Silent testimony of the perfect misfit

PerfectMisfit 2.0

2008-07-17T06:05:00.000-07:00

As the title of this blog suggested, 'I write therefore I am'. May be it is the need to express myself, May be it's my over the top reaction to movies which i am not able to make anymore, may be it's the feedback of the few ( but loyal ) readers i have, my tryst with blogosphere shall continue henceforth, but at a new place..
wordpress sounds exciting, simpler, feature rich and much more readable..so from now onwards, perfectmisfit is blogging at:

http://perfectmisfit.wordpress.com/

The Last Bow..

2008-02-10T12:16:00.000-08:00

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--
and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."

You guessed it right, it's time for theperfectmisfit to leave.

Afterword:-
With this post theperfectmisfit.blogspot draws its curtains!!
Godspeed..

RAMBO IV - What am I expecting from it

2008-01-27T04:45:00.001-08:00

Johan Rambo, The guy who has always been at the top of my fictional heroes list is BACK.
Jason Bourne comes a close second, but the silent grunts, the pain in the eyes of Rambo speak more than say the uber cool 'yipiee kay ye ye mothefucker' uttering John Mclane or the suave Bond…James Bond.
I don’t remember how many times i have seen The Rambo trilogy, but i always thought that sly was over with it. With Rocky Balboa returning with a bang, there was hope and Boy, Rambo is BACK..
Bigger, huger and better..Sly's looking huge, seems he can easily rip Arnie's head off.
The critics have always maintained that the Rambo movies are Gory, but we shouldn’t forget here that ‘Rambo’ means 'Violence' in Japanese.
Rambo is all about violence. He aint a human..He’s THE killing machine, one who creates his own missions. Always outnumbered and unaccounted for, he strikes back when you would least expect him to do that.
Soothsayers always say that Rambo movies are dumb action movies, operating on wafer thin plots, but if you are intelligent enough, you can always see each of the Rambo movies having strong political undertones.
The first two Rambo movies had umpteen references to (and based on) Vietnam, showing both sides of the war. The third one had introduced the first world to the atrocious acts at Afghanistan and now the choice of Burma and its struggle couldn’t be better.
When the rest of the world (including our very own 'peace loving' India) has closed its eyes on Burma, its John Rambo who shall turn the spotlights on it.
And although Sly's Ghost direction was very much apparent in each of the Rambo movies, this is the first time he officially directs a Rambo movie. Sly's credentials on film making cannot be questioned, 1976, he beat the likes of martin socrese's taxi driver to take away the best movie award for 'Rocky'.
If you have known John J Rambo, you shouldn’t be looking for a plot, it’s a boatful of carnage you will get instead.
So, my expectations are pretty clear. Character development, sweet story telling, spoon feeding and dreamy shots have never been a forte of Rambo movies.
Who's got the time baby?? Let’s get to the action STRAIGHT AWAY!!
The original old school badass style...The JOHN J RAMBO style!!

Ten Random facts about the PerfectMisfit..

2007-11-15T07:54:00.000-08:00

10.The PerfectMisfit loves movies. His life, his thoughts, his actions can all be traced back to some movie scene , but please dont try looking for the source movie, because you possibly cannot search amongst all(read hindi, english, hinglish, B grade, porn, super B grade, tam, gulti, khatta, spanish, french, german, indie ) movies that he watches.

9. The PerfectMisfit is a big show-off(unlike what his testimonials suggest) and is well known for bragging. He can be found talking utter gibberish about anything ranging from the underlying naxalism in the current political parties to the t*t size of the girl in front of him.

8. The PerfectMisfit's favourite pastime currently is posing with other people's cars and bikes and clicking away to glory and then showing those pics to random people claiming the vehicles to be his own.

7. Once when the PerfectMisfit was in school, he fought with a girl over a trivial matter and tore her shirt and when the teacher( who was the misfit's mom herself) came to the class and the girl was about to go back to her bench, he shouted at the top of his voice at her 'Hey ***, your shirt is torn'..Needless to say, his mom spanked the living daylights out of him...he is still trying to figure out why he did that.

6. Unlike what he seems from outside the PerfectMisfit respects womenfolk a lot, particularly the ones who dont talk much, dont crib, dont love shopping, dont love babies, dont love SRK, dont love choclates and dont....

5. Once upon a time the PerfectMisfit used to be fat and ugly. His mom used to tell him that no girl would ever look at him. Boy was she wrong :D

4. The PerfectMisfit has a legendary knack of having road accidents.It started from the good old days of tobu cycles and continues even now when he's driving a car. Stop press - he's going to fly next week.

3. This ones's specially for single girls looking for so called 'Friends' on Orkut:- The PerfectMisfit may seem like the regular bloke next door who happens to be charming witty and fun, but in reality he was the 19XX underwear model for CK, has a PhD in advance mathematics, hosts his own cooking show, sings and dances in theatre, has been a CIA secret agent among many other things that he has done.

2. The PerfectMisfit is a great planner and considers his normal day as waste, if he doesnt make 10 new plans everyday and chalk out the exact manner in which he would execute them. Last known, he was planning to go to Nandigram.

1. Gosh, it seems he is almost done with the 10 facts with still tonnes to go :(. Still wrapping up..he is ur ultimate narrsisst, has recently been detected to be suffering from Schizophrenia, loves the only few friends he has and can kill for them, claims to be at the IIT ( which is a figment of his imagination and in all probablity he is at the Tau bhatija Institute of technology), makes it a point to fight with his near ones everyday and then loses sleep over those fights and firmly believes in one person and his one sayin which sums it all up :-
"Success is the sole earthly judge of right and wrong. "
- Adolf Hitler.

Now, that you have read all about him, if you want to get in touch with him for any issues/doubts/clarifications ( wish i could sign off my official mails to my manager this way ), the easiest way to do that is :-
Jump into the nearest lake/river/ocean.
You will probably find the PerfectMisfit as soon as you reach hell.

Rediscovering Subash Ghai..

2007-10-14T22:39:00.000-07:00

Subash Ghai… not a very Hot Topic here in PFC, then why did I choose him for my first Post at PFC?Firstly, Off Late, rediscovering People, movies etc is quite ‘HOT’ in PFC and Subash Ghai is in the news for his “Kaun likhega Karodpati” script thingy.
Cinephiles tried finding his vile intentions and motivations behind the scheme, which at least brought him back to the news, and now with the so called ‘Intellectual’s Favourite bashing boy B Grade superstar’ Himesh reshamiaaya (did i get the no. of a’s in his name right??) buying the rights for a Ghai Classic ‘KARZ’, I decided… this is the time when Mr. Ghai deserves a full blown article and maybe a discussion on his films (and not him).
Finally, there is one more reason why i choose him as my first topic, as when i look at the name of PFC, the P stands for passion and my passion for cinema, right from my childhood has been shaped by many and the first and foremost among them is Mr. Ghai, whose films i grew up on.
I will start this article with 10 Ghai scenes, which are permanently embedded in my memory.
Film- KARZ(1980)—————-With the guitar prelude to ‘Ek Haseena Thi’ going on in the background, Raj Kiran and Simi Garewal are returning back home in the jeep.
Unknown to what future holds for him, Raj Kiran is humming away with the tune. The picturesque backround adds to the calming down and soothing effect. Suddenly, the Jeep comes to a halt. Raj Kiran climbs down to see what is happening, but what is this, the love of his life, his bride, Kamini, the enchantress starts the engines to a roar and drives the jeep again and again over him.
Afterthought:- Long before we had the RGVs and the Bhatts exploring the shock value of Dhokas and infidelity, we had this movie. Imagine the kind of impact this scene would have had on the people watching it for the first time.
Film- HERO(1983)—————Meenakshi Seshadree is praying in the temple, while jackie is lying wounded elsewhere in the village. She has not eaten since days. Suddenly the village elder annonces, ‘Beti use Hosh aa gaya”, the sombre mood changes and guitar notes start flowing in the background.
A chorus starts humming, “Mera janam, Mera Balam, Mera Balam,Mera Janam..”. Meenakshi starts running singing a long Janoooo….., and then they meet and as clichéd as it may sound they run towards each other, with the song “Tu Mera janoo hai” playing in the background.
Afterthought:- As artificial as it may seem, this sequence defined and embodied Hindi movies for the entire 80s.The Girl running to the boy sequence is present in thousands of more movies, but this scene refuses to get lost among them, maybe the superlative music has something to do with it.
Film- MERI JUNG (1985)———————-“Jeet Jayenge hum, Jeet Jayeeenge Hum…tu agar sang hai”, it starts out with this song being played on a Piano by Girish Karnad and within a span of 10, 15 minutes , with different parts of the song “Zindagi har kadam.. ek nayi jung hai” playing intermittently, Anil kapoor’s family is destructed.
His father is wrongly convicted and Hung, mother goes mad, and with the song closing out, we have scenes of waves crashing against huge rocks and the ‘now grown up’ Anil delivering animated dialogues in the court room, (suggesting that he is winning all the cases) facing towards the camera with a different pose every time.
The song within it’s start and end covers decades of time and shows the good times, the pathetic times and the slow and painful rise of Anil’s family again.
Afterthought:- Again a defining scene of the 80’s, many movies have used this type of story telling hence, but this one stands out primarily because of the music and the figurative execution of events.
Film- KARMA(1986)—————–Dileep Kumar is away with his band of boys to fight the evil ‘Dr. Dang’, when Shanta Tai comes and announces that his wife has called him. He goes, picks up the phone and starts asking Nutan about her well being. Alas he has forgot that she has lost her speech after the terrible shock she had when her entire family was killed by Dr Dang, and she can speak no more.
Suddenly he realises that her wife can’t speak to him, the dejection and grief evident in his eyes. How will they speak now? Suddenly, Nutan’s bangles make a sound and to his utter disbelief, he can understand what she is saying. He talks while she just shakes her bangles again and again, to convey what she means.
Afterthought:- Agreed, Ghai’s stories have always been inspired, but its scenes like these which don’t come any more original and take his inspired movies to a level above the original ones.
Film- RAM LAKHAN(1989)———————-“Ae ji, Oo Ji, Lo Ji, Suno Ji” Anil kapoor sings, while his group of Mohalleh ka lafangas dance in gay abandon with him. Anupam Kher, playing the quintessential bania, is rightly found to be looting people using false weights, much to the happiness of KashiRam ( Satish kaushik) his assistant as the song goes on.Where as radha, played by madhuri has given her heart away to lakhan and unable to resist his spell on her, her feet defy her and start dancing to his tunes as we enter the antara “main tera Mohan, tu meri radha” and the tabla beats start growing stronger.
Afterthought:-Ghai’s heriones, in 80s represented the Gaun ki Gori to the T, she would give her heart away to the hero and not able to control her emotions, would dance behind close doors and closed eyes, as the hero would be singing in the mohallah. Ahh!! adolescent innocence was never this believable in any other movies after this.
Film- SAUDAGAR(1991)———————-Employing the similar technique (as in Meri Jung) of having a song in the background while giving the story development across decades, this time the song is ‘imli ka boota’, with a badly wigged Anupam Kher playing mandhari telling a group pf village children the story of saudagars, right from their childhood, to youth to their present Dushmani. Another scene which uses a song to terrific effect in the background is the entry scene for Vivek Musran. With his mother and all relatives singing “Gopi jan ras raas abhilaashi, kaurav kaaling kans vinasi, himkar baanuk saan prakasi, sarva bhut hi vas vaiyakhi, bolo jai kanhaiyya ki…natkhat bansi wale gokul ke raja, meri ankhiyaan taras gayi ab toh aaja , aaja.., with this song palying Vivek Musran enters the frame, displayin all the sastra traning he has had all these years, bows before his elders and jumps on to the horses, signifying that he , indeed is the kanhaaiya here.
Afterthought:- Executions like this prove beyond doubt that Ghai is the master of picturisations and the justice he does to the music he has is unparalled.
Mandhari has come to attend a party thrown in favour of Rajeswar as he has returned from the jail, after 14 long years( please note that it’s 14 here, signifying ram’s vanvaas maybe??), he accuses Rajeswar of having forgotten him. Raj Kumar thunders, “Mandhari, Ek baar tumne awaj to di hoti, hum salkhon ko cheer ke aa jaate, itihas gawah hai ki jab rajeswar ne dosti nibhayi hai. to afsane likhe gaye hain aur dushmani nibhayi hai to..”. There were lots of other great confrontration scenes between him and Dileep kumar, notably the one where dileep kumar gets drunk and shouts across from the other side of the river, when Raj kumar’s helicopter runs out of fuel and he has to land in Sanatanpur ( the garh of Dileep Kumar) and he says “Hum tumhe aisi jagah maarenge, jahan bandhook bhi hamari hogi, goli bhi hamari hogi aur jameen bhi hamari hogi” and of course the final Holi scene where they patch up again.
Afterthought:- Handling egos, massive ones at that is a consistent rumble in our film industry, but Subahs ghai showed not only how to handle the egos of Huge actors correctly, but also to harness moments of pure brilliance from them.
Film- KHALNAYAK(1993)———————-Ballu, the true embodiment of pure evil has been caught by inspector Ram. Now behind the bars, he refuses to have food and throws it away. When confronted, he hits the hawaldaar. The hawaldaar goes and complains to Jackie saying that Ballu has bashed up a police wallah. Inspector Ram tells them to bring him. When he confronts Ballu for a fight, Ballu points out that a fight is not justified, since Ram has a VARDI and he doesn’t.
Ram, being the true embodiment of RAM, takes out his shirt and although his well oiled biceps are nothing to show in front of the massive iron pumped biceps of Sanju, he manages to beat the shit out of Ballu. As he goes on beating the pulp out of him, he keeps on reminding him ” Police wale pe haath mat uthana”, finally it seems ballu is going to be killed today and that’s when the tuccha subinspectors and hawaldaars come in and stop Jackie. As Jackie walks away,he reminds ballu one final Time..”police wale pe haath mat uthana”. Then as ballu is being carried away by the hawaldars, he manages to give one huge blow back to a hawaldar, who promptly falls behoos. Finally, before fainting himself, ballu tells “Jakke apne Raam sahab se bol do, aaj ballu ne fir se police wale pe haath uthaaya’
Afterthought:- Talking of originality, sequences like these where Ghai played out unique and original scenes ( with a dash of humour)for the masses, must have fetched the maximum seeties and hoots from the crowds in the UPs, MPs and Berar sectors.Film- KHALNAYAK(1993)———————-As, Ballu is again languishing behind the bars, Anupam Kher playing Jailor Ishwar Girdhari Pandey stops by to have a check on his high profile kaidi. As he looks at Ballu, who is humming ‘nayak Nahi, khal nayak hun main, nayak nahin, khal nayak hun main’, ballu suddenly proclaims, “aaj se theek 11 din baad, 11 tareek, raat 11 baje, main, ballu balram aap ke jail se Furr ho jaunga..mujhe kasam hai , meri maa ki”, he then gives a twitch to his long hairs and starts humming ‘nayak nahi, khalnayak hun main’ again.
Hiding his hichki, Anupam kher informs jackie about Ballu’s challenge, and tells his forces to tighten the security on Ballu, suddnely, wire mashes get started to be built, the walls start getting higher and teh entire jail starts preparing for teh D Day. Meanwhile, jailor Ishwar, keep looking at the watch and the calender alternatively. Th eD Day comes, the destined time also comes and goes. But, what’s this..ballu doesn’t even make a effort to move, let alone breaking the jail.
As inspector Ram, asks him about his challenge and how he lost it, Ballu replies very naively” Shab aapne mujhe itna maara, mujhe itna dard hua aur aap log aaram se so rahe the, to maien socha ki aap log kuch din kaam karen, aur main aaram se soun”.
Afterthought:- This scene shows that Ghai was the master of prison sequences, court sequences where the use of subtle humour creates just the desired impact. Again, a scene which shall leave a huge impact on first time watchers.
Film- PARDES(1997)——————As Arjun(Shahrukh), is getting hit from all the goons in the climax,( with teh song Nahi hona tha, playin in the background, in typical Ghai style).. he bounces back very much liek baazigar and DDLJ and starts hitting them all. He goes on hitting Rajiv, with blood flowing from all possible places of his face, as if he would kill him. Suddenly, a hand comes into the frame and stops him. The hands belong to Amrish Puri, who was such a important part of all Ghai movies.
They break into confrontation, where Amrish Puri accuses Arjun of treachery and asks him what is his relation with Ganga,and in a style of his own, Shahrukh replies,”Hai..Pyaar hai..babuji..agar..kisi ke liye ladhna pyaar hai..to hai..pyaar hai..and so on and on..”Afterthought:- As Ghai was truly looking for inspiration for his movies after the debacle of ‘TRIMURTI, this is in my opinion, his ode to DDLJ, with the climax almost resembling the one at DDLJ. But as always, Ghai tells the story in his own special style and leaves a strong mark.
Hmm…there are scores of Ghai scenes about which i can go on writing, but i have tried selecting the 10 which cover the maximum number of his films. I would like to remind you guys that all these scenes have been based on my memories and may not be 100% faithful to what happened in the movies, but these are rather what i remember of those scenes.
Coming to Ghai, i agree that originality has never been his forte, and he himself agrees that he is a ‘Story teller’ rather than a director. It’s the way he tells his story is what sets him apart.Musically, his ability to extract good music from his music directors is perhaps second to only Yash chopra.But as they say, ever product has an expiry date and he seems to have run out of ideas.His contemporaries have either fizzled out (N Chandra, KC Bokadia, FC Mehra etc etc) or have reinvented themselves (Rakesh roshan, Yash raj films) or retired ( Mahesh Bhatt), but Ghai refuses to give up and is still searching for re invention.
Form is temporary and class is permanent, and i for one believe that Ghai, the master story teller has still some great stories to tell. One still yearns to see, the Middle aged man in a white Hat and Black Overcoat coming back with one special story of his, to win over the masses as well as the classes, one final time and giving that SPECIAL appearance in one of the songs of the movie, ( a blockbuster one at that!!!!).
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This article written by me, was published in passionforcinema first..here goes the link:-
http://passionforcinema.com/projekt-iview-rediscovering-subhash-ghai/

The Party Begins..(PART II)

2007-10-14T22:32:00.000-07:00

..And then I had met her..
Preity was the type of woman for whom monogamous men sucked in their stomachs. I wasn’t impervious to her charms but had learnt to deal with them in a positive manner so that I didn’t have to spend every waking moment thinking about the woman who was another man’s mistress.
It was ironic that a woman who looked like Preity did not actually have a husband or a boyfriend she could be seen in public with. What was not so ironic was that she used the spare time she had between trysts with her lover to amuse herself with other willing and able men whom she had no intention of ever falling in love with.
Preity had a peculiar character flaw, which only forced her to go after the unattainable. The only reason I felt safe in her presence was that she already had someone she couldn’t have more than me.
Not so long ago his wife had been a beautiful woman as well. Possibly not in the same league as Preity but I was happy with the picture she presented and the life we had together. Things had taken a turn for the irreparable after the miscarriage.
These were the things I told Preity on all those occasions we shared a drink at social events neither of us wanted to be at.So we talked and she had, over time, become the closest thing to a friend and confidante I ever had.
The last flakes of the cigarette hit my thumbs..I guess its time to make the call.
And it makes perfect sense to call Priety.
I retrieved my cellphone from my jacket pocket. She was on speed-dial. I wandered towards the window while waiting for the call to be answered.
When she answered the phone he opened with a question, “Priety?”
“Yes? How are you Rahul?”
“My wife is behaving a little strangely.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s lying on the floor and won’t get up. I can’t tell if she’s hurt or how she got on the floor. She’s breathing, I think, and I think there’s a pulse but she’s in this weird position and she won’t get up.”
Priety was dressed and waiting when Rahul called her. She looked at the doll on the mantelpiece. Her eyes twinkled as she thought of the pain caused by requiring a person to lie the way the doll was lying. She looked at the doll and imaged the way Rahul's wife must look while she listened to Rahul. It didn’t take long for Rahul to bore her with the details.
Details she was already privy to. So she interrupted him and said, “Rahul, will you be going to the party tonight?”
He sounded slightly surprised, “Actually yes. That’s what I needed her to dress up for. She knew this one was important and she’s just lying there doing God knows what.”
“Rahul.”
“Yes?”
“Since we’re absolutely certain that she is fine perhaps you should go to the party today and perhaps we can figure out what needs to be done when the evening is over?”
“You think it’s a good idea for me to leave her here like this?”
“Won’t the servants be in soon?”
“Yes?”
“It might be best if you weren’t home when they arrived Rahul. From what you’ve told me it doesn’t appear that it has escaped them that the boss and his wife fought. Take the evening off Rahul, you deserve it.”
“Okay. I guess I can do that.”
“Coincidentally I don’t have a date for the evening. Think you could pick me up?”
“Sure. It’s on the way. If I leave now, I can be there in half-an-hour…”“
That just barely gives me enough time to throw something on.”
“Okay, I’ll see you.”
On one of the many occasions that Rahul had complained about his domestic life he had expressed the wish to be rid of his current situation. “I wish it would all just go away,” he had said. Priety had merely sipped her champagne in response and he had moved on to complain about other things.Priety had been evaluating replacements for Rajiv for over a year before she ever considered Rahul. She didn’t like that Rajiv liked to hit. She also didn’t like that Rajiv enjoyed roleplaying where she had to pretend to be his wife so that he could hit her. For one thing Manisha looked nothing like Priety in the same way a rat resembles a proud jungle cat in no way. For another, Priety liked to be the one playing the games.
She liked the way Rahul looked after his wife and she knew that he would be a good father and husband.
All she had to do was move a few chess pieces around on the giant board of life to ensure that it was her that he chose to be married to when she was no longer in the picture.

Priety met Rahul at the door. He never got to see the doll on her mantelpiece or the spring-loaded apparatus that hung menacingly over it. He didn’t see the cigarette lighter on a timer that was a clever little mechanism set to fire up at thirty minutes past eight. It would take a minute or two for the flame to snap the string that held the spring back and drove the needle deep into the doll’s crotch.
Rahul and Priety would be dancing in plain view of a hundred people when it happened. Her death would be ascribed to delayed complications ensuing from the miscarriage.
"Shall we move??" she asked Rahul.
"Yes", he said, "the Party must be begining.."

The Party Begins..

2007-08-06T08:38:00.000-07:00

She is wearing this little red thing that would stand out in a crowd. I try speaking to her, silently, soothingly.
When will she start listening to me?
I'm sitting right next to her. Her hair was pulled back in a magnificent chignon that served to accentuate the sculpted beauty of her features.
I want her to learn to dress right for all occasions. For me, of course.
I just averted my eyes from the drab thing she is wearing.
I'm looking around, bored, when I spot one of God's most perfect creations that has ever walked this planet.
I let out a low whistle. She doesn't seem to mind it.
In my field of view is - or rather, my field of view is fixed to - an epitome of beauty, an embodiment of everything wonderful, sugar, spices and everything nice.
Suddenly my eyes are locked to hers. She seems to be drooling all over me. We continue doing so, a touch too long.
Then i see this fear in her eyes.
A fear that I will notice. A fear that she may start wishing for something unattainable. A fear that her fragile confidence will get a blow.
I can read her thoughts, and I find them very amusing, right now.
The amusement spreads on to my face, and i start smiling.
She glares at me and as if she wants me to shut up.
As if I care.
The clock strikes 9, breaking my fixation. I move to the terrace, open the packet of smokes and light one.
A long day it has been and the party was yet to begin. They all would start pouring in some time.
I started thinking about the past.
She had been beautiful all along. It had started like all love stories do. Our relationship had quickly jumped from the teen romance phase to marriage.
I was happy with the picture she presented as my wife and the life we had together. Things had taken a turn for the irreparable after the miscarriage.

It wasn’t anyone’s fault. The doctor had advised care but in the way that any woman about to carry a human being to term is advised rest and relaxation. We were happy and proud so there was no reason for anyone to be unduly worried or extra careful.
Until she lost the baby.
Accusations flew everywhere, we changed doctors, we tried to get pregnant again but something had gone wrong and there was no getting around the change. So she retreated into a shell from which I was unable to extract her.
I thought everything would get better with time.
But, suddenly one day I realised that she was someone completely alien, someone I didn't know at all.
The days started getting longer. I started coming home late and sometimes stayed over at a friends place….

(TO BE CONTINUED)…

Blogically Dead?

2007-07-11T07:24:00.000-07:00

...No!!! Just been busy with a lot of things..interviews,travel,exams,roadtrips.Spikes of energetic activities followed by the extended flats of plain laziness.

But, have been working on this new template as suggested by all the readers ( Hope it has increased the readability now)..but i love my former background picture..so i will keep it in this post..in remeberance of the Departed..

PS:- i'll soon be back with newer posts :)!!

Chiriyakhana ( The Zoo) 1967

2007-03-07T12:44:00.001-08:00

Chiriyakhana marks the coming together of many greats of Indian Cinema, and when i say Greats, i mean it.
The directorial craftsmanship of Ray, acting excellence of Uttam, storytelling of Saradindu Banerjee and the charecter of Byomkesh Bakshi( the true indian inheritor of sherlock holmes).So, when i started watching it,i expected nothing short of a masterpiece.And what i saw was nothing short of one.
Nothing, it seems, can take away the fire. Ray's eye for detail and the old magic of his genius can't let go of this one too, a tour-de-force. The camera is wielded like a conductor's baton as it strikes chords deep in the mind. For first timers watching Byomkesh,the characterisation is swift and deft and for Byomkesh fans,it takes his fan following to levels of fanatism.Be it the setting of his room, be it the phisophical talks with Ajit( His watson), the setting up of the suspense, Ray shows how a movie made in 1967 was still way ahead of its times, and one sadly feels while watching that no single bollywood director has been able to match up to this kind of filmmaking till now, even in the 2000s when the technology has advanced so much.Ray proves that a story and story alone makes a movie and nothing else!!.
I, in no way fit to review and comment on Ray would take the liberty of marking it as one of Ray's best, but in an interview with Cineaste magazine, Ray described Chiriakhana (The Zoo) as his most unsatisfying film. He said, "Chiriakhana's a whodunit, and whodunits just don't make good films. I prefer the thriller form where you more or less know the villain from the beginning(the format he follwed in Sonar kella and Joi baba felunath years later with one of his greatest muses 'Felu mitter' ). The whodunit always has this ritual concluding scene where the detective goes into a rigmarole of how everything happened, and how he found the clues which led him to the criminal. It's a form that doesn't interest me very much". It's after reading comments like this that you realise that how much of learning is still left in the art of Filmmaking.

Coming to the story, An out an out whodunit which takes place in post independence bengal, in a colony outside calcutta set up by a retired judge,Mr. Sen with misfits, criminals and outcasts.The judge initially comes to Byomkesh with a minor case, that of finding out the origins of a movie song, but the plot thickens when the judge himself is murdered.The sheer number and nature of the suspects involved is huge and complex, but one never feels that Ray fails to do justice to any of the characters, and in a film where he could have easily have lost his grip on the screenplay, he excels.
The story and screenplay is a must study for all the current Bollywood directors who are trying to come up with multiple story movies like saalam-e-ishq or HTPL.
The ideas, the treatment and the dialogues are excellent.The twists and turns leave you spellbound.The murder leads to another one, that of a witness and you see secrets tumbling out of the closets of the colony where each character has a notorious past.With subplots ranging from illicit relationships to failed marraiges, to a doctor with a criminal past and a tollywood startlet who faded into oblivion after a single hit, the complexity of a whodunit does not get thicker than this.
Finally as Byomkesh says, he was able to solve the case as he trusted no one, not even Ajit, but only his pet snake, Basuki.
Acting wise Uttam delivers a knockout performance, straying away from his ritiualistic romantic image.The film is a milestone of Uttam Kumar's film career as he won Bharat Award for this film.Uttam forces one to wonder what would have happened had he played 'Feluda' in the other whodunits by Ray.I know, Soumitra has his own fan following and i am also a huge fan of his and the Feluda movies,but Uttam's potrayal of Byomkesh is bang on and perfect, to say the least.
For the cinephiles, this is a must watch( even with the unapt subtitles) and for the novice, there is nothing like it to spend your sunday afternoon with a cup of tea and hot pakoras at the 'Chiriyakhana'.

Of green cards, H1Bs and onsites

2007-03-07T12:44:00.000-08:00

After more than an year of introspection, self realization and complete scanning of my mindspace, and then dissecting my ‘needs’ gingerly on Maslow’s hierarchy and standing at the twilight zone of my MBA where i have to decide on the sector i want to branch into in my placements, here is what i have decided.Read on-
I still vividly remember the look on my project manager’s face when I handed over my resignation at Infy, ‘stay on Lalit, you will be moving to US shortly'.
I gave him a contemptuous look….poor soul doesn’t even realize that I am destined for higher things in life -investment banking, consulting and so on.
Well, after an year, the economy is picking up but unfortunately consulting & investment banking sectors are kinda small and software sector is still big; even Infy and IBM are recruiting massively again…..
"You get monkeys, if you pay peanuts" …..please, please, look closely at my face…do I look like a monkey?
I am here for the holy grail, ‘gyan’!
I am here for learning, the quest to be a complete professional (Comically I realize I still don’t have a ‘Raymond’ suit L ).
So Software it is, and hence my quest for THE Company starts.With more than 8 months to go for my placements i guess i still have time to zero in on my Prey.
The search starts with good old Infy.All my batchmates are at Onsite now.People who had joined in my batch, my client, my IBU, all of themi mean ALL THE PEOPLE i knew seem to be at onsite.People of all kinds, who were great, regarded as 'Fundu' to people whom i remember getting backs in all semesters of engg. are at onsite now.how did i know??
Well one Mr.Orkut Buyukkokten is to be blamed for this.How does one identify a techie cooling hisheels in onsite.Simple.
Follow the folowing steps for a postive match.

Step 1. Go on to his Orkut Profile.The Location will read something like "New Jersey, USA" or "Toronto, Canada". But his Brown skin ( you can call me a racist pig for this, but this aint no Big Brother!!)and a very Indian face flatters to decieve and you realise that this is the same person you knew who belonged to a Bandra, Mumbai or a T.N.Road, Chennai.

Step 2. Next stop is the Album section in Orkut.Believe me it shall be full(12/12) with atleast two snaps taken on snow, two in front of NASA or Eiffel Tower ( depending on which part of the globe you are in) with the person you knew wearing a very trendy western outfit as if he/she was born with it.Dont be decieved by the clothes or the shorter and trendier DCH Hair Cut that you see.The chap knows how big a hole that Hair Cut and that trendy coat made in his/her pocket.Don't you understand..?it was for the photo session you see!!

Step 3. Lets move on to the scraps.Lets see the scraps and my reactions to them embedded in brackets inline. Here you will find exclamations like "Ohh you know it Snowed out here..My God it was unbelievebale" ( yeah it is..unbelieveable!!) or "It's so cool out here, i mean everything is so organised so unlike India"(wait till they organise your Visa expiry, then you will realise how orgainsed they are). Some self appointed patriots will try showing off their psuedo patriotism thinking that they are brand ambassadors of 'India Shining' with scraps like "Whatever you say, India is India, Ohh i miss india so much" ( Dude!! who's stopping you??pack your bags and take the next flight home!!) One more very common scrap is of friends and lesser mortals enquiring "Wahin settle hone ka iraada hai kya, ki wapas aa rahe ho??"(Do i see a blush on the 1/4th NRI's face??Dont worrie dude, he wasn't Born there , as soon as his PM decides that he is done with this Guy he will chop him off, and the next in line will have his VISA stamped!!)

Step 4. Chat with the Guy and you find the Americanisation of his Vocab. 'Petrol' has become 'Gas', he has stopped watching the DDLJs and KANKs and has started watching the Firangee movies. He even asks for the rates in Dollars.Good Lord!!Don't worry Dude, you are not on a green card, it's just a H1B and the day they shove you back you will be paying the Autowalla 20 rupees for the ride back home and not 20 dollars!!

Don't tell me that i am bitching and don't tell me the story of sour grapes.Even i am in the queue.Even i will get my turn at Onsite some day, my'Nirvana', the 'Moksha'..I will get that state of bliss. All great men have been enlightened under one tree or another - Buddha had his bodhi tree, Newton had his apple tree. Unfortunately for me, I will attain nirvana under a Coconut tree.By the way, do they have Coconut Trees in USA?? ;)

Rappy New year!!

2007-01-15T13:25:00.000-08:00

happy new year to all my friends at blogsville!!
and congratulations to me on completing my first year here..

Life on the edge

2006-10-26T11:45:00.000-07:00

Sometimes ..just sometimes..
it's neither day nor night..
neither life nor death..
neither the heights of success nor the depths of absolute failure..
neither love nor hate..
neither the ease of richness nor the ease of poverty..
neither the warmth of summer nor the cold of winter..
neither the happiness of acceptance nor the dejection of rejection..
it's neither the glory of beauty nor the shame of ugliness..
neither the begining nor the end..
neither the satisfaction nor the urge..
neither the intoxication of being high..nor the sobriety of being normal..
it's then that you are..the perfectmisfit..
it's then that you live a life ..on the edge!!

A midsummer night's dream

2006-10-17T14:27:00.000-07:00

2:51 AM reads the clock
he will be here anytime now
to torment you once again
to torture you
this has been going for far too long
this has to stop tonighta whiff of smoke appears
'Open your eyes' he whispers in your ears
in a couple of seconds he has got a lead of around a mile
IOX 9168
that's your machine
climb on the monster
turn on the power
speed ..
more speed ..
even more speed
He looks behind ..
it's a mocking smile he has on his face..
have to catch him tonight..
he's ahead of you, but he's a predator
he's after blood..your blood..
the speedometer reads 140mph..
this is a under 60mph zone..
the last thing you need is to get caught by a cop..
let even getting noticed
open your purse..a few notes..and a solitary coin dangles out..
shit..
shit..
not even enough cash to bribe the cop..
even if you did, there is this outside chance that he belongs to the 'honest' ones
Do you try to talk your way out of this?
Or do you take this cop down and risk it all?
..there he is again..
with the same sarcastic smile..
this bob's giving you sleepless nights since ages..
you still remember the first time you saw him
mocking you..laughing at you..
you almost were trasported into the past when ..
you hear the familiar sirens..
shit..
shit..
shit..shit..shit..
Cops. They're right on our ass
but not for long..
this is your world..'isn't it?
here thing happen the way you WANT them to..don't they?
the way you want to remember them..and not the way they happened..
The cop shuts up his siren..
you almost want to sleep..
it's been ages since you have slept..
you almost start forgetting how it feels like..to sleep...
but the point is..
that you can't sleep..
you JUST can't sleep..
he seems to be slowing down..
wat's this?
this bob's pulling over..
you overtake him..
pull over..
his registration plates are almost visible..
XOI 8916
it reads through your rearview mirror
'looking for me' he says..and continues..
'we have met before haven't we?'
'I don't think so. Where was it that you think we've met?' you say..
'At your house. Don't you remember? ; in your bed room or may be in your mind' he says..
'In fact i was there throughout beside you..in your car..while you were chasing me'..
it's puzzling..
is this man mad..
or are you..??
'I don;t go to places uninvited..by the way' he says
The blood starts rising inside your gut..you can feel it rising right through your spine
'who are you??' you ask..'
who are you'
'WHO ARE YOU'
..you almost yell
he's laughing..
the same mocking laugh..
the blood's almost risen to your head now..
you pull out the gun..
he's not moving an inch..
he continues to laugh..
'who are you killing'
he asks..and laughs
..even more mockingly..
For God's sake' finish him
..make it quick..
thud says the sound..
it's quicker than you realise
..his mortal remains slump down
Then it's straight to business
stretching the corpse on the alley floor and checking his pockets
digging up whatever you find
The wallet is packedMaster Card, Discover, Platinum American Express
Then you find
..a bomb..
an atom bomb..
his driving license shows your id
your name
even his registration no. is same as your's
IOX 9168..
you look around..
his vehicle's gone
this is SOME shit
what is this?
some kind of a joke??
shit
shit
shiiiit..
what next..
you look at the trunk of your vehicle
he will never fit in there..
even trying for a hour doesn't help..
so you make him sit beside yourself right at the front of the car...
you drive..
drive..drive drive..
so that you can reach the pits..
and dump him there..
climb on the monster
turn on the power
you are almost getting nervous..
Go ahead.
Take of his cigarettes
It'll help
as you reach out to his pockets..
it seems to take eternity to find them
God..
where are the cigarettes??
'It's got to be somewhere there, buddy' he says..
holy lord..did he speak??
no he can't
you are just imagining things..
he's dead
dead for good..
but yeah ..you are nervous..
That tells you something about your state of mind, don't it?
It's got you hearing things. It's got your nerves shot
It's got you smoking
You know it's true... Nobody ever really quits
A smoker's a smoker when the chips are down
'And your chips are down...' he goes again..
you press down the accelarators hard..
got to dump him..
before the bob makes you go mad..
'You ain't even going to make it to the pits' he says again..
'You shut the hell up. I'll make it
''Shut up!''
'Oh, you're screwed ; It's over. You're flushed' he says
This time I can't bring myself to tell him to shut up..
cause..
cause the familiar sirens start screeching..
Sure he's an asshole.
Sure he's dead
Sure that I'm just imagining that he's talking
None of that stops the bastard from being absolutely right
You don't have a chance in hell of outrunning this cop
Not in this heavy rain
Pull over!
The only question left is whether I'm going to kill him or not!
Tough call
For all you know,
he's an honest cop, regular guyworking stiff with a mortgage, a wife, and a pile of kids
Your hand moves on its own,
sliding of your guns to your lap and thumbing back the hammer
You don't know what to do
You better stop.
You're making him mad
Whatever he says
'Seem to be in a hurry buddy' he asks..
'It's my friend beside me sir..you say
'Partied a little too hard tonight..outta his senses..am in a hurry to drive him home' you say..
looking at good old bob..
thankfully he is silent now..
the cop's got a bewildered look on his face..
'whom are you talking about bro' he asks..
'there's none beside you..it seems it's you has partied hard tonight..
go home get a sleep..
i am letting you off with a warning..
go home..get a sleep'
he leaves..
you look around..
'bob's dissapeared..
the cops words keep ringing..
'get a sleep'
'get a sleep'
..but
..but you can't
you just can't sleep
you haven't slept in ages..
..stillyou close your eyes..
the familar feeling of deja vu prevails..
what's this??
you are falling asleep. finally...
i am..
am i??
or is it..that i am getting up??
after a long looong sleep?

To B or not to B

2006-10-11T02:43:00.000-07:00

The phenom..
There are stars and then there is Big B..

wihing u a happy 65th Bday!!

Maslow and me..

2006-09-20T08:28:00.000-07:00

It's exam time again...
once again i have plummeted from satisfying my 'Self Actualisation' needs to 'Safety' needs.. ..
10 papers..5 crossed safely..5 more to go...unlike Maslow, who said that you can only travel up his pyramid, i fall down right till the 'Safety' level whenever exams come and skyrocket to 'Self-Actualisation' immidiately after that :-)

.......this was something i had drafted a few days ago...and now, since a couple of hours ago,i am rightfully back to the highest point of the pyramid..right up there at 'Self Actualisation'..watching movies,listening to songs , blogging et all..:-)

#

2006-09-06T15:05:00.000-07:00

A complete list of the roll/identification numbers i have been assosiated with in my life till now...

1(till Class XI)
2(Class XII)
1SI00EC085(BE)
35858(Infosys)
06BM8084(VGSOM)

Hope to add on many such numbers soon....

personal favourite??? 1 of course!!

The ‘Odiya’ in me….

2006-09-01T15:11:00.000-07:00

My roots lie in a place called ‘Orissa’, a small state in the eastern region of India, which has long passed into oblivion, barring the flutters it creates now and then, most often than not for facing nature’s extreme fury (read super cyclones, floods and droughts) and sometimes when a Budhia Singh runs miles which are ten times his age or when the axe of Indian cricket falls on a certain Debashis Mohanty or S.S Das.
Being nomadic by nature and having to travel and live in places all over India, I have lived all my life among Non-Odiya (yes!! It’s pronounced Odiya and not Oriya!!) friends, I have always been subjected to various categories of reactions when I have introduced myself as an Oriya…Ranging from disbelief to pity to disgust to curiosity…The point here is that people always have this feeling about Orissa being a ‘not so’ normal state which always dangles at the bottom of the ‘List of poor states’ of India.
The myths and misconceptions are so many that I can write an entire book on it. For starters, people always feel that the entire of Orissa is full of poverty stricken people who die due to malnutrition and lack of vitamins. I am sorry it is this place called ‘Kalahandi’ which has hogged the limelights due to poverty and NOT the entire state of orissa. Orissa in general is full of rich people who can afford to buy their toilet papers as much as people from any other state can…and yes, It has it’s fair share of healthy (read obese) people and oriyas in general take pride in the kind of food they have, and are very fussy regarding the same.
The second great misconception that people have is that Orissa is just an extension of Bengal and are a quasi Bengali clan…8 out of 10 people tell me that Oriya is similar to Bengali…. excuse me, but all neighboring states have similar languages, be it the great south (Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Karnataka, Kerela) or the west (gujrat, maharastra)…culturally they can’t be more different. Ask die hard oriyas and they will vouch for it…
Next, people think that the only thing Oriyas can do is COOK…although places all over India, be it my current habitat West Bengal or my previous one, Bangalore are swarmed by Oriya cooks, not all Oriyas are great cooks…I for one can’t go ahead of my cuppa tea and a plate of maggi even if you put a knife to me.
Talking of the educational scenario, we have one of the most educated chief misters of the country!!
I am not saying that we belonged to that great ‘Aryan’ race that has now been sidelined for long and it’s time for us to get our fair share under the sun…i am strictly against regionalism and psuedo nationalism in any form, but speaking of our past culture it is rich to say the least. Considering the temples strewn all over Orissa. Be it Jagannath temple in puri, or Lingaraj temple in bhubaneswar or the hundreds of temples in tiny villages of orissa which are yet to capture national attention, the architecture in itself is awe- inspiring…it suggests beyond doubt that people from this pert of the planet were far ahead of their times…
Oriya people in general are lazy, harmless and always ready to help. Sometime in the recent past four of my friends working for Infosys were transferred to Bhubaneswar along with me and they were cribbing all along the way, cursing their lady luck that they had to leave a place like bangalore and had to go to a ‘NON’ happening place like Bhubaneswar, but believe me they fell in love with the place and their eyes were moist when they were leaving Bhubaneswar for greener pastures. That’s the power of Orissa. Experience it to believe it!!!
Finally we had more than our fair share of great men, but all of them did their job and refused to hog the limelights. Be it Utkalmani Pundit Gopabandhu das and Fakir Mohan Senapati…who were great freedom fighters and class A literary big wigs, or be it the great Biju Pattnaik who refused the prime ministership of the country…. Oriyas have always been the apostles of ‘Tyaag’. Mr. Naveen pattnaik for instance, gave up a high society life in the US of A where he was active in the highest of social circles, when his state needed him. Netaji Subash Chandra Bose was born and brought up in Orissa and the seeds of patriotism in him were planted at this place only!!
…Wow!! That’s quite a bit of information and the Fog surrounding Orissa must now be clearing a bit now…To some people this may be sounding more like a conspiracy theory, but I am not here to glorify my state, my only intention is clearing a few misconceptions that people have about Orissa, my orissa…
So what are you waiting for, go get the next flight to THE place and if you still can’t wait till then, reach for the nearest Oriya near you and kiss his hands…or get yourself photographed with him maybe!!!

THE END

2006-09-01T08:44:00.000-07:00

Last week when i was penning down the review of Anand and had mentioned about hrishi da's deteriorating state of health, little did i know that i would be writing about his death a week later..but as i had said hrishi da's whole life was a celebration of life...so there is no point of crying on his death..as Dr. Bhaskar Banerjee (Babu moshai)had said ..

Anand mara nahi..
Anand marte nahii..

Hrishi da will continue to live on for ages, inspiring new filmmakers, introducing starry eyed teenagers to the world of bollywood, Chupke Chupke will still make millions laugh and Anand will still make millions cry.....
This is not supposed to be a filmography or obituary...i don't intend to list down all the great works of hrishi da, but as one could see photos of all the stars starting from Amitabh to Jaya ji to dharam ji with moist eyes all over the newspapers,we have to realise the reach of the great man..there will never be another Chupke Chupke nor a satyakam...but as isa bhai says in Anand...

"Yahin milunga Jaychand....itni jaldi parda girne nahi dunga..
itni jaldi parda girne nahi dunga.."

..yeh parda kabhie nahi girega hrishi da...

meanwhile another great maestro Ustad Bismillah khan also passed away last week, although he had passed on to oblivion since long.One of the very few persons to recieve all the highest awards from bharat ratna to padma awards..he symbolized sehnai for a generation of indians..

both men had great similarities note worthly in thier humbleness and simplicity...Today as India suffers from a great cultural identity crisis ,these apostles of Indian culture have left abode, perhaps to enchant a new world with thier art...

apnii soii hui duniaa ko jagaa luun to chaluun..
apne GhamKhane men ek dhuum machaa lunn to chaluun
aur ek jaam-e-ma’e talkh charha luun to chaluun....
abhi chaltaa huun zara khud ko sambhaaluun to chaluun!!

merii aankhon men abhi tak hai mohabbat ka ghuruur,
mere honton ko abhii tak hai sadaaqat kar ghuruur...
mere maathe pe abhii tak hai sharaafat ka ghuruur,
aise vahmon se Khud ko nikaalun to chaluun....

--'Maut' by jazbi

Anand(1970)

2006-08-20T09:07:00.000-07:00

"Babu moshai!!!!zindagi aur maut to uparwale ke hath mein hai jahapanah!!ise na to aap badal sakte hain na main..Hum sab to rangmanch ki kathputliyan hain...jinki dor uparwale ki ungliyon mein bandhi hain...kab, kaun, kaisa uthega..yeh koi nahin bata sakta....ha ha ha ha ha""

These are the immortal words which capture the essense of life in such a opulent way...Released in 1970 and THE Movie which ushered in the era of the 'glorious 70s' in bollywood which saw many a talented directors ( Hrushikesh mukherjee,Gulzar saab,Raaj Kapoor Saab,Vijay Anand to name a few!!) catering out delicacy after delicacy for the audiences and bollywood has never had a better period.
Amitabh, a doctor who faces turbulent questions within himself when he is faced with the dark realities of life at the start of the movie,plays a subdued 'Dr. Bhaskar Banerjee' in the movie and for once, plays the character and not the star.Hrisikesh Mukherjee shows how to make 'Actors' out of 'Stars'.Fed up with the stark questions that his proffession is throwing up at him,Amitabh has compromised with life, or rather surrendered to 'death'.In one of his scenes Amitabh delivers the punchline for his character...

"Maut..tu ek kavita hai..mujhse ek kavita ka vaada hai..milegi mujhko!!
Doobti nabjon mein jab dard ko neend aane lage..jarrd sa chehra liye chand uffak tak pahunche..
Din abhi paani mein ho..raat kinare ke kareeb..na andhera ho na ujala ho..na abhi raat, na din...jism jab kathm ho..aur rooh ko jab saans aaye...
mujhse ek kavita ka vaada hai..milegi mujhko"

Anand , on the other hand plays a terminally ill patient (He has been diagonsed with lymphosarcoma of the intestine, a gift from hrishi da to bollywood and god knows how many times have we heard of this disease again and again..most recently in Munnabhai..),who has nothing in the life to live for,no relatives,no family.Even his love has left him and gone on to marry someone else(as it is reaveled later in the movie that he leaves delhi for bombay, the day his heartthrob gets married)..yet he enjoys each moment of his life with jest,picks his relationships,searches for his murarilaal and makes family out of utter strangers..As he says he has two hobbies in life...chattering and eating...He laughs,and perhaps some times even mocks at his own death,sometimes at the inability of the doctors to save him and sometimes maybe to God almighty on his ability of involving so many people with his death..
He takes on the responsibilty of people he has known only for a few days as if they were his blood relationships...
Every one around him knows ..knows that the laughing,jolly person they see is a living dead..slowly and slowly Anand is walking towards his death..but as the movie draws to it's climax...every single one (including the audience)hopes and prays for a miracle to happen..
Dr. Bhaskar, a staunch atheist is now a believer and a hardened physio,he resorts even to homeopathy in the end..esha bhai(Jhonny walker) prays to his Allah...mother matren(Lalita Pawar) kneels before Jesus..and Suman(Seema Deo) hopes for a miracle from Sai baba...but as Anand had once said..no one can stop him...when his turn comes...he leaves..
Performance wise...Rajesh Khanna has delivered a powerhouse performance..and has done full justice to the character...Amitabh..though subdued and controlled..shows signs of the rebel in him...and the angry young man image in him..which shall lead him to the peaks of bollywood in days to come...add to that a string of brilliant guest appearances ( johnny lever,dara singh,Durga Khote, Lalita powar)..and you have got a dynamite of a movie....
Music by 'Salil Chaudary' and the beautiful lyrics by Gulzar saab are a different review in themselves..which i don't and admittedly won't be able to review and do full justice to..
If you wish to feel the power of Bollywood..watch Anand 10 times on a trot..and i can bet my last piece of penny that..your eyes will betray you the whole ten times...however 'manly' you may be...
The movie has 'Silence' as a mojor protagonist and it's use within the dialogues is superb...finally when the magnum opus draws to a close...Dr. Bhaskar says..

"Anand mara nahi...
Anand marte Nahi.."

and all one is left with is...Silence!!

PS:- This Day, as hrishi'da struggles with the ventilator he has been put onto..to hold on to his life...this is the movie which shows us how ahead of his times he was..

10 subjects,classes at 8:30 and Alfred Hitchcock

2006-08-17T01:09:00.000-07:00

These are the few entities which make up my life now a days...after a month into 'B-Schooling', the experience is new in some ways and quite according to my expectations a lot of other matters!!
I, for one had already belonged to a school of thought which believed that B-schools (at least in india ) are nothing but glorified placement agencies,The IIMs lead the chart with the amazing placements that they arrange for thier students and the others just chip into their zone.Before joining a B school, in the school presentations, many factors like Faculty,the nature of case studies done,alumni interaction are highlighted as being the plus points of various schools..but in the end it's funny and ironical how every thing boils down to ONE thing...plain and simple..PLACEMENTS..and then come january/february it's amazing to find articles all around(in newspapers/journals/pagalguy etc) in which all B Schools brag about their stupendous placements.It's funny the language they use..i would qoute directly from some B School articles...without naming the schools(which u guys can figure out yourself with a little investigation)
SAMPLE 1
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The XYZ School of business has scripted a new success story with placements touching new highs for the Class of 2006. Four XYZ School of business graduates have bagged offers that have broken the USD 200,000 mark. While the highest salary offer recorded at the XYZ School of business is USD 233,800.......

SAMPLE 2
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The Campus Recruitment Program 2006 at XYZ School of Management witnessed companies vying with each other to select the 186 students, both from the Business Management (BM) and Personnel Management & Industrial Relations (PM&IR) courses.Three students signed out with offers from McKinsey, the consulting major, which offered a package of 13 Lakhs. The highest offer was made by McKinsey, followed by Hay Group, Accenture Business Consulting and HSBC Bank. The average salary for the batch this year was 8.4 Lakhs, a significant rise as compared to the corresponding figure of the previous year, 7.4 Lakhs. Over 25 students were offered salaries of 10 lakhs or more......

SAMPLE 3
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The entire batch of XYZ 2004-06 at was handpicked by corporate bigwigs, offering positions across various functions. The outstanding success in placements has been the result of consistent focus of school on industry interaction and the enhanced course structure, which is in line with the Industry expectations. The school's growing reputation among corporate circles helped the placements to a smooth draw...

SAMPLE 4
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XYZ’s Class of 2006 signed off in spectacular style with the grand success of this year’s placement process. The strong economy and a positive outlook for growth set the scene for a superb recruitment season as 41 new companies joined XYZ’s already impressive recruiter list….

Sample this,just replace the name of the B School and all one is left is, is with numbers...highest salaries, medians, averages,international placements,no. of hours that took for the entire batch to be placed blah blah...The stuff is so uncannily similar for all the B schools...and the CULT group of wannabe B Schoolers gorge on these very articles(which motivate them to put in that extra bit of effort in CAT/XAT/JMEt etc),while preparing to get into the school of their dreams..
Regarding the Knowledge part my personal view is that all those classic case studies that are being done since ages are no longer pertinent and all those oral communication and written communication classes hardly help in real time situations...when you have a deadline to deliver stuff..the last thing you would care about will be the body language while dealing with your client!!
Regarding the Faculty,they are as good as the students as it depends on the student's intellect finally whether they are able to grasp the subject or not and finally,few of the brightest lot ever come back to teaching,leaving the moolah that the industry offers to them.So, with all due respects the Faculty in any B School always consists of the ones who could never make it Big in the Big bad corporate world.
It's not that i am unhappy with my B school,it's just that i have realised it's potentials as well as it's short comings...It has a wonderful wonderful LAN which gives me access to all those classic english movies i had always wanted to see..be it hitchcock or kurosawa..you name it..the LAN has it all...
It has given me 10 subjects which are trying to get better of me...and it will take 20 odd subjects after this and 1 and half years after which i will be branded a manager(eh!! atleast theoritically)..
So, as of now it is this only..."10 subjects,classes at 8:30 and Alfred Hitchcock"
And yeah..how can i forget the best part...the placements...my B school also has rocking placements( at least it's official placement report suggests so, with quite a similiar language as given above!!)...so i also dream...dream of a FAT Pay Check after all the blood and toil i put in this two years..i have one thing to say...to my B school..or rather the placement department of my B School....

"But I being poor, have only my dreams..
trade softly as thou are trading on my dreams.."

And then there was sleep...

2006-08-08T13:35:00.000-07:00

...and peace all around!!!
Classes:-sleep(with the fear of being caught!!)
Breaks between classes:-unperturbed sleep...

my reinstatement as a student has re-enlightened me with various new poses of sleeping during lectures!!!...

Sleep well junta...Amen!

Mann ye Bawra...

2006-07-30T14:14:00.000-07:00

I today had the privilege of witnessing a cinematic spectacle by the means of " Hazaaron Khwaahishen Aisi"..i know it may be a bit late in the day to write the review of a movie which has been released so long back...but now i know why sudhir mishra is considered to be the best among the current lot of directors by many!!
The story revolves around three charecters...vikram(shiny ahuja),geeta(chitraganda singh) and siddhant(kay kay menon)..and is palced in the turbulent 70's which witnessed perhaps the greatest joke on indian democracy..the emergency!!..basically a love story...which has deep undertones of political sattire,philosophy all knitted in..by sudhir mishra..which produces a canvas with more colours than say a karan johar or a sanjay leela bhansali!!
It takes a insighting look into the naxalite movement which is so relevant in the current situation.Kay Kay menon delivers..and chitraganda singh leaves you yearning for more..she transports acting into an era which has been lost..and she is not being compared to smita patil for nothing.Shiney Ahuja has many shades in his charecter and his weaknesses make him all the more real.move over Amir..here we have the most natural actor we have ever had!!
This is one indian movie which can have 10 different interpretations when 10 different people see it..it's leaves an impression and makes you think even hours after watching the movie!!..the words which come to the mind after it's finished are ..disturbing..fresh..the turbulence of youth...growing up..the swinging pendulam of fortune!!!..and the music is a treat..'mann ye bawra' is one song which will remain fresh for years to come!!..the various tragic love stories on display are bound to make one think...
i can go on writing about the movie..so let's stop here...so go treat yourself to this one ..which is sure a collector's edition!!

What is popular is not always right and what is right is not always popular..!!

2006-07-29T11:07:00.000-07:00

Two movies which prove this adage beyond a shred of doubt are KRRISH and OMKARA..with all due respect to the roshans and the bollywood audience of course!!

The battle called life...

2006-07-29T05:56:00.000-07:00

..is easy to win,when the enemy's outside...when when it is within..it gets a lot messier...and in the latter case..the way the battle is fought is much more important than the outcome of the battle...!!

The MBA Story-past forward!!

2006-07-27T02:41:00.000-07:00

Blogosphere has enlightened me regarding various MBA preparation/success stories over the past few months...though mine is not as successful as many others..but it has it's own twists and turns..the current workload doesn't allow me to write it all over again..so i will tag a old mail...from the days at infy...though it can never do full justice to all the emotional turmoil i have been thru...and the characters involved !!
still....2/19 gang..this one is for you....

Note:- Please read it from bottom..to up !!
-----------------------------------------
(Krish replies)

Hi friends,

It was really a very touchy mail from Lalit and again many congrats to him. I am really proud of you - especially after at the way you have struggled and have combated all odds.
Great show!!!!!! Finally all your hard work has paid off... as I look back I see that I had also started with a mission with you all but somehow in the middle I lost my way.
Now I have settled in Kolkata and can say that I am happy. But still it would be very unwise to say that I don’t feel any pain for not having continued with you till the end. Even then I don’t have much regrets now, though I know that all Abhi and Lalits encouraging words didn’t have any effect on me as I myself was not sure about what wanted to do with the project tensions gripping on me and I could never forsake the doubt about my abilities… (Now I don’t have much doubt you can say hmmm) Anyway this is life and I know that god has given me such wonderful friends through you.
Jindegi ke safar mai mujhe aur ek abhi ek lalit ek kuntal aur ek sandi nehi milenge….. Friends you are the best. One last thing please forgive me if I have hurt any one of you in any way in the past.
I have also learnt a lot of things from you guys. From abhi and lalit I have learnt perseverance and determination, Lalit’s never say die attitude, from Kuntal I have learnt how to be always happy and from Sandi I have learnt how to handle tensions and believe in oneself. Now I m in Kolkata and started to learn “tabla”. I think lalit you will remember that this was my passion from the day I entered into BBSR, and I just want to carry forward that passion and be successful in learning at least one thing in life with all hard work and determination that I have learnt from you………..
Thanks 2/19 for always being on my side.
Take care…and be sure that kris will always be on your side.
Kris.
-----------------------------------------
(Abhi replies-2)

Correctly said sandy….somehow I 4got to mention tht in the last mail…
Ur contribution 2 our success is no less…… I stil remember wen I used to wake up t 5:30 in the mrnin wen v were roomies…u sacrificed ur morning sleep 4 my studies…..
A BIG THANKU 2 U 2 toobloo!!!!!!!!!!!!! I remember how u made sure tht u dint distrb me while I was studying in our room…..that really set the platform for sme serious study!!!!!!!!!!!
Also 1 mrnin wen I was studying u woke up and the 1st thing u said was “Yen Magaa” JJJJJ And although I was studying so seriously I burst in2 peels f laughter and u followed JJJJJ I also remember how u used to read go2 krish’s room 4 readin novels wen I went 2 sleep early…. These were some incidences wich r really close to my heart…………. And u rightly said each day was an experience in itself with all f us 2gether…….. Lookin t it this way… V started frm mysore as 2tal strangers…nobody knowin each other well..leave alone stayin 2gether….. But then it’s all destiny…..now the thing is tht v all r best 4 frens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All f us here miss u 2 sandy….especially wen v go2 Lingaraj lassi bar,those late night bike rides and gossip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also wen v had to make any crucial decision u were the 1 everybdy turned 2….rest f the gang wud agree wit me n this tht u were the most sensible amongst all f us!!!!!!!
Hope all f us get 2 meet each other later n in life wit our families ;-) tab ek duusre ki acche se lenge ;-)
Came back frm bhilai 2day mrnin….. Munched n Kdeb’s “meetha dosas” b4 comin to office… My bro has gone 2 pune n has joined dilip oke’s academy..hope he does well there… Wat’s up n ur side? Wats cookin these days? Chal then keep mailin…
Tk care Luv 2/19!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
P.S :- I havnt read tht Quarter Life Crisis mail..is it there n ur bolg? If it is then I wil read it..otherwise u cn 4ward it 2 us….
-----------------------------------------
(Sandi replies)

From: sandipan mitra [mailto:sandipan_mit@yahoo.co.in] Sent: Sunday, April 09, 2006 4:53 AMTo: Abhishek Singh; Sulalit Das; kris banCc: abhi_pesit@yahoo.com; Kuntal Deb; lalit_008@yahoo.com Subject: RE: **The shortest mail i'v ever sent**

hi!

really very well written! I hope this goes to your blog! I am so happy for both of you! It is very difficult situation which you have gone through! But ya, I just rememebered somethings! HAve you guys got a fwd or mail about quater life crisis? It is regarding the age 23-27! we feel very different, not at all enthusiastic about new people and all as we did in college days! So though the new world may be good, but you will always miss the old buddies! As i am doing! Somehow i can't keep a consistency with my roommates at all! I consider myself so lucky that i had gems like you in one of the most difficult phase of my life! Especially, when at times, you left me alone instead of just false consoling and times you were really cheering me up! Each day living with you guys was an experience in itself! I know that frndship do decrease over time, but i always want to be in close contact with all you four! And yes;) Even i would have been good, if i were there for the whole year in your hardwork! Lalit, put this in your blog! this mail is a treasure!
-----------------------------------------
(Abhi replies-1)

I m short f words now….i dnt think I cn praise this mail enuf !!!!!!!! This mail which must hav taken bhaina ages to compose tells the whole story…. As I was goin thru the mail and the incidents mentioned,those images flashed in front f me…this mail is 1 f the best I have ever read…HATS OFF DUDE!!!!!!! U mus hav taken lot f pain composing it….. And thanks 4 the sweet words bhaina....i jus hope I turn out 2 b tht strong as u have mentioned coz m gonna need tht strength later on in my life!!!!! Well I wont write much now… While reading each n every sentence in this mail I relive those days..thanx once again dude for this mail and as dude has written,without the support n help f Kdeb n kisan kumar, the success wudn’t hav tasted this sweet….. M gonna take the printout f this mail n read it over n over again n my journey to bhilai 2day!!!!!! Thanx once again bhaina for this very special mail!!!!!! Cheers bhailog……..
2/19 rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-----------------------------------------
********THIS IS MY ORIGINAL MAIL TO THE GANG *********

From: Sulalit Das
Sent: Friday, April 07, 2006 3:38 PMTo: 'sandipan mitra'; Abhishek Singh; kris banCc: abhi_pesit@yahoo.com; Kuntal Deb; 'lalit_008@yahoo.com' Subject: RE: **The shortest mail i'v ever sent**
Hi Sandi,
Thanks once again...I know it sounds filmy (which we are), but the way life has been unfolding for me and abhishek since the past few months, the twists and turns, the anxiety and suspense can certainly give any bollywood blockbuster a run for it's money. Here's my two pence on our Coup'de maitre The script unfolds like this...
I. Time- (May/Jun 2005)
I and abhi start giving mock cats with SV..Results swing from very good to pathetic (bottom line...we do not have any consistency!!) Result:-Abhi decides to go for TIME tests rather than IMS which are a bit tougher.
II.Time- (July/August 2005)
Mock Cats going on well. Prep’ going just fine when Mr. T.K.Das decides to give us a visit and our world goes topsy-turvy. Result:-We have to leave our cosy flat @2/19 and the hunt for a new get-a-way starts.
III.Time-(Sept/Oct 2005)
Gang decides on a new flat which is safely hidden from the glaring eyes of fellow info scions at Gajapati Nagar. Result-The result here should better be left untold. The house unfortunately suffers from all kind of problems ranging from water to electricity to.....
IV.Time-(Nov/2005)
The going gets real tough and the tough get going, unfazed by the zillion problems that surround them(food, a leaking house, money crunches and the fear of being seen by some one **as we were down by jaundice**, me and abhi gear up for the D-Day. Result:- Me and Abhi bonded big time during this period of distress, ranging from our daily hidden get-aways to Dhabas during lunch to evening tea to counting 50 paisa coins to have a gulab jamun.
V.Time-(Nov 20th 2005 -Part 1)
THE D-DAY.We approach the D-Day with lots of tension, hidden fears and suppressed confidence. Day before CAT we watch Lakhsya to pep us up. Result: - The more we thought about the result, the more nervous we got, we had kept the stakes so high that the thought of failure used to send a chill down the spine.
VI.Time-(Nov 20th 2005 -Part 2)
Paper - toughest ever. Performance-A little below standard from my side, and way way below standard from Abhi.I guess that says it all. Result:-Dreams shattered.Abhi decides to apply for any/every other college whose last date was left ranging from BIM to SIIB to... PS:- one thing needs to be specially mentioned here. The day we had CAT, after the paper I cried while talking to Mom. Even Abhi cried while talking to his mom, but we had to attend Kris’s b’day treat, and Abhi although he was at his lowest came along to the party. That, for me defined what kind of person Abhi is(and I can happily admit that I can never be as strong as him).
VII.Time-(Nov end/early Dec)
THE SEPARATION. The band of the musketeers had to be disbanded one day, but that day came a bit early. Gang decides to leave the flat as continuing there was becoming more and more unbearable, and KDeb and Krish find out a new flat at Sailashree Vihar. Result:- I decide to go to my Mausi's house at Rasulgarh(factors- Money, money and money).Money was never as important and never will be as it was during this period. PS: - another one of those events. Me and Abhi were so crunched for money that we decide to have a 15 rs Veg meal as we did not have the 25 rs required for the chicken meal( and boy chicken has never looked as good as it was looking that day, and will never look better)
VIII.Time (Dec/Jan)
Me and Abhi give all the other tests and rejoin office meanwhile. The most calm period of the entire script(barring the dealings and taunts that we had to face from our GPM’s etc). The results:- 1. CAT:- Abhi was already prepared for it and he was not exactly shattered after getting a low %ile.As far as I was concerned, I was hoping for 96+ and i got a 98 %ile, so in a way I was thrilled with the results. 2. JMET, NMAT:- I scrapped thru in both of them, while i feel these were the results that really shattered Abhi( his tension was at it's highest, and i felt this was the time when Abhi started losing his grip a bit) 3. SNAP (:-)) It's better if we call it Abhi's result as Abhi got a record 113 while i got 98 and SV was deep down somewhere in the 70's( that also I doubt :-) )
The GD/PI's:- The pendulum swings again and Abhi goes from down and out, to satisfied, to happy after he converts SPJain Dubai. I start to realize the flip side of applying to soooo maaaanyyy colleges when i had to attend 15 GD/PIs in the span of 40 days. The list of colleges where i decided not to go to attend GD/PIs due to clashes should give you a fair idea of the calls i had got:- IMT Ghaziabad, MICA, SCMHRD, TAPMI Abhi does not have to struggle to much as his SIBM is converted, while I go from euphoric to happy to satisfied to down and out While the results came.NMIMS where i had a field day and i had thought that i would convert that for sure let me down. PS:- The irony was , it was Abhi who had told me about the CAT results and it was Abhi only who told me about my rejection at NMIMS. I will never forget the day, when the results came out and i was in the train and was feeling so low and Abhi, Krish and Kuntal came down at night 10:30 to cheer me up.
That was the moment which signified life for me.Abhi had converted SIBM and he had now got everything from a point where he had nothing, and i had done just the reverse I had turned from a hero to zero!! Struggle. Struggle and struggle it was for me, more than 10,000 rail kms for me, and then, as they say!! IIT happened. I know, IIT Kgpur may not mean a very good B_Schools to many (one name worth mentioning here is SV), but for me, its life, it’s everything now. It IS the college which allows me breath freely now-a-days. IT IS MY CLIMAX !!

In the hindsight:- The above mail will never be able to capture, each and every moment that we have been living the past few months, but these months have been the most fruitful of days, where i have made a few friends, learnt a few things and most importantly grown up as a person. Lastly, since this mail is sounding more and more like a thanksgiving mail, i cannot signoff without thanking two more characters of the story Kuntal and Krish. Kuntal, who laughed and made us laugh thru all the tensions we had, who mended his policies to appease us as we had exams, who was a mere spectator in the entire story, who understood nothing of DI, or B school rankings, yet he was happy when we were happy and sad when we were sad. That is the spirit of Kuntal, who cannot the thanked enough for the kind of whims he had to face from us , ranging from being our media manager while we were in cognito in gajapati nagar, to taking print outs to a whole bundle of other things which he did for us. Krish has to be thanked for being the pure supporter that he is and for his belief in us.
I think i should end now, or even you guys will start getting bored.
This, Sandi was 2/19 over the past few months.

love 2/19, lalit

My new gadget...

2006-07-27T01:29:00.000-07:00

an hp dv2002....neat!! ..ain't it??

The best way to start your Management classes...

2006-07-20T22:41:00.000-07:00

is at least not the way the people at VGSOM 06-08 did..
with more than 24 hours without water in the hostel, pathetic food and incessant rains all around...
morning shows the day and the first class was more of a do's and don'ts recital from the prof...
but ok...not many things can go wrong from here on...and the sheer aura of the stalwarts i have seen the past few days assures me of one thing....
life is never going to be the same after being a kgp ian( as the members of the cult call themselves)...
This is a party and i am here to rock!!

...but you're still here...

2006-06-15T23:51:00.000-07:00

...Before you slip into unconsciousness
I’d like to have another kiss
Another flashing chance at bliss
Another kiss, another kiss
The days are bright and filled with pain
Enclose me in your gentle rain
The time you ran was too insane
We’ll meet again, we’ll meet again
Oh tell me where your freedom lies
The streets are fields that never die
Deliver me from reasons why
You’d rather cry, I’d rather fly
The crystal ship is being filled
A thousand girls, a thousand thrills
A million ways to spend your time..
..When we get back, I’ll drop a line...

The beginning of an end….

2006-06-03T23:44:00.000-07:00

May 31st, 2006

6:00AM
….The early morning temple chants suggest that it is already morning….The eyes open…dreamily suggesting that the dream be let to continue...but then the sweet cacophony of the ambience suggests that it’s a little late than morning…The face of the project manager flashes across the face…lalit, see tomorrow may be your last day, but do come at time…try to make it by 9:15 max…and not 10 as you have a made a habit….
Gosh…have to rush…

7:00 AM
As I rush into the washroom with the brush dangling from my mouth…dad says ….do make it a point to shave today… I want my boy to look smart in the last day at his office…

7:30 AM
Open the Tap…put on the foam…put the battery of the razor on…shave…think…what does one wear to his last day at office…?Black? Nah…that’s too formal…white/off white…nah…That’s too out dated…Red?...Red? I mean… how could you just think Red..?
Well that is what has been your philosophy…to do things what people can’t even think of doing…so the red short shirt it is…Life’s a party…as they say…and I rock…(as I think !!)

8:30 AM
Life at 95 Kmph…How does it feel? When you feel the wind hitting your eyelids with all its might…tears trickle down….the wind doesn’t allow the tears even to fall down. They dry down even before falling…even if a stray dog comes now suddenly,it’s either him or you…or maybe no one…guess the helmet should now be taken out of the rear lock and be put to use in a more appropriate place…
Shit ….but today is the last day and have to make it by 9:15,The PM’s dialogue is still ringing in your ears…

9:15 AM
Morning Amit…
”Morning , good that you made it on time today at least…“The boss says…”You remember about the last two KT’s right? Please give them in the first half today…as you will remain busy in the second half with your separation related activities…”…….Will be done boss…!!!

10:30 AM
The KT’s are FINALLY over…
Write the last day mails first…the first one, a hardcore official mail, to the client…where please stay in touch…actually means…TO GET LOST…was sent to the client managers…The next one to all collegues..Friends inside and outside infy proclaiming that finally you are done, and this is going to be the last mail from this id..And they need to update their outlooks with the new personal mail id was sent…..and then suddenly…you get transported to the past….

Circa September 9th, 2003

The answer of almost all the puzzles seem to be right…this is it…this is my day…I will get my fair share of the sun today…but suddenly the disappointment of TCS flashes hard …The face of the interviewers …laughing mockingly ever since…stare at you…they are making fun at you…
“The result will be put up on the notice board at around 3, they have announced” says a friend and you come back to your senses…too much is at stake…The image of the misfit had taken quite a beating after the TCS fiasco…Infy it has to be…which shall redeem me….
The rush around the notice board is too much…the same notice board where they had put the results of TCS on…You shudder even at the thought of going near it….The placement committee volunteers(comprising of guys who had already made the cut in TCS..) put up the list of the people who have made it to infosys in the notice board…junta swarms like bees around honey….the knees go weak…what is this..? the legs refuse to move towards it….suddenly some one shouts…Sulalit Das….Sulalit Das has made it…Anguish…fear…The release of all the pain…unbridled joy…how do you express all these emotions at one go?...but the logical mind refuses to accept that something good could actually happen…The rush around the notice board finally disperses….people are finally moving on…some are headed for the nearest bar…some are calling up their parents/boy friends/girl friends ….some are crying…some are dejected…some are laughing with confidence…as if they knew all along..that they were the chosen ones…You see the notice board….Yeah...there it is… Sulalit Das…Finally you are there…
The first job….
The first celebratory drinks…
The first AC travel on your own money….
The first salary…
The first investment on your own money…
The first gift you give to your kid brother…
The first stay in a five star hotel…
The first time you throw a booze party without actually caring a shit about the bill…..
The first t-shirt you buy on your own…
There are many such firsts….

11:30 AM
…..All these firsts flash before your eyes as you press the send button on your last day mail…The mail box is swarmed with All the best messages in no time…
shit….It’s almost lunch time…the HR lady is still not at her desk…you just hope that not much of those goddamn separation related activities are left….call up your project mate…have to move for the last lunch…at UMA…The hideous getaway of the celebrated BHU-infoscions….

12:00 Noon
The HR calls up….have to attend an exit interview…before leaving…fix it up at 4:30…have quite a few things to say!!!

1:00 AM to 4:00 PM

All those people…all you friends who had been your life the past two years…The canteen vendor with whom you had struck such a chord with…the old school mates you had met at Infy…book your time as if you are going to get beheaded today..and these are the last few moments they want to share with you…phew…never felt so important all my life…Thousands of phone calls…The orkut scraps book’s even moving at a fast pace…
coffee with some…ice creams with others…burgers with still others…the stomach will have to bear the burnt of the last day too…

5:00 AM

“you know what, you have at least given us some thing to ponder over…your HR says…no one points out so many faults with his project/manager in one interview…”
But this is what I feel maa’m…
All your pain...all your anguish is again brought to life…this is what infy made me feel…but still...i am headed for an IIT...and hence…no complaints…life IS beautiful!!

7:30 AM

The final strolls with the closest of your friends are over…The phone has stopped buzzing…you head back to your cubicle…read all the last mails in the inbox…
Go to start menu….Turn Off the Computer…one final time…
Some one else will sit in the cushioned chair soon…some one else will use his login credentials in the PC soon…the telephone extensions will be assigned to some one else soon… you are history…for ever…
Amit…That’s it….I am leaving…..Amit and Subashish stand up…as you leave…they are clapping…you don’t have the courage to look back…one final time….
As you reach the bike stand some one is shouting from the behind…Lalit…Lalit…It’s your project mate…The guy who spoke so less that you had started doubting his ability of speech…but I hardly ever had talked to this guy…”Life’s never going to be the same, after you Lalit..he says…I don’t feel good…about you leaving ….I feel as if I am left lonely …”..his eyes are moist…..
You say nothing…you just huddle together in a warm hug…..
put the key in the bike…kick start the monster..The engine roars…you get out of the main gate….never to turn back ever again…
The bike’s cruising along at 30 Kmph….Warm drops of tears start dropping out of your eye lids…it’s not the wind this time…it’s the damn project mate …he did this to you….
It starts to rain….This time also the tears are unable to fall down…water meets water….

The beginning has ended….

The end has begun!!

The catalog of the promises I broke…

2006-06-03T23:42:00.000-07:00

Shall be added with another one, when I start writing my personal musings (which I had pledged not to write here, earlier!!)…from my next blog onwards….I guess that is why I took so much time to write again…it took me SOME Courage to resume writing!!

Thought for the Day

2006-04-14T06:32:00.000-07:00

Looking forward to..

2006-04-10T03:10:00.000-07:00

1.Darna jaroori hai and gangster
2.Sonia winning in Rae-Bareily
3.Australia losing to Bangladesh
4.The reservation talks leading to Mandal-II
5.losing a few kilos
6.Learning to play the guitar
7.joining VGSOM
.....
(not necessarily in that order)

Jha ji's fall

2006-02-06T21:29:00.000-08:00

Yet another crafty director has succumbed to the lures of commercial cinema.Thats what one feels after watching Apaharan.
Prakash Jha reaches a trough after the crest of 'GangaJal'.
Apaharan is nothing but a re-mix of Shakti and Company, two hugely successful movies.It has nothing new to offer, rather the talents of Nana patekar and Ajay Devgun have been grossly underutilised.
Prakash Jha seems to have made up his mind.He wants to mint money selling Bihar's woes(with a little help from Ajay devgun of course !!)

Rang De Basanti

2006-02-06T21:13:00.000-08:00

I had not written a review for long simply because I haven't watched a movie since many days.Now the mind refuses to watch mindless capers, and I took a chance with RDB after one week of the release of the movie.
Movies like RDB are not made, they just happen once in a while.The movie is one of the few ensemble-cast movies produced in India where an Icon like Aamir Khan is NOT the Hero of the movie, he is just another protagonist.Technically Rakeysh Mehra has reached a new height and regarding the story telling,he has bridged a desert from Aks to RDB,The movie looks at and mocks the present political situation and the corruption prevalent in it.The story has been told through the eyes of an english lady, who comes to India inspired by her grandfather's diary about the indian freedom fighters.The execution is tight and the intermingling of the documentary with the movie has been done deftly.In movies like these, the maximum time and effort is spent in the pre-production part and a little negligence on the screenplay can make the movie lookquite ordinary(as was the case with Shikhar).
Regarding the performances, Aamir plays DJ with aplomb and although he has started looking aged, no else in bollywood could have played the role better.
Atul kulkarni, is a hell of a performer who takes ordinary scenes to extraordinary heights(like the one where he narrates the poem Sarfaroshi ki tammana....).
All others including Soha(thankfully) carry their roles to perfection.
Coming to the most debated part of the movie, the climax which has been appreciated by many and disliked by others.We indians like to live in a ethereal world surrounded by feel good results.The end is not for the easy going people who want to feel good even after watching a hard hitting no-nonsense movie.
The spirit of the movie is captured by Aamir in two lines..
Zindagi jeene ke do hi tareeke hote hain...Jo ho raha hai..Jaise ho raha hai...hone do..bardhaast karte raho..
ya phir jimmewari uthao..use badlane ki..

Na jaane Kabse...

2006-01-26T22:45:00.000-08:00

Na jaane Kabse...
umeedein kuch baaki hain..
mujhe phir bhi teri yaad kyoun aati hai..
Na jane Kabse...
Duur jitne bhi tum ho mujhse..pass tere mein..
ab to aadat si hai mujhko aise jine mein..
Zindagi se koi sikhwa bhi nahin hai...
ab to zinda hun main is nile aasman mein..

chahat aisi hai yeh teri.. badhti jaye...
aahat aisi hai yeh teri...mujhko sataye..
yaadein gehrin yeh itni....dil dub jaye...
aur aakhon mein yeh gam...nam ban jaye......
ab to aadat si hai mujhko aise jine mein..
.....
sabhi yaadein hain...
sabhi raatein hain..
sabhi baatein hain...
bhula do unhe.. mitado unhe...
Na jane Kabse..
ab to aadat si hai mujhko..

(Courtesy Jal)

What does Republic Day mean to me..

2006-01-26T21:40:00.000-08:00

26th Jan 2006...
Republic Day brings in with itself, the sounds of reverberating drumbeats, anxious moments regarding the performance of the school parade team, and the opportunity to devour the delicacies distributed thereafter. Ethereal concepts like 'The Republic of India', 'Democratic way of life' used be the last things in mind.
Mornings used to start early, with dressing up for the school and then the stadium events and the day lazily used to extend into the after noon where the best part used to be ogling at the girls of other schools once the thanks giving speech got over ( The ones of the 'other' school always used to be better!!).
At the end of the day, stomachs full of the sweets given, and the heart filled with pride. The pride associated with being an Indian...one always had the various news channels showing the parades of various states...
But things are different today…I have been providing support to my client(needless to say that it;'s an American Firm)..as it is a offshore holiday today.. That’s my way of celebrating the republic day. The massive structure of my office building doesn't allow the blasphemous sounds of drum beats to reach my ears....
26 th Jan 2006
.. and they say it's been 50 years we have been free.

Facing fire with storm

2006-01-24T04:55:00.000-08:00

MS Dhoni and Irfan took the saying 'facing fire with fire' a step ahead yesterday and displayed before the entire world the new-found attitude of team India - Thanks to a certain Mr. Chappel.
(It was heartening to see Saurav carrying the drinks meanwhile)

King Khan

2006-01-24T04:41:00.000-08:00

There are stars and there is Shahrukh Khan. Till very recently, I used to always wonder how a performer like Shahrukh Khan, who has a very limited raportaire of expressions, can make his audience remain glued to the chair for a span of three hours. Is it luck, destiny, hardwork, coincidence or intelligence? May be a bit of all these. I was never a fan of Shahrukh the actor, but as a person I would certainly rate him much much higher. His off-screen remarks are much more interesting than his on-screen dialouges. Here are a few gems:
"Even when I'm in bed, I'm on stage, I never let go of the audience – I can't"
"You never win the silver, you only lose the gold."
"I am employed by the myth that is Shah Rukh Khan. I am just a worker who keeps the myth going."
"As Forrest Gump says: whenever there is a choice between a piece of mind and a piece of ass – I take the former. I think if you take sexuality very seriously it becomes very oily."
"Men who are interesting will find their wives interesting. And you'll hear of them being in amazing marriages."
"If you get bored with the person you married for love, there's something wrong with you – not that person."
"I want to tell young people that there is nothing special about being a hero, being successful or rich, it's just a little hard work, focus, and a lot of goodness. The least you can do is be courteous to people."
"Mera Bharat Mahan - "It feels like a superstar to be a Muslim in India. Anyone who feels our country is not secular should look at me."
"I am like a Rolls Royce which can run without an engine, just on reputation."
"My mother used to call him (Shahrukh's father) the most successful failure in the world."

Time heals wounds....

2006-01-18T04:34:00.000-08:00

But seems it has forgotten mine...

Jo main nahin hoon to kyun hoon...

2006-01-18T04:06:00.000-08:00

Jo main nahin hoon to kyun hoon...
Jo hoon to kya hoon main? - Amir Khusru

Sourav's dilemma...to bat or not to bat!!

2006-01-17T02:54:00.000-08:00

When i see the amount of television time today being consumed by our ex-Captain; I am forced to ponder about the situation.
Just when I had thought that Sourav has had the last laugh, destiny has played a very cruel game with him, yet again.
Where did it all start going wrong? It is ironical that Sourav's slide down the trough started when he was at the doorstep of his greatest success as an Indian captain. His first away series win (away from the sub-continent) in test matches.
After a not so great and ever painful century, the moment Sourav decided to create fuss over the friendly banter that Greg had with him and suggested him about his future as a player as well as the captain of team India, before the media, he started his downward slide.
Although that matter was handled by the BCCI within closed doors(as diplomatically as ever), the seize of power away from Sourav and his eventual loss of place would not have come as a surprise to any prudent skeptic.
Yes, Sourav has given us more reasons to cheer about than any other Indian captain (apart from Kapil maybe in 1983).
Be it the shirt waving syndrome he has, or the way he handled the media pressure created by the Steve, he no doubtedly changed the face of Indian cricket.
But the problems that bugged Sourav were same that happens with many good things; that of over Indulgence and self-obsession.
Somewhere down the line he forgot that Team India was the Super set and he, the subset and thought otherwise.
He thought that he could get away with poor strokes as long as the team was winning, and slowly the feeling that he was a burden started playing in the minds of the Indian cricketers (particularly the ones like Laxman, Zaheer and Nehra who were struggling for a permanent place in the team in spite of doing better than Sourav).
One has to agree that he did all the right things by increasing his fitness levels, playing domestic matches(and restarted bowling once again) to get selected into the team and
the selectors were definitely wrong...wrong not in dropping him but repicking him under political pressure.
This has been proven by the turn of events in the first test match in pakistan.A senior player like Sourav cannot be selected in the team and warm up the bench. So, what do we do? We drop both Gambhir and Jaffer who had centuries in the tour game, create in balance in the team and force a player like Rahul to bat at the start of the innings (Sourav's fear of facing fast bowling is an axiom now-a-days, doesn’t need to be discussed any more) just for the fear that,
some hundred awful supporters who have no better work to do will throng down the streets and start burning effigies. What we forget here is that all these events are sponsored by the
political circles of the state ( which is on the verge of assembly elections) to divert attention.
And to his sheer chagrin, the pitch was a batsman's paradise. Who knows what would have happened had Dada opened the innings?
This is destiny's way of saying 'Son your time's up!!'
Sourav has been good, but he could have been great.How can Sourav be happy when he is selected into the team as a batting all-rounder and not as a fully fledged batsman, when I as one of his countless fans feel deeply humiliated by the statement itself? After facing so many downfalls, as a true fan of his, I deserve at least one more swashbuckling innings from him.
At least one more glorious cover drive, but alas he is hell bent to prove to himself that he is "STILL" good. What he does not want to believe is that he is long past his expiry date as an active player.
Ay Royal Bengal Tiger...Take a Bow.. And leave.. For thy have passed thou time..!!

Salman Khan:- The Enfant terribilis of bollywood

2006-01-17T00:19:00.000-08:00

Enough has been written about Salman, he has had his fair share of critics and more than fair share of followers.I don't intend to support either groups but i just want to give my take..before delving deeper into Salman's pshyce just go thru an interview by Salman given to rediff before the release of Kyon Ki(his diwali offering,which took a hammering at the box office).Salman seems to be in a very good mood throughout the interview :))...

Rediff: What is your role in Kyon Ki?
Salman: Same role. I play the same kind of roles all the time.

Rediff: Tell us about Priyadarshan's other film, which is releasing on the same day as Kyon Ki?
Salman: Which film is that?

Rediff: How long you plan to do romantic films?
Salman: Till the time they run. We will see later.

Rediff: Kyon Ki is a love story like Tere Naam. What is the difference between the two?
Salman: Tere Naam was directed by Satish Kaushik and Kyon Ki by Priyadarshan.

Rediff: Priyadarshan says your acting is one of the best performances of your career.
Salman: That is shocking news to me.

Rediff: Why should one see Kyon Ki?
Salman: The film has no vulgarity, no exposure and it is a decent film.

Rediff: What are you doing this Diwali?
I am going to my house in Panvel. I would like to advice everyone to keep a distance from the bottle when you light a rocket. Also, see that the rocket does not enter anyone's house. Don't burst big bombs like the rassi bomb. Burst the sutli bomb instead. And don't roam barefoot, as you may get burnt. Wear slippers.

Rediff: How do you feel about the fact that D'damas is associating with Kyon Ki?
Salman: Thank God it was not Nirma soaps.

....Can you expect such brashness from anyone else...from Amitabh or for the matter Shahrukh?No. and this interview precisely tells us what brand Salman is!!The whole of last year saw him hogging the limelight for all the wrong reasons,but all his releases be it Lucky or Maine Pyar Kyon Kiya(which faced the wrath of the entire nation over the Aish tapes) were big money spinners.It is said that in places like Hyderabad or Mumbai where Khan has the most of his die-hard followers, if they show the still photographs of Salman or just show Salman walking around in the screen for 3 hours, the movie would still be a hit.That is the kind of Fanatic fan follwing this man has.As the list of his rumoured girl friends grows and the nation never tires in logging Salman in the list of most eligible bachelors year after year, the aura surrounding him grows..My personal take on his alleged relation with Katrina is ... that there is no relation at all.This affair is one of the many media created hypes sponsored by Salman,who knows that his fan following(especially in the fairer sex) grows with every addition in his list of girlfriends and every decrease in thier ages.We as a nation have given the celebreties Demi-God status and ponder about trivial things about our self created Gods as to how they manage to have affairs with girls half thier age, even if they are losing hair rapidly and are at the wrong side of forty.When a certain Mr.Bacchan sneezes, the entire nation catches cold.BUT the bottom line is that even he is mortal and all the hype is media created.Salman knows the strength of this hype and he has used the media quite effectively in projecting this 'Good boy gone bad due to circumstances' image.He knows that even if one day no hairs are left in his scalp,he would still churn out hits.The infant refuses to grow up!!Who cares,as long as we get our regular dose of the 'Latest Salman doings' and as long as he delivers hits , and his molls are happy being 'Salman's girl'.. Who cares ?? REALLY!!

Sanjay dutt very much kickin and ZINDA!!

2006-01-16T04:46:00.000-08:00

Sanjay Gupta teaming up with the 'deadly' dutt delivers yet another blockbuster sucker punch through a movie like Zinda.Yes, the gory gets a bit too much but if one thinks of the life that the protagonist has been leading since the past 14 years, it seems quite realistic they way he chases and tortures his past-tormentors.
Sanjay Gupta has been slick right from they days of Aatish, Haamesha but here he takes a step backward and allows the story to take the frontseat.The only style he has used is the use of different hues(violet,grey) to describe different situations.This shows his growth as a director.
The movie has been 'Inspired' from a Korean movie 'OldBoy'.Korean movies are movies of excess.Their stories take the motive too far and show unimaginable angles to an Old theme.So vendatta may be a beaten to bush motive here in Bollywood, still this is geniuinely a 'HAT KE' story.
Speaking of the performances, Sanjay Dutt is at his best ( particularly in the scenes where he gets angry and is apologetic in the very next moment)John Abraham has delivered an Coming-of-Age performance and the girls (Lara and Celina) hardly get to do anything.If you have seen OldBoy, go see the way Gupta has caressed the movie and handeled such a complex story with charismatic ease; and if you have'nt seen the Korean Original,go watch this out..this is a real HAT KE.

Ten Things that did actually change in 2005

2006-01-16T04:31:00.000-08:00

1) Flight rates in India
2) SRK did not have any major hit round the year
3) Laloo Govt. toppled in Bihar (phew..)
4) The captainship of Team India
5) The presidentship of BCCI
6) Mobility @mobiles
7) Sonia Gandhi's Hindi pronunciation( its getting better day by day...one has to admit)
8) Abhishek Bacchan had a hit (finally!!)
9) Team India won a Test series away from the subcontinent(so what if its zimbabwe :(( )
10) After the change in names of so many cities ,that of a certain indian city which is now Bangaluru

Ten Things that did'nt even change in 2005

2006-01-16T04:14:00.000-08:00

1) Doordarshan’s broadcast
2) Dev Anand making a movie
3) Bappida’s Hindi pronunciation
4) Sachin creating a new record
5) Sanjay Dutt teaming up with Sanjay Gupta
6) Microsoft yet to find an answer to Google (If Jim Morrison would have been alive today he would have surely rewritten his most quotable quote: "There are things known and there are things unknown and in beetween there is Google.")
7) Left Front cribbing about the government
8) Sourav’s fans (as optimistic as ever) on the roads
9) President Kalam’s honest speeches
10) The profits of Indian Software Houses soaring Quarter after Quarter.

Infantia Cachinnus??

2006-01-13T03:55:00.000-08:00

Continuing with my introduction here...
I am a guy in my early(/mid) twenties who works in the software Industry(where else??) for a company which i would not like to name here(though its name starts with the first two alphabets of the name of our country)..
So in a way you can say that i represent a sizeable chunk of the youth of our nation today(with similiar aspirations,sentiments,hopes,phobias,lifestyle and bosses of course)..Every day since the past two years (since Aug 9 2004 to be precise) I feel my head aching and my stomach burning with a familiar feeling which is felt by millions other like me...the software engineers..
We are supposed to present very rosy prospects to wannabe brides..but let me give all the prospective brides a small piece of advise..marry a software engineer and you are screwed @#%@..
but as the case often is..if you are marryin his money..this is the best decision ur mama-papa could have ever taken for you..
Telling you all quite frankly;I have a problem, a huge one at that.I CANT LAUGH!!
I could laugh. Now I manage a grin.Its like wearing a t-shirt thats one size smaller. Uncomfortable.
I don't remember when I stopped laughing or why. I am not alone. There are a many others with me. We all suffer from the same condition - the inability to laugh. They call the condition "Infantia Cachinnus".The cause for this is still unknown.human beings laugh due to absurdity or detached superiority (laughing at somone's stupid action) or for relief (destress) they say.Now there are recovery support groups for Infantia Cachinnus (InCa as it is known)..
this much for today(why? cause i just dont feel like writin anymore.I guess a software engineer is entiteled to his fair share of whims and fancies)....
ciao!!

Das Kapital

2006-01-12T04:49:00.000-08:00

Well, starting this blog proved to be a much tougher task for me than I had really thought!!.
I have thought of atleast a thousand ways in which a ideal 'KICK AS*' blog should start, but finally had to resort to the age old trick of using a tried and tested method by one of my friends(whom I havent yet told this!!), who started his blog with famous people with his surname.
So, my surname is 'das' and to really find who the more famous 'urs truly' s are I gave the name in google search(where else!!)
surprise surprise!! I never knew there was a @%$?++ "Transmembrane Prediction server" (or whatever it is called) called das...
One thread lead me to some Devotional Yogi:-)
So much for famous surnames...
Hope that this 'das' will really carve out a niche' for himself so that his name would crop up atleast in the first page of google search!!...
Keep rockin...
bye for now