Converse Ate Ones

The year that rocked

2011-12-31T22:06:00.000+09:00

An interesting list of lists

2011-12-30T20:39:00.001+09:00

Dr. Kumar Vishwas (India Against Corruption), you said on a channel a while ago today that Rajniti Prasad -the MP who tore the bill in the parliament last night - cannot decide how he can protest. Remember, he was protesting by the same right that you and your team are exercising to protest in various manners. Team Anna who claims and definitely is more educated than Rajniti Prasad also burnt copies of the bill when it was presented in the parliament in August,2011. Here's a reminder of it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2MIt223G2k

2011-12-25T22:12:00.000+09:00

Converse Ate Ones.

The gradual loss of expression

2010-11-06T23:57:00.000+09:00

The Turkish don't speak English at all. Even if they know the language they don't speak English when they are sitting with natives of Turkey. They don't say January , February; they say Ocak, Subat etc. They don't ask you what your email id is; they ask you what your e-posta is? They don't appreciate it when people who can speak Turkish start speaking English.
We , Indians, can speak English. And there's nothing wrong with it. Nothing at all. But in the process we are forgetting if not our umpteen languages but the nuances of these languages.The proverbs, idioms, those stinging words for sarcasm and those starry words for romanctic poetry; we are losing them all gradually.

It's in a plastic bag!

2010-05-04T23:15:00.001+09:00

A plastic bag is your life.
It holds securely
but it also suffocates.
The one you hold securely starts to rot,
it sticks to your sides discharging gunk.
The gunk leaks its way out.
Some of the gunk is left inside the plastic bag.
It stays immobile in this plastic bag and
doesn't leave it
The plastic bag glides from a posh kitchen's garbage bin to a ditch in the slums.
But it all stays: the gunk and the plastic bag!
Plastic is not bio-degradable, you see!

It's a play of darkness and light

2010-05-04T03:40:00.006+09:00

Your calm and the tenderness is effective

It gives power to the mind

The body is energised

All around me is lit up

My heart oozes with love

My tongue drips with candy-drops

Then comes the long dark tunnel

Where tenderness can't be found

The calm has turned into a thunder-like whizzing noise

My body limps

My mind sags

My heart hangs from a weak dry branch looking like a non-biodegradable plastic bag

My tongue dribbles just profanities and insensitive remarks

The cycle keeps going on after the tunnel ends and there is light again

And from light to darkness and from darkness to light.

It's simple!

2010-04-24T16:05:00.001+09:00

It's simple!

This is how it works.

It's like this:

You give 2 he takes only less than 1.

You give 1 he takes 5.

You want a metre but

he gives you an inch.

You expect just an inch but he gives you the world.

You think he is just another person floating around you but

he becomes the axis on which you start revolving.

You get used to the axis and the revolutions but

he conveniently drifts away and

you shake as if there was a 7.0 magnitude quake.

You think you have collapsed but

you stand up again to be shaken again.

Noises out Noises in

2009-12-28T03:15:00.004+09:00

Noises more and more
Some outside some within
The noises outside are heard but not listened to
The noises within are only listened to by the self and not heard by others
The noises outside can bring about laughter
The noises within are about darkness
and they throw up questions
about the definitions of right and wrong,
about good and bad,
about logic and illogic,
about fair and unfair,
about love and games,
about trust and insincerity,
about doubt and belief,
about black white and grey.
You can shut out the noises outside
but there is no pill for the noises within.

Take care!

2009-12-05T04:42:00.003+09:00

Stop! That hand will rattle you;
It will lightly brush you with adoration
but you will yearn for more.
Stop! Those eyes will muddle you;
They will look at you tenderly
but you won't find your way in the dark.
Stop! That concern will jumble you;
It will offer you solace
but you will toss and turn in your bed.
Take care and build a fence!

One more death of trust

2009-12-04T23:33:00.002+09:00

I am not hurt
I am an oaf now
To me you were like a kid
(Yes, WERE).
There’s a stroke of ruefulness
Though you don’t deserve any.
You are savouring this,
Your evil mind is embedded in you,
Your evilness will kill our innocence and trust.
You are such a waste of energy,
Or you are wasted.
What you call religion is not just reading the Book,
Follow it and perhaps you will be cleansed.

The whiffs of Love

2009-11-29T17:21:00.002+09:00

Don't fret
Love is not pure
Love has a waft
But it just changes it's whiff
A friend's love smells of fun and concern
A student's love smells of attention and fondness
A spouse's love smells of chores and onus
A family's love smells of trust and strength
A parent's love smells of comfort and warmth
A lover's love smells of passion and separation
In one breath love has myriad aromas.
Take them all in.

Toilets and Corners

2009-11-28T00:06:00.000+09:00

Corners and toilets feel the safest
Walls on your sides in a corner are arms wrapped around you
The silence in the toilet is a lullaby sung to you
The groove of a corner is your lover's bosom
The silence of the toilet is your mother's comfort
Toilets and Corners it is then!

The architecture of Touch

2009-11-26T23:06:00.004+09:00

It is the design
The pattern is the same
First it is numbness-forced one
Then comes that special touch full of warmth
Numbness trembles because it was not real
The touch leaves an imprint
You use fake detergent to wash it away
You know if the imprint stays stains won't be far behind
You are fed-up with washing the stains
But the touch creates a flutter
You know it is the design
You don't really delight in the design
But there is no flipside
So stains and more stains and tough stains you are left with to wash again.

2009-11-01T23:07:00.002+09:00

Turkish Delight

Spineless

2009-09-19T00:00:00.003+09:00

Spineless: A species that has a spine but because of lack of inner security or self-confidence their spine loses strength and , therefore, are called spineless. You will definitely see their spine but it will be squelchy. If you press their spine tenderly it it may ooze out sycophancy which can have an unbearable stink. Mostly, you will find this species everywhere but more at the workplace.

Saif, Sikhs, beards and Sweety Baba

2009-08-07T16:35:00.002+09:00

So there is one Mr. Charan Singh Sapra, the President of Punjabi Cultural And Heritage Board who thinks he is the keeper of Sikh values, morals and beards. He has made Saif and others associated with the film, Love Aaj Kal , apologize ( that little wriggly worm inside me says that the apology was in the form of bank notes with Mahatma Gandhi's photo on them) to the Sikh community. I am also a part of the community but I don't need anybody's apology because I don't think there has been any misrepresentation of Sikhs if Saif is seen with a trimmed beard in the film.In fact he has potrayed the Sikh character with dignity and elan.

Mr Sapra would surely know that all Sikh marriages take place in Gurudwaras now. Many grooms have trimmed beards and nobody can stop them from getting married in the gurudwara just because their beard is trimmed!

On the other hand it is people like Sweety Baba aka Sarabjot Singh, son of Buta Singh who are a blot on the Sikhs for having names like Sweety Baba. And will Mr Sapra please ask Sweety Baba to apologise for the crores he has gulped down his big round Balley Balley belly?

Also will Mr Sapra please ask those two heavily- bearded Sikh Jawans in Assam to apologise for teasing a girl who owns a shop?
Its time that the likes of Charan Sapra stopped targetting soft targets like Imtiaz Ali, Saif or Akshay Kumar for political and monetary gains.

A thought on the new cabinet ministers

2009-05-22T22:56:00.003+09:00

For the first time I was stirred by the swearing-in ceremony of the new cabinet ministers. Graceful, sombre, intense, serious, business-like, professional - thats how they looked. I hope they will sustain this this time inspite of parties like the DMK.

Buying and selling bodies, not politicians

2009-05-16T03:40:00.003+09:00

Some bodies are being bought, some bodies are being sold;
the wheeling-dealing makes you guys businessmen of the ugly sort;
yes, politics is a business
but you get so immersed in your business that you forget the ones who are immersed
in floods, in sewage water, in darkness, in droughts, in famine, in joblessness, in poverty,in long queues outside your offices, in unending lawsuits,in potholes, in caste wars, in honour killings, in cargo ships packed like sardines to cross over illegally, in ignorance, in fanaticism.

If only you were not bodies in a market!
If only you guys were real politicians!

Your noise

2009-05-06T02:04:00.003+09:00

Your noise is deafening
Make some good noise;
didn't you know there is good noise?
Your noise is all about yourself;
why don't you keep it to yourself?
Your noise demeans my silence;
why can't you just shut it up?

She

2009-05-01T14:03:00.002+09:00

She is the reproduction machine
so she must abide by the rules,
she must make choices,
she must lead a black and white life,
she must feel guilty for transgressing,
she must not express her angst
because
the reproduction machine should not make a noise!

I will bin them

2009-04-25T02:47:00.004+09:00

You got colder and colder
Was it some kind of anger?
Thank you! I am cold, too!
So cold that even memories of those 30 years I want to bin
To me you were like a limp vegetable in a freezer bag when you asked me to rush to see the dead body!
You didn't let me take in that pale face which had waited for me for so long.

Only papers, documents and signatures are your need now.Nothing wrong! It's important!

But what about those cycle rides, the stick ice-creams,the cricket matches, the fights over magazines,the rum in steel glasses, the weird jokes,those coal lines on the brick walls in those beautiful village vacations, the riddles on the terrace in the moonlit nights, those mosquito nets, the roasting of peanuts in sand on the fire?
I'll bin them all! What did you do to them?

Pearl

2009-04-25T01:46:00.003+09:00

She was the pearl of his eyes

Bits : She climbed on his shoulders,he would swirl her around,the big sketches on the ceiling, the first drink of gin, the ride on his motorbike with her little hands clinging to him for support,the sense of pride in his eyes, special meals for the special visitor and more!

She is the pearl of his eyes but the sheen is fading from the pearl
But a pearl is a pearl.

Shyness and language learning

2009-04-22T13:02:00.005+09:00

Shyness , the by-product of low self-esteem, is the root cause of the students not being able to speak English. Shyness gets attached to learning of English language because English is more of a high status language in Turkey and in India.People hold speakers of English in awe because they think anyone who can speak English is posh and even intelligent! What a fallacy it is!
Students of English as a Foreign Language must remember that English is now a work language; it has gained that status of work language more after globalisation. They overcome any obstacles to get a job. In the same way they must not bow down to jokes or being made fun of when they begin to speak English. Its just another language to communicate

Want

2009-04-18T14:20:00.003+09:00

You want someone
to feel wanted,
You reject someone
to feel wanted,
You insult someone
to feel wanted,
You love someone
to feel wanted,
You pray to god
to feel wanted,
You show-off
to feel wanted,
You behave child-like
to feel wanted,
You cry
to feel wanted,
You fight
to feel wanted.
Your whole life hinges on being wanted.
Why don't you try this?
Want yourself.

I am not angry; just telling you.

2009-04-15T12:00:00.003+09:00

Treat them equal
Yes, I do.
See them equal
Yes, I do.
But all that is for your eyes only.
The strings of my heart you can't see.
Some of them are special. They tug at my heart.
How can everybody be equal?
The heart knows no socialism or communism!

When I teach I speak from the brain but I think from the heart
Thats the whole difference
Yes, my heart thinks.
Don't bother with your Dos and Donts of a classroom
Because my class is not a bare room but a lounge
Everybody sits together and we all learn together.

?

2009-04-12T04:53:00.003+09:00

The real hurts,
The fake is pretentious.
The real is wished to be unreal
The fake is wished to be real.
If fake is pleasant
then why is fake not real?
If the real hurts
then why keep it?
To look real you fake
To fake you tell lies
To lie you you pretend.
Its all fake.:)

Dead but alive

2009-04-10T02:59:00.004+09:00

If not the evening then it is the morning;
both of you are here at different times.
Sometimes at the same time.
Those times are filled with remorse and guilt.
The hollow inside is deep; but it can be touched; it is not empty.
The memories are fond and bitter;
the bitter ones are painful but fond;
the fond ones are bitter and painful.
Your faces pale,
Your faces waiting,
Your faces smiling,
Your faces calm.
Greet again in the doorway;wait again at the station.Just once. No, twice.
No, again and again.Forever.

Finishing

2009-04-10T02:10:00.004+09:00

Your neck is sagging
Your nails are chipping
Your hair is thinning
Your skin is shrivelling
Your knees are cracking
Your hands are shaking
Your middle is bulging
Your eyes are sinking
Your arteries are clogging
Your oestrogen is shrinking
Your breath is shortening
Your body is in the process of more still.
The mind? Is it growing or degenerating?

My home class, Asia's present to me.

2009-04-08T21:46:00.001+09:00

You guys took my heart away with this.Thank you for being what you are. All of you.

Untitled

2009-04-08T20:36:00.002+09:00

What a performer you are!
Now and then.
Its a fake smile now
Its a real frown then
Its an unadulterated inflated ego now
Its a polluted concern then
Your eyes crave attention
You betray yourself by a performance
Your desire for being centre-stage is unflinching
You take fresh breaths when you get attention
You suffocate me with your performance.

One side and the other

2009-04-06T00:39:00.004+09:00

The mountains mean security to me; they mean a dead wall to you which you want to break down.

The silence means a dialogue to me; it means noise to you.

The river means waves and pleasant sound to me; to you it means a body of water to be crossed to get to the other side.

Being alone means knowing myself; to you it means having to see your ugly side.

Taking a walk along the dirt paths is enjoyable to me; it is like negotiaitng a new turn in life for you.

I find myself on your side many times; have you seen me there ever? I haven't and I am sure you haven't either.
Thats what happens on that side.

Never mind me

2009-04-03T04:23:00.003+09:00

So you will decide when to offload and when to be secretive
So you will decide what you want to offload and how much you want to offload
So you will decide when to fill me in on details and when to leave the gaps
So you will decide when to hold my hand and when to leave me stranded on the road
Now let me decide something for you, too. Never mind me. Talk to a puppet.

...again!

2009-03-31T04:03:00.004+09:00

...again; same; no change; no difference; predictable.
Suckers of energy,
filling up your empty bags of self-esteem with snatched importance;
no dignity.
I, me, mine - always! Stop and think how shallow your self- esteem is!
Question, find out, explore,introspect. Don't scream. Grow up!

Passive over revenge.

2009-03-29T13:57:00.004+09:00

Revenge makes me sleepless in bed,
it numbs me at the breakfast table,
it stiffens me on the road,
it suspends me at the work table,
it pierces me when I talk to you.

I can take revenge
But I don't have the strength.
The thought of it weakens me;
but it doesn't leave my side.

I can take revenge
But I don't have the courage.
The thought of it chills me;
but it stays within me.

I can take revenge
but that will make you important.
The thought is important
but I won't make you feel important.

Foreign contaminant/ Yabancı kirletici in KADMYO, Kelkit, Turkey

2009-03-28T22:47:00.008+09:00

We are the foreign contaminant/Yabancı kirletici in the uncontaminated school.
Uncontaminated because the others don't talk, laugh, sing, play or share.
The others think if they do so they will contaminate the students.
They want to keep the students uncontaminated, too.
If they contaminate the students the students will start to think;
if the students think then the school will get contanimated -- that's what those others think!
Contamination they can't handle even if they have Ph.D pasted on their office doors.
Insecurity is their character even when they have a secure job.
They look naked even when they wear suits and boots.
They look immobile even when they have fancy cars.
They won't let you breathe even if we are living in vastly open spaces.
We, the, foreign contaminants are specks of dirt in their virgin eyes!

Toys and games

2009-03-27T21:34:00.007+09:00

Your anger and your pain gave me a thought today;
About toys and games.
You will create new toys and games
for people to play.
We, the people, won't understand how to play,
We will be amused,
We will look for user manuals( psychology books),
We will try, test and enjoy those toys and games.
We will play those games and involve different people in those games,
we will play those games in cafes, homes, offices, dormitories, on the internet,sms.
One day we, the people, will get bored of them.
We will ask for newer games.
Will you create newer toys and games then?
We, the people, will use them, abuse them and throw them away.
Let them make their own toys and games.
You play with the people and defeat them at their own toys, games and moves!

Chapped lips and some others

2009-03-26T22:04:00.005+09:00

Chapped lips: irksome; a few around us are like chapped lips
Chapped lips caused by exposure to various elements:
wind/bragging, sun/bad tempers,dehydration/stingy hearts.
What happens when lips are chapped?
You peel off the dead skin/you peel off the film of softness
You apply petroleum jelly/ you apply some thoughts
You keep rubbing that skin between your fingers/ you keep recycling the thoughts
New skin comes up ready to chap again/ new others come to chap later
Stay hydrated!

Sensitivity or a performance

2009-03-26T00:17:00.003+09:00

Your sensitivity is my hurt
Your sensitivity is my insult
Your sensitivity feels like a stab
Your sensitivity alienates me
Your sensitivity is a shrill noise in my ears
Your sensitivity makes me insensitive
Your sensitivity is nothing but self-centred, attention-seeking performance.
Find a new word for your behaviour.

Wall- E or the Bhagvad Gita. Searching...

2009-03-25T13:22:00.005+09:00

A line from Wall E has left an impact. The line is by the Captain: I don't want to survive! I want to live. . I wonder how many of us live even when we don't have to worry about survival. And what is living? And then what about the Bhagvad Gita's philosophy: “Go on doing your duty and don’t desire the fruits of your labour.“. Is this again a clash of western and eastern philosophies? Or is it too simplistic to even debate? Arjun is asked by Krishna to abandon any kind of attachment and perform his duty. Is that survival or living?
The Bhagvad Gita says:Perform your prescribed duty, for action is better than inaction. Is action just for the sake of action or duty or survival or living? Searching...

Back off, you self-made saviours of the students.

2009-03-25T01:15:00.003+09:00

You dismiss their energy
You laugh at their ideas
You patronise their efforts
You underestimate their words
You frown at their innocence
You expose yourself when they dress-up
You snarl at their affection
You growl when they laugh
You fume when they smoke
You fall when they dance
You fox-trot when they fall.
You might be their teacher but you are not their ruler; you are a trainer.
So back off. Stay away.Let them live. Just extend your hand when they ask for it.

What is it?

2009-03-24T06:25:00.004+09:00

Shyness or defense
Affection or loneliness
Laughter or a garb
Introvert or scared
Politeness or fear
Care or insecurity
Joy or pretense
Respectful or avoidance
Connected or fear of anonymity.
No answers still!

Liberation in death

2008-12-07T14:15:00.002+09:00

Death liberates
No, not the dead but the one left behind.
The closer I was to the dead
The more liberated I have felt.
I breathe like I have never breathed before
I bounce like I have never bounced before.
That first conscious breath of the morning
Makes my mind and body intoxicated.
That's the beauty of death.

Let's not be dismissive of the movements by the wealthy

2008-12-05T03:26:00.000+09:00

The public rallies and gatherings by the well-heeled in Bombay are being criticised and at times severely.Well, the rich and the elite have been severly affected by the terror attacks in Bombay.They have not only lost their friends and family but their wealth has been affected,too. So, they will react more to the latest terror attacks than the previous ones. They know that. They understand that earlier they were not reacting and that is because they felt secure.This time they are shaken.So, if they are holding rallies let's not dismiss them.
We must remember that post-globalisation the wealthy have played an important part in the politics of our country. They fund political parties. By virtue of this they can dictate this time and bring about systemic changes which could be good for the country. The middle class and the poor don't have the resources and the wherewithal to shake governments at the moment; it is sad, of course. So, instead of criticising them let us join hands with them and work for a safer and nicer India.

Again in times of gunfire and grenades

2008-11-30T03:51:00.001+09:00

Again - killings
Indifference - in the heart
Laughter even - in the head
Flippant, greedy, make-up in place, pushy and pompous - tv
The body wants to stroll
The mind wants to sleep
Not affected again
Only anger for them in the bullet-proofs
A bit of guilt but will be taken care of by the snow-filled morning

Abused language - just a thought

2008-09-13T19:31:00.007+09:00

Take care, rocking, mind-blowing, amazing - some of the expressions that have lost their intensity because of abuse by humanity. 'Take care' is such an intimate and affectionate expression but it has lost its import because of excessive use. Rocking, mind-blowing and amazing are extreme adjectives; but they have lost their intensity,too.We have been trained to blame not ourselves from the very beginning. In this case,too,we will never blame ourselves; the obvious trite culprits are the SMS and MTV culture.

Baggage

2008-09-11T03:22:00.002+09:00

Intangible baggage
On the conveyor belt
Nobody claims
Somebody owns
People see the contents
The owner can't recognise them
The owner disowns them
No burden; the owner giggles
People grapple with the contents

Namak Mirch at Prithvi

2008-09-03T13:40:00.008+09:00

Namak Mirch, a dramatisation of some stories by Pakistani writer Shaukat Thanvi and directed by Shivani Tanksale and Sumeet Vyas, made a pleasant evening at Prithvi. I liked the dramatisation of the stories. The stories are satires and really enjoyable. I just wish the troupe had more experienced actors. Kumud Mishra is never a let down ; he charms the audience;I don't know the names of the rest. A couple of them were nice but an equal number was disappointing in their performance.Anglicised Urdu doesn't sound good to the ears. Performances can make or mar nice stories. Congratulations to Shivani Tanksale and Sumeet Vyas for putting together the stories in a smart way; each story flowed into the next smoothly and flawlessly.
The audience - I know most of them have been entertaining themselves with the jokes on comedy shows on news channels which require them to clap at every word, every gesture, every burp, every turd; but I wish they would wait for the actor's dialogue to finish and then break into their unbreakable, uncouth and annoying beat of the two hands.

Self

2008-08-31T16:19:00.001+09:00

Got enlightened
Its all about the self
Reactions and responses come from the state of self
Took a brief holiday to the country of the self
Poitics galore in the self
Mind games is the only sport
Discovered in the layers of self: Lost - faith; Found - cynicism; Realized - IT is ephemeral.A bold full stop.

Freedom versus liberation

2008-08-31T16:18:00.000+09:00

Freedom versus liberation
Guilt is neatly embedded in freedom
Refreshing breaths embedded in liberation
Freedom calls for negotiation
Liberation doesn't need sleeping pills

To the barren leaders of India

2008-08-31T16:12:00.001+09:00

Damn you! You sit in a chair 10 times your size. A worn out towel is thrown over its back in the name of upholstery. What do you do with that piece of upholstery? Wash your hands off all your responsibilities and wipe your hands with it? 22 lakh people are waist-deep in water. What do you do in your office hours? Screw? How much can you screw in your term? You, the so called leaders, are solely responsible for this catastrophe. Damn you!

On the edge?

2008-08-10T15:15:00.002+09:00

We all stumble upon phases where we find ourselves on the edge; the edge is pretty sharp at times. The Little Prince by Antoine DeSaint-Exupery can rescue you unless you want to wallow in the state you are in. Everytime I read The Little Prince I get a new insight into life. You can throw away all those pretentious, unrealistic ,utter nonsense self-help books.

Love is not blind! Humans are!

2008-04-26T14:55:00.005+09:00

The best ideas come to the mind when you least expect to be enlightened with your own ideas. This time it was about Romantic Love. I keep looking at my college students snuggling and cuddling up to their lovers. When they come to the class after engaging in this amorous behaviour they are either tired or disinterested in the lesson or sad or depressed; I just don't push them any harder to study; I just can't.They are so lovelorn that I just don't have the heart to ask them to open their book at page 67 and do the first conditional(if clause)!!

But coming back to the enlightenment I encountered I understand that we should stop blaming love for our despair at times. I wish to put the axiom right that Love is blind; Love is NOT blind. It is the people who are blind. Love is an innocent amalgamation of chemical reactions; it is people who have eyes and who get blinded by the luminosity of Love.

Or maybe it is the corollary of love- jealousy- that blinds people.
Thats it! I am enlightened! :)

The loss of emotions at the hands of Botox and Psychiatry

2008-02-18T01:28:00.002+09:00

Botox paralyses all lines in the face that express happiness, sorrow, anger, wonderment et al and the extent of psychiatry has named general sorrow or sadness as a depressive disorder.

The developing Istanbul is unaesthetic in its architecture

2008-02-18T01:21:00.002+09:00

Most of the new and economy class buildings in Istanbul are unappealing to the eye. They are box-like structures with no ornamentation at all. Its like being in a cleaner Mumbai.

Sania mania

2008-02-18T01:11:00.003+09:00

Let her just play. And the photographer who must have sold this picture for millions should be punished and not Sania. He is the one who has created a furore over an issue that didn't merit so much print and satellite space.

Turksih Delight

2008-01-07T06:13:00.001+09:00

Dus Kahaniyaan - Poems

2008-01-07T06:04:00.000+09:00

Laid up in bed with my laptop I stumbled upon the poems from Dus Kahaniyaan. They engaged my sensibilities immediately. They are simply ethereal - thats the magic of Gulzar. The recitation is beautiful except for Nana Patekar's bit. I haven't liked it at all because he sounds fake and second, his pronunciation leaves me annoyed.

Why are we on facebook?

2008-01-07T05:54:00.001+09:00

I am looking for answers myself. When we have confined ourselves to our living-rooms with laptops and cable tv it means we don't want to meet people. Then, where does this need to get in touch with people come from? I am on facebook but I don't know why.

Shilpa Shetty is not a victim of racism.Lets not take away the seriousness of it from the real victims of racism

2007-01-18T15:35:00.000+09:00

Shipla Shetty knew the rules of the game, Big Brother. She knew it was going to be a pressure cooker situation. She is being paid to be in that situation. She knew that everyone is pitted against everyone and bitchiness and nastiness are the keywords to winning the prize money; this is the group dynamics of Big Brother. Shilpa was not thrown into a jungle and she is no babe in the woods. For all you know she instigated them to use such racist slurs against her; she is an actress, you see.
Lets not react to the comments made to her by burning effigies and holding protest marches. Lets look within and see how racist we are in our own country.

Don't listen to what the news channels are saying. They , who are saying that Channel 4 is doing this to increase the ratings of the show are actually doing the same thing here by running such a non-issue on their own channels through out the day for higher ratings.

Why does everyone hate Shilpa Shetty?
“Everything about her is infuriating: her haughty way of stalking about, her indomitable self-confidence, her chandelier earrings, her leaping eyebrows, her mirthless smile, her putty nose and her eternal bray, "Why does everyone hate me?" Not to mention the crying jags. What no one seems to have quite understood is that Shilpa is a very good actress. Everyone hates her because she wants them to. She also knows that if she infuriates people enough, their innate racism will spew forth,” stated the Guardian.

I will be visiting the nursery of Indian Hockey - Sansarpur

2006-11-01T22:31:00.000+09:00

I will not be blogging till the 23rd of November. The village I am going to does not have an internet connection. :) :)Villages don't have a regular supply of electricity either!
I will be here attending my nephew's wedding. The gentleman, second from right in the picture in the link is a hockey Olympian and is my brother-in-law's brother. This place is called the nursery of Indian hockey
This is the village where I will be. Click here.:).

Srinivasan Jain of NDTV should work hard.

2006-11-01T00:31:00.000+09:00

Srinivasan Jain of Bombay Talkies on NDTV needs to up the quality of the questionnaire he prepares, if at all he prepares, for the guests on his show.He seems so disinterested and unsure . He asks a question and as the guest starts to answer it the incompetent cameraman, or maybe he doesn't like Srinivasan, shows us Srinivasan not paying any heed to the guest. He is instead seen referring to a crumpled piece of paper grappling with what to ask next. What a poor host he is! His questions sort of underestimate both his guests' and the viewers' intelligence and he does not try to explore any new areas about either the guest or his/her work. All through the show he seems to be restless and wanting to get over with it. More on Srinivasan from gossip mongers.

Hope in Sunil Mittal

2006-10-31T13:50:00.000+09:00

I was about to write on the state of agriculture in Punjab when I saw a friend's blog on Mulayam's insensitivity towards agriculture in UP. What baffles me is that all these politicians have a rural background and are rulers yet they fail to understand the significance of farming in the country. But all is not lost. One sees hope in people like Sunil Mittal who does not come across as a sucker like Reliance does.

A song that epitomises women - I am a bitch, I am a Lover

2006-10-28T02:00:00.000+09:00

This song by Alanis Morissette is one song that I think summarises what a woman really is. Most women may not agree with me but I would blame that on their induction as being goddesses and saints;if they are not then they are trained to work towards becoming women with a halo around them. They are discouraged from getting in touch with themselves and realizing that they are mothers, daughters, workers, liars, sinners, cheats and, basically, imperfect.Here it goes:

I'm a Bitch, I'm a Lover

I hate the world today
You're so good to me I know that I can't change
I tried to tell you but you look at me like maybe
I'm an angel underneath; innocent and sweet
Yesterday I cried; Must've been relief to see the softer side
I can undertsand how you'd be so confused
I don't envy you; I'm a little bit of everything
all roled into one

Chorus
I'm a Bitch I'm a Lover
I'm a child I'm a Mother
I'm a sinner I'm a saint
I do not feel ashamed
I'm your hell I'm your dream
I'm nothing in between
you know you wouldn't want it any other way

So take me as I am
This might mean you'll have to be a stronger man
Rest assured that when I start to make you nervous
I'm going to extremes; Tomorrow I will change
And today won't mean a thing

Chorus

Musical Break

Just when you think, you got me figured out
The season's already changin'
I think it's cool; you do what you do
And don't try to save me

Chorus

I'm a bitch, I'm a tease
I'm a goddess of my knees
When you hurt; when you suffer
I'm your angel undercover
I'm enough; I'm revived
Can't say I'm not alive
You know I wouldn't want it any other way

Mobile Menace

2006-10-27T23:36:00.000+09:00

Rearview observer's column 2
Mobile Menace

Oodles have already been written on the menace of mobile phones so why some more? Well, immeasurable amounts have been written on beauty tips, weight loss, extra-marital affairs, tea stains and bad breath, too.

By the end of 2006, India is expected to be the world's third-largest mobile market by number of users, behind China and the United States.
The thought of those many people adding to the existing menace is quite unnerving.

At the moment, 4,000 towns and up to 200,000 villages are connected by wireless services.

What if all the villages get connected! Imagine when all about 600,000 villages of India are on the mobile network! No water, no electricity, no crops! Drought or floods; nothing will stop these proud owners of cellular phones from photographing parched land during droughts and sinking beds, utensils, kids, illicit lovers, crops, handicrafts, trousseaus et al in times of floods. They will send these to the television channels and will vie for the citizen, no, rural journalist award for sending authentic pictures. No less than Rajdeep Sardesai will be presenting the award if he comes out alive from the UP Assembly and no less than Barkha Dutt will be squirming in her swivel chair because she may lose her chair to the rural journalist!

My Sikh cells have given me enough strength to cope with any sort of breach in bearing from the other side. But I was taken aback when I found myself being hurt when a friend entered our house having a buzz session on his cellular phone. I still can’t figure out why I was hurt and am still hurting after so many years. But my Sikh cells have come to my rescue and now I don’t hurt emotionally but yes, I do hurt. I hurt because these cellular users whip up so many other emotions in me now; disgust, frustration, rankling.

Have you seen the bad bred ones in a cinema hall?

Some from the Yaya sisterhood forget where they have kept their cellular phone in their humongous bag. They take about as much time to grope and get the phone out as you would take to count 60 seconds. Be their guest and savor the abominable ring tones.

You may try to pacify me by saying that Ps and Qs were never a part of our culture - and being the knowledge consultant I would like to add that Ps and Qs stand for Pints and Quarts and not Please and Thank You –but then there were no ill-mannered people either in those times when we were cultured. If this is a nincompoop’s logic then the fact –based logic is that there were no mobile phones in those days either.

There is a fierce competition to have the most attractive (read cacophonous) ring tone. Some are soothing ones but then they may be a reason to file a PIL for sacrilege. My sister has one which sings a Shabad from the Gurubani – Lakh Khushiyan Paatshaiyan, Satguru Nazar Karey. My instant response in the beginning used to be to take off my shoes and cover my head because of its angelic meaning!

Rearview Observations that triggered this piece:
A gentleman talks on his prized blue-tooth cellular phone while offering prayer to an old gentleman who was dead and ready to be cremated and simultaneously a lady in sparkling white sitting in the first row of the crematorium describes the whole cremation process to one of her beloveds on her glitzy phone

The suspense of the play in Prithivi theater is about to be unfolded when a gentleman’s mobile phone goes “What is mobile number?” lyrics of a film song.

The stewardess announces that the plane is about to take off and mobile phones should be switched off. You take a deep breath and even fold your hands mumbling Waheguru Satnam Waheguru Satnam; the plane starts to move and lo and behold the cellular phone of a bid and fly passenger goes tring tring at a decibel level that makes you look at him and switch from “Waheguru Satnam to “You !@#$%^!”

I wonder if there should there be crash courses conducted by outsourced agencies in mobile phone etiquettes. Or should we just become explicitly abusive and tell most of the 125 million users of mobile phones to follow a certain code of conduct when in public spaces?

One raunchy thought before I sign off or am asked to stop observing. Imagine a college kid catching Pratibha Nathani in an inappropriate posture. Will its telecast require any sort of U or U/A or A certificate? It doesn’t matter at all. I don’t get those sorts of channels in my area because of Pratibha Nathani’s activism.

This collaborative piece by two of us got published in Brand Equity, a supplement of Economic Times, yesterday.

2006-10-27T17:25:00.000+09:00

Rearview Observer’s column 1
Mulling over malls

Mall in the Dictionary – A large, often enclosed shopping complex containing various stores, businesses, and restaurants usually accessible by common passageways.

Mall in the Indian psyche – a place to beat the heat and to provide a sense of being “above the common”.

It’s usually a retailer’s delight to expound numbers on this rapidly burgeoning phenomenon, which is also a great class leveler in terms of access (apart from dengue).
A 250 million-population base in the middle-income group is one number
The footfall at malls usually comprises people younger than 35 years (and beginning at 0 years) – about 65 percent of the population
About 300 malls by 2007, over innumerable square feet, measured in millions, is yet another number.

A lot of people usually amble into a mall, because it is a visual break in an otherwise bleary/barren landscape, and looks quite inviting. About 75% of them usually scurry to use the reasonably neat restrooms, which beat having to face the ignominy of a sulabh sauchalaya, despite the lowly one rupee pay per use (can you imagine a TV program with such low pay per view charges?).
65% then waltz towards the food section. It offers the maximum comfort in terms of value and ability to disguise stupidity, while retaining anonymity. In most other sections, you are usually swamped by the self proclaimed unobtrusive service providers.

Most people enter the food section pushing a humongous trolley and start lifting stuff off the shelves in a way that he/she seems to be under duress. They are all in a hurry as if they are being billed for staying there. Some browse around and after the longest time; pick up one head of lettuce. Some among these leave it near the cash counter on their way out instead of paying for it because they realize that there is a counter in the vast expanse that also sells frozen and packaged meat, which may well mean that their head was contaminated (the lettuce).

Malls are monstrous in their size and mostly spring up to make monies for their promoters by touting different USPs. However, in this monstrosity they lose their character. All malls sell the same kind of stuff. Mugs, plates, knick-knacks, accessories, bed linen, crockery, towels, footwear, clothes; and similar brands. If you find a different piece, it is the last shop soiled or chipped one – “No guarantee when the next stock will come in, sir (regardless of gender).”

The sales executives – euphemism for bhai sahib and behenji – are uniformed so you can’t differentiate one from the other. Identity crisis for these guys must be another module in the business psychology courses of late.

The sales executives hover over you and you don't get the space to browse, admire or try out anything at all. At your service (read disposal) they are and so much that you need to steal yourself away from them in order to relish and revel in the display. Also they reply in English, regardless of whichever language you address them in and whatever language they may be speaking as some intelligent gentry gather from their name tags. Sharma is Hindi, Patnaik is Oriya, Das is Bengali, Patel is Gujarati. And they all escape from the backdoor when the hallowed glass doors are pelted with stones demanding reservations for employees of the state, regardless of merit.

There are also the ubiquitous cleaning staff – who must clean and mop the exact same patch where you would be setting your next step, loaded with armfuls of bags. But it’s their job to clean the invisible speck of dust so you won’t file a PIL against the possible spread of herpes in claustrophobic open spaces.

Mall management often exhibits a classic duality in their ethos. Consider this – when the music of the film Strings was being launched, the makers were not allowed to fix a poster which had a girl and a boy in a compromising position (read making love). They were politely told that a mall is a “family place” and these were objectionable posters, all conversation taking place right next to a space selling books and films on erotica.

Malls also accord vicarious gratification to about 60% of the people who travel up their hallowed escalators. The thrill that a mall rat gets when he/she knows that their favorite celebrity visits the same place is immeasurable. And imagine the bliss when the actually spot one of the famous ilk there, strolling, browsing, shopping or hallelujah eating at the next table. Of course, till that time, the celebrity lived in an ivory tower without food, water or clothes, or just conjured them up with a wave of their starry wand.

Perhaps these malls are models for the government to shrug off slumber and bring in some honest organization to our indigenous malls-mandis and melas. The difference being that you won’t see people spitting in a mall because of the discreet sign “this place is under surveillance”. Amazing what the fear of being publicly embarrassed can do to a person.

People find malls a comfortable place to spend a hot afternoon. And moreover, dress up fashionably when they visit a mall which they will normally not resort to when going to their local kiryana shop! The upside is that you can roam about in the cool and comfortable spaces of a mall without paying but the downside is that you cannot hark and bellow like you can do in the melas.

The placement of multiplexes in malls is once again a strategy. You are guided to the screens through the shops either on entering the cinema hall or while exiting it so that you end up buying something that you will never need or deign to use if you suffer forma massive guilt conscience peering into the hopeful eyes of the shopkeepers. Most mall rats are immune to this.

Many people feel that the malls are doomed and the little shops in streets will thrive once again. The footfalls in a mall are a feat but do they translate into substantial transactions?
Moreover the infrastructural access to malls follows the pattern of our arterial roads - pathetic. Car parks have the FULL sign dangling on weekends and holidays. People go round and round and round and end up reaching home instead of their feet falling in the mall. The remaining feet fall in the shop and then drag themselves out because the intention was not to buy but just to pry.

Back to the retailer – the net aggregate of these footfalls contribute to various other numbers – the additional investor, the merry clients paying for a nook to promote their wares, the marketers paying to reach out to their target consumer (for the amazing focus they can get in a mall)

So till the malls live, enjoy the “purchase inducing music and leisure facilities” and contribute to the footfalls. And remember, the kirana will always home deliver what you want

Manoranjan Dhaliwal and Supriya Bambawale (With inputs from Vineet Kumar and Sanjay Jha)

Beware! The ghettos may hole us up!

2006-10-24T20:14:00.000+09:00

I sometimes imagine being holed up by various ghettos. Ghettos are on the rise and activities like blogging and online chats give out personal information about us all to almost anyone who is net savvy. People who don't like our ideas or proclivities or our caste or community may just hole us up one day. I really fear this and at times this fear stalks me when I am writing. This fear works actively at times and stops me from writing about certain subjects.

Buffoonery on tv

2006-10-24T18:09:00.000+09:00

Voila! Enlightenment has dawned upon me!
How do you think the mousy talk shows with politicians flourish on tv? I think I have uncovered the plot and bared it all.These shows play on people's lack of analytical ability.They play on people's lack of skill in rhetoric. So,when they combine these talents people ,moi included, think that here are bundles of caliber and they will put and end to our troubles.But thats not true. These clowns are just smart enough to understand that we would fall for banter thinking it to be honesty and integrity on their behalf.It is the art of repartee that these show moderators and politicians employ.These shows are nothing but acts of buffoonery. People, it is tomfoolery.

Man Booker Prize - A pile of crooked nonsense

2006-10-23T03:19:00.000+09:00

No creative field escapes scandal. Not that the other professions do but juicy statements about literary works and awards are quite an eye catcher.Check out this link below:

"A PILE of crooked nonsense," A.L. Kennedy seethed in her famous censure of the Man Booker Prize. The novelist, herself a member of the 1996 panel that judged the Prize, complained that while she read 300 novels, "no other bastard [on the panel] did." The winner, she complained, was invariably determined by "who knows who, who's sleeping with who, who's selling drugs to who, who's married to who, [and] whose turn it is."

Mobile menace

2006-10-23T00:00:00.000+09:00

Oodles have already been written on the menace of mobile phones so why some more? Well, immeasurable amounts have been written on beauty tips, weight loss, extra-marital affairs, tea stains and bad breath, too.

By the end of 2006, India is expected to be the world's third-largest mobile market by number of users, behind China and the United States.
The thought of those many people adding to the existing menace is quite unnerving.

At the moment, 4,000 towns and up to 200,000 villages are connected by wireless services.
What if all the villages get connected! Imagine when all about 600,000 villages of India are on the mobile network! No water, no electricity, no crops! Drought or floods; nothing will stop these proud owners of cellular phones from photographing parched land during droughts and sinking beds, utensils, kids, illicit lovers, crops, handicrafts, trousseaus et al in times of floods. They will send these to the television channels and will vie for the citizen, no, rural journalist award for sending authentic pictures. No less than Rajdeep Sardesai will be presenting the award if he comes out alive from the UP Assembly and no less than Barkha Dutt will be squirming in her swivel chair because she may lose her chair to the rural journalist!

I think my Sikh cells have given me enough strength to cope with any sort of breach in bearing from the other side. But I was taken aback when I found myself being hurt when a friend entered our house having a buzz session on his cellular phone. I still can’t figure out why I was hurt and am still hurting after so many years. But my Sikh cells have come to my rescue and now I don’t hurt emotionally but yes, I do hurt. I hurt because these cellular users whip up so many other emotions in me now; disgust, frustration, rankling.

Have you seen the bad bred ones in a cinema hall?

Some from the Yaya sisterhood forget where they have kept their cellular phone in their humongous bag. They take about as much time to grope and get the phone out as you would take to count 60 seconds. Be their guest and savor the abominable ring tones.
You may try to pacify me by saying that Ps and Qs were never a part of our culture - and being the knowledge consultant I would like to add that Ps and Qs stand for Pints and Quarts and not Please and Thank You –but then there were no ill-mannered people either in those times when we were cultured. If this is a nincompoop’s logic then the fact –based logic is that there were no mobile phones in those days either.

There is a fierce competition to have the most attractive (read cacophonous) ring tone. Some are soothing ones but then they may be a reason to file a PIL for sacrilege. My sister has one which sings a Shabad from the Gurubani – Lakh Khushiyan Paatshaiyan, Satguru Nazar Karey. My instant response in the beginning used to be to take off my shoes and cover my head because of its angelic meaning!

Rear View Observations that triggered this piece:
A gentleman talks on his prized blue-tooth cellular phone while offering prayer to an old gentleman who was dead and ready to be cremated and simultaneously a lady in sparkling white sitting in the first row of the crematorium describes the whole cremation process to one of her beloveds on her glitzy phone.

The suspense of the play in Prithivi theater is about to be unfolded when a gentleman’s mobile phone goes, “What is mobile number?” - lyrics of a Govinda film song.

The stewardess announces that the plane is about to take off and mobile phones should be switched off. You take a deep breath and even fold your hands mumbling Waheguru Satnam Waheguru Satnam; the plane starts to move and lo and behold the cellular phone of a bid and fly passenger goes tring tring at a decibel level that makes you look at him and switch from “Waheguru Satnam to “You !@#$%^!”

I wonder if there should there be crash courses conducted by outsourced agencies in mobile phone etiquettes. Or should we just become explicitly abusive and tell most of the 125 million users of mobile phones to follow a certain code of conduct when in public spaces?

One raunchy thought before I sign off or am asked to stop observing. Imagine a college kid catching Pratibha Nathani in an inappropriate posture. Will its telecast require any sort of U or U/A or A certificate? It doesn’t matter at all. I don’t get those sorts of channels in my area because of Pratibha Nathani’s activism.

Diplomacy - Underrated virtue

2006-10-22T22:37:00.000+09:00

Why is diplomacy in the day to day interactions tantamount to sacrilege? There is nothing wrong in being cautious in these routine interactions. One may not want to hurt the other by telling the truth about the other person. All have follies and weaknesses and it is not essential to state them. It is not that the country's security is at risk if you are diplomatic and artful in your dialogue with a friend or about a friend. Unless it affects the policies of a country it is cool to be diplomatic. Hurting the other by stating certain truth about him/her is not a virtue. Yes, if the other person asks for a reality check then one should come out with it but otherwise it is not necessary. We should stop painting black people who have this art of being discreet in their views about people they care for.

An assurance to womankind!

2006-10-16T17:19:00.000+09:00

I stumbled upon this short but meaningful poem on Bhrigu's questions. I have linked to the site below.
Protecting women, a Kannada poem.CLICK
An Assurance To Womankind

Rest assured and have no fear.
So long as you do not lift your head,
you will find men all around you,
guarding.

If a Ravana was to abduct you
or a Dushyasana was to pull your robe,
there are many a Rama and Krishna around
who will shroud you with cloth infinitely long,
and pass you through the test of fire,
and make it all nice and flawless and sound.

Down the drain!

2006-10-15T16:48:00.000+09:00

Down the drain - Bombay
1890: Year in which the city’s drainage structure was completed. This structure remains the backbone of Mumbai’s drainage system.

40%: Proportion of Mumbai’s land area that does not have any kind of drainage system.

70%: Proportion of Mumbai’s sewage that goes untreated (according to official sources, the figure is 40%). This is dumped into water bodies such as the Arabian Sea and the Mithi river.

6: The number of water treatment plants in Mumbai. Of these, only three are fully operational.

565 km: The length of Mumbai’s closed pipe storm water drains. Delhi, which gets about 612 mm of rainfall a year in comparison to Mumbai’s 3,000 mm, has more than 1,200 km of drains.

33%: The amount of potable water that Mumbai’s residents use for bathing and flushing toilets.

Celebration by Sidharth - Its simple and beautiful

2006-10-11T05:21:00.000+09:00

"Celebration
Every moment
Flowers flowering
Honey collecting bees
The dancing butterflies
The sweetness of the fruits
Birds singing songs
Little falling leaf
Kissing mother earth
Fragrant flowing breeze
Whispering in the ear
Of a little born child
Dear me don't cry
the whole universe is celebrating."
Sidharth

Bhai Baldeep Singh and Sidharth share their views on colours, music and more

2006-10-11T02:27:00.000+09:00

Raag te Rang

Sir, you must say something when the SGPC misbehaves!

2006-10-10T18:00:00.000+09:00

I miss voices like those of S.Patwant Singh's when incidents like burning effigies by SGPC take place. I am refering to the shameful behaviour of the puppets being nurtured by SGPC. S. Patwant Singh's is a moderate voice and I would love to know what he has to say about all the furore raised by them.

Look,what's happening?

2006-10-10T17:52:00.000+09:00

But the Maulana had the last word: “I will change your heart. A drop of water dripping at the same point makes a mark.”

The Bluffmaster pulls off a master stroke! Congratulations, Vinod!

2006-10-09T04:01:00.000+09:00

Vinod as the host of Bluffmaster had won me over with his energy, charm and unbeatable timing. He would never miss a beat there and he has not missed a beat now.
Vinod Sherawat simply floors you with his wonderful performance as a smart,intelligent,humorous, sensitive,ideal yet cocky and craving to be rich stock-broker in Gafla
, a film on the stock market scams.I wouldn't have been able to mention these characteristics if Vinod had not brought them forth.

In spite of weak performances by the ladies by his side Shruti Ulfat and Purvi Parag and a weak script Vinod does not crumble. He plays the part with ease and grace. No flamboyant gestures or neck twitches to show that he is manipulative.

The lady sort of spoils the scene when he comes to give his wedding card. But he touches your heart here.
This and all other scenes leave you thinking about this stock-broker and his mind.You sympathise with him and at the same moment you don't like him pulling off his cocky numbers.Such was Vinod's performance that you don't hate him for not marrying his sweetheart because you understand the machinations of his mind.

Both Vinod and Birjendra Kala are a treat to watch. Kala has always impressed with his work.Some of his work is Shabd by Leena Yadav (one of the most dignified woman movie-maker) and Haasil Haasil by Tigmanshu Dhulia.He keeps you engaged with his speech and accomplished performances.

And it is heartening to know that there are people in the film industry still who don't add an extra a or an e or an ie etc to their names in order to be known for their work. They let their hard-work speak for them instead of blaming their names or the lack of an alphabet in it if all does not go well.They are comfortable with their being and don't show disrespect to the names with which they have grown up by adding these extras to them. Vinod, this is heartening,too. :)

Harbhajan Singh oppresssed by the repressed. Shameful acts by the self- proclaimed protectors of Sikhism

2006-10-08T20:01:00.000+09:00

Guru Nanak says in the Gurbani:

"I am neither a Hindu nor a Muslim, I am a human being."

Will the protectors of Sikhism who burnt Harbhajan's effigy read the tenets of Sikhism first? The Rehet Maryada, the code of conduct of the Sikhs,which the negligible number of Sikhs are quoting to protest against Harbhajan's liquor advertisement, says that no Sikh will ever oppress. But that's what this handful of Sikhs are doing. And will any one of those pitiable Sikhs who were protesting say if burning effigies and being rowdy and uncouth is a part of the Rehet Maryada?

Now, you handful of Sikhs don't get ready to attack me saying that I am an enemy of the Sikhs. I am a Sikh and we have been taught to be respectful and graceful in our behaviour towards others!

P S - It is my wish to know that what do those above mentioned Sikhs do in life to sustain themselves and their families? Do they preach? Do they sing shabads? Do they do community service? Or do they suck up to the bigwigs of the Gurduwaras to run their daily lives?

Jobs only for native speakers of English, please! So what if you are the 3rd largest publisher of books in English!

2006-10-06T01:07:00.000+09:00

I have been studying for the Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching English for almost one year now. In between my job and boredom and studies I added another certificate to my resume - Further Certificate of Teaching of Business English! You see I am attempting to further financial prospects and what better way than to be in the market of English Language Teaching. My interest in teaching has renewed in the past and I have been applying for teaching jobs online. The big obstacle in spite of all the right qualifications is that I am not considered a native speaker.We have been tagged the "most voracious readers in the world", listed 3rd in the list of countries publishing books in English after USA and Britain, and other such associations have been made with us as being fluent speakers of English does not help me at all. After all I am not a native speaker of English!

Shrug off that foreign baggage!

2006-10-06T00:28:00.000+09:00

Why do many Indian authors and film-makers feel accepted only when foreign institutions accept them?
We know that Rang De Basanti and Lage Raho Munnabhai are lovely films and most Indians have enjoyed and been provoked and touched by these films. Then why the clamour for Oscars or Cannes or Berlin etc? We do understand that one of the reasons is a larger market which is a valid and reasonable point. But beyond that we should not be wanting a foreign stamp to realize that we have manufactured something sensible.

Same is the case with book fairs abroad. Our writers have been invited to the Frankfurt Book Fair and our media has been shouting from the top of studios in Frankfurt that the foreigners have accepted us. Are we that unsure of ourselves? Have we not enjoyed reading R. K Narayan, Gadar, Amrita Pritam, Nagarjun, Mahashweta Devi,Vikram Seth ,Vikram Chandra , Shashi Tharoor or the regional writers from other parts of India? Marketing , like I said , is one aspect but craving acceptance from foreigners is tantamount to doubting our thoughts and our creativity and our culture,too.

Lets be happy that we are being watched and read in other countries but lets stay away from being in awe of the foreigner.

Supriya , we are proud of you!

2006-10-04T20:37:00.000+09:00

She is funny. She is bright. She is hard-working. She is efficient. She becomes angry if people don't work when they should be working. She hates procrastinating. She is cryptic, too. She is adventurous. And now she is the Marketing Manager of Animax, India. A pat on your back, lady.

India Infoline News Service / Mumbai Oct 03, 2006 17:21
Supriya Bambawale is the new marketing manager of Animax India for India operations

SPE Networks continues to aggressively increase the profile of Animax in India. Supriya Bambawale, Marketing Manager of Animax India, will oversee the critical functions of programming, marketing and creative services, as well as conquering new markets to expand the channel’s reach.

Bambawale has been given the challenging task of relaunching Animax for a new viewer by essentially recreating its appeal to attract the new hip and trendy young adults. With the channels refresh, Animax has adopted mature content combined with edgy animation to cater to the youth and young adults.

Using sheer ingenuity and guerrilla marketing initiatives Ms. Bambawale aims to position Animax as a new refreshed youth lifestyle channel. Her illustrious career including stints at DQ Entertainment and Buena Vista Television India gives her extensive knowledge to spearhead the move forward for the new Animax, identifying programmes and marketing initiatives that will connect and interact with today’s youth.

Formal play readings as events of some sort are a farce

2006-10-04T14:58:00.000+09:00

What is the purpose of a playwright organizing a reading of his/her work in a very formal set up? That ,too, when he/she is sure that what is to be said has been said and its final.

The problem with these sort of play readings is that every one has something or the other to add to it. Anything that does not suit the sensibilities of the audience is questioned and they expect the playwright to change it. That seems to be unfair to me. It is another sort of censorship and not allowing the writer to express himself/herself.

Some in the audience don't like the language, some the resolution, some the absence of any resolution,some the theme, some question the purpose of the work, some the structure of the play.

I think the best way for a playwright is to gather people who are respected for their intellectual abilities by him/her in an informal set up and then discuss it. The reason being that those in this gathering know the person and will understand the purpose of a particular work better and accordingly give suggestions. At least they won't stop the writer from expressing his/ her views in the play.

Charkha, gun, common link

2006-10-04T14:40:00.000+09:00

The revolutionary politics of Bhagat Singh, whose birth centenary was celebrated last week, had more in common with the satyagraha of Gandhi than we care to believe
-Manini Chatterjee

Indian Police gets insulated from dirty politicians! Kudos to Prakash Singh!

2006-09-24T21:12:00.000+09:00

This should have happened long ago. I have always felt that almost everytime the Indian police has wanted to maintain law and order sincerely it has been stopped by corrupt politicians to act.
I hope the Supreme Court's judgement will make a hell lot of a difference.
It will be some task for the corrupt cops to get used to the fact that they don't have the politician's anymore, at least to a great extent.

This is a result of one man's determination to clean up the mess that the Indian Police has become. Prakash Singh

Mall Menace and the extinction of dainty shops

2006-09-19T23:35:00.000+09:00

Malls are monstrous in their size and in this monstrosity they lose their character. All malls in Bombay sell the same kind of stuff. Mugs, plates, knick-knacks, accessories, bed linen, crockery, towels, footwear, clothes; all of them keep almost the same brands. Even the food stalls are the same.

The sales people are hovering over you and you don't get the space to browse,admire or try out anything at all.

It is a delight to observe people in a mall. Especially in a shop selling foodstuff like groceries and fruits and vegetables. They enter the shop pushing a monstrous trolley and start picking stuff off the shelves in a way which makes me think that this person is under a lot of stress. Then you look at another and he/she has the same sort of expression of distress. They are all in a hurry as if they are being billed for staying there.

I have rarely seen a shopper in a grocery shop in a mall enjoying the experience of browsing and then studying the labels and then buying the stuff.

It could be that the monstrosity of the malls, the uniformed sales people speaking English (It seems they have been instructed to reply in English even if the customer speaks Hindi),and the whole works of a mall play on the customers' psyche and make them stiff.

The experience of shopping and even observing others shopping is much enriching in a small shop and also in small towns.

The lines below from an article titled Malicious Mauling sum up what I want to say:
As a consequence of this blatant social engineering developers have all but eliminated any other types of shopping. Street markets, local shops and services have been squeezed out by the multinationals and the mega stores that dominate them. The rich cacophony of the street, the vernacular style of building influenced by the physical, social and cultural mores of an area are pushed out in favour of "purchase inducing" music and the sugar coated carrot of "leisure facilities".

Bikhre Bimbh - Broken Images

2006-09-11T18:31:00.000+09:00

Girish Karnad explained in an introduction to the play, Bikhre Bimb, that the title was taken from Wasteland , a poem by T.S.Eliot.It was such a graceful and meaningful introduction.

The lines that the title comes from are:

What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow
Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man,
You cannot say, or guess, for you know only
A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water.

The use of tv screens was meaningful, too. They were not there just for techno effects which I thought was true of Man to Man.
The conversations about native language versus English language were thought provoking although one does not agree with generalizations made in the play.

The story unfolds gradually and in the end one is left thinking if the character of Manjula Nayak can be realy castrated for her actions or not. My sympathies were for Manjula.

Look at thyself, too.

2006-09-11T15:53:00.000+09:00

Why do some people have the ability to understand others' negative attributes and don't have the same ability to look into their own mind and figure out their own negatives that hurt others?

Think.

2006-09-11T15:51:00.000+09:00

How we want to know others' weaknesses! I think it gives us a feeling of being infallible in some ways.

A Wood for the Trees

2006-09-10T23:35:00.000+09:00

This old man may shake up others out of their complacency and save the state that is getting concretized with each passing day. Blame it on our greed.

Theatre does have a future in India: Girish Karnad

2006-09-08T18:36:00.000+09:00

An interview with Girish Karnad

Shabad kirtan

2006-09-07T15:58:00.000+09:00

My new found interest in Shabads - hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib - has me enjoying the music even though I don't understand the words. The shabads are ethereal and soothing. This is one place where you can enjoy these shabads.

Some brave Muslim women - all is not lost

2006-09-06T19:57:00.000+09:00

‘Will getting our women shed purdah end bias?’

Manipulation for eyeballs

2006-09-06T19:36:00.000+09:00

Stephen Irwin made wildlife accessible to millions but was he a victim of his extravagant ways? Perhaps; his motives weren’t in doubt, his methods were.

Organic farming is the only saviour now!

2006-09-05T20:00:00.000+09:00

The farms in Punjab have lost their lustre. Chemicals have marred the produce, the quality of it, too, the soil and the environment. Some good guys are working towards saving this land of five rivers from degeneration.

Nirupama's poetry on International Poetry Webiste

2006-09-05T17:41:00.000+09:00

This is good news. I have been waiting for it for quite some time now. Am glad her work is up here. I have known her since I was a little girl through my brother who is a very good friend of hers. I was sort of pampered by her being my brother's little sister. I have sort of looked up to Nirupama for her work and her passion for her work.

This nation of rule breakers!

2006-09-04T16:32:00.000+09:00

I really believe that we, as a nation, have this habit of taking undue advantage of facilites given to us and have this hideous proclivity to breaking rules even though they are meant for our and our fellow-beings' good. I seeth with anger when I see people having leisurely conversations on these all pervading mobile phones in theatres,buses , trains and other public places.In spite of repeated announcements in auditoriums staging plays people don't have the decency of switiching off their mobile phones.

Coming to breaking of rules the recent episode on the North-West airlines where Indians were thrwon out of the plane for suspicious behaviour;I think the action was justified.Why did these guys flout rules? Don't they know that these are sensitive days and we should help the various agencies in keeping at bay terrorist activities. Believe me, most Indians get a cheap thrill in flouting rules.

I am looking for an article written by Karan Thapar yesterday in a newspaper which explains why these guys should have been thrown out of the plane. As soon as I find this article I will post it here.

Man to Man- Story lost in techno gimmicks; actor's impeccable performance wasted

2006-09-01T16:09:00.000+09:00

Man to Man ,a play directed by Rehaan Engineer
and performed by Jyoti Dogra .

The performance was captivating but in islolation. It did not convey the story. Jyoti Dogra was measured and convincing in what she was doing. But why was she doing it could not be comprehended.

The performance space was bombarded with three different visuals simulatneously on three different screens. Neck craning was the only option to see what was going on on these three screens. Nothing was making sense and in an effort to keep track of all the three screens one missed what the actor was doing in the meanwhile.

The space itself was quite intimidating with no space to even change my sitting posture; such was the environment that I felt conscious that I was watching a play. There was a certain psychological pressure to pretend attentive and engaged. But there was nothing to engage my attention.

See, this is how it was executed. The character starts to tell her story and is aided by audio recording which is almost inaudible. As both are on a roll there are visuals of the same actor on one screen, some text on the next and yet another visual on the third.

None of this helped in communicating the story if there was any. Instead of enhancing the performnace and helping in the narrative all these silly gimmicks took away from what could have been a touching monologue.

I think it was an exercise in indulgence on the part of the director and the video director, Tejal Shah, seems to have either no clue about Man to Man or has failed to reach us with the play to a point where there is some coherence and meaning.

I have never understood why in the name of artistry some people complicate things instead of using their devices to communicate simply.

Yawwwnkara Omkara

2006-08-31T15:11:00.000+09:00

A bride's father holds his pistol to the alleged lover's head and keeps holding it till you yawn and wait for the next move in Omkara . This happens in the beginning itself a little after one urbanesque Langda uses expletives which doesn't seem to be his language at all because he is too sophisticated for it. The earthy costume, stained teeth, abusive language on Langda's part take away from the credibility of the character because the actor is too suave for this part.

Not a single person in Omkara talks straight. They all have this knack of twisting and beating about the bush. Every damn character is cryptic in his or her interaction.

The songs are too long drawn.Oh yes, Billo's dance to such a wonderful song called Beedi is once again no match to the beat and the lyrics of the song.

The politics of the Bahubalis does not get communicated and Omkara remains a boring story of Dolly, Yesu, Langda and Omi purposely trying to get entangled in emotions of jealousy, hurt, anger and resentment.

They speak dialects of some language and add sounds to their words trying hard to make it authentic but they go overboard in this exercise. The dialect does not come easy to any of the main characters in the film.

On the whole Omkara, to me, is a pretentious film with no energy at all trying hard to cash in on a subject so inherent to small towns but left me yawning and whigening because of its dishonesty.

One film that depicted politics in the heartland of India with sincerity and passion was Haasil.

White Europeans and Americans converting to Islam in thousands.

2006-08-30T17:48:00.000+09:00

Reports in the Indian Express and Tehelka (the article is accessible online only if you subscribe to this weekly magazine) tell how, for various reasons, whites are converting to Islam. Apart from reasons given in these articles a friend told us that he read somewhere that most of them are also converting to Islam because the power of woman is less in Islam and this suits the whties well as they have been and are being overpowered by their own women not only at the work place but also at home.

Depression overrated;happiness underrated.

2006-08-29T16:09:00.000+09:00

A visit to the homeopath was quite enlightening when I went visiiting the doctor with complaints of low motivation, overdriven mind, sleeplessness, anxiety, fatigue et al. He and this article below are quite an eye- opener and give another view of an overrated ailment.
This does not mean at all that depression does not exist. There are chemical imbalances but largely it is the fear of the unknown and low self-esteem that gives most people the reason to call themselves depressed.