It's the Talkies!

Alka Talkies, Lakdi Pul, Pune.

This is one of the older movie theatres in Pune. Perhaps about 60-70 years old.  I'm not sure if it actually screened silent movies in the past but it just might have.  Movie theatres used to have just one screen.  They were also defined  by the size of the film they could project, "70mm" or "35mm".  I have last seen a movie in this theatre perhaps around 1982.  It has a lower section and a more expensive upper house ("Balcony").  It was not air conditioned back then. Now it probably is. Below the red section was the bicycle parking. Hundreds of bicycles would be stacked in a shed under there. They would give you a small coupon to find your bicycle after the show.  Almost all patrons used bicycles and there may have been a couple of cars and a handful of motorcycles/scooters during each show.
These theatres themselves came to be called "Talkies" based on what they screened.    Even now you can tell a autorikshaw taxi driver to take you to "Alka Talkies". ( Its pronounced "taakies", I didnt realize where the word came from until many years later.). In the intermission of the movie you could buy greasy spicy crunchy samosas. At your seat. Then throw the scrunched up wrapper at the screen if you didnt like what was happening in the movie.  This kind of behaviour was the purview of the cheap non balcony seated rascals. Enviable.

The road not taken.

Joshi (?)Bungalow, BCL Lane, Deccan

I go to the British Council Library on some weekends.  My father is a member. It’s near Deccan Gymkhana.   I was early and walked up the lane next to it to see what lay ahead.  Two apartment buildings were undergoing a facelift.  They will become business hotels.  And in one lot was this crumbling bungalow.  Must be from the early 1940’s or maybe even older.   I sat on a concrete pipe and drew it.  Light drizzle of rain. 

Later at the British Council Library I scored.  They were having a booksale.  Books that have now been worn out and are being withdrawn and some “slow movers”. 

Guess what was moving slow? A Three volume set of Cunninghams Oxford press Manual of Practical Human Anatomy!  A very good anatomy reference for my collection.  I have been trying to learn basic human anatomy to draw figures reasonably accurately.  Vastus Medius is an extensor. Really.  An exciting  moment in my life.

What was worn?  “Secret Knowledge”. A very good quality art book by David Hockney. It’s his thesis that a lot of artists just after the 1500’s started using optics to help them draw.  They would use mirrored lenses to create an image on a paper as reference and then use that as basis of human portraits.  Ingres, Vermeer, are amongst the artists he thinks used such aids.   A very controversial book.  Even I was not sure I wanted to hear that those artists were ‘copying’ .   Buts it’s a good read. And has some really good reproductions of many famous art works.
Also purchased: “History of British Art” ( Blah.). And a good book by Metcalfe about Colonial architecture. It’s interesting reading about many of the old British era buildings one sees in India.    All in all a grand total of INR 450. Or About USD 9.  Amitabh’s a winner.  And the sweet librarian lady now thinks I’m a medical doctor.  

Running and street dogs - II

Deccan Gymkhana Post office. Estd. 1923.

What can you do about street dogs?  

This is the follow up. See Part I.    

This is important. It’s all about body language.  Yours and the dogs.

1.       Barking dogs really don’t bite.  They are warning you off.   They may not even look at you.  Do not stare at them.  But this behavior could change to an attacking one. Be alert. 

2.       If a dog lopes towards you quickly and kind of growls in a low tone with hackles raised, this is bad news.  He/she wants a piece of you.   Stop.  Face and look them in the eye.  Make yourself big by raising and waving your arms. Shout. And walk out of their space slowly.  Don’t kick.

3.       To preempt this, pretend to throw a pebble at them.  They have been pelted so often in India that they will run away by conditioning.

4.       Dogs in packs could be serious trouble.  If you are going past an agitated pack, walk or wait for them to pass.   If one chooses to bark at you, all will follow and then they tend to go into a ‘hunting’ mode.  Pick up stones and hurl to hit. 

I have not been bitten yet.  I have been ‘attacked’ quite a few times though.  While scary, it has a bright side.   When you are in a long run your mind tends to drift.  Work, family, and other thoughts take you away from the run.   A dogs growl brings you in the here and now like nothings else!   All your senses are alert and you are completely in the present moment.   

Like most fears in our life, keep an eye out for dogs but don’t obsess about them.  For the most part ignoring them works.    And, once in a while, they will bite you in the behind.

Running and street dogs- I

Inside Goodluck Cafe

It’s a common sight in most Indian towns.   Free range urban dogs can be seen at garbage bins or moving singly or in packs along most streets.  They are considered a menace and Pune has in the last month recorded an unusually high number of dog bites.

I usually run around 6:30 am through 8:30 am.  It’s too hot after that and the traffic accompanied by pollution from vehicle exhausts also becomes unbearable.  During one 15 km run I had counted about 40- 50 dogs along my route.

Here are some suggestions about running past dogs that seem like they are waiting to chase you down.

First, some behavioral observations and what they mean to you.  I must mention that I like dogs in general.  While I am not defender of the ‘street dogs” (It’s not a great life in any case for them) I am against culling them by poison or other painful means. If you are fearful of dogs you should stay alert and keep a few pebbles handy so you can throw them in the dog’s general direction when you see them.

 Dogs are territorial. It’s important to be aware of what that space maybe.  If the dog seems to belong to the house by the street, or is attached to a group of huts or shanties by the road side, about a meter or two into the road and along the length of their house is what they typically consider their space.  So give in to them and go around.   Dogs around garbage bins are usually scavenging. They don’t really care about you unless you look like competition.   Running close to a feeding dog may generate aggression.  Dogs are also unpredictable and moody. The same dog that barked at you when you went past first may completely ignore you on your way back. Or vice versa. 

What can you do about them?  See Part II.

Not walking away from THIS one.

Forum Mall Foodcourt, Bangalore.

Temple, Deccan Gymkhana

Sometimes I see a scene that looks like it could make a great drawing but my heart sinks at the work involved or its a challenge with intricacies of lots of stuff, moving people, perspective etc.  I used to walk away before, but these two times I HAD to sit down and get my book out and make the drawings just to prove to myself that I could render that scene.  Lots of mistakes but they look interesting. And they didn't take that long.

“Ride my See Saw…”

“…Take my place. Take this seat. It’s for free.” -  Moody Blues

These bikes deliver Dominos pizza. There were about twenty more parked nearby. Eating out has become very common place  for the middle class.  There are many options.  Some pricier than others.  KFC’s, MickeyD’s, Dominos, PizzaHut etc.  are expensive by local standards.  They do maintain a higher level of hygiene.  The other small eateries that have sprung up usually leave a lot to be desired in cleanliness.  But we all know taste kills the germs, right?  

Dominos Pizza, Deccan Gymkhana, Pune.

 The rules for picking a place to eat are pretty universal.  Always pick one with the highest amount of local traffic.  There may be little to no service because the “usuals’ know what they want, so just point to what seems to be most popular and order .  If there are public servants eating there, Off/On duty Police, Municipal bus drivers/conductors, office clerks it is a good sign that the food is consistently safe to eat.  On a recent visit to Bangalore I found a vegetarian restaurant next to my hotel . It mostly served the staff from the Bangalore Police Comissioners offices.  Great tasting cheap South Indian food.  Excellent filter coffee.
Hordes of College students are usually not a good sign.  They fall sick, recover quickly and never seem to draw the connection between what they ate/drank at a street corner and their severe amoebic dysentery.   “But it was tasty and cheap!”. :)