Here and There

Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum: 6 reasons why this Pakistani TV drama had me hooked late into the night— A personal take

Hania Aamir and Fahad Mustafa in a still from hit Pakistani TV drama, *Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum*

I recently watched (read: binged) the Pakistani serial Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum on YouTube. Released on July 2 this year, the final ‘mega episode’, as it was called, aired on Nov 5.

Taking a ‘viewing’ break from Hollywood classics like The Shawshank Redemption, Saving Private Ryan, Secretariat and Vanilla Sky (recommended by a colleague), this serial was, let’s just say, a coming back to my ‘comfort zone’ of family dramas.

A friend recommended the serial to me, and it was hard not to get sucked into the drama in the lives of Sharjeena, Mustafa, Adeel, Rubab and their families.

What’s the plot

Well, on the face of it, it’s a pretty simple, tried and tested formula of sub-continental TV serials:

A not-so-sweet mother-in-law.
A sugary-sweet daughter and daughter-in-law.
A good-for-nothing ‘nikamma’ husband.
Middle-class family values clashing with rich relatives’ sensibilities.
Fast-track dreams of getting rich.
Conniving, selfish, egoistical people.
Helpless parents.
And then, of course, a happy ending.

What works for Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum

What works? No, really—what does?

The language — The beautiful, poetic Urdu. “Aap ne meri biwi ko mulazim ki tarah rakha.” Rude, yes, but oh, the respect, even in anger.
The clothes! — (Yes, I’m a girl, so I notice.) From flowy Pakistani salwar kameez to smart pantsuits, lehengas and dresses — it’s modest wear, yet full of colour and the latest styles. Whether you’re rich or poor in this serial, your clothes are always on point. The makeup, too, is practical and relatable without being overdone or garish.
The music —The Chal diye title track is very hummable and plays at pivotal moments through the series.
The characters — Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum has an ensemble cast. Hania Aamir and Fahad Mustafa, who essay the lead roles of Sharjeena and Mustafa, are well-fleshed-out characters who resonate with many of us. Some of the other cast members are Emmad Irfani, Bushra Ansari, Jawed Sheikh, and Naeema Naeem Butt.
Screenplay — The locations, screenplay and dialogues feel natural to our sensibilities. We’ve all, at some point, come across people like the ones we see in this serial. They feel real. I’ll even go out on a limb and say some of us have traits of at least one or more of these characters. (Hehe…)
Culture — As people of the sub-continent, our ‘family values’ and our sense of (false?) pride, our overarching love for riches and rich people and the mental drill of women bringing honour/dishonour to their families (whether its their fault or not) all strike a deep chord. These themes make it relatable—even if frustratingly so.
Fast-paced — The single-season series Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum moves briskly and never stagnates. Every episode lasts approximately 35 minutes and ends in a teasing way. It leaves you wanting to watch just one more, even if it’s already 2 or 3 am. Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum has 35 episodes.

Why did I enjoy it?

Well, I’m one of the over 1 billion people who watched this top-rated Pakistani drama. It has a 9.2 IMDb rating.

The topics it deals with aren’t new. As 21st-century humans, I’m sure most of us detest these old jaded “what will the world say” and “blame the woman” notions, among others. Yet, these are so deeply imbibed in us (us, as in the people of the subcontinent) that they (sadly) feel almost second nature. It’s this unsettling familiarity that makes the series feel so relatable.

Take, for instance, the depiction of:

A rich businesswoman is a cunning, self-centred and devious person.
A middle-class mother-in-law puts her rich daughter-in-law on a pedestal while looking down on the poor one.
The father, mother and aunt scramble to save their families ‘izzat’ and ‘badnaami’ by getting their daughter married off to anyone after a last-minute cancellation by a man full of ‘red flags’.
A ‘khuddar’ father won’t even think of going to his in-laws’ house or taking their help, but ironically ends up doing both.

These figures are so generalised, yet we fully accept them. Why? Perhaps because we’ve seen them, lived them, or heard of them.

So, yes, while I sheepishly admit to enjoying this drama, I hope our sub-continental stable starts producing fresher, more nuanced storylines. Until then, Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum offers a familiar escape into the world of family dramas.

Your Turn

Watch it, and let me know what you think. Do you see yourself or someone around you in its characters? And do some of my views resonate with yours?

-Tamanna S. Mehdi

Afghanistan’s remarkable T20 victory: A tale of cricket, courage, and national pride

Afghanistan cricketers celebrate after beating Australia in the T20 World Cup Super 8s cricket match in West Indies.

This morning (July 23, 2024), after an uneventful journey home, I caught the last few overs of the World Cup T20 Super 8s cricket match between Afghanistan and Australia. In a stunning reversal to the script, the former, once underdogs in these meetings, delivered a sucker punch that felled the mighty Australians, and they romped home with a majestic 21-run win at the Arnos Vale Ground in West Indies. Put in to bat, the Rashid Khan-led Afghanistan managed a modest 148 for 6 in their stipulated overs. However, that score seemed seemingly impossible for the Mitchell Marsh-led Oz outfit, which was bowled out for 127 with four balls remaining.

It has been a fairy tale run for Afghanistan, which clinched a Super 8s berth after having earlier scalped New Zealand and upstarts Uganda and Papua New Guinea in their Group C matches.

Having only begun playing international cricket earlier this century, Afghanistan has quickly emerged as a formidable opponent over the past few years. In the ODI World Cup in India last year, they shocked the world, proving to cricket aficionados from all over the world that they were no pushovers.

They played incredibly well, winning four out of their nine matches, surprising experts, and garnering many new fans, including yours truly. They beat title favourites like England, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka and gave a tough fight to South Africa and eventual world champion Australia.

In their game today, they have proved that as far as the limited-over format goes, they’ve truly arrived and all geared up to give the more fancied outfits a run for their money.

So, why am I so impressed by Afghanistan’s win today? Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re likely aware of Afghanistan’s political, social, and economic situation. Following a ‘failed’ 20-year war, the US abruptly withdrew from Afghanistan, leading to a resurgence of the Taliban. The peace-loving Afghans, much like the Palestinians, face significant persecution.

The Taliban, who had banned playing cricket along with other sports initially, re-allowed it in 2000. Post that, in the first decade of the 21^st Century, with the decline of the Taliban, ‘peace’ returned to the Afghan nation, and cricket was encouraged.

However, despite the Afghanistan team becoming an associate member of the ICC at the insistence of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2013, it was without an international-level cricket stadium or training facilities.

India is home venue for Afghanistan

Do you know that since 2016, BCCI has allowed Afghanistan to use Indian venues for its home games? Afghanistan’s home grounds are the Shahid Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida and the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur. They have also played home matches at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow and the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun.

Afghans cannot be forgotten

If a people continuously living in strife and trying to survive each day can find joy in a team of hardworking and diligent cricketers shining, then that is truly something to celebrate. Honestly, if that isn’t something to cherish, I don’t know what would be.

Even today, as I write this, the horrific images from August 2021 of Afghans falling from the wheels of the aircraft as they tried to escape the harsh Taliban regime still haunt me.

Most Western world politicians are trying to stop the Ukraine-Russia war. Many Arab, African, European and Asian countries’ leaders are trying to build pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israel to abstain from committing daily war crimes against the helpless Palestinians in Gaza and the displaced in Rafah.

With so much happening in the world, is there any media reporting from Afghanistan? Has the world forgotten about the beautiful Afghans and the extremisms of the Taliban?

The happiness, smiles, and resolve on their brave cricketers’ faces today show that they cannot be forgotten! At the post-match press conference, an emotional Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan said, “Cricket is the only source of happiness back home- you all know that. And I feel we are so lucky to be here and give this happiness to the people back home. We hardly see these events back home, where people can celebrate and enjoy these moments… but these games give them so much happiness, and that is something that really satisfies me…When I see those people having smiles and celebrations back home on every street in Afghanistan, that is something that gives me so much energy and motivates me for upcoming games. As a team, we want to make them more proud and give them more happiness.”

The Afghanistan Cricket Board’s official X account posted after their win today, “Cricket fans converge in large numbers in Khost province to celebrate #AfghanAtalan’s historic win over Australia in the #T20WorldCup. | #AFGvAUS #GloriousNationVictoriousTeam

Cricket fans converge in large numbers in Khost province to celebrate #AfghanAtalan's historic win over Australia in the #T20WorldCup. 🤩#AFGvAUS | #GloriousNationVictoriousTeam pic.twitter.com/F22TvOoDRq
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) June 23, 2024

With this win, the Afghans have managed to keep their semi-final hopes alive. Here’s me from India, rooting for them to have an excellent T20 World Cup and wishing they bring more joy to their people.

-Tamanna S. Mehdi

Soaking in the desert sun

There’s something about the splendour of Rajasthan that constantly beckons me to that State. My first trip was to Udaipur in January 2017 (Palaces, Lakes and Memories). The second was to Jaipur and Ajmer during the monsoons in August of the same year (A Royal Retreat). After four years, I got to travel to the blue city of Jodhpur and the desert city of Jaisalmer in the autumn of October 2021 and once again to Ajmer in November 2021.

My friend and I were looking for a relaxed, unhurried vacation, and Jodhpur and Jaisalmer gave us just that. There are many things to do in Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. Though both are ‘touristy’ cities, they were less busy, in part to Coronavirus (The Face Mask). In both cities, we stayed in superbly maintained heritage properties that were once palaces that housed the rajahs and ranis.

Left: Room with a view at Killa Bhawan, Jaisalmer; Right: In the courtyard at Nachna Haveli, Jaisalmer

Ajmer was chock-a-block though, with the faithful lining up to pay their respects and ask for wishes at the resting place of the benevolent saint Moinuddin Chisti (Gharib Nawaz-Benefactor of the poor) (A Royal Retreat).

Only living fort in India

The Jaisalmer Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is India’s only ‘living’ fort, made in 1156 by king Rawal Jaisal. It was a unique experience for us as we climbed the narrow staircases to the beautifully appointed rooms which afforded us the best views of the fort and its bustling daily life. Walking around the fort in the late evening and in the morning gave us a sense of the lives of those who live within these walled compounds.

Mehrangarh Fort and Umaid Bhawan

Rajasthan is full of forts, palaces and folklore, and is a treasure trove for history buffs. The Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur covers an area of 1,200 acres and is on a hilltop. Rajput ruler Rao Jodha constructed it in 1459. The well-maintained fort even has a lift that takes one directly to the roof.

I thought it was a castle, but it’s just a fort. I had to de-moat it. 😉 At: Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur

They converted a portion of the Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur into a luxury hotel. The royal family lives in one section and another portion is a museum filled with artefacts of the royal family.

Outside the Umaid Bhawan Palace museum in our block-printed cotton dresses from Jodhpur

‘Ghostly’ village

Disclaimer: We did not experience any paranormal activity. 😉

About 55 minutes (35 km) from Jaisalmer city, is the abandoned and ‘haunted’ village of Kuldhara. The archaeological site has dilapidated buildings and ruins from a faraway time. Established around the 13th century, it was once a prosperous village inhabited by Brahmins. They abandoned it by the early 19th century for unknown reasons. The legend claims that, while deserting the village, the Brahmins imposed a curse that no one would be able to re-occupy the village.

In the doorway of an abandoned house at Kuldhara

Border

A three-hour car ride through sand dunes and huge sand mountains of the Thar Desert brought us to the Longewala post of the India-Pakistan border. The border is further ahead and inaccessible to us. The wire fencing and the iron gates in the middle of the vast desert feel unreal.

The drive was scenic, with hundreds of white windmills dotting the brown landscape. Now and then, the stark background was broken by a burst of colour from the colourful attires of the women living in the many villages dotting this road.

Windmills along the route from Jaisalmer to Longewala post

En route, we stopped by at the famed Tanot Mata mandir, which was attacked by the Pakistan Army during the 1965 Indo-Pak war, during which 3,000 bombs were fired at the temple. However, as per local folklore, the bombs either missed their target or did not explode.

Bada Bagh

Highly recommended to us by our friends in Jaisalmer, the Bada Bagh (enormous garden), houses a set of royal chhatris (cenotaphs) constructed by the Maharajas of Jaisalmer in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. Carved out of sandstone blocks, with intricately carved ceilings and pillars, these cenotaphs are for the kings, their queens, and other royal families.

Shooting! Scoot

Royals loved hunting, and how could we have not tried our hands at some shooting? We did not kill any animals, though 😉 We were lucky to have friends who own a skeet and target shooting range. Shotgun in tow, we went out and tried shooting at the skeets.

Shopping

Camel leather accessories and yellow stone products (utensils, jewellery) are the picks of shopping in Jaisalmer. The typical ‘block prints’ on the oh-so-comfy cotton clothes in shops and the many curio shopping around ghanta ghar (clock tower) in Jodhpur make this place a hit for shopping.

Food

You cannot return from a trip to Rajasthan without eating their laal maas (fiery mutton curry), Ker Sangri (a vegetable made using dried Ker Berries and Sangri beans), Dal bati churma, street food such as kachoris and the different halwas.

All my four trips to the State have been with different friends (A Royal Retreat, Palaces, Lakes and Memories), and after every trip, my heart yearns to go back to experience the other delights of this enchanting state of India.

A big part of the charm of these cities lies in its wonderful people and their never-ending hospitality. We are never too far away from that beautiful hotel with panoramic views, or a ‘must-visit’ place suggestion, and the unending gastronomic delights on every terrace.

Location:

Jodhpur is the second-largest city in Rajasthan and is well-connected by air from all metros. It has a good road network and a train station. Jaisalmer has an airport with limited flights and is approximately 280 km from Jodhpur by road. Ajmer is well-connected by road from neighbouring states and also by train.

Climate:

In October, Jodhpur has an average temperature of 36C. The weather in Jaisalmer in October is 37°C. The average temperature in Ajmer in November was 28.8°C.

Tip: Book a cab and driver for the entire duration of your trip.

-Tamanna S. Mehdi

What was it all for?

August 15, 2021

India celebrates its 75^th Independence Day today. Reams of newspapers, hours of TV broadcasts, hundreds of reels, posts, and tweets are being dedicated to freedom and our right to it as envisaged in our Constitution.

Also today, over 2,000 km away in the land of the famed kabuliwalas, freedom (even though unsettled), for lakhs of people is perhaps just about to be lost. As breaking news comes in of the Taliban capturing its’ final bastion, Kabul in Afghanistan, the lump in our throats and the fear in our hearts that was building up over the past months for the Afghan people has just exploded.

Pictures of international governments evacuating their embassies, flying out last of their staff, and reports of thousands of locals scrambling to get the paperwork to leave their country from the only exit point, the Kabul airport is streaming over news wires.

Afghanistan was hoping to come out of a deeply troubled history of terrorism, militancy, and a civil war… however, the dream of a prosperous future of the peace-loving Afghans, looks all but over. Who can ever forget the horrific images of women, children and men being flogged, hanged and shot-at-will for frivolous reasons in football stadiums before the US invaded Afghanistan? They feel like they are coming back to haunt us again.

We are sitting in the relative comforts of our homes, (The ‘lockdown’ that has ironically displaced many) manifesting to the Universe (Taming the Lions, Break over….almost) about the Coronavirus vanishing (The Face Mask), beach vacations (Logged off, Shut Down… Went Outside, Let’s wander where the WIFI is weak), dream jobs and houses, better salaries, or that fast car (all valid, of course). However, I wonder what the Afghans want from the Universe: The safety of their families or maybe just to see a new dawn?

For a media article that I had written for ‘The Pioneer’ (Published!) in 2018, I had interviewed a group of students from Afghanistan studying at Andhra University in Visakhapatnam. They were from Panjshir, Laghman, Bamiyan, Kabul, Kunduz, Logar, Nuristan, Nangarhar, Ghazni, Kandahar, Maidan Wardak and Takhar. Some of these areas have seen widespread persecution and desecration of their cultural symbols for years.

Mahdi Ebrahimi, a Hazara from Bamiyan, one of the most affected regions recalled how they were forced to flee to Iran for many years before the Taliban was overthrown in Afghanistan. Mahdi said to me: “Unfortunately a lot of the culture is lost, but Bamiyan is still a beautiful valley with many natural lakes that attract tourists.” Abdul Zubair Nasraty, from Panjshir, recounted to me his miraculous escape when a bomb exploded at the janaza (funeral) he was attending. “I am lucky to survive, but some of my relatives died that day,” he shared.

Not one of the 25 students I spoke with that day, not want to return back to their homes after completing their education here. They wanted to go back, so they could ‘rebuild’ their country and restore it to its’ former glorious days.

Maswood Sadawat from Laghman said, “I just want to study in a peaceful space, get an Indian degree because it has a great reputation in Afghanistan, go back and be a software developer.” Hikmatullah Ahmadi from Kandahar said the same: “I want to go back. I want to serve and develop my country.”

Women students Aziza Ahmadi and Nadila Bakhtayar both from Kabul also spoke to me. They said, “Our parents fully supported our decision to come to India. But not all girls are so lucky.” Like many Afghans, Aziza’s family lived in Pakistan for years, before moving back to Kabul. “The situation is still turbulent and my family has now immigrated to Turkey,” she had said. Nadila dreamt of being a businesswoman in Kabul.

I remember feeling as hopeful as they were for their future, but in sharp contrast today, there is a sense of total despair. With the Taliban’s hard-line rules and their history of a total clampdown on women’s education and liberty, what happens to the dreams of thousands of women in Afghanistan?

As I type out this blog, I cannot begin to comprehend what these lovely students and their families are going through right now.

Debates will go on for a long time about what the US achieved by this 20-year war. As we read about the latest developments, most of us feel what this soldier who served in Afghanistan then, but is no longer with the US Army, told Clarissa Ward, CNN International correspondent: “I don’t feel so much angry, as much as I feel what a waste, what an unbelievable waste.”

– Tamanna S. Mehdi

Break over….almost

For weeks now, I have been thinking about a topic to blog about, but I have hit writer’s block.

Finally today, Friday, July 9, I decided to open a Word document and just start typing. What do I write about? A lot has happened since early March when I came home for a short break. The past couple of summers have been very different (The Face Mask, The ‘lockdown’ that has ironically displaced many, Summer is here). And so has it been this year as well.

I suffered from a disc prolapse and in the blink of an eye, my mini-break stretched to four weeks and then six weeks as I underwent traction/physiotherapy. The pain was severe but with treatment, and with extended family in town, days flew by. Just as I was on the road to recovery, my father fell ill and was hospitalised. After several days in the hospital, by God’s Grace, he is recuperating and getting back to being his busy self.

It has been four months since March, and here I was hoping 2021 would be better than 2020 (The Face Mask, The ‘lockdown’ that has ironically displaced many). Well, there are five more months for it to hold on to its promise of being a better year. And even as I type out the last sentence, I realise that despite the challenging time, there have been positives as well.

1.            Apart from my immediate family, I feel privileged to have spent extended time with my closest relatives, which I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to.
2.            I learned new recipes. (Phases)
3.            On the insistence of my sister, I have joined a yoga class. (‘Sweat the Alphabets, Dance the Digits’
4.            I got back to my meditation practice. (Taming the Lions)

Just yesterday, a memory from six years back popped up on my Facebook —that of the logo for the ‘crafty’ things I was making and selling back then. It was an exciting time when I learned quilling, sospeso, et. al and upcycled candles, glass bottles, photo frames, and decorated gift boxes. (Craft ParTea, Phases)

My life is very different now from what it was six years back. I have countless dreams for my future—a rewarding career (Paid. Check. Published!), a beautiful home, a loving family, travelling the world (Logged off, Shut Down… Went Outside, Vizag at ’18, Let’s wander where the WIFI is weak, A Royal Retreat, Iraqis, Bonding- Spiritual, Social, Cultural, Palaces, Lakes and Memories, One Lazy Sunday, Ah Vizaaag!, What-e-‘Numa, Mysticism and the Kumbh)…

These past months though filled with apprehension (Taming the Lions), were also full of warmth and love which I will cherish forever.

Days, weeks and months have flown by. Every dawn beckons a new day, a new beginning (Taming the Lions).

-Tamanna S. Mehdi

The Face Mask

I started wearing a face mask while at work and out in the public since early March 2020. Within a few weeks, from precautionary wear, it was made compulsory by health agencies to wear a mask to safeguard oneself from the Covid-19 infection.

I remember the first few days when I wore it, the remarks from well-meaning colleagues, friends, and family ranged from “this is too much” to “do you have Corona?” Soon, however, as it became apparent that the Coronavirus is here to stay and spreading rapidly, the face mask has now become the norm, rather than an exception.

Many wonderful looking masks printed with pictures or slogans, and embroidered ones in different fabrics in different colours have flooded the market. The DIY tutorials online have encouraged many to get creative and make their own as well.

I, on the other hand, have a couple of white N 95 masks and some of those blue surgical ones brought from a medical store. These are pretty plain, but functional, and do nothing to enhance the way I look. And I am fine with it.

As someone who is otherwise fashion-forward, and loves to wear the latest styles, accessorise, mix and match, I am yet to bite the bullet and buy a ‘designer’ mask. Not to say I haven’t looked them up or commented on how cool they look when my friends wear them, but I still haven’t got around to buying one.

For me, wearing a face mask represents the tough pandemic times that we are going through. I do not wish to make a fashion statement wearing one. Every time I pull one down my nose and mouth, it is a stark reminder of the health danger that is lurking around the corner. Wearing fancy ones, apart from burning a hole in my wallet, would also mean to me, that I am reconciling with this situation. I would like to stay away from the stylish ‘mask marketing’ for as long as I am able to.

Just like all of us, I cannot wait for a vaccine for Coronavirus or a treatment routine to be established, so we can go back to ‘breathing’ without fear, and then what’ll I do with all the matching face masks?

-Tamanna S. Mehdi

The ‘lockdown’ that has ironically displaced many

Sitting on the relative ‘comfort’ of my sofa at home I file my feature article for the newspaper today. I cook my favourite meal of chicken and vegetable soft noodles, and wash it down with a refreshing glass of barley and lime water.

I message my friends, chat with family, Netflix a movie. Check my bank account to see if any digits are added in front of the 0, alas, no luck there.

I read the news on yet another lockdown extension, watch numerous debates on whether it should be further extended, and follow Twitter hashtags to read about politicians, doing what they do best, taking swipes at each other.

This lifestyle or a variation of this is most of us these days.

Many of us from the comforts of our homes are wondering when we can eat at our favourite restaurant, shop at the mall, walk in the park, catch a movie at the multiplex, or if we will still have a job the next morning.

Worried by our thoughts, and mostly bored, we gear up with masks, gloves, and dab on sanitiser to head to the nearest grocery store—the only chance for many of us to get out of our homes.

While we daydream our next vacation, there are thousands of men, women, and children across India, walking, carrying all their belongings for thousands of kilometres, just to reach the safety of their homes. Don’t mistake, they do not have those oh, so comfy foam insole walking shoes. Many are barefoot. Many are not making it home.

Those who are able to, have pooled in their lives’ savings just to be packed liked sardines in trucks, buses and water or milk containers. It is Indians fleeing from bigger cities to their villages and towns.

Images and videos of men and women dragging their children on makeshift hand carts, an image of a girl too tired to walk, being dragged on a suitcase pulled by her parent, is too emotionally choking to even see. A man was seen in a picture sitting on the footpath with his friend dying in his arms, while he appealed to passersby for help, none did. According to reports, the man died. Another man was seen crying inconsolably while talking on the phone, helpless as he wasn’t being allowed to cross a State’s border to reach his dying son in a town thousands of kilometres away. His son died before he reached home, according to reports.

Friends and relatives of Kushwaha family who work as migrant workers walk along a road to return to their villages, during a 21-day nationwide lockdown to limit the spreading of coronavirus, in New Delhi, India, March 26, 2020. To match Special Report HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/INDIA-MIGRANTS. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

These are not isolated incidents; these are scenes from across the Nation. While we decide on whether we should WFH or not, these hard-working labourers do not have that choice, nor any source of income since lockdown began.

These labourers are not beggars. They were earning an honest day’s wage, when suddenly one day, they no longer could, and initially were not even allowed to go back to the towns and villages they had migrated from.

All this while we continue to sit in the relative safety of our homes, passing judgment on how these ‘migrant labour’ will be carriers of Coronavirus and spread it to more people.

These people who built our houses, malls, and roads are dying of hunger and exhaustion, more often than not, nowhere close to their homes.

I do not know if lockdown should be extended or not, but it would be comforting if people did not have to walk endlessly just to go home.

The scenes are unreal. This cannot be the India of the 21st Century.

-Tamanna S. Mehdi

Bombay Green- The Prince of Mangoes

Move over Alphonso and Banganapalli. What’s trending these days is the Bombay Green mango, aptly named so for its skin colour.

It was about three summers ago (Summer is here) that I had my first taste of this aam at a bageecha in Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh. As we were driving into the hill station, we had them fresh from farmers selling the just-harvested crop from cane tokris right from their orchards.

The outside green made us wonder if it was still raw. But when cut into, it was like waking up to a whole new world.

The outer colour did have us fooled. The greenish cover made way for the most unusual and sweetest bright orange fruit housed inside it.

I had been yearning to bite into another Bombay Green since then, and what a surprise I was in for when my friend offered it to me at her home in Nagpur a few days back!

As I happily sliced and bit into this tabletop variety of the fruit, my palate was engulfed by the full-bodied, unique taste that is hard to categorize-it’s got the right hint of sweetness, not too much, just pleasurably right. Needless to say, I couldn’t stop at one.

Mangoes are the world’s most popular fruit and while Alphonso deserves the tag of the ‘King of Mangoes’, but Bombay Green as my friend tells me is not far behind and is referred to as the ‘Prince of Mangoes’.

An added advantage is that this exotic and premium variety is grown 100 per cent organically, without any carbide or other chemicals exclusively in the orchards of the Satpura range in Pachmarhi.

This variety of fruit has a niche market. It ripens and is ready-to-eat by the end of May, but is grown in limited quantities and sells out fast. It hardly ever reaches the open market. Even as film stars and other VIPs bulk order them, the other aficionados make special trips to this hill station to buy directly from the orchards.

So, it is indeed a pleasant ‘bolt from the blue’ that this variant of the summer’s favourite fruit is available in Nagpur this season.

The erratic weather pattern has impacted the mango production across the country this year and the yield is 40 per cent less than normal this summer.

Bombay Green stands out for me as the best premium quality available right now compared to the regular dump of mangoes flooding the mandis from UP.

What gets the cake, err, the mango is that it can be ordered in Nagpur now and delivered at home. Call on 98483 19195, 98230 25895, 80879 47296 to get your own box.

Not that eating a mango needs any reasons, but associated health benefits does make it guilt-free.

· Mango is rich in vitamin E and A which is needed for healthy eyes.

· It contains special digestive enzymes like terpenes, aldehydes and esters that help in breaking down food, leading to good digestion.

· Keep the skin soft and shining and brings a glow to the face. It helps in opening clogged pores of the skin and treats acne.

· It is a rich source of Vitamin H and Vitamin A- contains over 25 varieties of carotenoids. All these strengthen the immune system.

· It can decrease the risk of getting cancer. It contains high amounts of antioxidants or phenols such as quercetin, fisetin, astragalin, gallic acid, methyl gallate and enzymes. Also, the presence of Vitamin C protects cells from radical damage.

· Mango is a good source of soluble dietary fibre, vitamin C and pectin that helps reduce cholesterol levels and low-density lipoprotein levels that cause a heart attack. It also has vitamin-B6 that lowers homocysteine levels, preventing any development of heart disease.

· It contains Glutamine acid that keeps the cells active and boosts memory.

· Raw or unripe mangoes are a rich source of pectin which prevents heat strokes.

-Tamanna S. Mehdi

Summer is here

For the longest of time (read seven years), I managed to keep aloof of the euphoria that is GoT. Despite friends, cousins and family imploring me to watch ‘just one-episode to get hooked’, I held out for as long as I could.

Until, the summer of 2018, that is- when I found myself ‘out-of-action’ and basically bundled onto a bed for a couple of months. It was troublesome for me, having a leg encased in an uncomfortable and itchy cast, perched up on pillows, sitting/lying and watching the world go by… without me.

And that’s when I bit the bullet as it were, and watched that very first episode of season 1. As Bran says in the end to Jon, I too think I was exactly where I was supposed to be- watching it! 🙂 Before I realized, I was waiting for winter too (quite literally, it was a hot summer, after all).

My life got engulfed by the lovable Starks, the scheming Lannisters, the Stallion worshiper Dothrakis, the Targaryens, Castle Black, the un-dead White Walkers and the heads of numerous Lords and Graces flying in the air. Quite gory, one would say, but, hey, all is fair in love and the ‘Iron Throne’. 😉

GoT of course didn’t change my life in any way but provided terrific entertainment when I needed it the most. The fantasy-political drama with witty and cunning characters of RR Martin was my escape, a holiday of a sort, right from my bed.

Printed in The Pioneer, April 13, 2019

Printed in The Pioneer, May 21, 2019

There is a plethora of good TV series out there. However, it was Breaking Bad (2008-2013) that first broke all records for the greatest television of all time. One of the first series that I binge watched, it was hard not to sympathise with the high-school chemistry teacher turned meth maker Walter White (dying of lung cancer). Cooking meth from an RV ‘The Krystal ship’ along with his student Jesse, the trajectory of Walter going from a meek teacher to being Heisenberg, a drug producer was bewitching. I used to be riveted to the edge of my seat every time his DEA brother-in-law Hank, the local gangs or the cartels came calling him.

And then, Game of Thrones. Ironically, after eight seasons, there is no throne left to sit on. Very much like in my life where nothing is permanent. Not the lowliest of the lows or the highest of the highs- everything is fluid and transient.

It is, alas time to bid adieu to the kingdom of Westeros.

But, here is another summer, full of unending possibilities.

-Tamanna S. Mehdi

Published!

I have been writing a lot lately. Features, news stories, interviews…in the past two months, I’ve written a little about a lot. If two months back anyone told me I would be getting published on a web page or working at a newspaper, I would have most likely dismissed it. And 6 months back, this was not just a distant dream; it was highly unlikely that I would be doing anything at all.

But, cut to September. After the opportunity I got a few months back writing for http://www.voxspace.in, I work now at The Pioneer. A chance conversation with a friend set the ball rolling. The Universe does work in indefinable ways (Taming the Lions). Even in this digital age, there is no greater joy for me than to see my articles being printed in a daily newspaper. After all these years and quite a few by-lines later, seeing my by-line in print today feels like it is the first time ever.

I have just re-started. I still have a long way to go. I’m daring to dream again.

But today is all about this. For everyone who has helped me get these opportunities, for all of you who help me with the research and the invaluable ‘connects’, a big Thank You!

Tamanna S. Mehdi

What’s the plot

What works for Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum

Why did I enjoy it?

Your Turn

India is home venue for Afghanistan

Afghans cannot be forgotten

Menu

Social Menu