‘The Unspoken’ Speaking

This is just a random thought that I got amidst carrying out my daily chores today. Thought of sharing with you all.

Wonder what if your Trash Bin spoke. It would describe you, your falling hair, your guilt hidden in the chocolate bar wrapper, crumbled pieces of incomplete letters, your sorrow in the spoilt food that you forgot to keep in the fridge last night, cans of beer you downed your throats to escape the pain or may be to get merrier with peers, the empty tablet packet that you had last night to supplement your body‘s vitamins!

If the trash bin ever spoke.. our life will be wildly exposed to the world, wont it?

Then wonder what if your bathroom spoke. It would narrate stories—Of the best dance moves and the nightingale voice that surrounds it. The funny faces and imagination and fantasies that evolved in there. The occasional tears that the shower washed off from your face. The pleasure that you got in a relaxing and serene bath after a hard day at work. The naughty kid who didn’t allow his mother to bathe him.

If the bathroom spoke?!?!?!.... I think we would leave it at that, we are just so us in there!!

Wonder what if your favorite pair of Jeans spoke. It would cry out saying “Wash me first”. It would tell you how many times you wore it and still haven’t washed it, how everything that you ate, tasted, as you always rub away the remains off your fingers n hands to it :P.

Wonder if all hung up and missed calls spoke? They would tell you how you felt when he said “I Love you” they would rejoin the ties cut off, the calls that could have bound you together, the calls that wanted to say “Sorry” to you.

If those calls spoke at the wrong times….I think we wouldn’t be so happy today, or would we be?

Now think what if your Diary spoke or Recycle bins of your laptop or the keys “Shift Delete”?!?!?!?! …………….

Thank god all these don’t speak !!!

How much is too much ??

It had been a while that I hadn’t seen any Bollywood movies. After the hectic schedule and running around during the India trip, I settled nicely at my home back in the Bay and thought what better than to treat myself with some Bollywood therapy. I was right, I realized I had to do a lot of catching up. I saw around 10-12 movies back to back and came to just one formula : Loads of Madness + Some Smooching = Bollywood commercial movie. That’s it .. there is nothing new to watch , no story, no sensible song, rather no sensibility at all ! We , Indians I think have got pretty much confused in following western culture and are at a junction where we don’t know “how much is too much “ Till recent the word “F” was taken with much caution or was being represented with the word “Fish” . Whereas today, I find this written in one of my friend’s testimonial on a social networking site that “Finally last Diwali , our best friend has learnt to use the “F” word. Congratulations, you have graduated dear “That too when I know she is studying in ninth standard, Kudos!!!  All thanks to our films ,which project that if you use this word often , you are A HERO/HEROINE, the so-called MODERN gal/dude. By now, I think we should all get ready to listen to our toddlers saying “F-Off” mom/dad some day . You think I am speaking too much , then just wait and watch. Walk down the premises of any college and you can listen to the lovely lingo that they speak with such pride and attitude :P.

Well, same holds true for smooching. Whether its in films or reality, it has become a factor of projecting modernism and a ‘bindas’ care-free attitude by youngsters. So what, who cares, I –care-damn attitude is applauded widely today and motivated equally. PDA-Public Display of Affection is so much nowadays that I feel , yaar 5 saal shaadi ki, kuch pyaar hi nahi dikhaya kisiko. Bring your bedroom on the roads, that’s in , now !! Its no more considered cheap. The Elegance , sensitivity and maturity that ever existed in the relations have just evaporated to showbiz style of portrayal of love err so-called love. All the movies that I saw had one common thing, MADNESS. Whether it was Rockstar ka Ranbir or Mere Brother ki Dulhan ki Kat , or Preity and Vishal from Mujhse Fraandship Karoge or the female lead from Rockstar too. They were all shown as crazy ! I don’t believe these characters!!!! Katrina organizing a rock concert @ Taj, the other female wanting to be in red light area in Rockstar, the complete character sketch of Ranbir in rockstar. Well, to an extent, it might be true that such incidents and life have been led by some stars in their lives and the movie merely makes an attempt to show the life of characters. But what happens in reality is every single boy wants to become Ranbir and every single girl wants to be Katrina. Come on show the real life ! You cant bump into a car and act crazy to get away from it, you cant just enter red light area and come out clean , you cant keep on showing your middle finger to anyone and everyone and escape smoothly, you cant imagine to not have your college Principal present at the college’s 25^th year anniversary when the hero/heroine realize they are in love and start smooching on the dais , you cant arrange a Rock Concert @ Taj Mahal , you cant drive down with your boyfriend just a day before your wedding cos you want to live your life carefree way one last time ! Oh my god, I can go on and on….. but I am sure there are many people who would totally disagree with me. And to them I just have one thing to say, to each its own. But someone has to draw a line somewhere. The way things are being shown in movies, I don’t have any hopes to ever see little meaningfulness and maturity in cinema. And definitely in our people too, as we get majorly affected with movies. We Indians have a peculiar tendency to overdo things and movies are the best examples to cite and prove.

I would rather prefer movies with little sensibility like Masoom, Arth, even commercial ones like Satte pe Satta, Hum hain rahi pyaar ke or Taaren zameen Pe, Iqbal, Chak de. I don’t mean to say that films should always be serious, make sensible funny ones , we still remember Angoor, Golmaal(amol palekar’s) or romantic like Dil hai ki manta nahi, DDLJ,  and the likes where people came out with wide smiles out of the theaters and not getting lost in thinking what to do next to kill time, as if, their memory has washed off   the movie they just came out of ! I am pretty sure even today if I ask you to sing any one song from the movies stated above, you would sing it in a split second.. but try playing antakshari and try singing at least one new movie song ! There you have the answer...you just cant think of any, why ? Cos not worth remembering , simple J

My suggestion to moviemakers: Make them memorable and not any more Predictable!

Nothing but Love

The grass outside swayed lazily in the meadows,
The morning dew drops settled on the windows,
Today even the air was acting naughty,
From the hills ,the sun rose slow and steady.

As its rays kissed her forehead lovingly,
She opened her eyes dreamily,
The moist air played with her hairs-
They sashayed without cares!

And I kept on looking at her,
Adoration Surging through me,
Our eyes met and the world was a blur!
Such an Angel, who else could it be?

She came closer to me and bent low,
She touched me with her soft hands,
My body shivered; my face aglow,
Restless is my mind and still does the time stand!

As she ran her fingers over me-
Such delicate touch, such delirious joy!
"What a sculpt beauty god maketh thee!"
She plays with me and I am now her toy.

As I ran across her tender jawline down to her chin,
I was welcomed with a shy smile and a longing grin,
I closed my eyes; watched her breathe in peace,
She touched her lips to mine;my heart simply flees!

She clutched me near her heart,skin soft as fur!
All I could listen was her raised beat.
Sychronized are my breaths with her;
In my own awakened dream,no ground beneath my feet!

The sun drew the mist from sea to the sky,
Her embrace got loose and she left, oh why?
She clasped her arms around him in a blissful way,
I lay there gazing at her; what a romantic day!

Sipping wine through the glass shining bright,
Love was in the air in this moon lit night,
Sealed with a kiss,lost in her scent,
Unclasped from rapturous kiss, I repent-

There I laid beside a knife-
Ah! But I still love my life!
Music and Dance, here it goes,
Who do you think I am? Just one Lucky ROSE!

Quicksand of Despair

My wandering eyes won’t find a shelter
I was lost in a deep Jungle
There were flowers, trees, fruits and water
But my heart was too busy with itself to mingle

Tread the path in trance, where would I be?

Solitude was shrieking loud within me
And outside the chaos was so calming
The sun over my pale skin shining

A charming ray pierced through my eyes

And I wake up to realize the truth that underlies
He was the one whom I waited for
He was the one whom I longed for

We both were happy in our ways, dreams were slain

Separate paths, then how did we meet again?
A little seed was put to rest deep inside
Then today why our heart refuses to abide

I still remember, every time I passed by him,
we looked at each other
A quick glance, a tender smile
But to say a single word we didn't bother.
Our gaze turned to hi and hello.
Talks were nothing but few and mellow

We came together as destiny wished
Hesitant first but curious within
Grin became a smile
And Smile took us miles

Slowly & gracefully we unwound
A good friend in each other we found
We talked we chatted we shared
Not a single moment did we spare

This time I was clung to it, I was drawn to it

I grew, I blossomed, I was a creeper, I was living through it
Winding it, embracing it, feeling alive each moment
Dreams were woven but, with a silken thin thread

And then the thread ran thin, I slipped,

To my horror, in the warm marshy land
I can’t control myself, please lend me your hand
I tried, I fought, I struggled but I got sucked

I could see you feeling my pain

You went pale, your face drain
But, all you can do is stand and stare
As I quietly disappear in the quicksand of despair

To you, My dearest Son........With love -from Mumma

Ur eyes used to shine and dance to rhymes
Today ur body moves and groves, U mime
U used to hold my finger tight and walk
Today u run, u jump, u dance, u talk

I was moved to tears when you called me "Mumma"
N u put ur dad on cloud 9 as u called him "Paa"
Ur ways made grandparents rekindle their parenthood
We became kids and they recollected our childhood

Ur Apatos Hotetop and Amanoos
Made us forget Octopus, Helicopter and Animals
Ur "Hi,Gu Monnin" brightens up each morning
Ur 'how do u do,hug, I la you'erases all our whining

Which is that lingo you speak in ?
Only I can understand, yes am listening
You played with my neck chain,spoon,lids and jars !
Today you ride bike, you love cars

From gaga goo goos to "come on man"
From bath tub fun to swim pool and tan !
From me feeding you to your own spoon !
From my bedtime stories to your favorite toons !

Now you know ur ABCs and you count 1 to 20s
Such a beautiful past year, Such beautiful memories,
Cheers to your life and our parenthood too !
Today my Son, you are turning TWO !

Does Education dislocate Human Resource?

I believe fundamentally that we make very poor use of our talents. Many people go through their whole lives having no real sense of what their talents may be or if they had any to speak of. I met all kinds of people who don’t think they are really good at anything, or who don’t enjoy what they do. They simply go through their lives getting on with it. They don’t get any pleasure from what they do. They “endure” it rather than enjoy it and wait for the weekend. But I also met people who love what they do and who can’t imagine doing anything else. This is who they are. Education dislocates human resources. Human Resource cannot be found on surfaces, you need to go in search of them, they are buried deep.

Education system is being reformed every moment, but reforming is improving already broken model. (re-form as the word says). Bringing revolution through innovation is what we need and it is hard. Challenging what we take for granted, things that we think are obvious. The main hindrance in bringing about this revolution is the tyranny of common sense as people think there can’t be any other way ‘cos that’s the way its done. Quote by Abraham Lincoln second annual meeting of congress on Dec 1862. I ought to accept that I have no idea what was happening at that timeJ, here goes the quote: “The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion”. I love that. I love the term not “rise to it “but “rise with it”. “as our case is new, so we must “think anew and act anew”, we must disenthrall ourselves and then we shall save our country” I loved the word disenthrall here which means that there are ideas that all of us are enthralled to , which we simply take for granted as the natural order of things , the way the things are. And many of our ideas are used not to cope with the coming century but to cope with the circumstances of previous centuries, but our minds are still hypnotized by them. You know today’s kid doesn’t wear wristwatches not because he choose not to but they don’t have to as for them time is everywhere in this digitized world whereas we had to wear something that told us the time. Its a single function device, right? In today’s multi-tasking life who needs it?

Education today follows “Theory of Linearity” that you start from here and follow this track and if everything works fine you will reach here and set the rest of your life. Life is not linear, so why should our education be one? Humans depend upon not a singular concept of ability but a diversity of talent. A simple example: There is competition for the admission in right kindergarten with kids going for interviews at a mere age of 3! with their resumes and a set of unimpressed panel (teachers) saying “this is it ? ! you’ve been around for 36 months!” Its outrageous but it attracts people, how ironic! The moment you tell you had to undergo interview for your little one for admission, you are highlighted in your group and people start “talking” about it. So, this is just about the competition a child faces once he steps into this world and then later he is molded into what parents and others think “The perfect way to lead a life”. But I think we should not forget that after all it’s about passion; often people are good at things, they don’t really care for. What excites our passion, our spirit our energy and if you were doing the thing that you love to do, that you’re good at, time takes a different course entirely. If you like what u do, 5 hours feel like a minute and vice versa. And this is why so many people opt out of education as it doesn’t feed their spirit, energy or passion. You cannot predict the outcome of human development. But then developmental ways (Education) shouldn’t be predictive either.

Its about Customizing to your circumstances and personalizing to the people whom you are actually teaching. So, when you think your daughter should have studied medicine while she opts for Mass Media and Communication, let her explore, that’s where she belongs, don’t hold her back. And if you do, do not forget “Every year our children lay their dreams beneath our feet, so we should tread softly!

The Virtual Persona

I recently watched a website where they discussed and talked about seeing things in a different light and in a different dimension , and as they challenged, it really opened up my eyes to a whole new world of endless possibilities and viewing things in a different angle. This blog is inspired by one such talk!

Have we ever given a thought of what are we doing when we post our pics to FB or upload a video onto a social networking site say like You Tube? We are creating an online open personal Diary for the whole world to view and peep into ! And if you think , you have put in those privacy settings and locked your profile, let me make you rethink and understand that anything put up on net is never Private ! Someone's watching you all the time.

So what would happen to all those things that we have left behind on the NET, when we leave this world ! Active website turns into Archives. Billions of people on this planet actively use social networking sites. Some profound implications are really worth exploring here.  All of us are creating an archive which is something very different and unique than anything that’s done by our past generations. Considering few stats given below (which I searched on the net)

Youtube : 48 hours of Video uploaded per minute

Twitter : 200 million tweets posted every day
FB : Avg user posts 90 pieces of content per month

Parents grandparents might have as well used the technology for preserving photos, videos or simpler still a diary lying somewhere in the box in one corner. But we have created such an archive using digital technology in this invisible cloud that is definitely going to stay years after we’re gone ! What happens to that personality after you've died? Could it ... live on?

Now you wont believe what I am going to unveil here. There is actually a site called Ifidie.net, a Facebook Application, where in you can leave statuses, videos and messages that will get flashed in your profile after you die ! Creepy as it may sound, that is digital technology for you today !  “Death can catch you anywhere, anytime, Leave your If I die message before its too late” is their Tag line.. how far have we gone to make this big ?

And this is not all, Technology’s ability to understand our statuses and posts and predict about what we might do next is what the scientists are cracking into further. Just observe how Google has narrowed down your search and also predicts and shows you exactly what you want to see while you are searching. You create your profile on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Youtube, Orkut.. that is what you are leaving behind for others to see when you die. They are all the Archives, on which your people will survive further without you !

Your Virtual Persona is much bigger than your actual one, don’t you think? And we are actually living two personalities in our life, an actual one and a virtual one. At times one gets so obsessed by this virtual persona and the virtual life that it starts bothering you , if there have been no comments on your FB post, or no one posted a thumbs up on your picture. And then you realize something more important, and probably, even more sad: that all that time you were obsessed over it, you could have been doing things with your family, or reading, gardening  or drawing, or painting, or ANYTHING.

Well now that’s life for you these days ! You prefer online chatting or scrapping and messaging over direct phone calls , you prefer to upload pics for the whole world to see rather than cherishing it with only a chosen few, you post something that will please others first, next you J . But then you are leaving behind an amazing archive of yourself and your life for your loved ones to cherish forever. Virtual Persona will still continue to live on even after you are gone now that’s something to ponder upon !