GOOD BYE MUGGING... I HATED YOU WITH ALL MY HEART AND HOPEFULLY NEVER HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN
Its amazing how nice the weather gets, how you have a spring in your step, how a trodden down flower seems to have that little bit of fragrance left and every morsel of bhel puri in JPS tastes that much more tastier after the exams. Liberty, freedom and one day nearer to enfranchisement.
The story of all the exams so far have been the same. Waste all holidays prior to each exam, frantic studying a few hours before, leap of faith in shutting the books and calling to the Gods to save you, a jhakaas paper, completely idiotic invigilators irritating procedures and an even more irritating neighbors and the usual sinking feeling when you're putting up a fake smile when everyone about you is discussing the answers. That just about sums its up. I will enjoy studying for IIT and AIEEE though. They are just a game of Russian Roulette without a bet. Jackpot if I hit it, no hard feelings if I don't.
Waking up early is getting harder and harder with every passing day. That cajoling voice inside your head which suddenly wakes up when you're doing something you shouldn't be is making that extra effort to make me go back to sleep.
Oh and finally, a blog isn't a work of literature or any double and triple edited newspaper item. Its just an output for all the random, insane thoughts that keep popping in there, more so when there is an exam the next day.
Have fun for a day people and get back to studying. The big mama of all exams coming up. Pray for good luck if you're playing roulette like me. Slog your ass off if you think you've got a decent chance coz you might just make it.
Cheers
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Growth rate, dal roti and criminals
Define a politician.... Ans, A person who is good at everything other than what he is supposed to be good at.
Define a wannabe politician... Ans, Someone who's great at what he does, but wants to suck at it by joining politics.
And that's exactly what Baba Ramdev (The semi naked baba who teaches yoga and is a regular bane to people with grandparents, especially when there's an awesome movie going on) is planning to do. Bored with teaching the same old stuff, the great baba is planning to flaunt his own political party. "Stick to your yoga" is what I wanted to tell him when I was reading this article in the Times when I noticed one of his dialogue. He said "Manmohan Singh is a great economist and understands the economics growth rate very well, but he does not understand the economics of dal roti."
I scoffed at this statement just like you might be doing now, but there is some truth to it. An increased growth rate is good for a nation, but the nation mostly consists of people who don't give a rat's fart for the growth rate. They want dal roti for their daily lives, and reduced prices in their daily essentials. What use is an increased growth rate when there is inflation. An Economist might disagree with me saying that Growth rate and Inflation are different things, but the reality is that the people of the country are not economists. All i need is for the price of my vegetables to go down, bugger the growth rate.
Nevertheless, Baba Ramdev, never in a hundred years will you get my vote. I would rather put my trust on Manmohan Singh and his Harvard degree and would sooner have him lead the nation.
Political sense seems to have been flushed down the loo in the Deve Gowda household, with both father and son trying to outdo each other for the place of "The most ridiculed" title in Karnataka politics. The constitution says that criminals who have been sentenced cannot stand for elections while it gives the green signal for people who have been acquitted.
Its easy for us to say that people who have been charged with an offence also be denied the chance but it is very unrealistic. All someone has to do then to prevent a candidate from taking part in the elections is frame him in some dacoity or murder ( I guess I've been watching too much kannada soap, and I know doing that is difficult, but its still not impossible) There is nothing that can be done by the judiciary in this regard. All lies in the voters' hands. Vote for the right person if you have a vote.
Campaigning for the BBMP elections is getting more annoying daily. Y?esterday was the height when there were two autos, one from Congress and the other from BJP, trying to outshout each other on the mike. the result was a nasty case of noise pollution and nothing more. If everybody who moves about with those candidates makes sure that their families vote for him then the candidate is going to win with ease. Unfortunately, most people campaign for money and nothing more.
Anyway, coming back to second PU exams, half our fates are decided already. The other half will be decided on April 28 and 29. All the best folks. But remember, a wise man once said "Marks dont maketh a man, it only makes proud parents and nosy relatives"
P.S. the wise man is me :P
Define a wannabe politician... Ans, Someone who's great at what he does, but wants to suck at it by joining politics.
And that's exactly what Baba Ramdev (The semi naked baba who teaches yoga and is a regular bane to people with grandparents, especially when there's an awesome movie going on) is planning to do. Bored with teaching the same old stuff, the great baba is planning to flaunt his own political party. "Stick to your yoga" is what I wanted to tell him when I was reading this article in the Times when I noticed one of his dialogue. He said "Manmohan Singh is a great economist and understands the economics growth rate very well, but he does not understand the economics of dal roti."
I scoffed at this statement just like you might be doing now, but there is some truth to it. An increased growth rate is good for a nation, but the nation mostly consists of people who don't give a rat's fart for the growth rate. They want dal roti for their daily lives, and reduced prices in their daily essentials. What use is an increased growth rate when there is inflation. An Economist might disagree with me saying that Growth rate and Inflation are different things, but the reality is that the people of the country are not economists. All i need is for the price of my vegetables to go down, bugger the growth rate.
Nevertheless, Baba Ramdev, never in a hundred years will you get my vote. I would rather put my trust on Manmohan Singh and his Harvard degree and would sooner have him lead the nation.
Political sense seems to have been flushed down the loo in the Deve Gowda household, with both father and son trying to outdo each other for the place of "The most ridiculed" title in Karnataka politics. The constitution says that criminals who have been sentenced cannot stand for elections while it gives the green signal for people who have been acquitted.
Its easy for us to say that people who have been charged with an offence also be denied the chance but it is very unrealistic. All someone has to do then to prevent a candidate from taking part in the elections is frame him in some dacoity or murder ( I guess I've been watching too much kannada soap, and I know doing that is difficult, but its still not impossible) There is nothing that can be done by the judiciary in this regard. All lies in the voters' hands. Vote for the right person if you have a vote.
Campaigning for the BBMP elections is getting more annoying daily. Y?esterday was the height when there were two autos, one from Congress and the other from BJP, trying to outshout each other on the mike. the result was a nasty case of noise pollution and nothing more. If everybody who moves about with those candidates makes sure that their families vote for him then the candidate is going to win with ease. Unfortunately, most people campaign for money and nothing more.
Anyway, coming back to second PU exams, half our fates are decided already. The other half will be decided on April 28 and 29. All the best folks. But remember, a wise man once said "Marks dont maketh a man, it only makes proud parents and nosy relatives"
P.S. the wise man is me :P
Monday, March 8, 2010
Kannada Cinema
Is it only me, or does everyone get a grimace on their face after listening to or reading about kannada cinema? I am talking about today's cinema and not of the yester years. We all know and like to believe that the movies of yester years were amazing.
I will not go on about how kannada, on a broader spectrum, regional cinema sucks, but try to find out why these people are not able to get over rowdies and girls acting like "You Know What"s. (Starts with 's' and ends with 't' and no marks for guessing what it is)
1) Most film-makers are supposedly under the impression that people like to see other people being chopped up and surreal action scenes which end up looking idiotic. People, the days of Jogi are long gone. Nowadays, even techies, who used to keep yapping in english even when the whole group consisted of kannadigas are starting to talk kannada, and if I may add so, with a certain degree of pride. The kannada cinema audience no longer consists of wannabe rowdies and the so-called 'porki's who come into our mind whenever we think of a theatre showcasing a kannada movie.
And lets face it, however hard you try, you film-makers will never be able to mimick a Mission Impossible or a Terminator. Anyone who has seen those movies will surely walk out, or fall asleep during one of your action scenes.
2) To all script writers and directors. A heroine DOES NOT MEAN and arm candy. There are so many more sensitive roles that only a woman can play. And when I talk of an actress, I dont mean that girl whom you saw walking on the road and the next day she becomes a heroine. Qualifications for being an actress should just not be a pretty face and the ability to dance seductively. There is so much more to acting.
3) Especially to some new kannada hero called Akshay Kumar... I was watching one of those film review shows and this dude's movie had just been released. He humbly requested all the people to go watch the movie because IT HAD LOTS OF GREAT DANCE STEPS AND GOOD ACTION SCENES. NOT AN EFFIN WORD ABOUT THE STORY OR THE PLOT OR THE ACTING. Who wants to go spend, rather waste a whole afternoon watching dance and fights? Has the movie been reduced to just dance and fights and songs?
4) Songs... There have been some amazing songs in the post Mungaru Male times. But lets be realistic. If I am watching a movie, I certainly will laugh at some rowdy hero singing about love in complex lyrics. Please have songs which relate to the film in some way.
5) Casting... The casting sucks. Because none of the heroes knows anything other than kicking butt and none of the heroines knows anything other than dancing with skimpy clothes. We have heroines like Ramya who cant even deliver a dialogue and needs a voice-over for her films. Doesn't that kind of defeat the entire purpose of her acting? Isn't acting maimly about dialogue delivery among other things?
The Hindi cinema is coming of age now. They have finalyy figured out what people like to see and are doing a good job. There is atleast one radical, very different movie every year. Lets just hope that the Kannada cinema gets over Annavru and the golden olden days and comes down to earth. Rajkumar was a good actor, I agree, but his romance movies no longer work. Think out of the box and give us more to see and digest.
I will not go on about how kannada, on a broader spectrum, regional cinema sucks, but try to find out why these people are not able to get over rowdies and girls acting like "You Know What"s. (Starts with 's' and ends with 't' and no marks for guessing what it is)
1) Most film-makers are supposedly under the impression that people like to see other people being chopped up and surreal action scenes which end up looking idiotic. People, the days of Jogi are long gone. Nowadays, even techies, who used to keep yapping in english even when the whole group consisted of kannadigas are starting to talk kannada, and if I may add so, with a certain degree of pride. The kannada cinema audience no longer consists of wannabe rowdies and the so-called 'porki's who come into our mind whenever we think of a theatre showcasing a kannada movie.
And lets face it, however hard you try, you film-makers will never be able to mimick a Mission Impossible or a Terminator. Anyone who has seen those movies will surely walk out, or fall asleep during one of your action scenes.
2) To all script writers and directors. A heroine DOES NOT MEAN and arm candy. There are so many more sensitive roles that only a woman can play. And when I talk of an actress, I dont mean that girl whom you saw walking on the road and the next day she becomes a heroine. Qualifications for being an actress should just not be a pretty face and the ability to dance seductively. There is so much more to acting.
3) Especially to some new kannada hero called Akshay Kumar... I was watching one of those film review shows and this dude's movie had just been released. He humbly requested all the people to go watch the movie because IT HAD LOTS OF GREAT DANCE STEPS AND GOOD ACTION SCENES. NOT AN EFFIN WORD ABOUT THE STORY OR THE PLOT OR THE ACTING. Who wants to go spend, rather waste a whole afternoon watching dance and fights? Has the movie been reduced to just dance and fights and songs?
4) Songs... There have been some amazing songs in the post Mungaru Male times. But lets be realistic. If I am watching a movie, I certainly will laugh at some rowdy hero singing about love in complex lyrics. Please have songs which relate to the film in some way.
5) Casting... The casting sucks. Because none of the heroes knows anything other than kicking butt and none of the heroines knows anything other than dancing with skimpy clothes. We have heroines like Ramya who cant even deliver a dialogue and needs a voice-over for her films. Doesn't that kind of defeat the entire purpose of her acting? Isn't acting maimly about dialogue delivery among other things?
The Hindi cinema is coming of age now. They have finalyy figured out what people like to see and are doing a good job. There is atleast one radical, very different movie every year. Lets just hope that the Kannada cinema gets over Annavru and the golden olden days and comes down to earth. Rajkumar was a good actor, I agree, but his romance movies no longer work. Think out of the box and give us more to see and digest.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Simple Pleasures
I recently read an article in the TOI regarding the very easily available sexually explicit material for youngsters and the "pornification of society" (I'm not making this up, those were the very words used). Reading about how pre-teens are using, rather, abusing the internet made me wonder about my school days and my life as a pre-teen. Forget the internet, I never had time enough to play outside.
My early life was a truly spectacular one considering the positive impact it has had on me as a person. Those were days when a simple one rupee lollipop could keep me engrossed and smiling the whole day. Growing up was even more fun with so many interesting things to build and destroy using toy bricks. I was made to eat healthy home-food on days when I was hell bent on eating outside thus making a rare visit to a hotel a truly satisfying experience. A 5 rupee MTR softee would make a day and time spent playing in the park, an amazing time. A few years down the road, cricket entered my life and representing my club was a matter of great pride. A half century lifted one to the status of a demi-God and a century took one all the way up Mount Olympus, onto the lap of Zeus Himself.
School was an entirely different story, but almost same in essence. There were friendships, fights, competitions, speeches, and first time experiences with crushes, that was the limit of sexuality.
The other day I was talking to a teacher of mine who taught us in school. She now teaches in Brigade School, clearly the school for the creamy layer. I was shocked to find that their lunchboxes contained spaghetti(still don't know what that is, but definite that it can never beat good old masala dosa) and pizza and their summer vacations were trips to Europe and other such countries. Their pocket money was in thousands and none of their mobile phones a cent below 20k. I seriously believe that we have to pity such children.
What excitement will they have in their lives? We all have certain goals in our life and all the goals aim at bettering our positions in life, monetarily, aesthetically and philosophically. When you already have the best of everything, what further improvement can happen in your life. The journey of life ought to start with nothing and end with everything. It is the journey that counts and perhaps not the end result. It is the journey that is exhilarating. It is the journey that moulds your character. But what journey can you make if you already have the end result? that too without even realizing its worth?
Most of today's problems with the youth taking up vices like smoking and drugs is an offshoot of the lack of a firm grounding and moral values that ought to be taught at home. If I am given a 100 rupee note, when all I needed was a hug of comfort from my parents, I would also end up like that. The misguided sense of love by many parents in willingly encouraging their children in their misbehaviors is truly tearing the delicate social fabric apart. A sense of superiority which is instilled in the minds of young children from a young age will definitely see them becoming arrogant later in life.
Extra money in hands of young children will obviously result in them misusing it, especially with the internet at everybody's fingertips. What is the need for a child of 10 to sit at home and surf the internet when he can be playing outside. Why should a child of 10 worry about looks and comfort when he/she ought to be rolling about in the mud having the time of their lives getting dirty. When will they ever know of the fun in falling and getting hurt and wearing the scar proudly for a long time? When can completing a scenario in Warcraft ever substitute jumping on muddy puddles after rain and later getting yelled at by parents? When can they truly experience the fun there is to be had in drinking tap water if they have been drinking mineral water all their lives?
Pray for the days of old to come back. Pray for days when children do not need PSP s to take the place of good old Cadbury Eclairs. Pray for the days of Simple Pleasures
My early life was a truly spectacular one considering the positive impact it has had on me as a person. Those were days when a simple one rupee lollipop could keep me engrossed and smiling the whole day. Growing up was even more fun with so many interesting things to build and destroy using toy bricks. I was made to eat healthy home-food on days when I was hell bent on eating outside thus making a rare visit to a hotel a truly satisfying experience. A 5 rupee MTR softee would make a day and time spent playing in the park, an amazing time. A few years down the road, cricket entered my life and representing my club was a matter of great pride. A half century lifted one to the status of a demi-God and a century took one all the way up Mount Olympus, onto the lap of Zeus Himself.
School was an entirely different story, but almost same in essence. There were friendships, fights, competitions, speeches, and first time experiences with crushes, that was the limit of sexuality.
The other day I was talking to a teacher of mine who taught us in school. She now teaches in Brigade School, clearly the school for the creamy layer. I was shocked to find that their lunchboxes contained spaghetti(still don't know what that is, but definite that it can never beat good old masala dosa) and pizza and their summer vacations were trips to Europe and other such countries. Their pocket money was in thousands and none of their mobile phones a cent below 20k. I seriously believe that we have to pity such children.
What excitement will they have in their lives? We all have certain goals in our life and all the goals aim at bettering our positions in life, monetarily, aesthetically and philosophically. When you already have the best of everything, what further improvement can happen in your life. The journey of life ought to start with nothing and end with everything. It is the journey that counts and perhaps not the end result. It is the journey that is exhilarating. It is the journey that moulds your character. But what journey can you make if you already have the end result? that too without even realizing its worth?
Most of today's problems with the youth taking up vices like smoking and drugs is an offshoot of the lack of a firm grounding and moral values that ought to be taught at home. If I am given a 100 rupee note, when all I needed was a hug of comfort from my parents, I would also end up like that. The misguided sense of love by many parents in willingly encouraging their children in their misbehaviors is truly tearing the delicate social fabric apart. A sense of superiority which is instilled in the minds of young children from a young age will definitely see them becoming arrogant later in life.
Extra money in hands of young children will obviously result in them misusing it, especially with the internet at everybody's fingertips. What is the need for a child of 10 to sit at home and surf the internet when he can be playing outside. Why should a child of 10 worry about looks and comfort when he/she ought to be rolling about in the mud having the time of their lives getting dirty. When will they ever know of the fun in falling and getting hurt and wearing the scar proudly for a long time? When can completing a scenario in Warcraft ever substitute jumping on muddy puddles after rain and later getting yelled at by parents? When can they truly experience the fun there is to be had in drinking tap water if they have been drinking mineral water all their lives?
Pray for the days of old to come back. Pray for days when children do not need PSP s to take the place of good old Cadbury Eclairs. Pray for the days of Simple Pleasures
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