Ram...

The festival of Dussehra beckons India to celebrate the event of Lord Ram obliterating Ravana. With the colors of freedom filling the skies of Ayodhya, the Lord returned in all pomp and gaiety from his victory in Lanka. The epic of Ramayana is a marvellous work of my ancestor (surprised?) ,Rishi Valmiki. Ramayana has no shades of grey ;the reason being "Satyayug" as its era. The story speaks of the righteous Dasharatha whose queens donot bear children till he performs some "yagna" to appease the deities. After that, the princes are born to the queens and then the storyline takes a turning point where Ram has to be banished from this kingdom. Then there is another important factor to this whole poetry, Lord Hanuman- the loyal one. Hanuman is said to have fought his own son ,Makardhwaja to free Ram and his brother Lakshman from the clutches of Ravana's collaborators.
In today's context, we can definitely pick and choose values from this story. Not being didactic, I feel the concept of loyalty has a strong bearing on this entire epic. May it be Sita's sacrifice or Lord Hanuman's valor. Another aspect is the concept of strong family ties and that too in the face of adversity. Bharatha, Rama's sibling who inherits the throne himself awaits Ram's return whereas he could have easily had everything to himself. A fascinating twist to this tale is of the enemy ,Ravana. Although he acts against Ram and seizes his wife by force, he is said to been a pious person, a devout individual with strong powers of concentration. This historic foe has qualities which are rare to find ,yet he acts vainglorious. His bravado and lack of respect for the qualities like compassion, love are what bring about his downfall.
The tale ends with Ram's sons reuniting with him and is indeed a touching moment when a father identifies his long lost sons. In Marathi, "Geet Ramayan" is a rendition of songs which are specifically composed for each of the events in "Ramayana". Its last parts are exemplary in the way in which the dramatic moment of Luv and Kush, Ram's sons identify themselves,singing praises of the very father who had to disown his wife Sita.
Being an indian, we ought to ponder over the virtues and vices of this "Purshottam" and not repeat the mistakes which he did. Fighting over Ram Sethu and depriving the coastal area inhabitants of their livelihood is definitely something which one should do on this day. Instead of alluding to myths, the Indian of today needs to brace up for more of incisive decision making and proper analysis of situations.Its not a question of "followers" versus "Atheists". The question is all about making sense and striking a balance between the two.

Flingz

The most pertinent question since the creation of the cosmos is- "What women want??".Albeit ,many attempts have been made including that of a movie by the same name.While Mel Gibson may be the lucky bastard to actually hear what women think, the real world situation is not so simple. One can say, it's complex the way people make it sound.On hindsight , luck is one of the factors to contend with. There are certain rules which need to be followed in general called "tenets of flirting".
Rule 1: Never show that you are trying to flirt.
Rule 2: You might gain sympathy the first time you moan about your life and sob about it.
Rule 3: Limit "Sob stories" to the minimum. It's boring if you try to score by belting out your frustrations. The girl will kick you where it hurts the most after a while.
Rule 4: Praise the girl's intelligence more than her looks!!! This is for "non-blonde" type behavior.
Rule 5: Don't overdo Rule 4, the story might not have a happy ending!
Rule 6: Always verify that the girl is single, won't hurt to ask impertinent questions and being a little too courageous.
Rule 7: Be practical!! No one should take you for a ride!!
Rule 8: Invest graciously by paying her bills initially. After a few outings she will pay ur rent.
Rule 9: If the signals are right, discard the rules and follow free-will.
Rule 10: THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE! YOU CANNOT CHANGE FREE WILL!!!!

P.S. This is just a teaser, myself and a bunch of other heartbroken guys are trying to put this knowledge together in a book. Please contribute graciously with anecdotes and snippets.

Optimism..or Pessimism or..???

It's been a while since i wrote any stuff ,felt a little left out of the "blogger's world".For years ,people have been categorised as either optimists or pessimists.I met a third kind..the "realists". An optimists is always raring to go, and full of uncurbed enthusiasm. A pessimist is one who always seems to have a glass "half-empty". A realist, is one who is calculated and does'nt like to sit out neither does he/she intends to be too vainglorious.Some of my heroes from the realms of books have been "Don Vito Corleone", a.k.a. The GodFather.In one of the novels called "Sicilian" there is a protagonist who is much like the hero from Sherwood Forest , RobinHood. He robs the rich and offers the money to the needy. Such an "idealistic" person creates many enemies. Don Corleone remarks at the end of the novel about being practical, and trying to remain more of a mortal. "Idealistic Optimism" certainly kills , is what he says. Indirectly, the Don points out that realities of life are harsh and no one can surpass them.You have to face em'.
Another story soliciting my case, is of the Spartans. Personally, I admire King Leonidas for facing the powerful army of Persians with a strength of 1000 men by his side. Yet, on second thoughts,he could have saved Sparta and her army from getting obliterated without a trace.He didnot take the essential precautions before leaving his family as well,despite being aware of traitors. Secondly, he was actually inviting death by defending Sparta's glory with only 300 of his men.
Pessimists, too are a bit of worry in politics especially. They are the ones who always gear up to obstruct any novel idea or concept promulgated by any of the representatives.A coterie of pessmists can wreak havoc by objecting to development projects and new infrastructure.
As a "realist", it is better to "Stay Foolish and Stay Hungry" during battle. But, at other times, the acceptance or rejection of ideas must be dealt with ,with a pinch of "pessimist's" salt..

Bollywood - Hollywood....

Being an ardent fan of Hindi films, I had been waiting to lay my hands on the latest of em'.My selection (still wondering how!) was "Good Boy, Bad Boy", a flick which regrettfully saw the light of day in the world of thoughtless cinema. Personally, I am not such a critic and love to see people give their best. May it be drama or a "David Dhawan" comedy, its the performance and the energy which light up the silver screen. My personal favorite is ,in fact, "Judwaa" a tale inspired from Jackie Chan's "Double Dragons". Anyways, the flick "Good Boy..." is a story of good people who come under wrong influence and basically is short on everything from script to screenplay. The other day, I watched a "marriage video" a.k.a. "Hum Aapke Hain Kaun" and loved the value system it preached.
My favorite movies are "RHTDM"(even my roomie loves Maddy dada"), "RDB","Judwaa" and many others. The best hindi flicks contain some jingoism and lot of hard hitting dialogues. 1970's was an era which could be better known as the Era of "Manmohan Desai". His concept of unifying people with diverse religions (Amar Akbar Anthony) or any other drama where in the faith people had in themselves was immensely gratifying.
In contrast, the English film fraternity makes a lot of sensible movies, with no songs and more story. The way of narration is distinct ,the screenplay at times is so powerful that the dialogues arent really required. Just imagine "Ocean's 11" with Danni Ocean singing "Dil se" atop a terrace with Nicole Kidman, trying to loot the Bellagio. It would not make sense. Concepts like a great mind trying to don the garb of an "escapist" in "Good Will Hunting" or the role reprised by Al Pacino as a powerful Mafioso in "Scarface" are original. These are people you can relate to, wh are humane and bear the brunt of their eccentricities.Some of the movies like "ShawShank Redemption" are an encyclopaedia in film making. It has no elements like a hindi pot boiler would possess , but really has great twists in the tale of a man who has everything to play for.
With films like "Sivaji" coming into limelight, the movie makers are banking on star power more than story or dialogues. The character essayed by Thalaivar is true to the ethos of Shankar's way of preaching values about social evils. But, the public roots more for "Star Power" of Rajini rather than the concept. Its like Shah Rukh Khan trying to send a patriotic message by prancing around in the Alps. Eventually, the acceptance of films would be based more on the aspects of story and screenplay rather than stars. That would be "Evolution COMPLETE!!!"

"Essence of planning"

Time and again, our mothers have called upon us to plan. "Planning is essential" is what we have been bombarded with, since the beginning of our life.Like many, I despised those sermons where everyone started giving a lecture on "Time is money" OR " Time Management".It was only when I joined engineering that I understood the reason behind those "lectures".
Many centuries ago, there was war in Kurukshetra, where the Pandavas fought the Kuru army and won the battle. Imagine ,Arjuna being chilled out ,resting in the shade of his umbrella, not bothering about the various military formations! More so, imagine Mama Shakuni, the greatest mythological Gambler, suddenly failing to see the motion of his trusted dice! History would have looked different..perhaps there would be no war at all!!! One of the quotes by the great Archer Arjuna comes as a jolt to people who believe that the indomitable never plan, they are born to win.He explains to his brother Nakula ,as to why he always handpicks his weapons.Especially the arrows, which need to be in a proper shape to avoid air drag.
Today, we need to plan our lives more than ever before. Time seems to fly faster .The ones who can think aeons before and chart out a game plan are most likely to succeed.May it be job or business, we have to forsee the forthcoming dangers which lurk. If caught unawares, the results are disastrous, ranging from firing from jobs to bankruptcy in business. For a person with a job , he or she needs to get into the brain of his/her peers to think as they think. Then be able to do what they could only think of, is another tale. Like wise , in a business, product differentiation is pivotal to the success of any entrepreneur. Failing to make a mark on the consumer would spell doom and a loss altogether.
Ultimately, the one who can see tomorrow, today itself is the one you would place your money on!!

SE7EN !!!!

Dante Alighieri in his epic poem The Divine Comedy,mentions the seven deadly sins as follows:Lust,Gluttony,Greed,Sloth,Wrath,Envy, and Pride. I came to know about all this only after watching the thriller seven starring the impeccable Morgan Freeman as Officer Somerset who has a mind which works faster than the lawbreakers'. His accomplice is Brad Pitt ,again a superb performance as Detective Willis,who looks passionate about work and his childhood sweetheart played by Gwyneth Paltrow.The tale completely has you involved and tied to the seat without winking even once. Its the underlying thought which suddenly grabbed my attention. Are we thinking about our actions?
If the aforementioned qualities or should I say "vices" then we all are sinners.A Purgatory with seven terraces has to be constructed in this case to absolve us of any such wrongdoings.But , do we care? Its the way life was meant to be. Today's world has mind over matter.We are working at a neck break pace to get what we want."The ends justify the means" is what we idolise.
Expanding the realms of this discussion and porting it to a corporate environment,we can see for ourselves, the effects of this school of thought.The most successful people in this world do value "Ethics". Most others treat it as another word in the lexicon. An ethical workplace nurtures professionalism within an industry. It spurs on people to do things the "right way".
The movie may have a little ghastly ending.It may have over dramatised the situation.
But it certainly sends a message for us to ponder over..

The Pursuit of .....Happ'y'ness!!

After a round of exams and the nail biting finishes associated with em',I decided to watch a movie.It was the "The Pursuit of Happyness". The movie stars stars like Will smith and Thandie Newton. Its a story of Chris Gardner who inevitably fails in just about everything he tries his hand at, but ultimately stumbles upon a career which he makes his own. But the movie is more than that, since it depicts the tribulations which Chris and his young son Christopher have to undergo.I felt it was a story which each of us can relate to. After all,its this "pursuit" which keeps us going. It also separates the friends from the acquaintances.
The concept of "family values" is highlighted implicitly in this film by the strong portrayals of father-son by Will Smith and his real life son.It tells us that life is not as bad as it may seem. A little smart work with some luck and efforts could turn our fortunes.As the saying goes, "Experience is a cruel teacher,it kills all its students". Real life is not so endearing if the decisions are not correct. Evidently ,the more bitter the experience ,the more enlightened we become.Some people are born with a sense of perfection and impeccably they always arrive at the right decision at the right time. Many others who seemingly "learn with time" have to undergo this catharsis.
Be it the scene at the train station where Will creates a make believe theme park full of dinosaurs for his son, or the moment when he gets hit by a car but still returns to work, Chris Gardener's esprit-de-corps is what inspires you. In real life Chris has made a fortune for himself by dabbling in the stock market. His struggle for existence is an epic in itself meant to be read in order to restore faith in the triumph of human spirit.