FIRST STEP IN “CORPORATE”

It was my second job, first being one with consultancy through campus recruitment…so there was no as such formal interview. My second interview was with an advertising company with the H.R. manager and final round with the M.D. of the co., me being a management student human resource was keen on the opening for HRdept but not having much corporate experience in HR, I was given an opening in marketing dept as it didn’t require much corporate exposure!!!

I was offered the post of client coordinator. I don’t know at that point of time, I didn’t think any thing and said 'yes' it was weird cos I never wanted marketing but then I thought lemme give it a shot…cos then, I thought, will get shift in H.R.

“Marketing” me had no cognizance what it is all about, was wondering how I will handle it---got my induction and I realized its interesting- all about selling products. Even there is no basic need my first job of client coordination was for ICICI Bank a big corporate’ me being novice used to give commitments which I tried fulfilling but in this corporate world –if you want something and expect others to help you then you are the biggest dodo so was I at that point of time… I suffered but later developed guileless personality that taught me the tactic of ‘ kaise client ko ghumana , aur batli mein utarna’---- one very important and basic thing you should know is “ If you cant convince them ( client ) confuse them”. This is very simple management mantra!!!! I applied it and trust me it works man. They (client ) will agree with you and after applying this I became the star performer of my organization without the back ground of marketing I made wonders (strange but it was true… not flaunting yaar)

But then the day came when my eagerly awaited shift in H R Dept was offered to me and I jumped out of my seat to go for it cos that’s what I wanted but people in my dept always wanted the star performer to come back but me happy being a H R Personnel interviewing candidates making policies and learning the perceptions, psychology of the employee….. But imagine if I would have stuck to marketing then my perception would permanently have been what………. A complete “Jholar”

Grazie,Tante Grazie (thanks, many thanks)

Mansi Shah

Le sono molto obbligato----( I am very obliged) Piyush , Ms.Chouhan

About Mansi Shah:
Mansi Shah is in early twenties, a management grad working with an advertising organisation in human resource dept as HR personnel handling major gamut of HR in the company all over India. She is a professional compeer—a good orator, pursuing her masters in human resource and growing at the rate of 100% in the organization. She is consistent, very enthusiastic and has fire in her belly and the zeal to achieve her goal….. She knows how to handle situations and how to motivate the employees. Can we add, she is born to be in human resource management!!!

Can’t give this a Title!

Date – 14th August 2006
Time – Around 10:30 PM

When I barged into my flat still glued on phone with Shikha, I saw my flat-mates in the other room trying hard to work out a party that night. It wasn’t too late to party if you are in NIFT and the next day being Independence Day. I moved to my room, as if least interested in the party, and asked Shikha to get back to me in sometime because I needed to slip into something more comfortable.

The phone rang and Coldplay’s Yellow (My ringtone then) ended too early to be Shikha’s. It was an unknown number but I wasn’t curious. Moreover I was quite enthusiastic since the number started with +91522…, Lucknow, that’s right! My mind started looking for similar phone numbers. I was just wondering that who could have called up from a landline in Lucknow other than my family members. I couldn’t even scan the complete memory and the phone rang again, the same number. And here goes the conversation:

Caller: Piyush?
I: Yeah, kaun bol raha hain? (That’s my peculiar style and accent!)
Caller: Arunima!
I: Haan…(Still trying to figure out which one she was but she clarified it before I could have asked)
Caller: Arunima, Poornima’s sis!
I recognized her immediately, for Poornima is the key. Poornima was the lady who had tremendous command over my life. She made me what I am, a major contributor to it. She was more than my real sister. It was just like that I wasn’t in touch with her for quite a long time because of professional ups and downs along with some personal turmoils. I hardly had any idea that the biggest one awaited me.
I: Haan didi, boliye, kaisi hain aap?
Caller/Arunima: Tumhe to pata hain naa Poornima ka…?
I: Kya pata hain? Mujhe nahin pata.
Caller/Arunima: She is no more.
I: Kya? Aap mazaak to nahin kar rahi hain naa?
Caller/Arunima: Tumhe kya lagta hain?
I: Kaise? Kab?
Caller/Arunima: 26th June 2006, she committed suicide (biggest shock ever) at her residence(In Noida where she was living alone).

The conversation didn’t end right there but there is no point putting up all of it here. It was strange that the lady who had been my strength and had been an example of courage could ever commit suicide. She was 8 years older to me but I always addressed her with her name without the suffix ‘didi,’ still missing. My biggest critic, biggest well wisher and when I heard this news, I felt as if some unknown hand had smashed me to the ground.

I still remember the very first letter I got from Poornima. It was about one of my very first poems published in Hindustan Times, to be more precise on 24th August 2002. I was 16 then. She was an expert at surprising me every now and then. Despite, I knew her long before the time she actually posted the letter all the way from Kanpur. Just like me, crazy, she went all the way to Kanpur and posted that letter from there. There were a couple of lines which she borrowed from a gazal and mentioned them in the very first letter:
Ban jayenge zehar peete peete
Yeh ashq jo peete ja rahe ho

Kaash yeh ashk sach mein zeher ban gaye hote Poornima. Life had changed since that day. Now I regret not talking to her when she was calling me up on 24th. I was shocked when I hung up Arunima’s call. I switched off my cell phone and stood in the verandah. Everything flashed by in front of my eyes. I made her wait at certain occasions and sometimes she had to drag green (now she must have said “dark green”) kinetic for kilometers and kilometers. She did everything for me, right from arranging psychology notes to every damn thing. I spoke to her about love, relations, poems, expressions and perhaps what all I am doing today is just a tribute to her.

She kept on craving for a treat. Every time she would call up and say “Please courier the cake”. Huh! Cake, gifts, treats, what all and what not. Your treat is still due Pornima. Please come back and I promise I’ll do whatever you say. Your treat is due naa, I' ll take you out to Aaryans, you always wanted to go there. I have so much to tell you now. You always listened to me patiently, let it be about Deepa, Sangeeta, in that case, anyone. Please come back, I want to tell you about Shikha, Aaishwari and Roli, wouldn’t you help me out now? Aren’t you going to make things easier for me to understand now? Please come back.

I hope she can hear my voice. Here I am, no one and all alone. Landed up at my home this vaccation to find the cutting of the news paper where I dedicated ‘Seasons in the Sun-Westlife’ to her on her birthday. I was still there and the sound of the party was getting higher in the next room in my flat. I tried to escape, my room all locked and I still stood there in the verandah. Somewhere around 3:30 in the morning, amidst the hells and the screams of the party, I heard some voice from far away singing –

Chitthi na koi Sandesh
Jaane who kaun sa desh
Jaha tum chale gaye….

Writing Credits: Piyush Singh
This post required no Editing!

BLANK

I am so blank about what do I post today. This blankness actually forced me to think of some really crazy and silly ideas for the blog. Still as confused as ever, I get a call from Piyush which looked like a saving hand to me. But, he is too smart to get me out this problem. Grrr…! To add to it, he proudly says that he is decided for his topic and can’t think anything good for me. This drives me all the more mad. So I just open the Word document and on a blank document, I write down all that comes into my ‘oh-so-blank’ head.

I know, you guys will be bugged to read this coz this isn’t a sensible blog at all. But sometimes, I like to be stupid and like to sound stupid. This is really idiotic, an 18 year old girl wants to sound stupid! Huh? But it doesn’t amuse me at all. Nor would it amuse my near and dear friends. Lol! All the good and flattery things Piyush wrote about me, is just a part of me, something that is seen only once a blue moon. I am very, very different from what people think I am. If you aren’t really bugged, then you can continue reading ahead. But if you are thoroughly bored, then sorrie! But please keep visiting our blog.

Getting back to the very few readers who are willing to read further: Very frankly, I am silly, a total kiddo and if not a prankster, but a masti maker. But then, I show this side of me only with my real good friends and Piyush is just experiencing it off late. I love speaking a lot, be it gyaan giving or just the regular chapar chapar. Also, I love sleeping. I can actually sleep for like 16 hours a day, but I sleep for not more than 12-13 hours unfortunately! Some of my friends like Abhi and Ji and also my sister think that I don’t enjoy life. But then, I have my own way of enjoying life. I don’t believe in ‘loud’ ways to enjoy life. I have my own little yet sweet ways to enjoyment and hate it when people like Abhi say, “Eshu and enjoyment don’t go together!”

To tell you more, people think I am unapproachable and someone who loves throwing off attitude! Man, sometimes this drives me mad but at times, I am happy to be so! While walking down the street as well, not many guys try and take ‘panga’ with me unlike the other girls. Now this is good! People also say that I am dumb and innocent just like a 6 year old kiddo! Now isn’t this a great compliment? Off course, it is! I remember once my friend got so angry coz a man at her workplace actually asked her, “you sure, you are 18?” I would have taken it sportingly, but then this sweet girl was like, “such a chutiya! How dare he ask me that?” hehe! Anyways, I believe I need not say more about myself. I just wanted to clear off the air about me because of Piyush! But yeah, thanx Piyush for everything!

Writing Credits: Aaishwari Chouhan
Editing Credits: Piyush Singh

Mamma! Hold me

So many people have lost their lives to terrorism and natural calamities. Innocent little souls, dedicated housewives and mothers, and sincere father and husbands... no one was spared! So here is a poem dedicated to all those innocent lives especially to the victims of Kumbhkonam (TN). This poem simply describes what a little child has been through in such a situation...

The promises I
failed to keep.
Now only my eyes,
see me weep.
Tears getting lost,
in the smoke somewhere.
Black burning bodies,
falling here and there.
Mamma! Please hold me,
Mamma! Listen to me.
I know that I amgoing to die.

With soul wandering,
and never opening eye.
The pain is like a,
deadly stabbing knife.
I see the smoke,
engulfing everyone's life.
Mamma! Please hold me,
Mamma! Please stop me.

Please ask 'daddy',
to be brave.
Put 'mamma's child',
on my grave.
Look for me in, every child you see.
Kiss their foreheads and,
you can feel me.
Mamma! Please hold me,
Mamma! Please miss me.

Poem by Piyush Singh
Inputs by Aaishwari Chouhan

Lucknow Jam-min’

It took me over a week to compile this article. Sorry, but I haven’t been keeping well, and I still am not well. Anyways, reporting back to the day when I was stuck in the jam. I was on my way to Charbagh to see off some of my relatives and I had to wind up an important task that day on my way back. I had to see my doctor who was kind getting bugged up of seeing me everyday.

We left at 4 and generally it takes around one hour to reach the station (Charbagh) but at 6 I had the so called appointment with the doctor. It was some ‘rally’ that day. Don’t worry, all the above text is just an invocation. Here goes all the happening things of that day:
Time: 5 PM
Venue: Gemini Continental Road (Still 6 kms away from Charbagh, thanks
to that traffic jam)
Meanwhile, signal received, cell phone beeped, who else she could be other than Aaishwari (hey you remember we were talking about something very interesting that day) and for those who don’t know, 70% of my inbox is filled with her SMSes. Anyways, that’s not the thing.

Suddenly a man on scooter next to our car reminded himself, “Oh aaj to Mayawati ki asthi-kalash yatra hain, fass gaya!” Perhaps he was too loud reminding himself. Another politically correct guy from somewhere (I just heard the voice) analyzed and corrected the first gentleman, “Arrey, Mayawati ki nahin, Kanshiram ki!” Overhearing this, a guy with her girlfriend glued to him on his bike retorted, “Saala Kanshiram, marne ke baad bhi pareshan kar raha hain!” A Neta Ji, who was keen on grabbing this opportunity (I am glad he was there in the cloud, because that species is highly explosive when mixed with crowd like this) and said loudly, “Agar Mayawati ek-do baar aur aisa kar de to iska to saara votva (UP word for vote) hi saffa ho jaye.” Ummm, certainly an opportunity captured.
It wasn’t about the woes only. It acted like a ‘Mini Kumbh Mela’. It is famous as a re-discovery spot, thanks to Bollywood. I heard a man on my right side screaming out to a man on my left, “Arrey bhaisahab, aap bhi yahan?” Wow, the best example of comment coated with surprise. The receiver, obviously embarrassed, “He-he-he (artificial one), aap bhi [go to step one] He-he-he (artificial one)!”, but I heard his heart saying it loud, “Ab yeh kameena pakayega”. The other question from the right side which was in the air went like, “Scooter? Zen kaha hain aapki?” The reply, “Arrey mujhe pata tha jam lagne wala hain aaj”. Great! Sir, kindly report to BCCI at the earliest. We need you there terribly. His heart yelled, “Amma, petrol kya u bharwayega?”

Some of them even enjoyed the Jam. They parked their cars and got something to eat from the near by bakeries, nice idea, indeed! It was never before when some volunteers came to the rescue (point noted your Honour, where was the traffic police?) and traffic started moving at snail’s pace. It was no longer that the snail transformed into a tortoise. One man came up to me and out of sheer sarcasm said, “Abhi tak aap yahi pahuche ho, I left you at the turn 15 minutes back”. I replied, “Oh now I know, aap wohi ho (as if I cared at that moment)?” Strange city, as if everyone knows everyone. I am sure, if we would have landed up at his bakery, he would have greeted us with some chocolate pastries. “Idhar kaato (turn), udhar nocho (word for scratch and dent)”, the voices were screaming these religious word all over. Thanks to my driver that I was familiar with this terminology otherwise I would have confused it with some horror movie starring Emraan Hashmi.
Anyways, everyone says, all is well that ends well. We reached Charbagh at around 6:30, my relatives missed their train and I missed my appointment. Got to know one more of city’s untouched face that day.

For the first time in 19 years I have seen that thing, rather, I was matured enough to enjoy that and trust me I have fallen in love with that face as well. However, I noticed that we stand united, at all times. It was heard everywhere and every mouth spoke about it. No matter the volume was low in some cases, but, every mouth (I mean it) said, “Saala Kanshiram, $*&^$#!&$#% Mayawati!”

P.S. : “I would like to pay my tribute to the debarred soul. May your soul rest in peace dear Sir. This was just what we all went through. It’s strange that you could not keep yourself away from the hands of some dirty politicians even after your death”

Writing Credits: Piyush Singh
Editing Credits: Aaishwari Chouhan

The Corrupt Times needs an end!

Corruption has become an integral part today in the world of glamour, police, bureaucracy, politicians, credulous citizens, corporate bodies, underworld, power-brokers, doctors and media. The whole idea of easy money is so attractive, that even against his wishes; a person gets into bribing which includes accepting and taking bribes. In today’s dog-eat-dog world (I am sorry to use this term, but this is what one sees everyday), everyone wants to live a luxurious life crammed with every comfort and deluxe amenities. In the race to have maximum number of imported cars underneath your house, an international brand name attached to every piece of cloth you use to drape yourself and free flowing cash to satisfy your never ending demands; one can not help himself but fall prey to corruption and earn easy cash.

But when we talk about anything, why do we just refer to ‘him’? Just the other day, I accompanied by dad to his C.A.’s office and I was shocked by some things he mentioned in his discussion about corruption with my father. He said that the present finance minister is so horrendous; he has actually pressurized them for things that aren’t of much importance. He spoke about some lady senior inspector in their district (Taluka) who asked my dad’s C.A. to pay her an awesome bribe of two lakh rupees to close a particular case and demands Rs. 25,000 to avoid opening a case. Now isn’t this shocking to see lady officials as well being corrupt? It shatters the very trust one places in the government and its bureaucrats when such cases come in the open. But who is to be blamed here? Right from the hawaldars (more popularly known as ‘Pandus’), to the traffic police, to the inspectors involved in desk work, to the commissioners and the politicians and mayors and the ministers. They are all interlinked to each other and wouldn’t really complain about the other in this whole gamble.

Talking about the people in government offices, they are no less corrupt. For my dad’s Petrol Pump work at MIDC, Andheri; the peon rejected Rs. 50 note when my dad asked him to give a particular file to some higher officer. Then one of the clerks informed my dad that their bribe begins at Rs. 200 which then largely depends on the rank of the officer you want your work to be done with. The under-the-table acceptance of kind and cash is simply shocking. A SP earns an awesome average of around 10 Lakhs a month from just one police station he handles and he covers many such police stations. This fact is clearly mentioned in Y.P. Singh’s book against the corrupt police titled ‘Carnage by Angels’. Who would then want to trust such a system? Who would want to sacrifice his life for the same? People say - to change the system, you need to be into it and deal with the activities there. But one man can no longer make a difference today. Gone are the days of Gandhi and Nehru. Today, one man army isn’t a very successful phenomenon. Anyone trying to generate qualms in the working of the system, as it has been happening normally, is not considered to be a normal human being. People work under the politicians who are as much corrupt. In such cases, if one alone walks the path of honesty and assert to the moral values, s/he shall perish. But someone somewhere has to ignite the fire and I believe, the youth are the best ones to start and make a difference in the Indian political scene today. Don’t really know how, but yeah, we do need a revolution!

Writing Credits: Aaishwari Chouhan
Editing Credits: Piyush Singh

This one goes out for Aaishwari

This one goes out for Aaishwari, my blogmate, team mate, what all and not. But, to be accurate and precise, one of the very very few gems that I posses. Love you darling, my beshtesht buddy.

A poem which lingers,
Somewhere in my memory.
A word unspoken,
And an untoldstory.
Whisper of the lines,
Criss-crossing at my palms.
The essence, the fragrance,
of flower farms.
Aaishwari, a magic,
and a petal's glory.
Like faith shines in,
Beads of rosary.
An anticipated knock,
At a wooden door.
A drop which seeps in,
To the core.
Warmth and comfort,
Of a winter bonfire.
With wings' flutter,
And voice to inspire.
She is everything,
a painter's imagination.
A song that is,worth its creation.
A tune that is hummed,
in joy or sorrow.
A moment that is lived,
for today and tomorrow.
She is always a soul,
To my hollow words.
She is a flight,
Of many ambitious birds.
Such charisma and pride,
there in my friend.
Even more, she being,
My essence and spirit.

P.S. : You told me that it' ll be crazy writing for ech other. I am sure now you wish You hadn't. You forgot how I love doing crazy things.

Forever Yours,
Piyush Singh

Death dates just once!

Did you know that 56 people have been handed the death penalty in nine months of whom only three are terrorists? Dhanonjoy Chatterjee, convicted of raping and murdering a 14-year old was finally given the death sentence after a long 13 years of patience. This simply means that the girl must have been 27 years old when her rapist and murderer got an official punishment from the law. But don’t you think that the long wait of 13 years is a punishment in itself?

Mohammed Afzal convicted in the 2001 Parliament attack case was finally given the death sentence in October 2006. This one was pretty quick, but then he wasn’t hanged to death on the 20th October as declared by the Supreme Court. That simply shows that the law and order of our nation have no importance in front of public opinion! A part of the public requested the President to delay the dates since it was the last Friday of Ramzan and this act would adversely affect the peace operation between Indo-Pak. But if he isn’t given the death sentence, I am sure this would be the victory of Pakistan over the Indian government and law. Another fellow called Santosh Singh accused of raping and murdering Delhi University law student Priya-darshini Mattoo in 1996 was recently given the death penalty which came almost after 10 years when he himself was practicing law.

I fail to understand, in spite of the fact that we have numerable session courts, High Courts and a Supreme Court, why does the judgment take so long? The 1993 bomb blasts accused still keep giving their attendances whenever they are called in for hearing. It has been a 13 long years of public patience but no one knows what will the fate of the accused be, whether or not will they surely be punished or no. I don’t really understand what is the best way for these delayed judgments but whatever it is, I request the concerned officials to take interest and make sure the judgments are delivered at the right times. This would rebuild the lost faith of the public into the country’s law and order.

Thanks to the exposure people are becoming more aware and active about the fact that the offenders must be punished as soon as possible. The delayed judgments and granting the bail requests just helps them to build on more fake evidence and thus escape the punishment. What on earth is this massive police force, innumerable lawyers and ever increasing terrorists and criminals up to, I have no clue. But the people of India have started taking keen interest into the Indian politics and crime scenes. So if the concerned officials don’t really perform their duties timely and stand true to their responsibilities, I am sure they will not be spared! After all, when Death comes on a date, it comes just once!

Writing Credits: Aaishwari Chouhan
Editing Credits: Piyush Singh

Zindagi ki jeet hain...

Mana, raaton ne khoya
hain apna chand kahi
subah hi doobe hain
na jane suraj kai
dhundhli hain par
roshni ki lau hain nai
'aaj' se raushan
mere ateet hain
issi mein to
zindagi ki jeet hain...

Mana, kaali ghatao ne
armano ko bhigo diya
par geele pankho se bhi
udna seekh hi liya
sapno ko bojhil aankhon mein
mehfuz kar hi diya
ab to khamosh tanhai
hi chanchal manmeet hain
issi mein to
zindagi ki jeet hain...

Mana, rah gayi kuch
anjani ankahi baatein
Taare gin gin par
jaagte katati hain raatein
ek pal doobti ek pal
jaagti hain hasratein
shayad udaano ki
aise hi reet hain
issi mein to
zindagi ki jeet hain...

Lyrics by: Piyush Singh

Casting [C]ouch

Individually, casting (i.e. cast) means shed or throw and couch means settee or divan. But when clubbed together, they have an altogether different meaning. As per Wikipedia, the casting couch is a euphemism for a widely recognized sociological phenomenon that involves the trading of sexual favours by an aspirant, apprentice, employee, or subordinate to a superior, in return for entry into an occupation or otherwise for career advancement within an organization. The term casting couch seems to be making it to the gossip columns more often than ever, not just in our city but also all over the globe. It is popular as ‘hard audition’ in the West.

In the world of silver screen, whenever casting couch cases have been exposed by the media they were termed as sex scandals. And when the term sex scandal comes in who would not remember the Shakti Kapoor and the Aman Verma cases which were popular as ‘Sting Operations’. But they sublimed as easily as they gained popularity. Also, news about some renowned actor of Bollywood claiming that many leading actresses have slept with Sanjay Leela Bhansali and many other directors sent waves of fury in the entire industry following the claim by various personalities that all this was just a part of gaining popularity and was termed ‘sleazy’ by Mr. Mahesh Bhatt. But one must note the fact that casting couches aren’t just restricted to the female strugglers. It also is an integral element of their male counterparts. The Madhur Bhandarkar flicks Page 3 and Corporate show the various dimensions to casting couches in the film and the corporate world respectively.

But is it really important to go through this phase in order to gain the stardom or money? I believe those individuals who aren’t confident on their abilities and lack the will power fall prey to such couches. It is indeed pathetic to see that a better candidate loses the designation s/he deserves just because of the existence of casting couch in the allotment procedure. I don’t think that casting couch has spared any walk of life today. Shekhar Suman once quoted, “The Casting couch - willing to raise the skirt or saree, gets unexpected offers or unexpected breaks in Bollywood”.

Now if I write more on it, I am sure all you guys reading this would say I am being a little too bold towards this issue and not favouring the topic at all. But seriously, I don’t really support the very phenomena of Casting [C]ouch and would term those people who succeeded because of it as complete ‘losers’.

Writing Credits: Aaishwari Chouhan
Editing Credits: Piyush Singh

AIDS – Show your Support!

December 1 is celebrated internationally as World AIDS Day. On this day in Mumbai, college students voluntarily stand in their campuses and convince others to wear the Red Ribbon. MTV organizes certain event which donates all the money collected out for it to people affected by AIDS. A very small portion of people walk down the streets with boards encouraging active involvement of the public for AIDS awareness drives. A few rich people donate some cash to various organisations supporting AIDS.

But does this really help in creating awareness about this deadly disease? To an extent, yes! Thanks to such public displays that people are actually willing to talk about AIDS openly. The society has accpeted the people affected by HIV and AIDS in their community and fortunately, they are no longer treated as untouchables. But still, the society lacks some basic knowledge and has developed certain misconceptions due to incomplete knowledge about it. It is rightly quoted, “Incomplete knowledge is more dangerous than no knowledge.”

The most common misconceptions amongst the crowd is that AIDS can spread through casual contact, sexual intercourse with a vigin can cure AIDS and HIV can infect only homosexual men and drug users. Isnt this the blind trust on sources that lead people to believe in such crapp? Hence, we as youth, should take the initiative and organize events which help in creating more awareness about this disease. Reaching out to the people who are affected by it and treating them as one of us is the boldest movement an individual can make.

The Red Ribbon has been an international symbol for HIV for over fifteen years now. Wearing the red ribbon indicates that ‘I support AIDS’ and it also means that ‘I am willing to extend my support to the people affected by it’. It symbolises that together we can stop the spread of HIV and thus, end chauvinism. It is one of the easiest ways to extend your support and make a difference on that special occasion of December 1. It isn’t all about wearing one and displaying it off, one should convince everyone around him/her to wear one and be prepared for supporting this cause in some way or the other.

Also, don’t forget AIDS can easily be transmitted and you can also be a prey to it if you aren’t cautious. So take all the necessary precautions and treat the ones affected by it with respect and dignity. Take initiatives to make a difference in their lives and you shall find inner happiness. The virtue to seeing others smile because of your efforts makes a lot of difference into your personal lives as well. So, go ahead and proudly wear that Red Ribbon across your chest!

Writing Credits: Aaishwari Chouhan
Editing Credits: Piyush Singh

Main Hoon Don - Says SRK

Listen it was in the news that Amitabh Bachchan (who needs no introduction) is all praises for the remake of one of his movies, DON. Amit Ji feels that the movie is going to be a good one. That’s not a review anyways; he has been saying this based on the promos. He adds that everything from the Shot Taking to the presentation is carrying a classical touch. He never seems to be tired of appreciating and praising the two important elements of the movie – Farhan and Shahrukh. It’s been long and still the movie is doing the rounds of gossip columns because it is the remake of a much loved and appreciated movie, Amitabh starrer Don.

The other point of discussion shifts the focus to Mr. Shahrukh’s career. Will Don be able to get him back to the scene? It is true, that no one can prepare him or herself from the descending down the peaks of success in context of career. Even the king of all, King Khan is passing through the same phase, but one my friends, Anagha always says, it is just a phase, it has to pass. It is not worth mentioning that the other two Khans – Amir and Salman are not shaken this badly by the attack of flop film-ism.

Actually, Shahrukh has failed to cater a variety to his fans and viewer because he has been limited to films only by his close friends and now he is busy compensating it with his popularity. Karan (Species so far known closest to Shahrukh and is a film director and producer, generic name = Johar), being an established and acclaimed director delivered a really over hyped movie which could not even satisfy either the box office or the viewers. I am still looking for a money back option. That’s not the issue over here. Fans were disappointed with the repetition of the expressions and the mannerisms in the close ups or 'Stretched-like-rubber' scenes of the latest flick Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna by none other than Karan Johar. If a movie’s business is a game of facts, figures and digits, then the impact of the movie is all about the blend of emotions. The income of the star never matters if he is not able to satiate the senses of the audience.

There has been a strange co-incidence with Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. Because of aggressive marketing and maximum prints, maximum number of people have seen the movie but the result is quite logical that the number of disappointed viewers was in the same proportion. Don is more of a test for Shahrukh. If he is able to reach out to the audiences and viewers through this entertainer and I think he can support and make his stardom stable, or, I can hear the alarm bells already ringing for him. He has to be a bit cautious and walk on the footsteps of Mr. Bachchan (Senior) so as to pick up roll which suits his age rather than him. If Shahrukh’s entry has been an element which surprised and hypnotized everyone then his exit is going to be a known but awaited fact.

So far it has been a ritual in this industry, No one ever walked out of it being a winner. Everyone has lost to time. In this world of entertainment, everything is dependent on the like and dislike of the audience and I am glad that I am one.

Writing Credits : Piyush Singh
Editing Credits : Aaishwari Chouhan

Let the Diya Burn!

Once again, festival in the form of lights is knocking at our door! When I say again, obviously that includes the whole world but I am narrowing down the focus to two people – Aaishwari and myself, Piyush. Things have changed a lot. Almost everything. Here are we, presenting before you one common post instead of two since we are trying to make this special occasion, a very special one. To begin with, a very Happy, Safe and enLightened Diwali to all those who are spending their precious time on this blog. This wish also stretches far more beyond the virtual walls of blogspot and out to everyone in this world.

I still remember the time when I was a kid, I admit, I still am a kid at heart. But, I am referring back to say a span of 9 or 10 years. That was when perhaps I learnt one of the most important message of my life and it was easily conveyed by my Dad. Its been a tradition kind of thing at my house that whenever it came to buy Lakshmi – Ganesh idols, its me , my bro and my Dad who are supposed to be out on the hunt for the perfect one. Scanning each and every idol displayed there at the shop, with the Lord Ganesh’s perfect trunk, curved on the right side instead of left. Similarly, Goddes Lakshmi should be smiling and supposed to have a pot full of wealth in her hands. A lot of criteria which exceeds far more beyond the boundaries of explanation but sometimes we are a bit too helpless to go deviate from traditions.

Whatever, that wasn’t the important aspect. Seeing so many colours and glitters around me in the form of small to big idols, I was moved. I had this question right there making me uncomfortable. Idols are made of clay which has no value at all. Go to any river bank or any place, our mother earth has been very generous with that element of nature. Clay, seen everywhere, is considered valueless and absolutely free of cost. It is rather stranger that people pay high and demanded price when beautiful idols are made out of it. That is where the essence lies. I reverted to my dad for an answer as he was the only one who could have satisfied me with a little piece of intellect. The answer was rather inspiring than logical.
The secret lies in the attribute. We are all valueless like clay but it depends on us what should be the value of our self. It is the time to carve the essence out of the person we are. It has been a tryst with the destiny so far to live up to what I gained out of that message. I am still trying to improve myself and perhaps that’s what the festivals are about.

It is rather important to cleanse our soul than out homes. For soul and heart is the permanent residence of the Deities. I know its difficult and even my team mate Aaishwari is having a tough time with me (Aaishwari adds: Not really!), but its all in the good faith and I hope this will make you lighten up your hearts than the body which is made up for bricks.

Although I have never been out on any hunting spree for the idols of Gods and Godesses, still I believe in them a lot. And fortunately, it is this belief that has helped me come out of so many of my bad and some very bad situations in life. And this Diwali, has come in as the most memorable one. It was around Diwali that I came across Piyush, we started off this blog and so many ideas are still waiting to be executed. This also happens to be my first Diwali with so many of my really close buddies like Rajeev, Abhi, Aratrika and Vikram. So lets celebrate this festival and heres wishing all of you a Very Happy Diwali once again.

An Evening with Mountains

The dissolving scenery
And the fading evening.
With silver blanket of moon,
Every peak is up to dreams.

The trees in the valleys
Are now shadows of their own.
The fog is rising as
Shining silver smoke.

With the melting moon,
Rocks are softening.
The breaths of night shimmers
And goes down sinking.

The softer the air is,
The quieter is the scenario.
Buds are lying unconscious
After drinking the drops of dew.

On the turns,
The roads are yawning.
For an unknown person,
Someone can be heard singing.

The dissolving scenery
And the fading evening.
The breath of night shimmers
And goes down sinking.

Writing Credits: Piyush Singh

Youth. Health Consciousness. Any link?

We know a great deal more about the causes of physical disease

than we do about the causes of physical health

I vividly remember, more or less a week back I was engrossed in watching something different on the idiot-box, thankfully very much away from the regular saas-bahu soaps. It was ‘The Youth Unplugged’ on NDTV 24X7. They had roped in six students from IIT Madras who were having a debate on topics related to youth. The topics comprised of ‘Are today’s youth health conscious?’, ‘Should the youth enter Politics?’ and many more.

What really interested me was a genuine question- how health conscious are the youth today? Is going to gyms every morning and night, displays the health consciousness of the youth? Is living on diet pills and diet food a way of being health conscious? Does the escalating sale of Diet Pepsi against Coca Cola or regular Pepsi displays the health consciousness among youth?

Today, everyone believes the person who has a fit 28 inch waist line is really healthy. People crave for this absolute waist length, but the case again becomes one of the kinds where ‘All that glitters is not gold.’ The resistance of the body to fight diseases and stay fit even when the world is down with various illnesses is in true terms, good health. I don’t really understand why people cling to the world trends of looking good, to be fit! Other than dieting to stay fit, I believe it is a lot better to eat healthy stuff and stay strong.

The question today is not to survive the best in the present times, but it is about surviving in the long run in the best possible state. I hate to see the kids today thriving on mere Ruffle Lays and potato chips along with Pepsi (or Diet Coke in extra heath conscious cases). More number of children are falling to prey to diseases from their childhood only, the reason for this being the negligence of the parents in their child’s eating habits. How can a person neglect the very thing that supports his existence today? A man is nothing without a fit body. And it is the youth today who need to really be aware of the ill effects of the consumptions of not only ciggies and boozes but also, wrong food. It is of extreme importance that a youth takes care of whatever he consumes coz the seeds sown today shall produce the fruits tomorrow. So, if u want sweet fruits tomorrow, then have some nutritious stuff today. Or else, don’t be surprised if your sons and grand sons leave you at some old age home because of your ill and ever deteriorating health because who would have the time in the future to take care of others?

Writing Credits: Aaishwari Chouhan
Editing Credits: Piyush Singh

Now and Forever

This poem is probably my first and last message to Batch-III - Piyush Singh

As this journey of time,
Comes to an end.
Don't know what time,
Has at the bend.

I see the seasons,
Rushing towards sky.
I feel the time,
Swiftly flying by.

There were moments,
When we laughed together.
There were times when,
We consoled each other.
Let it be fire or rain,
We held one another.

There were times when,
You made me feel sad.
Somewhere in the journey,
I made you feel bad.

Now I see the smiles,
Holding the tears within.
I wonder, is it that easy,
To cry with a grin.

You are my greatest gifts,
This magnificent journey gave.
I feel my soul turning,
To dead man's cave.

Every time I put it down,
Tears washed my words away.
With innumerable memories,
And incidences to cherish,
With strange actions and,
Scrutinizing eyes to stare,
I hope that you remember me
For now and forever.

Writing Credits: Piyush Singh

We love you all!

dear friends,
thanks for appreciating our efforts into the blog. we really loved all the feedback you guys have given personally and/or through the comments on the posts as well.
all that i request you people now is to please mention your email addresses along with your comments. this would help us get back to all of you, dear friends.
Thanks and Cheers!
Piyush Singh
Aaishwari Chouhan

Leaving Home

Leaving our home,
For the silver lining.
The sky unexplored
And the stars shining.
With the ambitions
Sky high roaring.
Like the flowers
Of dawn blooming.
High goals and
Spirits accelerating.
Fake smiles and
Nasty tears undying.

Sake of the message
The fathers convey.
Romancing the tunes
The mothers play.
Feeling every soul
On our way.
The music to which
The winds sway.
The melancholy in
Our hearts lay.

We see the home
Change to the God's crave.
Tracing the same home
On the time's wave.
The silence calms us
Like a body in grave.
The place full of fun
Have never been this naïve.
The eternal happiness
Is finally on waive.
The home changed to
The dead man's cave.

Time moves on with
Memoirs unwritten.
Right there we keep
The memories hidden.
Introducing myself to
The changes maiden.
Like a levanter
Adding to a woolen.
Chasing unknown now
Is not an omen.
The faces now seem
To be a charlatan.

Our home changed
In many ways.
But all to add
To my dismays.

Writing Credits: Piyush Singh
Special Thanks: Indian Ocean

The Last Templar

Author - Raymond Khoury
Pages – 439
Publisher – ORION PAPERBACKS
Rating – ****

First time novelist Raymond Khoury must have been truly inspired by Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, no wonder he came up with a novel (ironic!) on the same lines. But trust me; this book is as good as Brown's code.

The Last Templar talks about the secret of an unknown Templar treasure that contains the power to shake the belief of people in Christianity and its origins and thus most importantly needed to be disclosed to the world, to help destroy the blind faith people place in their religion. One unfortunate incident kick starts this page-turning book, with an archeologist Tess Chaykin desperately hunting for the hidden Templar treasure.

The mystery involves a strange device that could help in translation of the ancient testaments that contains the hidden truth. The Latin phrase ‘Veritas vos liberabit’ said by one of the horsemen who was a part of the unfortunate incident kick starts the hunt for the killers.

A little romance, several gory deaths, many suspects and the history of the Templars makes this book an exciting and adventurous piece right through the end. The events leading up to the suspense keep the excitement burning till the very last page. If Dan Brown’s invoked an interest in you about Mary Magdalene and Christ's bloodline then this isn’t the book for you; get back to Brown's works.

This book by screenwriter and producer Khoury will definitely make for a great movie since a few incidents in the book are quite surprising. With the encoding of this book among several others, The Last Templar is plainly incredible and should not be missed by fiction readers. So go ahead, crack the code and feel the thrill!

Writing Credits: Aaishwari Chouhan
Editing Credits: Piyush Singh
Image Coutesy: www.booksamillion.com

Humanity v/s. Mentality

One lazy afternoon, the new session along with the curiosity for the specialization of the course- Fashion and Communication, entered in to class Mr., Nitin Kulkarni, with whom we all were quite familiar, except Noopur and Lisa. These two names were transferred from Hyderabad centre and joined us in the third semester only. Nitin Sir is perhaps one of my favourite faculty members and the most loved one as well. He had a tryst with my batch during the two years of Foundation Program in NIFT Mumbai when he taught us Visualization and Representation Techniques, Elements of Design, Material Studies, etc.
The subject was called Design Methodology in the course curriculum of Fashion and Communication (Semester III). The name was quite successful in taking our interest away; we were almost prepared to go against it. Let me tell you, we are very united though there are just 38 of us. We were not keen on the subject and had expression which went like, “Oh no! Not another theory subject” (Being in India’s premier Institute and that too in design, we are way away from theory).

We were wrong and we are glad that we were wrong for it was the subject that made us go crazy and fall in love with the process rather than only the result. It is easier sometimes to make it to the destination but the fun which gets you going and attracted towards it is the journey. May be thats why people refer to life as journey since it is an eternal process of learning. The idea and its journey all through the achievement is the important aspect of any process.

One and the first assignment started when we were asked to identify one social problem, each and everyone came up with different problems. It was fun when you get a chance to enhance your perception through other’s hard work. Jokes apart, the second phase started when we were clubbed into groups based on the problems we picked up. I was placed into the group which was focused on the ever changing relation between Humanity and Mentality. While, other two groups were working on topics like ‘Fear’ and ‘Communication Gap’.

We were all set to work and started with sharing our problems with the class, facing the questions which even forced us to be quiet like an unexplored sea sometimes. Every one of us and every problem of ours faced a thorough screening by other classmates and by the faculty himself. It was almost impossible to work on that just for the heck of it then. It became a part of life and that was when Sir announced the final and the third part of the assignment. It was to find the solution to the problem.

The solution to our problems and the issue were placed under the topic ‘Humanity v/s Mentality’ and the solution could have been nothing other than – awareness. We worked on it day and night creating awareness about this cause in public. Pamphlets, T-shirts, Media, Celebrities, we used them all. But we think we succeeded when during the Ganpati we could successfully sell over 200 hand made greeting cards which were the result of the card making competition organized by our group.

Things have changed. We don’t expect, neither do we want everyone to donate loads and loads of money. We just want you to come forward, to create awareness in public. You can always be a helping hand because my team mate came up with very painful incident which she observed in one of the overly crowded stations of Mumbai. There was this guy who was dressed properly and was lying unconscious, and all those lovely people were stepping over him again and again. We are animals, but do why we forget the prefix ‘Social’ all the time?
You still have things in your hand, take charge. Don’t think about the result, it’s just the way you intend doing it. I have seen initiatives winning it all but have the courage to take one. We all don’t know how many lives can we change at the end but we can always keep trying. Getting to the basic of the subject, “Even if you don’t reach the very top, Climbing can be fun too’. Hope we will join hands and have some better and challenging peaks to explore.

Writing Credits: Piyush Singh
Editing Credits: Aaishwari Chouhan

Humanity v/s. Mentality Community: http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=18937355

Bole toh – Apun ka Mumbai!

Aye dil hai mushkil jeena yahan,
Zara hatke, zara bachke; yeh hai Mumbai meri jaan!

Some months back a Reader’s Digest survey produced some waves in Mumbai. I very well remember those were the days in May 2006 when I was interning at Mumbai Mirror. The survey declared Mumbai as the rudest city and owing to this declaration the Mumbaites were so outraged that the Mumbai Mirror Editor, Meenal actually decided to carve out some cover story on it. It was at that point of time when I was reading the brilliant Suketu Mehta’s ‘Maximum City – Bombay lost and found’. This book was recommended to me, or in fact to all of my classmates, by Mrs. Nandini Sardesai our Sociology lecturer. The book as a whole was terrific. Thanks to this book that I actually started taking interest into politics and especially, the underworld.

I could relate myself to almost the whole book entirely since I have been staying in Mumbai for more than ten years now. Along with the Bollywood gossips and the Vada pav lovers of the city, Mr. Mehta also brought forward some of the ugly facets of Mumbai. Hardly a few months ago was Mumbai in the international headlines for bomb blasts and flooding in the rains, yet people kept pouring in everyday with big dreams and little ways of materializing it. The city shelters everyone, with this hope loads and loads of fantasists step into Mumbai everyday till date.

Mr. Mehta mentioned in his book that the city of Mumbai is all about transactions – dhandha! Dhandha doesn’t really mean quality business; it includes all types of business from trading the goods to trading the child and body. Come what may, people here are ready to face anything and everything boldly. Like it just happened during this navratri when I and two of my female friends were returning from Vile Parle to Borivali in a rickshaw and there was a police naka bandi somewhere around Goregaon. The police stopped our rick and asked us to get down under the pretext that the driver was carrying an expired license. I was shattered since it was 1.30 in the night and asking three girls to get off the rick isn’t a decent scene. The rickwala made a move immediately then. This enraged me all the more. But fortunately, few of my friends were just around the corner in their car and they came to our aid. On our way to my house, another police van stopped us and my best friend Abhi asked everyone of us to stay calm and not to get off the car come what may. He just got done and said, “Bola Saheb…” Just these words and the cop asked us to go.

This made me realize that you need to be bold, you need to know basic Marathi and also, have the confidence in your voice while dealing with government officials to make your way through this city, in peace. There is heat, beggars, smelling fish and lavishing food all around Mumbai which are equally inescapable. The heat will leave you helpless in between your work and all you can do is NOTHING! The beggars won’t spare you at the signals, food joints, and local trains or for that matter, anywhere. All through the markets and the shore lines, you have the take up the smelling fish without any objection. Not just this, in the local trains as well you can’t question the fisher women who gets in with their baskets. And of course the food, this is what the Mumbaikars are known for! Quality food, is what we demand. And trust me; a true Mumbaikar prefers the roadside chaats and night coffee at Band Stand over McDonalds Happy Meal or a lunch buffet at Taj Lands End.

Another feature of Mumbai that Mr. Mehta pointed out in his book was that nobody dies of hunger in Mumbai. How true is it! I can relate this statement to my own condition. By the month end, I am always running out of cash. So the girl, who steps into Mocha and Barista in the first two weeks for breakfast and coffee, happily relishes the toast bread and a coffee at the college canteen (which truly sucks) during the rear days of the month. The 90 bucks Frappe with ice cream at Mocha is as relishing as the 10 bucks cold coffee at Churchgate station.

There is so much more that I would like to share about the city of Mumbai and my personal experiences in it. But since the blogging space is limited and my thoughts are too wide and bizarre, I will leave it here with a promise of continuing this thread in the future. And I bet, next time my team mate Piyush will also share his Mumbai experiences with all you guys. Cheers!

Writing Credits: Aaishwari Chouhan
Editing Credits: Piyush Singh

Youth-o-logy

Slangs and abuses are such a common occurrence with the youth today that one wont be surprised to find a girl, in her late teens, call a woman ‘bitch’ in front of her mum. Neither will one be amazed to hear words like ‘chutiya’ from a guy’s mouth in front of his dad and friends. Abuses have become such a trend that instead of saying ‘hello’ to your friend who calls in, people often address them by ‘yeah, bastard’ or ‘bol kameene’.

But since this is such a spoken and thought about topic, so I thought of putting forward some better terms used by youth today. Item, jhakaas or maal are considered to be the age-old terminologies now. You will find better and more creative words today. Topping the list is the word ‘Potential Boyfriend/Girlfriend.’ Yes, this term stands for those individuals who are considered to be an apt choice to be one’s partner. The boy/girl has all the features one wants in his/her partner (except a couple of features), s/he likes the person as well; but still there is something that’s holding back the person to confess. Such individuals are termed as potential boyfriend/girlfriend.

Another famous yet not-so-happening word is ‘down-market.’ This word is generally used by girls who use it to address to those guys who aren’t considered to be of their standards or widely used for those girls who behave very ‘loudly’ in public and lack the basic etiquettes. Going ahead, the word ‘chindi’ is making big rounds with the youth presently. Chindi meaning cheapo or tightfisted or miser, it is largely used for those who don’t openly spend when out with friends and keep a count of every paisa they shell out. Even those who never call or text a message from their cell phones are recognized by the label - ‘chindi’.

Another widely used word is ‘missed call madan.’ The ones who are famous even with the unknowns for their acts of always placing a missed call and expecting the person to call him/her back, are called so! And when one calls them back, they merely say ‘timepass mein missed call diya tha’ are actually tagged with this label. ‘Pimp’ is yet another embarrassing word used for guys. In true terms, it stands for the male prostitutes who willingly go in for males only. So, today if a guy wishes to insult the other guy publicly, he openly calls him a ‘pimp’ in front of all his male and female friends, irrespective. It is pretty humiliating to those who know the true meaning, while the others who are unaware of the implication of this word; laugh it away with no hard feelings!

So, this is the latest in the Mumbai youth circuit rightly termed as youth-o-logy. It splendidly is different from the clique words used earlier and else where. Since the youth in Mumbai have always been the trend setters as far as fashion and language is concerned, they again have proved their worth in the changing times. Kudos to the young Mumbaikars here!

Writing Credits: Aaishwari Chouhan
Editing Credits: Piyush Singh

Lucknow : Heres one for you!

Incidents, more incidents and this life is all made up of incidents. Being a keen observer it has always been easy for me to grasp humour from small things which happen almost every day. Though, I can guarantee that these things are not supposed to make others laugh. It has been an uphill task to seek humour in every small thing, but it’s worth it. People in Lucknow can beat anyone in this game. So, this one is for you my dear Lucknowites.

Lucknow so far has been known for its Nazakat, Nafasat and Tehjeeb. Yeah, yeah, you got it right, I am talking about the same place where every pile (relatively as high as Mt. Everest in city’s context) of garbage had this statement written nearby which says “Muskuraiye ki aap Lucknow mein hain”. By the time your eyes get accustomed to the font and this greeting sign, the pollution grips them badly.

When you look around, you will be surprised to see over loaded autos (tempos, called Vikram in this part of country) flaunting the pollution norms. It’s still hard to decide whether or not they use the standard device or not. They do have the statement “Euro II” which is meant to convey that the so called vehicle is following the pollution norms but the spelling leads to innovation with words and devices like “EARO”, “AERO”, “ERO”, “URO”, what all and what not.

The wonderful people are proud of this city. They keep on living on new hopes and new dreams every following day and they are more than happy; trust me when I say this. Be it tuned ka Kebab which costs as cheap as Rs. 3 per piece or the Thandai or the respect they give you when you take out your slightly advanced looking camera. They can even cause a stampede when some super star turns up. Innocent people with innocent expectations.
Let it be the Sari distribution camp or the prestigious Lucknow Mahotsav stampede, you will always find the victims’ kin sitting at the road side tea-stall and gossiping it all out.

Though it’s all in the roots, Nawab Wazid Ali Shah, while in the process of construction of Imambara, used to get it constructed during the day and would come up with people to demolish in the night. Strange, isn’t it? He did so as to get everyone the job and room to earn something since the area was under a draught that time. The delicacy which has been ruling the taste buds of many celebrities, to the extent of serving as picturesque and comparatively cheaper locations to many blockbusters, Lucknow says it all. It follows the essence which can get you to believe that really these people are ‘Bade Dilwalla’

It has been serving as a panorama of moods and shades with its literary background sunken deep into the history along with the artistic and aesthetic appeal. Generations have walked through the same and dusty road, without a sigh and without a complaint. People know what to expect and what needs to be enhanced. Despite being an architectural wonder, Imambara still echoes with the ‘Azaans’ and hundreds of head bow down at one go during this month of Ramadan.

Feasting and Fasting cover the city with a whole new appeal when Navratra and Ramadan come together. The shops brighten up the evenings with the lights shimmering at every nook and corner. Seasons come and they fly away but they have always failed to nourish the seed of hatred among people and they together, hand in hand come forward for everything, right from fighting an evil to adding to the garbage pile which still proudly sports that, “Muskuraiye ki aap Lucknow mein hain”.

Writing Credits: Piyush Singh
Editing Credits: Aaishwari Chouhan

A Labour’s Unknown Face

The Sun was out there waiting for me and as usual I was tossing from one side to the other on my bed. My dear partner wanted me to write on 'Child Labour' and I was just giving this topic a thought when... call it a coincidence, my cell phone remixed the regular beep and I was more than sure that Aaishwari must have messaged me reminding me about the write up, but to my extreme surprise, the sender’s name was displayed as 'Awareness' and it was in two parts. It went like:
Ban on engaging child as Domestic Servant or Servant in Hotel, Tea Shops, Dhabas, Eating Houses, SPA’s etc. (contd.)
Request you not to employ child below 14 years and help us make our State Child Labour Free –Commissioner of Labour,
State of Maharashtra.

I was just thinking about those mornings, which used to be relatively free. Being too lazy to cook something, I always landed up at the eating joints a block away. There is this joint which only served South Indian food along with added colours of ‘Gulab Jamuns’. When I moved to Kharghar, New Bombay, I wasn’t really keen on South Indian food. A year passed and when I settled more into the environment, I started observing things. my observation included everything, the food, utensils, tables and the chairs, and most important of all, the never fading smile on the faces working there. The only difference there was about the faces, the faces were all of boys who were under 14 and take my words, they were cute.

I didn’t even realize when I became so fond of them that the South Indian served in that joint became the only means on which I could survive. I would bank on every opportunity to rush there and see the daily happenings with a 'glass of coffee' in front of me. I would just watch them as they moved fast in between tables carrying the plates and the glasses as it was relatively a smaller place and most of the time it used to get so crowded that there were queues of would-be-eaters.

I became a familiar face out there. And as soon as I stepped in that place, all four of the boys would gather around me and with just a few exchanges of smiles they knew what I was going to order for food. Venkateshwar (one of them) would yell at Anna, “Ek mas-ss-aa-l-aa, ek ch-aa-i”. Sometimes when I used to ditch him with guesses, I would order ‘Uttapa’ and then he would yell “Mas-ss-aa-l-aa can-cel, ek Utt-a-pp-aa”. Then, if I was alone (that never happened), and if they were free as well (that also never happened), they will come up to the table where I generally sat and start a conversation.

There was this guy, who wore a T-shirt which was supposed to be of Ryan International School but only if he could know the meaning of the scrambled words written on his T-Shirt. I always found him cutest of the lot. He would come up to me and tell me tales about his days, and I would be no one than an active listener. He would tell about the girls he liked in my society, about the ‘off for a day’ he recently got but his favorite topic was to talk about my cell phone endlessly. Sometimes it would have been the Wallpaper or the ring tone or the sms tone, but he really liked them all. He would go out, click some good pictures and return the cell to me and then kept on reliving the memory till I give him my cell for the next time.

Way back in 1979, Government formed the first committee called Gurupadswamy Committee to study the issue of child labour and to suggest measures to tackle it. It observed that as long as poverty continued, it would be difficult to totally eliminate child labour and hence, any attempt to abolish it through legal recourse would not be a practical proposition. The Committee felt that in the circumstances, the only alternative left was to ban child labour in hazardous areas and to regulate and ameliorate the conditions of work in other areas. It recommended that a multiple policy approach was required in dealing with the problems of working children.

These are all words, written in black and white, I would rather go for the untold stories which he wanted to tell me, they sound much much sweeter and I am more than happy to listen to him every time. Even in my busiest of schedules I would try anything just to take out time and hang out there. Ch-aa-i after ch-aa-i, coffee after coffee, I started spending my holidays at that place, though I did not get much of holidays but I always made sure that 5 on 7 days a week, I land up there for dinner and I was always welcomed with a smile on those four faces, as if I was the remedy to their tiredness. Again the same miraculous tone and the yell ““Ek mas-ss-aa-l-aa, ek ch-aa-i”.

“The shackles are there on the body,
Dreams can never be tamed
The sky up above and the horizon unknown,
His wings can claim
The tears roll down and dry
With indifference in name
The murmur rises and dies
But it’s all in a game.”

Writing Credits: Piyush Singh
Editing Credits: Aaishwari Chouhan
Image Courtsey: http://www.catholicsocialjustice.org/

My Take on Prostitution

The 1994 report of Asian Age reported the presence of at least 70,000 women sex workers in Delhi, Madras, Calcutta, Bangalore and Hyderabad. About 85% Hindus and nearly 66% scheduled castes and tribal women were a part of this about 70,000 crowd. Bangalore and Mumbai have the highest proportion of girl prostitutes. High prostitute supply regions include Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

After reading these facts, what comes first to your mind? Please ponder!

In India, prostitution is technically illegal but widely tolerated. It is linked to professions like bar dancing, Call Centre jobs or vaguely anything where the woman earns not more than three grands a month! In 1998, owing to the rise of prostitutes and negligence by the government towards their safety, prostitutes started to organize and lobby for legalization. Sonagachi in Kolkata, Kamathipura in Mumbai, G.B. Road in New Delhi and Budhwar Peth in Pune host thousands of sex workers there and they are some of the famous red light areas in India. Where one needs to get an official license for prostitution in the developed countries, on the other hand, prostitutes in some Muslim dominated nations are subjected to death sentences. And in between these two extremes lies India, where this profession is neither legal nor illegal! Amazing, indeed! (Hasn’t India always been dancing at the fence in many other issues as well?)

Girl prostitutes are primarily located in low-middle income areas and business districts and are pretty famous amongst officials. People keep talking about them, slugging their reputation and moving them to legal authorities. But hardly anyone thinks of it in true terms (except some sociologists of course). The causes of prostitution though known to the world are taken as unknown facts. Everyone is well versed that the causes include ill treatment by parents, bad company, family prostitutes, social customs, inability to arrange marriage, lack of sex education, media, prior incest and rape, early marriage and desertion, poverty, economic distress, greed, dejection, desire for physical pleasure, lack of recreational facilities and ignorance. But how many of us think of trying to provide these sex workers with either rehabilitation centres or fight for the acceptance of their profession?

The current laws in India that legislate sex workers are somewhat vague, which allows prostitution to legally thrive but attempts to hide it from public. The primary law dealing with the status of sex workers is the 1956 law referred to as ‘The Immoral Traffic (Suppression) Act (SITA)’. According to this law, sex work in India is neither legal nor illegal; it is tolerated since prostitutes can practice their trade privately but cannot legally solicit customers in public. What hurts me is the fact that sex workers are not protected under normal workers laws, and are not entitled to minimum wage benefits, compensation for injury or other benefits that are common in other types of work. They do, however, possess the right to rescue and rehabilitation if they desire and possess all the rights of other citizens. But what remains an unanswered question is when will they get a status which entitles them to being a dignified sex worker who would not be looked-down-at, instead will be looked-up-at?

Writing Credits: Aaishwari Chouhan
Editing Credits: Piyush Singh

Sense the Censors!

The present day censorship of films is very much governed by the Cinematograph Certification rules of 1983. These rules apply to foreign films imported to India, dubbed films and video films. While the certification of films is a central subject, the states have to enforce the penal provisions of the Act. Also, there are detective agencies appointed in all regions to detect interpolations in films.

But the rules that were drafted in the year 1983 were drafted looking the 1983 scenario… Are these rules applicable even today with all the westernization and technological developments across India and the Indians?

One of the major objectives of film certification is to keep a check on the film/video since the mediums of films remain responsible to values and standards of society. But maintaining the standard and values of society doesn’t really mean questioning every bold act and editing every realistic scene. Just like it happened in Mahesh Bhatt’s film and also, to Anurah Kashyap's Paanch! The people today are more bold and ready to face the violence and crime around with a positive attitude. So why not show it with an ‘A’ certificate. (‘A’ Certificated films are restricted to adult audiences only)

The censor board wants the film to be of aesthetic value, good standard which provides clean and healthy entertainment. But is this the sole reason why people like you and me go to the theatres and pay 150 bucks per seat for those three hours? I wouldn’t agree to it. Cause healthy entertainment today includes Karan Johar’s Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna which doesn’t fit into my idea of entertainment. I would say Lage Raho Munnabhai, Rang De Basanti and movies of this genre are way better than flicks like KANK, Salaam Namaste, Krrishh and many more to list.

If the Censor Board really demands healthy entertainment then why not release the films it had banned earlier, and would continue to do so until and unless people voice out against it, under ‘S’ Certificate? (‘S’ Certificate is meant for specialized audiences only). It is lot better to show the world about the true happenings than to show a more plastic, unreal and hypothetical world to the youth who would frame and grant this world a new identity in the future.

The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world, but how far does this hand have the authority to rule over the world her way? Many women in the past have come up against this male dominated film Censorship so as to include bold cinema as well, but males will ultimately be MALES! If anyone can help, please help this community to be more open to the female ideas, thoughts and notions coz agree to it or not, the hand that rocks the cradle has the power to rule the world provided it is given the opportunity to bring in revolution!

Writing Credits: Aaishwari Chouhan
Editing Credits: Piyush Singh

Getting Familiar With Acme

One night, while returning from somewhere, the surrounding was calm. My legs were working out the mere formality of carrying me home. My mind was lost coz i think it was trying to discover something. There was a perfect blend of questions and their answers - all mingled up in my mind. The only important (and the most confusing) task was to find the perfect answer to the corresponding question. Difficult, indeed! Suddenly, there was an explosion of bright light in the sky and I saw that light coming down to earth. When this light was closest to our very own humble mother earth, the personification of that mysterious light began.

As I watched it, a bit afraid, the light began to take the shape of a lady, within moments, there was a beautiful lady standing in front of me. My lips went dry as I tried to speak up a word or two to know about that mystery. The condition of my lips was pretty much similar to that of a leaf, which becomes dry when ‘morning dew’ says ‘good-bye’ in its very own style. Everything went silent; I don’t know what happened to the sound of silence, which accompanied me all the way to that particular instance of time and now the very old sound of silence left me alone with that lady.

Gathering up a bit of courage and guts to speak up something, I managed saying, “O Magical Lady! The Goddess of Mystery! Who are you?” and with a voice which can go through even the hardest of hearts, she said, “I am Death”. ‘Death’, after hearing this particular word, I was shocked and my attraction towards her got demolished. Trying to be very introspective, I said that I have always been told that death has an ugly face and all sorts of vanities about death, to which she replied, “People try to make the things infamous they hate and they do hate me”.

I was obviously getting very eager to know about her and I do have a very inquisitive nature. The next question I fired was about her presence on earth and at that very particular instance of time. She, with a mild smile, said, “I am here to take you with me”. This sentence took me away from my senses. Trying to prove my smartness over the ‘Mighty Death’, I said, “Ha! You can’t take me away, I have my parents, relatives and friends”. Now, she was the one who was filling the silent environment with her laughs with which she overcame the sound of silence. She said confidently, “Let us have a look at the people you mentioned”. Saying this, she placed her cold palm over my eyes in an attempt to close them.

What I viewed next was simply disastrous, everyone was busy in their own struggles, own lives and they were deprived of the virtue by which they can love all. Everyone of my mentioned people wanted to be loved. No one ever wishes to love someone. Seeing the pain, misery and self-centered nature of my so-called friends and relatives, my eyes were all set to smear the curtains of my eyes with tears. Before the tears could have rolled down my cheeks, the cold hands of 'Death’ wiped them off. This was enough to break me off from this world. I said to Death, “Please, take me away! The world is not the same anymore” and I rushed to hold her tight.

I was lost in my city of thoughts. But somewhere I believed that the place I am going to, accompanied by my death, is definitely going to be better than this world at least. I thought that I would fly away to glory and to the horizons- unknown. I will be in a place where everyone gets the same treatment, let him be an enemy of society or an enemy of thoughts. The ministers, the presidents, the leaders and most important of all, the humans are just going to be same in all aspects, they will be no one other than dead men. I concluded that I got the location of a utopian world and I was all set up for my departure.

The morning rays of glowing sun were playing ‘hide-n-seek’ on my forehead and they somewhat succeeded in waking me up. Perplexed, I woke up and I was still not sure that what was ‘that’. Whether that was an encounter with death or a dream. I tried to explore the wetness of tears on my eyelids but that was an unsuccessful attempt, because, unfortunately ‘that’ was a dream. Everything seemed to have changed and there was not even a small essence of materialistic attraction in anything after 'that' dream. Only one thing was firm and sure that, I have to wait for that ‘Beautiful Death’ to take me away, because that indeed is the final destination or highest point. Whatever you call it, but, it is the Acme, I am sure!

Forever Yours

Piyush

Writing Credits : Piyush Singh
Editing Credits : Aaishwari Chouhan

Gandhigiri: More than Enough!

Gandhi is Mahatma, Father of our Nation and an inspiration to the present day youth. Walking on the steps of Gandhigiri, doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) have taken their long-running tussle with Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss to a new level. In the words of our dear Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, “In an age when people worry about the so-called 'clash of civilisations', Gandhiji's message would have been that it is indeed possible for us to work for the 'confluence of civilizations.'”

Until Lage Raho Munnabhai happened, people forgot Gandhi and his principles. Many of them weren’t even convinced of the way Gandhi functioned during the independence years and blame him for the India-Pakistan partition. But the movie, showed the better side of Gandhi. It showed how Gandhi’s principles can be applied in today’s scenario. It showed, to everybody, that Gandhi was not a ‘lackluster’ who was branded only for his Khadi Dhoti, Stick or a Spinning Wheel. It showed that it’s still not obsolete to follow Gandhi’s principles. It re-established our faith in legitimacy. It symbolized anticipation.

Gandhism was a yesteryears notion but the way the movie gave it a realistic approach and stressed on the word ‘Gandhigiri’ is phenomenal. Gandhigiri has become part of our glossary now. The intention of the movie was to dispel the saga about Gandhi being a demure, abstinent personality. They showed his other side - witty, comical, optimistic and ingenious. But people didn’t just take it this way. Instead they explored various dimensions to Gandhigiri and put it forward in front of the world the 21st Century way.

But is Gandhigiri really effective in the present age? Do the principals Gandhi proposed more than 55 years back are a solution to the circumstances and the problems of the common man today as well? I would say NO! Today, it is just next to impossible to get your work done the Gandhi way. Had there been Bhagat Singh and Subhash Chandra Bose than Gandhi during our freedom struggle days, we wouldn’t have celebrated the Indian Independence Day in the year 1947; but way before that. Neither can everything be taken for granted nor can certain situations be treated subtly.

Gandhigiri is just a hyper term today. People aren’t really aware of what Gandhigiri is all about, but still they are keen on practicing Gandhigiri. In true terms, people are sheer monkeys. They just know how to imitate well and follow anyone blindly. But the better part is that the movie has brought in its wake a call for revolution- the easier way. Now it’s all up to the people, how they promote it. But talking in absolute Gandhigiri terms- Enough is enough!

Writing Credits: Aaishwari Chouhan
Editing Credits: Piyush Singh

Prestorika at Lucknow

October 7th, 2006. I was excited for two reasons. Firstly-there were my people, both on stage and off stage. Don’t get suspicious when I say ‘my people’. Prestorika (my good friends) and the beautiful people from this awesome city who have tolerated me while my tryst with writing for over 3 years. Kudos to you all! Coming to second reason now, it was a well planned outing for me in that particular week and even I was getting a bit too bugged crashing on the couch and apparently was the potato replica there.

The venue was M.B. Club, Cantonment area and man; I landed there on time but wasn’t expecting my Prestorika folks to be there. I am glad that they turned down my expectations. Mr. Sidhu forgot his cell phone in Delhi so there was absolutely no means I could have made him aware of my arrival at the venue. Lokesh wasn’t valid in terms of cell phone, Vasav had switched off his cell and Nitesh was too busy over the phone to answer my call. Then, fortunately I caught hold of one of the guys from the organizing committee and I am glad he recognized me and let me in. He told me that ‘100 Octane’ (another band from Delhi) was also supposed to play after Prestorika and the band was busy in the sound checks. One strange thing, despite of the crowd, not many were obliged with the entry, they had dress codes, which said “No T-Shirts and Jeans- No entry”

Somehow, fortunate enough wearing a pair of ragged jeans and equally ragged T-Shirt; I, my bro and my cousin were let in. The stage looked awesome with my folks posing up there for the media. The ground was grand and it had everything to make it a perfect venue for the rock show but I still was wondering that why the organizers had chairs and somewhere garnished the venue with elite and executive sofas, but then my dear escort told me that it was for the elite people, IAS Officers who were keen on being the Page-3 celebrities in their part time. (Huh!)

Sidhu was still on stage and I yelled out his name, he turned back and he was more than happy to see me there. His happiness couldn’t be constrained in words and he started with “Behench**d”, f**k man, you have gained weight”. After exchanging some profanities and gentle words as well, he took me to the ‘console' where he told me that the gig was a part of ‘Forever NUMERO-UNO’ tour for three cities. Lucknow was the last leg of the tour. We were sitting on the ‘consoles’, Sidhu obviously a bit too disappointed with the crowd and still one and a half hours to go on stage was telling me about the other two shows. Someone put a ‘comma’ to our conversation and was keen to know about the show. All the time, right from the point he greeted Sidhu as “bhaisahab” to the time he formed a new band right there called ‘Forever’, I was wondering that how this guy clad in a blue formal shirt was allowed inside but then I realized what he was spoke far more interesting and smart stuff than his dressing sense. Here goes the conversation between him and Sidhu.

He : Bhaisahab, kaun kaun play kar raha hain?
Sidhu : 100 Octane aur Prestorika!
He : Pre-sto-rika?
Sidhu : Presto-rika!
He : Okay, Pre-historika!
Sidhu : Haan haan, wahi. Pre-historika!
He : Achcha bhaisahab, to yeh Forever kaun sa band hain (pointing to the tagline of the NUMERO-UNO that makes it Forever NUMERO-UNO)?
Sidhu : Actually woh Forever band aaya nahin, tabhi hum play kar rahein hain aaj.

We all were chilling out, just waiting for the ‘so called elite people’ to join so that we can go on stage at 8. It was nice to see those diplomats in a rather casual outfit, a way away from their regular three piece suit. They were made comfortable on the sofas in front of the stage. The clock struck 8 and there were Prestorika, live on stage. They started with an Iron Maiden number and placing ‘Sycopanth’ on the second slot in the track list. The crowd was all receptive, whatever small quantity of youth we had. I decided to help Sidhu out in the console, for two reasons, he must have been lonely out there and I thought I would get a better view. It was no sooner than the third song got over than Vasav requested all the metal heads to come right in front of the stage. That’s where he defied all the rules and Prestorika created a crowd which was their own far away from the elite.

With their originals like ‘447’, ‘Fuck the Politics’ and some wonderful onstage chemistry between the band members, it was turning out to be a splendid evening, for music lovers like me at least. The life at Console was pretty okay but every now and then one or the other gentleman would come and request us to add some dance numbers on the stage so as to bind the crowd, perhaps they were new to a rock show, perhaps new to any band performance (exception-ABOB). Someone came and asked Sidhu to lower the volume on the PA, unusual demands and unusual responses, but the show did go on. Confetti and pyros going up - all at the wrong time. Despite of everything, the guys rocked. Wading through ‘Breaking the law’, followed by the same old set of ‘Thank Yous’ to the audience (was it worth, am still wondering) and the sponsors, they ended their slot with ‘Comfortably Numb’ by Pink Floyd.
After a small get together and some photo-shoots, it was time to say ‘good bye’ to my folks for the day and by the time we were doing that, ‘100 Octane’ took the stage but didn’t sound appealing that day. They couldn’t have made me stayed there any longer. The day was over for me but still the second band was having a hard time at the stage trying to figure out and how can we make people stay who were right in front when Prestorika was performing. Lots of pyros and some awesome effects garnished with lots of style and attitude was nothing more than a mere formality to end the day.

While I was on my way back, I felt as if things could have gone beyond if only my city could have known how to pay respect to this genre of music. Being more respectful within ourselves, we respect artists, but not the art. We have reached the moon but we don’t know how to walk.
Forever Yours
Piyush

Writing Credits: Piyush Singh
Editing Credits: Aaishwari Chouhan

A Step Ahead

I heard sometime back that small steps can cover distances and fortunately, we are more keen on taking small but firm steps. Sometimes wonder whether if the journey and the first step on moon would have been this firm with generations to follow and the historical day, might be it was because it had a nation backing it all up and millions of people to support the first walk over the moon. Controversies came and subsided but we are still sure that Mr. X (I am good in general knowledge so Mr. X is Neil Armstrong, I am just trying to put the controversies away) was the first person to step on moon. The foundation stone for that journey are lost somewhere but the monument still lies there and boasts of the grandeus it has seen.
I am glad that I met Aaishwari and something clicked, there is this dude called Paulo Coelho and he says when you want to achieve something then whole of the universe conspires you to achieve that, my thanks extend out to him, he was right. Sometimes you just dont knw what is there at the bend, you dont worry whether it is good or bad but it has to happen, its upto you that how and what do you derive out of it. Somethings go unnoticed but it never loses its appeal. We are always affected by it, but its just the magnitude that matters. We are IN together for anything we feel like, after all its all about expressions and on our behalf, I welcome you all once again to this cafe-xpression.
You know what you are looking for, its all about what you see here...since endings are always a begining, begining of a new life...
Forever yours
Piyush

Writing Credits: Piyush Singh
Editing Credits: Aaishwari Chouhan

The Beginning...

dear everyone,
today was yet another day in our lives. but ORKUT made it different! in just one scrap, we trusted each other and over the period of half an hour of Orkutting, we are here to put up our Blog.
well, yeah.. sounds like a fairy tale story come true! but some fairy tale stories do come true (that's what my mum promised me once in my childhood).
i am Aaishwari Chouhan and my team mate is Piyush Singh! we are here together with just one intention of never letting this blog go stagnant. our mission in to put up one post everyday from each one of our ends on any topic that sounds interesting and is worth commenting on! this is not just any-student-infactuated-by-the-person-on-the-next-bench types of blog. i promise you that this blog shall make sense for the present and hopefully for the future as well.. just one request from our end: whoever visits our blog and takes the pain of reading across whatever we have posted, do comment on it!
if you wanna contact us, post your comments with your contact details and we promise to get back to you ASAP!
thanks so much and now that we have known each other, we want the world to know us!
Cheers!
Regards,
Piyush
Aaishwari