were, however, brief efforts. With rings in my fingers, I took 5 to 6 savage blows to the face and chest from that guy.  Still standing and resisting them. The situation deteriorated when two of them began to hit me simultaneously and the third began to drag that poor lady. It was a three-on-one WWE match with no mercy. Finally, after exerting considerable effort to repel them and protect that girl. I kicked that tall guy right on target with all of my strength (I nee I'm not sure, but I believe this was motivated by a spiritual belief in Bajarangbally. That tall man collapsed on the back chair. Then, with fighter confidence, I turned to the youngest of these beasts and knocked him out with a couple of punches with bleeding hands. When I turned to the third one, he had closed his hands and was pleading for mercy. With his pant looks, I caught that guy. This entire scene lasted only three minutes. But during these three minutes, I am in excruciating pain. All of the blows were massive, and I worried that I wouldn't be able to withstand them. But the worst part was that even after knocking down three guys, no one was willing to assist me with my bleeding face & no one was willing to help me with my bleeding body.. Finally, I arrived in Secunderabad with that girl and one of those guys. The girl was terrified and mute. I led her to the nearest stall and offered her a glass of water. Then we went to the police station, and even the cops were uncooperative in the legal process. I missed two guys who were later apprehended by police. After seeing a doctor, we discovered that everything was fine except for the pain in the jaw and facial wounds.
After all, the strange part was yet to come: a girl for whom I fought said only a few words, a formal thanks, and my name.....nothing much, and then she left. When I got off the train, my mind was racing with ideas. I felt terrible for the timid men who were traveling in that compartment. I was feeling proud of myself and my father's great lessons about not giving up in the face of injustice. I demonstrated that I am descended from Maratha warriors. It was the first time in my life that I had a real encounter with death, and it was for a good reason. I'd like to share a few lines from Alan Seeger's poetry.

May be he shall take my hand

And lead me into his dark land

And close my eyes and quench my breath

It may be I shall pass him still.

I have a rendezvous with Death.

 So let us begin here,  It was during my primary school years, when I was only 5 or 6 years old. I was returning from school one day, expecting to be elected as monitor (Head Boy) of my class, and believe me, the next day there was monitor selection, and surprisingly, I was selected as monitor of class without my knowledge. "All boys and girls," she said, continuing, "I am going to announce this year's class monitor, a boy with chubby smile and dimple on chick" ( I had that time) Amit…. What a thud. In another instance, I was chosen for the first time as the captain of our junior cricket team. It was a semifinal game against an old rival. As a bowler, I used to bat at number 8 or 9 in the batting order, after our team's regular batsmen. Our team was struggling badly, and more than half of our team had returned to the pavilion. The score was less than half of what we needed. All hopes were dashed, and the match procedure was merely formalities. I was telling myself as I walked to the crease, "Amit, you are the skipper of your team, and you should anchor your team's ship in safe." Surprisingly…!!! I hit two sixes and a four over a well-known bowler who was one and a half times my height. At the age of 15, there were few boys who could hit a six on such a large field. Obviously, we won the match and the championship. Isn't it a coincidence that I was barely able to hit four in practise on the same ground?. 

Romantic guy was one of my  identities; there should be some romantic coincidences, right? Wait a second.... I won't bore you with this, but let me tell you about two of them briefly. It was the beginning of winter in my hometown; we called it 'navratri,' nine days of 'Rasgarba,' Gujrat's traditional folk dance that we Maharashtrians thoroughly accepted. I was walking back to my house with my cosines after garba. "Toota sitara to manga tha rabse tujko hi jaane wafaa..." I was murmuring a stanza of a Hindi song. It means "I wished for you when I saw a shooting star." Suddenly, I turn towards the sky, and you wouldn't believe it, there was a shooting star. Isn’t it coincidence, probably best of my life & beyond my perception.Another lyrical incident occurred during the same festival, Navratri. I was dancing garba at my house; however, I am not a very good dancer. Wait a minute, my (so-called) GF was there with her mother to see me! This is not a coincidence story, when I saw her I started losing my rhythm even more badly, this is also not a climax, her mother asks to leave & nonstop music switches to a song "kanchi re kanchi preet meri sachi ruk ja naja dil todke" you may know this classical hindi song. It means "Do not leave by breaking my heart." Finally, this is a coincidence. Sorry pals, you may not call this brief & its not. But I tried to describe that in the way how that happened.Aside from these, I have numerous incidents to share, but? Ink and data uploading are still expensive in India. Anyway, let's have some rapid fire here, you've been waiting for a bus at an untamed bus stop for hours and suddenly someone from your knowledge offers you a lift right up to your tour destination, which is also a coincidence. This has happened to me a few times. Sometimes you crash your car into someone else's and the person who gets out of the car happens to be a schooldays friend. This has also occurred...... You're sleeping on a plane when someone says, "Excuse me, Sir!!!!" & that sweet voice reminds you of a college friend, air hostess is your seatmate... Some people believe that losing your 25k bracelet on a date like January 25th is a coincidence. So, folks, whatever coincidences happen in your life are really beautiful and interesting. I'd call this power of belief or a gift from God, or a combination of the two. Please share your synchronicity stories.

As every year, I celebrate her birthday in style. Lolo, as Karishma Kapoor is popularly known as, set a remarkable precedent for several aspiring actors as to how with sheer hard work, determination and dedication, one can transform from a boyish-looking actress with pathetic acting skills to a diva. Karishma, who belonged to the most illustrious film family in India, is regarded as one of the most hard-working actresses of Hindi cinema till date. In the words of another diva Sridevi (who ruled Bollywood for several years), “I always thought I am the most hard-working actress in the industry. But after seeing Karishma’s work under my home production, my opinion has changed forever. She is a class apart.” 

 Born on June 25, 1974 to legendary showman Raj Kapoor’s eldest son Randhir Kapoor and actress Babita, acting was in her blood. However, Karishma had to rebel against the entire Kapoor clan for pursuing her dream to become an actress (reportedly not allowed for any females in the family). Without any assistance from her family, with only her mother to support her, she started her journey with ‘Prem Qaidi’. The film was a hit and her acting was also appreciated. But she was severely criticized in the films that followed her debut film thanks to her made up voice and horrible looks. But she was meant to make it big in the industry. After much introspection, she decided to work on her weak areas. With the help of designer Manish Malhotra, she transformed herself into a damsel and hit back at critics by winning the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her sizzling performance in ‘Raja Hindustani’. After that she never looked back.

 Karishma is one of those few actresses who maintained a perfect balance between commercial and parallel cinema. She was as good in her comic and dance timing with mass hero Govinda as she was in unforgettable films like Shyam Benegal’s ‘Zubeida’. Like her predecessors Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit, Karishma has been known for her acting skills and dance moves. Karishma’s thorough professional skills and dignified off-screen behavior are well-known. Unlike other stars, she would hardly attend late-night parties. Rather she preferred to do the homework well for any role she played. She would get into the skin of the character she portrayed. While enacting a scene (of mourning) in the movie ‘Fiza’, in which she played the lead role, Karishma did not use glycerine, rather she actually cried. The scene looked so real that the unit members were seen wiping off the tears on the sets. Hats off for such a performance Karishma!!!!! Like Aamir Khan, one of my all-time fav actors, 

Karishma is also known for her desire for perfecting each role. No wonder, she took three-months vigorous dance coaching from Shiamak Davar when she came to know that she was playing a role opposite none other than dancing queen Madhuri Dixit in ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’ & what was that dance sequence she performed in it, I personally watch movie number of times for that. 

 Despite the tension in the family between her parents, unlike her younger sister Kareena, Karishma was never vocal about it. Rather she tried her best to defuse the tension. Karishma has seen several upheavals in her life and career. She was heartbroken after her broken engagement to Abhishek Bachchan, but she recovered from the suffering and did some brilliant work after that. But more pain was in store for her. She married Delhi-based businessman and divorcee Sunjay Kapoor and soon gave birth to a baby girl. However, her relationship with her husband deteriorated to such an extent that the matter reached court and she once again went through suffering in full public view. But finally, the troubles were over and she reunited with her husband. Karishma is now playing the real-life role of a wife and a mother. But what her ardent fans like me are waiting for, is her comeback to the silver screen.

 Here is about Suryanagari. Jodhpur, 318 kms from Jaipur, is the second largest city in Rajasthan. The city has a history of battles and royalty as is highly evident by the huge Meherangarh fort overlooking the city. There are some old monuments to see here and you can make a stop before heading to other places in Rajasthan. Did you know that the famous baggy/tight riding trousers called Jodhpuris take their name from this city? The city which stands at the edge of the Thar desert, was founded by Rao Jodha, a chief of the Rajput clan known as Rathores in 1459. The Rathore kingdom was once known as Marwar, the ‘land of death’. The old city of Jodhpur is surrounded by a 10 kms long wall which was built a century after the city was founded. Jodhpur was on the important Delhi to Gujarat trade route and it greatly benefited from the trade of silk, opium, sandalwood, copper and other items. MONUMENTS AND SIGHT SEEING SPOTS MEHERANGARH FORT The Meherangarh Fort, situated on a 125 m high hill, is the most impressive and formidable fort in Rajasthan. The construction of the fort was begun by Maharaja Rao Jodha in 1459 and was completed by Maharaja Jaswant Singh (1638-78). The fort originally had seven gates (pols). There is a first gate with spikes to prevent attack from elephants. The other gates include the Jayapol, built by Maharaja Man Singh in 1806, following his victory over the armies of Jaipur and Bikaner. The Fatehpol or victory gate was erected by Maharaja Ajit Singh in 1907 to commemorate his victory over the Mughals. The last gate is the Lohapol or iron gate beside which there are 15 handprints, the “sati” marks of widows of Maharaja Man Singh who threw themselves upon his funeral pyre in 1843. The fort is still run by the Maharaja of Jodhpur. Inside the fort there are a series of courtyards and palaces. Some of these house a collection of folk music instruments, elephant howdahs, miniature paintings, furniture and costumes. At the end of the fort is the Chamunda temple, dedicated to a form of Goddess Durga. 

  JASWANT THADA -Jaswant Thada is a marble pillared memorial (cenotaph) built in 1899, dedicated to Maharaja Jaswant Singh II, by his wife after his death. People often compare this memorial to the Taj Mahal, because both are symbolic of eternal love. You can get a panoramic view of the city from this place. 

  UMAID BHAWAN PALACE It is a huge marble and pink-yellow stone palace with 347 rooms. Designed by H.C. Lanchester, the President of the Royal Institute of British Architects in London, the Palace was built during the time of Maharaja Umaid Singh. The Palace was constructed by over 3,000 people over a period of fourteen years & was biggest residential palce in world. The palace has eight dining rooms, an underground swimming pool and a scenic garden. Half of the Palace is now converted into a luxury hotel. The Umaid Gardens Near the Tourist Bungalow is a beautiful garden, attached with a simple zoo. 

  JUNI DHAN MANDI and TALAITI MAHAL are buildings made of carved red sandstone. 

  BALSAMAND LAKE The lake, which is actually an artificial lake, is about 3/4 km long and 50 m wide. There is a beautiful palace built in 1936 on the bank of the lake, which was used by the royal family as a summer home. PRATAP SAGAR AND KAILANA SAGAR If you want to relax in sylvan surroundings, a trip to Pratap Sagar and Kailana Sagar is really recommended. These are lakes in the west of Jodhpur with gardens near them.