Last week, 646 aircrafts landed/took-off from Mumbai International Airport in 24 hours. It’s a high, considering that only 4 months back, the air traffic movement hovered around 600. For India, it’s a big enough figure to go trumpet around. But put Mumbai Airport alongside international biggies like Heathrow or Hartsfield Atlanta & the comparisons turn embarrassing !
Passenger air traffic in India is so low that civil aviation minister Mr. Praful Patel has made it his favourite “putting in perspective” line. On more than one acassions, he has been heard saying. “Our country of 1.1 billion (yes ! !) has only 10 million flyers. If 100 million flew each year, we would need 2000 aircrafts.” All our commercial airlines together have a fleet of arount 270 aircrafts. In comparison, US’ one Airline – Southwest Airlines has a fleet of 468 birds ! !
Moving on – in terms of area, if the world’s biggest airports are as large as a cricket ground, Mumbai Airport would be used to play Pool ! !
In the top slot, by far, is the King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh – it covers 81 square miles. Denver International Airport at 53 sq. miles follows. Mumbai Airport measures 2.81 sq. miles – slums included. Remove the encroachments, and we are left with just 1.5 sq. miles of operational area.
Astonished ? Surprised ? Here’s more.
As for passenger traffic, Mumbai handled 17.4 million passengers from January to October. Hartsfield-Jackson, Atlanta handled 24.01 million only in 4 months from January 2006.
As we are comparing airport statistics and not the number of passengers who land/take-off from a city, it should be mentioned that Mumbai airport’s statistics speak for the city. Mumbai is perhaps the only big city – big in terms of population – that manages with 1 airport. New York has 3 – Kennedy, La Guardia & Newark. London beats it with 5 – Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, London City & Luton. Even the space starved Tokyo has Haneda & Narita.
We sure have a long way to fly before we can get anywhere near.
Thought for the Day
On a date, the guy always wonders whether he’ll get lucky that night. The girl already knows.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
55 X 2 =
hey, i have another 55 word story done.
you can read it on www.55-words.blogspot.com
look for my name - "Mihir Kamdar" & click on it.
Also read the two stories under the name "R.E.F.L.E.C.T.I.O.N.S" ...
Not mine, but definitely a good (maybe better) read ..
so, read away....
you can read it on www.55-words.blogspot.com
look for my name - "Mihir Kamdar" & click on it.
Also read the two stories under the name "R.E.F.L.E.C.T.I.O.N.S" ...
Not mine, but definitely a good (maybe better) read ..
so, read away....
My Dad, Superman .
"My Daddy Strongest", went an ad slogan a few years back. It had a cute little girl mouthing those words.
Like that girl, my dad is a has been & is a role model and much more for me.
He is everything i want to be. he is my Superman.
I have grown up seeing my dad work very hard throughout his life.
He does not like to rest on weekends. He remains physically active, much to the ire of my mom who prefers to rest. Dad's constantly doing something - repairing stuff, tinkering with various items in the house, dusting, or just plain moving around (he cant sit still ! ! )
He's almost 49 now. And NOW he gets tired. Often. He has some age related problems - cholestrol, Blood Pressure etc.
He still pulls my mom for weekend drives & mall-hopping stints, but returns home extremely tired & often with a headache.
He even sleeps on weekend afternoons sometimes (an unheard of thing in my house. i've taken up that habit of not sleeping in the afternoons).
All this is normal - YES - with age. But I just can't accept my Superman getting old.
I want him to be the same as earlier. It pains me to see him grow old, tired & down with any sort of ailment.
As a son, i don't want this to happen.
The trend will soon reverse (or, is in the process of reversing gradually) - it was him taking care of me, nurturing me. Now, i ll have to take up that role.
I hope i can emulate him in all that he did
Many sons want to go beyond what their father was, what their father achieved.
I don't. Apart from the fact that it's very difficult to - I always want to live in his shadow.
After all, it's the shadow of SUPERMAN ! !
Like that girl, my dad is a has been & is a role model and much more for me.
He is everything i want to be. he is my Superman.
I have grown up seeing my dad work very hard throughout his life.
He does not like to rest on weekends. He remains physically active, much to the ire of my mom who prefers to rest. Dad's constantly doing something - repairing stuff, tinkering with various items in the house, dusting, or just plain moving around (he cant sit still ! ! )
He's almost 49 now. And NOW he gets tired. Often. He has some age related problems - cholestrol, Blood Pressure etc.
He still pulls my mom for weekend drives & mall-hopping stints, but returns home extremely tired & often with a headache.
He even sleeps on weekend afternoons sometimes (an unheard of thing in my house. i've taken up that habit of not sleeping in the afternoons).
All this is normal - YES - with age. But I just can't accept my Superman getting old.
I want him to be the same as earlier. It pains me to see him grow old, tired & down with any sort of ailment.
As a son, i don't want this to happen.
The trend will soon reverse (or, is in the process of reversing gradually) - it was him taking care of me, nurturing me. Now, i ll have to take up that role.
I hope i can emulate him in all that he did
Many sons want to go beyond what their father was, what their father achieved.
I don't. Apart from the fact that it's very difficult to - I always want to live in his shadow.
After all, it's the shadow of SUPERMAN ! !
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Someone . . . .
The FIRST time I saw HER – I was smitten. She was pretty, exotic, beautiful, so damn well-proportioned & she had “fantastic” written all over her. She had everything in her that I always looked for. EVERYTHING.
I wanted her. Period. Anyhow.
But, I just did not have the courage to go ahead. For weeks, I used to intentionally pass by her daily. I stopped & stared unabashedly at her beauty every time. I soon realized that I wasn’t the only one who had fallen for her. I had competition – fierce competition. Ther were many vying for her attention.
I soon realized I’ll have to move fast. I took it to the next level – no I still didn’t go to her – I spoke to my parents about her. I even showed them her photograph – YES!! I had somehow managed to get her photograph. She looked so stunning in the photograph – yet it was but a mere shadow in comparison to the real her.
I finally took dad to see her. He kinda liked her too. I was relieved. I sensed my wait coming to an end. Dad spoke to her guardian. I had my fingers crossed.
Finally – it was all over. Dad was good at these things.
People sometimes wait for what seems a lifetime for such a time in their lives. My wait had ended.
On the first day of the Hindu New Year, we brought her home.
Our 40 inch Sony LCD Television. Hell Yeah ! !
I wanted her. Period. Anyhow.
But, I just did not have the courage to go ahead. For weeks, I used to intentionally pass by her daily. I stopped & stared unabashedly at her beauty every time. I soon realized that I wasn’t the only one who had fallen for her. I had competition – fierce competition. Ther were many vying for her attention.
I soon realized I’ll have to move fast. I took it to the next level – no I still didn’t go to her – I spoke to my parents about her. I even showed them her photograph – YES!! I had somehow managed to get her photograph. She looked so stunning in the photograph – yet it was but a mere shadow in comparison to the real her.
I finally took dad to see her. He kinda liked her too. I was relieved. I sensed my wait coming to an end. Dad spoke to her guardian. I had my fingers crossed.
Finally – it was all over. Dad was good at these things.
People sometimes wait for what seems a lifetime for such a time in their lives. My wait had ended.
On the first day of the Hindu New Year, we brought her home.
Our 40 inch Sony LCD Television. Hell Yeah ! !
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Panchavan, Pachpann, Fifty-Five
55 is the name of the game.
OK, here's the deal.There's this blog named "55 Word Fiction".
It is a "collection of 55 word stories" by various (mostly Indian) bloggers.
I came across the blog & took up the (supposed) challenge to write a 55 word story.I managed (somehow) to write one & submitted it to the owner of the blog, mysteriously named GamesMaster.
He accepted my story & you can read it by clicking on this link http://55-words.blogspot.com/2006/10/mihir-kamdar.html or by going to http://www.55-words.blogspot.com/ & clicking on my Name.
so, click away...
OK, here's the deal.There's this blog named "55 Word Fiction".
It is a "collection of 55 word stories" by various (mostly Indian) bloggers.
I came across the blog & took up the (supposed) challenge to write a 55 word story.I managed (somehow) to write one & submitted it to the owner of the blog, mysteriously named GamesMaster.
He accepted my story & you can read it by clicking on this link http://55-words.blogspot.com/2006/10/mihir-kamdar.html or by going to http://www.55-words.blogspot.com/ & clicking on my Name.
so, click away...
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Celebration means . . . .
Celebration means......
A winter evening.
Four friends.
One barsaat.
Four glasses of chai.
(OR)
Hundred bucks of gas.
A rusty old bike.
And an open road.
(OR)
Rainy evening.
Holding hands with a loved one.
2 steaming corn cobs.
A long road ......
(OR)
Maggi noodles.
A hostel room.
3.25 a.m.
(OR)
A muddy field.
22 guys.
1 football
Game On ! !
(OR)
3 old friends.
3 separate cities.
3 coffee mugs.
1 internet messenger.
(OR)
2 a.m.
Sitting on your window ledge.
Free outgoing on your cell phone.
(OR)
Rain on a hot tin roof.
Pakoras deep-frying.
Neighbours dropping in.
A party.
(OR)
You and mom.
A summer night.
A bottle of coconut oil.
A head massage.
Gossiping about all family members.
You can spend hundreds on birthdays, thousands on festivals, lakhs on weddings,but to celebrate all you have to do is spend your Time.
Thought for the day:
"Whoever said nothing was impossible never tried slamming a revolving door."
A winter evening.
Four friends.
One barsaat.
Four glasses of chai.
(OR)
Hundred bucks of gas.
A rusty old bike.
And an open road.
(OR)
Rainy evening.
Holding hands with a loved one.
2 steaming corn cobs.
A long road ......
(OR)
Maggi noodles.
A hostel room.
3.25 a.m.
(OR)
A muddy field.
22 guys.
1 football
Game On ! !
(OR)
3 old friends.
3 separate cities.
3 coffee mugs.
1 internet messenger.
(OR)
2 a.m.
Sitting on your window ledge.
Free outgoing on your cell phone.
(OR)
Rain on a hot tin roof.
Pakoras deep-frying.
Neighbours dropping in.
A party.
(OR)
You and mom.
A summer night.
A bottle of coconut oil.
A head massage.
Gossiping about all family members.
You can spend hundreds on birthdays, thousands on festivals, lakhs on weddings,but to celebrate all you have to do is spend your Time.
Thought for the day:
"Whoever said nothing was impossible never tried slamming a revolving door."
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Bollywood Classroom - IV. The Finale
You've got the basic ingredients of a formula blockbuster .. These are just the "fillers" - the side characters, supporting characters - the characters on screen when the ones described earlier are not saying their "usual dialogues" (also mentioned in earlier posts)
VILLAIN
Undoubtedly, the villain has the most fun. He nearly gets close to rape the heroine & beats the hero, & kidnap his family in the climax. Sometimes he gets the chance to kill them too !!!
Itni achi cheez bhagwaan ke liye chod doon. Kabhi nahin
Ab Saare Hindustan par hamara raaz hoga
Batao faarmoola kahan hay?
Tumhari maa hamare kabze main hai
Kahan jaa rahi ho chhamak chhalon
In gori gori kalaiyon ko kaam karne ki kya zaroorat hai
Yahan teri izzat bachane koi nahi ayega
Yahan teri cheekh sunne walah koi nahin
Bula tere bhagwan ko-- dekhta hoon kaun ata hai?
Kis maai ke laal mein itni himmat hai jo mujhse takrayega ?
Gaddari ki ek hi sazaa hoti hai, maut
Uski koi kamzori hogi, koi maa ya behan?
VILLAINS SIDEKICK's
The villain's cronies normally have quite a raw deal. They seldom get the better women to molest, and even when they do, they have to make do with sharing one among at least ten. They are always hammered by the hero and his sidekick, and return to further hammering from their 'boss' the villain. They are normally dark skinned (!) have moles, beards and wear handkerchiefs around their necks.
Boss, Maine tumhara namak khaya hain
Boss! Maal pakda gaya.
Tumhe Boss ne bulaya hain
Ok Boss
DOCTORS
Doctors in Hindi films are of two kinds, the first is the family/ neighbourhood/ fairy-tale doctor who arrives in slums on rainy midnights to announce high fever and death,
and the second is the 'expensive-beyond-lawful-means' doctor who delivers babies, cures near-death cases and drives all his billpayers to crime.
Mujh par bharosa rakhiye
I am sorry
Iska to bahot khoon bahey chooka hai. Phoren operation karna padega.
Bhagwan ne chaha to sab thik hoga.
Badhai ho, tum baap bannay waalay ho
Iski haalat bahot najook hai
Tumhe sakt aaram ki jaroorat hai
Jaldi se woh dawayee lao.
Ab sabh kuch oopar waley ke haath mein hain
Ab main kuch bhi nahin kar sakta.
Bacche ko to hum ney bacha liya par maa...
THE LAW
Contrary to popular belief, there is in fact a concept of law and order in Hindi films. Upholders of the law in Hindi films are of two kinds, the police and the judiciary, quite as it is
in real life. The police pick up thugs and the judges let them off
Order..Order..
Kanoon Ko apney haath mein mat lo
Kanoon jazbaat nahi, saboot dekhti hai
Kanoon ko saboot chahiye
Tazeerat-e-hind , dafa 302 ke tahat, mulzim ko maut ki saza sunai jaati hai
Mulzim ko Baa izzat bari kiya jata hai
Milord..
If you are aspiring to strike a career in the Bollywood, be it a director, script writer or even penning dialogues, these posts will be very helpful to you for it contains the scenes and dialogues which every film has and you cannot afford to miss it !!
Some of the here may be rather sexist, chauvinistic, supercilious, vapid, racist, tasteless, offensive and emotionally backward, but I have to be slightly sober for censorship reasons and cannot show Hindi films in their full crowning glory.
So, go ... make your movie, write your script, insure yourself against all the losses.
Thought for the day
Why are you trying so hard to fit in when you were born to stand out?
VILLAIN
Undoubtedly, the villain has the most fun. He nearly gets close to rape the heroine & beats the hero, & kidnap his family in the climax. Sometimes he gets the chance to kill them too !!!
Itni achi cheez bhagwaan ke liye chod doon. Kabhi nahin
Ab Saare Hindustan par hamara raaz hoga
Batao faarmoola kahan hay?
Tumhari maa hamare kabze main hai
Kahan jaa rahi ho chhamak chhalon
In gori gori kalaiyon ko kaam karne ki kya zaroorat hai
Yahan teri izzat bachane koi nahi ayega
Yahan teri cheekh sunne walah koi nahin
Bula tere bhagwan ko-- dekhta hoon kaun ata hai?
Kis maai ke laal mein itni himmat hai jo mujhse takrayega ?
Gaddari ki ek hi sazaa hoti hai, maut
Uski koi kamzori hogi, koi maa ya behan?
VILLAINS SIDEKICK's
The villain's cronies normally have quite a raw deal. They seldom get the better women to molest, and even when they do, they have to make do with sharing one among at least ten. They are always hammered by the hero and his sidekick, and return to further hammering from their 'boss' the villain. They are normally dark skinned (!) have moles, beards and wear handkerchiefs around their necks.
Boss, Maine tumhara namak khaya hain
Boss! Maal pakda gaya.
Tumhe Boss ne bulaya hain
Ok Boss
DOCTORS
Doctors in Hindi films are of two kinds, the first is the family/ neighbourhood/ fairy-tale doctor who arrives in slums on rainy midnights to announce high fever and death,
and the second is the 'expensive-beyond-lawful-means' doctor who delivers babies, cures near-death cases and drives all his billpayers to crime.
Mujh par bharosa rakhiye
I am sorry
Iska to bahot khoon bahey chooka hai. Phoren operation karna padega.
Bhagwan ne chaha to sab thik hoga.
Badhai ho, tum baap bannay waalay ho
Iski haalat bahot najook hai
Tumhe sakt aaram ki jaroorat hai
Jaldi se woh dawayee lao.
Ab sabh kuch oopar waley ke haath mein hain
Ab main kuch bhi nahin kar sakta.
Bacche ko to hum ney bacha liya par maa...
THE LAW
Contrary to popular belief, there is in fact a concept of law and order in Hindi films. Upholders of the law in Hindi films are of two kinds, the police and the judiciary, quite as it is
in real life. The police pick up thugs and the judges let them off
Order..Order..
Kanoon Ko apney haath mein mat lo
Kanoon jazbaat nahi, saboot dekhti hai
Kanoon ko saboot chahiye
Tazeerat-e-hind , dafa 302 ke tahat, mulzim ko maut ki saza sunai jaati hai
Mulzim ko Baa izzat bari kiya jata hai
Milord..
If you are aspiring to strike a career in the Bollywood, be it a director, script writer or even penning dialogues, these posts will be very helpful to you for it contains the scenes and dialogues which every film has and you cannot afford to miss it !!
Some of the here may be rather sexist, chauvinistic, supercilious, vapid, racist, tasteless, offensive and emotionally backward, but I have to be slightly sober for censorship reasons and cannot show Hindi films in their full crowning glory.
So, go ... make your movie, write your script, insure yourself against all the losses.
Thought for the day
Why are you trying so hard to fit in when you were born to stand out?
Monday, September 25, 2006
Bollywood Classroom - III
Wanna make your own movie ?
Follow my class & you'll be adept at adopting the bollywood "faarmoola". Here's another session
HERO'S SISTER
The hero's sister invariably has her modesty outraged. She seldom lasts beyond a few scenes and in rarest cases lives to see the end of the film. If there is ever a poignant scene highlighting the brother-sister relationship, it is a clear indicator of the sister's soon to follow death.
Most said dialogues by sisters
Mein tumhare bachhe ki maa ban ne wali hoon (mostly to the villain, or the villain's son, brother)
Mere bhaiya ko lambi umar dena, bhagwan
Mere bhai pe koi aanch na aye
Khabardar jo mujhe chhua bhi, main apni jaan dey doongi (death occurs most deifinitely 5 minutes after this scene. Mostly a suicide after attempted/successful rape by villain or his cronies)
Bhaiyya, tum mere liye ek pyaari si bhabhi kab laaonge
Main kissi ko muh dikhane layak nahi rahi
Bhagwaan ke liye, meri suhaag mat ujaado
Chhod do mujhe, bhagwaan ke liye chhod do
HERO / HEROINE's FATHER
The father is normally a symbol of outright pathos, either cringing to the worldly demands of having unmarried daughters or the burden of having a violent son with little ambition beyond rotating around trees. If the father is an honest, upright citizen - he is shot in the first few frames by the villain who has little use for his moralities
Common dialogues
Ghar mein do javaan betiyan hain
Agar toonay aisa kiya toh - mujhse burra koi nahin hogaaa
Ek baar iske haath pile kar doon, phir mein chain se mar sakta hoon
Is ghar ke darwaaze, tumhare liye hamesha ke liye band hein
Beti to paraya dhan hai.
Mere jeeteji yeh shaadi nahin ho sakti.
Main jald hi dahez ki sari rakam chuka doonga
Yeh aap kya kah rahen hai, bhai sahib
Ab hum kisi ko muh dikhane ke layak nahin rahe
Kya isi din ke liye tujhe paida kiya tha ?
Main kahta hoon, Door ho jaa meri nazron sey
MOTHER
Any widow in a Hindi film is a mother. Anyone marrying a character actor in the beginning of the film and bearing two children is sure to be widowed. The sons thereafter are likely to grow up to be the main protagonists. Sewing machine is her favourite timepass tool and she will
always make halwa for her son.
Common dialogues
Mera Raja beta
Mera ashirwad sada tere saath hai.
Tujhe ek maa ki aah lagegi
Mera beta aisa kabhi nahin kar sakta.
Mera beta teri maut bankar aayega, thakur!
Ek baar mujhe maa keh kar pukaro beta...
Mere bete ki raksha karna prabhu
Kya apni maa ki baat nahi maanega?
Mera achha beta, jaldi se dudh peekar bada ho jaa.
Is budhi maa ka tumhare siwa aur kaun hai?
Mere Raja bete ko aaj mein apne haaton se khilaaongi
Hey bhagwan, mere suhaag ki raksha karna
Maine tere liye gajar ka halwa banaya hai
Maine tumhe paal pos kar bada kiya..
Mar, Mar isse betay, isse ne tere Devata jaise pita ka khoon kiya
MOTHER-IN-LAW
The most nasal voice in the cast belongs to the mother-in-law. She has usually got a dead husband, or one who gives 'henpecked' new dimensions. She specialises in kicking the heroine / hero's sister / bhabhi while she is sweeping the floor. She seldom dies, but always gets her come-uppance in the end when her husband, after years of ayurveda and yoga regains his lost vitality, insults her in public and forces her into submission.
Common dialogues
Chudeil! Kide pade tere .....
Tere baap ke bheje huey iss sari ka too kya karegi. Chal, mujhe dey
Ey Chudail, ab kaha se mooh kala karke aayee hain?
Aah Haa Haa, Maharani, waha baithey baithey kya kar rahi hain
Arri Kalmoohi, Kaha mar gayi
Eh Kulta, tere baap ne ab tak dahej ki rakam nahin chukayi
The last session will cover villains, doctors & the law among other things.
Watch this space ! !
Thought for the day:
Sometimes i wish that i had never met you, so i could go to sleep at night not knowing there was someone like you out there. (for someone special !)
Follow my class & you'll be adept at adopting the bollywood "faarmoola". Here's another session
HERO'S SISTER
The hero's sister invariably has her modesty outraged. She seldom lasts beyond a few scenes and in rarest cases lives to see the end of the film. If there is ever a poignant scene highlighting the brother-sister relationship, it is a clear indicator of the sister's soon to follow death.
Most said dialogues by sisters
Mein tumhare bachhe ki maa ban ne wali hoon (mostly to the villain, or the villain's son, brother)
Mere bhaiya ko lambi umar dena, bhagwan
Mere bhai pe koi aanch na aye
Khabardar jo mujhe chhua bhi, main apni jaan dey doongi (death occurs most deifinitely 5 minutes after this scene. Mostly a suicide after attempted/successful rape by villain or his cronies)
Bhaiyya, tum mere liye ek pyaari si bhabhi kab laaonge
Main kissi ko muh dikhane layak nahi rahi
Bhagwaan ke liye, meri suhaag mat ujaado
Chhod do mujhe, bhagwaan ke liye chhod do
HERO / HEROINE's FATHER
The father is normally a symbol of outright pathos, either cringing to the worldly demands of having unmarried daughters or the burden of having a violent son with little ambition beyond rotating around trees. If the father is an honest, upright citizen - he is shot in the first few frames by the villain who has little use for his moralities
Common dialogues
Ghar mein do javaan betiyan hain
Agar toonay aisa kiya toh - mujhse burra koi nahin hogaaa
Ek baar iske haath pile kar doon, phir mein chain se mar sakta hoon
Is ghar ke darwaaze, tumhare liye hamesha ke liye band hein
Beti to paraya dhan hai.
Mere jeeteji yeh shaadi nahin ho sakti.
Main jald hi dahez ki sari rakam chuka doonga
Yeh aap kya kah rahen hai, bhai sahib
Ab hum kisi ko muh dikhane ke layak nahin rahe
Kya isi din ke liye tujhe paida kiya tha ?
Main kahta hoon, Door ho jaa meri nazron sey
MOTHER
Any widow in a Hindi film is a mother. Anyone marrying a character actor in the beginning of the film and bearing two children is sure to be widowed. The sons thereafter are likely to grow up to be the main protagonists. Sewing machine is her favourite timepass tool and she will
always make halwa for her son.
Common dialogues
Mera Raja beta
Mera ashirwad sada tere saath hai.
Tujhe ek maa ki aah lagegi
Mera beta aisa kabhi nahin kar sakta.
Mera beta teri maut bankar aayega, thakur!
Ek baar mujhe maa keh kar pukaro beta...
Mere bete ki raksha karna prabhu
Kya apni maa ki baat nahi maanega?
Mera achha beta, jaldi se dudh peekar bada ho jaa.
Is budhi maa ka tumhare siwa aur kaun hai?
Mere Raja bete ko aaj mein apne haaton se khilaaongi
Hey bhagwan, mere suhaag ki raksha karna
Maine tere liye gajar ka halwa banaya hai
Maine tumhe paal pos kar bada kiya..
Mar, Mar isse betay, isse ne tere Devata jaise pita ka khoon kiya
MOTHER-IN-LAW
The most nasal voice in the cast belongs to the mother-in-law. She has usually got a dead husband, or one who gives 'henpecked' new dimensions. She specialises in kicking the heroine / hero's sister / bhabhi while she is sweeping the floor. She seldom dies, but always gets her come-uppance in the end when her husband, after years of ayurveda and yoga regains his lost vitality, insults her in public and forces her into submission.
Common dialogues
Chudeil! Kide pade tere .....
Tere baap ke bheje huey iss sari ka too kya karegi. Chal, mujhe dey
Ey Chudail, ab kaha se mooh kala karke aayee hain?
Aah Haa Haa, Maharani, waha baithey baithey kya kar rahi hain
Arri Kalmoohi, Kaha mar gayi
Eh Kulta, tere baap ne ab tak dahej ki rakam nahin chukayi
The last session will cover villains, doctors & the law among other things.
Watch this space ! !
Thought for the day:
Sometimes i wish that i had never met you, so i could go to sleep at night not knowing there was someone like you out there. (for someone special !)
Monday, September 18, 2006
Live ... Today.
One man after having lost all his wealth prayed to God and got a boon that from dawn to dusk on the following day, whatever land he covers by running, can be owned by him.
The man started running at dawn & kept running even after he had covered more than he lost. He refused to heed his body’s pleas for rest & food. By evening he felt dizzy and weak.
In the distance he saw a river flowing. He was very happy at the thought of owning a river. So he decided to stop running once he reaches the river. Just as the sun was about to set, he reached the river.
As soon as he bent down to sip some water – his first drops of water of the day – he dropped dead of exhaustion.
“Spiritual Quotient” in Economic Times dated September 14, 2006 say that this is how we lead our lives. We run the race without even stopping to think why we are running. We travel thinking “what next” all the time. It further goes on to say that we will run till we drop dead in our grave.
Traveling from more to more is only traveling towards our grave. It is slow death. It can never be life.
It is possible to satisfy our needs, but it becomes impossible to satisfy our wants. Every time one want is fulfilled, another many come up. Always, as long as we are chasing something, it seems that it is worth the whole world. But after we get it, somehow it is not that important any longer. Think about it. It’ll stand true in almost all circumstances.
So, never think – “let me work now, I can enjoy later”. I tell you, it will never happen.
Every Tomorrow comes in the form of Today only.
So, don’t postpone living. Celebrate – its NOW or NEVER.
P.S. Of course, the last few line do not apply to everyone studying for Chartered Accountancy examinations. You all better postpone "living" – otherwise life will become a living HELL. HA !
Thought for the day:
Sex is NOT the answer. Sex is the question. YES ! is the answer.
The man started running at dawn & kept running even after he had covered more than he lost. He refused to heed his body’s pleas for rest & food. By evening he felt dizzy and weak.
In the distance he saw a river flowing. He was very happy at the thought of owning a river. So he decided to stop running once he reaches the river. Just as the sun was about to set, he reached the river.
As soon as he bent down to sip some water – his first drops of water of the day – he dropped dead of exhaustion.
“Spiritual Quotient” in Economic Times dated September 14, 2006 say that this is how we lead our lives. We run the race without even stopping to think why we are running. We travel thinking “what next” all the time. It further goes on to say that we will run till we drop dead in our grave.
Traveling from more to more is only traveling towards our grave. It is slow death. It can never be life.
It is possible to satisfy our needs, but it becomes impossible to satisfy our wants. Every time one want is fulfilled, another many come up. Always, as long as we are chasing something, it seems that it is worth the whole world. But after we get it, somehow it is not that important any longer. Think about it. It’ll stand true in almost all circumstances.
So, never think – “let me work now, I can enjoy later”. I tell you, it will never happen.
Every Tomorrow comes in the form of Today only.
So, don’t postpone living. Celebrate – its NOW or NEVER.
P.S. Of course, the last few line do not apply to everyone studying for Chartered Accountancy examinations. You all better postpone "living" – otherwise life will become a living HELL. HA !
Thought for the day:
Sex is NOT the answer. Sex is the question. YES ! is the answer.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Bollywood Classroom - II
Hello readers. We continue with our Bollywood Classroom.
Those who have started reading now are advised to read the post below.
Ok, then. Hop on the Fun Ride.
THE HERO
The Hero is the person who gets the woman in the end and kills everyone with moles on their faces. The hero shaves, drinks, drives, gesticulates and picks several fights. He normally has a mother who seldom has a lover. He may have a moustache, but never has a beard, unless he is in disguise or utter poverty. He delivers his lines with minimum style, and except for those lines in which he grimaces, he is totally stone-faced. If the hero has a comic side to him, he says very little of consequence in the entire film and does not die in the end.
Common dialogues mouthed by HEROES include :
Tere saamne teri maut khadi hai
Kuttay !!
Tumhare liye meri jaan bhi haazir hai
Mere paas meri mari maa ka ashirwad hai.
Apne Aaadmiyon se kaho ki bandookein phhek de
Dunyaki koi takat hame juda nahi kar sakti
Mere hotey huay tumhara koi baal bhi baaka nahin kar sakta
Yeh meri maa keh Kangan hai
Maa, mujhe Ashirwad de
Khabardaar joe Usse haat bhee lagaya
Tumne apni ma ka dudh piya hai to ...
Maa main first class first pass ho gaya hu....
Mere paas maa hai !
Nahin . . tu mera bhai nahi ho sakta. Tune maa ka dil dukhaaya hai . .
THE HEROINE
The heroine is the stupidest of all Hindi film characters. She normally settles for a man with no class, and even lesser money. She is usually a lot younger and seriously better looking than the hero, even when the hero is the kind whose insipid persona leaves nothing but the looks to matter. Her father is either ridiculously rich or pathetically poor. Any heroine who starts the film in short skirts ends it in sarees. One who doesn't is the vamp.
Those who have started reading now are advised to read the post below.
Ok, then. Hop on the Fun Ride.
THE HERO
The Hero is the person who gets the woman in the end and kills everyone with moles on their faces. The hero shaves, drinks, drives, gesticulates and picks several fights. He normally has a mother who seldom has a lover. He may have a moustache, but never has a beard, unless he is in disguise or utter poverty. He delivers his lines with minimum style, and except for those lines in which he grimaces, he is totally stone-faced. If the hero has a comic side to him, he says very little of consequence in the entire film and does not die in the end.
Common dialogues mouthed by HEROES include :
Tere saamne teri maut khadi hai
Kuttay !!
Tumhare liye meri jaan bhi haazir hai
Mere paas meri mari maa ka ashirwad hai.
Apne Aaadmiyon se kaho ki bandookein phhek de
Dunyaki koi takat hame juda nahi kar sakti
Mere hotey huay tumhara koi baal bhi baaka nahin kar sakta
Yeh meri maa keh Kangan hai
Maa, mujhe Ashirwad de
Khabardaar joe Usse haat bhee lagaya
Tumne apni ma ka dudh piya hai to ...
Maa main first class first pass ho gaya hu....
Mere paas maa hai !
Nahin . . tu mera bhai nahi ho sakta. Tune maa ka dil dukhaaya hai . .
THE HEROINE
The heroine is the stupidest of all Hindi film characters. She normally settles for a man with no class, and even lesser money. She is usually a lot younger and seriously better looking than the hero, even when the hero is the kind whose insipid persona leaves nothing but the looks to matter. Her father is either ridiculously rich or pathetically poor. Any heroine who starts the film in short skirts ends it in sarees. One who doesn't is the vamp.Common dialogues include :
Bhagwan ke liye mujhe chod do
Hato. Tum bade woh ho
Naheen!
Mein tumhare bagair nahin reh sakti
Paapa, main sirf usi se shaadi karrongi jise main pasand karti hoon
Maa ne tumhe ghar bulaya hai
Main usse pyar karti hoon
Humne pyar kiya hai koi gunah nahin
Kuchh goonde mere pichhe pade hai
Baar baar mera pichha kyon karte ho
Koi Dekh Lega
Maine tumhe kya samjha, aur tum kya nikley!
psshhh psshh gusshhh (whispering in the HERO's ears - stands for "im pregnant")
Oh... how i loved these movies ... Fanatstic dialogues.
End of this session.
More to follow in the coming sessions.
Thought for the day
Bhagwan ke liye mujhe chod do
Hato. Tum bade woh ho
Naheen!
Mein tumhare bagair nahin reh sakti
Paapa, main sirf usi se shaadi karrongi jise main pasand karti hoon
Maa ne tumhe ghar bulaya hai
Main usse pyar karti hoon
Humne pyar kiya hai koi gunah nahin
Kuchh goonde mere pichhe pade hai
Baar baar mera pichha kyon karte ho
Koi Dekh Lega
Maine tumhe kya samjha, aur tum kya nikley!
psshhh psshh gusshhh (whispering in the HERO's ears - stands for "im pregnant")
Oh... how i loved these movies ... Fanatstic dialogues.
End of this session.
More to follow in the coming sessions.
Thought for the day
We walk away from our dreams afraid we may fail, or worse yet, afraid we may succeed.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Bollywood "Formula" Classroom - I
Bollywood movies these days are said to be moving away from the ubiquitous "formula".
What is this FORMULA ... Well, it was present in all movies about 2-3 years back and still is used to make many movies. Only some go away from the "Formula". Guts ! !
Anyways, i am going to write a series of posts regarding the Bollywood Formula, its contents, the dialogues involved in such a movie . . basically, the works. Here's the first session.
If you are aspiring to strike a career in the Bollywood, be it a director, script writer or even penning dialogues, this section will be very helpful to you for it contains the scenes
and dialogues which every film has and you cannot afford to miss it !!
Some of the here may be rather sexist, chauvinistic, supercilious, vapid, racist, tasteless, offensive and emotionally backward, but we have to be slightly sober for censorship reasons and cannot show Hindi films in their full crowning glory
MUST SCENES FOR EVERY FILM
Two brothers separated in childhood will always grow up on different sides of the law. The law-breaker, however, will suddenly turn over a new leaf before the end, bash up the villain , and be pardoned for all his sins before the last-scene family reunion. (This is possible only if he
has a heroine)
If the number of heroes is not equal to the number of heroines, the excess heroes / heroines will die or take off to foreign country at the end of the movie.If there are 2 heroes in a movie, they will fight each other savegely for at least 5 minutes
Any court scene will have the dialogue "Objection milord". If it is said by the hero, or his lawyer, it will be sustained. Else, it will be overruled.
The hero's sister will usually marry the hero's best friend (i.e. the second hero). Else, she will be raped by the villain within the first 30 minutes, and commit suicide.
In a chase, the hero will always overtake the villain, even on a bullock-cart, or on foot
When the hero fires at the villain(s), he will never miss run out of bullets. When the villain fires at the hero, he will always miss (unless the hero is required to die)
Any fight sequence shall take place in the vicinity of a stack of pots, barrels, glass bottles, which will be smashed to pieces.
Any movie involving lost+found brothers will have a song sung by the brothers their blind mother (but of course, she has to be blind in order to regain her sight in the climax) the family dog/cat. The amazing thing is that these folks remember the song after 20 years in the movie, and you can't remember it 2 minutes after coming out of the theatre.
There will always be one song in which heroine is scantily dressed and singing in rain.
There will always be one rape scene
End of Session 1.
Post Script: Too bad not all movies these days are made like the ones earlier. I'm all for revival of the Great Formula ! Amen.
In the comin sessions, the following will be discussed:-
Hero
Heroine
Hero's sister etc.
Keep Reading.
Friday, September 08, 2006
Funny !
Hey, i was recently surfing the web and came across this site www.boardofwisdom.com . Its full of quotes & anecdotes on a variety of topics.
Me, being me, chose to view the "humour" quotes. All of them were fantastic. But, i came across this list which i have to share with you. Here goes . . .
Things I Hate About Everyone
1. People who point at their wrist asking for the time... I know where my watch is pal,
where the hell is yours? Do I point at my crotch when I ask where the toilet is?
2. People who are willing to get off their a** to search the entire room for the TV remote
because they refuse to walk to the TV and change the channel manually.
3. When people say "Oh you just want to have your cake and eat it too". Damn Right! What
good is cake if you can't eat it?
4. When people say "it's always the last place you look". Of course it is. Why the hell
would you keep looking after you've found it? Do people do this? Who and where are they?
5. When people say while watching a film, "did ya see that?" No Loser, I paid $12 to come to
the cinema and stare at the damn floor!
6. People who ask "Can I ask you a question?"... Didn't give me a choice there, did ya
sunshine?
7. When something is 'new and improved'. Which is it? If it's new, then there has never been
anything before it. If it's an improvement, then there must have been something before it,
couldn't be new.
8. When people say "life is short". What the hell??? Life is the longest damn thing anyone
ever does!!! What can you do thats longer?
Funny, right.
Well, here's something even funnier from the same site .
In Honor of Stupid People
In case you needed further proof that the human race is doomed to stupidity, here are some actual label instructions on consumer goods:
On a Sears hairdryer -- Do not use while sleeping.
(Shoot, and that's the only time I have to work on my hair.)
On a bag of Fritos -- You could be a winner! No purchase necessary. Details inside.
(the shoplifter special)?
On a bar of Dial soap -- "Directions: Use like regular soap,"
(and that would be how???....)
On some Swanson frozen dinners -- "Serving suggestion: Defrost."
(but, it's "just" a suggestion).
On Tesco's Tiramisu dessert (printed on bottom) -- "Do not turn upside down."
(well...duh, a bit late, huh)!
On Marks & Spencer Bread Pudding -- "Product will be hot after heating."
(...and you thought????...)
On packaging for a Rowena iron -- "Do not iron clothes on body."
(but wouldn't this save me more time)?
On Boot's Children Cough Medicine -- "Do not drive a car or operate machinery after taking this medication."
(We could do a lot to reduce the rate of construction accidents if we could just get those 5-year-olds with head-colds off those forklifts.)
On Nytol Sleep Aid -- "Warning: May cause drowsiness."
(and...I'm taking this because???....)
On most brands of Christmas lights -- "For indoor or outdoor use only."
(as opposed to...what)?
On a Japanese food processor -- "Not to be used for the other use."
(now, somebody out there, help me on this. I'm a bit curious)
On Sainsbury's peanuts -- "Warning: contains nuts."
(talk about a news flash)
On an American Airlines packet of nuts -- "Instructions: Open packet, eat nuts."
(Step 3: maybe, ooh...fly Delta?)
On a child's Superman costume -- "Wearing of this garment does not enable you to fly."
(I don't blame the company. I blame the parents for this one.)
On a Swedish chainsaw -- "Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands or genitals."
(Oh my ..was there a lot of this happening somewhere?)
Enjoyed ?
Keep reading my blog !
Me, being me, chose to view the "humour" quotes. All of them were fantastic. But, i came across this list which i have to share with you. Here goes . . .
Things I Hate About Everyone
1. People who point at their wrist asking for the time... I know where my watch is pal,
where the hell is yours? Do I point at my crotch when I ask where the toilet is?
2. People who are willing to get off their a** to search the entire room for the TV remote
because they refuse to walk to the TV and change the channel manually.
3. When people say "Oh you just want to have your cake and eat it too". Damn Right! What
good is cake if you can't eat it?
4. When people say "it's always the last place you look". Of course it is. Why the hell
would you keep looking after you've found it? Do people do this? Who and where are they?
5. When people say while watching a film, "did ya see that?" No Loser, I paid $12 to come to
the cinema and stare at the damn floor!
6. People who ask "Can I ask you a question?"... Didn't give me a choice there, did ya
sunshine?
7. When something is 'new and improved'. Which is it? If it's new, then there has never been
anything before it. If it's an improvement, then there must have been something before it,
couldn't be new.
8. When people say "life is short". What the hell??? Life is the longest damn thing anyone
ever does!!! What can you do thats longer?
Funny, right.
Well, here's something even funnier from the same site .
In Honor of Stupid People
In case you needed further proof that the human race is doomed to stupidity, here are some actual label instructions on consumer goods:
On a Sears hairdryer -- Do not use while sleeping.
(Shoot, and that's the only time I have to work on my hair.)
On a bag of Fritos -- You could be a winner! No purchase necessary. Details inside.
(the shoplifter special)?
On a bar of Dial soap -- "Directions: Use like regular soap,"
(and that would be how???....)
On some Swanson frozen dinners -- "Serving suggestion: Defrost."
(but, it's "just" a suggestion).
On Tesco's Tiramisu dessert (printed on bottom) -- "Do not turn upside down."
(well...duh, a bit late, huh)!
On Marks & Spencer Bread Pudding -- "Product will be hot after heating."
(...and you thought????...)
On packaging for a Rowena iron -- "Do not iron clothes on body."
(but wouldn't this save me more time)?
On Boot's Children Cough Medicine -- "Do not drive a car or operate machinery after taking this medication."
(We could do a lot to reduce the rate of construction accidents if we could just get those 5-year-olds with head-colds off those forklifts.)
On Nytol Sleep Aid -- "Warning: May cause drowsiness."
(and...I'm taking this because???....)
On most brands of Christmas lights -- "For indoor or outdoor use only."
(as opposed to...what)?
On a Japanese food processor -- "Not to be used for the other use."
(now, somebody out there, help me on this. I'm a bit curious)
On Sainsbury's peanuts -- "Warning: contains nuts."
(talk about a news flash)
On an American Airlines packet of nuts -- "Instructions: Open packet, eat nuts."
(Step 3: maybe, ooh...fly Delta?)
On a child's Superman costume -- "Wearing of this garment does not enable you to fly."
(I don't blame the company. I blame the parents for this one.)
On a Swedish chainsaw -- "Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands or genitals."
(Oh my ..was there a lot of this happening somewhere?)
Enjoyed ?
Keep reading my blog !
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Two cups & a coffee machine
The vision of two cups and a coffee machine is still fresh in my mind. It was New Year's Eve & I was totally dejected because my plans with my pals for New Year's Eve partying had not worked out. But later I discovered the cause for my dejection was a blessing in disguise. She invited me to spend the last 2 hours of the year with her. I did so, only to please myself - I would not be home on New Year's, atleast.
With 2 cups of coffee on that cold night, she came to me like an angel. Throughout my teenage life, I partied on New Year's Eve. But this time, I talked. And believe me,. it was the BEST time. We talked about life. Her life & my life. And I realised she was just like me. Searching for some one to love her. Someone she could be proud of. Someone who would listen to her, even when what she was sayin wasn't making any sense. Someone who would just be there.
Every time. Always. Forever.
It was strange in the first place to be with her in such a situation. Not uncomfortable, not at all, but very different.
There is a very thin line between friendship & love. And it felt like we were on the verge of crossing that line. I didn't know what to do. We were running out of words. Finally we opened up our feelings and talked freely about it.
And boy!! It was one of a kind conversation. I was certain I liked her and to be honest, I was damn sure she liked me too. She almost said it to me that night. But some things are not meant to be. No matter how you feel about each other. No matter how much you believe it's going to be good between you two. Some things are exceptions. They have to be.
Nobody tells you what to do. You just know what to do. If you care enough to listen to that little thing inside you, you'll know what's the best thing to do.
And we knew what was right for us.
This is a very small incident of two cups & a coffee machine, but such incidents teach you lessons for a lifetime.
I can never forget that night. No matter how hard I try.
Soon, I realised my coffee had gone dead cold. Quickly i sipped it & the clock struck 12.
We wished each other a happy new year and began to alight. It suddenly felt like I was alone in a new world filled with strangers. We walked in opposite directions. Something made me stop & turn back. I did so, only to find her turn back at that very moment.
Our eyes met. The gleam in her eyes seemed to convey to me something indefinable & spoke out everything she did not.
I wanted to run towards her & hug her tightly.
Instead, I turned back and walked away.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Alvida ? Sure.
KANK – I liked it. Period.
I can watch the trailor of the movie & pretty much decide whether I’ll like it or not. KANK proved me wrong. Just about.
I had seen the trailor. I had hated the trailor.
The same New York locations as 50 other movies. SRK gives us the same facial expressions as he’s given for the last 15 years. Everyone mouths the same emotional, tear jerking, melodramatic dialogues. Everyone’s crying. Everyone’s rich.
I was pretty much sure I wouldn’t like the movie one bit.
I saw the movie this weekend. Quite late, & just because 2 of my friends whose movie judgement I trust told me to watch it & guaranteed that I’ll like it. They know me well, is all I can say.
So, here goes my KANK review. Yes, I’m late – but ki fark pendah?
The movie’s basic premise is great. Karan Johar has come of age & has made a movie which is not all candy floss & romance. He’s come close to real life & it passes as a decent effort.
Johar has dealt with the topic with formidable grace & reality. Infidelity is difficult to forgive – and that’s what is shown in the movie.
SRK hams, hams a lot as usual. His is a frustrated, cynical character. Though that is portrayed effectively, it could’ve been done much better.
The scene where all 4 meet at the ballet – SRK screws it with his blatant over acting. Abhishek’s Rishi says, “I told you he was on drugs.” I believe that he said it impulsively, it wasn’t in the script.
Also, when he proposes to Rani at the station, he’s vibrating!
He’s the biggest spoiler of the movie.
Rani does not have much to do. No great dialogues, but a large amount of screen time is devoted to her. It’s a role that could’ve been done by anyone. (I liked her in that corset & whip scene though – she manages to look sexy)
Preity – HOT, HOT, HOT. She looks the part, she acts the part. Very well acted. Looks as self confident as the character she plays. We are on her side when she says that she’s the man in the house, she doesn’t mind working hard & not giving enough time to her son just so that he can have the latest play station. A role she’s played to perfection. Btw, just loved the slap she gave SRK. Fantastic!
Abhishek has finally come into his own. Matches and outdoes more seasoned actors SRK & Rani in their scenes together. Portrays the right mixture of a child at heart & a sensitive son and husband. He calls his dad “Dude”. We call him Dude. We love him.
Rampal & John do cameos they would've died before doing in any other director's film. That's the power of Karan Johar. No one can say No.
Amitabh Bachchan – What do I say about the man? By far the best actor of the movie. By far. At 64, he plays his most rakish character yet. A character, actors/stars half his age could not do justice to. We would not accept or love any other veteran in this role. He’s the only one who can mouth the lines “imagine, a call girls calls YOU! A call girls calls you” & “Dude, any message for Mom?” (my personal favourite from the movie), with equal ease & credibility. He looks the part. He is Sexy Sam.
Btw, I strongly belive Mr. Bachchan can make a better DON at 64 than SRK at 41.
The script & dialogues are the real heroes of the film. Johar & his protégé Shibani Bathija have done a great job. Not all dialogues are OTT. Many reflect what could’ve actually happened.
“I am the man in the house. Why isn’t a MAN questioned when he works till late & does not give time to his child. Why is a woman expected to, even if she’s the only one earning in the house. I work hard so that I can provide my child with what a mere Football coach can’t”
I loved it. No other hindi film heroine has spoke to her husband, patidev like this before.
“Have you slept with him? How was it, huh? Did you enjoy it?” questions Abhishek to RAni when she discloses her affair.
I identify with it 100%. Couldn’t imagine how else he would’ve reacted. I would’ve reacted the same way, exactly.
“if you look for love, you’ll find it”, says SRK. It’s true. It’s all in the mind.
Rani does not love Abhishek because even before the marriage has happened, she says that maybe friendship has taken the place of love & love has no space to grow. She does not even try to look for love, hence does not find it in her marriage.
The main flaw, as people pointed out, in the script is the lack of reason for Rani to not love Abhishek. I have read quite a lot of interviews of Johar regarding this movie. In one, he admits that Abhishek had questioned him regarding the same thing. His answer was, “Sometimes, even perfect marriages fall apart, with seemingly no reason whatsoever. I just wanted to portray that in my film”
Works for me.
SRK – Preity track is very well defined. It reflects the male ego in its true form, and shows how men can’t deal with strong, individual & self sufficient women who just might be better than them at everything they do. Men want women to be lower than them, so that they feel secure & “manly”. So, SRK goes for Rani.
AB is a bed breaker, literally at times. But, we still love him. We like him when he says that he’s following his wife’s instructions to enjoy life to the fullest.
Music is bad except for the winner Mitwa. Btw, the tattoo on SRK’s forearm (definitely a comy of Beckham’s “Victoria”) is very wannabe-ish.
All said and done, it’s a movie that everyone must watch and try to grasp the basic premise without being lost in the frills packaging it.
I really feel that Dharma Productions pays for its character’s lives also. They are so rich. Rani lives alone and makes her house so decorated & beautiful by working as a kindergarten teacher? Yeah, right!
Arth is definitely the final say on infidelity, but Kank deserves a dekko.
2 of my closest friends asked me whether I will be able to forgive infidelity my partner.
No.
I can watch the trailor of the movie & pretty much decide whether I’ll like it or not. KANK proved me wrong. Just about.
I had seen the trailor. I had hated the trailor.
The same New York locations as 50 other movies. SRK gives us the same facial expressions as he’s given for the last 15 years. Everyone mouths the same emotional, tear jerking, melodramatic dialogues. Everyone’s crying. Everyone’s rich.
I was pretty much sure I wouldn’t like the movie one bit.
I saw the movie this weekend. Quite late, & just because 2 of my friends whose movie judgement I trust told me to watch it & guaranteed that I’ll like it. They know me well, is all I can say.
So, here goes my KANK review. Yes, I’m late – but ki fark pendah?
The movie’s basic premise is great. Karan Johar has come of age & has made a movie which is not all candy floss & romance. He’s come close to real life & it passes as a decent effort.
Johar has dealt with the topic with formidable grace & reality. Infidelity is difficult to forgive – and that’s what is shown in the movie.
SRK hams, hams a lot as usual. His is a frustrated, cynical character. Though that is portrayed effectively, it could’ve been done much better.
The scene where all 4 meet at the ballet – SRK screws it with his blatant over acting. Abhishek’s Rishi says, “I told you he was on drugs.” I believe that he said it impulsively, it wasn’t in the script.
Also, when he proposes to Rani at the station, he’s vibrating!
He’s the biggest spoiler of the movie.
Rani does not have much to do. No great dialogues, but a large amount of screen time is devoted to her. It’s a role that could’ve been done by anyone. (I liked her in that corset & whip scene though – she manages to look sexy)
Preity – HOT, HOT, HOT. She looks the part, she acts the part. Very well acted. Looks as self confident as the character she plays. We are on her side when she says that she’s the man in the house, she doesn’t mind working hard & not giving enough time to her son just so that he can have the latest play station. A role she’s played to perfection. Btw, just loved the slap she gave SRK. Fantastic!
Abhishek has finally come into his own. Matches and outdoes more seasoned actors SRK & Rani in their scenes together. Portrays the right mixture of a child at heart & a sensitive son and husband. He calls his dad “Dude”. We call him Dude. We love him.
Rampal & John do cameos they would've died before doing in any other director's film. That's the power of Karan Johar. No one can say No.
Amitabh Bachchan – What do I say about the man? By far the best actor of the movie. By far. At 64, he plays his most rakish character yet. A character, actors/stars half his age could not do justice to. We would not accept or love any other veteran in this role. He’s the only one who can mouth the lines “imagine, a call girls calls YOU! A call girls calls you” & “Dude, any message for Mom?” (my personal favourite from the movie), with equal ease & credibility. He looks the part. He is Sexy Sam.
Btw, I strongly belive Mr. Bachchan can make a better DON at 64 than SRK at 41.
The script & dialogues are the real heroes of the film. Johar & his protégé Shibani Bathija have done a great job. Not all dialogues are OTT. Many reflect what could’ve actually happened.
“I am the man in the house. Why isn’t a MAN questioned when he works till late & does not give time to his child. Why is a woman expected to, even if she’s the only one earning in the house. I work hard so that I can provide my child with what a mere Football coach can’t”
I loved it. No other hindi film heroine has spoke to her husband, patidev like this before.
“Have you slept with him? How was it, huh? Did you enjoy it?” questions Abhishek to RAni when she discloses her affair.
I identify with it 100%. Couldn’t imagine how else he would’ve reacted. I would’ve reacted the same way, exactly.
“if you look for love, you’ll find it”, says SRK. It’s true. It’s all in the mind.
Rani does not love Abhishek because even before the marriage has happened, she says that maybe friendship has taken the place of love & love has no space to grow. She does not even try to look for love, hence does not find it in her marriage.
The main flaw, as people pointed out, in the script is the lack of reason for Rani to not love Abhishek. I have read quite a lot of interviews of Johar regarding this movie. In one, he admits that Abhishek had questioned him regarding the same thing. His answer was, “Sometimes, even perfect marriages fall apart, with seemingly no reason whatsoever. I just wanted to portray that in my film”
Works for me.
SRK – Preity track is very well defined. It reflects the male ego in its true form, and shows how men can’t deal with strong, individual & self sufficient women who just might be better than them at everything they do. Men want women to be lower than them, so that they feel secure & “manly”. So, SRK goes for Rani.
AB is a bed breaker, literally at times. But, we still love him. We like him when he says that he’s following his wife’s instructions to enjoy life to the fullest.
Music is bad except for the winner Mitwa. Btw, the tattoo on SRK’s forearm (definitely a comy of Beckham’s “Victoria”) is very wannabe-ish.
All said and done, it’s a movie that everyone must watch and try to grasp the basic premise without being lost in the frills packaging it.
I really feel that Dharma Productions pays for its character’s lives also. They are so rich. Rani lives alone and makes her house so decorated & beautiful by working as a kindergarten teacher? Yeah, right!
Arth is definitely the final say on infidelity, but Kank deserves a dekko.
2 of my closest friends asked me whether I will be able to forgive infidelity my partner.
No.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Suddenly 22 & full of Questions
I feel OLD. I will be turning 22 in 3 months time, & believe me, I’m not liking one bit of it. I want to be stuck at 19 . . . ok, 20 at the most. 22 is too much.
Once you touch 20 and go beyond, things change. You have to make difficult career choices, decisions. You have to become more “responsible”, or at least act more “responsible”.
In my case, even though I refuse to grow up, the happenings around me make me feel grown up.
Once you touch 20 and go beyond, things change. You have to make difficult career choices, decisions. You have to become more “responsible”, or at least act more “responsible”.
In my case, even though I refuse to grow up, the happenings around me make me feel grown up.
I recently went to a friend's place for Ganpati darshan. It is almost a yearly ritual. A young girl opened the door. ??!!?. He had no sisters !. Shit, it was the small kid they had kept at home to help in the household work & to educate her. But, the small kid was small no more. It was a girl almost touching puberty. I remember having seen her as a 2 foot toddler who was confused every time i called their place because i share my name with that friend. She was almost as tall as me, maybe a foot less. Boy, i was depressed. Seeing someone grow so much makes you feel soooo old .
There were 2 girls in the neighbourhood who shifted to the USA about 10 years back. I used tom play all day with them when they were here. The must've been 2 years old. Now they are back. And they don't recognise me! They are young, sprightly teenagers, & give me blank looks when i say that i had them in my arms, lifted them, gave them piggyback rides all over the house. I don't blame them. But, was it actually so many years back that they've forgotten. Were they so young as to not remember anything from that age. If they were so young at that time, imagine how i feel now. Old ? Hell Yeah !
Suddenly, I have to go for all the family functions as the “male representative” of the household (a role dad used to hate playing, and now I hate playing). And all family members can’t think of saying anything else but the following;
“Finished your CA? So, when are you taking over Dad’s practice huh? Time for him to retire & let his son do the work”
“Have you found a girl for yourself? Get married fast now, what are you waiting for?”
I have not finished my CA. Don’t wanna take over dad’s practice. Dad’s not going to retire for another 10 years – try saying this to him & you’ll know!
Marriage – too scared to even utter the word. Have I not anything better to do. ?!
Suddenly, it seems as if everyone around me has decided what to do in their lives.
One guy has joined an investment bank & plans to stay there for a decent amount of time.
Another is in the middle of his MBA & planning to join HDFC or Deutsche Bank. Yet another has started his IT consultancy along with another friend of his. Many of my friends have joined their dad’s business & doing well.
Me – in the middle of my professional course – a year away from completing it. I don’t know what to do after that. I am planning for an MBA, I don’t know in which field. I want to write a book, can’t settle on the story. I want to start a business of my own, can’t think of my product/service. I want to do something, just have to figure out what.
Suddenly, a close friend is getting married to his girlfriend/fiancée. At 22, for Christ’s sake! Im 22 & I haven’t planned my life beyond 15 days, and this guy has decided to spend his whole life (which at 22, is a long, long life ahead) with a certain someone. I mean, what’s the rush dude ?
Another friend is already married for 1 year. And to top it all off, a very close friend, married 3 years back (yeah, almost a child marriage) has just delivered a kid who will be 6 months old when I will be 22. I consider myself a kid, and at my age a friend is about to bring up a kid. Does she know what lies ahead? Is she mature enough? Is this what she always wanted in life? Did she have other dreams?
I don’t know & I think she doesn’t want to think about it. Life has been modeled for her by someone else, and she’s living it. It’s not HER life.
And so suddenly, I feel old. Can I be blamed? Can I be said to be paranoid?
I feel 22 from within. I went to my college festival, dancing with all 18-19 years around, & I didn’t feel different or grown up. I felt as if I belonged there.
Recently a building aunty asked me which college I was studying at. (God bless her soul)
So, why am I still feeling old? Why can’t I be a kid all my life?
I want to be footloose & fancy free. At 22, keeping in mind our society, can I ?
Or do I have to grow up?
Is what I am feeling perfectly normal, or stupid? You tell me !
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Life's NOT Fair
I was talking to a friend of mine complaining & cribbing about life in general and mumbling the oft repeated line, “life’s so NOT fair to me yaar ! ! “.
She asked me in response, “Who said life was fair, or that it was ever meant to be fair?”
Her question was a good one. A very good one.
One of the mistakes many of us make is to feel sorry for ourselves, or for others, thinking that life should be fair, or that someday it will be.
It’s not & it won’t.
When we make this mistake, we spend a lot of time wallowing about what’s wrong with life. We talk to others, discussing injustices of life. “It’s not fair”, we always complain, never realizing that, perhaps, it was never intended to be.
One of the nice things about surrendering to the fact that life’s not fair is that it keeps us from feeling sorry for ourselves by encouraging us to do the very best we can with what we have. It’s not life’s job to make everything perfect, it’s our own personal challenge.
Everyone is dealt with a different hand. You have to play with the cards you’ve been dealt.
The fact that life isn’t fair does not mean we shouldn’t do everything in our power to improve our own lives. Au contraire, it suggests that we SHOULD. When we don’t recognize or admit that life isn’t fair, we tend to feel pity for ourselves or others. And pity is definitely a self defeating, useless emotion that does nothing for anyone, except to make them feel worse than they already do.
Recognise that life’s not fair, and turn your self pity into some helpful action.
She asked me in response, “Who said life was fair, or that it was ever meant to be fair?”
Her question was a good one. A very good one.
One of the mistakes many of us make is to feel sorry for ourselves, or for others, thinking that life should be fair, or that someday it will be.
It’s not & it won’t.
When we make this mistake, we spend a lot of time wallowing about what’s wrong with life. We talk to others, discussing injustices of life. “It’s not fair”, we always complain, never realizing that, perhaps, it was never intended to be.
One of the nice things about surrendering to the fact that life’s not fair is that it keeps us from feeling sorry for ourselves by encouraging us to do the very best we can with what we have. It’s not life’s job to make everything perfect, it’s our own personal challenge.
Everyone is dealt with a different hand. You have to play with the cards you’ve been dealt.
The fact that life isn’t fair does not mean we shouldn’t do everything in our power to improve our own lives. Au contraire, it suggests that we SHOULD. When we don’t recognize or admit that life isn’t fair, we tend to feel pity for ourselves or others. And pity is definitely a self defeating, useless emotion that does nothing for anyone, except to make them feel worse than they already do.
Recognise that life’s not fair, and turn your self pity into some helpful action.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
In-Dependence ??
The year 2006 spells CATASTROPHE.
The Mumbai floods, the Mumbai train blasts, the floods in Gujarat & Madhya Pradesh, the Israel-Lebanon conflict, the Colombo bomb blast, the foiling of the terror plot to blow up 10 flights from London to USA – all this & more.
Think about it – we are not yet 8 full months into the year.
The floods in Mumbai
It is a fact that this year the rains were a third of the 994 mm of last years 26/7 – but the result was almost the same. The city stopped for 2 days. WHY? Why weren’t the drainage systems in place? Why weren’t the roads repaired? Why did the nightmare of 26/7 have to repeat itself – almost? Sadly, these questions fall on deaf ears.
The politicians, who are concerned only about their personal kitties & well being give a damn about what happens to the country.
The Mumbai train blasts
I have written enough about this in one of my earlier posts – ENOUGH! We have finally managed to get hold of someone somehow connected to the blasts – that too a far indirect connection. The London plane blasts were AVERTED & 21 suspects were ARRESTED WITHIN 3 HOURS.
Here – blasts happened & how ! – Killed over 200 (official figures), injured thousands, handicapped many more. Arrests have been made few & far between till now.
But seriously, can we expect anything from the legislature & the judiciary which has still not delivered its verdict on the 1993 Mumbai blast suspects. Btw, the new D-Day is September 12, 2006 as postponed from August 10, 2006. If the judgment is delivered, it will be over 13 years since the blast took place. Do we still care ?
The floods in Surat – completely a man made disaster. It DID NOT rain in excess there. The drainage system is BAD, to put it lightly. Plus, the river Tapti, which overflowed has quite a few metres of silt deposit at its bottom. The government & relevant authorities have not taken any steps to remove it – resulting in its overflowing and subsequent floods.
Food for thought – In any of the news coverage, “excess rains” were never mentioned – only the words “Surat flooded” were used. Go figure !
Are we a developed country? Yes, the economy is booming, yes the salaries registered a phenomenal, 2nd highest in the world growth this year. But, is the basic infrastructure in place? Especially in metros.
The people are not provided with proper roads, clean drinking water, uninterrupted supply of electricity, security & safety, a hygienic civic sense.
The average age of the Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha Members(over 50) is double the age of the average Indian(26.48).
We need the youth of the country to take matters into its own hands, to work towards securing its own future in the country, to try and provide their off-springs a better India, a better Mumbai to live in.
If not in full fledged politics, lets be a part of social service NGOs, rural development forums, forums which raise their voice against wrong doings of the government. Lets work towards freedom from the “chalta hai” attitude. Lets fight to get our basic rights. Lets make our home a better place to live in .
Happy Independence Day. Lets make it truly happy, and our country truly independent.
The Mumbai floods, the Mumbai train blasts, the floods in Gujarat & Madhya Pradesh, the Israel-Lebanon conflict, the Colombo bomb blast, the foiling of the terror plot to blow up 10 flights from London to USA – all this & more.
Think about it – we are not yet 8 full months into the year.
The floods in Mumbai
It is a fact that this year the rains were a third of the 994 mm of last years 26/7 – but the result was almost the same. The city stopped for 2 days. WHY? Why weren’t the drainage systems in place? Why weren’t the roads repaired? Why did the nightmare of 26/7 have to repeat itself – almost? Sadly, these questions fall on deaf ears.
The politicians, who are concerned only about their personal kitties & well being give a damn about what happens to the country.
The Mumbai train blasts
I have written enough about this in one of my earlier posts – ENOUGH! We have finally managed to get hold of someone somehow connected to the blasts – that too a far indirect connection. The London plane blasts were AVERTED & 21 suspects were ARRESTED WITHIN 3 HOURS.
Here – blasts happened & how ! – Killed over 200 (official figures), injured thousands, handicapped many more. Arrests have been made few & far between till now.
But seriously, can we expect anything from the legislature & the judiciary which has still not delivered its verdict on the 1993 Mumbai blast suspects. Btw, the new D-Day is September 12, 2006 as postponed from August 10, 2006. If the judgment is delivered, it will be over 13 years since the blast took place. Do we still care ?
The floods in Surat – completely a man made disaster. It DID NOT rain in excess there. The drainage system is BAD, to put it lightly. Plus, the river Tapti, which overflowed has quite a few metres of silt deposit at its bottom. The government & relevant authorities have not taken any steps to remove it – resulting in its overflowing and subsequent floods.
Food for thought – In any of the news coverage, “excess rains” were never mentioned – only the words “Surat flooded” were used. Go figure !
Are we a developed country? Yes, the economy is booming, yes the salaries registered a phenomenal, 2nd highest in the world growth this year. But, is the basic infrastructure in place? Especially in metros.
The people are not provided with proper roads, clean drinking water, uninterrupted supply of electricity, security & safety, a hygienic civic sense.
The average age of the Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha Members(over 50) is double the age of the average Indian(26.48).
We need the youth of the country to take matters into its own hands, to work towards securing its own future in the country, to try and provide their off-springs a better India, a better Mumbai to live in.
If not in full fledged politics, lets be a part of social service NGOs, rural development forums, forums which raise their voice against wrong doings of the government. Lets work towards freedom from the “chalta hai” attitude. Lets fight to get our basic rights. Lets make our home a better place to live in .
Happy Independence Day. Lets make it truly happy, and our country truly independent.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
A Poem
Hey, this is a poem i had written 6 years back about a friend of mine. It is very elementary in prose, but very close to my heart because its written about something that actually happened in our lives.
This was/is a friend i was very close to during school time. He is not in Mumbai now, but we are very much in touch and plan to catch up on old times when he returns. We are still as good
friends, if not better.
I am not a good poet, so bear with me.
So, here goes . . .
To each other, we were the closest
Unaffected by what others said.
Fights & quarrels we did detest,
Close friendship is what we shared...
School got over, then came college;
Free to do whatever we want -
We were no more in a cage.
Those years will forever me haunt....
He started with a drink,
it ended with smokes and drugs.
Vanished were those smiles that would sink
All my sorrows; Vanished were those Hugs.
I wanted to leave him now.
He was no more the person i knew,
He had totally changed, and how . .
But friends like him were really very few.
I told him what i felt.
"Don't abandon me", was all he said.
I felt guilty, my heart did melt.
I decided to stand by him instead.
He gave it all up, it came to an end;
How he succumbed at first, it really seemed strange.
We don't have to change friends, -
I realised, if we understand that friends change . .
This was/is a friend i was very close to during school time. He is not in Mumbai now, but we are very much in touch and plan to catch up on old times when he returns. We are still as good
friends, if not better.
I am not a good poet, so bear with me.
So, here goes . . .
To each other, we were the closest
Unaffected by what others said.
Fights & quarrels we did detest,
Close friendship is what we shared...
School got over, then came college;
Free to do whatever we want -
We were no more in a cage.
Those years will forever me haunt....
He started with a drink,
it ended with smokes and drugs.
Vanished were those smiles that would sink
All my sorrows; Vanished were those Hugs.
I wanted to leave him now.
He was no more the person i knew,
He had totally changed, and how . .
But friends like him were really very few.
I told him what i felt.
"Don't abandon me", was all he said.
I felt guilty, my heart did melt.
I decided to stand by him instead.
He gave it all up, it came to an end;
How he succumbed at first, it really seemed strange.
We don't have to change friends, -
I realised, if we understand that friends change . .
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Saying Goodbye to Friends
"Dude, dont forget we are having dinner next tuesday. Make it.", said Kaushik as he & Varun were leaving from my place after dinner."Tuesday . . . why a weekday yaar""'cause it'll be the last time we all will be having dinner together"
And, then it suddenly dawned upon me. Kaushik was leaving for Bangalore in 15 days as his second year of MBA began. And when he'll come back for Diwali - Yuvaraj & Varun will have left for their Masters (in comp. engg.) & MBA respectively.Shit. We were finally going away from each other.
This was 2 months back. We had dinner that day. No emotions, no sad goodbyes. Just like any other dinners for us.
US - we are . . . no, we were a GANG (the teachers called us Hooligans, goondas) of 5 - Kaushik (Kosik), Yuvaraj (Yuvi), Rahul (Ra), Varun & Me.
We met in the 9th standard in school and were inseparable ever since. We had lunch outside each day after our 10th std. prelims ( a feat we pride ourselves on, coz the other students were shitting bricks and we just din't care), except the Chemistry exam coz Kosik was worse than bad at it. (He failed in chemistry in the prelims).
We made post-Boards plans 2 days before the Board Exams were to finish. Varun played Holi in the middle of his exams.
College was different for us all. Yuvaraj & Rahul went into Engineering, and the rest into Commerce - Kosik & Varun in the same college.
I taught Kosik & Varun Maths & Accounts in the 11th & 12th for 1 & 1/2 day before the exam. They cleared with flying colours.
And then there was the common thread that bound us all. Cricket on Yuvaraj's terrace. We used to go there religiously. Let me explain to you the intricacies.
The terrace had/has 5 walls and the water tank. Hitting full toss on any wall was "out". Hitting 2 walls on the right gave 5 runs each, the wall behind the bowler 10 runs, the back wall 10 runs, the leg side wall 6 runs, and the water tank - 8 runs. Hitting any 2 in one shot - you are entitled to an addition of the runs of both walls. If the ball hits your leg instead of the bat - you're out. Anyways, this was the complicated system in which we played cricket every week.
Varun was an expert at the 14 - tank + back wall. I was a champ at the 10 - the 2 offside walls. Yuvaraj was the one bowler i couldnt face. Rahul, in all these years has made only abt 500 runs (keep in mind that under this system, there were scores of over 80 in an over). Kosik - he just came and smoke. Never played.
Well, life went on. We got busy in our own lives. Varun started working in a call centre. Yuvaraj n Rahul had their various classes, submissions and college. Kosik went to Bangalore post 12th for his BCom. I started my CA.
We hardly met, though we managed 3 trips post 10th - Matheran, Mahabaleshwar & a Maharashtra trip together. I went on my First independent outstation trip with them. I had my first overnight stay with them. I had my first sip of Vodka with them. I had a couple of other firsts which i can't mention on a public medium.
I am what i am today because of all of them. Before i met them, i was a studious, serious school baccha. My sense of humour, which im proud of and which all my friends like, was borowed from Yuvi. He was the original Funny Guy, and still is amongst us. Kosik taught me ti be adventurous, and think of everything from a completely logical and not academic or mechanical point of view. He taught me how to be a good friend. Varun taught me how to let go and completely chill. Rahul, well, he taught me how to shout, exaggerate things and pass comments on every possible things ... hahaha ...
And, then came the day Yuvaraj was leaving for Texas for officially 2 years, and unofficially for ever. He will come back for Christmas next year, but i think that's it. Me & Rahul went to meet him at his place. He already had other friends there. They were all joking, having fun, cracking jokes among themselves and Yuvaraj, and that is where i realised - that how people have changed. He had friends from college who knew hiim in a different way than i knew him, who knew him better than i knew him, who met him more, spoke to him more.
"That's not fair. He's my friend", my mind shouted. Its a feeling i've never got before.
It seemed only fitting that Me & Rahul & no one else went to drop him at the airport. His family was there, of course. As we were sepnding the final moments together, my talks & comments stopped. My characteristic humour, that i consider my defence mechanism - deserted me when needed most. The mood was made lively only by Rahul's unnecessary, forcibly funny comments.
Anyways, it was time. As we walked down the path leading to the entrance Gate, he proved he was the Original Funny Guy, and undoubtedly the guy i called Best Friend. He turned & said, "Mihir,cricket - next week ! 4-8 in the evening"
And, then it suddenly dawned upon me. Kaushik was leaving for Bangalore in 15 days as his second year of MBA began. And when he'll come back for Diwali - Yuvaraj & Varun will have left for their Masters (in comp. engg.) & MBA respectively.Shit. We were finally going away from each other.
This was 2 months back. We had dinner that day. No emotions, no sad goodbyes. Just like any other dinners for us.
US - we are . . . no, we were a GANG (the teachers called us Hooligans, goondas) of 5 - Kaushik (Kosik), Yuvaraj (Yuvi), Rahul (Ra), Varun & Me.
We met in the 9th standard in school and were inseparable ever since. We had lunch outside each day after our 10th std. prelims ( a feat we pride ourselves on, coz the other students were shitting bricks and we just din't care), except the Chemistry exam coz Kosik was worse than bad at it. (He failed in chemistry in the prelims).
We made post-Boards plans 2 days before the Board Exams were to finish. Varun played Holi in the middle of his exams.
College was different for us all. Yuvaraj & Rahul went into Engineering, and the rest into Commerce - Kosik & Varun in the same college.
I taught Kosik & Varun Maths & Accounts in the 11th & 12th for 1 & 1/2 day before the exam. They cleared with flying colours.
And then there was the common thread that bound us all. Cricket on Yuvaraj's terrace. We used to go there religiously. Let me explain to you the intricacies.
The terrace had/has 5 walls and the water tank. Hitting full toss on any wall was "out". Hitting 2 walls on the right gave 5 runs each, the wall behind the bowler 10 runs, the back wall 10 runs, the leg side wall 6 runs, and the water tank - 8 runs. Hitting any 2 in one shot - you are entitled to an addition of the runs of both walls. If the ball hits your leg instead of the bat - you're out. Anyways, this was the complicated system in which we played cricket every week.
Varun was an expert at the 14 - tank + back wall. I was a champ at the 10 - the 2 offside walls. Yuvaraj was the one bowler i couldnt face. Rahul, in all these years has made only abt 500 runs (keep in mind that under this system, there were scores of over 80 in an over). Kosik - he just came and smoke. Never played.
Well, life went on. We got busy in our own lives. Varun started working in a call centre. Yuvaraj n Rahul had their various classes, submissions and college. Kosik went to Bangalore post 12th for his BCom. I started my CA.
We hardly met, though we managed 3 trips post 10th - Matheran, Mahabaleshwar & a Maharashtra trip together. I went on my First independent outstation trip with them. I had my first overnight stay with them. I had my first sip of Vodka with them. I had a couple of other firsts which i can't mention on a public medium.
I am what i am today because of all of them. Before i met them, i was a studious, serious school baccha. My sense of humour, which im proud of and which all my friends like, was borowed from Yuvi. He was the original Funny Guy, and still is amongst us. Kosik taught me ti be adventurous, and think of everything from a completely logical and not academic or mechanical point of view. He taught me how to be a good friend. Varun taught me how to let go and completely chill. Rahul, well, he taught me how to shout, exaggerate things and pass comments on every possible things ... hahaha ...
And, then came the day Yuvaraj was leaving for Texas for officially 2 years, and unofficially for ever. He will come back for Christmas next year, but i think that's it. Me & Rahul went to meet him at his place. He already had other friends there. They were all joking, having fun, cracking jokes among themselves and Yuvaraj, and that is where i realised - that how people have changed. He had friends from college who knew hiim in a different way than i knew him, who knew him better than i knew him, who met him more, spoke to him more.
"That's not fair. He's my friend", my mind shouted. Its a feeling i've never got before.
It seemed only fitting that Me & Rahul & no one else went to drop him at the airport. His family was there, of course. As we were sepnding the final moments together, my talks & comments stopped. My characteristic humour, that i consider my defence mechanism - deserted me when needed most. The mood was made lively only by Rahul's unnecessary, forcibly funny comments.
Anyways, it was time. As we walked down the path leading to the entrance Gate, he proved he was the Original Funny Guy, and undoubtedly the guy i called Best Friend. He turned & said, "Mihir,cricket - next week ! 4-8 in the evening"
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Maa
“Those were the best days of my life…”, crooned Bryan Adams’ voice loudly as I rushed outside to pick up my cell phone and to get away from all those staring people. I should have kept something subtle as my ringtone, I wondered in hindsight.
“Ya…”
“Is it over yet?”
“Nope. Not yet”
“How long has it been? When did it start?”
“Umm… about 2 hours”, I glanced at my watch. It was 2.45.
“A bit longer than usual”
“Stop freaking me out babe. Its going to be fine. Bye” I hung up, more worrisome than ever.
That was my friend Neeti, studying to be a doctor. Mom was in the O.T. undergoing a regular laproscopy. The procedure/ surgery had taken over 2 hours now whereas the doctor had said that it was a ‘simple, 30 minute thing’.
“You have a message”- My cell phone rang again
“Sorry Mihir. It’ll be fine. Don’t worry. I dunno what else to say. Take care dude”.
I had see countless movies where a surgery/ operation is going on with the hero/ hero’s wife, daughter or mom in the O.T. and all the relatives pacing in the long corridor stealing quick glances at the “red light”. I always found it funny and not realistic at all.
I tried to but couldn’t suppress a smile as I looked again at that “red light” while walking the length of the corridor leading to the O.T. Ironical, no?
“Have your lunch”, mom had said at 12.30 when she was being wheeled into the preparatory room.
“Ma, please..”, I couldn’t imagine she would think of our lunch at such a time. Mothers… Wasn’t she scared?
Me and dad were with her until she was administered GA (General Anesthesia). She was scared. She wanted this operation to get over quickly. It was a small surgical procedure for the doctor but her biggest operation yet.
We understood. We couldn’t do anything but to hold her hand. I was scared. Dad was saying all the right things to comfort her. I was too much in awe/ fear of the surroundings to say much. Repeating what dad had said seemed like a good idea. Soon she was under the effect of GA and was wheeled into the O.T. The doctor seemed comfortable, calm. We trusted him. We better.
“Brrrr..” - My phone vibrated snapping me back to the present. It was Neeti again. I cut it. I glanced at my watch again and I saw dad dong the same. 3.30, Damn.
Suddenly the “red light” turned off and the doctor appeared a few minutes later.
“Doctor….”, dad began
“We’ve done it. It was an unusually a large fibroid. You can see her in a few minutes. They are just trying to get her out of the GA.”
“Thank you so much.”
“Ya..Ya..” and her disappeared into some room.
I hugged dad and we saw mom being wheeled into the recovery room.
“She’s still under sedation. It’ll take her an hour to get back to her senses. You can try speaking to her”, I heard someone telling dad as I went towards mom’s stretcher.
“Hi mom”
“Hmmm”
“Its over Ma”
“Hmmm.. is the operation done?”
She was slurring and very much under sedation.
“Yes ma, you’ve done it”
“Hmmm”
Dad touched ma’s forehead and told me that we should leave from here and wait out till mom is awake. I did not want to, but suddenly I was feeling very hungry and we decided to eat something finally. Mom was alright”
I turned to go
“Hmm”
“You said something Ma?”
“Did you both have lunch?”
Post operation, under sedation, but still……….Mothers!!
“Yes Mom.”
“Ya…”
“Is it over yet?”
“Nope. Not yet”
“How long has it been? When did it start?”
“Umm… about 2 hours”, I glanced at my watch. It was 2.45.
“A bit longer than usual”
“Stop freaking me out babe. Its going to be fine. Bye” I hung up, more worrisome than ever.
That was my friend Neeti, studying to be a doctor. Mom was in the O.T. undergoing a regular laproscopy. The procedure/ surgery had taken over 2 hours now whereas the doctor had said that it was a ‘simple, 30 minute thing’.
“You have a message”- My cell phone rang again
“Sorry Mihir. It’ll be fine. Don’t worry. I dunno what else to say. Take care dude”.
I had see countless movies where a surgery/ operation is going on with the hero/ hero’s wife, daughter or mom in the O.T. and all the relatives pacing in the long corridor stealing quick glances at the “red light”. I always found it funny and not realistic at all.
I tried to but couldn’t suppress a smile as I looked again at that “red light” while walking the length of the corridor leading to the O.T. Ironical, no?
“Have your lunch”, mom had said at 12.30 when she was being wheeled into the preparatory room.
“Ma, please..”, I couldn’t imagine she would think of our lunch at such a time. Mothers… Wasn’t she scared?
Me and dad were with her until she was administered GA (General Anesthesia). She was scared. She wanted this operation to get over quickly. It was a small surgical procedure for the doctor but her biggest operation yet.
We understood. We couldn’t do anything but to hold her hand. I was scared. Dad was saying all the right things to comfort her. I was too much in awe/ fear of the surroundings to say much. Repeating what dad had said seemed like a good idea. Soon she was under the effect of GA and was wheeled into the O.T. The doctor seemed comfortable, calm. We trusted him. We better.
“Brrrr..” - My phone vibrated snapping me back to the present. It was Neeti again. I cut it. I glanced at my watch again and I saw dad dong the same. 3.30, Damn.
Suddenly the “red light” turned off and the doctor appeared a few minutes later.
“Doctor….”, dad began
“We’ve done it. It was an unusually a large fibroid. You can see her in a few minutes. They are just trying to get her out of the GA.”
“Thank you so much.”
“Ya..Ya..” and her disappeared into some room.
I hugged dad and we saw mom being wheeled into the recovery room.
“She’s still under sedation. It’ll take her an hour to get back to her senses. You can try speaking to her”, I heard someone telling dad as I went towards mom’s stretcher.
“Hi mom”
“Hmmm”
“Its over Ma”
“Hmmm.. is the operation done?”
She was slurring and very much under sedation.
“Yes ma, you’ve done it”
“Hmmm”
Dad touched ma’s forehead and told me that we should leave from here and wait out till mom is awake. I did not want to, but suddenly I was feeling very hungry and we decided to eat something finally. Mom was alright”
I turned to go
“Hmm”
“You said something Ma?”
“Did you both have lunch?”
Post operation, under sedation, but still……….Mothers!!
“Yes Mom.”
Saturday, July 22, 2006
The Gatekeeper at the TAJ.
The TAJ was born because a man was turned away from a fancy hotel.
When prominent parsi industrialist Jamsetji Tata was refused entrance into Watson's Hotel in the 19th century because he was a native, he swore revenge & built the massive Taj in 1903, which outshone Watson's in every department.
It is less a hotel and more a proving ground for the human ego.
The Taj lobby and the adjoining toilets are where you prove your self worth - theoretically anyone can come in out of the heat and sit in the plush lobby, on the ornate sofas; amid the billionaire Arabs & the society ladies, or relieve themselves in the gleaming toilets.
The gatekeepers are instructed to stop no one.
But you need that inner confidence to project to the numerous gatekeepers, the toilet attendants; you need first to convince yourself that you belong there, in order to convince others that you do.
And then you realise that the most forbidding gatekeeper is within YOU.
When prominent parsi industrialist Jamsetji Tata was refused entrance into Watson's Hotel in the 19th century because he was a native, he swore revenge & built the massive Taj in 1903, which outshone Watson's in every department.
It is less a hotel and more a proving ground for the human ego.
The Taj lobby and the adjoining toilets are where you prove your self worth - theoretically anyone can come in out of the heat and sit in the plush lobby, on the ornate sofas; amid the billionaire Arabs & the society ladies, or relieve themselves in the gleaming toilets.
The gatekeepers are instructed to stop no one.
But you need that inner confidence to project to the numerous gatekeepers, the toilet attendants; you need first to convince yourself that you belong there, in order to convince others that you do.
And then you realise that the most forbidding gatekeeper is within YOU.
Friday, July 14, 2006
ENOUGH !
The explosives went off at the Bombay Stock Exchange on March 12, 1993. There were sights of blood and gore that will not go away easily. March 12, 1993 can never be forgotten by a Mumbaikar. Or forgiven.
In New York on September 11, 2001, when twisted, horrific minds flew passenger jets into the Twin Towers. As a believer in the free world, I can never forget that day either. Or forgive those who wrought upon such terror on the rest of us.
I cannot but notice that the United States of America, which then declared its biggest offensive since Pearl Harbour and which action brought it tonnes and tonnes of international criticism -- not to mention unveiled threats of attack from Osama bin Laden, abduction of US nationals and their murder -- has not faced any terrorist attack since 9/11.
Whereas we in India have come to accept terrorist attacks on our soil as just another karmic fact of life -- no doubt with the same stoic acceptance that we took in invader after invader over centuries. Since 1993 Mumbai alone has faced at least 6 more terrorist strikes.
So what has the United States done that India did not?
For one, Uncle Sam displayed the majesty of the American State.
On the evening of September 11, 2001, as I sat glued to the television, US President George Bush addressed his nation in a measured and calm manner. Through the solace he offered his shell-shocked countrymen, he said: 'We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbour them.'
With these words America went to war.
I had waited all these years for the majesty of the Indian State to similarly display itself. I waited for it last night as well, and finally I saw the display.
On the streets of Mahim, close to where we work, the majesty of the Indian State was on full display as Congress president Sonia Gandhi accompanied by Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Railway Minister Lalu Yadav drove past, en route to the blast site. The news reporter counted 38+ cars in the motorcade that swept past, as other traffic on the road was kept frozen in place by the security phalanx. It was truly an impressive sight -? only, I couldn't help thinking, it was put on for someone who doesn't hold an office of authority. While the man who does, simply reviewed the security situation in the face of the Srinagar and Mumbai blasts, and directed that New Delhi's security be beefed up.
This was the majesty of the Indian State on display on Tuesday. I could have wept.
When somebody directs terror at you, nation-States are expected to hit back with maximum force, carry the fight into the enemy camp. It is not enough to possess unrelenting, unremitting muscle power -- it also becomes necessary, once in a while, to display that power. And not merely through caparisoned missiles parading down Janpath once a year, but by responding forcefully to challenges to the State's very existence.
All your nuclear weapons, your missiles, your tanks, come to nought when you don't have the steel in your soul to defend yourself and your subjects -- at any cost.
Has the Indian State done this? Ever?
The first serial blasts in Mumbai happened 13 years ago. Enough water has flowed into the Arabian Sea since then for the guilty to have spent part of their sentence in jail. But 13 years later even a fly has not been sentenced for the worst-ever terrorist attack in India. If you were a terrorist oiling your Kalashnikov and checking your grenades somewhere in the western sector, what exactly will you think of India?
What he does think is evident from the fact that in the last 13 years, Mumbai has faced six more terror attacks -- an average of one every two years. This, not counting the almost daily terrorist strikes in Jammu & Kashmir.
India believes, too, that the prime accused in the Mumbai blasts, Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, is a guest of the Pakistani establishment. Not only him, official lists of others accused of waging a war against India and hiding in Pakistan have periodically been handed over to that country. Ordinarily, you would think, if Pakistan is harbouring India's enemies, providing succour and sustenance to them, it needs to be treated as an inimical nation.
Yet, India has been engaged in a peace process with the very neighbour it knows is out to dismember it through any and every means available to it.
Is it any surprise that terrorists continue to attack India with impunity?
Contrast this with the way America has gone about its business since September 11, 2001, and you will see why that nation has not faced any attack in the last five years. Osama may fume and fret from his mountain hole, but there's little more than that he and his terrorist hordes have been able to achieve against the only remaining superpower.
That is because America understands that war can only be won through war, it cannot be won through peace, a belief India has been labouring under for so long. When the very articles of your liberty become your enemy's hand tools to destroy you, it is time to revise notions of liberty and freedom.
Civil liberties are for those who believe in civility and practice liberty, not inhuman monsters who think nothing of inflicting untold horror on innocents. It is only this week, almost five years later, that the US agreed to extend the Geneva Convention to its Guantanamo Bay detainees -- contrast that with how India treats those waging a war against it.
The tragedy with India is that successive governments have ignored one fact of life --India has been at war for many decades now. This is not an enemy who will come at you over the Khyber Pass; this is an invisible enemy who uses your own resources, your own freedoms, your own laxities, to hit at you. If you don't stop him first, he will stop you.
It is futile to blame Congress administrations alone for this sorry pass India has come to -- the National Democratic Alliance, which came to power with so much of machismo, proved no better before threats of terror.
Till we turn around, realise that those who fight India in the name of religion do not represent the millions who practice that faith, and fighting the terrorists is not fighting the practitioners, we are condemned to suffer terrorist attacks - again & again ...
AN END TO THIS FARCE.
The media & the government can't stop talking about the "spirit" of Mumbai. 98% attendance was reported in offices & workplaces the day after the blasts. This is not the "spirit" of Mumbai - it is the cruelty of the city that makes people go against conventional logic. The city waits for no one and for all "hand to mouth" people, there is no option but to work.The government can't jus go on praising the so called bravado of Mumbaikars and hide behind this facade. What Mumbai needs is not spirit from Mumbaikars, but SECURITY from the people we have elected.
Otherwise, the only thing left in Mumbai will be "spirit(s)".
MISDIRECTED ANGER & WHERE ARE THE HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS ?
One question - there were many people upset that a statue was desecrated in Sunday. They were so angry that they burnt buses, blocked roads, broke cars and stopped Mumbai's life for that day. Aren't they angry now ? Can't they direct their anger fruitfully in such a scenario ? Where are these people ?
Whenever a terrorist is sentenced to a harsh term or given a death sentence, many Human Rights Activists come to the fore demanding a lighter sentence, claiming that Death sentences go against protection of human rights. Well, shouldn't they come to the fore now. Is terrorism within the boundaries of protecting our HUMAN rights.
ENDNOTE
A massive Intel - op should be carried out, the masterminds behind these attacks should be caught - even if it means an end to peace processes with our neighbours. All of them should be killed in public & the act should be covered by the media. It's high time India made a statement. It's high time Mumbai made a headline other than "terorist attacks", "mumbai floods".
We can't take this anymore. and we shouldn't.
In New York on September 11, 2001, when twisted, horrific minds flew passenger jets into the Twin Towers. As a believer in the free world, I can never forget that day either. Or forgive those who wrought upon such terror on the rest of us.
I cannot but notice that the United States of America, which then declared its biggest offensive since Pearl Harbour and which action brought it tonnes and tonnes of international criticism -- not to mention unveiled threats of attack from Osama bin Laden, abduction of US nationals and their murder -- has not faced any terrorist attack since 9/11.
Whereas we in India have come to accept terrorist attacks on our soil as just another karmic fact of life -- no doubt with the same stoic acceptance that we took in invader after invader over centuries. Since 1993 Mumbai alone has faced at least 6 more terrorist strikes.
So what has the United States done that India did not?
For one, Uncle Sam displayed the majesty of the American State.
On the evening of September 11, 2001, as I sat glued to the television, US President George Bush addressed his nation in a measured and calm manner. Through the solace he offered his shell-shocked countrymen, he said: 'We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbour them.'
With these words America went to war.
I had waited all these years for the majesty of the Indian State to similarly display itself. I waited for it last night as well, and finally I saw the display.
On the streets of Mahim, close to where we work, the majesty of the Indian State was on full display as Congress president Sonia Gandhi accompanied by Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Railway Minister Lalu Yadav drove past, en route to the blast site. The news reporter counted 38+ cars in the motorcade that swept past, as other traffic on the road was kept frozen in place by the security phalanx. It was truly an impressive sight -? only, I couldn't help thinking, it was put on for someone who doesn't hold an office of authority. While the man who does, simply reviewed the security situation in the face of the Srinagar and Mumbai blasts, and directed that New Delhi's security be beefed up.
This was the majesty of the Indian State on display on Tuesday. I could have wept.
When somebody directs terror at you, nation-States are expected to hit back with maximum force, carry the fight into the enemy camp. It is not enough to possess unrelenting, unremitting muscle power -- it also becomes necessary, once in a while, to display that power. And not merely through caparisoned missiles parading down Janpath once a year, but by responding forcefully to challenges to the State's very existence.
All your nuclear weapons, your missiles, your tanks, come to nought when you don't have the steel in your soul to defend yourself and your subjects -- at any cost.
Has the Indian State done this? Ever?
The first serial blasts in Mumbai happened 13 years ago. Enough water has flowed into the Arabian Sea since then for the guilty to have spent part of their sentence in jail. But 13 years later even a fly has not been sentenced for the worst-ever terrorist attack in India. If you were a terrorist oiling your Kalashnikov and checking your grenades somewhere in the western sector, what exactly will you think of India?
What he does think is evident from the fact that in the last 13 years, Mumbai has faced six more terror attacks -- an average of one every two years. This, not counting the almost daily terrorist strikes in Jammu & Kashmir.
India believes, too, that the prime accused in the Mumbai blasts, Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, is a guest of the Pakistani establishment. Not only him, official lists of others accused of waging a war against India and hiding in Pakistan have periodically been handed over to that country. Ordinarily, you would think, if Pakistan is harbouring India's enemies, providing succour and sustenance to them, it needs to be treated as an inimical nation.
Yet, India has been engaged in a peace process with the very neighbour it knows is out to dismember it through any and every means available to it.
Is it any surprise that terrorists continue to attack India with impunity?
Contrast this with the way America has gone about its business since September 11, 2001, and you will see why that nation has not faced any attack in the last five years. Osama may fume and fret from his mountain hole, but there's little more than that he and his terrorist hordes have been able to achieve against the only remaining superpower.
That is because America understands that war can only be won through war, it cannot be won through peace, a belief India has been labouring under for so long. When the very articles of your liberty become your enemy's hand tools to destroy you, it is time to revise notions of liberty and freedom.
Civil liberties are for those who believe in civility and practice liberty, not inhuman monsters who think nothing of inflicting untold horror on innocents. It is only this week, almost five years later, that the US agreed to extend the Geneva Convention to its Guantanamo Bay detainees -- contrast that with how India treats those waging a war against it.
The tragedy with India is that successive governments have ignored one fact of life --India has been at war for many decades now. This is not an enemy who will come at you over the Khyber Pass; this is an invisible enemy who uses your own resources, your own freedoms, your own laxities, to hit at you. If you don't stop him first, he will stop you.
It is futile to blame Congress administrations alone for this sorry pass India has come to -- the National Democratic Alliance, which came to power with so much of machismo, proved no better before threats of terror.
Till we turn around, realise that those who fight India in the name of religion do not represent the millions who practice that faith, and fighting the terrorists is not fighting the practitioners, we are condemned to suffer terrorist attacks - again & again ...
AN END TO THIS FARCE.
The media & the government can't stop talking about the "spirit" of Mumbai. 98% attendance was reported in offices & workplaces the day after the blasts. This is not the "spirit" of Mumbai - it is the cruelty of the city that makes people go against conventional logic. The city waits for no one and for all "hand to mouth" people, there is no option but to work.The government can't jus go on praising the so called bravado of Mumbaikars and hide behind this facade. What Mumbai needs is not spirit from Mumbaikars, but SECURITY from the people we have elected.
Otherwise, the only thing left in Mumbai will be "spirit(s)".
MISDIRECTED ANGER & WHERE ARE THE HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS ?
One question - there were many people upset that a statue was desecrated in Sunday. They were so angry that they burnt buses, blocked roads, broke cars and stopped Mumbai's life for that day. Aren't they angry now ? Can't they direct their anger fruitfully in such a scenario ? Where are these people ?
Whenever a terrorist is sentenced to a harsh term or given a death sentence, many Human Rights Activists come to the fore demanding a lighter sentence, claiming that Death sentences go against protection of human rights. Well, shouldn't they come to the fore now. Is terrorism within the boundaries of protecting our HUMAN rights.
ENDNOTE
A massive Intel - op should be carried out, the masterminds behind these attacks should be caught - even if it means an end to peace processes with our neighbours. All of them should be killed in public & the act should be covered by the media. It's high time India made a statement. It's high time Mumbai made a headline other than "terorist attacks", "mumbai floods".
We can't take this anymore. and we shouldn't.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
It's a bird . . It's a plane .... No ! ! .. It's ..
SUPERMAN . . Yes, Superman Returns, and How.
I caught the movie last wekend and loved it. Complete with action, plenty of odes to the Richard Donner 1978 original and with a leading man having an uncanny resemblance to Christopher Reeve. This certainly makes for a fantastic movie-watching experience.
Now, as is the case with all Huge movies - Gossip happens. For publicity, promotion, creating a buzz etc. Well, while browsing through Superman gossip, i came upon a segment -
"how is superman different from other super heroes ?" .
Here i would like to mention a quote from "Kill Bill" - one of my favourites and undoubtedly the movie having the best written dialogues. Tarantino - Im a FAN !
Anyways, in this particular sequence, Bill(David Carradine) is speaking to the Bride (Uma Thurman), when this quote is made :
"An essential characteristic of the superhero mythology is, there's the superhero, and there's the alter ego. Batman is actually Bruce Wayne, Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker. When he wakes up in the morning, he's Peter Parker. He has to put on a costume to become Spider-Man. And it is in that characteristic that Superman stands alone. Superman did not become Superman, Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he's Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red "S", that's the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears, the glasses, the business suit, that's the costume. That's the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent? He's weak, he's unsure of himself... he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race."
This sums it up for me. It is beautiful & very very true.
Well, if this analogy is too deep for you, you can always read that article i read where the major distinction between superman & other super heroes was mentioned by the author as :
"Superman is a true superhero as he does not hide his face behind masks like other super heroes !"
Wow !
Now, why didn't Mr. Tarantino think of this ? ?
I caught the movie last wekend and loved it. Complete with action, plenty of odes to the Richard Donner 1978 original and with a leading man having an uncanny resemblance to Christopher Reeve. This certainly makes for a fantastic movie-watching experience.
Now, as is the case with all Huge movies - Gossip happens. For publicity, promotion, creating a buzz etc. Well, while browsing through Superman gossip, i came upon a segment -
"how is superman different from other super heroes ?" .
Here i would like to mention a quote from "Kill Bill" - one of my favourites and undoubtedly the movie having the best written dialogues. Tarantino - Im a FAN !
Anyways, in this particular sequence, Bill(David Carradine) is speaking to the Bride (Uma Thurman), when this quote is made :
"An essential characteristic of the superhero mythology is, there's the superhero, and there's the alter ego. Batman is actually Bruce Wayne, Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker. When he wakes up in the morning, he's Peter Parker. He has to put on a costume to become Spider-Man. And it is in that characteristic that Superman stands alone. Superman did not become Superman, Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he's Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red "S", that's the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears, the glasses, the business suit, that's the costume. That's the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent? He's weak, he's unsure of himself... he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race."
This sums it up for me. It is beautiful & very very true.
Well, if this analogy is too deep for you, you can always read that article i read where the major distinction between superman & other super heroes was mentioned by the author as :
"Superman is a true superhero as he does not hide his face behind masks like other super heroes !"
Wow !
Now, why didn't Mr. Tarantino think of this ? ?
Monday, June 26, 2006
Fanaa's 90 crores & why it doesn't surprise me !
I read an ad in Bombay Times last week:
Fanaa - Worldwide collections Rs.90 crores (excluding Gujarat & still counting)
Fanaa may well be the highest grossing Hindi Film ever in Bollywood history (I am not too sure of the collections of HAHK & DDLJ, but i think Fanaa has far surpassed them).
It makes you wonder that How, an average scripta at best managed to fool so many people worldwide to watch the movie more than once. ( i believe you have to watch a film atleast twice for it to make mind numbing collections) & i came up with a few answers.
1. Aamir , after RDB is as HOT as he was after DCH & Lagaan, if not more. Also, Aamir has a thing for huge openings. Even the much maligned Mangal Pandey opened to a 19 crore opening weekend, which was the biggest ever, till Fanaa came along with an outrageous Rs.32 crore opening weekend. Also RDB was a universal hit, loved by all generations and highly influential for the youth.
2. Kajol returns ! ! ! . DDLJ, Ishq, Baazigar, KKHH, K3G . . disappearance . We all loved her. Film makers sweared by her. Karan JOhar called her the best heroine of this era, the next one coming 10 spots down. she was sweet, effervescent, bubbly, lovable and so not a typical Bollywood heroine .... AND SHE WAS RETURNING ! ! !
3. KAJOL WITH AAMIR ! ! !.Aamir post RDB ... Kajol, post retirement and weight loss - a match made in heaven. Never paired before, as fresh as ... well, themselves ... and both astounding actors, able to hold the fort on their own ..
well, if all this wasn't enough, along came the Narmada controversy ...Aamir has a thing for timing ...
i ask - his stand on the narmada issue had to do with his experiences while shootng in Bhuj, right. well, Lagaan released in 2001. Why was he silent for 5 years ?. and , where is he now ?
Movie made money. that's it. that's his cause.
anyways, it was good he stood up for it, coz whatever his intentions might be, it led to a movement culminating in a righteous Supreme Court Order.
Well, after so much pulicity, including free publicity through the news channels due to Gujarat controversy, the movie got the response it wanted, deserved or not. the Gujarat govt, by banning Fanaa in their State, enabled it to generate curiosity leading to collections elsewhere more than it would have garnered in a normal scenario.
so, Fanaa races to rs. 90 crores in a month. Its still huge. Well, not many must have hated the movie like i did. After all only the script was BAD. Acting was superlative and it was a trear for shayari lovers like me ... and then there was KAJOL .... i love her.
anyways, Fanaa's record wont remain a record for long, i believe.There is a spate of Big Budget, Big Banner movies lined up this year.
Krrish (see next post)
KANK
Don
Omkara
Corporate
Saanwariya
Sholay
although only Krrish, Kank, Saanwariya and maybe Don will be able to match Fanaa and go beyond.
Lets hope for a Bumper year for Bollywood, as that will increase more corporates to enter the industry and we will get better made films.
for now, ho jaao Fanaa . . . .
Fanaa - Worldwide collections Rs.90 crores (excluding Gujarat & still counting)
Fanaa may well be the highest grossing Hindi Film ever in Bollywood history (I am not too sure of the collections of HAHK & DDLJ, but i think Fanaa has far surpassed them).
It makes you wonder that How, an average scripta at best managed to fool so many people worldwide to watch the movie more than once. ( i believe you have to watch a film atleast twice for it to make mind numbing collections) & i came up with a few answers.
1. Aamir , after RDB is as HOT as he was after DCH & Lagaan, if not more. Also, Aamir has a thing for huge openings. Even the much maligned Mangal Pandey opened to a 19 crore opening weekend, which was the biggest ever, till Fanaa came along with an outrageous Rs.32 crore opening weekend. Also RDB was a universal hit, loved by all generations and highly influential for the youth.
2. Kajol returns ! ! ! . DDLJ, Ishq, Baazigar, KKHH, K3G . . disappearance . We all loved her. Film makers sweared by her. Karan JOhar called her the best heroine of this era, the next one coming 10 spots down. she was sweet, effervescent, bubbly, lovable and so not a typical Bollywood heroine .... AND SHE WAS RETURNING ! ! !
3. KAJOL WITH AAMIR ! ! !.Aamir post RDB ... Kajol, post retirement and weight loss - a match made in heaven. Never paired before, as fresh as ... well, themselves ... and both astounding actors, able to hold the fort on their own ..
well, if all this wasn't enough, along came the Narmada controversy ...Aamir has a thing for timing ...
i ask - his stand on the narmada issue had to do with his experiences while shootng in Bhuj, right. well, Lagaan released in 2001. Why was he silent for 5 years ?. and , where is he now ?
Movie made money. that's it. that's his cause.
anyways, it was good he stood up for it, coz whatever his intentions might be, it led to a movement culminating in a righteous Supreme Court Order.
Well, after so much pulicity, including free publicity through the news channels due to Gujarat controversy, the movie got the response it wanted, deserved or not. the Gujarat govt, by banning Fanaa in their State, enabled it to generate curiosity leading to collections elsewhere more than it would have garnered in a normal scenario.
so, Fanaa races to rs. 90 crores in a month. Its still huge. Well, not many must have hated the movie like i did. After all only the script was BAD. Acting was superlative and it was a trear for shayari lovers like me ... and then there was KAJOL .... i love her.
anyways, Fanaa's record wont remain a record for long, i believe.There is a spate of Big Budget, Big Banner movies lined up this year.
Krrish (see next post)
KANK
Don
Omkara
Corporate
Saanwariya
Sholay
although only Krrish, Kank, Saanwariya and maybe Don will be able to match Fanaa and go beyond.
Lets hope for a Bumper year for Bollywood, as that will increase more corporates to enter the industry and we will get better made films.
for now, ho jaao Fanaa . . . .
STEEL-Y RESOLVE
It's a story straight out of a movie script.
Lakshmi Niwas Mittal has finally brought about the Mittal Steel - Arcelor merger.It took him all of 2006 till now to finally end a saga of offers, rejections, meetings, allegations, etc. an how did he manage it - well, to quote Don Corleone from The Godfather, made immortal on screen by Marlon Brando - "he made them an offer they couldn't refuse".
At $32.5 billion, this is the biggest ever Steel merger. It will be called Arcelor-Mittal and will produce over 100 million metric tonnes of steel every year, which is more than thrice the production of the next biggest company - Nippon Steel (32 mio mt)
This is a highly sweetened offer as compared to Mittal's $22.7 original offer.Despite loads of resistance from the Board, Mittal persisted and it paid off, and how ! !
Let me share with you another piece of information i've gathered over the last 2 days. This is the story of how Mr.Mittal decided to buy Arcelor in the first plac. It was his son, Aditya Mittal's idea. Here is how the conversation goes, in a nutshell.
LNM - Lakshmi Niwas Mittal AM - Aditya Mittal
LNM: Son, Ispat steel has accepted my final offer.
AM: you had to up it considerably from our original offer, right dad ?
LNM: Yes, with Arcelor also bidding, we had to make an offer which was out of their reach !
AM: Dad, lets avoid such bidding wars in the future. Let's just buy whole of Arcelor !
LNM: Good Idea Adi, I ll just talk it out with my M&A guys. Let's buy Arcelor.
Well, the power of money, simply the power of money would enable you make make such outrageous statements - "Dad, let's buy Arcelor" .. as if he's buying the newest bicycle in the market ! !.
Anyways, this is not the end to the Mittal metal saga ... It's only a new beginning.
Lakshmi Niwas Mittal has finally brought about the Mittal Steel - Arcelor merger.It took him all of 2006 till now to finally end a saga of offers, rejections, meetings, allegations, etc. an how did he manage it - well, to quote Don Corleone from The Godfather, made immortal on screen by Marlon Brando - "he made them an offer they couldn't refuse".
At $32.5 billion, this is the biggest ever Steel merger. It will be called Arcelor-Mittal and will produce over 100 million metric tonnes of steel every year, which is more than thrice the production of the next biggest company - Nippon Steel (32 mio mt)
This is a highly sweetened offer as compared to Mittal's $22.7 original offer.Despite loads of resistance from the Board, Mittal persisted and it paid off, and how ! !
Let me share with you another piece of information i've gathered over the last 2 days. This is the story of how Mr.Mittal decided to buy Arcelor in the first plac. It was his son, Aditya Mittal's idea. Here is how the conversation goes, in a nutshell.
LNM - Lakshmi Niwas Mittal AM - Aditya Mittal
LNM: Son, Ispat steel has accepted my final offer.
AM: you had to up it considerably from our original offer, right dad ?
LNM: Yes, with Arcelor also bidding, we had to make an offer which was out of their reach !
AM: Dad, lets avoid such bidding wars in the future. Let's just buy whole of Arcelor !
LNM: Good Idea Adi, I ll just talk it out with my M&A guys. Let's buy Arcelor.
Well, the power of money, simply the power of money would enable you make make such outrageous statements - "Dad, let's buy Arcelor" .. as if he's buying the newest bicycle in the market ! !.
Anyways, this is not the end to the Mittal metal saga ... It's only a new beginning.
Friday, June 16, 2006
Let me put it this way ! !
hey guys, i ve written a chapter (the first chapter , actually) from a book i propose to write ...
tell me what you feel ... here goes ...
Chapter I : It’s all gotta start somewhere . .
“Ma, breakfast”
“Drink your milk first while reading the paper”
“No milk today, it’s Saturday !”
“Nice try. Naam lidhu chhe etle have pee le”
End of argument. The same way it ends everyday. God knows what is it with moms and milk.
Anyways, I took my mug of milk and sat at the table glancing through the morning papers. I started all my days the same way – going through all the news papers I get. TOI, Mumbai Mirror, BT & Eco Times.
I read Mirror at the end, my favourite part being Page 32 – ask the sexpert !
i am a 25 year old woman and have the following questions: 1. How does one get pregnant? 2. Is the stroking of the clitoris necessary in order to get pregnant? 3.should the stroking be done before or after sex?
????????. are ther still such dumb people ?.
Anyways, as I was reading other enlightening stuff on page 32, I felt a familiar tingling feeling in my pants again – my cell phone was vibrating. Varun.
“hey”
“listen, I have a problem. You can help me”
“tell me”
What I heard from him next was one of the most preposterous & stupid ideas ever to get out of the ‘problem’ he had. I decided to humour him.
“you sound crazy”
“hey, I don’t have much to play with here. Let’s go for it”
“have you spoken to her?”
“hey, I was hoping you would do that”.
I was not going to go there, nope.”Varun, she’ll think I’m joking. It’s better you tell her”
“ok”
“call her post 12. she has a clinic today”
“done. bye.”
I finished the newspapers and left for office, completely forgetting about the phone call. It was just not possible. Ha !
By the way, I’m Mihir, and this is a story about me. . . .Me & Her.
tell me what you feel ... here goes ...
Chapter I : It’s all gotta start somewhere . .
“Ma, breakfast”
“Drink your milk first while reading the paper”
“No milk today, it’s Saturday !”
“Nice try. Naam lidhu chhe etle have pee le”
End of argument. The same way it ends everyday. God knows what is it with moms and milk.
Anyways, I took my mug of milk and sat at the table glancing through the morning papers. I started all my days the same way – going through all the news papers I get. TOI, Mumbai Mirror, BT & Eco Times.
I read Mirror at the end, my favourite part being Page 32 – ask the sexpert !
i am a 25 year old woman and have the following questions: 1. How does one get pregnant? 2. Is the stroking of the clitoris necessary in order to get pregnant? 3.should the stroking be done before or after sex?
????????. are ther still such dumb people ?.
Anyways, as I was reading other enlightening stuff on page 32, I felt a familiar tingling feeling in my pants again – my cell phone was vibrating. Varun.
“hey”
“listen, I have a problem. You can help me”
“tell me”
What I heard from him next was one of the most preposterous & stupid ideas ever to get out of the ‘problem’ he had. I decided to humour him.
“you sound crazy”
“hey, I don’t have much to play with here. Let’s go for it”
“have you spoken to her?”
“hey, I was hoping you would do that”.
I was not going to go there, nope.”Varun, she’ll think I’m joking. It’s better you tell her”
“ok”
“call her post 12. she has a clinic today”
“done. bye.”
I finished the newspapers and left for office, completely forgetting about the phone call. It was just not possible. Ha !
By the way, I’m Mihir, and this is a story about me. . . .Me & Her.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Being Twenty . . . . . .
They call it the "Quarter-life Crisis." It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are many things about yourself that you didn't know and may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.
You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever met, and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you don't recognize is that they are realizing that too, and aren't really cold, catty, mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you. maybe the one's u dint like in the beginning are the one's that are genuine, caring friends.
You look at your job... and it is not even close to what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you.
Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your list of what is acceptable and what isn't. One minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure. You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life.
You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.
You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you. Or you lie in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough that you want to get to know better. Or maybe you love someone but love someone else too and cannot figure out why you are doing this because you know that you aren't a bad person.
One night stands and random hook ups start to look cheap. Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic.
You go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry about loans, money, the future and making a life for yourself... and while winning the race would be great, right now you'd just like to be a contender!
What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out.
figuring this thing out would definitely be easier with someone you can trust, rely on & as its proverbially said " call any time of the night" ..
find that person/persons ... they might be closer than yu think ... you dont need to look far, just look more intensely at the current sight.
You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever met, and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you don't recognize is that they are realizing that too, and aren't really cold, catty, mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you. maybe the one's u dint like in the beginning are the one's that are genuine, caring friends.
You look at your job... and it is not even close to what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you.
Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your list of what is acceptable and what isn't. One minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure. You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life.
You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.
You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you. Or you lie in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough that you want to get to know better. Or maybe you love someone but love someone else too and cannot figure out why you are doing this because you know that you aren't a bad person.
One night stands and random hook ups start to look cheap. Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic.
You go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry about loans, money, the future and making a life for yourself... and while winning the race would be great, right now you'd just like to be a contender!
What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out.
figuring this thing out would definitely be easier with someone you can trust, rely on & as its proverbially said " call any time of the night" ..
find that person/persons ... they might be closer than yu think ... you dont need to look far, just look more intensely at the current sight.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
C.E.L.E.B.R.A.T.I.O.N.S. ! ! ! !
Think events - birthdays, anniversaries, monthi-versaries(all young people in relationships will know exactly what i mean), engagements, weddings, bachelor parties, first job/first paycheck parties, baby showers etc ..the list goes on & on ...
Think celebrations - lavish parties, large no. of people ... catering, lavish luncheons or dinners, bashes ... lots of money involved ...
Now, let me tell u about a family i know of very closely
they are a family of 3 - husband, wife & a child ... i am a very good friend of their child n they take me as a second son ..
Now, uncle recently turned 45 & for their celebrations, invited me also ..
i reached their place at 7 30 in the evening .. wished uncle, spent some time doing tp at their place till everyone was ready to leave..
we left their building, went to a nearby fruit vendor & bought 10 dozen bananas ! ! ! ..
i was scared (lol) ... & i asked them exactly how they were planning to celebrate the day in a mocking fun-filled tone ...
Uncle just looked at me with kind eyes without replying ...
we were supposed to go to a modest restaurant 20 minutes away by foot ..now, normally i dont mind walking, but i was in formals - good clothes & expensive shoes... but, it wasn't my call...so we walked ...
on the way, there is a portion of the road covered with poor people's hutments ... we went to each hutment & gave a banana to each person living there ...1 banana per person ... throughout the road ... we gave food to a hundred & twenty people ...
they were soo .... happy to see us , thanking us ... a couple of kids even sayin "thank you uncle" in their very broken english ... it was the happiest moment of the day for me ...
seeing all these people so helpless & realising that a very small thing like this could make them so.... happy - it was a lesson for me ...
i realised how i wasted money in "enjoyment" all the times i decided to "celebrate" ... What i did that day was more enjoyable, satisfying, the most fulfilling thing i ever did as a "celebration" ....
Celebrations need not me lavish ... they can be the most simple & still bring happiness to you.. also, the feeling of making people happy in such a way is just incomparable ..
from that day onwards, i decided to spend a certain % of my meagre monthly earnings on such things ... there are a lot of things to do, once u start to take interest ...
doing good to other human beings is the biggest religion...
about that night, well we had dinner at a nice-ish restaurant & also walked all the way back, me enjoying each n every bit of it.... all in my formal shoes ... ! ! !
Think celebrations - lavish parties, large no. of people ... catering, lavish luncheons or dinners, bashes ... lots of money involved ...
Now, let me tell u about a family i know of very closely
they are a family of 3 - husband, wife & a child ... i am a very good friend of their child n they take me as a second son ..
Now, uncle recently turned 45 & for their celebrations, invited me also ..
i reached their place at 7 30 in the evening .. wished uncle, spent some time doing tp at their place till everyone was ready to leave..
we left their building, went to a nearby fruit vendor & bought 10 dozen bananas ! ! ! ..
i was scared (lol) ... & i asked them exactly how they were planning to celebrate the day in a mocking fun-filled tone ...
Uncle just looked at me with kind eyes without replying ...
we were supposed to go to a modest restaurant 20 minutes away by foot ..now, normally i dont mind walking, but i was in formals - good clothes & expensive shoes... but, it wasn't my call...so we walked ...
on the way, there is a portion of the road covered with poor people's hutments ... we went to each hutment & gave a banana to each person living there ...1 banana per person ... throughout the road ... we gave food to a hundred & twenty people ...
they were soo .... happy to see us , thanking us ... a couple of kids even sayin "thank you uncle" in their very broken english ... it was the happiest moment of the day for me ...
seeing all these people so helpless & realising that a very small thing like this could make them so.... happy - it was a lesson for me ...
i realised how i wasted money in "enjoyment" all the times i decided to "celebrate" ... What i did that day was more enjoyable, satisfying, the most fulfilling thing i ever did as a "celebration" ....
Celebrations need not me lavish ... they can be the most simple & still bring happiness to you.. also, the feeling of making people happy in such a way is just incomparable ..
from that day onwards, i decided to spend a certain % of my meagre monthly earnings on such things ... there are a lot of things to do, once u start to take interest ...
doing good to other human beings is the biggest religion...
about that night, well we had dinner at a nice-ish restaurant & also walked all the way back, me enjoying each n every bit of it.... all in my formal shoes ... ! ! !
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Chhoti Chhoti Baatein . . . .
i have lost both my grandfathers (maternal & paternal) over the last 3 months.
They were both old, but not ready to leave this world ... they fought against disease all they could befor succumbing to its powers ...
i believe they are in a better place now .. god bless your souls..
Like many youngsters in current day Mumbai, i stayed in a nuclear family, away from my grandparents..
Inspite of many efforts of my parents to make me do so, i did not stay much in touch with my grandparents..
it was always "later mom"... "not today, im tired.. had a lot to do in college"..."im too sleepy, i ll meet them 1st thing tomo morning" ..
i never realised tht "later", "tomo morning" etc never came ...
yes, i did meet them on occasions - birthdays - mine, theirs, anniversaries, festivals .. before my exams, after my results .. etc ... always for a purpose.. wishing them, taking their blessings ..etc..
never did i go meet them jus for saying .."kem chho ba, dada" ...
it is these things that matter ..
after my dada's death, i missed him like hell ..
i remembered the things he did for me when i was a child ... the things i thought were normal, i expected them from him, never realising tht these are the things that are most special ..
like ... when ther was a cricket match and i had school, he would watch the match for me, keep a track of scores, wickets, batting n bowling figures etc, write them all for me so that i could read it n get a feel of the whole match... it had become a done thing for me ... i would even get upset at him for not doing this, never realising how sweet he was to do this .. i had taken all this for granted ..
now, after his death i miss umpteen such things ...
i along with my mom n dad was going through his cupboard looking for important papers, documents etc ... i found something tht made me cry ..
i had some years back topped in a prestigious exam ...
filed meticulously among other important documents of dadaji was a xerox of th marksheet and passing certificate of that exam ! ! ...
i dint even recollect when i had given it to him ...
im cryin while writing this ...
it reminds one of tht Times Of India ad with an old guy replacing a newspaper cutting of him being dropped from th hocke team with a cutting saying tht his grandson is selected ...
i also found a letter i had written to him in gujarati ( as a part of school projects, when we were taught how to write letters) ...
it was just a minor thing i had done coz it was told to us by the teacher "write a letter to ur grandparents... "
it was for us to learn how to write, stick a stamp, post a letter etc ...
he had saved this letter for over 14 years .. the only letter i had written to him ...
i miss him now ... n i regret not having spent time with him when he was here .. among us ..
so, for all people u r close to ... u love ... find time for them ... forget any misunderstandings .. be with them ...
life's not too short ... but it passes by quite fast .. u dont even realise it .. time once gone doesn come back
spend ur time in such a way tht u dont regret doing certain things later ..
and yes, for all those who are still lucky to have both their grandparents, meet them, spend time with them, talk to them ... they deserve that and much more ..
bcoz all they've done for u ... u ll never be able to giv back to them ..
remember these chhoti si baatein ...
They were both old, but not ready to leave this world ... they fought against disease all they could befor succumbing to its powers ...
i believe they are in a better place now .. god bless your souls..
Like many youngsters in current day Mumbai, i stayed in a nuclear family, away from my grandparents..
Inspite of many efforts of my parents to make me do so, i did not stay much in touch with my grandparents..
it was always "later mom"... "not today, im tired.. had a lot to do in college"..."im too sleepy, i ll meet them 1st thing tomo morning" ..
i never realised tht "later", "tomo morning" etc never came ...
yes, i did meet them on occasions - birthdays - mine, theirs, anniversaries, festivals .. before my exams, after my results .. etc ... always for a purpose.. wishing them, taking their blessings ..etc..
never did i go meet them jus for saying .."kem chho ba, dada" ...
it is these things that matter ..
after my dada's death, i missed him like hell ..
i remembered the things he did for me when i was a child ... the things i thought were normal, i expected them from him, never realising tht these are the things that are most special ..
like ... when ther was a cricket match and i had school, he would watch the match for me, keep a track of scores, wickets, batting n bowling figures etc, write them all for me so that i could read it n get a feel of the whole match... it had become a done thing for me ... i would even get upset at him for not doing this, never realising how sweet he was to do this .. i had taken all this for granted ..
now, after his death i miss umpteen such things ...
i along with my mom n dad was going through his cupboard looking for important papers, documents etc ... i found something tht made me cry ..
i had some years back topped in a prestigious exam ...
filed meticulously among other important documents of dadaji was a xerox of th marksheet and passing certificate of that exam ! ! ...
i dint even recollect when i had given it to him ...
im cryin while writing this ...
it reminds one of tht Times Of India ad with an old guy replacing a newspaper cutting of him being dropped from th hocke team with a cutting saying tht his grandson is selected ...
i also found a letter i had written to him in gujarati ( as a part of school projects, when we were taught how to write letters) ...
it was just a minor thing i had done coz it was told to us by the teacher "write a letter to ur grandparents... "
it was for us to learn how to write, stick a stamp, post a letter etc ...
he had saved this letter for over 14 years .. the only letter i had written to him ...
i miss him now ... n i regret not having spent time with him when he was here .. among us ..
so, for all people u r close to ... u love ... find time for them ... forget any misunderstandings .. be with them ...
life's not too short ... but it passes by quite fast .. u dont even realise it .. time once gone doesn come back
spend ur time in such a way tht u dont regret doing certain things later ..
and yes, for all those who are still lucky to have both their grandparents, meet them, spend time with them, talk to them ... they deserve that and much more ..
bcoz all they've done for u ... u ll never be able to giv back to them ..
remember these chhoti si baatein ...
Monday, March 13, 2006
what gumption ??
hey.. continuing from my last post ..
as regards the chase of South Africa ... i applaud the sheer guts of the team to even think of going for the target.
what must have been their team talk during the lunch interval ..??
what gumption ?? .. its something we all can learn from ..
no matter what the opposition, what the challenges ahead of us.. what the odds against us, it doesnt harm to try,it doesnt harm to go against conventional logic ..
as they say, "if u reach for the moon, u might fall down ... but u wont end up with a handful of mud either " ...
Basic Funda for the day " Keep tryin till u succeed... if u fail once, twice, thrice... keep trying ... if u fail more, remove all evidence that you tried " ;-)
til later
MSK
as regards the chase of South Africa ... i applaud the sheer guts of the team to even think of going for the target.
what must have been their team talk during the lunch interval ..??
what gumption ?? .. its something we all can learn from ..
no matter what the opposition, what the challenges ahead of us.. what the odds against us, it doesnt harm to try,it doesnt harm to go against conventional logic ..
as they say, "if u reach for the moon, u might fall down ... but u wont end up with a handful of mud either " ...
Basic Funda for the day " Keep tryin till u succeed... if u fail once, twice, thrice... keep trying ... if u fail more, remove all evidence that you tried " ;-)
til later
MSK
Sunday, March 12, 2006
On my way . . . .
well... im well n truly lost on my way..
way to where ?? i dont know... lets see if i reach the destination, find out the destination first.
umm.. yesterday was a special day.. a special day for cricket..
no superlatives can do justice, so i ll let the figures speak for themselves.
1 match, 2 teams, 99.5 overs, 872 runs scored, 87 fours, 26 sixes, 175 n 164 being the highest individual scores for the two teams.
the losing side scored 434/4 and the winning side 438/9 batting second.
Man ! ! ! , i was lucky to have watched it. it was a once in a lifetime match..
anyways, moving on ...
i am a student of Chartered Accountancy.. currently doing my articleship with Deloitte.
its glad to be here..
i ll be back later..
ciao
way to where ?? i dont know... lets see if i reach the destination, find out the destination first.
umm.. yesterday was a special day.. a special day for cricket..
no superlatives can do justice, so i ll let the figures speak for themselves.
1 match, 2 teams, 99.5 overs, 872 runs scored, 87 fours, 26 sixes, 175 n 164 being the highest individual scores for the two teams.
the losing side scored 434/4 and the winning side 438/9 batting second.
Man ! ! ! , i was lucky to have watched it. it was a once in a lifetime match..
anyways, moving on ...
i am a student of Chartered Accountancy.. currently doing my articleship with Deloitte.
its glad to be here..
i ll be back later..
ciao
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