Last night, I watched an insipid film that had everything a film should not have - a bad script, gawdy costumes, a hero who smells bombs when he is not being the cute chocolate boy in college, and a 'bebe' who hams like there is no tomorrow. But I'm not complaining. I made a choice, and a mindful one at that. The promos had got me sufficiently aware of what was in the offing, and I still gladly trotted along to the movie hall.
But then, there is something surreal about cinema that attracts me to it. It pulls me into its charm. It makes me want to believe in it. I have almost started pining for the power possessed by the protagonist. I mean, I could use some divine smelling power so that I can pre-empt my boss's attempt at peeping into my screen as I write this waste of a post!
I flourish in the vicarious thrills of being a hero some day, of riding bikes in the air, of dancing on stage even with two left feet, and of romancing a princess after rescuing her from a bunch of terrorists. Suddenly, cinema makes everything seem alright. Hail cinema!

The Secu-LIAR-ist Ideology!

There are quirks of this society that never cease to surprise, or rather, rattle me. A friend of mine was recently denied the purchase of some property in Mumbai - reason: he is a Muslim! Quite shocking, I'd say. It's routine news, some others might say. But the point is - I think it's disgusting to think that people can have such parochial mindsets in what they call the advanced era of a modern India. I mean, to stoop as low as to deny someone an equal right based on his religion is pretty shameful. But let's leave that aside for now.
What I fail to understand is, how do we have the (in)sanity to indulge in such trifles after witnessing such heinous forces already trying to disturb the harmony of the country (it's barely 5 months since 26/11, guys!). Is the bitterness that they are trying to spread in here not already enough? Is it wise to give these external demons a reason to laugh at our own inability to live harmoniously? How much sensibility does it take to consider the existence of compassion and humanity beyond a concocted boundary of religions? Food for thought, everyone.
For the property owner who prompted me to write on this hackneyed topic - do remember, the world goes a full circle. Let not a day come when you find yourself seeking a plush home abroad, and you are denied one simply because you are not of the same creed as the others. But if it does, you will probably wish you had been a little more broad-minded towards your own countrymen. Don't take this suggestion to heart. Take it to your soul, if you have one.
It's no good faking integrity and unity and..what was that word again? Yeah, SPIRIT! - if you can't get your basics right. To sum up what we stand as even after witnessing a hundred 26/11s already, I'll end by re-writing a few lines I had recently penned:

We limp back to life on a busy city street,
Where meaningless trifles turn up the heat.
Curses turn into blows, and blows into bloodshed,
Each man for himself, unity be dead.
Those demons laugh at us as we busy ourselves in the brawl,
And we still proudly claim: United We Stand, Divided We Fall.

Meru - RELY ON US! - Whattay farce!

A few days ago, I had to make an urgent trip from Malad to Nariman Point. I must've been damned when Meru's tagline RELY ON US registered with my sensibilities, and I requested for their service. What I saw was a stark example of how a brand's performance goes tangentially away from the values it boasts of. Here's a snapshot of the proceedings:

4 PM - I call Meru RELY ON US and ask for a cab; am told it will pick me by 5 PM

5.15 PM - The cabbie tells me he is stuck at the nearest signal to where I am waiting, and he will be there soon

5.25 PM - I call frantically, he is still stuck at the 'same signal' (Now the same answer is repeated each time I call, till around 6 PM).

6 PM - I blow my top, take another car, and call the Meru RELY ON US guys to tell them how unhappy I am.

Now, there's one thing called customer dissatisfaction, but what I got here was augmented customer dissatisfaction, if ever there was such a word. For, when I called them simply requesting them to pass their phone to their team leader, they either refused, or they simply dropped off. On the fourth occasion, they obliged and made the team leader speak to me. Now, in a desperate attempt to salvage the image of Meru-RELY ON US, the team leader launched a senseless tirade against me, accusing me of not being watchful enough, and telling me that the cab was at the required pick-up point at sharp 5 PM! Obviously that meant that one of the cabbie or the team leader was lying! And lying rather stupidly!

The rest of the experience I had with the team leader is best forgotten. But my only inference from the whole episode is that Meru RELY ON US can't quite be relied on. Surely not when you have an emergency to attend to. The services of a company that can't respect its customer's time commitments are best left to experiment with on a lazy Saturday evening.

The Other Side Of The Fence

I recently attended the Mohit Chauhan concert organized by a bunch of college students in Pune. The lawns had been divided into two clear factions: one was the designated VIP zone, complete with its plush sofas and an exquisite arrangement for comestibles-on-demand; the other was a lowered slope which was an open area for the college students to stand and watch the show. Clearly, the latter option looked much more colourful and vibrant. Students stood in huddles, swaying to the tango, and singing their hearts out sans inhibition.
"Let's take that option, it gets me nostalgic," I suggested to my colleague IC, who had unwillingly been dragged along for company after getting an assurance that I would shield him against any salvos that his demonic boss would fire at him for leaving an unfinished code at work.
"The organizers won't let us in," IC grunted bemusedly, "we have the VIP passes. And anyway, these students are happy because they are free of guilt. They haven't got here by lying to anyone. I still can't believe you convinced me to threaten my boss that I'd puke right in his cabin if I didn't leave office early."
"It will be worth it," I laughed, "let's get in now."
The organizers checked our passes and guided us to the VIP area.
"We'd like to stand there," I requested, pointing to the lowered slope.
"Sorry Sir, that's for the students," the boy resisted, "you've got VIP passes."
"That's ok," I argued, trying to shove through, "we were also students three years back - not a big deal."
"That's three years too long, Sir, I insist," he stood firm, "please take your seats on the other side of the fence. You'll be more comfortable there."
The show was on, but I felt something was amiss. My mind drifted continually to the open area, to the crazy jigs the students performed together in sync with the soulful songs being rendered by the performers, and to the three years gone by that felt like eons. And then, Mohit began explaining the lyrics of a new song he had composed, which talked of a bird's desire to take a long due flight from the hills down to the valley. I felt Mohit was scanning my thoughts as I gazed down at the slope to my left. I was the bird, and my wings flapped with candid anticipation. But alas, I knew not the route back to the valley.

A Shackled Soul

The child under censure looks for a freeway,
Paper boats and fables don’t quite make his day.
Scoffing at the fetters that shackle his soul,
He prays to be a man, so he can be on his own.

The distressed young man breathes out of his window,
Smothered by a cocktail of stress, greed and ego.
Sweet nothings of yore left behind, many a mile,
He prays to be a child, so he can remember how to smile.

Child to the man:

I’m done with the sermons on the person I should be,
Why can’t the world just let me be me?
The scores I bring home define my parents’ love or disdain,
You know not the anguish of constant embargos and refrain.
I envy you so, for you can tell good and evil apart,
And you have the freedom to let that special someone into your heart.

Man to the child:

I’ve wings to fly, but I’m dizzied by the height,
There’s not a soul around me on this dark, gloomy night.
I crave for those lazy naps in the noon,
Looking back on a fond era that passed by too soon.
When you fail, your mother does comfort her son,
But as today I fail, all I see is an empty room and a loaded gun.

United We Stand

The paparazzi scream out a somber story,

Filling our senses with images gory

Of a wounded child walking through a hundred shrouds,

Searching for his mother amidst those smoky clouds.

With a silent prayer, I try to sleep every night,

But the littlest of noises wake me up with a fright,

Each step that we tread on is now a landmine of fear,

And the demons from the other world look at us and jeer.

But they can't break our strength, we stand brave and tall,

And proudly we claim: united we stand, divided we fall.

A gallant cop kills and dies for a cause,

But we bicker listlessly about ethics and sketchy laws,

A life too precious is laid down in vain,

As his commitment to his brethren is flushed down the drain.

We limp back to life on a busy city street

Where a meaningless trifle turns up the heat.

Curses turn into blows, and blows into bloodshed,

Each man for himself, unity be dead.

Those demons laugh at us as we busy ourselves in the brawl,

And we still proudly claim: united we stand, divided we fall.

The Brook And The Maple Leaf

One little brook wends its way through the wild,
Letting out whimpers like an abandoned child,
It searches for a friend that is lost since long,
Cries out to the maple leaf an invoking song.

"Dear maple leaf, where have you been?
It’s been ages since the horizon together we’ve seen.
Come let us go see the sun set again,
Relive the moments we savoured back then."

"Dear old brook, I miss you as much,
But we can meet no more, our fate is such,
The moisture in you makes me lose my sheen,
So I’d rather stay snug in the wilderness green.

In my adversity you sailed me through,

I know you care for me, and I love you too.

But times are anew, and you are no longer sweet and pure,

The velvet grass where I lie is a better lure."

The brook falls still, stricken by grief,
In shock and dismay, turns to the maple leaf:
"Do you forget the day you were in want of direction,
And I had taken you along to your destination?

You now need me no more, then so it will be,
Stay rest assured, you’ll see no more of me,
I’ll flow till eternity and merge with the ocean,
One day you’ll wither, you’ll remember me then."