Please remember..Women are human beings first...

To those who say "All men are the same."

and to those who say "All women are the same."

I only want to say, "All men and all women are the same."

We were unicellular organisms that got divided into male and female, for conveniently sharing the tasks of protecting the newborns, while providing for them at the same time.

Violation of  woman's rights is nothing but the violation of human rights

you're my flashy neon sign

A Warm welcome to dine

Hey, I know it's not mine

your sparkle and your shine

I'm your tube light

  moulded to be most useful and bright

 slow starter flicker flicker 

I whine and whine, and then I glow

Stranded in the cross roads

I gape and grin at your flash

 flash is not food ; flash may be no good

but I happen to be there

You think a weary traveller like me

 would add a touch of mystery

But I'm not even hungry 

just so entertained by the glare

Though  i lived in a city of a thousand lights 

I never stopped to stare

But on this darkest of roads so  bare

your brilliance has no compare

I know it's not an ancient fire

that kept the nights warm and secure

But the blinking of the electric bulbs , the friendly jingle of your music 

Thanks, My weary heart did repair.

But then a host of guests appeared

I picked myself up and cleared

out.You see, when you travel light,with no baggage

Life is so much easier to steer.

Good and bad things about Kumki.
Good things
1. The cinematography
2.The scruffy good looks of the hero
3. His resemblance (perhaps imagined, perhaps real) to Shivaji, his grandfather
4. His ability to look rugged and romantic
5.The songs and the popularity which made the fans sing along in the theatre
6. The characterization of the killer- rogue elephant.
7. The newness/otherness of the tribal culture, though not so authentically portrayed
8.very well played, but underused minor characters such as the village head, forest ranger and some of the tribals, who looked authentic.
9. funny tickles from the loser-uncle of the hero character, almost all through the film
10. an attempt to show the hero's nomadic life style.
11. Graphics or whatever, but a watchable fight scene between the elephants
12. The sudden realization by the hero of the folly in what he did.
13. The village setting, the forest setting, the romantic meeting place of the couple.
Bad things
1. The inability of the heroine to look authentic.
2. Her limited acting skills and stylised body language, inspite of her good looks. ( she would have come under good things, if I had been a man)
3. the poor development of the character of the good elephant, which is sickeningly cinematic
4. the screen play got slack in the middle, when nothing seemed to happen but repetitive romance.
5. The funny loser uncle is also irritating
6. the sudden end with no atmosphere and not sufficient forewarning.
7. The subtle reinforcement of the Indian mindset which claims family customs are more important than 'love' . Being in "Love" is being unfaithful to the family and a shame to the community. I have used the word 'love' in quotes because, the films and the community concedes no distinction between mindless infatuation and mature love.

Who said we can solve our problems by working hard at office, working out and maintaining good family relationships.

Well, actually I did, in my previous post...but we get closer to the truth when we look at an African proverb (source: facebook post by my student Deepak)

GO ALONE IF YOU WANT TO GO FAST
GO WITH OTHERS IF YOU WANT TO GO FAR

Sensible words. When we assiduously finish our work and want sit to sit back, do you really think we can??? When there are millions who are simply struggling to find out what to do, how to go about life, how to survive and how to eat?
No way is any one going to applaud you for what you have done with your pretty little life. No way is anyone going to let you relax.

We should learn to change the way we think about happiness. We should tell our children about the only way they can be happy.

Unless those around us are happy, there is no way we can be, for all our goodness, all our planning, all our window dressing and all our dreams....They won't let  you be. There would be no quiet. Just whines,moans of pain, squeals of agony or stares  and stabs of jealousy.
I mean It's not that others want to mess up our lives. But however squeaky clean we may get their mess is just going to spill into our space.
What to do?
We've got to develop a completely new way of thinking. Not long for privacy, but check out if we can help people around us live well.
Only then will community minded politicians emerge from our midst.

Some truths (logic) and a bit of confusion (magic?)

The page views on this blog have gone up suddenly....53 people have viewed my page today...some computer glitch??????
Any way i wanted to write about some truths i discovered in my life

1. We love our families the most
2. Age or ageing doesn't matter as much as we think it does.
3. We don't have to worry much as long as we have the ability to laugh.
4. Hard work is important, but we don't get, or I have not got the hang of it....Lots of people have commented on the amount of labour I do...but that's just donkey's work, as one of my well wishers pointed out...not really what i am capable of. The last bit about what i am capable of, is not my well wisher's comment but my own.He just calls me a donkey.
5. Everyone should work out and listen to music.
6. Our society needs role models of generosity. I read an article in The Hindu, which had published this one by a foreign correspondent, who had noticed that Indian billionaires have not yet got the habit of donating and doing good, as billionaires in some other countries are doing. His article said that philanthropy has not caught on in India.
7. All those who have been married for long periods and who have got their children settled should consider themselves to be single, in order to recapture some spirit into their lives. I don't mean they should play around, just that they should plan their time as singles would, and relax and enjoy life.
8. Blogging can drive away feelings that we are alone and have no one to share stuff with.

Coming back to the point about page views, the one i wrote about kho kho players a year back has had 127 page views..Weird...

How does that happen?????