“Aishwarya Rai pregnant.”(Made up!!!)
“Imran Khan getting engaged.”
“Shahrukh Khan’s knee twisted during Ra One.”
There was a time when these bollywood headlines or news snippets were solely limited to either a small section in the newspaper or were extensively written about only in film magazines. In 2010 however, things have modified themselves a bit.
To put it in layman terms Bollywood has now become synonymous with the word Entertainment!! Any magazine I open, any newspaper I read or even the TV and Radio, all literally run around this very nine-letter word- Bollywood!!
Where have the other topics of concern vanished? Why don’t we hear people talking about stuff like Books, politics, culture or even travel???
Why is it so that we have more of the Indian Film Industry programs whereas intelligent entertainment is slowly fading off?
Why, in the name of moneymaking do TV or Radio Channels forget that their main motive of existence is MASS COMMUNICATION & not FILMI INFORMATION!!
If you Google the word Entertainment, you’d not be surprised to see that barring the first search result which is usually from Wikipedia (wonder how much they pay for that), more than 90% of the search results would show celebrity gossips and banter.
We break our heads continuously on Media Freedom and Right to Knowledge, we hold seminars on selling concepts that force an individual’s mind to ponder and think. But, in the end, its always the moolah and bollywood which strips the lining on the cake.
I was working on something when my friend pings me on Gtalk and says,
“Wonder if you have 5 minutes to talk.”
I say, “ I always have time to talk.” Simple and short.
He says, “ You know, I work with a news channel and the kind of shows that we make are often in the INFOTAINMENT category which talk about majorly everything that concerns me or you.”
I say, “ Yes absolutely.”
He says, “ But now, all we do is just talk about where shahrukh is performing or where salman is Emceeing. There is no more material in our shows. Yes, we often talk about politics also, but that is just 10%.”
I say, “Welcome to the fraternity of buried intellectualism.”
The whole thread of Media and Mass Communication was built for the sole reason that it’s easier for people to understand and orient themselves with not only the government classification but also the changing societal trends. Looking at how the Indian Film Industry has taken over practically every other channel, my creativity also seems to have gone for a toss. Bollywood stars every year rake in crores of funds in the name of endorsing hair oils to baby diapers and soaps as advertisers feel people connect with the STARS more, which according to a layman like me is absolutely misinterpreted thinking!(Debaters welcome)
I want sharp discussions….
I look forward to opinions on issues that matter..
I want the common man to go beyond the Shahrukhs and Salmans and contemplate on why the Indian mannerisms have suddenly gone so aggressive.. that for every other thing in our city or town, we go on a rampage killing people or destroying their homes!!
Honor Killings are on the rise- Brother kills sister!
The nature is on self-destroying spree – earthquakes, oil spills …
Humans becoming terrorists…
Civic sense lost…
Is this the spate of modernity that our forefathers used to predict?? Our living standards have unquestionably risen beyond numbers but for some odd reason or another, our standards in terms of patience, credence and values has dipped just like the falling stock exchange!!
Lets arrest the process right here before it creates a poppadum, out of what we are proud to call our Country!!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
Every Daughter's Song
My evening was on its usual course , when , while surfing the World Wide Web , I came across something that made the daughter in me , so restless and yet so scared....
The Song Babul Jiya by Shubha Mudgal brought back those lost sentiments that are hidden deep within every daughters heart and mind.
The song expresses the emotion of the daughter of the in the most beautiful and aesthetic way....so much, that it brought tears to my eyes....
Have a look at it ...to understand for yourself....
The Song Babul Jiya by Shubha Mudgal brought back those lost sentiments that are hidden deep within every daughters heart and mind.
The song expresses the emotion of the daughter of the in the most beautiful and aesthetic way....so much, that it brought tears to my eyes....
Have a look at it ...to understand for yourself....
Friday, May 28, 2010
The Worded Silence...
My silence threatens me now,
It’s the words they want…
That paper is blotted,
It’s the ink, they rant.
Tomorrow never rose,
Bygone is still present.
The church bells now honk,
The priest still confesses…
Those corner seats love..
Their tickets are still lucid.
No More the clock ticks,
Nobody does this heart pick!
Who am I to fall in love?
It’s in the hand of my beloved…
I am still a lover…while
He became the one, loved…
It’s the words they want…
That paper is blotted,
It’s the ink, they rant.
Tomorrow never rose,
Bygone is still present.
The church bells now honk,
The priest still confesses…
Those corner seats love..
Their tickets are still lucid.
No More the clock ticks,
Nobody does this heart pick!
Who am I to fall in love?
It’s in the hand of my beloved…
I am still a lover…while
He became the one, loved…
Saturday, April 24, 2010
I am no more a child ..
She looked around,
Windows shut.
Curtains drawn…
The lights suddenly so bright…
Her arm scratched..
Her lips so dry…
Nameless hands,
Remorseful tears…
The clothes all tattered…
Her mind battered…
Was she just 13?
Or was it all a dream…
Feeling uncanny,
Her feet sauntered…
Lost was her mind.
Shunned were her eyes…
Her toys suddenly became alive,
Monsters they looked like…
Mummy, hold me again…
I am just so naïve..
Look around…
Tell me what happened…
Those faces seemed familiar…
I am no more a child…
Windows shut.
Curtains drawn…
The lights suddenly so bright…
Her arm scratched..
Her lips so dry…
Nameless hands,
Remorseful tears…
The clothes all tattered…
Her mind battered…
Was she just 13?
Or was it all a dream…
Feeling uncanny,
Her feet sauntered…
Lost was her mind.
Shunned were her eyes…
Her toys suddenly became alive,
Monsters they looked like…
Mummy, hold me again…
I am just so naïve..
Look around…
Tell me what happened…
Those faces seemed familiar…
I am no more a child…
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Baarish ki wo raat
Dekhti hoon apni khidki se bahar,
Toh jahan, dooba dooba sa nazar aata hai…
Kuch insaan aur kuch anjaan…
Yahan sab nazar aata hai….
Un boondo ki tez raftaar se jab,
Mera aangan bheeg jata hai,
Kya kahu , ae naseeb tumse,
Mulakaton ka silsila qareeb aata hai…
Kuch yunhi machalti hui si wo saans,
Ajab se khel khelti wo aas….
Teri baahon ke hijaab mei chup jaana hai,
Sach, aaj mukaamal ho jana hai….
Us khuda ki nemat hai jo tum mile ho,
Kehdo toh hum bhi chale aayei,
Multavii kar dei is mahashar ko,
Aur, saaye mei tere yeh raat guzaar jayein…
Toh jahan, dooba dooba sa nazar aata hai…
Kuch insaan aur kuch anjaan…
Yahan sab nazar aata hai….
Un boondo ki tez raftaar se jab,
Mera aangan bheeg jata hai,
Kya kahu , ae naseeb tumse,
Mulakaton ka silsila qareeb aata hai…
Kuch yunhi machalti hui si wo saans,
Ajab se khel khelti wo aas….
Teri baahon ke hijaab mei chup jaana hai,
Sach, aaj mukaamal ho jana hai….
Us khuda ki nemat hai jo tum mile ho,
Kehdo toh hum bhi chale aayei,
Multavii kar dei is mahashar ko,
Aur, saaye mei tere yeh raat guzaar jayein…
Saturday, November 14, 2009
On being a daughter approaching the marriageable age….
For some odd reason or another, relationships & human emotions always perplex me & yet at the same time, they overwhelm, excite and fascinate me, especially on the feminine side of the coin. I am 23 now & as per the Indian family calendar, am approaching the marriage podium soon… (All according to my parents and next of kin by the way)
My haven nowadays is abuzz with talks & whispers of how to get our eldest daughter and that’s me, betrothed. Gossips are in full throttle these days and nights with my parents crouching on the sofa sets and discussing things like, how to find suitable matches for their pyari daughter, finding all long lost relatives and checking if they have any good ladka in mindd…, “Kis relative ko kitne gifts dene hain “, “Beti kya pehnegi shaadi par”, etc etc & etc. I mean, come on. I’m still in my salad days & here all the tables are set and my mom is already day-dreaming about her future damaaad ji and how she would try( hardly) to be a purrfect saas to my hubby-to-be. Not that I’m complaining….but hum toh abhi bacche hain…
Just yesterday, I, my bro and my mum were getting back from our daily dose of outings, when my dear, tall brother opened his not-so-good mouth of words,
“Why don’t you give more attention in learning how to cook for the soul rather than blasting your ears with music from your dim-witted black mobile”.
My standard answer to his not-so-heeded advice being,
“Jab time aayega toh seekh jayungi”…
Kaboommm…that dialogue I uttered and my dear, coherent mother popped in and articulated,
“Haan haan, jab time aayega…tab saas kahegi, ma-baap ne kuch sikhaya nahi, bas bhejjj diyaaaa”…
Oh!! For the tantrums of the sasuraal have now etched out such a picture of it in my mind that my saas-ka-ghar looks to me like I am trapped inside a typical senile asylum…
My college mates too... have absolutely no other topic of interest other than mouthing just this one sentence to one another:
“Oh, did you know that cunning girl of our class got married. She indeed has a chikna husband. By the way, when are you catching up with the marriage fever”, She asked me…
When I told her I would tie the knot in another 2 or 3 years time or when lord wills…this is what she gaspingly tells me…
“Oh shoottt! How can you wait so long for your suhaag-raat??”
Little does the 5”4’ friend of mine know that she is indeed like a stupid child who doesn’t understand the fact that the suhaag-raat is the only raat of pleasure, rest all is like sitting on another man’s treasure….
The height of being married comes from the incident that my ex-class mate was so happy about his RECENT (take note: recent it was) marriage that his MSN display name is as follows: “hey ppl, me got married”…
Oh for Pete’s sake…how come you are alive then…
Even my college sports professor, who is an Iraqi national, recently talked me into the topic of marriage, all of a sudden...
“Wadh habben honey, you not getting married or you find nobody”
To which, I blushingly replied,
“No sir, im still single”
“Oh honey, your fadher is hiding you from all the boys haan”.
How I wish I could imitate that distorted English-language accent…
I’m so engulfed in this circle of marriage that I feel like humming a song, I wrote…
Everywhere I look,
Everywhere I glance,
There are boys all waiting for me,
To embrace a chance...
Marriage isn’t a cake,
Or no strawberry shake,
But still it keeps me pink,
At nights when I wanna take my forty winks...
Alas...Im just 22...
Trying to gain momentum as a lovely lady doo,
But my parents r going blue,
Trying to fix me up with a guy from the far-away igloo…
Help me oh unmarried souls,
For I am just another one of the small foals …
And now I don’t know what to write more,
So, im ending this nerve-wrecking song with an eye-sore….
P.S. – The worst part is that just next month i will be going for a reception party (again connected to marriage)….Hey Bhagwan….
My haven nowadays is abuzz with talks & whispers of how to get our eldest daughter and that’s me, betrothed. Gossips are in full throttle these days and nights with my parents crouching on the sofa sets and discussing things like, how to find suitable matches for their pyari daughter, finding all long lost relatives and checking if they have any good ladka in mindd…, “Kis relative ko kitne gifts dene hain “, “Beti kya pehnegi shaadi par”, etc etc & etc. I mean, come on. I’m still in my salad days & here all the tables are set and my mom is already day-dreaming about her future damaaad ji and how she would try( hardly) to be a purrfect saas to my hubby-to-be. Not that I’m complaining….but hum toh abhi bacche hain…
Just yesterday, I, my bro and my mum were getting back from our daily dose of outings, when my dear, tall brother opened his not-so-good mouth of words,
“Why don’t you give more attention in learning how to cook for the soul rather than blasting your ears with music from your dim-witted black mobile”.
My standard answer to his not-so-heeded advice being,
“Jab time aayega toh seekh jayungi”…
Kaboommm…that dialogue I uttered and my dear, coherent mother popped in and articulated,
“Haan haan, jab time aayega…tab saas kahegi, ma-baap ne kuch sikhaya nahi, bas bhejjj diyaaaa”…
Oh!! For the tantrums of the sasuraal have now etched out such a picture of it in my mind that my saas-ka-ghar looks to me like I am trapped inside a typical senile asylum…
My college mates too... have absolutely no other topic of interest other than mouthing just this one sentence to one another:
“Oh, did you know that cunning girl of our class got married. She indeed has a chikna husband. By the way, when are you catching up with the marriage fever”, She asked me…
When I told her I would tie the knot in another 2 or 3 years time or when lord wills…this is what she gaspingly tells me…
“Oh shoottt! How can you wait so long for your suhaag-raat??”
Little does the 5”4’ friend of mine know that she is indeed like a stupid child who doesn’t understand the fact that the suhaag-raat is the only raat of pleasure, rest all is like sitting on another man’s treasure….
The height of being married comes from the incident that my ex-class mate was so happy about his RECENT (take note: recent it was) marriage that his MSN display name is as follows: “hey ppl, me got married”…
Oh for Pete’s sake…how come you are alive then…
Even my college sports professor, who is an Iraqi national, recently talked me into the topic of marriage, all of a sudden...
“Wadh habben honey, you not getting married or you find nobody”
To which, I blushingly replied,
“No sir, im still single”
“Oh honey, your fadher is hiding you from all the boys haan”.
How I wish I could imitate that distorted English-language accent…
I’m so engulfed in this circle of marriage that I feel like humming a song, I wrote…
Everywhere I look,
Everywhere I glance,
There are boys all waiting for me,
To embrace a chance...
Marriage isn’t a cake,
Or no strawberry shake,
But still it keeps me pink,
At nights when I wanna take my forty winks...
Alas...Im just 22...
Trying to gain momentum as a lovely lady doo,
But my parents r going blue,
Trying to fix me up with a guy from the far-away igloo…
Help me oh unmarried souls,
For I am just another one of the small foals …
And now I don’t know what to write more,
So, im ending this nerve-wrecking song with an eye-sore….
P.S. – The worst part is that just next month i will be going for a reception party (again connected to marriage)….Hey Bhagwan….
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
What's your raashee????
I am a Sagittarius and a true one at that…
Just some days ago, I was having this usual camaraderie with a friend of mine on star signs and their impact on a person and as some humans, who are short-lived on knowledge comment, so did he.
He – Humbug! I don’t believe in all this horoscope thingy, just makes you more dependent on this shit.”
Well, for starters, I told him, horoscopes and star signs maybe related but are not same at all. A star sign is something that gives you a brief characteristic of people born under that sign, which is ascertained by finding out your birth time and place. Highly Scientific! A Horoscope on the other hand, just figures out our daily /monthly or yearly happening. It’s never associated with what a person you are or what entails your personality.
Still…He didn’t budge!!
He – “ No ways, I still don’t read all that. Each person has similar qualities in them, so what’s the use of knowing how your star sign affects you as a person.”
Ummmm…. Quite a self-delving thought process he has!
I agree each person has similar qualities in them, but then again, how these are utilized are completely based on your mannerisms, your behavioral traits and your reaction time to actions, so you see…even though you and me might have the trait of being BLUNTT… we might use it in different situations and varied ways.
I have a flock of friends and peers who very simply, don’t know the difference between a Horoscope and a Star Sign. Here’s what my very close friend had to say when asked:
ME – What’s your take on star signs?
Cmith: I’m a believer cause what ever people write, happens (He meant Horoscopes)
ME: not horoscopes haan, Star signs.
Cmith: okay, what are they?
So, it’s all bare and fair now. I am a staunch believer in Star Signs and thoroughly believe that although the world has over how-many-billion people around, their traits would somehow coincide or match, if born under the same star sign, unless, they are a cusp and hang between two signs.
The possibility of finding out more about the human race through this aspect is so lofty and vast, that it would open up new avenues in human science development and would help those long haired scientists to ascertain why certain people behave in a prescribed manner and I have sincerely learned through my power of observations that yes, people of similar star signs do have patterns that make them have similar leisure pursuits and gestures or probably a particular style of carrying their body language.
Like in a LEO, for example, you’d always notice them to be very confident, the way they stride is always very grand, they have this air in them, which they think is very COOL!! BUT NO, IT ISNT and trust me, all LEOS have it in them..
Sagittarians the flirts…
Scorpio – The mysterious…
Librans – Balanced…
Gemini – Two- Faceted…Blah and Blah…
Linda Goodman, the well-known author of the book, “Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs” has indeed written some wonderful and insightful pieces on each star sign, signaling as if, its written for one particular person. Makes you feel personal, hunted…
For me, Star Signs and their tentative powers are just a way, a shift towards knowing something that is alien terrain to me- HUMANS! The day I see every person of this world as they actually are, I would be content.
Just some days ago, I was having this usual camaraderie with a friend of mine on star signs and their impact on a person and as some humans, who are short-lived on knowledge comment, so did he.
He – Humbug! I don’t believe in all this horoscope thingy, just makes you more dependent on this shit.”
Well, for starters, I told him, horoscopes and star signs maybe related but are not same at all. A star sign is something that gives you a brief characteristic of people born under that sign, which is ascertained by finding out your birth time and place. Highly Scientific! A Horoscope on the other hand, just figures out our daily /monthly or yearly happening. It’s never associated with what a person you are or what entails your personality.
Still…He didn’t budge!!
He – “ No ways, I still don’t read all that. Each person has similar qualities in them, so what’s the use of knowing how your star sign affects you as a person.”
Ummmm…. Quite a self-delving thought process he has!
I agree each person has similar qualities in them, but then again, how these are utilized are completely based on your mannerisms, your behavioral traits and your reaction time to actions, so you see…even though you and me might have the trait of being BLUNTT… we might use it in different situations and varied ways.
I have a flock of friends and peers who very simply, don’t know the difference between a Horoscope and a Star Sign. Here’s what my very close friend had to say when asked:
ME – What’s your take on star signs?
Cmith: I’m a believer cause what ever people write, happens (He meant Horoscopes)
ME: not horoscopes haan, Star signs.
Cmith: okay, what are they?
So, it’s all bare and fair now. I am a staunch believer in Star Signs and thoroughly believe that although the world has over how-many-billion people around, their traits would somehow coincide or match, if born under the same star sign, unless, they are a cusp and hang between two signs.
The possibility of finding out more about the human race through this aspect is so lofty and vast, that it would open up new avenues in human science development and would help those long haired scientists to ascertain why certain people behave in a prescribed manner and I have sincerely learned through my power of observations that yes, people of similar star signs do have patterns that make them have similar leisure pursuits and gestures or probably a particular style of carrying their body language.
Like in a LEO, for example, you’d always notice them to be very confident, the way they stride is always very grand, they have this air in them, which they think is very COOL!! BUT NO, IT ISNT and trust me, all LEOS have it in them..
Sagittarians the flirts…
Scorpio – The mysterious…
Librans – Balanced…
Gemini – Two- Faceted…Blah and Blah…
Linda Goodman, the well-known author of the book, “Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs” has indeed written some wonderful and insightful pieces on each star sign, signaling as if, its written for one particular person. Makes you feel personal, hunted…
For me, Star Signs and their tentative powers are just a way, a shift towards knowing something that is alien terrain to me- HUMANS! The day I see every person of this world as they actually are, I would be content.
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