The SCUB-RATS cafe diary

Of many cafes I have visited in my life, there are a few places I have got hooked to. This is one of those, and fortunately its not only me but both of us, me and Pinky got attached to. There is some aroma and cosiness about this place on Westheimer road on the intersection of Kirkwood that you would hardly miss once you frequent this place. There are a variety of people one would see if you take a trip. The visitors are mostly multi-national-cultural or rather MNC crowd. The largest crowd being people from somewhere in the middle east part of the globe. There is a bunch of them mostly in the 40s and 50s. Occasionally you will encounter a group of guys in their 30s. All speaking a very familiar language that you would associate with Arabic. Also you would see people from Asia, Philippines and the south Americas, although its hard to distinguish the countries in South America. This is our most visited hang out place. Opens sometimes in the morning and open until midnight, although the staff comes around 11.30 PM arranging chairs and folding the umbrellas and hinting us - its closing time, we will wind up in 15 minutes, as if there was some kind of an event. And yes, it is, if you think about it - A place where tired souls flock around after a tiring, exhausted day at work with the sweltering heat of Houston, somewhere to rest and ease out and relax, to gossip, to smoke and sip coffee. It definitely is an event - An event called REWIND LIFE.
Of the frequent visits that we make, I interact with people disguised as a person not interested in their personal lives but just a stranger who is sitting beside them. In the pauses between the talks with Pinky and between the words while she is speaking to me, I sneak out of our world into theirs. So grab a piece of their day to day lives. Imagine a little , make up a prelude to their conversation and narrate the same to Pinky. Most of the times there is no conclusion but there is always a story. A story although similar but way so different from others. The story of LIVES or PEOPLE.
I intend to bring those stories to you thorough my blogs. With fictitious names and a pinch of imaginary plots, lets stir the coffee of our LIVES.

Peepli Dive on Independence Day

Last night we went to watch “Peepli live”. As Rajeev Masand says its a serious movie with a heart. There are few things to take away as you walk out of the theatre. One - it does not take stars to make an excellent movie. All you need is a sincere storyline and clarity of thoughts. Excellent work Miss Rizvi. Two - The sorry state of affairs in India, which always was there and is becoming worse by the day. Be it Commonwealth games mess or “Shashtri yojana” in the movie. politics as always was a source of exploiting the poor and channelizing tax-payer's money into funding the politicians multi billion business ventures, foreign trips and educations of their kids. Ever wondered, when my Dad’s salary as a bank officer is same, or may be more than the salary of the local MLA (oh yes, they do get salary !), his kids study in the costliest boarding school in Dehradun? whereas all we got was a basic bi-cycle and coudl not dare to ask for a fancy ATB (All terrain bike - Hero Ranger, if you could recollect). Three - How have we become beast-like, insensitive and hungry, competitive and blood sucking animals. I feel pity for the people in media and Budhia. The young journalists who have been portrayed nothing but real in the movie. What are you chasing fellows? and Four - The loneliness of today's individuals. Natha, the central character has hardly spoken a word in the movie. The plot where he gets comfort by hugging the lamb moved me a lot. the feeling of despair could not have been portrayed better. We all sometimes feel the same way when we take a pause and step back and think. Where are we heading? what do we want and the world around sometimes behave like the way characters in Peepli do.
In the end, Natha is shown working as a daily laborer in the city. Please note, there is just a glimpse of Natha and then many unknown faces , or may be known faces in the city working as laborers. Its a story of 8 million Indians and more who might not have gone though the same as Natha did, but have eventually landed where Natha did. That was well derived from the sincere effort of Anusha Rizvi.
I had missed the first fifteen minutes of the movie and when we reached the theatre I wanted to stay after the show so that I could watch the next show’s first part that I have missed. As the movie progresses, people’s emotion were controlled by the screen play. I heard laughter and people literally rolling off their seats with the awesome dialogues and one liners and the typical Indian slang. But somehow, right from the beginning of the story, I felt the scenes were laughable but it was NOT funny. It was not. There was a pain and agony that was running behind the scenes, behind the laughter, behind the Psyche of the common man. The director’s original thoughts and feelings dominated me throughout. As the theater bursts into laughter, I felt more pain and twitch in the heart. Being from a village myself, I have seen many Nathas in my lifetime. It was just re-rendering an old story.
At the end of the movie, i just wanted to leave the theatre and didn't even care to watch the first fifteen minutes any more. I just wanted to leave and so we did. As I was driving with a heavy heart, innumerable thoughts and my known Nathan's faces bombarding my mind, I get a call from India with a wish - “Wish you a happy Independence day”. It was 15th August in India. Over the last couple of years and especially today, I wonder WHAT do I have to celebrate on the Independence day? - Independence from WHOM? and yes, HOW can I celebrate?