I belong to the bunch of stupid people who want to see everyone around them happy. In retrospect I realize that seldom I am expecting anything in return but sometimes I secretly do, we all do…
Watching this video the first time few years ago, I just connected to it. I posted it on FB and sent the link to my friends ‘coz this video has a nice message in it.
I believe Giving is causal…that everything in our lives move in circles…so when you give, you receive too
Spare 17 minutes to see how
I swear I am shit scared of horror movies. As a kid every time I watched one and went to bed in night, I would pee in my pants than step on the floor in the dark to go to the loo. I swear I would tremble. Over these years in an act of better, what could I say, presence of mind over bravery, I skipped all the horror movies which include- the Ring, exorcism of emily rose, paranormal activty, the blairwitch project and the likes. I was really proud of my feat of skipping them until The Conjuring came up.
In my instinctive reaction, I skipped the movie but then a trailer got me hooked and then one thing led to the other. Then on a day of discreet insanity I decided to go for the movie early in the morning (read broad daylight). It being a working day, my friends dropped out, so I had to to do it alone- One of the those days when the adventure is larger than the final objective; my preparation for a horror movie- skipped my cycling exercise, early breakfast and a quick ride to the nearest cinema hall only to find to my surprise that it was almost a packed audience. The movie began and I realized I was finding hard to breathe.
Two thing happened that day- One, I stuck to my strategy- every scene that I was shit scared, I would laugh. I thought this would give a vague sign of fearlessness. I don’t really know if it worked that way, I just felt better. The other thing that worked in my favor was the couple that sat next to me, it seemed like God put them there. The girl screamed and yelled and shrieked for every possible sight of the ghost and even otherwise. That made me feel better, after all I wasn’t the most scared person in that enclosed room. And while I dread the thought that I would run out of the exit door any moment in the movie, I actually sat through the whole thing.. And guess what I walked out into a bright sunny day, smiling…
One of those days of proud personal acts..Thought it was worth being on my blog 🙂
P.S. Annabelle I am not scared of you any longer, gulp ;p
Every blogger I know is writing about this movie, so I want to write too 🙂
I’ll be blunt and cut no unwanted edges. Lootera is an hour long movie spanning over 2.5 hours. It has about 50 dialogues in that span, 45 of them are whispered, 3 are aloud and two are funny. The zamindari era is represented well, the sets, and costumes go well, the primary participants are minimal, and both sonakshi and ranveer have very little to talk, which makes the movie easy to handle.
Albeit all the detachment, and  also the special part of the movie that I guessed half hour before it arrived, I watched the end with intent. The slow pace of the movie actually works in favour of the movie and the two main characters then. Not a movie that would stick to your head but would stay for a while for sure
Have you ever wondered of that one single idea that would make you stinking rich?
That one idea which would never run off steam, be it a recession or not, the weather is cold or hot?
That one idea in your pocket, for which you really need no talent to do…
Well there ain’t no secret recipe. As a matter of fact it’s out there on the streets, round the corners, in some fantabulous restros. You just need the business sense. You should sell PAV BHAJI in life.
The only good thing that you will learn from this post is that the dish was no accident. It began as a “shortcut” item to save time for mill workers in mumbai to make and consume as well, that could be made at cheapest of prices coz it was made of regular spices in a gravy of mashed potatoes, and  served with super-cheap dry pavs in the 19th century.
The pav bhaji came with its advantages-
It made perfect business sense; So out of nowhere in the last decade the dish rose to popularity across the globe. Suddenly the dry pav’s were tossed in butter pools and the bhaji is served with scoops of butter cubes as well, dressed with onion and tomato slices. Some restaurants serve it as “Super speciality” dishes. While I wouldn’t deny that the dish tastes good, it loses charm when people swear by it or even treat other people with it for their birthday, or stand in long queues to eat it at a popular eat out. It’s probably the tipping point. What shook the earth under me was when recently with a bunch of friends I had been to this place in pune to, well guess what, have pav-bhaji and we ended up paying a bill that ran almost into 4 digits. I wasn’t even full.
I had to see the bill and I realized that this item raced far ahead of the inflation across the globe. The secret is now out in the open folks. Want to be rich, safely, sell pav bhaji, you ought to die rich!
We are born with limited mental abilities, some pre-programmed hardwired patterns that science traces to DNAs. And hence an unsolvable debate continues over ages; of nature vs nurture.
We mistake changing habits for these patterns, the truth being far fetched from it. Our deepest triggers to events remain the same. But we learn, and organize ourselves, but our deepest reactions remain the same.
It’s that thing about Ability; a truth that is in the face, everyday, every moment answering why that colleague of yours is so better at his/her work so effortlessly. Why some understand human emotions so well, why some grasp complex problems better than others while you never get a clue. It explains why child prodigies are born, why some sportsperson train as hard as their counterparts but reach the pinnacle of sport like nobody else.
It’s that fact that we must know; that primarily we are limited so that our feet are well grounded.
It’s in knowing that the only way out is in doing our best, evaluating and further bettering ourselves… It is in choosing to keep the fight up despite the fact that what seems a difficult mountain to climb maybe a cake walk for someone else.
But remember what seems like a hard mountain to scale may actually be an impossible feat  for a larger crowd.
The lack of ability should inspire action, endlessly. And that comes when you start accepting the nature of abilities….How much ever you may wish… a wish alone it will be.
A worthwhile life is a life bettering ourselves I say
These lessons are a direct lift-off from some forwarded email that I received. But I loved them & can’t agree or relate any better with each one of it. I realized that I may get back once a while to read it myself… 42 lessons of life worth revising
1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
21. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
24. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’
25. Always choose life.
26. Forgive everyone everything.
27. What other people think of you is none of your business.
28. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
30. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does
31. Believe in miracles.
32. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
33. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
34. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.
35. Your children get only one childhood.
36. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
37. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
38. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
39. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
40. The best is yet to come…
41. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
42. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.”
I watched Barfi with mute expectations. There was no novel element in the promotions that excited me. And with nothing more to it than just a rare break, I looked forward to, the opening scene took me into another world.
The movie had its moments- the situation ones, all the runaway scenes, the Barfi scenes- when the camera shows that he paints on a canvas only to zoom out & show that he ain’t, or when he drags the cart with Jhilmil in it, hangs on one side of the horse when he drops Shruti home late one night, or the proposal letter written by his friend. Awesome. Then there are emotional scenes, the best being when he goes to propose for marriage and then the mute conversation with Shruti and towards the end when he searches for Jhilmil with the whistle.
The movie undoubtedly scored with the audience and even after all of the allegations, I personally believe the movie got its due, monetarily to enter the 100 crore club, and the Oscar entry, though I am not sure if it can make global impact.
But set aside the package deal on it, Anurag Basu had done something brilliant. The movie reflects the epitome of life, rather with very symbolic elements. Barfi & Jhilmil represent what the society does not accept, Shruti is love but with logic & that clouds her heart, then there is the pole along the railway track into which Barfi crashes every time, which is the end of his pursuit and many more.
But the best of all those is the light pole test which he makes all of them take. So he calculates where the pole would fall, places a bottle there and stands with the person whom he wants to test, a step back. And as funny that test may seem, is what defines the message of the Barfi! story the best.
It is the same test his father, friends, or even his love interest Shruti fail. Even after the measured move, their logic wins over his stupid trial. But it is Jhilmil who stands locking her liitle finger with his, seeing the pole crashing down on the bottle in front of them. That moment defines their togetherness for life.
And that I believe is The ‘Barfi’ moment. ‘True love stands by you come what may, and that said love means thinking from heart alone, for logic assuredly takes you away from the path of the heart’
A message that separates those who really love you from those who love you.
Need to thank the Barfi team for its brilliance- ‘Be a Barfi for life’
The “Barfi!” moment
This post is a dedication to all the beautiful, wonderful, ambitious, lovely ladies I know…
How oft do you wish that you weren’t what you really are now… Some may wish that you were the greatest star, or the richest brat… but I wish I were born a beautiful girl…that’s it… Life would have been a little easy..
I’d grow up as the twinkle of my father’s eye; never get scolded or slapped, nothing but love, mom’s love would be mandatory anyways.
I’d colour santa in green or the sun in pink and still get the best drawing award
I’d grow up as the monitor of my class and act as a teacher myself and develop those leadership skills that would bag me a better managerial jobs (if need be) in the future
I would graduate from any graduation degree… I mean how does the stream matter, the guys are there to do the assignments aren’t they!
Petrol price hikes would never matter to me.. And how would I know what is the difference between Hyundai and Honda… their logos are the same..it has a single ‘H’
Even if I did drive, I’d risk only a 100 people’s lives, now what a number is that in comparison to my beauty, and even if I did crash into some one & it’d completely be my fault, I’d be convinced it was not my fault when the other guy would get bashed up by the hyper mob.
Apparel hikes would barely matter, cos I’d get one gifted to myself whenever I like any one from those lavish malls.. what are boyfriends, oops sorry, I meant best guy friends for.
I would be a connoisseur of food and wine… Life is about enjoying ain’t it…as long as the losers pay.
“Blue or violet” or “Hot chocolate” on my facebook wall would attract 200 Likes and about 100 comments
Be a lady of substance; Make a donation(twice), learn guitar(for 3 whole months), learn classical singing (for 4 months..OMG), a salsa class (with another joker), be convinced why woman should RULE the world
I’d be the mother of creativity for at least a dozen and twice as many lads, thanks to me, shall turn artists and poets.
I’d have jokers, oops, sorry again, my guy friends to help me with uploading photos on to Instagram or write a blog for me on blogger.
All my life I’ll wish that my prince arrives – tall, dark and handsome, on his stallion, and he’d do anything for me… not necessarily the other way round
Spend 70% of my life time bitching  & 70% of my finances on cosmetics/accessories
I’d make a handful of girl friends, ignore them at will, make a thousand great, awesome guy friends, “just” have fun with them, “just” party, “just” have night outs, “just” have that night walk, “just” secretively take a long drive and when time arrives remind each or the chosen ones that the two of you were “just” Friends, off course and then…
Browse the bio-datas’ of a few green card holders that ma & pa would hand over to me, check the right hand column for 7 digit dollar earnings handsome, intelligent guy and raise a family with him.
10 years on, I’d still ping my “just” friends and tell them about my last trip to the nearby Hawaiian Islands, and show them how the platinum set looked on me..
I’d have two kids; one boy & the other a girl…I’d make a stud off him and wait for her to grow up so that I could marry her off to a 8 digit dollar earning ATM.
And in those last days I’d recollect how amazing my life had been with all those good willed “just” friends. how they cared for me and been around for all the highs and lows of life. I’d thank God for his kindness & for forgiveness for the million souls that I may have un(achoo!)intentionally broken…. Amen
Writing a book is no easy task and no easier is it to get it convinced with a publisher
unless you are writing what the market is hot with; some clichéd subject. And with a first hand experience at writing a full length novel, and an attempt to sell it, I see this:
Happens…
Books happen, for they flow through you. Especially when you look out beyond the
mystic creative realms. Trying a hand at writing a book is what any aspiring writer would
do, but then ask any of those who attempted with all the book writing technicalities right,
it’s not that straight. Sometimes stories have to just happen. It’s no use “knowing the
end” or “prepare storyboard first” necessarily.
The journey…
Writing is evolving; for as a passive creator you grow in another world, make it happen in
the physical world in the head and heart and then manifest it through your fingers. In true
sense, the journey of writing the book matters. Destination matters too, but the journey is
far fulfilling. It absorbs you, certainly.
The final steps…
This world is biased; with zillion options its bound to happen, you will chose something
that looks better, fits what you need or convinces that this is exactly what you needed.
Unfortunately, the book industry works on similar lines.. It needs something viral to get
the book of the shelves. So book selling is more about marketing towards the end that’s
when you unstrap off the imagination jacket and wear the practicality one.
From the horse’s mouth
Anyways, points said, a live example is Amish Tripathi, who has with his Shiva trilogy (done a business over 14 crores, sold close to 4 Lac copies), acted the exact inspiration for all creative writers of real creative inclinations. Learn about his journey in polished words off course, in this MUST WATCH VIDEO below. Spare 11 minutes, they’ll count.
Thanks Yogesh Gawhane for your words, Deepesh Chandran for your link.
Books do happen, I suppose!
Lifeskool 