SALAAM INDIA..

If words can portray my anguish and helpless feeling then that is not why I am writing.. today I feel one with every other Indian who has a burning feeling inside to say that now we need to fight..but how?

Not only are we divided by land, language, culture , religion... there are always the politicians and their vices. When an adversity like the Mumbai terror attack on 26/11 knock our doors.. we awaken.. but how do we open ourselves?? How do we liberate ourselves from the shackles that bind us? These questions I am sure alarm you and me..

As I kept hearing more and more stories from the people rescued at the Taj and the Oberoi.. I can almost feel the sense of relief as well as an awakening from their voices.. they have literally been out of the jaw of death..been through the ordeal for more than a day..only praying ( to which ever God they chose to ) for peace..If we all put ourselves in that last second of our lives.. would we pray for wealth or prosperity ??!.. end of the day we would only want peace ..

As much as we salute to the cammandos and the brave men who laid their lives.. would we still send our family men to fight..we are still cowards and selfish deep down.. I kept watching the face of the wife of a slain martyr today.. she kept her face still.. I was proud of her, my heart went out to her..but I could not help feeling ashamed to have cried for so many occassions when I thought I can never pass that moment and felt utterly helpless..and here was a woman who had lost her husband to the hands of some despicable men but kept her face still . She did not want to dramatise the real bravery , she refused to accept any compensation from a poltician who wanted to take a stake in a state funeral..Maa thujhe salaam..

I as an Indian hindu who has best friends who are muslims and christians , jains and buddhists. I dont understand how can young people like us be trained to be so fanatic and irrational. The only way we can pull out of this mess we have landed ourselves into is by being together..at no point should we see each other as any different.. lets unite, lets say we are one and show the world that nobody can divide the unity that we have built.. I heard kids in my apartment aged betweed 5 and 10 discussing about the fate of the jewish kid rescued from Chabba house in mumbai. I was moved when i heard a kid (about 6-7 yrs ) saying she would love to bring the kid home ..she said.".he would be safe in bangalore na.. he can live with us"..salaam little one.!

Shifting focus to my brother's maid in chennai.. her house has been completely drowned in the rains following the cyclone in chennai , her family has been relocated to a local school and my brother was so sad when he heard about it , we were ready to lend any support for her. However he was overwhelmed with her spirit, she was unnerved and was all smiles. All she had to say was " Everybody lost their homes sir..we are all safe in a school now.. they give us food once in a day . However during elections we used to get biryani and money sir .. that is the way life is sir.. ". We were astounded..when people with nothing lose it all they still smile because they still have their resilience intact. When people with wealth lose their precious possesions they value it more than even their lives... that is how India is today.. we are losing ourselves searching for happiness when we fail to seek it from within..

Time for us to sit back introspect and take action. We share the same spirit to fight like our ancestors did when they fought the invaders and the britishers. Wherever we may be across the globe we should never lose the spirit that Indians have from birth that of equality and brotherhood , unity in diversity.

I look forward to the day when my kids will not know what it is to be stuck to a particular religion or a region but feel that the country and the world is a safe open place to live and experience the goodness of people and nature around with peace . Where they can laugh and play without being scared of what can burn or blast in the vicinity.....


I pray all gods of all the religions to open eyes..for the sake of the innocent childeren of the world to make this a safer place to dwell.

Salaam India... we are a nation that carries this spirit -"to survive the odds" we will continue to do so.

HOUSE BREAKERS!

WARNING : This script is based on a real life incident . That happened couple of weeks back. We havent reported the crime so kindly do not attempt to do it. We have dropped all charges. Happy reading.



A very vital part of our house was ransacked! We were shocked and dis-illusioned..this cant be happening to us..after all our family had abandoned our posh apartment in the heart of Bengaluru for just over a week.

Our home coming after a great vacation to Kerala was nothing short of a complete surprise. We were caught unaware.

Dad and mum were taken aback and kept muttering that such things cant be happening in a second floor apartment with security scrutinising every visitor and constant vigilance all night. We wondered if the neighbours could have heard anything at all. If they had why didnt they alert the security. Are people so shut to what is happening next door?? What has happened to the days of 'love thy neighbour' ? In this age of total privacy guaranteed by most apartment associations , are we missing the fun element of meeting or at least greeting our neighbours with a friendly smile or a nod? Keeping to ourselves have caused deaths and burgalary rampant even in apartments within city limits as well.

Meanwhile I kept my detective cap on. I began making notes on the modus operandi of our intruders. Mum asked me not to disturb the setting and be very careful . I was..I just tiptoed an made sure that I didnt disturb the setting nor leave any marks that can cause them any suspicion. Mum was wondering how many would have been involved in this rampage. I made a rough estimate of the count ..maybe two. Mum warned me that I should stop making guesses and we shall soon find it in the morning when the expert would arrive.

She was the local expert..she has been around our area of 25 years now . Her expertise in such matters are unquestionable. She can not only find out but also give us extra inputs and ways to be more vigilant next time around.

We decided to be really silent and be aware of what is happening around. So that we can catch the culprits red handed the next morning..if we are lucky we could encounter them. All we know..they can be even bold enough to encounter us face to face.

Early next morning before the expert could arrive on her daily duty , Mum and I kept a distant watch on the scene of crime . I had my camera in place and we were completely cautious not to make any noise and kept the lights off.

To our expectation, two of the culprits arrived. I was shell shocked at their timirity. They had their counterparts stationed at pivotal points. We were surrounded on all sides. We didnt make a call . We remained rooted to our spots . Mum non chalantly reading the papers and me stuck on a spot in the kitchen waiting silently for the expert to arrive .

Finally our waiting in which those five minutes extended like hours stopped and she arrived. Mum ran to the door at the noise of the gate so that she doesnt alert the culprits with the doorbell. She came with a smile , mum wasnt sure how to explain. We thought the best was to take her to spot directly.

Our maid was neither surprised nor shocked. She had seen this before , been through this ritual before. Perhaps the extent of damage was different now it wasnt the first time. She said they must have been 15 of them all together. This was their pre-winter preparation. The culprits took to their fleet when she arrived.

I caught their pictures luckily. She cleaned the mess and later went on with her daily chores. We thanked her profusely for finally clear our bathing place.We started the day again not before shutting the window which brought us so much trouble. As I was taking my bath I still had a feeling that I was being watched , after all we have just spoilt their hard work and shattered their homes perhaps a week long effort.

I felt gulity but had to move on .. they chose the wrong spot. After all it was my home!! Would I share it? No way! They are on the wrong! They will always be our house breakers.. my mum eyes them with suspicion there after..they have lost our trust. We can no longer live in harmony.



POINT OF ENTRY

A HOT SPOT FOR A HOME? COMPLETELY TAKEN OVER OUR POTTY..for making their home!


THE CULPRITS !!!! a couple of pigeons!

The rest were sourrounding and keeping a watch on us from the three balconies surrounding our home. We have made peace by buying nets .. we havent made any complains ..to the house owner..dropped all charges!


Disclaimer :

No fiction . Completely true. No plagiarism . Any resemblence to any living character living or dead is completely co-incidental...


Watch out your homes... I still am guilty if I might have spoilt the home of newly weds..but hey..they deserve a place better than a potty dont they ;).??!!!

ADI-MISS !

Swagatham !

Ahaa.. after almost a month, it is great to write again. Thanx to all those who encouraged me (coaxed me :) ) to write more. Glad you read my posts, kip zat up :P

Well , I hope the title of my post might have aroused a pinch of curiousity in your mind , wondering what this script is all about.

Hmm..to answer that , I may have to rewind and take you with me to my childhood.....

Vrroooooom..!

There in the living room of an urban middle class family , the scene is set with the usual evening news on the T.V .The viewers comprise of the grand (grey:P) head of the family :Thatha , the wannabe head (already to his wife ;)) : Appa , the wisest man on the planet (in the eyes of his lil. sister ) : Anna and ofcourse me (the 5 year old gal ).

The newsreader is a well dressed woman ( sari clad ) with a very impressive command over the language (so claims thatha..) and a very distinctive voice ( louder than my teacher !) . She has the family in rapt attention to her speech or dialogue delivery ( i didnt know there existed a tele-prompter then...). I envied her , for she could grab the attention of the family for 30 minutes every evening (which i never could .) So I carried on playing with my toys making the loudest noise possible (trying to capture some notice..failing miserably).

Vanakkam....

With that the news ends and the scene changes. Now it is the turn of paati and amma to join the club.Yess..it is the daily soap. That never used to interest me much either , I could neither comprehend their weird accent nor keep the story track (which always remained dormant ) on my mind . The entire family (sans me ) is all set to watch the next programme , "Ahh! not again" screams paati. Mom and dad are disappointed as well , anna gets up to attend the nature's call in the interim. Thatha beckons me for only he understands my excitement , I run with enthusiasm to him screaming "ADI-MISS"...yep you must have got it by now, I was attracted to advertisements but could never pronounce it right!

There were these beautiful doe eyed women wearing crisp white cotton saris and flashing their best smile . In the background there was the familiar music..now the lead female would come forward and show her well manicured fingers showing the number three..yess..i would hum along "sottu neelam hoi..Regal.." , how much those 3 drops of whitener meant to me then.The next would be "washing powder :Nirma ", with beautiful teenage girls dancing ; inducing me to dance along holding up my frock like them, I was truly fascinated. Those few moments before the idot box were precious.My loyalty to brands were entirely based on their "ADI-MISS" and I would fight with mom so that she would "understand" my sentiments during our trip to the super market. It was important for me to enlighten my folks to the various benefits of the different products that were on market (on T.V rather)..I felt it was my duty to guide them (cos. f their inaptitude for ADI-MISS)... soo began my fascination for AD's.

As I grew up , I started admiring the creativity of the ad's on print and on bill boards as well.It is always heartening to come across a particulary effective tagline that can keep you thinking or a refreshingly new tune you can humm along...Say the Nescafe jingle.."taste that gets you started and taste that gets you moving on..." Though I am not a caffeine person..this jingle does gets me moving on a lazy day..YEA..it creates a magic moment, stirring you up!

Out of the recent ad's I have a few favourites. The Mastercard ad, being the master of all. Be it the one where the elderly couple go on their anniversary to lake palace or the one were the son smiles (sooo cute :)) seeing his parents' thrilled on a fun ride..it elucidates their tagline "Some things money cannot buy , for everything else there is master card "..wow..what moments they create..

The next one would be the Havell's cable ad , where the mum is struggling to make rotis on the side walk and her son comes up with a cable shaped into a tong replace her metal one. This is heights of creativity , not only does it illustrate the cable's tenacity to withstand heat but also captures hearts with the child's understading of his mother's woes. Amazing stuff!

The Citibank ad, showing the little kid taking his piggy bank to deposit in a real bank is cute as well. I loved their subtle depiction of their :

1. Simple banking solutions (showin that even a kid can !) 2.The importance of saving (even a piggy bank matters on a rainy day). The bonding between the 'dhadhu' and the kid is one to watch out for !

The Airtel ads have always been special , be it the scintillating music by A.R , on the back drop showing the various emotions of people or the recent one with the sizzling chemistry between Vidya and Maddy showing them as inseparable newly weds to the one where she does easy recharge through credit banking are ones were you and me(am vidya too :P) can identify ourselves with them and feel closer to the brand itself.

Many more hilarious ads have tickled my humour as well, like the reynolds permanent marker ad, where the husband (pathi dev) makes a bindi for his wife with a red marker and hence he is saved from death as her permanent ink could never be erased (noww thts sumthng ! ). The fevii quick ad , where the guy fishes by adding glue (read fevi quick) and catches fishes in a jiffy. The kurkure ad in which Juhi takes an old man to show flowers is hilarious as well..yet leaves me wondering what that has got to do with the product till the end.

The celeb ads however get stereotypical and gets to your nerves at times but again it is a MAD , MAD AD WORLD..The consumer is only confused to make a choice unless the ads are self explanatory and meaningful...

Here are a few pictures of ads that caught my eye on various places ..hope u see the intented message ..I am not degrading their wonderful portrayal by leaving any comments..enjoy them yourself..see it the way you perceive it ..that's what ad-making is all about!

Hope you liked my photography..the last ad..is my message to you..CHILL!

ADIEU.

GAME OR LAME ???!!

Namaskaram!!

Finally I got back to writing.. Past few days have kept me soo busy with mum not in town. I now vouch that homemakers are the busiest of all ! Hatss off to them.

So my vacation so far was consumed watching the idiot box (before mum left ..) and it was a revelation as I had so much to catch up (after 4 years of abstinence from T.V in hostel!) .


Barring a few shows on NDTV , I found the Indian television channels had nothin new to offer , be it the reality shows( what drama ??!!) , the cookery shows( they teach the same thing..and the lame host always asks the dumbest of queries "aadha spoon namak chalega kya?"..not to mention all the lip smacking in front of the cameras :YUCK ! , the celebrity talk shows ( be it with koffee or beer , they are all diplomatic and unreal..!) , its better I dont mention the appall tht serials cause ( just their ads..make me soo dizzzy!).

So i narrowed my options to news channels and sports .While the former had nothing to offer but for the repeated updates on gruesome murders and the countdown for the elections.. I settled down cozily to watch IPL every evening( apart from the movies in HBO or DVD'S during the daytime.)

To stick wit the theme of my blog , here are a few moments tht i have picked from all the entertainment and action tht IPL had to offer..

Lemme begin my countdown from reverse,

5. The exclamation on Priety Zinta'a face at every twist during the match whenever her team played ( Kudos ! for her energy ) , and she proved she is an actress after all wit her diversified xpressions! Bling, yeyyy,oh nooo etc...
Yess lady..ur enthu..created 'moments' in those matches..

4. "Bajji's Thappad ", tho censored from viewers; like most of u , I enjoyed imagining how the slap would hav been ,visualising the scene of action was more intresting than watchin the petulant Sreesanth crying for Mummy ! ( geez..)
Whotta moment!!

3.Yuvraj 's giant leap to the stumps on the last ball of the game against Mumbai Indians.It was a last ball thriller and he proved tht Monty ho ya Jonty , the more you dive the more you survive! Dude ur killer instinct was an amazing moment for all the young and aspiring tiros.

2. When Sangakkara walked for a not out decision by the umpire in the semis against CSK, It showed his character and class . It could hav well been the turning point of the game . Tht moment reassured faith tht cricket is indeed a gentleman's game.

1. Dhoni playing the cool head by accepting the defeat with grace, encouraging a defeated team to a huddle in the finals. Wow! Mr. Captain Cool proved once again what the game truly stands for, its not about winning or losing but fighting hard.His heart warming speech sans any blame made tht moment and his loss so triumphant and his character the most endearing of all !

Though lot has been talked about the cheerleaders , as a woman I was truly disgusted wit the over hype about their attire ( whn more percentage of skin show is on Indian cinema..) and politicians trying to make cheap publicity out of it.These girls who are professionals like doctors and engineers in their countries nd were doing cheerleading as a sport were degraded for no fault of theirs. Shame on our country men who fail to appreciate yet another art!

SRK and Vijay Mallya were also there in news a lot.... but i feel the former has already too much hype (unnecessary ) to his name , I rather not increase it. While the latter deserves nothing but a thumbs down for his lack of spirit.

So those were my moments in IPL, inspite of the controversies and the drama , it was a huge success. It has provided a stage for the youngsters (from gaon mein ;) ) to perform and yess its the sports version of globalisation.

Though LAME in many senses, IPL has contributed to sports and proven tht cricket is a frenzy power packed and exciting GAME !

SHUBAM!

P.S: This was my take on various people and events, no offences intended to any fans. Do leave ur comments.

My love to umpire Billy Bowden for making IPL soo colourful with his histrionics and making us all smile ( c the pic, u will know wht i mean ) U were the hero !

JOIE DE VIVRE !

Heyya ! I am writing outta sheer happiness of the joy of living..
Dis blog is purely to spread d 'happyness' in ma life , sharing d wonderful moments zat weave it.
Be it the sight of a child's smile , d joy f family bonding, all d funn wit precious frndzz, majaa in gettin amazing bargains on a freakin shoppin spree, lost in a wonderful buk , caught up in a nerve biting thriller, njoying d idiosyncrasies of d mundane routine tht wraps my identity ,
but most of all gettin U to paint a picture to d xtent where ur imagination can take u.. to see my world thru ur eyes !

Welll to start wit lemme kip dis short and sweet...

Adieu for now!