The Official Community Of Nitin Sawhney

I hope it does come your way but, even if it only tours as far west as Bristol, it'll be well worth the toll fee!

I'd be interested to know what you think of the music, since you'll be listening to it without having seen the film. After I got back home with the CD, I put it on to listen to while I prepared my dinner. As the music started, I stopped and stood in the kitchen, trying to figure out what the hell it was that I was missing - it wasn't garlic, or onions, or greens, or pasta or.... eventually it dawned on me that I was looking around the kitchen in search of a screen - I could hear the music, I knew what was 'happening' but I couldn't see it!! And that was the state of my mind at the end of a two week break!!!!

Anyway, you have much to look forward to but, oh dear, don't expect the choc-ice to circulate. It must have been nothing more than a silly rumour after all because you know, Mr. Sawhney never shifted from the piano stool - not once. Really, he played a bit of piano at the start of the movie and then that was it, he was glued to that screen for the rest of the night - I don't mean to be sexist but - typical bloke!!! Poor Kam was so hungry, she chewed through her copy of the programme AND had almost finished off the events guide by the time the light came on again. It was like sitting next to a ravenous hamster - scrunch, scrunch, scrunch. I had to wait in the foyer for at least half an hour while she cleaned up the mess she'd left on the floor.... Fortunately, I was kind enough to grab a Throw of Dice postcard for her while I waited. She ate that too of course. Ah ,well.

Best,

Buga

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"Does my bum look big in this installation?"

Agree, great evening, and I know I was to report back on the seemingly virtual nature of Mr S....... wasn't up close and personal, then again not too far from the stage- seemed pretty real to me, and dare I say seemed quited pleased with himself- and why shouldn't he be quite talented really!

Moderator- still virtual

Ojos- fantastic, moderator take note of colour and energy should s/he need inspitration for website. Good ice cream in the break- Buga you missed out!

One other thing. So this movie was made in the late 1920's by a German, collaborating with an Indian, who was the audience? Was it ever released in India, and what did the people think of it- that is if they got to watch it at that particular time of turmoil in that part of the world. Was Sunita and Ranjit's the first 'bollywood' snog?!?!?! (for those unfamiliar with bollywood- snogging is a no no- or was until recently.........usually anything of that nature inferred by camera panning onto two flowers quivering in the breeze..........or a pair of butterflies fluttering away.........you get the picture I am sure) Anyway it is not because of the snog I ask, it would just be interesting to know what the indian public made of it- if it was released there.

Oh r!

You?re back and, you were there too! Tell me, that wasn?t you we spotted hovering around Nitin?s ankles with a pair of opera glasses and an enormous grin, was it? Good Grief! Couldn?t you even TRY to exercise some self-control? For a moment I thought that Rosemary had been able to make it afterall, but no, I bet it was you, looking to see if he?d got a tray of refreshments parked next to him on the piano stool.

Kam and I weren?t the only ones to feel let down by the lack of a snack, you know. Halfway into the film, I heard the distant growl of a tiger passing somewhere behind me ? how atmospheric! A few minutes later, I heard it again, only ?.. louder. It continued to volley back and forth, gaining in volume and ?ferocity?. Very impressive sound effect Nitin, I thought, but hardly appropriate for a scene in which Ranjit and Sunita were blissfully tonsil-hoovering (which reminds me, I think I read somewhere that it was believed that Seeta shared her role with her sister, but I can?t remember in which movie this was supposed to have occurred. It wouldn?t surprise me if it was in ?A Throw of Dice?, given the amount of time she spent with the leading man hanging off her face. Far more practical than trying to master circular breathing, anyway. I digress?.)

Before long, the tiger growls were accompanied by what sounded like fat drops of rain bouncing off lush jungle foliage, and yet, on the screen, not a single cloud marred that perfect, sepia sky.
This was just too much! I turned round, scowling into the gloom behind me and could just make out a couple of formidable forms, scowling back. Quite without warning, their stomachs rumbled in unison, followed by a smattering of angry tuts (the 'rain'!), eminating from neighbouring seats. ?Who are they?? I asked Kam. ?Critics.? She replied. ?Critics?? ?Yes. They?re music critics, Buga. You can always tell.? ?How?? ?By listening, Buga. Can you hear something?? ?Well, apart from the LSO and a meandering tiger, no.? ?That ?tiger? is the sound of empty, churning stomachs?. ? ??? ? I wouldn?t like to comment on whether or not they possess any other vital organs but, they certainly have stomachs and, I believe, large appetites. That ?growling? is very bad news indeed.? ?I don?t understand, Kam.? "Well, what is it that truly motivates people to write, Buga?? ?????is ?..it??erm???? ? Let me put it another way. What motivates you to, well?? ?write?? ?well, I was going to say churn out endless streams of mindless drivel but, I think we?re on the same wavelength, more or less. So? ? ?Desire!? ?Huh?? ? Desire? yes, an irrepressible desire ?.. to communicate?.thoughts, notions??.dreams?.to learn from others?? to connect with other souls, other kindred spirits ..? to share ? to...? ?You?ve been reading that Ben Okri book again, haven?t you. I was thinking more along the lines of?.? ???. FOOD!!!!!!!!!!! ?

Shhhhhhhhh!!!! SHHHHHH!!! SSSSSSShhhhhhhhhhHH! ?Sorry.? Tut! TUT! Tut-tut-tut! Tut! TUT!!
?Correct Buga ?the answer is food. Food? we all need it and critics are no exception. Do Art critics turn out in their droves, to coo at canvases? Do Literary critics flock to book signings, hungry for words? Hardly! It?s the promise of a cheese buffet and an inexhaustible supply of wine that lures them in! No sooner has an invitation landed on their desks, they?re baying at the door like a pack of half-starved, Pavlovian mongrels. At least, as far as Food critics are concerned, you can admire their ?honesty?!? ?What about the ones who write about Fashion?? ?Nicotene and handbags.? ?But ?" ?One cigarette alone is practically a meal in itself to them, Buga.? ?And Music critics?? ?Ah, well. That?s the problem, you see. No one even thinks to lay on any free grub for that lot. Evidently those ones behind us must also have heard the rumour that Nitin would be laying on refreshments and turned up hoping for a good feed.? ?Oh dear. I tried writing with an empty stomach, but it came out as complete nonsense. Perhaps I should sneak out and get a bag of crisps or something, for them, or else they might write nonsense too.? ?To hell with that Buga, let?s watch the movie! By the way, do you often write when you?re hungry?????..??

But, you know sometmes the advice of a good friend is not always best taken, and I wish now that I had crept out and bought them something to eat. I felt so sorry after reading one review in particular (that poor soul's mind must have been so befeebled by hunger), it read like an infant had written it. No matter.

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"Does my bum look big in this installation?"

Buga Divino:

I hope it does come your way but, even if it only tours as far west as Bristol, it'll be well worth the toll fee!

I'd be interested to know what you think of the music, since you'll be listening to it without having seen the film. After I got back home with the CD, I put it on to listen to while I prepared my dinner. As the music started, I stopped and stood in the kitchen, trying to figure out what the hell it was that I was missing - it wasn't garlic, or onions, or greens, or pasta or.... eventually it dawned on me that I was looking around the kitchen in search of a screen - I could hear the music, I knew what was 'happening' but I couldn't see it!! And that was the state of my mind at the end of a two week break!!!!

Anyway, you have much to look forward to but, oh dear, don't expect the choc-ice to circulate. It must have been nothing more than a silly rumour after all because you know, Mr. Sawhney never shifted from the piano stool - not once. Really, he played a bit of piano at the start of the movie and then that was it, he was glued to that screen for the rest of the night - I don't mean to be sexist but - typical bloke!!! Poor Kam was so hungry, she chewed through her copy of the programme AND had almost finished off the events guide by the time the light came on again. It was like sitting next to a ravenous hamster - scrunch, scrunch, scrunch. I had to wait in the foyer for at least half an hour while she cleaned up the mess she'd left on the floor.... Fortunately, I was kind enough to grab a Throw of Dice postcard for her while I waited. She ate that too of course. Ah ,well.

Best,

Buga

hmmm... I can understand what you mean about missing the film. I was listening to the CD at work (everyone out) whilst finishing off a talk for the photography students. I imagined pictures of men in turbans and stuff from the video section of this site.

Food - don't mention food - the amount of meat on our duck a l'orange was pitifully inadequate tonight. Just had to help myself to cheese (Snowdonia Thunder) and biscuits.

I don't recommend you take crisps to concerts - too much rustling. But the whole point of wearing trousers to gigs is so that you can take food and drink in rather than queuing for hours for overpriced drink and missing half the concert. Your handbag is usually searched, but not your pockets. I swear by boxed juice drinks, but if you are taking food it it should be appropriately wrapped and not likely to be crushed when you sit down.

As for Franz Osten, I found out that he made a number of films, the last of which was in 1939. He joined the Nazi party, and was at some point
interned by the British. Interesting that he should be interested in Indian films given his background.

Did any of you spot the picture of the Brandenburg gate (Berlin) on the CD cover?

Rosemary

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"It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness" Confucius

Thank you for your advice on how to secrete food about my person, far more practical than anything Marianne Faithful could come up with, I'm sure. The music critics would certainly find your suggestions on storing cartons etc in trouser pockets invaluable too, especially since I'm pretty certain that at least one of them must still own a pair of Oxford Bags.

Sadly yes, Osten joined the Nazi party while still in India. A lot of people were naive enough to. Osten's 'background' was in making films, regardless of his political allegance and Rai's film crew included a few other Germans, who were also made POWs. Although his production company, Bombay Talkies, was entirely 'self-sufficient' and able to continue to make films without them, as I understand it, losing them was to cause Rai considerable stress which, in turn, contibuted to his premature demise.

Funnily enough though, you've reminded me of something I was reading a few days ago. About 150 years back, a German archaeologist thought he had discovered evidence of a mass migration in India which he assumed was in response to an invasion by a 'superior' race of Eastern Europeans, he called the 'Aryans'. He referred to this period as the Vedic period. The theory, which implied that vedic knowledge was introduced to India by a white race so appealed to the British during their occupation of India that they went as far as to include it in the country's history. Of course, the Vedic period has since been established to have been thousands of years earlier than his estimation. As for his mass-migration, it is now understood to have been prompted by climate change and, the only evidence to surface regarding the eastern Europeans suggests that they were quite simply nomadic herdsmen, uneducated, unsophisticated and illiterate.

Anyway, it's time for me to stop being a smug git. One extra day off and my body clock is totally out of sync!!!

Buga.

PS

I was listening to the CD at work (everyone out)

I'm assuming that it was purely by coincidence that you were on your own when you put the CD on and that there wasn't some almighty rush for the exit!!!!

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"Does my bum look big in this installation?"

yes but who watched the movie at the time, who was it aimed at, and what did they think? are the interluded subtitles original- I presume so, which would mean it was targetted at audiences that could read english, which would exclude the indian masses- so did they ever get to see it?

and Buga, don't you sleep?

and are we the only three on this website, not that i be-moan the excellent company, but where is everyone? Procrastination............a terrible affliction- which would be a good time to bring up the moderator- but i will refrain to expand! Rosemary is this affliction of procrastination on the rise amongst your students- is there any expalantion for this? Are people too afraid to talk or dare say something controversial? Give me a clue?

Unitl the next rant!

'r' you are so full of questions! I honestly can't see you getting a reply from anyone who saw it when it was first released ..... but you never know! I would imagine that the film was made as much for export as well as for Indian cinema and possibly had subtitles in languages other than English and Hindi.

Now, I have a question for you! I wondered if, you being a fellow London dweller, had you mislaid a 40ft, 42 tonne, time-travelling elephant? Apparently one is on the loose in the centre of London and will be wandering around the place from 4th to 7th May. Perhaps we will find the lesser-spotted moderator riding in the howdah and, perhaps this is why (s)he is lesser spotted! Incase I forget to bring them myself, could you remember to take a ladder and an extra large butterfly net, if you decide to venture into the city centre. I just think that, if someone could just catch that elephant and climb up onto its back, they might get lucky and find the moderator at last!
It's worth looking, don't you think?

Anyway, it's time for Buga to catch some ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...........

http://www.thesultanselephant.com/

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"Does my bum look big in this installation?"