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Filmfare Awards For Two Of The Best

2010-03-04T00:41:00.005+05:30

It was just another day, until I came to know about announcements of Filmfare Awards for this year. Two awards had gone to two friends of mine... and more importantly, to such persons who are talented, have worked hard to make a position in tough-tough Bollywood, and who did deserve it. And it was a coincidence that both of them had been alumni of Panjab University, and I have known them since I was myself a student there in Chandigarh.

Well, these two are-- Mahie Gill who bagged critics award for best female actor in a lead role, for her performance in 'Dev D'; and Irshad Kamil for his heart-touching lyrics of 'Ajj Din Chadeya..' in film 'Love Aaj Kal'. And both of them belong to that rare category of people who become more and more down-to-earth as they climb up the ladder of success. Talk to Mahie, and she will sound as a girl next door... talk to Irshad, and he will surely be fun to talk to. What's more, I can talk to both of them in Punjabi.

And, I did talk to both of them after I got the news. Irshad was tired but excited. He had told me about a fortnight ago that he was not sure if he would get the award or not, as the competition was tough. There were likes of Gulzar, Javed Akhtar and Prasoon Joshi in the fray. But he deserved it, so nobody could deny it to him. Every song, in fact every word of songs of 'Love Aaj Kal' is a class in itself.. possibly the best album so far by Irshad. He got the award for 'Ajj Din Chadeya..', though my personal favourite is 'Chorbazaari...'. After getting the award, Irshad told me that he was still in dreams, and he had not slept for more than 40 hours. 'Neend hi nahin aa rahi, Ajay,' he told candidly. The truth of having won a prestigious award was still to sink in.

What made Irshad more elated was the fact that his ammi was with them in Mumbai that night. He called up his home from the function itself, and his ammi was all in tears. Her son had made her proud. The son whom she never wanted to pursue a career in poetry, for the fear that he would not succeed. But the son had proved her apprehensions wrong. And who would be more happier than a mother to be proved wrong by her son in a righteous way.

For Irshad, it was hard work of eight long years that bore fruit one fine evening this year. After doing his MA in Hindi, he started his career as a cultural correspondent with a reputed Hindi daily in Chandigarh. But his dreams and destination lay somewhere else, and he made it there too. Everyone who knows Irshad must be happy for this easy-going guy. There are many more milestones to come on his way, inshallah!!

And as far as Mahie is concerned, my first impression of her had been of a sweet-natured girl who used to rehearse her part in the dramas in the lawns of Department of Indian Theatre in Panjab University, from where she was doing her MA. She has been the same even after these long 14 years, rather more humble as she has matured as an artist and a human being. Filmfare Awards night was a big moment in her life, and she told me that this came a bit unannounced. She was in Goa the day before, when she got a call from Filmfare persons asking her to reach Mumbai immediately. It was an unexpected call, but it had to be, as critics award did not have any nominations. Had she known that she had been chosen for Best Female Performance in a Leading Role, she could have prepared her speech. But that was not so... and so it was a sweet surprise for her.

She had earlier bagged Screen Award this year for her role in 'Dev D'. So, her friends more or less knew the Filfmare Award was also coming. Last year, she was in Chandigarh for the premier of the same film. After the movie, I had joined the film crew for a dinner. Such was the impact of her powerful performance as Paro in the film, that I could not stop myself from forecasting that she was going to win Filmfare next year. Little I knew, it would come true. But after seeing her performance 'Gulaal' also, I was convinced that she had finally arrived.. after a long struggle of about ten years in filmdom.

Mahie has not only struggled in Bollywood, but she had fought battles at personal front also. She is a warrior. And this warrior said that she was overjoyed to receive the honour, and her joy was doubled when she got a call from her brother who lived in US. Her mother was also in US that day. She also could not sleep well after the awards ceremony as calls for interviews kept pouring in. But she is not a girl who would refuse to talk. The result was evident when I called her up late in the evening. But in that fatigued voice, there was clearly a hint of triumph, that... yesss, I have arrived!!!

Human Fault, And A French Connection

2009-07-01T19:59:00.013+05:30

One more air crash and over 150 lives have been lost. A second major air disaster in one month. Who is to be blamed for the latest one?? Should Yemeni Civil Aviation be held responsible for this? The burning question is- how could they keep flying an aircraft which was 19 years old, had accumulated 51,900 flight hours, and was black-listed by French authorities two years ago after they found a large number of faults in it. France had categorically denied this fateful aircraft A310 an entry into her skies. That was why the Yemeni airline Yemenia had employed a relatively newer Airbus A330 for the first two legs of their Paris-Marseille-Sana’a-Moroni flight number IY-626. And for the final leg of this flight, from Sana’a to Moroni, the passengers were asked to shift to A310 carrier.

This whole episode is enough to throw light on how irresponsibly civil aviation of Yemen had acted in this matter. They are saying they never knew the aircraft was faulty. Then why had they not employed the same aircraft on the first two legs of this flight, and why did they have to shift the passengers to other aircraft?? It is a white lie if Yemeni civil authorities say that they were not aware. They are accountable for the loss of so many lives, and now they are trying to save their skin.

Well, there are other airlines also which have been acting irresponsibly and risking the lives of passengers, just for their monetary gains. Had the pilot of Riyadh-Mumbai flight number AI-822 of Air India Captain NK Beri not refused to fly the aircraft with its landing gear down, the passengers could have met the same fate around one month back as those of IY-626. To fly a carrier without retracting its landing gears accounts for high fuel consumption. And flying in this situation in night time is more dangerous as pilots can not see earth properly to find a place for emergency landing. Had Captain Beri not refused to fly, that flight could well have been in the pages of aviation disasters of world, as is the flight no. HF-3378 of 12th July 2000. The flight in question had taken off from Chania in Greece for Hannover in Germany with its landing gear down. The carrier faced fuel exhaustion on the way and crash-landed short of runway at Vienna in Austria. Luckily, the passengers escaped with minor injuries, but carrier had to be written off.

Apart from unforgivable negligence on part of Yemenia officials, there seems to be another angle to this tragic episode. This flight had taken off from French land, and was due to land in Comoros which has been a French Overseas Colony until 1975. And on board were 66 French nationals. Just one month before this plane crash, the Air France Airbus A330 on flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed mid-air over Atlantic Ocean. Most of the passengers on that flight were French nationals. At that time, a theory had been put forwarded that opening of a French military base in Dubai might have angered Islamic extremists or religious zealots. Air France officials also had got a bomb threat call three days before that incident, and an airplane had to be grounded after that call. Although, no extremist outfit has claimed responsibility, the theory of terrorism has not been discarded completely. And now this crash of a plane carrying a large number of French nationals does indicate towards a possible link between the two incidents.

Dream Comes True! Thank You, Madhur!!

2009-04-25T15:19:00.017+05:30

It is like a dream coming true… a dream that has waited 20 long years to take shape. And I am amazed to know how things change overnight! My name going to appear on silver screen!! As lyricist!!! And that too for a film that is being directed by an excellent and enviable filmmaker, and that is being waited for by cinema-goers. Wow!!!

Certainly, it is a different kind of feeling… a feeling that can be expressed just vaguely; a feeling that makes you smile at odd times. It is very different from the feeling when I see others happy at their achievements. At that time, I just feel happy … not merely for them, but to know also that they are doing what existence of human race is meant for- to achieve and then relish its sweetness. But, now it is not just happiness, it is much more than that. It is exhilaration, mixed with a strange sense of contentment- a feeling that life has denied me in its actual sense until now. That’s why it is so special and close to heart.

It was just one day after I had returned from a fun-filled 16-day tour of South East Asia. My younger brother Ashwani called in from Mumbai, and told me if I could write a few lines for a jail scene. He wanted those lines to be shown to Madhur Bhandarkar by next morning… so, it meant that I had to start thinking then and there. I was obviously tired because of continuous flying, so I refused. Ashwani was almost shocked… how I could say no to a chance that I badly wanted!! He insisted that it was a life-time opportunity, and I had to keep my physical fatigue aside and apply my mind which was fresher after a refreshing trip. His arguments and continuous insistence won in the last, and I promised him that I would be ready with a few lines in the morning.

I soon fell asleep, but the thing kept churning inside my sub-conscious mind. Next morning was pleasant one and more conducive for me to write something. When I got up early next day, I was ready with something… something that was getting clearer every minute. And after two hours there were not just few lines but a full song. The only thing that remained was to arrange that into words and rhythm. And it was not difficult. I had been playing with words for quite long, and that paid off.

In the afternoon, Ashwani told me that Madhur jee had liked my song very much. It was in the night when I again got a call from him. I had just emerged out of my office to start off for home. Ashwani was elated while telling me that my song was going to be there in the film.
I was 14 when my poem was first published in a newspaper. It was Jansatta. Just two years after this, I wrote my first song keeping Udit Narayan and Anuradha Paudwal in mind. I don’t know where that song is now, but the dream that started at that time, had not found any real ground till now. In all these years, I have written many lyrical poems, ghazals and some songs- silently and secretly nourishing this dream. A phase came when I wrote songs for a couple of plays, including Bhagvad Ajjukam directed by Satyabrat Raut for the students of Indian Theatre department of Panjab University. But I never knew that luck would smile upon me in this fashion. Thank you Ashwani!! Thank you Madhur!! And thanks to those few special people in my life who have always prayed for me and are very happy at this... as if it is their own achievement. I am so lucky to have them.

Zoya, Farhan... And A Beautiful Movie

2009-01-30T23:58:00.015+05:30

Exactly after one week of watching Slumdog Millionaire, I got a chance to watch another good movie. It is Luck By Chance directed by Zoya Akhtar. I had heard about Zoya for the first time around 8 years back when she was casting director of Dil Chahta Hai. At that time, my younger brother was new to Mumbai, and was struggling to start his innings in stardom as an actor. He had met Zoya in connection with screen test for Dil Chahta Hai, and it was he who had mentioned to me about her. Well, for me at that time, she was just a daughter of Javed Akhtar, and who was involved in a film that his brother Farhan Akhtar was directing. This combination is again out there in Luck By Chance, but assuming different roles this time... Farhan is the lead actor in this film.

This film is in all together different genre than what Slumdog Millionaire is in. Yet it entertains you well. No, it is not pure entertainment as such... it is an insight into the lives of those who come to Mumbai to be a successful part of the glamour world. But do they get what they desire?? Often not...!!! And even if they get, they have to wait a long and go through the highest degree of patience and perseverance. And during these times, if one gets a real friend who is always there to hold one’s hand through every thick and thin, then the struggle for survival is endured better. This is a friend who is honest because he or she is with one when one is practically nothing and one desperately needs a shoulder to rely upon. But when one becomes successful or happy in life, he or she does not hesitate to leave that best friend. And then, what is in the end????

Well, it is what this film tells us about. A young actor from Delhi comes to Mumbai; and in a world where every other person is turning hostile on him, he finds solace with a struggling actress some years senior to him. They are there for each other in every situation… sharing between them all sort of emotions known to mankind. And one day, the young boy gets a major break, and is a star when his film releases. It is there his priorities start changing. Those for whom he was nobody some days ago, they suddenly start swarming around him… Also, new people come into his life. He gradually distances himself from his true friend. And she herself goes through a lean patch, and she has nobody around to look up to. On one end, she is mustering all her courage to move on with the life; and on other end, the boy starts realizing value of honest emotions. And, finally, when he comes back to her, she is not in his life anymore… she has moved on well with a will that is never to be deterred. So, the boy looses a gem while he has been busy collecting pebbles. He is crowded by people around him, but he is all alone emotionally… nobody around who truly understands him.

It is a film which leaves you sentimental at times. It is a film which makes you cry at times.

Act... But In A Meaningful Way

2009-01-26T01:33:00.009+05:30

Yesterday, when I was writing a comment on a friend’s blog, I got carried away. Mine was a not a comment on the post, but on a comment made by someone else about the post. I am not a person who usually likes to correct each and every person, or tries to emphasize my own point of view before him or her. I take this pain for (or liberty with) a very few chosen ones…where I don’t think twice before saying what is there in my head, and say it straight without even thinking about the right way to say or choosing the right words. But this time I could not control myself and let myself go loose.

Well, those were last two lines in that comment, that made me write a full commentary. What irritates me is when people talk superficially but they try to sound very concerned. We show our concern for the society, we talk about national unity… but are we initiating or pursuing any action? Do we know from where to start, or do we really want to make a start?? Are we contributing in any way towards the betterment of the society, and thus the nation…without calculating the personal benefits or mileage we get from that?? Are we working at the grass root level where there may probably be no personal benefits; or are we just acting in a headless way where we do see silver lining in the sky but the world remains in dark.

I know a person who is an avid traveler. Last time he had gone to Ladakh on motorbikes with his group. This was a sponsored show and they named it something like An Expedition Against Illiteracy. After they returned, he came to me for media coverage. Media had covered it that time also, when they were setting off for their destination. Well, I could not just buy his idea. I simply asked why they required a sponsor for such noble cause, and how could their going to Ladakh serve the cause. His replies were not convincing. What I could understand from his replies was that a sponsor was needed to meet the expenses; and secondly, a sponsor made it sure that their trip got good media coverage, as it was sponsor’s publicity also. And for them, it was not possible to get a sponsor and good media coverage without attaching label of a noble cause to their private trip… So, they all managed a nice trip, got their smiling faces published in newspapers, won accolades for their noble thought…And all this in the name of eradicating illiteracy. This is how most of the NGOs also work.

But, could that money not be utilized in some other way to actually serve the cause?? Could they not buy slates, chalk, notebooks and pencils, and give it to those children who are unable to buy them?? Could they not spare those days to teach such children, which they spent in their trip?? If they had done this, it would have been a real action to see their cause through. In fact, it would have gone in a long way in nation’s interest. It would have made a positive impact on such children’s mind.. they would have got a feeling that they were not marginalized but they belonged- to people around them, to society, to nation. Actually, such feeling of belongingness sub-consciously produces a sense of unity and brotherhood. And this would have reflected in their attitude n' behavior when they were grown up.

Here I don’t wish to suggest that one must not do anything that pleases or satisfies him or her, but then why to be a pseudo??? Why to camouflage fun and frolic with heavy words?? Why not to channel our resources and energy towards roots so that we get a healthy tree in future?? We all can, within our own individual capacities, help to build a better future for generations to come. But for that, we will have to act in right and meaningful direction. We can give our contributions to the noble causes in whatever way we feel fine, but making sure that those reach the right people. Don’t we want our progenies to live in a better environment than we ourselves live in?????

The Slumdog Millionaire...

2009-01-23T01:53:00.006+05:30

I enter the auditorium with lot of expectations…. as the movie has been getting raves and high accolades all over the world. But as the movie progresses, a fact keeps becoming clearer minute by minute. I am surely in for a surprise. The film is not what I had expected…it is much more than that.

What mesmerizes your imagination in this film is the pace with which it moves ahead. Never ever there is a moment when you can afford taking your eyes off the screen. The moment you dare do it, you are going to miss something. The shots are amazing and tantalizing too… As the camera zooms through swarming narrows bylanes of Dharavi, you keep getting lost to the awe it inspires within you. Beautiful work behind the camera!!! It is first time that piles of garbage don’t make you feel sick… these, in fact, arrest you mind. And you find yourself totally lost in what is happening before your eyes…as if this all is real. And how beautifully the scenes of the famous game show have been intermingled with the life story of a slum boy who grows as an orphan alongside his brother. In a switch the camera is inside TV studio, and the next moment it is out in slum. And, my god, you enjoy this!!! The storyline keeps you transmitting between two entirely different scenarios.

And it is a pleasant surprise that during the intermission I get a phone call to know that the film has been nominated for ten awards in Oscars. And my friend cheerily tells me that four of those nominations are for Indians. Tell me what I want more!!!

I have to write a review of the film for my weekend pullout of Sunday, so that is why I am here to watch paid preview of the movie in this bone-chilling midnight of Chandigarh. But what do I write now! When so much has been talked about the film… and now this mark of Oscar nominations!! It is really very difficult to say anything for things that are not ordinary. And this film is one of those. And the last scene makes you float in the air… it is pure love in its simplest form that is there. Just two pairs of quivering lips! I am spellbound…that’s it. And I bet you too will be when you enter the cinema halls for your first day first show.

My Romance With A New Passion

2009-01-13T15:06:00.016+05:30

My coming back to Chandigarh has helped ignite in me a new passion- photography. Till now, it was only an interest. But thanks to my editor Prabhat Singh who keeps on telling me- and all of us- about the finer aspects of this art. And he takes delight and satisfaction in it. He, being an accomplished lens man himself, told one very interesting thing sometime back- that photos are not clicked, they are made. What he said changes one’s whole perception. Anyone with a camera and a good scene in front of him can click a photograph. No matter who is behind the camera, that scene is going to be captured anyhow. It is very much true, especially for static scenes. And better and expensive the camera, better will be the details!

But, if you go with a mindset of making a photograph, it is then that you create a photograph. Many things are lying before you, and the photo you wish to make out of them depends upon your eye and mood. What surroundings you see, what background you are looking for, what it is you wish to focus upon, whether you want to keep the surroundings hazy or not, what mode you are going to choose to make a particular photograph, etc. And yes, the angle and the zoom are important too.

And I know how it feels to shoot with a camera. I have known this since long when I used to just click photos with a simple Fuji camera, which my friend from US had gifted me. It was my first camera, and it was a film camera… and I had a passion of clicking with a black and white film. Though I love colours and never hesitate to stare at a myriad of colours for a long time, it uses to make me have a nice kind of feeling- a feeling of simplicity- to see things in just two colours. No confusion, no complexity, and simple plain truth! And when I flip the flaps of my albums, I do realize that I made two or three photos accidentally while clicking scores of them.

It was this Fuji camera which I took along with me on my trips to Singapore and Malaysia. The results were as you would have anticipated. Though, in some of the shots, the angles and the backgrounds were good. I used a digital camera when I went to Egypt and UAE. It was a Kodak digital camera, and photography there was far more satisfying. And now, I have a Canon camera which I am learning to use to make photos. It is not that I am on a shooting spree these days… I am just watching good photos more closely and intently, and occasionally throwing questions born out of curiosity towards Prabhat jee, which he never fails to answer. After meeting him, I have used camera during my trip to Shimla and in the chrysanthemum show. And people have told me that results are appreciable.

I draw more satisfaction from the fact that my camera can not click continuously like some high-end cameras which can capture a scene more than 24 times in one click. That means, you have a number of photographs of just one scene, each one separated from the next one by a fraction of a second, and you have a choice to choose the best one out of them. But in this process, your own creativity takes a back seat sometimes. So, this fact is relieving for me that whatever I shoot- whether bad or good- is my own creation.

Is It Not A Matter Of Choice?

2008-10-20T14:09:00.012+05:30

After long discussions with colleagues and friends, and reading here and there on the topic of live-in relationship, I was about to give final touches to this post when Mahesh called in. It was about the posts on the same topic on his blog.

The posts and the comments those posts have evoked really amused me. How can we be so stubborn to stick to our point of view just for the sake of defending it!!! If we say something is wrong in other person’s perspective, then we overwhelmingly want to prove how right we are in thinking so- and get this much mesmerized with our line of thought that we fail to see other lines running parallel to our own. Mahesh writes a story depicting two extreme values of the society, and one female takes it the wrong way. And then starts a discussion, which eventually turns out to be a war of words where almost everyone is sticking on either of the two fronts - one pro and one anti; and some onlookers dropping their shells in between.

Now, coming on to the topic itself. My questions are- Have we actually understood the meaning of live-in relationship? Do we think it only means promiscuity, or a person can be committed even if name of the relationship is live-in? Do we want to discard it just on this ground that it is a foreign concept, and foreign concepts are always unethical and invite doom? Do we see it as a threat to the marriage system? Do we really think that this will make life of a woman more miserable? Do we not want any label other than ‘Marriage’ for the commitment and honesty between two individuals? Do we not want to give a female that freedom of choice and decision, which a male has enjoyed since times immemorial? Are we adamant on this opinion of ours that a male is always a cheater and he can’t be in love? Are we of the opinion that a live-in will continue to be as such for always and it will not culminate in marriage? And does a live-in invariably mean that it will start with a physical relationship? I think the last point is the real reason behind such howls and cries that so-called ideologists are making. They say that by giving live-in a shield of law we are actually legalizing pre-marital and extra-marital relations. But, does such relations not exist or will not exist if it is not legalized? Just check the various social surveys being conducted in India. The results will make your jaw drop to your knees.

First of all, if we keep on arguing keeping in mind that a live-in relationship is a bypass of marriage system or is on the opposite end of it, we are not going to reach anywhere. No relation, no name and no law can bind two people except for honesty, love and a mutual recognition and respect for each other’s emotions, space and individuality. Can we guarantee these values by just tying nuptial knots between two people? Can you guarantee that a male will not cheat his partner if they are married? Can you ensure a life long relationship after marriage? Alas, not!! !

Then, can’t a live-in between two individuals be an umbilical cord for institution of marriage? Yes, why not!! We colleagues were discussing this topic the other day. A very senior colleague said quoting a lesser-known Bengali writer of fifties who later migrated to Britain - “Two individuals very little known to each other and not even accustomed to smell of each other’s sweat are made to sleep together after marriage. What makes them do so? Law, not love.” Now, will just the law decide with whom you have to stay for life? Should it not be matter of choice? Should a person not select who should be his or her life partner and with whom one wants to be in an intimate relationship?

Well, this equation, which arises out of an arranged marriage, may not bother a person who is not averse to one-night stands; for him it will be just another fun night. But just think of a person for whom a physical relationship is an expression and extension of love and trust, and for whom it is nothing less than an eternal wish to blend and be one with the person he or she loves; the person who always longs for a little touch of a loved one, and a slightest press of hand is enough to soar the spirits to their highest. Such feelings are largely true for a female. So, doesn’t her dreams come crashing upon her when she has to be intimate with a total stranger?? One can easily understand how much pain her soul must be enduring.

So, does a live-in give a male a free hand to exploit females or does it give a female a freedom of choice she deserves. One knows fairly well how male-dominated societies have been treating females – history vouches for it. But freedom of opinion and decision has largely been absent. Those who are making outcries that live-in will make woman’s life miserable, actually fail to or don’t want to appreciate the brighter side of the concept. A live-in does not exactly mean that a female has to be forced to be in relationship. It is her choice. In the process of living together, live-in partners do come to watch each other closely and know each other. All the aspects of their personality lay bare to each other. And over a period of time, if they feel comfortable and attached enough to live together for life, then who is stopping them? It means a female has a choice whether to go into a relationship or not. It is the nuptial not of hearts and trust, and not governed by law. And such relations are by and large more honest and long-lived.

And even if two partners go for physical relations only, then is it not happening already in the society and is their any law that stops two major people from staying together or entering in such relation on mutual consent? What difference will it make to such persons if live-in is legalized or not. Again, it is a matter of choice.

Noted painter and poet Imroz has recently said in an interview- “In the present system of marriage, most of the times two people meet just once before marriage. Is it enough to bind them together for the whole life? And even if they meet more than once, that is not actually for understanding each other and deciding whether they want to live together or not. In the name of understanding, they try to be artificial to impress each other lest the engagement should break. And on this artificial base, a relationship is built. And many people keep on carrying the load of marriage despite being comfortable in it. They just don’t live this relation they bear it. If we expect honesty in keeping a relationship alive, then why not be honest in ending it if we know it actually does not exist!”

How Little She Knew!!!

2008-09-03T02:11:00.013+05:30

The day she started becoming aware of the things around her, she started dreaming. Surely, these were not daydreams. Her deep eyes were full of expectations and wishes for a wonderful life ahead. She was a thinker, and her thoughts were sincere. She was far more mature than the bunch of boys of her age. She had always been a step ahead of them in terms of maturity. She laughed, she giggled, she smiled, she sat silent, she was sad, she cried, she wept, she loved, she hated. She did everything a normal human being does. She planned about her life the way every healthy mind thinks.

She went to school, then to college. She never failed to blush whenever she received a compliment. She studied well, not just to make a career for her but with an aim to be better mother to her children. And mere thought of being a mother someday used to fill her with a sense of pride and satisfaction. And then, a time came when she became a mother.

Till then, she had not known what relaxation meant. At every step and in every phase of life, she had found herself preparing for the next one…with a constant hope to have her own space very soon, to have time only for herself. She was sacrificing her joys for the family. She was sacrificing her own well being; she was sacrificing her mental peace. She was accustomed to it; she had done this since her childhood. And, ironically, she had been constantly reminding herself that her real joy lied in all the pain she endured. Her only mission had been to keep everybody happy and to smile constantly while suppressing her own sorrows. But, she never got a word of praise for all that. And this thing had taken the heaviest toll on her, without her actually being aware of it.

Then, she started thinking that she would see life once her children were grown-up. She would then have free time for herself. She would seek all the joys she once dreamed of. Little she knew that all those years of pain and endurance had left her too frail to enjoy even the later phases of her life. At that stage, she would then have to content herself seeing her children grow and wishing her daughter would do what she herself could not. Again, she did not know…that life revolved in full circle and there was never a new end to it.

She is an Indian woman. I have known her since very long. But, I have understood her…now.

Let Us Start Communicating

2008-08-31T02:04:00.029+05:30

They say- 'Things are easier said than done.' Let's go one step ahead - 'Things are easier written than said.' This is especially true for sending an e-mail or writing on a blog. It invariably removes time-constrain between two communicators. The writer has ample time at his hand to pour in whatever is there to say. And the receiver has the freedom to go through it whenever and wherever he or she has free time and seclusion. So, you see, nothing comes in-between two communicators, except for one thing - it has got a one-way tag onto it most of the times. Sadly, it can not be the way chatting is.

Well, there are many other barriers also that can hinder free-flow of a spoken communication. The biggest of them is the social one that reflects the typical Indian mindset. Surely, we are not talking about the metro culture where one does not have time to think for oneself. The problem lies in such social milieu where people can spare ample time to peep into other persons' lives, though they may not be aware of their own back. Very often, you may feel piercing gazes from the bodies around you when you are talking heart-to-heart with somebody, especially a person of the opposite gender. And if you choose to go away from there to have a chat over a cup of tea, you may never now how many of them have suddenly turned script-writers - entertaining themselves by telling others stories about your outing. And this, undoubtedly, creates a psychological blockade also that further prevents free communication.

So, here chatting and blogging come as saviours. If chatting gives you freedom to have a crisp two-way interaction, blogging gives you a platform to exchange your ideas. But the only drawback- the charm of the stops-and-pauses is missing, and with this is also missing the world of gestures and expressions.

Here, one quotation comes to my mind which a close one sent to me some months back.....

More we are connected electronically, less we are connected emotionally