WISE AND OTHERWISE?

The title represents many things apart from the fact that it is a blatant copy of a book’s by Sudha Murty. The book is not a great literary masterpiece, not by a long shot. But the title seems apt to describe what has been seen during the last few days.

There is no better way to see the wide sociological and regional variety of India than by having sojourns on trains. Mrs. Murty so rightly points out in one prose: The chance of a conversation ensuing between fellow passengers is inversely proportional to the price of the journey ticket.

So, on one hand where you can find people discussing issues ranging from the “good old” politics to (comparatively new) laptop models whilst you observe them standing in the aisle, you can be pretty sure that while you are travelling four hours on a flight, you might go the distance without uttering as much a common courtesy to your fellow traveller.

It was during one of my recent train excursions that I had a chance to meet a “shayar”. One talk led to another and he quipped how being a shayar had lost its old charm in front of the recent generation of head bangers and hip-hoppers. (A hidden dig at me seeing that I was wearing my Linkin Park tee that time.) I countered saying you can’t blame the young generation per se, some things happen in a flow. Everything has a cycle and so on…. (not mind throbbing explanations, I know).  The fellow seemed to be amicable and politely recounted some of his experiences to me in addition to treating me with some of his verses. I made a mental note to get some of the ghazal cd’s and casettes that are biting the dust at home since dad stopped listening to them.

Fast forward to yesterday and me and fellow Morons were at the Ravindra canteen (our own version of the Maclaren’s) gorging on paneer (a heavenly abode considering Wednesdays see our messes providing food even Scooby Doo might not like). As you  know the talk among a bunch of male grads goes like this: Girls- Grades- Girls- Softwares- Girls…..(Anatomy at work, Freud must have said!). My thoughts drifted to and fro from my recent experiences out of R-land.

Dawning on me was the thought that the three days out of the insti had hardly changed my opinions a lot and sure enough when I found myself trashing Mohit for listening to “some dumb senti song”, I had found a physical proof!

 

p.s.: Seems poetic justice then that Holland with all its flair lost to the gritty Russians!

p.p.s: The blog is probably my crappiest ever, I know…..to vent out your frustration contact Piyush Gulati!

p.p.p.s (Only for Piyush Gulati): Are you really this jobless?

p.p.p.p.s: This “p.p.p.p….s” has really become an “in” thing!

Get Real.

The Euro is proving everyone wrong. For all those who say the European art of playing the beautiful game is too physical, I have just two words: “Up Yours!”. If the first three days are anything to go by, most of the big guns have done predictably with the player extraordinaire Ronaldo starting from where he left off. My prediction: I think this year is going be orange with The Netherlands going the distance.

I could bore to death the non-footballing junta but my blog is painful to deal with as it is so I think I’ll shift to more mundane areas.

We always ponder upon the thought that how can something make sense to anybody when it seems like horsepuke to us. (The s-word avoided due to obvious reasons. I am popular with the kids you see!) To some it is football too, I accept. (Poor deluded souls!) To some it is Scrubs. (Poorer deluded souls!) But for me it has to be the “reality” shows.

Unfortunately, I had to endure my way through half an hour of one of them when I went to watch the opening match of Euro-08. The show was called “Jo Jeeta Wahi Superstar” hosted by Miss Mandira (noodle strap) Bedi. The astute analyst that yours truly is, he compiled the following points that seem to be followed akin to the Holy Bible by the “reality” shows. Here’s your 7-way guide to make a superhit “reality” show:

1) Get a hot chick to host the show. (Sorry kids, you had to grow up some day!)

2) Get a couple of celebrity judges even if they know as much about the skill involved as Paris Hilton does about the concept of privacy. (BeeTeeW , her latest comment to the paparazzi: I’m no dumb blonde!)

3) Pick up a couple of hundred jobless souls to make an audience in the studio.

4) Make them dance even if it is a contest of classical singing.

5) Get the judges to make some “shocking” comments and back it up with the “shocking” background music.

6) Give a tonne of glycerine to everyone involved (including the audience) except the losing contestant, so that everyone is crying except the one who loses or is k.o.-ed!

7) Don’t forget to make the judges dance at the end of the episode to a hit number. That increases the PR quotient.

and Voila! You have your own hit “reality” show.

 

p.s. Its so much fun to type ““reality””.

Destiny, thy name is Anaheim!

There are very few lines which can be said to be classic and sureshot conversation starters. Much to my chagrin, “Don’t you agree Man Utd play like Gods?” doesn’t work everywhere, especially with the ladies! But one thing that is sure to make everyone speak their guts out (and according to the “awesome” Barney,especially ladies!), is the question whether or not he/she believes in destiny or “superstition” in general.

Now, I’m aware every Tom, Dick and Harry has commented upon the matter like a walk in the park so I won’t take any sides. (Its mostly because my blog has so little readership as it is and making half of them go away isn’t exactly what would be deemed intelligent!)

Also unlike most other topics, this seems to be one which isn’t bounded by age(unless you are below 5!), sex, region or religion. In context of our dear country, it is a concept imbibed in the very thread of our survival. If some people have it their way, everything right from the moment of birth to death is done according to the positions of stars. They say that the profession of astrology is the second oldest in the world. ( The knowledgeable might know which the oldest.) Fast forward to the present and the latest astrologers are a bunch of trendy dressed- make up put on (in case of males too!)-english to shame Shakespeare- metrosexuals who seem make seem their job as glamorous as that of a Victoria’s Secret fashion model!

Unfortunately, living a hostel life renders you ignorant about what is going in the world outside your insti. Last seen, Mr. Bejaan (haha!) Daruwala (haha!) was advising Ganguly what colour of shirt to wear on Wednesdays. “Maa” Prem Vitambara is a regular on cricket shows drawing up tarot cards and predicting “scientifically” who will perform well and who will draw a dud. This brings me to the second part of my (astute?) observation.

The TV channels won’t as much show a bird puking if they think it won’t raise their ratings. It just goes to show the belief of a nation at large when they sit up and take notice of such things and attach (some call it “undue” too) importance to it and even if they are proven wrong just after a couple of hours, that doesn’t stop them from “believing” the very next day.

I first used to blame the media for all the hullabaloo. ( I think you have pretty much made out where my preferences lie as far as this debate is concerned.) The case in point being the national turmoil caused by the murder of a certain Miss. Arushi Talwar. Just spare a thought for the family. They are being treated as a bunch of orangutans in a zoo! If America had Watergate, India had Bofors then the Indian public has Arushi Talwar. But later I realised, the media only feeds the hungry. They show what the people WANT to see. They wouldn’t survive longer than a rabbit among lions without that.

Okay, I see it. The conversation has drifted from the original topic. But I think I have made my point clear.

So once again, was it destiny that John Terry slipped (haha!) and handed Man Utd the crown?

I’d rather not find the answer!

 

p.s.-The title is a reference to a highly comical dialogue by Howard Wolowitz from The Big Bang Theory!

 

 

The Bro Code Worketh?

Ah well it finally feels nice to be back on familiar grounds and write a narrative blog!

Kids, I have lately taken a fetish towards How I Met Your Mother and this is another story:

The occasion was allotment of rooms for the next “academic” year. The Morons sat down (yes, the whole bunch of ‘em!) so as to decide where and which rooms to take in the hostel. What followed was an epic jismein action tha, drama tha, emotion tha aur comedy ke liye Sushi tha!

Now being a Moron comes with a legacy. Nothing and I mean nothing can be done without putting more than the maximum effort required. To add to it all…..this was one topic where the Morons actually decided to apply their brains (or whatever little they have). The Morons were mainly divided into the following warring tribes: 

1) Hum saath saath hain: This group belonged to the school of thought which might have made Gandhiji proud. Their sole statement used to be: Either we take rooms all together or we stay right where we are!

 2) Inverse vertigo: These people (being the Morons that they are) had a fear of ground floor (hence the name, inverse vertigo) and were as against taking rooms on the ground floor as Pallavi was against Parvati in Kahanii Ghar Ghar Kii!

 3) Privacy Party: Okay some background here. Facing our hostel is the girls’ hostel. (trust me, it isn’t as cool as it sounds). So there is a stipulation that in that wing facing the girls’ hostel no boy is allowed to move the old “topless” style. Of course, the others countered that such a rule doesn’t necessarily be followed (like all other college “rules”). It was then that they came up with their point which led to their nomenclature: But we don’t want to move around like that in front of girls!

C’mon bozos….Courage, the cowardly dog has more guts!

 4) We want a Penthouse: Relax! Not the magazine folks. This group included yours truly so definitely it was the most sensible of the lot (its my blog afterall). All we wanted was a balcony attached to our rooms. The primary reason being we didn’t have one during this year. Fair enough right!

 BeeTeeW: Mohit (expectedly) was in the Privacy Party.

 Following was the conversation that occurred. People wont be named, rather they would be identified by the first letter of their respective ideologies.

H: I think, we should all take the rooms together no matter where we take them!

P: yeah okay, but first wing is out of question….we have our dignity at stake!

W: All fine but we need a balcony folks and first wing is the only available one which has balconies.

I: Yeah but we don’t want the ground floor….its dangerous with all snakes and what not (they were probably referring to the Loch Ness monster) showing up!

 Some enlightened soul: Guys, if we want all of these, we would never get any rooms.

 H: Shut the f**k up, I think, we should all take the rooms together no matter where we take them!

I: Hey man, its each man for himself and you want to get bitten by a snake ( I think he meant the anaconda from the movie) be my guest!

H: Yeah, you be my guest and you can (expletives meaning eating something unpleasant)….

W: Let’s be rational here and just take the rooms with the balcony….

 Now kids, I can go on and on about this carousing on rooms but I know you have better things to do. ( I am so selfless!)

The story ended when we received a notification that we wouldnt be allowed to take part in the allotment process because we hadn’t sent any application requesting for the same! Talk about your gigantic time wasters and that’s when I decided:

 When I’m sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead!

From Roorkee With Love!

Manchester United are the champions of Europe. Period.
Now, I wont try to take anything away from the glory of the moment by writing about it! You had to be there, otherwise you missed it!
The title might give you an idea as to what the blog is about and it is more than just a spoof of a Bond movie!
Studying in a college like IIT (yeah I know, I’ve said it many times) doesn’t give you that much pleasure in observing the budding love lives, the start ups and the break ups, the ditches et al, as you would get in any other “normal” college. (As kids, don’t we build up the image of college as where there would definitely start a love life?)
Well, but students try to make as much headway as possible, so we have a section in the college magazine where a certain “popular” guy or a girl is asked, what was his/her first crush on campus. When it comes to boys, you only get to see names of two or three girls coming up. (Can I get a Hallelujah!) The same names are repeated week in week out. The variety is more when the girls are asked. (Hardly a surprise!)
Now and then, I come across souls who talk to me about their love life and I think that section of people will henceforth stop talking to me. Its not that bad either. After they have that conversation where there are a hundred times more questions than answers, the most repeated one being, “Samajh mein nahin aa raha mai kya karun!”, I usually give an aphorism of such perverted level that they don’t ever have that conversation with me again.
Thinking about it brings the famous quote that Merlyn was told in “Fools Die”: “Its all about c***!” (These were the parting words of a famous author portrayed in the novel!)
I know it was short but I think the last part did pack a punch!

The Idiot Box For The Idiot!

"A blog a day keeps the boredom away." is the mantra I’m following nowadays. It’s the summer starting and that means a lot of sitcoms have their season finales going on. Having been a TV addict since the days of Chitrahaar and Rangoli, I can proudly say that not many match up to me when it comes to having watched “serials”. Hell, I think I’m probably the only engineering student who takes an avid interest in Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii (please note the spelling!) and Saat Phere. That just goes to show the mouth-watering prospect that TV viewing is to me.
On the other hand, dramas like OC, Gossip Girl, Gilmore Girls et al which have a wide female fan base don’t exactly fall under my category of likeable. (You can at least have a laugh riot while watching Kahaani….) And there has been a recent storming entry into the likeable club, The Big Bang Theory (TBBT). To say that I adore it would be an understatement, I like my jokes with a bit (read:lots) of intellect. Hence, the likes of Scrubs and TBBT outweigh my liking towards F.R.I.E.N.D.S., which I still think is a benchmark by miles.
Scrubs, in my opinion, had a classy Season 7 ending though the reviews in the viewership circle called it anything but good. TBBT’s ending was too good to be true. An excerpt:
Character 1: I don’t think I should go out with Penny!
Character 2 (Character 1’s best friend): No you shouldn’t.
Character 1: You know, other people might be more considerate and ask “why not?”
Character 2: Well that’s because other people might be interested.
How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM)’s season ending was good with a nice bit of suspense thrown in the end.
After the abrupt ending of Prison Break I think I have lost faith in thrillers. It wasn’t very high in the first place either with Lost and Heroes being the culprits. At least, in sitcoms you can take it one episode at a time and an abrupt halt (read: writers’ strike) doesn’t bother you that much.
That said and done, I also feel that none of the recent crop of shows come close to achieving cult status. Yes, one can say that you need longevity for that (Friends ran for 10 seasons.) but still, none of the sitcoms can make everyone laugh at the drop of a hat and none of the dramas have any attraction that makes you sit up and take notice. I think “Sex and the City” came the closest possible with its wide appeal! Guys like me watched it for eye candy while the ladies went for it due that ummm……ummmm….. I think they call it “emotional and sentimental and commitment” thing rite?
I think, I can go on and on and on about each and every show I’ve ever watched but I’d like to end by quoting the legendary Barney:
“When I’m sad, I stop being sad and start being awesome!”

Dreaming Theatrically!!

PS 3’s and Xbox 360’s galore! Outdoor activities have been all but pastiched. Children prefer to play FIFA rather than jog a few hundred metres and learn dribbling. Never mind they might not be able to hold the ball the proper way, but they can execute a “between the legs” layup with precision on the console. Avoiding a tennis elbow is a far fetched reality so they might as well become Fedex and beat the crap out of the Djokovics on the Wii.
Luckily, I can say I have no such fetishes. For starters I come from a family with a very rich sporting background. Dad is 46 but still manages to beat me in Tennis. Not that I’m a great player or anything but I think its no mean feat. Personally I think, no game comes even close to basketball when it comes to the amount of hardwork required!! THAT’s a complete game. But if I were to watch anything, hands down football would win anytime….
Football has been an integral part of my life since the days I can barely remember. It had to be. I grew up in dad’s lap while he showered praises on the Rossis, Baggios, Mathauses et al. It was only natural that I took up football as my favourite sport during the early school days and grew up to worship the greatest team on Earth: Manchester United!
As I write this blog it is 28 hours to the Champions League final, THE most important match in the footballing calendar as far as club playing goes. And I cant help looking back to the my journey as a Red Devil for the past 12 years. Nostalgia fills me when I think about the Fergie years right from the days of the self proclaimed GOD, Cantona to who everyone proclaims GOD, Ronaldo!
Again I would dive deep into the bag of footballing clichés and say that I like Man Utd because they play the beautiful game the beautiful way and then back it up with trophies at regular (read:short) intervals. It’s a treat to watch them play at The Theatre of Dreams and demolish the oppositions with their one-two’s, their overlaps, their deft touches, their longballs…..there isn’t much that the Devils can’t do on their day.
The Busby Babes, the Bests, the Fergusons….these sort of stories happen all the time as far as the sporting world goes but the panache with which Old Trafford calls these its own is something no one can deny. That is part of the reason that makes this club so attractive.
So I cut it out here….hoping to increase the fanbase of this club from whatever little readership my blog has!
Manchester United will demolish the noveau riche Chelsea tomorrow!
GLORY GLORY MANCHESTER UNITED!!