Be Smart, Be Safe

This is a situation of grave intensity. Not only have they killed and burnt alive 195 people and permanently scarred 100s others but also tried to completely destroy the face of our home. And more than their doing, the dirty fact that is staring in our faces today is that the people who we trust to safeguard our lives and property, our children, our businesses and more, simply left the door to our home open for any scum of the earth to enter and deface, destruct and destroy.

Let each one of us promise to take atleast one step to change this, in whatever small way we can. Whether it involves asking ridiculous questions to anyone looking or sounding fishy, waiting in a long queue while they check our bags and vehicles, ensuring safety in and around our place of residence and work and taking other steps in order to be an alert and vigilant citizen.

Remember, you can only lead by example. So don’t wait for someone to tell you what to do. Take the initiative and set examples yourself. Be smart, be safe. We are, unfortunately, living in unsafe times.

Miss me? : )

In case you guys were wondering where I've disappeared, I'm back. A number of unexpected turn of events in my life have kept me away from my routine chores such as doing nothing, watching TV, reading tonnes of Sunday papers, doing nothing, surfing the Internet, blogging, working now and then and, of course, doing nothing (smile). But now things are creeping back to normal so here I am.

As usual, a number of issues have been haunting my head, the re-appearance of the dance bars for one. Whatever people say, I will never see how dancing in front of drunkards and being subjected to leering glares and lewd comments is a better option than trying to acquire some skills and getting a real job. I mean, aren't there hundreds of institutions and preferential opportunities available for women in need in our country? If you have enough brains to know how to use a cell phone, why not use those brains to get an education and a job? And the worst part is, I believe a good number of these girls are educated to an extent, so what is it that makes them choose this path? Easy money? Loads of responsibilities? Whatever it is, they are not getting my sympathies.

Also, what was all that drama in banning them if they had to re-open them all over again. This will only encourage everyone who is involved in this sleaze business. I cannot begin to imagine if I were in the place of a woman who's husband, son or brother is a regular at such joints. Makes my blood boil.

On a more lighter note, thanks to Phoenix for formally tagging me, somehow the moment has passed dear. But you never know, I might just pick it up someday. Rest life goes on, cannot remember the last time I saw a movie in the theatre. Hey, anyone seen anything good lately, please suggest. Not seen Ice Age I, so I'm not sure if it's a good idea to catch part II. (I'm a bit finicky in this respect).

Can't think of a title

If I must force myself to blog today, a zillion issues come to my mind. But the things that bother me the most are related to the society we live in. Female foeticide, something that happens all around us, something that is so deplorable and yet practised far and wide, day in and day out. People kill their unborn child for many reasons but to kill someone simply because it is not of the desired sex?? Technology has only made one difference in this heinous crime, earlier people waited to see what was the sex of the newborn child and god forbid if it were a girl, she was either drowned in water or simply choked to death. Today however, thanks to modern machinery and our capable doctors, all this can be taken care of even before the girl child gets to see the day of light.

I have to wonder, all the wannabe doctors today, how many more of them are ready to commit the same crime for a handful of money. Of course, no one wonders even for a minute that had their own mother been killed in the same manner, they would not even exist. I once read a very interesting book that I had borrowed from the British Council Library. Unfortunately I do not recollect its name. It was a story set in the future where no child had been born in almost 40/50 years. People could see civilisation coming to an end. A dark tale indeed. But looking at the way people are hell bent on favoring the male child, it does not seem that unrealistic or unimaginable, that dark story just might become reality some day.

Five golden rules on how to write a successful soap for television

(This is an old post, written earlier but not posted)

Before you suspect, I assure you that I do NOT watch any SAAS BAHU melodramas. What I am about to state comes from a very miserable experience from a long time ago when I was mislead into believing that my favourite soap was indeed going somewhere. Well, that was eons ago; I am a much smarter soul now. I have learned my lesson. The lesson being that in a soap, particularly if it is one churned out by the factory run by a certain jumpin jack offspring, anything is possible. So here goes…

*Anyone can be/get married to anyone, regardless of their relation, past/present
*Anyone could be the father of any child (born or otherwise), regardless of age, distance, relation, and so on
*Divorces are a part of life, similar to performing the morning ablutions in one’s daily routine.
*Death, is just a distraction, no one actually dies and can be weaved back into the plot as and when required
*Last but not least…there ARE NO RULES to writing for television

Yippeee...I've been published

Today is a happy day for me because I was on the receiving end of some good news. I got to see my own article, in print, in a magazine. Now I have written for a magazie before but since that magazine was non-Indian, I never had the opportunity to set my eyes on my work, my words living and breathing between the covers of a freshly printed, new magazine...Aaah, the bliss!! For a person with zero-training in journalism, and at the cost of being modest, I must say I'm not bad at all. Being able to play with words is a wonderful feeling.

Presenting the Worst Indian Citizen Award to...

Last week I was watching the Black, er... Filmfare awards for lack of anything better on TV. I have always been a huge fan of these awards but over the last few years, with the cropping up of innumerable other film awards with names that are nothing short of tongue twisters, Filmfare has lost most of its charm. More and more they appear to be nothing but monumental events of mutual back-slapping. By the way, will someone please explain why we kept losing transmission each time, precisely when Abhishek Bachchan walked on to the stage either to present/receive an award or to perform?? Something genuinely fishy there I say.

The one thing I truly enjoyed was the surprise dance performance by our dear ol Dhak Dhak girl (Madhuri Dixit), man she can still give any girl in this industry a run for her money. It was sheer joy watching the lady dance, no one even comes close.

The other show-stopper kind of stunt these guys pulled on the award night was a special appearance by Will Smith. Before I make my point, I won't be wrong in saying that Will Smith is a well-known face and an international star. Now if you all agree to that, let’s move on. Now, picture our very own Miss goody two shoes Rani Mukherjee, she walks onto the stage, by now I'd lost count how many times she'd already been up there that evening, she yaks away to glory, thanking everyone between Bollywood and Bengal barely acknowledging the presence of the person who announced AND presented her with the Best Actress Award i.e., Will Smith.

As she continued with her never-ending speech, I kept thinking that perhaps now...now she will address him or say something to the poor soul. It never happened. I was shocked, believe me. Next morning, a journalist pointed out the same incident, and I believe he got it right when he stated that Rani Mukherjee was apparently upset over the fact the Will Smith had, in his wish list, mentioned a desire to meet up with Miss World, Aishwarya Rai.

Now, I'm no fan of Ms Rai. But we cannot ignore the fact that she too is an internationally well-known personality thanks to her Miss World status. And the joke of it all, Will Smith was punished for having expressed his desire to meet up with her. Talk about the height of rivalry or jealousy. Call it what you may, I call it sheer impudence and bad manners.

ATITHI DEVO BHAVA, an initiative by Ministry of Tourism, India, propagates the idea of each and every Indian citizen being an ultimate and helpful host to every person visiting his/her country. And here we see a well-known personality from our film industry putting each and every Indian to shame just because she is too wrapped up in her own issues and stupid enough to let her personal rivalries come in the way of being a good host and Indian citizen. Whatever the reason, Will Smith was a guest in this country.

All the awards and talent in the world are useless if you forget your basic values. Therefore, I solemnly award Rani Mukherjee with the Worst Indian Citizen Award for her deplorable, bad manners.

Rang De Basanti & One Night @ The Call Cantre

This is a very impromptu posting so please excuse any glaring typos and grammatical errors. Alright, I saw RANG DE BASANTI and was mostly swept away. I say mostly because the only bone I have to pick with the makers of the film is that, hey, the Indian youth is not going to reach anywhere by opting for the guns. Otherwise, it's a superb film, great music that simply lands you into a dreamy reverie (think thats redundant : ) . I particularly like 'Tu bin bataye' and 'luka chuppi', Lata Mangeshkar rocks even today.

Talking about Indian youth, I was recently convinced into reading a book called 'One night @ the call centre'. I am so glad I did, it is a very nice read, Chetan Bhagat is not only clever in his style of narration but also has a great story to tell. It is about six people who work in a call centre and one night they receive a call from...God!!

Among other things, what I really liked was how he drives home the point that an entire generation of Indian youth is being sacrificed for taking crap from callers all around the world, mostly America. I can tell from personal experience that it is not worth it. Yes the money is good, but what is the reason for that. Have you ever thought about that?

Ever wondered how America got where it is today? Certainly not by taking calls in the middle of the night from crazy, dim-witted, lonely, frustrated insomniacs. This is not an attempt at American bashing. Granted that it is a super power. But I hate to see hundreds and thousands of Indian groggy-eyed kids, who are barely out of their teens, sacrificing their crucial years taking calls. Years thay could otherwise spend either getting a higher education or gaining some valulable skills and experiance at a 'real' job. Who convinced them that the American way is the right way? That it is alright to earn money now and perhaps get an education later?

I think it's high time someone told them to take their business elsewhere. That's an extreme thought I know because a lot of money is at stake here. But the least that our leaders and so-called bureaucrats can do is ensure better working facilities or criterias. For instance, why the hell shoud we talk in an American accent. Like *#$@ those Americans don't know that their calls are being taken in India, they know alright. One can almost hear them chuckle at the other end when some poor soul in the Indian sub-continent is desperately trying to get his/her T's and R's in place.

So I say, no more American accent, yes train us alright so we can follow them but don't expect us to talk yankee.