Confessions of a Harmless Young Lawyer

KAMINEY: an AWE'F'OMELY 'F'EXY movie - A review'

2009-08-19T02:58:00.000-07:00

Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Amol Gupte, Deb Mukherjee, Rajatabha Dutta, Harish Khanna, Carlos Paca, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Tenzing Nima, Shiv Subrahmanyam, Hrishikesh Joshi

Music: Vishal Bhardwaj

Director: Vishal Bhardwaj

Producer: Ronnie Screwvala

Writer: Vishal Bhardwaj

Vishal Bhardwaj does it again. After the astounding success of "Omkara", he has doled out a even larger piece of pie to the Bollywood audience, and tastier. "Kaminey" is one of those once-in-a-blue-moon kind of Bollywood movies that ties you to your seat, hanging on to every word and every moment and when it ends, it leaves you fully satisfied.

"Kaminey", for a much-awaited change, is a movie where you can't predict what is going to happen next. It has a wonderfully twisted plot that unravels itself spectacularly around a bunch of mad-hatters, who are totally convincing in themselves, characters in flesh and blood. But yeah, do not forget to be very attentive to every second of the movie. One text in your mobile, or one longing look at that handsome bod sitting two rows away from you may cost you the entire plot of the movie. And there are these snatches of dialogues in Bengali and Marathi. Especially the first twenty minutes of the movie demand your unflinching attention, otherwise you won't be able to get a hang of the characters, the words they speak, the way they speak, and the tone of the film. And once you get used to it, blimey, you can't get your eyes, ears and mind off the screen. The hot bod can wait !!

One must genuinely appreciate the innovativeness involved in the film. The days are over when you see the first 10 mins and predict what the movie is going to be. Vishal Bhardwaj effectively throws in pieces of jigsaw at the audience in the first 15 minutes of the movie, and let them all fall into place in their own sweet time, albeit with the audience's constant application of mind in this beautifully crafted and intrinsically woven dark story of the big bad world.

Tassaduq Hussain, who shot Vishal's "Omkara" too, has again done a brilliant job this time and given the audience a treat for their eyes. The movie is fast, funny, thrilling and keeps you on your toes throughout the entire span.

As for the cast, they rocked, all of them. Shahid plays dual role of two twins: Charlie and Guddu, two as different from each other as chalk and cheese. The only thing common to them is that they both dream of making it big someday. The similarity between these twins ends here. While Charlie chooses a life of earning a few quick-bucks, Guddu prefers being a NGO worker. And no, unlike all other Bollywood masala movies, there is no love lost in between the two brothers. They despise each other, have not seen each other's face for three long years and can do anything to get their own ends met, be it even sacrificing the other. Guddu has a stammering problem, while Charlie lisps, he pronounces 'F' in place of 'S'! Now you know what the title of this review is all about: that is what is movie is- awefomely fexy. Shahid pulls off both these roles with elan ! "Kaminey" does for Shahid what "Omkara" did for Saif - the star has evolved as a versatile actor.

Priyanka Chopra as Sweety is typically the girl-next-door, yet has her head at the right place. She handles herself well, be it while she is drunk and absolutely smitten to have Guddu in bed, that too without the Kamasutra, or when she discovers she has got pregnant, and talks Guddu into marrying her. Or when she pleads with the police to leave her newly-wedded husband, Sweety is amazingly fresh and fits beautifully into her role.

Then there is this range of oddballs, who make the movie click: from Amol Gupte as the 'Jai Maharashtra' gangster Bhope Bhau to the lethally capricious coke-lover Mikhail played into the skin of the character by Chandan Roy Sanyal, from the corrupt helpless cop Lobo played by Shib Subramanyam to Tenzing Nima's enchanting and likable drug-smuggler Tashi - the film brims with all these little known superb actors, besides many others.

Best part about the movie is each of the eleven characters has his time in the spotlight. Guddu recounts his middle-school love while Sweety is charmingly real in her beer-driven arousal. Bhope bribes his nephew with chocolate, while Lobo tries hard to make the stutterer to give a police statement through a song. The Bengali gangsters (Deb Mukherjee, Rajatava Dutta and Chandan Roy Sanyal) are a complete mad "shonamuni puchu-puchu" trio, the Marathi "Jai Maharashtra" stand transfixed by Sweety-Guddu screensaver on a laptop. CHarlie keeps his mobile phone is a plastic wrapper, while Mikhail, high on coke and unpredictable, staggers upon the Marathi gangsters in an extraordinary moment.

There is a witty duality running throughout the length of the movie. Mikhail is astounding, and haunts you till the end of the movie. He kind of combines stunning violence with humour. When he breaks into a Spiderman theme, Charlie responds with an equally ear-catching Fpiderman, Fpiderman. In short, its a lovely piece of writing, the wordplay is continuous, subtle and exquisite, and leaves you wanting for more. Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie are subtly present throughout the whole movie.

Talking of music, Dhan Te Nan has already become a craze. The choreography is amazing, with Charlie and Mikhail doing the rounds.

With all these ranges of characters, its not too hard to love each and every one of them. By the time you reach the end of the movie, you realise that you do give a damn for those bunch of mad-hatters, those corpses-in-waiting. That's when the climax touches you, and you realise "kameenapan". Overall, an awesome movie, a must-see. It will take some time in getting used to. It is not one of those comfort food that Bollywood normally dishes out every Friday. But its taste is worth acquiring.

GO WATCH IT !!

SIMPLE THINGS MAKE LUV: A Book by Komal Thakur

2009-07-18T03:03:00.000-07:00

SIMPLE THINGS MAKE LUV

YET BOLLYWOOD, MAFIA, POWER, MONEY CANNOT STOP IT!

by KOMAL THAKUR

Yogi thought that winning Oscars was his only one unfulfilled desire. With Niti, his wife and his luck charm, in his life he has achieved everything else. So after 12 years of 'successful' marriage why would Niti forsake him one day leaving a letter behind?

The quest of answers and a haunted feeling of wanting her more than ever brings Yogi to a compromising situation where he realizes that all his life, he was looking at a mirage.

Niti is not beautiful in a traditional way. She is dusky and born with such a magnetic sex appeal that whoever loves her one time, loves her forever. To Yogi, she is an orphan with no family ties. However, she has a tragic secret in her past. In the past her name was Kinnari.

Kinnari has no interest in going to college. She drinks, smokes, works in a call-centre and wants to live life as simply as possible. Though outwardly against love, her only secret desire is to fall in love and when she does, life plays a game with her. A game of loving and losing. She realizes that her life was an illusion and hides herself behind the security that only Yogi could provide her.

SIMPLE THINGS MAKE LUV is a larger-than-life picture of illusions where the search is orphic and love is dicey.

It was just a few hours back that I finished reading the book that I bought yesterday, very randomly, from National Handloom, Jodhpur. And believe me when I say that I'm still reliving the pages of it. The book has been kind of haunting me since then, the story of a woman created by another, it was the perfect start to my Saturday morning. And now at 4 p.m. when I am writing this blog, things from the book are randomly passing through my brain, yeah not my mind, but my brain, to imply that the feelings and thoughts are pouring in strongly, and my heart is aching at the thought of "Aryan", the male protagonist in the book.

Just a few random excerpts from the book that I loved, from Kinnari's Journal:

"A thousand things were going on through my mind. Hundreds of voices and memories were speaking together. 'He is not in love with you.' one of the voices reminded me. 'Remember your dreams Kinnari, your dreams of peace in your married life' other voice said. My mind was buzzing with thoughts and the pain of all the years re-surfaced. All my chats with Philo came into focus. Yes, he was not in love with me. There was no commitment. True though every voice was, however, I had learnt to accept that reality was different from what we believe in. It was hard for me to control the possibility of showing my tears to him. My eyes were already full of tears so that the room was getting blurred. And with these blurred eyes, I looked into his eyes wanting to see love there, love for my soul. But there was only desperation. He was pleading to me, he literally was. All I could see were his eyes hungry for my body only and his lips parting only to say, "Please, Please."
"I saw him stretching luxuriously on the floor. I felt better, so much better about my lost virginity. If it had to be given, it was safely given to the right person. A person I would be able to respect. No, it was just not sex between us. It was him. Aryan, his confidence and ability to take quick and wise decisions. His smartness and the way my body seemed perfect under his scrutiny. I loved it when he hummed or breathed. I loved it when he felt embarrassed when I snapped at him. He allowed me to snap. He allowed me to talk. Would he allow me to love him?"
"Besides, after each passing day, I began to hate Aryan. I found him ugly and disgusting for some reason. Strange but whenever I was with him I enjoyed his company more than anything else. There was no commitment. I was free. I didn't pretend in front of him nor did he.He was genuinely caring and never interfered in my life. Still, in his absence I hated him. You could call me a fool but somehow I liked it when sometimes he participated in my life, when he gave me suggestions and encouraged me to do something. Still, our relationship was not something to be proud of. It looked more physical from outside as Aryan had neither proposed to me nor given this relationship a name. So, I cursed him whenever I felt guilty about our relationship and that made things easier for me."
"Look Aryan, look over there, are the trees covered? Are the birds covered? No, they are proud of their body and we adore them. We even adore the beautifully cut leaves that all are green in colour. Today, I want to be like them. You have freed me, freed me from all the negative energy Aryan. I don't feel inferior. Wherever I see, I only see love and beauty. I want to give that love and respect to all of them today. Let us hope, let us make love here."
AND THE BEST OF ALL, MY PERSONAL FAV:

The warmth of your body and the smell of your breath have the power to take me to the peak of paradise where "happiness" dominates all other emotions.

Sometimes at night when you are with me, softly caressing the demands of my body, I feel the flow of God's nature in perfect rhythm with our moans of pleasure. The softness of your skin adds moisture to mine. The hunger in your eyes makes me feel wanted in a way no one has wanted me before. But I don't give in because I want it to last for more and more time. Instead I blush and quickly take out a blindfold from underneath. I put the blindfold around your eyes leaving you perplexed with my motive. Watching our little play, our audience- the clouds, too, begin to dance. The brush of their shoulders causes a soft drizzle of water to add a little moisture on our window. And when I look at it from inside, I know the time has come when my soul will leave my body and find a place in the corner of your heart; a place so sacred with the purity of love and the whiteness of lust.

I miss you Aryan, at the break of dawn, at the peak of sunlight, at the beauty of fantasy while looking at the density of clouds, while shielding myself from rain. I miss you when I see a couple holding hands, when I see the smile of a child, I miss you then.

Slowly I begin to undress you and also help you to undress me. Now both of us are naked, not only physically but emotionally as well. We are stripped of our senses too. I know you can't see me because of that blindfold; but I do, I look at you completely awed by the artistic symmetry of God. The silence of the room is broken by the thunder outside. Should I be scared or not? I don't know. But I know just one thing; I have never felt more safe and comfortable. At that time you moaned a little telling me to come near but I want to play more. Gently, I follow the curves of your body with my finger tip. I move my finger from your forehead towards your cheeks and circle it around your lovely lips. Your lips respond to my motion and a door is opened. I go inside and play with your tongue. Your tongue licks my fingertip and you close your mouth tight shut. I feel the concentration of your hardness. We both become one then.

I lay in your arms, your soft breath whispering in my ears and when I close my eyes, I smile for I know I am finally at home.

Is this it then? I had heard about books that do change the way people look at things, they change their perspectives, change the way think, and change the way they decide to live their lives. Is this book the one for me then? I really don't know. But sure enough, this book has made me think. Once again, I crave to have a true love in my life, someone like "Aryan" who would love me for what I am, in front of whom I won't have to pretend. True, while typing the excerpts from the book, all along I had someone in my mind, and I realised he is not my Aryan, he cannot even be compared to "Aryan". He sure is successful, a guy whom any girl would love to have in her life, but he cannot be my Aryan for me. I crave to find my Aryan, the kind of love I have always dreamt of, and somehow I feel, I would find him someday, maybe in the most random or even the most inappropriate of places, but I will sure find him.

At this moment, I would give anything to live the life of Kinnari, to know love, to feel love, to lie in my Aryan's arms, and to find my true "home".

Luv you Aryan

And yeah, simple things make luv!

HOME SWEET HOME

2009-06-23T12:09:00.000-07:00

After a year I'm back at my home once again, the quaint place on James Long Sarani, Behala in Kolkata, the place i proudly call "my home". Nothing has changed here since the one year I was away. Everyone still seems the same. My parents over-protective as usual, my friends over-enthusiastic as usual, my relatives a bit cynical and critical, yet appreciative of me, as usual. The same old faces, yet it was such huge joy to be amongst them once again after such a long time. I'm here only for a month, and that one month is also passing away so swiftly, its already two and a half weeks!! I miss Jodhpur at times, the carefreeness associated with that place, and I miss Delhi a lot, and the wildness and wackyness associated with it, but I know once I go back from here, I would miss Kolkata like hell. Though half of the time right now, my mind is away at some other place (?), yet I am sure once in Jodhpur, my mind would wander around and come back and settle in the coziness of my home. Maybe I wouldn't be coming back to Kolkata and settling down here at the peak of my career, but I know one day I would love to come back to this place, contented and happy, with nothing more to ask from life.

Love you Kolkata..

Love you mom and dad...

You guys would always bring me back to this city, the city of my birth..

And I'm thankful to you dad, for sending me to Jodhpur at a time when I didn't want to go, otherwise neither would I have known such wonderful and colourful (and changing colours too!!) people in my life, nor would I have realised how much this hustling-bustling city in eastern India means to me.

Thank you all...

Something's not going right...

2009-05-27T16:11:00.000-07:00

What's wrong with me so very suddenly? Here I am at around 5 in the morning filling up my blog, and that too after more than an hour and a half of useless tries to sleep. Something is bothering me badly, and I guess I know what it is, but either I am too afraid to find out the solution, or I am so very concerned about the person at the other end that I do not want to hurt him at any cost, and find bothering myself over it better than bothering him at all. Situations have been going really good at times, specially I remember one particular day when I was so very happy at the turn things were taking. But now, things seem as bleak as ever. And it bothers me big time. Not that I can show him and tell him where he is going wrong(?), but does it imply that I should cry myself to sleep tonight? Coz I guess that's what is left for me to do now. I understand we are to completely different individuals, with different priorities in life, but can't he be a bit sensitive to my needs the way I am sensitive to his? I understand when he says that he wants things to be serious, but again the next moment he seems a totally different person, who is simply passing away his time to glory. This leaves me stranded alone at the end of the day, with none but myself to blame for the entire way the things have shaped up. His feelings, I understand, his emotions I respect, his needs I fulfill; but what about mine? And he wants himself to be the only one for me, why can't I demand the same? Again, I'm too afraid to hurt him by my words or actions, and watch every word of mine before I say them, and monitor every action of mine before I do them. I guess I am acting as the underdog here, and he is the boss. That is what the entire scenario had been since its inception sometime in January this year. But I hate this helpless feeling inside me, which tells me in my ears time and again that I am choosing the wrong path in my life, and I still move on, with the hope that things will definitely get better some day. I don't know when, but I am waiting, and I guess I will wait for that day to come.

Will go to sleep now I guess...

@ Delhi

2009-05-16T09:39:00.000-07:00

Once again, its the time of the year for internship. Once again in Delhi, and surprisingly, this time things in Delhi haven't been fine. The excitement associated with being here all by myself for a month somehow has gone down and hit the bottom, and all I am looking forward now is to go home as soon as possible. Don't know what's wrong, but simply nothing is seeming to go right this time. Putting up in GK-1 this time, I have started hating this place from the first day I came here. Office sucks big time, and timings are really bad. So after coming back, there is no more time left to meet up friends and all. The first weekend was today, and with a hell lot of planning going into it all week long, things went wrong yet again out of nowhere. A situation cropped up where I had none to blame, yet the excitement and planning of the entire week went down the drain. And to top it, my mood has gone really bad suddenly. Office again from Monday, and the Diploma studies to be done, and papers to be written for various conferences, even the stay in Delhi has turned up to be so exhausting and hectic this time.

Badly need a break.........

Osian Calling...

2009-04-19T01:59:00.000-07:00

The Desert during the Sunset, Osian

Since the past two days, I am getting this sudden and stupid craving to visit Osian, some ancient village around 60 kms from our campus. It is a desert area, where I have been twice, but still its charm remains. I simply cannot delete the memory of the last time I had been there, it had been an amazing experience, with the sunset and the dusk, and the young crowd from different law colleges of India (it had been a trip for the participants of the M.M. Singhvi Anuual International Moot Court Competition, 2009). The temple, the desert, the bus journey, the jokes inside the bus, the games that we played, all had been amazing, not to forget the tete-a-tete at Chamunda Dhaba, the favourite hangout place of our University crowd.

The day had been amazing thanks to Aakanksha Nath and Mridul Gupta (NLU, Jodhpur), Ujjwal Kacker and Shardul Vats (GNLU, Gandhinagar).

Had an amazing time with you guys...

For more information on Osian, check out this video on YouTube.

BASKING IN THE EXAM DAWN

2009-04-19T01:46:00.000-07:00

Ohh yea, with another round of end-semesters around the corner, its again the time of the year to bask in the dawn of the Examination Syndromes, waiting for the dusk to arrive. Its again that time of the year when you wake up early mornings, plan to stick to a strict academic regimen round the clock, and at the end of the day, discover that you have done nothing. Coz its still 2 weeks to go before the end terms, so you still find lots of time to laze around, or just to open your books and stare at them absent-mindedly, just as sometimes your mental wings take you to some other places far away from the campus, sometimes you simply crave for food, sometimes you just wanna gossip, or sometimes, you get this sudden urge to learn playing the guitar. All so, with the constant thought of your examination schedule on your head, that's when you know "ITS NOT FAR AWAY"...

Another thought that constantly jubilates your mind during this time is the thought of leaving your campus soon, and for the lucky few, heading towards home in just 3 weeks time. And for the unlucky few like me, its still another 2 months before I get to go home, for such unfortunate few, its still the thought of getting out of a place like Jodhpur, and heading towards your internship destination, mostly Delhi/Mumbai/Bangalore, where you spend roughly around one more month doing your training, enjoying hanging out with friends, shopping, and most importantly eating out at McDonald's or KFC after a long term of having bland mess food. I seriously think Jodhpur should be coming up with a KFC sooner or later, what about the complete non-vegetarian people out here? We die to get some good chicken here ...

Ohh yea, another heart-breaking news, the only Pizza Hut of Jodhpur has shut down the shutters a week back. Life is simply hell out here...

REMEMBERING MR. ANAND JOSHI

2009-04-15T07:12:00.000-07:00

Something which is forcing me to write here again after a period of about 6 months...

15th April 2009, a day which I would otherwise remember as just Bengali New Years day, now holds a completely different meaning for me. It seems that in an instant the whole day has lost its charm, and adding to it that today is the scheduled farewell of our pass-out 5th year batch, that is saying something.

I arrived at college today morning, only to learn that Mr. Anand Joshi, the 22 year old photographer of our University, met with an accident last night and died on the spot. He suffered brain hoemmrhage which drove him to death before he could even be taken to the hospital for even first-aid, leave alone a proper full-fledged medical care.

It brought back many old memories to me, the day he kind of used to jump around the entire campus clicking pictures of each and every discernible thing, the way his face used to reflect his innocence, and the memory that the day I saw him for the first time, I labelled him as "CHINTOO", with that perfect cute looks, innocent boyish face with that cute grin in his lips and the twinkle in his eyes, he was just perfect for the name. I remember, durng our last end-terms, the way we were so very engrossed in studies sitting on the staircase of the academic block just an hour before the exams, and he was just jumping around everywhere, clicking pictures of those intense faces, deeply delved inside the study materials. His presence all around was such a stress-busting factor, the way he moved, the way he walked, he was sure to bring a smile to your lips whenever you see him.

And his relations with all the students, with some of them he shared a real good rapport, with others, he was very sober and decent. Seeing him in the library was a treat to the eyes, as he would roam about, confused to the extreme, where to keep a particular book that he found lying on the table. And now and then, you would find him runnig out of the library with his camera hanging round his neck, ready for another photo shoot.

Full of energy and enthusism, he was one of the few staff in NLU, Jodhpur, who left a scar in everybody's mind by his sudden demise. The loss will be always felt, and will be felt his absence in every corner, every brick of the academic block, during every future seminars, workshops, moots or functions.

Add to the whole set of circumstances that today itself is the Farewell day, an event in which his presence would have been nothing but obvious and indispinsible, had he been there. But life has to move on, and it sure will, like all other times, like all other days. We shall be celebrating the Farewell grandly, with all pomp and show, while the void left by him will only reside in a few minds.

May his soul rest in peace...

Some Good Moments

2008-11-12T09:06:00.000-08:00

4th Nov to 8th Nov.. few days that will surely remain etched in my mind forever. I met few people for whom I have only a single descriptive word "awesome". To name them, Saurabh, the guy whom I have always wanted to meet since the time I knew him online. But a face-to-face interaction with this guy told me what he actually is. I used to think him to be a really nice person, but as I met him, I came to know he is a gem. The way he cares for me became so much on the face of it, so apparent, that sometimes I became at complete loss, coz I didnt know whether I'm worth so much of care and importance. His being near gave me a sense of being important and worth-it. Feels really good to know that atleast to one person, I actually mean the world, n he can go to any extreme, just to see that smile in my lips.

Then Robin Quadros, a sweet friendly cool chap. N very sensitive. It was during one of his drunk spells that he came out open with very great details, n thanks to that, I got to know this guy in a totally different light from what I would have known if he had been sober. 3 days spent with him has been so beautiful an experience, words fall short to describe them. All to say about him is that today when I sit back n think about those days, all I can say is that I am extremely lucky to have this guy as a friend in my life. Not becoz as he brags sometimes that he is one of the most famous guys in the law school circuit (which is true to be honest, thanks to LST), but because I could be myself with him, n he kind of made me realise an entirely different 'me' in myself. He made me realise what I am worth, what I am capable of. If u r reading this Robin, thanks a lot, today when I look back, those 3 days make myself see me in a totally different light. Beyond everything else, being ur friend matters a lot to me. B there always.

Met two other mad guys from Robin's university, Siddarth n Harshit. Spent some really fun and mad times with them. Thank u guys, for making those days worth what they were.

Finally, loads of thanks go to the Coneference organisers, who brought us all together. In its absence, maybe we wouldn't have known each other ever, or I would not have got the opportunity to meet Saurabh so soon. Thank u God, for giving me such wonderful people in my life. Luv u all...

A beautiful mind...

2008-08-19T07:13:00.000-07:00

It all feels like the days of pre-teens, the same eagerness and excitement, the same vulnerable fearful mind, the same eternal waiting to see those eyes looking at me for a second and then drifting away to their own world. And best part is, that's all in campus. For the first time in these two and a half years, I long for that face around the corner, I long to see those eyes glancing at me, I long to hear that voice speaking to someone, I long to see those strong hands holding a novel in its grip, I long to see those leisurely legs spread idly over the stairs in the mess block, I long to see those specs, seldom worn, simmering in the pale light of the dusk. And inside me, it all feels like a new beginning, a new excitement if he looks at me , even absent-mindedly, what you call having butterflies in your stomach. Only that the butterflies leave a lasting effect, even after he is gone from eyesight. I long for the day when maybe I shall have the guts to say him a sweet 'hi'. Till then only the short sightings have to suffice, and they, though short, have the capability to make my heart race wild, my soul fly high and my spirits rise to stars. Yes, I am thankful to God, for giving me such a wonderful feeling, the feeling of knowing that I have someone in my mind all the while when I am walking from the hostel to the acad block, or inside the acad block, or during the evening strolls, or in the mess, its him that my eyes are searching for. Its a good feeling, whether or not I win him over in the long run. But most importantly, I don't feel any eagerness to win him over. I just want this feeling to continue, to have him eternally before my eyes.. and to eternally go on having this beautiful feeling in my heart.

AIDS.. a poem

2008-08-17T08:08:00.000-07:00

SOON

I shall die soon, I know.
This thing is in my blood.
It will not let me go.
It saps my cells for food.

It soaks my nights in sweat
And breaks my days in pain.
No hand or drug can treat
These limbs for love or gain.

Love was the strange first cause
That bred grief in its seed,
And gain knew its own laws—
To fix its place and breed.

He whom I love, thank God,
Won’t speak of hope or cure.
It would not do me good.
He sees that I am sure.

He knows what I have read
And will not bring me lies.
He sees that I am dead.
I read it in his eyes.

How am I to go on—
How will I bear this taste,
My throat cased in white spawn—
These hands that shake and waste?

Stay by my steel ward bed
And hold me where I lie.
Love me when I am dead
And do not let me die.

-(A poem on AIDS by Vikram Seth)

How much of an irony is that? That your love drives you to your death, you love for someone makes you lose your entire self to that person, you give up your existence, your soul to him, only to find out someday that he has infected you with a life-ending disease, whether knowingly or unknowingly. But that's the beauty of love, in spite of all these, love goes on unhindered, uncompromised, it goes on and on...

These Three Days

2008-08-17T06:41:00.000-07:00

A rather uncommon scene at campus, 3 days of holidays at a stretch, with no stupid workload on Saturday, no tree plantation, no blood donation poster making, no waking up early morning to visit the academic block just for the sake of 2 attendances for those 2 hours, grumbling all the while, remembering the late night movie and the still late night phone calls. 3 days of complete serenity, peace and tranquility, with very few living souls around the campus while the others have gone back home or gone somewhere on a trip to enjoy this sudden-found bountiful joy. With no Dean breathing down your neck while you try to make these 3 days worth something, with no warden at the hostels, who has also gone off, celebrating these 3 days. Ohh, if you are wondering what these 3 days are, they are Independence Day, Rakhipurnima and a Sunday, back to back. Still those, who are wondering what the hue and cry is all about, let me tell you, this campus is a place which lets people off on only 6 holidays the entire year, apart from the compulsory Sundays. Hence all the excitement in the air, all the hush-hush talks in the classroom one week in advance: how to spend these 3 days. Loads of planning, loads of joy and loads of meticulous thinking went into these 3 days.

And now, is the evening of the Sunday. 3 days have gone by, idling away. Thats the fruit of all these enthusiasm, all thinking, planning and stuff. The 3 days have gone by in reading 114 odd pages of Love in the Time of Cholera, watching Aamir and Jannat, shopping for 2 t-shirts, which I could very well do without, having a boring dinner at OTR, sipping mugfuls of coffee and replacing breakfast/lunch/dinner with Kellogs, Top Ramen and Stripes and Stars soda. So much for these 3 days...

Rains!!

2008-07-26T10:18:00.000-07:00

The first rains of the season.. its that time of the year when you come to Jodhpur and stop hoping for the rains, when you hear from the localites that the rains are already over and all your hopes take a backseat, exactly at that time the rains come as a much awaited yet unexpected blessing. And when its at night time with the sprawling campus all around you, with people screaming, shouting, jumping and dancing everywhere, when the faces you see all around you everyday assume different colours of fun, joy and happiness, life just seems beautiful. More when you are walking through the rains and the piercing wind, hand in hand with your love, or even with your gang of friends, and you walk past such a perfect landscape, life just seems too perfect. You laugh for no apparent reason, you look up at the sky and thank god for the rains, maybe for a quarter of an hour you leave behind all your woes, your attendances, submission deadlines, huge workload, or even the cute hunk out there who hasn't been noticing you. In that blackened darkness, some people walk past you and say in a chorus "Good evening maa'm". Thats when you get to know they are the firsties enjoying their first rains in the campus. And man, how they were enjoying. I saw a couple of PG firsties jumping in the puddle and singing "chhai chhapa chhai, chhappa pe chhai". And then, a sudden blackout... and the whole campus is in complete darkness, and people all around screaming at the top of their lungs. Its hard to describe the pleasure and more so, not to feel it. Though for few moments, its complete bliss.. and a pure heaven out there.

Those of you who stay indoors when it rains, trust me, you don't know what you are losing out on.

A SECULAR COUNTRY: can it ensure a secular society?

2008-07-01T21:31:00.000-07:00

India is, at least in papers, a secular country. But how do we define secularism? Is it sufficient that the Government of the country should not promote any particular religion for a country to be labeled "secular"? When the masses of the country do not believe in secularism, when they are perpetually on their toes to abuse other religions, when they are ready to go up in arms against a religion at the slightest provocation, is this what we call a "secular country"? Let me make it clear here that I am not advocating any particular religion. These are the common features of all the religions prevalent in India, and these common features bring them at war with each other due to the selfish and obnoxious vote-bank policies of the political parties.

And what about the society? Is the Indian society so intolerant and blissfully young that it needs the fingers of the political parties even to take a small decision? Seems so. Many incidents have happened in the past and will continue to happen due to this poison of communalism sown into the minds of the common masses due to power-politics being played by each and every political party. What all they care about is the minister's chair, while the common mass fight, kill and die at their provocations.

Recently there have been few incidents of Hindu-Muslim marriages and the consequent harassment faced by the newly-wedded couple, which has, sometimes, ended in the death of one or both of them. The case of Rizwanur has come to the lime-light in a big way, but there are thousands of such incidents happening all over India. Not only Rizwanur, but also many Ashoks are getting harassed or killed because they loved somebody belonging to the other religion. Again, such things are happening also due caste differences and class differences. Is this what we call a civilised society? Where a person loves another but cannot express his/her feelings solely because he/she belongs to some other religion?

Here, I will narrate an incident of my personal experience. My friend, Saudamini once came to know a guy called Laxman, and they hit it off from the first moment. They were an extremely beautiful made-for-each-other couple, totally lost in each other. However, after two years of their relationship, one day Laxman called her up and informed her that he's a Muslim, and his name is Sheikh Mahmud. The sole reason why he had misrepresented his identity was because he loved her too much and could not bear to hear a "no" from her because he was a Muslim. What do you think Saudamini did? Did she elope with her lover like a storybook heroine? No she couldn't, only because she thought of her parents, her family, and what will happen to them if she takes any steps of that kind. Mahmud loved her too much to force her. They parted ways. But after few days, a call came from Mahmud's residence saying that he has fallen severely sick and no doctor is able to detect his ailment. In a semi-conscious state, all he was uttering was the name of his love "Saudamini".

No, at this juncture she could not leave him. Slowly she started talking to him, and slowly but surely brought him out of his ailment after a period of three months. But what after that? Could she continue the relation? No, again her family, the face of her beloved father came into her mind, she was forced to take another back step from the relationship. When Mahmud recovered, she told him that she had come back to his life just to bring him out of his sickness, and could go no further with him. This time Mahmud misunderstood her, thought she was just playing with his emotions, and this time, he could take it, because he started hating her as much as he loved her.

Three more years have passed. They are no more in contact with each other. Mahmud is now a successful pilot. Saudamini is pursuing her graduation. But still when they close their eyes and look into their minds, they see each others' face. Is this the fate of inter-religion love stories in India? Being a witness of these unfortunate incidents, how do we still be proud of being a civilised nation? The legislature has passed the Special Marriage Act for inter-religion marriages way back in 1954. But still the society has kept its doors closed to such marriages. Maybe someone will counter, "what's the need to seek social recognition?" The answer is, "Saudamini was not seeking social recognition, all she was seeking was that her parents should not do something rash as committing suicide at this act of their daughter."

Can't the society open up this much? Can't it ensure that such stories are never repeated again n the future? Yes, the society can. But they will never do it. Because the vote-bank policies of the Ministers and the deep-rooted communalism of the ages will not allow them to do it. The unfortunate stories of Saudamini and Mahmud will continue. In the end, society will not gain anything. But Saudaminis will lose their loving Mahmuds, and Mahmuds will lose their beloved could-be wives.

(names changed)

THE 'KHAKEE' AND THE 'KHADEE': the keepers of our nation

2008-06-19T11:04:00.000-07:00

Just yesterday I saw the movie Khakee, for the umpteenth time. Still somehow, the movie affected my mind more than what it had done previously. Maybe because for the first time I was watching it with my family. It stirred a thought in me about the two keepers of our nation- the khakeewalas i.e. the policemen and the khadeewalas i.e. the politicians.

There was this particular scene in the movie where a Minister during his speech to policemen says about the two professions: Hum dono hi desh ki raksha karte hai; farq sirf itni hai hum khadee pahen ke karte hai, aur aap log khakee pahen ke. One couldn't agree more, not only about desh ki raksha, but also about other factors like corruption, treachery, motivated self-gain etc.

However, can we really agree? Are we looking at the picture with closed eyes? Or are we looking only at that part of the picture that the khaadiwalas make us see? After watching two movies Rang de Basanti and Khakee back-to-back, I think that it is just the picture shown to us by the politicians that we see and take to our hearts. But isn't the picture something really different?

By and large, we, the people of India, hate policemen. And why not? People who do not care about the nation, people who do not care about their fellow human beings, people who do not care about the prestige of their vardii- those are the policemen of modern times. All they care for is taking bribes and earning quick bucks and if not allowed to do so, they are the ones to resort to torture of innocent civilians, harassment, filing of false charges and what not. Yes, we hate policemen. Whenever we hear about somebody's somebody being a lawkeeper, our immediate reaction: "Guess how much he must be earning under the table!"

But we do not care to find out the truth. We do not care about the real picture. We hurl abuses at the traffic policeman demanding 10 bucks, who is standing at the crossroads through rain and sunshine, taking it all upon him so that the traffic can move smoothly. We talk about him, abuse his forefathers, even make jokes about the entire police community. But do we dare point our finger at the Minister, who is ready to sell off our motherland's existence in exchange of a few hundred thousand dollars? Or do we dare point our finger at the senior IPS officer, who is ready to bring down the prestige of the entire department in return of a promotion, which the Minister has hung as a bait in front of him? We dare not, because we know they are beyond our reach. So why not channelise our abuses at the havildar of the local police station?

The truth is that the whole system has been rotting from the inside. An honest upright police officer has no place in the department. Because he is dangerous; dangerous to the interests of his superiors, the local ministers and their pet ruffians. So how to stop him? Easy ways are to threat and harass him, to threat his family members, to implicate him in some false case and get him suspended, or simply, to transfer him to places where there is no scope for him to do anything substantial. Still a hard nut to crack? Why not send him on some dangerous mission and then see to it that his life ends there?

This is the inside face of the police department. Not that we are not aware of these ground realities, but still we keep ourselves blindfolded to these. Instead we enjoy hurling abuses at the vulnerable Constable, who has to try hard to make both ends meet. And we will continue to do so, because it is easy and convenient for us, and most of all, its safe.

The khakee and the khadee, both will prevail and will keep thriving. However, while the higher levels continue to serve their personal interests, if required, even at the cost of the nation and its solidarity, the lower ranks of both the professions will continue to be harassed, abused and taken undue advantage of.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: State of West Bengal and Ors. v. Tapan Kumar Saha, (2000) 1 CalLT 34 (HC), MANUPATRA CITATION: MANU/WB/0006/2000