Merry Christmas!

Hark how the bells,
sweet silver bells,
all seem to say,
throw cares away
Christmas is here,
bringing good cheer,
to young and old,
meek and the bold.

Wish you all a Merry Christmas! :-)

Merry Christmas!

Hark how the bells,
sweet silver bells,
all seem to say,
throw cares away

Christmas is here,
bringing good cheer,
to young and old,
meek and the bold.

Wish you all Merry Christmas! :-)

अर्ज किया है......
हमारे शहरमे बेचेहेरा लोग बसते है
कभी कभी कोई चेहेरा दिखाई पडता है

(Forwarded)

Good Night Folks and Take Care!

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I read that Rajnikant's film "Robot" is part of IIM-A course. I distinctly remember one of the professors during my MBA days who, for one of his courses (I seriously don't remember which!), had screened couple of movies and lateron asked a series of questions about the characters and situations.

One such film that was screened was "Satya". I hadn't liked the film in the first place and disliked it even more after the course. I haven't dared watch it since then. :-)

I read that "Robot" will be taken up as a case study on business of cinema. I wonder if the professors will ask questions like 'Please explain how the number of somersaults that a cigarette does in mid-air is related to the business the film will do in the 1st week of its release" or "How do you think the shades used by the hero shape up the perceptions of his audience about which shades to buy". Shudder!

Now that we are talking of Rajanikant, I happened to see a scene from one of his movies, possibly "Sivaji", in which, the hero, stung by the heroine's rejection of his dark skin, applies a heavy mixture of 'Fair & Lovely' to his body. I have never been a fan of these fairness creams but I haven't been able to look at a tube of 'Fair & Lovely' squarely in the eye ever since :-)

Now Lata Mangeshkar seems to have joined the group of people who are hoping that Sachin will bring home the World Cup next year. But to be fair, she is hoping that he will "help" win the Cup for India. Others are hoping that he will bring the cup home, conveniently forgetting that the cricket team doesn't consist of one person alone.

Please don't get me wrong. I too want to see the Indian team win the Cup but I think it is unfair to expect Sachin to achieve this feat by himself. He might be close to being a God for many but he isn't really God, is he? :-)

Time for a forwarded sher:

अर्ज किया है......
गुर जिन्दगीके सिखे खिलती हुई कलीसे
लबपर है मुस्कुराहट, दिल खून रो रहा है

Death will not be a thing that is on the mind of most of the people when the time is so close to the year end. I am not saying it is weighing heavily on my mind but yes, it is there somewhere, in one corner of my mind. A few days back, I had written about a team member who lost his parents within a matter of months.

There was another sad incident with a neighbor of my mom's. This lady was suffering from cancer since past few years and we hadn't seen her since past couple of months. About a month back, mom and I were going out for shopping when we saw her. I have seen a cancer patient before and I know what the disease does to a healthy human being. I, nevertheless, was shocked to the core because I couldn't recognize her at first. My mom was so shocked that she couldn't, for life of her, muster the courage to go and say 'Hi' to her. We just smiled at her as we got into the car and she smiled back.

Then 15 days later I heard that she passed away. I tell you, the thought that was uppermost in my mind at that moment was of her daughter. I just sat there, feeling her sadness. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not an emotional sort of a person (unless someone says 'भारतमाता की जय'!). I have often laughed at all the cliched Bollywood motherly dialogues.

But this time it was different. Somehow, it shook me because it happened 2 apartments away from my parents' place. It reminded, in the sort of grim way that Death does, that many of us have to go through this one day. And I am just not ready for that. I don't think I ever will be. :-(

Tendulkar's feat of completing 50 centuries in Test matches was about the only silver lining to the dark clouds that seem to envelope India from all sides these past couple of days. From the chilling cold waves - that has taken even an unlikely city like Mumbai in its fold - to the soaring onion prices and politicians with their hands stuck deep down the cookie jars, I wonder if there is anything to celebrate about on this Christmas and New Year eve. :-(

But as the saying goes - उम्मीदपे दुनिया कायम है - the world lives on hope. And again, the lines from a song of a bygone era Hindi movie come to mind:

आनेवाला पल जानेवाला है
हो सके तो इसमें जिंदगी बिता दो
पल जो ये जानेवाला है

Here's to the last remaining days of 2010!

अर्ज किया है......
वो शाख-ए-गुल पे रहे या मैयत पर
चमनका फ़ूल तो आदी है मुस्कुरानेके

Impossible workload and an infected laptop kept me away from this site for days. Now the laptop is repaired but workload isn't showing much signs of letting up in near future. Still, I am determined to come here every day during these last days of 2010. As usual, there is much to write about and not much time to do so :-(

एक चित्ता सिगरेट फ़ुंकत होता. एक उंदीर येऊन म्हणाला "माझ्या बंधू, सोड ही नशा, माझ्यासोबत ये, बघ हे जंगल किती सुंदर आहे. ये, जग पाहू"
चित्त्याने विचार केला आणि उंदरासोबत निघाला.

पुढे त्यांना एक हत्ती ड्रग्ज घेताना दिसला.
उंदराने सुरुवात केली "माझ्या बंधू, सोड ही नशा....."
हत्तीसुध्दा उंदरासोबत निघाला.

पुढे एक वाघ व्हिस्कीचा पेग बनवत होता. उंदीर त्याला तेच म्हणाला.
वाघाने ग्लास बाजूला ठेवला आणि उंदराच्या ५-७ कानाखाली वाजवल्या.

हत्ती अवाक होऊन म्हणाला "अरे, उंदीर चांगलंच सांगतोय की. का मारलंस बिचायाला?"

वाघ म्हणाला "हा जेव्हा जेव्हा भांग पितो, तेव्हा असंच बोलतो. ३ वेळा पूर्ण जंगल फ़िरून आलोय मी ह्याच्याबरोबर" :-)