It's raining junk food..

What is it about rain and a strong urge to have good food? I am speaking for myself when I say that as soon as it drizzles, leave alone rain cats and dogs, I instantly start thinking of hot steaming coffee, fried stuff with cheese and a lot more. But I still wonder about what the link is between drops of water, scent of the soil, leaves dancing with joy and our salivary glands. As soon as it starts drizzling and the drying clothes are brought inside before further damage, the pleasing thought of French fries comes to my mind. Then as it pours further, one begins to think as to how it would be like to have those succulent, salted fries with some melted cheese. And as the wind blows harder providing a surround sound effect, one ventures into the tangy hint of ketchup to the oh-so-tempting notion. And before you know it, it stops raining. But you still go ahead and have all that. Thank God for rain. But God help me if I’m not at home and I’m struggling in the muck just to get there.

YouChoob

I had been avoiding the YouTube bug for quite sometime now. But no antibiotics, immunity boosters or tonics helped. First it was the "I don't have time." excuse. Then it turned to "How jobless is that!!" And one fine day, curiosity took over. As I hesitantly ventured into the channels, I tried to spot any familiar name. I ran into HappySlip and voila!! there I was, going through every video one by one, laughing out loud and wanting more. I instantly identified with her vibrance, her silly sense of humour and ofcourse, her goofiness, which I thought I had the patent for, but it turns out otherwise. There was this one video where she says that Nalts is awesome. So began my search for Nalts. First I searched for Nultz, getting boggled by Christine's PeepHole accent. But clearing more bushes away I finally land upon the FUNNYMAN's world. I simply adore the kids. Nalts led me to Pipistrello and others.

So when do I start?? Pas moi!! Vlogging's not for me. Too shy, too scared and too intimidated. Public opinion is on my list. So don't have the guts. And I realise that even if I keep all this aside, making a 1-minute video takes up a lot of effort.

Now Christine obviously writes the dialogue, does the Mom's part, the Dad's part, the Aunty's part and everything separately and then mixes and edits with music and effects. I love how much effort sh puts in each video. The hair, the makeup, the music.. She rocks!!

I haven't really seen the other YouChoob phenomena. But guess I'l bump into them soon enough and rave about them too.

YouTube was Time magazine's invention of the year 2006. And very rightly so. It is the ultimate platform of expression and it can't get any better than this. Everybody who's anybody can be here, be known, be heard and be seen. Information is no longer a luxury. It is right there. This is true democracy.

I just hope I catch on to it soon enough before I am labelled YouTubesolete.

breaking in...

so it had to happen some day.. they edited my article for the very first time. But they didn't have to be so brutal. They could've been gentler. But it doesn't matter now. Of course this one was nothing to talk home about anyway. Guess I'm better off writing what I feel strongly about. But sometimes I feel so strongly about something that I'm never satisfied with the words that flow and end up not writing anything at all. That ain't any good either.

No more of petty opinions from me anymore. I'l turn columnist :) :) that's right.. let's see how that goes..

tchao

article for indore plus.. Sania Mirza.. can't they come up with anything else???

Tennis is famous for major upsets every single time. It is ubiquitous that an unseeded, unknown player would storm his/her way through an international tournament and leave everyone gaping. And it is equally common that every champion struggles to keep his title for long and has to give in to young blood equally fast. What happened to Maria Sharapova against Ana Ivanovic at the French Open recently is proof enough.In this game of underdogs, it is very important to be at the right place at the right time. Everyone cannot be FEDEX. Some players, although very talented never really make it just because they aren’t lucky enough. Has luck not favoured Sania Mirza? One can’t really say. There has been no dearth of resources. Yes, she does not have an athletic body that is essential for a tennis player. Experts say that’s a major drawback. But over the years she has proved to be a sturdy player. Her rapid rise through the World rankings awed India since never had a girl achieved this feat. I remember reading an interview where Mahesh Bhupathi was with a 16 year old Sania. He said, "Watch out for her. She is going to be in the World top 50 soon." And it turned out to be so true. But alas, she could never manage to go any further. Some have already written her off, saying that her prime is past. But leaving all this aside, is Sania really ignoring her game because of her endorsements? I don't think so. She has been one of the most consistent players the game has seen and her dedication is more than obvious. Had she really been interested in cashing in on her brand value, she would've probably ended making more money than Anna Kournikova. Who knows, she would've easily starred in a movie too!!What is wrong in endorsements anyway? As Sania was rising in rank with every match she played, it was the media that created so much hype around her. It is not her fault that India is expecting so much from her and any criticism her way in is totally unacceptable.All we can hope for is that this underdog one day causes many upsets and creates history

Watched CHEENI KUM the other day with family. I had a splendid time. We totally identified with the sense of humour in the film. Very much like what you might see in my house. Snapping at each other, calling each other innovative names.. quite on the lines of Ghaas Poos and Tangdi Kebab. Ofcourse I don't have a Colgate in my family. "HyderAyBAydi ZYayfrAyni PulAyv" has been immortalized.

The movie is just right. Just like the title. The undercurrent is positive, energizing, fresh, unexpected. With every single dialogue of each character you wonder where the movie's gonna take you. And every actor has truly lived the part. From the little girl, to the veterans, everyone is perfect. that's the word..

The classic sense of humour of every character is remarkable. Love the way Zohra Sehgal and Big B keep snapping at each other. Love the way Paresh Rawal advises Tabu not to turn vegetarian, ever. I could almost see people I know say those very same things.

At the same time, there's so much to learn from that li'l girl.. Loved the Sad Sad Happy Sad part. Next time I'm sad, I hope I remember this and have an icecream. And yeah, the most important lesson "CARPE DIEM, Baby!!" Live the moment.. Sieze the day.. Had a few glimpses of Robin William's Dead Poet's Society there...

So people, "COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS" and enjoy the movie. Kudos to the makers!!

Really looking forward to hum dono in colour. love the songs.. my favourite.. abhi na jao.... soft, mellow, flirtatious, at the same time, innocent. the longing in every word flows out in more ways than one. ke dil abhi bhara nahi.. you have to be in love to know what it's like..

the music.. the lyrics.. yahi kahoge tum sada ke dil abhi nahi bhara.. it's out of this world..

quite obvious how much i love this song..

next in line is ofcourse.. main fikr ko dhooen min udaata chala gaya.. n my fav line has to be..

Barbadiyon Ka Shok Manana Fizul Tha..

Barbadiyon Ka Jashan Manata Chala Gaya...

i live by this philosophy, atleast try to..

WHY ME!!!

so this kid in the neighbourhood.. must be a yr old i guess... cant really determine their age.. can walk, cant talk.. so ur estimate wud be the best guess.. would love to hang out with my grandma.. MY grandma.. but very selective about who he wud smile at. also, whenever i would come in front of him he would skew his face and wince and frown and knit his eyebrows all at once. he would give me the "WHY ME??!!" look, as if trying to ask, "What have I done to deserve this??" and if i stick around in my own porch for a minute longer, he would want to go back and wail for his mom. so whenver His Highness is playing with leaves and flowers plucked from MY garden in MY porch with MY grandma, the area is off limits for me.

and then one fine day, he didn't frown. Then the other, the eyebrows remained in place. And the other, no more wincing. He had begun to atleast tolerate me within a five-metre radius. Not bad, said I. Gradually, i started getting my share of rare and highly-coveted-for smiles and I-Spies. He even readily hopped on my bike for a ride, ofcourse, free of cost.

So then things started getting chirpier, I must say. But this wasn't for long. His family was moving to Pune or some place. And that was it. But the moral of the story is that initially one might detest me. But I guess I grow on people. that reminds of a PGWeology : If he grows on me, Il have him amputated.. but I guess I'm not that bad..

my article on the generation gap - for Indore Plus

The “generation gap” is such a hackneyed phrase and so much has been talked and written about it, that sometimes it loses significance and its meaning in entirety is seldom understood. This phenomenon is not only universal, but also is eternal in the truest sense. It has probably been prevalent since time immemorial. Who knows, Adam must’ve looked at Cain and Abel in disbelief, turned to Eve, shrugged and said, “Generation Gap”.

The difference between the attitude, ideology, actions, decisions and way of thinking of two consecutive generations is summed up in these two words. But the question that everyone seems to raise is why does this difference arise? One theory could be that it is one of the consequences of evolution. Surprised? Well, don’t be. Human evolution has transcended mere physical characteristics and living habits into the mind too. Every coming generation is inherently smarter. Soaring IQ levels of 155-160 of Class 5 children today are proof enough. This is the result of the all-so-important requirement to be more and more intelligent to in turn, be more successful. So what has intelligence got to do with conflict in notion with the older generation? A lot, truly. With intelligence, comes the confidence to think on one’s own, listen to oneself and make one’s own decisions. And the more intelligent one is, the sooner one needs to think independently. This is where the catch lies. The older generation is not ready to let go so soon.

Every coming generation is more practical, more experimenting in career, academics and general interests, and more individualistic in more ways than one. And this has been happening all this while. Generation gap is inevitable. The older generation is always in conflict with the younger generation because they can’t come to terms with their attitude towards life, family, their career, etc. They feel that their children or grandchildren are too irresponsible and hence, have this strong urge to educate them before it’s too late. They always feel that it is better that their children learn from their mistakes rather than learning from their own. And very rightly so.

So now that one realizes that the G-word is there to stay, what does one do about it? It all boils down to how one handles it. The younger generation will always want to listen to their heart and act according to their instincts. But listening to your elders and paying heed to them always helps, because believe it or not, they’ve been there and done that, only in a different way. If we today think tattooing and body piercing is cool, even they’ve roamed around on streets with long hair and bell-bottoms chanting “Give Peace a Chance” and “Staying Alive”. What our elders can give is experience, and it will never work against us. At the same time, the elder generation should try to come out of their prejudices and try to be more open to new thoughts and ideas. Possessing a bias towards anything unknown doesn’t always prove to be right. Innovation and lateral thinking has always outshined stereotype. History has proved that out-of-the-box thinking is always dismissed as heresy, rebellion or revolt initially. When parents respect their children’s opinions, listen to what they have to say and discuss with them in a mature manner, even the children feel important and in turn, respect what the parents advise them to do. If a child is rebuked all the time, he grows up to be an immature, defensive and stubborn individual, which widens the gap between the two.

The generation gap has not widened. It never will, but it will always appear in different ways. What is essential is the way in which it is moderated. Rebellion ought to have purpose. One without it is mere obstinacy. If this vital delicate balance can be maintained, one can certainly look forward to a mature and responsible youth and a tolerant older generation.