Dasettan, Lalettan...

Mumbai mornings are less hot, no not winter, just air conditioned shades of May. Rama and me settle into arm chairs with cups of filter coffee and house sparrows busy over Britannia Marie biscuits. Dada and didi house sparrows start up quarrels; more of that than breakfasting; at one instance, counted seven of them in a queaky debate. Keep aside morning Indian Express, Mint and Mathrubhoomi for a gossip hour; and there is lot to tongue on; today, Rama mused over her heroes of years: Dasettan (Yesudas) and Lalettan (Mohanlal); in college, Rama swooned over Dasettan film notes; 'he is ever handsome,' Rama ooms, asserts not with any violence; Vyalar to write songs, Dasettan (Yesudas) to throat them, she adds. For long she wanted to see live her heroes. It came along when good old Krishna Kumar of The Week, gave her a free pass for the 60 th birthday celebrations of Dasettan at Shanmukhananda Hall in Matunga; with Kurups and Kumars she glimpsed from the first few rows Dasettan in white mundu and jibba, son Vijay and wife Prabha. The Malayalee crowd was treated to cakes bearing Dasettan stickers. A few years ago, Malayala Manorama invited Lalettan (Mohanlal) to Mumbai and Krishna Kumar came with the passes; me also went; Mohanlal did some short act pieces; Rama and the Malayali crowd stood up (they never sat) in honour of The Complete Actor as Lalettan styles himself, these days. Kiridam, Bramaram, Chengol, Drishyam, Thanmathra, Vanaprastham....well every film of Lalettan...Rama has seen many times...Malayalam channels (Kiran TV, in particular) run them every day...she watches them every noon....duo of Lalettan and Srinivasan ...Lalettan has a firm believer in Rama. The Lady reads his blogs in Malayalam....Her heroes are unchanged; no heroines in particular. Perhaps, all of us have our heroes and heroines.....do they change over time or remain firm? And why? Interesting public and private faces. These times, there are no exciting secrets to our heroes and heroines; the media unglitzes all leaving nothing to filmi magic; there are no Surf clean heroes and heroines; every one has a smudge; and it is mostly film actors, actresses and sports people; no other. There seem to be no answers. For Kenenisa Bekele, it is The Emperor Haile Gebrselassie, going by his talk with Mint.  Me heroes and heroines have come and gone .... today left with none, a vitamin deficiency making life uninteresting....an unappetising, nay depressing cynicism...  In school, admired Shubham Dutta the fast bowler with an easy leap at the bowling crease and bastsman Aniruddha Majumdar with his straight drives at the Maidan; left them at college for Pataudi and Abbas Ali Baig; their moneyed ease on the cricket pitch; Pataudi breathed the Nawabi air without ever pushing the spectator. Would like to tap son Ganesh, Kartik Iyer, Vidya ..... Still wonder Rama holding on to Dasettan and Lalettan; that keeps her sane; the 21 st century has no heroes and heroines; seemingly, belongs to counsellors faith healers, counselling.