Full disclosure, i absolutely LOVE Aishwarya Rai and have man crushes on Abhishek and Hritik. But what an awesome, fun movie.
Cops and Robbers, always a fun concept, this time the mysterious Mr. A is a suave, savvy jewel thief who is a master of disguises. That is why no one knows what he looks like.. which is good because he is actually the Hunky Hritik (Aryan) who i guess would stand out in any robbery. He dances with nimble feet and steals stuff with panache right under the cops noses. Plus he forgets to button his shirts so we all are winners.
Jai Dixit (Abhi) is the same brooding cop we met in the previous movie, hes still dedicated to his wife and cooks for her as shes going hormone crazy on him (relax ladies shes actually pregnant). He seems to be forced into playing down his role, i have seen him dance and he is a good dancer, yet he just shakes his hands awkwardly in the songs. He has a plan to catch Mr. A, he is the only one who discovers a pattern in his work and can predict his next jobs. they really should promote the guy, hes being wasted as an ACP.
Ali (Uday Chopra) (huh!) what was he doing in this movie, as Ali the mechanic in the last movie he was Jai's sidekick, this time he was forcing jokes, butchering English and falling in love with every girl he came across. The concept was the same as the last movie but in this one he just stood around after doing the above, no storyline for him at all.
Shonali and Monali Bose (Bipasha and Bipasha), what in the world was she supposed to be? a top cop, a bikini babe, what? she looked all sultry and did her Bong Bomb act for about 10-15 mins in the movie which is about the optimum time one can bear that act.
Saving the best for last, what can i say about her that people haven't already... she is no doubt the most beautiful woman in the world but cannot act to save her life. Aishwarya as Sunehri is well cast but out of place. She lost a lot of weight and looks o-my-gawd beautiful in some scenes, but she is overly tanned with no explanation why, and all the weight loss has got her bones showing that make her features very sharp. Maybe i was just not used to seeing her like this. All her dialogues, she goes third person on us. I don't know why people do that, its not funny and its not what we usually see. Satya is not a big fan of the Third person. Satya prefers to talk like a regular person. Sunehri uses the word 'like' a lot, kinda like the air-head blonde stereotypes in the US. I think it was meant to be a play on her being a bambaiiya girl who dreams of America but they could have used some other typical American terms to the same effect. Hritik and Ash have absolutely zero chemistry. it was very difficult to believe their characters love each other enough to die for each other. Ash tried to act, tried to cry and failed in both her dialogues came tumbling out like she was reciting from a book. Sunehri steals from the Jewel thief and finds gold in his heart.
I liked the ending, i agree everyone in the world deserves a second chance.
To recap, Hritik is dreamy, Ash is newly sultry, Bipasha is bonging, Abhi is brooding and Uday is doing his thing.
Final rating: 4 Satkis
Friday, November 24, 2006
Welcome back Mr. Bond.. We have been expecting you
This is what the studios do to try and resuscicate a franchise that was strangled by bad writing and horrible screenplay. Pierce Brosnan will always be my favorite Bond and i have been his fan since the Remington Steele days, but good god Die Another Day was HORRIBLE.
So the studios go out and get Daniel Craig, the anit-bond, short, blond, blue eyes. He runs, he gets down and dirty, he bleeds, he strangles bad guys with his bare hands and Horror of Horrors Bond falls in LOVE. All this time, the date is still 2006, so we are supposed to forget the last 30 years of Bond. But guess what, i liked this movie, infact in my new ratings im gonna give it 3 1/2 satkis (satya patki, satki get it?). There is a lot of action, plenty of chases, expensive cars being destroyed. Craig pulls it off, wears skimpy swim trunks (pandering to the ladies in the audience) and also dresses up in a Hawaiian shirt in the movie. This is a relief for all Bond-o-philes who never understood why Bond wears a suit when he goes swimming.
The latest Bond girl is Wesper Lynd, she looks awesome in her evening gowns when she accompanies Bond to Casino Royale. She steals Bonds heart and (spoiler alert!!!) later she steals his Money.
The bad guy is Le Chiffre. Hes got a menancing scowl over his face all movie long and mumbles when he speaks. He supposedly bleeds out of his eyes, some genetic defect but this is not referenced later in the movie at all.
Speaking of later in the movie, Le Chiffre tortures Bond in a way no man should ever ever ever be tortured. All the men in the theater crossed thier legs and cringed with every stroke. That is just not done dude...
Bond drives a Ford (ugh!), wins a 1964 Aston Martin (ooh!!) and gets a brand new pimped out Aston Martin (aah!!) from M which he destroys later.
No sign of Q or Moneypenny this movie. There is a tongue-in-cheek appearance by Richard Branson.
The Bad guys all exchange text messages that James gets hold of and tracks each one down. If the entire operation is based on those devices, i would hope they would take better care of the phones or atleast encrypt them in someway. But hey this is Bond.. James Bond....
Overall, the producers did the only thing that could bring back the fans by re-inventing the genre and i have to admit this fan is hooked. I will definately see the next one.
Final Rating: 3 1/2 Satkis
So the studios go out and get Daniel Craig, the anit-bond, short, blond, blue eyes. He runs, he gets down and dirty, he bleeds, he strangles bad guys with his bare hands and Horror of Horrors Bond falls in LOVE. All this time, the date is still 2006, so we are supposed to forget the last 30 years of Bond. But guess what, i liked this movie, infact in my new ratings im gonna give it 3 1/2 satkis (satya patki, satki get it?). There is a lot of action, plenty of chases, expensive cars being destroyed. Craig pulls it off, wears skimpy swim trunks (pandering to the ladies in the audience) and also dresses up in a Hawaiian shirt in the movie. This is a relief for all Bond-o-philes who never understood why Bond wears a suit when he goes swimming.
The latest Bond girl is Wesper Lynd, she looks awesome in her evening gowns when she accompanies Bond to Casino Royale. She steals Bonds heart and (spoiler alert!!!) later she steals his Money.
The bad guy is Le Chiffre. Hes got a menancing scowl over his face all movie long and mumbles when he speaks. He supposedly bleeds out of his eyes, some genetic defect but this is not referenced later in the movie at all.
Speaking of later in the movie, Le Chiffre tortures Bond in a way no man should ever ever ever be tortured. All the men in the theater crossed thier legs and cringed with every stroke. That is just not done dude...
Bond drives a Ford (ugh!), wins a 1964 Aston Martin (ooh!!) and gets a brand new pimped out Aston Martin (aah!!) from M which he destroys later.
No sign of Q or Moneypenny this movie. There is a tongue-in-cheek appearance by Richard Branson.
The Bad guys all exchange text messages that James gets hold of and tracks each one down. If the entire operation is based on those devices, i would hope they would take better care of the phones or atleast encrypt them in someway. But hey this is Bond.. James Bond....
Overall, the producers did the only thing that could bring back the fans by re-inventing the genre and i have to admit this fan is hooked. I will definately see the next one.
Final Rating: 3 1/2 Satkis
Black Friday let down
So i was all excited about buying my new plasma TV today and started my usual compulsive obsessive research and finally came to a conclusion that the panasonic 42" is not a HDTV. talk about trick advertising. The only HDTV set capable of producing 720p signal is 50" plasma. This 42" plasma has only 1024 vertical lines and for so called HDTV (720P) you need 1280. So this set will never show 720 progressively scanned HD picture. I already have a 36" rear projection that downgrades digital channels and displays it very well. I dont need another TV to do the same. Now im gonna start dreaming up the Sony Bravia XBR LCD that actually is a true HDTV or the Panasonic 50" plasma that is too big for my current house but may fit right in with the new house Dipti and I are planning to buy next year.
I never got around to talking about the movies yesterday, new update comming later.
I never got around to talking about the movies yesterday, new update comming later.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Battling in Jo' burg
The men in Blue take on mighty South Africa in Johannesburg today, i thought about watching this game on TV and being disappointed again but decided against it, as of this writing it looks promising. The God is still wielding this willow in the middle and call me old fashion but i still belive as long as he is out there, Indians have a chance.
So we are at the start of the big Holiday season in the US, Thanksgiving comming up tommorrow. So the logic here is that the rebels from the motherland came here, duped the locals out of thier land, fed them turkey, banished them to restricted lands and now rub it in every year by celebrating the day and offering huge discounts on consumer items.
I love Black Friday shopping to watch people rush into stores at 5:00 am, trampling each other to buy a 27" TV for $60. I will be one of those people tommorrow, i am hoping to buy a plasma TV for $1000 on Friday.
Yash Raj Films did the smart thing and will release Dhoom 2 in the US on Thursday, nicely done keeping an eye on the long weekend. I will be dragging Dipti and Amol to the early morning 10:30 showing tommorrow. We will also be able to catch a showing for Casino Royale and the Will Ferrel movie Stranger than Fiction. I will have my reviews and spoilers for those films up on Friday unless i am spending all day playing with my new toy, the plasma TV.
So we are at the start of the big Holiday season in the US, Thanksgiving comming up tommorrow. So the logic here is that the rebels from the motherland came here, duped the locals out of thier land, fed them turkey, banished them to restricted lands and now rub it in every year by celebrating the day and offering huge discounts on consumer items.
I love Black Friday shopping to watch people rush into stores at 5:00 am, trampling each other to buy a 27" TV for $60. I will be one of those people tommorrow, i am hoping to buy a plasma TV for $1000 on Friday.
Yash Raj Films did the smart thing and will release Dhoom 2 in the US on Thursday, nicely done keeping an eye on the long weekend. I will be dragging Dipti and Amol to the early morning 10:30 showing tommorrow. We will also be able to catch a showing for Casino Royale and the Will Ferrel movie Stranger than Fiction. I will have my reviews and spoilers for those films up on Friday unless i am spending all day playing with my new toy, the plasma TV.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
India.. Shinning?
Yesterday i was again reminded of an annoying truth about India. We as Indians do an extremely crappy job of marketting our country. I was told yesterday by an aquantaince that they are scared to go to India because they are afraid of the crowds, the chaos and the lawlessness. My jaw dropped to the floor, this person was a native of Mexico, and considered Thailand as a more lucrative tourist locale than India. No offense to those countries but those are not the contries best known for stability. On the other hand, in India there is barely an occasional terrorist attack which has in recent times been dealt with firmly and swiftly.
In my six years in the US i have tried to be a model citizen in trying to portray my country in a good light, I have been asked about the education system in India, the Technological development, occasional questions about Indian politics and the ever popular discussion on that symbol of India "The Taj".
Yet invariably the discussion turns towards the popular monkey man in delhi, the elephant who went on a rampage in karnataka, the man who threatened to shoot himself in the head if Sonia Gandhi did not take over as PM. I understand the significance of sensationalism in our current culture but the Associated Press spiders never fail to collect these stories to place them on the popular websites like MSN and Google. I have rarely seen a mention in these international channels about the fact that India is one of the few countries that has a Nuclear Scientist as thier President, one of the most popular presidents in Indian history. Rarer still are mentions that the Indian stock market has been booming to dizzing heights. That entire university campuses in India have gone wireless (something very recent even in the US).
The perception of India as a backward country is largely media driven and to an extent driven by the representive populace in the US. Some of the very well known stereotypes of Indians in the US are, they are poor people who run 7-11 stores, they stink, they speak in heavy accents, that they steal jobs and every call center is in India. The perception of India is that there are no roads in India, the traffic is chaotic and people must be getting run over all the time, there is dirt and dust everywhere, elephants roam the cities and beggars and thieves stalk people to relieve them of thier possesions. These are all images portrayed in movies and CNN documentaries. There was write up on MSN over the last year where a correspondent visited India, wrote all the above points regarding the place and called India 'one of the most horrible places on earth'. Angelina Jolie recently travelled to my home town of Pune to shoot for her movie because the locale was similar to Afghanistan. The key here was that there are hills and caves around Pune. Pune itself is a very savvy, technologically advanced city with great architecture and history. Yet that description of Pune was never publicized whenever Angelina's trip was discussed, I belive someone missed a great opportunity to introduce the beautiful city of Pune to the western world who read every nugget of Ms Jolie's trip.
The people in India and the NRI population in the US should make an effort to correct some of these perceptions. Yes 7-11 stores are run by a majority of South Asians (Indian and Pakistani) but these stores make a lot of money for these people since they are always open in every block of every city in the US. Indians stink because they are aliens to the concept of Deodarants, I have known friends guilty of this, also the stink is also attributed to the strong smell of spices involved in Indian cooking. These scents stick to the fabric worn by the people in a house where Indian food is made, but i have known a lot of people trying to prevent this by cleaning thier clothes more often and opting for better exhausts. Indians have heavy accents but compare that to the fact that all of them can speak english enough to hold a minimal conversation with an American. How many Americans can claim to do the same on thier travels to France or even India. And yes recently there has been a move to outsource technical jobs and Call Centers to India because there is a Huge Talent pool there. The importance of being an engineer or a doctor in India is unsurpassed anywhere in the world. The courses are absolute, in becomming an engineer students do not take philosophy or phsychology courses to score easy grades. In becomming an engineer in India, i can successfully take apart a computer and put it together again. a feat that would challenge even the most experienced Geek at the local Best Buy.
The stereotypes against the country though are tougher to explain and tougher yet to overcome. To do this, the powers that be should control the caricaturization of the country. The most popular newpaper that is spidered by all the western Websites is The Times of India. They must refrain from sensationalizing the most trivial of news. International spiders pick up the top 5 - 10 news, they cannot have the elephant on a rampage in Karnataka as the top news in a country where so much happens on any given day. Yes the traffic is chaotic in India but the youtubbers should stop making fun of it by putting out of context videos of it everywhere. I am yet to find pictures/video of the excellent Mumbai-Pune expressway anywhere. This is not censoring of news but just prioritizing of it. Ms. Jolie may well shoot her movie in Pune or even adopt a kid from the streets but use her presence to show her the brilliance of Pune and get the press hanging onto her to pick up some pointers for thier writeups. I am sure the producers of her movie may have accomodated that.
The questions that always arise out of such a conversation is 'Who Cares?', 'Why bother?'. We live in an environment where boundaries are fast disappearing. The smallest of incidents have a tendency to snowball into International Disputes. There is a good population of the US that actually belives that each Indian in the US is taking money out of thier pocket. On the other hand there is a sizable population in India that belives the US is nothing but a Hedonistic dance club. There are strippers and promiscuos women running amok on the streets of New York and Los Angeles. There are pin striped gangsters driving thier black cars in Las Vegas. These are the images seen in Indian Movies regarding the US. The truth as always is far from reality. Such a write up will not be seen from an American because they enjoy thier status of being a World onto themselves. There are not a lot of them who are world travellers and those who are, always travel with a chip on thier shoulders not caring what the world thinks of them. Maybe this is an American sterotype. This is why there should be a discussion, communication and truthful representaion of countries to one another.
In my six years in the US i have tried to be a model citizen in trying to portray my country in a good light, I have been asked about the education system in India, the Technological development, occasional questions about Indian politics and the ever popular discussion on that symbol of India "The Taj".
Yet invariably the discussion turns towards the popular monkey man in delhi, the elephant who went on a rampage in karnataka, the man who threatened to shoot himself in the head if Sonia Gandhi did not take over as PM. I understand the significance of sensationalism in our current culture but the Associated Press spiders never fail to collect these stories to place them on the popular websites like MSN and Google. I have rarely seen a mention in these international channels about the fact that India is one of the few countries that has a Nuclear Scientist as thier President, one of the most popular presidents in Indian history. Rarer still are mentions that the Indian stock market has been booming to dizzing heights. That entire university campuses in India have gone wireless (something very recent even in the US).
The perception of India as a backward country is largely media driven and to an extent driven by the representive populace in the US. Some of the very well known stereotypes of Indians in the US are, they are poor people who run 7-11 stores, they stink, they speak in heavy accents, that they steal jobs and every call center is in India. The perception of India is that there are no roads in India, the traffic is chaotic and people must be getting run over all the time, there is dirt and dust everywhere, elephants roam the cities and beggars and thieves stalk people to relieve them of thier possesions. These are all images portrayed in movies and CNN documentaries. There was write up on MSN over the last year where a correspondent visited India, wrote all the above points regarding the place and called India 'one of the most horrible places on earth'. Angelina Jolie recently travelled to my home town of Pune to shoot for her movie because the locale was similar to Afghanistan. The key here was that there are hills and caves around Pune. Pune itself is a very savvy, technologically advanced city with great architecture and history. Yet that description of Pune was never publicized whenever Angelina's trip was discussed, I belive someone missed a great opportunity to introduce the beautiful city of Pune to the western world who read every nugget of Ms Jolie's trip.
The people in India and the NRI population in the US should make an effort to correct some of these perceptions. Yes 7-11 stores are run by a majority of South Asians (Indian and Pakistani) but these stores make a lot of money for these people since they are always open in every block of every city in the US. Indians stink because they are aliens to the concept of Deodarants, I have known friends guilty of this, also the stink is also attributed to the strong smell of spices involved in Indian cooking. These scents stick to the fabric worn by the people in a house where Indian food is made, but i have known a lot of people trying to prevent this by cleaning thier clothes more often and opting for better exhausts. Indians have heavy accents but compare that to the fact that all of them can speak english enough to hold a minimal conversation with an American. How many Americans can claim to do the same on thier travels to France or even India. And yes recently there has been a move to outsource technical jobs and Call Centers to India because there is a Huge Talent pool there. The importance of being an engineer or a doctor in India is unsurpassed anywhere in the world. The courses are absolute, in becomming an engineer students do not take philosophy or phsychology courses to score easy grades. In becomming an engineer in India, i can successfully take apart a computer and put it together again. a feat that would challenge even the most experienced Geek at the local Best Buy.
The stereotypes against the country though are tougher to explain and tougher yet to overcome. To do this, the powers that be should control the caricaturization of the country. The most popular newpaper that is spidered by all the western Websites is The Times of India. They must refrain from sensationalizing the most trivial of news. International spiders pick up the top 5 - 10 news, they cannot have the elephant on a rampage in Karnataka as the top news in a country where so much happens on any given day. Yes the traffic is chaotic in India but the youtubbers should stop making fun of it by putting out of context videos of it everywhere. I am yet to find pictures/video of the excellent Mumbai-Pune expressway anywhere. This is not censoring of news but just prioritizing of it. Ms. Jolie may well shoot her movie in Pune or even adopt a kid from the streets but use her presence to show her the brilliance of Pune and get the press hanging onto her to pick up some pointers for thier writeups. I am sure the producers of her movie may have accomodated that.
The questions that always arise out of such a conversation is 'Who Cares?', 'Why bother?'. We live in an environment where boundaries are fast disappearing. The smallest of incidents have a tendency to snowball into International Disputes. There is a good population of the US that actually belives that each Indian in the US is taking money out of thier pocket. On the other hand there is a sizable population in India that belives the US is nothing but a Hedonistic dance club. There are strippers and promiscuos women running amok on the streets of New York and Los Angeles. There are pin striped gangsters driving thier black cars in Las Vegas. These are the images seen in Indian Movies regarding the US. The truth as always is far from reality. Such a write up will not be seen from an American because they enjoy thier status of being a World onto themselves. There are not a lot of them who are world travellers and those who are, always travel with a chip on thier shoulders not caring what the world thinks of them. Maybe this is an American sterotype. This is why there should be a discussion, communication and truthful representaion of countries to one another.
Monday, November 20, 2006
Book Club
Latest reads of mine include three books that have been controversial and extremely popular in the last few years. I haven't been able to do a lot of reading in the past few years but now that i moved to the suburbs, i get time on the train to read.
One of my first comments is that i wish certain books were never made into movies, Harry Potter - Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter - Half Blood Prince, what a classic premise, extremely detailed universe created by the author. Having seen the earlier movie releases for the first 3 books (dragged to them by Dipti), throughout the book i kept imagining the actors playing the parts and the locales as depicted in the movie, i thought this was very limiting, I should have gotten a chance to imagine the setting in my own creative way, I think this is what people refer to when they say "the book is much better" I have to agree in this case. as for the final book, my predictions are
1. Harry is a Horcrux.
2. Neville Longbottom is the chosen one.
3. Snape is not evil, he was forced by Dumbledore to kill him to protect Draco who will help Harry eventually because there is good in him.
4. Harry will have to die to finish off Voldemort once and for all.
The final book will be out in July and i will fight Dipti to read it before her.
Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown, Another book that had no business being a movie, Wow the details in this book are gripping. I am a conspiracy theory buff and could not put this book down despite having seen the movie.
The one book that i did start but never got beyond 100 pages was the Bourne Ultimatum, too heavy for early morning and late evening reading. Here is a book that will make a great movie, since the first two did. CIA conspiracies are made to be seen on tv not read in books.
I am still undecided on the next book to read, i might try the new Crichton book
One of my first comments is that i wish certain books were never made into movies, Harry Potter - Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter - Half Blood Prince, what a classic premise, extremely detailed universe created by the author. Having seen the earlier movie releases for the first 3 books (dragged to them by Dipti), throughout the book i kept imagining the actors playing the parts and the locales as depicted in the movie, i thought this was very limiting, I should have gotten a chance to imagine the setting in my own creative way, I think this is what people refer to when they say "the book is much better" I have to agree in this case. as for the final book, my predictions are
1. Harry is a Horcrux.
2. Neville Longbottom is the chosen one.
3. Snape is not evil, he was forced by Dumbledore to kill him to protect Draco who will help Harry eventually because there is good in him.
4. Harry will have to die to finish off Voldemort once and for all.
The final book will be out in July and i will fight Dipti to read it before her.
Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown, Another book that had no business being a movie, Wow the details in this book are gripping. I am a conspiracy theory buff and could not put this book down despite having seen the movie.
The one book that i did start but never got beyond 100 pages was the Bourne Ultimatum, too heavy for early morning and late evening reading. Here is a book that will make a great movie, since the first two did. CIA conspiracies are made to be seen on tv not read in books.
I am still undecided on the next book to read, i might try the new Crichton book
Going Home
In seven days i go to my real home country and for the first time in 6 years i am not very excited to go back. I do not want to sound like a man holding on to a romantic notion of the past but i guess i am one. My home has changed, my home i guess has evolved and i am very happy that it is being talked of as one of the prime locations in India to work, live and study but at the sametime the Puneri Panaa (marathi) is dwindling. I see the same old infrastructure in place in terms of roads and transportation but the average punekar now owns a indica/accord/ford instead of the old luna. The lifestyle has changed to reflect the growing economy of the city. Software engineers who work at the new STP make gazillion rupees in salaries and those dollar allowances on thier trips to the US.
This is a big step for punekars, but as someone once said, "with great power comes great responsibiltiy". The political environment in Pune and to an extent all of India has not changed in the last 20-25 years. I have not in my lifetime met a collegue who confessed to wanting to be a politician or even hold government office. The old brigade is just that, old. Solutions to traffic problems are not building flyovers. We need something to change there but i am not sure how and what that would be. Also one thing i have noticed in the US for 6 years now, that is a little short in India is civic pride. The populace should want to have a better city, better state and better country. Spending Rs. 150 at a Cafe or Rs. 500 at a pizza parlor does not make a influential society person.
I came across a couple in thier late 20's who owned a honda accord walking with thier young son out of a theater in Pune. The little guy wanted to go to the loo, the dad in all his class, instead of walking the kid back to the restroom in the theater, pointed him to the nearest tree and had him go there. Sir, where is your civic pride?
I was once at a traffic light that was red in my dad's car. The traffic in the other direction was light, I was yelled at, honked and cursed at by the stylish kid in the car behind me because i didnt break the signal and let him do the same. It is a traffic light, a simple rule taught to students in the 1st grade. The only person who should break that rule is a doctor rushing to his patient to save his life or a patient rushing to the hospital. But this person had the choiciest curses for me. Sir, where is your civic pride?
My point here is that if the populace can break the laws they will. The whole world saw that during the devastating floods at New Orleans where the entire law and order broke apart. But in everyday Pune, Cops do not consider it a crime to break traffic signals. If someone is pulled over, they can get away with offering a bribe. I have at a time gotten away with bribing as little as Rs. 10. I felt bad for being an enabler but i felt more ashamed that i could buy a mans pride for Rs. 10. The Cops themselves will tell us that they are extremely underpaid and also have to answer to a lot of "fathers".
At this point the discussion rounds back to the politics and the general apathy of the common man. Our men in uniform have to be respected, they should make enough money to decline bribes and should be allowed to hang up on the phone call from the minister or even hike the fine for someone who has the gall to ask "Do you know who i am?".
I get extremely angry at such behaviour and feel the urge to ask the person to behave with some class but who am i to demand such a right. Every person should expect it out of themselves, thier spouses and thier kids.
This is a big step for punekars, but as someone once said, "with great power comes great responsibiltiy". The political environment in Pune and to an extent all of India has not changed in the last 20-25 years. I have not in my lifetime met a collegue who confessed to wanting to be a politician or even hold government office. The old brigade is just that, old. Solutions to traffic problems are not building flyovers. We need something to change there but i am not sure how and what that would be. Also one thing i have noticed in the US for 6 years now, that is a little short in India is civic pride. The populace should want to have a better city, better state and better country. Spending Rs. 150 at a Cafe or Rs. 500 at a pizza parlor does not make a influential society person.
I came across a couple in thier late 20's who owned a honda accord walking with thier young son out of a theater in Pune. The little guy wanted to go to the loo, the dad in all his class, instead of walking the kid back to the restroom in the theater, pointed him to the nearest tree and had him go there. Sir, where is your civic pride?
I was once at a traffic light that was red in my dad's car. The traffic in the other direction was light, I was yelled at, honked and cursed at by the stylish kid in the car behind me because i didnt break the signal and let him do the same. It is a traffic light, a simple rule taught to students in the 1st grade. The only person who should break that rule is a doctor rushing to his patient to save his life or a patient rushing to the hospital. But this person had the choiciest curses for me. Sir, where is your civic pride?
My point here is that if the populace can break the laws they will. The whole world saw that during the devastating floods at New Orleans where the entire law and order broke apart. But in everyday Pune, Cops do not consider it a crime to break traffic signals. If someone is pulled over, they can get away with offering a bribe. I have at a time gotten away with bribing as little as Rs. 10. I felt bad for being an enabler but i felt more ashamed that i could buy a mans pride for Rs. 10. The Cops themselves will tell us that they are extremely underpaid and also have to answer to a lot of "fathers".
At this point the discussion rounds back to the politics and the general apathy of the common man. Our men in uniform have to be respected, they should make enough money to decline bribes and should be allowed to hang up on the phone call from the minister or even hike the fine for someone who has the gall to ask "Do you know who i am?".
I get extremely angry at such behaviour and feel the urge to ask the person to behave with some class but who am i to demand such a right. Every person should expect it out of themselves, thier spouses and thier kids.
10 Days to 29
20 Nov, 10 days before i turn 29 embarking upon my 30th year of existence, i am intrigued by the following.
1. My current home country is extremely close minded, their view of the world is extremely restricted to the 50 states - actually about 15 states that determine the political future every 4 years. My challenge every so often is expalining to a lot of educated people here that i am here to learn thier positives and use that for my betterment and not that i have escaped my home because it is a dark, uncivilised 3rd world country. (more on this thought later)
2. I think sports fans (real sports fans who bleed team colors) are a lucky bunch. they live and die with thier teams successes and victories. but the good part is that there is new win or loss every other day for thier favourite team. I am extremely fortunate to live in chicago where civic pride is measured with the Bulls for Basketball, the Bears for Football, the White Sox for baseball. These sports are year long and keep the fan in me excited every day. Being an Indian i also bleed blue, my stumbling, bumbling, rumbling cricket team that is the most schizophrenic sports team ever assembled.
3. Airline rules, transit visas, tranparent carry-ons, no fluids, no water enough said.
4. TV shows LOST - can we please have some clarity, CSI - Miami ; is David Caruso the best ham in the business or what, i live for his one liners, CSI - Vegas, Gil is the best detective nerd of all time. Law and order - SVU, detective stabler and benson are the best on screen pairing since Mulder and Scully. Does that Marishka Hargitay have a look or what!!
5. Movies, DON - why o why would someone try to imitate god? Great twist at the end, blew my mind but SRK u sir are no Bacchan just stop it. Umrao Jaan, what a superb 3 hr screensaver, i think i understood about 10 dialogues completely. the rest was a blur of Aishwarya Rai dances and costumes and Mr. Smoldering looks Abhishek Bacchan. What a transformation this guy is going through, from Refugee to Bluffmaster, this man now holds your attention. Dhoom 2, yes please i would like some of that, Abhi, Ash and Shirtless Hritik (yes i have man crushes too).
1. My current home country is extremely close minded, their view of the world is extremely restricted to the 50 states - actually about 15 states that determine the political future every 4 years. My challenge every so often is expalining to a lot of educated people here that i am here to learn thier positives and use that for my betterment and not that i have escaped my home because it is a dark, uncivilised 3rd world country. (more on this thought later)
2. I think sports fans (real sports fans who bleed team colors) are a lucky bunch. they live and die with thier teams successes and victories. but the good part is that there is new win or loss every other day for thier favourite team. I am extremely fortunate to live in chicago where civic pride is measured with the Bulls for Basketball, the Bears for Football, the White Sox for baseball. These sports are year long and keep the fan in me excited every day. Being an Indian i also bleed blue, my stumbling, bumbling, rumbling cricket team that is the most schizophrenic sports team ever assembled.
3. Airline rules, transit visas, tranparent carry-ons, no fluids, no water enough said.
4. TV shows LOST - can we please have some clarity, CSI - Miami ; is David Caruso the best ham in the business or what, i live for his one liners, CSI - Vegas, Gil is the best detective nerd of all time. Law and order - SVU, detective stabler and benson are the best on screen pairing since Mulder and Scully. Does that Marishka Hargitay have a look or what!!
5. Movies, DON - why o why would someone try to imitate god? Great twist at the end, blew my mind but SRK u sir are no Bacchan just stop it. Umrao Jaan, what a superb 3 hr screensaver, i think i understood about 10 dialogues completely. the rest was a blur of Aishwarya Rai dances and costumes and Mr. Smoldering looks Abhishek Bacchan. What a transformation this guy is going through, from Refugee to Bluffmaster, this man now holds your attention. Dhoom 2, yes please i would like some of that, Abhi, Ash and Shirtless Hritik (yes i have man crushes too).
Scorpio Birth.. but of course
For a long time now i have thought of what i should write about. I am just a regular out-of-his-element "Alien" living his dream. I love to read, devour information on every topic from politics to movies and everything in between. A view of all my thoughts on all those topics and more is what this blog could shape up to be. Its a window to the mind of a geek, a brother, a husband, a son, a friend, an Indian, and a citizen of the world.
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