IF...

IF...... by Rudyard Kipling.... one of my favourite poems from school... always been at my personal dashboard.... always been an inspiration....Posting it on the blog....

"
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!
"

Holi with the Toli

Was in Hyderabad this Holi, 1st March, 2010. Since it was a long weekend we decided to go to Hyderabad and catch up with a few friends. One of our friends, Shobha had had a baby girl.... so that was the main incentive..... All of us crashed at Shobha's place.... so it was good 3 days of fun.... just like our college days... catching up on the latest events and happenings in everyone's lives.... whats hot whats not.... deciding where to go.... for sight seeing.... but I guess, when a group like that gathers... there's not much of something called a 'common opionion'. Managed to see Hussein Sagar Lake....  which is a very nice and a calm place.... went to chutneys, ate some local biryani...missed on the Karachi bakery cookies....(all of us were just too lazy to stand in a queue early morning and hence lacked the motivation).... went to Soumya's place.... caught up more stuff.... However, one common thread which bound us all ... was FOOD.... the one thing that our stay revolved around was FOOD.... the one thing we discussed with fervour was FOOD.... the one thing which we all relished and waited for was FOOD.... and the one thing which had a "common" support was FOOD....hmmmmm ............

P.S. Anyways,  my internet at home has not been working since the last two weeks. Hence have not been able to photographs. Will do so as soon as the issue gets sorted out.

News Readers

Ever since I have started sitting in the dealing room as a part of my work profile, there is no choice but to watch business channels.... only business news channels..... Initially my interest in the content of the news being presented was high.... the movement of the stocks, of the speakers, of the business events, monetary policy, govt borrowing plan, divestment plans....etc etc....

But later my attention span started to waver.... The news just went on like some unwanted noise in the background ..... for eg. how we ignore the traffic noise.... if and when I did look up to to the television screen, all I noted was the news readers / anchors.... started noticing the subtle nuances of their behaviour.... say for eg. how easy it is to understand that Mitali Mukherjee is in a good or a bad mood today.... or how Latha venkatesh changes her sari twice in a day.... strangely enough, all of them have the same taste in clothes, jewellery (necklaces), they all have the same straight hair.... and by God, sometimes they all look alike.... :) amazing.... if you look closely enough at all of them, trust me you will find that they have started to look alike.... of course, some would attribute it to the fact that CNBC has its own in house parlour or something, but this is some customization I say.... or some effect the stylist has on them... they all manage to look like.... national integration I say!!!!

The Blue Mug - A Review

The Blue Mug
Director- Atul Kumar
Production- The Company Theatre, Mumbai
Performed and Devised By : Rajat Kapoor, Vinay Pathak, Ranvir Shorey, Sheeba Chadha, Konkona Sen Sharma, Munish Bhardawaj.
A theatrical creation based on "The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat"
By Oliver Sacks
“
Dr. Sacks recounts the case histories of patients lost in the bizarre, apparently inescapable world of neurological disorders: people afflicted with fantastic perceptual and intellectual aberrations; patients who have lost their memories and with them the greater part of their pasts; who are no longer able to recognize people and common objects; who are stricken with violent tics and grimaces or who shout involuntary obscenities; whose limbs have become alien; who have been dismissed as retarded yet are gifted with uncanny artistic or mathematical talents.
“
My Review:
The intention was to present a world where patients are lost in time... of what was...... however, what came cross was different....
At the outset, the actors come across as standalone characters.... none of them connected in either ways.... connected only in terms of recounting / remembering of what was – their memories.... which is a thin thread .....or rather which is a common ground for all of them....which does not come across so strongly....they recount........remember............ a cremation ground, a grandparent, some porn magazines, a neighbourhood girl, mangoes, cricket, a brother, hostel... blue green stones.... nothing beyond 1983....
There is a doctor (Konkana Sen Sharma) and her patient (Ranvir Shorey)... appearing intermittently..... where the case is presented.... of a patient lost in time... who remembers nothing.... that relationship is the only thread which clearly states what the original author had intended.... of neurological disorders....
However, as for the other characters, Rajat , Vinay, Sheeba and Munish, it was difficult to connect them to this bizarre "presentation"..they appeared as people just remembering.... their performances were brilliant....eliciting responses from their audiences.... in terms of comic... however, the plot is not very clear.... it is a bit vague... as to what was intended to be understood by the audience.... they didn’t seem bizarre or like patients who had lost memory... they just were.... recounting and remembering.... except between the Doctor and the patient... which was very clearly presented.... the connectivity between all the characters and what was hounding them was missing....
Konkana played a very safe character... it was a non challenging role of a doctor.... probably she was just roped in for the “X” factor..... Ranvir was a wee bit over the top.... Rajat and Vinay were just right... Sheeba and Munish passed....
The direction could have been better.... the actors could have been utilized more strongly..... the intention was good....but the projection didn’t convey the conviction.....

Thoughts on Bombay

Had spent our last Sunday, so to speak our valentine’s day, at Kala Ghoda Festival.... checking out the stalls, testing the functionalities of our new camera (read previous post) and of course enjoying the last day of the festival. During the week, there were some wonderful performances from various artists and performers.... Bharat Natyam, Kuchipuddi, Prince Dance Troop, Some African dancers, classical music, rock music, rap music, hip – hop and a lot of other things which we missed out on..... There were lot of exhibitions of some photographers, painters.... wonderful.... every exhibit had a theme..... every painting or a sketch telling something.... inspiring.... there was a small sketching competition also going on.... an open bus round in townside....


The Kala Ghoda festival has been going on since the last 11 – 12 years.... The organizers from various strata of the society..... a good mix of people.... living in Bombay....

This was just a glimpse of the rich culture of India.... a miniscule part.... which is presented to Bombay annually.... attracting all performing artists from various parts of the country.... all people here to enjoy.... the rich culture of India.... I guess that is what makes our country so unique, so rich and so very diverse....

Some photographs are available at the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.co.in/meghnagarg/KalaGhoda#



The sad part is when a selective group of people start considering a city, a culture, an heritage its own.... its business, its diversity, its money, its own... they fail to realize that what Bombay is today is not because a selective group of people who are the “Marathi Manoos” but because anyone and everyone who came to the city brought their own to give.... if they took, they have given much more than that.... so that since time immemorial, Bombay has been considered as a city of dreams.... a place where anyone who has a mind and a heart along with a strong will can make it big... the background of the individual does not matter... who he knows does not matter.... who he was does not matter.... what matters is what he is now..... and the possibility of what he is going to be.... tomorrow.... Nowhere in India, people work as hard a Mumbaikar.... no where in India, does half the population of the city travels hours together to work.... its very easy to give up.... its very to wish away.... but here, giving up is not an option.... from the fisherwoman to the mill owners to the corporate houses to the restaurants to the theatres to the colleges to the panwallas to the chawls, to the slums to the high rises, everyone is constantly on a move... to be something.... to achieve....that is what makes Mumbai what it is today.... but sadly and frustratingly and disgustingly Shiv Sena and MNS have taken it upon themselves the “cause” of Marathi Manoos.... mis representing their thoughts and sentiments. They are just a bunch of hooligans trying to meet their own ends.... and very soon, I think the process has already started, their agenda will bite the dust....



You can take me out of Bombay, but you cannot take Bombay out of me!!!

Crappy Poem

You lucky people.... today I am in a good mood .... so well I am here to write a few lines which rhyme.... well – I think they already do....



Am thinking of a topic,
So that I can pen my thoughts on the subject,
However, it defies any logic,
And hence is liable for reject....

Its been a long time,
Since I found any rhyme....
Its become a crime....
For an entire life time....

Wish I had the skills....
So that I could rhyme to my fill...
The words which come to my mind are – NILL.....:O
But Hey – chill.....

I think I shall spare you the torture,
And let you read something which is more mature.....
I know – you will not get lured ;)
For you are already floored?????!!!!!!

-M

Well – is that it..... disgusting is all I can.... its so not fair... for some to be so articulate and for some to be simply loss at words.....
Well – anyways, enjoy a few lines on alcohol....Here it goes....


Alcohol, to the nights you won't remember
With friends you would never forget,
Alcohol, for the moments you dropped many tears
With friends who teach you to drink them
Alcohol, for the phases of insanity
With friends who become a part of it
Alcohol, for the times you smoked a pack
With friends who added to the stack
Alcohol, for the past we all miss
With friends who somewhere always know this

- Anonymous

My New Camera

Olympus E-520 is my new prized possession :) and that too a gifted one... Thanks to Munish.... Had an eye on a professional camera for far too long...

So now you can hope for some really amateurish photographs on this page henceforth.... and yes I need all the encouragement and the feedback....

Attached pics of my new camera :)