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..?