first meeting

~ poonam

i have always believed in the power of cinema but who was to know that a movie like daanav could do something as nice as this.

almost 2 years ago, i went to a film fest as i am wont to whenever there is one. there i saw daanav.
a powerful film that inspired me to rant powerfully about it on my old, currently non-existent blog. what was i know that my rant about the worst film ever in the history of world cinema was to be read by someone half way across the world from me.

arundhati not only shared absolutely the same thoughts about the movie but also found the rest of the blog relatable. and she wrote a mail. thus began a series of innumerable mails and chats that have continued till date, with an alarming consistency, undeterred by the 12.5 hours time difference.

things that have happened during these many months are such that if one could elaborate and stretch them beyond everyday logic, could result in a powerful movie script by itself...;)first happened delight, of finding a person with strikingly similar sensibilities, followed by an understanding that the delight may not be as rare so we silly women can stop being silly, followed by lots of sharing of thoughts, ideas and definitely angst (our favourite sensibility ;)), followed by a desire to do something constructive online, followed by this blog, followed by the everyday quest to keep this blog going, followed by an angst-ridden post that resulted in multiple misunderstandings and a hacking incident, followed by the survival of this blog and our friendship, followed by our first meeting.

last sunday, 1 45 in the afternoon at a crowded busstand under pune’s scorching sun, arundhati and i waved to each other from across the street. it was a cinematic moment, at least definitely by daanav’s standards. :)

the next 6-7 hours were spent talking, eating, drinking, biking, posing for pics and then some more. also the time when we walked into a crowded park and found two young men selling colourful kiddie balls. almost instantly and quite strangely, we thought the balls could make a great background for a picture of us together. the ball-seller sensed our thoughts and twice he picked up his wares and moved towards us. we did nothing but laugh uproariously, quite to his surprise. in fact, i had a good snob mind to tell him: “we don’t want your balls please. we have enough of ours.”
ok, enough said!! :)

an appeal

~ poonam

Ms Ketki Mohite, the 21 year old daughter of someone I know, has been suffering from renal failure for the past few months. Both her kidneys have stopped functioning and she has been undergoing dialysis since then. Dr Vishawanath Billa of Bombay Hospital has advised for kidney transplant to save her life. The father has been identified as the donor. But unfortunately, the operation is getting delayed cause the father does not have the necessary Rs 5 lakhs. He has managed to collect only about Rs 2 lakhs till now.

This is an appeal for anyone who can help with funds or with information on institutions who can fund.
For the monies, you can call Mr Mohite on 98922 86777 directly.
For the info on institutions, I will take the numbers and/or names on paareo@yahoo.co.in.

Thank you.