Whats (Y)apping!

   Image source: here

When I decided to write on this topic this week for Half baked beans, I was smiling to myself as anyone and everyone is addicted to what’s app these days. Yes it does save time when you have to share some photo-graph or a video or a file from your mobile with other person who has what’s app downloaded on his mobile but what next? It for sure doesn’t stop there.

Everyone keeps checking their mobiles for some what’s app fun message or a forward or a pic. It’s not an exaggeration if I say what’s app is one of the top five communication platforms in the world now, first being Facebook closely followed by twitter. Many other chatting apps have come to light after what’s app like we chat, wow talk etc. but no other app could beat what’s app. From a maid to a carpenter to a gym trainer to a shop keeper, everyone has what’s-app downloaded on their mobiles.

         

My father can use internet but is not well-versed with the day to day changing techno trends. He has a smart phone. I downloaded what’sapp on it but he never used it. He wanted to finalise a function hall for my brother’s wedding. Before visiting the hall, the concerned person asks my father if he can use what’s app! My dad was not very sure. The person in charge wanted to share the snap shots on what’s app for a primary approval. The second experience was when a carpenter asked if any of us have what’s app on mobiles as he wanted to forward some designs. Like this I had many encounters with what’s appers. Whenever I save a number I get curious and check if he/she is using what’s app. Few days back I saw that a Mehndi-wallah who came to apply mehndi on our hands during my brother’s wedding was what’s apping and smiling.

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Joy and Hue of Christmas!

“Jingle bells, jingle bells
 Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh!”

Christmas every year reminds me the sleigh, reindeers, Santa Claus, snow, North Pole and the dreamy celebrations there with fog and mist and everything which will change the mood and bring the festive spirit in me! Advent  is a season observed by many western Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of nativity of Jesus at Christmas.

Christmas is celebrated in various ways throughout the world ranging from hanging the Christmas wreath which has many legends linked to it that say holly is the most known Christmas greenery and Jesus’ crown is made of it and holly berries represent his blood, the Christmas stockings which are hanged so that Santa Claus can fill it with fruits, toy, gifts, candies, Candy canes and also lighting the Christmas tree and adorning the houses with the Christmas star. Specially In India where the festive season starts in October   itself with Dusshera followed by Diwali- the festival of lights and then Christmas with glittering trees and stars it seems like the nation is in all time celebration mood.

A still from Polar Express Movie

With the advent of this festive season markets and malls bustle with crowds irrespective of the religion who are seen purchasing stuff to celebrate in their own way. You can see Christmas trees and lights on almost every mall with discounts, offers and vouchers. It’s pretty exciting to do shopping in the festive season and get dressed in the best way exuding style and elegance. Christmas is celebrated with thrill and pomp where families prepare a big Christmas dinner, bake cookies and make fudge. I still remember the doughnuts I used to hog when my best friend used to bring them to school post-Christmas. The hectic shopping activity is never ending and brings smiles throughout the season. In India most exhilarating celebration of Christmas can be seen in the vivacious state of Goa. A large number of domestic and international tourists flock to the beaches of Goa during Christmas festival to watch Goa at its cultural best. It’s celebrated in various states in various styles.

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Moral policing on Social networks

 Social network has become the outlet for rants which can be shared with at least 500 odd friends and get little solace and peace. However there has to be little control on what and when to post. There were many social network crimes or cyber-crimes since the advent of Facebook , twitter, Myspace and many more social networking sites in to people’s lives.

Sometime in September 2011 a boy has put status message on FB stating he dumped his girlfriend. Immediately after that Malini Murmu an IIM Bangalore student committed suicide amid these FB messages! There are many more such cases which lead to family devastation like a boy informing her girlfriend that he is going to kill himself on FB and doing the same, a girl reporting every one that she is about to die, so on so forth. In daily news you will come across many such hard to believe crimes and suicides over the social network the reason for which is a subject of interest to psychiatrists. The impulse people face these days on facebook and other sites is unmatchable! Social media does assist the police to catch the criminals. Many people foolishly leave their footprints on social networking sites and it has become easy to catch the criminal.

The question is how much can the moral police stop crimes driven by emotional trauma? Will their laws be able to stop crime? Will this change the mind-set of people?

Everyone must be aware of the old news where two girls were arrested on the grounds of moral policing by the police of Thane station in Mumbai and just 9 days after that arrest one more guy was arrested on the same grounds!

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“The art of remaking- A ready made Business”!

Originally published at "Half Baked voices Blog!" 

Remaking a movie is a huge business. Since my childhood half of the movies I watched are remakes. They either get welcomed with a red carpet or get bounced at box office.  Copying from Hollywood is an art in India.  Oops! I should not call it copying. Remaking a movie is a stylish way of saying that you have copied!  Sometimes copying is done with permission and many a times they are simply copied. Their songs, posters, dialogues or the full length-movie, everything can be easily remade by our film makers. Recently I came to know that my favourite movie Zindagi na milegi Dubara’s poster is similar to a 2005 movie – Lords of the Dog town’s!  Now the yet to be released Dhoom 3’s poster looks like it is inspired by The Dark Knight Rises. Of course it is edited a bit .

Anything and everything made outside India is taken and blended with the local nuances to make it appealing to Indian viewers. Few things from here are also copied there but we master in remaking! We inhale and exhale movies in India so we always fall short of movies.  We cross all the boundaries and copy English, French, Korean and many more movies.

If you keenly observe eight out of ten movies you liked would have been copied or should I say inspired from Hollywood!

Sometimes we are content with all the regional flicks. South Indian movies are remade in Hindi .Few Hindi movies are made in various states in their respective film industries and one more trending and money saving style of making movies is to just dub the dialogues and not change the actors. The movie gets released with a funny title and funny songs. Maine Pyar Kia was kind of a trend setter and every one followed suit. Maine Pyar Kia was a huge hit. Till date whenever I see a white pigeon I remember the song Kabootar ja. Not sure of the lyrics in Telugu but I am sure they must be funny! Rajnikanth’s latest Robo/Robot left me in splits when I heard the songs in Hindi. Kilimanjaro Ladki parbat ki yaaro , jungle jungle pukaro , yaaro !! Like really? I can’t even decipher the original song and Hindi translation increased the fun factor in the song. Nevertheless the movie was a huge hit in all the languages wherever it was released. There is no need to specially mention the Rajni factor in the movie.

But this trend became so popular that all the south Indian movies are being dubbed to Hindi and released in U.P, Bihar and many other states. Even if some are not released in the theatres they are regularly telecasted on the small screen. The titles are utterly funny. Badle ki aag , Sabse bada dilwala, Mazduron ka daata are just few among many such movies. Surprising fact is it is a flourishing business as many viewers are liking them :- (

One more trend which started is remaking the old blockbuster movies. New actors who fit in the role are handpicked and the movie is remade with the same story line or with some minor tweaks in the story. DON made in 2006 with SRK in the lead role was originally played by none other than Amitab Bachan in the year 1978. We all know this fact. The new one was made with an interesting plot. However DON 2 didn’t meet the level of Don. There are many remakes which got bombed at the box office. Zanjeer (originally Amitab’s movie) in which Ram Charan Teja acted is a fresh example. There are many such lousy remakes like RamGopal Varma ki aag which spoiled the master piece Sholay, Chashme Baddoor which was not even near to the original one, so on so forth.

It needs lot of re work to even make a remake work! It needs a good team and loads of creativity used in the right direction to make it an interesting watch.

The remake of French Kiss- Pyar to Hona hi tha is an unforgettable one. Till date, the song aaj hai sagaai is played in weddings, whereas skipping the discussion of remake of my sassy girl – Ugly aur Pagli (Mallika Sherawat starrer) is a better decision.  Dil hai ki Manta nahi is a movie loved by all. It is a remake of the movie, “It happened one night.”  Check out the posters below.

Even the super hit Dilwale Dulhania Lejayenge is inspired by a movie “The sure thing” in which John Cusack acted. We all know how much DDL is loved by the movie goers. Jab we met is inspired by “A walk in clouds” but it also came in the news that Jab we met inspired a holly wood flick “Leap Year”. We all get inspired by each other :- ). Chak de India is inspired by Miracle on Ice. Similarly there are many such good movies which are inspired by Hollywood films. Remakes don’t work always but people watch it with the curiosity to see how it is made. More than half of our movies are remade.

Every year the champs of film industry jot in their notebooks (U me aur hum), travel back in Time machine (Love story 2050) to check the repository of old movies and they come up with an already used idea. They present it to us topped with Indian spices. We are the God Fathers (Sarkars) of the remakes. Kuch to hai in our filmmakers as they know what to do last summer, this summer and every year and then they forget what they did like a Ghajini (Memento)  :- )

"Ladakh"-God made it with precision

Originally published at "Half Baked Voices Blog"
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Getting clicked at the Pangong Lake is in my wish list. Bollywood does impact our wishes and desires. After Ladakh is shown in many movies like 3 idiots and Jab tak hai jaan I started loving it more. Not that I liked Jab tak hai Jaan but the part of the movie shot in Ladakh was a delight to eyes. The pristine blue water is a rare vision in India. The lake is heavenly and huge. It extends from India to Tibet.  Ladakh means “land of high passes.” It is in the state of Jammu and Kashmir inhabited by Indo-Aryans and Tibetans. Leh is the largest town of Ladakh.  Reaching Ladakh via road is challenging. People who go on a trek to Ladakh carry heavy luggage which comprises of huge canvas tents and collapsible string beds as well. Trekking to Ladakh is the most adventurous trip in India. People residing in Delhi and nearby areas travel to Ladakh even on bikes. The journey is naturally challenging due to dangerous and slippery narrow roads flanked by ice chunks on the sides, reckless driving by many due to steep lanes and foggy vision but if you go by bike you may get a chance to find unexplored hamlets and people. For instance my friend went on a bike along with a group and they could stop where ever they wanted to and explored many new places. People frequently suffer from illness due to acute mountain sickness. I have experienced it during my trip to Rohtang Pass. The same highway connects to Leh. It starts from Manali. Other than the Manali-Leh highway two other roads which connect Ladakh are Zoji-La Pass and Kargil route from Srinagar in the Kashmir Valley. The below pic is taken by my friend who went from Srinagar to Ladakh along with fellow bikers. It was clicked on the way.

They had faced many challenges during the journey due to bad roads, flat tyres and mountain sickness but they made it to Ladakh. The sense of accomplishment which one experiences on reaching Ladakh can’t be explained in words. It’s more special when you travel all by yourself on road. If you take the road from Srinagar you get a chance to visit dal-lake, Kargil and many more beautiful places which you would have seen in TV all the time.  In peek winters the roads get closed due to heavy snow fall.  Khardong-La Pass to Nubra valley has an alternate day schedule. It is closed on Mondays and it usually gets closed by snow for several days in winter and spring. Nubra valley is to the north east of Ladakh valley. We were told by our driver that even in Rohtang pass snow falls up to a height of five feet from the ground level in winter. Biking surely rushes the adrenaline and the trip becomes more exciting. Bikers can explore many areas leisurely. For instance my friend visited a village called Gondla and had to stay in a hospital as there were no hotels or rooms to stay! They interacted a lot with villagers and made friends.

The above image is of a gorgeous girl from Gondla village!

I am listing down few things which one has to do during their trip to Ladakh:

•      Don’t miss visiting the monasteries of Shey, Hemis, Alchi, Thikse and Lamayuru and many more. A visit to monastery is always peaceful.

•     White water rafting and trekking are the major adventurous activities.

•     Watching the sunset at Nubra valley feels divine.

•   Drass war memorial in Kargil is a must visit. After all saluting our jawans should be in our to-do list. It will surely be a heart-warming experience and a moment of great pride!

•    There are many lakes other than Pangong Lake. Tso Moriri is one such heavenly lake!

• There are many valleys and highest passes to trek in Ladakh.

Each spot in Ladakh looks like God made it with high concentration and precision. Divinely places are tough to reach but once you reach them you forget your hardships!

The trip will surely make you experience another dimension of Mother Nature.  At the same time you will also realise that it is intertwined with many challenges.  Altitude sickness, frost bites and getting migraines is common. You will learn patience and co-operation during such strenuous trips. While climbing to Khardungla top my friend’s palms were frozen. A local Nepali boy helped him to recover and offered him tea and biscuits free of cost. Hospitability is something you can experience only when you travel to such places. Even at Drass when their bikes broke down an army unit offered juice, biscuits, jalebi and even invited them to stay there. Great travels always give you great experiences!

Lastly a click of the majestic Pangong Lake.

Images courtesy: My friend Piyush’s album at – “ Piyush's Ladakh Trip “

Cricket is our religion and Sachin is our God!

My third article on " Half Baked Voices "

Almost every Indian who has access to media and cricket would know the declaration by many die-hard fans that, “Cricket is their religion and Sachin is their God.” There is no denial here. The three things which always flourish in India are religion, Cricket and movies. Of course weddings can also be added to the list. Be it legendary players like Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil dev, Mahendra singh Dhoni , Rahul Dravid or the master blaster  Sachin Tendulkar, people worship all of them. Even if hockey is our national game its cricket which strikes chord with the nation. People celebrate if the team wins and don’t mind using profanities and burning the effigies of their favourite players if the team loses. Our country is obsessed with their cricket stars and celebrities.  The coca cola caption works for most of us in India which is – Eat Cricket, sleep cricket. Drink only Coca Cola.

Not long back, when I was in high school I remember my dad pasting the newspaper cut out on the cupboard. At first I thought it must be something related to office. Later I realised it is the time table of the test match series of that season. I was surprised seeing how much my dad adored the game. The love for game was contagious at home. My mom who doesn’t know the C of the Cricket started learning the match. She understood what it means by no ball, run-out, clean bowled and many more things. We also understood what it means by body line bowling and match fixing. Our hearts always race when India plays with Pakistan. I still remember the news program where Kapil Dev shed tears like a baby when he was accused of match fixing. Anything related to cricket is hot shot news and sells not for days or months but for years and centuries including Sreesanth’s controversies !

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Digital Revolution and the generation "Y" Kids

Bill gates said “We are changing the world with technology.”  Douglas Carl Engelbart an American inventor, and an early computer and internet pioneer quoted that , “In 20 or 30 years, you'll be able to hold in your hand as much computing knowledge as exists now in the whole city, or even the whole world".

 Keeping aside the rapid progress in knowledge and the way digital revolution made life easy, if we discuss how it impacted the childhood and adolescent life it most of the times doesn’t seem very positive.

In 70s and 80s researchers termed the modernisation caused by TV in Germany as “Television Childhood” and “Loss of childhood.” Parents are always insecure and fear that television may affect their kid’s personality development. Not that Television hasn’t been educational but it is famously phrased as “Idiot box” the way it influenced everyone’s life. Even cartoons are provocative at times. Instead of playing in the ground nearby kids started watching TV a lot and there are extreme scenarios which came in news long back where a boy had put his younger brother in washing machine to make him white/fair. Kids believe everything and hence false news can be a bad impact on them. There’s a kid in our neighbourhood who disobeys his mom and beats the maid as he wants to imitate Shinchan, a cartoon character. The cartoon is hilarious but the after effects are far beyond our imagination.

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The actual digital revolution occurred in late 90s with the advent of computers, mobile phones, Dig-cams, CD players and Internet. This is called second wave of modernisation. The generation Y kids and teens grew up with a mouse in one hand and mobile phone in the other.

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