I was watching the closing ceremony of the Asian games held in Doha, y'day night. It was a fantastic end to the games. The closing ceremony was based on the Arabian nights stories. Alibaba, Sindbad and Aladdin came alive in front of the audience.
Just imagine what would've been the theme if this was held in India? Aishwarya Rai and Priyanka Chopra dancing to hit bollywood songs !!! Sonu Nigam and Sunidhi Chauhan singing popular numbers..and the whole setting would have resembled a bollywood movie. Infact we got a glimpse of what would happen in the Common Wealth games in 2010, ( or is it 11?? ) in the closing cermony of the previous c'wealth games.
In the handover ceremony where the country which will host the next edition, (which is India), we had Aishwarya Rai, Rani Mukherji , Sonu Nigam ,Sunidhi Chauhan and Shreya Ghosal.
Does Indian culture mean only Bollywood? I feel that we are presenting such a homogenised image of ourselves to the world. A look at the Doha opening and closing ceremony should put us to shame. It was such a vibrant and colorful presentation of their culture, folklore and people. China which is hosting the next Asian games, came up and presented a fabulous show at the end.
I could not find one hot movie star in it.
We are so good at celebrating the mediocre and not care about performers. That is why, we could find Ash and Rani running with the olympic flame when it came to India, and not many sports persons.
I don't think we deserve to be called a culturally rich country. What is the point of having such a diverse and heterogenous culture and people when it is not being made known to the outside world. Then there is no point in cribbing when people abroad visualise of magicians,snake charmers and elephants when talking of India.
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Sunday, November 19, 2006
My Best friend's wedding - Part one
There was a silver lining to all the fickle happenings over the past few days, and that was my friend's wedding which took place last weekend ( 12th Of November, to be precise).
It was a wonderful experience in many ways. Generally we all go to weddings, right at the time of muhurtham, wish them well and fill our stomachs with all the goodies. But this was one mariage in which I was very much involved in the so called backstage work, which most of us do not get to see.
The girl in this case was a Bengali and the guy a Kannadiga. With not many people attending the wedding ( it happened in b'lore), due to the distance from Kolkata, it was left to a few relatives and friends to really manage the show on the girl's part.
Both the bride and the groom are really close to me, having worked on the same team for quite some time. So it was wedding bells for them after quite a marathon struggle to make this happen.
The wedding proved to be a confluence of cultures. I was made into "Kalash githi" , one who carried a kalash and remained by the girl's parents side for the entire marriage, as is the kannada custom. While I initially hated my frind for making me do this, I began thanking her later on, as I could get a great view of all the customs.
Indian marriages... Call them extravagant, call them ritualistic, complex and too long, you can never deny this..they are never boring.There is never a dull moment in them.There is so much of joy and best part of it is that they bring everyone together.(Atleast they are supposed to, but sometimes they turn into gossip melas)
Coming back to this wedding, it was mostly based on Kannada customs. To begin with, the bride performed Poojas for Tulsi and gauri. The came Kasi Yatra, where the groom starts off to Kasi, and the girl's father stops him midway and offers his girl's hand. With no other way other than accepting it, ;)) the groom changes his course of action. :))
When the girl was taken to the manadapam, a screen was held between the bride and the groom. The purohits chanted matras for about 15 mins, then right when the screen came down, the girl and the boy had to throw the Akshatha( rice and kumkum mixed) on each other.It is believed that the person who throws it first gains control of the family. They turned out to be a balanced couple as both of them threw it at the same time.
The climax was when the mangal sutra was tied by the groom..but there a was twist to this tale, a good one at that. As per the Bengali custom , sindoor was smeared on the girl's forehead, followed by covering the head with ghoonghat( a saree), all this happening with the sound of konch( shankh).
It was fantastic to see both the families taking pains to see that each other's tradition is followed and understood by the other person.
In all, I was treated to a sumptuous Indian wedding feast.
Wishing Deepak and Sreeparna a great life ahead :-)
PS:I've not narated much of the backstage action, hopefully that would follow in the next blog.
It was a wonderful experience in many ways. Generally we all go to weddings, right at the time of muhurtham, wish them well and fill our stomachs with all the goodies. But this was one mariage in which I was very much involved in the so called backstage work, which most of us do not get to see.
The girl in this case was a Bengali and the guy a Kannadiga. With not many people attending the wedding ( it happened in b'lore), due to the distance from Kolkata, it was left to a few relatives and friends to really manage the show on the girl's part.
Both the bride and the groom are really close to me, having worked on the same team for quite some time. So it was wedding bells for them after quite a marathon struggle to make this happen.
The wedding proved to be a confluence of cultures. I was made into "Kalash githi" , one who carried a kalash and remained by the girl's parents side for the entire marriage, as is the kannada custom. While I initially hated my frind for making me do this, I began thanking her later on, as I could get a great view of all the customs.
Indian marriages... Call them extravagant, call them ritualistic, complex and too long, you can never deny this..they are never boring.There is never a dull moment in them.There is so much of joy and best part of it is that they bring everyone together.(Atleast they are supposed to, but sometimes they turn into gossip melas)
Coming back to this wedding, it was mostly based on Kannada customs. To begin with, the bride performed Poojas for Tulsi and gauri. The came Kasi Yatra, where the groom starts off to Kasi, and the girl's father stops him midway and offers his girl's hand. With no other way other than accepting it, ;)) the groom changes his course of action. :))
When the girl was taken to the manadapam, a screen was held between the bride and the groom. The purohits chanted matras for about 15 mins, then right when the screen came down, the girl and the boy had to throw the Akshatha( rice and kumkum mixed) on each other.It is believed that the person who throws it first gains control of the family. They turned out to be a balanced couple as both of them threw it at the same time.
The climax was when the mangal sutra was tied by the groom..but there a was twist to this tale, a good one at that. As per the Bengali custom , sindoor was smeared on the girl's forehead, followed by covering the head with ghoonghat( a saree), all this happening with the sound of konch( shankh).
It was fantastic to see both the families taking pains to see that each other's tradition is followed and understood by the other person.
In all, I was treated to a sumptuous Indian wedding feast.
Wishing Deepak and Sreeparna a great life ahead :-)
PS:I've not narated much of the backstage action, hopefully that would follow in the next blog.
I'm back !! Am I ??
I can't believe that it has been almost 2 months since my last blog. whew....2 months.I feel as if it has been 2 years. I look at my self in the mirror and feel that i've really aged since then.
I knw i've really gone through and still going thru a lot of things during this time. I've confided in my sister, who is my best friend and to another close friend of mine, all that I wanted to. But nothing seems to get me out of this rut.
But now, right now, when I'm pouring my heart out into my own blog, I feel so relaxed. This is my own space, one that I had created to put my mind at rest. How could I forget this. Why was I searching for peace outside, when I just had to look within..?
It is amazing how problems make a person react. Some just withdraw into a shell, and wait till it is over. Some just take it head on, and drive it away. Some others just live with it. Well, I'm doing a bit of all.!!! This is the toughest test I've ever faced in my life. So initially I went into a shell, did nothing but feel bad for it, cursed myself and the fate. Then I thought that I have to face it, and did that. Now, when some factors beyond your reach seem to control the problems you have , you learn to live with it and I'm doing that.
Is Indian society a curse on individulas or a boon? Everyone has their own answers depending on their experiences. While it is true that our society is much more closer, in the sense that we get together on any small excuse, it is equally true that we are a very hypocritic society. We don't talk about sex , but we are exploding with children. We enjoy and cheer love marriages in movies, but when one happens in our own families, we fret and fume.
Ok, why am I talking about this society now all of a sudden..Is it becasue I'm personally being affected by it? Could be!! if you are girl, unmarried and in your mid twenties, it is a curse to remain like that. Either you get married and please everybody, or just run away to timbuktoo. It is at this age, I've found out that there are so many and many people worried about getting you married off. Well, I seriously didn't care about these so called well wishers.
The problem arises, when you bring a boy of your choice to your parents. Then all hell breaks loose. Now I don't want to explain the reactions. You can take it from those innumerable Indian movies( of any language). After all those tears, anger and emotions, just when you feel that things are falling into place, and when I started feeling that things have been smoother than expected, there comes a cold reminder that , it is not to be.
I don't know if it is my destiny that I get everything after so much of struggle, ot it is like that for everyone. I just hope that all this pays off at the end.
All is well that ends well.But... where is the end???
PS: If I sound confusing, it is because I'm confused. I'm just putting all my random thoughts into words here, so please bear with me.
I knw i've really gone through and still going thru a lot of things during this time. I've confided in my sister, who is my best friend and to another close friend of mine, all that I wanted to. But nothing seems to get me out of this rut.
But now, right now, when I'm pouring my heart out into my own blog, I feel so relaxed. This is my own space, one that I had created to put my mind at rest. How could I forget this. Why was I searching for peace outside, when I just had to look within..?
It is amazing how problems make a person react. Some just withdraw into a shell, and wait till it is over. Some just take it head on, and drive it away. Some others just live with it. Well, I'm doing a bit of all.!!! This is the toughest test I've ever faced in my life. So initially I went into a shell, did nothing but feel bad for it, cursed myself and the fate. Then I thought that I have to face it, and did that. Now, when some factors beyond your reach seem to control the problems you have , you learn to live with it and I'm doing that.
Is Indian society a curse on individulas or a boon? Everyone has their own answers depending on their experiences. While it is true that our society is much more closer, in the sense that we get together on any small excuse, it is equally true that we are a very hypocritic society. We don't talk about sex , but we are exploding with children. We enjoy and cheer love marriages in movies, but when one happens in our own families, we fret and fume.
Ok, why am I talking about this society now all of a sudden..Is it becasue I'm personally being affected by it? Could be!! if you are girl, unmarried and in your mid twenties, it is a curse to remain like that. Either you get married and please everybody, or just run away to timbuktoo. It is at this age, I've found out that there are so many and many people worried about getting you married off. Well, I seriously didn't care about these so called well wishers.
The problem arises, when you bring a boy of your choice to your parents. Then all hell breaks loose. Now I don't want to explain the reactions. You can take it from those innumerable Indian movies( of any language). After all those tears, anger and emotions, just when you feel that things are falling into place, and when I started feeling that things have been smoother than expected, there comes a cold reminder that , it is not to be.
I don't know if it is my destiny that I get everything after so much of struggle, ot it is like that for everyone. I just hope that all this pays off at the end.
All is well that ends well.But... where is the end???
PS: If I sound confusing, it is because I'm confused. I'm just putting all my random thoughts into words here, so please bear with me.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
3 @ 20
Had a very different experience this Friday. I had been to " Alliance Francaise" ( French Embassy), with friends to watch 3 @ 20. As the name says, there were 3 plays staged, each one 20 minutes long. Well, I've watched quite a few English plays. But this one could at best be described as a rehersal or a reading.
This was an attempt to bring out budding script writers and give them a feel of what the audience think of their plays. I thought this was an excellent idea. Given the fact that lots of things which are written never get to be read or seen, it is heartening to see these attempts.
The first one was the best of them all. It was about 3 friends meeting after a long time over a drink and reminiscing their past. All of a sudden a girl barges in and starts shouting that the play is so boring. That is when you realise that you are actually watching a play within a play. The best part was when one gentleman in the audience failed to realise that this was a part of the play and asked her to cool down.
The second one was inspired by a real time incident. In this, a wife climbs on a tree and refuses to come down following a quarrel with her husband. As the poor fellow goes about pacifying her, people start crowding around them. This leads to some clever street hawkers setting shop under the tree, turning that place into a "Bazaar".
The last one was the least convincing of the lot. This has a young man from a village falling in love with a rich girl from the city. He has a blind, old grandfather to take care of. The girl's father declares that he can accept this only if the village guy is willing to come and live in the city. For that reason, the father sets out to meet the old man and convince him. But he gets the shock of his life, when the old man turns out to be his own father. The poor young fellow was in love with his own sister !!! The play ends with the young man committing suicide unable to accept the truth.
To say the least, the last one was very filmy as one in the audience put it. I'm not sure what made the script writer choose this story. If he really plans on developing this play into a full fledged one, it would end up looking like a mini Tamil movie, if he doesn't add some interesting twists to it. When we can get all this and much more ( in the form of song and dance) in movies , why would any one pay as much and watch such plays??
One last comment. I don't knoe how many such attempts are on in the city promoting creative talent. But I feel that there should be atleast a dozen more. More so when plays in both English and Tamil are becoming stereo typed ( either mindless comedy or some poor imitation).
This was an attempt to bring out budding script writers and give them a feel of what the audience think of their plays. I thought this was an excellent idea. Given the fact that lots of things which are written never get to be read or seen, it is heartening to see these attempts.
The first one was the best of them all. It was about 3 friends meeting after a long time over a drink and reminiscing their past. All of a sudden a girl barges in and starts shouting that the play is so boring. That is when you realise that you are actually watching a play within a play. The best part was when one gentleman in the audience failed to realise that this was a part of the play and asked her to cool down.
The second one was inspired by a real time incident. In this, a wife climbs on a tree and refuses to come down following a quarrel with her husband. As the poor fellow goes about pacifying her, people start crowding around them. This leads to some clever street hawkers setting shop under the tree, turning that place into a "Bazaar".
The last one was the least convincing of the lot. This has a young man from a village falling in love with a rich girl from the city. He has a blind, old grandfather to take care of. The girl's father declares that he can accept this only if the village guy is willing to come and live in the city. For that reason, the father sets out to meet the old man and convince him. But he gets the shock of his life, when the old man turns out to be his own father. The poor young fellow was in love with his own sister !!! The play ends with the young man committing suicide unable to accept the truth.
To say the least, the last one was very filmy as one in the audience put it. I'm not sure what made the script writer choose this story. If he really plans on developing this play into a full fledged one, it would end up looking like a mini Tamil movie, if he doesn't add some interesting twists to it. When we can get all this and much more ( in the form of song and dance) in movies , why would any one pay as much and watch such plays??
One last comment. I don't knoe how many such attempts are on in the city promoting creative talent. But I feel that there should be atleast a dozen more. More so when plays in both English and Tamil are becoming stereo typed ( either mindless comedy or some poor imitation).
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Questions unanswered
Is being on top of a hill with no one around, with no sign of life, being ALONE?
Or is it being surrounded by people, still mentally feeling detached from the surroundings??
Sometimes I feel listless and lonely when I'm with people.Sometimes so content and happy when I'm with nothing else but my thoughts.
What do people run away from when they take sanyasa? Their kin or themselves??
Why do people kill themselves? If the answer is that they cannot tolerate the misery and sorrow of their family, are they not adding on to it by going away?
What is Heaven and Hell??
When your memories end up in people's hearts, to live on forever , long after you've left your mortal remains, you are in heaven.
When the story of your life is something which people trample upon with their feet, for fear that you might come up again, you are in hell.
I thought of this, when I saw one of my colleagues and friend Sriram, being snatched away cruelly from us. He will for sure rest in peace in the Heaven of people's hearts and minds.
Or is it being surrounded by people, still mentally feeling detached from the surroundings??
Sometimes I feel listless and lonely when I'm with people.Sometimes so content and happy when I'm with nothing else but my thoughts.
What do people run away from when they take sanyasa? Their kin or themselves??
Why do people kill themselves? If the answer is that they cannot tolerate the misery and sorrow of their family, are they not adding on to it by going away?
What is Heaven and Hell??
When your memories end up in people's hearts, to live on forever , long after you've left your mortal remains, you are in heaven.
When the story of your life is something which people trample upon with their feet, for fear that you might come up again, you are in hell.
I thought of this, when I saw one of my colleagues and friend Sriram, being snatched away cruelly from us. He will for sure rest in peace in the Heaven of people's hearts and minds.
Top 5 boring tunes !
Every other radio station or TV channel releases the list of chartbusters. I just thought why not release my list of the most boring tunes I've heard. The most irrirtating things about these are that they sit on your brain, and refuse to leave. They just keep buzzing on. I've even heard these in my dreams. Ok, so onto the list.
1) The elevator music- One good thing this did was to chase me out of the lifts and make me take the stairs instead. So if you want to make your employees trim, play the most dull and boring elevator music.
2) The call waiting tune- Oh, I don't know how most of them manage to get the same music.I just feel sick of these tunes. If you don't want too many people disturbing you, go on, play these.
3) Stay away - this car is backing up- The music people play when they shift to the reverse gear- Sare Jahan se accha and Vandemataram are the most loved tunes. You are made to lose even one ounce of patriotic feeling you get when you listen to those songs the next time.
4) The calling bell- My favorite ;) Why can't people stick to the plain, old and faithful " ding dong"? Why does the calling bell have to sing? It starts when the person rings the bell, and sometimes goes on and on and on..much like the amaron batteries, even after the person has left.
I've had to shout on top of my voice, to be heard sometimes, coz Mr.Calling bell just can't stop singing.When it starts aging, it squeaks, huffs and puffs to the end of the music. Still people hold on to it. But its a good way to keep people off your homes.
5) This one is not that bad- still it has to be on the list.
The tune on the clock that is played hour after hour, every hour(like NDTV news). you almost feel that by the time the music is done with, half an hour has passed, and its just 30 mins more for the next one.Scary isn't it !!
Well, my hatred is not so much towards playing music in all those places given above, but towards the choice of them.Why can't we be a little more imaginative, in choosing our music, little more zany in our thoughts.
Life is not so boring after all..
PS. Any one is welcome to add to this list. They'll be given a CD/cassette of ..what else, the most boring tunes. hehehe...
1) The elevator music- One good thing this did was to chase me out of the lifts and make me take the stairs instead. So if you want to make your employees trim, play the most dull and boring elevator music.
2) The call waiting tune- Oh, I don't know how most of them manage to get the same music.I just feel sick of these tunes. If you don't want too many people disturbing you, go on, play these.
3) Stay away - this car is backing up- The music people play when they shift to the reverse gear- Sare Jahan se accha and Vandemataram are the most loved tunes. You are made to lose even one ounce of patriotic feeling you get when you listen to those songs the next time.
4) The calling bell- My favorite ;) Why can't people stick to the plain, old and faithful " ding dong"? Why does the calling bell have to sing? It starts when the person rings the bell, and sometimes goes on and on and on..much like the amaron batteries, even after the person has left.
I've had to shout on top of my voice, to be heard sometimes, coz Mr.Calling bell just can't stop singing.When it starts aging, it squeaks, huffs and puffs to the end of the music. Still people hold on to it. But its a good way to keep people off your homes.
5) This one is not that bad- still it has to be on the list.
The tune on the clock that is played hour after hour, every hour(like NDTV news). you almost feel that by the time the music is done with, half an hour has passed, and its just 30 mins more for the next one.Scary isn't it !!
Well, my hatred is not so much towards playing music in all those places given above, but towards the choice of them.Why can't we be a little more imaginative, in choosing our music, little more zany in our thoughts.
Life is not so boring after all..
PS. Any one is welcome to add to this list. They'll be given a CD/cassette of ..what else, the most boring tunes. hehehe...
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Ramayana,Seetha,Chastity and more...
Page 600- Chakravarthy Thirumagan( Rajaji's ramanyanam). In his epilogue, Rajaji dwells on chastity and the society's interpretation of it. He says " If a woman is molested or behaved at brutally, by a man, for no fault of hers, she cannot be regarded as having lost herself or her chastity. She carries no burden of this incident with her. It is unfortunate that our society feels otherwise"
He says this in the context of the infamous "Agni Pariksha" done by Ram on Seetha. He feels that Rama had done this to Seetha in order to clear people's minds, and not because he was suspicious of her. I don't want to go in depth on why Rama did this.
But what struck me while reading this was the amazing line of thought of Rajaji. I shouldn't have been surprised as he was one of the frontrunners in advocating inter caste marriages, and led by example in case of his daughter.
It is a pity that we had such forward thinking leaders then, and now you can actually count the number of people in public sphere who have such thoughts , let alone boldly airing out these thoughts.
Now we have people burning the effigy of Khushboo provocated by so called leaders, for some non issue.
We have politicians and people standing by a judgement of a father in law marrying a daughter in law after raping her.
How can we call our society a progressive one, when a girl is always held at fault even if a guy makes any sort of gestures at her. " What did you do to provoke him" is the first question the girl faces.
A girl or woman if raped dies a thousand deaths all through her life, by the society contantly reminding her of that incident. And I almost feel nauseated when I see movies and the damning mega serials advocating that the woman should marry the guy who did this to her, no matter how horrible he is.
I can't make myself say anything more on this.
Jai Shri Ram !!!
He says this in the context of the infamous "Agni Pariksha" done by Ram on Seetha. He feels that Rama had done this to Seetha in order to clear people's minds, and not because he was suspicious of her. I don't want to go in depth on why Rama did this.
But what struck me while reading this was the amazing line of thought of Rajaji. I shouldn't have been surprised as he was one of the frontrunners in advocating inter caste marriages, and led by example in case of his daughter.
It is a pity that we had such forward thinking leaders then, and now you can actually count the number of people in public sphere who have such thoughts , let alone boldly airing out these thoughts.
Now we have people burning the effigy of Khushboo provocated by so called leaders, for some non issue.
We have politicians and people standing by a judgement of a father in law marrying a daughter in law after raping her.
How can we call our society a progressive one, when a girl is always held at fault even if a guy makes any sort of gestures at her. " What did you do to provoke him" is the first question the girl faces.
A girl or woman if raped dies a thousand deaths all through her life, by the society contantly reminding her of that incident. And I almost feel nauseated when I see movies and the damning mega serials advocating that the woman should marry the guy who did this to her, no matter how horrible he is.
I can't make myself say anything more on this.
Jai Shri Ram !!!
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Interesting passion- Check this out
"Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion." -G. W. F. Hegel
Some make their work, their passion. Few others live for it.
I just found a wonderful and interesting hobby, or should I say passion, in one of my cousins.
This kid , Sriram, studying in the 11th std, in Thiruvananthpuram,Kerala, was one of those guys whom I've heard a lot about, but seen very little of.
He is one of those very, smart and intelligent guys whom my dad often raves about.
Recently, he sent me my dad a link to his passion!!.
Well guys, It is surely something you must check out.
http://greatindianrailway.fotopic.net/
This kid seems to be well and truly in love with the Great Indian Railways. This gallery has some of the most amazing scenaries we get to see when travelling by train, snaps of the most exotic Indian railway coaches in greatest detail.
The best part of all this is that he actually embarks on train journeys just to learn about them and freeze them in his memory forever.
Good luck Sriram ..May your journeys continue !!
Some make their work, their passion. Few others live for it.
I just found a wonderful and interesting hobby, or should I say passion, in one of my cousins.
This kid , Sriram, studying in the 11th std, in Thiruvananthpuram,Kerala, was one of those guys whom I've heard a lot about, but seen very little of.
He is one of those very, smart and intelligent guys whom my dad often raves about.
Recently, he sent me my dad a link to his passion!!.
Well guys, It is surely something you must check out.
http://greatindianrailway.fotopic.net/
This kid seems to be well and truly in love with the Great Indian Railways. This gallery has some of the most amazing scenaries we get to see when travelling by train, snaps of the most exotic Indian railway coaches in greatest detail.
The best part of all this is that he actually embarks on train journeys just to learn about them and freeze them in his memory forever.
Good luck Sriram ..May your journeys continue !!
One night in the train !
uff...I had finally managed to get into my compartment. I found my seat and shoved the bags under my feet.It was a photo finish, would have put an olympian to shame. My mom was frantically waving me goodbye. I waved her back,and sat down to get my breath back.
It was then that I became aware of my surroundings. Well, I was travelling from Chennai to Rajapalayam, just to visit my dad.
I was allotted the middle berth, and beside me were two not quite young women. On the other side were my tormentors to be, on the side lower berth, two "DMK Karai" dhothi clad,loud and old men. In front of me was a louder mouthed chamcha. This group of people extended till the next 2 bays.
The older guy was an ugly sight to watch.He was trying to eat something all the while skillfully managing to spill more around him than into his mouth. I settled down to reading a magazine.
The best part of my journey started when the older of the guys, who already seemed a little drunk, started smoking.
Well, so what you might ask. Haven't we seen people smoking in trains. But this time I don't know what made me tell him" Sir please don't smoke". The whole party fell silent and was shocked at the audacity of a "chinna ponnu" in their words, asking the great "Thalaivar", ( thats how the chamcha referred to him) not to smoke.
He ignored me in the best possible way. I then told the person near him, and to my surprise he too asked the "Thalaivar" to drop the cigarette. But Thalai was not ready to budge.
Well, now they had ignored me enough, so I raised my voice and said, " If you don't drop it, I'm going to complain the to the T.T.R." That brought the chamcha to his feet, and he started jumping up and down, screaming lots of unintelligebile stuff.
After a few more passengers persuaded,he had to put it down , which for him was like throwing his ego down.
The mutterings continued,as the TTR came in. The surprise element was that he told me that my ticket had been upgraded to 3 tier AC. At that moment I felt like screaming "Laloo Prasad ki Jai" .Thanks to his upgradation scheme.
Before leaving that dreaded place, I caught a glimpse of how politics works. The chamcha, went up to the TTR and said, " Sir, this girl, got into a wrong coach and humiliated my Thalaivar." The TTR ignored his complaint and moved on. But that comment just seemed to show how the politicians make a mountain out of a mole hill.
As I triep cataching some sleep in the cool comfort of the AC, the rest of the people in the group , sneaked into the AC , and were partying with chicken biryani and liquor. This time I decided to keep my eyes , mouth and my nose( the stench was unbearable) closed.
It was then that I became aware of my surroundings. Well, I was travelling from Chennai to Rajapalayam, just to visit my dad.
I was allotted the middle berth, and beside me were two not quite young women. On the other side were my tormentors to be, on the side lower berth, two "DMK Karai" dhothi clad,loud and old men. In front of me was a louder mouthed chamcha. This group of people extended till the next 2 bays.
The older guy was an ugly sight to watch.He was trying to eat something all the while skillfully managing to spill more around him than into his mouth. I settled down to reading a magazine.
The best part of my journey started when the older of the guys, who already seemed a little drunk, started smoking.
Well, so what you might ask. Haven't we seen people smoking in trains. But this time I don't know what made me tell him" Sir please don't smoke". The whole party fell silent and was shocked at the audacity of a "chinna ponnu" in their words, asking the great "Thalaivar", ( thats how the chamcha referred to him) not to smoke.
He ignored me in the best possible way. I then told the person near him, and to my surprise he too asked the "Thalaivar" to drop the cigarette. But Thalai was not ready to budge.
Well, now they had ignored me enough, so I raised my voice and said, " If you don't drop it, I'm going to complain the to the T.T.R." That brought the chamcha to his feet, and he started jumping up and down, screaming lots of unintelligebile stuff.
After a few more passengers persuaded,he had to put it down , which for him was like throwing his ego down.
The mutterings continued,as the TTR came in. The surprise element was that he told me that my ticket had been upgraded to 3 tier AC. At that moment I felt like screaming "Laloo Prasad ki Jai" .Thanks to his upgradation scheme.
Before leaving that dreaded place, I caught a glimpse of how politics works. The chamcha, went up to the TTR and said, " Sir, this girl, got into a wrong coach and humiliated my Thalaivar." The TTR ignored his complaint and moved on. But that comment just seemed to show how the politicians make a mountain out of a mole hill.
As I triep cataching some sleep in the cool comfort of the AC, the rest of the people in the group , sneaked into the AC , and were partying with chicken biryani and liquor. This time I decided to keep my eyes , mouth and my nose( the stench was unbearable) closed.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Mind reading
I'm not a master in reading people. Still after 2 or 3 meetings, I can make out to a certain extent the personality or the level of intelligence of the person.
But something which I can never ever understand are guys who try to flirt for timepass. I mean..I find so funny that even after so many quizzical looks , or even curses muttered under the girl's breath..they don't find it humiliating at all.
And the worst thing is that you have to meet such people day in and day out in the office.
The other day I met this guy in the elevator. He said " Hi , whats your name" . When I answered him, he just said " ok" and looked the other side. I kept looking at him , waiting for him to continue. But he just kept looking everywhere except at me. I felt that this was so ridiculous , and I asked him why did he ask my name. He replied " Just like that". Interesting hobby , isn't it. I was just stumped and he walked out of the elevator.
There is another guy who gives a wide grin whenever he sees me. I had tried showing lots of weird looking expressions, ranging from anger to disgust at him. But he refuses to be discouraged. May be I end up looking like smiling to him. God knows. Or I'm just a poor actor.
But one thing I can never comprehend is the absolute lack of shame in these people. Given a chance I would definitely like to know how they feel when I stare back angrily ...
But something which I can never ever understand are guys who try to flirt for timepass. I mean..I find so funny that even after so many quizzical looks , or even curses muttered under the girl's breath..they don't find it humiliating at all.
And the worst thing is that you have to meet such people day in and day out in the office.
The other day I met this guy in the elevator. He said " Hi , whats your name" . When I answered him, he just said " ok" and looked the other side. I kept looking at him , waiting for him to continue. But he just kept looking everywhere except at me. I felt that this was so ridiculous , and I asked him why did he ask my name. He replied " Just like that". Interesting hobby , isn't it. I was just stumped and he walked out of the elevator.
There is another guy who gives a wide grin whenever he sees me. I had tried showing lots of weird looking expressions, ranging from anger to disgust at him. But he refuses to be discouraged. May be I end up looking like smiling to him. God knows. Or I'm just a poor actor.
But one thing I can never comprehend is the absolute lack of shame in these people. Given a chance I would definitely like to know how they feel when I stare back angrily ...
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Being a social activist
Ok so who is a social activist? One who fights for the people and the society's cause all his/her life. One who survives on bare minimum things he has got. And one who devotes his life to the people. Whose name comes up on your lips when we talk of social activism. Medha Patkar, Vinobha Bhave and the likes of them.
Has it ever occured to any one of us that we would also want to serve the society. Well, I can say that atleast a few of us would have thought so. But then , what is stopping us.
The time involved in it. We are so scared that the little time we get to spend with the family would be lost.
The hassles involved. Well, there are so many hurdles to anybody who wants to do good. We see it on the TV and read it in the news papers. So beter be safe.
There is no money in it. It is really difficult to sacrifice the comfortable if not luxurious life we've been leading and go about helping some unknown person.
The list is endless.
So all of us sit at home ,watch on the TV, read in the news papers about so many people needing help. Some of us become emotional and sad for a minute, feel bad for them , feel sorry for them, utter some prayers for their well being and then flip to the next channel or go on to the next page.
Well this includes me too or so to say included me.
The fantastic Tamil writer Sivasankari, in one of her interviews ,when asked about her interest in social service said this very passionately;" Why do you think social service is something which is meant only for a few people. First I hate being called a social activist . Every human being is a part of the society he grows in , whether he likes it or not.Having gained so much from the society knowingly and unknowingly, he has a duty to give back someting to it.So there is nothing abnormal in helping people. Infact there is something wrong with a person if he is not socially aware, or doesn't bother to help a person in distress. So you should be questioning such people as to why they are like that"
I really liked this view. Coming back to my point, there is really no need to leave your family and friends, your job and your comfort, to help somebody.
If you just have the heart and mind for it that is more than enough.
I got enough proof for my argument yesterday. We were in IIT , Madras as volunteers for an interactive teaching workshop. I didnt have any expectaions out of it and just went there to see what it was all about.
It was an eye opening experience. There were so many teachers from all over Tamilnadu working in a number of rural schools. They were from schools with minimum facilities or sometimes even without that. The children were all first genration learners or even formerly child labourers.
As we were helping the teachers with their group activities like puppet show, salad making and rhymes, so many things dawned on me. The first thing being, the really low self image they have of themselves.If somebody tells me that something is bad about me, I would just stand up to him and say how good are you and I know better about me than you do. That is the level of confidence we have.
But if we were to tell them that they were bad in something, then they would accept it and never every try to improve upon it.
When we taught them a few sentences in English and gave them honest appreciation, we could see their heads go up in pride and happiness.
At the end of the day so many of them came up and thanked us for making them feel good about themselves and helping them unravel their hidden talents.
I was so taken aback beacuse I never went there with the intention of helping someone. Even when I was helping them with their activities, it looked routine though slightly interesting.
But the thing that struck me was how a little time we spend helping someone, can make a huge difference to their lives.
I don't know if they will remember the sentences we taught them. But the confidence they've gained is enormous. The feeling that they can learn and perform someting before a group of people in 2 hours is truly wonderful and worth more than all the money in the world put together.
All this just made me feel, if atleast some of us find time to help someone with what what might
might seem a small task to us but a huge thing for the other person, wouldn't it be some sort of a social revolution??
Has it ever occured to any one of us that we would also want to serve the society. Well, I can say that atleast a few of us would have thought so. But then , what is stopping us.
The time involved in it. We are so scared that the little time we get to spend with the family would be lost.
The hassles involved. Well, there are so many hurdles to anybody who wants to do good. We see it on the TV and read it in the news papers. So beter be safe.
There is no money in it. It is really difficult to sacrifice the comfortable if not luxurious life we've been leading and go about helping some unknown person.
The list is endless.
So all of us sit at home ,watch on the TV, read in the news papers about so many people needing help. Some of us become emotional and sad for a minute, feel bad for them , feel sorry for them, utter some prayers for their well being and then flip to the next channel or go on to the next page.
Well this includes me too or so to say included me.
The fantastic Tamil writer Sivasankari, in one of her interviews ,when asked about her interest in social service said this very passionately;" Why do you think social service is something which is meant only for a few people. First I hate being called a social activist . Every human being is a part of the society he grows in , whether he likes it or not.Having gained so much from the society knowingly and unknowingly, he has a duty to give back someting to it.So there is nothing abnormal in helping people. Infact there is something wrong with a person if he is not socially aware, or doesn't bother to help a person in distress. So you should be questioning such people as to why they are like that"
I really liked this view. Coming back to my point, there is really no need to leave your family and friends, your job and your comfort, to help somebody.
If you just have the heart and mind for it that is more than enough.
I got enough proof for my argument yesterday. We were in IIT , Madras as volunteers for an interactive teaching workshop. I didnt have any expectaions out of it and just went there to see what it was all about.
It was an eye opening experience. There were so many teachers from all over Tamilnadu working in a number of rural schools. They were from schools with minimum facilities or sometimes even without that. The children were all first genration learners or even formerly child labourers.
As we were helping the teachers with their group activities like puppet show, salad making and rhymes, so many things dawned on me. The first thing being, the really low self image they have of themselves.If somebody tells me that something is bad about me, I would just stand up to him and say how good are you and I know better about me than you do. That is the level of confidence we have.
But if we were to tell them that they were bad in something, then they would accept it and never every try to improve upon it.
When we taught them a few sentences in English and gave them honest appreciation, we could see their heads go up in pride and happiness.
At the end of the day so many of them came up and thanked us for making them feel good about themselves and helping them unravel their hidden talents.
I was so taken aback beacuse I never went there with the intention of helping someone. Even when I was helping them with their activities, it looked routine though slightly interesting.
But the thing that struck me was how a little time we spend helping someone, can make a huge difference to their lives.
I don't know if they will remember the sentences we taught them. But the confidence they've gained is enormous. The feeling that they can learn and perform someting before a group of people in 2 hours is truly wonderful and worth more than all the money in the world put together.
All this just made me feel, if atleast some of us find time to help someone with what what might
might seem a small task to us but a huge thing for the other person, wouldn't it be some sort of a social revolution??
To reserve or not to !!
There has been so much talk on the proposed reservation for the OBCs of late everywhere right from the print media , the television, among people..etc. The whole issue has been debated so much that even if I tell someone that I would like to reserve a few seats for a train journey , i might as well be mistaken for being "pro reservation".
Well, I don't want to say anything on whether reservation is right or wrong. I actually don't even know these statistics which the pro and anti reservationists are bringing up to justify their cause. Moreover, there are a lot of schemes for the poor and the OBCs that created as much if not more hype when being introduced, but which then sank without a trace and are just limited to the policy papers. So how this scheme would be implemented amidst so much opposition is also in question.
But amongst all this hype and drama surrounding this issue , one thing has intrigued me. One of the or should we say the main reason the anti reservation group is crying itself hoarse, is that if OBCs are allowed to come into mainstream or the so called elite IITs and IIMs and the AIIMS, there would be complete mediocrity all around.
Now I really wonder how much of quality is available in the products of IITs and IIMs as of now. If the quality was anywhere near as is being told to us repeatedly, then we should have been a nation of powerful CEOs , brilliant engineers and our healthcare system should have been among the best in the world.
But we are nowhere near it. Our engineers nowadays be it mechanical, civil, electrical or any branch want to be in the sofware industry. They don't care if they sit all night and do some junk production support work which is equivalent to a call centre job.There are very few who will actually venture into research or innovating something worthwhile.
Our IIM graduates latch at the first oppurtunity they get to work abroad and don't mind settling there. Again there are very few who would want to turn into employers.
And finally our doctors who are leading the anti reservation protests steal the show with their fantastic sense of responsibilty and duty.
There are so many doctors passing out of our medical colleges.But how many of them are working in the rural areas. The government hospitals are always a picture of neglect, with the doctors there spending more time in their own private clinics. The less said about our rural health care the better it is. There have been so many reports of malnutrition among children and I wonder where the doctors are at that time.
So my point is there is already so much mediocrity among our students and the reservation for the OBCs is actually not going to introduce it. But as I said earlier it remains to be seen if the OBCs and the poor ones at that will benefit from this.
I wonder how the students would have reacted if the government had announced that there are going to be separate engineering ,medical and management institutions for OBCs . I can swear that nobody would have bothered to raise a whisper because their seats are now untouched and their elite and holy institutions will not be dirtied by the bad OBC blood.
In that case we would actually have more number of OBC doctors and engineers passing out. We would still have mediocre graduates right?? we would still have a divided society right??
But then all this talk of mediocrity would have been thrown out of the window.
So I think the struggle now is not so much for saving India out of mediocrity or creating a caste less society. It is more about cementing the position the other castes have been holding for centuries. The message I'm getting out of all this anti reservation protests is " Get lost you OBCs and SC/STs, don't even dare to venture into our territory. If you really want to come up in your life, we will not care to give you a helping hand , rather we would push aside someone trying to do so".
And finally, if they do not want reservation so badly, how many of them would actually promise that each one would help one OBC or SC/ST student reach to the level of writing a JEE or a CAT.
Sadly the honour of cracking the joke of the century goes to me ...
Well, I don't want to say anything on whether reservation is right or wrong. I actually don't even know these statistics which the pro and anti reservationists are bringing up to justify their cause. Moreover, there are a lot of schemes for the poor and the OBCs that created as much if not more hype when being introduced, but which then sank without a trace and are just limited to the policy papers. So how this scheme would be implemented amidst so much opposition is also in question.
But amongst all this hype and drama surrounding this issue , one thing has intrigued me. One of the or should we say the main reason the anti reservation group is crying itself hoarse, is that if OBCs are allowed to come into mainstream or the so called elite IITs and IIMs and the AIIMS, there would be complete mediocrity all around.
Now I really wonder how much of quality is available in the products of IITs and IIMs as of now. If the quality was anywhere near as is being told to us repeatedly, then we should have been a nation of powerful CEOs , brilliant engineers and our healthcare system should have been among the best in the world.
But we are nowhere near it. Our engineers nowadays be it mechanical, civil, electrical or any branch want to be in the sofware industry. They don't care if they sit all night and do some junk production support work which is equivalent to a call centre job.There are very few who will actually venture into research or innovating something worthwhile.
Our IIM graduates latch at the first oppurtunity they get to work abroad and don't mind settling there. Again there are very few who would want to turn into employers.
And finally our doctors who are leading the anti reservation protests steal the show with their fantastic sense of responsibilty and duty.
There are so many doctors passing out of our medical colleges.But how many of them are working in the rural areas. The government hospitals are always a picture of neglect, with the doctors there spending more time in their own private clinics. The less said about our rural health care the better it is. There have been so many reports of malnutrition among children and I wonder where the doctors are at that time.
So my point is there is already so much mediocrity among our students and the reservation for the OBCs is actually not going to introduce it. But as I said earlier it remains to be seen if the OBCs and the poor ones at that will benefit from this.
I wonder how the students would have reacted if the government had announced that there are going to be separate engineering ,medical and management institutions for OBCs . I can swear that nobody would have bothered to raise a whisper because their seats are now untouched and their elite and holy institutions will not be dirtied by the bad OBC blood.
In that case we would actually have more number of OBC doctors and engineers passing out. We would still have mediocre graduates right?? we would still have a divided society right??
But then all this talk of mediocrity would have been thrown out of the window.
So I think the struggle now is not so much for saving India out of mediocrity or creating a caste less society. It is more about cementing the position the other castes have been holding for centuries. The message I'm getting out of all this anti reservation protests is " Get lost you OBCs and SC/STs, don't even dare to venture into our territory. If you really want to come up in your life, we will not care to give you a helping hand , rather we would push aside someone trying to do so".
And finally, if they do not want reservation so badly, how many of them would actually promise that each one would help one OBC or SC/ST student reach to the level of writing a JEE or a CAT.
Sadly the honour of cracking the joke of the century goes to me ...
Monday, April 17, 2006
Breaking News !!
If you are one of those people who watch NDTV, CNN-IBN , Times Now , Headlines today..etc in no particular order of preference and feel that news reporting has come of age of in India..then I beg to differ.
I'm just beginning to feel that there has been a proliferation of news channels. Just think about it. Don't you feel stifled by the repetition of the same news over and over again. Well you can argue by saying that just because the events are the same, some channel cannot go without reporting them. Thats perfectly fine.
But can somebody really explain the number of breaking news we get every day. I think the channels at the end of the day are just competing for the most number of breaking news..genuine or otherwise.So if you don't have any news..make them.
Conduct sting operations,make a mountain out of a mole hill or if nothing just ask some xyz on the road for an opinion on anything under the sun.
Now you would wonder why is she scraming on top of her voice for nothing at all..
But what happened 2 days back just shot up my blood pressure higher than the Chennai heat .
As we all know or have been forced to know that the one and only Sallu ( Salman khan) has got a jail sentence rightly for his stupid ( what he thought was brave) and cruel act of killing the black buck. After spending a night in jail he came back the next day with a mortified look on his face and god knows what on his mind.
The shocking part of this whole story is that there was a huge crowd of fans welcoming him..and he as he does in his movies took off his shirt and his fans were delirious with the "dharshan".
More " shock and awe" followed, as the news channels were jostling around to get a few words out of his mouth.
CNN-IBN got its entertainment editor himself there, coz the bacha reporters obviously did not measure up to the occasion. Just look at the questions and pleeeease tell me,if all this energy I've put into typing all this is justfied or not.
Glossary
********
EE- Entertainment Ediitor
S-Salman
Me(of course in my mind)
EE: Hi Salman, what do you feel about the fans outside.
S: Its because of them that I'm here.
Me: Oh I thought it was beacuse of the judge who granted you bail..!!anywayz..!!
EE: ok, can you tell us the one thing or the one person who you missed the most.
S:Obviously it was my mother ( and gives a sad smile)..
Me: Poor sallu. He could have done a Dharmendra style " Maa..." it would have been even more effective than the tear jerking serials.
EE:(with a smile ) ..can you tell us how did it feel to be in the jail..!!
S: @#$%#$%#$%#$%#$%#
Me: Give me a huge break..!! Mr. EE, can you please tell me , is Salman is a freedom fighter or now that its been a long time since we got freedom, did he go to jail fighting for a great cause, or for the poor or the deprived ???
Then why the hell is being given such royal treatment.
Why is he made to feel so important by all the news hungry channels like yours?
Why is he not allowed to feel guilty for what he's done?
Everyday there are hundreds of people going to jail and coming out on bail..and there are so many innocents being punished for no mistake of theirs.
Why do you make such a hue and cry about one criminal , be it a huge star, one poacher who has no other way out but to accept his crime?
Let me give you an idea for the next big breaking news.
Get all the poachers who killed the tigers in Sariska and do a series of interviews on them.
Ask them how it felt when they killed those poor animals and so on.
After all this when I switched to another news channel , you should be able to guess what was in there..An Exclusive with Salman...!!!
Unwilling to let my mercury soar more than this..I did what I should've done long time back.
Switched off the Idiot box..and tried to get some fresh air and my sanity back.
I'm just beginning to feel that there has been a proliferation of news channels. Just think about it. Don't you feel stifled by the repetition of the same news over and over again. Well you can argue by saying that just because the events are the same, some channel cannot go without reporting them. Thats perfectly fine.
But can somebody really explain the number of breaking news we get every day. I think the channels at the end of the day are just competing for the most number of breaking news..genuine or otherwise.So if you don't have any news..make them.
Conduct sting operations,make a mountain out of a mole hill or if nothing just ask some xyz on the road for an opinion on anything under the sun.
Now you would wonder why is she scraming on top of her voice for nothing at all..
But what happened 2 days back just shot up my blood pressure higher than the Chennai heat .
As we all know or have been forced to know that the one and only Sallu ( Salman khan) has got a jail sentence rightly for his stupid ( what he thought was brave) and cruel act of killing the black buck. After spending a night in jail he came back the next day with a mortified look on his face and god knows what on his mind.
The shocking part of this whole story is that there was a huge crowd of fans welcoming him..and he as he does in his movies took off his shirt and his fans were delirious with the "dharshan".
More " shock and awe" followed, as the news channels were jostling around to get a few words out of his mouth.
CNN-IBN got its entertainment editor himself there, coz the bacha reporters obviously did not measure up to the occasion. Just look at the questions and pleeeease tell me,if all this energy I've put into typing all this is justfied or not.
Glossary
********
EE- Entertainment Ediitor
S-Salman
Me(of course in my mind)
EE: Hi Salman, what do you feel about the fans outside.
S: Its because of them that I'm here.
Me: Oh I thought it was beacuse of the judge who granted you bail..!!anywayz..!!
EE: ok, can you tell us the one thing or the one person who you missed the most.
S:Obviously it was my mother ( and gives a sad smile)..
Me: Poor sallu. He could have done a Dharmendra style " Maa..." it would have been even more effective than the tear jerking serials.
EE:(with a smile ) ..can you tell us how did it feel to be in the jail..!!
S: @#$%#$%#$%#$%#$%#
Me: Give me a huge break..!! Mr. EE, can you please tell me , is Salman is a freedom fighter or now that its been a long time since we got freedom, did he go to jail fighting for a great cause, or for the poor or the deprived ???
Then why the hell is being given such royal treatment.
Why is he made to feel so important by all the news hungry channels like yours?
Why is he not allowed to feel guilty for what he's done?
Everyday there are hundreds of people going to jail and coming out on bail..and there are so many innocents being punished for no mistake of theirs.
Why do you make such a hue and cry about one criminal , be it a huge star, one poacher who has no other way out but to accept his crime?
Let me give you an idea for the next big breaking news.
Get all the poachers who killed the tigers in Sariska and do a series of interviews on them.
Ask them how it felt when they killed those poor animals and so on.
After all this when I switched to another news channel , you should be able to guess what was in there..An Exclusive with Salman...!!!
Unwilling to let my mercury soar more than this..I did what I should've done long time back.
Switched off the Idiot box..and tried to get some fresh air and my sanity back.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Its Woman's Day !!
Its Woman's Day !!
And a shower of praise all around,
"You've been a great daughter" my dad says,
"You are the most loving wife" my other half smiles,
"You are the world's best mother" my kid hugs me,
"You are the most affectionate sister" my siblong says..
I feel lost and confused,
I'm trying to find myself..my true self,
"Will you help me?" I ask each one of them,
They turn their backs on me ..
Is it because they can't or they do not want to ??
And a shower of praise all around,
"You've been a great daughter" my dad says,
"You are the most loving wife" my other half smiles,
"You are the world's best mother" my kid hugs me,
"You are the most affectionate sister" my siblong says..
I feel lost and confused,
I'm trying to find myself..my true self,
"Will you help me?" I ask each one of them,
They turn their backs on me ..
Is it because they can't or they do not want to ??
Sunday, April 02, 2006
The Real Indian
I watch cricket on the TV ..I'm happy,
I watch corrupt politicians giving out false promises..I'm angry..
I watch people struggling for one meal a day..I'm sorry
I watch a child working as a labour losing out on its childhood..I scream
I watch reports of women being raped and murdered..
I watch women being harrased on the road..I bleed
I watch patriotic movies..I'm inspired
I watch terrorist attacks..I'm scared
I stop watching and am now back to my routine..of eating,working and sleeping.
I shut my ears and eyes to the reality..
I am a true blue Indian safe in my cocoon .
I watch corrupt politicians giving out false promises..I'm angry..
I watch people struggling for one meal a day..I'm sorry
I watch a child working as a labour losing out on its childhood..I scream
I watch reports of women being raped and murdered..
I watch women being harrased on the road..I bleed
I watch patriotic movies..I'm inspired
I watch terrorist attacks..I'm scared
I stop watching and am now back to my routine..of eating,working and sleeping.
I shut my ears and eyes to the reality..
I am a true blue Indian safe in my cocoon .
Twinkling Stars??
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,
How I wonder what you are...
Well,this rhyme just brings a smile to my lips..as my mind goes back to my nursery days.More often than not the kids were and still are judged by how well they are able to dole out the rhymes or just perform in front of the guests,school or in any public gathering .And if the kid is not in a good mood or throws up a tantrum then the worst awaits it.
I remember when I was the guest in my relative's place, the kid in the house was as usual asked to "perform" . The mom specifically asked the kid to sing either "Twinkle Twinkle" or the equally famous " Jonhny , Jonhny" . Unmindful of its mother, the kid sang "Odi Vilaiyadu Paapa" Bharathiyar's famous song for children. I can recall how the mother's expression changed from utter disgust to anger..and she stopped her kid right in the middle and said.."You know , she is very good in English Rhymes..just that she is a little scared on seeing you all !!" I just looked around to make sure there were no aliens from another planet to scare the little one. May be the mother was referring to herself !!
My heart just goes out to the kids who are made to do all sorts of things so that they can go around saying that my kid is the best. Whereas in reality, they are no more than a ringmaster and a scared to death tiger in a circus.
I wonder what the very same parents would do if they are in the child's shoes..Imagine the child introducing its father t0 its friend " Hey you know my father is a great dancer, common daddy dance ." When he doesn't dance , the child might even say.."He only dances to my mother's tunes you know.!! "
My aunt argues that in doing all these she is removing the stage fear and making the child fearless. She's right in a way..the stage fear is gone..but the fear of failure is instilled very deep in their minds. For, one wrong move , and the child could be in deep trouble for embarrassing the whole family. I'd say..you asked for it in the first place.
This is no exaggeration at all. I've really seen kids who go through this huge parental pressure to not only do their best, but to win every time, just lands on the earth with a big "thud" the minute it fails.Neither the parents nor the kid knows how to handle it.
Are we creating twinkling stars or falling meteors?
How I wonder what you are...
Well,this rhyme just brings a smile to my lips..as my mind goes back to my nursery days.More often than not the kids were and still are judged by how well they are able to dole out the rhymes or just perform in front of the guests,school or in any public gathering .And if the kid is not in a good mood or throws up a tantrum then the worst awaits it.
I remember when I was the guest in my relative's place, the kid in the house was as usual asked to "perform" . The mom specifically asked the kid to sing either "Twinkle Twinkle" or the equally famous " Jonhny , Jonhny" . Unmindful of its mother, the kid sang "Odi Vilaiyadu Paapa" Bharathiyar's famous song for children. I can recall how the mother's expression changed from utter disgust to anger..and she stopped her kid right in the middle and said.."You know , she is very good in English Rhymes..just that she is a little scared on seeing you all !!" I just looked around to make sure there were no aliens from another planet to scare the little one. May be the mother was referring to herself !!
My heart just goes out to the kids who are made to do all sorts of things so that they can go around saying that my kid is the best. Whereas in reality, they are no more than a ringmaster and a scared to death tiger in a circus.
I wonder what the very same parents would do if they are in the child's shoes..Imagine the child introducing its father t0 its friend " Hey you know my father is a great dancer, common daddy dance ." When he doesn't dance , the child might even say.."He only dances to my mother's tunes you know.!! "
My aunt argues that in doing all these she is removing the stage fear and making the child fearless. She's right in a way..the stage fear is gone..but the fear of failure is instilled very deep in their minds. For, one wrong move , and the child could be in deep trouble for embarrassing the whole family. I'd say..you asked for it in the first place.
This is no exaggeration at all. I've really seen kids who go through this huge parental pressure to not only do their best, but to win every time, just lands on the earth with a big "thud" the minute it fails.Neither the parents nor the kid knows how to handle it.
Are we creating twinkling stars or falling meteors?
Friday, March 24, 2006
Ripples In My Mind
Each person I meet, Each event I come to know of or see creates a ripple in my mind. Sometimes small ones, sometimes big enough to be a wave...
Small or Big ..I want those ripples to be reflected here before they fade away..
Small or Big ..I want those ripples to be reflected here before they fade away..
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