Easter eggs ahead
How not to lose one’s heart to the festival of hope?
My morning walk offers me glimpses of some quintessentially Bandra sights. Fresh pao being delivered to groggy uncles in belly-hugging banians. The devout paying tribute at the many crucifixes erected at the time of the terrible Bombay plague of 1896. And seasonal merriment, like the trippy thandai at Khaane Khaas and sinful raan at Bazaar Road. But today, it’s all about colourful Easter eggs bundled in beribboned bunny baskets. Corny? Yes. Juvenile? Of course. Satisfying? Absolutely.
The new normal is now normal
Easter, a symbol of resurrection and new life, takes on a whole new meaning in 2021; the world recently marked a dubious first anniversary – that of The Pandemic. Those of us who have been spared its wrath so far have still carried our crosses, to extend the Easter-related metaphor. Along the thorny path, there were little triumphs. Mastering semi-round rotis. Art-directing a serviceable backdrop for Zoom. Finding the motivation to dust. Mustering the courage to look at the unforgiving mirror.
“After changes upon changes we are more or less the same” sang Paul Simon in the additional verse of that iconic ballad – The Boxer, an autobiographical lament about criticism and loneliness, inspired by the Bible. Masks are here to stay, as is distancing and sanitising. But here’s an announcement: we’ve been living in the much-touted “new normal” zone for a while now, and it’s not relentlessly difficult, you’ll have to admit. Virtual meetings and elbow nudges may have nothing over real human contact, but that heart-sinking ennui of 2020 is a thing of the past. Sounds fanciful? But it’s Easter, so we’re allowed to hope, rejoice and nibble at sweet bunnies till we scare rational thinking away.
Intoxicated by the exuberance of your own verbosity
Amitabh Bachchan jumping out of a giant egg in My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves is a collective Easter memory with all the visceral force of Manmohan Desai’s brand of Bollywood behind it. Not too long ago, I learnt that my Bandra building was once home to the musician and teacher Anthony Gonsalves, who contributed to Hindi movie scores in the 1950s and ‘60s. The gibberish-peppered song in Amar Akbar Anthony was a tribute from Pyarelal (of LaxmikantPyarelal fame) to his violin teacher; a sweet little surprise for those not in the know. Or an Easter egg in an Easter egg.
For millennials and those fascinating creatures that come after, “Easter eggs” are surprise messages embedded in pop culture artefacts like films, music videos and computer games. A kind
of treasure hunt where you find unexpected images, sounds and references which have nothing to do with the plot. In-jokes, if you will. Why are they called Easter eggs? Once upon a time, there was an Atari video game called ‘Adventure’, woven around an Easter egg hunt. Now, one of the software programmers was upset about not getting due acknowledgment in the credits of the game. So, he sneakily embedded the text “Created by Warren Robinett”, only to be revealed by strategic clicks and hovers on the part of the clueless player. His bosses discovered these secret messages only after he had quit Atari; but it was too expensive to pull them out and re-release the game. What’s more, hidden messages were encouraged moving forward, and a cool trend was born. Hallelujah!
THESE ARE TOUGH TIMES, STILL, BUT AT LEAST THERE’S THE WARM CONSOLATION OF FESTIVALS THAT CELEBRATE RENEWAL AND RESURRECTION
From Vrindavan to Jerusalem
Last year, opera singer Andrea Bocelli performed a rousing Easter concert at the deserted Duomo di Milano, calling it a “live YouTube prayer”. Titled ‘Music for Hope’, it “highlighted the hope for the rebirth of Italy”, a country that reeled under the full force of the early pandemic, and a strict lockdown to control it. From the music that the Italians played to cheer each other up from their balconies to the up-tempo playlists we cue on our phones for workouts, music is tasked with delivering us from all troubles. It might not deliver us, but at least it has us humming off-key through all the heartache.
Languorous Holi thumris in my head are now segueing into rousing Gospel music. Gujiyas have morphed into Easter eggs as the imagination journeys from the gardens of Vrindavan to the city of Jerusalem. These are tough times, still, but at least there’s the warm consolation of festivals that celebrate renewal and resurrection, accompanied by food that has no other purpose than to please.
HORMAZD SORABJEE
Born with 95 per cent locally sourced components, Skoda’s latest baby is more Indian than Czech and has fittingly been given an Indian-sounding name. Say hello to the grounds-up, all-new Skoda Kushaq, derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Kushak’ for king or emperor. It looks like Skoda took to ‘rashi’, the Vedic astro-numerological naming practice, seriously in the hope that its newborn would be blessed with a long and successful life. Thing is, the Kushaq is much more than just another SUV in the range. It’s the start of an all-new chapter in India for Skoda. This mid-size SUV has the task of reviving Skoda’s fortunes in India and serving other export markets as well.
Stamp of practicality
It certainly looks up to the job with its sharp, clean-cut styling replete with lots of Skoda design cues like the bold grille and techy detailing. The wrap-around LED tail-lights add to the sense of width and, overall, the Kushaq looks similar to larger Skoda SUVs such as the Kodiaq and the Karoq. It’s a well-proportioned car and the long wheelbase (the longest in its class) gives a nice, planted look. If anything, the wheels look a touch small tucked inside the generous wheel arches.
The interiors too have the Skoda stamp of practicality and bold contours. The chunky and uncluttered dashboard with free standing 10-inch touchscreen and hefty buttons has a quality appeal, which will go down well with premium car buyers. I particularly liked the chunky two-spoke steering wheel with its floating effect and the high quality steering mounted switchgear which feels great to operate.
Booting up
The infotainment system too is super slick and the high definition graphics look really crisp. In fact, this is one of the best infotainment systems around. Skoda had earlier teased us with images of a digital
CUT AND THRUST
The car has a sharp, clean-cut styling replete with lots of Skoda design cues like the bold grille and techy detailing instrument cluster, so it was rather disappointing to find the production version gets old-school analogue dials. We hear the digital cluster is expected at a later stage. Also, some signs of cost cutting can be seen in some of the plastics and the roof liner, which gets a scruffy woven fabric instead of the neater (and more expensive) knitted finish.
A lot of attention has been given to the rear seat, so just how spacious is it? There’s enough legroom for 6-footers to stretch out, a deep seat base to sink into and an optimally angled backrest that can be flipped down to enhance the versatility of the boot. The boot, however, is not the most spacious in its class, but at 385 litres, it’s good enough for a couple of big bags.
The cabin too isn’t particularly wide and the contoured rear seats are best for two people. Interestingly, Skoda has flattened Kushaq’s floor to make it comfier for the third passenger.
Fun to drive
Jump into the driver’s seat and you will instantly realise this is the place to be. You are greeted with a spot-on driving position, which sets you up for what is possibly the most fun-to-drive SUV in its class.
Now I haven’t driven the production version of the Kushaq, which only just made its global debut in India on 18 March, but had a go in a preproduction prototype a few months ago to get a taste of things to come.
Powering the Kushaq is a pair of turbo-petrols, a 1.0 and 1.5 litre developing 115 and 150hp, respectively. There’s no diesel option.
Between the two petrols, it was the smaller 1.0 TSI that was the surprise. The engine is remarkably smooth for a three-cylinder and has none of the sluggishness at low revs you expect from a small capacity engine. The Kushaq feels light on its feet with this compact engine under its hood and the meaty powerband rarely leaves you wanting for more power. It does get a touch noisy when you rev it, unlike the smoother
1.5 motor, which is more potent too. The truth is that the 1.5 TSI engine mated to a 7-speed automatic box didn’t heighten the driving experience as much as I thought it would and when Kushaq finally goes on sale in June this year, it might the be the lower variant that is better value.
KUSHAQ FEELS LIGHT ON ITS FEET WITH A COMPACT ENGINE UNDER ITS HOOD AND THE MEATY POWERBAND RARELY LEAVES YOU WANTING FOR MORE POWER