At The Edge

Kanan Devi in Vidyapati, 1937 Previously: Choli pay nazariya jaye -0- Now youth advanced, childhood withdrew, Her eyes have caught the dancing of her feet, Twin eyes performed the task of messengers, Her laughter hid, and shame was born. Continually she sets her hand upon her robe. Speaks every word with hanging head: Her hips have gained their full-grown glory - She leans on her companions when she walks. ~ from Vidyapati: Bangiya Padabali, Songs of the Love of Radha and Krishna.Translated into English by Ananda Coomaraswamy (1915) [ openlibrary.org LINK ] -0-

"Funnily, I broke no bones in my youth. Then, in 1983, when I had my last fall, I broke my leg by tripping over a carpet. [...] Another time, I was speeding and smashed a friend's car into a tree at Chembur. My immediate reaction was to catch hold of the tree's trunk and start laughing. What else could I do? Homi chided me, that's when I realised I was acting silly. However, I insited that I drive the car back to town. I was perspiring like hell when I reached home. But I did it. Not for nothing was I called Fearless Nadia." Nadia to Roxanne Kavarans for September 1991 issue of 'Cinema in India'. Here's the entire article:

'Muslim Social' directed by K. Asif at the age of 23. Story by Kamal Amrohi. -0-

As Vice President of the Interim  Government  he visited the North- West  Frontier Province in 1946 in the company of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, 'the Frontier Gandhi', who shielded him from pelting by some goondas. From 'Jawaharlal Nehru in pictures', Edited by D.G. Tendulkar, 14 November 1964. This was the year that saw  Ghaffar Khan and Nehru getting attacked at Malakand Fort. This was the year which saw ' mass serial bombardment' in certain parts of  Wazirtstan as  punitive action . This was also the year of  kidnappings  and ransom.  [More about the scene in NWFP in 1946-47 here] -0- "In 1938 he was talking about her in an exotic setting before a strange audience and in an unexpected context. He was somewhere amidst the barren hills of the North Western Frontier, where a sniper was expected to be hiding behind each rock., and he was addressing a meetng of the supposedly wild and unruly tribes who were being accuse...

Aaao baby tumhay estar banaye. Lo yeh Bandh Gobi...aur imagine karo yeh tumhara dil hai. Thoda Emotion  dalo. Aur thoda sara pout.  From December 1, 1972 issue of Filmfare, this is Jaya Bhaduri in possibly one of Bollywood's freakiest photoshoot ever. Interestingly this was the issue that had Amitabh Bachchan on cover, it was his first ever Filmfare cover. -0-

Lala was a punk! This is one of the most illuminating things I have read in recent times. And yet, still doesn't explain why a book like Vikram Chandra's Sacred Games can be read in India but a film based on it cannot be made and screened in India without a lot of 'toning down' for Indian sensitivities. Forgot to add: Came across it at Digital Library here: Indian Cinematograph Committee (1927-28) vol. 1 , Indian Cinematograph Committee (1927-28) vol. 2 Aren't available in an easy to read pdf form there. So I took some parts of it and converted them to pdf. -0- While on the topic of cinema, information and crowd behavior: ironic,  Lala Lajpat Rai vs Babbu Maan -0-

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