Facts n Fiction

Yet another TV program on saas-bahu. However, this time it’s not from Ekta Kapoor - basically for two reasons. One is the obvious one, the title doesn’t begin with ‘K’ and the second is that I wonder if Ekta Kapoor would ever be able to fathom the relation between saas-bahu and sensex (equity markets). This new relationship initiative was taken by CNBC-TV18 – the masters in educating people about equity markets, money making, savings, investing and so on. The program Saas, Bahu & Sensex is primarily focused at house wives who are investing in the stock markets or who want to learn about stock market investing. We have had women pilots, bus conductors, corporate identities, political icons and we will now have homemakers turning into investors & traders. The program discusses the strategies that housewives have adopted in investing, discuss those with the experts. The initiative would certainly help other homemakers to learn about the stock markets. There definitely is a chance ...

I met Pratyush today. During our school days, Pratyush and I had acted in a drama called ‘Alladin Ka Chirag’. I was Alladin and because of his chubby bulky stature, Pratyush suited to be a Jinee. Since then, Pratyush always used to fantasize about the story and dreamt of getting all world pleasures. He used to try and rub every lamp or lamp like structure that he came across. His obsession grew to such an extent that he always used to walk along side the guttars, nalas, garbage boxes and so on, just with a hope that he would find a lamp someday and that lamp would produce a Jinee, when rubbed. He changed his school and eventually we lost contact. I have no idea whether his quest for that lamp was still on. When I met him today (We got in touch with each other through some alumni site and then planned to meet), nothing much had changed - same bulky physique, searching eyes and noisy presence. To my surprise, even today he hunts for a lamp and jokes about it – ‘Never lose hope’. However,...

Traveling during the peak hours in Mumbai is no less than an adventure, be it by any means – your private car, cab, auto, bus or a local train. I travel to office in the morning and it’s really a fun for me – some new experience each day. Many a times I have heard people say – “Kya hoga is shaher ka, kitne khadde hai” (What will happen to this city? there are so many potholes) as the bus bumps into some puddle. Close investigation (it’s very easy to get into a conversation with such frustrated people) reveals that people who often curse this city are ones who come here with high aspirations. Welcome to Mumbai - the Swapna Nagari – (City of Dreams), with due respect to whoever named it so. People come to Mumbai to start business, look for jobs, and study and so on. In the exercise they start taking city for granted. They expect total comfort and pleasures that they probably left back in their parent city. People start comparing Mumbai with other cities, Pune is clean, Bangalore is so or...

The new supposedly horror flick from “The Factory” – ‘Darna Zaroori Hai’ should actually have been named ‘Darna Mana Hai’ because there is no component in the movie that frightens you. Yes, there are a few ‘thuds’ and ‘creaks’ that shake up your cushion chair, but that’s all about it. The outcome of each of the story is very much predictable and that negates all possible chances of you getting frightened or horrified. Sound and flashes do some magic though. Of all the stories, only the professor-student incident seems a little good (may be because it’s directed by the man himself – RGV), all others have a scent of insanity or have a high guess value. There is no need to bite your nails or clasp armrest of your chair saying – ‘What next’. RGV has used different directors for each narration so that the episodes look distinct and that there is no repetitiveness. However, the attempt has failed miserably. Over a period when people mature and give something realistic, RGV on the other ha...

“Oh no, not again” – is what slipped out of my lips when I saw the news flash about reservations in IIM and IITS. The quota bug has bit the education system again and that too to the elite institutes this time. Logic is simple – elections around the corner, gather our vote banks. The reservation system in education has ever frustrated me, right from my XII grade. My friend and I were waiting at VJTI in 1995 to take a look at the allotment list for the engineering seats. We were quite confident of getting a seat in good college as we had very good marks in XII exams. To our despair, we found our names in the waiting lists, while a boy with 67% (much lower than our marks) smiled away with a seat in one of the reputed engineering college in Mumbai. It felt like a slap on our face and we stared at each other when we discovered that the boy belonged to a reserved category. I had lost hopes of getting an engineering seat after my revelation to this quota system. My marks did fetch me an admi...

“Why is this happening to me?”, “What wrong have I done?”, “My life is hell” – we must have heard a lot of people saying this when things seem to go wrong. Yes, life does look miserable at times, especially at times when nothing seems to be working out fine. But it also exposes you to some practical insights. Let these testing times strengthen you enough to fight back the crisis. Motivation, confidence, faith, optimism and so on are among the many things that a person learns during such phases. However, one more revelation that a person has during such times is, about the people around him/her who claim to be the best of friends or strongest support. It is very disheartening when you really want somebody to be there for you and support you and they let you down. Surprisingly, other people who matter but whom you least expect to help, come forward to extend their wholehearted support. And thus, in these really trying times you know who your real friends are. It portrays a clear distinct...

Engineering days were bliss, lot of friends, fun, and pranks. However, what overjoyed us the most was bunking classes though very rarely. It indeed was a fun to bunk classes, go to the canteen, sip on a cutting chai and discuss everything from girls, studies, exams to democratic system. The time was constructively idled away. The idea of bunking classes though seems to have changed today. I came across a friend studying management, who got into this habit of bunking classes under the pretext that – “yaar professors are not good and I would better spend my time studying on my own”. I was amazed that a student could judge his professor’s knowledge and intellect. I am saddened to know that my friend does not understand a very basic difference that his professor has earned some degree and has already studied what he is currently studying, may be in much more detail. That that the professor is a professor is itself a testimony to the fact that he is learned/knowledgeable person, worthy enou...