tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17393112045913947702024-03-04T22:20:41.802-08:00Deep ImpactMedhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-35893555523240157102022-06-15T07:52:00.001-07:002022-06-15T07:52:19.289-07:00Dental Extraction Anyone? <p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I knew dental issues sometimes take a while
to be sorted. But I had no clue that they can be almost (detri)mental for your
pocket, pleasure, and patience. What could probably have been wrapped up in
three months took a good over half a year. I was visibly gripped with fear even
when there were two days to go for my appointment. My ever supportive and
loving hubby asked if I wanted him to accompany me. I said no. I told him I
wanted to face the fear with my mouth wide open (if you know what I mean). If I
didn’t do it on my own, I would never be able to get over my fear of the
dreaded ‘D’. So I went to the dentist on my own and faced it, head on. Not to
mention that COVID didn’t make things easier. Before going in the den, oops I
mean the cabin with the dentist’s chair, I had to undergo a strict protocol.
That included getting first sprayed by something like a sanitizer, then wearing
a (ridiculous) poncho kind of a thing, a cap to keep my hair together, and
slippers provided by the clinic. I got a feeling that I was Achilles. stepping
into the territory of Troy, with his legendary armour. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Sadly, I had no weapon
going into the battle, while the dentist had aplenty. I suddenly wished I had
the invisibility cloak from Harry Potter. But all I had gotten was the poncho
as a covid safety protocol. Ultimately, I perched myself delicately on the
chair, waiting for the ‘D’ to brandish her weapons and give a verdict. I knew
it was going to be far from acceptable. I don’t know if the dreaded (now not so
dreaded at all) ‘D’ confirmed my fears or gave me the satisfaction of being
right. However, the fact was that she announced very calmly that there is
definitely a problem, but don’t worry, we will fix it. Well, thanks ‘D’ I wont
have to worry about socialization for a few months atleast.</span></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL1Pm2CC4Sli3DTExFBuuYLcGxAUdhskRCr6PuBuL-lITrNW8upBSSQCy_kXy4vSOt1mYynbhDpSIJvDlDyNjNr7aKj-xz6mTWzm-7cYIjht6SY609uvMcCTOjo7NwvTvwr5sdSNW_d79ebL7khEcdDavrmNM38CbnR3JPvPWV7amYcqaEpbMieN6wyg/s900/Dental%20Diary.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL1Pm2CC4Sli3DTExFBuuYLcGxAUdhskRCr6PuBuL-lITrNW8upBSSQCy_kXy4vSOt1mYynbhDpSIJvDlDyNjNr7aKj-xz6mTWzm-7cYIjht6SY609uvMcCTOjo7NwvTvwr5sdSNW_d79ebL7khEcdDavrmNM38CbnR3JPvPWV7amYcqaEpbMieN6wyg/w320-h320/Dental%20Diary.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy - https://www.pngegg.com/</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What ensued, as I write, is the aftermath.
I am going to deprave you of the exciting details of my dental problems. We
wouldn’t get to the root of it, I say. The crowning glory would be to narrate
to you what transpired over the duration of my treatment. In hindsight, there
was immense wisdom to be gained, Just like every cloud has a silver lining and
a tooth has crowing, this realization was a huge takeaway from the zillion disenchanting
visits (which turned pleasant later on) to my dentist. Every time I have sat on
that previously ‘that which must not be named’ dreaded dentist’s chair, I have
learnt something. Of course it doesn’t mean that I never felt that I was in the
wrong place. That was the last place I wanted to be on this planet, Never Mind.
It has been a crash course of sorts in personality development and grooming.
Yes, I paid a hefty price for those lessons. But hey, when it comes to life
lessons, there are no free lunches, right? <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So, while I was contemplating my dental
debacle, I had this epiphany that there are atleast seven things which all of us
can use in life. These are especially for me and many like me who need a
perspective. In retrospect, therefore, scheduling that first appointment and
taking that first step wasn’t a bad idea. So this is a candid narration of life
lessons I gathered in that chair at the dentist’s and during the chats with my
super friendly and chilled out dentist. In fact, I joked and said I think I see
you more than my hubby. It has been a roller coaster ride so far. However, I
hope that even after my visits to the dentist reduce, I don’t forget these
pearls of wisdom for the rest of my life to come. I also wish that these anecdotes
give those who need it, a glimmer of hope, a dash of courage. Also, the
strength to have patience and trust in the process and well, in his or her
dentist! </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-25495526111264606252021-01-04T07:27:00.005-08:002021-01-04T08:19:45.273-08:00Donning A Myriad of Roles Effortlessly – Harimohan P<p style="text-align: center;"> <span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPXX2_Pm3bktt7w_PlKqlrM7uWRGMkKpAAnoA-FEmbFZjW-KbGE7yCF58TnS3RkjV1moYjJYWStJqwmgj3roo62_bqt7Py8xYP4rEj08uE4W2DNQaZdEUkdB4-OySh-I3hB_2_Y1wm_RTh/s2048/Hari.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPXX2_Pm3bktt7w_PlKqlrM7uWRGMkKpAAnoA-FEmbFZjW-KbGE7yCF58TnS3RkjV1moYjJYWStJqwmgj3roo62_bqt7Py8xYP4rEj08uE4W2DNQaZdEUkdB4-OySh-I3hB_2_Y1wm_RTh/s320/Hari.jpg" /></a></span></div><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><i style="background-color: #cfe2f3;"><b>Harimohan Paruvu, an
engineer by education, cricketer and a published author by passion, shares his
interesting and evocative professional and personal journey during a
freewheeling chat. The former Ranji cricketer has five books and a film-based
on his first novel to his name along with his regular contributions as a
columnist for Edex Live, for the New Indian Express.</b></i></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: justify;"><b>1. Tell us a bit about
your childhood and what was it like to have elder sisters around while growing
up?</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">I was born in Hyderabad.
My father was a civil engineer in the state Roads and Buildings department. He
retired as Chief Engineer, National Highways and was a committed professional,
a gentle, artistic man from a humble background, the first graduate in his
family. My mother was a worldly wise, sensible and grounded person who trained to
be a teacher after school. But she never worked being busy managing home with
six children and frequent transfers across the state.</span></p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: left;"> </div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I have four older sisters
and one younger brother. The gap between my oldest sister and younger brother
is almost 17 years, so we had no shortage of mature and gentle guidance from
four concerned and caring sisters. Each of them taught us something –my oldest
sister Ashwini’s innocent and romantic view of life embellished with simple values
built around the family, my second sister Dr. Nalini’s early introduction to
reading books and attitude of challenging status quo, my third sister Mythily’s
thoughtful, caring and deeply-rooted family values and my youngest sister
Swarajya Lakshmi’s creativity, resilience, and pragmatism. All of them studied
well, my oldest sister is a science graduate, second sister a doctor with an MD
in pathology, third sister a Masters in commerce and the fourth sister an
electrical engineer from the then Regional Engineering College, Warangal. My
brother and I grew up fully pampered by all their attentions. But through it
all my younger brother Ram and I, separated by two and a half years, remained
the best of friends, playing, studying, and quarreling.</div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>2. Were you always into
sports? More specifically into cricket? Or was it something you happened to
develop a liking for?</b></div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I was always attracted to
sports games. We grew up playing all sorts of games – soccer, table tennis,
shuttle badminton, kabaddi, kho kho - but as I grew older cricket took over.
Most of my early cricket was gully cricket with my brother and a few friends
but I could play for hours and hours, at times alone, with the wall for company.
I was fully drawn into cricket by the time I was eleven or twelve.</div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>3. How did Ranji happen? Can
you tell us more about your Ranji stint?</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">It was a very interesting
journey, one that in retrospect shows how when you’re ready things happen,
doors open. After all those years of gully cricket and wall cricket, I joined
All Saints High School in Hyderabad, a school with a rich cricketing tradition
in Hyderabad with players like Azharuddin, Venkatapathi Raju and Noel David
going on to represent the country, and a host of first-class cricketers. All Saints had a structured cricket regime,
with excellent facilities, coaches, players representing the state and Sunday league
cricket. I went for cricket selections in my final year at school and got
selected. The same year I represented the state at the Under 15 leveland the South
Zone under 15. I attended a one month BCCI camp for the South Zone Under 15s
under Mr. Rehmat Baig, a top-notch cricket coach who still coaches to this day.
That summer ironed out many of my rough edges and made me a much better
cricketer.</div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">My next break was playing
for the Marredpally Cricket Club led by former test cricketer Mr. ML Jaisimha
thanks to my friend Vidyuth Jaisimha putting in a word. That experience was
worth its weight in gold because I learned so much by just watching Mr.
Jaisimha.</div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Under his skilful captaincy
and mentoring my performances improved and I played Under 19, Under 22 and
Under 25 levels in the next two years, when in my 12<sup>th</sup>. The consistent run of good performances
continued and I was selected to play Ranji Trophy for Hyderabad in 1986, when I
was studying my secondyear at engineering. I got one and four wickets on debut
against Andhra which was a decent start. I played only seven matches and got 12
wickets with two four wicket hauls. I was dropped in my second year, the year
when Hyderabad won the Ranji trophy and though did not play the finals, we were
all felicitated since we contributed to the entire campaign. It is something I
am very proud of.</div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The year I was dropped
from the Ranji side in my third year of engineering, I felt I had to choose
between cricket and my academic pursuit. My father had passed away by then. I
felt it was too much of an effort for too little (we got paid 300 bucks for a
Ranji match then) and dropped cricket. I continued playing for the University though
and we won the University and South Zone university titles later.</div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">But today I would have
done it differently if I could, I would have worked on my shortcomings and made
a comeback into the Ranji side and then, quit on my terms. I should have gone
out on a high. In fact another great influence on me, Mr Sampath, who was our
Ranji coach, came all the way to our college to tell me not to get disheartened
and instead gave him a year to train me. ‘I’ll make you play for India,’ he promised.
Sadly, I took the easy route out. I decided not to make that same mistake when
I chose to write later on.</div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>4. From a finance
professional, with an MBA degree, to a published author and columnist, how was
that journey?</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I always enjoyed writing
because it allowed me to clarify conflicting thoughts in my head. In fact I
think I sailed through most of myeducation because of my proficiency in
English. After my MBA I did the corporate tour as we were all expected to, and
after a decade of working in sales, marketing and finance jobs, I decided to
quit and write.</div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">However, I had been
writing for newspapers through my ten year stint at the bank. Even before I
quit, I took a four month sabbatical and wrote every day to test myself. I
would write an article during the day, type and edit it and complete it by the
end of a 10-12 hour workday. I enjoyed the process and could easily sustain it
over four months. That’s when I realised I could do it full time. Apart from
articles for newspapers I also wrote my first novel while still working, which
never got published by the way. It gave me the confidence that I could sustain
the process and do something with it. That was when I decided to quit even
without a publishing offer in hand.</div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>5. You started off your
career with the corporate sector, banking, to be precise. Has it had any impact
on your writing and the workshops you conduct?</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">As they say, the dots
connect and I believe there is nothing that we do which goes wasted. The only
condition to connect it all up is to give 100% in whatever you are doing. My
engineering taught me analytical skills, to be precise and economical, my
banking taught me to pay attention to detail and tell the story well, my
management degree gave me a perspective into how businesses work and are organized.</div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>6. What was the main
catalyst for your first book, The Men Within?</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The fact that there was
no cricket fiction when I was young was the catalyst. I thought I would write a
story that young school kids in India could relate to, read and enjoy. I decided
to give enough cricketing insights about how things work when a team wants to
win. I never expected that adults would connect to the story and that people
would find personal excellence, team work and leadership stories from it. Nor
did I imagine that someone would make a movie out of it (my brother Ram Mohan,
an electronics engineer and an IIM’ Ahmedabad alumnus, who turned a film
producer bought the rights and made a Telugu film ‘Golconda High School’ based
on the book). When the book first got published in 2007, Rajan Bala, a senior
and respected journalist, who was the first to review the book, mentioned that
it was perhaps the first cricket fiction in Indian Writing in English. That
surprised me.</div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: justify;">7. Have you ever given a
thought to writing a book aimed at being made into a film or a web series?</div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I am currently writing a
short story/novella which I think may lend itself to a film or web series. I am
more comfortable writing stories so I think I’ll stick to the story format for
now.</div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-weight: bold;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">8. <b>A number of corporate and
banking sector professionals seem to have transitioned to writing and have gone
on to be some of the best-selling authors in the recent past. What do you think
is this enigmatic connection between the corporate sector and writing?</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The corporate sector is seen
as a measure of one’s success so it is but natural that after formal education,
most young professionals first focus on proving themselves to the world, and
then venturing into ‘hobbies’ or ‘passions’. As far as the connection with
banking professionals is concerned, it perhaps to do with the nature of the
job, which involves a lot of writing engaging reports which is storytelling in
a way. There may be other reasons too as the commonality of the mental makeup
between a person who chooses a bank job and prefers writing, as opposed to
let’s say, acting.</div></span><b><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">9. Come to think about it,
writing is an art as well as a science too. What is your take on this?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span></b><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">There are both aspects
–art and science - to almost anything I guess and certainly to writing. I see
the science in the structure, deconstruction of the craft, the systematic build
up which helps a writer deliver a fairly standardized product. But it takes
courage or great passion to let go and express oneself forming one’s own
structure, breaking all norms and listening only to one’s soul as one
expresses. Stuff where one is not really concerned about the audience, where
all one is concerned about is that it’s making sense to her. Stuff that makes
our hearts soar. We all have those moments. A few live their lives like that.
It’s heroic stuff.</div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>10. You have been a part of a
Marriage anthology – ‘Knot For Keeps’, which involved several prominent
personalities too. How was that experience of collaborating with eminent
personalities from different fields?</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">A. That was a fun project
because it gave me a chance to write about my marriage. We didn’t really
collaborate with another – we all wrote our pieces and submitted them and the
editor Ms. Sathya Saran put it all together.</div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>11. Your fourth book ‘This Way is Better Dad’ –
Did you write it consciously with the thought that you want to write something
for her? What was her reaction after the book was published?</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">A. It was not written
‘keeping her in mind’ – it was entirely reproduced from what she actually said
or did. When she was about three years old or so (now she is almost thirteen),
I found her responses to life very interesting and captured the more
interesting incidents on my blog as they happened. I would wonder how I would
have reacted in similar situations and found that as a child, given her context
and understanding of the world, she was doing so manythings far more efficiently
than I was. Hence the title ‘This way is easier dad’. In fact I would confirm
with her so what I was writing was not misrepresenting what she thought or
said. She corrected me a few times. Her blogs were liked by some readers and someone
suggested that it could work as abook. I made a proposal with a lot of artistic
help from my friend Sagar. My publisher liked it and that’s how it became a
book. It is told exactly as it happened.</div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>12. Your wife Shobha, and your
daughter, have been the witnesses to your professional journey and surely, they
have been a great support. Would you like to elaborate on how they have been
the pillars of strength to your donning so many different professional roles?</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">A. I would not have been
able to take off from a corporate career and dive into seeming nothingness if
it had not been for Shobha’s steadfast support and belief that we have one life
and we must do what we love. We have lived pretty unconventional lives since –
she also quit the corporate career and went into therapy and counseling – a
journey of self discovery, which she continues. I have done several of her programs
and learned much and continue to do so. I incorporate some of the ideas into my
programs or writings. Anjali continues to inspire me and give me lots of joy,
wonder, and purpose. I still learn a lot from her.</div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>13. Could you share a memory
with us from your Ranji days which is still as fresh in your mind as the time
it happened?</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">A. My spell on debut
against Andhraat Sirpur Kagaznagar where I got four wickets, was one of the
best spells I ever bowled – one where I could make the ball talk as they say.
One other memory was drawing a false shot from the great GR Vishwanath in a
match against Karnataka and getting him to edge to slip when he was on 93 and
seeing him being put down by my teammate Khalid Abdul Quayyum. He went on to
score 160 odd but I wish I had his wicket to my name.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>14. As a person who has
played at the Ranji level and seen players from the grass roots come up and
make a mark from themselves, how critical do you feel it is to hone talent from
small towns and villages? </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">A. It’s very important
because they constitute a large portion of the pool of talent we have. It’s been
proved beyond doubt that they have as much or even more commitment, capacity to
hard work and resilience as cricketers from urban areas. With TV and internet
they have all worked in some way or other on their games, maybe with more
honesty and commitment than some privileged kid, and we just need to develop
structures to bring more and more of these talented cricketers into the main
stream. We are sitting on a gold mine of talent that way.</div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>15. You were the Chief
Selector for the Hyderabad Cricket Association for a year in 2012. How was the
experience?</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">A. I did a year’s stint
as Chairman of the Senior Selection Committee for the Hyderabad Cricket
Association. Though I did only one yearit was a great learning experience. I
felt committees should be given a minimum of three years – which was what was
done previously.</div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">One thing I noticed was
that we are quick to discard talent after they have reached a certain level
instead of preserving talent and working on them on the four areas of skill,
physical fitness, mental and emotional ability, and improving them further. The
fact that they have made it to the top of the pyramid is proof that they should
be kept in a pool of 30 in the respective age group for a couple of years and
frequently assessed for progress. Dropping them off the radar is a criminal
waste.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Another interesting
aspect was seeing parents and coaches getting highly involved in the process
and pushing for selection.Many times selectors also would speak of giving
someone a ‘chance’. To me the purpose of selection is clear, to make the best
team that will go and win the trophy. Now age, promise etc do not matter as
long as they fit into the scheme of things and propel the team towards victory.
All effort should be towards making a cohesive unit that can play together as
one to get the best possible results.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">One common argument that
comes up in selection is about performance versus talent or promise. I found
that we can never measure players on numbers alone because stats can indicate
but they also hide a lot. To me a player who has performed under pressure, and
contributed to winning a match or saving a match, is far more important than
those who perform twice as much in inconsequential games and fail in big ones.
In one word, we look for character, a resilience of spirit to fight it out, to
go through discomfort and stand. A person who has character is also a team
player, looks for greater glory of the team than their own.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Not everyone gets
selected and I always felt that the players should realise that and enjoy the
process. If they keep improving through conscious work on their abilities they
will eventually break in. That’s the process of preparation and they must
realise that; not look for selection with one good season. You must be consistent
over several seasons against all kinds of opposition. That’s what one must look
to be, to bring irreplaceable value to the side. Not merely squeeze into the
last spot by a whisker thanks to someone putting in a good word for you.</div></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>16. Words of advice for aspiring
cricketers and writers? Or in fact, for anyone wanting to make their work
count?</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Whatever field you
choose, understand that everything can be learned and bettered. Do not believe
in ideas that your potential and intelligence is fixed or limited. There are
ways of working purposefully, with good teachers and coaches, putting in
deliberate effort and going past the average. The journey should always be
towards getting better in the long run by sharpening the process of learning. You
must understand that your performances exactly reflect your preparation -
skill, physical, mental and even spiritual.</div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">But you must enjoy the
process irrespective of how soon or how late you get your success. Like they
say, the journey is the way. Don’t get too attached with ‘certain’ results
because it actually gets in the way. Use results as feedback and come back
better. Books like ‘Mindset’, ‘Peak’ and ‘The Power of Full Engagement’ can be
a good starting point for them to read and temper their approach.</div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"> <b>17. What can we look forward
to from you? A Book, anthology, or a script for a film?</b></div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I am currently working on
a short story/novella based on a real life incident which I have fictionalized.
It is in the social drama mould which might lend itself for film or a web series.
During the lockdown, I also completed the first draft of a collection of 12
short cricket stories. One of the stories is novella length, and based on a
true story, an Inter University campaign that we won in 1990. The other 11
stories are stories of interesting games we played, fictionalized, or stories
with angles like parents and their excessive involvement, pressure on children
to perform, selections.</div></span><p></p>
Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-78825407245169164272020-02-26T03:55:00.000-08:002020-02-26T03:57:31.476-08:00Five Things That The Past Year Taught Me<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">We are towards the end of the second month of the year. I might
have been rather early into introspecting about the past year. However, one
cannot help those little grey cells from going into an overdrive, can, we? So I
was ruminating about how the year almost flown by has been. There were a number
of hits as well as misses. But mostly, there were hits. The events or
experiences in isolation apart, I felt that there was common thread which
ran through them. That was of having understood myself better and learning
about life in general. The following things I realized, made my year, what
it was – full of new connections, experiences, a bit of travel and so much
more! </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span>
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<b><span style="color: #e06666;">Letting Go! <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
<span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">As clichéd as it sounds, this is one thing has been one of the
prominent narratives for me in the past year. Simply let go. Well, by this I
don’t mean that you let go of your dreams, people you love or the likes. By
this, I meant, let go of things we can’t control. Now, yes, it is easier said
than done. Because when you really want something and it is not happening, it
is almost impossible to not think about it. Ironically, that’s what exactly
leads us away from whatever we want. This is especially true when things
related to our desires are not in our hands. The best way to deal with it is to
simply detach yourself from it – in a good way. If you can work towards it,
then do that, but without obsessing about the fact that it is not working out.
Just let go – move your focus and that will work like magic. Yes, it may take
time, but it sure will work!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #e06666; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><b>Calming Your Mind</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Our daily lives are a cacophony of events and constant
bombarding of information and a zillion of thoughts every millisecond. My
brain, is always in overdrive, and it is a herculean task to get it to calm
down. A while back I started meditating. I had heard about its effects, but had
not practiced it myself. After I did start meditating regularly, I realized
that it actually works and how! It has made me more centered and patient. Yes,
I am still a lot of work in progress, but I have started the journey. I have
managed to (atleast 7 times out of 10) to not react immediately to things and
even if I have to, I give it a thought and then try to respond, rather than
reacting. I found this useful. Someone else might find playing violin or
sitting at the beach relaxing. These are just a few ways to clear our minds and
these can be different for different people!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #e06666;">Gratitude
is the Key<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">One of
the most important things the last couple of years actually have taught me is
to be grateful for whatever I have and wherever I am in the current stage of my
life. We take a lot of things for granted usually. Gratitude even about the
smallest thing like being able to walk normally or having a phone to
communicate, can seem a little too much or weird. But studies have proven that
the feeling of gratitude leads to secretion of good chemicals in the brain and
consequently the body and enables us to stay healthy. I found this to be a
powerful tool to enhance the quality of our lives.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="color: #e06666; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><b>Focusing
on Doing What Makes You Happy<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">This
seems so simple but don’t we generally tend to overlook it? I was also doing
the same. But gradually I figured out that that it is all you need to do!
Everything else just falls in place! I know I know, sounds clichéd. When would
you make a living then because when you have to make a living, you don’t get
enough time to do what makes you happy. All said and done, this is vital to our
being the best we can be, even when we are doing something we might not like,
for instance our jobs. Sparing time to do what makes you happy every once in a
while can do wonders!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
And
last but not the least is to just trust the process. I tend to over think and
ensure that my brain gets twisted. Which is definitely not a good idea. Trust
the universe and do what you have to. If you have good people around you, who
understand you, who instill confidence in you and love you unconditionally,
half the battle is won. The rest is all perseverance and luck!</div>
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Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-10610160796275699692019-04-07T05:33:00.000-07:002019-04-07T05:33:36.831-07:00Tea - Our Very Own Desi Draught of Peace<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipgfkksISEKN8UmaN6cGkRQ709woOoMNfbcffGMPkomQ3ofXEs5_KOo0Sg02QJDHlUyYWjYcuW5_jcWaqSIvFhCybQq0VaGpF42cu0kcS91s0DVyk56CbEx_ILVX_ftsmu5cNOGSeOedgm/s1600/beverage-caffeine-cup-905485.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1061" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipgfkksISEKN8UmaN6cGkRQ709woOoMNfbcffGMPkomQ3ofXEs5_KOo0Sg02QJDHlUyYWjYcuW5_jcWaqSIvFhCybQq0VaGpF42cu0kcS91s0DVyk56CbEx_ILVX_ftsmu5cNOGSeOedgm/s200/beverage-caffeine-cup-905485.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Indian diaspora is not a new phenomenon. Not very
surprisingly, a number of dishes and drinks quintessential to India have become
popular across the globe. Most prominently, butter chicken, tea, Dosa, Rasam
and a number of others. However, I feel chai tops the charts when it comes to
popularity. In other countries, like UK or even USA or others, there are probably
these set patterns and times of having tea. The most common being black tea,
with a couple of specific accompaniments. In India, though, there is no set
time and pattern to having it. From 1 am in the morning to 12 midnight, you can
have tea anytime and no one will be staring wide-eyed at you. We are
quintessential ‘chai’ lovers. Whether you go to a government office or a
private office, any time during the office hours, you will find someone or the
other sipping a cuppa. You would see vendors with make shift tables and kettles
serving only tea between 6 am to 9 am on the roads. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The sight of these roadside tea vendors making tea is an
interesting one. The brew is kept to boil continuously, with the ‘chaiwala’
stirring it with utmost sincerity, care and concentration. Once you give the
order, the chaiwala would very artistically pour the delightful
brownish-wheatish coloured beverage in a glass which has a precise measurement
of three inches in length and a couple of inches or so in circumference. It is
called ‘Cutting’. It is the common man’s glass of nectar. For the Potter fans,
like me, I can say that it is our very own real, desi ‘Draught of Peace’. It is
an instant way to get refreshed and be ready for the challenges life throws at
us every day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Huge business deals are sealed over this beverage, probably not
at the street side vendor, but a swank five-star hotel. Hearts are broken or
mended over a cup or cups. Whether it is in expensive, spotless clean China or
a humble Cutting, it is an inevitable aspect of our lives in India. From Assam
to Darjeeling to Ooty, the tea leaves create magic in every cup. Every region in
India has a different way of making and having tea. Sometimes it may vary
depending on your job too. Or if you on the railway station, or traveling in a
train, you would get tea in an earthen utensil, called ‘kullad’.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAz_zO5r73L49C9LEJsu0SI02BM5BQIslw7s-d9Ro5IhltAK_5K5V4yJEoM4OT661RFOptl5mwQBsoQVVD5hNoaJqUkMnNH8aw9qMiUJ467OkQGaBBgPVggKQO7gA4GprEhxGBcjpk3RQF/s1600/beverage-break-cup-1559042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1046" data-original-width="1600" height="417" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAz_zO5r73L49C9LEJsu0SI02BM5BQIslw7s-d9Ro5IhltAK_5K5V4yJEoM4OT661RFOptl5mwQBsoQVVD5hNoaJqUkMnNH8aw9qMiUJ467OkQGaBBgPVggKQO7gA4GprEhxGBcjpk3RQF/s640/beverage-break-cup-1559042.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The flavour, the blend, the colour - there a zillion things
people sometimes check before buying a packet of tea. There is no one way to have
it. Literally every individual has a preference of how strong it should be, how
sweet it should be and whether it should have milk or not. The conditions are
simply endless. So you can imagine if there is a joint family, the person who
makes tea, would probably go a tad crazy. “Par chai to kam se kam peeke jaiye” –
could we atleast serve you tea? Is one of the most common dialogues you would
hear being said to a guest even if he or she is in rush, at any time of the day.
Or in another scenario, your colleagues would coax you “chalo chai peene”, “let’s
have tea”. So I have had tea at work simply to break the monotony. If you say
no to tea, you would most probably be looked daggers at or in a way that you
have committed a heinous crime! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So in gloom or in rush, in celebration or in mourning, <span style="font-size: 11pt;">in
sickness or health</span> or
even absolute crazy banter among friends, there will always be a cup silently
witnessing people’s lives. Have it with an omelette or a biscuit or a ‘Pakoda’
(a deep fried savoury dish made with gram flour and onions or potatoes), all
goes well with it. The cup knows your joys, sorrows, ambitions and secrets. It
gives a patient ear to all of it. It doesn’t matter if it is a 350 Rupee
five-star tea with a matching saucer or a slightly unclean Cutting worth 10 Rupees.
It will rejuvenate in the same way. Perhaps, just maybe, the only difference
between the two would be that the five-star tea would be perfectly brewed and
presented but it may not be as alive as the other one on the street. The one on
the street would be alive with stories and pulse of the neighbourhood, the locality
and the country. And with that, it is just the time for me to have my evening brew! </span></div>
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Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-58302556710314382872019-02-23T08:14:00.000-08:002019-02-23T08:16:24.482-08:00Why Sibel, A Turkish Drama is A Must Watch<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">One of the entries at the 17<sup>th</sup> Pune International
Film Festival (10<sup>th</sup> January - 17 th January 2019), in the Global
Cinema Section, was the Turkish drama, Sibel. Set in a secluded village in Turkey’s
Black Sea region, this is the story of Sibel. A 25-year old mute girl, she communicates
through an ancestral whistle language. Rejected by the villagers, she is driven
by a single motive, to hunt down a wolf on the prowl. Its existence has sparked
rumours and fear among the villagers. Killing the wolf is important for her as
she believes it will make the villagers accept her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Things happen rapidly when she is ambushed by a fugitive
while trying to hunt down the wolf. Sibel takes care of the man, who is hurt
and has nowhere to go. She is oblivious to the fact that he is a wanted
fugitive. He sees her in a completely different light than others. For the
first time perhaps in her life, she feels wanted and cared for and becomes
aware of her sexuality. Things take a downturn when suspicions about her
liaison with the fugitive are expressed by the local police to her father, the
village chief. Her father and her spiteful sister are ashamed of her. But her
spirit is undying. Her self-esteem is not easily shattered. That, you feel is
the core of the entire story. The climax involves the whole talk about her
involvement in suspicious activities dying down.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Sibel literally transports you into another world. It
introduces you to that aspect of Turkish culture that hardly any of us know. The
pace of the film, the lead actor, Damla Sönme, is fantastic. Her expressions
are palpable. There are times when you can strongly feel Sibel’s helplessness rising
from her inability to talk, through her gestures and expressions. One scene particularly
stands out when she goes to the fugitive’s hideout and he is gone. Her pain
when she can’t find him makes her want to howl and scream, but she can’t. Her
expressions in that scene are simply indescribable. On the flipside, you think
what is the reason for the villagers to reject her. That said, the supporting cast
makes a mark too. The fugitive, played by Erkan Kolçak Köstendil has played the
part beautifully, with its nuances and predictability. Further, the camerawork
is great, especially in the scenes where the lead wanders in the forest. Directors
Guillaume Giovanetti, Çağla Zencirci have brought about the strength of Sibel’s
character beautifully. The background music seamlessly merges with the story.
It doesn’t come as a surprise that this film has won a number of awards at
numerous film festivals across the globe. By the time the end credits start rolling
on the screen, you can’t stop feeling inspired and amazed. You also feel that
if all women were like her, then there would perhaps be no need for
chest-beating discussions about women empowerment.</span></div>
</div>
Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-74697335419475469052018-11-11T05:30:00.000-08:002018-11-11T22:44:24.474-08:00New York City, Relationships & Everything In Between<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiSaReAEk0PFJGHrNOCAQ_SYG63NvZYg_SqLsAjMKC91f4jOmPzOooXrV980ILsxIgiE7TRXEv1nHnaWoGRny9NO0dUhgKb9ROcnMpLMjEKw1a_1ZCvBQZcNZw7mT2k78SZ_YdLgeII2EM/s1600/nyc.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiSaReAEk0PFJGHrNOCAQ_SYG63NvZYg_SqLsAjMKC91f4jOmPzOooXrV980ILsxIgiE7TRXEv1nHnaWoGRny9NO0dUhgKb9ROcnMpLMjEKw1a_1ZCvBQZcNZw7mT2k78SZ_YdLgeII2EM/s640/nyc.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Many of us, including me, fantasize visiting the ‘Big Apple’ or New York City once in our lifetime. Well, I have not got a chance to actually go there till now. But voila! Carrie Bradshaw and her girl pals introduced me to New York City with the show Sex and the City. I was immediately taken in by the basic premise and charm of the portrayal of the journey of these 4 girls. I adored all the quintessentially girly stuff in the show. (It is another story if I myself would ever be able to carry those Blahniks and D&C’s with such elan). The character I can most relate to and love is Carrie’s (apart from the host of relationships she has had). She is a columnist and is not afraid to speak her mind. Whatever happens in her life, she has her girl friends whom she can bank upon for support. Although she loves all the other 3 – Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda, I think, Miranda is the first one she calls or goes to in troubled times. Yes, be it New York or Paris or London, you need one friend like that who would be there for you, anytime, anywhere, beyond the limitations of the clock or geography. And at least in the show, fortunately, this has not changed, despite more than a decade of their friendship. Carrie’s change of tone while speaking is immediately noticed by Miranda and vice versa.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 5pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">What strikes me the most along with all this is the fact that all these 4 have a fetish for fashion. </span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, it is in their distinct way. Yes, these could be the typical women stereotypes, but still there is something remarkably different about them. They are not pretentious. It is refreshing to see that. They have a lot of things common between them; still it is easy to spot what renders them different from each other. </span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goof ups in the company of your besties is where I think memories are carved and etched in our minds. Nothing else gives such unbridled joy. Carrie Bradshaw’s adventures and travails and her switch on and switch off with Mr. Big and how she deals with it with the help of her three friends is interesting to see, for me. And that is the proof of how goof ups in life can be fun too, when your best buddies are around.</span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Watching this show for some time now, I realized that be it the Pink City (our very own Jaipur) or New York City</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "times"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">or any other, the hopes, desires, aspirations, challenges and bonds of friendships are the same </span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">everywhere for women.</span><span id="docs-internal-guid-b8ad1d11-7fff-9dcf-2c94-d8f09a850c6e"></span></div>
Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-22760365294308756502018-10-27T04:37:00.000-07:002018-10-27T21:32:38.256-07:00A ‘Golden’ Film - Woman in Gold<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh13J_a0OfyKbiP0vUCqw179904Mf_iVo7TiUQew3zsEcSRLNxT5RJqma_k5gDeIzyL7lks9VdF-TdT8GVj6N9zD5jeybYSI8nEsIOW0bycZ0SkDZVnlfVN8Klhy4Qea5n3iUotgTLuWh4w/s1600/woman-in-gold-+Latest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh13J_a0OfyKbiP0vUCqw179904Mf_iVo7TiUQew3zsEcSRLNxT5RJqma_k5gDeIzyL7lks9VdF-TdT8GVj6N9zD5jeybYSI8nEsIOW0bycZ0SkDZVnlfVN8Klhy4Qea5n3iUotgTLuWh4w/s320/woman-in-gold-+Latest.jpg" width="284" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It had been a while since I loved a film with all my heart.
That’s the 2015 film, ‘Woman in Gold’. Based on true story, this film tackles
the complicated issue of art restitution. In simple terms, it refers to restoration
of something to its rightful owner. This is mostly in context of art looted
during World War II. So here, Maria Altman (Helen Mirren), an elderly Jewish
refugee living in Los Angeles, discovers letters in her sister's possession dating
to the late 1940s, after her sister’s death. To her surprise and dismay, the
letters reveal an attempt to recover the artwork owned by the Bloch-Bauer
family, left behind when they had to leave the country for their life and
freedom. The artwork is subsequently stolen by the Nazis. Of particular significance
is a portrait of Altmann's aunt, Adele Bloch-Bauer, made by one of Gustav
Klimt, one of the most renowned painters of his time. The portrait later came
to be known in Austria as the "Woman in Gold". <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">From here on, the film switches between the flashback and
the present.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maria is reminded of the horrors
she and innumerable others like her had to go through during the Holocaust. So
after a lot of hesitation and resistance, she opens up her heart to her friend
about the painting and how she is giving a thought to reclaiming it. Incidentally
her friend’s son, Randy Schoenberg, is a lawyer. Maria has a meeting with the
young lawyer and initially dismisses the ridiculous idea (according to her) of
even attempting something like this. However, Randy is not the one to chicken
out so easily. And obviously, otherwise, how will the film become the film,
with all its twists, turns and conflicts? Even after Maria behaving almost
borderline rude with him, he keeps the flame burning. What transpires is a fantastic
portrayal of how she and Randy fight the government of Austria (Republic of
Austria v. Altmann) for almost a decade to reclaim the iconic painting. The portrait,
as of now, is a part of the collection at the Neue Galerie in New York.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Helen Mirren as Maria Altmann is simply fantastic. There are
absolutely no words to describe this veteran’s performance. She gets the character
spot on, with German accent and the sarcasm. She gets it bang on when she says,
after her sister’s funeral, while talking to Randy, “Finally, my sister moves
in with me. Only, she is dead.” Her resistance towards deciding to reclaim the
painting because of the fear of revisiting the dreadful memories is palpable.
She breezes through her role with immaculate ease and you become a part of
Maria’s life, unbeknownst to you. Randy Schoenberg, played by Ryan Reynolds is
a revelation. He is almost broke, he is not very happy with his current job and
then he meets Maria. He is completely drawn in by the complicated case. Ryan Reynolds
comes across as a perfect ally to the elderly Maria, with his zeal and
never-say-die attitude, especially in the latter part of the film. This is
where Maria is contemplating quitting the whole thing. But Randy is resilient
and toils away, waddling through a bunch of documents and law books. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Along with the lead actors, the screenplay is a star of this
film. Written by Alexi Kaye Campbell, it is very-well crafted. It is not jarring
despite it oscillating between Maria’s past and the present. Excellent photography
by Ross Emery has added to the appeal of the film. Vienna, which is one of the most <a href="https://mytravelconfessions.wordpress.com/2018/05/16/glimpses-of-enchantment-the-paris-chapter/" target="_blank">enchanting cities in Europe</a>, especially, is
beautifully captured. All this is beautifully complemented by Hans Zimmer’s
music. In a nutshell, for me, it was one of the most amazing films I had ever
seen. A truly, ‘golden film’.</span></div>
</div>
Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-36813447122902547792017-12-02T08:36:00.000-08:002017-12-02T08:39:55.438-08:00My Sri Lankan Sojourn<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>Part 1</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">“Whattt? You are getting hitched in Sri Lanka? Whoa! That’s
something.” I almost jumped off my bed as my cousin unveiled this fabulous news to me on the phone earlier this year. I was totally zapped. Didn’t know what to
say. Almost seemed like a scene from one of those Romedy Now films!
Nevertheless, after giving my cousin a virtual bear hug, I asked her the dates, and so
it was settled. I was supposed to be there in the Land of Spices, Ravana and
coconuts in a couple of months to attend her wedding. A chain of activities was
triggered – from making a plan for sightseeing (typical Indian me - phir kaha
jayenge alag se Sri Lanka main, abhi ghoom lete hain ;P) to getting the flight
tickets, visa, et al. My cousin’s friend wanted to do that too, so we hatched a
plan and decided to visit Colombo, Galle, Bentota, Nuwara Eliya, Yala National
Park and Kandy. The fabulous wedding venue was Negombo, around an hour’s drive
from Colombo. It was the first week of February and Sri Lanka was pleasant,
slightly hot and sultry, even. After 3 days of wedding merriment, we were
looking forward to a packed sightseeing schedule.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwJP_jSTzFFto9-wGt0hdHP1t3yNFgkYZ8r4JfPeqZitrIUgs345-CGIsiZUAPweIxN2t4yn5JTtOFuD2PDI1uBJJs5ECoHxFLSnmwvacmN9Bel-dFtBbGEHiwtUqTCQZsBjAHWekEAUkR/s1600/16807324_10203217531834955_1686295063393286029_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwJP_jSTzFFto9-wGt0hdHP1t3yNFgkYZ8r4JfPeqZitrIUgs345-CGIsiZUAPweIxN2t4yn5JTtOFuD2PDI1uBJJs5ECoHxFLSnmwvacmN9Bel-dFtBbGEHiwtUqTCQZsBjAHWekEAUkR/s320/16807324_10203217531834955_1686295063393286029_n.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We started off with Kandy. We had Pinnawala Elephant
Orphanage, A famous Buddhist temple and Botanical Gardens lined up. One very
important tip here. If you plan to visit the elephant orphanage, please make
sure you are there by around 8.30 or 9 am. I am saying this because that is
when the care-takers begin with the daily schedule of the elephants, right from
bathing the adults to feeding the babies.
We, sadly, missed that, as we reached at the fag end of the day when
these guys were being taken back home after a dip in a lake. Moving on,
Botanical Gardens is a must-see. It is absolutely mesmerizing. The arrangement
of the plants, their designs, the expanse, everything is a pleasure for the
eyes. It is a complete photographer’s delight. The last stop before we could
crash onto our beds in the hotel in Kandy was the Buddhist temple. It was very
serene and I even found it mystical to some extent, I wonder why. My cousin’s
friend went totally gaga over it. It was pretty huge, the whole campus and
there was some dress code too. We took pictures and it was dinner time by the
time we were done. So there, that was day one. We had a car and a driver to
ourselves and after what seemed to be an eternity and umpteen long, winding
roads later, we reached our hotel in Kandy.</span></div>
</div>
Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-10793614389855199032016-06-25T00:08:00.006-07:002016-06-25T00:13:06.034-07:00When London Dreams Came True - Part 2 <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><i>Act 1 Take 2 <o:p></o:p></i></b><br />
<br /></div>
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Shortlisting the
travel agencies to get me some sightseeing was an uphill task. There were so many of them that at one point
of time I told my dad that I quit. Why
can’t there be someone who can do all this for me and I just enjoy the whole
experience without this arduous researching, enquiring and the works. But don’t
they say no pain no gain? This exercise of going through websites of travel
agencies, sending emails seemed to be unending. Then to add to my confusion
there were alternatives like hop on hop off tours, 1 day tours and the
likes. A bit of researching later, I
decided it was time to put a stop to running around travel agencies based
locally. I thought of checking out travel agencies in London itself. There were
quite a few who had 4 day packages or 3 day packages in and around England.
However, most of them did not seem to be practical for a solo traveler like me.
They were better suited for two individuals. I also found out to my surprise that
the hostel I was booked in also had the booking options for tickets for most of
the places I was looking to visit. But then luckily one of the travel agencies
I stumbled upon seemed to have just the thing I wanted. Aah. Lovely (in a brit accent) I thought.
After enquiring with them, I found out that I could pay online for the tours I
wanted to book with them or I can reach their office in London and then book
them. I decided to go for the
latter. Another thing to be done was off
the list now. It was almost April 3<sup>rd</sup>
week by the time this thing was sorted out. It all seemed like a roller coaster
ride. There was a new discovery every day about London, travelling solo and a
zillion other things related to making a foreign trip. I was told to hold on to my passport and the
local currency with all my might. I should never ever lose my passport.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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8<sup>th</sup> April <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I get a call from my
mom saying that she will be getting 4 days off from school, from 13<sup>th</sup>
to 17<sup>th</sup>. The next thing she said was not very surprising. I was
asked to fly down to Delhi pronto to do some preparation and get some parental
wisdom (i.e., no drinking outside, no hanging out in bars during afterhours and
getting back to the hostel at a decent hour<span style="font-family: "wingdings"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>). Off I
flew to do some shopping and get a few more things in order. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWP0aviays5fjfyVUNjJIZf2voFcUTywOUrOW4-IRY5Y2fR9QzTVi-JYS32Db05soegkv4tC0mX30mUBRzD99Lo6vGhYgbzRkp8SvLnRQedUIwzbWugO5BoXaANFKronJ_5VdqECyHo4x-/s1600/EmiratesETicket+MUM-+LHR-page-001.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="88" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWP0aviays5fjfyVUNjJIZf2voFcUTywOUrOW4-IRY5Y2fR9QzTVi-JYS32Db05soegkv4tC0mX30mUBRzD99Lo6vGhYgbzRkp8SvLnRQedUIwzbWugO5BoXaANFKronJ_5VdqECyHo4x-/s640/EmiratesETicket+MUM-+LHR-page-001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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(Around) 23<sup>rd</sup>
April<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was time to get in
some cash in the bag. I was in this whole ‘show me the money’ (Jerry Maguire)
mode when I was finding out about where to get the sterling pound (not so
sterling now after Brexit). Eventually, I decided to go with one of the banks I
had an account in. It helped as that meant I would not need to go through a lot
of paperwork and the money will be debited and credited (if at all) from and to
my bank account. So after filling up a couple of forms a couple of times, as I
got the money in parts, I was good to go. I had the Queen in my pocket now!
Another issue was sorted out. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
30<sup>th</sup> April
– I had the pounds in my pocket and I felt pretty zonked about it. It was now
time to get the medical insurance. That
was one of the very few things my father insisted during this entire exercise
that I should have, come what may. So I did that too, online. My mom had
already given me this ‘friendly’ suggestion that I should start packing from
April 30<sup>th</sup>. So I did, but I started on 1 May. Since it was just me
and it was just 5.5/6 days in London, I hardly had any packing to do. Me and
most of all, my parents were wary about the famous angreji weather –
fashionably unpredictable. Plus, when we checked the weather during the week I
was supposed to be there, it said between 18 and 21 degree C. That, to us in
India in summers, especially, was cold. Pop came dad’s statement of finality.
“Forget about wearing shorts darling. Pack sweaters.” So I did as a good
daughter (:P). I even packed a trench coat sort of a thing, which was probably
the heaviest item in my luggage after the weight of the suitcase. The suitcase
was courtesy my beloved sister-in-law. So in a couple of days I was done with
that too.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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4<sup>th</sup> May -
Dad had already told me that he will be coming to see me off and he reached
Pune on 4<sup>th</sup> May. My flight was on 6th may at 10 am. We thought if we
reached Mumbai on 5<sup>th</sup> night, instead of leaving at 2 or 3 am on 6<sup>th</sup>
to be at the airport by 7 am, it will be better. I called up one of favourite aunts in Mumbai
to ask if we could stay at here place on 5<sup>th</sup> night. As always, it
was a yes. Before that the last thing to
sort out was transport from Heathrow to the hostel. I booked a cab online on 4<sup>th</sup>
evening. Since I was landing around 8.30
pm at night and it was going to take me an hour to get out post immigration and
baggage, cab seemed like the best option. Yes, even though it was a tad
expensive. That was perhaps the only thing left before we started off for
Mumbai the next day. We reached my aunt’s place the next evening, at around
8.30 after taking a bus to Mumbai. Excitement and anxiety, both were playing
games with my mind. I had only heard of
the term butterflies in stomach, but as close as I got to leaving for London, I
actually experienced what it is like.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
5<sup>th </sup>May – I
leave for the Mumbai international Airport with my dad and my aunt who is a
complete sport. I reached the airport around 7.20 am. I got off at the spot
which indicated that Emirates travelers should enter from that gate. I said to
myself, “it is show time, without lights and camera!”<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-32746808781363389832016-06-18T20:57:00.000-07:002016-06-18T21:18:59.265-07:00When London Dreams Came True<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Act 1, Take 1 <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Me- Circa December 2015
- “I want to go out some place in summer next year, out of India, preferably
Europe and more specifically UK. Oh and
yes, if possible on my birthday.“<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Me – Circa May 6<sup>th
</sup>2016, I am on my way to – lo and behold, to the land where Thames flows,
London.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Flashback, 2016
January –<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was frantically scouring through brochures
and websites of travel agencies in Pune to check out if they have London only
packages. It was a unanimous opinion that since it is my first time in a really
far off, phoren land, it will be better if I go with a tour agency. And so
started my research on tour packages to Londres, and how and what all to do
there. Unfortunately or fortunately (mostly fortunately), after almost couple
of months of reading and browsing through websites of travel agencies in India
and in London, I finally gave up. I simply could not find a package which fit
into my budget and the duration I was looking for. One of the major reasons was
probably the fact that I was going to do a solo trip. So took a decision that I
will do it myself. The fact that UK is an English speaking region worked to my
advantage. It was one of the facts which gave a boost to my confidence that I
will be able to manage this on my own. So that thing was set.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
February 2016- I went
to a travel agency to get my Visa done. Wow. It was no less than a school
summer vacation project, with the number of documents I had to arrange for. It
started from a letter from my workplace to my income tax declaration statements
and the last thing I did was to get my bank account statements. It took me
almost a month or so to get hold of all the documents. The irony was that it
took me just 2 days to get the Visa after I submitted the documents in the UK
Visa office at Kalyani Nagar! Blimey! That it was an experience is another
story. I was ecstatic when I got the
visa and more than me, others were confident that since it is a tourist visa,
it will be a cake walk. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So the next, the most
arduous task on my hand was to zero in on the places I wanted to visit. It was
a catch 22 situation because there were miles to go and excruciatingly less
time on my hands. Nevertheless, you gotta do it, you gotta do it. So I narrowed
down on 5/6 places – not to mention mostly touristy - Windsor Castle, Madame
Tussauds’, Lords’ cricket ground London Dungeons and Shakespeare’s Globe
theatre. I also squeezed in a whole city tour. I also had planned to visit my cousin who
helped me with the invite, who is settled in Loughborough, Leicestershire,
around 2 hours from London.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
March 21, 2016 – Woohoo.. there it was. I had booked
myself (finally after lot of deliberation, discussions and internet browsing)
on an Emirates flight to London, Heathrow airport, with a layover in Dubai. It took a good few days for me to digest the
fact that I am now, booked on an Emirates flight to LONDON - the place, which I
had been dreaming of going, since I don’t know when! Immediately after that, I booked my stay in
youth hostel, a la Queen, aka Kangana Ranaut, around 30 minutes from central
London. The only difference was there was no Sikander in my dorm, as it was
female only dorm! So I had Joan of Arcs and Xenas with my Razia Sulatna’ish
endeavour in the 4-bed dormitory. Booking
my stay in a youth hostel proved to be one of the best decisions I had taken in
a while <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was a huge relief
for me once these two major things were done (after Visa ofcourse) with respect
to my trip. Now making booking for the places to visit was one of the last of
the challenges infront of me.<span id="goog_1786033117"></span><br />
<span id="goog_1786033116"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-79992138362572219512016-02-23T09:25:00.002-08:002016-02-23T09:25:49.258-08:00Sensational Shreya Regales Puneites <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There was a shimmering
veil of melody ensconcing the air on the evening of 21<sup>st</sup> February,
2016 at Law College Ground, Pune. The audience was mesmerized, ecstatic,
excited and touched, all at the same time. And this can only happen when the
queen of melody herself, Shreya Ghoshal creates magic with her singing. In what
was her first solo concert in Pune, organized by ‘Sa’ Creations, Shreya Ghoshal
(once again) proved as to why she has been touted as the queen of melody. She also reiterated the reason why almost no
film made in the past decade or so has been without atleast one song sung by
her. Absolutely beautiful renditions dotted this musical evening. The yesteryear Saregamapa winner started off
with ‘bahara’ from ‘I hate Luv stories’. From that point onwards, it was a fabulous treat
for the ‘Rasik Punekars.’ In Shreya’s
words, it is as great a pleasure as well as a responsibility to sing in front
of such a knowledgeable and musically inclined audience. Shreya went on to regale the audience with
one hit number after the other - Agar Tum Mil Jao, Saibo, Radha, Piya O re
Piya, Deewani Mastani from Bajirao Mastani, Zoobi Doobi, Ooh La La and many
more had the audience swaying to her tunes. Then her rendition of Chikni
Chameli threw the audience in a tizzy.
Marathi songs like Jiv Rangla, Jiv Laga and Reshmachya Reghanni were the icing on the cake. Some more pearls
were added to the glimmering necklace of her renditions that evening. A small but immensely soulful tribute was
paid to legends Mohd Rafi, Asha Bhosle,
Lata mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar and Mukesh. From Asha Bhosle’s Dum Maro Dum
to Lata Mangeshkar’s Aapki Nazron ne
Samjha to Kabhi Kabhi and who Shaam Kuch Ajib thi by Kishore Da, Shreya left
the audience asking for more of these evergreen classics. She was well
supported by Pune’s very own Rishikesh Ranade in the duets. The concert reached
its crescendo with Aami Je Tomar or Mere
Dholna Sun from Bhool Bhulaiyya. Finally, the spellbound connoisseurs had to leave
the venue with a song in their hearts and hope that this immensely gifted
artist graces the city again, soon. After witnessing such amazing talent, I feel
if there had to be a manifestation of a power above us, it would have to be
this. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-52191338148138700232014-12-10T23:54:00.002-08:002014-12-11T20:42:10.243-08:00Is the Society Becoming Intolerant Towards Single People?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">These individuals can
sense that feeling of being ‘misfits’ especially at weddings or get togethers. Or,
even at party held at a friend’s place. Yes, I am talking about a special
species here known as the single individuals. As if the caste hierarchy in our Indian
society was not enough, this is another type of casteism. It won’t require
those extraordinary wings of imagination to understand what I am talking about
here. Here, those who are married are at
the top of the ladder. If they have children, even better. The next in line are
those who are engaged to be married (the most adored category). The next is
those who are in a serious and committed relationship with the opposite sex
(same sex is somewhat okay, but beta, marry a Brahmin only). The last ones in
the hierarchy, who almost do not feature anywhere and are looked at with pity
and sympathy, are those who are single. They say that actions speak louder than
words. In this case it comes across prominently. At any gathering or the likes,
people do not say anything to those who are single. But their expressions speak
a thousand times louder. Their expressions echo their feelings like – ‘Oh, so
sad. Don’t you feel lonely? Aren’t you missing anything sweetheart?’ Then the next (unnecessary) piece of advice is
‘why don’t you do something about it?’ Why hasn’t a girl like you not found someone
till now? ‘tu niit shodhat nasshil’ (you are not looking out seriously and are
not out there). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And if in all this, if
you are in your late 20’s or 30 or above, hell breaks loose. Missiles in the
form of questions and exclamations of amazement come hurtling across. A
testimony to how deeply ingrained this idea that a girl or guy has to be with
someone or else there is something wrong with him or her is the fact that
people start doubting your sexual preferences. People don’t even hesitate to
ask if you are a gay or lesbian if you do not have a girl friend or a
boyfriend. You are constantly bombarded with this brilliant idea that there is
possibly something colossally abnormal with you if are single and have not ‘gone
all the way’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have been wondering
since the past few years that has our society become intolerant towards single
individuals? Is it like your existence as a single individual who is not in a
relationship or married does not count? Why do people think it is their birth
right to make these single individuals feel undeserving of happiness and that
they should be morbid and miserable? Is being with someone your ticket to the so
called nod of approval from the society? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I don’t know when this
mentality will change. I hope it does. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-65175285047257043612014-08-26T05:01:00.000-07:002014-08-26T05:10:53.615-07:00Hang on Bengaluru, It is James Kingston!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
From climbing London’s
iconic Southbank Tower to an under construction sky scraper in Bengaluru, this real
British Spiderman can give the Marvel Comics’ superhero a tough fight. We know this Spiderman better as James
Kingston. A professional adventurer and free runner, he needs no introduction.
Climbing the Southbank Tower is a part of Kingston’s journey around the globe
wherein he seeks to get the better of world’s tallest buildings. Following the
immense popularity and unprecedented viral reach of the Southbank feat, EpicTV,
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">online extreme adventure
channel based in London,</span></span> recently
released the third leg of Kingston’s travels. The adventurer’s trysts with
tallest buildings have been documented by EpicTV in its 'On the Edge', a web
series. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The third leg involved
Kingston travelling to the Silicon Valley of India, Bengaluru and pull of an
unimaginable stunt. Do I need say that this was an instant hit on the internet
and went viral like crazy? Well no! But what he did on 19 August 2014
definitely needs to be described here. <i>Disclaimer: Please avoid reading if
you are weak hearted, this is sure to drive you out of your wits! </i>He ran up
a tall skyscraper under construction and pulled off an almost ‘heart-stopping’
act by hanging off the end of a 100m crane by just one hand. As he hung
precariously from that crane, early morning Bengaluru was unveiled like never
before beneath his lean body suspended mid air.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRecAoDSeB_Qvy4DRENX7cnX5Ud_U_nzjYG4Uxp23pTVMZivRnsWdPz52IjpYZ_2M4f8GjnOugDb41gLBOOqjg_cl-xCnKhujp-lFhodwnCui2sLo_r21wRTI5vn6lno5AM9TKpU7gfeh8/s1600/One-arm-hang-S1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRecAoDSeB_Qvy4DRENX7cnX5Ud_U_nzjYG4Uxp23pTVMZivRnsWdPz52IjpYZ_2M4f8GjnOugDb41gLBOOqjg_cl-xCnKhujp-lFhodwnCui2sLo_r21wRTI5vn6lno5AM9TKpU7gfeh8/s1600/One-arm-hang-S1.jpg" height="257" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Courtesy- jameskingston.co.uk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Calling that view which was captured by his
camera breath taking will be an understatement. The early morning sun could be
seen lighting up the Bengaluru horizon beautifully, with a warm golden glow. The
view was almost a reflection of a Google earth depiction of that area. The
buzzing Bengaluru traffic involving vehicles seemed like a blip. So one can
imagine the height of his perch! However, Kingston does not find hanging by one
hand at such a height the most difficult part. “The craziest bit was when
I was coming down and the workers were starting to come to work. Nobody even
said anything! I just walked out. I even said goodbye to one of the guards”, he
mentioned. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
A humdinger of a
podcast, we cannot wait to see what this amazing Spiderman does next! Till then
check out this link to get amazed! -<a href="http://www.epictv.com/media/podcast/james-kingston-hangs-one-handed-over-traffic-in-bangalore-india-%7C-on-the-edge-ep-3/600207?header_b=1">Epic TV James Kingston </a><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-5333394454227027552014-04-05T10:40:00.000-07:002014-04-05T10:40:21.658-07:00The Queen of Hearts! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
Okay, now this has to
be one of the most endearing films I have seen for a while. Yes, and that has
to be Queen, of course. It was an absolute delight to watch that film. It made
me realize the phrase totally- ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’. Queen did
seem to be completely non descript to say the least. But, voila! It had all
that a film buff like me could ask for – drama, emotions, comedy and most of
all, a realistic touch. I haven’t stopped thinking about the film and what lies
at the core of the film ever since I came out of the theatre the other night
after watching it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What got me thinking
was the sensitive, yet funny and non preachy yet a deep message which the film
put across. It spoke about empowering women in a very subtle way, at the same
time it was not like a bunch of overtly enthusiastic feminists breathing down
your neck. It was all about a simple, naïve (Delhi girl (rare species) Rani (Queen)
who has a desire to visit Paris from the bottom of her heart. She even has her
honeymoon booked there with her future husband. Alas, destiny has something else
in store for her. She heads for her honeymoon in one of the most romantic
cities of the world alone. She is a girl who has never left her mohalla, in an
area called Rajouri Garden.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now the story gets
interesting. It is simply a story of how a butterfly wrapped in cocoon comes
into its own and spreads its wings and finds its way in this world. It is the
saga of how Rani is exposed to an entirely unknown world and how she evolves as
a girl, as a human being. At the same time it is amazing how she manages to
retain her innocence and vulnerability. Yes, that, despite the fact that once
she is forced to drink alcohol through a tube in a pub in Paris and she
witnesses pole dancing by her friend’s friend in full glory. All this while
soaking in the myriad of experiences as
calmly as possible she gets being in different continent thousands of miles
away from home. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOFtzt9QxJIsP6sfDm83FI5DvpBVzA7twTQrhAl3hDqaCuCp4yDSp7ytrJAc2BVNQSAqHbaZz1xR4JCuUXj2RZxguRr9bDmoi3A4Ou3YTqiPn100HGohYMwQB3PpX7XMEfnxPJWOHaM6Le/s1600/queen--621x414.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOFtzt9QxJIsP6sfDm83FI5DvpBVzA7twTQrhAl3hDqaCuCp4yDSp7ytrJAc2BVNQSAqHbaZz1xR4JCuUXj2RZxguRr9bDmoi3A4Ou3YTqiPn100HGohYMwQB3PpX7XMEfnxPJWOHaM6Le/s1600/queen--621x414.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is heartening to
see Kangana Ranaut in this film. She strikes a chord right from the word go. She
is totally in sync with the story and her character Rani. Looking every bit
vulnerable, naive she is simply oblivious to a life beyond Rajouri Garden and
saddi Dilli. Yes, she goes as Rani and comes back as ‘Queen’ but that
metamorphosis is very believable. It is not shown to be like magic, like she
transforms into a hot ‘phoren return’ chick within a day of reaching Paris. No,
folks. That doesn’t happen. She pines for her fiancé almost till midway of her
trip. One sees that difference in her mindset and her overall change in the
personality just about at the end of her rendezvous with Paris. She finally
finds herself, her freedom there. She goes with a heavy heart like it has tons
of burden on it and comes back with her heart as light as a feather. I am sure all the single girls out there
could identify with Rani and her quest for finding herself, her freedom, as a
woman, as an individual. That is aptly reflected in the scene when she tells
her half French half Indian friend – “hamare yahaan to ladkiyan dakaar bhi nahi
de sakti”. Or in another instance where she kisses an insanely handsome Italian
guy purely on an impulse and physical attraction. And she comes out of the
situation without feeling morose and guilty about it! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kudos Vikas Bahl, and
loads of love and Congratulations to Kangana for pulling off such a charming
film! <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-89377857985127320912013-12-08T09:29:00.001-08:002013-12-08T09:29:53.300-08:00Why I love Madhuri Dixt, Kajol and Hrithik Roshan! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The smile is vivacious
and contagious, the eyes twinkling and there is absolutely no pretense. She
comes across as she is, uninhibited. She is gorgeous in an unconventional
way. That’s Kajol for you. Madhuri, on the other hand, is a beauty, a
stunner, a diva and an epitome of grace and poise. Say dance and you cannot miss out hearing
Madhuri along with that. Drop dead handsome
man with international looks and India’s answer to the slew of Hollywood superheroes.
That’s Hrithik Roshan for you. Oh and who can forget that Hrithik too, like
Madhuri is synonymous with dance! All these three I feel have one thing in
common despite their oh-so-huge fan following and appeal. I seriously feel
these 3, even though they are so popular and are worshipped by their fans (like
me) and have men and women going berserk at just a sight of them , seem very
grounded. They seem to have this inherent sense of goodness. And it shows in
their public appearances, interviews.. If one is to approach them, they could,
perhaps.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMdD2-DucU9wWExLkfyCgJnsOzrhWgOGMdLNtdTubQHUV9wg9zlsJEE_xX51enYshAIb-Arj4UWXVJAaTlhyphenhyphenliTF3oWn4RXgPyswqkSpx6hKkXJZIbEm7fYBW4yjw8_ZKlcjR1__8pz-HE/s1600/madhuri.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMdD2-DucU9wWExLkfyCgJnsOzrhWgOGMdLNtdTubQHUV9wg9zlsJEE_xX51enYshAIb-Arj4UWXVJAaTlhyphenhyphenliTF3oWn4RXgPyswqkSpx6hKkXJZIbEm7fYBW4yjw8_ZKlcjR1__8pz-HE/s1600/madhuri.gif" height="320" width="288" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was just watching
this Kajol’s interview the other day and it was a delight to watch her. Since
it was a Marathi news channel, she was speaking in Marathi. At least, she was
trying to. She was so natural, genuine and sincere about the whole thing that
her linguistic flaws didn’t matter at all. When the reporter used some
difficult Marathi words, she laughed and playfully confessed that she couldn’t
understand a word of what he was saying! Even the reporter laughed. It was such
a pleasure. She was simply adorable. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Adorable is the word
which can be used for Madhuri too. I just love her to bits. I wonder how she manages kids and home plus
her acting commitments with such ease. She seems so at ease and peace. And
dance, oh. What does one say. One raised eyebrow, a shrugged shoulder and roll
of eyes and you are done. I am always bamboozled when I think how effortlessly
she manages to dance so well. It is
like a dream, a poetry. I think her innate goodness and sincerity and
genuineness shows in her every move and the way she conducts herself on screen and off screen. I am
hooked on to tv when she is there – be it her crappiest song, so to say. But her
mere presence is enough for me. She is
ultimate benchmark for dancing prowess and beauty for me in bollywood. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The same applies to
Hrithik Roshan – super dancer, great looks, good acting! He is a demi-god! He
was mind blowing in Krrish 3 as the superhero. He dances like a dream! You
could just watch him dance for eternity. He also looks so much grounded and
appears to be like the guy next door.
You could perhaps walk upto him and say, “Man, I love you! You are
simply fantastic.” He would not mind I feel! His eyes have such warmth and
compassion. And to believe that he used
to stammer as a young kid! Shows that if you really are determined and focused,
you can have it all! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These 3 are more than
bollywood actors for me. They, for me are the proof that bollywood has
individuals like us, who are beyond the spotlight, the make-up and the whole
brouhaha. </div>
</div>
Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-75070486626449062122013-07-27T00:12:00.001-07:002013-08-03T22:27:26.201-07:00Bhaag Milkha Bhaag <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I had goosebumps since the first scene when Farhaan Akhtar walks
into the stadium in Rome as Milkha Singh, known as Flying Sikh. From then on,
the film ran for me and how! Yes, I liked the film! More than the film, it was
the extremely talented Farhaan Akhtar who stole the show. He is almost an
embodiment of all that the legend was, every bit in the film – physically and
mentally. His physical transformation has been unbelievable! I had condemned
people who had put facebook status like please send Farhaan Akhtar for Olympics
next time around for running. But after I saw the film and the way the actor
has run, I too felt the same! The screenplay is slightly complicated and some
aspects have been made very simplistic. The one aspect I didn’t like was Dalip
Tahil as Pandit Nehru. And I felt sad when Milkha Singh loses the podium by a
whisker in Rome Olympics. The length too could have been a bit short, but then
the sporting legend’s story definitely deserves that much time. Right from the
time a young Milkha Singh had to leave his village during the tumultuous time of partition to
the first time he valiantly competes with a national sprinter at a training academy,
everything has been well crafted. Rather, Farhaan Akhtar’s convincing
performance has added that credibility to the saga of flying Sikh. Compassion,
Pain, determination, anger, remorse, helplessness, insecurity and the attitude
of being happy-go-lucky – the lead actor emotes these sentiments exceedingly
well. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-42WvNTxADnws9DyZbIBIL4rg4Woh1jCp4R13rYmbyx8_CYFhsvARLC0Lzg2shOvJWX5O4qlH4b9tIkfcvTsLNrJtxHcbA8stF-eqH1rK_KRlJBy20cEmT2W07olS5JNIkKuLT2Nr5CNm/s1600/bmb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-42WvNTxADnws9DyZbIBIL4rg4Woh1jCp4R13rYmbyx8_CYFhsvARLC0Lzg2shOvJWX5O4qlH4b9tIkfcvTsLNrJtxHcbA8stF-eqH1rK_KRlJBy20cEmT2W07olS5JNIkKuLT2Nr5CNm/s1600/bmb.jpg" height="241" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The lead actor’s histrionics are supported superbly by Divya Dutta and
Pawan Malhotra who play his sister and coach respectively. These two actors
have delivered an excellent performance. Even though their characters had the
scope to go overboard with emotions, neither of them has let that happen. And the
fact that they have not let that happen has made the impact. The background score,
music and lyrics have beautifully complemented the story. Siddharth Mahadevan
makes a mark with ‘Zinda’ and how! ‘O Rangrez’ is a beautiful rendition by
Shreya Ghoshal and Javed Bashir. The title track too is excellent. Basically, Shankar
Ehsan Loy have done a great job! ‘Slow motion Angreza’ and ‘Havan Karenge’ makes
you marvel (once again) at the lead actor’s effortless dancing skills.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All in all, an inspiring experience of a legend who deserved more credit
and applause than he actually got. The film I am sure will take his story to
every self respecting, honest and hardworking Indian. Thanks FA and Rakeysh
Omprakash Mehra for giving us a glimpse of this legend’s exemplary saga of
success and failure.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-39531435179024396072013-07-01T08:43:00.000-07:002013-07-03T23:39:48.028-07:00Indian Cricket - Youth Brigade Unleashed! <div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqQUr6mDf3XeUYk0_7GMUg6KrWfygAegUBxwWaQ9hV1cYgEqhxk8WP4G8-yg5wbdjwLvm9R8s9Fg8kpcG0hiIqyG35D9PrrqOZ8Kgf7SHvtGzIsD-VbgOggGCN36prsIoRQaldA6Dri5Z/s650/Blog+July+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqQUr6mDf3XeUYk0_7GMUg6KrWfygAegUBxwWaQ9hV1cYgEqhxk8WP4G8-yg5wbdjwLvm9R8s9Fg8kpcG0hiIqyG35D9PrrqOZ8Kgf7SHvtGzIsD-VbgOggGCN36prsIoRQaldA6Dri5Z/s650/Blog+July+1.jpg" height="202" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Yes, it is been a week
since India won the ICC Champions Trophy, much like a breeze. It never seemed
for a moment that India was not a potential contender for the crown. Right from
the practice matches to the final against England, India was always in the hunt
for the crown. Dhoni, sporting salt and pepper hair and stubble can now
definitely say even at this age that ‘yeh baal aivin safed nahi huye – ICC
World Cup, T-20 World Cup aur ICC Champions Trophy – I have all that on my
kitty. Truly enough, Dhoni’s astute captaincy and immaculate reading of the
game has paid rich dividends. He has also got a fantastic support from the team
which is brimming with youth, enthusiasm and adequate aggression. The likes of
Kohli, Raina, Jadeja, Dinesh Kartik, Rohit Sharma and Dhawan have imparted the
much needed edge to the fielding and even batting. Captain cool almost always
has an answer to tough situations the team gets into. Yes, his decisions
sometimes have drawn flak and serious critique sometimes. But he stoically stood
by them and has made India proud.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cricket gurus have
already raved about this new and super improved team. Sure enough this team
looks like a very good contender for the World Cup next year. If the
performance in the ICC Champions trophy is anything to go by, the team atleast
is shaping up well for the ultimate cricketing battle. There are however, a
number of other tournaments before that. India would have to perform equally
well in those to keep their morale high and get used to the winning streak. Just like a lot of Indians, I am extremely
glad the way the team has shaped up. Dhoni has marshaled his forces extremely
well. Inspite of all the horrible controversies shrouding the purity and sportsman
spirit, the team kept it all aside and gave its best. The rain definitely played
a spoilsport in a lot of matches. But that was not enough to deter India from
winning all the matches. This win and the demeanour of this new, aggressive
team India has surely heralded a promising era in Indian cricket. Kudos to
Dhoni and Co!</span> </div>
Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-72292888014934066292013-05-12T01:07:00.001-07:002013-05-12T22:57:37.024-07:00Of a Grizzly Man & a Superb Filmmaker <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhU8hAhjYMRJ0U9kXV-wQAJIF8DQj3KqpNCuyz5LuI62QFU3AcEc1MKgQRLJ_MgF72K3j070BEOmBEv5sgSDLCK7pgSIt07QbZGJOG8Y2cfJiY2N5ZQ1lLU3s9QktLGM_VeSFlLKzCMwJT/s1600/Grizzly-Man_La.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhU8hAhjYMRJ0U9kXV-wQAJIF8DQj3KqpNCuyz5LuI62QFU3AcEc1MKgQRLJ_MgF72K3j070BEOmBEv5sgSDLCK7pgSIt07QbZGJOG8Y2cfJiY2N5ZQ1lLU3s9QktLGM_VeSFlLKzCMwJT/s1600/Grizzly-Man_La.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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The film opens with a
typical blonde, decent looking American guy talking to umm, yeah huge, brown,
grizzly bears a few inches away. Yes, it was a kind of revelation for me as to
what extent of craziness people can go, while watching this documentary called
The Grizzly Man. Directed by renowned filmmaker Werner Herzog, the documentary
chronicles the life and times of Timothy Treadwell, a grizzly bear enthusiast.
The film starts off with the glorification of Treadwell, his bravado and his
undying love and concern for grizzly bears in Southern Alaska. The narrative
revolves around Treadwell’s capturing of video footage of grizzly bears, which
spans almost around 100 hours. What was interesting was that the film started with
glorifying Treadwell and it gradually portrayed him in a completely different
light, albeit very subtly. Initially, it appears as if how amazing Treadwell
is, what fantastic work is he doing. Gradually, the paradox and irony and
absurdity in what he does is put forth. Treadwell’s motive in life seems to be
protecting grizzly bears from poachers and hunters. From the latter part of the
documentary it seems that there were hardly any. His constant depiction of
himself as the sole protector of these bears is kind of appalling. More so,
when the bears seem to be at complete ease without anyone’s intervention and
under the protection of Katmai National Park and Reserve authorities. His
behavior and proximity with such ferocious animals hangs on the brink of insanity.
The bears, do not give a damn about him, while Treadwell, in his self appointed
role as their protector even tries to divert the course of a stream so that the
bears can get salmon. One of the interviewees in the documentary said that he
got what he deserved. This is perhaps true to some extent because Treadwell was
playing with death all the time, being with these bears. The fact that it did
not make any difference to bears is reflected through Treadwell’s death, which
was ironically at the behest of a grizzly bear. He even begs to god when the
region is falling short of rainfall, so that the bears get enough food. Although
inspite of all this, Treadwell’s courage needs to be applauded here.<o:p></o:p></div>
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All the madness and
insanity perhaps throws light on the harsh truth that Treadwell was sort of
disturbed and even had a skewed concept of the world. In the latter part of the
documentary he despises the outer world, the human world and even flaunts the
park rules, as self proclaimed protector of the grizzlies. To some extent that
he has himself in every footage also points to the truth that he wants to be
the centre of attraction always. All the same, despite some dramatization and
some repetitions, the documentary was interesting. I realized that getting a grip of your life
and doing some serious soul searching is necessary otherwise I think everyone would
become a grizzly man… <o:p></o:p></div>
Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-20927618512901487182013-04-21T06:29:00.000-07:002013-04-23T09:40:57.348-07:00Once again, My Niece <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGceZ4fcHDmv3bV2s3ZPkdswkvhJabFYMpCuA3rL3k_c9d4hyU7dd8vA5YyjkVuTOgyNkW3kZdjOmChOUnhEDu9w7CF6vYkbpA_1tKDYQYuzsFoJQFTXqATlWbuXWC7PuPv-krXN11Tlsx/s1600/baby_girl_cartoon+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGceZ4fcHDmv3bV2s3ZPkdswkvhJabFYMpCuA3rL3k_c9d4hyU7dd8vA5YyjkVuTOgyNkW3kZdjOmChOUnhEDu9w7CF6vYkbpA_1tKDYQYuzsFoJQFTXqATlWbuXWC7PuPv-krXN11Tlsx/s1600/baby_girl_cartoon+2.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>So now, my niece, Anika is almost an year old! All the quintessential
baby things are being gradually shunned and I am sure before we all know it,
she would grow into a fine young lady. But right now she is the naughtiest and most lively 10 month almost to be 11 month old kid I have ever seen. She now
recognizes all her close ones, from her grandparents to great grandparents to me,
her aunt. It has been fascinating to see her grow. It is like raw, unprocessed
clay is being given shape into a beautiful pot. With the design on the outside
getting intricate with every single day. I mean every time I see her
photographs from when she had just arrived in the world, I wonder is that the
same kid? Which had crinkled open its eyes barely. From that day to this day, it has been an amazing
journey, for her I guess and for her parents. Her growth and development, touchwood is great.. she now eats mashed roti and daal and rice too! </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>I can see the pride and joy in my
sister-in-law’s eyes whenever her daughter regales all of us with her super
cute antics, right from crawling to trying to walk and babble. Her father, my
brother completely adores his girl child, why, he is besotted by his darling daughter. He
is a totally doting father and one look or smile by him is enough for Anika to
get her crawling in top speed to her father! I am sure much more is in
store for this daddy’s girl! As far as I am concerned, there is nothing else
than her which gives me immense joy. If I
do not see here for a week or so, I get extremely restless! I even have
withdrawal symptoms! She is very expressive and responds exceedingly well to
whatever conversation we have with her. Such a delight she is!</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>I wonder what
she would do when she starts talking? She is going to blow all of our brains out
with her questions and queries about life! And she already looks so pretty, I mean
more than any of the kids of that age I have seen! I am sure guys are going to
drool over her when she grows up! Should we be worried about that? Aah I don’t
think so! <o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>At the same time I feel kids these days grow up real fast. I am afraid
all her innocence and the cuteness will be gone in no time.. but I believe
there is still some time for that. Till then it will be deriving pleasure out
of her all pervading presence in our lives..We will now shortly gear up to
celebrate her first birthday! Cannot wait for it! Time flies! Whew! Never mind,
still love you darling niece, once again! </i></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-43995631018862555572013-03-31T02:22:00.000-07:002013-03-31T02:23:35.822-07:00The Big Fat Indian Marriage – Idiotic Process<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdag1S8YE7h7GBeAva05LUG6HQ5Ow4MXZ3MpjMrmqfOXwvmONziG5hIbnwawIdLbzTZb6PiE5dFTiqdbKRH5J8AmYVORda_Rz05IDp-aLq0SKUE1_V0t-1ehYjZr3XmMMaOVgcTdPgLa0n/s1600/10549578-cartoon-wedding-couple-on-realistic-paper-sheet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdag1S8YE7h7GBeAva05LUG6HQ5Ow4MXZ3MpjMrmqfOXwvmONziG5hIbnwawIdLbzTZb6PiE5dFTiqdbKRH5J8AmYVORda_Rz05IDp-aLq0SKUE1_V0t-1ehYjZr3XmMMaOVgcTdPgLa0n/s1600/10549578-cartoon-wedding-couple-on-realistic-paper-sheet.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Your parents,
grandparents, close relatives. All of
them are waiting with bated breath as to when do you turn 24 or thereabouts.
They want to see you in the wedlock. In a few cases even younger – this applies
to girls, though! For guys it is somewhere around 27. So, once you pass that
threshold, all hell breaks loose. If you have been smart enough and have found
someone yourself, you are in a better position and less hell will break loose.
Even then one cannot predict, there is an epidemic called commitment phobia
these days. However, if by chance you have not been a smarty pant in your
college hay days and have not been able to patao someone, you are in for a hell
of a ride. The road to matrimony is not a cake walk! It is like that hurdles event in athletics,
for most part. Your parents start
searching with zeal and optimism. It stays, but not for long. The prospective
brides and grooms join too with enthusiasm, Soon enough, though it dies down.
The search becomes limited to weekends and meeting prospective partners too is
relegated only to weekends. Horoscopes
are frantically emailed and calls are made. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Alas. In most of the cases today,
at least in the Indian scenario, there is a colossal lack of basic courtesy.
The easier the ways of communication have become, the less the need for people
to communicate is being seen. Come on dude, you want to get married right? So
if a girl has sent you a mail telling you about her profile and where she found
yours and to kindly check hers, can’t you reply to her? I mean how much time
does it take to reply, saying yes I will get back to you. This applies to girls
too. I mean what the hell is the use of sticking to your stupid iPhone the
whole day, logged on to internet when you cannot even do this small thing? 9 out of 10 do not respond. When they don’t you should be fucking smart
to understand that they are not interested, for hell number of reasons.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If at all you are lucky,
you would get a reply saying sorry we do not find your profile to be suitable
or let us exchange horoscopes and profiles. Okay. That is a start you feel.
Then you enthusiastically mail your details and wait. And there it again comes to a dead end. After endless cycles of searching through
matrimonial portals and marriage bureaus and people if you are lucky you
finally find someone. Then comes the
horoscope demon. Just when you think
yes, perhaps he or she is the one, that damned horoscope spoils everything. You
are back to square one. Thinking yes,
one fine day, these hurdles will be crossed and you will find your proverbial
better half. Chal chod na, get on to the
others in the list or chalo, lets party, is what your friends say. And boy, don’t you prefer that? instead of
rummaging through stereotypical matrimonial profiles? Who knows, you feel, you
just might find someone at the party and you join in the fun! No wonder they are always skeptical, is
shaadi, aabaadi or barbaadi? !! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is however a single aspect of this idiotic and frustrating process! and then on the contrary to this, there are some couples who have been married through the good old arranged marriage process. They gave a green signal to each other the first time they met and Voila! in the next couple of months they were married! </span></div>
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Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-59225960771103182022013-03-12T08:45:00.001-07:002013-06-29T11:22:37.981-07:00Of Oz Cricketers, Homework and Team performance! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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There was funny and
weird news about cricket Australia yesterday. Shane Watson, the vice captain
along with three other Australian cricketers were axed from the team yesterday.
All because those poor fellas did not or could not come up with a presentation
involving mere 3 points to enhance their
performance and subsequently help Australia perform better. While on one hand
coach Arthur’s being miffed is justified, as it seems to some extent that the
players are perhaps not serious about the job they are assigned. On the other
hand I feel that axing these potentially talented players was uncalled
for. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibnx-kB64S9hObVjMiRV-VdSdiNSqP8BfZaWLaZDQ3HPDMagDrn8AGMxTHOFgJaJLOuUVufy50Blx0CT_Due0WyaNFnUWCz3u9mWg_Jm-gYjZBA2ffmNmg8TW5HUrASTBauzyrkv_OfKVE/s1600/india_womens_cricket_jhulan_300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibnx-kB64S9hObVjMiRV-VdSdiNSqP8BfZaWLaZDQ3HPDMagDrn8AGMxTHOFgJaJLOuUVufy50Blx0CT_Due0WyaNFnUWCz3u9mWg_Jm-gYjZBA2ffmNmg8TW5HUrASTBauzyrkv_OfKVE/s400/india_womens_cricket_jhulan_300.jpg" height="400" width="376" /></a></div>
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Honestly I think they can judge
themselves better. Probably they felt that rather than writing some stuff down
or making a presentation, they would be better off actually playing! Seeing
this whole episode I was wondering what if this had happened with women’s
cricket team in India, I am sure the coach would not have been able to afford
losing 4 players from the side given the paltry number of players available for
national team selection! That also reminds me of my trysts with little bit of
cricket I played for my college and my city’s zonal team! On one hand, the
2-year period I was involved with my team was a total bliss as far as playing
was concerned. Unfortunately on the other, the lack of enthusiasm and
facilities for girls playing cricket was appalling. We travelled out of Pune
for a couple of times to play matches and I have to say, that the arrangements
made for us were not impressive to say the least. But as they say it is all in
a day’s work. We were not to complain. Oh yes and we were paid a princely
300-400 Rs, I remember once! </div>
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There was no fixed time as to when we would leave
from Pune and reach back after playing matches, we travelled by state transport
buses, which are horrible. All this notwithstanding, I cannot deny that the joy
of playing and winning matches for my team was immense! I can never forget the
first wicket I took in an inter college tournament! It was a caught and bowled!
Nothing better for an offspinner to start off with! I also remember my
disappointment and heart break when we had travelled outside Pune and had taken
4 wickets in an inter-zonal match. My captain had thrown the ball over
to me and I had all the chances to scalp five in the match. Alas, the ball on
the directions of our so called coach was given to another bowler. I lost a
golden opportunity. <o:p></o:p>Today I feel players
like Jhulan Goswami, Mithali Raj are as good as members of men’s team. I think
all they need is a bit more enthusiasm from the authorities and spectators! I
wish there comes a time when Indian women’s cricket team coach can afford to
axe 4 players and we still are left with a formidable side!</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-91964614732595110052013-02-20T22:56:00.000-08:002013-03-20T01:38:22.748-07:00Pondering Over the Best Books of all Time <br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Writing about the best books of all time, I want to mention something first here. Just recently dropped in at Crossword Book Store in Pune and was
astounded and happy to find a whole range of new authors which included Indian
ones too in a fair number. I refrain myself
a lot of times from stepping into a bookshop as I have this overpowering urge
of buying the whole bookshop! All the same just going through these books I
came across ‘To Kill a Mocking Bird’ (which I grabbed pronto!), which is
considered to be a classic and one of the all time popular books.
Unfortunately, there are so many books which are worth a read, it is
intimidating! I mean every time someone asks have you read this book? It is a
classic! And there I go. Another dent to my reading career! But here with this
blog atleast I now know what am I missing out on, to some extent! Here is the
list! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8VIKwgpSqIyJ6e77fnYpWAk2ddERHz09C5u9rHyURGHHTkiCkZU6J4rYRjymJQ0BNdqiY5z0B1Sdw3Jr4ydj4mcFuZ00IEiJX_MiKYfwRa4YaIOQsBVFwLzfdYOocW8Wf3eb3kByvNHwe/s1600/classic+books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8VIKwgpSqIyJ6e77fnYpWAk2ddERHz09C5u9rHyURGHHTkiCkZU6J4rYRjymJQ0BNdqiY5z0B1Sdw3Jr4ydj4mcFuZ00IEiJX_MiKYfwRa4YaIOQsBVFwLzfdYOocW8Wf3eb3kByvNHwe/s1600/classic+books.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
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<ul>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">To Kill a Mocking Bird – Harper Lee</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky. </span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Hamlet by William Shakespeare</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Ramayana - Valmiki</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Ulysses – James Joyce</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -0.25in;">The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner</span></li>
</ul>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">All
these are some of the greatest books of all times and you are neither ahead of
your time nor behind for reading these books! I have had the good fortune to
have been able to get my hands on a few amongst these. I read some when I was
an awkward teenager, while others after I became an adult. There were a couple
of them I read again after a few years. That time there was a whole new
perspective! It is amazing how we interpret and perceive the same book or a
film after a gap of a few years! It is like you are almost watching a new film
or reading a new book! This said, I think I have loads of work to do, finishing
reading as much as possible of this list! So I will get going while all you
bookworms can also tally what all you might have missed reading! Ciao! Hope you
liked these best books of all time, fiction and non-fiction and others! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-40440656004514062052013-02-09T11:01:00.002-08:002013-04-17T05:34:01.146-07:00Things to Check Before Buying a House <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7x3aSnPsThyphenhyphenC78bwNvasHmFa2rVAJaJljIRsTXsVNPcWvX6wl6tXjFGMrC7jzjygndxkDcz9JuH-y4PESkUlJhjltsK3_tK7C7CtsRckaes4ztYoo78uiw5VHe_IbUo7nl7u_fLgAPwkv/s1600/home+buying.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7x3aSnPsThyphenhyphenC78bwNvasHmFa2rVAJaJljIRsTXsVNPcWvX6wl6tXjFGMrC7jzjygndxkDcz9JuH-y4PESkUlJhjltsK3_tK7C7CtsRckaes4ztYoo78uiw5VHe_IbUo7nl7u_fLgAPwkv/s1600/home+buying.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Was
just wondering how it would be if I want to buy a house in India. I have no
clue what goes into the whole process of signing a house agreement. So I
thought I would dig some info.<span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Buying a house is definitely not a cake
walk. What with a zillion documents to sign (and an equal number required for
the purchase), formalities to be done and basically running from pillar to
post, any home buyer would tell you that it surely gets to your nerves. But
hey, where is there ever any gain without pain? So for those looking for their
heavenly abode, going through these scary motions of getting affidavits, loan
approvals, registration etc is inevitable. The only good news is that if you
know what all to take care of before signing house contract, then the whole
process will be a tad easier. So what all should a first time home buyer be looking
at prior to signing on the dotted line? Here are a few basics.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Good ‘Deed’</span></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Checking the title deed of the property is
of utmost importance, to begin with. Title deed refers to a legal document
proving the ownership of property. Here,
from the point of view of buyers, we have to ensure that we get an original
document, which is in the name of only the seller and no one else. This will
mean that the person selling the property has the sole right to sell it. It is
also a good idea to get the deed reviewed by a lawyer.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Buddy Budget<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fixing on the budget is of utmost
significance. To avoid any financial issues in the future and to make sure you
have some money left in the kitty, chalk out a budget and stick to it. Home
buying is a huge investment, so act and think smart. Likewise when you have to
go for a loan, make sure you have all the umpteen documents you might require. Once that is done, it is essential to secure
a loan approval before taking the final plunge. First, it makes the entire process a lot less
complicated before and after signing house contract. Secondly, it also gives
you a clear picture about your investment.</span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Small can be Ugly <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB">When you want to buy a house, the major
things like registration, ensuring that all the papers are in </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;">order, etc
notwithstanding, minor things are important too. Drainage, plumbing, ventilation,
flooring and other seemingly minor aspects also have to be checked, incase they
need to be fixed. In the excitement and humdrum of living in a bigger home and
in a better locality, these things could be sidelined and then fixing them can
make a darned big hole in your pocket.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Stamp Stomp <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Stamp
Duty and registration are very tricky issues and we need to be very careful
about these buggers! Getting yourself updated about the rate and charges in
your locality will be a plus. To know the market value of the property you are
buying and the stamp duty on it, you would most probably need to contact the
Ready Reckoner to understand your valuation zone and sub zone. Then there are umpteen additional costs, for
instance, real estate agents, Lenders or mortgage broker, home inspector,
lawyer or notary etc, which will completely throw you off track. But keep a
watch on them and hang in there. Then there are features, like parking. Is car
park provided and do you have to pay extra for the same? In cases of lifestyle
amenities these days, enquire beforehand how much are you are going to be charged
for that. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Insurance, the Best Medicine<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Insuring
the property soon after signing house contract is a point to ponder. The
property insurance will aid in protecting your financial feature, in case of an
occurrence of damage to the property. The good thing about this is that it is
relatively inexpensive and ensures coverage in case of problems with the
property title, any damages or any legal issue. Getting an insurance expert’s
help on this will make it easy to choose the most appropriate policy from the various
types of property insurances available.</span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A Few Good Things<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Checking
if your property will get a good resale value, making sure that neighbourhood
is decent and safe enough and to ensure that the deed or sale agreement is in
place are a few other things to be looked into on your checklist prior to
signing the house contract. Measuring
the area and getting a heads up on the detailed plan of the property before
signing the property agreement is another thing to be considered. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well,
these are the basic things. Eventually, all I can say is that there are a
zillion things which need to be looked into when you are buying a house. It is
always a great idea to have a legal expert be in touch with you to guide you
through this rough way ahead, before you sign house contract! Most importantly,
chill, and don’t let the hassles get better of you! All the best! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-25451855884158914622013-01-27T05:47:00.002-08:002013-01-27T05:49:05.301-08:00Driverless Car! Thanks to Google!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNSPldJj7cfW1-e4OapTlU_oXnmPItjxYDdTaKydmK3QirbuCwaaHiEu48cDJXlbqjVdGZtQlFLDgVx2dD3__AjHL5mB5H4A_r3Z5qfI9_sJShKj_b030t50x-BxBCYmiZy8UF7c_KoCtR/s1600/Google-self-driving-car-logo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNSPldJj7cfW1-e4OapTlU_oXnmPItjxYDdTaKydmK3QirbuCwaaHiEu48cDJXlbqjVdGZtQlFLDgVx2dD3__AjHL5mB5H4A_r3Z5qfI9_sJShKj_b030t50x-BxBCYmiZy8UF7c_KoCtR/s1600/Google-self-driving-car-logo2.jpg" height="105" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Well, guys it is time
to gear up for a nice ride! No actually, you don’t need to, especially if you
are looking at driving a car. The reason? Ladies and gentlemen please brace
yourselves to welcome Google’s driverless car! But maybe, few years from now!
Google, tussi great ho! I don’t know how many of you have read about this
driverless car, so I just thought I will share a thing or two about this
amazing new development I read about on the Forbes Magazine portal. To begin
with, hold your breath, as this car has potential worth trillions. While on the
one hand this monumental development has in store business opportunities which
can overshadow the current search engine leader, at the same time it will have
serious repercussions on auto related businesses. On the brighter side there
are claims that such a wonder car can – <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> D</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">ecrease the
number of traffic accidents</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> T</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">ime and
energy wasted on commuting from one place to other and</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> R</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">eduction
in the number of cars</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So basically, if such
world class cars by Google come about, we will have safer roads, where in the
deaths, injuries and direct implications of road accidents would be
significantly reduced. All these things would come as a huge relief for <b>WHO</b>.
According to studies and statistics on road traffic mishaps by <b>WHO</b>, <span lang="EN-GB">road traffic injuries is going to be fifth major cause of worldwide
death by year 2030, making up for 3.6% in all. Now, this car could be good news
for developing countries like India, as we would not have to reproduce car
centric infrastructure characteristic to the western world. And save a lot of
money! Ha! Hah! Google’s driverless car will also aid in reducing pollution!
But this will be bad news for spare part dealers, emergency care centres in
hospitals, car insurance providers or even the need for a car which is very
strong enough to take a real beating by another one. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It will be amazing and interesting to see
how the colossal car related investments are channelized if some of the basic
assumptions were based on this driverless car! In a nutshell folks, such a car
not just makes for a fabulous paradigmatic shift in auto technology, but it could render tremendous socio-economic
advantages the world over. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I will vroom off here! Will keep you posted
on this!</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1739311204591394770.post-15342126495452886392013-01-22T09:49:00.003-08:002013-01-22T09:51:22.959-08:00Justice Finally, But is it Worth Really?<br />
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The morning dawned with splashing of news of former Haryana CM Prakash Chautala and his son’s arrest all over the news channels, online news portals and any other news medium one could think of. It was just interesting to notice the irony in our political scenario. While a certain party supremo is let off and has regained his position, the other is now going to have face imprisonment. The judgement was passed amid a lot of violence outside Rohini Delhi Court complex. Teachers' recruitment scam landed the 78 year old politician in trouble along with his son. Well,<i> der aaye</i>, but is it <i>durust aaye</i>? No doubt this is a welcome decision as far as curbing corruption goes. But what about the other politician whose corrupt practices were blatantly proved? He was let off and he is slated to be reinstated to his previous position. It is such an irony really. And to add to it, there was this breach of ceasefire agreement between us and Pakistan. And suddenly as one my favouritest (I know this word does not exist but cannot help using it) author, Shobhaa De, opined Nirbhaya and Delhi gang rape case is out of limelight and rapes are happily being committed. Wow! This is all so awesome. I hope this turmoil on all front soon gets over and some peace prevails. OHH and yes, The ever charismatic and dimpled Rahul Gandhi was made the Congress Vice President after a huff and puff. Finally! It is however, to be seen as to how he connects with the young and restless India. I really think our leaders should come out of their isolation and disconnectedness from the common man and take a cue or two from the honourable President of United States. We can certainly do away with administrators who are not restricted to a wheel chair.</div>
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Medhahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026761126440044281noreply@blogger.com1