Doordarshan !!

Yesterday, sharp at 10 pm, all of us glued in front of the TV. It was not a movie, not a match but a serial. Yes, even I was surprised to the extent of my jaws falling apart. And all the credit goes to anu’s mausi ji. She saw that serial just for 1 day with us, told us the story in details and we were hooked to the series to know what happened next!!!

With changing times, even our very own idiot box has changed a lot. Earlier there used to be just one channel and we used to remember even the advertisements’ by-heart. Now there are so many channels that all our time is spent in channel surfing and we don’t even remember what we watched in the last half-and-hour.

Even today when we discuss about TV serials, we remember and cherish the good old DD serials only. We wonder how B.R.Chopra’s Mahabharata and Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana had increased the sale of TVs exponentially. Roads and shops used to be empty on Sunday as soon as the clock struck 9. People of all age groups used to watch these epics with the same emotions and sincerity. Whatever I know of these epics, is mainly because of these serials. I wonder how much the next generation would know of these epics in absence of such serials. It’s not that these epics have not been telecasted after that, but even the comparison of B.R.Chopra’s Mahabharata and Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana with today’s serials are an insult to the veteran directors.

And how can we forget our in-house James Bond, Vyomkesh Bakshi. All of us used to solve the cases with the same inquisitiveness as Vyomkesh and were awed by his intelligence and logical thinking. The best part of those times were that it did not matter where the tv remote was because there was no need for changing channels for the entire stretch. Now we fight over changing channels more than watching the programs.

I remember how I used to rush from my school to see the soap ‘Yug’. We didn’t even miss the title track which I still remember with tune ‘Yug badla badla Hindustan…..’. Now if ever we watch some program, we just see the scenes in which some important part of the story is telecasted, forget about title tracks and it wont even matter if while changing channels we miss 15 mins of a 30 min soap.

Then there were Fauji (which gave us our King Khan), Shanti, Jungle Book, Malgudi Days and many others. The thought of these serials still bring a smile on our faces unlike those of today.

And all this I wrote just on the thought that I would have to live without tv for the next few months. Even if those good old serials are not there, it helps you kill time without worrying about work, relations and daily chores.

Ye ladka thoda filmy hai...!!!

Since childhood I had despised even the thought of use of some words (most of them are considered slangs) but then there are a few charming people who would say the worst of words in a way which would make you smile. ‘Gadha’ is one such word and DD is one such person. Before meeting him, I had never ever imagined that I would be using this word with a smile and would be listening to it day and night with a smile.

Writing about DD is not at all difficult as he has a heart of gold without any pretentions. He would never hide anything from anyone if it is belongs to the 95% of his life but he would not tell anything to anyone if that thing belongs to 5% of his life. This world is full of people who would claim that they tell everything to you but actually they would just be telling 5% of it. His strange truthfulness and honesty is rare to find in this world of hypocrisy.

Very few people know what their passions are but he’s one such person whose friends also know what his passions are…!! Cricket, Movies and Work (though not in same order)… Name a song and he would tell you the movie, actor, actress, situation and what not. And the same with cricket…any match…any cricketer…he’s a live encyclopedia. And as far as work is related, he would never miss office when we plan to go out!!!

He has innumerable talents but the most noticeable talent he uniquely (only one more person has this rare talent) possesses is the SRK voice. He mimics SRK amazingly well. Even hard core SRK fans (hope you people can guess whom am i referring to) have vouched for the similarity of dialogue delivery.

Such people come into your life and lit it up so bright that you shine with inner happiness. DD is one such person in my life and this post is the least I can do for him. Thanks a lot for being such a wonderful friend…!!!

Ever thought about this?

This day started like any other day with gmail and timesofindia.com... The only difference was the thought with which it started. The first line which I read today was "Punjab burning after Vienna killing". I could not relate Punjab and Vienna in any way so inquisitively clicked on the link for details. Some religious Sikh guru was killed in Vienna and riots broke out in Punjab. People in huge numbers were out on roads burning cars, buses , trains and what not.

The killing of the Sikh Guru was tragic beyond doubt but is it justified to kill thousand other innocent people to show your grief and anger? Will that guru's soul not lament seeing the deeds of his disciples in his absence? Is this a proper way to bid adieu to a guru who has showed us the path to peace and prosperity? If by killing thousand innocent people, that great person could again come into existence, it could still be justified by a few. But this is nothing but killing the preachings of the guru immediately after his demise and is even more sad.

Is this not the starting point of terrorism? Even the terrorists kill innocent people giving the same logic. At some point of time, even their near and dear ones were killed and they were out to take revenge. Hopefully this riot will end in a couple of days and Punjab will be as peaceful as ever. But the seeds of extremism would be sown in some young mind which might harm another hundreds of innocents in years to come.

Censor Hai..!!!

99 out of 100 people hum some song or the other at least once a day. That song may not be the one they like the most or might not be the most pleasant sounding one but it is generally the one which we hear recently. No wonder that after a bus journey I hum ‘Pardesi jana nahi…’ for 3-4 days !!

Today morning, while having my breakfast, I started humming ‘Jan Gan Man Rann hai…is rann me….’ (I had seen the trailer of this movie last night itself) and the following series of thoughts flashed into my mind.

‘I should stand up while singing Jan Gan Man….but wait… this is not Jan Gan Man…it’s Jan Gan Man Rann hai…so I need not stand…’

And since that time I have been continuously humming this song from movie RANN directed by our very own RGV. This song forced me to think whether it’s rightfully banned or it should be left on the audiences to use their discretion.

There’s no doubt that this song is very ear candy and with proper marketing it has the potential to make it to every house hold. I don’t know anything about the storyline as of now but it’s not difficult to guess that it would be portraying some rampant corruption or any other evil that has besieged the nation. I am pretty hopeful that, like any other bollywood movie, the good will eventually overcome the evil and it will all be goody goody at the end of the movie. But what if the music gets dear to the mass inside and outside the country? I am sure there will be more percentage of population who would have heard this song rather than those who would watch the movie and eventually see the good destroy the evil. Imagine how much of negative publicity and disgrace it would bring to the nation.

When Slumdog Millionare won the Oscars, we Indians were the first to say that the West likes seeing India as a downtrodden country. If we blamed Boyle for showing India a poor country then how can we Indians tell the world that

“Vindh himachal yamuna ganga … Me tezaab ubal raha hai
Mar gaya sab ka zameer … Jaane kab zinda ho aagey “

In a country where the public sentiment is hurt even by the use of words like ‘barber (in Billu)’, ‘mochi’, ‘chamar’ (in Aaja Nach le) then how can we tolerate someone saying these lines about our nation to the whole world

“Desh ka aisa haal hai lekin …Aapas me ladd rahe neta
Jana gann mangal daayak jaya hai …Bhaarat ko bacha le vidhaata!!! "

Every country has problems and I am not saying that we should not focus on our problems but there is a way to do everything. And above all some things are not meant to be played with. National Anthem is one such thing. Is there such a lack of creativity that people cannot express their feelings without adding indignity to our national anthem?

I am sure that at a time when we have been blessed with some what stable mandate in polls… the economy having faced the brunt of global downturn has survived, rather done well… there is widespread feeling of " jai ho " post Oscar and post polls… we do not want some one to come with slogans of " bhay ho " and spread fear and uncertainty which is so contagious.

To err is human and therefore the possibility that someone starts singing ‘Jan Gan Man Rann hai..’ instead of ‘Jan Gan Man’ cannot be ruled out. So what’s the need of this song when it threatens to lessen its dignity?

The profession which pays you the most in return of doing nothing..!!

The most read articles these days are related to asset declaration of politicians. Even when our leaders have crores and crores of money in their name, India is still called a developing nation. They still think about money first and the country later. And if this trend continues, India would be called a developing nation for 100 more years. People are treating politics just as a money vending machine without even bothering to realize what the actual work of politicians are.

A few days back I had an awesome trip to Coorg. On our way back, we went to Srirangapatna (the capital of Tipu Sultan). Within the range of 10 km (or even less), there were some 10 spots where crowds of people could be seen. One was the place from where the English army had entered the fort, the other was the place where the English soliders were imprisoned, another place was the spot where Tipu sultan had died while fighting, so on and so forth. The first thought which flashed my mind was "Which places will our future generations visit? The place where Varun gave a hate speech? The place where a particular caste was abused by some leader? The place where some leaders committed crimes infront of the entire junta and still were left unaccused? Will our future generations ever know the actual fighters and saviours of India during this period? Our future generations would only know which political leader made what comments during the Kargil War or some other situation of crisis but would not have the slightest of idea about the brave soliders actually securing our motherland."

We would not have any problems with our political leaders having such huge bank balances if they stop dividing the country on the basis of religious groups,castes and origin & lead the country to the position it actually deserves. We are even ready to believe that Sonia owns no car and no house and has just 1.38 cr if she does some good for the country..!!



PS : Even I wouldn't waste my money on a car and a house if I have a bunglaw to live in and can travel in AC cars without paying anything..!!

Content matters more than this title so start reading!!

A consultant is often told 'Dont worry, this is just one of your implementations but this is the only implementation for the clients. So the clients should be more worried and cautious than the consultants'.

How true and relevant this statement is in all spheres of life. Today while surfing the channels on TV, I stopped at one of the news channels which was showing politicians literally fighting for wooing the voters. The above statement flashed in my mind and I realized that for the politicians this is like any other election. They might win, they might lose. All they want is money and popularity. But for us this is the only occasion when we can get something good and really beneficial for us. This is the only time when we can determine how our next five years would be. So we should be more cautious, well informed and judicious in our decision.

In last 10 days, I lived a few days each in Bangalore, Mumbai and Kolkata (the 3 big cities of India) but what a contrast was Kolkata from the other two cities. It's still the Kolkata that existed in 1947. Nothing except the name has changed there. The same old trams still running on the same tracks (I wonder if the trams/tracks have ever been repaired since 1947...forget about getting changed)... at every junction, still 4 traffic policemen using their vocal cords to control the traffic...men pulling rickshaws by hands...all along the roads there are buildings which haven't been repaired since Independence...the electricity cables still connected through the same old poles, just the number of connections increases making the pole having as many connections as the politicians (you would never know which one is connected to which one and in what way!!). The condition of the city speaks of the care and intention of the rulers there. At a time when to the whole world industrialization seems very natural, the politicians there are favouring deindustrialization and forcing industries to shut down.

It's high time now. If we don't think and act now, in no time India would stagnate. The politicians would anyway have their money but we would be ruined. Let's make the most of this chance. After all it's our money and our nation.

Jai Hind!!

Thank You !!

The happiest moments of our lives are not the ones when our long cherised dreams come true but are the ones which we never planned or expected. Looking back, I realize that some very simple acts of others made me feel so special and loved. When I last went to meet my brother and he handed me a bouquet of roses and orchids, I felt like I had just been crowned Miss World and was being given that special bouquet. On my last birthday, when I was alone in Chennai and my friends sent me a cake and roses, I felt on the top of the world. Then I had one of my best b'days with 50 roses around me..courtsey my collegues!! And very recently I got a letter written on a paper which had my photo as its background. I felt so very special and loved that I could not control my tears.

Sometimes talking for months may be of no worth and sometimes a few words by someone,at a time you need them, would be worth a lifetime.I realized this when I was in Chennai and a couple of my collegues tried cheering me up (and succeeded too !). But at the same time I realized I have not done anything special for anyone since last so many days or may be months.


For all these beautiful moments and many others which I have not mentioned here I would like to THANK these special people in my life from the bottom of my heart.

We miss to appreciate so many gestures of others which bring smiles not only to our faces but to our hearts. The least we can do is take an extra step and make someone feel special.

Sometimes I may not give you a call when I am smiling thinking of you,
Sometimes I may not give you a call to say I care for you,
Sometimes I may not give you a call to say I miss you,
But you are always special to me.

P.S :- This post is for all my friends and not only specific to the incidents I mentioned.