Svetlana

Svetlana Marisova, the Russian poet from New Zealand, passed away yesterday, finally losing the battle to inoperable brain tumour. Though I had known Svetlana very briefly, only through Facebook...she had sent a friend request and added very graciously, "I have always wanted to know you"...yet I always admired and loved her poetry which belied a maturity far beyond her years. The experts would tell how sound her technique was and how she understood the zoka (of which i know nothing about) , but what struck me was their depth and always that sadness, that shadow of death which had surprised me at first, before i knew about the nature of her illness and later the intrepid manner in which she faced death.

Svetlana was a much loved poet in the haiku community and many have written loads of poetry for her in the past few weeks. But for me, the best way to remember her today would be through her own poetry.

miss august
curls at the edges...
end of summer

This was the last one she had posted on NaHaiWriMo on 1st August, only days before she slipped into a coma.

And some others,

in my brain...
a death watch beetle
marks time

pearl diving...
haiku and tumours
from the depths

in the wind
what might have been...
sleepless moon

the distance
between dusk and dawn...
deep waters

summer surf -
within its sound
I am sea

bitter spring -
not all ducks
are paired


And finally the last entry that was found in her notebook:

godwit's flight...
light disappearing
with the sun

She had been feeling homesick and wanted to come back to New Zealand from Russia where she had been undergoing treatment, but unfortunately couldn't complete the journey.

Svetlana was only 21.
Rest in peace, Svetlana. May you find oneness with the wind, the sea, this universe.

Remembering the Yahoo man

I am not an Indian (moviegoer) worth my salt and i've never known what it is to be young, if I don't write about Shammi Kapoor today.For it was he who brought in ebullience and madness to romance in Indian cinema.

The original Yahoo man (we never knew any other kind of yahoo, besides who else could have hollered 'yahoooo' like him?) he yahooed into the hearts of Indians with 'junglee", one of his first films... and never left.
We were probably in the playpen when Shammi Kapoor was doing his early films and by the time we turned into serious moviegoers, he was already on the last legs of his career. We watched only the reruns, yet they would always draw full houses.
Because there was nobody quite like him before or after! Nobody who could fill his rather big shoes, literally and figuratively.

The boisterousness and joie de vivre he brought to his movies; the impromptu dance moves only he was capable of doing and probably, only he knew about;the inimitable style in which he emoted; the way he romanced his leading ladies...with melody and molten eyes, coupled with the totally unpredictable falls, be it falling/rolling down the grassy slopes or falling/stepping into the icy water of Dal lake or falling/jumping into the sea...(if you've seen a Shammi Kapoor movie. you'd know what i am talking about), it all left the audience a little breathless, but a thoroughly happy and entertained lot!
"Indian Elvis" as he was called sometimes,his acting ability might be questioned by many, but few could remain immune to his charm.And I think, in many ways, he was more loved than even his more illustrious brother, Raj Kapoor.

Singer Mohammad Rafi whose voice became synonymous with Shammi Kapoor probably brought out the best in him and vice versa.Together the duo had given us so many unforgettable numbers that if I were asked to pick out one of them, I would never be able to. Yet this one from "teesri manzil" perhaps would rank as one of his best or one of the top 10 along with the duet I've posted on Facebook. Shammi Kapoor in a very uncharacteristic sober mood here!


During his last days, he had to go to hospital 3 days a week for dialysis, as he was suffering from a chronic renal failure. Yet he would look forward to the remaining four days of the week and make plans so that he could really live it up those four days!

Such was his lust for life...at the age of 79!


Rest in peace, Mr. Shammi Kapoor, or rather, dance in heaven, as somebody has said. You are going to be missed...and how!