Paris....

Paris…..never been there….but still tops my wish list. People who’ve been there, at times don’t speak too highly of it… too crowded, overrun by Senegalese, don’t get duped by the movies, so on so forth…yet my yearning to go to Paris is undiminished.
Maudlin as it may sound, it’s the sweetened romanticizing in the movies that has done me in...
‘An American in Paris’ a 50’s classic….Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron…great Parisian locations, banks of the Seine, French impressionist paintings…and of course “I got star light”
“Gigi” another musical fare with Leslie Caron.
“Love in the Afternoon” with virtuous Audrey Hepburn…Paris looks gorgeous in b/w.
“Forget Paris” Billy Crystal’s trademark….with a few scenes of wintry Paris…
“Bourne Identity” …car chase through stunning Paris.
‘Day of the Jackal”
And of course everybody’s favourite French film “Amelie”

PANIDEAN

PA = Padma

NI = Nitin

DE = Deepak

AN = Anuj

What is common between a Power company VP, a software engineer, a researcher and an MBA student? Well we all love movies, short films in particular. Not exactly as the hors d'oeuvre but as the main course. We are working on scripts, of course ideas, funds and technical/artsictic help are all welcome. Premieres could be at friends living rooms!

DJ

A few years ago, in my chaperoning obligations I came across DJ, a remarkably bright child. Despite some altered aspect of his life at such a tender age he was surprisingly a cheerful kid.
His level of prudence was astounding, the kind of sagacity I probably never had when I was a kid, I am sure not many of us did.
But then most of us didn’t have to go through what DJ went through. I am not saying that in compassion of his situation.

I was fortunate to have spent some delightful moments with the kiddo. He had this wonderful ability to find glee and amusement in small things, no gizmos for this kid, a falling leaf, a piece of paper would have him abuzz with curiosity. His seemingly hastened maturity didn’t annihilate this.

Today is his birthday; he will be all of 8. So Happy B’day DJ, I am sure you will grow up to be a fine young man.

Angels and Bitches contd...

“Sara”
Sara, Sara
Whatever made you
want to change you mind
Sara, Sara
So easy to look at,
so hard to define.
Definitely one of Dylan’s “Angel songs” after ‘Sad eyed lady from the lowlands’, Sara was his wife.

“Dirge”
I hate myself for loving you and the weakness that it showed

You were just a painted face on a trip down to suicide road

The stage was set, the lights went out all around the old hotel

I hate myself for loving you and I'm glad the curtain fell.
……The naked truth is still taboo whenever it can be seen
Lady Luck who shines on me, will tell you where I'm at
I hate myself for loving you but I should get over that.

Obliviously a “Bitches song”. Could it be for his wife after the divorce, or just his discomfort with the ‘voice of the generation’ mantle, he so wanted to shake off? Whichever way, a great song for spewing rancour and indignation to the bitches of the world….way to go Bob!!!

Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton

I could rattle out quite a few male blues harp players, from Sonny Boy Williamson, Sonny Terry to Paul Butterfield and Little Walter.

When it comes to woman harp players I know only one, as a matter of fact I’ve heard only one…..Willie Mae ‘Big Mama’ Thornton.

I had first heard her in a rock n roll compilation album, the unprocessed original version of “Hound Dog”….Elvis’ far more familiar rendition seemed totally watered down after that, not putting down Elvis and his enormity as an artiste.

Ok, but Janis Joplin’s version of Big Mama’s ‘Ball and Chain’ is a different thing altogether, Joplin made it sound like a raw private anguish…brilliant rendition. I have to verify this but I do remember reading somewhere that ‘Big Mama’ dedicated this song to Joplin after her death.

About Angels and Bitches

Dylan has recognized only two kinds of women: "angels," whose function was to save man (from the women themselves as often as not), and "bitches," whose function was to let him down, if not by overt attempts to ruin and confuse, at least by their failure to save. The bitches enjoyed their heyday during the "Just like a Woman" period, of course, and their prominent return on Blood on the Tracks was one of the principle reasons why that album was believed to be a return to the golden age. The angels dominated from Nashville Skyline to Planet Waves, and there is reason to believe that Dylan still holds onto something of that vision: "Sara," one of two songs on Desire which he wrote alone, again speaks of his wife as a "sweet virgin angel." – Rolling Stone review of Desire (1976)

Whoa! Pretty strong statement, that one. Considering Dylan’s intricacy as an intriguing songwriter, I feel the critic over-simplified his appraisal about the women in Dylan’s songs.

There is this song that comes to mind, “North country blues” , a bleak folksy song about the trial and tribulation of a young mother in copper country no ‘bitchiness’ here no beatific charm.

Well, there is "I don’t believe you" which is an opinion about double standards; I don’t think there is a direct assault on “bitchiness”.

“ I’ll be your baby tonite” and “All I really wanna do” are yearnings to get into her pants, almost a cunning plea, bereft of any macho thing going.

“Boots of Spanish leather” Dylan accepts the going away of his beau, without reprove. In other words he does not call her a bitch for abandoning him!!!

Even seemingly caustic songs like “ It ain’t me babe” speaks of the individual’s shortcomings in the relationship, but then again this could be Dylan’s outburst to his 60’s fans who almost deified him.

With a Dylan song you never know.