Jaipur Literature Fest is here!!!

Come January and all bibliophiles head to Jaipur for Asia’s biggest literary festival – the Jaipur Literature Festival #JLF. The festival, which has been organised at Diggy Palace Hotel in Jaipur since 2006 serves a platform for people from the writing world to share their views while it’s a perfect treat for us bibliophiles to listen to them!

Over the years, the festival has seen its popularity grow exponentially. Art, music, food, literature, panel discussions, readings, debates, performances, book launches…there’s so something for everyone. 

And the best part – the festival is absolutely free!

While the festival has been blessed by literary heavyweights like Mahasweta Devi and Salman Rushdie, it has also welcomed new authors with open arms, and one can witness many book launches at the festival. Some controversies also come in, but they just add up to the popularity of the event.

Last year, the festival witnessed almost 300 authors from around the globe, 150 poets, musicians and performers and more than 1.5 lakh visitors! It was a delight to have Mahasweta devi, Dalai Lama, Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and many other celebs share their thoughts.

This year, the five day festival (January 17-21) will witness 240 authors. While debates and discussions will be the regular items on the menu, there will also be special sessions on Crime and Punishment, Democracy Dialogues, Women Uninterrupted and Endangered Languages. 

Some of the popular speakers this year are – Amartya Sen, Amish Tripathi, Ekta Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Shashi Tharoor, William Dalrymple.

Here’s the agenda for the first day of the festival.

One can register and enjoy art, music, literature and food at one of the best literary fests of the world!

I got my recharge!

I looked at our old photographs and sighed! “Those golden days when our love had just blossomed! How Mr. Hubby wouldn’t stop fiddling with my hair. His fingers would never stop playing with my curls and I would shy and get my thick hair to cover my face.”

Then came my transition from being a girlfriend to a wife and a daughter in law. Responsibilities and the race to get the work home balance right, almost left me with no time for myself. Mom’s home treatments were put at backburner as the wife in me took over to delight Mr. Hubby with new delicacies. Hair care was limited to occasional oiling and frequent use of shampoos picked randomly from the neighborhood shop.

The results were now showing. My falling hair cried for help as also my love life, which was ignored amidst the burden of responsibilities.

As I sat sulking looking at the pics, I grumbled, “Look at me before and after! I look like a car that has exhausted its battery!”

“Perhaps you need a recharge, my love” Mr. Hubby said as he looked up from his newspaper and showed me the Sunsilk ad in the newspaper.

While I didn’t utter a word to my caring Hubby, the ad stayed on with me when I bought myself the Sunsilk next day. With the new Sunsilk, hair regime no longer remained the same old fussy affair. Few days and I was beginning to see the change. The hair were coming back to life and no longer remained the messy rough mass I hated.

We were on a holiday after a month to celebrate our anniversary. As we sat in the hotel room counting our blessings, Mr. Hubby ran his fingers into my hair and said with a smiled “So you finally got the recharge!”

I smiled and wondered…

Hey Sunsilk, you recharged my hair and also my life,

I’m me again, Mr. Hubby’s perfect gorgeous hair walee wife!

This post is written for Rechargeyour hair contest by Sunsilk and Indiblogger. With the new Sunsilk range, hair care no longer remains a fussy affair. Choose the product to suit your hair type and give your hair a recharge!

Cinema that provokes the thought…

Cinema, has a power so strange

It is the wave that brings the change

In thoughts, speech and action

And shows us our society’s reflection

Inspiring us to go off the beaten path

And bring a revolution that makes us stand apart

Since the time the first moving image reflected on the silver screen, cinema has been influencing the society in every way. Be it in the form of youngsters following the latest look of their favourite Bollywood stars, or the people adopting trends from movie stories into their own life.

Though the birth of cinema was for entertainment, yet, time and again, we witness several go getters, who use cinema to give a message to the society to change for good; to move beyond the clichés and chart a new path altogether. These are off beat films that have managed to provoke our thoughts to make a better society –

Mother India

One of the best movies made ever, Mother India showcased the ideal Indian mother to the whole world. It is the story of the mother who brings her children alone amidst the perils of society – poverty, exploitation and illiteracy, to name a few. She may be the selfless mother, who sacrifices her comforts for her children, yet when it comes to principles, she doesn’t bat an eyelid before choosing right over wrong. The movie that gave us the mother who gives the last morsel to her son, yet shoots the same son when he violates the rules of society by abducting the daughter of the village moneylender.

Iqbal

Most of us dream and blame destiny when things don’t go our way. But here is a story of a deaf and dumb Iqbal who, despite his handicap realises his dream of being a cricketer, through hard work and perseverance. The movie did its bit by changing the view of society towards children with special needs and taught us to value the qualities in a person rather than writing him off for his deficiencies.

                                               

Mirch Masala

An award winning movie of the 80s, Mirch Masala shows the strong, fiery side of the Indian woman, just like the title of the movie. The protagonist (played by Smita Patil) teaches us women to be fearless (or Nirbhay) against the vultures hovering in the society. The film showed a new side of Indian beauty to the world, one who could take the oppressors herself to guard her modesty. The last scene where women blind the Subedaar with red chilli powder is a must watch. In today’s times when women’s security has been an issue of concern, we need more women like Sonbai

Filhal

Surrogacy, which till now had been a thing of a taboo, was introduced beautifully to the masses by this movie.  The story of Sia (Sushmita Sen) who fills the emptiness in her friend Reva’s (Tabu) life by being a surrogate mother brought a smile on the faces of numerous childless couples. For the Indian mindset, where blood is thicker than water, this film brought a new message – that surrogacy is no longer a thing to be shy about; and that no bond is more important than the bond of love.

Oh My God

In the times when we have had shocking revelations about god men, here is a movie that underlines the core belief of every religion – that God resides our heart. To the masses who were blinded by God men into superstitions, this movie taught to believe in one’s karma and keep the religion alive in one’s heart without falling prey to superstition. A revolutionary movie of its kind, this one truly walked off the beaten path to open eyes of many.

Movies like these inspire us to think out of the box and take the society to a better tomorrow.

Thanks BlogAdda for giving this opportunity for the film buff me to write about such amazing movies, 

This post is a part of the Miss Lovely Activity in association with BlogAdda.

Miss Lovely, an off-beat film directed by Ashim Ahluwalia is set in the lower depths of Bombay’s “C” grade film industry. It follows the devastating story of two brothers who produce sex horror films in the mid – 1980s. A sordid tale of betrayal and doomed love, the film dives into the lower depths of the Bollywood underground, an audacious cinema with baroque cinemascope compositions, lurid art direction, wild background soundtracks, and gut-wrenching melodrama. Miss Lovely is scheduled for commercial release on 17 January 2014.

You can check the trailer of the film here

Book review – The Virgins

Author – Siddharth Tripathi

Publisher – Fingerprint

Pages – 320

Price – Rs.250

Sneak Preview from the Book –

With six unmarried sisters and a perennially drunk father, Pinku, a 19-year-old school dropout, has only one dream left to marry the plump girl who caught him stealing flowerpots. His friend and confidant, 17-year-old Bhandu, is not faring any better his parents are divorcing, his father has abandoned him, and the American tourist he is infatuated with doesnt even know that he exists. Bhandu and Pinku seek solace in the distracting shenanigans of their friend Guggi a pampered rich brat who can do anything for a thrill. Guggis reckless hedonism lands the threesome in a series of sexpot escapades each adventure weirder than the one before.

But their seemingly innocuous joyride is about to end.

With their Class 12 exams around the corner, Guggi, restless to leave a mark, takes over the schools notorious protection racket in a violent coup. The fallout drags the trio into a murky world of heartbreak, betrayal and bloody vengeance...

My View

When The Tales Pensieve sent the mail for review, my first impression of the book was primarily of an adult comedy. But as I began reading the book, I discovered one cannot judge a book by its cover, or err…even the title!

Far from its name, the book is a cute compilation of silly incidents from the lives of three friends – Pinku, Bhandu and Guggi. The plot is based in the sleepy town of Varanasi, where they still call shopkeepers chacha!

An impressive debut from Siddharth, the book keeps one laughing till the end, as it takes one on a journey to adolescence, where we all had our share of silly, embarrassing moments.

Guggi the brat is never short of notorious activities that invite trouble for the whole gang. Bhandu is the sensible of them, while Pinku, the goat, gets butchered in every silly plan of Guggi. The author keeps you engrossed in this comedy of errors, without making it too much, for he also portrays the trials and tribulations of teenage. The ending scene is somewhat unexpected, but that’s where the author leaves you asking for more.

If you don’t enjoy boy kinda language, the book is not for you, for there are is a healthy usage of slangs and all jokes have a double angle to it, if you get what I mean. I found the choice of names quiet funny (cheeni chacha, bhandu etc.) but considering, it’s the author’s debut, we can let that pass.

About the author – Siddharth Tripathi

Siddharth Tripathi was born in Allahabad and schooled in Banaras. He is a B.E from NIT Trichy and an MBA from MDI, Gurgaon. Siddharth currently lives in Gurgaon and works as a consultant for a business advisory firm. He also writes a blog on music and films. The Virgins is his first novel.

The book was received as part of Reviewers Programme on The Tales Pensieve.

Till we meet in heaven…

January 8, 2011 12.30pm...me, papa and bhai were waiting outside the ICU of Fortis Hospital. Five minutes ago, we had been informed mom’s heartbeat had stopped and doctors were trying hard to revive her. My cold hand shivered as I held the Hanuman Chalisa…a part of me knew what was coming and I was hurriedly trying to finish the chanting in the hope that God would do miracle and save my dying ma. When the doctor called us inside, I forced myself into believing that all was well. I still remember that helpless nod from the doctor that signaled “it’s all over”…

I held her cold, heavy, lifeless hand and kept holding it even as the doctor insisted on covering her face. Mom had always been the hero in my life and had always believed in fighting till the end, and seeing her lying lifeless was just unacceptable to my heart. But the mind saw the doctor who had given up the ABC procedure by now, and the blank lifeless line that ran across the monitor.

My world came crashing down that day with a void in my life that will never be filled at least in this lifetime. To lose someone you love the most without saying the final goodbye or without spending the last moment together is like a wound that never heals…I wish I was there with her that moment.

It’s been exactly 3 years today and each day, each moment brings with itself some element that brings back memories of the Angel who blessed me. Life no longer remained same as a part of my heart quietly chose to be declared dead.

They say time is the best healer. Not really sure, for the grief grows every second. I miss her support in every painful moment and her smiling face filled with pride in my moments of triumph.

Sometimes I wonder – does grief give us strength to move ahead, or the ability to pretend that everything is fine inside. With so many roles to play, one cannot carry the sadness in front of others forever. So slowly, people around start believing things are back to normal even as the troubled self looks for moments of solitude to let the tears flow.

This grief has also given me the strength; the strength to be on my own in every sense; and the strength to live the dream mom saw for me. Shortly after mom passed away, I was working overnight to relive the dream she saw for my career…and her blessings ensured I wasn’t kept waiting for long. But every success is a failure when the person who inspired me to do it all is gone. Sometimes, my sister asks me why am I running this marathon I tell her I want to score the maximum points till I am here as I know mom is keeping tab of my score wherever she is…

As much as I curse destiny for snatching mom, I also thank God for giving me the beautiful years and endless love I got from that angel. Thanks mom for the best words you taught me – optimism and hope. Without you I wouldn’t have been the strong self that I am now.

Till the time, I am united with you forever in heaven; I will miss you each day Mom…May you spend each moment in happiness and peace and continue to be my Angel in heaven. Love you mom!

The wave of change

This is the story of the youth, the power of We, the people, and the magic of staying connected!

Pallavpuram was just another sleepy town where corruption ruled. The local MLA Duryodhan Bhaiyya with his goon power, had a record of winning 4 consecutive polls from that constituency. Welfare was confined to a mere joke. The funds allocated by the centre were siphoned off midway by team Duryodhan before they reached its due recipients.

People suffered and hoped their plight would improve someday…

Perhaps this time, their wait was about to be over...

Shravan Kumar was the son of an honest police constable. Having grown up in Pallavpuram, he had been a witness to the atrocities of team Duryodhan and others. A Gandhian by thought, his only dream for his town was to get justice the non violence way.

He followed the election commission on twitter and facebook to know the various initiatives being taken for the upcoming general elections. Having completed his masters in IT, he volunteered to join the Ahimsa party as its technology head. It was not easy to expose team Duryodhan, for their connections ran up high till the centre. Shravan knew that the election commission was a neutral body. The right guidance to voters and fair elections would ensure a change of power in the general elections.

Duryodhan bhaiyya often lured the youngsters by free liquor and other freebies. They in turn, carried out booth capturing and fake voting for his party and also lured others.

Shravan knew if he was to awaken people, first the youth power had to be unleashed. For, the youth had the energy and guts to sweep away any tyrant from their town. He began connecting with the youngsters on facebook and twitter. Around the same time, WeChat a recently launched voice messaging service had become a rage with the youth of the town. They would spend hours sending each other voice messages and funny emoticons. Shravan and his party decided to make the best use of this opportunity.

They began sending voice messages to the youth about the state of things in their constituency and how they could exercise their right as voters to bring about change. The youth who had been till now, happy with Duryodhan Bhaiyya’s free liquor were beginning to realise they were losing much more in lieu of a cheap bottle of liquor.

Soon, the area heads of Shravan’s party formed online groups and communities on facebook and WeChat and shared the problems faced by the people. They shared articles on the rights and duties of voters; the various funds that the centre had allocated for the town. Every Friday, the area heads organised group chat sessions on WeChat where the youth discussed how they could exercise their rights and bring about a change. There were separate chat sessions for first time voters, and they were educated about their rights and duties.

The spark which Shravan lighted had by now transformed into the flame of justice.

Duryodhan bhaiyya and his goons were restless. Being used to their old violent ways, they never knew the power of social media. They hired a professional hacker to hack and disrupt the efforts of Shravan’s party, but failed.

A day before elections, the election commission also brought a secret gift for team Duryodhan. Every polling booth was fitted with surveillance cameras.

However, on the polling day, Duryodhan Bhaiyya’s goons tried booth capturing on few polling stations. While the surveillance cameras caught their act, few youngsters standing nearby caught their act on their mobiles. Within seconds the videos of Duryodhan’s goons went viral on Facebook, Twitter and WeChat.

This further awakened the people who had decided to sit at home for the fear of booth capturing. Knowing they were safe now, they happily came and exercised their vote. The old Mausi who could barely walk to the polling booth, gave a toothy smile to the media persons who had rushed after seeing the booth capturing video. “This is a day of change for Pallavpuram”, she said.

By evening, the booth capturing videos had crossed 1 million hits on Youtube. Duryodhan bhaiyya and his goons were nowhere to be seen. Finger print scan of every voter ensured there were no fake votes.

A day before the results, an online and sms poll signaled that the state of affairs seemed to change for good.

The poll results day was celebrated like a festival in Pallavpuram. Shravan’s party had won by a clear majority, breaking team Duryodhan’s winning spree. Within hours of the results being declared, Shravan crossed 100000 followers on twitter!

As the media persons rushed to interview the new youth icon of the country, Shravan thanked the voters in his online address and said, “Even the non violent have the courage to win. This is the victory of We the people and technology! Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity are our rights and I am glad the youth have helped us bring about this revolution”

This post is written for Indian General Elections 2014 with Social Mobile Appscontest by WeChat and Indiblogger. #VoteForIndia

Happy New Year!!!

With barely half an hour left to usher in the New Year, I couldn’t resist myself from writing this one last post for the year 2013.

As a kid, me and my friends believed, whatever one does at the time of New Year is what s/he does for the remaining year. So, I used to wear my best clothes, wear a big smile and give a big hug to my mom.

New Year is also a time to count your blessings. No matter how much we sulk about things that didn’t happen, we should also pay our gratitude for the things we have. So, every New Year’s eve at midnight, mom used to pray for all of us and also used to give that special magical hug with sweets…the occasion is the same, though mom is missing and wherever she is, I can still feel the warmth of her blessings.

Thank you all my readers for your encouragement. For someone who began blogging just as a means of shouting her heart out, regular dose of appreciation from readers means a lo…t.

Needless to say, I LOVE comments, so no matter how short they are, keep pouring them. They bring the joy of being connected with my readers.

I wish you all a very happy and prosperous New Year 2014!!!

A special wish also goes out to those who spend their New Year’s Eve in hospitals. I have seen my mom going to the ICU on New year’s Eve and I pray nobody goes through that experience. Also, hats off to the people who sacrifice their enjoyment to serve us in hospitals, hotels, railways, even the defence personnel on the border.

I pray happiness, smiles, Love and contentment for everyone. May all your dreams come true and may the year to come bring the better human being out in all of us, coz the world really needs it these days!

As for me, its about to be 12 and I am blogging! Yippee!!! May this year get the best out of the writer in me…maybe I can write something good enough to be published…J

Phew! Before I get any more senti, here’s wishing everyone a happy new year 2014 once again!

Keep smiling and keep loving my posts! Stay tuned for lot more to come!!!

UnJaani Dushmanee with stubble

It was the wedding day of Bhola, the local hero and Champa, Thakur’s daughter. Sadness surrounded the decked up haveli. In last 3 months, 4 brides had lost their lives to the secret monster. His target – brides dressed in red. 

A night before wedding, the monster played his trick. He possessed Bhola’s body before the wedding rituals. Waiting for the kill, all it could do to Bhola was to grow ugly stubble on his face.

Everyone was shocked. But since Bhola had just been back from a trip to town, everyone thought stubble was the new fashion in town.

The procession reached Champa’s haveli. Dressed in red, Champa walked in. As she looked up to see her prince charming, her eyes opened wide in shock. The smooth and well groomed Bhola was sporting ugly stubble!

“Bhola, what have you done? This is not the look we decided. I hate that unclean stubble.” Champa fumed. “Bapu, I can’t marry him. Marriage happens once in life, I can’t spoil my photu album with this ugly look”, she said.

The monster hiding inside Bhola’s body, couldn’t take any more insult. “I will show her what can I do”. Within minutes the stubble grew to an ugly beard and the monster pounced at Champa.

Just then, Swamiji, the village priest threw Gangajal on him. The monster soon left Bhola’s body and Bhola became normal.

“Beti, how did u know he had changed?” Thakur Sahab asked. 

Champa smiled, “Bapu, when I met Bhola the first time, his simplicity and clean shaven look bowled me over. I knew Bhola would do anything but would never sport stubble, coz he knows his Champa hates that unclean stubble”

Protest Against Unclean Stubble Activity in association with BlogAdda. I accept tags from Anita 

For better or for worse…

Things had become bad to worse over the last few months. She had been under house arrest by her own family. Loving a boy of another religion was the worst gift she had given her orthodox parents.  Her only hope - the housemaid, who could pass on the message to her lover.

The decision was made, to escape the land where love holds no meaning. She convinced the maid to deliver that letter to her lover, and in exchange parted with the stilettos her brother had got her from London.

On the fateful night, she fled home as the maid bid her a silent goodbye. “So far so good”, she thought as she crossed the first hurdle – getting out of the house secretly. The enthusiasm of being with her beloved surpassed the pain of leaving home without saying the final goodbye. But all was fair in love and war.

With dreams of a better life, she paced ahead on the foggy night towards her destination. She rechecked her watch. It was about time he would come there on his black Yamaha. She reached 10min ahead and saw a black bike waiting to zoom her away to eternal happiness. She was elated. “He kept his promise, he is the best”, she thought as she quickly sat on the bike and hugged him from behind. “Let’s run away from the land of hatred and honour killings to the land of love and peace”, she said. 

The foggy night and the helmet didn’t show his face, but the hug had familiar warmth. As the ignition started and the lights of a car following them fell on the side mirror, her worst fear came true…It was her brother riding the bike, not him.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

Farooq Sheikh – A gem in the crown of Indian Parallel Cinema

Tumko Dekha to ye khayaal aya,

Zindagi dhoop aur tum ghanaa saya...

These and many more songs flash in my mind as I write about Farooq Sheikh. Having grown up on a healthy dose of parallel cinema, Farooq Sheikh is a name that features in some of my favourite movies.

As I read about his sudden death due to cardiac arrest, I was reminded of a slim guy with an honest face charming a simple Deepti Naval in the song “tum ko dekha”. In the 80s where “the angry young man” and disco dancer were ruling the hearts of the masses, here he was, a simple man, who didn’t mind posing as a rickshaw walla or a bangle seller to spend few moments in private with his lady love (Film: Bazaar)

He represented the common man, the guy next door, who may not boast of bulky biceps or swanky cars, but in whose company, any girl would feel the warmth of a genuine relationship.

But, that’s not all…

The actor who played the guy next door, essayed the role of a royal almost effortlessly. Who can forget his performance in movies like Umrao Jaan? The shy nawab curbed in the bounds of nawaabi, whose eyes said it all. 

But shyness was not all, for there were movies like Katha, Faasle and Shatranj ke khiladi, which saw a different side of him. One also saw him occasionally in commercial movies like Biwi Ho to aisi and Noorie.

The 90s saw him making his presence felt on the television arena. It still gives immense delight to watch episodes of the famous “Ji Mantriji” and “Jeena issi ka naam hai” on youtube, even as channels have telecasted these popular shows over and over again.

In the 2000s, he became selective about movies however, gave us movies of critical acclaim like Lahore, which won him the 2010 National Film award for Best Supporting Actor.

A very versatile actor, Farooq performed was equally comfortable with theatre and television as he was with cinema. His famous play with Shabana Azmi “Tumhari Amrita” ran into many years of success.

Here are some of my personal favourites –

Bazaar

Chashme Baddoor

Umrao Jaan

Saath Saath

Shatranj ke khiladi

While his on screen chemistry with Deepti Naval set the screen on fire, Farooq was a romantic in his real life too. He courted his wife for nine years before getting married. He is survived by his wife and three daughters.

Life throws the unexpected when we are least aware of it. Who knew that a family vacation to Dubai would take him away from us forever. Simple, sensible, humble, jovial, warm are some of the words I have for him for I have been a big fan of his movies since God knows when.

Indian cinema will always remember this boy from Baroda, who gave us the simple guy next door of the 80s.

Rest in peace Farooq. May your humble soul remain in happiness wherever you are.

Here are some lines from one of his movies (Bazaar)…

Karoge yaad to har baat yaad ayegi

Guzarte waqt ki har mauj thehar jayegi

Farooq Sheikh (1948-2013)

5 vardaans from mummy Santa

Parents - a word that lays a lot of meaning in my life. All that I am today I because of the hard work and sacrifice by my parents. They sacrificed their comforts to ensure I didn’t miss on any of my luxuries. Their careful planning, consistent saving and wise investments ensured I got the best - for education, health, comforts and marriage. Thanks mom and dad, for you are the one I look up to when I think of ideal parenting.

At a time when biological clock goes ticking and relatives shower me with advises to take on the “big” responsibility, BlogAdda and HDFC come up with the 1001 gifts activity. Parenting brings unbounded joy in one’s life. But with it also come responsibility, for someone’s entire life depends on your decisions. As parents, we want the best for our kids. Having got the best from my parents, I would like to follow the learning they gave me, and take it a step forward to ensure my children can live their life with happiness, dignity and independence.

So, if me, the mummy Santa were to think of 5 vardaans (5 gifts) I could give my kids for a secure future, they would be –

1.     Learn, for the universe is your learning ground – My mom always said everyone learn from their own mistakes, but a wise person is the one who learns from the mistake of others. I wish to pass on the vardaan of the quest for learning to my li’l ones. For, the person who learns to adapt to the changing environment learns to survive in all seasons.

2.     Saving for the rainy day – As a parent, we want the best for our kids. And the secret of getting the best in limited resources lies in meticulous planning. To ensure everything goes smooth for them, even if I am not there, I will invest, but at the same time, I would also want them to understand the value of money and learn the art of planning.

3.    Be Positive – Ups and downs are a part and parcel of life. But the one who emerges a winner in the race of life is the one who stays positive and never loses faith in hardwork.

4.    Health is wealth – All the comforts are a waste without a healthy body and soul. In today’s stressful life, health problems can knock at the door anytime. Just like my parents ensured my health cover was the first big gift I got, I too would ensure the same for my kids. Ayushmaan Bhava!

5.    Live with Dignity  - Better to live a humble life with dignity, than to enjoy comforts from pity. Own house, sufficient investments so that my kids don’t have to depend on anybody to realize their dreams. The final vardaan – Sar Uthha ke Jiyo!

 

This post is a part of the 1001 Gifts Activity by HDFC Life in association with BlogAdda