You know or you don't

Its ‘Jaane Tu…Ya jaane na’,which means ‘You know or you don’t’. I have heard good reviews of this movie from friends before I went to watch it. Everyone said the movie was a good one. So I decided to venture it on the last show on 10th July ,Thursday.
I have often believed that a movie is all about direction accompanied by acting. And ‘Jaane Tu’ is more about direction than anything else. It’s a run of the mill story, with a debutant actor with limited acting capabilities accompanied by pretty ordinary music score by a music maestro and yet it’s a wonderful movie to watch.
Right from the casting to the way the movie is presented everything makes it a refreshing experience. Along the movie you would imagine the movie was written keeping Imran in mind and not the other way around. His acting in-capabilities actually becomes the USP for this movie. Amazing yet so true. Genelia has a perfect role to suit her kind of character and the other characters in the movie are as believable as it can get.
The story is ordinary considering the fact that two college friends who does not know that there lives have become so close that they are actually in love(The others surrounding their lives actually believes so). Eventually they decide to help each other finding life partner. When the guy finally finds a gal the other gal realizes she is in love with him. Subsequently ego clashes leads to a final airport scene where the hero breaks all security and expresses his love for the leading lady. Yaaawwwn. So boring .
But believe me this story is so wonderfully told in the movie that you will fall in love with it. Firstly the guy is a ‘cowardly Rajput’ sounds like an oxymoron. That’s where the movie scores. Its goes beyond the convention of celluloid cinema. The hero is like one of us. The other characters actually blends so well with the movie that one can relate to them instantly. The imagery of the hero’s dad communicating to his mom through his wall painting is an innovative and amazing concept that adds that ‘zing’ to the movie. The humor is very subtle and stands beyond the normal run of the mill slap stick comedy. The portrayal of the ‘Meao’ and ‘Rats’ with there uninhabited friendship actually breathes in fresh life into otherwise boring movies releasing every now and then. Ratna Pathak,Paresh Rawal, Sohail and Arbaaz Khan have wonderful cameos to themselves. Naseeruddin Shah who is exceptional as ‘The Wallpainting’ Dad actually adds the extra comic flavour to the movie. The 3 hours movie will keep you engrossed with its story telling and refreshing brilliance. Not to mention the climax which ends in an Airport scene. You must have watched lots of this airport scene climax. But this one is just a bit different and wonderfully enjoying.
The movie actually raises a question when do you think you are in love? And off course makes it a point to answer it. At times we search of paradise without knowing that it’s at our arms length. The movie actually defines a thin line that separates friendship and love. The truth that always prevails is the person you love is actually your best friend ‘Jaane Tu …ya Jaane na’.

Mahabaleshwar Trip

Aurangabad Trip

Religion=??

Whenever I fill up the forms for any office or visa or any other stuff I am always asked for my religion. I am a Hindu so I write ‘Hindu’. Does it make any difference to my life??I don’t exactly know this. I have often wondered how much Hindu I am? To begin with I am an atheist, so it doesn’t matter which religion I belong to I just don’t have any belief in any form of GOD.
I have been educated in Christian missionary school so Bible has been an integral part of my life since my childhood. I have read The New Testament, The Old Testament; I have celebrated Christmas and have enjoyed the pork chops in my meal. I have never refused any wine offered to me during Christmas. I am fascinated by Christian wedding and white gowns, not to mention their churches have been an architectural treat for my eyes…so does that make me a Christian?
I have loved Muslim architecture, I have been fascinated by their artwork, I love their Biriyani, I have read Quran(Although Translated Version) , I have been touched by the beauty of Muslim women in my trips to Kashmir and Hyderabad . Sufi music has been a treat to my ear ever since I have been listening to music..so does this makes me a Muslim?
I guess my likings for Hindu religion needs no explanation because that’s what I am by birth, isn’t it. If that’s not enough then I must say that my grandfather has been a devout Hindu throughout his life and so is my mom and I belong to that family! So that makes me a Hindu, right. I wished that while filling the forms I was given the option to choose as many religion as possible I would have ticked them all..OR for online forms if they would have given me check boxes instead of radio button then I would have probably clicked them all.
My parents have been wonderful in bringing me up and giving me the option to make choices in my life. So till day I haven’t been able to make up my mind if I want to choose any religion although officially I am a ‘Hindu’. So whenever I hear things going wrong on basis of communal divide I am perplexed. Does following any religion ever make any difference to a man unless he/she decides to be a religious fanatic? History has shown that religion was invented to bring people closer to one another. It was a basis of social networking for likeminded people. And in a country like India which I so wonderfully variant how does religion play an important part in shaping its destiny??
I know that thousands of articles and stories have been written on communal harmony and religious tolerances and on topics pertaining to religion but still we have the lines. The line that divides people on the basis of the religion he/she follows. The lines that burns countries leaving behind unremovable scars. The lines that given rise to fanatism and hatred among people. The lines that modern day science has not been able to wane away inspite of huge advances in technology.
I guess the time has come to progress forward as ‘Humans’ and believe in the saying “Live and Let Live”. Although these thoughts may be a bit philosophical but I guess history have proven that the greatest of kingdoms have been the ones which have held all religions at the highest level. Since we want India to dominate the world in the coming century so guess we should look at these aspects also.
I must confess I am happy to be a human, an atheist more than that of being a Hindu….!

Long time...

It has been quiet sometime since I have penned down something. I am sure I have become lazy. Apart from that the standard excuse is that ‘I had lots of work’. The Indian Premiere League has also eaten into my life by swallowing good 3 hours 30 minutes of my day. These are just excuses so one can ignore them.
The reason for me writing once again is not because the greats like Amitabh’s and Amir Khan’s has started blogging, although I must confess they are doing a good job. Every alternate day there is some media reactions on what they write. Even in Cannes there was a mention of Amitabh’s blog by Ash!!Well so much you can expect if you are a celebrity I guess!
Its just that the work that Vinay and myself were doing is coming to an end.Actually Vinay is doing the work and I am ‘goofing’ around. But anyway I just felt the urge to pen down a few lines so decided to scribble scrabble. Its actually also 3 years that I have been blogging around so kinda happy anniversary to myself.

Weekend getaway to Alibag

Team outing to Harnai Beach,Dapoli

Nightout at Sinhgad

Taare Zameen Par

This is a snapshot of Saraswati Ashram. The kids here live like a big family and all they need from us is empathy and not sympathy!!

FSG Party

The FSG Party happened on 9.02.08.It was a power packed event where our project rocked from the begining till the end.The overall experience was really fascinating.Here's a snapshot of the evening's proceedings.

A day in the life of Saraswati

This sunday when we went to Saraswati Ashram we were greeted by the some new members of Saraswati Ashram. These puppies were the new addition to the Ashram. Surprisingly they didnot mind our presence at all,infact they posed for photographs with much elegance and dignity. Probably they have seen the movie "Air Buddies" and were all set to create a mayhen in the Ashram

Suddenly we found the Ashram to be empty and we were wondering where are the kids gone.In a few minutes we discovered that they were mesmerised by the Karizma.It seems the bike lives upto its expectations.

Soon the volunteers of Khwaab got into serious business.The first priority was to ensure that the present Class X students go through the Maharastra board exam.Accordingly we sat down with the Ashram kids to workout.

We soon found that these kids of class x needs so help from us. We had decided that we will try our best to make them score well in board exam so that they can move ahead in life in a better way.Aashish(back-in red jacket) was as serious as ever.He satdown with the Vaibhav and Rohit to see at which level of preparation they are in. His revelations were a cause of concern for us as these kids were not upto the mark for board exam.We finally decided to provide them with extra teacher and ensure that some of us follow up with their progress in the coming months.We also talked on the action plan for class-IX students.

The last look at the Air Buddies before departure.

Visit us at: www.khwaab.org

A letter from an Indian cricket fan

Dear Honchos of BCCI,
It seems you old men are ardently bent at creating an young team India. I welcome your move. The system should try and look towards future. I remember some guy called Greg Chappell tried the same..but eventually when he reached that future he fumbled like a pack of cards. I hope you are not looking at such a future?
It seems from reports that Dhoni and Yuvi has played a hand in eliminating Dada and Jammy. Well since when the BBCI heads started listening to guys who have just began their career. One of them is trying to be a test player and another is trying to be a decent wicket keeper. Oh I am sorry they are the captain and vice-captain of the team. That sounds like reason to listen to them.
Yesterday one of your member Rajiv Shukla said that BCCI has done the right thing and that the Australian pitches requires young stars and we should look toward the future. I guess that’s what you can expect from a failed bureaucrat who’s knowledge of cricket is questionable but still thanks to your immense support he is enjoying his life on the money of tax payers of the country. But who cares that in a country where Shahrukh Khan payes a tax of 15 crore.
But when he gives reason to humiliate great players it seems that the country has gone to the dogs. According to biological theories parasites evolve in places where the climate is suited to their procreation activities, similiarly such guys will thrive around the worlds richest cricket body sucking its wealth for their own mean and crush the basic ethics of sportsmanship.
The question is how do you end the career of a great cricket player? Every country has its own way of doing it. In cricket you try to copy Australia in every aspect except two areas, their selection procedure and the way they handle great player. I guess that’s why you know why Don Bradman was an Australian and not an Indian? No country has such humiliating procedure to end the career of great players except Pakistan. So is it true that you are loving your neighbor as yourself??
Lets look at the two players you have left out. Jammy and dada’s contribution to Indian cricket will surpass the capability of the present captain, vice-captain, selectors and other honchos of BCCI combined. A T20 win have made you so arrogant that you have humiliated the two greatest players of the country. What if the team fails in impress in Australia(As a cricket fan I obviously don’t want that)? I know then you will recall these two players giving some silly excuse. And if they succeed I am sure you will felicitate them by making them occupy the second row of the felicitation dais. I know you cant allow them the first row because the Shuklas and Pawars and Modis and Shahs have better mass appeal and photogenic face
Sourav Ganguly is a poor fielder. I agree he is not a Jonty Rhodes. But he never was a Jonty Rhodes. From the very start of his career he was labeled as a bad fielder. Suddenly after 16 years that becomes a criteria to leave him out of the cricket team. Oh come on you guys can give better reasons! ? Just for a second you forgot he was one of the successful batsman last year and has made India win 9/32 matches he has played single handedly. Now this certainly overshadows his fielding glitches isn’t it. Your new fielder player will probably save 30-40 odd runs but I would love to see how you win matches because of this??
Both Jammy and Dada will surely have lucrative contracts with ESPN STAR sports as commentators. I surely feel they will do a great job. So you see they do not need the money that you offer them, they can do better than that. They play for the nation. Over the years they have batted through worst times to give Indian cricket the platform on which the Shuklas and Pawars and Shah’s are ruling today. They have conquered challenges across the world to give the respect that Indian cricket is getting today. I donot disagree to the Idea of putting in fresh blood in the team but make plans for suitable transition across the generations. Donot gamble too much because the only thing that will suffer loss will be Indian Cricket!
I want to see the Indian Team get the glory that they are looking for. Probably that will keep India buoyant with hope and pride. Billions of people look ahead to the greats of cricket play in their blue uniform. Millions of young Indians dream big about this sport. The Gangulys and Dravids have been role model of a generation. So all you can do for these people is to keep this game away from clutches of politics. Politics have already eaten through the heart of the nation so please at least save its soul.
Hope you will understand what cricket lovers feel about this.

Thanks
An Indian Cricket Fan

Khwaab -Inspire the Dreams

Not many of us had thought that Sunday can bring such a huge change in our lives. When i met Mukul,Aashish,Pradeep,Shipra,Saravana at MG road i had rarely imagined that the next few hours will be so meaningful to all of us. Its not always we get a chance to see the effect of capitalist society whose one side we have been enjoying to the brink. But we got a chance to see it from a very close quarter.
It was through Mukul that I came across www.khwaab.org which is an organization whose main aim is to see that our so called ‘social work’ actually reached the people intended at. Unlike other organization it was not asking for donations and money and other stuff, instead it seeked our active support to make sure the people that need support actually got them.
As a first step we traveled to Saraswati Ashram and Niradhar Balsangopan Orphan Home today to find out the problems faced by the little ones who lived there. While traveling through the bylanes of slums where people are struggling to get their daily wants met, I felt like a blessed human beings. It may be may be philosophical but unless we see the other side of life we rarely appreciate the side which we enjoy.
On reaching Saraswati Ashram we were greeted by smiling little boys and girls whose smiles and curious looks on seeing us was the most warming welcome one can expect. It was a different world. A world far away from the world we live in. A world which had made these little fellows gel into a big family and they have no other family of their own. I guess the proverb “One for all and all for one” stands true to this day. Now sitting back I can barely remember their names, but those smiling faces still hover in my mind.
Our main aim in Saraswati Ashram was to find out how we can help the students studying in the standard IX, X,XI to achieve their goals in life. It wasn’t an easy task to begin with. They had funds and place to study but what I felt they lacked was the zeal and motivation to study and be someone in life. One can’t blame them as they are never given any glimpse of the future that awaits them if they complete their studies well .Then we traveled to meet their private teacher,Mr Ramesh Powar to find out what was exactly going wrong with the kind of education that they were exposed to. It didn’t take us much time to realize that these fellows lacked a vision of a good future and probably they needed good jobs once they go through their education life cycle. If only we can help someone from them to be an established person in life they might get motivated from that success story. We took down our observations and went back from there to the Ashram.
Then we went to Niradhar Balsangopan Orphan Home. It was beside Saraswati Ashram. The two storyed structure was the “Home Sweet Home” for many little children. Unlike Saraswati the age group living here are very young but full of life. Taking to the owner of the Orphanage about the stories of these kids I felt a pang in my heart. Not everyone deserved to be there. But ironically luck has probably played they greatest trick that have made this place home for so many of them, otherwise how you can describe a mother deserting her baby to an orphanage after she is born?? Well I guess the easiest way to run away from reality is to be an escapist. Anyway returning back to the main topic, we talked with the Orphanage owner about the problems faced by them in their day to day activities.
It was the time for us to start back to our lives. The whole evening was spent just finding out what we can do to make a difference to a few lives. I know all six of us have our own views about the evening we spent there but one thing was for sure….all of us were determined to make some difference to the lives of these people. The understanding phase is over now. It’s the time to act. The coming few weeks may prove to be very much activity packed. We need more people to help us out but that’s not going to boggle down our high flying spirit. We are determined to convert our findings of today into reality.
It’s a blog that I am writing after a long time ,but this time it has a purpose. The purpose is more important than the writing. If you read it then join us at www.khwaab.org or be our orkut community member at http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=46200218 .If you are living in Pune then be an active member of www.khwaab.org and lets make few dreams fulfilled.