Of Tribute to Irom Sharmila Chanu

Forced fed by a pipe through the nose,
fighting and still strong - is the human spirit.
Is a decade long struggle not enough?
Yet, we still call it a 'Democracy'.

PS:-
Its been 10 years since she is on a fast demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, AFSPA. She has spent most of her time in jail, being force-fed by a pipe inserted through her nose. It is really sad that there are no answers to her questions even after a decade. Apart from a seasonal burst of interest from the media, nothing really is happening. I fear it would just lead to a tragic end.

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Sabko maloom hai main sharabi nahin ...

Just few days back I saw this advertisement in the newspaper about a concert "Shamee Ghazal" by Pankaj Udhas. I asked my brother if he would like to accompany me but he said he would prefer staying at home watching the CWG. So, I booked a single ticket since I don' t want to invite anyone who would not really appreciate spending an evening listening to Ghazals. I was just thinking what it would be like attending a Ghazal concert alone.
Well, the whole experience was good. It all started with "Dil Dhadakne ka sabab yaad aaya ...". It was followed by "Deewaron se milkar accha lagta hai ". When he started "Sabko maloom hai mein sharabi nahin ..", the audience just couldn't stop applauding. Then he explained that a "Nazm" is usually an urdu poem which describes a full story. He followed that with a nazm - "Dukh sukh tha sabka ek" which describes the story of the changing times -the past, the present and the future. Then "Jeeye to Jeeye kaise .." stole the limelight. This was followed by numbers like "Yaadon ka ek Jhonka", "Thodi thodi peeya karo..", "Patti patti Gulab - la pila de sakhiyaan". With time running out, he started the marathon of his famous numbers starting with "Chandi jaisa ..", "Chitthi aayi hai .." which brought him to the limelight again, "Kisi se koi pyaar na karen", "Ahista ..", "Zamaana kharaab hai ..." , "Ae Ga-me zindagi". And finally it ended with my favorite "Ghungroo toot gaye...". And at the end of the program, I found my lost interest and Ghazals found some space in my Ipod :)

PS:-
It was glad to see Pankaj Udhas in flesh and blood. But the six musicians (flute, violin, mandolin, tabla, dholak and keyboard) accompanying him were equally good.

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Dabangg-ed

Got "Dabangged" yesterday. First day First show. Its a pure masala movie for which the Bollowood is known for. You don't have to engrossed in it nor at the characters. Power packed action scenes with powerful dialogues. From the very first scene, you would love the rendezvous with Inspector Chulbul A.K.A Robinhood Pandey. A treat to watch for Saman's fans. Sajid-Wajid has also done a good job with the music. The songs are indeed hummable. Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is slowly becoming one of my favourite with every song he sings. And the icing on the cake is definitely the item number "munni badnaam ... Zandubaam .."

/******************/
Well, the whole controversies regarding the CWG's theme song is due to the fact that it costs Rs 5 crores. I would have liked A R Rahman to do the job for free for the sake of the nation. It would have been a nice gesture and an example for the others. BTW, I would have liked a song in the lines of "Mile sur mera tumhara ..". Then nobody would have complained. Below is the YouTube link for the song. Its not that bad but the problem is with the price involved.

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Of 63rd aniversary of our Independence

Have you read this year's PM's Independence speech ? or for that matter how was the 63rd anniversary of Independence ? Anything different from last year's ? For me it was more or less the same. Last year it was a Saturday and this year a Sunday. Now, coming to the speech, the PM talks about many challenges the country is facing today. He cited about the conflicts in J & K, the north-eastern states , about Naxalites , strong relationship with Pakistan, food and social security, need to strengthen the education system , the inflation etc. But, the truth is that most of these issues are not new and 63 years is a long period. I think the same speech can be re-used for the years to come. But then we have to admit that India has come through a long way. It has made strides in many fields including corruption. Promises are many and in hope we live. Just iterating the following lines from the movie Shawshank Redemption "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."

PS:
I am really looking forward to next year's Independence day. Not because I wanted to see whether the PM fulfills his promises but it will be a Monday resulting to a long weekend.

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Of Despicable me

This year has been great for 3D-animation movies. The first one to have made the surprise was "How to train your Dragon[link]", then came the much awaited Toy Story-3[link] and finally Despicable me[link] joined the party. The one thing I liked about these movies is that they are not made only for children but for all ages.

The story revolves around a despicable Gru who wanted to become the super Villain of all time. He wanted to outdo another villain named Vector (who had just stolen the Pyramid of Giza) by stealing the Moon. He adopts three cute orphan girls - Margo, Edith and Agnes in order to achieve his goal. Then, its all about how the girls changed Gru's heart and life.
Gru's character is quite interesting - his long nose being notable. But I must say its the 3 girls that stole the show. They are cute and lovable.

Gru: Someday, I'm going to go to the moon.
Gru's Mom: I'm afraid you're too late, Gru. NASA is no longer sending up the monkeys.

PS:- Its a movie that will make you laugh and most importantly it will help you to come out of the dream world if you happen to have engrossed with Inception. :)

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Common Wealth Gains?

Just 61 days are left for the XIX Commonwealth Games, Delhi. But, instead of hearing how the atheletes are preparing and their prospects of winning medals, new allegations about corruption, leaky stadiums, incomplete infrastructure, budget overflow and other shits are making news. So, its no surprising that the poor are getting alienated - being evicted in the name of making the Capital clean. The games is being used as another medium to fill the already filled pockets of the few chosen elites. I fear this event may just turned out to do more bad than good to this country.

PS:-
"Desh Mera - from Indian Ocean - Peepli live". A song describing India - the lyrics of this song is quite fascinating. You can take it either way.

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Dreams don't make sense

An event that is a beginning; a first part or stage of subsequent events; origin; beginning; germination; prelude; cause; birth; outset; initiation;kickoff - that's INCEPTION for you and everyone is talking about this movie. Even after watching and reading every possible reviews and story about the movie, I still have some unanswered queries. Dreams don't make sense and the confusing ones are the best.And it takes a man of such calibre as Christopher Nolan to do it.


PS: I am going to see it again.

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