"The turning point of greatness is a dream."
Now that's a thought.
Saturday, July 16
Stolen Moments
I hate stupidity.
That statement obviously assumes that I am intelligent. Secondly, that I recognize stupidity(been there, done that?). Third, that it's the stupidity and not the person involved that I hate.
So, let me make it absolutely clear. I hate stupid people. Animals or babies(both of which I'm not too fond of) behaving stupidly is pardonable but otherwise...
I hate criticism.
Especially from people who are in no position to judge me. There is no such thing as constructive criticism. It's either my way or the wrong way. Funniest thing is when stupid people criticize me. That's the combination that makes me question the whole intelligence imbalance that exists.
Anyway, apart form all that people-hating(which I seem to be making a habit), I did some wonderful things last week.
I bunked College on Thursday and went for the morning show of Dus with my Jaan and then came back home by 3:30, looking all tired, hard day's work at college and all that. Then my mom opens the door and says, "Thank God you're back, we have to rush to Prasad's. I don't want to miss that 'Dus Bahane' song!"
It's not a bad movie but I just couldn't tolerate watching it twice in a single day!
Yeah I agree. That wasn't so wonderful.
Organizing the Pankaj Udhas concert for CRY was an amazing experience!
I made lots of new friends, real phenomenal people, all of whom seem quite determined to make a difference, to underprivileged children and to India.
The concert itself was a huge success. I went to pick him up from the airport with another CRY rep from Chennai. He was really nice. He spoke to me and asked me about Taramathi. What I loved was, he gave me an 'I-recognize-you' smile when all the CRY vols had a photo session with him later in the evening. I knew a couple of his songs but frankly he's not God's gift to the ghazal world or anything. But I still went and bought his album 'Stolen Moments' and it's quite good. His accompanying artists were much better than him. Purely a personal opinion, don't get all mad at me. Hariprasad Chaurasia's nephew played the flute. Man, I swear his melodies were just divine!
The rain almost ruined it. The show was scheduled to start at 7 but ended up starting at 8:30 and people still kept coming, all drenched, even at 10 pm. I thougth that was pretty cool.
Oh let me tell you something funny. Our CRY rep gave me his phone to receive all the calls because he had something more important to do. I got a call from some gentleman saying he was Mr.Pankaj Udhas's friend and that he wanted passes for the show. The first time, I was quite polite and said that none of the passes were complimentary but he kept persisting and then I kinda blew up and said, "Hey, if you're PU's friend then why the hell don't you call him?" I thought I was being very smart. But what's worse is the man did turn up and is the proud owner of what he calls "that little restaurant called Paradise". Oh man, I swear I didn't know where to hide!!!
We were there at Viceroy till around 12 that night. We discussed all our glitches, had dinner and generally made fun of everyone. I left the place with Nits in a car which had a punctured tyre. He actually drove down that dangerous slope near Whisper Valley and back up without using the spare tyre. I'm so sure he forgot to keep one in his car! Anyway, point is, I had so much fun that day and all my friends enjoyed themselves too. There is something just magical about a drive at 2 am in the morning with a slight drizzle. You know exactly how that feels :) and all the others are losing out.
That statement obviously assumes that I am intelligent. Secondly, that I recognize stupidity(been there, done that?). Third, that it's the stupidity and not the person involved that I hate.
So, let me make it absolutely clear. I hate stupid people. Animals or babies(both of which I'm not too fond of) behaving stupidly is pardonable but otherwise...
I hate criticism.
Especially from people who are in no position to judge me. There is no such thing as constructive criticism. It's either my way or the wrong way. Funniest thing is when stupid people criticize me. That's the combination that makes me question the whole intelligence imbalance that exists.
Anyway, apart form all that people-hating(which I seem to be making a habit), I did some wonderful things last week.
I bunked College on Thursday and went for the morning show of Dus with my Jaan and then came back home by 3:30, looking all tired, hard day's work at college and all that. Then my mom opens the door and says, "Thank God you're back, we have to rush to Prasad's. I don't want to miss that 'Dus Bahane' song!"
It's not a bad movie but I just couldn't tolerate watching it twice in a single day!
Yeah I agree. That wasn't so wonderful.
Organizing the Pankaj Udhas concert for CRY was an amazing experience!
I made lots of new friends, real phenomenal people, all of whom seem quite determined to make a difference, to underprivileged children and to India.
The concert itself was a huge success. I went to pick him up from the airport with another CRY rep from Chennai. He was really nice. He spoke to me and asked me about Taramathi. What I loved was, he gave me an 'I-recognize-you' smile when all the CRY vols had a photo session with him later in the evening. I knew a couple of his songs but frankly he's not God's gift to the ghazal world or anything. But I still went and bought his album 'Stolen Moments' and it's quite good. His accompanying artists were much better than him. Purely a personal opinion, don't get all mad at me. Hariprasad Chaurasia's nephew played the flute. Man, I swear his melodies were just divine!
The rain almost ruined it. The show was scheduled to start at 7 but ended up starting at 8:30 and people still kept coming, all drenched, even at 10 pm. I thougth that was pretty cool.
Oh let me tell you something funny. Our CRY rep gave me his phone to receive all the calls because he had something more important to do. I got a call from some gentleman saying he was Mr.Pankaj Udhas's friend and that he wanted passes for the show. The first time, I was quite polite and said that none of the passes were complimentary but he kept persisting and then I kinda blew up and said, "Hey, if you're PU's friend then why the hell don't you call him?" I thought I was being very smart. But what's worse is the man did turn up and is the proud owner of what he calls "that little restaurant called Paradise". Oh man, I swear I didn't know where to hide!!!
We were there at Viceroy till around 12 that night. We discussed all our glitches, had dinner and generally made fun of everyone. I left the place with Nits in a car which had a punctured tyre. He actually drove down that dangerous slope near Whisper Valley and back up without using the spare tyre. I'm so sure he forgot to keep one in his car! Anyway, point is, I had so much fun that day and all my friends enjoyed themselves too. There is something just magical about a drive at 2 am in the morning with a slight drizzle. You know exactly how that feels :) and all the others are losing out.
Saturday, July 9
an interesting conversation, after a very long time
An email conversation that I absolutely had to share with you..
1. Check out this link
http://www.swordoftruth.com/swordoftruth/archives/byauthor/navaratnarajaram/moafaf.html
2. you're scaring me with the saffron waving fanaticism
1. its not fanaticism......
its the truth and to be frank i expected you to agree...
2. to be frank...to someone their ancient mosque may be
as important as our ancient temple. this is just the
sort of mail which whips up sentiments. im not saying
that you're doing it deliberately, and hey, you're
free to do what you think is right. that is the
ultimate power of a democracy.
remember, these are the same people who brought down
the babri masjid, who raped bilkis bano, who burned
graham staines and his two little boys. you may argue
that they're different, more educated, less savage.
but education and civilization are but a slight veneer
over the brutal savagery that is innate to some human
beings.
1. nope you have to understand that burning graham staines was an act of frustration no one knows what exactly happened. anyways i am not with burning him.i agree it was a savage act and i condemn that . whom aer you talking about when you said ," these are the same people.." i just gave you a link to an interesting article . that s all.
no i am not saying this to express myself . i am also trying to bring people over to my school of thought . i am not a firebrand bajrang dal guy . but i think its time we start being assertive. It disgusts me that nothing is being done about ayodhya. btw, it was no structure of relgious importance .its sole purpose was to demonstrate muslim superiority over hindus. we have forever been very tolerant but i hate people misunderstanding that as our softness. and believe me i am not talking of an ethnic cleansing here. i feel strongly for peaceful coexistence but lets not be taken forgranted as harmless powerless individuals. and you cannot argue wit hthe fat that hinduism is the most scientific way of life and it is in perfect harmony with the nature. I hate it when someone dares to insult it. Thats all. Think about it.there are so many plays being staged everywhere, all of which are some kind of a spoof on some mythological story. I dare any one to do a similar thing using mohd. or allah.
2. frustration? frustration means punching something, not
burning.
everybody knows exactly what happened, the bajrang dal
activists, led by one mr dara singh, cornered him and
set fire to his old jeep/land rover. also sleeping
inside were his 2 sons, aged 11 and 8. dara singh
confessed to this, after being captured by the police.
i don't understand what mythological spoofs and plays
you are referring to...yes, underwear and toilet seats
should certainly not bear ganesha or durga as a motif,
but i fail to see where the spoofs are.
just fyi...all over the world you can buy everything
from tshirts to bikinis with the cross on it. no one
objects.
it is arrogant to say that the mosque had no religious
significance. if that was so, why not raze the temple
and turn it into a waste dumpyard, or a cattle shed?
these are much more humiliating things.
i am not denying that the islam of babar and ghazni
was focussed on the subjugation of kafirs, or
non-believers. but you must also remember that from
this line came akbar, jehangir, and shah jahan, who
married hindus, made peace with hindu kings, and
ensured communal harmony.
religion is not a tit-for-tat system. hinduism teaches
one to forgive a lesser mortal for his or her sins. so
does christianity. i wish we would remember that, and
just let the babri masjid/temple be as it is. just
because babar pulled it down doesn't mean we should
pull it down too...
the thing is, what do you define as a scientific way
of life? hinduism is conspicuous by being the only
major religion with no prophets or living gods. in
fact, it is the only religion which can trace its
roots back to animist beliefs. pashupati = shiva etc.
it would then be logical that since hinduism is
probably the worlds oldest religion, it has
incorporated various daily aspects, unlike say
christianity.
it may interest you to know that the prophet mohammed
has another book accredited to him called the hadith.
it is actually a collection of sayings and anecdotes
which form the basis of the sharia, or islamic law. in
it he very clearly defines certain principles, and
ways to live life. that's pretty scientific too...
i am also a hindu. unfortunately that is a very vague
definition. i was born into a predominantly hindu
family, so i suppose that's what brought me into the
fold. i have no hatred for sikhs, muslims, or
christians. i dislike people who monopolize religion
and try to impose their views upon others. there's a
catholic girl in my class who shouts at people who say
"jeezus christ". i shouted back at her. no one has any
right to tell you what to do.
Maybe we as a country don't object to hinduism being
dissed, because we have better things to worry about.
our per capita income is one of the lowest in asia.
every day, people die of starvation. millions come to
cities in search of work, and are forced into beggary
or prostitution. we can ill afford to waste precious
resources building temples, while people outside the
temple drop dead from hunger
maybe the fact that we don't react shows that we are
secure in our faith. if someone stupid calls you a
fool, would you react or just ignore him? yes, if he
used your picture on his underwear, you should
protest. but why bother to pay attention to radicals?
To be continued...
(Waiting for the reply)
1. Check out this link
http://www.swordoftruth.com/swordoftruth/archives/byauthor/navaratnarajaram/moafaf.html
2. you're scaring me with the saffron waving fanaticism
1. its not fanaticism......
its the truth and to be frank i expected you to agree...
2. to be frank...to someone their ancient mosque may be
as important as our ancient temple. this is just the
sort of mail which whips up sentiments. im not saying
that you're doing it deliberately, and hey, you're
free to do what you think is right. that is the
ultimate power of a democracy.
remember, these are the same people who brought down
the babri masjid, who raped bilkis bano, who burned
graham staines and his two little boys. you may argue
that they're different, more educated, less savage.
but education and civilization are but a slight veneer
over the brutal savagery that is innate to some human
beings.
1. nope you have to understand that burning graham staines was an act of frustration no one knows what exactly happened. anyways i am not with burning him.i agree it was a savage act and i condemn that . whom aer you talking about when you said ," these are the same people.." i just gave you a link to an interesting article . that s all.
no i am not saying this to express myself . i am also trying to bring people over to my school of thought . i am not a firebrand bajrang dal guy . but i think its time we start being assertive. It disgusts me that nothing is being done about ayodhya. btw, it was no structure of relgious importance .its sole purpose was to demonstrate muslim superiority over hindus. we have forever been very tolerant but i hate people misunderstanding that as our softness. and believe me i am not talking of an ethnic cleansing here. i feel strongly for peaceful coexistence but lets not be taken forgranted as harmless powerless individuals. and you cannot argue wit hthe fat that hinduism is the most scientific way of life and it is in perfect harmony with the nature. I hate it when someone dares to insult it. Thats all. Think about it.there are so many plays being staged everywhere, all of which are some kind of a spoof on some mythological story. I dare any one to do a similar thing using mohd. or allah.
2. frustration? frustration means punching something, not
burning.
everybody knows exactly what happened, the bajrang dal
activists, led by one mr dara singh, cornered him and
set fire to his old jeep/land rover. also sleeping
inside were his 2 sons, aged 11 and 8. dara singh
confessed to this, after being captured by the police.
i don't understand what mythological spoofs and plays
you are referring to...yes, underwear and toilet seats
should certainly not bear ganesha or durga as a motif,
but i fail to see where the spoofs are.
just fyi...all over the world you can buy everything
from tshirts to bikinis with the cross on it. no one
objects.
it is arrogant to say that the mosque had no religious
significance. if that was so, why not raze the temple
and turn it into a waste dumpyard, or a cattle shed?
these are much more humiliating things.
i am not denying that the islam of babar and ghazni
was focussed on the subjugation of kafirs, or
non-believers. but you must also remember that from
this line came akbar, jehangir, and shah jahan, who
married hindus, made peace with hindu kings, and
ensured communal harmony.
religion is not a tit-for-tat system. hinduism teaches
one to forgive a lesser mortal for his or her sins. so
does christianity. i wish we would remember that, and
just let the babri masjid/temple be as it is. just
because babar pulled it down doesn't mean we should
pull it down too...
the thing is, what do you define as a scientific way
of life? hinduism is conspicuous by being the only
major religion with no prophets or living gods. in
fact, it is the only religion which can trace its
roots back to animist beliefs. pashupati = shiva etc.
it would then be logical that since hinduism is
probably the worlds oldest religion, it has
incorporated various daily aspects, unlike say
christianity.
it may interest you to know that the prophet mohammed
has another book accredited to him called the hadith.
it is actually a collection of sayings and anecdotes
which form the basis of the sharia, or islamic law. in
it he very clearly defines certain principles, and
ways to live life. that's pretty scientific too...
i am also a hindu. unfortunately that is a very vague
definition. i was born into a predominantly hindu
family, so i suppose that's what brought me into the
fold. i have no hatred for sikhs, muslims, or
christians. i dislike people who monopolize religion
and try to impose their views upon others. there's a
catholic girl in my class who shouts at people who say
"jeezus christ". i shouted back at her. no one has any
right to tell you what to do.
Maybe we as a country don't object to hinduism being
dissed, because we have better things to worry about.
our per capita income is one of the lowest in asia.
every day, people die of starvation. millions come to
cities in search of work, and are forced into beggary
or prostitution. we can ill afford to waste precious
resources building temples, while people outside the
temple drop dead from hunger
maybe the fact that we don't react shows that we are
secure in our faith. if someone stupid calls you a
fool, would you react or just ignore him? yes, if he
used your picture on his underwear, you should
protest. but why bother to pay attention to radicals?
To be continued...
(Waiting for the reply)
Wednesday, July 6
Sarkar is India's answer to The Godfather.
There wasn't a single moment in the movie where I felt things were getting painful. After 39 hours without sleep, a 10.45 pm show with I-row seats seemed like an invitation to hell. But you know what, as things always turn out with me, it wasn't.
It doesn't glorify crime. Maybe there was a deliberate attempt to make the Sarkar resemble Bal Thackeray but here, Amitabh doesn't get to fire someone just because they've been too honest. Yeah Suresh Prabhu isn't really important enough for RGV to accomodate in his script. The background score is the usual Company, Satya rehash. I didn't know Kay Kay was even capable of acting. But then, I don't know a lot of things. I don't know why they had to have a break in the movie. The stupid Samsung Washing machine ad was such a distraction!
Thing is, I loved the movie. If you haven't already watched it, what the hell were you doing all these days?
There wasn't a single moment in the movie where I felt things were getting painful. After 39 hours without sleep, a 10.45 pm show with I-row seats seemed like an invitation to hell. But you know what, as things always turn out with me, it wasn't.
It doesn't glorify crime. Maybe there was a deliberate attempt to make the Sarkar resemble Bal Thackeray but here, Amitabh doesn't get to fire someone just because they've been too honest. Yeah Suresh Prabhu isn't really important enough for RGV to accomodate in his script. The background score is the usual Company, Satya rehash. I didn't know Kay Kay was even capable of acting. But then, I don't know a lot of things. I don't know why they had to have a break in the movie. The stupid Samsung Washing machine ad was such a distraction!
Thing is, I loved the movie. If you haven't already watched it, what the hell were you doing all these days?
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