Men complain they cannot watch serials. That they cannot withstand all the “rona dhona” and all. But even if you switch off the television, how will you keep your eyes closed with all the drama happening around you?

Fizaaaaa….. Fizaaa……!!!! (Song from “Fiza” film)!!

Yes! Chand has come back to Fiza. Is Karan Johar listening? He would have got a triangular love story by now. Not that he would not have already got 3 or 4 love stories in mind, but still… I guess, soon there would be a film by him on polygamy and the upcoming trends of “indecisive love” which would mean, ‘unable to know whom you are loving’. Film name would be “Kaun Kisse Karta Hai Pyar”. As he has got out of his K word, it could also maybe “Fiza Chand” or “Chand Fiza”. The song lyrics would now surely contain those words, “Chand” and “Fiza” as they are very poetic not only in names, but also in real life. Read the rest of this entry »

January 30. The day when the father of the nation, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, was assassinated.

I remember this day from the school. At the assembly, on this day, we would be reminded to follow the silent standing ceremony at around 10 or 10.30 am. The bell would ring at an odd time in midst of the class period, and we would all stand for one single minute in silence to commemorate the assassination of Gandhiji. We considered this break a warm welcome to the same routine of the teaching. In those days, I don’t remember having a break in the morning session.

In the high school, we had to study full history and autobiography of Gandhiji, “My Experiments with Truth”, in the form of English-II subject. Though it was the edited or the simplified version, we had to study his whole life. It was interesting at some points, but from the point of view of exams, it was not. I even once wondered, if Gandhiji was not there, we would have escaped this subject etc!

When I was in school, I remember watching the film Gandhi, on either August 15th, January 26th or October 2nd. But I remember the school book rather than the film. Read the rest of this entry »

Barack Hussain Obama has been sworn in as the new President of United States on January 20th 2009. People all over the world are considering it as a sign of hope. Is it so?

I had not planned to watch the live telecast of Barack Obama’s oath. It just happened. The energy and inspiration in his speech was remarkable. I shamefully acknowledge that I knew nothing about the politics. But the few words I could translate from his speech to my mind and the emotional tears of the crowd gave me a vision of the hope and expectations of United States civilians on the new President. And I sincerely hope that their hopes do come true.

In overall, 2008 was a dreaded year, at least for India. There were the series of bomb attacks in various cities, and the Mumbai Taj attacks, for which the rift is still on between India and Pakistan. The year marked the economic recession which accelerated the job loss of many people which still continues. The blow up of Satyam fraud, in December, added to the heat. Read the rest of this entry »