As my first year of residing in New York comes to a close, I have decided to celebrate my advancement in achieving the American Dream by taking the creative bull by the horns and directing a play, what is sweetly termed Off-Off Broadway. The theatre where we are performing this play is on Suffolk Street which is quite literally off off-Broadway, being two streets right of the Great White Way, down in the bowels of the Lower East Side.

The play itself is an interesting piece written by Paul Knox, a venerable playwright, and is titled Eating Jain. Many years ago, Paul visited Calcutta and was introduced to the Jain community there. He was totally fascinated by the tenants of Jain dharma, especially the principle of ahimsa.

In this play Paul explores a relationship between two men who learn that despite their love for one another and fascination for each other's cultures, they are incompatible to share a lasting future. One of the characters is Bobby (played by the highlytalented Patrick Askin), a gay white male who lives and resides in Chelsea, the fabulous gay district of New York. The other character, Mahvi (played by US born desi

Ashok Sinha), is a twenty-something Jain boy from Tollygunge, closeted and unwilling to define himself as gay, despite his preference for men.

In one line of the play, when Mahvi reveals to Bobby that he is scheduled to be married to a girl, he justifies his ability to live this double life by saying, "No, I'm not gay, I'm just a man who likes men, but now it's time for me to take a wife" -- duty to parents and community over the principle of individuality.

Bobby muses at this and bitterly brings out the irony of the Jain practice of not drinking wine because the fermentation process kills bacteria by noting "too bad she's not the bacteria on the skin of a grape, maybe then she would be treated with more respect!" Ultimately, the play ends with Bobby's melodramatic yet insightful reflection "tomorrow we will look at the same ocean butwe will be seeing different seas".

The right cast

Casting for a play in New York is great fun. Unlike in Mumbai, where actors of ability and genuine training are rare to come by (I mean, there is just so many plays Rahul Bose can be cast in!), here every second person you meet and almost every waiter, bell boy or doorman is an actor of much promise. With a greater supply of actors than plays being produced, actors literally come begging, which means there are few restrictions they demand and most will do anything to make directors' creative vision come to light. Joy!

Lines are learnt overnight and rehearsals are productive exercises in motivation and variation. Ashok Sinha, the US born desi actor who plays Mahvi, is a delight to work with. In his mid-twenties, this is one actor who is slated to go very far. He has ambitions of making it to Bombay in the near future and checking out the local scene. "I'm very proud of all the new indie films coming out of Bombay," says Ashok with anearnestness that is endearing. The curtain on my `return to the boardwalk' goes up on Saturday and the caterpillars are morphing into butterflies in my gut. Thanks for the good wishes and broken legs.

Film glam

Also proud of the indie film scene evolving in Bombay is none other than Uma Da Cunah who has once again donned entrepreneurial cap and started a new magazine titled Film India Worldwide. Thankfully, she's not of the Baburao Patel school of journalism (for all those new to this world, he was the journalist who founded Film India way back in the '30s -- a magazine that was the precursor of the glossy gossip rags like Stardust and Cine Blitz).

Uma Da Cunah's fleeting visit to Manhattan last week prompted all the names in Rajika Puri's "film people" folder to turn up for a magnificent party at the actress's charming home. Rajika, of whom I have written much in the past, introduced me to someone and said, "Oh, I'm surprised you haven't met each other but I guess Ididn't invite you to the last party Riyad, it was for everyone in my `theatre people' folder". Now there is reason enough for me to quickly direct a play!

Top secret

Anyway, at this party I got a chance to meet Ranjit Chaudhary and his beautiful wife, the psychologist par excellence, Malini. Pearl Padamsee's son is perhaps the most recognised Indian face to Americans, having played numerous Indian characters in movies, television and theatre. He is a delightful fellow who plays up his quirks to desired effect and knows how to chuckle at his own image. Currently working on a `top-secret' screenplay, Ranjit is keen to contribute his mite to the indie-indie scene. His last effort was the flawed, though important, work Lonely in America which didn't get commercial release in India but screened at several festivals.

Also at the party were other once-were-Mumbaikars Rahul "Potcase" Miranda (the cartoonist hairdresser son), Cornelia Ravenal (the journalist-event promoter who wrote for IndiaToday and Verve), and other interesting film-makers and artists. Rahul Khanna, fresh from his success in East Is East on Broadway, shared acting tips with Asif Mandvi who currently stars (with rave reviews) on Broadway. Rahul can be viewed on Riz Khan's Q&A Asia on August 21, when he and author Bapsi Sidhwa talk about their participation in Deepa Mehta's Earth, finally being released in the US this September.

Outstanding art

Our man at New York's Whitney museum is none other than another US born desi, Alpesh Shah. This young scholar of art and culture is currently working on the second part of the Whitney's most ambitious project titled The American Century which chronicles the last 100 years and the USIS contribution as a cultural imperialist. From Hollywood to installation art to photographic representation to folk art, this museum exhibition is so outstanding that I encourage all who visit the Big Apple to make a beeline for it. Sheldon Austin, theUSIS director of Mumbai (currently on vacation in his hometown) is making sure he doesn't miss it.

Back to Bombay

On a final note, yours truly will be in Bombay briefly for the month of September. So those who know me and love me, make sure to keep your evenings free. I hear bowling is the rage in the city and I've worked hard to master the three finger grip. My training is curtsey my friend Joe Marcheso, the Julliard trained conductor (currently wielding the baton at the Amato Opera House) who threatens to visit Bombay as well. Apart from his skill at waving the wand, he plays a mean game of Parcheesi -- "the royal sport of India" -- he assures me.