Author: manuscrypts

  • Having a Blast

    Thats definitely a sadistic approach to the entire thing, but thats unfortunately the way i feel about it… and since i am the only citizen journalist on this blog, i need to be the one to express it this way..
    From what i notice, the government and everyone else involved definitely have a machinery and a process in place for this kind of stuff.. exactly 2 minutes after the first incident, there will be a PR person somewhere busily setting the trend and in effect saying ‘Let the blames begin’… this will of course be followed by ’eminent’ personalities like Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi doing a song and dance about it… and then comes, as if on cue, the fitting rejoinders from the people affected… the media, all the while, is having a field day, because finally there is actual news to capture, from theories on who pressed the button to graphic visuals of the dead and injured to preventive action to astrologers who had predicted this… of course, towards the end, you will have tales of heroes… we will salute them and honour them, we will play the blame game and fix on a commonly acceptable target.. and we will do what irritates me most, Mumbai will bask in the glory of a city that can spring back to action irrespective of what happens to it… well, damn it, the reason is because Mumbai has so many people that even a few lakhs lost wouldnt make a dent onthe rest who have not been affected….
    and its not just for the blasts, its the same for the floods too.. in fact, the floods are an annual event now, like ganesh chaturthi or something.. i propose that mumbai should celebrate ganesh chaturthi when the flood happens, so they dont have to go the sea for immersion, it could be done in their houses.. so you dont waste time at all.. and someone like a makemytrip should arrange boat cruises, after all does mumbai ever let a moneymaking opportunity go by..
    why am i not happy on mumbai springing back? i would be much happier if it was declared a holiday and people were encouraged to help those affected by the tragedy.. that wouldnt be a money making proposition, but it will inculcate what used to be called compassion, and if that were around more, maybe we wouldnt have blasts, and the floods would become a bit more tolerable… no amount of money can bring back the dead, no, compassion cant either, but it definitely can help heal the wound faster…so, is the spirit of mumbai such a great thing? of course, because, the spirit is money, and the spirit costs a bomb!!

    until next time, it isnt just an alternate train of thought…

  • World Chup

    Yup, fnally, after a month long rollercoaster ride of ecstasy, agony, joy, sorrow, and skimpily attired female fans who gave rise to myriad other emotions that transcended geographical boundaries, the world has awakened to a day after the world cup… its exactly like the day after any mela, when all the crowds and the small shopkeepers have left, and the grounds are empty, not yet ready to start the countdown for the next show…
    for a month now, a lot of people across the world have been glued to their television screens, watching the drama unfold.. a lot of people, not all, because there were some like me.. i watched only the england – portugal match just in time to see Rooney being shown a redcard for kicking a ball (actually, two, thats why he got sent off).. and while the world was chanting ZZ, i was going ZZZZ… but yes, most of the world ate,drank slept football..
    the newspapers were writing about the social impact also, as old friends who had no interest in football were forsaken, new friendships forged, and loads of other games were played all in one big frenzy thats the FIFA world cup…in a sense, its the story of our lives, because if we get down to the nuts and bolts, all of us are living our lives in anticipation of something, it could be as simple as going home in the evening, a good dinner, the release of a music album or film, or an F1 race or as complex as getting a new job, getting married, having a kid..
    and when the moment passes, theres a feeling thats quite like the empty grounds.. an eerie silence that says that the free kick is over, and its time to move on… and we move, and wait for the next one, hoping that it will be as good as or better than the last one..

    until next time, hope, skip and jump, thats the way forward…

  • Bloody Grandfathers

    Most of us regularly use profanities in our conversations.. okay, if not on a regular basis, at least occasionally.. yes, technically ‘shit’ is also a profanity..and the usage is tolerated much more these days, in public places as well as in homes… if not accepted, at least tolerated…
    Have always wondered whether the generation above had so many swear words at their disposal, or ever used any of those regularly.. and since its not exactly conversation material, have never managed to find out.. even considering the limited amount they must have had, wonder how many of them actually used it often enough for it to become a habit… which cannot be said of our generation..
    and therefore, while our generation hasnt seen many grandparents/parents who swear at their grandchildren, i wonder if it will become an accepted thing when this generation becomes grandparents… … or is it that in all generations, there is an age for profanity and there is an age for maturity.. perhaps it is one of the infinite lessons of life you will have to learn when your time comes…
    until next time, i swear it might be true…

  • Going Bananas

    Over at Sony TV, they are starting a new serial based on a banana – since it is in Hindi, they are calling it Akela..
    ******
    It was one of those Mini Super Sundays again, when the World Cup was happening, and there was cricket and there was Formula 1. The interesting point is that in all of these, there are 22 players on the field/track.. it was one of those times, when the viewer experiences a Catch 22 situation, literally..
    ******
    I loved this on a T Shirt – “Brokeback Mountain – Do the Dude”.. Loved it in a purely creative sense…
    ******
    So, who really is the man of steel now – this guy or this ?
    ******
    Condoleezza Rice has said that “And I’m gender-neutral, although obviously I like to see women in any position” .. hmm, interesting.. of course she was speaking about the UN secretary general position 🙂
    ******
    They call this game Text Twist now, but long long before, almost two decades ago, we used to have it as a competition in inter school fests… a lot of times i used to come out
    tops
    pots
    opts
    spot
    stop
    post

    until next time, yup, its one of those posts 😉

  • Bangalored…

    That was a term that became famous in the US and Uk when outsourcing was an issue that was topmost in people’s minds… Now its sort of been relegated to some tshirts that float around…
    The man who makes our mind sing, the PM himself, was in town a few days back, to discuss some issues pertaining to civic infrastructure.. apparently the normally calm guy got a bit flustered after experiencing the traffic scenario…. so he made a few telling comments on how people should learn to how to handle themselves in traffic and stop being so horny all the time :D…
    but its something i notice all around these days in the people of my age group these days, no,not the horny bit, well that also, but more importantly the arrogance and the feeling that the world exists to serve him… i see it in hotels, offices, parking spaces, malls, the blatant disregard for the rest of humanity… its the language of money, of the money thats (also)being earned by the outsourcing of jobs that i started out the post with… the misbehaviourin traffic is just one of the manifestations…
    this crowd is the target audience for all the companies thats selling things from credit cards to designer clothes to designer houses to local flavors to low cal flavours and everything in between and all around.. a wonderful economy with people who have the money and people who want to make money… is that so bad? not at all, but while we do the accumulation of currency, is it so difficult to go about in a dignified way? is it one big bag which will either hold money or decency… i somehow dont think so… but then it does take a good soul to be decent even when you dont have to be…
    and to come full circle, after the Apple fiasco a few months back, its now the turn of Intel to shut down some of its developmental operations in India… is it time now for Bangalore to be Bangalored?

    until next time, whine and bear…