Busy Busy Busy

Hello people! Just came back from a trip to Shirdi and PHEW! I am tired. But anyways got loads of stuff to do. I think I am done posting for the year. So will seeya guys next year now! :D Have a rocking time! Bubyeeeeeee! Happy New year!

Memories

I was watching Indian Idol with Amma. The final 11 selected has some excellent singers I really look forward to listening. Prajakti Shukre! WHOA...what amazing talent! Amit Sana, Aditi Paul are also very good. Amma also enjoys any such music related shows.

The format of the show is , every eposide will witness the removal of a particpant who has got the least numebr of votes. This week Vishal Kothari had to leave. Surprisngly he's damn decent as a singer. But well, one can never guess the public mood as a whole. Suddenly I see another contestant with moist eyes. Turns out that both of them are very good friends, joined Indian Idol together. It must have been tough for him to see his buddy being kicked out.

This scene took me back some 2.5 years ago when me and one of my very good friend were busy pursuing various colleges for a particular degree course. We badly wanted to get admission in one particular college and wanted to be in the same college together. Both of us sailed through our entrance, GDs and PI and were awaiting the results at that college. On the result day, I went to college without my friend as she was ill. To my utter dismay, I realised that I had got through and she hadn't and I had to call her up and tell her the bad news. I was so confused because I didn't know whther to be happy that I got through or to be sad that my friend didn't. I guess that was one of the toughest thing I have ever done. I broke down while telling her the news on phone. It all seems so silly and trivial now. But at that time it didn't. We both had wanted to do the course together, wanted to be in the same college, TOGETHER! and it ain't a nice feeling when dreams crash!

I just remembered the incident when I saw the other participant with moist eyes trying hard to control himself. But well, its tough controlling emotions at times. While on this end, my eyes moistened too.

Some memories are funny. You never know when you will have a rendevous with them.

Help needed!

Ok...I need a small favour from you guys. Do you guys know anyone who is currently pursuing MA in International Relations from Jawaharlal University, Delhi? If yes, please drop in a mail. My contact can be found in th sidebar of my blog.

Also, blogger is giving me a small problem. My dashboard and my profile shows that I have posted 119 entries till date. But this number has been static for quite a while now. It refuses to register any number of new entries that I have posted. Could anyone tell me why? Also, how to sort this problem?

Down but NOT out!

I am a member of an informal group called Indo-Pak Youth Forum for Peace. This group came into existence after the interactions between Indian and Pakistani delegates during the World Social Forum. Ours is a group which works towards the people to people interactions between the two countries. Well, we were anticipating the arrival of 20 Pakistani youths to India by 25th of December. They were to come to India and visit, Delhi, Pune and Mumbai in that order. We had an elaborate schedule prepared for them for their stay and other programmes including cultural stuff, sight seeing, interactions between the students of Mumbai etc. But as luck would have it, the Pakistanis couldn't get the visa and now their whole trip stands cancelled. But we plan to go ahead with an interaction programme we had planend with the students of Mumbai. This is a symbolic gesture just to show that we inspite of their absense, the message of peace would be sent.

It is very disheartening especially after the amount of time we have put in for meetings, discussions etc. detailing every single thing of their trip and stay in Mumbai. But this is the reality of the Indo-Pak relations. Whenever there has been a talk about Indo-Pak relations, I have always never been really affected by it. But this time it is different. We have actually had the chance to witness the visa problems the citizens of both the countries face in order to visit their friends and relatives. The problems or well, exagerrated problems, are so trivial that one wouldn't encounter of such things if one is travelling to some another country. But well....life goes on and we expect them in India real soon. Such increasing animosity just doesn't make sense any more and such events just make me wonder what GOOD RELATIONS are we talking about?

Kiddos

Just yesterday I had been to my guru's place who teaches me music. My guru has a 5 year old daughter Lavanya who is extremely adorable. She's very chatty and well, we kinda bond very well. When I entered the house, I saw that she had worn something which resembled like a frock but was way too long for her so much so that it touched her toes. Before I could open my mouth to ask her about what she was wearing, she came rushing to me and said, "Shobha, see my dress, it's just like my mumma's nighty. Also I can tuck it in like this, see, see! (...and she began tucking her *whatever she had worn* in a way mom's usaully do when they work in the kitchen). You know Shobha, if I wear this na, i can be like mumma you know!" and then she went around prancing merrily around the house.

I could see that she adored her mother completely. She's in one of that phases wherein she wants to be like her mumma in every small way. I remember, when i was a kiddo, Appa was my HERO. I was fascinated by him. I used to imitate Appa in every possible way. i thought it was fashionable to loose temper like Appa did when hew as angry, so even I used to be pretend pretend angry :P I used to fascinated by believe it or not, Appa shaving his beard! Ok, don't laugh, but I was. Appa has always been deodrant-perfume freak. So I used to make a point to have deos and perfumes sprayed on my school uniforms , hehehehee! I learnt to tie my shoe laces by watching appa tie his shoe laces as I thought,nobody could tie it better. ROFLLL! I mean they seem so funny now but at that point of time nothing was more important than aping Appa. Also I used to envy Amma's wardrobe, I wanted all her sarees.

I guess it is just one of those cute kiddo phases which you soon overgrow. Somethings just don't change na! {Thank god, it doesn't :)}

Sigh!

Oh, well, sometimes I feel why the hell I am on the side of ethics always? I mean.WHY WHY WHY!

Mid-day THE TABLOID of Mumbai goes ahead and prints pictures of Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor, kissing in a discotheque on the front page. Well its a common knowledge that they are seing each other. I know Tabloids are meant to sensationalise every possible thing udner the sun. I just wonder what purpose do these pictures serve? I mean they have zilch news value. Apart from grabbing eye balls and increase readership, the pics do nothing more. Mid-day does not depend a lot on subscription as its sales are more dependent on the amount of copies it sells from the stands, So I understand the sensationalism bit. But the the pics are vulgar and Mid-day is obviously promoting soft-porn in its front page.


What I fail to realise is that what is so newsworthy about what they were doing? It is just a natural act. Just b'coz they are celebrities, I don't understand how Kissing makes news? (I THINK I NEED A NEW LECTURE ON THAT!)

In India, if you might have noticed, sleazy details of politicians are usually avoided. Vir Sanghvi in his recent column had talked about rhe same fact that a politician's private life is nobody's business unless and until it affects the electorate as a whole. Why can't the media leave the celebrities alone? I hope the paparaazi culture doesn't permeate here. (I know, I know, all wishful thinking....!!!)

And why the hell are both the Kapoors denying the whole thing? Its but obvious that the ones in the pictures are the kapoors only. By saying that you are from a respectable family to indulge in *SUCH* deeds only reeks of hypocrisy. What harm in accepting it? Accept the fact and fight the case in the court on the basis of GROSS VIOLATION OF PRIVACY. I know they are popular actors of India and Indian society is not all that liberal and is conservative, but by denying it, they are only giving the paper an upperhand.

Such stories just make me wonder if I would ever be journalist int he truer sense of the term? Compromising on ethics isn't what I exactly want to do. I also wonder if it would be easy to stand in what you believe for and still survive? I don't know. It is scary for me as journalism was all that I have always wanted to do. I would be shattered to say the least if something on the contrary happens :(

P.S. I know, I have been irregular with comments for the past few posts as I have been very busy. I will reply to them soon :)

BJP flip flops

Something very funny is happening within BJP. Earlier it was Uma Bharti who publicly raised uncomfortable questions in total media glare and today it is Smriti Irani who takes the charge.

Today by afternoon TV channels showed Smriti Irani's outburst..err....Can't really call it outburst, it was more of a well thought out statement actually which she made, demanding Gujarat CM Narendra Modi's ouster/resignation. She stated that BJP's image as a national party and Atal Bihari Vajpayee's image has taken a beating owing to the fact that Narendra Modi didn't resign when he was supposed to, didn't fulfill his moral obligations so as to speak. She wanted to make sure that the blot in Vajpayee's image as a PM of India which was tarnished because of Narendra Modi not resigning when the situaion demanded that.

It's amusing that she is raising the issue now after so many days. What was she doing when Vajpayee publicly said Gujarat was a mistake and that Narendra Modi should have gone out? Its weird, very weird. Why does she have to make a publicity stunt like this? Doesn't she get like tons of publicity as Tulsi? Weird Weird Weird! This is a classic case of instigation I feel or may be some personal motive.

Then came another twist when she took back all that she said. It was very funny when the channels aired the assertive Irani voicing her "concerns" and a glum, sullen faced Irani taking back her statement. It was as if a child was made to say, I am sorry, I wouldn't do this again in front of the whole school assembly. She didn't even look at the camera and read the whole statement out. I am curious to know "Aage kya hoga..." This is going to be fun, lot of fun. Ha ha!

Tubelight thought of the day: Ambition and Laziness make a sad sad combo. and yea...I hate MONDAYS!!!!

M S

M S Subbulakshmi passed away yesterday. To say this is a sad news would be an understatement. Especially for someone who wakes up every morning to her Suprabhatam. She died at the age of 88, well its good she didn't suffer too much. M S you would always and always be remembered.

Dear God!

Dear God,

Have I ever told you that I absolutely LOVE YOU? *muah*

Sunday

I don't know why my Sundays get over so soon......:( We students in India know nothing what a weekend means like as most of the times we have our colleges working full day on Saturdays (save the engineering colleges) So all, that we get is ONE SUNDAY! Not Fair, not fair at all!!!!!! One day is just not enough to relax or well Sunday should have 48 hours!

Sometimes I wonder about the whole hooplah about a Sunday and Monday Morning blues etc. A day by any other name would be just the same. What if we all had a thrusday off other than a Sunday? Yea, then we would probably have Jolly Wednesdays and the works....But well, My lament remains.....MY SUNDAY IS ALMOST OVER.....:((

R K Naryan describes the Sunday groove in a perfect way in his essay, Next Sunday. (Incidentally for all the Mumbaiites, you can read the essay in the Sunday Mid-day today.

"Sunday is the day most looked forward to by everyone. it is one day which suddenly eveporates before you knowwhere you are. Everyone knows the Saturday-evening feeling already tainted by the thoughts of Monday. what happens to the day? It is the day on which so many items are thrust-promises made of a little shopping, calling on someoneand so on and so forth, all promises, promises. there is no way out except by streching the twenty four hours to do the work of forty-eight. before one notices the forenoon is gone" .......

Aaaah, I love RK Narayan...

Sigh...My Sunday's gone! Damn! TOMORROW IS A SUPER SAD MONDAY.....DOUBLE DAMN! huh :( and the fact that I have to wake up early for a lecture that makes me even more sleepy doesn't really help.....:(

P.S. WHY DOESN'T YAHOOMAIL HAVE A SIGNOUT/LOGOUT LINK? Could any of the techie readers enlighten me please?

Religion

I remember when I was in my first year, my sociology professor had posed a question to our class--->"Why is religion so important to people?" (or something very similar to that) I remember that my answer was prompt---->"Religion forms one of the most important part of a person's identity." My Prof was happy with my answer as this was the reply that she was looking for. But I was very amused with my profesor's happy reaction because I thought I hadn't said anything new. I completely believed in what I said at that point of time because personally I identified being a HINDU (obvious!) and that BEING A HINDU WAS A PART OF MY IDENTITY. I was never conscious of the fact but I thought it was the most natural thing and that everybody thought the same. But to my surprise I found not many people thought on similar lines.

I don't know whether today, 2.5 yrs hence I would say the same thing. I mean I am not sure whether being a Hindu forms a huge part of my identity as it did earlier. I am not negating the influence of relegion in any way.....NOT AT ALL, its just that I now question more and refuse to accept what is status quo.

I find this very funny. Religion is something which we inherit from our parents. We are HINDUS because our parents were HINDUS and this applies to any relegion for that matter. We seriously don't have a choice in that matter. Of course one has full freedom to change his/her relegion when we major, but well...that's only when IF THE PERSON WANTS TO! Don't you think its so funny that RELiGION which is inherited, something which you did not make a choice, forms a part of one's IDENTITY? It becomes such a fundamental part of ones life, governs our life to such a large extent.....but it is something which we never consciously thought about, or basically never really sat and exercised our right to choose (coz there was never any right to choose as such when you are a kid.) It's weird.....Therefore the attitude of relegious fanatics amuses me to a great extent....I hope I have conveyed what I want to say....

Whenever any changes are recommended for the better in any relegion, it is opposed tooth and nail. I don't understand why.....I can quote one example.... vedas are the prerogative of only BRAHMIN MEN. Women and NON-Brahmin men are NOT ALLOWED to learn VEDAS. Even our Shankaracharya refused to accept the changes stating that every relegion has its own set of discrimination and that we have to learn to accept and live with that. I disagree, I completely disagree. WHY can't women or any non-Brahmin people learn Vedas? Is Vedas a prerogative only of Brahmin Men? I know many uncles who are staunchly against the idea of WOMEN learning Vedas. "Its a sacrilege" they claim. DOHHH! "Some things can't be changed. Our ancestors might have had some thing in mind before formulating such rules." DOHHHHHH again. This is the justification that they have for all the discriminatory practises. The irony is that they don't have a justification at all....HERD MENTALITY being a mantra. Just because its been the tradition, we ought not to break it. DOHHHHHHH! There are many such discriminatory practises followed till date.....and well...WE ARE IN 21ST CENTURY.....huh! I am not singling out Hinduism for such discriminatory practises, there are other relegions too. However being a Hindu myself, I prefer tot alk about Hinduism or may be a miniscule part of it.

Note: It's just not my intention to hurt anybody's religious sentiments. These are just some of the questions that I have raised and I don't think so I have demeaned the religion in any manner. If someone thinks likewise.....too bad! Constructive comments, criticisms are most welcome!

Today is World Aids Day.

Overheard this at my college campus today....

Dumbfuck 1: Happy AIDS DAY!

Dumbfuck 2: SAME TO YOU!

SOME ONE SHOOT ME!!!!!!!

Control freakin

WOW, its so much fun being in CONTROL. Umm....I envy CONTROL FREAKS. What fun, control your life, control some other lives, play around with them, manipulate and then sit back and have fun...WHOA! Its like directing a play, film....only you directing characters for real! HA!

God would be the biggest control freak I know. Hmmmm......It would be nice playing God I think....

P.S. This post was written when the blogger was in an absolute demented state of mind!

Life...

Life is so much more easier when we accept some hard facts of life.
Life is more easier when we try not to change things which we have no control over at all.

Karthigai

Today is Karthigai. Another festival of lights, Aren't we southies lucky? :D Well, for all who are wondering what karthigai is, Karthigai is a festival whioch we celebrate. This day denotes the occurrence of the Karthigai Nakshatram every month, as per the Tamil Calendar. Karthigai Deepam falls in the Tamil month of Karthigai when the star Krithigai is on the ascendant and usually occurs on a full moon day. This festival is also called as "the Festival of Lights". This festival is also considered as the extension of the Deepavali festival. In some houses, they double the number of lamps every day from the day of Deepavali and this way, they end up with a number of lamps on the day of Karthigai Deepam. On this day, people clean their houses and draw 'Kolams' (Rangoli) in front of the house and also place some lamps on it.

Dayan's pic, taken at a temple 



Lakku's pic of her house! :D 


(Thanks Lakku and Dayan)

To know more go here...

Also Karthigai is also a tamil equivalent of Raksha Bandhan except that there is no typing of rakhis involved. Sisters pray for the brothers and brothers make it a point to send gifts to their sisters (So all you guys, have you given gifts to your sisters?)

Amma has made vella pori, Nai appam, Payasam etc...I wanna have them but she says i can have it only after Naivediyam. Huh! Like everyone, I have always been tempted by all the delicious stuff Amma used to prepare in the event of any festival. How ever mouth watering it maybe, I was only given after the naivediyam was done. When I asked amma, why I was not given the sweets, I remember Amma had told me once that God comes and eats a portion of food when we do the naivediyam. So we cannot eat before that. I used to sincerely believe it and used to wait in anticipation for the naivediyam tog et over and would never touch the sweets before that. Its all symbolic, but its amazing how somethings are followed to the "T". Amma is busy making the yummy poris and I so wanna eat it.....but well, I will have to wait till the evening....*sigh*
Somethings don't change at all!

Happy Karthigai everybody :D Have fun eating sweets and if you aren't a southie, drop in at the nearest tam bram friend's place, am sure you will get yummy food to eat! :D

P.S.: All you non blogspot users can also use the new blogging commenting system now! :D Its cool and easy!

New , modified blogger commenting system!

Yayyy! I have installed the new and modified commenting system of blogger. Check it out, its damn cool! All courtesy, Bloggerhacks

Procrastination

Discovery of the day:

"Procrastination is more tempting than Chocolate fudge and if I may add more addictive than nicotine!"

Words

It is said that "ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS."
However, sometimes, WORDS are important.

Sometimes some WORDS need to be told
Sometimes some WORDS need to be heard
Sometimes some WORDS need to be felt, need to be experienced
Sometimes WORDS make all the difference.....

Prejudice and Bias

"You would sure be a member of some schedule tribe!" {mocking tone}

"I might be from a schedule tribe but you surely look like one." {Very Angry and a defiant tone}

This was a conversation I overheard today between people who are both upwardly mobile and educated. What stuck me was that CASTE/BACKWARD tribes etc. are still used to MOCK at people and people do consider it condesendingly. It is used and considered as an insult. I think it's sad. I don't blame anybody, the prejudices are ingrained in us for a long time now. So what if we are in 21st century. Old prejudices die hard..........some things just don't seem to change.

Update:
What I actually wanted to portray through this post was the prevalence of age-old prejudices with reference to caste system. I guess after going through the comments, I thought the discussion went a bit off-track as I didn't want to touch upon Reservations. But I guess one tends to associate Reservations on hearing the very word, SC/ST. RESERVATION is a different point of debate altogether. But well, I think we really can't divorce the two terms now.

Fountainhead

Never has any book drained me emotionally so much like Fountainhead has and all that I have finished reading is 200 pages. I have 400-odd more pages to go.....SHIT! But I'm sure this is one book I'm gonna read again, again and again.......

Irritating things!
I can be extremely careless and irresponsible. Have you ever heard of buying a railway ticket and forgetting it at the ticket counter itself? Well, yours truly has done that. What was an icing on the cake was when the ticket checker caught me :| I realised that I had forgotten my ticket on reaching dadar station itself. I prayed hard that the TC doesn't catch me at the bridge which I'm supposed to cross. But well as luck would have it there came an old man and asked me "ticket please". I wanted to disappear at that moment. HUH! After searching or well... pretending to search my bag I meekly said," Main apna ticket, ticket counter par bhool ayee." (I forgot my ticket at the ticket counter) He had a hearty laugh, I guess never must have anyone come up with such an excuse. Oh well....but he let me off with a 50 bucks fine after confirming that I am a college student. Hehehee! "These people charge too much as fine, who will pay 264 bucks? Definitely not college students. Next time take care haan beta." I didn't know what to say, ehehehhee, it was so amusing!

I don't like Anu Malik in Indian idol. Huh! I don't understand why some people blindly copy the west? I seriously don't understand. Being rude to the participants by telling you can never become a singer, or that you don't deserve to come to Mumbai, what is the point is he trying to prove? Dohhhhhh! He sings like a donkey brays, he should know that before pronouncing judgement on others. So what if you have composed hit numbers in your kitty, you suck as a singer. Huh! I HATE RUDE PEOPLE! and then he goes on to say what an humbling experience it has been! Dohhhhhhh.....ass!

I also dislike the stupid show 'Love ke liye' on MTV. I don't understand how can drinking gross liquids can prove your undying love for someone. OH C'mon grow up! Shessssssssh! Some people resort to life-threatening antics too like walking on hot coal, swiming in ice cold water..........just coz they wanted to profess their undying love....... please, give me a break! HUH!

This is my new blog that I have made for recording my Gujarat chronicles. But it won't be restricted to my experiences in Gujarat alone. So, do check it out!


P.S.: This is serious and hilarious at the same time.....ehehehheeee!

14th Nov
Today is World Diabetes Day..........

......Amma celebrated it by having

DOLLOPS OF ICE CREAM

*Sigh*

P.S. For the uninitiated, my mom's a diabetic.

Oh well....
Hello everybody. I am back after my brief stay in Mozda, Gujarat. It was an action packed trip (more on it later) Exploring real india was the name of this programme....but there is just so much to explore and I realise how very ignorant I am. I am back a changed person....for the better though :) I have loads of stuff to share with you. But that would be in subsequent posts.

Happy Diwali to all of you. I celebrated my first cracker-free Diwali this time. Felt nice :) I think hencforth all my diwali days would be spent likewise :)

In the meanwhile....I turned 20 yesterday. I tell you, turning 20 is very funny. You are no longer a teenager and you still not considered an adult (atleast in India though). Thanks a ton for all the wishes....Very sweet of all of you guys, really meant a lot to me :)

Also, Happy Birthday Gundu :D. Hope you have a great year ahead.

Adventure beckons....

I have been selected for a 'Exploring real India' programme. This is a student programme organised by a Mumbai-based NGO called Initiative in the association with NAPM, National Association of Public Movements. I would be going to Mozda village in Gujarat and working with Paryavaran Surkasha Samiti (PSS) there. I am very excited about this trip. I would be staying in the village and assisting PSS. I have never been to the extreme rural parts of India and this is gonna be very exciting. It won't be easy as I am just not used to a rural life. It would be a totally new experience and for 10 whole days!!!! HAHAHAHA! I am ready for the challenge I would be leaving on 31st morning and would be back by 10th. Till then Sayonaara people! Bubyeeeee!

But before I leave, I just have to share this hilarious conversation I over heard. My neighbour's son is getting married. Their house is like a mini-chatram (marriage hall in tamil), so manyyyyyyyyy relatives. I over heard one of them telling everybody in the room,"

Nammalodu Kalayanam ellam vandootu romba SACREDLY DIVINE aakim."

Translation: "Our Tam-Bram marriages are so SACREDLY DIVINE!"

My god.......ROFLLLLLLL! ahhahahahahaaa......SACREDLY DIVINE..... heehehehheee!

Also....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VIDYA

You have a great day and all the best for everything in life.



Ciao guys! Tadah!

LISTEN TO THIS

I received this music piece as an email forward. OMIGOD, I absolutely fell in love with it when I heard it. Just couldn't stop myself from posting this.

You have to listen to this (264 kb)

and

this (64kb)(Thanks Dayan!)

(Right click and save the link)


P.S. With all due respects to my National Anthem, but it was just way too cute and innocent :)

Meena Mami

Some of my earliest memories of childhood include the time spent in the creche. I was quite a social kid. When Amma thought of resuming work she was apprehensive if I would fit in a creche, in an atmosphere totally alien to me. Also the fact that I was only one and a half years old made her even the more jittery.

Lalita was probably the first friend I ever made. She was my next door neighbour. She was my play mate and she was also an only child to her parents. So we were absolute buddies. Lalitha was 3 years older to me and she used to go to a creche (yea both her parents worked too). One day Amma decided to leave me at Lalitha's creche for a few hours to see if I adjusted to the environment and one day promptly dropped me off to the creche. It was there I first met MEENA MAMI....

I loved the atmosphere there. I was quite extroverted and loved interacting with other kids. The fact that I could spend even more time with Lalitha thrilled me to bits. I had a gala time at Meena Mami's place and Amma then decided to go ahead and resumed working. Meena Mami was a superb lady. Very very affectionate, she took great pains to see I didn't miss Amma and Appa. Apart from Lalita, there was another guy too.....BABLU. Bablu was the oldest amongst the three. I was the youngest among the lot and was prohibited from going out at random. Lalita and Bablu enjoyed all the freedom. But they made it a point to spend a lot of time with me and if possible tag me along when they played. In order to prevent me from runing away, mami had put up a 'katta' (especially for me) on the door which prevented me from going outside. However Mami's house was on the ground floor, so I used to stand by the katta all the time seeing people come and go (which was my favourite passtime) and also watch Lalita and Bablu play.

Meena Mami's house was a 10 minute walk from my place. I used to relegiously wake up every mornings without fail and like a "Chamathu" kid (...as amma says now) used to dress up soon and be ready to go to Meena Mami's place. Its a wonder how I used to get up without fuss early in the mornings. This is a favourite topic of reminiscence for Amma and Appa as they often look back at the good old days when I used to be a total opposite of a sloth that I am now.

Meena Mami used to take care of me in a wonderful manner for this was not a job for her. She started a creche out of pure love for children. Meena Mami did not have kids. This creche was an outcome of her love for kids and the sad fact that she didn't have any. She loved having us around so much so that she refused to take in any more children because she wanted to shower her undivided attention on us. She thought that more children would mean more responsibilities and she wanted no compromise.

Lalita, Bablu and Meena Mami always played the game of Joining the dots. I used to call it the dot-dot game. Since I was very much a kid (2-2.5 yrs old) I never could comprehend the game properly. They used to play the game relegiously while I watched them play with a hope that I would one day be allowed to play. It used to be fun.....loads of fun!

I was extremely fond of Bablu. He was like an elder brother I never had. After a year of me joining the creche, Bablu's parents bought a house in Borivli and they shifted.....and that was the last I heard of Bablu. Amma says I missed Bablu a lot. I used to often regard every Anna I used to see as Bablu. Recently when I went to my Attai's place, my cousin introduced me to her neighbour and asked me if I remembered him. I was puzzled and shook my head. My cousin started laughing and told me," Well..he was your Bangalore Bablu." And then they told me how as a kid I refused to address him as Shyam (his real name) and only addressed him as Bablu much to the amusement of everybody.

Shortly after Bablu left, Lalita also left the creche owing to her father's transfer to Bhuvaneshwar. Now I was left alone. It used to be weird in the absense of Lalita and Bablu. But even I didn't stay there for long. Meena Mami's husband used to constantly fall ill. After sometime his illness became serious and Meena Mami could no longer take good care of me because of her increasing responsibilities towards her husband. Therefore I had to change my creche. We kept in touch with Meena Mami and used to visit her often during weekends. After sometime though, the visits lessened and we were almost out of touch. Few years later, Meena Mami's husband died and Meena Mami left for Noida to stay with her niece.

After many years, Meena Mami came to visit me when i was in my 10th Standard. I was thrilled as it was a complete surprise. I spoke to her for a long time. She told me how she met all the three of us when we were in 10th standard and she was thrilled about the fact that she could meet me too. This time I made sure I took her address and promised to write and call her regularly. I remember how she called me immediately on receiving my Diwali card and was totally overcome by emotion. Due to my boards, I couldn't be in touch with her for long. Later I sent her a letter, but I got no reply. I found it strange and so I tried calling her only to find that I couldn't get through her. I was back to square one.

There are some people whom you meet in life who despite their brief presence leave behind foot prints which are etched forever. Meena Mami was one among them. She was special to me, almost like my second mom. I was very attached to her. I sometimes feel helpless as I simply don't have a clue where she is. I have been to many creches but I met none like her. I sometimes wonder where Bablu is.......I have no clue about him either. I hate myself for being so callous in keeping touch with Meena Mami. I can be very lazy at times and it is an extremely irritating habit that I posess. Sometimes out of sheer lethargy if not anything else, other things asume prime importance and we forget to be in touch with people we have known for ages. One is just pre-occupied with other things (that's no excuse) that we forget to call up just to say a simple hello or send a mail. Fortunately I am still in touch with Lalita and we both still harbour hopes of meeting Meena Mami and Bablu one day. I hope to see you Mami....one day I sure will ...:)

P.S. I have her address in Delhi, presumably old one I think. Also have her phone number which doesn't work at all. Would I be able to trace her?

DONE DONA DUN DONE!

Yayyyy! My exams are overrrrrrrrrrrrrr.........
Freedommmmmmmmmmmm

Also My blog is the blog of the day (9th October) Yayyyyyy!!!!!!!!!
Thank you Blogstreet team

Also I saw Bride and Prejudice. Laughed so much.......ehhehehee! More on the movie later...tadah for now


YAYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*******Update*******

Bride and Prejudice
I loved this movie, no doubts about it. It was a perfect ending to my otherwise uneventful exam-filled week. I laughed like crazy as the scenes are such. I am no expert in movies. I see the movie as a viewer rather than a person well-versed in movie making. So my views may be amateur or wrong too. I am just putting down my observations.

I haven't read Pride and prejudice fully. I am saying this because I have tried reading the classic 3-4 times but I have been completely unsuccessful. I just can't read classics, somehow I find them very slow. I am planning to finish reading Pride and Prejudice in my vacations now.

Even though I wasn't entirely familiar with the novel, I was aware of the plot of Pride and Prejudice. Gurindher Chaddha doesn't disappoint at all. Her stamp is prevalent throughout the whole movie. AWESOME *THUMBS UP*!

Plot in brief: This movie is about the Bakshi family and their 4 daughters and how Mrs. Bakshi is obsessed with marrying them off and so on.....

Mrs. bakshi played by Nadira Babbar is a revelation. What a performance!! AMAZING! She's just so perfectly cast, plump cute Punjabi mom. Very cute ad what awesome acting. Whatever little I have read of prode and prejudice she seems the perfect Mrs. Benett. Anupam Kher is also amazingly restraint as Mr. Bakshi.

One highlight of this movie is that Chadha manages to bring put fabulous performances from the supporting cast. NITIN GANATARA......OMIGOD! He's a riot! AHAHAHAHHAHAA! I mean everytime he would be on screen, people would sure burst out laughing. He's the pick of the lot as the disgusting hypocrite NRI. Not to forget Indrayani Verma. Playing mean comes effortlessly to her and she does it very well.

This has to be THE role for Aishwarya Rai. She is in EVERY FRAME/SCENE of the movie and I am not kidding. She's got one of the best roles, that of Liz Benett aka Lalitha Bakshi. But well....I can't help but wonder how Kajol or Preity Zinta would have performedgiven a chance. I really feel, they would have performed so much more better than Rai of course. It is such a meaty role and I feel it is criminal when someone doesnt perform all that well. I think I would be in better position to comment about her performace after I have read the book. It's an average performance according to me. Rai falters while delievering her dialgoues in English. This is weird as she speaks impeccable English.

Martin Henderson is complete eye-candy. He's got that "Oh-so-cute" looks. But wasn't all that good either. There was no chemistry between Rai and Henderson. But he's just way too cute. :P

The music isn't remarkable. When I first heard the songs of the movie I wondered how could Anu Malik blunder the chance given to him. But the songs suit the movie perfectly. I was aghast listening to songs with lyrics like "No life without wife..." But it is a situational song andactually takes a dig at one of the charcter in the movie. Also the song by Ashanti is quite groovy. There is a song called Dola Dola Dola which has obnoxious lyrics and has nothing new to offer in terms of yrical value. But in the movie you realise that the song plays in the background and the main focus is on the interaction between the characters. Probably it was made a bit too simple coz they wanted to focus on the interactions rather than the song.


Gurindher Chaddha has juxtaposed all those things which are TYPICALLY filmy. almost every poignant scene in India has a cow in the background. Initially it was ok, but later I wondered what's the whole point? The film also has the newly married couple in an aelephant with a board of "Just Married" on its posterior and then the NAGIN (Cobra) DANCE. Goodness......its hilariously funny but I wonder how is it a tribute to Sridevi when others are laughing mockingly at such antics. (Ponder ponder)


.....and what's the thing about breaking into songs in ENGLISH :| I mean breaking into songs in Hindi seems perfectly fine but why English? It seems ridiculous when Rai and Henderson croon......Show me the way.......Also there is a song when all the mohalla starts singing, dancing and mouthing words in English. A halwai mouthing songs in English? Weird..hajam nahi hua. Also The lyrics are such that they seem to be a direct transaltions from hindi lyrics . There are lines like...."The blush in your cheeks reflects the heat in your blood or whatever....It seriously looks and sounds foolish. I think if Chaddha wanted to show the real India or the hindi film style, she could have had the Mohalla songs in Hindi with subtititles in English. Atleast the local flavour would have been seen. In an effort to showcase Indian movie making style to the world, Chaddha does a good job but also makes it seem very stupid at the same time. Some of the scenes seem like a dig at Hindi Cinema's cliches. But well....It is our style loved by millions, so one can't really trivialise it by thinking that they (the hollywood or Brit films) are superior enough. What seemd to be like a perfect tribute was a juxtapositon of a Prem Chopra and the fight "Dishoom Dishoom" scene in the movie.

But, you guys have to go and watch the movie, it is laugh-a-riot!

SPEECHLESS

Well...tomorrow I have an exam. A subject called journalism and public opinion. Most of the topics that we have are obviously current affairs. Iraq war also figures in it. Well I was surfing the net for some stuff when I came across this.........

Thank you tony Blair

The most incredible piece of Bullshit......AHHAHAHAHA! I thought jingoistic nonsense existed only in India. Oh well, its the same everywhere. (Well I tend to generalise at times) I am just very amused by the way people justify the disaster in Iraq.

This is just
This takes the cake!!! This is the way they justify the war. Holycrap! Dohhhhhhhh!!!!!
Bush and Blair need to be

This sucks.... These arseholes should read this. But I doubt if sense would prevail. HUH!

Parthiv Patel and fake weddings

I came across this news item today.

Oops! Has Parthiv Patel done a Britney?

According to initial reports, One fine day Parthiv Patel found himself LEGALLY MARRIED to a girl called Richa Sharma much to his and his family's bewilderment. Read more

Later I was flipping through news channels when I came across Sahara Samay.

It proclaimed how the whole Parthiv Patel issue was a sting operation in order to expose the marriage racket in Rajkot. Read more...

I was just way too shocked as Sahara Samay justified the sting operation. According to them, "We chose a popular figure like Parthiv Patel because we wanted to highlight the fact that if celebrities could be so vulnerable to the racket, then ordinary citizens could be fooled so easily!"

Well....I don't question their intent, but how could they go ahead and involve the unsuspecting Parthiv Patel in the whole expose. They did not even bother to take his consent. He unnncessarily finds himself embroiled in some scam all due to the channel. While I agree the channel wanted to expose the racquet, but they had no right to involve Parthiv Patel in the whole damn thing just because he's a celebrity. Now Parthiv Parel finds himself in a legal mess..........HE'S LEGALLY MARRIED FOR GOD'S SAKE....AND HE'S NOT EVEN 20 :|

Mid-day also carried a similar expose in Mumbai. However they involved thier reporters who exactly knew what they were doing. They did not involve any unsuspecting celebrity in the whole drama.

The channel went a bit overboard I think. There could have resorted to other methods. Investigative stories are very dicey, one needs to follow the ethics and principles. In the era of BREAKING NEWS and SABZE TEZ, I think we would be witness to more of such sad sensational stuff.

Bharateeya Languages
**Warning**: This post contains various threads of thought and would be a long post. Don't complain later that you got lost :P

I was reading Radhika's recent post. She talks about being pulled up by her daughter's teacher because her daughter wasn't well-conversant in English (and she is only 5 years old!!!!)

The post set me of thinking. When I was a child Amma and Appa made sure that I was well-conversant in Tamil. According to Amma, it is imperative that every child should know his/her mother tongue properly. I am not very fluent in reading and writing in Tamil, but I am learning. Amma is only too eager to teach me. Initially it was only tamil for me. Later as I started playing with my building friends, I slowly started picking up Hindi and gradually was well-versed in Mumbaiyya sadak chaap Hindi. I joined an English medium school though the medium of my communication with my friends, peers was mostly in Hindi. My usage of English was very minimal. After my 10th, during College, usage of English became more dominant and now I speak both Hindi and English with ease.

It is very funny as to how English is viewed in our country. English is considered as an elite language, a language of snobs. Ok....I am not making a genralistic statement. English is viewed as a language of opportunity. Sending your children to a English medium school is viewed as a sign of progress, as an ascent in the life of the child. I once asked Amma who takes immense pride of her language if she would have ever sent me to a Tamil medium school. Amma replied in negative and said that she wouldn't have sent me a to a non-english medium school because KNOWING ENGLISH is very essential and that she couldn't afford to jeopardise my future by sending me to a non-english medium school. Quite a honest answer and that's sadly the reality.

When I was in my Junior college i.e. 11th and 12th, I had many students in my class from Gujarai, Hindi, Marathi medium schools. With a sudden transition to English in 11th std after having studied in an indigenious language is very tough. I used to see merit holders struggle just because they didn't know English well. I felt that was very unfair.

I sometimes feel very sad because of my inability to enjoy some classics in Tamil. Tamil is a beautiful language but my knowledge of it is restricted to colloquial Tamil. I know zilch about Tamil literature though I keep hearing from Amma and Paati time and again. I am very fond of Hindi too. But I never read much of Hindi literature either. My speaking in Hindi is restricted to speaking alone. Also nowadays I hardly read anything in Hindi. I realised how pathetic I was when I first read Premchand's Gaban in English. :| It really hit me that time. I just thought as to what the hell I was doing reading a translated version of a Hindi book when I can perfectly understand and read Hindi. Offlate I have picked up a few books in Hindi and I intend reading them soon. The problem I faced was that being in a English medium school, my reading was restricted to English only. I was too lazy and never even bothered to make an attempt to read books in Hindi or even Marathi for that matter. I have realised I have lost out on a lot and don't wish to any further, better late than never as they say.

I think English-medium schools hardly encourage the students to read books other than English which is pathetic and extremely sad. Ours is a multi-lingual society. It is very important that we KNOW our languages well and not in the fractured way that I know. Also there is ridiculous thing of branding all Indian languages as vernacular. VERNACULAR has a derogatory tinge to it as it was a label given to the Indian Languages by the BRITISH. Our Languages have a rich heritage and we need to respect it. Either it is disrespect or it is complete ignorance.

I was reading Mark Tully's NO FULL STOPS IN INDIA. He is an amazingly observant person. I like that about him. The second chapter of the book is called NEW COLONIALISM. It's an amazing write-up. Guys, if you ever get hold of it, please do read it. It is very ineresting to note the objective observations made by a Non-Indian about the Indian society.

I have a subject called Indian regional journalism in my course. We had been given this project which made it imperative for us to have a compulsory interaction with the editors, journalists of both English and Indian languages. It also has us reading newspapers in couple of Indian languages. There are glaring differences. There are differences in the readership, the content published etc. English newspapers in comparison to regional languages contain shit load of fluff. Regional language newspapers address real issues of real people. It was also observed by us that English newspapers are cut off from the reality. English newspapers amount to a miniscule readership in India. It is the Indian language press which is experiencing a big boom. But it is a big irony when majority of the ad-share goes to the English press leaving the Indian language press in doldrums. Many of the regional papers just plainly ape English papers with a hope that it would sell more. For example, I don't understand what is a cut out of Britney Spears doing in the front page of Navbharat Times? It is seriously ridiculous. The support to the regional languages is very poor.


In Mumbai, the numbers in a Marathi medium schools are dwindling like crazy. There are simply no takers for it. Also the local langauge schools consist of students from the lower strata of society. I sometimes wonder, are Indian languages only for the lower strata? English is gaining such prominence in India that the Indian languages are sure isolated. If Indian languages were given their due respect and the atmosphere such that the opportunities were aplenty, I don't think my mom would thought twice about sending me to a local medium school. I am not saying 'DONT PROMOTE THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE" Promote it by all means, we need it in order to succeed globally. What I intend to say is that DON'T NEGLECT INDIAN LANGAUGES IN THE PROCESS. Well.....*sigh*

I think I have rambled enough..... bye for now! :)

Random Thoughts

Hmmmmmm.......I love wishing people on their b'days. B'days for me are special and that is one day where one in their own way can make the b'day guy/girl wonderful. (Who doesn't like pampering and attention?) It would be an understatement to say that I ABSOLUTELY HATE FORGETTING PEOPLE'S BIRTHDAYS. There was a time where I forgot birthdays of my close friends. i don't like that stupid feeling which engulfs you when you realise you have forgotten your pal's b'day :( Therefore I decided to use the services of Birthday alarm. It has been extremely useful for me till now.
Well...I forgot to wish my friend. His b'day was on September 5th. It's not that I did not enter his name, b'day in my b'day alarm calender. I ENTERED A WRONG B'DATE :| :| Now can anyone be more irresponsible or plain stupid? :| I hate it, I hate the damn feeling.......grrrr....and I meet him in the college, He doesn't say a word. In the evening I was speaking to him on the phone and I just happen to ask him, Listen your b'day is just around the corner..um so what plans? :| (One tight slap!!!!!!) and then suddenly a brainwave!!!! I asked him, Have I by any chance forgotten your b'day? He meekly replied, "Yes, You very well have!" I just felt like downing myself in a deep river or just wanted to jump inside a big well. huh!!!! Last year too the same thing happened. I actually wished him 10 days later, I thought his b'day was not september 15th and september 15th.....grrr! Now this is not absent mindedness......This is absolute foolishnes!

On a different note altogether, NDTV news headlines screamed.." INDIAN CURRY WINS THE FINAL BATTLE". I was curious to know what it implied. Later I understood that Indian curry has not become the offical diet of the British soliders fighting at Iraq, apparently the most conservative organisation....Blah! I care 2 hoots....Well, how true it is when people say the colonial hangover still exists in India. This is just such a perfect instance. Indian curry is making it big everywhere. i dont understand why it is news. Also why are we waiting for their certificate to acknowledge a fact that WOW, WE HAVE REACHED THERE......Its sad when media resorts to such stupidity. No wonder India is full of so many wannabes! Well....Blah!!!!

My amma has been diaganosed with slight diabetes and thodusa BP problem too. :( Poor thing! In a span of just 2-3 days I have noticed the drastic change in her doet. She loves eating fruits, now she just stares at them. poor thing....She has to drink sugarless coffee....She's the 4th member from her family to join the elite club, which we jokingly refer to as THE SUGAR FACTORY :P It used to be joke till others were a part of the club, now no longer! Amma laughs it off..but still ya, its sick! Stupid diabetes......

Have you guys seen the Extraa Innings hoardings all around the city? Atleast Mumbaikars should have. It has Mandira bedi in it wearing a saree, shawl????? (God alone knows , what) I was wondering...Mandira Bedi and Too much clothing....the saree thing is draped in a funny way.....and then I see the accompanying slogan......Mandira in EXTRA COVER......:| :| :| So the extra clothing meant that? Oh puhllezeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Then there is another hoarding wherein she is seen in some net type thingy, the slogan accompanying it says...Mandira in the nets :| That's not all.....there's one more. There's a hoarding wherein She's wearing this short pink number and the whole focus is on her legs.....guess what the accompanying slogan would be.......YEA...EXTRA LEG :| Could it get any more typical and cliched? Even I can come up with such stupid ideas and they get paid also liek crazy for such crappy work........grrrrrrr!

Teaching, me etc.
Yesterday was Teachers day. I don't want to go gaga about teachers have influenced my life and blah blah! (That maybe sometime later in another post)They have no doubt had a tremendous impact in my life. But today I want to talk about something else.

My mommie is a teacher. She teaches the kiddos, the primary section..from std.1st to std.5th. I always tell Amma that she's the most luckiest person. I have enjoyed teaching of whatever little I have done till now. (genes I guess) Teaching, I believe is one of the very jobs which actually make a difference in lives of thousands of people.......directly. It is one profession which is emotionally so gratifying. At the end of the day one does feel good about themselves after having taught people. I don't know why i did not take up teaching as a career. I could have probably. But I dislike the correction and the evaluation bit. I see Amma with those hundreds of Answer papers and I know that I don't want that. I can't see myself doing that all my life. But well.it does come as a part of the package. I remember when I was in 11th std i.e. 3-3.5 yrs ago one family friend of ours came to me very tensed. His son S was struggling with Maths. S barely passed in his semesters scoring barely 40%. I agreed coz he's almost like a bro to me, a kiddo with whom I had grown up with. I only used tot each him during weekends. But well...he scored 75% in his final exams and I was obviosuly on top of the world. I used to enjoy the whole process so much. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

I read this Manmohan Singh wonders how he lande dup in politics and talks about How teaching is his first love. I agree with him completely. Later he goes on to say how teachers shape the nation and all the usual stuff.

On the teachers' role in nation building, he said. "Teachers shape the minds of the children who are the future of the nation."
They impart a value system, groom personality of children, he said. "A lot depends on what you teach."

Well....The conditions of teachers are pathetic in Maharashtra. The oldies don't have much of a problem. But the new batch of teachers are in absolute sad condition. Every new teacher appointed by schools and colleges are appointed on a contract basis with a measly Rs.3000 per month. Whether their contract would be revived every year would be a permanent question mark. After some years years , may be they might get permamnent. All is RAMBHAROSE! Not many educated people are opting for teaching, especially in the primary level. Teaching Higher secondary and college is kinda economically helpful for the teachers because of the mushrooming coaching classes. Its like a vicious circle....U don't pay well in colleges, teachers opt for cocahing classes wherein students like us willingly pay fees thousand times more than what we pay in the colleges and then one can find people teaching well in classes but not well in colleges and all sort of unethical practises. I had a teacher in my school who used to conduct her owning coaching classes. She wouldn't teach properly in school and if in case anyone would ask for doubts she would indirectly hint at joining her classes, shamelessly!

The number of younsters taking to teaching as a profession is depressingly low especially in the primary level. That's the age when one mould's the minds of the children, if the teachers are substandard there, what future are they creating? Many a times I have found children are more knowledgeable than teachers....Its a sad situation out here, really sad. Even one wants to stem the rot, its impossible to make a career with such measly sum of money as salary. Not everyone can do social service, can they unless they have huge potloads of money? That's why I dislike the Ambanis coz they have started a school wherein the monthly fees of a student is 1 lakh :| And then they talk about their commitment towards education. What a whole load of bull! With the kind of money they have, they can do so much......*sigh* But they bloody wanna make money in the field of education too. Huh!

With this kind of sad treatment meted out to teachers, INDIA'S future is dark!

Hats off to Vardan Kabra and Ghazala & Irfana :D :D In times like these, they are breath of fresh air :D :D

I have met Ghazala and Irfana, will narrate my lovely experience about that sometime later. :) Check this out too.

(Please do take time to read it.)

and yes.....

Happy teachers day

Kuch bhi Bud Bud.....

Dukhi mann Mere sunn mera kehna.......
Jahaan nahin chaina. wahaan nahin rehna.....

Kishore Kumar croons his way to glory. Perfect song ya, totally apt! Wish i could follow his advice. bloody, I would run away...NOW...RUN RUN RUN..SCOOOOOOOOOOT! Kya zhindagi hain.: : : Soooo many projects! Shesssssssssssh! But the twist is I like doing them..: then if u ask what's the problem.....overdose ho gayela hain idhar! Zindagi ka poora vaat mera.......One more week I survive, WOW! that would be one helluva thing, no! I am in a super cribaholic mood.....CRIB CRIB CRIB CRIB.....BLAH BLAH BLAH.....CRIB CRIB CRIB.......!!!!!

I have this subject called public opinion. Boy oh Boy! Wish human beings were born with no head at all. Koi opinion hi nahi hota na! Sadoo......every damn dimwit (including urs truly) has a goddamn opinion about every second thing in this world. Ok.opinion hain jaane do na, kya pharak padhta hain........NOOOOOOOOO!, We are world samaritans na.......MAP PUBLIC OPINION!!!!!! Bloody hell........I have to read about every chotu thing happening..Dhanonjay case, Godhra, INDIA-PAKISTAN, INDO-CHINA RLEATIONS.[am jhaaaapped in this topic, no notes :( ] Vietnam war......U NAME IT WE HAVE IT! Now we will have Iraq war also, all coz of Stupid Dubya. he should be pushed down from the Himalayas.nahi best from the niagara falls....USA se paas hain......kutte ki maut he deserves......HUHUHUH!!!!!!!

But you knowwat, I like reading about such stuff. Indo-pak relations, Indo-china relations, Bangladesh war and all stuff like that, lekin I hate it when we have to do it for the exam......****sigh**** Neways, ............wowow......I feel so relieved.....I had to throw it out of my system...tee hee hee.......

My house is full of newspapers now. Hindi, Marathi, Gujarathi, tamil....u name it, i have it! For doing an asisgnment on Indian regional journalism. Funny it is, I had urdu paper also.....Such a beautiful language Urdu is, pity i can't read it, I though the font looks like hen's shit (loosely translated from tamil, kozhi pea :P) My table resembles raddiwala ka shop. all type of papers I have. Today it so happened that, I bought, 6 papers........hindi, marathi and english. The bookstall walah looks at me weirdly and asks me.....itna saara paper chahiye kya? I was like," Haanji, chahiye.....kyun?" He gave a quizzical look and gave me the papers. Sometimes it seems I am buying something from wholesale market. "ek navbharat dena, ek Saamna dena..and it goes on....." Then I went and caught my train. As usual Train bole toh supakk neendh....so I dosed off. Suddenly one lady taps my shoulder and I woke up suddenly. Now Now Now, the one thing I HATEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE is when someone wakes me up from my sleep, especially when I am in the train. Stupids, they would wake me up for all flimsiest reasons....once a lady woke me from my deep slumber and asked me time kya ho gaya hain? I was so irritated.......I burst out," Akkal nahi tumko? Dikhta nahi so rahi hoon? time ke lioye uthaaneka kya?" She stood there chup chaap. IDIOTS! Haan, back to the story.....She wakes me up and then she asks me my newspapers!! ****Ding Dong**** I had forgotten to keep my newspapers inside my bag. So there I was....apne compartment ki newspaper vendor distributing papers. One lady actually asked me," Ek Saamna dena" I was like grrrr...."Saamna khatam ho gaya...aage jao! :P" Thus all my papers made a compartment darshan before they finally landed on my hands. Ufff......my sleep gone by now :( :(

Ummmm......Something offtrack.....One professor of mine is leaving Mumbai for Pune permanently. He moved out because he wanted his chotu daughter (all of 1 yr old) to grow in a small town, have a slow paced life. I dunno how, but I somehow seemed to agree with his take. Mind you, I lovee Mumbai, but i dunno, his decision seemed perfect, it made sense....Well, dunno, i'm happy for him :D Also , I like Pune :D :D

Chalo now, lemme get back to work.....seeya soon, dont ask me when coz I myself dunno! Tadah!

p.s.: have u ever tried walking on the road with a copy of a ummmmm....... Navakal in ur hand? I did and boy, it was funny....people's reactions..BUHAHAHAHA! :P Anyways, me off!

PPS: Shonu's Budday today.........ppl, go and wish her! :D :D *Hugs* girl, have a great day......! All da best to you........:D :D

PPPS : ok....Saamna is Shiv Sena's mouth piece aka newspaper in Mumbai.
Navakal is also a Marathi newspaper. Ummmm....kinda downmarket with zilch news content. once they carried a news report...L K Advani dided :| :| (Am not kidding :P )

Ponderings!!!!

Hmmmm......living in Mumbai can be weird in many ways. Different people fascinate me and Mumbai is a perfect place to meet different different kind of people. One of the main motivation for me to become a journo is to meet new people. Mumbai is a huge metropolis....no, megapolis actually. As lakku rightly pointed out it has loads of clusters, various places which are self sufficient townships in every way. As in every place will have loads of schools, colleges (for various streams), hospitals, shopping malls etc. U really need not travel as such for basic ameneties like this. But well. For work and for sometimes eductaion too, one has to travel in Mumbai and travel lots! I too travel a lot. In this process I get to meet various people and DIFFERENT people. DIFFERENT would be an understatement. Its so funny, the kind of people changes with every area u know. I don't want to generalise as one would be able to meet different kind of people too; but majority of people would be typical types. Its like every area has its own identity. If area A would be filmy area, area B would be totally gujju and area C would be totally south indian. Economically also it would vary. Thinking, aspirations, everything varies. Whats more, dressing sense of college students also vary. Some areas Ekta kapoor will be GOD whereas in others she would be poo-poohed. I know people for whom rave parties are like the most happening thing but I also know people who don't know where their next meal is gonan come from.I hope you guys are getting the drift. I still maintain that exceptions prevail and one really can't always generalise. So since I travel quite a lot within the city, I encounter people of all types. Shocking different in every aspect from one another. Its a nice experince but I kinda experince it every few hours : Its not always funny because it drains you emotionally sometimes. I don't know how exactly to explain to you guys, but I think one can't experience it unless one stays in Mumbai. Its like I don't want a change every few hours. Some stability, some continuity needed please!!!!!!!!!!!! But this is one endearing aspect of Mumbai. I know I'm sounding totally contradictory but well......I'm like that only ;)

On a different note.......Malu called me up today, such a cutie pie. WOTTA LOVELY SURPRISE.....:D *HUGS* babes! Was lovely talking to ya. She had her fair share of fun by not revealing her name and all......majja she had at my expense! :P :P (by the way, see another new post down)

Musings
When I have nothing better to do, I sometimes bloghop. Its funny when I see people describing their state of mind so accurately. I mean even I have my weird mood days, but I don't think I would be able to write so eloquently about it. I might write to myself about it though (never can blog it) but I dont think so I would be able to write it so beautifully, the clarity of thought is just so amazing. I hate to admit but I am all *ENVIOUS*

Anyways, I have to narrate this funny incident. Well I was having my dinner with my television set swicthed on. Some random number from Khakhee was being played on Star plus I guess. It was a total Dhinchak number with beats and all. Amma was somewhere in the room when suddenly she broke into a little jig. It was "I-am-dancing-when-nobody's-looking-at-me" jig. The best thing about a family is the level of comfort one experinces. The comfort zone one gets is unbelievable. We may all have our differences with the family itself, but still, the most awkward things is chalta hain. As in even if you let out a burp, its ok when you are at home. Its like family only na! Ok.back to the story, I saw Amma doing some weird dance step, but I kept quiet. I wanted her to enjoy her moment. On the hindsight I would have had royal fun pulling her leg, but even if i pull her leg, it doesn't make any difference. My Amma doesn't even listen to me, making me a fulltu popat : So i just kept quiet. But what was most freaky was when I saw the TV screen sometime later, I saw Akshay Kumar doing the same step : I can vouch for the fact that Amma wasn't watching the tv while doing her lil' cute jig....hehehehehee! That was really funny, that was when I started laughing........Amma had this quizzical expression on her face..........hahahahahahahahahaa....so funny, didn't even bother to explain! My amma sure is cute......*grin*

I just don't get it!
Well...guys, read this! The article talks about how majority of the homosexual athletes don't come out in open about their sexuality. Either they remain permamnently in closet or reveal only to a certain few. What I don't understand is, what's the big deal about a person's sexuality! Hullo! The person may be a gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transsexual (they are a subject of debate) or whatever! How does it matter, as long as they are performing! Even if they don't perform, they would be sacked, simple! The athletes get qualified for the olympics on the basis of their performance in the pre-event qualifiers and not b'coz of their sexuality. So why is such a big deal made! It's such a personal matter, why the unncessary probing! It seriously seems so petty to me.

When I was volunteering at the world social forum, I happened to attend a talk by the gay rights activist Ashok row Kavi. A group of people majority of them homosexuals were having a discussion. There were few youngsters too. One of them for the first time ever came out in open about his sexuality. It was sweet, he became very emotional and struggled with words. We all applauded. Homosexuals in India go through a real rough time in their quest to get accepted by the mainstream society. But, i don't understand why someone's sexuality should be an issue or a point of debate at the workfront. Do the heterosexuals face the same thing...No, they don't have any pressures in order to declare their sexuality. Just b'coz the homosexuals are in a minority and justb'coz they are different, doesn't mean that they need to come out in open about stuff which are just not necessary and totally unrelated professionally. God, gimme a break please!!!!!! Y can't people just live and let live! *sigh*

The Meeting Part-2
Well... After shopping, we went back to our hotel rooms and I went to sleep very early that night. I really didn't get a chance to clear my doubts about Tibet with Appa at all. The next day we went sight seeing all over Manali. I went to some apple orchards. I was particularly delighted about the fact that the apple trees over there were just almost my height, approximately 4.5 feet. That was really interesting for me. But well, the saddest thing was that there were no apples. The trees didn't have leaves at all because it was winter then. I could only sigh and imagine how wonderful it would have been had I come during summer. Delecious apples plucked directly from the trees.......awesome na!

In the evening the whole group again went shopping. I have to confess something, I hated shopping way back then. :........yea, yea, yea, even I sigh in disbelief sometimes. How can I, Shobha of all people in the world.....HATE SHOPPING! Shesssssssssh! I am ashamed of myself :P :P I only liked shopping if something was brought for me. I was least bothered about the woollens my mom/pop were buying and other electronic goods. Duhhhh! B O R I N G! We went to a shop which resembled like a super market. Our whole group dispersed. It had everything, woollens to electronic stuff to cosmetics. Initially I accompanied Appa/amma in their shopping sojourn but later I became so bored that I left them, joined my group of friends and started enjoying myself. Suddenly my eyes fell on this most gorgeous pair of earrings I had ever seen. It was very pretty. I immediately went to the shop and asked a lady sitting there about the price of the earrings. "150 ruppes dear. U like it?" I replied in affirmative and kept staring at the earrings. "Wait, I will show you more of those." she retorted and kept in front of me a big box which contained loads of such pretty earrings. I was busy checking the earrings when suddenly i noticed that this lady was wearing a completely different outfit. It was different. I can't really describe it now but it sort of resembled the outfits the tibetan women had worn. Oh yea, she had chinky eyes too. Somehow we stuck up a conversation. there weren't many customers to her cubicle that time, so we continued talking. Gradually I came to know that she had come to India from Tibet when she was barely 7-8. Yet she had vivid memories of her childhood in Tibet. She talked about her house, the garden, courtyard etc. She often spoke in chaste Hindi but our talks were interspersed with smattering of English too.

Then I sudden;ly asked her, "Why do u people keep coming from Tibet to India? You don't like living there?" Hearing my question, she burst intpo a mild laughter. I did not understand why she behaved like that. She then told me that," Dear, tibet used to be a free country until China had invaded Tibet. So we were forced to flee the country and come to india." While telling me this, she burst into tears. I was shocked. I did not know how to react. I just muttered a feeble sorry and apologised to her profusely. "Aunty I did not mean to hurt you, I am so sorry. Please don';t cry." I couldn't say naything more. I was completely comfused, disturbed on seeing her cry like this. She composed herself and then consoled me by saying, "Oh no dear, don't worry. it is not because of you. its all out fate.". But aunty why did you cry? You don't like living in India? You have lived here for so many years." To this she replied," Oh well...I love India. India has been very kind to us. it has given us a home, has given us an opportunity to earn our living here. We couldn't have asked for more. But then..... I snapped, But what aunty?" "but....I belong to tibet. Tibet is my homeland. I have always wanted to go back, to my home, to my Tibet." I just stood there mum." We live in India at present earn our living here. We have been assimilated with the India society, but it doesn't change the fact that we are refugees. We are not one among you." I didn't agree with ehat she said. "Absolutely not, You are one among us, you are just like any other Indian citizen." "So sweet of you dear, but the fact is that we are not and one has to accept it. Our roots are in Tibet That difference will always exist."

Then suddenly she began all enthusiastic. " Do you know what my dream is? I ant to die in Tibet. I still dream of living in my ancestral house. I still hope that one day Tibet would be free." "me too aunty." Thatw as all I could mumble. IAt that point of time I just thought how lucky I was to belong to a free country like India. I was lost in thoughts when she said, "You know Shobha, India has been so good to us. She has given us home, shelter, food, so many things. Why doesn't Indian government help us to in our endeavour to be free then?" i just looked at her. i did not have any naswers to her question. I was ignorant, completely. But I could see the sadness in her eyes. Sigh!

Shobha.......I heard somone calling me. that was Amma. "Where were you? We were searchign for you all over." she screamed at me. Amma, I was here talkign to aunty. they bothe xchanged pleasantries but we were in a hurry and had to rush. I just waved a quick good bye and left. That was our first and last meeting.

From that day onwards I have deep empathy for the Tibetan struggle for independence. I hope Tibet gets liberated one day. But well, realistically, I don't think that's going to happen. But well you never know.....life is full of surprises :D

Aha! What a coincidence :D This is real good news. :D :D

The meeting---Part 1
I was in my 6th grade, I was around 11 years old. We had to been to Himachal Pradesh for a trip. Himachal Pradesh is so lovely........one of the most beautiful places I have been to till now. I don't mind going there again. We were 4-5 families altogether for the trip to Himachal. Abhi....Himachal Bole toh, Kullu Manali nahi gaye toh Doob Maro! seriously!! :P Anyways.we were at Kullu. The first time I set foot at Kullu, I felt different. I mean the whole ambience of the place is so different than Mumbai (obviosuly it would be different but well as a kid it hit me right on my face) It was cold (I went to kullu on the month of November) But I liked it. Another thing which caught my attention was the large amount of "chinky eyed " people. now I know its a stupid way to address them, but well..I din't know any other way. (People please suggest, I would incorporate it :) ) I had never seen so many chinky eyed people at one place. I was very intrigued.

I have to mention the crazy things I did during this trip. I was fascianted by people, countries, different relegions, cultures etc. right from a very ypoung age. These trips provided me an opportunity to meet like so many different people. There were tons of tourists who had come from various countries. Well, I was very curious about all everything "NEW" I saw. Therefore I used to stop and talk to any random foreigner and ask them From where they came from, which country and How they liking India and all. It freaks me now as to how I could just go to any random strangeer and ask questions. Boy! I was totally uninhibited and bold! :D I met some really nice people likewise. They were only too interested in telling me what they liked, info about their country and all. It was very cute! So in kullu, when we went shopping, I witnessed like huge numners of Chinky- eyed people (I thought that they were from north-east)
There are loads of them In kullu, Manali, Dharamshala etc. Since we went to Kullu during the winters, the lanes and roads of Kullu were filled with people selling woollens. It wa sa ubiquitous scene. I went to this particular lady who was selling really lovely sweaters. She also had cute friendship bands (yea and this was way before Kuch Kuch hota hain released.) Every second person over there int he street was busy knitting sweaters and other stuff. I went to this particular stall which had an old lady knitting and her daughter selling the stuff. They were really very beautiful and pretty. They showed me several of their stuff sweaters, shawls, socks, gloaves etc. etc. Out of sheer curiosity I began talking to them. I asked them," Do u belong to Kullu only or do u come here during winters for business?" THey looked at me and said, " No, beta, we are tibetans But we have been staying here right from our childhood." Now I was stumped, where is Tibet???? I smiled and went back to Appa who was busy haggling something in anotjher shop. Appa is very good with geography and keenly takes interest in current affairs and stuff. I asked him, "Appa, Where is Tibet? Is it in India?" That was not a proper time to ask questions and dispell my doubts as he was busy making purchases and answering in a busy stret really didn't make sense. Amma was also shopping. So i kept quiet. We proceeded to another lane where again we encountered like several shops. I met another girl whow as busy knitting. She was knitting a friendship band. I was quite curious coz at that time I hardly knew wht these bands meant. I asked her,"yeh kya hain? (what is this?) She replied," Isko friendhsip band bolte hain. Isko aap apne friend ke haath mein baand sakte ho." (This is called a friendship band and you can tie this on ur friend's wrist.) They were indeed very pretty. I keenly began to watch the way she knitted so fast and came out with such pretty stuff. After a point of time I began talking to her too. She was very sweet. I asked her u r also a tibetan? She looked at me surprised," Yea, even I am from Tibet. Where are u from?" I replied that I am from Mumbai. I didn't have any clue about Tibet or anything. I asked her what relegion do u follow? Christianity? She repleid with biiiiiiiiiig NOOOOOO! "We practise Buddhism.", she said. I aske dher whom do you regard as your god. She said Dalai Lama! Now I was totally confused. She said she pratrcised Buddhism and god is Dalai Lama. I bid her good bye and again joined our group........(To be continued)

Hats of to you!

Tibetan Review August 2004

The old amala rephrased her question "I mean are you Amdo, or Khampa orToepa?" Lobsang gave the same defiant answer again. In a brash tone hesaid "Tibet". One amala mumbled condescendingly - "obviously the boy doesn't know his parentage, his native land."

This incident happened at a restaurant in McLeod Ganj, where my friendLobsang, a school drop-out works there as waiter. He was trying to bepolite to this gang of old amalas while serving them tea, when he was asked: "What is your native land?"

Most Tibetan youngsters would perhaps give the same answer as Lobsang did.Some are oblivious to their parental roots. Many know, but do not like toidentify themselves with any of the clans. Tibetan youngsters don't wantto carry the extra baggage of their regional and sectarian identities,which, more than anything else, has become a divisive tool to many of the petty politicians in the community.

Tibetan youngsters are choosing to steer clear from such typecasting. This is the new generation emerging with its own sense of identity. They have seen such categorization resulting in communal fundamentalism.The challenge is to know ones own parental and cultural roots, and yet notfall into the trap of clanish groupism, which has stifled Tibetan parliamentarian politics.

This is the fine balance I believe our youngsters must maintain to take the community forward into positive development. Through this we will achieve that wonderful democratic visionthat exiles are struggling for.

Right from the beginning of our exile life, His Holiness the Dalai Lama placed great importance on the healthy growth of the Tibetan children.Tibet's youth who are receiving both traditional and modern education willgreatly influence future Tibet. Today, there are over one hundred Tibetan schools in exile.The children of exile are the hope for free Tibet.

His Holiness has aspecial word for this 'Sontsa'. Sontsa is not the unborn seed, it's not the assumed potential; it is the sapling, it is already fertile andgrowing, and yet it is young. There is promise of a bright future inSontsa.

As a kid growing up in school, the Elders gave us the most wonderful dream- a dream called "Free Tibet", a country of our own, the country our elders lost to the Chinese and we have to quickly grow up and reclaim.There was so much patriotism in our education, whether it was about the national flag, our leader His Holiness, or study of Tibetan history andpolitics.Today we are grown up and ready to fight for that dream, but the rules have changed. There is no longer that freedom to fight for. The goal posthas moved, and we are left with no role to play. Now we can't even do aprotest rally; elders charge us of disloyalty with the Exile Government's request to keep calm.There is no glory in battling for a compromise, nor does the compromise look hopeful. Anyway, even if it was granted, would the youngsters keep silent and be satisfied with that autonomy?

Quite often I get to work with Tibetan college students in cities all overIndia. Tibetan students in these cities have been forming studentassociations through which they collectively campaign for Tibet. These arebeing run from the funds they begged from Tibetan camps during theirsummer and winter vacations. These associations double up as welfare organizations taking care of students in times of emergencies like sickness or accidents.

Last year I was in Mangalore, the seaside-city in south India. About 300Tibetan youngsters study there. During the four-day Tibet festival, acurious Indian student asked one Tibetan youth, both about the same age:"How does Tibet look like?"The Tibetan student stopped in the middle of his speech and began thinking. He was perhaps recollecting images of Tibet he had seen in films and photographs.

Most Tibetans born and brought up in exile have never seen Tibet, even the hundreds who escaped at a young age haven't seen muchof their homeland other than the village they fled. Their Tibet is created by their imagination, their education, stories theyheard from elders and tourists and what they inherited in their blood. There is no citizenship to claim; the Dalai Lama is their passport. They are born refugee.

Yes, like the younger generation of any community we too have our own share of problems with language, traditional customs, and yes, we have loads of attitude. And yet deep down there we are Tibetan. Every mention of Tibet and the Dalai Lama in a newspaper, TV, radio pulls the strings in us. It's something very personal. Tibetans strayed to foreign countries with or without papers tell me of this heartstring. It's just magical. This, I believe, is Tibetanness, and I know this is there in all Tibetans.

At the end of the day, we also want a home to return to, a small place tocall our own, somewhere where we belong. It's too difficult imaginingthere will be a free Tibet and postponing our dream called "Home," and yetthe struggle must go on. Often I am asked how should the Tibetans channelize their emotional power into real works to free Tibet.

Today, with the youngsters receiving aworld class education, equipped with global language and technologyskills, we can put up a strong fight. Today's youngsters are not bound bycustomary loyalties. They are patriotic, but educated and informed. If only we can do away with the inhibition where - in the name of faith -we place the whole job of freeing Tibet on the shoulders of one man: His Holiness the Dalai lama.

We are the kind to share responsibility while simultaneously receiving guidance from the Buddha.We do have a younger group who have excelled in their field of socialservice, leadership, art and literature, and have set examples. Norsangruns the most popular Tibetan website, www.phayul.com single-handedly, LobsangTsering runs Kunphen; his drugs de-addiction centre in Dharamsala has helped more than 120 patients, Rapsel has been campaigning for vegetarianism; traveling Tibetan camps across India, Techung and Tsering Gyurme in music, Tenzin Dorjee in photography, Karma Sichoe in thangka painting, Lhadon Tethong in youth leadership, she's also the president ofworld-wide Students for a Free Tibet, and not so young Dolma Gyari andKarma Yeshi in the Tibetan parliament.

I salute these and many others who work silently with commitment and yearsof dedicated work for Tibet. This article pays tribute to that power ofyouth, to this new generation of Tibetans in exile which is now slowlycoming of age, and making 'Sontsa' - the dream of His Holiness - come true, a promise of new Tibet.

Tenzin Tsundue

Well....not many of you would be knowing Tenzin Tsundue. All I can say is, he's one remarkable personality I have met in my life. A revolutionary, he fights for the Tibetan cause. I had the priviledge of meeting him once. Well all about that in the next 2-3 posts. I promise you the next post would be soon.

I did not post all these days b'coz, I dunno, I just didn't feel like it. In a way, its good I took a break. Surprsingly I did not miss it. its weird, it really is weird. But well, after fair share of threats and stuff from people, I decided to post today. Please read it fully people, this is something which is really close to my heart. I willt alk about my personal experiences later. :)

and yes....yesterday was my Bhai's birthday :D :D

CRAZY TIME

Ever since I am in my final year specialising in journalism, it has been tremendous amount of fun. I love everybit of our lectures one of the main reson being they are so interactive. Also the projects are damn cool. I will narrate some of the funniest experiences I have had.

We had a guest lecturer who came and gave us a lecture on Investigative reporting. She also gave us an assignment wherein we were supposed to hunt for an investigative story (very small scale) urs truly was totally lost. i couldn't figure out anything at all. Finally I decided upon an idea. (Bigtime cliched, but well, doesn't matter) One is not supposed to sell cigarettes within 100 metres of an educational institution. But well, as usual the laws are flouted merrily. There is a paanwala shop near my college who sells ciggies on a sly. I planned to go and buy a packet of cigarettes and I had to ask for a bill too, otherwise no proof! Ok..people, I don't smoke. Never ever gone near a pan beedi shop in my whole damn life. So I went to this shop tagging a friend alongside me. I asked for a packet of ciggies and he slowly turned back, opened his black plastic bag wherein he had hid his ciggies and gave me a packet. I asked him for a bill saying that "Acoounts karna hain Bhaiyya, bill chahiye!" {Wot crap, what account, what bull shit! } and that man gave me a bill immediately. I was like YO! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

Now I wanted to try again. So I went to another shop. I asked for a pack of ciggies again. I asked the guy for a bill and he didn't have a bill. He said he will write it down in a piece of paper and give it to me. I readily agreed. But well.... only wrote the price and he gave. I asked him,"Bhaiyya, dukaan ka naam nahi likhoge?" He was like, "Dukaan ka nam bhi chahiye kya?" hmmmmmmm. He bent down and suddenly he got up and he began glancing at our I-cards which as per our college rules we always have to tie it around our neck like a kutte ka ptha! Huh! He asked me how old I am, I said was as 19. Convinced he gave us the bill. Then he says," Mereko bahut tension hota hain Cigarettes bechte samay! " I was like," tension hoita hain toh bechta kyun hain re!" Wanted to scream at him but well, my work over and I fled. Since my prof wanted only a chotu story, I just went and tried my luck at 2 shops around my college. If she would have asked us to work on it full-on then maybe I might have covered majority of colleges in Mumbai. I as so excited....heehhee! investigative thingy is fun...total fun! :D :D :D

Now me at home:
My Appa is busy reading newspaper. I wanted to do some keeda (mast). So I went up to him and I saw him deeply engrossed in the newspaper. I started with all seriousness...
Appa, See what I brought today!!! Saying this I flung my ciggy packet on his newspaper. And I proceeded. "Appa, I have decided to start smoking. I am being very honest with you and I am telling you beforehand." Appa's face became numb. He didn't know what to do. Oh shesssssh! Watta Kodak moment! HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAA! I couldn't control it any more. I blurted out, "Appa, I'm joking. It is for a project." Appa still couldn't understand what kind of college project was it which required me to buy cigarette packets! HAHAHAAHHAHAA! I explained him the entire idea and burst out laughing. heheheheheheeee! So much fun! Poor sweet dad of mine! awwwwwww! heheheheheeee! ;)

We have this subject called niche magazine and journalism. So what is a niche magazine? A niche magazine is a speciality type magazine which only caters to a specific interest (photography), relegion, particular profession etc. etc. So my professor one day brought whole load of niche magazines in our class. It had nice magazines I have never even heard the names of. Asian timber, Asian Dentist, Dhanvaarta bazaar patrika, Competition success review, GK Today etc. etc. and some really weird weird ones too. We were asked to pick up any of the two magazines and pass it on to our immediate neighbour. And then we were supposed to have a glance at them and we were given some 15-odd minutes to read them. Sudden;ly one of friends started laughing loudly. Since urs is a very small class (only 13 students) we get distractd very easily. The whole class turned to her and burst out laughing. She had a copy of debonair. Oh yea...U read it right ppl.........The porn magazine! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Well porn has a niche of its own own (Do I need to add that? :P) I mean porn magazines are considered niche magazines and our professor was planning to have like a discussion on them too. We are a class of 11 girls and 2 guys and in that particular class only one guy as present. So we girls really didn't bother to flip the pages with great interest (Well, I know for the fact that there are no lesbians in my class :P) We started flipping through the agony aunt column. AHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHHA! It was some March 1986 issue. The agony aunt columns were hilarious to say the least. Sample one of these, it had the class into splits.

I am a a 30 yr old man. I am happily married to my wife who is very beautiful, smart and slim. But I have this fascination for old, mature and obese women. Whenever I make love to my wife, I always imagine old, mature, obese women. Is there anything wrong in me? and y doo I think they way I think?

Oh shesssssssssssssh! It was just too much.....People burst out laughing .Total ruckus in my tiny classroom. Our professor finally interrupted and we had to proceed to another magazine. But it was so much fun! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! :p:p

TRIVIA: India's first porn magazine was in Hindi. It was called MASTRAM (LOLOLOLOLOL), was started in the 1950s. :P