We are like this only...

Saturday 22nd of May 2010… 6.30 am.

The World woke up to one of the deadliest and unfortunate air tragedies in Mangalore. Air India Express flight 812 from Dubai to Mangalore, carrying 166 passengers, got completely burnt, and killing 158 people and eight miraculous survivors.

A completely disturbing day. Nevertheless it was one with intense passion, emotion and vigor. Ardent about the tragedy that overcomes all of us Indians as one of our craft crashes in Mangalore. Passionate about all those who lost their lives in the crash. Fervent about the families, relatives and friends of the victims. Zealous about our own family and friend’s safety!

All natural calamities, freak accidents, man made catastrophes follow a simple straightforward pattern in our minds… One that instigates us to immediately think about Ourselves First! A tragedy, an accident and our thoughts first go to whether there were any of ours involved. Family, friends, and people we know. After that has been cleared of our minds we then move the next step… Expressing the correct sentiment at the correct time… condemning the tragedy and the rest. Prayers for the departed, condolences to the bereaved family and sympathy to those that suffered because of the disaster.

An entire day spent in the repercussion of the plane crash tragedy, thanks to the unremitting drilling from the electronic media… How insensitive can TV channels be… some even when to the extent of stating that THEY were the first to reach the hospital, where the injured were housed… Well how does that matter?? So that we can have live coverage of people being operated on?? So that we can barbarically continue to watch burnt, charred bodies of the victims? Respect!! Respect the Victims, their families, who can you show such visuals for the sake of higher viewer rating?? How?? Channels are ONLY interested in selling itself, than actually reporting the tragic circumstances. Something similar to time of 9/11 attack/ Mumbai attack and many more!!

From Morning to Evening, they continued showing a same burnt, body of a kid and this was shown over and over again… But why?? What did the poor child do? She/ He died?? Is that all??

What we fail to understand is that these are instances, GOD, proves to us that he is still the ultimate, and Omnipotent and nothing or no one can change that!! We are shown proof of our mortality in such ways… We need to consider that as hard as if it to see once End right in front of their very own eyes, its harder to go like this… It’s a trauma already for all those people related to them and otherwise to see such a sight! To think they were to land safely and in a few minutes be with their family and friends and instead they are on every Single TV Channel… shown in the most disrespectful and insolent way… It truly pains me… Sad Sad Sad Day!

It’s a Shame, that *WE* are like this only!!!

Spiritual FERVOR!!!

Does your religion affect your daily life???

May be NOT! But it sure does if you’re Rama! In The Ramayana, Gods and religion play an important role in the Indian life!!! The Indian here being Shree Rama. Having encounters with a REINCARNATED beings, talking to one of the multiple gods, or assuming another form to make life easier are different ways in which the Indian religion *Hinduism* affected Rama’s daily life.

Respect by definition means, “to feel or show high regard for”. As a result of our intense belief in reincarnation, we Indians have (rather should ideally have) a greater respect for life, animals, and each other!! Hinduism preaches non-violence in general. It considers even trees and plants are worth worshipping because of its cherished value it passes to the human kind.

We need to realize that we will only be in their current form for one lifetime, and therefore cherish all life greatly, deeply, seriously and genuinely. We know that most ordinary men would not explain right from wrong and good morals to a monkey, but Rama did. Why?? Since the Indian culture has respect for all beings, Rama knows/ believes a monkey possesses enough astuteness and intelligence to understand this, and that is why he explains morals to Vali as if he were a human. While Rama explains this to Vali he says, “I am not misled by either your explanation or appearance of being a monkey…” There is a Greater meaning to this… We need to learn from this sequence the importance of treating each and every one equally and with respect!

But as educated, modern young Indian Hindus, what do we do? We LAUGH loudly and often ridicule our culture, mythology and History! I have seen innumerous shows, reality, stage shows and comedy shows portraying Shree Rama, Sita, Draupadi, and Krishna in a BAD light! Why??? It’s our ignorance that makes us scoff at things we are not completely aware of…

Since OUR culture appreciates every tiny aspect of life, we HAVE a god to go along with every phase of life!!! We Hindus believe in multiple gods who each have different roles, such as the god of death, fire, wind, etc, but it s a known fact that GOD is one!! There is only one Omnipotent! The representation of these multiple Gods is for servicing a different purpose altogether. Each god is addressed separately and has an important position. At one point in the Ramayana, Sita says, “O Agni, great god of fire, be my witness!!” After that, Sita threw herself into the fire, and instead of dieing, the god of fire protected her and left her unharmed since she was PURE! Because of her close relationship with her god, she was able to vindicate herself. If one’s heart is pure and intentions are right, GOD is always with you, in one form or the other! Isn’t it?

Assuming other forms is a privilege of the gods, or a power hey can confer on others. This tremendous power is used to their advantage, but it is also deceiving to others. When Ravana wanted to capture Sita, he assumed the form of a Sadhu (Saint) and lured Sita. Another time, When King Mahabali was to be kept in check, Lord Vishnu assumed the form of Vaman, a small poor Brahmin lad and asked for land the size of three of his footsteps, and when his wish was granted he then transformed into a giant! It teaches us to transform ourselves to effectively deal with the different situations in life! Close scrutiny will show us that most ''crisis situations'' are opportunities to either advance, or stay where you are.”!!! From our Hindu Culture and mythology we learn how to ADVANCE!

Religion and gods affect US Indians daily. Dharma and Karma, these two issues work wonderfully in our daily lives. Over and above, this Religion gives freedom to one and all, to choose their form of worship and that too without any compulsions. Here, one is free to adhere to his faith or FREE himself from the religious routines. It is left to an individual to accept any faith or belief he needs or reject it in Total. Does any other religion give you this much of freedom? In India, one creates his own God and worships Him too. That much of freedom one enjoys! And I think that right there is the PROBLEM!

Btw, does your religion affect your daily life???? Think ABOUT it… :)

Om, Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi!

It’s not HOT enough, Is it??

SALMAN KHAN and KATINA KAIF have been voted the Hottest Bollywood Couple of the last decade in an online poll conducted by a POPULAR website.

I found this article particularly amusing considering the Fact that the two people concerned have never actually gone on record and ever admitted that they are DATING. They have never once said that they are in love or that they like each other or anything of that sort. But of course, we have gone ahead and taken the liberty of assuming they are a couple and actually bestowing them with the HONOR (If I may).

Despite all the lovey-dovey public appearances, star couples Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan lost out to SATRINA when it came to being the 'hottest Bollywood couple' of the decade. Couples like Kajol and Ajay Devgan, Ayesha Takia and Farhan, etc do not even feature in the list. Actually what have they done? They have JUST got married and had babies… That’s all nah? No controversies, no fights, spits nothing at all!

The public's fixation with the love lives of celebrities reveals the hidden desires of our society, and ubiquitous access to the Internet has caused news or rumors to spread at the speed of light. The public has grown used to more scandalous and sensational revelations, that they are not a bit interested about the normal, sane couples.

But a closer look at all of the comments posted on the Internet reveals the prevailing mentality among people who look at social mishaps and outbursts rather than the genuine feelings two people may have for each other.

Too many people judge celebrity couples with money as the sole gauge. When a female celebrity marries into a wealthy family – many of them these days seem to get hitched to scions of the large conglomerate families -- people often post snide comments, saying the rich family actually has no power in the business empire controlled by their relatives or that the actress probably married because of the vast real estate owned by her in-laws since her husband's company is nothing ELSE to brag about. (Example – One Ms. Shetty!)

When a famous actress marries a humble office worker, people say her husband's father-in-law must be a powerful figure in his home town. When two celebrities get married, people start comparing the amount of TV ads they were in to deduce which one is bringing more money into the marriage.

Times have changed, and even celebrities are NOW getting attracted to each other by that mysterious thing called LOVE. Then why do people insist on viewing celebrity couples through ONLY materialistic lenses?

Perhaps the way we view celebrity couples reflects the way we secretly view those around us. Maybe we have become so jaded that love has degenerated into an emotional scheme to find a wealthy partner, and this characteristic of ours is being manifested in our vicarious fixation on these CELEBRITY COUPLES.

But honestly, Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif?? Grunt!

Classified *PURSUIT*!!!

I have a problem, or the question is do I? I HATE competition! I completely, entirely and wholly depise comparing and competing with others. I feel it belittles us, belittles the art/ genre based on which we are comparing or competing with x, y or z. What we are doing/ trying to do/should be doing is to contribute to this world, contribute to the field that we are proficient in, and serve for the betterment of the current generation. I know, I know you must be thinking “Ohh… Okay she is yet again placed on her high moral pedestal and is all preachy!" But hey I am just serving my PURPOSE! ;)

It’s commonly said that both competition and cooperation play a significantly large role in the advancement of society, be it in the business arena or in the non-business areas. Yes true, it does. Right from the very beginning people around us continuously force us to compete, be it to improve ourselves or to improve their image in front of others at our expense. Think about it! Competition can have severe detrimental effects. I have seen people of different age groups, getting unnecessarily worried, angry and disturbed over someone else’s success. I firmly believe children/ people should be taught/try to COOPERATE rather than to COMPETE.

First of all, cooperation is, I believe an extremely important skill which needs to be instilled into our lives. We humans are gregarious animals, we will need to live with other people throughout our lives, since we will not and can not study alone, work alone, nor spend our leisure time alone. If we do not know how to effectively cooperate with our classmates, colleagues, and other family members, then we CAN very well lose our one and ONLY chance to live happily.

Furthermore, cooperation is a significant and momentous contributing aspect to the development of our society. While competition generally ends in a win-lose result, cooperation advocates that one plus one is larger than two, three or even a larger number.

For example, the competition of two people running individual businesses would ultimately lead to the result that one becomes stronger and the other fails and goes out of business. However, if they cooperate with each other successfully, they may group together to form an enterprise larger than the mere sum of the two. The more successful cooperation there is, the better the society develops.

Admittedly, competition also plays a noteworthy role in many areas. Stressed by the competition, individuals struggle to survive, and so they are forced to make improvements and develop. But should one be forced into doing things??? Is that how things should be done? Forcefully??

From the very beginning I have never felt the need to be competitive in life. I can’t follow instructions. Clearly most people in this world don’t see things MY way. For Most people COMPETITION is no laughing matter. Fair Enough! But I fail to understand who are you competing with?? Is there a definite end to this fight?

I compete with ONE person alone in this WORLD! Myself! I love the fact that I RUN my very own Private Race! HA!

The Return of Rock STAR!!!

Pepper: “Are you googling her??”

Tony: “Funny I thought I was Ogling her!!”

  

Robert Downey Jr.!!! Oh my god!! He is MORE of a Rock Star than ever before!! Surely he is having the time of his Life! His career couldn’t be more successful, after having recently winning streak at the box office, its one success story after another, Iron Man, Tropic Thunder, Sherlock Holmes and the much applauded The Soloist and Zodiac and Now the IRON MAN II.

The man is 42 years for heaven’s sake but can definitely give a lot of young men an extreme complex of sorts. He looks absolutely delicious and so appealing in the movie! It’s hard to concentrate on what he doing at times thanks to his awesome features! :)

I personally feel it’s the tenor, quality, superiority of Iron Man that truly makes the movie a complete champion. Robert Downey has demonstrated the fiery side of Tony Stark, but with a whole lot of humor content. The second edition of the Iron Man II, picks up six months after he's revealed his identity to the world. He is obliviously facing a lot of complex issues both physical and mental and also finds himself at the brunt of innumerous diverse divisions:

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  The government has decided the Iron Man is incapable of being the sole owner of the Suit (or the high tech prosthetics as Tony calls it) and that he should hand it over to the United States of America reckoning it to be a Weapon.
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  Stark's has competition in the form of Justin Hammer, is also after the Suit,
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  Then there is the crazy, tattoo covered Russian physicist Ivan Vanko who is seeking revenge on Stark,
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  Also his best pal Col. Rhodes is completely unhappy with Tony's partying ways and real MATURE behavior; and lots more!!

 Indisputably, it has been one of the most anticipated sequels and movies of the year; "Iron Man 2" had definitely had quite a bit of expectations to meet. After the fist movie, both the Director and the entire Cast has really left most of us look forward see if they can match up if not exceed the last movie’s potential. I Think "Iron Man 2" is phenomenally successful in terms of conveying the same attitude, nature, tenor as well as the impetus from the first movie, but different in its own right as well!

At the film's opening, (or rather from where we saw it… lol… as usual we were LATE again,) we are reintroduced to Robert's Stark, as he very charming addresses the adoring masses in a keynote speech at his profligate Stark Expo. This very sequence it self gives us a glimpse of his new modified suit and its graphics are definitely worth a watch!

The character growth and progress in the movie is definitely A grade, it doesn't merely fall back on what was shown in the first movie, but instead it instills real personal conflicts into the mix as well. It has been reflected by showing Stark being poisoned by the technology that he uses to survive, which in turn has him acting compulsively as well as erratically, it puts his relationships with Pepper Potts and Rhodes under strain as well.

Robert is completely and truly at the top of his game with the character that has successfully taken his career to another level, he plays Stark with the renewed arrogance and swagger but also effectively showcasing a more sensitive side, a new-found depth of humanity. It’s the awkward chemistry between them that works so well both in the first movie and in this one.

Another note worthy performance was by Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer, playing quite the perfect counterpoint to Downey's Stark - just as funny and eccentric, but with far less conscience. It's quite a shame there aren't more scenes between the two well-matched actors.

One of the good things about the movie is that everything happens in this story for a reason, and it never feels like it's just a matter of trying to sell toys!!

Scarlett Johansson is looking absolutely sexy and has the most amazing screen presence! The sequence when she hands Stark a martini and asks if it's dirty enough for him, is particularly striking.

The Makers of the movie definitely manage quite well to pull all of the numerous characters together as these characters finally converge into an extremely satisfying final action sequence, the last thirty minutes of the movie literally exploding into a full-out war sequence!

Iron Man II is a fun and entertaining summer movie, with amazing gadgetry, initiation of new characters, the beautifully executed action scenes. (Monaco Grand Prix – Watch out for it!) There's enough and more brilliance on display to leave you wanting more as well.

In my opinion, Iron Man was practically flawless as a super hero flick; its maker’s also drop some pretty obvious sequel hints too… I’m thinking the next one should be equally great!!

One has to try really hard so as not to fall in LOVE with this MAN. His mannerisms, magnetic charm, vigor, wittiness, youthfulness and immensely egoistical behavior are astonishingly CAPTIVATING! It’s also difficult NOT to see the similarities Robert Downey Jr. and Tony Stark!! High Expectations from the THIRD edition!! :D