Straphanging

Yesterday, Shabana Azmi tweeted that she was visiting Delhi with her sister-in-law, Tanvi Azmi, and had taken a ride on the Metro.

This morning, the Telegraph had the photographic evidence:

As a long-time straphanger myself (growing up in New York City I took the subway to school every day, and I rode Boston's T to work up until I took a job in the suburbs a few years ago), this gave me a smile.

I notice an officer in the background - coincidence, or there to protect the family?  I'm not familiar enough with Delhi's Metro to know how common a sight uniformed presence in the cars might be.

Invitation issued!

If you don't follow me on Twitter, you missed this exchange yesterday:

I'll let you know if the invitation is ever accepted!  I'm sure you'd be able to hear me squealing from wherever you are in the world.

Incidentally, I don't know what the total number of DVDs is yet.  I have entered about 1/4 of my collection into the database - the movies I haven't yet watched - and Shabana ji is in roughly 18 of those.  I have seen about 30 of her movies, but I don't own all of those on DVD.  I estimate that my DVD collection includes somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 of Shabana Azmi's movies.

I hope she packs a toothbrush.

Shabana ji on the nature of classiness

Ican’t call myself classy, it’s for other people to say that. I can only say that this is what I have seen, this is what I have imbibed, and this is how I am. 
 -- Shabana Azmi

This from an article in Forbes India online, where Shabana ji talks about what makes her - and some of the characters she has played - so gosh darn classy.   She goes on to say:

[Class] has to do with dignity, subtlety, with a layered subtext where much more is expressed because it is hidden. It’s got very little to with wealth and money, and much more to do with an attitude that comes from being comfortable in your own skin.

I have to agree with that, and it's part of why women often seem to get classier with age - comfort in one's own skin often goes hand in hand with maturity.

I am not sure I can agree completely with Shabana ji about this part, though:

But it’s when you’re not doing it for public consumption that counts. Like eating. When I’m by myself and nobody’s watching, do I gobble up my food? Do I eat it elegantly? Do I behave in the same way when there are people for whom I want to put my best foot forward?

I just don't think the table manners I use when I am alone are a particularly relevant measure of my quality as a person.  I'd rather expend energy worrying about how I treat others than about whether I'm a bit of a slob in my pajamas alone at the kitchen table.  Put another way, I only have so much energy to expend on self-improvement, and I don't see anything wrong with conserving that energy for behaviors that actually have a measurable effect on others. 

That quibble aside, there is no doubt that Shabana Azmi does know something about class. 

Have a look at the article - both the mesmerizing pictures I have included here (Shabana ji with Javed sahib, above, and Kaifi sahib, below) are from it. 

Internet stalkers beware

Shabana Azmi arms herself against internet stalkers who maintain fan websites in her honor.

It's the sheer delight on her face that really makes me a little nervous here!

This picture is apparently from an art exhibit opening in Mumbai - the TOI piece it came from doesn't provide a whole lot of context.

ETA:  It is an exhibition of "furniture art" promoting the Uttara & Adwait furniture collection.  I found some more excellent pictures here.

Cutting a rug at Love, Breakup, Zindagi music launch

Shabana Azmi was spotted earlier this week letting loose at the music launch for her friend Dia Mirza's new movie, Love Breakups Zindagi. Here is the story at Daily Bhaksar, also carried by other sources.



How cute is that?



More pictures of the launch here at Prokerala.

Javed sahib wrote the lyrics for the songs, which I haven't listened to yet. He was at the launch too, of course.


(Picture source)

"Massive Food Coma"

"Am suffering from massive food coma from Eid at our home and Ganesh Chaturthi at my sis in law Tanvi's place"

-- Shabana Azmi

Did you know that both Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar are on Twitter? I am not a huge Twitter user myself - I have tried to get into it but (probably for the best) haven't ever managed to get too engaged. But, I do participate from time to time (@carla_filmigeek) - and of course I follow @AzmiShabana and @Javedakhtarjadu. It's fun to see what they have to say, and to test my Urdu on the shayari (Javed sahib's, Kaifi sahib's, and others) that they occasionally offer.

Today on Twitter, Shabanaji complains of "food coma," an affliction with which I am all too familiar, and a phrase for describing it that I often use myself. It's fun to see her using the expression as well. I'll continue to pass along her thoughts and Javed sahib's here when they tickle my fancy.