BRANGELINA IN INDIA...the final take!

A short while ago, If I could coherently recall, I was checking my mail and happened to read this on MSN Today, “Brangelina in Pune- shooting for Mighty Heart.” Wow! I thought, the world’s hottest couple just miles away. Moreover I happen to be a fan of Brad Pitt (Well that’s not something new, is it?). I felt happy about their visit to India and wished I was there to have a glimpse of them (read-glimpse of Brad!). It’s nice isn’t it? As something like this does not happen every now and then. I in fact thought that they would like India country as we are very welcoming and they appeared to be the down-to-earth kind of people- little did I know that the recent spurt of happenings would make me change these views to a large extent. It might be late but I still need to rethink my outlook towards such ‘stars’ shooting in India.
Day after day, I read many reports about their activities and saw pictures of them in the local dailies (quite predictably, it’s another story for them). Firstly, I thought that they might be glad to get such attention from the press and the people even in a new country. On the other hand, I knew that it must be exasperating for them to be hounded by the media and mobbed by autograph seekers each time they walk out of their hotel. Undoubtedly, it was getting a little annoying that we have got to make them feel so important amid us.
Strikingly, one morning, ‘Brangelina’ hit the headlines on the front page. I did not bother to look at it presuming that it would be the same ga ga about Angelina eating pani puri or something, but once I saw the picture of a herculean man strangling another man who looked…well, not Indian, I read through the article. It was about one of their bodyguards who had strangled a German reporter who was trying to capture a picture of the actors while they were shooting. It was something all journalists would have been doing. Agreed, it is not an easy task to manage a crowd especially in a country like India where celebrities are given a Demi-God status. But hello! That was the limits. The arrogance of the bodyguard stirred some chaos but was hushed off in no time. Surely, the German reporter did nothing wrong. Maybe the media could be blamed (but again not entirely) for the kind of importance they gave to someone, who at the end of the day is just another visitor.
Just a few days had passed by before they were in the news due to a controversy (again!). You must remember this one; it was the scuffle at a school where they were shooting. More than the behavior and the attitude of the bodyguard, this time it was his highly racist avowal that did the rounds. It was very immoral of him to abuse a parent by saying, “you bloody Indians! You bloody Muslims!” what could get worse? They had tested out patience.
That’s it! I thought. Firstly, the parents came to take their children home and nothing can be done by any bodyguard to stop them. Secondly, the shooting time was allotted by the school in such a manner that it would not hinder the working hours of the school, but they started shooting an hour late. Whose fault is it now?
The icing on the cake- Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had nothing to say about the whole thing!
“Get lost” I felt like yelling at them. It was a highly thin-skinned sentiment that they had messed with. It was completely wrong on their part to think that they could come to a foreign land, gush out a few nasty words and actually get away with it (feel like strangling him right away!).
Consequently, after a lot of public pressure, Brad Pitt on a talk show with Barkha Dutt denied all such stories and termed the whole incident as a ‘misunderstanding’ (now, why does that sound familiar?). All he said to rule out the whole controversy was, “Angelina and I have a multi-racial family and we do not discriminate races nor would we employ people who do.” Oh! And one more calm and easy reason, “it is antithetical to what the film is about and we would not encourage such behavior.” Well, Brad darling, we still are waiting for your evidence of the rebuff and a valid reason for your contradiction. Really, talking about your oh-so-plausible movie or your multi-racial family is no ground to rule out controversies.
On the other hand there are many people who believe that the finger must not be pointed at the couple but on the bodyguards alone as they were hired by the production team and were not their personal bodyguards. Well, let me tell you- the crux of the debate is certainly not that! It is whether they at all have to come to India and create such superfluous Misunderstandings? And what did they do to change things? Say sorry? They cannot expect every nation to be another America. They need to realize that there are countries like India were stars are worshipped and shooting in such countries is no piece of cake. Most importantly, if they cannot respect diversities, they must realize that they are just not welcome in India. To add to all the internal issues and problems, if there are a couple of supercilious men who come from some place else to add to the current tribulations- then they do not even have to come here!
Even if there was a conflict here, it was highly irresponsible of them to deny such happenings and support the guards. For heavens sake! There were hundreds of people who had seen this and clippings were shown on all television channels. Denunciation of any such issue is completely silly; all they should have done was apologized to parents who the bodyguard had abused.

HA! THE WAIT IS OVER.
FINALLY, I MADE UP MY MIND TO UPDATE MY BLOG (cheers!!). Well , this happened due to excessive pressure from frens. So i have decided to put up all my old articles here so that u cud read them each day until i write somethin!! Basically, my problem is dat i cant write on the comp and im sooo very lazy to type in my articles...but shell do t soon. Until then just read my old articles. now, this is a short story written by me in tenth grade (yup! dat old.) I din even bother to make any changes!!(lazy ofcourse....)

ROUND AND ROUND WE GO...
It was a warm summer evening and thousands of people were enjoying the fair. Oh! The noise, the bright glittering lights, colourful stalls and the merry chatter, how lovely can life get! It was not everyday that one got to be so. Most people strolled around with an expression of awe, they had a lot to do and lost in the frisson, they just did not know where to start. Many kids were frolicking around, sucking candy with an ear-to-ear grin on their face. They ran across the place pushing past people as if they were chasing a shooting star. Others looked at them and smiled. There were some enjoying the rides and some scared to go on them, some who seemed as though they came there just to eat and some lost in the mayhem. Funny, there was also a pale faced woman frantically looking for her small ‘dazzling’ pendant (as she called it) which she had lost. Pity her; I was sure she would not find it!
However, many people made new friends and carried home a cherished memory. Somewhere in the crowd, amid all the hustle and bustle, I saw an old man. He came towards me and stood a few yards away from me looking at the rides, expressionless. Quite awkward wasn’t it? Well, out of curiosity, I approached him and asked him if he was lost or had some problem. At first, he did not reply and he was turning away from him, all I could see was his brownish faded shawl. In a few seconds, he turned around and surprisingly, he had a warm smile on his otherwise rigid and crippled face. He said “no child, I am fine, jus standing’ here thinking about those good ol’ days” without more ado I said “oh! Sorry to disturb you, I just thought you needed help!” and as I turned to walk away, he stopped me by saying “wait, take it from me- don’t just go away from here, have as much fun as possible.” (Ya right! I thought, so was he involved with the event management team or what?) Before I said anything, he pointed out to the merry-go-round and said, “You see the ride there? Life is just like that!” with that he turned and walked away. ‘Weird man’ I thought and merrily went frolicking away humming a song across the lane and made my way home.
It took me a long time to understand what he was trying to tell me, (eham! lets face it-it took me many years). Today, I stand in a comparable frenzied fair except that I have succumbed to age- my body is frail and face wrinkled. The atmosphere of the place filled every sense of mine with joy and just standing there made me feel a lot younger. Deep inside I knew that it was not just the place that fascinated me but mostly my memories of my experiences at the very place. All those memories seemed just so fresh and clear, I have forgotten nothing- not these lights, the food, the rides, the dizziness after the rides and ofcourse not the old man! As though it there was some silent communication, while I thought of the old man I walked towards the merry-go-round. All it took was just to stand beside that whirl of light and colour, my love for the ride simply reawakened. The memories of my childhood haunted me; I wished to get back those carefree days now gone by. I eagerly wish to go on it but I know I cannot, not now, not ever again. I knew I just couldn’t. All I could do was to stand stare at the ride- the rise, fall and the sudden jerks of the ride. It was then that I understood the words of the old man. I have got to agree, he was right “life was like a merry-go-round.” Infact, it was a parody of life itself.
At first, it moves slowly and everyone feels agog, this is childhood. The anonymity of the future keeps the child wanting to explore, learn and enjoy.
Then it moves faster, when everyone enjoys and laughs, this is youth. It is then that life seems beautiful and fun unlimited.
Further, it goes faster and faster and people start madly shouting and screaming. This is manhood and the mad rush to accomplish goals and free oneself from all burdens of life.
It starts slowing down, but this time everyone is sad as the ride is coming to an end. (Needless to explain) and finally it comes to a gradual stop just as the wheel of life ought to stop someday.
At the end of the day, I guess life just seems so playful and easy. Our achievements are all that matter. It was a gloomy thought but it was the plain unpolished truth. That instant I felt like going back in time and completing all the things I have left undone and but I knew it was too late. How I wish I could change the way I lived, change my actions and change the way people know me today. This very thought brought these lines from R.L.Stevenson’s poem into my mind. It feels like these lines are more appropriate to me now, to anyone else in the world;
“Give me the lad that’s gone,
Say could that lad be I.”
Holding back tears and feeling helpless, I turned to make my way home. I walked out of the fair into the dark street; the music still lingered in my ear though it was not heard anymore.

Your Aura is Purple

Your Personality: You're a dreamer and visionary. You believe you were put on this earth to do something great. You in Love: You're very passionate but often too busy for love. You need a man who sees your vision and adopts it as his own. Your Career: You need a job that helps you make a difference. You have a bright future as a guru, politician, teacher, or musician.

What Color Is Your Aura?

Your Red Carpet Look

Keira Knightley's Embellished White Gown

What's" Your Red Carpet Look?

LOOK WHOS TALKIN'....
This post of mine might be out of your depth but I guess quite relevant to…hmm…atleast myself for sure. I was passing by the Vidhan Soudha and was just gawking at the new block pointlessly. Suddenly, I observed something that I had never noticed earlier (calm down, it may not be something new!!). The façade of the gigantic building had these words engraved in bold letters:
“GOVERNMENT WORK IS GOD’S WORK”
I read it once, twice and once more….well, I still could not make anything out of it. Firstly, I see no parameter by which gods work and governments work could be weighed and measured. Or is it just that at present times with all the corruption, bribery, lies and other possibly worst attributes that is related to the government (thanks to the politicians) that I fail to make any sense out of the statement?
More importantly, is it relevant and morally correct that such a statement be made to define the work that the government is doing today??
However, I certainly need to understand the meaning first…any help??

ROGER THIS!!
well... err...hmm...what was I gonna do?... er..oh! blog.





I shall come back and do just that when I think of what to write....until then take care, cya and keep missin me ;-)
( my god! this must be my most informal post ever...Nimmy, what have u done to me?? and Anushka, I finally loosened up!!)

Picture Imperfect.

'Killer virus', 'breeding mosquitoes', 'the big bad bite'… and so on. These have been the headlines dictating every newspaper for over a week now and now, I have become passive to such articles. Well, finally today something really ridiculous caught my eye. It was about two girls in Hyderabad being married off to photographs of grooms in foreign lands. The story read “the trend now, is to perform the marriage to a photo of the groom.” the girls then get to know after days that they were married off to mentally ill guys. Now a case has been filed on the grooms and the middleman. Seriously, how silly can people get? They don’t think before making a move and then create an issue. What were the girls doing atleast? Its about their lives- they have every right to question their future. How ironic, there are so many such insensate things happening around us and guess what? We are talking about India turning into a Singapore in the coming years.
……………………………………………………………………………………………….
On the lighter side, I am quite contented that for the first ever time any radio station actually played my request (not like I am this maniac who spends money on requests always). Radio Indigo is new and they happened to play my song... in any case I think that the station is a lifesaver for all the other stations are loaded with ads and more over they do not play english music 24/7. Radio Indigo is the true colour of music!! Talking about requests, I just thought I must mention that Anju’s (yes, our very own Lingham!! Lol) first ever letter to the editor got published in the DH Education. Way to go Anju (I am proud of you).

I’M BACK...
Its been a real long time since I posted on my blog. Consequently, I have come to realize that if I don’t blog for sometime then it is very difficult for me to blog again for a longtime. Well, there were lotsa things happening this month and I just preferred to lie down and think about them as opposed to writing about them down, do I sound ridiculous? In that case it would be quite fine if we just say that I was a wee-bit lazy. However I did make a few changes like changed the template (I know you noticed!!).
'FACETS' happened this month and my heart is swollen with pride (wow! now, that was quite a line). It is our first attempt to come out with a newsletter and it turned out to be simply splendid.
I thought about this a lot but talking about newsletter and reporting and stuff I just feel like sharing my thoughts with you… we have been talking a lot about the journalism and its power. We have learnt or more appropriately, we have been taught that journalists must correct people- politicians, businessmen or anyone for that matter by bringing to surface their works and dealings. We have these variegated elements of the sweet dreams of journalism. But honestly, why does something like that not happen in college reporting?
To report, then, in college about anything and everything that we feel is unjust is simply not possible. There is so much to worry about. For instance, how do we as a whole class put out our grievances about any teacher without ruining our image? (Oh! forget about the evaluation forms, we do not know the outcome for sure). Of late, there has been more than just a glimpse of the other side of the college- partial teachers, unreasonable marks, our doubts not being clarified and not to forget the insensate comments thrown at us. Such things seriously spoil the whole ‘fun and learn’ system in college.

MY DREAM CAR.

The month of august was very busy and taxing- exam, assignments, presentations, newsletter work and of course the play practice. However, the most enjoyable thing I did over the month was …hmm…oh! I watched ‘cars’ (yup the movie ‘cars’). Now, this is a movie I strongly recommend. Its such a cute movie, it is also very sensible and funny (of course!). Lightening McQueen is for sure the hero of the ‘gen nex’ (or should it be the car of the next generation?). Anyhow, I thought the ingenuity and creativity that has gone into the movie is really amazing. You would agree with me atleast if you saw the cows, houseflies and even “lightnings biggest fan” and the two twins. Now, talking about cars, I just happened to remember a dream of mine. I dreamt of something really vague (its funny when I think about it though...) may be it was a result of lack of sleep or my liking towards cars or maybe just usual stupidity. This is how it goes...
It was sunny day and I go to some office for a job interview. The people in the office were peculiarly dressed in bright yellow clothes like those scientists in the movie ‘evolution’. I sit through the whole session and then in the end the interviewer tells me that one of the main job criterion is to know horse riding or atleast riding a chariot (the best part is yet to come). All of a sudden I start riding a horse and there is a trainer who is completely enthralled with my horse riding skills. For some reason, the name of my horse was no Black Beauty or Tyra but it was ‘Lightening’, I know it sounds very similar but the full name is Lightening McSpeed. Paradoxically it was not covered with fur but instead it was clothed in snake skin (yup... the ssssandy sssway). It had a long bushy tail- it would resemble Pegasus except for the snake skin. The trainer could speak only one word- ‘heya’ (go) but funnily in my dream it meant stop. I was soon disturbed by some howling dog on the road and could not sleep any longer (which means I did not dream any longer…).
The same day, out of curiosity, I logged into dreammoods.com and typed horse riding- this is what the interpretation was “to ride horses could mean that you lack integrity and are carried away by dreams.” Now people, since that is not appropriate in my case I typed just ‘horses’ and finally the correct interpretation was given-“it means you will achieve success and fame!!”
I shall now jus stop writing about dreams and get back to reality and the newsletter work. Oh! And ofcourse the success and fame….

It seems just too difficult for me to face the upcoming exams(atleast not so soon). Neither has the horror of my board exams left me nor the frisson of my first days in college. everything seems to be happening very soon. time, as it is said, is just flying away!!
Its time again to study(or rather ONLY study). The problem-i do not understand where to start from. In addition, Naresh sir's words still ring in my ears. His statement about the difficulty in scoring(in journalism) has gotten me even more worried. Not that it was his intention but I am no more banking on journo to boost up my overall scores. Nonetheless, I shall work much harder on the subject now.
Sadly, I already feel tired of the mid-sems. Even worse, my mom has been so horrified with my exams- I seem to be less worried about my exams!! now, what is its positive outcome? I am embraced with 'extra' care so I dont fall sick and I write my exams well. And whats the negative outcome? ten minutes in front of the television or on the phone could cost a lot!!

for the past week,i have found myself worrying less about problems of politics,crime or even the traffic in bangalore.Other aweful realities across the country have caught my attention.
The mean-spirited act of the 'butcher' doctors in Delhi which was brought to the surface by CNN Ibn has shattered the nation off its morals. Ironically, many underlying facts about this story have remained unexplored. Ever since the story broke out, everyone has been constantly taunting the doctors(not that I say it is wrong). Equal attention, I thought must have been given to the display of the scene of poverty in this country. We have chossen to ignore such underlying matters in the story, to a great extent even the media has ignored it. The media has only been attracking more viewers by stressing on the act of the doctors alone. The whole story is alarming. We, as a society must immediately work to improve the sad state of poverty. The news channels can only bring out the stories, action must be taken by all of us.

'water conservation' is something everyone is talking about these days. Children are being taught about it in school and rain water harvesting is being incorporated in almost every house. My question is simple- do the water supply tankers in the city go unnoticed?

They move across the city 'supplying' water. I often get annoyed seeing the amount of water that leaks out of the vehicle. Water is always leaking- leaking not in drops but it just flows out, either from the sides or from the tap at the back of the tanker. It is not the problem with just a couple of tankers across the city, but it is a flaw in every tanker I have seen till date.It is also not just something that has been happeneing in the recent past, but this scenario has been around for over many years now.The worst of all, is the fact that no one has taken effective action against it.Is there no way of rectifying it? Is there no way to improve the condition of these tankers?

I would not blame the ignorance of the government alone, it is also because of 'us', poeple of this society who are insensitive to such facts.