I actually have to blog about how I lost my mobile at the Bangalore Airport. But that can wait as I found a better topic to blog about. This time in Bangalore am staying at ITC Windsor, an absolute delight and am enjoying every moment of it (even though they believe in "apeing the west" when it comes to their bathrooms). The entire ambience is so wonderful that I am ready to compromise on the bathroom part without cribbing. I am bowled over by ITC yet again, this time even more, as I am staying here alone and they have given me a room in an all-women-floor with the room being epitome of a woman's paradise. Each and every need of a woman has been delicately taken care of. And I felt wonderful entering the room. This goes without saying that the general amenities or the common luxuries remain much the same. Am not getting into the details of their lobby, or reception area or the main dinning place. But what am really impressed about is the minute details they have taken care of in this room specially for women. Like the floor has a check point in the entrance which means no body apart from the guests occupying the rooms can enter the floor as you have to swipe in your card there. Not that I am threatened to stay in hotels but I might add here, I felt safe and secure and special as well. Then the room has a screen which tells you who has knocked on your door everytime you have a visitor (not that you have much). Mostly female attandants come to serve you, but if at all a male attendant comes (for eg the porter), he is always accompanied by a female staff. These are small things, it doesnt matter if you dont get these services, but it matters a lot if you do, you feel very special indeed.
Apart from these, the room is full of these small necessities that a woman would have, and things that only a woman can appreciate and yes, am all praise for ITC. Their marketting strategy is going quite well with me atleast, and I plan to visit them again and again.
Ah, did I mention that they have these amazing soothing oils that puts you off to sleep instantaneously? Not that I need them to sleep anyways, but I must admit I had a different experience of sleeping here.
Now the most important thing...the food! They have an amazing spread of breakfast and I indluged myself completely without worrying about my health or weight. Today I had Upma and the moment I opened the lid of the container I gould smell pure ghee in abundance! I had veg cutlet which was so so. I had chicken dumplings and am still craving for them and eagerly waiting for tomorrow morning. The french toast was soft and just perfect. The juice was fresh and whats more they also served sweet lassi which I just couldnt resist. I was very tempted to order for an omlette from the live counter but thought of pending the idea for 24 hours. I must have added 2 kgs already but they are well deserved.
So what am trying to say here is, I am loving every moment of my stay in ITC Windsor, wish my daughter was here with me.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Money=Monkey if you mis use it
How much is 4 lakh out of 500 crore? Right at the moment am not too sure how many 0's are there in 500 crore though, but my common sense tells me it would not be more than 0.05%. So for someone who has 500 crore, what is 4 lakhs for him? I have 4 lakhs rupees as my asset so probably what 200/ is to me is what 4 lakh rs is to the great Haldiram co-owner Prabhu Shankar Agarwal!
If I want a plot of land where someone else is already having a set up that earns him livelihood, will I offer him 200/??? and then if he refuses I will arrange for his murder?! Unbelievable!!!
But such are the rich people of our country! Want to ask great Mr Agarwal, if he really wanted that place to increase his income atleast 40-60 times, why could he not offer Pramod Sharma Thakur something around 4 crore? I dont know whether the latter would have agreed or not, but that is beyond the scope of discussion right now. All I am asking is the great Mr. Agarwal could only think of letting go of 0.05% of his asset to acquire someone else' s land where he planned to set up a multistoreyed food mall. Does he think "money" could buy him everything? May be he thought "money" could save him from getting punished as well? Well am glad that he has been sentenced for life-time! he deserves every bit of it and more.
This incident makes me wonder...does money make us "inhuman". How much more is just "enough" for us. Do we have this beastly attitude in each one of us? Tell me for instance, dont you bargain for 20/ with your vegetable vendor? Why do you do that? What is 20/ ruppes for you, who probably earns minimum 50,000/ a month? but still most of us will think twice before raising our maid's salary, or bargain our heart out for reducing 50/ in grocery? We go out over a weekend and spend 1000/ just like that watching movie and munching popcorn in the multiplex, but...we hate it when our driver asks for a 500/ raise after working for you for 1 year may be. If at night an auto driver asks for double the rate you preach him on 'honesty" etal...have we ever wondered how much of honesty do we have? If you have to have your passport renewed and the official asks for bribe, you give... you give because passport is required. Where does your "honesty" go when you bribe someone, or manipulate something.
Dear firends, I think we all have more than enough resources at our disposal. We dont need more, definitely not at the cost of supressing, exploiting others. So next time when you go buy vegetable from your local vendor pay him 50/ more, he will bless you. That 50/ may not mean much to you but for him it may be one square meal for his family. Give 20/ extra to an auto driver without being asked, common you spend much more on your luxuries! Dont let money make you a monkey. Be thankful for what you have and try to make atleast one person who is worse off than you happy everyday. There is more happiness in giving than in getting, or owrse, in snatching. Go enjoy that real happiness
If I want a plot of land where someone else is already having a set up that earns him livelihood, will I offer him 200/??? and then if he refuses I will arrange for his murder?! Unbelievable!!!
But such are the rich people of our country! Want to ask great Mr Agarwal, if he really wanted that place to increase his income atleast 40-60 times, why could he not offer Pramod Sharma Thakur something around 4 crore? I dont know whether the latter would have agreed or not, but that is beyond the scope of discussion right now. All I am asking is the great Mr. Agarwal could only think of letting go of 0.05% of his asset to acquire someone else' s land where he planned to set up a multistoreyed food mall. Does he think "money" could buy him everything? May be he thought "money" could save him from getting punished as well? Well am glad that he has been sentenced for life-time! he deserves every bit of it and more.
This incident makes me wonder...does money make us "inhuman". How much more is just "enough" for us. Do we have this beastly attitude in each one of us? Tell me for instance, dont you bargain for 20/ with your vegetable vendor? Why do you do that? What is 20/ ruppes for you, who probably earns minimum 50,000/ a month? but still most of us will think twice before raising our maid's salary, or bargain our heart out for reducing 50/ in grocery? We go out over a weekend and spend 1000/ just like that watching movie and munching popcorn in the multiplex, but...we hate it when our driver asks for a 500/ raise after working for you for 1 year may be. If at night an auto driver asks for double the rate you preach him on 'honesty" etal...have we ever wondered how much of honesty do we have? If you have to have your passport renewed and the official asks for bribe, you give... you give because passport is required. Where does your "honesty" go when you bribe someone, or manipulate something.
Dear firends, I think we all have more than enough resources at our disposal. We dont need more, definitely not at the cost of supressing, exploiting others. So next time when you go buy vegetable from your local vendor pay him 50/ more, he will bless you. That 50/ may not mean much to you but for him it may be one square meal for his family. Give 20/ extra to an auto driver without being asked, common you spend much more on your luxuries! Dont let money make you a monkey. Be thankful for what you have and try to make atleast one person who is worse off than you happy everyday. There is more happiness in giving than in getting, or owrse, in snatching. Go enjoy that real happiness
Western Ape
Hotels like The Park, Ista impress me a lot. For that matter any 4-5 star hotels in our country do. Courtesy IBM, I get to stay in a lot of these hotels. Infact if I were my friend or neighbour instead of being ME then probably I would have been envious. After a second thought, let go of "probably". But because I am ME and not my neighbour or friend, I feel pathetic! Why? Let me explain.
Imagine a grand 5-star hotel reception. You are in awe of the place as you enter, probably miss a step or two as well. A polite well-dressed receptionist with a plastic smile greets you with a "Namaskar" and you feel proud to be an Indian. You feel proud that your country has such magnificient monuments, oops, I mean hotels. And brimming with this sense of pride you follow your personal floor manager to your room. Ah the room is just made up of your dream...yes dream, more so, if you are born and brought up in a middle class family. You eagerly wait for the manager to leave you alone with your dream, and he does giving another plastic smile.
The scene so far is nice. But the misery comes when you enter the bathroom. Bathroom is again made up of dreams, and the only thing that you can do comfortably in there, is probably sleeping, and...dreaming. I mean what else? It has a marble flooring expensive bath tub where u can lie down, sleep and dream, but unfortunately it doesn't have a toilet with proper amenities so that you can wash yourself...again the kind of practise you have followed ever since your childhood!
Now if I am abroad I know I cant expect such a toilet because people there are not used to the same. But in my own country?!!! And that too after shelling out around 8k per night?! I mean why? I dread staying in a 5 star only because of this. I would not be jealous of myself if I were not ME only because of this.
My question to all these 5 star hotels...why being in India are you aping West? Why cant we have the right to "wash" ourselves after toilet like most Indians do? Why are we "forced" to use the "Toilet Papers" instead? I appreciate the fact that probably most of their business come from the foreigners who visit India, but can't they have both the facilities (if at all having toilet rolls can be termed a "facility") simultaneously? Why deprive us Indians our small n big habits for your foreign earnings?
Imagine a grand 5-star hotel reception. You are in awe of the place as you enter, probably miss a step or two as well. A polite well-dressed receptionist with a plastic smile greets you with a "Namaskar" and you feel proud to be an Indian. You feel proud that your country has such magnificient monuments, oops, I mean hotels. And brimming with this sense of pride you follow your personal floor manager to your room. Ah the room is just made up of your dream...yes dream, more so, if you are born and brought up in a middle class family. You eagerly wait for the manager to leave you alone with your dream, and he does giving another plastic smile.
The scene so far is nice. But the misery comes when you enter the bathroom. Bathroom is again made up of dreams, and the only thing that you can do comfortably in there, is probably sleeping, and...dreaming. I mean what else? It has a marble flooring expensive bath tub where u can lie down, sleep and dream, but unfortunately it doesn't have a toilet with proper amenities so that you can wash yourself...again the kind of practise you have followed ever since your childhood!
Now if I am abroad I know I cant expect such a toilet because people there are not used to the same. But in my own country?!!! And that too after shelling out around 8k per night?! I mean why? I dread staying in a 5 star only because of this. I would not be jealous of myself if I were not ME only because of this.
My question to all these 5 star hotels...why being in India are you aping West? Why cant we have the right to "wash" ourselves after toilet like most Indians do? Why are we "forced" to use the "Toilet Papers" instead? I appreciate the fact that probably most of their business come from the foreigners who visit India, but can't they have both the facilities (if at all having toilet rolls can be termed a "facility") simultaneously? Why deprive us Indians our small n big habits for your foreign earnings?
Monday, January 25, 2010
Aman Ki Asha!
Quite an initiative, though it interested me the least as I said earlier. However, why am I mentioning this again is...though artists of both the countries are performing on the same stage across borders (initiative taken by TOI), The Pakistani cricketers are not playing in IPL this year... I am not going into the details of why or why not they are playing in IPL and blah blah... but all am I saying is an "unrealistic" project like "Aman Ki Asha" is waste of everything mortal...time, energy, resources and hopes!
You pay the artists they sing and dance for us, they give lofty speech and take accolades away. And then we have news on border terrorism every alternate day, we have news on Pakistani players not playing in IPL and all such thing...in the same newspaper that advertises their concerts and events...tell me, tell me, where is the "Aman"...or is it only "Asha" which will stay an "Asha" forever?
You pay the artists they sing and dance for us, they give lofty speech and take accolades away. And then we have news on border terrorism every alternate day, we have news on Pakistani players not playing in IPL and all such thing...in the same newspaper that advertises their concerts and events...tell me, tell me, where is the "Aman"...or is it only "Asha" which will stay an "Asha" forever?
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Housewives and Homemaker
In the 70s, our mothers were all "housewives" (not a hmemaker, since hat term not yet come in vogue then). They were busy caring for us toddlers, and take care of the household activities. They also used to host parties for their husbands' bosses and colleagues, not because they loved it all the times, but more because they had no choice. Their husbands would call them and declare, "my boss and 5 other people coming for dinner tonight"...not a request but more of a command, and the next thing you know the wives are busy planning, shopping, scrubbing, polishing, decorating, cooking, and stressing out. Naturally, none of this work is compensated in any way. At the end of the dinner party, the husband's boss turns to the housewife with a condescending smile and says, "This was really quite a spread that you put on. It's nice that you have something to keep you busy."!!!
If you are born in the 70s, you would have seen your mother be at her husband's beck and call for massive unpaid projects such as this. And you would become a feminist early on because, even as a little girl, you would be sick and tired of seeing your mother being regularly treated with an enormous lack of respect. And not only hosting parties, so many rituals our mothers were supposed to do just based on their gender. Now that I am a 34 year old married woman juggling my career and family, I wonder why one part of the society would always be the victim of "lack of respect". Now, a lack of respect is probably inevitable when a class has no money, no power, and no public voice. But our mothers...many of them have had a good educational background, came from respectable families but then why, just because they were women, even worse, housewives, they had to go through millions of big and small humiliations? So much so, that most of them probably didnt even think of them as humiliations? Women being taken for granted became inevitable in and around the 70s when they were simply doing something they had little choice in.
My personal observation is that the status of "housewives...homemakers" has improved with the rise of feminism in our country (note, am talking mostly about the educated, middle/upper middle class society). Even the relatively modern term "homemaker" evinces a recognition that women who cook and clean and sew and decorate and budget and care for children are more than just wives who stay at home. Today, homemakers are more powerful than ever before. They are more organized, more outspoken in the public sphere, and more likely to have educations and careers that make them less dependent on their husbands than in the past. They are less likely to be disregarded or excluded from the conversation or treated condescendingly if politics or other Important Subjects arise. They are less likely to be taken for granted since they have other options. So things are definitely getting better for women. I know of certain aunties who, despite having good education, could never have a career of her own as her husband was worried about the chilren's upbringing in the "absense of their mother at home". I know of an uncle who proudly states at each and every party that he attends that he has never let his wife work because he could always "afford" whatever furnitures his wife wanted to buy! (as if aunty would have worked only to buy furnitures)...
I am glad that I am born in an age where people dont raise eyebrow because I am a career woman (even if they do, it hardly matters as my family supports me thick and thin). Today homemakers are much more than housewives... they are like this juggler who balances everything with great ease. In todays age, there are planty of stay-at-home mothers for whom such a decision is entirely voluntary and not being forced upon. All I am trying to emphasize on, here, is that the furtherance of women's equality in all spheres of life will help to make homemaking a truly voluntary choice and will thereby also raise the status of all women. And this has happened to a great extent, thanks to the rise of feminism. After all feminism is not any extremist operation. It is just a way of socially upgrading the status of women and helping them realize their true value and potential.
Womanhood is a celebration...so celebrate it. Embrace it with love and dignity... and stop taking things which your heart doesnt allow you to. Break free... Homemaker or a career woman...it is and should be "your choice" and not imposed on you by any third person singular number!
If you are born in the 70s, you would have seen your mother be at her husband's beck and call for massive unpaid projects such as this. And you would become a feminist early on because, even as a little girl, you would be sick and tired of seeing your mother being regularly treated with an enormous lack of respect. And not only hosting parties, so many rituals our mothers were supposed to do just based on their gender. Now that I am a 34 year old married woman juggling my career and family, I wonder why one part of the society would always be the victim of "lack of respect". Now, a lack of respect is probably inevitable when a class has no money, no power, and no public voice. But our mothers...many of them have had a good educational background, came from respectable families but then why, just because they were women, even worse, housewives, they had to go through millions of big and small humiliations? So much so, that most of them probably didnt even think of them as humiliations? Women being taken for granted became inevitable in and around the 70s when they were simply doing something they had little choice in.
My personal observation is that the status of "housewives...homemakers" has improved with the rise of feminism in our country (note, am talking mostly about the educated, middle/upper middle class society). Even the relatively modern term "homemaker" evinces a recognition that women who cook and clean and sew and decorate and budget and care for children are more than just wives who stay at home. Today, homemakers are more powerful than ever before. They are more organized, more outspoken in the public sphere, and more likely to have educations and careers that make them less dependent on their husbands than in the past. They are less likely to be disregarded or excluded from the conversation or treated condescendingly if politics or other Important Subjects arise. They are less likely to be taken for granted since they have other options. So things are definitely getting better for women. I know of certain aunties who, despite having good education, could never have a career of her own as her husband was worried about the chilren's upbringing in the "absense of their mother at home". I know of an uncle who proudly states at each and every party that he attends that he has never let his wife work because he could always "afford" whatever furnitures his wife wanted to buy! (as if aunty would have worked only to buy furnitures)...
I am glad that I am born in an age where people dont raise eyebrow because I am a career woman (even if they do, it hardly matters as my family supports me thick and thin). Today homemakers are much more than housewives... they are like this juggler who balances everything with great ease. In todays age, there are planty of stay-at-home mothers for whom such a decision is entirely voluntary and not being forced upon. All I am trying to emphasize on, here, is that the furtherance of women's equality in all spheres of life will help to make homemaking a truly voluntary choice and will thereby also raise the status of all women. And this has happened to a great extent, thanks to the rise of feminism. After all feminism is not any extremist operation. It is just a way of socially upgrading the status of women and helping them realize their true value and potential.
Womanhood is a celebration...so celebrate it. Embrace it with love and dignity... and stop taking things which your heart doesnt allow you to. Break free... Homemaker or a career woman...it is and should be "your choice" and not imposed on you by any third person singular number!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Emotional Atyachaar
My morning begins with Times Of India...well actually it begins with a yawn, followed by internal Shakespearrean conflict of "to get up or not to get up"...but after I get up...or pushed from my bed literally...my day begins with TOI. And when I began my morning on the first day of a new decade, my eyes fell upon the first page of the TOI, I chancedupon the announcement of a new initiave : Aman ki Aasha (read, emotional atyachaar)
I dont drink, so I really dont know what a hangover on the 1st of January is, but am sure it could not be any different from what I was going through reading that page. Accepted and understood that we entered a new decade, accepted and understood that we need to be different. Accepted and understood that life moves on and that "to err is human and to forgive is divine"...but the past decade that witnessed so much of terrorism, started with the attacks on our Parliament and ended with 26/11 and with so many lives getting affected, I want to move on but dont want to "forgive". I respect Gandhiji, but dont agree with giving away my other cheek for free to slap if someone finds me worthy of slapping!!! I may not slap back, agreed...but I will definitely remeber his slap forever unless I suffer from what Amitabh Bacchan suffered in "BLACK". Also Aman ki Asha, and bridging gap between the two countries...well atleast I dont have the guts to talk about these infront of Khushboo Jha or say the Kashmiri Pundits. I didnt quite find it interesting or even worth reading... rather my mind was more concentrating on what could have been saved if Aman ki Asha was not there.
First and foremost, we could save our environment...look at the amount of paper we are wasting on this "initiative". I have nothing against Pakistan, "the people". The people there are just like me. Infact I have a Pakistani colleague of mine and we were even friends on Facebook (till I defunced my FB id for some personal reason). But this Aman ki Asha or whatever, is pure waste. So my earnest request to TOI...dont waste paper on this at such a large scale please.
Secondly, its like playing with our emotions... give us a break. What you are asking us to do is forget the past and the present for a "dreamy" future"...sorry boss, thats not possible.
Am sure TOI is spending huge amount of money and resource in this initiative. They can utilize them for more pressing and urgent cause...they can infact open a camp for educating our "politicians"
And last but not the least...they can stop this "Emotioanl Atyachaar"...
I dont drink, so I really dont know what a hangover on the 1st of January is, but am sure it could not be any different from what I was going through reading that page. Accepted and understood that we entered a new decade, accepted and understood that we need to be different. Accepted and understood that life moves on and that "to err is human and to forgive is divine"...but the past decade that witnessed so much of terrorism, started with the attacks on our Parliament and ended with 26/11 and with so many lives getting affected, I want to move on but dont want to "forgive". I respect Gandhiji, but dont agree with giving away my other cheek for free to slap if someone finds me worthy of slapping!!! I may not slap back, agreed...but I will definitely remeber his slap forever unless I suffer from what Amitabh Bacchan suffered in "BLACK". Also Aman ki Asha, and bridging gap between the two countries...well atleast I dont have the guts to talk about these infront of Khushboo Jha or say the Kashmiri Pundits. I didnt quite find it interesting or even worth reading... rather my mind was more concentrating on what could have been saved if Aman ki Asha was not there.
First and foremost, we could save our environment...look at the amount of paper we are wasting on this "initiative". I have nothing against Pakistan, "the people". The people there are just like me. Infact I have a Pakistani colleague of mine and we were even friends on Facebook (till I defunced my FB id for some personal reason). But this Aman ki Asha or whatever, is pure waste. So my earnest request to TOI...dont waste paper on this at such a large scale please.
Secondly, its like playing with our emotions... give us a break. What you are asking us to do is forget the past and the present for a "dreamy" future"...sorry boss, thats not possible.
Am sure TOI is spending huge amount of money and resource in this initiative. They can utilize them for more pressing and urgent cause...they can infact open a camp for educating our "politicians"
And last but not the least...they can stop this "Emotioanl Atyachaar"...
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
3 idiots - Review
Well, where do I begin from? The common stand is that when you review anything, you just rip it off! But then since this movie is all about breaking the common rules, what better way to implement the same than writing a review and going ga ga over the movie!
Honestly, there is not a thing about this movie that I "didnt" like. Before starting this post, I googled and read a lot many reviews of this movie. Most of the reviews were positive, though like experts, and still afraid of breaking the common path may be, each of those reviewers wrote negative stuffs as well...
Some said every time they saw Pia (Kareena) they wished they could see more of the 3 idiots together on screen than this 4th one! Well, I thought I would also write this,and why not...I dont like Kareena at all! But couldnot make myself hate Pia, no matter how much I hate Kareena. I loved here presence in the movie just as much as her elder sister (played by Mona).
Some "Chatur" and "Virus" sometimes over did their part. Well, thought would write about this...but then again couldnot... Chatur Ramalingam reminded me of atleast 3-4 such real life characters in my own life, right from the school till the University days. How can I not believe in that character, when I know atleast 3-4 Chaturs in my own life? And forget school, college or university, you get "Chatur"s in every age of your life...
Virus... well Boman Irani is a sweetheart... even if he "overdid" I can never criticise him...but then how do I say he overdid? He reminded me of atleast 1 prof from College days and 1 from the University... and at times I see many "VIRUSes" around me.
Some even said Aamir at 44, didnt look like 22...to which I say...Just shut up!
Amitabh, at 66, if decides to do a 13, and gets away with it with all the truckload of make-up then Amir did a better job without make-up...only with his body language... Rancho is the cutest 22 year old student I have ever seen!!! My husband did try to make a point by saying that he has done plastic surgery and blah blah, to which I said...Just shut up!
So, a very few negatives that I got reading those reviews...I couldnt just accept them. So, following Rancho, I am defying the norm and standing apart...a review of a movie...where I just didnt find anythingnegative to comment upon. So what if they showed 2000 AD but showed use of mobile phones in college campus that too the small and sleek ones, not the huge Motorola sets, if at all...it doesnt matter. It also doesnot matter if they show webcam delivery! That was informative...(yes, my 10 year old daughter proudly told me that now she knows what "normal delivery" is!). Am ready to overlook all these and much more to get 3 hours of absolute bliss! Am ready to accept every overdose of acting, if at all... for priceless on-screen moments like the suicide of Joy Lobo, or the suicide attempt of Raju, or the love and the bonding between the 3 idiots!
I am ready to accept the histronics of Chatur any number of time, for that famous speech of his on the teacher's day! I am ready to tolerate VIRUS for his 7.5 mins power nap. I am more that willing to sit through all the negatives mentioned above and more for a dailouge like "you are sad when your best friend flunks, but you are the saddest when he...tops!!!"....3 hours of LOL moments with enough touch of sensitivity, emotion, and socially relevant message...All in all...3 idots rocks!!!
My respect for Raju Hirani increased manifold... hope to see many more of his offerings...
A must must must watch for everybody...irrespective of caste, n creed. Aamir Khan lovers, Aamir Khan haters, Chetan Bhagat fans, please line up...buy tickets and watch this movie... it would be even more fun, if you go and watch this movie with your buddies.....
Honestly, there is not a thing about this movie that I "didnt" like. Before starting this post, I googled and read a lot many reviews of this movie. Most of the reviews were positive, though like experts, and still afraid of breaking the common path may be, each of those reviewers wrote negative stuffs as well...
Some said every time they saw Pia (Kareena) they wished they could see more of the 3 idiots together on screen than this 4th one! Well, I thought I would also write this,and why not...I dont like Kareena at all! But couldnot make myself hate Pia, no matter how much I hate Kareena. I loved here presence in the movie just as much as her elder sister (played by Mona).
Some "Chatur" and "Virus" sometimes over did their part. Well, thought would write about this...but then again couldnot... Chatur Ramalingam reminded me of atleast 3-4 such real life characters in my own life, right from the school till the University days. How can I not believe in that character, when I know atleast 3-4 Chaturs in my own life? And forget school, college or university, you get "Chatur"s in every age of your life...
Virus... well Boman Irani is a sweetheart... even if he "overdid" I can never criticise him...but then how do I say he overdid? He reminded me of atleast 1 prof from College days and 1 from the University... and at times I see many "VIRUSes" around me.
Some even said Aamir at 44, didnt look like 22...to which I say...Just shut up!
Amitabh, at 66, if decides to do a 13, and gets away with it with all the truckload of make-up then Amir did a better job without make-up...only with his body language... Rancho is the cutest 22 year old student I have ever seen!!! My husband did try to make a point by saying that he has done plastic surgery and blah blah, to which I said...Just shut up!
So, a very few negatives that I got reading those reviews...I couldnt just accept them. So, following Rancho, I am defying the norm and standing apart...a review of a movie...where I just didnt find anythingnegative to comment upon. So what if they showed 2000 AD but showed use of mobile phones in college campus that too the small and sleek ones, not the huge Motorola sets, if at all...it doesnt matter. It also doesnot matter if they show webcam delivery! That was informative...(yes, my 10 year old daughter proudly told me that now she knows what "normal delivery" is!). Am ready to overlook all these and much more to get 3 hours of absolute bliss! Am ready to accept every overdose of acting, if at all... for priceless on-screen moments like the suicide of Joy Lobo, or the suicide attempt of Raju, or the love and the bonding between the 3 idiots!
I am ready to accept the histronics of Chatur any number of time, for that famous speech of his on the teacher's day! I am ready to tolerate VIRUS for his 7.5 mins power nap. I am more that willing to sit through all the negatives mentioned above and more for a dailouge like "you are sad when your best friend flunks, but you are the saddest when he...tops!!!"....3 hours of LOL moments with enough touch of sensitivity, emotion, and socially relevant message...All in all...3 idots rocks!!!
My respect for Raju Hirani increased manifold... hope to see many more of his offerings...
A must must must watch for everybody...irrespective of caste, n creed. Aamir Khan lovers, Aamir Khan haters, Chetan Bhagat fans, please line up...buy tickets and watch this movie... it would be even more fun, if you go and watch this movie with your buddies.....
Monday, January 4, 2010
Chetan Bhagat, FPS...and 3 Idiots
This is tough for me...I love them all. When you love both the gangs@war, its tough to take a stand. But the brighter side is, when you love both the gangs...you will never be biased...you will just speak your mind, and this is exactly what I intend to do here.
One honest confession of Aditi (the reader)... I love Chetan Bhagat. Yes he is a cool dude who has given us Indians (specially the youths) something to look forward to in a Novel by an Indian author. I am conservative when it comes to reading. I prefer Agatha Christie, Sydney Sheldon, Paulo Coelho, P G Woodhouse etc etc. Indian authors?...hmmm, never sort of excited me much - not their fault though, it is my conservative attitude that needs to be blamed. Amitava Ghosh did help a bit...but only a bit. And then came Chetan Bhagat in my world -I mean not literally, though wish ;-) Initially when my cousins mentioned FPS (when it was first launched) and went gaga over the author I just snapped them off (being 6 years elder to them helped). Kept hearing about this cool IIT-IIM-turned- banker-turned-author but never felt like reading his offerings. To make matters worse, oneday I just chanced upon 1 night@Call Center...and I didnot like it. So Chetan Bhagat chapter ended in my life...atleast that s what i thought then.
A couple of months back a friend told me about 2 states...also since these books cost 95/ only (thats another good thing about his books) thought let me read it, I have only 95/ bucks to lose. Man, I just loved his book this time. I mean, yes, I agree he is not an embryo of a Nobel prize winning author , but he is cool...his style is fun...his humor is witty...and he did have a message! I loved 2 states and then, as if in a flash back mode, I read FPS (I just loved it), and 3 mistakes of my life (nothing great but liked his style of humor, and again with a message)...but all these were enough for me to fall in love with Chetan Bhagat and his books. So as I said in the beginning, I love Chetan Bhagat against all odds in my life.
Honest confession of Aditi (the movie-watcher)...I love Raju Hirani (not with the same kind of emotion that I have for Chetan Bhagat, but nevertheless, I love him). I mean I dont wish I was Mrs. Raju Hirani in even my wildest dream, but I love his work...oh he, as a director, has a magic touch. I loved all his movies...Munna Bhai MBBS, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, and was eagerly awaiting 3 idiots...why?...well the reasons are
1) Raju Hirani is the director
2)the story is loosely adapted from FPS (this is what I knew)
3)Aamir Khan is thr - another man I just respect too much
And yes...the team bowled me over again. I read the movie made 100crores business in the openning week...well out of that 2000/ is my contribution. Loved the movie and am planning to break my record of watching Maine Pyar Kiya 50 times with this one.
Amazing movie...and then saw/read/heard about the controversy...heard my sweetheart Chetan Bhagat is upset about the credentials?! I was shocked, and ashamed...and yes, once again I thougt...wish I was Mrs. Chetan Bhagat...i would have stopped him for stooping so low for sure.
So I thought i would write an opne letter to him, only to tell him, how his fans are feeling right now with all this monkey dancing around the press....
Hi Dude,
I feel sorry for you that you have got a meagre amount of 11,00,000/ from the Producer when the movie has crossed 175 crore business and is still going strong. I can relate to it... I feel exactly the same when I read the quarterly profit report of my organisation (IBM) and compare it with my salary slip! But there is not much we can do about it right? Common dude, take this as a "lesson learnt"...better bargain well next time, but atleast stop being a "Chatur Ramalingam" yaa... Your pointing scene by scene in the media! God, Chetan, grow up! People who have read your story and watched the movie, know exactly whats being taken from your book...and who denied that? But the "story" of 3idiots...story of "Rancho"...is not yours...they have adapted some part from your story and they have paid you for that...the payment may seem less now, but thats something you guys mutually agreed upon, right? then what is this fuss all about?...dont be a kiddo...I agree, our education system should change...otherwise an IIT-IIM grad, doesnt understand this basic minimum?
Dude, you said you have problem that they put your name at the end? So whats the fuss about? there are so many movies when the credits roll out in the end only... stop crying baby...next time put this in your contract...details with when you want your name, what should be the font size etc ok? we learn from our mistakes, dont we?
Then I read you were upset bcos your mother was upset because she missed your name in the movie. Ah, you know Indian mothers na? Remember Krish's mother? (2 states)...she would cry even when bhindi masala burnt! Our mothers are very delicate, and beyond a certain age limit they lose their eye sight as well... so may be a tight "jaadu ki jhappi" alongwith an eye-appointment will make your mom happy...
Like an ardent fan of yours I felt proud to watch this movie which is loosely adapted from your FPS. I cheered when I saw your "punches", witty "one-liners"...and told my husband excitedly about how they are actually your contributions...and am sure many like me felt proud... but dude, you have let us down with your "Chatur" act. to quote VIRUS... "Main tumhe sympathy de sakti hoon, support nahin"
The story credit is not entirely yours, and The production house has done everything that is mentioned in the contract...so stop fussing and move on in life... take this as a learning expereince...I will, as well...we must use our bargaining power to strike a better deal, dude! not cry and make fun of ourselves...
Love,
Aditi
One honest confession of Aditi (the reader)... I love Chetan Bhagat. Yes he is a cool dude who has given us Indians (specially the youths) something to look forward to in a Novel by an Indian author. I am conservative when it comes to reading. I prefer Agatha Christie, Sydney Sheldon, Paulo Coelho, P G Woodhouse etc etc. Indian authors?...hmmm, never sort of excited me much - not their fault though, it is my conservative attitude that needs to be blamed. Amitava Ghosh did help a bit...but only a bit. And then came Chetan Bhagat in my world -I mean not literally, though wish ;-) Initially when my cousins mentioned FPS (when it was first launched) and went gaga over the author I just snapped them off (being 6 years elder to them helped). Kept hearing about this cool IIT-IIM-turned- banker-turned-author but never felt like reading his offerings. To make matters worse, oneday I just chanced upon 1 night@Call Center...and I didnot like it. So Chetan Bhagat chapter ended in my life...atleast that s what i thought then.
A couple of months back a friend told me about 2 states...also since these books cost 95/ only (thats another good thing about his books) thought let me read it, I have only 95/ bucks to lose. Man, I just loved his book this time. I mean, yes, I agree he is not an embryo of a Nobel prize winning author , but he is cool...his style is fun...his humor is witty...and he did have a message! I loved 2 states and then, as if in a flash back mode, I read FPS (I just loved it), and 3 mistakes of my life (nothing great but liked his style of humor, and again with a message)...but all these were enough for me to fall in love with Chetan Bhagat and his books. So as I said in the beginning, I love Chetan Bhagat against all odds in my life.
Honest confession of Aditi (the movie-watcher)...I love Raju Hirani (not with the same kind of emotion that I have for Chetan Bhagat, but nevertheless, I love him). I mean I dont wish I was Mrs. Raju Hirani in even my wildest dream, but I love his work...oh he, as a director, has a magic touch. I loved all his movies...Munna Bhai MBBS, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, and was eagerly awaiting 3 idiots...why?...well the reasons are
1) Raju Hirani is the director
2)the story is loosely adapted from FPS (this is what I knew)
3)Aamir Khan is thr - another man I just respect too much
And yes...the team bowled me over again. I read the movie made 100crores business in the openning week...well out of that 2000/ is my contribution. Loved the movie and am planning to break my record of watching Maine Pyar Kiya 50 times with this one.
Amazing movie...and then saw/read/heard about the controversy...heard my sweetheart Chetan Bhagat is upset about the credentials?! I was shocked, and ashamed...and yes, once again I thougt...wish I was Mrs. Chetan Bhagat...i would have stopped him for stooping so low for sure.
So I thought i would write an opne letter to him, only to tell him, how his fans are feeling right now with all this monkey dancing around the press....
Hi Dude,
I feel sorry for you that you have got a meagre amount of 11,00,000/ from the Producer when the movie has crossed 175 crore business and is still going strong. I can relate to it... I feel exactly the same when I read the quarterly profit report of my organisation (IBM) and compare it with my salary slip! But there is not much we can do about it right? Common dude, take this as a "lesson learnt"...better bargain well next time, but atleast stop being a "Chatur Ramalingam" yaa... Your pointing scene by scene in the media! God, Chetan, grow up! People who have read your story and watched the movie, know exactly whats being taken from your book...and who denied that? But the "story" of 3idiots...story of "Rancho"...is not yours...they have adapted some part from your story and they have paid you for that...the payment may seem less now, but thats something you guys mutually agreed upon, right? then what is this fuss all about?...dont be a kiddo...I agree, our education system should change...otherwise an IIT-IIM grad, doesnt understand this basic minimum?
Dude, you said you have problem that they put your name at the end? So whats the fuss about? there are so many movies when the credits roll out in the end only... stop crying baby...next time put this in your contract...details with when you want your name, what should be the font size etc ok? we learn from our mistakes, dont we?
Then I read you were upset bcos your mother was upset because she missed your name in the movie. Ah, you know Indian mothers na? Remember Krish's mother? (2 states)...she would cry even when bhindi masala burnt! Our mothers are very delicate, and beyond a certain age limit they lose their eye sight as well... so may be a tight "jaadu ki jhappi" alongwith an eye-appointment will make your mom happy...
Like an ardent fan of yours I felt proud to watch this movie which is loosely adapted from your FPS. I cheered when I saw your "punches", witty "one-liners"...and told my husband excitedly about how they are actually your contributions...and am sure many like me felt proud... but dude, you have let us down with your "Chatur" act. to quote VIRUS... "Main tumhe sympathy de sakti hoon, support nahin"
The story credit is not entirely yours, and The production house has done everything that is mentioned in the contract...so stop fussing and move on in life... take this as a learning expereince...I will, as well...we must use our bargaining power to strike a better deal, dude! not cry and make fun of ourselves...
Love,
Aditi
Friday, December 18, 2009
Nothing in Particular
Its been long since I blogged. At times you just feel too weak to accept your existance, forget moving ahead. At times you feel like looking back and doing an introspection of your life... with my 34 years of experience i have realized that those are the times you should never do any introspection. When you have a pre-conceived notion you can never be unbiased. And introduction is all about being unbias.
Take any negative emotion... vengenance, hatred, jealousy...anything that you can name of...they form a cycle, a whirlpool that just sinks you in. Say for example, when two people fight. One of them realize that he is wrong, he tries to mend his ways, but the other want doesnt understand he is changing, so he continues fighting. then the other man realizes and wants to stop fighting, but the first ones say no, I wont stop...because when I realized and tried to change you continued fighting, now even though we both have realized, I will still not stop because you didnt when i wanted to....
Tell me friend, in a situation like this can this fight be stopped? Ego...ego is the root of all devil. Take any two super powers fighting, or any two friends fighting, or any two lovers fighting. Its the pleasure of proving each other wrong, its the pleasure of ripping each other's power, its the pleasure of a "shallow" win that keeps us going in these lines of...nothing, but self destruction. We wake up in the morning and start fighting. Have we ever realized why we fight? Why we criticise others? Why we think others are wrong.... My boss is wrong, my husband is wrong, the government is wrong, Sharukh Khan is wrong, Amitabh Bacchan is wrong... the whole day all that we do with a lot of passion is complaining and cribbing. I wonder, why we do this?
We do this because this is our greatest defense mechanism...we start proving everybody else wrong to cover up the things that WE KNOW we have done wrong. The more wrong you do, the more cynical you be of others... Whats within, thats without....
Take any negative emotion... vengenance, hatred, jealousy...anything that you can name of...they form a cycle, a whirlpool that just sinks you in. Say for example, when two people fight. One of them realize that he is wrong, he tries to mend his ways, but the other want doesnt understand he is changing, so he continues fighting. then the other man realizes and wants to stop fighting, but the first ones say no, I wont stop...because when I realized and tried to change you continued fighting, now even though we both have realized, I will still not stop because you didnt when i wanted to....
Tell me friend, in a situation like this can this fight be stopped? Ego...ego is the root of all devil. Take any two super powers fighting, or any two friends fighting, or any two lovers fighting. Its the pleasure of proving each other wrong, its the pleasure of ripping each other's power, its the pleasure of a "shallow" win that keeps us going in these lines of...nothing, but self destruction. We wake up in the morning and start fighting. Have we ever realized why we fight? Why we criticise others? Why we think others are wrong.... My boss is wrong, my husband is wrong, the government is wrong, Sharukh Khan is wrong, Amitabh Bacchan is wrong... the whole day all that we do with a lot of passion is complaining and cribbing. I wonder, why we do this?
We do this because this is our greatest defense mechanism...we start proving everybody else wrong to cover up the things that WE KNOW we have done wrong. The more wrong you do, the more cynical you be of others... Whats within, thats without....
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Ode to our Government (Read any political party)
In Radio, TV etc, you always have this "dedicate a song" progrma...somehow I always found it funny...but nevertheless, today I want to dedicate a song to our beloved Government of India, and people running it. Here it goes...
One of Gandhi-ji's favourite songs is called "Vaishnav jan." It's always associated with him because he loved the lyrics and tried to follow those ideals. He also wanted to instill those ideas in all he met. He was honoured with the title "Father of India," and I'm sure he would have wanted his children to follow them. No, this post is not about him, as honestly, I am not his "die-hard" fan, but yes, I love some of the things he said/did/believed in...only some though.
The current crop of Indian Leaders (Gandhiji's children, if you may call them) think that they are honoring this great personality by bringing in his glasses and slippers back to India. So today, I want to dedicate a song which was Gandhiji's favorite to these political leaders, with a hope that they change their mind and start following this song in order to pay tribute to our "Father of the Nation"... and if not anything else, this will help us Indians in many ways...
Vaishnav jan to tene kahiye je, peed paraayi jaane re /Par dukhe upkaar kare toye, man abhimaan na aane re//
The true devotee [of God] is one who understands the pain of those who are not their own,
Always ready to help those who are unhappy, and does not let arrogance enter his mind.
If the government was really interested in honouring Gandhi-ji's memory, they should be able to understand the problems that the people are facing. I would say that the biggest problem that we are facing in India now is the ever rising prices of basic food products - rice, lentils, pulses... I mean, give us a break - thats common man's food after all. I would say these things take just a little bit of priority over making a huge noise about Gandhi-ji's things that he gave away during his lifetime and nobody cared about for at least 60 years.
Sakal lok maan sahune vande, ninda na karen keni re / Vaach kaach man nischal raakhe, dhan dhan janani teni re //
She bows to the whole world, does not criticise anybody, Words, deeds, and mind are kept pure, blessed is the mother who has such a child.
Well, this first bit the Indian government does really well. Bows to practically the whole world. "Oho, you want to come and blow up people here? No problem, please go ahead... consequences to you? None, don't worry... we will strongly condemn the acts but words have never hurt anyone. Do you mind if we blame the previous government for your actions? That way you can seem to be victims too!"
Their words are definitely unpure... deeds and minds alike. Mother India is not very blessed with most of the current leaders that we have. Mother India is silent, but how long will we, the people living here, be?
Sam-drishti ne trishna tyaagi, parastree jene maat re /
Jivaa thake, asatya na bole, par dhan nava jhaale haath re //
All are looked upon as equals, desire is abandoned, and he treats women as if they were his mother,
His tongue tires if he attempts to lie, he does not want other people's wealth.
I really wish the government would have this attitude. Right now, men and women are not looked upon equally, different castes are not looked upon equally, hell, ministers and public are not looked upon equally. Violence against women is a huge problem and their opportunities are still restricted in much of the country. Lies are the bread and butter of politics and stealing the taxpayers' money... that's an Olympic sport in itself. If only any of them bothers to read this blog... or if anyone of you know anyone of them...please let them know this song is dedicated to them.
Moh maaya vyape nahin jene, drudh vairaagya jena manmaa re /Ram naam shu taali laagi, sakal theerth tena tan ma re //
Desire and illusion don't hold him, he has detached himself from the world, The name of God is on his lips, all places of pilgrimage are in his body.
Government is very much attached to power, but not so much to the people who give them their power. Detachment is definitely there in them...from their people. They do use God to stay in power as much as possible... for some reason if God / religion is mentioned people forget rational thinking and hand over their brains. So instead of religion being something that unites, politicians use it to divide and the "we will protect you from them" seems to work better in the short term than "we'll get schools and electricity and water," of course the latter are much more difficult than the former, especially when there's nobody to protect against... other than goons who work for the politicians.
Vana lobhi ne kapat rachit chhe, kaam krodh nivaarya re / Bhane narsaiyyon tenu darshan kartaa, kul ekoter tarya re //
He has no deceit, no greed, has given up lust and anger,
If Narsi [the poet] is in the presence of such a person, his whole family will get salvation.
Government's definitely failed on all this... the bad side is shown to the people of the country, they're really nice to foriegners as far as I can tell.So, I'm asking those ministers who want to keep the memory of Mahatma Gandhi alive, take a page from his favourite poem and be that person... building statues, getting bits of memorabilia back won't keep his memory alive... as Gandhi-ji liked to say, "Be the change you want to see in the world," or at the very least, stop interfering with people who want to see change happen.
One of Gandhi-ji's favourite songs is called "Vaishnav jan." It's always associated with him because he loved the lyrics and tried to follow those ideals. He also wanted to instill those ideas in all he met. He was honoured with the title "Father of India," and I'm sure he would have wanted his children to follow them. No, this post is not about him, as honestly, I am not his "die-hard" fan, but yes, I love some of the things he said/did/believed in...only some though.
The current crop of Indian Leaders (Gandhiji's children, if you may call them) think that they are honoring this great personality by bringing in his glasses and slippers back to India. So today, I want to dedicate a song which was Gandhiji's favorite to these political leaders, with a hope that they change their mind and start following this song in order to pay tribute to our "Father of the Nation"... and if not anything else, this will help us Indians in many ways...
Vaishnav jan to tene kahiye je, peed paraayi jaane re /Par dukhe upkaar kare toye, man abhimaan na aane re//
The true devotee [of God] is one who understands the pain of those who are not their own,
Always ready to help those who are unhappy, and does not let arrogance enter his mind.
If the government was really interested in honouring Gandhi-ji's memory, they should be able to understand the problems that the people are facing. I would say that the biggest problem that we are facing in India now is the ever rising prices of basic food products - rice, lentils, pulses... I mean, give us a break - thats common man's food after all. I would say these things take just a little bit of priority over making a huge noise about Gandhi-ji's things that he gave away during his lifetime and nobody cared about for at least 60 years.
Sakal lok maan sahune vande, ninda na karen keni re / Vaach kaach man nischal raakhe, dhan dhan janani teni re //
She bows to the whole world, does not criticise anybody, Words, deeds, and mind are kept pure, blessed is the mother who has such a child.
Well, this first bit the Indian government does really well. Bows to practically the whole world. "Oho, you want to come and blow up people here? No problem, please go ahead... consequences to you? None, don't worry... we will strongly condemn the acts but words have never hurt anyone. Do you mind if we blame the previous government for your actions? That way you can seem to be victims too!"
Their words are definitely unpure... deeds and minds alike. Mother India is not very blessed with most of the current leaders that we have. Mother India is silent, but how long will we, the people living here, be?
Sam-drishti ne trishna tyaagi, parastree jene maat re /
Jivaa thake, asatya na bole, par dhan nava jhaale haath re //
All are looked upon as equals, desire is abandoned, and he treats women as if they were his mother,
His tongue tires if he attempts to lie, he does not want other people's wealth.
I really wish the government would have this attitude. Right now, men and women are not looked upon equally, different castes are not looked upon equally, hell, ministers and public are not looked upon equally. Violence against women is a huge problem and their opportunities are still restricted in much of the country. Lies are the bread and butter of politics and stealing the taxpayers' money... that's an Olympic sport in itself. If only any of them bothers to read this blog... or if anyone of you know anyone of them...please let them know this song is dedicated to them.
Moh maaya vyape nahin jene, drudh vairaagya jena manmaa re /Ram naam shu taali laagi, sakal theerth tena tan ma re //
Desire and illusion don't hold him, he has detached himself from the world, The name of God is on his lips, all places of pilgrimage are in his body.
Government is very much attached to power, but not so much to the people who give them their power. Detachment is definitely there in them...from their people. They do use God to stay in power as much as possible... for some reason if God / religion is mentioned people forget rational thinking and hand over their brains. So instead of religion being something that unites, politicians use it to divide and the "we will protect you from them" seems to work better in the short term than "we'll get schools and electricity and water," of course the latter are much more difficult than the former, especially when there's nobody to protect against... other than goons who work for the politicians.
Vana lobhi ne kapat rachit chhe, kaam krodh nivaarya re / Bhane narsaiyyon tenu darshan kartaa, kul ekoter tarya re //
He has no deceit, no greed, has given up lust and anger,
If Narsi [the poet] is in the presence of such a person, his whole family will get salvation.
Government's definitely failed on all this... the bad side is shown to the people of the country, they're really nice to foriegners as far as I can tell.So, I'm asking those ministers who want to keep the memory of Mahatma Gandhi alive, take a page from his favourite poem and be that person... building statues, getting bits of memorabilia back won't keep his memory alive... as Gandhi-ji liked to say, "Be the change you want to see in the world," or at the very least, stop interfering with people who want to see change happen.
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