Independence (Day)

Surprised with the timing of the post... especially when it's already a fortnight since India celebrated its 63rd Independence Day?

But then I ask, why does it have to be only 'that' day of the year when every one of us remembers to stand in attention to the National Anthem, when we feel all "mushy" and "patriotic", when we hear Lata Mangeshkar, Mahendra Kapoor and A. R. Rahman sing melodies in tribute to our great Nation. A day when we remember the Jawans out there at the border, fighting for their lives so that we can sit in the comforts of our home and enjoy a cup of tea while watching the Independence Day parade "LIVE from Delhi" (or do we even do that these days?)

One day? Just ONE DAY?

Why, I ask, why just one day to remember everything that you stand for, everything that this Nation that shelters you is made of? One single day to honour the lives given, of the lives taken and the lives lived to provide for the safe journey from the streets of the city to our home. One single day to remember those of yesterday that made our today what it is. One single day when reporters, radio jockeys and every media person in the cities look towards the green and khaki stripes to say "Thank you for keeping us safe".

These men in uniforms regularly guard the borders of our nation. The conditions that they have to live in is shocking, but awe-inspiring, and yet, their spirit remains indomitable. When they're not risking their lives (read: times of peace) they're the most open hearted yet humble men and women on the planet. But in times of war, they're the ones who are up at the battlefront, shouting the Nation's war cry and surging ahead into the fray. They're there right from the flat lands to the most difficult battleground in the world.

Have you ever wondered what it is to be out there, at times in zero visibility, at times in sub-zero temperatures, armed with only a gun and your comrades by your side, running into the fray, knowing fully well that there are thousands of little metal spikes hurtling towards you faster than a speeding jet which can pierce your body and come out the other end before you've had time even to realise that it just did. And yet you do not stop. You keep going, praying to God not to live, but to die, and when you do, take a few enemies along for the ride.

As they say, JAI JAWAN!

This video sent goosebumps down me when I saw it.

And the nation, each year, gives them One Day. When I started writing this post, I thought I'd write something about how Independence is overrated, how we take it for granted and so on and so forth. Then, I realised, it isn't about what Independence is taken to be, but what it really is. The no-longer-recent Mumbai terrorist attacks made that very clear; they kind of evoked the patriot in me. The multitude of people participating in the Peace Rally held out in Mumbai showed me, and the common man what power the masses have; what we, the people can do if we consent to one decision. The power to take that decision and execute it, now THAT'S INDEPENDENCE.

They said they would come back, Promised that they'd return. They walked away with their heads held high, Not once did they turn. Battles raged, many fell, But they never gave in to despair, For they knew someone back home awaited With their name in prayer.

I'm proud to say the following every day, whenever I have an opportunity -

I'M PROUD TO BE AN INDIAN JAI HIND!

Of Firangs... and PMT

Talk about people having weird demands. I've this firang friend of mine from the Poona Music Society who was so keen on travelling by a 'Lal Dabba'! Lal Dabba? Oh c'mon! Don't we lovingly call our beloved PMT by the same name? That in three ways was good for me because, firstly, you don't want a panic-stricken pillion rider with you, who might just jump off the bike mid-way. Secondly, better to hear the 'grunts and roars' of a PMT than the Sharapova-esque shrieks of the blonde! Thirdly, and most importantly I got a Blog topic :-P (always find the positives from the negatives, say the wise ;-) )

So agreeing to her demands we were... in a PMT bus; the girl for the first time and I after a good 4 years! She'd already satisfied herself by talking to the conductor, for the tickets, in whatever little Marathi she'd by-hearted before hand (no need to tell that that person was swargat). For me, it was déjà vu... similar chain of thoughts I'd had all those years back when I used to travel by bus made their presence felt in my mind... wondering if the people who designed the 'Lal Dabba' were drunk -

First of all, it looks ugly and crude. I hope you'll agree with me on this. Disgusting!

Second, it’s painted "Red-Yellow" from the outside and "Dark Green" from the inside! Creative!

Third, cushion-less green/blue seats? What the heck!

Fourth, who thought that painting the windows with "Green" oil paint would look great? Ridiculous!

Fifth, the paint is of low quality and allows lovers to leave impressions of their ever-lasting love on the back side of seats and on the green windows. You must have noticed those signatures from "Yogesh loves Rani" or "Pramod chi Seema" cupid messages. Damn it!

Sixth, the bus number and the destination on the plate are hardly legible with naked eyes, and just in case if somebody succeeds in reading it, there's no telling whether he will understand the meaning of short forms like Ko. Depot, Sho. Bazaar or Vadgaon Budh. Qabalistic!

Seventh, no provision for physically handicapped or old people. To get into the bus, you have to lift you feet at least 3 feet above the ground! Hellish!

Eighth, the bus is super-sonic to the real sense of the term. Sounds emanating from the engine, loose-windows, foot board and... what not... Deafening!

Ninth, the emergency exit door/window is at the back at a height and I doubt if anyone can cross it in case of emergency. Designing!

Tenth, it seems to have taken a leaf out of Domino's marketing book - "10 min. chya aat PMT aalyas, Pune-darshan mofat" asa kahitari :-D Inefficient!

...

Oh, someone stop me!

Bubblegum, Bubblegum in a Dish...

Irritated of the same old run-of-the-mill Forwards in your inbox, asking you to forward the mail to all your friends for good luck or having some lame content that really makes you do a double-check on the sender's thought-process or some kids depicting friendship/love whatever?... ...then you got to have a look at this - a pic from a Best Caption Contest, where the participants were asked to think of a caption for the said pic... and has the winner come up trumps!

Brilliant!

Now, if only my inbox were flooded with such displays of a creative mind rather than those useless nothings!

Most Popular Western Song

Come Sunday and it will be Ganeshotsav time.

Along with the eagerly awaited welcoming of the deity with gaiety, prayer & worship, fun & frolic and play-flu... err playful atmosphere, for nearly a fortnight we'll be treated from the neighbouring Ganesh mandals to a daily fare of kitschy item numbers, doses of Daler Mehndi with a healthy mix of remixes spiced by blaring Himesh Reshammiya/Mika tunes. Teeny-bopper Western music makes a guest appearance highlighting the title of this post.

Which is the most popular of them all? Okay, let's rephrase. Which is the most popular Western song in India?

My vote goes to Brazil by Vengaboys. Never before has the name of one country been chanted so passionately during religious festivities (actually, the entire year) by the youth of another country! In a cricket-loving and crazy-for-Bollywood India where Brazil is known only as the country which always wins the football World Cup and as the locale where Dhoom 2 was canned respectively, it would be interesting here to analyse the popularity of the song. It has only one word in the entire 'lyrics' - "Brazil" followed by an easy-to-hum "la-la-la" pattern. That's all. Everyone from a 5 year old Pappu to his pappa to his shee-kay-hee-Engrajee-gaani Ajji can sing it. This time don't come to me asking for it, because the song is widely available with every Ganesh mandal to borrow for those who have missed listening to this gem! :-P

I wonder if the Brazilian Tourism Dept. has considered capitalising on this song in India. And what would be going through the mind of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva if he ever came here on a visit and witnessed the love for his nation?! And I also wonder if another European group will compose a catchy song titled "India". Would it be a hit in Brazil? Hmmm… point to ponder over.

On a side note however, there is another number as a strong contender; titled Are You Ready? ! It is almost similar to the above described song as the title constitutes the entire lyrics -

"Are you ready?" Dhik-ti-dhik-tik dhik-ti-dhik-tik... :-D

Happy listening... and yes, how can I forget... say with me GANAPATI BAPPA MORYA! :-)

So BE It, Then!

Ladies & Gentlemen, may I've your kind attention please...

Mr. Rohan Pandit of the Modern College of Engineering has successfully completed the 4-year course of Bachelor of Computer Engineering (in 4 years!) and is now (much to his delight) a First Class Computer Engineer!

* applause *

He wishes to have a few words with you all, gathered here on the occasion of Grad Day.

Can we have Mr. Rohan Pandit on stage please...

Thank you :-)

Hello,

First of all, thank you all for the good wishes :-) I'd like to start with a unique piece of coincidence my friend Harshad pointed out -> we started Engineering (F.E.) on 17th August 2005 and completed it (B.E.) on... you guessed right - on 17th August 2009. If for no significance, just a piece of statistic all the same.

I, here, have been asked to live over the experience of all the four years of Engineering, in what 10 minutes time... a rather daunting task, I believe. I'll try my level best to come up with it...

At the start, I would be lying if I were to tell you that I wasn't part of the bandwagon to join the Engineering course after 10+2... and almost repented it through the entire First Year (F.E.)! Though scrapped through with a First Class in the first sem, I'd battle-Royale with the M-A-D (Math II, Applied Mechanics, Drawing for the non-Engineers) demons in the next; and did it live up to the expectations! Overpowered M, but failed to do it against A & D (I assure you nothing was Angelic about it ;-) )! I wouldn't disrobe my friends of the silken pleasures of D-Day by describing about those three.

All-in-all a good year to understand that irrespective of what you study, how much you study, there's hardly any guarantee that you'll succeed in the final exam, unlike the exams uptil 10+2!

Move on to the Second Year (S.E.) and here I was actually studying what was related to my branch. Made new friends, came to terms with the dreaded thing called Submissions, etc.

Definition of Submissions: Bring out the best in an Engineer...and the worst in a Human Being...

Even learned new tips & tricks on how to claim programs/codes, which you conveniently stole from your seniors, as yours :-D Other than that, it wasn't much of anything else that year - more of confined to the four walls of the classroom :-(

Third Year (T.E.) was very different, exciting and topsy-turvy than the previous two years: with all the active participation in the extra-curriculars, college tech-event, Campus Placements, et al. I needn't tell you that all helped me immensely - in their own ways.

Just when I thought I was "settling" into the "Engineering lifestyle", there had to be another hiccup :-( This time, I would be the last one even to mention it, leave aside describing it. Two things I learned from it - my relation with a pendrive will never be the same again and completely understood the meaning of the saying "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" :-(

Campus Placements the next semester more than made up for it. I'd the privilege to be part of a fantastic and enthusiastic team: at the helm being Prayag. In Ameya, Vrushali, Rohan, Ritvik, Parishrut, Pankaj and Ravi I'd found some very good friends. All those early-mornings, mundane-afternoons and late-nights (working ;-) ) are completely unforgettable!

The initial few days of the Final Year (B.E.) were majorly spent in search of a sponsored Project. Luckily we got it without much fuss. After the initial brainstorming over the platform to work on and the Project title to select, we had an added excuse to bunk college (you're not supposed to attend college in the Final Year, remember?!) I'm not sure if we created a record by not attending a single Lab in the Final year, but we undoubtedly had the best times of our life then: class trip to Mahabi being of prime mention.

The Project customarily gathered momentum in the the 2nd sem after a lull in the 1st sem. The entire Project was one thing our group of three did sincerely in all the 4 years!

Studying for the final exams in the last PL seemed an eternity and obviously the most boring thing to do (as if it was different in the rest of the 7 PLs :-P)... and finally the ordeal had to end, allowing the birds to fly free...!

Last but not the least, it would have been mighty tough for me alone to trudge this arduous path hadn't it been for my comrade-in-arms Ranjit Raje who stood beside me during the high & lows... every moment, literally! Thanks for that Ranj, your companionship has been priceless... and I hope will continue to be so :-) (so much for the Sholay-type friendship :-P) To rest of my friends, seniors... all those who helped me during the last 4 years - a BIG Thank You! Oh BTW, where's the party tonite? ;-)

* applause *

That was Mr. Rohan Pandit for you, Ladies & Gentlemen...

PS: Excuse me for the self-appreciating applause

AFTER-EFFECTS: The Kite Runner

Ribbon-cutting the series with one I experienced last night itself while watching The Kite Runner.

Sitting on the couch having setup a movie-conducive atmosphere, I finally pointed the cursor to and selected the third movie from the list displayed on the LCD screen. After much contemplation, Baba and I had zeroed in on playing The Kite Runner from a couple of difficult choices... and without a surprise (for those who have read the book) were moist-eyed by the time the credits scrolled on the screen.

As with most book-made-into-films (non-coincidentally the remaining two in the DVD were The Bourne Identity and The Da Vinci Code, ones from my favourites as books), you naturally do expect a lot from the reel version, especially when the book is a stunner! The Kite Runner as a movie didn't deliver entirely I felt; but Hassan, Amir, Baba, Rahim Khan, Ali, Aseef, Soraya, Sohrab were so etched on my mind (and it's been more than a year since I read the book!) that I just didn't have the heart to find out the flaws or point out the excluded parts... in short, watched it without being a critic.

Other than being moist-eyed, I realised that that was not the only after-effect The Kite Runner had managed to inject into me: I just couldn't help myself from humming, thinking and then playing the song Tujhse Naraaz Nahi Zindagi from the movie Masoom. Composed by R. D. Burman, written by Gulzar and sung by Anup Ghoshal, this song just refused to part ways with me thereafter (Now, don't lead me into describing Masoom, because this in itself is another touching movie; starring Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi with the kiddo versions of Urmila Matondkar and Jugal Hansraj)

Now, at first you probably won't be able to get the picture (no pun this) as to why this particular song, but one good ear to the words in this heart-wrencher and you'll know why and how it suits the bill! The only difference - Amir singing it to Hassan, instead of the father to his son as in the original.

The lyrics for your perusal -

(V)

Tujhse Naaraz Nahi Zindagi

Hairaan Hoon Main

Tere Masoom Sawalon Se

Pareshaan Hoon Main

(St 1)

Jeene Ke Liye Socha Hi Nahi

Dard Sambhalne Honge

Muskuraaye To Muskurane Ke

Karz Utaarne Honge

Muskuraun Kabhi To Lagta Hain

Jaise Hothon Pe Karz Rakha Hain

(St 2)

Zindagi Tere Gham Ne Humein

Rishte Naye Samajhaye

Mile Jo Humein Dhoop Mein Mile

Chhanv Ke Thande Saaye

(St 3)

Aaj Agar Bhar Aayi Hain

Boonde Baras Jaayengi

Kal Kya Pata Inke Liye

Aankhe Taras Jaayengi

Jaane Kab Gham Hua Kahan Khoya

Ek Aansoo Chhupa Ke Rakha Tha

For those who have not yet been privileged to listen to this masterpiece (and are keen on listening to it), you know who to ask for it... :-)

AFTER-EFFECTS: An Introduction

We face numerous events which are awestrucking, disappointing, exulting, thought-provoking or simply satisfying. Furthermore, these events leave you with some everlasting thoughts, memories... their after-effects!

Soul-stirring experiences, you can call them. Some upshots that have transformed you as a person or been deeply rooted in your mind. I'm sure there are at least a few of such scenarios wherein you have experienced its after-effects, not just for days but weeks and months together. In an odd case you feel you could have handled that particular situation in a more effective way, and situations like that...

Starting today, I'm planning of coming up with a series of such posts titled AFTER-EFFECTS; where I'll be trying to pen down all those moments - be either in my personal life or witnessed through some medium, which have made a strong impression on my mind.

PS: I'd thought of LESSONS as a name to this series... but it sounded too preachy!

Flu-for-all

A friend of mine called me up last night, but all I could hear was a muffled voice...

R: "Can you speak a bit louder, J?" I requested her. "Be your usual self; I can't make out a word of what you're blabbering!"

J: "I'm at my highest possible voice, Rohan!"

R: "Then why is it that I can't hear you properly?"

J: "Wait wait, hold on for just a sec... I'll remove the MASK from my face!"

R: "What, you're talking to me wearing that latest adornment of yours?!" :-O

Funny how a dozen people get the Swine-flu and everyone panics and wears face masks, but millions get AIDS and no one wears condoms!

Appreciating The Nail Cutter

So, I've began appreciating tiny little things that are hardest to find when you need them the most - nail cutter being one of those things :-P

I was cutting my nails a few minutes ago and began thinking…it would have been difficult in old times to cut the nails (because they did not have a nail cutter!)

What do you think? How did people cut their nails when they had no nail cutter?

Teeth?

Chilledhood Days

Lahanpaniche Kahi Kshan... during, what I believe were, the Chilledhood days!

• 'Suiting' up in nice multicoloured fancy clothes on our 'happy-birthday', distributing toffees; and waiting eagerly for the presents.

• Playing book-cricket in between (and during) classes by strategically selecting your own XI; as if it were your 'savings' at stake.

• Hating and always avoiding playing the ridiculous game called Truth-or-Dare; but pouncing on the chance to playing dumb-charades, Four-Square/Bollywood (whatever it is called - guessing the movie, actor, actress, song) or Hangman.

• Reading lots of Tintin, Asterix and Tinkle comics; mouthing "Blue Blistering Barnacles", "Ten Thousand Thundering Typhoons" as if those were phrases from the Bible! Referring to Shikari Shambu, Suppandi, Tantri the Mantri as if they were your next-door neighbours!

• Linking up people in class (nobody misses this, right?) and then coining a new name (from the combination of the two names) for teasing the 'couple'.

• Preparing a bucketful of water balloons on the morning of Ranga Panchami and later 'firing' them on buddies; summoning every possible ounce of force available for the same.

• Playing ek-tappa-out underarm Cricket; asking one to arch his back and then to guess the number made by the fingers on his back, to decide the order in which all bat.

• Trying to maintain a few Pen-pals through some kids' magazine; show-offing in front of your 'local' friends about the new 'foreign' friend.

• Insisting our dads to increase the RAM of the computer from 8 MB to 16 MB to 32 MB; so that playing Road Rash, Doom or Commando would be possible without the computer giving way.

• Planning for days together, just to have a quick bite at Pastry Corner after school; getting into a sweet-talk with Aai for the money.

• Gobbling down the tiffin in a jiffy; so that the rest of the Recess could be used for playing Dagad-ka-Maati, Roomal-Paani or Lapa-Chapi.

• Borrowing Chip/Digit magazine-free CDs to get demo versions of games and free softwares.

• Watching Swat Cats, Popeye, Shaktimaan day in and day out; daydreaming about their 'powers'.

• Pleading your parents to allow you to cycle to school; you being too 'old' for the rickshaw now!

• Being so happy all the time; most importantly!

___________________________

You, reading the post, have been through these Chilledhood Days; so, it'll be great fun if you can add your own to these Lahanpaniche Kahi Kshan...

The Minstrel Czar

Born Abhas Kumar Ganguly, better known as Kishor Kumar to all of us, this man never ceases to entertain; not even after 22 years of his sad demise. If there were one man whom I'd have died to meet and listen LIVE, it would have been Kishor Kumar! ("Rohan, tu flesh 'n blood madhe nahi pahilas re Kishor Da la", is Baba's way of making me feel unfortunate)

Creative and versatile people have always held a high place in my heart and Kishore Kumar rightly sits at the top there. Singing, composing, acting, writing, entertaining... this man could do all! "Sab kuch Kishor Kumar", people lovingly called him.

If I can rely on my memory, my first dekko into Kishor Kumar was when Baba and one of my cousins were busy listening some of his songs (in a loop) for hours together - the most vividly I remember being Rhim Jhim Gire Saawan (Manzil) and Om Shanti Om (Karz) :-) The T-series HF60 cassette, having the best of Kishor Kumar songs, was till-death-do-us-apart kind of thing for Baba... and still is!!! It's as if the tunes from that cassette are more melodious than from a .mp3 of the same song, Kishor da's enchantment or Baba's devotion towards him, call it whatever you want.

His versatility, if need be, can be justified with numerous examples - if he could indulge in a 'vocal-battle' with Manna De and Mehmood in Ek Chatur Naar (Padosan), he also could mesmerise us with songs like Aanewala Pal (Golmaal). If he could masterfully yodel in his own unique style in Chala Jaata Hoon Main (Mere Jeevan Saathi), he could also render something soulful like Kuch To Log Kahenge (Amar Prem). Then if he was at his playful-best in Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si (Chalti Ka Naam Gadi), he could croon the ultra-sensual Roop Tera Mastana (Aradhana) with equal aplomb! And if that wasn't enough, he could do an Ashwini Ye Na (Gammat Jammat) which eventually turns up as one of the best Marathi songs!

All the above evident description is sufficient enough to know what lead me to being a life-long fan of this minstrel Czar and how much I'm missing him on this day: his birthday. Long live Kishor Da!

O Saathi Re...Tere Bina Bhi Kya Jeena



Humein tumse pyaar kitna yeh hum nahin jaante, magar jee nahi sakte tumhare bina



Wake Up, Mr. Nocturnal Driver!

Road accidents have always been a common occurrence, especially while driving at night. What got me to writing this post is the alarming rise and regularity in those, these days. I can certainly come up with 4-5 of such road-accidents caused due to night-driving in the last month or so.

So, then I wonder why the irresistible urge to driving at night when your visibility is so severely restricted? Carefully looking at the times these mishaps have taken place, there's a general similarity in those - mostly taking place in between 12-4 a.m. : when the mind is absolutely in no mood to handle what the body is forcing it to do!

"Travelling/driving at night by road has it's own pleasures!" - was what one of my friends who frequents night-trips uttered when we were discussing this a couple of days ago.

Pleasures? What kind of? The pleasure of not being able to see what is 10 m in front of/behind you?! The pleasure of not being able to see clearly which way the road bends and then "joyfully" ending up in the gorge or under the mangled remains of your car?! I'm not sure if that's what I'd come up with as a literal meaning of the word pleasure!

Not that driving during the day completely zeroes down the accidents, but yes, there certainly are less factors weighing against it.

I'm not sure whether the title to the post will qualify as a pun, paradox or an oxymoron, what I simply want to say is, use the day-time to good effect people rather than risking your as well as the lives of others by driving at night.

Drive Safe!