My Favourite Songs....

While brushing through the magazine section of the Hindu this Saturday,my eyes fell on the ‘ My Five’ column, in which enthusiastic readers and music lovers sent their five best songs.When I thought about what songs I would personally choose…well,I got more than 5.So here I am,spilling the beans on my favourite English songs( not necessarily in order of preference,they are all of various Genres…)
Green Day-Boulevard Of Broken Dreams
This is one song loved by all college goers.Even the religious Hindi song lovers have this song stored on their cellphones,Ipods,mp3 players and stuff.A hummable tune,lyrics we can relate to,and a sad song,with not quite a sad tinge to it,all makes this song a winner.
Linking Park-Numb
This enjoys the same status as Boulevard..The difference being in the lyrics.In Boulevard,the singer seems to be lonely because of what he has done to his ife,whereas in Numb,he seems to be under the pressure of someone,be it either parents or peers or whatever.It also provides a perfect vent out ,and all the frustration of the singer is shown,or rather heard,which every guy can relate to.
3.98 degrees-True to your heart
Okay,so I admit it.The first time I heard this song was during the credits of the Disney film Mulan.And what an amazing song.
4.Bryan Adams-Summer of 69
Need I say anything??The greatest song on planet earth for poor lil college students like me.Well,as much as we curse college and its administration now,they will still remain ‘ the best days of my ( our) life’!!
5.Britney Spears-Baby One More time
I personally don’t care what type of person Britney Spears is.All I care is that she has actually sung quite a few good songs.And that’s all what matters.
6.Rihanna-Shut Up And Drive
Wow…..a song full of double entrendes…written seemingly about a car,and well,not about a car at all.Probably Rihanna had enough of men’s obsession with anything on wheels.The faster,the better.The best part of the song,in addition to being the ‘ shut up and drive part’and the sirens, is the sound of a crash at the end.
7.Zac Efron and Vanessa Anne Hudgens-Breaking Free
A total teenybopper song.It proves the age old statement of nothing is impossible.…and that ‘ There’s not a star in heaven that we cant be’.And its not all in all a confidence booster,its also shows the colossal amount of energy in youngsters today,and their indomitable spirit.Zac Efron’s unpolished voice and Vanessa’s highly polished voice make perfect harmony to this hit of High Schol Musical.
8.Myra-Miracles Happen
A very happy-go-lucky song,was my first reaction,in addition to an extremely danceable tune.Its enough to say’ All things will come with a lil time,when you believe..’Definitely inspires you to believe,in true walt Disney style,that indeed, miracles happen.
9.Madonna-Vogue
The title song of the Hindi movie Fashion seems to wither away in front of this song.It works as a great confidence booster,especially when you are having one of those bad hair days,or you feel fat and bloated.The lyrics simply ask you to enjoy and sway to the music,and that beauty lies deep inside you,and not in your hair,or eyes.
10.Ricky Martin-Maria
Okay,so I know this is a fairly old song,but still,it was this huge hit then,when even in fourth grade I and my friends used to dance to this song.As my college friend very recently told me,this song was sung in three languages,two being English and Spanish,and the third..well,I really don’t remember.As for what this song actually means,I don’t know.The only parts I understand are the ‘ Un Dos Tres’ and ‘ I wanna make you mine’ but I am still lost .Well,in some extraordinary songs it just don’t matter.So dance,go crazy!!!
11.Hilary Duff-Why Not
This is not a very popular song here,but it sure is a damn cool one.It flashes the simple message that life is short,and live it upto the fullest,and in the way you want to live it,and that you have to have belief in yourself.
12.Geri Halliwell-It’s raining Men
This is probably THE song for all single and ready to mingle gals out there,when and if,they see an array of all these guys on the streets.For other gals like me,it’s a song with great lyrics,what with Mother Nature being a single woman,and stuff.
13.BoyZone-Words
One of…no,actually my favourite song.Its a slow song,and the piano in the starting is too romantic for words.Its lyrics have so much meaning and if you listened to them carefully,in the middle of the night thinking about the person you love,you will find that at the end of the song,you are actually too overwhelmed for words.Simply seductive…
14.Celine Dion-My Heart Will Go On
A timeless classic,which will probably enjoyed by our children and grandchildren.Together with ‘ Words’,it almost manages to define love.Sorry,define,true love,which is a very beautiful feeling.My favourite lines are’ We’ll stay forever this way,you are safe in my heart and my hy heart will go on and on..’
15.Backstreet Boys- What makes you different
This song is dedicated to all those wonderful gys who I know who have loved women,not for their face or figure,but for their hearts.Listen guys,and you’ll know why I dedicated this song.
16.Darius-Colorblind
Feeling Blue,we have heard.But feeling yellow?Or Black?I swear,I have never heard any other singer fill up his song with almost all the colors of the rainbow and then use each of those colours to describe his feelings…wow…
17.Selena Gomez-Not what it seems
This 51 sec song,also the title track of the hit “ Wizards Of Waverly Place” is full of magic,including the almost diabolical playing of the piano.The most creepiest part,or rather the most magical part of the song is when ‘ Be careful not to mess with the balance of things”
And now to the Oldies Section….
18.BeachBoys-Kokomo
Okay I really don’t know if there’s a place called Kokomo,but this song sure makes me want to go there.I can almost feel the Hula dancers on the coast of Hawaii,and people in floral printed shirts sipping on some coconut water and lying on the sand…
19.Elvis Presley-Rock The Hula
A mixture of Hawaiian and rock music,set to a great tune,and sung by none other thab the King himself results in sheer foot tapping and wiggling of the hips,like the Hula Dancer from Honolulu
And One from the animation section……
20.Beauty and the beast-Beauty and the beast
The original version of this song was sung by Angela Lansbury,in the movie,and then remixed by Celine Dion and some other guy who’s name I don’t quite remember.Watching Belle and The Beast dance to this song makes you feel,that,not for the first time,love can cross all boundaries,and need not depend on the physical appearance.It tells the love story of Belle and the beast.For, after all, it is a,” Tale as old as time”
There are so many songs still left out.And not all these songs are chartbusters,but these are few of those songs which managed to weave their magic around me.Music is a most incredible magic.There are a few people who do not enjoy music-whatever it is,Rock,Jazz,Classical,Instrumental- whatever.And those people lead a soulless life.A person without music is like tea without sugar;one can drink it,but it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.

2008--a recap

The last day of 2008 is here.Finally.I thought this year would never end, what with a terrible climax, and….well I don’t remember what the starting was like(for further details, refer to the newspapers of 31st and 1st,they don’t have much news except the recap of the last year!).But, first things first, before I go off into one of my digressions AGAIN……..
2008 was a year filled with disasters (trust me, I m trying to rack my brains to try and remember something really great that happened in 2008, but in vain).It all started with the Bihar floods, sometime May. And what floods they were!’ Kosi’s Fury’ became too fiery for her own good and bam! It ended up wrecking every village in sight, like a wild, mad bull. Everyone appealed for help, and the chief minister even decided to take the help of the BSF.They came, and they went.Period.God only knows how many people were killed, and how many left homeless. The Aerial pictures showed Bihar’s vast landscape half buried in water. But the floods soon became a topic of GD for all the politicians, and thus it became a blame game,sadly,like all other issues of importance, and political parties made it apparently on the ‘ top’ of their election manifestos.Let's see if it's still there.....
Somewhere in the middle started the nuclear deal, and the whole country talking about it-everyone from the chaiwallah to the lazy government officer, and in that confusion, people like me were left wondering what exactly the nuke deal was all about!!(m still in the process of figuring it out; will write a detailed post when I actually figure out the intricate details!!!)
Surprisingly, the Bihar floods paved way for the whole Bihar-MNS fight (better not talk too much on this topic, lest I find myself banned from entering Bombay { yes,Bombay} for life, which I definitely DO NOT want!).Candidates appearing for the Railway recruitment exam were stoned,hit,and whatnot. People of North Indian descent were attacked, and in some cases, thrown out of local trains. It sparked out a whole get-the-North Indian-outta- Bombay campaign, of which no one was a part, except….well, You Know Who ( obviously not Lord Voldemort, but in my opinion, no less crazy!!)
While on one side this whole MNS hullabaloo was taking place, the Beijing Olympics had started, and thus ‘ India Shining’ literally took place. We had players performing much beyond their ability, and thus we managed to win 3 medals, including one gold in shooting, bringing our medal haul to a personal record of 3.And the other players didn’t disappoint either.Saina Nehwal almost made it, playing spectacularly reaching the quarterfinal.
When we are talking about sports, we can’t exactly forget about cricket. Cricket underwent numerous transformations, from Tests, to one dayers,and now 20-20.Still reeling under India’s win in the 20-20 world cup, a cricket league, somewhat similar to European football leagues, was formed, and everyone, from Shah Rukh Khan to Mukesh Ambani had a team of their own. Cricket underwent another transformation of sorts, from a religion to a business, with publicity, brand ambassadors and cheerleaders of its own.2008 was also the year which the once invincible Aussies were finally met defeat in the hands of South Africa and India. This year also included the famous incident of Symonds putting up a case against our very own Bhajji for calling him a ‘ monkey’. We know what Bhajji actually said, don’t we;)?
2008 will also probably go down as the year in which the crude oil prices increased to their peak rapidly, and decreased at the same rate( from approx $145 to $39 a barrel i.e approx 19 L).The stock market fluctuated faster than ever, and sent hi-fi firms like Merrill Lynch running for cover and the global meltdown. Job lay offs In the US reached its highest point since 92’.That time the IT industry saved them…now what? We,till now, maintain our stand that our economy is fine, thanks to our strong foundation, thank God.
Amidst the recession, a black man was on his way to create American history, with his motto ‘ Change, We Can’.Barack Husein Obama defeated big shots like Hilary Clinton and John McCain, and ran away with the coveted position of President elect of the United States. We can’t wait till his swearing-in ceremony this year…..
With the fluctuating markets on one side, our space scientists were busy sending a PSLV to moon, which took off successfully in November. The next few days were a great milestone in India’s space history, as we tracked the progress of the satellite as it went on its path.Now, after the success of Chandrayaan-1 comes the new mission to Mars. Hope it takes off well….
Just as we were thinking that November was going to be a great month ahead and that we would have a Merry Christmas, we heard about the firing in Bombay. What started as a ‘ firing in CST station and outside Cama Hospital’ led to a full fledged war between 10 terrorists and Bombay police, later accompanied by NSG, lasting 3 days and at various locations like Nariman house, Taj Palace and Trident Hotel. We really didn’t care if the TRPs of the channels broke all previous records. All we cared was about our fellow countrymen in the grip of the terrorists.Finally,after the 3 day war,NSG commandos emerged from Trident smiling,having killed 9 terrorists and captured one alive.
But sadness & insecurity still remained in the air, as all mumbaikars shed tears for all the hundreds of innocent people who lost their lives. The images of the dead and injured still lay fresh in our minds. Hundreds of peoples from every walk of life congregated near Gateway of India, right opposite Taj Palace, and demanded justice for the victims. For not the first time, we Indians demanded a solution for terrorism and wondered how our security forces had failed to spot a gaping hole in the plan. The shouts from Bombay echoed in the ears of Delhi, and our country decided to sever all ties with Pakistan.They, on a tit-for-tat move, arrested an Indian national, apparently responsible for a suicide blast. Till now,mumbaikars are left with questions on their lips, and hurt in their eyes, and are unable to get rid of the image of the dome of the majestic Taj burning away………..
Let’s erase all this hate and violence. Let’s try to provide ointment to the hurt, and not aggravate their already hurt feelings. Let’s join hands with each other, and with the scars of the past fresh in our minds, proceed towards the future. Let’s spread the message of love and friendship, because it’s only love that can totally cure hatred and pent up anger.
In our daily hectic lives, let us take some time off each day to talk. To whom, you ask? To our friends, or parents or relatives, or even that someone special. that’s the only way you can shower your love on the other person.Chocolates,candies, flowers, all are probably good enough for a day or two, at the most, but you will always remember the talks you’ve had with people, and they are the only things that can give you happiness. Even if that person is far, far away from you, the plain fact that you remember the talks you had shows that you still love him/her. Also make sure you tell your family that you love them. Try to spill some love into your life, and automatically the world is filed with love and happiness…..
With these thoughts, and tears in my eyes, I wish my family, friends, whoever is reading this article, and last,but not at all the least, my someone special, wherever he is,
A VERY VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR 2009!!!!
May God Bless You all with health,wealth,peace and prosperity,and always shower you with all His blessings….

Newspaper and coffee

‘ There are two things a South Indian cannot do without in the morning.One is The Hindu newspaper,and second is his cup of coffee”.This was a phrase in book which I recently read , and I couldn’t stop laughing hysterically for the next 5 minutes,whixh caused my parents to wonder if their daughter needed to visit the psychiatric ward in the nearest hospital( Many people have wondered the same thing often,so it wasn’t a huge insult to me!!),being all too-accustomed to this particular scene for the last 15 years atleast.I am sure many other ‘ southies’ like myself are,too.

First,about the newspaper.Reading is a habit which was( and is) not entirely new in our family,but,on the other hand,it is a habit which was bequeathed to a select few,my grandmother being one,den my dad,and then me.Every morning,my dad picks up the newspaper and settles down in the veranda.Precisely 15 minutes later,my mother comes in with the tray of two mugs of hot,steaming,’filter’ coffee,while I continue to wait for my chance of getting the newspaper.In my grandfather’s time,my mother used to bring a –well,not cup,but coffee in a glass,in a steel bowl(.I never actually understood the significance of the bowl for a very long time)There was no ‘ wait’ for the newspaper then,as my grandfather used to subscribe to the regional newspaper,and at that time,I am ashamed to say,I was illiterate in my mother tongue.

I must admit,there is some sort of affinity between southies and The Hindu newspaper .Every person I have seen who subscribes for Hindu is a southie who is away from his hometown.I never really understood this significance of the hindu in particular.Its probably because of the fact that The Hindu covers the whole country completely,especially south India,and doesn’t waste precious space on what I call ‘ glitterati’ journalism.It provides all essential information and is straight to the point.And of course,the other wonderful fact about the Hindu is its editorial.I tell you,it is near impossible to read any one article completely without referring to a dictionary,especially for someone like me,whose vocab skills are not something to be proud of!Nevertheless,the articles in the editorial are illuminating and enlightening,and make for a good read early in the morning.the other great thing about Hindu is that it doesn’t need any censoring .I remember this peculiar incident when I saw my aunt used to scan the newspaper( which was obviously not The Hindu!)and remove the magazine section which contained all obscene pictures of these heroines and then handover the paper to my brothers,who then used to get to read the paper.The magazine sections would then be utilized for their excellent oil-absorbing ability,and predictably,the breakfast for the next morning would be vada sambar!

As for the coffee,I guess most South Indians are caffeine addicts.At first I thought it was only in my family that everyone demanded their cups of coffee as soon as they were out of the shower,but then,thanks to the influence of the television and inputs from other friends,I began to realize that this was not a habit,but characteristic of South Indians.

Thanks to this,I got exposed to coffee at a very young age,and was ( and actually am,still!) addicted to the smell of coffee powder,but my mother never actually liked the idea of me drinking coffee( she still doesn’t!).I never intended to,either,atleast not til there was Horlicks in a big,blue jar on the shelf!I was under this imression that I coffee was for ‘grown-ups’.when I decided that I was grown up enough,I couldn’t wait any more.I rushed into the Nescafe outlet at college and instantly ordered a cuppa,and I was lost in the taste.I loved the taste of my first coffee,and after I came home,I asked my mother to make me some more coffee.My mother,after a few disgusted glances at me,prepared a proper filtered coffee,and to top it all,she gave me her coffee ,which was sugarless!As you can imagine,this coffee was not enchanting at all! I stopped drinking homemade coffee altogether and vowed never to replace my Horlicks with a cup of filter coffee!Then I later realized that the Nescafe guy was cheating me by adding more water than milk,and I quit Nescafe coffee too.Now I don’t drink coffee at all, but I still love the smell !

.Like vada-sambar,bread-butter,and tea-biscuits, Coffee and newspaper have a special relationship,and one does not,under any circumstances.look good without the other.Especially if its early in the morning,and you are in the verandah with the newspaper in one hand and a steaming hot cup/steel glass of coffee in the other,with soft music playing in the background ,the wind blowing softly and the smell of burning wood in the air………………………. iHindu newsaper

M.S.......My Favourite Singer

My all time favourite singer is M.S.Subbulakshmi.My childhood was entirely clouded with music,art and spirituality( Infact quite a lot of my youth is, too!!).Those were the days when studies could afford to take a backseat .My weekends were typical South Indian weekends,with dosa for breakfast and temple.It started with Sri Venkateswara Suprabhatam,which,I am pleased to say,All India Radio faithfully played( and continues to) every Sunday morning.Till class 5,I only knew M.S as the lady who sang the Suprabhatam, Bhaja Govindam and Vishnu Sahasranamam.The latter two later joined in thanks to the perseverance of my Gurus,who insisted I learn both and also to the cassette company,which released the cassette in this order.Thanks to them,M.S entered my life,to print a lasting impact on me and change my life forever.

The first ‘song’ I actually heard M.S sing was the famous Annamayya keertana “Srimann Narayana”.This was when I was eleven,and this song practically took in to a trance,where everything was blissful.I started listening to more of M.S,thanks to the five cassette set my parents bought me for …well I don’t remember the occasion.I just remember how excited I was,and from that day onwards,M.S’s “ Srimann Narayana’ would play everyday at six o clock sharp,and then continue with other songs like “Dolayam”,” Ksheerabdi Kanyakaku” and” Deva Devam Bhaje”.The first cassette enthralled me so much that I spent most of my time listening to it,while the other four lay,neatly packed in the box.I could barely understand the songs,even though they were in my mother tongue,but the music,and most importantly,M.S’s voice.There was something magical about that voice,which made all other voices seem weak,although I didn’t know what it was then.I was still too young(or too stupid) to understand the true meaning of Bhakti.As the years flew by,I slowly got diverted from M.S’s songs,but never let go of the Suprabhatam.It had become sort of mandatory for me to atleast listen to her voice in the morning.Over the suprabhatam,I would get dressed,sneak in my five minutes of prayer,eat my breakfast and rush into the auto for school.

After the passage of time,I got more preoccupied into schoolwork and other stuff,and totally drifted away from M.S.The cassette,after years of repeated playing,probably got chaffed with me,and one day the tape snapped into two,rendering me without M.S’s suprabhatam for quite some time.The same suprabhatam,albeit sung by some other singer,was played .It was the suprabhatam,mom said,that was important,not the singer.But for me,the singer was equally,or actually more important.For the first thing when you hear is the voice,then the song and its meaning starts to sink in.But I let this new singer sing her suprabhatam,and thus M.S was totally out of my system,except for a rare appearance at a function or two,that too in the background,very faintly.

Four years proceeded in quite the same manner,only in a different city.I grew from a boisterous eleven year old to a bashful 15 year old,and had reached the crucial tenth grade.One day,while exploring through the cassette shelf for a cassette,my eyes fell upon a cardboard box,which evidently contained the cassettes.Mind you,I was bashful as well as inquisitive,so i instantly opened the box to find the remaining four cassettes neatly placed.Instinctively,I picked the third cassette and played it.The house was quiet,and M.S.’s voice rang with Ganesha Pancharatnam,as clear as a bell,again sending me into a trance.But the thing that delighted me the most was Hanuman Chalisa,sang in such a way that I could never forget it again.I religiously read Hanuman chalisa everyday,in the same tune as M.S,with the cassette playing side by side.That was the happiest year of my life,till I heard of M.S’s death in December,which shocked me for quite some time.

Again,I don’t know what happened in the next two years.M.S. cut off totally from me again,or rather I cut off from her.Those two years were the most miserable years of my life.After my 12^th grade exams,I was sent away for coaching classes to my cousin's home.I grew quite miserable there and took to accessing the net more than studying,which clearly reflected in my results.While surfing on the net,I suddenly had this irresistible urge to do a Google search on M.S.And from then I entered a world where music was everything,especially Carnatic classical.I learnt that as a singer,it was not the quality of my voice that mattered the most,it was the bhaav or the feeling.For there were probably many singers who had a better voice than M.S ( I don’t believe it,but still.....),but no one could bring that bhaav like her.She could assume the part of Meera as easily as that of Annamayya,and both the songs would come out in excellent shape.Her Tamil songs were as enthralling as her Telugu songs,and I am hooked on to them too.

Now M.S is a part of my life.Instead of whiling away my time in the bus listening to nonsensical songs over the radio or gossip from brainless people,I listen to M.S.Even if it means repeating them.They bring a sense of calmness and refresh the mind.Whatever my mood is,the songs manage to soothe me,and I am not sorry for being the only person in the bus getting down with a fresh face and clear mind.

Although every song of M.S’s is as unique as the other,I do have my favourites.One being “ Jagadhodharana”.But the songs which I really love are “ Kurai Onrum Illai” and “ More Toh Giridhar Gopala”.Both are a classic example of pure devotion,though written in different languauges and different centuries.” Kurai Onrum Illai”is a composition of Rajaji,and it is praising Lord Venkateswara of Tirupati.The thing which makes this song unique is that,unlike other songs in which the poet expresses his dissatisfaction,the poet thanks God for what all He has bestowed upon him and expresses his satisfaction and desires nothing more than to serve Him for the rest of his life.As mentioned before,I couldn’t quite understand the song,but the music was enough for me to get the lyrics and meaning.As they say,” Where there’s a will,there’s a way”

As for “ More Toh…”,it is enough for me to say it is a Meera bhajan.That itself tells that it must be fully drenched in bhakti.As many of us know,Meera’s devotion for Lord Krishna was immense,and bordered on love.In this bhajan,Meera says that Krishna is everything for her,and that she has no one in the world to call her own,except Him.The best part of the song are the lines” Asuvan jal seench seenc,prem bel boi/Daasi Meera prabhu lagan lagi,honi ho so hoi”which translates into “ By watering it with my tears,I grew a creeper of love/this was to happen to the slave Meera,so be it”.The way in which M.S sings carelessly “ honi ko so hoi” is remarkable.For a minute I wonder if M.S is actually Meera…

There’s another little known song called Entamaatramuna,which is an Annamayya song.Few know about Annamayya,and the remaining who know him are either from Andhra or are M.S fans,or both.The poet bring to the universal fact that God is one,even though He is worshipped by the Vaishnavites as Lord Vishnu and by Shaivites as Lord Shiva.He infact questions God about this fact.

Even my entire lifetime is not enough for me to elucidate on each of M.S’s krithis.Listening to her songs is not merely listening,it is an experience.An experience that must be experienced by everyone who loves music,and believes in God.

M.S has entered my life once again,and I hope she stays on forever this time.

News in the Holi week........

Okay,so the media is filled with only three topics this week:one,Holi,the festival of lights;two:the recently held fashion week and the third and the most common ,cricket.
Don’t get me started about the fashion week.Every newspaper/magazine is filled with these stick thin anorexic models,sashaying down the ramp,looking thoroughly ill and unfed,in these horrible clothes that any woman with a brain will never wear,for two reasons.One: These are too expensive and uncomfy and two:Lets face it gals,we attract attention on the roads in our normal clothes,what’ll happen if we start wearing these ‘ sheer fabric’type clothes ;)?( As for the sheer fabric stuff,does that actually suit the..err..less-than-pleasant Indian summer??And instead of covering up a wardrobe malfunction maintaining the dignity of the poor model,the media tends to hype it up.You know,add a little bit of mirch masala,like we do so in our food.Only difference is that spicy food mostly does taste good,whereas spicy 'news' does not!!I am not saying fashion is a bad thing or something ( and since this my blog,I don’t think I need to give any justifications,but nevertheless….!1),but..well each of us had our own individual definition of fashion. This ‘ in-fashion’ stuff that we are seeing right now is actually unbearable.In the last season,it was proclaimed ( by God knows whom) that shirt dresses paired up with leotard tights actually are ‘ in vogue’,and from the next day onwards-BOOM!!Every girl is seen to be wearing leotards and shirt dresses!The worst part is that there seems to be only three colors of the stripes of the shirt-dress available in the local market-brown,pink and blue! The season before it was low waist jeans,paired with tees which looked as though ‘ they had been bought when the wearer( who were all in their late teens) was in kindergarten’( as one of my friends rightly put it!) and ,to cut a short story short,which showed everything( this will probably take up another post!!)…and the season before that it was kurtis.And by the time I went to the market to buy some kurtis for myself,I saw the shopkeeper literally giving away the set of amazing kurtis,muttering darkly about’ kurti ab fashion me nhi hai’ …

Fashion is not about blindly following trends in the market.It is about wearing clothes which actually look good on you,and most importantly,the way in which you carry these clothes.Basically it is believed that if a woman looks good,she also feels good and this feeling translates into the glow onto her face.And that is what more important-a happy and confident woman,irrespective of her size 10 or size 0!!Also the usage of these anorexic models-why don’t our fashion designers understand that there are actually very few anorexic girls in our country and that Indian woman are more of the curvaceous and healthy type than the stick thin European models??I was so happy today when I saw the picture and interview of a size 10 model in the newspaper recently.It gave me immense satisfaction to see a normal healthy girl walking down the ramp,and I really hoped to see many more such faces.

As for Holi,well……everything is suddenly ‘ Holi Special’,be it serials,trains or even news!Yes,unbelievable as it seems,I found myself watchin a Holi special news programme,which,much to my disgust ,involved these reporters splashed head to toe in color,interviewing politicians and film actors on their holi plans!I mean,cumon people,its holi,and not Valentine’s Day,and obviously it will be celebrated in more or less the same way everywhere!!It has actually made me feel disgusted at the very thought of Holi.I am actually sick and tired of holi( who wouldn’t be,what with the advent of these programmes two weeks before the main festival!!)We never think about coloring up anyone’s life,the only thing we can think about is coloring…oops sorry..pouring grease and in sum pathetic cases,eggs on the other person,thus causing him to look black and smell rotten for the naxt three days atleast!!

Cricket-do I actually hafta say anything else??We’ve sold TVs,clothes,petrol,cars,and now we proceed to sell our cricketers.Mr X,one crore,Mr Y,3 crore,so on and so forth…

And amongst this buying and selling of cricketers , we have the usual controversies-sum senior cricketer saying something abut a junior player,the junior retaliating,stuff and nonsense….sometimes cricket appears to be a miniature version of politics.Soon,the youth brigade will follow-X’s son,Y’s son and stuff..and also elections….and cricket,the politician-cum-gentleman’s name,is still,disgustingly getting much more importance than the hockey team,which ,sadly cums into focus only when they lose a crucial game,like we did recently,thus failing to qualify for the Beijing Olympics….

Sigh!!No wonder people know more about wardrobe malfunction than China Tibet issue!!!!

15th February 2007

Feb 15th 2007:This date will forever remained etched in my memory.For this was the day when my school finally decided to bid me and my 200-odd classmates goodbye,officially.The unofficial farewell ‘ party’ as one might call it,had been hosted by our juniors,who were probably pretty glad to see us,probably the most non controversial batch in the entire history of the school,finally get out.Maybe for them it was fun,but for me it was no less than traumatic.I still remember how I felt that day.It was so hard to say goodbye to school life;to all your friends , to all teachers ( yes,I must’ve cursed every one of them behind their backs but still….),to all the memories….sigh….and today I see the same juniors ,clutching the souvenir books and meeting up with their friends for what might be the last time.Its not like we don’t get to meet our schoolfriends later in life,its just that the magic of the friendship sort of fades once we are out of the school premises.We are too much into our own world,in which school ,which once occupied a main position in our mind,now takes a backseat .Our world now consists of college,college friends,professors,lectures,bunks etc.But our attachment to school is still far greater than our attachment to college.How can the enjoyment of four years match up to the enjoyment and goofing ups of twelve whole years?
I know a lot of people,many amongt my own friends,will disagree with me.But school life still holds a special place in my life.It is only after we go to college that we realize how simple and enjoyable school life was.For in school,there are no politic games played at every corner,like in college,where,even for a simple audition,you need to have a set of ‘ useful contacts’.School life had that sorta innocent charm that still appeals to us even now.
As I write this article,various images of my school life keep popping in front of my eyes,thus causing me to smile and think how dumb I was at that time,and how innocent.The sneers and taunts about my two plaits,which were considered a fashion disaster in 8th grade and which once pained me,now cause me to laugh at myself,imagining up the whole scenario.The eventful time when I was made the monitor of the class and the only useful thing I did was to improve my writing skills by writing about the activities of one particular classmate of mine,who,needless to say was a very mischievious character and then getting him into a row with the class teacher,who,luckily for me,totally believed whatever I said!The time when I and my classmate were sprayed with acid in the chem. Lab during an experiment,the times in the library,the long walks in the playground,the times when,as 5th graders,we used to go to the bookshop and secretly buy those fancy pen pencils,d time wen we escaped from the school gates without the guards knowledge………..wow,those times were simply great. And,like all great times,they will never come again.Only the memories remain………..
Its not that I never go to school now.Since I have the added advantage of having a school close to my home,I visit it pretty often,though mostly after the school hours,alone,( since my friends, being less attached to school,find this tour of mine boring )hoping that I get a feel of my own schooldays.But,sadly,even that feel is gone.Gone forever,never to return again.I meet my school friends even now,sometimes in school or even on the roads,but we are never able to connect in the way we used to at school.Somehow at school,we had so many things to talk about and now the only thing we both can talk about is my college,her college,her friends , my friends,her boyfriend( who,by the way,never existed in school life,or even if he did,he was just ignored maybe),my latest crushes ( if any,coz I happen to be boyfriend-free and have lost count of my crushes!)etc etc…………
And now,the only thing I do whenever I see any kid going to school on a cold frosty morning,especially if it’s a fat,frumpy girl with long oiled hair,buried under the weight of her bag striding towards school,is to reminisce,and think….aah…those good old days!!!

Well,today after a period of almost a month,I am writing in my blog.Well,what with college work and stuff,one does tend to get busy.And also there was no particular topic for me to write on.I have written blogs on my favourite serials (in Hindi;the English list is likely to come up in a week or two,when,predictably,I will be out of topics again!)
My topic for today’s is something which usually floods all the national newspapers every year at this particular time of the year,every time.No,its not the advent of spring ( spring??Whats that?The whole country is surprisingly freezing this year!)..its , as you must have guessed by now,Valentine’s Day.
Now don’t get me wrong.Its not that I am not a supporter of love or something,its just that anything overhyped is a total no-no for me ( well,anything excludes books).And come Feb 14th( not exactly Feb 14th;it actually starts from the week before,i.e Feb 7th),the whole world is drowned in pink or red or even worse,both.The day when,according to tradition,Cupid strikes his arrow on his victims,is a great day of business for florists ( everyone from the posh florist down your lane to the wholesalers at Baba Kharak Singh Marg!) ,confectioners and gift shop owners.The florist sells the rose you bought for teacher’s day for Rs 5 at Rs 50.And everyone,predictably,and not surprisingly,has the color red included in their wardrobe that day,be it anything-a red sweater,a red hankerchief ( yuck!) or even red earrings.Even guys are seen in tight pink T-shirts ( some guys never realize that the color pink suits very few guys like Hrithik Roshan.On girls,well no other color looked better!)The gift shop put away all their birthday and anniversary and birthday cards and put only Valentine’s Day cards on display,with pictures so predictable ( there are only two designs: a kid of abt 8 yrs old,kissing another kid with a flower in her hand and the second of a couple walikn hand in hand at a beachside in the sunset!)and words so cheesy that you feel that your valentine will instantly faint after reading them!!The newspapers,in addition to remindng you everyday that there are only ‘ four’ days left for the (horror)V-day,also gives you some totally useless tips ( like how to impress your boyfriend/husband by getting a total makeover done at CVFH salon,or how to get your husband/boyfriend away from the girl he likes,or/and keeps comparing you to .A piece of advice to all the girls who’ll actually fall for the latter;one,girls,you need to get away from a guy who compares you to other girls and doesn’t appreciate you for what you are worth,and two,….this is just an example..dont get your hopes up thinking that you can finally get your husband/boyfriend away from that totally hot girl he seems to have fallen for!!!!).
The television doesn’t help .It airs special ‘ Valentine’s day’ programmes.The news channels get in some astrologer,who will ‘ predict’ how the year will be for your love life.The entertainment channels will show how some real-life reel couples are celebrating their valentine’s day ( as if we care!).Some movie channels will screen three flop love story movies in the day time,and think that they can make up for all the horror in the day by screening a hit movie in the night,which no one watches.Even the saas bahu actors are not to be left behind.Even for the special Valentine day programmes,they do not shed their ‘ unnaturally good girl’ image,and the long streak of sindoor ( the unmarried ones;the married ones can keep their sindoor on!).Only the color of their saree changes to-yes , you guesed it right---Red.
Red is after all not a bad color,but come Feb 14th,you feel as though you have been made to see everything through red sunglasses.Even the dogs ( the posh homebred ones) are made to wear red coats ( no offence ppl!!)
Its not that I am anti-valentine’s day or something.Its just that my idea of valentine’s day is not exactly candlelight dinners,salsas on the dance floor in the arms of someone tall and dark and handsome ( as is the vision of the perfect guy for every gal),while the stars glow above in the deep blue velvety sky.My idea of valentine’s day is something like Thanksgiving.Yeah,I no this sounds funny and odd,but still.I think its most important to thank your valentine- can be anyone-your lover,the person you love( yes there is a difference between the two!),your friend,your siblings or even your parents!-for being there for you in your times of need and difficulty.Valentine’s day for me is a day where I try ( note the word try!)to be nice to people and bring a smile on every person I talk to.In short it’s a day when I don’t allow my mood to go wrong,whatever happens.And what do we do on Thanksgiving?well that’s not exactly an issue,as most people don’t even know when Thanksgiving is.Funny right?We somehow manage to copy the concept of valentine’s day from the West,but forget Thanksgiving!!And you don’t exactly need a particular day to profess your love to someone…u can say the three magical words any time of the year………….
Another Valentine’s Day will fly past without any ‘proper’ valentine for me,and I know that it’ll not be my last solitary V-Day.But if not a valentine,I have many more people to shower my love on-my parents,my friends,my 2-year old brothers ( one of them was my valentine the previous year;he gave me his red balloon from McD!!).Maybe I wont be able to give them any roses or any chocolates,but I can definitely give them laughter and happiness-for the rest of their lives.For roses do wither and chocolates never last more than a week.I intend to give them an everlasting glow on their faces and wish them happiness forever……………
My plans for the day are not much;go to college,have a blast with friends , try to decipher what the prof is trying to say,consider bunkin a class or two and having a cup of hot chocolate from Nescafe while walking with my friends in the cold wind near the buses and coming home in the bus,listening to some romantic songs and trying very hard to write legibly in my diary.I’ll probably be dressed in red too( I never said no to dress in red!)….but most of all,I’ll be happy ,satisfied with life and content to know that in addition to my loving family and friends, someone special loves me too and will continue to do so.And as for how my ideal valentine’s day should be---well I m not likely to spill the beans here,on a public site for everyone to see right;)??
Last of all: A very happy valentine’s day to all you people out there!