Monday, December 31, 2007

The e - Factor























I had been to my native's recently. Over-sleeping, living in a restaurant kind of house, where you can get all the food you want, gully-cricket, an evening visit to the Chaat corner, hitting the railway station bench and watching the sun set, revealing secrets, a walk back home in the chilling cold, munching on some capsicum puffs, watching TV sprawled on the floor, popping in some more chur-muri, delicious dinner, and finally hitting the bed, but not to sleep ... to chat ... talk your heart out, until the goddess of sleep envelops us, or the clock strikes 4am, and we close our eyes, dreaming of a visit to the village the next day ... the coconuts ... the village kids ... the slow life. That's the usual native experience.

This time ... all of the above were there ... coupled with sudden emotional outbursts ... nature paints a rosy picture of the life of everyone else surrounding us ... but little do we realize that behind every laughter, there could be an ocean of tears, hidden, and held. What we talked ain't really important, but suddenly, everyone felt this urge to reveal their carefully guarded emotions. Tears fell like tiny raindrops ... as everyone revealed their imperfections. I was not spared too ... in fact I was the first one to lose my composure. But what the heck makes us reveal our closest secrets to someone else ? And is this expression of an emotional outburst really healthy ?

One such SMS i got said "Never be too much expressive to anyone close to you because that might reduce the value of your emotions". Its obvious. Who would take seriously, such a person, who ends up crying at the drop of a pin ? When a person cries over his situation, to him/her, it is as big as the sky falling on top of us (or Himesh acting in a new movie). But little do we realize, that there are million others, who probably face situations a hundred times more grave than this, and yet, are a hundred times more composed. "I was crying that I did not have shoes, until I met a man on the street with no feet" says it all. An emotional outburst generally does not occur due to any one reason; its a pile-up of every event that causes a disturbance, and when the time is ripe, or the head can't hold it longer, it leaks out, or bursts open. Think about it another day, and you feel that you were being just plain stupid. And, tears carry value. They are priceless emotions. But if tears flow like a storm water drain in the rainy season, it does not necessarily achieve its objective. Wouldn't figuring out a problem, ourselves, be a better option, than creating a scene in front of everyone ?

But there's another view. Hiding emotions never did good to anybody. If a man can't laugh when he's happy or cry when he's sad, what's the difference between him and any other animal in the lower species ? And aren't emotions the only way to connect two people without actually saying anything ? Perhaps, not everyone's sensitive enough to figure out their problems, and may actually depend on an external support. In fact, I say this based on my own experiences, it ain't even necessary to ask someone for help. Sometimes, all it needs is, to talk to someone. People generally don't like advice, they just want someone to listen to them ... the burden gets reduced through the words and tears. Its said that "Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thoughts". There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so. And, when such 'thinking' becomes an addiction, it puts one into a vicious circle. Active discussion, in whatever form, can attempt to put a person out of such a circle. So what if a few tears are shed in the process, its known that shedding tears is healthy. Sometimes, there are things that can't be said to parents, talking it out with friends or your closed ones, is much better.

I have no idea which view to adopt. Perhaps, a good balance of both. If you feel like eating a chocolate, go eat it ... wear the outfit you've been dying to wear ... laugh your heart out when you are happy ... cry if you feel like to ... there is no cure for birth or death ... we just have to enjoy the interval in between !!

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Sunday, December 30, 2007

Stars are here.....


















In today's world ... working smart is more important than working hard. This is the latest 'mantra' i have adopted. Why bother writing reviews for movies ... I gave a good review for Om Shanti Om ... and had to face the inferno of curses from all my friends and relatives. No taking such chances again ... this review is written by my little brother whom we shall call Sumanthu (as it is his name named by his biological parents). Sumanthu and another cousin ... the chocolate hero Vikki accompanied me to this movie, which is about stars crashing into the earth, and causing eternal destruction, but love rejuvenates a withering planet. Ok, you better hear the review from Sumanthu's own words (but proof-read by me)...

The movie revolves around childhood, specially about those children, who are a little different, and have to fight to get adjusted in this so called normal world. It teaches us, that children have their own world, and we should not ruin it, because of our (the parents') over-expectations. The movie is about a special child who fights his way through lots of hurdles. The pace of the movie is pretty slow.

Being Aamir Khan's directorial debut, the movie revolves around Ishaan Awasthi (Darsheel Safary), who is a fun-loving child. He lives in his own world (as most children do), but is a little different as he finds it hard to match his imagination with children of his own age-group. His parents find it difficult to handle him, and finally send him to a boarding school. There he faces his worst nightmare, as being away from parents, he loses his self-confidence. Ram Shankar Nikumbh, i.e. Aamir Khan, a temporary art teacher at school, who has his own unique way of teaching children, finds that apart from Ishaan, every other child responds enthusiastically to his style. The more and more he studies Ishaan, the more and more he realizes that, he is not just seeing Ishaan, but actually a mirror-image of himself. Ishaan is a drowning boat, and Ram Shankar Nikumbh is the last straw of hope.

The subject of the movie is simple, predictive story-line and slow. The silence in the movie, though very meaningful, at times puts the audience in a restive mood. But bottomline, Aamir has succeeded in giving us a respectable movie to watch and talk about. Dyslexia never means that the child cannot lead a normal life. Although the flow is predictable, you shall immediately connect with the child, and his every emotion runs analogous with the emotions of the audience. This movie explains a part of life which many parents overlook, but is very mandatory to understand.

Performance of the child, Darsheel Safary is stunning, even more commendable than Aamir's performance himself. When Darsheel cries, the audience cries. The connection is that strong.

My rating: * * * 1/2


Suhas: Inspite of the dragging pace of the movie, the little child performs so exuberantly, you'll consider yourself lucky to have watched him act.

Rating: * * *


Pavan: A thought-provoking movie worth wasting every bit of your dad's hard earned fortune

Rating: * * * * 1/2


Vikki: A movie that is fun to watch

Rating: * * *


Ishita: Movie kuch khaas nahin hai, but the little child is really cute


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Friday, December 14, 2007

The show goes on...
























Few more movies I got to watch this week. Again, as usual, most of them were repeats. The list of those movies I really wanted to watch is still growing ... its almost 2 movies a day now !!

Forrest Gump: I can watch this again and again and again, and yet never stop crying. Its one of those movies, that you'll pay for and get an original DVD, and treasure it. I owe my discovery of Tom Hanks to Forrest Gump. A movie, with no structure, yet keeps you occupied forever.

My ratings: * * * * *

Armageddon: Believe it or not, I hadn't watched this. Its a typical American movie. "Its mass extermination, nothing will survive, not even bacteria !!" and "Houston, we have a problem here" elaborates the amount of exaggeration this movie provides. But its a fun movie, that you'll sit back and enjoy. You will not be thrilled by the American patriotism exhibited, you will not take your hats off at the sacrifice of Bruce, you will not shed a tear in the ocean of sentiments that makes its presence felt in between the story-line, in fact, you'll hold your stomach and laugh, at some of the most serious dialogues. Really fun movie.

My ratings: * * *

Guru: 2nd time. Loved the little B in this movie. And loved Mithunda. In fact, and most surprisingly, I liked Aishwarya Rai in this movie. You've seen my review, probably I liked it more the second time, as it made more sense ... shares, debentures and all

My ratings: * * *

Yet to watch: Pirates of Caribbean 2 & 3, Bourne Ultimatum, Memento, Just my luck and a few more...

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Friday, December 07, 2007

The sisters...



























I continue writing about my cousins, and I introduce 2 of my little sisters to you. They happen to be my mom's brother's daughters ...

The elder one's Madhuri. A 12th standard student, outwardly very silent, shy-natured, sweet-smiled, gentle-in-movement, and a two-goody shoes. But I know what she really is, a brat of course. You can't argue and win with this girl. A debate champ. Her dialogue delivery is to-the-point and straight-forward. Her temper is as cold as a blast furnace. And somehow, I end up as a victim of her flares. We both fight like political parties, we can't stand each other's presence, we don't invite each other to our places, yet we have a blast when together, we talk till 3am every time we meet, and me irritating her, and she blasting me is mandatory in every get-together.

The younger one, few already know her, is Chaitra. She's my all-time favorite. Cousins have often blamed me for my biased opinions on her, but i'm sorry, i can't help it. Unlike her sister, Chaitra has nothing to hide. She is a tom-boy and she makes you realize that in the first meeting itself. She knows no manners, she says "Yeno le" even to a person double her age. She's just around 12, but talks like a college girl. She guides me on 'what a girl wants', on 'what a girl means when she says something', and the most important aspect, 'what to gift a girl on her birthday'. We have the longest conversations, that go beyond 4-30am. She's the sister I always wished I had. Very straight-forward, she can never hide anything from anyone. If she talks less, you know something's wrong with her. She's got so many dimensions, I'm real amazed. She's got a lovely voice, eats like a rakshasi, she has no problems eating ice candies when she has fever and cough, and amazingly she ends up feeling better. She's a lovely painter, you should see the way she paints landscapes, and skies !!

A good cricketer, good at fighting, she can hurt real bad. Most practical, yet, sometimes, she shows you that she's still a 12-year old kid (especially when she runs around putting bubble-gum tattoos on her face). The most amazing sister and a best friend, thats Chaitra.

Sorry once again, a clear bias towards Chaitu, but you know it, i can't help it...

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Show-time















Watched a couple more 'old' movies this week. Most of them were repeats, but anyway...

Pirates of the Caribbean - Curse of the Black Pearl: First of the 3 movies, interesting, good sound effects (inspite of my ailing home theater), good movie. 3.5 star movie

Bhool Bhulaiya: Inspite of my heroic efforts to watch this movie in a theater, things quite did not work out that way, so I had to settle for watching it on my comp. A flick from 'Aptamitra', or 'Chandramukhi' or what you will. Could not help but compare it to the Kannada version. The surround-sound music effects of the Kannada version (thanks to Gurukiran) is thoroughly lacking here. Few changes in characterizations, but overall, its the same. Akshay Kumar is only half comparable to Vishnuvardhan. Vidya Balan tries her best, but still falls short in comparison to Soundarya. 2.5 star movie

Swades: Watching it for the 3rd time, first time on T.V. Loved it. SRK's performance is really laudable. He appears so decent, dressed so appropriately, talks so maturely, and not once does he give his crazy laughters, or his cry-baby tears. One of my favorite SRK-movie. The movie in itself, is pretty good. 3.5 star movie

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Thursday, December 06, 2007

Ankita...
















Ok this post was written with reference to a query posted by a certain 'Ankita'. I don't even know who you are, you haven't even mentioned your e-mail id, so I am only hoping that you are reading this piece of article.

Its true when you say 16-years of education is necessary to apply for a master's course in US. But actually speaking, its a very confusing issue. There are universities, which say that 4-year undergraduate education is mandatory, whereas here, UG courses are only for 3-years. A PG-Diploma, some certificate course, or any other 1-year program, may not be accepted by all universities. Some universities accept courses only done under accredited universities.

However, offlate, the 3-year UG course, done under an accredited university (like BU) is being accepted in US. The education system is very flexible in US, and as long as they are convinced that you have completed your UG course, you can have no problems. Some universities also accept one-year work experience as the 16th year, and grant admissions. If you are applying for MBA, work experience is very much recommended (although not totally compulsory). But to apply for MS, lots of universities are accepting 15-years of education.

So there are 2-views to this issue. The only way you can resolve it, is to write a mail to the university you intend to apply for. One good thing about US Universities is that, they respond to all your mails. Keep in touch, and wish you luck !!

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