Diary of an opinionated girl.

The Skydive.

2012-07-14T14:46:00.001-04:00

It was the morning of 1st of July when all of us were woken up the very angry friend. She was expecting a little more from me as an organizer I suppose and I certainly wasn't doing my best. I found myself waking up on the floor of my living room in the same dress I partied. Jaded as I felt from last night's over indulgence, I rushed to the washroom and cleansed myself. But from then on, I donned my hat of a planner and made a little promise to myself that I'd not falter in my responsibilities of making this trip worthwhile for those visiting. The weather showed signs of deterioration as it had begun to rain. We enquired from the skydiving center what it looked like for the rest of the day. They asked us to turn up for the event in the afternoon as the skies were supposed to clear up by then. We drove from my house in downtown Boston to Peperell where the skydiving office is. We reached there listening to the embarrassingly funny tales of the night before and some of them, I must admit, were absolutely unimaginable. We reached at about 12 p.m. and registered ourselves and it turned out that because of the shortage of staff, we were to be sent in two different batches. :(

Obviously, there was little going through our minds before the skydive until our names were called out at about for the little training session. For those who do not know, the training videos usually begin with the following disclaimer:

"You can be seriously Injured or killed during skydive."

We also had to sign waiver forms promising not to sue them if we are injured or dead. We soon got done with those formalities and after a long wait, our names were finally on the display and instructors to be assigned.

I headed to dress myself in neon orange skydiving suits after which the introductory portion of the video was filmed. Reid, my instructor then helped me with some postures that I was required to assume before, during and after the jump. As again I fall short of words to describe the fantabulous experience, it is way better that without further ado, I must present to you my video of skydiving on my birthday. Hope you will enjoy and appreciate the experience.

After I had landed, I waited for the other two to come back. We headed back to Boston after the jump for a nice dinner. We stopped midway at ISKCON temple and a dear friend who also works in the same organization as I do, in collaboration with the priests of the temple, offered us Maha Prashadam . I must tell you that it is very rare to be offered Maha Prashad and what a treat it was to be offered on my birthday! I had a mild headache because of the tightness of the attachments strapped to my body during the skydive. After the event, I suddenly felt a great appreciation for my life and the fact that I was born as a human being. I felt proud that year by year I am able to expand my horizons, experiment, push the envelope and do things I could have never imagined. Life is beautiful and one must cherish it in every way they can. In the night I was surprised by my wonderful roommates with a birthday cake. I went to work the next day leaving my friends back at home and asked them to come to my office during lunchtime. We had a sumptuous meal at 12:30 P.M. After lunch at ISKCON, I left my friends to wander and discover downtown on their own. I returned from my office 5 P.M. only to find them drunk! We sat down at the park near the fountain at Boylston street with their heads on my lap. The city was at its prettiest and I beamed with happiness. I asked my friends to follow me to the apple store and I surprised them by purchasing my first Macbook.

The next day, they expressed their desires to go for the duck tour. And after I was done with office, we got the duck tour bus from Prudential Center, and we toured the city quacking away at random people. It was a very informative tour for my friends and me and we appreciated the talents and politicians that the city has produced for over 300 years. My friend beamed with pride as the driver mentioned the name of a legendary statesman after which my organization is named. Immediately after the duck tour ended, my friend from my company invited us to Sri Chinmaya Maruti Temple and Sai Temple on the occasion of Guru Purnima. Things were moving way too fast for us, as though the entire world was resonated in harmony with our plans and thereby made it even better in the process by bringing in these pleasant surprises.

The next day, a similar schedule followed till the afternoon and after that we headed for Boston Harbor and had lovely pastries at world famous Mike's Pastry and a great dinner at Italian Restaurant called Massimino's. The following day I returned home from the office as early as I could as my friends had to head back to Jersey. My friend's boy friend arrived to pick them up and I bid them emotional good byes after a lovely birthday week. I let them go after they had massaged my back and it was then I realized that two days of weekend would not be sufficient for my body to come back to normal. My co-worker had remarked way earlier that I would need a vacation after my friends will be gone and he was right! I managed to cope up with my hurting body and have adjusted to my previous schedule and I am on my way to planning a next (international) trip.

The birthday week

2012-07-11T23:37:00.000-04:00

Tired and exhausted, I lie on my couch lamenting on how another resolution has bitten the dust. I have officially joined the bandwagon of the laziest bloggers on the planet who always rant on how their lives have been too busy for them to even visit their blogs once a week. I am physically and mentally drained because the past week had been a very hectic one. My hands are unable to synchronize with my brain for the words that I ought to look for describing the crazy birthday week. Yeah, some past birthdays have been quite disastrous, so I like the feel of being the Birthday girl for the entire ~~month~~ week. Just incase I didn't mention in my earlier posts, I had shifted my base from Minnesota some months ago for a new project in downtown Boston. I had folks visiting me from Jersey and I had the responsibility to show them the city which was equally new to me. Luckily though, this was also the Independence day week which made the city light up like never before. The work, thankfully, was light too. Boston has the best Independence day celebration in the country(no kidding!) and working in the downtown is a blessing in itself. And did I mention USCIS did give their decision on my work permit extension? They took a little over 35 days to grant me the work permit as opposed to their usual 60 days time frame. Wonder why, but hey, it gave me one more reason to celebrate it with a bang.

Very few things in my life aren't planned and this birthday certainly was not going to be one of them. According to Mayans, I am not even having an another one, right? Sometime in early June, I happened to open my 'little' resolution list and found out that 90% of the list was far from being materialized/completed. 10% of it was too abstract for me to call it a resolution per se. 'I will work very hard' cannot be deemed as a solid resolution, for instance. Whether I fulfilled this is a different story altogether. So anyway, all set to fulfill one resolution, I planned to jump on my birthday-from an aircraft. Yes, I wanted to skydive and all I needed was a company and I begged my friends to join me. I inundated their mails with videos of people skydiving. The adrenalin rush did get better of them and they agreed despite occasionally bringing up concerns on their safety. I advised them on how skydiving was the safest yet the greatest adventure sports in the world. I announced at my work place on plans and my colleagues were equally excited about my decision.

Come 29th June, I was cordially (and unexpectedly) invited for the Boston Portsmouth air show by a co-worker to Boston Portsmouth on June 30th. My friends were supposed to arrive in the evening of June 30th so I finished all the chores by June 29 and left early morning of June 30th to Nashua, New Hampshire (slightly familiar place) where I was picked up by my colleague and we went to Portsmouth. It was my first time at an air show and my colleague who had a military background was patiently explaining me the types of aircrafts that were on display and their applications. The show had several highlights. Sean Tucker from Oracle and Michael Goulian did leave all of us awe-struck with their specialized maneuvering skills but Jane Wicker, the famous wing-walker did make me hide behind behind my co-worker in absolute horror.

Jane Wicker Wing Walking Video:

Sean Tucker Video:

Surprisingly, the event also had stunts by many US Army skydivers. After freely falling at a wide distance, they intersected each other's route before opening their chute. Then we had a skydiver who struggled with a defective chute during his free fall and then opened his reserved chute. We didn't panic because we were obviously forewarned. My co-worker remarked, "Isn't this what someone is doing tomorrow?"

US Army Failed Chute Video

I can never forget the attraction which was kept for the last. The F-18s!!!!!! I liked how those giants slowly taxied on Eminem's music before taking off. It brought in so much excitement and they did not disappoint. My colleague did not take enough videos of those as he did not want to miss out on watching.

Blue Angels Taxi

Blue Angels Take off Video.

It was then when I was overwhelmed with emotions of patriotism for this country which is my Karam Bhoomi. I watched the F-18s and L39s maneuvering with fierce vitriol, as though they wanted to assure the civilians, what they are capable of under stressful circumstances. It was then when I wished for my second home -which has embraced me with so much love - that it be blessed with riches and prosperity in years to come. And that, my friends, was a wonderful kickstart to my birthday. My colleague dropped me back home and I waited for my friends to arrive.

My friends arrived later than I was expecting them and since all bars and restaurants close at 2 we rushed at 11 o clock for downtown and 5 of us entered a nice bar which was soon filled with the cheers of "Happy Birthday". We got as drunk as skunks and after an eventful night which involved numerous funny incidences, we returned home at 3 am only to be woken up at 7 am by my angry friend who had supposedly taken care of the rest of us (she was the one visiting, by the way) and brought us home safely. We had our skydiving event scheduled at 11! The description/video of the skydive certainly deserves a fresh start so I would conclude with Day-1.

Work Permit and SRK's detention

2012-04-15T00:57:00.000-04:00

Another eventful week closes in and I have woken up to a fine Sunday morning with apprehensions for the one coming ahead. The country is awash with Cherry blossom which I got to see and experience during my visit to Newark, New Jersey where I traveled for the purpose of extending my work permit. I reiterate that it is the only place in the US which my subconscious has designated as "HOME". I am treading the usual F-1 route and applying for the dreaded STEM extension.

Regardless of the type of visa you landed in the USA with, you have most certainly been in a precarious situation like mine (where all rests in the divine hands of the USCIS) and you have assuaged your worries with all kinds of alibis such as "There are brighter prospects in India" or something as empty as "One day or the other I have to go back, might as well leave tomorrow." Some time in July I shall get to know of their decision. Other than propitiating God with promises about living a better life in the coming year, there is little I can do. United States of America infamously holds the most stringent laws with regards to immigration.

Indian immigrants have often shared stories on how they compromised their visit to India as they feared they would not be able to get their H-1B visas stamped (as they happened to be the pawns of perverse games played by the DESI consultants in USA). Some have been either extensively grilled at the airport (a close friend's experience) due to a misunderstanding while some students have been denied entry for reasons either as pathetic as low GPA from a bad school or as grave as working illegally off campus.

No matter what status or stature one holds in their home country, one must bow down to the US immigration as though in their stamp on our passport lies a validation of our right to be successful and this brings me to the much discussed topic of detainment of Shah Rukh Khan at the White Plain's airport in New York. He was here for a day to receive Chubb fellowship at Yale University and to deliver a speech in front of about 1500 people including students and faculty. He was detained for more than two hours while his Non-Muslim companions cleared the immigration within minutes.

This resulted in the crackdown of Indian government on the United States as according to most detainment of the superstar followed by issuance of apologies has not only become customary but also betrays hidden prejudice of US officials against Muslims. SRK, who is widely known for his indefatigable wit, made jibes at the US immigration officers saying they make every possible effort to 'kick the star out of stardom'. His sense of humor belies his frustration and annoyance towards the incident as this was the second time in past three years that he has had to go through this form of treatment.

No doubt the man is tactful and guarded in his speech in most of the cases, back home however, he is known for his vain and insensitive statements about how the 'awards that ignore him are losers'. I am an ardent fan and respectful of his work that he has done in Chak De India and Swades but his self glorifying statements such as 'Oh God, to be Shah Rukh Khan' do not go down well with many and often makes people cringe and wonder "Stuck up much?"

Once I approached a visa counter without being called and the lady very impertinently asked me to go back and stand in line and how offended I was! Despite being adored by at least a billion fans in the world, like a regular person SRK faced worse (twice!) as he had to go through petty questioning on how tall he stands and what skin color he has. I am completely against the treatment carried out by the US on our beloved man but I somehow feel that destiny has a way of giving you a taste of your own medicine.

SRK famously said that whenever he begins to feel arrogant, he takes a trip to America and this is what I precisely agree with as well.. Jokes are often circulated on how Americans know little about about the outside world and those officials possibly oblivious to his super stardom were just doing their routine jobs. SRK's incidence is way of nature (or whatever you wish to call it) to tell us that that there is a certain force that makes us revisit our humble beginnings and reminds us that superstars or not, we will have to explain ourselves at some point, and that could be for any reason, as much as we think that those people questioning us are beneath us. And whether we chose to do it graciously or not, is solely at our discretion. Though much ado was made about nothing during his first detainment, this time, I feel SRK has matured into understanding the law of nature that it is okay for people to not know who you are and question you before you enter their country. There could be many reasons that his name raises eyebrows, either because he shares his name with a terrorist or they are just confused as to where they have heard of him before. I would like to give him a thumbs up for handling it in a much more dignified way as compared to the last time.

X*************X

Of Facebook Stalkers and weekends..

2012-04-08T22:22:00.002-04:00

I am not particularly fond of New Jersey, as it reminds me of all the ordeals that I had to go through during my life as a student and the Indian Diaspora wasn't very amiable. Yet, there is something about this place which makes me feel 'at home' whenever I am here. Is it because I have spent the longest time in this region? Or is it because it is the only place where I have a family to reach out to in the event of an emergency? Thankfully, I have visited them only when I have needed some stomach full of food and exclusive pampering and they are glad as I am able to leverage my baby sitting skills (some solid entertainment) for their children so it is all cool. I and my uncle's family in the Plainsboro, NJ are the only representatives of my 'gaam' in Bihar, India and very proudly so. We are related through my paternal lineage. We both landed in Jersey within a month of each other and of course he became my unofficial local guardian. Interestingly, he was my official local guardian while my stay in India during my undergrad degree. So there is absolutely nothing like a weekend in their house when uncle often welcomes me with my favorite Rohu Maach (Rohu Fish cooked in mustard and immensely adored by people from my community). Their faces beam with pride as I take multiple servings. I hope my mentioning this does not change anything (Knocks on the wood).

Late February 2012, I deactivated my Facebook account citing overuse as the reason which royally freaked them out. I was an active user as I entertained others with my critique on various subjects. Be it politics, Bollywood or FOBs, I had a take on everything. Needless to say, my absence is conspicuous which made my extended family more uncomfortable than my own parents.I visited my uncle to assure him that I was not suffering from any form of depression that has led me to part ways from my favorite Social Networking website. On the contrary, I am more focused, more productive off Facebook and I would rather run errands/clean the house/study/wash dishes/babysit in free time than giggling uselessly at the preposterous 9gag memes. Flipping through 9 gag pictures is an absolute fun in the beginning as we try to relate ourselves with the 'Bitch please' memes but gets more depressing picture after picture for some odd reason. Also, I never killed time trolling or stalking anyone. Long time ago, I chanced upon the profile page of an ~~arch nemesis~~ acquaintance by accident and I loathed the fact that s/he turned up in search results whenever I typed the name of a person whose name began with same letters as that of my acquaintance's. It was pretty darn annoying having his/her profile shoved in my face every time I searched for someone else. It took months for that person to get off my search results. I did my Tauba and never visited someone I was not fond of, never Googled anyone I did not care about..Yeah, I know one can delete Google History, its high time Facebook comes up with a similar application.

I and my brother have mutual friends and 2 of those repeatedly stalk us (now my brother only) for unknown reasons. We know they stalk us as they like our statuses even if they don't get them, they like every picture, they even message my friends when I am off Facebook, ask my whereabouts and also end up sending them friend requests. Contrary to what people may think, they are fully grown individuals in their early twenties. The obsessive following does not bother me, what bothers me is when unwanted friend requests are sent across and I am bombarded with questions like "Who the F%#$ is this person ?" Clearly an embarrassing situation for all 3 of us involved. While I know, it isn't chronic stalking and should be taken with a pinch of salt, I wonder, what about people who really are the victims of some serious cyber bullying/stalking. Some of my friends have taken steps to combat cyber stalking. Some block the people they know are potential stalkers. Of course, you have to go through an unpleasant experience of hunting down people who may stalk you... E ..cough.. X. Some don't like to specify their full names on Facebook; probably just enough number of characters for friends to be able to identify them. Some limit access to their photographs while some prohibit friends from even commenting on their profiles lest the friends end up revealing their whereabouts. My dear friend got married last year and she was apprehensive about mentioning her spouse's name for a long time. She deletes any posts which have anything to do with her married life. Can I be soooo obsessed about keeping my profile private? Nope! Can I be so obsessed after I have said 'I do'? May be! As much as I would want the world to congratulate me. According to me, Stalking can be prevented by providing the user with an *official* feature which allows us to view people who obsessively visit our profiles and given cyber crimes escalating by the numbers in our society, this must be implemented as soon as possible so people wouldn't be fooled by all those apps which say "Find out who visits your profile most" thereby tricking us into providing our personal details.

Zuck, I'd be back on Facebook sooner if you added this feature instead of frequent changes in the format (Timeline BS) . The community misses me. Are you listening?

The BIG ME and the little me.

2012-04-07T00:27:00.001-04:00

Must I live with the dichotomy
Of The BIG ME and the little me?

While both live inside of me,

I am ripped apart among the two,

Time and again, do both argue,

Who to heed and who to pursue,

An answer long overdue.

Tragedy strikes, and BIG ME whispers,

Stay tranquil, be focused,

The other clamors, punish them all,

For they have been terribly unjust.

BIG ME beckons, Rise from the ashes, stand up and move,

The little me reckons, I must ponder and brood,

BIG ME suggests, one must introspect,

Little me laments, the world is incorrect..

BIG ME comforts, you are immensely loved,

Little me wails, oh past, you are my treasure trove.

BIG ME smiles, for she knows time will heal,

Little me fumes, as the unpleasant memories she conceals.

BIG ME alerts, a self satisfied smug,

One must never be,

Little me chides, assuming responsibilities,

Why always me?

BIG ME maintains, efforts alone shall suffice,

Little me whines, sans a shoulder, no one survives.

BIG ME is kind and humble and sweet,

She never learnt harsh words to speak,

Ostentatious Little me is less forgiving,

Of envy and arrogance, her words reek.

Exorcise your demons, one recommends,

Forget what happened and make amends,

Overwhelmed by the confusion, I often wonder

Can either live without the other?

Who I pay heed to, who I pursue?

This answer is long overdue..

My prerogative it shall always be,

As both will dwell inside of me.

Older and wiser, I'd write a book,

On the dichotomy of the two MEs

For now their battle needs to be quelled,

Who conquered whom, time will tell...

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Kautilya, the Kṛṣṇa of Kalyug

2012-03-15T03:07:00.000-04:00

Dhol, Gawar, Shudra, Pashu, Nari; Ye Sabhi Taadan Ke Adhikari.

(A drum, an illiterate, members of lower castes, animals and women, all deserve to be castigated.)

As a child I often watched Kavi Sammelan on Doordarshan where a poet narrates an incident when he made jibes at his wife with this couplet and asks if she understands what he means. She fondly replies, "Ek jagah main hoon, aur baaki jagah tum". (I am the 'woman' in this verse but you would be classified in all other categories). The people who are aware of the author of the couplet may 'castigate' me for my poor choice of quote for the introduction of this erudite. I would say in my defense that I belong to the same tiny community (Maithil Brahmin) in Bihar, India that boasts of an ancestry dating back to this man called Chanakya (born circa 350 BC) under whose tutelage Mauryan Kingdom headed by Chandragupta Maurya flourished. Chanakya or Kautilya was born as VishnuGupt in modern day Bihar and is widely known for his two books viz. Arthashastra and Neetishastra. While Arthsastra encompasses the discourse on strategies in organizational management widely relavant millenniums later, NeetiShastra explains the characteristics an individual must embody in his day to day life for his personal advancement.

Even if one is not particularly a history buff, an average Indian has heard of Chanakya and his contributions to the Indian society. India's immediate neighbors have often attributed our contrived foreign policy to Chanakya and some of those principles being downright immoral or even evil. I agree that there have been major influences from his works in our public administration and also that our foreign policy is specific to every country based on our relationships and alliances but calling Chanakya immoral would be a judgment bordering on naivety. A pragmatic individual who did not base his principles on false notions, he did not have outlandish wishes of Bharatvarsh becoming an ideal state (free from corruption etc.), instead he put forth his opinions in order to safeguard the state from invasion and encourage fraternity among the people. As his mindset was deeply rooted in the Hindu ideology, his preaching and his life journey seem like off shoot of many Indian epics and interestingly it is quite possible for us to draw parallels between Chanakya (his life and works) and the revered Lord Krishna who played a significant role in the Mahabharata. Diplomats and wise to the core, they chose to be loyal to the people who they believed were moral yet chose to avoid enmity even even with those opposing them.

a. Both Krishna and Chanakya chose to be the guides in Battle of Kurukshetra and numerous wars fought by ChandraGupta Maurya respectively: Though Krishna was of a Kshatriya origin, he had vowed not to use any weapon and offered his entire army to the Kauravas as Arjuna was happy to have Lord Krishna alone has his charioteer. Arjuna was imparted Geeta Gyan in the battle by Lord Krishna. Similarly, it was through Chankya's mastermind that CGM was able to establish military dominance in the Indian subcontinent thereby becoming the first emperor of South East Asia.

b. Both maintained secrecy with regards to their plans and developments. Chanakya even advised us in his NeetiShastra to never disclose our secrets to anyone as this may ruin us completely. However, both had a network of spies around the country which eventually helped them a great deal. During the Mahabharata, Lord Krishna knew of the boons and curses carried by each member of the Kaurava's and Pandavas which eventually helped him manipulate the war. Arthasashtra describes the employing espionage as an important tactic to keep the government updated with information.

c. Exceptionally intelligent Chanakya and Lord Krishna never succumbed to the pressures nor showed any impatience towards their enemy. Though he had a personal enmity with king Dhanananda as he had murdered his father, he waited for many number of years to avenge his father's death. Lord Krishna patiently waited for Kamsa to mend his ways or Shishupala to stop abusing and reprimanded them after they had crossed all the boundaries.

d. कोई व्यक्ति अपने कार्यों से महान होता है, अपने जन्म से नहीं. This is a popular saying by Chanakya. Both upheld the belief that good deeds and benevolence are the factors and only through these factors a person's greatness can be determined and did not attribute greatness to a person's caste, color or creed. Krishna was a part Kshatriya by birth but raised in a pastoral community. The introductory couplet may seem contradictory but on careful analysis, we see that the people from the lower caste (no offence) mostly chose to remain illiterate during those times and therefore remained ignorant.

e. Chanakya wanted India to be united under one administration . When he became aware of the plan of Alexander, a young king who was on his way to conquer the planet, Chanakya went out of his way to encourage solidarity among the Kings of India which thereby helped in thwarting Alexander's attempt to conquer the entire nation. Similarly, Lord Krishna despite the knowledge of the fact that they were well equipped did not hesitate to seek alliances in the Mahabharata war (with Rakshasas for instance).

f. Chanakya maintained that a person shouldn't be too honest as the honest people are duped first, just like in a Jungle, the straight trees are cut first and the crooked ones remain. Krishna maintained that "Agar Adharm ko mitane ke liye Adharm ke marg pe chalna pade, to woh adharma nahi" When Karna was struggling with his chariot's wheel stuck in mud, and Arjuna found it immoral to kill him that instant, Krishna advised him to go ahead and kill Karna as Karna's good qualities were nullified because of his association with Duryodhana and the brutal killing of Abhimanyu.

g. Above all, both hailed the importance of Karma. Chanakya: A man is born alone and dies alone; and he experiences the good and bad consequences of his karma alone; and he goes alone to hell or the Supreme abode, Krishna: Karmanye Vadhikaraste, Ma phaleshou kada chana,Ma Karma Phala Hetur Bhurmatey Sangostva Akarmani. You have a right to perform your prescribed action,but you are not entitled to the fruits of your action.Never consider yourself the cause of the results your activities,and never be associated to not doing your duty."

h. Chanakya was born at a time when the country was being attacked by the invaders from all fronts and the Kalyuga creeped slowly into the society as people lusted for power and dominance. Chanakya's birth, according to me fulfilled the prophecy of Krishna that he would continue to take birth in different forms to combat the evils of the society.

Given Arthshastra's relevance in the society today, despite the fact that it was written thousands of years ago, I can say for certain that if Kautilya were alive, he would have provided us with a more pragmatic approach towards eliminating the evils that plague the society instead of being crestfallen as many of us easily are. What Kautilya, my alleged ancestor, taught us millenniums ago is now taught ubiquitously in business schools in flashy PowerPoint presentations.

If thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully.

2012-01-30T19:53:00.014-05:00

The above was spoken by Juliet in her orchard in an accidental, clandestine meeting with her lover in one of the greatest Shakespearean tragedies. To the unaware, Romeo was besotted by Juliet at the gathering conducted by Juliet's father which Romeo and his friends, (Mecrutio et al.) had gate crashed. Tybalt, Juliet's cousin and Lord Capulet fearing that the party and eventually their reputation may be ruined ignored the Montagues. What followed was one of the most romantic scenes ever written in history. Romeo jumped a fence and entered Capulet's garden to meet her and they exchange passionate kisses and vows of a never ending love.

Romeo, who according to the play is a very young character also had a past lover-Rosaline. Other than unsubstantiated conjecture, not many people have answers to various questions that arise with regards to Rosaline and hence she remains the least understood character of the play. What we do know is that she had a key role in preparing him for what followed in his later days. She had vowed to celibacy in contrast to Juliet who was very open and expressive about her desires. She responded to Romeo's fantasies as his ex-lover never did and thereby fulfilled his fantasies of a powerful, passionate romance. This is a fresh contrast from most of the Eastern folklore (and realities) of love where the assertive is rendered a displaced assertive and is left pining whereas the shy virgin is the one who the authors and the readers hypocritically favor.

Shakespeare displays a dash of modernity in another scene where Romeo confesses his love for Juliet to Friar Lawrence, Romeo's adviser. It is impossible for me not to ponder over Friar Lawrence's reply, time and again.

Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here!

Is Rosaline, whom thou didst love so dear,

So soon forsaken? Young men's love then lies
Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes.

First of, by 'young men', he refers to the young minds in general as he is cognizant of the fickle mindedness of young people when it comes to love. The author himself questions the genuineness of Romeo's love for Juliet as he was quick to replace Rosaline by Juliet and also very quick in contemplating marriage. The author has very intelligently portrayed them as very young individuals as the story depended a great extent on their naivete. Had Juliet and Romeo not been the tragic, star crossed lovers, and not killed themselves in a moment of rash decision, would they have fulfilled their vows of an everlasting love? This is quite intriguing. You may call me a cynic but my answer to the above question is a simple and plain, NO. The reason lies in the above quote where Friar Lawrence says that the love lies in a young man's (or a woman's) eyes. Romeo, owing to his whimsical disposition, was possibly overwhelmed by lust, not to mention his desire to heroically defy his father and go against tradition to marry one of the members of the household of his 'loathed enemy'. Moreover, Juliet's responses to his advances were in alignment with what Romeo expected from Rosaline, so there is also some possibility that he was in love with Juliet, the replacement of Rosaline and not Juliet as an individual. Ironically, Juliet says in the orchard garden chiding Romeo for not being brave enough, "Whats in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet". This quote, though directed at Romeo could also subtly hint at Juliet's own crisis of existence in Romeo's life. Being an assertive and an intelligent woman, Juliet was well aware that Romeo may have been overwhelmed by his desires and that made her beseech to him, "If thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully." Whether or not he pronounced it faithfully, we will never know. On finding Juliet 'dead', he did drink the poison but one is bound to think if both their deaths could be attributed to Romeo's hotheaded and unpremeditated actions.

No entry to Rushdie.

2012-01-25T02:43:00.007-05:00

He's famous for a plethora of reasons- his superior writing style, apostasy from Islam, a fatwa that dates back to 1988, a knighthood, noticeable taste in fine women and (according to me) a very sultry Indianized British accent. Owing to his Indian roots, he incorporated in his work, fantasies fused with reality eventually churning out dream like tales, not so popular in the western culture in those times. Midnight's Children was one such book and the only one of his works I ever had the opportunity to read. Despite having offended Indira Gandhi in those times, he achieved celebrity status by winning a Booker's prize for that book. In 1988, he used a similar technique of magic-realism as he calls it, and wrote -ya'll should know it- The Satanic Verses (Hindi: Shaitan ki Aayatein).

His immediate family members chose not to leave for Pakistan during the partition of the country which supposedly led him to cultivate an irreligious outlook. Prophet Muhammad was unpopular among Jews and they called him 'Mahound' which means a mad-man. Mahound happens to be one of the central characters in The Satanic Verses. The consequence was something Rushdie probably never had imagined having severely angered the entire Muslim Community by the liberties he had allegedly taken with the freedom of speech. I vaguely remember Doordarshan news sometime in 1990, displaying a handsome, bespectacled face of Salman Rushdie, who had gone into hiding and a 'Fatwa' that had been issued. Of course, all that was incomprehensible and it took a lot of time for me to figure out who he was and what he had done to deserve it. It's unlikely that Salman Rushdie, an author of Indian origin and a British inhabitant for decades, would ever cease to be the most detested man among the Muslim Diaspora.

Despite his having come out of hiding and the death of the one who issued it (Ayotollah Khomeini), the Fatwa is still valid 22 years hence and the fundamentalists and virgin seeking terrorists are still keeping an eye on him. Eons ago a propaganda film was released by Pakistan which showed Rushdie being killed by many Qurans. I had an embarrassing misfortune to see it. It required suspension of logic (as it is mostly so with Indian cinema as well) but showcased blatant hatred and bigotry towards a man who had done no harm to anyone personally and most of the Muslims did not even read the book. Much hue and cry was also made on his knighthood. He is 64 today and frequents to India (where only his book is banned, not he) for several events. His past never fails to show up in his present as attempts were made to ban him entering his native country for the Jaipur Literature Festival. Unwarranted and unbelievable. Democratic and secular India has succumbed again to religious fanatics thereby thwarting any attempts for literary exchange between him and other budding writers as he has always known to mentor upcoming writers. To me, for some reason, it is also reminiscent of IC-814, plane hijack incident in 2000. We did as they pleased then, we do as they please in 2012. Some Muslim organizations are reportedly offering rewards for hurling abuses and shoes at the author .We can hang our heads in shame for being part of the nation which masquerades as liberal society. Despicable subservience to fanatics might add a feather in our cap as a soft state but makes me question Iqbal, a prominent Urdu poet who once wrote of our country: Yunan Misra Roma, Sab Mit Gaye Yahan se, Ab tak Magar Hai Baki Namo Nishan Hamara. Yielding to Bigots - is that how we as Indians aim to survive?

Meanwhile, a Facebook friend who happens to be an old classmate posted the following as her status message (in retaliation?): Downloaded Satanic Verses, because they can only ban books;CANNOT cage minds! A Muslim girl, also an ex-classmate, replied to her status message: If one is so open-minded then you should go read the Holy Book

first! Otherwise your statement is not justified, its just ironic. It means the mind is stilll caged! Here was my reply to

that comment: A book is a book is a book. Unless Chronology comes into picture, one can read regardless of the order, in my humble opinion. Any intelligent/free mind would tell trash from sense for any book. Just saying:).

Apologies for the deviation, but in the next post, I hope to continue with Travelogue part -2

Travelogue Part 1: Getting there.

2012-01-21T23:26:00.009-05:00

I am back sooner than I thought I'd be. As mentioned in the previous post, I along with my roommate's family had scheduled a trip to the west coast. 16th of January was a long weekend in most (not all) of the organizations in the United States and we planned to take an extra leave on 17th of January. The trip comprised of visiting some exotic locations of the west over the course of 4 days: Universal Studios (Hollywood), Sea World (San Diego), Grand Canyon (Arizona) and Las Vegas (Nevada). Me, my roommate and her brother in law scheduled our flights to Burbank, California on 13th January from MSP, Saint Paul at about 7 p.m., while her husband and her little daughter flew down to Burbank from Connecticut. Another girl was supposed to join us in the later half of the trip as she had already seen Universal Studios and Sea world. I will try not to go over trivial details of the trip but we tried to be very efficient with respect to accommodation and travel and paid well in advance for everything.

13th January, Friday:

We took leave from office early hoodwinking our project managers despite having work and open tickets. It was so typical that all of us had maximum work to do on that very evening but I am thankful that I managed to get away, complaining of fever. Our flight from MSP airport was scheduled at 5:15 pm. We reached Burbank via United Airlines approximately 10 pm in the evening and as my roommate's husband, Amit, had already reached prior to our arrival, he soon arrived in a rented car with the little one on the back seat. As we were all tired and hungry, we headed straight to the restaurant called Flavor of India. They were all vegetarians and so I gorged on vegetarian food after a long, long time (Dal Tadka, Chhole, Paneer and breads) . While I'd laud it for it's great customer service, I found the quantity of food to be less and stuff had to be ordered twice. Not highly recommended but there was something that caught my eye when I was heading to the rest room. It was good enough to make my day especially the photograph of the person on the second row, extreme left.

We were staying overnight at Extended stay and my room included two queen sized beds, television and a kitchenette. I would recommend it for families who would require basic stuff such as a microwave, refrigerator and stove. They also provided us with free internet access. This was going to be our accomodation for 2 nights and 3 days As soon as I reached my room, I snuggled in the sheets and had a sound sleep for few hours after some internet browsing, clearly unaware of the beauty that was to unfold during the coming days. I was woken up by a knock on the door at about 7 am after which I slept for another hour well aware of the fact that families are never ready on time. :)

To be Contd.

Missed me?

2011-12-30T19:00:00.007-05:00

Boy, does this feel nostalgic to be back! My last post on the blogging world dates back to August 2010. So much has happened during the past year and a half that I feel excruciatingly guilty for shunning my hobby for so long . Considering that my social sphere has always been limited, I used this forum to vent, share, appreciate and also criticize. I called it my little arena where I wrote what I wanted to and saw myself growing with every single post. Not only can I analyze every post for its structure and content, I find myself reliving that moment when I wrote a certain article. Where I was, what were the conditions, why was I writing-everything! Blame it on my proclivity to procrastinate or my intrinsically haphazard lifestyle particularly in these times where my life is going through a great deal of upheaval, I just couldn't keep up with the changing times.

So I find myself writing after 1.5 years on the very last day of the year 2011. The past year had plenty of things in store including a shoestring trip to my home country after 2.5 years, my graduation and its ceremony, a thrilling trip to Australia followed by me getting a couple of projects in my work field. I turned a quarter of a century old this July. It also saw my dedication to a rigorous diet regime for a couple of months, my mood swings and hiccups on the personal front and of course it finally saw me leaving the beautiful East Coast and coming to the chilly mid west towards the end of 2011. Much to my father's annoyance, I also succeeded in getting a Driver's Permit. It is peculiar how he prohibited me from operating any vehicle. Whenever I mentioned anything pertaining to getting a DL or a car, he would be paranoid as though I spoke of eloping with a boy friend. But then it would not be fair to judge him, for he has left me to discover the world on my own and discover my own strengths for almost a decade now and if driving is one thing that makes him genuinely concerned, I don't think he is at fault. Hence in retrospect, the year has been enriching and fulfilling as new friends entered my life and since destiny has its ways, some old ones had to depart. There are no regrets, but lots of smiles, happiness and excitement to welcome the new year 2012 with great gusto.

Many people throughout the world are bidding good riddance to the year 2011. The plausible reason being that it marked the end of the era of some creative geniuses, Steve Jobs and Dennis Ritchie in particular. India too suffered a huge loss when the evergreen Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor and musical maestro Jagjit Singh passed away. While I genuinely felt the loss when each one of these great individuals left us for their heavenly abode, I do not think a year needs to be earmarked for tragedies. People are forgetting that 2011 will also be remembered for the triumph of good over evil. The inspiring Egyptian revolution that ended the dictatorial regime of Hosni Mubarak, followed by the killing of the dreaded Al Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden in Abottabad will be recounted by generations to come. Libyan rebels at the end of their tether, made the ostentatious dictator Gadaffi meet his ignominious end in public view. This year might have taken away exceptional talent from our own India, but it also saw the birth of BETI B who has an impeccable pedigree from her paternal and maternal side and the emotional junta would certainly look upon her as the heir apparent to the Bachchan family. India also brought back the world cup after 28 years. All of this does call for an appreciation of the great year that 2011 was.

Having said all of this, I solemnly swear that I would rekindle my passion for writing and do every bit to write passionately just as I began. There is an another set of adventure packed travel scheduled in the month of January. My first ever trip to the western part of the country in 3 years, this involves a trip to Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Universal Studios and Sea World. I cannot wait to visit that part of the country.

Happy New Year to everyone reading this. May the new year bring lots of good luck, prosperity and great health.

So Watch out! I am back!

Phir Mile Sur disappoints and How!

2010-01-27T18:46:00.007-05:00

Mile Sur Mera Tumhara is an endearing song that not only instills the spirit of patriotism, but also reminds us of the beautiful, genuine and innocent lives of the previous millennium. Doordarshan montage (DOSA) with the caption 'Lok Seva Sanchar Parishad' was followed by this classic and it never failed to make my afternoon wonderful. I just looooved how the song changed its tempo and beat as it introduced us to different states and cultures of India. I used to shout Nanaji(because of his resemblance) when I saw Bhimsen Joshi and sang along with him. The man sitting on the top of the elephant, Om Puri and Deepa Sahi in their rustic attires, Mrinal Sen (old man getting out of the metro), Narendra Hirwani were all so adorable. The song was plain and 'Un-Bollywood'.It had a deep message in the times when India was at the brink of modernization, both technologically and economically.

Year-2010:

Zoom Tv has always been an example of cheap and shabby journalism thriving on false rumors, crazy link-ups and outrageous stories. When I hear news like 'Aishwarya makes a face at Viveik', 'Priyanka changes her accent', 'Preity Zinta forgets her Hindi' , I am left with nothing to say except that Indian Media has gone to the dogs. Now, Zoom Tv decided to remake this song and came up with 'Phir Mile Sur' which released on the 60th year of the Republic Day celebrations. It was obvious for us to have some hopes from Zoom TV this time considering the fact that they were messing around with one of our most adored songs of our childhood. I was expecting them to represent a new India with our icons like APJ Kalam, E. Sridharan (CEO, Delhi Metro), Sachin, Amartya Sen, Vishwanathan Anand, Arundhati Roy, Nandita Das, Mira Nair, Lata Mangeshkar etc. But again Zoom has lived up to its name, making a mockery of an anthem by stuffing in Bollywood Stars.

Yes, its okay to promote national integration through Film icons. After all, Steven Spielberg made the Hollywood urge the Americans to vote by shouting "Dont Vote". Our song was about ACHIEVERS and the face of India in the new millenium. I am still wondering what are non-achievers like Shahid Kapoor and Abhishek Bachchan doing in this video. Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor still are in the Khuda Jane mood-never mind if they are separated. Just because her daddy was there in the previous version does not imply she needs to be there in this one. Shahrukh Khan deserved to be a part of this song, but how dare he do a DDLJ pose for this song?? That was really done in a bad taste. How about looking into the camera to make us feel that you believe in the essence of this song. Shah Rukh Khan hoga to Karan Johar kyo nahi hoga? Special Thanks to Salman Khan for not showing his bare-chest and I also appreciate his gesture towards the hard of hearing children. Aamir was fine but I found 'Eh..Mile sur' way too cheesy. Shahid Kapoor was the worst of all posing as some rock star. WHAT HAS HE DONE TO MAKE US PROUD? A FREAKING LIP-LOCK MMS WITH KAREENA? I preferred to see Kareena rather than him. The musicians were okay but I got terribly bored at times because of the length. My frustration knew no bounds with Shankar Madhavan's out of sync singing. I cant remember the name of that Bong beauty but I have seen her in some B grade movie. Among the Bollywood people, Sonu Niiigggaaamm, Shreya Ghoshal, Aishwarya (no whimpering from her ..thankfully), Priyanka, Shilpa and Prosenjit were good. Anushka Shankar, Sonali and Atul Kulkarni were lovable.

To cut the long story short, the video is painfully long, melodramatic and thus absolutely fails to incite nationalism the way the original version did. The major problem lies with the fact that its trying too hard to be effective. Major politicians, authors, sportsmen, entrepreneurs are missing. It also does not cover all aspects of Indian culture. The only good that can happen after watching this video is that you will feel an urge to watch the original version which in turn will rejuvenate your spirits. I am glad Zoom has made the video unavailable on YouTube thus making Mile Sur the unabashed classic of all times. Zoom TV guys should stop playing to the galleries and upgrade their standards a little. They have a very wrong perspective of the Indian youth . We are in the 21st century and we know when we are fooled with quantity thrown at us rather than quality.

Legality 10/10 but morality ??

2010-01-10T01:24:00.001-05:00

Much is being talked about the feud between India's most renowned author Chetan Bhagat and the makers of 3 idiots (Aamir, please stay out of this!). I read the book over 3 years ago, so I could not remember much from the book except for its outline and the names of the characters. A couple of months ago I read Raju Hirani's interview where he was chest thumping about the fact that 3 idiots was completely original and had nothing to do with Five Point Someone. Then some weeks back it was Sharman Joshi, who was quoted as saying "3 idiots has no resemblance to the book."

Click on the link below.

www.india-server.com/news/sharman-joshi-says-3-idiots-has-no-18390.html

Yesterday. I finally gave into the unprecedented hype surrounding the movie and I must say I found the entire movie full of Déjà Vus.It was as though I had seen it years ago lying on my bed in a hostel room in India. Hari looked exactly like I had thought of him (R. Madhavan) and Ryan was only a few inches taller. Cherian was not any different from the way he has been portrayed by Boman Irani. What was really sad that there was barely anything different from the book and what the makers are claiming to be different just went OVER THE TOP (esp. delivery scene)

I observed the beginning credits; there was no mention of Chetan Bhagat. For a microsecond,I saw his name in the rolling credits at the end. I feel bad for the man. Each and every book of an author is his baby. The author highlighted the insipid pedagogy at a world class institution and instantly became a youth icon through his simple, light hearted yet inspiring narration. But today, thanks to the makers of 3 idiots, he has been reduced to an object of ridicule as a "publicity seeker". In a couple of videos, Raju hirani stands with the contract paper saying that the author has been payed his due amount. For instance this one:

Pray tell me, where in your contract does it say you will mention Chetan's name at the END credits? Even if it does, its apparent to us that more than 70% of the story is straight out of the book. Then how can you say it has been changed to a large extent?!? I don't understand what is watchable in the film without Chetan's contribution. They fulfilled their promises of mentioning his name somewhere in the credits but its no more than a blink-n-miss. I don't think the chances of the movie's success would have jeopardized at all, had they credited him at the start of it. Aamir is talking about issuing him a legal notice without even reading the book. Did any one even think of the plight of the poor author? It was so outrageous of Aamir to say "Yeh unka publicity stunt hai". The guy is not demanding money. He is just asking for some recognition.Is that too much to ask for?

Chetan Bhagat has not been treated fairly by Bollywood.I stand by Chetan in the hope that he gets over this misery soon. I hope that in some time he will get his due credit (which currently belongs to a certain Abhijat Joshi) by the audiences for being the 'real' brain behind the movie.

Is your status message really reflecting your concern to promote Breast Cancer awareness?

2010-01-09T13:41:00.002-05:00

I woke up one fine day to find my Facebook homepage colorful as never before. Almost 90% of my female friends decided to "support" the Breast cancer awareness campaign by updating their status messages as the color of the Bra they were wearing at that time. I am a bit shy so I decided to join the "campaign" by posting it on Google talk instead. In no time I realized that I was one of the nincompoops, who wouldn't care less about the campaign and were more interested in letting their boyfriends know what color undergarments they are wearing. Wow! What an impressive awareness drive! All I could see was flirtatious messages floating around on Facebook. Come on people! Walk a marathon or sport a pink ribbon to show that you care! Join an NGO, voice your opinions on the web or media, donate for the cause, talk to those women who are suffering! By moving your lazy bums a few inches, you would be making a great difference in eradicating a deadly disease out of this world.

If you cant do any of this, at least don't be hypocritical. Tell your boyfriend your Bra color over the phone not on Facebook.

Huh!

I cant stop believing in God

2009-10-04T23:18:00.005-04:00

"I do not believe that God does not exist. I know for sure He does not exist. And Thank God he does not exist"
-Osho

Do you believe in God/Allah/Ishwar?
If yes, you are a believer
If not, you are an atheist
If you aint sure if God exists you are an agnostic.

But let me ask you what do you call those people who sometimes believe in God and at other times they feel there is no such thing as a Supreme Being who watches over us? Is it different from being an agnostic? I am one such person. Believing in God gives me an incredible amount of satisfaction. I feel that everything will be fine eventually because God is watching over me. My father is a great spiritual thinker himself and has imparted some knowledge of spiritualism to me. However, I am unable to merge my spiritual and religious worlds together. I have to be honest about the fact that I am leading a life full of hyprocrisy when it comes to God. Sometimes things go completely berserk and I will be blaspheming God for his cruelty. But whatever may be the case I just cannot shun God and become an atheist like George Carlin. I always vacillate while making a final decision as to what my religion actually is. One of my dad's colleagues rarely ever prayed but whenever there was some tough situation at work he would recite his namaz at the office, much like my attitude. I am on a constant look out for enlightenment and wish that someday I'll be able to define, understand and analyse the whole concept of God.

Do you feel the same way sometimes? I would like to know.

Kid and I

2009-09-10T00:06:00.001-04:00

a guy pings me on msn and i add him thinking he is one of my freinds. chatting is usually the first thing young guys do when they get internet at their homes...so this is the chat i had with him....best way to ward off unknown people.you get to have some fun at the same time. its funny the way he wants to convince me of the fact that he isnt a kid.

Nick says:
hi
SnEhA says:
ermmm??
Nick says:
where r u from ?

SnEhA says:
whoze this
do u know me?
Nick says:
a bit
SnEhA says:
howcum
Nick says:
where r u from ?
SnEhA says:
what has that gotta do with it
?
Nick says:
I am Nick fron India and you
SnEhA says:
i thought i knew u thats why i added u
well i guess i dun
Nick says:
i wanna to friendship with you
will u friendship with me ?
Nick winks:

Play "Knock"
Nick says:
r u there ?
hey what happened
SnEhA says:
i dunno u
sorry bye
Nick says:
wait plz
why r u going ?

what do u want ?
SnEhA says:
hey i dunno u man
why did u add me
i thought i knew u for god sake
what the hell shud i want from u
Nick says:
because i wanna frienship with you
SnEhA says:
oh why dont go to a chat room and find a girl
dont u guys have any other work?
Nick says:
i asked where r u from ?
Nick says:
WILL U FRIENDSHIP WITH ME ?
SnEhA says:
NO
thank you so much
Nick says:
why ?

SnEhA says:
and there are many chat rooms
where u canb find yourself a girl friend
understand?
ur a kid...please do some fruitful work
on the internet
daddy has not given u internet for this
Nick says:
i like u as a friend , not a girlfriend understand
SnEhA says:
i know what guys in india do...
so please do something good on the internet kid...
Nick says:
i am innocent boy
SnEhA says:
understand child and please move on
ofcourse ur a kid i know
Nick says:
i am not
SnEhA says:
thats why i am adivising you
Nick says:
how old r u ?
SnEhA says:
please do some other work
ur a kid.. only that I know
Nick says:
how old r u ?
SnEhA says:
47
Nick says:
i am 10000 years old lol
SnEhA says:
well this shows what a kid you are
Nick says:
really how old r u ?
SnEhA says:
grow up please do something worthwhile rather than finiding girls on net
i told you i am 47
Nick says:
i am 18+ years old and you
SnEhA says:
really r the boys in india that stupid
oh god
Nick says:
Indian are noy u r stupid
SnEhA says:
oh god really
Nick says:
and next year i am coming to us
SnEhA says:
then why dont u do some other work child?
for what high school?
Nick says:
i am student in Institute
SnEhA says:
which standard r u in 8th or 9th?
Nick says:
13
I am B.C.A student
SnEhA says:
ohh
no wonder
Nick says:
really
SnEhA says:
no wonder you're such a kid
damn do some fruitful work
Nick says:
i am just student
and u
Nick winks:

Play "Knock"
Nick says:
hi again
how u doing ?
SnEhA says:
huh?
i am fine kid

Nick wants to start a Video Call with you.
Accept (Alt+C) Decline (Alt+D)

SnEhA says:
what r doing that for?
what r u doing that for?
Nick says:
pick up my call and see i am not kid

You missed a Video Call from Nick.

SnEhA says:
get back to yr studies
daddy will scold you
Nick says:
my dad is not here he is working in dubai
i live in india
SnEhA says:
ohkk then yr mommy will scold you
Nick says:
i mum will not scold me she loves me so much
SnEhA says:
ofcourse she does....
Nick says:
so
pick up call right now plz
SnEhA says:
but she will not like you're talking to a woman much much older than you
Nick says:
i am alone in my home
SnEhA says:
go to sleep quietly
or go out to play
you dont have freinds?
Nick says:
here is time 9:21 am
SnEhA says:
go get yr bat and ball and go to the field
Nick says:
i can`t
SnEhA says:
why what happened mommy locked u up in the house
Nick says:
because i am alone at home so i can`t leave the home
SnEhA says:
owww
Nick says:
mom did not locked me
SnEhA says:
wbere is your baby sitter?
let me talk
to her
Nick says:
i sister and my bro gone the school
SnEhA says:
ill tell her not to let kids on the comp for such a long time its wrong
Nick says:
today i am disease so i could not go to institute
SnEhA says:
thats bad....
Nick says:
will u not pick up my call ?
SnEhA says:
tell daddy to get you vaccinated
r u vaccimated properly
?
Nick says:
vaccimated ?
SnEhA says:
injection
didnt u get injection at birth
?
Nick says:
ya
SnEhA says:
oh good...
Nick says:
i got it
i got injection at my birth
and now i am not child
SnEhA says:
ok
Nick says:
will u pick up my call ?
plzzzzzzzzz
SnEhA says:
no i dont want u to be on computer for this long its bad for eyes...
ill call you mother and complain
your mother
Nick says:
my mom will complain
lol
SnEhA says:
what?
Nick says:
my mom will not complain u
SnEhA says:
no
ill complain
and tell her
Nick says:
just accept it
SnEhA says:
her baby has been playing around with the computer
Nick says:
i said she is not here
and now i am 18+ year old
SnEhA says:
poor kid
Nick says:
years old
SnEhA says:
r u that frustrated to grow up?
Nick says:
stopped okay
SnEhA says:
ofcourse you will be 18 one day
and u will a big boy then
isnt it
and u have to study very very hard
so that u can become a great man
Nick says:
bye u r bad girl i don`t wanna chat with you i just wanted make friend remove me in your friends list okay
SnEhA says:
dont get angry with aunty
go to study now

Nick just sent you a nudge.

Nick says:
i will not
Nick winks:

Play "Silly Face"
Nick says:
bye forever
SnEhA says:
bye kid
study hard
Nick says:
see i am not kid
Nick sends:(he sends his picture)

You have failed to receive file "PICT0136.JPG" from Nick.

Kambhakt Ishq-zabardast(i ki) comedy

2009-07-12T02:14:00.000-04:00

if you think tashan was one hell of a time waste, think again because here comes Kambhakt Ishq, the most outrageously gross movie ever made in bollywood. I ended up paying 300 bux for this trash and regretted right after 5 minutes into the movie. the actors are trying sooo hard to make u laugh that you clutch ur fist and bang your head in exasperation. I dont know whats with kareena, i like her so much, but the standards of her movies is declining at the same rate as her figure.

bony kareena and worn out akshay kumar hate each other throughout the movie. They object to aftab and amrita's wedding furiously but end up falling in love with each other.Thats it! the comedy is poor,the songs (i dont remember any of them) are dull..there's hardly anything to talk about except that its just a humongous pile of pig shit. probably the makers thought that if they rope in some blondes, show some good locales in the west, its gonna work. boy i could sense the boredom and eagerness to leave among each one of the audiences.

sylvester stallone is wasted.infact i puked right after akshay's dumb speech at the awards function scene. Denise richards looks uncomfortable throughout..Or just stupid.What the hell was javed jaffery there for?? i am yet to figure out.
The movie was just okay for the first 20 mins but got so dull that i ended up playing snakes on my mobile .

6 months...

2009-05-21T10:24:00.001-04:00

Time has flown really. it will sound too cliched if I say it seems like yesterday I landed here but its so true. the place that seemed so unfamiliar and unfreindly now seems like the most happening place. I was apprehensive since I hadnt ever lived with room mates. Though I knew what it was like to live alone and be on my own, but the term "room mate" was something i was always terrified of. I considered myself as too un-compromising and private a person to live with room mates. Not to mention my habits(though not extremely bad), also repelled the thought of living with others. But I genuinely have to thank god for the kind of people I met here from the beginning to right now. I must have done something good in the past to recieve such a treatment in the states.

studies are always a motive since one comes here for the sole purpose of education but i guess its those little things that count towards making you an experienced human being in a place you have never been before. I remember this funny incident while boarding a bus in rochester. I had never been on a public transport even in Dubai, place where I grew up. So, I just got in and sat on my seat without realising I had to pay at the entrance. The driver gets off his seat and tells me "Miss, you have to pay" it was obviously very embarassing but there was an instant relief when an Indian guy sitting next to me said "pehli baar sabka pappu banta hai"

Differences in accents also might land you in more embarassing situations. Though I havent faced much problem in that context, there have been certain misunderstandings. there is a concept of cash back in several departmental stores which is quite unheard of in India. and there was this guy at RiteAid asking me if i wanted Maximum 20$ cash back. He was a spanish and couldnt explain me well. And I was like why do you wanna give me cash? lol and thank god there was another customer who got me out of the mess. I said no to the guy and rushed out mumbling to myself " what were you thinking..he is giving you 20$ off?" There are many more such instances that would make me actually laugh at my naivety and I am very sure there are more to come.

The weather is something I love here. in the month of may it is so pleasant and cool. I think it has rarely gone beyond 30 degree centigrade. it is usually between 16-20 degrees.we have arranged an Air conditioner, thanks to a yankee who threw it away and we picked it up from trash. Americans around here discard everything that gets a couple of years old which is exactly opposite to what Indians would do. My house currently comprises of all such discarded objects which look as good as new viz. chairs,couch, fan etc.

I remember a couple of years back a dear freind told me that an experience of living alone in India would prove very valuable when I go abroad. the quality of living just swept me off my feet. Having lived in india in despicable conditions without electricity, its a relief being pampered with all the facilities in the world. the home is equipped by microwave, oven, fridge and all the essentials one would need inorder to make life comfortable. lives are very dominated by the internet and I dont really know how people would manage without one. be it weather, maps, restaurants, temples, hospitals one has to look for everything on the internet.

I am not condemning Indian lifestyle. I love that place too much to mean disrespect for it. But, no matter how much I tell my freinds about this place, unless people experience the whole thing, they will not really get the hang of the differences that lie between the standards of living in India and US.

I think thats all for now!
Love

A kick-ass visa interview!

2008-11-05T11:26:00.002-05:00

Hi,
3rd November was a fateful day for me since I had my visa interview that evening. I was nervous and very negative about this whole situation.I wont be able to clarify why because I don't want to waste any precious space out here. I am just writing my experience at the United States Visa Consulate.

I got down at Chanakyapuri, shantipath, New Delhi from and I saw hundreds of people waiting for the candidates appearing for the interview. I was with my relative too but the atmosphere made me feel uneasy. I reached at 2:15 pm and my interview was scheduled at 2:45 pm.I immediately ran towards the gate and the guard asked for my appointment letter after taking a look at his watch. The lady guard did some checking of pockets and enquired if I was carrying anything other than the file. I answered "no". She asked me to join the line no. 2 meant for non-immigrant visa.

After joining the line a few of the officers came to me and asked for my I-20, Sevis Fee Reciept and IS-156,IS-157,IS-158 forms. He did some corrections where he felt(writing my name in native alphabet, for instance) and then asked me to go ahead for the pre -scanning of my application. When my turn came,the lady sitting at the counter stapled the above mentioned documents with my passport, scanned them over and over. then she asked me to go inside the consulate.

Security check was once again carried out and i was scanned properly this time. When I headed into the room I was asked to take the prints of my fingers and thumb on a screen. After these formalities, I was allotted the waiting no. 61. the ambiance at the consulate was very very amiable. I felt sorry for not carrying any cash inside since there were tuck shops and a Costa coffee counter. Nevertheless, I sat down on a seat and started observing people around. i was sure my number was nowhere near because the last person who was standing with his documents in the line had the number 45. I relaxed myself and started watching "aaj-tak" on the TV and laughed when I read
" kyonki saas bhi ..hoga band: Mumbai high court ke aadesh" I mumbled "finally!"

After about half an hour, the security personnel called out the numbers and counted from 46 to 60. "Oops! I missed it...the later the better"I thought. I had read many interviews online and most of the people cursed officers at American embassy for being so inconsiderate and rude. I figured all that was incorrect because i had begun to enjoy the whole experience. But I thought it was too early to make assumptions...the main thing was yet to come.

After some time My number was called and I joined the line with few others. My turn was still about 1/2 an hour away. Now I could hear the American counsellors speaking to the candidates. One of the officers said frequently " congratulations your visa has been issued, your passport will be couriered within 5 days" I wished I was interviewed by him :) There were about 6 interviewers and I observed that the lady interviewers were doing more of the grilling. Men were quite easy.

I tried my level best to eavesdrop each and every conversation that was taking place. There was this guy being interviewed who seemed quite fluent and confident in his speech. He had applied for an H-1 visa if I am not mistaken. The interviewer asked him something to do with his company which he answered in a very articulate manner. Further, he asked him who the client of his company was. The guy said" sorry sir, that's confidential, I cant tell you" I said"baawla ho gaya hai ke?" The counsellor was shocked too. He smiled and said" sorry sir, I'll not be able to proceed, if you don't tell me." Then the guy lowered his voice and said "microsoft"(I heard it! i heard it!:)).
He got the visa. Confidence was the need of time for sure!

OK now my turn had come and I had butterflies in my stomach already. I started saying "Jai Sai Raam" in my head and approached the very first counter. My conversation with the counsellor is as follows:

VO:- Hi, how are you?
me:- fine
VO:- can i see your application please (He meant the I-20 and other forms stapled with passport)
me: yes sir
VO- Put your right thumb on the screen
me:- (I put), that's OK?
VO:- that's right,how many universities you have applied to?
me:-10
VO:-why Rochester?
me:-the quality of education imparted there is really good. I have spoken to the seniors and faculty,they say job prospects after MS in US is very good especially in India.
VO:-(he had had enough:)) what was your TOEFL score?
me:-103
VO:- Congratulations! your visa is issued and will be couriered to you within 2 days.
me:-thank you.

I was so surprised that I didn't even have to open my file once. He didn't even ask for the TOEFL score report let alone my finance documents. I rushed out of the embassy, ran and hugged my relative 'heroine style'.Other people had started to laugh at us. For the very time in my life I felt I was tension free. I walked towards the main market of Chanakyapuri to hog something. I was starving.

Good bye, Bharthi mam!

2008-10-12T07:46:00.001-04:00

I could not believe my eyes when I read that 12 members in my facebook freindlist joined the group "R.I.P. Bharthi mam". My heart began to beat very fast and I started praying that "Bharti mam" was not Bharthi Gopinath, an English teacher from Our Own English High School ,Dubai. I was in tears when I realised that she was indeed her and that she had succumbed to lymphatic cancer.

She was a beautiful woman with very long tresses and she used to tie them in a very neat plait.She taught 9th and 10th graders and had been a part of our school for over a decade. She did not share a personal bonding with a single pupil ,instead she was close to each and everyone of us and treated everyone fairly. Her style of speaking, her charisma and her great sense of humor(witty, funny and sarcastic) made the entire period worthwhile. I do not ever recollect referring to English in those times as "boring" or "dull".

Such a deep impact she had left on me, that I sometimes emulate her style of speaking. She explained the lesson so well that we were able to look beyond what was written. The morals taught in the stories (which were explained by her) are still crystal clear in my head. When I came to 9th I thought I was not very fond of her but as the time progressed I went to school just for the English class. I thoroughly enjoyed 9th and 10th grade as she had been a part of them. It was solely because of her that I landed up in 90's in English in my CBSE boards. (A feat that was never repeated!)
Some months ago, I was told that she had left the school. I wondered why, as she had been such a popular teacher. Students with personal/professional issues and even those with gossips could confide in her and she would resolve the whole matter for them.
Cookery was my activity period so, I used to take the dish made to her to taste.She would never criticize whatever I came up with even if it were bad. The best thing about her was she knew us really well...I remember, in my 10th grade in my final class of English( also the one of the last moments I had been with her) ..she explained a chapter and then read out a question :-

"Write a letter from ABC agency to Mr.D explaining the itinerary, hotels etc........" She asked "Who will do it?" Then she looked at us and said "No one will do it"..we all laughed out loud.

Mrs Bharthi Gopinath was the most lovable teacher in history of Our Own, Dubai. Rest in Peace Bharthi mam. We love you. Our thoughts are with you as you will be in our hearts and minds forever!
Amen!

!!Jai Sai Raam!!-Part3

2008-10-02T14:36:00.002-04:00

According to the TT, our tickets had been cancelled and since they were purchased through credit cards, they had been automatically refunded into our accounts. A couple, instantly paid money to the TT for AC 2 tier.We were hopelessly standing next to the toilets thinking of a way out. Indeed, there was no way out unless we had money. The TT recommended us to switch to sleeper class and book the tickets till a few stations ahead. It was 4:30 am and it was pitch dark. Our dreams of sleeping soundly after boarding the train were shattered!

At around 6 a.m.at a station called Chaalisgaon, the train stopped and we got down. I thought we were shifting to the sleeper class. I don't know what struck my friend's head. The train started moving and we never boarded it back. I stared at the dilapidated station. I guess, it was the scariest time ever! I was told that I had now got something meaty to write in my blog.

Although, it did not seem like the station had any ATM centres, we were told it was located outside. We located it several kilometres away. An auto rickshaw driver advised us to go back to Manmad and get the tickets for Delhi. We purchased General Tickets to Manmad in a train that arrived 2 hours later. We sat totally bored and sleepy at the Chaalisgaon station for 2 hours. It seemed that I would not reach Delhi for the next two days at least.

Finally, we headed back to Manmad and after reaching there at 10 a.m, we had Wada Pav . My freind then left to enqire about the next train to Delhi but I saw him coming back with a plate of Idli sambhar. (no compromises on food...no matter what). We enquired about the trains and a coolie promised to book the tickets for us. We booked our tickets hurriedly in Tatkal for Karnataka-Super fast Express(after paying commission to the COOLIE and the man at the reservation counter). And since we were rich again, now was the time to go back to Visawa hotel and pamper ourselves.

We were tired and exhausted and fell asleep in a moments time. We ordered stuffed Kulchas, Gravy and desserts for lunch when we woke up.Karnatka Express arrived at 2.50 pm and was way too fast compared to the train we had left. We were in sleeper class yet the cool breeze of Maharashtra made it seem no less than an AC compartment. We cursed the previous trains we had boarded for being slow coaches and dirty. Karnataka Express was heaven...really! Not to mention the food was awesome! We ordered our meals twice:).

At around 11 pm..chambal ki ghatiyo se guzarte hue...we reached Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. I saw around thousand million stars for the first time in the night sky and several amazing constellations up there.My freind vanished to get some coffee at Bhopal station and did not appear for another 10 minutes even after the train had started moving. It panicked me again but he showed up soon. For the next hour, we discussed the motive of Sai Baba for doing this and came to the conclusion that He wanted us to reach home safe, comfortable and in a much better train.

When I got up the next day at 9 we had reached Mathura and it seemed the previous train that we had left was already late by 2 hours. As our home town came closer, we gave each other autographs on the tickets. It was so very unusual to believe that we reached Delhi in such less time. The journey was tiresome yet had been the most memorable and wonderful journey of our lives so far.

And the journey continues............

Jai Sai Raam!
Sneha Jha

!!Jai Sai Raam!!-Part 2

2008-10-02T12:44:00.000-04:00

So, after the uncles left for Shani Dham, we were left on our own in a full mood to party. We went to the nearest restaurant and had the most amazing food in the world. It was there where we started discussing how easy everything had been so far and how quickly we had reached the Samadhi Mandir. We did not have the slightest notion of what was coming ahead.

We had our return tickets to New Delhi at 4 a.m.the very next morning and we thought of returning to Manmad(very odd names there!) from where we had to board the train. I was amazed by the availability of Auto Rickshaws. The absence of cycle rickshaw makes them an awesome means of transport in that part of Maharashtra. We went to the nearest Bus Stand and boarded a bus that took us on an hour drive to Manmad. Sitting at the backseat, all the time was spent in having funny incoherent discussions. And it was the first time I made use of the 12 MegaPixel camera I was carrying, I clicked the photo of the Thumbs Up Mountain.(photo to be uploaded later) We got down at Manmad and reached the railway station. It was barely 2 p.m. and since we had 12 hours (and money) at our disposal, we booked Hotel Visawa, the hotel opposite the station.

Rooms ranging from 400 bucks to 650 bucks were available. Our room had a TV had a nice bathroom and extremely good quality food (and that's all that mattered!). I took a shower after which I had a dreamless sleep of 5 hours. The thing that was worrying us constantly was our tickets in waiting-list. At around 10 pm, we were informed that our waiting status number had further reduced. So, another round of meal and loads of desserts! We confused the waiter thoroughly with our humongous list. And yes, when the waiter enquired where exactly we were from, my friend answered "Hum Hindustan Times ke sampadak hain, hotels ke khaane ke baare mein likhte hain:)". We started calling the waiter "Hemant Rao"...for no rhyme or reason. However, we were left with hardly 500 bucks in our pockets.

We left the hotel a few minutes before the departure of the train. And since the charts did not show anything relevant regarding our status, we decided to board the train and speak to the TT. We got into the AC -3 tier compartment and enquired from the TT. He searched his entire list and our names were just not there!!!! He was kind of drunk and was in full mood to extract loads of money from us. (which apparently, we never felt the need to save).

Jai Sai Raam Contd.

!!Jai Sai Raam!!-Part 1

2008-10-02T04:46:00.000-04:00

I was never so religious before....until I reached home safe and sound from Shirdi. Now, you might wonder what I mean by that cause it isn't uncommon that people reach safe and sound from a trip to Shirdi. Well, I guess life is 95% monotony and 5% excitement. And God reserves these "moments of excitement" for the times you would be expecting them the least to happen.

So, basically in the past 4 years of my life in India, all the trips I have made were quite monotonous and there wasn't very much to speak about them. But there was a night I was alone and I missed a train at Jammu Railway Station(thanks to my punctuality).A very kind officer helped me out of the trouble by booking the tickets for the very next train. Indeed, money was a life saviour at that time.

This time I was accompanied by friends who wish to live for the moment rather than worrying for what happens in future. We boarded the clumsiest and the slowest(and the dirtiest) of all the trains "Jhelum Express", from New Delhi in order to reach Kopadgaon ( we cannot ever get the name right ..sometimes it Kopadnagar...and sometimes Copenhagen...lol). A fellow passenger gave me 51 rupees in order to donate it at Sai Baba's Abode. When he left, my friend teased me by saying "Tune 51 rupees kama liye". To Jhelum Express ko jhelte hue hum pahoche Kopadgaon and two uncles who were also seeking Sai Baba's Darshan made the journey very comfortable (and quite economical) by assisting us every now and then.

From Kopadgaon all of us took a van to Shirdi. it took us about half an hour to reach Shirdi. I didn't ever hear of it before but there were several hotels allowing the devotees to get fresh.
So, all of us occupied rooms in order to get a fresh up and the charge was 100 bucks per person.
from there we headed to the Temple. It was the first day of the Navratras, yet there was not much crowd. As we got closer to the Almighty's abode, the rush did increase. The atmosphere was very pleasant and I could see Sai Baba from far off and I started saying my prayers in my head. As I got closer, I could see the tomb (samadhi) on which several thousands of flowers offered by the devotees were scattered. I too was carrying a huge Red rose that touched His Samadhi. Indeed a Bliss! I offered 51 rupees on the behalf of the passenger in train.

Further, we moved on to see the neem tree where he was "spotted as a young lad of 16 in his meditation". It is located at the centre of the Gurusthan that is situated just behind the Samadhi Mandir of Sri Sai. He seems to have spent majority of his life there blessing every resident of Shirdi. Inside this temple, there was a statue as well as a photo of Sri Sai. We visited the museum where several belongings of Sai Baba were kept. It comprised of his clothes, sandals and even the cauldron he used in order to cook for poor people in the village. There were rare pictures of Sai Baba with their descriptions and many stories about him. The whole place was indeed a reflection of Sai Baba's compassion and limitless love for his devotees.
The uncles then urged us to come along with them to Shani Dham. We did not intend to go there since we had the tickets to Delhi at 4a.m. next morning. Moreover, we'd heard females were not allowed there.

Jai Sai Raam Contd
Sneha Jha

1920

2008-09-24T01:01:00.000-04:00

I had heard a lot of positive reviews about the movie 1920 and being a sucker for horror, I just couldn't resist yesterday night when my friend surprised me with the DVD. The movie stars Rajneesh duggal, Adah Sharma and Raj Zutshi in the main lead. The plot is set in 1920's where a huge mansion located in a place called "Palampur" is haunted and whosoever tries to bring it down (in order to build a hotel in its place)gets killed in the process.

Arjun Singh Rathod (Rajneesh Duggal) is a HANUMAN-JEE DEVOTEE and he marries his long time lover Lisa (Adah Sharma) against the wishes of his father. His father fuming in anger tries to kill the girl but Arjun saves the girl. Arjun Singh shuns GOD at that point of time(Just what Count Dracula did in the movie Dracula) blaming Him for everything. They later move into the same damned house as he, too has been assigned the task to bring it down. Lisa gets possessed by the demon residing in the house. When medical help doesn't work, exorcism is carried out in a similar fashion as in The Exorcist. When the priest fails as well, our hero, recites Hanuman Chalisa and gets the spirit out of her body.

As I have been too addicted to this particular genre, I guess I found the movie a combo of several Hollywood flicks. Rajneesh Duggal reminds me a lot of Keanu Reaves in the movie Dracula (especially when he is in the train, off to meet the woman Radha). The effects employed when Lisa crawls up the wall and when she is lifted in air while sleeping were similar to those used in the movie the Exorcist.(She also wears the same gown).Also, the priest claims that she is possessed, by citing the fact that she's speaking in two different voices. The Doctor argues that "insano ke do vocal chords hote hain, jiski wajah se Lisa do awaazo mein bol sakti hai" Now, this is a line word to word translated from the Movie " The Exorcism of Emily Rose". So, although its nothing outlandish or extremely different, its a fair attempt at making horror.

Adah Sharma is superb. I loved her through out. As you see her face twisiting and contorting and her zombie-like body feeding on some dead animal, you actually begin to feel very sorry for her. Not to mention, she is beautiful, even with the crooked teeth. Rajneesh Duggal has done a good job as well. The chemistry between them isn't great but not too bad either. Both debutantes made a good start. The movie does get boring for several minutes in the second half of the movie. I know everyone is going ga-ga over the music in the movie, but I didn't like it. Period.

Scenes worth watching: 1.The scene in the hospital, when the ghost talks to the Doctor.
2. The final Recitation of Hanuman Chalisa by Arjun

Consultants

2008-09-22T04:08:00.000-04:00

Hi all,
Im here to have a word with all of you about CONSULTANTS who send students abroad for further studies. I am a Btech student (final year) and wish to go to USA for MS in Computer Science in the spring session of 2009. Initially, I thought of the fall 2008 session but due to certain circumstances like preparation for the GRE last sem exam etc, I had to postpone it to spring 2009.i have approached so many consultants since october 07 and i asked them when to start off with the application procedure or when is the ideal time to give the GRE. It is really pathetic to see their desparation to get students enrolled in their consultany and make moolah that they go to the extent of lying. No consultant gives a clear picture and hence does not give students enough time to sit back and relax after their course and prepare for the GRE. I am sure most of you must have heard consultants saying" oh!!! the deadlines are almost over" "you have to enrol asap unless u want to miss out on good universities". i have also met consultants who I approached in march 08 for the spring 09 session and they said "ohh most of the universities have already stopped accepting applications" can you beat that?????????????? one year before???It is ridiculous.

I am sure there might be many students who want to get over with the entire thing asap and hence give there GRE without enough preparation. later they realise that had they prepapred for the GRE well they would have got enrolled in a better university. so please students always make sure that you give your gre 6-7 months before your session and then approach consultants with yr score. if the organisation is popular it is not necasary that u will definitely get a good university. fewer the number of students they handle at a time, lesser is the stress on them and the better are the chances of u getting a good univrsity because the entire focus will be on you.

i am sure u all will be knowing that paying10k 15-k extra for a good consultancy does not mater as long as u get a decent university. i wish you all the best!!!!!!!! and see you all in the US in 2009!!!:)do keep updating me about your gre scores etc.

here is the site you should check out

http://www.usnews.com/ -->> go to education-->>go to ranking-->>select your preferred stream eg. Computer Science, Engineering. This site can give you all the info pertaining to rankings, number of admits, tuition fees. So don't miss it!

For profile evaluation please check out http://www.msinus.com/ . LOTS OF INFORMATION ON FUNDING & GRADES, SAMPLE LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND SOP

FEMINA MISS INDIA -declining standards

2008-09-18T06:51:00.002-04:00

The other day I spent the whole time watching various Femina Miss India Beauty Pageants. (Did you get an idea of the high degree of joblessness I am facing?) Oh man! Thanks to youtube, I got to see the 21 year old Aishwarya Rai and the 19 year old Sushmita Sen after years , sizzling on the ramp. Everything was so simple and so plain yet very genuine. It was way back in the year 1994. As you all know, both of them went on to bring laurels to India. In 1997, India did it again
when Diana Hayden had the world at her feet and the Miss World tiara on her head.
Yukta Mookhey, a lovely tall brunette reigned the world during 1999. The feat attained by Aish and Sush in 1994 was bettered in 2000 when Lara Dutta, Priyanka Chopra and Diya Mirza brought home Miss Universe, Miss world and Miss Asia Pacific titles respectively. Moreover, Venezuela's record for holding Miss Universe and Miss World simultaneously, was equalled that very year.
The year also marked the end of Indian dominance at beauty pageants.

I sometimes wonder, whats wrong with the Indian pageants now? Why on earth not even a single crown has come home since almost a decade. I saw the Miss India Contest last year and I felt everything had changed so much. In collaboration with Zoom Tv, Femina Miss India is aired almost like any soap opera. It used to depict stupid cat fights between the contestants. But I was shattered the most when I saw the contestants VOTING OUT one of themselves. It was said that the girl who was voted out did not have enought potential. What on earth were the judges doing?? What if the reason the girl who was voted out was merely out of personal vendetta? Why did they not hand over this task to the audiences? The answer is very simple. The stragtegy was carried out in order to gain TRPs. They extended this whole Miss India Contest for over a month and made a nice mockery of MISS INDIA CONTEST.

Despite all this "taam-jhaam", India has failed to make a mark abroad. Miss Indias in earlier days were revered as Goddesses as Indians saw in their eyes the zeal to make it BIG and bring fame and laurels to our country. Gone are the days ,when the interviewer awed with her eloquence and beauty,said to Priyanka at the Miss world Pageant, after she answered his question, " I expected that from you!" Now,I donot care to remember the names of the present title holders. My parents still admire Madhu Sapre and discuss her controversy with Milind Soman:)

I sometimes feel like turning back time. I want the Femina Miss India Pageant to regain its lost charm and stature.

Love, Peace and Harmony,
Sneha Jha