Mumbai Dreams

Remember that kid in class VII, good in studies, karate, cricket, dance, singing… and his parents would send him everywhere, for all the classes…COMPLETELY EXHAUSTING the poor little kid! His life had become an event. But the point is, “Where is it eventually heading?”

Similar is the case with my city, Mumbai. The very mention brings forth innumerable thoughts and emotions. City of dreams, international city, city of hopes, city of glamour, maya nagri, city that teaches you life… and the list of synonyms for this city are endless. However, I’d say Mumbai is an emotion. Being the Financial capital that provides funds for the healthy functioning of different states and their welfare. What really does the city get? More dreamers coming here to fulfill their dreams, lesser space to accommodate all, stiff competition, rising prices, polluted air, unhealthy surroundings and scores of overlooking people lost in their own world!

While the onlookers will notice the crowd, the glam and the glitz of the city… a Mumbaikar, will always eventually swear by his love for the city. Once a Mumbaikar, life will never be the same anywhere else. There is something very different about of this city, one like none.

However, you will often hear a local complaint of the weak monsoon preparations, of the endless traffic and crowded locals, of the street side eateries and sky kissing properties… and all of the other negatives, he is sure to curse the BMC for a million valid reasons, that remain unchanged!

Over the years, Mumbai has seen a lot. The lot is not a comparison with the rich culture of Bengal or the heritage, yet well developed Delhi or the incessantly delightful Bangalore. Mumbai has its own taste, a taste which is the blend of all. The blend of various cultures, styles, people, events, leaders, revolutions and circumstances, today, enable us to boast of the ‘Spirit of Mumbai’. A spirit that goes beyond any other state in the country- the spirit of a fighter, the spirit of a humanitarian, the spirit of an achiever.

My city, my janma bhoomi & karma bhoomi, lacks nothing but development. I mean planned development. 

“Comparing most of our lives with the city, most tempting things are up for grabs!”

But, for the reputation that it has been carrying around for ages, my city, by the expectations of the world, should possess every advanced amenity- bullet trains (at least a Metro like Delhi), well maintained airport, good transport system, high standard of living for the people, better bridges and highways… and no the list won’t end any sooner. Cherry on the cake, the BMC, some builder/ developer or some public figure comes up with proposals that bring him easy money and claim to fame with a new bridge, building or area being redeveloped by him.

And there ain’t any plan for the development of the city! That, giving you enough reasons to get stuck in traffic thanks to the 10 year long Metro construction process, potholes and road constructions. Of course! We’ll blame the BMC. Because, no planning only short term goals.

Such is our life. Unplanned, unthought and often aimless. Lets hope to make it a story that will be for its subtleness remembered. Too many cooks do spoil the broth; too many things, most unwanted only add an extra bit of clutter. Good things happen out of aimlessness too, after all life has its own plan for you. But don’t let your dreams fade away, may be your dreams are a key to something better. Live your life by your standards and not others demands and wishes. Doing something extra is not a waste, but at the cost of not doing something important is loss.

Mumbai’s biggest gift to anyone is that it teaches them the way of life.

To cope with the where, what and how’s of life.

To brave every situation and to keep going.

It teaches you the "Never Say Die" attitude.

It teaches you to DREAM. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. CHASE YOUR DREAMS. LIVE THEM.

It teaches you… whatever you can learn from it!

And yes, it teaches you to LEARN.

Hoping that my city for all its right glory and our lives, for all the right reasons get the ‘desired direction’

Coca Cola India!

No I’m not going to endorse the addictive-unhealthy-caffeine-product Coca Cola here?

There is nothing that is needed to promote this product anymore; you see I have termed the majority of our Gen-x, the Future of India as Coca Cola products!

Thus, the title Coca Cola India!

Cynical much, does that sound? Unapologetic enough to break your expectations.

WELCOME TO THE YOUNG INDIA- THE GEN X’s INDIA!

Smart, techno-savy, quick, adaptable, innovative, ummm… you have any more words to pamper this Coca Cola India? Let me clarify I belong to this is generation too, but I cannot deny the realities of my mighty confused fellow beings.

You call us innovative? Walk down a youth joint and you might not be able to recognize an individual by a mere glimpse from the back, courtesy- uniform hairstyles (coming out of the latest bollywood film), uniform clothing (again heavily influenced by bollywood icons, fashion magazines and the latest heavy stock availability at Link Road or Fashion Street), uniform lingo ("i hd tld u den! I am right 'na' sweetheart?") and uniform tastes (Yes, yusss! I am talking about everything from pasta italiano to marlboro lites)

Where is the innovation/ Where is the originality?

You call us smart? Oh! Yes, we’re not great on general knowledge, but we’re google loyalists! We look up the key words that complete our project and copy paste the first few results on the search results.

You call us mature? Yes! We’re the instant hook-up generation. Everything in our relationships follows the express way, except genuine emotions. PDA and making out in public places is pretty normal, yeah? Thanks to the fact that most relationships begin on facebook and end up with a text message.

Yes, yes! I'm talking about that couple making out in the auto! Then had issues over giving time and finally broke up after 2 months cause they thought it was not working out. You know them? Errr..well common story these days.

Yes! We live our life with a set of weirdly arranged punctuation marks, calling them smileys-

J:/ L:S :P K:@ :* ^_^ ({})

The most handy tool while flirting and flattering :P

We’re so buzy being career oriented (as we pretend and say) that well we don’t have time for real humans. Laptops and Smartphones are our priorities you see!

Don't we sleep with our phones under our pillow and check it each time we wake up?

Facebook, twitter, whatsapp, BBM! Our world would have crashed without you!!! I swear!!!

Because if you take away flirting, chatting and gossiping from our lives- We are lost and left out with nothing! Venue check ins, picture uploads, statuses, likes, comments, wall posts are religiously necessary!

Our values our more westernized, our judgments more practical and trendy, not necessarily far sighted or wise, though. Ironically, we’re the lot that is easily influenced (specially by western concepts) courtesy- we’re not aware of the richness of our age old values and cultures, or at least believe that they're so “uncool” and “outdated.” You see, in totality the time concept or the contemporary theory is of much significance in every aspect, be it the choosing Subs (Subway sandwiches) over puri-sabzi or drinking Coca Cola over nimbu paani- we’re trendy and majorly contemporary- not stringed with tomorrow or attached with yesterday.

Honestly, wearing a traditional Indian dress is such a task! Can carry it on occassions, to click pictures but my jeans and tees, shorts, skirts,dresses keep us happy enough! Jewellery? accessorize us with trendy fashions, or there's nothing less than diamonds that we'd settle for!

And by any chance if you are calling us visionaries? We are call centre bound too, “Jaha Quick Money, Waha Hum Bhi”.

We can sing, dance, party, walk with confidence, openly abuse and criticize our critics, our elders and our government. But well we can do practically nothing?

The motivation to do something shall probably take another 5-9 years.

But atm, (at the moment!) we are living the Coca Cola life! The fizz shall be gone before we realize the reality of a short sighted life!

Not all of us are so lost, scattered, directionless& living in a bubble! Some live with entrepreneurial dreams, IAS aspirations, Investment banker jobs, stock trading, and a big ticket ambition list.

Par hum sab ek hi hai, ek jaise- Assembly line produced Coca Cola bottles hoping to change our mould someday hoping to make a substantial person.

Eventually, all that we all truly crave for is A BETTER life!

Struck hard?

Chill harder- THANDA MATLAB COCA COLA ;)

 

 

CRICKET CRAZIES TO FOOTBALL FRENZY?

What an adrenaline rush can be on a daily basis, ask a sports frenzy! Here in India, sports mainly talks about the religion-like- game of Cricket!

Talk about Cricket and 4 out of every 5 Indians will have an opinion to express, a memory to cherish, a passion reinstated, a sense of belonging right on the field, there. Sachin Tendulkar is the God of this religion: worshipped, idolized and celebrated as “the face” of Indian Sports.

If you ask someone of their earliest cricketing memory- it usually starts from those early childhood days of gully-cricket where breaking glass windows was a routine tradition (even for girls) and then continued to World Cup 1983/ 2003/ 2011, Sunil Gavaskar’s batting, Anil Kumble’s 10 wickets in a match, Dravid’s centuries, Dhoni’s captaincy and Sachin’s records. T20’s, ODI’s, Tests, the first WT20 win are those cricketing moments which will never fail to bring a smile to your face as your heart shall get filled with joy and exhilaration.

You will find an aspiring Sachin, a mini-Sehwag, a patient Rahul all aroung the gullies of this country. The biggest shock it would be coming across someone who hasn’t himself broken glasses or knows someone who has done it too often. Its probably the most common ritual/event that forms the childhood of almost every Indian child.

Everyone in this country either plays cricket, watches it or at least has an opinion about the game and its ambassadors- good or bad! And then its finally the turn of other games (after dedicating a major chunk of attention to cricket) m-Hockey, Badminton, Tennis, Chess get some mentions. And out of them all Football/ Soccer which is the most widely played game across the globe does not get the similar attention back here in India.

For the love of sport and to get a break from the politically disastrous news and mentally torturing entertainment channels a cricket lover may even try watching football (saying out of experience) { though many of them do it out of sheer interest too} but we can never love football the way we love cricket!

Thinking over the same, here are a few reasons:

1.    India does not have an amazing football team like Argentina or Germany.

2.    All the good looking sportsmen are already booked to play- Cricket!

3.    Indian values emphasize, “You must not kick anything/ anyone.” Well, in football all the donkeys are constantly kicking the ball. In fact it’s a foul if you touch the ball with your hands.

4.    Remember laughing aloud in that initial match scene in “Lagaan” where all the Indian Fielders (almost7-8 of them) are runningbehind a single ball? Hold on, football is the game where almost 20 men are doing the same thing throughout the 90minutes or so.

5.    In cricket, if Sachin is at the crease for a long time he’s at least sure to score an individual 50 (hopes of centuries always high) But even with the likes of Ronaldo and Gomez on the field you may end up with a goal less match as they miss the goal despite repeated opportunities.

6.    Cricket has a 20-20 format, a 50-50 format and a 5day format (tests) too! In football its all the same each day! Thankfully, Pepsi started with T20 Football! #ChangeTheGame

7.    As mentioned earlier even with the greatest of players and 90 minutes on the field you may end up watching a goal less match. Thus, heading for the extra time and penalty shoot outs! But with cricket its either runs or wickets! There are non-stop ticking numbers which are separate from the ticking of time.

8.    We as Indians always love to support players (individuals). Honestly, despite of team games we’re often more biased and prejudiced about certain players who glorify the game for us.

So from Sachin-Sehwag, Bradman, Michael Clarke, Ricky POnting, Garfield Sobers, Jhonty Rhodes, Brian Lara, Stuart Broad you ask them to shout out Fabregas, Schweini, Euseboi, Iniesta, Andre Pirlo, Ballotelli would be quite a task!!! (with much needed prior practice)

9.    Be it a 90 minute game or a 20 over match there is a much even and high-voltage drama in Cricket than in Football. And it is a pretty popular fact as to how much we Indians love Football!

CRICKET HAI BAHUT KHAAS!

Photo Courtesy: PEPSI INDIA #ChangeTheGame

Welcome to the Making Of The  Faking News!

21st century people, huh? Inventions, discoveries, luxuries, technologies, liberties, facilities: sounds like an intelligent world, eh? Lets try scaling it!

One of the most notable feature of this era is the well developed and advanced communication system; be it the earth to space or one nation to another internet, cellphones and television have introduced us to a smaller world. And when I say so I have a double meaning to the statement- first one is the obvious positive perception of connecting the people globally and effortlessly; but my second and a more underlined interpretation is that of a small and ill psyche. We boast of an efficient 24hr tv, phone and internet system these days; but the matter is how we are enhancing.

I will not discuss the lieud mms that have black listed the use of cellphones. But television is a thing to discuss today. And here I'm not going to criticise the telly- czarina Ekta Kapoor or any of those unending glycerine teared daily soap that attract a million indian households; they come with a board (which is least viewed) of fiction! But let us consider one of the most important mass communication tool of NEWS! (through electronic & print medium)

How advanced are we as news reporters today? Well here in india, we have more than 3times a dozen 24*7 newschannels. And even more than 10 times of the total newschannels we have newspapers and online news portals in english and all the other vernacular languages. There is radio in 80% indian households, internet in not more than 5%, tv and newspapers manage to reach out everywhere possible and impossible. So yes! The reach of NEWS is in at least 92% indian households! But the  question still prevails how successful are we as news reporters today??? Its an irony that I have to say we're not as successful as we are in terms of reach! Because if we view the Indian media today  it would be more appropriate to term it as News Makers instead of News Reporters!

One of the recent report on one of the big story in the present time left me stunned for a while; the report had a common sharing wall paper of one of those attitude quotes between a relationship where the guy was pleading while touching the girls feet! The headline was this shows the Girl's character; in no defense to the woman accused such pictures are widely shared on social networking sites these days, people share them out of mere humor/fun with no intended meaning! Who would ever imagine that a picture shared out of random fun would make it to the headlines giving their character certificate? Next day the same newspaper talks of the woman wanting to hide her real age- 38!

Just a couple of days ago as the Cricketing Maestro Sachin celebrated his 39th birthday after achieving the incredible feat of a 100. International centuries, a very popular news channel aired a half an hr program that ridiculed me, the show was titled- 'Kyu Roye Sachin Apne Janamdin Par'. It talked about Sri Sathya Sai Baba's demise last 24th April whom Sachin firmly believed in and cried relentlessly out of grief on this occasion.

The disastrous shows such as Team India ke Paanch Pandav during the World Cup last year are beyond discussion, since that particular channel has for very long emphasised on exaggerated and expanded news making! And yes! I still continue to use the term News making instead of delivering or Reporting!

Since maximum Indian celebrities are on twitter these days; it too has become more of a news making platform than a its original purpose of social networking. Well if you remembered the infamous Ayesha Takia- Sidhharth Mallya spat then yes! You're already getting my point!

To the fact that anything spiced up on tv sells- even tv stars manage to make headlines; and their weddings (slpy if rumoured to be one of those secret weddings) are sure to get some coverage space!

Talk about our politicians; they may not be performing true to their post but they are quirky enough these days to make it to the front page of a leading daily and of course the latest hot trend of pride to make it to the twitter trends!

Reading a newspaper or even checking out the news channels for that matter (which have more advertisements than content) makes you believe that you live in a practically screwed nation- politically, economically, criminally, infact totally! Has the goodness vanished??? Don't we have any of it to highlight; to restore some hope???

Despite of having some very capable and respectable journalists in our country the product that mainly goes to the larger masses is of an extremely poor quality; we are providing lesser news and more of marketable sensationalism to an entire nation filled with not so rational thinkers!

So my question to our Respectably Responsible Journalists and the entire News Industry sitting right out their behind and before the Camera lens, 10years....20years or whenever in future down the line when you sit in front of your Television Sets what would you expect from your kids (or those their age) who would over take your position of News Persons? Deliverers/ Makers or Sellers would come in only after you choose to select anyone and train them so for their time to come!

That's all for Today!

Stay tuned for the next program right after this short commercial break! 

WE’RE SACH OPTIMISTICS!

“I am an Indian

Cricket is my religion

Sachin is my god

And hope is my prayer!”

This is probably the voice of that every Indian who cherishes the game of cricket. In a country like India there are only three things which make up the dinner table discussions, apart from family affairs of course- politics, bollywood and cricket.

These are issues which have no replacement, no boredom and absolutely no end. The tone of discussions may change from appraisals to criticism and vice-versa; but these discussions are unending! No matter if the Indian team is losing the Australia series, no matter how senseless a film Salman Khan acts in, no matter whether the parliament approves the Lokpal bill or not the discussions on these topics is like time which never stops. It keeps ticking; all that changes is good and bad!

8 months ago India won the Cricket World Cup after 28years! All the eyes were glued to the television sets on that exhilarating date of 2^nd April, 2011 and many switched off their sets after the wicket of Sehwag and Sachin was gone. But yes! We won the game!!! We won it!!!

The entire team dedicated the most prestigious achievement of the cricketing world to their most favourite and respected team mate SACHIN TENDULKAR!

He needs no introduction. He lives in the heart of every kid playing their most favorite game- cricket in every galli-nukkad of this country. His records run like time. More than 15000 test runs, more than 18000 ODI runs and 99international centuries with 57 half centuries!

He is the fear of every bowler, cause he has an answer to every tactic! 22 years in the game and still as enthusiastic and energetic like a 16year old. He has seen it all.

And so has the world seen him and all his miracles.

Every time he has taken the field in the last 8months, all the people in the world are waiting to witness that historical moment. The moment of the 100^th ton!

100^th 100…! No has even come close to 80.

And that is probably why he is loved and looked upto by not just the aspirants but those who live and have already lived the game.

Twice in his 90’s, thrice in 80’s and once in his 70’s in his last eight months of cricket has the MASTER BLASTER missed that moment of history!

I woke up at 5 for one of the previous match against Australia cause I knew that Sachin was at the crease! Unfortunately, he lost his wicket at the score of 80! But trust me, I had no regrets; watching him play so well even when the rest of the team was diminishing so rapidly was a treat and a ray of hope!

His love and passion for the game all reflect in his game itself!

But the wait for the #100^th 100 is an exciting one! It is so much of pride even just its thought, the real achievement will be a blessing indeed. But again we are the “melodramatic” Indians. Life without drama is as good as life without spice. Every time that Sachin loses his wicket there is an entire line up media channels is there to add salt on the wound by replaying the footage of his dismissal time and again!

Trust me at that point of time those news channels are no less than villains!

Add to all of this the disastrous performance of team Indian- first on the land of the queen and now in Australia! Heading towards a shameful whitewash-

But as I told you- we are a nation of SACH OPTIMISTICS!

Whether it’s a matter of the #100^th ton or India’s return to the good form of game!!!

It’s a matter of time, a matter of time, a matter of luck-

SOONER VERY SOON! WE’LL BE BACK WITH BEST OF WINNING GAMES!!

AND WITH THE WITNESSES OF GOD’S MIRACLES AGAIN!!!

CHAK DE INDIA!