Chandni Bar

t-bhai,

I do my best. But if I ever make it to England, I`m going to check it out myself. In the meantime, any desi clubs in Canada? My fam and I are going to check out Fire and Ice in New Jersey...

sam:

on the dot:)

saad:

alright it is monday morning...the sun is out...am breathing...(enough hints?)

so please keep writing:)

and i will try and keep my own counsel...no guarantees on these kind of pledges...for me they crumble faster than one can utter `wallah oon ki kya baat hay`;)

rgds

t

Re: # 6
t,
in case its not so evident in the first couple of paragraph`s, `Pascha` is ur regular runofthemill lounge/bar :).. just thought I`d clarify re:` ``Pascha`` could be a strip joint or something equally shady…`
Cheers

Zahra,

Well...the predictability of the piece itself....stock characters, usual virgin/whore dichotomies, breakdown of civillization as we know it, sodom and gommorha, coconuts, we are now no better than goras, male gaze-female objectiifed, simple and pure vs modernity, snicker, snide snort....

It would have been a lot more difficult to try to grapple with some of these issues-from somewhere more level than that high mountain top...and thats why you rarely see it here...

It was a fun read and a vivid description of how older men and younger women can have a mutually saitisfactory relationship with little harm to each other !!! (For the quick off the bat indignant respondees - the last half of the sentence was meant to be ... ). I missed the bits where the writer allegedly painted women as objects of desire (given that this was a blow by blow of ``one night in london`` - but to each his own I guess ;-)

However women are well aware of how desirable they can be - some choose to manipulate their desirability to their advantage (while others are forced into it for no fault of their own) - with or without the cruel husband and whinging child in tow.

re: intelligent writing

I didn`t realize writing style was a reflection of intelligence ... or are you suggesting beauty is more than skin deep ? Literary life would be a wee bit boring if all writing was ala ms minhas with every word placed just so ...

dL

Saad

This is life. The most ancient sin. Coming into play when man`s basic desires and woman`s economic compulsions come togather. May be both are exploiting each other`s weekness in their own way.

Incidently, the stories that the girls divulge here to their sympathetic customers need not be necessarily true. There is usually a small child back at home and a cruel husband who gives no money.

I am reminded of a powerful film `Chandni Bar` - which depicted this life so cruelly and so truly. Frankly, I did not have the courage to watch this movie through.

nhk

vivek,

a great many writers here are ``amateurs``. . . as for writing skills, let`s be realistic. someone who writes as yoda speaks in star wars is not likely to be critiqued well here. :) well. . . it depends on what they write and how they structure it i guess.

you have some readers here who are (un)poets, students and teachers of writing, journalists, and english literature graduates among others and these readers have their own standards and base their opinions on these standards. so amateurish or not, there is going to be a judgment made. . . one reader looks at this differently while another one, or more than one feels is yet another male-point-of-view which objectifies women. it`s a free chowk afterall. :)

Why should an article at Chowk be judged by writing skills? Aren`t most of the writers here amateurs?

Re: # 7

Samina,

I see where you are going with your remark, but intelligence is not the only gauging factor in a writer`s writing. Sometimes, it`s just the clear and simple style. On other occasions, it may be a confession or an honest opinion. I was impressed by the minute details the writer had captured. He took you to places where you would never think of treading otherwise. Based on this write-up, he seemed to me an observer (Chowk`s correspondent) all along.

Do you agree?

Re: # 6
t, ( agar jaan ki amaan paoo`n, tu kuch arz karu`n)
I can safely state that `painting women as objects of desire` was hardly the impetus for the author`s words. Some might see it that way and I cant argue with that.
The `points to ponder` listed by Zahra were just that... to be taken to task if one has the time, energy and patience to grapple with such conflicts more so with oneself then anyone else.
S

Imagine what this piece would be in the hands of an intelligent writer....Shandana, hie thee to England!

Zahra:

(…buhat daRtay daRtay hum yeh likh rahay haiN…)

yes, i too read saad…and noted some of those observations…and being not too familiar with the london scene as saad pointed out in #2: What we do with our time is our business and personally the irony of it all is somewhat encapsulated in the last sentence.
[and this is the last sentence: Maybe next weekend I’ll get to go to ‘Pascha’ where I shall find a suitable vantage point at the bar and watch the dancers on the floor do their thing. :)]…i come to this not so naïve conclusion…``Pascha`` could be a strip joint or something equally shady…

khair:

my point is this....despite language, humour and repartees the essential truth is one cannot help but shake one’s head in bewilderment…the language is different….so is the expression…but for me this is one more attempt at painting women as an object of desire…and nothing more than that…and all that for an occasional fiver…

and

i thought you would notice it and take the writer to task in your usual unambiguous take-no-prisoner way

:)

lve

t

Saad,

An interesting write-up on a weekend rendezvous!

You have captured some profound pointers and a conflicting outcome in a clear and simple manner. The reader can sense your inner tussle.

On the other hand, you were quite attentive all along and have communicated the details of your surroundings quite well.

Some points to ponder:

1. [At some level one should be held responsible for intentions and not just actions.]

2. [I’m just wondering what could possibly drive a person to spend time in this fashion.]

3. [I am not here to judge these men or to take the moral high ground on a relatively trivial topic.]

4. [Just a few girls wearing skirts and flimsy blouses dancing away and staring at you.]

5. [I shall find a suitable vantage point at the bar and watch the dancers on the floor do their thing.]

6. [There is something for everyone where ever the demand exists.]

7. [Chandni lounge is thriving in North London not because the dancers are available or willing but more so because the patron’s are seemingly regular husbands, brothers and fathers with an insatiable desire for this rather sad form of entertainment.]

8. [The dancers may not be pageant winners but they stare deep into the eyes of the men watching and give them a certain degree of attention, which they might be lacking in their everyday lives.]

Re: # 3
Ouch !!!. ... I apologize for having rattled ur sensibilities.
Cheers

You are the most pompous half-wit I have ever come across in my life.

Re: # 1
Hello again, trivial or serious is but for the reader to decide. What we do with our time is our business and personally the irony of it all is somewhat encapsulated in the last sentence.
Cheers
S