Dedicated to You

I would like to say, first of all - I want to say whatever I am today is due to many people and all the experiences and the time that they have shared with me. Owing to all these experiences, I am the person that you see in front of you today. Some have taught me love, some to stand up for myself, some to believe in something, some to respect work. And some have also taught me to hope. This Hope is not because of a positive experience. But this hope is not because of a positive experience. But this hope is because of a negative experience. By leaving me, alone, they have taught me the art of 'hoping' that someday they would be back. And so resilience too. After hardship, getting a good comment by my boss, has been the biggest achievement till now.

To Yercaud.

Starting by 6.45 am, on a still morning of 25th March, 2005. I take my dream trip to Yercaud, after a long struggle with Plus Two exam.

So we take the road from Chennai - Tambaram . The highway is well-maintained. And planted with trees. We come across two to three colleges - The Crescent College of Engineering and the Janaki School. Otherwise, mostly a wild cultivation occupied the vast lands.

We crossed Dindigul, Maraimalai Nagar, Chengelpet and other isolated establishments before we reached Yercaud.

Then we reached Yercaud by 5.00 p.m. The hill top is situated at 3000 meters above sea level. The steep hairpin bends, we could see even after we had finished its rounds.

Our Sterling Resort is just so beautiful. It is surrounded by greenery and bushes and the incense-plantations has had a profound influence on our spirits by now. It has awakened our mind and made us ask for more of such intense moments.

From a bird's eye-view, we can see the glittering of the evening skies - the city of Salem. This is a fast growing two- tier city of Tamil Nadu.

There is a very tiny toddler with us. She is Umme hani, my little niece. At four months, she makes her very first trip to Yercaud. Probably she is not conscious of the change of environment but for the rest of us she is a well spring of goodness and a far deeper link to Nature and the Divine force. We thank Him for this opportunity.

Description about Sterling Resort

This Sterling provides an exotically romantic view of the Yercaud hills. From the playground in the Resort, I can actually catch a glimpse of the misty hills. The Resort is a well-planned place. A walk around and I find myself refreshed in midst of the nature.

The Life of the People

The 'living' of the common people is very ordinary. The Bhavani Singh's perfume factory provides an insight into the rare gifts that nature provides. We touched and even smelled the various herbs that the Singhs' nurture in their botanical garden. The garden is a haven of various herbs those that promise relief through the natural way. There is this Black Panther oil for relief from common cold, peppermint to be used as a mouthwash, brahmi oil for hair oil, and one for preventing further deterioration from diabetes and many others. Altogether this turned out to be a very enlightening experience in the Singh's botanical garden. I ended up picking some exotic natural fragrance oils including Jasmine and Rose.

The Pagoda Point

It is a point which is spectacular and lifts up one's sagging spirit. You can get a complete view of the picturesque scenario of green teak trees, settlements, cultivated lands. And the lovely breeze adds to the mood.

The final day has come, when we have to bid adieu and go back to where we came from. So even though we had to leave, Nature beckoned us to stay back. The mountains around, the brisk air, rays of the sun, I felt had a poetic way of talking to us. And reminded me of Wordsworth.

Even as we drove past the calm and serene woods starting our fro journey from Yercaud, I felt I wish had a chance to escape back into them. But alas, my companions were leaving, and so I had too. So from the edge of the cliff, we bid our good-bye to the beautiful hills of Yercaud to come back again next summer!

(This trip is dedicated to my late brother Mufaddal M.B.V, who discovered the beautiful hill escape of Yercaud back in 1995. Whenever I visit a beautiful place like Yercaud, it enlivenes my beautiful memories of you, bro. I love you.)

The Big Business of Television

Taarak Mehta ka Oolta Chashma -  has celebrated two years of its presence on SAB TV, in the TV segment of entertainment. And the reason to be happy, 269 days of a year, this serial is tele-casted and Advertisements showcased during 15 mins of this serial, points out to its success. There is more to TV business than meets our eye. That is because there is minute detailing that producer has to be looking out for - right from bonding between cast and director to development of story line with each passing day, this while also keeping in mind audience reaction!

Finally TV has come a long way in becoming an entertainment right in the comfort of our homes! Today we also see the merging of TV and Cinema - with new releases being premiered on our home screens.

Rajneeti Movie Review

Rajneeti - Movie Review

A Prakash Jha film, Rajneeti explores politics in the Indian context finely well. It explores a little beyond the politics and that is the fine net of relationships that underplay the political scenario.

RAJNEETI is a story about many people. It is a story of Bhaskar, of Sooraj, of Brij Gopal to name a few. As it is a story of Verendra Pratap, Prithvi Pratap, Indu, Sarah and Samar Pratap. It is each one's personal bias, pointing to the way they behave with each other. This FORMS the theme of Rajneeti. And all this is placed in the context of POLITICS - and Indian POLITICS specifically. 

Let's look at, to take an example, into Brij Gopal's character traits. Played by Nana Patekar, Brij Gopal shuns all political ambitions. But it is he who becomes the GODFATHER of Samar Pratap. This is how he plays his game - In order to wield an upper hand in the game of power, he helps Samar Pratap expose dark and ugly secret of his No 1 enemy - Verendra Pratap's loyal man. Sooraj's character - another point in e.g; is as if he is rising from the phoenix, but the reality of his birth is never leaving him. He climbs up the ladder of political ambition with his strategical leadership.

The man with a heart of GOLD with his heart in its place is Prithvi Pratap played by Arjun Rampal but because of impatience in heiring his political legacy - leads himself to Doom, is another e.g. Manoj Bajpai plays the mastercraft - Verendra Pratap who will do anything to be on the throne of India's promising Empire. He plays his game along with Sooraj.

Samar Pratap (Ranbir Kapoor), an alien to this power politics, soon becomes an insider.

In order to save his family's political achievements - he becomes the man behind the reason of the CLIMAX of Rajneeti.

INDU (Katrina Kaif)- simple, beautiful and in love with life. Expects the same from it - but fate has something else for her - when the love of her life rejects her. She becomes the epitome of sacrifice, then. Later she accepts reality, and accepts it well. Determination to lead the battle to fight - makes her the herione of RAJNEETI. Making her deserve to be the talk of Rajneeti.

If the plot opens in the first half of Rajneeti, the strands come together in the second half of the film. A fine attempt, I'd say!

FASTING and Feasting

FASTING and Feasting

A beautiful day that begins with rising early, and praying and reading AL-Quran, and you know it is the time when we observe fasting.

Fasting is observed many times during a lunar year that we believe in and follow. Apart from the holy month of RAMAZAN, fasting is observed on many other days that are auspicious. Last week, me and my folks observed fasting for month of RAJAB, for three days. For RAJAB is the month when IMAM Ali's birth is celebrated by believers.

Fasting has its health benefits, apart from having its spiritual benefits too. Like this time I took up fasting of three days for RAJAB; (this is after a very long time), and I felt a new lease of life.

I realized the importance of food and water every single time even before I took up fasting. But the realization has grown more after I've taken up fasting. I feel that I am blessed, to be blessed with food and water supplied to me, whenever my body is in need for it.

Fasting is a food for thought. Since feastings' value emerges only when it is accompanied by a healthy dose of FASTING.

A New Trip.

Trip to Mysore and Coorg

It was a wonderful, with new clothes, and new mindset, it was a new start altogether. I was scared to travel, because it was after two years that I took up travelling alone after my loved one passed away. Bus journey is what I remember.

We stopped at a place for tea. And then take on again. By dancing to music, we passed our time. We reach Mysore at 9.00 am. After a nourishing breakfast we start for sightseeing. We are a small group of 12 with two teachers accompanying us. We go to the Chamundeshwari Temple, atop the hill. On way down, we also stop by to look at the Nandi Hills. We get back to Hotel. Have lunch.

Move out to go to St. Philomena's Church. Millions of bees greet us from their hives at every nook in this Heritage Church. And once stepping inside, a beautiful peace calms us down.

I've got my instant photo taken by the local guide, and I'm happy as I can take this back as a souvenir . After a lovely one hour that we spend at St. Philomena's Church,we move on to the Mysore Palace. We spend our time in a different era of life, examining artefacts that stand testimony to the glory of this Wodeyar King. Taking in the beauty of this historical place, we move on to the Brindavan Gardens.

We literally run in the Brindavan Gardens to have the time of our life. That is because it is a sunday, and it is 7:15 pm when we reach Brindavan Gardens. And 7:30 pm, the Fountain Show starts. We are running, jogging, sprinting and dodging the crowds as we herd towards our goal - the fountain show. The fountain show that lasts for several minutes, we enjoy and come back the same way - running, jogging, sprinting and dodging! We retire for the night at the hotel with a non-veg dinner and an ice-cream.

Coorg

On day three, while we are heading towards Coorg, we visit the Buddhist Monastery. The Buddhist Monastery is a huge and well-looked after place. What is beautiful about this Buddhist Monastery is that it is huge, but inspite of which one is still able to hear the still small voice from within.

With this feeling, we move on. We lunch at hotel and move on to visit the Raja's Seat. We click photos and decide to stay on in the nearby gardens. It is 5:30 pm, and as we drink in fresh air, we decide to freshen up our minds by singing to ANTAKSHARI. It is 6:45 pm, and we then have to move back to our hotel - where we treat ourselves to non-veg food! And the next day, we get up to have breakfast and after a quick check-out, we move out to watch the Abbey Falls. After quite some time of anticipation about this place which never seemed to arrive, we finally do sight the falls.

Watching Abbey Falls revealing its beauty, we also get to watch something else - and that is SHOOTING that is taking place at the Abbey Falls.

With this, we move to the bus which takes us to Mysore Station - from where we will get back home. Before that, we take a halt at a hotel to have lunch. And by 4:30 pm we are at the Mysore Station, ready to board 6:30 pm train which is home-bound!

This is dedicated to Nethra, a member of this 12-member trip.

She has lost her father recently and this is dedicated to her and her family's well-being.

Day after Mangalore Tragedy

In May 2010, just a day after the Mangalore Air Crash in which many persons had perished. I was about to take a journey by Air, just a day after. These are my feelings.

I always think of Mangalore as this beautiful idyllic place. Because Mangalore is none like others.

It is both beachy and hilly, which makes it a very different place altogether. I've been to Mangalore more than once in the past and recently more than twice and everytime I think about it I conjure up images of silent beauty that filled me when I visited Mangalore sixteen years back.

That's why when I heard about Mangalore accident on 22nd May, 2010, I was deeply shocked. I went back in my mind to all those lovely memories, saved up in my mind about Mangalore. I couldn't believe that a silent city is witnessing heart-rending cries on this day. What froze me more was that next day I was travelling by air on my own!

Morning I woke up and found myself reading about the accident in graphic detail. A Prayer for lost souls comes out from me. I pray that all goes well with my flight. Time moves on and I'm at airport, waiting to catch my flight. I thank God and say a word of Prayer. Every movement of the flight makes me aware of how're lucky I am that I'm alive! And I thank God for it.

I've reached Chennai safely.

Today I look back and realise, I've been lucky. What if I was on Dubai - Mangalore Flight B 737 - 800 on that ill-fated day?