A dream unfulfilled!! St Stephen’s and me…

It is something that i had been planning to write for long. Well, to a some extent this might have been pushed a bit too far because I had spent whole of my School life harboring dreams of making to St Stephen's and even if that meant studying English hons over there.

While all of my friends had been busy preparing for their entrance exams for various Engineering colleges, I had started dreaming about my grand entry to Stephen’s.

Not many people had heard about this great institution in Bihar because of a so call "Engineering mania" that has gripped this state for many years now.

Stephen's was a revered name in our family because my cousin (I hate him calling a “Cousin”, he is more than a brother to me..:)) had made it over there in early 90’s after topping the CBSE exams from Modern, Barakhamba.

I can clearly recall those days where I knew the name of every Sportsperson and Parliamentarian who had ever made it to St Stephen's .My bro would often ask me as to why I did this? I used to reply him

"I want to be like you and study at St Stephen's".

My relatives who had never heard of anything besides IIT's and NIT's and of course were not close to my cousin suddenly had something new to suggest to their children. But aha!! Hold on!!

Stephen's only gives you a general degree and not a professional degree like Engineering or MBBS.

"Stephen's ho ya Marie, dega to general degree hi na" I would just comment back at them "U would never understand it".

Things had gone to such a frenzy that all I did was only tried to concentrate on my Board exams and that too on the Chemistry papers (Chemistry was my favorite subject and only my realistic chance of making it over there and somewhere I knew one good day!! and I could score a cent percent in that subject while Math’s and Physics wasn’t something that inspired interest in me).

My Engineering entrance examinations had gone for a toss. Rest of my life hinged on the board papers. I had worked very hard at it, gave my best shot. I had done reasonably well in the Pre Board papers, getting a 100% in the Chemistry paper and suddenly when it came for the board papers, each and every paper was a disaster.

It still hurts today..:(. I wish I could blame anyone; life had pretty tough years stored in for me. My dreams came crashing down and I was down in the dumps only to recover 4 years from then on.

Post B.SC when I could not get in any of the B-Schools. I had applied for the M.SC course at St Stephen's and not any other Delhi Univ. college. Marks wasn't an issue here as I had topped my college for two continuous years.

I was shortlisted for the interview, and just for the heck of studying at Stephen's, I had decided to attend the interview also, only to abort at the last moment after my father and mother had started crying. They believed M.Sc had no future (perhaps they were right!!) and they always had this lurking fear that once i get in over there, it would be difficult for them to convince me against opting out.

I wanted my Sis to fulfill my dream, but she perhaps never understood me (anyways, she too would never have made to the Cut off’s over there).

I wish one day, when I am married and have my kids, I would like them to join this great institution.

U see, I am not asking much..:)

Cheer Girls and Cricket

If you ought to visit a Cricket ground these days and see those Swiveling and Gyrating bodies, you are bound to appreciate the turning eyes every time a four, six is hit or a wicket falls. No, this isn’t the white Ball that but the lovely girls that have suddenly caught the imagination of all men.

Loud cheers are reserved for their smiles and cheers. Men await in anticipation while girlfriends and wives node in despair.

Six of my classmates were witness to this on the eve of the clash between the Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils. After some circling around the stadium we had finally managed to get a seat in Wankhede.The seats were a pucca platform and it was evidently possible that our buttocks would have a field day. Nothing comes cheap in this world my dear!!

While some of us were busy figuring out our favourite players in the ground, others had a different task at hand.

Friend 1:''abe, yaar!!Ye Cheer girls kaha hai

Friend 2:Wo dekh Shane Warne ko,

1:areh chup kar!!mai Warne ko thori na dekhne aaya hoon

2:haan, mai samajh sakta hoon!!

There were no Cheer girls in sight and the exasperation was clearly smitten all over their faces. They were kept away from our stands and moved to other costly ones.Everytime the ball kissed the boundary the whole stand would rise on its feet, turn their gaze 100 meters away from the stand to see them turn their bellies around and swivel to Hindi tunes, they would have barely understood.

Cricket had taken a backseat and you wonder the hype and hoopla surrounding these cheer girls is not a farce by any standards. Suddenly, they could ogle at these skimpily clad girls without anyone overlooking them yes, you got, kisses and giggles in return!!

1:$@$~%@&$ saara paisa paani me chala gaya

2:haan, mai samajh sakta hoon!!

Travel Guide

Zara hatke...
Zara bachke...
Ye hai Bambai meri jaan...

This Rafi song sums up the very essence of travelling by a Local Train here in Bombay,
You Sweat,You Shudder,You Shrug but You do not complain...

It has been an almost one year now since I started travelling by Local Trains to my college and I must admit it has been one helluva of a ride!!For starters, I will list down a few things that need to be taken care while travelling in local trains out here..

To begin with, this one's especially for all the "Dilliwallas" who travel without tickets in the DTC buses and get away unscathed. Never try travelling without a ticket in the trains here. Ticket checking is pretty much a routine affair here and it would be only a lady luck smiling on you that may come to the rescue.

In case you land in such a soup anyhow, make sure that you have enough money in your pocket to pay for the fine (Well that's 250 bucks these days).

Never step in a 1st class compartment with a 2nd class ticket. There are no excuses entertained, 'train khul rahi thi , aur mai jaldi me tha,wagara wagara"!! My classmates would vouch for that..:) The fine in case you are caught travelling in a 1st class bogey is as high as 500 Rs/- .

Searching for the 1st class compartment is quite a task for the novice ones. So for all you people out there, there are clear red and yellow stripes on the platform which signify 1st class.

This one’s for the Male candidates out here!! Make sure that you don’t accidently land into a female compartment. There are specific labels outside those bogeys which are often not picked up by first time travelers.

Do not get bothered by the "bheed" standing to board the train, as soon as the train comes to a halt, let the disembarking passengers come out and then “Push and Push hard” , do not worry , no one will mind it and yes, everyone gets a place inside the bogey.

U shouldn't mind the "Sweaty Fragrances" of your Co-Passengers getting into your nose, that's a part of the whole package u see..:)

Once you are inside the bogey, try getting inside the compartment instead of standing near the entrance, u will often end with a comfortable nook to stand.

Travelling in 2nd class often means that your Cell phones, Purse and other valuables items are left at the mercy of your fellow passengers. Make sure that you have them perfectly snuggled in a bag or at least they have been stuck deep into your pocket.

Do not try getting in the path of the entrance because that would then invite "howling and galli galauj" from the disembarking passengers.

Never worry if you cannot locate your platform, there will be many helping hands ready to guide you through because bombayites know your time is essential.

Never worry if you happen to be a female travelling late in the night because bombayites care for their mothers, sisters and wives.

Never worry if you are an elderly person waiting to give a rest to your tired legs, there will be many ready to vacate their seats for you because bombayites respect their elders

Never worry in Bombay because bombayites care and understand each other's daily fight for survival...............

Aamir...Worth every penny!!

A host of new Cast and Crew backed by a powerful production house.UTV, it seems has made a lot of money to put its stake on these novices. Well, u wouldn't be complaining after having seen the movie.

The movie is one of the finest works this year and arguably will stay on as the BEST for many years to come now. A welcome break from a spate of recent disasters.

A lot of that can be attributed to the creative laxity of the Chopra's and Verma's who perhaps had thought they could dish out anything and the public would greet them with open hands.

The director Raj Kumar Gupta had assisted Anurag Kashyap in No Smoking and is incidentally the Creative Producer of the film also ( By the way, Anurag is directing the next UTV SPOT BOY production..:)).

Mr. Khandelwal is a known face on Television although you would never have associated the guy with his acting skills. He delivers a power packed performance and his screen presence is just so great!!

The story line begins to grapple for attention from the very first frame of the movie only to loosen itself after the credits.

Bombay had never looked so REAL. Shot through hidden cameras, the Cinematography of this newcomer puts all the big film-makers, who blow up their dough in post production, work to shame.
I had been craving for some good music and alas it is here!! A much needed break from all the loud ding -dong senseless lyrics and sound .For the first timer's it may sound similar to Indian Ocean, but hey!! This is something that will stay with you for some time now.

Get a CD pack soon and trust me you wouldn’t be disappointed. Amit Trivedi (The Music Director) is someone to watch out for in the coming days.

Your heart goes out for Aamir in the scene where he fights with the goondas who steal his briefcase only to be superimposed by a haunting soundtrack. The Climax scene is aptly put up; leaving you gasped in disbelief for a moment.

This film reassures the fact that good film making is possible with limited or small budget and it is for guys like us to see that this type of cinema is appreciated and not end up in the dusty corners of a film library, only to be discovered by our children 20 years from now.

It is on one side sad that this film is not getting its due on Television and Print Media. Well, you can’t blame them either!!

Our news channels are obsessed with TRPs and they would better promote the “Bacchan khandan” and the dull “Sarkar Raj” than devote their time to something that wouldn’t garner them audiences.

Jodha Akbar Ordeal!!




















I had posted this long back on Daman's blog
( http://www.damanxpressions.blogspot.com). Anyways, am reproducing it here again...

I couldn’t recall last where I had been let down so much. All the hype and hoopla surrounding Jodhaa Akbar had fizzed out in a 3:30 hrs ordeal.

Wondering what Mr. Gowariker could have done differently, I was in a fix!!

Hrithik hadn’t let us down yet again. He is one of those guys who will give his 100% , no matter how substandard the script is, remember the string of flops that followed Kaho na pyaar , there wasn’t one film where the boy faltered.

Ash was her usual self ..’’All handwriting and no content”( Mahesh Bhatt in one of the umpteen interviews on television). Although, I guess we appreciate her that way. But age/marriage seems to have taken a toll on her,boys- figure it that out that for yourself!!
There wasn’t any problem with Ashutosh’s direction either.

Well quite clearly there wasn’t enough meat in the story.

A poor script!! Mr Gowariker had never faltered in this area of film making before.
To put the record straight,
But for the grandeur and scale, it would have been a soap opera running for at least 1000 episodes. Hey did Ekta Kapoor pounce on that idea!!

A grumpy mother in law played by a hapless Ila Arun, well we never knew she could act also!!A marriage of compromise and subsequent saas – bahu “nok-jhoks”.

(Remember that salubrious meal, it already had few lips reaching out for it, Anand and Vikas suddenly had their stomachs doing a “Ding a Dong…”btw, they are my friends).

The director started with a noble cause but somewhere he seemed to have lost the track. The war scenes were presented with panache, but hey hold on!!

There was hardly any fact to the story…
What is the fuss that these Rajputs are trying to create when there was hardly any fact or to put it simply…It was fiction all the way with doses of History interspersed here and there!!The producers seemed to have cashed on the name of Akbar…Well its paying dividend too!!…The movie is running to nearly packed houses all over the country.

Ever thought where to spend your dad’s 80 bucks in case u plan for this movie ..I have a few suggestions for u..

To start with .. A laconic bargain with one of the college side vendors for a high octane Novel , and I would have my food and fodder for the next few days.

A HOT Cappuccino with Miss Wadhwa ( subject to permission from her bhaiya!!)..Stop dreaming, u idiot!!

Yeah, how do I miss out on those humorous anecdotes by Vikas, perhaps the only saving grace of the film.

DISCLAIMER: Those jokes were purely Non-Veg!!

After days of procrastination, i finally have a blog of my own..:)

I am soo happy..:)..
so here goes the Oscar Speech...
"I would like to thank Suri, Daman, Abhi , my friends at college for inspiring me with their blogs, ahh..i am not troubling any more..thank u"

chalo, i will post all my backlogs here..
Some posts would be very close to my heart..ohh, blogs are meant for that only......

the champagnes are out, drums are reverberating
the celebrations have just begun..:)