Deep Impressions

    ( Hindi Day Special)     1930s :  Govt’s incorporates a law for compulsory teaching of Hindi language in schools in Madras Presidency. A major public uproar in Madras (Chennai).   1960s :  Discussions begin in Delhi on making Hindi as the only official language. Anti-Hindi protests across South.   Most of the readers would not have witnessed the above.   However, a few would have witnessed the ban on Hindi films and the defacing of Devnagari banners and hoardings across Tamilnadu (TN) during 1980s. During the same time, one of my  friends from south was so passionate about cricket that he could not afford to miss a single minute of update. However, on radio, Hindi commentary every 15 minute became an impediment. He found a solution He learnt only the Hindi numbers (1 to 500) but avoided learning the language. This way he could get a continuous update on cricket score but by not learning Hindi he also was able to  showcase his an...

  ( हिन्दी- दिवस विशेष)     193 7  : मद्रास प्रेसीडेंसी के स्कूलों में हिंदी भाषा अनिवार्य  …..  सरकार के इस फ़ैसले से काफ़ी सुगबुगाहट।   1963 : दिल्ली में हिन्दी को एकमात्र राज भाषा बनाने पर चर्चा  ….. दक्षिण भारत  में   हिन्दी विरोधी हिंसा एवं धरना।     आज के कई युवा इन घटनाओं से शायद ही अवगत होंगे। कुछ वाक़िफ़ भी होंगे तो शायद  1980 के दशक में तमिलनाडु में हिन्दी फ़िल्मों पर प्रतिबंध और हिंदी होर्डिंग और बैनर पर  लगी  कालिख से।   पर सभी पाठकों को  मेरे  क्रिकेट -प्रेमी मित्र का क़िस्सा उस समय के हालात से रू-ब-रू  करवाएगा । 1980 के दशक में क्रिकेट की कमेंटरी सुनना, क्रिकेट प्रेमियों की दीवानगी या शग़ल था। रेडियो पर कमेंटरी का आधा हिस्सा  हिन्दी में प्रसारित किया जाता था। और यह दक्षिण के मेरे इस मित्र के क्रिकेट-प्रेम के आड़े आता था। उस समस्या को दूर करने के लिए मेरे मित्र ने  सिर्फ़ 1 से 500 तक हिन्दी के अंकों को जान लिया ताकि उसे स्कोर की जानकारी तो मिलते रहे पर हिन्दी ना सीख कर उ...

  Real Estate : The Past, The Present and The Future The  opening   up of Indian economy since July 1991 has brought about some interesting and exciting trends in the Indian Real Estate. To continue this, further opening is required which is more challenging. Are we prepared of it ?      ------ ------  ------ ------  ------ ------  ------ ------  ------ ------  ------ ------  ------      “History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme”     -         Mark Twain First week of July, 1991    :  in just three days Indians experience a shocking devaluation of rupee by 20%.    This historic week, marked the beginning of a new liberalised and open economy where the private sector had a much larger role to play. And over the years, the government continued to work in that direction. A decco of few interesting trends ...

  100 years of Salim Anarkali  : Love, Legend and Longevity There are certain faces that make certain stories legends. Besides other factors, adaptations and the reward system too play a key role in the process Also published in The Quint                - - - - - - - - - - - - - -          - - - - - - - - - - - - - -         - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  Yes. You are reading it correct, the story of Salim Anarkali is only 100 years old. The legendary story was penned by the eminent playwright Syed Imitiaz Ali Taj in 1922. And since then, this story has been experienced by audiences in multiple formats - Radio Play, Theatrical play, Silent film, B&W film, Colour film, Book and Broadway style musical.   As a legendary story, its uniqueness lies in it actually being just 100 years old. Most legendary stories that have survived the time are actually several centuries old ...

      The Survival of Bollywood….How & Why ?      The problems with Bollywood are far more structural than cost management. And survival of Hindi cinema and cinema halls is not for their employment potential, but for more strategic causes                     - - - - - - -    - - - - - - -   - - - - - - -   - - - - - - -    - - - - - - -   - - - - - - -    Lot of discussions have been around the disastrous numbers reflected in Box Office collection of Bollywood. Initially, it was believed that the Bollywood is under attack from South films. The state of Bollywood then was like that of the high cost American car manufacturers of 1970s when they, for the first time, felt competition from the cost-efficient Japanese cars and did not know how to react. But now with Telugu film industry also feeling the cost pressures, it is clear that the problems of Bollywood are not just...