24/11 of my Life!!

Prologue

It was one of those usual days office and one of those usual times when I leave from office. I checked the office clock again it was 7:25 pm and I realized its time and I should leave asap so that I can be home before 8:30 pm. As usual I went to the Bus Stand and took my usual Bus, route no GL-23. though the bus was getting crowded I got a seat 3rd seat from the door, on the door side, an aisle seat. The Bus started and as usual took some time to come out of ISBT Kashmere Gate, where my office is, the clock tower showed a time of 7:42 as my bus passed by it. I put my headphones in my ears and connected it to my phone to listen to the radio

The Hit

About 8-10 minutes later, I got a big jerk and felt something just hit my head. Few seconds later I realized suddenly I cant see from my right eye and my left eye is also half closed, my nose and forehead is bleeding badly and I am spitting blood from my mouth. It took me another few seconds to realize that something came and hit me. 

The Struggle in Bus

It was then when I started shouted my co passengers realized I am hurt and told me actually a big rock came and hit me. I then asked for the bus to stop, my co passengers supported and they asked the driver to stop the bus. That's when I realized my phone wasn't in my hand anymore. I told my co passengers my phone has got dropped somewhere, please find it. by now my visibility was only 10% left with my left eye. My co passengers found the phone for me and I dialled my home number and since because of all the blood that was flowing from nose I had difficulty in breathing so I gave phone to a co passenger to talk. He talked to my family on my home landline and told that there has been an accident and we are at Seelampur and gave the phone to me. I don't know who was on the other side of phone but I told I have got hurt and I am coming towards home. The phone somehow got disconnected and then a co passenger asked me for contact number I gave my brother's mobile number. He dialled my brother's number from his phone and explained the situation. I then said my forehead is hurting and if my right eye is bleeding or not my co passengers assured my right eye is not bleeding. I asked for first aid box, and many of my co passengers also insisted the driver and the conductor to take it out, my co passengers then put the blue coloured medicine in my forehead and nose, however I was still bleeding badly, they also asked me not to sleep.

By then I had realized a little what all is happening, so I asked my co passengers to start the Bus again and take me to Max Hospital Patparganj, I also told I stay in patparganj, my family would come there. My co passengers realizing that I am conscious and fully aware of things asked the bus to start again, the bus driver told the other passengers the bus would now stop next at Hasanpur Depot (it is the bus stop where I used to get down daily), so some of them got down.

All this while I was clinging to my Handbag, my phone and a stole, my handbag had a lot of cash and I thought in case anywhere I require to pay in a hospital or something I have enough money, also my handbag had my driving license which had my residence address, it was a way of tracing back my family in case I fell unconscious and also my phone then was the way of connecting to my family.

The PCR Van

The Bus had moved few kilometers that the Bus Driver saw a PCR Van and he said I can be taken to a hospital much faster by a PCR Van. The Bus Stopped in front of the PCR van, it is when my male co passengers requested other female passengers to actually help me out till PCR van, none came to help. Then those helpful co passengers asked if I can walk or not I said 'yes' however I cant see. I remember there were 5-6 people who helped me in getting down, the PCR van didnt have much space it could make only three people sit. 2 of my co passengers got into the PCR Van, others asked me if they should follow it till I reach a hospital I said that is not required.

Those two helpful people they kept on telling me I am fine and would soon reach a hospital. In the PCR van I asked police to take me to Max Hospital patparganj, they said they can only take me to a government hospital and nearest hospital is GTB hospital. I knew how the hospital was so I insisted to the police to take me either to my family or to the hospital I am asking for. I suddenly realized my family needs to know where am I so I dialled my brother's no and kept the phone on. Somehow with lot of insistence police had agreed to take me to where I wanted but suddenly there senior called on wireless and instructed me to take to GTB Hospital and yes by now not only I was bleeding profusely I was vomiting also so I decided that I needed medical attention quickly than reaching my family so I agreed to go to GTB Hospital  . Since my phone was on I presumed family knows I am going to GTB Hospital however I gave my phone to the two people accompanying me and they told on phone that I am being taken to GTB Hospital.

GTB Hospital and formalities

When I reached Hospital I remember my two passengers lifting me and putting me to stretcher and some more people taking me inside. Inside the hospital I was just lying in that stretcher with no doctor or nurse taking care of me. In fact police came and asked me whats your husband's name, I said I am not married take down my brothers name, however police repeated the question again my answer was same , police repeated the question for 3rd time, my answer was same. In the 4th time I shouted and told cant you understand you take down my brother and father's name and number, it seemed they understood. Police then got into paper work and as usual I was still bleeding vomiting and UNATTENDED.

Police then started accusing my co passengers that they have beaten me up and brought into this condition. My co-passengers/ my life savers they came to me and told that police is accusing them. On which in that condition I had to sit and shout that they have helped and have no hurt me. Now please someone do something I am hurt.

After this police came and took my left thumb impression on some paper. I shouted again for medial attention, to this some nurse came and gave me tetanus injection and put me on a drip. it must have been 50 minutes or even more after which this was done. After the police started asking my life savers for my handbag and mobile for custody, to which those two people said we are not handing over anything to police - she is lady and her family is reaching in sometime.

After few minutes my family arrived, with whatever 10% visibility I had I still remember the first look on my dad, mom and brother's face. My belonging are handed over to them by me and my life savers. On questioning the doctor why no body is taking care of me they said  neurology department will take care of her. After being taken to neurology department we were told CT scan needs to be done, then only any treatment can be done. So my family questioned why CT scan has not been till now. The doctor then told that the CT scan machine is not working and handed over a pamphlet of a private clinic nearby to my brother and asked him to get my CT Scan done from there. My family was totally pissed off and clueless. I told my brother take me to max I can go in your car I cant stay here they will not do anything. My brother realized in any case I have to taken out for a  CT scan so I might as well be taken to some hospital where a treatment will happen. He asked the neurosurgeon if I am in a condition of travelling for half n hour in an ambulance. The doctor said yes but still you will be taking her out at your own risk and since a Medico Legal Case(MLC) was registered my dad went for taking a copy of it and my brother went for finding an ambulance. Dad got the copy of MLC and brother luckily found a private ambulance outside.

Out to a better hospital

I was still bleeding badly and vomiting when I was taken in that ambulance to the nearest hospital near my home. My brother and my two life savers followed my ambulance in which I was with my mom and dad till the nearby hospital. I got hurt at 7:50 pm and it was almost 10:00 pm when I reached Max.

The Hospital near my home

I was immediately taken care off in the emergency of new setup with an immediate cleaning, changing of dress, monitoring of blood pressure, drip and other things. I was taken for multiple CT Scan and then me and my family were told no brain injury and no eye injury has happened. However I had multiple bone fractures, depressions in face, my nose has shifted to right, theres rupture of blood tissue behind nose. A plastic surgeon was called for in emergency. She came at probably 12 o clock and told I would need surgery and titanium plates would be required to put inside my skin to bring things to normal. Later on police also came to lodge a formal police report, and this time I signed.

Epilogue

My friends, friend cum colleagues, colleagues and above all my family(including my uncle who flew from Siliguri for my surgery) all supported me through this time of life and still doing so.  My Surgery happened on 28/11 it was delayed as my face swelling wasn't subsiding and without which a surgery wasn't possible. It was a 5 hour surgery with full anaesthesia and there are now 4 titanium plates inside my skin screwed to my bones. I was hospitalized for 8-9 days and was in rest at home for 2 more weeks.

All casts, bandages and staples were gradually taken off. I feel OK now with sensation missing from most of the parts which  either got hurt or got affected during surgery. My right eye is bigger than the left one is yet to come to normal shape . Right side of the face, nose and forehead is still swollen, sometimes they pain too but not much. My doctor says everything would be fine in 2-3 months period of surgery. I have joined office I cant work full fledged and lack stamina largely but its very important to me being close to my normal way of life.

Somethings I want to highlight

• People say humanity doesn't exist anymore, I don't agree. My co passengers who helped me that day especially those two people , a big thank you to them.
• Law and order- What to say about it someone threw a stone at the bus so casually because he knew that nothing will be done about it, and I guess nothing has been done about it because I haven't heard from police. Probably the guy would repeat it someday and someone else would be a victim
• Police's emergency Services- Someone from the bus dialled 100 no and so did my brother from home but no PCR van reached me that day we incidentally met a PCR van which was standing on road that day.
• Police's rules and regulation- Why cannot a accident victim be taken into a private hospital especially when she herself is insisting for it. Why before giving me treatment forms were being filled up ? forms were necessary or my treatment? Why were my co-passengers being accused of beating me? this even a little help today people extend when they see someone in need of help they would stop doing so because of the system and attitude of police.
• Government Hospital- Probably a little humanity lessons needs to be given there, I was lying 40 minutes without treatment. Why are always machines not working? I could afford a private hospital because of my medical insurance and financial condition, what will happen to those who cannot? They would be lying there for hours without treatment and some even may lose their lives.

A Thousand Splendid Suns- By Khaled Hosseini

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a chronicle of three decades of Afghanistan’s Modern history (1964-2003) that bases itself on eternal love, surprising friendship, tales of time and an astounding triumph. It is a very simply written story with well chosen metaphors that draws us close to the lives of two women who are the prime characters of this book.

Mariam is an illegitimate child from Herat is married off to a much older man in Kabul. Kabul is shown through Mariam’s eyes as a cosmopolitan city with women having due recognition in society. Mariam though is ill treated throughout the book as she could not conceive a child, a son to be precise.  Laila, a child living in the same neighbourhood, belongs to a liberal family and is well exposed education.

Political situation transforms itself from the Soviet occupation to growing strength of the mujahideen. Laila at the age of fifteen hopelessly in love with her neighbor Tariq, who has moved out of Kabul to Pakistan, loses her family when a rocket hits her home. She ends up at home of Mariam and eventually marries her husband as she is pregnant with Tariq’s child. During the reign of Taliban, time moves with the unlikely friendship between the two women their attempts to escape, their sharing of - household chores, love towards Laila’s children and brutality from their husband.

In due course Mariam gives up her life for Laila, her children and for her union with her lover Tariq. The story ends with depiction of removal of Taliban and Laila and Tariq’s return to Kabul with their children. Hosseini in this novel spanning across 380 pages very beautifully narrates the tale of two generations, brought together by dreadful war, their struggle towards survival and their hopes of finding love and happiness.

The Ticketless

One of those usual days I left at 7:10 from my office with the hope of my THE bus. While coming out of my office I meet two of my colleagues who were probably going for a smoke outside.... and suddenly one of them says don't wait for us you must be getting late and here I remember ohh yeah my 7:20 AC bus .

Yeah yeah I am a public transport pro and I still travel by Bus, which if I find an AC one is way more comfortable than metro and yes cheaper too.As some of you don't know FYI my office is in ISBT premises.  And there is this nice bus which drops me quite close to my home and yes I do get a seat to sit too.

So anyways coming back to my story  I rush to the place where my Bus comes. and there were two men standing at that place one would be somewhere 30ish and another probably close to 40 both of them lean, looked tired and sweating badly because of the weather. They together came to me and asked if there is a bus to Meerut they can take up. I had to tell sorry the UP and Uttarakhand buses aren't plying from here anymore you both will have to go to Anand Vihar.

And I showed them my beloved red bus which was just parking itself, you can go by this... it seemed they already knew everything and they were just looking for reassurance in whatever they had already heard.

So here we board on the bus I take my usual seat, and one of them, the 40ish sits in the seat front of me. The other one goes to the rear end of the bus.

The bus starts pretty soon unlike other days and since buses have now reduced in ISBT it finds its way out very easily with a very small halt at the check point where the check point guy gives the bus an exit slip. The conductor  half hearted looks into every body's seat and gives a ticket to those who gave the money. the man in front of me was then searching something in his luggage. 

Another guy gets into the bus and starts selling table covers in the top of his voice, I put my earphones and started surfing through the radio channels.

And here the bus takes a round at the cloverleaf of ISBT bridge I see the time on the clock tower it was 7:25 and I think I should be home by 8:10 today 10 mins early than my usual. The bus is now moving in quite high speed, suddenly few passengers ask them to stop at a bus stop and it halts and they get down.

Its not been a whole minute that suddenly it was stopped by  few DTC gentlemen, they were Ticket checkers, every time a bus is stopped by ticket checkers my school time memories get refreshed. Anyways they come to everyone check their tickets, they come to my seat I took off my earphone from one ear and hand them my ticket, and next they ask the man in the front seat for tickets. He very naively takes out a hundred rupee note and asks for a ticket to  Anand Vihar  and wow the checker says OK give another hundred and here is your fine for today you can travel in any bus today with this fine slip. He says I did not notice when the tickets were sold but all in vain the checkers had found their bakra and they were least interested in checking anyone else's ticket.

The man looked poor (he did not look very poor though) and when he took out money from his pocket it must have been around 500 only and its seemed that's all he carried for his journey to Meerut. He looked genuine and when he said he was unaware of when the tickets were sold he looked truthful . He also looked conscious about people looking at him so his paying off fine was rather quick than a long pleading, but he wasn't left on humanitarian grounds. Poor guy I thought first so much of hassle of not finding a bus here and then a 200/- fine . His fare to Meerut wont be 200 rupees probably

 The checkers then moved to the guy selling table covers and he kept on digging into his bag saying I am searching for the ticket, however the checkers just laughed gave a pat on his shoulder and alighted from the the bus, they way they exchanged smiles it seemed they have come across him many a times during their regular schedule. Yes he was poor too and was spared on humanitarian grounds.

But somewhere somethings work, the first guy probably looked not a regular, an easy prey whom they are not going to meet again, whereas the second one was a familiar face. I did not understand the distinction much neither I see any justification in the double standards.

Fact remains those who can be suppressed are suppressed by all.

Besharmi Morcha... Slutwalk indianized....

So some Canadian cop made some sexist comment ....and women all over the world have started slut walk to show the men the can do what they want and they can wear what they want....and we Indians are following it happily by giving it a name Bhesharmi Morcha... what is that we are trying to achieve out of it... Protection of Rights of Sex Workers or...Violence against women...

Some people really think that a slut walk like this would change the mindset of men around then they are grossly wrong but if they think that gonna give them enough publicity ....some in first page and some in page 3 then they are rightly focused

The right of today's women how they want to dress is pretty evident in malls, bars and even in streets... and this comes from me who is largely making her comment based on the Delhi streets....

The fact is violence against women has nothing to do with the way they dress.. and the men who understand it would do pre and post besharmi morcha in the same way and those who doesn't for them it wouldn't make a difference at all...

If today I can question what is wrong with overly exposing dresses at my workplace for women ...and say its not women friendly work atmosphere... tomorrow some of my male colleagues may actually come topless and in shorts.. I am sure there would be many women offended enough to file a complaint....

Appropriate dressing has no definition...its defiant of time, fashion, circumstances, age, location yet there is something that defines it....

The fact is slutwalking isn't going to solve the issues or even give a direction........

Its like publicity ke liye saala kuch bhi karega!!!!

Bollywood Makeover- Delhi Belly

Aamir's much hyped Delhi Belly has released.. Before the movie release I was wondering what does Delhi Belly means n after using the most common tool of Google I came to know its a slang at it means "diarrhoea experienced by travelers in a foreign country, who are not accustomed to the local food and water"After so much of a hype around,  I couldn't really wait and went on the day of its release..

Delhi Belly isn't for everybody .... its for a very specific crowd.. and that specific is 18+ to 40, English speaking, city, urbane middle class to elites.. If you are thinking of taking your parents to it ...then forget about it .. they are not gonna like it...  

The movie is packed with rude, dark, filthy and shameless humour which has been smartly packed in a fast paced story... In this sheer brilliance of 96 minutes you nowhere feel there is a lack of story or lack of pace... there is no left right centre it is too focused a movie...

Its a story of three flatmates, friends and partner in crime Tashi (Imran Khan) Nitin (Kunal Roy Kapoor) and  Arup ( Vir Das). The story is how Tashi gets entangled in the mess of two women in his life Sonia (Shenaz) and Menaka. The story comes from a series of coincidences and accidental exchanges.. Sonia is supposed to drop a packet containing diamonds and that gets exchanged with a stool sample of Nitin who is struck with Delhi Belly.

The madness comes in the movie with a stoic gangster who is after the diamonds and Menaka's crazy ex / not so ex husband. What results from all this a strong storytelling which is no way synonymous to anything complicated... and doesn't let you sit without laugh for even for a minute.. This thriller comedy is one of its kind and never been experimented in Bollywood before.... coming with this kind of a movie is a major makeover..

The movie borrows its Tagline "Shit Happens" from one of my favs Forrest Gump .. but thats the only thing I believe has been borrowed...

Its not one of those Golmaal n Dhamal genre movie which you watch and forget
Its a must watch and a movie to remember...you may find it gross but still you'd say you liked it...

The movie has two versions.. Hindi and Hinglish ...if you really wanna have a feel go for the Hinglish one.. also if you think there is any relevance of it being shot in Delhi... then you are going to be disappointed.. this story could have been based anywhere..

At the end seriously SHIT HAPPENS....

Enjoy!!

Hungry Kya?? ....Yes I am ...... So What ??

Its Saturday and my friend Y2C like every other Indian is just awaiting THE MATCH .. yes the finals....and like every other Indian praying for India to win. It was a big day indeed with a super smashing success in the Semis and with a billion hopes of repeating history..

But arghhh the life beyond World Cup doesnt let him enjoy that ONE DAY when he would have liked to lazy around at home and just get glued to the TV and enjoy that emotional turmoil that every Indian experienced on that day. Poor guy came to office with few plans in mind..I would work methodically, no distractions, eat somewhere nearby so that I save on time and go back asap to enjoy the match.

The day started with the plan and followed it till good half of the day till the time he decided to find a cure for his hunger.. being in a place like ISBT we are hardly left with much options of food Domino's is one such place where we go for three reasons- one when we want to think beyond burgers two when we are short of time and three when we have good reasons to shell out that good amount of money that the pizza chain charges.......Incidentally all reasons got checked that it was world cup finals and he was already high on it.... He checked his watch in was 1.25 pm and he realized that if he goes now then probably he can be back around 2 ish and enjoy the 'toss' after all domino's is just few flights away from our office...

And 'aaj to Cheese Burst pizza banta hai'  Here he goes to the counter orders his fav veg cheese burst and garlic bread and sprite at exact 1.33pm from where his back counting to toss starts.... and like those 1000 times we have been there gets the sprite first .......with the usual thing in mind would Dhoni win the toss or not ... he better wins the toss whosoever has lost the toss in finals have lost the game too.... Suddenly his eyes go to the clock and whoosh its close to 2 ..... so here he goes and asks in the counter.. whether his pizza is ready or not.... and to his surprise he gets an answer ' You havent been served yet ?' The clear answer is obviously no else why the hell m I asking this question......and after checking the records the dominos guy says sorry we have mistakenly forgotten your order....

Surprisingly its the same food chain that claims its numbers as hunger helpline and has a punch line "Hungry Kya".... Yes he was very much hungry waiting for the food.. and missing the match what else could go wrong... Wait theres more to come.. to top it he is asked what all have you got till now ... poor boy surviving on sprite had finished his whole bottle by now.... the domino guy says sir you please take your seat start having garlic bread and we will make the pizza... Y2C with so much of work on head and match in mind said you give it to me in few minutes I can wait and have garlic bread .... but no came the answer it would take more time sir after all its cheese burst....So he gave his visiting card and said you deliver in my office in any case you are supposed to deliver in half an hour so you can deliver in the time left.....which was exactly 3 minutes he also insisted that you write on the bill why it got delayed........ but no again came the answer along with the same response that you have garlic bread till then and sorry we cant write ( it came after much discussion amongst them)....By now he was too irritated and said forget about delivering in 3 mins you take 10 mins give it to my office but no again came the answer  By now the coin was already tossed twice and India had already lost the toss and SL has decided to bat....and Y2C had already lost so much of time ......

So now he said I have finished the sprite , you return my money deduct the sprite price I would now like to go back I cant waste my time. And Dominos here gave the quickest of the service they have ever given and reurned the money in no time. But he atleast wanted to speak to manager but some fellow came back and said manager is really busy and cant speak to you now ...  Has the funda of 'customer is king' become old  well it seems so....anyways he still insisted on it somebody came and introduced himself as manager. who just apologized for the delay and asked him to start with garlic bread.... Garlic bread in all his life would never have irritated him the way it did today.

Poor, Hungry, irritated, angry boy went back to office and decided to shoot a mail to domino's complaint email address. with the whole story... an autogenerated reply of getting back in 48 hours also came.... after all these Multinational chains are supposed to be very efficient in all these things.... It was already 2.20 and he had decided to get back to work without wasting any more time on food.........So with an empty stomach he started working on two windows parallely one with scores of the match and one with his work.....he did not want his remaining day to go bad... and all he was looking forward to reach home as soon as possible.

His work was at peak around 4 o clock and reaching back home and enjoying the TV did not seem too far...when our office gate guard came looking for him and asked did you have a pizza problem? he asked as in ? the Guard says there are people from Domino's waiting for you downstairs...

He goes downstairs and two men introduced themselves as the manager and the shift incharge and to his surprise the manager he met before wasnt one of them.......When he questioned the same that I wanted to meet you and you sent somebody else .... very smoothly came the reply  I was busy  and  we apologize for this  how can we make you happy ? ....This seemed the most irritating question then..... to which he said whats done is done I havent had my food and I would not like to waste my time further.... to which they said we can give you a complimentary pizza for all this mess....  A complimentary pizza  he did not create all this mess for that, all he wanted was to eat on time and save time......He turned down the offer saying he did not do it for a free pizza..... and nor a free pizza can erase what they did....The faces of both the guys on other side suddenly went pale ..... probably it wasnt expected that in a country where people do not mind going that extra mile to save on few bucks somebody will turn down a free pizza!!!.......

Anyways he accepted their apology and said he would not like to waste his time further......and the episode ended there..... unlike promised to revert back in 48 hours, its been 3 days... India has won the Cup! celebrations are On! all the players are back home! and a reply is still awaited from Domino's side......

This whole episode made me write this post and pose certain questions.. has this brand game actually improved the standards..... Competitive market leads to better delivery but this kind of attitude clearly shows that the idea is yet to sink in to each and everybody serving........Has anyone ever noticed how madly these delivery guys race their bikes to ensure that it is delivered on time.......If these shallow ideas of delivery time etc is removed probably they can ensure something that we would like to cherish and that is quality and taste.... Have we as consumers forgotten that quality in service and food is what matters having my dinner at 9.27 or  9.34 would not make much of a difference....  And leave apart the fact that all these do make a big hole in our pockets.... and if you are dining in then it makes the hole even before had the first bite of your food

Next Time I would rather say  No I am not Hungry!!!

Confessions of an FB Addict

Another week goes by and here I write about another important part of our lives lately 'social networking' which is synonymous to FB these days used to be Hi5 orkut My space once upon a time. One day as usual was hooked to FB and was following some activities of some of my super juniors of college and I realized that this bunch of youngsters live out FB. I wonder how much they would be missing if they did not login to FB at all.  Btw this post was to come earlier but really didnt get time away from FB to write about it :P.

I did not know that there existed a term called FB addict. But when I googled I found FB addict as defined by Urban Dictionary, is often used on forums and facebook itself. Someone who, instead of "does other stuff then occasionally goes on Facebook" choses to "go on facebook then occasionally do other stuff.

FAD is Facebook Addiction Disorder ......And even WikiHow comes up with ways to overcome FAD...

So to start with I believe you get into FB for four reasons

1. To find old friends
2. To interact at a different platform with the people you interact daily... as if meeting them all through the day wasnt enough...
3. Just for the heck of it or to know what is this FB business....since all the people around are doing it how can I not be part of the crowd
4. You have heard on of these...Oh so u dont know what FB is how lame? U are not on FB wow? How do u  connect with ur friends if ur not on FB ? ( as if phones have stopped existing)

And soon here are you posting photographs sharing links, videos and notes, play games, using its various applications  putting "Likes" and "Comments"

Life has become so easy and complicated at the same time, once upon a time when a person had to show his or her attitude would show in her behaviour and clothing, I had a T which I loved and many times used to wear the days I wanted to wear my attitude... it had a message " You can either agree with me or be wrong". Today when you want to show it you just put on your status message "Your not liking me is not my problem,figure it out baby,I don't live to please you"  and there are 7 likes and 2 comments on it till now.

Notifications or updates are something that actually tell you what new going on in your friends' lives. One day I got a message from a friend saying she has bought new shoes. I wanted to see them and in any case it was a nice idea to catch her up for a drink, but later I realized that before me receiving that SMS it was already there on FB and there were already 14 likes to it.... wow....I wonder on the kind of reach it has....

People hibernate and hibernate for various reasons.... there was a time when if I did not get any message or call from a friend for a long time, I would get worried and call her/him up. Today am assured by FB updates that she/he is fine. Also if I just wanna see a friend is ok or not I Poke. I did not understand this poking business until I had poked a friend 36 times and was poked by him 38 times. Tired of it I googled and asked 'AA'  from that bunch whats this poking business is. Finally understood and stopped poking.

We all love to play computer games but FB has taken it to a new level, where you actually get a chance to play actively alongwith your friends. Farmville one of the most addictive games of FB kept people hooked into it till they reached the penultimate level. They would put alarms so that when their crops are ready to harvest they dont even waste a minute. One day miss 'SS' stopped talking to 'AA' poor guy tried all means to understand what was wrong with her, and to his surprise he came to know that since he didnt fertilize her farm and did not gift her, her much desired pig. She doesnt want to talk to him anymore. Wow we had so fewer reasons amongst our friends for those little sweet feuds.

One of the most funniest thing on FB is its applications.....Who will murder you? Wow wish such apps were designed by CIDs and CBIs and FBIs... solving cases would be so much easier.  Profile picture analyzer which gives percentages and adds up to somewhat 200-300% wish my professors gave me marks on the scale of that.  Or "Who loved you most in year 2010' Do really need an app to tell you that??? Those irritating Fortune Cookies or Daily horoscopes of people on your homepage someone tell them that I dont even read my horoscope daily least interested in knowing ur arghhhh!!!!

I havent yet mentioned the most attention drawing aspect of FB which is Relationship status gives you an option of Single, in a relationship, open relationship and the most used one 'its complicated' Somebody tell me whose life is simple these days and which relationship doesnt have its own flip flops but it sounds good when you say it on FB.

Likes and Commenting are the two most powerful tool of FB. You comment when you have time else you just put a like. Lately I have discovered that you can also put a like on the comment.  You put 'wtf' half people reading it would put a like rest half would ask whats wrong buddy. Itni chinta hai to ek phone ghumalo yaar

Close second to Like and Comment is Tag you put any thing and Tag ur friends so that they can 'like' and comment'..... oooops this is getting too 'complicated'

FB has taken our inquisitiveness regarding other people's lives to a new level. And all the more FB has taken our eagerness of sharing our lives to a new level.

When I am writing this blog... my FB window is open parallely and I am reading comments and counting likes on the latest profile pic I have uploaded... :)

Back To Back

A week after my last blog of NOJK I wanted to write something else, started it also but  wasnt really able to complete ... so I am coming back to something I have already done --a movie review but this time two movies rather, which I saw rather back to back. Infact my first one was so serious a matter that we decided to go for something which was a little on a lighter note but while making that choice I did not know that at the end of it we would be left with stomach aches due to laughter but thats how it went. Neways I would put my review in the sequence I saw them, so that readers (if any) are also leaving this page on a lighter mood.

Dhobi Ghat(DG)

Aamir Khan's movies are always overhyped one of my FB friends said. Well I couldnt agree more. His publicity stunts, promos, and obviously the past record to pull the audience do make it awaited or over awaited. But whats wrong in that who wants his/her movies to flop and if that requires that extra why not.

I am a Aamir fan, and he has rarely disappointed me, his previous movies Taare Zameen Par, 3 Idiots, Peepli had their own genres and were able to pull that crowd. But this time hats off to him for making a movie which is not going to be a crowd puller atleast in all over India.  And I am sure I am just reiterating what the makers and the actors already knew. Probably the urban or that global audience would like it but cant say the same for rest of the India.

The genre of this movie is art cum documentary I would say. There are no larger than life characters in this movie, all of them are one of us. None of them are special people like chulbul pandey of Dabangg or Khan of MNIK  nor it is a success story or Shruti or Bunty of Band Baja Barat. Still all of them are special in their own ways......

DG is about four different stories, of four different lives, what is worth appreciating about the DG is how their lives crisscross in this journey and how they cope with yearning, solitude, affection, friendship and loss. The storytelling is quite pragmatic in its own way and I cant help applauding that all of it has been comprehended in just 95 minutes. The DG also calls itself Mumbai Diaries but still Mumbai is just another story or character of the movie or rather is the fifth story. Mumbai has been shown in the light it has already been shown for 1000 times in 1000 different movies.. dying, decaying, living, coping, the city of dreams, the city that never sleeps, its alive and it watches over you, but still its done in a very different way in DG and best part is its not loud at all.

Aamir Khan - Arun is a painter who is usually absent from his own painting exhibitions, who speaks in monosyllables and is someone who speaks sparsely. He has a one night stand with  Monica Dogra-Shai, a kid of rich parents settled abroad and an investment banker from America and an amateur photographer, who obsesses over him.

Prateik Babbar-Munna is the common Dhobi of Arun and Shai (what a coincidence), who gives his heart away to Shai, who aspires to be an actor and believes that going in the wrong path is not the right way to success.

Shai is trying to sketch the city through her camera with the help of Munna by capturing marginalized professions and thats why the movie is called Dhobi Ghat, where she does most of her shoots. 

I liked the dialogue when Munna says America is so advanced and clean that people from there actually like to see the filth of Indian cities. ( Iam just wondering was that the reason Slumdog was a hit)

The fourth and the most interesting character of the movie is Kirti-Yasmin who is there in the movie all through without being there at all. Arun discoveres few tapes in his flat of previous tenant and Yasmin comes alive through these tapes. Another thing that is worth noticing is that each character is trying to find his / her love in the other-Munna in Shai, Shai in Arun, Arun in Yasmin and probably Yasmin in Mumbai. 

Prateik in his own raw form, Kirti in her subtle and submissive voice and look, and Monica in her NRI accent and plain yet noticeable look give extremely natural performances. The only one who looked a little odd in all of them is Aamir Khan probably we have become used to watching him outshining and eclipsing his co actors but this time its different. By the end though he manages to be one of them.

The movie doesnt leave pace anywhere, it gives you those moments of little laughs through Munna, those little sympathy moments through Yasmin, those little tears through Shai and those moments of disgust through Arun. The idea of keeping the movie to 95 minutes is brilliant.  The Black and White photographs all through the movie is worth noticing. And if you have that habit of attention to details and you like them being there, DG is a complete delight.

Nothing is obvious in the movie, the old lady, the neighbour of Aamir can be interpreted as Mumbai City who is always blankly watching you and never responds back. Shai sheds tears at the end of the movie I interprete it as her realization of Munna's unsaid love for her. You either like or love Dhobi Ghat or you dont like Dhobi Ghat there is absolutely no space for O.K or average. DG isnt designed to please everyone.Its not a movie for people expecting Masala... or those who do not want to lagao that dimag. DG is more for those who can accept that the purpose of a movie is not just to make you laugh or cry, a movie can just be a storytelling that leaves you with mixed feelings. At the end DG is all about interpretations!!!! 

Little Fockers

They are back and back with a bang. The movie lives up to its prequels of Meet the parents and Meet the Fockers. If your purpose of going to the movie is clear i.e. to lighten your mood and to laugh your heart out, you should not be bothered about the ways and means to do it. The ways and means rather can be defined here as the same old turf between Jack Byrne( Robert De Niro) and Gaylord Focker ( Ben Stiller), vomits, the sex jokes and all other factors that were there in the previous versions.

Though the movie is called Little Fockers it is still not about Pam and Greg/Gaylord's Kids. Pam and Greg have two twins now, Henry and Samantha and the movie story is based on them, though I thought that the movie would be revolving around them but that is not the case, the movie just uses the kids to build the base and goes back to its old set of weapons to make you laugh. Jack's mistrust on Greg and at the end Greg winning it back, Kevin's ( Owen Wilson) affection for Pam ,misunderstandings and spyings.

If you are looking at a fresh perspective towards the whole story and is expecting something new from the story and the characters and especially from the new characters then you are going to be thoroughly disappointed.

However if you just wanted a revisit to that same old lane of laughter then you gotta love it as you did the previous two.

I loved it!

From the eyes of an Amateur Reviewer

Its been almost two days I have started this blog...and I am yet to write about one of my passions 'movies'... rather would call a movie review.. I watch more or less every movie, the hits the flops the pathetic ones more or less whatever bollywood releases I rarely miss it and the figure is 50% for hollywood movies because of availability of bolly movies. One of my colleagues I would call her Big Smile Lady(BSL) from the City of Joy says I dont understand how can you watch anything and everything like this. But my simple answer is to know how good a movie can be I must know the other extreme isnt it? So apparently I realize I dont watch movies to enjoy it or like it or hate it I watch it to "Review It" . There are few of my colleagues who would ask me before going for a movie and incidentally my review has never disappointed them. So continuing on the same lines I decided to put in black n white. And I would pick up a real safe bet to start with the very own latest buzz No One Killed Jessica -NOKJ  I would call it now onwards the name is quite long otherwise.

No One Killed Jessica

I would say NOKJ has a wisely chosen topic which emotionally touches the heart of everyone in this country plus time of its release which I would say is the right time i.e. within an year of SC's verdict of life time imprisonment for Manu Sharma. It is a time when neither is the battle is on alongwith its controversies nor it has faded in our memories.

NOKJ begins with narration of Delhi by Mira Geyti the strong, openminded and tough talking journalist which has been stretched a little too long. I would have liked if Delhi was showed in little positive light too alongwith men in buses brushing them intentionally against women or fights in the midst of traffic signals where people are pulling each others' collars.

But otherwise when a movie on a real life incident is made it always runs the risk of being a soulless documentary which puts together newspaper headlines in a meaningless collage. But hatsoff to the filmmaker and the actors who have managed to put together a movie which has more or less a balanced ingredient of dramatization and depiction of a true story.

It starts with a phone call to Sabrina Lall who recieves a call at 2.30 a.m at night in 29th April 1999 about Jessica being shot and ends at the final verdict by court in 2006 where Manu Sharma gets imprisonment. I am not a Vidya Balan fan nor am I a Rani Mukherjee fan, though I might have appreciated Rani Mukherjee in few of her roles havent really been able to do so for Vidya Balan in any of her movies be it Parineeta or Paa (for which she has even got an award).

But its one of those movies where I had to shed all my previous inhibitions and appreciate Vidya Balan as the drab, bespectacled plain jane Sabrina Lall who steals the show with quiet courage, her fantabulous ordinariness and her complete disbelief at how someone with a pistol in his hand and power in his head could shoot down somebody for a mere drink. She potrays it in a grim, hopeless, desolate and a subdued manner like any citizen, moving around in Delhi's Public Transport, trying to bring witnesses to talk. 

Mira played by Rani Mukherji is a strong independent woman prods the establishment into reviewing the case, she smokes, has sex, is foul mouthed uses the 'F' word too frequently. She calls herself bitch and her hair stays in place always (I am amazed).

NOKJ shows how media sometimes does things just to add that masala or just to get those headlines but apart from all it shows the power of media. One of the most hilarious yet a lot meaningful scenes of NOKJ is when the murderer's ghoonghat clad mother says "kuch bhi kar lo mere Monu ko kuch nahi hona chahiye" she repeats it thrice but I felt its o.k as it shows how the families of the powerhouses think and what is the kind of upbringing these typical nawabzaades have.

One of the strong performances is by actor Rajesh Sharma who plays the cop in Jessica's case In one scene he tells Sabrina that he has taken a bribe of 70 lakhs for not beating the murderer in the Jail. Sabrina looks at him with a shock and he says 'Sab koi khata hai kaunsi duniya me rehti hai aap'. NOKJ very clearly potrays the layers  of power and how ruthlesslessly powerless are silenced. How every witness in the case either left by 12 o clock or is not sure. It is not a movie for those who are expecting courtroom drama like "tareekh pe tareekh" nor is a movie for those who want a total dramatized version of a true story with people shouting and crying at the top of their voices. But I am still amazed how smoothly the story has been told in a subtle yet interesting manner.

NOKJ has its own flaws, one thing that is repeatedly shown is Mira Geyti's denial of covering this case by calling it a simple case, which seemed a little unneccessary. Another foolish potrayal is a high society woman asking for AC in a police station or Mira memicrying Sabrina to record confession of one of the witness was too filmy a situation, I think these mistakes could have been avoided. Some of the things like the candle march has been stretched a little too long. It would have been better if NOKJ focussed more on the case proceedings, what the family went through than Mira's yoga, smoke, lifestyle and too much focus on media's intervention and power. The first half is a little too long and NOKJ ends a little abruptly.

But apart from everything and with ignorance of few flaws in it, NOKJ contains superlative performances by its actors, everyone watching it knows that the witnesses would turn hostile but still you watch it with a hope that may be they wont and get a shock when they do. It makes one angry, makes one feel the rage, the empathy, the restlessness, it makes you frustrated about the problems in our administrative and legal system. But at the end it fills one with hope and confidence, it shows the power of the ordinary towards justice.  It shows how the whole nation came together for Justice for Jessica and showed how the powerhouse is actually inside the common man and not with those whose who of the so called system.

All this makes NOKJ a must watch.

The Gold Miner

Before penning my thoughts on the subject I would like to mention this post was suggested by someone... The laziest man on earth I have ever met! Last nite on FB chat when I met him as he is in SA for few weeks, told him I am getting into blogosphere and he said thats great do write about me and my *#*#*## (this is what is this post is about)

Gold Miner is what I would call him as. And Gold Mining- Its the first thing he does in the  morning and its the last thing he does before going to bed.

And all those countless times he does it all throughout the day eeeeksss ya I know eeekksss but all that I had missed out in all these days is the smile on his face when he is gold mining.

The joy a child gets when he goes to a toy store and wants to spend those endless moments there, forgetting about the rest of the world that is how he looks when he is gold mining. The kid when finally picks up a toy and is ready to go home with the satisfaction of a victory is how he looks when the gold mining is over.

Nevertheless I dont like when he gold mines. Sometimes in all this adherence to the societal norms of living, behaving, health and hygiene probably we forget ourselves and our basic need and rather right of staying happy.

I cannot negate the fact here Gold Mining makes him happy sometimes thats the happiest moment of his day. He Gold Mines with full concentration forgetting about the rest of the world and people around.

Atleast once in a day we all plan our day thinking what all we have to do throughout the day and at the end of the day we do think what all we accomplished in the day. We dont do it specially we do it sometimes while eating, reading, travelling, few mins before sleep and I do it sometimes during bathing.

But I think he does it during Gold Mining, infact I think that besides the daily plan outs he does a lot of life planning over this Gold Mining. I wont be surprised if that life planning included smaller things like shopping to bigger things like investment decisions..

Who knows probably when I am writing this post probably he is Gold Mining amongst those Zulu speaking people in that other part of the world.

Anyways I am done on my dedication and "Gold Mining" in this post to be read as "Nose Digging"...

Ewwww isnt it.... yes thats what I was expecting but whatever!!!

Chicken Biriyani

I would not like my blog to turn into a recipe sharing place  but at the same time I realized a foodie's blog cannot be denied of food...... thats like being unfair to my real self.......
I call myself a chickenetarian.... most of the times except for those occassional fishy moments when the bong inside my parents and specially bro wakes up suddenly and they get that craving for fish.......or one of those prawny moments in some restaurants..

One of my foodie friends (Ill call him from now onwards Y2C from the sheher of Nizams) says ..."chicken kisi bhi form me bura nahi hota, no matter how badly cooked" I couldnt agree more to it...

So giving due respect to chicks.... I share below my recipe... which is loosely based on Aditya Bal's (the handsome cook on Ndtv good times one of the few Tv channels I surf) recipe... I am not a sort of a person who would watch a cookery show but but when its by Adi bal it gives me all the more reason besides my food instincts to watch it....

Statutory Warning its not a Hyderabadi Biriyani... nor is Bong Biriyani.....I would rather call it "Rups Chicken Biriyani" and it tastes good to me... as Y2C says no chick can be bad....

Rups Chicken Biriyani

General Stuff Reqd

2.75 cups of basmati rice/ or any good rice would do too it serves my family of four well but u can put more if u want. 750g chicken boneless would be good actually justifies so much of effort... thats actually my bro gets in a round figured money... 5-6 medium sized onions - chopped (julian onion Adi says its a way of chopping)- finely but not minutely chopped as I say juice of 1 lemon fresh green coriander - chopped 2 green chillies - as finely chopped as possible 1 tbsp refined oil For the marinade 2 big spoon ginger-garlic paste if u can make it fresh nothing like it the readymade ones wud do too if ur lazy. 1 normal spoon turmeric powder 2 cup curd 1 normal spoon red chilli powder we arent a chilli chilli family but if ur a big time chilli eater u should add more. salt to taste Spices for chicken 4-5 cloves 1” cinnamon 1-2 bay leaf 5-6 green cardamoms 1 black cardamom ½ small spoon cumin seeds or you can put cumin powder also Spice for rice 2-3 cloves ½ “cinnamon 4 green cardamoms salt - to taste Dum Dough made of atta and water

How to do it Cook the rice 50-60% with its spices mentioned above  its easy wateva amt of rice u put just put 1.5 times of water in an open vessel. Marinate the chicken with curd, turmeric, salt, chilly powder and ginger-garlic paste. Grind all the spices for the chicken in a mortar and add to the marinade. Leave the chicken to marinate for two hours minimum you can keep upto 4 hours also...the longer it is the more spices get into it and it tastes good. Heat two tbsp of refined oil in a pan. Sauté the onions, till they turn golden brown. Put 1/4th of the onions in marinate. Layering of the Biriyani ( I believe this is the most important part) In a handi or an appropriate biryani cooking vessel: put 1 big spoon oil and heat. Add the chicken and cook on high heat till chicken takes on a light brown colour and is half cooked. Lower the flame; flatten the chicken to form a layer. Put chopped coriander and green chillies on top and remaining burnt onion. Put all the rice on top of this layer and smoothen out. Add the lemon juice. Cover the vessel and make long snake off the dough by rolling in on the counter and use it to seal the top of the cooking vessel. Remove when the seal is hard. But you need to be careful I burnt it a little bit when i made it for the first time. I f u dont want so much of Hanky Panky of dough u may get away with it just make sure the lid is a good tight one and avoids as much as steam escape. I dont do the dough thing most of the times, but believe me whenever its made in that sealed manner it tastes damn good. Never make this in a pressure cooker. I fell so much for this dish that I actually bought a handi with a lid for it which I use exclusively for this. For Raita Just add some Jaljeera masala to curd and little water and some salt and pepper Cucumber/ Onion can also be added......boondi is usually not there at my home you may try that also. Next Level Just eat it people!!! what are you waiting for???

The Unsent!! The Unread

One of the days of 2004

There are so many things she always wanted to say but now writing them coz they had to come out becoz it had to take shape of words. The more she knew him more she wanted to learn about him. She wanted to be there with him, for him. Her fondest dream is of then being together and being in love together. There's just some wonderful feeling about him that has struck her deep inside.

He dazzled her with his presence. Ever since she was young, she had a romantic dream. She'd meet some incredible person who'd knock her off her feet, and they'd live happily ever after. As she grew up she had forgotten this dream for quite some time but some how he started the spark again in her.

The real world often falls short of our fantasies, the dream was seen by a kid a kid who under stood a little about this real world but now when she had actually fallen in love with him she realized things are not so simple as they were in the eyes of a kid. When few years of her adulthood passed she was very happy that she have grown up as a strong person who is least bothered about feelings and emotions like love, he was then someone with whom she can never be with. Today she couldnt deny this fact that what she avoided for years has happened.

What was the magic of last two years that he spelled on her, he was the person whom she didn't like initially, she fought badly with. Arghhh!!!! life isnt that easy these days, he said they are just meant to be friends. No she did not cry that day though felt like crying a lot but somehow her tears dried up.

Thought may be this was the destiny, thought may be her feelings were just infatuation, and will go with time. Never had the least idea that the feelings will get stronger and stronger for him. But he was her friend and she couldnt leave him or stop talking to him She felt that she is losing control over her feelings and and is being enslaved by them.

She started reading but she would think about him she cannot concentrate on any work she would  go to college her eyes started searching for him. When she would close  her eyes she would see him and dream about him. She would want to talk to him but I don't know what stops her from calling him. She would wait all throughout the day thinking about that he might call tonight. Sometimes she would spend sleepless nights just thinking about that the next moment her phone would ring and if she is asleep she will miss it. I don't know what desire remains in her heart to hear his voice to talk to him.   A call from him makes her day. I wish she could tell him this but her own rules which  she has set for herself stops her from doing so and incidentally he also  believes in same things……… life has played a bad joke with her.

She really wished she could spend a day with him; they'd enjoy each other's company.She'll hold his hands stroll in the beach and they'd talk about everything.

She wished she could spend an evening with him, and  cherish each minute that they're together, she'd stare into his deep eyes, and, without a single word, he'd know all her feelings.She wished she could hold his hand look into his eyes and say I love you. She wished  she could hold him tight and say you are forever mine.

But who was she fooling she knew he is not meant for her. He never loved her and never will love her but she can't stop her heart from loving him. When he is in front of her it's in her eyes, he always lit her up and I guess he can see it. Many a times she felt like getting down on her knees and telling him she wanted him to be with her throughout her life, She wanted to be the person he ever loves  but……there's a little scope of  both of them sharing any other relationship than friendship.

She doesn't want him to know it because they can't be together probably they are not meant for each other. Sometimes she feels he knows everything because before being her love he is her friend and a great friend who knows very well about her, who can hear those unspoken words clearly but she knows it, there's nothing on his side except a life long promise of friendship.

One of the days of 2011

7 years gone by what change she sees.... and the answer is 'nothing' yes she has grown up by 7 more years. Yes she claims she has moved on but has it really changed... even a pic of him a call of him lits her up till today they way it did years back. Madness doesnt persists for long probably love does, every day gives her a reason to love him the next day. But nothing has changed except the love growing old with time.

Tonight, as every other night, She'll dream that he is with her and they are  lost in each others' eyes lost in each others' arms.

Yes its one of those things that never changes..its just today it became part of my blog.... 

Why am I blogging

Long long ago in 2004 I wrote something, I wasnt familiar with this blogging stuff then. Have infact denied myself of it for quite sometime. But couldnt help writing in hard or soft forms.... I wrote long FB messages, not so required long mails and what not. And today when I asked myself a question why am I not blogging really didnt have an answer. I write coz I am wandering, wandering for the soul. But what is soul.. dont really know about it, sounds crazy though but I am still wandering for it ... soul of my past... soul of my future... soul of my work.... soul of my likes.... and a soul of me.......

I think I can write, good bad ugly who knows nor would I like to argue on that. 

Every writer has to be in love... in love with something ... in love with someone... in love with life..... or in love with that UNKNOWN.....a writer without love is not a writer.....Hope whosoever reads it would agree....

Alls apart this weekend I would probably put a few on this portal.... the ones I had written in past.... the ones who no one read.... and the ones who few read.... some told untold stories.....