Mr. Gandhi does Mr. Patel does Mr. Gandhi

Jokes apart, it's the great man himself, speaking of non-violence, no less. He's 34th on the links list (yes, I counted). It's in Quicktime, so it should download eventually, even on a slow line, if you wait long enough. The list is heavy with Americana, but if you are a history junkie, there are some glorious bits of trivia among all these voices from the past, like the sailor at Midway, Shackleton, and Mandela. Incidentally, we heard Mandela at Trafalgar Square last year for Live Aid, and the voice had lost none of it's power. As for Che, the Lady heard his voice and said, "Now, that is a man." Which reminded me of Sue, who, a long time ago, sitting around in the old Nightwatchman, looked at us gravely and said, "When he speaks, I could strip."

P.S. The Nightwatchman link, which is a bit sad, hints at some of what's been lost as old Bangalore makes way for whatever. The old Nightwatchman was new, and hence, too expensive for us, in 1993, when it opened. We still managed to go, occasionally, courtesy the architect, whose progeny was one of our own. I'm sure all of us can now afford to go whenever, but I don't think any one would want to. Give us back our Hotel California and Temple of the King. And our late nights. And our drag races down Hosur road. And Scottish and Peco's and 19th Church Street and Imperial and Empire and Amaravathi and Autumn Muse and Cul-Ah and Fanoos. And Blue Moon and Blue Diamond and Plaza. And Sardarjee's Dhabha on Hosur Road. And Rajkumar in the evenings, walking around Sankey Tank. And the thump of Bullets and Yezdis headed into the hills. And ajji in Jayanagar with her fragrant weed.

Open the clubs. Take the doorframes off the pubs. Stop the clocks until 2.00 am. Bring it all back. Let our city breathe.