Facts n Fiction

Sanjay Dutt was released from Yerwada jail and every bit of detail regarding this was flowing on almost all news channels. I was casually going through few channels and got tired of the repeated coverage on all of them. However, one channel’s analysis on Dutt’s arrests and releases made me wait on that channel for sometime. And I was really surprised with the content quality, topic for analysis, and details covered in that news piece. I really pitied that channel, which probably struggled to get any fruitful news or anything that is actually news. I wonder what a correct definition of news is. The news and analysis was something like, Sanjay Dutt’s arrests and releases, and the differences in his appearances at respective times. In 1993, when Dutt was released he was thin, with long hair, and he was greeting people with a ‘namaskaar’ pose. However, now in 2007 he was strong, well-built, with short hair, and a beard. Amazing news, and what an awesome comparative analysis. In 1993 he ha...

“Om Shanti Om” (OSO), supposedly the pompous movie of the year is full of spoof, colors, drama, action, romance, personalities from Indian film industry, and all the ingredients required for a masala movie. I was not expecting anything big or special from the movie, and Farah Khan has delivered just what is expected from her, considering her earlier directorial attempt – " Mein Hoon Na" . And there are mixed reviews on the movie (OSO). However, I found it to be entertaining and tickled your funny bones at times. I won’t go into comments on acting or songs or direction or any other aspects of the movie, as there are too many already floating. I enjoyed it and what I enjoyed the most was the lively song, “Deewangi Deewangi” , which had too many stars of the industry, and ofcourse has good composition, music, and presentation. I can still visualize that song and think about so many people in that single song. Having had enough effect of that song on me, I started wondering how ...

Amchi Marathi mulgi, Madhuri is back, and ready to thrill her fans and audiences alike with her ‘ thumke’, ‘latke’, ‘jhatke’, and so on. This ‘ ek-do-teen’ girl finds a respectable position in the elite club of Indian film industry’s dancing queens. Though I haven’t been a great fan of Madhuri Dixit, I have liked some of her movies and almost all of her dance sequences. Her perfectly swaying body and expressions aptly compliment grace, passion, excitement, confidence, and sensuality. From “Humko Aaj Kal Hai Intezaar” in “Sailaab” to “Dhak Dhak” in “Beta” and “Ek do teen” in “Tezaab” to her dance performances in “ Devdas”, “Dil to Pagal Hai” , and many others, I have liked her in all. And now “Aaja Nachle” , the movie itself is about dance and music, and Madhuri, in my opinion is a perfect pick for it, not only considering her as a dancing emblem but also looking at the character she would be playing. Though I am already aware of the plot and the story, one thing that will surely...

I read the news about some NRI buying a flat for Rs.34 crores in NCPA building, Marine Drive in Mumbai, supposedly the costliest real estate deal ever in the country. And it somewhat makes me proud that I belong to a city that is so much in demand for its real estate. However, my feelings are also sometimes mixed that make me wonder if these prices are realistic and would I be able to take part in this race (not 34 crores ofcourse)? Will I get a share in a piece of land anywhere? And I hear the prices shouting back at me loudly, NO, NEVER! I console myself wandering on the busy streets of huge highways, jam packed S. V. Roads, air-conditioned malls, at times silent pathways of Aarey Colony, and so on. All this while I wasn’t complaining and was kind of ‘OK’ with the feeling that I had some space to roam about, where tranquility and solace still exists. However, all this seems to be very short-lived, with politician’s latest decision to hand over open spaces of Mumbai to private clubs. ...

I appreciate this piece of information that one of my friends, Chinmay. I had met him during my days at Intelenet and some of the close friends still refer to him as “Hello Mamma”. Chinmay forwarded a link to me that broadly covers global warming and here is what he writes: “Here's a link to my review of Al Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" which deals with the issue of Global Warming and its impact. http://videowatch.wordpress.com/2007/06/02/an-inconvenient-truth-2006 Though, this is more of a review of the "Documentary" rather than the "Global Warming". But I'd say that this documentary is so powerful that it should be made a mandatory viewing for everyone. This documentary literally proves the saying "Seeing is believing". Cheers, Chinmay H.” Thanks Chinmay and would look forward to many such snippets from you.

We all have felt the torturous heat prior to this monsoon. However, we merrily choose to neglect that this could be due to global warming. I have observed that people reason out the rise in temperatures over a period of time; yet there is very little awareness about global warming among people. I met my friends (ex-colleagues actually) as few weeks backs and like everyone we started discussing on the then hottest topic – heat. I heard statements (both in irritating and pitiable tone) that – “Garmi bahot baddh gayi hai boss” (the heat is increasing too much), “Kitni garmi ho rahi hai yaar aajkal, ho kya raha hai” (it’s too hot these days, what is happening), and so on. Based on the some articles and news information that I had read, I said this could well be attributed to global warming. To my surprise few of them in the group did not know what is global warming, except that this word appears somewhere sometimes and the connection between global warming and increase in temperature level...

I am far away from Amarnath and the happenings there, as I am too occupied with things other than religious news. I was not particularly interested with why, where, and how many people were stranded on their way to a certain pilgrimage. However, the bit that caught my attention was the meltdown of certain ‘lingam’ at the holy cave shrine in Amarnath, Srinagar. Whether it was man-made or had occurred naturally or did it fulfill wishes or did any miracles was secondary to me. I could just see a reality that is happening in front of our eyes and yet we chose to be silent and ignorant – Global Warming. It may not be too long when the disasters due to global warming turn spells on us and we would be left doing nothing. The snow melting and the glaciers retreating at the poles we all think it’s too far from us yet and we have ample of time till the situation actually occurs in front of us. The disappearance of the ‘lingam’ from around 12ft in June to nothing in July should be enough to alar...