Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara...!

Watched ZNMD last week.


And as I had mentioned in my last post - I just loved it! Not that it was an extraordinary kind of a movie. But the way the story was told, the thing about which was it was told, touches you. You relate with it!


The three protagonists in the movie go on a trip to Spain and indulge in adventure sports.But there is more to the trip than just adventure. They realize that all of them are, actually, in pursuit of something- something that even they don't have knowledge of. So, as they keep relishing the indulgences, slowly starts the introspection. They meet Laila (Kartina), who brings alive the real-self of these guyz. Not only does she gets Arjun(Hrithik)  face-to-face  with reality that 'Live the present!' but also transforms him as a person, and thus, gives the bonhomie between the friends a new direction.Meanwhile Imran(Farhan) comes to terms with reality when he has a meeting with his biological father;and Kabir(Abhay) has his epiphany when he finally decides to do away with his planned wedding with Kalki.


In short, Zoya Akhtar's ZNMD is all about breaking free.Breaking free from the shackles that prevents us from unwinding, flying and living life in true sense.
After watching ZNMD, you feel immediately to call up your friends and set-off for an Eurotrip! And I felt the same too. The picturesque Spain shown in the movie is bound to make you feel the same too. And you can also feel some real positive energy undulating in you as you watch this movie.You feel inspired.


More- you feel waking up, and living it up.
An awesome movie I would say. 

A near perfect Saturday!

Morning started with  some studies(yes...preparation started!), and at 12 we left for Daksh's place.

Daksh had invited ery1 for lunch, prepared by himself! And let me tell you - he is an awesome cook!

More than the taste of the food, the heart he puts in making the food is amazing!

Indeed we savored every bite of it! Kheer, especially! :)

Next on cards was 2 back-to-back movies.

The first one- Harry Potter(the last part).Well, all the time, I was hesitant to see HP was not because I hated it or so, but because I hardly remembered anything from the first four parts of the series that I had seen.So was kinda out of touch and hence , may be not-too-keen.

Kd and Daksh revised some of the story for me, and it helped! The movie was indeed quite gripping and went off really well!

Awesome!

Next movie- A Farhan Akhtar flick, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.

I have always admired the creativity of Farhan Akhtar and was greatly excited about this film too.

Not that I was disappointed but yes, most of the part of the movie was 'typical'. I mean the 'hat-ke' quotient was petty low.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the movie-courtesy the innumerable comedy scenes and even more comical Abhay Deol expressions. Not much inspired or something by the movie, I wud rate this as a one time watch.

So this was the day. A near-perfect weekend.Chiiled Out.

Just thought of blogging it out. Man! At one end I don't write, and at another, when I do start, I just don't wanna stop!

KU

P.S: Did I mention that rains were minimal today! Cool na! :P

The Odyssey!

It was raining on 30^th June,2008.

And as usual, we were late for office. Stranded at Kanurmarg station – waiting for an autoricksha to pity on us.

But it was not just another morning. It was the first day of my Corporate life- the day of joining Lehman Brothers!

So we finally managed to get a rick to Winchester and my goodness- I was in awe when I saw the building. It was(and still is) a Class!

As we entered the lobby- I remember wishing ‘Good Morning’ to the suit-clad security person, standing there just to see if all have got their IDs(little did I know about this then). Then there was the elevator- ery1 with their well ironed formal  shirts, taking out their Black Berrys and wishing each other ‘morning’ in some kind of accent. Man! I felt so out of place. Few days back , I was in college. Carefree and tension-free. Now I was in a place where people say ‘sorry’ even for no reasons may a times. So samjh nahi rah tha mera kya hoga.

The day went by with presentations all around and ended with a cock tail party at the terrace cafeteria. Yes, a cocktail party for new joiners, who were fresh out of college. We left in the company bus and it was still raining.

This was 30^th June ,2008.

Today is 30^th June, 2011.

Three years! Yes – 3 yrs flew and how?- I have no clue.

Lehman brothers collapsed, Nomura took over, project changed, team mates changed, batch mates left, friend became my manager, and so many things. Indeed the journey` till date has been eventful.

Will I call it a happy journey? Don't know. So do I want to call it not-so-happy? Well, don't know.

It is a mixed feeling. Something that can be best described as ‘don't know’! L

But yes, the journey continues nevertheless. Again ‘don't know’ till when. The effort will always be to make it an beautiful odyssey.

Need wishes and luck!

Cheers

KU

Champions!

86 is when I was born. Not grown up enough till 92. So the 1996 cricket world cup is the first world cup that is still very much there in my memory. And yes, even if I was just a 10 yr old then, Sachin had become a God for me. I still have some amazing memories of that world cup- going to my uncle's place and watching the matches with everyone, that old logo of star sports, and then sometimes falling asleep on the sofa during the middle overs of the afternoon innings. It was great fun until the semis, when the legendary Indian batting collapse made sure it was curtains for us. Elders at my place say I had wet eyes while the match was being called off at the Eden gardens and SL being handed over the victory. This was the 1996 world cup. An unrealised dream and a shattered heart.

Then came 99 - got cable connection for the first time at our home- especially for the WC and the event began with Hansie and his formidable (now they are called Chokers) side rated as the favorites.And they were the fav acutally.All of us knew. And for India, it was the three legends- Ganguly, Dravid and Sachin.It was all about them. And they did their bit too. The enormous sixes by Ganguly in his 183* at Taunton are still afresh in my minds. The understated Dravid had two of his best innings in that world cup. And Sachin's solid hundred after coming back to the team after his father's unfortunate death. India went into the Super sixes but in the end could not tackle the fierce Aussie attack in a crucial match, to be then thrown out of the tournament and the WC dreams over.

2003 -the team looked like they were on a mission under Dada's leadership and Sehwag's attacking presence in every match helped us reach the finals- yes, the Finals of the world cup. We were almost there. People had already bought their quota of beer, drums were almost taken out, newspapers headlines about India's triumph were almost ready.Almost.Until Ricky Ponting happened. The punter smashed us all over the ground and ruthlessly. His 100 is still a nightmare for many. The Aussies took the WC away from us in the first innings itself.The beer was unused,the drums unused and the headlines modified-now talking about India's end.

2007 -India did not participate in the 2007 WC for unknown reasons. :P

So finally it all came down to 2011 - back in the sub-continent and more special because it may probably be Sachin's last world cup and a victory at Wankhede would not only fulfill the nation's unfulfilled dream for last 28 yrs, but also be an ideal farewell for the Little Master. Under Dhoni's leadership and some really good team effort-where everyone contributed, India crossed some major hurdles (read Australia and Pakistan) to reach the Wankhede for the final crash with SL.The match turned out to be a game worthy of a WC final and Dhoni's six over long-on to seal India's victory was carved in our memories forever.

The jubilation began -on the field and on the streets- streets all over India- and outside India too wherever there are Indians. It was for something we have been waiting for years. People even had moist eyes when they (including me) watching Bhajji, Yuvi and Sachin cry on screen. I called up all my friends/cousins to share the experience. Everyone was elated. Everyone was on cloud nine. The internet was full of celebratory messages. It was a great feeling. It was something about which we had only heard from elders and the 1983 WC winning players' interviews. It was something that we would make us feel we are the best. And we are the Best! Officially now.2011 WC champions- India!

As I said, the hi-fis, the dance, the celebration was all over the place-everywhere. People took to the streets in thousands (and even in Lacs at some places) and with Tri-colour in their hands, chants of Chak De India, Sachin, India, Bharat Mata ki Jai were shouted by one and all. It was amazing. It is amazing. The scenes of celebration will remain in my memory for life time!

For many it may just be a WC trophy but for us Indians, it is much more than that. It is glory. It is emotions. It is pride.

Ending the note here.. as I again watch the highlights of the final on Star Cricket.

Cheers

KU

The Dance class and the French class

It was actually since my FE at VJTI that i hav been longing to perform (read:dance) on stage.When it was the first time I attended our college fest Pratibimb, I was completely in awe of the event and was amazed by how people dance on stage - may be because it was the first time I had witnessed such an event live.

I would imagine myself doing the same at the next yr's Pratibimb.

During next year, I thought as I was just in second yr and  it may be a bit awkward to perform(what the hell was dat! even i dont knw).

I would also like to mention abt two of seniors(hostel+nagpur) who used to dance like anything and watching them dance ignited my passion for dancing even more.(dont u dare say that one who didnt even had the guts to dance is talking abt dance as his passion! ;) )

So the next yr, I finally decided to do some dancing.Luckily even my classmates were interested and even a choreographer was planned to be arranged.A mini-audition followed.( I think it was Dhoom's title track)

But for reasons still unknown ,things didnt worked fine and eventually it was only the girls of our class that performed.So that takes to Pratibimb 2008- final yr.

Meanwhile my desire to dance to various songs continued as I kept on listening to new and newer tracks on FM radio.

Now generally very few final yr students perform at the event and as you must have guessed till now, I was among the usual ones- that is- non performing ones.

So here it was finally.Completed my graduation and was still only 'thinking' of dancing !

So life moved on to 'job'!

And here, as we now had our own TV at our apartment , I hooked on to TV for hrs together after office, almost daily.And I started watching a television dance show called Dance India Dance(DID). I followed it religiously(and still follow it) and fell in love with the performances shown there.It inspired me even more to join a dance class.

So finally it was in April last yr that I decided to break-free and joined Shiamak's dance classes.It was gr8 fun going to the class and shaking legs to the beats of different bollywoood numbers.If only some friend too had joined, I would have enjoyed more.But nevertheless, it was a really nice experience joining the class and then performing (group dance) in front of a large crowd in an auditorium.Shiamak himself present at the event was the highlight.Hrithik Roshan had also come(although i didnt see him.may be he left early.)

So finally I had started dancing.Finally.

But the sad part is I havnt been able to continue with it.The second-level class that I joined was immediately after office hrs so couldnt attend.Hope will join soon whenever possible.The passion continues.

This was the Dance class story.

Now.. I'm afraid the French class story is not this long.(did u say Thank God! :P )

here is another of my desire -to learn any foreign language. 

and for reasons not even known to me- French.

May be because I see many ppl flaunt their foreign language knowledge on TV,may be because a bunch of my class mates at VJTI learnt German or may be just because I want to do it.

So I searched for several classess here in Mumbai and was sad to know that none of them were on weekdays.So I could not join.I searched again this summer but again the same.

So basically this is still 'unfulfilled'- the French class.

P.S: Dancing ke thode touch me toh mai hoon hi. Two weddings at my place recently.And two more coming.So four sangeet nights in all. :)

More later.

maja aaya ye sab likhne me aaj..

cheers

KU

Mumbai morning

It is about 6.15 in the morning and I am awake from the last 3 hrs or so- surfing the net,reading the post-match reviews and some updates about the Japan quake.

I see oustside the partially open windows of my room and all I can see is the beautiful twilight with shades of darkness!

The birds have started tweeting and the koo-koo of the sparrows is particularly making me nostalgic.

Nostalgic? You may wonder, why is the chidiyaan ki awaaz making me nostalgic!

Well it reminds me my child hood days at Nagpur, when during summers, whenever I used to wake up early,I could see people going on morning walk in the garden adjacent to our house, the same chirping of birds and the same serenity in the surroundings around.

Similar is the feeling here too,in Mumbai, as the light has become brighter oustide, except the fact that these are no more those childhood days. :(

So coming back to the point: A Morning in Mumbai.

I dont know why, but the morning scene in Mumbai reminds me of the movie-Wake Up Sid! Wierd na?

Well,as I said , I don't particularly know the reasons but lemme try and think what makes me feel like that.

In WakeUpSid, they have shown the positive flavours of Mumbai- the Sea, the Rains(positive ?),the flurry of success hungry people in Mumbai and their pursuit of the same, the Marine drive and the fast paced but exiting life of people in Mumbai.

So, when I think about the morning time in Mumbai,all these things strike me together.My mind moves to Marine drive thinking how nice must be the breeze alongside it(I wonder how mang times I would have visited it had it been close my apartmement),how many people must have already begun their local train journeys,how less occupied the roads would be and  how great it would feel to ride a bike alongside Bandra Band Stand!

Indeed these are the things that I always find fascinating about Mumbai(after all the criticisms that I do abt this city,these are actually the things I like about Mumbai -may be post about it in future ;) ).

These things that my mind associates with morning time in Mumbai can actually be savoured any time really, if u are in Mumbai.

After a hard days work, an evening with friends at the Marine Drive sitting over the tri-legged concrete pieces at the Nariman point can be so so relieving! Or may be a round of jogging around the Bandra Kurla Complex area.Well certainly these fascinations one can associate only with this city.

I dont know about other things, but I would surely miss these things whenever I leave Mumbai.

Thats it for now..

May the blissfull mornings bring bliss in everyones's life!

Cheers

KU

Of jobs,packages and ignorance...

Again that same old topic.Pardon me for that.But cant resist writing about the same old 'job-pihila' among Indian youngsters(sometimes elders too) and how today's generation is failing to differentiate between their 'real' ties and the artificial ones while pursuing their jobs.I think about this situation so many times and that's why finally thought of sharing some of my perspectives with you guyz..

The million dollar question: Package kitna hai??

A common and most fanciful obsession for everyone has been the compensation that an employer commits to a particular person for his service.The first criteria for selecting your graduation college in India is what 'package' does a company offer for students of that college(not all would agree on paper but if all were  candid enough, m sure most of them think like this).Well.Not that theres anything wrong in this.Even I had taken this into account while selecting my grad school but my point here is that the road to a 'job' is being sought for by an Indian student right from the high school certificate- when it is time for him to take the first step in his career path.

Not only the sudents, parents too are involved.They come to know how their relatives' and friends' kids got an 'excellent' 'placement' after they did their graduation from a particular college and start dreaming about their wards doin the same.And it doesnt stop here.Even after their child got a decent job offer for himself, comparison is done directly or indirectly,with the question "package kitna hai"? :)

How can I not mention that even when searching for a groom for a girl in India,shortlisting of candidates is done based on responses to "package kitna hai"? so as to assess how secure and luxurious a life the boy has on offer for the girl.

This is the hype created around "package kitna hai"? and so,under these circumstances, what does a student do? He joins the college that would fetch him the coolest placement that his parents can be proud of(or show-off) and sometimes he himself too can flaunt in society.He doesnt bother to take into account the option of being self-employed.He wants to be an employee and he is happy with it.

This is what concerns me.

Since this is the start of a students education and career, if at this stage only, he is made to think like a narrow minded person to complete his education for seeking a job, then no surprise most of us end up going to 'duty' daily 9 to 5 and see our pot belly growing slowly and our hairs turning gray.

P.S: I am not blaming parents by any chance.I just wanted to state what the actual scene is and how a student in general chooses to go the safe way in India.

I am busy with my job.I don't have time.Can we talk later?

Let me now put before you what are my point of views regarding how people are crazy while running the race of climbing higher in their 'job' ladder and how in the process they miss out on smaller and most important moments of happiness in life.

I have seen people at several workplaces including mine go so crazy about their jobs that they start believing that their work-life is the primary thing in their life and not their social life.Working hard for getting good appraisals is completely OK for obvious reasons.But should this be done at the price of missing out on precious moments of life?

I dont think so.

Not being with your kid during his annual-day at school,not able to see your relatives because they were in town during weekdays,not making calls to your people because you are busy with your office work are all things that show you have become a maniac about your job.I have seen outstation employees not go to their native places even during festivals as big and as important as Diwali.This is very pitiable.This is sad.How can one not be with one's family on Diwali is beyond my comprehension.Ofcourse all these things are very subjective and totally depends upon individual choices but this doesnt prevent me from stating that in the process of climbing the corporate ladder,individuals today have forgotten the 'real' things in life for the sake of 'artificial' existence.

The genesis of 'job' seeking right from the beginning and the pursuit of success while in that job has made today's generation kindof 'narrow minded' and self-centric.Yes I would call them narrow minded because they don't want to look into life from different perspectives.They don't want to experiment.They want to live it safe.Self centric because they are worried (or mad about) themselves so much they can't acknowledge others in their lives.

They think they are living a good life and having a good sleep.

But actually,the need of the hour is for them to wakeup!

My New Laptop!

Ok.

So here it is. Finally I have a laptop. And it’s my own laptop!

From so many days this was on my mind. And Kd’s desktop going bad only added to this. So we finally went to lamington rd here in Mumbai and got my new HP lappie. And should I not mention that it is so cool! The feel of the smooth keys, the good looking screen and the new-new feeling of the device- it is all amazing!

More later. About the laptop and about other things.