Our Funarena!

Again, a shocker. Unbelievable news that came at the most unexpected moment. It has happened to us several times in the recent two years—persons quite close to us die and we come to know about them months later. This time the occasion was a nice gathering of a few senior citizens under their Senior Citizens Club in Thane, Mumbai. A member of the Shiv Sena who attended the event not as a senior citizen as he was much younger informed me to my casual inquiry about the famous Shiv Sena leader Anant Tare that he has passed away about a year back. I was taken aback and was too shocked to ask more questions. Instead, I came down to the nearby lane and telephoned Tare’s personal associate Sunil. And to my horror he confirmed the news that Anant Tare had indeed passed away on 22 nd February 2021 at a private hospital in Thane. He was hospitalized for some illness in December and before the day he was to be discharged he had a brain stroke and later a hemorrhage. As the doctors prepared for a

For two days incessant rains lashed Mumbai--starting from the night of 30th July. Yesterday, the 1st of August, it was continuously raining since early morning. The sky was heavy with black clouds. But we had to set out to Akurdi, a town near Pune, for a musical function where Ragini was to perform. We left around 8am, myself, Ragini and a tabla player. I was in the driving seat.  And, it was a drive to remember on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.  We encountered beautiful nature at every step of the way. The black clouds pouring drizzling and scattering rains all the time. The tireless wipers succeeded in giving us an uninterrupted wet view of the surroundings. The heavy dark sky silhouetted the lush greenery and the darker green hills in  riveting contrast. Passing cars raised white foamy bursts every time. When ascending near Lonavla the clouds came down and touched the hills.  We were driving through the clouds and it was exhilarating! The occasional tunnels provided