Kalam Ka Sipahi

Barkha rani... barkha rani

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 17:40:00 +0000

बरखा रानी, बरखा रानी

तू क्यूँ इतना इतराती है;

एक झलक तो तू दिखलाती है,

पर पलक झपी और तू गायब हो जाती है;

हम आस में तेरी बैठे हैं,

और तू इतना बलखाती है;

कुछ राहत दे हम झुलसों को,

मध्धम मद्धम सी पवन चला;

कि .. आज हमारा जी भर के गाने को जी चाहता है !!

वो बचपना था और चला गया,

डरता था जो तूफानों से;

कागज के नाव बनाता था,

और पहरा देता था नालों पे;

न बचपन है, न कागज है,

न नाव मेरी वो कागज़ की;

एक कश्ती ऐसी व्याकुल है,

न उसे जरूरत साहिल की;

और .. हर तूफ़ान से उसका टकराने को जी चाहता है !!

घनघोर अँधेरा भी कर दे,

तो भी कोई परवाह नहीं;

तेरी भीषण हुंकार भी हो,

तो भी भीतर से आह नहीं;

चमक भी तू, गरज भी तू,

उमड़ भी तू, घुमड़ भी तू;

न देर कर बरस भी जा,

न और तू हमें तडपा;

कि... आज हमारा भीग जाने को जी चाहता है !!

The curious case of an Indian Cricket Fan

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:47:00 +0000

Flashback : Feb 2011
Team India is favorite to win the world cup. This team has the best chance of winning the prestigious cup of all the teams that India has fielded till now. Dhoni and co are getting praises which were not conferred on any other team before.

Cut to 14th March 2011
Team India has lost a close match, tied another. They are being criticized and we are told this team has no chance of winning the cup. The batsman are a bunch of losers and captain has lost his mind. Bowling can not be called an attack, at best it is a defense mechanism which can not even defend a par score :P. Every Tom, Dick and Harry and their cousin can take better decisions than a certain hyped and useless captain.

Confusing ??
Off course it is, but the truth is somewhere in between. A little bit of prudence says that the team was not as great as it was made out be 3 weeks before and neither is it as bad as it is portrayed right now.

It takes just one match to form reputation and another to destroy it in a cricket mad country called India. The Indian cricket fan belongs to a peculiar species. An average cricket fan from India has abused and worshipped the same player at different points of time. Nothing wrong with that, since a player goes to different phases in a long career. Sometimes it looks like he can do no wrong and sometimes Geff Boycott's mother seem to be a better bet than him. But the extent to which he is scrutinized in the public eye is exemplary.

I understand that people are passionate about cricket. The way cricket unites the country, there is nothing else that does it in the same way. But the way they over react is beyond comprehension. There is a thin line between being partisan and being jingoistic and I am afraid we have crossed that line long time back. There is no need to get your blood boiling over someone getting hit for a six, no need to involve mother-sister of a batsman for a reckless shot and I might get killed for this but no need to make someone a deity because he plays the straight drive like no one else in this world could, can and will ever do.

And as far as the cricketers are concerned. They need not worry, they can die another day. They are still in the cup. One good match and everything will be forgotten. India has an outside chance of winning the cup since they have to win 3 knockout matches and this world cup is the most open world cup since 1996, But so are the chances of many other teams.

So dear Indian cricket fan, please sit back, relax and off course discuss the tactics of the game but if you can watch only the matches where your team wins, please go to youtube, live TV is not for you.

And dear Indian cricketers, you need not worry. This scrutiny goes on for few days, but everything comes back to normality. I am sure you will qualify for the knockout stage and play to the best of your ability. And even if you lose after that, there is a certain Indian Phoohad League awaiting, which will take care of an average Indian Cricket Fan.

PS: If you happen to be an Indian cricket fan and you were hurt by this (which is another famous trait of you). My sincere apologies. Please don't burn my effigies, stone my house, destroy my bike or engage in similar destructive behavior.

Solace

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 10:38:00 +0000

कोई शिकवा न रखो दिल तोड़ने वालों से,
आखिर उन्होंने भी कहीं दिल लगाया होगा ;

ये जानकर की लोग पत्थर को पूजते हैं,
अपने दिल को पत्थर बनाया होगा ;

रोना इस बात का न रखो की भुला दिया तुम्हे,
इस बात पे रोवो की रो रोकर भुलाया होगा !!

Udaan

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:31:00 +0000

They say it is impossible to fly,
I say, but what about giving it a try;

They say there are do's and don'ts,

Right and wrong, boundaries all along,

Hurdles to clear, stakes too high,

Isn't it reason enough to stop asking why ;

I say that is precisely the point,

hurdles to jump and demons to deny,

will make the journey special,

and confer the elusive high;

They say the logics are impossible to defy,

I say, Can I just give it a try

And so I persist,

and keep giving it a try,

and so I insist,

there will be a day, when I will fly !!

The (medium-) fast and furious

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 06:06:00 +0000

The (medium-) fast and furious

Main stream media - I

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:47:00 +0000

This post is dedicated to all Sagarika Ghosh fans. I am not going to do an introduction here, her name is enough. If you do not know her, you can stop reading the post here.

She conducted a 'debate' after the phenomena of spot fixing by Pakistani players happened. And here are her tweets about the same.

Ponting says western cricketers have different values from south asians: are we just a congenitally corrupt society? FTN at 10pm

Oh, I think we must be a congenitally corrupt society since Mr. Ponting whose 'integrity can not be questioned' says so

Good morning. Depressing views from panelists last night on FTN. cheating and dishonesty hardwired into the subcontinetal dna..

Yes, I definitely think that only subcontinental dna has this problem. All other dnas are clean and such skullduggery is not in their dna, So what if they were punished for this.

We need a mental revolution. a moral renaissance. each one of us has to inculcate personal honesty at all levels

Yes I think we do. But I did not know that it is because some cricketers took some money. Thanks for letting us know.

sadly our religions too have become degraded. noble spirit of hinduism reduced to minority bashing. islam used for violence and mayhem.

Oh, thats deep ! spot fixing -> corrupt society -> degraded religion, hinduism, islam -> minority. I could have never gained this foresight, Thanks, thanks a lot !

something drastic needs to happen. panelists believe shock treatment from West and globalisation will force us to adhere to norms..

Oh yeah, we need to be royally spanked by the west (our big daddys), so that we behave properly.

when society loses its spiritual core, moral collapse follows When spirituality itself becomes political& violent, god is dead

Oh ho ho, this is something I still can not sight. Truly genius of you.

Miss Ghosh, you are truly a boon for us mere mortals. It is a privilege for all dishonest people with corrupt dnas to get enlightened by you. I hope you keep educating us on issues !

Challenges !!

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:03:00 +0000

तूफानों की ओर घुमा दो नाविक निज पतवार

आज सिन्धु ने विष उगला है
लहरों का यौवन मचला है
आज ह्रदय में और सिन्धु में
साथ उठा है ज्वार

तूफानों की ओर घुमा दो नाविक निज पतवार

लहरों के स्वर में कुछ बोलो
इस अन्द्दह्द में साहस तोलो
कभी कभी मिलता जीवन में
तूफानों का प्यार

तूफानों की ओर घुमा दो नाविक निज पतवार

यह असीम निज सीमा जाने
सागर भी तो यह पहचाने
मिटटी के पुतले मानव ने
कभी न मानी हार

तूफानों की ओर घुमा दो नाविक निज पतवार

सागर की अपनी छमता है
पर मांझी भी कब थकता है
जब तक सांसों में स्पंदन है
उसका हाथ नहीं रुकता है
इसके ही बल पर कर डाले
सातों सागर पार

तूफानों की ओर घुमा दो नाविक निज पतवार

- शिवमंगल सिंह 'सुमन'

Women: the mystery unraveled

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Sun, 23 May 2010 03:51:00 +0000

'In the beginning, when Twashtri (the Divine Artificer) came to the creation of woman he found that he had exhausted his materials in the making of man and that no solid elements were left. In this dilemma, after profound meditation, he did as follows: he took the rotundity of the moon, and the curves of the creepers, and the clinging of tendrils, and the trembling of grass, and the slenderness of the reed, and the bloom of flowers, and the lightness of leaves, and the tapering of the elephant's trunk, and the glances of deer, and the clustering of rows of bees, and the joyous gaiety of sunbeams, and the weeping of clouds, and the fickleness of the winds, and the timidity of the hare, and the vanity of the peacock, and the softness of the parrot's bosom, and the hardness of adamant, and the sweetness of honey, and the cruelty of the tiger, and the worm glow of fire, and the coldness of snow, and the chattering of jays, and the cooing of kokila, and the hypocrisy of the crane, and the fidelity of the chakravaka; and compounding all these together, he made woman and gave her to man'.

- excerpts from The Digit of the Moon by F.W. Bain

TIME Magazine's quote on Sachin

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:19:00 +0000

TIME Magazine's quote on Sachin

Ishqiya

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:11:00 +0000

There are many among the new 'cool' generation, who use desi as a derogatory term in their conversations. Thanks to Vishal Bhardwaj, desi is the new cool :). Some Bollywood lovers call him Quentin Tarantino of Bollywood, which I fail to understand (More on this in my last post). Without any disrespect to him and his fans, i would say that I have not seen a lot of Tarantino's work, so i do not know care who he is. However, if we are comparing Vishal Bhardwaj with him, he has to be good :)

Having said that, this post is not about Vishal Bhardwaj and he has not directed Ishqiya. It is directed by his protegé Abhishek Chaubey, who does not deny that the movie has Vishal Bhardwaj stamp on it. If you have any doubts about the debuting director's potential, the first few scenes in the movie will answer all of them.

The starting scene of the movie tells a lot about the competent director. The main protagonist of the movie will get you hooked right from this very first scene. You will instantly come to know that you are watching something special. Everything from the sets, costumes, mannerisms and language is so refreshingly different and I am not talking about the much talked about abuses. Yes, abuses are there but they are just a small prop in a large structure. The still water, holy cows, grasslands, dusty roads, glowing eyes of the villagers are captured beautifully. The rustic visuals create an old world charm throughout the movie.

There is no dull moment in the movie. It moves at a brisk pace with smooth transition from one scene to another largely because of the crisp writing. The dialogues are quirky and witty at the same times. That is the most fabulous part of the script. The wit in the dialogues is not forced to put some light humor,it is there because the situation is like that. No one is trying to tell a joke (apart from one latifa as the last wish before death :D) and there are no caricature like comic characters.

Dialogues are witty but they have deep meanings also. It is a very deadly combination to have. Watch out for the one liners on sexism, casteism and such wide-ranging topics. I am really inclined to give some examples, but I do not want to add spoilers here. The director touches the most sensitive topics affecting our country like naxalism, law and order, fanaticism in the deepest of manners with just few one liners here and there. And the beauty of all this is, you will be giggling on those dialogues. What audacity !!

One of the things which makes the movie hugely enjoyable is its music. We all know what happens when Vishal Bhardwaj and Gulzar combine for an album. The starting scene which i mentioned earlier has Vidya balan humming the song Ab mujhe koi intezaar kahan which is sensual in its unique way. Ibn-E-Batuta kicks the start credits with lot of chutzpah and élan. Then there is a classical song in melodious voice of Rekha Bhardwaj, this is exactly the kind of song we do not hear that often in our movies and yearn for those. And then comes the song of the album, i would dare say that this is the song of the year (i know it is just january .. but still) Dil to bachha hai Ji. What a song, what a fantastic piece of art !! , I think it is one of those songs that will remain in the pubic memory for a long long time. The background score is just about perfect for a thriller. And yes, the use of the songs from the past, which i think is Vishal Bhardwaj way of giving tribute to the Classics is incorporated to elevate the impact of the scenes to another level.

The kind of movie Ishqiya is, it relies heavily on performances. And that is where the casting team of the movie scores the brownie points. Every character fits the part to the T. Right from the child artist to the old woman with the torch have a sense of participation in carrying forward the movie. The goofy don played by Salman Shahid makes us laugh without making any apparent effort towards doing so. Coming to the lead trio, There is no doubt that Arshad Warsi is one of the most underutilized actors in Bollywood. He has really side-splitting lines and he delivers them with aplomb. It is time that the industry gives him the roles, which he is worthy of. Naseeruddin Shah expresses every characteristic of an aging man who falls for a young woman so wonderfully that the viewer almost tends to believe that he has a genuine chance against his younger competitor :). You have to just watch his expressions of helplessness when he comes to know that the woman was just manipulating him. Vidya Balan is playing a character which requires her to look madly in love, vulnerable & helpless yet tough & menacing, epitome of grace yet wild & seductive. And at times the camera just had to focus on her face and she manages to express all those wide-ranging emotions without uttering a word ! If this is not class, tell me what is? I just wish she makes the right moves; She has all the ingredients of becoming an all time great.

Ishqiya is the true Indian movie. It celebrates the rural heartlands of India with lot of spunk and style. The only complain i have with Ishqiya is that it ends too soon :)

Team Ishqiya, take a bow !!

Angry old man

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:09:00 +0000

"I hate the idea of every aspect of our work being compared with those of the Western world. It is demeaning to us as individuals and demeaning to us as a country. Whereas we do not ever want to take anything away from the achievements of those that function beyond Indian shores, I feel that this penchant for equating us continuously with a Western synonym, is objectionable and untoward. Shah Rukh the Tom Cruise, Abhishek-Aishwarya the Brangelina, Mithun the John Travolta of India, are synonymous with a culture that reeks of our abject submission to our colonial past. We are our own people now, with our own standing and relevance and very proud of it. I have not seen Nicole Kidman in The Hours and have no desire to fall into this unnecessary exercise of comparison. To me the response from the people of my country is the final verdict. I am interested in what they like or dislike. Nothing more."

This was the answer from Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, When a journalist asks "Your performance in Paa came across like Nicole Kidman’s Oscar-winning performance as Virginia Woolf in The Hours where you could not make out it was her."

I feel like whistling, clapping and applauding this statement like i used to do for every dialogue of his 'angry young man' days. I feel this applies to our thinking beyond movies, and in general we are obsessed with the western culture. Bachchan saab, thanks for putting the thoughts so succinctly.

Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge - II

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:29:00 +0000

Warning : If you have not seen DDLJ, you might miss the fun.

Raj : simran, hamein bhagna hi hoga. Ye log hamari shadi nahi hone denge simran.

Simran : Ye tum kya kah rahe ho raj. Tum to kahte the ki tum yahan kisi ka dil todne nahi, dil jeetne aaye ho. Hamari shadi tabhi hogi jab babuji mera hath khud tumhare hathon mein denge. Tumhara irada kyun badal gaya raj?

Raj : simran, main janta hun tum kya soch rahi ho. Tumhe lagta hai ki main bahut hi awara kism ka ghatiya ladka hun. Par aisa nahi hai simran, main janta hun ki ek hindustani ladki ki izzat kya hoti hai. Maine kabhi sapne mein bhi tumhe bhagane ke baare mein nahi socha tha.

Simran : phir ab aisa kya ho gaya raj ? Yaad hai tumhari maa kya kaha karti thi tumse. "Beta, zindagi ke har mod pe tumhe do raste milenge ek galat aur ek sahi. Galat rasta asaan hoga, tumhe apni taraf kheenchega. Aur jo sahi rasta hoga, ho sakta hai usmein tumhe kadi mushkilon ka samna karna pade, bahut taklif mile; par yaad rakhna akhir mein jeet tumhari hi hogi."

Raj : wo sab to theek hai simran lekin .......

Simran : lekin kya raj ? Ab to tum mere babuji ko bhi jan gaye ho. Thode kadak mijaj hain, par agar tum roj hamare ghar kaam karne aaoge, maa ka rasoi mein hath bataoge, chutki pe apna fraud gentleman image jhadoge, buaji ke liye saree kharidkar unhe maska lagaoge. Subah 5 baje uthkar, dhoti pahankar, kabootaron ko dana daloge; to babuji tumse jaroor impress ho jayenge raj. Tum mere liye itna bhi nahi kar sakte !

Raj : simran, tum galat samajh rahi ho. Ghar ke kaam karne mein mujhe koi aitraj nahi hai (Main aur koi kaam kar bhi nahi sakta) Aur ladkiyon (Auraton) ko dana dalne mein bhi mujhe koi problem nahi hogi (Akhir tumko bhi to aise hi pataya tha), Rahi baat babuji ki.. simarn wo sab to main kar hi raha hun, roj subah subah dhoti pahankar kheton mein jata hun, kabootaron ko dana dalne. Ab to wahan ke kabootar bhi "tujhe dekha to ye jana sanam..." gane lage hain. Aur babuji ...... mujhe apne pyaar pe poora bharosa hai ki aaj nahi to kal wo maan jayenge.

Simran : Phir tum kis baat se ghabra rahe ho raj ? You are "The Raj Malhotra" (Who failed in a london university) yaad hai tumhe; jab tumne mujhse poocha tha.. pyar karti ho mujhse? bharosa hai mujh par ? to maine tumse kya kaha tha

Raj : Yaad hai simran, sab yaad hai. Par jitna bharosa tumhe is Raj par hai, utna hi bharosa mujhe us Raj par.

Simran : Kya matlab ???

Raj : simran, yeh sab jo tumhe yaad hai, wo ddlj-I tha. Ab ddlj-II chal rahi hai. Aur ismein tum aur tumhare babuji punjabi nahin, marathi hain, aur main ek north indian. MNS ne press conference mein yeh elaan kiya hai ki keval 'sons of the soil' hi marathi ladkiyon se shadi kar sakte hain. Outsiders ne hamari naukriyan to cheen hi li hain, chokriyan ham nahin cheenne denge. ab tum hi batao simran main kya karun.. mujh jaise ek north indian ka vanmanoos se shadi karna asaan hai, par ek marathi manoos se nahi.

Simran : ye kya kah rahe ho raj. Raj hi mere raj ka dushman ban gaya ?

Raj : han simran, hamare pass koi aur rasta nahi hai, hamein bhagna hi hoga. hamein bhagna hi hoga simran.

Before they could run away after seeking the blessings of his pops and her babuji, MNS got the news. They came with lathis and guns, kuldeep also joined them and started beating everybody. Raj (malhotra), his pop, her babuji, ajeete and everybody. No gurror ko lalkarna buisness worked to awake the hidden fighter in Raj and all of them got thrashed brutally by the MNS.

In between all this mayhem, raj found a chance to utter his final dialogues

Raj : simran, maine pahle hi kaha tha tumse, ki chalo bhag chalte hain. Tum hi nahi mani. Par jo bhi hua, shayad sahi hua simran. Ye (MNS wale) hamare neta hain, ham inhe vote dekar parliament bhejte hain. Hamein koi haq nahin banta ki ham apni khushi ke liye inke samman ko thes pahunchayein. Akhir ye hamare neta hain, hamara bhala bura hamse behtar samajh sakte hain. Tumahri shadi mujh jaise kisi awara ladke se nahi ho sakti. To kya hua agar ye awara tumhein diwanon ki tarah pyar karta hai, to kya hua agar use tumhare alawa aur koi chehra dikhai nahi deta. To kya hua simran, to kya hua ..... pyar sab kuch to nahi hota na.

And he hops into the local train without simran (since there was MNS, it was mumbai. And since it was mumbai, there was local train). Simran is crying and pleading to the MNS workers. In fact everybody is pleading.. that fellow kuldeep also starts feeling sympathetic towards her. But MNS is made of tough people. Their resolve could not be broken by some stupid romance.. to kya hua agar (oh forget it.. these corny dialogues suit only a hippy looking, stammering srk)

Now, there are two options for the climax :

The first is that MNS will not let simran run towards the train. So, in that case this movie may need to be titled differently. "Soil-wale dulhaniya le jayenge"

The second option is that MNS heart (I presume they also have heart, head, brain; please avoid the debate) melts and the leave simran's hand saying... " ja simran ja, jee le apni jindagi; is ladke se jyada pyar tujhe aur koi nahi kar sakta" . simran will run, raj will hang at the train gate (he was hanging from the gate anyway.. mumbai local remember). But simran will still be not able to make it (It is tough enough to catch a standing local, forget a running one. What were you thinking simran). And mumbai will "move-on" from this tragedy. After-all 'bade bade (pra)deshon mein aisi choti choti baatein hoti rahti hain"

So irrespective of the two possible climaxes, the movie will still be titled " Soil-wale dulhaniya le jayenge"

Disclaimer : The author was watching DDLJ, when he started reading a news regarding marathi pride. So he had a deadly cocktail for his mind, and the result was a nasty hangover. So, if anybody is offended, please forgive the author for his drunken like state. And yeah... when i said MNS, i meant Marathi Nari Sena, not that MNS. You controversy loving sickos :P

Golden Jubilee !!

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 04:45:00 +0000

Sunday used to be so different in my early childhood. All my cousins, aunts, uncles used to come to our house early morning. I used to look forward to each of those mornings, because it was a refreshing change from the routine school going week days. It was a perfect example of a big fat indian family get together. Now if you are thinking, we used to have a family function every sunday, you are wrong. Our joint family is big, but not that much :)

They came to our house to watch Mahabharat. In those days, Doordarshan signal was not available in the outskirts of the city where my cousins live. But such was the craze of Mahabharat, that they used to come to our place every sunday morning, sharp at 10 AM. Earlier was fine, but nobody was late. It is so hard to believe that people can become so crazy about a TV serial. Especially when i know that none of them are a TV serial addict now. But Mahabharat was no ordinary TV serial. If i believe my parents and elders, traffic used to stop from 10 AM to 11 AM, sunday mornings used to be a family get-together not only for us, but most of the joint families.

And speaking of the popularity of the TV serials, Mahabharat is probably the biggest TV serial made in the history of indian television. But this was not the only hit from Doordarshan. Ask any person who was watching TV in late 80s and early 90s, they will get a twinkle in their eyes when you mention Doordarshan. No matter what age, what culture one belongs to; DD had something for everybody. Ramayan and Mahabharat are iconic mythology serials in indian television history. Programs like jungle book, surabhi, bharat ek khoj, chanakya, dekh bhai dekh, hum log, buniyad, vyomkesh bakshi are still remembered fondly. And the ads, can any one ever forget 'mile sur mera tumhara' ?

What about news? I remember when DD used to telecast india's cricket matches, an hour break used to come for news (general news + parliament news in hindi and english). It was very tough on me to bear those 1 hours, and god forbid if i miss sachin's batting, all hell broke loose. In one of those frustrated moments i once asked, why can't they show news after match? I never understood it when my dad said that news is the most important thing in TV and should never be compromised, No matter what is the price one has to pay.

Sadly that is what the present media has done. Today the 24x7 news channels look more like entertainment channels. We do get tit-bits of news, but that is packaged in a hysteria making substance and presented by loud mouth journalists. The debates shown on the most of the news channels are like DOSA. It is a term i read in an article published in 'The Hindu'. It means Decision Oriented System Analyses. Most of the channels already have a conclusion for their debates, they just want the experts to fill in with some facts. That defies the logic of journalism. It has to be dispassionate, it should respect the audience intelligence and let them form an opinion based on the news provided by them.

That is where DD has still maintained the dignity of a news channel. The news reader are sober in appearance, in mannerism, not over the top, present the news dispassionately and do not sensitize the issues unnecessarily. I would say, if you care for news, DD news is the best place for you.

I agree, that Doordarshan has lost its sheen in presence of private channels. But if you are asked to recall a landmark serial; chances are that it will be from Doordarshan. The rich history of Doordarshan makes me believe that it can still produce quality programs. It is different from private channels in the sense that while serving entertainment, it also has to contribute to public welfare. This makes DDs jobs harder than the private channels, but the romantic optimist inside me thinks that it will manage.

Kuch to baat hai hummein, Jo hasti mitti nahin !

Pursuit of happiness

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:59:00 +0000

Kaminey

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 06:18:00 +0000

जिसका भी चेहरा छीला, अन्दर से और निकला

मासूम सा कबूतर, नाचा तो मोर निकला

कभी हम कमिने निकले, कभी दोस्ती कमिनी, मेरे यार भी कमिने

इक दिल से दोस्ती थी, ये हुजूर भी कमिने !!

Guljar saheb is the best !!

Are we really preventing unlawful activities?

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 03:46:00 +0000

Person A:

------------

'Tamil nadu would witness a bloodbath even if the slightest harm befell LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran'.

-LTTE is a banned organization by government of india.

-Threatening with bloodbath is enticing the public for unlawful activity.

'It is a long time since people of tamil nadu had forgotten about Sripermbadur (assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi)'

-The statement directly means justifying the assassination.

'India will not remain one country, if Mahinda rajpaksha did not stop the war against LTTE and india did not argue him to stop the war.'

-The statesman is questioning the sovereignty and integrity of nation, and promoting separatism.

Person B:

-----------

'If anyone raises a hand against hindus, i swear on the Gita, that i will cut that hand off.'

-This promotes violence and disrespect towards law.

Note : According to popular media belief, this is a communal statement. But i see it as a pro hindu statement, not communal statement.

Putting things in perspective :

-----------------------------------

When i see these two cases, person B's statements seem much more milder to me. The other thing to be noted down is :

-Person A is not apologetic of his remarks and is proud of his association with LTTE.

-Person B says, certain parts of his speech are doctored, he has not said anything communal.

Result :

---------

Person B is charged against National Security Act, suffering in jail and Person A is enjoying the freedom of speech !! Why ?

India should be careful when they advice Pakistan to try all the leaders of banned organizations in court and punish them. After all, when we have a person contesting parliamentary elections who openly supports a banned organization ; do we have a right to expect others to follow our advice? We need to have a honest look within ourselves and should practice what we preach.

News is like a skirt

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:40:00 +0000

Should be long enough to cover the subject, and short enough to sustain the interest.

Whenever i happen to see the 'news channels' e.g. NDTV / Times Now / IBN / Star News / Zee News. I see that all of their programs are long... too long in fact. Go into too much of detail, yet somehow i feel i still do not have enough information on subject. There will be people from all walks of life debating into all kind of topics, at the end of which you will feel what the hell did i just watched. Every chunnu, munnu and sunnu seems to be an expert these days. And how can news channels do not know what should be classified as news?

Can we have news 24x7 ? The thirst of presenting the 'breaking news' first is taking away the morality and integrity aspect of journalism. Irony of all this is that, when a common man writes his views against one of the modern day journalists in his blog. The 'freedom of expression' advocating journalists file a defamation case against the common man. Poor man's condition is like caught without umbrella in the sudden rainfall. BTW i am not defaming anybody (I said rainfall not barkha)

When i started watching DD news since last few days. I have got some relief, it shows 'news' in stead of gossip. Covers the subject and is just half an hour long. So, DD news is the news which is just like an ideal skirt.

Simplicity is a virtue !!

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:52:00 +0000

There are times when i start quoting people, sometimes it makes sense too :).

This was was surely one of those times. The scenario was, when my friend sent me link to a photo-blog and we started discussing which one looks beautiful and it led to some interesting philosophical conclusion.

me: yes.. totally

4:43 PM actually i think we look at the pic differently

you look for the visual apeal

4:44 PM i look for ... what does it convey to me

in many cases..they are interrelated offcourse

4:45 PM Tipu: yaa I look basically at the prospective and the tones of the pic

along with how the photographer has made the pic dramatic

4:46 PM me: true.... i basically don't think in that direction

Tipu: http://www.flickr.com/photos/79754672@N00/2331025108

see this for example

can you guess how he has done that

4:48 PM me: point is , i don't care how he has done that

because i don't know

Tipu: hmm

fair enough

4:49 PM so basically to you the pic should look beautiful... but you shouldnt have to reason it out why it is looking beautiful

it should come without any reason

me: precisely

4:50 PM Tipu: that is the definition of beauty i would say

that it is actually undefined

me: yes, it lies in the eyes of the beholder

4:51 PM Tipu: I somehow constantly try to find out a form or an element that is there is something beautiful I see

4:52 PM any way.... I guess the reall good pic will the one which can enchant both the point of views

4:53 PM abstract enough to be appreciated by technical ppl and beautifull enough that it can be felt

me: yes

4:54 PM i believe, that making an art abstract for the sake of critical aclaim does not make it good

simplicity has its own charm

4:55 PM and as Mr. Hrishikesh Mukherji says.... 'it is so simple to be happy, yet it is so difficult to be simple'

Tipu: they somehow render their art difficult for normal ppl to appreciate and they somehow loose the sense of beauty in art

yes I too... thats the reason I hate all the modern artists
they somehow render their art difficult for normal ppl to appreciate and they somehow loose the sense of beauty in art

4:56 PM me: and as MPD says... 'any tom, dick and harry can design a complex circuit. It needs a sound designer to build a simple circuit'

4:57 PM Tipu: lol

4:58 PM me: i also smiled at first (lol in front of MPD is not possible)

4:59 PM but look at the deep meaning. I agree to the enhanced version, that is not limited to circuits... let it be any product

Tipu: yaa

Here is why Sasural is like Genda phool :)

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 05:28:00 +0000

I must confess, i thought it is an original song (lyrics and composition). But when i knew that it is a chattisgarhi folk song(read on for details), my liking for this song has increased ten folds (My initial liking itself was very high.. so you can imagine). And, we were intrigued by 'genda phool'; So, here is my interpretation of the song.

sainya ched deve (My husband keeps teasing me)

nanad chutki leve (My sister-in-law keeps taunting me)

sasural genda phool (??)

saas gari deve (Mother-in-law keeps abusing me)
devarji samjha leve (Brother-in-law explains me their behavior -> cools me down)
sasural genda phool (??)

choda babul ka angna

(I have left my parent's house)
bhave dera piya ka ho!

(Now i have started liking my husband's house)

saas gari deve
devarji samjha leve
sasural genda phool

sanya ched deva…

sanyan hain vyapari (My husband is a buisnessman)
chaley hain pardes (He is going to foreign land for buisness)
sooratiya niharoon (I am looking at his face)
jiyara bhari hove (My heart is becoming heavy... on thoughts of his absence)
sasural genda phool (??)

saas gari deve
devarji samjha leve
sasural genda phool
sainya ched deve
nanad chutki leve

sasural genda phool

choda babul ka angna
bhave dera piya ka ho!
bushirt pahinein khayike beeda paan

(He is wearing a shirt, chewing paan (betel) )

poorey raipur se alag hai, sainyaji ki shaan

(Such is his aura in this appearance, that his glory is unmatched in entire raipur city)
sasural genda phool

sainya ched deve
nanad chutki leve
sasural genda phool
saas gari deve
devarji samjha leve
sasural genda phool
choda babul ka angna
bhave dera piya ka ho!

After translating entire song, i have a feeling that genda phool is a meaphor used to describe sasural (in-law’s house).Let me explain:

Genda phool (marigold) is a yellow colored flower.

At first sight, it does not look good, but one starts liking its smell gradually.

Different relationships in sasural are like different petals of genda phool.

This is a Chhattisgarhi traditional song written by Gangaram Shivarey & composed by Bhulwaram Yadav. Later, Bhulwaram Yadav taught this song to 3 joshi sisters ( ramadutt, rekha & prabhadutt joshi ) who performed this song. This song is now a well-known Chhattisgarhi folk song, performed in most of Chhattisgrahi marriages. Raghubir Yadav was assisting AR Rahman for the additional Folk music score for the film; he introduced this song to Rahman. Rahman liked this song so much, he instantly selected this for improvisation & Prasoon Joshi edited the lyrics for better understanding and edited the non-familiar chattishagarhi words. And here is the result ‘An exceptionally beautiful song’. What a fusion! Rahman is genius. How well he mixed Chhattisgarhi folk song with Hip-Hop beats. The beauty of the song can be explained by the dance which abhishek bachhan and ladies gang do in the video. Abhishek is doing some hip-hop steps, and the women are doing traditional dance; and the song matches both types of steps! Some reports say that original composers didn't get any credits, which is entirely unfair. In fact, Mr Joshi has been credited as the lyricist for this song. But, anyways the original soundtrack CD says

Courtesy: Raghubir Yadav, Additionall music supervision: Rajat Dholakia

So, I don’t think it is that bad :)

To the modernists and to the saviors of Indian culture..

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 06:03:00 +0000

Let me get this straight

I do not like pub culture.
I do not like what sri ram sene did.

These are two independent statements, But reading the newspapers and following the electronic media. It seems, that one can either be someone who loves going to pub or someone who endorses what sri ram sene did.

Now, let me explain the first two sentences.

I said, i do not like pub culture. I believe, this is entirely my own choice and i do not have to clarify my stand to anyone fearing that i would be labeled as a fundamentalist. But since i am in mood of explaining my stand, i will explain :)

When i said i do not like 'pub culture' I do not mean that i hate everything about the existence of pubs. Though i am not a pub going person, i have had a few visits to pubs. And in one of those very few visits, i figured out that i will not enjoy my pub visits. This is purely a matter of choice, isn't it.

There is very little to enjoy in a pub if you are a teetotaler like me. However i do believe that if you are part of a group where everybody else is drinking except you; you will probably enjoy the most. Simply because of the fact, that most of your friends assume the role of an entertainer / philosopher / comedian, when they are drunk. You can simply take a back seat and enjoy the show. But i don't see these 'shows' in pubs, may be because everybody is lost in the crowd. What i see is; drunk people misbehaving with staff, a girl in the dance floor surrounded by 10 guys trying to take advantage of her {I am not gender biased, but i have never seen a guy in the dance floor surrounded by >1 girls trying to take advantage of him} and most of the male crowd ogling at the female in the closest vicinity {Again, i am not gender biased}.

And then i said i do not like what sri ram sene did, which i think is self explanatory. They are wrong, and they should be punished for what they did.

I think, the seeds of culture lie in our households. If we want to call ourselves liberal, we should embrace the 'modern' thoughts. Being modern is much more than having high cost of living and speaking pseudo english. Similarly, If you claim to be the saviors of indian culture, fight your battle against dowry, child marriages and caste system. Leave the youngsters alone, who are mature enough to decide how they want to spend their evenings.

And i pray for the day, when our media becomes mature and liberal in thoughts. At the moment they are just concerned about TRPs, see this if you don't believe me.

Revenge is a dish that tastes best, when served cold !

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 08:32:00 +0000

Mumbai got hit. Hit hard, and hit where it hurts the most. The synonyms of mumbai's prestige (Hotel Taj, Hotel Oberai) and glorious history (CST) have been attacked. And it has generated a reaction, that is unprecedented. Undoubtedly, first of its kind. Politicians, Media, The Common Man ; everybody has some kind of suggestion on 'what should we do'. But frankly speaking, all of it seems to be a knee jerk reaction. Nothing more than that PERIOD

'The only people who did anything to mention over the past week were the NSG who quietly came in, stoically risked their lives, killed our enemies, walked out onto the debris filled streets, boarded red BEST buses and went home.'

Everybody else is 'shouting' (to put it straight); so as to not curb their anger. 'The reason' : they are frustrated, they are hurt, they are angry. But is it making any sense ?? I fear, that all this will die down with people moving on with the so called remarkable spirit. This term is used so frivolously that, i have started considering it an abuse to mumbai.

Don't throw your anger making noise. Keep it in tact, Nourish it, Channelize it to grow within yourself. It will be itchy within you. But, its all worth it. You need that itch for the rest of your lives.And use that itch in preparation of that 'dish'. And the recipe says, it will take time. It is not a 'two minute' instant noodle.
And i am sure, you will get the taste, which all of you are luring for.

And please do not forget, don't compromise on the 'preparation' part.

What will you do, if you get 500 Rs ??

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 06:34:00 +0000

So, someone asks this question to a variety of people, ranging from poor to middle class to rich segment of people. And captures their response in the video. This video gives a perspective to us : on our country's current situation, the inequality among aam junta, our attitude towards life.

Most of the young crowd who is earning money in their bachelorhood or who have enough sum of inherited money have very common answers like

Spend it on some food joint /pub /disco,
Get a haircut / body piercing done,
Go for a movie,
Recharge the sim card,
Buy branded clothes [well, actually 500 is not enough for that these days :), but thats another issue ;)]

Then there are some poor guys (children mostly) who say

Spend it on school ka saman / tution fee
a vibrant face says 'ghar ka kharcha chala sakta hun, thoda market karke.. tamatar, aaloo wo sab leke'. I wonder if that guy can teach a lot of us something about 'positive attitude'
Bade hotel mein ja ke khana khayenge. (its a dream for that child !! )
Stove kharidenge, rashan layenge

Then there is the famous lower middle class of india that have answers like

500 rs mein kuch nahi ho sakta, na kuch aata hai na kuch jata hai (the pessimistic uncle)
Thoda bachha logon pe kharcha karungi, baki ka balance bhavishya ke liye rakhoongi. (This single sentence explains so many things, but none so appropriately as it does..... the mother nature). I am sure, the pessimistic uncle will laugh at her ' what can she do with 500 rs in bhavishya'. But the main point is.. the attitude !!
first class ka pass kharidunga (the daily mumbai-local traveller)

The video asks a question. And if i got it right, it does not give you a straight forward answer. It gives rise to new questions. It hits your sensitive chord. It intrigues you, isn't it ??

It got me thinking. The first thing, which came to my mind was : I will buy something for me. Well, buying is obvious. You earn money to spend. That brings the next question. What is that spending, which will please me. That makes me think, i should spend it wisely. i should not feel, i have wasted it. Then i start thinking of my first reaction 'I will buy something for me' . Why is it always me ?? Can't i do something for someone else ?? Which in turn gives me internal pleasure and happiness, makes me feel i have done something worthwhile. So, that effectively sums it up for me, eventually its me who is getting benefitted. I am not doing something for someone else, even if it looks like so.

Well, the point is, i will spend wisely, if i 'think'. And that essentially is the message of the video. 'Think before you spend'. You are earning money to lead a comfortable life, to spend. But just give it a thought 'Think before you spend'.

New singing sensation ??

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 06:10:00 +0000

I was watching this singing competition called junoon on ndtv imagine. Actually, i happen to just step over these so called talent shows for all the drama that goes in them, but then i was glued to one particular performance.

I then searched for more performances of this singer 'Harshdeep Kaur'. She has great voice, especially for sufi kind of songs. If you follow bollywood, check out 'Ek Onkaar' from legendary 'Rang De Basanti' and 'Is pal ki soch' from 'Halla Bol'. She is the girl behind the mike for these two songs.

So, Here are some of her performance videos from the show. Totally worth listening to !!!

The Childhood Exploits

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:21:00 +0000

I had a haircut this weekend ( Yes .. the hairline is climbing upwards in pursuit of its everest mission, but i still do have hair in my head). Thanks to the haircut, the scar right over my chota magaj (for those who are confused, watch krantiveer) was clearly visible. So like it happens every time i have a haircut, people started asking "what happened to your head man ?"

And then i tell them that i got this gift on my 3rd birthday (it might be 4th birthday also... i am not sure). And suddenly i realize what a tiny unlucky fellow i was. It's another story all together, that my parents will prefer to call me a notorious kid they have got. Well.. i still stand by my version, don't believe me ?? Read this

The first one is about that chota magaj only. It was 30th june, i was happy, dancing around, singing my nursery poems and then i fell down from good descent height into a gutter (yuck). It was dry but it had stones there :(, and then it was no longer dry, it was filled with my blood now. This incident gave me that famous scar which is reminded to me every time i get a haircut. Note the day... it was my birthday !!
Then one fine day i was again very happy, dancing around, singing my nursery poems ......again. Not a place, where you should dance around... 'the kitchen'. Somehow managed to drop a paunsil / sarouta (An instrument used to cut vegetables / kairi) and had a head-on collision with that thing. I lost my senses, when i saw blood flowing from my knee. I still carry that memory with a good 6 inch scar in my knee. Note the day... it was Krishna Janmashtami !!
In one of those humpty dumpty days, i was playing in the streets. A monkey came from somewhere and took my toy car with him. All the other kids were running away from that monkey. And I 'the daredevil' went up to him, shouted at him " give my car back to me". He rewarded me with not one...... many tight slaps, tore my shirt apart, pulled my hair to the extent of removing some of them from my scalp. I don't think it was my birthday or an auspicious day, but i had a sakshat darshan of hanumanji. It was no less than a 'day to remember' for me, i still get frightened when i see a monkey (even if its in my distant dreams)
Now my nursery poem singing days were over, but not my heydays. I was playing cricket and i had slippers on. Then i realized, that i am not able to run at my full speed because of the slippers. I started playing barefooted so that i could save extra runs (If ganguly had this much dedication for fielding, he would not have been ousted from indian cricket team). While saving one such extra run, i run over a broken glass and surprise surprise.... i got my gift again, a scar in the foot (But this one did not turn out to be my soulmate, it has gone now). Now note the day again.... it was Dipawali !!
Cricket reminds me of another incidence. I was playing cricket with my younger brother. He was bowling (obviously; since by hook or crook, i always ended up batting and he ended up bowling whenever we played cricket). I can still recall the flashback, he came charging towards the bowling crease ala shoaib akhtar. I hit a straight drive ala sachin tendulkar which flied directly towards my brother's face. To his misfortune it was a hard plastic ball, it hit him right at his lips and he lost a precious tooth. My mom scolded me for the deed saying.. "thoda dheere dheere nahi khel sakta... tameej se". I was like "Mummy... agar sachin aisa sochta, to kabhi boundry nahi mar pata, agar kapil aisa sochta, to india kabhi world cup nahi jeet pati" But off course i was s*** scared that time and i did not dare arguing with her. And oh... offcourse, note the day, it was Ganesh Chaturthi !!
There are enough wounds, burns and injuries which i don't remember....... because they did not happen on an auspicious day !!!

GOLD !!!

noreply@blogger.com (Shoonya) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:54:00 +0000

With the least expectations, i started following the beijing olympics. When it started, i just prayed that india should not come back empty handed. It started in a familiar way. For the first 3 days, a small column in the newspaper, a brief mention in the 24x7 news channel. All conveying the news in disappointment, that our players failed to qualify for the finals, were eliminated in the preliminary rounds.

Then suddenly one morning, a news comes that Abhinav Bindra has got gold for india in 10m air rifle shooting. The whole mood changed. The man from chandigarh changed the whole scenario. He became the darling of an entire nation, everybody was in awe of him, newspapers were filled with his stories next day, news channels started singing his praise. After all, he is the first indian who got a gold medal in an individual event. He deserves everything he got. And the man of the moment was absolutely right, when he says that

"I would like to reiterate that everyone who represents India at the Olympic Games has put in years of toil and sweat. I ask the Indian people to support our athletes more. It is fine to celebrate our achievements but it is just as important to keep up the backing when we are not on top of our game."

Here is a man, who has achieved something which was only a dream till now. But he did not forget to mention his fellow athletes at his moment of glory. Thank you very much Mr. Bindra for bringing smile in the face of so many people !!