Poem

                               

                                My Poem
                              Did not flow       
                           From this branch     
                                  To that
                               On my tree
                                   Today.

                               
                             Vishnu Mathur.
                          December 22, 2015
                                   Mumbai.

Poems in my dreams.

                         

                    Poems of my dreams.

I am trying to remember a small poem which came to 

mind last night. I do not remember if I was awake or I

was I dreaming. First thing in the morning I tried to

recollect the poem. I thought I will write it down 

before I forget the beautiful poem which came to

me at night. I try to revive my memory but the poem

seems to have vanished. Not a word, a clue. I know it

is there some where in the crevices of  mind, some

where deep inside my mind.Meanwhile I wait.I try to

clear mind of the residues of the forgotten dreams and

hope the poem will reappear from somewhere.The 

whole morning passes by, and the poem does 

not come back to my mind.It seems to have flown far

away like the morning bird in to the thick forest of

my mind.

I don’t know how many such poems are embedded

deep inside my mind which may have appeared 

in  my dreams and  then  forgotten in the morning. I

hope they awaken again some day with me and 

reappear on the surface my mind like the bright 

sunlight of the mornings.

                                                               

                         

                           Vishnu Mathur.

                                  
                         November 16, 2015

                                                Mumbai. 

                                               

I 'Quote"

                                                  

 "Thousands of geniuses die undiscovered- either by themselves or by others."

  Mark Twain.

  Vishnu Mathur.
Mumbai.
   May16.20016 .

A Tree at our window.

Photograph : Vishnu Mathur ©

A Tree At Our Window.

Rain is lashing at my window pane. The trees are swaying vigorously in the wind. Many rains ago in one such storm a tree got uprooted right in front of our window. A nice thickly wooded tree which covered the entire window pane. It protected us from the harsh summer heat and gave us  a view from our window so to say. Many birds traversed through the day and nested during the night only to wake up early morning without an alarm so to say.

The falling of the tree was a loss. It made our window bare and we lost our view. We were also exposed to the peeping windows of the building next to us. A towering one on top of it. The tree was cut in to pieces and towed away and the ground was cleared leaving a huge gap between a nice row of trees. A vacuum . Nobody seem to mind except us. When the rains eased up that year I gathered all the kids of the society building and ventured on a tree planting champagne. I made each one of them plant one tree and asked them to take care of it. Finally I made the youngest child plant a tree in the gap which was created by the falling of the tree we loved. But the gap remained .The tree sapling  was very small. Much much below the level of our third floor window. So we had to wait.

Many many years. Meanwhile the saplings were taken care and watered regularly some times by the children who planted them, the gardener of the society or sometimes by me when the small trees were ignored. Slowly the trees grew up along with the children who planted them. Meanwhile the gap between the trees remained and we continued to face the reflected heat from the window panes of the opposite building. Often we forced to pull our curtains when we really did not want to depriving us of the nice view we had from our window. But we had to wait while the tree grew up slowly and steadily. We kept a close watch hoping it will grow up fast and cover our window once again like before. Giving us the green cover we missed all those years.

Days, months and years have passed since then. It did not happen with a bang but one day the top branch of the tree came up to our eye level of our third floor window. I remember that day and we kind of celebrated that day. Once again we had view from the window we liked. Once again there were the swaying branches of the tree in front of us. Once again there were birds chirping in the morning in front of our window Once again we could look out of our window without somebody looking at us. Our patient  wait bore fruits. Perhaps thirty years, we did not mind. It was worth the wait.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Vishnu Mathur

                                                                                                                                                             October 29, 2015

                                                                                                                                                                     Mumbai.

Cinema One

                                                         
                             


                                               Still from the film Uski Roti

                                                       Directed by Mani Kaul





                                                      An Objective Image

A photographed image, either static or moving does not lend itself to any specific  meaning  by  itself. It is just a mirror image of what is in front of the camera/viewer. In that sense it is benign. If an image has an apparent meaning or a story it is the projection of the photographer or the director's mind who is behind the photographed image. In such a case the image is so arranged by the photographer /director that it acquires a specific meaning the visualizer wants the viewer to receive. How much of that meaning gets conveyed to the receiver depends on the quality of the communicating skill of the visualizer and in equal measure the comprehending capacity of the viewer.

If an image is objectively rendered, it leaves a poetic space between the viewer and the image. Such an image does not impose on the beholder a specific meaning or leave a dramatic impact. Such an image will leave sufficient space in the viewer's mind  for interpretation. Such an interaction between the image and the viewer would lead to a higher creative  meaning leading to a two way communication,thereby enhancing the creative level of the work. How the creator arrives at such an interpretation or rendering of a given reality or a story would depend on the creative process the artist has  gone through.The choice of a particular way of projecting a given reality of course lies in the creator's ability to arrive at a precise interpretation of the given reality as intended. 

        
                                             Vishnu Mathur
                                           October 29, 2015,
                                                  Mumbai

A Poem

                                             Like dry a leaf
                                 I fly in the
                                    Wind
                                 From here
                                  To there
                                 No where
                                Every where.

                                       
                                                         Vishnu Mathur
                                                        October 26,2015
                                                              Mumbai.
                                  
                               

My quote.

                                             Work with your body

                                          

                                             Listen with your mind

                                             Speak with your heart.

                                           

                                                 Vishnu Mathur

                                                  August 5, 2015

                                                       Mumbai.




                                                      कर्म  तन  से 
                                                     श्रवण  मन  से 
                                                    वाणी  हृदय  से। 


                                                       विष्णु  माथुर 
                                                      अगस्त ५, २०१५
                                                            मुंम्बई। 





                                                   

Thought for the day

           One cannot write history by erasing the past.

       It can only be created by working for the future.


                                   Vishnu Mathur.
                                                                               July 30,2015
                                                                                    Mumbai,
                        


                                                

poem

                                                

                                                                    

                                                       Shall still

                                                                                                                         Swim across

                                                                                                                           The river

                                                                                                                               Dried

                                                                                                                            Long ago.

                                                                           

                                                                        
                                                       Vishnu Mathur.

                                                         July 23, 2015.

                                                             Mumbai.      

Cinema One

                                         Stars and the Moon.

 Great film actors lend themselves to greater films.
 They  are like the sun and the moon.
 Others are  just stars!

                                              

                                                  Vishnu Mathur.

                                                     June 21,2015.

                                                         Mumbai.

I AM

                                                       


                                                                           A celebrity

                                                                            Unknown

                                                                       Without  Disciple

                                                                               A Guru

                                                                              An artist

                                                                          With no name

                                                                              I am rich.

                                                                          Without riches


                                                      Vishnu Mathur.
                                                       May 12, 2015,
                                                          Mumbai.


                                        

A Poem Again!

                                                 Morning Gaze
                                    
                                             Flicker of a butterfly

                                                    Upon my

                                                 Window pane.


                                                 Vishnu Mathur.
                                                  April 5, 2015,
                                                      Mumbai.

All That Jazz.

                      

                                            

I cannot claim to be a connoisseur of western music both classical and pop but over the years one has acquired an  ear for  certain forms of western music, specially Jazz and some forms of pop music.

It all began during my college days in Patiala in the state of Punjab when I started listening to western music over the radio, mostly of the popular kind.There was this very popular radio programme which was broadcast every Saturday night from the All India Radio (AIR)"Bombay" and another popular programme which was broadcast on every Friday night from Delhi station of AIR called 'A date with you'. Our friends circle use to listen them religiously and then exchanged notes the next day in the college. Gradually I became familiar with popular bands and singers of that time which included Frank Sinatra, Pat Boon, Connie Frances, Doris Day,Harry Belafonte,Nat King Cole and many more.On top of that list were Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard.There were two camps in our friends circle. One was the fanatic followers of 'King" Elvis Presley and the other of Cliff Richard. I was a Cliff Richard fan,first of all because his sentimentality was closer to one's heart and then also because he was born in India in the city of Kanpur! 

Then came the Beatles. When the Beatles came we all got united as their unabashed fans. Few of us formed an amateur band called the 'Swingers' which mostly sang Beatles songs while our lead singer sang songs of Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard. Our name to fame were two free performances in a local bar and a restaurant called Green Hotel in Patiala in lieu of a free dinner. And the only other performance was in a restaurant in Chandigarh whose name I don't remember now. And that was the end of our musical career,at least mine.

But my interest in western music continued and one kept listening to western music on the radio through my college days. As the time passed one got introduced to Jazz through friends and with the coming of the cassette tape recorders and things became easier for all of us. It became easier to share our music and one got greater exposure to music of all kind.One of the earliest inspiring introduction to Jazz was through the music of Louie Armstrong. And then when I shifted to Mumbai in the early seventies the world of western music opened up for me in a big way.At that time in Mumbai there were still some live bands of the Goan origin playing in of the restaurants and bars.Once the discotheques came all hell broke loose!

In the eighties when 'Jazz Yatra' became a regular annual event, one got to listen to many well known jazz groups and musicians from across the globe. The advent of many fusion groups which incorporated both Indian classical musicians and western jazz musicians  produced some very original music.Some of the musicians I had the opportunity to listen to at that time were John Coltrane. John McLaughin, John Mayer. L Subramaniyam, Stiphene Grapallis, Herbie Hencock and many such greats.There were some wonderful bands which came up at the time who crated some great music. Mahavishnu Orchestra, Spanish Wave,Maya,Indian Express,Karma, and Shakti some of them I remember listening to. They produced what was called Indi-Jazz Fusion  and some of it was also called"Conversations" That was a wonderful time for Indian Jazz Music. Subsequently many such bands came up which produced great music of that janre a tradition which continues even today. 

My first real experience of listening to live jazz in a jazz club was in 1992 in Montreal.Canada.I was there to participate in a children's film event  and was accompanied by my brother Sharad and his wife Mary.who joined me there from New York. At the end of the event we wanted to listen to some good Jazz and when we  inquired with the concierge at the hotel about a jazz club and he suggested 'Biddle's. We just followed his suggestion and landed up at the club to experience some of the best Jazz I had heard till that time.That too live!


                     

                       
                                                             Charles Biddle

   

Charles( Reed) Biddle migrated from the United States where he studied music. When once he came play in a club in Montreal in 1948 along with his band 'TheTrio' he liked the place and the people of Montreal so much that he decided to settle down there and subsequently opened his own club 'Biddle's'. And there we were at that time unaware  of the fact that we were listening to one of the best Jazz Musicians of that time and were in one of the best Jazz Clubs of North America.

Biddle played with Charles Sadic and Haltman and had played earlier with some of the best of that time including Oliver Jones, John Ballentine,Ray Dovans, and many great musicians. Biddle also featured in some movies and so did his club in films like 'The Whole Nine Yards' starring Bruce Willis.We stayed on at the club till the wee hours of the night and when during a break we were leaving Biddle himself in a jest tried to stop us from leaving and but then thanked us for visiting the club.I am not sure whether he recognized us as Indians because I came to know later that he had an Indian connection He was in India and Burma (now Myanmar) during the second world war while serving in the US Army.

Then again during my last trip to Montreal in 2012 staying in the same hotel with my brother Sharad when we inquired about 'Biddle's' we were informed that Charles Biddle was no more.Hedied in 2003 and his jazz club 'Biddle's' was now called 'The House Jazz'. We skipped the idea of visiting the club as we did not wish to erase such wonderful  memories of the 'Biddle's' 

Back in NewYork.NY. we made up with loss of 'Biddle's' and decided to visit the local Jazz club called"Birdland' where Bill O'Connell was playing with his band. The name 'Birdland', evoked great memories of the one of the all time great Charlie Parker 'Bird' one of the greatest Jazz musician ever. a saxophonist and a composer.The club was named after him in 1949 where Bird himself played in his life time. Having read his biography 'Bird' it was great feeling to be in a club named after him. Bird's name was as if synonym with bebop, blues,Latin and classical jazz music. The name "Bird' got attached to Charlie Parker because  of his famous composition 'Yard bird suite' 

       Bill O'Connell with  his band.

                       

Bill O'Connell and his band that night were playing jazz with Latin American drums with such a gusto that one could not help clapping and shouting 'Wah Wah" which amounted to "Bravo "in the west. In a typical Indian Classical concert the musicians get into a 'jugal bandi' where the percussion player and the main performer who could be a singer or a instrument player. get in to a "conversation" as in Jazz music and then get into a kind of one up man ship where they demonstrate their individual skills at the same time keep everything with in the spirit of the concert.The Latin drum player Richie Flores played with such precision that as if Bill O'Connell's piano keys were locked with his drums. As an Indian I was reminded of great Indian classical music where musicians perform with such cohesive unity at the same time retain their own idividuality.It was for me another great experience of listening to live jazz music after the 'Biddle's' experience.

After the performance I went up to Bill O'Connell and congratulated him for the great performance of the band. I told him how similar it was to the Indian classical music's 'jugal bandi'. He told me that his only Indian connection was that his wife had spent three months in Varanasi in India learning Indian Classical music and he hoped that one day he will come to India and pay at an Indo-Jazz music concert. We exchanged our visiting cards and parted with the hope that we would soon meet in India where he would be play some wonderful music with his band.

Back in India I was pleasantly surprised after a few months when Bill O'Connell established contact with me in the hope that he will come to India and play in one of the local Jazz clubs in Mumbai. 

I would cherish all that jazz in mind for ever in the hope that I would experience many such encounters in the times to come with the great Jazz musicians "Live".


                             

             
                             Vishnu Mathur.

                             March 12 ,2015.

                                 Mumbai. 

A thought for the day

It would be so wonderful if I stumble upon my life on the way to my death,

                               

                              Vishnu Mathur
                               February,2015
                                    Mumbai.

The Tree

                    

Photograph : Vishnu Mathur ©

I was looking at the tree outside through our picture window of the flat while having my morning tea. I suddenly realized how much the Banyan tree has grown since we moved in to this house thirty years ago. It now obscures the entire view of the small lane running along our building and the compound of the building next to ours.We can now only partially see the through the branches of the big banyan tree which was a small tree once.

                                                   
Over the years I must have photographed this tree many times in different seasons, different hues and different times of the day. The tree continues to grow unaware of that attention it has been getting from me looking at it over the years. It has been my constant companion all along.Unaware of the attention it gets from me it continues to live swaying in the breeze, getting drenched in the rain, shining in the sunlight, always in my sight.

While I have been looking at it through different phases of my life high and low, sad or happy or just staring at it blankly it has always been there for me. With grace and beauty and equanimity. It has absorbed all that which has gone around it and the attention it has got from me. It has grown in size and stature but it remains the same tree.Always there for me see, reflect and admire. A  great source of solace and peace. Unaffected by its own glory.

Vishnu Mathur.
September 29 , 2015.
Mumbai.

A Thought For The Day.

                               We The People of India....


The division between people now is very clear. It is between the "educated' and "uneducated". The rational and the irrational. The scientific and the unscientific minds. It has nothing to do with a particular religion or faith.


Vishnu Mathur.
January 6, 2015.
Mumbai.