Revolution 2020 : A Review

I took this book for two reasons; one that I wasn’t in the best of my moods and wanted to read something light (chetan has a reputation for humour) and second- a friend had told me that the protagonist had same name as me - ‘Gopal Mishra’.
Both the reasons proved wrong. The story wasn’t a comedy and I could not relate to the character in any way.

Yet the story kept me hooked. There is a thing about Chetan Bhagat’s style that doesn’t let you put the book down until you finish it up. He writes melodramatic scenes and Bollywood brand climaxes but still strikes a chord. His characters are never Perfect. They are humane and have vices and still they are heroes in themselves.

This one is no exception. His protagonist is a mediocre man who wants to make it big. You hate him throughout the story and yet his pain hurts. And in the end you feel that he is, in chetan’s word ‘a good man’.

This story has everything- love, deceit, sacrifice, ideology, greed, politics; a heady concoction apt for a Bollywood masala flick. It is bound to happen. I just hope that they do not murder it like ‘Three Idiots’ changing the protagonist from Gopal (the mediocre) to Raghav (the perfect one).

मैं इक लफ्ज़ हूँ इक पन्ने पर ,
तुम भी इस लफ्ज़ हो इक पन्ने पर ,
और हम दोनों में कोई भी रिश्ता तो नहीं .

तुम जो हँसते हो तो आवाज़ मुझको आती है ,
कल जो रोये हो तुम शब् भर बिना आवाज़ किये;
नमी से उसकी मेरा मन भी थोडा गीला है .

ये जो पन्नो का पीला पड़ना, स्याही का फीका होना
ये जो तेरा मुझ सा होना, और मेरा तुझ सा होना

ये जो ओह करके जीना और आह करके मरना

थिएटर की सीट पे हम दोनों बैठे थे
और बीच में बस इक armrest की दूरी थी

मैं इस पार से तुम्हे देखता रहा जी भर
दो-इक बार तुम्हे छूने की कोशिश भी की

तुमने हँस के armrest उठा दिया था
बोली "बड़े बुद्धू हो तुम भी "

आज लगता है सच ही कहा था तुमने

मैं इक साहिल पे बैठा हूँ

ना इतना दूर कि कोई लहर मुझको
छू ही ना पाए
ना इतना पास ही कि हर लहर
भिगा सके मुझको

मैं कुछ पिछली लहर से अब भी
भीगा सा ही बैठा हूँ
भली लगती है अब हवाओं कि
संगत बड़ी मुझको

यूं भीगते और सूखते
दिन ढल गया देखो

न कोई पुल है इस दरिया पे
जिसके पार बैठी हो
बस एक कश्ती थी जिसको
डुबा दिया तुमने

Two States: Review

No. The review or even the reading was not inspired by the movie: three idiots. I have read everything written by Chetan Bhagat and I must say, this one is the best. The worst being 'One night at a call center'.

Despite his extra dramatic climaxes and unusual turn of events, his stories always keep you hooked. His cute expressions and vivid description make you fall in love with the characters and you cannot leave without finishing.

The best thing about his latest novel is that he has retained his charm and reduced the drama.

Two states is the story of a Punjabi young man at IIMA falling in love with his classmate from Chennai. The story remains all sweet till they decide to convince their families for their marriage and this is where all the salt and pepper enters the story. They try convincing their families with little success and even reach a break-up. This is when in a dramatic turn of events, parents rise above their rigidity and show that they care.

So again a happy ending like all of his earlier stories. Sometimes I think his stories resemble a typical hindi movie, where things go as bad as they can and at the end dramatically everything turns right. This one definitely deserves a try. Mr. Bhagat I would have loved to make a movie on this story if I could.

The story talks about the stupidity of stereotypes, and still rests on the same for all the humour and all this is so natural that you never realize this between your bouts of laughter. Every description of either punjabis of tamilians is power packed with laughter. Although it does make some offences but you never mind it for it's all fun.

All in all a great time-pass :)

Three Idiots: Review

Three idiots: Ryan, Hari and alok ooops...... rancho (amir khan), Farhan (madhvan) & raju (sharman joshi) come to IIT sorry ICE (hell......... Sorry Mr Hirani but I can't stop relating despite your comment that 'the film has less than 5% similarity to the novel 5 point someone by Chetan Bhagat'). Well anyways,lets get back to the story. So the three idiots arrive at one of the best colleges in the country to study mechanical engineering and in the four years they do everything they are not expected to : Bunk classes, get drunk on the top of water tank, date prof's daughter, pee on dean's nameplate, dine for free in an unknown wedding...

Indian audience had not watched a movie about life in an engineering college and this was high time we had one. The biggest section of movie-goers today are engineers and this was sure to click. No wonder this is one of the largest grocers of all times-thanks to the multiplexes.

But this is not all. Three Idiots is a story nicely told. Rajkumar Hirani has maintained his position of best director of comedies. His dialogues are really good and gel with the mood of the movie. Cinematography is worth appreciating, scenic locations of Laddhakh are shown with elegance. Songs are catchy although the music is not that great, thanks to the lyrics. Give me some sunshine & Aall is well, are my favorites.

I was doubting how a man in forties will play a college boy but Amir has always shown that he can do anything. Sharman joshi is brilliant as usual. No one can beat his comedy. Kareena is back to her cute Yuva Looks with a nose ring. She gels in the character so much that you cannont imagine someone else.

The movie is, in many ways, different from the book. Unlike the book the Protagonist here is not the mediocre Hari (madhavan) who needs Ryan (amir khan) for every move, who betrays his girlfriend, putting her repute at stake for saving his degree. Here the protagonist is Mr. Perfect: Rancho. Ryan of the book was polished to create this character. He is against the system but still manages to top the class unlike Ryan. So the Prof's daughter falls in love with him and not Hari. We haven't yet matured to accept less than perfect people as leads.

Well despite all this, the movie is worth watching for a relaxing experience of three hours.

Rating: 4/5

remebering sangharsh

This was the first time

he had painted in colour

unlike the usual charcoal

on handmade paper

Sketch of a female form

grace, elegance, divinity embellished

He was so happy that day

for his son was an year old...

I passed by your room today...

Two paintings still hang

on opposite walls

And between the shades

of Black and Red

thrives life

Oblivious.......

I got my birthday gift

like a morning breeze

after a sleepless night

soothing to the soul

and pinching to the eyes

Two books and a letter

which says nothing

I read you all over

and understood nothing......

ज़िन्दगी सहेज ली

ज़िन्दगी ताक पर रक्खी हुई थी
महीनों से
आज धूल झाड़ते नज़र पड़ी

सोचा फेंक दूँ
फ़िर उठाया
ज़रा सा साफ़ किया
और रख लिया
कुछ पुराने सामन की तरह
क्या पता जाने कभी कुछ काम आए .........

Wake Up Sid

Wake up Sid is a story of stereotypes told with a fresh flavour.

Siddharth Mehra aka Sid (ranbeer kapoor) is an aimless, good for nothing, spoiled son of a rich man who just doesn't want to take the responsibility of his own life. His father Ram Mehra (Anupam Kher) is a self made businessman who rose from rags to riches and wants his son to be responsible and help in his business. But Sid flees from office to spend time with his new friend Aisha Banerjee(Konkona Sensharma). She is a strong, confident, independent woman from Kolkata who has come to Mumbai chasing her dream to be a successful journalist.

Troubled by his son, Ram Mehra throws Sid out of his house to teach him a lesson and Sid takes refuge in Aisha's flat. Living with her changes him a lot. He returns home and this is when they realize that they are in love. In the climax they come together and Live happily ever after :P

Ranbeer Kapoor is becoming synonymous to good for nothing, spoilt brat. Konkana is brilliant as usual. Anupam Kher had nothing much to do as his role was like a repeat performance of many of his earlier movies. In fact all these actors have played these characters so many times that it seems dull on first look but the way these characters have been handled makes this a story well told.

The best part is direction. Thumbs up for Ayan Mukherjee who debuts with this movie. He handles the emotions in a very delicate manner. Konkona is a director's darling. I just love her. She has handled the complex scenes in a simple and elegant way.

Despite the Raj Thakre drama, every mumbaikar will love this movie for it explores the best parts of life in Mumbai. Well I have at least one thing in common with Ayan, both of us love marine drive !!!

Now the downside. This movie, like most of bollywood flicks, is far from the harsh realities of life. Everything here seems so easy. Javed Akhtar disappoints with average quality. And the last one : They keep promoting Nikon and I am from canon gharana ;)

All in all a nice weekend passtime

Rating 3/5

Mythos Vs Logos

When you love mathematics, your fascination with ancient Greeks never ends. When you start exploring Greece, what surprises you is India. She has always been a land of mysteries. Perhaps mystery is a part of life here, interwoven with facts and reason, so much so that it seems that zero could have never been invented elsewhere. It just belongs here.

On the surface everything here seems so similar to Greece; the religion, mathematics, astronomy... But no. On a deeper look you start feeling the difference. It's so fine that it misses your attention on first look: the difference between what you think and what you feel.

While myth of present times definitely has its roots somewhere in the knowledge in past, what creates the trouble is the separation. A separation of flow of human quest into parallel streams, completely disjoint. One stream lead by pure reason, flexible and creative. This stream keeps the flow going although there is something missing. Something that is above reason.

The other stream comes to the dead end of belief and completeness. This is where the flow slows down and starts to rot.

When man created the first god, it was very reasonable. The form he gave to the gods then came from his perception of world (mythos following logos). Then he created another god and kept creating more and more, upgrading from the present form. God 8.0, God 9.0, God 9.1,9.12.... and so on. While some gods were open source (Christianity), some were strictly proprietary (Hinduism). The problem really lies in the complacency created by aggressive marketing by the different sources selling the ultimate truth. Rigidity replaced flexibility and the flow was gone.

This created two parallel streams with people trapped in between. Largely responsible for the division of science and arts. This rot created the para-sciences like astrology (see the logos still sticks!!! ). There are believers, non believers and agnostics but no developers, no seekers.

The life today is split, influenced by these two worlds. You believe in Darvin and you believe in Genesis. You believe in black holes and you believe in rahu-kalam. I do not have a problem with Christ or Rahu till they don't interfere with what I do (I agree it's a Newtonian approach but we are still in dark age! ) . The problem really starts when the stagnancy tries to take over the flow and restricts the ETERNAL TRAVELLER.

PS: mythos and logos are Greek words from which the English words myth (story) and logic or logy (study as in biology) are derived.

What's Your Number

As a kid, I was always mesmerized by numbers. They seemed to carry some magic. I saw patterns in numbers. They looked like geometrical figures and I always thought that there was some hidden connection between the shapes and the numbers.

Someone asked me my favourite number and i started finding the answer.

1. Nunero Uno

The first, the best, the unique, one at the top. This is the king of numbers. Neither prime nor composite, beyond it. It shows unity, shows power (in hands of one).

It stands for one god, single truth. It stands for completeness.

It's a lonely number although.

2. Duality

Two is company. Two is split. Black & White, Darkness & Light, Good & Evil. Two is pair, complementing each other and incomplete alone. Nar & Narayan, Atma & Paramatma, Prakriti & Purush. This number reminds me of Ardhnarishwar.

Two is state. Happy & Sad, On & Off, 0 & 1: origin of the binary system and the whole of information revolution.

Two is contrast. Yes & No, Right & Left ( in every sense- right brain vs left brain, right hand vs left hand, right wing politics vs left)

Well talking about two, I must share a joke I read somewhere: "There are two types of people- Those who split everything into two and those who don't."

3. Trio

Three is magic. Three is mystery. I love triangles. They are magical. They represent strength. I always wondered (until I learnt later), why every structure you see is made of triangular shapes. Three is stability ( a tripod never shakes).

Three draws parallels: Trilok, Brahma-Vishnu-Mahesh, Mahakaali-Mahalaxmi-Mahasaraswati. This is not a split of contrasts but of facets.

Three dimensions of space and a fool lost within.

4. Quad

Four is flat. Emotionless. Four directions, four walls. Equal in measure, precise and dull.

Four faces are quite common in Hindu mythology and forms our national emblem as well (Ashok Stambh)

5. High Five

Pentagon rules the world (literally :P). Five fingers, Five senses, Five elements ( and not four. i am an Indian you see ).

Coming back to geometry, a regular pentagon has an angle of 108 degrees (another magical number ! )

6. Hex

God does play dice. How can he resist the temptation?? I love this number as I love cricket and I love hexagons.

I am hexed by the way :)

7. The Queen

This number definitely deserves the status. Biggest single digit prime number. Seven notes, seven colours, seven seas, seven births, seven vows, seven days, seven stars (saptarishi).

You just can't ignore the beauty, you are bound to fall in love with the queen.

8. Oct

Complexity personified. Eight is cube of two. 3D split.

I remember the rangoli's by my mother with eight petals. Kind of elegant.

9. On cloud nine

This is another magical number. Derived from three, it carries its magic and mystery to next level. But it looses the simplicity in the process.

0. Nothing

I missed this one. I remember another incident like this. The first law of thermodynamics had already been discovered (law of conservation of energy) and later a law was discovered which was even more basic. This one in fact defined the whole branch of study. So this one was called the Zeroth law of Thermodynamics.

This number represents nothing. And includes everything. The basis of every number system- binary, hexadecimal or decimal; whatever.The India's contribution to the world of mathematics and philosophy. It's the fifth element that Greeks had left- the SPACE.

It's synonymous to nirgun- 'without attributes' ; the all pervading, all including. The ultimate bliss, the Nirvana.

This is what differentiates, the Indian philosophy from rest of the world.

Well... white is my favorite colour. Someone may say that it's not a colour but for it is. It contains every colour and is still so pure, so complete.

What's Your Rashi

Ashutosh Gowarikar continues his fascination with long flicks. While Lagan kept you hooked, this one sucks. BIG TIME. The worst part of the movie is its story. A young NRI (harman) starts searching for a bride and is convinced that there are 12 types of girls based on zodiac (rashi). So he decides to meet one girl of each rashi and decide the best one for him ( what an idea sirji !!! A really nice sampling method). Even for someone like me, born in a family of firm believers in astrology, the concept of dividing people in 12 categories is DUMB.

As the story proceeds you get irritated by the 12 characters appearing on screen one after another, all played by priyanka chopra. Most of the characters are such, that you hope never to meet them in real life. Every character has been reduced to a single trait. For example all you get to know about one girl is that she is not a virgin. What the hell !!! This is all the person is worth ???

The direction is no better. Ashutosh Govarikar completely disappoints. Editing could have been better. Cinematography is above average.
Harman's performance is not going to take him any further. He delivers a flat performance; expressionless. But I would consider it more of a fault on director's part. But 'man.... ooops woman of the match' goes to priyanka. This movie has given her a jackpot and she grabs it. There was a time i counted priyanka in good for nothing stars, but she has really worked hard. First Kaminey n now What's your rashi, she is getting better everyday.

RATING : 1/5

The alarm was ringing and Anuj was trying hard to search for the clock, eyes closed. When he could not find it finally, he gave in and got up only to discover that he was sleeping on the floor. The table his hand was trying to feel in sleep wasn't there. He didn't remember how he slept like that. ' Oh God! I am never drinking again...'

He still has the hangover and thinks of sleeping again but decides otherwise and reaches for his toothbrush. The corridor is all empty. Not a single sound. He feels jealous of the sleeping souls and through his way to the bathroom, keeps cursing his khadoos professor. Extra class on a Sunday morning! 7 AM!

Last night they had a break-up party . Avinash was heartbroken and they had organized a party to cheer him up. The winning captain of the the cricket match of the hostel backyard was supposed to pay for the drinks. Rahul paid for it gladly, with the scholarship money he hadn't told about anyone back home.
Bottles opened and toast raised. Most of them hugged Avi and tried to convince him what a whore she was. Anuj didn't know what to say, so he kept quiet and enjoyed the beer. By the end of first bottle the horizon of discussion broadened up. The topics varied from cricket to women to movies, professors, annual sports and what not.

Beer was followed by Vodka. On second peg the topic changed to batch tussle in general and coming annual sports in particular. They abused the senior batch for cheating in the Volley ball match last year and vowed to fuk'em up this time. A toast raised to the Director's Cup.

He wasn't good at sports. Not enough to be in the batch team. In fact he wasn't so good at anything, just an average performer. He wasn't the hero, be it semester results or cultural fest. He was the guy who would go unnoticed; always moving in company. But secretly he always desired to be a hero some day. Holding the cup with that victorious smile, rising above what he was: a MEDIOCRE.

The sun was yet to rise and the air outside was chilly. He headed towards the college. Madan's Chai shop on the way was deserted. Soon this place would be bustling with cups of chai & ciggis and talks worth a million dollar. He looks at the rows of Gulmohar. The blossom greets him with brightness of fire & sweetness of honey.

Mechanical department was half a cigarette away from the main building. He looks at the watch. Half an hour early! 'My God! I didn't change the alarm time last night.' He decides to go to Ganga-ghat; his favorite place in the college. It's like a temple to him. He sat at the place for hours together, being with it, being in it.

As he reached near, he recognized the sound of the flute a fisherman always played, sitting on the ghat. He sat on the stairs listening to the tune and looked at the sun. It looked like a big orange ball above the bridge across Ganga. He turns his head and is surprised to see Swati.
It's been two years since they've known each other. He met her at the cultural society meeting and was highly impressed. The confidence she had, the conviction with which she spoke, the way she carried herself; everything about her was was mesmerizing. Two years and still the same feelings, as fresh as day one.
She was a student of architecture, one year senior to him. She was the cultural secy and that was the reason, he became a member of the society. He never missed the meetings for those were the only chances he had to talk to her. She had a girlie look with tomboyish attitude, clad mostly in a long kurta and with earrings and pendants of bizarre shapes. Her father was a big shot. While most of the girls used public transport or scooty at best, she had a chauffeur driven sedan.
She was busy painting the sunrise above the bridge and didn't notice him. He was watching her paint like a mother watches her kid at play. She looked so beautiful. Her forehead shining in the morning sunlight, some loose strands of hair flowing with the morning breeze, the gem on her nose pin with a red sparkle and her eyes in full bloom just like the gulmohar blossom.

He wonders if he'll ever be able to win her, to hold her like his prize with that smile of victory. If ever he'll be the HERO of his dreams.
He looks at his watch and it's quarter past seven already. He rushes to his class, to his everyday life.

APARAAJITA

She woke up with a heavy head. She could not sleep till 2 and now this din that woke her up! Last night was a busy one. Plenty of customers. Some provoked by the bonus payments in the festive season and others taking last sips before getting into a period of abstinence.

The noise was still there. "They have come to take some earth for the idol." What an irony ! The idol of the goddess of power made of earth from the courtyard of her weakest creations. She laughs at herself and goes near the tap to wash her face. On the side of the window blooms a bright purple flower. This wild creeper has been cut so many times but every time it rises again, peeping through the window with the same purple smile, living its name 'aparaajita'

Her warden, popularly known as bhabhi, is a woman in her late 50s. She runs the most popular brothel in lachchipur, a place famous for the trade. Lachchipur is a name derived from the name of the goddess Laxmi. She smiles again.

She was 8 when bhabhi bought her. She still has the memories of her childhood, as if preserved in the folds of malmal. Her village in midnapore, the pond that she bathed in, they games she played with the broken bangles of her mother.....

**************************************************************************************

She has decided now. She has had enough of it and can't live like this anymore. Durga puja was the best time to flee, when all the people are busy enjoying the fair. She wants to go to her village. But who is waiting ?? No. She will head straight towards Dhanbad, where Jhumpa lives. She has promised to get her a maid's job. She isn't used to hardships, and the salary is really petty. It's going to be a tough life there. Brothels make you so much trapped that you don't need to be locked to be kept inside!

But No. She has decided. Now nothing can hold her, Deb included. Debnath ran an illegal country liquor shop across the street and supplied to her customers as well. He was the only one she felt an affection for. A mere mention of his name would make her blush. She would dodge bhabhi for a date with him and get a scolding later. But his single smile would more than make up for all that. She asked him to take her away. But he wasn't ready. Running away with her would mean throwing away a smoothly running business. He could not do that. Not for her....

She got her answer that day. All he was interested in was free sex. She decided she will leave alone. Unlike this creeper on the window, she doesn't need a support to stand on.

*************************************************************************************

She threw the brick away. Her sari had stains of blood. But there was no time to think. She pushed open the door and started running at her highest pace. The train was about to arrive. This was the only option she had. She paced up even more. Limits of the soma stretched by the strength of the psyche. The sound of brass drums from the evening prayers filled the air. In the light of the lamp, sparkled the eyes of the goddess with blood stained spear in her hand. The chants rose

"ya devi sarvabhooteshu shaktiroopen sansthita;

namstasyye namstasyye, namstasyye namo namah"

When she reached the station, she heard a distant whistle. She was panting heavily and could hear the beats of her heart, aloud; sounding just like that railway tracks with the train arriving, in resonance with each other...

It was dawn when she woke up, alone in the train. The music from a vijaydashmi procession was getting louder, like reaching towards her. Women smeared in red vermilion were ecstatic.

Shubh Bijoy. Hail the victory....

Symphony

I am a note
on a piece of paper
clipped
hanged till death

You are a note
floating in the air
free from the grips
of life or death

And in between
are empty spaces
unsung
unheard...

कुछ लफ्ज़ हैं
पिघले हुए से ;
आँख की कोर पे
अटके हुए

मीचता हूँ, मसलता हूँ
हारता हूँ
हर बार !
और लफ्ज़ चिपके रहते हैं

सोचा इनमे कलम डुबाकर
काग़ज़ पर जड़ दूँ
पर डरता हूँ
कलम की नोक की चुभन से

हाथ बढाता हूँ
रुक जाता हूँ
हारता हूँ
हर बार !

mile the kal jo to lamhon me saal beeta tha

mile hain aaj to lagta hai kuch hua hi nahi..

alvida II

But they were talking nonsense. It isn't that they never did so. They always talked nonsense. After chatting for hours they could not tell what they were talking about. Topic wasn't important, talking was. But not this time, when they were in front of each other. Words were not coming naturally. He didn't know what to say......

And suddenly he feels her palm on top of his. Fingers cross. In a tight hug. First barrier crossed...

They reached his place early, thanks to the low traffic of Sunday. His place was a mess, just like him and she was surprised how he cud find things from the garbage bin he had made of his table. He tries to clean up and she asks him to stop. They order their lunch from a nearby restaurant as they didn't want to 'waste' another hour on trivial things.

She shows him some pictures, of the place she had visited last and they glance through them while dining; sitting on the floor, plates in their hands. She seems uninterested in the lunch and he in the pictures and they keep doing it to avoid the head-on. “We have finally met” she says and grins. He pulls her closer and hugs her. A tight hug follows. And then a tighter one...

He wanted to hold her forever like that not to let her go. Ironically he was the one who didn't want to meet. He had 'decreed' his decision with a firm voice and aching heart. And now he thinks what and idiot he was. It was her who decided otherwise. Only she had the guts to. She wanted to meet him even if it was for a day and be content with the memories of that one day. She defied his decree and he was happy that she did. He wanted the time to stand still. It was slipping out of his hands though, with less than a day left and a lifetime to live.

They loosen a bit and see each other. Eye meets eye, breath meets breath. He lowers his head touching her lips with his; breath slowing down and pulse rising. He raises her chin and looks at her face. She closes her eyes; a subtle smile playing on her lips. He lowers again. She holds his head with her hands and takes his breath away. They kiss again and then again. She loosens her hold and lets him go at his pace.

“You look better with long hair”. She grins at it and lets her hair fall on his face. “It's getting dark outside”, “And you should be back home like a good girl” he grins. “Shut up”. “Do you want to go out”. “No we better stay in. I don't want to waste a single minute.” He smiles at it and they embrace.

She woke up with a start and saw that he woke up at the same time. They didn't know when they fell asleep; together. They were still in embrace and had fallen asleep like that. It was 3:30 and they needed to pack up. A message from the airline had declared an earlier check-in time. They packed up in a hurry and left for the airport at 4.

Every minute seemed important now. The cool morning breeze was soothing his eyes but his heart was restless. She dug her face in his chest and they remained in half embrace till airport. She entered the airport to inquire if she could check-in a little late. The airline staff gave her a weird look and asked her not to be late more than another 15 minutes. She was so much relieved. Fifteen more minutes! They sat on the garden dyke beside the entrance. These were the last 15 minutes of their life together ! 15 more minutes to live.... No one spoke, words were out of place. They embraced again and started kissing. Kissing at a public place when no one was around except the morning breeze.

It struck him at once: the time was up. This was a life where you knew when it was going to get over. And the time had arrived; time to bid farewell and be content with what you got.