RAINY DAY MEMORIES!!!!!

It's a dull, bleak, windy, grey, rainy, gloomy yet spectacularly beautiful day in good old Hyderabad and the same evokes all the below mentioned feelings and many more in my lonesome heart.......


# a sense of nostalgia for all the rainy days that have bypassed me during my heady childhood days and those fun filled moments spent in their company either floating boats in them or then getting oneself all wet and dirty by merrily splashing in the very same.......

# yearning for a cup of steaming hot tea and some aloo and paneer pakoras lovingly conjured up by my beloved mother almost every time there was a downpour.......

# getting drenched in the downpour to my heart's content and yodelling "rimjhim gire saawan" at the top of my voice' so what if it's somewhat off key.......

# going for a walk in the gardens adjoining Humayun's tomb in the company of my beloved who has been my better half for almost twelve years now......

# curling up on my favourite couch with a James Patterson thriller and a steaming hot cup of kahwah for company.......

# drowning my sorrows with a cup of piping hot black coffee (I'm a teetotaller you see) with a Jagjit Singh or Mehdi Hasan ghazal playing softly in the background.....

# just grabbing my favourite blanket and snoozing off for the remainder of the day....

# grabbing my trusty walkman and playing all the rainy day songs that I have thus far painstakingly collected down the ages......

# calling up my childhood friends still residing in Domlur Layout and reliving those intoxicating childhood memories........

# going back to Dehradun, grabbing hold of my trusty old charpoy and spending time in the sylvan gardens of my ancestral home with family, tea, moongphali, gajak and heady conversation keeping me company........

# diving into the Corporation swimming pool in Ulsoor like we used to during many a rainy day during our childhood.......

Well, the rains or then even the barest hint of them evoke all the above mentioned feeling and many more in my desolate, lonesome and nostalgic heart, what about you my friends, fellows and countrymen?????

ON MATTERS RELATED TO PUBLIC DISCOURSE......

a few pointers to our political leaders and their acolytes on matter pertaining to political discourse and the maintenance of dignity and decorum in their public utterances:


# The Aam Aadmi is not a 'gutter snipe" and generally refrains from using such language as 50 crore ki girlfriend and ministry of love affairs and would expect the very same from his leaders to say the very least....

# we are fed up with false promises related to development, improvements in standards of living, your corruption versus our corruption and platitudes and homilies; the time to deliver is now, failing which we know how to seek out better alternatives...

# Corruption is endemic and affects every strata of the society adversely, so do initiate concrete measures about the eradication of the same through both utterances and deeds or else be prepared to face your Waterloo in the next general elections.......

# we are more interested in seeing promises made in numerous election manifestos being implemented on the ground in a time bound manner and least interested in lofty claims about making Mumbai the next Shanghai or then Gurdaspur the next Paris.....

# Roti, Kapda, Makaan and Bijli, Sadak and Paani related problems continue to plague our daily existence; so do something concrete about tackling these basic problems before you go on to making lofty promises that are only honoured in their breach.....

# take a leaf out of that great statesman Atal Behari Vajpayee's book; he slayed his political opponents with temperate language and poetic utterances and not by hitting then below their belt.......

# Measure your words carefully before you speak, because a wound inflicted by the tongue is far more incisive and hurtful than one inflicted by the sharpest sword......

# rhetoric, platitudes and hollow promises will not fetch you the invaluable votes of the electorate; but delivering the same in a time bound and effective manner certainly will......

# please start speaking the language of progress, equality, deliverance and development because the common man has begin to see through your divide and rule politics and the gospel of hatred, so deliver and rule or then mouth platitudes and fall by the wayside..........

# can we have more of civilised debates and face to face confrontations rather than election rallies filled with acolytes and paid audiences who frankly don't give a damn to your rotten utterances.......

# our esteemed politicians would do well to emulate the standards laid down by the US presidential debates; now that is truly democracy in motion and not the gutter trash that you churn out ad nauseum.......

Do pay heed to the above advice and set your house in order forthwith; because the Indian voter has certainly come of age and will simply not put up with rhetoric, bluster and so much hot air any longer...........

TEST CRICKET: A SECOND COMING?????

Dwindling spectator interest, drastically falling television rating points, lack of interest for the same from an entire generation from up and coming cricketers and reduced advertising support had all but sounded the death knell of the oldest form of the glorious game of cricket i.e. test cricket; but the International Cricket Council's (ICC) recent announcement related to the introduction of day and night test cricket might just prove to be the shot in the arm that this form of the game was looking for........


Coloured balls, coloured clothing, coloured sight screens and the coloured ball clashing against the night sky might just not prove to be enough of a fillip to the age old test cricket and the ICC mandarins might do well to consider these amendments or improvements to the above mentioned form of the game other than the introduction of day and night test matches..........

The duration of a single day's cricket could be reduced to five hours instead of the present six, with the addition of half an hour to accomodate the slated overs for the day being incumbent upon the umpires; the first session could be of two hours duration, followed by a lunch break of half an hour........

The second session could be of ninety minutes duration, with the third session being a replica of the second as far as the slated time goes; the authorities could do away with the twenty minute drinks break and instead have a drinks break not exceeding five minutes after every hour of play; with an additional seven and a half minute break being thrown in between the second and third sessions.........

A ninety second time interval between the departure of one batsmen from the crease and the arrival of the next at the crease is all that will be allowed to batsmen and all team managers and coaches will have to ensure that a minimum of three batsmen are padded up and available to proceed to the playing arena at all times.......

Seventy five overs shall be the maximum number of overs slated in a single day and both the participating teams will have to guarantee that they stick to the stipulated rate of bowling fifteen overs per hour failing which they will be penalised with a penalty/fine of five runs per over for every over bowled short; the on field umpires will have the leeway to adjust a maximum of five overs per day, but the penalty shall be applicable from the sixth over bowled short..........

Deduction of match fees from both the players an team accounts hasn't proved to be enough of a deterrent and the teams still continue to play truant when it comes to over rates, but this run related penalty will surely hit them where it hurts the most and see a drastic improvement in over rates in the near future........

The thirty minutes of additional time is allotted to make up for rain delays if any and shall not be used to make up number of overs per day related deficiencies under any circumstances; and players shall strictly not be permitted to substitute themselves with another player from the team pool if they want to take recourse to a comfort break as they can do the same during the lunch or drinks breaks and substitutions if any shall only be permitted in the case of any instance of a debilitating injury on the field that inhibits the player in question from taking to the field of play........

Four day long test matches instead of the present five day long format might just prove to be another welcome measure to rekindle dwindling spectator interest with the duration of an innings being restricted to a maximum limit of ninety overs per team in the first innings and sixty overs per innings the second time around; this will also ensure that every test match ends up in a decisive result more often than not.......

While such well meaning measures and a lot more besides have been the subject matter of discussions and debates for a rather long time now, the authorities that be have only woken up to the stark reality of test cricket being on it's last legs only now; and while the advent of day and night test cricket might indeed prove to be the first decisive step in a journey of a million miles, the ICC will have to do a lot more besides to revive the dwindling fortunes of this most fascinating form of the game in the immediate future..........

LEVELS OF POLITICAL DISCOURSE........

What's with our political leaders/politicians and their boring hackneyed speeches making tall promises and comparing their periods in power with the present dispensation, dissecting the rule of the present lot and yet again making tall claims about doing this and that for the development of the state and region if given their umpteenth chance to rule the same......


If nothing else, these speeches are almost exact replicas of each other and sometimes leads one to wonder whether they were generated out by some two bit script writer in his/her sleep and then cyclostyled and circulated amongst the hoi polloi belonging to India's numerous political parties........

An intense scrutiny of these speeches would reveal that they are nothing more than bluster, false promises and hot air, singularly lacking in substance, direction, aim, or then blueprint for the future; and what is even more consternating is the fact that these very same promises are churned out in one political rally after the other and then conveniently confined to the dustbins of history as soon as one political party or the other assumes the seat of power......

The election manifestos of these very same parties are an even bigger affront to the intelligence of the much maligned common man and always include promises to provide free televisions, mangalsutras, laptops, bicycles, ten grams of gold each to all wannabe brides and bridegrooms and if ever honoured in dribs, drabs and in locations that remain in the limelight and media glare........

Whatever happened to the much touted politics of development and the tall claims made on national television and television studious by party spokespersons and high and mighty leaders about the standard of political discourse in this country having evolved from caste and creed based dialogues to rhetoric related to development and issues that effect the every day lives od the denizens of that particular are and region.........

We would do well to emulate the universally televised debates that show the US presidential candidates and prospective senators debating issues like foreign policy, creation of jobs, tax cuts, mediclaim and other welfare measures instead of calling each other names and making dubious and hollow claims about my corruption being far lesser in comparison to your corruption........

Will the much abused and caricatured Aam Aadmi ever see the political discourse in this country rising to the level where he can make a clear distinction between those committed to his welfare and well being vis a vis those who are out to plunder the coffers of the state and nation conveniently using the concerns of the Aam Aadmi as a stepping stone........

One can expect anything else but the above mentioned discourse to materialise in the near future in a country where 55% of it's citizens do not have access to basic sanitation facilities even after 65 years of independence or where hapless women have to traverse a minimum distance of fifteen miles to fetch a pithy pot of potable water......

The politics of development needs to take centre stage and the issues dear to the hearts of the common man should not only be debated ,discussed, but implemented in a time bound manner; but then what was that about wishes being horses and beggars riding them..........

MONDAY NOTINGS

I always wonder, which of the two options is the better one???? sharing the untold riches of your heart with all and sundry irrespective of the number of times you get stabbed in the back, or then hoarding these riches like a miser and then letting them go all at once when you have to undergo a bypass????

It is always better to have loved and lost; rather than not loved at all and hoarded the untold riches of the heart a la SHYLOCK!!!!!!!

Various people have told me that I do not belong in today's times and would have been much better off thirty years ago; well, all I can say is thank you for the insights, but the fact of the matter is that I do indeed enjoy being a relic of the past a little too much to let go!!!!!!!!

I have been called a 'slob', 'fashion disaster', and 'joker' at various times during my 43 year long sojourn at planet earth; well I take these sobriquets as a compliment, cause' they do indeed make a statement about my sartorial elegance or then conspicuous absence of the same!!!!!!!

A green top awaits both the Englishmen as well as India "A" team during their practice match slated to be held at Mumbai's Brabourne stadium; one has certainly heard of and experienced the legendary Indian hospitality, but isn't this overdoing the hospitality bit that much more???????

Aishwarya Rai supposed comeback in Karan Johar's present day version of the Amitabh Bachchan classic "Bemisaal" throws tinsel town and media circles in a tizzy; but what's with Karan Johar and his obsession with classics from the seventies and eighties?????

S.Jaipal Reddy sulks and throws a fit at his apparent demotion; what was that about grown men and a second childhood on the wrong side of sixty!!!!!!

"Facebook" is my friend, philosopher, guide and stress buster; it allows me to ramble on without throwing up an abrupt speed breaker!!!!!

"Maunmohan" Singh has done it again; he has conjured up a "refurbished" cabinet without any aim and direction..........

Listening to voices resonating in my head; telling me to go out there and get a life!!!!!!

CABINET RESHUFFLE:EXERCISE IN FUTILITY?????

As has become his wont off late, the much touted Manmohan Singh cabinet reshuffle proved to be nothing more than a damp squib, with the exercise in futility being aimed at correcting regional representation related anomalies rather than giving the cabinet a new aim and direction.......


Cabinet reshuffles are usually undertaken in order to lay off either dead wood or relics from the past who's only purpose is to bring down the morale of their colleagues and force them into deep slumber; but trust Manmohan Singh to give this hackneyed exercise a new twist; he did so by rewarding incompetence and corruption and penalising the honest and upright citizens within the cabinet......

Salman Khurshid who finds himself under a cloud with exposes pertaining to the gross and wilful misuse of central funds by his charitable trusts for purposes other than those they were meant for, was elevated to the Ministry of External Affairs, whereas the picture of honesty, integrity and personal probity; S.Jaipal Reddy was unceremoniously shunted out of the prestigious petroleum ministry for displaying the guts and gumption to take on an industrial house that is the single biggest contributor to the party's election and party fund........

Status quo was maintained in the case of the slobbering old dodderer Beni Prasad Varma for reasons best known to either the prime minister or party president; while N.T. Rama Rao's daughter Purandeshwari was denied that much deserved elevation due to rumblings within her own state unit against her well publicised elevation.......

The only bright lining to an otherwise dark and sombre cloud was the inclusion of a young and dynamic Manish Tewari within the echelons as well as Rahul acolytes like Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sachin Pilot being given independent charge of significantly relevant ministries.......

All said and done, one expected much more out of this long delayed exercise that was expected to change the fortunes of the prevaricating and procrastinating government by introducing newer and fresher faces that came without any excess baggage and the taint of corruption.....

This exercise certainly did not decrease the average age of a cabinet full of relics from the past and specimens who were much better off dead and buried, neither did it provide both the government with a new found impetus, direction and the determination to rid itself off the corruption and graft charges overwhelming it in it's present position.......

One really wonders why this exercise in futility was carried out in the first place as the only purpose that it has achieved is to hasten this government and cabinet to it's ultimate doom and destruction whenever the next general elections are held........

Random Thoughts

The warring and constantly squabbling Sir Sunil Gavaskar and the BCCI head honchos seem to have buried the hatchet and made peace at long last with reports trickling in about the BCCI conferring the prestigious C.K. Nayudu award on a certain Mr. Gavaskar what with a citation, scroll of honour and a cheque of Rs. 25 lakh to boot, cause' enough to let bygones be bygones??? well I and countless others surely think so........
Time to give the much vilified and harassed Virbhadra Singh some credit for disproving the claims made by his esteemed Prime Minister Manmohan SIngh about money not growing on trees; well money does certainly grow on Virbhadra's trees especially those of the apple bearing kind!!!!!!!!!

We spit, defecate and urinate on the streets and sometimes even fornicate on the same whenever we seem to feel that we are indeed in solitary splendour; we travel on trains, buses and other modes of public transport without a valid ticket and are offended and insulted whenever we are asked to pay for the privilege; we illegally occupy government lands with impunity and shower the concerned government officials with the choicest abuses for doing their jobs justly and fairly; well we're India/Indians and certainly on the "PATH TO PROGRESS"!!!!!!!!!

The much discussed, awaited and awaited cabinet reshuffle finally seems to be upon us and may soon become a reality on Sunday after being ensconed in the realms of fantasy and conjecture for along interim; but one look at the probables leaves you shaking your head in consternation and wringing your hands in frustration; cause' a conglomoration or congregation of idiots, dolts and persons with questionable IQ levels does certainly make for a discordant orchestra and a recipe for disaster!!!!!!!!

To all those who went about making tall claims about socio political realities and Hindi cinema making for the oddest bedfellows; please do yourselves a favour, catch Prakash Jha's "Chakravyuh" in a theatre within your reach and then go and bury your head in the sand cause' you're a relic from the past and not fit to exist in an era of constantly evolving cinematic trends........

Naveen Jindal releases a blurred and distinctly inaudible video of a supposed sting operation carried out by his companies against the Zee Television editors who were allegedly demanding bribes for shutting up uncomplimentary news disclosures about his business dealings; a classic case of a drowning man clutching at straws in a last ditch effort at saving both his life and honour at the same time?????

Gadkari to be the subject of a probe conducted by the Income Tax department; or so says a news headline; by the same token why can't Messrs Salman Khurshid and Robert Vadra be the subjects of similar probes to be conducted by Messrs Kejriwal and team???????

The world around us is surely a sadder and that much morose place with the passing of the "KING OF MINDFUL COMEDY" Jaspal Bhatti; but the angels up there much be rejoicing up there with the thought of having this erudite Sardar as their friend and company; RIP Mr. Bhatti atleast someone up there will be cracking up pretty often whenever you let one off your anecdotes or asides on an unsuspecting audience>>>>>

Subroto Roy Sahara and company are indeed ruing the day when they hopped onto the IPL bandwagon, while Preity Zinta, Shilpa Sheetuy and other such team owners are suffering from withdrawal symptoms; wonder what affliction is going to afflict the latest team owners the Maran brothers from Chennai???????
Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal tout caps that proclaim their claim to be the ubiquitous "AAM AADMI", Congress netas keep repeating the cliched slogan about "Congress ka haath aam aadmi ke saath" till the same is coming out of your ears; the Bharatiya janta party goes to town with the slogan "Congress Bhrasht aur Beimaan Aadmiyon ke sarkaar hain aur Aam Aadmiyon ki Jaani Dushman", will the real "AAM AADMI", Unki Sarkaar and his true friends stand up once and for all and end the confusion and consternation!!!!!!!!!

FRIDAY BLUES!!!!!!

The warring and constantly squabbling Sir Sunil Gavaskar and the BCCI head honchos seem to have buried the hatchet and made peace at long last with reports trickling in about the BCCI conferring the prestigious C.K. Nayudu award on a certain Mr. Gavaskar what with a citation, scroll of honour and a cheque of Rs. 25 lakh to boot, cause' enough to let bygones be bygones??? well I and countless others surely think so........

We spit, defecate and urinate on the streets and sometimes even fornicate on the same whenever we seem to feel that we are indeed in solitary splendour; we travel on trains, buses and other modes of public transport without a valid ticket and are offended and insulted whenever we are asked to pay for the privilege; we illegally occupy government lands with impunity and shower the concerned government officials with the choicest abuses for doing their jobs justly and fairly; well we're India/Indians and certainly on the "PATH TO PROGRESS"!!!!!!!!!

Time to give the much vilified and harassed Virbhadra Singh some credit for disproving the claims made by his esteemed Prime Minister Manmohan SIngh about money not growing on trees; well money does certainly grow on Virbhadra's trees especially those of the apple bearing kind!!!!!!!!!

To all those who went about making tall claims about socio political realities and Hindi cinema making for the oddest bedfellows; please do yourselves a favour, catch Prakash Jha's "Chakravyuh" in a theatre within your reach and then go and bury your head in the sand cause' you're a relic from the past and not fit to exist in an era of constantly evolving cinematic trends........

The much discussed, awaited and awaited cabinet reshuffle finally seems to be upon us and may soon become a reality on Sunday after being ensconed in the realms of fantasy and conjecture for along interim; but one look at the probables leaves you shaking your head in consternation and wringing your hands in frustration; cause' a conglomoration or congregation of idiots, dolts and persons with questionable IQ levels does certainly make for a discordant orchestra and a recipe for disaster!!!!!!!

Gadkari to be the subject of a probe conducted by the Income Tax department; or so says a news headline; by the same token why can't Messrs Salman Khurshid and Robert Vadra be the subjects of similar probes to be conducted by Messrs Kejriwal and team???????

Naveen Jindal releases a blurred and distinctly inaudible video of a supposed sting operation carried out by his companies against the Zee Television editors who were allegedly demanding bribes for shutting up uncomplimentary news disclosures about his business dealings; a classic case of a drowning man clutching at straws in a last ditch effort at saving both his life and honour at the same time?????

Subroto Roy Sahara and company are indeed ruing the day when they hopped onto the IPL bandwagon, while Preity Zinta, Shilpa Sheetuy and other such team owners are suffering from withdrawal symptoms; wonder what affliction is going to afflict the latest team owners the Maran brothers from Chennai???????

The world around us is surely a sadder and that much morose place with the passing of the "KING OF MINDFUL COMEDY" Jaspal Bhatti; but the angels up there much be rejoicing up there with the thought of having this erudite Sardar as their friend and company; RIP Mr. Bhatti atleast someone up there will be cracking up pretty often whenever you let one off your anecdotes or asides on an unsuspecting audience>>>>>

Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal tout caps that proclaim their claim to be the ubiquitous "AAM AADMI", Congress netas keep repeating the cliched slogan about "Congress ka haath aam aadmi ke saath" till the same is coming out of your ears; the Bharatiya janta party goes to town with the slogan "Congress Bhrasht aur Beimaan Aadmiyon ke sarkaar hain aur Aam Aadmiyon ki Jaani Dushman", will the real "AAM AADMI", Unki Sarkaar and his true friends stand up once and for all and end the confusion and consternation!!!!!!!!FRIDASY

IPL TEAMS T 20 TRAVAILS

The four Indian teams in the fray in this years edition of the Champions Trophy twenty 20 tournament currently underway in South Africa did indeed end up cutting a rather sorry figure and leaving their legions of fans heartbroken and dismayed at their abject surrender; so here go a few pointers or tips to avoid a repeat performance........


# send your team; or rather Indian component of the team minus the international and team India stars to the host country at least a fortnight before the advent or business end of the tournament so that they can acclimatise themselves to the alien surroundings, pitches and playing conditions......

# insist upon having four bowlers or more who deliver thunderbolts at a deadly pace of 140 kmph and more as a apart and parcel of your net bowling component so that your batsmen are not found to be sitting ducks when confronted with raw pace and a ball that's around their throat more often than not.......

# have/organise preparatory camps on relatively pacy and bouncy Indian pitches a la Dharamshala or Mohali if fortnight long preparatory camps in alien conditions dent your finances......

# make sure that two out of the four foreign players that represent your teams are pacers capable of delivering thunderbolts at speeds exceeding 140 kmph and far more in order to give the opposition a taste of it's own medicine......

# get your hapless batsmen to practice on concrete pitches with the ball being hurled at them from a distance of 14 yards in order to give them a semblance of a chance against a ball rearing up around their throats more often than not......

# pay attention to detail and repeat fielding drills till the players in your team have them down pat and coming out of their ears......

# always have a local first class player as part of your team management in order to get the low down on the opposition and evolve game plans that give you that definitive cutting edge......

# be more than willing to put your bodies on the line when on the field as a run saved is a run scored and often the difference between victory and defeat in this fast and furious version of this glorious game......

# loom to play proper cricket shots rather than going in for fancy innovations as a sound technique is always the foundation stone on which a craftsman builds his innings....

# partnerships are the key to success so try and evolve small but highly effective partnerships that boost your ultimate total by a good fifteen to twenty runs in the ultimate analysis......

# the first six overs are the most crucial part of any and every game so utilise them to the maximum possible extent and ensure that you put up a score of between 40 and 45 for the loss of 2 wickets at most at the end of six overs or then ensnare at least three opposing batsmen when it comes to your bowling effort........

# the importance of running between the wickets can never be over emphasised; so do always run the first run hard in order to give yourself a more than even chance of getting a second in case of a misfield.......

The above mentioned tips though hackneyed and oft repeated almost always make the difference between failure and success and therefore the importance of the same can never be undermined...........

ON PRAKASH JHA AND HIS LATEST EFFORT

Purveyors of good Indian cinema rejoice; Prakash Jha's latest directorial venture "Chakravyuh" has just hit the hustings and given an added fillip to the rank and file of meaningful and socially relevant cinema after the recent Barfi! and English Vinglish.....


Essentially a tale of three really close friends Adil (Arjun Rampal), Kabir (Abhay Deol) and Rhea (Esha Gupta); this two hour and twenty minute poignant, stark yet heart rending saga begins with a prologue that succintly narrates how the naxalite movement is spreading it's roots amidst our rural societies and thereby constantly eroding the existing mores of our social fabric and structure.......

This incessant war that has spread to almost six hundred or then was it nine hundred plus districts over twenty states is one that is being fought between the government machinery and state administration (read police both state as well as central para military forces) and the have nots or deprived sections of our society represented by the Naxalites........

This movement that was initially restricted to a few pocket boroughs spread across the states of Bihar, Bengal and Chhattisgarh has steadily assumed massive and gargantuan poroprtions and cannot be ignored by the government in particular and nation in general any longer.........

Coming back to the plot, the three close friends enroll themselves in the national police academy, but as is his wont the hot headed Abhay Deol soon finds himself on the wrong side of the powers that be within the same and terminates his romance with the police force even before it can begin to blossom.....

The film then traces the budding romantic liasion between the two other leading protagonists, their acceptance into and progression within the ranks of the police force and normal everyday routines before matters come to a head with Kabir's re-entry into their tepid lives during a college reunion.....

As a mark of his friendship and undying devotion towards his friends, the innocent and non suspecting Kabir volunteers his services as an undercover "COP" who will penetrate the ranks of the dreaded Naxalites thereby netting the much vaunted scalp of the much wanted Naxalite chief Rajan (Manoj Bajpai) whom Adil has failed to ensnare despite numerous efforts in this direction........

The action then shifts to the rural hinterland or more precisely a location called Nandighat; Kabir's constant and increasingly growing interactions with the Naxalites forces him into questioning his motives and shifting this sympathies towards the other side, so much so, that he soon develops a romantic (?) relationship with newbie Anjali Patil, a female naxalite who can lay claim to the scalps of 49 nine police wallahs.......

What follows is a vortex of violence and human emotions, the limits of friendship and devotion to duty and nation are thereby severely tested, with the underlying tension building up towards a rather poignant and heart rending climax that well and truly does tear the heart asunder.......

A word about the cast is surely in order: Abhay Deol and newbie Anjali Patil surely take the cake if not the entire bakery and Arjun Rampal and Ms. Esha Gupta are just a couple of steps behind; the ensemble supporting cast comprising of such stalwarts like Om Puri and Manoj Bajpai is what really makes this monumental effort the tour de force that it goes on to become within a span of a little over two and a quarter hours....

The lilting and topical music, lyrics and stark yet rivetting cimemtaography add an added dimension to the fast unfolding proceedings and essay the role of an added character in the narration of events......

Jha's biggest triumph lies in the fact that he has not romatcicised his characters and made them larger than life in the bargain; the amount of research that went into the making of this magnum opus is truly commendable and this epochal effort will well and truly go down in history as one of the finest efforts to have emerged from Prakash Jha's stables in the last decade and more.......

RATING:4/5........SURELY A MUST WATCH FOR ALL PURVEYORS OF SOCIO-POLITICAL CINEMA AND ALL STUDENTS OF GOOD CINEMA, IRRESPECTIVE OF EITHER THE LANGUAGE OR GENRE................

DEATH THE GREATEST LEVELLER!!!!

Death certainly is the greatest leveller of them all; it spares nobody, be it a beggar, mendicant, despot, millionaire, pauper, dictator, democrat or then oily neta out to cheat you out of your very last rupee.....


It doesn't matter whether the departed soul was an integral part of your life with whom you spent a significant part of your life; or then a peripheral figure who was a part and parcel of your life during your childhood or growing up phase; lost contact with you for twenty odd years and again came back into your life like the proverbial breath of fresh air......

The only fact that matters is the one about the departure of a loved one tearing your heart asunder, leaving you forlorn and groping for answers about the futility of life and a plethora of memories that tend to hang around your heart and soul for eons to come.....

Various philosophies and ways of life propounded by the wise one's who preceded us advocate the practice of detaching ourselves completely from all worldly attachments and also talk about these attachments weighing you down in the ultimate achievement of one's purpose in life....

But, the million dollar question that these wise men have failed to provide a succint answer to is the one about how can one not become attached to someone who took your little finger in his and taught you how to walk or then somebody whom you saw everyday for a significant part of your life and one who taught you a few inalienable facts about the art of living.......

King (Shahrukh Khan) certainly hit the nail on the head when he remarked how a departed loved one ended up taking away a a part of his persona with him/her and thereby left an emaciated soul and persona behind......

That my friends is the greatest fear engulfing me right now and I am obsessed by the fact/thought that an empty body/soul bereft of any internal matter or substance is what will ultimately be placed on my funeral pyre and am currently groping for ways and means that can lead me out of this rather sorry predicament..........

ON HORROR FILMS AND OTHER HORRORS AS WELL!!!!

The horror genre or the eternal battle of good versus evil or then the titanic struggle between God and Satan, has fascinated both film makers as well as film goers for the last century and more, but, alas this hallowed genre seems to have regressed instead of progressed despite technical advancements and wizardry having become the latest bywords with the annals of the Indian film industry.......


Technological advancements and newer and thereby improved production values and story narration techniques have if anything taken away from rather than added to the mystique and intrigue which are intrinsic to this hair raising genre, but sadly technical advancements have sounded the death knell of the human element, and narration techniques that had you clambering under your blanket or seat for comfort; as most if not all present day film makers have concentrated their energies on gimmicks and special effects instead of focussing their time and energy on enhanced story telling techniques.........

Gems from the golden past; such as Mahal, Bees Saal Baad, Woh Kaun Thi, Jaani Dushman and such notable others did neither boast of cutting edge technical wizardry, spectacular three dimensional special effects or then ghoulish make up; the story, narration of the same, pacy unfolding of events that built up into a truly hair raising climax and notable performances by the leading actors in these monumental efforts have made these above mentioned directorial efforts modern day classics and have horror film afficionados still swearing by them........

The Ramsay Brothers drove the first nail into the coffin of this time tested genre by reducing the evil element in their assembly line to a ghoulish caricature who would either screech like a banshee or then growl like a tiger in heat with a face mask that looked like a five year olds' worst nightmare thrown in for good measure; skimpily clad female supporting artistes proved to be the cannon fodder for these marauding ghosts, ghouls or then denizens of hell and they were finally vanquished by a B grade hero like a Deepak Parasher, Hemant Birje or other such notables with a Padre, priest or then pandit guiding them every step of the way with either divine incantations or then trishuls, shaktis, chakras or then such other divine tools of choice........

Ram Gopal Verma and Vikram Bhatt proved to be the icing on the cake and such sorry efforts like the recently released Bhoot 2 or Raaz 3 had the audiences rollicking in the aisles with misplaced mirth and inappropriate guffaws at all the wrong places, instead of quaking in their boots with real and undistilled fear as was the original intention......

When will our desi Spielbergs and Coppolas' realise the fact that the story and screenplay is king in any noteworthy film making effort, you've gradually got to set the background, stage and then scare the pants of an unsuspecting audience, as for hackneyed themes and woebegone ideas like the female protagonists levitating or then being possessed by evil spirits; well all one can say is that the wary and weary audience has already had more than it's due share of the same.......

Being inspired by foreign films is as natural as eating and drinking in the case of a significant majority of both existing as well as wannabe Indian film makers; so why don't you get inspired by such sterling efforts as The Omen, Psycho, The Exorcist, or the recent Paranormal Activity and spare us the mind numbing churlishness of a Raaz 3, Bhoot 2 or then the return of 1920...........

ON ROHIT SHARMA

Dear Rohit Sharma,


While there is no doubting your prodigious talent and inherent ability to pierce the field like a knife through butter at will, what worries me and all other Indian cricket fans is your pronounced inability to grab the more than ample opportunities that have come your way thus far thereby failing to cement your place within the team India's echelons.....

You may be well aware of the fact that almost 85% of all Indian cricketers who have made their debuts till date have only represented the country in 10 games or less in all the formats currently in vogue and that you are indeed blessed to have been accorded the opportunities you have when hundreds of equally if not more talented cricketers are willing to grab this rare opportunity with both hands whenever it comes their way...

An amenable captain, benificient team management and pliable selectors may have contributed in no small measure towards your rather charmed existence within the team India ranks, but there will sooner rather than later come a day when the above mentioned friends and benefactors will tire of your recalitrance and profligacy and give you a resounding kick where it hurts both your pride and ego the most.....

Dear Sir, you are almost if not quite more than 25 years of age and are faced with serious competition from your contemporaries like Manoj Tiwary, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, and others, but are also soon going to be besieged by the claims made for inclusion in the Indian team by your juniors like Unmukt Chand and Baba Aparajith to name just a couple......

It is indeed high time that you took a dispassionate look at yourself, made a honest assessment of your perceived strengths and weaknesses and more importantly did a thorough appraisal of where you intend seeing yourself five years from now as only thorough honesty with self and a more than critical inward sight into your inner self will further your career in the annals of Indian cricket.....

Take some time off from the game go back to your roots, ask your first coach to have an intense look at your overall game and mental make up, gain invaluable insights into the same and come back mentally and physically replenished, rejuvenated and thirsting for more, let your bat do the talking this time around and force the selectors hand into making you an integral part of the 'new' Indian middle order.......

You really are a prodigious talent and your failure to do justice to your prodigious natural ability would leave me and hundreds of other Indian cricket fans heart broken....

Here's wishing you the very best in all your future endeavours in team India colours....

Your friend,fan and well wisher,

Sundeep Chopra.

ON SEX DETERMINATION TESTS AND OTHER MATTERS

Dear Friends, Fellows and Right Thinking Men,


The unabated spate of rapes and other crimes against women that have been unleashed on the nation like a deluge off late, have not only caused heartburn and despair amongst right thinking men but also unleashed an unbridled urge to do the right thing by taking matters into their own hands and setting matters right in a civilised and dignified manner.......

Let's make a start by educating our misguided brothers about the unique status accorded to womenfolk in our society and acquaint them with the fact that women have been largely venerated and worshipped by Indians since the days of the Indus Valley Civilisation........

Women have always been looked at as mothers, sisters, wives, daughters and intimate friends so why has the exalted status being accorded to them since times immemorial undergone a drastic change in recent times and why have they been reduced to nothing more than mere objects of sexual gratification and outlets for pent up frustration.........

A significant majority of us also need to seriously introspect and look within, Amnesty International had some time ago put out a profoundly disturbing report which concluded that 71% of all married Indian men rape their wives three times or more during the course of a week, and also highlighted the deplorable fact that more than 81% of children below the age of 10 are sexually abused by either a blood relative or then by somebody from their immediate neighbourhood......

Sex determination tests of foetuses are on the upswing and abortions of female foetuses are at an all time high and government of India figures show that such tests and termination of pregnancies are carried out by so called educated couples in more than 85% of all such cases; one wonders whether a society and nation that does not accord womenfolk their due respect and honour has any right whatsoever to call itself "modern" and "developing"????????

Our studied silence and penchant to look the other way whenever a crime against a a hapless and defenceless occurs by saying that we are not the perpetrators of the same is simply not helping matters, but only serving to kindle the misplaced bravura of these sexual predators even further........

Let's all take a pledge here and now about all of us right thinking menfolk doing our bit by pledging our unstinted support to all such initiatives aimed at elevating the status of women within our male dominated society, enlighten, educate, uplift and eradicate should be our motto and governing principle and we should only have one aim that of making a significant difference.........

Identify, isolate and close down all clandestine and surreptitious sex and gender determination clinics in your immediate neighbourhood; operating and running such clinics is a cognisable offence under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the authorities will more than willingly help you in putting paid to the nefarious deeds of a few mammon obsessed doctors and medical practitioners who are out to make a fast buck through any means whatsoever.........

Initiate such relief measures like anti dowry cells and bodies, rope in the help of NGO's and local authorities in setting up these noble ventures, educate, enlighten create awareness about the evils of dowry and also make due arrangements for communal and dowry free marriages where the mutual consent of the couple in question is the moot question and sole governing dictum.......

Women are certainly not the weaker sex; if anything they are far more emotionally stable, mentally tougher and spiritually superior to us menfolk; so the onus of protecting them and ensuring that they are accorded their due status in society without any further ado falls on us, so let's take the first steps towards this social revolution immediately and make sure that all digressing menfolk are put in their rightful place....

EPIDEMIC OF RAPES

A FEW RANDOM THOUGHTS ON PUTTING AN END TO THIS EPIDEMIC OF RAPES THAT HAS BEEN GRABBING EYEBALLS AND HEADLINES FOR QUITE SOME TIME NOW.....


* A journey of a million miles always begins with a solitary step; so let's start according due reverence and respect to our mothers, sisters and wives at home.....

* Only initiate sexual foreplay and intercourse with mutual consent do not ever force yourself onto your partner/s.......

* Let's begin exerting due pressure on the government to frame newer and more stringent laws wherein any dowry death, rape, attempt to rape, molestation or sex determination test of a foetus is visited either by the death penalty or then life imprisonment amounting to a minimum of twenty years rigorous imprisonment or more.......

* Rope in NGO's and other such bodies working towards/for the same purpose, collect a minimum of twenty five lakh signatures on the proposed petition asking for more stringent and case specific laws by using such avenues like the visual and print media and facebook.........

* Constitute citizen watch groups expressly meant for the purpose of nipping the mushrooming of sex determination clinics or centres within your neighbourhood or immediate surroundings; operating such clinics is a cognisable offence under the Indian Penal Code so the authorities will be more than willing to help you in this noble venture........

* Respond well in time to any distress cries of females asking for help.......

* Accosting and if need be resorting to requisite violence to prevent the incidence of any sexual crime in your presence......

* Initiating self defence classes for all the womenfolk in your neighbourhood and educating them about the efficacy of pepper sprays, stun guns and other such self defence mechanisms........

* All parents of teenagers and school teachers initiating and introducing free, frank and far reaching discussions and debates on sexual mores, behaviours do's and dont's in order to inculcate healthy and hygienic sexual practices in our midst.......

* Demystifying the stimulated sexual pleasures easily accessible on millions of porn sites at the click of a button and enlightening impressionable people about the hollowness and utter falsehood committed in the name of sexual stimulation and gratification.........

THE TIME FOR DEBATE AND DISCUSSION IS WELL PAST US SO LET"S INITIATE CONCRETE ACTION EXPRESSLY AIMED TOWARDS THE ERADICATION OF ALL CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN...........

POINTS TO PONDER OVER!!!!

I ardently remember reading something to the effect that the entire world conspires to unite you with your soul mate; where is the world and this supposedly wonderful conspiracy when I am looking hither and thither for a mate who can help me with the maladies afflicting my soul..........

I have more than willingly lent my shoulder to complete strangers to cry on, walked the proverbial extra mile in order to provide succour and solace to a friend, and even more than willingly loosened my purse strings to help people I know out off a financial crisis; I am looking for some soul support right now cause' I am at a really low ebb and lo and behold simply can't find any!!!!!!!!

Mr. Navjot Singh Sidhu unwittingly watched a supposedly fried egg transmorgify itself into an omelette during his one and only visit to the kitchen back home; is this the reason behind him swearing off eggs for life and transforming himself into an avowed vegetarian???????

Manmohan Singh is all set to carry out a major cabinet reshuffle after Dussehra if media reports are to be believed; so how many more Robert Vadra, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi clones are going to be forced down the throats of the unwilling and hapless citizens of this country??????????

The BCCI mandarins certainly need to take a leaf out of Cricket Australia's book on how to go about preparing for forthcoming test series; cricket Australia summons Shane Watson back to Australia for rest, recuperation and training before the test series against the Proteas beginning on November 9; whereas at least 80% of India's test team continues to play inconsequential matches for their respective franchises in the Champions' Trophy T 20 tournament currently underway in South Africa; guess this attention to detail and due diligence is what makes the difference between a top notch test team and a wannabe!!!!!!!

Digvijay Singh finds himself the subject of an investigation pertaining to irregularities committed while according permissions and building permits to more than one mall in Bhopal yet doesn't refrain from calling every India against Corruption volunteer corrupt; hasn't Digvijay ever heard of the pot and kettle dictum, or then the one about people living in glass houses not throwing stones.....

whoever said that buffoonery and politics make for strange bedfellows; well a certain Digvijay Singh vehemently opposes the above mentioned conclusion and his mindless antics certainly seem to point in this direction...........