Layman Rants...

Rushdie @ Café Rustom

2012-01-26T06:56:00.000-08:00

Ram was sitting at Chacha Rustom’s chaicorner, sipping his third ‘chai’ on an unusually chilled January Mumbai morningwhen a visibly infuriated Rahim walked in and took a seat next to him.

Ram was too busy on his phone to noticeRahim’s state of mind and thus began without even looking up, “What do you makeof this Salman Rushdie issue at…”

“How can I make anything of it yaar??”, shotback Rahim; even before Ram could complete his lazy paced question.

Ram looked up as Rahim continued, “I havenot read a single book written by Rushdie! I don’t even know what this bookthat they are objecting to is all about but still I am supposed to object!!”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“My father was angry at me because I didnot abuse Rushdie along with him at the morning breakfast! Arre… all I said was…have all the people protesting the book read that book? Is it worth making sucha big deal of it… in the process making a fool out of yourself and making anaverage writer into a hero?” went on Rahim.

Rustom chacha who often joined the boys forthis morning tea ritual came in with a chai for Rahim, one for himself alongwith the age old gujrati newspaper- that showcased Rushdie’s photo on its coverpage today!

Ram longingly looked at the steaming cup ofchai in Chacha’s old yet manicured hands, but while his heart craved for afourth cup, his intestines withdrew rapidly at the mere thought of it!

Chacha had overheard Rahim’s rant likeeveryone else in the ten seater café!

“See…” began Chacha, making himselfcomfortable in his 50 year old wooden chair, “It is not about right and wrongson. It is about the necessary and the unnecessary. It may not be right tocondemn an author for writing what he does but it is necessary to bring a manwho writes badly about any religion. Such people should not be encouraged. Theyshould fear of doing such low acts”

“So you are against Salman Rusdhie comingto India?”, enquired Ram.

“Of course I am”, said Chacha.

“But the only thing you read is yourGujrati newspaper! How do you know if Rushdie indeed wrote anything offensive?”,questioned Rahim.

“Oh that is not the question anymore… Hewrote bad things- that is confirmed! Now the question is should he be allowedto get away with it or not. I say… why should he? Write shit about film stars,cricketers, terrorists... Why our God?” Chacha was clear. No doubts, noconfusion.

Another gentleman whom neither of them knewchipped in, “That Rushdie is also of bad character. Old man with no hair andwanting to have all sexy woman around. Do you know he is having sex with allyoung models there?”

“What has that got to do with…”, Rahim wasgetting disturbed.

“There you go… Tell me why you youngsterswaste energy in defending a man with such dirty character?”, asked a relaxedand well meaning Chacha.

“But it is about once freedom of speech…”said a weak looking Rahim but Ram stepped in, “Do you know the amount of publicity you’llhave given him with your protests and objections? Thanks to you all, his booksare selling more! Had you’ll not made him an household name he would have noteven become half of what he today has!”

“No no...The thing is he or anyone elsewill not write bad about Islam ever again.”

“So you are saying that because you allmade such a big hue and cry about an average author’s barely known book, as aresult of which his book sales have gone up and he has become a brand name… noone else would want to write controversial things about Islam?”

Chacha thought it over, he did not seamthat releaxed anymore but persisted meakly, “But he wrote bad things about…”

Meanwhile, another young bloke who waswitness to all of the above decided he was surely going to get his hands onthis book to find out what the fuss was all about!

The End.

Jism 2- Exposing the body or pseudo morals?

2012-01-09T06:57:00.000-08:00

For every insane voice there is a sane one!

Below is- JusticeKatju's press release on complaints received by the I & B ministry aboutSunny Leone.

The following press release not only conveys to us a 'learned and refined perspective' but more importantly helps 'us' understand the 'true' spirit of who we are or would like ourselves to be!

Read on…

Press Release

Sunny Leone not an outcast – Justice Markandey Katju
   Ch.PR/Misc/4/2012           Dated: 9.1.2012
   14/443/11-12-PCI

I have received a complaint made by one Shri Dev Ashish Bhattacharya toSmt. Ambika Soni, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting with copyendorsed to me. This complaint is regarding inaction of the BroadcastConsumers Complaint Council (BCCC) of IBF regarding cross promotion by TVchannel Colors of porn actress Sunny Leone.

       In this connection my opinion is thatSunny Leone was earning her livelihood in USA in a manner acceptable in thatcountry, though it is not acceptable in India. Hence if she conductsherself in India in a manner which is socially acceptable in India and does notbreach the social moral code in India, we should not treat her as a socialoutcast. I have not been shown anything to suggest that she is indulgingin pornography while in India. Hence we should not condemn her for her past.

       Lord Buddha stayed with the courtesanAmrapali and ate food served by her, and she later became his disciple. Similarly, Mary Magdalene was a fallen women (according to theGospel of Luke as interpreted by Pope Gregory) and Jesus allowed her to washhis feet and she later became his disciple.

    Moreover, there is no saint without a past and no sinnerwithout a future. We Indians are broad minded people and should thereforetake the matter in that spirit.

            (Markandey Katju)
            Chairman

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Flash Mob and the Bollywood Dance Number!

2011-12-14T01:52:00.000-08:00

"How can 20 people suddenly appear to dance behind the hero from no where and that too dance with synchronized steps??", said my US returned cousin to me three years back when he learnt that i intended to make my living out of writing Hindi feature films. Couple of my south Bombay friends agreed unanimously with him at the atrocious nature of such a- "crime!" "Come on man", began one of them, "it is demented to suddenly have people dance like that! Whats the point?!"
I tried the usual reasoning with them, from 'cinema' being a fantasy to the fact that it was fictional and an exaggerated representation of joy or sorrow. They found it retarded!

Three weeks back they showed me some clips on their 'macs.' They were excited about the whole thing. It was what they called- "Flash Mobs"!
"Check this out, bro", gushed one, "200 people suddenly getting together and dancing in synchronized steps, as the guy proposes to his girl friend! Cool Na?"
"Look at the thrill on the faces of people watching man!" swooned the other!
I smiled. I agreed. I smiled more!!

I did not know about flash mobs until the last week of November this year. When i saw the clip Flash Mob @ CST - i loved it and could not help notice the similarity between a flash mob and a Bollywood number!

In both instances the mob appears out of nowhere for the sole reason to have fun. After having done that they disappear as soon as they appeared without any rhyme or reason!! There is no logic to it. There is no reason except for the pure joy of having fun. How only if the purist could be understanding of films as they are of life... or NO!...even there they just claim to be!

All the same, the only difference between the flash mob and a Bollywood number as i see it is that while flash mob (as per wiki) started in 2003, the Bollywood dance number would be completing a 100 years within the next decade!

Cool man??!

What is the truth?

2011-10-04T23:28:00.000-07:00

It isimperative to want to have an opinion on things happening around us andinvariably we do end up having one. But it is a matter of intrigue to me andalso a matter of constant concern as to how much of the truth do we know beforereaching an opinion.

We allknow about the Adrash Scam. A 6 storey building meant to be for the widows ofKargil war heroes ended up being a 30 storey building in which most flats wereowned by the people who hob-knobbed in the circles of power and politics. AChief Minister had to resign in the context but what next? Who was truly toblame for it and what actually could be happening now?

Some years back Vilasrao Deshmukh lost his jobas the Chief Minister of Maharashtra after the 26/11 terror attacks. Last monthwe saw him going over as a Prime Ministers’ messenger to break Anna Hazzare’siconic Anti Corruption fast! He also happens to be involved in the Adarsh scamand is now a Union Minister in the nation’s capital! Was there any truth in hisrebuttal?

Similarly,the Gujarat riots, the most recent of massacres in our time have been foreverclouded with dark shadows of perception and justifications. Presently, SanjeevBhatt, an officer of the rank of DIG revealed out loud that the Chief MinisterMr. Narendra Modi allowed the Hindu’s to kill the Muslim’s. He has now beenarrested after a junior level constable filed a FIR against him. What is thetruth here? It is a fact that Bhatt has had a tainted past but he was also aDIG meaning which his past was not a matter of concern to those in power whomhe is accusing today. But there is also sensationalism to the possibility ofhim being used by the opposition to upstage the all power Modi! How and whenwill we ever know the truth?

For thatmatter the auto rickshaw strike- that’s been affecting us more directly thenthe two above mentioned cases of theft against us tax payers, voters andcitizens- is also a matter clouded by curtains of smudgy facts and vested interests.

I blogged yesterday about how it is unfair to hold the state to ransom andinconvenience the common man and I stand by that, but I wonder who is to blamefor this. The Union leader who is a member of the Nationalist Congress Partywho for all we know might have some larger gain at hand in all of this, theauto driver who does not mind the extra buck or the hooligans amongst all ofthem whose only joy is to get a kick out of showing their might over others? Again...Whois to know the truth?

Onemight suggest an RTI application as the answer and I’ll only point out the couplephoto-op that happened of our nations Home Minister-Chidambaram and FinanceMinister- Mukherjee, last week when an RTI application revealed PranabMukherjee’s ministry noting on some file that the then Finance MinisterChidambaram was in know how of the 2G spectrum scam that cost our country’sgovernment some 7000 crores loss! They both however came together and said, “Thereis nothing wrong and it’s all settled.” Everyone moved on wondering.... Whatcould have been the truth??

THIS IS UN-FARE!

2011-10-03T22:30:00.001-07:00

The auto rickshaw drivers in Mumbai have gone on strike yet again in a span of three weeks.

The last time they went on strike was because their meters were found faulty and they found it absolutely unfair that they had to correct them. They were angry and offended when told that they could not tamper their meters and cheat the commuters! They genuinely believed that they had a right to do it considering they pay bribes to the Cops and other agencies. Their leader Sharad Rao definitely agrees!

This time around Mr. Rao has reached the office of the Transport Officer with a list of demands that include a fare hike, a ‘public servant’ status to be given to the auto drivers so that they can be entitled to government welfare schemes and pensions and he wants each auto driver to at least take home Rs. 25,000/- a month. If all his demands are not met then they will again go on an indefinite strike from the 9^th October’11.

Of course with all sincerity Mr. Rao claims that he has not called the strike. It’s just a co-incidence that he is supporting it!

Another co-incidence is the silence from all our public loving politicians on the said issue. No one amongst them is presently affected by the manner in which the common man is held ransom by the auto mafia. It goes in murmurs here that Sharad Rao is a member of Sharap Pawars Nationalist Congree Party!! Tsk-Tsk!

So the picture seems clear as of now- Our beloved auto drivers have understood in no uncertain terms that we cannot do without them. They have decided to take us for granted and abuse their privilege. They will be back- on and off. They will ply to areas only where they wish to go and when they wish to go. Meanwhile they will charge us more, become public servants but not pay tax because how can you account for their income?, take home atleast 25 grand a month, continue to create traffic jams and live happily ever after.

No wonder the phrase is “to hail an auto”, may be it comes from “Hail Hitler”!!!

P.S.: As for me, I have reduced my auto usage considerably, almost nil. There is the BEST Bus and the train. Walking in our weather is a sweaty affair but if done smartly it can work. Not to mention the excercise it offers. But thats for me. Feels sorry to be treated like this.

Was it a Govt. blunder or is there more than meets the eye?

2011-08-18T22:30:00.000-07:00

Before I begin, let me state that I have no verified facts to speculate what I do here, this is merely a Layman’s Rant as it would be considering all that’s been happening over the last 4 days! It does make for thrilling fiction though!

It all started with the governments horrendous goof up- The arrest of Anna Hazare and he being sentenced to 7 days of judicial custody! It was an occasion where the whole nation concurred; barring those in power! If this was imply an error an apology would have been more gracious but what followed was a bizzare chain of events and announcements that has 'left my left eye' twitching ever since!

For when we speak of people in power here, we are not talking of some minority government who has just come to power after warming the opposition benches for decades, We are talking of the Congress here- The traditional rulers of our democratic land. These people are not some naive opportunists to jump the gun; instead these are seasoned strategists with cold hearts and sharp minds. Could they have committed what looks and is an obvious error of this proportion or is there more than meets the eye?

For a few things have very discreetly and naturally happened over the last four days while we fret, fume and agitate over the arrogance and ignorance of the government.

Firstly, the 24*7 channels who are so detrimental to the nations agitations have covered the protests so thoroughly that there is absolute no room left for any other news! Suddenly all the scams and probes that were the talking point have got buried under the repetitive discussions that each celebrated news reader conducts on their prime time debate shows.

Secondly, we all know that- to err is human but to err again and again is sin. How could then this veteran government commit a faux pass within as few days, as they did by declaring that the US was in someway involved behind all the protests. Its taking the bizarre to another level which is not a nature of these men in white of the Congress. They are programmed over half a century to speak carefully and diplomatically. Even in the confines of their homes- I am guessing :P- they could be appointing committees and sub committees to decide how much pocket money their kids!

Thirdly, Forgive me for being cynical but is it mere co-incidence that it is when the “Congress’ High Command” is recuperating out of her beloved country that an uprising of such levels occurs in the country?? You may read either her competence in this or something else but the co-incidence has been not brought by anybody because the secrets of the congress are a matter of holy grail!

However, on the contrary, Last night the news channels had already resorted to digging the closets of ‘Team Anna’. In a very sincere but heavily sarcastic tone they smirked at how some of Anna’s team members were educated and accomplished people, some former media men and women, as if that was enough proof to something being amiss in their sincerity! Could we be soon witness to the Congress machinery’s might as they surgically destroy the tidal wave they used to wash their sins but are now afraid could wash them too??

I am yet to read the Jan Lokpal and my above rant is only a reaction to Anna being arrested, sent to prison, then released, events thereafter and above all the arrogance with which every congress leader has shirked from taking responsibility of the blunder.

It however still remains to me a blunder, too naive to be committed by a ruling party of such experience... I hope there is not something that’s missed our eye!

Full National Anthem or Full Poem?

2011-08-15T22:33:00.000-07:00

First time in 65 years- hear and sing- the “Full National Anthem” screamed NDTV 24*7 on their prime time bulletin last night. Earlier in the day I read The Times Of India claiming to 'present'- The Full National Anthem'. On their loud and ever so sensational channel Times Now too they were going to unviel the ‘Full National Anthem’!!

“Why were we singing only half of the national anthem?”, asked my 8 year old neighbor whom I had forced to watch the parades and PM’s address that morning on DoorDarshan.

Does that mean we have been singing only half of our national anthem for over last 6 decades???!!! Does that mean those generations that had amongst them, people who fought for our freedom and won and celebrated, did so only with half of our national anthem??? Does that mean WE- the so called shinning nation of the 21^st Century- amongst other things did not even get our National Anthem right? NO!, Of course not!

What we have been singing and know as our national anthem is indeed our ‘full’ national anthem adopted officially by the Constituent Assembly on the 24^th Of January, 1950. However it happens to be the first of five stanzas from a Brahmo poem that Ravindranath Tagore wrote in 1919. Thus although the original poem contains five stanzas, our national anthem is full and complete with the first stanza which we have been proudly and judiciously singing all these years from 27^th December’1911 when it was first sung in the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress.

However on the strategic eve of the Independence Day an album has been released called Jaya Hey which has the "full poem" by Tagore.

If only our freedom would have imbibed responsibility in us our media know the difference between a "poem" and a "national anthem".

Should we shut down the Censor Board?

2011-08-09T22:48:00.000-07:00

Makes sense doesn’t it? For what is the purpose of an institution whose say has no credibility? It goes about doing its work monotonously and even judiciously only to then look like a buffoon sitting on the sidelines and watching its mockery!

There are many cases that I can think of but lets take the case of the recently in storm, Prakash Jha’s “Aarakshan”. Censor board has seen the film with a group of people who were from all the sections of the society that the film represents or effects. All of them unanimously gave the film a U/A certificate, meaning the film can be watched even by under aged viewers. That should have been the end of the story had the Censor Board had any authority or standing.

What has happened is from various corners of the country, any round, dick and hairy politician is standing up and announcing a ban on the film. Without having seen the film, they have passed their verdict that the film is hurting sentiments of their people (read vote banks) and have ordered their followers (read hired goons) to burn posters and break offices of the film maker. The actors are issued threats and banned from entering states- all without seeing the film and for the people who are really not bothered.

Meanwhile, the film maker is running from court to lawyer, assuring distributors and hoping that people at least see his film first before passing a verdict on it.

What happens to the Censor Board at such times? They continue to watch more films- free and first- spending tax payer money on their job which seems to be completely ineffective and a farce.

Now tell me... Should the Censor Board be shut or not?

Do the clerks & peons at government offices hate us?

2011-08-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

There is something synonymous about boredom and government officials. By definition they are ‘public servants’ and since we- the tax payers and voters- happen to be the public, the government employees/ staff are meant to respect and attend to us when we knock on their tables. However, no one that I know of has ever been blessed with as much as a polite gesture- let alone a welcoming smile- from the said officials!!

Instead what greets us often is irritation, boredom, lethargy and sometimes even hostility. They seem to get offended especially when they sense that we- who have been made to wait for hours, have got all the papers needed and have been nice to them- are showing signs of impatience . So what if the employee is talking on phone- repeating the simple alloo sabzi recipe for the 4^th time- or abnoxiously discussing his next door neighbours issues with his next table collegue, while we restlessly wait? We are not supposed to even- squirm!

Worst effected are the ones who do not know the regional language! God save them!

It is such an uniform behaviourial tendency that one cannot escape it. Everytime I have been to say a Passport Office, RTO, Mumbai University etc I have almost felt as if somepeople have put up large banners on top of their heads that read- “I do not want to work” or “Go back! I hate you for coming here you fucking citizen of India!”.

The two reason for the above- as told to me- are - 1) Low Pay which builds that angst and hatred and 2) Monotony of work which make them bitter and irritable.

I agree with the reasons although they do make up for the money part!! My only bone of contention in some cases is that these people chose these lives. I feel their behavious is an escape route or rather a solution to the above two reason/ problems. Here’s how-

On most occasions such government employees happen to be people who are not ambitious or conscientious. They are never from very rich back grounds and have had restricted means where they grew up with one goal- to secure ‘ a permanent government job’ and now- They have got it!! But hey... life is still not over! How does then one cope with the tiresome monotony? How does one motivate oneself to get up every day in the morning and turn up for work? All of us need kicks that propel us

to do what we would have otherwise not liked to and these indespensable public servants get these kicks from that one element that is most intoxicating- “Power”.

The knowledge that someone is depending on you (thats us!). Someone who seems to have more facilities than you may have had, more ambitions than you have had and more avenues than you wish to have. To make that someone suffer when they come to you is a thrill that they get used to and embrace.

Hence, the peon loves it when he is cajoled and begged to do what he is supposed to do. The clerk loves it when he can dig his nose or clean his ear while we wait helplessly. The guy at the booking counter loves to walk off and announce lunch time even though he is not hungry. They all simply love to call us the next day even though today is as good!

Not because they hate us, simple because they love the power they have over us. A power that fuels that otherwise mundane existence!

To King Kishore, Who's always been there...

2011-08-03T21:40:00.000-07:00

When i was all alone, Lost and broken,

Awake at night, finding the silence too loud to bare,

I felt the warmth, felt consoled,

'coz You, King Kishore, were always there...

In those moments of joy, To shake that leg,

To raise that toast, to celebrate and share,

The party got its tone and its voice,

coz You, King Kishore, were always there...

In those blanks of life, when vaccum settles in,

There is no joy or sorrow but only a blank stare,

Those blanks did not feel as empty and void,

'coz You, King Kishore, were always there...

Even if you had not asked us to remember your songs,

There was no way we were going to spare,

The gems you gave us for eternity, and hence...

As long as we live, You, King Kishore, will always be there...

Happy Birthday, Kishore da...

Good News... a tad too late though!

2011-05-04T05:10:00.000-07:00

There is something about ‘timming’ that determines the 'impact' of any development. I remember watching BR Chopra’s Mahabharta on Door Darshan- in the late 80’s. The first line of every episode used to state- “Samay keval satya hai, Satya keval samay hai”. At that point it hardly made any sense but today it makes a world of a difference… for I know what it means.

It means it is the ‘time’ that decides our ‘truth’ or more eleborately it is the ‘time’ that decides the ‘relevance of the truth or its impact.’

The reason this came to my mind is because when a friend of mine called me the other morning and yelled at me that Osama was dead I was not as relieved or thrilled as I should have been.

The ‘truth’ in this case was big news but there was something about its ‘timming’ that had taken its relevance away!

It was ten years too late. The damage had been done. Although there is no taking away from the credibility of the soldiers and commanders who achieved the feet its global impact cannot be overplayed.

Osama was today more a senior citizen respected for his vision two decades ago by his brethren. His having been dead is more like a champion sportsman retiring after having lost his form and fitness. He will be missed but not grieved to the point of rendering any terrorist group immobile.

He had served his purpose. He had set the ball rolling and over years the ball has only grown bigger and faster as it spreads in every possible direction and intensity. Terror ten years back was a syndrome we were aware of but today it is a tangible fear that we can smell and feel.

It is thus important to get the timing right and make sure we eliminate the Osama of today who has already played smart by not becoming a poster boy. He has been there somewhere(In Pakistan!!) calling the shots and taking terrorism to another level while the world continued to stay focused on Bin laden.

In order to celebrate… we need to finish him…and do it NOW! For “Justice delayed is…Justice denied.”

UnOfficial Reconsturction...

2011-01-28T03:52:00.000-08:00

Additional District Collector of Malegaon, Yashwant Sonawne was murdered, burnt to death by the oil mafias who are responsible for adultration of fuels. Here’s an unofficial reconstruction of events that followed-

Tring Tring ----Tring Tring…(Multiple phones ringing)

The phones began ringing everywhere. The goons called their bosses, the bosses called their bosses, the bosses called the PA’s PA and he called the ministers PA!!

INT/MINISTERS OFFICE/DAY

PA: Yes.

Man 1: Sonawne caught Shinde’s men mixing kerosene with petrol.

PA: Where?

Man 1: Near Manmad.

PA: Ok… I’ll make some calls.

Man 1: No wait!

PA: What?

Man 1: Th…they burnt him alive!

(Silence)

CUT TO:

INT/MINISTERS CHAMBERS/DAY

A tense PA and some other ‘close’ associate stand tensed.

Minister: (On Phone) What was he thinking???? Does he expect me to save his arse now? You idiots!!! I should have known better than to trust faggots like you!

Man 2: Now forget it na sir… You know Sonawne was difficult… we offered him…

Minister: Shut up!! Forget about it. This is big. The media is going to go wild. They have not had any big news for long. They are going to pounce on this. I can already see the Barkha’s of the world jumping for joy! Rascals!

Man 2: I have asked him to disappear for a few days.

Minister: He has killed an ADC in broad day light! Do you understand that? If he disappears then I too will have to disappear and then you can forget about that land of yours and the contracts you were dreaming about! You think it is worth it??

(Silence)

CUT TO:

INT/PRESS MEET/EVE

The angry media is attacking the minsiter with questions. He is looking suitably grieved and angry at the same time.

Minister: We are going to end this menace. There is no way the culprits are going to be let off. A thorugh investigation has been ordered and arrests have been made.

Media: It is said that Sonawne was getting threats from these mafia lords and that he had informed the government about it, still nothing was done.

Minister: All investigations will be made and no one will be spared. We are extremely shocked by this act and there is no forgiving such behaviour.

CUT TO:

EXT/LAWN/NIGHT

Later at night the minister sits on the lawns of his offical residence with a single malt on the rocks.

Minister: I never thought it would come to this. I always knew Sonawane was a bit uptight but I credited Shinde and his boss to be having some brains.

PA: Delhi is very upset sir.

Minister: Delhi always gets upset, what else does it do? Bloody free fliers that they are. Ridding on other people’s hard work. Such things pain me you know Kulkarni.

PA: Of course sir.

Minister: I had really trusted Shinde to be a competant goon.

PA: Oh! Yes Sir.

Minister: Ask *&^% to stop all activities for a couple of months and do all the other usual stuff.

PA: Yes sir.

The PA leaves immediately.

CUT TO:

INT/PA’s PENTHOUSE/NIGHT

Later, the PA briefs his PA on phone-

PA- Shinde will have to be arrested and sacrificed.

PA’s PA: Yes sir. Anything else…

PA: Try to find out which scam of the opposition can be used against this controversy so that the attention is diverted. Make sure you pick a scam that will be equal to this one, don’t waste any other scam by revealing it right now, we may need it later…

PA’s PA: Yes sir.

PA: Any other news?

PA’s PA:- The common man is very angry sir.

PA: Nonsense! The common man likes to get angry, there is nothing else he has the time to do. Infact the common man also likes getting angry now and then. Where else will he take out his frustration?? There are enough troubles in his life so that’s not the worry. However, Make sure &^%$ are not hurt too much and whosoever we damage in the process will not hit back. Common man is the last of our worries!!

Line goes dead.

What do u make of this?

2010-10-31T03:45:00.000-07:00

Building character sketches is one of the tasks that one has to engage in as a writer on a regular basis. As and when I indulge in the same, I make sure that my characters don’t turn out cardboard like as in complete black or white but rather stay grey as people are in real life. That is what I used to believe until I met this woman whose character brief I shall layout below and leave it onto you to decipher as to what I should make of it-

The said female has compelled her husband to migrate oversees because she looks down upon the poor country she was born into and does not wish to stay here! That also explains why at places wherever possible she claims herself to be a US citizen although she is not! Now before migrating however she got home couple of pet dogs whom she has conveniently left behind to be cared for by her daughter. She has sent her son to Europe for higher studies so that she can move in with him once he is done with his education. In between cribbing about her health -which is hale and hearty -she takes foreign holidays to countries exotic and expensive. However there is no money to put up curtains in the house or knobs on the bathroom doors back home in India where the young daughter resides alone!

As and when the esteemed lady comes down to India which usually is for some paper work and nothing more her daughter is not supposed to leave the house and is supposed to stay at her beck and call 24*7 to get everything from food to water while the mother sits before the computer and monitors her son through web cam, a la Big Boss!!! It goes without saying that the dogs she has so lovingly bought are never taken for a walk, given food or bathed by this large hearted animal loving lady but yes if the dogs do not show affection to her then she does hold the daughter responsible for ‘instigating’ the dogs against her in her absence!

At one point of time I recollect being told that her highness was cribbing endlessly because her husband who was in the middle of work crisis and was on a con call did not look for her when she hid herself behind the sofa!! It made no sense to her that she should not have been playing such quirky games when her husband was going through a crisis at work!

The latest feather to her illustrious hat is that she has secured her daughters facebook password and changed the daughters’ relationship status to single without informing her daughter as the guy has not managed to impress her enough. It does not matter of course that her daughter may be happy with the guy or above all else the daughter should have the right to work out her love life by herself. But alas…

Such is the sketch of the character I simply fail to see any good in. It defies my understanding of the fact that people are not all black or white in real life. Now only if you can help me see another shade in this case, I shall be more than happy.

DAY 6 AT MAMI: and that is it for me! Until Next Year...

2010-10-28T00:53:00.000-07:00

My day 6 at MAMI although the second last of the festival was going to be my last/ I had some commitments i could not get out of and thus had to make do with seeing a total of 15 films this time around.

My first film was “TILL THE DAY WE MEET AGAIN”, Directed by Tadashi Imai. This film is about the love of Sujoru and Kieko that blossoms and fetters under the fear of the ongoing war. I had not seen as much Japanese cinema as I could have in this fest and thus picked this one randomly. The film was a simple story of a boy- Sujoru- who is not in as excited by the war as his friends and elder brother. He infact is a more gentle persona who is fond of poetry and peace. He falls in love with Kieko the moment he see’s her for the first time while they are hiding in a bunker during air raids. A couple of more such coincidental meetings later they both get drawn to each other and get lost in their dreams of future fostered by their love for each other. Then the inevitable happens as Sujoru gets drafted and has to go for war...I stayed engaged in the film and liked it.

The next film to watch was going to be a tough to choose task. Out of the five films playing simultaneously at the 5:30 pm I wanted to see four!!! That was however impossible and thus I had to prepare my priority list.

My list was:-

1) “Iti Mrinalini” directed by Aparna Sen starring both herself and her talented daughter Konkana Sen Sharma.

2) “Somewhere” directed by Sofia Coppola, the director of “Lost in Translation” and daughter of the legendary Francis Ford Coppola.

3) “Harud” (Autumn) directed by the Indian actor turned director Aamir Bashir about present day Kashmir, a film that has been talked about extensively in the international Indian media.

4) “South of Border” directed by Oliver Stone. What can one say to introduce Oliver Stone? However being a nonfiction film I had this last on my last.

My plans however went haywire because first the unexpected happened- The Japaneese film that i was sitting in lasted a good twenty minutes longer than what its running time proclaimed in the brochures! And then the expected happened- The queue for both my top two choices from my list had spiralled way beyond any reasonable chance to get to see either of the films. Alas... it had to be Harud.

I was extremely dissapointed to see Harud. Directed by the actor turned director Aamir Bashir the film left me with a headache on account of its pace and pain for the kind of hype it had generated. I do applaud the effort of the team if thats what its all about but otherwise i will not recommend it to anybody. A lot of people will not say this because it would be insensitive or unintelligent to say it out loud but thats the fact. The film did not reveal anything new that has not been hammered in our minds by the news channels and other reports. The camera work was not as outstanding as it is claimed to be. I have seen far better frames than a much less raved about film that i saw in this festival that was directed by Dr. Biju called “On the way Home”. That too was shot in Kashmir.

People were laughing at the wrong places, there were restless shifting and whispers but the film was endured. After the screen i asked a few how they felt about the film. Each one gave me the head bob until i told them what i felt and the next moment i had them crooning in chorus with me!! Sorry to bust the bubble but- NOT RECOMMENDED.

The last film of the day and ‘of the festival for me’ could not have been more apt and beautiful. Directed by Yoshinari Nishikori “Railways”, a film from Japan tells you to “find work that you love”. The two hour ten minute film is the story of Tsutsui Hajme who is a high flying corporate honcho. He has all the luxuries in life but is not very happy and is all the time busy in work with no time for family.

His teenange daughter is unhappy with him and in one of many such gems in the film we have her say that her father never speaks without consulting the watch! Tsutsui has to rush back to his village when his mother who lives alone in the village falls ill. During his stay there he recollects his childhood dream of becoming a train operator/ motorman!! and he thus decides to give up his high flying life and job to pursue his dream at the age of 50!

The jounrey from here on is so magically narrated that i could not help but clap on multiple occasions.

The dialogues are so simple yet so deep, the character are so well matured and well defined that it was an amazing experience. When the ailing mother is told what her son is upto by the nurse, she says, "I dont care what he does as long he love it. As long as he is happy, I am."

I am dying to watch this film again. I hope you’ll watch it too. I forgot to mention the back ground score that elvates every moment bringing a tear to your eyes when necessary and a smile where its apt. Magical. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

“Somewhere” directed by Sofia Coppola- which i missed in the evening- was to be shown again at 10:30 pm and i would have seen it but “Railways” had carried me to another zone which i did not want to get out off. It was a perfect climax to the wonderful and extensive fair of cinema provided by MAMI 2010.

Until Next MAMI...

DAY 5 AT MAMI: The best so far- for me!

2010-10-26T22:41:00.000-07:00

Some days are simply better than the others. There is no logic to it and hence there should not be any analysis. Likewise, my Day 5 at MAMI was the best so far. Saw three films back to back and enjoyed each one of them not only from their content, treatment and experience but also because of the fact that I did not encounter any mayhem or chaos before any of the screenings!

The first film of the day was a German film called “Ayla.” directed by debutante director Su Turhan.
The first shot of the film itself blew me away! From behind a curve- comes a girl- running; running hard but in slow motion towards the camera as the camera back tracks. She is on the streets in the middle of the night. The streets are deserted and illuminated but the frame holds a somewhat eerie texture to it. The girls’ hair are left open and are thus flying as we see her gasping and running hard. A mystical Arabic kind of drum rhythm plays in the back ground, rising in tempo gradually until a strand of the girls’ hair begins to merge into the first letter of the title. The letters begin to form as the screen blacks out with only the title reading- “Ayla”. I was hooked. There was a whisper of applause to this effect as the film began.
The film was about this rebellious girl Ayla who is not the coy orthodox girl that every Turkish girl is expected to be. Through her, the film reveals the chauvinistic prejudice that the Turkish males hold towards their females. Her flamboyant and liberal ways have naturally strained her relations with her father. In the film, Ayla falls in love with a Turkish guy- Ayhan- whose sister-Hatice- has run away from her loveless marriage in Turkey and come to Germany along with her daughter. Such an act is unpardonable amongst the Turks and requires the elder brother of the family- i.e. Ahyan, in this case- to kill Hatice for the family’s honor! By the quirk of fate Hatice runs into Ayla to seek refuge and Ayla takes it upon herself to save Hatice even if it means standing against the man she considered her soul mate. Although Ahyan does attempt to convince Ayla that he does not intend to kill his sister, the pressures put on him by his family and a prejudiced narrow minded society allows Ayla to get a glimpse of Ahyan’s murderous instincts! She manages to send Hatice away safely and walks away from Ahyan back into her liberal unorthodox life.

The second film of the day was again with a female protagonist. This one was “Eine Familie” meaning “A Family”. This film from Denmark was directed by a female director Perniile Fischer Christensen. A very gripping drama about the conflict between your bonds and your dreams. Ditte is all gung ho and excited about moving to New York as she has got a job offer she has been dreaming about. Her boy friend is very happy for her and is supportive of her decision to move. He thus agrees to abort their child for the sake of Ditte’s career. Now, Ditte comes from a family of Bakers. Generations after Generations of her family have run the bakery set up by her great-great grandfather. The bakery has now become a very prestigious and sanctimonious enterprise for the family. Ditte’s father is detected with cerebral tumors and her shifting to New York means the end of the Bakery as she does not have any brothers eligible to take care of the Bakery!! She also does not wish to leave her ailing father although there are other people to take care of him. Her father too expresses his desire by asking her to stay back. Ditte is thus torn apart between her desire to chase her dreams and her desire to fulfill her father’s dream of her taking over the Bakery. The boy friend of course feels cheated to see Ditte not giving a thought at aborting their baby but now single handedly taking the decision to not move to New York.
The beauty of the film was how none of the characters can be labeled wrong in their own ways. Each one seems justified in asking for what they were and thus the conflict only seems more poignant and engaging.

The last film of the day was from Croatia-Serbia-Slovenia. Directed by Rajko Grlic “Neka Ostane Medju Nama” meaning “Just between us” can be best described in three words recently made popular by Dibakar Banerjee- Love, Sex and Dhokha. Although nothing like banerjee’s film Just Between Us has these emotions to the fullest. There was all three of it woven into one closely knit story in proportionate measures. Its quiet a task really, to capture the tongue in cheek flavor of this film. There are four primary characters: Nikola and his wife, Nikola’s brother and his wife. The sexual faux paus and history between them along with the present day developments resulting out of the fact that both Nikola and his brother have taken to their father’s way of sleeping around with women unfolds the candid tale of this film. I can only recommend you to watch it for any more of my attempt at sharing the film’s experience will either make it a fruit salad gone wrong or a dish without salt.

Until Day 6 then….

DAY 3 AND 4 AT MAMI

2010-10-25T21:41:00.000-07:00

Day 3 was a day off for me! It was a Sunday and I had commitments at home to keep. However I was keen to watch the ‘25 short films’ that were part of the ‘Dimensions Mumbai’ theme but I was informed by friends who were at the venue that the crowd was thick and large which meant the usual chaos and I was not up for it.

The Spanish film ‘Beautiful’ was to be re-screened at night 10:30 pm in two screens simultaneously but by then I had given up any intentions I might have had to visit the festival.

Day 4 started for me at 3:45… I was late and thus rushed into the South Korean movie “Mother is a whore” Directed by Lee Sang Woo. The reason I rushed into this movie was because by the time I reached the venue all other films were 15 minutes into their running time and i hate to even miss the national anthem!! I had not read the synopsis and hoped it would not be literally what the title suggested but in fact would be a depiction of a dominant or difficult character/ personality of a mother and the influence of such a character on the family! Something like James Brooks’ “Terms of Endearment”- a superb film.

“Mother is a whore” like most of the Korean films I have seen this time was a mix of various issues. Sang Woo- the director himself- plays a 38 year old looser who is a pimp for his mother who is a whore. Contrary to what the society things Sang Woo does not solicit his mother for his individual monetary interests but because it is the mother who insists on doing so. The father thus has left them and remarried a younger woman who has a son and daughter from her previous marriage. There is friction here between the father and son i.e Woo's character, also between the father and his present step daughter. The father also rapes his step son causing him to withdraw into his room never to come out. As I said there are these multiple issues all connected at some level and largely speaking of the break down that’s occurring in the lives of all the characters. The name of the film truly makes no justice to the conflicts that it offers or tries to address. It in fact takes away the focus unnecessarily.

The second film I saw was “Khandar” Directed by our very own Mrinal Sen starring a delectable milieu of Naseerudin Shah, Pankaj Kapoor, Annu Kapoor and Shabana Azmi. Three friends’ visits the ruins of what was once a flourishing ancestral property of one of them- Pankaj Kapoor. The only inhabitants of these ruins now are an old, blind, paralyzed mother and her beautiful unmarried daughter- Azmi. The man with whom her marriage was fixed many years ago has married of and lives in the city. The sick mother however does not know this and still believes that he shall return to wed her daughter. Telling her the truth would surely cause great harm to her psyche. The conflict begins when one of the three friends- Naseerudin Shah- is mistaken by the blind mother to be the man chosen for her daughter. She cannot be told the truth while Shah cannot marry Azmi having come on a three day weekend trip. The tension between them is beautifully captured amidst the ruins of their surroundings. The end however is realistic as Shah returns to the city leaving behind Azmi who becomes a mere subject of the photographs that he has taken. Although initially the aging walls and broken structures make us cringe for the ruins that they are, by the end of the film it is the life of Azmi’s character that seems much more ruinous than the degrading property.

The third and last film of the day was “Everything must go" a film from USA directed by debutant director Dan Rush. This one was a very typical Star Movies/ HBO kind of flick. I wanted to see something lighter and also Chandan Cinema where it was playing being spacious and huge, I headed there. Nick Halsey (Will Ferrell) has a drinking problem ‘coz of which he loses his job. He comes home to find all his belongings on his lawn as his wife has locked the house, changed the locks and left him! There on begins his journey to deal with the loose ends in his life. It’s a film to watch if you intend to have a lazy afternoon and its playing on TV anyways. There is nothing spectacular in the film but there is nothing much annoying either. I love Will Ferrell as an actor and he holds the film well. However there are plenty of loopholes in the screenplay making a critical mind raise lot of questions... over look it to get through the film.

And Now for Day 5….

THE CHAOS AND MAYHEM AT MAMI 2010, PVR JUHU.

2010-10-24T01:18:00.001-07:00

Unfortunately there has been unwanted chaos and mayhem at PVR, Juhu during the Mumbai Film Festival 2010. For the last two days during the screening of some films there have been disgruntled crowds screaming, yelling, pushing and feeling cheated. The chaos has been hurting the cinema lovers not just because of missing out certain screenings but largely because of the attitude with which it has been dealt.

There are three sets of people handling the festival:

1) The PVR management

2) The Festival Organizers headed by the Director Mr. Srinivasan Narayanan and,

3) The on ground Volunteers.

Now, Set 1 is paranoid about taking care of ‘PVR the multiplex’ and have no idea what dealing with a festival crowd requires and no sensitivity to adapt to the new experience they have exposed themselves to. They are thus snobbishly brandishing their authority where none is required!

Set 3 are the young gun volunteers with rolled up sleeves and pumped up chests running all over the place, sometimes even making hysterical ‘commando’ gestures trying to ‘drive’ an event that could easily run by itself. They seem to be getting a kick out of closing the doors and announcing that a screen is full not to mention signaling ‘roll’ to the projection room to indicate starting of the film!!! Thus seating in the ails to watch a film is a thought that’s as alien to them as a Pedro Almodovar movie is to the auto guy! No one is guiding them and their pumped up energy is only driving them insane and more flustered.

The Set 2- Mr. Narayanan and his core team- which should actually be in the forefront is the most dormant of the lot making every individual who has purchased the festival pass feel cheated and let down.

After having discussed the cause of this issue with various people I finally got the answer when the festival director very simply mentioned it to the group surrounding him. Apparently, PVR management has not taken permission from the fire department to allow people to sit on the stairs, in the ails! THAT’S IT! Because of this they have to shut the doors before the screening begins to avoid anybody from sitting on the stairs and with this act…the war begins…

There are these film lovers enthusiastically or apprehensively running in to catch that film they have been curious to see only to be pushed behind by burly men in body hugging black Tee’s addressed by all the organizers as “BOUNCERS”! That sets the tone, doesn’t it?

However now although on couple of occasions people were allowed to sit in the ails after mass protests and cumulative chants of “Stop the film”, “Let us in”; the problem still persists because of the ‘control freaks’ that the PVR management and the Volunteers are continuing to be. Last evening I went hoarse trying to explain to a group of 4 cool dude Volunteers that instead of screaming at people that the Audi is full why not let the doors open and let people judge it for themselves? That’s what they did last year at Fun Republic where there was not a speck of confusion and definitely not such bad weather! Finally one of the volunteers said, “But sir, we are told to do so.” I kept quiet!

To add to the chaos, now, the cine lovers are loosing their mind and clouding their judgment. While some blame the organizers for closing the doors, some blame the crowds who don’t vacate the theaters. By the quirk of fate in the last 2 days I have been at both sides of the fence…On Day 1 I was inside the Audi when all of us inside protested for the sake of people stranded outside the Audi despite there being ample space in the Audi and on Day 2 I was amidst the crowd that was being shut out of the hall despite standing in the queue for an hour!

I am thus equipped to conclude that if PVR could have got the requisite permission to allow people to sit in the ails they would not have been required to exercise force through ‘Bouncers’ and ‘Cops’ spoiling thus the entire spirit of what intends to be a celebration of cinema from around the world meaning acceptance of varied views and interpretations.

I can only hope that the young Volunteers stop playing ‘authority’ where there is need for none, I hope the PVR management stops looking at festival goers as gate crashers just because they don’t rip a ticket before every show, I hope the festival director and his team become far more active than it presently is and I hope I can see a few more films in peace and a lot less ‘Bouncers’!

MAMI: DAY 2:- 2 movies and a lot of chaos!!

2010-10-23T23:26:00.000-07:00

Starting out for the venue at PVR, Juhu on day 2 I had a nagging feeling that the chaos and confusion that prevailed last evening during the screening of Social Network was going to get worse. I hated myself for being skeptical and tried to be positive but there was something that I had seen in the body language of the organizers namely the young volunteers and the PVR staff that made all efforts at optimism seem weak and wasted! All the same I had to watch movies and thus started out.

At the venue the air seemed thick. I was keenly observing the people managing the event. They had no clue what a film festival is. To the young guns- with rolled sleeves and long sleeved Tee’s under the festival half sleeve Tee’s- it was an extension of their college festival. They were running in all directions without any purpose and seemed to play the ‘discipline-in-charges’ to a lame result. All uncalled for. Another interesting development was the increase in the number of burly men in body hugging black Tee’s. The young volunteers including some managerial staff were later seen ordering for more of these men- in their exact words- “Get the Bouncers!”, “Pachaas bouncers ko bhejo!” Phew…this was nothing like a film festival!

I had reached at 2:30 pm and thus planned to catch three films there on. The first one was “Bi, Dung So!” meaning “Don’t be afraid, Bi!” It was a film from Vietnam-France- Germany, this combination was the first thing that held my attention. Second was the synopsis, Directed by Phan Fnag Di it claimed to be a film that that was about the innocence of the six year old 'Bi' who played in an ice factory. It talked about various conflicts like Bi’s aunt having an affair with a teenager, Bi’s father taking up to alcohol and later giving away all the 'water' in the house to the masseuse to whom he is infatuated and this at a time when the heat is soaring extremely. There seemed to be a metaphor in- ‘Ice’ which was being used by Bi’s ailing grandfather to soothe his burning stomach while Bi's aunt used it to satiate her sexual desires!

Now all this seemed overwhelming and presented a possibility of a tight and eventful screenplay. Alas, it was not to be. I don’t judge world cinema by its pace as its far slower than the one I am used to but apart from being excruciatingly slow, this film I felt was dealing with far too much than it could do justice to. The screenplay seemed distorted and very little could be justified. In short, “not recommended”.

The pics below will give you a gist of the chaos at the festival that was to hit me in my face as I headed to watch my second film of the day...

The reason for this chaos I’ll state in my next post which I’ll write immediately after this for there is much to say on that front. However, it was handled by the PVR staff and organizers in an extremely shabby and shameful manner. PVR in the last two days has been an acronym for Panic Vs Rationality wherein Panic has clearly won. To add to the misery created by the immaturity of the organizers I find it pitiful to see the young volunteers who are eager for sure but completely ignorant about what a film festival is which results in mayhem. As a result I could not watch the film and by the time could make my way out of the lobby all other films were half way through their journey.

Thus the last film of the day was my second film namely “Retratos En Un Mar De Mentiras” meaning “Portraits in the Sea of Lies”, Directed by Carlos Gaviria, I loved this film from Columbia. It told a story of a submissive girl, Marina, who was yet to recover from having lost her family when she was child during a military siege. The film did justice to not only the struggles of its characters but also established the atmosphere of strife and fear that prevails in Columbia which is for the longest time embroiled in a social and political battle leading to maximum casualties. The journey was very simply and beautifully captured making you feel that you were traveling across the tense country with the characters. Highly recommended for sure.

Such was Day 2… and now on to Day 3 but before that a report on the chaos and mayhem at the festival that can be avoided but from the look of things, seems to be becoming pattern for this year’s MAMI.

MAMI- DAY 1: FOUR FILMS AND 1 RADA!!!

2010-10-22T23:56:00.000-07:00

The Mumbai International Film Festival has begun. The first day is always exciting as as the eye, ears and mind are yet to be subjected to the onslaught of world cinema and are thus comparatively fresh and less exploited as they would soon be!

Unlike last time when I was prepared with what films to watch and why, this time I had just one criteria- Nationality! I was to watch films that I would not get to see easily, meaning East European, South American and some other random ones that shall fit in my schedule! :P

The last criteria of the above led me to the first film of the day-“Lumekuninganna meaning- “Snow Queen”, a film from Estonia!- Directed by Marko Raat... now that’s world cinema for you and keeping with its reputation the film had abundant pauses, silences and empty frames. It was the story of a middle aged woman suffering from cancer who surrounds herself with snow and in between this bizarre act of hers there is a young boy who is infatuated by her and clings on to her in his assumption of love and desire for sex.

The second film was from the country whose cinema, lifestyle and depiction I simply adore- Iran. The film named: “Chiz- Haie Hast Keh Nemidani” meaning –“There are things you don’t know” directed by Fardin Saheb Zamani. A story of a reclusive taxi driver who lives a monotonous life. It was amusing to see the manner in which the passengers’ conversations and behaviour seemed amusing from his point of view. I will definitely be more conscious in a cab or auto the next time!

Also his own personal relationships and their effect on him was very fluidly and pleasantly depicted.

The third film was an Indian- Malayalee film called “Veettliekkulla” meaning- “The Way Home”. The director along with some key HOD’s and the lead actor of the film were present to introduce the film which was about a doctor whose wife and son get killed in a terrorist attack in Delhi. By a quirk of fate the doctor ends up embarking on a journey to reunite a 5 year old boy with his father and that father is none other then the-Leader of the Indian Jihadi movement- the man who plotted the terror attacks in which the doctor lost his family!!! I was blown away by the framing i.e. shot taking of the film. Right from the opening frame I was falling in love with the frames. The film however got timid and too convenient in patches leaving a not so awe inspiring after taste but it was a brave effort that is pulled of decently.

The last film of the day was when the Rada happened. Chaos, Yelling, Tempers soaring and stalling the films screening preceded this film from USA - “The Social Network” directed by David Fincher about the man, the con and law suits behind the supremely addictive and popular website Facebook.

This film was not on my list as it is to release in India within a couple of months and can also be easily acquired. However since it was in the same screen where I had just finished watching my third film, I stayed put. What followed was some extremely shoddy display of organization by the festival organisers. Despite there being space in the cinema hall hundreds of people were locked out of the hall. Top three rows were reserved for Minisha Lamba and her gang of friends! Amidst cries of protests and arguments from of us seated in to let in the crowd locked outside, the national anthem was played and the film began.

This arrogance however only strengthened our resolve.

All of us began chanting in one voice to stop the film and let those stranded outside to be allowed in so that they can fill in the empty spaces. Finally after 45 minutes of protests the organisers opened the gates to the cinema lovers and the screening began again from the beginning and went on as freely and seamlessly as it should at a film festival! The film was very good and the joy of having managed to put the arrogant and clueless organisers in their rightful place only made the experience more sweeter.

Now for day 2ººº tomorrowººº

Callous Wayward Governance (CWG)!

2010-09-23T01:22:00.000-07:00

Either India has become a rich country(How? When?) or it is a very lost country (mis)led by some extremely sharp, dynamic and dangerous businessmen!

How else will you justify the spending of roughly ‘Seventy Thousand Crores’ on the Common Wealth Games (CWG) to be held from the 3rd Oct’2010 in the national capital?

An expenditure that far exceeds all measures of our economic demographics be it the countries GDP, Trade stats, the avg per person income, the literacy levels, the sanitation, law and order requirements etc etc.

There were seventy thousand concerns detrimental to a nations effective functioning that have been screaming attention to be attended to, Concerns that have for decades been delayed or ignored for the lack of funds while the CWG has been considered apt for spending such a mammoth sum.

It is a display of shameful hypocrisy and ignorant short sightedness by those who harp on the advantages of hosting the world sports event of such magnitude when our entire system and culture has failed to inculcate a sports psyche in the country.

How many schools and colleges lay emphasis on there being a playground on their campus? Schools these days don’t even have space to park their buses!
In how many institutes is a sporting area respected and not cramped with a storage space?
How many families or mindsets encourage the young ones to take sports as seriously as their ‘studies’? and lastly,
How many of us consider a sporting activity- irrespective of our age and profession- to be a mandatory commitment in our routine, if not daily than weekly?!

Our culture primarily and consistently has been to complete our studies, procure a decent job and then marry respectably, where in this does sports feature?

There is of course enough justification for this. It is not possible to sustain your self as a sportsman in India. In the pre- Sachin Tendulkar days even cricket was dismal and appalling like its foster siblings.

Understandably the country had been bruised on its way to be free and while taking its baby steps towards governance always had other priorities that needed funding and they were far more important than sports. The unfortunate fact is even after having given those priorities the deemed attention- for more than half a century- they continue seem substandard and patchy and suddenly we seem to have shifted focus to hosting world events like the CWG, cricket world cup and now even the F1 races!

How did this change happen? How did we suddenly have enough funds of such high proportions to be directed at avenues that were initially not on our priority list and still should not be?

The large portion of our populace is still poor, there are still no comfortable public sanitation facilities even in the metros, the transport system and community planning still needs ample funds and attention, there are grave terrorist threats that need expensive security measures; oh wait!!! Let me speak in the language that the CWG organizers understand, thus- There are still stadiums to be built and gymnasiums that not only need to be built but a thousand rotting facilities that need better maintenance, staff and equipment, there are still lakhs of sportsman who have still not received their promised rewards, a call center job still is more lucrative than that of a sportsman, there are still salary hikes due for lakhs of athletes who live in demanding and unhygienic conditions....

The common wealth exercise and the likes thus simply seems to be a criminally lethal economic enterprises for the entrepreneurs, by the entrepreneurs and of the entrepreneurs who shall be ‘commonly’ getting ‘wealthy’ at the end of the ‘games!’ and the divide between a superfluous urban India and the earthy rural India only widens... Scary!

The various breeds of Dog Lovers!

2010-09-19T23:21:00.000-07:00

I wanted to have my own dog when i was around 6. I demanded and cribbed but nothing came of it. I still wanted it when i was 12 and so i demanded and cribbed but nothing came of it even then. I wanted it when i was 16 but alas it was not to be!

More so, I could not fathom how my parents could be so stone hearted as to not want our very own dog. How could they be so unwarm to not want the bouncy ball of fur wagging its tail and smiling the lip less, selfless smile at us all the time? I would especially feel perplexed when they made it seem like bringing home a dog would be some demanding chore and thus unmanageable.

I thus remained grim on that front until i discovered out of observation that like the dogs even the dog lovers happen to belong to different breeds! It was this discovery that made me understand my parents’ point of view and made me understand why i could not have had a dog and more importantly why some people too should not have them.

Broadly speaking there are four breeds of dog lovers, those-

1) who love dogs- LOVERS,

2) who care for dogs- CARERS,

3) who own dogs- OWNERS, and

4) who do all of the above- NURTURERS.

LOVERS:- I claim to love dogs, for i really do, but i only have to meet the “Nurturers” to know what true love requires you to do and i doubt whether i am in a position to do all of that thus bringing a dog home simply on the basis of what i feel would be unreasonable and unfair to the dog. Hence, to get a dog home you need to ask not what you feel but what can you do to take care of him or her. Its like bringing up a child. Your love soon takes the form of duties and responsibilities and if you cannot do them your love can only be damaging to the one you claim to love!

CARERS:- ‘Care’ like ‘Love’ has always been a very relative concept! You can claim to care but the questions is- Do you? Giving dogs left over food or even “Parle-G” biscuits on your morning walks or whiling waiting at the bus stop is more convenience than care. But yes cancelling that meeting or an outing for your beloved pet would be care. Its the lifestyle changes you incorporate for the sake of your dog that defines your care. Not everyone can do that thus not everyone can claim to belong to this breed!

OWNERS:- This breed is the most amusing. They ‘own’ dogs but are never around to love, care or nurture their cherished ‘purchases’! They continue with their selfish life style without a bone of concern or guilt. They will not take the dogs for walks, give them food, take them for baths or to the doctors but yes they are the only one’s to be credited for all good that the dogs do! You can only guess then why they own dogs! The unfortunate part is that their so called love can harm the very creatures they boast of loving. In the absence of people (maids, family members etc.) who end up looking after their ‘owners’ indulgences, the dogs risk to suffer from neglect and ill health. It goes without saying that the owners are too indulgent to even acknowledge the effort of these people who end up taking care of the dogs. This breed thus is most lethal.

NURTURERS:- The Nurturers are a truly deserving breed. They genuinely love and care for their pets and it shows. The changes they make to their lifestyle in order to suit their beloved darlings is at times too touching and humbling. I know of a couple who has all the access to a high flying life but prefer the environs of a secluded get away outside the city amidst nature for it suits their pets. I know of a girl whose life selflessly and thanklessly circles around that of her darlings babies.

The nurturers thus exhibit love as it should be and unless you qualify to be of their breed dont get home a pet... until then belong to the breed my parents forced me to!! Bow wow!

The new age devotion- Ganpati Bappa Morya!

2010-08-25T22:26:00.000-07:00

Times are changing and changing fast thus if you are in the game then you better play it by the rules if you wish to cause least inconvenience to yourself.

Ganesh Chathurthi is coming in a few days. The festival popularized by Lokmanya Tilak to propel the freedom struggle by bringing about unity in its masses. It was a festival where the God of wisdom, love and peace is revered for about ten days by his devotees. However don’t you get caught in the old beliefs and nibble away quietly at your lords’ feet for then you shall not be the new age devotee! ‘Coz as I said, Times have changed and here are some tips to make sure you are in sync with them….

First thing you must know to do is dance wildly in the middle of the street and not worry about any ongoing traffic or old and sick people wanting some peace to stay alive! For if you don’t dance to loud music in the middle of the road or if you even have problems with anyone doing the same then good lord save you for you are anti Ganpati Bappa and thus a sinner!! Ganpati Bappa Morya!

Mind you the louder the music the more will be your devotion to the lord. The songs can be anything from “Sexy Sexy to Nanachi Taang”, the only compulsion is that they must have good bass and fast beats, lyrics are not important. Ganpati Bappa Morya!

Don’t worry about the expenses of the speakers, generators, lighting and crowd for if you approach any political party they shall extend you with the help in arranging all of the same since they too are true Ganesh Bhakts and care for your feelings immensely. Ganpati Bappa Morya!

Don’t worry about the stamina to dance for drinking alchohol is allowed. The lord just wants to make sure that the road remains clogged at all times and music plays consistently loud so that your feelings can have him touched. Thus all kinds of intoxicants are allowed but of course non veg is not allowed… for there are certain rules and they cannot be broken. Ganpati Bappa Morya!

Another important thing is the huge pandals with expensive decoration- the money for which comes by extorting the shop keepers from around the area. Ganpati Bappa Morya!

Remember larger the pandals the more will be your devotion to the lord. They can be illegal for there is no law on religion … so your pandals can overflow into the main streets. Ganpati Bappa Morya!

Traffic will by itself get diverted and anybody objecting shall be a sinner who will be delivered of his sins instantly by the messengers of the lord Ganesha- appointed by the sponsor of the pandal- usually sitting around a carom board or a game of cards outside the pandal.

Lastly make as much mess as possible during immersion time around the road to that your devotion is scattered in all directions and don’t worry about the fact that the large idols will break into pieces and float back on the shore the next day because after all you are only human and cannot take care of a god!

….who I am afraid will soon be hidding himself somewhere for these ten days of the year! Ganpati Bappa Morya!

Breaking News ke liye kuch bhi karega!!

2010-08-24T22:11:00.000-07:00

This is the media age and thus “breaking news” is a very dominant factor of our lives. Be it the fifteen seconds of fame on a reality show or the trials by media… it is a time where the camera rolls, back ground music plays, the editor cuts and hammers in the mind of the audience a story that then becomes a fact!!

Each time I switch on the news channels, I am amazed to see the news readers or makers as they have now become- chirping away with extreme conviction and joy. I can’t help but try and read in their eyes some hint of embarrassment at over hyping a certain news item or twisting it to suit sensationalism but No! They do it well. They don’t seem to be bothered at what their over exaggeration might do to those concerned or that journalism was meant to present news as it happened and not news as it “should” have happened or news as “shockingly” as you think it happened!

For instance, this morning at breakfast Headlines Today was screaming about Salman Khan breaking up with Katrina Kaif. They showed the interview (exclusive of course!) in which Salman apparently confessed the same and guess what?...He did not do anything of that sort!!! They played the complete interview and what he said was in fact this- “If ever we break up I will come out and say that I and Katrina have broken up”… the channel of course only played the later part of the statement again and again and ran a half hour program on the same! Super!

Another instance was when last evening all the channels were excited because Vishwanathan Anand was called a Swiss national and thus denied (almost!) a doctorate. Later the minister apologized for shooting his mouth and called Anand to accept the doctorate, however Anand could not attend the event due to certain other reasons. On every channel thereafter Anand was explicitly stating that he has no grudge against the Government or the minister and that he could not attend the event due to some other commitments however the holier than thou Rajdeep Sardesai and the care taker of the ‘nation’ Arnab Goswami

tried their level best to push Anand to commit that he was very angry with the minister and the government and a national tragedy had occured. Alas when Anand did not yield, they ended the interview and went ahead with the quotes and headlines that they had any ways planned to relay. They were nothing close to what Anand had stated in his interview!! Voila!

I remember a French man once stating loudly in a bar referring to the TV… “Hey put on something funny and if there’s nothing coming on then just put on BBC!” He of course had his own jibes to take at the British but the Indian journalism has definitely come to that, Breaking News ke liye kuch bhi karega!!

Take a hike people!

2010-08-23T21:56:00.000-07:00

Our MP’s demanded a pay hike and have got it. It’s a 300% increase and yet they are unhappy. They have stalled parliament for 2 days demanding higher than the revised salary.

There is nothing wrong in a pay hike that’s been due for as long as it was due in this case. The MP’s were drawing a salary of Rs. 16,000 which by all fair standards was low and thus a revision was called for.

However it is the percentage of the hike (300%!!) and the greed there after that gives reason to the anger and discomfort that one feels towards being understanding to their demands. Instead of the Rs. 50,000 base salary, they want it to be Rs.80,001/- because it would then be at least a rupee higher than the government secretaries!! Of course it is no rocket science to realize that the job profiles of the secretaries are far more cluttered and demanding than the lives and acumen of the MP’s* yet…Phew!

Another very vital element that is very casually mentioned or not mentioned in this salary debate is the “perks” that these elected members of parliament are entitled to making their salaries only a part of what they actually earn- legally!

For instance when their salary was Rs. 16,000/- apart from their office expenses, travel allowances, paid mobile bills and air tickets they would also get a daily allowance of Rs. 1000/-!!!, which means no expenditure at all for whatever else they need is compensated through gifts and favors extended by their well wishers and friends. Thus a salary of 16,000/- is as good as that of around 50,000/- or more!

Now with a base salary of 50,000 and all other expenses and allowances doubled along with a pension that’s almost tripled…they would be earning much more than what the figures show and anyone oblivious to this is under a delusion of being a very good actor for no one in their right minds is going to believe such ignorance.

I did believe that a decent pay structure may reduce corruption and still believe so when it comes to our law enforcement forces but for the MP’s*? I would rather ask myself to take a hike!

* conditions apply as exceptions do exist but unfortunately they are far too minuscule to be considered in any general statement!! :P

To Sir, with Love

2010-08-21T22:13:00.000-07:00

Until one afternoon of July’ 2007, when I was sitting in the lobby of Synergy Adlabs waiting to be interviewed for the post of an Asst Director; “Ravi Baswani” for me was just a face of an actor. I did not even know that the name of that face was ‘Ravi Baswani’!

After having spent fifteen minutes with him that afternoon- where he interviewed me- he being the Director of the show- I knew i 'HAD' to work with him.

After having worked with him as his assistant director on the said tele serial that he was directing I realized the vast knowledge and wisdom i could gain from the man and in that process of learning over the last 3 years, the man became my teacher, my guardian angel, my friend, my family and all of this, mind you, without any explicit emotional expression or distinctive declaration. I became a regular at his house where i would borrow books from his collection and see films he had collected often guided by him.

In the process I discovered that I was merely one of the many dreamers/ struggler's/ prospective film makers, actors, technicians etc who felt the way I did. All of these individuals were at various stages under his mentor-ship. This list of individuals had on them, names of film makers and technicians who had made it as big as getting nominated for an Oscar to some who had mastered the art of corrupting cinema and lives to some who simply gave up mid way to some who had nothing to do with film making but whose lives Mr. Baswani had touched, cured and blessed. All of them had stayed for prolonged period of time at Ravi Sir’s place, had read the books he gave them, saw the films he asked them to and followed him like a shadow in their primitive years.

His flat housed in Nityanand building in Mumbai’s andheri suburb was a melting pot of creative activity, a hub for learning, experimenting and even unwinding your frustrations!

I had named it “The Nityanand School of film learning”. There has been something purely healthy and motivating about that place which makes you want to complete that stuck up script of yours or watch that film you have been wanting to see or read that book you could not make sense off. The house also had a board outside that claimed “food is available 24*7”. Apart from food which is unanimously accepted as the worlds’ best dal-chawal prepared by his brother, all of us strugglers- even those who had moved on- to this day wonder how tea in the thermos and old monk in the glass jar never ran out no matter how many people landed up to drink and eat!

For the world he was an actor…. may be even a failed actor who could not sustain what started out as a promising career; but to all of us who were privileged and blessed to know him, he was our “Ravi sir” whose authority was never imposed on us but was always felt… who never asked us for anything but only gave… a guardian who tactfully knew how to handle each one of us in a unique way making each one of us believe that we were closest to him and he to us…and while he was all of this he was also what I called “the oldest child I had ever known!!”

That twinkle in the eye or that mischievous grin from behind the walrus mustache would unnerve the most confidant of high profiles!

It used to be a trip to accompany him for film trials, premiers or any such, “Oh so proper events”, for he would invariably say out loud, what was on everyone’s mind but none had the face or sincerity to say it, only he did!! I felt very strongly that his sincerity and boldness was also a reason why he did only 30 films as an actor in a career spanning 30 years despite being an inspiration to the likes of Naseerudin Shah and himself being an artist who understood the nuances of a performance and the grammar of its delivery. His ability was supreme but what were even more superior were his values that did not give him the luxury to compromise.

Starring one evening at the filmfare trophy that stood on a corner table in his flat I once asked him why there were not more of this or its likes, he looked into my eyes and answered very matter of factly,

“Amey, it’s the choices we make that determine where we head to. I made mine and here I am, others made theirs and there they are. I can’t speak for them but I am one hell of a satisfied man, cheers!”

I believe when you give that much dignity to life; death repays you by delivering you with that dignity. He passed away on the 27^th of July’2010 while he was in Nainital doing a tech recce for a film he was supposed to direct. I had spoken to him a night before and I being the Associate Director on the film we discussed a whole lot of things that needed to be done and said our good nights. He was his usual energetic and naughty self. I never knew then that it would be the last time I would be speaking to my hero.

Next morning he announced that the team (He, an asst director, two production guys) needed to return to Delhi and like was the system, no one asked questions and plans were made to head back. On the way again it was he who insisted on stopping at a dispensary where he walked unaided and waited while the doctor was summoned. However before the doctor could come in and see the patient, the patient had seen what was coming for Ravi sir looked into the eyes of the assistant director-Sarthak- who had accompanied him from Delhi and whispered, “I am going, Take care” and he was gone.

I always used to ask him whenever he foresaw things as to how he did it. He would reply with that characteristic grin and twinkle in the eye, I am afraid I cannot ask him about this last one.

I miss you sir but knowing you I am sure wherever you are, you are a satisfied man and the people around you are having a ball.

Cool Information: Me and My Father - My father is THE BEST

2010-06-01T02:46:00.000-07:00

Cool Information: Me and My Father - My father is THE BEST

How the hell can Lalit Modi be responsible alone??

2010-04-27T02:55:00.000-07:00

Sports management in our country has always been a shoddy and corrupt affair. The only reason cricket looked better than the other sports was not solely because it was managed better but because it simply had too much of a fan following amongst the billion people of this huge country.
A few years ago however this madness was complemented with efficient management, a fierce ambition and aggressive vision to create a supremely successful product called the IPL and the man responsible for this turnaround was one Mr. Lalit Modi.

Today as the IPL juggernaut rolls out of its 3rd season and looks a mammoth money making machine the man who started it all has been suspended and shunned.
I have no false notions that Mr. Modi is clean as he claims to be but I am also not naive to believe that the holier than thou authorities who are passing judgments on him are equally clean and innocent.

It is thus not about who is guilty, for they all are. It just is to be noted as to who is more guilty than the other! Thus i ask-
Who is more worthy of hoarding money?
The crisp clothed Babu’s who never had the vision, drive or the desire to give us an event like the IPL or a Modi who slogged his arse off day in and day out to make the event a grand success amidst the web of red tape’ism and babudom!

Who is more dangerous?
The grim faced slow moving authorities whose vested interest and shrewd moves have been ever so successfully covered up from us and who claim to be the guardians of the common man or a brash and flamboyant Lalit Modi who wears his success on his sleeve for all to see and envy and burns the midnight oil to see his dream come true!

Who deserves suspension?
The ever greedy authorities who sat by the fence all along and ate the cream while it flowed to them or a Lalit Modi who worked to get rich and worked hard at it.

There is no independent committee appointed to punish Modi. It is been done by the same people whom he offended.
N. Srinivassan- a member of the governing council as BCCI secretary and a president elect for BCCI- is passing judgment on Modi’s favours during franchise bidding.
He is the owner of the Chennai Super Kings Franchise!!

The supremo Mr. Sharad Pawar whose word is taken as full and final on every matter of IPL and BCCI is not even a member of the BCCI governing council!

The entire media was aware of the facilitation fee over which the fracas is happening, however BCCIclaims to be unaware of it! Lols!!

There are many such snippets of considerable importance that shall be kept hidden. Thus, for me it is not a matter of what happens to whom for they all made money and got rich while I had fun watching the games and see Sachin play!

However it only pains when in the stadium of nature, under the lights of circumstances and in the match of life the referee above takes time to intervene while unfair play carry’s on...and we continue to be –spectators!

WHERE ARE U HEADED TO...?

2010-04-19T02:29:00.000-07:00

Koi mile ki bichade, yahan kisko kya padi hai

Sab log chal rahe hain, duniya yahin khadi hai...

Khamoshiyon se kahiye chalkar zara pukaarein

Khwabon ke jangalon se aayin hain kya bahaarein

Neendon ka yeh zamaana bas aur do ghadi hai

Sab log chal rahein hain duniya yahin khadi hai

Aankhon mein khushboo ke manzar wahin khilenge

Lagta hai chalte chalte khud se wahin mileinge

Manzil hamare kad se bas do kadam badi hai

Sab log chal rahein hain duniya yahin khadi hai...

I heard this first when i coincidently happened to see the film 'Meenaxi- the tale of 3 cities'- directed by the legendary M F Hussain saab. The thought, the mood and the essence of these lines hit me very strongly then and over the years i have found myself reciting these lines at various times whenever i have become conscious of the pace of my life and of those around me. Each time i see a person restless and eager to maintain or gain a pace that is contradictory to logic and reason i feel like shouting out- Sab log chal rahe hai my friend par duniya yahin khadi hai!

Its remarkable the different pace that so many of us live their lives at various points of time and i find it amusing when at times that pace is being controlled by others whom we have no connection with for instance when you are in a hurry and there has been a traffic jam on account of someone's car being punctured in the middle of the highway! Now that person has no idea the amount of your life's pace he or she has effected.

Another instance- which is my favorite- is when people keep nudging ahead at a red light, some even go to the extent of honking knowing fully well that unless the light turns green no one is going to be able to cross the junction! yet the pace of your life is controlled and you cannot breathe easy. There is the constant gunning of the car engine and nudging going on!

I have always laughed at the manner in which people push, hit, quarrel, abuse and charge to get into a train compartment. Only to find themselves waiting for the train to move after all the violent activity of alighting and boarding is over!

As recent as yesterday i had been to the Gate of India to take some random bytes of people for a presentation i was making. It required people to answer my 2 questions on camera. I wanted people to pause and give me a byte that would last not more than a minute including my explanation time. However not surprisingly i was disappointed! Everyone seemed to be in a hurry! No one paused and i felt like a salesman on the traffic signal trying desperately to take a moment out of people's life! Even a gentleman staring out at the sea or simply walking by the promenade found my activity hindering his pace and thus was restless.

I remembered the above lines again then or even the line from Steven Spielberg's "Catch me if u can" which goes something like- "Where are you going tonight?". Everyone at every point seems to be going somewhere and all seem to be in a hurry to get there so what happens of- Sab log chal rahe hai, par duniya yahi khadi hai?!!...While everyone is walking to somewhere...the world stands... right here!!

For all those who read so far... thanks for the moments you spared...you can get back to running now...

POWER OF THE HUMAN MIND

2010-03-27T01:04:00.000-07:00

My father has given me some valuable pearls of wisdom over the years in a most subtle and underplayed manner; one of those which is related to this write up is regarding the POWER OF THE MIND or human brain as one may perceive it.
It was in school during exam time when i was not confident to produce what i had learnt over and over again that he told me, “The power of the human mind is limitless. So if you believe that what you have learnt has been absorbed by your mind then nothing can stop you from reproducing it.”

I followed it and was pleasantly surprised to see the favourable results with ease. The most complex problems of life often have the simplest solutions!!

I was reminded of this advice over last evening and this morning when I applied my mind to an endurance test as I chose to cycle my way home from my office in Bandra to my home in Borivali- a distance of 32 kms and again same way back this morning from home to work!
I was long planning to undertake this adventure as I found a lack of physical activity in my daily routine. I am not a gymming person and have thus tried to find avenues like taking up some sport like may be tennis, squash, swimming or cycling to keep of the flab and stay fit. On extensive research cycling seemed most conveniently available as all other options either needed me to solicit a partner or required me to make a lot of adjustments to my schedule in order to accommodate them.

Thus I rented a cycle from a store nearby and began cycling the distance of 32 kms amidst dense traffic, fading light and pollution at 18:30 hours last evening. It was not the smartest thing to do but that’s the beauty of passion and dreams- they require you to be crazy!
I knew it was a monumental task as I had not taxed my body at all over the last year or so. The last rigorous activity for me was the shoot of a film which was a year back. Since then gymming was irregular as always and partying was relatively regular- as always! Oops!
But there had to be a beginning of the change and this was the chosen time and date! So it seemed!
20 minutes into the ride(crossing Milan Subway, Santacruz) and the fight between my physical and mental stamina had begun! I was trying to focus on the breathing and telling myself to go on. The hamstring was screaming with pain and the palms were already burning red! The short cut department of the mind started hinting one solution after another- Leave the bike at a friends’ place nearby and take a auto screamed one option, put the bike in cab and zoom home- you have exercised enough for your first day said another while take a break and relax said another! However amidst this chaos was a feeble whisper that said- Go On- Don’t stop for as long as you can, break your journey into smaller landmarks and keep crossing them patiently and consistently, the joy that you will experience after completing your task will be worth the effort!

It was in this feeble whisper that I remembered my dad’s advice given to me very subtle-ly a good 14 years back! THE POWER OF THE MIND IS LIMITLESS, it said. If my mind can believe that I can do it, so will my body. I kept talking to myself... sometimes even loudly. I kept believing very genuinely that I could cycle 32 kms of uneven roads with frantic traffic and chaos. My landmarks at times were just the closest street light or sometimes a tiny speck of advertising board that I could see in the distance. My back and bum were aching; the complicated gear apparatus on the cycle did not help. I had forgotten every bit of the gear tutorial given to me by the bike owner when I had taken out the bike....I only knew one thing...I had to go on and I did!

Finally 2 hours and 20 minutes later I had completed the first half of my dream! I was home! I was proud and happy! My mind’s power had won over my physical strength. Tomorrow morning I had to cycle back the same distance, this time the traffic would be less but there was the sun that I had to fight against and I also had to be up to face an entire day at work thereafter.
Conscious of the above and determined to make this a complete victory for my mind I took all the precautions needed to be able to cycle back the next morning- leg massager, hot water with salt dip, etc. This morning besides my dependence on my mental strength I had with me the knowledge of having done it once, last night. My mind had proved itself to me and was determined to not make it a one off!

It was not a one off. I am writing this from my work desk...having covered the distance in 2 hours this time between 9:00am to 11:00am... having showered and hydrated myself well with water and an energy drink, I am writing this proudly so that I can share this experience so that all of us can make use of this abundant power of our mind that lies within us...often dormant only to be used once in a while to its true potential.

May all of you my friends...challenge your mind and stretch it to its limitless edge to achieve your dreams...however small or big they may be...

MY NAME IS MUMBAIKAR AND I AM CONFUSED!

2010-02-16T00:29:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot happening in Mumbai over the last two weeks. There are stands being taken, opinions fired out and reactions garnered over the Shiv Sena, Shah Rukh Khan, MNIK, Media, IPL, Pakistan, Terrorism etc etc etc... However I have not been able to formulate my thoughts for the want of inconsistency of us all and the over eager forces of media whose vested interests every time seem just too glaringly obvious!
I am unable to gather the confidence to understand the difference between economics and emotions! I find myself lost between stakes as vital as money and safety as opposed to idealism and emotions!!!

I know one thing for sure that there is a lot of pent up frustration amongst all of us that is waiting to find an outlet. Some pass it out by taking a vacation or having a drink while some get angry and become aware overnight!! In both cases, after a while life returns to routine!!
I am sure there are ideals and values within all of us but I am also sure our plate is so full that we neither have the energy nor the patience to pursue our brief outbursts of social awareness. Thus, at the end of it all we end up looking foolish and exploited!
The spirit of Mumbai used to excite me until I realised it’s more like a soda bottle that’s shaken once in a while before opening up. The fizz promises a splurge but what follows is a meek trickle that dries out!
I hurt some of my friends when I did not support candle marches post 26/11 and I may seem cold to many whose souls are presently burning with a desire to make that all important difference! However I am very conscious of this being a Media age...a time where the tube dominates our mind and runs our lives. I have realised the need of the broadcaster to feed the channel and tabloids 24*7 with the fodder to fuel our fascination with destruction. I can sense the silence and noise that the government conveniently makes and i get scared when i see the fear amongst our governing bodies to be exposed in turn if they expose the big clouted law breakers!!!
I also understand the need of every individual to earn money, to pay the bills, the taxes, to resolve those fights at home, get over the break ups and loses, to go for the weekend dinner with family or celebrate that special day and also beat those traffic jams where we spend half our lives...there is too much to do and so little of time!!!
I am being cynical but I am definitely not yet rigid and thus there is hope! But to believe that, as a potential promise would be falling for the well marketed ‘Spirit of Mumbai’ concept that makes more economic sense than social!!
We don’t need a spirit that fizzles out or a fire that gets put out. We need a very consistent effort on a daily basis by each one of us in a very tiny yet determined manner...until then we must accept very blatantly that if nothing else- WE ARE A MUMBAIKAR AND WE ARE CONFUSED- and are thus being herded by those who can see through our directionless and restless minds!!

Where are the Pakistan Ministers and Sympathisers now??

2010-02-02T00:58:00.000-08:00

Last week the Pakistani players spearheaded by Shahid Afridi went all out to condemn ‘India’ for not picking up Pakistani Players at the IPL 3 auction.

Singing the same tune with them were all Pakistani Ministers, Indian media and even our Honourable Home Minister.

Everyone lamented as to how unethical and shameful it was of the IPL 3 organisers to not pick up Pakistani players. No one seemed to understand the business and economic nature of that decision. No one bothered to even highlight that along with the Pakistani players even some Australian players were left out for precisely the same reasons!

I felt strongly about this incident because all sense and sensibility apart I strongly believe that Pakistan does not have the right and stature to point fingers at India’s ethics or its sensibilities. I mentioned last time too that I am not a Pakistan basher but by no means will I ever tolerate any Pakistani screaming ‘Shame on India’...and what irked me the most was the reason for which it was happening!

It was evident that Pakistan was finding an opportunity to throw verbal filth at India and grabbed it with all their limbs and instead of our media and authorities giving them the Royal snub, we were seen glamorising their insult with loads of airtime and print space!
A week later the world class Pakistani Player-Afridi- was caught on camera tampering the ball. He was biting the seam off the ball in order to make it difficult to play. He has been banned for two matches and his reasons- among many- for doing the same- as told by him were -
1) We were losing and hence I needed to do something!
2) Everyone does it, so what if I did too!
Where are all the above people now? How come no one is shaming this incident with the same intensity as the IPL 3 auction? How come the sympathisers of Indian cricket fans are not out condemning the incident?

This hypocrisy for convenience sake is precisely my point!

2010-01-21T00:57:00.001-08:00

So the Pakistani players were not bought at the IPL 3 auctions! Does that become an issue of ‘International Concern’ where their External Affairs Minister has the audacity to say that “They will get back at India”?!!!
Let me first mention where my thinking comes from and the facts as I know them-
1) IPL is a very private enterprise. There are corporate houses involved who are shelling out millions of dollars with a business plan to make profit over a planned period of time. Cricket is a only a medium to achieve that purpose.
2) This time there was uncertainty over the availability of Pakistani Cricketers owing to which while the corporate players i.e. the franchises formulated their plans they decided to go for investments (read players0 that would have no uncertainty and thus made their choices.

3) As per these choices the ‘Australian’ and ‘Pakistani’ players were left out as at the time of decision making and consultation process, the said purchases did not guarantee ‘Return on Investment’.

4) And most importantly every franchisee had only limited number of seats to fill in so just because the Pakistan cricketers were made available last minute they could not have spent a few million dollars more even if franchisee's wanted to play good hosts!!!

Thus even without getting into the history of damage caused to us by Pakistan it still seems a perfectly valid development to accept.

However looks what's been made out of it-
"I have phoned the sports minister of India and recorded a protest over the unjust and discriminatory treatment meted out to the Pakistani cricketers," sports minister Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani has said to the media!!!
Their Interior and External affairs minister Rehman Malik was seen on television this morning talking with anger and vengeance about- getting back at India!!! (I hope he did not mean getting back to India!)
Our very own media channels were seen spitting their sensational concerns at the cameras last night over how unfortunate this incident is for Pakistan and the spirit of the game!!!
(Isn't Mallya taking care of the 'spirits' of the game?)
Now, I am not a one who takes out his hatred dagger the moment Pakistan is mentioned but I am very consciously aware of the damage that country is causing us and blatantly ignoring our various grave concerns. For them to think of ‘giving it back to us’ because a private business decision did not go in their favour is ludicrous to say the least...also for me to expect Pakistan to understand that fact is also a little naive! But alas...!

The painful part in this circus is our own media channels who seem to achieve a low moral ground with each passing day! None of the news channels bothered to highlight the fact that some of the Australian players too were not picked up owing to the very same reasons!! None of them attempted to explain the business nature of the league to our ignorant neighbours! And of course none of them had the strength of character to ignore the entire exercise of stupidity!!!

Apart from the fact that the Pakistani players lost out on earning a lot of money there is nothing more dramatic to it...especially for Pakistan who has to save its face on far more crucial issues.

And lastly, Please note- Pakistani cricketers were denied permission by Islamabad to play in the second IPL edition last year due to growing political tensions with India after the November 2008 attacks on Mumbai!!!

Should’nt we be protesting for first they sent terrorists and killed us, secondly they refused to co-operate in the investigations, then their players snubbed our IPL 2 and now they are threatening to get back at us!!!

And what does the ‘I’ in IPL stand for anyways??

HOCKEY IS OUR NATIONAL SH(G)AME!

2010-01-13T00:22:00.000-08:00

It was always a known fact that hockey was the foster child of our cricket loving nation. The players not being paid and training under not the best facilities is nothing new hence in a way I’m glad that the present furore by the players has raised some dust over something that had started to become a way of life.
The pathetic nature of the Hockey administration is further exposed by the manner in which the ‘officials’ (Read: people with right political contacts) are handling the issue.
It’s a perfect scenario where one finds it difficult to figure out whether to cry at the misery of the situation or laugh at the buffoonery!!
For instance after having failed to provide any logical explanation for the awkward situation the board finds in where the national players are sitting out of practise two months before the world cup and the board claiming that it is poor and has no money and also cannot arrange for it, the players were asked by the Hockey India (HI) president- A K MATTOO- to choose between money and love for the nation!! Now how corny is that?
Should not Mr. Mattoo pay the best players their due if ‘he’ loves the country? Contrary to that he is threatening to field an entire new team in the WORLD CUP if the players don’t give up their demands and surrender meekly to the board!! So it would be fair to say that Mr. Mattoo loves his country so much that he does not mind the country loosing face in a tournament of world cup standards by fielding a second rung side!! And wait... we have yet not debated about the fact as to how is asking for rightful dues a mark of not loving one’s country??! Never mind.
Last night the President of the International Hockey Federation glared in the camera in a news talk show and ranted how the players will not get any sympathy from anybody in the international hockey playing community before he threw away the mike and walked off!! Ah! Now that’s going to make you look good Mr. ADMINISTRATOR? Shows how thoughtful you can be!
If I mention here, the other cases of disputable selection criteria and the condition of the training camps, I shall be only making you’ll read what you all already know... so let’s simply come to the moral of the story which in this case is- THE PLAYERS SHOULD BE PAID and please don’t bull shit by saying that you have no money!!!
And of course...the poor administrative skills and lazy attitude was always your hallmark now please don’t get corny by degrading ‘love for the nation’ feeling! Spare us please and pay them!

I AM A FARMER!!

2010-01-08T04:33:00.000-08:00

There is definitely more to gaming then simply passing time and enjoying the moment. It is connected with your personality, your frame of mind and thus your dreams and aspirations. For hence you get attached to some games far too aggressively and find some escape in their virtual world.
Right now that world of mine is in the fields!!! I am a farmer who judiciously cuts his crops when they are ready to harvest, Plant them carefully such that i would be able to attend to them before they go bad and also enjoy selling them and then carefully managing the funds so that i can develop my farm better!
Facebook is no more now a social networking platform where in i send friend requests or chat... it is a place where i farm!!!

I don’t know what it is... maybe I want to set up an office of mine that I conduct leisurely, at my pace and do a good job of it...or maybe i just want to own a farm away from all the noise that the city makes or maybe i am just an escapist who likes to plant trees without dirtying my hands!!
As of now i am enjoying being a farmer!!! ....so much so that i even wrote a random post on my blog dedicated to Farmville!!!

3 IDIOTS MAKING A FOOL OF THEMSELVES? WHY??

2010-01-04T22:45:00.000-08:00

Raju Hirani and especially Vidhu Vinod Chopra were known for a very methodical and clinical style of film making. Hence when the rights to the novel '5 Point Someone' were bought, it felt good to see them keeping their consistency. Further when an Aamir Khan joined the duo the project seemed that much more 'perfect'! So what went wrong between the trio and Chetan Bhagat??

After the fiasco between the makers and the author- Chetan Bhagat- regarding the credit or rather dis-credit issue, i re-read the novel to form an opinion and discovered for all logical purposes that Chetan Bhagat should have been given the credit he was asking for!!!

Here's why....

1) Characters: Aamir(Rancho)=Ryan, Madhavan(Farhan)=Hari/the narrator and Sharman(Raju)=Alok...all character traits match perfectly so there is not much change here at all!

2)Book: Alok's family = Film: Raju's family- same setting/ paralysed father, cribbing mother, unmarried sister and extreme poverty!

3)Book: Alok sommits suicide= Film: Raju commits suicide- the situation has been changed...that is why it is an adaptation and not a translation!!

4)Book: Ryan's intro at a ragging session where he stands up for himself= Film: Rancho does the same!

5) Book: Alok's appearance = Film: Raju's look- same!

6) Book: First sequence after ragging scene is the 'defination of machine sequence'= Film: same sequence heavily 'inspired by the book'; again an adaptation but the premise is from the book!

7)Book: 3 friends ridding together on a scooter through Delhi roads= Film: yes, same!

8) Book: Farhan studies cross legged at desk and Raju at the study table = Film: yes same!!

9) Book: Ryan is known to give 'Anti Education System' gyaan = Film: Aamir's character- Rancho- is called Baba Ranchordas for precisely the same reason.

10) Book: The satirical manner of introducing Alok's paralysed father, crying mother and unwed sister is retained to the 'L' in the film- s(h)ame to s(h)ame!

11) The tank on which the guys meet for drinks and chilling in the film is what is an institute terrace on the 9th floor in the book!!!!

12) The dowry for Alok's sister wedding in the book is to have a maruti 800 and the same goes for Raju's sister in the film!!!

13) The book is narrated through the character of Hari which in the case of the film is Farhan! same character, same narrative tone!!

14)The heroines brother in the book commits suicide due to fathers high expectations which is revealed at the end of the book for until then it is mentioned as an accident- ditto in the film!!!

and lastly...(for i still have 50 pages of book to read!!!)
15) The title 3 idiots was supposed to be 'Idiots' which Raju Hirani did not get because it was taken by someone else! You cant help notice a scene in the book (pg 199) where the three characters are repeatedly called- IDIOTS!! for their acts...thus inspiration is possible and too coincidental to be otherwise.

I fail to understand why the makers have so vehemently denied any similarity beyond '5%' between the film and the book. After all it was always an adaptation and not a copy so it was never meant to be a page by page translation. The screenplay has got a lot of variations and Abhijat Joshi and Raju Hirani have done a wonderful job but the primary premise which is the most toughest part of any writing process has definitely come from the book. Why else would the rights be bought and 'bonus' be paid????

My space of fame!!-

I made a short film three years ago based on a O'Henry short story...by the time the film got made the changes were so much that less than '5%' of similarity remained but it had helped me set the premise and hence i credited it as-

Story- O'Henry;

Adapted to Film by- Amey Nadkarni!

It can be done thus!...and of course O'Henry had no idea about this endeavour of mine and neither would he have given a damn for he passed away in 1910!! Still you got to do what you got to do!!

Also as Chetan Bhagat said- My publishers pay me royalty every month but they don't put their names as writer on the book!

In history, farce and tragedy often come in pairs...

2009-12-29T22:44:00.000-08:00

In some ways, the Ajmal Kasab (the lone gunman captured alive in the Mumbai terror attack) saga resembles Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. For want of something better to do, the two tramps Vladimir and Estragon engage in a duel of abuses. Vermin, cretin, moron, they call each other. The winner yells the ultimate insult. “You are a critic,” he screams at the top of his voice as the lights fade.

Long before the court could give its verdict the media pronounced Kasab guilty. But now, case plays itself out, Kasab has done what most people faced with a death sentence do. He has disowned his earlier statement implicating himself. So now he is being called a liar. It’s almost as though being a liar is somehow worse than being a terrorist. What would they ideally want him to do short of confessing to his role in the terror plot? Do they want the man they so revile to act nobly and voluntarily stick his head in the noose?

It is axiomatic that history repeats itself, first as a tragedy then as a farce. Yet sometimes there is such a fine difference between history’s two consorts that it is hard to tell them apart.Take the two events as examples that came towards the fag end of this year. One was the indictment by an inquiry commission of a former prime minister and self-proclaimed charioteer of Indian nationalism. He, along with 68 others was found culpable of razing the Babri Masjid in 1992. In other words they had organised the mobs to tear the Indian constitution to shreds. Much of the media treated it as a minor aberration, a speck of dust merely, and no more, on democracy’s fair name. It was further claimed that Messrs L.K. Advani and A.B. Vajpayee were unjustly dragged in it. It didn’t matter that TV coverage of that event proved otherwise.

Then came the last stages of the Mumbai terror trial in which Kasab, the main accused in captivity, denied any role he had previously admitted to having played in inflicting the gruesome attack. Now he claims that he had travelled from his native Pakistan to act in movies in Mumbai! That’s how he was picked up by police a day before the November 26 attack. He claims he was framed.Perhaps he is lying.

Who doesn’t tell lies to win a court case, particularly when the alternative is a likely death sentence? The great statesmen involved in the demolition of the Babri Masjid have lied even without the fear of the noose.So between the demolition of the Babri Masjid and the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, which was tragedy and which was farce? The sad truth, however, is that while Ayodhya and Mumbai cannot and should not be juxtaposed or compared, there is a common link. Both have led to rightwing consolidation of the polity, and in the final analysis it is this that has serious implications for India’s democracy.

India’s middle classes want Kasab hanged, they want to lynch him in the tradition of the Ox-Bow Incident. They like to pick and choose their injustices. To them the Liberhan Commission’s indictment of rightwing politicians is passé and boring.The hype around the attacks on Mumbai (the 26/11 incident, as it has come to be called) has similarities with the way the middle classes and the media had approached the attack on parliament on December 13, 2001. On that occasion Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha. He had cast doubts over the official theory about the attack.We came close to a nuclear war with Pakistan over that incident.

Suppose we look at the hysteria generated by the media in that, which had declared S.A.R. Geelani guilty even before the trial court had sentenced him to death. Considering that the High Court exonerated him of any role in the parliament attack episode, imagine the absurdity, the farce and the tragedy of putting at risk the lives of millions over a false lead.Mercifully then as after the Mumbai attacks a grave possibility of war did not erupt into something more sinister than the attacks had proved to be.

As last week’s Economic and Political Weekly observed, “India could not replicate the US response to 9/11 with its own mini-war of terror by attacking Pakistan, which at one time seemed very imminent but may have been thwarted by the imperative of the US-led war in Pakistan and Afghanistan, a tacit binary was established which effectively blocked legitimate questions around the incident.”

Commenting on last month’s official commemoration of the Mumbai attack, the EPW observed: “The jingoistic hype duly helped by the media reached its crescendo on its first anniversary. While one would expect the nation to come to its senses after the heat of the incident had come down and to ponder over the real questions the incident raised, it was not to be.”

The journal put out an interesting array of statistics. India has faced more than 4,100 terrorist attacks between 1970 and 2004, accounting for about 12,540 fatalities, according to the Global Terrorism Database, maintained by the University of Maryland and the US National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START).That accounts for an average of almost 360 fatalities per year.

The earlier attack in Mumbai on 11 July 2006 in the form of serial blasts at seven places in local trains, the lifeline of the city, was executed within a short time of 11 minutes, and the death toll was far higher at 200 and with 714 people being wounded.

In terms of potential, if one may say so, the 2001 attack on the Parliament in New Delhi, symbolising our national sovereignty, in which five terrorists, six policemen and one civilian were killed was far more perilous than the 26/11 attack.

“Why then has the 26/11 episode been singled out as ‘the attack on India’ and projected as India’s 9/11?,” asks the EPW article.The only distinguishing factor in the 26/11 attack is that it is the first time that the elite establishments symbolised by the Taj and Trident hotels were targeted. In terms of casualties, about 61 persons were killed in these two hotels, and of 102 of the rest, 58 ordinary citizens were shot randomly at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) station. In the list of victims there were 37 foreigners.

Among those killed were senior police officials of the Indian Police Service such as Anti-Terrorist Squad chief Hemant Karkare. Although, the CST attack lasted for over 30 minutes just a stone’s throw away from the police posse at the Azad Maidan Police Station the entire resistance effort was directed towards the Taj, Trident and of course Nariman House. Our elitist media also largely ignored the CST tragedy and focused its attention during and after the attack around these places.

At his first press conference after his release, Zakir Hussain College lecturer S.A.R. Geelani referred to the role of the media in his case. It had lent itself to carrying propaganda put out by the police, he said. To the extent that journalists take briefings from the police, often unquestioningly, he is right.

Several of India’s leading national newspapers and TV channels have been exposed as having widely and repeatedly published and telecast falsehoods about the accused in the Parliament attack. The coverage brought India and Pakistan to the brink of nuclear war.

A few years later, when the trial was completed, the Supreme Court acquitted two of the four accused. A third was convicted on a separate set of charges altogether. Mohammad Afzal continues to be on death row even though the Supreme Court held that it had found no evidence to prove that he was a member of a terrorist group. However the judgement went on to say that “in order to satisfy the collective conscience of society” it was sentencing him to death. In modern society, it is the mass media that fashions the collective conscience of society. It is the mass media that is deciding which injustices society should tolerate and which it should not.

Whether Ajmal Kasab is found guilty, or whether he lives or dies will not affect the problem of terrorism that India faces. Yet that hardly seems to matter to those who revel in one sordid tragedy after another, seeking a sound bite here or a quotable quote there. Estragon and Vladimir had found their ultimate insult.

The Indian media and Ajmal Kasab are still searching for theirs...

ARTICLE BY JAVED NAQVI.

Our Little Bits that can make the Big Difference!

2009-12-09T00:29:00.000-08:00

Do we need a film like 2012 or the media frenzy around Copenhagen to realise that we are headed towards “Doomsday”?

Don’t we realise by simply stepping out of our houses or even looking out of our windows at anytime of the day to know how fucked up we are?

It’s raining in November! The winter is delayed and severe! Last year people embarrassingly wore sweaters in the day in Mumbai!!! Summers are getting hotter!

Government is announcing housing schemes but without water supply!!!What happened to the three basic needs of man?? Basic food crops are scarce and prises are sky rocketing!

We are multiplying at a frantic pace and the place to hold all of us is shrinking!!
These are major problems that seem scarier and far fetched when looked as a whole but what if we break it down into tiny bits and pieces and begin to make the change that’ll benefit us all? It then seems truly simple and manageable.

Why get all hyper about switching off our lights for an hour- once in a year??? Why not do it for 10 minutes every day??? Likewise I was just going through an average day and came up with certain tiny bits of change that make a big difference.

I first applied it to my life for a week and believe me they not only contribute towards the big picture but most importantly make you feel better......A little respite for the otherwise guilt conscious!

A few simple things that i did without any major adjustments to my life-

Switch off the lights as you leave the room- without fail and at all times!
While brushing your teeth - Keep the tap off while you are brushing- every single day and night!
Skip the shower in the morning; use the bucket. I am still discounting the luxury of having a shower at the end of a tiring day. If you can skip that too- great!

Walk all short distances around the house for any chore- grocery store, for a smoke to the paan wala, to the gym, etc.

Instead of each member of the family taking a different glass for water why not share glasses or use bottles and drink without soiling them? Saves water and effort!

Treat the work place as your own- only as far as power consumption is concerned! Switch off the comps/ laptops for the lunch break. Put them on sleep mode for the smoke breaks.

Before switching on the AC or any lights just pause and ask- Do I really need it? If not then… J
I guess the point has been drawn and hate preaching but tiny adaptations are the need of the hour and if I have succeeded in it, I am sure each of us can.

It’s worth it. Keep it simple. Keep it minimal. Keep it consistent. Lets not spoil ourselves and screw the future…what say?

A NEWS ARTICLE FROM THE DNA

2009-11-24T04:54:00.000-08:00

Here’s a special quiz: for DNA readers. Which two of the following four men are terrorists: David Coleman Headley Tahawwur Hussain Rana Vilas Pandurang Warak Rahul Mahesh Bhatt American investigators working for the FBI think it’s the first two which is why they have been arrested. On the other hand India’s own National Investigating Agency (NIA) seems to think it’s Warak and Bhatt who are the offenders and has been treating them accordingly. Perhaps this is not a time for levity considering that issues of national security are involved, but the fact remains that the NIA has treated Rahul Bhatt and Vilas Warak with a callousness which goes far beyond mere insensitivity. And in the manner in which it has handled these two young men you can see why the NIA fails in its primary duty which is to investigate terror plots and if possible, foil them. There is no doubt that it has failed in this job. Rana – who has a Canadian passport – was in India for three weeks in November 2008 and left days before 26/11. During his stay here he visited five cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune and Kochi. Headley – who has a US passport -- also visited these five cities; in fact, he made as many as nine trips into India between 2006 and 2009, but neither he nor Rana were on the radar of the NIA as possible suspects who needed to be monitored. Yet, they were under the FBI’s surveillance, Headley for as long as a year before he was arrested last month and Rana for about half that time. Why did the NIA not have any clue of their diabolical intent? In fact, why did the name David Coleman Headley on a former Pakistani national not arouse suspicion? Why was the Indian Consul General in Chicago in such a hurry to give Headley a long term multiple entry visa? And why is it only now that no one found out that the name Headley was a camouflage for the man’s real name Daaod Gilani, and that he had served 15 months in a US prison for drug trafficking in Philadelphia? These are questions Mr Chidambaram, the Home Minister needs to ask those who are allegedly in charge of our nation’s security. After the colossal intelligence failures which led to the 9/11 felling of the World Trade Centre Towers in New York and the tube attacks in London, the United States and Britain have put into place surveillance systems of such magnitude and efficiency that no terrorist attacks have taken place there since then. This is not for want of trying. The US still remains Enemy No.1 for terrorists, and the UK is not far behind as a target. Yet with the help of intelligence gathering of a very high order, terrorist conspiracies have been nipped in the bud, terror networks have been exposed and many terrorists arrested before they could do any damage. In arresting Headley and Rana, the US may have foiled strikes in India, though it’s still possible that the two have installed sleeper cells in the five cities they visited. If so, the onus is on NIA to identify and neutralize them. Intelligence gathering relies on a network of informers, some of whom would be part of an agency like NIA, but many more of whom would be freelancers or people on retainership who provide information for payment or for reasons of patriotism. While the first kind, the freelancers, are essential for a continuous flow of information within groups likely to cause problems, there can be a huge informal network of the latter, citizens who out of nationalistic altruism will report suspicious activities on one, and only one condition. That condition being that there has to be a responsible and responsive person in the police or the NIA who will listen carefully, take notes diligently and ensure anonymity. Instead of that we get a sordid spectacle of Rahul Bhatt and Vilas Warak being hounded by the NIA, their names being made public so that the media could harass them, and worse, being treated as if they were under some kind of cloud. And why? Because they had the misfortune of meeting Headley by chance and getting to know him. How were they to guess that Headley had a criminal past or evil future intentions when the NIA itself had no clue ? In the US or the UK, the identity of witnesses is never revealed. A press release would have merely said “Two men are helping the police in investigations.” If Bhatt and Warak were volunteering information to the FBI or Scotland Yard, they would not have been summoned to the police station in the full glare of publicity; instead plainclothes men would have visited them in their homes and made discreet inquiries. You can’t blame the media for highlighting a story; it is up to the authorities to make sure the media does not get the story in the first place. In a while the frenzy of the current excitement will die down and Rahul Bhatt and Vilas Warak will get back to their normal lives. But will the ordeal they have gone through encourage other people to volunteer information to the police or NIA in the future? Would you go out of a patriotic sense of duty to report suspicious activities if there was a good chance that you yourself would be treated as a suspect? Is anyone now surprised why our intelligence agencies never gather any intelligence?

SHIV SENA IS BATTING ON A VERY BOUNCY WICKET!!!

2009-11-24T03:47:00.000-08:00

The Shiv Sena was loosing its ground(Not cricket ground!). They had no issues that they could fight for and those could truely be called as "Issues". Uddhav Thackrey has not been an impressive leader and they are still relying on the charisma of Bal Thackrey whose frailing health is not helping the sinking party. The MNS is creating furthur problems to Sena which anyway was in trouble as the Raj Thackrey syndrome is causing grave damage to their thinking and working.

The assembly results made it obvious what otherwise was only whispered and murmured. The Sena supreme accused the Marathi Manoos of back stabbing him and ended up distancing them further more from the saffron brigade. As if all this was not enough, they come up with a disastrous goof up like the attack on Sachin Tendulkar!!!!!! Of all the people...Of all the millions of sane and insane issues around, they end up picking the most sanctimonious of all!!! Running down the national icon of international repute-our very own and dearly loved- Sachin Tendulkar!!! WHY??

How can someone be so naive? How can someone who has been in the political arena for above 40 years and has emerged and sustained on nothing else-(issues, i cant think of any) but sensing the pulse of the people -go so wrong at this crucial hour??

I am still willing to concede that mistakes happen! An article once written in the surge of emotions cannot be held as testimonial of someones entire IQ and identity, so the first article in Saamna was a blunder but NO- they did not stop!! They go on and on and on...

Statements are made like Sachin did not make it possible for (an out of form and under performing) Kambli to stay in the national team so -shame on Sachin!!! In other words the one who does his job sincerely is a traitor to the marathi cause?? Sachin said he is an Indian first so- Shame on Sachin. What does that mean????

Is there no one in this entire Sena enterprise who can think well for themselves and advise the party decision makers that they must save the very little grace of theirs by shutting up...at least now!!

This is beginning to seem like an ideal case study of a downfall for the desperation is getting the better of them. The helplessness is beginning to seem very obvious.- They attacked Sachin Tendulkar as guardians of marathi manoos!!!!!!!! Hasava ki radava aamhi??

LOVE IS GOD…GOD IS LOVE…is it??????? YES IT IS!!

2009-11-21T02:28:00.000-08:00

STATUTORY WARNING: I am fully aware of the cynical and satirical nature of the write up to follow however the idea was to highlight the analogy between LOVE and GOD and smile on its usage here under!

I have started to believe that most poetic and mystical concepts that we know off-LOVE and GOD taken here- are actually products of excellent marketing!! They are avenues that have supreme potential for economic exploitation!!

Both Love and God seem to be marketed not only aggressively but also successfully as we’ll find out…

In both these cases- if you observe- the target audience is enamored and in awe making them extremely vulnerable to be induced into believing anything!!!

In both the scenarios there is a subjects desire to please and please fast! The reactions of being pleased are also wanted fast by the one in love and by those that pray!! In other words better the gift-faster the sex and higher the donation-faster the wish granted!
Keeping this in mind it is only natural that a lot of money is at stake on both these supposedly spiritual emotions…and keeping this in mind the entrepreneurs have developed a market that provides fodder to the above non-materialistic feelings and concepts.

The brilliance of the entrepreneurs is that they have also cushioned their position by developing a market at the other end of this tunnel. That is when a person has fallen out of love or given up god. That is the time when the liquor barons come into play or even worse another start of the same process---falling in love again or turning to religion and spirituality and lastly being violent and unlawful!

The last one herein which is that of being unlawful leads to the encounters with the law, judiciary, governance and thus into a much corrupt and thriving set up!!

Imagine if one does not fall in love or believe in god! There would no acts of illogical sentimentality, there would be no loss of focus or a surge of happiness which when goes missing and one hits the ground and feels the world falling apart!

That would mean a consistent life with a balanced frame of mind that is based on practicality and sensibility…would it??

Hmmm…

LIGHT THE CANDLES AGAIN- IT IS TIME!

2009-11-18T02:58:00.000-08:00

I was ridiculed by a group of certain young college kids when I did not applaud them for their candle gathering at the Gateway of India post 26/11. In order to urge me into joining them they attempted to arouse my nationalistic senses by reminding me about the grave tragedy that they were gathering in the memory off. No amount of my explaining to them that ‘Terrorism was a very deep rooted problem that will require persistent and very intelligent efforts on a day to day basis’ seemed to hold any ground before their excitement to make a difference- NOW!

The difference so far has been that nothing has been done!
The difference has been that everyone has got busy and tied up in their lives which is yet not touched by the sting of terror.
The difference is that the media and radio channels continue to wait for an event that they can milk for their own benefit and making people believe that it is being done for them! The difference is that those who cause all the damage are laughing at our business and continuing to be miles ahead of us!!

Else why would there not be an uproar or inquisitiveness when two innocent young men by the name of Rahul Bhatt and Vilas Varak who volunteered information to the cops about terrorists- terrorists who were involved in the terror attack and about whom the investigative agencies had no clue as to where to look for their foot prints- are finding themselves crucified amidst the web of lies and sensationalism and even vandalism.

Rahul and Vilas did not realize that- by doing what all the candle carrying mobs of the city should have actually done- they brought to light in a very unintentional manner the lackluster working of the NIA (National Investigative Agency) who at that time believed that the “Rahul” mentioned in the phone excerpts of David Headley and Rana was either Shah Rukh Khan or Rahul Gandhi!!! How close!!!

Let me now state a few revelations that are so far very conveniently underplayed-
1) No questions are asked to the management of the gym where David Headley was a member! He could also run a business in the city and get an apartment here!!
2) The snap of Headley shown on all channels so far is wrong- it is not Headley!!
3) The true pic of Headley has been located now and in there he is seen having wine with the ex US Counsel General- Michael S Owen in Feb 2008!

This is only the beginning for more is yet to be buried under the carpet because we are not going to take this lying low.
If this can happen a reputed and socially credible man like Mahesh Bhatt what will you and I do if tomorrow one of your loved one is accused of being a terrorist because his/her name was taken by some terrorist in some phone conversation?????

It is time to light the candles but not carry them to any place where they die out in the wind but to use those flames to burn the lies and the liars to ashes.

I DOUBT IF ANYONE WOULD WANT TO HELP THE POLICE EVER!!

2009-11-16T21:44:00.000-08:00

…after what is been happening with Rahul Bhatt.

A Mahesh Bhatt or Pooja Bhatt does not need any endorsement or certification from me for the absolute innocence of Rahul Bhatt who is presently being crucified for discharging his duties as a responsible citizen. However it is my very own frustration and extreme anger at the ongoing circus of sensationalism at the cost of someone’s life that is making it impossible for me to stay quiet.

I am no major fan of the Bhatt’s to make me blindly stand up and speak for them but I have had the esteemed opportunity to work as an Asst. Director on two films directed by Ms. Pooja Bhatt. It is during this process of over 2 years that I did got an opportunity to see and know the Bhatt’s more closely than the average film and news watcher does. It is a result of this experience that I can vouch for the fact about the current buzz around Rahul Bhatt and his connections with an LET operative are not only bizarre but scary- for what it means is that one can get crucified for doing the right!!! One can get tortured for daring to speak the truth!

Again let me emphasize I am not reacting because of any attachments or bias with the esteemed and celebrated family of the Bhatt’s but for the simple reason that a very innocent citizen who did the right by volunteering information to the authorities is being crucified because it makes good news and more importantly helps cover the lack luster affairs of the law and investigative agencies. It pains me no end to see the plethora of news channels and publications all playing the tune of “Poor Rahul” instead of “Atrocious Justice”!!

In short stop writing and showing pictures of Rahul Bhatt with the haunting back ground score or writing about how he is sitting in seclusion at his home and instead highlight how without the revelation made by this guy we would have never known about this now sensationalized terror trail.

The Gym Mr. Hadley was a member off, the visa agency he ran, the house he stayed at and so many other things are more important to be talked about…and if nothing else at least give the credit due to Rahul and his friend Vilas for daring to speak the truth.

Right now the manner in which the episode is being handled I doubt whether anyone would ever want to help the police!!

DELHI- POWER, POLITICS...

2009-11-12T20:42:00.000-08:00

A model working in a high end bar refuses to serve drinks to a son of a politician because the bar has been closed. The angered son shoots the model. She dies on the spot.

Some witnesses testify and a nationwide hunt is initiated by the Delhi Police. They cannot find him!!
However the accused surrenders himself but only after acquiring anticipatory bail!! So he is out again...
As the trial runs over the next 7 years the witnesses turn hostile and thus the politicians' son is acquitted and set free owing to insufficient evidence!!

However a year later owing to public uproar the case is re-opened and new evidence is presented as a result of which the hot blooded son is indeed found guilty of murdering the model and is to 'Life Imprisonment'!!

But...A couple of years later the same dude is seen clubbing at another high end Delhi pub and is found out that he has been out on parole for quiet some time owing to his mother being unwell.

His mother however is openly campaigning for some elections rallies and is fit and fine.

I wish this was a fictional short story or a concept for a feature film but it is neither. It is a true story from the nation's capital. It is what we all know as the Jessica Lal Murder Case. It is something that has been going on for the last 10 years. it is something that reeks of Delhi's power circles and its inherent corruption and power games.

It is something that is considered to be part of living. The media can go only to the extent permitted and will do so only till they get another news item to fill space. The common man is to only discuss this in his living room or at bus stops...

2009-11-06T06:33:00.000-08:00

Dear Mobile Ringers,
It was truly an experience to watch the film festival being surrounded by you’ll at all times. I speak to you humbly for at a most unlikely place you have shocked me by your numbers and reach. I say ‘unlikely place’ because at a festival venue I had expected myself to be away from ‘your kind’ as your personalities seemed to conflict with the kind that cinema lovers are supposed to have. I was wrongly under the impression that being from the same field or being connected to it in some way would have made you maintain decorum by putting your phones on silent but you proved me wrong at every screening. The phones rang, sometimes repeatedly during a film disturbing all around you and exhibiting your strength of indiscipline and disregard.

One does meet your kith and kin at various theaters when you go in to watch movies in general. However their presence there seems valid as the purpose of their visit there is exclusively to pass some time and get entertained. It is unreasonable to expect them to care for the time and effort it takes to make a film. They have a life to lead with problems of their own and the films are meant to relieve them of the stress or distract them as per their convenience. Thus they are such and cant be expected to unanimously regulate themselves.

But you claim to be cinema lovers, many of you depend on this medium for your bread and butter and most importantly a lot loose sleep over the filmmaking process and rejoice to see their names roll away at a time when the rest are rushing towards the exit…sometimes already cursing the film!! Despite this you talk while a film is on and your mobiles are not on silent. Your mobiles ring loudly which you then pick up and talk on!!!!! I have been thinking about this all through the festival for not a single screening has gone by when I have not sensed your presence. There is no explanation I can find as to why despite repeated announcements and slides put up before the each show you continue to keep your phones on and talk while a film is on!

I thus humbly ask each one of those like minded souls whose mobile rings loudly in the middle of a film screening as to what keeps you’ll from putting it on silent. Despite repeated announcements to turn it off, despite being fully aware that the loud ring in the middle of the film is very disturbing and a conversation after that is very wrong and is often objected by all around you, what is it that makes you shamelessly let your phone scream out your foolishness and indecent personality? You’ll who pretend to be the well read intellectuals of the cultured world and expect the security guards to not stop you and ask for your pass every time you enter the festival venue or seem to sneer every time your bags are opened and checked, Why do you allow yourself to be degraded as morons and exhibit yourself as an illiterate arse-hole by not paying any heed to the announcements asking you’ll to put the mobiles on silent? I’m sure there must be some reason for esteemed people like yourselves to flaunt such cheap and chutiyatik behavior.

For all it takes is a click of two buttons to put the phone on vibrator mode. In this case you can sense the call coming and then decide whether to take the call or ignore it. Even if you wish to simply ask the caller to ‘call back later’ you can pick up the call, whisper the same and disconnect it. If the call is still important then you can leave the hall and talk to your hearts content. It seems so freakishly simple that your contempt makes you that much more ignorant and dick heads.

However I have finally agreed that there is something reasonable behind your actions for why else will you continue to do something that makes you come across as moronic arse-holes?

Please enlighten me with the same so that I can look beyond my narrow mindedness that makes me follow rules and discipline without causing myself any inconvenience!

Awaiting your reply and thanking you in anticipation.

Regards

P.S. - If in case you call me to reply to this letter I might not attend the same in the middle of a film, please bear with me for I’ll call you back. Thank You.

MUMBAI FILM FESTIVAL OPENING NIGHT: 29TH OCTOBER 2009- INVITEES ONLY!

2009-11-05T23:43:00.001-08:00

Film festivals have always attracted me over the years but somehow it has never worked out to be present all through any festival. This once it seemed possible and as such I was determined to witness the entire MFF this year. However I was under the impression that the festival begins on the 7th of November. It was only a day prior to its actual opening (29th Oct) that I realized I had one day to arrange for the pass and plan my week ahead!!

The same was immediately done and I was ready for an entire week of movie watching from all over the world.

Fun Republic, the multiplex in the Mumbai suburb of Andheri was my chosen camping ground for the week, Metro Cinema and R City mall also being the venues where the fest was going to be held. However Fun was much closer in terms of traveling and fortunately was also the main center with 5 films being screened everyday in each of its 4 screens which meant at least 20 films per day and for 7 days!! Make the maths- its mind boggling!

On going through the schedule the fair seemed impressive with approximately 140 diverse films to choose from which had a mix of world cinema- fiction along with nonfiction docu dramas, first time directors and retrospectives of legends.

There was confusion on the first night over whether the film to be screened was open for all or invitees only!! However I reached with my calculation that since the film was going to be screened in all 4 screens it would be silly to keep the general film hungry crowd away as there weren’t that many celebs/ invitees. But silly was the theme they chose to take and that’s precisely what happened. The film ran to deserted screens as some celebs just made an appearance and left whereas the ordinary film lover was left stranded. Never mind… it was too early to judge anything and too unpleasant to spoil one’s mood right at the start.

Keeping with the tradition of sketchy organization the catalogues were not available even on the opening night so my choices were dependent on my vague knowledge of world cinema and some expertise of a few learned people. I however was hungry for anything as long as I watched at least 3-4 films a day.

Some obvious must watches were circled even without synopsis like Costa Gavras’s Eden is West and the Iranian films that I so dearly love. I was also looking forward to French cinema and had decided to avoid the films from UK, US and the films by any Gurinder Chada clones!

It would thus be fair to say that my festival began on the 30th October’ 2009 wherein I had circled the first film to watch as- Petition- a Chinese docudrama!

NOISY DIWALI AND A DESTRUCTIVE NEW YEAR.

2009-10-22T21:17:00.000-07:00

As we edge increasingly closer to destroying ourselves ecologically we have thoroughly destroyed the true essence of certain aspects of our lives which were meant to give joy and peace to one and all. Two of such terms that instantly come to mind are- “Love” and “God.” They are the most widely misunderstood and thus violently disputed concepts of our lives and times. Lately one more such aspect added to the group is “Festivities”.

Festivals were meant to be times when close family and friends came together letting go of all malice in their hearts and spending quality time together indulging in peaceful rituals. Today however the definition could read like this-
Festival means:
1) Primarily making MAXIMUM NOISE…More the noise the better you are celebrating. It does not matter whether the noise has any relevance to the festival being celebrated,
2) Spending more money than your neighbor even if it means borrowing and surpassing your means making you curse the festival later on!,
3) Making sure you give the best gift… it’s a tough task since you not only have to better the gift but also the gift wrap paper!
4) Being insensitive to the trouble caused to people who are not part of your group since it serves them right for staying away, so what if they have serious problems!

Take any festival, be it the ‘Navratri’ where the pre-festival write ups- appearing in all periodicals- are not about the sanctity of the festival or its history but about tips on one night stands and safe sex. ‘Ganeshotsav’ is no more about Lokmanya Tilak and why he started the festival but about the most expensive Mandal decoration and the tallest Ganesha idol not to mention the richest with celebrity attendance and there is ‘Dahi Handi’ which is all about politics with each political party and its loyal workers edging each other in the race to sponsor the costliest handi and pulling the largest crowd!

As such keeping with the tradition should I be ‘shocked’ when I open the newspaper after the third day of Diwali and all I find on the first 5 pages are the following stories?-
1) Noise pollution norms go up in smoke this year! - Firecrackers were being burst in hospital premises!!!
2) Traumatic weekend for animals, many left dehydrated and with burn injuries all due to firecrackers!
3) Most of 22 fires reported in the city over the last 48 hours were caused by carelessly launched rockets by Diwali revelers!
4) Woman suffers 70% burns as Sari catches fire.

If from the daily chaos of our competitive lives we take a break to celebrate a festival and end up causing more harm then we would otherwise would have…I am sure we are in serious trouble!

Wish you all a Noisy Diwali and a Destructive year ahead.

GANPATI BAPPA MORYA

2009-09-09T01:37:00.000-07:00

“Ganpati Bappa Morya! Phudchya Varshi Lavkar Ya!”- DHAN TE NAN…..
MUSIC! FIRE CRACKERS! DANCING! CHANTING! GULAAL! EVE TEASING! DRINKING! FIGHTING! And of course… the lord!!
They were all out on the streets to bid adieu to their beloved Bappa. Dancing and singing while he headed to his final abode! Music was playing –LOUD AND CLEAR. Old couples cringed, babies cried, others yelled in their houses to speak to each other. For instance, “Dinner is served” became “DINNER IS SERVED! DID YOU HEAR? DINNER IS…” But that’s the price they got to pay for having a low religious quotient! What were they doing inside anyways???
It is because of such people that a little movement of traffic was possible! Had they too been as religious and pious as their fellowmen then the roads would have been barred of any moment or activity but for the roaring processions. Bappa Morya!
What a holy evening that was when no one was allowed to have any emergency or work of any kind… each and everyone had to surrender to the mighty Ganesha. Bappa Morya!
Of course everyone knew when Anant Chaturdashi was and thus everyone had enough time to prepare themselves for this occasion. Either you make noise or disappear. Also how religious and devoted we have become over the years was proclaimed by every political hoardings that illegally hung from between trees and lamp posts…one above the other…one behind the other… with the beaming faces of our do gooders!
Devotion was in full display and could have been measured that evening in decibels and generator capacities. Nothing was going to be held back for the love of the lord and even if it needed gulping down the forbidden liquid to show him our limitless supply of energy and stamina- it was going to be done! Bappa Morya!
The songs played made no reference to the lord but they gyrated the beats that were essential to keep the feet moving and the eyes exchanging naughty glances! The air was thick…with prayers of the sufferers and smoke of the pious. Security was provided to make sure that nobody caused any disturbances to the hordes of devotees who danced in the middle of the streets, yelled at motorists who were not as devoted as them and made cat calls to girls who simply stood by to watch and did not dance with them- atheist girls!

God looked over all of this and smiled. After all it was done to please him. It was all done only for him… and will be done year after year until of course he wishes otherwise! Bappa Morya!

Religion is the biggest scam of the human race!!

2009-09-02T02:54:00.001-07:00

This might shock a few, infuriate many and scandalize some. However the fact that this will happen is proof enough for my above statement!! ‘Coz the moment any other person begins to dictate my religious beliefs or notions to me they loose their most primary attribute- that of being my very personal and intimate belief system. Is it not that what religion or god is supposed to be? It is only between you and the power above. No one is meant to be concerned or bothered about it.

However keeping with our nature to complicate all things simple- for the sake of vested interest sometimes and at times out of stupidity- we have made religion into an all encompassing charade of hate, politics and hypocrisy! And how well have we used it to manipulate society! The brilliance of man!

Consider this- Hindu scriptures state that god is omnipresent and has no shape or form. Giving any shape and form to this power is demeaning and degrading the very stature of this power. Now this not only makes sense spiritually but also socially for most of the problems we face today are because someone said this is how Ganpati looks and any disrespect to that shape calls for protests. One breaks a coconut and finds a Ganesha like shape inside it- even an eye straining one- the coconut is worshipped and revered. Does that mean there is no god in the rest of the coconuts that satisfy your needs? I say how do you decide this is how he looks and this is the only shape he has??? Who gives you the right to tell me that this is how my god looks???

Most ancient religious practices are governed by nothing but a science of convenience and brilliance I may add. Like fasting was introduced so that one could ration the food intake and give a break to the digestive system. It never was meant to be your barometer of devotion. Today however it is. Chips are allowed and so are fruit juices. You can lie, cheat and steal all through the day but you are pious because you missed your meal!

Last night I was informed of another such anecdote of our beloved Ganesha. It turns out that many centuries ago the soldiers wore masks to cover their face and because the elephant was the symbol of strength and might, the masks were designed to look like the mammoth animal. They had the large ears to protect the soldier’s sides and a trunk to protect his throat and chest. The Ganesh Chaturthi was far from beginning till then! Does that give some reasoning with reference to the look of our beloved sweet toothed Bappa? Further on a group of these soldiers were referred as ‘gan’ meaning group and their head became the ‘gan-pati’!!!!! Now, tell me about the mysterious aura of devotion and its shapes!!

The problem is never with who believes what, the problem begins when you begin to influence each others beliefs. If nothing else I can state one thing for sure! Religion can only be personal. It can only be formless and mysterious. We are not meant to know too much about it except that being truthful and sincere and peaceful is all that we are supposed to be.

WE HAVE RS 300 CRORE TO SPARE?

2009-08-31T22:48:00.000-07:00

The first person to vehemently object the 321 ft statue of Shivaji Maharaj to be built in the Arabian Sea, 1 km off Marine drive in Mumbai, at a cost of Rs. 300 Crore would have been Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj himself!

To the “King of the People” who gave importance primarily to the welfare of the people and administration of the state, such an extravagant expense by the state government at a time when as many as 221 talukas in 27 districts have been declared drought prone, more than 40 farmer suicides have taken place in the last three weeks and there have been reports of 3,000 child malnutrition deaths in tribal areas would have been acrimonious.

Those in favor of this massacre of reasonability are contesting that the city needs monuments that will serve as Tourist attractions and thus rake in the income through tourism. It is observed by those in power that Gateway of India as well as Bollywood star mansions have now become redundant and hence tourists landing in Mumbai head immediately to Rajasthan or Kerala. Reasonable as this may be one needs to point out a very conveniently overlooked point to these state administrators that although a delicious dessert makes for a fitting end to any dinner, it makes no sense at all if the dinner is rubbish and the dessert excellent!!! In this case the dinner is the day to day working of the city, the welfare of the state and its residents and the dinner ofcourse are tourist attractions!

Where shall I start venting my anger from? The roads? Or the make shift patches that one fills them with making them further disheveled and jerky? The health facilities that were seen stretched in the recent event of swine flu? The garbage cleaning networks? The hutments under the sparkling flyovers? The non-availability of toilets for woman? Men are ofcourse to pee on roads or latrines with no doors, right? Thane I believe is still reeling under daily power cuts. And yes, should I even dare to venture into crime and TERRORISM measures in the city???

Yes, the British built the current monuments that the city boosts off but they did that after or simultaneously while giving complete attention to the planning and working of the city. They did not build monuments at the cost of the city and state administration! Oh, let’s not draw comparisons for it gets embarrassing after a point to praise the British.

All the same the point is very simple and clear if it’s not been drawn across yet- the statue is good from the tourism point of view BUT there should be another 10 years before it can be considered. There are other far important areas that need the 300 Crore right now!

And I have not even touched the environmental angle yet considering we are going to nail it all in the sea! Shall we stop messing with nature please? It might just turn back and smack us so hard that we won’t be able to take it for sure!!

Jai Maharashtra.

EVOLUTION!

2009-08-19T22:12:00.000-07:00

There is some beauty in the circle, the round which connects the beginning and the end. It symbolizes the never ending quality of the cosmos. On and on and on and on it goes with no definite start or end…

The human race in its last phase- as we know- came out from the forest. We began from the darkness and headed towards light (FIRE)….towards motion and speed (WHEEL). That was our evolution and we always perceived it as progress. An ascending movement which we were so proud off. Today I wonder as to what it really was…

The progress required us to create a lot of our resources for which we needed large processing units and industries. The space had to be acquired for our growing needs which we justified under progress and we did so by depleting acres and acres of green cover. Today we have a severely bad monsoon and the first reason for this is lack of green cover!

We don’t have water now for all the luxuries we provided for ourselves through our intelligence and progress. All our appliances which stood as symbols of our greatness as creators have emitted gases that have affected the ozone layer and caused the glaciers to melt in large scales! The water levels are rising in the sea and our cities and shores will drown in water despite us having water shortages!

We made the wheel to travel fast and smooth. Today we have the cheapest car but we don’t have roads to drive it on or space to park it in!! walking today if made a part of life will come across as cost effective, healthy and a logical way of commuting!!

The rich and the busiest declare to have got saturated and exhausted. They head to nature to unwind and recharge their batteries. Is it not from there (the nature) that we escaped to create our own world?

Its amusing how we never seem to realize very genuinely that we are not controlling much and should not even try to pretend to because every time we have taken ourselves too seriously…we have suffered!

From the minuscule events in our very personal life to the larger issues of community and society- man’s ego has disillusioned him and failed his reasoning and instincts.

Today we are screwing nature and nature soon is going to start fucking us. As and when that happens it’ll be time for us to call it quits…and all our progress, intelligence and planning is going to be shoved up our arses finishing us all under the term that we have so far called- Evolution!

Bandra-Worry- Sea- Link

2009-07-23T00:31:00.000-07:00

The Bandra Worli Sea Link looks beautiful. The experience of driving on it is ecstatic especially if the wind is wild and the rains are crashing down! It is considered to be a monument of the modern Mumbai.

The city came to a standstill when it was opened up and it became a part of everyone life even those who never were going to travel on it. There are many who are never going to as the Rs. 50/- one way toll is way beyond a regular middle income Mumbaikar who largely makes up for the city’s spirit. However they were subject to the Sea Links overdose by their elected and selected leaders who endlessly quarreled with fierce sincerity and energy as to who the bridge should be named after!

It is justified to give so much of time and energy to this miracle structure after all it has taken a lot of the fledging finances of the infrastructure starved city…the cost of the bridge shot up to 4 times the original cost and despite that it has not been complete as planned!! The initially planned 4 lanes per direction splendor is today only operational on one side with make shift barricades serving as the divide between two directions of traffic!! One will not find any elaborate mention of this anywhere because it will take away from the moment of joy and celebration that we stressful souls so desperately starve for.

Every government project makes money for its officials and contractors. There is nothing eye brow raising about it…however what I find so amusing and noteworthy is that despite the irregularities and mal practices they still do not deliver the end result as per expectations and promises and still get away with it. Salute to them all! They are personalities that achieve the unthinkable. Unlike idiotic terrorists or robbers who make a spectacle of themselves by killing people and bombarding places, these gentlemen are always silent executioners who suck the city’s blood through such peaceful and slimy means that it makes them artists of excellence and assassins of class.

For instance it was known for a long time that when the traffic from the BWSL will reach the Worli Sea Face, it will lead to traffic snarls because there is no space on the sea face to accommodate traffic this would completely nullify the sea links affectivity. Magicians brush of rabbits and pigeons under the hat or carpet but to brush off the lakhs of concerns and solid reason under the carpet when billions of rupees are at stake is a matter of sheer brilliance!

At the end of it all I am feeling sorry for the Sea Link which stands tall overlooking its own effectiveness and feeling god knows what when it see’s the motorists taking a 1 Km detour round the Worli village to hit the Annie Beasant road making the sea link almost useless. It’s like getting admitted into a sports team with much fanfare and aplomb only to realize that you are not of much use. How would one feel for getting appreciated only for their beauty when their true competence is mean to be their utility? I only hope in this case the Sea Link is mentally as well equipped as the people who managed its building for that’s the only way it can survive its incompetence!!

The Sting of the Peak of Success!

2009-05-10T08:31:00.000-07:00

"I wait for the moment when the Kolkatta Knight Riders win the IPL and i carry the IPL trophy back to Kolkatta on a barge and say to all our detractors- SUCK ON THIS!"
-Shah Rukh Khan (IPL team owner) saying at the beginning of the tournament.

"Our clothes are the best, Our marketing is best, Our song is the best, Our cheer leaders are the best, we just need to play well, which we will"

- Shah Rukh Khan has been saying this since his teams poor performance last year.

I cant help but think of the saying- "It is better to stay quiet and let people guess whether you are an idiot or not rather than opening your mouth and confirming that you are one!"

I have been amused by the manner in which my once favorite Shah Rukh Khan has been conducting himself lately...Although not star struck what fuels my curiosity is the phenomenon of a mortal beings (in) capacity of handling stupendous success and his limitations that cause his downfall.

It seems he has lost all his innocence and candid humour which is replaced by a pompousness and vengeance-filled sarcasm.

In the last two films that he produced he played a "Super Success full Superstar"...that speaks for creativity and humility!

He claims of being the Biggest Brand of India although he has lately been shown the door by Pepsi and has been signed on to promote Coca Cola's supplementary product- Sprite! Coca Cola's main brand ambassador is Amir Khan!

A few evenings ago i was narrated this anecdote-

A journalist visited the bungalow of a Hindi film Industry super star in the mid 70's for an interview. While the journo waited- in the large living room overlooking the plush green lawns- for the star to arrive he saw an old man thoughtfully sitting in a large arm chair...looking out at the plush lawns and pondering.

The journalist identified the old man as the superstars father and more so a literary giant himself. The journo politely wished the old man and asked him how he felt about the stupendous success that his son had achieved. The old man turned around...looked into the eyes of the journo and told him with utmost poise and serenity that all was well until it was; however what he feared was "the sting of- the peak of success!"...in his words- "Shikhar ki Dank" and hoped his son would cope with it.
While his son had his share of struggle with the sting of success, it is far to obvious to see SRK fighting to save himself from being stung by the same!!

I'm sure he is aware of the sting and the damage it can cause...i just hope he stays conscious of it at all times.

I still have a soft corner for him and hope he see's the true picture through the layers of false admiration and and insincere well wishers that surround him.

At present though the the fangs of success have been spread and SRK is standing far too unprotected to save himself from the sting!

Encourage People to vote, Don't force them.

2009-05-04T06:35:00.000-07:00

There was no reason for the voting turnout to be low this time around. Amidst super publicity and the media blitzkrieg the election bugle was blowing loud and clear.
“Jaago Re” was the war cry of the city along with mood building anthems like “Dot hai toh Hot hai” and “Ungli utha vote kar”.
It was proved time and again that the poor always vote, it is only the rich and the young that stay away, thus voting was being built up like a brand and the social responsibility was garnished and served as a “cool” and “in” thing to do this summer. The ink stain on your finger was almost equivalent to a tattoo and fighting the heat and queues at the election booth was like making a statement.
Add to that the reaction after the terror attacks on 26/11 and it seemed this election was going to see the city truly wake up and make its presence felt but alas…
This Election Day saw the lowest voting turnout the city has ever seen!!! Can you believe it?
Now the popular reaction is to make voting compulsory!! This is difficult for me to fathom!
How can all the advocates of democracy –the process of making a choice- insist on making something mandatory?
What irks me here is the involvement of certain forces with vested interests that mislead the youth’s energy and enthusiasm and sadly the youth too drifting along their directed paths.
Let us not lose focus here…it is true that people should have voted and it is unfortunate that they did not however forcing them to vote is not going to be the right step instead the approach can be more patient and judicious. Like-
Curbing their right to complain- If you have not voted you cannot crib or complain against any facility or service.
Perks for those who voted- Since you have voted you get free parking for ‘x’ days or ‘x’ places! (Please note- I have voted and my car number is…)
None of the above on ECM’s- Urge the government to provide the “None of the above” option on ECM’s. A lot of centers were unaware of the form 49-o which provides the voter an option to abstain from voting.
All in all my intention is to let all those who have felt hurt by the low turnout know that all is not lost yet and since we have initiated a process of change let us not get disheartened or angry so quickly, rather it is important to stay patient and persistent till the change occurs.

BIG EVENTS, BIG SCOOPS!!

2009-04-23T06:57:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened since I last posted...the Lok-Sabha elections have begun- rolling the biggest cross country tamasha at full throttle (and there is no disrespect intended when I say- 'tamasha'), the trial of 26/11 accused Ajmal Kasab who opened fired at various points in Mumbai has begun after finally settling the confusion over who his lawyer is to be and of course the fiercely adamant IPL has started its second season by shifting venue to South Africa and beginning to make and spend abundant money in times of "recession fever" I must mention that apart from some of the often used English words that cross the language barrier like hospital, school, college etc and become a part of the general vocabulary...the recent word that’s crossed such language frontiers is -"Recession"... so much so that I even heard a kid claiming of carrying his favorite sandwich and chips to school to eat in the "Recession"!!!
All these three events being magnanimous in their importance and fervor one cant help but wonder about the discrepancies that peep through...
1) Unstained as their kurtas!!:
The straight-faced righteousness of the politicians- even when they are caught on camera distributing money and screaming obscenities!!! I cannot help but marvel at their shamelessness. That is of course not to take away from the good that they do for the society, do they? all the same...
2)Law-here, Law-there!:
This refers to the sudden appointment and removal of terrorist Kasab's lawyer- Ms. Waghmare. Ms. Waghmare was appointed by the court and it was known to most people- except the judge appointing her- that she was also representing a victim of the terrorist attack in which Kasab is an accused!!
The headlines beamed and the newsreader screamed of it but there was nothing happened until the first day of the trial when Ms. Waghmare was replaced on grounds stated above!!
I am tempted to believe that the concerned authority came across an old newspaper that must have been laid out as a table cloth during breakfast or must have been used by some car cleaner to clean the authority's car windshield while he was on the way to the court OR of course there is something MORE to it that we don’t know about, what could that be??
3) INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE LEAGUE??
Firstly, Many congratulations to all the concerned who managed to hold the IPL- Indian Premiere League in South Africa!! I cannot fathom how a tournament of this magnitude was shifted in the limited time to a new venue in a different continent! I also marvel at the adamancy of the organizers to hold the tournament at whatever cost and of course realize the economic stakes on this gala carnival of sport and glamour.The thing however baffles me the most is how Mr. Lalit Modi the Commissioner of IPL always appears so fresh and relaxed despite the long hours of work and heavy intensity of pressure that he claims to handle...well...he does, doesn't he??