God, us and Me...

'I kept a fast yesterday for my loved one so that he remains happy and cheerful wherever he goes. I know that God will listen to my prayers and make him happy', these are the words of one of my friends who is too much of a religious person for one to believe. She thinks that God is there, high up in the sky, in the frames, in the idols, in the photos and praying to them will fulfill her dreams and that God will listen to her prayers. On the other hand, I’ve another friend who hardly believes in God and approaches the concept of God in a different way. He has respect for all religions but he refuse to believe in the concept of idol worshipping. He even refused to touch the holy vessels and ‘God’s’ frame which was kept at the Vastu Shanti Ceremony of our new residence. While people were coming and praying at the sight of the holy pots, this friend of mine tells me, ‘Kalpak, is it fine if I don’t pray?’ My answer was an emphatic yes for I know that it was his way of thinking and to perceive things. I can’t, in any ways, interfere with it.

All these things make me ponder. Both of my above mentioned friends have different ways of thinking about God. It’s their approach and their perspective. Good for them. But if any one asks me to put forward my views, I find myself without an answer.

Yes, I find it difficult to answer when some one asks me that whether I believe in God or not. I keep pondering, thinking as what to answer. Every one around us is entitled to have an opinion about various things in the world. Each of such opinions is influenced by several such factors like family and upbringing, relatives, friends, teachers, books we read, newspapers and life experiences. I come from a religious family where God is given utmost importance as in any other Maharashtrian family. But in spite of such religious background, I am unable to relate myself either with those of my friends who believe in God or with those who are atheists.

The most I can think is a general answer…may be…or may be not! And that’s true for me. I don’t feel that I need to find a perfect exemplary definition of God and the need to find about His existence. For methinks that God is the power with which I work day and night. I am of the opinion that God lies in my conscience and in my inner self. He dwells in my optimistic approach towards life. He is my soul, my mind and my body. In that way, I believe that each one of us is small parts of the big entity called as God. That’s it. I can’t think of any other definition other than this one. Lokmanya Tilak started Ganeshotsav with the belief that people will unite together at the moments of festivals like this one. And I appreciate this feeling. I would always like to then keep my faith in a supreme power if it unites us altogether forever. And this is the way I perceive this concept of God. Furthermore, I believe that it’s individual choice to think about God. Then you may say anything about my views, call me idiot for my definition or anything of that sorts, I don’t find the reason to care.

Other than this, I don’t know anything about God. Whether he is their in those rock marbles or idols is not my topic of research. Having said so, tomorrow if my parents ask me to accompany them to a temple or pilgrimage, I won’t mind to go. I respect my parents’ love for myself and it will not make me any small if I obey their wishes. I’m not adamant in my principles. I, no doubt, follow them but if in any ways, they prove to be affecting my state of mind then I don’t care of disobeying them. I love my closed ones and respect their views. What I said above, are my views. I don’t want them to enforce on somebody else. I’ve respect for all religions but still I opine that humanity is greatest of all of them. That’s all for it.

This is the way I perceive God. May be you’re right…may be God is there…a supreme power…encapsulating mankind and universe…may be He isn’t there…just a fake belief which humans tend to have for making their life more easier…I don’t know…I don’t want to know…so far as I’ve faith in myself…in my inner God…I don’t find the need to search for an external one…and I know that I would never find the need to do so…this is my way of thinking…good for me…what you perceive is your way of approach…good for you!

The Namesake - A beautiful piece of work!

Gogol…the name sounds to be little strange, right? But this was the name which Ashima and Ashoke Ganguli kept for their beloved little son. And Jhumpa Lahiri’s ‘The Namesake’ is a story about Ashima, Ashoke and Gogol. I haven’t read any of Lahiri’s work before. But I would like to say that ‘The Namesake’ is really a very well written piece of work.

The variance which Ashima finds in the Western culture from the Indian one, her loneliness even after having her husband so close to her self, the emotional attachment with the families left far behind in the traditional houses of Calcutta, an emergence of new life on the Pemberton Road where she strives to find her own new identity is all which is described in the first half of the book. The rest part revolves around her son Gogol, who is unhappy about his strange name, who finds it difficult to relate with the Indian culture in which their parents were born and brought up, who undergoes a several failure in his relationships with the women who came in his life. He even goes to an extent to change his name from Gogol to Nikhil. With the passage of time, he regrets about what he has done…at last, feels guilty that this was the same name which saved his father Ashoke from entering the doors of heaven.

Jhumpa Lahiri, very articulately, describes minute details of their lives, depicting each and every scene with much needed warmth and affection. The end too is wonderful!

And hands down to Mira Nair, who translates this saga into a beautiful illustration of a motion picture where Tabu, Irfan Khan and Kal Penn plays Ashima, Ashoke and Gogol. Apart from well written screenplay by Sooni Tareporewala and outstanding direction by Mira, Tabu, Irrfan Khan and Kal Penn excels in making their characters as real as possible.

Some people who have read the book first, opine that the movie was much better than the book. Since in my case it was otherwise, that I read the book after watching the movie, I think I loved the book equally.

A saga worth reading and watching!

The Empress

I was four years old then. It was the year 1994. My family carried me along with them to watch a movie Hum Apke Hain Kaun?. Now at the age of four, obviously, no one was expecting from me to understand the movie. Moreover, the darkness of the theatre made me afraid and I sat on the laps of my mother, hugging her throughout the movie, instead of sitting on a separate seat. Nothing of the movie made me happy or cheerful, except one face!!! My mom still recalls that how quietly I sat soon after the entry of Madhuri in the movie...throughout the movie then...and says that even after the show, outside the theatre, I was continuously telling mom that I want to see that smiling face again!

Yes, this face is a constant source attraction, admiration and a sense of pride since the age of four for me. Madhuri Dixit is the only person I have loved so desperately after my mother!

Madhuri Dixit~the name says it all! She was no known face when she entered the glit-bltiz…she was no one when her first movie Abodh (1986) was offered to her. She accepted the offer and did the movie. The movie was a flop, but not Madhuri! She was noticed and her acting and dancing skills attracted the eyes of all the big names of this film industry namely Subhash Ghai, Yash Chopra, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, N.Chandra and so on.

What followed was a history…she stepped those floors of the industry where her former competitor and the then superstar Sridevi had burst out with her stardom. In months or so, the reigning position of Sridevi came down and Madhuri became a constant name in the nominations and awards of almost all awards, especially Filmfare. Several actresses of her times where trying to compete with her..be it Juhi Chawla, Meenakshi Sheshadri, Manisha Koirala or Kajol, neither of them couldn’t achieve what Madhuri successfully did. Right from Tezaab(1888) to Hum Aapke Hai Kaun(1994), she came like a wave and swept Bollywood.

She made people notice her…glance at her cheerful and pleasing smile…look at her completely flawless and perfect dancing steps…admire and live her acting power. She made people love her…made people smile for her…made people dance for her. There was a time when balconies of theatres used to get full only to see her one glimpse. And even if you keep the oomph factor aside, she did some de-glamorous roles like Prahar, Prem Pratigya, Mrityudand or Lajja which took her to an all together different level of success and stardom.

But popularity is a double edged sword. There came a time between 1994 and 1997 when her movies were more of Box Office duds. Anyway, Madhuri wasn’t one of those to give up so easily. Critics wrote her off saying that ‘Dixit magic has began to fade’ or ‘End of an empire’. But she came back. And this time with a more charm and intensity with Dil To Pagal Hai in 1997. While receiving the Filmfare award for Best Actress that year, she said, ‘I dedicate this award to all my critics who were thinking that I should pack my bags or something of this sort. I think this is a proof of it’ while showing her award with her hand raised upright with the Filmfare trophy.

Marrying US based surgeon, Dr. Sriram Nene in 1999, she went off to America again breaking innumerable hearts that were already fallen for her. She did come again, immortalized the role of Chandramukhi in Bhansali’s Devdas(2002) again becoming an award recipient in many functions. Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who became a director while aspiring to work with this dream girl, was blessed, he said, with her charisma, simplicity, down-to-earth nature. Right from classical dancing maestro Pandit Birju Maharaj, Saroj Khan to Shamaik Davar..all admired the dancing style and perfection of Madhuri…called her synonymous to the word ‘dance’ and termed her as the only worthy actress of Indian Film Industry of twentieth century who can dance so well.

She is now a mother of two little kids. A perfect balance of work and family is what she wants to achieve at this stage of her life. She made an empire and left it behind her. And still no one can rule this empire. She brought in an era of female superstars…an era where movies came with names like ‘Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahati Hun’…innumerable girls entered the industry by dreaming to be another Madhuri! There was a time when she was called as a Female Amitabh Bachchan!

A perfectly humble nature, simplicity of the character adorns Madhuri apart from her beauty. Each and every one who works with her can’t stop raving about her. And even today, at the age of 40, the fire is very much alive in her. In her recent movie Aaja Nachle(2007) she showed everyone that only Madhuri can replace Madhuri! Even today she is spreading her charm all over the world. An empress who truly needs to be saluted…an empress who truly needs to be remembered…even years and years after today, people should get the smile on their face when they will watch this smiling face…as they got two decades ago…and as they are getting now. Bow down to da Empress!

Kudos Abhinav..thumbs down to Indian Sports Management!

“For me, life will go on as usual, but I sincerely hope Olympic sports get a leg-up. It’s not a priority back home and I hope more focus is paid to these events…”

These are the words of 25-year-old Abhinav Bhindra who rewrote the history of Indian Olympics on Sunday at Beijing Olympics 2008. The thing which I read loudly was the latter part of the above quote. Isn’t it a shame on our country’s system and management when the winner himself declares the scenario of Indian Olympics at the moment!

Ours is a country where amongst all sports, Cricket is devoted and look after with great interest. C’mon, no body is to blame for that. After all, even cricket is a sport and this very sport has made us proud so many times here-before on international front. My only point is there should be more focus laid on other sports too. We have Hockey, which made us proud last year by winning Asia Hockey Cup. But in spite of that there isn’t much momentum in the game. Instead, people have got to know more about Hockey because of the last year’s Shahrukh Khan starrer Chak De India!

When it comes to sports, somehow I feel that there is a biased attitude towards Cricket in India. They say that people in India love Cricket, play cricket and sing cricket. But why can’t we expect the same towards other games like Football, Hockey, Badminton or Formula One? Every one has a different taste, no doubt, but making cricket as the whole and sole sport truly tells something else! Tomorrow, if some new batsman or bowler enters our Indian Cricket Team, all will know about his entire history by heart! Today Abhinav Bindra has made us proud by his feat. But let me tell you, many…mark my words…many weren’t even aware of the name of this competitive shooter! And suddenly on Sunday morning, I heard many people taking his name, even those who are remotely associated with the word ‘sports’. And when the same winner appeals to give more focus on the coaching of exceptional and enthusiastic candidates from Indian Olympic front, I think, this shouldn’t fall on deaf ears.

And heyy...don't feel I am being a critic here. I can never be a critic. How can I criticise somebody when I am not actively involved in that matter (read sports). Only thing I want to say is that there is a world other than cricket. And we should definitely know this!

And heartiest congratulations to Mr.Bindra!!

Politics of Sexuality!

The other day, a small headline on the front page of the newspaper made me feel sad. It was: ‘Two lesbian girls attempt suicide due to parental pressure’. What to say now? Those two girls, the report said, were bright girls in their academics and sports and were destined to succeed in their life. The only thing, which was a ‘mistake’ in terms of all other people, was that both the girls loved each other immensely. So what? What’s wrong if love sparks between two girls or two boys? Is it a mistake which they made? Why to simply term them ‘abnormal’ and pressurize them?
And this is the politics which is going on in a country like ours which took an oath for democracy 68 years back. Yes, I term this as politics…politics of sexuality! Indeed, it is. Love is a beautiful thing which can happen to humans. It can be very natural and can happen between opposite or same sex. Why to make an issue about it when it happens between the same genders?
The real culprit behind all this is the age old archaic law in our legal books. India Penal Code’s Section 377 states that carnal intercourse against the law of nature is an offense and if found guilty, one can get a rigorous punishment up to 10 years. Isn’t this some kind of a draconian law? My question is how come one term love or relation between same sexes as unnatural.
The WHO has removed homosexuality from its list of psychological disorders. Yet, some people would like to believe otherwise. They would say that if everyone were gay, there would be no society. This is a dishonest argument for the simple reason that everyone is not gay. They say it's against the Bible - an abomination of God.
But if Christians can change their views on the issues of divorce, women's rights and slavery, why not on the issue of homosexuality as well? Then there are those in India who claim that homosexuality is against Indian culture and Hinduism. Have they never been to the Khajuraho temples, embellished with homoerotic art? Do they not know that the Kamasutra is not just about straight sex? Do they not know that there is not a single scriptural missive against homosexuality in the Vedas - the ultimate authority of Hinduism?
I believe that there are innumerable such teens who are homosexuals and still in closet. Parental and societal pressure encapsulates their environment, making them extremely uneasy and uncomfortable to take a breath in the society. People pass lewd remarks and this can make any one feel deprived and lost. And the worst consequence of it is the increasing number of suicidal cases amongst the homosexual community.
Recent medical evidences have proved that one’s sexual orientation is a result of one’s genes. There are, no doubt, some cases wherein homosexual preference can be generated due to some early sexual encounters or uncomfortable and indecent family upbringing or even child abuse. But then there is no reason at all to blame the homosexuals for the sexual preference. It is not that they deliberately forced themselves to have such a preference.
It’s definitely the time now to reconsider the law. And even if the law is changed and decriminalizes homosexuals, the thing which needs to change is the mentality of people towards such individuals. Let them live their life in the way they want. Only then will the concerned cases of HIV/AIDS and suicides in such individuals lessen. I truly believe that this politics against homosexuality should be stopped and we adopt a policy of ‘Live and Let Live’.

Time is now!

In current scenario of education, especially in the campuses of engineering and management colleges, one will hardly find students getting engrossed in some thing other than academics. Students strive hard to complete their assignments, projects and syllabi to meet the needs of the structure of academics and in the process; they tend to ignore their qualities and talents. There are hardly few engineering and management aspirants, you will observe, who are showing their talents regarding some thing not at all related with their studies.
And I feel that this will certainly make these students sideline their talents. Every particular individual, I believe, possesses some kind of quality and talent in him/her. Only thing is that such talents should come out and should be seen and heard. Mere possessing talent will definitely not help.
Some students love to read while some love to write. There are many who are interested in singing while many others who have their expertise on playing some kind of instrument like guitar, violin, etc. Many students are seriously interested in sports. Dancing too is the specialty of many individuals.
But the thing is that such talents are shown only during college festivals. There are many such engineering students, who in spite of having such variety of talents, hide them only because they are engineers of the future and securing a good job is their utmost criteria. And more specifically, the general tendency is the fear of their parents that whether they will allow doing something off beat to their current field of interest.
I am now in my second year of engineering. And my hobby is writing. I make it a point to cultivate and nurture my hobby every single day so that I start getting better and better in it. I think that this is my talent and I want to show it to all. And I continue with it while balancing my engineering curriculum.
Likewise, I feel that one should never hide their talents and qualities. No matter what is your area of study currently, you certainly have some special talent in yourself. Just make it grow. Let it be better and better each day. Then let that talent be any weirdest thing of your life! Qualities are qualities and if you are perfect in it, no body can stop you from excelling in the same. I am not at all saying that engineering and management students don’t cultivate their talents. They certainly do, but this number of students is not very big. I certainly have some friends of mine who love to play guitar while some who love to dance. But most of them are interested in getting done with their studies and not to get distracted, no matter how possessive s/he is for his hobby!
So, friends, buck up and show your talents. It’s your time now. Following are some lines which I penned…

Time is now

Blossom like a flower
Unveil like a star

Let the people laugh, criticize or make fun of it
You be confident of making best out of it
Show the world who you are
Blossom like a flower
Unveil like a star

Your smile, your brain
Your dance, your pain
Your anger, your happiness
Your tantrums, your shyness
Show everything with pride
Because its fruitless to hide
Think as if yours is the hour
Blossom like a flower
Unveil like a star

Failures will come initially
Hurdles will block your path gradually
So what? Be brave enough to accept the failures
May be 99 turns go down
But 100th one will be yours
So fight till the end bravely
To achieve your goals entirely
Reveal to the world who you are
Blossom like a flower
Unveil like a star

Qualities are best to be shown
Shortcomings are better to be thrown
Being hesitant will help you in no ways
Perfection must be achieved in all ways
Past has flown away and future is yet to come
So now is the time and yes, now is the time
Live the moment for time may slip
And every moment is special to be lived
Only then will you be exultant of living your life
With joy, happiness and complete fulfillment
So c’mon, disclose your qualities hidden in your self
Just like a flower which elegantly unfolds itself
Just like the power of brightness with which shines a star
Blossom like a flower
Unveil like a star