Goa Diaries - Long Walk to Ashwem

A heavy English breakfast calls for a long walk in the evening so I set out towards Ashwem beach. This time I chose not to listen to anything and just walk, take in the air and focus on myself and my thoughts and all the sights I could see. 

The beaches here are shallow they say, so the holiday crowd was out. 

Families with older parents, siblings, kids were one type, young couples with really small kids another, friends who have come with their partners, all boy gangs, all girl gangs - the social profile changes as we go closer to the more elite places. There are those who jump into the sea, those who simply sit on the beach, those who guard footwear, selfie wala, reel walas where the girls are dressed out for the shoot and have a whole sequence planned like jumping in the air or dancing or running or walking.

Then there are those like me just walking (just a few), quite a few walking dogs (there are so many of them here), kids playing football (they are so good), cricket (not good at all - I watched one guy swing at an off spin bowler and while walking past the short mid wicket told him that the batsman will get out caught in the deep and the very next ball he got out, I turned and could see the look of wonder in the fielders eyes like it was magic... These things we know by practice and I afforded a smile at having shared some magic).

Walk, walk, walk, a girl gang, urban, up market, in their bikinis drinking and smoking on the beach and getting ready for the evening, a bunch of young boys drinking beer with two old prostitutes, massage girls who got one lonely lady and got into business, a bunch of kids who hit their cricket ball into the sea and the sea deciding to keep it, and even four elderly ladies swigging one large beer each and engaged in serious conversations. I counted five or six foreigners in all, all of them weather beaten and who looked like they have been here forever, one very fit Russian couple, some elderly ones. A playful couple throwing sand art one another. A lady was working with a team of photographers to create some shoot. I had to cross some boulders to get a look at what was perhaps Mandrem beach. 

Along the way I tried to remember the names of the shacks - Xaviers, Tomatos, The Last Shack, Blue Turtle, Farzi, Morjim Culture, Tikit, Leela, Amanos, Tan Sand...of course there were many more but these stuck. People gazing into the sea and making the most of an experience, perhaps some for the first time, people gearing up for the unknown adventures as they look to party, drink, hook up, an energy that's palpable, older couples rewarding their years of togetherness, families keeping their happiness in check lest something goes wrong, the shy girl walking into the water with her partner wearing her swimsuit, the young bride wearing something daring for her husband and fighting her value system inside.

 One wonders how many lives changed in Goa, how many memories lie around (I have a few). Hopes, dreams, aspirations, regrets, love, beginnings, endings, memories, expansion. You feel like gathering them all in one huge hug and saying, you'll be ok, don't worry. Just let go and have a good time.

On the way back i could see the lifeguards pulling people back from the water, warning them that high tide was coming in. I saw the owner of Artist Beach House and her husband walking the dog and thought they had not seen me but she did and waved and I waved back.

And that's what Goa will be to us - an unknown excitement of the forbidden, of freedom to be whatever one wants, of the chasm between wanting that freedom and never having the courage to let go of the life that secures us. And so, after a few days, we go back to our lives, having sampled the magic, even though vicariously. And that's when i feel like buying that T shirt that says 'I love Goa'.

Goa Diaries - Kayaking with Konkan Explorers

One of A's plans was to go kayaking. Now I would never go anywhere near water left to myself, not into it, but history beats witness that I once did white water rafting and now I found myself signing up against my normal mien, for kayaking. 

Anyway the Konkan Explorers are the official partners of Goa Tourism for these activities and our host highly recommended their cruise and kayaking so V signed up. We showed up at 8 at the designated place and waited for the earlier bunch to finish their bit. 

Primarily it's a cruise in the river which goes up to the mouth of the ocean, and those who want to go kayaking can do that. Obviously they pick good times when tides are low so they took us on the boat, a nice swanky one which had beer, soft drinks, snacks, fruit, tea, coffee and the works. Raghu, who took on the role of the speaker, was very affable, coming as he was from Bellary, Viraj, the captain, Yeshwant who was assisting them. 

We went to the mouth of the river, stopped at an island which they said would get submerged at high tide, a 10 feet difference i should think. They got us off the boat on to the island, showed a few birds, jelly fish (touch the top not the tentacles which sting). The kayaks were attached to the boat so we got on to them and off we went kayaking down the river, helped by Raghu and Yeshwanth. Raghu also took upon the job of taking pictures and videos and sharing them on a link later which i think was very thoughtful of him.

Overall quite an adventurous thing for me to do and one of those things i didn't plan to do ticked off thanks to A.

We polished off a nice English breakfast at Baba and Rhun which is fast becoming my favourite restaurant and headed back. Thanks A. And Raghu, Viraj and Yeshwanth for being very nice and helpful and really making it a nice experience for everyone.

The Goa Diaries - Chapora Fort

A has this instinct for motivating people like me to action. So an early morning walk to the beach with her transformed into an outing where she created some sand art while I headed left to explore the beach a little. 

A little distance to the left I noticed some old shacks, not the posh variety, but some local ones. The beach quickly ended after about 20 minutes - I had passed foreign tourists or influencers recording their fitness routines right at the edge, some joggers, apart from regular swimmers. Across the river was Chapora fort which according to A, was to be seen later in the afternoon. 

I headed back, and then we headed out to Blue Turtle, on the suggestion of niece, which turned out to be pretty good. Oh, by the way, I got the hang of these scooters by now. 

Post lunch was the ride to Chapora Fort which takes us 30 mts by scooter. Off we went, across the bridge over Chapora river, past the St Anthony's church, quaint old Goan buildings, until we reached Chapora fort. It was a bit of a climb so it was just me and A going up in the sun. 

 

One vendor lady said it was some 120 steps and that put off many climbers. The main gate to the fort was under renovation and we walked in alongwith a whole bunch of people. The main attraction of the fort is the far wall, fully occupied by people, which is where Amir Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Khanna sat while shooting for 'Dil Chahta Hai'. 

We walked along the wall, a really battered wall, small, along which hundreds were climbing up, at the danger of falling right off and into the glorious Vagator beach which we could see from up here. The restoration work was also working on some new age bastions. 

Having moved on from there we went near 'the wall' where every inch was taken up. From this wall one can see the Arabian Sea, to the right Morjim beach, to the left Vagator (and if you walk further South you go to Anjuna, Calangute, Baga, Candolim). 

Every single person on the wall did not want to get off perhaps hoping that someone from 'Dil Chahta Hai' would show up or that something would rub off on them. Anyway, we got tired of the place, the people, the heat and decided to head back. 

On the way back i noticed something which looked interesting and took a pic. Further down the fort wall looked interesting but it was too hot. 

As I walked down I could see many more walking up in the hope of some magic. I personally found it to be a small, dilapidated fort, certainly with great views, which would be nice if there are some 10 people there, not 500.

Down below, headed back after treating myself to coconut water, a new luxury I allowed myself. 

The Goa Diaries - Morjim

First time this far North thanks to niece V who comes here often. Goa itself happened in the midst of crazy heat and people telling me authentic information that Goa is hot (I really didn't expect it to be cool), thanks to A's single minded drive to do a small vacation before exams, internship and college all of which will keep her away from proximity. 

We stayed in this cute little place called Artists Beach House, one of the partners being an artist and all his paintings are all over, a place known to niece. 

It's 200 metres from the beach, is bnb and we have to Swiggy stuff. Has a pool by which side I read.

As is my usual practice i went off for a walk on day one and turned right. There are many lifeguards, boards warning of rip tides, people, whistle, jeeps etc.

 After a while the shacks appeared and all of them appeared to be hip and posh extensions of beach resorts.

 I turned the corner walked up and realised that if I continue walking I would end up in Ashwem, Mandrem, then Arambol, then onwards till we hit a river and then it's Maharashtra on the other side. Walked back, caught some colours of the sunset as it was cloudy. 

Catching up, dinner at the nice place 'Uma by the Sea' which is down the road. A has plans - Chapora fort (where Dil Chahta hai was shot), kayaking and one other thing called buzzball which is a potent cocktail. I liked the fort idea, not too keen kayaking and perhaps prefer beer to buzzball at the moment. But then, I'm the only one who doesn't have phone pe, who got on to email last, so I'm hardly an enthusiastic adapter to new ideas. 

It's nice to see this new, confident young A, making decisions, being bold, being exuberant, having mindless fun, enjoying her time with her cousin. Oh. Another thing she made us do was hire scooters. Well, playing along right now while she leads.

Morjim as I gather is on the North Shore of Chapora river (originally Shah Pura as it was under Adil Shah of Bijapurs territory but then became Chapora). It's an Olive Ridley turtles nesting place. Also known as Little Russia because many Russians live here. 

John Arlott's Book of Cricketers - John Arlott

 John Arlott, a highly respected BBC commentator and a producer at BBC, was a man of many talents. He was a detective sargeant in the police, an instructor at the BBC Staff training School, wrote poetry, on wine and cheese and of course on cricket. They were poets in how they wrote about the game and master technicians in their understanding of technique and human psyche. Vinod picked it up at Abids and I saw that it once belonged to Sri Ramakrishna Library - God knows where it was but I sent a silent prayer to the people who ran it. The book was first published in 1979.

Being a Hampshire man, Arlott was partial to those who played for Hampshire. But more than his choice of people I was keen to see how he would describe these personalities. Writers like Arlott could make even the ordinary look extra ordinary with their fine analysis and keen observation.

So when he describes Sir Jack Hobbs he says 'he rocks on his right foot and can play a pace bowler who can swing the ball with fast, casual adjustments'...'had profound technical understanding and tactical sense'...and believed that most errors of batsmen stem from playing back when they should have played front and vice versa..'. 

He describes Maurice Tate as someone who 'lived cricket'...and when he describes the medium pacer in action says ' nine yards...before the final leap, limbs gathered together in one unity, left arm pointing upward, right had at opposite pole, body edgewise to the batsman, weight back on the right foot, back curved so the batsman can see the head jutting out behind arm, right arm comes over, body turned, full flick of the wrist, plunged through, body bending in that earth tearing final stride, pulling away to the off...'. You cannot have a better description of the perfect out swing bowler. I also liked that Tate said that his best spell was when he got no wickets for 45 runs in 19 overs - my best spell was one such too when i had no wickets for 28 runs in 22 overs!

Of Philip Mead he said he was so talented that he would not practice for long stretches and at times would not be happy even after he got a hundred. George Burns was 'best when the battle was hottest' and 'cricket to him was a personal matter'. Lord Constantine, the son of a plantation foreman from Trinidad was a much decorated man and a great cricketer. A Rowan 'had guts and was a scholar of off spin". Leo Harrison, a wicket keeper of 'high technical ability to leave his movement until the ball has 'done' everything and still get it without hurry'...'his handling is clean'...'his driving is a triumph of timing and fluency, the speed of the stuck ball much greater than the swing of the stroke would promise'...'a perfectionist who cannot forgive any cricket played with  less than full effort'.

When writing about Ray Lindwall, the Aussie fast bowler, he says 'all wicket keepers and fast bowlers are mad'...and says Ray was a rare exception of a highly intelligent fast bowler. He would adjust to different conditions and pitches fast, kept himself injury free by doing some stretching exercises, was a model in preparation, ...  'relaxed between deliveries, to the extent of scuffling his feet'...'used his bumper for psychological effect'. Keith Miller another great Aussie was an 'uncomplicated Aussie all rounder'...'who was never interested in cheap runs and cheap wickets'.

Of Derek Shackleton, a fast bowler, he writes ...'high kneed run, arm almost brushes his ear'...perfect. Jim Laker was arguably the finest off spinner who 'could alter the width of spin from ball to ball, varied pace by changing his grip which was based on the tip of index finger placed across and not beside the seam'. How many coaches would know such detail? And ..'like all master of flight, he could impart a considerable amount of over spin and get a steep dip as a produce the illusion of a half volley to a good length ball'..and as a person...'took a wicket and turned away'.    

Of Roy Marshall the Barbadian he writes ''''could drive superbly, moving down the pitch, flowing through with the stroke, hands leading to a complete follow through.' Of Gary Sobers he wrote 'one of the most thrilling batsman to watch.' And that he loved gambling. Fred Trueman, known as the young bull, ...'gradually accelerated, swung around so completely that the batsman saw his left shoulder blade, coked trigger, left arm pointed high, head steady, eyes at batsman, the arm slashed down as the ball fired down the pitch, so near the stumps that he sometimes brushed the umpire.' There is Merwyn Burden who was an unlucky cricketer but with great humour.

Ray Illingworth was a thinking cricketer whose 'reading of a match and general tactical acumen was above ordinary'...'picked the best men for the job, not necessarily in terms of technical ability but also temperament and application'...'deployed the team in such fine balance that it achieved maximum efficiency'...'gained respect, loyalty and effort through the trust he placed in his players and his own professionalism and lifted their game'...'never prejudging the problem but working them out deeply and clearly'. Classic understanding of leadership. There's Peter Sainsbury known for his enthusiasm, David White, Basil D'Oliveria who was the first black South African to play for England and broke the bonds of apartheid.

Barry Richards he said 'would play himself with cold determinism'...'and strolls when others hustle'. Then there's Tony Lewis. Of Boycott he says 'single minded cricketer'..'dedication such that he was first in the dressing room with his kit all laid out and ready'..'plays himself in without anxiety'. Then there's Mike Brearley who is a scholar and writer and psychologist.

Of Andy Roberts he says 'trains hard, does not smoke or drink'...'observes batsman with the care of a slow bowler'...'employs varied methods'...'studied the mechanics of cricket'...'rare combination of fire, settled physique and mature mind'. Of Viv Richards he writes 'batting is a matter of strokes, more strokes and even more strokes'.      

Fabulous writing and superb understanding of technique and skill. In one part poetry, one part coaching manual and in one part understanding of the psyche of each player..fabulous. Where have all such men gone? Thanks Vinod bhai for yet another gem!

     

Vatsyanyana's Kamasutra - Translated by Sir Richard Burton and FF Arbuthnot

I have had this little book with me for a long time, over three decades if I remember right, and I remember flipping through it once before, but this time I thought I would really get a n understanding of it. The translators took great pains to study these texts - and there were several of these texts around the aspect of lovemaking. They begin by saying that the East considered a study of sex an essential part of man's education and culture. Now of course it is not that anymore because no one has any education of sex and culture and if all one has is a distorted twisted version of it.

The book itself is divided into 7 parts -
Introduction
Sexual Union
Acquisition of Wife
Wife
Wives of Other Men
Courtesans
Means of Attracting others to Yourself

The topics considered give a fair idea about how the thinking was those days (or how our thinking has changed or not changed over the years). The Kama Sutra means 'Aphorisms of Love' and it is to the credit of these two gentlemen who found Vatsyayana mentioned in other texts and researched his classic work on love. Other texts around the subject in India which seems to have a lot of literature in this area are 'Rathirahasya' or 'Koka Sastra' by Kokkoka, 'Panchasakya' by Jyotirishya, 'Light of Fire' by Pradipa, 'Ratimanjari' by Jayadeva, and Anunga Runga' by Kulliamul. In English they refer to two books which are 'Kalogynomia' which is about the Laws of Female Beauty by T Bell and 'Every Woman's Book' by Dr Waters. 

Vatsyayana seems to have lived between the 1st and the 6th century. The famous classification of women is in Koka Shastra which classifies women into four types - Padmini, Chitrini, Shankhini and Hastini.

According to the texts Lord Brahma created man and woman and in the form of 100000 chapters laid down rules with respect to Dharma, Artha and Kama. Men should study the Kama Sutra. Even young maids before marriage. After marriage they can study it with the consent of their husbands.

There are 64 arts to be studied by females - and they include singing, dancing, tailoring, making beds, magic or sorcery, culinary, mimicry, cock fighting, poetry, gymnastics, gambling and so on - pretty much all that a man may need without employing anyone at all! For amusement they can go to social gatherings, drinking parties, picnics, social discourses.

They list out women not to be engaged with - extremely white women, and black women, female friends, ascetics, and those turned out of caste. Any woman who has been engaged by 5 men is a fit and proper person to be engaged. However wives of a learned brahmin, a king, close relatives should not be engaged with. It is a bit apparent who might have written these texts!

The kinds of sexual unions are classified according to dimensions, force of desire or passion etc. They are named as Horse, Bull, Deer, Elephant Equal and Unequal and various combinations of the same. The acts themselves are names as Riding, Yawning and Congress of a Cow. Desire can be Small, Middling or Intense.

There is also four kinds of love - love acquired by continual habit, from imagination, from belief and from perception of external objects. 

There are 64 types of embraces - touching, piercing, rubbing, milk and water embrace, climbing of trees, mix of sesame seed in rice are some of those. Similarly types of kissing include nominal, throbbing, touching, straight bent turned, pressed, kiss of the upper lip, fighting of the tongue, kiss that kindles love, transferred kiss etc. There's also piercing or marking or scratching with nails as an act of love which includes circle, half moon, tiger's claw, jump of a hare, peacock's foot and such. In biting one has the range of a hidden bite, swollen bite, pout, coral and jewel, line of jewels and such.

Interestingly some of these masters have also researched on women of certain parts of the country and have given the general idea of what they like and dislike for eg. women of Avantika do not have good manners or women of Andhra who have tender bodies and are full of enjoyment and like voluptuous pleasures!

Far as positions go there is the high congress, low congress, equal congress, deer woman, position of the wife of Indra, clasping position, rising position, twining, mare's position, suspended congress, united congress, splitting of bamboo, congress of cow, blows of the bull. During congress one is allowed to strike with passion - shoulder, head, between breasts, back, back of hand, fingers, fist, open palm  etc (comes with a caution of some king who hit blows and the partner died - so be gentle and don't get carried away). Interestingly the sounds one can make are also listed - hin, thundering sound, cooing sound, weeping sound, phut, phat, sut, lat (I am not joking this is there)

There are those women who are acting the parts of the man during congress - friction, piercing, rolling, giving a blow, blow of a boar, of a bull, a sparrow etc. 

There's stuff about eunuchs - there are two kinds of eunuchs - those disguised as male and those disguised as female and they are allowed to have normal congress, biting, piercing, kissing, mango, swallowing etc.  The word Auparishakta or mouth congress is specifically for eunuchs to earn a livelihood and can also be practiced by unchaste and wanton women, female attendants, serving maids. Some Acharyas opine that this is the work of a dog and opposed to dharma. However Vatsyayana apears to be the most forward thinking of the lot of said that the Holy Writ does not affect those who serve as courtesans and the law prohibits the practice only with married women. Vastyayana also held that everyone can do what they want. 

Again they have some rules on who can engage in mouth congress - male servants on master, women on women etc.For such things courtesans abandon men of good qualities and become attached to low persons such as slaves or elephant drivers but never with a learned brahmin, a minister or a man of good reputation. 

There's an entire list of things to do on how to begin and end congress - sit, sing, talk, wash, eat betel, embrace, look at the moonlight and such stuff - chaps had a lot of leisure those days. Again there are types such as loving congress of subsequent love, artificial love, transferred love, deceitful congress, spontaneous love etc.  There's also something about love quarrels.

To acquire a wife, look for a woman of same caste, a virgin, in accordance with the Holy Writ (one who is no longer a maiden should ever be loved). Also avoid those whose nose is depressed, whose nostrils are turned up, who has crooked thighs, who is polluted or disfigured (many more such are listed).

To get the girl to love and marry any of these methods are good - disparage husband to be, befriend brother, give her intoxicating substance when asleep, kidnap her, kill the guards and carry her off. Simple, get her at any cost. Crazy!

Causes to remarry are also given - foul or ill temper of wife, dislike of wife, want of offspring, continual births of daughters, incontinence of husband (finally the husband makes an appearance)

There are some rules for the eldest wife and how she must conduct with other wives. Also rules for the women of a harem. To get wives of other men there are some conditions - can resort to it to save his own life - if one can prove that you are excused I guess.

One interesting thing was the ten degrees of how love progresses to death - and those who have suffered in love will identify with the stages  - Starts with love of the eye, attachment of the mind, constant reflection, destruction of sleep, emaciation of body,turning away from objects of enjoyment, removal of shame, madness, fainting and death. Fairly accurate!

Men who succeed with women are good storytellers, bring presents, talk well, know weak spots. Women who are easily gained over are - standing at the door, looking out, wife of ab actor, whose husband is inferior etc. There are some ways on how to be a go between between a man and a women he loves

Another interesting passage was about how a 'virtuous woman who has affection for her husband should act in conformity with his wishes as if he were a divine being...know arrangement of flowers, take care of family, gardens, avoid company of female beggars, female Buddhist mendicants, unchaste women, know what husband likes and dislikes...when going out do nothing against his will...any misconduct of his do not blame him...keep secrets, make ghee, pound rice...' Very practical men who wrote this.     

To gain over women they say the man must make conversation, seduce only one woman at a time etc. Then there are rules for knowing a woman's state of mind, for go betweens, for women of royal harem, for courtesans (includes getting money from lover, getting rid of him, reunion with former lovers). To attract others to yourself eat the powder of a blue lotus with ghee and honey! There are means of increasing sexual vigour, ways of exciting desire (recipes) ways of enlarging lingam,(oils and stuff like that) 

...

It's a crazy read and one can well imagine who must have made these rules and how they were followed. But to make a science of it and categorise it and classify and educate, one must applaud the gentlemen involved, of whom Vatsyayana seems to be the most progressive. Surely, those who follow these rules must be benefiting from the above in the practice of the art of love. Unfortunately today we have no education of any sort in India and most education seems to be coming from the West in a most unscientific way!  

   

Lessons in Adapting a Novel to Screen

It has been an interesting two months and I still feel we have not got anywhere in adapting my novel to screen. Everytime it appears that it's over in a couple of days but it simply stretches longer and longer. Anyway these are what I learned so far. Will add to it as we go along.

) The novel was very heroine centric and the hero appeared only in patches - had to create hero story parallelly and fill in gaps

2)To think in terms of action, of external instead of internal dialogue

3) To be more out there, make everything big, not subtle and unsaid, expecting then to understand, hit it hard and big

4) To think metaphor alongside, to add layers

5) For non linear narrative to figure how to reveal the story in little well thought out bits so it all adds up in the end

6) To check the actual story and break it down in terms of scenes ... And then see if it makes sense as a film

7) To check scenes and apply filters of Conflict, Stakes, Goal and Value Change and change accordingly.... it's important to keep it going

8) That each scene comes to life when you put yourself in the shoes of the character as you search for conflict

9) That there are many characters and each can contribute to the scene if one can use them right, each brings a new dimension

10) That each layer needs to be addressed differently - structure, drama, humour, conflict, metaphor, setting, music, songs

11) That despite getting all the scenes together, the whole should hold true to the actual premise, the actual emotion should hold and entertain

12) To bring in new characters who may not be part of the original story but who will help in taking the story forward

Well, that's it for now. But will certainly organise it better and add to it as I go along.