डोर...A thread that ties two hearts

"यह होंसला...कैसे झुके....यह आरजू...कैसे रुके..
मंजील मुश्किल थो क्या...धुन्दला साहील थो क्या...तनहा यह दील थो क्या....हो...."

Dor, the movie takes you through a whirlwind of emotions, making you smile at the innocence of life and also scorn at the conservatism that still prevails within the rural hearts of this so called "super power of the future". It narrates the story of Zeenat, an independent woman who has struggled on every step in her life, but maintains all bonds of relationships to the best possible by her. The other woman who takes stronghold in this tale is that of Meera, a girl brought up by all the strict values and traditions that a Rajput woman is to be upholding. Both of them were living a dream until one day, the dreams are shattered when Meera's husband dies in Dubai who is supposedly murdered by Zeenat's husband. Zeenat's husband can be spared the "last mile" if a letter signed by the room-mate's wife, stating that she forgives the act committed by him, is handed over to the officials of Dubai, where he was working as a truck-driver before being sentenced to death. Now the responsibility of saving her love from the clutches of death forms the main part of the story. In any other bollywood movie, you would expect the usual melodrama of everyone crying and then the other woman, unable to bear the brunt of the first, ends up signing the letter and actually gets to be happy about it. what else do u expect to see in a bollywood movie?

Agreed that most this happens in DOR too, but without all the melodrama and the endless torrents that flow through the eyes of the leading ladies. it is just the sheer brilliance and the way the movie progresses that at no point of time you feel that you are disconnected from it. From the initial scenes of tender bonding between the two women and their respective spouses, to the indelible sisterhood between the two women that forms the end-notes of this surreal dream, the director's tale of this wistful journey is as fragile as it's powerful. this is evident in the sequence where the woman is transformed to a widow from a bright bride in days and opens her dead husband's suitcase is remarkable and leaves behind a distorted sense of disharmony. There are moments of unbearable distress in the film. the female bonding scenes between Ayesha Takia and her dead husband's grandmother are conveyed with a refreshing genuineness. the movie brings out sublime situations that belong only to a world that the director has created out of the finest threads of humanity and empathy.

But it's the sisterhood that is shared between Takia & Panag which sustains the narrative. Both the actresses have given outstanding performances, with Ayesha raking in more sympathy votes for the sheer poignancy of her character's position. Scenes such as the one where she falls unconscious when she hears the news of her husband's death over the only cell phone in the village, or the one where she innocently dances to "You're my sonia" playing on the radio, stay etched in our minds even after the film.

Conclusion: Nagesh Kukunoor comes up with an amazing world-class movie in Dor, which is very beautiful and uplifting. It is the kind of film that caters to the multiplex and the international audiences. I'm really grateful to the filmmakers for bringing the real women of India so up close and personal with us and making the people realise that the woman whose face is covered by a dupatta has a personality, a fire and love within her, which is often suppressed by the society. Nagesh Kukunoor’s Dor proudly represents our country in the circuit of world cinema.

Orkutaaya Namaha!

Boy is ORKUT on a roll or what! Looks like everyone who made it might as well take steroids to get rid of the high!! And why not, every one in India is just glued onto it...right from all the children in their high school to all the dudes(read duds) and women(read wuss') who think that they are as young as their sons or daughters in college! Jokes apart, this kind of obsession, that is makin these people addicted to the so called "social community", is turning people into maniacs who would not think twice before scamperin up a tree, only to gain acceptance in the so called virtual world created by some person who is on the lookout for his long-lost love. I mean..come on people, if u really wanna talk to some friends...why not hang out at a coffee place or go to the movies! and puhleezzz, dont give me the cliched phrase that -"we dont have the time", coz if u really didnt have the time...u wdnt be wastin it online...

I dont understand why people fail to realize that such a social community actually causes more harm than good. I believe that people should once in a while stop and ponder about why they are living such a precarious life and how they can improve it, rather than just gettin a homepage which is full of half-cooked lies and actually be proud about it. One question to all such people would be as to "why has this sudden need to put yourself into this virtual world full of pea-brained perverts who would jerk off the minute they saw a picture of a girl, make its way into your mind and how can you actually be smug about it?"...i just hate to ponder over that!!

By this time half of you are already grossed out by the graphic descriptions given so far and are on the verge of throwin up. I agree, and so is the shit in which all of us have suddenly been thrust into by these hyped up "communities". Some may add that "usually this is the influence of the western culture"...also sayin that if things like this existed, people would opt for these things. then id wanna ask them, if u didnt opt for somethin like this in the first place, then why would somethin like this exist in the first place and even if it did, it would have to be shut down, wouldnt it?? Also, ask any guy whether he had gone through a girl's profile he didnt know, for all the obvious reasons...and wat answer do you get??BINGO..!

And now comin to some of the tricks of the trade ---- u know javascript??cool, then you can increase your fan count by how-much ever you want!! Scrapbook low on scraps??? javascript would help u there too!! want a funky profile??? let someone else design wat u can call ur "virtual self"...disgusting!! I say out with all the nonsense. If you are really that much into marketing yourself, y not go and look for a career in it rather than wastin your whole life tryin to be someones "fan"...and not to forget the comparisions between people about how many scraps have they had and how much their fan count is and so on....

The point here is simple...i am not advocating the removal of all the online communities...they can serve better purposes...but the point here as usual is...how much are we good enuf to actually make use of the technology that is given to us...or better yet...mould it around us rather than we dying to scrape and stick around it...Always remember, once this glass door that holds the so called virtual world breaks, not only do u take the plunge, but the glass pieces will not make it easy. So my advice to all yer fellas out there is to stop clingin on to these sites...mind u..i am not askin u to ditch them completely, just try to refrain from further addiction and you will realise the brighter side of life!!

PEACE!

Note : my first two sentences in this blog start off in a very positive way which doesnt withstand in the entirety of the blog, my sarcasm knows no bounds ;)

Industrial Tour

The 6th of January 2007 to the 13th of January 2007 are forever etched in my memory as the most happiest moments of my life, till now that is!! The only nice thing that OU has done, is include an Industrial Tour into our curriculum, which provides a bit of a break from the regular college life and gives us a chance to do something productive[ahem].At first it took a lot of work into organizing the Industrial Tour and I had a lot of doubts that it would be successful. But the grit of Shaan pays off and we finally get an approval from the principal with a lot of help from the HOD. Everyone decide to meet up at the Nampally Station, where there is nothing but confusion. Neha comes to give a send-off along with Archana but then she just gets lost in all the excitement and chaos that follows once all the formalities start commencing. In the middle of all these formalities everyone is introducing the others around which also adds to all the confusion. Finally the list is completed and is handed over to Neha. Everyone board the train and the whistle kick-starts the Industrial tour. Everyone is excited and it shows on their face. Immediately we get to work, that is, getting all the people together by adjusting the seats of fellow passengers. Finally everyone settle down and are ready to have some serious fun. A group of guys and girls embark on a game that is touted to be the best game playable by a big group. The game is called Mafia. Everyone has a lot of fun playing it coz u get to shout, fight and even take out your grudge on someone here! Everyone feels hungry and start having their dinner and then the gals go to sleep. We guys stay awake till we reach Pune at 2 in the morning!

PUNE:

Ah! The first destination PUNE! Expectations are high and everyone is on the look-out for Yogi who was supposed to be our guide for the whole Pune-Mumbai trip. Upon calling him, we realize that he is going to be a couple of minutes late and we all squat around in the station. Finally he arrives and splits the group into two. A group of guys headed to one hotel and the remaining guys and gals headed in another direction to Travel International. This was a temporary arrangement as midnight check-ins are quite rare. Everyone slept and woke up the next day, quite tired looking. My immediate work was to look for a nice eating place to have our breakfast. After a good morning walk in the city of Pune, I and Shaan stumble upon this South-Indian tiffins joint and are quite rejoiced. Everyone finish their breakfast here and go to board the sleeper coach we were provided to roam Pune with. We then land at Hotel Swagat that turns out to be our accommodation in Pune. Then we set out for some Snake Park which turns out to be a great disaster. By this time everyone is quite hungry so we stop at a way-side dhaba which turns out to be a Bigg Rod for all of us. Everyone walks out half eaten and a bit starving. The next stop was Agha Khan Palace where Gandhi was supposed to have stayed. I am not that great a believer in Gandhi, so was a bit bored, but then no one can stop us from having fun, can they?. So we set out looking to make fun inside and around the palace! a couple of photos afterwards we end up going towards M.G.Road which is a great place for all shoppers as it is full of shops right from the best brands to the most cheap ones. You name it, they have it! Some shopping and two footballs later, we leave the Street and head towards MagnaMall that is just a few steps away. Everyone has their dinner in the form of McDonalds / Yo! China and some even sneak out for some Thali. Finally at around 10 everyone are out of the mall and are planning to have a great night time by going around exploring the night life at a nearby disco/pub/lounge. the discussion goes on until 1130 in the night, by that time everyone realizes we need to rest and then we all head for the hotel. Back at the hotel, no one is in a mood to sleep.so everyone starts plying Mafia and the game goes on until 3AM.then some people decide they need some sleep and leave. A small group stays back to have a round of Teen Patte. Everyone goes to sleep at 430. I am woken up abruptly at 7AM as we gotta leave for the Lord Balaji temple. Everyone has a great time going to the temple and spend some quiet time exploring their soul. But all that exercise had made everyone hungry and they realised that they had not had their breakfast, and now everyone is worried about only one thing, EATING. And to make matters worse a cop catches the cars in which we are traveling and says that we are not supposed to be traveling in that road with a transport vehicle. A couple of autos later we are at the hotel and then leave for a late late breakfast or should I say LUNCH. As this is done, everyone gets into the bus that takes us to Mumbai via Lonavala. Everyone gets some rest and respite from the constant yamming of some people. Finally in the late afternoon we reach Lonavala where everyone buys the famous Chikki from the locals. Then we head down to a nice look-out point on the top of a hill. A couple of photos afterwards we head for the Bushy Dam which is a great place to have some peace of mind, by looking at the serene water flowing. But then no one in the group has the same ideas as me and they start jumping in the water and keep on shouting. Two incidents happen at bushy dam, out of which one is fictitious(used to make fun of ppl) and the other one is not for mention here. Finally after Shaan recovers(one event), everyone head towards the bus and then leave for Mumbai. Playing antakshari, in no time we were in Mumbai.

MUMBAI:

Arriving in Mumbai, we head to a mall which is supposed to be one of the biggest malls there. Everyone had their own fun roaming around and poking fun at each other. A small group of us headed into Sachin's, a coffee shop owned by Sachin, where we ordered Hot Chocolate and to our disappointment it was Complan(YUCK!).After a RODD at Sachin's we move out to go to the place where we were to spend the night. This place had two bungalows and a big lawn, right in the middle of Sanjay Gandhi National Park, which is a miraculously preserved natural oasis in the heart of an urban sprawl, not to mention the panthers and snakes that roam around in those areas!. Everyone sit down to have dinner at 11PM which eventually starts at 1230AM, and after that everyone heads out to sleep. Although a few get into the mood to go swing a leg at a self organized disco. After sometime everyone was quite tired and decide to go to sleep. Waking up early in the morning, we knew we had a long day ahead of us. Shaan started his Neeru-Meeru program and during the course of the events, the second Bushy Dam incident was created which gave us a much needed comic relief. Finally everyone gets ready and we all leave for VT to shop at Fashion Street. We have our lunch at some wayside places and then realise it is getting too late to go to the industry. Me, Bhanu and Sanket branch off in search of a cyber cafe to get a print-out of the confirmation email during which we miss the ride to the Gateway of India. Then, we three meet up with Shaan and Yogi at VT and the five of us travel to Navi Mumbai, via a local train. The others are to arrive at the industry by bus. We five, reached the industry and talked to the HR about how we got delayed. Finally, everyone arrive and the presentation is completed quickly to everyones relief. Everyone leaves on a happy note consuming tea and biscuits provided by the company- SYSTIME. Now everyone is excited coz we are ready to go to GOA!! We leave for old Mumbai to get to our sleeper coach that was to take us to Goa. Here we meet All-Rounder(don’t know his name, that’s what we called him!) who was supposed to take us sightseeing in Goa. Everyone gets in and we leave. We stop at a wayside dhaba(way better than the last one) and have a decent meal. Then we played Teen Patte for some time and then went to sleep. Waking up, the next morning, we find ourselves surrounded by vast open fields and palm trees everywhere...which greeted us saying...WELCOME TO GOA!!!

GOA:

Getting down in Goa, everyone shift into the new bus that is provided for us and head to a resort called MELA ROSA, a small distance away. Entering the resort, the first thing that caught our eye was the swimming pool. In a matter of minutes, everyone was ready to jump into the pool. Some of the guys were not allowed as we didn’t have the proper swimming costumes and so were the girls. But then, I convinced the guy there to let me in and eventually, I had a lot of fun. Finally coming out of the pool, everyone decides that we need to go to the beach right away and so we embark on the journey to the CALANGUTE BEACH. We guys hit the beach right away and have loads of fun. Some went around having their breakfast. On the beach, we had time until 430 as we had to go to a nearby palace. But all the girls were busy shopping until 430 that they forgot they had come there to see the beach. So the program of the palace was scrapped and the time at the beach was extended. Here everyone had great fun jumping around in the water. Here I have to tell that just feeling the soft cool touch of the tides on my feet was so fulfilling that the only thing that I wanted to do was walk around the beach looking at the sun setting. But not so soon!! I see another thing that I want to do, PARA-SAILING!!! After having a once in a lifetime experience of Para-sailing, we trudge back to the bus to the relief of all the others. From here all of us head to catch a local sight-seeing cruise. On the cruise, we were treated(??) to some dances of the locals. Then we were invited to dance on the stage too and by the time we finished, we were so exhausted that we were about to doze-off in the chairs that were provided for us. Actually there was no sight-seeing on the cruise per se, but it was great fun. And coming to think of it, the people there have a great strategy of entertaining the audience by inviting volunteers. They do not spend a lot on performers, and the audience also get their moneys worth! Finally we get off the cruise and head for our resort. There everyone decided that they did not have much time at the beach, so all of us head down to the CALANGUTE beach, but with a difference! The guys take bikes that are placed for rent while the girls take a car. We have our dinner at a restaurant kind of thing and then leave for the beach. A traffic cop and a fine of Rs.1000 later, we reach the CALANGUTE BEACH, where we realize that the car in which the girls were traveling has stopped and wouldn’t start. So everyone just keeps loitering around until I get an idea to empty our 3lts of spare petrol into the car, which gets it running again. Having solved the problem, all of us head to the beach where we have a hell of a time playing all sorts of games that we used to play as children. Here I have to mention the amount of torment that was targeted at Topper, and some others. Shaan then once again went off in one of his irrelevant tangents and started behaving oddly, and started to build a small tunnel out of sand. After everyone was tired to their bones, we decide its time to get moving and at around 430 we leave for our resort. After sleeping for like half-an-hour, we wake up again to get ready to visit NIO. Upon reaching there, we were welcomed by someone who asked us to wait in a waiting room which had a lot of educational charts[blechh!] and stuff in it. Here is where we found our proverbial "HORSE-SHOE-CRAB". Finally we are sent to the computer center of the place, where we know some technical information about the network system of NIO. Trust me no one understood a thing. Finally we get out of NIO and head towards Dona Paula beach(I think). After spotting a couple of crabs in the water and some photos later, we leave the place and head for the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa. We spend some time there and then head for the Mangeshi temple during which Ashu falls sick. after the temple visit, everyone head towards our resort as we all feel hungry, and have our lunch at around 5PM. We reach our resort and then make a plan for the rest of the evening. Here we decide we gotta go to a disco. So we plan to go to TITO'S. After arguing with the bike and car rental guys, we take a Scorpio and leave for Tito's. After arriving at Tito's, everyone has a blast and in the middle of it all, Ashu and I, sneak out to get a Red-Bull and meet up with All-Rounder, who takes us both to another disco, called the MAMBO. After having some fun there, we meet up with the group and all of us walk to the Bhaga Beach. There we sit on the benches and have some friendly banter. Some of the people start to doze off in their places, so we decide we have had enough of the beach and head for the resort. After catching-up with some sleep, everyone is ready at 530AM to head for VASCO-DA-GAMA train station to catch the train to Hyderabad. On the train some sleep and some discuss telugu movies. I go to sleep after sometime and wake up in the late afternoon. After having some more fun teasing some people, we get a message that results are out(sob!). Everyone knew their result, some were disappointed and some were rejoicing. Teasing some people and consoling others was our thing this time around. Dinner was organized by Topper's dad and we had some nice food on the way back. We were happy to have some Andhra food after a long time. Finally everyone decides to go to sleep, but before we do, all of us have a laugh by making fun of each other and then, rest for the night. Waking up at 5, we are pleased to know that we are in Hyderabad and are getting down at Kacheguda train station. That signified the end of a wonderful tour.

Taking some photographs there, all of us headed in their own directions towards home...AH...HOME SWEET HOME...I just couldn’t wait to reach home and eat the ghar ka khana...boy was I starved!!

PEACE