Anna Hazare and other Issues

To be very honest (and it is always followed by something negative, sure enough here as well), I don't know the scene by scene details of this whole issue, which has taken the whole nation by storm and is keeping it firmly in its grip.

I do know about the principal question and the big furore now. While most of the nation's citizens are up in arms with Anna,  suddenly a large number of the 'thinking' populace is divided in its opinion.

It is a joke. Really, it is.

I don't have too much to say about this. But I do want to say, out of these who are now deriding Anna's method of protest amongst other things, how many of them have ever truly tried to help someone else without any ulterior motive?
How many of them have ever tried to break up a fight between total strangers when they were a witness to it?
How many have stopped their air conditioned cars when they saw someone needed help on the road?
How many have even written a letter of protest against some injustice, regularly meted out to the citizens of India?
How many opened their laptops or computers to pen down a mail against the scandal that were the Commonwealth Games?
How many even VOTE?

If someone is doing something against the corruption and other very basic issues which plague the fabric of our society, our government, then let them.
If you can't stand with them, at least let them do their job- and if in the process they get a bit of long overdue publicity, then so be it!

Old Hindi Movies

I am a huge fan of those.
It still takes me a fair bit of coaxing to be a able to sit through a new flick- barring a few exceptions of course; but old movies I can rewatch any number of times.

Maybe that's what I will do once both my babies go to full time school- sit and watch movies! I don't really think so, but I do believe there's a fair chance I will watch my favorite bits.
I love the music, the actors, the stories- all. Among these I have my criteria as well- some actors like Nanda, Sadhna, Mala Sinha, Rajendra Kumar, Rajesh Khanna in his post Aradhana bad hair days and many more are a complete no no!

My fav old films- Anubhav (the Tanuja, Sanjeev Kumar starrer and not a soft porn movie of the same name), Masoom, Ijazat, Namkeen and can't think of any others at the moment. But this is a fair idea of the films I love. I also like the likes of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, Ab Aayega Maza, Kisi Se Na Kehna and even Chameli Ki Shaadi- the crass hit of the eighties!

But when I want to sit down and watch a bit something like right now, I can't even make up my mind :-)

A Note On Independence Day

Happy Independence Day to all my compatriots.

Cliched but true- if only we realized the importance of freedom, we would definitely behave more responsibly. And this of course directly translates into a whole lot of things, culminating of course in a better life for all, for generations to come.

But of course and quite unfortunately, the condition of my country is quite similar to that of my current domestic situation- bad decisions, short sightedness, complete lack of unity and no sense of self respect. And with that if you get a clear-as-glass picture of the murk that I currently inhabit, so be it. After all, it is true on a much bigger scale for all of us in India today.

And before all your misplaced patriotism makes you pronounce me a cynic and whatever else forms a part of your vocabulary, it is very important to stop and reflect. What is it about India today which will make me proud of being an Indian?

I reflect, think, debate and think some more every single day with the same sad truth- very little.

Are we able to provide basic food and shelter to all?
Is education a given regardless of social or economic background?
Have we been able to bring corruption down to almost digestible levels?
Is personal security not even an issue to be thought of?
Do we have electricity, roads, clean drinking water for all?
Have patients stopped residing in men's restrooms awaiting medical attention in the premier hospital of the country?
Is medical attention available to all?
Have we risen beyond our own separate castes/ religions/and whatever else that divided us centuries ago to embrace our nation as one?
Do we not plan and hope and work feverishly towards escaping from this country in search of better opportunities and relentlessly egg our children on to finding lives elsewhere?
HAVE WE BEEN ABLE TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT LEADERS TO GOVERN US?

The list is tragically endless.
And all the answers veer towards the negative if not outrightly so.

Happy 15th August to all.

Singapore II

Here is why I would make a lazy (my first instinct was to say bad but then I thought I can't really use the 'B' word, just in case some prospective employer is reading and is on the brink of giving me my own regular column; hence I will stick with lazy :-)) writer.

Because it's taken me more than a month to come up with the second part of my series on Singapore. Hang on, I just said a series- frankly I don't know it myself, so we'll see how it goes.

Left looking at the beautiful night lights and the Singapore skyline from our very own balcony, I must confess it was where we sat for long periods of time, perched high in the balcony, exhausted from the day's wanderings with two children; to enjoy wine, beer, cheese and olives. It was the scene of many a midnight feasts.

OK, back to the details. Swissotel turned out to be fabulous choice for many reasons.

Although it has what I think one of the best locations in Singapore (you have to ask for the Esplanade facing rooms  and trust me with a great camera you can make everyone believe that you actually saw the Merlion -hee hee); it has very competitive rates.

It's great value for money for 5 star luxury.
The staff is very friendly and not at all snooty- and I talk from the point of view of a person with colored skin WITH two small children!
They are very well connected- the hotel sits ON a train station for those who'd like to travel with the very efficient MRT, the taxi system is organised and they do not fleece you. There is also a mall within the huge hotel complex which has, as its part the Raffles hotel, the F and has easy walks to the Esplanade, the Quays, the Chinatown and pretty much anywhere except the Zoo and the Sentosa Island.

In fact this is one thing I have to stress and re stress about Singapore- EVERYTHING is walking distance! Please do walk. I agree it's really humid, and it gets quite unbearable especially during the day. But it's still a fun place to walk, because the city has footpaths, traffic rules, people who follow traffic rules, you can wear pretty much what you want or not and rest assured that you won't be visually stripped naked unlike in  Delhi. It's freeing, this feeling and heady as well! The first time I felt like this was in Goa; people have seen too much nakedness in those parts to worry about someone walking around in shorts! There is of course the difference in cultures, or as in the case of the Indian capital- the lack of it.

To get back to the point, when in Singapore- walk!

We did as well. And we thoroughly enjoyed it all- the Zoo, the Universal Studios, Chinatown -where we stumbled upon, of all the things in this world, a genuine Tintin shop. This Shop stocked all things, obviously Tintin. There were mugs and bags and notebooks and books and models and things I have quite frankly forgotten. But more than Chinatown itself, it was this shop that totally wowed us.

More to follow...

Ha!

My last post with the title- 'this post has swear words', has had more hits than others.
Ha!
Again, HA!

It must've come as a disappointment to those looking for more colorful words; this one had not nearly enough nor nearly too colorful!

Good strategy for getting unsuspecting readers.

Maidless Again!!! Also this post has some swear words :-)

Well, if by reading the post header one thinks- wow more housewife woes; you are damn right!

I am super tired.

I am also super tired of looking for one. This one, being too good to be true; also because she came by herself- I just had completely stopped looking; of course therefore was not meant for me. And this sentence sucks.

My vertigo is making my life hell and am having a tough job just to stay upright.

I do thank God for whatever help I get.

This post is real crap and probably will delete it soon enough.

Following Farhan

Yes I do mean Akhtar!

Who would know; did he himself know that he would one day be known not just for his directorial prowess but also for his comic timing?

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara- fabulous flick.

Following Farhan- he could very easily use as the title of his next film.
FF- I have been kind of, ever since Dil Chahta Hai! Loved the movie, the soundtrack, the non filminess of it, the-casual-and-the-not-so-much of it.
The theme that recurs in most of his films is friendship, the one thing that almost everyone can or would like to relate to- friends who will be there for you.

I,  adore the brother-sister duo (Farhan and Zoya Akhtar) for the ease with which they have taken over the hindi film industry. Actually I must say that part of bollywood, which is relevant to me; and I certainly don't mind them monopolizing it. After all, it gives me great entertainment. The films are still quite, well- filmi, but great entertainment.
If I want profound messages, I'll just watch pick up any odd season of the Sex and the city and lose myself in the explicit, sexual, explicitly sexual world of Carrie Bradshaw with lots of fashion thrown in for a good measure. I am not being sarcastic, it's true. For all it's superficiality, every single episode leaves you with something to think about.

Coming back to FF, I have seen almost all the movies he's made or appeared in.
Following Farhan- I definitely want to work with him.