A MUSICAL CALENDAR COMPOSED BY AN IDLE MIND

"An idle mind is an old man's playground" and my tweaking the proverb proves it. So in a vacant mood, instead of flashing daffodils upon my inward eye as Wordsworth would, I thought of songs with lyrics associated with months in a year.

There are a number of songs and nursery rhymes to make children learn the order in which months come in a calendar year and the number of days in the months. Most of us will recall "30 days hath September, April, June and November". Then there is the "Calendar Song" which relates months to seasons with marching ''through winter time, March, March, March, April showers bring May flowers, Summer's almost here, June, July, August! Soon we're back in school!';

Simon and Garfunkel run through April to September in "April, Come She Will". Arriving in April, "May, she will stay...June, she'll change her tune...July, she will fly...August, die she must...September, I'll remember, a love once new has grown old."

Boney M, known more for rhythm and beat than lyrics, have a "Calendar Song" that just repeats names of all months a few times. Neil Sadaka was far more imaginative when he sang what he would do for his "Calendar Girl" each month starting the year with January, declaring her his Valentine in February, marching down the aisle in March, making her his Easter Bunny in April and so on down to dressing up as Romeo and Juliet on Halloween in October, giving thanks for her on Thanksgiving in November and claiming her as his present 'neath his Christmas tree in December!

Now for some songs specific for a month; with a rider: the climate might not match the mood in everyone's part of the world!

Majority of songs written with a month as the background relate to the mood associated with that month. As Elton John sang in "January", "January is the month that cares/It brings us hope in the new year's prayers." The lyrics and Elton's soft singing signify peace and quietude after the hustle and bustle of the holiday season of the previous year and optimism for the new year.

Surprisingly for a month that has Valentine's Day, most February songs reflect a brooding mood. Despite only 28 days or at the most 29 every four years, Taylor Swift seems to feel the month is too long in "Fortnight" by singing "All my mornings are Mondays stuck in an endless February"! And an American group sang, "Any day's better than February." I guess that comes from being tired of the severe, extended winter the end of which is not yet in sight.

Marching into March, the wintry mood continues. Van Morrison summed it up beautifully singing "March winds in February, all the way to April." And, of course, it is the month of "The Ides of March" with a number of songs lamenting betrayal and heartbreak.

At last we are in April and the end of winter. Spring is welcome with flowers in full bloom and a number of sweet songs to put us in a romantic mood. Pat Boone delighted us in the late '50s with "April Love". He sang, "April love is for the very young, every star's a wishing star that shines for you", and a word of caution, "But April love can slip right through your fingers, so if she's the one, don't let her run away."

Frank Sinatra and many others gave us "I'll Remember April", an emotional number which said, "I'll be content you loved me once in April, your lips were warm and love and spring were new."

For me the top of the pops is "April in Portugal" first sung in Portuguese in 1947. Les Baxter and his Orchestra scored a big hit with it in their instrumental version in 1953. It has then been sung by many great singers of those times led by Vic Damone, Eartha Kitt and Bing Crosby. A few lines:-

"I found my April dream in Portugal with you

When we discovered romance like I never knew

Then morning brought the rain

And now my dream is through

But still my heart says 'I love you'". 

May and I recall immediately Vinnie Mama's favourite on joining the Navy, "And in her hair, she wore a yellow ribbon, she wore it in the springtime and the merry month of May; hey, hey, and if you ask, oh why the heck she wore it, she wore it for a sailor who is far, far away!"

Summer is most welcome and eagerly awaited but Guenevere played by Julie Andrews in the Broadway musical "Camelot" seemed to have gone over the top with the song, "Lusty Month of May", Sample some lyrics-

"Tra la! It's May! The lusty month of May! 

That darling month when everyone throws self-control away!

It's time to do, a wretched thing or two

And try to make each precious day, one you'll always rue!

It's wild, it's gay! A blot in every way

The birds and bees, with all of their vast, amorous past

Gaze at the human race aghast

The lusty month of May!"

"June is bustin' out all over!" Nettie in the musical "Carousel" is ecstatic welcoming the full onset of summer. "You can feel it in your heart, you can see it on the ground, you can hear it in the trees, you can smell it in the breeze." Though in a sad song, Petula Clark pines for love which seems as distant as "The Thirty-first of June". But for Dean Martin, "It's June in January" because the singer is in love and there "always is spring in my heart with you in my arms."

July begins and with it comes the Fourth of July, American Independence Day, with celebrations and fireworks. Remember Mitzi Gaynor jumping with joy and dancing her heart away in "South Pacific" singing "I'm as corny as Kansas in August, High as a flag on the Fourth of July, If you'll excuse an expression I use, I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love with a wonderful guy."

Fourth of July is also Akhila's birthday!

Most July songs are about the 4th but Nancy Sinatra combined three months in "June, July and August" in an emotional and nostalgic number pleading for her love to return promising she would love him even more than she did the previous year.

On to August, last month of summer, signs of a quiet transition and not too many songs. What keeps coming to my mind is the old movie, "Teahouse of the August Moon" but that is not relevant here. So let's go to the song "August Winds" by Sting which is reflective of the nature of the month in the lines, "When August winds are turning, the fishing boats set out upon the sea....The winter follows soon, I watch them drawn into the night beneath the August Moon."

Come September and you said it! That was the name of the sweet, romantic movie of 1961 the cheery title song of which was equally popular. Otherwise in the month, mood of transition continues along with nostalgia which brings on September blues. Back in the '50s, Dinah Washington sang, "The leaves of brown came tumbling down, remember in September in the rain, the sun went out just like a dying ember, that September in the rain."

Vacations start in summer and lovers may part with the promise to meet in September when the holidays end. "The Happenings" voiced their fear in "See You in September", "Have a good time but remember, there is a danger in the summer moon above, will I see you in September, or lose you to a summer love?" 

October and autumn fully kicks in. The song which comes to mind is the classic "Autumn Leaves", so beautifully sung by Nat King Cole. For specifically mentioning October, there is U2's "October", "October and the trees are stripped bare of all they wear." A Norwegian singer 'Girl in Red' confesses "We fell in love in October, that's why I love fall."

November marks entry into winter with mood swings between high and low. Songwise, pounding virtually in my ears is "November Rain" by Guns N' Roses which Ruchir used to play again and again at full volume in early '90s when we lived in Som Vihar, New Delhi, "So never mind the darkness, we still can find a way, 'cause nothin' lasts forever, even cold November rain."

And so we come to the final month of the year. The severe cold is tempered by promises of the holiday season, yuletide spirit, nostalgia for the months passed and hope for a bright, happy new year. Looking for a song with December in the title, there is Taylor Swift's "Back to December" in which she deeply regrets having rejected her lover earlier but now, swallowing her pride, sings, "Wishin' I'd realised what I had when you were mine, I'd go back to December, turn around and change my own mind, I'd go back to December all the time."

But December is all about Christmas and New Year's Eve when we are all in a festive mood to celebrate and make merry regardless of religion. So let's go to its plethora of songs starting with Bing Crosby's "Silent Night" and "White Christmas", on to Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You", Andy Williams' "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year", and "Jingle Bells" sung by everyone! 

And to really get into an exuberant mood, there is nothing like the sweet, squirrelly sound of Alvin and the Chipmunks who sang "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)", "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer", and "All I Want For Christmas (is my two front teeth....Then I could wish you, Merry Chris, Chris, Chris, a Happy New Year)."

PURANI YAADEIN-BHARI DILLI - A DELHI OVERFLOWING WITH OLD MEMORIES

Wenger's century brought back memories of visits to Connaught Place in the 1950s. My association with Delhi is even older.

The first story is one as narrated to me 'cause I was too little to remember. In 1940, my father had a job in Delhi and he, Mummy and baby me, all of two years, lived in Lachhu Singh Ka Katra in Chandni Chowk area. A large number of our small Suryadwaj Brahmin community used to reside in that locality named after our ancestor Lachhu Singh since ancient times. One morning when all were busy, I found the front door open and, possessed by a wandering spirit, strolled out of the house. Shortly, my absence was noted and there was panic at home. Relatives were asked to fan out in all directions and finally, one saw me being carried by a Sardarji. "Hey, that's our Baby", said the relative. I readily went into his arms and Sardarji was convinced I was in known hands. Sardarji said he had picked me up just as a tram was approaching. What if....we won't go there. I am here to tell the tale and many more!

The earliest visit to Delhi I personally recall was in 1948 with Pitaji and Mataji. The latter's younger sister lived in Lachhu Singh Ka Katra and we came to spend some time with her and her family. The high point of that trip was watching the historic Cricket Test Match at Feroz Shah Kotla ground which was not only the first of the series against West Indies but the first in India after independence. West Indies (WI) had a strong batting team with George Headley known as the Black Bradman, and two Ws, Everton Weekes and Clyde Walcott. (The third W, Frank Worrell, was yet to make his debut!). Headley failed but WI ran up a huge score of 631 with centuries by Walcott, Gomez, Weekes and Christiani. Though India failed to save the follow-on which was then at 150 run lead, they made a decent reply of 454 led by the Army officer, Hemu Adhikari, who scored an unbeaten century, and useful contributions from KC Ibrahim, Rusi Modi and Lala Amarnath. The four contributed in the second innings as well with Adhikari again remaining not out and India played for a draw with 220 for 6. 

Incidentally, I came to know Major Hemu Adhikari when he was an instructor in the National Defence Academy and I was a cadet 1955-58. 

From 1948 to 1955, Delhi was a frequent haunt starting with the first Republic Day Parade on 26 January 1950. There was a small enclosure for kids and I was seated in it. Fond of comics, I had brought one with me and was reading it in the gaps between the marching of contingents. The next day there was a piece in the Hindustan Times saying a kid was more interested in the exploits of Captain Marvel than in the Parade. There was no identification but I am certain the reporter meant me as the item mentioned one kid. I was certainly guilty and didn't see anyone else with a comic. 

In 1953, my School, St. Xavier's, Jaipur, brought our class to Delhi for the Indian Railway Centenary Exhibition. It was indeed fun for me for two specific reasons. Firstly, there was an Entertainment Park with many attractions including a mini train on which I took many rides. Then Coca Cola made its debut in India and I drank about 25 bottles a day at four annas (25 Paise) apiece every day during my stay.

On return to Jaipur, my class teacher, Reverend Father Pinto, asked me to write a piece about the Exhibition for the School magazine. With great enthusiasm, I penned an article extensively covering the Entertainment Park and my love for Coca Cola. I got a real dressing down from Fr. Pinto who wondered if I had even seen the main Exhibition at all. My piece was rejected!

That was the period when I discovered Connaught Place, Wenger's, Marques and co., et al.

1955 saw two important visits to Delhi. The first was in early-January to appear for the UPSC exam for entry into the NDA. Though selected in the written exam as well as Services Selection Board interview,  till mid-July I had not received any intimation, so I came to Delhi for admission to St. Stephen's for BA(Hons) in Economics. The Principal accepted my application and asked me to pay the fee immediately as the academic session had already commenced. I requested for half an hour's time and ran to a public phone booth to try and contact Masarji, Deputy Military Secretary in Army HQ, to check on the NDA status. Miraculously, I got through not once but twice and was told in the second call that my call papers had been sent to Jaipur. Goodbye St. Stephen's, Economics and perhaps Foreign Service, hello NDA and the Navy!

Pitaji, on retiring as Judge, Rajasthan High Court in 1961, was offered a job in the Central Government Finance Ministry and allotted house no.1, Teenmurti Lane, sharing the boundary wall with Prime Minister, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru. That is where I met Akhila aka Binno, then a gangly 14-year old, for the first time, when I was on leave in Delhi. She and her family were also in Delhi from Bijnor and Mummy invited them over obviously with future in mind!

Vinnie Mama was posted in NHQ and staying with Pitaji and Mataji as well. The third Cricket test between India and England took place at Feroz Shah 13-18 December and both of us went to see it. In the first innings, India scored 466 with Jaisimha and Manjrekar recording centuries. At the end of the third day, England were 256 for 3 with Barrington on an unbeaten century and Ted Dexter, the England Captain, on 45 not out. 16 December was a break day on which it started raining. It thinned to a mild drizzle overnight and we went to the ground on 17th hoping that play would resume. As we were walking to our seats, we saw a guy with some people gathered around him. We asked him what was happening and he replied, "You know what Dexter said, 'I AM NOT GOING TO PLAY ON THIS GROUND'" apparently imitating Dexter's aristocratic demeanour and accent as if he had heard Dexter first-hand. That became a joke between Vinnie Mama and me and whenever we met, one of us would say, "You know what Dexter said...."

In June 1965, I was picked up by Admiral Chatterji, Commandant National Defence College, as his Flag Lt and moved in with my grandparents. The 1965 India-Pakistan war broke out in September and the authorities dug trenches in the large front lawn of our house. We used to sleep on the lawn and on a couple of occasions when air raid sirens sounded,  I forced my reluctant old grandparents to wake up and climb down into the trenches!

Pitaji's tenure came to an end in December while my cousin Manjula's wedding was scheduled for early-January 1966. Pitaji had to hand over his house but as a staff of NDC, I was entitled to accommodation in Raksha Bhavan on Man Singh Marg. As the NDC was on a break between the old and the new courses, I, a bachelor, got a large 3-bedroom flat allotted and shifted in with my grandparents and pet dog, Lucky. After attending Manjula's wedding, my grandparents left for Jaipur and the flat was obviously too big for me. Shift to a Mess seemed inevitable.

Then I got an idea. The rear of NDC has a big lawn surrounded by wings on either side with a number of rooms which were lying vacant. Lunch is part of the daily routine so the College has a kitchen and catering staff. A residential suite already existed for guest speakers if they wished to stay in the premises. Why not convert some more rooms into residential suites and shift in one of them?

I sought approval of the new Commandant, Air Marshal Rajaram, and he readily agreed. So Lucky and I moved into the new premises and for the rest of the year till my transfer back to the Navy, we were Lords of the magnificent mansion.

Here I must pay a heartfelt tribute to the two Commandants of NDC that I had the privilege and good fortune to serve under, Admiral Chatterji and Air Marshal Rajaram. They were outstanding leaders and exceptionally brilliant officers.

Visits to Delhi in the next five years were few and far between confined to some leave and temporary duty. Whenever I came, Vijji Malhotra, posted in NHQ, and his wife Rita insisted I stay with them in their Defence Colony house. An additional attraction was Vijji's music system comprising of an Akai tape deck and booming hi-fi speakers on which I would pound out Carlos Santana's "Evil Ways" at full volume again and again.

February 1972 and I came to Jaipur on a well-deserved break after the war. Mummy had been invited by her close friend Savitriji to the wedding of her niece, Bharti, with Yogesh Deveshwar in Delhi on 17 February. Mummy suggested we go to Delhi to attend the wedding and I readily agreed. Little did I know what Mummy had in mind. Unknown to me and Akhila, Mummy had conspired with Akhila's father to quietly come to the wedding and take it from there. Well, I saw Akhila, now no more gangly but tall, pretty and graceful, and the rest is history!

These 'yaadein' are more than 50 years old. Afterwards, I had two postings in NHQ and a civilian job after retirement which led to finally settling down in Delhi over 36 years ago, so there is so much more. I'll call that new and relive with just the old for now.

That our daughter, Shumita, is married to Bhartiji and Yogiji's son, Gaurav, is another story!

ON BOARD INSV SUDARSHINI IN NEW YORK

Old and tired of long flights, Akhila and I had no plans to go to the USA this year. Then Shumita decided to go to NYC with her boys in their summer vacation and asked us to come too. At first, we declined but they along with Ruchir kept persuading us and finally we had to surrender! And so we flew from Delhi to NYC via Rome end-May planning our return after 4th of July which is Akhila's birthday. 

We have been aware since 1974 that 4 July is USA's Independence Day. That year I was doing my Staff  College course and we had as our neighbours a Major Mehle, US Army, his wife and three petite daughters. They invited us to a party on 4 July and that is how we came to know the importance of the day to Americans. We were all delighted that on that day, we were going to have a double celebration.

What we didn't know was that this year was the 250th anniversary of American independence. We learnt that only on arrival in New York as also that the celebrations were going to be on a big scale. Going through the long list of events slated for about a month, what caught my eye was the "Sail 4th 250" schedule which included an International Naval Review and a Parade of Sail. It occurred to me that Indian Navy might be sending a ship. I got in touch with my friends in NHQ who confirmed that INSV (Indian Navy Sailing Vessel) Sudarshini was on its way to New York to take part in the celebrations and gave me contact details of Cdr Ravikanth, Commanding Officer of the vessel.

Cdr Ravikanth messaged me to say that they were going to be in New York 04-08 July berthed at Brooklyn Pier 1 and invited us to visit the ship. So on 5th afternoon, after the ship had finished her official commitment of participation in the Review and Parade of Sail, Akhila, Ruchir and I went on board for a memorable visit being the first time we were visiting a vessel of this kind and that too in foreign shores!

A smart cadet took us on a round of the vessel. Sudarshini is a sail training ship built by Goa Shipyard for our Navy and commissioned on 27 January 2012. She is a three-masted barque with the mainmast 113 feet high thus earning the right to be called a 'tall ship.' With a length of 54 metres (177 feet), she is fitted with 20 sails supplemented by two engines for sailing in unfavourable wind conditions. She has a crew of 5 officers and 31 sailors and can remain at sea for over 20 days at a time. Her prime purpose is to train naval and coast guard cadets in sailing, seamanship and navigation as also retracing routes used by ancient mariners reliving maritime history and legacy. 

Sudarshini has been a great ambassador for Indian Navy right from the word go. In her very first year, she visited 13 ports in 9 ASEAN countries and embarked foreign cadets from the latter. Till 2025, she had covered 140000 nautical miles equivalent of 260000 kms. This year, she departed Cochin (I still love the old name for Kochi) on 20 January for Lokayan 26, a 10-month long transoceanic sail expedition across 18 ports and 13 countries covering 22000 nautical miles. Before arriving in the USA, she had taken part in the French tall ship marine festival of Escale a Sete 2026.

Apart from New York, the ship participated in Sail 250 events in Norfolk, Baltimore and Boston in the USA. She was among 60 tall ships from 26 countries that took part in the festivities. As I write this, I learn that the ship has started on its return journey to India by first heading to Ponta Delgado, Azores, Portugal.

In 1986, as the Defence Adviser in Singapore, it was my pleasure and privilege to host Trishna, the first Indian sail boat to circumnavigate the oceans. 40 years later, it was with a sense of pride and much delight that I stepped on board a ‘tall’ Indian Naval sail ship in foreign waters halfway across the world from India.

May fair winds always be with Sudarshini.

CENTURION WENGER'S AND OTHER CP HAUNTS

Recently, there have been a number of articles on Wenger's, perhaps the oldest confectionery in Delhi, celebrating its 100th anniversary. I have myself been frequenting it since early 1950s and it is definitely my number 1 as far as confectioneries go. Anytime I go to Connaught Place, I indulge in its Lemon Tart, and for birthdays and anniversaries, it is my go-to place for a Black Forest Cake and Cheese Straws. 

Karan Thapar in his recent Hindustan Times column "The delight Wenger's has been for Delhi for 100 years", traces the history of the confectionery and then goes on to write about his other old favourite shops in Connaught Place some of which no longer exist. And that triggered my memory of my own old haunts in days of yore.

A shop I shall never forget was "Marques and Co." which for ages had been a market leader in selling musical instruments. My association with it again goes back to the early '50s when I was studying in St. Xavier's School in Jaipur. I had become a regular listener of Radio Ceylon and its Western music but the only source of my own records was Vinnie Mama's annual visits home on leave from the Navy. Then Rajendra 'Sunny' Sahai, two years my senior and elder brother of my dear friend Yadu, went to Delhi to study in St. Stephen's and informed me that Marques in Connaught Place sold English records. From then on till I myself joined the Navy, whenever I went to Delhi which was quite often,  I would make a beeline to the shop and come out with an armload of 78 rpm records and Marques' Annual Songbook so that I could sing songs like "Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes" correctly to someone, if required!

In 2001, after we moved to our present abode in New Delhi, Shumita wanted a piano. So off we went to Marques and Co. and selected a Yamaha. Marques Sr., the founder of the shop was no more and the shop was being run by his son who could play a number of instruments and had been a part of many bands. He readily offered to teach Shumita to play the piano. For many months till Shumita acquired the necessary skill and confidence, he came to our house regularly and we would gossip about songs, singers and bands of old times. Some years back, Marques Jr. passed away too and I learnt that with no one to run it, the shop also had to pull down its shutters. Sad!

The other haunt of mine was the The Cellar, a nightclub and discotheque with throbbing and pulsating music and psychedelic lights. Many an evenings I spent there including one in 1973 with Akhila on her birthday, 4th of July. Both of us have a vivid memory of a very pregnant foreign young lady, perhaps an American, jiving and twisting as if she were Jayne Mansfield in "The Girl Can't Help It"! Pity, The Cellar too ceased to exist quite sometime ago.

But Wenger's continues its journey into a second century and may it live long. Akhila and I visited it last evening and crowds were thronging it resulting in many items having been sold out. We met the modest and self-effacing former manager, Charanjeet Singh, who still spends a lot of time in the shop. We were glad to see that the shop is keeping pace with the times. For, while preserving the quality of its trademark products like cakes, tarts and cookies, it also stocks Macarons, Burger Pizza, and special breads like the Italian Foccacia.

As for us, we stuck to the good old Lemon Tart and Cheese Straws.

ROME - SAYINGS, MOVIES AND SONGS

Rome, known as the Eternal City for its history, legend and culture, is a city impossible not to love. The legend of its birth dates back to 753 B.C. Romulus and Remus were twins fathered by Mars, god of war, through a vestal virgin, Rhea Silvia, daughter of the king of Alba Longa overthrown by his tyrant brother. The latter ordered his minions to drown the infants in River Tiber but the men took pity, put them in a basket and floated them down the river. Washed ashore, the infants were nursed by a she-wolf, fed by a woodpecker and later, brought up by shepherds. Growing into adults, the young men restored their grandfather to the throne and decided to build a new city. Following a fight, Romulus killed Remus and founded the city of Rome or Roma as Italians call it. 

The city became the centre of the Roman Empire and the capital of Catholics and continues to grow embracing vibrant modernity.

Its global recognition has inspired a number of popular sayings such as "Rome wasn't built in a day" and "All roads lead to Rome". A proverb of 4th century says, "In Rome do as the Romans do". That inspired the Spanish writer, Miguel Cervantes, to write, "When thou art at Rome, do as they do at Rome."

Well, I don't really know what Romans do but some lines of the 1954 song, "Veni Vidi Vici" say, "Down by the shore of sunny Italy....we kissed and then, we kissed and kissed again, exactly like the Romans used to do!"

A few other quotes, "A fool is one who admires other cities without visiting Rome"- Fracesco Petrarca; "We can watch the sun in Rome, sparkling on a palace dome"- Dean Martin; "Rome will exist as long as the Coliseum does; when the Coliseum falls, so will Rome; when Rome falls, so will the world"- St. Venerable Bede, English Benedictine monk. Eternal City indeed!

A large number of epic movies such as Ben Hur, Cleopatra, Gladiator and its sequel have been made about the Roman Empire. For showing monuments in their original shape and for the sake of preservation, replicas were made for structures like the Colosseum. Modern movies with stories set in Rome have freely used actual locations popular with tourists. The Colosseum itself featured prominently in “When in Rome” in which the lead characters of twins stay in a nearby house and ride all over the city on their Vespa scooter.

Then there was “Roman Holiday” which brought Rome live to us in 1953. Audrey Hepburn played the part of a princess who escapes from her security guards and goes around Rome with a journalist, Gregory Peck, again on a Vespa. With them we were taken on a sightseeing tour of the city including slurping a gelato on the Spanish Steps.

If you wish to emulate them, Vespas are available on rent near Piazza Venezia in Rome. Here, I wish to disclose that I have been a proud owner of Vespa in my younger days and driven around many cities but mostly with an unoccupied pillion.

Trevi Fountain, one of Rome's chief attractions, has featured prominently in many movies. The belief is that if you throw a coin with your right hand over your left shoulder, you will return to Rome; two coins will bring a new romance and three coins guarantee a wedding in Rome."Three Coins in the Fountain" with the theme song by Frank Sinatra was a popular movie of 1954 with its story of three friends making their wishes and throwing coins in the Fountain.

Another film where the Fountain was in the spotlight was Federico Fellini's 1960 award winning "La Dolce Vita" with its iconic scene of handsome Marcello Mastroianni and voluptuous Anita Ekberg frolicking and splashing water in the Fountain.

A recent movie with one third of it belonging to Rome was "Eat Pray Love". Julia Roberts played the part of Elizabeth Gilbert who after a divorce travelled to Italy, India and Bali to rediscover herself. In Rome, she gets hooked on Italian cuisine and the movie has lovely scenes of Castel Sant'Angelo and Piazza Navona and this time it is Julia slurping gelato in front of a church at Navona.

More of Spanish Steps in "The Talented Mr. Ripley", Piazza del Popolo, churches and St. Peter's Square in Tom Hanks starrer "Angels and Demons", but what is forever embedded in my heart is the deeply sentimental scene in "Lovers Must Learn" later renamed as "Rome Adventure" : the lead characters Troy Donahue and Suzanne Pleshette walk into a nightclub and as they sit down on their table, Emilio Pericoli launches into his unforgettable song, "Al Di La." Dazed, the two stare into each other's eyes, Suzanne asks Troy what does "Al Di La" mean, Troy searches for the right translation and whispers, "Beyond the Beyond." The scene and the song could melt the stoniest of hearts. 

There must have been something there for Suzanne and Troy to fall in love and marry in real life.

Some other popular songs are Lou Monte's "Roman Guitar", Elvis Presley's "Heart of Rome" and Madonna's "Justify My Love" in which she sings, "I want to hold your hand in Rome". Of course, the list would never be complete without Dean Martin and his "On An Evening In Roma".

Throwing a coin in Trevi Fountain on each visit has worked and I just completed my fifth trip to Rome. This time, at my age, I was hesitant to throw a coin but did so on Akhila’s insistence. Well, perhaps a return in my next life if not this one! So here is a quote to end this post-

"If we could be reborn wherever we chose, how crowded would Rome be"- Francine Prose.

And Nat King Cole sang, "Arrivederci Roma."

.

WEE-BIT MORE ON "SISTERS"- IN A LIGHTER VEIN

Mummy, the first child of my grandparents, was named Bimla. The name signifies 'purity' and 'innocence'. So when she was followed by another girl, Pitaji and Mataji aptly named her Nirmala which had a similar significance, viz. 'cleanliness' and 'virtuosity', and satisfied the prerequisite of rhyming.

The next set of girls came from Mansi and preserving the tradition set by her parents, she named her daughters Manjula and Anjula.

My wife also comes from the same small community of Brahmins called 'Suryadwajs' as I do. Our fathers studied in Agra College together and were very good friends. At our first meeting, I, as well as most of my family, knew her only as Binno, a name by which she is still called by our relatives. When our marriage was fixed, we needed her real name for the wedding card and were told it was Akhila. Another rhyme!

Summer of 1997, Mummy and Mansi decided to visit the US where stays Navin, Mansi's younger son. In an intimate conversation, his wife, an American, laughingly coined the term "La-la girls" for them.

Guess her name.

"Pamela"!

Out of context and not at all relevant to my earlier blog and, therefore, rightly omitted, for those who don't know the song "Sisters", here, for a laugh, are the closing lines:-

"Many men have tried to split us up but no one can

Lord, help the mister who comes between me and my sister

And Lord help the sister who comes between me and my man".

Sharing has its limits!

 

A TALE OF TWO SISTERS

In "White Christmas", that super evergreen 1954 movie, there was a delightful song and dance number by Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen. They sang,

"Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters....

Caring, sharing, every little thing that we are wearing

When a certain gentleman arrived from Rome

She wore the dress and I stayed at home.

All kinds of weather, we stick together, the same in the rain or sun,

Two different faces, but in tight places, we think and we act as one....

Those who've seen us, know that not a thing could come between us...."

Today is the 103rd birth anniversary of my Mansi, Nirmala, Mummy's younger sister by just over two years. I recall the very close relationship of the two sisters who, even after marriage, got together whenever they could rather than seek company of others or visit new places. Both were married very young but Mummy became a widow at 21 with me at 4. I was then taken care of by my Nana and Nani and Mummy sent to Benares followed by Allahabad for post Matric studies. (Not familiar with these places? They don't exist any more as, let me check....they are now Varanasi and Prayag respectively!). During vacations when Mummy came home, Mansi would come over too. 

Post graduation, Mummy started teaching and Mansi's family expanded. Now she took to calling us over to her place. I remember two wonderful summer holidays, one in Delhi in 1948 in the then Diplomatic Enclave (Chanakyapuri) and the second in 1949 in Dehradun and Mussoorie, the latter famous or infamous for my skating mania which almost got me lost!

I joined the NDA and the Navy and Mansi's visits to my grandparents and Mummy continued. On many of my leaves, Mansi was there too and that added fun to my holiday. I marvelled at the closeness of the sisters and how they were always one in their thoughts and outlook and took the same stand on all family matters.

Mummy passed away in Jaipur on Christmas Day in 2010, just over a month short of 90. Mansi came over twice, once during Mummy's short illness and again for the 'tehravi'. Mansi followed Mummy just over a year later, a day short of 89. So ended the era of the two loving sisters.

Mansi was true to her name Nirmala, meaning pure, immaculate and flawless. The dictionary says it signifies a clean, honest and virtuous nature, true descriptions of Mansi.

And I will always remember her winsome, charming and mystic smile.