CONFESSION OF A HOPELESS ROMANTIC!!

To The Girl I Love,

You entered my life like a cold breeze blowing across the sea side, hitting me like a beautiful wave and nothing was ever to be the same again. I saw you come in, like the face of ethereal beauty, untouched and unmarked and I felt a flutter in my heart. I wasn't in love with you then, I couldn't be for I have never believed in the 'love at first sight' formula. Yet seeing those blue cat-like eyes, I knew I could drown in them and hope to never come back. I remembered Akshay Kumar's dialogue in the movie 'Khakee' when he sees Aishwariya Rai-"Ye Aankhein Marwayengi Ek Din" and immediately a smile lit across my face at the thought of it.

I remember those initial few weeks when I hadn't spoken to you yet, when we were still strangers to each other, unknowing of the journey ahead. I would see almost every boy I knew make a beeline for you, try to strike up a conversation with you, hoping to earn your affection in return. That you didn't not only surprised me but also increased my respect for you. Yet I must admit I was a but bemused. "What's so special about her?" I would ask my friends. "I know she is beautiful but is that all that matters?" I would argue with them. How was I to know that there was so much more beyond that beautiful face of yours, that there was a sea of emotions hidded behind those blue cat-like eyes.

And then we were friends. I don't even remember when talking to you had turned into a habit, a habit I couldn't resist, that I couldn't give up. I don't even remember when talking to you had become the best part of my day, the part that I looked forward to the most. I don't even remember when by just seeing you across the hall or just by walking past you in the corridor, a smile would spread across my lips. It wasn't a smile meant for anyone or anything, it was a smileto myself, to my heart, content in the knowledge that I had atleast seen you and thus you were still a part of my life, a part of my heart.

Talking to you, I realised why so many boys had developed a crush on you. The reason went way beyond a beautiful face or blue cat-like eyes. You were a fountain of charming eccentricity, your cheerfulness lighting up every heart that it touched, your laughter so infectious that the trees would have laughed with you if only they could just see or even hear your laughter, your energy so vibrant that it could light up the entire state of Karnataka, your eyes so deep that anyone who saw them and understood them, couldn't help but get lost in its intensity.

It wasn't long before I noticed that I was no longer the same person whenever I was around you. I would behave differently in your company, often to the bewilderment of my friends who couldn't understand this 'different me.' I couldnt' either. I realised that you had started to affect me in ways that no other person in my life, let alone a girl, ever had. My heart would skip a beat whenever I saw you, my eyes would light up with unexplainable cheerfulness at the very sight of you. It was then that I knew I was in danger. That I was beginning to fall for a girl who in every possible way was better than me. I warned my heart from committing this fatal error. Told my heart I couldn't afford to fall in love with you. For if I fell in love with you, then 'ye aankhein marwayengi ek din.'

I guess you can never really warn your heart from falling in love. How much ever you try to, once the preocess begins, there's no holding it back. And so how much ever I tried to resist, the truth was I just couldn't stop thinking of you. Couldn't help but fall in love with you.

Those tears floating from your eyes ripped my heart apart. I saw them, saw you crying and I knew there wasno way back for me from this. I knew I had become a victim of the very same thing that I had been trying to avoid. I knew I had fallen in love with you when I saw those tears. For I wanted to kill the person who had brought those tears to your eyes, I wanted to tear this world apart for letting you cry-I felt an unexlainable hatred for this world and everything in it, hatred for myself, for letting you cry.

I wanted to sit there with you and wipe those tears from your eyes. I wanted to let you know that I would do anything to ensure that those tears never come back, that you never cry again. Whatever the circumstance. I wanted to let you know that I would do anything to make you smile and then keep looking at your angelic smile forever. I wanted to let you know that I loved you.

And yet I didn't. Or I couldn't. But somehow I could never let you know how much I loved you. It remained a secret buried in the deepest corner of my heart, just like my love for you. I don't really know why I couldn't tell you. Maybe because I got nervous at the very thought of telling you, maybe because I was too afraid of a rejection, maybe because you never gave an indication that you felt the same way but somehow my love for you remained unspoken.

And perhaps so shall it remain. For maybe some love stories are never meant to be. Though I will always keep on hoping that one day you will realise my love for you. I don't claim to love you more than life itself. Because you are my life. I don't claim to love you more than anybody else. Because when I am with you, nobody else even matters. All that matters is my love for you and that I am with the person that I love the most in this world.

The irony couldn't be any greater then as I am hiding the biggest secret of my life from the person I claim to love the most-you. But I am afraid that's just how life sometimes is. That I can't even tell the person that I love the most that I love her. That I love you. And it's not as if I haven't tried getting over you. I tried to distance myself from you but somehow I could never forget that innocent face and those beautiful eyes. I tried to stop talking to you but it only reminded me how hopelessy in love I was with you. I thought of being rude to you so that you could hate me but then I had promised myself that I will never hurt you come what may and how much ever pain it may end up causing me.

And so even though it hurts to see you, for my love that remains unexpressed, the truth is I would still to anything to catch a glmpse of you. Even today, just seeing you brings a smile on my face. I live in misery everyday for a love that I had perhaps relinquished even before I thought of pursuing it yet nothing brings me more happiness that the knowledge that I have been and still am in love. In love with you.

And yet I still live in hope. Hope that one day you will finally realise how much I love you. You will realise that I would do anything to make you smile, to keep you happy, to ensure that you never cry again and if you do, then I will be there to wipe those tears from your eyes and bring back that beauiful smile on your lips again. That I would do anything to ensure your happiness, even if it means I can't be with you. And when you realise this, then you will slowly walk towards me, your hair flying in the wind like a cold wave blowing, a smile on your beautiful lips, your angelic face a perfect concoction of surprise and romantic shyness, looking at me with those blue cat-like eyes, dissolving me in them as you would whisper in my ears, "I love you too."

YE AANKHEIN MARWAAYENGI EK DIN!!

P.S.-A totally fictitious account. So give your imagination a rest and don't take your own spin on it. Though a completely heartfelt piece.

SPEAKING DIRECTLY FROM THE LAB!!!

You won't believe that I am actually sitting in the Electronics Controls and Devices Lab lab as I am writing this. I am so damn bored and sleepy that I decided I might as well write something in order convince my lovely teachers that I am actually busy with something other than trying to keep my eyes open. And that in itself is a huge struggle. Honestly, I would do anything to get out of this place right now. But my watch says 9:18 A.M. so unfortunately I am stuck here for another ghastly 1 hour 42 minutes. Time just couldn't move any slower and life couldn't be any more torturous.

Ok-so it's 9:21 AM and I have just finished reading a poem that has been handed over to me by a classmate of mine, Udita. Actually, the story goes that about 20 minutes ago, when it had been just 1 hour into the lab session out of the 3 precious hours it was going to waste of my life, I suggested to Udita that she write a poem, so that I atleast have something to read and somehow take my mind off this utterly torturous lab session. How I hate labs at 8 in the morning!! The poems titleD 'Setting In' and I am presuming it's about the night time 'setting in'. I said I am presuming because it's always hard to decipher the complete meaning of a poem, particularly the good one's. They always have one or two double meanings which are usually behind the comprehension of a normal man. And 'Setting In' is something I actually enjoyed reading. Good work Udita.

9:29 AM and the clock continues to tick by as if it's in no hurry at all. Well,I am-dammit. My 2 lab partners are busy making connections for the experiment to be performed. Well, Vikrant's the one making the connections, Samiksha's just observing them. Why? Well, Samiksha tried making the connections the first time but we failed to get any output so Vikrant's giving it a shot now. Good luck to him.

What's the experiment about? Believe me, you don't want to know. It's got something to do with Series Voltage Regulator using Operatinal Amplifiers, Op-amps for short. Or whatever that means. It's not something I am planning to get myself involved with today and probably not till a few hours before the lab exam.

9:35 AM and the connections are done. But once again we have failed to produce the output. Farid to the resCUe? Nah, not today. On another day I would have actually sat down with my lab partners and try and analyse what's wrong with the circuit(or us) but today I just yawn at the sight of a circuit board and a soldering iron. Did I tell you I hate soldering? It's a pathetic job and I am certainly not getting my hands dirty today with that thing. Let's just say am not in the mood to play with wires, DMM's and CRO's.

9:46 AM and I had to take a bit of a break from writing in the past few minutes. That's because Samiksha was sweet enough to call one of the damn professors to our table. I just don't know how to explain to her that when you are not getting the output, the best thing to do is just copy the readings from someone else instead of wasting time on another attempt or worse, calling the professor. It's that simple, really. For our aim in this lab should be to get out of here as soon as possible. Everything else, including performing the experiment becomes secondary. Anyways, the professor took about 7-8 minutes to play with the circuit, change a wire here and there and voila-nope...nope...still no output. I guess we are on our own today.

And oh, by the way, I think our connection is suffering from a short circuit. That's because the voltage amplifier just gave out a few sparks. Yippppeee!! Some excitement finally. And now Samiksha's declared that our circuit has indeed fused thanks to a short circuit. Honestly-I don't think I give a damn either way.

9:58 AM and I am back after a water break. I wasn't exactly thirsty but I just needed to get out of this lab somehow. In the meantime, Udita has returned with my notebook. I opened it with excitement, looking forward to another one of her poems but all I got was the drawing of a human face. Errr....what?? So I went to Udita for an explaination. She announced that the drawing of that face with no ears (?) was a form of "Abstract Art." Huh? Sorry? So she went on to give an explaination about how the eyes represent the tears, the lips the smile and some dot above the eye as the confusion. And what about the nose? I asked. She replied that since there was an eye and a lip, then there had to be a nose. Ummm...whatever. I think she's lost it. Can't really blame her though. This place gets to the best of them.

10:05 AM. Less than an hour to go now. Will time move a little faster please? By the way-Vikrant's onto connecting another circuit. Samiksha has gone to ask some doubt or probably copy the readings. After the last circuit fused, she finally got the brain wave to copy someone else's reading. Three cheers for Samiksha!! Hip-Hip Hurray!!

Lester on the opposite table continues to pronounce the readings almost as if he's shouting it out for the entire class. Not than anyone minds. Most of us could do with the readings. Rishi-his lab partner continues copying them down obediently without even looking up. Thinking they are sincere students? Yeah, right!! And Vikrant's just told me that the 2nd circuit isn't working either. Glory, Glory-All The Way!!

10:36 AM. Was forced to take another break (an extended one this time) as once again my lab partners decided to call the prof to dilly-dally around our circuit. This time he stayed for more more than 20 minutes. Needless to say all he did was play around with the switches on the resistance box, plug a few wires here and there, test the capapcitor and then the transistor and after all this, had the audacity to ask me to carry a rheostat box (does he know how heavy it is?) so that he could play with it and then ask me again to keep it back (DOES HE KNOW HOW HEAVY IT IS?). And after all the dilly-dallying, all he had to say was "Your circuit isn't working." Oh, Thank You sir!! The idiot-as if we didn't know that.

10:42 AM. I guess it's time to put this monologue to an end. Partly because after nearly 3 torturous hours in the lab, we are finally free to go. And partly because one of the prof's has been looking at me from the corner of his eye, watching me scribble a lot more in the notebook than a usual student does in a lab session. So in order to avoid getting caught, I will put down my pen and pack my bags and finally leave this horrendous place. This is the Ayatollah of Life, signing out. Cheers!!

STOP THE HATRED!!!

I remember playing cricket on that sandy ground near my house in Bahrain against a team comprised of our supposed arch rivals- Pakistanis. I remember the passion and the fervour with which we would celebrate each wicket of theirs and each boundary we scored. I remember the huddle we would form after we had beaten them and the frustration we went through when we lost a game. That passion was something else, it went way beyond a mere game of cricket but crossed into the realm of playing against a team that we Indians have so often regarded as the enemy-Pakistan. Whether we like it or not, the moment we see a bunch of Pakistani lads walkng by we immediately have a comment to pass about them-and most of those comments are never friendly. When the Indian team beats Pakistan in a game of cricket, it goes beyond just winning a cricket game. When we lose, we feel humiliated and embarassed as if those 11 cricketers who went onto the pitch representing our country had betrayed us. Come what may-a loss to Pakistan in unacceptable in any condition. It won't be wrong to say then that most of us believe in the following statement: "We must beat them or we shall cease to exist."

Which isn't true ofcorse. We continue to exist and will continue to exist irrespective of whether we have beaten Pakistan in a game or not. After every loss, we curse everybody around us for a few hours, use the choicest words for our cricket team and then go back to sleep awaiting the next match. Yet somehow, every loss to our neighbors is treated as a dent in our pride. "woh साले क्रिच्केतेर्स हमारी नाक कटवा के आ रहे हैं...सबको चुल्लू भर पानी में डूब जाना चाहिए", we scream after a loss.

But honestly-do we really hate our neighbors so much? Or is it just another rivalry which has been created in our minds thanks to a partition that took place more than 60 years ago. Were the wounds of that event so deep that six decades on and we still haven't been able to get past it? And will we carry this hatred in our hearts for a nation that actually fought its war of independence with us as one single country?

What I fear most is that this hatred that we carry in our hearts for a nation that embodies a culture just like ours and with whom we have more things in common than with any other country in the world, this hatred for that nation is something that we will pass on to our future generations. For isn't that's how we inherited this hatred in the first place? Listening to our elders recount the partition story, reading about that 1971 war and how all India tried to do was help another nation gain its independence(the nation in question being Bangladesh) and then the final piece of the jigsaw was completed with the Kargil war. That war ensured that we shall forever view Pakistan as the enemy, as a nation that if allowed to exist will become the reason for our destruction and that must be squashed like a bug if we were to sleep peacefully ever again.

Yet, living almost my entire childhood outside India has somehow helped me get past that hatred. How much ever we may have enjoyed beating those Pakistanis in a game of cricket, the truth is more often than not we were on really friendly terms. That's how we actually played matches against each other in the first place. Yes, there was a competitive streak always going on simple because we belonged to two nations who were more often that not at logger heads with each other, but in the end-whatever the result maybe, win or lose, we would always shake their hands and congratulate them on a good game before we fixed the time and venue for our next match.

Interacting with them, it made me realise a very simple thing: Friendships go beyond boundaries. All it takes is understanding. I don't talk to half of the people in my class and it's not because I hate them but simply because we don't have a common understanding about things and are not that comfortable talking. For in friendships, that's all that matters. All you need is a common understanding of things and a common language you can speak in. For after that, everything else, ceases to matter. Cast, creed, religion, sex, nationalities-none of that matters.

And honestly-it's high time we went beyond the 'he is a pakistani so if you interact with him then you are fraternising with the enemy' mould. A man creates his own enemies and his own friends. How much ever we may want to blame the circumstances, the truth is we are the one's who choose our friends. And similarly we are the one's who choose our enemies. If anything my interaction with the Pakistanis has taught me, then it is how similar we actually are. We speak the same language, have nearly the same dressing sense, follow about the same values and have inherited the same culture, yet we are always at each other throats, trying to bring each other down. We take pleasure in their pain and feel a sense of happiness when we see their nation suffering.

All this has to stop at some point. The seed of hatred shouldn't be sown any further than it already has. For if we impart this hatred in the future generation then I am afraid this hatred will engulf us all. It will take us into a darkness from which we might never be able to see light again. More than Pakistan, our hatred for them and ultimately we ourselves would be the reason for our destruction. I really hope I don't get too see that day.

As a parting shot letme recount a past experience of mine. When I was in 11th grade, in my school bus there used to be these two guys whom I didn't necessarily get along with that well. Not that we used to fight or anything, but we just didn't particularly like each other. Then one fine day, these two guys started calling me a 'Pakistani.' No prizes for guessing why. Since I am a Muslim, somehow some people(actually morons and racists) think they have the liberty to brand me as a Pakistani. This went on for a few days until my 'famous' temper finally blew up and I gave them a verbal lashing with all sorts of slangs involved to remember for the rest of their lives. The reason that I lost my temper that day was because I though by calling me a Pakistani they were racially abusing me. If that same incident were to take place now, I would have given them the same verbal lashing with a few more modified slangs that I have managed to learn since then. But not just because they were racially abusing me. But because they were treating a word that describes the people of a nation as an abusive word.

STOP THE HATRED OR WE SHALL CEASE TO EXIST!!!

Bollywood Calling!!

I have never really understood Bollywood. I doubt anyone has, even those who are actually involved in it on an everyday basis but still it rankles me that a world I so closely follow and a world that I feel so passionate about is a world which is as unpredictable as the Indian Cricket Team's performance. They can give us the crappiest of movies and we all lap it up and make it a blockbuster and they could give us a movie to be cherished for years, yet we would reject it like we had never heard of it.

Which brings us to the question-Is publicity all that matters in Bollywood? Certainly it does matter a great deal but you can't say its a sureshot method to give a hit. For then would you please explain to me the failure of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. Huge starcast, best production house in India, Amitabh Bachchan doing a desi Johnny Depp, superhit music, great dance numbers, hoardings all over the town and yet it turned out to be a complete turkey at the box office. As a newspaper advised JBJ's producer, Adityya Chopra, 'Mr Chopra...repeat...Script is King.' But is it? Or is Shahrukh Khan the king? For if script was king, then be sure of one thing-Om Shanti Om wouldn't be the biggest hit of the decade. Yes, a movie that lacked complete sense and kept making one gag after another, each one getting harder to bear as time went by and yet somehow, that movie has gone on to be labelled the biggest hit of the decade. Sheesh-whatever happened to path breaking cinema. The only reason why that movie actually ever worked was because of the brand we call Shahrukh Khan. Replace Sharukh Khan with Sanjay Suri, a hugely talented but equally hugely overlooked actor and the sceario changes completely. Wonder how many would have gone to see Sanjay Suri do a Dard-e-Disco even with the hottest woman in India currently-Deepkia Padukone(I would have but only bcoz of miss Padukone). Most likely, we wouldn't even have heard of the movie.

So maybe SRK is king? Nope, nope. That theory isn't completely true either. Remember Swades? Lauded as SRK's best work till date? It had everything-didn't it? A great script, a fantastic director, wonderful A R Rahman melodies, heartfelt romantic moments(customary of every SRK movie till Chak De India), strong patriotic sentiments, a classic return of the 'prodigal son' story and yes-it even had the final piece of the jigsaw required for a blockbuster-King Khan. And yet the movie bombed. It went on to become a DVD classic and people still cannot understand how this atrocity of rejecting a fantastic movie was committed, yet the truth is the film was a major dud at the box office.

So what really makes the box-office tick? Honestly-that's an answer that not even the most knowledgeable of men can anwer. There's no sure-shot formula to winning gold at the box-office. Yet when a perfectly good movie gets rejected and a perfectly horrendous movie flops, it stings a little bit. While Om Shanti Om wasn't exactly a bad movie, in all honesty-it was a decent entertainer but the fact is that movie wasn't half as good as the other SRK movie of the year, Chak De India and yet it has done almost twice the business. When a movie like Rang De Basanti, Taare Zameen Par, Black or Chak De India does well or when a well publicised but horrendous movies like Jhoom Barabar Jhoom and Mela are downright rejected, we applaud the sensibility of the audience. Yet, at the same time, when movies like Om Shanti Om and Krish which are nothing but an exercise at letting India know who its superstars are, begin to break box office records, then you have to say not all is right with Indian cinema. Movies are meant to be entertaining-sure. But since when does an assault at our senses start getting branded as entertainment. And that's exactly what movies like Om Shanti Om, Krish and Gadar represent.

What's even more revolting is when perfectly good movies are confounded to also ran's status at the box office. Reasons might vary from no star power to not entertaining enough to 'audience is not in the mood for these kind of movies' but the truth is a good movie is a good movie is a good movie. They are watchable at any time of the year and there's no particular time to catch a good movie. Because then Jab We Met should have released only on Valentine's day and Mangal Pandey should have been a huge hit because it released on Independence day. The truth is Rang De Basanti could have released at Valentine's day for all I care, but it would still be as good a movie as it was when it was released on Jan 25th. Mood should certainly not be the reason for branding a movie good or bad.

Which is why I don't understand why Halla Bol didn't work either. It was a perfectly good movie backed up by power-house performances by Ajay Devgan(a star in his own right) and Pankaj Kapur(just magnificient) and yet they said that audience is not in the mood for hard hitting cinema. Screw hard hitting cinema. All we should care about is good cinema.

There were 3 really good movies last year which failed to find an audience. Johnny Gaddar, Mumbai Salsa and Strangers were what you would brand good cinema. None of them were regular run of the mill stuff, yet each was equally entertaining and had all the ingredients required for commercial cinema. What they lacked was a recongisable face. And so 3 movies which showed that Bollywood was moving in the right direction turned into examples of 3 movies which showed that the Indian audeince is still not ready to accept a different branch of entertaining cinema. Johnny Gaddar in particular was as wild a ride as you could get in a cinema thatre. Despite its failure at the box office, I have no doubts in my mind that this movie would go on to become a retro-classic. Because its that damn good.

Mumbai Salsa, the story of the rich but still only in their mid-20's people living the cool urban lifestyle in Mumbai was a touching tale of trials and tribulations in relationships and one which made you think that life is not as simple as it looks for the people who make it young. Yet thanks to a completely new cast, this movie too failed to reach its audience. Again a movie that is highly recommended if you are looking for soething different yet entertaining this weekend.

Strangers on the other hand was a genre even harder to understand. While both Johnny Gaddar and Mumbai Salsa were well-paced movies(Johnny Gaddar was so fast it didn't give you time to think), Stranger on the other hand takes its time building the story but keeps you rivetted till the end before giving you a final jolt. This was one was a classic thriller in the Alfred Hitchcock mould, one which when viewed with patience increases its repeat value.

Johnny Gaddar, Strangers and Mumbai Salsa-all three movies have quite a lot in common. Devoid of star cast,a new brand of entertaining cinema, perfectly good movies, handled by inexperienced directors with aplomb(Mumbai Salsa and Strangers had debutante directors) and yet reunited in their common failure to reach an audience. Really a pity. For if these movies had worked, then I would have been sure that our audience has indeed grown up and Bollywood was moving in the right direction. Yet, thanks tho the failures of these movies, doubts persist.

Atleast you go catch these movies. Believe me, if you really know what good cinema is, then these movies are definitely worth a view.

An Amalgam of Views!!

It's easy to start a blog. But it's an altogether different thing to keep updating it regularly. So far I have been good at that. 8 articles in 2 weeks isn't a bad start. I have seen blogs where 8 articles have been psoted in an entire year so by that rate I am doing a darn good job. But eventually you do run out of ideas to write about and start thinking-for how long can I go on at this?

Luckily for you my avid readers, I am a very sensitive being. I take most of the things to heart and feel very strongly about most issues. I always have an opinion irrespective of what the topic is and usually I am not shy to share those opinions. Not that I am planning to be a revolutionary but I am not afraid to speak my mind. Again it doesn't necessarily mean I call a spade a spade because you would probably find me to be one of the least judgemental people on the planet. While I usually have strong opinions about what's wrong and what's right in our society, I never think that my opinion is necessarily the right one. As I have discussed in pre-marital sex, while I think it's wrong, it doesn't make me think lesser of a person who think it's right. It's a free society and everyone's entitled to their opinions and their beliefs. In one word-I believe in 'democracy.'

For instance, I don't eat pork or drink alcohol as I am a Muslim. Yet I have friends who do one or both of these activites and that in no way makes me think-'what's wrong with these people? Can't they see that they are committing a sin?' It's their choice and I have no right to think lesser of them because they are doing something I don't beleive in. If I did, that would make me a hypocrite and I would like to believe that I am not.

Again, I am totally against the idea of live-in relationships, obviously reflecting from my views on pre-marital sex. Yet one of my best friends sees nothing wrong with it. And why should he? He has been brought up in a different environment compared to mine and his views reflect the environment he has been brought up in. It doesn't mean that my ubringing is better than his or vice versa or his parents have taught him the wrong moral values, it just means that we believe in a different set of values and as they say-to each his own. I am not going to let that come in the way of our friendship for we find it easy to get along irrespective of our moral codes. Yes we have had huge debates on the topic but it's been no different that me having a debate with a United fan over who's the better player-Christiano Ronaldo or Cesc Fabregas.

One fine day me and another friend started a discussion on relationships. As in how you are meant to end up with only one person but is it right to sleep with other people whom you date before you finally meet 'the one.' You obviously can guess what I think on that matter. But what's interesting is the take on people who do believe in sex before marriage. I very aptly told my friend, 'mate-if you believe it's right to sleep with a girl before marriage, then sex can't be exclusive.' Simply because you can never really be sure that this is 'the' person you are going to end up with. Every time you get into a relationship, you get in because you think that person is special and there's always a possibility that this might be the person you would eventually end up with. You don't get into a relationship because you want a quick romp in the sack(ok, some do but in general people don't) but because you believe what you share with that person is something special. And if you are 18 then you ain't exactly thinking of marriage so to presume that you should sleep only with that one person-that's just being plain naive. Because at 18 if you are thinking-'oh, i am going to marry this girl so it's alright to sleept with her', then well-you are looking at a crystal ball which doesn't exist. So if you believe there's nothing wrong with pre-marital sex, then sex can't be exclusive-simple as that.

Ofcorse that's my side of the debate. If you believe in the exclusivity of sex, that that's your opinion and I have total respect for it. Ofcorse-you will have to justify why you believe so but whatever your views, it doesn't make you a better or lesser person than someone with a totally oppsite spin on things. As I said-to each his own.

The Deed of One Man!!

Among all the words in the english dictionary, the word 'inspiration' has always fascinated me the most. Because it is this very word that has shaped and reshaped history ever since time began and it is this word that more often than not makes the difference between success and failure. Let's face it, it's only an inspired man that can be termed as 'unstoppable.'

Inspiration ofcorse is a relative term. Inspiration doesn't necessarily mean a person who went from rags to riches because he had enough of the street life or your best friend who was so inspired by the thought of topping the boards that he actually accomplished it or Sachin Tendulkar who was determined to lead India to World Cup glory and did so(I really hope that happens-2011 maybe?). Inspiration can have a destructive effect as well. That's why when Amrish Puri asks Sunny Deol to say 'Hindustan Murdaabad, he was 'inspired' to destroy the entire Pakistani Army all by himself. Getting to a little more logical and real example, Hitler was so inspired by the thought of 'world domination', that he actually went about trying to accomplish it. Ofcorse the rest of the world was even more inspired by the thought of freedom and that's why Hitler was eventually defeated.

Ok. Enough of the grammer lesson. This post isn't about what the word inspiration can do but what inspiration has come to mean in today's world.

During these holidays I was able to catch a reality show on tv called Lead India. Where basically the man who wins will eventually be given the non-enviable task of changing India and leading us to glory. Now, as far as I know that task actually belongs to the Prime Minister but it was the thought behind the programme that struck me. For years now we have been complaining about how a common man doesn't stand a chance to make it into politics. It is the common man who is actually most aware of the problems that our country faces, yet he is either just not interested in politics or even if he is, then he somehow just cannot get in unless he has 'connections.' Well, to all those people who are interested in bringing a positive change to the country and finally setting things right, here is your chance. Ofcorse it's easier said than done but atleast someone has taken the initiative.

While watching the programme, another issue curbed up in my mind. My initial reaction to the show was 'good initiative but what can one man do?' And that set my grey cells in motion again. I am pretty darn sure that most us think that while this initiative is to be lauded, none of us actually believe that anything will come out of it. The winner will ask people to plant some trees, do some charity work, give a few speeches here and there and will eventually fade into obscurity. Because ofcorse-'what can one man do?' Most of us have come to the conlcusion that either this country is beyond help or atleast we can't do anything to help it. As a famous scene goes-when we turn 35, we will be sitting in our lawns with a cup of tea in one hand and a newspaper in the other and tell our wives, "Darling-is desh ka kuch nahi ho sakta."

The truth is most of us are just too lazy to actually do something for this counrty. As long as we are doing our work, which is getting marks now and a fat pay check later, then we believe there's no reason to meddle in 'outside business.' Yup, we regard the problems of our country as outside business. And how much ever you may deny it, you know that's what you have come to regard it as.

While those who are actually interested in doing something for our nation are discouraged by their friends, peers and families. 'Tu akela kya karlega?' 'Abey relax yaar, chal daaru peete hain, desh ko kal sudhaar lenge.' 'You are just wasting your time man, nothing can be done about this country.' 'Is it only your responsibility to improve the country- pure desh ko sudhaarne ka theka sirf tumne le rakha hai kya?'

More often than not it comes down to one thing-'what can we alone do?' 'What can one man do?'

But that's where inspiration comes in. History is set alight by examples of one inspired person who led revolutions and changed the world. Whether it be Alexander or Martin Luther King or Stalin or our own Mahatma Gandhi, they were all just one men. It was the vision of that one 'inspired' man that changed the course of history forever. Yes-no single person can change the country alone. But behind every revolution there's only one man. It is the thought of one person and the actions of the thousands that beleive in him, that take their inspiration from his that leads to governements being thrown out and monarchies destroyed over night.

So all we need is one man. All we need is a leader who is inspired enough to go all the way, to beleieve that he can actually set things right in this country and I am sure that soon thousands and later millions will start beleiving in his vision. All we need is an inspired man with a clear vision of what he is setting out to do. The rest will follow.

So if we keep thinking that 'one man can't do anything', then we once again need to reopen our history books. We talk about examples of the change that a single person has brought into this world on an almost daily basis and yet we somehow have come to the conclusion that it's impossible for a single person to change this country. If we keep thinking this way, then indeed one man can't do anything. But the day we change our thoughts, you will yourself see the change in you. As I said, inspiration is a relative word.

It's like the promo they show for Lead India. There's a huge traffic jam thanks to a tree falling on the road due to rain and lightning. The road is blocked and no one has any idea what to do. While some wait impatiently, horning their vehicles away to glory, others leave walking to the other side of the road and catch a bus or a rickshaw from there. It is then that one little child comes up and starts pushing the tree. While others watch admirable and at the same time mockingly, other kids in the area too decide to come and help push the tree. And soon the elders follow. And before we know it, the tree has been lifted and cast aside and the road-block is over. Just like that. All thanks to the power of one. All because that child beleived. And it's really high time we started beleiving it too. All we need is one man...one leader!!

For behind every revolution, there is only one man!!

Taare Zameen Par: Movie Review

I am not exactly sure if it's a good idea to post a movie review on a blog. But I love movies and I love writing about them so I have decided that from time to time I'll post something from the movie world as well. For the simple fact is can't live without movies. And my blog is not going to go without anyhing from the movie world either. So here goes.

It's not very often that Bollywood springs such a pleasant surprise on you. Though Aamir Khan seems to do it everytime he comes up with a movie, the truth is there have been very few movies from the world of Bollywood that we actually take with us to our homes and can't seem to get our minds off it. So when a movie like that does come, you know it's time to celebrate. Taare Zameen Par is one such rare movie.

Only Aamir Khan could pull this off. Only he could take the reins of a movie which could be as far removed from the bollywood commercial formula as possible, make his entry on screen only at the interval mark, deprive the movie of almost all Bollywood cliches including a leading lady and yet manage to give one of the year's biggest hits. Other super stars would immediately wash their hands off such a project which would lead to a supremely talented but immensely ignored Sanjay Suri being cast and the movie would bomb. But Aamir Khan not only chooses to greenlight the project as an actor but takes over the production reins as well and then decide to make this same film as his directorial debut. And what a debut it is!

As the movie begins, you are seeped into the life of Ishaan Awasthi, a 9 year old child full of dreams, yet somehow unable to make the world understand his dilemma. He may not be very good academically but there's no doubt that he has a superior talent. For one thing, our young Ishaan has one hell of an imagination. Yet the world refuses to see his talent or understand his problems. Fed up of his constantly failing in exams, Ishaan's father decides that the only way left to improve Ishaan is to ship him off to boarding school where he can be disciplined properly. But separated from his mother and his protective surrondings (echoed beautifully in the song 'Maa'), Ishaan only goes deeper into his shell ad shuts out the world completely. Until a new art teacher, Ram(Aamir Khan) makes his entry and decides to change all that.

From the very first scene, Aamir Khan the director makes his presence felt. As a young Ishaan collects fish from a pond while other kids around him are playing, it's clear what this child is going through. And it's clear that we are watching a very special movie.

Taare Zameen Par is a very simple movie. And perhaps that's where the brilliance of Aamir Khan lies. Instead of taking a movie where he could have blown off cars ala Sanjay Gadhvi and use different color for different places like Sanjay Gupta or make a 60 crore studio movie where 30 crore is invested only in art direction ala Sanjay Leela Bhansali(too many sanjay's huh?), Aamir Khan just decides to trust his diretorial talent to get through as he picks up a movie where he couldn't flash how good he is technically behind the camera but what a wonderful story teller he is. And he's a gem of a story teller.

All of us would have related to Ishaan's character at some point. No, not because anyone of us is dyslexic or we are poor students but because most of us at some pont or the other have felt that our dreams have been crushed by our parents for a safer world. And when Aamir Khan makes that rousing speech about how each parent only wants a ranker in his house and nothing less that an engineer, doctor or management will do, you felt as if a part of your life was being played on screen. It's a scene of glorious truth as this is true in almose every household today. And Aamir Khan's acting only makes it that much more hard hittng.

Infact there are so many scenes which rankles you up. The entire maa song is one of them where most of us would have wept buckets. Another fantastic scene is when Ishaan is on the phone with his mother and doesn't speak a word. That silence spoke volumes about what Ishaan was going through. Aamir Khan's visit to Ishaan's parents and then his speech about what caring means to a child to Ishaan's father, both scenes were of stupendous quality. And then the fantastic climax where you couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. And by the end you just want to bow your head down in respect of the genius that is Aamir Khan.

Whether it be Shankaar-Ehsaan-Loy's soundtrack or Amole Gupte's script, almost everything falls into its place in Taare Zameen Par with Darsheel Safary as the young Ishaan the star of the show. He deserves a national award for his performance. Tisca Chopra as the mother is rivetting. She's a delight to watch and here's hoping that Bollywood doesn't ignore this fantastic talent. Aamir Khan, well-is there anything else left to say that hasn't been said about him before? This is his movie from the first frame to the last and if anything he has made the best directorial debut since Aditya Chopra had helmed Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. Here's hoping that unlike Mr Chopra, Aamir Khan doesn't lose himself and continues to give us movies which we all can say proudly was made in India.

Taare Zameen Par is a rare gem in this galaxy. Missing it would be nothing short of a crime.

Rating: ****1/2