BAREILLY VILLAGERS ENJOY THEIR VERY OWN VERSION OF "OKTOBERFEST".........

Good fortune simply doesn't come in small quantities but pours down like cats and dogs; don't believe me then ask the humble and ubiquitous villagers residing in and around the Bada bypass which runs through Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly district.........
It all started when a truck carrying tonnes of an immensely popular and somewhat potent brand of beer turned turtle when the hapless driver tried his very best to avoid running over a motorcyclist who obstructed his path on a typically nippy October 31 night.........
Gallant villagers who made their way to the highway on hearing the resounding crescendo of the truck turning turtle firstly extricated the slightly injured driver and cleaner from the cabin of the doomed truck and attended to their injuries but were then intoxicated by the heady fumes emanating from the cans and bottles of beer that had spilt or rather burst forth from their confines and were now enticing the seemingly innocent villagers with all their might............
Glad tidings can never be kept under wraps for too long and villagers from both neighbouring and far flung villages; tipplers and even motorists passing that way soon started making a beeline towards the truck that bore what seemed to be manna from heaven for them; they not only had their fill of the heady brew on the spot but also carted away copious amounts of the same in vessels; polythene covers; jerry cans; drums; bullock carts and what have you...........
A few intrepid and enterprising motorists not only had their very own version of the world famous "Oktoberfest" at the very spot but also carried away numerous cans of the stuff so that they could continue their revelry well into next week; lo and behold; so boisterous and riotous did the scene on the Bada bypass become that village elders had to summon the local police force from the nearby CB Ganj Police thana..........
As has come to be expected of the Uttar Pradesh Police; the men in khakhi only condescended to make their way to the watering spot a good 90 minutes or so after being summoned and then took a further 30 minutes or so to gain a grip of a somewhat rowdy situation that might have well turned into a hic hic hurrah riot............
Somehow or the other the cops managed to summon a crane that righted the upturned truck and another truck that towed the somewhat damaged and dented truck away from the grubby tentacles of thoroughly inebriated villagers who had the privilege of savouring their very own version of "Oktoberfest" for a good 3-4 hours or so..........

TEAM FOR AUSTRALIAN TEST SERIES ON NOVEMBER 4...........

The Sandeep Patil led national selection committee will supposedly discharge it's ultimate or last official responsibility by selecting the Indian senior team for the forthcoming Australian series on Tuesday November 4, 2014..........
According to BCCI sources the eagerly awaited selectorial committee meeting will get underway at around 1;30 pm or so in the afternoon at the cricket centre strategically located within the precincts of Mumbai's iconic Wankhede stadium and the five supposedly wise men of Indian cricket will collectively put their heads together to select the Indian team for the test series...........
Cricketing afficionados or then die hard fans anticipate a keen; no holds barred and sometimes acrimonious tussle for the much anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy slated to be held between December 4, 2014 and January 7,2015 at the Brisbane; Adelaide; Melbourne and Sydney Cricket Grounds...........
Sources within the BCCI also disclosed the fact that the men selected for the make or break series might well undergo a week or ten day long orientation exercise at Bengaluru's National Cricket Academy under the eagle eye of team director Ravishankar Jayadrith Shastri and team coach Duncan Fletcher before embarking on this rather arduous tour in the early hours of November 21...........

HORROR WENDS IT'S WAY TO BIHAR NOW.......

This horror (minor girls being raped ad nauseum) is not restricted to Bengaluru only and seems to have spread it's tentacles nationwide........
A minor schoolgirl who had ventured into a field in her village ostensibly to collect/garner paddy petals was brutally gang raped within the confines of the same by two boys belonging to the very same village on Wednesday morning........
She somehow managed to wend her way back to her humble abode and disclose the gory details of the sordid fate that had befallen her to her disbelieving and shell shocked mother who however recovered her composure and led her daughter to the Biharsharif Sadar Hospital where she underwent a comprehensive medical examination that conclusively proved the incidence of rape on Thursday morning.......
According to her dismayed family members this heinous incident occurred a little after 11 am or so on the fateful Wednesday evening when the young girl had surreptitiously made her way into a nearby field to gather a few paddy petals where she was confronted by Nitish Paswan son of the village's chowkidar Rajendra Paswan and Raj Ballabh Paswan son of Yogendra Paswan...........
Taking undue advantage of their numerical superiority the two marauding young men set upon their victim with renewed ferocity; subdued her and silenced her feeble entreaties for mercy before forcing themselves on her more than once each; they then made good their escape from the spot after threatening the now cowering and dishevelled victim with dire consequences.....
Gathering her wits about her; the young victim managed to wend her way back home and narrated her tale of woe to her incredulous mother who however regained her composure in time and lodged a complaint against the two accused monsters at around 12:30 pm or so on the same afternoon..........
Acting with surprising agility and remarkable alacrity; the area police swung into action and arrested/apprehended one of the accused Nitish Paswan from his abode while a massive manhunt has been launched to nab the second accused at the earliest...........
As usual our self styled guardians of morality and so called "sabhya Bharatiya Samaj" acolytes seem to have gotten their script completely wrong for the umpteenth time; while they are crying themselves hoarse and blaming "corrupt, immoral western influences" and the vestments worn by the victims for the ultimate fate that befalls them; they blissfully seemed to have shut their eyes to the fact that rape is nothing more than yet another manifestation of the so called male superiority or dominance in a male dominated society..........
Rape is being used as one more tool of subjugation; oppression and dominance and the sooner we collectively confront this gory reality; the better it will be for all concerned..............

WOMAN TOURIST TRAMPLED TO DEATH BY "SAFARI" ELEPHANT..........

In a tragic and bizarre accident a woman tourist from Gujarat was inadvertently trampled to death by an elephant while she was making a furtive attempt to pose for a series of pictures with these tusked behemoths in Kerala's iconic Munnar hill station on Tuesday evening.......
According to both startled eyewitnesses and police sources; Dipali 27; (the hapless victim) wife of one Rinkesh and a long term resident of Rajpipla city in Gujarat's Narmada district met with her tragic and disconcerting end in the presence of her husband; young son and 12 other males and females who made up the 15 member team of merry tourists who were out to have the time of their life in "God's Own Country".........
Dipali and four other female members of the group were merrily posing for photographs with the supposedly tame elephant who was expressly used for the purpose of ferrying tourists when Dipali who was posing in extremely close proximity to this gigantic entity was swatted down by it's flailing trunk and soon found herself hopelessly ensconed between the elephant's fore (front) legs.........
Dipali made a valiant attempt to extricate herself from this rather cumbersome and life threatening predicament but met her Waterloo when the very same elephant trampled on both her head and torso as he was rather alarmed to find Dipali lying between his fore feet.........
A grievously injured and copiously bleeding Dipali was immediately rushed to an adjoining corporate hospital where she succumbed to her horrendous injuries a mere 90 minutes or so after being admitted to the same............
Dipali's battered body has since been flown back to her home town in the company of her grieving and inconsolable husband and son who are struggling to come to terms with the calamity that has befallen them out of the blue...........

ALCOHOLIC SON BLUDGEONS MOTHER TO DEATH WITH A GRINDING STONE........

Is a pithy bottle of country arrack or then "desi thara" more precious and valuable than an irreplaceable and invaluable human life; well the answer to that question would certainly be in the affirmative if this 23 year old alcoholic from Muzaffarpur is to be believed..........
In an incident bordering on the bizarre; a 23 year old alcoholic resident of Muzaffarpur's (Bihar) Mahanth Maniyari village callously and cold bloodedly bludgeoned his 46 year old mother to death on Tuesday night following a particularly heated and acrimonious argument between the two pertaining to the mother's avowed refusal to give money to her alcoholic son so that he could satiate his sternal pining for the potent; heady and intoxicating brew.........
According to neighbours; eyewitnesses;bystanders and local police sources; the accused Vivek Kumar picked up the grinding stone kept in one corner of the humble abode in which he used to reside with his mother Vibha Devi (the victim) and brought the same down on her head until the same was reduced to nothing more than a mishmash of blood and brain matter as she refused to finance or support her errant son's alcohol related yearnings..........
An inebriated; unmarried and unrepentant Vivek Kumar was nabbed by the local police from the murder spot mere minutes after he had cold bloodedly murdered his mother following a complaint filed by his long suffering younger sister Radha who duly informed the police that her brother had prematurely ended their mother's life as he was enraged by her constant refusals to fund his liquor related excesses and harangues about his pronounced inability to fund his own excesses and nocturnal habits..........
Ironic or otherwise; Radha Devi had gotten her son released from police custody a mere two days before her rather abrupt and premature demise as he had been taken into custody by the local police on the rather grave charges of having stolen a neighbour's motorcycle in order to satiate his liquor related pangs............
So this is how present day son's have started repaying the immense and innumerable favours done unto them by their doting and fawning parents who alas seem to know no better...........

MAY THE GOOD TIMES NEVER END.........

It only seems to be getting better for team "Happy New Year" by the day what with their "musical heist" flick setting records by the truck load all across the world..........
This ensemble flick which was released in 40 countries across various international markets, time zones and cultural affiliations garnered a little more than USD 8.1 million in it's opening weekend thereby making it the second (2nd) biggest opening for any Hindi film since times immemorial with many territories yet to register their beginnings.........
"Happy New Year' has now officially become the highest amassing Hindi film of all time in the entire Gulf region, UAE, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Malaysia and the second biggest hit of all time in Pakistan, Fiji and New Zealand............
With many key and yet unexplored markets like Germany, Peru, Japan, Philippines, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, West Indies and a host of other countries where the Indian diaspora is making it's presence felt yet to register their scores/collections; this Farah Khan helmed flick is expected to end up raking in close to USD 14-15 million dollars in times to come.............
With all the signs portending towards this ensemble "musical heist" becoming the highest grosser of all time Shahrukh Khan and his dedicated "Charlie's Angels" are only discovering newer and better reasons for smiling their way towards the bank and beyond.........
Heartiest Congratulations team "Happy New Year" may your celebrations only get more rumbustious, quirky, enervating and eccentric; keep smiling and may the good times never end..........

DEAR Ms. FARAH KHAN;...........

Dear Ms. Farah Khan;
Kudos on the unprecedented and overwhelming success of your latest directorial venture "Happy New Year" and the second coming of your blow hot blow cold professional and personal relationship with King Khan........
Your latest hundred plus crore directorial venture not only reinforces your indisputable credentials as the uncrowned queen of the quintessential masala Hindi flick that has ruled the roost for the last 80 odd years and will continue to lord over the rest as the ticket buying public eagerly keeps lapping up the same with renewed vigour as and when the same is presented with verve and panache........
As far as I am concerned; "Happy New Year" marks a turning point in my life as I had begun to believe my legions of doubts and doubt my numerous abilities for one too many reasons to enumerate; your highly entertaining and motivating flick brought me back to my senses in good time and rekindled my long held beliefs in my very own unique and inimitable self...........
It made me reach deep within and pull myself together and made me wonder why life would not give me a second chance to put my career back on the rails for a second and maybe third time if King Khan and his merry bunch of losers and no hopers can overcome seemingly insurmountable odds and beat a unscrupulous tycoon at his very own nefarious and sinister game of one upmanship.........
Thanks a tonne for making me whole once again as recent occurrences in my life had all but torn me asunder and rendered my life aimless and rudderless; but your modern day fable of losers turning winners has once again rejuvenated and rebirthed moi and made me once again believe that all I need to do is to remain resolute and stick to my age old beliefs and the rest of the world will ultimately come around to my way of doing things and learn the futility of placing the self before the common good..........
You; through your film also made me realise the futility of sailing against the tide all on my very own and made me realise the value of having like minded people who are equally dedicated to the cause of making this world a better place to live on by my side and I will now focus my energies on singling out and reaching forth to such people and coming together for the noble cause that all of us espouse and believe in........
Do keep up the good work and keep doling out scores of such illuminating and soul searching movies as such flicks prove to be manna from heaven for such lost and bewildered souls like me who had all but given up in the face of inestimable nay saying and unending derision.........
Thanks once again for all that you have done for me..........
Your Avowed Fan;
Sundeep Chopra.......

NIGERIAN MEN JOIN THE UNHOLY RANKS OF RAPISTS.........

One thought that this disease or predilection was largely restricted to Indian men; alas!!!! Nigerian men seem to have fallen prey to the same.............
A Nigerian national was apprehended/arrested by the national capital's Maurice Nagar Police sleuths early on Monday morning for having committed the heinous and grave crime of continually sexually assaulting/ raping a 22 year old Naga woman over a period ranging a little over six months.........
According to the utterly devastated and emotionally shattered victim; she (the victim) befriended the Nigerian gent a little over six months or so ago on a social networking site and he claimed to be gainfully employed in a managerial position in a Gurgaon based multi national company and also held out the rather hackneyed carrot of landing her that elusive and highly desired job within the very same........
What started off as a casual acquaintance soon blossomed into a lot more as the Nigerian gent and the victim soon started meeting socially at various coffee shops on the pretext of coaching her (the victim) for her impending job related interview and other pretexts besides..........
Taking undue advantage of the victim's trusting nature; naivety and gullibility; the Nigerian male (accused in the case) moved into her rented/rental accommodation a little over two months or so ago and started unleashing a reign of untold horrors; sexual assaults; unprovoked beatings and unmentionable threats to the victim's life and limb ever since...........
According to the victim; her tormentor would subdue her with implied threats about causing untold harm to her life and limb by brandishing daggers and other such personal arms and a beaker purportedly containing highly potent sulphuric acid and insinuate that he would wield the same with rather painful results if the long suffering victim if as much let out a whimper about the pitiful fate that had befallen her off late.......
After putting up with the relentless assaults and unimaginable miseries heaped on her for almost three months; the victim managed to make good her escape from her confines late on Sunday night and managed to wend her way to the Maurice Nagar Police Station where she proceeded to lodge a written complaint against the monster who had become the bane of her otherwise blissful existence.........
Acting with surprising alacrity; the police sleuths managed to nab the accused Nigerian gent in the early hours of Monday morning while he was trying to beat a hasty retreat from the crime scene; a medical examination carried out on the 22 year old Naga woman at a government medical facility conclusively established the occurrence of rape and the victim has since been sent to an NGO for further rehabilitation and counselling while her assaulter is currently cooling both his heels as well as sexual urges in a Delhi Police lock up.........
A case of rape and illegal confinement has since been registered against the accused Nigerian gent and further investigations into this sordid tale of rape and criminal intimidation are at an advanced stage according to Delhi Police bigwigs...........

KING KHAN AND HIS TEAM USHER IN "HAPPY NEW YEAR" PREMATURELY........

Critics; naysayers and sceptics be damned!!! Shahrukh Khan and Farah Khan's magnum opus "Happy New Year" is certainly the flavour of the festive season and a lot more besides.........
 Happy New Year was given a resounding thumbs down by self opinionated and piffling critics who as usual abysmally failed to either read or then decipher the groundswell of support; euphoria and unbridled excitement this Farah Khan helmed "musical heist" flick raised in the hearts; minds and souls of the ticket buying public who ultimately make or mar the fortunes of any and every film..........
Not only is "Happy New Year" the most monstrous hit of the year 2014 but it has also succeeded in putting many a record set by the Aamir Khan starrer "Dhoom 3" which was released in the latter quarter of 2013 in the shade; for instance; "Happy New Year" surpassed "Dhoom 3's" opening day collections of Rs. 36 crore by garnering a whopping Rs. 44.97 crore rupees at the box office on it's opening day..........
 And the hype; hoopla and euphoria did not die down there but only rose like a gargantuan tidal wave as this flick gathered an unbelievable Rs. 108.86 crore in it's first three days at the turnstiles vis a vis the Rs. 106 crore collected by Dhoom 3 during the same period (the Rs. 108.86 crore is only the amount collected at the Indian box office and does not include the massive amounts garnered by the same in the overseas territories)............
 What is even more heartening for a person like me is the fact that Ms. Farah Khan has only reinforced her credentials as the present day "Manmohan Desai" or the "king or then should I say "Queen" of kitsch" whose films may be looked down upon with utter disdain and condescension by the self appointed critics of the world but certainly strike a chord and more in the heart's and souls of 125 crore Indians who set aside their plethora of worries and concerns and set out to savour a Farah Khan film whenever the same makes an appearance at the box office..........
If box office pundits of the ilk of Taran Adarsh and Komal Nahata are to be believed; "Happy New Year" might end up collecting or gathering in excess of Rs. 300 crore at the desi or Indian box office if it manages to sustain the early momentum for the next 10-12 days and the same does indeed seem a more than distinct possibility as the next big release; the Akshay Kumar starrer "the Shaukeens" will only be making it's appearance on November 7,2014............
Kudos to King Khan and his merry bunch for not only getting their act right but also reinforcing their credentials as the "Uncrowned Shahenshahs" of the Indian Film Industry........
Over to Messrs Aamir Khan; Rajkumar Hirani; Vidhu VInod Chopra and their eagerly awaited "PK" for a fitting and lasting rejoinder...........

40 YEAR OLD WOMAN SET AFLAME WITHIN STATIONARY TRAIN........

Can it get any worse for the long suffering and constantly victimised womenfolk of this supposedly civilised and tolerant country........
In a bizarre; dastardly and utterly despicable incident; a woman was set ablaze within the confines of a bogie of a stationary train which had halted as per schedule at a railway station in Kerala's Kannur district.........
According to bystanders as well as the police personnel investigating this sordid case; Pathuti alias Khadeeja (40) a long term resident of Malapurram district had parked herself on an empty berth within coach number S-13 (second class sleeper coach) and was comfortably reclining on the same when the train arrived at the fateful station at around 4:30 am or so on Monday morning..........
Within the batting of an eyelid; hundreds of people were confronted with the inhuman spectacle of an aflame Khadeeja jumping out of a stationary train and collapsing in an unceremonious heap in their very midst; alert fellow travellers managed to put out the flames by dousing copious amounts of water on a furiously burning Khaddeja but the damage was done by then as the victim suffered more than 65% burns.........
A couple of fellow passengers also swore to the fact that a grievously injured Khadeeja who was immediately rushed to the government run district hospital was seen furiously arguing with an unknown and yet to be identified male who made optimum use of the ensuing confusion and mayhem by making himself scarce while others were trying to douse the flames that engulfed Khadeeja...........
Khadeeja succumbed to the grievous burn injuries inflicted on her by the unidentified male within a mere matter of eight hours or so but not before recording her dying declaration in the august presence of a judicial magistrate and squarely blaming the mysterious and elusive gent for the gruesome and pitiable fate that befell her..........
A forensics team that reached the said railway platform in the wake of this ghastly incident scoured the entire platform and managed to recover a bag; knife and empty bottle of country liquor from the very same; it is now being surmised that the victim was doused with the contents of the very same empty bottle and set aflame with the aid of three burnt matchsticks that were also recovered from the site of the inhuman incident..........
A case of murder has since been registered against person/s unknown and three police teams have been entrusted with the seemingly impossible task of identifying the assailant/s and apprehending him/them at the earliest..........

A FELLOW INDIAN IS IN DIRE NEED OF YOUR LARGESSE..........

One grew up with the adage "charity begins at home" ringing in one's ears; heart and soul an one always endeavoured to reach out and make a difference no matter however miniscule.........
Unfortunately; over a matter of time; charity too has degenerated into some kind of business replete with the sins of greed; avarice and the constant quest for fifteen minutes of fame (people tend to donate precious little and tom tom the same for years to come); thereby defeating and obfuscating the age old principle about the left hand not knowing what the right is doing..........
Two natural calamities namely the deluge in Kashmir and cyclone Hudhud (in Visakhapatnam) have befallen our great nation in quick succession and rendered lakhs of our countrymen destitute; forlorn; helpless and staring at a rather bleak and dismal future; yes both the state and central governments; army; NDRF (National Disaster Relief Force); hundreds of NGO's; corporates and the like have reached out and done more than their bit towards alleviating the unending saga of human misery and suffering but the same is simply proving to be grossly inadequate as a lot more still needs to be done.........
Yes; one did read a few stories in newspapers about hundreds of tonnes of precious rice being grossly wasted as the cyclone had swept away scores of godowns in Vishakapatnam and similar such storage places in Kashmir; but that is not excuse enough to discontinue the exercise initiated in order to ensure that none goes hungry in these places ravaged by the fury of nature.............
Though; I hate making a virtue of my good deeds and avowedly avoiding mentioning the amounts I donate to various charities; I am perforce being forced to go against the very grain of my soul; I am left with little choice other than mentioning the same as I find my friends; fellows and countrymen berating the government and the system for their repeated failures to reach out to each and everyone and pointing fingers at them rather than looking within and trying to figure out what they can do in about restoring some semblance of order in the lives of their distressed countrymen.........
Like I said; I have sent cheques of Rs. 5,000/- each to both the Prime Minister's Relief Fund as well as the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister's Relief Fund as that is as much I could afford to spare at the present time) and in addition tot these cheques I have also sent across 10 kgs of rice; 5 kgs of dal and sugar as well as 5 litres of sunflower oil through one of those trucks that was collecting the same for the cyclone ravaged people of the coastal town of Vishakapatnam..........
Let me clearly state that I have no intention of either belittling; ridiculing or mocking anyone and my sole attention is to galvanise the dormant hearts and souls of my fellow countrymen into some kind of action and also to make them realise that we as fellow countrymen cannot simply remain immune and isolated from the numerous problems confronting our suffering fellow Indians on a minute by minute basis by resorting to the callous logic about me and my loved one's being spared the savagery and misery inflicted by these two vagaries of nature...........
My fellow countrymen and women; please come forward and stand as a bulwark of support and succour to those Indians who have been forced to scrounge around for every morsel and scrimp for every basic need of life as the furies of nature have simply obliterated whatever little they had to begin with; please set aside your indifference; inertia; apathy and miserliness; step forward; loosen your purse and heart strings and part with as much as you can as a fellow Indian is in dire need of your largesse.......

30 YEAR OLD MARRIED WOMAN RAPED AT KNIFE POINT IN U.P...........

Women especially married women seem to be bearing the brunt of their legally wedded husband's "criminal" sexual proclivities in Akhilesh Yadav's Uttar Pradesh........
In the latest such instance of sexual carnage and mayhem; a 30 year old woman was allegedly gang raped by two of her legally wedded husband's at knife point in Meerut district's Kankarkheda area on the night of October 10, 2014.........
Though; this macabre and gory incident occurred on the fateful night of October 10; the same was hushed up until now as the two main accused in the case had recorded the sexual debauchery wreaked by them on the hapless victim on both their mobile phones as well as a CD and threatened the witless victim with the threat of disclosure on social networking as well as pornographic sites if she as much as breathed a word about the same to any third person/s...........
According to Kankarkheda police station in charge; Mahavir Singh Chauhan; the terrified and petrified victim had proceeded to file an official complaint on Sunday morning against the two accused Nadeem and Aarif (her legally married husband's so called best friends) saying that these two residents of the city's Shobhapur locality had raped her more than once each at knife point when she was home alone on the fateful night of October 10,2014.........
According to the victim she and her husband had gotten married a little over two years ago and had been blissfully residing in Modi Nagar ever since; the victim had made her way to her father's house in the Kankarkheda locality on October 7, 2014 owing to his ill health and met with this gory fate on October 10............
Matters came to a head when the two accused tried to sexually assault the victim for the umpteenth time holding out the express threat of "immediate disclosure" on the late evening of October 18, 2014 following which the victim broke her enforced period of silence and confided every sorry detail about her trauma to her husband who then proceeded to file an official police complaint against the two afore mentioned accused in the company of his long suffering wife..........
Kankarkheda police have since launched an official case against the two absconding accused under all the applicable sections of the IPC and entrusted two police teams with the thankless task of apprehending the two main accused at the earliest...........

"REAL" LIFE EMULATES "REEL" LIFE........

In a real life enactment of numerous films of this genre; a 31 year old Ludhiana (Punjab) based woman was on Sunday morning booked on the serious/grave charges of sexually exploiting a minor boy who used to take tuitions from her.........
According to sources close to the victim's family; the victim is none other than a 14 year old class 8 student whose family resides in a rental accommodation owned by the accused woman's father........
The very same sources also alluded to the fact that the accused forced/coerced the victim into establishing a sexual dalliance with her by threatening to kill the boy and get rid of his body if he did not satisfy/satiate her somewhat quirky and eccentric sexual urges/proclivities...........
According to the investigating officer; SHO Dharm Pal; the conniving woman also got a confidante to record one of the sexual encounters between her and the victim on a CD and threatened the victim with the disclosure of the same for a little over 10 months or so in addition to the omnipresent death threat looming over his head.........
Braving seemingly insurmountable odds; the victim however summoned up the courage to confide every minute detail of his sexual exploitation to his disbelieving father on Friday evening and the parents of the victim registered a case against the absconding accused late on Saturday night.........
Taking due cognisance of the parent's official complaint against the accused; the Ludhiana Police proceeded to book/register a case against the accused under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act; 2012 (POCSO) Act and also seized numerous copies of the infamous "Sexual" (the one of which a sexual encounter between the accused and victim was recorded) CD during the course of a raid on her residence..........
Three duly constituted police teams have now been entrusted with the onerous responsibility of apprehending the accused at the earliest and the ACP in charge of the three teams exuded quiet confidence about nabbing the accused at the earliest...........

IS IT THE END OF THE ROAD FOR SEHWAG AND YUVRAJ SINGH...........

Is it the end of the road for 2011 World Cup cricketing heroes Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh; well former Indian skipper Saurav "Dada" Ganguly certainly thinks so and clearly enunciated his views on this seemingly contentious and emotional issue on Saturday........
"Dada" was clearly elucidating/enunciating his views during the course of the "Salaam Cricket Conclave" a day long pre world cup assemblage of World Cup winning captains as well as former illustrious cricketers organised by the India Today Group in the national capital.........
Carrying his hypothesis further; Dada said there was no doubting; the pedigree; potential; and yeoman services rendered by these two daredevil cricketers to the cause of Indian cricket; but father time has this unerring habit of catching up with the best of cricketers and the same seems to hold true in their case too...........
Ganguly further said that it would be near impossible for either one of these two cricketers to gain a berth in the World Cup side of 2015 as the World Cup was just around the corner (less than five months to go) and the incumbent captain Dhoni would not like to tinker with his side as the same seems to bear a settled and confident look at the present moment............
Ganguly who has been widely hailed as the foremost Indian skipper as far as the issue of unearthing new and untested talents went; lavished effusive and wholesome praise on the two afore mentioned gentlemen and concluded his comments on them by branding them "genuine match winners who had won many a match for the country single handedly"..............
"While there is no denying the fact that the present Indian team has woefully struggled to make it's mark in test matches held on foreign shores; there is a world of difference between the two formats and sides; and I can see this team leaving it's undisputed mark on the 2015 World Cup as it is endowed with at least 4-5 cricketers who will excel in Australia and New Zealand where the 2015 World Cup is slated to be held during the months of February and March..........
On being asked about the men in Indian colours to watch out for; Dada mentioned Kohli; Raina; Dhoni Rahane and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the men to watch out for and wished team India all the best for a superlative performance in the forthcoming World Cup 2015 cricketing extravaganza.........

CELEBRATORY SOMERSAULTS END UP COSTING 23 YEAR OLD FOOTBALLER HIS LIFE..........

Unprecedented; exultant and acrobatic celebrations following the scoring of a goal ended up costing a 23 year old Mizoram based footballer as he succumbed to his grievous spinal and head injuries in a corporate hospital at around 7 am or so this morning..........
Peter Biaksangzuala the 23 year old footballer who grievously injured himself when a celebratory somersault following an equalising goal went horribly and imperceptibly wrong on Tuesday evening was a long term resident of the eastern town of Khawzawl and played as a midfielder for the Bethlehem Vengthlang Club in the nascent Mizoram Premier League............
Peter's side was in arrears for the best part of 63 minutes and trailing their opposition by a 9 th minute goal when Peter equalised with a spectacular and gravity defying volley into the opposition net and set forth those euphoric celebrations that ultimately ended up costing him his fledgling/budding life..........
According to his grieving and disbelieving team mates; Peter contorted his back and legs rather awkwardly and jerkily while in the midst of his third somersault and thereby ended up landing with a resounding thud on his back and neck as a result of which he suffered a life threatening spinal injury as well as bleeding injuries on his head.........
Peter was rushed to the Aizawl Civil Hospital where three operations on his crushed spine failed to repair the hideous injury to any great extent; Peter was wheeled into the ICU and put on respiratory support when his organs began failing him on Friday evening and Peter ended up breathing his last at around 7 am this (Sunday) morning despite the near heroic efforts of the team of doctors attending on him..........
According to the doctors treating him; Peter had pledged both his eyes as well as vital organs during his hospital sojourn and the same will be transplanted to eagerly waiting donors at the earliest........
In hindsight; one only hopes and prays that Peter would have gone easy on his celebratory somersaults and thereby lived to tell the tale.........

START PAYING YOUR RESPECTS WHEREVER DUE........

One indeed hopes that all those "noble; liberated and enlightened" souls who are of the view that standing up while the national anthem is being played at a public place tantamounts to compromising with their "lofty and irrational" ideals about the sanctity of personal choices and freedoms will at long last take due cognisance of the fact that their truculence or reluctance to stand up and pay their respects to the national anthem could see them being incarcerated in jail for life..........
A 25 year old Trivandrum or then should I say Thiruvananthapuram based young man who preferred to remained seated and hooted in derision when the national anthem was being played in a city theatre belatedly realised the folly of his actions after sedition charges were slapped against him by a local court.........
In addition to the afore mentioned sedition charges; the said young man has also been charged under section 66 A of the nation's prevailing Information Technology Act for posting highly offensive; derisive; patronising and offensive remarks against the national anthem in particular and nation in general on the occasion of the nation's 68th Independence Day (August 15).........
Currently languishing in a city jail as a result of the Kerala High Court denying bail to him for a second time; the 25 year old young man is staring at the unseemly prospect of spending a minimum of 14 years in jail (life sentence) if the grave and significant charges levelled against him bear legal scrutiny and are proven beyond all reasonable doubt.........
I for one sincerely hope and pray that brash youngsters who think no end of themselves learn a lesson from the prospective fate of this obnoxious young man who took things a little too far and start paying their due respect and homage wherever the same is due.............

MY REVIEW OF "SONALI CABLE".........

Once in an exceedingly rare while does the Hindi film industry serve up a sumptuous starter that makes your stomach rumble in anticipation of a gourmet main course and "Sonali Cable" is one such starter that alas does not end with the promised gourmet meal.........
Though, it does not boast of any marquee names apart from Anupam Kher's "Sonali Cable" does certainly make the audience sit up and take notice with it's David versus Goliath tale of a feisty; obdurate; spirited and no nonsense Sonali (Rhea Chakraborty) taking on the might and muscle power of a wannabe tycoon (Kher) who crunches khakras as if they were going out of fashion and wants to engulf Mumbai under the deluge of his cable network so that he can emerge as the "uncrowned badshah" of Akkhi Mumbai........
Ali Fazal (son of the local corporator) plays Sonali's love interest who unstintingly stands by her in her relentless battle against a carnivorous corporate culture and entity who threatens to swallow or engulf everything that stands in it's way in it's midst even though his mother (Smita Jaykar) who embodies the grubby; self serving and unscrupulous corporator to the "T" is hand in glove with Kher and more than a willing accomplice in his nefarious activities..........
Thought; absolutely relevant and extremely topical in this era of a permanently wired and ensnared universe; soulless corporations out to make a buck regardless of either the cost or social ramifications of this unmitigated and insatiable lust for a buck and last but not the least the innumerable scams associated with the murky and gory world of spectrum allocation; "Sonali Cable" had the inherent potential to become a modern day fable but unduly suffers from weak and disinterested writing that leaves the film flagging in the parts that should have delivered a knock out punch.........
Yes; the cast does manfully strive to rise above a mundane script and insert that much needed vigour and urgency in the on screen developments but jerky characterisation especially Sonali's (her gaali's and fits of pique seemed a little to stagey and artificial for my liking) does leave you jaded; disinterested and wondering what might have been.........
All in all; "Sonali" is like that delectable biryani that entices you with it's resplendent colour; heady aromas and mouth watering visage but leaves a bitter after taste in your mouth on account of it being undercooked and not being given the much desired finishing touches; "Sonali" promises much more than it delivers and that if any is it's biggest and most significant failing.........
How one wishes that director Charudutt Acharya and his ensemble team of on screen writers had risen out of their collective stupor and combined their collective energy in delivering a tour de force that would have left you gasping in wonderment.........
RATING: 2.5/5; do watch it if you are hopelessly addicted to David versus Goliath present day fables like yours truly.........

MINOR SODOMISED BY NEIGHBOUR IN EAST DELHI LOCALITY.........

Minors certainly seem to be bearing the brunt of the nocturnal tendencies of men afflicted with a predilection for unnatural sex (according to the Indian Penal Code) as these men are willing to go to any lengths to satisfy their deviant sexual urges and desires.........
A 11 year old minor resident of an east Delhi locality was brutally sodomised by his 25 year old male neighbour late on Wednesday night and threatened with the fear of death if he as much as breathed a word about his ordeal to any person or persons.........
According to police sources; Shamshad (25), the main accused in the case who is now on the run lured the 11 year old victim into his humble abode in the national capital's Jagatpuri locality on the pretext of showing him a new video game loaded on his mobile and then pounced on the unsuspecting minor as soon as he had set foot within his house...........
He firstly thrashed the victim; then subdued and sodomised him before proceeding to threaten him with dire consequences if he let a whimper out about his sorry and dehumanising ordeal..........
The minor somehow managed to summon up the courage and temerity to inform his disbelieving and outraged parents about the fate that befell him on the said Wednesday night and the parents in turn lodged an official complaint against the accused at a neighbouring police station on Thursday morning.........
A case of rape and unnatural sexual practices has now been registered against the main accused and two police teams have been constituted in order to arrest him at the earliest.......

24 YEAR OLD WOMAN FOUND DEAD UNDER MYSTERIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES.........

And so the carnage continues unabated........
In the latest instance involving a female hailing from a north eastern state; a 24 year old woman hailing from Mizoram was found dead within a nondescript house within South Delhi's Munirka area (the area is choc a bloc with people from the north east) late on Thursday night........
This grievously injured woman was rushed to the government run Safdarjung Hospital where the doctors who rushed to her aid declared her brought dead on arrival and cited the numerous head injuries on her persona as the prima facie reason for her untimely demise.........
According to her neighbours; the now deceased woman was residing with one Virender Singh who had made himself scarce when the grievously injured women was found and the senior police inspector investigating this "mysterious" death is trying his utmost to try his whereabouts in order to ascertain whether or not Singh had any role in the woman's premature departure from this world........
A case has since been registered against unknown persons at the national capital's Vasant Vihar police station and the investigating officer has sent out an impassioned plea to all such persons who can help unravel the mystery surrounding this young woman's rather abrupt death.......

65 YEAR OLD WIDOW BECOMES UNWITTING VICTIM OF MALE STALKER..........

Women with a bewitching and mesmerising voice beware; you might just become the next victim of a stalker/stalkers who are hopelessly enamoured/smitten by your doe like voice.......
In an incident bordering on the bizarre or rather resembling an entry into the annals of Ripley's "Believe It Or Not" a hopelessly smitten 35 year old man from Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly district took to harassing and stalking a hapless and bewildered 65 year old widow as he inadvertently heard her enticing voice on the other end of a telephone connection and took to pestering her with repeated and incessant telephone calls as he wanted to hear the woman's mellifluous voice times without end.........
It all started on the pretext of a telephone call made to an unknown number which was answered by a woman who was unerringly polite, courteous and above all blessed with a voice that caused her 35 year old male suitor (wrong number) sleepless nights.........
Hopelessly smitten by the woman's voice who received his erroneously dialled call; the 35 year old Bareilly based man took to dialling the "Wrong Number" at any time he pleased and as many times he desired thereby reducing the 65 year old widow who displayed unerring courteousness and civility to her "unknown" caller to a hopeless wreck cursing her fortune.......
Harried beyond all reasonable limits and at her wit's end; 65 year old Mehrunissa (name changed) who resides in the city's Sufi Tola locality along with her daughter-in-law and grandchildren (her son lives and works in Mumbai) asked a male relative to answer her unwanted and unwelcome suitors telephone calls and her male relative soon let out a torrent of the choicest and most uncomplimentary abuses as the widow's male suitor had the temerity to ask the male relative to step aside and bring his "girlfriend" on the line..........
As things stand at the present moment; Mehrunnisa who found the unwelcome and unsolicited attentions of her "forced suitor" irksome and unendurable; approached the authorities at the Baradari police station on Tuesday afternoon in the company of her son who made his way to Bareilly on Monday evening after being informed about his long suffering (the so called suitor has been after his mother for the best part of the last four weeks or so) predicament on Saturday by his harangued wife..........
An FIR has been registered/booked against the so called suitor one Aslam who is said to be long time resident of the same locality (preliminary investigations managed to identify his number as the one that the ditties/protestations of undying love were being made) under all the relevant and applicable sections of both the Indian Penal Code as well as Information Technology Act..........
A police team expressly constituted for the very purpose raided the said Aslam's residence on Wednesday morning only to discover that the so called suitor had realised that his game was up and taken to his heels leaving behind a locked house and an incensed landlord.........
Two teams have now been constituted and entrusted with the task of ensnaring the smitten suitor at the earliest and a trace on his mobile has also been initiated in an effort to trace his whereabouts..........

YET ANOTHER UNWARRANTED AND SENSELESS RACIST ATTACK........

Our unholy and inhuman racist tendencies certainly seem to be coming to the fore on one pretext or the other.........
In the latest such attack with racist/racial undertones; three men of African origin were beaten within an inch of their lives by a group of brutes in the vicinity of the centrally located Rajiv Chowk Metro Station (New Delhi) late on Monday evening.........
If a you tube video about the incident which went viral within a few hours is any parameter or yardstick to go by; the situation got out of hand when rumours and innuendos started floating around about these African men mercilessly eve teasing a group of young women frequenting the metro station........
Lo and behold! a gaggle of infuriated avenging angels or goons soon gathered at the hot spot and decided to teach the African men a lesson that they would never forget; taking undue advantage of their far superior numbers these ruffians began raining blows on the African men with belts, shoes, iron rods and last but not the least slivers and shards of glass gathered from bottles expressly shattered for the purpose........
In fact, so ferocious, merciless and vociferous was the unprovoked attack (after all unfounded and yet to be proved rumours started the riot) that one of the African men (victims) suffered grievous injuries on his back and abdomen and had to be rushed to a nearby corporate hospital by good samaritans as soon as the crowd frenzy dissipated somewhat; the other two victims were slightly more fortunate and escaped with injuries and abrasions that did not lead to their hospitalisation..........
This latest racist attack captured in all it's gory splendour by a bystander who knew no better soon made it's way to you tube and the video posted on the site shows one of the African men frantically climb atop a "May I Help You police kiosk" in a frantic effort to save his skin; but his valiant effort bears little fruit as he is soon pulled down from his perch by four or five crazed men and set upon with renewed ferocity........
What is however not clear in the you tube video are the two most important or significant facets about whether or not the rumours that were circulated about the African men eve teasing this conglomeration of women were based on any tangible facts and whether the cops stationed nearby came to their aid and assistance when they required the same.........

PUJARA TO RENEW CONTRACT WITH DERBYSHIRE FOR 2015 COUNTY SEASON.........

More than impressed with his sterling exploits with the bat during his exceedingly short county stint; English County side Derbyshire has initiated talks with team India's bulwark Cheteshwar Pujara for a renewed stint during the 2015 county championships/season........
Pujara represented the struggling English country side with rare distinction and aplomb in the last few weeks of the championship and notched up an impressive 219 runs at a staggering average of 54.75 in the last three games of the season..........
Confirming the news; Derbyshire's Elite Performance Director Graeme Welch said that the county side was in an advanced stage of negotiations with the Indian test batsman and more than keen to have him on board for the 2015 season........
Welch further went on to say that, "Pujara integrated himself perfectly into the English county side and the rest of his mates were so impressed by his humility, earnestness and uncompromising work ethic that they welcomed him with open arms into their midst and now don't want to let go of him"......
"Pujara on his part is more than keen on establishing himself as a batsmen of repute in testing conditions and more than keen on renewing his ties with Derbyshire but his IPL related commitments (Pujara plays for Kings XI Punjab in the IPL) as well as a short test tour of Bangladesh might see him missing out on three months of much desired county action and the county side's team management is keep it's fingers crossed while trying to work a way around these commitments in order to ensure that Pujara dons their colours for the longest possible time"..........

POOJA BHATT TO GRACE THE SCREEN AFTER 13 YEARS OF HIBERNATION........

"Once an actor; always an actor"; and noted producer/director/actor certainly seems to be proving that dictum right what with the Hindi film industry's grapevine being rife with the news about Pooja Bhatt donning the grease paint and making an increasingly rare on screen appearance after 13 long years.........
Pooja who is best remembered for her tour de force performances in Daddy, Zakhm and Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin was last seen in Rahul Bose's directorial debut; the quirky and eccentric "Everybody Says I am Fine" way back in 2001 and has ever since been concentrating her energies on writing, producing and directing flicks that she believed in.........
According to Pooja's friends and well wishers; this highly underrated actress will soon make her long awaited comeback in Excel Entertainment's romcom "Mr. Chaalu" which is slated to go on the floors in January 2015 and is slated to be released in July 2015 (tentatively)........
Sources in the production house revealed that producers Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar were in talks with the enigmatic Tabu and more than keen on having her on board but Reema Kagti who will be helming/directing Mr. Chaalu was of the considered view that Pooja Bhatt would suit the role of a female Sherlock Holmes to a "T" and got the producers to rope in Pooja for this much coveted role.........
Confirming the news in her own inimitable fashion; Pooja said; "Ritesh and Farhan messaged me asking whether or not I was still acting and I retorted by saying; once an actress always an actress", and that clinched the role of the female detective who makes an on screen appearance just before the interval and plays an integral part thereafter till the end credits roll........
"Mr. Chaalu" will see the chhote Nawab Saif Ali Khan essaying the role of a a quintessential Casanova with a roving eye while the charming and elfin Kangana Ranaut will be playing his love interest; feisty damsel Richa Chadha will be essaying the role of the third angle of this love triangle according to the casting director of the flick that is expected to be a little "hatke" from the other romcoms one has seen till date.........

PREITY ZINTA DOES IT AGAIN........

Trust the stormy petrel and gutsy damsel of the Hindi film industry; Preity Zinta to take an unequivocal and unapologetic stance about a perceived slight to our beloved and respected national anthem and standing by her actions no matter however widespread and vociferous the ridicule and contempt.........
Preity Zinta has certainly gone and done it again following her eyeball and headline grabbing fight with Bombay Dyeing scion Ness Wadia; according to awe struck bystanders and members of the audience; Preity who was out to enjoy the thrills and spills of the Hrithik-Kareena blockbuster "Bang Bang" firstly accosted a gent in the audience for refusing to stand up and pay his respects to the national anthem while it was being played during the course of the show and later ganged up with a few patriotic and nationalistic members of the audience and threw the offending gent out of the multiplex lock;stock and barrel.........
As is our wont; hundreds of utterly hypocritical; two faced self appointed guardians of public morality and decorum took to twitter and berated Ms. Zinta by branding her "hyper-nationalistic"; while hundreds of others exhorted the authorities to book a case of "goondaism in a public place" as a result of her patriotic and well meaning actions that were widely reported in certain sections of the media..........
However; the silliness, hypocrisy, two facedness and facetiousness did not stop at this and cries of Preity go and join the BJP if you want to be hyper-nationalistic soon reached a crescendo on twitter; totally unfazed by the mindless frenzy and juvenile antics of her self appointed critics; Preity issued a pithy and pointed rejoinder saying that she was simply part of a concerned section of the audience who found the gent in question's actions to be totally disrespectful of our esteemed national,anthem and hence did what was required under the circumstances.........
Where do I stand on this one; I not only wholeheartedly applaud and acclaim Preity's actions in this instance but also exhort other self respecting and spirited womenfolk to take an unequivocal stance and make themselves heard without fear or favour any and every time any nuisance is being committed in a public place; Hats off Preity; please continue being your true, spirited and unfettered self; we are solidly in your corner and will keep standing by you no matter what...........