Hum Tum

A cartoon post after a very long period (18 months) and what a way to arise to the occasion; back with the two indelible cartoons idols – Hum and Tum. Salute to the man who created these. Meanwhile, two lines for each from this cartoonist -

Master HUM - a cool customer, his debonair reflects naughtiness and the best thing about him; he always manages to wear those tension-free smiles.

Miss TUM – Always in ‘pink’ and her looks radiates harmful ultra-attitude waves….

Hopefully more cartoons coming soon (an optimist’s view)…

If you take any view/angle about anything (about the topic, some improvements which you can point out, characters/personalities whom you wish to cartoonize(see) through me in future, etc…) please lend your words to my ears through comments…

bricks & bouquets, criticism & compliments…..ALWAYS WELCOME

The Making of Minor Report

...in moments of madness

We all are creators since we all have some really interesting creations to our credit. You and I have made tons of interesting rubbish (like assignments and notes and files and registers and slides and ……add thesis too) in our past and most of us will continue to do the same to make the economy stronger. Dunno why I inserted economy into this…anyways here goes my tale…

One day left before my minor project and I received an extraordinary idea…”why not submit a report along with the project, it looks nice”. Well it was unusual for me to get these types of ‘extra-burden’ ideas. So, what got me that idea? I took a dip into my memory blocks and got the answer….teachers aur kaun (who else)??

I with my project-partner ‘Money G’ started drafting the ‘report-to-be-submitted-after-one-day’ around 10 pm. Then we realized, ohh we haven’t done our project yet (FINGERPRINT RECOGNITION). We called up friends and techies and non-techies and … (infact we called everybody except police, ambulance and fire-brigade). Indians know their juggad and bingo! we too got the problem sorted out in style (esp. thanks to JeetS).

Around 2 am something happened. Everything was going smooth. The report was in vicinity to completion. But then, suddenly I saw some indentation errors and the next moment, I was glaring at a rapidshare link for downloading Foxit (software for editing pdf! Yeah PDFs can also be edited). I generally don’t use Windows for downloading from non-trusted sites, but my greed for sleep compelled me towards downloading from rapidshare and before I closed my eyes; my computer did, with some ugly unfavorable unwanted and unusual signals. When I restarted, I could read my night’s fate…

“picture abhi baaki hai mere dost”
(movie is extended by a few more hours)

Those moments of madness took away my sleep that night. But thanks to Linux (Fc6), I was able to make backups for all the work and simultaneously, a phoenix rose within me thanks to the trio of (Die Hard 4 + Fc6 Dvd + a Centre-Fresh)…and…

I DECIDED TO FORMAT

Though it wasn’t necessary since I had Linux as the life-saving OS, but without ado I went ahead with my momentary decision.

Installing Windows is great time-pass. The jokes which appear on that pale-blue monitor keeps the smile on your face intact during that 39 min setup wait. Some of my favourites :-



1) Work anywhere, anytime (it was 3:15 am by my watch, the time when I read this)
2) The most dependable Windows (not without an anti-virus…that too UPDATED)
…
…
n) Your computer will be faster and more reliable (but this becomes obvious once you format your Windows drive! don’t you think the same??)

Soon I was able to see the clean face of windows and immediately set the priority of updating my anti-virus from last to first. What I wasn’t able to understand why we take momentary decisions? Why do we listen to voices of madness? On restoring my net connection, I tried Googling for an answer. Google gave me many examples (such as AIDS cases, road accidents, etc) but didn’t return any satisfactory reasons. I am still pondering on why I went for that link and then why I went ahead with the format decision…
Humans have brains but they have to recharge with sleeps to run them. So, I went into my heaven for a nice resting period. But still the questions remained unanswered…

Watch out what’s on your Greasy Spoon…

…a reality check on Delhi’s Out(Eat)aries

The pictures which are used in this ‘eye-opener’ belongs to a road side eatery namely ‘Sindhi Dhaba’, located outside a south Delhi cineplex - Sangam (the one near DPS RK Puram). It is NO hot place to eat (and neither meant to be), but for some it may act as a stopover eatery.
I went for a movie few days back and while waiting for the tickets, snapped some pictures which were….hmmm!! dunno how to describe them but all I can say is that they weren’t hygienic…

Take 1:
An innocent worker following one of the very old ‘foxing’ marketing methods i.e. “old shirt in a new packet”. Imagine sweetened royal ‘asian-paint’ inside that kerosene container served in the name tomato ketchup...yaik, vaqq thu…can’t even think of the taste!!


Take 2:
Just try to read the dejected waiter’s expressions. He looks towards the chiefs with a body language symbolizing a complain, saying – “Its all MCD’s (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) fault. They should have provided us with clean drinking water. Why should I purify it?”



Take 3:
(Disclaimer to all esp. animal rights fighters: the animal wasn’t forced for this pose, some things just come so naturally).


Hope you all got the idea of hygiene conditions of our road-side stalls/vendors/etc :P But then, our bodies are so immune now, that we can take anything…
McD, CCD, Barista and all other dhabas of foreign origin are heaven in comparison to these. And, haan hostel mess and college canteens too :)

Bolo "OM Shanti OM"

I don’t consider Farha Khan a superb director. But, I reconsider my stand now. The lady has created a marvelous work (though not perfect, but largely satisfying in terms of entertainment). My ratings for OSO: (4 – 0.31 =) 3.69 / 5 (-0.31 for the SRK’s overacting)

OSO is a complete film - a film about films (1970s-2007). It has all stuff in it, every type of cinema you can think of…comedy, horror, drama, tragedies, love-filled-dreams, etc. Infact, if you do a rigorous analysis of the script and the way it has been portrayed, you will come to an ‘award-winning’ conclusion for the movie.

Story:

Story of OSO is one of its major USPs. Though most parts of the script have been taken from numerous blockbusters (Karz, etc), OSO when seen as a whole package is anytime entertaining. The makers have assured that the movie is accepted by all types and also turns out to be a highly successful commercial venture. OSO major characters include a junior artist (aapna-chotu), an INDIAN beauty (Ms. Waah-waah) and ‘bigname’ film-maker (the-ganda-bacha). The minor characters include junior’s mother (chotu-ki-ma) and junior’s bro (chotu-ka-bada-bhai). It also contains numerous other genuine authentic moviestars and uncountable look-alikes. Please take my apologies as I can’t elaborate on those look-likes (they were just everywhere in the movie). Here’s a brief summary –

1970s: aapna-chotu falls in love with Ms. Waah-waah. But she is having some major panga with the-ganda-bacha. Conclusively, the-ganda-bacha takes the lead in the first half by Ctrl+Alt+Del Ms. Waah-waah & aapna-chotu. But post interval is magic. with

2007: Thanks to ‘bhagwan ka karishma’ aapna-chotu reincarnates himself onto an overactor (who else, Mr. SRK). Now, he along with chotu-ki-ma, chotu-ka-bada-bhai, etc takes revenge with the-ganda-bacha. Ms. Waah-waah too has a role to play! Watch out

Actors and Overactors:

On technical lines, OSO must have 30+ actors in it (you name it and all are present in the OSO family…Big B, Chotu B, Aks Baby, Dharam Chacha, Mithun Da, Munnabhai, Dinosaur Morea, Saif Baba, Sallu Bhai, Chi-chi uncle, Shetty Bhaiya, etc etc…). Same is the case with actresses (Ms. World, Ms. Universe, Ms. Asia Pacific, Shridevi aunty, Oye-kuch-mila Matolkar, Vidya Belan, Piya Mirza, Kaju-roll, D®ekha didi, Pretty Sinta, etc etc….even memory + can’t get me more names).

Official Actors and official Overactors:

KKKK….Khan (plays aapna-chotu) – Won’t be criticizing him much, because he actually acted in some scenes. His funny scenes in first half were really well appreciative. Esp. the scene in which he fights the Archies’ Lion and then slaps him saying, “Pussy Cat Pussy Cat, where have you been? I have been to London to see the Queen...Bad CAT…Naughty Pussy.” Must say, he played his 1970 part very wisely. But coming into 2007, his overacting returns. Same overacting senti scenes…..And about those 6 packs, as Salaman Khan said and I quote “Shahrukh’s six pack must have turned into four by now”..YES they have :P

ShriYA Tadpale (plays chotu-ka-bada-bhai) – full justice to his role.

Kiran Kheer (plays chotu-ki-ma) – Awesome acting skills shown esp. in her 1970s part.

Armstrong Rampal (the-ganda-bacha) – This is easily his best performance. He plays the villain of OSO and bang!! plays the role with style.

My (oops Ms.) Deepika Padukone (Ms. Waah-waah) – This gorgeous beautiful debutant will surely do well (no second thoughts). The charm and the elegance she carries with her is miraculously mind-boggling. The best part in her is her face – simply angelic and adorable. And what to say about the dimpled smile, her one smile can erase away all the tensions of the world. The dresses she wore in the movie make her more alluring (esp. the 1970s ones). Summing up, I won’t call her ‘sexy’; rather I would call her ‘sunder’…a simple sunder INDIAN beauty :). Note: She should not be compared with any other actresses (of which most of them have headline as: Love me, love my dog :P). And as far as acting is concerned, her 1970’s version role wasn’t that tough, but still it was justified to perfection. Flaws did came in the second half (2007’s version), but they were minor.

The (+)es

OSO gives you that retro feel, an uncommon trait. Also, the first half is a cool breezier and has all types of cinema in it – drama, love, romance, tragedy, etc. First half is flawless. Presence of so0O many stars is an addition fascinating reason.

The (-)es

Second half will surely give you some disappointments. That 10 min 31 stars enabled song is a waste and breaks down the pace of the picture a bit. Another song, dedicated to SRK’s 6 pack is an unnecessary entry. Infact, Akshay Kumar overshadowed him in the first 30 min of the second half with his 2 min gag. Ending too could have been better.

But do watch it…nice entertainer…poora paisa vasool :)

BHOOL BHULAIYA....“Mein na bhooloonga”

Before starting my review, cinema owners here in South Delhi are doing a blunder. Only one hall has all 4 shows running for this great extravaganza. Just dunno why, even with a dud opening, cineplexes here are showing YR banner's laaga chunari mein dog (oops!! daag)...this posh elite Yash Raj banner is ruining movie watching in here :(. Ticket taking is tougher than taking nobel prizes these days....but I got it...

Coming back to the movie, let me present you my ratings (4/5)....bang!! Why?? New concept, presence of awesome acting acumen, a nice plot and a super musiz score!! A fultoo entertainer

Bhool Bhulaiya is an out-of-tradition movie by Priyan saheb (creator of comic geniuses). It's an irony that his movies are always perceived as comedy oriented stuff (thanks to the Great Indian Stereotyping). But Priyadarshan has taken himself out from his mistaken identity through Bhool Bhulaiya; he has turned away form slapstick stuff and moved towards more sensible stuff. But still! Comedy isn't the central idea of this movie. As you must have seen in ads, Bhool Bhulaiya is a psychological thriller (and yes!! for once, they deliver what they say in trailers). Glad, the Bhagam Bhag flaw was corrected!
But Waaait!!, this flick has a new element!! suprize suprize, HORROR (hee hee haa haa)...yeah man! the movie does contains few seconds of horror (a major reason of disappointment).

Story of Bhool Bhulaiya resides in a huge mysterious mansion and this mansion has all in it, right from posh corridors to 'bhootbangla' type lounges. Ambiance inside range from Baba Alam's paintings to Mohanjodaaro's jewels (now available on Janpath's footpaths). The locals and caretakers (comprising of the usual Priyadarshan party – Paresh, Manoj Joshi, etc) have firm belief that the mansion hosts multiple ghosts, bhoot-pret-aatma species and more lovely people in it, (so, whats the big deal...nothing!! they are just afraid to enter the palace). Then arrives the Amriki couple (Shiny Ahuja, Vidya Belan), who are the actual owners of the ghost-palace. Amrikans generally dunno care about humans, so why would they care about ghosts. And hence, they started living there.
As time proceeds, things get out of control. Unusual things happen, the bhoot-pret-aatma broadcasts his/her terrorism openly and when the condition gets to extreme level, the Amriki couple tries to outsource the problem (as usual). Tring tring, a call is made to Dr. Srivastava (Aks Kumar), and bang!! “banda haazir hai” (he is here)...INTERVAL...Post interval, is the story of how Dr. Srivastava cures the whole scenario and how he encounters 'Ms. Monjulika'. Oh! forgot to mention about Miss Monjulika (the name sounds like Ravana's relative, but it's actually the name given to the bhoot-pret-aatma specie of the movie). And guess what, she cracks the best PJ of the movie when Dr. Aditya asks "Kaun hai tu?"..and she replies in english.."me! me Monjulika...haa haa..hee hee...lol...PJ" :p


Meanwhile, the only flaw in the movie is the contrast b/t the first and the second half. Both are extremes of each other. Priyadarshan has given a great comedy set-up in first half and tried horror stuff in the latter. Though he has managed to create the plot successfully, by the time eyes are presented with horror stuff, the corresponding mind is still making that transition from the comedy part. Hence, compliments towards the horror side are a bit less.

Cast wise, there are some disappointments. Mr. Paani Ahuja (Oops! Shiny Ahuja) is a walkie talkie oakwood; a man without emotions and meant only for shouting scenes. Amisha Patel is...(who cares). Vidya Belan proves that she wants to be remembered as an actress rather than a boring star...majestic acting. The role of Vidya Belan was first offered to Ms. World Bachaan Ashcoal Rai and Catreena Kaif, but I guess the females didn't have the power to do such a tough job. (Why was it tough? See the movie and answer yourself). The Priyadarshan usual party had a smaller stint in this work, but all gave their best (as usual). Rajpal Yadav is looking handsome than Upen Patel (but his role is just too short). Akshay Kumar is best in funny scenes, but acts wisely as a psychiatrist. The world needs him!!

Lastly, the music store. Its nice, its peppy and supports the movie well esp. Hare Ram Hare Krishna one. Overall, if you are in quest of a typical entertainer, then a must watch.

ICC twenty20 World Cup

Its NOT raining pains anymore, on the contrary its raining sixes. Indian cricket went into deep coma after their performance in the ICC cricket world cup 2007 (50 over version). Getting a defeat from Bangladesh and getting eliminated in the first round was the worst, one could think of EVER!!. That post-pathetic period is a past now. Its a new team, its fresh team and its a new format. Man, what a concept! I can't believe the big-baap of BCCI (read ICC) has developed such a fascinating concept. Ideally speaking, itz 'No Mercy' for bowlers in here. The game along with the commentators, narrating us 'each bowl, each movement, each cloud detail' is designed beautifully. It's fast, it's short, it's exciting and it's fasinating ;) And what ingredients are needed to make it exciting. Here is the list -

Arun Lal
His former Indian player tries his best to create that extreme hype needed to glue the viewers to their idiot boxes. His wordings sound as if his butts are fully loaded with anxiety pie or anxiety kababs. He will let you know each n every detail of the match...
... “AAauur ek buuuri khhhabar, upar se badalon se baarish ho rahi hai”...it seems obvious, but in his words, it sounds more real!

Zaheer Abbaas
He is a former Paki captain. And from a background like that, his speech naturally floods out urdu amidst his cricket commentary. Actually speaking, his cricket description in 'urdu-hindi-english' trio can go to extremes.
“Ye dekhiye ye kya ho raha hai, kuch cameramen ke lens ki wahjah se batsman ki aakh mein lashkaare jaa rahe hai...batsman ko pareshani mehsoos hote hue”
“Mere nazariye mein Gayle aise maarte hai, jaise koi baadshah chakka maar raha ho”

Vinod Kambli
He is the school partner of Sachin...but that partnership never really reached the ODIs. His commentary contains tons of tapori elements of Mumbaiya language.
“Aur ye phir lapeit diya hai..aur ye chakka”
“Bhaut le rahe hai bowlers ki”

Star Cricket's Cricket Crazy
Cricket Crazy is a prelude as well as an extension to the cricket adventure. Dunno the names of the hosts, but I can confirm that they are real maniacs. All they do is 100% pure mindless bakwaas, that will surely drive you crazy. “Some Couples are made in Heaven”...and I feel they are among them

Mohinder Amarnath
You must be knowing him (he was a part of '83 world cup winning team). This man can't hide his emotions no matter what happens. And he can't hide them while doing commentary too. And what to say about his singing talent. He will sing songs of praise when somebody hits a six, he will sing when somebody needs motivation, he will sing war songs to keep the fighting spirit alive, he will sing festival songs for celebrations and he will also sing when it rains (“oh aaj mausam bada baiimaan hai, bada baiimaan hai aaj mausam, aana wala kooiee tuuufan hai”)...the 70's retros are back thanks to him, that too on a sports channel...waah!!..an Indian Idol in making through singing commentary.

The GAME 'T20'
T20 is a critical commercial venture in order to globalize the sport. It's short and it's exciting. The biggest accomplishment of 20-20 has been the fact that it has brought the crowds back to the ground. Also, the tournament has seen many sitting-on-the-edges matches (close encounters), thereby seeking more attention of the viewers. However, you will also find a large number of guys debating about the 'quality' content in the game. Is there any part of technique in the game or it is just a show of power?? But then you will find people like me saying “if you want to admire that sport, you have to like every version of the game”.

RELIANCE MOBILE 'DANCING DOLLS'
Select two white girls and two off-white boys, give them one VCD of Prabhudeva or Mr=Ms(??) M .Jackson, lock them up in a room having rollercoaster functionalities. The next day, put up a blue stand, write those golden words on it ('RELIANCE MOBILE') and ask those two white girls and two off-white boys to do some aerobatics on it. Thats it...you will be witnessing 'dancing dolls' doing modern day mujra on it. And, what do the dancing dolls get in return for those acts of gymnastics??...any guesses...RELIANCE SHARES obviously :p. Only, Reliance, can come up with these kind of stupid ideas!!

...And the main statement of this write up – more than a billion people are HAPPY today, because they belong to a country namely “INDIA”

INDIA – world T20 champions

Nokia 3250

Life these days is a bit hazy and messy. The rate at which different things are happening to you is even higher than the breathing rate. So, thought to write on a gizmo somewhat responsible for taking the essence of life from the life, 'mobile'. A mobilephone isn’t a big thing these days…everyone has it – from school-lads to MCD sweepers. I had a different story; I bought my cell after the successful completion of my second year of engg with my OWN money (proud of this fact).
3rd July 2006, I went to the most expensive showroom in South Delhi and walked out with Nokia 3250 leaving behind a lumpsum of Rs 16200 (even paid all the taxes and VATs)...and I have no regrets.... Here are the reasons of me liking it :

Advantage 3250 –

1) The mobile USP’s lies in its camera…extremely unique. The 2-Mpix camera is placed on the left sideline of the cell. In addition to this, camera can be rotated by 270 degrees.

2) No 'hanging' problem with Nokia 3250; one of the most successful musiZ phones which Nokia brought to India; when compared with N-70, 3250 got the upper hand quite easily.

3) Battery – very reliable

4) Durability – Like many sincere careless teenagers, the first ritual I performed with my 3250 was dropping it (that too in front of my parents). NOKIA stands out for durability…line true for its most handsets.

5) Dedicated music buttons that the back. All you need is to flip the lower part of 3250 and cell changes to i-pod ;)

6) Softwares esp. the photo editor…but nowdays, softwares aren’t a big issue!!


Disadvantage 3250 –

1) For all those going for superb flashing looks, 3250 is not your baby (though it’s available in four colours – black, silver, green, pink).

2) Slightly burly.




My adventure with 3250 –

3250 has been my BEST PAL. Past one year, it’s with me 24*7…in all dark and happy acts. The idea of ‘SPEAKing PICtures’ became possible thanks to 3250. Blogs like ‘Bunking and Ragging’, ‘CSI trip 2006’, ‘Toiletry Mystery’, ‘And YES I finally DID’ etc has seen important contributions from my cell. Movie Reviews of ‘Guru’ and ‘Casino Royale’ too saw its artistic usage. In addition to this, I used it for a low level string operation in ‘But this is reality’. Apart from that, the cover pic of the blog ‘Anything For You, Ma’am’ got me the first prize in various digital photography completions. Ending with two beautiful lines :

“ When you are a young man, you do fall in LOVE with your first purchase, and perhaps this was my first love...this line stolen from BLINK...is 100% true... . LIFE is not defined by the number of breaths you take, but it is defined by the number of moments that take your breaths away”...and I got a lot of these, thanx again to 3250.

"Keventers" pe Cheers

“Mummy, meri class mein ek ladka tha...vo har roj doodh peetatha....bechara fail ho gaya”
(mom...there used to be a BOND in my class...a milk addict...and guess what, he achieved the status of a failure)

This above-mentioned line was said by a little girl in a TV commercial for a milk-products company. So, what moral it gives to you....I got it...”doodh jahan se bhi piyo, tasty piyo” and in that sense Keventer is the place to buy it from.

Keventer, established somewhere in 1940s offers the best milk-shakes at the most nominal prices. Taste is not the point to talk about here. Queue outside the counter will speak about its glory. Apart from the taste, its the location – CP (central Delhi), that too in the inner circle.

Apart from the milk-shakes, the menu-board also has some timepass snacks (so-so), ice-shakes and some simple ice-creams. A trivia - the shop is more than 60 yrs old and 40 yrs back, the shakes were priced at Rs 5. Another thing which I like about Keventer is the usage of DMS bottle for its servings; transfers memory back to the kiddish way of drinking a full glass milk ;)...so
“CHEERS” drinkers :-)

INDO-US deal : civilian SPEAKs

I seriously don't know why I am writing this stuff. I usually write non-serious, informal stuff; something which you expect from a college goer. But sensing our country's current affairs, I am compelled to voice my opinion about the Indo-US deal.

Throughout this week, all I could see in newspapers was shear crap politics; the topic of discussion being the Indo-US deal. India as well as US have finally managed to agree upon a common ground on 123 agreement. Just to give you an overview about the importance of this deal. Post 50 years, fossil fuels (petrol, coal) would be seldom available and hence, cost of basic amenities like electricity will boom like rockets on Diwali. Needless to say more, I think you must have by now developed some views about our ever increasing energy needs. India currently produces very less power using Nuclear energy (on the contrary front, France can be taken as an example). Also, India currently has all the technicalities to produce nuclear power but the not the fuel. Under this 123 agreement, India will be provided with the much-needed nuclear fuel by the Nuclear Fuel Suppliers Group (disclaimer – dunno about the technicalities) and for obvious reasons, US will play an important strategic role (or i should say a superpower's role). All is done, both parties have finally reached a middle ground. BUT now 'Left' have problems.

They are keen to stop this deal at all costs (even at the cost of the current Govt., though I doubt!!). Can't say about the threat level, since their past threats of withdrawing support haven't being as dangerous as they sounded. But why are they opposing??

Everytime, I read about this issue or see it on TV, the only reason they shout is 'India's sovereignty'. Let me explain you this too. In International law, sovereignty is the legitimate exercise of power by a state. So, Mr. Left thinks that by signing this, Mr. US will bind us i.e. India's power to explode nuclear stuffs in future will get nullified. Agreed, but try to think practically. Will anybody, under any conditions, give you the permission to exercise your power (read explode bombs)? Obviously NO!! then why are we confusing ourselves?

Once thing is damn important, we have to be clear in our foreign policy. And, if we aren't clear, I would shout my stand that please dunno step into the international arena until you are clear with your stand within the Govt. We have to assess pron-cons of this double-sided sword with US. Also, we have to see to what extent will we bend towards these superpowers. We can't be alienate ourselves, if we are aiming to be a developing -> developed country!!

Lastly, I would urge guys like Mr. Prakash Karat (CPM general secretary) to please “mind your language”. Some of his lines, as quotated by “THE ECONOMIC TIMES” in there issue of monday 13th August, 2007 (page 3 – the political threatre, first article) are :

“You should ask the Congress party whether they want to run the government,”
(apply deductive logic to it and you will find a threat-connotation in these simpler words).

“Any debate or discussion in Parliament would show that the government is not in majority in Parliament,”
(then why was Parliament established??, as far as i know, its a platform of debating...GOD knows)

Inference - who is laughing? Obviously, our dear neighbours; thanks to the pro-Chinese stand taken by 'Left' (and they have always some hints about that). I don't know, what will happen in future and as a layman, can't even suggest...SO, lets hope for the best and lets revisit our honourable preamble (it carries good words BUT questionable relevance) -

PREAMBLE OF INDIA

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:

JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;
and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;

chak de "INDIA" @ Independence Day = :-)

Not many are so great and fortunate to witness a movie like this on our Independence Day (tho the issues with tickets were huge). Nevertheless, I am not writing this write-up as a review about the movie, rather its a story of motivation and building-up self-esteem to fight for pride (just like our freedom struggle).

'Chak de' is directed by Shamit Amin and written by Jaideep Sahani. 'Chak de' is a tale of a coach (played by SRK) seeking redemption from his betrayal marks. A long with SRK, movie also contains a dozen of female hockey players (coverly all geographies of India - Punjab, Haryana, A.P., Chandigarh, Jharkand, Manipur, Mizoram, Bhopal, Bihar, etc). Apart from the national participants, international participation is also there - Austrialia, Argentina, Spain, South Africa, England, etc.

Story starts with SRK as the centre forward in the Indian's men hockey team. The last minute pressure is on him to save the game against Pakistan and as always, the start of the movie is all about the unhappy endings. India loses and he is blamed, shattered and given a tag of traiter. Reality shown w.r.t. to TODAY's news channel is also worth mentioning.
It seems as a big-time coincidence that the technical caretaken of the movie (Mir Ranjan Negi, former Indian goaliee) also went through the same shade in 1982 Asian Games (Delhi). India roared en route to the finals, but layed down with 1-7 to Pakistan in finals. However, he silenced the critics when his coached women's team striked gold in Commonwealth Games (2002).

Next reality scene is about the board's meeting for the selection of coach for the India's national women hockey team. They mock the sport, they mock the respective gender and they mock the national sport..sad but being a hockey fan, I know thats true in todays hockey too. But no probs, SRK volunteers for this job and gets it. His job; to strike GOLD in world championship...and before that, to prepare the team...to teach them the concept of unity.

Story picks up the pace and intro to players is full of mast-chatpata local-flavoured dialogues...e.g
caretaker : tamil?
player : telgu
caretaker : donno mein antar kya hai?
player : wahi jo bihar aur punjab mein hai!!

The crux of the story lies in the the way it has been scripted and presented. Efforts to remove the selfish-state flavours, developing unity in them, the different strageries adopted by the coach and ongoing vamps-coach wars...all given good camera attention. One good thing in this bollywood product is the fair treatment to the realistic events, where it was expected the team would lose, they did lost (the match where men's team play against the females was I think very well thought and one couldn't say it was immpractical).

Hockey wise, I didn't saw scoops, fast travelling long passes, those high-powered penalty corners (for which Sohail Abbas of Pakistan is famous for), no exceptional dribbling. I even saw some basic trapping mistakes (which I can only see in our actual Men's hockey team :p). BUT then if you are so much interested in these, why don't to inspire yourself to watch the actual game (n I quite firmly speculate, that you will, once you see this sporty adventure).

OOPS!
SPEAKing on the technical lines of the sport as a hockey viewer, a hockey team carries two goalkeepers when going to play a tournament (if one gets injured, other can be handy). But in the movie, the team had only one goaliee...!!

Nevertheless, its time to accolade. Special compliments should be given to Komal (the girl from Haryana) and Balbir (Punjab). Both were hilarious and apt according to the scenes. SRK, thank GOD, he has done something good w.r.t acting. Karan Johar n company had earlier drastically degraded his acting acumen. So, finally after all those Kabbadi Karan Klassics (KANK, K3G, etc), SRK will be appreciated in Chak De (I can only hope).

Also, a hope in true despiration lies for the success for the sport culture in India. We tend to appreciate sports in movies; Awaal Number and Laggan (Cricket, Aamir Khan), Jo Jeeta Vohi Sikander (Cycling, Aamir Khan), Apne (Boxing, Sunny Deol) and now Chak De (Hockey, SRK)...but when will we appreciate the real sports??

Okie...a question to all INDIANS about their national sport !!

Ques) For what reason (may be), HOCKEY was selected as our national sport?
Ans) May be, because HOCKEY doesn't have any provision for SIXERS in it (:p)

A line which I liked very much -
“Agar haath nahi milaya to tera sar phutega ya mera. Ya to tu jail main jaayegi ya main. Agar jail main nahi jaana, to haath mila le.”
(let this friendship disease spread worldwide ;)

Made it to Roorkee...thanks to UP Roadways ;)

Hi, the 'unique adventures' series is back. This time on 'unique adventures', we will be going to Roorkee. For all those, who don't have an idea of Roorkee's location. Roorkee, is a small township in Uttaranchal, 30 km en route to Haridwar from Delhi. It houses offices of various Indian Army regiments (like Bengal Snipers, etc) and an institute of international repute, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee (IIT-R).

Well, the run by road from Delhi to Roorkee is approx 5 hrs. I had to make the trip without any preparation as it was on a urgent basis; hence UP roadways from ISBT (Inter State Bus Terminal) was the lonely option.

The current climatic conditions of Uttarachal played the villainous role for my trip. As I reached ISBT, I came to know that route to Roorkee was blocked. I was told by a conductor of Dehradun-Delhi route bus “bhai kya kare! gadhe haathi baraas rahe hai wahan” (what can we do, when its raining donkeys n elephants there ?).

My stay at ISBT was more than two hours now. Not many UPTC (Uttar Pradesh Transport Coop.) buses turned up and the ones which did, were all destinated to Dehradun (not via Roorkee). I was told that buses meant for Haridwar go via Roorkee. One-two Haridwar bound buses did come but thanks to the Kavadiya season, all were packed.

My eyes locked at the entry door of ISBT caught the sight of one of the buses of the Shatabdi-Sheetal series (Shatabdi-Sheetal series refers to the chain of AC buses of UPTC). And the best part, it was bound for Haridwar. Now was the turn for my legs to perform. I copied the Ben-Johnson style and managed to enter the bus first. An Olympic Gold stands nothing in front of this. Luck has never supported me and this case was no exception. The jat conductor with his gabbar smile strictly told me to deboard the bus as it was fully occupied (AC buses don't allow standing passengers)...and I was on the receiving end, but I saw this excellent opportunity to reach Roorkee.

My boldness factor attained its max value and I refused to deboard. Though, I did ask him to allow me to travel to Roorkee...6hrs standing pose!! Bingo!! he accepted ;)
I entered into the AC cage where I was greeted by already sitting animals with eyeballs protruding to eat me...; a human standing and all animals sitting...all it created was a strange night-club-FEEL. This wasn't the end. Conductor suddenly switched off the lights. I can't translate the horror which I experienced at this stage. 10 sec beyond, a faint night-bulb outside the AC cage came up and by now, my mind was witnessing hallucinations full of ghosts, skeletons and all those lovely beauty pageant winners.

Conductor came to me, gifted me a blanket and asked me to travel by sitting on the gallery floor b/t the seats. I tried to fold myself in every possible way but the space wasn't good enough. Hence, sleeping above the chassis of the bus was my best option. That blanket acted as a bed-sheet for me.
As soon as the bus restarted, by GOD...each n every part of my back vibrated with the same frequency as of chassis. All the Physics laws of inertia and resonance were implemented on my back. For the rest of my journey, my back witnessed those numerous speed-breakers jerks.

3 hrs traveling...half Journey over...after a halt of 20 min at Cheetal Grand (click on right pic to see the logo and plz don't laugh, this can happen to your child too)...journey resumed.

The sleep notion was over for all. My destination was just two hrs away. AC buses do carry a TV for entertainment. Public demanded for that at 3 a.m. What I saw, was something damn creative and fabulous. Have u guys heard of an album namely 'NAYA LIFAFA' by Dhaiya Music ? It houses some really awesome stuff. Some of its creation were – Mera Bhai Thanedhaar, Mere Bappu Bhaya Karwade, etc. Man, the videos were fabulous...actors were chosen with ult perfection...and what to say abt the make-up artist...(will be recived in a separate blog later)
Finally, I reached Roorkee at 5a.m. amidst a cloud burst (with my umbrella lying inside my college bag back in Delhi). Would like to end this episode of 'unique adventures' with few lines -

“Baarish ki rim-jhim se ek aas lagi hai
Uski boondoin se meri pyaas bhuji hai
Jindagi mein mauj ki talaash thi
Aaj is safar se vo kaafi milli hai”

Those Females had something WRONG inside !#!

Those Females had something WRONG inside !#!
(andar bhout kuch gadbad tha)

Strange things happen in life and I am always there to witness them. I happen to visit a metro-in-making “Mussoorie” for the fifth time. Return trip to Dehradun of 24 kms by public transport is about 1.15 min long. The twists n turns of the hills were sharp n curvy, thanks to which, the experience was unique and unexpected.

Before narrating my experience, I will have to mention about my location in the bus. I was on the last sit (window seat!!), right opposite to the driver. Main characters of the story included 1..2..3..a lot of ladies, a young lad, a hot phirang...hmmm...lets see if I can recall some more ;)

Unleashing the suspense of this blog, I take no pleasure (:P) in informing you all that I saw all these above mentioned people vomiting (VO) from my hot seat...YAIK

The starting act of the innings was performed by the young girl, sitting in front of me. Poor 4-5 yr old, got the wrong call early in our journey. Then was the turn of her mother (assuming his fact ). The urgent help was provided here as the much-needed-gentleman arrived here (YES! it was ME); I sacrificed my viewpoint (my windows) for her and offered her my Mt. Dew-bottle-full-of-water to her...addicted to the Dew after that lottery (still not cashed) :(. The vomiting pipeline processed further and the couple before the seat before me joined the strange party...the lady first and then her man (“hum bane tum bane ek dooje ke liye” )
to be continued after a Break!
Break over! A lady raises her hand and swaps her position with the lady sitting in front of me. In the next second, she too continued the VO, smooth (now predictable) process and raised herself to that fame and the glory.

Driver realized that something was wrong inside (am taking about their stomach) and halted amidst the hills. All the participants of the VO process got down, food packets were out, out came hordes of capsules and tablets. Remaining journey was moving a kitty party for them and HORROR for me. All the ladies of the VO process did there kitty in front of my seat, literally slaughtered the restaurants and the food of 'Mussoorie', each complemented about her stomach and felt proud of not participating in VO further...why GOD chose my ears for these modest talks?? Thankfully I had my 3250's earpiece...bach gaya!

Hey guys wait! the VO isn't over yet. The hot phirang is still left. She survived the hills but not the plains. She too did.....the VO process...and the climax of Scary Movie 4 was full of horror. Later, her accompanying male gave her the treatment along with some kisses...and the climax turned from horror to romantic horror !!
She too joined the kitty...and the kitty got international thereafter...

Moral of the story -
We Indians live in/on/for emotion. We can take any stupid topic and spend huge quantams of precious time on it (like reading this one :P)
And the most imp thing...this emotions thing even work for phirangs too ;)

MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL, esp. all those brave men who were driving across our bus.

"Inheritance of Loss" by Kiran Desai

Can somebody INHERIT LOSS??
lets see

ya! since the book is named "The Inheritance of Loss". First time when my twin eyeballs caught these words, it gave me a different feel all other; a feel of hallucination. "How can one inherit LOSS", a more intriguing question "Why would one inherit LOSS"...and then why would one infact write a book on this topic ??

Many questions embedded in this search and I am glad to inform to all readers that the quest to their answers through the book is adventurous, dark, funny, tragic, honest and best part, it narrates you the true world.

...absolutely WORTH it stuff from Kiran Desai...You don't get a Booker so easily !!

The story is about of a lot of people who some or the other way are related to each other. The plot is set up near the footsteps of Mt. Kanchenjunga (Kalimpong) where an old judge (Jemubhai Patel) lives along with his teen granddaughter, Sai. Also present in the scene are characters of judge's cook, Lola and Noni (two female oldies), Gyan (the Nepalese tutor), Uncle Potty, Father Booty and a female doggy (Mutt). And far way in US, lies one more character, cook's son Biju (who work as a cook as an illegal immigrant).

Hence, you can easily guess, the book is not about a story, rather it is a story of different stories. The USP of the book lies it the style of writing. The book has a positive connotation at the beginning and through the journey of reading it, you will find sad losing tales, written in an exemplary way. This transformation truly deserves a Booker.

A brief sketch of different tales. Jemubhai, the judge who loses the enjoyment of his life in order to achieve success. Sai, a teenage who discovers a girl in her and falls in love with her tutor, Gyan. Gyan, a Nepalese unemployed youth who teaches Sai for a living and later finds himself as a rebel leaving behind her love. Judge's cook, a lonely man anxious to meet his son, Biju. Biju, who has left his country and his father in search of a good respectable job but that search never fetches him good.....and many more.

The best part of the book is the witty humour used...sometimes sarcastic, sometimes slapstick, sometimes comical hardcore stuff. Kiran Desai has managed to narrate the tragic storyline in very easy manner. To soften the scenes, she has used various tools like 'Saas-Bahu' sarcasm and usage of hindi words in the actual manuscript (proud that the author is an INDIAN).
Some lines from the book :-

“Tea is too weak,” they said in the manner of mothers-in-law.

A mad lady with tin cans hanging from her ears and dressed in tailor scraps, who had been roasting a dead bird on some coals by the side of the road, waved to the procession like a queen”

“O, yeh ladki zara si deewani lagti hai....” Old songs, best songs.

Through her book, she has managed to narrate different aspects of the current world – illegal human trafficking, fundamentalism, growing influence of terrorism, the disparity b/t standards of living of various classes, different perception of different generation, etc. The book also mentions about colonialism + imperialism and there current global effects. The only irritating thing in the book is the formation of chapters. No character is given one full chapter. Rather each chapter is a parajumble of various characters. This might cause some connection problems of recollecting and understanding the characters :P
Some lines from the book :-

The solitude became a habit, the habit became the man, and it crushed him into a shadow.

“Each day a thousand new ones were born...Entire nations appeared boldly overnight”

“Your father came to my country and took my bread and now I have come to your country to get my bread back.”

“An Indian girl could never be as beautiful as an English one but still..."

And these two very special lines which symbolize the title “Inheritance Of Loss” :-

“the feeling they created was so exquisite, the desire so painful”

“Looking at a dead insect in the sack of basmati that had come all the way from Dehra Dun, he almost wept in sorrow and marvel at its journey, which was tenderness for his own journey.”

So, Still...Can somebody INHERIT LOSS??
Ask yourself, and you will find YES percentage in your answer for sure.

Lottery "ek rupye" ki

Recently, I managed to see something which I rarely witness...my LUCK on positive side. Amidst this metal-melting humid heat, I bought myself a MOUNTAIN DEW 6oo ml bottle. And what I saw after peeling of the outside sticker was a surprise for me. My LUCK won me a cash reward of Re 1.00* * conditions apply

Can you believe the two divine words "conditions apply" on that Re 1 prize too...unique and an apt example for the word 'absurd'

No issues; just two questions in my mind –
Firstly, marketing strategies like these...will they ever work !!
Secondly and more importantly, who will ENCASH my lottery ??

What a F**k if this is LUCK...nice one liner na :P...lol

Lyrics "Sabse Peeche Hum"

This class ultimate song featured in the movie 'Lets Enjoy'. The song was originally performed by the famous band 'Silk Route'. Beautifully picturizied, composed and fantastically sung...gives a ultimate soothing feel to losers!!

Zaara naazar uthake dekho
Baithe hai hum yahi
Bekhabar mujhse kyon ho?
Itne boore bhi hum nahin

Zamane ki baaton mein uljho na
Hai yeh aasaan janana
Khud se jo agar tum poocho
Hai hum tumhare ke nahi

Teri aankhon ka jaadu
Poori duniya pe hai
Duniya ki iss bheed main
Sabse peeche hum khade

Mehfile aayi aur gayi
Log aaye aur gaye
Tum jo aaj aaye ho
Dil mein ho bas gaye

Muskurake baat taalo na
Phir miloge jo kahin
Dekhana yahi kahoge
Itne boore the hum nahi

Teri aankhon ka jaadu
poori duniya pe hai
Duniya ki is bheed mein
Sabse peeche hum khade

"IIT ki Ice-Tea"...Cheers

I consider IIT-D (Indian Institute of Tech, Delhi) campus apt for genius creations as it provides a great ambience for exceptional acumen skills. A part from being one of the major landmarks for Engg, IITD also acts as a heaven for thoughts. Inspite of its location (prime South Delhi), you can make out the massive difference in atmospheric noise b/t outside n inside campus.

As you enter, you encounter a tall cum mighty wide building (somewhat like the UN building in Geneva). 5 min walk from the main gate amidst some majestic architecture and grass painted lawns, the institution has its canteen. Adjacent to the canteen, lies the Nescafe…the provider of Ice-Tea…thanks to Neel for introducing IIT ki Ice-Tea to me.

With ample sitting space (USP of the whole experience), chop down prizes and availability of silence, it’s a place to calm down. The mood sets up the mind to think and being in IIT, its influence comes in your thoughts too…suddenly those wasteful incomplete thoughts find the missing solutions and bang!! rationality is achieved to satisfaction. The ‘round-tables’ design of the eating joint itself promotes debating...convenient for gossiping...lol.

But this calm place is too being corrupted by the ‘couple’ culture, another consequence of our ever increasing population syndrome. GOSH, this is the condition when IIT D lies adjacent to Rose Garden, Deer Park and PVR-Priya cineplex..
Also, the place can have its toll on you sometimes as you may encounter IITians having a discussion on fat pay-packets.

Lastly, some words about the ‘Ice-Tea’ itself. It comes in two flavours: Apple n Lemon. Your eyes and nose might say that it looks and smells somewhat similar to chilled fruit beer. And I can write hundred more words BUT “You have taste it” to know more...

“CHEERS” drinkers :-)

Those were the best days of my life

Those were the best days of my life...back in the summer of.....

The above mentioned lines of 'Summer of 69' are so true when I reminisce my 'Bachpan' (childhood). At 21, me is not old but still feel the deficient innocence in today's air.

Everybody around you has a personal agenda or some hidden motives and the worst part is that you know this fact. STILL!! just for the social acceptance sake, we neglect this raw fact...like so unconcern types...

Coming back to childhood; the time when we were innocent while playing ghar-ghar, poshampa-poshampa, ring-a-ring-a-roses and many other sports in which I could have won Gold medals (if only they were in Olympics).
THEN was the period, when guys were considered so cute that ladies kissing on cheeks was a normal affair. Roses were given and praises like “auntyji he is sho-sho-cute” use to welcome each market trip. Now, everything is changed. You are lonely, sitting alone, watching happy dreams with closed eyes, wishing them to be true for the open ones.

I recently had to make some visits to a hospital, due to some unfortunate circumstances. I met my childhood doctor there. The best part was that the doctor recognized me (even with a very heavy beard). All day along I was wandering about the fact, how could he recognize me....now, with a beard...then, a kid. Strange are the HUMANS, sometimes ones living near won't recognize you, sometimes people whom you never considered important can seem be important to you.

Isn't the answer lies in the fact that 'kids are remembered very easily'. If I ask myself a true question, out of the two who will have the greater probability of recognizing me – my KG teacher or my first year prof? The heart puts the latter one into the answer bracket...man!! those were best days of my life :(

That day I was watching the AIL commercial, in which a very cute kid helps an oldie to carry her load without any personal motives and inturn luckily, gets paid one penny for that. The well mannered kid reply in the cutest tone you must have heard in recent times “thank you aunty” (you gotta watch this). The kid then travels all by himself to his dad's workplace to give him his first earning....I don't see this happening in today's world (esp. in metros)?
Hope, you all will agree with me !!