Posts Tagged ‘mumbai’

clips

Friday, October 30th, 2009
Asian Age Newspaper Mumbai, Oct 25.

Asian Age Newspaper Mumbai, Oct 25.

Trucking…

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

What a short, strange trip it’s been. Strange to go back to a place so completely familiar after so long. I grew up in this great city. I have traveled most of it by foot – in school shoes and flip flops, in autorikshaws – dirty torn ones and pimped out ones with high treble music systems, in cars, in taxis, and in big red BEST buses.

The hugs of friends is always a beautiful thing, but after a decade indescribable. I saw the changes in them all – new lines on familiar faces, some gray in hair, and some hair gone altogether, some no wiser, some larger, some just as loud but not so sure, all as beautiful, and all changed in some way, like the city, with the city.

I don’t know who said “you can never go home again” – but I did, and am glad for it. Though everything is different, it is still the same. Most of all, I found, it is I who have changed, and reflected in the city that was once my home, and the people who were and still are my friends, I like those changes.

DNA Article

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

Write up in the Indian newspaper DNA…

Beyond the expected

Note: They got Umi’s mother’s name wrong… It should be Gauri Deshpande, not Shashi Deshpande. Umi is not related to Shashi Deshpande in any way other than as a friend and fellow writer.

Here’s what the paper artcile looks like…

DNA Article: Beyond the expected.

DNA Article: Beyond the expected.

And here’s another image from the newspaper:

Prahlad Kakkar and Umi at the Mumbai Launch

Prahlad Kakkar and Umi at the Mumbai Launch

More news and article updates as they occur. Get in touch if you spot anything, we’ll credit you of course.

Bombay Launch

Saturday, October 17th, 2009

In spite of my sisters’ objections, I wore the same shirt. Horrors. But I reminded them that I was a writer, not a model. Farrokh suggested all three of us sisters get bouffants but it was not doable at such short notice. Too bad.

Coming back to Bombay was like coming home but not recognizing it. Some things have changed: there is more traffic – much more because there are more people. There are more dogs, more dirt, more buildings, more shops, more money, more shit in the air, more noise, more smells, mostly unpleasant, and a lot less energy. It is more frantic and frenetic, but seemingly without purpose. I was warned but am still saddened by the decline of this once lovely city. Or maybe, as all memories, mine was flawed, or maybe I romanticized it over the last decade.

Farrokh was at the airport. This was in spite of our flight being very late. We had sat a long time on the tarmac in Delhi and then drove (?) for so long to get to the runway we thought maybe the pilot had decided to drive all the way to Bombay.

After delightful reunions and introductions with Farrokh we settled into life as his harem of three, and followed him about at a respectful distance, much to his alarm, and eventually amusement.

The launch event started with Prahlad’s speech about me at seventeen. I reminded him at some point that he would have to start talking about my book and not my breasts. He acquiesced somewhat reluctantly to my request, and talked a little about the book. Imam was there again, and wonderful again, and fielded questions from the large group of guests. It seemed large to me anyway. When it came to people asking about world peace we decided that the evening was over.

I signed a lot of copies. A person came up to me and asked me to sign his copy and I had the urge to snatch it away from him and say, “It’s not for you, you can’t have it” – and then realized, too late, that it wasn’t my book anymore – it was his, and anyone else’s who chose to read it. And that’s that and that’s all with A Pack of Lies.

Mumbai Launch Event

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

Here are details of the Mumbai launch for A Pack of Lies !

Ad guru Prahlad Kakar will be in conversation with the author – this promises to be fun because Prahlad and Umi have known each other for many years!

Date: Friday, 16th October 2009

Time: 7pm-10pm

Venue: Olive Bar and Kitchen

As before, if you feel you absolutely deserve to attend, get in touch with us through the Contact page.