The Monarchy

With less than a day before the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, t.v. channels seem to have gone berserk, getting every chance they can to provide fodder for hungry viewers. Daily reports and interviews with people close to the royal family, inquiries into what the bride will be wearing, what will her tiara look like and whether she’ll be able to adjust to royal life and explaining the convoluted family tree of the royals are some of the subjects covered by news channels.
All this brouhaha over royal weddings, state visits, OBEs, MBEs, and other honours, inaugurations, visits to different towns and donations to charities, does pose an interesting question. How relevant is the monarchy today? It’s still keeping the past alive, by being present and active today. But is it really needed? In the past, during occasions like wars, the monarchy was successful in raising the morale and confidence of the people and providing support. They were considered glamorous and very much needed. But now, its popularity is steadily declining and people are left questioning whether the monarchy should really continue or should effectively become inert. After the death of Princess Diana, the monarch’s biggest critic, people lost their faith in the system and attacked it for its old fashioned ways. What I absolutely hate is when a non-royal is described as a ‘commoner’. It shows that there still seems to be some sort of a class system, which is a constant reminder of the monarchy’s superior status. They've come under fire for their poshness, snobbery and an old-fashioned outlook to life. Heavy expenditure incurred on their part for visits abroad, just show the dearth of wealth they’ve been furnished with. Is an institution as gargantuan as the monarchy, that’s been around since the 11th Century, really required to still co-exist with a fast-paced nation?
An interesting fact: before Queen Elizabeth’s wedding in 1947, the Parliament asked the designer of her wedding dress to give a detailed explanation of the expenses incurred on the dress, including the type of silkworms to be reared and the nationality of the silkworms in question. Now that’s royalty!
Monarchs cannot make laws and cannot engage in politics. They can only rule. But Britain’s got a full-fledged modern-day democratic government, making policies and transforming the nation. So the monarchy right now, is just…there.
BBC Entertainment has started airing documentaries on the British Monarchy. They show what the members of the royal family get upto each day, the copious amounts of work undertaken by the royal staff and how The Queen is kept apace with the country’s political affairs by the Prime Minister. The real purpose seems to be that they want to show an actively working monarchy, not just aging aristocrats who lounge in chairs and eat scones all day. Members of the royal family are really shown to be working, though not in the usual sense of the word. They’ve been shown to sign important documents that are needed to be signed, inaugurating and attending events and engaging in the art of small talk and asking of questions and supplementary questions. It is quite exhausting, but there’s always a massive car with armed bodyguards to accompany them.
One thing we’ve all got to remember is that the monarchs are people who are born into the job. They’ve got a predestined future ahead of them. Some have it easier than others but the ones who are slated to be future kings and queens hold a real burden since they can’t really be anything else other than what is required by the monarchy. They’ve got to undergo a thorough training of how to behave in public, in order to perform royal duties. If they try to have a normal job like the rest of us 'commoners', they are brutally attacked by the media. Their personal lives are constantly scrutinized and documented. In a way, they do lead a normal life. Just a disconcertingly different normal life.
Today, the royals are promptly trying to connect with all sections of British society to show them ardently and diligently going about their work. With the press and the internet at their disposal, they’ve been making efforts to reach out to the public. They are heavily engaged in charity work, especially Princess Anne, who is a patron of over 200 charities.

Coffee, Tea and I

Coffee and tea are aromatic beverages essential for human survival at least, in any metropolitan city. A simple brimming cup and saucer can provide a fresh preface or an epilogue to each day. For me, it's almost a compulsive and ritualistic act to have my daily fill of tea, before I do anything else.
Mumbai is teeming with quintessential coffee houses to cater to your needs and quench your thirst for beverages, food and social interaction. Each place is unique and unparalleled, drawing attention to not just the food but the décor, design,intoxicating aroma of coffee and the overall ambiance. They can provide an invigorating break from the Bombay heat. Depending on where each is located, you have the opportunity to observe the locality and its inhabitants too. Here’s a tiny list of my favorites. If you’re living in Bombay, then you’ve, no doubt, visited these:
Probably the best known and most visited is Café Coffee Day or CCD. It seems to be located in every part of the city. Offering a wide choice of drinks and food, it’s really the ideal place to have a conversation. It's mostly frequented by adult and students alike. I don't think I've ever seen it empty. It's always filled with the sounds of people chatting animatedly which are punctuated with the music in the background. The music can get a bit too loud at times, though.
Barista is another huge favorite. It’s not just about the coffees, here. The décor, consisting of walls enveloped in a shade of bright and cheery orange helps create an ambivalent atmosphere. The service here is good too. The chocolate pastry is scrumptious especially when it's consumed with melted chocolate and ice cream. The Barista at Shivaji Park is an ideal spot to read a book, even write a book or engage in conversation, with the gentle lull of music playing. And adding to its charm, it’s overlooking a beautiful park.
Cha Bar is a quaint and quiet café, located at heart of The Oxford Bookstore at Churchgate. It has a gentle Oriental feel to it and it’s again perfect for flipping through a book with a cup of steaming hot tea. I also love the tables and chairs here, which seem to be quite exquisitely designed.
Costa Coffee, located at Phoenix Mills at Lower Parel, is quite idyllic too. It got rich sofas that you can sink into and have a variety of teas. The masala tea is what I usually end up having there. Try the muffins too!
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is essentially a California-based coffee house which has been set up in Bombay too. The cafe is embellished with wood tables, chairs, counters and a lively atmosphere. The walls too have bright colours like an emerald green but they always have a soothing effect on the eyes. They offer some really good sandwiches here.

Old Friends

I recently caught a documentary on Simon and Garfunkel called ‘Songs of America’, showing them during the making of their fifth and final album, ‘Bridge Over Troubled Waters’ and on tour. The documentary shows footage of various events in America before and around that time, set to their music. It also shines a light on the two of them as individuals, speaking on various subjects like the Vietnam War, on why they write songs and with a humorous conversation on Beethoven.
I don’t think I’ve ever come across musicians as intellectual and witty as them. Especially now, a critical time in the music business when gravity keeps prevailing over Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber’s hair is making scientists scratch their heads.
Their music, essentially folk-sy, spans through other genres like soft rock, gospel, and r&b (back when it actually was r&b). Their melodies get your foot tapping and can create an atmosphere. Their lyrics are proof of how brilliant and reflective they are. ’The Dangling Conversation’ and ‘For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her’ are really one of the best examples. Through the music they paint pictures. Pictures of people and their temperaments, pictures of landscapes and their colours and pictures of emotions, beliefs and their complexities.
Just to see their music incorporated into a film I even saw The Graduate. Of course, I loved the music but was disappointed with the film. ‘Mrs Robinson’, another huge favourite was originally ‘Mrs Roosevelt’. It was changed when the song was featured in the film, along with ‘Scarborough Fair/Canticle’, ‘April Come She Will’ and ‘The Sounds of Silence’.
The instrumental ‘Bookends’ is beautiful. ‘59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin Groovy)’ and ‘The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine’ are catchy and cool. The latter casually pokes fun at consumer behaviour and the effects of advertising. ‘A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara’d Into Submission) seems to be almost like a predecessor to Billy Joel’s ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’, since it’s full of references from the 20th Century –Ayn Rand, Dylan Thomas, Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol, James Joyce, Norman Mailer, The Rolling Stones, Art Garfunkel… Even his style of singing here is very reminiscent of Bob Dylan.
No one makes songs like that anymore, do they?