Sky is my Limit?
October 11, 2006 2 Comments
A life full of hopes…
A night full of dreams…
A morning full of sunshine…
All you need
is to define
Whats my Sky? Whats my Limit?
Book Review: Hindu Reviews King of Ayodhya
October 5, 2006 Leave a comment
Read it here
I am sure the reviewer isnt as mesmerized as I am. But I am equally sure, that the reader missed a lot of finer points about Banker’s narration of Ramayana not just being about the magnanimity of Rama’s character. For that, Ramacharitmanas is good enough!
More importantly, the three more times refers not to Jai-Vijay but the Dashavatar of Vishnu! And the most interesting bit – Dashratha, DashAanan, Dashavatar. Indian mythology can be quite intriguing!
For those who would want to read some more, read the blogs on EpicIndia
Of Blogs here and there
October 4, 2006 3 Comments
Was reading Mug’s blog on Sleeplesss nights... though not quite in Seattle..
Qatil Shifai suddenly came alive
“Humen to aaj ki shab pau phate tak jaagna hoga
yahi qismat hamari hai, sitaron tum to so jao….”
Tonight I need to be up until dawn,
Thats my destiny, O heavens! You should go to sleep now
Was reading Dhoomketu on Jose Mourinho and…
.. Ghalib was peeping this time
“Har ek baat pe kehte ho tum ki tu kya hai?
Tumhi kaho ki ye andaaz-e-guftgu kya hai?”
With every phrase, you ask me- Who am I?
Is this the language of the learned and the wise?
And the last was Sunil’s Porch when it was Ghalib and Zafar engaged in a battle of wits-
“Hui Muddat ke Ghalib mar gaya par yaad aata hai
Wo har ik baat pe kehna ki yun hota to kya hota….”
Its been ages since Ghalib died, but not his memories
Especially his style- Especially his What ifs?
“Mohabbat karne wale kam na honge…
Teri mehfil mein lekin hum na honge….”
There won’t be a dearth of suitors, I am sure
You’ll still crave for my love, mon amour
A Fraudie’s Marriage
October 3, 2006 2 Comments
Sagai Pics.
Not Really Good! But Memories, even if they are faded, are worth having!
Marriage Pics
The Holy Couple
Saat Phere!!
Arunima.. Lucky Girl
Luckier Bugger! 😀
Book Review: King of Ayodhya – Ramayana- Not the way WE know it!
October 2, 2006 7 Comments
Background –
Couple of weeks back, I was seen walking around with “King of Ayodhya – Book 6 of Ramayana Series by Ashok Banker “:. My fetish with the book was so strong that I would keep it at my desk, in the car, near the pillow, to steal those 3-5-10-15 minutes where I would read a few pages from the book. People were wondering – Why? Whats so special? After all , its Ramayana!! A story that we already know inside out. And I used to just smile at them and pass on a very friendly suggestion – If you are not averse to printed words, read the first 50 pages of Prince of Ayodhya – Book 1. We can discuss these questions at that time. One of my colleagues Sulabh tried it and he curses me even today – He had to spend 1800 bucks or so to get all the six books (he could not wait a month for me to give him all the six books for a read)! For the records , Sulabh is my eighth direct marketing success story (all for the same book)!
King of Ayodhya
A story that starts on the shores of lanka, and ends at Ayodhya, KoA is an excellent example of what a magnificent storyteller can do to a story you have already heard so often. What Banker does , incrementally, is to add his imagination, wisdom, and perspective to a story that every Indian lives and breathes! End Result – a book that you can just not put down!
The book is fascinating, the storytelling is spellbinding, and the events – quite unlike my imagination (largely inspired by Ramanand Sagar’s Television Series).
Its about war, war strategies, mind-games, Rama’s mortal life (and not-the demi god life where he smiles at even problems of huge magnitude). The only thing that has always confused me about the book is that after you have completed reading all the six books , you wonder if Hanuman is the GOD in the book, and Rama the mortal. Gods descend to help Mortals (as part of all Heavenly gameplans!) in Indian mythology. And Rama, though a higher mortal with his (seemingly) infallible poise and adherence to Dharma , he needed more than just inspiration from Hanuman to win this battle.
There are several interesting facets about this book-
- The war is fought at a level which is not heavenly. Not a lot of fancy arrows in multiple colors and doing funny stuff. Vanars do get massacred. They have to retaliate not in anger , but with wisdom to win the battle.
- Ravan has some strategic gems too, up his sleeve. And some esoteric powers.
- Kumbhakarna gets killed by Hanuman, and not Rama.
- Most of the seemingly important stories of Ravana’s warriors (such as Atikaya, Akampana , Kumbh, Nikumbh, Trishala, etc.) which we have heard of in good detail, as they got killed by various Rama warriors and not just Rama/ Lakshmana/ Hanuman, have been discounted to give us a view of what the war being fought at a mental level.
- Ravana finally kills Supanakha. And more importantly, Supanakha, in many ways, is Ravana’s source of power
Questions that still remained unanswered –
- Ravana, with all that he achieved in one night before the war started, did not chose to demolish the Vanar Army at one go. Despite the fact that he had the powers to do so!
- What happened to the Amrit Kalash story and of Ravana being immortal?
- Hanuman, with all his might, could have changed the course of the war at any given minute? Why did he
- While Ashok explains why he is not writing Book 7 (Uttar Ramayana), I would still want to read his explanation of Ram banishing Sita.
The more I think about this book, the more questions I will have. But, for the time being, let me tell you guys – READ THIS BOOK. AND THE ENTIRE SERIES. Its not just good storytelling, but a fresh insight into a story that you “think” you know!
Rating – 10 on 10
Movie Review: Pyar ke Side Effects (Damn The Side Effects)
September 30, 2006 2 Comments
Had someone told me that one of the side effects of watching this movie would be my utter discomfort in asking a girl out for coffee (just in case she has also seen the movie) , I would have not taken the plunge. However, having taken the plunge, I did not regret any minute of it.
Pyar Ke Side Effects has an unusual star cast – the metrosexual Rahul Bose with an upmarket appeal, and can-it-get-any-shorter Mallika Sherawat (Fido- mujhe sabse jyada Curvy bana do!) with an amazing downmarket appeal. But as Shilpa pointed out after the movie- if you are in a relationship , you can relate to almost every scene of the movie.
I dont know where the movie started, because like every other movie, I was late for this one as well. Had to send out a client deck , and drive to the malls, park the car (thats one big piece of mess!), find Golu (Sulabh) and then wait for a family phone call to end before I could get in. But, from the point where I saw the movie (where RB is meeting his sister) , it was all about modern boy meeting girl, loving and regretting every moment of it all the time! 🙂
Its a hilarious comedy riot all throughout. The beauty of a good movie is that it leaves you with a few keywords – If Munnabhai had MAMU , PKSE has “Baby Girl Volume 3” and “Coffee”.
Naam Gum Jayega, Poster Ye Badal Jayega
Mere keywords hi pehchaan hain.. gar yaad rahe
There was a time when people might have had to pay me for watching a mallika movie (yeah! yeah!! we know that one!). I have walked out of Murder , Shaadi se Pehle. I havent seen any other. But after this movie, I would say that she has definitely tried to act and not just play ‘show’-biz!! And that reminds me of one of the high points of the movie –
Mallika (to Sophiya) – Nice dress! Main to himmat hi nahi kar pati aise kapde pehenNe ki. (I cant even dare try such clothes on me!) I can’t carry them off, you know!
And the cinema hall went crazy after that! All this while we were thinking that poor kid must be stuffy in the kind of clothes she was wearing in this movie.
Rahul’s expressions are ‘fantabulous’! Thats a word that Scott uses quite often. However, the unsurety of Rahul’s being is nothing compared to the surety of Scott’s whims. We’ll leave that aside and ‘take it offline’ <that damn phrase bugs me off more than anything else>.
Naanoo (that MTV VJ – I think Ranveer) is awesome in the movie. His treatise on how women train you for years, and how your leaving them mid-way wastes their time and energy , and how that is the reason why women would stick on to you, is a philosophy that every guy would want to hold on to. But guys are basically insecure. They always think that they are on the losing side of a relationship if it comes to an end.
Some more philo-gems from the movie
- Guys dont want to get married and girls dont want to remain unmarried (marriage is the end of all things fun!! Yea!)
- Guys dont want kids but girls do! (If a guy is a little organized , he is considered pansy/chom!)
- Tears/Extreme emotions are women’s forte – Imagine yourself crying right in the middle of a heated argument. Guys would rather die than give up on a chance to have an argument
- You need sad songs in your life if you want to cry (applicable to guys only)- Now I know the origin/need for sad songs and why it is said that Sadness helps you discover yourself
- Whatever is going wrong with your life, blame it on the guy (And some moron tried to suggest that behind every successful man, there is a woman)
Watch it! It’s a must watch movie. Especially if you are in love, or planning to be in love (forced, maybe).
Watch it, if you are Tushar Thakkar (You can always pity the guys who ran away with your “first” love).
Watch it if you are Mannu Bhai (One night-multiple affairs and non of them materializing is better than One that makes you go through all that!
Watch it if you are Buchi (I am sure he never played sad songs in his room after the fiascos!).
Watch it if you are Mama (new strategies – gals tend to dig you if you are already engaged! Whats the harm in claiming that you are engaged!).
Watch it if you are Gullu/Lala/Me/ Honorary Member of the Gossip Circuit (gives you ways of reading into whats happening in other people’s life)
Watch it if you are Sarin – Baby Girl Volume 3. Yeah Baby! That’s the way to go! Coffee please!!
Watch it if you are anyone else – Sooner or later, you will graduate to one of the earlier categories!
Movie Review: Dor – How far can you go…..
September 28, 2006 2 Comments
People keep asking me – what the heck is this analytics thingy that you do? How is the analytics done by you different from what we’re doing and how we’re doing it?
Dont expect an answer in this post. This post, however, is about what I think of the 2 recent movies I saw.
Lets start with “Dor” first.
I missed the first ten minutes of the movie, but my friends did not mind getting into the gory detail of what happened in those ten minutes. However, my comments would reflect the remaining part of the movie.
Its largely about Zeenat (Gul Panag) and a little about Meera (Ayesha Takia), and still lesser about Behroopia (Shreyas). But the man who does leave his mark is the ‘man’- Shreyas. After a very silent performance in Iqbal, iqbal’s delivery in this movie takes us through his imitations of bollywood icons and I must say that he has done a good job. His performance has a level of sensibility and timing that is very refreshing. Especially, the portrayal of conflicting emotions – smiling when doesnt want to, loving zeenat but realizing that he is helping her save her husband, restraint and effervescence. If history is the reflection of future, I think he is a good find for the industry, along with Shiney Ahuja.
I should not take the credit away from Ayesha either. With no makeup and the fact that half the world likes her because of her looks (that is, before this movie), it was a bold move to get into such a de-glamorized role. And she has pulled it off with consummate ease. She adds that element of freshness to an otherwise serious storyline, with her take on Kajra Re, and You are my Sonia.
Gul Panag, on the other hand, had the msot powerful character in the movie, and well, she hasnt done wonders to it. She hasn’t spoilt it either. But its these roles that distinguish the goods from the me-toos.
Now lets talk about the defining things about the movie –
1. Direction – Very tight, crisp, and to the point. There isnt much beating around the bush, trying to create situations where a heavy dialogue is delivered by the protagonists, trying to glorify the goods or the bads. The characters are well defined, the music is in the background, not interferring with the movie.
2. Cinematography – I loved it. Widescreen, panoramic views. Rusty locales that speak of tradition, culture and heritage. Villages and kothis that look like they belong, and not pulled out of some king’s palace. Long Shots that do justice to the sunset. Deserts that look intimidating, and at the same time, you can feel the comfort that someone who’s been there for a long time would feel. In short, a beautifully done movie.
3. Music- nice and unobtrusive. You dont feel that you’ve already heard 3-4 songs.
4. Acting – good overall. Shreyas shines with his cameo. Ayesha looks pretty even without makeup and has done a fabulous job. Gul Panag – decent. Girish Karnad – wasted!
5. Script – nice dialogues. fitting the characters. Zeenat does not talk in long winded sentences. Meera has her initial confused statements where she finds it difficult to express her real emotions. Behroopia talks the sweet language of behroopias. Touch of Rajasthani accent. They could have added a bit more of rajasthani accent to Meera’s family.
Part 2 of my blog, which is blog-in-waiting, will cover my serious take on Lage Raho Munnabhai
I think I can still write a bit! ;)
August 6, 2006 1 Comment
Closer to horizon
And a dark night’s end.
Holding on to each other
in a moment’s silence,
for a lifetime’s worth.
A promise made.
And a promise kept.
In the twilight zone,
day and night wept.
Sweet symphony.
Romantic irony.
You and I,
what else?
Nostalgic Times
August 6, 2006 Leave a comment
This is one forward that I would like to keep on my blog. Reason? It reminds me of what I have been through over the years! And yes – Chitrahaar and Rangoli were great!
*****
When gulli-danda and kanche (marbles) were more popular than cricket…
When we always had friends to play aais-paais (I Spy), chhepan-chhepai and pitthoo anytime …
When we desperately waited for ‘yeh jo hai jindagi’…
When chitrahaar, vikram-baitaal, dada daadi ki kahaniyaan were so fulfilling …
When there was just one tv in every five houses…
When bisleris were not sold in the trains and we were worrying if papas will get back into the train in time or not when they weregetting down at stations to fill up the water bottle…
When we were going to bed by 9.00pm sharp except for the ‘yeh jo hai jindagi’ day…
When Holis & Diwalis meant mostly hand-made pakwaans and sweets and moms seeking our help while preparing them.
When Maths teachers were not worried of our mummys and papas while slapping/beating us…
When we were exchanging comics and stamps and chacha-chaudaris and billus were our heroes…
When we were in nanihaals every summer and loved flying kites and plucking and eating unripe mangoes and leechis …
When one movie every Sunday evening on television was more than asked for and ‘ek do teen chaar’ and ‘Rajni’ inspired us…
When 50 paisa meant at least 10 toffees…
When left over pages of the last years notebooks were used for rough work or even fair work…
When ‘chelpark’ and ‘natraaj’ were encouraged against ‘reynolds and family’…
When the first rain meant getting drenched and playing in water and mud and making ‘kaagaj ki kishtis’…
When there were no phones to tell friends that we will be at their homes at six in the evening…
When our parents always had 15 paise blue colored ‘antardesis’ and 5
paise machli wale stamps at\nhome…
When we remembered tens of jokes and were not finding ‘ice-cream and papa’ type jokes foolish enough to stop us from laughing…
When we were not seeing patakhes on Diwalis and gulaals on Holis as air and noise polluting or allergic agents…
The list can be endless… On the serious note I would like to summarise with…When we were using our hearts more than our brains, even for scientifically brainy activities like ‘thinking’ and ‘deciding’ …
When we were crying and laughing more often, more openly and more sincerily…When we were enjoying our present more than worrying about our future…
When being emotional was not synonymous to being weak…
When sharing worries and happinesses didnt mean getting vulnerable to the listener…
When blacks and whites were the favourite colors instead of greys…
When journeys also were important and not just the destinations…When life was a passenger’s sleeper giving enough time and opportunity to enjoy the sceneries from its open and transparent glass windows instead of some superfast’s second ac with its curtained, closed and dark windows …
Just thought that I would keep throwing my view on…
November 19, 2005 1 Comment
Just thought that I would keep throwing my view on the game.. while the game is on!
5.4 overs down. SA 18-2. Have you ever felt the power of someone else’s desire sweeping you over. When Pathan got Smith trapped leg before the wicket, I am sure his war cary of “COME ON!!!!” woud have lifted the fighting spirit of the entire team. The raw power behind his cry would have given everyone the confidence that is needed to rip an entire body apart with bare claws. That’s power! that’s desire! and that’s the hunger to win!!
Kallis is still in good touch. Bad news so far. its only 6.2 overs down, but the fist few touches have been interesting. And that takes care of Kallis!!! Edged to the keeper. Flashing his bat hard at a ball going quite far outside the off stump. Pathan Strikes again. and A MIGHTY BIG WICKET THIS!!!
Kemp was not dressed! Lets see whos gonna walk in next!!
Second match of the series. India are already 1-0 down in the series. SA won the previous match quite comfortably in the end. Despite the glitches here and tehre, and a competitive fight by India, the end is what matters, and a five wicket victory always seems like a comfortable victory to have!
The match is being played at Chinnaswamy, Bangalore. Date – November 19, 2005, Saturday.
Back to Part three of my post-Its Mr. PRINCE on the wicket now.Showed a few good touches in the last match. It was the partnership between Prince and Kallis that kinda nailed the game down for India. I watched precious little during that match but whatever I saw of him, was quite impressive indeed!
Seven overs. 20-3. Indian team is charged up. SA against the wall. Bhajji is brooding about his strategy next! Pathan is in rocking touch. And rocking- the SA boat is!!!
NExt few posts are gonna be without the title!
That was a cracking shot between point and the covers. Hall is flashing his bat. So far, so good!
Eight overs. 24-3
beginning of ninth. Pathan. Another four. Straight drive from Prince. SA is 28-3
Its a torture being a supporter and a commentator both. There are these moments when your side is being thulped.. there will be those few overs in every innings. These are moments when I become unsure of whether I should be praising the brilliant batting display or ruing my own team’s fate! 🙂
Back to the game, Andrew Hall glances one really fine down the leg side. Keeper Dhoni couldn’t do anything there, and thats another boundary in the over. 33 is the score now.
Andrew Hall is considered to be one of the untapped talents of SA team. Someone who has a lot of potential, but hasn’t done any justice to himself with an average of 22.75. The good news is – SA has persisted with him!
Only Human
October 16, 2005 1 Comment
Another one of my incomplete musings….******************
The world of prejudice seldom draws its inspiration from the skies above. The skies that are the same everywhere. HTe skies that are so different! Like the human heart. Pumping blood- all the same. Pumping emotions- Oh! So different!!
Tomorrow may not be the definition of uncertainty that could have saved immorality a thousand blushes. Today saves the face. People who look at tomorrow and its uncertainties have prejudices against immorality. People living in today- love them. Because- the uncertainties of today help them experiment with the possibilities of tomorrow.
Lets live the prejudice with a self-debasing immorality.
Time is running, the motion is fast,
Keep on dancing, the music wont last….
Time to go home….
October 16, 2005 Leave a comment
Its time to go home
We’ve hung about just long enough
We’ve cared a bit too much
We’ve always known it’s a shadowless road
Guess its just the time to go home..Holding hands may kill the past
A bit longer.. the future…
‘fore every word becomes a lump in the throat
Its time to go back home…
Lets go back to where we both belong
Caring but just not enough
Counting on, but never believing
The guidance of lady luck
Before the sun sets on us both
Its time to go back home
Lets call it quits while the sun still shines
The rights and wrongs go beyond our sight
Lets not regret what we’ve enjoyed the most
Its time to go back home…
Why?
February 10, 2005 1 Comment
Its a little late in the night, as I sit down to right this. And the first thought that comes to my mind- WHY?
Its a funny question! This friend of mine, (I will call all my friends pappu here, for anonymity’s sake), proposed this very beautiful girl. “I love you”, he gushed! “Why?”, was her response. Kids often say- I want to be a Kurt Cobain, or a Sachin Tendulkar. The moment they grow up, their parents ask- Why? Why can’t you have a more normal choice of career? Kids retort- Why do you have such a narrow view of a career?
The best answer to a Why is a Why! you may ask Why? Even I dont know why!! but what I have seen over the years is that a Why is never satisfactorily answered using a because, what, where, how!! the series of Why is an infinite sequence unless another Why clause is added to end the loop!
The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind
the answer is blowing in the wind…..
Another example of why neutralizing why is this famous incident- Roughly 40 years ago Robert F. Kennedy eloquently argued for idealism in a time of great conflict. He said, “Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not.” Speechless! right?(you may want to ask yourself- Why?)
A little bit of this and a little bit of that
February 10, 2005 2 Comments
my tongue gets tied.
And that’s no Lie..
Irrelevant! the remaining part of the song in the context of this post.
But this is how it is! I get down to write when I am bored, or when I have a lot of time. Wondering, whether thats the best time to write, and giving in to the temptation, ‘coz therez so much to write.
the difference between then and now, probably, is that somoene else is also reading it.
A writer’s block
Someone told me that Shaukat (Sanjay Dutt) in the movie Shabd (Word), has a writer’s block. And he is not able to figure out his next story. And he plays a game which involves his wife! I wonder, if it’s that easy to overcome a writer’s block. But then, I am assuming that I am a writer. Many would disagree. But then, I am not here to live up to people’s agreement! Am I?
The long and short of it- I get into a block, everytime I write 😉 but writing an introduction is easy!
The Story of my life
I grew up as a small town boy, moving from one city to another, finding, or defining his identity. Born in a small town in Darbhanga, Bihar (India), I spent my early years in Raebareilly (1980-1986, ‘then’ constituency of Smt. Indira Gandhi) and Bhopal (1986-87, capital of Madhya Pradesh). Completed most of my schooling in Ranchi (now Jharkhand, then Bihar), before moving to Delhi to finish off my undergraduate studies in Economics. My college was one of the most rowdy colleges, and my second week in college explained why it was so! For those who know Delhi, I saw more than 25 buses standing back to back, from Dhaula Kuan to Nanakpura Gurudwara, with not a single window pane intact.
Not long before I could get over the smirk on people’s faces when they realized that I was from ARSD (Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma) College, better known as SD, I joined IIM Bangalore (which was the other extreme of image and sophistication).
Two years at IIMB taught me more than a lot of places put together. And not just in academic terms.
Started off my career with TCS, large, beauraucratic and slow. Not my kinds. Quit after 16 months of rationalization to myself and joined Inductis. Small, moving and exciting.
Will write more later. Am running out of time now
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