Greetings all! I have a wonderful tune for you today, and it's coming to us from Italian duo of producers: Dandi & Ugo. They did a remix of Francesco Rossi's "Ibiza Dream" tune, and let me tell you, it's minimal at it's finest. It's such a fun little tune to play and spice-up the atmosphere, it works wonders! Trust me when I tell you this. Make sure you show your support if you like this track and purchase it on Beatport. Until next time.. ;)

Francesco Rocci - Ibiza Dream (Dandi & Ugo Remix)

A voyage improbable, rencontre improbable. En passant sur Vari, j'ai croisé ce célèbre personnage occupé, m'a-t-il dit, à faire l'exploration de Second Life à pieds. Je ne lui ai pas demandé s'il le faisait pour commémorer la marche du sel des années trente, j'ai pas eu le temps, l'ayant perdu de vue au bout de quelques centaines de mètres. En tous les cas je peux en attester, le Gandhi virtuel a une bonne foulée !

Thanks to Pedestrian Pictures, I saw two such documentaries -- In Search of Gandhi and Freedom...!, and I have been pondering over them since I got back.

In Search of Gandhi (2007) is a film not about history, its about the contemporary India which lives on the trail of the Dandi March. The filmmaker visited various cities and villages en route to see how much people think about and remember Gandhi -- and he finds that it is awfully little. Ellis Bridge in Ahmedabad, which was where Gandhi gave a famous speech about equity, is home to a slum, and the government threatens to use its muscle to clean up their homes and build a garden. In most places, people have no qualms in saying that Gandhi's principles will not work in today's India, because you have to resort to the unscrupulous and the immoral to get your job done. Perhaps the most shocking was the xenophobic diatribe which a 80 year old Gandhi follower unleashes -- his opinions of the Muslim community is that they are like a dog's tail which can not be straightened. Unfortunately, he is a well respected person of the society there. The tale is the same with youngsters and the emotions in both communities run high post-Godhra and Modi's ascent to power. Statues of Gandhi lie dismembered, disrespected as Modi's huge hoardings proclaim a period of wealth and development. In fact, in Surat, Gandhi keeps watch with grave determination over a bunch of people who have congregated in the name of 'Mahatma Gandhi Laughing Club'. Elsewhere, people have shown little respect while cutting trees to clear off forests, livelihoods, societies, in their hurry to build castlesque shopping malls. The economy is booming, and the booming noise threatens to forever dampen the few noises that remain. (I had written an earlier piece about Mahadevbhai, a play I saw on Gandhi's assistant, and some posts on India)

Freedom...! was a slightly older film (2002) concentrating on how our 9% Y-O-Y growth is affecting people we don't think about, sometimes even consciously ignore. Floods in the Kosi river, cutting of Mangrove trees in Gujarat, destruction of forests in Orissa, are shown as case studies of how in some cases people rise up, complain, and ask for their rights. In many cases, the leaders were brutally tortured by the police (Colonel Salve in Kutch -- I could not find a link, if somebody can, please let me know and I will put it up), in some cases murdered by perhaps the big-pocketed businesses they were fighting against (Chattisgarh Mukti Morcha's Niyogi murdered in 1991). However their legacies have lived on, and the remaining unheard voices of fishermen and farmers are trying to make themselves heard, justifying the martyrdom of their leaders.

All this after having seen Hazaron Khwahishein Aisi last night. The story of Siddharth, Vikram and Geeta is a must watch. An extremely strong hat-ke story, incredible performances, and an ending that leaves you pinching your conscience. In fact, the ending is available at Youtube:

And where does all this leaves us? The reason for making these documentaries is to make people think. What is the right model for development? Rampant capitalism which most people are now purporting, can do irreparable harm to our country, its natural surroundings, culture, and even unity. At the same time, the juggernaut of growth and development will roll on, it is not something that can be stopped. The people who have tasted success will not stop at anything, and I am not even sure if they should, because this growth and development is giving India its rightful place in the world -- with world leaders knocking at our doorstep ever so often. However, how can we channelize this hunger, and ambition, so that the growth does not come at the expense of the many that have not had the good fortune of being able to get the same level of training, education and opportunities. How does the elephant march forward without trampling his own soldiers?

I wonder.

The play was quite educative since it refreshed quite a few history lessons I had forgotten -- the Champaran and Bardoli satyagraha, the Dandi march and the agitation against the Rowlatt Act (on the same lines as MISA and POTA). However, more than the history lesson, it was the human character it gave to the leaders of our freedom struggle is what I liked. Gandhi is not a chapter in History, but a living person delivering speeches, writing letters and fasting unto death for Hindu Muslim unity. Similarly for Mahadevbhai, a scholar in his own right, who is dedicated to Gandhiji as Hanuman was to Ram, his personal aide and secretary, who maintained one of the most detailed accounts of the freedom struggle in his 27-volume personal diary (I would like to read that sometime!).

It also brings to light what Gandhiji stood for -- equality for everybody including one self (being able to stand up against the British and not write in servile language), his Dandi March which was not just an agitation against the government, but the act of the march gave it a life of its own, his fast unto death against untouchability which is perhaps the reason why the curse has reduced so much in our society. It also brings out subtle sarcasm in Godhra being the venue where Gandhi and Jinnah jointly addressed Hindus and Muslims together for the first time, and the attitude of the M.B.A. (Mujhe Bahut Aata hai) elder brother, and the British-obsessed history teacher Ms. Priscilla.

Jaimini Pathak carried off the performance really well. Keeping the audience engaged for 2 hours alone is no mean feat, and Jaimini Pathak and director Ramu Ramanathan are very well deserving of all the praise (it was the 111th performance!). By interspersing Mahadevbhai's life story with his own, and the conversations with his grandfather and his history teacher ensure that the play gets a graph, and the audience some entertainment. A very good performance, which you must visit if the play comes to your city.

Tomorrow is Art by Evam Productions from Chennai, and I was chatting with Sunil, one of the actors and co-founder of Evam, and he mentioned that they are going to use 30 carton boxes as props. Hmmmm, I need to check that out!

More coverage (from the past): The Hindu IndianExpress

Puchu works the Milongas seven days a week. He visits three or four in one night to dance, relax, and to network with friends and other tango professionals. We met at 11pm at Dandi in San Telmo. I had not been there before. It is a small, traditional Milonga in a beautiful venue, frequented by milongueros.

After Dandi, Puchu normally heads to La Ideal, but as it was closed for an unknown reason we drove to the barrio Once to visit a barrio Milonga, arriving at about 1am. This was an incredible experience because this type of Milonga is not listed anywhere. It is a community Milonga  enjoyed by locals and professional dancers. To dance here was very special. Finally we drove to Club Armenia, La Viruta where we stayed until the close, 4.ooam on Wednesdays. Puchu visits different Milongas depending on the night of the week so our experience with him was a snapshot, a slice of his week's work. He told us that the Milongas have been especially quiet because it is the end of the month. Less portenos are out because money is tighter at this time, and of course there are fewer tourists because the season is over.

See pictures of Dandi, San Telmo on a Wednesday night

Puchu has only danced tango for two and a half years, but he turned professional after eight months.  His background lies in the folkloric dances of Argentina. He was born in Canuelas which is a city 62km from Buenos Aires and his mother sent him to classes in folkloric dance from an early age. He hated the classes, but twenty six years later he is known for his amazing ability to perform and teach dances such as the chacerera and the beautiful and sensual zamba.  He teaches in the provinces around Buenos Aires as well as in the city itself. One fateful day, soon after the break up of a long term relationship, Puchu was driving in his car when he heard tango music and realised that he wanted to learn the tango. He was hooked from this moment, began attending the Milongas and apart from a series of classes with a milonguera, he taught himself tango by watching the milongueros dance. 

To dance with Puchu is an incredible experience. His energy is strong and his lead is clear and direct, giving his partner the ability to dance even the hardest moves with ease. When I dance with him I know that my mistakes will be few, even though he may lead specific ganchos, volcadas and colgadas that are new to me, and rarely led in the Milongas. His negotiation of even the most packed dance floor is an art form perfected. Today he performs in the Milongas with his dance partner who is also his wife, teaches and works to practice and perfect his dancing. He has travelled to Spain to teach, and will be returning there later this year. In the future perhaps he will travel more. He also has a day job to supplement his tango income. How he gets up at 9.30am to work after going to bed at 5.30am every night is beyond my imagination. He told me that he regards the Milongas as rest time. Incredible.

Puchu believes that great tango comes from passion in the soul, not from the technique. The technique can be learned, but the passion is the key. When he dances with new partners he seeks this passion, and especially a passion that connects with his. He told us that he knows of people who have experienced orgasm when dancing tango. My head spins...

I wondered how he selects who to invite to dance. Either he has watched them, or sometimes he notices that someone is not dancing and he wants them to dance. This answer made me laugh. After all he asked me a few weeks back in La Viruta. I obviously looked like a wall flower! I comfort myself in the fact that he has danced with me many times since...  he tells me he feels my passion. Certainly it is there and he is not the first person to have commented on it. Phew!

I asked Puchu what he thinks of the foreigners who come to Buenos Aires for tango. In his opinion we are essential for the continuation of tango, we bring the money that keeps the tango scene alive here. Commercially, foreigners are vital. The downsides can be that foreigners do not always understand the etiquettes of the Milongas, for example how to negotiate the dance floor. This is an etiquette that the milongueros prize. On a busy 'pista' it is essential that every leader maintains the flow of the 'camino' (path) around the floor. Sometimes foreigners who are relatively new to tango can cause blockages and disrupt the flow of other dancers. We talked about the ritual behind the 'cabeceo', the invitation/contract to dance. He told of how a milonguero, if refused by a woman, may even go as far as to change his shoes and leave the Milonga. The woman will have a black mark. She may never be asked again by the same man, and certainly not for years. I make a note of this.

Puchu dresses smartly for the Milongas. It is part of the tango experience for him to look elegant, sharp. However hot he gets he never takes his jacket off. His hair is always slicked back. He looks the part. It works. This was one reason I noticed him originally, on my first night in BA. I guess you could call it marketing. He is noticeable, for his looks, his elegance but most of all for his dancing. He regards himself as a milonguero of today, and of the future. He respects the older milongueros who have taught him, and one day he will be one of them, teaching and inspiring the next generation of milongueros. What am I saying? Of course, he already is.

I would like to thank El Puchu for his time and kindness in showing me a slice of tango life here that I would not have otherwise seen. He asked me to end my post with a quote and so I do and hope that one day we may see him dance in England:

En la milonga se puede tener mujer y amante. Como mujer tengo La Ideal y como amante, Club Gricel.       

El Puchu 2007.