Of Friends, Me and Our Blog...

Hectic schedules, busy days, work pressures, pending household chores, issues in projects, spreading epidemics and absconding team members... all these and more have squeezed the life out of us. And it is during such times we look upon friends, we look for outings ... we look for stress busters!
It is at this point that I started blogging...with the only intention of relieving some stress (and believe me writing or speaking out your thoughts does relieve quite a lot!) I started thinking out of my daily chores and the office pressures, and the change in thoughts made me feel better. Then came the question, "Don't my friends have the same pressures?? Do they not need stress busters?? Then why don't I apporach them. Reading and writing might not be a stress reliever for some, but atleast reading the blog and pondering over the topics would definitely be refreshing!" With this thought, I decided to make it "OUR blog". Initially I had to follow-up...but then friends started typing their thoughts and it was a wonderful response.

It was good to know that my friends have loved the content and appreciate the matter. Pradnya says "pratyek blog nava watto...each time a fresh new topic" while Janhavi likes our blog as it does not have gyaan sessions. Another friend, Sunny Boy aka Suraj mentions of simple writing being the virute that compells reading the blog to the full, rather than scanning through. One of my friends who is a master at blogging, Nagesh anna, appreciates the topics chosen saying they are filled with joy and evoke positiveness.

Let me be honest here! The topics that I chose were more related to my life and the intention were to make these as positive as possible so that my dear friends who have been contributing so generously, feel that the blog is actually a stress reliever. And Nagesh anna's comments probably fit here the best, "What i like about your blog, is that you are giving an opportunity to all your friends to speak out. Not everyone is hyperactive enough on the net to maintain their own blogs. Initiative like yours will encourage them as they see their words being read and appreciated on your blog." A few friends who have been reading our blog have started their own blogs now...and if our blog has inspired them to do so, I would be very happy about it.

The unique matter of our blog probably is the header that change every week. Some have appreciated this as on weekly basis, some during the feedback. For me it has been a wonderful blogging experience so far and I hope it has been for all my friends who have been a part of it. The post about Aaee was the one that received most comments (that was very obvious) and the next was about friends. Ashwini says "your friends blog is really emotional"

Continuing on the introspection/reviews, let me put some things that have been suggeted to be worked upon and the plans further:

The first feeling that I received said that though the topics were good and were well edited, they seemed to be cut short and made small. I agree with this point and I am planning to re-visit all the topics again with more emphasis on some sub-topics. However for the current, I am keeping topics as open as I can, so that any person who can contribute without having to think much.

The second is probably most common so far...our blog has been a good reading experience as it wasn't completely the "me" thing, instead it was "our"...which reduced the personal touch and made it a sort of 'others experience'. Now this point is a dual sided point and there is no hard-line that says so-much of me and so-much of others would be a perfect combo. So what I am looking at doing is adding my own experiences as and where I can, so that our blog is still "ours" and at the same time, has a personal touch too.

And finally as Sunny boy suggested I am working on adding my own style of writing...

Overall, our blog has been good...thanks to all your contributions. At the same time, since the only thing that is constant is change, I'll keep changing our blog, our topics and the style of writing to keep up with the change, try covering more on every topic. Your inputs, suggestions and feedbacks have been very helpful...so please do have them coming in!

The topic for next week, very obviously is the Almighty Lord Ganesh Festival, so please post in your memories of the wonderful festival. The week after that we would be talking about the hazzards and problems that we create while celebrating the festival. So keep emailing to ash.nadkarni@gmail.com

Dear brother, with love!!!

25th Aug - 5:30 am: Waiting at the Domestic Airport for my flight to Chennai
6:00 am: Flight takes off...and in seconds we are in the clouds
9:00 am: Flight lands at the Chennai Airport...my brother is waiting to receive me
9:15 am: We give each other a tight HUG!!!

That was the moment that took me into the clouds. It was a experience that I feel short in words to explain.

We (me, my bro and dad) spent the weekend in Chennai. Probably three of us had never had such a wonderful time together. Sadly aaee (my mom) was not able to be with us...we definitely missed her. On Saturday we went to my bro's campus (the L&T) and a mall where we did some shopping and eating and a lot of chatting. On Sunday we went to the beach called as the Marina beach. This was the first time I had seen the east coast of India (and first time tasted the fish from the Bay)

Chennai is a wonderful place...the statement can be generalized to say "the place where one's bro stays" is a wonderful place. About an unbiased opinion, I would say, the people are warm and helpful. Communication stands a problem as they don't understand Hindi and English is a bit of problem. And yet they seem to do their bit to see that strangers are not stranded. Locals are similar to the ones in Mumbai (they have 3 lines as well)...just that they are not so crowded. The major reason is bus transport being the favourite mode of commuting. Bus fares are amazingly low and buses reach to every corner of the city. The rickshaws have digital meters installed...none of them work and fares are to be bargained. Verie simblee (very simply) if you are a stranger to Chennai, buy a map and opt for the locals. Salted banana chips are worth it...so do buy a packet when you are there. For those who love fish, if you are accustomed to the sea fish...best recommended is don't try, very likely you would not like it. Chapatis and rotis are luxury items, rice is all yours. Chennai, though a metro, does not seem to be brand crazy. Fashion is slow to come. We did see a KFC and a SUBWAY, but for bakeries...no Monginis, no Birdies...just local sweet shops. People still go by "Early to bed and early to rise". Don't know when they get up, but the city closes near to 9! At 11, it is like 2 AM in Mumbai. Cool place to be. Finally those who like (buying or gifting) sarees, Kanchipuram silk is worth buying here.

Though I noted all this about Chennai, the best part was the "jadoo ki jhappi" when I reached and all the time that we spent together till the last minute. I was in Chennai for approx. 46 hrs and we spent all that time together. With him, time has always been special...but now that the distance has increased, that we know we would be meeting less often...the value of every minute in such occasions is worth a lot more than words can express. Probably the only way to feel the preciousness is to experience it! It's truly said, distances bring relations closer.

Dear bro...miss you a lot!!!

A Happy Ending!

After a long fruitful journey, God opened doors and invited my grandmother to His Heavenly Abode.

For all of us, grandchildren, she was the same sweet lady about whom we have read in our childhood story tales. A strict lady with a soft heart and probably the only one whom we felt could command our parents (atleast our moms). Personally, I have never have spent much time with her. For me she has been the mother of my mother. Words fell short when I was writing about my mother, so what can I say about the lady who gave my mother.

On Friday August 17th, evening she met Him. Her journey on earth had a Happy Ending!

For us, it was a sad demise of a beautiful lady. We pray her soul rests in peace!

“आज्जी! तुला नाही विसरू शकणार आम्ही!!!”

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

Dear friends, Thanks for all the feedback that you have sent. I have made a note of all of it. Unfortunaltely I am not in a position to post the feedback this week. Please let your suggestions and feedbacks keep coming. Will definitely put it up on the coming weeks.

Once again, thanks and have a nice week!

Yaaron Dosti...badi hi hasiin hai!!!

They say, to know the value of something, loose it. If you want to know the value of food, fast for a day...to know how much you miss someone, stay away from them. And if you have not know what FRIENDS are, stay away from them!

The dictionary defines friendship as "a term used to denote co-operative and supportive behavior between two or more humans" However I feel the word "FRIEND" is probably that word which has infinite definitions and an equally infinite range. (A friend can be someone imaginary as well)

When I started working, I had about 65 other employees working with me. However I gradually started spending time with only 2 of them...and since then its now more than 5 years and the friendship has grown over the period of time. We have changed companies, the company has changed offices...but the bond between has just increased with time. They say FRIEND is someone whom you can call at 4:00 AM, not speak a word and yet feel feel it is the best conversation you have ever had! Believe me...I have experienced it!

And it is not just being in touch that matters. Soundar, my friend (and I can already imagine what it means to him when I mention his name) met me during a paper presentation in Tamil Nadu, somewhere in 2002. Our friendship happened in those two days. After that we have met twice...but still there is bond that we share which has been strengthened with the passing time. It probably apt to state here that "We met by chance, became friends by choice, retaining the friendship was our decision and to be friends for lifetime is our promise."

From movies to cartoons to real life, friends have been a part everywhere. Be it Sholay's AB and Dharam paaji or Aamir, Akshaye and Saif in DCH or Calvin and Hobbes by Waterson or the six friends in the series FRIENDS...and even for that matter in our own lives, FRIENDS have always been fun (and I am excluding exceptions who have found the world upside down), they have helped in doing good things, joined us in playing pranks, been with us while doing wrong and stood by at times of crisis. Pradnya remembers her school days when she, with her group of friends used to eat in the classroom...and when caught, the group used to share the responsibility! Preety responsible group, haan? And this probably everyone would associate their group with...sticking a bubble gum on teacher's chair, having a ball of a time laughing till being caught and then being responsible as a group...Sticking one bubble gum was a team work...we made people believe that! "A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked"

After saying all this, I was wondering how many friends do I have? Then I realised that there is a long list, a few of them I have not met...no time you see! That has always been the excuse. Today I spend about 10 hours working and a few hours chatting, however I miss calling a buddy to say "Hey, howz you doin" and then when I see that name in my contacts list, I say, "Will call him sometime later"...well it never comes and eventually someday the friend calls on to check how things are going on..."A friend is a hand that is always holding yours, no matter how close or far apart you may be. A friend is someone who is always there and will always, always care. A friend is a feeling of forever in the heart."

Last weekend, I had a rocking time with a group of friends...it was hectic and yet relaxing! It was so relaxing that I missed updating the blog this weekend. My sincere apologies to all my friends who were waiting to read this blog!

The coming release would be the 10th blog release and I would be writing on the blogging journey so far. Hence please keep posting me your views on my blog!

Rain, Rain, Come Again!

Rain, rain, come again...all my friends want to play!

Childhood memories took me to those days when I used to gleefully splash water on all and happily soil my clothes. And when I checked with my friends and colleagues, I got a mixed reaction. For most, rain is fun and will always remain so, for some it has changed with time and for the rest (a very few number) it has always been a misery.

For most of my marathi friends...they still rhyme with the granny song "Ye re ye re pausa, tula deto paisa". Janhavi has been wanting to write on this blog since long...and probably the rains motivated her to write. When I asked her feed on the rains, she poured her heart out, so I am not editing whatever she has to say....read it yourself...

"Playing in the muck (chikhal) ..splashing the rain water on each other, sailing paper boats in the puddles ... picking up earthworms, and tadpoles ... When I think about it now .. I go 'yuckkkkkk', but then .. those were the days .. This would be my rainy season routine...year after year :) And, have you ever walked in the downpour .. try it once .. its awesome. Pick a day when its raining cats n dogs n elephants... If you have an umbrella .. don't open it .. do not wear your jacket ... just keep all your tensions at home and step outside ...and get drenched... the ultimate stress buster! But, if you aren't the adventurous type .. there's something for you as well ... tea! In proper Mumbai language ..its called "mast aadrak maarke" chai. Sit by the window, sipping tea, watching the raindrops play the most beautiful music in the world! If you get kanda bhajji with tea ... its heaven. And if you are a football fan .. try chikhal football ... My best rain memory would be July 16th 2005 ... I had been to Lonavala with my friends .. It was bright n sunny when we reached there ... obviously we were disappointed, but continued the trek nevertheless.. soon it started to get dark .. and then it poured n poured n poured ... it was great ... what more could you ask for ... 6 friends ... pouring rain ... freshly made kanda bhajji, with lasun chatni... and to top it all .. mast cutting! That was just 10 days before the dreadful day - July 26 ... Thankfully I was at home that day ... so didn't have to face the difficulties that my friends n family faced. And as I type this it has started to rain .. so please excuse me .. I've got some important work to do viz sitting at the window .. watching the dogs run around in the rain! "ye re ye re pausa . tula deto paisa" .. what is the world coming to ... you got to bribe the rains too!"

As Janhavi mentions, there is nothing like "kanda bhajji" and "mast adrak maar ke chai" on a nice rainy day. And most wonderful as Pradnya says is "pavsat bindast bheejna" (drenching in the rain without a care for the world)

While most of us like the rains, there are some who feel the misery that it causes problems and spreads diseases. For them, I have Pradnya's words, " Nature has not taught us to block drainage pipes, to put mud in sea and constuct buildings, nor even told us to collect sewage and dirt near house to increase diseases. So in short all that is looking bad and causing harm to us, is all happening just because of the man made destructive ideas which we find comfortable but later causes destruction like flood in Mumbai last year or road blockings in Panjim city due to heavy load of water. Nature will never cause destruction and man will never accept his fault. Well, this will go on...but can never change my feelings about rains!"

Neither can my feelings about rain be changed! The lush greenery adds a new life and makes things brighter and on the other hand dark cloudy day with heavy rains and a cozy blanket to cuddle in is a warm feeling too. In Belgaum, we have hail storms...it rains ice (gara as we call it in marathi) and even my mom still has a craze of running in the rain and eating the ice pebbles...sounds crazy?? Try once and you too would be crazy about it. Running in the rain, trying to search for those small pebble ice and picking it up and popping it in your mouth and savouring the taste of natural ice...I miss it. Most of my friends and colleagues have not experienced one...so I guesss I am lucky!

Kedar had been weak when we was a kid and was not allowed to run around in the rain...and I can guess how envious that is, especially when you see other kids and your own buddies running and wading thru the rain water.

Football is the most obvious game in rains, but we do have cricket fans introducing new versions of the game to suit the rains and I have a strong feeling that the ICC should learn from them.

And when I talk of this, I remember having similar discussions as a child, especially when the schools were called off. Kedar mentions that he used to eagerly wait for the news of the school getting cancelled and then running into the rain to celebrate the good news...well, who didn't??

Today, I still long to go in the rain and dance as if there were no worries in the world. But then again, when I am going to office and it starts pouring, I seek shelter...if a kid splashes water and it lands on my trousers, I get irritated...if the rains pour and the trains go standstill, I blame the government and curse the clouds. Life has changed!

But wait, it is not so bad...it has started raining again and I am not going to office today. I am going out there in the rains to drench myself and relieve those golden moments! See you later!!!

Just 'KID'ding

Last blog I shared my experiences and my friends experiences of "mother". As I was writing about her, I recalled the ear-tweaking that I used to receive from her quite frequently. I still shiver when I think about that and then I wander to those moments that led to my ear-tweaking...then a smile goes across my face and I wonder, how can I re-live those moments. The only way now is to re-visit those sweet memories of the "Best days in my life". So I thought of checking with my friends on their memories...and I received a wholesome response!

My friend Abhi mentions of spanking that he received for being creative. When asked to explain defraction of light in a prism in own words, he literally used his own words. "When light enters thru one side, it sees two sides to go out. Now light is made of seven lights combined. Red being used on top of ambulances wants to remain on top..." And then this guy had the guts to ask the teacher why she marked him a zero....that too in front of the whole class. What happened next is beyond imagination...but what was on his mind could be well explained from the Calvin strip.
Calvin probably explans childhood amazingly and hence I have used Calvin strips generously on this page.

In school, lunch breaks were the greatest times that we used to cherish. We were hardcore footballers and every minute of the 70 minute break mattered. So we used to start our tiffins in the last session before lunch. Counting the time after the tiffins were emptied was something like this...
Talking of eating in the class, one of friend mentions that he was caught eating in the class and his teacher asked him whether he had enough to share with the whole class. He promptly opened his bag and shared what he has with the whole class leaving the teacher speechless. To add to the woes of the teacher, the school principal passed by and saw that everyone were eating in the class. When the teacher narrated the whole incident...the teacher was on the receiving end!

Archana today is one silent gal working in a software company...when I asked her about her childhood, she said always onto some or the other pranks...so much that her parents thought twice on what punishment to give her.

Actually I would have loved to put in more memories here, but I have time constraints now that I am a grown-up. I have responsiblities...I need to work, I need to earn, I need to be successful. So I live by those memories that I had collected as a child! Sweet dreams!!!

Most caring lady in life - आई

This probably would be the best blog that I would have written. One of the main reasons is that it has contributions from all my nice friend, but most importantly it is about the sweetest person I have met in my life and it is very unlikely you would have found otherwise.

Very obviously I am talking about “आई”. I am not so sure what you call her…some call her mamma, Payoshni calls her mummy, one of friend joking refers to her “Matoshree”, in the western countries, she is called “Mom”, down south in India she is called “amma” and if I keep writing like this, the list will not end. In all the variations, the "M" sound seems to be near universal to the word mother in many different languages. Incidentally, this is thought to be related to one of the first sounds an infant learns to control. Hmmmmm sounds interesting??

If I tried looking for a definition for “Mother” in an online dictionary, it would give me everything except feelings. And would it be any point knowing that?? So I asked my friends to share their feelings. Quite a few said that she is the best friend coz she has known me for years and I share everything with her. And there are few who admit that she is not the best friend, but then she gives so much space that you can share anything with her. For me the feelings are nothing different. She is not my best friend, but I know whenever I need to look back on someone to rely on, she is always eager to be there.

And while we are talking about motherly love, we can’t forget mom-made food, can we?? So what makes mom-made food so wonderful?? So much that a five-star dinner cannot provide?? Ofcourse, there is motherly love that goes into it. Or as Abdul says, its love converted into dishes. Other than is you also have the privilege of eat-as -it-cooks. Along with this also comes the sweet scolding! (at times)

The scolding does hurt, but then it is like the sweet cut of a doctor’s knife who is operating on a patient. Hurts but cures! Cure, Care and Protection…she values us more than her own life. I have been prone to injuries every time I have been out to play and every time that I had a mark on my body, I could feel the pain in her eyes. She always is the “Suraksha Chakra”

Today I glide on my bike and wade thru water. Had it not been for her, I probably might be keeping myself away from water and being a pillion rider thru my life time. I still recall the efforts and time that she put in to teach me inspite all my refusals. And how many have not faced such situations??

And to summarize the whole, here is a small marathi poem that my friend has dedicated to mother. And I have this for her:
When you have a mother who cares so much for you that anything you want becomes her desires

When you have a mother who is so understanding that
no matter what is bothering you she can make you smile

When you have a mother who is so strong that
no matter what obstacles she faces she is always confident in front of you

When you have a mother who actively pursues her goals in life
but includes you in all her goals you are very lucky indeed

Having a mother like this makes it easy to grow up into a loving, strong adult!

Thank you for being this wonderful mother!!!

And a poem that I found on the net that I would like to dedicate to her:

MOTHER

From seeds
You watered us.

As we sprouted
You helped us grow
With the warmth
Of your radiant love.

Along the way
You trimmed us
To keep us safe
From Harm.

When we grew out of
Our little pods,
You replanted us,
Where you gave us hope
And showed us faith
That we may be able
To do for others
As you did for us.

~Your loving son~

Payoshni gifts her mother yellow roses, Pradnya has a surprise gift every year…Sunday is her birthday and I am still wondering what do I gift her. She is the most precious gift that I have…what do I gift her. Whatever I gift her, I am going to be with her the whole day…trying to make it “the” day for her!

Higher than I could dream

Last Sunday, I had 2 options: Either to reach the height of dreams OR to reach the heights that I could not dream. Well, I decided to risk the Sunday and go for the later. My motivating factors were a group of friends whom I love spending my time with and “trek”.

So we met at 6:30 at Borivali (as usual, I was late). Little had I expected that the overall group would be 52. From there began the journey into a crowded Virar train and from Virar thru a packed shuttle to Palghar. There I saw the true capacity of a ST bus…the group of 52 and some more passengers, comfortably fit!!!

Guess it must be an hour by the time we reached the base camp, Vaghote. A cup of hot tea and the sight of the target cleared the little bit of sleep that was wandering in my mind. With a guide to show us the route, we started the trek. On the way, we saw a huge lake that they called the “Heart shaped lake”. Initially it looked pretty simple, but we knowing where our target was, we knew it was going to get tough…and it did! The walk upwards was a real sweaty one. It took us about an hour and a half to reach half way. Here we got a better view of why the lake was called the “Heart shaped lake”…and that makes me call the nature as “amazing”We were almost drained out of our water resources by the time we reached here. Luckily for us, this place is full of natural water resources…and I was wondering if the branded “Mountain water” actually was bottled from here. We definitely were exhausted, but we never let the enthu down (as if we had an option). Eventually we reached what we thought was the top, but the guide mentioned that we still had 10 more mins to go upwards. “Huh!!!” that was the general reaction. The 10 mins walk was not much stressful…but at the end of it, we were on top of the world in a literal sense.
We had trekked all the way “from the crowds to the clouds”…beauty of a place, terrific view, wonderful breeze. Once upon a time, this was fort Kohoj. It still has that covered water tank which stores natural water. Anyways that we were down with water resources, we replenished our resources here. No Aqua-Guard, no filter, no boiling, no bottling and yet so pure…that’s the wonder of nature. It was lunch time and we were craving for food (very obvious). Simplest lunch for a Sunday afternoon…regular veg sandwich smeared with ketchup (anything goes with ketchup) and theplas with chutney. It was hunger in first place and the love with which it was served that made this feel like a feast. A little bit of rest and the return journey commenced. “Concentration” was the key. Probably the fact that no one recalled clicking snaps on the way down, probably speaks on how much we concentrated.From the base back to home was a long journey as well and by the time we reached home, we were completely exhausted…not a bit of energy left. A lazy Sunday was converted to fun-filled, extensively exhaustive day that took me to a new place, gave me new friends, brought me closer to my existing friends and took me to such heights that I could never dream of!

For those who have missed the stuff, here are pics from my album, from Uma's album and from Kaustubh's album.

Technology : Disconnected

How would you feel if you were deprived of your mobile connection?? And then you had no access to the internet, no TV and the FM did not catch signal at all?? Frustrating, right??

Probably not! When you are lost in dense clouds with greenery all around and with a group that can enjoy anywhere they go, you would not even realize that. The place was Malshej and it is worth a lot more than I can write. The visibility of this place changes almost at the wink of an eye. Here is the video for you:

And if this is not amazing enough, have a view of the caves at Lenyadri...and there were no 3D graphics for designing nor were there lifts to reach the place which we puff and pant to reach even with properly designed steps!

Speechless?? Well, I was and I don't have words to say what Bhimashankar was like. Moreover it rained so heavily there that we barely managed a couple of snaps.

And just so that you know how beautiful natural waterfalls look, here is one captured for you.

If you feel you have missed something, you can check the pics here.

Now that I am back, I have my mobile working, the TV is on and FM catches signal, I am wondering where has the technology actually taken us...and I long to go back to the greens with my group sans all technologies to enjoy it the way they did!!!

AAP KI AWAZ – the Blogg

“Mystical Personalities” are entertaining, or for that matter, personalities are entertaining. Be it a cricketer like Sreesanth (and his dance in SA) or an actor like Shivajirao “Rajnikanth” Gaekwad or your boss or even the most irritating guy sitting next to you. Even the most boring person in the office, at times is a super star entertainer at the chai-time gup-shups. Talking about entertainers, the multi-talented music director – singer – composer – script writer – and now even an actor Himesh Reshammiya is the entertainer of the week.

What a talent, I must say! Well, I am not appreciating his singing nor music direction nor acting, neither am I a fan of the baseball-capped singer. But to stay consistently in the news for so long must be appreciated. He made news by denying that he was a nasal singer continuously and by the time that news died, he made new again by accepting that he is a nasal singer. Whether it was a deliberate attempt to stay in the news or it was genuinely to be in the news would be a different forum to debate upon, but the point is that this man has made news.

This Friday saw the release of “The movie” and I was there at Inox for the show. Sadly enough, the crowd was not much as I had expected. Probably I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Friday’s rainy afternoon definitely was not having a good time for the movie.

The movie plot was a decent one. It is definitely a love story and quite different from the ones that have been released in the recent times. It has nothing out of the ordinary or baseless. Very simple story line. Location has been Germany thru the movie. Hansika Motwani has looked gorgeous, while Mallika has tried her luck in looking hot. Himesh seems to have already understood that acting is not his cup of tea and hence has not put in much efforts on the same either. Sachin Khedekar, playing Hansika’s dad seems to be the only actor of the movie. The director has done a good role in getting the characters play to their potential. Dialouge delivery has been poor, but that can be discounted considering the experience of the actors. Hansika has looked pleasantly plump. The movie was not stretched and the songs were shortened versions. Hence there wasn’t; anything boring in the movie and nothing that sounded ridiculous. Himesh sang the “Gayatri Mantra” and that was irritating. Hansika looked happy even on sad scenes and Himesh looked like he was about to cry even on a happy scene. He has cracked slick jokes on himself about his nasal voice and his cap and even laughed on it…so that leaves you nothing to laugh on him.
Well, “Assalam Wallikum…Wallikum Assalam” Himesh bhai!!!

This movie is definitely going to hit the charts…if not for long, atleast for the next 2-3 weeks. Why?? Very simple. Firstly, he has carved a huge fan club…obviously they would not miss the moviee. Secondly, he has managed to get equal number of critics who would want to go after him. All of these would want to see the movie to criticize him. They get counted in the audience as well. Thirdly, new actress (reportedly of 16 years), you have a chunk of audience for her. Fourthly, Mallika Sherawat…yes, there is a chunk of audience for her as well. Fifth, reality sells these days and so do love stories…and the movie is supposedly a real life story if “the entertainer”. Sixth, believe it or not, there is audience just to see Himesh without cap. And lastly, as Raja Sen reports on rediff.com, biggies of the likes of Yash Raj and Karan Johar have not been delivering, while a 55-lakh movie “Bheja Fry” is counting in 7-crores and more. Moreover, as is said about Karan, it more aptly fits Himesh, “Hate him or like him, you simply can’t ignore him!”


So what makes this man so compelling to watch?? He knows whom he is targeting and what his audience wants. Foot tapping disco numbers for his fans and controversies for media to hype about and the Page 3 to discuss about. Finally success not doing what is correct or avoiding what is wrong, but very simply is delivering what the audience (or client) expects…no matter what others say!!!

Mystical Personalities

Frankly speaking, when I created the first post, the future of my blogging was as clear as (or rather as cloudy as) the skies in the earlier pic. I had no idea of what my next post would be. And yet blogging seemed beautiful. Not that things have cleared up much now…it still is foggy and I am not sure where I would be heading.

For the moment, I am moving from “Life in a Mist” to “Mystical personalities!!!”

It was in fourth standard when I happened to read the children’s version of “The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and that is where I first got exposed to the concept of dual personality or split personality. Quite some years later, there was this movie “The Mask” which spoke about bringing out the inner character. In a context both these stories have nothing much similar. However in both cases we have a strong personality come out of a weak personality (or rather a meek person…probably) And I have been wondering all along how much of this fiction could be a reality.

Thinking on those lines, I have been experimenting with myself. Well not in the sense as much as converting Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde...to some extent as to changing my dress code to changing my facial looks. From clean shaven to assal marathi manoos to a hollow French cut…I keep changing. All those who see me changing my styles every now and then keep wondering what I am upto…for me, it is what I want to feel like. And if you to want to be someone or if you are aiming at something, first start feeling like one…start being like one. Probably this poem that my dad used to tell me when I was kid should summarize it all:

If you think you are beaten, you are!
If you think you dare not, you don't!
If you like to win, but you think you can’t,
It is almost certain you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost,
For out in the world we find
Success begins with a fellow's will.
It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are.
You've got to think high to rise
You've got to be sure of yourself,
Before you can even win a prize.

Life's battles don't always
Go to the stronger or faster man
But sooner or later the man who wins is the man
WHO THINKS HE CAN!!!!!

Life in a Mist!!!

When clouds settle on a mountain and greenery surrounds it, life looks so AMAZINGLY beautiful! Its is the same with all of us.

At times it gets so cloudy that things are not visible...and we fail to see the beauty around us. That is what the pic is trying to convey!


I clicked this one on my trip to the Malshej Ghats last year. At that time, my life was all cloudy and I did not know where things were heading. I was searching for a silver lining. Then I decided to take a break and lead the team I was handling to the Malshej and we had a real rocking time.


It was on our way that this view caught our eyes and then my camera could not resist capturing this for long term memories. It cleared my mind of all thoughts, all worries and took me to a world of joy...a certain happiness that words cannot describe.


Afterall when clouds look so beautiful...who would go searching for a silver lining instead of enjoying the beauty of the nature!