U and I

U and I....We are like railway tracks...they run parallel but they never meet each other...

And the winner is.....Slumdog Millionaire!!

I saw the movie last week in a theatre and i am mentioning theatre because the general trend here with students is to watch movies online. You go to a theatre only on certain occasions like when you have surplus money to spend or when someone else is paying for you or when you find a theatre which offers reasonable rate. [ We didnt want it to be like this, but this time we fell into the second category :) ].

In my opinion, the movie is nice. I think people over here started watching this movie only when they got to know that it won 4 golden globe awards. For once when we went to watch the movie, the tickets were sold out, not just for 1 show but for all the shows on that day. Apparently, our fellow indians back in India have not taken the movie too well.

People living in the slums of mumbai are unhappy with the image that is portrayed in the movie. They dont want to be called a 'slumdog'. According to some of them, the conditions shown in the movie are exaggerated and they say that the film makers are just cashing in on the poverty of india.

Well, I feel that whatever is shown in the movie is stark reality. I have lived in mumbai for 22 years and i have seen dharavi (the slum area). It is the way it is shown. There is garbage, there are small children who are trained to beg, there are hindu muslim riots, there are brothel areas, there are gangsters. In mumbai, on one side, we have the posh locality and on the other side we have these slums.

I think people abroad liked the movie because eventhough they know that poverty is prevalent in India, they never got to see the details of it. We were the only 3 indians in the theatre, it was nice to see all the americans appreciating an indian movie.

I feel the best part of the movie is the song...'jai ho'. Recently, i saw a video on youtube wherein the lead actor and the actress of the movie were in a talk show and in the end of the show the entire cast and crew of the show starts dancing to the song. The whole song and dance thing is very amusing for them but still, i guess they enjoy it.

All in all, its a nice movie, some people feel the image that is portrayed in the movie is too harsh, some people feel that it is just the reality and we should just accept it.

One can watch it once atleast, if not for anything else, just for funsake....and heres the link to that video on youtube....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTzA5h81kQQ

Happy New Year!

It was my first new years eve away from home, felt a bit strange, but then i was excited about having a whole new experience.

It wasn't much exciting though, infact my new years eve was nowhere close to exciting because i was working that evening, had a shift from 5 to 11. But we had some fun after 11pm when i went to my friend's workplace where her shift ended at the same time. We had a nice time.

It was terribly cold and windy (and windy = thandi, as i always say :P ) around -25 degree celsius. There were not too many people at the times square to see the famous ball drop. I was disappointed that i will be missing it but when i saw it on tv, i was glad that i didnt go there, firstly it was cold, secondly, it was just a stupid ball drop and thirdly, this time they had no fireworks ( due to recession )...no fireworks on new years eve...i mean whats that...its like...no cake on birthday....

Anyway, its a whole new year, in a new place...alright i have already spent here one quarter of the previous year but still...theres so much more to explore....and im happily blogging away some substantial crap :P

P.S:- i always end up finding some side business at my workplace, recent one being blogging, considering the whole amount of free time we get in the second shift (i know ankur, you are going to comment on the last part...)

Thank god it happened in USA...

Needless to say, my experience with new york's transport system has been much better than with mumbai's transport sytem. But still there are some situations where you find trouble.

So, i go to buy this unlimited metrocard for $81 from the metrocard vending machine and the machine sucks up 4 of my $20 bills and throws out the last $1 bill. I try to insert another bill but it doesnt accept, it gets stuck, doesnt return my money and doesnt give me a metrocard either. It just spits out a receipt that the transaction failed and it is unable to return the money. So, i go to the booth and they say that i will have to mail the receipt to the MTA guys and they will send my money back after 30 days. Ufffff!!

I came out of the subway station, pissed off about the whole situation, that my money is gonna be stuck for a month...then my colleagues at work told me that they do give the money back in such cases because it was the machine's problem.

Fortunately, i got my money back in less than 30 days. They sent me a cheque of $80.
I was wondering what if i had faced a similar problem in India :)
I guess this happens only in this country....

9/26 Men's Soccer

Back to blogging after a long time...
This post was lying in the draft stage for ages...as you can figure out from the title, it was supposed to be posted in september....anyway....so here is a story of a 3 months old experience, i have worked for more games since then and each day has been fun....but the first time is always special....so read on.....



This has to be one of the funniest things i have ever done. Athletics and myself, that itself is a funny combination and those who know me will totally agree with me.



As part of the new eventstaff, i opted to work for the men' soccer on 9/26. We had been given a strict dress code of white T-shirt, khaki pants and black or brown shoes. So, my friend and i, all dressed up to work for the game went to the stadium. The reporting time was 6.30 and we had reached before time, probably the first ones.



As per the weather forecast, we were expecting rains. (and honestly i had thought that they might cancel the game due to the bad weather but it seemed to be just the opppsite). They were pretty much equipped for the rains. And that brings us to the most funny part of this whole experience. Normally, they are supposed to give us a pull over. But...this time....because of the rains, we were given, let me put that word in caps, EXTRA large raincoats. Huge funny looking yellow colored raincoats. And i think the perfect comparison would be this...they looked exactly like the raincoat which 'jadoo wore in koi mil gaya'....every girl who came up was really surprised and shocked to find that she was supposed to wear this reallly funny looking thing and stand there in front of everyone for the next 4 hrs or so....



Now, what do we do after putting on the funny costumes....Initilally, i was told to stand behind the goalpost, not on the ground...outside the ground...and if the ball went outside, i was supposed to catch hold of it and put it back or just give it to the ball boy.....it seemed to be a very silly and boring thing to do, but then when people started coming in, like the audience, i realised that i didnt want to do this, simply because these guys get really crazy during the game (people who have played or been to such games will understand what i am talking about) and its not very safe to be around them.



Fortunately, i was shifted from there and now i was an usher, check tickets of whoever comes in and then send them in....this was a lot better....



Best part about working for these games is that you get to watch the game...for free!!...and trust me ....its fun....i like soccer anyway....it was St. John's University Vs University of Connecticut. We won!! St. John's won! yipee! After the first half of the game, i didnt have much work, so i could watch the game peacefully. Everything was nice except the weather, it was freaking cold, even in september.



Anyway, all in all, it was a nice first time experience. Waiting to work for more games and have fun...

A Few Questions.......

How many times have you faced a confusion that makes you choose between your head and your heart? Who wins this battle of head and heart? The practical ones would like to go with the head maybe....and the not so practical ones ( i am not going to use the word emotional ) would like to follow their heart maybe.....How many times have you felt that your head and your heart, both are partially correct? What do you do in such a situation? Why does something feel so right at times and yet when you apply reasoning, it seems to be wrong? And sometimes eventhough the reasoning might make it seem correct, your heart says that something is wrong? When do you rely on your intuition? When do you think of applying logic?
In case you are still reading this post....I am not trying to make any point with this, I dont have an answer to all these questions...I am not really looking for answers either...now you might think if I dont care about the answers then why did i write all this in the first place....
well blogs can be used to write anything, can be crap too and yes this post is an example of such blogposts... these are random thoughts, they come across my mind at times....
So i write as i feel.....

Local train se subway tak :)

Platform kramank 7 par aane wali local 6 baj kar 15 min ki harbour line se panvel jaane wali dheemi local hai....
All passengers waiting to board AI 141 heading to JFK please proceed towards gate no. 8.....
Phew!! A lot went into this journey, i must say....anyway i guess ill get into that some other time...
21st august. Thats when i landed in New York and when i came out of the airport i just felt that i am still in india with so many indians around me....surprisingly i didnt experience the jet lag either...landed at 6.30 am and i was all ready to begin a new day in nyc. I guess its a mumbaikar's stamina which works for me...
ok now my round of msgs start.....
DI....i wish i could go to london and see you....that didnt happen....anyway take care, miss you a lot, love you lots
SS...miss u a lot...i still owe u the hug :) kaminon ne aur bahar aane hi nahi diya....n honestly i was surprised to see you crying....love u, miss u
HP....miss u lots dear....i wish u were there at the airport on that day but i understand your situation....why didnt u try to meet me earlier...anyway....i hav told SS to 'take care of you' :P...we will fix this when i get back ;)
IG....it was amazing talking to you after such a long time....i dont know whether you will read this post or not...but still just wanna say that i missed you too...
YN.....really wish i could meet you before leaving...it was great to know that you are doing so well in the job....n wish you all the best for you know what ;)
Mr. Guess Who....thanks a lot for everything including the ssn, i know could count on you :)

Apologies for not including some of the people in this list....anyway they prefer personalised messages i guess....
Its a pleasure to come back to blogging...i hope i will be more frequent with the posts now..

A Whole New World

I can show you
the world
Shining, shimmering,
splendid
Tell me, princess,
now when did
You last let your
heart decide?

I can open your eyes
Take you wonder
by wonder
Over, sideways
and under
On a magic carpet ride

A whole new world
A new fantastic
point of view
No one to tell us no
Or where to go
Or say we're
only dreaming

A whole new world
A dazzling
place i never knew
But when i'm
way up here
It's crystal clear
That now i'm in a whole
new world with you
Now i'm in a whole new
world with you

A whole new world
Don't you dare close
your eyes
A hundred thousand
things to see
Hold your breath - it
gets better
I'm like a shooting star
I've come so far
I can't go back to where
i used to be

A whole new world
That's where we'll be
A thrilling chase
A wondrous place
For you and me.

Lyrics: Disney's Aladdin

In Search of...

As I walk alone on the road
towards the light of life
I see a lot of people
busy in their own world

I scream, I shout
I try my best to reach out
I find a lot of keys
but none could unlock my heart

I wonder what is wrong
what is the reason
that it is taking so long

Then I realise, probably its me
The key that I am looking for, it is with me
Its my locked heart
and I need to set it free


©

Why did curiosity kill the crow???

....well only the crow knows.... :) :) :)

P.S:- This one is for you, Mr.Guess Who

Abhishek Bachchan Against Orkut!!

Recently i read in the newspaper, 'Abhishek Bachchan against Orkut for youth icon'!Firstly, Abhishek Bachchan as youth icon!!!! What for????..What has he done?..What has he done that the youth should look upto him??...Is it because he wears a funky hairband? which i think looks pathetic most of the times or is it because he has married Aishwarya Rai? now that may be a lesson for some of the guys...that you should marry a girl who is rich and famous, basically a woman who is more successful than you, have 'aish' with all her cash and follow her like a puppy everywhere she goes..or is it because he did a 'Guru'? which was an imitation of Dhirubhai Ambani.. though it was a commendable performance..But still Abhishek Bachchan!..seriously i dont think he fits the bill..
Secondly, Orkut!!!!...again a big ?...why????....I agree orkut is a good social networking site with certain obvious advantages but as they say every coin has two sides and when i look at the other side i can see that its a place for the jobless, its got some really wierd communities filled in with total crap and lots of creeps from various countries...Recently, i had been to the income tax office and there i saw some of the employees glued on to orkut leaving all their work aside!...Is that what a youth icon supposed to do? distract you from your work..i dont think so...
Neither Abhishek Bachchan nor orkut, none of them deserve even to be nominated...

The Fourth Seat

Though i feel the length of the seats in 1st class and 2nd class compartments of the local trains is the same, the seats of 1st class may appear to be bigger, may be because they are cushioned. But the 'fourth seat' is the favourite...I travel by 1st class and every second day i get to witness a fight over the fourth seat..
So here comes a female and asks the 3 people who are sitting comfortably, to shift, the first thing that she gets is a look of disgust (oh god!..ab iske liye shift hona padega..), then they shift and the lady sits there, she is almost falling off but somehow manages probably becuase she is tired but after sometime she runs out of patience becuase the lady next to her complains that she is pushing her! ( now i think its a little obvious considering the tiny portion alloted to her ) so she snaps back..
what else do you expect ha? if you want to sit with your legs wide apart, why dont you travel by your private car ha?
..Look at the way she is fighting!, this just shows what a nuisance you are..a pain to the society...blah blah blah..
Oh my god!..on the other hand, when i travel by 2nd class, i always find that 4 people are comfortably sharing the seat without any dumb catfights...I wonder whats the reason for the difference..i have noticed something and this is a bit funny and wierd but its a fact, the people travelling by 2nd class are thinner than the people travelling by 1st class..:) seriously they are..may be thats why they fit in ...:)
But all in all, travelling by local trains is immensely entertaining...and yes i 'love' the 'fourth seat'..:)