Wake up Sid

Hi Folks

I started a Facebook page and tried to connect this blog page to the page. Currently, experiencing some beginner's troubles, will get on the track soon. Join here Expressions on Facebook.

Isn't it very nice to be a reason for somebody's happiness by sharing some love, care and warmth? Give it a try, and experience the joy :) I did and I think it makes you feel wonderful.

For all the friends and my extended family members on the east coast of USA, prayers for your safety. May the hurricane subside soon with no big catastrophe.

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A good night's sleep is a boon definitely. While sound sleeping is a boon, insomnia is really a curse. Yesterday it was the idiot box which accompanied my insomniac night. While surfing through the channels, I found that the hunt is on. Yes, the host says it so trying to lure the viewers every time a commercial break comes up.
Wondering what it was about? Okay, guys go gaga over this calendar, its like must have in the bachelor dorms. Yeah, you got the hint. Its the Kingfisher calendar. The girls with least covered hot skinny bodies, seducing expressions, bright blue locations...hmm what else does the guys need to drool. The UB emperor Vijay Mallya's one of the crazy extravagances is now passed on as a hierarchy to his young bratty son Siddartha Mallya, popularly known as Sid (he prefers to isolate his first name). As many of you know the calendar is not for public sale, its sent as a special complimentary to close /chosen acquaintances of the Mallya empire. So whats new about this? The reality show which popped up in the name of Kingfisher Calendar girl hunt just kick started yesterday for the year 2013. NDTV good times is airing this show. I heard this is not the first time they are doing this, but I gotto watch it only this time and perhaps I would not watch it again. Not because my sanity or dignity would be tarnished, but it such a grose show I ever saw.
With some 15 girls from different corners of the country and 1 from Serbia too who are desperate to shed their clothes off, and super model Lisa Hayden as one of the host, who literally struggled to put in some style while delivering her lines and the heir of the enormous wealth and huge debt of course, is the  other host. Yes, Sid is the other host. Its well known, that Mr.Vijay Mallya draws huge inspiration from the Billionaire 'virgin ' Richard Branson. And now his heir Sid has also started seeking some inspiration lessons from the BBC's reality shows I guess, hence he boarded the hosting wagon. Perhaps, Mr.Sid, if you were trying to ape Lord Sugar, he had put in some money over the voice overs for hosting his apprentice. You could have done to avoid defaming yourself. Of course, I understand, why would any guy want to lose a chance to drool at those girls who hardly sport any piece of cloth other than the 2 pieces through out. But, you still have a chance off the record. Sorry Sid, you sucked through out.
The contestants were supposed to walk on the ramp with a bikini obviously for the very first round and introduce themselves to Lisa and Official drooler Sid. Like actor Amrish Puri's famous line "Mugambo Kush Huwa", the contestants had to pacify Sid's catchy line..'impress me'. So its all about impressing him. After all, he funds the show, quite natural that he expects some obliging acts. And apart from drooling, he also warns, that 'he is going to be very mean'(who said you are not dude)
One of the contestant hails from a village, had brought her poor story on board receiving no signs of sympathy at least for the camera's sake from the judges. As I said, the  girls were so desperate, this contestant added some drama to her desperation saying that her village born parents will be so happy to see her shed the clothes. Yeah...Sure sign of development in the villages.
Another contestant had a humble story which she rendered in Hindi .I guess the editor was so insane to Lisa that he didn't chop her mean expression off in the processing suite. As soon as she started speaking in Hindi,  Lisa frowned giving a mean expression. Okay hot babe, we know you are not a complete desi, but that sleaziness was not needed from you. And the new host on the block...Sid, said he doesn't care about her language but only her body. How wacky are you dude. You better get some hosting lessons or limit your appearance on the show. That could be the saving grace for you and for viewers as well.
Another girl walked in and said she was from Serbia, and she admits that she also doesn't know to speak in English. Suddenly our super hosts realised the "Incredible Indian's duty" 'Athididevobhava' and gave so much warmth to the outsider. While the poor hindi speaking girl got some weird frowning expressions, the Serbian managed to get some good smiles. The super model was probably never trained to share some warmth for her contestants.
Okay moving on to the next round, I expected too much out of the round..., I thought at least for the second round, the girls would be allowed to cover some skin. Okay I understand airlines left a huge debt, but I don't think buying some clothes for skimpy clad girls will not ruin your bail out plans Sid. Then came the commercial break reminding me that this is the Kingfisher calendar hunt. What did I do, turned off the TV to get some piece of mind. I understood, a couple of crappy hosts can change the face of even the most expensive productions too. Wake up Sid, you don't fit the bill although you are the billionaire brat.
Lesson I learnt, its better to plug in an ipod rather than watching a late night show like this!!!.

Cheers

Jyostna

Endorsing an Exquisite Flick

Hello All,

Wishing all the readers a very Happy Dussera!!! I hail from the Durga Ma's famous temple town, so Dussera  has always been a special festival for us. Visiting the temple at least once during the Navrathri days was mandatory and quite a feat because there was huge crowd always and it continues to be so even now. Dussera is symbolically celebrated for triumphant victory of good over evil and considered as the best time to start something! 

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In India, entertainment has been limited to cinema & TV to many. Going out for a picnic, doing an adventurous hike, hanging out with friends is pretty much pertained to youngsters and college goers. Except for few communities from the metropolitans, the scenario hasn't changed. Art exhibitions, magic shows, literature, dance and music festivals etc don’t appeal to most of us. Hence cinema has occupied prominent position in entertainment arena. 

The influence of cinema has also been quite strong since decades. Our rituals and festivals also include cinema these days, be it the dialogues, the histrionics, or the music. When cinema has so much to do in our lives, don’t you think there should some responsibility and sensibility in the movie makers. But how many of them have that in mind while crafting their story line??? Imagine a cinema that would conquer all your senses, connects with you emotionally, and still entertains you...have you seen one lately??? I did!

I have been a great fan of director Balki's craft. I loved the cinematography brilliance in his films, and the subtle portraying of the characters. Nothing is overdone, no dramatic scenes yet connects with you so emotionally. Music was also soothing and relates so much with the storyline. After all, it was the maestro's magic! When his wife Gowri Shinde came up with her film, I wasn't surprised but expected that she would have taken up some lessons from her husband, in other words, her cinema would be Balki influenced!!! However, my assumptions were proved to be incorrect after watching the film ‘English Vinglish’. Very few debut directors have the finesse in storytelling; at least most of them tumble at screen playing their characters even though they are very good script writers. I think she has done exceptionally well, that you never miss the continuity in the story. As I mentioned, Balki’s films have excelled in cinematography aspects, the same applies to Gowri’s as well. NYC has been the most picturesque location for filming, but the excellence lies in capturing the soul of the city and was rightly done.

Coming to the storytelling aspect, her choice of lead protagonist is one of the keys to her success. I wouldn't say nobody else could pull off that role like the eternal actress Sridevi, but this being her comeback film is one of the best advantages why the director could succeed. The same strategy, I think worked for a film like Cheenikum too. If not Amitabh, somebody else could also do the role, but films like that need a combination of a crowd puller and an exceptional actor. Here Gowri Shinde had loyally followed her husband’s footsteps.

Coming to the responsible and sensible factor that I mentioned…the film had certainly justified that aspect too by giving 3 very best solutions for the biggest of today’s problems in families.

Problem 1 - The insecurities and the behaviour problems which draw a divide between the teens & parents. Shashi’s (Sridevi) teen daughter’s adamant behaviour hurting her sensitiveness is very well conceived in all the scenes. Neither the mother turns out too dramatic unlike many nor does the eldest in the family (grani) emote furiously. Instead the grani shrugs off saying its very common problem with teens.

Solution – As subtle as the problem was portrayed, so was the solution coming as an answer that was put in a wisest way possible. It was Shashi expressing her feelings in English, which she learnt with determination after being humiliated by her own husband and teen daughter. The solution not being shown as a retort but a simple wise way of making people realize what was their mistake.

Problem 2 – Imbalance in marital relation often misunderstood as infidelity leading to divorce and break ups. Shashi’s husband was shown often occupied with his own world, masking his love with male ego, ignoring her for different reasons, bullying her weakness and taking pride in doing so, not considering her feelings as important as his etc., Time and again this is misunderstood as infidelity and leads to break ups.

Solution – Clearing the confusion airs about this kinda attitude from the spouse, especially when the two have travelled quite a long time together. It is important to bring back the balance. The answer came from the loyal and wise housewife Shashi explaining how a marriage should survive in difficult times. Again, no drama in this process but puts across her lines with austerity ‘that at least one of the two should stand up and take charge of the situation to bring back the harmony instead of vying more and more because that phase is temporary and could be resolved’. Marriages which fall apart for silly reasons have big lesson to learn from the speech that Shashi delivers to her niece. Most of the times, it is confusion that leads to break ups. 

Problem 3 – Another common phase in a man or woman’s life which is not generally spoken out in our society considering it as a taboo. Post marriage, for a man or woman, at a certain point of time there would be an attraction from the outside world. There is nothing to disagree. When Shashi was proposed by her co learner in the class, she takes it in a very positive way although shocked for a second. She answers him that she is happy that somebody makes her feel good about herself.

Solution – Being liked by somebody is no way a grave sin; let it be even after marriage. But, knowing where to draw a line is where your dignity lies. As Shashi says that she feels happy that somebody appreciates her beauty and cooking skill while her own family ignores. Well aware with Shashi’s  family issues, when her niece overhears the proposal, she encourages that it is okay to go otherwise…Shashi again strikes back with a crystal clear answer that she is need of respect and not love. Hence she rejects the proposal with poise, grace and clarity. It is very easy to fall for an outsider when your own relation is in a turbulent phase. But having the clarity between the myths and reality at that stage is very much important. The fact that her family ignores her is real, but doesn't love her is a myth! She is very much aware of that which many of them are not in real lives.

All these truths have been perfectly interwoven with the script not sidetracking the main storyline. And of course, Sridevi is one big aspect why you are glued to your seats, she has sheer magic and charm in her performance! On a lighter note, what an idiot would he be if he ignores a wife as beautiful as Sridevi ;). Kudos to the new captain(Gowri Shinde) on the block for the exquisite work she has done!!!

Cheers

Jyostna

Big Fat Indian Wedding 'Waste'

Hello All,

Its been quite a while that I wrote a post. I  have been to Hyderabad last week, and I must say the COP11, Biodiversity Conference had brought in so much glamour to the city. New roads laid, medians got new planters, nights illuminating with garland of lights...what not! And I got a chance to visit the art hub Silparamam only to find that it has got its glory back :) So, if you have plans to visit Hyderabad some time soon, you better pre pone it to witness the glory, while it may not last long coz the rioters are always on their toes to spoil the city!

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Read an article in TOI today, although this newspaper is not part of my morning ritual. Deviating a little from the main topic...TOI was never my favourite and cannot possibly be in future. I am The HINDU devotee, call me an oldie or too classy....I cannot change this for anything except when the newpaper wallah does some mismatch like he did today. My Coffee was craving for its partner! Anyways let me not engross you more with my obsessions. 

Moving on, the article in TOI presented some survey which said Rs.339 crores worth of food/per year is wasted at the weddings only in the City of Bangalore. Ever since Bangalore municipal authorities woke up and took up an operation mission im'possible called segregating the waste and cleaning up the city...surveys regarding the waste have been popping up frequently. The figure in the TOI survey was really overwhelming to me. It was almost equal to a budget of small scale state welfare programme. Needless to dig in to the reasons why so much food is wasted, as most of us are the witnesses of this dump.

I have written a post on the Big Fat Indian Wedding which was much about the money that is spent of weddings. And food is a major part of the spillage. Its a status quo to serve innumerable varieties of food at weddings, most of which turns out in the dump yard after a few hours of the grand buffet/serving. The hosts of the wedding are very well aware of this fact yet they find it irresistible to avoid this wastage. Keeping aside the worth of wasted food, imagine the whopping amounts invested to bring in several varieties of food from all different corners of the country.The food offered at weddings is too much that often people end up eating very little.The first look and feel and flavours of the food may excite the taste buds, but the tummies can never grow big just to accommodate a flamboyant wedding buffet.  While we put in so many efforts to bring in a zillion varieties of food, not many of us give a thought about the food that will not be consumed or wasted. At least do we make any arrangements to send them out to distribute for those hundreds of street side destitute??? I don't think so that happens. When I attended a wedding in a village few months back, the homeless and beggars were allowed to eat after all the guests/hosts were done. That way not wasting any food. How often that happens in a city??? Not even once I believe. I don't know if there is an organisation like City Harvest in our country except for the child line number which collects waste food...not sure how effective this is...though I requested the servers at my wedding to call and send the excess food, at least am pardonable that way may be :P

Apart from the food, what about the litter and scrap of those disposable serving plates and cutlery??? How much that accounts for?? Most of which is not biodegradable. So big fat weddings can turn out to be potential health hazards too! Forget weddings, now every event is celebrated in a big grand way...hence endless waste and so much pollution.

Can we really do something about this??? why not? 

I would say, its better to opt for a hotel based venue where food is not prepared in excess and the choice of items is minimal rather than choosing a private convention centre and spilling enormous amount of money to waste food. 

Instead of going for 100 different items, choosing the best few items will actually work even better.

Dedicating some extra time to send the excess food for those hungry people would be much better just as we dedicate time to arrange for lunch/dinner. 

We should resolute to pay for food that is consumed not for the food that gushes out in the gutters. 

And make a habit of not wasting food, be it at a wedding or at home. We have a well known Hindu saying "Annam ParaBrahma Swaroopam" which means that food is godly. So do not waste food!!!

Cheers

Jyostna