where is the real news???

After office while sipping my tea with kurkure I made another attempt (like everyday) to catch on some latest news. Like everyday could find any news channel that was airing news as such. Some went on and on with advertisements, some with detailed reports on some stale news and the best was 2 channels airing a detailed cover on the same news! Want to know what the latter was about? Well it was about a "swayamwar" to be aired soon. No No Rakhi is already done with her share of drama. It is Mr Rahul Mahajan this time. Who on earth wanted to marry Rakhi and now who on earth wants to marry Rahul!

Ofcourse such shows have very good TRPs as they are full of drama but I am sure Rahul will not be able create the effect that Rakhi could do. Her brainlessness, idiotic facial expressions, recently learnt few english words like Thank you and drama drama and more drama were enough to attract a lot of attention.

But I must say a lot of background work had been done for the show as Rakhi looked her best and turned up in awesome attires. But still I am sorry Rakhi I just cant get my self to say that you were looking pretty! You must thank all the news channels to cover your drama 24 hrs just before your "dday" (I am still not sure whether you actually intend to marry that Toronto guy. kya hoga us aadmi ka bhagwan!!!!!???)

Now let us see what Mr Rahul has to offer us. Is he calling Monica and that other item girl (Big Boss 2) for his "swayamwar"???

the changing face of Ranchi

A researcher who was supposed to visit us and provide "technical inputs" declined to come down to Ranchi as she had her own reservations about the place and we had to re-schedule the meeting in Kolkata...

Additionally recently I have noticed the mention of Ranchi city in some bollywood movies (Bipasha a "small town girl"in Bachna ae Haseeno hailed from Ranchi) and Suhel Seth's surcastic takes on this "small town". All this categorisation and perception of Ranchi being some remote destination is saddening.. So I decided to put across some points. Please read on...

Ranchi in 1995

- The city slept at 7:30 pm. With not many options for a night life there ws no other alternative but to sleep at night!

- Brands: What are they?!!

- Eat outs: the famous ones were Kaveri,KRSNA, Punjab Sweet House (economy dining) and if looking for a better ambience the destinations were Yuvraj Palace & may be the Gymkhana Club

- Theatres: walls qouted with paan stains, strong stench of urine, an indisciplined crowd that would whistle at bizzare things and suffocating ambience

- the comfort levels of girls wanting to freak out: Firstly the city did not offer more than a crowded Church Complex to "freak out", girls in western clothes were usually ogled at & at times followed home after "boarding a rickshaw"

Ranchi in 2009

-You are standing at a busy take away counter and savouring chicken pita bread rolls from their lebanese menu..its 10:00 pm and the city does not show any signs of sleeping!

- Brands: ahemm...UCB,Wills Lifestyle,Reebok, Adidas,Woodland(all exclusive showrooms & Ranchites please add on to this list) besides a Big Bazar and Reliance Mart. Grocery stores like Spencers and Reliance Fresh, Beauty saloons of Javed Habib, VLCC and Loreal & last but not the least - Satya Paul's sarees...

- Eat outs: while Kaveri,KRSNA, Punjab Sweet House still rule the taste buds of Ranchites but this sector is the one that has transformed completely..the hospitality, the ambience, the menu, the food (even the bars) of these new hotels (Capitol Hill, Capitol Residency, BNR Chanakya) are really commendable..Besides these there are several new restuarants and 2 CCDs & the under construction Raddisson is very much looked forward to

- Theatres: gone are the days of walls qouted with paan stains, strong stench of urine, an indisciplined crowd. yes we have just one multiplex today but with several others being under construction movies will no longer be watched on pirated DVDs!

- As you drive out of your house noticing dozens of girls speeding past in their scooties is a common site..not only do the girls freely hang out, the scooties are made use of to even empower the mommies who do not need to hire rickshaws any more!

The best part is that people's purchasing & spending on entertainment has really increased even in this so called small town. So do not have preconcieved notions in your mind when asked to visit our city! (After all even our very own captain Dhoni has decided to build his house in his motherland!!!!) 

Associating him & death..!!!!???~!

Its a usual day, I have come to work at 9:30 am and have logged to email first thing & see this status message of my closest friend - End of pop era...am not able to make sense of it, then I login to facebook and am face to face with one of the most unbelievable things I heard (after Kishu's death)- MJ is no more!! Its truely bewildering and incredible! Not that I am a fan or possess a collection of all his albums but yet it strikes u as something very strange. I love his songs - heal the world, earth song, the way you make me feel etc...but this is what everyone feels about these songs.

Its just that you cannot associate death at all with some people & he is...err was one of them. But I guess the world feels the same as there are updates of media going haywire and sites like twitter and google coming crashing down with overflooding of updates on the news.

I remember the first time I had seen him in a newspaper snap when I was a kid and was scared to the bones! Yes he looked really strange and infact "paranormal". Then I read about him and came to know about his numerous surgeries and transformation. I also hated him at one point of time when he hung his newborn like a piece of cloth for "display" from his hotel balcony.

However it is disheartening to know that we could not witness his forthcoming comeback concert to be held in July after a long exile.   Needless to say he will never die in the minds of his fans and also those who hated him for being a suspected peadophile. But the point is this death makes you think again that everything ends in one moment and someone with   such a strature and popularity can not elude it either.............

for someone special...

This is about a woman to whom I owe my very existence.  I have never valued her so much or missed her so much as I do today when I realise how much she did for me, how much I owe to her, how much she slogged to make me comfortable and how much she loved me.The strength of education and self dependance that she has given me helps me survive and take on the world each day. In sad moments this is the only word that comes on my lips...yes its noone else but Maa....

I call her mummy and today the only interaction that we have is through brief telephonic conversations though I live half a kilometre away!Life has really strange ways... I pass through my own home at times as if it was just another house. The memories of childhood when she used to go out of the way (in a conservative) to ensure we wore the dresses we wanted to, ate the food we wanted, that our birthdays were celebrated and we scored well in studies. I feel guilty today to have declined her requests of helping her out with small chores and for arguing and complaining about irrelevant things.

After a certain period of time a woman becomes the care giver of the family and noone realises she also wants to be loved and cared and cherished and appreciated..I realise this today when I have reached this side of womanhood and yearn to be taken care of at times..

Mom you are really a super human and I am sorry for having hurt u at time. But you also know that I love you and miss you lots...

&

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!

the break

Yes my absence has been a long one. Office shifting, holidays, personal chores and a temporary loss of interest in writing can be some of the reasons that I can think of immediately. The first one has been a major deterrant. I usually write when I am in office! After work its only me and my little one. I have no time and inclination to do or be with anything else in the world :)

Talking of my little one, he is growing up fast and has become virtually a parrot. He catches words from our conversations and repeats them. Its damn funny at times!

Coming back to my new office, its not at all comparable to any of the corporate ones in big cities but still I can say that now we have a better one! We work for women, children, adolescents and HIV/AIDS infected and affected and hence an arrangement that shall intimidate our target groups is not all desirable for us. Hence we have this house with a huge garden and all basic necessities like 24 hrs high speed internet, 24 hrs generator back up etc .etc . but yet nothing is on the face or intimidating.

I love my profession and now my new work station too (to which I have attached speakers and can occassionally listen to music from the internet!)

The fate of our priceless memoirs

Very recently the priceless belongings of the Father of our Nation were auctioned. While the Ministry of External Affairs "struggled" to "procure" the country's heritages, Vijay Mallya, made their job easy. He bought all the items for a whopping Rs 10 crore (USD 1.8 million).

The whole episode was a complete mockery of the Indian Government. The moment I saw this news item in the Telegraph I was amazed & asked myself "What are bapu's belongings doing with some James Otis guy in New York!!!" Somehow all the priceless items from our country seem to end up in some museum in some other country (Britain or Iran), be it the kohinoor or the peacock throne or the sword of Tipu Sultan.

Gandhi ji's belongings - his trademark round eyeglasses, a pair of worn leather sandals, an inexpensive pocket watch and a simple brass bowl and plate were consigned by Otis, a private American collector who obtained them from the descendants of the Gandhi family to Antiquorum Auctioneers. To add to the humor of the whole episode, the government went about claiming that Mallya took up this cause on their behest which was completely denied by the latter. Mallya said he had, in 2004, bought and brought to India the legendary Sword of Tipu Sultan and this time again he was working from his own consciousness.

Its high time the government acts and prevents such episodes of embarresment in the future.

THE FESTIVAL OF COLORS IS BACK

WISH U ALL A VERY HAPPY HOLI!