The Eye of The Tiger

I’m not a violent person by nature, on the contrary, I see myself as among the most jovial and fun-loving persons around. But then calmness should not be misconstrued for weakness, and if I’m deliberately provoked and rubbed the wrong way, then I’d have to admit I’m not a Gandhi follower to simply turn the other cheek, and I would ensure that the inciter would get a swift and befitting reply.
Despite being physically capable, God knows I’ve never ever been a bully or tried to misuse my strength over anybody, but at the same time I can never be a passive witness to someone else bullying anybody.
The last time I remember losing my cool was in the summer of 2003 in my college hostel. Our college was quite close to the Delhi – Ghaziabad border, and Ghaziabad is notorious for it’s high crime rate and politico – criminal nexus.
Our college also had the best of the crowd from the country, and we had very popular parties every month which inevitably invited some unwanted attention from the local miscreants as well. On the eve of one such party I was casually taking a stroll down the college canteen when a speeding car screeched to a halt barely inches away from me. I walked upto the window thinking it might be a friend while it turned out to be two drunk guys who immediately started hurling a volley of abuses down my way and threatened me saying they were the nephews of one D.P. Yadav (A politician and local mafia don). Before I could react and pull them out they sped further inside the campus.
I had never been subjected to this kind of humiliation ever before, and it was enough to send all the testosterone in my blood pumping. I quickly ran to the only gate of our campus and asked the guard to immediately lock the gate and not let anybody out until I said so. Now the car came back to the gate in a few minutes where I already stood waiting for them. They both came out and stood bang opposite me staring me straight in the eye, and I too returned the favour.( proper filmi style)
They were careful not to utter one more offensive word this time, and I was determined that if they did, I would’ve immediately started pounding their heads. A crowd of students had already started gathering, but I was surprised that not even a one of those rich spoilt brats had the balls to join me against those hooligans. Two of my junior femmes from the crowd shouted they had misbehaved with them as well, besides roughing up a lot of guys earlier.
Now I asked the guard to call up the police which turned their faces pale and they started imploring to get the gate opened. It became obvious to me now that they were bluffing (Yadav’s kins would’ve had the police in their pockets) and I asked them to apologise to me and those females or else I would hand them over to the police.
This standoff continued till almost another half hour but the bloody police never arrived ( I guess they were scared of the mafia themselves) but ultimately those goons did publicly apologise and said they would never enter our campus again, and indeed they were never seen after that.
I was reminded of this incident now since I’m facing a similar situation at work these days which sometimes boils my blood to similar levels, though now the battle has taken a corporate angle.
My current nemesis who is a senior in my team is using similar bullying tactics on me and is mainly responsible for botching up my appraisal as well as the reason why I’m having to sip filter coffee here rather than French wine at a chateau near the French Riviera.
Until now he’s been engaging me in a verbal duel through scornful emails copied to our boss as well, and now that he’s coming back I can’t wait to have a tête-à-tête with him in the meeting with our boss next week.
So he can talk The Talk (so can I and maybe a gazillion times better than him), now let me see if he can walk The Walk!

Risin' up, back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive

So many times, it happens too fast
You change your Passion for Glory
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive

It's the Eye of the Tiger, it's the cream of the fight
Risin' up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
And he's watchin' us all in the Eye of The Tiger

(I cut this portion from my pic, enlarged it and converted it to black n white....lol it's funny how ferocious it looks now though it had a smile beneath!)

The Season of The TAG - 2

I was tagged again by Shikha recently...so here i go...

Four jobs I have had

Software Engineer

(Unfortunately that's the only job I have ever had)

Four movies I would watch over and over again

DDLJ
Dil Chahta Hai
Troy
Dumb and Dumber


Four places I have lived

Chandigarh
Delhi
Bangalore
(that's it)


Four TV shows I love to watch

Friends
Fear Factor
The Great Indian Comedy show
That 70’s Show



Four places I have been on vacation

Andamans
Srinagar
Gangtok
Dalhousie

Four of my favourite foods

‘Makki(Maize flour) ki roti’ with ‘Sarson (mustard) ka saag’
Any variety of stuffed paranthas
Chocolate Soufle
Paneer – Any variety cooked with a luscious gravy.


Four places I'd rather be now

On my bike cruising to a faraway place
Anywhere in the Himalayan glaciers
Rio de Janeiro
Sleeping at home


Four sites I visit daily

Blogs
Indiatimes
Time.com
Ebay.co.in

I'm 4going tagging 4 others, so kindly 4give and 4get!

That 4 Letter Word

ANYTHING FOR LOVE (Meat Loaf)

Video Code provided by VideoCodeZone.Com

It’s that time of the year again.
I agree that for those who’re really neck deep in love, almost every day should be a ‘Valentine’s Day’.
Anyways these days we have a ‘day’ for anything and everything…friendship day, father’s day, mother’s day, teacher’s day, smile day, blood donation day, aids day, earth day, fool’s day….hell coming to think of it….we might as well have a ‘today is nothing’ day for some days of the year when there is actually nothing happening.
But I’m not gonna be a spoilsport now, perhaps because this particular day is devoted to that most inexplicable of human emotions which has triggered the most creative of human talents throughout time, and continues to be the single largest driving force behind most poetry, music, drama and movies.

To describe something so complex, deep and beautiful is frankly beyond the grasp of a few words, but while scanning my old mailbox a few days back, I came across a mail sent to me by a friend around 4 years ago, which I’d incidentally not deleted maybe because of the beauty of it.
I think I’ll just put it up here as a token of my respect for this emotion called love:

My husband works at office a lot , I love him for his steady nature, and I love the warm feeling when I lean against his broad shoulders. Two years of courtship and now, three years into marriage, I would have to admit, that I am getting tired of it. The reasons of me loving him before, has now transformed into the cause of all my restlessness.

I am a sentimental woman and extremely sensitive when it comes to a relationship and my feelings, I yearn for the romantic moments, like a little girl yearning for candy. My husband, is my complete opposite, his lack of sensitivity, and the inability of bringing romantic moments into our marriage has disheartened me about love. One day, I finally decided to tell him my decision, that I wanted a divorce.

"Why?" he asked, shocked. "I am tired, there are no reasons for everything in the world!" I answered.

He kept silent the whole night, seems to be in deep thought with a lighted cigarette at all times. My feeling of disappointment only increased, here was a man who can't even express his predicament, what else can I hope from him? And finally he asked me:" What can I do to change your mind?"

Somebody said it right, it's hard to change a person's personality, and I guess, I have started losing faith in him. Looking deep into his eyes I slowly answered : "Here is the question, if you can answer and convince my heart, I will change my mind.
Let's say, I want a flower located on the face of a mountain cliff, and we both are sure that picking the flower will cause your death, will you do it for me?"

He said :" I will give you your answer tomorrow...." My hopes just sank by listening to his response.
I woke up the next morning to find him gone, and saw a piece of paper with his scratchy handwriting, underneath a milk glass, on the dining table near the front door, that goes....

My dear,
"I would not pick that flower for you, but please allow me to explain the reasons further.."
This first line was already breaking my heart. I continued reading.
"When you use the computer you always mess up the Software programs, and you cry in front of the screen, I have to save my fingers so that I can help to restore the programs.
You always leave the house keys behind, thus I have to save my legs to rush home to open the door for you.
You love travelling but always lose your way in a new city, I have to save my eyes to show you the way.
You always have the cramps whenever your "good friend" approaches every month, I have to save my palms so that I can calm the cramps in your tummy.
You like to stay indoors, and I worry that you will be infected by infantile autism. I have to save my mouth to tell you jokes and stories to cure your boredom.
You always stare at the computer, and that will do nothing good for your eyes, I have to save my eyes so that when we grow old, I can help to clip your nails, and help to remove those annoying white hairs. So I can also hold your hand while strolling down the beach, as you enjoy the sunshine and the beautiful sand... and tell you the colour of flowers, just like the colour of the glow on your young face...

Thus, my dear, unless I am sure that there is someone who loves you more than I do... I could not pick that flower yet, and die.. "
My tears fell on the letter, and blurred the ink of his handwriting... and as I continue reading...
"Now, that you have finished reading my answer, if you are satisfied, please open the front door for I am standing outside bringing your favorite bread and fresh milk...

I rush to pull open the door, and saw his anxious face, clutching tightly with his hands, the milk bottle and loaf of bread....
Now I am very sure that no one will ever love me as much as he does, and I have decided to leave the flower alone...
That's life, and love. When one is surrounded by love, the feeling of excitement fades away, and one tends to ignore the true love that lies in between the peace and dullness.

Love shows up in all forms, even very small and cheeky forms, it has never been a model, it could be the most dull and boring form.. .

I do not think it can be described in a better way than that.

It's really difficult to pick up just 1 favourite love song, but then after i analysed my list of fav's, this 1 just stood out with it's mesmerising lyrics .....check out the video :

TRULY MADLY DEEPLY (Savage Garden)

"Love is a hidden fire, A pleasant sore, A delicious poison, A delectable pain, An agreeable torment, A sweet and throbbing wound, A gentle death."

Color Me Mustard

I always believed Hindi movies were of 2 types….1 where you come out of the theatre screaming and another where you come out of the theatre silently. And then I saw the 3rd kind.
If I were given just 1 word to describe the movie ‘Rang De Basanti’, it would have to be ‘Refreshing’ (even if that sounds cliché’d).
Yea, I know that with the movie already into it’s 2nd week, the review is a tad late, but then the mad scramble this flick has caused at the ticket windows coupled with my usual procrastination ensured that we couldn’t get the tickets for the weekends, so ultimately me and another friend had to settle for a late night show at PVR on a weekday(Wednesday).
The movie gets it’s name from the color of Basant(Spring), that refers to the bright yellow of Mustard flowers that beautify the vast fields of Punjab when the weather is midway during it’s transition from the biting winters to the sweltering summers.(Feb-Mar….right now!), and was often used to arouse the patriotic sentiments of the people under British rule.

Needless to say all the actors have done a great job, but Aamir Khan once again proves his acting superiority among the Khan’s and Non-Khan’s by getting under the skin of the character seamlessly.
Having spent the 1st 20 years of my life in Punjab, I can safely assure you that Aamir must’ve put in a substantial amount of effort and research to play the role of Dijjayy (DalJeet) to a perfection.
I tremendously enjoyed his antics as the quintessential Punjabi with a Devil-May-Care attitude, always ready to find fun out of the most difficult of situations. From his Beer-drinking entry, to the ‘Oye isko to Hindi aatti hai yaarr!’ and ‘Su kar mere mann ko’ as well as ‘Humare bachhe kaunse rang ke honge’, he’s simply superb.
Now for a low-down on some of the popular phrases used in the movie :-
Pan Dee Tukkee – Sounds like an abuse but is actually a harmless phrase invented by Punjabi’s to satisfy the eternal need to supplement any sentence with a prefix and suffix !
Chuk De Futtey – Literally means ‘Pick up the planks’, used like ‘Bring it on’ or ‘Just Do it’.
Wahe Guru Ji Da Khalsa, Wahe Guru Ji Di Fateh – War cry of the Sikhs, which means ‘ By the order of the Khalsa(Sikh) that belongs to the God, the victory too shall belong to him’.
Soni Kudi – What some call a ‘Babe’.
Tullee – Inebriated.

Soha Ali Khan is a refreshing new face and Alice surprises you with her sweet Hindi. The depiction of some Delhi University students loitering around the campus and inter-group clashes is quite realistic.
The movie tries to revitalize the dormant passion of the youth of the country and I feel it succeeds to quite an extent(the box-office vindicates me).
The soundtrack by AR Rehman is as good as he can get, and even though I’m no fan of Daler Mehndi yet I feel he’s done a good job with the title track.
Even the cinematography and direction are par excellence, and in fact the 1st half is an ideal blueprint of how a movie should be.
The 2nd half has a few minor glitches though, 1st with the Rapid Action Force opening Tianenmen Square styled Lathi-charge on a group of peaceful protestors, and then that being somewhat compared to Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Another is the abrupt decision of the group to assassinate the Defence minister without ever getting any direct proof of his involvement in the crash(Just coz he said a few harsh words on TV).
The last scene of the siege in the radio station is filmed well though, and adds an extra punch of shock value to the finale.
All in all, a fresh, stylish and brilliant piece of filmwork! I’ll get a DVD as soon as it’s out!

‘Ay Saala
Abhi abhi
Hua Yakeen
Ki Aag hai
Mujhmein Kaheen’

- A moment ago
have I realized,
That a fire burns
Somewhere deep inside.

The Best of Him

This Canadian needs no introduction. His smooth soft rock ballads can be appreciated by anyone in any age group. I(and I’m sure most people in my contemporary generation) have grown up listening to his music as I still remember the 1st music album I ever bought out of my pocket money as a kid was his album ‘So Far So Good’.
I was there for his concert in 2004 at Delhi as well, so it was no surprise that when 4 other friends planned to attend the Bryan Adams’ 3rd Time Lucky concert yesterday evening in Bangalore, I also got myself pulled along.
A good thing about Bangalore(besides the weather) is that whenever an international star performs in India, Bangalore is sure to be a part of the itinerary, the other city mostly being either Bombay or Delhi.
So we reached the venue(Palace Grounds) around 6:00 pm yesterday, but the kilometer long queue at the entrance ensured that we could enter only around 7:30, and by that time the crowd inside had already started growing impatient having to watch the silly advertisements on the huge side screens, and some had started booing as well.
To be a part of a concert of this magnitude is always a treat for your senses. Firstly, the arrangements are state-of-the-art, specially since Mr. Bryan carries his own 10,000 kgs of equipment along in his jet. Next, the huge cheering crowd and the electric atmosphere adds that extra zeal to it. Good we got the front section tickets…bang in front of the stage!
So suddenly around 8:00 pm, the entire group jumped together onto the stage and started rocking. The crowd too abruptly broke into a hysteria, with the female majority breaking out into shrieks of ‘I love you Bryan’ and catcalls and whistles.
Among the 1st few songs he sang was ‘Open Road’ from his new album, and thereafter it was song after song of soulful numbers from his long list of chartbusters.

He showcased plenty of talent to mesmerize the 50,000 strong crowd, as apart from his youthful voice and soulful lyrics, he could easily juggle between 5 different guitars – 2 accoustic, 2 electric and a Bass guitar, as well as playing the harmonica in between.
An amusing part was when he pointed out to a girl in the crowd and called her up on stage to sing ‘Baby when you’re gone’ along with him. She introduced herself as Shweta and a Software Engineer(not surprising at all!) before breaking into a nervous rendition of the song, which was understandable considering the humungous crowd.

Expectedly, the strongest cheers from the guys came for the 2 numbers- “18 Till I Die” and “Summer of ’69 “
Other amazing numbers he crooned were Run to You, Cuts Like a Knife, The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me, Back to You, Best of Me, Can’t Stop this Thing we Started, Heaven, Cloud # 9, Let’s Make a Night To Remember, Straight from the Heart, and of course Please Forgive Me and Everything I Do.
Phew! Every single song a masterpiece! The guy sang for more than 2 hours non-stop.
The last song ‘Straight From the Heart’ was a beauty as he asked everyone to take out their cellphones and wave them in the dark while singing along, and the scene when viewed on the huge screens was like millions of bluish fireflies swaying to the music.

So which is your favourite Adams’ number?

P.S. – In keeping with my constant endeavor to enlighten the bourgeois with the crème de la crème from the world of entertainment, I’ve launched 2 new links on the right sidebar….1 would contain my favoured review of the last movie I watched, and another a downloadable link for a song along with it’s lyrics.
Since this has been a Bryan week, so I’m putting up my fav Bryan song for now.