burp!!!

Mixed marriages - the rising trend

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:54:00 +0000

This generation is increasingly opening up to mixed marriages parents including. Every second friend that i have is making their own choices about their partners and in 8 out of 10 cases it is people people from two different backgrounds coming together. While its not a new trend but i do feel the trend is getting an increasing acceptance.

There are more and more women working and going beyond the confines of just education and their houses therefore the chances of a couple meeting through friends, at work is a lot higher today than earlier. While there is an equal amount of arranged marriages still happening but even that has changed its basic face. My parents got married after proposals between families were exchanged and they had never even met each other till they got married. Nothing surprising i would say for their time but today even arranged marriages have become more of a way of getting help in finding a partner rather than the age old trend of families fixing up the marriage. Couples meet each other through family and then they do have a courtship period before they plunge into marriage. Also there is an increasing trend of mixed marriages even when they are arranged thanks to the various websites like Bharat matrimony, etc where parents are now looking more and more for suitable partners rather than base the decision on pure caste, creed, religion, etc.

These marriages do come with their bit of excitements and problems. Parents do go through their rigors of doubt and issues initially, most do come around and accept none the less. For others its a little long winding the whole convincing parents round. Mixed marriages brings the newness in a couples life where in they have a lot to explore from a different culture, region and sometimes even religion. While this is exciting it can also get taxing sometimes because two people from such different backgrounds do take time to adjust to the complete newness in everything from exploring new languages, food habits, lifestyle, culture and more.

Mixed marriages can also bring about a mixture of added expenditure or none. While some have double fold expenses because both the families would expect them to get married in 10 different ways in 10 different places. Some like me go through the quicker route of a simple court marriage (which by the way also helps you avoid the gazillion rituals, they actually make you question as to why are you even getting married in the first place to go through this torture). These marriages are increasingly opening the door for the next generation who would hopefully be brought up with a broader mind set and therefore be more tolerant.

A good mix of happiness and confusion.

walkathon

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:07:00 +0000

Walking around town is probably one of the best ways to truly get to know your city, its people and the varied images a city has to offer to you. But most of us end up being plain simple lazy and will almost always prefer a cab or auto for the shortest of the distances.

To me it always comes with great effort to be able to walk and so it also shows on my health :) Not that my husband is of any help either. We are made for each other when it comes to this one aspect. So it was a pleasant change last month while on our trip to Delhi when we chose walking, bus rides and Metro rides over cabs to travel from Noida to any place around.

Of course till last year the fact that Delhi's local transport is so sad didn't help in the matter and living in Noida with parents and travelling to other parts of Delhi would just seem like a Mount Everest climb. The metro has finally connected the NCR quiet well and so we took up to buses and Metro this winter to explore around the city. Bus rides to Dilli Haat, Metro Rides to Rajiv Chowk and each day with an agenda of walking around Rajiv Chounk became our game. We walked all around CP, walked through Janpath, India Gate, Jantar Mantar over days. Sitting in Central Park and enjoying the winter. It relaxed us, made us have more conversations, think more, observe more.

The trip was a welcome change from the monotony and made me realize how much have i been missing all this while in the name of comfort (an idea just in my head) and laziness.

Taxi drivers and their stories

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:49:00 +0000

For the past 10+ years Mumbai has been a city of discoveryfor me more than anything else. This city has so many different shades to itthat it would take you forever to even get to understand or know all theshades. The variety of people, conversations, and the cities warmth towardsstrangers, all of these are part of this whole colour scheme.

The numerous rides that I have taken in the Mumbai cabs havealso been an experience and adventure in its own sense. So I thought ofaccounting a few stories that come to my mind of the various cab drivers I havemet in this journey and the aspects about this city these conversationshighlight –

The city of rise and fall – So I met this cabby once who got chatting with Russell (husband) and me. I don’t remember what started the conversation but it eventually led towards how educated both of us were and what we were doing currently. Having answered that the cabby told us that even he had studied till the age of 10 in Bombay Scottish (one of the premier schools in Mumbai) but due to unforeseen circumstances that his family had to go through he couldn’t continue any further. The name of Bombay Scottish got me inquisitive because the idea didn’t somehow fit in my head. So I asked further and so he started telling me as to how his family was originally from UP and that his father was a very well to do business man but their business partner ended up cheating his father and one fine day they were suddenly on the road and so they all went back to their hometown in UP and started from scratch. The reason therefore behind Bombay Scottish and then his current occupation of a cab driver. He further continued to harp on the importance of education and so what if he didn’t manage it in his life but he has ensured that both his son and daughter have gotten educated. His son was a practicing lawyer in UP now and his daughter was studying in Delhi University. The whole story somehow seemed to be straight out of a Bollywood movie but I believed him. We reached our destination and we bid farewell but the story stayed in my mind. Russell refused to believe him and maintained that he must just be making up stories but something about the cab driver made me want to believe his story. It only brought about the numerous Mumbai stories out yet again which wouldn’t cease to amaze you.

26/11, Islam and the wrath that Muslims had to suffer – This was about a month or so from the 26/11 attacks, again a cab ride home from work in the evening. A Muslim gentleman driving the cab. He got talking about the latest horror story of Mumbai the 26/11 attacks and how horrendous they were. About how it was so unfortunate that for some miscreants who in the name of god and religion slaughter people and an entire community or faith gets questioned. He told me unfortunately he felt victimized because of those people (terrorists). That people would always look at him suspiciously after the gruesome event because he wore the Muslim cap, wore a kurta and pyjama. He didn’t blame the public for treating him like that but the terrorists who had ensured that people would question him. He told me that even educated men and women would lose their head if it came to their lives and which god tells you to kill the very beings he has created. He told me that the terrorists killed more Muslims than any other community in VT station as it’s a more Muslim dominated area. The very people who fight for Islam kill their own people. Do they think people are stupid that they would buy their logic. He felt ashamed at the fact that few people had given such a bad name to his faith which never spoke about killing or against any other faith. His best friend was a waiter in Leopold café and was a victim of the terror attack that night. He said he was supporting his friends’ family now as they had no other earning member. He said he only wished that by having such conversations with educated people like me he would try and make the general public realize to not ostracize an entire community in the name of such acts as there was no difference between them and anyone else. We are all children of God.

Girls, their short skirts and therefore the crime they invite – This by far remains one of the most shocking stories and conversations for me. I was returning home one of those late nights from office. And we cross Todi Mills. Young men and women were waiting to head home after Blue Frog shuts down. The taxi driver goes ‘Tch..Tch.. these rich girls. I don’t get why do they wear such clothes and walk around.’ Obviously making me question him instantly as to why would he say something like that. So he goes these things invite all sorts of crime and why don’t they understand its better to avoid bad things than invite them. So the argument continued and so he told me that he would tell me a story that he hasn’t told many people. Apparently one day he was driving late in the night and some drunken men stopped his cab to go to Malad. Mid way they saw a girl walking on the road. He said very decent girl in normal jeans and shirt but they were drunk and they asked me to stop the cab. He refused to stop the cab because he realized their intentions but they finally managed to force him to stop the cab as they were three and he was one and he said he got scared as they had a knife. They pulled the girl into the cab and in his words did very bad things to her. He said that he prayed that there would be a police check point on the way since it was a weekend and he could stop over there but unfortunately there was none and so once they were done they opened door and dumped the girl on the road. She was unconscious and lying on the road. He finally dropped them to Malad and rushed back to the place where they had dropped the girl. But she wasn’t there. He says he doesn’t know what happened to her and till date he wished he had more strength to stand for her and not get scared and selfish for his life and not let what happened happen. He would be guilt ridden all his life and could never forgive himself but only wished that god would someday give him an opportunity to redeem himself from this guilt. And so he concluded by saying so see this is why I felt the way I did when I saw those women in those clothes. I reached home and the argument now turned into a shocking story had to come to an end. I still think of that story and a shiver runs down my spine.

Many more such conversations have happened and continue tohappen and it only makes me more aware of the world around me. Theconversations range from rich vs poor, politics, education, environment tomillion other topics. It only helps to get a perspective beyond just yours andis also quiet an experience J

Of mothers and fathers

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Mine has been a life of immense dependence upon these twopeople. Both have been my pillar of strength at every point in my life. Today Isit and I wonder what would life even be without them and it just seems like ablank page I cannot fill.

I have always had a very balanced relationship with both myparents never favouring one over the other. They both bring in my life a senseof balance in different ways. My mother is an epitome of grit, confidence,fighting spirit and maturity. My father is an epitome of love, of moving withtimes, of balance and of understanding. I don’t know what it is like to haveparents who don’t understand.

With my mother I share everything on this planet, we giggle,we laugh, we gossip, we share stories, we fight and we say sorry and make up. It’slike having the best girl friend you could have. My father for me has alwaysbeen the formidable picture of strength, whenever I am down and out in life andfeel under confident about anything I write to him and he writes back with themost heartwarming words that give me another push to keep moving. While thereare lots of things we joke about but somehow when it comes to serious thingslike sharing my heart out I am more comfortable mailing my father rather thantalking to him. And we both somehow have realized that we express better inwriting than while talking to each other. We also have been gaming partners andso as a kid whether it’s playing outside or playing board games at home he hasbeen always around. After growing up the board games continued but we haveadded conversations about movies, more importantly sharing books with eachother.

From childhood to now, every decision that I have taken hasbeen welcomed by my parents in the most mature manner possible, so every choicethat I have made has only taught me to gauge the right and the wrong in thosedecisions that I have taken enabling me to take better decisions the next timearound. The various landmarks decisions of my life -

Moving to Bombay instead of Delhi for further studies,
Not forcing me to live in the Girls Hostel in my college, instead going by my choice of living in a girls hostel which had girls from different colleges and streams in Mumbai as they felt that it would only help enhance my exposure rather than restrict me to one college one world.
Taking up Arts as a stream of education in undergrad,
Enrolling into MBA coaching classes and quitting them in a week after having realized that it wasn’t meant for me. The fact that my dad had paid 15000 bucks for me to enroll in these classes made me guilty but he ensured I didn’t pursue something I didn’t like just because he had spent so much. He told me ‘look at it this way – maybe all this money was required to be spent for you to realize this is not it, so what next figure that out’.
Graduating and only being clear about the fact that I wanted to do Advertising and having applied to just one college XIC Mumbai. And if that didn’t work out then look for work and then do my post grad after some work ex. My parents only helped me to try and figure as many contacts they had sitting far away in the state of Assam so that in case the college didn’t work out then I had some entry points into the Media industry.
The very first time I informed them about smoking, it went down very smoothly as both my parents said trying things don’t harm you as long as you realize that these are not habits you got to keep around yourself for too long. Of course they did not approve of the habit but they did not bring the roof down as they knew that doing that would only invite more rebellion or lies from me. So they’d rather know and guide me out of it than be completely clueless.
Working in the organizations I wanted to, quitting when I didn’t feel it was right anymore never made them question my decisions. They would only ask me the reason why and leave it to me to figure the rest.
Choosing the Boy I wanted to end up with. I still remember the first time I mailed my dad about Russell my husband; I had also attached a picture of him. Funny enough the query that came back from him was not about his family, background, education, religion, etc. but a one line that said ‘Oh so he wears glasses, God your kids are going to be blind at this rate’. It just completely busted all the nervousness I had about this whole thing and I then knew that it was upon me to embark on a journey of discovering the relationship and deciding for myself as to what it was going to be like for life.

These are few of the million instances in that they havesurprised me in many ways. They have always made me understand the importanceof the bond that a family needs to create in order to create a healthyenvironment and upbringing of children. Free to discuss, Free to Question, Freeto learn and Free to challenge the norm has been the way as long as it onlyenhanced you as a person and taught you to face life with every determinationyou have in yourself. They have taught me that eventually when I reach a pointin life where I have to carry their role forward with my kids, its moreimportant to understand rather than influence, more important to let go ratherthan hang on, more important to keep moving rather than get stuck in time.

More than anything else they have made me the person I amtoday and they have only helped me face the world and life with utmost zest andwithout questioning the why’s and how’s instead taking all of it in my strideand only making the best of it.

Work Life Balance? What is that?

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:55:00 +0000

In the last few days i have had many a conversations with my friends about this very subject. Everybody seems to be in this questioning phase where they are not sure what they are doing with their lives. It seems like a JOB to go for their JOBS but its got to be done. Go to office come back home and the cycle continues. Weekend is the only time you have to yourself but there are so many things to do that it feels like Mondays are right after Fridays and there never was a Saturday and a Sunday.

What is it that makes us so full of our way of lives but it still keeps us going on with it? As far as Mumbai is concerned i also blame the way of life in the city that eventually takes a toll on you. Because there is so much opportunity available to us here we end up coming to this city and then this very opportunity makes sure we don't have an opportunity for anything else. Dreams turn into work place ambitions and nothing more. We are struggling to survive one day after the other. The city doesn't make it easier. Rents are sky high and so an average person would be living miles away from their work travelling everyday for hours and so by the end of the day is left with no more time than enough to probably watch TV and go off to sleep. Also because everything is so expensive you can barely afford any form of leisure like clubs and sports which in smaller towns and cities we take for granted. Therefore the idea of leisure is watching a movie, going out for dinners and sitting by the stinky seaside, the vast expanse of which only makes you feel more lost and gets you thinking. 'Change your lifestyle' is the first advice any doctor will give you in this city but how do you do that? while there are million books and people to advice you to go a certain way to change it all but the 24 hour day (more like 12 hours) seems to give you the ultimate test of will to even start somewhere. I don't say we can't do it. of course we can but the quality of life will always make you question every step in time and put you a step back as you tend to end up spending more time in thinking whys than doing the hows.

My decision to quit my job a few months back also came from a similar phase of questioning the purpose of life, finding time for myself, looking after my health which was as good as non existent. I wonder sometimes in the race of ambitions we forget our basic dreams, basic emotion of happiness, we feel loaded and it really does and will take a lot for each one of us to come out of it, be happy and still be doing our thing.

I am not sure about other cities as i can only talk from my experience of living in the city of dreams - Mumbai. Ironically the very dream one comes to this city with seems to fade away without the slightest hint of realization on their part. I know that this post seems a little on the negative side but honestly i am just writing this post as it has increasingly been a question in my mind.

Off late i have personally decided to try and increase my happiness quotient and that by just being happy, by not getting bothered and affected by way of life or what i have right now, it could probably make things a lot easier to deal with. While i have it and i am in it, the idea i feel should be to try and enjoy in whatever way you can because by cribbing about life we don't really change anything but only feel more and more miserable about everything about us and around us. Maybe something as small as using smilies :) could just help one change their mood :) and little more conversations with family and friends just helps you keep your calm and understand situations of life better.

The break i have taken has definitely helped in many ways, and i feel everyone should definitely make it a point to utilize all their leaves in a year (which a lot of people to my surprise don't) if not necessarily take a break from working all together. As any form of break only helps you relax and put a perspective to things and we can start afresh every time.

chickichik all the way - strictly for women

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 22:34:00 +0000

So last week i caught up with a list of movies... and like my post header suggests strictly chicky rom coms. The list as you can see above with the movie posters. So i will give a quick short review of each of these movies -

Bridesmaids - It's funny, it's typical but aren't all rom coms :) it's about two childhood best friends. one of them is getting married and so the other is asked to be her maid of honor and enter the bridesmaids and that's where it all begins. the maid of honor and one of the bridesmaids - the bride's fiances boss's wife..phew.. they start competing with each other as to who is the brides best friend. personal life disasters, joblessness, love found with a cop and finally it all ends with a perfect patch up between the two best friends. It always a happy ending but that's what makes it so exciting every time because we girls like to live in that perfectly romanticized world of ours. Touted as the Chick version of Hangover, i don't think it is anywhere close to that but its worth a watch anyway.

Crazy, Stupid, Love - I kept procrastinating on this one. In spite of hearing good things about this movie i somehow never felt like watching it all this while. Finally i did and it was quiet a fun watch. It's a Steve Carrell, Julianne Moore and hold your breath Ryan Gosling movie. Phew Ryan Gosling is hot or what. yes he is a bit too metro sexual for my liking in this movie specifically his styling and stuff but charming or what???? Mind blowing and hot. It's a typical Steve Carrell movie i feel, he is perfect in those losers gone wild kind of roles. But is a fun watch none the less.

Spread - Finally long pending, a 2009 movie, i had missed it when it had released. Ashton Kutcher movies - somehow i couldn't stand him earlier but over the years i have come to like most of his movies and therefore make it a point to watch all of it. Something about him is charming. Even though i think the movie does not have very great ratings and did not do too well but my friend Wittke had loved it and i knew it that if she liked it i would because our choices of romantic movies are just so similar and i wasn't disappointed. So well yes it was not the typical, everything is happy and gay at the end kind of a romantic flick but i really did like it only maybe because of the way it ended and because it wasn't after all so typical. All the way till the airport sequence it was perfectly in sync with any other rom com but then the last 10 minutes changed it all and it was superb.

Midnight in Paris - A Woody Allen movie, either you like his movies or you don't. and i love most of his movies except a few. And i love the way he makes you fall in love with various cities. In this one as is obvious from the title it's Paris. Oh how beautiful the city looks that you wish you were there that very moment. I loved the movie. Owen Wilson is fun as usual, i never mind a movie with him in it. Some how the concepts that Woody Allen comes up with are always interesting rather than the run on the mill stuff. This movie is about an engaged couple who have traveled to Paris and while they are there they discover the fact about their relationships. Both conceive a life different from the one they have together as better but they have been living in denial. From the start you figure somehow they just don't seem to fit well together but eventually figure where they stand in the relationship. It's a fun watch and i would not typically put this in chikichik only as this one has an appeal the men as well i think.

So well it was all in all a week well spent on some fun movies. Will definitely recommend catching up on all the above at some point.

Images courtesy: Google

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:40:00 +0000

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was one book i picked up because i had seen the movie minus the end of the movie and i quiet liked the movie of whatever i had seen and wanted to know where it finally went.

The book ended up being a simple read. It's from Bruno's point of view, the child who is oblivious of holocaust and the fact that his father served the Fury (Hitler). He had his own point of view to everything happening around him. Not understanding the seriousness of what was going on around him, He was happy in his idea of the world being perfect. He had to move with his family to Poland due to an assignment his father was put onto and that's where he meets his new friend on the other side of the FENCE Shmuel. Bruno wants to become an explorer when he grows up and since in this new place he does not have much to explore within the house he ends up venturing outside and begins a journey with Shmuel. While Bruno is his age and is innocent and unaware of everything going around him, Shmuel is that much more grown up after having seen the various atrocities and life changing events as part of a Jewish Family. Ironically they both share the same date of birth but still aged so differently.

From then on the book is about their relationship, about things that Bruno discovers but never understands and somehow the way the book ended completely took me by surprise and since i had not seen the end of the movie i was no where near expecting it. it shocked me, made me sad and wished it would end some other way but in the end when i think about it I guess the story ended just perfectly right. Any more than this i would give away the story :)

The movie also ended up coming again on one of the English movie channels last week after i was done with the book and so it was perfect timing and i have managed to complete both the book and the movie perfectly in sync.

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Happy Diwali :)

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:34:00 +0000

I found this picture on my FB. Apparently an image released by NASA. This is how India looks at night on Diwali.. it looks so beautiful. So i thought i would share this and wish all of you a very very happy diwali. May this year be a happy and prosperous one for you and your family.

It was a perfect Diwali for me spent with parents here at Noida. Even though i did miss my husband in all of this but nonetheless spending diwali at home has its own joys. all the mithai and various pakwans you get to eat just makes it so much more happier :) some fuljharis, some anaars, Saree, some photographs - all in all the day has ended on a perfect note.

Surprisingly this Diwali at least in and around my colony seemed to have been a lot more calmer than the previous years. Very few people were bursting crackers, instead even boys who get the most excited about crackers were happy with their anaars, chakris and fuljharis. All the kids here apparently are getting immensely influenced by their teachers at school who are teaching them the ill effects of bursting crackers and other fireworks. Glad at least some good sense has prevailed into people specially kids.

On that note, enjoy the holiday season everyone. Lots of love to all.

Image courtesy: Facebook

The Dewarists - I'm in love

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 20:41:00 +0000

Finally there is some original content on TV to watch. Something beautiful and mesmerizing and breath taking.

What intrigued me first was the word Dewarist as i had never heard of this word. So what did it mean or was it a term used for a certain clan and after seeing the promos i really couldn't connect the word to the content and therefore had to look it up.

Dewars happens to be a Scottish Whiskey brand. The origin of the word comes from the movement Dewarism started by the company and subsequent campaign based on that movement. The meaning of the word Dewarism below -

DEWARISM:noun (u) A social, political and economic doctrine, based on the writing ofTommy Dewar, expressing the conviction that the journey of life can be enjoyedwithout giving up on the achieving of success.

Sir Thomas Dewar, a famous whiskey distiller and philosopher, believed success in life could be obtained without arduous work, as described in his concept of Dewarism.

Source: Urban Dictionary

You can read further about Dewarism and Dewars on Wikipedia.

So Hence from there comes The Dewarists - People who represent this philosophy. The Dewarists was a movement that began in late 2010 as stage performances and collaborations of artists who stood and reflected the philosophy of Dewarism. And finally was culminated into the TV series now on Star World. They have an extremely good lineup - Vishal Shekhar, Imogen Heap, Zeb & Haniya, Shantanu Moitra, Swanand Kirkire, Indian Ocean, Mohit Chauhan, Parikrama, Agnee and many more....

The first episode was shot in Rajasthan and with Vishal and Imogen Heap. To me that episode was all about sounds. Imogen's obsession with experimenting with anything that produces any sound to me was an interesting way of discovering music and if you listen to the song then you would notice the variety of sounds in the song.

The second episode with Zeb and Haniya and Shantanu Moitra and Swanand Kirkire to me was more about lyrics, the mood and fusion of languages. It was beautiful.

What i like about this series is that its absolutely original in every sense. original content which one dies for these days on Indian Television and original songs being produced in the short journey of collaboration between these artists. Its part biography part collaborative, the entire episode and therefore is informative as well as entertaining. Also it to me is serving the purpose of a travel show as well as each episode is being shot in a different cities and locations. The show represents the flavour of that city as well shows various moods, people, places of that city. I am completely in love with the way the episodes are shot. The DOP must be mind blowing because it just seems like an hour long display of amazing paintings, its so beautifully shot.

The Dewarists has an amazing sense of freshness that is immensely appealing.

If i had to compare other musical programmes to this, then this would definitely stand higher above MTV Coke Studios India and MTV Unplugged India ( Unplugged of course has a few episodes of certain artists which are very good no doubt). Coke Studio India to me was a disaster after being used to Coke Studio Pakistan. I felt that somewhere the commercial mixed with the original there and therefore the collaboration got highly diluted bringing about a sad output. Somewhere the pressure of being Coke Studios probably led to that as the artists were trying to hard to emulate the way it should be done rather than concentrating on being natural. The Dewarists in spite of having their bit of commercial artists in it as well seems to infuse the best in them.

It is a must watch for all music lovers because its a different and fun journey you would be going on. The songs created on the series are available for download from the Dewarists website and also if you have missed the episodes then you can watch the episodes on the Dewarists Youtube Channel. ENJOY!!

P.S. - All the referred websites are linked in my post so you can click on them and go check it our directly instead of searching for it.

Image courtesy: Google

The Immortals of Meluha

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 19:15:00 +0000

The Immortals of Meluha by Amish Tripathi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Shiva Trilogy, all about how he moved on from being a regular Human to being called the GOD - 3 stars because to me it is not some great piece of literature.. but yes it is definitely a commercial page turner, one that made me turn pages as well.. what i like about the book is that it takes you back and updates your knowledge of the gods and your history. I finished this book in flat 3 days of night reading.. It is a very very simple read and therefore will engage a whole lot of readers who are not regulars and find getting into books difficult.. this book could be a good start.

I find it commendable that Amish could think of a concept like this and the fact that his writing is so easy makes it even more approachable for everyone to read his work. He has done a good job of making the book a complete page turner and i have thoroughly enjoyed it in that sense. All of us have heard gazillion stories in our childhood at least from our grandparents. I used to wait for vacations so i could hear stories and all that my grandparents did was tell us stories from Mahabharat, Ramayana, and the stories of all other gods. The fact that Amish made that his strength and came out with this is amazing.

My only put offs were the interaction between Sati and Shiva.. That sometimes seems downright corny.. Also the language of the book is extremely today and so having been used to expecting a certain kind of tone and manner from the gods.. :) it's a little weird to read stuff like 'yeah right' and 'for god's sake man' along with 'lord and highness'.. it just sounded a bit confusing in my head at least because i kept going in and out of time while reading this book. But that's just my personal opinion.Maybe the fact that history has been fictionalised and written in today's language has also therefore helped this book become the success that it has.

I have already moved on to the second part now - SECRET of the NAGAS and the fact remains that the first book leaves you wanting to know more.. I was lucky enough to start the first book once the second was already out but now even for me the third book would be quiet a wait as i know that the book will end in a way that would leave me waiting.

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Jaane Bhi do Yaaro - Jai Arjun Singh

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:27:00 +0000

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro by Jai Arjun Singh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It was one of the few non fiction books which i could not put down. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I had been following Jai Arjun's blog for a while now since he reviews a lot about books and movies and some very interesting stuff. That's how i got to know that he was now writing his own book and to start with it was a very interesting concept of covering the background of an entire film. the history of the film, cast crew how it got to be made and finally where everyone related to the movie along with the movie itself stands today.

Jaane bhi do Yaaro is a historical movie in it's own right in the Indian film industry and while it always remained one of the most loved and funny movies for me to go back to, the thought of knowing about it was even more exciting as the star cast of the film (stars now cast then) is superb. All of them were in the making and trust me i would recommend this book to everyone. Jai has done a fantastic job of capturing the perfect nuances of the film, it's people and his narrative throughout the book keeps you going. It's extremely enjoyable very very informative and it was one of those books that i pre - ordered, waited for and finished in 2 days thoroughly satisfied.

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Persepolis

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 19:27:00 +0000

The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Persepolis has been an enjoyable read. While i have heard a lot of the movie i still haven't watched it and on the recommendation of a friend picked up the book. It's an autobiography of the author Marjane Satrapi who is an Iranian and shares her growing up years with the readers in the first book and then her return to her country in the later years in the second book. While many would think that it is probably no great shakes as we have seen many such books written by or written about so many women from that region but what makes this book different from the rest is that the format of expression which is illustrations or comic strip style in itself is very sweet and different. Also in a very simplistic manner, i thought i could read a very honest and balanced point of view of the author of both her country and then later on Austria where she studied. Her exposure to various mix of westernization in her country to going to being a religious fundamentalist country to her moving out of the country and getting exposed to western culture yet again. All the mixed and the genuine reactions or agonies or surprises that we all go through our growing up years.

The fact that it is illustrated makes it an extremely fast and smooth read and also breaks the monotony of reading heavy handed autobiographies. Instead here is a very simplistic way of expressing and also informing the world about Iran from an insiders perspective who has seen both the worlds.

The next step is to watch the movie as well.

View all my reviews

History - Salman - How?

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 20:04:00 +0000

Not sure if many of you have seen the new channel History Network 18. It's the latest comedy channel according to me.

The Brand Ambassador is Salman Khan for a channel called History - First disconnect, what does intellect have to do with Salman Khan i think. Wait till you see the promo's running on the channel. It's Bizarre. One of the promo's - A chinese martial arts expert going at it with a sword, cut to Salman khan sits there watches him and goes 'kya hai ye? .. phu pha phi phun. Bore nahi hue ye sab dekh ke. Ab dekho History channel. History Channel. Roz History bante dekho'. I mean what are we talking about? Sounds like a channel started by the Guinness book of World Record guys. The fun doesn't end there. Watch the programming carefully and you will notice the same old Starworld, Zee Studio, FX, Big CBS kind of content. greatest american video kind of stuff. Then there is this programme where in all that the guy does is take a chainsaw and cuts anything and everything, tree trunk to tv to fridge to everything. It's mindless. What does all this have to do anything with knowing or making History and why would you go around making a marketing strategy that has no head or tail to it.

The TV Industry is losing it. Marketeers are doing anything to just launch channels, play the same old content so if it's friends or Rules of engagement or many such programmes, you would see each of these series would be playing on all of these English entertainment channels. There are Gazillion music channels and i am not complaining because more channels, the more chances we have of bumping into something sensible on television. But where does this new History channel stand. It absolutely makes no sense. The Channel strategy, what it stands for, the brand ambassador to the content of that channel, none of it remotely cross each others path anywhere. Is everyone just running the rat race of launching channels and struggling to buy a pie of the already disparate and distributed eye balls. When the market is already so cluttered in the Television industry what on earth would you be even thinking to come up with a channel like History and expect anything? Maybe if they dubbed all of their content and had Salman as their brand ambassador then the Bodyguard Janta might find it interesting as these are not content they tend to watch similar to how Hollywood movies are dubbed and released in India and find considerable viewership as well. But that's about it. Hope they are not possibly thinking of standing up against a Discovery, Nat Geo or Fox History and Traveler with such a channel and if they are then God save them is all i have to say.

The Gods must be going Crazyy!!

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 20:31:00 +0000

Oh ! what a mayhem on the roads of Mumbai. Yet again another festival and there, the whole world has left their homes and have come on the road.

Makes me wonder all the noise, all the indiscipline, all the eve - teasing, the Holi played in the name of Durga Puja and Navrati, garba happening in front of Goddess Durga's procession are we confused or what? Where is this country going in the name of religion and festival? why does the decibel level not matter to those same people who have a problem with youngsters throwing a party in their homes and playing loud music or a concert in the city with deadlines of 10am? Aren't we being too convenient and choosing what is right and what is wrong otherwise but in the name of religion everything seems to suddenly be okay.

It's appalling to see rowdy young boys eve - teasing women on the road while they are on their respective trucks or on foot going to immerse the deity. Drinking and throwing alcohol bottles on the road, littering the city, dancing on bollywood songs that has got absolutely nothing to do with god or spirituality. For heavens sake a procession i passed today had people dancing on 'Saat Samundar par main tere peeche peeche aa gayi' and what happened after that song was even more shocking. The song changes into 'Nayak nahi khalnayak hun mein' and everybody sings along and cheers the song change. I mean really? Khalnayak? aren't we talking about a day when the good claimed it's victory over the evil and here we are dancing on this and claiming we are Khalnayak's? With every year i see people more and more confused about the purpose of celebrating these festivals and it just becomes a time of song, dance, drinking and family entertainment. The majority of the middle class, lower middle class and the poverty stricken population of this country with the onslaught of television and movies has suddenly gotten exposed to cultures alien from theirs (not that the saas bahu serials are helping them any better to learn better about their own). People come to the big city with dreams and get exposed to an already confused culture and they do not know how and where do they figure their customs and cultures in the midst of all this confusion. The result is they join the confusion.

I don't know how this will change i see only deterioration, no improvement in the future as well. The only way out i think is somehow educating these youngsters who have lost touch with the original idea of these celebrations but only have carried on the fervor of celebrating without any purpose. We some where need to hold on to customs and cultures and learn all the right things they were supposed to teach and i know it's an uphill task because it's easier to have an opinion like i have right now but how much can i add to that change? Well i am open to discussions and conversations with people and the only way i admit till now if at all i have added is through trying to question people and then engaging them in a hopefully fruitful argument. All i can do is try and create some perspective in someones mind then it's on the person to want to agree or disagree.

Education to me is the key to keeping true to ourselves and our roots, not the kind of education that teaches you just to 'Mug' as we would call it or 'Ratofy' concepts and vomit in exam papers but an education that would make us want to question everything we see, read or learn to be only able to understand and or better it and broaden our horizon further.

Give and Take

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 21:24:00 +0000

An eternal debate that never ends.. how do you get an accent in a year when you go to another country after having had your own accent for 25 years? there are conflicting views that people have about it and i personally have always been of the view that to blend in you don't need to change your accent. blend in standing out on your own and not by becoming one of them because they you wouldn't remain an Indian and he an American, British, African or whatever other citizen of the world.

The best personal growth is when you add to yourself over and above what you are already and not replace yourself with someone else. I was talking to a friend recently and she of course has an accent now with living 2 years in the US. Her logical approach to the whole thing is " Accent is derived out of the place you live in and therefore its not a big deal as to be able to make it easier for people to understand your accent it's better to role a few words here and there as they don't understand otherwise". Not that i debated this with her as i know i might have offended her with my view but i do not agree to that point of view because it is as simple as this, if i can understand american movies after watching it over the years an American who is used to living with Gazillion different nationalities (as its the land of dreams), why can't they then understand what you speak after a few minutes or days of conversation with you.

I have noticed this trend more often in Indians than people from any other country. Indians seem to run towards accents faster and more than any other nationality. A British national will still role his tongue, a German and Italian would still hold their accents, An African will still have his original accent and be very well understood but an Indian always feels his accent is way to plain and straight tongued to be understood. Foreigners as we call them are always intrigued and lining up in India because they are so intrigued with the diversity and richness that our culture has to offer but we run towards their country. I do believe that a global exposure is very good and it only helps you grow as an individual but that does not mean that you let go of the identity that you have been brought up with specially if you are an Indian as you have so many experiences to offer to the world. Why don't we Indians concentrate on imbibing the good things from them while we are there rather than run towards the superficial lifestyle changes only.

What happened to the generation that was proud of being Indian and was the reason behind the colonial powers living this country. Why is the 3rd - 4th generation post Independence suddenly finding reasons to emulate the west and does not even know about the many offerings that the country has within. Why are the newer generations running west for holidays rather than going around their own country which has such diverse experiences to provide for a traveler? These questions always hound us but somehow the glamour of the west always seems to take over from all of it.

An example from within the country and a personal experience would also fit the debate so its not just about people going abroad but people within as well.I was brought up in Assam and so to me home has always been there even though we do not have any base there anymore. Having Bihari roots i was as much Bihari in Assam as a Bihari would be in Bihar, thanks to my summer holidays with grandparents and my parents who never forgot their roots. My Hindi is as 'shudh' as it should be in spite of living in Assam and i can speak and read Assamese decently well as well. What my parents taught me was to never let go of your roots as it has many thing to offer but only to add more from the new world which is what you are a part of and therefore i know Assamese as well along with my own language. And it wasn't as cosmopolitan as a big city is today and therefore it would only help to know the culture better so you are able to find your way through while you are growing up. A lot of our family friends on other hand ended up producing a lot of ABCD's (Assam born confused Desis) where in their Hindi had become like that of Assamese people whose genders and grammar was all over the place and at the same time they never ever learnt the local language either.So you neither know enough about your own roots nor have you made an effort to learn about the one you have been brought up in.Both the interstate and intrastate dilemma one puts themselves through in this country is beyond me.

Maybe we ought to give more credit to our country beyond the political turmoil and corruption turmoil we face every day and still see that there are enough good reasons to still be proud of this country.If you go abroad to live educate them about India and share with them the knowledge you have about your country and in exchange gain knowledge from them about theirs. It's just like a mixed marriage, the excitement of people from completely different cultures and backgrounds and then learning from each other, adjusting to each other is what makes that couple a solid one and the marriage an exiting one. To be able to make the best of that marriage you only need to hold the perspective of gaining and not having lost something.

some food for thought and would definitely be open to discussion on this one as everyone has a different perspective and dimension to add to this never ending topic and would love to hear those as well.

Image courtesy: Google

Skirting Around

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 22:47:00 +0000

I am quiet enjoying my time off from the working world. Trying my hands at little little things that i had completely stopped doing. Today i wore a skirt after 11 years. It was just one of those random things for the day. I was tired of being in the same old Jeans, T-shirt, Shorts, etc. So a red skirt that my mom had gifted me two years ago suddenly seemed to peep out of nowhere and there it was on me.

What i didn't realise was that my personality has been so defined by my "Pandey Style" clothing sense that while it definitely makes me stand out in the crowd, but the crowd also is then always surprised the moment i am in my girly avatar and i guess churidaar - kurta's and salwar - suits itself got me so many looks in office and amongst friends that i pretty much knew what the reaction of people would be today when nobody after my friends in school have ever seen me in a skirt. Thankfully pleasant comments came my way and of course the funniest reaction came from my husband who looked shocked but impressed at the same time with the new look which he didn't think i ever was capable of and he out of all people has never ever seen in me in this avatar in the last few years that we have known each other.

All in all i didn't feel awkward by the end of it. I felt good and felt like sometimes it's good to get out of your comfort zone and just experiment, if nothing it just creates some new excitement in your daily life :)

The perfume called BOOK

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 21:13:00 +0000

The smell of a new book, in fact the smell of a book itself has always made me go mad since childhood, It does till date. Every time I walk into a bookstore i can't keep my nose off one and the result is that I always walk out buying at least one. even though Flipkart has become my new bookstore but it's never the same just the way I feel an e-book can never replace the joy of holding the actual book in your hand.

I remember as a child I used to wait for the beginning of each year where in we would go to school a few days prior to the beginning of that session and get our books from school. oh the joy of looking at those books, smelling them and wrapping them with brown paper was always more exciting that the exams I had to eventually give thanks to those same books. I would always pounce on the books in my English course for the year and would have polished it off in a day straight. I already knew all the stories even before the year had begun and eventually yes i did get bored of the fact that i had to keep going through it again and again through the year but every time a story would end in class to go onto the next one i would look forward to that change and re - visiting it. Though the textbooks of other subjects never garnered such response from me except for smelling them, I never even opened them until the night before my exams. But the feeling would always be the same of welcoming a new book no matter what subject it was.

The obsession continues even today and thankfully today I read books because I enjoy them and not because I am forced to read them. and the fact that I can choose my own book to read also makes it more exciting. That is why a bookstore to me would never go out of fashion as that is one place that gives me ample scope to go wild with this obsession of mine :)

Image Courtesy: Google

There's no home for Singles

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 19:47:00 +0000

A phenomenon that has always existed in our country but becomes a life changing experience sometimes in a city like Mumbai..where you breath and your neighbour can feel your breath as we all live in such close quarters of each other.. the concept of privacy is a far cry in this city..

But my post is going to primarily concentrate on student (hostel) / tenant vows that one has to face in this city.. as a working professional few years ago i was glad to find a PG which at least gave me the freedom of flexi time and doing my own thing.. but yes even there we were not allowed to bring our 'boy friends' (the gender male) into our PG premises as people in the buildings around would talk.. since ours was an all girls PG.. it was automatically labelled the excuse my language 'Hore House'. And i never understood how such biased perceptions could exist without knowing any reality about those women.. The same was the case with my Hostel as it was an all girls hostel of about 500 women in a prime location in Mumbai and i remember when i was being sent there, my dad had got incessant calls from all his so called concerned friends asking him to re - think his decision because apparently my hostel was famous for a whole lot of 'absurd stories'.. My dad's reaction then was 'i know my daughter and i know she knows where to draw the line.. she will figure what's right'.. and thank god for that as i spent one of the best 3 years of my life amongst a bunch of few of my closest friends today.. The experience that hostel gave me due to it's sheer size, population and variety of people i could interact with, no other place has or maybe will be able to give me..

Other facets of the this phenomenon are much worse and painful.. In Mumbai when you take flats on rent, your neighbours automatically become your moral guardians. They start deciding as to who should and who should not walk out of your home and at what hour.. A lot of people do not rent out their apartments to singles as a rule.. but if you are married, you automatically apparently become human and normal and so it's all good.. this attitude has led to a whole lot of my friends leaving this city.. being thrown out of their houses absurdly.. to a point where a friend of mine never got his deposit back (and that's a hell lot of money) because the owner - a middle aged single woman found a reason not to give it back since the neighbours had complained about him and she was throwing him out.. and when he obviously asked for his deposit back she went to the extent of saying she would cry RAPE.. i was aghast at the extent to which people can do this whole moral brigade nonsense and then lose their own.. suddenly the society wakes up and complains for people being thrown out as they suddenly fear and Alien (note single boy or girl) take over their society.. Just keeps reminding me of the hypocritical society we live in..

Being Single automatically questions your conduct because you suddenly have girls and boys coming into your house and at absurd hours apparently.. i see no reason why someone can decide how anyone should live their lives.. yes i do understand considering the space constraint in this city the noise factor is a big one and so till the time a bunch of guys and girls are not disturbing you in any external way i see no reason as to why and what are you doing noticing his or her daily schedule and living or commenting on any of that..

India in the name of culture lives in this hypocritical society where they run a moral brigade when if we start looking in to each of these people's houses maybe they themselves will have a gazillion things to be ashamed of.. Why can't these neighbours (and i don't deny there are few people who definitely are like that) look at these students or working professionals as people who are living away from their homes and therefore need to have a life beyond what they already do. They have come here to learn to live life on their own and the least one can do is make it a little easier for them rather than question every move they make because their parents back home are there to take care of such issues and figure it out within their fold without needing any needling from unknown strangers.. Neighbours need to realise that they are as much a stranger to these boys/girls and Men/women and vice versa.

It's a long shot to hope in this city for things to change but i can only hope that people and slowly and steadily realise that they need to mind their own business and that's all it takes..

Censorship or Dictatorship on viewership choice

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 19:26:00 +0000

Off late it has becoming increasingly annoying to watch English movies on TV.. Suddenly it seems like Indian television is regressing rather than progressing.. Every second word seems to be beeped and whats even more annoying are the subtitles because i see more asterix marks than words there and sometimes i'm dumbfounded to see words like DUMB ASS being changed in the subtitles to either an asterix or stupid words like fool.. Who are we KIDDING here really? your kid's will learn those words even before you know it. This doesn't mean i support the fact that today's kids seem to be a little too exposed to abuses and many other concepts of life much before their age.. but movies. it changes the essence of the entire story sometimes because of those beeps and edited scenes..

The scarier part is recently i was watching the movie HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU on one of the channels and it was one of those prime time 9 o'clock slots and the film was edited immensely. The movie has nothing more than few kissing scenes and believe it or not all and i mean all the kissing scenes were deleted from the movie.. after a point you just would not understand what was happening in the movie because it would randomly jump into another scene.. for heaven's sake it's a romantic comedy, what do you expect? people sitting across tables and talking. absolutely nothing vulgar in that movie and still had to go through that fate in the name of censorship.. aren't suddenly a bunch of fools therefore sitting and deciding the choices for each one of us? it scares me because suddenly i feel i am going back in time rather than moving forward..because i was used to watching movies in their proper shape size and language and suddenly there seem to be this moralistic group of people who walk into our lives and decide what we should and should not watch..While i know channels also want viewership and therefore adhere by the censorship rules but give me a break.. please do not decide what i need to watch and how to this extent where TV viewing becomes a painful pastime.. It's completely understood that there are certain things that need to be censored but this is way too much..

Channels should be given the rite to label it above 18 like it used to be in the old times on all the channels and play the movies as is.. and if need be let these movies be late night bands not that it would stop any of the kids in our country from figuring out their knowledge data.. in the world of Internet i don't think any kid today is away from trash exposure and so it's best left on parents to be friends with their kids and explain things to them rather than such petty and small ways of trying to guard them..there are gazillion munni badnaam's and shiela ki jawaani's to which kid's will be made to dance away to glory across the country because parent's are so proud to see their kids dancing then why this bias towards English content.. let's be adults and accept that every place in the world has their own culture and therefore it's best respected rather than questioned..

The censorship board for television needs to realize this and STOP ruling our lives.

Image Source: Google

Memories re - visited..

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 19:06:00 +0000

Moments and memories long gone..ones you barely think of in your busy life.. work, home, family.. and the day is over you think.. but one meeting with old friends and it all comes fleeting back to you..

Today was one of those days for me.. I finally made the effort to meet few of my old school juniors / friends who happen to be in the city and who i in my busy schedule just never ended up meeting earlier.. it was a pleasant 3 hours.. over beer in Gokul and some great cheap food in Baghdadi.. conversations ranging from whats happening in each of our lives to what million other common friends were up to and where were they..some i have lost touch with and some they have but collective information finally all on one table.. teachers and memories of various school time punishments and notorious activities that in used to make us proud..

At the end of it all i came back home beaming and unloaded my husband with the million stories we discussed this evening.. and it made me realize the importance of taking a break.. keeping in touch with the best memories of life.. because it only makes the present far more valuable because days back have a big hand in making you what you are today.. it's worth the effort to stop and breath instead of the constant run we are on otherwise in our day to day life because apparently we have GROWN UP.. :)

flip flip with flipkart

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 21:43:00 +0000

My affair with Flipkart started about two years back. I have always been an obsessive book buyer and it wouldn't do much to my pockets by the end of it because every time i would walk into a bookstore i would definitely walk out with a book or two and i still do but to keep pace with my book buying habit and depleting account balance every month, the discovery of flipkart one fine day while browsing in office came as a welcome boon in my life. I introduced many to the website before the latest ads even came on TV recently.

I have tried many an online bookstores like Coinjoos, Landmarkonthenet, Crosswordbookstores, Indiaplaza, Infibeam but the service that i have got out of Flipkart has always made it the hero in my online purchase. My first online purchase was on flipkart and considering how till few years back ordering online was always a question mark in your head, i had finally taken the plunge with flipkart.

Since then flipkart supremacy in the book selling business has in many a ways given re - birth to the many staid and old websites of various bookstores and they all seem to now get the idea as to how flipkart has in a single handed manner changed the entire book buying business and moved a lot of people from bookstores to the online buying habit and they are therefore aggressively moving into the business as well. But having said that and having tested many of them flipkart continues to rule everyone's mind because their service is top class and the sheer length of their collection. a quick tick on the great stuff about flipkart

The most important fact is their collection and that anything and everything that you can possibly search or look for and 9 times out of 10 will never find in your local bookstore will always be available with them. If not available you can always leave a request on their site and they very very promptly get back to you as they have it.
They have great prices to offer. one of the first few guys to offer cash on delivery along with the regular modes of transaction.
Upcoming launches always land on their website first before any other.
impeccable service, never any delays in any deliveries and if any then very timely information sent to the customer.
customer service is available, helpful, not cranky and seems to sort out issues in a very streamlined manner.
i also happened to get a wrong book once from them and it was a little harrowing to call them many a times but they did finally after many apologies get it picked up from me and refund the money in my account so i could order the right one.

All in all for me flipkart's been like a magic wand. This in no way indicates that i have stopped going to a bookstore. Visiting a bookstore and spending time amongst books has always been one of my favourite pastime and it will remain so but yes it does help to save a hell lot of money and also play with the range of books they have.

Off late they have forayed into other categories but i do feel that it's going to be a while before they get at par in those categories compared to other websites like Indiaplaza and all which have been older and specialist websites for things like electronics, etc. But their book business is commendable.

Cheers to Flipkart and i hope you guys keep up the good work...

Image courtesy: Google

Uzeb and Zuber

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 14:26:00 +0000

so one sad saturday morning i had to be on shoot at 7 am in the morning. First a weekend and then reporting for a shoot that early in the morning is like mid night for me. So well all groggy i reach the shoot and it all begins. While i am sitting and watching the first shot being taken i see 2 very cute little boys sitting next to me and enjoying the shoot... and that was the beginning of a day long friend ship with two super smart and super cute kids..

Uzeb and Zuber were two kid models for my shoot. Zuber was the earlier choice for the lead kid model and then at the shoot we realise he is not fitting the bill so his younger brother Uzeb is the one we go with. While Uzeb is happy and doing his kiddy running around, Zuber is visibly upset that he is not a part of the shoot anymore.. I feel extremely upset seeing him upset. trying to find ways to talk to him but he is not talking to anyone. goes away to one corner and sits on the steps ... I with slow and steady determination inch towards him and finally manage to crack him open.. and then from using my Deo to telling me about his dream to buy a cycle to how upset he was to who all he had in his family continued and then a day long chitter chatter with both the boys and my groggy day turned into a fun little session of sorts with them..Both the boys extremely intelligent..

Sometime in the day their parents also come to the shoot. Zuber comes and points at them and tells me - there my Ammi and Abbu. I look at them and see them busy having their lunch so I turn away.. Eventually in the evening his dad gets talking to me.. They are this humble couple who are there to support their kids and just anxious about not leaving them alone for their first such shoot.. So i get talking with them. Thier dad is a Taxi driver and mum a house wife. He tells me about his three kids.. so both the boys have an elder brother as well who they tell me has just gotten selected to meet Irfan Pathan and few others from the Indian cricket team and has been selected to play at the state level. But that requires for the parents to shell out about Rs 1 lakh and he says thats not something he can afford. He tells me that he would really get annoyed with his son for going and playing cricket because somewhere that worry of not being able to support this hobby of his son eventually would always bother him, But the son went ahead and followed his dreams and reached to a point where the father is left with no option. So he has left every thing to 'Malik' and says he will figure some way out for sure.. I find this man for the humble background that he comes from, to be extremely modern and broadminded in thoughts. He believes his kids can do every thing and they are intelligent enough and all he can do is support them in the right ways and teach them to be humble and all the right disciplines of life..

Zuber he tells me is suffering from acute asthama and so looks 8yrs old when he is actually 13. I am shocked because he really doesn't look that old. An amount of Rs 90,000 has been spent in his treatment from various hospitals like Lilawati to Tata memorial.. every possible good big hospital one can think of.. but nothing much has come out of it..So in True style his father leaves every thing to " allah" .. "I am doing every thing i can and i think my prayers have been answered to some extent as you can today see him walking around in this shoot when 2 months back he was bed ridden and i had left all hopes in him even surviving this ordeal".. I Smile.. i feel happy that i get to see Zuber in this happy state..

Uzeb..is the naughty super intelligent child who the father thinks is going to make him very very proud. He says to run a family of 3 kids with his humble salary of taxi driving is not easy but i don't complain.. All i know is that my aim is to do every thing that i can to make my children's life better in this world and i think my job is done.. From there on God will take over and what the almighty has decided for them they have to live through that and make their own world.

The end of the day makes me feel so good to meet such great parents and the 2 little vibrant happy kids. I pray for them before i leave. thank the 2 kids and bid good bye's but the 4 faces - Uzeb, Zuber and his parents don't leave me.. i have not stopped thinking about them and every time i think about them it brings a smile on my face.. to meet such warm and positive people only makes you feel life is so much more worth all the things that we think are trouble.. :)

Image Source: Google

Udaan - A Joy Ride!!

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 10:49:00 +0000

Much has been written about Udaan..

I finally got down to writing about the movie but more from a sense of a known that it makes me feel.. the soundtrack of the movie, it’s lyrics brilliantly weave in a whole lot of emotions.. a varied range of emotions from the adolescent qualms that on goes through, the disconnect one feels with parents at times, the bond that one has with their friends in school.. the relationships that you try to keep at while you are at your rebellious best..the lyrics just create magic.. Simple but says so much..

Pairon ki bediyan khwabon ko baandhe nahi re, kabhi nahi re
Mitti ki parton ko nanne se ankur bhi cheeray, dheere dheere

The every new and next stage in life that we enter into, the lyrics below exactly define the anxiety, dilemma that we go through at the beginning of each of these stages:

Kahani khatam hai ya shuruwaat hone ko hai
Subha nayi hai yeh ya phir raat hone ko hai

Aane wala waqt dega panha hai
Ya phir se milenge do raahein
Khabar kya, kya pataa

I feel you make your best friends while you are in school.. whether you eventually end up keeping in touch with them or not due to life that strikes you in your 20’s but the fact is that the memory of those friendship’s will always bring a smile to your face.. you explore relationships in that age with complete purity of heart and innocent conflicts.. you grow together to face the newer challenges everyday.. it’s all about being there for each other and hopefully if you do manage to be in touch with them then you sure have a bunch of friends for life.. Rohan’s friendship with his 3 other buddies who together get thrown out of the school is one for keeps.. I love the relationship specially that he shares with his friend Maninder in the film.. They seem to perfectly well understand each other in their own way..

The charm of living in a small town is a world apart from the concrete jungle.. the movie made me nostalgic because it reminded me of my childhood in Digboi and it reminds me of my winter trips with my college friends to Jamshedpur..you live life in these towns.. have time to do everything that you possibly can include in a day of 24 hrs..

Arjun, Rohan’s stepbrother is the most natural kid on the block that I have seen in my long run of Hindi movies.. I have never seen a kid who seamlessly fits in to the character in the age that he is in..he probably was the star for me in the movie..

All in all Udaan was a brilliant, quiet, sensitive, fun, nice, feel good, soothing experience, one which I thoroughly enjoyed..

Week Ends!!

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:12:00 +0000

Weekend is here.. Waiting for Friday already.. Oh finally.. tonight’s gonna be a good good night..What is it that makes weekend and working population best friends..

With Increasing work pressure and no life culture specially in India where the more you work the better you are at your job is the IN THING.. Weekend ought to be that one thing that everyone looks forward to. Be it going for a short trip out of town or mostly just sleeping for hours on end through Saturday and Sunday or going bonkers with the drinking session with friends.. or watching loads of movies.. or line up outside restaurants for hours to just have that one meal with family..It’s THE WEEKEND that we look forward to..

I guess for the over worked population this is the time to finally breath.. GOD FORBID if you are working the weekend then you are doomed for 2 week long straight up no break stint.. and that one sucks for sure..

Today at 5:40 on a Friday evening I can’t wait to get out, get out of office, get out of town.. get out to forget I exist in this life even and lead another life altogether even if it’s for a tiny 2 days J

So Weekend here I come and mine this time is going to be the garfeild slump Lump Kinds.. Oh so perfect!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love Story

noreply@blogger.com (Tanaya) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:52:00 +0000

Happened to read Love Story finally.. and what a timing.. Just read in the news yesterday that Erich Segal passed away at the age of 72.

The first book that i read of Erich Segal's was THE CLASS. I had really enjoyed it at the time..Since i was so late in reading Love story.. I did feel that i had heard the story umpteen number of times while i was reading it. But for the fact that it was written when it was it still seems as fresh in writing as if written today. It's the most amazing rapport that both Oliver and Jenny share.. It's best of friends who are sooo in love... Love Story is always talked about as a tragic love story.. But i'd beg to differ from that point of view as to me there is nothing tragic about falling in love so beautifully because it's then about how awesome every moment that you spent with your loved one and not about how less time you had with him or her.It's a rare phenomenon to find such great relationships which lives with its imperfections but still is perfect in its own way.

The book is a very short and crisp read but manages to clog your throat in the last page. At least it did to me.I read somewhere that Erich Segal had written this story as a screenplay but when no body bought into it then a publisher asked him to turn it into a novel and it became a multi million best seller as we know of it today. And then the Movie followed. Maybe the reason why the book is also a short and precise point making novel but at the same time does complete justice to the story in every way.

Would definitely recommend this book along with The Class, because they are master pieces in their own right because of the simplicity with which they manage to capture lives of people.