And the best news of the day - monsoon seems to be here, finally! I know the rest of the Mumbaikars will curse me if they read this. But that doesn't phase me. :-)

So here's a Marathi song from my childhood - dedicated to good ol' monsoon:

ये रे ये रे पावसा, तुला देतो पैसा
पैसा झाला खोटा, पाउस आला मोठा
ये ग ये ग सरी, माझे मडके भरी
सर आली धावून, मडके गेले वाहून

A forwarded SMS:

अर्ज है:
के जो पलकोके किनारे हमने भिगोये नही
वो समझते है के हम रोये ही नही
वो रोज पूछते है के क्या देखा ख्वाब हमने
और एक हम है के एक मुद्दतसे सोये ही नही

When I first saw the Garnier ad featuring John Abraham, I thought it was about deodorants. Why would anyone select John A for a fairness cream ad – the guy doesn’t need it. :-)
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And what in the God’s name is that Eveready ad about? It’s a bad plot and worse execution through and through.
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I liked the ad and its tagline “दातो तले, दिया जले”. The only problem is that I assumed it was an Orbit White ad – it’s actually Happydent.

Come Soon, Monsoon

My most favorite season of the year seems to be angry with Mumbai. A couple of showers apart, the Rain God has turned its back on the city.

Of course any Mumbaikar worth his or her salt will agree that it's not the best of seasons in the metro - what with the water-clogged streets, dirty roads and ever-growing line of vehicles stuck in the traffic. But monsoon also brings with it beautiful overcast evenings and smell of wet earth.

The trees are alive with their newfound green tinge. I hope monsoon will keep its promise of returning year after year. Monsoon, come soon. :-)

I am wondering why Mahindra decided to retain the word "Satyam" in the name of the new corporate. When anyone says Satyam, I remember the Amul Hoarding "Satyam, Shivam, Scandalam"!

Work, work and more work! Funnily I realize it only on Friday evenings that "Thank God It's Friday!" :-)

Beautiful lines of a beautiful song:

सुरमई शाम इस तरह आए
सास लेते है जिस तरह साये

A warning for those of you who have abandoned or mistreated any of your dolls - don't watch "The Doll Master" or you will never be able to sleep at night! :-)

I was watching "The Doll Master" and that's why missed a good half an hour of "Auschwitz - Search for Redemption". That’s a pity because they were showing how some of the Nazis at least were brought to book following Germany’s fall.

What was poignant were the stories told by the survivors of the Holocaust। One lady looked at a Sepia-tinted photograph taken inside Auschwitz and pointed out to her Aunt with her 4 children who were sent to the gas chamber immediately on coming to the camp – the youngest of the children was barely 2 years old। :-(

Another survivor recalled how he visited his home after the war – only to be found that it was occupied by someone else. When he pointed to the armchair his dad was using, the occupant said that he has bought it. The survivor lifted the chair and showed the name carved into the wood. The new occupant also asked him if he has come back to retrieve the treasure left by his dad. He even offered to split it with him 50-50. The man declined and walked away.

When he returned a few years later he found the home abandoned and completely uninhabitable. On inquiring with the neighbors he found that after his last visit the occupant had torn down the walls in the hopes of finding the treasure until he made the house uninhabitable :-(

And finally, an officer who had worked at the camp came in front of the camera and said that he wants to tell everyone who believe that Auschwitz never happened that he was there and it did happen!

कृष्णा पाटीलची एक अत्यंत सुंदर मुलाखत http://www.maayboli.com/node/8358 इथे वाचायला मिळेल। वाचायला विसरु नका

आणि हो, हां तिचा ब्लॉग http://theburningface.blogspot.com/

Don't Tell My Mother - Afghanistan

The name of the program is weird and a little misleading, I agree. I had seen the title "Don't Tell My Mother"followed by a country name like Iran for many days in the cable TV Program Guide before I actually sat downand watched one episode of this program on NatGeo.

Yesterday's program was on Afghanistan. I had watched it before but only intermittently. Even yesterday I got on in the middle of it. To tell you the truth, the mention of Afghanistan still brings to mind Tagore's Kabuliwallah as it did all those years ago when the US invaded this country looking for Osama.

So I watched on with curiosity as the anchorperson went to a gym meant exclusively for women, accompanied one of these women and her male cousin as she took the driving lessons, went to the place of one of the Russians who has converted to Islam, pushed his car in the snow falling near the Hindukush ranges and attended a singing competition.

The only time I couldn't watch was when they showed the traditional Afghani sport in which horsemen fight over a dead cattle. Remember Sridevi and Amitabh Bachhan in the movie Khuda Gawah? I think it's cruel to treat a dead body like this :-(

I remember learning about the dry fruits in Kabul when I was in school. It's a sad transition from that to being one of the countries that you don't want to tell your mother about if you are residing there. :-(

I have always liked Butter Chicken. But I shuddered when Vir Sanghvi's (A Matter of Taste - Discovery Travel and Living Channel) friend put Campbell Tomato Soup while cooking her version of Chicken Tikka Masala - the national dish of Great Britain. Chicken in Tomato Soup? Now is that good for your soul or what? :-)

I read about Krishna Patil and felt proud and amused at the same time - proud because a fellow Indian woman has reached the top of the world. And amused because I wondered why anyone would want to attempt to summit the mountain that has claimed so many lives.

But I saw Chomolungma for the first time today on NatGeo (Everest - Farther than the eye can see) and I realized what must be driving these mountaineers to it. The title of the program was appropriate because it was about the first blind man to summit the mountain. Seems impossible, isn't it? But he did it alright and when they showed the members at the Base Camp erupt into applause on getting the news I felt happy too.

The program said that he is the only blind man to achieve this feat. I don't know when this program was made and if this record stands unbroken.

I wonder, however, if it is possible for mere mortals like me - who have had no training whatsoever in mountaineering - to at least take a look at the Mother Goddess of Earth from the safety of the base camp.I would just like to pay my respects!

A father and son are walking in the mountains when the son stumbles. He cries out "Ahhhh" and is surprised when the voice is repeated in the mountains "Ahhhh". "Who are you?" he shouts and gets back"Who are you?" in return. Angry at this mockery, he shouts "Coward!" and immediately hears the voice"Coward!"

Now surprised, he turns to his father for some explanation. The father smiles and says "Watch me." Then he shouts "I admire you!". Back comes the voice "I admire you!". He shouts again "You are a champion!", only to be greeted with "You are a champion!". The boy looks even more puzzled.

The father explains "People call this 'Echo'. But really this is LIFE. It gives you back everything that you say or do".

It's the 3rd or 4th book by Paulo Coelho that I am reading. But I am yet to get used to his style. One moment he is talking about this Russian Telecommunications guy who is ready to do whatever it takes to bring back the wife who has left him for another man. And the next moment, he is telling us about the world of modelling.From there, he switches on to blood diamonds and later to money-laundering leaving me completely at sea. :-)

But I am reading on because though I cannot identify with that Igor who doesn't mind destroying many worlds to rebuild their own, I can identify with that Igor who believes that he has to work hard only for some more time more before he is free to enjoy whatever life has to offer.