Navratri 2022 in Bilaspur

One of the fondest memories from my childhood involves Durga puja in Bilaspur. The city almost transforms into another world. 'Metaverse' is the closest which comes to mind if I have to describe it using the latest vocabulary. As we go into last 3-4 days of Navratri and the sun sets, the city starts getting ready. People gather around pandals navigating traffic and chaos in the narrow lanes, sound of songs celebrating the goddess and smell of dhoop overpower all the cacophony.

I am at a stage where I have spent more than half my life outside my hometown Bilaspur, this realization itself brings a lot of mixed emotions. I left this place to pursue higher education and career aspirations and since then I am a confused soul who doesn't know where he belongs. Every time I come, I invariably try to find memories which take me back to younger days and festivals tend to be the easiest memories you can recollect.

I do come for every Diwali except for few due to unavoidable reasons. But Diwali is a festival which I associate more with Home and Family, not necessarily with the city. The lights, decoration, markets buzzing with people do add an argument but still Diwali is a more personal and intimate festival for me. Whereas Durga puja is all about outside environment, the city is an integral part of it. 

I was in Bilaspur for Durga puja after nearly 2 decades. I was here last year but 2 years of covid had sadly taken everything out of festivities and the celebrations were lukewarm. This time, it looked as if the flavor and fervor is truly back and it was time to go out and experience it. So I did !!

And it brought so much of nostalgia. Good old times when we used to do a city tour in a rikshaw, eyes wide open, filled with excitement and having a great time looking at all the 'grandeur'. I put grandeur in quotes because becoming older and wiser, seeing a lot more places and things has put things in perspective. I admit the charm is not the same but still, hopping around durga pandals took me back to those younger days which in itself is something to be thrilled about.

So all my younger friends, if you are having a good time, be there and cherish it. As the Japanese say "Itchi-go-itchi-e"

Angry old man

"I hate the idea of every aspect of our work being compared with those of the Western world. It is demeaning to us as individuals and demeaning to us as a country. Whereas we do not ever want to take anything away from the achievements of those that function beyond Indian shores, I feel that this penchant for equating us continuously with a Western synonym, is objectionable and untoward. Shah Rukh the Tom Cruise, Abhishek-Aishwarya the Brangelina, Mithun the John Travolta of India, are synonymous with a culture that reeks of our abject submission to our colonial past. We are our own people now, with our own standing and relevance and very proud of it. I have not seen Nicole Kidman in The Hours and have no desire to fall into this unnecessary exercise of comparison. To me the response from the people of my country is the final verdict. I am interested in what they like or dislike. Nothing more."

This was the answer from Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, When a journalist asks "Your performance in Paa came across like Nicole Kidman’s Oscar-winning performance as Virginia Woolf in The Hours where you could not make out it was her."

I feel like whistling, clapping and applauding this statement like i used to do for every dialogue of his 'angry young man' days. I feel this applies to our thinking beyond movies, and in general we are obsessed with the western culture. Bachchan saab, thanks for putting the thoughts so succinctly.

Golden Jubilee !!

Sunday used to be so different in my early childhood. All my cousins, aunts, uncles used to come to our house early morning. I used to look forward to each of those mornings, because it was a refreshing change from the routine school going week days. It was a perfect example of a big fat indian family get together. Now if you are thinking, we used to have a family function every sunday, you are wrong. Our joint family is big, but not that much :)

They came to our house to watch Mahabharat. In those days, Doordarshan signal was not available in the outskirts of the city where my cousins live. But such was the craze of Mahabharat, that they used to come to our place every sunday morning, sharp at 10 AM. Earlier was fine, but nobody was late. It is so hard to believe that people can become so crazy about a TV serial. Especially when i know that none of them are a TV serial addict now. But Mahabharat was no ordinary TV serial. If i believe my parents and elders, traffic used to stop from 10 AM to 11 AM, sunday mornings used to be a family get-together not only for us, but most of the joint families.

And speaking of the popularity of the TV serials, Mahabharat is probably the biggest TV serial made in the history of indian television. But this was not the only hit from Doordarshan. Ask any person who was watching TV in late 80s and early 90s, they will get a twinkle in their eyes when you mention Doordarshan. No matter what age, what culture one belongs to; DD had something for everybody. Ramayan and Mahabharat are iconic mythology serials in indian television history. Programs like jungle book, surabhi, bharat ek khoj, chanakya, dekh bhai dekh, hum log, buniyad, vyomkesh bakshi are still remembered fondly. And the ads, can any one ever forget 'mile sur mera tumhara' ?

What about news? I remember when DD used to telecast india's cricket matches, an hour break used to come for news (general news + parliament news in hindi and english). It was very tough on me to bear those 1 hours, and god forbid if i miss sachin's batting, all hell broke loose. In one of those frustrated moments i once asked, why can't they show news after match? I never understood it when my dad said that news is the most important thing in TV and should never be compromised, No matter what is the price one has to pay.

Sadly that is what the present media has done. Today the 24x7 news channels look more like entertainment channels. We do get tit-bits of news, but that is packaged in a hysteria making substance and presented by loud mouth journalists. The debates shown on the most of the news channels are like DOSA. It is a term i read in an article published in 'The Hindu'. It means Decision Oriented System Analyses. Most of the channels already have a conclusion for their debates, they just want the experts to fill in with some facts. That defies the logic of journalism. It has to be dispassionate, it should respect the audience intelligence and let them form an opinion based on the news provided by them.

That is where DD has still maintained the dignity of a news channel. The news reader are sober in appearance, in mannerism, not over the top, present the news dispassionately and do not sensitize the issues unnecessarily. I would say, if you care for news, DD news is the best place for you.

I agree, that Doordarshan has lost its sheen in presence of private channels. But if you are asked to recall a landmark serial; chances are that it will be from Doordarshan. The rich history of Doordarshan makes me believe that it can still produce quality programs. It is different from private channels in the sense that while serving entertainment, it also has to contribute to public welfare. This makes DDs jobs harder than the private channels, but the romantic optimist inside me thinks that it will manage.

Kuch to baat hai hummein, Jo hasti mitti nahin !

News is like a skirt

Should be long enough to cover the subject, and short enough to sustain the interest.

Whenever i happen to see the 'news channels' e.g. NDTV / Times Now / IBN / Star News / Zee News. I see that all of their programs are long... too long in fact. Go into too much of detail, yet somehow i feel i still do not have enough information on subject. There will be people from all walks of life debating into all kind of topics, at the end of which you will feel what the hell did i just watched. Every chunnu, munnu and sunnu seems to be an expert these days. And how can news channels do not know what should be classified as news?

Can we have news 24x7 ? The thirst of presenting the 'breaking news' first is taking away the morality and integrity aspect of journalism. Irony of all this is that, when a common man writes his views against one of the modern day journalists in his blog. The 'freedom of expression' advocating journalists file a defamation case against the common man. Poor man's condition is like caught without umbrella in the sudden rainfall. BTW i am not defaming anybody (I said rainfall not barkha)

When i started watching DD news since last few days. I have got some relief, it shows 'news' in stead of gossip. Covers the subject and is just half an hour long. So, DD news is the news which is just like an ideal skirt.

Simplicity is a virtue !!

There are times when i start quoting people, sometimes it makes sense too :). 

This was was surely one of those times. The scenario was, when my friend sent me link to a photo-blog and we started discussing which one looks beautiful and it led to some interesting philosophical conclusion.

 

me: yes.. totally

4:43 PM actually i think we look at the pic differently

  you look for the visual apeal

4:44 PM i look for ... what does it convey to me

  in many cases..they are interrelated offcourse

4:45 PM Tipu: yaa I look basically at the prospective and the tones of the pic

  along with how the photographer has made the pic dramatic

4:46 PM me: true.... i basically don't think in that direction

 Tipu: http://www.flickr.com/photos/79754672@N00/2331025108

  see this for example

  can you guess how he has done that

4:48 PM me: point is , i don't care how he has done that

  because i don't know

 Tipu: hmm

  fair enough

4:49 PM so basically to you the pic should look beautiful... but you shouldnt have to reason it out why it is looking beautiful

  it should come without any reason

 me: precisely

4:50 PM Tipu: that is the definition of beauty i would say

  that it is actually undefined

 me: yes, it lies in the eyes of the beholder

4:51 PM Tipu: I somehow constantly try to find out a form or an element that is there is something beautiful I see

4:52 PM any way.... I guess the reall good pic will the one which can enchant both the point of views

4:53 PM abstract enough to be appreciated by technical ppl and beautifull enough that it can be felt

 me: yes

4:54 PM i believe, that making an art abstract for the sake of critical aclaim does not make it good

  simplicity has its own charm

4:55 PM and as Mr. Hrishikesh Mukherji says.... 'it is so simple to be happy, yet it is so difficult to be simple'

 Tipu: they somehow render their art difficult for normal ppl to appreciate and they somehow loose the sense of beauty in art

  yes I too... thats the reason I hate all the modern artists
they somehow render their art difficult for normal ppl to appreciate and they somehow loose the sense of beauty in art

4:56 PM me: and as MPD says... 'any tom, dick and harry can design a complex circuit. It needs a sound designer to build a simple circuit'

4:57 PM Tipu: lol

4:58 PM me: i also smiled at first (lol in front of MPD is not possible)

4:59 PM but look at the deep meaning. I agree to the enhanced version, that is not limited to circuits... let it be any product

 Tipu: yaa

Revenge is a dish that tastes best, when served cold !

Mumbai got hit. Hit hard, and hit where it hurts the most. The synonyms of mumbai's prestige (Hotel Taj, Hotel Oberai) and glorious history (CST) have been attacked. And it has generated a reaction, that is unprecedented. Undoubtedly, first of its kind. Politicians, Media, The Common Man ; everybody has some kind of suggestion on 'what should we do'. But frankly speaking, all of it seems to be a knee jerk reaction. Nothing more than that PERIOD

'The only people who did anything to mention over the past week were the NSG who quietly came in, stoically risked their lives, killed our enemies, walked out onto the debris filled streets, boarded red BEST buses and went home.'

Everybody else is 'shouting' (to put it straight); so as to not curb their anger. 'The reason' : they are frustrated, they are hurt, they are angry. But is it making any sense ?? I fear, that all this will die down with people moving on with the so called remarkable spirit. This term is used so frivolously that, i have started considering it an abuse to mumbai.

Don't throw your anger making noise. Keep it in tact, Nourish it, Channelize it to grow within yourself. It will be itchy within you. But, its all worth it. You need that itch for the rest of your lives.And use that itch in preparation of that 'dish'. And the recipe says, it will take time. It is not a 'two minute' instant noodle.
And i am sure, you will get the taste, which all of you are luring for.

And please do not forget, don't compromise on the 'preparation' part.

What will you do, if you get 500 Rs ??

So, someone asks this question to a variety of people, ranging from poor to middle class to rich segment of people. And captures their response in the video. This video gives a perspective to us : on our country's current situation, the inequality among aam junta, our attitude towards life.

Most of the young crowd who is earning money in their bachelorhood or who have enough sum of inherited money have very common answers like

• Spend it on some food joint /pub /disco, 
  
• Get a haircut / body piercing done, 
  
• Go for a movie, 
  
• Recharge the sim card, 
  
• Buy branded clothes [well, actually 500 is not enough for that these days :), but thats another issue ;)]
  

Then there are some poor guys (children mostly) who say

• Spend it on school ka saman / tution fee
  
• a vibrant face says 'ghar ka kharcha chala sakta hun, thoda market karke.. tamatar, aaloo wo sab leke'. I wonder if that guy can teach a lot of us something about 'positive attitude'
  
• Bade hotel mein ja ke khana khayenge. (its a dream for that child !! )
  
• Stove kharidenge, rashan layenge 
  

Then there is the famous lower middle class of india that have answers like

• 500 rs mein kuch nahi ho sakta, na kuch aata hai na kuch jata hai (the pessimistic uncle)
  
• Thoda bachha logon pe kharcha karungi, baki ka balance bhavishya ke liye rakhoongi. (This single sentence explains so many things, but none so appropriately as it does..... the mother nature). I am sure, the pessimistic uncle will laugh at her ' what can she do with 500 rs in bhavishya'. But the main point is.. the attitude !! 
  
• first class ka pass kharidunga (the daily mumbai-local traveller)
  

The video asks a question. And if i got it right, it does not give you a straight forward answer. It gives rise to new questions. It hits your sensitive chord. It intrigues you, isn't it ??

It got me thinking. The first thing, which came to my mind was : I will buy something for me. Well, buying is obvious. You earn money to spend. That brings the next question. What is that spending, which will please me. That makes me think, i should spend it wisely. i should not feel, i have wasted it. Then i start thinking of my first reaction 'I will buy something for me' . Why is it always me ?? Can't i do something for someone else ?? Which in turn gives me internal pleasure and happiness, makes me feel i have done something worthwhile. So, that effectively sums it up for me, eventually its me who is getting benefitted. I am not doing something for someone else, even if it looks like so.

Well, the point is, i will spend wisely, if i 'think'. And that essentially is the message of the video. 'Think before you spend'. You are earning money to lead a comfortable life, to spend. But just give it a thought 'Think before you spend'. 

GOLD !!!

With the least expectations, i started following the beijing olympics. When it started, i just prayed that india should not come back empty handed. It started in a familiar way. For the first 3 days, a small column in the newspaper, a brief mention in the 24x7 news channel. All conveying the news in disappointment, that our players failed to qualify for the finals, were eliminated in the preliminary rounds.  

Then suddenly one morning, a news comes that Abhinav Bindra has got gold for india in 10m air rifle shooting. The whole mood changed. The man from chandigarh changed the whole scenario. He became the darling of an entire nation, everybody was in awe of him, newspapers were filled with his stories next day, news channels started singing his praise. After all, he is the first indian who got a gold medal in an individual event. He deserves everything he got. And the man of the moment was absolutely right, when he says that

"I would like to reiterate that everyone who represents India at the Olympic Games has put in years of toil and sweat. I ask the Indian people to support our athletes more. It is fine to celebrate our achievements but it is just as important to keep up the backing when we are not on top of our game."

Here is a man, who has achieved something which was only a dream till now. But he did not forget to mention his fellow athletes at his moment of glory. Thank you very much Mr. Bindra for bringing smile in the face of so many people !!

The Funny Thing About Human Beings

Our Contradictoriness. We are in such a hurry to grow up, and then we long for our lost childhood. We make ourselves ill earning money, and then spend all our money on getting well again. We think so much about the future that we neglect the present, and thus experience neither the present nor the future. We live as if we were never going to die, and die as if we had never lived.

Courtesy : 'Like the Flowing River' by ...... Paulo Coelho

Greatness Unnoticed

" Greatness is not flamboyance. It is something else. But sadly, people don't value it enough. "

Few Key Facts about a guy:
1. Has been involved in the most century partnerships in Test history - 72
- Yet 'the fans' never recognize this 'true match winner'
2. Scored nearly 23% of the total runs put up by India (with a batting average of 102.84) in the 21 Test matches won under Ganguly's captaincy.
- Yet , 'the fans' say he is the reason of ganguly's downfall
3. Has the highest ODI batting average as captain of 45.58 (as of 4/7/06).
-Yet , 'the fans' say he is not good enough as captain and as an ODI batsman
4. 'The fans' say he is a soft captain
- He led India to first away test series against West indies (since 1971), England (since 1986). Led india to a record 14 consecutive wins chasing a total
- And above all......
Resigned from captaincy after achieving historic win against England. Can 'The fans' recall any other indian captain who left captaincy after 'winning' ??

Old wine in new bottle or new wine in old bottle !!

The current trend is bollywood is of remaking the old classics... packaging them with todays technolgy and serving to the audiance.
Suddenly i have discovered that i am too stubborn to accept them... and I have a question to these 'inspired' filmmakers. if you are making the movies with the same name, same story and publising it by mentioning the old movie in your every damn interview. How the hell can you say... please don't compare it with the original?
The comparison is bound to happen. and i believe that certain things just happen at their appropiate time. Without any ofence to todays stars...No matter how hard you try... characters like don, vijay, gabbar singh and umrao jaan can not be recreated. There is certain nostalgia and charm attached to them, which results in the situation, that anything less than 'remarkably extraordinary' will fail to live up to the expectation. And lets face it.... even the makers will not be optimistic of creating something 'remarkably extraordinary'.
So it really doesn't matter whether its... Old wine in new bottle or new wine in old bottle .... if i would have to try wine, i'll have 'Old wine in Old bottle'