Until THAT day

Aren't we all non satiable beings? Never satisfied, never contended.

Zillion times we say, "just this one last thing..." but who really clearly defines this 'one thing'! No, certainly not me. To authenticate our demands, we compose To-do lists and for the long run, we become the architects (It takes a lot of effort! Isn't it?) of BUCKET LIST!
I have my Bucket List too, but its in my mind and so, it is altered every now and then. Usually there are additions, seldom any subtractions!!


5. Bungee!

Six years back, I saw a movie. I loved the movie as usual.People who know me are very well aware of my love for literally every other movie. There was a particular scene where the leading lady is getting prepped for bungee jumping when the actor joins her and then they go bungee. Every minutest detail of that scene has engraved a place in my heart.
Since then, Bungee jumping has made an entry to my favorite things-to-do. It sure is one of the best adrenaline pumping adventure activity.

4. Around the world in 80 days

Cliche? I know. But then its so exciting. You know why?
Because there is a factor of unpredictability. Different places, cultures, mouth-watering delicacies, natural environment and soo many other things. Movies have tried taking me virtually to these places, but 'feeling' the place is altogether a different feeling. Not just a visitor, I long to be a traveler.





3. DADA(giri)

I was 9 years old, the day I started following Sourav Ganguly. Its been more than 10 years.I just don't follow him now, I idolize him!

He is my strength, my superstar.The day I get to meet him in person and witness his infectious smile while in conversation, I will be more than happy. I am unable to express my 'devotion' for him, I have reserved it for the right time and that wonderful day. Not just this, I want to be in the same commentary box with him and narrate a cricket match along with his 'Bengali Hindi'.

                                                                                            

                                                                                              2. Kemon Aschis?

Blame it on SG , but I have been fascinated with Bengalis forever. Not only people but the culture also. India is a diverse country with so many languages. Bengali is on my priority list. I want to learn to read, write and speak Bengali. What attracts me? Just everything! The mishti doi, red and white saree, extravagant Durga pooja, melodious songs, brilliant art films. Ah! I can go on and on. And yes an open secret, I want to settle down with a Bengali (Power of Positive Thinking and Alchemist, you better transform this into reality).

1. FLY high

I want to be a bird. Since that is unrealistic, I have found my mechanistic way-out. My on-top-of-bucket list is to learn to fly a plane. One, because it is damn fast and two, and two maybe i get to wear that 'blue dress'!

Lets see when this happens.

                     (Image Courtesy: Google Images)

Bridge over troubled waters

Gori tere pyar main: Movie Review

   When a significant amount of attempted romedy with some larger-than-life tamaasha from a Karan Johar movie is combined with the seriousness of Ashutosh Gowariker movies, Punit Malhotra special ‘Gori tere pyar main’ is born.

   Yet another movie with background of a South Indian Tamil, this time Sriram being played byImran Khan and Dilli ki Punjaban Diya enacted by Kareena Kapoor Khan. Laidback, flirtatious, spoilt chickitarian Sriram, a foreign returned architect straight pulled out from Wake up Sid is hypnotised by ‘Shabana Azmi’ type NGO worker who every alternate day fights for a new social cause. All-the-time kohl filled eyes, immaculate dressing, neatly tied up hair and manicured hands irrationally glorify her character. Only in a hindi movie can a social worker be so perfect spick and span. Predictable as hell, the plot becomes obvious when self-centered narcissist Sriram annoys Diya who moves to ‘another’ Gujarati village Jhumli after rightly being labelled as a hypocrite.  Sriram on the other hand lands in Jhumli to assist the villagers in setting up a bridge. The clandestine motive though is to woo away the lost love after he is brain washed by fiancée Vasudha (Shradhha Kapoor) to run away on the wedding day. Sad, bored colourless Jhumli inhabitants look like the distant relatives of Ramleela’s exuberant colourful Gujarati community

Plot of the story is stale and no the old wine hasn’t been packaged in a new bottle. Narrative is the weak link with abrupt jumps between two scenes. Music is entertaining but is forced in the scenes. Pre interval, there is minimal lead pair chemistry and over dosage of Tamilian vs Punjabi with absolutely no conviction. Second half, there is badly written comedy along with negligible amount of romance. With Lagaan as background music and similar scenes it seems like a part of it. Story is stretched just like the ‘chingum’ and the climax is conventional.

 Only recommended for those who enjoy entertainment more than the quality of the story and can sit through the boring attempts to justify the flow of the story.

Turning heavens into hell

               When our forefathers coined the concept of yatras, what they didn’t foresee was the alteration of the real motive -- to bridge the gap between man and nature and bring them closer to its latent beauty. Man did go closer to the nature, but only to spoil it’s magnificent beauty.

    There are three major annual yatras namely Vaishno Devi, Amarnath and Machail. These attract a lot of followers. Since its takes a lot of time to reach the destination, there is an arrangement of food and drinks which is referred as ‘langar’. This is organised both at the formal as well as an informal level. Then arises the big problem!! Any guess? Yes. its disposing the waste generated.

Classifying the waste generated, we can categorise it in two groups,
    Solid Waste: Due to absence of proper disposal system, waste is dumped in the open. Because of low temperature and at high altitude the decomposition process is relatively low and all the waste, including food material and plastics keep accumulating. Many a times Amarnath Shivlingam isn’t visible as it is submerged in the sea of plastic bags of parshaad. Even the pious Baanganga is not spared. The devotees have polluted by dumping waste materials resulting it in becoming quite an eyesore.

    Liquid Waste: Just like solid waste, there is no proper disposal of liquid waste also. People are forced to use open spaces and water bodies flowing by as toilets. Even though in Amarnath shrine, efforts have been made to recycle the liquid waste but the story isn’t the same everywhere. There is discoloration of the water bodies and pollution level have increased at an alarming level.
Defeating the real motive, humans have spoilt the pious and sacred religious destinations through reckless activities and irresponsible attitude.
The government as well as disciples should not contribute in destroying the natural beauty of these sacred places. Eco-friendly dumping options like compost pits and treatment plants should be in place and plastics in the form of bottles and tetra packs should be completely banned. In addition to this, recycling plants should be set up.

Looks like humans have forgotten that the earth does not belong to us. Instead, we belong to the earth. Gods will not descend from heavens to clean up the mess we have created. We only have to transform the hell into heaven again.

A random thought..

No! not sometimes but most of the times we tend to take our mothers for granted...

No matter what, we know that she will sacrifice her own beauty sleep to ensure that we aren't late for the day.

Even if she isn't well, she would still make meal of our choice irrespective of the time and difficulty factor.

She would call us again and again to ensure that we have taken our food and instead of asking her the same, we play the trump card of being busy!

Try hiding a secret from her and through your fishy smile plus her super 'mother-instincts' she will exactly know what is cooking in your life!

She would sense that somewhere something is wrong even when we try our best to put up the all-is-well mask. Still we would pretend of being more smart than her.

The day she is seriously unwell or we are away from her, we realize her importance.We realize that we are actually a robot without battery minus her.

Ignored scenic beauty of the winter capital

People of Jammu have time and again leveled allegations against the State government of Jammu & Kashmir for being biased. This is irrespective of the political background of the government at the helm of affairs. Similarly, when it comes to tourism, Jammu has lagged behind. This is not due to absence of enough tourist attractions but due to the fact that it has never been given importance.

The argument that Jammu & Kashmir government has failed to boost tourism in the region is evident from the fact that there isn’t even mention of some of its picturesque destinations on the official tourism website. Political games are considered the culprit behind this bias. Kashmir has always been an agenda for the politicians for their own selfish reasons and Jammu has taken a backseat in almost every aspect. They have ignored beauty that lies beyond the Valley.

Places like Mantalai and Shudh Mahadev are potential tourist hot spots, but they lie unexplored in the interior parts of Jammu region. Both the places have religious significance and are extremely beautiful and closer to the nature. But due to negligence on part of the government and failure to develop them, they remain an untapped resource. Not many tourists are seen there even in the peak seasons.

On one hand, government has developed infrastructure in Kashmir which is marred by terrorist activities, while on the other it has failed to upgrade even the existing infrastructure in comparatively peaceful Jammu region. The tourists are unaware about various destinations in Jammu. Hotels, transportation facilities aren’t provided to them which hamper their travelling expedition.  The government should give equal opportunities to both the capitals to grow and expand which would benefit the state’s economy as a whole.

More Patience?

Salman Khurshid while answering a question said, "I think much as we feel upset and concerned and hurt by what is happening on the border and the LoC, I think we have to show some perseverance, some patience and some fortitude to ensure that we don't play into the hands of the forces that want to create trouble"

Dear External Affairs Minister of India,

"Some patience...Some fortitude!"

Exactly I totally agree with you! Nothing on this earth should stall India Pakistan's peace process. I mean how does it even affect the country?

How does it matter if jawaans are ambushed and killed while saving your nation?

How does it matter if an eight year old loses her father because his crime was that he was taking an early morning walk?

How does it matter if people on your border are continuously under a threat?

How does it BLOODY matter to you when you just have to sit around the table and exchange pleasantries and your defence personnel and citizens fight every day for survival!

 Yes, save your diplomatic alter ego just to please the nation that even your President acknowledges is the CULPRIT!

When will you realize that you haven't been elected to give foremost chance to your neighbour and ignore your immediate family!!!

Quote for the day

A quote in Hindi to remove the number i don't like...

             k mushkil dil ke armaan azmaati hain....

            svapan ke parde nigahon se hatati hain....

                  hoslaa mat haar gir ke ohh musaafir....

                       k thokre insaan ko chalna sikhati hain...

With that thought in heart and mind...it's night!