Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Why do things pile up all of a sudden and then you get suffocated and find it difficult to breathe? Listing down certain events that happened in a single day, all of them kind of bought this huge pressure on my head with so much force that it really hit badly and kind of altered my thinking. A rough day is a bad, and a rough night is worse.
All i am saying to myself right now is -
This too shall pass
If I unknowingly hurt someone, acted nasty, i am at fault. Please forgive me. I am human. Mistakes happen.
All i am saying to myself right now is -
This too shall pass
If I unknowingly hurt someone, acted nasty, i am at fault. Please forgive me. I am human. Mistakes happen.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Missing the tiger!
Its just 4 hours and I have begun to miss him already! Four years back a little yellow tiger came into my life. He growled, he pounced, he ran like he saw a prey every time he was on the road. He never looked back. He scratched himself, he bumped himself, hurt himself as he made his way through the crowded roads. He scowled at others who blocked his path.
He and I travelled many miles together, went to different parts of the country. We slept in the open fields on a dark moonless night when Tiger hurt his eye. We swung to the wind as we sipped wine at a vineyard. We looked into the horizon from the mountain top in lonavala. Together we gathered many memories. And today, the tiger has gone away, with another master. My tiger is mine, no more...
He and I travelled many miles together, went to different parts of the country. We slept in the open fields on a dark moonless night when Tiger hurt his eye. We swung to the wind as we sipped wine at a vineyard. We looked into the horizon from the mountain top in lonavala. Together we gathered many memories. And today, the tiger has gone away, with another master. My tiger is mine, no more...
Sunday, May 18, 2008
The News/ The Newsance(to be read as nuisance)
There was a time when everyone used to wait for the 8.30 News on Doordarshan. When Rini Khanna, and Usha Alberqueque used to be a household name, or the weekly wait for The World this week by Pronnoy Roy about the goings on in the world on every Friday. The news used to encapsulate the key moments across the world, news that moved the world, news that changed the course of the world, news that actually meant something, news that was of use.
Yesterday as i surfed through different channels, almost every news channel (except the international ones like CNN, BBC) had one thing in common. They reported about Amir Khans blog of naming his dog SRK, about Amitabh asking for forgiveness to Sharukh. Moreover, Zee Network was showcasing different snippets of Zee Cine Awards, and the worst of it was showing the Room where SRK stayed in London where the functions were held. Well, SRK is everywhere, and there can be another dedicated post on that.
But looking at the shallowness of the news channels, i wonder where the media in our country are heading. Tabloids were earlier a British thing. They would find out the meatiest scandals and relish on it and suck the scandalous victim off their dignity and honor. A very recent news that had flashed on Mumbai Mirror was that of Malaika Arora Khan getting a divorce from Arbaaz Khan. Who is Malaika Arora Khan? A plastic bimbette who hides her protruding teeth by showing a pout on her lips? Who is Arbaz Khan? The many times flopped brother of Salman Khan??? Why was it on the front page? What have they done to the country that they got so much importance? - a reader wrote. Pat came the reply from the editor - 'They are public figures and many of our readers are interested in knowing about them, that is the reason why they were featured.' The next day edition captured a news of Malaika and Arbaz using it as a gimmick as a publicity for one of their products and the newspaper cried foul on how they mislead the media! Isn't it obvious? With media eating out of the hands of the so-called celebrities, isn't it fair, that the media can be used as well?
This brings us to a never ending debate on the role of the media. The media is everywhere, they are carriers of knowledge, information and bridge us to the remaining part of the world. But the media is currently being used in a manner it should have never been. Media can be used to channelize progress, growth by showing relevant information, but unfortunately, it has gone beserk, plunging into its lowest standards where news can be bought and sold, where celebrities can be made and broke, where a star can be created and destroyed.
A journalist friend of mine had told me about an incident which made me realize that there were agencies who could make you a celebrity in a period of one year. They will plan the entire strategy for you and in a year, you would have reached Page 3. Once in page 3, a little bit of lobbying and then you come to Page 1. Just what the flop actor and the dumb bimbette did.
When will we say enough is enough? When will this stupidity stop? What can bring about a change in the media? When would constructive news get more importance over the commode Shah Rukh sat on in the plush hotel in London, before the Zee Cine awards? When would we know that there has been a fantastic development in curing of cancer using the Kanzius Machine ? When...
Well for the privileged, internet can save the day. For the not so privileged, living in a remote corner of India, they will have to live with the knowledge that Shahrukh Khan is bigger than the President and Prime Minister of India. Shahrukh would never approve of that, but the media would and they would love to believe that!
Yesterday as i surfed through different channels, almost every news channel (except the international ones like CNN, BBC) had one thing in common. They reported about Amir Khans blog of naming his dog SRK, about Amitabh asking for forgiveness to Sharukh. Moreover, Zee Network was showcasing different snippets of Zee Cine Awards, and the worst of it was showing the Room where SRK stayed in London where the functions were held. Well, SRK is everywhere, and there can be another dedicated post on that.
But looking at the shallowness of the news channels, i wonder where the media in our country are heading. Tabloids were earlier a British thing. They would find out the meatiest scandals and relish on it and suck the scandalous victim off their dignity and honor. A very recent news that had flashed on Mumbai Mirror was that of Malaika Arora Khan getting a divorce from Arbaaz Khan. Who is Malaika Arora Khan? A plastic bimbette who hides her protruding teeth by showing a pout on her lips? Who is Arbaz Khan? The many times flopped brother of Salman Khan??? Why was it on the front page? What have they done to the country that they got so much importance? - a reader wrote. Pat came the reply from the editor - 'They are public figures and many of our readers are interested in knowing about them, that is the reason why they were featured.' The next day edition captured a news of Malaika and Arbaz using it as a gimmick as a publicity for one of their products and the newspaper cried foul on how they mislead the media! Isn't it obvious? With media eating out of the hands of the so-called celebrities, isn't it fair, that the media can be used as well?
This brings us to a never ending debate on the role of the media. The media is everywhere, they are carriers of knowledge, information and bridge us to the remaining part of the world. But the media is currently being used in a manner it should have never been. Media can be used to channelize progress, growth by showing relevant information, but unfortunately, it has gone beserk, plunging into its lowest standards where news can be bought and sold, where celebrities can be made and broke, where a star can be created and destroyed.
A journalist friend of mine had told me about an incident which made me realize that there were agencies who could make you a celebrity in a period of one year. They will plan the entire strategy for you and in a year, you would have reached Page 3. Once in page 3, a little bit of lobbying and then you come to Page 1. Just what the flop actor and the dumb bimbette did.
When will we say enough is enough? When will this stupidity stop? What can bring about a change in the media? When would constructive news get more importance over the commode Shah Rukh sat on in the plush hotel in London, before the Zee Cine awards? When would we know that there has been a fantastic development in curing of cancer using the Kanzius Machine ? When...
Well for the privileged, internet can save the day. For the not so privileged, living in a remote corner of India, they will have to live with the knowledge that Shahrukh Khan is bigger than the President and Prime Minister of India. Shahrukh would never approve of that, but the media would and they would love to believe that!
Sunday, May 4, 2008
An open letter to Raj Thackeray
Dear Raj,
I feel greatly honoured to be living in 'your' city. I was born here and bought up here. I lived here and made friends with many who were born in this city. Little did i know, this was not my city. Little did I know, we were intruders. When you put your crusade against migrants, I was unsure of your identity. A carnage later and shutting down of industries in the Industrial belt of Nashik, you became a known political figure. Firstly, i would like to know if you are a descendant of the Thackeray family, of William Makepeace Thackeray! Well, a true maharashtrian name that sounds similar to your surname is that of Thakre. Thackeray is an English name, so I am unable to understand if you are British or Maharashtrian. I believe charity begins at home, and it would be nice if you could find, and then correct your roots before you talk about others.
I totally agree to you that people have to get jobs, sons of the soil have great strength within them to do the job. But who is stopping them from getting a job. I have lived in this city and have known that anyone willing to work hard does not ever go to sleep, hungry in this city. Everyone has a job. People who do not want a job, do not work. I have worked with many sons of the soil. They are great hospitable people. They do not need a Raj Thackeray to get them a job. They get it on their own merit. They get it because of their own hard work and determination. They are self made people, not made by someone else. You point fingers at Ambanis and Bachchans, and ask what they have done for this city. Well, what have you done? What has your party done? If anyone were to count of what you have done to the city, it would amount to losses of many crores, in terms of losses due to violent and insensitive carnage and huge production losses.
Your followers have shown great sensitivity and emotion to support your cause. They can kill, burn, destroy if their emotions are played with. We need people who build the country. What will we do with people who can destroy anything on their path? Threatening is easy, taking the responsibility on oneself is not easy. You threaten the police to arrest you, because you know the city's judiciary and security would like peace and any arrest warrant can mean destruction and production losses. It is indeed a very smart way of showing power, but is it? This is not power but a display of ego. A true leader is a person who shows the way to the people, not threaten them.
You are rich and have a flourishing real estate business. I am sure you have enough to start businesses that will prosper. At least start one industry and employ 'your' people and ensure that it is certified by ISO for best practices and brings in great financial results. You don't need any political clout to do that. Many of the millionaires including Kirloskar have done that. Just one Industry. Try it. I am very sure you can show the world that you are a man of your word. And when you do, we will then know that a 'son of the soil' is born, and we, the people all over the country would point at you and say - There stands the true son of the soil, a man who stood by his word and proved that it just needs one man to change the world!
Yours truly,
A stone in the soil
I feel greatly honoured to be living in 'your' city. I was born here and bought up here. I lived here and made friends with many who were born in this city. Little did i know, this was not my city. Little did I know, we were intruders. When you put your crusade against migrants, I was unsure of your identity. A carnage later and shutting down of industries in the Industrial belt of Nashik, you became a known political figure. Firstly, i would like to know if you are a descendant of the Thackeray family, of William Makepeace Thackeray! Well, a true maharashtrian name that sounds similar to your surname is that of Thakre. Thackeray is an English name, so I am unable to understand if you are British or Maharashtrian. I believe charity begins at home, and it would be nice if you could find, and then correct your roots before you talk about others.
I totally agree to you that people have to get jobs, sons of the soil have great strength within them to do the job. But who is stopping them from getting a job. I have lived in this city and have known that anyone willing to work hard does not ever go to sleep, hungry in this city. Everyone has a job. People who do not want a job, do not work. I have worked with many sons of the soil. They are great hospitable people. They do not need a Raj Thackeray to get them a job. They get it on their own merit. They get it because of their own hard work and determination. They are self made people, not made by someone else. You point fingers at Ambanis and Bachchans, and ask what they have done for this city. Well, what have you done? What has your party done? If anyone were to count of what you have done to the city, it would amount to losses of many crores, in terms of losses due to violent and insensitive carnage and huge production losses.
Your followers have shown great sensitivity and emotion to support your cause. They can kill, burn, destroy if their emotions are played with. We need people who build the country. What will we do with people who can destroy anything on their path? Threatening is easy, taking the responsibility on oneself is not easy. You threaten the police to arrest you, because you know the city's judiciary and security would like peace and any arrest warrant can mean destruction and production losses. It is indeed a very smart way of showing power, but is it? This is not power but a display of ego. A true leader is a person who shows the way to the people, not threaten them.
You are rich and have a flourishing real estate business. I am sure you have enough to start businesses that will prosper. At least start one industry and employ 'your' people and ensure that it is certified by ISO for best practices and brings in great financial results. You don't need any political clout to do that. Many of the millionaires including Kirloskar have done that. Just one Industry. Try it. I am very sure you can show the world that you are a man of your word. And when you do, we will then know that a 'son of the soil' is born, and we, the people all over the country would point at you and say - There stands the true son of the soil, a man who stood by his word and proved that it just needs one man to change the world!
Yours truly,
A stone in the soil
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
