Gurgaon was frickin' cold last week. The lowest temperatures have been way below ten degrees... and my hands are shivering while i am typing this. I swear. ok i swearrrrr. Youu gott to believvve meee. It truly has been really really cold (as Jim Carrey would have put it).
What made the cold bearable though was a musical (a la broadway style) I saw yesterday at the Sriram centre in Delhi. The play 'Fiddler on the Roof' really warmed the cockles of my heart (Queen Elizabeth would have been proud of my usage of this phraseology).
When my friend Rahul Mehra asked me to join him for the play, I must admit i was apprehensive. The whole idea of a musical in Hindi didn't really sound appealing. Don't get me wrong. I love watching plays and have traditionally preferred drama over its impostor cousin 'commercial cinema'. But still, a musical in Hindi, i had to think twice. And thank God, better sense prevailed.
'Fiddler on the Roof' is a play set in 1905 in Anatevka, a jewish village in Russia. Apparently 3 million people worldover have seen this play. The broadway production has won nine Tony awards and the movie based on the same won three academy awards. Impressive eh?
Anyways this excerpt from Wiki will give u a sneak into the story
"The story centers on Tevye, the father of five daughters, and his attempts to maintain his family and religious traditions while outside influences encroach upon their lives. He must cope with both the strong-willed actions of his three older daughters—each daughter's choice of husband moves progressively further away from established customs—and with the edict of the Tsar that evicts the Jews from their village."
I strongly recommend you see it. Dramatech needs to be commended to get this play here. The cast was competent, the costumes were wonderful and did a great job recreating the 1900's Jewish look, and the music complemented the scenes . All in all a memorable experience. And i would stick my neck out and claim - Musicals in Hindi are here to stay!!
I can't help feel a sense of deja vu. Somehow i always knew i'd warm up to the "North". When i came to Gurgaon, my first such visit up north, i came with an open mind. I have lived in far too many cities to know that. My first few months here - and i almost bought the theory prevalant here - that Gurgaon is synonmous with the Malls. You need to buy grocery - you go to Big Bazaar in Sahara Mall. You want to watch a movie - you go to MGF metropolitan mall. You want to buy clothes - you go to Lifestyle at DT Mall. You want to grab a quick bite - guess what - you go to Mcdonalds at the Mall again. That combined with dust with all the construction goin around, the crazy road traffic and absolute zero personal safety made me totally disillusioned.
But last few months have been different. New Delhi is only 26 Kms drive. And that to me has made all the difference. Last month i saw the AR Rahman concert .. and the performance was truly breathtaking. Hariharan, Kailash Kher, Chitra, Madhushree, Sadna Sargam, Sivamani performed in a troupe comprising 50 instrumentalists and 22 singers. Imagine listening to songs from Roja, Bombay, Dil Se, Taal, Lagaan, Rang de Basanti, Saathiya and Guru back-t0-back.
Then there was a play Khel Khel Mein at the kamaani auditorium. And now this musical 'Fiddler on the Roof' at the Sriram centre. And i haven't even started speaking about the OSIAN film festival - with upcoming and established filmmakers from SriLanka, Turkey and practically the world over showcasing their stuff.
The Zing is back in the Entertainment. And i feel much better already. If only for this coldddd...and my shivering hannddssss.... :)
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