VIRTUAL POONA

Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Unique Superman Parody

This was just too entertaining to remain unseen by fans of DC Comics' Superman
and those people worldwide who are fascinated by everything Bollywood. But this
is in no way reminiscent of the glamor and money associated with Bollywood. No, this
is an extremely low-budget creation that isn't missing any high ideals, where the creator
possesses an admirable freshness of vision and drive that cannot be ignored.

There is talent, ingenuity, small-town charm and humor in this Documentary film
from the 'Witness' series by the Al-Jazeera network :

" Far away from the glamorous film world of Mumbai, there are many enthusiasts
making films on a fraction of Bollywood's budgets. A film enthusiast in India's Malegaon
decided that it was time for some Indian parody so he bought a video camera and set
out to make a film, Superman of Malegaon."

The rest is hysterical.......22 minutes of sheer enjoyment for all ages, everywhere !

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Extraordinary Accordionistas

Valledupar is famous as the birthplace of vallenato, an upbeat

accordion-driven folk music that plays constantly in streets, shops, buses and

restaurants across northern Colombia and has become popular across Latin America.

Music........

Magical, mysterious, mesmerizing, moving and more. From the first cry of the newborn
babe as heard by the mother to the ceremonial dirges for the departed, Music always
remains an unquestionable driving force in our lives. Some musicians make it their life's
chosen task and manage to make a living from it even as more people make a living selling
it nowadays than the musicians themselves.

Then there are some who play music solely for survival, like the raggedy urchins I watched
as a child in India. Playing for pennies, severely undernourished, publicly abused and
humiliated on a daily basis, their unfortunate situation broke my heart forever.

Many years later when I played in a Blues-Rock band, it was one of my secret desires to
get one of those waifs off the streets and train them to perform with me at all my high society
gigs. But I was just a struggling young adult myself at the time and my 'Pygmalion' dreams of
those days were never realized.....but neither have they faded. And so today, reading about
the Turco Gil Academy in Colombia immediately touched a nerve.

Thanks to the 20-plus years efforts of Accordion Maestro Turco Gil, the students at his
Academy have been able to turn away from a life of crime, drugs, homelessness and
exploitation and instead found themselves performing in talent contests where the
winners sometimes get to entertain world leaders like Bill Clinton and Hugo Chavez.

" Gil has about 1,000 students sharing 60 accordions, and he says that about 80
percent are refugees from violence or live in poverty. They attend the school for free,
supported by donations, earnings from concerts, and tuition from wealthier students who come
from as far away as Europe, Mexico and the United States to study with the accordion master. "
Read more at Smithsonian Mag

Many thanks to Gilbert Reyes Hohner US Accordion Product Manager for spreading

the word on Facebook and Youtube among other places.

The art of playing Hohner diatonic accordions

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Easter Greetings

It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply

to be kind to others.

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Open House Today for a House With a Heart

Once in a while one comes across a truly noble person with a just Cause,
a person who belongs right up there on stage with all those CNN Heroes who are
annually honored with prizes and recognition for their efforts. Beverly Bronson of
Ghar Sita Mutu is one such person, with an underfunded organization that is barely
recognized, from what I gather when I check her updates on Facebook..

Firoze Shakir, a Mumbai-based photographer and blogger is a friend from Flickr
and Facebook who requested I add Beverly Bronson, founder of Ghar Sita Mutu,
as a friend. All it took was a few lines on the website to convince me that I was witnessing
the work of an individual with a heart of gold :

Photo copyrights by Ghar Sita Mutu on Flickr

" Ghar Sita Mutu was founded as a charity in 2001 by Beverly Bronson,

a volunteer social worker in Nepal, when she found two abandoned brothers

aged two and five huddled together outside their tin hut in the streets

of Kathmandu, Nepal. Unable to find anyone to care for the children, Beverly

became their guardian and admitted them into a bleak and overcrowded hostel

attached to a small school. The boys did not thrive, and she began to dream
about starting a charity to provide a home for them and other abandoned
children that would also help support and train destitute mothers."

Beverly is someone who gave up her life as a small antique shop owner in New York

to seek a more meaningful one as a volunteer social worker in far away Kathmandu, Nepal.

Photo copyrights by Ghar Sita Mutu on Flickr

The only ongoing support I could offer to Beverly in my current financial situation was the
comfort of friendship and encouragement via my words and network friends, and so I put

out an 'Add as a Friend' request on Facebook.....and Voila ! Hearts burst open with words
of love and support !

Thanks to all these wonderful friends on Facebook who responded to my
request to add Beverly Bronson my Hero, as a friend. There was little hesitation
on their part or in their hearts it seems. Apologies if I've omitted any new friends
who may have joined my network in the interim between publishing this post.
Contact info is listed below.....join on Facebook and leave your comments there,
or if you wish to donate, click here