For that was my best time

How I miss my city
The lanes, the malls, the cigarette shop
How I miss my home
My bed, my parents, mom-cooked meals
How I miss my love
Her talks, her presence, her lectures
How I miss my friends
Shit heads, dumb heads, comrades

Tsunami of memories flood my mind
As I struggle to stay afloat
In a moment what was around me
Is just happy video tapes of memories

How my heart long and craves
Can someone bring back those days?
Rest of my life I'll look back
And smile, for that was my best time!

Guest Post 'What Women Want?' By Priya

If you can watch a flower bloom, so is a woman.Just as a flower born in this earth, every step of hers (woman) is wanted in many ways. A woman as "SHE" beholds in her to be powerful, strong and trustful. She accepts being a woman and remains to live in the beauty of herself by loving her body, mind and soul.

She takes pride in knowing herself through those mirrors which reflects her wants of acceptance and kindness. She stands tall in every occasion where she has to fight for herself being a girl, education or job or even marriage. She remains an invisible act of tolerance to win the hearts of people to emerge into the society filled with foxes.

She wakes up to think "all that she wants" is a life filled with good people( friends) and not egoistic and demanding which can bring or make her negative towards the society or family. She or Her wants are unlimited, but its the "trust" which she expects in every step of her success. Here trust can also be in the name of "respect" where she aspires to do her roles in a way she likes than over protection or aggressiveness.

Every woman is different, but all woman's wants are special attention, affection, trust in the name of security and her own needs of freedom and solitude in her life as her heart longs and loves to be that way. Wants are so vast even to  fill the gap but its the mind which makes her want to get or go for it. As a woman, her wants can be growing like a flower, who can understand and love her back for who she is than who she will be. Acceptance of being a woman is all what she wants.

Original post has been written by Priya and it can be found here.

Guest Post 'Shooting for the moon' by Poetess

Its been a long time that I have seen stars in the sky,

This thick grey cloud clogging up the city nighttime,

Hiding so cruelly all the precious diamonds in the sky.

Or is it that the cloud is in our minds, fogging brains?

Of materialism, of egos, of cunning, of always wanting more.

A disease permeates our generation—shooting for the moon.

And shoot some people who stand in your way too.

Where friendship is obsolete, its all professional here.

Black coats, black trousers and blacker hearts.

Its been a long time since I saw the sun set over the Ganges

But I still see corpses floating down everyday.

Only this time, its not just decomposed dead bodies.

It is the stench of decaying decadent souls.

The above poem is of my favorite poet-blogger Poetess you can visit her blog Emotions Here.

Arre ye ladka to bada Seedha-Saadha hain. "SSA"

SSA- Seedha Saadha Aadmi. 


To know more about SSA's check my post here.


Every once in few days I have been habituated since childhood to hear the following condemned words:


'Arre ye ladka to bada seedha hain.' or 'bada he seedha-saadha ladka hain aapka' et al.
(Oh the boy is so innocent... or Your child is very innocent)


All these words are such an insult to some one who all his childhood dreamed of being a kid to be known as:


'Arre ye lada to bada bhoukaali hain' or 'Bada hi bhoukaali ladka hain aapka'
(Oh the boy is a deadly thug.... Your child is such a big mafia)
bhoukaali: Don type powerful, mafia typz personality.. get the picture?


Such were my simple and innocent dreams of mine of being the Hindi Cinema's one of the best villains:  Shaakaal

Shakal had pet Sharks which were made to feed on his enemies. Well when I was a kiddo all i could imagine was being a SUPER MAFIA DON whose name was enough to make people wet in pants and sweat in hands. I would think of the most cruel ways of torturing my victims in my super-specialty prisons. My pet Komodo dragon lizards would sit on my shoulders and hunt on my preys:

But then my aspirations did not meet my actions. I failed to be a qualified member of any gang during my school time. Worse than that I was not even involved in a hands-on-fight with a worthy foe which would have unleashed the devil in me and I'd have proven to the world of my hidden draconian intentions. Not even in college such an opportunity materialized. Though some gangs did come in contact and some warlords did consider me for recruitment but then that was ragging time they were on lookout for new recruits, fresh blood to carry their legacy forward.


Time passed and my gangster worshiping attitude found for itself no outlet in the actions. In fact it seemed pretty obvious to me where my life was now headed. I was becoming the SSA of the society. SSA's are wonderful people they don't know how to say NO. How to react, be really street smart and acting all smart Alec hoodwinking people.. all the necessary talents to survive and thrive in the fast paced world. SSA's are not foolish enough to not understand that they are being used. And this is where I am seem to be heading, the Anupem Kher of Khosla ka Ghosla:

   
So many times in my life I have single minded goals of achieve the character of kaminapan.. but then the training is not right. All this idealism and books live in my head and corrupts me. I need more training to achieve atleast 10% characteristics of Shakal ji. 


Amen.

Why I Support Savita Bhabhi.

Now here it is the woman not only your parents but also the Indian Government warned you about ~ Savita Bhabhi. A woman which was before getting banned one of the top most dedicated visited websites of India (as by Alexa). Savita Bhabhi's induction into Indian mindset and her subsequent acceptance and rejection is worth a study.

I have come across PhD's writing case study of how Savita Bhabhi reflects the socio-economic status in our Indian society. I have come across business analyst's review of how much business acumen is behind Savita Bhabhi's branding and customer loyalty. Then I have also come across Indian Government's excuse of banning SB. It's the same government which bans FTV for 3 days just for showing topless models. It's the same government which gives us the governor ND Tiwari. It's the same society which gives us Godmen like Swami Nityananda.

India is a sexually repressed society. We keep our sexualities in our back door. On the front even the word "sex" in itself has become so dirty that sometimes I wonder how can we pronounce the word and not vomit the next second. Why then treat something so natural as copulation as something immoral, as sin? Why does the society makes me feel so unnatural about it? Aren't we the ones who gave the world the Kama Sutra and the Khujraho temples? Top of it all aren't we the ones who pray and seek blessings from Shiva lingam?

There are far worse websites on the Indian web space where you can download videos of sexual escapades between consenting adults with a cam. The movie LSD nothing but mirrors this sad truth. Websites I don't feel like naming here can give give you daily updated dose of uploaded MMS'. Many girls lured by their bf into having sex before camera with or without their knowledge might provide excellent fodder for the junta but ends up ravishing not only the girls life but also her family's.

Savita Bhabhi is a toon character. She involves no real girls to play the part of sex objects. She's a form of art where different artists convulse to bring out a comics which caught the attention of Indians. If say SB reaches a crescendo and there's a huge demand for such toon characters giving rise to an underground industry is it harmful? Who are the people who'll gain: artists, story writers, designers, computer experts et al. Infact as I write this SB's new home Kirtu.com is displaying an ad asking for recruitment of Script Writers.

It's all and all a creative process which is supplying an unfulfilled demand. Think about it; does it encourage any sort of physical sexual slavery, does in the whole cycle a real woman comes in scene to be reduced to a sex mannequin with sounds? Can cartoons encourage prostitution? SB is simply a comics a simple toon. It doesn't need ban from Indian Government to expose the double standards of our democracy where we have started acting as a moral police.

Find about Savita Bhabhi on Wikipedia here.

Article on Savita Bhabhi in Tehelka.

Case Study on Savita Bhabhi by Plugged.in

Support Savita Bhabhi. Its a good feminism.

  Here's a spoof on SB its called Kavita Bhabhi and the site can be reached here.

That's Savita Bhabhi in late night Internet comedy show Jay Hind TV hosted by Sumeet Raghavan of Sarabhai vs. Sarabhai fame.

Vanity Is My Favorite Sin! My Vanity Fair...

Yesterday was a fantastic day, a hattrick, sorts of, for fantabulous days. Last 3 days have been filled with absolute joy and bliss. I won’t go into microscopic details but here what’s been happening in my life:

1.It was a complete chance of fate that as I came across the February issue of JAM magazine and as I was flipping it by guess what I saw? Guess guess… I saw my own photo! It was posted in their advert. for their online social network community Club JAM where it was my profile pic. Now it feels good when you are casually flipping by a national magazine and they have printed your pic to show how “cool” you are. Now I’m “officially” cool!

2.I have been working(voluntarily) for a magazine called UPTU Watch. UPTU is the university I’m pursuing my degree from. UPTU has been responsible for ruining countless lives and tarnishing endless dreams. It has about 600+ colleges in its fold and in a single year the total number of graduates is more than the total number of graduates that have ever graduated from IITs since their inception!

OK back from UPTU bashing to UPTU Watch which has been started my some eminent people of the media industry. I have been in touch with them since long since it’s an issue close to my heart. (I was also behind the start-up youth magazine called “Subzero” in the NCR region which sadly died.) I’m working with them on their current April issue with full throttle which will be out in few days. I’ll be christened as Assistant Editor which is pretty good! The magazine is a movement to reform the UPTU which although being the largest university in the world lies in shambles.

(the issue on the right is of last month i.e. March Issue)

3.Here’s another wonderful event which I was more than glad to attend. It was the launch of Karan Vir’s first truly Indian graphic novel called “Dashaavatar” and “Moksha” it was graced with the presence of Mr. Gurcharan Das who is an eminent author of repute. The venue was the The Oxford Bookstore at Barakhamba Road, New Delhi.

I’m a die hard fan of Karan Vir’s Vimaanika comics which are steady mix of great artwork and mythology. A perfect combo needed to make religion “cool” for the youth of the nation. It was nothing less than a rock concert for me and the people were nothing less than rockstars. I had the opportunity to interact with Karan Vir and asked him few questions and informed him how I failed to find his comics across bookstores in Noida and Lucknow. I also asked his views about some US publications who have comicised our Mythologies (Like Liquid Comics and Grant Morrison’s 18 Days).

p.s. I got my Dashaavtar poster signed by Karan Vir! A collector’s edition!!! 

4.Now I have been meeting my school friends quite a lot recently, on 3 separate occasions I met a total of 4 school mates. All females. Now take a sample~ this is how I was introduced to my friend’s friend at two places: “You know Parv writes poetry! He writes lovely poems at his popular blog. Parv who is the one you write your poetry for? Lucky girl she is!”

So here are two points I have realised about me. I’m officially known and introduced as a “poet” now and secondly people are really interested to meet my girl!! That’s quite heart warming to know that my words are reaching out to people and touching them. Thank you all of you wonderful people for supporting me and boosting my morale it really means a lot to me!

Amen

I say Night Is Peace

I say Night Is Peace

I step out of my balcony
And suddenly a world welcomes me
Everything is so silent
The world seems to be at peace
The night appears empty and still
Like a wheel which has stopped

I stood in my balcony, motionless
Some random dogs barking-somewhere
Some airplanes flying overhead
Like moving toys with flashy lights
In the star studded sky with silent moon
Streets- empty without being haunting

Wind Comes and all the leaves dance
I want to join this orchestra of leaves
And dance on this sound of the leaves
But then the wind passes
Trees fall silent; calm and composed
Its a different world out there

If only you have empty mind to see.

Who Is This I ?

In a mind run riot
By endless dreams and desires
Peace is an eluding butterfly
But when it descends
I have a glimpse
Of God Of Enlightenment Of Maya

The nectar of silence
Tastes like final freedom
When thoughts naturally die
And desires lose their charm
I'm here with all my awareness
Learning how This Moment feels

My body has a rhythm, a soul
My breaths have a sound
My heartbeats have a pulse
My skin has so many sensations
My eyes are so relaxed
My head feels huge, sans thoughts

Thoughts Dreams Desire Future Past
Delusion Illusion Pleasure Pain
So powerless to enter my cave
I, Me, Myself, You, Them, Her
Who is this I?
I find myself lifted in the sky.

10 Sonic Ways To Be Super-Cool

OK fellow un-cool humans here is a refreshing break from the emotional high doses i have been giving you through the poems here. This is THE SECRET which the world has always been waiting for. Even Rhonda Byrne is after me to convert this SECRET into a book offering me a multi-million dollar deal. The CIA called me to keep my mouth shut for their billion dollar research is turning to dust for i offer my SECRET FOR FREE. yes you heard it right absolutely right i bring for you the ultra-secrets which will help you  definitely turn you into a Super-Cool species among your fellow homo sapiens and the envy of all.

1.Watch the right TV: ohh no no no F.R.I.E.N.D.S and Prison Break are passe you need to know the ABC, XYZ, MNO everything of Sex And The City, Desperate Housewives, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Dexter, Lost. Oh yes these are the shows you have to master. The more you know the more you can let the other people slip into depression of being un-cool.

2.Mind Your Language: Alright you speak in English whts the big deal? Ohh so you know the lingo of the hood? So what? You have to prove your ignorance of Hindi at every drop of the hat. When anybody starts talking in Hindi and uses a slightly uncommon word here's the phrases you can use: "Oh I have to work upon my Hindi", "Shit my Hindi is so bad", "Man that is all greek to me, what did u say again?"

3.Social Networking: So you could never let Orkut touch you? Facebook was your one and only home since time immemorial. Now have the right friends and the right Display Pic. Yes my dear dear friend your coolness quotient is measured by your profile pic. Burn the midnight oil use all the photo editing softwares to get the perfect look in your DP.

4.Have Some Relationship Issues: It's just so un-normal to have a happy relationship. "I Have Some Issues" is the buzz-line. It's the secret tht will bring you in the league of super-cool kids. No one likes an ever lasting lovey-dovey couple. Ever seen movies that start with a happy ending? Then why give people that impression.

5.Be Anything But Obvious: Everyone has read Chetan Bhagat that automatically implies you don't have to even touch the filthy books he write. He is an insult to the world of literature a dirty spot which has ruined the beauty of classics. You don't have to touch anything that is in mass consumption. Always go off-beat (read elitist). Here's a catch~ if in your "in" circle being weirdo is obvious then be normal and you'll be the cool one, the different one.

6.Use Right Cuss Words: Now learn to have the blessings of Jesus in your life, start with phrases like "Oh Jesus!" to "Jesus, if only I had known..." Use Fuck like you use prepositions, use the derivatives often to keep the interest and to awe the un-cool. Bullshit, Bitch, Asshole all are welcome in as public way as possible.

7. Be A Party Animal: OK so you haven't attended a party for weeks but your party stories must never ever not even till immortality runs out. You are the Party God sent from heaven above to make this world a cooler place to be in. You rock the party with your awesomeness, your awesomeness has defied all barriers. Your life's a party. (Also includes Night-outs, hang-outs, anything-outs)

8. Trend Setter, Style Icon, Fashion Guru: If you haven't been nicknamed one of these, your coolness is in jeopardy. Be a trend setter go out to tell the world around you what to wear. Be "in" and let the other's copy you. You have to work hard on this one buy fashion magazines, go shopping a lot more times than everyone else does, search the internet. Anything to put you on top.

9. Carry A Guitar/Basketball At All Times: Doesn't matter if you are a girl or a guy carry a Guitar at all times to infuse a sense of inferirity complex in fellow human beings. When you see a guy with a guitar on his back your heart breaks and you curse yourself of all the broken resolutions to learn guitar and the girls are imagining a dude who'll sing them love songs with humming guitar tunes, what a mind game! Same goes with basket-ball

10.You Are Bi-sexual And Accept It: No-one was happier than you when Article 377 was repealed.. It was a moment of eternal happiness for you and fellow gay/lesbian community. Yes you are a bi-sexual and yes you are experimental.  You are a try-sexual. You have the guts to accept it in front of everyone. All the straight people are just so old and conventional and boring. You are the new blood the Super-Cool.



p.s. there you go 10 commandments, 10 Biblical truths which will transform your life to awesomeness. And remember i gave these hidden-truths to you. I'm the Supreme Super Cool Soul in the Universe thou shalt not even doubt it for a second.


p.s. very painfully i have to announce that someone has missed the pun in the whole article so for all the confused ones here it is I WAS BEING SARCASTIC. 

India Lives Here: Kumbh Mela In Haridwar

Cunningness in men I see

Everywhere I go
Cunningness in men I see
Hurt by their selfish intentions
Bruised by their vilified actions
Their words stinks of motives and
Hearts filled with fake pretentions

Hidden behind flowery words
Buried beneath measured smiles
They hide their daggers and lies
They are enemies in disguise

I wonder if at night they feel guilty
I wonder if 'shame' exists in their mind
Give 'em an inch they snatch a mile
Still a frowning face you get everytime.

Guest Post 'Woman' By Priya

She is thrown out, as a piece of paper;
once a beautiful handcrafted piece
carved with love and happiness.

She is thrown out, as a piece of thread;
once woven with silk
to bring the beauty of hers.

She is thrown out, as a piece of wood;
Once bathed with sandal
to enjoy the love of lust.

She is thrown out, as a piece of flesh;
once tangled with silent cries
and a petal full of dreams.

She is thrown out, as a piece of woman;
once reflected and admired
by the man she loved.

-By Priya

Ramayana Retold- Sita Sings The Blues!

Ramayana is a story told and retold and retold and retold and retold but we Indians are never bored of it. We can hear the story as many times as it reaches our ear. We know the characters, we know the story , the plot, the ending but still there's something so magical about the way it is told that it ends up telling more about the person telling it than the story itself. 


From our grandmother version to the Bollywood version we have tried to see it all and missed. The epic comes again over and over with its enthralling magic to mesmerize our attention. Not much time has passed since the animated "Hanuman" and "The Hanuman Returns" were presented to the children and well appreciated and loved. They sparked a frenzy among filmmakers to make animated films about our very own religious heroes/Gods. 


Recently the Indian Mythologies has been adapted and reproduced by various people. One of them include the joint venture of Deepak Chopra and Virgin Comics (more on this later) and the other is a brilliant work of Nina Paley on the animated movie "Sita Sings The Blues". A dynamic and revolutionary treatment of the same story which has never failed to fascinate us. 


"Sita Sings The Blues" uses variety of animation techniques and styles. The whole story is told keeping Sita in the mean focusing on her point of view. What an experience it is to watch the movie!!! No don't wonder about the release dates of the movie because you can LEGALLY download the movie from the official website here. On her website she says:

"You don't need my permission to copy, share, publish, archive, show, sell, broadcast, or remix Sita Sings the Blues. Conventional wisdom urges me to demand payment for every use of the film, but then how would people without money get to see it? How widely would the film be disseminated if it were limited by permission and fees? Control offers a false sense of security. The only real security I have is trusting you, trusting culture, and trusting freedom."

Now this is a real artist. These are the words and the intentions behind the movie and it deserves standing ovation. 

If you want the movie banned from the internet then you can sign the petition here!!! Banning something so beautiful doesn't make sense yes i agree Hindus will find it offensive for their Gods have been misused (Read  M F Hussain) and will be skeptical about the intentions of the artist but i strongly believe Hindus should not be  feeling insulted rather they should welcome it as a bold and modern description of their ages-told tale and how it is relevant even today!

Check the official website of Nina Paley here.

Those Who Have Achieved

Mountains are in the mind
No mountain lies unconquered
Stone towers are build in mind
No tower lies unclimbed

Problems are but imaginary
No problem that can't be solved
Road is never too long, too rough
No road that hasn't been travelled

Oceans rage tests our courage
No oceans that hasn't been crossed
Sky above gazes us all the time
No bird that can go higher than us

Limitations lie in our minds
Boundaries exist in our dreams
Those who have achieved
Threw these limitations away

Burned the boundaries down
Let go of all mind games
Only those who have achieved

Breast Cancer Awareness And Facebook

8 Jan was the "Breast Cancer Awareness Day" and true to the nature of the young generation they leapt into action (pun intended). I logged into my facebook account only to confront the horrors of the effect of americanisation of indian culture and our blind aping of the west. The girls on Facebook had updated their statuses with the colour of their bra.


black and silver!!!!


i guess 39


PINK... LOL....


36 ... :) !!!


pink n grey...!!!!


Brown:-)


palatinate purple, dark lavender, blackkkk nd grey


This was an elegant awe-inspiring and brave move on part on the part of the ladies. Not only this selfless, courageous move will change the world and enlighten the world about breast cancer. It will change the world of social awareness. These girls who I'm sure would hardly know anything about breast cancer (symptoms and effects) and would have done nothing, absolutely NOTHING for social causes felt so much for the cause that so many of them updated the colour of their undergarmets in front of everyone.

What greater breast awarness can you give by telling the whole boys community that you are wearing a black or pink bra.? This is disgusting to say the least. What accolades do these girls expect? They are really "cool". How "cool" is it anyway? How hip, posh and fashionable? So Elle, Cosmopolitan reading, shopping malls addict, lifestyle obsessed generation who have one aim of life: to be cool by aping the west(amreeka to be precise). To be "in" is more important than to be right and logical.

It were the Detroit women who started it all. Girls in India who are cynical about about the "attitude" of indian men were never to be left behind and informed the indian men about their bra-colour sense.

I have written for women issues on this blog and other websites. I have seen government-sponsored billboards of breast awarness showing breasts at crossroads. The art-pieces of Raja Ravi Varma may show women with bare breasts but it enhances the beauty of the women not degrades it. You cannot put Savita Bhabhi comic-art and the nude paintings of Amrita Shergil on the same plate and say they show the same thing.

The intention is the important factor in your actions. Wearing a red ribbion for AIDS-awarness makes sense. Voting for a better Government makes sense. Visiting orphanage makes sense. But please in the garb of a serious issue of Breast Cancer Awareness don't fulfill your sexual fantasies.

painting by raja ravi varma

This City Is A Fight Club

City City Bang Bang
Welcome To Zooland
Come get a taste
Run gotta win this race
Have a taste of blood
This city is never dull
Hard work Hard fun
What you got son?
Prove your worth here
This city is not fair
Dreams Desire Dares
Winners are very rare
Run Run till you drop
Fight Fight never stop

This city is a Fight Club
A sinister and vice hub
Victims of this city
Winners of this city
Fight for every inch in this city
Make your place
Make your space
Build an empire
Build a worthy name

These dirty roads call
These street dogs hungry
These people smell blood
Thsese dreams look nightmare
From sunrise to sunset
Go fight buddy never rest
Nobody gives a damn
Until you give them crap

City City Bang Bang

These Imaginary Fictional Men

Spending time with worthy books
Is having conversation with wise men
It's like these men come to talk
across centuries
across continents
across languages
across time-space
To share their knowledge
To share their thoughts
And we like a sponge absorb

These books tell me stories
Of far-away mountains and seas
Of seductive women and eternal love
Of ruthless Kings and mighty rulers
Of Sci-fi future and stone age past

Each page each line teaches me
Like a teacher of infinite wisdom
I come to know men and society
And acute observation of behavior

These imaginary fictional men
Become my companions
Like real people they live in my head
With their stories and emotions.