Monday, February 9, 2009

The Soofy thing - Part II

It would be incorrect to call Nagaur a one-horse town. It has some 10,000 horses. In addition to 150,000 cows and 300,000 camels. Nagaur also used to have a big population of asses but they are in Government service now. What it DOES have is a magnificent fort! At this point, ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Dr. Mahesh Rao, aka maitreya, who is a photographer par excellence. All the photos here are his work.

The part of the fort where diyas were lit (duh)


Soofy group from Iran. Awesome



The part of the fort where there were spotlights (further duh)



A group of "Langa" singers from the Thar desert. Super Awesome!

And hats off to the chaps who organised this event. The lighting and atmosphere were simply amazing. About the music - well, I liked it. Can't say I followed much - my understanding of Urdu is pretty rudimentary - but the singing was from the heart. You could feel the sincerity.

My neighbour for the evening was an American lady of some seventy summers, who had substantially tanked up for the occasion. She was a little unsteady on her feet and on several occasions fell into my arms. I got the distinct impression that I was 4 decades too late. Anyway, all that physical intimacy seemed to form a bond and she started talking to me. Here's a sample of the conversation

American Lady: Wassee singin? Izzat from Bollywood? Izzee Shahrukh Khan?

Me: It's a Rajasthani folk song. No, he is not Shahrukh khan. His name is ...let me see... Kachra Khan

AL: Wazzat melody called?

Me: I'm not sure. But the Raga is called Sohini

AL: Wow! How cool is that!

Me: Huh?

AL: So, do they have a Raga named after Toyota too?

Me: Thats So-hi-ni. Not Sony.

AL: Wassee singin? Izzat from Bollywood? Izzee Shahrukh Khan?

Thus the night wore on. An hour or so later, my American girlfriend went off to "look for a refill" and did not turn up again.

The programe finally ended at 10.30 pm, at which time the temperature was -17 degrees C (adjusted for windchill)

P.S. Rajasthani Couplet specially composed for Chutney


O baalma come back, my eyes ache for a glimpse
Tho I wish your pals and you weren't such wimps

17 comments:

Susa said...

Hmm, good music, superb lighting, and American women swooning over you- what more could one want? :)

SRK said...

"American lady of some seventy summers"

from Kat to this? though if the American lady spent one half of the year in North and the other half in South, she might be only 35yrs old eh?

Anand Ramachandran's Evil Twin said...

If she was rich, you could have gone all Anna Nicole Smith on her ;)

J. Alfred Prufrock said...

Well, thank you so much for the tribute to Gorment sarbhents. I hope your litthis and churma were frosted in the wind chill.

J.A.P.

Anonymous said...

@a.r.e.t: i don't think so. for who are currently engaged and all, the risk of getting dismembered is too great.

maxdavinci said...

I see you had american chai!

Gradwolf said...

woah, someone sure is having a great time. And am not sure if it's only the soofy music!

Vivek said...

I'm surprised she said Raga, thought she'd have meant Reggae!
:D
70 Summers? And YOU were 4 decades late?
Time travel?
:D
Everyone who tanks up falls for you or on you?

Lavanya said...

Forgive these men who have commented so
I cannot believe they could actually stoop this low
To think that women fall on you
Just cause they had a round of vodka, or a few
But pooh-pooh them you should, all these fellas
Your inexplicable charm does make them really jealous

Anonymous said...

Women fall for you when they get high.
Women hit the bottle before they hit (on/at) you.
And this is the life of an ordinary man?

Partho said...

We soooo NV you saar!

Pitu said...

Hahahhaa awesome!

Anonymous said...

Nice pics. Wazzat from Bollywood? Wuh-dey all Shah Ruk Khan? :-|

Q: What is one the one thing you'll never find in a post about Soofy Music?
A: The Soofy Music :-P

Link? Clip? Something? :(

Waiting for Part III (or is that IV?)

-g

Idling in Top Gear said...

I see the Shenoy charm works on women of all colors, ages and levels of sobriety! I'm surprised your American girlfriend didn't say, "Are you Sharrukk Kaan?"

And LOL at chutney's poem.

Anonymous said...

the wunders of youtube:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3GQFDHfNvk

Lakshmi Bharadwaj said...

Haha...lol, someone seems to hav had fun eh?? How about risking Palace on Wheels then?? I heard you'll find an extrodinary sampling of the same species there as well....:-) Have a totally great time in rajasthan then!

Maddy said...

goofy at soofy