Tuesday, March 31, 2009

CELEBRATING EARTH HOURS

7 Kicks So Far
How have you been??? Its after 5 days since my previous post so it will not be a follow up about the previous post as promised... It's just that the story is no longer fresh.... But who cares really this might just interest you as well.......

Ok, how many of you celebrated earth hour???.......
I am sure you all are really aware and love your surroundings. I worry about it like you do. I even had an Earth hour banner which got lost in my attempt to change my template which I ultimately didn't..... Anyways lets get back.....

How many of you celebrated Earth Hour??? (I don't really need an answer but you can tell it in your comments)
Many unfortunately did not celebrate Earth Hour.... actually never got a chance...... consider this....

You get up early in the morning grumbling as usual. You switch on the computer and log on to blogsphere. You take a look at your blog for comments and look at the Earth hour banner. It is 28th of March so you get all excited and even get your family to support you, which in itself is a really difficult task. Everyone agrees to celebrate Earth Hour..... And then it happens...

अरे light चली गयी !!!!! (We people refer to electricity as light).... you guessed it right... there was a power cut....

Basically the Earth Hour celebration is no longer a celebration as the power cut goes on for around 4- 6 hours at times (including the Earth hour).

It's going to be summer time in India and with that we are going to have up to 6 hours of power cuts daily. It is in time like these that I thank god for having a tedious job where it is mandatory for me to sit for 6 hours at my workplace.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

SEX AND THE INDIAN

7 Kicks So Far
Two people are sitting in a room, the room is dimly lit and love is in the air. Romantic music is playing. The guy takes the girl's hand and the girl turns her head sideways as if trying to shy away. The guy slowly kisses the hand and the girl closing her eyes does not move a muscle. The guy is all over her and they both slowly move towards the bed.....

All of a sudden everything becomes blur and the scene directly shifts to the next morning when the hero and the heroine are covered up in bed sheets.... This implies that they had sex by the way...
Did I just mention the S word???.........

Other ways of showing the art of making love in bollywood would be...
*Two birds sitting on a branch with their heads together. It looks as if they are making out (if birds do that, I don't really know)
*Two flowers meet head on, again, as if making out (I am sure plants don't do it that way)
*The scene shifts to a fire place or any other prop in the room (don't really know why)

You might be thinking what the.... hey, shhhh!!! you are not allowed to say that but do go on...

What I am trying to say is that in India still at some level we make a huge deal about sex. We are trying really hard to open up but we are not comfortable accepting it. We do it obviously (look at our population) and we like doing it (again look at our population) but we do not want to talk about it and we do not like anyone else talking about it....

Lets get back to the theatre in which this movie was running....

The audience watching, some teenagers eagerly waiting for something to happen get disappointed. The others who came with their families grow red with embarrassment and have a deep desire of getting sucked into their respective seats by some form of gravitational force....

Ok, I have been thinking that this might get a bit controversial so I will put a disclaimer.... These are purely and completely my thoughts and are not meant to offend anyone. I do not want people to sue me and definitely don't want people to kick my a** or boycott me. If you don't like it please take it as lightly as you can. If you think this offends the values you were born with, I am sorry.... But do feel free to comment....

And ya all those guys who thought that this started really well and could have turned out into something better (if you know what I mean), sorry for the disappointment but you should have guessed better since an Indian is writing it....

Monday, March 23, 2009

THE MOVIES WE WATCH....

9 Kicks So Far
Well in India we people are nuts about our movies and crazy about cricket.....
I am a big movie buff like every normal Indian, just that I don't feel that normal....
Ever seen a bollywood movie????.........

Two people drenched in rain are standing in front of each other, their names are R and S they both are furious and fuming with anger. Ready to fight they both dive at each other at the same time. Their fists strike the others face at the same time (in slow motion). R kicks S on the side. S flies up to 20 ft and falls on a table. He gets up (miraculously), holds R by his collar and drags him on a table on which glass bottles are strategically placed. R also gets up (Please remember this is not the Matrix and it really is air that they are breathing). They both grab the others collar and jump on their side through a glass window. They both have blood and glass all over their respective faces and are now lying down on the floor face first. They look up and in front of them is standing a man (lets call him V for villain) with moustache.......

All of a sudden there is a flash back in which this V has a pistol. He takes the first shot at R and then at S. This scene repeats itself at least 3-4 times.....

R and S both realize that they are brothers who were killed in their last birth and have reincarnated to destroy V. They both join their forces and just finish him off (there is a big fight of course). V gets away only to come back in the climax (obviously)......

They turn back in a very histrionic way and they see that on their sides are standing their respective girls, both the girls are giving a mischievous smirk to the heroes. The camera shifts from each of the Heroine's face to each of the Hero's face at least 5-6 times. Love is in the air. Music starts and all four of them at the same time go into a dream.........

The two heroes and the heroines with 20-30 similarly clad men and women, dancing away to glory on a colorful and lavish set, which makes quiet a spectacle..........

Still don't want to watch a bollywood movie.......

Saturday, March 21, 2009

THE WORKOUT....

3 Kicks So Far
Bored of my usual routine of gorging and snoozing I thought of joining this "really cool" gym near my place with "really cool" machines and trainers. This gym is supposed to be a posh thing and the people who come there are mostly the Richie Richs of the city or the ones like me who wait for that time of the year when there is a 50% discount on the yearly fees.....

If you can avoid the stench of sweat, the howling of the bodybuilders while lifting the weights and forget the self-inflicted misery you are in, you notice that gym is actually a very busy place bustling with various noises here and there.... Now don't assume that I just hang around there to observe people around me rather than working out....

I think lazy will be a better word to describe me......

Anyways, back to where I was, ya so, gym is a very vibrant place.......

The guard opens the door for you and at the reception you see 5 or 6 people seated ready to inspire you into the fitness craze....

They let you go unnoticed, obviously, they have done you already. You see people following various workout routines and then the feeling sinks in... already you feel a little tired... You go to the locker, put on your running shoes and off you go to the tread-mill.....

You start running, all of a sudden there is squealing followed by laughter, you see two women on the treadmill laughing and chatting. The chat when you first heard started with their respective jobs, went on to their husbands, kids, mother-in-laws, maids, daily soaps and their dogs. This all happened in 10 minutes and you know this because you were forced to listen and couldn't take it any longer. So, you moved on to the biking section....

In the biking section you over hear two big shots discussing about the various policies their respective companies are following to counter the great recession. All of a sudden one of them notices you noticing them catching you off guard. You give them a fake smile. Feeling out of place and a little embarrassed you move out and decide to do weights.....

You go to the weights and start lifting 15 lbs dumbbells, impressed with yourself you look at the girl working out near you and give her a smile only to realize that she has 15 lbs dumbbells in her hands. Well you act in a "this is just a warm up" way and motivating yourself you pick up the 25 lbs only to see that now next to the girl their is a well built guy, not wearing a t-shirt so that his washboard abs and bulging biceps are on display, lifting 60 lbs dumbbells easily.....

This is my usual day in the gym.... I will not even start about the bad days............

Monday, March 16, 2009

LIGHTS OUT!!!

4 Kicks So Far
Driving early in the morning in the office hours is a real pain. There is traffic everywhere, cars zooming past you, horns blowing furiously and people abusing each other showing fingers and signs......... its amazing how we all can do so many things at the same time and still avoid accidents......

Imagine if in between all this on one of the crossings the traffic lights stopped working. It becomes like one of those rides that you see in amusement parks, where you sit in those electronic cars and drive here and there bumping into other cars, they are called bumping cars or something...........

Well I happened to be in the middle of all this one fine morning.......

It was a bright day, as usual I woke up when my sister roared at me, shouting my name and telling me what a dim wit I am for going through the same rituals every morning and I being me just got up and opened one eye to avoid the blinding light of a wretched summer sun and the look on the face of my sister. I looked at her sheepishly and just got up, had my tea and brushed my teeth still half asleep.....

I came to the car and I could still hear my sister rambling along and mumbling about how I am the reason for all her displeasure early in the morning. No offence and I love my sister and I like the sun but I suppose you would understand how I feel, if you knew how I love to sleep.........

Well as usual driving her to the office I met a lot of traffic, yelling and abusing at me for driving in an indifferent manner in no hurry what so ever.......

Halfway through at one of the crossings the traffic light was broken and well it was a free pass for everyone. So, some intelligent beings trying to be the first to get out had caused a jam. There were more horns and everyone was shouting. Every now and then you would hear a bang and two people would get down from their respective cars and start howling at each other.....

AND THEN WHEN EVERYTHING SEEMED TO BE GOING HAYWIRE AND EVERY THING SEEMED TO BE BLOCKED, I SAW A MIRACLE (I call it a miracle cause it has to be some divine intervention because we don't see it very often in this part of the world)........................


A white soul out of nowhere was running towards the center of the mess. He had a paunch and was wearing a blue and white uniform and was blowing his whistle............

The traffic Police had arrived..............................

THE BIZARRE BOURGEOISIE....

4 Kicks So Far
The grandmother is sitting in front of the small temple in the house praying, the grandfather is reading the newspaper. The younger kid who is in school has just taken a bath and has to start studying cause every week there is a test in the tuition or at school. The elder chap who is in college is still in bed, he has a separate room by the way where all his clothes are all over the place and he himself looks pretty shabby. The mother, a teacher in a school has taken a bath and is in the kitchen looking after the maid telling her what to do and how to do it, every now and then you can hear them quarreling. The dad is quietly listening to all this and going through the morning news on a 24 hour news channel...........

This is a normal Indian family's Sunday morning say around 9ish................. But this is like any other family in the world, I mean what's the difference..... Hold on hold on I can't give it all away at once right... so, please read on...........

The grandmother was not alone, the kid who goes to school and has to study was sitting there with her just after taking the bath, he is not sitting there cause he is made to, he is sitting there cause he knows that this will make his grandmother happy and he likes to see her that way. The mother gets up early at 6 even on a Sunday or rather specially on a Sunday cause she wants all members of the family to have all their meals together at least one day in a week, and thus pays attention to each and every thing on that day. The father is just relaxing cause he knows his wife is in full control, today he can enjoy the peaceful noises around the house after a long tough week. The grandfather, still reading the newspaper likes the way his wife sings her prayers every morning and loves the way his daughter-in-law keeps his house together. And ya the chap who is still sleeping well he had a tough day yesterday. He went to college, came back and took his grandfather for a walk, then took his grandmother to the temple. After this he went to see his friends, came back and helped his mother set up the table for dinner, then just before his dad went to bed he asked him about his day and they had a normal father son chat. After all this he went to his room tried copying an college assignment, gave up half way and well he slept at around 2 in the morning..........

We do all this for each other, cause everything we do for each other is more important to us then what we do for ourselves......

And yes the fights that you see on the daily soaps happen here from time to time, but no matter how divided we are in our beliefs, but we still stand together......

Now go on, the breakfast is ready, the mother and the grandmother are shouting and calling every to be seated..........

Saturday, March 14, 2009

KIDS....

1 Kicks So Far
CHILD IS THE FATHER OF MAN this is what William Wordsworth thought but was he right??....

I always thought about this line but could never find a place for it in my sentences. With time I just kept on thinking about it trying to make some sense out of it but with no luck at all. You can interpret this line in many ways, what I think it means is that a human being does not change, the characteristics developed in childhood remain with the person forever and thus, our character was developed when we were kids and that is what we will be for the rest of our lives, but still I just couldn't apply it to my life or to the lives of people around me.

As I grew older I learned that "People change". I heard this so many times that it came into my whole thought process. At anything unexpected people around that person would just go "People Change".........

Then, came a big shock I started hearing something very weird. People i.e. my friends and family started saying something that I had never thought of, they said,"People don't change". Just like that, I mean how can they say something like that. I am serious, if anyone would do anything that they thought was wrong they would just go, "He is just like that, People don't change". I was confused, I couldn't stick to one ideology.

And then enlightenment came to me and yes your guess is right there are kids involved.....

While driving to a class of mine on a red light two kids came to my car and started tapping my window, they were poor kids asking for money (I don't like using the word beggars for kids), their clothes were torn and they were dirty. I ignored them as I don't' encourage this. Then while I was driving back I saw that the kids were playing around dancing free from the thought of their future, what they will eat, what will happen to them, just playing and laughing and enjoying themselves. Even though I didn't know them and didn't think much of them, this brought a smile to my face. They were just living in the moment as is taught by many as the secret to a perfect life....

Well that was just one good thing the next one was even better. The same day when I went to a grocery store to buy some stuff I saw A girl must be some where around 5 holding the hand of a boy who, judging by his height and way he walked must be around 2. This girl was taking care of this kid to the best of her ability. She was holding his hand tightly. not letting him run here and there, making sure that no car even comes close to him........

There was something which was common between the poor kids playing and the sister and the brother I saw walking together, they were kids and thus they were innocent. So, they were not yet corrupted like we are. When I continued to think about it I realized that we all were innocent at one time and it was during that time when we loved, laughed, made friends, had trust and enjoyed ourselves. Then all of a sudden I realized that I still love, I still trust, I have good friends and with them I laughed and enjoyed. My innocence from my childhood was still there........

I believe that we all have a bit of innocence left in us cause that can be the only reason we still believe in words like love, friendship, trust and kindness. We dint grow up to become innocent, we were just born that way.

And hey guess what..... Mr. William Wordsworth was right.............

Friday, March 13, 2009

A DAY DREAM....

0 Kicks So Far

India is an amazing country, I love it and there is no other place I would want to spend my life. I am the next generation. I am the generation that keeps asking questions, so here is one for you, Do you think India is a developing country??


By all means yes...........

India is developing fast, the future India is more aware of things. The new India is not only educated but knows how to implement its education. The new India does not think of itself to be lesser than anyone. The new India is proud of its culture and most of all the new India is willing to change, break the old beliefs and create a new system in which we will all be equals. There will be no discrimination between any one, no caste and no religion. Everyone will be educated alike and everyone will be treated alike. The people will be open minded and the thinking will be broad. The rich will help in the development of poor and surely, we will develop. This will be the land which will be clean, the air will be pure and this will be the land which will be the symbol of peace. We all are humans and that should be the only religion and the only caste. We will lead by example and then I am sure people will follow.........

This is the India I dream of and this is the India I will try and build cause I am the future, I am the next generation...........

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

ITS A HOLY, HOLI- DAY

2 Kicks So Far
WHOOSH!!! One water balloon missed me by inches. SPLASH!!!!!! Another one just fell in front of me and then the kid on the Balcony gave a loud shout... "PAPA GET THE WATER PISTOL, HE IS GETTING AWAY" and the dad came running out with the water pistol and I made a run for it.........

Happy holi everybody. This by far has to be the most vibrant festival of all. The small kids come out on their balconies with water balloons, the kids who are able to handle water pistols use them filled with colored water all the time. The bigger kids form gangs and take on kids from other colonies and fight for their survival. The people who just crossed their teens enjoy it to the fullest painting anyone and everyone who comes their way. The elders go to the houses of their relatives and friends to wish them.

Today you can go and put colors on people you know without anyone stopping you.

The Holi Drill:
1. Get up in the morning, check your messages, message every one you know a happy holi, get up and go wish your parents and family.
2. Look out of the balcony, if everything is still quite you still have time so go to loo and brush your teeth and have some sweets.
3. If you are a bollywood star then wear some chick white clothes and go gaga with others in a full on holi with herbal colors and have a blast playing your SUKHI(dry) holi.
4. If you are a normal person then wear some old torn clothes which you will never again wear in this life and apply a layer of oil on your body.
5. Again look outside your balcony, I am sure by now the streets will be a buzz and there will be colors everywhere.

What are you waiting for now, this is it, Go enjoy yourself and paint everything Red, green, blue, silver, golden etc. etc............
Happy Holi once again.......... celebrate the presence and importance of colors in our life.

JUST A BIT OF FICTION

0 Kicks So Far
This is the continuation of my series Just A Bit of Fiction, This is the second post of the series..........

STUCK:

Its a damp night, its raining heavily and its pitch dark. The only light produced is the one which occurs with the thunder. A man wearing a purple color suit and holding a gun is standing. Every time there is a thunder you can get a glimpse of his face. His face is painted white and the region around his mouth is colored red. His hair is long and there is a sinistrous look about him. A Black figure is standing in front of him, you can see his outline at every flash of light. He is standing there unphased. They both are drenched...........
The man in the suit asks, "What do you fear the most Mr. Wayne???"".........................

There is a sharp sound of bells, it's my alarm. It must have been a dream. I am still tired from last night. Its been a rough couple of days for me, The Joker has been running havoc all over the city...............

Its a dark night as I see no moon. Looking out of my window I can see the Wayne tower, the city of Gotham is alive and buzzing. The last time the Joker and me were face to face it was one hell of a night. The city burned that night. I must leave now, Gotham might need me................

The roads which I usually take are empty and dark but today they seem gloomy and I can see people around looking at me. I need to take some other road, I don't like getting noticed......

There is a flash of light in front, a car just went past me, I just missed it by inches, the light was too bright for me to notice the car. I must drive wearily cause I don't know what..........
another flash of light, this time it was just too close, if I hadn't moved the wheal it would have hit me. This car was heading right towards me. This doesn't feel right...............

A big black vehicle is closing in on me from behind. Its a huge truck, it looks as if its following me. I can't turn back now. I will take the flyover and see if I can lose it............

A black Hummer just zipped past me and slowed down right in front of me. Two other cars just slowed down on both my sides, they just appeared out of nowhere. These cars are moving along slowly with me. There are cars on all my sides now, I feel surrounded. I might have just walked into danger and even though it might be a trap, it might lead me to the Joker............

The car in front of me just stopped, so have the cars on my side. I too have stopped, waiting for their next move............

I feel trapped, there are a lot of cars around me now and a constant noise of horns blowing continuously..............

I can see commissioner Gordon shouting at someone pointing towards a car, there seems to be an accident........

Nothing is moving. The good old days when I could drive fast without scratching even a single car seem to be over. Finally, the light is green again, things are moving slowly. I think its time that I installed a music player in the bat mobile. This wait is just maddening.................

I am BATMAN.......... and I am stuck in the Traffic.

DAMN THAT JOKER................
Where is he when you need him..........

Monday, March 9, 2009

THE WITCH, THE LIAR AND THE WARDROBE

0 Kicks So Far
THE WITCH:
I am the white witch and this is my world. You can hate me or you can love me but none can escape me. My devilry is far beyond any cure and to fight me is folly, for you cannot see me and yet you cannot miss me if you come across me. I own the minds of everyone who lives in this world. I am the path, which you have to take to climb the ladder of success. In normal tongue I am called politics, you can call me whatever you want.................

THE LIAR:
I am the liar and I am a servant of the Great witch. I have served her for as far as I can remember. I tried fighting it once but it was to no avail. Then she offered me help and now has become an integral part of me. I don't think anything I do under her influence is wrong. Even if it is wrong I need her for my survival. I would be a no one without her. I see no one around me who is not under her influence. She is everywhere- in a work place, between husbands and wives, between brothers and sisters. She runs every country of this world. Earlier I was just a human and lived under her reign like any one else. Now I serve her every day, I am addicted to her powers. Now people call me a Politician....................

THE WARDROBE:
I am the magical wardrobe and I am open for everyone except any one with conscience. No matter what you were wearing before you stepped in but once you come to the other side you will have to wear white or black outfits when you appear in front of the world. The white one for the white lies and the black one as it is a symbol for everything that is dark. This is the uniform for the loyal servants of the Great witch. I am just a medium to her world.............

You might be thinking why is there no Aslan, well he did come in once. He was the only one to cross the wardrobe with a conscience, but only one cannot stand against the witch for she is dark and mighty. Now Aslan wears white and is the servant of the witch...................

Still there is hope, there might still be a Prince who can save us, because it is in the youth in which the power to over throw the witch lies......................

Saturday, March 7, 2009

THE DOLEFUL EYES

3 Kicks So Far
The doctor asked the man," For how many years have you been married to your wife??"
The man replied," 2 years."
The doctor asked the man, " What is the age of your wife and how far has she studied??"
The man replied, " She is 19 years old and is 10th pass."
The doctor asked the man, " Why did you marry thrice?"
The doctor's looked towards the woman who was standing, her face blank and her eyes fixed on the floor........

It is said that behind every successful man there is a woman. Such are the ways of our society that we do not put the woman in front even in our sayings. The woman is considered a support system, we expect them to compromise and make all the changes in their lives so that men can have their way and it is so forcefully embedded in their systems that they do it happily and take pride in it.

The man replied, "I married thrice cause the previous two dint give me a child"
To this the doctor asked, "Where are your other wives??"
The man replied, " They are living with their parents now."
The doctor asked, " Are you divorced??"
The doctor's eyes again went towards the woman, she was still standing staring blankly at the floor................

A woman is called a homemaker for it is due to her presence in the house that we get proper cooked food and we get a clean house. She is the one who takes care of the children. Even then we forget that what use would be the bread that we earn if its not cooked properly. The bottomline is, thanks to her sanity prevails.....
It is sad that even now you hear stories about sex- selective abortion and female infanticide, it is sad that still we hear stories about child marriage, it is sad that woman are still not educated well enough, it is sad when a woman, sexually abused is boycotted by all family and friends and has to find refuge else where and even worse is the fact that there are still women who have given in and given up, they accept their fate and themselves don't do anything about it.

The man replied, "No"
The doctor asked, "Have you come for this check up before??"
The man replied, "No"
The doctor asked, "Why??"
The doctor looked at the woman standing next to him, her eyes still fixed blankly on the floor.........

It is funny how woman today have to ask for reservations for themselves in the legislative assemblies and for govt. jobs even though we all are supposed to have the same rights. Still there are people who look down upon them. There are still people who think that a woman's job is to stay at home and she is not fit to work in offices like men.

The old woman sitting next to the man replied, " हमारे बेटे के साथ कोई गड़बड़ नहीं है, इसकी तो किस्मत ही ख़राब है, हमारी कोई भी बहु बच्चा ही पैदा नहीं कर सकती " (my child has no problem in his system and it is his bad luck only that none of his wives have been able to conceive)

The doctor looked at the woman who was standing, she was still staring at the floor, her eyes brimming with tears and still none falling from them.........

Thursday, March 5, 2009

JUST A BIT OF FICTION

4 Kicks So Far
NOTE: Well this post just came to my mind, it is not an issue related to India. It is first in the series, which I will continue in my posts from time to time. The series is called Just A Bit of Fiction. Here it goes............

DELIVERED:

There was a long journey.............................. And then there was life.................


I have been here for so many long and dark uncomfortable days that I have lost count. I have been trying to break through this place for a long time. Nothing seems to work.

Since I came to my senses I have been trapped here, have nothing else to do but think. I have no idea what is happening to me. Off late things are getting really uncomfortable here it just seems that this place is getting smaller and smaller and the walls are closing in..................

I have been hearing a lot of noise outside there seems to be a lot of movement going on. Things are really getting stuffy here now. This torture is just going on and on and I do not know why. But I am sure of one thing, something is going to happen soon......

There is a lot of shouting and crying outside I do not know what is in store for me next......

I just started slipping, I do not know what is going on, It feels as if some force is pushing me, I don't know what is going to happen to me now, I do not know where I am going. This is terrible, people are shouting outside. They must have found a new way to torture me. There seems to be some small light coming at some distance. I am very scared............

I do not have any covering on me. There is a shortage of air and I am not able to breathe properly. There is a blinding light, its just too bright here, I am not able to open my eyes. Last when I opened my eyes I saw a large green man shouting something in a different language, I was unable to understand it.......

I cannot talk to these people, I tried but they do not understand. I am still not able to breathe properly, this is terrible. This is really tough I feel like crying and shouting just to make them understand that I am in pain............

They have already cut a body part of mine, I seem to be getting numb........

I have been tied upside down and I feel as if someone is hitting me on my rear, it pains, I do not understand what these people are up to, I am still not able to breathe....

I cannot bear it any longer I am going to shout and cry may be then they will be able to understand what I am going through and then may be they will stop this torture and this screaming..........

I am getting used to this light, I am able to open my eyes slightly now.................


Such might be the thoughts of a new born just before birth.........

All the people seem to be really happy, there are people covered in green around me. A big guy is coming towards me. He just picked me up and is now taking me towards another person with longer hair. They both seem to be really happy. I cannot decipher what they are talking but they seem to be pointing at each other and saying something. They are repeating the words "mom" and "dad" again and again, may be their names are mom and dad, these are weird people with weird names. The person with the longer hair is holding me really nicely, I almost feel comfortable with her. This might not be as bad as I thought but I will give it a little more time. They both are now looking at me and again and again saying a word, its difficult to make out. The word is girl.................

May be my name is girl. My name seems to be as weird as their's. May be I am one of them only.......................

HOLY MATRIMONY!!!!!

6 Kicks So Far
अरे !!!!! बारात आ गयी..............

Finally after 2 hours of delay the groom's side has arrived........

Everyone dressed in amazing bright clothes is running here and there, everyone wants to see the groom................

An inane band with the same instruments that you will see in a march-past are playing different irrelevant songs (even patriotic songs at times), a group of people in the starting full of excitement dancing their hearts out and just going nuts, some people walking at the back and sides watching these people making a fool out of themselves feeling embarrassed wanting to disown them.

On the other side all the eyes from the girl's side just looking on thinking about what they got into.........

This is the common Indian marriage......... but hold on, hold on. How did it come to be??? lets go back a little............

The guy has completed his studies and got a job now, the parents need to start looking for a girl for him. The marriage bureaus and the matrimonial sites are contacted. Ads are given in the matrimonial columns of various newspapers by the parents. Their product is now ready to be found and sold.

The girl turn 21 (the age limit before anyone can get married in India), Its time now that the parents start searching for a guy as soon as possible for the girl is getting old. The matrimonial columns of the newspapers are searched, marriage bureaus are contacted, the search is on. Alas!!! A guy is found. The photographs and the bio data with the family tree of the groom to be and the bride to be are exchanged.

The guy with his parents comes to see the girl and now begins the real fun, only for the spectators though the parties involved are very serious. The girl waits behind the curtains for her parents to call her. Finally the call comes and she picks up the tray with some snacks and tea and walks out. Now there will be a session of technical and HR interview and you thought getting a job was tough.

Finally the guy likes the girl. Now the demands from the guys side need to be fulfilled and ya dowry is banned in India so we will not use that word. Finally after the settlement is made and the deal is final we can go along and get ready for the marriage....


And now coming back....

Finally, after all the dancing and waiting everyone is inside and everyone is ready to get married....

Who said marriage is next step to love...........

And they lived happily ever after.................. or so we can hope............


The marriage is over and when you look back at it, it was one hell of a party. It was fun, it was colorful, there was not even a single point where you would get bored and most of all it was full of joy. Indian marriages might be the only one where each and every girl's dream comes true- their knight (the groom) in shinning armour actually comes on a horse and at times even carries a sword.

In every way a traditional Indian marriage looks and feels like a celebration of holy matrimony.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

VENDETTA AGAINST HUMANITY

0 Kicks So Far
In Hindi there is a saying....

लातों के भूत बातों से नहीं मानते - people who don't listen to words, sense should be beaten into them...........


This seems to be the motto of the terrorist groups working in the various countries. This might also be the thinking of many people who want to remove these terrorist, still the leaders of this world in their respective countries are just trying to talk it through with each other. These acts are supposed to be acts of terror, but are they really being treated as one. I do not think so. The governments handle these cases as if any case of increasing traffic, road accidents (which if not worked upon might prove to be big problems as well but more on that later).

There are talks and more talks. Then there are meetings and more meetings and it seems as if in every meeting the only proper and solid decision taken is the venue and the timing of the next meeting. After each of these meetings a huge statement is made and that's it...........

A statement is made, the media creates a hype about the statement, the people think that finally something is happening and then there are counter talks but that's it. After this there is another act of terror, all the attention is diverted to that and the previous one is forgotten. Its almost funny. These poeple are not leaders, they are politicians, playing dirty politics with the people of this country.

While the fruitless actions of our leaders continue, the people who suffer are the ones which go to work at the world trade center, who go to The Taj Hotel in India for various errands and the people who travel by trains for their everyday work. We the misguided people retaliate for a brief period of time and then we all get back to our lives as they were.
But still...

As they say that life must go on cause I still feel there is hope. It is true that we need to take the necessary steps and measures but it is also true that light conquers darkness.

"An age is called Dark, not because the light fails to shine, but because people refuse to see it."


I hope we find the light..............


Tuesday, March 3, 2009

0 Kicks So Far
....heard about the Terror attack on the Srilankan cricketers in Pakistan this morning. Its really a shocking incident and should be condemned. It's sad that such things affect the game of cricket. It does nothing but dampens the spirits of the players involved. Once again credibility of Pakistan as a secure nation has come into question. It's a shame that such heinous acts continue to happen. Who knows what next.....

Monday, March 2, 2009

THE SLUMDOG FIASCO

1 Kicks So Far
I finally saw the critically acclaimed winner of 8 Oscar awards Slumdog Millionaire. Firstly its a nice thriller and a good movie but only if you watch it as a movie.

Danny Boyle makes a movie out of a simple age old story where jamal does everything for his lady love and to find her. Come to think of it more than 50% of the Indian movies have the same story line and these bomb at the box office and are just written off by the critics as very stereotypical. Yet he pulls it off which is remarkable.

I did not get the fact as to why did Danny Boyle choose India to make a movie which could had been made anywhere in this world. Well may be cause Q & A the novel was written by an Indian and the story was based on the Indian's or maybe cause he could only picture this movie in India cause he feels that winning a 20 million dollars would be a big thing in India as in any other country everyone is born rich and 20 million dollars is not a big deal at all. It also might be cause he knows this is where he will get all the hype in this world or just may be because he thinks that he can easily without any problems what so ever show India as a poor state and just use this problem of poverty, blow it out of Proportion making a mockery out of the tough situation we face and still get away with it.

And to top it all he exaggerates the last ten minutes of the movie where the whole Mumbai just stops to see the main character win a 20 million dollar and throughout the movie you notice that India has nothing but slums, dirt, frauds and crowded places and then he just rubs salt on our wounds when in a scene Jamal and co. steal the tyres of a car(which by the way is hired by a tourist) and after getting beaten up Jamal tells the American tourist " welcome to the real India" and the American gives him a 100 dollar bill telling him that this is the real America. Such defaming of the name of India is very discomforting and highly disturbing.

Once again before i end this post i would like to say that slumdog millionaire is a good movie but only when you watch it as a movie as soon as you start watching it as an Indian it just leaves you with a bad taste.