allaharakha

Men will be always be men

2009-05-15T05:23:00.000-07:00

It’s an often used phrase for selling men’s products. Be it Beer or Briefs, every time it works exceptionally well. Does this line act as a mirror for the inhabitants of Mars? Or is it an expression that men love to hear for themselves again and again? Here is an incident that unravels the mysteries shrouded around this phrase.

It was an evening hour when Metro trains were busy ferrying its homebound passengers. In one such crowded trains, a loud phone conversation made me curious to lookout for the caller. A dandy dude was standing close by wrapped himself in a pair of pencil fit blue jeans and a flashy body hugging green tee. But his weather torn skin and his dark eye sockets gave the count of his age. Apart from his phone conversation, his oversized wrist watch and a snazzy hand set caught my attention. He was desperately trying to win the heart of the person on the other end of the phone. Unfortunately, he was running short of words to express his sincerity, so he kept repeating the lines like a worn-out gramophone. Finally, he asked the person to go out with him in a secluded place but it was hard to figure out whether the receiver of the call was convinced to meet him. He kept the phone and instantly his well practiced fingers started strolling through the contact list of his phone book and gave the same business pitch to many of his prospective clients. But before I could make out whether there was any buyer for this ‘Romeo on sale’, the conversation between two middle aged men standing next to the self-proclaimed lover boy gave a new twist to the incident.

Apart from sharing the same age bracket, compartment and probably the same boundary wall, there was hardly anything common between the two. One of them had worn a traditional safari, an unsaid uniform of the traders. His marital bliss was protruding through his shirt and fingers were telling a tale of his fall for the celestial bodies. While listening to Romeo’s conversation he started narrating his own hay day’s stories to his friend standing next to him. “The girls in my college used to shower me with chocolates, roses, and cards. I never approached the girls; they came on my way.” Old memories added a new glow to his face and he continued,” it was like a Pipe Piper Story. But like an obedient son I followed my father’s choice when I decided to settle down in my life. “

The neighbour was getting fidgety and eagerly waiting for his turn to flaunt his uber-sexy side to his friend. The man was in a pair of brown corduroy trousers and his immaculately designed white shirt proved that he was extra conscious about his clothes. He tactfully began his story with a brief introduction of the media world. He declared that the industry is superfluous with young, smart, and outgoing girls. He smirked and said,” Young guys chase girls and they chase me. My salt and pepper stubble was more alluring than those clean shaven dudes.” He winked at the trader and admired himself on a glass window pane of the compartment.

By now, the long lost boyhood of the trader sprung up with a full gusto and he was in mood to display his virility at least to his so called high and mighty neighbour. He claimed that he doesn’t walk around the housing society just to avoid the craving glances of the colony ladies. It was bit too much for the media man to stomach it, so he turned around from the speaker and snootily looked at the oversized wrist watch of Romeo. He said, “It’s easily available in every Pan Shop of Nehru Place for hundred rupees.” But before he could finish, the coy trader declared, “Arrey! These watches are lying like a putrefying mound on the pavements of Chandni Chowk...”

Before I could get to see a cracking climax, the familiar voice of a metro announcer interrupted the show by announcing the next station. Hearing the announcement all the three men vanished into the moving crowd.

But they left an impression in my mind that men will always be men!

Recess the Recession

2009-03-20T06:19:00.000-07:00

A word that has been buried under the stacks of economic theories for ages suddenly springs up and becomes the most talked about word across the globe. Well, no brownie points for guessing the word. It’s called RECESSION. Within a few months, it has spread like a wild fire all over the world. Its flame has engulfed every town, every industry, and every home. India too, is facing its heat. It has forced Indian tycoons to down size their employee strength and slice the salaries and other benefits of the existing employees.

In this hellish time, suddenly a campaign called “The power of Ideas” from the Economic Times brings a new light of hope for those who are groping in the dark caves of desolation. At least, it has given an encouraging insight to tackle this invisible behemoth known as recession.

For commoners like us the word recession means retrenchment and our needs are above these economic puzzles. It’s a catch 22 situation and the best available option left to us is redefining ‘Luxury’ and ‘Necessity’. It’s time to get out of the cobweb of consumerism. Thankfully, the task is easier for us than the Americans and Europeans because the philosophy of ‘Simple living and high thinking’ still exists here. We can easily turn our backs to Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Lamborghini and look for moments of joys. These priceless treasures often come without a price tag.

This temporary unemployment caused by the recession can be taken as a sabbatical leaves from the run-of-the-mill work. It’s an opportunity to do the jobs which are closed to our hearts and get remunerated in the rare currencies of satisfaction, gratification and pure delight. Or let’s utilise this time to hone our skills and get an edge over the rest.

We are aware that everything is not hunky-dory and we have to look for a suitable way to cope the situation. We can bear the heat of recession only when we have the coolants like confidence, high self-esteem and trust in ourselves. Every down has an up, every low has a high, and every night has a day - it’s an irreversible rule of nature. The recession is a part of nature but we can recess the recession with a smile.

Devdas Vs DevD

2009-03-07T04:01:00.000-08:00

One film that has always caught the fancy of the Indian film makers of all ages is Sarat Chandra Chatterjee’s romantic tragedy ‘Devdas’. It’s interesting to note that the film had thirteen remakes with hardly any change in its script and all made a box office success. Be it, Bimol Roy’s simplistic DevDas or Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s highly melodramatic one. The protagonist of the story, Devdas is a rich educated young man and spoils himself for his childhood lover, Paro. His indecisiveness led to self destruction.

Since time immemorial, the Indian audience gets immense pleasure in watching films soaked with an overdose of emotions. Generation after generation, heart rending films or music give them immense gratification. It is almost a ritual for the Indian film lovers to sob and shed tears whenever the protagonist is on the bed of death. The film makers have exploited this sentiment to its fullest. Time and again, it is this trail of tears that has led to the commercial success of Devdas.

Now, with the release of Anurag Kashyap’s Dev D, the old era of Devdas has come to an end. The film is more in tune with the post modern era; the maverick director has made daring experiments in terms of narrative techniques, script, cinematography, lyrics and music of the film. It explores the predicament of today’s youth through drug addicted and alcoholic Devdas, daring country girl Paro, and daunting city girl Chanda. Till recently, sex and sexuality have been an under the carpet topic for the Indian cinema. Keeping the trend of the contemporary cinema, the sensual side of a human life has been blatantly displayed in the film. Indian women are equally sex starved as their male partners. This has been portrayed in a serious-comic scene when Paro, the childhood lover of Devdas carries a mattress on her bicycle to the neighbouring field to enjoy some intimate moments with her lover. Unlike Hindi film heroines, she dares to click her nude photograph in a manual camera and gets it developed. But she decided to move on in her life when her lover refuses to marry her after a series of misunderstandings.

In the original story no one bothered to delve deep into the past of Chandramukhi/ Chanda. But in this film the director has given a modern twist by linking the infamous MMS incident of a school girl. The female characters are far more mature in their attitude, her initial set back does not deter her and she too decides to move on like Paro. She takes up prostitution as a profession and continues her studies. In the entire film, the concept of ‘Move on’ has been well depicted by the three main characters. At the end, even the self obsessed protagonist comes to negotiate with life and decides to move on. Anurag Kashyap is known for portraying the darker side of human life but in this film probably he is at his best. The dingy lanes of Paharganj, psychedelic blue and pink lights, imageries of vodka and vomit unfold the psychological struggle of the film. The number ‘Emotional Atyachar’ with the spoof of Elvis Presley makes the film memorable and meaningful. Definitely, the film is an undoubting work of the maker and a treat to the cinema lovers.

The Indian Albatross

2009-01-21T04:09:00.000-08:00

We often come across a brown coloured bird with a bright yellow beak and feet swinging on a twig of a tree or an electric cable. I am not talking about any exotic bird, but a common bird called Mynah. It holds a special place in kids’ hearts. When they see the bird in a pair, they go ecstatic, as if they have hit a jackpot. They celebrate this fortunate sight with jubilation and shout,”Two for Joy”. They prepare themselves to welcome some unexpected good news. If their day begins with a sight of an innocent Mynah, they steal their sight from the bird. This ominous sight chocks their voice and they mummer, “One for Sorrow”. One - is a celestial message that some unforeseen event is chasing their way. They get terrorized and make a futile attempt to prepare themselves to face an unprecedented tragedy.

For some, these childhood superstitions stay with them even after they cross the threshold of the university. It’s interesting to note that many years ago; a famous poet called Samuel Backet Coleridge wrote a poem “The rhyme of the ancient mariner”. In his poetry, he narrated a story of a few sailors who killed a harmless Albatross, a sea bird, with a hope that the ship would sail through smoothly. But they couldn’t touch the shore.

We claim to be superior to the rest by the virtue of our ability to give reasoning. But often, superstitions outwit our analytical capacities. You never come to know; when this devil called “Superstition” enters our mind, occupies and starts ruling it. In its clout, we prove ourselves to be the most vulnerable and meek creatures on the earth.

Agony and Ecstasy of an abbreviation

2009-01-13T05:16:00.002-08:00

Mr. Sharma felt proud to see his fellow passengers not pushing each other while entering a compartment of a train. He got a corner seat without any struggle and peeped out of a window as if he could see Singapore coming to India. But his dream skyline vanished when a hyperactive college group entered the compartment.

The group seemed to have come straight from an M.TV studio. All of them were in the latest jeans, jackets, and colourful mufflers hanging around their necks. Their accessories talked about their often visits to a jewellers shop than to a barber’s shop. The XXL size rug sacks behind their backs gave them a mistaken identity of the globetrotters. They entered, squatted on the floor of the compartment and continued their conversation. One of them with a constipated expression on his face, said, “My god damn Chem. class fucked me completely!” The other one said, “Chill. Wanna go for a movie?” he was stopped by the third guy’s sharp reaction” guys! No way. I’m broke.” The fourth snapped his fingers and said with eureka style,”R.C. suits us all”.

The word “R.C” caught the attention of Mr. Sharma. For him, Royal Challenge brand of whisky is a luxury that can be enjoyed by those who have achieved success in life. College Students having R.C. - the very thought made him paranoid. He was all set to save the sinking ship of traditional values and getting ready with his rescue strategies.

“R.C. c’mon! … Move your ass man.” The sharp voice from that group brought Mr. Sharma back to his senses. He looked out of the window and saw a familiar graphic of a female at Rajeev Chowk station welcoming all the metro train passengers. He hurriedly stood up and walked out of the metro train.