Bollywood Award Functions

Since a child I have always had a fascination for Hindi Cinema. Due to time constraints, educational priorities and the fact that we had no cable connection in our house (which in India means having access to only Government regulated channel called Doordarshan) I got to watch very few of them. But now that I am at a point in life when watching a movie relaxes me the most, I am fulfilling my childhood wish of watching lots of Hindi movies.

Just as watching a movie is crucial for me, so is commenting on it which may be either a criticism or a compliment. I find a nice way to tally the comments I made throughout the year with the distinguished minds in Hindi Cinema is by watching the Award functions (another reason being to check out the actors, their hairstyles/costumes/makeup).

Yesterday night when I was watching the Star Screen Awards for year 2008 held in early 2009, I was so put off since the start with the presentation of the ceremony. None of the actors (male/female) were dressed up to the occasion (except for a handful). Probably because the Academy Awards held in Hollywood (Oscars) have set my standards a bit too high. Or may be coz I know that Indian actors can look so handsome/beautiful if they want to but I wonder why they come to award functions so casually dressed. Either they do not care or there are too many award functions to care. People may not have watched their movies, but they do take a note of them in the award functions.

Do I also need to add to it that the show host was absolutely distasteful? To make people laugh, he stooped down to levels one can only imagine (or probably not). He made me wonder throughout as to why I dint find any of his poor jokes funny (as audiences seemingly were enjoying them). I was in doubt since the start thinking that probably I have lost my sense of humour. Sajid Khan and sister Farah Khan were the hosts. Together with the distasteful jokes (about effiminate males and gayism), they were also passing comments on the speeches made by the recipients. For a short speech I heard comments like “For a writer like you it's surprising that you do not have way with words” and for longer speeches I heard “Your speech was just a bit shorter than your movie”. Wonder if we can use the pretext of entertaining audiences by hurting those who work hard throughout the year to achieve these awards so that they can thank those who made it possible for them?

Towards the end director Ashutosh Gowarikar (whose movie “Jodha Akbar” won many accolades including best director) had the courage to voice against it. Sajid Khan replied saying that “It is a TV show [and so we got to make fun so that audiences laugh and TRP rises]”. I disagree. It’s is not a TV show. Why does not Sajid Khan host a TV show in which he pulls people’s legs and makes distasteful jokes so that the TRPs tick northwards? This is an award function, something seen by people all over the world, something which represents Indian cinema, something which gives a chance to the fans to see their actors dancing without cuts, something for which film makers (cast and crew) work hard throughout the year to be recognised at the end. I am sorry but Sajid and Farah this is totally unacceptable!

Tagged

Thank you Renu for tagging me to write on the above picture.




The picture above is a similar picture (in essence) that I came across last year (of my friend with her boyfriend walking hand in hand in Russia). I was so moved by the picture that I requested her to give me a copy of it on which I always wanted to write a blogpost (I have her permission to publish it on my blog). Thanks to the tag now, it will now be finally written after almost a year.

I wonder what did I find so fascinating about this picture that I so badly wanted to keep it with me and to write on it? I feel that the pictures above can be looked at for hours giving rise to myriad thoughts.

I find shaking hands very special. I know it might sound American/English style of greeting somebody, and I do think ‘Namaste’ (Indian style of greeting with folded palms in front of the chest) has its own charm, but definitely a handshake is a little more personal (while a kiss on the cheek gets far more intimate and I tend to shun it). Holding hands while walking makes so much of sense. It constantly ensures that you are aware of the presence of the person walking beside you and don't have wandering thoughts about anybody/anything else.

Holding hand means a promise, a promise not to leave it again, a promise to hold in sickness and health, a promise to be a shield in times of trouble. Walking hand in hand means walking together the tumultuous journey of life; it means a pledge to understand and undertake the ups and downs of life together.

I might have exaggerated it a bit, but then I am sure these pictures do remind us of somebody. Somebody with whom either we have walked hand in hand or would have wanted to walk hand in hand. In both the scenarios I think we have been a winner as we have proved to ourselves the level of commitment that we are willing to take, the promises that we are willing to keep. In both the scenarios we prove to ourselves that we are lucky to have come across somebody worthy of that. And if not, then we rather need to go on a search of the self!

My Raiganj Trip

I had a genuine reason to be away from blogging for a while now. I was in Raiganj for a two week holiday. It has been the best holiday I have had in times I can remember. Let me try to give words to the overwhelming experience I went through in one of the busiest, most exciting and memorable holidays of my life.

Onward Journey:

I chose Air India to fly down to India from London (and return) over numerous European flights – reason being simple – food. And I did not feel let down as the food was indeed amazing (so much so that I told my mother not to bother herself about packing food for the return flight). The flight was very comfortable unlike what my friends had alarmed me about. Most of the time I read the book “The Shadow of the Wind” that I was carrying and rest of the time watched the movie “Naseeb” starring Amitabh Bachchan (Din’t have any good English movie option, and I din’t mind it either).

On reaching Delhi, a very close friend of mine from undergrad days was waiting at the airport. I must have caused her a lot of pain because of the wait and confusion of domestic/international terminal, but I was glad she undertook it without complaining. We are friends since 8 years now, I have never felt so touched by a gesture of a friend that I felt this time. I gave her a bag (apt for weekend travel) I bought for her in London as a wedding gift which she seemed to have liked.

In that little time that we had, as I had to catch a connecting flight to Kolkata, she showed me the largest shopping mall in India (I think in Asia as well, not sure) called Ambience in Gurgaon. We had a nice lunch and nicer conversations. For a 5 O’clock flight I managed to reach the airport at 4.15pm only to be told that my flight is closed and departing as it has been re-scheduled for 4.30pm. Phew! After not much argument, they decided to send me on a later flight with no extra charges. I was bowled over by the hospitability. Delhi airport came across as clean and not very different from London Heathrow airport in terms of management and facilities.

I reached Kolkata quite late in the night which meant that the train booked for Raiganj had already left. With no alternative we (my father and my younger brother who had come to receive me) agreed to go by bus. Father’s network helped and we got three reserved tickets on a bus. The journey from Kolkata to Raiganj was really miserable. An over-night journey with no proper seats to relax, pathetic roads, and to top it all I felt the need to go to the toilet. The bus stopped in the middle of the night for dinner. I rushed to the ladies toilet of the road-side hotel (called “line hotel”) after ordering some dinner for the three of us. My younger brother warned me about the hygiene of the food, but I decided to eat it anyway. The food served on unclean plates was very tasty - simple chapattis with tarka daal (black curry made with pulses). However the toilet completely put me off. I was on the verge of vomiting. And it is something that I felt concerned about throughout my holiday. Sanitation in India is a huge matter of concern.

Raiganj:

Raiganj was as warm as it has always been. Nothing had changed in the town (apart from the renovation my mother is getting done in our showroom). My mother had planned out lots of visits to family and friends which I thoroughly enjoyed. I found warmth in them. I found an eagerness to embrace shedding apprehensions of all sorts. I felt genuineness in their love, respect, kindness and hospitability. I felt touched. More than once did I have tears in my eyes when I bid adieu to them.

My School:

I went to my alma mater with a joy of seeing the teachers who have made me what I am today, without whom I would not have understood the importance of consistent hard work, the importance of not just reaching the top but also maintaining the position.

I was overwhelmed by the warmth my teachers exuded. They invited me for a talk so that I inspire the current students to aspire and motivate them to work towards achieving the aspirations. I took no time to accept the invitation. On a later scheduled date I spoke to the current students and got an overwhelming response from them. My school celebrates its 100th birthday in 2011 for which I have promised to try my best to gather all the alumni spread across the world on one platform. I reckon to make the celebration worth remembering for times to come.

Cinema:

One thing that I love since childhood is to go to cinema followed by a nice family dinner in a restaurant. “Luck By Chance” was on Asha Talkies and I could not resist my temptation. I coaxed my younger brother and two other kids in our locality to come along with me. My parents could not manage time to go with us for the movie on one of the three cinema halls in Raiganj (the third one generally plays adult or B-grade bollywood movies). All the hype about this movie seemed unwarranted as very soon I found my younger brother, on my left, going off to sleep. The two kids, on my right, were not able to understand what was happening in the film so I started explaining them the scenes. A group of loafer guys were making so much of noise that I myself was not able to understand half of the movie. Thankfully the storyline was the most unpredictable and boring one so it was very easy to fill up the gaps. The gang of guys would start clapping very loudly sometimes when the heroine hugs the hero or gives a sly smile or just like that with no reason which in a way helped my brother to ward off his sleep to an extent. I enjoyed every bit of my time watching Luck By Chance in Asha Talkies.

Return Journey:

It was time to go back. It was time to leave all the warmth, love, and camaraderie back and return to work. I felt weak. I cried in my bathroom or in the room which has temple in it facing God asking Him to take care of my parents and to keep them away from any worry. Coming back from holidays has always been tough for me, but this time it seemed tougher. Life gives and takes so much. Even with so much of maths that I have done, I am yet to understand and formulate the equation of life.

The Derren Brown Show

What could be more scintillating than knowing that the person standing in front of you can read your mind, that whatever crap is going in your mind can be accurately read and understood by the person in front of you? No, I am not talking philosophical here, I am not talking about soul mates here who know what their better half is upto. I am talking about a professional, a sheer professional who claims that he does not have any psychic powers; all he does is capture the energies that our brains radiate. Each one of us has energies around us, and our thoughts attract those energies. He claims to be aware of those energies and thereby tell what is playing in our minds.

I got totally freaked out when I became aware of this concept. I got freaked out only by his TV show, wonder how would I react when he is actually in front of me. Derren Brown was on the business since the start of the show. There was a huge audience in the large auditorium and he involved as many as he possibly could have in the given time. There were various acts of mastery on display. He asked the audience to write their questions on a sheet of paper and fold it into an opaque envelope with their initials and desk number on the top. Just by reading the initial and desk number, Derren went on to say how old the person who has asked the question is, the sex, the name (!!) and also the question. And phew! He was spot on. Audiences like you and me were aghast; they were more freaked out than I was sitting outside the TV set.

There was another trick in which he asked some people to come on stage and by calling some dead spirits he would make the table move which the people called upon on stage are only touching to ensure that it is actual motion and not a delusion. I initially discarded it saying that probably a magnet has been attached inside the table’s legs and somebody below the stage is driving it (though I am not sure if magnet fitted inside wood is able to create a magnetic field). While all this argument was playing on in my mind and I was about to discard the trick as a nonsense, he commanded the table to rise up. Seeing it rise up for a good 30-40 cm above the ground, my argument failed. I submitted myself.

He dint stop there. After playing lots of similar unbelievable tricks, he threw his masterpiece in which he proved that he could read the minds of hundreds of people gathered in the show at the same time. He was too good there. With his eyes closed, he picked up a 30-35 year old guy sitting far behind in the rows, heard him say a yes, and went on to say that he is not English but of foreign origin, probably Ugandian or/and Indian (!), his name is Sachin (!!) and he recently went for a holiday to Iceland. Sachin was dumbstruck. He admitted each of it being true and that he is totally freaked out.

I was particularly freaked out to see that Derren could guess the names of people (accurate most of the times). Do our names really have so much of importance? Do the energies we radiate have names associated with them? Why did Shakespeare then say “What’s in a name?”?

The show left me restless. Now two days down the line and I am still pondering how all this can be done. How is it possible? The answer is not going to be easy but it will surely be no less than a revelation to go out on a hunt.

A pending tribute to Raiganj

I am born and brought up in Raiganj, a small town in the district of North Dinajpur in West Bengal. I remember as a kid my perpetual quest used to be to spot Raiganj in whichever atlas or geography book I came across. And never being able to spot it used to disappoint me and at the same time also give me a reason to discard that book claiming that it din’t contain enough information. Probably a part reason to why I could never fare very well in Geography. Very recently, to my pleasant surprise I found a small wikipedia entry for Raiganj. The wiki says that as per the 2001 census Raiganj has a total population of just 165,222 with 75% literacy (which is notches above the national average of 59.5%).

Since my mother foresaw a bright future for me, she was very adamant that I do not go to any Bengali medium school and English be my medium of instruction. Being a small town in West Bengal, Raiganj had some renowned Bengali medium schools, but no good English medium school. Hence, as a kid the schools I went to had leaking roofs, no fans and no tube lights. On a rainy day the roofs would leak to fill in the buckets kept under them and on a sunny day the tinned roofs would get as hot as possible and with no fans overhead only added to the torture. My mother had to donate some fans to the school, which followed suit amongst other parents thereby enabling some infrastructural development. However none of the English medium schools had managed to get an affiliation from the central board to conduct the tenth standard examination, so for two years I had to go out to a neighbouring place called Balurghat. I felt Balurghat was only bigger in size and population but much less developed than Raiganj, though that can be argued by some. Those days I missed Raiganj so much that I was ready to pay any price to go back.

So for the final two years of schooling called the twelfth boards, my mother put me into a renowned Bengali medium school with the exception that I would be allowed to take my examinations in English. This meant that all the lectures would be delivered in chaste Bengali. Bengali is my third language but the great deal of fascination for the language helped me manage to understand most of the theory lessons. I, however, found the Mathematics classes very difficult to follow. Knowing a particular language does not guarantee that one can also know Mathematics in that language. I used to struggle to ask questions to the Maths teacher as neither did he understand the equivalent English terms for some of the mathematical concepts. My classmates would make fun of me by calling me a ‘firangi’ meaning a foreigner. And very surprisingly I actually used to love hearing so from them. I never saw it as a mockery; rather I took it as their admiration. I guess I was good at selective hearing and also in extracting the essence that I wanted to hear from a remark/comment. My teachers loved me and appreciated the extra efforts I was putting in to understand all the subjects in a third language. It was a nice challenge to me, and I had a heavy incentive to win as I knew if I dint fare well in exams, then this challenge would only get extended meaning having to do university in third language as well.

I scored the highest marks in not only Raiganj but also in the entire state of West Bengal to which Raiganj belongs. I was on the newspapers and the local TV. I chose to give my interview in English which was commended by the Union Minister on an award function to felicitate my achievement. Raiganj Coronation High School would celebrate its centenary year in 2010 and I feel very proud to be associated with it. Those two years preparing for the twelfth boards were the last years that I spent in Raiganj and the most memorable times of life. Raiganj gave me the recognition for my hard work, and the recognition gave me the confidence that I can do something in life.

This piece of writing is an acknowledgement of my indebtedness to Raiganj and a reminder to my self to work towards my childhood dream of gifting Raiganj with a good English medium school. May God guide me!

A new year gift to you!

Found an old manuscript containing some of my poems I had given to special friends at different points of time in the past. Before nostalgia takes over, let me publish here one of them as a special new year gift to all of you! Let us start this year with a spirit which this poetry conveys!

Jeevan hamesha khushiyan to nahi lata,

Insaan hamesha sab kuchh nahi pata,

Sookh aur dookh samay ke chakra ki tarah hai,

Shanti aur ashanti dono hi har jagah hai.

Kabhi utaar to kabhi chadao-

Kabhi sahaj to kabhi uljhan bhare padao,

Jaise din aur raat, jeena aur marna.

Virah ke dard ke baad milan ki hai bela,

Kabhi hai log saath to kabhi chalna pade akela.

Pehle hai jhagra phir dher saara pyar,

Kabhi hai jeet to kabhi hai haar-

To bhai phir kis baat ka malhaar,

Jiyo zindagi chak do gam yaar.

Pata nahi kal ho na ho,

Pareshaniya to hai par phir bhi tum hanso.

Mana ki tumhara gam kuchh nahi hai kam-

Par lakho logo se phir bhi behtar hai hum,

Unke liye to har ek subah aasha ki nayi kiran hai

Aane wala woh din hi unka jeevan hai.

Shaam hote hi anischittayen gher leti hai unhe,

Agle din ki chintaayen woh jaaker kahe kinhe.

Prem aur vishwaas ki rah se tum na dagmagao,

Ishwar ke prati sachchi bhakti tum mann mein jagao.

Dhyan rakhna ki tum kabhi aham mein na doob jao,

Sahridayta aur vinamrata tum apne mein lao.

Apne aap par rakkho tum poori aashtha,

Sweang hi dikh jayega tumhe woh jagmagata hua raasta!!