Following this whole "25 things about me" list that all Facebook users are making nowadays, I started thinking about what i would write if I had to.I'm going to try, but friends reading this can help out.I need it.
20 things about me:
1. I love my brother more than my parents, or God, or myself.
2. I was underweight when I was born (yeah yeah I know, I was shocked too, when my mother told me. Ironically, my mouth was stuffed at that time.But then again, when isn't it?)
3. I don't REALLY know what "ironically" means.But I use it in sentences anyway.
4. I have a dramatic monologue going on inside my head, and I absolutely LOVE imagining potential conversations between "namoone" that I get to see so often in buses.
5. I despise the idea of anyone calling their parents "Mom and Dad".C'mon, they at least deserve better than THAT.Westernized idiots.
6. On the same note, I think the most beautiful word that ever was is "AMMA".Kinda makes me feel all warm and tingly every time I say it.
7. I have more best friends than some people have friends.
8. I'm judgemental about people who dress well.Don't ask.
9. I have a lot of little beliefs that keep coming and going.Like -"If a 92Ltd. comes along in the next 1 minute, I'll do well in today's test".
10. I'd like to think I'm one of the cooler nerds of V.J.T.I.
11. I HATE my cellphone.And all cellphones.And the fact that people use them only for messaging at 3am and for getting out of an awkward conversation by faking a call.
12. An hour of sports makes me feel thinner.Just feel.
13. I love talking about religion, God and the abstract with my mother.
14. I start crying when a song matches my mood EXACTLY.
15. Oh, and I cry only when I'm alone.
16. I hate it when people use sms language in their blogs. Or anywhere, for that matter.
17. I can listen to Chandler Bing all day long, if that's possible. It's love.
18. I'm sarcastic to the core. More so at home, where people are greatly annoyed by it.
19. I love punning with words.Though it doesn't come voluntarily.
20. I've always dreamt of a wedding with me in jeans and a comfortable t-shirt.
There,I've said it.Go ahead, change it, comment,suggest, criticize. Whatever.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Waaat you doing, da macha?
Ek chaturanaar, bada hoshiyaar...
Frankly, I have never heard this song fully.Know why?Coz I can't. When I see Mehmood dressed in a dhoti with ash all over his forehead, and screaming Ayyo Ayyo after each alternate breath, it disgusts me.To see how Tamilians are portrayed on-screen.Or anywhere else,for that matter.
We are FOREVER called Madrasis, not that we're all from Madras, but who cares?All we do is wear really colourful lungis, go to temples all the time and say things like "Poda rasscalaa".May I point out here, that Rajnikanth, who made that phrase a household affair, is a hard-core Maharashtrian.And how could I forget!Our language,Tamil can be pretty much summarised by 2 words(I can't even call them WORDS), Andu Gundu.
I can understand if people cannot differentiate between the four different southern languages.But at least recognize the fact that there are more than 1!And that Tamil does NOT have any words like Andu Gundu!And that we eat things other than Idly and Sambar!I am proud to say that I can at least differentiate between Gujarati and Kachhi.And between Bengali and Oriya.Maybe someday in the (hopefully near) future, Bollywood will stop stereotyping us "Madrasis" and recognize us for the truly modern community we are.
Frankly, I have never heard this song fully.Know why?Coz I can't. When I see Mehmood dressed in a dhoti with ash all over his forehead, and screaming Ayyo Ayyo after each alternate breath, it disgusts me.To see how Tamilians are portrayed on-screen.Or anywhere else,for that matter.
We are FOREVER called Madrasis, not that we're all from Madras, but who cares?All we do is wear really colourful lungis, go to temples all the time and say things like "Poda rasscalaa".May I point out here, that Rajnikanth, who made that phrase a household affair, is a hard-core Maharashtrian.And how could I forget!Our language,Tamil can be pretty much summarised by 2 words(I can't even call them WORDS), Andu Gundu.
I can understand if people cannot differentiate between the four different southern languages.But at least recognize the fact that there are more than 1!And that Tamil does NOT have any words like Andu Gundu!And that we eat things other than Idly and Sambar!I am proud to say that I can at least differentiate between Gujarati and Kachhi.And between Bengali and Oriya.Maybe someday in the (hopefully near) future, Bollywood will stop stereotyping us "Madrasis" and recognize us for the truly modern community we are.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
My Blog Title
I am _________.
Few months ago, I didn't understand it myself.But now that I did, I agree completely.
Our life experience has taught us that a sentence like "I am" HAS to be followed by some word.And all our lives, we do things or wish to do things that will fill up that blank after " I am".
For example, we VJTI students study day and night so we can say "I am a ten pointer".
Or we remove time to do things that we love to do.That's when you can say, "I am happy".
Our life is only a collage of experiences:good, bad, and the ones you just can't remember how you felt, but you remember having the experience.You eat an icecream, you like the taste.You read stories out at the old age home, you like the feeling it gives.And you talked to your new neighbor yesterday.Turns out she's really sweet after all.So that's our life.A bunch of experiences.Experiences that help us to put a couple of words after "I am".
But when you're done with all this experience business, you will realize that life is really not about filling up that blank.It is about how long you can go without it being filled at all.And the sentence STILL making sense.
I am.That's all.I don't need a word to describe what I am, who I am, what I do, or anything.In technical terms, this is called the AWARENESS or CONCIOUSNESS.And the day that we stop doing things to fill in the blank, we will be complete. We will be happy.
Few months ago, I didn't understand it myself.But now that I did, I agree completely.
Our life experience has taught us that a sentence like "I am" HAS to be followed by some word.And all our lives, we do things or wish to do things that will fill up that blank after " I am".
For example, we VJTI students study day and night so we can say "I am a ten pointer".
Or we remove time to do things that we love to do.That's when you can say, "I am happy".
Our life is only a collage of experiences:good, bad, and the ones you just can't remember how you felt, but you remember having the experience.You eat an icecream, you like the taste.You read stories out at the old age home, you like the feeling it gives.And you talked to your new neighbor yesterday.Turns out she's really sweet after all.So that's our life.A bunch of experiences.Experiences that help us to put a couple of words after "I am".
But when you're done with all this experience business, you will realize that life is really not about filling up that blank.It is about how long you can go without it being filled at all.And the sentence STILL making sense.
I am.That's all.I don't need a word to describe what I am, who I am, what I do, or anything.In technical terms, this is called the AWARENESS or CONCIOUSNESS.And the day that we stop doing things to fill in the blank, we will be complete. We will be happy.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
We The People...Which people?
Zone back to 1963, at around 30 minutes past two, when Walter Cronkite, of CBS News, takes off his glasses when announcing the death of John F.Kennedy.He puts them back on slowly, and struggles to read the next line from his card.One of the most poignant moments of television journalism.
And now, back to the 21st century.Contrast the aforesaid with 60 hours of visual media coverage (read shameless voyeurism) of the terror in Mumbai.To quote some French guy (I don't remember who, but really smart though), "the obscenity of the media is no longer of what is hidden, repressed, forbidden or obscure, but it is the obscenity of the visible, of the all-too-visible and the more-visible-than-visible". So true.
I think that the aspect that is most problematic is the portraying of the Good press Vs. the Evil politicians.This posturing is seen in the shrill rhetoric of blaming the State and political class.The assumed moral superiority of the media over the politicians is perhaps the biggest myth of capitalist democracy.The recent news coverage of the attacks in Mumbai uncovered the fact to me that the media and the political class absolutely CANNOT do without each other.And such a synergy is best illustrated by the media's mutually beneficial relationship with capitalist interests including the entertainment industry.For instance, NDTV's We The People where the panel included Simi Garewal, Ratna Pathak Shah, Luke Kenny and Kunal Kohli.Oh, and Ness Wadia.Only the media can transform the rich and famous into "we the people".
The "close door " button in a lift does nothing, but makes you think that it makes the door close faster.The presumed power of the media does the exact same thing.They are not really "public opinion", a word that is misused, if not abused, today. The media simply gives you an illusion of actually participating in the affairs of the State.If democracy to the true meaning of the word is achieved, the media will never be able to sell the things that it is able to, very easily, sell today, especially terror as a packaged product. Until then, it's going to be more of Shobha Des and Ness Wadias waving their banners for lesser taxes , in an attempt to "connect" with the common man and fight for them and their rights.
And now, back to the 21st century.Contrast the aforesaid with 60 hours of visual media coverage (read shameless voyeurism) of the terror in Mumbai.To quote some French guy (I don't remember who, but really smart though), "the obscenity of the media is no longer of what is hidden, repressed, forbidden or obscure, but it is the obscenity of the visible, of the all-too-visible and the more-visible-than-visible". So true.
I think that the aspect that is most problematic is the portraying of the Good press Vs. the Evil politicians.This posturing is seen in the shrill rhetoric of blaming the State and political class.The assumed moral superiority of the media over the politicians is perhaps the biggest myth of capitalist democracy.The recent news coverage of the attacks in Mumbai uncovered the fact to me that the media and the political class absolutely CANNOT do without each other.And such a synergy is best illustrated by the media's mutually beneficial relationship with capitalist interests including the entertainment industry.For instance, NDTV's We The People where the panel included Simi Garewal, Ratna Pathak Shah, Luke Kenny and Kunal Kohli.Oh, and Ness Wadia.Only the media can transform the rich and famous into "we the people".
The "close door " button in a lift does nothing, but makes you think that it makes the door close faster.The presumed power of the media does the exact same thing.They are not really "public opinion", a word that is misused, if not abused, today. The media simply gives you an illusion of actually participating in the affairs of the State.If democracy to the true meaning of the word is achieved, the media will never be able to sell the things that it is able to, very easily, sell today, especially terror as a packaged product. Until then, it's going to be more of Shobha Des and Ness Wadias waving their banners for lesser taxes , in an attempt to "connect" with the common man and fight for them and their rights.
Friday, December 12, 2008
It's cool, innit?
Im new to this.So I'm completely open to any kind of criticism. (Breathing in slowly).Here goes...
I was in a bus the other day, when I noticed this guy standing right next to my seat.He was wearing ripped jeans and this vest sort of thing that hardly qualifies as apparel to be worn in public.And by his body language,I could make out that he WANTED that people notice what he's wearing, how he's standing, and other highly insignificant details. He had ridiculously expensive noise-cancellation earphones plugged into his ears, and he was listening to drum-shattering metal(you know, Slayer and stuff.I know, becuase I could hear it!). And if you think that was enough, he apparently would disagree with you, because there he was, head-banging in a public bus, hoping to god that after all this effort, people would think he was COOL.
What does that word mean anyway?I mean, we're always saying things like-"Let's go bowling tomorrow.It'll be cool" , or "Why the hell do you still have those in your wardrobe?It's not cool anymore."When that guy was, for the love of God, literally pulling his eardrums apart, just in an attempt to look cool, it got me thinking on how most of the things we do almost everyday are judged according to whether it's cool or not,not whether its right or not.Well, is it cool to hang out with friends late at night, until your parents are sick with worry and fear? Or is it cooler to drive on the divider of the road opposite to your college and have everybody who's watching clap for how brave (or exceedingly stupid) you are? It's cool to talk as if you're from the US of A.Oh, and it's also cool if your friends and you get out of college after every lecture for a smoke 'coz the teacher is getting on your nicotine-filled nerves.
Well, there's no real answer to all this. Of course, there is the one line that works everywhere- It's all relative.And also, I know I'm no one to justify or condemn any of this.But still feels good to say it.I hope the guy's ears are okay now.
I was in a bus the other day, when I noticed this guy standing right next to my seat.He was wearing ripped jeans and this vest sort of thing that hardly qualifies as apparel to be worn in public.And by his body language,I could make out that he WANTED that people notice what he's wearing, how he's standing, and other highly insignificant details. He had ridiculously expensive noise-cancellation earphones plugged into his ears, and he was listening to drum-shattering metal(you know, Slayer and stuff.I know, becuase I could hear it!). And if you think that was enough, he apparently would disagree with you, because there he was, head-banging in a public bus, hoping to god that after all this effort, people would think he was COOL.
What does that word mean anyway?I mean, we're always saying things like-"Let's go bowling tomorrow.It'll be cool" , or "Why the hell do you still have those in your wardrobe?It's not cool anymore."When that guy was, for the love of God, literally pulling his eardrums apart, just in an attempt to look cool, it got me thinking on how most of the things we do almost everyday are judged according to whether it's cool or not,not whether its right or not.Well, is it cool to hang out with friends late at night, until your parents are sick with worry and fear? Or is it cooler to drive on the divider of the road opposite to your college and have everybody who's watching clap for how brave (or exceedingly stupid) you are? It's cool to talk as if you're from the US of A.Oh, and it's also cool if your friends and you get out of college after every lecture for a smoke 'coz the teacher is getting on your nicotine-filled nerves.
Well, there's no real answer to all this. Of course, there is the one line that works everywhere- It's all relative.And also, I know I'm no one to justify or condemn any of this.But still feels good to say it.I hope the guy's ears are okay now.
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