One gesture

At times things seem to be going wrong

And this world seems upside down.

Harsh words said seem to etch deep into the mind

And no one seems there by your side.

Sometimes when you feel misunderstood

Or when the closest people think of you as no good

At that time when all you can feel is loneliness and despair

A feeling of rejection, feelings which cannot be repaired

But all of a sudden from no where you came

Like an angel on earth who came to vanquish the distress that prevailed

Its not like you knew, there was something wrong

The ill feelings were never spoken out, expressed or shown.

But it still seemed you knew something wasn’t right

You knew you couldn’t change it, but you were ready to give it a fight.

You saw that anger, that hurt in the eye

You saw the misery of each tear which fell from the eye.

You didn’t question, you didn’t reason

You quietly understood the awkward silence.

And all of a sudden calm and serene,

You just smiled and warmly hugged me.

I don’t know whether you knew that something was wrong

Whether the gesture was premeditated or a sudden urge

But whatever it was, it was genuine and warm

Maybe to forget those words, the gesture I craved for.

It seemed to encapsulate all those feelings of despise

Bring them together and throw them aside.

That caring touch, that innocent smile

Was all it took to make things right.

To make me feel wanted, to make me want to give things time.

Sometimes words can have such an impact

They stay in your mind and in a whirlwind of emotions you collapse.

But one sweet soft gesture from someone close

Is all it takes for them to be forgotten and slowly go.

Koffee Bollywood Style

So finally Koffee with Karan is back with season 3 and for all those self confessed Bollywood fans, who are obsessed to know all the action and behind the scenes drama of their favourite and not so favourite stars, straight from them, up close and personal with their chatty rather catty host, well, Indian televisions most loved chat show is back.

Well, at least I was quite excited to see the show coming back on air, reason, well yes, I do like the Dharma Productions candyfloss dramas, and I do like the way Karan Diplomatic Johar gets the stars, who otherwise cover their real selves behind layers of makeup and reel, to let the cat out of the bag and get absolutely candid. Yes, there are those boring few, but most seem to shed their inhibitions and showcase their real selves.

Unlike the previous two seasons, this season didn’t kick-start with Shahrukh Khan being one of the guests; however, he did make his presence felt with the introductory all the best speech. Instead we had Bollywoods so called first couple Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Though they can’t match up to Shahrukh Khan’s jibes and jokes, to their credit and surprisingly so they were quite candid and not that boring as I had expected, especially Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. For a change she looked good (yes, I know she is the “worlds most beautiful woman” but no I don’t like her) and she even spoke her mind without being diplomatic, of course on the downside her annoying giggle could be heard all along and during the rapid fire round she suddenly turned vague (split personality I presume). On the other hand husband Abhishek Bachchan seemed to be at his diplomatic best during the chat session, wherein he even gave some Guru gyaan to the new boys - Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan (I wish he used some of it himself too). Seems like both their qualities have rubbed off each other making them forget whose quality it originally was.

Anyways forget them and coming back to the show. Karan Johar as usual was at his best, from the wardrobes, to the questions to the guests everything seems picture perfect. However, I prefer the set of the previous two episodes, some how the table between the host and “his couch” as he put it seemed to be quite a hindrance and made the place look cramped up. Also there was way too much adulation. Yes, we know Aishwarya Rai is beautiful and we know of Abhishek Bachchan’s lineage, seriously does it need to be mentioned in every second statement. So yes, stop the sweet talk, because I am pretty sure that’s not what the audience wants.

Well, with Ranbir Kapoor and Imran Khan coming together, followed by Deepika Padukone and Sonam Kapoor, this season like its predecessors seems to have quite a few quotes in store. However, that only time will tell.

Memories

As I sat sifting through,
Papers old and new,
I came across words...
Words which transported me back to my school and college world.
There was a sparkle in my eye
And my lips twirled.
A smile crept up
As I scanned across.....
Across pages which I had imprinted on
Thoughts, feelings, experiences and moods
Happy moments, sad ones and anger too.
During school days, college days, those days of my childhood.
Those memories came and flooded my mind
The situations, those times, I could see crystal clear
Things which I had forgotten, miraculously appeared.
Those times which I left far behind
Suddenly seemed so important, so near.
I was overwhelmed
And embarrassed at some of my writings.
Smiled at some, chuckled at many.
I wish I could rewind and go back then.
Then when everything was so simple and fun.
Even sad moments never seemed to last
And problems and troubles were tackled with a laugh.
Those times with friends talking gibberish and nonsense
The teacher’s shouting’s and at times praising,
Our parents fussing and behind us running.

Those childhood memories made me so ecstatic
That I couldn’t stop flipping those pages.
I didn’t want that moment to end
Between me and myself.
Sometimes we stock things without realising
That years later when you happen to find it
It brings a glow on your face
A glisten in your eyes.
The child within us begins to evolve
And everything around seems so serene and so calm.
All those memories big or small,
I want to keep them as close as I can.
And hope each passing day
Is cherished this way.
So tomorrow, maybe when I’m feeling down and low
The today’s now, brings a smile on my face tomorrow.

The complexity of the mind

The human mind is so complex
Difficult to understand it is, immaterial which gender it is.
When it’s happy, when it’s sad
When it’s depressed, when its glad
When it’s funny and ready to swing,
Or serious, it’s difficult to speculate.
There are million things as a common man,
What even you do, sometimes you can’t understand.
Why ones sad on someone’s death
While the corpse is happy to be cremated?
Why someone’s laughing a minute ago
And all of a sudden is depressed and low?
Why don’t we practise
Sometimes what we ourselves preach?
Shout at someone for their mistakes
When we have been guilty of doing the same?
Why do we make someone our best friends
And then betray them in the end?
Why is it that people who love each other so much
Part in between for measly tiffs and act tough?
Sometimes people who we think we know better than ourselves
Seem to be those we understand very less.
Why feel happy, when someone’s in tears
Or feel happy when someone’s losing someone dear?
Why are we speechless when there is so much to tell
And let emotions take over ourselves?
So many whys such few are the because’s
So many things we do which have no causes.
Our own minds we cants understand
For something’s no reason the human mind has.

The Queens Necklace

The dusky sea, the starry night
Meet at a point far from the eye.
The shore welcoming the crawling sea
With a necklace of lights and glitterati.
The tetra pods seems to be embracing the water
With its open arms.
The red , blue and golden lights
Contrast the cloudy sky
Which seem to be giving away the sea
In the form of waves to the land.
So calm, so pleasant, so serene
But yet a rustle echo’s in the air.
An echo of peace, an echo of life,
An echo of mystery, an echo of the noise of the lights.
As time passes one wishes it would stop
As the shadow of the silver circle on the sea forms.

Snail

As delicate as a baby or even more
As hard and brittle as corals are
Sitting quietly on the lush green grass
With dew drops covering its brown carcass.
Slowly emerging from its cocoon shaped shell
A brown and slimy body resembling gel.
Raising the shell from the ground
A solidified fluid slithers out.
Forming a triangular shaped headhttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=1741465725733386169#
With a featureless face looking above
As though squinting its imaginary eyes due to the sun
Its face crunching as wrinkles form.
Two deformed antennae cropping up from its skull
Like liquid pouring out and freezing under the sun.
Once its out of its protective cover
Slowly it slides pulling its cover.
Its shell seems so heavy at the speed it pulls
But doesn’t stop to rest till it reaches its food.
Munching and relishing on fallen leaves
Like a pure vegetarian living on greens.
But a sudden touch on its skin
Causes an alarm and frightens it.
Moving its sensitive body into its shell
The want for privacy beckons it in.
Ugly yet beautiful, hard yet frail,
A complex creature is this snail.

(Mis) Representation on television

Indian television has suddenly seen a surge of Indo-Pak bonding in the last month. What started of as a peace building initiative through music by singers Sonu Nigam and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan in the form of Chotte Ustaad seemed to set a trend of sorts, with Bigg Boss 4getting two Pakistani artists to be a part of the show. However, the first being a novel and a brilliant idea, the second I have a problem with.

Chotte Ustaad as we all know has one Indian singer and one Pakistani singer team up and compete with 11 other such pairs of children. While Sonu Nigam and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan played mentor, the special guests on the show ranging from Abida Parveen, Shankar Mahadevan, Shafqat Amanat Ali, Sonam Kapoor, Shaan, Priyanka Chopra, Mahesh Bhatt, the Kapoor khandaan etc too lauded the efforts and the talent.

The show was unique in many ways. Firstly, it made Indians and Pakistanis team up and not compete against each other. Secondly, many Pakistani families managed to accomplish things they just dreamt off, like visiting the Ajmer Sharif Dargah, watching their children share the same platform with biggies like Asha Bhosle and meeting stars like Rishi Kapoor which otherwise they would only see onscreen. Thirdly, it propagated peace and promoted talent and fourthly it was a show which ran on talent and an overwhelming message and not on controversies, drama and sleaze. Yes, it was high on emotions but in the right way.

The show not only gave a great opportunity to the young singers to showcase their talent but also showcased Pakistanis in the right light in India. For a change Pakistani’s weren’t looked down upon but were looked at in a positive light. Finally, most Indians realised that yes, people there are not terrorists or fundamentalists like they are made out to be, they are nice, they too have emotions, they are friendly basically they are the same as us and extremely talented too. Also when the voices of both the countries met in unison the songs just sounded more soulful and melodious.

On the other hand you have Veena Malik and Begum Nawazish Ali entering Bigg Boss. Now, firstly anyways Veena Malik is scandal ridden, and secondly, for your personal interests I hope they realise they are putting an entire country’s reputation at stake. Unlike the other contestants who are just representing themselves, these two have an extra burden of representing their country. Yes, for 2 weeks it’s easy playing Mother Teresa, but putting up a farce for 90 days is kind of difficult. And to top it all one small even genuine mistake of theirs will be lapped up by the media like there is no tomorrow.

Unfortunately, thanks to the relations between both the countries, not many Indian’s get to visit Pakistan and vice-versa; hence the level of misconceptions about both the countries amongst the masses is quite high. And television rather a show like Bigg Boss is catering to the masses, who will believe everything they see. So at the end of the show most will turn around saying that Veena Malika and Begum Nawazish Ali represent the general Pakistani. Well, I don’t know how they or any common Pakistani would take that, but as an Indian, who has friends and relatives there and has visited Pakistan, its so not true.

For once I would say Colors please listen to Shiv Sena and get those 2 out of there soon. Okay maybe that’s going a bit to far, no I don’t support Shiv Sena, but the reason I want them out of there is not because they are Pakistani but because Colors, with your editing skills, and want to catch eyeballs and TRPs you may just end up straining relations, not at a diplomatic level but on a people to people level. I agree the two are there for their personal gains, like maybe getting into the Indian television industry and so on but hello, you are kind of maligning the image of your country in return.

On one hand you have people like Wasim Akram, Ali Zafar, Atif Aslam, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and so much so Pakistani kids creating a positive image and on the other hand the two of you in Bigg Boss which is known for sleaze and controversies. Till now no one has exited the show with a positive image, not even the winner, so what makes them think they will.

So, kudos to shows like Chotte Ustaad and hope many more such shows are introduced to build people to people relations.