Overquoted Quotes

First of all, Jai Maharashtra!! My beautiful state is now 49 years old. Thanks to those 105 brave souls who gave up their lives for realizing the dream of "Sanyukta Maharashtra". You will forever be remembered as we remember the great Shivaji Maharaj himself. 

Now, moving to my topic. After all the confusion the IPL 2009 has turned out just fine. Its good to see the Mumbai Indians doing good as well. 

While watching the IPL, I noticed a quote being used over and over by almost all the commentators : "City Moment of Success"(or so I thought). It is being used to describe every single event in the match - a wicket, a sixer( oops.. a DLF Maximum!!). Turns out, the quote is actually "Citi Moment of Success". Since, Citi Group is one of the official sponsors of the IPL, the commentators are supposed to use this term presumably as often as they can. And they all seem to be following orders: Mark Nicholas, Robin Jackman, L Sivaramakrishnan et al. From what I noticed, the little master Sunil Gavaskar is the only person who has avoided using it. And thats a good thing as well, his amazing repertoire of words makes him a treat to listen to. Now back to this quote: I guess the commentators can't help it if they are asked to do something by the sponsors. But give me a break, hearing one single quote over and over again every single day!!!

I wouldn't be surprised if some of the commentators get so used to saying it, they continue it in other tournaments. And wouldn't it be fun if that would turn out to be one sponsored by say... Standard Chartered!!! :) :) :)

गर्व आहे मला मी महाराष्ट्रीय असल्याचा :)

Just watched a Marathi movie in a theater after a very long time. The movie - Mi Shivajiraje Bhonsle Boltoy. Directed by Mahesh Manjrekar, and also starring him in the title role(but not the lead!!) of the pride of Maharashtra : Chhattrapati Shivaji Maharaj. But the movie belongs to Sachin Khedekar, who plays the middle class 'Marathi manoos' to perfection. 

The movie brings out the angst of the Marathi manoos through the story of Dinkar Rao Bhonsle(Khedekar), how he feels lost in his own Mumbai. But rather than indulging in some sort of 'outsider'-bashing, we are taken the root of the actual problem. It is the lack of ambition and drive to succeed that is making him lose his hold over his own city. As a Maharashtrian(oops Maharashtriya) watching this movie, it is full of scenes which look straight out of one's daily life experiences. We follow Bhonsle as he is converted from a push-over to a hero with the help of the spirit of Shivaji Maharaj, who is distressed that someone who shares his last name should feel ashamed of being Marathi.

The supporting cast is awesome too. Makarand Anaspure as Maharaj's trusted man provides the necessary comic relief. But another comedian Siddarth Jadhav, does a complete turnaround playing a ruthless don Usman Parkar. Me and my friend have rechristened him "The Indian 50 Cents" after seeing him in this movie. I was also quite impressed by the beautiful Priya Bapat who plays Bhonsle's daughter. And famous adman Bharat Dabholkar played an amazing cameo as the evil Mughal Afzal Khan. That particular part of the movie which describes how Maharaj killed the deceitful Afzal Khan was truly inspiring to me. 

The way Bhonsle single-handedly fights the builder mafia is a bit far-fetched, but I guess its permissible cinematic liberty. The inspiring message that this movie sends out to the people of Maharashtra overshadows all else. Especially at this time, with the elections around the corner, with people desiring leaders who will truly represent Maharashtra at the Centre. 

On a different note, it was truly heartening to see full houses for this superhit movie. It has made me believe Maharashtra will rise again.

असेल हिम्मत तर आडवा!!!!!! 

What does it mean?

What does it mean?

When you search for someone you know isn't there

When you listen to a voice no one else can hear

When you wait for the rain under a sky so clear.

What does it mean?

When a face haunts your thoughts day & night

That leaves you neither in darkness nor light

And yet somehow it feels so right.

What does it mean?

When someone's grief makes you forget your own pain

Words spoken so few, yet for eternity shall remain

When you will wait knowing you'll never meet again.

What does it mean?

When trying to pull away only makes the feeling grow

When you remember someone in your prayers, in joy and sorrow

And it doesn't even matter that they will never know.

Destiny???

Rewind<< 2004 : A few months into my engineering in EXTC, I was wondering if i made the right choice. After a lot of thought( those who know me well can imagine the volume!!), I decided to change my branch to Computers. Because I loved it, and didnt care whether people thought EXTC was more "promising".

Fast Forward>> 2006 : With doing MS fixed in my head, but after a brief stint at work in an Indian IT firm, I went for the on-campus Syntel aptitude test without any worries. I had barely even prepared. Cleared the test, then cleared the interview, and I was right there along with my EXTC friends. Who couldnt help wonder how meaningless running after EXTC was... 

Fast Forward>> July 2007 : Having finished B.E., sitting at home doing nothing. Heard a few friends had called up Syntel themselves for their date of joining. Did the same, and was presented with 2 choices : 30th August - Pune or 11th October - Mumbai. What to do?? Take the later batch in my home sweet home. Or go to this other pretty city right besides mine. I decided the latter. 

Fast Forward>> Playing (2007-2008) : Met new people from almost all over India. Made some really good friends who I am continuing to interact with(wherever they are : here, Pune, Chennai or anywhere else). Still I do regret not being able to have been in the company of a few, for long enough to get to know each other better.

Present Day> : Back home now since 7 months. Looking forward to travelling big time in a few months. Just thinking about these past few years, and how one different decision at any stage would have just things dramatically. Hmm... NowI'm back, good old friends, some new ones... Hey talking about the 11th October batch.. I have managed to meet a quite a few of them, with 2 of them now really close chums of mine!!

Whew!! Life comes full circle. 

Though I do look back and think if I should have done things differently( mind you I'm not talking about choosing comps n Pune, I'm glad about both). Some other decisions I took along the way that sometimes I'm not sure about. But its reassuring to hold a belief, that somewhere down the line, I could end up finding out I was right after all. See at one point, I was gonna go for MS right after BE.. I would have graduated right now, bang in the middle of the economic meltdown. Hmmm... Destiny, Fate??? Dont know???

Viva La Vida... Cheers to Life!!!   

Dont Hate Love, Dont Chain Freedom

Before you misunderstand me, let me get one thing straight. To hell with Valentine's Day. Its just another marketing strategy to mint money. Gift shop chains, hotel chains, music companies: they all just sell it. If I had a girlfriend, I wouldnt need this day to show her I loved her. A special day? How about her birthday or the day we first met? But nobody has the right to force people not to celebrate it. You cant beat up couples for it. Go ahead, burn cards, demonstrate against gift shops, show your resentment against the commercialization. But you cant impose your restrictions on the public. Personally, I dont like going to pubs & discs either. But I dont look down on people who do. Its a matter of choice. If its causing loss of morality, its their parents' problem. Who is this 'Sri Ram Sene' to decide? They look like a bunch of drug addicts themselves. And the Bajrang Dal have always been a bunch of class-A retards. But I was sorely disappointed with the Shiv Sena. It has always stood up for things that matter: for Maharashtra, for policemen vilified for killing terrorists, for poor farmers' rights. But not this. Come on, guys! An average middle-class youth otherwise supports you for your stand on other issues, if not the methods (but personally, I love the way you guys kick ass wherever deserved). You are only driving us away by impinging on our freedom. On a better note, the MNS had declared this as a non-issue. :-)

Looking back at 'The Dark Knight'

Sci-Fi & Action movies always excite me. But its a few particular directors that truly make me sit up & take notice say George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott etc. When 'Batman Begins' was released, I was skeptical. The previous franchise was a dud for the most part, the only saving grace was 'Batman Forever' with Val Kilmer( an amazing yet underrated actor) as Batman & awesome performances by Jim Carrey(my fav) & Tommy Lee Jones. I was particularly repulsed by the new franchise director Christopher Nolan when he took a few liberties with the basic Batman premise. Suddenly, the sleek Batmobile became the gigantic 'Tumbler'. But overall it was a good movie. Then came the sequel that changed it all. Nolan's attempt to make the movie & the characters as realistic as possible paid off. In the guise of a comic-based action movie, 'The Dark Knight' turned out to be a grim, intense, thought-provoking movie.The late Heath Ledger immortalized The Joker, a psychopathic, shrewd criminal mastermind. Christian Bale is perfect as the misunderstood, forever in pain  caped crusader. Aaron Eckhart brought out the contradiction in Two-Face. For me, two things about the movie have made me a truly crazy fan. First is undoubtedly the Joker. His mannerisms, his amazing dialogues.. outta this world. He truly has given us a "better class of criminal". The other is the very meaning of 'The Dark Knight'. Especially since how relevant it is to our world today. Can there truly be a perfectly good hero? Highly improbable, by our human standards. Batman is our hero. He falters, he is misunderstood. He has to take the tough choices that make people hate him. He has to remain the outcast, the criminal. 

So Christopher Nolan has now joined my list of favourite directors. More so, after watching his amazing, time-warped 'Memento'(the inspiration behind Ghajini). And 'The Dark Knight' has become another movie in my eclectic collection which  I watch & discuss a hundred times over, to the point of nauseating those around me.

The Curious Case of Maharashtra

This is a continuation of yesterday's post. Let me take you back to the late 1950's. While the Constitution allowed creation of Indian states along linguistic lines, they curiously didnot want to do the same for the Marathi-speaking areas of Western India. Four years and 105 lives later, the state of Maharashtra was born on 1st May 1960. With its capital city Mumbai, home to the Wankhede, Marine Lines & oh yes... Flora Fountain, rechristened as Hutatma Chowk(Martyr's Crossroads) in memory of the 105 brave souls who laid down their lives courtesy the bullets, not of the British or of Pakistanis, but our own fellow countrymen. The victory belonged to the efforts of the Sanyukta Maharashtra Samiti, whose prominent members included Acharya Atre, Prabodhankar Thackeray(Balasaheb Thackeray's father) , Senapati Bapat and Shahir Amar Shaikh. 

To me, this is a part of history that I feel proud to look back on. But not to nurse any ill feelings towards my fellow Indians. It was just that the people in power at that time wanted control over the financial capital of India. As they still do today. Still efforts are on to create a separate state of Mumbai, a move supported vehemently by the likes of Amar Singh & his ilk. These politicians are covertly trying to create their votebank in Mumbai. Rather than solving the problems in their states(which anyway they themselves have created), these goons & buffoons in the garb of netas encourage migrant influx into Mumbai. These poor people take up whatever work they can, hardworking & determined that they are (something I admire). With stars in their eyes, they are ready to work for whatever measly sum they are offered(which is why they are in demand). Then the bubble bursts, that tiny sum cannot fulfill their dreams and it ultimately leads them to crime. So, like never before in the history of Mumbai, we have record cases of robberies & murders by watchmen, security guards themselves. All employed in bulk as low cost labour from you-know-where. And there are several other examples such as railway recruitment etc that may be cited. This has to change and that is all the Shiv Sena & the MNS are saying. There is no "Maharashtra is only for Marathis" agenda. That even sounds so stupid to me. Mumbai boasts of bigger Navratri celebrations than Gujarat. Also the biggest Durga Puja celebrations outside of West Bengal. People from other states have always been and will continue to be welcome here. The opposition a while back was not against Chhat Puja, but against Lalu, Amar Singh and the rest bringing their slimy carcasses here to play dirty votebank politics. 

I hope people understand what ails us. I guess the problem lies in all of us. We have become a nation of indifferent people, unwilling to look the problem in the eye, imagining it doesnt exist. So, I maintain that this is not just Maharshtra's but India's problem. Maharashtra pays the lion's share of taxes in India. But gets nothing in return for its development. But I'd be more than happy if a good percentage of that money is spent on improving the conditions in UP and Bihar. Just as Uddhav Thackeray said in an interview, "Don't blame us. We are doing this for our state. Blame your states' leaders who have failed you and left you in this plight."

And to my other fellow Indians from more fortunate, developed cities like Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bangalore etc just try to find out these facts before you base your judgements on the so-called news reports of all these so-called news channels like Aaj Tak, India TV(no prizes for guessing where their patronages lie). 

Jai Hind !! Jai Maharashtra !! Jai Gujarat !! Joi Bangla !! (I'm sorry all the other states are included in the first salutation, I only reserve separate references for my favourites.. :)  )

P.S. : I promise to write on some pleasant topics next time onwards