Sunday, July 27, 2003

Sequel, soldiers and TN media!!!!!!!!!

Wow, i couldn't have been more happier. Nagesh kukunoor is planning to make a sequel to hyderabad blues. This is amazing. I love hyderabad blues. I love it for its simplicity and the fact that the protaganist Varun was the only film character who actually thought the way i thought. I am gonna eagerly wait for its release.

Yesterday was the 4th anniversary of Vijay divas or better known as the kargil day. i remember those days when ndtv ( the then star news team) was a hit among all the households in India coz they actually bought the war at the drawing rooms of so many Indians. I also remember Barkha dutt's reports from the front very vividly coz that was the time i decided that i want to become a journalist. I rememeber that i was in my 9th standard that time and i was absolutely fascinated by the NDTV reporters. i used to followevery minute details of the war on the then star news. the war had affected me a lot and i felt that i had to do something for the martyrs. So myself and my friend pooled in 400 bucks( That's all we could manage) and sent it the jawan's fund. Felt so nice after doing that. It was my small way of acknowledging the valuable contribution of our beloved soldiers.

In My house my parents avidly watch the news at eight at Sun TV, one of the most popular channel amongst the south indians. They also watch news at Jaya TV. Sun TV is absolutely pro-DMK and Jaya tv being absolutely Pro-AIADMK. Sometimes i am forced to see some news in tamil owing to my parents' insistence. What i have noticed is that when Jayalalithaa government comes to power, Sun TV will have news of all the happenings which will show Jayalaithaa in bad light. They will blame the government, the chief minister and everybody related to her. The same thing happens vice versa too. If karunanidhi (DMK) is in power then Sun TV will literally show him as a demi-god, as a person who never makes any mistake as a perfect person to run the government and all blah blah! and Jaya tv will continue to potray DMK govenment as the biggest mistake happening to tamil nadu politics. Sample this. During the recent event of jayalalithaa government acting tough on the striking govt employees, the supreme court asked the govt to reinstate the employees back.
report : ( jaya tv) the supreme court praised jayalaithaa for taking a tough stand against the striking employees. The supreme court "SUGGESTED" the jayalalithaa govt to admit back the dismissed employees.

(sun tv) The jayalaithaa govt suffered a major setback when the supreme court of india asked jayalaithaa to induct all the dismissed employess back to the job. The supreme court was particularly critical about jayalaithaa govt's harsh handling of the case and ablah blah!

This is the sort of vendetta politics is being played in TN. but what saddens me is that how media is being used convinient to fulfill personal venegence so effectively. Also one can remember that when jayalaithaa came back to power she had karunanidhi arrested and the way he was man handled was shown again again on Sun TV to arouse sympathy for karunanidhi and to instigate the public against jayalaithaa whereas at the same time JAYA TV maintained a nonchalant stand and acted as if nothing like that has ever happened. I am not imlying that what jayalaithaa did was right but misrepresentataion of facts by both the parties his simply not acceptable. In all this mess the guillible public is made to belive all wrong facts. Since Jaya and Sun TV almost have a monopoly between themselves and they being such dominant players in the tamil media scene they have the capacity of influencing public opinion on a large scale. If a person is used to watching a particular channel for watching news, he will seldom check other channels for updates and this becomes a habit. just as TOI is a habit in mumbai, Statesman is a habit in kolkatta etc. It is this factor that the braodcasters are using to their full advantage. Sad.................





Thursday, July 24, 2003

Hello people!!!!!!!!!!! wowie!!!!!!!!!!! Me very happy. Finally Anita added me to the Indian bloggers list. Cool! I think now the traffic to my blog should increase. Hey people now there is absolutely no reason for all ya guys to not visit my site. Do u all get that? ;) hehehehehhe! Anyways guys seeya and good day/night! Thanx once again Anita :)!



Wednesday, July 23, 2003

I love classical music. Mine has always been a musically inclined family. i was initiated into the world of music at quite a young age. But the reasons why i started to learn music was quite different. I have 2 cousins of mine who sing veryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy well. therefore they used to be the centre of attraction at every function and every auspicious occasion. ( they still are ) Now i used to be cornered with everybody lavishing praises on them. Slowly jealousy started creeping and one day i made a big huge fuss for learning carnatic music. Thus i was initiated into the world of music at the age of 7. But becoz of no genuine inclination, my interest waned and i quit. now when i am 18 i dunno how but i have suddenly started taking interest in carnatic music. ( how this happened still remains a mystery to me) i strated enjoying it whenever it was played. i even started attending concerts. And to say couple of years back i used to cringe with the very mention of classical music. Now i have again started learning classical music. Amma is very happy with the development.
Today a very embarassing thing happened with me in my music class. My music sir ( god bless him, what a divine voice) was crooning a geetham ( an aspect of carnatic music) and i followed him. I was singing quite ok but suddenly my voice cracked. It was as if when a person driving his car at full speed suddenly screeches his car to a halt. I am not comparing my singing to the speed of my car but my creaking voice to the noise which comes when brakes are applied suddenly. It was so embarassing especially in front of my batchmate who sings so wonderfully. i felt like running and hiding away somewhere. There are some days when the music lessons of mine get over so soon. But in days like this when i desperately wanna run away, the time literally comes to a standstill. I hate my throat now! that reminds me that i should have a gargle now! seeya, good day/night everybody!



Hello people!!!!!!!!!!!! had an ok day today! well i was reading lots of posts today in various blogs. What i found really common was that so many of them had absolutely personal entries in them. I was really amazed as to how some people so eloquently put forth their thoughts and are so clear about themselves and their thoughts. i for that matter will struggle to put my most intimate thoughts on paper. Sometimes reading them seems like u r playing a role of peeping tom reading thru their personal diaries. But i guess blogging is all about that.
I dunno what u guys feel about this? Some people pen their thoughts under a pseudonym. Well that's really playing it safe. I guess anonymity gives u the freedom of expression. But if u ask me i dont think i will be able to pen down my " too personal" thoughts. But ya my musings and my views will be abound and i really dunno if u guys will be interested about knowing that??????????????????????????????????????




Tuesday, July 22, 2003

Wellllllllllllllllllll its been real long that i have posted something new [ I hope atleast some of u guys missed me ;) ] Actually my computer mahashay conked off leaving me totally helpless. ( And i am too lazy to go to a cyber cafe and blog.) Well i dunno what to write actually, writers bloc probably.
Avi as u asked, lemme tell again something abt myself. Well i am 18 yr old student, a wannabe journo from mumbai. And if u go thru my blog u will definitely get to know more about me. Anyways guys plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz keep visiting my blog and ur comments are always welcome.



Monday, July 14, 2003

This one is really funny. Read and laugh to your heart's content!

Letter to a sardar from his Mom.
Dear Gurmeet,

I am in a well here and hoping you in the same well there. I'm writing this letter slowly, because I know you cannot read fast. We don't live where we did when you left home. Your dad read in the newspaper that most accidents happen 20 miles from home, so we moved 20 miles. I won’t be able to send the address as the last Sardar who stayed here took the house numbers with them for their new house so they wouldn’t t have to change their address. Hopefully by next week we will be able to take our earlier address Plate here, so that our address will remain same too. This place is really nice. It even has a washing machine, situated right above the commode. I m not sure it works too well. Last week I put in 3 shirts, pulled the chain and haven’t seen them since.

The weather here isn't too bad. It rained only twice last week. The first time it rained for 3 days and second time for 4 days. The coat you wanted me to send you, you! r Aunt said it would be a little too heavy to send in the mail with all the metal buttons, so we cut them off and put them in the pocket. Your father has another job. He has 500 men under him. He is cutting the grass at the cemetery. By the way I took bahu to our club's poolside. The manager is badmash. He told her that two piece swimming suit is not allowed in this club. We were confused as to which piece should we remove? Your sister had a baby this morning. I haven't found out whether it is a girl or a boy, so I don't know whether you are an Aunt or Uncle. Your uncle, Jetinder fell in the nearby well. Some men tried to pull him out, but he fought them off bravely and drowned. We cremated him and he burned for three days.

Your best friend, Balwinder, is no more. He died trying to fulfill his father’s last wishes. His father had wished to be buried in the sea after he died. And your friend died while in the process of digging a grave for his father. There isn't much! h more news this time. Nothing much has happened. Love Mom.

P.S : Beta, I was going to send you some money but by the time I realized, I had already sealed off this letter.






I got this forward and i thought that it was very thoughtful. Read it and you will know what i am talking about.

Its a good touchy message.
It does
make sense and we should take the time every day
to do what it says.
..
READ ALONE.....ESPECIALLY THE LAST PART
Around the corner I have
a friend,
In this great city
that has no end,
Yet the days go by
and weeks rush on,
And before I know
it, a year is gone.
And I never see my
old friends face,
For life is a swift
and terrible race,
He knows I like him
just as well,
As in the days when
I rang his bell.
And he rang mine if,
we were younger then,
And now we are busy,
tired men.
Tired of playing a
foolish game,
Tired of trying to
make a name.
"Tomorrow" I say! "I
will call on Jim"
"Just to show that
I'm thinking of him."
But tomorrow comes
and tomorrow goes,
And distance between
us grows and grows.
Around the corner!
yet miles away,
"Here's a telegram
sir" "Jim died today."
And that's what we
get and deserve in the
end.
Around the corner, a
vanished friend.
Remember to always say what you mean.
If you love
someone, tell them.
Don't be afraid to express yourself. Reach out and
tell someone what they mean to you. Because when
you decide that it
is the right time it might be too late.
Seize the day. Never have regrets. And most
importantly, stay
close to your friends and family, for they have
helped make you
the person that you are today.




Sunday, July 13, 2003

Inspiring article. Great example of success against all odds. Also against insensitiveness and cruelty.




Saturday, July 12, 2003

Filmi endeavours

I had an interesting day today. For a college project, a project on the junior artistes, me along with 2 friends of mine had to go to film city, the so-called mecca for Hindi film industry (yeah i hate the term bollywood). When we entered the premises of Film city, we saw a shooting of an ad film or music video going on. A bevy of crassly dressed girls dancing some stupid steps to patao this So called hunk with an atrocious wig. (actually he comes in the zee english ads) They were shooting in the middle of the road where buses to film city always pass by. Since it had rained badly the buses always left behind a trail of slush and muck on the roads. In order to make the roads look clean for the shoot the spot boys used to pour buckets of water which used to take atleast 15-20 minutes. But the moment they would finish their task another bus used to come dirtying the road again. This went on and on for quite a long time. Somehow the director managed to finish the shot. But we didn't hover around much to see what happened next.
Film city looks amazing. For a person who is so accustomed to the concrete jungle, Film city is a refreshing reprieve. Its full of greenary and is very scenic. When we proceeded furthur we saw a set which was erected and we went there in anticipation of encountering some junior artistes and extraas at work. Turned out that the set was of Sab tv's comedy Dhaba junction featuring Jaspal bhatti. There was commotion going on here too but we did not see anything interesting so we moved on. But before moving furthur one of the attendants told us that amitabh bachchan was shooting nearby. WOW i was so happy! ( me a big BIG B fan) The very feeling of being somewhere close to AMITABH BACHCHAN was enough to transport me into cloud nine. Anyways we moved furthur ahead in search of some shooting. We one of the permament features of hindi movies, the ubiquitous High/supreme court, a ragged building which is used in almost all the hindi potboilers. When we had a closer look we saw that the front poetion of the court was missing! Instead there lay an entrance to a church, huge walls and all. Then on a closer look again we saw that it was just a make shift arrangement to convert a court in to a church. We were amused.
Then we proceeded furthur when we reached a aplace wherein there were lots of make up vans lined up. We wanted to meet the production manager of any shoot to discuss about our project details so as to avail help from them. We saw a group of commandos walking past by us. We thought that shooting of some patriotic serial must be happening close by. We managed to speak to one of them when we realised that they were real commandos. "Andar hrithik baitha hain. security for him." ( hrithik roshan's sitting inside)
We had a short chat with him and them moved on. We also saw sets of Sreedevi's maiden televison endeavour, " Hamari Bahu malini iyer", but no shooting was in process. In the mean while we saw a couple and their daughter with a forlorn look in their faces. When we asked them what happened, they said they had come to see the shootings and that they were still unsuccessful in thier attempt cause there were no outdoor shootings as such of any movie that day and nobody allowed them in where the indoor shootings were taking place. So they were disappointed.
After loitering around for some time we were guided by a person name shankar, a spot boy who directed to the shooting of a dance sequence of a sohail khan-gracy singh starrer movie. ( i can't recollect its name) We saw lots of junior artistes. Some dressed as waiters, youngsters etc. Well we could spot the typical wannabes sitting there too. We spoke to a particular junior artiste who actually conversed us in english and even had a mobile phone. he had no qualms of being a junior artiste or an extraa for that matter. He had no ambitions of being a huge tsar and was pretty contented with his job coz according to him it was easy money. (hmmmmmmmm!) But we were getting frustrated coz we had spent some 2 hrs loitering in film city and nobody was letting us in their shoots and we were just not getting enough material and case studies for our projects. We met this arrogant fellow who who was very rude with us. We had almost lost hope when he came like a god sent angel. His face looked familar. Then we came to know that he is this same fellow who acted in the fevicol ad
( i really like that ad) He introduced to the film production manager and he has given us permission to shoot. I pray god that everything happens well on monday!
anyways seeya and see forth!




Thursday, July 10, 2003

This is bijani twins' last journey. But just look at the irony. What they wanted all their life.......individuality...........Death fulfilled it as one can see the two different coffins for them. This is very sad news. Like so many people even i wanted them to stay alive cause they were a picture of hope, grit and determination for everybody in the world. They knew it beforehand that their surgery woould involve great risks, but they went for it for something which everybody wants in life--"Individuality". I can't imagine what sort of a difficult lives they must have lead. Sacrifice being the buzzword. When i came to know the death of the first twin, i desperately hoped and prayed god that the other twin should definitely be spared of death, Alas, that was not meant to be!
Now there is a debate raging amongst the medical community and media whether the pioneer surgery should have ever been attempted. But i find the whole thing useless. The twins themselves knew about the seriousness of the operation and risks. They were the one to still go ahead inspite of knowing that either of them would survive or none at all. The doctors had done their duty to forewarn them. Suppose if the surgery would have been a success, this question would never have arode. The doctors would have been praised sky high for their efforts. Just because of their death doesn't mean that they should be condemned by saying that' " They have killed the twins" which is very harsh according to me.
Anyways may their soul rest in peace and for me they will always remain a picture of hope!




Wednesday, July 09, 2003

Hello people! This is real cool news. For someone who dislikes aerated drinks, this news comes as a complete refresher.So...... now its our nariyal paani v/s pepsi, coke, thums up etc. etc. Canned coconut water......well definitely unique! cool way to go swadeshi!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Tuesday, July 08, 2003

Hey people!!!!!!!!! have installed the zonkboard! so yap to your heart's content! byeeeeeeeeeeeeee! seeya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Saturday, July 05, 2003

Yesterday was fun! our class participated in a rally promoting usage of helmets. We were divided in lots of small groups and we stood at various traffic junctions at linking road and SV road in Bandra. felt crazy and wierd doing such stuff. We had banners like " Marna mana hain, helmets peheno", "wear helmets, what's there?" and all the usual predictable ones. We had so much fun. whenever the traffic would halt coz of the red signal we would begin our work. We went to many people travelling in two wheelers urging them to wear helmets. people were amused seeing a group of students having their own share of fun. Many were also puzzled watching us. We cracked all filmi dialogues like " Aapko helmets pehenna chahiye, aapki family hain!" etc. etc. ( U have gotta a family, u gotta wear helmets!) Some of them got cheesed out while some took it in a right spirit. We even managed to caught a traffic havaldar ( policemen), now that was whole lot of fun! We were like, " u r the protector of law, u should set an example and blah blah blah! he became defensive and started arguing with us saying that they is no such law to wear helmets and all. true there exists no such law but we were just advocating safety. But talking and advising him was great fun!
seriously speaking we saw so manyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy people not wearing helmets which is a great threat to their life as such. We saw only a handful of people wearing helmets while travelling. i really feel that mumbai should enforce compulsory wearing of helmets like some southern cities like bangalore ( i think). It would be a measure for safety!
All in all it was helluva fun! i thought that this would be the most dumbest thing i am gonna do but i had great fun! seeya!




Friday, July 04, 2003

This picture haunts me. yesterday i saw the report about Warangal derailment in NDTV 24x7 And i just freezed with fear, anger and disgust. The live reporting is more disturbing than the printed one coz he was shown to be struggling for his life as he is stuck between the seat and the window. My heart went out for the poor soul, pity nobody to help him when the media was busy clicking and filming his anguish and struggle. But ultimately lost his life coz of the slackness of the rescue team. i feel so sorry for tht man who was incidently the sole breadwinner of his family. I just shudder to imagine what the condition of the photographers and the cameraman would have been while taking the picture and filming it. It is a real helpless situation. In a span of one month there have been more than 2 derailments which is very sad.





Hello guys! me back after a realllllllll long time! blame it on my faulty internet connection. Man!
did it not trouble me! i wanted to write about so many things, but its ok! Many things have happened in my absence! Well for starters i have inspired my pal, Ashwin to start his own blog! Whoa! feel like a godfather already or shud it be godmother, well it really shudn't matter! I read ruskin bond this week, people in small places. cool writer, quite liked him.
I was quite tired today after college. So fell asleep while travelling in the train. In the local trains in mumbai, ladies have a method of their own which ensures that people to get a seat in the train. It is something like that. Every lady will reserve a seat for themselves with another lady on the basis of where tht lady is getting down. didnt get me? Its like if i am travelling and the trains are jam packed such that there is not even a single seat to sit, then i have an oral agreement with any lady who will give me her seat after she gets down at any station she wants to. so i reserve a seat in such a manner that get to sit soon. today I was very tired with a nagging headache bothering me, but thankfully i got to sit in a crowded train too. i was very well deep in my sleep when i felt a tap on my back. i opened my eyes with great difficulty when i saw this lady standing right before me.then she asked " aapko kahan utarna hain? " ( Meaning: where do u wanna get down?) i mumbled a reply and tried to go to sleep again extremelyangry with the lady who broke my beautiful sleep. after a few minutes there was tap on my shoulder again. i opened my eyes with absolute disgust for the lady/girl who woke me up. i replied to her question and again dosed off. This kinda incidents happens often with me. Sometimes i feel i should sit with a board in hand or paste a sheet on my forehead which tells ppl where i am getting down. Atleast they will spare me when i am asleep. Any ways! seeya