Sagaram Sakshi

 

Sagaram Sakshi begins with Mammotty as Balachandran a monk looking for a room in Kanyakumari. Unable to find one, he decided to sleep on the beach taking him to his past. Aptly titled meaning Ocean is witness, the movie begins in Kanyakumari, they first meet here and the ending is again here. It

 is a 1994 Malayalam film directed by Sibi Malayil. A. K. Lohithadas wrote the screenplay for this film. This was the last film of Sibi Malayil-Lohithadas combination.

 Balachandran, a business tycoon running a chit business and hotel. He marries Nirmala,  from a rich family, chasing her and finding her house.   However, when Balachandran loses his business, the couple who now have a daughter had to deal with bankruptcy and a poor lifestyle. Balachandran gets into drinking. Nirmala goes back to her home, and her parent don't let her return. Balachandran does all he can to get back his old glory. But ends up going to the Himalaya and becoming a Monk. Even there he is unable to forget his family as he still has with him, his wife's 'Thali'. He comes to throw that into the Ocean. 

What happens then is how the movie ends. 

Insatiable ~ Shobhaa De (37 of 2024)

 

"'I promise not to be three things--profound, pedantic and pretentious,' says Shobhaa De, as she begins her heart-warming book.

It's a promise India's most beloved writer delivers on in her irreverent memoir about the year leading up to her landmark seventy-fifth birthday. Quintessential exuberance and keen observations firmly in place, she tells us about travelling solo, feasting (and fasting) with family and friends, the triumphs and losses that accompany ageing, the vagaries and vulnerabilities of being a writer and, above all, how food connects people in the most unexpected places and delightful ways.

From where to find the most delicious lassi in Jaipur, her obsession with kasundi and conversations with a Nobel Laureate who is a gourmet to M.F. Husain's last food khwaish and what's served at Aamir Khan's dinner table, Shobhaa takes us into the dining rooms of politicians, artists and celebrities, to festivals and parties and other social events, and, more privately, into her home, where food is always the prime subject of conversation.

In Insatiable, Shobhaa reminds us of the many delights and disappointments that the banquet of life offers, even as she examines the shared emotional hunger for happiness and love that binds us all.  "

It is her breezy style of writing, with humour the way we talk, a mix of English and Hindi and things we face in life, that keep us going especially when we are reading it with our girl gang.  Else one might ask, why should I spend my team reading about the life of high society socialite. 

She speaks about her children Arundhati De, Avantika Kilachand, Aditya Kilachand, Anandita De , and husband Dilip De - how they are her centre. Their watsapp group and chats. 

The book has multiple instances where we can see how the spouses Mr. and Mrs. Dey have given each other individual space.

The author is a self-proclaimed and visible foodie who engages various emotions with the food she eats. She is a Maharashtrian married to a Bengali family. However, her cuisines and food experiences are not limited to these two states.

The author with her cosmopolitan life introduces the readers to various cuisines that many of us would not dream to try. The author has deftly shown us how letting go can save relations. 

We feel that her career was by default and not design, she was not very ambitious but adventurous who love good life. 

Kolkota - Places Visited

The city of joy is a feeling - abode of so many stalwarts....civilisation began and ended with Bengal.

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Preferably stay suggested was @ Gariahat/Ballygunge area. Decent locality, most of South Indian people stay in n around. We stayed at the Metropolitant area near Bypass 

Places to visit in Kolkata was suggested by Surjith, and started with the first suggestion:

Having met Surjith and family and covered the Science City + Birla mandir on day 1 of the trip i.e. 12th of May,  next day as per plan

- Covered Belur math and Dhakshineshwara temple went on Rabindranath Sethu/Howra bridge saw Vivekananda Sethu when returning, Shriya was tired so came back to the hotel room, It was a round about trip starting from one direction and returning from the other. In the evening Jisha took half day and we went to St Paul's Cathedral,  saw a show at Birla Museum on space travel matching Shriya's T-Shirt and then went to college street - Indian Coffee House. Got just one book. Did not find many as it was closing down. 

Birla Planetarium

Birla Education Trust presented this to West Bengal government in 1929 AD. It provides useful information about our solor system, galaxies, life span of stars, space, planets and other heavenly bodies in the most interactive manner via audio video aids. The air-conditioned viewing hall with a diameter of 23m has a seating capacity of 500. Its astronomy gallery maintains a huge collection of fine paintings and celestial models of renowned astronomers. 

Was fortunate to see a show there and have a nap too. 

- On 14th of May visited Mother Theresa house, Rabindra Sadan, Marble Palace, Ganesha temple, Bio Garden, saw the great Banyan tree and came back to hotel for night dinner with Sudeep and family to celebrate is birthday. 

- 15th May day 5 covered, Alipoor Zoo, Aquarium was hopeless. Alipoor has a big jail and museum of the times for freedom struggle. National library is just at the point end of where the road with zoo on one side and aquarium on the other side was. By Noon Saroja's training was over, and she asked us to comes back ASAP. Evening we went for a walk on Howra Bridge and then went to Howra AC Market

One of the largest and oldest zoo, the zoo has variety of animals, different species of reptiles, cross breeds. During the winters it is a treat for the travellers as birds from many cold countries come here for hibernation. 

- On day 6 i.e. 16th May covered Victoria memorial+ Tonga ride , Subash Chanda bose - Netaji museum, Indian Museum  slept on grass, shopping books, and cloths, went to new market and came back to keep things in the room. Finished packing my first suitcase. 

The Victoria Memorial  a large marble monument on the Maidan in Central Kolkata, having its entrance on the Queen's Way is the brainchild of Lord Curzon, a Viceroy of India. It was built between 1906 and 1921 and dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria, the Empress of India from 1876 to 1901. Also known as Victoria Palace Kolkata, it is much more than an iconic landmark or a historical building in the city. This magnificent monument cum museum stands as a reminder of the city’s colonial and architectural heritage. Nestled against lush green lawns, this opulent memorial made of marble features Indo-Saracenic revivalist architectural style which displays a blend of Mughal and British elements along with Egyptian, Islamic, Venetian, and Deccani elements. Made of white Markana marble, the edifice has dimensions of 103 meters by 69 meters and reaches up to a height of 56 meters.

In terms of design, Victoria Memorial draws inspiration from the Taj Mahal. It has a main central dome, four smaller domes, high portals, domed chaatris of octagonal shape, domed towers at the corners, and terrace. The Angel of Victory, a 16-feet tall figure, stands on top of the central dome. You can find several allegorical sculptures surrounding the central dome, including Charity, Justice, Art, and Architecture. The North Porch has allegorical sculptures of Prudence, Motherhood, and Learning.

Indian Museum is the earliest and the largest multipurpose Museum founded in 1814 at the cradle of the Asiatic Society of Bengal . The founder curator was Dr Nathaniel Wallich, a Danish botanist. Started with just two galleries it now has six sections with 35 galleries. In 1875 the present Museum building on Chowringhee, designed by W.L.Grandville was completed. 

Me slept off in the garden in between there. 

- On day 7 took a Tram ride ,went to Botanical Garden for others to see the Banyan tree, Railway Museum, took under ganga metro to Esplanade  the main shopping hub place from where got my suitcase. 

-On day 8, 18th May had a solo trip to Gangasagar, and while returning heard lot of Calcutta news from the driver arranged by Surjith, saw Ganguly's house,  went to Newtown- eco park~7 wonders at gate 4 and sweet trial at Mishti shop in Gate 3 + nazrul tirtha+ wax museum hired a driver for that day. 

-19th May, was the final free day being the 9th to explore Calcutta did a lot of shopping  + ferry across ganga from Babu ghat+ howrah bridge+ vidyasagar setu+ Princep ghat and had Calcutta food from 6 Ballugunge - through Park street. 

Ballygunge area has excellent connectivity. Bus, tram, metro, etc. 

Temple visit - Kalighat and Guruvayoor Temple in South Kolkata; Iscon temple; Swami Narayan temple. 

You will get n number of fast foods, street foods like Pani puri, roll chowmein, roti tarka and many more...

Variety of sweets are available that too at very cheap prices and good quality

KC Das is one of the famous sweet shops.

- Returned on 20th of May after exploring Calcutta for 9 days, and spending 10 nights in the city of Joy, it indeed is a feeling to be here. 

Thanks from the bottom of my heart to almighty and all those who made this Joy possible.