Sparking Life

this is for testing

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Fri, 30 May 2014 14:32:00 +0000

only testing

God, please make it all irrelevant!

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 11:47:00 +0000

In this great country called India, everything remains relevant after decades, centuries, and even after millennia. When it is the birth anniversary of any literati, people say he or she is still relevant. And they do not only say this, unfortunately it is true too. Few days ago intelligentsia of my city conducted a seminar to discuss the contributions of Premchand, an all time great Hindi author. The creatures who are relatively free most of the time organize and participate in these sorts of activities, and like to label themselves “intellectuals”. Special guest, after facing initial trouble with usual Indian microphone and intervention of mechanic with primordial mantra of ‘mike testing… 1… 2… 3…’, said, “Ladies and gentlemen, Premchand is still relevant today for our society.” What a cliché and what a pity! Premchand is still relevant even after 75 years! In India, still many Hori’s are waiting for cows in utter misery, and still many Ghisus are spending shroud money to satisfy their hunger. Alas, it is all relevant. Premchand is relevant.

Similarly, I was reading a book on Kabir the other day. The author declares in first line of prologue – “Kabir and what he said, irrespective of the different social milieu, is still pertinent in contemporary India.” “Man, this guy is also relevant, and that too, after 500 years”, I thought. India is still grappling with same old classism and communalism that this old guy addressed in his time half a millennia ago. Still Hindus and Muslims are jabbing each other and there still exists a cast whom they call untouchable. All is relevant!

I could console myself if it was up to last five hundred years only. But according to a news channel, Pranab Da, in his budget speech, invoked heavenly intervention of Lord Indra for good rain. Now, Vedas are at least five thousand years old. Some even claim this number to be far greater, ten thousand, twenty thousand, fifty thousand and even more as per their convenience, and it can be stretched further on the basis of what they want to prove. Many Sukta (hymns) in Vedas are full of this. Open the scripture from anywhere and you can read something like – “O great Indra, open the gates of grand clouds and bestow us with rain, so that we can have ample food grain.” Agriculture sector in India, even after 5000 years, is still dependent of monsoon like the ancient Vedic era. Those Vedic mantras are being sung in our parliament by FM. It seems that we have the history of relevancy and even those things are relevant in India, which are beyond history. Seeing current state of affairs in India, let’s all pray, “God, please make it all irrelevant!”

Me and Mine

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:53:00 +0000

A piece of land I owe
A religion I follow
A penny in my pocket
A cloth in my closet
All that is only mine
In my heart
There’s no place for divine

I may talk of logic
I may be a pedagogic
I may stare at a picture
I may analyze sculpture
But inside me
I nourish a shoddy mind
That thinks only of…

Me and mine

Mumbai Konachi?

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:39:00 +0000

I read it somewhere once, “What units is religion, what divides is sin.” These days, people are talking a lot about trivial issues like Marathi vs. non-Marathi and making a mount out of a tiny mole. They say certain place belong to them, exclusively to them only. But does a place belong to anyone? Does the air and water of that place belong to anyone? What makes one think that one owns a place?

Those who oppose this concept say it is against our constitution. But before that, isn’t it in opposition with common sense? One might and should feel that extraordinary sense of gratitude for the place where one lives. It is quite natural and human to feel so. And this overwhelming gratitude brings love and understanding toward the needs of others. But if something evokes the feeling of exclusion, the attitude of only-me-and-mine, it can be greed or selfishness mixed with fear but not the gratitude.

Both in support and opposition have their own logics, but shouldn’t logic follow heart? It may be all economical as those who live there are deprived of jobs due to outsiders; in that case should it not be solved through understanding the problem with a heart with warmth and mind with openness to understand the root cause. I doubt people have the time to do all this and therefore they want a quick fix solution through violence and hatred.

“Allah” is yours, “blah blah” is mine

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 14:36:00 +0000

Now this is something that can really cause a lot of trouble for languages. People are protesting and setting churches on fire against Malaysian courts’ decision that “Allah” is the word that can be used by non-Muslims too. Malaysian government is going to contest the decision and government as well as Muslims of Malaysia want excusive ownership of “Allah”.

What can be more bizarre than this incident? Although there’s no logic in this claim that a word belongs to a particular section of society and however, as all bizarre things happen due to fundamentalists, it’ll take place too – ownership of words. And whoever can claim on any word first will get the exclusive right to use that word. I don’t have any interest in words like “Allah”, “Bhagwan” and “Jesus” etc. But as I like gossiping and chitchat, I land my claim on “blah blah” and not on “Allah”. And I’m posting it on my blog as a proof that I am the first person who claimed for ownership of this word before someone else could fly away with my “blah blah”.

Yet another cartoon

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 13:07:00 +0000

Are Bloggers Fat Mice?

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:16:00 +0000

Recently I’ve watched “Taare Zameen Par”. I’d heard about this movie a lot and really striven to watch it for a long time. But as it was out of theaters and there was no high quality DVD or CD available for it, I couldn’t watch it. I bow to Internet the great that allow me to download good video quality movie free of cost. Sometimes I think, as a Mercedes is useless without its star, a Parker pen is useless without its arrow clip, the Internet would have been useless for movie-buffs without availability of pirated movies. So, I watched the movie finally.

Well, what I liked most in the movie is this song “Duniya ka Nara Jame Raho”. It depicts modern living quite effectively. There’s a rat race everywhere. But I’m like the second kind of person shown in the song – always dreaming and relaxed. Either I’m nowhere in the rat race or I’m like an overstuffed rat crawling with fast-paced world, as a friend of mine called me recently. By the way, I’ve noticed that most of the bloggers I know admit that they are like it. Do you blog and agree with him? Well, here’s the song for you guys. See and tell me which category do you belong to?

How to Look Good in Photographs

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:05:00 +0000

The reason for writing this post is my own experience. People call me a good looking person, but I always wondered why I don’t look that good in my pictures. So I decided to find some material on it, and these tricks proved to be very useful. Here are few tips for looking your best in photos:

If you have dark circles under your eyes, do something about that. Try some thin cucumber slices. You can also use hemorrhoidal cream and get rid of dark circles. Potato slices can bleach them away too.

Girls can use slightly heavy makeup than normal. Also use the flesh while clicking a snap; it can bleach the make-up colors. Use darker foundation under your cheek bones to give you that high cheek bone look.

Trendy clothes will date your pictures and embarrass you in the future. So try to stick to classic style. Pants with the high waistline will make your legs look longer.

If you want your hips to look smaller, use the classical ¾ pose as most of the models and celebrities use while posing. Keep your arms and elbows away from your body to look thinner.

If you want to look thinner, ask your photographer to shoot you from high angle i.e. from above your face.

Nothing projects happiness and beauty like smiling eyes: a happy, somewhat mischievous expression of the eyes. To achieve this effect, imagine that the camera is a person you have a crush on walking into the room. This will create wider open eyes and a relaxed smile. Chances are you unconsciously do this all the time; the trick is to be able to bring it out on demand, so practice the smiling eyes in front of a mirror.

Check this video out, you’ll get a lot of these kind of tips.

Creating Charisma Through Body Language

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:27:00 +0000

Alpha males depict charisma through their body language. They are powerful. Power excites the fairer sex. Alpha Males move in a certain way that exudes authority. The first step to creating the alpha image is to move like the alphas of the world. Commit the following alpha strategies to memory:

Move with sweeping, grandiose gestures. Alpha males love to embellish their arguments with up-thrust fists and rigid fingers. Their arms move with exaggerated flourish.

Stand straight, as though a rope held your head straight up. Your neck rarely bows in submission. You look straight ahead, with sweeping or darting movements.
Move towards your destination with purpose and deliberation. Alpha Males feel important and have definite agendas. They stride towards their objectives with bouncy steps. Act as though you know where you are going and why you are going there. Timid, daydreaming shuffles are left to domineered males.

Take as much space as you can. Occasionally hold your arms akimbo. When you gesture, feel free to sweep your arms in impressive, but non-intrusive arcs. When seated at a conference table, clear out as much space around your seat as you can and use your personal belongings to stake out your "air space". Put your glasses, your pen in a massive radius around your area, almost to the point of invading the space of others.

Remember how the cowboys of old exuded manly sensuality? They stand straight with their feet slightly spaced wider than shoulder width, with their thumbs tucked in their pockets and their index fingers pointing straight at their groins. This pose arouses unsettling feelings amongst females and it intimidates surrounding males. The Phallic Point is a posture adopted by those confident in their sexuality and social position.

Ayurvedic Treatment of Rhinitis Allergy

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 06:56:00 +0000

Symptoms: Are you agitated with your runny nose? Do you sneeze unstoppably? Are you suffering from itchy throat and eyes? If your answers of these questions are affirmative, you might be suffering from rhinitis allergy. Allopathic treatment can only suppress the symptoms. There’s no cure for this disease using Allopathic treatment.

Although ayurvedic treatment can be very useful in it. Simply by following Ayurvedic medication, one can be cured utterly. You should remember some points:

Do the Nasya Kriya with two drops of Anu Tailam.
Take Brahma Rasayan daily.
Don’t stay awake late in the night and get up early in the morning.
Don’t consume the foodstuff that stir up Kapha.

Cartoon of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 15:06:00 +0000

How to be More Charismatic

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Wed, 30 May 2007 14:59:00 +0000

General: Open body posture, hands away from face when talking, stand up straight, relax, hands apart with palms forwards or upwards
To an individual: Let people know they matter and you enjoy being around them, develop a genuine smile, nod when they talk, briefly touch them on the upper arm, and maintain eye contact
To a group: Be comfortable as leader, move around to appear enthusiastic, lean slightly forward and look at all parts of the group
Message: Move beyond status quo and make a difference, be controversial, new, simple to understand, counter-intuitive
Speech: Be clear, fluent, forceful and articulate, evoke imagery, use an upbeat tempo, occasionally slow for tension or emphasis

(SOURCE: Prof Richard Wiseman)

Vote the Taj to the New Seven Wonders of the World

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Sun, 27 May 2007 09:20:00 +0000

The Taj Mahal needs your help! In the world wide contest to find new seven wonders of the world, Taj Mahal is lurking behind at the second last position out of 21 final entries. The new seven wonders will be announced at Lisbon, Portugal, on July 7 this year. Music maestro A R Rahman unveiled a soulful anthem to kick off the India Unites for the Taj movement. Spear headed by 1 Media Corp Limited (IMCL), the movement is to campaign for voting the Taj Mahal, Agra, to the New Seven Wonders of the World. Listen this anthem here.

For voting through the internet, visit the official Indian partner indiainfo.com or SMS 'TAJ' to 4567 or dial '1255545' (BSNL mobile/landline subscribers) dial '127777' (MTNL landline subscribers) or visit new7wonders.com to vote directly.

Wasim Jaffer Scored a Ton in Dhaka Test

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Fri, 25 May 2007 16:17:00 +0000

There's a saying in Hindi, "Karat karat abhyas te jadmati hot sujan" i.e. if one keeps practicing, he/she becomes wise. And we have a good example of it in Wasim Jaffer. Finally he did it. Yeah, he's knocked a ton on very first day of the second and final Test of India Bangladesh test match series, Mirpur, Dhaka. "It is nice to get a hundred in Test cricket; especially to come back and get one after a pair," Jaffer said after his stylishly made century. It would have been really very embarrassing for Mumbai boy Jaffer to get dismissed for a pair in last Test match. But now he must be a relieved man for sure.

India amassed 326 runs without any loss, as Wasim Jaffer led the way with a brilliant knock of 138. Dinesh Karthik was not out on 82 as the two openers put on 175 for the opening wicket, while Rahul Dravid was also unbeaten on 88.

Spiritual Secret of Winning Friends & Influencing People

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Fri, 04 May 2007 12:36:00 +0000

Sri Krishna had dark complexion, yet he was very attractive. Everybody was attracted towards him. Nobody could resist his attraction, be indifferent towards him. The word "Krishna" is based on the Sanskrit root "Krsh" which means to attract. "Akrishta" and "Akarshan" are some other words based on this same root having the meaning related to attraction.

Black hole is also dark and have the great gravity i.e. attraction power. Nothing can go away from it if comes close to it once. Darkness or black color signifies attraction. It shows the void or the space too. The one who has vacuum in himself/herself i.e. the one without ego becomes immensely attractive like Krishna. According to science, when there's void somewhere, everything feels a strong pull towards that place. And this is the true secret of attracting or influencing people.

Now the question arises how one can be egoless. All the methods strengthen the ego, not eradicate it. To be free from ego, one must observe his/her all mental and physical activities all the time without interfering in the process. It means one should always be aware of one's intentions, feeling and thoughts without trying to change or suppress them. This is a continuous meditation. Kabir mentioned its ripe state as "Sahaj Samadhi". It is the secret spiritual key of influencing people and winning friends.

6 Tips to Optimum Fitness & Health

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 16:14:00 +0000

Drink enough water: Drink eight glasses of water everyday. It keeps your joints working smoothly and you can cleanse your system of impurities and keep your skin youthful. Through all silly skincare products out and try this wonderful formula. Start your day with two glasses of water and feel fresh all day.

Start your day with with breakfast: Breakfast recharges your "empty tank" to get you going after a long night without food. Have a morning breakfast and feel energetic all day. Make it a point to take low fat and protein rich breakfast.

Be a Yoga lover: I'm a Yoga lover and you should love it too. Yoga has the power to cure all of your physical and mental problems. Asanas also keep your body flexible so it will do what you want, when you want. Studies show us that regular Yoga can also lead to weight loss! But remember, Yoga isn't just about performing various postures. You should meditate and do Pranayama regularly to gain maximum benefit of Yoga.

Don't overeat: Hey, are you overstuffing your poor stomach with all kind of junk foods. Stop right now. Don't overeat because it's an energy killing habit and makes you look out of shape. Eat more grains, fruits and vegetables. These foods give you carbohydrates for energy, plus vitamins, minerals, fiber and all necessary nutrients.

Work up a sweat: Believe me, it's fun. You look more appealing and smart. You'll be labeled "sexy" by opposite sex. What else you want buddy? Start with a warm-up that stretches your muscles. Include 10 minutes of aerobic activity such as jogging etc. Follow-up with weight training. Then cool-down with more stretching and deep breathing.

Most important Tip: Keep visiting my blog. It'll make you more fit and healthy. What're you thinking about, just bookmark this blog.

Kundalini Yoga: What Chakra to Meditate On?

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 11:59:00 +0000

Meditation is the most useful tool to elevate Kundalini. But many people are not able to decide - on what Chakra they should meditate or they keep changing the Chakras without awakening any of these Chakras. Actually, this is not a problem at all if you practice the yoga in an organized manner. You won't face this problem if you will practice the previous step of meditation i.e. Pranayam thoroughly.

Proper practice of Pranayam will lead you to know your actual position – on what Chakra your consciousness is lying. Your Prana (Vital force) can be at Muladhar or at Vishuddhi or at Ajna Chakra – it is depended on your past spiritual practice – if you did a lot of Sadhna (spiritual practice) in your previous births, your consciousness will be situated at higher Chakras and vise versa.

After some practice of Pranayam, you will start to feel the sensation of Prana at some particular point in your body. This is the right point or Chakra where you should concentrate your mind on. It's the point where your Prana is lying at. In reality, Pranayam and meditation are not completely distinct spiritual exercises. Meditation is the advanced stage of Pranayam. Even after a little practice of Pranayam, you'll be able to see the light of a particular color at a Chakra. These colors have different meanings.

It is not necessary to try to fix your mind on a Chakra forcefully. You won't be able to concentrate if you'll try to do so; because you don't know the right Chakra for you. It'll be a wasteful effort. You will enter in meditative state automatically while doing Pranayam. Pranayam is as important as meditation, so don't neglect Pranayam if you want to progress in Kundalini Yoga.

Mirza Ghalib's Home Disappeared

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 07:05:00 +0000

Recently entire country celebrated birthday of renowned Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib. He was born in Agra. If no one in Agra can identify the house where, Mirza Ghalib, the doyen of Urdu poetry, was born, the fault lies with the Archaeological Survey of India which has not taken any interest in conserving this heritage site.

Local historians and old timers recall that there once used to be a big Haveli in the Kala Mahal area where Ghalib was born in December 1797, in a prosperous family during the reign of Shah Alam, Mirza Asadullah Khan, later known as Ghalib was the eldest son of Mirza Abdullah Baig Khan who served under the rulers of Lucknow and Hyderabad and later under the maharaja of Alwar. According to some people, Kala Mahal, Agra is the birth place of Mian Ghalib, but in the Kala Mahal area no one is sure whether Ghalib was really born there.

A building resembling an old photograph taken of Ghalib's home, is now under the occupation of Indra Bhan Girls Inter College. The rooms inside with arches and mehrabs suggest its links with the Mughals. In a personal letter to his friend Banshi Dhar's son munshi Shiv Narain, Ghalib has vividly described Kalan Mahal. In one of his letters to Munshi Shiv Narain, Ghalib does talk about disposing his ancestral property due to economic hardships. The beneficiary was Seth Lakhmi Chand who bought it around the 1857 Gadar.

At the moment the property is owned by a trust which runs an educational institution there. The management categorically states that Ghalib had nothing to do with this place. The beautiful garden mentioned in the records, in the Kalan Mahal has long disappeared making way for an overhead water tank. The present occupants of the property emphatically deny any association with Mirza Ghalib.

The facts are however different. In 1957, a programme organised to commemorate Ghalib's birth anniversary, Maikash Akbarabadi, another noted Urdu shair, a photo was taken right in front of the principal's office. Till the 1960s regular programmes were being held at that place. Later, the property was taken over by the trust which carried out several changes in the original structure. A number of VIPs including late Firaq Gorakhpuri and actor Farooq Shaikh, who produced a film on Ghalib, have been to this haveli. Historical evidence strongly suggest that the haveli or the birth place of Mirza Ghalib is now under the possession of the girls inter college. The ASI and other agencies which look after ancient sites and heritage monuments should identify the birth place of Mirza Ghalib and convert it into a national monument for posterity.

To read this blog post in Hindi, please click here.

I am Blessed

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Mon, 25 Dec 2006 11:51:00 +0000

It’s Christmas today. Neeraj Diwan has written this status message in Google Talk – “Blessed are those who stand last in the row, for they shall be first in the kingdom of God.” I’ve become very happy after reading it, because I used to think myself ‘unblessed’ kind of person. I didn’t know that I was so blessed. I was always last boy in the row during prayer due to my habit of getting late everyday. There’s also one other reason, which makes me double blessed. In the class, I used to sit in last row.

And as I talked more about it with Neeraj Diwan, a lot of other reasons of my blessedness emerged. Although some teachers and frontbencher used to say that the backbenchers made a lot of noise. But it is true. Backbenchers were so blessed that they had to crow in order to show their blessedness. Others used to get the pleasure of being first, second etc. because I (and others like me) was last there too.

I started touching the spiritual heights like Jesus while chatting with Neeraj Diwan. I was already blessed enough myself, but I’ve began to make others blessed too. Come with me in flashback like any Bollywood movie, I show you something when I was in school. I start recalling, sitting on the last bench I’m saying this – “Blessed is the teacher, your graceful presence in the class is making us all backbenchers blessed.” As soon as I said it, the teacher who was trying to teach geography has started offering the Holy Eucharist in the form of beating up our (my friends are included too :-) holy palms with the stick. And we started making strange sounds to express our gratitude and blessedness. After sacrament, there’s some change in my thinking. Now I’m thinking – “Blessed is the teacher, your graceful absence makes us all backbenchers more blessed than your less graceful presence.” My friend added, “And we show gratitude in your graceful absence by flying paper aeroplanes all over.” We bully frontbenchers – “Stupids! you don't study properly and come unprepared... so when you can't answer, teachers look at us and ask silly questions.”

Ohhhhh!!!! What’s this? I was merging in the beautiful past and you disturbed me. You are saying – whatever I’m telling has gone, has become past. Now why I still call myself blessed? I’m still blessed and Bible is the proof – “Blessed are those who are poor, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” From very beginning, I’m penniless and still both of my pockets are empty. So my ‘blessedness’ is in continuity. Well, something I want to say which Jesus missed and Matthew, John etc couldn’t think about – “Blessed are those who are wasting their time in blogging, blessed are those who can read poems girls write on blogs, blessed are those who think people comment after reading their blog posts, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” :-)

Merry Christmas.

To read this blog post in Hindi, please click here.

Free Download Bollywood Hindi Music & Songs

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 16:56:00 +0000

I’ve recently developed the taste for old classical and filmy Hindi music and songs. Old songs are usually more melodious and heart-touching. But the problem is that there’s no music library for old songs around, so I thought to google it and found really some very interesting websites. I’m a great fan of Kishore Kumar. And if you’re his torrid fan too, visit this website dedicated to this great personality. You’ll find almost all the songs of Kishore da here. Indian Screen has a huge collection of old songs. Even I got some very old songs dating back to the 1930’s, isn’t it amazing? These people have put a lot of hard work to collect and digitalize old songs. Do visit Indian Screen; if you are an ardent fan of old songs like me.

Cool Toad is another great site, where you’ll get most of the new and old songs. But first registration is required in order to access the vast database of this website. Here you’ll get all kind of music – pop, rock, punk, hip hop, jazz, country, hindi, english… everything you can think of. So don’t forget to add Cool Toad in your list of favorites. Enjoy.

Athato Ghumakkad Jigyasa

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 08:42:00 +0000

Yesterday I read the famous essay by Rahul Sankrityayan – Athato Ghumakkad Jigyasa (अथातो घुमक्कड़ जिज्ञासा) after a long time. Previously I read it in my school textbook. It's a part of the books written on the same subject. And it is really very motivating. I do agree with the author that jaunting is very experience enriching process. Books cannot teach everything. A person can learn only from experience and this experience can be gained through travelling. The best thing about this essay is that the author succeeds in drawing a vivid picture of advantages of journeying. His writing style is superb and the readers get ready to go on a trip at once. This essay is in Hindi. If you want to read it, click here.

There’s another essay I’m searching for by great Hindi author Bharatendu Harishchandra. Perhaps I read that essay when I was studying in 8th standard. Its title was “Bharatvarshonnati Kaise ho” (भारतवर्षोन्नति कैसे हो). It was well written and very inspiring. But I couldn’t find it on internet. If anyone knows where it can be read online, please let me know. And if you get a chance to read this awesome essay, you mustn’t miss the chance.

Awareness, Osho & J Krishnamurti

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 11:56:00 +0000

Now-a-days I’m reading a lot of Osho and J Krishnamurti books. The underlying thought is quite same in both philosophers, but the way they express it is very different. To be aware, be awakened towards the self and everything around is the central teaching of both philosophers. J Krishnamurti is very logical and rational in approach. It doesn’t mean that Osho isn’t logical. He’s logical too, but has a mystical sense too which J Krishnamurti lacks. The teachings of ‘K’ are in very rational language as if he is teaching physics, very point-to-point. But it’s useful only for the person who is already eager to experiment in order to realize the truth. Krishnamurti cannot make a person interested in the truth; he cannot awake the urge of truth in anyone. On the other hand, Osho has this advantage. He has a unique style which can make one interested in the experimentation for truth.

Apart from this comparison, there is more important thing which I’m concerned about. And it is my inability to practice the constant awareness. I’ve tried it several times and failed too. But when the hell am I going to be ‘aware’ even for the five minutes. It’s a sort of constant meditation. Here I’m not able to meditate even for a little time and trying to be aware 24x7. Is it possible at all? I think it is very possible but I’m not trying hard enough. I think I should be more honest to myself and more persistent in my endeavor.

It's an Idiot Box, Not a TV

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 10:43:00 +0000

TV is one of the biggest time-consuming and sucking medium of entertainment. I can see around 80 channels on my TV that seems a lot to watch. But when I watch it, half of my time goes into changing the channels and trying to find something worth watching. There are around 20 channels in the languages I cannot understand. Though sometimes it’s fun to watch something in an alien language (strange, isn’t it?), but it happens once in a blue moon when I have absolutely nothing to do. And these channels prove to be a hindrance in my search to find something interesting on Television.

There are 5-6 sports channels and most of the time you can’t find anything new on them. You’ll find either some old match or something you can’t watch e.g. rock climbing, sky diving or pole vault. And there are 10-15 sucking news channels repeating old news and showing silly crime programs like Sansani or Vardat too. And some entertainment channels like Star Plus and Sony used to be good options, but now I can’t watch even these channels. Because whenever I come across these channels, I encounter some punk daily soap starting with “K”. I’m not that devotional, so channels like Astha and Sanskar are not meant for me. There are some music channels too, which pours Punjabi Pop in your ears most of the time. And being most unfortunate, I don’t like Punjabi Pop much. Therefore, there’s no channel I can watch other than Discovery or History Channel.

He/She was an extremely intelligent person who first called television an idiot box. So I’ve finally decided that it’s a total time waste to sit in front of this idiot box and I’m not going to do it anymore. And why I am writing all this here… because I don’t want to forget my findings :-)

HindiBlogs.com - The Hindi Blog Portal

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 03:23:00 +0000

Dear Friends

I am pleased to announce HindiBlogs.com with a new look & feel, and lots of other enhancements. Now you need not to remember names of all the Hindi blogs, just type www.hindiblogs.com in your browser and surf in the vast ocean of rapidly increasing Hindi blog world.

New Features of HindiBlogs.com:

1. Read latest post. Hindi Blogs is getting updated every 30 minutes.
2. New look and feel
3. Fast and improved user interface
4. Lots of bugs fixed
5. Fast response time

Movie Review : Khosla Ka Ghosla

noreply@blogger.com (Pratik Pandey) — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 10:39:00 +0000

Wow! What a great movie. It's absolute fun. It is a movie without any big star, but still it is fun to watch. This movie doesn't have big promotion, that's why I was little doubtful about the quality of this movie initially. But its treatment is too good. The way Director portrayed a serious subject in comic manner makes the movie a real class comedy.

The character of Mr. Khosla is played by Anupam Kher brilliantly. This is the story about middle class man's dream of making his own house and the obstacle which comes in-between his dream and him. Boman Irani played his negative role in comic way beautifully and he's at his best in this film. He divests Anupam Kher's plot and demands for Rs. 15 lacs to give his plot back to him. And this endeavor of Anupam Kher to get his plot back creates many funny situations you can't resist but laugh.

Every middle class person will be able to relate to this movie. All actors have performed remarkably well. If you want to watch some different and enjoyable cinema, it's a must for you. There is no artificial attempt to make the movie humorous; the funny treatment of situations makes it a true comedy. I'll give this movie ten out of ten.