NOT SO REGIONAL AFTER ALL ;-)

I don’t wish to be speculative at all. BSP, with Mayawati driving it full throttle, has made its presence felt very strongly at the centre. Recently, TDP chief Chandra Babu Naidu expressed hopes of changing the face of politics in a big way at the centre by collaborating with ‘regional’ parties like BSP. He was all praises for Maya and suggested a future partnership rooting its hope on its good performance in the next lok-sabha elections.
There is one major flaw in what Mr. Naidu said. He made the big mistake of counting BSP as a ‘regional’ party! Mayawati’s maya is spreading across the country like wild fire. The recent win in the assembly polls in UP was just a small testimony to the fact that BSP has arrived in the centre stage quite convincingly. It remains to be seen whether this development is for the good or bad but this is a totally different story; it would depend on whether she adheres to her old policies of irrational appeasement or delivers to the new demands that have been created by her new electoral partnerships. BSP is taking advantage of the divided Maharashtra politics. Even though it may never be able to fare well in the urban areas of Maharashtra, it may be expected to do exceptionally well in other parts of the state.
Tamil Nadu is another flourishing state for BSP. But here the turf is tough considering the two party atmospheres in the state. But if Maya is able to make good of the minority strength in Tamil Nadu it could mean a revelation. Of course it would be preposterous to think of a very big show by BSP in Tamil Nadu because the ruling party’s appeasement policies have been working wonders in the lower ranks of the voting public. But, a good performance is nevertheless expected in the state which has more than 60% reservation provisions in education and jobs for the ‘lower’ caste people.
With the UP assembly victory the BSP may just have hit the gold mine of dalit politics in India.

SHOOT YOUR BRAINS OUT ...

Shootout at Lokhandwala had huge expectations on it to such an extent that the very phony entry and a short action sequence of Abhishek Bachaan didn’t discourage me much. My expectations crashed when the first one of the 3 unnecessary ‘item’ songs came up. The movie was a collection of scenes and sequences which leave you in a very confused state of mind. Forming an opinion is a different issue all together but this one even misses to link the various emotions of the screenplay in an effective way. At one moment you would start believing in the power of the ‘good cops’ and the dedicated men of the department (ATS-anti terrorist squad) while towards the end the director wants you to sympathize with the criminals (or with the way they were killed). But one thing is for sure, there would be a blood shed scene in the movie when you are least expecting it so I recommend that you don’t carry anything to eat. Even a chewing gum may want you to throw up at times in the movie.
The movie’s screenplay is so bad that it has totally killed the movie. A good concept has been derailed and humiliated. The characters fail to impress at all and besides the character of Sanjay Dutt there’s hardly anyone worth a buck. Tushar Kapur has again proved to be an embarrassment to his father’s legacy with poor dialogue delivery and a pathetic expressionless face all the time. Amitabh Bachhan has done well but he had just about 10 dialogues (more like Joey’s one liners) in the whole movie so if you had planned to see the movie for him you will be disappointed like me.
The action scenes include a lot of blood but lack the creativity which any sane mind should expect. If you are a RGV fan then don’t buy the tickets. If you have seen any movie with a similar concept of encounters and stuff then don’t buy the tickets. In fact this movie has nothing new to offer except for the obvious lesson that a movie can really give you a headache.
With a typical early 90’s bollywood movie style this one leaves you completely confused towards the end as the director tries to give the 6 criminals an RDB like finish. (Ridiculous you would say but it’s true!). A few questions have been asked by Diya Mirja (as a reporter in the movie) which should have been the central theme of the movie but the very polite reporter fails to make an impact.
Writing a review for “Shootout at Lokhandwala” is one of the worst things that I’ve ever done but I see it as a thing of charity, hope all who read this review spend their time and money doing better things like going to a zoo to watch a camel with their girlfriends.
And hey, I forgot to mention … there’s one reason to watch the movie … Rakhi Savant makes a special appearance!!!

BOOM(b)B(l)ASTIC

A flock of pigeons almost symbolically flew out of a 313-year-old mosque at Hyderabad as a bomb ripped through a Friday prayer crowd of over 3,000 on the 18th of May, killing nine worshippers.
Hours later, that image of wings of peace fluttering away from a blood-splattered Mecca Masjid seemed to capture the country’s deepest fears when police firing on protesting mobs killed four more persons.
Interestingly the bombing coincides with the start of sentencing for the Mumbai blasts — India’s biggest terrorist strike — which saw five people given three year imprisionment each.

The bombs were made of stick grenades packed into metal pipes and placed inside “tiffin boxes”, the state police chief said. “They were triggered by remote through a cellphone.”

Very soon the streets had turned into battlefields with mobs attacking shops, buses, petrol pumps and policemen, who replied with batons and tear gas before opening fire. Angry Muslim youths carrying stones and sticks were roaming the lanes and bylanes, yards away from the thousands of security personnel swarming over the city.

Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil also claimed that the main objective of the people behind the blast was to whip up communal passion and create disturbances to upset peace and harmony.

The Andhra Pradesh police said the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed was the prime suspect. A Union home ministry source, though, pointed the finger at Deendar Anjuman, a banned outfit that had seven years ago carried out blasts in the state, mostly at temples, churches and Jewish memorials.
Kamal Farooqi, chairman of the Delhi Minority Commission, said the police must look at “all angles to see whether the suspects are Muslim or Hindu extremists”.

Then on the AP Police started pointed fingers at Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami or HUJI and the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) as the main suspects.

And we all know what happened recently in Punjab and the immediate effect of which is :the rise in demand and cost of Kirpans
Now when we are in the league to become a "SuperPower".. How do we tackle these situations, which are unnecessarily creating disharmony and unrest among the countrymen?? When will the people of various communities of our country trust and respect human relations and lifes more than the misinterpret versions of their scriptures.

Provoked ;)

Well was first shoked and then laughed over it, but pepole this incident is worth a thought...

Calcutta High Court on Tuesday(15/05/2007) heard an anticipatory bail plea moved by 30-year-old Dibyendu, of Madhyamgram, who apprehended arrest in connection with a complaint lodged by Rupali with Maniktala police station. The woman had accused Dibyendu of mentally torturing her for regularly wearing a salwar-kameez.
Trouble started six months ago, after Dibyendu had allegedly driven out his 27-year-old wife after a row over her dress code. Rupali didn’t buckle and went off to live at her parental home in Kankurgachhi with her son.
On Tuesday, the wife appeared before the court in a red salwar- kameez.
“Couldn’t she have worn a sari even today? She knows neither do I like her in that outfit and nor do my parents,” the husband told the court, as his wife complained of negligence. Their son gazed on in silence.
“I am comfortable in these clothes. My husband goes by his parents’ wishes and does not care to understand me,” said Rupali.
The judge, however, was not amused by the marital melodrama.
“What a person wears is entirely his or her discretion. No one can dictate terms on that,” Justice Partha Sakha Dutta admonished the bickering couple.

It is this ruling that makes me wonder.. be practical and think about this.. what would you do if you wife prefers to move with clothes which reveal more than they hide??

What would the husbands of Mallika Sharawats or Rakhi Sawanths feel.. Cant they advice them to put on some clothes atleast after marraige..

Or the best example i can think of is Jr Bachchan - Aishwarya.. Cant the Bachchans stop Ash from being the DHOOM gal again?? Now that Ash is official a part of the Bachchan family lets see whats ahead in Ash's career...

THE CRIME KILLER, MAYA

Now this is what Maya can do to the general opinion of people regarding crime in Uttar Pradesh.
The victims of Nithari killings met the new CM asking her to influence the centre to hand over the case from CBI to the State Police !!!
The department is the same, the people the same and the landscape is the same, but a ruthless crusader against crime can completely change the way people think. It is good that a great deal of trust is building up in support of the State Police, lets pray they are able to shoulder the faith well.

Indian summer

Well no weather-man will suggest you to travel India during this time of the year, nor will any one of us would like to sweat out in the hot plains of our country. But then it will be terrible wrong if anyone says that we people try to hibernate or be dormant during this period. Its rather the time when Lots of activities are on in different communities in our country.
The entire student community is busy with their studies.
While the tenthies get busy biting their nails off, waiting for the results of the 1st big step in the academic career, and apply for various high schools, junior colleges and coaching academies which promise seats in IITs, AIIMS and other top institutes in various fields..
The 12thies finishup their preparations for the last of the long list of entrance exams that they are forced to appear and then join their parents in their prayers to the Almighty for a good ranks and seats in all the college entrance xams they appear for.. For them the rise in blood pressure nullifies the effect of the mercury rise..
When it comes to engineers like me.. well most of us celebrate this time more than Christmas.. Its one of those few moments in the calender with you have to study a little.. Some get glued to books.. some work smart by studying selectivity but effectively.. but then style differs from person to person..
All households in Andhra Pradesh get busy with mangoes.. Pickles and Engineering colleges are the hot topics for discussions for all...
Every one has advises and suggestions for the others but is least sure of their ownself.. People start feeling as if they are the best couselours in the world and try helping others out of depression due to lower than expected results in exams or the taste of pickles.. but when it happens to him or his blood relations go low in spirits..
Most bongs(no matter where they are) start packing their bags and just get ready to holiday at various parts of the country.. preferably the hills..
The gangetic plain gets troubled by the loo; but then there are cheers on all faces.. freinds and families sit togther for watermelons and lassi session..
Rasna International gets busy campaigning for their "NEW" product.. And the sales of various beverages and sun-screens are at all time high..
And when we talk about beverages and sun-screens the 1st thing that comes to my mind is - our cricket team. Team India will soon fly to Ireland.. no matter how they play, fans and sponsors will be happy for their fair skins..
So try to remember "what you did last summer" and plan things for this summmer...

BEHENJI’S TRIUMPH

Uttar Pradesh elections are something that the whole nation keeps a close watch on. The largest state (considering the population and hence the representation in the nation’s politics) has its own say when it comes to the politics at the national arena. All those who were not with me when I predicted that Benenji (Mayawati for the lesser informed) would ride her elephant in Lucknow this time are already either hiding their faces or expressing shock and are in a state of disbelief. People come and ask me why I support Maya when all she speaks about is how the ‘dalit samaj’ is being targeted by the upper castes. Me being the so called upper caste, I should be more fumed than anyone else right now for more than one reason. First, I’m a student and with the whole hoopla surrounding the reservation for OBCs I personally feel offended that the verdict of the people of my state supported something which is against the principle of equality. Secondly, I don’t like the fact that the party doesn’t have a number of big names associated with it. This may sound funny to you at the first instance but it matters to have people in the party who have had experience in governance before.
But, all said and done, I feel happy that Maya rule is finally going to be a reality in UP. The lady has a flair for good governance and has earlier as well been able to provide a crime free environment for my state. The surge in crime which was so evident in the SP rule would hopefully come down drastically when she comes in power. I’d be happy even if it means a little rise in corruption. Speaking of corruption, she does manage to tame down the ‘babus’ and the higher officials by her own special visits which had come to be known as one of the worst nightmares of the officials.
It won’t be too wrong if I say that I’m looking forward to the elephant ride across the state which is elegant in its own special way. I hope that it doesn’t end up being just another glamorous joy ride for the people in power as it happens so often in India.
Hail Behenji!!!

Confessions of a friend !!!

On the verge of completing my 4-year engineering course, the biggest thing that I’ll miss after this month-end will be MY FRIENDS.
Well that’s what hostel life is all about. FRIENDS form families and sometimes mean more than parents and blood relations. We do so MANY things and share almost EVERYTHING. When it comes to doing things the least thing we do is study, but other than the countless moments of happiness and sessions of laughter; jokes, pranks, discussions on all issues - sports, politics, GALS, movies, higher studies, future life.. The list is endless.
And when it comes to sharing things... Well clothes, beds, toothpaste n sometimes even the soaps... Almost everything except girlfriends...
While I am writing this with a smile on my face recollecting all the moments of joy, I m reminded of a topic on friendship which me n PJ discussed one day (rather night)...
Often discussions are concluded saying different people - different tastes. But then how can two or more people call themselves best friends?? Does this mean they have completely the same tastes, and agree upon everything without difference of opinion?? And are good friends the ones who completely know each other??
Few things we agreed upon were that to start-off, people got to have at least 1 common interest, be it anything and to which ever extent but there should be at least something in common to start a conversation.
Then the things develop depending on the so-called principle of "frequency matching"... how well they understand each other. They needn’t have common opinion on all issues but must be in a position to listen to each other, respect their point of views and try getting each others advice as and when required and then select the better option. And more importantly it should be selfless. If you do some favor to your friend then you shouldn't expect similar favors from him just because you did the same earlier!
Similarly, if you discuss you past life it’s not necessary that he too tells you everything about his past. Of course the more he shares with you the more you get to know the person, but that’s not the only way. The intimacy has its limits and it is this level of intimacy and the decision of a person to draw a border between what to share what not to share... What topics to discuss and to which extent differentiates a friend 4m another.
But then again all our efforts went in vain when we felt the above things may not be deciding factor and its in the heart and mind to decide how "good" a friend is..

Contributed by:
HARSHA

Tara Rum Pum

Watching a movie with friends in a hostel room (pirated one of course) is never a regret. This is the only reason why I should not complain too much about 'Tara Rum Pum'. The movie was 'inspired' by a few hol movies (but this was not too much of a problem, had they done it well). Before I begin with the onslaught let me remind you that it was liked by most indian 'junta' and girls are already drooling over the hunk that Saif has become lately. It will be one of the biggest hits of this year and would probably bag a few awards as well !!! There were a number of sloppy scenes in the movie where least attention was paid to the left side of the brain of the audience.
When RV (that's Saif's name in the movie) tries to woo Shona (this is wat RV calls Rani, sorry forgot the name) he makes a pattern of ILU on the ground. The amazing thing about it is that his car jumps in between the letters to make it picture perfect.
Now, this RV is supposed to be a pit guy (changing tyres n stuff) and when he becomes a racing driver he knows nothing at all about the finer aspects of the game which incidently are taught by a taxi driver!
When RV's son falls ill and speed is needed to reach him to the hospital RV chooses not to drive for reasons best known to the director!!!
The car sponsors, his suit, his other gears, the car itself and everyother thing that you would associate with a racing team remains the same for him when he races for a totally different team !!!
There are many more of these which I hope would be pointed out by the visitors of my blog.
But, all said and written, this movie is a must watch if you happen to go out with a girl. Your girlfriend will love it (and love 'him' which is even more distressing). Soon enough you will see a lot of 'TaraRumPum Accessories' on the streets with small kids bugging their parent to buy them. May GOD be with you !!!

MIKA AND DHONI

Dhoni got kissed in public by a fan! What did he do after that? He climbed onto his team bus and blushed and moved away. A typical male reaction to something which may be a 'sexual assault' to a female celebrity. Recall the Mika-Rakhi episode. It was just a harmless smooch from a drunken singer to a 'supposedly-sexy' dancer (and now a main-stream actor .. lolzzz).
It's always the case with women, things that should not matter become a big deal !!!

Moral of the story: Don't go out kissing people you like if they are girls and you don't happen to be one!

HERE I AM !!!

I'm a newspaper!
1. I'm useful.
2. Will tell you all thats inside me if you care to turn the pages.
3. Cant speak really well but you can read me aloud if u choose to.
4. If I stop being 'original' and new and fresh each day I'd be thrown away.
5. I'll probably have no place in your life but you'll miss me !!!
6. All my efforts are directed towards moulding myself to others' interests.

PS: Post your comments but dont try out interpretations beyond your understanding.

NON-VERBAL CUES !!

There are somethings which need not be told. Have you ever noticed how an animal may sometimes feel invited by you, when you want to caress it and hug it and pamper it and at other times may just feel frightned to even come near you. This is what I'm talking about. No one has to tell you that you are being an intruder into someone else's conversation, no one has to tell you that you disturbed them you just know it. Even if the other person tries hard not to let this out, you would just know it, cuz it somehow shows. Similarily, you may at times feel drawn towards an individual even when there's no verbal communication. I've felt comfortable in absolute silence when the company is inviting and felt miserable even when I'm at my best at making people around me laugh.

DOES IT HAPPEN THIS WAY ?

A lot of my friends have been writing about love in their blogs. The reason is perhaps that we have a lot of time on our hands and it is one activity which can make a century of time evaporate in a moment (they would of course like to think that time indeed stands still). I was talking to a friend a few days back to ease him out with all the complexities in his life, though I’m not much of an adviser but I speak a lot and some of it does make sense at times. I told him how he would find ‘the one’ made for him one day and from that day his life would start to head towards a journey which he has always dreamt of. His efforts would then start to have a meaning and he would start to build memories which would seem to last for ever and ever. (Actually I was reading ‘One’ by Richard Bach some days back and it was one of the themes of the novel). I went on for a long time giving him convincing reasons as to why he should really believe that his true love was somewhere out there in the wild and while it may not be very obvious that he would meet her, but if he did he would start to feel like a successful man.
He is a patient listener (unlike most other people who are never listening, just waiting for their turn to talk you out), and I would like to think that I made sense in what I said. But then came this one line which completely put me off balance, made all my heavy words and fancy speech disappear into my own head. He said, "PJ, if you do meet her one day, how would you know?"I said that he would just know and they would soon fall into love, ‘cuz this is how such things happen. He said again, “Even if I do fall in love with her and she does the same, and we start moving out and stuff, start seeing each other all the time, how would I know that this love of mine is the love that I’ve been looking for and not something which may exist because of the natural attraction that both of us are bound to have?” I remained speechless for quite sometime and gave some stupid comments like I always do to emerge out of the discussion on a victory note.
I had this discussion in my head for quite sometime and it erupted once again when I was walking with Sourav in Trichy a couple of days back. I always like to believe that I’m a very practical head and reason is my biggest virtues. But this one was indeed simple and I missed it completely. Sourav said, "Buddy this is why we have words like 'break-up'".
It’s easier said than done but yes how true!

Indian Postal Deparment and Dabur Lal Dantmanjan

The postal department of India is finally starting to think ahead. (or so it seems!!!). I say this not because I saw the 'profit' figures of the Indian-mail, but I did happen to notice a new postal envelope which carried an advertisement of DABUR LAL DANTMANJAN on it.
It would be much better if they start distributing those envelopes for free (along with their services) and try to cash in on the huge market of advertising. There may be a lot of people who would love to target the 'mailing' audience in this E-era.

INDIA-PAKISTAN

I've always been a true Indian. Have always supported India in India-Pak cricket matches and have cherished the Indian victories. But at the same time i have always been against the fanatic fans who resort to foolish means of proving superiority.
India and Pakistan have had a long history of being "uncompromising friends" !! Over a number of cricket matches and decades of peace talks nothing much has changed. I resently met a very inspiring family. The husband was an Indian, the wife a Pakistani and their kid (who's one of the sweetest baby I've ever seen) was born in UK (of course the current UK policies dont give his a citizenship now). Taliking with the family was fun for more than one reasons. We could talk bout Asif Aslam and his new albums, about Amir Khan and Rand de basanti, about the heat of Trichy and what not. Everything gave me a feeling that in the end what matters is the fact that an ordinary man/woman wants happiness for his/her family irrespective of the nation he/she belongs to.