Is Didi going to be a modern day David?

Does anyone remember what did David do after killing Goliath?  Or does anyone care? That is the problem with the giant-killers; once they have killed the giant, pretty much everything else they do is not as exciting as the kill and remains in the background as something of an anti-climax. Whether this becomes the fate of the recently crowned queen of West Bengal, remains to be seen.

Ms. Banerjee has been touted as the change that would push the stalled growth of the state in past few decades towards better days. Having been hailed as the much-awaited ‘green’ light after a lifetime of ‘red’ light, she is almost the last hope people of the state have. Naturally, the expectations are huge and people will be satisfied with nothing short of a complete turnaround of the state of affairs. 

Bengal badly needs progress. It reportedly has a crushing debt of some R 1.92 lakh crore. The state is hardly in a position to pay its employees, leave alone undertaking any life-reforming projects for the people of the state. How is Bengal to be revived? That is a million dollar question, one to which there is no direct answer. Ms. Banerjee and her government not only face a huge challenge in terms of how to revive the state but also how to begin the revival. The people have been so disillusioned with the outgoing government that it was more of an anti-Left stir that caused the government to topple rather than a ‘pro-Mamata’ wave. 

Having said that, I take nothing away from her mass appeal and the poetic promise behind her slogan “Maa, maati, maanush!” She is an iron woman and has reached where she has through sheer grit, without any political support to boast of. However, while this may make up a perfect story for a newspaper item or even a novel, it hardly lessens her responsibility towards the state she is now in command of. So now that the hoopla and celebrations around her path-breaking, landslide victory have come down to a normal level, she has a job to do. And she has to be hell clinical about that. The higher the hopes have been raised, the deeper can be the disappointment when these hopes are not swiftly realised.

She has surely started in the right direction, sometimes being clinical; at other times bordering on the lines of what some may call absolute eccentricity. But she has five years with her, to script her own success story and to be fair to her, her methods or the consequences should not be questioned at least at such an early state. May she indeed turn out to be the ‘green’ light of growth Bengal so needs and justify the colour she has chosen to represent her ideologies.

M.F.Husain, a man of many shades!

95 year old painting stalwart M.F. Husain passed away yesterday in a London hospital.  According to reports, Husain was being treated for fluids in his lungs. However, the exact cause of his death is yet to be known.

Husain was in a self-imposed exile since 2006 after some of his paintings of Hindu deities led to life threats and attacks. Husain eventually adopted the citizenship of Qatar. More than his paintings, he was a man of many shades, which unfortunately very few could see.

Husain was called the ‘Picasso of India’, for valid reasons. He started working in the late 1940s and throughout the years, his paintings were known for standing out, depicting the objectivity towards the subject matter. But more than that, Husain was also an enthusiastic film-maker with a penchant for poetry. His poetry, often lucid in its nature found many a fan following ever since Gajagamini days. He did not write much, a loss to all the poetry enthusiasts but his expression through his movies was always out of ordinary and made a mark.

Husain often found himself amidst controversies and it is sad that an Indian had to spend his last few days in a state like his. However, his contribution towards putting India on the global map through his paintings, towards the poetic cinema shall always be remembered by the purists and fans alike.

Rest in Peace, Husain saab!

The futility of certain things

            How many times have we thought about the futility of certain things? Like spending an entire day over an assignment or worrying over an incident that probably won’t bother you one year down the line. Is it really worth the time and effort we spend on it?

            I have nothing against the toiling community. In fact, I quite respect them, for they have an ability I probably do not have (or at least not the one I want to live by). However, with all due respect, I feel there are larger things to live for.

            When was the last time you actually sat under the sun, perfectly nonchalantly, doing absolutely nothing but lazing like a pig? When was the last time you took a shivering walk down that isolated road round the corner on a cold, winter night, the last time you sat and thought about all the good things and not worry about what lay ahead? Life is not just about planning ahead, or worrying about a few vital elements of your life. Live, primarily, is about living. Living each day as it comes, each moment. Do we not spoil the magic and essence of the present by worrying too much about the future? I agree it is unavoidable and probably prudent too but too much of seriousness kills the simplicity which is the charm of the thing called life.

            Fall in love, most importantly, with yourself. Find someone to talk to before you sleep every night. Find time to enjoy a cup of coffee over a cold December twilight. Read a book on a Sunday rather than being online. Switch off yourself from the world and enjoy a holiday every once in a while. Studies and career are very vital indeed but it is far more important to be at peace with oneself. What is the point of earning a million per year if you cannot sleep peacefully every night? It is far more important to be sincere than serious, to be innovative than perfect. Great things happen when you least expect them to.

            Life is beautiful because of all the simplistic yet charming aspects of it. Learn to enjoy the trivialities as much as the big things. It makes a big difference to the person we are, to the level of contentment in our lives. 

A Time for Revival

                  The monsoons are here, bringing in the rains and a time to indulge in some revelry. We shall go out on bikes with friends, get soaked in the rain, enjoy a hot cuppa of tea and snacks like’ kaanda bhajji’. A time for merry-making indeed! During this time, we love going to places like Khadakwasla to enjoy the rains. A few years back, we used to go to Pashan Lake as well. Today, that is hardly a case.
Pashan lake is a manmade lake, built by bunding a small rivulet. The rivulet originates from Bavdhan and flows via Pashan, Sutarwadi, Baner to Someshwarwadi before flowing into the main Mula river.  The lake served as a source of water to old Pashan village, for growing crops all the year round and to nearby Governor's house. The lake and its surrounding area used to attract many migratory birds and had been a popular spot for bird-watchers over the years.
In recent years, deforestation on nearby hills has caused heavy silt formation resulting in decrease in the depth of the lake.  Ipomoea weed is also cited as a major cause of lake's deterioration as it prohibits the growth of other plants. The washing of trucks in the area contributed further to the pollution, by adding oil and petrol to the sewage. The water quality deteriorated fast as the quantity of sewage water and other effluents mixing in the water kept rising. PMC worked towards improving the filtration plant but water quality remained poor. In 1998, Pune Municipal Corporation discontinued providing drinking water from the lake.
Owing to ever so increasing level of pollution, the number of migratory birds dropped from 32 to merely 3 over a period of just ten years. The lake also suffered owing to the ignorance and apathy of the citizens, who would see and lament the condition but would not do anything concrete for its resurrection. We, in fact, contributed our share towards polluting this lake, by dumping in our garbage. Sad indeed!
However, it isn’t too late yet. A couple of years back, the Pune Municipal Corporation has undertaken a project to revive the lake, in order to be able to supply drinking water from it again. Various organizations and volunteer groups have been carrying out awareness and eco-drives to encourage more and more people to come to its rescue. Dumping of garbage and cleaning of trucks has been banned. Some of us belong to the corporate world, some have the necessary influence and reach within the concerned authorities, some have the moolah whilst other have the zeal. Together, we need to combine all these resources, combine and synergize it into a single, functional force and revive this lake. Increase the awareness, be the one to take the initiative and do not just pass on the baton. Together, we can and we will make a difference.
                 Save Pashan Lake, Save Environment, Save Earth!

That unputdownable moment!

            How often do we manage to bring ourselves to applaud someone’s success whole-heartedly and sans any malice? How frequently do we come across people who appreciate others’ achievements without any envy? The odds are very low, if not negligible and when you do come across such a situation, believe me, you have reasons to celebrate.

            I believe someone who receives such adulation is a blessed person, for he is loved in the purest of all forms. Envy, I believe is the worst of all cardinal sins, for it reflects the shallow you and yet, I find myself privy to this emotion very frequently. Lamenting the lack of something which the other person has and wishing you would rather be the one who had it, comes very naturally and easily to most of us. It is not totally our fault but that of our endless insecurities and so we end up taking the easier of the two routes.

            It is easier to hate than love, easier to loathe than appreciate. You can count yourself lucky if you have that one person in your life whom you can wish all the delights sans any hidden agendas, whom you can love without any reasons, whom you can appreciate without needing a motivation and whose success and achievements would matter to you more than your own. The realization of this feeling, the dawning of this delight is the purest and the most ecstatic of all forms of happiness, as pure as a child’s laughter and as unadulterated as the first rain drops.

            A few days back, my dear friend, your success brought me this delight and allowed the lesser mortal in me to experience this unputdownable joy and be immortalized for that one moment of time. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart and cheers to you!

Anguish of an ardent fan

Make no mistake, I am an ardent Mani Ratnam fan. And I am not even a critic. But the fact that one of the most intelligent film-makers made this movie, or shall I say, sheer torture, saddens me to no ends. For someone who has made Bombay, Roja, Mouna Raagam, Nayakan, Kannathil Muthamittal and numerous other cult movies, Raavan comes, perhaps as an indicator that Mr. Ratnam's directorial career is heading towards an unceremonius,fag end. How can someone who made Naayakan, give us Raavan? Raavan, is neither a love-hate story nor a movie depicting the reason why naxalites are what they are. Some may call it a delapitated version of modern Ramayana. I will call it as Mr. Ratnam's biggest mistake. I have a serious advice for him, please watch all the movies you had directed till now and then go about your next movie, for you shall know, better than any of your viewers, that your ardent and most loyal fans like me, did not deserve this.
I shall not delve into the storyline per say but there are a few aspects that everyone reading this should know. For those who have seen Rajnikant's hit Tamil movie 'Chandramukhi', Abhishek Bachhan seems to have watched countless re-runs of the dog scene of its hit song 'Ra Ra'..(the tamil version of Bhul Bhulaiya's Mere Dholna, nothing as exquisite as the Vidya Balan song)..his acting is not even a topic worth discussing and I don't believe myself when I write that Abhishek's acting isn't the worst part about this movie. There is no storyline. I had read somewhere ages back that Mr. Ratnam had shot four climax scenes for this movie because he was unable to decide which one to go with. Perhaps till the end, he did not know which storyline to go by. One minute you are shown a gross-looking Govinda as a caricature of Hanuman and the other minute you are made to believe that the naxalites are like that because of the atrocities of the police. This ever so topsy-turvy storyline(if you may call it that) is too much for someone who had expected another classic like Kannathil Muthamittal(albeit with subtitles) from this genius. Mani Sir, I still revere you, and come what may, I will still watch all your movies despite you holding on to the plastic-demon couple but giving us Raavan and expecting the same adulation as Naayakan and Roja fetched you, is like asking us to support Pakistan in an India-Pakistan cricket match. 
Perhaps the genius did realise that this venture shall not be well received and won't create the same magic as his previous blockbusters. For those who heard and saw it, recently there were rumours of Mrs. Plastic Bachhan and Mr. Stone Bachhan expecting their first kid. That might have been a ploy to create some much-needed publicity for this movie. Nevertheless, even if trade pundits go on to declare that Raavan is the biggest hit of all times, everyone who has watched this movie and everyone who is reading this and will still watch the movie, will know it within his heart, that it is difficult to choose the better movie out of the two, Kites and Raavan. 
I will not stop you from watching this movie but do watch that show which costs you the least. Perhaps then, you shall not face the anguish which I am facing right now.

Symbiotically, apathetically Sproutified!!!

This post is dedicated to all the students who fell a prey to the contaminated sprouts. May God never suject you to such an excruciating experience ever.

Disclaimer-All views in this post are based on real-life incidents, yet merely reflect the opinion of the writer. Any facts or figure presented in the write-up are open to debate and discussion and shall in no way be binding on the writer.


The unfortunate set of students must never have fathomed that eating healthy will lead them to probably the most horrible and excruciating experience of their lives. I am talking about the recent food poisoning (read: sprout poisoning) case in a very reputed educational institute and the mere reminder of it disgusts me to no end.

About 200 people who had sprouts that fateful tuesday for lunch would never have imagined what was in store for them. People started showing symptoms of acute food poisoning around midnight and were soon being whisked away to the nearest hospital. As the numbers grew and people began to be sent to six different hospitals, different theories crept about the cause of this pandemic which was soon identified to be sprouts. It did not require rocket science to determine that contaminated mess food was the culprit and soon media and police cordoned off the campus.

It was difficult to find out who was admitted where; such was the pandemonium at campus. I wish the campus administration had acted more promptly and had done something to restore the normality at campus. Baring a faculty or two, in my four and a half day stay at Aditya Birla, I saw nobody visiting the ailing patients from the management side. You add irresponsible, provocating and absolutely infuriating comments like “The students had partied outside and so they might have got infected due to eating contaminated food there” to that and it is enough to boil anyone’s blood. Five days have passed since that fateful lunch and yet no concrete action has come to the notice. The authorities continue to be apathetic. A day after people began to be hospitalized; students were served bread that was infected with fungus. The indifference of the management hardly surprises anymore for what is the cost of human lives in front of a million dollar contract. In a land where people sell their kin for a mere hundred rupees and where murder comes cheaper than a brand new pair of Levi’s jeans, this is hardly a thought provoking concept anymore.

So what do we do now? Surely, none of us still believe in the system, do we? I expect each one of you reading this to rise up to the occasion. It is time when we stop being mules and led by a stick, it is time to speak out and stop being indifferent to what is happening to us and to those around us. It is time to voice our concerns for ourselves, to get things done rather than sitting and expecting them to happen on their own. For those who have no clue how and what to do, just remember that together each one of us can make a lot of difference. You might not know what to contribute and how to but if and when somebody takes an initiative, be a part of it. It is not a question of the safety and well-being of a few students; it is a fight for everyone. Think over it and do what needs to be done for your well-being is solely your responsibility.