Friday, August 29, 2008

Rock On...!!!!

4 friends, girlfriends, talent,music, having a good time, promise of a good life,opportunities, problems, parting ways, moving on with life, compromises, regrets, chance encounters, reuniting, starting off where you left, living your dream.....so whats new?

Lots...thoughtful casting, rocking music, good direction, plausible storyline, mature treatment,lovely lyrics, awesome picturisation,good performances

Worth a watch......

Saturday, August 23, 2008

I miss.....

summer vacations.....daily routine of cricket in the mornings, marble games in the noon, afternoon naps, back to playing "tikkar" or just cycling, & then cricket...with all the "bade log" (read elders).....home for TV,dinner & sound sleep......holi...bonfire at night...."baila la dhol"......next day,riot of colours, water & people, then the cricket.....kairees....no fun in buying & eating....pluck them from our own trees (3 of them!!!, all tasted different), get some salt, laal mirchi if you please, & enjoy....occasional card games, sitting and chatting by the dispensary steps.........results,anticipation,competition (now you realise how stupid that was)....playing dabba dabba(our own version of hide n seek)......watching game shows......summer special shows.....

winters.... Christmas parties, new year parties....faloodas without ice (we will catch cold na!!)......Diwali, pranks, sweets, cleaning the house,stunts,Diwali homework, back to school, sports days, cricket @ Five Gardens, ....struggling with the artistic stuff.....rangoli competition......walks in the cool evening....

Rains.....:-).....going out to get wet in the first rains...wearing a raincoat!!!!greenery, football,slippery grounds & some broken bones......., "rainy days"- the most important day when school cant be missed...walk the distance , only to walk back!!!......jumping on puddles, posing when God took snaps(lighting occurred that is)......goin to school in full armour - raincoat, pants, umbrella-n still reaching wet......in sweat if it doesnt rain!!

Cycling- races, practise, crashes & injuries

Power cut on rare occasion, & what a festival it would be.....everyone would be out for walk, catching up like in a school reunion!!!

Celebrating cricket victories.....

Learning car driving.....

Unity in crisis ........& an occasional fight or 2......:-)

Ganpati!!!!.......setting up the tent, bringing the idol, attending all arti's, evening programs, drama, orchestra, lighting, fun n frolic, fancy dress competition, singing competition, movie on the big screen!!! Visarjan....& going around Matunga......

Was seeing some old pics, from my childhood, from Tata Colony at Dharavi, where i grew up, spent close to 21 years of my life.....bas yaadein reh jaati hain........:-(

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Wow!!!

Indian wrestler won in the 66 kg category to get India a bronze medal....... Second medal...!!!!! Boss , we are not used to this!!! :-)
Way to go Sushil!!!
& the boxers still to come!!! Looks like this will be the best Olympics India has had so far......hope it gets better from here!!!

Friday, August 1, 2008

Take care guys....& watch TV....

We cant say we were not cautioned. The warning was there for us loud & clear.We chose not to heed it.....or lets say intelligence agencies did not have their antennas tuned to the right messages.... but it was all predicted....right from the days of high risk,to the potential trouble causes ,to all the steps that can be taken to prevent such things from happening, or at least minimise their impact....everything was set out in great detail....but no, sleuths decided not to listen to any of it..& went about doing things like they have always done......keeping tabs on suspect organisations, having a fleet of mukhbirs (informers), being on the look out for suspicious movements, issuing instructions to the general public, beefing up security ........but they did not do one important thing.........

They did not check the hindi news channels !!!
Yes, thats right. Apparently some of the pandits & jyotishis ( astrologers ) on these channels had predicted the world will be a dangerous place to stay in the months of June, July & August......21st June was supposed to be the start of this period expected to end on Aug 9th......& the disasters likely to happen in this period will be man-made or natural..... terrorist attacks (India, Iraq, Istanbul), political turmoils (India, Pakistan, Nepal.....even the Labour Government in UK is in trouble!!) & what not......
But what attracted the most attention was the terrorist attacks......killing scores of people, injuring or maiming others for life....mostly across Asia

India has seen a lot of such things in the recent past..starting with the Amarnath Shrine Board issue, to riots in Indore, the trust vote, note- for - vote, & the terrorist attacks ..........& its been really surprised by the sheer audacity of the people who planned the attacks in Ahmedabad, Bangalore & Surat (well, almost)....the magnitude of planning this must have taken, the number of people involved, the logistical support available & used, the means,the technology, the widespread network of the operatives ...its all mind boggling....& yet not a whiff of it reached our security agencies...while its a given that there was a "heavy local support" for these activities....the real master minds might never be found.....

On the face of it, given the low intensity, almost crude bombs used .....the idea seems to create panic.....& it looks like they are successful in that......schools closed, malls shut down, heavy bandobast, even the poor Mumbai dabbawallahs being subjected to checks.....we are not taking any chances....

The political parties have started playing their own games on the issue.....the lack of a political will to strengthen the countries internal security is cited to be the main reason why we are seeing increasing instances of such terror attacks....... why, some even suggest its an insider job.....what with one lady even saying the blasts are a conspiracy to distract the nation from the "note for vote" scam.....

The people of India & especially communally sensitive areas need to be congratulated on keeping their cool in such trying times...

Having lived in Mumbai, & been witness to some terrorist attacks,its really unnerving to see the panic that has set in.....its almost like we are not trusting faces we do not know .... in some cases, even those we do know.....arent we playing into the hands of such people? I mean there is no harm in being careful,but guys, all one has to do keep his/her eyes & ears open !! A bit of trust, some common sense, & some co-operation with all those brave heart cops who try their best to provide us security, & we should all be fine.....
& ofcourse, do not forget to check the predictions!!!