The title should have been "Matru Ke Bijlee ka Mandola ki Gulabo " - A review :P

Directed by
Vishal Bhardwaj

Writing credits
Vishal Bhardwaj		dialogue
Vishal Bhardwaj		screenplay
Abhishek Chaubey		screenplay
Sabrina Dhawan		script consultant

(From IMDB)

Stars:

 Pankaj Kapur, Imran Khan and Anushka Sharma , Shabana Azmi, Arya Babbar

Matru ki Bijlee ka Mandola - As and when I heard this name it felt like some Nelson Mandela's Indianised autobiography or some thing. To add to my belief there were few South African dancers as well. I thought its a movie which will show whites Vs blacks issue or some thing close to that :P. Demolishing all my guess works the movie surprised me with fresh entertainment. My love towards bollywood only increases due to these new refreshing ideas and the new style in which they are executed. However this movie has its flaws!

Trailers failed to draw me towards theater which showed a piyakkad Pankaj Kapur and Anushka who is coming out of the pond comfortably as if she is a mermaid showing her famous tattoo, the image of which was viral over the net , a UFO scene and our chocolate boy Imran Khan who tries his level best to look rough and untidy but still has chocolate flavor intact. In-spite of not getting attracted to trailers I went to the movie as I got positive feed back from few!

Story Line : The basic idea of the story is age old which is Rich Vs Poor . A rich real estate businessman/ capitalist Mr. Harry Mandola after whom the village is named , his rich rebellious daughter who is hard out side but soft inside who suffers from Meenakumari complex is played by Anushka aka Bijlee Mandola. She wants to save the cheated, devastated people and hence joins hands with Matru who is Mandola's left hand cum Alcohol partner. The opening scene itself is very slow where Matru and Mandola run over a alcohol shop when the owner refuses to give them Gulabo- the local drink of Mandola. The film has a rebellious character Mao Tse-tung(a Chinese leader) who wants to save the villagers, whose where abouts are known to none.

Mandola is a Gulabo addict and he is much wiser when he is drunk and becomes a villian again when he is sober. He even provokes the villagers to protest against himself when he is drunk :) . He has visions of a pink Bhains (buffalo) when he stops drinking. The scene where Pankaj Kapur is being tested by a psychiatrist and he says he is seeing pink buffalos is hilarious as Docs wife wears pink track suit. Due to his drinking problem their dream to construct factories in the farmer's fields gets hampered. Enters Shabana Azmi a political leader on whom Pankaj Kapur aka Mandola has deep crush. She needs Mandola's help and money to fulfill their dearest dream. Her Son Badal played by Arya Babbar's wedding is fixed with Bijlee but soon she realizes she doesn't love him and wants to run away with Matru.  The scene where Shabana lands at Mandola and the way police officers receive her controlling the puke due to the previous nights drinks is both hilarious and irksome :)

The cameos done by Ranvir shorey and his wife are not worth mentioning and the songs are always finished in a hurried pace hence I cant say music is gripping or pleasant. Oy Boy Oy Boy charlie the karaoke style song is the one I loved most !

How the story unfolds and how the alcohol-vice makes an otherwise Mandola a wise man and whether it will save every one has to be watched on the screen!

Pluses

• The plus points of the movie are the silly comic tit bits like a flying UFO scene and the HARYANA tv reporter covering the news, where actually Mandola's copter crashes when he flies it after drinking Gulabo

• The CGI gulabo or the pink buffalo by  Govardhan Vigraham breathes life in to the movie 

• Pankaj Kapur is the hero of the movie. He pulled off the role with ease and all the silly scenes seemed lively due to him. He is quirky , whacky , strong and looks like suffering from a dual personality disorder----when drunk and when sober.

• Anushka's last drunk scene is damn natural and makes you slightly emotional.

• Shabana azmi who played the role of chief minister of the state is good as always and gave a tough competition to Pankaj Kapur . She did justice to her role and the absurd scenes where she prays to rain god to stop rains and many more are laughable due to her. How ever her exit scene and her speech etc could have been much better.

• The opening song where there is a Khatra in every thing is funny and the message Cigarette smoking is injurious to health is rightly done

Minuses

• If any Imran Khan fans are reading this please excuse me but this man is not made for these tough roles. He gulps when he has to deliver Haryanvi dialogues. Ajay Devgan or even Pratik Babbar would have done a better job.

• Pankaj Kapur's drunk accent has gone to toss. There were subtitles in many theaters it seems but unfortunately we didn't have that provision , hence I could not decode his slurry heavily drunk words fully!

• Bijlee was convincing in many scenes but she looked slightly artificial and  over did in few scenes or may be it was meant to be like that , like the one where she runs baadal tum kahaaaaaaan ho and few more! Baadal was more convincing in that scene.

• Repetitiveness of Gulabo bhains scene

• The script is not intriguing as it is sluggish and goes haywire when you feel you actually may get absorbed in the movie. The capitalist is filthily rich with his hoardings all over the place but why and how he became rich is not at all shown or may be Bharadwaj felt its not necessary!

• The film needs hell lot of editing as the scenes are confusing highlighting the burning problems one minute and then diluting them altogether in the next and the scenes should also have picked up pace.

Lastly Kudos to Vishal Bharadwaj as he carries the movie on his shoulders and acts like a one man army. He directs , writes , does screen play and gives music to the movie too. He definitely is flooded by talent pools but I feel a little more finesse is needed to this movie. Nevertheless I liked this more than 7 khoon maaf or Kaminey

 I go with 2.5 stars - 1.5 to Pankaj Kapoor and 1 to Gulabo ;) I still laugh when I hear a cow bell sound :D

Movie rating - 2.5/5

The first "original" experience

As and when I saw "this" I wanted to attend at any cost.

I have never been to an Indiblogger meet. Missed it twice in Gurgaon as I was out of the city and meets never happened in Hyderabad. We shifted to bangalore a fort night back and all I could think was of attending Indiblogger meet. We moved to the new apartment in whitefields on 20th morning and Indiblogger meet was on 20th noon 1 : 30 .I started at 12 and it took me a rough 2 hrs to reach the venue. I and my husband were feeling lethargic due to continuous work from 2 days and climbing the stairs to our flat which is in the fourth floor. Lift is not ready yet and my knee joints were actually painful due to climbing up , down , doing chores etc. So leaving the unpacked stuff in my apartment I started to Fortune hotel at Ananda Rao Circle.

As soon as I entered I felt like I am a terrestrial animal in the sea of all fishes and whales and may be big sharks who knew each other and who were familiar with such meets. Before I became breathless I registered , sipped the coke and my eyes searched for "Nabanita"as she was the one I knew among all as she reads my blogs many times ! I introduced my self and sat at their table and finally felt like a fish from the carp family which is the smallest fish but belongs to some family! I was still not comfortable as I am not good at mingling with faces I have never seen. Every one was comfortable in their own cozy groups. I somehow managed to share a word or two with Nabanita , Farida and recognised many faces which I saw via Indiblogger. I turned around and saw that many were feeling lost like me and was relieved.

I finally joined Ranjana and Sateesh from Qualcomm when we were asked to disperse and form groups. I was glad as most of them from the group[Sorry guys I forgot most of the names] were attending the event for the first time like me. The introduction round started and every one had to brief about themselves, their blog and say something about them which no one knows .The last bit was immediately changed by Anoop- the organizer  to - You have to just imitate your favorite character or say some dialogue. Many were entertaining where as few just gave a bland introduction , nevertheless so many got the goodies (books and USBS) for their introduction.  Tweeple were active. That was the moment I regretted as I never use twitter and I didn't feel like downloading and tweeting at the event . If I knew before hand that twitter would lead to winning goodies I would have practiced tweeting at home and would have put up an efficient tweet which explains "the pain I took to come to the meet" which in turn would have miraculously made me a winner :P

Some body imitated SRK , some one recited a poem and some one imitated kareena from jab we met. I believe its Sweta Tiwary . Most of them got goodies and so I was pretty excited when my name came in the last. I planned a lot in mind and even requested the guy who imitated SRK to help me with the parody of SRK- Kajol's hit scene in Kuch kuch hota hai, highlighting the plagiarism which will even echo the purpose of the meet !As my name came in the last and as sheets were distributed simultaneously for the next event I got little tensed but still managed to give a brief intro and my heart was in my mouth when I sang the song "Ye kaisa ladka hai " from kuch kuch hota hai instead of the scene we wanted to enact !

I believe many have enjoyed but I did not get the goody . May BE I COPIED KAJOL or some thing. I really dont know the reason for not getting it . My mood dimmed a bit as I saw many happily grabbing prizes ! I could not even shout or demand as I felt it will spoil the aura and anyway why should I have to beg for an USB or a book.

As I couldn't do the parody want to narrate it here.

Rahul comes on to the dais to receive the best blogger trophy.

I(Anjali) will shout "Sach baat to ye hai ki tum hamesha copy karte jeette ho Rahul"

Rahul: Don't be jealous Anjali. Tum hamesha haarti ho iska matlab ye nai you call me a cheater 

I : Yes that's what you are. Rahul is a cheater , he is a cheater . C-H-E-A-T-E-R .

I wanted to do this to say that plagiarism is a real bad thing one can do and that it has to be openly rebuked and such people should be treated like outcasts. I remember a case where a guy won too many prizes on indiblogger but it was found out later that he copied many entries. Well I couldn't implement my plan due to time constraint and little nervousness but I was glad I sang my favorite pair SRK-Kajol's most memorable fun song but ironically mai is baar bhi nai jeeti !! I was bit disappointed obviously as the feeling of competitions and prizes creeped in. It was like blowing up egos again!

The main agenda by HP which revolved around buying the original products and not the original copies was good. Often we buy the counterfeit products as they are cheap but every one should know that they are not as good as the original ones. People these days are used to pirated movies , pen drives in places like Palika bazar (delhi) . Every product has its copy . You should be wise enough to decide what to buy or else you will just be (an)other-vice.

Lol :)

HP did a great job in spreading the awareness and importance of originality! I firmly say a BIG NO to all the copies and cheaper products. I don't even feel good about clearance sales and discounts.Prevention is always better than the cure and its always good to keep your appliances safe rather than buying cheap stuff and inviting new problems but I have my share of experiences too years back when I used to get drawn to those cheaper products. Every shop with imitations and discounts used to draw me towards them like a bagpiper. I always end up buying some imitations of catwalk sandals or cheaper sports shoe which are not durable at all ,the  straps of which torn off easily and they don't serve their purpose. Another scenario was of a cheaper emergency lamp, a cheaper roti maker so on so forth. Hence , its wise to resist the temptations and not repent by buying the original products.

The presentation was good and the photo session of all the "original" bloggers was fun too. I didn't do it for a prize as I didn't feel like.  Prevention is always better than cure right ? :P
The bar code game went above my head and I couldn't find a snippet which matched my weird sentence " A pair of spectacles" or some thing . The meme game was fun where we got "Alice in the wonderland." As and when rabbit entered every one shouted the movie name. In all the hullabaloo I didn't get if we have to act in such a way that none understands or if we simply have to act !

The pace at which the printers and goodies were given away made me breathless and me and one of my team mates joked that in the tea break it might be announced by Anoop that the one who has the first gulab jamun wins a Printer. I mean , come on if Luck and twitter can help you win a goodie why not a gulab jamun :)

Well, this was my first meet and I knew none. Hence it was not loads of fun to me. I am glad I interacted with few whom I didn't know before. The primary purpose of the meet to me was to make contacts which I accomplished to some extent. As the event came to closure I left as I actually was getting late and had shit load of work to do at home and there were no remote signs of me getting a book or USB, hence was my question " What do you have to do to win a book or USB" to which Pooja Pradeep gave an apt and funny reply that you gotta sneeze or cough and update on twitter :) The other questions like if I were Renie , Why this Kolaveri di and answers were well OK to me, though not too hilarious.

It was not my day to win but after I left Ranjana called me up to inform that tee shirts were being given to all. When I came inside the hotel yet again leaving my husband at the gate who was waiting for me from an hour, the scene looked like a  " Famine hit area" where food packets are distributed to the victims. I grabbed a T shirt  and tried to VOICE my thoughts loudly this time and grabbed a book "Mice in Men" by Anirban bose and an USB which was given to me reluctantly. I later repented. " I SHOULD NOT HAVE ASKED." Well winning and asking are completely different things. Anyway now that I know the pattern , rules and formulations of the meets next time I will be having a fair idea if I attend.

Few to dos to win the goodies . I am answering my own question in blue font above

• Be active on twitter
• Nudge in to a famous group and talk loud.
• Have a smart phone which has a smart internet connection too. Even if you are smart your phone might nullify your abilities 
• If you feel you should get it be bold enough to ask it. 

Thanks to Ranjana who informed about the tees. As I travelled 2hrs to come to venue and as Bangalore is new to me  I deserve to get goodies even if I had to ask which was quite a task.

Lastly I want to request every one to save your ass from being trapped by the counterfeits and buy the ORIGINAL products and stay happy. Check the company stamps ,holograms , QRcodes, bar codes and every thing you have to check to make sure you are buying the right product and ditching all the Copy cats and their Copy-wrongs(X)

Be safe than being sorry ! Click on the image for better view. This cartoon is drawn by me with the help of toondoo.com

The below is the HP Cartridge's security label with the unique QR code. These days as many have smart phones you can easily scan it with QR scanner apps .

Few clicks from the meet.

I read Vidya's blogs but was too shy to talk

                                         

The first year engg student rejuvenated us with his guitar

HP presentation- How to be original?

Men at Work- OOPS fun :)

You may read other's experiences "here"!
Good day.

My story ideas for "Get Published contest" by Harpercollins and Indiblogger

Hello all

A big Thanks to all who voted till now! I have poor PR skills and was overjoyed when all friends and family voted and when many ACTUALLY read the post before they voted :) :)

This is my last vote appeal post. Getting published is linked to votes and hence I gotta promote mine.

 I WOULD BE REALLY GLAD IF U READ AND PROMOTE THEM. How to promote is highlighted in blue below!! and my new story idea is at

 http://www.indiblogger.in/getpublished/idea/434/.

Old ones are at 

http://www.indiblogger.in/getpublished/idea/268/

http://www.indiblogger.in/getpublished/idea/287/

Dead line to submit is JAN 23rd! Please do not vote blindly on just this post WITH OUT READING. 

To know more about GET PUBLISHED contest go to(http://www.indiblogger.in/getpublished/) contest by Indiblogger in association with Harper Collins. You all know how tough it is to contact publishers and see your work in print.  Even in this contest unfortunately it depends on "VOTES".

All you need to do is go to the below links and click on the red heart to show your love ♥  :) you may click on it with the indiblogger , facebook or any online accounts U have!

You may make my dream come true by helping me take this first step!

Please go to the links below and promote my story ideas. Well if the ideas are really lousy you may ignore! :)

Click the like with your indiblogger account or any other online account you have (yahoo, gmail etc).

If I get published I will give you a treat if we meet ;)  

The links are like below : Need votes here. 

http://www.indiblogger.in/getpublished/idea/268/

http://www.indiblogger.in/getpublished/idea/287/

 http://www.indiblogger.in/getpublished/idea/434/

 Please do the honors and promote me. Ok. Now I sound like a political leader desperate for a MP/ MLA seat.

This means more than that to me :)

Spare 15min to read and vote.PLEASE share it among your friends and office networks. Will really appreciate it :) :) SHOW SOME love and vote for me!

Loads of love and Thanks

Afshan

"The Satin Care" gifted her a divine evening!

I wish she had opted for her hair removal.
Instead she worried about the never ending hair fall.
Hair on face or legs and hands doesn't make her look royal!
I wanted to give an advice to her like a pal.

She entered the room wearing a beautiful smile.
Her dream man had put forward his hand to shake.
The smile faded and he actually had to fake.
For when he hugged her It was like getting brushed by a kiwi pile!

She was confused thinking of the ways to attract him.
She checked her reflection as she believed she was slim.
I stood near to her pointing her satin gown.
She checked if her gown had any dirt marks with a frown!

I couldn't resist any longer and told her what I wanted to.
She understood the problem but was not sure what to do.
Willing to help her out I gifted her a "Gillete satin care".
She felt smooth and her new avatar was not of a hare or a bear.
Her arms and legs were long, clean and silky at which forever you can stare!

This time she entered the room wearing the new crown of confidence.
It felt good to see that they happily hugged each other, there was no fence.
Their date was happening and filled with fun , food , dance and romance.
She called me and screeched happily conveying a big thanks!

A satin gown failed but Gillete satin care succeeded in making her presentable.
She indeed looked perfect and her sexy legs made her capable and unbeatable.
Along with Miss beautiful smile, Miss silk and smooth is her new tag.
Gillete became the most favorite product in her vanity bag!!




Someone once threw me a small, brown, hairy kiwi fruit, and I threw a wastebasket over it until it was dead.
-Erma Bombeck- 

Kill the unwanted hair and see how much you will be wanted ;)

This post is a part of the Gillette Satin Care contest in association with BlogAdda.com

Those who say Change the attire must retire!!

We all now know what 16/12 is known for - A gang rape. It feels utterly disgusting to say that a date is marked in the calendar like any other date with historical importance say 26/01 or 15/08 . Am not sure if I will ever feel the spirit of freedom or independence but I will for ever feel the pangs of threat , misery , fear and a continuous shadow of judgement will be cast on me.

After the crime happened there was no stopping to other crimes.  Sad but the crime seems to have provided motivation and inspiration to many criminals around!In Punjab another similar gang rape happened and my head keeps buzzing with same news every day. Media has its full attention as people are tuned to news channels every day. I stopped watching TV after the protests and the death of  the constable as I couldn't bear the directionless bombardment of the news. Some named her Damini and some Nirbhaya and some dying to be under spot light shared her fake photos , her dads photos and what not . Her nomenclature was not enough to make her a dare devil enough to fight for life ! The bruises will always be fresh and the crimes are not stopping !

I was in airport the day I heard that she died. I felt connected to her , the reasons might be news channels or the genuine concern of her brother which I read in Indian Express  where he said , "Its like the life we lived before , never existed" or just simply because she was also like any other girl who was leading her life quite normally till that second! We all shuddered at the brutality of the act and I felt nothing but hatred towards many half baked heads who list down meaningless tips every day for the safety of girls like below!

1. Ban the jeans
2. Ban  the mobiles
3. Go home straight from schools and colleges
4. Don't go out late in the night

and what not ? ! I wonder if Jeans reveal more than a saree does ? I wonder if the saree clad ladies are spared !! The meaningless statements by Abhijit Mukherjee likes made my head spin at 90 rpm! Then came the Asharam baba who said Girl should have pleaded with the men saying you are like my brother . Please leave me. The khaaps , politicians , babas all competed with each other to give their best performance as stand up comedians.

The True state of our Country.  It lies in the eyes of the beholder . A dirty mind  has a dirty vision of every thing . Hence its my plea to all the babblers to shut their filthy mouths and think on why IS THERE A NECESSITY to RAPE? Why cant a rapist be punished irrespective of age ? Does a rapist really spare a women clad in a saree or burqa?

The sad state of my country troubles me. The way the people keep thinking even after such a brutal act worries me. I don't feel safe in any place where a bunch of baboons think the same !Am glad Supreme court opposed the KHAAPS saying they can't declare what all a girl should do for her safety !!

Dont tell ur Daughter, not to go out. Tell ur Son to behave "properly". The Bengaluru Men protest for women !

Some how I feel the change will come eventually . I feel humanity still exists and it will lead to sanity. I see that people are not resisting the in-justice like before. I hope and pray this act should not give birth to many more acts.

'"The Abode of Love"- 'My entry for the Get Published contest'

Love comes in all forms , shapes and sizes but the love showered by a person when you cant even spell "LOVE" or feel it cannot be compared with any form of love in the world. A mother gives birth to a kid and some invisible strings draw the baby towards her and it finds instant comfort and relief in her lap. A baby cries as and when it steps outside the mothers womb but identifies her and finds solace. She meets all odds to give the best to him.She works like a robot which is given 100 commands in stretch but still has energy and time to allot for each and every person near and dear to her. She sacrifices her needs, desires just to satisfy the same near and dear's wishes. In the "To-do" memos she jots down the list of things are like below.

1.) What does the kid want that month?

2.)Her man's shirt is pressed or not.

3.)To offer prayers for her family's well being.

She keeps cross checking the list  to track  if she did what all she wants to fulfill her loved one's wishes. 

It is told ."You cannot find God every where hence mothers are made."

To a child's ear, "mother" is magic in any language.- Arlene Benedict, For Mother with Love.

Can't agree more. Mother is the abode of love who teaches her kids how to love. We may not be able to return her love in the same amount or in the same way. The least we can do is to try and understand her. After all she understands us effortlessly!A mother can be your bestest girl friend with whom you can share "almost all"  thoughts , secrets , envies , ambitions , intentions (good/bad) and every thing under the sky. 

Reha's mom is away from her.  Reha is neither staying in a college hostel nor holidaying with friends. She recently got married to a man of her dreams and had to go far from home. Far here means very far. She left for USA as her husband is working there. 

This is the story of a mom and daughter and how a daughter feels once she gets married and starts living with her husband. In no time she realizes how much she is missing her mother. She realizes how important her mother's role was in her life and how she still is dependent on her for every small thing. She can't imagine a day in her absence. The story reflects the newly wed days of a girl and her bond with her mom which grows stronger every day! 

PS: These images are googled. I don't own them.

If you want to get my post published please vote for me by clicking the red heart at the link -> "Mother-The Abode of love" .TIA!

"This is my entry for the HarperCollins–IndiBlogger Get Published contest, which is run with inputs from Yashodhara Lal and HarperCollins India." 

A new girl in a new City writes on this new year- The Gurgaon Diaries 2012

From a week I am answering the same question again and again- How is the big move coming along ?

We are finally shifting from Gurgaon to Bangalore ! Due to few reasons am super glad and pretty excited thinking about the new home , new place , new stuff . New things always make us happy . A New year, new movie , new dress ,new book , new look. Don't they bring a smile on your face? The new happenings also make me tad sad as I am little phobic when a new change occurs in my life but then I pat my self thinking if I could have come out of this old thing which was new in the beginning I can face the next new phase too !

With the chain of events in Delhi, the gang rape , protests and death I was very disturbed. I spent many sleepless nights and still in the mid of the night I wake up even by the slightest sound. I became a full-on light sleeper. Just a week back some body was drunk and was shouting or retching on the road. I was scared beyond the limits. I woke my husband up and asked him to go out and check who is roaming at 1 A.M. on the streets screeching so loud. I became paranoid. I still feel any criminal may ambush us any second. When he went out the sound stopped . Either he left or we couldn't spot him. I went to Palika bazaar and did not leave my husbands hand even for a second. Its the best adda to shop anything ranging from a hair clip to a USB or a sweat shirt which are of good quality at cheapest possible price.Normally I would have jumped in joy as new things always make us happy, but there was some thing in the air that evening which was bothering me. I was not in a mood to shop. We winded off fast and came out . I was all the while making sure am standing along with my husb. I felt the same when I was in CP, Galleria , Saket , City center so on so forth. As such I love all these places . I love the books sold at half the price in Saket, movies in city center or the flavored milk of CP but suddenly I didn't find any of these places a happening one. Fear engulfed me and fun faded

Am not saying I felt wonderful or safe when I left the city. I just felt hollow and vacant as I wanted to leave the place with only good memories. There are many reasons why I didnt like Gurgaon from day 1. Few are water-power mis-management and the inverters and generators being life savers of the place, being not able to go alone for a walk or to a gym for obvious reasons(not that I can go like a braveheart on the roads of hyd /Pune/ Bangalore) but most of you will agree on this with me that Gurgaon has certain dead calm associated with it. People come out of their houses only in certain hours and the parks are mostly uninhabited if you want to go in the evening (atleast in DLF area where I lived.) .Here you have to exclude the condos , villas and bungalows which almost seem like owned by some invisible Mr. India or a gorgeous Miss world as people rarely step out of them and if at all they step out it is not on to the road but directly in to their Merceedes / Jaguars .Just today I read some thing interesting on net about the Richie Richs of Dilli -http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/wanton-shopping-how-the-super-rich-shop-to-satisfy-bizarre-instincts-in-a-slowing-economy/articleshow/17849080.cms .

Once I tried to explore the DLF area and entered the streets unescorted at about 5-00. We all know that sun sets by 5-30 in winter in Delhi/Gurgaon. DLF phase 1 , 2, 3 all look similar as if a Civil engineer has just made a skeletal structure of a complex with squares and rectangles. I was lost and couldn't trace the path in which I came. I wondered if I should have left a trail like throwing some pieces of paper all the way. It was getting chilly and there was NO BODY means absolutely no bodywalking on the road or in the near by parks. Sadly there were no security guards too outside the Bungalows. I finally came face to face with some group of guards who sat near to a fresh fire to escape the bone chilling winter. I was scared to question them about the direction to my home . I sounded stupid and silly to myself.

Due to the natural fear engulfing me at that point of time as I was lost , I asked him the direction to a near by landmark . I was still clutching my I pod and the grip was so tight that I would have damaged it .Then suddenly one of them stood up and told, " Let me show you the way". I was visibly frightened. I told ,"You just tell me. I will manage." He maintained 2 feet distance from me and walked with me till the end of the street and directed me from where I can get out of the maze/ bhool bhulayya . I thanked him a couple of times and hurried to home with whatever pace my adidas shoes could give to me with out stopping any where. I laughed at my own silly fear and thought , "NOT ALL CAN BE CRIMINALS." I was relieved for just few days when the brutal crime happened in the heart of the city , in the midst of police check posts and not even in past midnight hours! The usual fear gripped me more tightly this time. I was scared to even to answer the door bell or receive a courier or go to a super mart just for vegetables all by myself. I was told and taught I wont be able to live normally with that constant fear and throb in the heart but I felt helpless. I couldn't trust any one any more.

When some of my friends wrote posts post the crime, they were horribly attacked by many men who said they are generalizing all men. My point is when you are frightened and helpless you wont be able to trust any one! This doesn't mean generalizing all the men in the category of criminals. I saw a chain of comments which were actually torments , weird arguments which were baseless like - Why you wrote this ? Write and fight for crimes on men too! Some of them even told that all men should be away from a certain blogger and the other women who commented as they will file a rape case on any one with out any proof !! I was stunned by those replies. When there were many men supporting the protests and fighting for justice there are several out there who don't let you voice your thoughts on your blog! Freedom of speech is again something which is misused by many. They shout and bombard you and say they are using their right to express too !! Huh! Makes me nothing but sad.

You will be instantly muted or will be threatened or will be invited to a open rebuke or may be a battle. I appreciate many women who were strong enough to reply back and fight back. I watched it all in silence. I was speechless to even argue or make my point. Banging my head on a wrought iron gate was some thing better than trying to inculcate respect towards women in some peoples brains who even easily mouthed words like bitch and women rapists targeting the respective bloggers! Nothing can be done to repair some one's thoughts or perspectives.I feel good to see that many irrespective of their region / gender and many more diversities are fighting for justice and I feel equally bad watching these mind sets in stark silence !

Its truly said , "Speech is silver and Silence is gold." Speech shows you are bold but for sure silence is gold when it comes to replying to sick people. Its a truth I learnt in a hard way !

Lastly I want to point to few articles which reflect few thoughts and reveal some horrifying experiences and also shocking comments too !If you have time please give a read.

http://daddysan.wordpress.com/2012/12/24/the-subjugation-capital/

https://www.facebook.com/notes/charanya-kannan/a-nameless-piece-like-hundreds-of-victims/581339528549463

http://indianhomemaker.wordpress.com/2012/12/31/women-and-not-their-modesties-are-feeling-outraged-so-is-everybody-else/

http://mashedmusings.wordpress.com/2012/12/21/it-was-not-just-the-driver-who-raped-her/

http://ghatasinghal.blogspot.in/2012/12/men-will-be-men-but-when-did-they-turn.html

https://www.facebook.com/notes/sangeeta-das/i-witness-the-good-people-of-delhi/10151383785584595

http://www.asianage.com/columnists/rape-death-349

Do read sunitha Krishnan's blog at - http://sunithakrishnan.blogspot.kr/ She is a rape victim who survived and works for Prajwala now. Three cheers to her and she is a source of inspiration to many !

Lastly some thing I wrote http://afshan-shaik.blogspot.in/2012/12/if-you-are-draped-you-wont-be-raped-eh.html.

Think about the below things

• Please note that a rape is a heinous crime but the victim has NOT DONE ANY SIN! Y DO FEW HATE THE VICTIM when U HAVE TO HATE THE SIN AND ALSO THE SINNER? is a question which baffles me and this applies to any other crime EQUALLY irrespective of gender but my point is not to steal the right of leading a normal life from a rape victim.
• Like I already said people who come up with reasons for rape like skirt's length , chowmein and etc etc make a good bunch of baboons . I can only tell to them bring them on and get titled as the fools of the year!
• One last and final thing is WE CAN NEVER CHANGE the sick, adamant mind sets. Its better to shy away than shooing them away. If they bark at your door step simply ignore , delete or block. We have a fair idea of the kind of society we live in. Hence GAINING TRUST OR TRYING TO CHANGE THEM is some thing next to impossible. So its better to always be cautious and avoid masked people specially on online forums!

Let us pray and hope all the "GOOD" changes happen even if eventually and lets pray we don't have to witness a surge of crimes in the mean while !

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Frankly there were not many great experiences in Gurgaon but some how strangely I felt I will miss few things when I was in IGI T1 Airport even as my mind was clouded with all grimy thoughts due to the continuous conversations and discussions around me! I didn't make many friends there but I will miss few "good" people with whom I used to talk frequently ! I will remember the teary eyed house owner who was fighting back tears when we were leaving. I couldn't acknowledge it properly as I actually was not sad but am sure I will remember that face always. We bonded nicely and the way they helped and treated us was equal to the treatment at home! I didn't even get a thought to get a pic clicked with the old couple. I later repented. There are sensitivities and goodness in the world. These people yet again reminded me! I shall pray for their health , wellness and safety!

The delicious Qureshi kebab- I love it more than the KAREEMS

I will miss the Qureshi Kebab at DLF shopping mall , the pan and books at saket , the Naivedyam dinners , Driving near the India gate (Delhi roads are indeed fantastic minus few lunatics travelling on it), the flavoured milk at CP , movies at DT cinemas though I had to once witness two viewers who fought horribly throwing cuss words at each other as one hooligan was not allowing rest all to watch Gangs of Wasseypur. I missed few punch dialogues due to him ! Needless to say I will miss travelling to scenic places of Uttaranchal and Uttarakandh. I wanted to cover many places but I had to shift :( :( . I am glad I went to Nainital , Manali , Jaipur , Lucknow, Rohtang , Agra and Jim corbett . Lastly I loved Dilli haat where I actually had the tastiest chat and Akshardham near Noida. The place is worth a visit and you will love the architecture and the peace the place exudes. Only sad part is photos are not allowed . This pretty much sums up my 10 month stayal in Gurgaon!

The Majestic Akshardham 

The leela kempinski and the Ambience mall (Worth a visit)- One of the largest malls in India

Palika bazaar

 I always loved visiting historical monuments or places with historical significance and hence loved Qutub minar , Humayuns tomb , India Gate, Red fort so on so forth.I will write a detailed travelogue and "good" experiences when am in GOOD mood. For now Good bye Gurgaon and welcome Bangalore. I wish the new year becomes a good start for me & Imran & for all of us !!

Qutub minar

Humayun's tomb

PS: All these images are googled. I don't own them.

Even if there was nothing merry and only merry go round happenings during christmas and even if there's nothing too exciting on this new year *Happy new year to one and all. As some thing prefixed by NEW fills hope , reminds ambitions , desires , aspirations* Before trying to take big oaths, paths and resolutions try resolving bygone year's issues and problems!Take care and stay safe. Don't lose hope yet!