Bedsheet of Stars

Hello readers,

Jotting down what i had witnessed was the most breath taking moment of my life.

A walk by a lonely dark beach covered with a bed sheet of glittering stars.

Juhu beach, for years, is considered as the long stretched beach in the Mumbai suburbs - crowded and at times also over crowded. Yesterday night i happened to visit this beach around 00:00 hours. Parked the car outside Sun and Sand Hotel and walked to the beach. As i entered stepping a few steps on the sand, i was stunned to see a huge set of cops on the beach along with a certain set of beach cleaners performing their midnight job. Chill guys dont get ideas storming in your head, they were on their duty.

Soon i went to one of the cop for a casual talk (though i didn't know him). I was surprised to know that he remembered me by my name from my old days at the beach when i used to get my dog for a stroll. He immediately escorted me to a place on the beach and suddenly found him nowhere near me. He had left to resume is night duty of petrolling.

I was left alone on this silent beach, which on a regular hours isn't like what it was now, with no one around even till eyesight could see anyone and the small waves kissing and tickling my feet. I was just enjoying the touch of the waves and was feeling a sense of relief after a hectic day at work.

It was a pitch dark night with lights of certain section of the beach turned off and when i looked above in the sky is what i see that you can view in the picture attached. All the constellations of stars were never visible so clear that I could witness and was trying to play the game dot to dot by moving my hand invariably in the sky trying to make kiddish pictures. While playing this game, i met a few friends of mine of childhood viz Orion, the Great Dipper, Leo, Leo minor, Capricornus, Pegasus etc etc. It was as if am standing on the beach covered with a bed sheet of stars. I was hypnotised with such a scene that where it was 0200 hours i wasn't aware of. More importantly it was as if the Arabian Sea was swallowing the stars one by one, constellations by constellations as the time passed by.

At the end, i did feel that i was missing something... may be the feeling to be with a companion of life in such a romantic moment with the waves acting as musical instruments and the stars adding to the lights effect and the lonely beach the perfect place to be in. But then who care as long as i enjoyed all these moments.

What say guys ???

Ahhhhhh ......

India takes pride in 'Slumdog' glory

"What I think 'Slumdog' will provide is a higher level of credibility to the production process of making films in India and working with Indian crews. Very much like outsourcing of software writing has been done to India, India might become a destination of sorts for certain kind of film productions as well." - Curren Thakkar

India basked in the reflected glory of "Slumdog Millionaire" after the movie's Oscar success on Monday, although there was little red-carpet glamour to be found in the Mumbai slums where it was set.

The Danny Boyle movie, which won eight Oscars including best film, has a British director, producer, writer and studio, but India has claimed it as its own because of the Indian cast, crew and location.

Indian pride was further served by a double Oscar win for "Slumdog" composer A.R. Rahman, known here as the "Mozart of Madras," who scooped the best original score and best song statuette at the Los Angeles awards ceremony.

"They have done India proud," said Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a message congratulating the "entire Slumdog Millionaire team."

In his acceptance speech, Rahman, who is only the third Indian to win an Oscar, hailed "All the people from Mumbai and the essence of the film, which is about optimism and the power of hope and our lives."

"Slumdog" received strong reviews on its Indian release and the urban audience response was enthusiastic. But some critics attacked the title as offensive, while others said the plot -- about a slum-dweller who wins a TV quiz show -- reinforced Western stereotypes about the country.

Anyone crossing the bridge of Mumbai's Mahim railway station on Monday morning and entering Dharavi, India's largest slum, was greeted by a huge poster stating, "We are not Slumdogs," in Hindi.

Not only were most of Dharavi's residents unaware of the film's Oscar success, they weren't even sure what the Oscars were.