Majestic Problems? No Problem!

The Cure to all Cures

This post actually breaks two of my own blog rules:
1) No post without a photograph
2) No photograph that is not taken by me

But when a picture tells a thousand tales...well, it tells a thousand tales. And this one was too good to pass up.

If you've been in India, or to India (if you know what i mean), you'll know that these kind of posters are pretty common all over. Yet it is no match for the actual number of 'sadhus' and 'tantrik's that exist- a breed that I am afraid will never fall under the endangered category.

What is striking about this particular 'Miyan's marketing is the unabashed use of a language that he obviously doesn't have a clue about. Most of us know about the  idiosyncrasies of the patois that is “Indian English”. But this particular piece of communication doesn't even fall into that. It's a language unto its own.

I don’t want to steal away from the real star of this post and so I let you go back and read the text on that poster one more time. And yes, Miyan Samrat, while you fail English, you definitely top the class in marketing! You got a bunch that will be talking about your services each time they want a good laugh.

Disclaimer: I solemly declare that the views declared on this blog have nothing to do with Anna Hazare or Sonia Gandhi or Manmohan Singh or Kapil Sibal and the opinions and views contained herein are not intended to be, and do not constitute humor to disintegrate the moral fabric of any nation, organization or any individual. Although I live in America, I am not acting as a foreign agent deployed by the Obama administration to deplore the East or its citizens.  

Sexy Soul Oldies!

Broadway, Manhattan, NY 

All everyone seems to be talking about in New York, and I suspect in the rest of the US too, is the weather. Unfortunately, not in a good way. So temperatures have reached 108 degree F on some days in the last week and the National Weather Service has issued notice of a heatwave! 

I seem to be the only one not complaining. I mean, c'mon, if you've spent half your summers in Nagpur, where   108 would be considered normal, and at 90, people would positively be celebrating; and the other half of your life in Bombay - the city which defines global standards of humidity, you can barely think of heat as an reason to be depressed. 

So on Saturday when I stepped out of my apartment, I was pleasantly surprised to find a crowd gathered around a stall at the summer fair on Broadway. I'll pause here to tell you a bit about the fair. Do you remember Friday canteen in school? (or maybe we were the only ones who had it!) where a bunch of people come together, put up a stall, sell their wares, and everyone basically has a lot of fun? Well, that's what summer fair at Broadway is all about - a weekly fair that happens every Saturday, on...err...Broadway, which to me means that I don't need to walk more than 5 steps out of our apartment building to soak in the summer joy! There's good food (strawberry and nutella crepe! slurrp!), lots of discount shopping, games and music! On the last one, is what this post is actually about (okay so I took a while to get here). Back to the crowd I walked into.

What you see in the picture is what was in front of us. Just that. An eclectically dressed man, behind a desk with music cds, most of which I haven't ever heard of, and an amusing shop display that identified his wares as "Sexy Soul Oldies"

Nothing so interesting about that you say. I agree. Except that this Sexy Soul Oldie got a bunch of heat-frustrated, sweat-dripping, drained-looking people rocking like I've never seen before, other than at live concerts! And the only method he employed was to have fun himself. Put on some foot-tapping music, classics I believe, and danced away like there was no tomorrow. Naturally, everyone around got gathering, tapping, singing, snapping their fingers, etc. A little old lady even did a jig prompting 'sexy soul oldie' to get to her and do a duet. That's when the crowd really let go. I kid you not, there were like 30 people, right there, in the middle of the street, all ages, although mostly older ones (assuming they came from the same generation as the music), jigging, twisting, foot-tapping, clapping. It was a sight! I wish I had a better video than the one I do now. I've uploaded one to FB anyway for those still curious. It was taken right at the beginning when he started so the enthusiasm still hadn't built up as much as it did later. But for now, I'll let this picture do the talking! Here's one for All the Sexy Soul Oldies out there! 

Naked Cowboy - Neither naked, nor cowboy!

Times Square, Manhattan, NY

I spotted the Naked Cowboy and the Naked Cowgirl!! Okay, now I don't mean to make them sound like the endangered species of some exotic-looking animals, but you can give it to me for behaving a bit touristy when I am at the 'tourist capital of the world'

Each time I passed by Times Sq, I looked out for either (mainly the cowboy :D) but as luck would have it, always missed them. The other day while walking back, I heard someone play the guitar and on appraoching the sound, saw this tall and imposing albeit undressed personality stringing along.

For the uninitiated, the Naked Cowboy, is a street artist who performs at Times Square. Dressed minimally - cowboy hat, boots and only briefs, his guitar his placed strategically to make him appear fully naked. The Naked Cowgirl is similiar, only, she wears a bikini.

The original cowboy - Robert Burck, trademarked the 'Naked Cowboy' charachter and after a number of lawsuits, now operates it like a franchise. I didn't see Burck himself but one of the other cowboys and the cowgirl, possibly Burck's girlfreiend, Cindy Fox.

While everyone posed with them and clicked pictures, a though struck my mind - the naked cowboy is neither naked nor a cowboy! I wondered then, why does he do, what he does? There's only but one answer - what we were viewing as a source of entertainment, was just another man's profession!

The Naked Cowboy, for all the fun and glamour attached to his character, is actually just performing a regular job! A job that he needs to attend, even on days when all one wants to do is tuck in and sleep (i've heard stories of the naked cowboy walking around in snow-laden streets); a job that needs him to earn money and answer to a boss (franchises pay $500 to Burck every month), a job that demands that he put in hard work and effort (shows on their sculpted bodies); a job that requires him to put up with the good and the bad, and a job that stresses you out if your audience is not appreciative. A fact - simple but overlooked! I plead guilty!

Dance Like Noone is Watching

Columbus Circle, New York, NY

The one thing about New York city that I have come to love is the freedom of expression it gives to its artists. Where else in the world would you get to see classical ballet being performed amidst chaos on the street?

The picture above is that of a ballet couple - rehearsing in Columbus circle - one of the busiest junctions in the city, right up on Broadway. They appeared just like that, out of nowhere, the girl in all her splendor (she had real lights on her), the man a lot more casually dressed; and danced around the circle to an imaginary tune or perhaps to one playing only in their ears.

The few minutes I saw them perform was magical. While the New York traffic whizzed past, traffic lights changed colors, the people around gaped in awe, the happy couple continued to dance, blissfully unaware of the world around them. This one is for them and ballet!