The Unknown Truth

So - what is it about "truth" these days? The truth is out there - yes, but how many of us want to really know it. All of us know"satyamev jayate" - truth shall prevail, but are we really interested in finding the truth - the real truth and nothing but the truth?

Take the instance of a set of villagers in a movie called "chintuji". They are oblivious or want to be oblivious to the progress in other cities fearing it will bring harm to their peaceful utopian like existence. For them, the truth is their village life. For them the truth out there is a lie - which they have no intention of living.



For the outsiders,the "truth" is that they are living a lie - a lie based on convenience and the high moral ground. So which one is the real truth for us/them?Are they "immoral" to not adopt existing technology? Are they right in living a sheltered life?Is technology a bad thing? What is the truth?

Forget this much debatable topic - how about something "simple" like our TV serials. Most of them claim to advocate wrongdoings against the women fraternity. BTW, with the amount of serials out there discussing atrocities against women, it almost seems to me like a conspiracy;) - are women being brainwashed into believing that women all over India are facing serious issues and that "we are like this only" and that this is their fate?




Isnt there a single serial that can show my truth or the urban truth - that - we women can prove our might when we want to; that we are no longer the sufferers if we choose to do so;that we can carve our own way - if we choose to do so. It makes me wonder really! This medium - TV - reaches out to billions of people all over India - covering vasts dimensions and latitudes of people. Surely, not all of them should be coerced into the theory that "seeing is believing". Why cant there be more positive shows out there? Why cant the urban truth be broadcast - why does television have to be so sad and glum all the time? At the same time, these serials push the "truth" of harassment to women - but isnt the real "truth" that women should not be harassed? And for the record putting up a notice before the serial starts that the serial does not advocate harassment does not help in any way. Why dont we see the moral truth somewhere on any channel - be it news? Why are we not shown "happy" news of our society? Is that not the truth? Are we not dwelling on killings, corruption, inhumanity all the time? Is there no goodness left for us to broadcast anymore? Is that not the truth of our life, too?Should we not "know" that?

So - do we as Indians want to know the truth or we dont? I say we want to know the truth when its convenient for us. When the truth is glossy coated and looks endearing. When it appeals to our sensibilities - we are all for it. However, when it breaches serious personal boundaries, we are not interested and cite logic like destruction of society morals if the truth is exposed!Well, society is as society does and thats the plain truth.



In a way, yes, covering the truth does help maintain the distinct identity that India has of social acceptance - and personally speaking I would like it that way.

So what is your version of the truth?

A new kind of racism..

Sheesh! It reads "Discounts for those born after 1984"

Now.. this is what you call being creative

Awesome watch!! Who knew technology had advanced thiis much.. The guy who created the video is a genius.. go watch!

Two Weeks - Grizzly Bear from Gabe Askew on Vimeo.

Monty Python - the relevance today!

Something I found ! Why didnt I know about their existence? Check it out! Such a clever clever script and screenplay! Might have to watch it twice!

A time to criticize and praise..

What is it about death? Does being dead give people the libety to praise unbashedly and criticize with frequent fervour? I am not saying that it should not be done - but why praise someone when that person is dead? Why not praise people when they are still alive and can feel happy at being appreciated?

Take the case of MJ. Most of us have grown up with his music. Whether it was just another reason to dance or a reason to understand music or the joy of discovering that Indian culture (albeit in a small way then) was put on an international platform (rem the lady who dances in the middle of the road - in the black or white song?)

What makes the event of a celebrities death so - shall we say "special"? SUddenly you find him being discussed in all possible channels, in all possible forums - big or small. Whether it is malicious gossip, dragging skeletons out of his closet with headlines like - "He wore a fake nose!" to "He was bankrupt" to the number of children he has or doesnt have. Recently his charred lock of hair is being turned into diamonds I find. Wonder which crazy fan would buy that?

But the idea is not to talk about his controversial life or the skeletons people are digging out of his closet. He was a legend and the craze with which people take you up, perhaps they exhibit the same madness in bringing you down. Just another way of being able to say - hey look, he doesnt have everything now, does he? Anyway, thats my skeptical opinion about the world.

But I want to perhaps look at the other side of this. Why was the world not able to recognize and appreciate his genius when he was alive. Why was he not considered for knighthood or Nobel Prize, as he is being considered now? Why were fans not able to praise and download or buy his music with the same amount of fervour that they are doing now? Why is it that death makes us go to extremes and perhaps take that extra effort to praise that someone special.

Perhaps more people live in the moment than they realize..:)

Poker Orchestra

Usually, I dont like instrumental music.. well, not that much.. But this one that I found - is very interesting.. guess it helps that I knew the song with lyrics before this came out and can see the various musicians here.. the arrangement looks complicated! There are soo many different instruments playing at one time - its amazing and the amalgamation gives you - great music..

very nice - go watch. While there, check out the orchestras tribute to MJ - another nice one!

Chappad phad ke ... mila!!:)

The appreciation doesnt stop.. not that we mind.. but um, can we now officially be called celebrities of the retail world?:) This is one of those rare moments where I can say - I won.. a competition!

The commercialization of childhood

Are you kidding me? Do these kids even know what they are doing.. and what these words mean? Check out youtube..

Tacky - very tacky - a big thumbs down to Colors..

Saw it - did it..

umm.. I have a pet peeve - and I have been trying so hard to get over it - but whenever I turn my thoughts away - there it is !

The topic in question is a mobile advert by a superstar of sorts. Just what is being communicated through that ad?

Is it that I will have the magical ability to get in touch with my friends from 10 years back? Or is it that the superstar has not bothered to contact his friends for more than 10 years.. or ohh! is it that with this sim - I will magically know the new numbers of my friends from 10 years back - or that they will retain the same number 10 years back - wait - where there mobiles back then?
I could go on and on with the ad trying to give a global look to the ad like having different religions - but let me not go there..Maybe the most pathetic shot had to be trying to talk to the spotlight man from a phone.. Umm.. wont it make more sense to do it when the guy is off duty - perhaps a more civilized convo might help? But a phone?!?! And does the superstar carry the numbers of all people on the shoot? Bah!

According to the ad makers - the idea was - "think of something - go for it- do it"... Methinks - I could do a better job at it..

Actually - I JUST did!:)

Solely for the soul..

Sajni.mp3

Moonlit landscape

The moonlight almost makes the view better.. much better

Ironic - maybe not..

Most of us have heard about the aussie attacks to students in australia. What intrigues me that these attacks are only hinted at the students? What about the Indian professionals working there.. Have they been mysteriously excluded from these attacks? That possibly cant be true. Racisim cant be just limited to the student community. So - how has Australia- the continent with perhaps the lowest population come to be a racist country? Surely they need "outsiders" to fill in the gaps they themselves cant fill. Be it a university or be it any job. They cant go about with the excuse that they dont have enough money to educate themselves. All of us Indians know how we educate ourselves at these foreign locations. Its through loans, a lot of hard work and our parents hard earned Indian money. Plus we vie for scholarships. To add to that we need to understand the culture and how we can make ourselves the extra money on the side. Surely this is much easier for a citizen of that country. So what makes them not go for it. The answer is simple. The government helps them out in terms of compensations or community jobs or something easier that makes them not go for the hard work in life - that is study or a 9-5 job. So why the anger at people who want to work hard and get themselves a degree and a better quality of life. It looks like pure jealousy to me.

Now this has raised an interesting point back home. We are a multi-cultural country ourselves. "Racist" tendencies perhaps are more likely to be present here than anywhere in the world.Most countrymen say - why blame other countries - apne andar jhanko. But inspite of that - as a country we are tolerant - perhaps more than the world, else we would have such incidents on a regular basis reported in India.
Yes, you might look at incidents like the MNS declaring war against the Biharis or the South Indians turning their nose up at the North Indians or internal dislike between certain South Indian states. But do we consider them "serious"? Some we find politically motivated. THe MNS incident is more the need of a person wanting to make a political name at the cost of certain people. It insitgates some to think, maybe act - but turn violent? Nope, not unless they are getting paid for it. The inherent divide of the Northies vs the Southies is again something that is relative and perhaps will never ever merit a violent attack. Its more fodder for our gossip for our grannies or parents. So is the internal South divide. If you try to dissect I am sure we can easily get each state declaring a war against the other due to some reason or the other. Reasons could be as mundane as "we dont like the way they talk" to "what do they eat, you said??" to "is that the way they dress there??".

But Indians - I am proud to say - dont harbour a mean streak. We wont resolve to passing a screwdriver to some poor mans head just because we dont like the way they talk or because a community happens to earn more than ones community. So no - we cant compare international incidents to ours and say its the same. Most cases that I know have been politically instigated (that includes the horrific Godhra riots) rather than a normal bypasser or teenager bashing another guy - just because he felt anger within him to do it.

Its time we woke up to understanding and appreciating our Indian culture. And stopped lapping up everything given by the western culture. They have some positives but as apparent there are gaping holes in their acceptability of other cultures. I would like to point out that these incidents have come to light in Australia, but these exist all over the globe. There is low acceptability of cultures which are not western in the western countries. Take a look at UK/Europe/US and you would know what I am talking about. What? have you forgotten the great Shilpa Big Brother Shetty incident?

As a world - its the western countries that need to learn from a country like ours on what tolerance is and then label themselves "developed". Plus I dont get the third world country tag - who gave it and why are we one(topic for another post:) )? Why look down on someone who is not in the race for development - YET. Look where that got our world anyway - we are in a bad mess of global warming gases. Is non development criminal OR is being non human and a barbaric more criminal?

So garv se bolo - Jai Hind!

We need to learn so much!

Have you been hit by this new lesson in lifes learning called Susan Boyle? You havent ?? You need to watch this -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

When I first watched it - I was shocked by the unanimous crowd booing and laughter!
I am not saying that people should not be judged - hell if we didnt judge people then our brains wouldnt churn analysis and make us understand right from wrong! But to do it so wickedly -when the person is on stage! The most confident person on stage does get stage fright! And plus I am not one for being bullied or bullying people anyway. I think its unfair to do it and speaks volumes about your upbringing as a person.

Anyway, as it started - the first thing that Susan Boyle did before she began singing her song was smile - a very confident smile, as if to say - you think I am stupid - hear this..And the rest as they say is history. If you carefully listen to her voice - its a sweet voice with lovely modulations and ability to emote. But there is a confidence and a certain love with which she sings the song. I am totally blown away! The reaction from the audience is equally impressive - and I was very happy about it. It was a standing ovation throughout the song!

This basically raises 2 important questions or thoughts to introspect on -
are we as humans so biased about appearances that we tend to overlook the person inside. Are we so superficial?
I am no saint either. I have been a victim and made other ppl victims too!
Why are we so hell bent on identifying peoples worth with their outer beauty? Who made this rule? But I guess if this rule didnt exist then outer appearances wouldntcount and I could go to office in my pyjamas;)

But I digress- I think we need to change the way we judge other people. However, If you look at it from the other viewpoint- when you meet a person, you hardly have time to understand the person in depth and the first thing that a person lets you know about him/her is their ability to present themselves and their ability to communicate what they think about themselves!
But, what if you are lazy and still think you are the Queen of Egypt? Wouldnt that translate into a good self esteem but a bad appearance.
I think its at such times, we should not be quick to judge.. and that is where Susan Boyles appeal lies. Her appearance is deceptive for what is hidden underneath is a volcano of talent and confidence! I am amazed her spirit has not died over the years due to the constant bullying and loneliness she has had to face!
That is where I feel for - and that is where I guess most of us identify ourselves with her! We want to give her another chance - as life certainly doesnt - and that makes us feel better about ourselves as humans and overcome the guilt of judging her too quickly. I hope life is better for her now(though I dont think she thinks it was bad as of now) and she rocks the world!

The other question that this raises is why justice in this world is delayed and when it does happen it happens in abundance! Why doesnt luck favour everyone in equal measures and at equal frequencies. I am sure there must be some statistics to explain this much better.. However I will save analysis on that for another day.

For now, I hope Susan Boyle is an inspiration and a lesson for us on what can go wrong and how we can make it right!

Top 5 reasons why Slumdog Millionaire doesnt work - yes, really!

1. Dev Patel was a miscast -
I truly believe Dev Patel was not his best in any of the scenes. Be it his accent, his jaw dropping vacant expression - nothing clicked with me. On the other hand the adult Salim brought a certain rough flavour that Dev Patel did not bring. That was needed considering we were talking about a street smart kid.

2. Important question- where was Freida driving to- towards the end? Any answers? In concept, yes - somewhere towards Jamal. But Jamal was busy with the crorepati program. Where was she going?

3.They dont teach 3 Musketeers in a school. Atleast not the school I went to. Its more of something that you would have by your bedside as a late night read rather than as a textbook in your school bag.

4. Why would Americans arrive in their own car in India only to be robbed is beyond me? Did they get their own car from America? Its more likely to be a tourist taxi. Is it that difficult to rob a car of its parts in India? Do you actually need to net a tourist in order to do that?

And finally- No Mr. Boyle, "slumdogs" in India dont suddenly start speaking in English when they are adults- Perhaps they can never speak English or can speak a smattering of it. Definitely not British English. Thats clearly a mockery of what the production house think of India.Perhaps its also a statement of the market this movie was expected to capture- definitely not the Indian market.

One also wonders- is SM a hit with the masses and the critics of the world because of the "harsh" realities it portrays? or is SM a hit because of the rags to riches story- sort of like the fairytale that one always imagines life to be?
For me, it portrayed India to be all about slums, poverty and call centres. That doesnt work- not because it is wrong to portray these, but because India is more than this. Perhaps its time one of our desi directors showed the world what we are about. But would the world care? For them, India is still a developing country and being able to talk in English still a surprise.
So poverty is not a shock - the developed India might be.

Not enough time..

When I was a kid, I used to wonder how adults made it through a year - working all 365 days a year. I mean as I saw it from my small eyes then, they had to do house work, office work each and every single day without any holiday!! That was amazing to me then. I would often say to myself that when I grew up I would take an off exactly the same way our school gave it. You know - summer vacations and winter vacations etc

Ha! Tough luck. As I found out after growing up, not only can I work 365 days a year, there are some days when I actually crave more work ( where did that come from?). And I can go working through an entire year without knowing how quickly a month has passed by, then a quarter and then a year. Those milestones seemed too big when I was a kid. My world ended and began with exam timetables and crossing them out once they got over (I still remember the bliss the crossing out gave me!)

And now sometimes I cant even find enough time to get things done, and wish a day was greater than 24 hours (havent you wished that?) or perhaps most importantly - evenings were much bigger than they usually are. I mean an evening should be more than the 3-4 hours we get. It should have like 5-6 hours! Wouldnt that be great?

Then there is the matter of work hours. Why in India are we working from 9-6 or 9-7 in certain companies or for certan people, even more than that? Other developed countries make the people work from 9-5. There should be labour laws against making us work more than required and making us think that time is not enough. Sure, there is time- only we have sold it to our employers. Thats actually quite a sad thought. However if you view time across various types of people- I mean working (labourers, IT prof, non IT prof), non working, then you would definitely not land up with a single definition of time. It gets more abstract as you reach out to more types of people. What would you then term as adequate use of the time given to you on a daily basis? example - I got my work done today, so it was enough or I got to relax a lot so it was enough.Or I got to do what I liked the most, hence time was enough. Or perhaps time is like one of those definitions given in a movie- Time is the only thing you cant touch, but can sense and feel.

Maybe the definition changes daily- but I know I am never going to look at time the way I did when I was a kid.

The bark is worse than the bite

YES! it is true. Imagine being woken up at 2 AM in the morning to the great sounds of woofing and howling. And if you thought that was you dreaming those sounds, wake up! coz its your friendly neighbourhood doggie. As if the sound of 1 didnt irritate you enough, there are 4-5 joining the chorus that is sure to uplift you from your dreamy state.

Why! you curse the night! the dogs,the waking up.. almost everything and then try to go back to sleep only to be rudely interrupted by the sounds of the barks, the howls getting louder. Almost as if they were singing to the night! You try to decipher what they are saying - is it to warn people, is it a new dog in the neighbourhood, or are they just having some crazy drunken party??


Well, what I want to know is - how my tax is helping my sleep. What is the government doing to ensure that I get a good nights sleep? You laugh? Not if you were in this city where this is quite common. I guess the government is too busy giving awards to people like Ash Bachhan (however do you spell it?) or to Bhajji Singhjee or to A Kumar. Why I wonder? What have they done to deserve this honor? Which street did they set right? Did they do anything for global terrorism-
heck I heard nothing from these ppl when Mumbai was under fire. Did they star in some award winning movie which brought loads of foreign funds to India? Did they break world records? And most importantly - did they scare the dogs of my neighbourhood away?Umm.. ok scratch that, but I am sure it was on the list of the panel who gave the Padmashree to these people!

The criteria for Padmashree as on wiki is "..is an award given by the Government of India generally to Indian citizens to recognize their distinguished contribution in various spheres of activity including the Arts, Education, Industry, Literature, Science, Sports, Social Service and public life. (The word "Padma" (Sanskrit) means "Lotus".)"

Ok, let me get this right. Ash B has contributed to lets say Arts - like how? The beauty and brains is God given. She has made money out of all the various movies she has starred in.That cannot be called a contribution- that is business my friend! Many of which I must say were ruined by the slight nasal accent to the voice. Dont tell me you havent noticed that..Anyway thats my money again! So basically what we are saying is - My money contributed in getting Ash a padmashree???

Ok, moving on to A Kumar. How many of you watched CC2C?I agree the movie was dumb with a captial D, but I would say his acting was better than SRKs any day. But then again, my money made him contribute to the Arts area and got him an award??

I dont think I need to discuss Bhajji here..he follows the same stream of thought.

So basically- this is how Padmashree for famous ppl work. You work hard everyday. In the name of entertainment, you spit out some money to watch a movie or a match or a CD/DVD. Turns out to be bogus. Money is earned by the producer. That money goes to the actor. Makes him famous. Makes him afford labels and swanky cars. AND makes him get a Padmashree for his outstanding contribution!!? Like how! I was the one who contributed to the movie ticket.. Not him. He watched his movie on some free DVD or some premiere in some faraway land. Lifes not fair I tell you!

The only person who perhaps got it on his own merit and without my or my relatives money involved is some craftsman from Kashmir(i read this in todays paper, but his name doesnt appear in the list). Turns out the government got it all wrong.. the person was not a craftsman but your everyday regular businessman. Ok, Ill save my rant for him. Maybe he did promote crafts in terrorism ridden Kashmir and that is something, if nothing.

Anyway, what was I saying again.. Ah yes! Who let the dogs out?;)

The F Factor..

I never thought I would get myself to blog about Sunjay Dutts comment (of all things), but it raises certain interesting points about feminisim in todays context.

"...That’s a message not just to my sisters, but to all girls who hang on to their parents’ surname. That’s become fashionable these days. But I strongly feel that doing so disrespects the person they have married.

...This may sound harsh, but if Maanyata had said she wanted to retain her father’s surname, I would’ve felt offended. "

I dont feel too strongly about it- because to each his own.

But does it mean that if a married woman adopts her husbands name, she is more of a married woman than if she doesnt?That sounds weird even writing it down. What does that mean for feminists all over the world?

And why are rules so strictly observed for women all over the world? What about men? Dont they want to feel a part of the marriage? Why do they always go scott free?

I think the answer lies in our society being more patriarch rather than matriarch. The man is still seen as the bread winner and the woman as the house runner. The woman has to belong to the new family and hence she adopts in some cases a new name and a new surname. This I dont seriously get. For 20 some years a woman has been named by her parents, but the inlaws find it right to change her name and surname? Why? Doesnt it mean an identity crisis for the lady in question. Again, more rules for women and less for men.

But what about women who are bread earners as well as home runners? Why are rules more stricter for them? Domestic duties are a must for all good wives. In certain sects, getting domestic help is a big no no.

The other issue I find interesting is how men can get married twice without any shame factor applied, but can a woman do it?Nope. But can a woman in higher society circles do it? Yes! Double standards!!!

Feminists all over the world raise an alarm when a certain French minister returns within 4 days of her maternity leave only to find being fired from her job. Or a Mrs. Obama who left her career for her husbands presidential run. I dont think this was about feminisim though. It was about personal choices. I dont think being a feminist means taking harsh stands on anything that harms "female rights". I think feminisim is about taking stands when a human beings rights are being violated. And you just happen to be a woman.

I think the rules our society made were for ages ago when women were not that educated and liberated. We are now in a new era. Where women are being considered as equals. Notice I said "being considered". We still have a long way to go before we realize that a man and a woman are just human beings who have equal rights and responsibilities in every sphere. And we neednt expect all sacrifices from a woman. Its time men got up and took some of the burden!

Durr Kahin..

Something I have on my itunes. This is by an upcoming band, whose band member I happen to know.

I must say its my kind of music and I hope they go places! For the record they are called "Jamgully". Check them on orkut, if you want to.

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Life- my second published short story

Sometime back I got an idea in my head - like one of those Eureka moments. Its translation was a a story that I published on a site

Check it out here -

http://www.helium.com/items/1065492-short-stories-life

Comments are invited!

The wrong way!

Have you ever wondered where eating lots of food can take you? Beware before you put that morsel in your mouth - think twice before you eat.

Would you want to end up like this!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1122444/Man-mountain-nearly-ate-death-loses-28-stone-fitness-instructor.html

Habits..

Have you ever had a habit that you found difficult to break? So difficult that it took you a lot of concentration not to do it. And by the time you got there, you had concentrated on it far too much that you decided not to take the strain, but to just go ahead and do "the habit" anyway?

Its reverse psychology in reverse. How do you get your brain to take cue and move away from the habit?

Anyone..?