Slumdog Millionaire and the hoopla

Slumdog Millionaire (SM) is the latest buzz word in the gossip circles. Almost everybody is talking about their contribution to the film, except may be the director Danny Boyle. People are going ga-ga about the lead actors, the child actors, the hair dressers or how Frieda Pinto ‘dumped’ her ‘fiancée’ or why she wore a John Galliano for Oscars and not traditional Indian thing.

Guys, we have had enough of this crazy gossip. Can we let these people breathe easy? Please let them be. Why are we so star struck? OF course there are million reasons to cheer for Rahman but what is SM’s contribution to India for that matter. At best, this hoopla can translate into big bucks for the film crew and lead actors. But will it materalise into anything for the others? Will it make life easier for slum kids? Don't know. Don't think so.

Euthanasia debate: Is it ok to choose deliberate death than choose a miserable life?

Read a story about the euthanasia controversy. A woman, who was comatose for a long time, was the point of controversy this time. She was in the vegetative stage for many years and her parents had urged the authorities to stop her nutrient supply so that “she could die with respect”. It seems all her chances of regaining life were lost.

This brings me to the middle of discussion once again. Do we have the right to die? Is it ok to choose deliberate death than choose a miserable life? Do humans have any right to play God and decide upon anybody’s right to live?

Complex questions with no seeming answers.

Weekend Getaway: Awesome Amritsar

The mere mention of Amritsar may evoke mixed feelings. Some may just bow down with devotion while others may think of it like a cultural trip. For me, it was both. Me (along with family folks) headed to the holy city last weekend. We planned this tip in a jiffy and must say that place was worth all the efforts. We drove from Chandigarh to Amritsar by car. It took us 4 hours (including one quick breakfast break) to reach there. This, of course, comes after you’ve braved the maddening traffic. It’s not the pace of the traffic but the unregulated traffic movement that causes the frustration. You’ll have to race with rickshawpullers, auto-walls, BMWs, Volvo buses and may be even carts to get ahead on the road. 

Things get better once you are out of Ropar. On your way to Nawan Shahar, you’ll come across lush green fields laden across wide highway. It’s a delight for drivers as they have a chance to test their speed limits here. Mustard fields and virginal villages along this highway will invariably remind you of DDLJ. There are numerous dhabas (street side eating shops) serving awesome food. However, you can only expect north-Indian delicacies here. Must haves are aloo parathas with white butter in any of these joints. Besides them, there are few urban eating joints which may serve better platters. But on personal note, I would suggest dump fancy restaurants for dhabas ….. at least in Punjab. Food is good and they’ll serve it with gratitude. And you wont come across this sense of hospitality in Delhi at least.

Once you reach Amritsar city limits, the battle for driving space will start all again. The city is currently upgrading its infrastructure. Hence there is lot of construction activity going on all over. This may bring delight to travelers in near future. However, at this point of time construction activities are nothing more than a hindrance. The city authorities need to do something very very quickly to save themselves from this mess. 

Once you brave all this and reach the temple complex, you'll feel as if time has stopped here. The temple complex is amazing. This place has something magical about it. You actually get to feel that you are so closer to the almighty. I'm not one of those religious fanatics, but must admit that the sober and somber environs here can heal any wounded soul. Guess that is why we call God 'THE ALMIGHTY'. May be he is present everywhere on earth but in places like these you can feel him in evey bit - in every breath you take, in every thing that you touch around. Things like ego and pride melt in thin air. I felt like this crazy kid who's lost his game and runs home to get patted by his folks. It’s a heavenly feeling. It's as if someone reassures you that things will be alright. You have to be there to get this feeling. 

You can plan a getaway any time of the yaer. A must visit place. And if any of you have been there, you can share your experience in the 'comments' sections.

Life without fuel. What would it be like?

Year 2009 has started with some startling realisations about what may become of us when the oil reserves finish??? 

Last week life of hundreds of citizens in Delhi came to a standstill when workers of prominent oil companies called for a strike. The city was reeling under acute oil crisis as many gas stations reported no stock left. Officials from 14 Indian state-run oil companies, seeking higher salaries, stayed away from work. As a result many people ran from pillar to post, drove to city limits to fuel their vehicles. Many discussed options like traveling by public transport (which is a big no-no for snooty Delhiites as owning a vehicle is a symbol of affluence for many), still others thought about car-pool and some preferred to work from home as this strike was perceived to be an indefinite one. Thankfully, the government got cracking and the protest was called off in two days itself.

This was one random case. But what will happen when one day every natural resource will come to an end? There’s no oil, no gas. What we do then? There will be no car pool or public transport options. What would you do then? Will ‘work or study from home’ become the norm? Will the world come to a standstill then?

Think about it? Would love to hear some innovative ideas.

Survive recession. Here’s how…

Recession…. The dreaded ‘R’ word. Almost everyone is talking about it. Be it economy, manufacturing segment or service sector - every section of the society is feeling the heat of current economic gloom. (I would rather call it ‘gloom’ than its more diplomatic version called – slowdown). And its impact is visible in every part of the globe; be it Boston or Bengaluru.

We may have heard some friends losing jobs, some associates losing money in stock market/business transactions. Instead nodding in grief, it would be good if we could think about the brighter prospects for them. Think of how to make the most of this time. Economic bodies all over are tying to put things order. Till that happens, you could: 

• Update your resumes in relevant job sites
  
  
• Touch-base with your past colleagues and bosses to see if there’s some full time/part-time opportunity for you
  
  
• Save Save Save. Avoid partying/clubbing even if it is to get rid of your anguish
  
  
• Look for part-time jobs/assignments if full time/proper jobs are not materialising
  
  
• Think of innovative techniques to make money. I read in NYT that a lady who was heading operations with Deutsche Bank lost her job to recession. She has now taken up the job of a pet keeper. She has a pet and understands how people who have long office hours find no time for their pets. She got in touch with few of them and offered her services. So while these people are busy working, she takes care of their pets. She got her way out of the gloom. And she found a new employment.
  
  
• And be positive. That’s the most important tactic to stay happy in these tough times.

• Remember: ‘Tough times don’t last, but tough people do’.  

Patience pays.. Yes it does

Why me? Have you ever wondered …why me? When things go wrong, rather when things don't go the way you want them to go, we invariably begin to ask this -  why me? Why does God/ parents/ friends/office has to do this to me?

Of course it hurts when your loved ones put you in mess, when they behave the way you never imagine them to, when they mess your relationships with others. What does one do in this situation – cry loud or just keep mum and say BRING ON, I’m STRONG, I can take more of this crap.

No sermons and no moral fables. I caught on this sentiment from an old acquaintance. I met him late in 2003, during my stint with The Indian Express. We were a bubbly group of interns working with the Delhi edition. Two of us (Me and Suren Da) were from HPU wheile the other six of them were from IMC. Suren Da worked with Express for two weeks after which he followed his interests else where. I continued with Express for a while. During this stint, I got along with people from IIMC. We all got along well. Among them was this quiet, shy and introvert lad from the nort-east. Let’s call him ‘L’ for reference.

He belonged to this beautiful state and was living in the IIMC hostel. His poise, his calm and humble demeanor was prominent part of his personality. Aspiring journos are usually a very aggressive breed. They have fire in their belly and literally so, because they think that they can chage everything under the sun, or may be they will replace Barkha Dutt and Prannoy Roy one day. This wasn’t the case with L. And then this chap was physically challenged as well. His left hand was numb!!! It didn’t move at all. He was in an alien land where people understand Hindi, more specifically Punjabi and the great Jat language. I gathered from other people that he belonged to a simple family and may be his family even sold their belongings for his education. He was certainly bright. I mean you can’t get into IIMC for nothing. 

All of us were sent on different assignments/press confrence everyday. By the end of the day, we had to come back and file the stories and chase senior editors to get them edited. That was quite a task, since ‘editing’ here means getting by-lines and Express has a strict policy of giving by-lines to worthy stories only. While we all chased stories, gathered by-lines and secretly looked for jobs outside; L was very calm. He went to cover stories everyday and even filed them in the CMS but never really bothered to hound the editors. His response was simple, “If my story is good then the editor will notice it himself and call me. Else, let it be.” He continued to attend press conferences, file stories with one hand and still kept quiet about his work. Having said that, I must mention that he got two or three by-lines and his stories were actually good. They were real meritorious stuff. While we loved the 20-30 by lines for any fashion show we attended, he was happy with those two-three bylines. 

We were initially shocked about this attitude. I mean we all were slogging to make name for ourselves. We traveled in buses, haggled with autowallahs to travel from one place to another while covering stories. We got into unfamiliar zones, met new people just for the heck of tracking some stories that would materialize into by-lines. Initially we were irritated with L's attitude (for the fact that he was so uncaring) and later we let him be. Counseling didn’t help. L continued with this attitude. He left Express after his internship was over. He didn’t want to stay there for more experience/exposure. Later it seems he complete the course and went back to his native place. We all thought that was the end of L, his life and career and the sacrifices that his parents made to get him to Delhi. 

And now the story goes that he is working for UN. The God damn United Nations!!!! He’s heading communications department for some North-East based programme. He is based there and needless to say that he’s doing very well for himself. :)

Good for him and may his tribe of people continue to grow.

When ever you feel left and out do spare thoughts for so may L’s around. There are so many silent workers who slog as much as we do. It’s just that they don’t make hue and cry about it. And they still create a longing impression. What say?

It’s good to be infamous

The verdict is out. It’s good to be bad and it’s bad to be good. No tongue in cheek intended here. All I’m trying to say is that naughty is in and nice is out. Look at Himesh Reshammiya, Mallika Sehrawat, Rakhi Sawant, Rahul Mahajan, Payal Rohatgi, Monika Bedi and the likes. All these people have made news for all the wrong reasons. Himesh Reshammiya’s nasal tones were mocked at while Rakhi and Mallika were despised for their bold clothing. Rahul Mahajan has had a tryst with drugs and Payal Rohatgi is infamous for her cheeky dance numbers. But what is astonishing is that each one of them have converted their negative strides into their publicity vehicles and marched towards success!

You can’t deny Reshammiya’s act in Karzz and Aap Ka Surroorrrrrr. And well… we can’t event stop ranting about Big Boss 2 and the gossips there in.

Some of the global stars follow the same league. Look at Britney Spears, Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love, Kate Moss. Who remembers their jigs and jives? All we remember is that they were in news for doping, drug abuse, marrying out of turn etc etc.

The moral of the story is – It’s good to be infamous than be famous.

There’s a website dedicated to infamous people. It’s called - http://www.hallofinfamy.com/. This is a treatise to all these so called ‘infamous’ personalities from world over.

My questions still is – Is it good to be infamous? Share your answers in the ‘comments’ section.