Kush Srivastava's Blog, page 38

Papa Kehte Hain!

I am sure, you all must have heard this song from the movie Qayamat se Qayamat tak which became a rage the moment it hit the screen and made Aamir Khan a rising star, the chocolate boy who would soon conquer the Indian cinema in times to come.

What a journey it has been for the person hailing from a filmy family! As one would tend to imagine that the journey would have been a cake walk for the man, who of course had his godfathers in the industry.

But it was not to be. With the kind of defiant nature and a zeal to do things what was right according to him, the man treaded not so glorious a path. It was only after performances in movies like Dil hai ki maanta nahi and Sarfarosh that he was given his due recognition.

Even then, it was an era dominated by the likes of kuch kuch hota hai and DDLJ, and the Badshah was all set to charm the girls who would do anything after taking a vow over the kind of love that was depicted in his movies.

Things started to take a turn in a big way in favour of Aamir afterLagaan.Mr. Perfectionist, as he was being popularly called, started to assert his claim to thatnumero unoposition in Bollywood that had been previously held by the likes of Amitabh Bacchan and Shahrukh Khan.

All doubts regarding the box-office fate of his movies were soon dissipated and he was being considered a very safe and lucrative bet when it came to making money from movies.

With everything going in his favour, he surprisingly decided to restrict himself to a movie a year formula, going by his perfectionist nature, which was so contradictory to what most actors in the industry would have done at that time.

Critics warned him of his decision which according to them would prove to be a doomsday in the actor’s career. But God had surely scripted something very different for the man. Every movie that he did after became a super-duper hit.

Today, I am sure, if he looks back at what he has done, he will surely be proud of the collection of movies that he can proudly claim to be his.

And when we were all wondering as to what’s next, he conceptualized a show which was about to hit the very foundations of our society, at the same time, bringing out into the open, things that would otherwise be left not talked about sheerly because of the taboo associated with the same.

Some people amongst us criticize the man for what he has done to his personal life by getting divorced and for the amount that he might be charging for a episode of Satyamev Jayate.

No matter what be the criticisms, this man has done something which is surely quite different from what others in his position would have done. After all, why would one want to face the wrath of the orthodox section in our society, considering that one would otherwise be living a very peaceful and luxurious life?

He indeed is a man, who is truly inspirational to the so many in our society and deserve all the praise and respect in the World for being the man he is.

Source for Image: http://dailyfresh.in/qayamat-se-qayamat-tak-videos-songs/, http://www.koimoi.com/bollywood-news/satyamev-jayate-what%E2%80%99s-all-this-ruckus-about/

Understanding the Men Behind the Art

If you have ever been involved with constructing a house or getting done the woodwork or the interiors in a flat, you would know every bits of information that I will be mentioning henceforth.

With the kind of work environment provided to the workmen who are involved in the above e.g. carpenters etc., and with the kind of work prestige that comes along, they are bound to get unprofessional.

They are truly an unorganized work force, who live on a daily basis. They have no option but to work at the mercy of their agent or the contractor, who tends to get the major part of the profits, leaving these artists a very meagre amount in which they have to sustain not only themselves but also their families, residing either in the slums of the city or their native villages.

This coupled with the fact that the skill set they possess is not because of any professional training that they might have got through the various government non-functioning schemes, but because of being involved on site with their brethen, makes them sometimes a target of the ire that the client might have built in him/her because of the quality of the work that might have resulted.

What follows is a series of quarrel between the client, the contractor/agent and the workmen. The client takes it out on the contractor who according to the client is supposed to fulfill his/her part of the deal (by the way, in most situations there is no deal of sorts and the work gets done on a purely verbal understanding).

The contractor, since he/she is bound by his/herwords tends to take it out on the poor workmen who have no option but to listen to the wrath being taken out on them. The workmen are sometimes aware of the lack of skills they have, but they end up not doing anything about it because of the sheer absence of alternatives available to them.

What follows is a total chaos. The client gets upset because his/her work doesn’t get completed to his/her satisfaction and liking. The contractor is upset because of the things that he/she might have to listen to (though they have got pretty much used to the bickering and are only concerned with making money these days). The workmen of course are a disadvantaged lot and have no where to go to.

Seeing the above, the need of the hour is to have a professional organization which can organize things for these craftsmen, who can register themselves in the same and can be assured of an equitable and continuous source of earning.

The perception of the so called well-off in our society needs to be changed and they should be sensitized towards the plight of these workmen, at the same time, a respect for the very work should be made to develop amongst the lot.

The government needs to become responsive to the needs of such labour by introducing well planned schemes which can enable these workmen to develop appropriate skill set required in the profession that they are pursuing, which would in turn help them in developing self-confidence.

This would ensure that the workmen would no longer be considered the dirty lot and would get their due, of which they have been deprived off since centuries now.

Source for Image: http://www.dartblog.com/data/2010/10/009220.php, http://quinn-tasteandsee.blogspot.in/2011/12/i-am-carpenter.html

Raining Cats and Dogs

Its not often that you get up after hearing the reverberating sound of the cloudburst. And today was one such morning. To my delight, the rain Gods had taken over the charge and were all out to bring some relief to the ever increasing temperature that had hit the city in the past couple of weeks.

To give me company in my garden were all sorts of animals and insects which one can imagine in an ambience provided by a domestic garden. And my favourite amongst them all, kutkut, the little squirrel that I have talked about in my previous posts, was present along with the other animals.

By the way, kutkut has increasingly become fond of me and is not anymore scared to come near me. I guess, thats how animals tend to develop relationships with people, taking their own time and by treading a cautious path.

On one hand, where all the above was bringing smiles to my face, on the other hand, I was extremely upset to see the state of drainage system in my city, which is by the way the capital of the largest populated state in India, and can be taken as a representative of most cities in India including the metropolitans, when it comes to getting affected by the rainy season.

It was disappointing to see the man holes over flowing and the streets getting clogged with water, finding no way whatsoever to escape the bitumnious and concrete pavements. As a result, one could witness long traffic jams in the centre of the city during the office hours. People could be seen arguing and abusing due to incidents like water being splashed on their clothes.

There are some amongst us who have already given into the lack of responsiveness on part of our administration. And then there are some who keep criticizing the administration, primarily the Municipal Corporation for not doing what they are supposed to be doing.

What surprises me the most is that every year, the same situation is repeated, yet no one seems to be able to provide a solution to this periodic problem. Is it due to lack of interest on part of our administration or is it just because they aren’t capable of providing a solution to the problem?

Whatever might be the case, I am sure that there are enough funds which, if appropriately used, can definitely provide the much needed relief to the people during the Monsoon season.

But is our administration listening?

Source for Image: http://ikanbela.blogspot.in/2010/04/tips-for-installing-and-maintaining.html, http://www.megamedianews.in/index.php/61008/rains-continue-in-dk-water-clogging-at-several-places-in-mangalore/

Seek the Right Person

There was a time when, one would have to wait for a week or even a month before some news could be delivered via the medium of letters. One used to wait to hear that tring tring emanating from the bicycle of the very man in uniform whom we used to call postman.

Times have changed. One, no longer, needs to wait for a piece of news. Instead, it can be delivered instantaneously using the various mediums that are available to us.

Indeed, it has led to a revolution when it comes to exchanging information and has in turn enhanced the ability of a person to respond quickly to a situation or to take an ad-hoc decision.

Where there have been so many pros, some elders in our society have a totally different take on the same and this pertains more to a sociological point of view.

According to them, the revolution in IT and Communications has led to increase in fights and dissent amongst the members of a family.

In older times, since the information could not be transmitted so easily, one tended not to take advice or be guided from others and in turn was forced to developing their own thinking and their own perceptions about a thing or a situation.

Now a days, according to the elders, everytime there is a fight in a family or amongst its members, what one does is to resort to making a phone call to the nearest person at hand.

What it does is, that the family matters tend to sneek out of the enclosures provided by the walls of a house. In case the person from whom the advice is being seeked is a well-wisher, things tend to normalize as he/she tends to give theappropriateadvice.

But, if the person is not a well-wisher then he/she might tend to create all kinds of issues in the family, thereby creating a divide amongst its members, at the same time ensuring that the family is exposed to public gaze, which can have deadly societal consequences.

Thus, what the elders would like to suggest is that family matters should be resolved within the chaar-diwari.

On one hand, where talking to the right person might lead to release of stress and frustration emerging from a situation, on the other hand it can end up real bad if the person from whom the advice is seeked turns out to be a crook.

With the kind of society that we are living in and with the kind of taboo attached to seeking professional help, one needs to bring a change in the perception associated with the act of going to a psychiatrist or the act of seeking professional help e.g. going to a counsellor.

This will not only help reduce the various problems emanating because of stress and tension but would also help in maintaining stability in our society.

Source for Image: http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-image-royalty-free-stock-image-finding-right-person-image15849016

Inspiration: A Means to an End

En route to my normalcy yesterday, I happened to meet a guy who in all senses of the word is truly an inspiration to the so many who feel down and out after a defeat or a failure.

He had failed in his previous five consecutive attempts to clear CAT, which is considered to be one of the toughest examinations in our country and this time it was his sixth attempt.

With so many attempts and so many rejections/failures at hand, any normal person would have slid into the dark corridors of anonymous life, not even wanting to try to get out of the series of failing endeavours.

But, as it is often said, this man had it in him to emerge from the situation. What was most inspiring, when I was having a conversation with him, was to see how well he had conceptualized the very meanings of success and failure and how apt he had become at moving on in life.

Everytime he failed, unlike many of us, instead of going into reminiscing about his luck he made sure that he would not ignore his mistakes that led to such a failure.

This in turn enabled him to bounce back with a renewed and a recharged motivation. With the sole goal of wanting to get into the IIMs, he deprived himself from any other option that he might be able to avail of.

It is relatively easy to get over a first or even a second time failure, but here we are talking about not one or two but five consecutive failures in a row. On being asked the very same question as to how he managed to get over five consecutive failures, his answer was:

“I didn’t have many options left. Moreover I thought that no one can go back and make a brand new start. What anyone can do, though, is to start from now and make a brand new ending.”

Source for Image: http://www.worldhum.com/features/speakers-corner/inspiration-travel-writing-and-lesprit-frondeur-20100216/

Back ;)

When I woke up this morning, a sign board was staring at me and it said “welcome to Lucknow”. It was only then that I realized that my honeymoon time had come to an end and normalization was about to be restored in my life.

It was indeed a wonderful and a much awaited break. Ranging from the valleys to the mountains and from lakes to casinos, nothing was left untouched and unexplored. The magnamity of the mountains and the enigma thereof is still very much inscribed on my mind. Guess, I will take a couple of days more to reconcile myself to my native ambience.

Where there is reminiscence taking place in one part of my brain, the other part is for sure preparing me to get down to the business end of life. Strange as it might sound, our brains have their own unique way of bringing stability to our consciousness.

Another phase of life is about to begin and am all set and charged up after this wonderful break to take on the various challenges that I am sure are soon going to hit me headon .

Source for Image: h ttp://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-images-royalty-free-stock-images-welcome-back-balloons-image10039649

Break Time!

Yesterday, thinking that it would indeed be a surprise for my dear friend Saty when he would listen to my latest revelation, I decided to call him up:

“Hi buddy! Guess what! I am taking a week off.”–Me

“Ya, I knew it. In fact, I was wondering why you hadn’t given me the news earlier. A week has gone by and I was really worried whether you are alright for not having told me about your latest travel plans. Being a guy that you are, its always a break time for you. So What’s new in this? “–Saty

“Come on man! I don’t roam around so much. After all, everybody takes a break, right!”–Me

“Of course! Everyone do take a break but not so often and certainly not every week.”– Saty

“Well! I guess it’s a hereditary thing. I can’t help it. Its a generational thing and how I can disrespect my forefathers for breaking the tradition.”– Me

“Ya! Right! As far as I know and I certainly know this that no one in your family is as ghummakad as you are. So, stop blaming your genes for your ghummakad virus that has hit you since you left India.”– Saty

“Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! But haven’t you heard that life is a journey and is meant to be such.”– Me

“Ya, I have heard this before, of course from your Highness at least a hundred times before, for everytime you try to convince me as to why it is absolutely necessary for you to go for an outing, you use the same philosophical line from your very own dicitionary and throw at me as if it was a Cupid’s arrow.”–Saty

“And everytime it works, right! “– Me

“Well! Well! Well! “–Saty

I stopped Saty before he could carry on with his well’s for I didn’t want him to go on and on with blah blah blah anymore .

After having finished my conversation with Saty, I thought of pondering over my latest travel plans. But on second thoughts, who cares , for I am all set to take off for a week and would come back after a week’s time.

Till then keep rocking for there is and there will be no such thing as life. So believe in living it to the fullest .

Source for Image: http://lookatmyhappyrainbow.blogspot.in/2011/04/break.html

Kuch to Log Kahenge

In a democracy every one is encouraged to have an opinion on things ranging from politics to what not. But does it give us the right to speak out our opinions about others which might create unnecessary pressure on them or might lead to them having a negative opinion of themselves?

Take for instance a child who had appeared for a competitive examination and was unable to qualify in the same. Our society leaves no opportunity whatsoever to have a go at the child and his/her parents either by drawing comparisons with someone who could qualify or blatantly speaking out their negative thoughts and opinions in front of the grieved.

Why is it that we become so negative and tend to lose our humanity when it comes to making fun of others or drawing pleasure from others’ sufferings? Why is it that our jealousy tends to conquer our minds so as to ignore the virtues that is characterisitcly found only in humans because of the way we have evolved over a period of time? Is it because of the competitive environment that has gripped all of us and has made us participate in this rat race?

During my college days, I always found the relative system of grading causing a divide, jealousy and enmity amongst batchmates. It was all about pulling the other person down in order to move up the ladder (a thing which is very much visible in the corporate world).

The team spirit which is extremely essential for not only development at the micro level but also when it comes to building a national outlook and a secular frame of mindset seems to have taken a beating.

What follows thereafter is back stabbing in competitve environments and a negativity that seems to pervade over all of us.

The questions that need to be asked and answered are: “Where the hell are we heading as a society? Are we as parents behaving in a manner so that the child learns the right things by observing us? What are we doing to ensure that this negative tide is made to come to a halt?”

Source for Image: http://vsthepomegranate.blogspot.in/2009_09_01_archive.html

The Last Phase

TV serials can sometimes be quite inspirational when it comes to writing. Yesterday, I was watching one such serial, courtesy my dear mom , in which the kids don’t really appreciate taking the responsibility of their parents and want to part ways from them by hook or crook.

This made me wonder as to what is the kind of thought process that a person has at such an age. What is it that he or she might desire during this last phase of his/her life? What is it that can keep them happy during the twilight days of their life? What emotional trauma they go through when their own children treat them as a burden and don’t want to take care of their own parents?

How often do we find cases where children become so selfish that they find it convenient ignoring the same people who gave their lives just to see their kids happy and becoming successful.

How is it that people can ignore what their parents have done for them? How can they ignore the sleepless nights that their parents have had when they had fallen sick? How can they ignore the compromises that their parents made in order to fulfill a wish that they might have expressed?

It leaves me in utter disgust when I see people such as the above. More than being disgust, I am amazed as to how a person can so easily forget the wonderful times they have spent in the protective and cosy environment provided by their parents.

Amongst the parents who are deserted by their children, some are able to take care of themselves based on the wealth they have accumulated during their professional life. But there are some who have not been successful enough to have the means to sustain themselves during their old age.

The latter end up being in old age homes provided by our government and a few NGOs, some of which are in a pathetic state due to lack of funds in some cases and more due to the utter negligence on part of the authorities.

This brings us to a point where we can put three fold questions:

1st to the children: “How can you ignore the love and affection that was showered on to you during your growing up years?”

2nd to our government: “How can you ignore the various contributions made by the same people when they were young and who contributed towards country’s GDP?”

3rd to our society: “Is this the kind of social set up that one wishes to see and maintain for thegenerations to come and is this the kind of norms and values that one wishes to pass on to the next generation?”

The questions such as the above still remain unanswered. What matters most though is that people should realize that they need to: hold the hands of the people in their last phase of life who held their hands when they could barely walk.

Source for Image: http://www.merinews.com/article/old-age-homes-bane-or-boon-/157222.shtml; http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050331/asp/calcutta/story_4553153.asp

Life!

Do you remember the famous dialogue from 3 Idiots: “Life is a race…”. Have you ever wondered about this whole period in which we are supposedly giving effect to our consciousness and the decisions made by our consciousness, which by the way we all call life.

In my quest to have a better understanding of the phenomenon, I decided to analyze the life cycle that is common to most of us. It all starts when we decide to jump into the arena called World.

Soon after, we are well taken care of by our parents/guardians. By the time we realize that we are capable of taking our own decisions we have already spent around 14 to 15 years of our lives.

What follows after is a plethora of profession oriented activities that we need to take if we desire to have a luxurious life style.

By the time we are so called settled in our lives by getting married and by having a family of our own, we try to prepare ourselves for living our childhood once again through the eyes of our sons or daughters.

Before we can realize and by the time our children settle down in their own lives, we are already 60 or so and thereafter become engrossed in our preparation to meet the Almighty.

Strange as it might sound, the entire cycle is pretty much the same for most of us. Those who are able to accomplish the various goals intended to be fuflilled (based on the societal standards and norms for different stages of life) are so called successful and those who aren’t are left to repent for the very fact that they failed in their lives.

Whatever might be the state of affairs that we get involved in during our lifetimes, one thing is for sure that life has always and will continue to fascinate us beyond the very meaning of fascination itself.

Source for Image: http://thedeenshow.com/