Viveik Pandit's Blog

Memory has a strange way of coming back at you. Moments that have been mothballed and stored in the deep crevices of this amazing god-made-machine, return when you least expect them.  Images of my green coloured wooden scooter has tip-toed into my living conscience of today. A 3-4 years me, pushing the walking toy on the Kota-stoned verandah of the house. Pudgy hands, feet unsure yet bold and, mouthing the sound-buzz of a scooter.  Unmindful of the roadblocks I would move. Even adding...

WAZIR CHECKMATEDThe promos had it right -- a bearded Farhan with his trade mark macho scar and the evergreen Bachchan lending their voices to spread "atarangi" friendship. So far so good.Farhan plays an Anti Terrorist Officer who remains suspended from the squad but certainly not from 'action'. 
Bachchan Ji is a wheelchair borne strategist who loves his chess and... some more chess. To drive home the point, the man owns a variety of chess pieces, including a set where the pieces are held...

HAZARATGANJ @ 200
My humble years in existence pale in comparison to the double ton glory of this social space called Hazaratganj, which has its roots in the Victorian Raj.
I grew up both physically and academically in the vicinity of Hazaratganj, blissfully aware and in awe of its charming existence. As a young fifth grader i felt proud that my city owned this heritage and it was used as a ‘signature taunt’ with my visiting cousins, of course, besides other landmarks of Lucknow. “I am sure you...

The Dashehra weekend was stretched like the seam-full belly of Ganesha (the choreographer)--every fold was followed by another, each holiday was followed by another and another.
I had masterly avoided my family's insistence of going to the movies. "Shaandaar" had already been trashed by the trade pundits and none of the other names inspired my imagination. Never the one to give up, my best half offered options after options. Reluctantly I said 'yes' to some panchanama, part two. "Yeah! It has...

boo !
the moo story..you have put me on a pedestal revered,
that dates centuries and belief feared.
you treat me like life gentle,
that hath few sacred peril.i was content being coy and bovine,
but you had intent divine.
the gods were invoked
and aditi (god's mother) prevailed.came along that shyam lala,
time ordained and he become my gopala.
milk flowed and butter hung,
for the love, purity was even dried dung.there are times that spell trouble,
for being crowned a neo label.
they have already coined me...

yagya dev panditthe man with a golden voice, or as a radio producer put it, "the million-dollar voice." the name which became synonymous with every evenings' "pradeshik samachar" as the time clocked 7:20, the rich baritone rose in the air and radios and transistor sets tuned-in -- "yeh akashwani hai, ab aap...."the man who's tete-te-tetes with begum akhtar, pt bhimsen joshi, firaq gorakhpuri, mahadevi verma, bismillah khan and bhagwati charan varma became phenomenally popular and his working...

BAKE-SHAKEI have never been in-between jobs, but in-between books is definitely making me jumpy. It's like making a Kangaroo go to a finishing school. You know what needs to be done but you end up simply messing it up. The anxiety was unexplained. Even the visits to the cardiologist were exhausted and he could not decipher anything amiss. The tests were embarrassingly returning negative results. It was then that somebody recommended bake-therapy. "You would still be creating something. T...

A couple of decades back a smart kid, Sam Pitroda was busy drawing the road map to revolution while we denizens were content beating years of wait list to procure the basic telephony from the ‘mai baap sarkaar.’ 
I distinctly recall moving the request application along with my father’s cardiac testimonials, to speed up the allotment. “Need to be in touch with the Cardiologist,” plea backed by a Union Ministerial recommendation did the trick. Yes, an out of turn sanction assured that we mo...

no grudge, no fuss.
just a few brush,
and it is ready;
to tread, walk and run.
and even get wet,
when from within,
it is but foul and sweat.
it is the first to be forgotten,
even discarded,
once the destination is reached.
put away carelessly,
with an indifferent jerk.
floored in anger and disgust.'other' masters have denied
you company and consent.
but you have always been there,
in moods grim and gay.
ever the faithful,
ever the friend.I know in times to come,
we will part ways,
and you would snug other feet,...

HILL TOP MUSINGSThere is a place in my mind that I visit often -- a place where there is complete calm and thoughts flow.
That moment is now.
I have positioned myself on the balcony of a roadside restaurant. The restaurant overlooks the river Kosi, thirteen kilometers ahead of Almora.
The river bed is layered with rocks that have been caressed and smoothed by the relentless flow over years.
The Shiva temple on its eastern bank has just finished with its early morning blare of lyrical appeasement....