Social Media in hearts

Social platforms have been invading in our life for quite some time. These platforms were encouraged to widespread your views with different people. To meet new individuals, get to know them, and start a life with new dimensions.

This basic ideology does not hold true anymore. People are spreading junk on these platforms. People have been intellectual enough to support multiple causes by sharing, and liking. Though at one hand they demonstrate their heart in the cause, yet at the other hand they show their incompetency in the real world. Throughout the day their tweets, Facebook statuses, and social platform information will clutter your pages, but these hypocrites will not be able to procure enough time to work at physical grounds.

Now new trend has started on these platforms. New set of people have started showcasing their emotions not only to concerned people, but also to everyone on earth. Without any concrete emotions, their walls are cluttered with virtual love, kisses, and sex. Our personal interaction and privacy have been losing it's own esteem. Reaction of the concerned person is too less important than reaction of Facebook people, which is primarily measured with comments and likes on your status.

Even we share our concerns with people who do not even have any idea of the problem. Why have we lost our guts to speak to the person, we know for multiple years? Instead we waste our time in story telling the problem to the unconcerned world, and seeking virtual consolation from these unconcerned people.

Whatever it is, we must not limit ourselves in the boundary of the virtual world. Though technology has tried to reduce our distances, but it has created opposite effects on our mind. Now our intimate communications are not bed room conversations, but rather they are statuses on our walls. Hope god can save us, and bring us out from such rude and unnatural form or love.

Ahmadabad Trip: Mahudi

As Ahmedabad does not host lot of historical, religious, and scenic monuments, so my friend planned to visit nearby religious monuments. We started with Ghandhinagar, the capital city of Gujarat. The city hosts the oldest Akshardham temple in India. So we planned to visit this temple first, but after turning up at it's empty gate, we realized a loophole in our plan. We visited the temple on Monday, which is the only resting day for the temple staff in a week.

Though we were disappointed, still we had planned to visit other temples. Hence rather than considering it as a set back, I welcomed it as a well timed relief. Mini Amarnath temple was next in line. This temple is a replica of the Amarnath temple. Amarnath temple, situated in the Himalayas, is the most popular and dangerous Hindu shrine. You need to walk, and trek a little to reach to the mini Amarnath temple's. This hall imitates a natural cave and it has a Shiv-ling. The Shiv-ling is created artificially using snow and maintained at -5 Deg C to save it from melting. If you have any temptation to touch the deity, you must be prepared to donate 1000 Rs. Apart from the main hall, this temple hosts 10-12 other Shiv-lings which are replicas of the most popular Shiv temples across India.

Next temple was a Jain temple. This temple, widely known as Ghantaghar Mahaveer Ji jain temple, is situated in Mahudi. Maudi is 35 Km away from Ghandhinagar. The temple is quite beautiful, but it is associated with plenty of rumours.

Second hall which host Idol of Ghantaghar wale Shri Mahavir Ji

Temple is spread across a huge area. Along with three prayer halls, it has a museum, library, inn, parking lot and mess. Out of 3 halls, biggest hall hosts idols of 24 Jain Tirthankars. The oldest and prodigious idol, which belongs to Padam Prabhu, has been placed in this hall. The architecture of the hall is quite impressive and elaborate. Second hall is dedicated to Ghantaghar wale mahavir ji, he is known as the guardian of the temple. Third hall has idol of Yognistha Acharya Bhagwant Shrimad BuddhiSagarSuriSwarji Maharaj Sahebji, who put the foundation stone of the temple. Main attraction of the temple is 2 bells i.e Ghanta(in Hindi). One of these bell weights couple of tons. This bell is used only once in a year on Diwali and it's sound can be heard at few miles away from the temple. Second bell weights 40-50 kg and it has been places at the top of marble ladders.

Sukhadi, as a Prasad, is offered to the deity. Sukhadi is prepared with Pure Desi Ghee, wheat flour and Jaggery, and it is quite delicious. Rumours say that if you taje the Prasad out of the Mahudi village intentionally or unintentionally, then you will face fierce consequences. As per local people, whoever tried to take Sukhadi home, didn't even reach home. They were met with an accident before reaching home. It must be eaten or distributed in the temple premise only. So keeping all these rumours in mind, the devotees are prohibited from taking this outside the temple premises.

However list of prohibitions does not end here. You are prohibited to take photographs in the premise. As per the rumours, deity is still active in the temple, and if he is captured in the photographs, then he can create problems in your life.

After visiting the premise, we went to the exhibition hall and found a narrator who narrated the complete story of the temple. He told us all the mysterious phenomenon associated with the temple and he supported most of these events with unconvincing stories and reasons. This session lasted for 90 minutes, and we collected some history, and unconvincing theories about the temple.

Mahudi temple was our last frontier for the day, still the day was not yet over as our nights were already booked for another Garba session.

Who are you?

If someone asks you to introduce yourself in the group of 10 people, your introduction differs based on the purpose, and the members of the group. But how would you answer, "Who are you?".

You are sitting in the office with 50 colleagues in a presentation. Presenter stops all of a sudden, and asks you, "Who are you?".

You will merely have time to think and respond to such a simple, but weird question. My crude answer will be, "I am Vishal Jain.". Oh wow! that's all. Will my name define me completely? I do not think so. I am much more than merely the name. But then why I didn't consider anything worthy enough to associate with myself at that moment. So in my opinion, this question needs a delicate and much refined answer.

This question was asked to different people. Presenter asked this question to the first person; he answered, "I am a human being". Presenter asked the question repeatedly, and this guy told few of his behavioral characteristics, before running out of them.

In the same manner another person was interrogated. This guy told his professional achievements to answer it. Third person answered it with his personal information. Though neither question, nor participants, nor listener changed, but none of the answers were satisfactory, and complete.

So how would like to answer such a simple question? We do not ever think of answering this question in life time. So why don't you take some time and tell me that "Who are you?".

Happy Diwali 2012

So it is time to celebrate Diwali, the biggest north Indian Hindu festival. Except the mythological essence of the festival, it has significant importance in our life. Reunion of friends, families, shopping, decoration, cleaning, hopes, wishes, and love within families are few examples of such significant matters that are associated to the common man.

On this day, hundreds of small lamps will illuminate every street in every city. Hundreds of traditional oil lamps and hundreds of electric bulbs will enlighten every house in the street. No street, house, and place will remain dark today. Apart from decorating houses with lamps, every house will certainly have a Rangoli drawn with different colors and decorated with twinkling lamps.

This day, most of us, will visit the market from one end to another and wish Diwali’s best wishes to everyone either known or unknown. We will visit our friends who did not get time to meet us after last Diwali. It will be the perfect time to visit their houses and have some sweets (I love sweets) which are served as part of the traditions.

With our families, we will worship goddess Lakshmi, and god Ganesh. We will ask goddess to visit our house and shower money on us. Lakshmi visits every house this day, decides which house is decorated best, and stays in such a beautiful house for eternity. Chanting and praying will stop after an hour, after that we will be free to demonstrate the power of bombs we bought last night.

All the kids will first start with the loudest bomb, then as soon as louder bombs finish we move to bombs and crackers that last little longer. Ladies burst more trivial crackers. Though there is noise from different directions, but everyone seems to like the noise and pollution on Diwali.

I love everything about Diwali. Whether it is cleaning and dusting, or it is decoration, or it is meeting with friends, or it is worshipping, or it is cracking the crackers everything is charming, and cheerful. Though I have not brought any crackers yet, but I will get them soon. Hope you all will enjoy your Diwali as much.

Wish you, and your family a great, and prosperous Diwali!!!!!!!

Do we really own something?

Yesterday me and my friend had a brief discussion regarding possession. While describing our wealth, we proudly tell about our properties, cars, and ornaments, and we claim to own them. So our basic concern was to find out "Who possesses whom?".

Don’t worry, I haven't gone mad. I am yet quite sane.

Let's assume a person, who became a millionaire couple of years back, owns a BMW car. Along with the fundamental expenditures of the luxury class car, he has to maintain his status according to the car. He can not drive his car too often due to the fear associated with the car's status. He has to keep a tight vigilance to ensure it's safety. He cannot park it at random places to keep it away from streext vendors and kids. So to park it, everyday he strolls for an hour to find a better, and spacious parking place which might be 200 meters away from his house. He cannot park the car in the market where it is susceptible to scratches and thefts. So still do you think this millionaire owns a BMW?

Similarly, we all book a flat with the help of a bank, and keep depositing the bank's EMI for the entire life. We cut our expenditures, we reduce our desires, and we halt our life, but we live for our home. Do you see yourself as a king, after buying the home which already has owned you?

Further let me take the example of my own house. After moving to the house, my dad has stopped travelling. He says, it is unsafe to leave it unmanned even for 1 day, so at-least one person must stay at home. Hence they do not travel anywhere. He is always worried about the small cracks in the roof. So instead enjoying the house, he is more worried about it. So I do not think that my dad is owning it, rather the house has become the master of our lives.

If we sit down and look back our purchases, we feel the burden of these purchases first and later realize their importance, and advantages. So it is better to do something you like, instead of, owning those non-living things, which are possessing us.

Ahmedabad Trip: Garba Nights

I planned my trip to Ahmedabad at the time of the Navratri, so that I could enjoy world famous Gujarati dance, i.e. Garba and Dandiya. My friend's explanation was so elaborate, and enticing, that missing Garba, this year, was inevitable. So in the Navratri I was in Ahmadabad for three nights and each of the three nights was Garba night due to my friend's efforts.

Garba and Dandiya are Indian forms of dance these were originated in Gujarat, an Indian state. Many traditional Garbas were performed around a central lit lamp of different avatar of Shakti Maa, but now Garba has been changed drastically over the years. Now Garba has mixed with Dandiya and it has become more vibrant, and dynamic. Traditionally guys wear Kurta-Pajama and girls wear Chaniya-Choli-Dupatta. It is celebrated in the Navratri, 9 days celebration, just before Dussehra.

On day one (Seventh day of Garba), we reached to the party hall quite late, but the hall was lively, and completely packed. It was filled with vibrant colors, loud music, and enthusiastic Gujjus. Thousands of people, who were dressed in colorful and traditional Gujarati attires, were present in the hall and they were dancing with never lasting enthusiasm. Atmosphere at the hall was highly jubilant, and elated.

Though the hall was filled with few thousand people, but nobody, in the entire hall, was concerned about others. Everyone was enjoying so much that the existence of others was inconsequential.

After  Music was halted.

We started the Garba without losing any other moment. First I learned a few steps, and I joined the group. Though my confidence level was low and my feet were not dynamic, but still I tried my best to maintain the rhythm with others.

Due to the regulations in Ahmadabad, music stopped at 12AM, and all of us had to leave the party hall. As our night started couple of hours back, so after leaving the party hall, we went to the hotel for the dinner instead leaving to our homes. We had the special Gujarati dinner which was delicious, but it did not have any Gujarati dish. After having the delicious dinner, we all departed to our homes.

Next day we went to Chokhi Dhani. We were late again, and by the time we reached to the place, people had started leaving. Even after, so many people had already left, the hall was yet overpopulated, and the remaining bunch was not in any mood to stop. Music was loud and wild. Everyone was fully engrossed in the beats. Due to the yesterday's dancing experience, I was able to move my feet at the Garba beats. We formed a circle and danced around it. Lot of people joined our formation, and sometimes we joined other formations to keep the Garba alive.

Again, the Garba lasted for one hour only, but this hour was filled with fun and it was highly rejuvenating. People were gasping for more, but there was not any music for them.

Group at second day@Chokhi Dhani

Though the Garba was over, but the night was still young and refreshing. We had tea at a closed shop and later had the dinner on a road side restaurant. At the restaurant, we treated ourselves with the south Indian food which was cooked in the Gujarati style. Till now I was not able to find a decent Gujarati restaurant, so at-least one more day I had to wait for the Gujarati meal.

Earlier I had planned to leave the next day, but citing a holiday on Vijaydashami; I stayed there for one more day. As it was last, and the most important day of Navratra, so I planned to spend this auspicious day with my friends, instead spending this day in the train.

Third night was way too bigger than first two nights. We went to ONGC Ground, Ahmadabad. It was big stadium filled with thousands of people. This ground was divided in 2 different parts. One was a circle in the middle of ground where only girls were allowed whereas remaining people were allowed outside this circle. This time we reached to the ground around 11PM. Last night we all lacked a good group. People who accompanied us in last days were busy with some other friends. Due to this, we ended with the people who were more interested in sexy girls in the ground.

People performing garba@ONGC Ground

Time stops, but clock does not. After 2AM we all were forced to leave the ground. We returned to the society and it was still active, and alive. Most of the residents were out in the garden and they all were enjoying the Dandiya. So after playing it in a smaller group for some time, we joined all of them. After spending an hour in the Dandiya, we roamed in the streets which were still filled with people. Every street had one tent to play the Garba. Whether the street was a small, or a big street, or belonged to the paupers, or the riches, it had its own establishment of Maa Shakti.

Dandiya at the Society Garden.

I completely enjoyed the Navratra in Ahmadabad. It was not the dance, it was not the beats, it was not the time I spent but it was the energy of the people. In these days, you do not need friends, and you can mix with anyone and everyone. It is much more than Diwali in north India; it is much more than Teej in Rajasthan. It is as big as Chrismas, but it is more social than this. Every person irrespective of age, sex, and religion enjoys the festival of Navratri and beats of the Garba.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I am not planning to review this book. I just want to shout that I am loving the book. Since the day I have taken the book in my hands, I have been dreaming to finish it. While sleeping I dream about next chapter. I dream about harry's possible actions to defend himself, so I just want to finish the book and watch the movie one more time to enjoy it more.

I had finished Harry Potter's first three parts quite a long time back, since then I was planning to start rest other parts, but I did not get enough chances to start these books. But this Saturday I got the perfect time to start the book and now I hope to finish this book by Thursday, so that take I can start 5th book of the series.

You all must wish me best of luck. :-)

Why do we Love Mahabharata?

I was listening a podcast in which narrator is narrating the great Indian epic Mahabharata. I was listening to the episode where war has broken out between the two armies. The objectives of these two armies have a clear demarcation i.e. One army, i.e. Pandavas, is fighting for truth and righteousness whereas another army, i.e Kauravas, is covered under the cloud of lies and Adharma.

As per the narrator the reason to love this epic is knowing the results at the start only. He tells that the person on the side of Dharma is going to crush others with the help of god, and this reason is good enough to love the epic, which has such an elaborate description of the war between Satya and Asatya. If we  adhere to the reason of narrator, we all must love every Bollywood movie which starts with two guys who are on the different sides of Karma.

Though I love this podcast and love his way of delivering the artifacts about this enormous piece of scripture, yet I differ from his reason. I love this epic for various satisfactory reasons. Few such reasons are mentioned below.

1. This epic demonstrates the human life. A man fight for the Land, and the honour of ladies. Man has to retain the honour which is compromised by ladies during some worthless debates. As man's life revolves around a female protagonist, similarly Mahabharata has revolved around different ladies. All these ladies shared their part of glory in the epic.
Shantunu falling in love with a lady and leaving the complete nation in chaos to have her.
Bhism abducting princess for his impotent brothers.
Dropadi commenting on her brother in laws and giving them a reason to write such a history.

2. Even though this epic is similar to human life, but still it does not lose supernatural substance to maintain our interest in the story. These supernatural characters intervened at times to spice the story up. Few demonstrations of such super powers are as mentioned below.
Krishna killed all Ashuras in his childhood.
Krishna showed entire universe in his mouth.
Lot of Rishies and Munies chanted blessings and curses at the start to impact the final consequence of the story in the end.
Most funny yet the most interesting story is about the length of the Dropdi's sari.

3. This epic has elaborate description of the war. Writer has concentrated on each and every character of the story. Writer has made sure that anyone supporting Adharma does not go unpunished.

4. Bhagwat Geeta is also important part of the epic.

Though I can list more reasons to invalidate narrator's point. yet most profound and satisfying reason is the similarity between epic and human life. This reason provokes me to know and to read the epic with greater interests.

Ahmedabad Trip: Adalaj Stepwell

18 hours bus journey to Ahmedabad was an awful experience and a lesson to plan trips in advance. Due to my laziness, I was not able to book train tickets which cost me my comfort and sleep. Anyway, after reaching to Ahmedabad (21st Oct), my beautiful host showed me the hotel and left me there for uncertain number of hours. After spending 4 dreadful hours in hotel room, I was taken out for Ahmedabad tourism.

We went to Adalaj Stepwell, which was approximately 10Km far from my hotel. The Stepwell is a well surrounded by steps situated in Adalaj village. A larger section of the monument is inaccessible to people, so it is difficult to understand the place well. But still the location was worth spending the time.

Direct from Wikipedia

The stepwell was built in 1499 by Muslim king Mohammed Begda for Queen Rani Roopba, wife of Veer Singh, theVaghela chieftain. The step well or 'Vav', as it is called in Gujarati, is intricately carved and is five stories in depth. Such step wells were once integral to the semi arid regions of Gujarat as they provided basic water needs for drinking, washing and bathing. These wells were also venues for colorful festivals and sacred rituals.

Though the monument is small, yet this place is a wonderful and marvelous piece of Hindu architecture. Design engraved on stones and walls is prodigious. It is the five story monument where every story is supported by beautiful pillars erected in symmetry surrounding the well.

Apart from the well, this monument has a well maintained garden to rest; that's why this monument is used as a gutar gu place for lovers. This Stepwell is freely accessible to the public so sometimes you may catch some live action in the garden.

I feel everyone, visiting to Ahmedabad, must visit Stepwell once to know, and see the rich architecture, and the profound planning of ancient time.

PS: I was not aware about the place, so I did not carry my camera; hence I could take any pics at my own. Pics used in the blog are taken from other sites.

Movie Review: Antardwand

Antardwand, 2010
Cast: Raj Singh Chaudhary as Raghuveer, Swati Sen as Janki, Vinay Pathak and Akhilendra Mishra
Director: Shushil Rajpal
Music by: Bapi Tutul, composer of Sarkar, Sarkar Raj, and Khosla Ka Ghosla
Genre: Drama, Social
Award: National Film Award for Best Film on Social Issues at the 2009 National Awards.

Antardwand, which literally means a fight within, is depicting a social issue (based on a true story of an IAS officer) in some Indian states. A father, thinking of his daughter's future, abducts an aspiring IAS candidate and force him to marry his daughter. Later this marriage becomes a nightmare, and story ends with the hunger for more.

Shushil Rajpal wanted to show a social problem on a big screen. So he searched a little and came up with such an uncomfortable, but an astounding revelation. Shushil opted actors who could not only act but also provide resemblance to the theme's background. His decision for not signing big actors has not given much market acknowledgement, but this movie has received huge appreciation by critique community. Movie's name attracted me quite a lot so I searched about it and found it the right candidate to watch.

Raghuveer, an IAS aspirant, has come to his village to meet his parents, and tell them about his girl friend. At the same time his father is dealing with Janki's father (Akhilendra Singh) who is willing to spend any amount of money in her daughter's marriage. But Raghuveer's father (Vinay Pathak) does not even consider the proposal. Next day Raghuveer has abducted and taken to a remote place. He is brutally beaten by abductors to convince him for marriage. Even after using force in inhumanly manner, Raghuveer does not give up. So to solve the riddle, Raghuveer is married to Janki in unconscious state. Such marriages are never accepted to anyone and time does not heal the wound. After spending one month in a single room problems still sustained between the couple. Raghuveer keeps searching for the ways to elope, but he does not find one whereas Janki keeps trying to persuade her husband, but she too is not successful yet. This movie revolves around the abduction, persuasion, and post marriage problems.

Lead protagonists have acted quite maturely. Irrespective of their smaller bollywood career, they have shown tremendous potential of the acting. Location depicted and language used is way too nearer to core areas. Story is narrated quite well in decent amount of time. Length of the sequences is checked by showing required shots without compromising with the essence of sequence.

Showcasing such social issue on a big screen poses lot of challenges to the team, but Shushil directed a master piece. Instead offending people, he received appreciation and accolades for his direction. I would recommend this movie to anyone and everyone who wants to watch something HAT KE.

Ghandhi's Ji about Beggers

Yesterday I was reading Gram Swaraj written by Bapu. In this book, Ghandhi has advocated about the self-independence of villages. He has stressed the idea of model villages, where each and every village is dependent on none other than itself. He has laid out some guidelines to make the village independent which are helpful in eradicating the existing problems in the society, and bring best character of the Indian villages.

Though he has dictated lot of problems and suggested solution to all such problems, but his stern stand against begging is quite surprising, but contradictory to my opinions.

Ghandhi has always stressed that everyone must be employed. In his opinion, a person must eat only after working for sufficient time and earning his food gracefully. Other means of getting food/eatables must not be accepted to society. As per Ghandhi begging is heinous crime, and the person who is supporting or assisting in begging is also partner in crime. As per him, any one should not give anything to a person who is healthy enough to earn his/her livelihood. Society leads itself to destruction by supporting or promoting such individuals.

According to him a society must not help physically handicaps. As per his views, it is government's responsibility to build houses/places to support such individuals. None, other than government, should take this task in their hands and interrupt someone else's work.

My Take/View
Ghandhi Ji was optimistic about Indian society, so he assumed that everyone would follow fundamentals of humanity, but even after 65 years of Indian independence people are still hungry and greedy. In current circumstances, it is really difficult to adapt these strict measures. When everyone wants to run from his task, then let society do something for humanity with the fear of God.

Anyway after reading Ghandiji's view, I will stop assisting any person who can work and earn, but I will not stop assisting other category of people.

Gujarat: Ahmedabad

I always wished to visit all Indian states. My intention to travel different states is to know culture, religion, people, standard of living, dressing, traditions, and other such important aspects of inhabitants living in the state. Most people will suggest me to find this information on internet, instead taking trouble in visiting. But I do not think that it is possible to visualize or understand the society without spending time with them.

I have heard a lot about Gujarat in past, but I never got a chance to visit the state. For me Gujarat is synonym to Mr Modi, communal violence, rich Gujju people, love city, garba, developments, state where BJP has anarchy, and Dhokla.

Now I have got a chance to stay in Ahmedabad and feel state's real nature, find state's characteristics, and know more about the state. This trip will surely change or strengthen my perceptions about the state.

In this trip I am going to see Navratra festival, and if I am lucky enough, then I will get a chance to participate in Garba (Gujarati Traditional dance). Apart from Garba, I am going to meet lot many Gujju people and will get to know their prospective. Next comes the snacks. We always get to eat Gujarati dishes in north Indian, or south Indian fashion. This time I am going to taste Gujarati dishes cooked in Gujarati style.

Hope I will enjoy the trip and learn a little about the state which is always in news for one reason or other.

Interpretations

Interpretation is always associated with mind set and mood at the given point of time. We interpret based on the facts available to us, and while judging the incident or statement our direction of judgment miss intricate details of the surrounding. X person state or act based on the people/problems/difficulties around, but person judging at other side does not even consider those small, but important matter. Such different interpretations create problems between families or couples or friends.

If people interpreting or judging can hold their thoughts from wondering for some time, and discuss the views with other person in person, it can surely help to erase some impulsive problems in relationship. Some times impulsive interpretations make life unlivable and miserable, but another thought and small discussions make the world wonderfully beautifully.

Let's wait and think, but believe me it helps our thinking, and demonstrate the respect and love for us in other person's mind.

Wish I could follow my own writings forever.

Winning Or Loosing

Life is not about winning a competition. You achieve more satisfaction when you put up a fight without caring about the results. Just to concentrate on winning the game, most of the times we miss the pleasure of playing it.

Just now, I was arguing with my friend, and at the end of discussion I told her that she won. She asked "Does it matter to you who won?". I was dumbfounded and thought "Do not we make life more miserable by judging on the parameters of winning or loosing it."

Let's play to please ourselves instead play to win for others.

Society

Why are we scared with society so much? Society is not to restrict good ideas, but it is to promote good ideas among themselves to make our life better.

Every second person thinks about society before taking any action, whether it can harm. Why can not some one take a step of reform and guide others to move out of orthodox and obnoxious traditions?

It will not only help individual, but also to society for implementing and spreading better ideas. 

Movie Review: Barfii

Barfii, 2012
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor as Marfi, but mostly known as Burfee, Priyanka Chopra as Jhilmil and Ileana D'Cruz as Shruti Ghosh
Director: Anurag Basu who has directed Life in a metro, Kites, and other well acclaimed movies
Music by: Pritam
Genre: Romance, Comedy

Barfii is a romantic comedy, which unfolds the romance between a deaf and dumb guy, and an autistic girl. Murfi/Burfii falls in love with Shreya Ghosh, but their love story does not hold ground against social stigma. Due to uncharacteristic circumstances, Jhilmil, who is an autistic girl, starts developing emotions for him, and rest of the story revolves around the difficulties in their love.

Anurag, Ranbir, and Priyanka have excelled in their performances so much that their last best performances are forgettable. When Indian cinema is looking for renovation, at such critical time this movie fits perfectly into the old structure, and stamps unforgettable feelings into the mind of viewer.

Murfy, who lost his mom when we was born, is deaf and dumb, but full of life. He is quite popular in surrounding, and is known as Barfii. One rich girl, Shruti who is already engaged, comes to Darjeeling with her parents, and Burfii falls for her. Within sometime they both fall in love, but quite as usual they could not succeed to convince Shruti's parent. Life moves on. Due to father's illness Burfi has to abduct Jhilmil, an autistic girl and Barfii's childhood friend. Within sometime Jhilmil starts developing a feeling for Burfi. She starts believing in him, and finds a nice companion in him. Whereas Shruti was not yet finished. She is waiting for a miracle, which happens. Things start turning from this point, and take us to a ride of romance with comic scenes.

Ranbir has not got any chance to speak in this movie, but his performance as an actor must get him a national award. His mute act has put a star on his shoulders. Priyanka has done wonderful job this time. She has told her critiques that she has a potential, and industry must acknowledge it. Songs and music in the movie is soothing and praiseworthy. Pritam's work is brilliant, and his work adds one additional star to the movie's performance.

Direction of the movie is good apart from few places. At few places sequence was little loose and lengthy. Length of the movie was also little distracting for Hollywood savvy people. The director has moved in time so many frequently that it was little difficult to join the pieces, but all in all it is well directed and thought movie.

I loved the cinematography. Actually I loved each and every shot of the movie. It seems to me that every shot was taken with different angles, colors and motions to find best position of the camera. Shot's background never lost its charm even if actor was running, or walking in grass, or riding the bicycle. Viewer got a chance to view beautiful green Darjeeling in the most delicate way.

Apart from few glitches, I loved the movie a lot. There were moments which stuck to my mind and those moments would remain there for a long time.

Khawaish or Shart

Quite a premature poem... But still posting to maintain it in my database. :)

Ankhon ki is halchal ki vajah soch raha hun,

Honton ki gum sarsarahat ki danstan bun raha hun.

Chehre Ki haseen muskurahat ki ada chun raha hun,

Maang to jahan sakta hun khuda se, abhi chand lamhon ki khushi maang raha hun.

Ik din jahanpanah ne meri peer sun li,

Jo mangi vo khushi meri duniya mein bhar di.

Tujhe na maloom in chand lamhon me mene kya kya maang dala hai,

Tere har gam ko mene uske anchal mein dhakel dala hai.

Tere jahan me usne duniya bhar ka pyar samet dala hai,

Ab mere sapno ka sansar usne tere sapno se jod dala hai.

Har kadam usne meri awaj suni thi,

Lekin uske jawab mein ik shart rakhi thi.

Na socha tha mene, tu is tarah pesh aayegi,

Sab kuch milte hi teri fitrat yun badal jayegi.

Teri ankhon se viswas ki chamak yun ud jayegi,

Jindagi hokar maut si ho jayegi.

Is gadhi meri dhadkan mujhe daga de rahi thi,

Shart ke mutabik meri jaan mujhse chin rahi thi.

Pappu Ka Swayamvar

Pappu is my best friend since my school days. He always had crush on different girls at different times, but none of his crushes eyed him even once. Though these girls tormented, tortured, and pained him, but he never lost his hopes. He is still waiting for his perfect match, who can love him forever like a cow, who grazes grass 24*7 in an open field. Pappu will love her like a bull, who works 24*7. As Pappu is disappointed, so he has very important information to share with you all.

Hi Friends (Esp girls),

We always face problems to understand his, he who should not be named, wishes. Though his selected path does not suit us, but still we follow his path to save our asses from the mysterious electricity generated in the clouds. Now look at me, when I was desperate to fall in love with some girl, at that time he didn't create a single suitable girl for me. As if my love line, the most sensitive line on palm, got deleted while oiling my hairs.

Most of the times, I have seen these girls in my dreams talking about me. Oh babes, this man stinks. Let’s not go closer to him. But excuse me girls, I have used the same deodorant which made angles fall from the sky. How can I stink? You stupids! Have you not seen this advertisement yet? I was not brave enough to walk to them and force them to smell my deodorant, otherwise at least one or two girls would have dropped in my arms.

Oh no, he looks desperate. Let’s stay away from him. Desperate! are you out of your mind? Do not you see this awesome smile on my face?

I used to scream, cry, and plead with them to come closer and to embrace my dejected love, But these girls did not even pass a smile to me. An experienced man, even if he is married, was a preferable choice of boy friend over a fresh and energetic man like me.

Anyway after wandering in dejection for many years, I planned to stop my search for love. I pulled my strings and handed these strings to my parents. Probably parents are the best bet for children like us. Though I felt ashamed while delegating my responsibilities to them, but it increased my reputation in their mind. They were happy as their ward has not gone beyond the limitations imposed by monstrous society.

At the start, we received unbelievable number of responses which were quite unexpected to all of us. I didn't expect so many girls were dying to marry me, and their parents were waiting only for me. Though these girls didn't want show their love to me, but deep down inside they were in love with me. Lot of parents came and went. Few returned, but didn't revert back after hearing my Dad's demand. Very few, who returned again, gave me their daughter's numbers. Most of these girls loved my sense of humour, smartness, and intelligence, but due to inferiority complex their parents never tried to buzz my dad back.

With time I figured that there are very few girls who can match my caliber, and these girls have not met me yet. So before these girls are married to guys with lesser caliber, I planned to unearth them. I am writing this post to search for such a girl. I am conducting a Swayamvar to find my dream girl who can match me in intelligence, humor, and caliber.

I know, After reading my post you are already interested in me, but still you must know little more about me.

Name: Pappu Rangawat

Father's Name: No Need

Height: More than Abhishek Bachchan

Looks: Very white similar to wheat's flour, handsome like Tushar Kapoor and muscular.

Education: Highly Educated.

I want someone with good family background, cute as Karina Kapoor looked cute in chameli, sexy as Bipasa vasu, graduate from a national level institute, fair as cow's new born calf, and most importantly her father must be a millionaire.

Thank you very much for reading my profile. I hope to meet you at Swayamvar soon. Please do not forget to bring your father's income certificate.

Bye.

Himalayan Adventure #2 - Day 1 : Ghangaria

It was our second trip to the Himalayan region, so this time we were more experienced and matured. Instead of leaving thread hanging, we thought to plan the trip minutely and smartly. As compared to our previous trip, this time we had a plenty of time to cover nearby areas. Along with covering nearby areas, time was sufficient to cover, rest, and enjoy the planned places. Experience and mistakes of the last trip were also considered while planning.

This time we started late in the evening i.e. 11 PM. We didn't want to spend a night in Rishikesh. So we planned to reach Rishikesh early in the morning, and continue our journey. As most buses, operating at these routes, are pushback, so we planned to use the fare well.

There were some glitches in our plan like any other perfect plan. In our plan we didn't consider Kawariyan Season. Due to the festival season, Bus stands were overcrowded with pilgrims, and buses were nowhere to be seen. Every bus, entering the stand, was chased and filled within seconds. In such a chaos, a bus conductor persuaded us to take the Dehradoon route. He assured us to reach Dehradoon within 6 hours. But we promise, to break it. So this bus conductor was no exception.

Our bus started at 12AM in the night, and reached Dehradoon at 8AM in the morning. Our fight with time had started. We rushed to catch a bus to Rishikesh, which took one hour to reach Rishikesh. All buses going to Badrinath were already left. So instead of wasting time, and losing other favourable options, we planned to split the journey into two parts. We planned to reach Rudraprayag first, and take another bus or shared taxi to Joshimath. So We boarded the bus going to Rudraprayag. We reached Rudraprayag at 3PM. Our fight with time was not over yet; we faced a lot of difficulties to find any vehicle to Joshimath. In normal days, it was possible to find shared taxis, but any taxi wasn't available at Taxi stand today. Anyway we got a bus to Joshimath after waiting for half an hour. We reached Joshimath around 8PM, so considering the risk involved in journey at this time, so we planned to rest at Joshimath.

Joshimath is a big town, which has a good number of options for night stay. Houses in town are scattered all across the mountains. Highest visible house is approximately 500 ft higher than the market. This town remains inhabited in winters also, though it receives a heavy snow fall during the peak winters. Town's market is decent, and it is equipped with everything required for day to day living. Due to transportation cost, daily household things are also costly in the town, but people have to suffer those additional costs due to their territorial position.

After spending the night in Joshimath, we started to Govindghat early in the morning. We reached Govindghat 10 AM. In general Sikhs travelling to Hemkund Sahib spend their night at Govindghat Gurudwara, which is situated next to Alaknanda river. Govindghat Gurudwara does not offer much to see around so we did not take any substantial break at Gurudwara.

The Bridge after Govindghat Gurudwara, which is built to Cross Alaknanda River.

UK government has laid out a nice concrete road for pilgrims visiting to Hemkund Sahib, and it made our task little less challenging. Distance between Govindghat and Ghangaria Gurudwara is approximately 13-14 KMs, which is accountable distance to even walk in a single day. However nothing could change our mind. We were carrying our luggage with us, so we had to climb with these bulky bags.

Start of the Trek is littered by horse dung. So this small stretch does not only smell heavily, but also it causes lot of problems in rainy season. After crossing this stretch, road is pleasant, and covered with trees. Valley is musical with the sound of rushing water. At the time of our visit, weather predictions were favourable to us.

Lakshman Ganga River

We walked first KM easily without any pain, but we already knew the long run. Soon every additional 100 meters were posing new challenges. Path was filled with green and huge trees. Lot of flowers were also enhancing the beauty of the place.

We were moving slowly, but time was never a constraint to us. Even if we would take 7 hours to reach to top, then also we would reach at 7 o'clock in the evening which was acceptable to us. We took multiple breaks at regular intervals to manage our breath and body well. In spite of tiredness, we enjoyed the beauty of the nature. Every step was unfolding breathtaking views behind the mountains.

River@this place was flowing like a river, not like a fall. So we were able to spend some quality time here.

Kunal, lost in the world of water. Must be thinking of words.

River Bank, cluttered with indisputable owner river bank: pebbles

View of the valley from the River bank.

We stayed at place, above in the pictures, for half an hour. Though, it would have been awesome to spend the night under the stars, but we did not have enough resources to settle down in open. This place was 7 kilometers far from the starting point, so other 7 kilometers were still remaining. Though this trek had already demonstrated our health strength, stamina, and capabilities, but against all other odds, we were determined to win.

After walking little further, a bridge declared completion of 7 kilometers, and in addition, it announced new challenges on the way. It announced the start of another climb on another mountain. It was little steeper than the one we completed.

Hemkund Sahib is one among many pilgrimages for Sikh community, so lot of Sikhs were trekking with us. People, of different ages, were rushing to finish their climb/day. Every person, returning from Hemkund Sahib, was encouraging tired people. Additionally most of them were carrying glucose pack, toffees, and water bottles, to help people in need. Helpful nature of each individual toward another was worth a praise, and it was second most satisfying aspect of this trip.

Sun was moving faster than our climb. Our trip was nowhere to end. We kept walking, resting and walking. Though our shoulders were aching due to weight, though we were sweating due to climb, but our goal was not achieved yet and we were still 3 kilometers away from Gurudwara.

Though we were tired to the death, but we could not ignore the beauty of the mountains. They were changing colors with the Sun. These mountains were covered with ice at some places, with long trees at few, and with everything or nothing at rest other places. All these gigantic mountains were telling us, that nothing, even human, can be larger than these.

Fall on the way. I am not sure which angle was used to take this picture, but it is a nice capture.

Water demonstrating it's destructive powers.

Green valley with silver coating.

Nange Pahars

Yeh kisi shayar ki mohtaj nahi,
Ise kisi ashik se ashiki ki pyas nahi.
Ise kisi chayakar ke chitran se pyar nahi...
Yeh  ek  fiza mein ghula aisa nasha hai, jise jindagi ke rukne ka intjar nahi.

We kept moving, and on the way we crossed helipad, temples, and river streams and after 7 hours of suffering, and trekking we reached to Ghangaria. We were there in the town. Town is not big. It has few shops, few hotels and restaurants. We headed to the Gurudwara because If we were allowed to stay in Gurudwara, then our stay and dinner was free of any charge.

Way in which Sikh community is serving the humanity is worth appreciating. Any human is always welcome to their premise, irrespective of his cast, religion, cult, colour, region, and reason. He can eat, sleep, and mingle with them without any resistance. I went to clerk's window to ask for beds, and I got 2 beds without any question other than my name for their records.

After putting burden off from our shoulders, we enjoyed the awesome tea. We treated ourselves with 2 glasses of tea. Later dinner i.e. Prasada was splendid, and extremely tasty. After dinner, we retired in our beds without any further delay. Though we were tired, but our sleep eluded us. As the person sleeping next to our bed was producing excellent sounds while snorting.

The day must be summed as a tiring, but scenic, and soothing, with a nice healing end.

Oops, Tasty Bhindi

Many people/individuals talk to their girl friends as if they are in a question answer round where they can answer with hmmm, no, or yes only. Though they stick to their mobiles for hours, but to remain silent. Believe me or not, but these discussions kept pinching and suffering my mind. So I wanted to know everything about them.
 
I inquired my friends about their discussions with their girl friends. Most of them ignored me, but they did not miss to pass a scary glance at me, and rest others answered miserly. Most told me that these discussions are general chat about their day to day activities. But, believe me, these answers did not satisfy my curiosity. After neglected by friends, I decided to achieve the enlightenment at my own. I decided to dirty my own hands to figure out the truth.

So I started searching a prey for my experiment. It was hard to find a girl who was as desperate as me. Though I was kicked out of many coffee houses and disco bars, but I did not lose the hopes. Finally, I found the girl who could help me to attain the salvation. She was decent looking, though socially awkward, but physically marvellous blonde.

Her name was Sam as her actual name Sameera was too old fashioned and embarrassing for her. She had the henna coloured hair, big and dark black eyes, long ear having big long earrings, dimpled cheeks, and aquiline nose. She was 5'6 tall, hot, and cute girl.

Actually, I was on the 7th sky. I did not get a chance to talk to girls ever, but now I was dating a blonde. Though I thought, She might be different from general Salvar-Kurta girls and my experiment may fail, but I did not want to screw up the only chance I got.

After seducing and convincing her for the couple of weeks we were in a serious relationship, and we started sharing many sleepless nights. Initially I used to speak, and she used to listen me, but later everything changed and she started driving our conversation.

I used to return to home from office at 10PM. Our office AC was not working well and used to stop cooling building everyday after 8PM. So these two hours were heat massage for me. Though sweating was merely a problem, but my bigger problem was; her call. I did not know, how she synchronized her calls with my entry in the house, but my cell would surely ring once I was here. Though I had seen lot of science fiction motion pictures, but nothing helped. Even after multiple check-ups, the doctors could not find any transmitter in my body (ha ha ha kidding).

Her call was not pain until we had a lot to discuss, but within few days we did not have enough topics to discuss. Apart from that she wanted to dictate herself. The discussions were very similar everyday.

Our discussion used to start with hi darling, did you have your dinner? If I would say NO, then she would start explaining medical and scientific reasons to avoid late in the nights. She would give more unwanted suggestions to improve my bad eating habits. So I did not have any option except a lie. My answer was not good enough to stop our dinner about discussion. Now she would insist me to tell  her specific details about dinner. She always wanted to know cooking capabilities of her 'to be' mother -in -law. Oh fuck, is all this necessary now? But, you cannot show your frustration on phone. I told her that I eat Bhindi with Chapaties. Bhindi brought her back to life. She screamed, and told me that Bhindi was her favourite dish. She started to describe  all the possible ways of preparing Bhindi. According to her, Bhindi could be prepared in four different ways, and she described all of them to me. I think, she was expecting me to cook Bhindi for her in her next visit. I was adding few Hmmm, okay, no and yes to the conversation. Somehow she introduced her Mausi in this Bhindi preparation methods session. She had already told me her Mausi's story millions time earlier, but Sam would reiterate her Mausi's struggle story. I remembered this story word by word now, and this story has been taught to me with very hard way.

Before disconnecting the phone call, she would not forget to ask these questions  again. "Baby, do not you love me any more? Why do you not speak to me as you used to talk to me earlier?". I would need another half an hour to convince her, "she is best thing happened to me in my lifetime".

I can understand the fear in my friends mind now. They never told me the whole story as they did not to reiterate it one more time in the day. They, not my friends but their girl friends, always talked general daily routine. After enlightening myself I defended myself from humiliation and got back to same life which was before introducing the blonde bug in life.

Himalayan Adventure #1 - Day 2 : Tungnath

DeoraiTal was a great experience to us, but our fun was not limited to this place. Saari is a small place so shared taxis are available till 8AM in the morning, but after 8AM you have to hire a private vehicle to commute. Our guide had instructed us to reach to Saari before 8AM, but we could not leave the lake  early in the morning. We reached to the village at 9AM, but as expected this place was already deserted. Shopkeepers were the only people who were left behind to assist us. In the end, our guide arranged a cab for us which cost us 800 INR.
 

Distance between Chopta and Saari village is 35 KM. Roads are spiral, narrow, and steep, but these are maintained well. Both sides of the Roads are covered with big and old oak trees. Drivers are trained well for such roads. Though these drivers drive on such risky roads with considerable speed, but they understand their responsibilities. At last We reached to Chopta around 12 noon. 
 

Chopta is small settlement and Commencement point to 3rd of Panch Kedar. It is 2680 meters above sea level. This place is resting place for trekkers and pilgrims. Chopta/Tungnath is more commercialized than Saari Village as it attracts higher number of Hindu pilgrims. Hindu pilgrims prefer to spend their nights at hotels available at Chopta whereas trekkers prefer to trek to Tungnath and enjoy spectacular Sunrise/Sunset. 
 

While leaving Saari, we didn't have appetite for breakfast, but we were starving now. So we planned to trek right after lunch. Lots of shops and restaurants were available so we stuffed our stomach. Before starting our journey, one gentleman offered us his help. He asked us to contact Mandir Samiti people and hand them the piece of paper that he gave. He has mentioned his name on the Paper, but forgot to provide any other information on it. (BTW you don't really need any information. At top you will not find many options to confuse)

Started for Tungnath trekking from here.

We pulled up our socks for uphill trekking which was a 4 KM's walk. This trekking path is built with stones and cement, and it is steeper than the Deorai Tal trek. One side of the path is covered with the green grass and other side has breathtaking view of the mountains series. We were walking slowly and taking more breaks to enjoy the views, to get familiar with the environment, to maintain my breath in lesser oxygen density area, and to carry our heavy bags. At last We hired a porter to carry our bags which gave us the freedom to enjoy the surrounding. Finally, We took 2 hours to reach to the temple premise.

Breathing time.

Entry Point to Tungnath

Tungnath Temple, It almost remain less populated.

Tungnath temple is the highest temple among all Panch Kedars. Tunganath (literal meaning: Lord of the peaks) mountains form the Mandakini and Alaknanda river valleys. Located at an altitude of 3,680 m (12,073 ft), and just below the peak of Chandrashila. Tungnath temple is the highest Hindu shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple is believed to be 1000 years old and is the second in the pecking order of the Panch Kedars. It has a rich legend linked to the Pandavas, heroes of the Mahabharata epic.

The temple is a small premise, you can rather call it a room of 200 square feet. It is built with stones. Simple temple structure is the most attractive and beautiful thing about it. Main sanctum is surrounded with other deities. In compare to other Hindu shrines Tungnath attracts less number of devotees, that's why this place is less populated and polluted.

At the peak there are very less options to stay and eat. In general Hindu devotees trek in the morning and return back in the evening so the People, who stay overnight, are either trekkers or bird watchers. For these people, Mandir Samiti has build one guest house which has 4 rooms. These rooms are cheap (400 INR only), comfortable and spacious. Apart from the guest house there are few other places for overnight stay which might be as good as other room, but we settled in guest house room. Food is quite good, just like home cooked food, tasty and cheap. We were actually tired after trekking so we took some rest before having our lunch.

Chandrashila is an another peak accessible from the Tungnath and it is 1 Km walk from the Tungnath. Lodge caretaker asked us to accompany them in their evening walk to the peak. The way to the peak is quite easy and manageable. But due to less oxygen and non availability of water, I was breathing heavily. So I quit the walk in the middle. I returned back to the room, but Kunal walked to the top with other people.

Sunrise I think.

Chandrashila is  summit  of the Tungnath . It literally means "Moon Rock". It is located at a height of about 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) above sea level. This peak provides a spectacular view of Himalayas,especially Nandadevi, Trisul, Kedar Peak, Bandarpunch and Chaukhamba peaks. Sunset and Sunrise views, from the peak, are the biggest charm of the place.

As our planning was not adequate, that's why we didn’t have enough cloths to sustain in the cold, and it posted little trouble to me as well. In the evening I was down with fever, and we could not find any medicine. In the meantime Kunal returned from Chandrashila. He took spectacular shots with his camera and was too happy. I missed it all, and I was little sad about it, but I did not lose my hopes.

Morning didn't bring any good news and I couldn't encourage myself to trek to Chandrashila in these conditions. So I ditched the trekking plans, whereas Kunal woke up late. He didn't have enough time to climb to the peak before sunrise. But still he found few people walking in different direction. He followed them and reached to a place where lots of people were assembled to view Sunrise. They told him, the view from both the places are same. So without missing anything, he returned happily with astonishing Sunrise shots.

Sunrise

Sunrise

Around 9 AM, we got ready for return journey. We walked around the temple a little, took some photographs and had our breakfast before trekking down to Chopta. We trekked down with our friend and lodge caretaker. We reached to Chopta and took a cab to Okhimath. From Okhimath, we took a shared cab and reached to Rishikesh safely (safely because cab's tyres were punctured once and blasted once, scary is not it) at 7 PM in the evening.

Walking back to Chopta to return back to same Noisy City

Man with hope.

It was an exciting trip with new experiences and challenges. We achieved a lot but I missed a little too. Everything was special as if somebody has read my heart and crafted the surrounding to match my taste. Though I regret to miss Chandrashila and I would come back to Himalayas and I would achieve the height, higher than the height that scared me this time. 

Few Points to Remember:
1. Do not hire private cab, you will surely get some other bakra who has hired it and can take you to your destination in very less money.
2. Do not talk to middlemen, they are little extra burden on you.
3. Take water with you while trekking.
4. Carry minimum weight with you.
5. Must carry medicines in case of urgency.
6. Must carry enough warm cloths.
7. There is no electricity at Tungnath, so carry your own source of light. Candles is also helpful.
8. Cellone's mobile network is only network available there.

Contact Information
Deorai Tal - Negi Mountaineering(Bhawani Singh) - 09410940110
Tungnath - Sandeep Care taker at Mandir Samiti Guest House - 09458081787 

Trip to Deorai Tal