Whenever I think of writing anything about Mumbai I feel bounded by the idea of comparing it with Delhi.
Usually, that is what people do. But I, somewhat, do not belong the same category.
My friends know this well that I like both the cities equally and I hate them too …
wait… No, I never hate them, just because they both have flavors of their own.
Recently I revisited the “commercial capital” and fell in love with it one more
time, possibly much more than ever as the duration of this trip was longer. After
48 days of close observation and grasping the essence of the city I was done
with one more memoir of a wonderful stay in the ‘city that never sleeps’.
Talking of Mumbai, many things
have been said before, have been written before and even been filmed about the
city. I have nothing new to coin. The same early morning rush towards the
offices, the same crowded local trains completing their to-and-fro trips mindlessly
like a programmed machine, the same staple food – wada pao – being served at every nook and corner, the same helpless
buildings which make their presence felt only after they die of their old age,
the same city where there is ‘queue’ for everything, be it auto-rickshaws,
buses or ticket counters, which actually reminds you that you are not the first
one, there are many more like you!
I respect that very feel of this city. In fact, films like Wake Up
Sid! And Dhobhi Ghat have already
portrayed the city in so many ways that someone who has never been to the city
would get the feel of it just by watching these movies. At least, I find them
true depictions of the image of Mumbai city.
And on this trip I tried to
capture the same feeling through 'videography' – a totally new way of looking at
things. I have never done videography before. (am not using the word 'film-making' as I don’t see
myself quite ‘there’ as yet) Being my first experience it is quite unplanned
and can be termed as a fluke or experimental. This was actually an attempt to create a video
diary of the trip and while doing so, I wanted to get familiar with the whole
procedure of video-making. More or less, you can call it an experiment. I hope
you’ll like it.
The video is named Fast Local. Before you watch it, please
make a note that it is a total amateur video, the camera quality was not an
option and I need fair and honest comments on the attempt. Thank you.
If you think you liked even a single frame of this, feel free to comment/appreciate the author and encourage him to conduct more such experiments by mailing him on panwadi.tales@gmail.com. Any Suggestions, ideas, advises and blessings are welcome. Critique too... :)
