take it easy.....

Jan Lokpal Bill: Singapore Has One So Why Shouldn’t We!

2011-08-25T16:46:00.000+05:30

While looking forward to the current revolution on Jan Lokpal, I read this article on internet written by Bro. Rajesh Goradia, so sharing this good article with you all.

There are few fights in the world where the two opposing factions can be this easily labeled as white or black, right or wrong, good or evil. The fight for the Jan Lokpal Bill is one such rare example. Firstly, its objective is noble. It seeks to curb corruption in the Indian society. Secondly, the movement is unquestionable. It is not politically motivated. It is not going to bring the BJP or any other dubious party to power. It is a revolution led by an honest man and supported by the youth. Thirdly, the proposed Jan Lokpal Bill is based on proven measures for tackling corruption. As I will demonstrate in this post, the proposed Jan Lokpal Bill is strikingly similar to the laws of Singapore (the least corrupt nation of the world according to Transparency International). This information alone should suffice in putting an end to any dubious argument against the provisions of the bill.

The Singapore Experience

For a nation genuinely seeking to reduce corruption, there can be few better examples to follow that that of Singapore. In 2010, Singapore, along with Denmark and New Zealand, was ranked by Transparency International as the least corrupt nation in the world. Singapore achieved this position with several synergistic measures (Read: “Eradicating Corruption-The Singapore Experience“, by Mr. Muhammed Ali, Acting Assistant Director in 2000 of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau – CPIB). One among these measures was the establishment of the CPIB for investigating corruption related complaints.

It is interesting to note here that the powers granted to the Lokpal under the proposed bill are very similar to those granted to the CPIB under the Singapore law. In the table below, I have compared the proposed version of the Jan Lokpal Bill with the provisions of Singapore’s Anti Corruption Law. I have taken pains to ensure that the sources of my information are absolutely genuine. I have hyperlinked all my sources so that the reader can verify the authenticity of the information.

A Comparision of the proposed Jan Lokpal Bill & Singapore’s Anti-Corruption Law

Proposed Jan Lokpal Bill	Singapore’s Anti Corruption Law
The Lokpal will be completely independent of the government. No minister or bureaucrat will be able to influence their investigations	CPIB’s independence of action was more or less guaranteed constitutionally. It reports directly to the PM’s office.
The loss that a corrupt person causes to the government will be recovered at the time of conviction	Besides fine and imprisonment, the person convicted of corruption offence will be ordered by the court to return the amount of bribe, which he had accepted in the form of a penalty.
The Lokpal can receive complaints from the public	Here is an online form that Singapore citizens can use to file a complaint
Deterrence has been provided against frivolous complaints in the form of financial penalties against the complainant	The CPIB has punished those who have tried to take undue advantage of this law.
Lokpal will have complete powers and machinery to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politician	The CPIB has complete police powers. It has the power to arrest, investigate and search. Search can also be performed without warrant, if necessary.
It will be the duty of the Lokpal to provide protection to those who are being victimized for raising their voice against corruption	The law guarantees protection of identity to the person reporting the offense
Enhanced punishment – The punishment would be minimum 5 years and maximum of life imprisonment.	The Singapore courts have in the past sentenced corrupt officers investigated by the CPIB to 14 years of imprisonment.
Its members will be selected by judges, citizens and constitutional authorities and not by politicians, through a completely transparent and participatory process	Here the Singapore law differs in application but not on intent. The appointments to the CPIB are made by the President of Singapore who is directly elected by the people, thus reducing the ability of politicians and bureaucrats to influence the selection process.
Investigations in any case will have to be completed in one year. Trial should be completed in next one year so that the corrupt politician, officer or judge is sent to jail within two years	Here the Jan Lokpal Bill deviates slightly. However, given that the CPIB manages to clear 98% of its cases within 90 days, this does not appear to a highly unreasonable clause.

So Why Is The Government Fighting The Bill?

This analysis brings us to the main point. If the Jan Lokpal Bill appears to be a no-brainer, why is the government fighting it? The government’s proposed version aims to make the Lokpal a toothless body which can work only in an advisory capacity (no police powers) and which can investigate only those complaints forwarded to it by the speaker of the Lok Sabha or the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (no complaints can be received from the public).

The answer to this question is simple. Power. An independent, powerful Lokpal will deprive Indian politicians of their primary source of livelihood – the misuse of power for personal gain. The specter of a strong body with prosecution powers haunts them because they fear accountability.

The Way Forward

Given the lack of strong political leadership, it is unlikely that the government is going to put in serious efforts to pass a bill that greatly diminishes its own power. The passage of this bill appears unlikely without a strong people’s movement.

So far, the movement appears to have made an impact. The government has agreed to the demands of 50% representation of civil society activists on the drafting committee for the Jan Lokpal Bill. But, the real test lies ahead. As time passes, the movement will lose steam. The politicians know it. They know how to buy time. To be passed into a law, the bill needs to be approved by the parliament and it would be no mean task trying to pass a strong anti-corruption bill through a Lok Sabha whose membership includes 150 members with criminal charges against them.

This is why it is so important that the movement continues till the end – till the day the bill is passed into a law. The movement for the Jan Lokpal Bill is a spotless movement with a noble objective, advocating a proven policy and it is worth every bit of the effort we put in.

Why be in love?

2011-03-19T00:18:00.000+05:30

I have been sitting here thinking of the meaning of love. What is love? Who defined it? How can anyone define something so convoluted? To me I think it is the strangest feeling that anyone can experience. Once you get to that stage of loving someone, it just becomes an uncontrollable feeling. A feeling that you cannot understand. And once it is gone.. life becomes like a dark cloud; always gloomy.

That is just an explanation of the two extremes - being in love with someone or breaking up.

However, what happens when it is only a one sided love? What happens when you love someone so much and they just don’t feel the same way about you? What will you do? How long can you live that way? That is the hardest kind of love. It is very painful. Probably the worst kind of love.

So why is love so great? It is only great if it is positively working out, but that is not the case for so many people. Not everyone is the same.

Mother

2010-05-09T16:01:00.000+05:30

To you who raised me

I offer this thought

It is something I learned

Without being taught

In all the world

There is no other

To take the place

Of my dear Mother

She

2010-01-22T05:23:00.001+05:30

Her hair slid into her face as she glanced down at her notes, the graceful arc of the dark coiffure strands sending goose bumps on my arms. The teacher called on her and she answered with a beautiful Indian accent, sent to mingle with the words that came out of her mouth, lips curving elegantly around each syllable. The English teacher adored her. The accent wasn't naturally there, but she had a refined way of rolling her "r"s and adding more syllables to her "d"s than I thought was to possible to place on the thin shoulders of one letter.

The subject of the topic is a sensitive girl, who sometimes acts as overly matured woman and sometimes as a kiddo, who can bring the world to halt with her heavenly, angelic smile. She is the cutest thing that has ever happened to me.

The afternoon sun slipping in the window framed her with a heavenly glow that made my eyes feel unworthy of the view. I wanted her to notice me. I wanted her to like me. I didn’t want her to know that I was watching her relentlessly. No, I did want her to know; I wanted her not to care.

She glanced around the room and her soft brown gaze fell upon me. For the briefest of moments, she smiled. The only time I saw her smile was when she would grin quietly to herself during class, as if sharing a secret joke with herself. Those were the times when she was most beautiful. Here she was smiling like we, too, shared a secret joke that no one else knew about. The corners of her eyes tilted and her lips parted to reveal straight, white teeth. Then she turned away, her mouth closing over the smile as if it wasn't finished; it was just going behind the curtain for a later showing.

I shut my open mouth, shoving my short, imperfect dark hair out of my eyes. The bell rang and I closed my books, getting out of my seat and heading for the door. I walked up the hall by the teachers' rooms, and she power-walked past me, her slightly shorter legs carrying her farther from me. I quickened my pace. I just wanted to watch her. Then I felt the necessity to head back to home as I followed her down the aisle. Though I hated to leave her, I changed directions and threaded my way to the cycle stand where two of my friends were waiting for me.

We did group discussion about science experiments and I worked with V and E on the million pages of work we did. I watched her laugh with N and R. She would grin and roll her eyes and blush in rapid succession as they talked among themselves. Several times, when her back was turned to him I saw K gaze at her back, his eyes crinkling as they smiled and he looked as if he wanted her to like him, too. He was in the same grade as me, and yet I still started to regret the destiny; the destiny of not knowing her till 8^th grade and K knowing her since childhood.

Sometimes I felt her eyes on me and I would look up to see her grinning at N, but her hair swayed as if she had suddenly swung her head. I was praying that she was looking at me. The dark eye brows framed her eyes beautifully and I thought of the rarity of the rarity, dark hair and brown eyes. Her hair was black in a coiffure on her head, side bangs grazing her cheeks. Her shoulders were hunched forward and curved down to her waist. Our group was only a few feet away from hers and I caught sight of flecks of onyx against her chocolate irises. A chill slipped through me as I thought once again of how beautiful she was.

E caught me and glanced over to where I was staring. Good luck, he said, looking at the way she was not noticing me; E wasn't blind, and he knew that I was secretly hoping I would tease her or poke her in the back so she would know I was flirting. My heart sank a few inches, weighted down by the probability that I might not even have a fair chance.

Next day the teacher passed out the test papers. Everyone got a reasonable score. Blush crept up her cheeks as the teacher read the score. Her ears turned a soft pink, ear lobes almost blending in with her red dress. Her hair was pulled up with little strands loosely falling down the sides of her face. She dint even glance over at K. Her eyes traveled to me for a second, may not be deliberate, but Jesus wasn't I on cloud nine when she did that; albeit for a briefest of the moments. Her lips stretched into a smile as the blush started to go back. But the smile stayed for the rest of class. Her smile was quick, and deathful. As she left the classroom she had the test paper against her chest and her books guarding it. I watched her disappear around the corner as K came up behind me, looking slightly disappointed. He lengthened his strides and sped after her.

"Happy New Year" I smiled at her when she wished me. As she walked away, she tripped over the lunch bag that belonged to one of the students. She even had a graceful stumble. Just before she turned the corner, she glanced back at me and grinned. Hoisting up my backpack over my shoulder, I started to think that all was not lost.

A week after the New Year day I was beginning to wonder whether she would remember or if she would even notice me now. I walked into Sanskrit class and sat down, shoulders slumped. She power-walked through the door, probably she was worried that she would be late. Her fingertips lightly brushed the wood of my desk and held my breath for reasons unknown to me. We were taking a test today so I took out a ballpoint pen before glancing her way. She shifted in her seat and pushed her hair out of her face and our eyes met for a moment. There was that smile. Throughout the test I would just look to the other end of the classroom and while doing this I would park my eyes on her. But then it felt like I was counting the minutes, I knew I was. Sometimes I would look up in between the glimpses, and she would be staring at the ceiling of the class room (in a later point in time I gave a name to this peculiar but sweet look of hers – Peddu look), but her eyes would be unfocused as if her mind was on something else. I would have waved to wake her if she hadn't looked so beautiful when she was distracted.

The bell rang and I exhaled. Our time was up and I still wasn't sure whether or not she remembered me. I could notice her palm slightly sweaty from holding her pen throughout the test. I walked down the hall behind her as if it were the most normal thing in the world. And it did feel natural, like I belonged to a class of people whom she may like. I sighed aloud and turned to see her giving me that smile that lit up my world. I smiled too, knowing that there was no other place I'd rather be.

Stand Still

2009-10-14T01:26:00.000+05:30

I know that nothing is going great with me whenever I struggle to pen down an article. It has been months now, except for some very personal articles to very special person, I have written anything meaningful. I am more a technical writer now than a what-comes-to-mind kinda writer. Thanks to my current job!

I have even stopped using chat messenger as the biggest reason why I used to chat no longer exists, albeit temporarily.

It has been nearly three months I have a watched a full movie. Am I the same person who used to watch at least four movies per week!

And books; better I don't write anything about them. Sometimes I turn few pages of a novel gifted by someone close to my mind. Otherwise I have stopped reading non-technical stuffs.

I know it can't happen but my mind can never stop imagining - a second chance in life. Just the thought of going back at least by 4 years in life makes my imagination go wild.

Last week I cut my hair very short, shorter than I have ever had in my life. I think I have stopped caring about my looks anymore.

I think life is in a "stand still" mode.

Love etc

2009-07-09T17:42:00.000+05:30

Have I ever said to you-
I love you blah blah blah?
This is the only thing etc. etc.
In my many years so far?

You are the best and
So on and on and so forth-
You are the only etc. etc.
Who gives my life some worth.

Your lovely eyes yada yada yada
Your enchanting etc. smile
I’ll do anything for you.
I’ll go that extra mile.

The words you speak
Those make me etcetera. etc. etcet.
There’s no other person in this world
Who’s made me feel this way as yet!

It’s really very nice to hear
All of this, that and the other.
But really, in this day and age?
Is it worth all the bother?

I would like to say a lot
Add this and that and so on and on….
Some more of this, a little of that
I could go on and on…

PS: Well it's not written by me...read it somewhere while browsing...found it very interesting and funny :)

Long live dearie angel

2009-04-15T22:54:00.000+05:30

The melancholy i feel
I can not explain
You left before i had my chance
To tell how much i loved you
Missing you forever

Not wanting to let forget
Wishing you could come back
But knowing you from within
I know you watch out for me
As my own personal guardian angel

May be someday down the lane
I'll see you once again
Your presence lingers behind
Hunting me in the dark

The love i feel wouldn't fade away
And neither will the pain
But i know that as my angel
You will protect me
As i protect your memories

Be my angel as you have always been
Else there's none to guard me, to guide me
Whenever i'm standing at the cross road

Long live dearie angel
For years to come,
Keep showering your lovely smile upon me
As long as i live

Why, Why and Why

2009-03-31T17:15:00.000+05:30

Why does the cable connection go off only when I switch on the TV? (I am not a regular TV viewer, so do i deserve this?)

Why does a sales guy knock my door only when I take a rare afternoon nap?

Why does another sales guy come just minutes after the first guy has gone off and I am trying to get back to sleep?

Why do some people call up late at night and ask if I were sleeping?

Why do people as mentioned above smile and say "Sorry i did not realise that you had slept". By people I am referring to intelligents who are unable to understand that people usually sleep at that hour!

Why do motorists drive rashly but quickly blame other drivers if there is an accident?

Why do tele-marketing people single me out to market their products?

Why some people have forgotten that I do exist and never call up?

Still so many why(s) to be written but I save it for another day and stop ranting

Angel, chemical locha and Germany !

2008-07-25T18:40:00.000+05:30

It was 12 30 at night. It was drizzling and chilly.

Angel called me up and started screaming that she wanted to have coffee and that too at a CCD. I had to swiftly put on a pull over and hit the road in no more than 3 minutes otherwise lest spend 3 days pacifying her.

Angel, the only girl whom I knew, was special; stubborn, bubbly and more importantly childish. I knew her from school days and as her name suggests, she was an angel in both looks and demeanor.

Now let’s get on with the dream.

She lived just three miles away from my place. It took exactly 4 min for me to drive to her place. It was 12 34 already and all the CCDs would be closed at this hour except for the one at the old airport but we didn't fancy that as it’s not a cozy place to hangout. We ended up driving 50 miles, out of the city, to buy a cup of cappuccino :)

I would do anything Angel insisted me to do and listen to whatever she said.

I was in love with her. Was she also in love with me? Not sure. Angel looked real dumb at times. Needless to say I loved her for this dumbness. On the one hand she took long to make important decisions as though deciding what to wear for a party and on the other contemplated for hours on simple things such as buying a dress top :)

One day Angel rang me up to say that she is off for a movie with her new found "boy friend" and she insisted that I go along with her.

It came as a shocker to me. Finally I agreed to go a since my love for her and respect for her word won over my frustration. I would do anything she asked. What was most painful was that she was in love with a common friend 'Fatso'. Fatso was fat with fair complexion and wore a pair of spectacles. ( I don’t remember who this person was in my dream).

I mustered up all the courage I had and went along with her, sorry, with them :)

I had asked Suraj to join us for which he had agreed after a lot of reluctance. This was a desperate measure; I had to take some one along with me, ideally a girl, but for the fact that I knew no other girl I had to settle down for a guy.

It was a strange feeling sitting at the back seat while she was in the front seat. Suraj was beside me and fatso was driving the car. The time to cover 10 km to the theatre felt like 10 decades to me. The situation in itself was worse than anybody would think. Fatso had seen us being together all these years; he had seen the intimacy we both had maintained with each other. He too was a normal guy like others. Even though Angel trusted him he always had a scar of doubt in his mind starting from the first day of their 'affair'.

I think we had gone for "Jaane tu ... ya jaane na". All I could see for the entire duration of the movie was Angel and nothing/nobody else. I didn't care to check if anybody was observing me. This might have happened because I had started feeling as though I was losing her. Hundreds of thoughts like 'what next?' 'will it be possible to live without her?' 'am I going to become mad if she goes away?' etc surrounded my weak and empty mind.

After the most dreaded movie ever of my life (due to some various other obvious reasons than the movie itself) she urged us to go for dinner at a famous restaurant at Brigade road, I think it was Hyderabadi Mahal. Angel ordered something for herself, Suraj and Fatso ordered some non veg dishes of their choice and I ordered as I always do the same dish which Angel had ordered. This triggered the brimful of anger to spill over for Fatso. He stopped the dinner in the middle and started yelling at Angel which made me uncontrollable. I could not with stand any humiliation to her. I would rip apart anybody who would make her feel sad/humiliated. He was trying to link an unholy relationship between me and her. At that moment I thought that it was my duty to defend her and gave a strong punch on his face which made him fall badly on the ground. In the heat of the situation Angel tried to stop me instead of him and gave a tight slap. At that moment I failed to understand that she tried stopping me and gave a slap because she worried more about me than the fatso. She didn't want me to make any offence. Fatso got up angrily and left the place immediately. I too went off without looking at her. This was very unusual for me as I always used to take her home before I could reach mine. Eventually Suraj dropped her home.

The fact that Angel didn't love me made me feel like a loser. Angel's sadness having lost her boy friend made me feel even more painful. I felt guilt for her plight. All these factors had a combined effect on me and my work. I took leave for a week and went to my home town. That night I was under depression and had severe head ache. Mom suggested rest and I accepted her suggestion.

When I got up I could sense a lot of changes in my dressing, environment, the way people spoke to me etc. Everybody seemed over sympathetic to me. It seemed as though I was stranded in the middle of a bunch of kinder garden school children. When I observed closely I realized that it was the same school where I had done primary schooling from. All the teachers were trying to talk with me with the same passion that they used to talk 20 years ago. Mom was asking to me go to work as the bus was waiting for me. The name of the bus was "Sree Hanuman Travels" and the place where I worked was a tier-3 town and the firm where I worked was "SBI" and my designation was "Helper" with a salary of 2000 per month. I was dressed in khakhi with no money in the pocket. I saw dad giving money to the bus conductor on my behalf. I was unable to manage my money.

I felt as if I had moved behind in time over night.

I started yelling at all and started speaking in English which amused few people around me. Their reaction further angered me. Where in the world one can see someone being happy when scolded!!

I checked the date. It looked mysterious. I checked again. It read 18 months more than the night I had slept the last time! While the situation was becoming more and more mysterious mom came to my rescue. She explained the events that happened in the last 18 months since the night I slept complaining of head ache.

That night when I slept I was under a tremendous depression of losing Angel which made me lose my consciousness. I had turned “mad” in layman's language or a chemical locha in bhai's language.

Mom and dad were shocked and tried all possible treatments but to no avail; I had become mad and it seemed to be incurable from the outset. They had to raise me again from child hood. They took me back to the place where I belong to and they bought the school where I did my schooling from so that I could start learning again. I don't know why they bought the school itself :)

Few months later when they realised that this is how I will have survive the rest of my life, they used their political contacts to get a govt job in a bank. A helper’s post is all that I could get for my intellect.

When dad and mom realized that I was back to my normal best they literally danced with euphoria!

Immediate thing which came to my mind was 'How's my Angel'!!

While driving to Bangalore I caught up with old friends and got to know that they too had not seen her from the night I went home. I started to feel lonely again. After a lot of struggle got to know that she was in Germany.

Without waiting for anyone I booked a ticket in the next available flight to Frankfurt. Borrowed some money from friends and boarded the flight.

Its not strange for me to land up in a strange place. Thanks to my previous job. Took help from friends spread across Europe to locate her. She owned a boutique and was alone there as if to punish herself. Needless to say that fatso was out of her life on that eventful night. When we faced each other both of us were speechless and eyes filled with moisture. We didn't talk for about 3-4 min. She finally broke her silence and said "I thought you really loved me; how could you leave me alone that night?” I didn't know what to say as I too was about to ask the same question!

Every child is special !

2008-01-09T10:55:00.000+05:30

Aamir's presence did make sure that audience make it to the movie hall. But, from that point on it's Amole Gupte's screenplay and
Darsheel Safary's performance that hold the movie "Taare Zameen Par" together.
If we had anticipated so much from a debutant director- this movie justifies it. It cannot get further from what one would expect. It has none of the staples of Bollywood: no fancy camerawork, no glitzy song, no triple star cast; none of the vanities of a first film from a man who could have all of it at a whim. In hindsight it looks easy: success is a powerful negotiator: it commands sanction. Once Lagaan became an international hit, few needed to remember that Aamir floated his own production company to make the film because no other producer would back its harebrained magic.He has put in a lot of effort which is evident from the importance given to very minute details in the movie. The titles just blew me away. The kid's name appears first when the credits start rolling and his performance justifies that.

Aamir represents something harder, more complex. He whispers to people about their better selves. His stardom lies in his craft, his deep, almost uncanny, acumen to reach for the heart of things. The mystique of Aamir is that he is an idealist in an industry that does not require him to be one. That's his magic move. And it pays rich dividends.

How can this movie not be loved!

The screenplay holds you so tight that you are only and only with Ishaan. Even when the songs come, they flow so smoothly in and out of the movie that you don't bother to tap your foot or think if the music is good or if this song was required. Aamir has given utmost importance to the screenplay rather to himself which I felt only he could do. 99 out of 100 directors would have brought in Aamir, the hero, much earlier. His onscreen performance is above average but his offscreen work is outstanding. Its exceptional.

Coming to the performances, as I said before Darsheel Safary is a great find and Aamir as always is Aamir. Darsheel is the most talented child artist I have seen onscreen. I have no doubts that will be a strong contendor to SRK for the best male actor in the leading role award of the year.
The remaining cast of almost unknown actors also works perfectly. Tisca Chopra in particular made me remember my Mom in the theatre when the song Meri Ma was playing, as to say I missed her. The song touched my heart.

After all the bravado about parental mentality and rat-race, it is a bit unfair that Ishaan had to succeed in another rat race to redeem himself. Every child is special, so any need to actually outdo others and prove his speciality? Perhaps the only drawback of the film is its predictability. But then, while its predictable from start to finish, it manages to strike the perfect balance between sermon and story.

I think, more than kids this movie is a must see for parents. Even before the child enjoys the childhood , he is thrown into the competitive world and expected to excel only in academcis. Hopefully this movie will trigger some changes in the way we look at kids.

I thought of telling you people about a chinese movie which I happened to watch a couple of weeks ago. It has the same story line -that of dyslexia- but with few changes like the person who changes the fortune of the kid is his uncle and the kid excels in studies alone etc. Howmuchever I tried I couldn't recollect the name of the movie as chinese names are quite tough to remember.

Technical details apart. After seeing Aamir's excellent offscreen work a distant desire of witnessing an Aamir directorial movie with SRK in the lead role is popping up. Time will answer if my desire will be fulfilled or not. And needless to say that I'm sporting a spunky Aamir TZP hairstyle nowadays.

My advice to all who still haven't seen the movie: Go and watch it now. You dont get to see these kind of great movies very often. Don't be afraid to cry either most of the movie hall is with you.

are matches made in the heaven ???

2007-12-13T00:32:00.000+05:30

"are we accountable for our actions and the choices we end up making or is there a bigger force i.e., fate, guiding us towards our destiny.....if i be a little stubborn and end a relationship today, although having a good enough reason for my action, then if its my destiny to be with the same guy, then wud it be that he just hangs on even after i leave him no room for any further contact with me and somehow i end up giving in to him....and being with him for the rest of my life for better or for worse.......!!!!?????or wud he just never want to see me again once i end it with him ???.........am i responsible? "

A friend posed a question to me and another couple of friends. I seldom believe in fate so I pretended to her as if m thinking. I strongly believe that one gets only what he/she deserves through his/her actions. I din't want to tell her that I don't believe in fate b'cos the situation demanded me to remain silent.

As if to break the silence the other friend started telling his analysis.

"Why does everybody think that free will and God's design are mutually exclusive?

Think of it like this...God sets us multiple choice questions and we choose one of the answers. It applies to all decisions in life.

There is a destiny in the sense you cannot choose answers outside the set God has chosen for that question and there is human will in the sense that one is free to choose from the set one is confronted with.

Now let's apply this to relationships. We pass by hundreds of people every day in the streets yet nothing happens till one day an "incident" changes things and one of those humans comes into focus for us. This incident can be anything-bumping into someone, offering a seat on the subway, moving to a new area. This person becomes a part of the set we may choose from. Yet, this person is just one of the many we can choose from. There are elements of both, a divine plan (the incident) and human will (the choice)".

Being an atheist I tend to stay away from these kinda (God related) topics, especially while I am amongst those who believe, but what I really don't understand is why people bring in the God element in every possible discussion??? even though it's a different issue altogether whether to believe in such an entity or not.

They all are obsessed with the existence of a power which they can utilize when things tend to go out of their hands, when they feel weak or when they want to transfer the responsibilities on to 'his' ( or her :-) ) shoulders when they feel that no longer they can carry them.

Before we could settle in the beauty of silence again the one who was quiet till now started giving his part of the 'gyan' as if to make every one think in a totally different track (few people call it as lateral thinking.of course by mistake)

"Interesting how MY concept of destiny and fate is more scientific than religious it can all be explained by the relative nature of TIME We as human beings are trapped in the temporal space of time we have to go THROUGH it to experience OUR future

So what does that mean?

It means that our past, present and future (aka destiny by some) co-exist if the TIME factor is taken away THAT future is destiny (that what has been predetermined because it technically exists NOW!) I probably am not making sense to most of you :) But it all depends on the concept of timelessness which makes 'fate' and 'destiny' a VERY real thing.

Now as to what was originally posed as a question are we responsible for our actions or is fate guiding us...

WE are responsible for our actions fate cannot guide us it EXISTS solely because of the decisions we make today and so I like to believe "Destiny is dynamic" and it depends on TODAY".

oink :-)

2007-09-20T13:41:00.000+05:30

I just dunno about myself. No matter how many times I told myself not to think anymore, I'd still end up thinking anyway.

Seriously, I dunno what's wrong with ME! I've only started to feel like this recently.

I think alot about almost everything. Random stuff. Like, why is the sky blue.

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Just kidding.

But, hmmm..... Really, why is the sky blue arh?

Imagination

2007-08-13T20:52:00.001+05:30

I love imagining things. So whenever somebody says something funny, I'm the one to laugh more than anybody else as I imagine the rest of the thing...no doubt with a touch of bollywood in it. I don't have to try too hard, explicitly, imagining something, it just appears naturally before my eyes.

When I have nothing to do, my favourite pass time is imagining somethingsomething really weird at times. Its more fun when I'm driving or going for a walk. Well, I really like going for long walks. Sometimes I even go alone. okei, so lets get back to imagination.

Nowadays, as I'm away from home, I imagine the scene at the airport. It goes something like this :
I'm coming out in my favourite duds, with luggage on a trolley (the typical trolleys at the airport). Just near the gate, my parents and friends are eagerly watching all the people coming out searching for me. I'm also looking out for them and there I see them all, standing, waving and smiling and going really mad after seeing me. Everybody's face lights up and all of us flash a close-up smile..ear-to-ear smile.

I literally rush there and hug each one of them tightly. I'm surrounded by the people who love me the most and I feel like I'm in peace with the world again. A halo seems to appear over my head. It feels so good to be back again. Then each one examines me closely, and speaks out his/her observation. Someone says, "Hey your hair has grown so much.." or "your skin has become tanned" its all a mess. Well, I agree, because it already has become a mess and there are still few more months to go :). Someone would say, u have lost/gained weight. Whatever they say, I'll just laugh it off.

When we settle in our car, its time to start talking about the gifts that I have bought and most importantly chocolates !! I open a pack of chocolates and everyone just grabs them in no time.....I feel sleepy and tired after a long journey of 9 hours, but too happy to sleep.

Well, I'll stop here now...otherwise will start feeling really homesickhe he.
So that's about my imagination. I hope some of you also must be eager to indulge in this event when my imagination turns into a reallity.

Die Another Day

2007-06-15T17:25:00.000+05:30

'Die another day.', I said to her, as I held her close to me. 'Die another day, when I'm not there to see it', this was the thought that kept pounding me everytime my eyes met hers. The eyes which once talked millions, now looked me with sheer helplessness. Salasha was my soulmate. Like whoever said, 'It takes two to tango' said it right. We could make things happen only when we did it together. We vibed really well right from day 1. We were the envy among our vast circle of friends, with each of them vying to find for themselves, the kind of bonding that they found in us. It is said that its easy to die for a friend, but indeed a tough task to be able to find that special friend, who is worth dying for. And yes, that special friend of mine they called Salasha.

Our friendship dates back to our post-school days. We were just out of school & the big hunt for admissions into college was on full-swing. Man, those were the days of utmost excitement, anxiety & fear. Fear of the new kinda world that we'd be stepping into to carve a niche for ourselves in the mad world of tough competition, which screams 'survival of the fittest', loud into our ears.

Salasha & her family had moved into our neighbourhood during this time & the first conversation that we had was indeed a memorable one, with all the accented English that Salasha had used to impress her new found friend. I felt it damn funny though. We then discovered that we had enrolled into the same college though in totally different streams. While I had taken up science, Salasha had enrolled for commerce. So the two of us were pretty excited that we had company to college & back, everyday. Hence began our wonderful journey of friendship, which had seen its ups & downs during the course of time. The more the number of 'downs', the more stronger grew our bond.

Salasha had been an ace student at college. Topped in studies, excelled in other activities like debate & drama & was a very active member of the cultural club of college, hence was widely known by all for her bubbly nature. Me on the other hand, was just an average student & loved to stay away from the glare of all, loved to be to myself as much as possible& they say, 'Opposites attract'

Over with PU, we then parted ways as she'd taken up BBM in another college while I continued in the same. Nevertheless, we missed each other's company terribly. Out there she got to make more friends & we would exchange a daily digest of the day's events. Never missed anything at all that happened with either of us.

As the days went by, Salasha had found a special someone in her life. He had been her classmate & the two of them seemed to have discovered a lot of commonalities between them & so had begun enjoying each other's company. However, she had never mentioned to me, the special kinda liking that she'd developed for him, but had introduced him to me as her classmate, a good friend.

Days went by & life went on. On a warm Sunday morning, I was still deep asleep when mom woke me up saying that Sayil wanted to see me urgently. Sayil was Salasha's maid. Still dazed at being woken up in the middle of my deep slumber, I lazily got out of bed, only to find a totally frenzied Sayil waiting outside my room. Sensing something wrong from the petrified look on her face, I was now totally in my senses, forgetting about the grumble to have to wake up earlier than ever. I could see fear, helplessness writ large on Sayil's face. My throat went dry as I asked Sayil what the matter was. Her hands trembling, Sayil gave me the shocking news & I felt that my world came crumbling down on me.. I nearly fainted.

The next moment I was at Salasha's bedside, after informing my parents about the mishap. I was totally frozen not knowing what to do or how to react. All I saw was Salasha gasping for breath. The lady had taken an over dose of sleeping pills. I felt her body & it was turning cold. Desperately tried rubbing some balm on her feet & palms in order to generate some heat. Her parents weren't in town & with just Sayil around, I just couldn't figure out what I needed to do or how quickly I needed to act. Grief had transcended on me with a terrible blow.

Just a stone's throw away lives our family doctor. The next minute I was racing away to fetch her in order to help my dying friend. On narrating what had happened, the lady came rushing at once, while I actually thought she'd back out for the fear that this could turn out to be a police case. But my worries got the better of me, when the good Samaritan that she was, shunned any inhibitions & set out to save my friend. Salasha's pulse was fast deteriorating & she needed to be rushed to the hospital, with no further delay. Parents in tow, we managed to get Salasha to a nearby nursing home while her parents were also informed about the mishap & who had started immediately.

And now Salasha is by my side. The damage had already been done. I once again said, 'die another day' & all I could see was her tear clouded eyes, which wanted to say a million things to me & the quick deep breaths that she was taking out of the respiratory support that she was put on. It's really difficult to explain what I went through that day while I was waiting on hernever want to say waiting for her to die. Her failed relationship with that classmate of hers, had led her to take this extreme step. I was totally mad at her for this but at the same time wanted to be empathetic towards her. Sitting beside her, all the wonderful times of our togetherness, came flashing by, scene after scene. My head pounding, my body trembling, engulfed by dizziness & with one final grasp at my angel's hand, I blacked out.

I woke up on the hospital bed only to see my worried parents by my side. I still couldn't figure out if all this had actually been happening or was it just a terrible nightmare. Hoped greatly that it'd be the later, but alas that was not to be. Trying to bring myself up, I finally got to learn that Salasha had left for her heavenly abode. My mind was totally blank. I felt that I was going insane & wept uncontrollably. I was struck by a number of waves & thoughts that day, the day when the dear departed had left a big void in my now lonely world. Perhaps, it was the envy of my friends that had separated us forever. But that's just a physical separation. The moments that I spent with Salasha is etched deep in my heart & would only die with me. However, the reason behind why she'd kept me in the dark about her love life still remains a mystery. Perhaps she thought that I would divulge it to her parents, as she very well knew that I'd never entertain anything like this.

Now its been four long years since she's gone & I'm here going through my life with only her fond memories as solace during my tough times. I know she's always around me & is wishing well for me & I strongly hope that we'd be born friends again, the next time around. I'd now like to end this on a wonderful note which goes thus "A Friend is one of life's Blessings. To be a Friend, is to be a little towards Heaven. each day"!!!

Salasha had been a wonderful blessing to me never say die, but live forever in my heart!

--Authored by my beloved friend Akshatha G

Nowadays I feel like...

2007-05-17T16:28:00.000+05:30

Sometimes, I feel like I am not living my life to its full potential. I know that I can always be better placed in life, and I do have an idea on how to achieve it, but somehow, I always fail in achieving it. It's a vicious circle that I desperately want to break, or at least get out of. But it has always been the same old story - I tried and I failed.

Sometimes I think that I've not been pushing the envelope as much as I should, that I've been cautious and careless (if such a situation is possible) in living my life; I've been cautious when I shouldn't have been and careless when I should have been careful. But those thoughts ultimately lead to regret, and as I steadfastly maintain, I try to live my life without any regrets because having regrets means that prior to making a decision, you did not consider all your options and the decision that you made was not the best that you could have done.

If that is the case, then what the hell is my problem? Why do I still think that I am not living my life to the fullest? It's because of what's happening to me. I'm not looking at what might have happened to me in the past - had I chosen to do this instead of that - but rather to the future. I already have a preconceived notion of what my future should be, and right now, I am trying my best to achieve that future. However, with all that's been happening around me (things that are within and beyond my control), and how fast they are happening, I begin to feel that I can achieve it, no matter what may happen.

However, an idea just popped into my head as I am typing this... Nope I just lost it... Sorry. I just hope I can recover that idea so I can add it here.

The Monsoon Rain

2007-01-26T14:34:00.000+05:30

I went into the theatre with high expectations based on the strong recommendation I got from my dearest friend. The film opened and I was shocked beyond my remotest imagination. Was that an intro? That was one of the crappiest opening scenes I have seen. Boy sees girl-goes backward-falls in manhole-girl lifts him up despite the stench-boy falls deeply in love with girl.Wow now we all know how to fall in love, don’t we???This scene should have been handled more carefully. + MG road/brigade road coffee shops play Kannada FM radio stations??? Since when??? The story doesn’t make sense at all. Then the hero is off to Coorg and here also coincidence... Heroine also headed that way. Wow what a lucky hero. The chances of a normal human being to be in our hero's shoes is 10000000000 in 1. He's a lucky bugger!!! He is also the son of a crorepati and drives a merc!!!

Anyways, from here I started liking the film. The fight scene is shown realistically. The hero gets beaten but also hits back well. From here on the other hero of the film is the cameraman. What fantastic camera work and cinematography!!!!

The good points of 'Mungaru Male' include the fantastic songs composed by Mano Murthy of USA (‘onde ondu sari’ and ‘anisutide yako indu’ are the hit songs of the year), good lyrics (one by Jayant Kaykini is simply superb) and good camera work by Krishna. The dialogues are moving in few scenes (esp when the hero gets drunk). The major portion of the film is shot in outdoors in the background of rain and it has a spectacular look on screen…...especially Sakleshpur, which is my second most favourite destination on the earth. And the dance directors have also worked well.

Ganesh has worked hard to deliver a lively performance. The heroine is wasted. Anant Nag, the master in support roles, shines in his role.

It is a city bred youth Preetham's journey of love throughout. Born in an affluent family he sees the beautiful Nandini but unknowingly falls in a pit. His going is pitiable. That is because he values the emotions of elders. In the meantime he gives a 'laugh riot'. That is Preetham's nature. He never sits idle, makes pranks keeps you happy. His style of address is very natural and he is a boy next door quality. He is in love with Nandini. It is love at first sight. He is in the picturesque locale of Sakleshpur in the house of Nandini that too on the occasion of her marriage that is all fixed. He is in a fix what to do. He tries hard and he is almost very near to success. But the boy of butter nature values the emotions that you would see in the heart touching climax. The protagonist who made you laugh for 12 reels makes you cry in the end. What a pity for the hero! Love is eternal you feel. But the director says sacrifice is eternal and love is only pleasant.

Ganesh is glorious throughout the film. The success of the movie has vindicated his ability. He is quick on the screen and diction is very sweet like his chubby cheeks His scene at the end where he has to show his grief must have touched many hearts in the theatre. The acting in that scene is priceless. The smile after the fight with the villain is unforgettable. Really good emoting by Ganesh. He is an unconventional hero who has shown a great promise to succeed if he works even harder. He is good in almost all departments like Dance, sentiment scenes and of course comedy….But I thought that dancing in the song ‘onde ondu saari’ was alien to him as it is a V-channel-kinda dance which he is not used to as he is not grown up in an urban environment. He should work towards getting a good physique. I feel that he is going to get a permanent place of hero in Kannada cinema if he works hard.
Krishna in the camera has done wonders. Perhaps no one has captured the Jog Falls so well in the camera. The world famous water fall falling from top is captured brilliantly.
I have heard lot of people saying that story is not so gripping. But I liked the story very much. I have similar kind of story hovering in my mind perhaps with a better and weird ending but had speculation that people are going to accept this kind of a story or not…after this overwhelming response I think people will like my story as well…have to start authoring it soon

If I get deeper into the story I feel that the heroine’s role is not properly developed. How on earth any girl who loved a guy more than herself leave him alone when he projects himself to be a play boy?? I thought she could have put some more effort to find out the truth. Instead she ensconced herself in the hands of a hunky guy.
Our hero became a drunkard because of her frivolity and by looking the way the climax is shot I feel that he is going to suffer till the end.

One thing which I didn’t like about the movie is the sad ending of our poor Devdas. I want to see Devdas, the rabbit alive again...I dont know how but I want!!!

The Miyan at the junction

2007-01-11T10:55:00.000+05:30

I see him every working day. He stands there at the same spot. He is regular and punctual and goes about doing his ‘job’ sincerely. I don’t know whether he ‘works’ on weekends because I don’t have to go that way during weekends. I didn’t think much about him when I saw him for the first time. But I saw him the next day, and the next day and the next and I have got so used to seeing him that whenever I reach that junction and someone’s blocking my line of sight, I crane my neck and look around to check whether he’s there or not, much to the irritation of my wife who thinks I am ogling at other girls. Now, before I let your thoughts go wild about my fascination for a ‘he’, let me clarify.

My daily morning trip to office takes me through a few major intersections of the city. I don’t recall the faces of all the traffic policemen who man each one of those junctions, even though, unconsciously, I see them every day. I do remember an old traffic police man who is posted at a junction near to a school and I have seen many a times, the awe with which little kids look at him and gather around him like a flock of ducklings and he keeps checking their count like a worried mother duck. And when he feels that quite a few of them have gathered, the superman police uncle walks into the middle of the road and raises his hands on both sides to stop the inconsiderate traffic and the kids tumble over to the other side. Other than him I don’t recall any other traffic policeman whom I ‘meet’ everyday, except of course, that silly fellow who challaned me for jumping a red light. I can pick him out from a battalion of his species any day.

But ‘he’ is different from all of them. He stands alongside a traffic policeman in the middle of a major intersection and helps manage the traffic. He looks like he would be in his forties and has an obvious paunch. He wears his religious cap and civilian clothes…wait a second…Religious cap and civilian clothes and manages traffic??? That’s what caught my attention about this ‘duty bound’ miyan. The first day I saw him assisting the policeman while engaging him in a friendly chat and breaking into smiles every now and then, I thought he must be a friend of the cop and they must have met up after a long time. But it happened again the next day, only this time, the cop was a different guy. Now, I guess nobody can blame me for my interest, or rather, inquisitiveness about this miyan at the junction. I have always wanted to find out why he was doing what he was doing and have contemplated on walking up to him and asking him who he is. But on second thoughts, reason prevailed over curiosity.

One lazy Saturday evening some train of thought took me to that miyan. Again the urge rose in me to explore the identity of that miyan. While I was still thinking about strategies to successfully undertake “Operation Miyan identification”, a flash of thought struck me. Let’s say for argument sake that I come to know who he is; but what after that. In case the reason for him being there turns out to be less interesting than what I had envisaged it to be, I would be disappointed. Wouldn’t it be more interesting if I involved more minds and came out with myriad possibilities of who he could be and what he could be doing there? And hence began my small project and the results, as expected, were very interesting.

“Koi pagal hoga yaar”; “Must be a cop who hates uniform”; “Maybe he’s from an NGO or a social worker”; “Maybe he lost a near or dear one in that junction”; “Can be some criminal sentenced to a term of social service”

Human thought process is sometimes unpredictable and very fascinating. A simple miyan in civilian clothes assisting traffic turned out be everything from a lunatic to a convict to a respectable social worker. Even though it was interesting to collect these beads of thought, the social worker possibility struck me as being pretty close to reality because I am reminded of a “Traffic Baba” in Noida. Sector 18 in Noida is where ‘Noidans’ flock whenever they get free time. In the midst of all the snazzy cars and glitzy showrooms, a nondescript old man wearing a white cap, a white flowing robe which has turned brown because of the dust and smoke, can be seen slowly walking in between the vehicles which have stopped at a signal. He hangs two large placards on his neck with one facing front and one facing back. The placard neatly lists down the most common traffic rules and precautions that we follow, or rather, we don’t. He also has a hand held microphone with a speaker with which he ensures that he gets his message across, in case people chose to look the other way..

People and local media say that he is from a well to do family and does this part time because of his heightened sense of responsibility to society. Whoever he may be, I have seen even the toughest and the most rowdy looking motorists relenting to his pleas when he comes beside them and requests once, twice, thrice and as many times as he can, in a tone which comes close to begging, to either buckle up or wear a helmet or stop behind the white line. He is least bothered about the sneers and taunts that some ‘normal’ mortals pass about him. Nothing stops him from doing his rounds of the traffic signal everyday and getting rebuked by many, just to ensure that roads are safer for everybody using it.

Whenever I think of people like the Miyan and the Traffic Baba I feel a vacuum in my heart. I have read a zillion cases of people starting cancer foundations because they lost a near or dear one to cancer, of people plunging into charities because of some tragedy. Is it necessary that a tragedy has to trigger our sense of responsibility to our society? I don’t subscribe to a general feeling that to be socially responsible has to do with starting an NGO or donating millions to a cause. Putting a piece of waste into a dustbin is social responsibility, switching off computers when not in use is social responsibility, following traffic rules, standing up for a legitimate cause, giving and taking respect and a million other trivial actions such as these amount to us being socially responsible.

As long as we consider the Miyan at the junction and Traffic Baba as lunatics and convicts, I guess we have a long way to go before we can sleep peacefully without any fear of an impending misfortune.

-Authored by my well-liked friend Arundeep S

Naya daur…..nayi manzil

2006-11-10T23:49:00.000+05:30

Well people if you are skeptical about the title then I should say why I opted for this. This is a catchy subtitle in one of the ads which is quite often seen on TV screens nowadays. The ad has a resemblance to me in the form of that hunky model. People who have been seeing me closely from past six/eight months might notice the change. Yeah you guessed it right. Amidst a lot of mixed reactions I have trimmed my long, silky hair to a decent length. Even though most of the people appreciated this I always liked that long hairy look. After all people love to see changes in everything they see. Whoa whoa …this is not all I want to say…

This happened on last Saturday night…..You may call it madness at night…..we drove for nearly 80 kms at midnight just to find a 24 hr-open CCD!!!!…I hope people of present generation won’t find it difficult to decipher the acronym…yeah its Café Coffee Day…. It was a strange and pleasant experience….it was decided just a day earlier….so we all geared up on last Saturday night for this event…we were 5….we started off at around 10 pm…cool breeze was blowing across and it was slightly drizzling…the environment was perfect….we had not taken food…so we landed in one of the many famous “#$%* mane“ restaurants on the Mysore road….. as we resumed our journey the rain picked up in volume…..heavy sound of the rain bustling outside the car and even louder was the sound from inside (song player + screaming)…we reached our destination, the CCD at around 12…had coffee/frappes/mocha/pastries for about 2 hours…..

Ambience was awesome....better than in some of the good restaurants in bengalooru…. The clock ticked 2 30…it was time for us to start our return journey…..we talked, talked n talked till we reached home....it was around 4 in the early morning….the “short” drive was not completely successful to quench our thirst of talking…we continued to talk even at home till it was 5…..finally, unwillingly we went to bed…. It was an eventful night.

We decided to have many more trips like this very often. The result is that we are planning for a similar kinda trip in near future but this time a two-day trip…it could have happened the very next weekend but the “CAT” played the spoilsport…..so its being planned after the CAT on 19^th of this month…..

Here are few cool pics…..

I was like this a couple of weeks back..

K.A.N.K

2006-08-22T19:42:00.000+05:30

These days making a movie that deals with different and difficult subjects seems to be fashionable in Bollywood. It's interesting to watch how established stars are willing to appear in movies that they know may not have a favorite at the box office. Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, or KANK, Karan Johar's latest movie, doesn't disappoint in that regard provided you have the patience to sit through the full three and a half hours and overlook “a few” obvious shortcomings.
Why, may I ask, was Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, such a badly written and badly told story?
Was three and a half hours not enough for a director (who rather bizarrely claimed to have matured during its making!!!) to flesh out his characters, to make the audience believe that his point was (I suppose) not infidelity but true love found late, rather late? Was the storywriter sleeping while penning down a romance that didn’t strike a chord…that didn’t tug at any heartstrings? It didn’t even evoke a sigh among the viewers…. for a love affair that was supposedly so passionate that it ended two marriages?
I, for one, did not see the lead pair fall in love, at all. I didn’t see the compelling factors that drew them to each other. You don’t need men and women dressed in blue and red and melodious music to convey that. The actors failed even the soulful Mitwa, their drab emoting a sad contrast to the brilliant score.
KJ should know. He had Kajol crying in the rain in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and the theatre sobbed with her. In KANK, nobody cries. They are too busy looking at the watch, waiting for the movie to get over.
I would not blame the cold treatment to a supposed hot romantic true love found late story, on bad acting alone. The storyteller, I think, simply forgot to write scenes that showed how a much married man fell in love with another married woman.
Yes, I know the film (KANK) was dealing with ``matured’’ people, but, for god’s sake, for all the jazz on maturity the only way the ``committed’’ man and woman think of working on their marriages is by pepping up their bedroom lives? I read somewhere the subject was sensitively handled. Yeah, sure.
Another unexplored angle, which could have perhaps added so much to the poorly etched characters, was how the married man (who was happiest at the birth of his child, we are told) had no lines on the dilemma he was facing choosing between true love and his child? And, a foul-tempered father yelling at his child was the supposed comic element in the film?
KJ does make some calculated departures. He looks at infidelity in a non-judgmental way, doesn’t take any moral stand on the issue and doesn’t resort to the usual sindhoor and mangalsutra formula. But, like his earlier films, infidelity too gets grounded in the familiar friendship versus love debate. Should you marry someone just because you have fallen in friendship than in love? What should you do when true love comes after marriage? And so you have Dev and Maya… both rude, bad-tempered, whiny, grouchy, self-pitying people. That’s ok; losers too have a right to fall in forbidden love.... ... But then what is it that draws them so brutally together; where is the incredible pull? Do you walk out of a marriage because of a bad mood day; do you fall in love with another person because he is as much of a sourpuss as you are? And when in love, don’t you grow and change? Dev and Maya stay stiff and stuffy, more affected than affecting.

I am sure that the movie has already made enough profit for KJ to plan his next venture.
What amazes me the most is the taste of Indian female fraternities who have a big hand (apparently bigger than kanooon ke haath) in KANK's stupendous commercial success overseas. Figure this out: SRK gets slapped by Preity in the movie and there is a huge orgasmic "oooooooooohhhh" in the theatre. If we have such females whose facial contortions change with a speed at par with SRK's, then such success is just a unavoidable conclusion. In the hindsight though, I feel its stupid to watch the second half of the movie which has redefined Hooke's law of elasticity by its level of over-stretch. A small summary on some of the characters of KANK, in case you dont know already.

SRK (Dev): And SRK was, as stereotypical as ever. Now there is this increasing “sameness” in his recent performances. Whether he plays a lover boy, an army officer or an ex-football-player-turned-handicapped-husband, his acting is all the same…it has got that SRK touch in it. Dunno, some people like it, but someday or the other you are bound to get bored of it!

Rani(Maya): why is she unhappy with her hubby when he doted on her so much?? Biggest question which went unanswered. Her character was not sketched properly. But as always, she comes out with a good performance.

Abhishek(Rishi): acted well in whatever scope he got. Especially when he broke down when Amitabh was on his deathbed.

Preity(Ria): looks stunning. But has a very plastic role. Doesnt get much of a scope to display her dramatics.

Amitabh: He plays Abisheik’s (Rishi) father in the movie. Having lost his wife, he keeps flirting and sleeping with women who are half his age. Thats all he does in the entire movie and nothing else. Also, he finds out about the relationship between his daughter-in-law (Maya) and Dev and keeps quite about it for a long time.

KANK is so mercilessly commercial that a serious, sensitive issue called Marriage has been played around with! The theme is novel and maybe true for marriages that happen abroad but the way the theme has been dealt with is very disappointing.

The only worthy thing, in my opinion is the song Mitwa sung by Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan, singer from the Pak band Fuzon.
My thought while leaving the theater was that it's a pity Indian movies lack a rating system, for this is not a family movie. Anyone who went as such would probably leave disappointed (as did my friends). The movie and individual scenes did not feel 'cheap', but the topic was certainly inappropriate for children present at the theater.
For people who hate this movie due to the moral issue, I'll say this - It's a movie. It deals with an affair, which doesn't need to have a good reason. It probably wasn't the happy movie with the happy ending you expected. Also, if you're the person who complains that Indian movies always have the same storyline, and then has issues with the subject of this film, I'll call you a hypocrite.
On the other hand, this movie touched a tough subject, tried to include something for everyone, and ultimately lacked the depth to pull it off. If you tell me you were simply exhausted by the 3.5 hours, slow moving story, and the typical forgiveness found in hindi movies, I'd probably agree. A DVD would have been better; alas I didn't have a fast forward option in the theater.

Here is the dialogue that troubled me a little: "Rishtey baaton se nahin, haalaton se bante hain". I hope that's not true, although I know circumstances do play an important role in forming relationships.

At least one thing KJ got right: the message of the film - "All relationships must be based on a firm foundation of love. Coz if the foundation is weak, it is bound to break, no matter what you do."

Lastly I want to say one more thing: THANK YOU KJ, Thanks for making Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna even if the movie turned out so bad. People who have been in relationships which they know for sure were dead and stuck to it because of various reasons will relate to this movie. Most ppl will walk out of the theater and forget this movie but those few who see their old/current friends, lovers and (ex)spouses in the places of your characters will never forget KANK and never forget KJ.

PS: Usually I don’t use the blog space to explain the drawbacks of a movie…but I got disappointed seeing the movie…I had lot of expectations abt this ….went home in heavy rains @ 2 am from the theater….wasted 30 min to dry my hair….all these made me horribly furious…and this is the outcome….

wake up

2006-07-26T14:43:00.000+05:30

I sometimes have ominous dreams of catastrophe. The world is going to end - for various reasons - and I'm on a desperate mission to save it. There's a jar of magical uranium on a shelf ten miles away, and if it falls and breaks, the universe will explode, and people's eyeballs will drip down their cheeks like tears. Or my dear friend is in grave danger, trapped in a cave underground, and I've got to rescue her before she suffocates. Or I myself am fighting to defend my family's home, waving my sword against three fierce onlookers who want to chop us into soup-sized pieces.

Usually the rescue attempt never quite succeeds. I arrive just in time to see the uranium jar topple, in slow motion, far away across the room, or I dig down into the cave only to find my friend already dead, or the warrior I'm fighting hacks my arm off, and then they all surround me. In the moment just before kinetic disaster descends, there's a moment of stillness, overwhelming horror. My heart thumps, my mind races in terrified denial: Oh shit I'm going to die this is real in just a few seconds there will be nothing, nothing at all if only I'd - oh I made so many mistakes I could have avoided this - oh God it's too late it's too late - and then I wake up. It's usually not with a scream but with a gentle gasp.

These sound like nightmarish dreams, but the mornings that follow them are wonderful. I can't describe the sense of blissful oceanic relief that follows the realization that it was just a dream. It wasn't true! The world remains! My friend is not a worm ridden corpse, she's well and happy and probably eating her breakfast right now! My left arm is still attached to my body - I can wiggle it and feel my fingers - and I'm alive, alive, alive. On the days that follow these terrible dreams, colours are brighter, tastes are sweeter, everything in the world is more vivid and precious, and the sense of wondrous, shocking gratitude never quite leaves me.

Occasionally, when I have these dreams, they become lucid. That is, I'll realize I'm dreaming, even though I don't wake up. When that happens, they instantly lose their dread, and become interesting movies. Ah, I'll think to myself, even as I frantically dodge and dance during the swordfight, that's not actually my left arm lying there severed on the ground, pumping blood. This is just a dream! I can wake up whenever I want. But I think I'd like to see what happens next.The last stage of the yogic journey is Samadhi, or enlightenment, after which you acknowledge that everything in the world is simply Maya, or illusion, and you recognize the universal spirit in all things. I wonder if it's anything like that: waking up from an unhappy dream.

it isn't cool yet...

2006-05-26T02:32:00.000+05:30

25 may 2006 ,Bangalore….temperature izz supposedly dropping as compared to the last few weeks. What izz dis ‘temperature’ that people keep talking and commenting at their free will about???????

Temperature in the AIR????….izz that all????? What about temperatures in the mind???? Are these two
complementary or are they in race to substitute each other……thy is the question’….with due regards to the
“Shakespearean era” I want this to be answered!!!!

War for and against quotas, controversies around the much-awaited flick (hard code to crack???), never
ending violence in the city of gardens (so called!!!), confronting horrendous roads (turned sand basins),
nerve wrecking exam results, power cuts………..and more and more to come!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I see the mercury
blowing up to its greatest heights in just a few of the events that are mentioned.

I feel, we, the breed of mankind and the fine members of the basket of homo sapiens cause the
temperatures………and these temperatures are beyond the body comfort or discomfort zones…they are
states of mind….
And as some say “one has to learn to see the ‘glass half full’ and the ‘candle light’ as a source of power and
‘act rather than complain’”, I am acting and posting this blog to remind the fellow bloggers and the readers of
this blog: that it isn’t cool yet!!!!!

one morning

2006-04-03T19:48:00.000+05:30

Well let's say it's a beautiful spring morning, juicy tips of green on trees like a baby's eyelashes, and she pops her head out of the door to greet her husband, who, with his coffee mug and the newspaper is standing on the porch. And he's talking to a man at the bottom of the stairs, a miserable leprous spirit of a man, with a sad secret mouth and eyes of absurd need with red spots in the very center of each one. The man on the stairs is asking for money and although he's standing at the very bottom step, she can feel the tendrils of his desperate need curling and reaching up the stairs and through the porch and around the whole house. Her husband looks at her and she says "Hi" and he says "Hi" then she looks at the man on the stairs and says "Hi" and he says nothing.
She is wearing a loose blue cotton skirt and her arms are bare. He looks at her with a shadow of desire hidden behind a wall of sorrow and then he turns to her husband and he says, a statement not a question, "So that's your..." Her husband says, "Yes. That's my wife." There's a pause, three people on the porch and the sunshine and the wind in the leaves.
Her husband says, "I'm sorry my friend, you have to go."
The man on the stairs says, "Well do you know any place - any place to go?" Her husband says, "No, I can't help you."
The man on the stairs turns and walks away without looking back, and she watches him and then she looks at her husband and he looks at her and she says, "But - I think I know some places he could go - there's the temple on Mallige road - or the Krishna temple in Iyyengar Circle - " and her husband says "Forget it." She glares at him and slams the door as she goes back into the house, and a few minutes later he follows her in.
"Did you just slam the door on me?"
"I wanted to help him. He was so sad."
"Why do you care so much?"
"Because he was miserable and we are happy."
"That's what you need to live with in a city. You need to shield yourself, or you'll never survive."
"But there's so much pain in the world."
"Look, if you care so much why don't you make him a sandwich?"
"How can I find him?"
"He told me where he was going. He's with his mother, sitting in front of the bakery, a block away."
"He's with his MOTHER?"
"That's right."
So she very noisily and angrily opens the fridge and begins packing last night's leftovers into a carton.
"You're giving him my lunch?"
She glares. "That's right."
"That's hundred bucks for me to buy one."
She glares. "Fine, I'll make him a new sandwich."
"I was only kidding."
She continues making the new sandwich and he does not stop her. She pours some flakes into the lunch carton and packs it into a bag and starts and then she goes back and puts the whole jar of flakes into the bag. She stares at her husband in case he noticed this. Then she heads for the door.
"You're going without me?"
"I didn't think you wanted to come."
"Well, you thought wrong."
She slips on her flip-flops and walks outside. Her husband follows, still in loose pyjama pants. As both walk down the lane with the sun on their hair they must look a handsome couple and their neighbour the English professor waves a greeting. "Beautiful morning!" She smiles at him, the white-lie expression of a polite neighbour, and continues walking. There's a teenager listening to his Ipod in front of the bakery and a few friends chatting in front of the nearby cafe. Other than that nothing but a yellow dog wandering down the dusty street. Her husband shrugs. "Gone, just like that." She says nothing as they both walk back to the house.
"I wish I'd talked to him more, gotten his story," her husband says.
Still her icy silence.
"I don't think you understand, I was talking to him until you came out, but then I wanted him to go away. I wanted to protect you."

She breaks her silence."What do you think that pale man would have done for you to protect me?"
"He is not a beggar. I dont think he has a mother who, he told, was sitting in front of the bakery."
She is confused. "How do you know all these ?"
"Did you notice the change in his expressions when he saw you coming out and when I told him that you are my wife? He was expecting more from you than just food."
She is still in a confused state of mind."Then why didn't you stop me from going near bakery?"
"Well I knew that neither he nor his mother will be there near bakery!!. If I had told these things without going there then you would have had few speculations about my predictions."
"Were you so sure about your predictions?"
"Frankly speaking nobody can be perfect. I too didn't want to take any risk. So, I accompanied you to the bakery. If he was a true beggar, as he seemed to be, then I would have felt proud about my wife for being so kind."
"Aint you feeling proud now?" She smiles.
"Of course". He too smiles.
"I too feel proud for being maried to an intelligent and caring Psychiatrist."

PS: a million thanx to the people who helped me to minimise the flaws in the post and who helped to coin a suitable name for the post.

Imagine

2006-03-22T20:14:00.000+05:30

Imagine there's no heaven,
It's easy if you try,
No hell below us,
Above us only sky,
Imagine all the people
living for today...

Imagine there's no countries,
It isnt hard to do,
Nothing to kill or die for,
No religion too,
Imagine all the people
living life in peace...

Imagine no possesions,
I wonder if you can,
No need for greed or hunger,
A brotherhood of man,
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say Im a dreamer,
but Im not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
written by John Lennon

This is probably one of the best songs i have heard.....wat abt u??

Go Goa...

2006-03-04T01:40:00.000+05:30

Hey guys, Did'nt have anything to type till now. Here comes a news. We are off to Goa today evening. Solid, Kirik, Srik, Me and Tata. Off for 4 days. Expecting an awesome time. After a long time. What we did, what we saw, what we played, what we ate, will al come in the next update. See ya people.

dejected.....

2006-02-16T12:51:00.000+05:30

Have you ever felt Dejected? How many times are we suppose to forgive and forget, when our family or friends hurt , reject us, or tear us down?

What is a true friend and when do you consider that person, mere rotten association? How long does it take before one can consider themselves a relationship maven? Or does one ever get to that point?

The more I get to know people, it has become clear that relationships take a great deal of intense energy from both parties.

Also, in relationships the ones breaking up are not the only ones who they hurt. They take the next step and all others can do is wait for their nemesis to take place. When you have been an innocent bystander thru out the entire relationship you will feel the consequences.

Have you ever been in a relationship with a friend, lover, spouse where the outcome has been so bitter, all you can think off is...Where is that love they pledge they had?
Just talking, not asking for answers, I'm really just hyper and full of bs thoughts.