Me and my invaluable thoughts...

A diwali well spent...

2011-10-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

"Good boy, last bite kha lo chalo", sangi said as she fed the kid. As the kid finished his last bite, she looked at me and heaved a sigh of relief. No, she was not the kid's mom...neither was I. The kid was a part of an orphanage (did not have the right word) named Shanti Daan.

Shanti Daan is situated in (almost) the outskirts of Mumbai. It provides shelter to kids and old people who are mentally and physically challenged. It was Sangi's idea to visit them on Diwali.

This is what we did there:
1. Feeding the kids = not that easy: We were given a plate that had a pudding made of tea and biscuits. We were asked to feed the kids. While some kids ate quickly, some did not even know that they had to swallow it. For example, I kept feeding the kid thinking he will eat, but he was just not swallowing it. The pudding was dripping out of his mouth. I did not know what to do, the volunteer came and helped me feed the guy. He had to literally move the boy's chin to help him swallow it. I had tears in my eyes.

2. Interacting with kids = full on fun: After a quick walk around the building, we went to the main hall to play with kids. We were playing catch catch with them, but they did not seem to show any enthusiasm. Only 2 boys- Rakesh and x (will call the other boy x as we could not get his name) were playing with us. Suddenly a sweet girl Gunjan joined us and tadaaaaaa we had 2 more friends- navin and pravin. It was pure fun. A lesson that we learnt was treat these kids the way you treat the other kids...they reciprocate well. No need to talk in syrupy language.

3. The candle making room = awestruck reactions: After spending an hour with the kids, we went to the room where people were making candles. What we saw made us open our mouth and purse out of admiration. They had made beautiful candles with correct colour combinations. We simply loved the house that they made of wax.We immediately purchased candles for our near and dear ones. Needless to say, they all loved it. A lesson learnt: Everyone is talented, you have to discover it.

We came out happily. We knew we spent our Diwali fruitfully. We are not trying to boast that we had done something good. Nopes that is not our intention. Our intention is to tell you that:

Whenever u feel your life is miserable or that you lack comforts or freedom in life- then spare a thought...there are millions who live a worse life than you. As one volunteer told us: At least we have our parents to support us, these kids have none!

Tackling Corruption my way...

2011-08-17T04:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a very sad day. Just on 15th August we celebrated our Independence Day- a day when we got free from the harsh Colonial rule.

And the very next day we lost our freedom yet again. The Anna Hazare arrest has shocked everybody. Isn’t this bad...a politician can give derogatory speeches before election, but a 74 year old civilian cannot even protest in peace. Are the laws different for common men and politicians? If yes, then why do we call India a democratic nation?

I never supported the Jan Lokpal Bill because somehow the idea of bringing the PM and Supreme Court under the scanner did not appeal to me. Also, the PM and CJI are not elected by the people of the country...we only choose a winning party. It is the winning party then, which decides who should be the PM and the cabinet ministers. So, basically we do not really have the right to prosecute them. There might be more loopholes too...which only my lawyer pal like Neha can explain.

So what should we do?

1. Firstly, we must understand that we have the power to vote. But by voting...I don’t mean just standing in the long queue, getting your nail inked and punching the buttons against any party. By voting I mean studying the agenda that they present before you...checking their credentials etc. I know it is a very tough and time consuming task...but definitely a little research would not hurt.

Just check how the residents of Juhu had elected an independent candidate named Adolf as their corporator during the last BMC elections. Needless to say, he has done a lot for Juhu. Now, other areas too are taking lessons from Juhu for the next BMC elections.

2. Tata tea had come up with a brilliant caption two years back, which said ‘woh khate hain kyunki hum khilate hain’...isn’t that true? Stop bribing officials for everything. Getting a license, ration card or passport is our right and no one can deny it. I know it is a long battle, you may lose a lot...but in a way you are helping your nation in fighting corruption.

3. India has an Act called the RTI Act. It means you have the right to seek information from the government bodies in case of delay/irregularities in their functioning. Again, the procedure is long and even the response is vague or delayed...but there is no harm in filing it. At least it would make the governing bodies sit up and do their work properly. I would suggest that you use the existing laws rather than just fighting without understanding a word about the bill.

Use the existing laws, try to be patient and fight the system with patience...bunking offices and colleges or mouthing anti government slogans will not work. Of course, now the government is scared of our anger...but still please do not disrupt normal life under the pretext of protesting.

Tell me honestly, don't we pay traffic police, telephone wala and god knows who all to get our work done? I know even if this law gets passed, people will not use it. We have never filed for a RTI or a PIL...do u think we will use this one? I am sure we won't. The best solution is what Narayan Murthy said...Legalize Bribery.

Happy Birthday Kishore Kumar

2011-08-04T10:42:00.000-07:00

Today was the 82nd Birth Anniversary of my favorite singer Kishore Kumar. He has always been with me all the time. He croons zindagi ek safar hain suhana when I fear about my future...he sings rim jhim gire sawaan when it rains the first time in Mumbai every June...he advices me by singing kuch toh log kahenge logon ka kaam hain kehna when I lose my temper on narrow minded people. He echoed my sentiments when he sang din hain suhana aaj pehli tarikh hain...the first time I got my salary. He is always there with me during all my ups and downs.

He may have had plenty of affairs, may have married four times...he may have been short tempered and unpredictable but he always touched our heart. His versatile voice, his comic abilities and his famous yodling are still remembered by everyone.

I love almost every Kishore Kumar song...but there is one which I particularly love the most. I am sharing the video here...do listen to this song. Sad the songs that are made today are vulgar and thrash. Enjoy this song and get immersed in the beautiful lyrics.

And here are the lyrics:

kuchh toh log kahenge, logo kaa kam hain kehna

chhodo bekar kee bato me kahee bit naa jayey raina

kuchh rit jagat kee aisi hai, har ek subah kee sham huyi

too kaun hai, tera nam hain kya, sita bhi yaha badanam huyi

fir kyo sansar kee bato se bhig gaye tere naina

hamko jo tane dete hai, ham khoye hain in rang raliyo me

hamne unako bhi chhup chhup ke aate dekha in galiyo me

yeh sach hain jhuthe bat nahee tum bolo yeh sach hain naa

PHIR SE................

2011-07-14T08:49:00.000-07:00

I am angry, very angry.

PHIR SE, after a span of 3 years...Mumbai came under attack.

PHIR SE innocent were attacked.

PHIR SE the government 'condemned' this ghastly act

PHIR SE the political parties made a 'TAMASHA' of the entire incident

PHIR SE the relatives and friends ran from pillar to post in search of their loved ones

PHIR SE the US sympathized with us (Mummy hain naa woh humari)

PHIR SE people spread rumours and created panic (seriously, it was not Kasab's birthday yesterday nor were there 4 blasts)

PHIR SE the radio played 'Bharat Humko Jaan se bhi pyaara hain' for the nth time

PHIR SE the TV news anchor asked senseless questions to the already panicked janta

PHIR SE the celebrities showed their 'solidarity' through twitter

PHIR SE the people of Mumbai got united to help the victims

PHIR SE we got up from the dust

PHIR SE we took our bags, braved the rain and went to work today

PHIR SE we were praised for our resiliency

PHIR SE it's a new day and a new beginning for us.

No, friends we are not brave. We are tired. All that we have in mind is: paying our EMI. We trusted the police, we trusted the government. But what did we get in return? Despair and pain. Life is unpredictable. You are alive now but dead in next few minutes. The blame game would go on. 'USA USA pakistan ne naa humare saath yeh kiya' wala FOREIGN dialogues will begin. But is it going to compensate for our loss?

-Hurt to the core

We shall not listen- Part 2

2011-06-23T11:27:00.000-07:00

My brother who has just returned from his Bangkok vacation, was sharing his experiences with us when suddenly the topic shifted to how people in Bangkok follow traffic rules and how we are in India. He said people in Bangkok would never honk unnecessarily and would always follow the rules unlike us. This conversation turned out to be a perfect beginning for the second part of my series: We shall not listen.

Honestly speaking I myself am a very indisciplined person. I cross the roads even if the cars have not halted or would never follow the zebra crossing (actually zebra crossing lines have faded in my city, you can barely see it). So basically, I am not the right person to write about it. Infact once when I was in 2nd standard, I did not look at the rickshaw coming from the opp direction, I simply crossed the road. The rickshawala got down and slapped me hard across the cheeks for being negligent. Not that I learnt any lesson but yes since then I developed immense hatred for rickshawalas despite being a rickshaw addict ;-)

So note to myself: Cross the road only when the vehicles halt.Look aage peeche upar neeche and daaye baaye.

When we talk about following traffic rules, it is not just meant for pedestrians. Motorists infact have a greater responsibility because if they injure a pedestrian or a fellow motorist; the public would happily pounce and vent their frustration on the poor motorist.

My brother says every country has a stringent law for traffic regulation, which our country lacks. Give the traffic cop 100 rupees extra and you are left scot-free. Worse are the hit and run cases due to drunken driving (e.g. actor Salman Khan), you kill some innocent people and give some compensation to the family (in some cases not even a compensation) and you are left on bail. Would your compensation bring back the family's loved ones? The punishments are bad and ancient, so what do we do about it?

We can only follow the rules. Is it easy? No it is not. You are forced to follow the herd mentality, for example: you have a speed limit for driving in a highway, sea link, normal roads etc which needs to be followed, but how many of us follow it?. Ek ne tez se car kya chalaya everybody follows the same without even caring about the speed limit and incase some one follows the speed limit, they are showered with colorful verbal abuses for creating problems in 'smooth functioning of traffic'.

People are not the real problem, the problem is with the punishments, they need to be made really stringent, so stringent that people think twice before flouting the rules. For instance, make drunken driving a non bailable offence or if You exceed the speed limit, go drive your car in Kanjurmarg or Powai during peak hours for one whole year (you will forget what rash driving is). Kuch bhi karo but please ensure that there is smooth flow of traffic, you have no idea how scared senior citizens, physically challenged people are when they have to cross the roads.

More inputs are welcome.

Up next: Pressure to excel in life.

Fida over his art huh?

2011-06-10T12:19:00.000-07:00

At any point of time if I sound like a Hindu Fanatic, please pardon me. Please do not tell the Mumbai cops to attack me with tear gas. Also please do not give my blog link to Digvijay Singh else he would accuse me of being a part of RSS. These are just my views and you have the right to agree and disagree with it. Phool aur Kaante accepted.

Ok now that I have made myself clear, I will start writing now. I know criticizing someone after his soul departs is a bad thing, but I could not stop myself from expressing my views after reading the opinions of (so-called) liberal people in the newspaper.

On thursday, India's Picasso passed away in London at the ripe age of 96.

Now, honestly I never understood modern or abstract art.

So obviously, since I never understood Husain's paintings; I never understood the hype made out of his paintings.

For me-

1) The aunties who made rangolis and kolams outside their home were better artists.

2) RK Lakshman's 'You Said It' was 1000 times better as compared to his weird creatures on the canvas.

3) Art is something which touches your heart or something that we understand.

4) Da Vinci's The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa were perfect work of art.

5) A random horse (which looks like a donkey) running across the canvas or nude goddesses were not a form of art.

Besides the fact that I never understood his paintings, I was also against all the hype created about his exile by the media and the so-called liberal people. He had committed a mistake- won't call it grave because he did not murder anybody. But yes, the mistake was unpardonable.

India is a secular country, which means that everyone has the right to practice and follow the religion of their choice. One is expected to behave properly and not interfere or hurt the sentiments of the people belonging to other religions. Hindus are in majority and we worship every god and their manifestations devotedly. Obviously, no person would like to see their Goddess or Bharat Mata in nude. Saraswati Devi is goddess of knowledge and we have always seen her in white sari with a veena in her hand. Obviously, you won't like to see the devi in a nude form. Rationalists may argue that how do you know how Saraswati Devi looks, have you seen her? No, none of us have seen her but definitely none of us would like to see her nude. Call us regressive, but the truth is we cannot see our beautifully adorned devi in such a form.

MF Husain, like every Indian citizen was bestowed upon with the Freedom of Expression. But he, forgot that there is a thin line between expression of thoughts and hurting the sentiments of people. You are given the freedom of expression but you must respect it and use it responsibly. He crossed the line and faced the wrath from the so-called Hindu fanatics. It is very easy to call some groups as Extremists or fanatics, but spare a thought and tell me: were they wrong in revolting against such paintings? Maybe their way of revolting was wrong but certainly not their intention. Being resilient is a good characteristic, but allowing people to take your sentiments for granted is not good. I don't support fanaticism. But I don't know I did not feel as though India has lost a gem. I felt a great void when Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Uncle Pai passed away early this year (they were not my relatives but I felt we lost a gem) but did not feel so for Maqbool Fida Husain.

But having said that, I would thank him because the beautiful song Chillama Chilakama would have not existed had he not made the movie Meenaxi- the three cities :). May his soul Rest in Peace.

P.S: I remember that I had promised to write about traffic rules. Will come up with it within a week. Promise! Gentlewoman promise :)

We shall not listen- Part 1

2011-05-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

Starting from today, I have decided to start a series called: We shall not listen. In this series I will be expressing my views on certain topics which all of us talk about but seldom follow. I will try to update this series regularly but will not promise because I am bad at keeping promises :).

First in line is: Cleanliness

No matter how many campaigns do blah blah about maintaining cleanliness and Hygiene, we (especially the Educated class) will never improve. In one of my ex office the condition of the lady's toilet were so bad that the management was forced to put up this notice on all the toilet doors.

Imagine, you have to teach people to keep their surroundings clean. These are the same people who boast of having quality education and work experience but do not know the importance of maintaining hygiene. Initially, after the notice was put up; people took conscious efforts to keep the toilets clean. But kutte kii doom hamesha thedi hee rehti hain. A week later, this is what I found:

Loose hair strands on wet floor and used tissue napkins adorned the toilet floor. The cleaners would become tired of continuously cleaning the floors, but people still continued with their ways. Its been a year since I quit the organization. I don't know how well maintained it is. But I am sure despite repeated warnings, people will never improve. They will continue to dirty the surroundings because: a) it is not their house and b) this is not a first world country.

Up next: Following the traffic rules

PDA se peedit

2011-05-08T13:10:00.000-07:00

I know many of my 'broad minded' friends would pounce upon me after reading this. Some may even accuse me of being a member of Ram Sene. But, I have to write about it because yesterday's incident has left me angry and shocked.

The incident: Yesterday was mother's day; my brother and I decided to take mummy for a movie. She wanted to watch Chalo Dilli. We got the seats in the last row. One guy was sitting in the seat next to our's and my over protective mom sat next to him; while I was made to sit in between my mom and brother. The guy's girlfriend was seated in the corner. Till the Interval everything was fine. We were enjoying the light hearted movie. But what followed post interval was embarrassing for both mom and me. The seats next to mom were shaking aggressively as though some earth quake had erupted and my mom could hardly enjoy the film as she sat on the edge of the seat and leaned towards me to watch the movie. My mom tried giving them a piece of her mind but the couple immersed in deep love or lust did not pay heed to my mom. Luckily the movie finished quickly and my mom almost ran towards the exit.

As a young citizen of this country, I am not against showing your affection in public. But there needs to be a limit to everything. Holding hands or giving a peck on the cheeks in public is acceptable, but an act such as the one mentioned above is highly embarrassing. I understand that lack of private spaces have given rise to such desperateness; but these couple should bear in mind that there are many people including the kids watching them. Can't they be little responsible? If they think that displaying love or lust in public makes them look COOL then they are wrong. It only makes them look like a FOOL.

India may be a progressive country and we may be in 21st century; but this does not give you the freedom to behave in any fashion. If you want to ape the western countries, then ape their technologies, their attitude towards people, discipline, good standard of living etc. I wish to tell the public that love is a pure feeling, please do not make it look cheap with your acts. Please do not engage in such acts in public. Do whatever you want within the confinement of your bedroom or in a good hotel room (which has no hidden cameras). Please spare the cinema halls, gardens, rickshaws and temples (yes have seen couple sticking like fevicol in Siddhivinayak temple premises). It looks ugly with your desperate behavior. Hope you will pay heed to my requests. If you cannot then wait till the sadist political groups ruin your romance under the pretext of serving the public :). Phir mat kehna kii nobody warned you :)

P.S: No use sending me pink chaddis, I have changed my residence ;-) ;-)

A Karmayogi for the little girl, a God for others

2011-04-24T13:29:00.000-07:00

One day an old lady told her sleepy 4 year old grand daughter to sit straight and shout out baba, baba with a rose in her hand. The grand daughter obediently screamed her lungs out and caught Baba’s attention, but sadly he did not come to her to accept the rose. The grand daughter was sad, but her granny was elated that Swami gave a glance towards the little grand daughter.

A year later, the same granny taught a beautiful bhajan called ‘prema mudita manase kaho rama rama ram, rama rama ram, rama rama ram, sri rama rama ram’ (which roughly means calling out Lord Rama’s name with love in heart) to her now 5 year old grand daughter. She taught many such bhajans, which made the small girl pretty popular in the bhajan group.

The small girl, with constant guidance from her devoted granny and family had deep faith in Sathya Sai Baba.

But as she grew, she started getting distanced from him.

The first crack developed when she saw some corrupt politicians sitting besides him; giving fake speeches. She could not understand the reason why baba was allowing them to share the podium with him.

The crack deepened when she witnessed politics within the bhajan group. Everyone wanted to hog the limelight and show their importance. She could not understand why Baba was not telling them to be good disciples.

Finally, the crack became irreparable when she lost her beloved granny to an illness and when she saw her father’s health turning from bad to worse. Every time that she heard about a miracle, she would go away to another room. She almost started hating the devotees’ double standards. For instance, the same devotees who would say all good things about baba and his teachings would not think twice before hurting a poor lady in the bhajan group.

But despite all this, she still respected him for the good service that he had done to the mankind. For her, he was a saint; a karmayogi. Just think which hospital on this earth would provide you with free, world class medical treatments or which political party has provided the basic water facilities to arid lands? Have you ever done your higher education free of cost? I know you cannot think of any hospital or educational institute offering world class services to people.

Irrespective of who says what, one cannot deny the fact that Sri Sathya Sai Baba has turned the small town of Puttaparthi into a world class destination.

While, we may be curious about his 40,000 crore empire or his successor or whether he is divine or not; let us not sideline his great preaching: ‘Love all, Serve all’ and ‘Help Ever, Hurt Never’ in the process. These teachings should be the guiding principles of life. We cannot create another world class village like Puttaparthi but atleast as responsible, educated individuals we should ensure that we do not harm the society through any selfish or harmful deeds.

Today, as thousands and lakhs of devotees throng Puttaparthi to pay their last respects; the little girl now a grown up woman wept silently because she knew that with one less karmayogi amidst the swarm of selfish and greedy human beings; the balance between good and grey individuals has yet again been affected.

P.S: Here’s an irony: Jesus Christ came back to life two days after his crucification on a Sunday- famously known as Easter Sunday all over the world; while baba left for heavenly abode on this very same day.

Lets stop spreading rumors

2011-03-15T12:24:00.000-07:00

We all know how Japan has been affected by Tsunami and now the nuclear blasts. It is indeed disappointing to see how a hard working country like Japan, (which after the Hiroshima, Nagasaki attacks resolved to become a strong economy) has been reduced to a wasteland. My father says that Japanese are sincere people with a determination to succeed. He says they wont be crying for sympathy from so-called rich countries, they have lot of self respect and they will surely make a huge comeback. I hope for the same.

Meanwhile, I am sure many of you might have received this mail from some of your contacts in your mailing list:

There was a nuclear blast 4:30pm Sunday in Fukushima Japan. If it rains today or in the next few days, DO NOT GO UNDER THE RAIN. If you get caught out, use an umbrella or raincoat, even if it's only a drizzle. Radioactive particles, which may cause burns, alopecia or even cancer, may be in the rain.

BBC flash news: Japan government confirms radiation leak at Fukushima nuclear plants. Asian countries should take necessary precautions. If it rains, remain indoors first 24hours, close doors n windows, swab neck skin with beta-dine where thyroid area is, radiation hits thyroid first. Take extra precautions, radiation may hit Philippines starting 4pm (Pinas time) today!

PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE.

I don't blame the people who mailed this to us, they shared with genuine concern. However, though it is good to share information, it is definitely not good to spread rumors. We need to understand the difference between the two. Imagine, what would the condition of a person be who is already affected by a particular incident. I remember, a day after 26/11 occurred, there were fresh rumors floating about another attack at CST. People were simply scared and my mom was not even ready to allow me to go to a nearby market. Why scare people and create panic amongst them? We cannot avoid such mails or messages (you will be bombarded with such mails and messages by someone or the other) but definitely we can judge if these mails or messages are to be believed or not. According to me such mails are rumors until the Government does not issue an official statement regarding it and deserves to be deleted forever. We as educated citizens of the country should be careful about the information we share. We need to remember that even a harmless mail such as these can lead to confusion and chaos in the society.

P.S: A special thanks to my friend Monali who brought to my notice that these mails were rumors.

No one killed Aarushi???

2011-01-08T07:23:00.000-08:00

You definitely know a lot about her. The mysterious murder of Aarushi and Hemraj is back in focus. Two years gone and the guilty has not yet been caught let alone being punished. Few evidences point towards her father, however, there are still many loopholes. We obviously cannot do anything about it (except for lighting candles in front of her smiling photo at India Gate and Gateway of India).

But we can certainly pray for Aarushi and Hemraj. Pray that their soul RIP and that the guilty is punished soon.

AND YES ALSO PRAY THAT KAMAL R KHAN DOES NOT MAKE A FILM ON THIS SENSITIVE TOPIC x-(

I happened to come across Aarushi's profile on Orkut and though I find it weird about how could people write scraps and ask her questions such as kaisi ho? when she has already passed away; I feel that this mass prayer (through scraps) for her justice would surely do some miracle and help in punishing the guilty.

This is just one of those high profile murders (Jessica Lal, Priyadarshini Matto and Nitish Katara being the others) that has garnered media attention. While this case may get solved sooner or later, there are several cases that are pending since time immemorial and have not attracted media's attention maybe because it does not involve rich families. Hope justice is meted out to these families too and hope that it is not yet another example of Tareekh pe tareekh for them.

Respect Her!!!

2010-07-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

Mr. Maharaja Kaushik- the coach of Women's Hockey Team has been accused of sexually harassing the players.
3 minor girls get raped and killed in Nehru Nagar- Kurla, Mumbai
A recent survey stated that Delhi is considered to be the most unsafe place in India for Women. Around 85% women said that they do not feel safe in Delhi. Goa is also considered unsafe by foreign tourists.

Welcome friends, welcome to a Nation where women are considered nothing less than a Sex object.

Welcome to a nation, where on one hand a women is called the Lakshmi of the house (obviously, it is she who brings Gold and money to your home in the form of dowry) and on the other she is treated as a burden to the family (Because in India it is the responsibility of a girl's father to conduct a marriage at their expense).

Pardon me for this nonsensical rant, but could not stop myself from ranting.

Today as I flipped through the pages of a newspaper, I found more than half of the newspaper carrying stories about Rapes, Sexual Harassments and Molestation. Tired, I switched on the TV and was greeted by the same Rape, Sexual Harassment stories. I switched off the TV and sat on the veranda only to find an uncle residing in the opposite building slapping his wife black and blue. It was a sick sight to watch. We complained to the Cops for the nth time, who took him to the station for the nth time and sent him back for the nth time because his loyal wife is scared to complain against him.

India is a nation of diversity, and not just languages and culture; even the treatment meted out towards women in different parts of the country proves this.

So while a girl child is welcomed as Lakshmi or Durga in West Bengal or Southern States, a girl born in Punjab or Haryana is considered to be a huge burden to the family and is often killed after birth. Often, the mother who has given birth to a girl child is sent back home as though she has committed a crime. The father of the child seldom realizes that it is his chromosomes that determine the sex of the child. So shouldn't he be punished for committing this heinous crime.

Obviously, I have no answers to my questions but yes I do have some wishes that I hope gets fulfilled some day:

I hope that the honorable Judiciary System takes a note of the crimes meted out towards women and make the laws more stringent.

I hope that girls stop bowing down to the atrocities meted out to them. Set an Example by saying a FIRM NO to something which is against your wish. It could be forced sex, forced marriage anything.

I hope that the government does something about protecting the women. Sheila Dixit are you listening?

I hope that every family treats women as equal and treat them with respect.

I hope that the media does not make such stories a fodder to fill their space and time. It's good to inform people but definitely not good to harp over it.

But most importantly, I hope that Women do not keep quiet and learn to fight for themselves.

Shirdi wale sai baba Aaya hain tere dar pe sawali

2010-04-03T08:58:00.000-07:00

Every individual worships god (some do not admit it but secretly they do worship some form of god or atleast have fear). I believe in God and for some reason I have immense faith on Shirdi Baba and I make it a point to visit his divine mandir every year. This is the first time I am writing about the wonderful trip.

1. A sudden trip to Shirdi: As I said before, I have been visiting Shirdi almost every year for Baba's darshan. I somehow find solace in shirdi. There is something about the place that draws me there evrytime. With a lamba weekend (3 holidays back to back) and with some important decisions to be taken, mom and I decided to make a quick 9 hour trip to Shirdi to seek baba's blessings.

2. The nice and not so nice bus journey (Mumbai to Shirdi): We left on Thursday night. Like always we boarded the 8PM bus from Goregaon. The nice part of the journey was that there was a cute looking guy with deep dimples adding sobha to his chehra sitting behind me. He was chit chatting with me endlessly and we were laughing over silly of the silliest jokes. I had started dreaming of a dance sequence too, wherein, we both were doing salsa (the song was tera hone laga hoon from ajab prem kii gajab kahani). I was brought down to earth by my mom who realized that unki beti ki niyat kharab ho rahi hain. The not so nice part of the journey came when he called up his girlfriend and said loudly "jaanu tumhe aana chahiye tha, main tumhe miss kar raha hoon". Bas this was enough to make me feel disheartened and I fell asleep.

3. The enchanting baba's darshan and the indisciplined public: Shirdi has become a popular pilgrimage destination in India. After Tirupati and Vaishano Devi, Shirdi is the place twhere lakhs of people come to seek baba's darshan. After taking a room in a decent hotel, mom and I freshened up and went to seek baba's darshan at 7 AM. We wanted to go for the 4AM aarti, but I was way too lazy to get up and go. I got good darshan of baba and was mesmerized by the enthu public who kept repeating "Om sai namoh namah, shri sai namoh namah". But what irked me was the indisciplined crowd that tried to break the lines and wriggle like a worm between two people standing for darshan. It was pretty bad of them to do so. In order to avoid people barging in between, we had to stand in close proximities, and literally got suffocated. I even told a lady that "baba sabko darshan denge aap zara line mein khade rahiye", but all my pleas fell on deaf ears. I sincerely hope that the Saibaba Trust takes a note of this and works towards bringing orderliness amongst the devotees.

Bolo Shri Satchitananda Sadguru Sainath Maharaj kii Jai!!!

4. A maha boring return journey (Shirdi to Mumbai): We took a return bus from Shirdi to Mumbai at 1PM on Friday. As I had returned after taking baba's darshan, I had decided to be a good girl and stop fooling around with good looking guys. The moment I settled down in my seat, I plugged my ears, closed my eyes and listened to Rafi singing Shirdiwale Sai baba. Luckily there were no good looking guys in the bus to divert my attention. The buswala had put Akshay Kumar's Chandni Chowk to China. It was a 3 hour ordeal for me to watch a weird looking Deepika and equally boring Akshay Kumar making fool of themselves, but somehow I did manage to put up with it. But aal izz well. The journey was smooth and we reached home safely.

5. Conclusion: I have come home refreshed with full of energy and with zeal to take right decsisions. I must admit, no matter how commercialized the place may have become, the simplicity of the local people and the magic of Shirdi is still visible. I suggest that whenever you make a trip to Maharashtra, don't forget to make a trip to Shirdi and if you are coming to Mumbai, don't forget to take my darshan :)

Will leave you with an awesome song from the movie Amar Akbar Anthony. I love this song (please ignore nirupama roy and her melodrama, just listen to the song).

Grapes are sour ;-)

2010-02-26T03:53:00.001-08:00

No, no...I am not talking about the quality of grapes available in the market, I am talking about one so-called 'high fundoo B-school' in Mumbai. Now, one may wonder what has grapes got to do with B-school...well for understanding the relationship, you will have to read the entire post.

After 2 years of continuous convincing from my parents and 2 odd years of work experience, I decided to pursue my Masters in Marketing Management. I decided to apply in one of the so-called reputed Management Institutes (named here as 'x' college to protect the identity) in Mumbai. It was a 3 years part time course and was recognized by Mumbai university.

I filled the forms and sent it to them before the 'Last Date of Submission'. I also gave the mock tests conducted by them on a sunday and worked really hard to crack the exams. After 2 months of relentless practice, I gave the entrance exam (which I cracked confidently). Even the GD/PI had gone well and I was cent percent sure that I would become a student of 'x' college very soon.

A month after the huge procedure, the first list was put up on their website, sadly my name did not feature in it :-(

I waited for the second list, which was put up after 15 days...again my name did not feature in it. I was disappointed and was on the verge of tears coz I knew I had done really well. I called up the institute to enquire about the 3rd list (called the same lady whom I had spoken to before buying the admission forms) only to listen to a rude reply: "Don't call us like this...keep checking the website...jag lagna hoga list lag jayega" and then banging the receiver down before I could ask anything further.

Out of sheer Kunas and with lot of time on hand...I thought of testing the link and tadaaaaa I found some mistakes and was fultoo impressed with my discovery.

See the images of my discovery below (please view them in a new window or tab as they are not that clear).

Note: I have edited the snapshots in paint so as to hide their identity.

The spelling of 'Second' is incorrect...should'nt the management institutes be aware of the spellings?

Now there are several mistakes in this image. a) The duration of the course mentioned here is 2009-2012 when actually the duration is 2010-2013 and b) I had entered wrong DOB (I was born in 1985 not 14th Nov 1982).

Now, I thought a 'Invalid entry' or some such message would appear as the DOB is wrong...but to my surprise it showed the result:

Psst: check out the year here, it is 2010-2013

Initially, I was super excited and was jumping around in the office just as Archimedes jumped during the Eureka moment...only to be brought back to zameen by my developer dost who said that probably the form was made such that results are displayed on the basis of form no. According to him DOB must have been just an additional parameter. He also added that instead of showing some 'invalid input' message...it has been designed such that it just shows if you have been chosen or rejected. I accepted his logic quietly.

But I still have the following queries (which I will obviously be asking the institute when I go there):

a) if an individual has originally got selected...but has by mistake entered the wrong form no and DOB, should'nt the message be 'Invalid input' instead of the 'your name does not feature in the list' ? Would'nt such ambiguous result mislead him/her?

b) Is it a norm that a candidate who has not been selected by your insitute be treated with disrespect. Is polite behaviour only situational? Forget the spelling mistakes and other silly mistakes...my question is should'nt college 'x' be more responsible and more accountable? Has education become a mockery, a money minded business to them. How do I trust institutes such as these to mould the future of managers and entrepreneurs?

The above incident has aroused a serious question within my mind: would a certificate of masters program make me a successful manager or a better individual or am I just wasting my time and energy on this? Several more questions in my mind...but seeing the length of my blog..I decided to end it here.

P.S: O btw angoor khatte hone kaa reason toh bataya hee nahi. See, had I got selected, I would not have bothered so much to prove 'x' college wrong. I took all these pains to prove them wrong only because I did not get an admission there. Ho gaya naa a classic case of 'Grapes are Sour' ;-)

Mile sur naya purana toh besur banega gaana...

2010-01-30T08:56:00.000-08:00

Listen to both the versions of 'Mile Sur Mera Tumhara' and decide which one do you prefer.

Older Version:

Newer Version:

Part 1 of the video:

part 2:

I am somehow convinced that you would like the older version. Honestly, Mile Sur Mera Tumhara is an immortal song and I still listen to it till date. I had expected the newer version to be equally good. But alas, I am left disappointed.

Check it out. I only hope that the makers realize their mistakes and make a better video if possible. The makers should have realized that India is not made of bollywood celebrities alone (what was Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor doing in the video and what were they wearing?). The older version had featured awesome locations and assorted celebrities belonging to different walks of life. The newer version is not just 16 minutes long (original one is just 6 mins long) but it also lacks soul that the older one had. Also, the locations selected were not clear...(please tell me which place was Deepika representing in the video?).

The only part I liked in the new version was that of SalmanKhan and the ending part where the activities of the brave soldiers are highlighted. Else, the new version was pretty disappointing.

Do let me know your views. Your views and opinions will be highly appreciated.

Cheque de India!!!

2010-01-14T09:08:00.000-08:00

Chalo readers, lets play a quiz, answer the following questions without looking into the newspapers or any search engine:

1. Who is the captain of Indian National Football team?
2. Who is the captain of Indian Women's Cricket team?
3. Who was the former captain of Indian Hockey Team?

Is it taking time for you to answer the above questions...chalo theek hain let me ask you the next question...you surely know the answer for this question.

4. WHO IS THE CAPTAIN of INDIAN NATIONAL MEN'S CRICKET TEAM?

I bet you could answer the 4th question within 10 milliseconds, while it might have taken atleast 1 min to answer the first three questions. Why? Are'nt the other three games as important as Cricket (in this context only the men's cricket team)?

No, it's not your fault...even I did not know that Jhulan Goswami was the skipper of Indian Women's Cricket Team. It is the Sports Ministry and media that is to be blamed. It's cricket here, cricket there, cricket cricket everywhere (and again I am talking only about the men's cricket team). Nobody is bothered about the other games. Every other game is given step motherly treatment in our country, so much so that many of them believe that Cricket is our national game, when actually in reality it is Hockey. Our players are treated like beggars.

It was disgusting to see the way Hockey India was treating the players by first not paying their dues and then insulting them by announcing to the media that these talented players are more concerned about money than about their country. Tell me who on the earth would feel like participating in other games if this is how the Sports officials are going to treat the players? Luckily the President of IOA, Suresh Kalmadi has ensured that an amount of Rs 1 crore would be distributed among the players and thus succeeded in persuading the players to start their training for World Cup. But the question is, will the players really be paid or is this just yet another empty promise given to them...the pessimist within me believes that it is the latter.

When Abhinav Bindra won a gold medal in Olympics, he threw light upon the fact that getting sponsorship for any other games is very difficult and that it requires lot of lobbying. But if it's cricket, money comes pouring. Indian cricketers are so damn rich that every father in the country says that beta if you want to be a sportsman, then be a cricketer. The best instance is that of Yogesh Singh forcing his son Yuvraj Singh to give up skating and get into cricket. Though I admit that games like Tennis (thanks to Leander Paes, Sania Mirza etc) and Chess (thanks to Vishwanathan Anand) has gained momentum in our country, it is the relentless battle for sponsorers and the associated politics that according to me proves to be a hurdle for our bright players and withholds them from participating in International games.

It is high time that the Sports Ministry promotes other sports too and provides facilities for both professionals and the amateurs to get trained and participate in International games. Even media should try to generate interest among our young bacchalog.

Theek hain enough of my bhashan...I am logging off now. I pray that our Indian Hockey team does well in the World Cup and silences the Hockey India officials who questioned their Indianess. As our young team prepares for the game in Pune, I would like to dedicate this song to them...ENJOY!!!

All the best Hockey Team!!!

A story of our life.

2009-10-29T07:18:00.000-07:00

I had received this beautiful mail from one of my friend. I am sharing it with you...do read it whenever you get time. I bet all of you will be able to relate to it (though the subject line reads: Emotions of a software techie).

WARNING: It's a senti and longish mail...so people who are fond of such mails should surely read it and people who can't take it should also surely read it ;-) (come on ab apne dost ke liye itna toh kar sakte ho naa)

EMOTIONS OF A SOFTWARE TECHIE

It was raining heavily outside. Dark clouds gathered in the sky and nature was in its ominous best. I took a break from my work and went to the pantry to grab a cup of coffee. I had a sip and went near the window to see the rain pouring down heavily outside the glass structure. I was inside our huge office building, unruffled by even the fierceness of the nature.

Through the heavy transparent glass, I could see a small girl trying to hold on to her umbrella which the wind was snatching away from her. I felt sorry for the girl, and was happy that I was not in a similar pathetic situation. Yes. I take pride for the fact that I am a software engineer.

I have everything which a common man would envy; money, status, respect, you name it I have it.

I always wanted to be software professional and here I am, working for one of the best firms in the world. But then, am I really happy? Now, I could see an imprint of my palm on the other glass window, through which I reminisced my past, basked in the warmth of the sun shine. My childhood was so much of fun. I vividly remember those rainy days, when I hugged my mother tightly during sleeping listening to all the stories told by her.

Now, I have a big house here, but then it is just a house, not a home. My parents are pretty far away from me now. I have a cell phone to talk to them everyday, but then I really miss those dinners which I had with my family everyday. I could easily afford to taste all the different cuisines these days, but the best of food there, lack the love and affection which is present in the food prepared by my mother.

I threw a lavish party for my colleagues for my birthday, but then they would never replace the birthdays when my friends secretly brought a cake and at the end, half of the cake would have ended up on my face.

The couple of hundred bucks that u save for a long period just to give a treat to your friends in the road side chat shop can never give the pleasure even after spending a few thousand bucks these days.

The scene of me crying and refusing to have dinner on the day when I fought with my best friend came to my mind. Today, she has gone far away from me, taking away my love and with it my life, but I am sitting and coding here with a false smile on my face. Everyday I meet new people, but then I long ceased to make a new friend.
It's true that I have a lot of things now.

I have a nice bed, but no time to sleep. Lots of money, but no friends to spend it with. The latest designer clothes, but a worn out body .

Awards for technical excellence, but no reward for the crave for peaceful ambience. A confident demeanor, but a reluctant and apathetic mind. Full of rain, but no sunshine even in the farthest distance.
Now, I could see the small girl on the road enjoying in the rain with her umbrella firmly in her grip. She might not have all the comforts which I have, but then she has the innocence and fun which I lost a long time back.
I have decided to come out of this false fantasy, even if it is at the expense of losing the tap of the software engineer. I am going to again enjoy my life. I am going to go out in the rain and play with the small kid now. I removed my tie, and went near my computer to shut it down. Just then, I saw a new mail alert in my mail box. I slowly opened Lotus Notes and I found a message from my manager with an attachment saying that there was a critical defect in the code and I have to fix it soon. I convinced myself that I am not going to get bogged down again by these pressures and stick to my decision. I ignored the mail and went to the rest room. After a couple of minutes, the software engineer in me came out, his shirt tucked in, sat before the computer, and started typing,,

Sir,
I am looking into the defect and will send the patch files before EOD.
Regards,
Software Engineer.

Happy b'day doordarshan...

2009-09-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

Year 1989: It was a sunday. 4 year old gaya3 sat on her granny's lap and watched Arjun fighting with Kauravas. The opening score was her all-time favorite. She could not sing it properly, she made mistakes in pronouncing the sanskrit words, but she loved it anyways.

Year 1990: It was a sunday. 5 year old gaya3 did not know what malaa dee ad was all about. She innocently sang the mala dee garb nirodak golis jingle when a guest asked her to narrate a poem. Her embarassed parents took her to bedroom and told her to narrate baba black sheep the next time someone asks her to narrate a POEM.

Year 1992: It was a sunday. 7 year old gaya3 cried and threw her compass box at her brother because she was forced to go for Balvikas (a moral science class meant for kids) when Potli baba kii kahani and Jungle Book was aired. She loved watching Jungle book, but her parents wanted her to become a good human being and not a female Mowgli.

Year 1993: It was a sunday. 8 year old gaya3 was super excited because her bhai had tuned DD Metro in their TV set, DD metro was more fascinating and more entertaining than DD1. She started watching Junoon without fail every week.

Year 1995: It was a sunday. 10 year old gaya3 was surprised to see more channels being tuned in her TV set. She stared hard at the TV set when her bhai watched MTV. It was nothing like chayageet or chitrahaar that she used to watch every sunday. It had more of international songs and was more 'yo' than DD. She liked it. But she was still faithful to DD Metro.

Year 2000: As time passed, 15 year old gaya3 started loosing interest in watching DoorDarshan. She found it dull, boring and preferred watching world cup matches in Star Sports than watching them on DD. She was hooked to Cable TV.

Year 2008: Gaya3 now a 23 year old girl suddenly realized that the content of the programs aired on the various channels were almost similar. Every serial or a show was a xerox of another show or serial. She realized that entertainment is now pure thrash and that people have been fooled into watching this thrash. The mahabharat that was aired in 1980's appealed to her more than the mahabharat aired in 2008. The Jaspal Bhatti comedy 'Flop Show' made her laugh more than The Great Indian Comedy Show. A dull and drab presentation of authentic news made more sense to her than the stupid anchors shrieking at the top of their voice in every news channel without any rhyme or reason. She missed the purity and innocence of Doordarshan. But then the cable TV had made her a slave and she never switched on to Doordarshan though she was tempted to do so.

Year 2009: This week, Doordarshan celebrated it's 50th year. Gaya3 has vowed to watch Doordarshan for a whole week starting from tomorrow just to see if Doordarshan has changed it's content/format in order to keep pace with the changing tastes of the audience.

P.S: Belated Happy b'day Doordarshan. I am your fan too though not a loyal one. I know that you have a great fan following in remote areas of the country and am proud of your existence.

Note: I know most of you might have watched Doordarshan as a kid and might be having some fond memories. I do not know if I am successful in reviving those memories, but these videos surely revived the old memories of my childhood. Hope it brings a smile on your face too. Enjoy!

This is a compilation of some of the famous ads that were aired during the 80's and the early 90's

And finally this is my favorite...infact it's the current ringtone of my cell phone :)

Amul Hoardings...it can't get butter,coz it's the best!

2009-07-04T09:20:00.000-07:00

I love ads…purani, nayi, koi bhi chalegi. Though I am a huge fan of Mentos, Fevicol and Vodafone ads, my all time favorite has to be Amul, no no I am not talking about that Amul chaddi and banianwala ads (eeks I hate those ads), I am talking about Amul butter. The Amul Hoardings occupy a special place in my heart. If you have missed on some imp news, no problem, the amul hoardings would cover those issues in their own ishtyle. Don’t believe me? check these images, I am sure you will love them.

This hoarding was put up after Ratan Tata announced his plans to manufacture the affordable nano cars.

I like Sreesanth. But I wonder kii Sreesanth ko aakhir gussa kyun aata hain?

babuji alert rehna, politics mein zara sambhalna, oh bade dhoke hain, bade dhoke hain is rah mein (hopeless parody from my side)

Boley toh I love this hoarding. It looks cute

The caption 'chai ho' reminds me of bun maska with chai that were available in Iranian hotels. yum yum...i miss them now :(

I love the way Amul plays with words: Butter ko Boot-er bana diya. Now you know why I said Amul hoardings can't get butter sorry better than this?

And finally, this one remains my all time favorite. Loved the way the artist had portrayed the confused eyes.

Haan toh doston, aaj ke liye itna lesson khafi hain. Coming Next: my opinion on news channels and the hungry journos :)

Till then...enjoy this TV commercial of Amul...My mom used to zabardasti make me drink doodh by showing this ad.

A letter from aam janta

2009-05-01T05:27:00.000-07:00

Dear noble netas,
I, an aam janta of this beautiful country took special efforts to go to the polling booth, stood in a never ending line, braved the hot sun, got my left hand's middle finger painted and casted my vote to a candidate (who by the way does not even reside in any of my constituency's areas).

I know you all are maha sad because the voter's turnout has been low everywhere. Add to it the chindi mindi political parties, regional parties, independent candidates...uff you must be under lot of stress naa. So as a responsible citizen, I have made a list of ace cardiologists who would treat upon you incase if you get a heart attack (out of shock, happiness, stress or eating unhealthy food with our hard earned money).

Well, now that I fulfilled my duty towards the country by voting...I wish to exercise the right that has been bestowed upon me by the constitution. I have been given the freedom of expression...so I am going to use this now. I know my blog is not going to be read by you, yet I am enlisting my queries here. If by mistake you come across my blog...do answer me!

So here are my questions:

1. Ok, so once you win...will u abolish reservations? An individual should get admissions in IIT and IIM on the basis of his/her merits not on the basis of his caste, religion or region. If reservation is necessary, then offer seats to the one's who are economically deprived and not to those who do not work hard but get admissions in ace institutes because they belong to some so-called deprived caste. I hate the current reservation policies. So please do something about it.

2. Will you learn to wrap up things quickly? Right from Sky-walks to a Bandra-Worli Sea link...everything is going on since Jodha-Akbar's zamana. Why should we suffer daily. We are NOT INTERESTED in TREKKING...so kindly get this done ASAP and let us walk without jumping over bricks and balancing on the cement bags.

3. Will you talk about the PRESENT, there are many other pressing issues on our head. STOP your blame game. We don't want to know who was in power when Babri Masjid incident happened, we are keen on knowing which party is going to provide us with strong security. No Indian now has the strength to face yet another terror attack.

4. UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL. Have you heard of this? If not, please follow this, because boss the inner fights between the states has left us aam janta unattended and unprotected. Every other country knows what's happening within our nation, why expose our weakness to other coutries? Ashoka the great once said: LIVE and LET LIVE. So it would be great if we stop fighting and work towards making OUR country a successful country.

5. CAN WE PLEASE STOP GUESSING AJMAL AMIR KASAB's (sorry if the spelling is wrong) AGE? WE ARE NOT BOTHERED IF HE IS A MAJOR OR A MINOR. HE HAS COMMITTED A CRIME, SO FOCUS ON THAT.

6. Finally, can we have our index finger painted instead of the middle finger. Yesterday when I entered my office...my boss asked me if I voted. The show-off that I am, I responded to his question by showing him my middle finger. I realized my folly only after I saw his face turn beetroot red. And I have not yet got my salary. So please EC next index finger haan.

These are my queries. I know I won't get any answers. But then it's ok...I wrote this to vent out my inner frustration. Now that I am done with it, I can resume back to playing NFS now.

Your's truly,

Aam Janta

A vital info!!!

2009-04-23T01:12:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

It's voting time and there has been a particular mail being bombarded/forwarded to me since past two-three months. The mail says this: as per the 1969 act, in section " 49-O" a person can go to the polling booth, Confirm their identity, get their finger marked and convey the presiding election officer that they do not wish to vote anyone!

The mail further states that: if a candidate wins, say by 123 votes, and if that particular ward has received "49-O" votes more than 123, then that polling will be canceled and will have to be re-polled. Also the candidature of the contestants will be removed and they cannot contest the re-polling, since people have already given out their verdict.

At first this sounded cool to me. I was determined to do this. But then I was told that the section 49-O has been widely misinterpreted by someone. The real utility of Section 49-O has been stated in this website. Check it out:

http://mutiny.in/2008/12/07/the-real-deal-behind-49-0/

However, it would be better to personally ask your presiding officer if such a rule exists. I asked a lady who belongs to a particular party. I was not surprised when she admitted that she was ignorant about it.

If any of you are voting, please do re-confirm with somebody about this. Thanks!

Man, I am proud of you!

2009-04-06T06:19:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody,

Firstly, let me thank you all for your response to my earlier post on female’s harassment. Seriously I was really happy to see more of men supporting my thoughts than women (yes out of 7 comments, 5 were from men). This proves that there are many gutsy and nice men around me and not all men are chauvinistic pigs. I am proud of my blogger buddies, especially the men.

Ok, now that I am done with my big, thank you speech…it’s now time for me to talk about another issue that I completely detest. It's about some women who are catty enough to feign sexual and mental harassment just to settle scores with men.

Honestly, I have never come across such incidents till date. But I have heard and read a lot about it. It’s sad especially if the man in question is not guilty. It’s bad because if the supposedly guilty man is innocent; his future, his life becomes tainted and it takes hell lot of time to cleanse his tainted image. Such incients may be occurring everywhere, but rarely are they highlighted.

I wonder what compels a woman to take such a drastic step? What gives her that immense strength to fabricate such a horrific story? Recently, I had come across an article stating the reason behind such incidents. The article (I could not find it on net) stated that when a woman is pressurized by her male colleagues or bosses to work for extra time, or when a woman is scolded in public by her boss or in some cases if the man in question is a public figure and the woman is publicity hungry, she tends to fabricate such stories and gain sympathies and publicity.I do not know how true it is, but it is what I read.

Few years back, as a part of my college project…I had got an opportunity to interview a cop. In the middle of the conversation, he drew my attention towards the never-ending stack of case files on his desk. It was he who told me that cops find it really difficult to distinguish a real harassment case from that of a fake one. When I asked him why, he said this: “arre madam, mahila aandolanwale humein enquiry karne dete kahan hain. Kehte hain kii aurat se aise questions nahi poochna. Toh ab humein kaise pataa chalega kii kaun saccha hain aur kaun jhoota. Cross question karo toh hee pataa chalega naa kii asliyat kya hain”. Translation of what he said: Arre Madam, the Feminist group never allows us to do enquiries. They say we are not supposed to talk to a woman like that. Now how are we to know what is the truth and what is not. Unless and until we don’t cross question them, we shall not know the truth. I told him that if a woman cop is allowed to enquire, sab sach bahar aa jayega. I don't know if he got my point.

I do not know what to suggest to my fellow male colleagues. Because unlike eve-teasing where both men and women know the defence techniques; in such cases, its really hard for a man to defend himself (everyone is obviously going to hold the man's collar first). So I am seriously short of advices (especially when my hawk-eyed senior is hovering above my head to ensure that I work and not chat on G-talk). With my senior looking at the opposite direction, I am typing this out as fast as possible...please men don't take any serious big time pangas with a woman. If you have any kind of issue with your female colleague...go, approach her and sort it out in as professional manner as possible. If still things do not improve...make another female colleague of your's to talk to her. Probably that would work. If you think, there can be any other ways to avoid getting in trouble...do put it in here or even in your personal blog.

Note: I believe in gender equality. Every coin has two sides. So it's not that a woman alone faces trouble...even poor men too are equally susceptible to variety of troubles...so ladeej if you see a guy in trouble, help him out (even if his male ego gets shattered) and men if you see a lady in trouble...gear up and show your macho strength. Afterall, ek insaan hee dusre insaan kii madad kar sakta hain. Anything else...no. Atleast not now when my senior is back to give me a mountain of work :(

How I wish I was Gabbar...

2009-03-28T10:02:00.000-07:00

Firstly, before I begin with this grrwala post, let me share a good news with you. After three months of facing the wrath of unemployment and recessional atyachaar...I finally got a job. Can't really write much about it as it's been just two days since I joined the new firm. Will update that once I become used to the organization.

Now back to the topic. One may wonder why on the earth, of all the people do I wish to become Bollywood's greatest and most celebrated Villain? It's b'coz just like the tobacco stained teethwala villain who cut or in doctor's terms amputated Thakur's hands, I too am itching to cut off the hands of perverts/cowards who seek immense pleasures in touching or manhandling a woman in crowded, public places. Buses, Trains, Shopping Malls, Lifts, even workplaces...it's there everywhere. What's worse, by the time the victim reacts, the guilty disappears. And the victim is left wondering, who the hell did that to her?

Almost every woman must have gone through this disgusting experience. Moral Police may happily accuse the woman for dressing up in the most inappropriate manner and seducing men. But honestly, I do not agree with them. A woman has the right to dress up as she wants. Why should she wrap herself from head to toe just to avoid the perverts and their disgusting intentions? Moreover, I and my friends wear decent clothes...yet we have faced such situations. So dress code is not the real solution for this issue.

The real solution is to punish the culprits in the most meanest manner. Here, a rapist is sentenced to just 7-10 years of imprisonment. Worse, by the time the guilty is imprisoned; the victim is not just physically battered...she is also mentally, emotionally and economically battered and shattered. With a weird law such as this, a woman is left to feel unsafe. People say capital punishment is ghastly and inhuman. But for ghastly acts such as these, capital punishment seems appropriate. I know I sound harsh, but I am sure that capital punishment would surely infuse some amount of fear in the minds of other cowards. If this sounds as a bad deal, then there should be more fast track courts set up to sort out such issues and the guilty should be sentenced to atleast life imprisonment.

In the end all I can say to all my beheno (sisters) is that please if you are lucky enough to see the face of the man who has harassed you, dont think twice...just give him one tight slap across his face. If possible learn some self-defense mechanisms. Kick-boxing would be good. Dont shy away from rasing your voice if you encounter any trouble. But if you have not seen the pevert's face...all you can do is pray to god for your safety. And if you are faced with a really bad situation, don't hesitate to call up 103.

For further details, see this link: http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDA4LzAyLzIxI0FyMDAyMDE=&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom

Note: I am not a feminist, but I believe in Gender Equality. Next in line: How women should not use Sexual Harassment as means to settle scores with men.

Bapu is BACK...

2009-03-06T07:48:00.000-08:00

Bapuji's belongings are back here in India! After a week long speculations and controversies surrounding the auction of Gandhiji's belongings that included his wire-rimmed glasses, worn leather sandals, a pocket watch and a metal bowl and plate at New York; Vijay Mallya managed to get them back for a whooping $1.8 million.

My reaction: good, good...we have something precious to boast about. Atleast we will have some new additions in our museums. But my question is: was spending so much on Bapuji's belongings justified? I mean how many among us remember him and his principles? We scoff at his principles. 'They are just not applicable in today's times' we say. Then what's the use of keeping his personal items on display, when we can't even follow his simple principles such as Satyagraha and Ahimsa. Do we really care for what he did? Some of us blame him for having a hand in India-Pakistan's partition. Some say that he was wrong in supporting Jawaharlal Nehru instead of Sardar Vallabhai Patel by giving Jawaharlal Nehru the Prime Ministerial post, when actually Sardar Vallabhai Patel was deemed to be the ideal candidate for the post. Till date, people blame Gandhiji for his supposedly wrong political moves. Some of my friends even blame the poor leader coz it's a DRY DAY on both 2nd October (his birthday) and on 30th January (his death anniversary).

Some may argue saying that Gandhiji is still respected. They may point out to me that Lagey Raho Munnabhai had become a HUGE HIT because it had Gandhigiri in it. They may say that Gandhigiri was responsible for reviving those old Gandhian principles that had become extinct, and that people follow it now. But I believe that Gandhigiri was purely a fad that faded away with time. I don't know why but I am not too sure about how these items would be maintained? (bearing in mind the fact that Indian museums are never that well-maintained), What benefit would I or the future generation seek from these priceless articles? (I mean we will just see those belongings, listen to the curator's lecture and go away), What lessons would we gain from his glasses and watches???

As I write this blog, I am reminded of what my friend said after the 26/11 attacks. I asked him why do we never retaliate against Pakistan who continously attack our country, he calmly replied- "we will never retaliate, coz our father of the nation has given us the principle of Ahimsa. Our politicians are just following it". Hmm...point taken. Bechara Gandhiji, forget following his principles...now they are even wrongly perceived.

Slumdog Millionaire: an amateur analysis by me

2009-01-24T11:17:00.000-08:00

So finally I happend to watch Slumdog Millionaire today. I will be honest in saying that I was more curious to watch this movie not because I was dying to see Mumbai's slums on a 70mm screen (I see them day in and day out), but I watched it coz I wanted to know in what way was the film so special that it was showered with 4 golden globe awards.

So back to the film...well after watching this film, this were my views:

1. Firstly, Yash chopras, Karan Johars and Ekta Kapoors should take a lesson or two from Danny Boyle; because seriously I felt embarassed that a firangi has to show us the plight of my city, while the Chopras, Johars and these directors make senseless films like KANK, Rab ne Bana di Jodi and all that...which anways indicate that there is just one culture in India and that is Punjabi culture. Nothing wrong about it, b'coz south indian flicks show south indian culture, Bhopuri flicks show UP culture. But my point is that there should be less of thrashy flicks and more of intelligent and realistic films to be made. We obviously don't need a firangi to show us our plight. Madhur Bhandarkar has already done it excellently in Traffic Signal so has Meera Nair in Salaam Bombay.

2. We Indians are awesome people. Ok I know that we are an uncivilized bunch of people with bad table and telephone
manners. But you know what, long ago Herbert Spencer gave a theory named 'Survival of the Fittest' and we Indians stand testimony for this theory. In this film Salim and Jamal Malik (two brothers) survive through some of those really bad situations and are actually smarter than the page3 socialites and fashion gurus who have been brought up in some posh south mumbai locality. We (the middle-class and lower class population which constitutes 75% of India) can survive anywhere and everywhere because the situations in which we have been brought up have made us smart and tough.

3. Yes Yes the film has got not one but four awards, but like it or not the flick won these many awards because everyone abroad loves to see India in a poor light (in Munnabhai MBBS, a chinese tells Arshad Warsi that he wants to click photos of poor India). What better film than this to show us in a poor light. Till today, many do not like to consider India as one of the frontrunner for the powerful nation's slot.

4. The film showed that Infrastructure in our city is terrible. Jam-packed that's how our city is. There is no space at all. The film should be a gentle reminder for builders and govt babus who give permission for constructing buildings and all in every available spaces. Sanitation, healthy development of children are all a thing of past. Sometimes I feel the rural kids are luckier than us as they atleast have vast expanse of fields to run into. Bad, haywire construction of buildings for money...this just makes me go maddddddddddddd.

5. Finally, the film has taught me a lesson that I better not shell out money to maimed kids singing darshan do ghanshyam more...I would rather buy them a parle-g bicuit or a vada pav instead.

P.S: Importantly, I advice Big B to try some other ways to garner publicity instead of criticizing such films which are 10,000 times better than his film BOOM.
JAI HO!!!

Remembering the Indian TV ads...

2008-12-26T08:41:00.000-08:00

Like it or loathe it, advertisements play an integral part in every medium. Be it radio, TV, newspapers or magazines...advertisements have to be there. You need no high IQ to realize that every medium thrives on the revenue generated by ads. Today, I am going to enlist some of my favorite current and old classic TV ads that have remained my all-time favorites since I started watching TV. So watch the videos and enjoy!!!

(I just used to love that granny...a jolly good old lady and I would imitate her everytime after watching the ad)

(Justloved it for no apparent reason...it's just that the ad still remains fresh in my mind)

(I guess no one could capture the true picture of India and it's psyche the way Bajaj did)

(The old couple looked so cute...I especially liked the scene where the granny blushes when her abhi toh main jawaan hoon husband gifts her the diamond ring)

(Very witty...How I wish I could come up with such concepts)

(This ad captures the essence of one of India's recent revolution...the white revolution, just love the rustic feel of the song)

(This is my recent fav ad)

(good way of catching fishes naa?? Loved the expression of both the characters)

(I am still a complan girl :))

(Simply cute...I still say jalebee the way this kid does)

Note: Soon to come...my fav hoardings and print ads...

Who do I wish to see in power the next year??

2008-12-06T09:46:00.000-08:00

I remember 5 years back I had just turned 18 and I voted for a candidate (wont name him) for the first time in my life. I felt so proud of myself that I just could not stop myself from showing off the black ink on my index finger. When the results were declared, I was happy...Congress had won FINALLY. Atleast there shall not be some old men ranting about Hinduism, there would be no Godhara riots, no babri masjid or rath yatra bullshit happening. I was even more excited when I learnt that our PM would be Manmohan Singh ( one of the best economists we have) , I was happy to learn that PC Chidambaram will be our Finance Minister (daddy said he's the best). I thought that the Golden era for India has arrived!!! I thought indeed Congress ka haath hoga aam aadmi ke saath!!!

Four years and seven months have passed, it's time for next elections. In these four odd years India has witnessed many sad incidents. I just do not wish to enlist it coz there's too much to be listed and I have no energy to do so. Manmohan and his cabinet ministers despite being highly educated and all have not delivered much. We all are angry, especially now after the recent Mumbai terror attacks. All of us want a dynamic leader to take charge of our nation. Expectations have increased more after US Presidential elections announced Barack Obama as the next US president. I am still hoping that there would be someone really dynamic coming into power. Here is a list of people who I actually wish to see in power (for some departments I have no choices):

PM: Ratan Tata or Narayan Murthi
Finance Minister: Amartya Sen
Home minister: Kiran Bedi
Defence Minister: I donno probably someone who has been in the defence system (someone who is morally upright and knows the nitty-gritties of the defence force) would be the ideal candidate.
I&B ministry: Can't think of any ideal candidate as of now. But someone as dynamic as Prannoy Roy would do for me.
Railway ministry: I dont want Lalu Prasad Yadav to go coz he has done some good things for railways. I kind of like him.
Health ministry: I have never had issues with Ramadoss so I am ok with him.
HRD: This department needs someone who is fair in making decisions and takes Human Resource (which actually is high in India) seriously. I pray no one like Arjun Singh should get the post.

There are still loads of portfolios to be discussed and I shall keep updating it as and when I can think of suitable candidates for suitable portfolios. Till then it's Tata, bye-bye from me.

Psst: by chance anybody is reading this post wishes to suggest some good candidate for any portfolio...u r free to do so :)

It's not me, but my surging frustration dominating this particular blog...

2008-11-27T09:43:00.000-08:00

Today as I continously watched the recent terrorist attacks in mumbai (armed with curd rice and remote control) I just got frustrated. I wanted to go there and help out the innocent victims of these attacks. With the time passing by and new reports cropping up...following were the thoughts that came to my otherwise dead brain:

Why is it that the actors-actresses get paid highly when actually the real heroes are our Mumbai police, ATS and the NSG?
Why is it that whenever there is a terrorist attack, we conviniently blame the politicans?
Why is it that our honourable PM, Sonia Gandhi, RR Patil, Shivraj Patil, Pratibha Patil (the goongi gudiya-2) and BJP's evergreen poster grandpa L.K Advani mouth the same old dialogues about they condemning the terrorist acts and that they will punish the guilty (probnably they forgot that 1993's blast cases are still pending).
Why is it that we get 100's of touchy forwarded sms about condemning the barbaric acts and so on (mobile operators kii chandi hee chandi hogi)

I usually get no answers for my never-ending questions. But this time I attempted to talk to paanwala uncle, chaiwala uncle, my 2-3 opinionated friends, my parents and ofcourse a random chat with an unknown person in the northern hemisphere and lastly a self-conversation with myself and guess what I got some valuable and stupid insights on the questions above. After lot of data assimilation and analysis, I have come up with the following answers:

ans 1: Police, ATS, NSG have to get a good salary. They need motivation to work and what better motivation than a good salary and the assurance that their family would be protected even after their death. Infact there should be a policy stating that atleast one person from every house must compulsorily join the defence or the police force. As for actors-actresses getting so highly paid, well that's inevitable...we are the one's who give them fukat bhaav and that in turn encourages them to ask for unbelievable sum (i would call it ransom). The government should seriously review the salary structure of our brave heroes.

ans 2. It's duniya kaa niyam...when there is a crisis, we never blame ourselves...we blame others. In this case we blame the fat, snoring politicians. Are'nt we also equally responsible for all this? We tag our resilient behaviour as a matter of bravery. We should not just bounce back to life as though nothing has happend. We must pressurise the government and everyone concerned to take some bold steps so that our city does not become this vulnerable everytime. And if you think it's impossible...i suggest you give a thought to our freedom struggle or the recent Jessica Lal case. Lil bit pressure and the legal system did it's work. Resiliency is a form of cowardice not bravery. So stop being resilient and stand for your safety.

ans3. everyone wants publicity...why should our politicians remain behind?

ans4. forwarded messages are good (its a way of showing solidarity) but that's just not enough. ans2 needs to be executed if we are so concerned about the city.

Conclusion: It's 12.00 at night...I got to rush to office in the morning (lot of work to do yaar). So Time to Sleeeeeep.

Psst: Did i somewhere mention about resiliency being a form of cowardice and not bravery??? well..with a heavy heart I must admit i am one of those cowards too.

Let Peace Prevail! Jai Hind!

Music, The Great Elixir of life...

2008-09-28T07:23:00.000-07:00

I was flipping through the 'Brunch' magazine that comes every sunday with Hindustan Times. Today the cover story of Brunch discussed about the role played by music in rekindling some old (bitter and sweet) memories that we bury or forget as we move ahead in life. The writer had interviewed nine well-known celebrities about the songs that rekindles their past memories.

How I wish they had interviewed me too...coz I have not one but ten top songs that brings back some good and bad memories of my 22 years on planet earth. I shall enlist those ten songs here and also explain what kind of memory do i associate with that particular song. But before that I want to tell you the importance of music in my or for that matter everyone's life.

Music, according to me is the best healer when in pain and a positive addiction when life seems unfair to you. Forget drugs, sutta or daru, turn on the music and see what miracles it does to you. I am highly addicted to music. While solving my maths problems, while going through a rough patch in my Junior College, or while falling...music was and still remains my best friend. I need not pour out my heart to anyone...I just need to put on the music and get immersed into the world of melody.

I am not a true music aficionado, I do not follow a particular genre of music. For me anything that sounds appealing to my ears is a good music. Whether it's my mom crooning preeti sagar's nursery rhymes for me as a kid or the foot tapping numbers of RD Burman or the high pitched Rahat Fateh Ali Khan singing Bolna Halke Halke...anything that appeals to my ears is music for me.

Now enough of bakwaas...I am enlisting my top ten favorite songs in the next blog. These songs I tell you will remain my all time favorites till the time I breathe my last breath (yucks...what melodramatic statements I make).

My Brother Strongest :)

2008-08-15T10:40:00.000-07:00

It's Raksha Bandhan today and like every year, I shall become extra sentimental about my siddhu bhai.

Siddhu bhai (I started putting that 'bhai' suffix only after he got married) is more of a guardian than a brother. Unlike other bhai-behens...I and my brother never fight. We never pull each other's hair and never do chamchagiri about each other to our mom and dad. The only thing for which we ever fought for was a softie pillow that we both loved :-D. My bhai is the coolest bhai on this earth.

I must also admit that my brother has been one of the greatest influence in my life. Whether it's my independent streak, my level headedness, my favourite colours or even my favourite book...I can proudly say that my brother has passed them on to me consciously or unconsciously.

As a kid, I was not too attached to my brother. My brother being 8 years elder to me; I would interact with him only when I was stuck with some maths problem or when I needed his help to complete my science journals.

But I seriously started understanding my brother's importance only after he got married. After his marriage, I started wondering if my brother would remain the same old protective brother that he was before his marriage? I would miss him when I could not garner any support from anyone for arguing with my dad, I would miss him when I would see the empty bed on which he used to sleep, I would miss him when I would long for a drive till south Mumbai on a dull saturday night, I would miss him when I had no one to give me detailed description about the new restaraunt in Mumbai or some new dish that he must have tried sometime. Yes, I missed him a lot despite the fact that he lived just 20 minutes away from my residence.

This had taught me a new lesson for life and that was 'Spend as much time as possible with your near and dear ones'. Today it's been two and a half years since my brother has got married. I have got use to being a single child in the family. I guess I have become more mature and more independent now.

Things are changing for better now...but there's one thing which has never changed and that's my brother's protective avtaar :)

The ground reality...

2008-05-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

Picture this: Its vacation time, the gullis and the building compounds look like a cricket or a soccer ground. The kids are engrossed in their games, aping their favorite players and trying to recreate the magic of the game in a constricted space. Suddenly one of them hits a major ‘Shot’ or a ‘Goal’ and there goes the ball hitting either a person or a flower-pot or window panes; and thus begins a huge show-down between the children and the person concerned.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Sadly this is the scenario everywhere. I remember my grandmother once narrating her childhood stories. She had said that her childhood days were filled with fun and innocence and that there were absolutely no playing restrictions whatsoever. “We would run in those large, paddy fields; play hide and seek and many more games” she would say. “But now children have no place to play”, she added remorsefully. “Yes”, I nodded in approval.

What my grandmother said was absolutely true. There seems to be no free space left for the children to play. Let’s face this: Mumbai is an island that has been used and perhaps over-used beyond limits. The builders and the BMC just do not have a plan for the city’s infrastructure. Today there is only handful of playgrounds in Mumbai. The proliferation of buildings has left no open spaces for anyone to play.
The builders smartly allocated a space for a small landscaped garden with slides and swings for children. But that’s for the toddlers or a kindergarten child. Children grow off it by the age of nine or ten; what they need is a proper medium to channelize their excess of energy which they do not get. The residents of these new buildings are promised ample parking space but never are they promised ample playing space. Some may suggest that a membership in some clubs can ensure proper channelization of energy in children. But not every child can afford to seek membership in such clubs.

Parents and Health Experts lament that kids are growing obese because they eat loads of junk stuff and spend their time playing games on the computer. Can we blame the child? No. At least online world provides them with a feel of the real game, which the small lanes do not provide. No, I am not professing the idea of playing online games instead of playing on the field. What I am trying to point out is that it’s high time that the kids are given a medium to channelize their bottled-up energy through rough outdoor games before it becomes latent.

पानी पानी रे...

2008-05-02T11:03:00.000-07:00

This is a very serious issue that I wish to raise. The issue is water shortage!!!
This is surprising. My geography teacher taught us that 79% of planet earth is covered by water and the rest of 21% by land. If that's true then why is it that we face shortage of water? Why is it that two states (read it as: Tamil Nadu and Karnataka) fight over a Cauvery river? Why is it that daily Vidarbha farmers commit suicide because they do not have enough facilities to do agriculture?

Questions are many...but unfortunately answer is none. Every summer we read about the grim situation of watersupply. Every year the water tax increases. I fail to understand that why an element like water that is supposed to be in abundance has become a matter of concern. Probably the reason lies in the haphazard planning done by the builders, city architects and ofcourse the government babus. Reclamation may be the order of the day in the city but what they fail to understand is that by doing so they are actually depriving many others from the planet's most important source.

Why just reclamation...even we ourseleves tend to waste water unconsciously. I do that too considering we have 24 hours water supply. But a single day spent in a place without water taught me the importance of this great elixir of life.

I indeed hope that people shall share my concern and ensure that water is not wasted in any way. This is an urgent issue that calls in for urgent precautionary measures. A small precautionary measure from all of us can enable the ratio of water:land to remain the same...

Amen!

Why that song inspired me so much...

2008-03-22T12:43:00.000-07:00

I am not a Bon Jovi fan...but this song had hit me at the right time.

To begin with, I have been brought up in a conservative South Indian family, where everyone of us chose to thread a safe and conventional path. Be it career, marriage or anything...we always took the safe path. My parents never really enjoyed life. They probably never understood the true essence of life. At every phase they have sacrificed their desires for the sake of others. In a nutshell, they are living a life full of compromises.

I do agree that sometimes compromises needs to be made to make relationships and situations work. But then kab tak? I have seen my close ones- be it my parents, my brother or my close friends making compromises to make life easier. But the million dollar question is: Are they happy with their decision? I bet they are not.

All my minute observations coupled with Bon Jovi's song has brought me to a conclusion that I need to live my life to the fullest coz life is short. I ain't gonna live forever...I just want to live while I'm alive...coz IT'S MY LIFE!!!

This song inspired me!!!

2008-03-22T12:31:00.000-07:00

This ain't a song for the broken-hearted
No silent prayer for the faith-departed
I ain't gonna be just a face in the crowd
You're gonna hear my voice When I shout it out loud

[Chorus:]It's my life It's now or never
I ain't gonna live forever
I just want to live while I'm alive
It's my life...
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said I did it my way
I just wanna live while I'm alive
It's my life...

This is for the ones who stood their ground
For Tommy and Gina who never backed down
Tomorrow's getting harder make no mistake
Luck ain't even lucky Got to make your own breaks

[Chorus:]It's my life And it's now or never
I ain't gonna live forever
I just want to live while I'm alive
It's my life...
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said I did it my way
I just want to live while I'm alive
'Cause it's my life...
Better stand tall when they're calling you out
Don't bend, don't break, baby, don't back down

[Chorus:]
It's my life
And it's now or never
'Cause I ain't gonna live forever
I just want to live while I'm alive
It's my life...
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said I did it my way
I just want to live while I'm alive
[Chorus:]
It's my life...
And it's now or never
'Cause I ain't gonna live forever
I just want to live while I'm alive
It's my life...
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said I did it my way
I just want to live while I'm alive'
Cause it's my life!

Mumbai-RAJ!!!

2008-02-24T09:27:00.000-08:00

Aha...so finally Raj Thackrey is threading the path that his uncle had set out three decades back. The 'marathi manoos' campaign is back!!! I wonder what happend to their party's manifesto during BMC elections. I remember Raj said that Mumbai is a metropolitan city and that everyone living here is a maharashtrian. He claimed that he wont commit the mistake that his uncle did. But as they say change is the only constant thing in life. So with the change in time, MNS policies also underwent a huge change. Now even he is equally into bhagoing bhaiyyas and biharis. O.K accepted that mumbai is being exploited beyond capacity and that the other states are doing nothing about improving their infrastructure or providing jobs for their people. But does that mean kii you shoo away everyone from here? Does mr. Raj Thackrey know that probably the doodh that his milkman provides is from a tabela managed by a bhaiyya? Does he know that the tasty dishes that he eats is mostly sold by these bhaiyyas? Does he know that it is these gujju's who make Mumbai the finanical hub of the nation? He knows all that...but yet he will make baseless comments, create confusion in the city and hit the headlines for a week or so. Yes he got a good publicity...probably will win votes from some loyal fans too. But then to what effect? Nashik's industries are already facing the brunt for this foolish attack. They are now running into loss coz all the bhaiyyas and biharis have run back to their hometown or hiding near shirdi. What Raj ideally should have done was sit together with the central government and discuss few plans to seek solution to this problem. But since politics is all about shoo-shaa and publicity, I really cannot expect Raj Thackrey to do that.

I dont know what's going to happen to my city. Despite being a south-indian, I am so much in love with Mumbai that I cant imagine myself settling anywhere outside Mumbai. I hope and sincerely pray that a decent solution comes out of this messy situation and my city is saved from further disgrace. And yes my mom hopes that Big B does not leave the industry on bhai Amar Singh's advice.

Song from me: Hey dil hain muskil hain jeena yahaan...yeh hain bambai yeh hain bambai, yeh hain bambai meri jaan

Asatyameva Fourth Estate...

2008-02-01T12:35:00.000-08:00

I sometimes yell at myself for having opted Journalism as my major for graduation. Three years utopian concepts like:

Ethics
Creativity
Honesty
Objectivity

were taught to us. But now that I am out of this pakao graduation kii duniya, I wonder which of these bashans have really been executed in the real world? come to think of it, none of this has been executed. Creativity toh durr kii baat, yahaan toh the news are presented in such a dramatic manner that it looks similar to Ekta Kapoor's saas-bahu soaps. Infact i would say that no one can fabricate a story the way TV channels and Tabloids do. Commercialization seems to have given way to fabricated stories and kiddish sting operations and the one validating my point is none other the famous newswala Rajdeep Sardesai. I remember him saying last year that commercialization has become a priority for the news channels, as high salary is the only motivational factor for the young journalists who do not mind working on brainless stories. Add to this, we also have the political organizations and corporate houses running the media houses, which explains the biased news stories being published in a newspaper. And if you thought that only newspapers and news channels are unethical then i am afraid to say that internet is not far either. On the contrary spreading abusive and provocative news is easier through internet as the anonymity of the writer can be maintained, which makes it more dangerous.

I seriously miss those days when I and my parents watched Barkha Dutt giving minute by minute covergae about the Kargil war. I also remember the Operation West End by Tehelka editor in chief- Tarun Tejpal (infact that was when I desired to take up journalism). But sadly Satya kii yahaan koi jeet nahi hothi, hence Tarun Tejpal is not seen too much, neither do I see the bold characteristic of Barkha Dutt now. I don't know if the fourth estate would continue to look after its commercial purposes. I just hope that it does not become as jittery and as scary as the other three estates.