Chaiyya Chaiyya!

A friend recently gave us a cd of ‘Inside Man’. I had inserted the cd and was reading a paper while it started. And guess what…hehehee…lo and behold..I heard the song Chaiyya Chaiyya being played! I looked at the screen and the movie was starting off with names being displayed. :) That’s when I remembered an article I had read some time back about Spike Lee choosing the hit Hindi song at the start of his new movie. I just couldn’t take the smile off my face..hehehehe..It sounded cool. Wow, way to go for Indian songs, journey to Hollywood, and many such thoughts took over me. I had to stop myself from dreaming overboard! I guess, it still is a long way ahead for Indian music overseas. :)

Casteism

I recently read an article about a manhunt in Orissa to catch 29 men who allegedly forced a group of women to parade naked after a row over caste tradition.

It seems shocking that in this century where man is exploring the outer space, there are still many people stuck and fighting over their privileges and some as basic as their right to the common water resource!! And what seems to be stopping them, is their “Caste”!!!

This might be surprising for the city-bred folks as they have rarely faced a situation where they are denied rights just coz they are from a different (lower/upper) caste. I don’t even know what my caste/sub-caste is?? How does that even matter or concern my life and the way I want to lead it??

But it seems that in some areas these things still matter and matter a lot. The six women in a village in the eastern state of Orissa were attacked because the men in their families had refused to wash the feet of upper caste wedding guests!! The women belonged to the lower barber caste. Their menfolk had refused to wash feet of upper caste Khandayats.

And the punishment meted out to them, by the so-called upper castes people were to beat their women up, strip them naked and abuse them. Who gave them these rights? What makes them superior to the other people? Their birth in the upper caste family? How can some thing which nobody has control on, decide one’s status and one’s rights?

The more I think on it, the more it angers me. This is not the first time that such a thing has happened. We have been reading for years about such outrageous treatments meted out to poor folks in Bihar and many other areas in India. How long will this continue? Where is the police, the law and order? In this episode too, nobody has been arrested even five days after the incident!! This itself shows the seriousness with which the administration is taking such issues.

With so much tension and riots between different religions, haven’t we had enough deaths and suffering that we still need to fight over castes and sub-castes now?? How can this change? Will proper education work? How can it be planned? Is the government doing anything towards this? Probably it is, but with the huge population and increasing issues maybe the resources are too less.

Manpower is the most important resource of any nation. With our country having the second largest population, many often wonder why we are still left behind as a developing nation. Well, probably such articles are the answer to that. With people busy in fighting with folks from different religions, castes, sub-castes, gothras, regions, neighboring buildings, areas, etc, etc, we can’t expect them to find some time to work and grow, can we?

Live, Let Live

Orkut is an online network of people connected through their friends. There are different communities in Orkut and each has its forums posted by its members. I was reading through one such forum in ‘Indian Women’s Issues’ community. The topic was “Homosexuality”.

There were many folks who voiced their opinion against it. As in, were very vocal that homosexuality is against nature, it shouldn’t be allowed, blah blah. .. There were others who said if homosexuality is fine, then necrophilia and sex with animals should be okay too.. Hehehhe. Couldn’t stop giggling at the flow of the discussion. And there were others whom I agreed with, who said that there is nothing wrong with homosexuality or any relationship with mutual consent (which obviously rules out sex with animals and necrophilia) and yes, also were not sure what this topic was doing in a community for ‘Indian Women’s Issues’. From when did homosexuality become an issue for Indian Women??? :) I thought they had enough issues already to add this to the list!

I was amused at first, then after further reading was put off. Are such harsh opinions making it difficult for gays, lesbians to come out in the open and lead a free, harmless life as they would want to? Who are we to tell others whom to fancy and whom not to? Who are we to decide what’s natural, what is normal and what abnormal? Why should pure love between two guys or between two girls be considered abnormal or unnatural?

Instead of getting angry at such naïve and narrow-minded opinions, I found myself actually giggling in amusement. When I started reading, I never did expect such anti opinions and was actually surprised to see many. But shouldn’t we be rather leaving it to the individuals rather than dictate it to them as to which attraction is fine and which is not for them? To each his own.

Changing Faiths?

Finding an Iskcon centre in Newcastle amazed me. I didn’t expect it in such a small city situated in north of Britain. I met two of the residents there and I was awed by their humility. These residents were British who were born and brought up in the catholic culture.

There are many who take up Islam, Christianity and other religions. It makes me wonder what is it that lures them to it. Leaving everything that one is used to, and embracing a completely different religion doesn’t seem all that easy.

What is that drives people into changing their religion and their way of life? Perhaps their insatiable search for the right path, the path to the secrets of this world, the path to the one and only absolute force. And I guess they find their queries answered in a particular faith and so probably accept it. Hmmm….

For me, it still seems very courageous of anyone to change everything about themselves and accept a completely diverse world.

Movie Reviews

36 China Town, Pyare Mohan, Tom Dick & Harry and Gangster are the other movies I saw last week. 36 China Town was a tp movie. I didn’t expect much out of it, so how much ever smiles it gave me, were quite appreciated. Akshay Khanna was good.

I thought Gangster was alright. Hehee I am sure not many would agree with me. It’s a sure flop. But I guess, I liked it for Shiny Ahuja. Nice guy, good looks, not so bad acting ;) Beautiful songs especially ‘Mujhe Mat Roko’ track. But I was surprised by one thing in the movie. Emraan Hashmi plays the other guy. Throughout the movie, Shiny Ahuja and the girl are supposed to be in love…and still only Emraan gets to kiss the girl!! huh?? Guess, Emraan is kissing girls while the sun shines. :)

Tom, Dick & Harry directed by Deepak Tijori. An absolute torture. Deepak Tijori was a good actor, why did he shift to directing??

Pyare Mohan starring Fardeen Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Amrita Rao and Esha Deol. No Comments. :)

Fanaa

I saw Fanaa last week. It was a much hyped movie with Amir and Kajol in the lead for the first time. I was quite disappointed maybe coz I was expecting too much. I shouldn’t be doing that since I already knew it was a Yash Chopra production!

It starts of with the usual Yash Chopra feature, colorful hues and not so colorful songs. The first half is predictable with the blind girl, Zooni (Kajol) falling in love with her flirtatious guide, Rehan (Amir). There are lots of Shayaris going around with some good for the ear and the others just a pain to hear. (It Rhymes ;))

Imagine a hard core terrorist on a dangerous mission falling deeply in love with an innocent girl. His confusion, his dilemmas, the turmoil and the chaos. Must say, a good plot. But its execution, hmmm...I wish I could say the same about that.

The director has been ambitious wanting to put in hi-fi action scenes, trying to make it look cool and slick. But alas! What you see leaves you wishing for something probably simpler and straight forward.

There are other irritating areas like Zooni’s mother’s (Kiron Kher) only worry being finding a ‘Scherzade’ for her daughter. The danger of nuclear weaponry falling in the hands of the militants. A little too bold of Kunal Kohli. :)

The movie would had been a flop but for the excellent acting by Amir and Kajol. They are a delight to watch. Many ordinary scenes look and feel hundred times better just coz of their brilliant performances. Rishi Kapoor and Kiron Kher are good too. The kiddo Rehan would had done much better if he didn’t had to rattle off the same dialogue again and again (Rehan aapse jitna pyar karta hai, aap Rehan se utna pyar nahi karte!!.. uhhhhhhh …Oh! God…plz no, not again..) Tabu as an intelligence chief doesn’t have much to do in this flick.

Overall, a big, big disappointment for Amir Khan fans. :(

Lines I like

Lines from ‘The Sea’ by John Bahnville.

The past beats inside me like a second heart.

How the mind wanders, even on most concentrated of occasions.

The carpeted corridor absorbed our footsteps.

Life, authentic life, is supposed to be all struggle, unflagging action and affirmation, the will blutting its blunt head against the world’s wall, suchlike, but when I look back I see that the greater part if my energies was always given over to the simplest search for shelter, for comfort, for, yes, I admit it, for cosiness.

Before I saw myself as a buccaneer, facing all comers with a cutlass in my teeth, but now I am compelled to acknowledge that this was a delusion. To be concealed, protected, guarded, that is all I have ever truly wanted, to burrow down into a place of wormby warmth and cower there, hidden from the sky’s indifferent gaze and the harsh air’s damagings.

Atlast, the elements have achieved a pitch of magnificence to match my inner turmoil.

Lines from ‘Year of Wonders’ by Geraldine Brooks.

God warns us not to love any earthly thing above Himself, and yet He sets in a mother’s heart such a fierce passion for her babes that I do not comprehend how He can test us so.

And yet how could anyone understand such things: that delicacy masked a most unnatural coldness; that subtle thought had twisted itself into perversion.

How little we know, I thought of people we live amongst.

Life is beautiful

That’s a movie in English and Malayalam. Life is beautiful. So the saying goes. But I wonder is it really? I was watching TV and suddenly found myself thinking and reflecting on my life, well, all I could recollect were moments.

My early childhood where my Dad would give me a rupee for sweets everyday, as I left for school. The number of times I changed my dress after falling in the puddle outside my house while playing. The watchful day on the eve of Holi as I cowered under the table hiding from anyone who had color on their hands.

The new friends I made after we shifted houses. The way we used to play and fight all the time. The secrets we shared. The yummy sandwiches Dad made. The Diwali days when I used to help Mom in making delicious delicacies, the new dresses, the early morning baths and the noisy fire crackers.

The way we sat in a circle with Paati (granny) in the centre who used to roll the hot sambar rice into small round morsels and hand it to us in turns. Iyengar aunt’s yummy food. The huddling together when we used to contribute 2 rupees and rent the movie videos and half the colony’s kids were at aunt’s place watching it. The dance practices for 31st nights. The dances and the tales and laughter thereafter.


The pure fun we had when Mom used to splash the floor with soap water and I and my brother would skate on our knees wiping it with a rug. The scolding we got for low grades or fights. The triumph we felt when my brother and I threw out the whip into the neighboring building from our balcony. Our expressions when Dad bought a new one. :( The wonder I felt when our pet guppies (small fishes) laid eggs in the pickle bottles they were residing in. The grins when I irritated my brother, the tears when he hit me back. The frowns when my Mom took his side than mine. The irritated look I carried when my bro used to say that I was adopted by my parents when they found me walking around on a railway platform and Mom just smiled and Dad did not comment. :P The angry swell in my cheeks when after an hour of talking at the dinner table and nobody responding, everyone listening with keen ears when my brother interrupted with his talk. My brother teaching me to sing and after my few recitals resigning. The nights when I brayed with my bro playing the guitar and my Mom and Dad listening with a smile or tolerating should I say? :)

The combined night studies with friends, the gossips, stories, tales and conversations. The apprehension on the first day of college. My friend’s wedding, the thrill, the jokes and the dressing up. My friend having a baby! The night we spent waking up to her cries and trying to put her back to sleep

My job interview. My travels outside Mumbai for the very first time and consequently outside India. The heavenly row of clouds I saw through the plane window, my wish that they would be soft as cotton pods and I could hop on them. The sun shining through. My training, my work, my mistakes, my learnings, my new friends, my fun-loving roomies, the beautiful new places.

The day I met my husband and we said YES. The walk with my dad thereafter confessing my nervousness. My engagement, my embarrassing laughter, my quiet and shy fiancé who I found thereafter was definitely not quiet! The calm expression on my fiance’s face when I reached an hour late on the first date. (He hasn’t repeated that expression since for such acts of mine. That’s why they say marriage is an eye-opener). My careless last few days at work.

My marriage. The butterflies in my stomach feeling which I successfully concealed, well, at least I hope so. The beautiful Munnar and Kumarakom trips. My embarrassing mallu conversations with my new parents (they are gracious and kind enough to not notice the odd accent, tone and vocabulary). My devastating cooking expeditions. My zeal for searching food blogs for simple and easy recipes, cooking them and anticipating a positive feedback from my hubby. Our fights, our patching up. His intolerable parodies and sloppy dance moves especially the ones he does in the early mornings!!


The moments that make up my memories and I guess, my life too. I have a smile on my face which I hadn’t noticed till now. I look out of the window and the sun is shining out brightly, the flowers are swaying in the wind. Well I guess, I too can say, Life is beautiful. :)

Friends

I was recently talking to my friend who is going to get married this weekend. We have been friends since our childhood and have very fond memories of growing up together. Our lives were almost similar with the same kind of things happening to us at around the same time and we both having the same kind of ideas, thoughts and opinions. And now, six months after I got married she will be walking down the aisle (well to be accurate, sitting in front of a huge fire with tearful eyes. Heheehe would be a fine sight).

It brings back all the memories of our childhood. The way we used to run into the neighboring buildings to “raid” their tile pieces. (God knows why we did that) But it was fun pretending to gallop on horses and raid loot. Hehehe. The times when our group of friends planned a picnic and packed almost everything needed in one, the food, lots of it, skipping ropes, a big ball, etc etc and walk to the nearby park and hog on it all. Years later when we used to walk by that park, we used to have a good laugh wondering what made us plan and pack all that when we could have just walked for 5 minutes back and forth and have everything we wanted. We literally spent all our childhood days playing, playing and playing more. Lots of games, hide-n-seek, lagori (dunno what this is called in English), sometimes our girlish version of cricket (was a lot of fun and we would get a lot of rebuff from the boys), and many others.

Our late night combined studies was a joke to our parents but we took it quite seriously. We did try to study but there were so many other important stuff to be discussed, to be discovered, hmmm…like for instance why all the guys we knew were such dickheads, why was one actress better than the other, why some actors were such Greek gods. And yes, of course sex and the aahs and the oohs and the ouchs after that. Hehehhee. We girls were so adequate within ourselves. It was our world and we dint care a damn about anything else. It was pure fun.

After school, we diverged into different areas, accountancy, architecture, medicine, engineering, etc. It seemed cool. There were times when one of us would have a downfall, some got ditched by their boyfriends, others had a bad time with their studies and other silly stuff. And I remember how we all would huddle together and try to calm, soothe and relax them. The parties we had, birthday, New Year, new cycle, good marks, a treat for anything and everything new and good in our world. Hehehe. Our junglee dances, our loud songs, our nicknames, our tricks, our late night gossips… and the list goes on and on.

Later on we moved from the learning to the earning mode. We all moved away for our work, went to different places and were all busy. Not that we could help it. We would still meet up whenever we could, gang up and have the good ol fun.

Most of us are married now and some are on the verge of it. It seems so unreal. Back then we never thought we would get married. Hehe… That was the last thing we had on our minds. We are now this mature, responsible, grown up women for the world. But whenever we meet up, I don’t actually see that. I still see the same ol little girls giggling, gossiping, teasing, nick naming and having a great time.

I see time passing us by. Things around us are changing and we are moving into different phases of our life. But one thing has been the same for me. My friends. Friends don’t change. They can be wives, moms, grand moms, but with their mates, they are always the same ol light-hearted fools. Hmmm, I am getting all nostalgic now. Time to wake up.

Still!

Days are moving into years and they are neither here to stay....
I bat my eyelash and it’s already yesterday!!

People come, people go,
We talk, we laugh, Oh! But that was a decade ago!!

Nothing excites, nothing ignites, no more, everything seems to be so run of the mill...
Things are moving around me, but I have seemed to be always so still!!

Color of my Dreams!

I sometimes wonder if everyone is happy with their day to day lives. It’s a vicious routine of getting to work, eating, sleeping, watching TV, etc. The matters are made worse if the work we do is kind of a thing we don’t like much. Uhmmmmmmmm. I have moaned like a kid, especially on the Monday mornings at the prospect of getting my bum to work .Well that could be silly. But really, is everyone just happy with the way their life is going?

I sometimes think that I should be doing some charity work, maybe save people in Iraq!! Heheehe, or you know something daring, generous and for others. Maybe that would keep me satisfied. I am sure, becoming a CEO would just be humdrum after a while. Ahem! Or probably to keep it exciting I should had been a secret agent. Hmmmmm….sounds cool, with the suit, gun and the dark glasses in place. Oh ya and the car too, how can I miss that. But I might miss my lazing around time, family and friends then. Not sure about this one.

Why can’t my life be like my dreams? Ever changing and all exciting. I have around 3-4 dreams on a single night! And believe me all of them are equally exciting and mind boggling. I guess it’s just an effect of watching too many movies. I have danced around on cliffs, around trees, oh ya along with a hero. And all the mystery, humor, fighting and songs in there too. There are the normal mirch-masala dreams, dreams with suspense, dreams where I meet my long-lost father in the end (he recognizes me by the color of my hair which is a mix of green, yellow, and red in the front and which is exactly like my mother’s hehahahahha) And to think I have actually dreamt all this. Wow!! There are the other horrible dreams with snakes all around me, spooky dreams, etc. But those too were adventurous.

It’s like everything is possible and everything is just plain black and white and the best part that everything in the end is hunky-dory. Dreams are the best, merging real people with the fictitious and imagination at its peak. Now only if my life was that fun! Hmmmm.