VIZAG matters - Sohan Hatangadi's Blog

Cars that shaped character - Times of India My article Cars that shaped character Times of India  5 March 2017   H e loved to bring home neglected old beauties. He kept his eyes out for these abandoned ladies. They could be found in unused sheds or under a large tree. They sat on stones, disheveled and covered with bird droppings. They had not been washed for several years but one look at them and you would know that they were beauties in their younger days. Their smooth flowing voluptuous lines, their proud stance, their demeanor all screamed out to those who cared. “Take me home honey, look after me”, they seemed to say, “Fix me up and take me for a spin … and I will show you my true colours.”  He could see beyond the tired façade and knew that there was a seductive promise here. He had to own her! My late father loved old cars. Citroen, my childhood sweet heart Sometime in 1961 he purchased a 1947 model Citroen in Calcutta and drove it home. She wa...

Growing up with Vizag My article in the Times of India, Vizag Edition, 12 February 2017 S ome children grow up too soon. One day they are crawling then learning to walk, and then they are running, knocking things down, falling, hurting themselves, getting up, playing, laughing and then surprisingly disagreeing with us. Before we realise they have become young adults with minds of their own. To parents and grandparents this is a mix of pure joy, concern, alarm, annoyance, frustration and pride in equal measure, sometimes all together. Before long they are going to school, college and taking up a job. They get married and move on. Soon they become adults in their own right and we can scarcely recognise them. But this article is not about children. This is about our city, our Vizag. Infant years For those who have seen Vizag grow up we can appreciate the stages it has gone through. We have the memories from our childhood of Vizag’s infancy. We remember the narrow...

My article We are 16 going on 17 Times of India: 1 Jan 2017 The weather is perfect; the sky is that intense shade of blue that makes Vizag’s spectacular scenery look even more romantic.  The light at dusk is a warm gold colour, what photographers and cinematographers call the golden hour. You begin to notice that we look better in that light.  Everybody loves the winter months. It is quite extraordinary how our spirits lift during this part of the year. Folks dress better, smile more often and generally more upbeat than any other part of the year. The contraction and expansion of time Last week many of us celebrated Christmas and last night we bid good bye to 2016 and welcomed a brand new 2017. There are different reactions to the New Year. Senior citizens exclaim with trepidation “last year went past so quickly!” They feel that the years roll away and new ones roll in in rapid succession, there is a perception that time has inexorably speeded up. They try har...

Hi, Click the link or read the document below. Please leave a comment when you have finished. Brickbats and bouquets are both welcome. Visakhapatnam's cannabis connection The newspapers are full of it. Several times a month there is a story of excise officials seizing Ganja while being transported. The funny thing is that there are always a couple of tribals getting caught and two or three others including the driver conveniently getting away. We city folk know a part of the Ganja story from the media and social context. It is a drug that gives its users a “high”. It is grown in cooler areas in the hills and is smuggled into the cities and sold there for hefty profits. What is Ganja? The Indian word Ganja is known as Cannabis  or Marijuana. It is also referred casually as “grass”, “weed”, “hemp” and so on. It includes three species,   sativa ,   indica and   ruderalis . Now days several hybrids are also cultivated. It is a green leafy plant which grow...

Karthik Masam is here.   Starting at the end of October and stretching for a month. Hordes of picnickers will descend on Vizag's best green spaces and dump heaps of garbage everywhere. They think it is a spiritual communion with nature! Last year I made and circulated these flyers and posters. I will be doing it this year too. My tiny little bit to make my city clean. If you want to help, get vocal, protest if you see picnickers littering. Let them know you are unhappy. Keeping quiet wont help. Please pass this on to friends. More later, Sohan

Goli Galata - The Marble Contest