I too Wanted to Become a Social Media Don!!!

I wasn’t really exposed to the power of social media until I started working for an  organisation that lived its life on social media by means of internet marketing, banner  adverts, online email marketing, retargeting campaigns et al. I was also unaware about a  lot of these terms till I started working for them. However, within a month of my tenure in the company I realised how important it was for me to get upto speed with these new and contemporary marketing tools. Prior to joining this online education company, all my 6 years of experience was in mainstream education, which wasn’t bad either, the journey was enriching as I recall it.

Nevertheless, I realised how much online media has grown in such a short span of time with my new workplace.  So with some amount of hesitation and eagerness to learn, I started to observe a colleague of mine whose core area of function was online marketing, handling Google Analytics, Email Marketing, analysing Click Rates and Open Rates, choosing which part of the county’s audience would one like to target for the campaigns. Yes, we are talking about this level of targeting and segregation.  I wasn’t with this company for long, but it was indeed training ground for me and thus, armed with this set of skills and experience, I joined the team at Adianta School.

Adianta School is a new age skill building institute for entrepreneurship and leadership education. At the school, I had the opportunity to attend  various skill building workshops that the school arranges for their fellows(students). Come August, I was lucky to be part of series of curriculum redesigning and brainstorming sessions.  Aditya Dev Sood, Chairman, Adianta School, suggested that we cluster the curriculum this time around and thus came the suggestion of the five segments that it currently is divided into, the first of which being Digital Media Skills;the rest followed the suit. Build your first app, product development and Startup Operations were the next 3. I was fortunate to be nominated along with some of my other colleagues to be a part of what I would call  a very powerful set of workshops. I quickly accepted the opportunity and went through the curriculum for the 6 week module to become a ‘Social Media Don’.

So, here I was attending the first workshop of Digital Media Skills by Nasr Ul Hadi– an expert in the social media space.  The first session largely covered Building and Managing online identities for organisations and for oneself from the perspectives of branding and marketing. The details of the workshop can be read here. Parallel to these sessions, we also ran writing workshops for the cohort, since writing/ blogging/documenting is the core essence of online marketing. This is a detailed account for good bad and ugly parts of writing and blogging.

We were a bunch of 25 social media enthusiast’s aspiring to be Social Media Dons’, for  the next 4 sessions we had already covered areas of

1. Online audiences and metrics for linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, soundcloud, youtube and insights in to each one of them
2. Building and managing an audience lifecycle , explored various sets of tools like, Chartbeat, comscore, appannie, Google Analytics, getamplify
3. 3. Building and managing a CRM for your personal brand via the way of Gmail Tools, Yesware, Streak, Bit.ly
4. Managing documents, workflows, distributed teams with help of tools like Google Drive, Docsend, Storify, Trello, IFTTT. Here is what one of our group members had to say about these workshops

By the end the of the last two sessions, the group grew more excited to use the digital media skills for their respective organisations, start-ups and themselves. Needless to say, we all felt very confident w.r.t.handling  social media properties and realised the tremendous power that social media entails.  Here is a blogpost by an Adianta fellow on the hidden power of social media. Here is how lists extracted from Facebook and Twitter can work wonders for marketing initiatives and for drawing analysis.

While I am surely no social media don, I must admit that I was completely unaware of the various facets of the social media space,  and with these sessions I explored the multiplicity of messages and platforms.  The social space is fast changing and dynamic; with these sets of acquired skills, I certainly have a good chance to sustain my career for a long period of time

Learning and acquiring new skills certainly is the key!

A very intriguing piece of write up i have come across while surfing internet -

My husband is an Engineer by profession, I love him for his steady nature, and I love the warm feeling when I lean against his broad shoulders.

Three years of courtship and now, two years into marriage, I would have to admit, that I am getting tired of it. The reasons of me loving him before, has now transformed into the cause of all my restlessness.

I am a sentimental woman and extremely sensitive when it comes to a relationship and my feelings, I yearn for the romantic moments, like a little girl yearning for candy. My husband, is my complete opposite, his lack of sensitivity, and the inability of bringing romantic moments into our marriage has disheartened me about love.

One day, I finally decided to tell him my decision, that I wanted a divorce.

“Why?” he asked, shocked. “I am tired, there are no reasons for everything in the world!” I answered. He kept silent the whole night, seems to be in deep thought with a lighted cigarette at all times. My feeling of disappointment only increased, here was a man who can’t even express his predicament, what else can I hope from him? And finally he asked me:” What can I do to change your mind?”

Somebody said it right, it’s hard to change a person’s personality, and I guess, I have started losing faith in him. Looking deep into his eyes I slowly answered : “Here is the question, if you can answer and convince my heart, I will change my mind, Let’s say, I want a flower located on the face of a mountain cliff, and we both are sure that picking the flower will cause your death, will you do it for me?” He said :” I will give you your answer tomorrow….” My hopes just sank by listening to his response.

I woke up the next morning to find him gone, and saw a piece of paper with his scratchy handwriting, underneath a milk glass, on the dining table near the front door, that goes…. My dear, “I would not pick that flower for you, but please allow me to explain the reasons further..” This first line was already breaking my heart. I continued reading.

“When you use the computer you always mess up the Software programs, and you cry in front of the screen, I have to save my fingers so that I can help to restore the programs. You always leave the house keys behind, thus I have to save my legs to rush home to open the door for you. You love traveling but always lose your way in a new city, I have to save my eyes to show you the way. You always have the cramps whenever your “good friend” approaches every month, I have to save my palms so that I can calm the cramps in your tummy.

You like to stay indoors, and I worry that you will be infected by infantile autism. I have to save my mouth to tell you jokes and stories to cure your boredom. You always stare at the computer, and that will do nothing good for your eyes, I have to save my eyes so that when we grow old, I can help to clip your nails, and help to remove those annoying white hairs. So I can also hold your hand while strolling down the beach, as you enjoy the sunshine and the beautiful sand… and tell you the color of flowers, just like the color of the glow on your young face… Thus, my dear, unless I am sure that there is someone who loves you more than I do… I could not pick that flower yet, and die.. ”

My tears fell on the letter, and blurred the ink of his handwriting… and as I continue on reading… “Now, that you have finished reading my answer, if you are satisfied, please open the front door for I am standing outside bringing your favorite bread and fresh milk… I rush to pull open the door, and saw his anxious face, clutching tightly with his hands, the milk bottle and loaf of bread….

Now I am very sure that no one will ever love me as much as he does, and I have decided to leave the flower alone…

That’s life, and love. When one is surrounded by love, the feeling of excitement fades away, and one tends to ignore the true love that lies in between the peace and dullness.

Love shows up in all forms, even very small and cheeky forms, it has never been a model, it could be the most dull and boring form.. . flowers, and romantic moments are only used and appear on the surface of the relationship. Under all this, the pillar of true love stands… and that’s our life… Love, not words win arguments…

LISTENING IS HEALING 

" Great healing is available when we listen to each other" it is such a simple act. we dont have to advice or coach or sound wise. we only need to be present full heartedly and express our willingness to listen. 

I remember a small story surrounding this. I once heard a delighhtful story about a little boy who was late getting home one day. When his mother asked , why he was late, he explained that he had stopped to help a friend whose bicycle had broken down."But you don't know how to fix a bicycle," his mom said. " No, " the little boy said, "but i stopped to be with him while he cried ".

If you can tell your story to some one who listens, Who REALLY LISTENS, we find it easier to deal with our circumstances. 

Till distances do us apart

We’ll meet and share moments together
Moments, that we promised, will last a lifetime
A lifetime may not be enough, you said
To express the love that’s all mine

We’ll sit for hours, staring at each other…
And not say a word
We’ll just lie there, and enjoy the silence
 And let the stars say the story untold

We’ll be together, happy as ever
The madness will always be there
Your touch will always be as special,
And we’ll live life with reasons to cheer

All this and more… we promised to each other
We promised… separation- will happen never
Guess the stars have played their part
And distances have done us apart

We know, all’s not well
Not that we didn’t try… gave it many a chance
We simply, aren’t the way- for what we strived
But that’s all right, till the day we realized
We don’t speak the way we used to…
And neither do the stars

Still, I’d like to believe… all’s not lost.
That touch, that’s no longer with me…
I’ll try to revisit, holding my own hand
That love, which is fading away…
I’ll rekindle, with even more love and warmth
The fire, that once raged; The spark, we thought we had
I’ll reignite
The bleakness that’s abound; The darkness, that’s gripping us…
I’ll bring light

And I’ll do this all,
I’ll do even more…
To make sure
You are always mine

Then again, the stars may never speak up,
And we may never get off to a new start
But I’ll never fail to try harder
Till distances, really do us apart

It has began, I wish it never ends

The all new moments of love and trust

It never ends, I wish it never does
These last few moments of doubt and trust…

No more it matters if I win...
And it doesn’t matter if I win a lil less
It is meant to be broken, destined for an end
I see it going…was never mine
It never goes, I wish it never does
The last few moments of doubt and trust…

No more it matters if I will miss it
And it doesn’t matter if I ll miss it a lil more
Yesterday has disappeared, tomorrow will too..
I see this day fading away soon
It never fades, I wish it never does..
The last few moments of doubt and trust…

The dawn is elusive, the dusk is too
A Fathomless abyss between me and you
Where the doubt is charming, and the trust is too!

My Unheard plea

My Unheard plea

I want to live in a house by the sea,

With whose white spray my spirit could flee

Or may be I would prefer a house on a giant tree,

With whose red blossoms my heart could go free

A castle in the wilderness it might as well be,

In whose hidden passages my lost spirit I could see

Or may be my destiny is a quite plantation of tea,

In whose green bosom could be the answer to my unheard plea

I hear a soft tap at my door step, and I ask myself who would it be,

Would it be a heavenly breeze or an exasperating bee

I guess I will prefer to be in a wild spree,

Where I can breach all the ordained decree

Apparently, what a peaceful and tranquil place its gonna be,

With the solemn shades of swiftly moving trees

Mighty Media !!!

Each one of us killed Jessica!!!

Truly a great movie and beyond doubt a worthy subject to be portrayed on celluloid. Hats off to the directors, producers and the script writers for initiating such idea and implementing it further.

However I beg to slightly differ from them. Jessica is unquestionably another slap on the face of Indian judiciary who has yet again because of its laxity & slackness failed to give justice to a family who for years had been waiting for a fair judgment.

Conversely what did they get, trials trials & some more trials for 11 years altogether.

When in year 2006, media actually made a scoop out of this yet so attention deserving case, I also started following it recurrently. Obviously, by now it was an anecdote with all human touch attached to it, and hence gave media all the reasons to cover it to the dead ends…. Unfortunately in this open and shut case as rightly quoted in the movie “no one killed Jessica” and I very firmly believe all of us did kill her even after her dreadful death, all the 300 culprits got away with it.

Yes I somberly would declare all those 300 paranoids who despite witnessing a slaughter did not had the fortitude to speak against the perpetrators of the murder. Although I know my verdict does not matter, I know my voice no more can be heard, I know my opinion needs valid judgments & evidences to bolster the case nevertheless, I don’t have any of these above. If I have something, that would be a belief, a very honest & stern belief that Jessica was shot dead , only because she refused giving a drink to yet another bunch of drunken lads.

In The movie NO ONE KILLED JESSICA the director had to offer one perspective of the movie to put forth the frightening truth on to the silver screen. Apparently, prior to the casting the film shows a disclaimer that “this is an amalgamation of events in real & fiction and hence is no documentary” still I believe, positioning every thing to the disposal of media in the film was a wrong act. Undeniably the effort put in to bring the case from void to life is an outrageous task by Rajkumar Gupta.

Nonetheless, how far is it right to show case that only because a journalist just returned from the fame of covering terrible Kargil war did not find this story worthy enough to be covered and hence discards it with a verdict that a highjacking case is more significant than a girl killed in Delhi at wee hours. It took that well acclaimed journalist 6 years to understand the importance of the story , to understand the importance of chasing the minute details of the story , to understand the if media gives leverage to the case Lall Family (Sabrina) might get justice , since her appeals were going unheard. Very soon after six diminutive years the correspondent of distinction realized that this case demands her attention too.

It was year 2006, when Manu Sharma along with his accomplices in the crime sentenced to a punishment of life imprisonment and 4 years imprisonment for the others subsequently.

Incidentally, nothing happened to Shayan Munshi the eye witness to the event who for 7 long years continued & preferred to be hostile. Contrary to the judgment, nobody could touch those 300 cowards who time and again made mockery of the Indian judicial system.

Our judicial system is so strong that even after you have a list of 300 eye witnesses, you can get away with a murder for 11 long years. Our robust public administration can be tweaked and twisted with monetary inducement for almost anything. Then it can be a Jessica at stake of justice or a Arushi at the bet of UP police, trials.

We very agreeably on the grounds of lack of evidences would transfer the case from police supervision to CBI command. Post which CBI gets another 2 years to sleep over the case and gather evidences which they would never get hold off. During this time the Judiciary the law makers the Lawyers, very often the law manipulators, our own Politicians and always the law breakers and the influentials would play with the case. Bribing & threatening of witnesses and before I forget we the spectators the TRP MAKERS would very satisfactorily enjoy the story being ripped apart over our breakfast and dinner tables. We would certainly give story its due importance, we will fail nowhere in our duty to mention about the updates of the case to all members of our social circle and feel proud about being updated.

I believe that each one of us has killed Jessica all over again in our own right. The corrupt investigating authorities, the tainted ministers, sloppy judiciary, dawdling media.

Well done Benegal !!!

Right from Mandi to welcome to Sajjanpur, Shyam Benegal has always used satire and simplicity as the strength of his comedies. For audiences fed (up) with an overdose of slapsticks, this is as refreshing change as having healthy homemade food when consumption of regular roadside junk leads to constipation.

Adapted from a short story Narsaiyyan Ki Bavdi by Urdu writer Jeelani Bano which was also translated into a tele-film in Doordarshan days, the anecdote has since become part of Indian folklore. Interestingly the age-old political parody holds relevance even in present times. Well Done Abba also credits Hindi author Sanjeev’s ‘ Phulwa Ka Pul ’ and a screenplay treatment by Jayant Kriplani ‘Still Waters ’ as its source materials.

The story opens with Armaan Ali (Boman Irani), a car driver in Mumbai, returning to work after months of leave. Almost on the verge of losing his job, Armaan seizes the opportunity of explaining his boss the reason for his extended holiday en route a long drive to Pune.

The casual visit to his village gets long-drawn-out when Armaan Ali comes across the water shortage there and decides to get a well dug in his barren fields. As he literally runs around bribing everyone from officer, collector, engineer, village-head to even a photographer, you can visualize him playing Pankaj Kapur’s part from an episode of the popular sitcom Office Office . And like the sitcom, Benegal bestows an upbeat mood to the film over making it look like a depressing drama of distress and difficulty.

And just when you wonder if the film is a neorealist take on Armaan Ali’s well-wish in the vein of classics like The Bicycle Thief or Do Bigha Zameen , the second half goes in complete reverse gear where Armaan Ali gives the perpetrators a taste of their own medicine. The well that never existed is reported as stolen in police files and everyone involved in its ‘well-being’ is questioned. The series of events that follow thereafter makes something as impractical as the theft of an immovable asset credible thereby initiating a believable black comedy.

The film primarily points out the prevalent bureaucratic corruption that hijacks several schemes initiated by the government for the underprivileged, thereby hindering development of the society and hence the country. It also intelligently brings out the irony of how staying below the poverty line has rich outputs.

The multilayered screenplay by Ashok Mishra is adorned with a horde of varied amusing characters. Armaan’s support system is his daughter Muskaan (Minissha Lamba) who makes way for the mandatory love track (with Sameer Dattani) which slackens the pace in start, but soon their romance progresses simultaneously with the narrative and is refreshingly restrained. Armaan also has a twin brother and a sister-in-law (Ila Arun) who, though don’t contribute much to the central plot, are interesting characters in their own right and thankfully not the scheming stereotypes or saccharine sweet. Another ‘potent’ial character is a virile engineer (Ravi Kishan) who forever has his wife (Sonali Kulkarni) on his mind. However the track of an inspector (Rajit Kapoor) and his bickering wife seems half-baked and peripheral to the plot.

Despite being a trail and tribulation journey, Benegal’s direction has a feel-good charm to it. The simplicity in his storytelling is so charming that even when the film extends beyond its climax into a celebratory song, you don’t mind much. The authenticity of a rural setting is something that can never go wrong in a Shyam Benegal film. The geography of his setting might change from Uttar Pradesh to Andhra Pradesh with films but the maestro has a history of perfecting the milieu and mannerisms of any region.

From Ashok Mishra’s immaculate rustic dialogues, Samir Chanda’s production design, Pia Benegal’s costumes to Rajan Kothari’s easygoing cinematography – every technicality is ‘well’ handled. Shantanu Moitra’s countryside composition isn’t chartbuster material but goes in sync with the mood of the film. And the random choreography in the title track is truly trademark to the territory. But while realistically recreating the rural backdrop, Benegal imparts a pertinently progressive outlook to his protagonist who prefers his daughter going beyond the burkha . Also the director subtly touches the issue of how naïve parents push their daughters into furtive flesh trade by marrying them off to loaded Arabs in hopes of better living.

Shyam Benegal ensures that his actors excel in their characters right from their traits, dialect, accents to acting even if they have to play a walk-on part. All Benegal regulars from Ila Arun, Rajit Kapoor, Ravi Jhankal, Rajendra Gupta to Lalit Tiwari play their part earnestly. Ravi Kishan is loud but still has an amusing character. Minissha Lamba surprises with an absolutely natural and lively performance. This is certainly the best performance in her career so far. But ultimately it’s Boman Irani in a title role and a twin character who is dependable as always and glides through the part as if it were tailor-made for him. Even in a scene as elementary as posing for a ‘passport size photograph’ in a photo studio, he has you in splits through his expressions proving his screen presence is as immense as a ‘blow up’ picture.

Shyam Benegal crafts a clever and caustic political satire with Well Done Abba . This ‘well-made’ film is worth a watch!

I love u deeply

I love u so much

The warmth of your arms

And the way you clutch

I Love the sound of your voice

And the way you touch

I love you deeply

Oh I love you so much

I love your gentle smile

For which the delight is such

I love you deeply

I love you so much

I love the treasure of your care

I love to nestle in your crutch

I love you deeply

Oh I love you so much

I love u intensely

I love u so much

The warmth of your arms

And the way u clutch

I Love the sound of your voice

And the way you touch

I love you deeply

Oh I love you so much

Pinki ;-)

As I sit back today at my window, my eyes fixed at the sky up above

I cannot defy thinking about my life my love

Many other starrs in the sky I see

But in my eyes, no starrs like thee

The sparkle in his eyes with the glow on his cheeks

Make me go mad and make go week

Today I wish to share some vows together

To tell him that I will be with him forever

A day appears too less to rekindle the spark

Wondering, my words may perhaps blow away the dark

I wish I could ever say , how much I love n care

Still a silent, effort to express, without him I will all be bare

On this pious day of saint valentine

I shall pray to divine, he always remains mine

As I see the first dazzling rays of daylight,
Whirling in to the fading night
I wish I could hold everything I had with my grip tight
However it does not last long enough, perhaps a brutal fight

The restlessness in me preludes
And raises endless questions
To which my innate sense stands silent
With no answers to the wavelets of emotions

Grappling with my thoughts, I seek
Retort to the absolute confusion
Trying to delve deeper I suddenly realize I have become meek
Trying to pave a sequential thought composition

How much would I succeed is another a question
A session with seclusion perhaps can solve this inquest


It seems as I was falling forever and the ground was impossibly far away
Yet failing every time, to consolidate my opinions, I pray
How would this unsettled silence break
Who would come to my rescue?
or else I will be left alone to shriek

Quirk of fate and my courtship...............

Times may be different, one needs to be persistent There would be some highs and lows, better you learn how to control the blows

Indeed I could not follow this
Even when circumstances were abyss

I was stubborn I was aggressive
He was patient and impressive

Despite all the odds we came together
the whole cosmos turned against us, but we dint bother

The maxim opposites attract proved to be right
As with each passing day the glittering sun would be more n more bright

The world seemed to be on our stride
Expectations won’t exist as we decide

Gradually I could not stick to my words
He deflated form his promises and made efforts

Things moved on, so did we
However, why clashes kept multiplying wondered we

On my way to relationship I made innumerable mistakes
He ignored them and treated them to be piece of flakes

Little did I know, that he would be a lethal addiction
And pointless to specify, devoid of any cure and medication

Whenever I was grappling with a situation
He would come to my rescue in every condition

Present he was always, to illuminate my path
Ready I was always, to render him the wrath

Not understanding him was my plight
To my amazement he was always right

There was this time when, I thought we are meant for each other
Very late did I realize he deserves some one better

The very thought of separating from him makes me go uneasy
Nonetheless, I guess I was making him go crazy

I feel this emptiness within me
It seems am unable to breathe n its killing me

My past memories still echoes in my veins
Now the fact that I am alone is driving me insane

With no further wastage of time :

Let me take this opportunity to thank him whole heartedly
And wish him love and luck for the entire life eventually

love
priyanka

Vicious circle of life……

Life is riddle, the more we solve it
The more we get entwined in it

One has to take things as they come
If not, the consequences can be gruesome

For, life does not give a second chance
Those who get are the rare n privileged ones

Twist and turns in life are certain
As we go through the severe pain

Convoluted as it may appear though
We have to accept life’s major blow

I fear of losing all I have, is my plight
Indeed with the hope of getting things right

Qualms and regrets is what all I possess today
When, I sit and muse about today, tomorrow and yesterday

Optimism is my last resort now
Eager for the new sunrise to expunge the haze of snow

bamboozled !!!!!

Friends around me are few
In a over swarming world, seems a strange phew

Why do I have this avid desire of mingling with people?
Why can’t I just persist on my own without being feeble

Why do I look for constant motivation?
When I have no body around, with that intention

Expecting from people, makes our valued time go waste
Resulting in experiences one would never wish to taste

Only preposition, I can think of now is
Being rationale in life is an amalgamated bliss

As the famous saying goes, one has come to this world alone
And so shall one leave, apart from the tribulations you had borne

Why my loved ones can’t hear it, my heart cries aloud with its woes
For whom I have always been on my toes

Please some one observe, It is too clear on my face
However no one is around to notice, is this destiny’s another maze?

I have become too proficient in being thwarted
Presumably it was a gift for me which life crafted

Life is a long and never ending tale
With every move, it at times makes you vivid and pale

I posses, some regrets, some satisfaction and some emotion
With no further speculation, I should not infer conclusion

I resolute to change……..

Overwrought Silence is the word for today
Regardless of tomorrow and yesterday

Standing in oblivion for future
Vulnerably, watching our world rupture

Engrossed in the pain and sorrow
Gone astray, expectancy of better a tomorrow

Indecisive, though about this inkling
On tenterhooks for a new dawn in offing

Vaguely, hopes would not be random
Only if we all concur to work in tandem

Phony hopes should not be infested
Until the obligatory gaffes are corrected

I hope I expect and I wish are prospective expressions
Right ain’t the attitude is my impression

Shifting civilization would not unravel the problem
A genuine attempt is needed to address all of them

The question arises, who would step in
I request volunteer, since it comes from with in

Lets all of us now, promise it to our personage
Before preaching, solitary I would be the first one to change

Satire of Information Age

"Seven days of twinge and misery for Bachchans and seven days of delight and break through for media"

It was 11th October, yet another customary day for all until a news flash came “Amitabh Bachchan has been rushed to hospital as he was complaining of severe abdominal pain”

With the twist of fate, Amitabh was celebrating his 66th birthday. The news instantly reached everyone. Amitabh had been admitted to hospital earlier also (for some other reasons), subsequently this shock had gripped the entire nation. While people started gathering around Amitabh’s palce ( Prateeksha and Jalsa) he was being sent under observation in the hospital

How could our media miss on such a golden opportunity? Editors must have called for urgent summits. Since this was the sole chance for them to cling on to the TRP Game ones again. Clearly, that had been a boring week with no major events happening (in the lives of celebrities) and now they had all the masala in the world to cook the bulletins on Amitabh.

Consequently, the media fraternity started gathering in front of Pratiksha, Jalsa, Nanavati hospital and later Lilavati hospital. Amitabh, is a obsession among people and media is aware of this fact. Therefore, every thing for media community was moving in a well designed pace. It was a major news story which could fetch them with follow up scoops for several days

Only because Amitabh was hospitalized his entire history was being shown on televison news. His career his childhood days, his struggle period, his father, his mother, his son, his wife, his daughter in law, his daughter .Of course we are talking about Amitabh Bachchan. Every aspect concerned about him was taken care off by newspersons (none of particulars pertaining to his life was omitted, even Rekha found her way in news too).

Apparently, Bachchans were the only subject matter of discussion in publications and the (24/7) news channels. The planning strategy started on day one: media people were placed in different locations, Pratiksha, Lilavati being few of them. The gossips found their way through the chai ki tapris’s near hospital (in the suburbs of Juhu) from where media groups kept a steady vigil on the family.

This was just the beginning of fun filled drama. This was nothing less than one of a Amitabh’s film which comprised of all the mellow drama, emotion, fiction, action, rona dhona, tragedy, being the some facets of it only difference it had was that this drama was not on celluloid but on small screen.

The entire nation had been stuck to their respective television screens clearly those people who unfortunately could not make it to Bombay among heaps of people following “BIG B”.
Spectators from the whole country were waiting in huge numbers at the entry and exit points of Pratiksha and Lilavati hospital and leading them were the media people

Fans and media had total different purpose for waiting: for fans, they wanted speedy recovery of their millennium star also some of them wanted to fool media by having some coverage of themselves ( some of them were successful I must admit).
Where as, media people were on the spots to record all the movements made by Bachchans. Needless to say they did not want to miss even a single of glimpse by any of the Bachchans or their closed ones and why not …..they can make news too.

Throughout, mikes were fixed firmly on to the Bachchans…whoever they could get hold of. No private moment was permissible to the family to grieve or to celebrate.

On the contrary journalists were there to make sure that whenever it’s feasible they could carry out some sound bytes, (their interviews). The camerapersons were on their toes all over to get all the obligatory visuals and bites or else they would be fired or would be rebuked by their respective bosses for not being vigilant on the field. As this one was an out and out exclusive story.

Hats off to media who were at their best to deliver even the minutest of the details about Mr.bachchan and family to the ever snooping masses. The details noticeably included:

Amitabh Bachchan had an apple today
He had a glass of water some time back
He will be on a liquid diet for some days
Amitabh just sneezed

This is such an important piece of information. I must express my gratitude to media for covering the news beyond belief and for making never ending episodes and dedicating them to Mr. Bachchan.
After all they are no ordinary people they are “The Bachchans” .......THE NEWS MAKERS.

Now, how can we overlook the exceptional tactics employed by media to lure their audiences and to raise their TRP’s. Series of rumors had been proliferated about Mr.Bachchan and they kept multiplying. Some of them were noted saying “Amitabh is very critical”, some of them said “Amitabh has been discharged” and so on.

Considerably, why this coverage should not be done? After all media has become a business now, Business of selling goods and services. Where in goods and services implies information. To ensure the prosperity of this business, news is being generated, appended with it the unparallel add ons.

While all this was going on a 2 year old boy was stuck under a 100 feet deep bore well in Agra. Hardly reporters were seen covering the incident; neither did the story find its place in the major chuck of news. Beyond doubt, it could have been a well thought out decision. Sonu or Amitabh who would make headlines?
The answer is quite obvious ............

Alas, seven days in and out masaledar coverage was given to Amitabh Bachchan with special tadka .Right through the day one, media followed the Bachchans from Prateeksha to Nanavati to Lilavati to Jalsa

Not to forget we had some unsung heroes in this story as well, who were waiting for a happy finale. A man who made his journey from Allahbad to Mumbai in a rickshaw, pulled by him, landed at the gate of Prateeksha. He kept waiting for Amitabh to return to his place. Besides, he was found distributing pamphlets for prompt recuperation of AB.
A woman sat on an indefinite hunger strike stating that she won’t eat anything until Amitabh recovers.

All these heroes and heroines were given equal weightege and importance by media and were captured by the shutter bugs incessantly.

Lets look at a phase used by a leading media channel, “mega star Amitabh Bachchan was discharged on Friday from Lilavati hospital where he was admitted last week after he complained of severe stomach pain. The actor dressed in white shirt accompanied by wife Jaya in white too, son Abhishek, daughter in law Aishwarya Rai left hospital at around 1040 hours and reached their residence Jalsa at suburban Juhu”. Amitabh bachchan was rushed to nanavati hospital which is barely one kilometer from Pratiksha on 11th of October”

The slightest of details was being accounted,” As if Amitabh is hospitalized was not enough for people, they had to know the distance between the residence of Bachchans and the hospitals.Moreover, the calculations of speed and time were done too..( the time bachchans had taken to reach home from hospital). Besides the dress color was the most vital element which could not be abandoned.


Guess we all know why Mr.Shivraj Patil changes his clothes thrice in a day !!!!!

The chronicle of doldrums

Why do people get upset? Why is that whenever we are dejected and discontented we choose not to communicate, although we still express it involuntarily without being aware of it. Nevertheless we pass on the message silently through our body language and our gesticulations. Remember KATTI….of our childhood days.
Where KATTI….. KATTI……. KATTI , when whispered three times signifies that this was a severe brawl and hence, no communication will take place from now on come what may.
Well I could never figure out answers to these questions but they still keep popping up in ma mind like stubborn frogs.

Well well, I am no psychiatrist neither am I a psychology lover. It is a sheer coincidence that I am writing this. Actually I happen to receive a SMS some days back, the message was from one of my school friends and he asked how am I and all, as we continued to chat a revelation was put to forth…….that he is in a bad mood. So was I that day, due to some reasons, I even wished him same pinch uncanny isn’t.

I mean how many people would say same pinch for being in a bad mood but I was irrational enough to do that . Although, I did that just to cheer him up but as expected it did nothing good for him.
no body could have given it a thought however, very often we get to hear this ……“yaar aaj mood bahut kharab hai”
“ Aaj mera mood off hai”
But I fail to comprehend that apparently dispositions happens but where lies in our body the switch on button( of our mood), why the hell these emotions work on automated mechanisms.

Anyways coming back to the ever complicated question, I don’t really have an apt answer to this but yes it has happened with me, needless to say, it keeps happening to me.

Evidently, every time I am upset I quietly move in to a shell and consciously or unconsciously I form a cyst around me. That is a kind of barricade or a shield which does not permit other people to cross the threshold and if some one knocks at it they would either have to be disappointed or will be maltreated of course by my automated control system…not purposely but yes it happens.

Due to my cyst, I fail to realize that only because I am hurt, I tend to hurt everyone around me. Family is a big no no, they are not allowed in my cyst but my friends who often try knocking and extend a hand for support are thwarted by me.
It is achain reaction and has various SIDE EFFECTS
1. I am disturbed
2. I snubbed my friends and family members too, because I am upset.
3. Instead of sharing my pain I kept sulking, which in turn upsets them more, since they are unable to appease me


Its weird I know, probably unexplainable but I have made an attempt to explain it in my way. Till now whatever I have learnt from my experience of cyst formation and retreating in to shells. It only suggests me to vent out your emotions on the first hand.

this chain reaction, if followed with right blend of chemicals, helps in speedy recovery from our wretchedness

BENEFITS
It would assuage you a bit, as the saying goes sharing can lessen your woes.
Essentially, your friend may not endow you with solutions, but you will certainly be calmed.

No reasons can be analyzed as to why we get upset or we get mood swings, fundamentally, it can be said that it is varied phenomenon and differs from individual to individual. We all go through mood swings at various stages of our lives and inadvertently ill-treat our closed ones. So this is a small piece of advice to all, time is a great healer but sharing( of grief) can do wonders and saves time tooo !!!!

FATAL TRUTH OF MISERY

Man made crises

It was yet another pleasant day with divine sunshine around. I was following my habituated routine. I had gone to college, conducted classes and came back to my domicile.
I was planning to take a quick nap when I heard my mom saying “you are supposed to accompany me in a meeting today, so hurry up. I could not say no to her. So I was hauled to a meeting by her. It was 15 minutes past six, when my phone rang and then it did not stop ringing, messages kept pouring in, and I was looking at them with my fingers numb and my face turned into deadpan with my eyes frozen to the inbox of my cell phone.
I was feeling feeble; I could not receive those calls since I was in middle of a meeting.
perhaps I could not seem to believe what I had just read in an sms….

5 sequential blasts struck the heart of capital. For a moment I was unresponsive to the world, swiftly and powerfully I was dragged back in to the world by the lady sitting besides me. She happens to be my mom. As soon as I recovered form my thought process I could see her panicking.
She raised an alarm in my ears (where else) with almost fading but yet in a very piercing tone
Where is your dad..??
With this question my heart sank ….and almost denied to hover back .at the moment when all my senses had stopped working, my mom expected me to be cognizant....
some how I managed to fight with the fear which had almost clutched me within. Some where inside me I had grasped that it’s not the right time for me to panic. I knew if I would lose my cool she will be too fidgety to handle then.

I wanted to screech at her for two reasons, firstly for shouting in my ear drums, then for asking me where is your dad…???????.
I wanted to ask her, mom he is your husband you should know where is he …..however I knew this was not the right time either to remind her about their wedding. I was literally multitasking that day ….to begin with I was constantly trying my dad’s cell. Secondly I was making futile attempts to make her (my mom) understand, that everything is going to be fine though It dint deem true to me as well.

Damn this phone …..Cellular phone, one of the vital inventions of man…..does not work when they are required the most. On the corollary the lady on the other side would uphold her one liner “the number you are trying to call is not reachable”

Beyond doubt it was a horrible day, networks were jammed, there was pin drop silence on the usually over crowded roads and markets, apparently because of the formidable explosions. Not even flora and fauna were seen, they too seem to have gauged the outcome of wandering on roads.........
In every five seconds my mom would ask me a series of questions to which indeed I had no answers “did your father pick up the phone?
What did he say?
Is he fine?
Albeit,I was grappling with words……i tried hard to assure her ..“His phone is not reachable mamma”, but I am trying incessantly to get hold of him you don’t worry. Nonetheless I could not follow my own words.
A feeling of anger, frustration and helplessness was gripping my senses amidst all the hustle bustle of the convention.

I excavated deep into my hand bag in search of some contact numbers in my diary but instead I found a long black wire (another great invention by man), those were head phones. The next moment I was listening to the news on radio. I could not believe what I had heard, 29 people dead and more than 100 people injured.

I mean I have been hearing about blasts every now and then. Our country is now well trained to tackle the anxiety created by these explosions. But this time I saw my neighborhood being blown off. I could not stop thinking about it……"what if I had been there or if anyone close to me had been there"…..this awful feeling had roughly detained me. That day I realized that I am afraid of death, Death of my loved ones, loss of my dear and near ones. Or should I put it like this, that I am afraid of a death which is ordained to us by some terror outfits.

Amidst all this my phone rang again …well well. Sigh of relief it was my dad on the line
He said he was fine besides, he did not even know that there had been blasts in the city, height of ignorance.


Days after the blasts .I have indeed overcome those feelings of frustration but to no avail could I get answers to my frustration and helplessness. How many restless days, impatient evenings and sleepless nights would we spend in fear of losing our beloved people?


Why are we being victimized? till when will we keep falling prey to a man made crisis?

I don’t know whom to lay blame on, shall I blame destiny, or I should put the blame on the terror outfits that have been butchering innocent people for no reason, or should I blame the security agencies, who have turned a blind eye towards these atrocious terrorists’ activities.

At a standstill I am looking for the answers even now………………………

BIOLOGICAL COMPULSION VS PERSONAL CHOICES


We all are biological beings with compulsion and not by choice. this is the way we have been living since time immemorial.
Then why now, are we trying to change the biology of our foundation. why more and more people are inclining towards homosexuality? but this is simply a question about our personal choices to which i guess we have no answers nor can we raise any objections....
If Adam and Eve could have opted for a different orientation, I am pretty sure we would not have been here, indeed on this planet.
Personally speaking I just can’t stand it, I mean no offence to them I totally respect their individual choices. I raise objection when I think of legalizing homosexuality.
I know whether we legalize it or not, it is ubiquitous it has been there and will grow with time.

Recently our honorable health minister Mr. Ambumani Ramadoss affirmed that homosexuality in India should be legalized.
I was wondering is he still the heath minister and if he still is, are there less of health issues in India to be addressed that now he is venturing into a different field altogether of human rights. Or may be he is so concerned about India as a whole that he is over timing and over indulging in his job now.
Invariably, if he is entering a dissimilar field of work, has he weighed all the pros and cons of legalizing homosexuality? Why is he advocating it, and if he supports homosexuality,
Does he know the implications it’s going to have on an unprepared and naive society?
It would be as similar as talking about sentences and words without incepting the basics of language and alphabets in toddlers.

since, there are some unpreventable and inevitable factors attached to the legalising of homosexuality.
If in case homosexuality is officially authorized. What will be its ramifications?

What legacy are we leaving for our prospective generations? With the increasing trend of lesbians and gay culture I am doubtful if we will even have more generations.
Perhaps we have a solution to it. ADOPTION
Even, if homosexuals espouse children. What will they inculcate in them? How would be their upbringing? Who would play the well defined and well established roles of mother and father in this state of affairs?
What would these kids inherit in them? Would not they prefer to choose lesbianism and gay- ism as their first choices over biological compulsion? Would they be accepted in a haughty society like ours?
What if this entire fad catches up with new generation?
These are some of the far-fetched questions which turn my head round.
Legalize, not legalized liberated or prohibited, for the time being it will only obliterate our culture and society
The solitary solution to the treatment of homosexuality would be EDUCATION.
Masses should be educated about homosexuality.
This would help in generating acceptability for homosexuals.
Moreover, it will transform the mind set of people toward gays and lesbians.
Eventually, it would no longer be considered as a taboo.
Moreover, they would be equally respected in the society, to which originally they are entitled.

If possible it should be added in the curriculum of students.
All India awareness campaigns should be launched.
This will help people know about all the aspects of homosexuality. Whether it’s about their daily lives or may be health related issues.

Or there can be special sessions arranged for (educated as well as uneducated). This will help children and families to be receptive towards this new practice and will help them in making their personal choices.

Accordingly, I would like to request Mr. Ramadoss to compassionately stop preaching about homosexuality and relatively mull over all the facets of it. Efforts should be made to get approval for homosexuality but before that acceptability needs to be spawned, so that no voice is raised in remonstration. Consequently some good-work in the field is expected from health ministry along with education ministry and of course judiciary.
Without the unification of these three nothing can really be imparted to the anonymous masses.

wish u all the very best Mr ramadoss

WAKE UP CALL

Serial blasts are no more a new phenomenon. Quite possibly because they are here to stay and we have learnt to stay with them, doing nothing about it.

I sometimes wonder whether these terrorists are blessed with some magical powers that they are always in a state of disappearance. Nobody ever notices them. After every subsequent attack whoosh…..there go our attackers…vanished

Our vigilant security forces constantly fail to nab them. To the surprise of our intelligence agencies, the terror groups do not have any magic wands nor do they possess any super hero like qualities.
However, it appears that these extremists are ordinary human beings with extra ordinary brains unlike our sleuths.
Every time a terror attack is reported our sleuths rush to the place with their respective squads and they then wait for the terrorists’ organization to claim responsibility for the particular blasts.

This establishes that we are so slothful and feeble that we essentially believe a terrorist organization. This in turn drives them to graph and execute more such gruesome activities, since we have no counter strategy ever to face terror campaigns.
No probe is proficiently done. Each time sketches of the assailants are hovered across but to my disappointment no body is ever arrested or prosecuted except for a few (innocent) being pestered.

What lead to the unending recent sequential blasts? Or for that matter Jaipur blast in May or all those blasts which have been taking place since a long time now. Then why are our intelligence agencies still struggling hard to identify and recognize the prototype of these blasts. Why high alerts are declared only after an intimidating attack.

Terribly, Ahmedabad attack occurred under a high alert. Within a span of 35 minutes 17 blasts wobbled the city. Unfortunately the strike was so finely calculated that by the time sufferers could reach the hospital, medical centers were also smacked by blasts. Believe it or not, it is true

A bolt from the blue is that these attacks are usually pre- informed, security forces normally have bits and pieces of information with them. Our agencies and media organizations are generally clued-up about the strike via email, video clips, letters and phone calls. Etc. Nevertheless thanks to their absolute negligence and recklessness no follow-up is ever initiated in any terror attack.

ARE WE (the people of India) SAFE?
Terrifyingly, they (terrorists) are amongst us developing their dreadful plans here, besides giving shape to them. Are our security arrangements so laid back that they roam fearlessly and valiantly while making us insecure in our own realm.

Another imperative fact to this is, these terror out fits are no anonymous groups, in fact they are familiar groups, working under distinguished organizations like HUJI, SIMI, LeT ,( Indian mujahedeen) etc.

Another vital facet to this is that these terrorists are no deprived or under privileged class. Indeed they are well educated and are extremely professionals. They meticulously plan the bombings so as to inflict maximum damage

Further, it should be noted that on July 29Th, 18 live bombs were found from (diamond city) Ladeshwar area of Ahmedabad, shamefully four of them were planted within the range of 200 meters of Ladeshwar police station
Bombs are being fixed in all the crammed places like hospitals, market areas, police station, and temples. Eventually, No public quarter is untouched...
LPG Cylinders are being found in cars to maximize the collision of blasts. Apparently, impact has been massive.

It is relatively clear that at least 16 people are essentially required to blast 16 places, then 16 more to plan the attack, additional 16 to harbor the plan and extra 16 to plant the bombs and other 16 to finally implement the plan.
Consequently it can be stated that more than 100 people were engaged in the withering attacks. Now the question arises that police did not even find a single suspicious activity in the city where it was all planned.

While inhabitants of Gujarat and Bangalore are struggling hard to get back to normalcy some questions remain unanswered.

What do our security forces do when they receive information about any terror attack?

What measures till now have been taken by our intelligence agencies to counter terrorism?

How these bombs are planted in public areas? Do we have anything termed as patrolling?

Height of laxity is that bombs are being found outside police station. What were the police officials doing when the bombs were planted?

How can they carry out such massive attacks, devoid of being trapped even ones?

Our disunited political class is clueless in the face of terrorism. Recent blasts were the outcome of colossal intelligence malfunction at central and state levels. Our polit buro is forever entwined in party politics. Trust vote, MP trading, sethu samudram, Nuclear Deal these issues are secondary. Our primary concern is to counter terrorism When will these politicians wake up to the fact that
Their primary responsibility is to tackle national issues.

If I am not mistaken these successive blasts are not work of fiction. They are blowing up in every neighborhood giving sleepless nights to the AAM- AADMI. Then why are the authorities sleeping, why aren’t they waking up to alarming situation

Sadly, it is not their impudence which leads to these atrocious attacks but it is pure incompetence of our officials. Our security forces are employing no necessary steps to control terrorism
Authorities, wake up now, as this is neither a festive season of Diwali nor those explosions were merely reverberation of crackers. They were high intensity bombs designed to create panic and shatter the harmony of our country.