A Growing Menace...Reality TV Shows...

So whats capturing the headlines at all the news channels and papers in India today...a certain Reality TV Marriage is breaking apart.  Its not the first time the rich and spoilt brat of a Late Politician has been accused of domestic violence. His first marriage (which did not take place on Reality TV) also broke apart after his wife divorced him on the grounds of domestic violence. What remains questionable is that on what basis then was this monster who gets his kick by hitting women was brought to a Reality TV Show with a lot of fanfare and promotions in his quest for a new wife??...The moronic title of the TV Show was "Rahul Dulhaniya Le Jaayega"...I never watched the show so I really dont know on what basis the girls were selected and further on what basis he selected his "bride", what I do know is that after garnering lot of TRPs and advertisement money, the brat finally selected a wannabe actress/model from Kolkata who is accusing him of domestic violence barely into 4 months of their marriage and who is now showing off her abuse marks on news channels, I have no real sympathy for this girl because afterall on what basis did she decide to marry this guy? Didnt she inquire into his past, tried to know him better? If her only objective was Money and Fame, she got all this and some more that she had not bargained for. I think the next title of the show the brat will star in will be "Rahul Dulhaniya Le Jaayega...aur fir uski Pitaayi Karega"...

Theres a flood of reality TV shows these days and apparently this brat is much in demand in these shows because he also starred in another moronic "Reality " show "Big Boss"...I have still not comprehended what this show is about...They gather some wannabes from all walks of life (mainly those who have been involved in some kind of scandal...more scandalous,the better) and keep them in the house and monitor their "activities" and based upon "Viewer Voting" they are all chucked out of the house one by one and in the end one wins a huge sum of money...How..Why..On What Basis....Dont ask...thats the beauty of these reality TV Shows.

The list is endless...for high TRPs, thwarting Competition and in the quest of  presenting themselves as 'Different'...TV Channels are leaving no stones unturned and since "Reality TV Shows" are the hottest "in" thing these days they are belching out a variety "Reality Dance...Singing...U name it and its conceptualised in the "reality" format. One such mindless reality show was "Emotional Atyachaar" wherein couple conducted "Loyalty Tests" on one another and this TV show helped by "planting" a sexy ruse (male/female dependent upon on which partner the test was being conducted) and then this ruse would chase and shower attention on mostly plain and slightly over weight "targets" who more often than not fell victim to their attractions and then got busted...they then helped the other partner who was conducting the test to catch their cheating partners "red handed" in the act and actively recorded and broadcasted the emotional showdown that used to follow...Forget about whether its real or scripted, can you imagine something more idiotic and stupid than this??...A popular TV show like "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa" has also fallen prey to TRPs...a show that has given some of the most talented singers to the country is now dependent upon viewer voting where Judges are no more than Puppets and real winners are chosen by public through voting,where people vote for their favorite singers not for their talent (because seriously how would they know who sings better,not everyone is a musician) but vote the contestants if they belong to their state, caste, religion etc.

News Channels are also not acting responsibly...Under Pressure to keep viewer's attention, these 24/7 news channels sensationalize and hype small and irrelevant issues to such an extent that they seem like national calamity. For example, the marriage of this brat (entire ceremony was broadcasted 'Live' ofcourse) was reported with the same enthusiasm with which they are now reporting the allegations of his second wife and her bruise marks. As the "Idiot Box" is graduating into "Moronic Box" we can do nothing but choose to either watch or not watch.

Reality TV was touted as the great new hope for the digital era. A new genre featuring real people in real situations,laughing real laughs and shedding real tears. But it has fallen prey to the easy temptation of pre-packaged programming, degenerating into a scripted charade controlled by off-screen handlers in which contestants shed fake tears and throw sham tantrums to wring a few drops of interest from blase viewers. And why blame the viewers? All entertainment today is prefabricated . Even war. No wonder death has also lost its capacity to move us.

My Tattoo Story....

I had been mulling over this idea for a long time. Back in India there were many obstacles...my parents would never have allowed it, they were appalled even now when they heard I had it done but there wasnt much they could do as I am married now, living a bit away and considerably mature (they seriously doubt the last one though!).. Also, back home I didnt really have any specific tattoo design on my mind...I didnt want to go through all that pain to have some flower or some other random design engraved on my skin.

So after falling in love...getting married and coming to Europe and having the advantage of a lot of free time on my hands (Plz dont misinterpret the'free time' concept..its just that Assignments,PPTs,Exams,Job Interviews, Hostel life and Chatting with Gursher whole night kept me lot busier in India...its another issue that now that we are married and are together all the time, we dont talk whole night ever...I wonder what married life does to u :P), I gave this idea some serious thought and considered a specific tattoo design. Internet was my best source of information and found a lot of stuff about Tattoos....these things arent the latest trend...Tattoo designs have a long history, they have been found on mummified bodies dating back to 3300 BC and have been part of many cultures including our Indian culture.

I also learned that its a very painful procedure and there are many precautionary details involved and therefore decided that if I have to get it done the design better be worth the pain...and after much contemplation, I decided to get my sweetheart's name engraved on my skin forever. I chose the Gurumukhi script because his name looked best in that. When I inquired about Tattoo Parlors, I found one next to my home and got an appointment 2 months later because of the waiting!!...  convincing Gursher wasnt easy as he feared it might hurt a lot or cause me some permanent damage in terms of infection etc.....

Finally,got through all these hurdles and  got tattooed on June 12,2010. The name 'Gursher' is inscribed on the lower inner side of my arm in magenta color signifying Love and Femininity :).... To say that this procedure was infinitely painful wouldnt do justice to what I really felt...that searing and blinding pain can only be described and understood by those who have gotten inked themselves and my darling husband didnt help the matters much when while holding my hand and standing by my side, asked me how painful is it when he was supposed to distract me from that very topic!!.. :P.....

If you ask me if it was all worth it...I would say it was worth every Goddamn second of it! Its not just a tattoo...its a tribute to the love I have for Gursher.  I dont approve of people drugging themselves in anyway and then getting tattooed. Alcohol isnt permitted because it thins your blood and you will tend to bleed more...Anaesthesia isnt a safe option and involves plenty of Health risks and anyway it isnt used anywhere here.

Getting a Tattoo done is like a rite of passage and pain is an integral part of that rite..Don't Cheat.. if you dont have the guts to bear that pain, may as well dont get it. Getting scarred for life is no mean feat so show some COURAGE... ;)

Wrong Brand???

The recent demands of BMC (Bombay Municipal Corporation) have been branded as "Medieval Fatwa" and "Hindutva Diktat" by the media. What are these demands??.....Sena-BJP who currently rule the BMC have come out with demands like Girls in missionary schools should be allowed to wear bangles or bindi or even sport mehendi...that there should be more holidays for Ganpati and Diwali and that there should be a corporators' quota and the name of corporators' should be prominently displayed in the education committee and all the communications to BMC should be written in marathi.

Now on the expense of being branded a "Hindu Fundamentalist" or something even worse, I would like to wholeheartedly oppose the media's move of blaming it all on "HINDUTVA"....any move by BJP or Sena is automatically branded as "Hindutva Diktat" or "Hindu Fundamentalism" by the media. I am a Hindu too and a proud one at that. I would like to analyse all the demands of BMC one by one here and try and understand why is this branded as "Hindutva Diktat"......

• Girls should be allowed to wear Bindis and Bangles and sport a Mehendi.... I think its an independent choice and if the girls so desire especially during some imporatant festivals or personal occasions, they should be allowed. Afterall, when Sikhs can wear turbans and Muslims can wear Veils...why can't Hindu Girls wear bangles or Bindis??...I have noticed esp. in South India, girls wear Bangles and Bindi during festivals and even otherwise...whats wrong with that??...and if you are so concerned with the discipline then everything including turbans and veils should be banned like France
• I think Ganpati and Diwali are major festivals in India..Ganpati is esp. popular in Maharashtra...If the majority students are Hindu..then why not have more holidays during these times when they can really enjoy with their families??...
• Corporators' Quota issue is totally Political and has nothing to do with Hindus or Hinduism
• Making Marathi Language compulsory is a nuisance created and restricted to only Maharashtra and is in no way related to Hindus or Hinduism in general

My point is that why any move by BJP or Sena is deemed as representative of "HINDUTVA"??...Have they copyrighted this ancient religion or its a deliberate attempt to malign the image of this religion and way of life?
Mind you that I am a vehement opposer of groups that oppose V-Day celebrations or promote Marathi or any other undemocratic activity, but at the same time I also oppose the media and opposition parties branding it as "HINDUTVA DIKTAT"....

Hinduism is an ancient religion and way of life based on the concepts of peaceful co-existence and tolerance. If it is misinterpreted or its values misused by some groups for their own selfish political reasons, then its really unjust to blame the religion itself. Atleast the media should be more careful while using terms like these.

In the same way, we don't blame Islam for all the Terror activities happening around the world...Don't drag the name of Islam when an independent Indian Islamic organization decrees working women as "Un-Islamic" and their earnings "Haraam".....We don't brand Congress as "Anti-Sikh" for 1984 riots....I think we should exercise the same restraint and same respect towards the Hindu Religion too...Celebrating Diwali is same as celebrating Eid or Christmas and wearing Bindi or Mehendi is same as wearing a Turban or Veil.....In a democratic society we should all be allowed to exercise our constitutional rights, Being a Majority Population isnt a crime afterall!!!

To Maa...With Love :)

Happy Mother's Day Mom...though I dont need a specific day to express my love to you but having a day specifically cut out for loving and remembering Mommys isnt a bad idea as well :)....

I can't begin to thank you and just gratitude wont be enough but thats all I can offer for everything you have given me...Right from giving birth to me...taking care of me and doing everything possible to make my life happy and safe.

I have always been a sickly child and still have memories of those years of you staying up whole night...taking my temperature,putting wet towels on my burning forhead, soothing me, giving me medicines...those innumerable trips to Hospitals and Dispensaries...and all this while taking care of two more kids and running a full fledged household...

You are just not my mother, you are also my best friend, guide and counsellor. God knows how many times I have troubled you with my juvenile and reckless behaviour but no matter how deeply in trouble I was, you have always bailed me out and always forgiven me.

I was never a "model child"...I had been a typical pain-in-the-neck child...creating mischief when not sick...took some really bad decisions regarding my education, my career etc., but you have always shown infinite patience in counselling and guiding me towards the right direction.

And finally I gave enough troubles while getting married too. Shipra (my older sister) was married on Jan. 18, 2009...till then you had no idea I even had a boyfriend. I told you about Gini in the beginning of Feb. 2009...You spoke to his parents...You had not met anyone...him or his parents...just spoke on the phone..but agreed to this wedding for my happiness.We are Hindus, they were Sikhs...let alone inter-caste, they were from a different religion but you were always too modern to consider such things that are considered so important in other families....For you no religion or Caste or Society was more important than your Children's happiness.

My wedding which was to take place in Dec. 2009 was preponed to May 2009 because of our insistent pressure...we couldnt bear to stay apart that long...You agreed to even that!!....I completed my M.B.A in April 2009 and got married in May 2009...You met the Groom and his family one day before the Wedding on Engagement day!!!...Half of our relatives including my sisters couldnt come from U.S because of such short notice. All the wedding arrangements and shopping was done in a jiffy.

Mommy, you were having severe arthiritis pain in your left knee at that time because you had broken a ligament...but you were smiling all through the wedding bearing that excruciating pain and eating several painkillers a day...Standing for long hours greeting guests...doing arrangements and not complaining even once!!!.....

And now because of you, I have gotten one more Mommy whos actually Mother-in-law but luckily for me, shes so affectionate, warm and caring that the 'in-law' part has gotten obliterated :)

Love you Maa for being my Mommy and everything you have done and would remain grateful till my last breath :))

Judgement...Yes... but Justice...Not Yet....

The lone survivor of the 26/11 terror attacks on Mumbai, Ajmal Amir Kasab has been sentenced to death today by the Special Court where he was being tried for the past 17 months under various cases of murder, terrorism, waging war against the country, attempt to murder etcetc..Judgement has been pronounced by the Judge but has the Justice been meted out...not so fast, say the legal experts stating that it might take years to hang Kasab.

Why??....well for one, the Death Sentence will have to be approved by the Bombay High Court and Kasab can challenge the verdict there or he can approach the Supreme Court directly challenging the verdict. Even if the apex court upholds the judgement, he can appeal for a legal review given the number of cases against him and that could take minimum 5 years according to the legal experts. And even if the Supreme Court still upholds the decision, he can then appeal for clemency to the President of India under Article 72, where he can appeal to convert it to Life Imprisonment or outright acquittal. As of today, there are about 52 clemency appeals already pending before the President of India. Afzal Guru, the mastermind of 2001 Parliamentry Attacks has also appealed for clemency and his appeal is yet to be approved by the Home Ministry in order to be sent to the Rashtrapati Bhavan for the final decision.

Ajmal Amir Kasab...a 22 year old terrorist who along with nine other gunmen attacked the city in various places like the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, The Taj Mahal Hotel, The Oberoi Trident Hotel, Cama Hospital, the Jewish praying centre Chhabad House and not to mention the indiscriminate firing on the streets, resulting in the death of 166 people and injuring several and in some cases crippling victims for life.


A Case in Point that comes to mind is that of Adolf Eichmann. Referred as "The Architect of Holocaust", a German Nazi officer who carried out the task of facilitating and managing the deportation of Jews to the extermination camps and ghettos in the German occupied Eastern Europe. He fled to Argentina and lived there in disguise after the war. He was abducted by the secret service of Israel, Mossad and was brought to Israel to face trial. Inspite of the huge protests from the Argentinian Government, the trial began on April 11, 1961 and after 14 weeks of testimony with almost 1,500 documents, 100 prosecution witnesses (90 of whom were concentration camp survivors) and dozens of defense depositions delivered by diplomatic couriers from 16 different countries, the court found Eichmann guilty on all counts. He was sentenced to death on Dec. 15, 1961. The Supreme Court rejected Eichmann's appeal on May 29, 1962 and the President Yitzhak Ben Zvi turned down his appeal for clemency on May 31, 1962. Eichmann was executed sometime after midnight on May 31,1962 and there were two men hired to pull the plug simultaeneously so no one would know for sure as to which one killed him. His body was burned and his ashes were scattered on the Mediterranean sea outside the territorial waters of Israel, so that there could be no memorial for him and no country could serve as his final resting place. This is the only civil execution ever carried out in Israel, a state that doesnt believe in death penalty.



Kasab's case has already taken 17 months. Currently, he is being kept in a special cell in Arthur Road Jail which was constructed at an estimated Rs.6 crores and about Rs. 2 crores are being daily spent on his security.

A lot of people are waiting for justice...people who have lost their loved ones....family of late Maj. Unni Krishnan, Widow of the Police officers killed are among them, and a lot of other innocent people who were subjected to this act of heinous terror....for once, cant the system proceed swiftly and justice be expedited...if these estimates are to be believed and it indeed takes 5-7 years...would it hold any meaning by then??...Wouldnt it be a mockery of our legal system??..
Is our system capable of same defiance and courage as that of Israel's??...

Quantity not Quality.....

Some pearls of wisdom for my fellow blogger friends :)).....According to a study conducted by Susan Jamison Powell of Sheffield Hallam University of Britain when it comes to making friends online or seek popularity in the virtual world...it is the quantity and not the quality of blog posts that matters...infact the most prolific bloggers stay on the top of blogs. This study was conducted on 75 bloggers from livejournal.com website where the analysis was based on number of friends each blogger had, number of posts that were made and number of words that were written in each blog and overall tone of the blog. The researchers' asked bloggers how attractive they found their peers' blogs and found that more words a blogger posted, the more friends they had and the higher their attractiveness rating. The tone of their blog positive or negative did not have any impact.

So if you want to go by this study and its results....start posting rapidly without giving any thought to subject matter or even trying to be original...simple cut-copy-paste will also do :P

Personally, I think one writes because you feel this urge to express yourself freely and unhindered and not gain populairty or make friends online. But then again different individuals...different motives...Whats your perspective on this? :))

The Reader

A must read book by Bernhard Schlink. Its not your regular run-of-the-mill holocaust novel. It is a deeply sensitive and moving story that would compel its readers to think precisely how many lives were affected by the holocaust and in how many ways?.. It is the story of a 15 year old kid falling in love with an older woman...an affair that lasts only a summer but leaves the kid emotionally affected for the rest of his life. A touching story that portrays both the physical and emotional part of their relationship in the post-war Germany. This story thoroughly examines the German guilt and the impact of the holocaust on the German conscience.

I have found this story especially moving since I am living in Germany currently. Those days have been left far behind..now it is one of the largest economies of the world...people are so courteous, polite and matter-of-fact that it is impossible to imagine that this holocaust ever took place here. I remember an incident where we all were standing outside a club and suddenly this Indian guy who was in our group got into a drunken conversation with a German guy who was equally drunk...after sometime, as happens normally when two drunk people converse, they started arguing....and suddenly out of nowhere the guy said " Why are you talking to me like that? Do you think I am Nazi?...I am not Nazi...I hate them and whatever they did"....this statement had a deep impact on me. This behaviour may or may not be common but goes on to show the deep seated shame that is felt even today in this society.

The movie "The Reader" is also amazing albeit slightly different from the novel due to creative reasons, I think. Kate Winslet has given one of the best performances I have ever seen and deservedly got an Oscar for the same. I would recommend that you watch the movie after reading the book for a deeper impact and understanding but incase you aren't much of a reader, atleast watch the movie lest you dont want to miss something simply amazing :))