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SANGEETA WADDHWANI RECAPTURES THE LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE, WITTICISMS, ‘TRUMPLICATIONS’ & AI RAPPING, AROUND THE BLOCK-PRINTED SHAMIANAS, THE STALLS AND STAGES AT JLF 2026

JAIPUR, MON AMOUR!

It was a shorter deep dive into the world of books, ideas and enlightening insights for me this year… a Saturday to Monday hop to the 19th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival, (actual dates were Thursday Jan 15th – the Monday, 20th).

But even so, one was enveloped in a vibrant universe of nouveau encounters, people from all walks of academia and society, the literati and glitterati colluding in a happy, chaotic outlay of sessions. There were the artisinal Festival Buzzaar bump-ins, and for members of the media, reunions, hugs and books discussed, recommended, exchanged.

This year, I made a conscious decision to attend more sessions at the Jaipur Bookmark enclosure, learning about the ‘situationships’ where books were marrying the www, joining the ever-growing marketplace as digital and audibles offspring.

THE OUTSIDER: A MEMOIR OF MISFITS

‘My name is Vir Das. But if anything I say upsets you, then I am Gaur Gopal Das!’

Vir Das’s session “The Outsider: A Memoir of Misfits,” moderated with razor-sharpness by Sanjoy K Roy,  brought in 3,000 odd plus screaming spectators.

Given humour is innately counter-culture, counter-intuitive and rabble rousing, Vir, the Emmy-awarded consumate performer,  chatted about how he had punctured many political and national ‘codes’ that the new India held dear, with his monologue, The Two Indias, performed at the iconic Kennedy Center, in Washingon DC, in the US.

All he really did was talk of the rich and poor, how Indians were united but also divided over politics, women’s rights, Bollywood films and cricket teams. But, his words were seen as missiles, anti-India, anti-BJP.  

He had struck gold as a humourist, but thrown a match at a haystack.   Modi’s BJP party, filed several legal cases against Das. Trust Das’s storytelling – when he claimed an airhostess from Air India became his shoulder to cry on, and gave him the courage to land and brave the lay of the land!

Many were the queries around his adventures, misadventures, but in all humility and with a stunning verbal agility, Vir taught us that it was important not to be swept under the tsunamis that come with fame and ‘fandom:’  

“I don’t think I am very funny, and I think most newspapers will agree with me! [Much laughter]. It’s just that my little community has gotten to know me for awhile… because I put myself into the jokes. You HAVE to be comfortable laughing at yourself. You have to  have an audience that loves you for you. You want fandom? That should last five seconds. Then you get old, you get a bald patch, you get a paunch, and then they no longer want those selfies. But if you keep putting you into everything, maybe you guys can grow old together. That’s my advice!”

The cliffhanger statement he made, was that he is not addicted to fame or fortune. He often day dreams about one fine day, leaving it all behind…! But of course, not without ensuring Happy Patel, his totally whacked out comedy film, got views. Yours truly brought the film up, to be fair!:)

One lady from the audience begged him to stand up a do a mini show – and Vir categorically said, “Madam, paisa lagta hai. The one thing life has taught me is never give away your shit for free!” 😄

DICTATORS RUN THE WORLD: ANNE APPLE’BOMB’ BLOWS ALL COVERS

Anne Applebaum is a powerhouse. A stalwart. She has GUTS.  

The global JLF audience hung on to every word as she tore through all political correctness, offering an unfiltered analysis on how dictators, oligarchs and state-run companies form networks to undermine democracy.

An American journalist and historian who walks on the edge, daily, in her posts, podcasts and writing (she is a staff writer for The Atlantic magazine, as well as a senior fellow of the SNF Agora  Institute and the School of Advanced International Studies at John Hopkins University), Apple’bomb’ should be read religiously as she exposes the erosion of democracy worldover.

Our JLF session based on her Pulitzer prize winning book, “Autocracy, Inc: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World,” was a bell tolling on the ‘might is right’ style of Trump’s politics.

After all, here’s a US President who arrested the PM of Venezuela and is looking to establish a US military base and take charge of Greenland, for its high value metals and minerals. All the better to feed the US AI infrastructure, and accelerate global warming! Interestingly, I have seen a post where Trump  has claimed that all alarms on climate change, are a con job!

He has, at the same time, been lobbying for the Noble Peace Prize, for himself. Not getting PM Modi’s support, he has levied 50 percent tariffs on Indian imports. Way to go…

Even way back in 2016, during the US election campaign, Applebaum wrote a column for The Washington Post asking, “Is this the end of the West as we know it?” The column argued that “we are two or three bad elections away from the end of NATO, the end of the European Union and maybe the end of the liberal world order.”

Applebaum endorsed Hillary Clinton  for president in July 2016, because Trump is “a man who appears bent on destroying the alliances that preserve international peace and American power.”

 

‘We are two or three bad elections away from the end of NATO, the end of the European Union and maybe the end of the liberal world order’
– Applebaum during the 2016 elections

The author also of Twilight of Democracy, The Failure of Politics and the Parting of Friends, Anne Applebaum openly felt many powerful nations – Russia and the US especially – were working as ‘Kleptocracies.’ Nations where those in political power also control the largest businesses in the country. “Policies are made, not in favour of citizens, but in the interest of personal gain in business.” She went on to give several examples of this, in current US policy and leadership.

THE IMPACT ON DEMOCRACY

“This shift promotes cynicism, weakens public institutions,” she shared. To counter this, Applebaum advocates for “Tracking financial crimes, using networks of experts to combat corruption, and calling out misinformation in real-time.”

Truly, we live in times where in today’s America, and many other nations,  deals have taken over constitutional ideals.

THE SARI ETERNAL: LAKSHMI MURDESHWAR PURI

Lakshmi’s introduction and her powerful credentials impressed me.

“The sari. This unstitched river of fabric that winds around my body, is not clothing. It is a second skin for me. …It has grown with me and on me. Wearing a sari is like wearing a story. It is spiritual in that no violence goes into its making – no stitching, cutting. Such ahimsa, allowing such a flow, is beautiful…”

– paraphrased quote from the session

This was an unplanned, accidental session for me. The very first I stumbled upon, barely awake after a 4.00am wake up call!

The youngest entrant into the Indian Foreign Service, she had international bilateral and multilateral assignments for 28 odd years. She served at the United Nations for 15 years. But what was the kicker?  She subverted the silent Western dress code  by choosing to wear a sari over a business suit or gown, for both, formal and normal occasions!

As she read this quote from her book, I started shifting in my understanding of this garment of grace and antiquity we take so much for granted!

Inspired by her passion, I went to the Hawa Mahal old market and bought my first royal blue silk, graceful bandhn sari that very evening!

DEVAS VS ASURAS: ARE WE REALLY BINARY IN OUR MYTHS?

It has been a delight discovering author Anand Neelakantan’s books. Here is a writer bringing a Tamil perspective to the way we see our ancient stories, even as he merges myth with today’s realities, science fiction, examinations of power and ecological issues.

“Everytime an Asura became powerful with boons from Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu had to take birth as an avatar and obliterate the overly-powerful asura king. Our epics don’t condemn all Asuras. In fact, Lord Krishna was half-Asura, if you look at his maternal lineage. He was a nephew to King Kamsa!”

My journey with his work, began when an attendee sitting next to me last year, had the book,  The Asura Way, The Contrarian Path to Success, sitting on top of her book pile. The book showed me just how hardworking and ambitious famous demon kings were. What Ravana had willingly endured, to climb up the power-ladder of his day.

 

At his session, where he was expanding on his latest book, Mahishasura: The Legend of Kumarikandam, with author Mridula Ramesh, the key point being illustrated was how in our culture, we were not about ‘demonising’ the Asuras. Everything was about keeping a healthy balance of power between the Devas, the human world and the Asuras.

Moderator Mridula Ramesh also pointed out that in the South, the Asura king Mahabali was worshipped, as he was known to be an excellent administrator, ruler, trader. Even if Lord Vishnu took an incarnation as a brahmin seeking to annihilate him, he remains a widely revered legendary ruler!

 

PRASOON JOSHI

THE MOUNTAIN BOY TURNED ‘VERNIE’ ADMAN – TURNED- LYRICIST

It was such a privilege to listen to poet, lyricist, screenwriter, communication specialist and marketer, Prasoon Joshi, on his unique journey from Uttarakhand’s mountainous and ‘pure’ townships – Nainital, Almora, Tehri, Chamoli and later Rampur, Meerut and Delhi – to the city of dreams and nightmares – the westernised Bombay, where Hindi speaking talent was referred to as ‘vernie’ (vernacular).

Today, Prasoon stands tall as a leading creator, having received the Filmfare Best Lyricist Award thrice – most recently in 2014 for the movie Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. He has also received the National Film Award for Best Lyrics twice, for his work in Taare Zameen Par (he performed this song for us), and Chittagong. This humble man hardly carries the hauteur one associates with a Padma Shri awardee, but he does own the aura of a maestro in the field of Arts, Literature and Advertising.

The arc of how Prasoon negotiated those post-colonial biases in advertising agency boardrooms, and found his way to success both in that world and in mainstream Hindi cinema – made for a brilliant session.

What moved me deeply was his salutary belief that ‘having come from the mountains, I had a certain purity of the soul and imagination. I could look at reality differently from the city professionals.”

Since the session was titled, The New Horizons of Creativity, he also felt AI will only regurgitate that which is already in the existing knowledge field.

‘AI will repeat the cliche, “the journey is the destination”. But I as a writer, can say, ‘I am the journey, and my inner self is the destination.’ See the difference?

He performed some powerful poems with heart-stopping devices like assonance and alliteration – so much so that the foreigners in the audience stood up to applaud, without understanding a word! It was a poem mirroring the dance of water on a landscape, filled with metaphors around the dance of life itself. Could be a foot-tapping mega hit if scored as a ‘rap’ over santoor and tabla

THE JAIPUR BOOKMARK PAVILION: THE NEW VOCABULARY AROUND BOOKS?

‘A ‘FOR ALGORITHIMS! If you are a creator and a marketing whiz with an eye on the bottomline, following popular algorithims help you choose a category or genre  – ie. Self-help/non fiction –  to write or research. A voice from the Penguin Entrepreneur division, revealed the Mind, Body, Spirit was the biggest selling category.

‘B’ FOR ONLINE BRANDING

Smart agents will position the author and the book on resonant platforms, to optimise downloads and sales and facilitate discussions. 

‘C’ FOR COMMUNITY

Authors with strong online Communities (i.e, social media following), have greater chances at being bestsellers. Authors with sizeable Influence also land the best deals (hence every movie star is coaxed to be an author these days!)

This was just a trailer of the filled-with-possibilities publishing dynamics of the day. Picture abhi baaki hai – and this is literal, because fiction was more easily consumed today as webseries and cinema… and as a category was long overshadowed by non-fiction  – between cover, that is.

THE SHADECARD OF SELF-PUBLISHING

One thoroughly enjoyed the ‘Shadecard’ of Self-Publishing session (which featured voices from Notion Press, Penguin Enterprise, White Falcon, and most fascinating, a blazing talent, Sakshyam Garg – author of the book, Samsara, Enter the Valley of the Gods, and a literary agent who was pure genius at spotting and spin-doctoring a bestseller. Because he was a wizard of the A,B,C’s mentioned above.

One gathered that self-publishing gives writers 100 percent control on the look and feel of their book, very transparent sales reports, and 80 percent profits as opposed to conventional publishing, which coughed up a mere 10 percent.

Before attending JLF, I myself was blown by just how many Instagram ads showed AI ‘publishers’ who put the whole dish together for you…the writing, the cover design, the formatting and the distribution and marketing. Now THAT was for me, an infringement of my right to simply write! But you will, I suspect, see Gen Z, Y, Xennials and Alpha biting into this AI mirage of self-authorship

I am personally happy to have AI do my covers at best.

 

Self-publishing  does sound like a ‘hook up’ version of a 1500 year old courtship between the written word and humanity. One wonders how those sadistic old school publishers who take eight months to review a book pitch, feel about algo-synched bestellers spun to life in 24 hours!’
– Sangeeta Waddhwani

AN APT CONCLUSION MANIFESTO: STOP SCROLLING, START READING!

Ananth Padmanabhan, CEO of HarperCollins India, unveiled Year of Reading for Pleasure 2026, a HarperCollins initiative aimed at fostering a love for reading nationwide.

Great manifesto for 2026!

MAGIC MOMENTS at JLF 2026!

 

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MIND THE GAP!https://www.amazon.in/MIND-GAP-Sangeeta-Wadhwani-ebook/dp/B08N1BLBRR

WHILE INDIA IS ON A

THE GLOSSED OVER, CLICHE-RIDDEN PORTRAYAL OF ROYAL INDIA CAME WITH THE OPTICS THAT GEN Z AND Y UNDERSTOOD – EVEN ENJOYED! BUT FOR A HELLO! MAGAZINE WRITER, WHO HAS COVERED EVERY MAJOR ROYAL FAMILY SAGA, BE IT UDAIPUR, JAIPUR, KISHANGARH, EVEN TALKING TO PRINCESS ESRA, FORMER WIFE TO THE LAST NIZAM…THE SHOW WAS HEAVILY FLAWED FOR A TOTAL LACK OF HISTORICAL AND EVEN CULTURAL GRAVITAS. SANGEETA WADDHWANI CALLS OUT THE MISSING LINKS!

Royal India and the world of cinema (and now, webseries), have been strange bedfellows.

One of our most legendary films,  Mughal-e-Azam, was hinged on the forbidden love between Anarkali, a courtesan, and Prince Salim, son to Emperor Akbar.

If the film took 16 years to make, it was because an artistic sensibility was seeking to draw the viewer into an alternative Universe, where love braved all odds, chivalrous officials would rather be burned alive while concealed in urns..than bring shame to their mistresses, whose husbands were turning on them with suspicion.

Mughal-e-Azam the film, created in 1960, harked back to an era where romance was married to human existence across multiple dimensions. Love played out in mirror- filled sheesh mahals,  around fragrant lotus-filled fountains, or in covert meetings behind backlit latticed marble screens, or in  richly manicured  Mughal gardens under the stars. The stories were about the courting of emotions, not just lithe limbs and erotic ecscapades, to be forgotten.

Even films like Padmavat, Bhajirao Mastani, were visceral essays in portraying the grandeur of the war-decorated alpha Peshwas and the Rajputs.

Then fast forward to movies trying to visit the lives of royal families today. I laughed out loud…possibly the loudest in the PVR cinema hall, while watching Bhool Bhulaiyan 3.

 The exaggerated depiction of a poverty-ridden former aristocratic family, was extreme to say the very least! The ghost buster character of Kartik Aryan is offered a dry roti with little else to slay his hunger, as a guest of the royal family looking to hire him to exorcise the underbelly of their massive, decrepit palace.

This, so they can sell it to the highest bidder in the hospitality space. They call it the Shahi Lunch, with one roti usually shared between 5 or 6 family members.  The cow in the shed bately has any milk, being a starved bovine!

Modern cinema does have some memorable and less ‘Les Miserable’ visitations to our faded aristocratic mahals. One of my favourites while growing up in Taiwan, was the Rajesh Khanna-Hema Malini starrer, Mehbooba.

She and he were in love in a royal darbar where he was a court singer, and she was a courtesan. They could not be together in that life as he was partnered and she was untouchable in her position. But the depiction of them performing in that lifetime, especially the song Gori Teri Pehjaniyan…was so rich, we reproduced her dance performance for our Indian Independence Day celebrations!

Then of course we had Vidya Balan possessed by another heartbroken courtesan’s ghost in Bhool Bhoolaiyan 1. Again the depiction of rich classical dance by her to the resonant, timeless  Aami Je Tomaar, evoked the cultural opulence of a time where love and art were married, figuratively, and the settings were grand and imbued with danger and valour.

THE ROYALS: A FACTIONAL LOOK!

Now let’s go to The Royals. The Netflix show which, to be fair, did show lavish production values, with many scenes shot at the Jaipur City Palace.

You have a Prince, Aviraaj Singh, highly reluctant to become Maharaja, owing to his late father’s repeatedly articulated angst about the weight of tradition that comes with a title. Aviraaj comes with a colourful romantic past, (commensurate with his status) despite a very broke and wavering present. The show has the Prince, played by Ishaan Khatter, assume a highly contrived  Hamlet-like metre, with some Samson bare- bodied tadka thrown in.

Now while Ishaan himself has gone on record saying that he was asked to be bare torsoed, often gratuitously, the fact of the matter is, that kind of ‘thirst-trapping’ is not what royal Princes would ever be caught dead doing! Certainly not while representing and leading a royal polo match, in front of sporting legends and live media coverage!

This kind of pandering to the female gaze was never seen in our patriarchal royal societies, unless a gay or dandy maharaja (and there were a few of those) sought a ‘thirst-trapper’.

What else was causing allergies to those from the real royal universe? The cliches! A family where the Daadi (Zeenie baby) wears the standard pearls and silks, chiffons, as does the Rajmata, whose arsenal of jewels could start a bidding war….however,  in hushed exchanges, we are shown that their leading concern is how to pay the electricity bill! Forget that! The entire family is portrayed in lavish Abu Sandeep attire, which my experience interviewing our royal ladies, contradicts.

In states where temperatures rose to 50 degrees celsius, our Maharanis preferred light, airy chanderi weaves. A typical contemporary ‘couture’ saree or lehenga with 10 kilos worth of embellishments was often a compulsory evil for a bride…and often featured real gold threadwork. The princess bride was happy to wear it but for that one epic wedding night, and then (gratefully) pass it down to a daughter or daughter-in-law.

I came across these truths while meeting the royal women of Baroda (who are supporting chanderi weaves for today’s women)…and the bridal gold lehenga story, from Maharani Shailaja Katoch, wife to Maharaja Aishwarya Raj Katoch of the Kangra-Lambragaon royal family, in Himachal Pradesh, near Dharamsala. In fact, there was a display space and placard dedicated to this real gold bridal lehenga in the Sansar Chand Museum, but the family was afraid it would be stolen! So it remained empty.

By and large, royal families were busy. Uneasy were the heads that wore the Crown. They were heavily invested in defending territories, building forts and palaces, guarding their subject’s interests and leading civic and educational, cultural and spiritual initiatives. The larger and more influential the family, the greater the sense of responsibility embedded in their very DNA.

Even if a foreigner married into a royal Indian family, she was committed to preserving the architectural, spiritual, gastronomic, cultural and artistic mien of that dynasty.

Just look at the American Padma Shri decorated Shalini Devi Holkar who was once married to Richard Holkar of Maheshwar, a town ship in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

She had a dream where her late mother-in-law Ahilya Devi Holkar asked her to support the native female weavers of Maheshwar. Sally did not dismiss that other-worldly wish, rolled up her sleeves and made it her life’s mission. 

In 1978, she, with Richard, co-founded  the REHWA  Society and took the Maheshwari weave,  global. That society not only encouraged the craft of handloom Maheshwari weaves, but also helped to foster other women weaver’s collectives, offering them a sustainable livelihood.  She went on to found WomenWeave, and The Handloom School, which provides training in the weaving process, to keep it alive.

Take my experience with Princess Esra Jah, ex wife to the Last Nizam.  Although they were divorced, he trusted his gracious Turkish former partner to be Executor of the Nizam’s estate…and she had dutifully restored the Chowmahallah Palace.

She did not agree to a new photoshoot around the restored property, agreeing only to one photo with the author of the exclusive…that was lucky me! (We did not feature the two of us..I was cropped out and we made a mug of the Princess from the photo). But at least we had one recent image to work with! The rest, she gave us gorgeous vintage photos.

Princess Esra had devoted a considerable amount of time, family wealth and energy restoring chambers, chandeliers, furniture and recreating tableux of the lifestyles of the Nizams, (statues of royal ladies sitting with paan daans, etc) …evoking the magic of an era that had in 1937 hailed the Nizam of Hyderabad as the Richest Man on the Earth.

We had walked around the restored Chowmahallah, learning about how the Nizams created city landmarks..roads, hospitals, universities and schools, transport infrastructure, and so on. Hyderabad then had an economy the size of Belgium.

We read in Sam Dalyrmple’s book, Shattered Lands, that “After the fall of the Ottoman caliphate, the Nizam of Hyderabad was arguably the world’s foremost Muslim ruler a nd his capital the most prominent city of Muslim learning outside the Arab world.”

In 1937, as we know, TIME magazine named the Nizam of Hyderabad the Richest Man in the World and the 5th richest in all of history!

However, when I quizzed Princess Esra about what were her most powerful impressions of being a Nizam’s first wife, she surprisingly shared a “beggar” story!

Fundamentally on a hunting expedition, when they took a tea break, they felt compassionate for a destitute beggar. Offering him some tea and samosas, they were surprised to see him feeding a stray dog, a little later! His explanation? “Huzur, kutta bheek nahi maang sakta, mein maang sakta hoo.” To the Princess, that is an India she used to be moved by…the deep humanity in even the destitute population.

OUR ROYALS WERE DEVELOPERS, PROTECTORS OF THEIR PEOPLE

Yes, a few fiefdoms did have obscenely wealthy nawabs and maharajas hosting eccentric festivities…like weddings for their dogs! Take the Nawab of Junagadh who spent two crores on his dog, Roshanara’s wedding!  Do read Javier Moro’s book Passion India, for more such stories! There were even Maharajas sending their concubines to Europe to get the top surgeons to reconstruct the shape of their breasts, to look like different fruits:)

But some, even the dandies, contributed to the arts in ways that have created entire schools of dance! Like the late Sitara Devi had shared with me, “Nawab Wajad Ali Khan Shah, was so committed to creating his school of Kathak, (katha means story)…he didn’t care that the British were appropriating his wealth or destroying his sovereignty!”  Being a Nawab, a non Hindu, did not stop him from dedicating years and years to creating ballets modelled on Radha and Krishna!

In the final analysis, what The Royals did achieve, is a shallow but sexy portrayal of a torso-perfect playboy Prince who was looking to be as normal and unfettered by his blue crew…the extended family — racy Zeenie baby as grandma included.

In reality too, our Princes and Princesses have studied at prestigious American and British institutions, but rarely worried about rentals for their housing there!

Also, for the life of me, I can’t imagine why the Rajmata had to wait for her gay husband to pass away before she took her ma-in-law’s advice to have a life..i.e,  give love affairs a shot. Does that even make an iota of sense? Also, a lady of that generation, in royal India, is more likely to worry about the family’s reputation than her daughter-in-law’s wasting libido!

The gay Maharaja who passes on, does leave our Hamletian Aviraj some interesting thoughts to ponder about individuality vs tradition..but the point is redundant with the Maharani anyways having her paramours, Aviraj turning down marriage with a rich bitch princess…whoa..why is tradition even a point of concern? 😂

One did also find it funny that the royal balls planned by Sophia (Bhoomi Padnekar’s) team, have poor rsvps because the royals don’t want to mingle with commoners. Excuse me, we have a politician princess who was wedded to a commoner, (Jaipur)  and in an age where forget the arranged marriage, but marriage itself is so challenged…this was a complete misrepresentation!

One did like the way Aviraj and Sophia’s love is founded on her strengths…to bring the real world and the glorious royals into better alignment. One liked the way Aviraj tore up the contract on the Royal B & B when corporate politics were taking his real girlfriend apart. Bhoomi did manage a very convincing performance as a gritty, passionate pro whose popularity was throwing her bosses into beast mode.

There were pluses to the show…but waiting to see more webseries portraying royal families with a more believable, breathing storyline and less caricaturing of a class of families whose legacies still inspire awe.

Maharani Radhikaraje of Baroda, was brave enough to call out the cliches!

TRULY THE MOST REGRESSIVE SIGN OF OUR TIMES IS WHEN RANDOM, ARMED MEN GUN FOR CIVILIAN LIVES, CLAIMNG ‘A DIFFERENCE OF FAITH’ AS THEIR PREMISE.. SANGEETA WADDHWANI DRAWS A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE LIVING PRESENCE OF HINDUISM ON THE ISLAND OF BALI… IN AN ISLAMIC NATION LIKE JAKARTA. THIS IS JUST A MICROCOSM OF WHAT SHOULD BE EVERYWHERE….

“Yeh khitaye Kashmir hai, jannat ki ik tasweer, insaniyat ki dastaan, har zarre mein tehreer” – Rifat Sarfarosh

This is Kashmir, an image of heaven, every particle of this land tells the story of humanity


THEY FOOLED NOBODY

For every shot fired at an unarmed, peaceful Indian civilian, a hundred other hearts are broken, shedding unseen blood. Hearts in the Kashmir valley, which had started beating again with hope… were bleeding, with hope draining out of the fragile economic and inter-religious ecosystem.

DHARMIC WAR VS TERRORISM

Every major religion offers a code of conduct even in war. Women and children were never targeted. Unarmed people were always spared. You never fired arrows when your opponent was in prayer. These were the ways of dharmic warriors. Terrorism is never, and can never, be about a religious war. It is hell on earth. A manmade poison imposed on times where peace is the greatest of luxuries. Inner peace, outer peace, which was the unsaid ‘wealth’ people came looking for in Kashmir.

 

PRE-ATTACK KASHMIR

The light-eyed, simple Kashmiris, had started to breathe again. Every inhalation and exhalation, a happy sigh. Eyes that had shed tears of angst, for decades, were now smiling amidst wise wrinkles. These eyes had combed over the tulip-carpeted flower fields, the snow-capped, witnessing mountains. Just off the ridge of shikaaras, eyes were gazing at the tadpoles leaping around with unexplained glee. The sheer joy of rebirth was in every cellular creature. The wise old eyes remembered – these were the legendary lakes of Kashmir, where lotuses abounded, and honeymooners dared to dream of everlasting love.

Tourists, too, were flocking in, shopping on the Dal Lake from an idyllic shikara, for kawah tea, silver jewels, beautifully embroidered and woven shawls – some featuring the local craft of sozni, which has designs on two sides. They were there to revisit the timeless Paradise described by Amir Kusro, as Heaven On Earth.

 

But one human invention took it all apart. The gun. In the wrong human hands. Turning brother against brother. While another human invention – Instagram – was immediately dismantling their agenda. Reels were calling them out, saying (paraphrased), ‘we will not let you seed poison, turn human against human, strip Kashmir of her heavenly attributes and reduce the brilliant artisans to penury. Peace, is prosperity. You want to take our peace away in the sacred valley.’

 After all, we are not living in 1947. We are not even living in the 70s, 80s, 90s. The idea of religion has long been replaced with the idea of humanity and spiritual evolution. The worldwide web has made us one family. Everything opposed to justice and humanity, is simply a-religious. Aspiritual.  WWW knows this.

BALI: A HINDU ALLADIN’S CAVE

Just earlier this year, in January, I was in Bali with a lively group of female friends. Almost everywhere we looked, we saw that Hinduism is a palpable, living force. There was no sense of polarization between the largely Islamic nation of Indonesia, and this paradisical Hindu island sitting in it.

Right from our arrival at the Denpasar airport, we felt the vibe. Stunning renditions of spiritual themes greeted our eyes, showcasing Balinese culture. Some notable installations include Mataya Gate, Paradise Scape, Wana Rupa Segara Gunung, Palemahan, and The Tree of Life. These pieces symbolize harmony, the life cycle, Balinese philosophy, and the interconnectedness of life, respectively.  We were welcomed in a very Hindu style, by our local tour operator, ‘Pocha’.  Being an all-girls squad, we told Pocha he now had garlanded many wives!:)  

Day one:

WATERSPORTS AT NUSA DUA BEACH

On the same day we did the Parasailing, Banana Boat ride and Jet skiing, we also had lunch at a nearby Udupi resort and then hired a private car to travel to Uluwatu!

 

THE TIMELESS TALE OF RAM AND ‘SHINTA’

Even before leaving for the trip, we had booked tickets online to see the Balinese theatrical take on the Ramayana, to be staged at the sea-side Uluwatu Temple. We read, “This  Balinese Hindu temple is located on the south-western tip of the Bukit Peninsula in Uluwatu, Badung Regency, Bali, Indonesia. It is the only Balinese sea temple that is also one of the nine directional temples. It is dedicated to Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa in his manifestation as Rudra.” (Research tells me that SHWW denotes “The Divine Order,” and is the Sanskrit equivalent of Achintya, the inconceivable. The Brahman, a force from which all other gods and beings are believed to emanate.)

The Lord Hanuman vibe was all around this temple, with mischievous monkeys waiting to grab whatever they could from us –wallets,  shades, phones. A huge warning sign did tell tourists to expect such plundering as we made our way to the temple’s amphitheater, where the Ramayana was to be performed.

My dear friend Shweta Singh fell prey to a rambunctious monkey who not only grabbed her eyeglasses off her face, but sat to pose with them! I was so tempted to take a quick click, but respect for my friend’s panic-striken state made me restrain the urge. Besides, a monkey would have grabbed my phone! Fortunately there were forest guards who threw food packets the monkey’s way, leading the monkey to discard her precious spectacles. Whew!

 As we climbed towards the area by the open sea, we were gob-smacked by the vast beauty of the sunset, and I somehow sensed an umblical connect to the Ramayana. I could almost ‘see’ Lord Hanuman as a giant silhouette in the vivid skies of Bali, flying over Uluwatu… almost see him leaping over the Indonesian archipelago – as a rambunctious divine monkey child!

EXPERIENCING AN INDIAN EPIC, BALINESE STYLE

While printed pages are offered to tourists which recount the essence of the Ramayana, we were surprised that the Uluwatu KECAK performance, had no spoken dialogues. The sounds that capture the moods of the story came from 90 bare-chested young men, all chanting ‘chak chak cha cha cha’ throughout the duration of the play, in different speeds and with different levels of energy. Perhaps that’s why it was called The Ramayana – Kecak Dance.

They were like collective backdrop music, going fast, going slow, complementing the action onstage. Ravana’s kidnapping of Sita, therefore, saw this ‘sena’ of chanters picking up speed and urgency. Laughably, the arrival of Hanuman brought a sense of lightheartedness, as he climbed to sit with members of the audience, taking selfies, while keeping his eyes on Shinta in the gardens of Ravana! The capturing of Lord Hanuman by Ravana’s men, and Hanuman’s endless tail burning down Lanka, were wonderfully presented, circles of real fire surrounding the stage. (My friend Shweta felt the ‘chak chak chak’ chanting was not exactly trance-inducing… it was disturbing!:)

YOU AREN’T ALLOWED INSIDE TEMPLES IN BALI… BIZARRE!

The magic of this epic, was brought to life with vivid masks, elaborate headpieces, jewels, costumes. The fact that the sea was just below us, and we were on a majestic mountain top with cliffs, added its own intoxication to the evening.

Of course, we were in purple sarongs out of respect for the deities and the temple arena. Like most temples in Bali, no public is allowed inside, but you are allowed to take pictures around the area.

Another temple we would have loved to go into was the Maa Saraswati temple in a lane off the main Ubud street market. While you could buy tickets to just walk around the temple gardens for several lakh IDR, you would remain clueless about how Maa Saraswati actually looked in this part of Asia. Research shiws a proper day tour which included entry into this temple, cost over six lakh IDR, which is over INR 3,000.

 

WHERE DID THE HINDU INFLUENCES COME FROM IN BALI ISLAND?

The Kalinga kingdom, (1100 BCE) located in what is now Odisha, India, had significant maritime and cultural connections with Indonesia, particularly with the islands of Java and Bali. These interactions led to the establishment of Indianized kingdoms and the spread of Indian culture in Southeast Asia.

From the 7th century CE, the powerful Srivijaya naval kingdom flourished, bringing Hindu and Buddhist influences with it. The agricultural Buddhist Sailendra and Hindu Mataram dynasties subsequently thrived in inland Java. The last significant non-Muslim kingdom, the Hindu Majapahit kingdom, flourished from the late 13th century, and its influence stretched over much of Indonesia.

The Chola Empire was a major maritime power, (between the 9^th and the 13^th century), and their naval expeditions extended to Southeast Asia, including parts of modern-day Indonesia. Their main goal was to control trade routes and secure access to valuable resources like spices and textiles. 

And then of course, in William Dalyrmple’s book, The Golden Road, we read that there were seven islands south of India, which were known as the Suvarna Bhoomi lands. Thailand and Indonesia were included in that cluster. It basically came to light for Indian traders, when the Roman trade corridor came to a close, that gold was lying right in our own backyard! So traders from South India made the Suvarnahoomi their new trade corridor… The nomenclature translated to “Land of Gold,” in ancient Indian literature, with islands primarily located in the Indonesian Archipelago, particularly Sumatra and Java. The term also encompassed other islands in Southeast Asia like Borneo, as well as the Malay Peninsula, Myanmar, Cambodia and Sri Lanka.

 

HINDU DEITY PAINTINGS IN BALI

At the Krishna Mall in Kuta, I fell in love with the richly rendered paintings of Radha Krishna. Different interpretations of the celestial couple on moonlit nights, capturing a love both ethereal and physical, not to forget far beyond the pale of convention.

Then, every major junction on the streets featured a very recognizable scene from the Ramayana or the Mahabharat. One tableau showed the building of the Lankan bridge, with the monkey sena carrying boulders on their backs, led by Lord Hanuman. Another showed the lesser known brothers Nakul and Sahadeva of the Mahabharat, sons of Pandu from his wife Madri – standing tall and proud in front of the sena, as if they were principle characters from the epic! And even as we were deciphering which epic tableau was the crowning glory of a traffic intersection, our driver’s radio station was playing a deeply moving Bollytune from the 70s – Tujse Naaraaz Nahin Zindagi, Hairan Hu Main – sung in the local language in a uniquely Balinese style, by a female singer. Her rendition gave us goosebumps. How much we take our own cultural wealth for granted!

It blew my mind why temple experiences were not open to tourists and possibly devout followers of the Hindu deities? Did they fear Muslim attacks? Imagine being charged in India to just walk into the gardens and compounds around a temple, for thousands of rupees, but being categorically told no spiritual connect with the deity was possible?

THE BALI JUNGLE SWINGS

Now this may be a very touristy thing to do – trot over to a viewpoint where a host of very Balinese inspired cane swings, often interlaced with flowers,  take you high over a valley of lush forests. But what a smart way to tap into your country’s rich countryside beauty. There were gowns on hire, which brought a surreal red carpet, cinematic quality to your photos, when still or in motion.

I posed for these in my two-tone ensemble, in my shades and sneakers. The swinging definitely connected me to my inner thrill seeker and inner child – loved being suspended over forests hundreds of feet below, and charging up, skywards! Little wonder honeymooning couples love to honeymoon in Bali. The photo-ops are dazzling. One does feel that just Maharashtra has gorgeous, cloud capped mountains in the monsoon, and setting up viewpoints with cafes and jungle swings could be such a joy for families! Forget that, it would make our gen-next eco-sensible, learning not to litter green zones, teaching them how nice it feels to have non-polluted air in one’s lungs!

There was a couple’s bed swing as well – and we being a girl gang – well, made it all about girls swinging every which way – no pun intended!

There were also insta-friendly cameo spots, Balinese doorways with water bodies in front – which the expert local photographers duplicated by putting a mirror below the camera. We got wonderful, mystic portraits of ourselves – as if Bali itself was offering portals to other dimensions.

We wound up our experience having an Indonesian/Indian meal – but the highlight was always, the giant coconut water we often chose as dessert! The coconuts in Bali are so massive, we made it a practice to share one between two or three of us.

THE MARA RIVER SAFARI LODGE

“You could spend days on this property and yet not see everything in it!’ was our driver Pocha’s heads up as we exited Kuta and headed towards our next stop, the African safari-inspired Mara River Safari Lodge in Taman.

Already heady with the beauty and abundance of greenery as we drove, we turned into a thick foresty zone and saw the welcome tableau of this property. Needless to say, all the girls screamed – “We want photo here POOOOOCHHHHA!” 

And so Pocha religiously obeyed as we took our group picture, all pointing to the faux animals decorating the entry

As we got into our rooms, (which had those lovely netted beds I loved from childhood stays in Mahableshwar),  we saw wallpapers, art, rustic but clean bathrooms, and open terraces as the signature. From these terrace balconies, we could spot giraffe, zebras, not too far away.

Included in our package was a mini train ride through the area of the resort, landscaped to include an ENTIRE jungle filled with exotic creatures of the wild – from Thailand, India, Indonesia and of course, Africa. We are taking from bison to giraffes, zebras to hippos, elephants to tigers, lions, deer, panthers, bears – even the cuddly koala bears. A cheery Balinese guide offered a running commentary on the animals we were seeing – including telling us about the love stories and offspring of some of the notable big Fives…because clearly, they were bred in captivity.

Boasting a lovely view of Mount Agung in the distance, even just walking around the property, is a delight. We came across a giant stone sculpture of Lord Ganesha, and a lively exhibition on the state of the Lion as an endangered, cherished species. All around, were opportunities to invite a South African parrot to sit on your arm,  and click photos. There were even opportunities to have a snake around your arm – but that chance, I didn’t take.

From our dining hall, various predatory creatures mulled close enough for us to worry – initially. Then, it started feeling strange to be in a world where lions paraded in front of you as if born to do so, lionesses sat at the bar window, as if they were animated portraits straight out of Harry Potter’s world – roaring with no need to! Our posing Lioness certainly didn’t have to defend herself from gawking children, or hunt for dinner! What kind of ‘training’ did these animals have to go through, to dramatize their own ‘wilderness’ where there was no need for them to be fierce?

Similarly, holding a parrot that didn’t attack or attempt to fly, or a snake that was possibly so tranquilised it could not bite – these mysteries continued to haunt me on the property. I do hope to get answers someday!

Above and beyond this, we were told there were fine dining experiences – under the water – where predatory sharks would swim around you. Having done this at the Atlantis in Dubai, I did not want to put 20 lakh IDR for this experience… and my friends were more keen to go clubbing

So we savoured the fresh air, the random presence of baby Elephants in the elephant bay, and the traditional Balinese architecture that housed many galleries. We didn’t even get time to check out the Kiboko Pool!

At night, post dinner, we were regaled with shamanic dance performances with animal-inspired headdresses and intoxicating Balinese music. Something primal and deep troubled us at night – nobody slept well – and in one of our friend’s cottages, they were freaked out with the sound of nails scraping on their door. More mysteries!

NUSA PENIDA ISLAND

Now this is odd, but many girls from our travel troop backed out of visiting Nusa Penida island. Mostly because of the fear of equatorial temperatures. Yes, even January end!  Our tour agent had chosen to have us up before dawn to get on the first catamaran out to Nusa Penida on a Sunday morning, so we could sight-see around the three beaches (my friend put it like this – “teen bitches teen beaches dekhenge”) before the searing hot sun had us in a Victorian-inspired ‘swoon’.

Most of the girls chose to stay in at the resort for a spa day…but me and two brave friends – Ruby Singh and Rita Patel – took the plunge. While we made it to the boat on time, and to the other side by 9.00 am or so, our teenage driver seemed to have either smoked up a bit or a very  late night and showed up at 10.30 odd to take us across to the legendary three beaches – Broken Beach (Pantai Pasih Uug), Angel’s Billabong, and Kelingking Beach in the west then heading east to Diamond Beach.

Since our driver was not the most conversational guy, I am stunned to find out now, that Nusa Penida is steeped in Balinese folklore, with legends of black magic and evil spirits, particularly the story of Ratu Gede Mas Mecaling (also known as Dalem Bungkut). 

 

Mecaling, once a king of Bali, was exiled to Nusa Penida for his black magic and is believed to still roam the island, bringing misfortune. These stories contribute to the island’s reputation as a place of both fear and spiritual significance. 

 

Perhaps this is why one sees YouTube videos of boats tossed on wild waves around Nusa, with passengers worried about capsizing – and tourists not being allowed to actually go down to the beaches. We did adore the abundant beauty of the foliage, hills and glades and rice terraces, that spread out like Nature’s balm between the east and west of the island.

 

Once we actually got down to Nusa Penida… I was mesmersied by the claw like formation of the land below. It did smack of the idea of a animal-like warrior out with his claws and reminded me of the claw-pose of the Hanuman character I took a picture with post-show, at Uluwatu. Even in Thailand, long, claw-like, upturned nails are a regular feature in the projection of dragon feet, goddess hands and of course, gargoyles. Interesting.

 

We had our giant coconut water of course, to stay hydrated, and then got back on the catamaran to head to Bali. On the journey, my friend Ruby and I chose to sit at the back deck, open air, as there was no ac in the main part of the catamaran, and the humidity and heat were unbearable.

 

Sitting out at the back, she captured some dramatic cloud formations that danced over the water, using her iPhone insta filters. Somehow, there was a theatrical quality to the skies… something we don’t see in every destination. I do believe Bali has a mystique personality – and we didn’t even scratch the surface. Just got a sense of it moving through her spaces.

I still have a Ganesha statue, the colour of rusted copper (a pastel green with gold highlights which I bought for one lakh IDR at the Ubud street market, and I remember the store owner seeking its blessings before passing the Ganesha to me. Religion is a living force here, and again, it’s a Hindu island in an Islamic state. Beautiful.

We had many other experiences worth cherishing in Bali – watersports, para sailing, and eating the yummiest Nasi Goreng in Seminyak! We had a blast buying their cane woven bags, with beautiful shell motifs, a shell-based cocktail ring, and even a few sexy sarong and blouson dresses. I also bought a hand-painted wallet featuring a cheery feather motif. Loved the fashion at Ubud Street Market, especially one store which featured gorgeous monochrome outfits with gold stud work.

BRUNCHING AROUND WATERFALLS

On our last day in Bali, we chose to pay through our noses and book a table at a coveted club. Now when we think ‘club’ in Indian cities, it is rarely a landscaped affair, with picturesque waterfalls and luxe open terraces. This club offered us this lovely sense of proximity with nature while bringing the hugest possible thin crust wood fired pizzas and the nicest of local beers and wines.

Just down from the club, was a mini shopping street, so those who missed out on local goodies stocked up on giftables and dresses before calling it a stay!

 GOODBYE BALI!

As we approached the airport, a friend in the group called our attention to a palm-shaped island – probably manmade – and joked that this was not Palm Jumeirah, but “Chummeirah” – meaning we are kissing it goodbye!

 

The departure terminal was far more luxurious – the arrival terminal had been more artsy and functional. Here, luxe shopping – especially for local souveniers, spirits, watches, art – offered us plenty to see. I bought a giant embroidered denim bag which  was great to load the extra somethings I was carrying with me. I also figured it was a wonderful bag to have if travelling short distances and one wanted to throw in a cap, a book, a sunscreen, etc etc.

We had an eight hour layover in Singapore, which became a comedy. We were like posh refugees, sleeping on the white leather circular benches around faux trees. Intoxicated with wine from the flight, remembering the most random things – like our PM referring to Donald Trump as ‘Do-Lan Trump’ and Trump calling him a Chi-Walla. The prim and propah Chinese passengers walked up to us, demanding civilised 3.00 am behaviour, so we shut the ** up!

Still, being ever adventurous, I bought some Chinese cookies filled with dried pineapple, while my friends bought their favourite spirits.

One can never get enough of travel!

The moral of the story is, be it Bali or Singaore, nature has been allowed to co-exist with the most sophisticated interiors and exteriors. While we are proud of our infrastructure – the snaking highways zigzagging across the sea – we would be smart to learn from the Asian Tigers to dress them up in Nature. Flowers, plants, trees. Return soul to modernity. If the Ambani’s concrete  Antilla can be dressed in vertical gardens, so can Mumbai!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SANGEETA WADDHWANI ON THE FEAR, FASCINATION AND THE IMPOSTER SYNDROME WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

It is finally happening.

 

We are destroying humanity’s natural propensity to find joy in hard work. We have harnessed our soul’s hunger for organically expressed creativity, by letting technology take over the reins in every sphere – image creation, video creation, PPT creation, social media engagement tools, social media post generation tools, song creation and film trailor creation.

 

At first, the insta-creativity strikes us as miraculous. All the children of Goddess Saraswati and Goddess Mahalaxmi get their articles, marketing PPTs, essays, deeply moving songs, imagery and social media posts on auto-pilot. With astounding results sometimes, or with results that need some tweeks. Chalta hai. In India, we say, ‘This is so cool – 80,000 songs a day from SUNO… let’s do this…as long as the tool is free!’

 

What could be the collateral damage?

According to UNESCO, the creative economy, which employs 48 million people and currently contributes 3.1% to global GDP, is expected to account for 10% of the global GDP by 2030. What are we doing to the creative economy, especially in populous nations like India?

 

Let’s see. For the hundred plus years of our glorious Indian cinema, there were no such tools. Javed Akhtar wrote his Sholay chakki peesing dialogue on the bonnet of a car just before entering the airport to get his flight out of Ramgarh to Mumbai. Today, more than three generations later, most of India can recite that dialogue! Why did it work so well??

It was organic. Spun from our desh ki dharti.

 

Fast forward to 2024. Let’s imagine a Javedsaab rushing to catch his flight to Mumbai, telling the producer, ‘Pay me my next one crore if you want to extend the script – thoda last minute hai.”

 

A Gen Z or Y film-maker may not have that kind of a budget. So what do they do? Shop the AI tool bazaar and hit GENERATE to get their dialogue for the sozzled Veeru! A film-maker’s entire marketing campaign and trailor – which at a time would cost him or her a chunk of the film’s budget – can now turn to the new AI ‘talent’ pool – Creatify, InVideo, VideoGen or Ideogram – to get his visual and audio storytelling ideas. Imagine him feeding the prompt – Drunk Lover Threatens Suicide To Get His Sweetheart to commit and get her mother’s objections out of the way… in front of the whole village of Ramgarh.’

 

We would probably get a polished, impeccable suicide threat speech in globalese with no reference to Mataji getting a lifetime jail sentence where she will be ‘chakki peesing, and peesing and peesing!”

 

So why are we doing this to ourselves? Making a technology that annihilates the NEED to create, to employ our capacity to be suprahuman, to imagine, to dream?  Is it not written in our sacred scriptures that creativity is inherently Divine, and that all the 64 arts have the power to empower, heal, remove depression, renew and re-energise us? That great works of art build personal and collective legacies?  After all, 81.1 percent of case studies have shown that creative therapy removes stress and improves the energy frequency we emit.

 

As a mediaperson, I have known how ‘organic’ storytelling impacted me. When I worked for STAR TV’s the Amul India Show, I recall myself and two beefy camera men going to visit the city’s dance bars.  In the four-dimensional world, each HD camera was eight kilos and there were no cell phone cameras to rely on.

 

 Anyways, we were physically going to visit bars where dancers were shimmying to Bollywood music. We captured the way they lit aggarbatis around the dancefloor, and bowed low, their foreheads touching the nearby God statues, showing gratitude for the platform that paid their children’s school fees and paid the bills.

 

As a window on India, we were trying to show the OTHER SIDE to the argument that these bars were citadels of sin. Who was really sinning here – the women working for their children, or a government that refused to ‘zoom’ into their sad realities?

 

Today, social media users can generate a video showing bar dancers (without ever meeting them) and simply spew a caption asking, ‘WHO WILL PAY THEIR BILLS?’  It touches very little in the spirit of the ‘content creator’ or viewer – no nuances here!

 

We can create clouds for a scene (like we saw in the Oscar-nominated Lagaan) without waiting for Nature. In fact, that is exactly what the Amir Khan production team did, when they needed those pregnant monsoon clouds, bulging, grey, menacing and yet assuring the farmers that abundance will come to their parched lives and lands, once the clouds broke into a ghannana ghannana thunder and diamond pellets of rain.

 

Recently, the renowned fashion/lifestyle celebrity photographer, Vikram Bawa, shared how AI tools had multiplied the possibilities of image creation, without any sweat, blood, any contact with reality.

 

There was a time “we would rise at the crack of dawn for a shot with the ‘right light’ by the Yamuna flowing by the iconic and eternally awe-inspiring Taj Mahal in Agra. We had to ‘make friendships’ with the authorities to shoot around the back of the monument, sip chai with them, get to know about their lives and their work, over the few days of the fashion shoot. Slowly, they would see their location, from a fashion photographer’s point of view. ‘Sir, ye light hamme chahiye. Ye subha ka light mein meri model sabse khubsurat lagegi.”

 

Today, he can create the model, prompt for the light, location, clothes, hair, make-up, storyboard – all on AI. The only expense? The price for the tool subscription!

 

For every advancement in technology, job markets have broken down, only to rebuild accommodating the disruption. But here in the Kaliyuga, we are actually moving to a mediated reality where you will not need teamwork, you can avoid human interactions and idea-swaps and brainstorms altogether, putting that laptop where everybody else used to be. Goodbye to the chai, chats and chaat-fests, goodbye to the naughty jokes about Donald or DOLAND Trump (as our PM called him at the Namaste Trump event in 2020, in Delhi.)

Gone are the chances to grow together, try out new ideas – visceral, visual, musical – and gone is the ethos of failing together, making immaculate memories of working around the clock, screaming with joy at victories.

 

Years ago, when writing a piece on the Bahai’ faith, after visiting the Lotus Temple in Delhi, I remember the leader, Baha’ullah, predicting that as humanity evolves, borders between nations will cease to matter, preachers will vanish because knowledge will be accessible to all, and we will move towards a collective, global consciousness. “Every one will have the education and intelligence to access the scriptures themselves,” was the spirit of his prediction.

Will there be a day soon, when a robot will dictate my values and choices, and I will be left programmed to say, “AI AI Sir?”

 

I would add to that, Artificial Intelligence is actually a part of that process, as it shocks me how like a genie, it takes your prompt and can spin whatever you want with such a smooth alignment to your cultural codes, moods and flavours! This is true whether your prompt is Russian, Hindi, British, American…

 

So in Humanity V3, the Creator in each one of us is going to become tech-enabled, then tech-addicted and tech-dependent. Schools may need two kinds of therapists – one a ‘de-addiction’to the digital tools ‘expert, and another, ‘coping with the pace of innovation’ therapist.

 

We ask, will there ever be a 100 percent OG creation, in the mediated reality? Will AI tools really replace our ‘tais’ and ‘ais’ (aunts and mother in Marathi)? Old people have seen the quickest devaluation in the Age of Information… dead before they die. For who really wants their offerings of life lessons, epics, songs…paintings?

 

After all, even First-Gen tech tools like WhatsApp, Messenger services, Facebook, Twitter, Bumble, Tinder – annihilated the idea of us as a monogamous race. We are now moulded by this easy access to multiple relationships, multiple business streams, multiple wardrobe choices – all with a few clicks of a button.

 

What all this excess has spawned, paradoxically, is an Extreme Loneliness. Every family is a multi-walled fortress where each individual lives in his or her parallel universe, online. We over-document what is of least importance, and often miss the finer stories that need to be documented – like my experience with Mumbai’s bar dancers.

 

Osho famously predicted a time where technology will take over all money-making endeavours, leaving humanity confronting its empty existence, filled with an undefinable angst. We can take it two ways – self-destruct from the loneliness of empty connectivity and delegated work and creativity, or go the other way – dive deep into organic creation and creativity, spiritual retreats, explore higher ideals, meditate more, spread more peace and wisdom, preserve our planet.  

 

The more I see AI take away my need to create, the more I shudder.

Who will be the master, who the servant? Can AI tools ever replace the muscle memory of hard work that our artisans carry in their DNA going back 5,000 plus years?

“Ai, Ai, Sir, Ma’am…”

 

 

SANGEETA WADDHWANI
CREATIVE DIRECTOR

SAN CREATIVES 

THE CONTENT SHOP

Website: www.sangeetawaddhwani.com

Blog: http://editorspicks.blog (LIFE OF A MAGAZINE EDITOR)

AUTHOR:  SHAKTI IN THE CITY

BOLLYWOOD ON THE BEND

ENCOUNTERS WITH THE RICH AND FAMOUS

MIND THE GAP!

WHO DESIGNED WHAT LEHENGA? WHICH IMPORTED ARTISTES REALLY TOPPED THEIR GAME?  DID ANANT REALLY GIFT AUDEMAR-PIGUET WATCHES TO HIS BEST MEN? DID NICK JONAS ACTUALLY TURN DOWN PERFORMING AT THE WEDDING? SANGEETA WADDHWANIOFFERS A NOUVEAU SPIN ON THE 5,000 CRORE GLOBAL SPECTACLE

The Anant and Radhika Ambani nuptial (estimated to have a total expense of INR 5,000 crores or US$600M), has been grist for that giant 24/7 story mill we call social media for nearly half of 2024.

Given how many of our phone screens cracked from the megawattage of the diamonds, we now are #ambaniweddingaddicts…and demand sequel after sequel…! How sad this drama needs to end!

Big Fat Indian Weddings ensure you do get a bit of brain fog, as you consume gigabytes of wedding content till your grey cells submit to a new dementia…Diamondtia.

WELCOME TO THE NETFLIX SHOW: PARTYING WITH THE AMBANIS

Asia’s wealthiest billionaire’s family has set the bar so high on the scale and possibility of a nuptial, they have surpassed even royal weddings around the world.

As we read in The Guardian, “This expenditure is 14 times greater than the US$43.2 million spent on the 2018 wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and former American actress Meghan Markle, as reported by CNBC.

It also exceeds the US$48 million expense of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer’s 1981 wedding, now estimated to be around US$163 million in today’s dollars, according to the South China Morning Post.

Additionally, it surpassed the US$45 million cost of the 1979 wedding between Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Sheikha Hind Bint Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum, now valued at approximately US$137 million.

HELLO, WHAT IS A PRE-WEDDING?

Now, how many couples have pre-wedding parties to begin with? This is definitely a precedent, by itself! And any celebration that covers six months odd..from a three-day pre-wedding event in March in Jamnagar,  Gujarat leading up to the official wedding in July, would necessarily need an infusion of celebrities and dignitaries and locations to keep it engaging both for friends, family and guests, and the social media whirl.

Noteworthy expenses for Anant and Radhika’s wedding included US$6 million paid to Barbarian R&B singer Rihanna for a performance at their March pre-wedding celebration, US$150 million for a wedding cruise from Italy to the South of France in May, and US$10 million for a performance by American pop singer Justin Bieber during the July festivities in Mumbai.

Anant, 28, is a classic PhD…Papa Has Dough…quite a lot of it, at a valuation of  US$110 billion. In fact, as of July 16, Forbes ranks Mukesh Ambani’s net worth at US$122 billion, positioning him as the richest person in Asia and the 11th wealthiest globally.

Little wonder neither former UK Prime Ministers Boris Johnson nor Tony Blair, resisted a visit to a nation whose GDP was once demolished by 150 years of British Empire. Just 75 years after we were sucked dry of our self-esteem, scarred by famines and looted of our supremacy as the world’s foremost producers of textiles, spices, architecture, scripture…The Great Ambani Wedding put India back at the epicenter of global wonder and awe.

Reuters reported that Rajan Mehra, CEO of air charter company Club One Air, disclosed that the Ambanis hired three Falcon-2000 jets from his company for transporting guests, with over 100 private planes anticipated to be used for the event.

THE TRUE POTENTIAL OF THIS WEDDING..EVEN POST!

Since profit-making is part of the family DNA, why not edit and structure an entire seasonal show by itself, titled PARTYING WITH THE AMBANIS, and sell it to Netflix as an exclusive? (This will be footage NOT blasted on socials so far!)

Since the family has had three mega weddings, and two massive ‘pre-wedding’ weddings, it will be a reality show boasting the biggest budget ever. A show which has all the truths to make it richer and deliciously stranger than fiction.

Like Nita-ji sitting with her many favourite  jewellers and brainstorming on settings. Like Anant’s sarpej diamonds being attached by his grandmom, such a touching moment, for an Ambani prince. Like the Ambani teams briefing the vendors who will be at Portofino. Enough BTS people and moments and hard work..including dance rehearsals by the Ambani women..and men!

Don’t we see here, the ingredients a hit webseries requires – episodic celebrations, each a Mardi Gras of themed dressing up, famous faces, cordon bleu cuisines, divine locations, lights, camera, action!

And kya storyline bhi hai...childhood sweethearts, innocent hearts, designer costumes, dialogues, filmy people,  filmy dances, Gen X, Y and Z style live gigs (and Gen Z style hook-ups on the cruise to Italy, so we hear!) NOT to mention the international guests and performers..from Former British PM John Major to Marc Zuckerberg to Justin Beiber, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Kim and Khloe Kadarshian, the Back Street Boys, Rema…and so on.

Also an entire Italian port town playing ‘host’ to the Ambani jamboree…Portofino! (Translated, Fine Port)! Mamma Mia meets Modern Maharajas of Millionaire Country…India.

PORTOFINO…HERE WE COME!

From Isha Ambani’s school buddy, the mysteriously viral Orry Awatramani’s YouTube uploads, we see that the port city became a bingefest with marshmallow fondue stalls, Indian masala paneer rolls, (served with crushed Lays chips poured over before rolling up the rolls), pink pasta, some bespoke pastries and even a magician playing some card tricks! Tragedy was, those on a calorie count, (like Orry) had to confess to the sin of gluttony to their inner Padre…he told his captive YouTube viewers, so sheepishly, “I have consumed one week worth of calories in one afternoon!”

There  were so many themed parties on that cruise, I sometimes had to do three changes in one night!” shared a business honcho friend who was onboard that epic journey.

From the enchanting melodies of Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli echoing through the quaint streets of Portofino to the electrifying performances by global icons like Katy Perry and the Backstreet Boys aboard the ship, there was an impressive range of entertainment.

It was a strange mix of hard red carpet work and possibly excess luggage issues from the sheer variety of outfits needed onboard…and many felt they were in a daze through the experience. A hyper-real universe this cruise ship was, sailing between cultures and between time zones, pandering to just those special few close friends and family who the Ambanis were comfortable being around 24/7…be it in tracks or tank tops.  We are talking guests like Shah Rukh Khan, Nawaz Modi Singhania, Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh…

BACK TO ‘WED IN INDIA’

While on Indian ground, our Bolly people shimmied and tried hard to not feel upended by the Ambani Dance of The Diamonds. Those polkis, jadaos, meenakari beauties screamed India Shining!

Meanwhile, reality TV stars Kim and Khloe Kardashian took these jewels to be a social doctor’s prescription and were seen in many-layered blingtastic Indian accessories – particularly emeralds…

Now now this is what I love about American celebrities vs our Desi stars. The sisters jumped into an auto rickshaw to add to their Great Indian Wedding Experience…Lorraine Schwartz emeralds strictly NOT needed…and have announced that they are going to incorporate their wedding moments on their American TV show, an episode hopefully titled, ‘Ambaniness’ meets ‘Tajness’ meets ‘Autorickshaw Goddesses.’

This is why an NRI cousin of mine, based in the US, has praised “the optics” of the Great Ambani Wedding. From a time when the optics going out from India were those of dusty villages (Bandit Queen), slum kids (Salaam Mumbai), and even the much awarded Slumdog Millionaire (unabashedly showing shit piles and slumdogs of Mumbai)…not to forget the grim rape statistics that keep many female tourists away…to now this unabashed, Indian at heart, globe-trotting, hedonistic wedding, screaming of new money and new statistics to take note of! This is a New India…after all!

One doesn’t know how authentic one particular statistic is, claiming that India boasts 850 millionaires, (ranking only after China), and is ‘minting’ a millionaire every half hour!

But that is what one reads in the Wall Street Journal:

I quote, “An Ambani wedding may be in a class of its own, but wealthy families like them aren’t as rare as they once were in India. The country is minting millionaires and billionaires faster than ever, wealth managers and economists say, thanks to a burgeoning economy that is making large businesses richer, while also making it easier to start new ones.” 

The story goes on to another power packed quote, “Today a billionaire is born every month in our country,” said Himanshu Kohli, co-founder of the multifamily investment office Client Associates. “Every 30 minutes there is a millionaire born.”

SPIRITED DANCING

Given that Gujarat is a dry state, I was truly amused to hear my friend assuring me that the floating (cruise) and non floating parties (Jamnagar, Portofino, Jio World Convention Centre) “saw only the best alcohol in the world being served!” Did we not see this in the spirited dancing all around? My favourite video is when Justin Beiber does a one-on-one jam with the aforementioned @orryawatramani whose unintelligible scatting was wild and trippy!

THE AMBANI LADIES: AS THE NEW INFLUENCERS

Do  you know what trumped the whole shenanigan for me? The shift from Bolly denizens having the highest Influencer Quotient to the members of the Ambani clan doing a complete visibility turnaround.

ALL ABOARD?

Think about it. Nita Ambani’s tiled emerald necklace spawned at least a gazillion or more knockoffs across various jewellery brand accounts – all shamelessly flaunting their copy as being closest to what Mrs A was wearing. Will the Real Best FAKE please stand up?

Then came the woven textile saree knockoffs.  And in this regard, one is actually quite pleased to see Mrs Ambani’s direct interest in supporting the native weaves of India, particularly those rich silks and brocade bordered sarees from Varanasi. In this photo, Nita Ambani is a picture of Indian  regality in @abujanisandeepkhosla…

When I was Executive Editor at HELLO! I had an authentic story from the famous Shanti Benares family, whose family has owned its own weaving atelier for at least four generations in Varanasi. They told us how intricately embroidered wall hanging compositions featuring Radha Krishna in lush forests, using only the finest of gold zardozi and silks, were commissioned by Nita Ambani as gifts for the special guests invited to Isha and Anand Piramal’s wedding in Italy.

Perhaps due to the trolling the Ambani videos were getting, Nita Ambani appears in a video claiming that the wedding aligned itself deeply to Indian spiritual roots…a video filmed in the sacred town of Kaashi. (https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9T6KP4CGON/?igsh=YWV4Y3B0dDZseHJ).

The  same video shows her injesting street chaat and being a true desh bhakt…showing that vendors from these tradition steeped towns were brought to Antilia to usher in bonafide prayers, conduct rituals and play music…rich rustic flavours to humanise the concrete facades of the Ambani privately owned building on my street!

THE POSITIVE FALL OUTS

Public toilets have been set up near Antilia as well, and daily meals were being served to the humble lift men, watchmen, maids, etc who come to work in the area. Even the police security station was given a shaadi makeover!

But back to the New Crazy Rich Indian phenomenon …this Indian Dream is definitely more deeply entrenched in all of us than any American dream can profess to be!

Let’s face it, official statistics show the average Indian family spends three times it’s average household income on a wedding. PM Modi made sure the last part of the circus happened on home turf..with his WED IN INDIA campaign. Statistics show that one lakh crore rupees are spent by Indians on their ‘international destination weddings.’ Why not nurture the motherland?

Meanwhile, I may hop onto Anant Ambani’s trading app…hoping some of that Ambani magic rubs off this lamp!

Till we meet again…

The wealthiest bride in Asia?

TO HEART OR NOT TO HEART? IN AN AGE OF INCREASING AUTOMATION, NON PERSONAL INTERACTIONS AND TINDER VS TENDER LOVE, HEERAMANDI LOOKS LIKE A PARADISE THAT AT LEAST DECORATED AFFAIRS OF THE BODY WITH A HINT OF HEART…SANGEETA WADDHWANI EXPLORES THE WHORES NOT OF LAHORE…

Living with the expectation of love, let’s face it, is like putting your precious heart on a gambling table. There is your heart, emanating feelings, raised on a diet of filial love, Bollywood and fairytales.

But the man spinning the roulette returns it, explaining, “We trade only in what is tangible. Money, sex, sex, money. What is this feeling thing? It is not today’s currency…in fact, this feeling thing only creates a debt! Like a credit card that lends you a dream only to reclaim what you owe with interest. Arre…Hatto! Be a modern Mallikajaan…move with the times, move to the next item in your harem or seduction ki dukkan…that sells…

So LOVE, my dear, is that slippery slope, navigating a gap between illusion and reality. Feelings are irrelevant, often your worst enemy. The proverbial rose-tinted glasses crack once the dreamy strobe lights of the hook-up party die out…and each of the participants (we can’t say lovers) goes their own way.

Am I right, Xennials, Gen Y and Gen Z?

Lets throw into this Age of the Apes behaviour, the swarming tribe of swinging (read cheating) married people, and you have a tamasha the ISKON pundits would decry as an absolute sign of the Kali, Kali yuga, and social scientists will quantify if they can with statistics  (like did you know Bangalore is the infidelity capital of the world, according to Gledeen, the app for married people dating other married people?)  Hmmm…as Bejan Daruwala famously said. ” We live not in a time of astrology, but technology.” Morality is so passe!

Tinder, Bumble, Truly Madly and scores of dating apps often make it possible to put back those rose-tinted glasses. The notion that we have a Soulmate Somewhere Out There. So many men look like they are seeking genuine, soulful connections. But are they?

As one hits the midlife zone, one finds most men  divorced or separated. Some openly declare they are past their personal Age of Hook Ups. Others flash the SEX POSITIVITY tag…such ‘hipsters’ certainly don’t lie!

So now, let’s keep in mind why dating has become a souless exchange, often devoid of even names being exchanged (remember Sonam Kapoors character in Veere di Wedding, waking up next to a man she slept with…forgetting his name? But of course they were both too drunk to care for such social niceties like checking on names!) People are getting naked physically but certainly not unpacking who they are…not for their own self knowledge, and certainly not for that weird other hunk or Babe they bedded.

Who in today’s far more egalitarian times, information saturated times, disruptive times, materialistic times, has the time or energy or inclination to swear by a partner…for the proverbial saat janams (Hindu wedding prayer) or even till ‘death do you part (Christian and Catholic weddings?)

People are lost in the haze of inflation, digital narcissism (yes Gen Z is also called the Selfie generation!), dealing with meltdowns of business models and old strategies…they have Gen gaps with mom and dad, with the boss too, and they are trying to get past traffic and emotional storms …lafda lafdas…would they even notice if a woman walks by them in a public space, with her best Gaja Gamini swag? Fluttering her value-added Korean eye lashes?

So yes, people are choosing Sex. Souless. Seamless. Zip less.. to borrow Erica Jongs favourite monicker.

This is so different from the quasi- loyal sahib and whore bond, where that sahib remained with his whore…by choice and not edict, until the whore’s own  daughter steals him away!  But it is still not without some kind of soul…some deep knowing, some lyricism, some rhythms of familiarity and fondness.

As for the heart? I think the tawaaifs had much more emotional capital invested in their sahibs. They were brave to throw their hearts into that circus ring, and that was an era where the men, being patriarchs, were raised to think of women as the weaker gender…in need of their patronage. So the men too, invested in those connections out of a certain sense of moral obligation to protect this parallel reality, these parallel demi wives…who understood their more primal needs with far greater astuteness.

Compare that to our day and age. Young women are offering their charms to the highest bidder…especially in showbiz…and those already at the top of their game, see a swarm of boy toys happy to do their bidding. I remember this line describing not just Bollywood’s casting couches, but how the whole industry was lubricated by the currency of our times…money and sex.  “Everybody got paid, got laid if they wanted that too…” (from my novel, Bollywood on the Bend, available on Amazon Kindle)

So you’re looking for love? Master the art of hooking up first. Lock up that sentiment before it locks you up! 

CITY TAWAAIFS…LOVE BITES!

Like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman had her menu down pat, (no kissing, hourly rates), many of today’s independent women also have their agenda down pat.

Some fellas get lucky just buying a woman a Four Seasons dinner. I have scant respect for such trade offs, but I know this to be a common practice especially among young middle class ‘chicks’ in our megapolis’s suburbs.

Other girls play easy to get as soon as they see professional upward mobility. This, in today’s day and age, matters more to them than snagging a rich husband…as one of my mature male friends had shared with me. He was operating from a self-appointed sugar daddy space, hoping to entice a nubile model or actress, 20 something, fair and lovely,  a trophy wife. But wifehood itself didn’t excite any of the hopefuls he liked. “They are not looking for a sugar daddy till they are 35, giving themselves a chance to be rich and famous on their own terms…!”

He was, of course, hugely disappointed!

Meanwhile here was I, midlifing like him, attracting far many more toy boys..young men who I wasn’t seeking to have around! And these nubile paramours have literally put their cards on the table…”No marriage..The institution ain’t working babe…and no emotions please..we are only human!”

So one tries to strip the frosting from the cake…so very unlike Bhansali’s tawaaifs. The modern relating jungle offers no time for poetry, no Gaja Gamini walk of seduction, no chandeliers or mujras…this is a zoo of hormonal exchanges, transacted with no history and certainly no mystery!  Who said we are far more than the sum of our parts!

What happened to the courting of the Divine Feminine? Ours is a culture where even the tawaif was aware of her ability to weave feminine magic …dance, song, poetry, tameez (good manners) and she even wielded soft power, influencing the most powerful minds of the time.  Her clients, the nawabs, were powerful men who often surrendered their logical selves when entering the kotha… and with the added intoxication of perfumes, soft lighting, beauty, social graces, song and dance,  many new ideas were seeded that impacted their day-to-day decisions.

There is this story of a tawaaif who married an English general, and after his passing away, acquired and ran his estate, took care of the administration of his army, slowly masterminding the expansion of her former husbands properties, land and power.

See what I mean? These women had no formal education, but they were shrewd and running a business …even if it was a Heeramandi…where the language of high art, an education in the sola shringaar, and the knowledge of seduction and pleasure…coupled with a hard pragmatism on releasing a tawaaif if she was no longer a favourite…showed an intelligent female tribe…and yes, no denying it’s more vicious side either.

But let’s think back to when our kings had many wives. Those wives eventually learned to be family, and when the men went about their administration, hunts, wars…The women were each other’s truest allies and support systems. Maharani Gayatri Devi had actually felt that the women living in erstwhile extended family were far less prone to depression than the slick, educated, empowered Western woman living by herself in a monogamous marriage and a nuclear family.  Possibly Gayatri Devi had experienced that sense of isolation when holidaying in Europe, living without that prolific sisterhood…with just her husband around…when he was around.

The world as I like to say it, is a different Heeramandi today…but it is a mehfil of transaction. Now let me practice my Gaja Gamini walk for a reel…reel life beats real life for such moves…any day!

IF YOU HAVE EVER WONDERED WHAT IT IS LIKE TO BE A JOURNALIST IN AN INDIA CHANGING AT A PACE SHE NEVER HAS BEFORE, CLICK ON THE YOUTUBE LINK BELOW!

Sangeeta Waddhwani has met and interviewed everyone from Bollywood SUPERSTARS Amitabh Bachchan, to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, to Hritik Roshan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Sushmita Sen, Sridevi Kapoor, Hema Malini, Dimple Kapadia, Madhuri Dixit and more…

Also… FASHION ICONS Manish Malhotra, Tarun Tahiliani, Abu Jani, Sandeep Khosla, Wendell Rodricks, Sabyasachi, Anita Dongre, Nivedita Saboo, Shivan & Naresh, Pria Kataaria Puri… and that’s just fashion…

She’s also interviewed Royalty, Arts & Humanities Practitioners A.R. Rahman and Deepak Chopra, and Corporate Moguls like the Ambanis.
The full breadth of her work would be too long for Facebook (check out more in her books)!

How we met was a stunning tale of spiritual guidance from my spiritual guides (also in the interview), and this interview and really, “soul chit-chat” was MEANT to happen! Sangeeta gave her take on Spirituality, Synchronicities, Power Women, Patriarchy, Celebrity Journalism and Creativity in India.

Ladies and gentlemen this lady is a gem, who we need to preserve and take care of. I know I will.

Enjoy the interview.

Love
Zephyr