Tuesday, April 28, 2009

3 Anecdotes & a Joke

For the sake of blogging, three abstract thoughts that influenced me in 3 days. And a quite old joke which makes me laugh even today.

1-There is an interesting anecdote from a Godard film. In one of his film a daughter asked her father, “Papa, tell me how do we know a person is trustworthy”, her papa replied, ask him whether he loves reading? And if he replies Balzac, Shakespeare, Homer…move on, but if he asks you.” What do you mean by reading?” there is hope. [Origin]

2-As per Rabindranath Tagore's famous poem, when God told Valmiki to write the Ramayana, the life-story of a king yet to be born, Valmiki reportedly asked God: "But how can I write an accurate account of what has not even happened?"God then told Valmiki: "It does not matter what Rama will be or what he will do. What the ages will remember is simply what you shall write. That will be the only truth." Origin]

3-A sage who had retired to the hills since many decades was once cajoled by his disciples to come down and experience the plains. One of the disciples was the probing kind; he was well read, intelligent, and full of rationale. When Swamiji reached the city, the disciple managed to convince him for an outing to a multiplex, very reluctantly though. The movie was a typical bollywood potboiler filled with every conceivable emotion on earth. Swamiji sat through the entire movie unflinchingly. At the end of the movie, as every one tried to make way towards the exit, the disciple asked, “What was the experience like, Swamiji?”

Swamiji replied, “As long as there was darkness there was love, hate, sadness, laughter, violence, and lust, but all of it dissolved the moment there was light." That was all he saw. [Origin]

Joke: An old joke in Delhi went like this: Police teams from all over the world participated in a lion-capturing competition. At the end of the day, all the police teams had returned -- some successful, some not -- except the Delhi Police. So the organisers went to look for them, and found them with a bear that they had captured, thrashing the animal mercilessly and shouting, "बोल, तू शेर है!" ("Admit it, you're a lion!")

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Kamran Khan : The man who would be cricket star

Before IPL:
I noticed a news article and my heart was glad from inside.It stated:"Shane Warne is all set to unleash a fiery Indian teenage pacer Kamran Khan in the second edition of the Indian Premier League. The charismatic Rajasthan Royals skipper calls him 'Wild Thing' or 'Tornado', and says the fast left-arm slinger is capable of hurling the ball at more than 140 kmph."A player from nowhere was coming on the cricketing stage of India.

Azamgarh was in the eye of the nation for all wrong reasons. And to be Muslim from such district is more sinister than anything in these days. In such troubled times for the town, which has forgotten the likes of Kaifi Azami, the advent of a new star in form of cricketer Kamran Khan is a welcome change. He hails from Nadva Sarai, Azamgarh.To even know name of that exact place in Azamgarh, It was great surprise for NRA ( non residential azamgarhi) like me. My mother has studied there in her childhood days hence heard of this remote small village.For clarification, Nadva Sarai village was in Mau district but now falls in Azamgarh commissionaire.
Biography and profile will be spread here and there now on the newspaper or internet. Left-arm seamer Kamran Khan was picked out of obscurity when the Rajasthan Royals signed him up for the second season of the IPL. Darren Berry, the team's director of coaching, spotted him in a Twenty20 tournament in Mumbai. He had no first-class experience and Kamran had spent his nights on railway stations when travelling for cricket trials. When he was handed a US$24,000 contract by Rajasthan, Kamran told the Indian Express. "Had this money come two years back, I might not have lost my mother.I always had monetary problems. I never dared to ask money from my brothers. I had one pair of white clothes for trials."

Rise to fame at IPL:
Kamran bowled just one over in the Royals' losing warm-up game against the Cape Cobras Saturday. He bowled a lethal yorker to knock off the stumps of Cobras captain Ontong [Youtube Link]. Even the fake ipl player blog ,he is termed as Akram Azam. A great compliment from a blogger who has tarnished image of many cricketers...

Kamran was overwhelmed by the change in his fortunes over the last few weeks. "Even until few days ago, nobody knew me. I used to play at the Azad Maidan in Mumbai and just hoped to keep on doing the hard work. I'd gone for trials to every part of UP but without success."

Warne’s immense faith in Kamran’s showed when the veteran preferred him over others for the last over and the deciding Super Over.Warne said: “I told him don’t worry about the Super Over. If you hadn’t bowled such a good last over, we would not have been in this situation.

From now on:
I had long before watched a movie called 'Iqbal' and now it appears like same story of picking a diamond in the rough. Nothing is like success, everybody (like me also) embraces a winner. New success stories will be formed and every Tom, Dick & Harry will run to take credit of his exponential rise. I do not know how far he will go in this cricketing world but he has changed the face of Azamgarh. Atleast a new hero is born in the Azamgarh....

Thursday, April 23, 2009

BTP Analysis

Let me bring to you most hilarious analysis of B Tech project ever read by me on Internet. This is a piece of adaption from a post of a great blogger who is also alumnus of my college. I am huge admirer of her writings. A tale of B.T.P. analysis in the season of end semester is mandatory for me.Here we go-------------------

Let me first of all clarify to the readers that the above title is read as "BTP A-null-(th)esis".

For the advantage of all non engineering readers BTP as understood or made understood by any technological institute is expanded as "B.Tech Project". As you all know, B.Tech is the degree for which we toil and survive the 4 years assigned to the course. BTP, however, expanded by technological students would conform to any of the following terms but the one given before :

Badly Timed Project
Breath Taking Project
Brain Twisting Project
Bulk Torture Project
Boring Technology Project
Big Tragedy Project
Bravely Tackled Project
Bas Topic Project

Or some people tend to devise less complicated and non-technological terms to comply to the acronym (courtesy: F&S)

The initiation of BTP occurs with the allotment of the topic which may take place any day from the first week of the semester to the day before the report submission depending on the flexibility of your department, (mis)guide and/or your typing speed. But of course I cannot overlook the presence of your conscience. This leads the inevitable mention of some ELITE (Erroneously Lost In Technology and Engineering) students who comply to the university definition of the acronym and actually work for it. My post assumes their non-existence.

The main work of BTP is the preparation of a flawless, acceptable report. This report can be broaly divided into two types:
  1. which has been explored by you so well that you can easily baffle the proffesors giving them a false impression of your knowledge, interest and efforts.
  2. which is neither understood by you nor the proffesors such that they prefer not to enter the untried domain.
The first type requires some research of the topic (as in surfing, netting, mostly books are considerd orthodox and seldom used) and if possible a know-how/what/why of the proffesor(s) to make sure that you can baffle him(them). This type thus requires a little more effort than just the report writing in addition to convincing evidence to prove your attempt and success.

The second type with the advancement of technology (as in free-flowing internet) is more easily accessible. It is ready-made, requires less efforts and is more or less hassle free. The only thing to be made sure of is that it conforms to the type mentioned above i.e an untried domain at least to the professor(s).

Once the report is made and submitted, the more dreaded moment arrives - the BTP Viva(or presentation). There however is also a good part about it, that being the end of viva more or less marks the termination of the B.Tech struggles.

The viva involves your explaining to the panel:
  • the importance of your project- this is the easiest part (thanks to the technological advancements)
  • the work you attempted - this is often confusing. Your (mis)guide can help you with this or you can always turn to the omniscient (internet).
  • and the reasons for your inability to complete it - this is the hardest part since you can neither blame it on the department nor yourself. If you can find a way through in this part, trust me, your BTP is complete. The most common way through this is to confidently deny that its left incomplete or to simply disregard the part of completion and talk about future scopes in the project.
While dealing with BTP, the important mantra to remember is "If you can't convince them, confuse them".

If you are through with this all, my heartiest congratulations to you. Now you can sit back, look back and have a hearty laugh.

This write-up is dedicated to my seniors who have taught me the importance (or rather unimportance) of BTP, the anecdotes of their BTP, their running/hiding away from guides, their coffee breaks, the F&S team, their thorough research on the term BTP, my friends whom I have seen struggling (or rather not struggling) for their BTP, their evidences and efforts and lastly all engineering students who have a similar story to tell.

[Diclaimer: This post has no intention of making fun of any institution, any of its ongoing tradition, or the ELITE students of the institution and is based on first hand experience, observation and second hand confessions]

Enjoi!

-Anki.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

One day..

If the rating of movie 'Black' is 6/10 and 'Sparsh' is 8/10, then The Color of Paradise (Rang-e khoda) stands alone with 10/10. I have never seen a simply perfect film on blindnesss. No great star cast or cliched story. A movie with few dialouges and beautiful camera movement. Above all, the emotional bonding of the film with viewers is amazing, Just give it a try..

One dialouge makes me cry, the emotion outburst from inside....All intellectualism sublime and tear drops naturally...

Mohammad (Blind Boy): [crying] Our teacher says that God loves the blind more because they can't see. But I told him if it was so, He would not make us blind so that we can't see Him. He answered "God is not visible. He is everywhere. You can feel Him. You see Him through your fingertips." / Now I reach out everywhere for God till the day my hands touch Him and tell Him everything, even all the secrets in my heart.

His words wrap the emotions in timeless moments and will remain with me throughout my life. But, No metaphor or word can explain my feeling at the moment...

I recommond this movie as must must watch to everyone.....
Torrent link for information pirates and amazon link for information guardians.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Life at Hyderbad -2

Summary of My Life: I feel like a rat in a trap of his own.

Inside My Mind:

As I think more and more, the conventional thinking about life, religion, love and country changes drastically. I am now hating the borders and atrocities done by army in the name of patriotism. Life appears to be more nihilistic with time. The world appears to be unchanged and caught eternally between cycle of violence, poverty and war. I don't hate religion but the idea of god seems to be quite funny now. The absoluteness is dissolving in the thin air on viewing the discrimination for physical labor. The society was, is and will be governed by few elite and powerful persons. The moral ambiguity of society norms just pisses me off. Either I want revolution or want to become numb of the surroundings. When I seat inside mall and grab a yummy burger, I feel vindicated by the sight of poor children begging for food. That moment, I hate my existence on the earth. And my lifestyle seems to be hypocrite enough to commit suicide. I am spending huge amount for my taste of food, cloth and style when beside my apartment few people are dying due to lack of food. The guilt feeling overwhelms and suddenly the whole purpose of life as feels worthless.

Outside World:
Hyderbad is like a heaven for wine and biryani lovers.It is horrible place for a vegetarian person. I am fed up now by eating rice only as I have gained 4 kg in 2 month. If with this rate my weight increases without any exercise then i will look like Mohanlal in 2010.

Recently visited Ramakrishna Math and Birla Science Museum and Planetarium. I was overwhelmed by the peace there as all the mental worries sttle down. Remember a song "aakaash bahut uuncha hai, dooor bahut hai taare" from old DD serial Brahmand ki khoj starring 2 children, Ravi and Bhaskar with scientist Jayant narlikar .I think it was shooted here in BM Birla Planetarium in Hyderabad only.The show was running in Telugu hence could not go there.I am planning to go there at English /Hindi timing show timing in future. Adjoining the planetarium is the Birla Since and Arts museum, which comprises of excavated architectural artifacts of the bygone era, interactive science experiments and the arts of different cultures and civilizations.I was really paused for few seconds on watching Kotasaurus Yamanpalliensis, Malachite egg and holy sculpture of Yab Yum (image below) . What a creative day, it was...
Craziest Idea of 2009: I am planning to write a short novel with an element of magic realism in Hindi. Only theme and a central character' name is in the mind, it will take atleast 2 years in making into first rough draft.Wish me luck !!!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Kanpur Coaching Gurus

Memories of coaching days at Kanpur are inseparable from me. I have done a separate post on Kanpur coaching mandi only. The most remembered image of my coaching days was the advertisement of Ankush Bhatia by Pran classes and it was pasted over each wall of Kanpur. His photo was spread at distant corners of the city showing All India Rank 51. Never seen any local marketing campaign like this. Sometimes, I recall the rush of students from one coaching center to another for seat capture, xerox copying of assignments, and 'out-of-course' study material. The JEE course was never completed on time everywhere in the Kanpur coaching mandi. At the end time of March, the mad rush for completing the course began with various test series taking place simultaneously. I could not forget that pressure till now. I will never forgive Anish, Pankaj, and Vishnoi sir for combining their individual treats into 1 party for JEE-qualified students. For information on pre-2000 AD days of coaching mandi, check this link. Writing a few lines about them in the blog is mandatory for me. It is a rough recollection of data, just written casually. 

 Physics: 1-Ajay Narkar sir is a crazy personality and self-made figure. He holds the record of slapping up to 1200 students and teaching 16 hours a day. He lectures students like God and gives cusses to them like the devil. He is obsessed with self-praising and mechanics. He has made 'Concept of Physics by HC Verma' famous in the coaching mandi. According to him, you can't play Holi or go to a movie because playing Holi or shopping, or watching the cinema for 2 hours will stop you from getting into IIT. On the other hand, listening to his autobiography (although inspiring) for 5 hrs is a heck of a time utility. His famous words:---" hum hum hain,baki pani kam hain; baangduon assignment pura hona chaiye ; bhailogo kya bolte ho." 2-Anish Srivastava sir is famous for his orange shirt and black trousers combination. We have never seen him in any other dress. It was lovely to see Anish sir making a diagram precisely with various colored chalks. The timespan of his class was only 2 hours, the least by any physics teacher in that area. Paanch (Coca-Cola ad by Aamir Khan) was used to shout by the coaching junta for every arbitrary occasion in the classroom. His famous words on entering the class---write down the heading and take out the booklet !! 

  Maths: 1-Ashish Vishnoi Sir take entry in class and exclaimed daily "pani lana, ac on kar do, marker dena.................". Acute Dialogues for students---" kripya grameen bhai idhar dhyan de ;abe chor ho yar tum log,apne gaon ki bus pakad lo aur katlo yaha se; kisi ko zada hero banne ki zaroorat nahi hai,beta latak jaaoge; jyada topchee na bano poori class milke bhi mera kuch nahi ukhar paoge; are yaar abhi saal bhar baad yanhi rikshaw chalate najar aaoge; are yaar ab regular valon ki tarah har question mat pucho" ...last but most famous "aap log totaal suar hain". 2-Anurag Vishnoi sir is brother of Ashish sir. He usually teach for extra class and test sheet discussion. His famous phrases: "Aray bhai aap log to itne intelligent ho ki meri aankhen bhar aayi ; jo log baat kar rahe hain unke liye mujhe showroom mein ek chamchamata hua rikshaw dikh raha hai; yaar kabhi bhi aapke khandan me kabhi bhi koi jee me select nahi hoga

 Chemistry: 1-Nirmal Singh Sir, my favorite in all. The short and shiny T-shirts of Nirmal sir made him the most fashionable figure. Pink, Cream and Green color shine in the whole class. He seldom got angry but his comments were absolute to the point. He teases girls with his mild-mannered comments that make us laugh hard on the floor. How can one forget Nirmal sir ke wo fundoo association of ideas like Adla Badli (Ajnabee) or electron migration priority decision by using the example of Biwi no. 1. Chaudi kamar was used for ligands, the especially mugging trick for carbohydrate chapter "rekha aur amitab mile to lage thumka". 2-Pankaj Agrawal sir has got a reputation for having absolute knowledge of physical chemistry. But his repo was built on his misery than his lifestyle. He is more miser than 10 Uncle Scrooge standing together over a pile of money. We have known about his tussle with the income tax department every year. His typical posture was to take the assignment sheet in one hand and itch his head with another hand. Particular was the only word that was repeated at least 20 times per class. And asking everyone with a smile that shows frontline teeth 'Agar kar sakte ho to jee ke baare mein sochna warna bhool jao'. Sombody on orkut created a great abbrevation for him: P--Puchhunga, A--aata hai?, N--nahin aata!!, K--karo, A--aayega, J--JEE mein. Absolutely PANKAJ. Pankaj sir usually quote: "Photo nahi lagegi iit paper me. padna padega" & "ab main kuchh jano ko particular class se bahar karne wala hoon ab aap sambhal jayein." 3-Sanjay Chauhan famous for his cheap dialoges and command in organic chemistry. "ladkiyoon, pad lo... nahi padogi.. to chaati per baith kar padaunga... aur phir bhi nahi pada.. to chaati per kudoonga... taki dard ho.. shayad tab padogi...
--------------
I have not mentioned here O.P. Juneja , Sanjeev Rathore, Mahesh Singh Chauhan, Raj Kushwaha, Vivek, and G.D. Verma here. Also worth mentioning here is Cobra Sir for his popular pseudo name. But to end this article a quote from Kanpur coaching mandi come as "latest but most rocking "--36 hazar ka chadawa chada diya 3 bagvano ko,ab to selection pakka samaj gaye hain...............

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Kanpur Coaching Days

Within a radius of one kilometer, Kakadeo is the hub of the coaching mandi for JEE, MBA, Medical, etc having at least 20-30 coaching institutes. The classes are run by individuals teaching a single subject with a completely one-man show. Few people object to the name 'mandi' but it's like a fish market only. Coaching Mandi is the perfect name for it because the teachers are earning the butter not bread for them. When you go for admissions, people try to admit you to their institute with false advertisements and lucrative trial offers. It's altogether a mandi in which every teacher just wants students' admission, not in JEE, but in their institute. It was an urban legend that girls were used to seduce boys for admission in a few coaching centers. I and my friends tried in vain to find such lethal hunting beauties. My encounter with coaching mandi begins with JEE preparation.

Nalanda Hotel, Pamela Restaurant, Agra sweet house were my favorite places there. For others, love chaat of Hanuman chaat near Agarwal's (chemistry coaching) & search friends shop for cards. It was fun for coaching students to sit on the bike and have malai wali chai in winter after coaching classes. But to stalk beautiful girls with few appreciating words was favorite time pass of each boy. Now in Kakadev CCD's coffee, mandal ke momos or rock'n'roll 's patties are more popular. The lover point from JK temple has now changed to Rave Kakadeo. Time changes everything and makes you feel nostalgic about the past.

With my friends, I was engaged in various gossip ranging from academic degrees of coaching teachers to the ill-treatment of regular batch students by teachers. Fiercely debated discussion about the history of the expulsion of Ajay sir from IITK, the cheating scandal of Vishnoi sir at ITBHU, and the bank balance of Pankaj sir. I was in the league of those who wrath on Pankaj sir for giving no credit to Nirmal sir despite his sincere efforts. One of my best friends was dead sure that Pamela's restaurant was named after Pamela Anderson (most decent photo) ( why my friend likes her is self-explanatory). I always pray that 'Barb Wire' or 'Baywatch' star one day makes her presence in this part of the world for sightseeing.

Scenario Inside Classroom:

Getting Inside and capturing seats in the coaching centers was like a mission impossible. The toughest arena of the Kakadev region was chemistry classes by Pankaj Agrawal. There was always a small queue of 600 students arranged before class from the stairs to a small room on the first floor. We may have to wait for about 20 minutes before we enter the class. There was literally no place to stand & people all pushing over you from all sides. People at the back would push the whole line forward and people in front would push it backwards. The whole line starts oscillating in simple harmonic motion. If by the great grace of god, you are captured in the middle, then pray hard that you remain OK to attend the class. Even one of the most intense physical exercises would not give better health than the exercise you get in this short span of 20 minutes. If not blood then the sweat on clothes was enough signature of our struggle in the class. The 'staff' control rather tries to control the crowd with the additional responsibility of checking the I-card & checking unauthorized intruders.

Now the grand entry begins, a much enthusiastic crowd of film premier would be ashamed of the rush. The young Janta runs like hell, jumping over and under the railings, not caring for their life. Such scenes are rare to watch when students want to sit in front seats just to attend class. Somehow each time we crawl into the classes. Then, the saga of reserving seats for friends begins which can take a bloody end between young guns. The most difficult job for boys was to get to the next bench of the girl's row. Great battles have been fought for such issues between student gangs. It's no exaggeration but beauty Sensex declines gradually from the 12th batch to the regular batch and least in the ranker batch. It was amazing for us to stand on the edge of the desk and lean at angles extending up to 10 degrees for synchronizing his facial expression with his voice! What amazing balance we used to have to breathe and study in the crowded coaching rooms. The assignment sheets were full of questions that were distributed and mostly put in our register as a symbol of archaeological preservation. I have seen that even the toughest question of the sheet was done by some ingenious bastard. You get to know about amazing alien minds that few humans in your class only, possess. The thorough discussion with different styles by each teacher will be discussed in the coming post.

Till 2003, the classroom was non-AC. It was very hard to listen and involve in class after 2 hours. Then after the shout of 'bas bas' ,the important questions for JEE began to be discussed by teachers in all coaching centers at last moments. And, finally, the class was over after 3 hours. It was like more people running to the gate someway as they had entered, enthusiastically. They run as if they had been tortured in prisons for centuries...
I retreat slowly and still remember me gazing image of Celina Jaitley on Janasheen poster at Devaki Theater.....Uff!!! Nostalgia revisited and more will be coming... For information of readers, On Orkut, you could even find fans of Shuklain, the lady who manages the vehicle stand of Pankaj sir.
PS: Thanks to Orkut and blogs for a few minor data. Any good photos of the coaching mandi, please send me ASAP.

Do the Right Thing

I had taken a decision long ago to give 10% of my income to charitable cause. Yesterday, I fulfilled my oath and donated 10% of my first month salary to Ramakrishna Math. In this moment, I wanted to thanks my parents who do not burden me with any financial liability. I do not have very huge salary but I am much content with great friends, family and moderate income. I believe that there is something called as social responsibility. If I couldn't remain happy with 90% of my income, then spending full income on my pleasures is a lost cause. I have made only monetary contribution to the institution. The grass root involvement of mine with the underprivileged is far away dream. I hope that someday I can help in making a deprived child into good & responsible person. I propose all dear youth readers to at least get involved in some good social activity.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Post Slumdog


"Life is a bitch."-An Underdog

Aaj ka Bharat


श्वानों को मिलता दूध वस्त्र, भूखे बालक अकुलाते हैं
माँ की हड्डी से चिपक ठिठुर जाडों में रात बिताते हैं
युवती के लज्जा वसन बेच, जब व्याज चुकाये जाते हैं
मालिक जब तेल-फुलेलो पर, पानी सा द्रव्य बहाते हैं
पापी महलों का अहंकार, देता तुझको तब आमंत्रण..
Writer- Dinkar
Similar Reading...

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Where is God?


"लपक चाटते झूठे पत्ते जिस दिन देखा मैने नर को,
सोचा क्यों न आग लगा दूँ इस दुनिया भर को,
फिर सोचा क्यों न टेंटुआ घोंट दूं उस जगपति का,
जिसने यह घृणित स्वरुप दिया अपनी ही कृति को ।

writer:'Bal Krishan Sharma 'Naveen'.

How to enrich taste of the Good Cinema?


"No one is born with the brain of Truffaut, we grow as a cinephile in this world only." -Himanshu Rai (1985-)

Cinema as an art or a form of expression – including creative expression and timelessness. The understanding of film and filmmaking through critical, theoretical analysis (objective criticism) must be pursued. They are a bunch of heavy words, but 'how' is the main question.

Self-indoctrination in learning to 'read' a film involved watching films regularly, in various languages, from various corners of the world, ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime!. The versatile diversity of the cinema can be felt by watching movies in all languages (off-course subtitles embedded). You can feel the adrenaline rush of the action movie but sometimes pathos and ecstasy become memorable (ex- Life is Beautiful and The Truman Show). Movie watching is for open and broad-minded people. It has been never created for pseudo-intellectual or cult followers.

7 Point Tip:

1--*Money Matters*
-Do not go for a film by reading only one review/preview about a film. Read at least 5 to 10 reviews about it. Remember review/ preview is not only about the synopsis of the plot.

-Check the rating on IMDB or rotten tomatoes about the film. You will get a very sound idea about the genre and background theme of the film.

-Discuss the movie after watching it. Without sharing your feedback, the whole purpose of watching the film will be lost.

-It is not necessary for you to watch the first show on the first day unless you are a big fan of the artist or director. Wait for 2,3 days, and the word will spread by mouth to mouth about any movie. But do not get hooked by the strong conviction of friends as the taste of cinema is unique and individualistic.

-Watch NDTV Lumiere and UTV World Movies along with other English movie channels. And go for DD Loksabha for good regional cinema of India.

A few websites like Indianauteur, Senses of Cinema, Dearcinema, and Passionforcinema are fully devoted to cinema lovers. Personally, I always go through them for various references.

-Illegal way but download movie from the torrents.

2-Escapism & Counter Arguments:
There is an inherent laziness in the audience and critics about films that are "about" something. We settle into a comfortable position and expect easy plots or 'armchair' cinema. The passion and pursuit for quality are lost somewhere with a loss of curiosity and wonder. It’s not a film that can be judged only by how much it entertained you, rather it’s a film that should be judged by how it made you go home and feel guilty/joyous all over again, even years after viewing. Although films may entertain, they also educate, indoctrinate, and even captivate the mind. Realizing that a movie can be experienced from a variety of perspectives—cultural, ideological, and aesthetic. The knowledgeable filmgoer should approach the experience with a receptive mind, open to the possibility of not only entertainment but enlightenment.

3-Discover for excellence and quality in the search for true cinema:
Remember, all our lives, we have been asked to believe that "quality matters, not quantity"? Similarly, in the case of movies, it is the quality (content) of the movie that matters, not its running time or skin show. No one likes the pace of Pather Panchali on viewing 1st time at the tender age of 10. It appears to be slow and dragging. A 5-year-old child cannot even understand the poetry of Kahlil Gibran, leave the appreciation part. A boy learns the alphabet, sentences, grammar, and metaphors and progressively puts his emotions in words with the upcoming age. Finally, the child becomes matures to appreciate the poetry. The same rule holds for cinema lovers. He/She must search, discuss, and learn about good movies. One will generate a taste of his own in cinema viewing, a more unique in each sense gradually.

4-Perception:
When an average moviegoer starts watching films, he views the different images of his country both geographically and timely. The perception of India as the land of elephants, Maharajas, and snakes was projected first in Western films. Then it changed to the land of yoga, Kamasutra, ganja, and Hare Rama, Hare Krishna movement. Now it's being replaced by other images like the land of slums and IT professionals. The maturation of film lovers and filmmakers happens simultaneously.

5-Solitude provokes emotion:
Some movies like 'Shatranj ke Khilari' or 'Dead Poet's Society' require the right kind of mindset and environment to be involved with it. Those who want to watch the film should make it personal and private viewing. As lovemaking is different than sex, similarly the intimacy with the subtle layer of film is made possible in solitude. The mass gathering just camphorated the feeling inherited in the film due to several interruptions or distractions. When you sit alone in the darkened room, the right mood evokes the emotion from inside you. The pathos or gentle humor of the sound or scene is deeply absorbed by the subconscious. The sense of understanding cinematic art develops inside you. I am giving emphasis on the fact that one-to-one involvement with maestro/masterpieces gives a different sense of learning to student. The silence invokes an array of thoughts harmonized with a sense of wonder and appreciation. The aesthetic feeling grows and takes your ideas in a unique way.

6-Involve yourself in learning things refined and culturally rich:
Cinema is not created just as an idea or reflection of our lives but generated mainly by our association with the characters, story, and vision of mankind. Question the norm of society and sometimes also become outraged by asking the limits of art. When you are watching any movie, look for insightful meaning also. It will not happen in the first viewing but patience pays. Patronize art, as it brings inside out while fashion brings outside in. It will help you to understand the world around you and help in evolve from regional influence to a global point of view on any matter. Do not be stuck to your lingual films, but venture into another regional and international level. You have the full potential to understand anything.

7-Cinema is an art for those who believe the film is not only about entertainment but about taking it home in your mind and you have paid for the two hours. Give the thumb down to thumb rule of any critics. Think for yourself, if my 7 steps are flawed, refine them for a better version. Learn right, not rote.

Sorry for being rude in the end, If you like my opinions...Raise your hands, If not...then Raise your standards...!!!

'A guided tour is not a tour at all. You want to explore on your own. You want to move in the forest without any map, so that you can also be a discoverer, so that you can also come to some fresh spots for the first time. If you carry a map you always come to the spot where many have come before.'

PS:I have compiled the article by taking various lines from the widespread corner of the Internet and giving words to my personal experiences.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Born Atheist...




[Click Image for enlarge view.]
I was born atheist ,but religion ruined me...

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Musical Movies

You can consider me illiterate in my knowledge of English songs and western music.Previous musical English movies viewed by me were mainly biographic or romantic with music taking back seat,except Amadeus. The list goes like this:The Pianist, Ray, Walk the Line , Music and Lyrics & Leggenda del pianista sull'oceano, La long time ago.

I recently watched 4 movies of music genre depicting life of those attached to them. All of them were different but really very good attempt in honest film making. First 3 ones were purely musical in sense.In last one,the main character was closely associated to me.So these recommendation are for evolving 'Rock On!!' fans if they love music.
Almost Famous -Fantasy.An Excellent Original Insight Into The 70's Rock Scene.But I like cool and fantastic dialogues of this movie.Once -Reality. A nice, small & honest movie in a Low Budget Charmer.It is just making of song if looked through glasses of mind.The Commitments -Amalgam of fantasy and reality.Raw story of Rise and fall of Irish band. But the high point comes when a line touches the soul of the movie. A character 'Joey'quotes : You're missin' the point. The success of the band was irrelevant - you raised their expectations of life, you lifted their horizons. Sure we could have been famous and made albums and stuff, but that would have been predictable. This way it's poetry.
Now,High Fidelity changes all the perception about love and life.I do not exactly like it for music but the obsession of character with music brings me near to him.I associate with him very easily as me being highly addicted to movies.I am mirror image of that guy.Spoiler alert: I do not have any GF in my life till now like main lead of High Fidelity.

Just wanna say in end that ---
Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.
~Victor Hugo

Wah Kanpur,Ahh Kanpur!-5

The search about city of Kanpur has taken me to unexplored portion of Internet. It is really hard to find these web pages in google search. Yet somehow, I managed to bring brilliant post written in Hindi about this city. You only require knowledge of Hindi and Hindi [Devnagari] font for reading it. If you do not have fonts, download it from above website.

1-कानपुर तेरे कितने नाम…
2-झाड़े रहो कलट्टरगंज, मण्डी खुली बजाजा बंद
3-१८५७ के पन्ने: मदाम एन्जेलो की डायरी

Enjoy the Kanpur series on this blog and if you do not know Hindi,then read loosely translated version of articles 1, 2 & 3 .

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Wah Kanpur,Ahh Kanpur!-4

I was searching on article about Kanpur and found this gem. I am presenting here paragraph taken from the "A tale of many cities - A tale of just one city". It is a point of view from girl side, a rare feat on blogland.

You know you are in Kanpur when

1. You go to a mall, the city’s best and biggest, itching to spend some money and the only stuff you find to spend it on is some really oily dosa and half-boiled corn
2. A walk on the main road at 2 in the afternoon is punctuated by vulgar comments and some really vulgar comments
3. There is no transport that looks palatable, except if you want to make your journey with some suspicious looking characters in ten-seater tempo-vans. I dare you, especially after having had a sufficient dosage of the afore-mentioned vulgar comments
4. Every T,D and H (and by that I do not mean Tall, Dark and Handsome) dons a leather jacket
5. On the subject of leather, you see carts and trucks piled with leather shavings. You see towering tanneries dotting the landscape fortress-like
6. There are more educational institutes and coaching classes than tanneries
7. There are more chemists and angrezi dawakhane than educational institutes and coaching classes
8. There are more angrezi sharab ke theke than chemists

Like my Senior from Savories, I too fall in love with cities. I fall in love with the time having spent there, with the people.

That special Kanpuri accent, actually central-UP accent. Enunciate every word. Not like your Dilli-rajdhani that eats up half its words and blurs the edges of the remaining.

Nahi Bhaiiiyaa. Har ek shabd ko dabake boliye. Haan. Bilkul aiise hi. Kya samjhe?

For the first time in my life, I don’t feel I will be taken to be an outsider because I speak with the newspaper-wala and the dukaandaar and the traffic cop and the thanedaar in Hindi. Hindi is the local language here. (In Delhi, you don’t speak to anybody. I don’t know if they have devised an advanced technique of robbing you just by speaking to you).

Then there are the paan-walas of Kanpur. I saw a board which said - Ladies Paan Center. Go figure.

Oh, the milk-trains. UP and Bihar are not called the cow-belt for nothing. So everyday thousands of men from villages make their way to the towns and cities with their pitchers of milk. I saw a train the other day and the entire length of it had milk cans hanging from outside its windows.

Yes, I have lived in many cities and each one has a place, in my mind, in my memories.

I do feel like an outsider though.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Talk about Films

Statutory warning: This post is not for cinephiles. Read on your own behalf and brain storming in comments is not needed. After dedicating many years of life in watching cinema from bhojpuri to french lingua, I have made futile attempt for penning about typical films in punch lines.

Genrealization of commercial film texture from the World Cinema:

a Korean film: Mostly romantic, where humiliation and love always seem to share a symbiotic relationship.

a French film: Mostly Thriller, where very tight bound script with dynamic camera involves you till end with sensitive sex scenes.

an American (Hollywood) film: Mostly sci fic/action ,where hyper specialized persons working in a team to fight alien problem to save humanity with loads of ammunition.Horror films need special mention as Blood flows like water with scattered body pieces and sex part is quite wild & erotic in them.

an Italian film: Mostly memoirs which revolve around a character with nostalgic music filling the environment.

a Spanish film: Presence of homosexuals/surrealism almost guaranteed with strong female characters.

a British film: Depicting highly elite or common man lifestyle with a unique sense of humor or based on Shakespearean plot.

a Japanese film: Samurai stuff with characters having extreme pride with death integral part of the movie.

a German film: World war,Holocaust and Berlin wall. Nothing more ,nothing less.

a Chinese film: Hero skilled in Martial art at shaolin temple taking revenge on villain who had killed his master in past.

a Middle East film: They alienate or exile every good film maker in the name of Islam.

a Russian film: Every genre is touched to promote communist propaganda.Hell for free thinking artist.

an Indian (Bollywood) film: Zenith of emotional Drama and item dance with illogical adaption of plagiarized Hollywood script. Social message is must with honest gareeb lover fighting with corruption and mafia in the adrenaline charged jingoistic movie.

Ok, Enough of my talk about films. Let us now discover India. Do you know about India?
If you say yes,then surf other websites. If no, then you are welcome here to remove your ignorance. Read the conspiracy theory/urban legends about India written by genius bong : Urban Legends and Not Growing up - Part 1 & Part 2.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

I don't know

I don't know
How to say goodbye to mother,
Each time eyes become wet and tear rolls on the cheek.

I don't know,
How to express love to father,
Just lips are sealed each time in front of him,
Wishing to give him a hug one day.

I don't know,
how to tell your feeling of loneliness to sister,
when she will be gone to her new home after marriage...