That brand is not available anymore!

Few months ago I was traveling in a crowded bus. Usually I prefer reading or chatting on the phone while traveling. But, as the bus was too crowded, I was left with no other option than to stand for next half an hour.
There were few advertisements placed on the bus panel. I started skimming over until one of them caught my attention. It was a few months old ad for Kala Ghoda Poetry and literature festival. It had a short Marathi poetry (charoli) by one of the contemporary poets. It was about two friends strolling in the park. One says “These days I don’t see those tiny yellow butterflies around” Another replies “Sorry buddy, but, that brand is not available anymore!”
Are our lives so much subjugated by brands? Ok, now that’s a pretty debatable question.
The reason to blog about this age-old incident is that I googled for this poem for hours, but I didn’t get any information! So, anybody having this short little poem please pass it on. I really want to read it again! :)

Gone are those days

Permitted Laughter
(An excerpt from R. K. Narayan's "Salt & Sawdust - Stories and Table-Talk")

I suppose one may now look back with relief on the passing of a phase of our existence when every journalist in the country was menaced or manacled unless he wrote what he plainly saw was nonsense or, worse, untruth. Day after day the editor, the publisher and the feature writer had to hold their breath and await directions from an individual who might be decent and intelligent in private life, but who had to function as a censor and could survive only by a show of extreme mindlessness and pugnacity.
A deadly monotony had seized our newspapers and the distinction between one newspaper and another was lost. All papers and journals sounded alike, as if they had been drilled to sing in a chorus. But the reader would not be taken in - he glanced down the column mechanically and distrusted every word in it. Even such a serious matter as shots being fired at a candidate during an election campaign left him unmoved and he just commented, 'Oh, it is just another piece of fiction put out for some purpose. Wait till tomorrow and you will know why.' The average citizen was convinced that day by day he was being fed on exaggeration, half-truths, quarter-truths and mini-truths, if not lies; and he steeled himself against their influence.
***

A ban on cartoons amounts to a ban on laughter.
R. K. Narayan describes the dismal days when his brother R. K. Laxman, had to run with his cartoons to get them cleared by the censor. And how innocous were the ones which were banned!
***

This table-talk must probably be a few decades old. During those days, reading newspapers was not just a habit, it was a daily ritual of the masses… it was an addiction! People used to look forward to read the morning paper on their breakfast table. The fact that R. K. Laxman’s cartoons were forcefully censored was not at all appreciated by the readers because, people used to look forward to his comics. His daily one panel cartoon used to speak thousand words about the then state of affairs. But, is this the same situation even today?

Readers have lost their interest in knowing, understanding and pondering over the news as, (as R. K. Narayan says), all the newspapers and journals sounded alike, as if they had been drilled to sing in a chorus. All the news stories seemed to be superficial, tampered by the censorship. The charm of journalism started diminishing and readers lost their interest.

Today, journalism (both print and broadcast) is converging with the ‘E’ factor (entertainment factor). Switch on your TV set and start surfing, you’ll find that most of the news channels today are busy covering irrelevant stories. I mean, how are we supposed to react to the so-called ‘hardcore journalism’ stories of frogs’ wedding ceremony or Raakhi ka Swayamvar?

These days, people are getting entertained and not informed with these fabricated news stories. Today, we all need a realistic and no-nonsense journalism.

Let’s not misunderstand the concept of hardcore journalism!

Jab we MET

8:45 and I was in the Creativity Room, waiting for the induction session to start. It was my first day in MET IMM and everybody was looking out for familiar faces. The induction session began by 9:30 with the welcome speeches by the dignitaries.
A seven-day-long induction session is okay, but Sunday Lectures - not at all okay! Super-cool teachers are okay, but a teacher coming in nightmares - not okay! Challenging projects are okay, but weird deadlines and ultra-weird work pressure - not okay! Recreation facilities are okay, but extreme vigilance - not okay!
But, poor we!! We can't crib about all this, because we know that there's only one answer o all these questions... "But, that’s what post-graduation course is all about dahling!"

So, though we are all naïve right now, trying to know each other, looking out for potential friends, and ultimately aiming for absolute success, we hope that we all will get a platform to explore our potentials, sharpen them up and make the most of being a part of the MET League!

As Mayura Mam says, for these 18 months we’ll be eating drinking, breathing Mass Media. Let the Mass Media run through our bloods!

Mutating moods

Leaving office in a broad day light (at 6:00 pm) on Sat… so wonderful

Waiting for route no. 63 for half an hour… so tiring

Reaching home at 7:30 even after catching a cab… so frustrating

Spending a good time with Di… so refreshing! :)

Change is refreshing

“Change is constant’ and that’s what I wanted to do. I am fed up of routine and I was craving for the change. Not the weekend escapes with family, but a real change, which will last for long time.

The other day I heard some RJ on some FM station quoting “If you can’t have the change you expect, be the change!” No wonder I got inspired with this beautiful thought. But how to change yourself, without letting your routine get affected? I was mulling over it since days and finally got the solution.

MY BLOG!

I decided to change the look and feel of my blog completely. Not just because I wanted something that I possess or something that is related to me to change, but I wanted it to reflect my personality.. my pack of life!

I browsed hundreds of blog themes, previewed a few and finally selected this one - the ‘Black Fairy’. Black yet so bright… dark yet so luminous!

And then, this fairy (Pari)… a black fairy! Black fairy is usually considered as a death spirit. But for me, she is not no vile. Dressed in black, she looks distinctly beautiful. Her eyes are longing for something. Waiting for somebody, she looks so serene, so elegant, so enigmatic…

Only people who know me well and are very close to my heart might figure out why I have chosen this particular theme.

P.S: I’ll surely add some cool gadgets to spruce it up … Till then, I am happy with this change! :)

Me in the Dreamland...

Like everybody else, even I love my dreams (both literally and figuratively). But, here I am talking about all the craziest dreams I ever had!

My dream history is so vast and vivid that if Guinness Book decides to keep a track of my dreams, I would easily break all the existing records (if there are any)!

Sounds too far-fetched, isn’t it?

But, have you ever heard of a 10 year old kid, dreaming about a nasty tribe hunting for her and that she is running for life with none-other-than-the-famous-Bollywood-actor Anil Kapoor? (Though I had this dream more than a decade ago, I can still recollect it vividly.) The next morning, I shared it with my school friends. But they just ridiculed me! So, I stopped sharing my dreams with them. Luckily, some of my college friends are pretty interested in my dreams. They feel that my dreams might help them develop their creativity. (How creative!)

Few weeks back I got this weird dream, and I so damn wanted to share it with my friends.

I was pregnant (in my dream of course)!

I was busy shopping in one of the Causeway stores when I heard a sudden blast. People started running helter-skelter. I, being a part of that chaos, ran towards the trial room to hide, and suddenly realized that I am with a child. My stomach racked with pain, it was painful to breathe and even more painful to move. I woke up and stroked my tummy; it was absolutely flat (apart from the newly acquired paunch :(). Pheew… what a scary dream!

I know dreams are just a medley of our daily lives; the projection of images, characters, events like jigsaw pieces (no matter whether they are related to each other or not). But, sometimes my dreams really amuse me.

Today, my college friends and I have been to a lovely beach in Dubai. We were having great fun over there and suddenly we got to know that one of my friend’s Dad is not feeling well. We all rushed for my friend’s place, which apparently was in Dubai to find that his Dad is totally in the pink. I woke up and tried calling my friend, but no good! Finally I met him online by noon and made sure his Dad’s okay!

If Sigmund Freud was alive today, he would have surely tagged me as one of the most complicated and challenging case in his life!

F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

Sometimes some things happen because they ought to happen.

My best friend is no more a best friend. I met him few weeks before and I found a completely different person standing in front of me. He looked straight through me, as if I do not exist! I consoled myself somehow and decided to move on. Just one stupid mistake and I lost him completely!

Quite the reverse, happened with my other friends. I never realized our friendship would turn into a beautiful bond. But, the buds of our friendship are blooming gently.

I hope this spring lasts forever!