Reading 'Almost Single'

Recently I finished reading 'Almost Single' by Advaita Kala. And yet again I discovered that it is another book by a young generation Indian author who has been able to show the life of young India through the borrowed bioscope of bollywood.

Honestly, I have never been into the habit of reading of contemporary literature (Rushdie, Naipaul, Amitabh Ghosh, Jhumpa Lahiri, etc. were always ‘must read’). Most of the time I was occupied with reading those books which were on reference list (being a literature student and one of those nerd ones, who liked to read other works of the prescribed author to understand his/her perspective or style better, I was left with no time to read anything else).

But for quite sometime now, I have taken to reading pop-fiction, chick-lit and contemporary fiction written by Indian authors, like Chetan Bhagat, Advaita Kala, Karan Bajaj, etc., and yes I liked reading it.

Yes the jokes are pretty well cracked; drinks are also quite easily available; going to pubs is as easy going to temple; getting laid is as easy as having butter-chicken in Delhi and there are many things, which the protagonists of these books happen to experience, are pretty to easy to have. Reading through these books are as pleasant as watching our hindi movies. (Please don’t get me wrong; I am not demeaning anything)

As it is said of our hindi movies, especially the songs, they are the concrete, palpable expression of our fleeting dreams, a side of our personality which we often try to ignore or suppress. These books are also doing the same. As it has become quite common in bollywood movies to have Christian wedding of people with ‘Sharma’, ‘Verma’ as surnames, school kids going to prom, etc., so is bunking classes, going to pubs (the entry ticket may cost you fortune in real life) and getting laid at early age have become common topics in the modern Indian fiction.

The question that arises in my mind is: is this is a wish fulfillment that we Indian audience are looking for, or is this an experience of few that the majority wants to live, or indeed these incidences have become a reality for many ( hence we are more interested in knowing if I have behaved the same way as others have) and is this what has kept us all of hooked on to these books?

‘Jai Ho’ reduced to what…..

( Images: courtsey google images)

And this one due for a longtime..have been discussing with friends and colleagues for ages:

There were numerous kinds of controversies that surrounded the song from the movie ' Slumdog Millionaire'. First, was it rehman's best composition ever? Then a spokesperson of a certain political party claims that its becoz of governance of his party in the country, the movie and the song won oscars and the same party buys the rights of the song to use it for their campaign in the General Election and the Gujarat CM Narendra Modi taking a dig at the claim. All these developments were quite a fun to follow.

However, the recent Pussycat Doll song on the same tune (using the catch phrase 'jai ho') is quite bad in taste. The vocals and the video are giving quite different vibes than the song in movie had intended to.

The song in the movie was an expression of exhilaration, but the one by pussycat dolls is celebration/call of a different nature ( to which the hindi song also moves to; however, it gives prominence to triumphant human will, which has won a battle against circumstances that were trying to take dignity out of human existence) altogether. I can't call the Pussycat Doll song other than cheap. It is another addition to the list of examples, where people try to cash in on somthing that has already created a sensation. Instead of being creative they are being calculative.

Hunger and Dieting

This is pertual thought that does not leave me, ever...( oh yes i havent got the barbie doll stats..though the right BMR) and reports of scarce rainfall makes situaton worse. Here is another blog which i am reviving here:

On the onehand I see all the reports about the drought situation and the tough times that lies ahead of the farmers; how difficult it has become for them to make both ends meet; skipping meals as there is nothing to cook..going hungry; a bare skin covering a a skeleton and rugged rags worn as clothes...

and on the other I see ( including me and those around me) a section worrying about too much oil/fat in the food; deliberately starving, so-called dieting, in name of eating healthy to get skinny to get into those skinny outfits......

which arguement should I buy: i have earned it, and have got the skill and opportunities to have a good income, then why not be choosy and demanding for the best, or that if I have all the that is required to lead a dignified life with all the essential commodities, should I start doing something with the extra-left for the have-nots?

have been asking this for long....still haven't got an answer........

Victory for Politics of Aspiration

After the results of General Elections '09 were declared, again twitter came to my rescue in preserving my thought regarding the development. And here it goes:

UPA being voted back to power and Indian National Congress winning more than 200 seats in the General Election of 2009 is being dubbed as victory for the politics of aspiration rather than of grievance. Lots of people and editors think so...

Is it so? What are people aspiring to? And are those aspirations being fulfilled? Is the aspiration confined to the jump of the sensex or something else? Even though claims are, aam admi ke barte kadam...will ever those barte kadam reach the destination or reach somewhere? Lets see what is in store in the next five years.....

Rejoicing at 50 percent voter turnout…!!!

Around the polls this was what going through my mind, which i happened to capture in 140 character sentence on Twitter and its developed form is here as follows:

This year, there has been massive campaigning for making the indian voter come out of their homes and cast their votes on the polling dates. Important people from different walks of life came out to campaign for this noble cause; but what was the result. Just above fifty per cent voting has been recorded in most of the parts of the country, though the rurals areas had fared better.

But the celebration or rather euphoria surrounding this 50% voter turnout has been so, as if there has been a 100% turnout ( especially the farce played out by television anchors to radio jocketys regarding the higher turnout in Delhi than in Mumbai or Bangalore). The elections will be successful only when the left out percent of voters also come out and cast their vote. Because it may be the chance that those fifty or forty percent don't want the person/party elected by these sixty/fifty percent. So their vote can actually bring someone from majority to minority. Celebrations should be saved for those times when we have a 70-90% voter turnout and in the meant time efforts should be in place to bring those absentee voters to the polling booth.

Return to blogging

Loads of things made news and yet I stayed awayed from from blogging..thoughts were bursting in my head, yet I could not gather any of them.... I guess this is what's called 'professional pressure taking toll on you.' But its been quite sometime, now I need to channel my thought and put them in words... and learn to make time out for things I love to do instead of acting lazy...

So here I promise to revive my blog and my enthusiasm to speak out my mind....

TERRORISTS: STILL FINE AND KICKING

Post 9/11 leaders of the US (and the rest of developed world), had been busy waging war against terrorism, mainly the Taliban. In name of finishing terrorism, a nation, which probably had little to do with terrorism, was attacked and destroyed. Lots of public money and human resource of the country( of which the leaders belonged to) had been squandered to nab those who were behind the 9/11 tragedy, but even after eight years no concrete result has come out as of yet.



Instead the bad news is that the terrorists have just shifted their base. Earlier they were illegally operating from parts of India's immediate neighbour in the west, Pakistan; now they have, sort of, legally occupied a part of that country- the Swat Valley- to carry on their missions and operation. This is bad news for India which had terrorists moving one more inch closer to its backyard.

The billion dollar question is, what happened to 'mission infinite justice' of the US, which was meant to nab the masterminds of 9/11 and destroy the roots of terrorism from the world? May be it has prevented another terrorist assault on its soil, but it has made the rest of the world vulnerable to the attacks of the terrorists. Will the US administration care to answer this; whether Democrats or Republicans doesn't matter, as terrorism is still a reality. The terrorists are still fine and kicking (while we are facing bad time with recession); probably laughing while listening to the rhetorics of the world leaders in the past.

The term called 'net-take home salary'

Well, these are times of recession and being a fresher it is difficult to get a job. And even if you manage to get one, the companies are duping people in giving them the agreed upon salary. Certain technical terms are suddenly propping up when they are handing you over the pay- check which was not discussed when you were recruited.

This is the first time i'm using the blog to talk about a personal grievance, because i'm clueless about what to do, how to deal with the situation, how to register my protest, because given the situation in the market i just cannot resign. Currently, i'm working in a MNC as copy- editor. Before this fraud, i just loved my job. I was happy editing the manuscripts. But everything changed with the arrival of the paycheck. the take-home what was agreed upon, suddenly isn't what i was supposed to take home, but less than that ( some sudden deductions have been made). I'm being told that i should have clearly asked what is my ' net take-home', which according to them means what i'm getting in-hand. ( I have worked earlier, though for brief periods only, as well but have never encountered such duplicity from the employer. But publishing industry, is new to me)

Moral of the story is that if you are a fresher in the field in these times of recession, be careful. If a fresher chance to read this blog please be careful while negotiating your salary and if someone experience in the job market happen to read this blog, please give some adivce.