How I got Leh'ed

In a nutshell...It all happened one drunken night...alcohol is one of the greatest stimulants of the creative juices... and coupled with the fact that my project was ending, me and my equally notorious 'out of work' friend decided to make this trip.
So with bags packed for about a month we left our cozy homes and unpaid bills and landed up in Delhi with nothing more than eager anticipation to get Leh'ed, the tickets and bookings be damned.
Apart from the obvious turn-on of the arduous trip through majestic peaks and succulent valleys, capturing the same on camera was a major thrill.... maybe we would get angles that no one has managed so far!
The preparation was not anything to write home about... it was the usual game ... but reaching the first base was the clincher... once you have reached the first base then making a touchdown is not a big deal (I mean how difficult can it get?)
Well the first leg was easy but then it was all uphill (literally) with at least 5 passes to cross…and boy was the ride rough and smooth in bursts…just when you thought that you had conquered one peak, then rose another majestic one… the whole journey was one overwhelming experience… you didn’t know where to look …you were surrounded by such beauty….certainly God was taking his time when he was creating this one!
Before starting on this ride, like a proverbial expert, I had thought I would finish it off in one day with a few hours to spare…but even before halfway through it I was tired… I was tired of the overwhelming feeling …tired of being so inadequate in front of such majestic beauty… tired of anticipating the climax. I was not sure if I wanted to continue… I wanted out… I chickened… I was not sure anymore if I wanted to be Leh’ed ;)
But then once in, you cannot opt out… it’s a one way ticket… so I geared myself and shrunk deep down in my jacket...peeping out once in a while to see if it was really there or I was hallucinating.
As soon as darkness fell, the ride became even bumpier… God’s sense of humour! And to make matters worse, we lost our way in those undulating trails and kept going around in circles. By the time we reached anywhere closer to touchdown, we were battered, bruised, exhausted, looked like something that the cat had dragged but our spirits were high… we were more than excited to get a first glimpse of what we had heard was one of the greatest. The high it gave me on was almost enough to make me breathless on that snowy night… or it could actually be the low oxygen content in that thin mountain air.
Well, what can I say, the first time was not good enough for me … the build-up makes it inaccessible. You would want it to respond to you, but like all first timers, I fumbled my way through it… the pressure just makes it stressfull…that and coupled with a brain freeze, closed road signs and snow all over.
Untill next time, and I will make sure that it is the season of love and not some harebrained wild goose chase up sinewy mountainous track. And yes, will take care of the brain freeze next time. So I will be Leh’ed nice and proper in the old fashioned way, eh…what.

Leaving on a Jet Plane….Dont Know when I will be Back Again!

Well…not exactly leaving on a jet plane… but what the heck the rest of it is true… I am going to LEH-LADDAK….finally……..YAAAY!!!!!!!!

Just two friends who have no work (one by choice, the other by laziness) no money (no work no money), no plan (we believe in figuring out stuff on the way---naah, we are just lazy).

So the woolens are packed, the resolute steady…coz everything else is awry…. No bookings, no tickets, no backup plan, no knight in shining armour to rescue 2 distressed damsels (may happen), no angel to guide two adventurous city girls through the dark cold lonely desert!

Well…we both have different motives on going on this trip… and that has made me think why do people travel? Why do they pack their lives in 2 suitcases and hang a camera on their necks and go to places far far away and then call home and tell their family that they miss them? Why do people travel…so that they can click pictures, put them on facebook so that the whole world can see them??

Is it to get away from the mundane life … is it to explore that adventurous side of them, is it to see the beauty of another terrain-the culture, the food…to explore oneself …to find answers to life’s mysteries?

Well… I will only know after I have made that trip… maybe I will clear my head… maybe I will find answers to what I am looking for…but I am sure to have memories that make this trip special… stories to tell everyone.. and pictures that capture these moments (of course I will upload them!)…so Julley!

Fear

The thing that finds umpteen mentions in all horror films and is voted as the second most emotion after love. Yet, many hesitate to give it the due importance that it necessitates just because they are afraid of whatever terror it might unleash if they give it its rightful due.

It is fear which drives this world…not money, not politics/power, definitely not love.

It is the fear of being ridiculed that prompts Mr Sharma to buy the plasma TV to put down Mr Gupta; it is fear of being second best that drives Prashant to put in the extra hours of work than Sumit; it is fear of ever growing love handles that sends Divya to the Gym; It is fear of not getting selected for the top institutes that pushes Ankit harder into his books; it is fear of not getting promoted that drives Priya to neglect her family; it is fear of being alone that builds walls around Madhu.

Why is fear so fearful?? Is it because unlike Money, it doesn’t multiply exponentially in a linear fashion but grows in all possible directions (screw the 3^rd dimension… we are talking about the 350^th dimension here). Is it because unlike Power (which only the strongest or the cleverest or the smartest get), anyone with any ‘est’ can get it. Is it because unlike Love, you don’t fill reams and reams of paper expounding the virtues of it.

What is fear?? How does one define it? Does it start with the small noise coming from the kitchen in the middle of the night… that suddenly wakes you up and as you lay listening to all the little noises of the night, you slowly realize that the loudest thump is coming from your own arteries blocked with fear…which then gets enveloped by the strange shadows being cast on the door from the living room… and as the shadows cast their mysterious web on the mind, the mind is consumed of thoughts unknown… from a simple noise possibly made by a house lizard bumping across the light bulb on its nightly vigil, the mind travels eons into the depths of all the horrors that can be conjured …pausing only to leave an imprint of fear… fear of extinction, fear of being slayed while sleeping, fear of being killed while you still have to achieve your dreams, fear of being exterminated while you were almost there on the first rung of the ladder of your dreams, fear of being annihilated while you haven’t provided for your near and dear ones, fear of being slaughtered without saying proper goodbye to your friends, fear of being murdered without having anyone to call to talk over this phenomenon called fear.

Is there any escaping fear?? There is … wait for the next post!

Go Green!

The environmentalists are waking up now, I have been following the green bandwagon even before it was fashionable for the size zeroes to say 'kareena'. Although my love for the colour green had more to do with hormonal changes where in instead of checking out the fuzz on a man's face I preferred to study the designs of his cobbler.

Little did I know that the fad would put in an unusual spot in the future.

So when God with that twisted humour of his decided to spice things up ... few inglourious basterds came into the picture and saved the day.

I was left wondering how and why this whole situation arose... and am left with no answers... its one of those cosmic capers that make life so wonderful and confused at the same time... the confusion is solely the fault of my cynical nature and has nothing to do with the winged creature with the angelic smile.

Many have commented on the strangeness of the choice including yours truly, but strange are the ways of the estrogen and I have learned to live with it by now I guess.

Although the icing of the cake is that the bloke in question has moved from green to blue!

30 year old kisses 18 year old

It was my friend bday and she was a bit depressed that she was turning 30 (I had been through the same feeling few months ago... so I could totally empathise with her), so we decided to spice things up for her ... we were at our regular watering hole and generally being the usual boisterous group owning to the fact that we were regulars there and all the waiters and managers were bullied into the celebrations, when somebody (I gladly take credit here) came up with this brilliant idea that the bday girl kisses the 3rd man that walks in the door.

So, with bated breath we waited and counted and we were really expecting a Johnny Bravo kind of dude to walk in... while bday girl was hoping that we all drop dead for coming up with this ridiculous idea (secretly hoping that the 3rd man be a really Cool Knight in Shinning Armour to walk in with complete fanfare) wheras the bday girls soulmate had already started flexing his muscles in an attempt to beat up the 3rd guy in any category.

Lo and Behold, Man 1 enters and is rejected by the sheer coincidence of numerical first, Man 2 is the 2nd best of the first variable and then enter a bevy of giggly girls... and our heartbeats have gone up a beat higher than F1 final leg... and enters Man 3....yooohooo.... but wait a min... it turns out to be an eighteen year old boy and like true protectors of the regular patron (read bday girl), the waiters and managers swoop in and surround the boy and start frisking him for his ID proof...coz people above 21 are only allowed... we waiting on the sides like bloodhounds also do our bit by screaming "You Boy... You Boy ...over here ...hurry... over here)...poor boy is all nervous, what with hysterical women screaming all over him and waiters and bouncers baying for his blood aka his ID....

In the midst of all this, the soul mate had a change of heart and propostioned the hapless boy for the bday girl... the poor boy didnt know what to do with this blatant demand, all the while trying to look cool since...then his girlfriend decided to step in and save his day (like all GF's do) and gave him "permision"... the boy timidly stepped up looking expectantly at the sword (read kiss) hanging over his neck (read lips) admist the whole gang cheering him on... imagine his horror when the bday girl equally timid gets up and plants a friendly peck on his cheeks... he almost fainted from the whole pressure of expecting a bazooka and being confounded with a pin dart!

The ordeal over, the hapless guy walks over to his table where his girlfriend is beaming at his feat like an indulgent mother, the waiters and bouncers are cheering that everything passed off smoothly and there was no bar fight, having forgotten to check his real age...the bday girls friends all looking disgusted at the letdown of not seeing tongues in action (they had themselves puckered up their lips anticipating the kiss), and the soul mate suddenly at a loss not knowing whether he did the right thing or not, the guinea pig boy relived that his intergity was not violated and he was safe from the clutches of the bouncers and the bday girl happy that the 30th bday had a great start!

It was a bit of fizzle that no newspapers/news channels which covered this very important event of the newly turned 30 year old... no headline which read "30 year old kisses 18 year old in a watering hole"...but what the hell, we all felt important being part of this historic event ... imagine what a story to tell the grandkids!

Well like Shakespeare said -- "All's Well that Ends Well"

MySpace

Finally I am on My Space... no no ... not the networking site, but My Space literally... I moved from my PG digs to a rented apartment which I can call my own...since I am the only person stayin there... nobody else... Its me and meri tanhai...

So let me describe the new place for once and for all... Its a small cozy place with a small bedroom and a living room and kitchen together... of course there is a bathroom attached to the bedroom --- and thats it... thats the end of my well... now I can happily sit in my well and croak away to glory.

So my day begins by waking up and realizing that I can hog the newspaper, dont have to make breakfast according to somebody else's taste buds... since this is a great start to the day, the rest of the day passes equally brilliant.

So, here's to MySpace...where I can pretend to be Superman, Charlies Angels (all 3), Jamie Oliver, Jackie Chan, Ellen Degeneres, Chandler, Monica (more often) while cooking, cleaning and enjoy this new found independence!

Do Miracles Happen??

Please say they do...coz I desperately need one right now.... I left my handycam in the cab... now all God needs to do is ensure that the cabbie sees it, overcomes the lure of easy money and notices his golden heart and comes back to return it. Can something like this happen??

Well, I don't know... all I can do is kick myself and believe that miracles happen...

But how conditional is my love for God... I will start believing in miracles if and only if my handycam finds its way back to me somehow, but if I dont get my handycam back, then I will turn a cynical eye to all the mysterious ways of God.

Why are we so conditional... why are we so attached to materialistic things... I don't remember feeling so miserable when my cousin bro passed away 5 days ago, at a very young age. How come a piece of engineered goods means more than a human life, how come miracles start making sense only when we lose any other hope of logic?

I have no answers yet... but now I do know that I am as conditional and materialistic as the next person... its a double blow to me... first the loss, second the realization.

Well, the good thing is that all these philosophical musings may take my mind off the loss.

However, if anyone finds a sony handycam with 2 GB memory stick (newly bought - thats why I was carrying the bloody camera in an amchi mumbai cab) in a black travel bag with a chance that my visiting card inside, please do return it back.

God....I do believe in you... I always have ... and I do believe in miracles as well...

Legally Gay???

First they tell us that we need a certificate to be with the person we love (marriage), then they tell us that the person needs to be from the opposite sex...now they are telling us that it maybe ok if the person is from the same sex... well hang on ...Why do I need a rationing of love... of self-expression?

Detractors (read religious groups) are arguing that it is not natural... it is against God's will... well how the hell do they know what God's will is??

Adam and Eve committed a crime in the garden of Eden... it was a sin... for which humans are still paying... isnt this what we have been taught... well now I realize what the sin was... they made out with the opposite sex... they were meant to wait for the same sex person .... homosexuality was the order of the day!... same sex conjugality was a complete NO NO... thats why we were told that Adam and Eve committed the biggest Sin... but now with evolution, world politics, 6-packs, size zero, global warming, reality shows, Neverland, cloning, nanos, facebooking we have forgotten the original sin and replaced it with being Gay.

Woman Boss

I was watching TV and came across this show called "Na aana iss desh mein Lado"... I don't know much about the storyline but I do know that its about the atrocities on the girl child. But what stuck me most as I surfed through the channel was that the main protagonist was a woman who was shown to be tough and had everyone at her beck and call... My question is how did she reach that position?? Why do people listen to her?? Why does she have so much power??

Then I realized that she was portrayed as this evil, heartless person... that's why she had the power... In popular media a Woman Boss is always portrayed as a heartless bitch (The Devil Wears Prada) and or a great soul who can never do any wrong (Mother India, Jassi Jaise Koi Nahin, Nirupa Roy as the eternal mother)...there are hardly any shades of grey for a woman...

Why So?

Why is it that to have power, people have to become hard-hearted, why cant normal people have any power? Is it bcoz to reach that level, one has to let go off emotions, be detached, be ruthless... have to play the game by its rules...as no new rules are allowed? Don' they ever let their hair down, make mistakes?

Why is it so tough for people to accept that a woman can be friendly, patient, demanding, understanding, supportive, tough, aggressive, no nonsense, flirty, charming, bitchy at the same time...all the qualities of a good boss.

Why is that when we see a woman who has reached the top- we have only 2 expressions..."Wow, she is hot...must have done the boss and all the people on the board" or "She is a bitch". As a woman who is single and is a boss... it is even worse... character assassination apart, she has to fend off unwarranted stares, jibes, and passes.

As a woman who has had led a team, I have had my share of insubordination, I had to work doubly hard and prove myself over and again to each new member to win their support, I've had to use foul language, guzzle copious amount of alcohol, work more than 14 hrs to be one of the boys and only then was I accepted as a boss. But everyone waited with bated breath for that one mistake to pounce on me so that they could say "I told you so, all fluff...no results"

Sometimes, they did get their chance.

Terrific Thirties

I know it... my thirties will be terrific... As only few hours are left for me to be pushed into the whirlwind of responsibilities... I somehow feel liberated... free and eager...

All things that could have gone wrong with me has gone wrong... but that has not bothered me yet...I see it as a new beginning.

I have resigned from my current job with no offer in hand, I have a family to support, I don't have enough savings, I don't have a place to call my own, I don't have a name which is worth reckoning yet, I do not have a godfather... yet I anticipate that my thirties will be terrific... a far cry from my troublesome twenties...

But was my twenties troublesome?? I had the most amazing time working, studying, travelling, heart break, responsibilities ... it was quite a learning experience... I don't regret it ...infact I had so many new experiences in my twenties that I don't think the thirties will be able to beat that... there were so many firsts...

The moving out from parents, the first kiss ever (ok ok...so I was not exactly twenty...but I was closer to it ...felt as if I was in my twenties rather than in my teens), my first proper job not an odd job (I started earning in my teens), my first joint, first time drinking alone, first relationship, first trip alone, first huge fight to assert my independence, first time realization that I am all alone, first time elation in realising that I am all alone, first time booked for drunken driving, first time tattoo... wow that's some list that I am not ashamed off...

My plan for the thirties??? No plan... just live life ... listen to self...

Well, now that I have some idea what I want in life, I am excited... besides in my mind I was already 35, so the whole idea of entering the thirties doesn't scare me... or bother me...

I know that my thirties are going to be even wilder and unpredictable than my twenties... even though bills have to be paid, responsibilities have to be fulfilled, dreams have to be realized... I am upto it...

Bring it on... I am ready!

Commitment

I did what everybody dreams of ...I quit on Monday... I really had no big reason to quit... but little small reasons... but all these are irrelevant...

During my chat with my Boss, where he asked me the reason for quitting... and we had a long discussion (oh how painful it was... It was similar to a break up with a boyfriend... I could almost predict his responses and the next questions) and we parted ways amicably... but the one phrase that stayed back with from the entire 2 hour conversation is that... " You are not Committed".... I wasn't expecting this... I was expecting something like "you are too arrogant" or "you are not a good leader", or "you cannot take criticism" or "you are not professional", etc ... but where on earth did this commitment thingy come from....

I seriously didnt get what he meant?? I still don't... never got it when my ex-BF had accused me of the same crime... I actually don't understand the meaning of the word commitment...people use it in sentences, and while judging someone .... but what does it mean???

Webster Dictionary Says ---
commitment
One entry found.
Main Entry:
com·mit·ment
Pronunciation:
\kə-ˈmit-mənt\
Function:
noun
1 a: an act of committing to a charge or trust: as (1): a consignment to a penal or mental institution (2): an act of referring a matter to a legislative committee b: mittimus2 a: an agreement or pledge to do something in the future ; especially : an engagement to assume a financial obligation at a future date b: something pledged c: the state or an instance of being obligated or emotionally impelled

Since, point (2) a: is not applicable to me... I would like to analyse the rest of the points vis a vis my boss's & exBF's statements....

I. EX BF -- "why can't you commit to me??"

ME -- what do you mean?? I like you, I want to be with you ... is that not enough...what the hell do you mean by commitment... do I need to sign on some dotted line??

Analysis - Lets refer to point 1 a: an act of committing to a charge or trust: as (1): a consignment to a penal or mental institution.

Well, committing to my BF as far as I had tried to understand was to be loyal to him physically while I could go and have an orgy with 20 men in my mind...I was free to ogle as long as I did it discreetly, I was free to lust as long as I didnt lunge at the object of lust. It was not ok that I wanted to play it by the ear in the future vis a vis our relationship, coz I didnt know what the future held but was willing to go through it with an open mind, but that was not acceptable to him. What however was acceptable to him was that I promise now and later go back in my words... aka the great Indian politician...

According to the dictionary, we are supposed to act accordingly to the trust bestowed upon us... hmmm, if there is trust then why this whole commitment word... in this shrinking world, doesn't saving even one word or phrase mean anything?? Needless to say I almost paid a visit to a mental institution.

Coming Back to my Boss's statement...

Boss: - You lack committment

Me: - (with my now famous dumb expression, thinking in my head... this commitment business will never leave me) I didnt get it.

Analysis: Did he mean, continuing to see through a change of philosophy at the drop of a hat without any protest. Isnt the word commitment applicable when the same conditions are applicable... for eg - if I had a piece of chocolate that I was asked to preserve and I had to commit my entire life in trying to preserve it and if I couldn't take care of the chocolate even after investing in a refrigerator to keep it at an optimum temperature...bcoz power cuts played havoc, or bcoz there is a shelf life even to the humble chocolate and it became bad because it was meant to me...would that make me not committed....

When asking somebody to be committed, do we ensure that the rest of the physical, emotional, spiritual temperament remains the same??

I think that the word commitment came into use, when wise men started looking for a scapegoat to wash their hands off. Since, things change, situations change and priorities change, even commitments cease, that doesn't lessen anyones integrity. People decompose after death, even the healthy ones, doesnt mean that they did not take care of their health... all good things come to an end and so does commitment.

Electrika!

Last night as I was juggling calls between my special someone, the accidental intellectual stimulus and the painful adventurous ink... I had the most amazing conversation with all... One touched the forgotten kid, the lost innocence, the childish demands, the flirtatious woman in me and the other the rational, the individual, the spiritual, the vindicted while I was left nursing the pain, the agony, the self doubt all by myself... was I really alive, was I really alone, was I really with someone... Is my cross my own to carry... will there be no one? Do I need someone to show the torch, do I want someone to share my cross?

Unlike earlier times, when these kind of conversations would agitate me to a state similar to electrons revolving around the nucleus when put under extreme conditions of temperature and pressure... this time I was calm... I knew the responses in advance, I almost waited with bated breath to hear the next sentence... to compare mentally if this was what I was expecting to hear... I was not dissapointed.

Its a pity that I cannot reproduce the entire discussion... but the heady feeling of having it all... was not lost on me. I thanked my 'lucky' stars for being in such a situation ... wittingly or unwittingly, it was great fun.

To Be Or Not To Be....

That is the question ...as Shakespeare had very rightly written and Hamlet espoused. When one has formed certain ideas... certain beliefs and held on to certain principles... for sometime now, then when the situation comes... and it does come in ones lifetime, for some it comes sooner than later, the question ceases to be a mere literature specimen meant to inspire and impress... it takes on a very serious persona....and it almost sticks to you like a shadow... there it pops it head and winks at you when you are brushing your teeth... it passes by you on a motorbike turning back and nodding at you at the curve in the road....there it makes eye contact with you for a fleeting moment when you step out of the elevator and then it vanishes... .vanishes for a few days ... then it shows its intense but ugly face when you least expect it...especially when you are happy and gay with friends... it comes as a dampner.... suddenly in the drink one moment, then in the subtle touch of the hottie sitting at the bar next to you... oh... it doesnt go away.... its like gnawing at me through my open wounds... its mocking at me... saying that is this what you spend so much time and energy fighting off everyone... to just give it up in one instant... is this enough... this holding on to your belief for longer than most people but not for ever... if you cant believe in yourself...then who can... then dont go around saying that people let you down... they dont ... you do...

Life is dull these days... it must be if my frenz are reminding me that I haven't posted any thing new after the Pink Chaddi Campaign... its not that there has been no excitement in my life (really !) but that I have been too busy to write anything... I wrote a couple of scripts and was satisfied ... the lazy bum that I am.


Well... I can write about 2 major things that is keeping me occupied these days.. one is Shifu... the other is a space of 8 X 10 --- both are failed projects... so its better not to write about them...


lets delve into random musings... and stray thoughts that keep on filtering through my mind now and then... these thoughts range from the mundane to the metaphysical...


There is this whole phenomenon of 'Arranged Marriages' that is still prevalent in this country... where the families arrange the marriage between their children (correction - children of marriageable age... dont want the human rights commision on my back even if Balika Vadhu is in vogue). There is the ubiquitous panditji or mediator who plays the cupid ...although there is nothing remotely connected to love in these transactions... then the whole family schemes and plots to make the prospective bride and groom meet. The ackward couple meet under supervision and ask funny questions ....


Boy (sweating, wiping off the sweat and gulping down the sherbet and trying to be cool)- so you want to pursue a career?


Girl (nervous-at having to talk to someone who will be the pioneer of her future, scared - of saying something that would put her family name to shame, disgusted-at being treated like a peice of furniture and spoken to condeseedingly) - yes

Boy: Good good, I want a girl who works, double income will allow me to buy that Porsche that I have been eyeing...What are your interests?

Girl: (thinking in her mind ... As if I will let you use my money... I was thinking that I will be finally able to buy those Jimmy Choos without hampering my salon expenses) Interests... the usual... hanging out with friends, watching movies, etc...

Boy: Nice, dont you listen to music... I mean I love rock... I almost played in my college band

Girl: Really?? wow.... I listen to music but I like more of bollywood songs... when I go clubbing with my friends, I like to dance only on Bollywood numbers

Boy: Oh you go clubbing also?? With frenz... must be guys also... hmmm

Girl: what did that hmm mean?? Don't tell me you don't go clubbing... with girls as well

Boy: Oh I do... but those girls are different... I mean those short skirts and those carefree attitude is nice, but not for my wife...

Girl: (Accha saale, you can go have your fun and hang out with those girls but wont marry them) hmmm... well I have a lot of friends and some of them are guys and I love hanging out with them ... after a days hard work, it is kind of relaxing to meet your friends over few drinks and chill.... don't you think so...

Boy (so she drinks as well) yeah... we friends make it a point to catch up for drinks every saturday... I mean one is entitled for such things in the weekend... sometimes we go for a movie and then get together for drinks... what is your favorite movie??

Girl: Oh I like Jab We Met... really nice movie...

Boy: Oh I also liked it... it was very realistically potrayed... do you eat non-veg??

Girl: Only chicken... I like chicken wings that is served at Pop Tates... they really make it ...

Boy: Really... I also like chicken wings... wow we have some common tastes, literally... hehe

Girl: hehe... (and he thinks its funny...well not bad... maybe we can make it work...besides he is good looking and earns decently as well)

.......And so the match is made and the boy and girl get married and fumble through their relationship the first few years and try and be happy accepting the hiccups that come their way, etc... because society expects us to judge a person based on their behaviorial habits and follow its norms. Incase a person questions these norms the taq of eccentric and loose moraled person sticks on especially if she is a woman who knows what she wants.

Sample some common arguments/reason that is given by Parents and friends ....

1. You are running out of time

2. Your biological clock is ticking

3. Why you doing this to your parents

4. What will our relatives and society say

5. There is a time and age for everything

6. You will regret it later

Well the only that I cant understand about arranged marriages is the setup of the boy and girl ...I mean why do they have to meet up??? Its an arranged marriage for crying out loud... which means that parents will arrange it... they will see a family with similar values, a boy or girl with good upbringing and decent education. The job or work in hand and fix the date of the wedding... so why do the guy and girl have to meet and assess each other??? Arranged marriages are the responsibilty of the parents...why do parents want to share the responsibility with the children... why cant they make up their minds about it... is it because they dont know how it marriage is going to turn out... is that why they leave the final decision with the kids... so in that case why dont they leave the entire responsibilty to the kids itself....

well I have no answers.....help somebody.

Pink Chaddi Campaign

Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women or the Pink Chaddi Campaign is a brilliant Idea.... I read about the campaign today in the papers and by night, all major news channels had jumped into the foray and we could see reporters waving pink chaddis in their piece to cameras (PTC)...however, the hapless reporter was as clueless as the average mumbaikar who usually does not follow whatever is happening in other lesser cosmopolitan places...read Mangalore.

However, the netizens of India are all for this campaign... they have signed on to facebook, have commented on the blog and have set their gtalk status to reflect the recent happenings of the chaddi... the latest breaking news from the chaddi buddies was that the pink chaddis were pouring in all the collection centres and the perverted courier boys were having a field day...

Here is a report from our very own Mrs Sharma (my source for all info...be it crime, sales, bollywood gupshup, cricket or stock tips...she has the news first)

Mrs Sharma: Err, can I drop my panties...sorry chaddis...

Courier Boy: yes yes maidum...we are always willing to give a hand ...

Mrs Sharma (shocked): What???

Courier Boy: maidum, we will help you drop the chaddis right here, right now

Mrs Sharma (still shocked): haaaiiii ram, kya kalyug aa gaya.... koi respect hi nahin hai...main tumhari maa ki umar ki hoon

Courier Boy (unfazed): Maidum, koi baat nahin... we take all sizes... there is no problem if chaddis are big... infact I say the bigger the better, I will have to use a bigger packing... good for my daily report maidumji, I may even get promotion....

Mrs Sharma: arrey chup, nalaik...tumhare gharwale tumhe yeh seekhate hai... main toh yahan aayi thi pink chaddi bhejne, aur mujhe kaise pevert mil gaya...I better go...

Courier Boy: lekin maidum, where you going, you didnt drop your pink chaddis yet...what they are not pink...do not worry maidum, we have instructions to collect other colours also, but my boss has said that other colours will be packed in different boxes, he is planning to sell them to the ruling party... who in turn can sell them back to us citizens so that we can run maybe a blue chaddi campaign for the dalit movement, green chaddi campaign for the minority and a red chaddi campaign for the left parties. Infact maidumji, dont tell anyone, but I have started pinching off a few panties now and then, especially the lacy ones, to Lovely Blouse Centre, in Ghatkopar (east). They were thinking of expanding their business into underwear but because of the recession, they have shelved this idea... but thanks to these Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women, this business will start soon, I have bought 20% partnership in Lovely Blouse Centre and I think my career will get a push-up.

Mrs Sharma (disappointed): well then, all the best....

Well, thank you Mrs Sharma for the lovely ...err... word by word account... I guess I should go through my wardrobe and empty all the chaddis that have been collecting dust... hey one more reason to go shopping and then meeting my frenz for some drinks later on... who is getting the beer...hic

DEV.D

DEV.D, a much awaited movie... got to see it last night... it was really amazing.... liked the much famed trippy shots that Anurag had used (thanks to Danny Boyle)... the disclaimer (I want to call it disclaimer rather than front credits...as it warns us this is not the classic adapted for cinema) says that it is loosely inspired by the book devdas by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay...
However, No smoking had kind od raised the bar for me and I was waiting to be blown away...which didnt happen...although Abhay Deol did get blown away quite a few times in the movie!
It is not a movie which one can go expecting to be entertained, but it is a movie which raises questions and self doubt, a hallmark of all Anurag Kashyap films. The music was great, even the background score --- it was apt for the situation and not for a moment did it feel out of place or unnecessary... the acting was superb by all three... Abhay Deol shone and has left all other actors fighting for the King status long behind...
The story was interpreted in the modern day setting...with all the highs and lows that come with binging, drugs and sex. The characters were very real and the dialogues very apt for the story line. However, I am not very amused by the audience which came to the theatre to be titialated....it shows that even though Devdas as a character had adapted to the modern scenario, the audience still needs to grow up.
Well, I want to write more, but I have a shoot to finish (was writing this review inbetween costume changes) and besides I am too tired... havent slept in the last 48 hours...

... will continue in the next break ....hopefully

To the Revolution

Here's a poem that a very good friend and writer wrote, on India's 57th Republic Day, on 26th January 2006, trying to capture and criticize the new world order of terror and war; a scenario our generation was hitherto unaware of...
I think 3 years down the line, this poem is even more relevant today ... Thanks Varun for letting me use it...

Hey…did you kill me…
in the name of the revolution?
Did you tell me,
The name of the revolution..?
I was a boy, growing up easy,
It was a world, simple and rosy…
"Rosy?", you said, "rosy my foot,"
"Nothing's rosy anymore, life's a brute
"Yeah, life's a brute, 'cos I was dead,
in the name of the revolution.
But….did you tell me,
The name of the revolution..?
And did you tell them,
I am a martyr…?
Did you tell them,
What's a martyr?
Did you tell them,
How I am one?
Did you tell them,
Their own son….…
picked up the gun, and killed two,
In the name of the revolution..?
And did they ask,
The name of the revolution?
To heaven, I would go…
I heard it once,
Yeah, I could hear,
Amid the firing guns,
That heaven is for those,
Who have the gun,
(And a 'resolution')
Then why did I feel,
Five bullets inside my head,
'To hell with the revolution?'
And please, What's the name of the revolution?

Moms shouldn’t fall ill

They shouldn’t…they have no right to…who will deal with the milkman, vegetable boy, maid, etc
But being bought up in the Indian society where Mom’s rule the heartstrings of every child born…with countless bollywood productions having the mater play the pivotal role (a Botoxed rakhi urging her Karan & Arjun to finish off the evil thakur, a cuddly Reema Lagoo giving her gold bangles to her son’s sweetheart just to indulge her son Salman Khan in Maine Pyar Kiya…to Kiron Kher not being able to decide what to call her son’s partner in Dostana).
But can one ever imagine a mom to be gone from the house that she builds … I frankly didn’t. I did imagine a life on my own where I would cook my own meals, do my own washing and nurse myself back from the occasional fever (all the while suppressing thoughts of moms calming touch on my hot forehead)…but I had never bargained for a role reversal… where I had to look after my mom…can this species called ‘Mother’ afford to fall ill??
My answer is no…they do not have the luxury or should I say they should not have the luxury of calling in sick one day…as my mom recently did… I came running to take charge …eager to follow in my mom’s footsteps and managing both home and hearth…little did I know the challenges that lay in front of me! Forget taking care of both home and mom… it was a wonder that I could find the salt and sugar in the kitchen… do moms have an internal catalog of all bottles and a flowchart of all jobs to be done in a day…from jhaadu-poocha, dusting, laundry, cooking 3 different meals making sure there is something special for each individual …according to their taste and medical history…phew… that’s a lot of work…and I have not even listed the Aarti and Pooja and the numerous telephone calls …making people listen to you… I ended up bossing everyone and cooking bad meals at the cost of either the laundry or the Aarti, or something or the other… I was not able to complete all the tasks… I did not get the MOM ISO certificate…sob sob… I still have a long way to go.
Isn’t this the reason that before gender equality became a hep word, the male species used to subjugate the female species to home only…they were afraid that the same efficiency would render them incompetent…as is proved nowadays?
Well enough beating around the bush…all I want to say is that…mom plz get well soon and come back home and manage it like clockwork…give me the relief so that I can concentrate on my work and do what I am good at…nothing!