TO BE OR NOT TO BE

So, what’s all this talk about settling down? The minute you turn 24-25 years of age or are 2 years into a steady job, your parents can’t help but nag that, “You need to settle down beta with a nice boy/girl or buy a car or a flat for that matter”. And believe me it doesn’t stop until you actually do what they want. BELIEVE ME, that’s the only way to put an end to all that nagging.

If you are 24 years old, then you ARE an adult by law, you are allowed to drink and get married. Well if the law considers you sensible enough to do those things then why can’t you take all the important decisions of your life on your own. What’s with all the rush? Maybe you don’t want to settle down yet, maybe you haven’t sown all your wild oats yet! Maybe there are unfulfilled wishes – I mean practical ones like proposing the girl of your dreams, bungee jumping etc. 24 is a ripe age where you want to have fun, have different experiences – WILD & NOT SO WILD! You are not sure if the career path you are treading is right, in such a scenario, settling down is the last thing on your mind!

Even if you do comply with your parent’s wishes, they always have something new to nag about. If you buy a car, they want you to buy a flat; if you get married, they want you to have kids ASAP! And if nothing goes their way then brace yourselves for some real life drama. Point is, no matter however much the pressure is, do NOT give in. After all our forefathers have taught us that haste is waste. All that matters is that you know you are doing what is the right thing.

Someone had told me once that whatever you want to be or wherever you want to be, start imagining yourself there and you will get there. You just have one life to enjoy and believe it or not time is short. I am not recommending that you don’t listen to even an unsolicited piece of advice that someone offers. Each of us has our own pace of doing things. Each of us has our own version of “settling down” – for some it might be marriage, for some a high flying job. So when it is the right time & place for you, do settle down.

ROCKSTAR – The Review

I never wanted to write a review of any movie on my blog. Or at least not so soon. But the way our “janta” and the “critics” alike are banging this movie, I thought its time I put on my movie critic hat on and give this movie its due. Payback time people!

Let ‘s have a second take at the good parts of the movie :

1)      One cannot ignore Nargis Fakhri’s pout! She should be the new brand ambassador for Lakme or Maybelline lipsticks! Her pout is one of the most talked about things from the movie. And why not? Angelina Jolie too has an enviable, world class pout. Nargis might come a close 6^th or 7^th. But nonetheless, a pretty face with that pout – men, common!

2)      The first half of the movie was obviously more than average. What can I say about the sweet beginnings of new love. They have been portrayed beautifully in this movie. And at a certain point in the movie you do feel that – Aaj toh bahut hi crazy kar liya maine!

There was this scene in the movie where Jordan asks Heer to meet him in the backyard of her house while they are in Prague for a hug. A hesitant Heer finally gives in and goes to meet Jordan, where he is waiting for her with arms wide open. And this girl, she is thinking whether or not to let go of her inner inhibitions and hug him. Common, go! Its just a hug! You have already kissed him!

Anyways, the whole point of narrating the above scene was to point out that the movie is pretty intense. It needed a different level of maturity in the audience to actually understand what lied under the façade of friendship & yet respect it. It must have taken great directing skills so that Heer did not come off merely as a cheating wife.

    

3)      Let’s slice down to the technical aspects :

Cinematography – Check! (It’s Kashmir for god’s sake!)

Ranbir Kapoor – Check, Check, Check!

Script – Check! Well, I hope people are not complaining that they could not get a hold of all the switching between the past & present. If that’s an excuse for not liking the moving then your IQ is questionable.

Direction – Check!

Songs – Check (a million times)

Screenplay – Well, RK was more than fine, we will come to Nargis a lil’ bit later.

4)      If you liked Bodyguard and did not like Rockstar, then there’s nothing much left to say (Scoff!).

5)      Ranbir’s look – If you thought that the keys on his guitar strap were weird, what would you think of Amy Winehouse? The enormous beehive on her head was what caught attention & very soon became her signature style. Ranbir or Jordan is supposed to be a rebel, he’s supposed to be well not abnormal but a little less ordinary which is why we are drawn towards him in the first place.

Now for the ugly truth:

1)      Nargis Fakh-ri like her surname has totally f***ed up her acting skills. Even if she would have just stood in the background pouting, it would have sufficed. Her pretty face would not have gone unnoticed.

2)      The ending of the movie was not really satisfactory one would say. With such a strong script, the least Imtiaz Ali could have done was concluded the movie properly. And reduced the movie duration by half an hour!

   So, if you compare the drawbacks of the film to the positive points, it deserved a 3/5 and for someone like me who is biased towards RK, I would not hesitate giving it a 3.5/5. Chuck the newspaper ratings & reviews, read this review instead and go watch the movie!

RISE OF THE PIGS

As much as you are “intrigued/freaked out” by the title of this blog post, let me assure you, its a pretty interesting read. So do not hesitate, go on..

The other day, I was walking on the road and saw some pigs diving into an overflowing dumpster as if there life depended on it. There were some piglets too, with their twirly tails sticking out of all that garbage. I just smiled to myself and suddenly I had an epiphany of sorts! Why do we neglect this animal so much? Why are people disgusted at the sight of pigs? They mean no harm. They are a quiet lot, apart from the time when they start squealing. They surely have a great place in our past as well as present. How?? Well, let me elaborate..

Three little Pigs – Wasn't this an amazing story of 3 pig bro's trying to save their ass from a mean old wolf? Children just adored the images of the 3 little piggies running helter-skelter when the wolf tried to destroy their homes.

Empress of Blandings – This magnificent “Sow” has been the heroine of many of P.G. Wodehouse's stories. In no book that I have read, has a pig been as extensively discussed as the Empress of Blandings. She is well fed, very well taken care of, groomed, she has care takers and above all a Lord to take care of her. Your Majesty, Lord Emsworth at your service.

MCP – All women definitely know the full form of this abbreviation – Male Chauvinistic Pig. I don't need to elaborate on what it means. I would just like to point it out that here the pig has kept up with the emerging trends.

Pighead – Now mostly, we seen the words dumb, moron etc being used for people who are obviously stupid! Originally if a person acted like a moron, they would call him donkey, but slowly the pig has taken over.

Donkey: Score 0 ; Pig : Score 1!

Swine & Dine – The word swine has two meanings : 1) direct meaning is – Pig

2) when used in an analogy it refers to a person who is not merely unpleasant but contemptible as well!

In some parts of the world, dinner or lunch is all about piggie. They eat pork in various forms – proscuitto, bacon, sausages etc.

All I want to highlight is that we should give this animal the respect it deserves. Lets not treat it as some unwanted entity. We loved Babe & Porky Pig didn't we? Then why not the whole species? Lets not neglect it because it is covered in muck all the time, I mean even Gaddafi was found in a gutter, that too hiding! At least the pig does not hide itself beneath all the filth, instead it wanders proudly in the mucky swamps, head held high!

Forever Friends

So, there was this time when I thought I should make new friends. I wasn’t trying to replace my old set of friends. I had recently started on my new job and I was learning a lot about life and I thought that your friends are the most important thing in the world. They are your wealth! After all, a man is known by the company he keeps. So, I added a few people I barely knew on social networking sites, started conversing more with people in my office & the ones I met socially in order to get to know them better. I actually made an effort to at least seem to be interested in what these people were saying or doing. Not very talkative by nature, it was a long shot.

I met a few of those people couple of times later coz they seemed to be interesting at first. Cracked a few jokes, had a few good meals, but there was something missing. The ingenuity was lacking & there was no warmth in the friendship. Maybe the only reason why me & those people kept meeting was just to kill time. Or maybe they were trying out the same thing. Slowly the interest faded, on both sides. At first, we avoided hanging out by making up excuses such as “Hey I have a family function to attend, sorry can’t make it”. Then avoiding phone calls and texting later at an ungodly hour (so you know that the person would be asleep) – “Hey just saw your message, I was driving”.

This continued for some time until the phone calls & texts stopped. Completely. Well, so this whole idea of mine had backfired, so what? I realized it was so hard to make new friends and actually expect to cultivate a friendship as adults. Its hard to come by people who are genuine & caring. Like Seinfeld said in one of his episodes, - Remember, when we were kids, and if you saw another kid with the same bicycle as yours, you would go like,”hey, you and I have matching bicycles, yey we are friends” . It was that EASY! There was an innocence in it, there was no motive behind making new friends, just pure joy. And its not like we don’t get joy out of people now, if there’s someone worthy enough we will surely give them a chance. Won’t we?

I am more than happy with my set of friends from school & college. I did make one or two really good friends after that whom I am still in touch with & who do care about me & vice versa. But I guess we shouldn’t try to control destiny. If its meant to be, it will happen. And that’s when it will be real friendship!

Its a Dependent Ecology!

First & foremost I would like to credit my friend Phani Krishna for the title of this post (otherwise the title would have been "The New Age Barter System"..geeky!!). In one of our conversations,he mentioned these few words and they made me think. Its an open ended topic, it does not conclude. The first thing that comes to my mind when I read the title is the food chain diagram which all of us had seen in our text books during school days...Remember?? No? Let me refresh:

grass grows on soil-->rabbit eats grass-->eagle eats rabbit :-( --> eagle dies (yey!) --> eagle's body decomposed in soil

So, without divulging into the nitty gritties of the food chain, what I would like to point out is that on the internet, we humans are mentally dependent on each other just as these animals are in the food chain are physically depenedent on one another. For instance, if you like my FB status, i like yours; you comment on my photo, I comment on yours; its a give and take relationship. Even for that matter my blog, I am dependent on my readers to make myself heard just like TV shows are dependent on their viewers for good TRPs.

With all the above quoted examples, it might seem at first that - wow, the human race is really selfish, but if you keep the food chain in perspective and think, then its very natural. We are just satisfying our basic needs. Our need for acceptance or approval or being liked is only natural just like all the hungry animals in the food chain. Being accepted/noticed is the sole point for our existence on social networking sites or on most sites on the web. Its the feel good factor that underlines our existence online.

Just as there is no selfless act in real life, there ain't a single selfless act on the web! I recently read somewhere, that scientists have been researching the reason behind the altruistic behavior of human beings. One such study cited an example, a mother trying to protect her offspring is also not a selfless act because it is the natural tendency of our genes trying to protect their lineage. Few other researchers consider that it would have been impossible for the society to have developed without the cooperation that altruism fosters.

Well all of this was an observation on my part, and people are entitled to have their opinions. Its a debatable topic, to each his own!

We are like this only!

The phrase "We are like this only" has a dash of Indianness to it. It literally translates to "हम तोह ऐसे ही हैं". It has a stubborn ring to it. It tries to say that we as Indians will not change wherever we go in the world.

 We talk in a high pitch, live with a "chalta hai" attitude, drink tea thrice a day (even if it is cutting chai),can't live without the song & dance routine in movies, pick our noses & scratch here and there in public, ask questions that might seem intrusive & eat with our hands. But I love it....well not all of it....but most of it.

       It is a part of who we are and where we are brought up. And hey, I am not writing all of this  because I am having this sudden bout of patriotism, but don't we all see what's happening - the world is waking up to India! India Shining!

      Ok, so we are not a perfect country and our villages aren't exactly shining, but if you want me to talk about the fine things that India has to offer I could go rambling on about the diversity in culture, religions, flora, fauna etc etc. But what I would really like to highlight is the smaller things in life that make us happy and which are a by product of our culture.

       Where in the world do we find such close knit families in the 21st century, where do we see such religious tolerance, where do we see grandparents playing such an integral part in their grandchildren's lives and in which part of the world does anybody entertain you withput a prior appointment(ok some of you might say where do we see such corruption or inflation, but I will address that issue maybe in my next blogpost).

      Anyways, what I am really trying to say is that because of the rich culture and traditions that we have, a secure & happy family life is not a dream but something very palpable. Wouldn't a teenager's teenage years be incomplete if his mom/chachi/daadi does not warn him in front of the girl he is going out with, saying "No touching, no kissing"  (Reference : Himmesh Reshammiya's song).

     During weddings, it might seem that all the chachis and naani's and daadi's are going crazy with numerous suggestions and preparations, but what's a wedding without all the hoopla surrounding it!! What's a wedding party without the roaring laughter of your aunts and a few drunk uncles ( i have 3 aunts so whenever they get together, the earth does tremble with their laughter).

It is this Indianness that makes me proud of being an Indian, I am sure all of us feel the same way. Maa tujhe salaam!

Much Ado about Nothing!

Hello there!
So finally after 3 years of pondering and procrastinating I have been able to start blogging. Maybe its sheer boredom that made me take this step or that I really want people to enjoy my writing. Just like the title of this particular blogpost, my blog is going to be about nothing..like Seinfeld was - a show about nothing! Yet very witty and entertaining!
If any of you are wondering about the title of the blog "Life's a rummy affair", the word "rummy" in P.G. Wodehouse's dictionary means something odd or peculiar. Well LIFE is odd, isn't it! I couldn't think of any one better than the beloved P.G. Wodehouse as an inspiration for my blog. His characters like Jeeves, Bertie Wooster & Aunt Agatha are as firmly implanted in my mind as "Mogambo" or "Gabbar" or "Shaktimaan" for that matter. Btw, when I was a kid I used to think Shaktimaan was a big show off! (No offence to anybody)
Right now I have so much to say, but my commitments to the real world beckon me. Adios and see you soon!