Gandhi, Godse, Hitler

Very often do I have people asking me the question. Why do I admire/appreciate/whatever Hitler? Don’t I agree with the fact that he was a mass murdered and all that. In many words and at various times, I have tried and explain this answer. Yet, more or less, my words fail me when it comes to expressing it. One (of the few ) good things you can find about him is, The Revolution. He was the one, who came who changed, the man of action. One who had ideas and had the guts and ability to steer the course of an entire nation, and almost the whole world.

The second ques, which might arise in the mind of anyone reading this title is, Gandhi & Hitler, def can be used in close proximity, but how does Godse get the honour of being his name taken in such esteemed company. Thats where my point tries to sneak through in midst of these names. Godse, if nothing, is an interesting character in Indian history. There have always been assassins through the history of world. Even India has had its share of assassins, so nothing new in that activity. Yet,

This was the man who killed Gandhi, who killed Mahatma, who killed the biggest apostle of peace, who killed a bapu of a nation, who killed one of the most famous person in human history  and (arguably) most famous Indian ever. He, as an individual, should have been absolutely destroyed in the modern history, as it was written by the followers/fans of the Mahatma.

All this said and done, we never find Godse’s name maligned. We never hear accounts of him being a beastly human with more penchant for blood than feelings. Facts are facts which can’t be changed much, but folk lore or the stories are the part which can be fabricated anytime by anyone, and made to look real by the situations, we have seen enough examples of that. This, very fact combined with the statement of Godse, and whatever I have read of him on net and books, makes me put Godse on the same pedestal as Gandhi and Hitler, in the same sense that I admire history.

They were all revolutionaries, they had some (misguided at times?) set of rules, they had some principles, they thought about things and executed what they wanted to, in the fashion they wanted to. What makes them all different from simple, men of actions, is the effect on society. Agreed, Godse wouldnt stand anywhere near the two, and even if he hadn’t, the old man would have died in a few years if not months, by himself (or the self induced fasts). But, his revolution lay not in, ridding India of Gandhi, which was his purpose. Rather, it can be more understood, as a man standing against the Mahatma.

Bored Times

Great parties have the farewells
Illnesses none do last too long
It’s the states alternate of work and play
Which shall occupy you till the time ends

Serendipitous money changes hands
Unlucky scars do fade away
It’s the hustles everyday
Which shall make your life

New found love turns sour some day
Hatred deep gets buried some day or decade
It’s the relations nondescript with a few
Which shall remain your mark in the end

All good things come to an end
Bad times don’t last long
It’s the boring times, like the old housewife
Which keep u company until the end

A bored attempt at boredom (Wiki link for the Bored) hence should be boring!

Rafi vs Kishore

Of the 5 “classic” hindi singers, the biggest fight has always been between Kishore and Rafi. Asha Bhosle growing up in the shadows of Lata Mangeshkar could only ever go as high as Lata (perhaps at times succeeding her). Lata is perhaps the greatest of them all, men and women. Mukesh, Kishore and Rafi don’t stand as far apart as Lata and Asha. Yet, I (and many people I know) put Mukesh on a paddle below the other two, partly due to fact that he’s a bit typecasted.
Mukesh = rona dhona , raj kapooor euphoria songs.

Just like the McCartney- Lennon comparison which has egged on Classic Rock enthusiasts for generations, Rafi vs Kishore battle has been going on, even in the present generation, even though Rafi died, a good 7 years before I (avg age of our generation) was born and Kishore died a few months after my birth. Now coming to the main question, the debate between the two and my view on it. Even though I was a Kishore Kumar enthusiast since the time I can remember done in by his yodeling and the masti in his songs, also coupled by the fact that until quite some back I wasnt proficient in recognizing the different voices of Rafi & Kishore ( I still can hardly distinguish between old Lata & Asha songs, although newer songs are easily identifiable).

It would actually be a sin to downgrade Kishore when compared to Rafi, coz there might not be much of a difference, but if you ask me, my fav male singer in Bollywood, there’s only going to be 1 answer, Mohammed Rafi.

For the starters, a fact which many might not know is, although its Kishore who is associated with Yodeling and is the only Indian in this list http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Yodelers, but its Rafi who was the first one to bring  it into bollywood, using it in songs, as early as the early 50s, while Kishore Kumar popularized it almost a decade later.

I have always had a fascination with the songs of 50s, 60s featuring people like Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Joy Mukherjee and people of that generation and while songs from Rajesh Khanna period are huge favourites with people all around, but I have more than often found those songs, either sad (lost of rajesh khanna songs) or Happy go lucky(typical Kishore songs) and I like these kinds of songs, but the soul stirring, the harmoniously beautiful songs which came in the 50s and the happy go lucky  + romantic songs in 60s, are more of a feature of Rafi than Kishore. Kishore Kumar while managing to be succesful in the early decades of his career (he had a proper start to his career in mid 50s) only came to the fore in 70s with songs in the film Aradhana, being the important milestone in his career, but before that it was Rafi all the way.

In my opinion, while Mukesh is chained to sad songs, Kishore is more or less limited to the cheerful and sad songs, but Rafi with his ethereal voice always fits the bill for me, whatever be the type of songs, he has hummed out songs, which would surpass Mukesh anyday, his romantic songs/duets with Lata/Geeta Dutt would always be counted as the most romantic chapter of hindi music, while he couldnt give Kishore a running when it came to the bubbly and ecstatis songs, but perhaps the most famous fast paced song of bollywood, Yahoo! Chahe koi mujhe Junglee kahe, was sung by NOT Kishore but Rafi, which can us a fair idea about his talent.

While I will always be enamoured by Kishore’s voice in songs like Diye Jalte hain, Roop Tera Mastana, Mera Jeevan Kora Kagaz and likes but the only question to my all time listing preferences will always be Rafi because his songs have always  retained that freshness for me 50-60 years after they were recorded, but with Kishore you at times tend to get bored, more so coz of the type of songs he sang, rather than his voice being the reason. But, when you dont have much to chose from, this is the type of things which can make the minor difference.

Open Letter to Sun

Dear Mr. Sun,

At the onset I would like to thank you as a nation, as from time infinity (that is since India left the Antartic plate and crashed into the Asian plate), we have been very gratefully endowed by your sparkling rays which have been the constant source of energy and life for us. Unlike some of the countries in higher latitudes, we dont have months of night and neither do we have the inclement winters, and are allowed to live in a weather which wouldnt be termed gloomy.

Keeping in mind, all these points, there are somethings I wanted to discuss with you. Although, you are heartily welcome in our parts as and when you decide to shine upon us. Yet, as the adage goes Too much of anything is bad. As we keep moving to the southern parts of our country, your affinity also keeps increasing, and instead of 3 months in higher latitudes, and 7-8 months in northerm part of India, you keep increasing the months allotted to you.

All these years, circling around the earth (as we see it), you must have got to know humans quite closely, and humans as you might know, are rebellious creatures. No sooner do they get used to something, they rebel against the system. We living in Hyderabad, are quite used to bearing your brunt almost through the years. But, there are months in the Gregorian Calendar (mostly December and January) which are supposed to be free from your interference.

After waiting for the winters so long, we finally got something which resembled winter and you were neatly tucked behind a layer of clouds, giving us a nice charming comfortable feeling. Yet, true to your nature, you couldn’t stop showing your dominance and strength, and after a period of dormancy, you finally came up the cloud cover, with the usual dose of hot rays and skin burns (which is your primary weapon). Its only in light of the very recent events that I would sincerely like  you to

FUCK OFF!

I’ve had enough for you.

Thank You

Yours Sincerly
Himank Sharma
(Earth)

Clouds

We have heard for centuries some
tales of where comes the Sun
Gift of Gods, the lovely rain
Has driven everyone insane

Clouds of colours white,gray,azure
Some haughty, a few demure
Thats the tales i wanna hear
Of a day with the cloudy cheer.

A ballad of Sir Cumulus
or the mystery of Lord Stratus
The antics of nimble Miss Nimbus
Why doesnt someone tell us

On and on, we are stuck with same
The Rain, the moon and sun again
Names and adjective we have few
Shouldn’t we talk of things new?

Of clouds, nights or some things senile
Should think of them for a while
Be and done with stories old
Of dreams old and fascinations odd

Dil Chahta Hai?

PS: Personal Opinions
As far as I can remember, there are only two things cricket and movies, which have ruled the hearts and minds of the Indian dispora. Other events and things can come and go but these two have been rooted at the top of popularity charts. Both of them are full of success stories and disappointments likewise. Yet, since its the winners who are talked about the most

Every calendar year in bollywood, comes up with a multitude of flops, a few hits and a super block buster movie which trumps almost any other movie in terms of praises heaped on it,the collections at the box office and the awards at the year end shows. Some lucky years we have more than one such movies which can be termed as the biggest movies of the year but as far as my senses go (which would be Hum Aapke Hain Kaun in 1994) there has been one movie which people associate with that particular year and its just the exceptions which occur sometimes when you’ve got more than a movie.

Looking at a list of the biggest movies of the year from 2000 to now, we notice that there’s always been something entirely different with almost every movie in this list.
If KNPH was the emergence of Hrithik and his style of acting, DCH was the harbinger of a different genre of movies, Lagaan was a combo of Cricket and Patriotism, two things people hold closest to their hearts. If Munnabhai was a comedy of different type, then Dhoom was the first time Indians were fascinated with bikes and so on almost every movie had something new to offer.

2000 – KNPH
2001 – DCH/Lagaan/Gadar
2002 – Devdas
2003 – Munnabhai/KHNH
2004 – Dhoom
2005 – Black
2006 – RDB
2007 – TZP/Chak De/Jab We Met
2008 – Ghajini/Rock On
2009 – 3 Idiots

Yet if you look at the list, DCH could easily be said to be the biggest movie of the decade. Agreed, it may not be the highest grossing by any means. If DDLJ was the movie that changed the style of movie making in the last decade by introducing Indians to the NRI dream. DCH changed it all this decade with the cosmopolitization of the entire movie industry. DCH was the movie which moved Bollywood from cities to Metros. There have been numerous movies located in Bombay/Mumbai before that but somehow the treatment always remained different. You can infact very well say that success of movies like Rock On, Dhoom, 3 Idiots are a direct outcome of the metro environment created by DCH.

Another reason for this is the optimal timing of the movie. Its only after stepping into the 2000s that India has achieved a spot of importance in the world in fields ranging from economy to cricket. 90s was a pretty average time in recent Indian history with unstabiliy and mediocrity being the norm. For no reason is the music of 90s the most dreaded by many people, Indian cricket team of the 90s considered as a benchmark for any poor performance. Breaking out into a new age literally and metaphorically, perhaps it was also a time of change in the bollywood and that fortunately was provided by DCH.

Some of the facts that still point to the never decreasing popularity of the movie is the fort in Goa which is commonly known as DCH Fort or the fact that everyone wants to make a road trip to Goa (but in a car.. The DCH way). DCH could be credited for making Goa more interesting to a whole generation of people.

Companions of The Road

The roads are full of travellers and as is the case with any conglomeration of people anywhere, there are different varieties of people travelling, trying to reach their destinations or having the fun of driving. Some of these are safe bets, some would scare you to death, some make you go green with envy, others would make you burst into fits of rage, you have a plethora of people and like the five fingers of your hand, different ways are needed to co-exist peacefully with them. After having many not so pleasant encounters with many types of travellers, I thought of coming up with my list of worst traffic offenders I encounter in my day to day life.

1) Pedestrians - Bikers curse Car Drivers, car drivers curse bikers, Yet pedestrians are the people everyone curses. More than often they are the most unwanted thing on road. The most dangerous breed to have ever roamed those tar covered tracts of land. They are supposedly the weaklings of the road just a human body not supported or protected by any piece of machinery, which makes you responsible in case of any mishap which involves you and them regardless of whether its u or them who are mistaken, making them by default a dangerous prospect.
Yet all this would have amounted to nothing, had people in India did their primary education because that is when you are taught to look both sides of road before crossing (or atleast the side from which vehicles are supposedly coming), to step aside when you hear a horn being blown behind you by a vehicle (which hopefully is trying to find a way to get ahead of the human legs). Since, this is not the case, almost everyday during my drive from home to office and vice-versa, I come across atleast one person who wouldnt be looking while crossing the road or wouldnt even think of buzzing out of the way, no matter how hard you honk the horn.
The biggest problem with pedestrians is, they can never be mended, its not that they dont care or its their mistake that the traffic sense is so bad. From what I have observed their problem is, they are just unable to access the situation and act accordingly, for reasons till date unknown to me.

2) Female Drivers - Could easily have been the top ranked entry given the scale of damage they can do but for the fact that the ratio of female drivers to male ones is quite low, making roads a much safer place to drive. Such an analysis of women is in no way a result of the originaly thinking of my brain, yet almost every time I encounter a female driver, I cant help but marvel at the guy who must have noticed this for the first time. They come in all shapes, sizes, ages and vehicles and yet none is more or less harmful than the other. All of them being equally potent, although the damage done being directly proportional to the vehicle they are driving.
Almost everytime I have cursed a driver of a vehicle which is not an Indica (Taxi) or an Auto its been a women (agreed there are male specimens too, but they are far rarer). I have never really cursed a woman from the depth of my heart but almost every time I cross a woman on road, its a sad moment for me as I would have invariably showered the choicest of expletives in my own mind by the time I overtake the car which is going around randomly on the road and discover that the person driving the car isnt a man who I can give a piece of my mind, instead its a woman which would force me to seal my lips and go ahead hoping not to find another one of her breed on the same day again. You are just too helpless in front of them.

3) Taxi/Auto Drivers - They are not the nanchalant ones like the pedestrians, neither are they incompatible/incapable like women folk. Yet the only time I reduce the speed of my bike on a road which is not in a bottleneck situation is when I have to pass by an Auto wallah or a Indica driver. The pedestrians wont be able to cause any harm, instead they would be the one lying down in case of any mishap. Women on the road are again too few to be the cause of serious concern. These guys are the biggest threat anyone (and specially a biker) ever faces. Autos and Indicas both being bigger vehicles than a bike, you stand being harmed a lot at times while they will go away unscathed. More than often they are the most experienced drivers on the road and most of them would count among the better drivers on the road. Yet their biggest problem remains their Dont Care attitude, more than often the vehicle being a hired one and not one they own, its less of a heartache when something happens to the vehicle. As a result these dwellers of the road get the license to drive as they wish. Needless to say speed always thrills but with greater speed comes greater responsibility which is the part these dumbasses of the road forget to think about. Being the drivers that these guys are, more than often its not mad driving like a common woman driver for them. Instead, they know what they are doing and where they are going, as a result even during the most trickiest of turns they would very rarely get hit.
Its you, a normal driver who is at the recieving end in such situations, when they would just push you, bang you or take a sudden turn making you (if you are going through a period of bad luck) ram into other thingseven stationary ones. While in this whole time, the auto wala of the Indica would have disappeared into thin air even before you could have a look at the number.

PS: No Pedestrians, female or taxi/auto drivers were harmed in writing of the post, although a biker was, we condole for his loss

Smoker’s Guide!

PS : SMOKING KILLS , Author of the post asks everyone to refrain from doing so but if you are addicted to it, then in the words of Led Zeppelin (whose t-shirt I am wearing right now) just Ramble On
Smoking must most definitely be the oldest means of recreation along with may be sex. Although it is amongst the things supremely harmful for humans, and yet in a company of 10 males you would generally not see more than 5 non-smokers, this is definitely the biggest addiction that the world has ever found, even bigger than that of money.

According to Che Guevara, “A smoke in times of rest is a great companion to the solitary soldier.”

So I thought why not share some of the info I have with the newbies, who might be taking tiny steps in this direction

Cigarette - The most used method of blowing up the fumes. By and large the sole winner in the race. Smoked by everyone from a rickshaw driver to Shahrukh Khan. You might not be able to find water if you need but a smoke will always be around the corner if you want one.
Avg Price – Rs. 5 for a unit
Ranges from 1 – 10

Beedi - Poor man’s cigarette! Bloody affordable, I guess you get a bundle of 10 or so for 2 or so rupees. Wont generally see people in cities smoking up a beedi, its generally more of a rural tendency. Gulzar and Bipasha Basu had quite a role  in increasing its popularity, a few years back .
Price – Rs. 2-3 for a bundle

Cigar - Smoke of the rich and the sophisticated, cigar is generally considered a sign of eliteness! Normal people with the culture as stature as me would generally have a cigar once in a while, may be to celebrate an occasion or to try the novelty for once.
Price Range – Starts from 30 can go on to anywhere

Pipe - The most popular man to have smoked a pipe in the history would be Sherlock Holmes. Without any doubts he would be the first name to come to my mind when you talk about Pipe. This is the most sophisticated and elite way of having smoke. Practised more as an indulgence rather than need even in the sophisticated and the higher echelons of society. It might be the oldest method of smoking, which has lost its sheen with time.

Hukka – Long before the advent of cigarettes, cigars and pipes, humans have always been smokers and its to that time that the roots of hookah can be traced, the grandfather of all the ways of smoking! It regains the excitement and following till date. A huge surge in its popularity has been caused by the presence of flavoured hookah in almost all coffee shops around, where you can have a smoke which isnt harmful and doesnt contain Nicotine or THC in it.

Chillum – If pipe is associated with Sherlock Holmes, then chillum brings only one image to your mind, that of a fakhir smoking it on the banks of Ganga. Generally used to smoke cannabis can ofcourse also be used for smoking tobacco. Not much in vogue with the the aam junta as you might to refer to it as.

Joint - The cigarette of doping! I guess ~80% (random guess, no figures) or so of cannabis must be smoked this way. Generally a joint is made by filling marijuana inside a emptied out cigarette and then smoking it like you would a normal cigarette. Another common method of making up a joint is doing it in a roller paper. Variety of roller papers being generally available in big paan shops.
Price – Depends on the cig you use, price of the stufff you’ve got!
Generally ~5 INR

Bong – Could be called the hookah of doping! The smoke from the marijuana is made to pass through water or any other fluid before inhaling it, thus removing most of the particulated matter in the smoke. Considered a safer bet than a joint and yet obviously harmful. Even home made bongs using Cold drink bottles and bodies of unused pens is quite popular amongst the youth. Its recent moment of glory came when Michael Phelps was caught smoking one, some time back!

Two faces of an enchantress

Sometimes words arent needed

Maryjane Art

A typical room under the influence of Mary Jane

Maryjane Art

Courtesy  Sharat

PS : My 250th post