Buses and movies

While in BGLR I would go often to my hometown, sometimes every weekend. It was easy. Catch a bus on Fri eve, reach Sat morning. Leave on Sun eve and come back on Mon morning.

The buses were decently comfortable, much more comfortable than the flights with economy seating. If you are like me who can fall asleep anywhere easily, it makes it easier to get through the hours. The bus would start, and I would drift off ... doze ... wake ... doze ... calm and peaceful, except for the roar of traffic outside until...

... they play a movie. And then my torture begins. I cant watch the movie and I cant turn away ... because of the reflection of the movie in the windows. The sound - what can anyone do about it? They just play it loud, real loud.

Movies are a ritual on these overnight buses that ply between major towns and cities. A ritual that needs to be kept come what may. It does not matter whether you have good movies or not. For that matter, how can you define what is a "good" movie? Everyone has their own definition and preferences.

I dont know how many horrible movies I must have watched or heard on these journeys. Tons. 95% crap movies, per my definition. All the Grade B and C movies from gultland. All the movies that I would have consciously avoided. Three hours of torture, meaningless violence, crappy and silly dialogues. Sometimes I would wish I did not know the language.

That's how I saw the Telugu version of the Tamil movie Ghajjini. The one that Aamir Khan is acting in Hindi and due to be released shortly. It was a big hit at that time. One of its songs was in every cell phone as a ringtone. I did not care much for the song though everyone was raving about it. I was on one these overnight journeys and they played GHajjini. Teh only part I liked was the romance between the guy and girl - it was light and sweet. And then there is a 180 shift.
Meaningless murders. Violence. Pyschothrillers.

Honestly, I did not understand the whole purpose of the movie. It was a hit, such a major hit that Aamir Khan wanted to act in a remake. All the e-papers are about this movie now and how it will do at the box office!

I cant watch violence or psycho stuff for the thrill of it. Like the "I know what you did last summer" and the sequel "I still know what ...". Saw the first one, had no idea what the story was all about and who killed who for what reason...some of my colleagues loved it for the simple reason that it made them sit on the edge of their seats for nearly two hours!

I prefer simple, nice, cute movies. If that does not make them or me realistic, I am ok with that. Gimme Shrek. Madagascar. Ratatouille. Home Alone. Hrishi da's or Basu Chatterjee's movies. I can even tolerate a Govinda-David Dhawan maybe.

Then there is Rab De... I dont like Shah rukh with moustache though...think he should retire.

Of winters and icy rain and crystal trees

I am not very fond of the cold and the winters. Never liked them. Not that I like hot summers either. Staying in BGLR for almost a decade spoiled me to the extremes of temperature.

Remember those cold mornings in DGP ... waking up to go to school was such a torture. The lowest we ever had was perhaps 4 degrees Centigrade but so what ... there were no heaters at the time (I mean central heating for the whole house), the floors were cold, there was no hot water in the taps. I would wake up and sit on bed and shed tears for being the lone miserable creature in the entire world who had to wake up so early in the morning. My parents would be awake by then but they did not count.

When for my engineering college, I had the choice of Kanpur vs Chennai, I had no hesitation to choose Chennai -

Since then I must have lived in some cold places. Boston, Swiss, upstate NY. And something happens when I set foot in a place. Like Boston had one of its coldest winters and snowstorms in over 80 years. Zurich had its longest winters and 2 days of non stop snowing in April - never heard of before. Well, it does not stop there ... when we landed in ALB last year, it had 22 inches of snowfall, one of the worst in recent years.

Three days back we had icy rain. The weather foecasts were predicting wintry mixes and icy rain, like they always do and I did not pay much attention. We have had icy rains before ... they are bad than the snow but not really that bad.

This time it was different. It rained through the night. When we woke up in the morning, the power was out. A rare event where we live. Nothing works if there is no electricity - no stove, no heater, no phone, no internet, no TV. My husband went to work. My cellphone was water damaged during out trip to Hawaii and I was lazy to get it repaired. No means of communication.
Thankfully, the boiler was working and I managed to get a nice, hot water bath.

Outside, the scene was beautiful, was picture perfect. All the trees and beanches were covered up with ice. Looked amazing like crystal. When the sun shone through the clearing gray skies, it was even more magnificent. I bet the whole of Northeast shone and glowed and glistened...ok, whatever, I cant find the right enough word.

It started getting colder inside as the temperature dropped degree by degree and I started piling layers of warm clothing around myself and snuggled into the sofa. Wondered when the power would come, and wondered how dependent our lives had become on electricity. If it became any colder, I decided I would go aprk in my car. Gasoline prices have fallen recently, so I thought that should be ok.

We were some of the lucky few who got power by evening. And when I connected with the rest of civilization, I came to know about the havoc wreaked. Trees had fallen, sometimes smashing cars, tranformers had burst, more than a million homes had lost power - half of them dont have any even 3 days later and some of them may take 3-4 days more, ... all because of an inch of icy rain! Forces of nature are mighty indeed!

"Be a leader, not a follower"

We were in Las Vegas last month on our way to Hawaii for a 2 week vacation. It was a Saturday and we went to this Sahara casino for a buffet lunch.

There was this woman, an African-American, who was clearing the used plates as and when they piled up on the tables. S and I were concentrated on our food when a conversation at the next table fell on our ears. The woman was talking to a couple sitting at the table. Maybe they asked her how she manages her life and kids living in the Sin City. She said she told her kids that their job is to "focus" and "study" well. She is working hard to provide them a good education and it is their responsibility to mindful of the fact. She has also told them to "be a leader and not a follower".

Wow! I think. What an amazing piece of advice from a mom!

I am now listening intently catching every word she utters. Be a friend to your children, she tells the couple. You have to understand them and be their friend, not a judgmental adult. It also depends, she continues, on how we communicate. Many times, she says, we are so wrapped up with our own thoughts and beliefs, we tend to misunderstand what the other person is actually saying. Ask the person, "is this what you are saying?" instead of fuming and getting into a rage. You will at most times find that when the other person explains what they actually meant, that it was not meant the way you understood.

Now, I am sitting there and remembering the times when I could have easily misunderstood someone ...

At times like these, when everyone is looking for leaders and hoping a leader would emerge and lead the masses, I remember this mother's words and wonder - why cant each one of us be a leader?

Aa chal ke tujhe

Aa chal ke tujhe main leke chaloon
Ik aise gagan ke tale
Jahan gam bhi na ho
Aansoo bhi na ho
Bas pyar hi pyar pale
Ik aise gagan ke tale

Suraj ki pahali kiran se
Aashaa kaa savera jaage
Chandaa kii kiraN se dhul kar
Ghanaghor andhera bhaage
Kabhi dhuup khile kabhi chhaav mile
Lambii sii Dagar na khale
Jahan gam bhi na ho
Aansoo bhi na hobas pyaar hi pyaar pale
Ik aise gagan ke tale

Jahan door nazar daud aae
Aazaad gagan laharaae laharaee
Jahan rang birange panchhi
Aashaa kaa sandesaa laayen
Sapano me pali hansati ho kali
Jahan shaam suhaani dhale
Ik aise gagan ke tale

Sapano Ke aise jahan mein
Jahan pyaar hi pyaar khila ho
Hum jaa ke vahan kho jaaye
Shikuva na koyi ghila ho
Kahin bhair na ho koyi ghair na ho
Sab milke chalte chale
Ik aise gagan ke tale

A beautiful song by Kishore Kumar - How I wish ....

Wake up calls?

We have had a series of wake up calls ... for the whole world. How many more do we need before we wake up to the fact that we cannot act in silos? that what matters in one part of the globe does not affect the rest of us? that whatever decisions and actions we take will affect generations to come?

Strange isn't it? That today, we are faced with a global crisis in all respects.

Economic crisis - socialism has fallen and in a way capitalism has too. This just goes to show that it is not as much about capitalism or socialism as the principles and values that go behind it. Companies are falling like a pack of cards. No body would have imagined a few years back that some of these companies - financial, auto, etc would be at the brink of disaster. Greed, caprice, power hunger.

Environmental crisis - we are fast using up our natural resources. We are polluting our environment with carbon emissions, with chemicals and bio-nondegradable substances. Vegetables, fruits, greens, grains, meat, --- we are now looking for ways to go the organic route.
Not to mention the technology invasion, we dont know yet the long term repercussions of microwaves, cell phones or the waves used in the process, just to name a common few ...

Religious crisis - where people have forgotten what religion is actually about and have been abusing humanity in the name of religion. This is nothing new of course, we have relished using religion as a tool to induce fear in the masses for ages and have used it as a weapon to kill millions.

Political crisis - the world over politicians have become a despicable breed, I dont mean just the people in public office or in the govt, but people who practice politics in all walks of life and in all professions.

Social crisis - that has existed for years, human rights, women abuse and suppression of rights, child abuse, poverty, etc...

The time has come for some serious soul searching. We have had a number of wake up calls and we will have many more if we dont heed what's going on ...

We can no longer ignore how we the people of a country and the world are all connected to one another economically, socially, politically, environmentally, technologically, globally and spiritually.

The world is getting flatter and smaller day by day. We can no longer be driven by the sole need to make profits/money or exhibit power/control --- at the expense of humanity, at the expense of our beautiful planet, at the expense of the forces of nature, at the expense of our souls.

Humanity has to be our new religion. Love the universal language. Peace our new mission. And respect for every plant, animal, bird, human being our new creed. A bit of humility will also go a long way - like the CEO of a major bank seems to have finally realized!

And how will this happen? It is already happening. There has been a growing awareness among people for years now. The majority of the people in every country around the world want peace, want to live and let live, want to get on with their lives. It is a growing reality and a growing force.

The pen is mightier than the sword. But there is something mightier than the pen. It is our intention and our thought and the resulting action.

"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." - Paul Coehlo

No this is not a mere quotation from a book, this is how the universe works. Let us make use of the Infinite Spirit of the Universe to realize what we desire. Let us set our intentions loud and clear - global peace and happiness and prosperity and freedom for one and all. We are getting there in the best possible way ... yes, we are.

What can we do...

Life ... how does one describe life? And how does one define normalcy? I so want normalcy to be restored into our lives, at the same time I dont want it to. The same old normalcy where we forget about everything and go back to our regular lives? My life, my family, my work...no. What can we do then? What can we do to restore peace and security once and for all?

Do we cure the visible symptoms or heal the cause? War is not a solution. Top officials resign. The govt makes strong statements, declares that we will not surrender. The parties go about hurling accusations at one another, what one did, what one did not. Promises will be made. Vote banks will be swayed and secured. Elections will come. Some of us will go vote. Vote for whom? Same old politicians, same old talk, same old deeds, same old kachda. Do we want to go through the whole tamasha once again?

We say politics is like that - dirty, as if that explains everything and will solve everything. Good people wont survive in politics, we tell ourselves, and so we stay away. The story continues. We let politicians divide us on basis of caste, religion, region. We trust the next government would do something, keep the promises and solve our problems. And when they dont and we know they dont, we stay away from elections and dont participate in voting.

What choices do we have? Political reform. How do we go about achieving that? Not by voting the current govt out of power because the opposition parties are no good either. How do we get the message across to these parties that we are sick and tired of them all and none of them deserve our votes unless they clean up their act? How do we get them to clean up their respective parties? How do we enforce that people with criminal records do not stand for elections? How do we ensure accountability at every level? How can we introduce feedback mechanisms into the system and ways to bring down the government if they are not following the promised agenda - instead of waiting for 4 full years? How can we ensure that that the politicians are not eating money and the people are getting what is due to them? How do we ensure transparency? How can we ensure that the differences between the rich and poor are minimized with very focussed development programs? How can we engage the youth in the country so that they dont get carried away by so called lofty goals? How can each one of us participate in the govt actively with commitment and values and bring out the needed reforms?

Reform is a must now ... at all levels and every single one of us needs to cooperate and participate.

Check from all sides?

When we were young and lived in a small township campus in Bengal, we would be scared of thieves. Thieves that would break into houses in the night, who would rob homes holding people at gun/pistol or knife point. Rarely did they kill - perhaps they had some values! Every time a robbery or theft happened, we would be scared. For a few nights. Life would then go back to normal within a month and all would be forgotten.

Times have changed. Now, it is no longer petty thieves and petty ammunition. And not just one's home. Credit cards, identities, bank accounts, computers, cars, organizations, public places, nations.

HAs any place been left out? We seem to be advancing technologically but so are the hackers, the law breakers, the attackers.

But has the world ever been safe? Battles, wars, crusades, ... history is full of them. Every land where man has set afoot. For as long as we have known, man has had a need to dominate, to hold power, to be in control, to reign supreme - at whatever cost - beg, borrow, steal, kill. We have created religion, race, caste, class, state, nation, organization, society, community...we have created rules to go with each of these...rules that are unfair, biased, unequal. For centuries, there has been discrimination of sex, caste, religion, race, class ... and what not.

We have not only abused humanity, we have abused the earth and the environment. We are creating global warming and pollution, we are killing and animals and birds directly or indirectly every second, we are clearing vast areas of forests every second. We are pumping chemicals into the environment every second.

What is safe in this world today - food? air? water? land? people?

Our lives are no longer safe.

We have checked ourselves from all sides and in all possible ways. How do we get out of this?