Liberal Minds

The political incorrectness in all of us

2010-09-16T05:10:00.000-07:00

Hello Folks
How is everything??

Classics that endure...

2010-05-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

Pics : from top, movie poster of the evergreen Breakfast at Tiffany's followed by a classic Black and White scan of the dynamic Audrey Hepburn in the classic black dress and jewelery as shown in the movie

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Musical that stands the test of time...

2010-05-27T11:27:00.000-07:00

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Iconic Video game turns 30

2010-05-21T20:42:00.000-07:00

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Double Edged Sword?

2010-05-17T23:01:00.000-07:00

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Whats on?

Technology has advanced many fold. Be it Telecommunications, satellite, internet - which is the new media. The aim of which is again considered to spread the message across.

Nowadays there is like population explosion an information explosion...they say in journalistic circles that a moment one thing is there flashed, focused, and the next moment the status-quo, importance goes for a paradigm shift to something else( a story, News Item, development etc).

In this era of grabbing the eyeballs cliched to be a part of the electronic media comprising of radio, television etc. Readers, viewers, listeners need inevitably to prioritise their interests. The greatest Information or knowledge ( whatever one might like to refer it) outlet that one can easily lay his/ her hands upon is the new media or the internet.

Internet is the Multi media's intriguing avatar, if we need to use hyperbole to describe its essential character.

Nothing is hidden today with the enormous boom of Goliath-Like proportions in the Information technology sector, if we want to put it on a scale.

It was said or rather let us say a narrative went about doing the rounds that United States dumps their obsolete and outdated Information Technologies in 3rd world countries or developing nations.

Communication pervades behind bars...

2010-05-14T23:28:00.000-07:00

Hello Folks

How is life?

Human progress is amazing, isn't it gains momentum from scratch and then procedds with leaps and bounds.

We have invested in building roads, tunnels, bridges, buildings, railway tracks, infrastructure, industries, space endeavours, information technology, telecommunications etc.

Technology it is said shouldn't overwhelm us instead it should open new horizons for mankind.

May 7-9th Retrospective of Alfred Hitchcock's movies

2010-05-10T09:20:00.000-07:00

Pics: from Top, posters from Alfred Hitchcock's movies screened at The American Center with the initiative of Cine Darbar, a film society.

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Mother's Day :God's gift to mankind

2010-05-09T01:45:00.000-07:00

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May 4th, 1799 sunset at Srirangapatanam

2010-05-04T23:14:00.000-07:00

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How is life?

May 4th 1799 is a desicive chapter in the passages of Indian History for, in this fateful day 18th century Mysore's most powerful resistance to the East India Company's forces, Tipu Sultan..son of Haidar Ali, died fighting the invading English forces at his fort and capital ... Srirangapatanam which in some ways laid the road for the foundation of British paramountcy in the rest of Southern India.

Sweat and Blood, sickle and plough...

2010-04-30T23:14:00.000-07:00

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What's new?

Today is May day...as we all know a day solely dediacted to workers emancipation...

An evening dipped in the Bard's magic...

2010-04-25T09:26:00.000-07:00

Hello folks...

How is everything?

They say that one should " love arts for the arts sake "...

Being very much true to the cliche ( with full respect meant to the thought..) lets wander in to the world of Elizabethan era's most talked about playwright, poet, actor, director etc.

Earning sobriquets as Bard of Avon after the place in United Kingdom where he lived, Stratford upon Avon, this man has to be studied inorder to understand Drama, performing arts and the very and many arts he was an embodiment of.

To drive home this point, Akshara Theatre located at 11-B, Baba Kharak Singh Marg with the landmark being the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi in collaboration with Eureka bookstore for kids took the pains of presenting to Delhites an interactive symposium which brings the Bard in the psyche of young people.

Akshara Theatre has a homely ambience with no elitist affair in the sense that there is no gaudy decorations inside the stage and only archlights above the spot where peformances are carried out and is a wooden floor with a balcony just at the background, facing the stage is the gallery for the audience.

The programme comprised of three seesions at the stipulated time that intellectualised and presented perspectives on the Bard which took off from 4 pm while the entertaintment segment kickstarted from 7 pm in the evening.

The auidience not only comprised of teachers, academicians or simply Shakespeare enthusiasts but also included students from CBSE ( Central Board of Secondary Education) with schools ranging as DPS ( Delhi Public School) Vasant Kunj to St. Columbus in Goldak Khana near Connaught Place.

The programme began with the graceful address of Madam Jalabala Vaidya an actress of the niche oriented English theatre in India who along with her playwright Husband, Mr. Gopal Sharman has put Akshara theatre into a league of its own.

Session one titled Revolutionary Shakespeare, highlighted Shakespeare's vision at the peak of his career and brught to the fore the universality and continued relevance of the Bard today with a interactive discussion from theatre artists Arka Mukhopadhyay and Parnab Mukherji.

The highlight of this segment was Mr. Parnab's solo act play where he dwelled upon the fact that public places great figures in the annuls of history in a so-called " divine status" and this was brough out poignantly when he said continuously in his performance that " I will shoot you with a Shakespeare gun'' when the other imagined actor whom he was only giving the voice with the apparent fact being that such a referral( the Dialogue) is an apparent sign of anything giving a jolt long set traditions and thought process.

The act was beautifully intervined with present day political and social situation of the country.

Hereafter, the second session was democratic in the sense that it catered the Bard minus his exalted image to the new generation who are unfortunately not much akin to him, courtesy resource person from Publication houses specialising in children and other literature like Vatsala Kaul bannerji( Hachette India group of Publications), Reba Mukherji and Atiya Zaidi. Their discussion was not only limited to search Shakespeare's dramatic and literary genius but going one step ahead sharing their perceptions and imressions of the Bard's work in their lives. This was titled Sharing Shakespeare.

Tosham Acharya a final year fashion technolgy student from the JD institute of fashion design who hails from Karnataka gave audiences a treat of his dramatic enactment from Julius Ceasar

Session Three was titled in a pop-culturish way...Shakespeare rocks..This segment comprised of Artistic director, Anirudh nair of Wide Aisle productions and Sangeeta Nag, a CBSE schoolteacher inputting the modes and nuances used by the Elizabethan Playwright in his times.

This segment was provided variety courtesy a creative interplay between teachers and students which was realised by a dramatic enactment from Julius Ceaser and the Merchant of Venice by the Learing Stage. To give in some details of this performance it was directed by Stephen Marazzi with actors in the following order Zara Khan as (Portia), Abhinav Khetarpal as ( Shylock), Naval K. Grag as ( Gratiano), Joshua Katuka as ( Bassanio).

These enactments were given a generous dollop of music with Anam Panmei at the Violin, Vipin Sharma at the guitar. As no show is a reality without proper management so this programme had Ms. Ragini as the manager.

These were eneded by the 6 pm informal birthday celebrations on Shakespeare with delicious English fare served to invitees comprising of students, teachers, parents, enthusiasts, actors et al. This made the evening meaningful.

An hour later the other entertaintemnt followed with small enactments on Dreams and Nightmares by theatre personality Arka Mukhopadhyay and his students. This was complemented by ann excerpt from Julius Ceaser by Stephen Marazzi, then followed Sudhir Tandon's excerpt from the same iconic play.

Therafter an excerpt of the fantasy drama the Tempest was performed by Anirudh Nair of Wide Aisle productions, this was supported by an excerpt from Birnham Van that is Raghuvir Sahay's Hindi adaptation of Macbeth that was done justice by Baanee Sharad, Tosham Acharya and Mahant.

As the evening grew the performances too with an excerpt from Romeo and Juliet where the scenes run as the Star crossed lovers are shown meeting for the first time under a moonlit night near Juliet's balcony to juliet's end by consumption of the poison. This excerpt was done justice by Anirudh Nair as Romeo and English theatre artist Shona Benson as Juliet.

The performances were given the intellectual quotient by a histrionic and nuance filled excerpt from hamlet performed by Akshara theatre's Gopal Sharman as well as the bard's sonnets being read out by none other than the garcious lady herself, Jalabala Vaidya.

Children add colur and variety to any show and this was eveident when the audiences were enthralled by a fairy tale like performance of the MidSummer's Night Dream with lead characters as Oberon bing played by Dhruv Shetty , Krish Barua as Puck followed by Yashna Shetty as Titania, Jyoti Sharma as the chief fairy. This performance was ably complemented by a host of child artists.

Personalities are there in every passage of history whose pesonal achievements go on to inspire generations and Shakespeare inevitably is that personality. he through his works have down the annuls of modern human progress have become only universal and profound.

Defintely this evening at the Akshara theatre dserves a thumbs up for its endeavours in highlighting the Bard's life and works

World book and copyright Day

2010-04-24T09:32:00.000-07:00

Ole Books!

Ole Folks!

How is life?

Bardolatory...

2010-04-22T23:01:00.000-07:00

Hello Folks,

What's on?

Time to ponder for the planet...

2010-04-21T22:46:00.000-07:00

Hello folks

How is life?

Get Educated...

2010-04-21T07:18:00.000-07:00

Ole Folk

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first rain kisses mother earth

2010-04-19T07:21:00.000-07:00

Hi folks !

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Muslim Marriage Law and Sania Mirza issue

2010-04-18T10:15:00.000-07:00

Ole folks

How is life?

Jihad Striving for Peace by Sadia Dehlvi

2010-04-18T04:15:00.000-07:00

Ole Folks, Pals, Comrades, Friends...

How has been the weekends?

Everytime time there is a bomb blast in the Arab world or South Asia or the 1st world West or Europe, so-called xenophiilic eviedence is directed towards the suspect of such acts being Muslims, this is the case more especially after the 9/11 terror strikes at the Twin towers and the Pentagon of the United states. The world has been witness to either a self-styled so - called Islamic miltant faction being levelled the charges of such a strike or either that faction, that outfit, that cult, that ideologically militant oriented organisation accepting the charges of murder, Extortion, kidnapping, Maiming, Mutiliation, Hijackings, Suicide bombings the bottomline being holding the very essence of Humanity at stake.

If we broaden our perspective, psyche, mindset and thought processes that we use or seem to use so much in other developments, issues we will come to a natural conclusion that no faith in this world propagates terror, mayhem, chaos and a state of anarchy.

Amidst such blurring of lines and natural xenophobic attitude from the world over directed against Islam, a lst of the faiths originating from the contuning Jewish traditions which Muslim's immediate neighbour the Christians have recieved via Jesus Christ whom Muslims refer to as a great Prophet, just before Prophet Mohammad, much needs to be said and done.

One of the greatest controversises created, artificial or out of the intellectual ignorance of masses and non-muslims the world over is of the term Jihad. It is amusing to see that how media reports and uses the term.They refer to people self-styled champions of Islam waging irrelevant, insane, mindless Holy War( known as Crusades in Christianity) against their perpetrators. Such a word is Jihadi or Jihadist wheraeas in Islamic connotation such a word is not to be found anywhere. Jihad has been mentioned 41 times in the Holy Quran ( all the three semitic faith Judaism, christainity and Islam are called children of the book with the leaders, messiahs, messengers and the Prophets Of God the Almighty being endowed with one of them) but no other connotation is there in this sacred book of Muslims that says of jihad as a military offensive confrontation or waging a war that is directed aginst disbelievers for that matter.

Jihad came into existence in the faithe in the following way and for that one has to have a deeper study of terms, phrases, coined in that particular era the Socio-historic-economic background of that term's origin and then intellectualise, disseminate views-labelled to be opinionated, biased or liberal or simply a result of comparative study of different faiths tenets, edicts and doctrines.

Jihad's meaning is struggle and one now will be faced with question as to struggle aginst whom-struggle against oneself, one's inner evils, one's shortcomings pat comes the reply.

In Christinaity there are the seven sins which are dreaded to be the manifestation of satan or belonging to the wrong path, these include gluttony, pride, envy, jealousy, greed, lust and adultery etc. These are referred to as nafs in Islam and one who has come near to controlling that nafs or has also overcome the nafs is a follower of God and an exemplary, ideal human being whom Allah( the term used for the Almighty in Islam) also likes and showers his blessings on to.

just to clarify things, wrong notions regarding the essence of Islam i am presenting to you folks a write up on this Sunday's ( April 18th) special supllement the Speaking Tree which disseminates information, sources, matter relating to various faiths and religions of the world and the present feature is on Jihad and its relevant connotation by Sadia Delhvi, a columnist and writer in the Times of India and convenor of Sufi gatherings( a branch and part of Islam which brought to the world the dedication and connectedness towards God in the form of music, arts, culture, poetry etc and giving to the South Asian region a unique identity of saints coming over from far off lands of central asia, borders of Iran and Afghanistan, Iraq as well as directly from these nations themselves with the most unique thing about thse saints being the preachings, teachings and championing of compassion, universal brotherhood, peace, tolerance and other values which in turn is evident from the thousands and thousands of Muslims as well as non-muslims thronging their shrines either at Ajmer, India of Sulltan-ul-Hind, Hazrath khwaja gareeb Nawaaz Moinudeen Chisti).

Here goes the feature...

The Greater Calling

The Quran embraces all aspects of life, setting the guiding principles of family, civil and criminal law, writes...Sadia Dehlvi

I often encounter people holding biased views on passages relating to Jihad in the quran. It is not surprising. The understanding of spirtual narratives has been deeply injured by militants distorting scriptures to perpetrate heinous crimes .

Islamic tradition believes that Jesus recieved pure love, Moses the law and Prophet Mohammad, a combination of both in the final message in the form of the Quran. Similar to world constitutions that aim for justice, equality and freedom, the Quran embraces all aspects of life, setting the guiding principles of family, civil and criminal law.

One meaning of Islam is peace, a permanently desired state with all that exists. Islam classifies jihad which means "to strive" into Jihad-e-asghar, the less important otward battle against injustices, and Jihad-e-akbar, the larger battle aginst the nafs, the worst impulses in the self. This internal Jihad is changing one's own resistance to Truth, and the other is confronting forces in the world that are resisting Truth.

Religion is about creating a balance in our lives. When people submit to evil and it becomes the principle they live by, their internal imbalance becomes a source of danger.

To ensure peace and security, such forces have to be isolated or destroyed. The verses sanctioning a miltary Jihad were revealed to the Prophet after 13 years of passive resistance to the injustices and oppression of muslims in Makkah. War was allowed only between armies on battlefields. The prophet stressed that as an armed struggle, jihad could not be pursued for economic gain, personal honour or the propagation of narrow nationalism.

Laying down battle rules, The Prophet said: " do not kill women, children or non-combatants and do not kill old people or religious people." The Prophet specifically mentioned priests, nuns, and rabbis who serve God in seclusion. He forbade the mutilating the bodies, the cutting down of trees and the poisdoning of wells of enemies. He prohibited the burning of houses and cornfields, and the killing of livestock-except when compelled to eat them. The Prophet established an exemplary code of conduct for prisoners of war. Prophet Mohammad said " Mercy is not taken out of anyone but the damned." The quran urges not to let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just.

While returning from the battle of Badr, the first armed conflict, Prophet Mohammad defined the two faces of Jihad: " We are returning from the lesser holy war to the greater holy war against ourselves ." On another occasion, he said: " The most excellent Jihad is to speak up for the truth, ( for what is right and just) in the face of a tyrannical authority."

The message of Islam is essentially the message of compassion, the greater Jihad being to become activators and ambassadors of the Divine Message, adorning ourselves with Allah's primary attributes of mercy and compassion. It is the common platform on which humanity should stand. This needs egotism out of the way and requires knowledge of oneself. Stressing upon the importance of this elf-realisation, Prophet Mohammad said, " One who knows himself knows God."

Islam holds individuals responsible for all of God's bounties, especially the gift of human life. Robbing another of the gift of life is a grave sin, the killing of one compared to the killing of entire humanity. Allah ordains: " If anyone kills a person-unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land-it would be as if he kills the whole people:and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people." (5:32). The root of true Jihad is not selfish desire, but ways of bringing about goodness around you. Prophet Mohammad said, " Die before you die," signifyingan emptying of the self for the sake of God, for in the presence of the Lord, there is no room for more than one "I", that is the "I" of Divinity. The lovers of God live for Him and die for Him.

The writer convenes Sufi gatherings,

sadiafeedback@gmail.com

At the refactory...

2010-04-15T22:22:00.000-07:00

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What's up?

Comic book giants...

2010-04-15T20:46:00.000-07:00

Pics: from Top, the Logos of DC Comics followed by Marvel comics and last but not the last DC Comics Characters followed by the Marvel Comics Characters

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National Personifications...

2010-04-15T20:39:00.000-07:00

Pics: from top, John Bull the national personification of the United Kingdom followed by Uncle Sam the national personification of the United States

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Come April...Come Tax freedom day

2010-04-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

Pics: From top, Tax freedom day Graph depicting data the world over followed by a popular illustration on the special day of Tax Freedom

Ole Folks

How is life?

You know what? April 9th is celebrated as Tax Freedom Day in the United States

and he made the law of the Land...

2010-04-13T23:55:00.001-07:00

Ole Folks

How is life?

Today is a significant day for Indians, Its the birthday of the father of our constitution, B R Ambedkar.

Wounds that are hard to heal...

2010-04-12T22:27:00.000-07:00

Hello folks

How is life shaping up?

Today is a significant day for Indians...on this day April 13th, 1919...the Ghastly JallianWallah Bagh massacre took place...

Saluting National Street Theatre Day

2010-04-12T22:13:00.000-07:00

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What's on?

Life's a stage, isn't it with each of us having specific roles to play...

Confessions of an Auto Ricshaw Wallah !

2010-04-12T21:27:00.001-07:00

Hello folks

Radiance, Positivity, Feel Good elements will always rule your lives...amen

How were the weekends...well mine were a little hectic with having to roam the whole of Kalkaji, New Delhi for the location of the store dealing in computers and laptops where i had gone to pick up my laptop for the assignments back at the institute were getting on my head ... am relieved now!

Well yesterday while coming back to the Pragati Maidan metro station from Kalkaji on a Auto rickshaw i had some startling revelations from its driver.

The Driver Mr. Rakesh Shrama from whom i also exchanged the contact number for future reference and as a source said that auto rickshaws simply are at a loss while going for the fare as per meter standards but they are forced to increase their fares...

He simply did not go for government bashing but inputted that both the public as well as the administration are to be blamed..

I queried that what should be the solution to such disorder and chaos rampant in the traffic life of the city of hearts that Delhi is!

He said that there should be blue lines marked on one strip of the street that would be representing or standing for the vehicles as buses and other yellow lines for cars and other private vehicles coupled with red lines for motorcycles as well...

He added that Motorcycles are replacing bicycles on the street and because of the rash driving of the motorcyclists they meet with a probable accident..

Making the conversation enlightening... he went on to say that The corridor that the Shiela Dikshit government had innovated for the buses to ply on were not used...He said that the passengers are meant to stand at the margin or demarcated specific corridor's sides which serve as the bus stand but as they are used to stand in the earlier place, making old habits die hard!

In Such a situation the only ray of hope being the Chalaan or imposing of fine of both to the passengers and the bus driver should be imposed so that out of the fear of fine being imposed they will adhere to the norms...

He also said that the so-called rich people in plush vehicles should also be fined for flouting traffic rules not only a poor cart puller and a rickshaw puller and so on and so forth...

He also said that pedestrians should be fined for crossing the roads in a wrong manner causing nuisance to the vehicles plying. Then accidents are cut that way, he went on to say...

He also said that pedestrians should be encouraged to use the subways and went on to add at this juncture: that there is no wrong with the pedestrians not using these alternate means for the subways have already got a bad name as to be frequented by goons, chain snatchers, drunkards, rapists etc.

Drunk People should be fined immediately if he/she is causing a trouble in civic life...

He had this to say for this lot who seem to drink like a fish and lose all balance of mind in the process...

He said that the gates of the Subway entrance as well as exits should have a armed guard posted so that anti-social elements, hardened criminals shouldn't be encouraged to have their own way...

Thus the slur attached to the subways will be washed away...

The traffic law in a bottom line should be meant for all Indians

It was an interesting encounter..enlightening et al..

I from my side think if there is unison amongst the traffic or road transport bodies unions , Public Interest Litigation( PIL) filed in these regard so as to change the metro's traffic scenario and lots of newspaper and magazine reporting done on the issue a change is bound to come...

Folks what do you think of it, pour in your intelligence, inputs, views, opinions etc...we all nedd our fellow Indians help...

Satyameva Jayate

Read : Truth Shall Prevail

Safety for Public, Safety for the Nation...

Cheers to all

Print publishing and cyber competition in India

2010-04-08T03:27:00.001-07:00

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Enchanting Istanbul...

2010-03-31T05:57:00.000-07:00

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22nd March-life in every drop...

2010-03-31T05:47:00.000-07:00

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How is life?

Tajikistan-jewel of Eurasia

2010-03-30T21:55:00.000-07:00

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no ordinary cat and mouse game...

2010-03-30T06:09:00.000-07:00

Hello Folks

What's on in life?

animal farm around us...

2010-03-26T20:57:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks!

What's on?

Responsibility towards the Planet...

2010-03-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

Hello Folks

How is life?

Let us ponder as to how much energy we spend in the form of lights or electrical appliances, is it time to switch them off...!

Earth hour is a single day in Human beings' somewhat modern and seemingly complex lives...which encourages us to so and be a little more responsible towards Mother Earth...

Creation of a Nation...

2010-03-25T23:21:00.000-07:00

Hello Folks,

What's on?

Today is a historic date. This day, 26th of March, in 1971 the Liberation War leading to the creation of Bangladesh started...

lessons of life...

2010-03-22T09:17:00.000-07:00

Hello Folks

What's On?

Humour is an essential element in one's life, it is said to drive away negative elements in one's life. Ego, the opposite of it. anger is too what can be called taking a cue from my friend John Basumatary, " birds of the same feather."

My friend John's anticipation in humour is immense and the strain with which he delivers his one liners is similar to a smooth pudding cut into halves!

I may seem to be faking but i consciously try to hurt my ego so that i don't have any. God's best creations it is said are human beings.

We Humans are somewhat hypocrites trying to make believe ourselves into character certificate issuing authorities on every topic, our peers our relatives etc.

We bitch, we gossip, we backbite. Let me say that some stereotyped image of an intellectual man looking for his life partner is portrayed to be finding his like-minded individual which may not be the case...

We humans are also reactionary, quick to jump over conclusions...

Revolutions, Popular movements around the world which have changed the course of history are brought to its zenith by public support. Maybe, with no disrespect towards any such movement at hand , subsequently people tend to erase it out from their memories...maybe i am generalised in my thinking at this juncture...

In the literary world as it is seen ... authors by virtue of their works have created a niche of their own...

To name a few among a host of such writers in the satire world the names of Oscar Wilde and George Orwell comes first...Even George Bernard Shaw ranks there...

George Orwell's Animal Farm is a powerful take on Power Politics and is a classic example to understand human tendencies and behaviour.

We can presume that when we sleep , we are in a state which is near to dead and are sometimes visited by dreams and other hallucinations...

Theology whose text is not to be taken literally says that dreams carry messages for the person concerned...

Folks, when i sleep and dream am sometimes forced to believe on the notion of the worthlessness of human life...

I am not being pessimistic, cynical or something on those lines...These dreams try to tell me how that in one's lifetime an individual holds grudges against one another.

At this juncture am reminded of actor, Shah Rukh Khan's dialogue from the movie.." Main Hoon na..." which reads as " yeh duniya nafrat ke liye bahut choti hain.." ( this world is too small for hatred)

I can't help but feel sympathetic towards individuals holding feelings or the tendencies of envy, jealousy, false-pride, self-important image and a feeling of being clever and cunning...

Taking a cue from Pop-Culture, there was a superhero movie called Spawn based on the comic book series of the same name...its director during a documentary during a documentary based on the movie stated that " people should read Shakespeare" in order to understand psychology of individuals...

God's superiority rules..his care for mankind rocks..blessed are humans to be given the status-quo as being his " best creations."

so long folks

peace, peace, peace...

cheers

Satires Galore...the celebrations!!

2010-03-22T04:31:00.000-07:00

Hello Folks,

Back again!!!

Enjoyed the piece, do post your comments...

Well now in the moods for celebrations there is confetti in the air the trumpets blowing the adulations coming ... Dhan-Te-Nan... ( A line from the from the peppy number in Vishal Bharadwaj's Kaminey)

This afternoon 3:15 we were ( all Niscortians) were called to the basement hall where all the World Around Programmes take place. This was no ordinary call but a call to reckon with for it was a official call for the students to celebrate the grand celebration of the National seminar...

The mood for the celebrations were made Democratic and participatory with Fr. Dean asking Students to pool in with their feedbacks and inputs.

The room was filled with silence with no student trying to give in their inputs including myself!!

Father Director presumed it to be as if there was something wrong in the event execution and perhaps this was an intelligent tactic to bring in the talk from the students!!

I stared at Dhananjaya my brilliant partner in the last Documentation i had that somehow created history within this limited radius of Niscort when our PRINT documentation for the first time broke the compliments and adulations usually awarded to the radio spot and the video programme!!

When the question of the production of 20 err...16 mins by Niscortians being in vogue with the speech and talk of the moderator ( Mr. Amit Sengupta) and the panelists for the day was raised Mridushmita Chaudhury ( i guess i spelt the name correct, i don't want brickbats please!!) was quick to answer that the talk was diverted from what it was directed to that is Regional resurgence and media responses.

Actually Albert Abraham, a genius NISCORTIAN in terms of all work's skill had set the mood for this answer...

He had remarked that the moderators and the panelists were shifting the focus of the talk by being reportedly what he meant as ( the speakers) symbolising the Maoists issue that the nation is facing at large...

Then followed what were redundant phrases and lines and cliches from the Dean's talk trying to bring forward as many inputs from the students part...

What seemed the best was that the Student staff relation crew on an amicable terms with Father Jackson the Registrar of the institute reportedly saying that the reason for the student's silence is because the students themselves were in the dark as far as the preparation and other formalities leading up to the event...!

George Orwell, Oscar Wilde could have saved the day of these ridiculousnesses, absurdities, kind of mud slinging and an celebration gone wrong with a reverse of " poetic justice" which can be coined as literary justice.

Albert Abraham lent some timely comic relief to the celebrations monotony by quipping, that due pain was taken by the girl students in wearing the traditional and ethnic attire, whereas he didn't even get time to shave and had to spent 80 Rs. for one in the process, i guess in the club premises itself !

Father Dejus was at his sarcastic best by starting with his much loved strains of laughter and stating that he was startled when seeing the credits of the video programme at the end had his name whereas, he hadn't seen the actual and final product...!!

Actually as a matter of fact the students for the video production were burning the midnight oil and pooling in their expertise in video editing, shot selection and had the final video ready complementing the theme of the seminar...

The climax to the celebrations were added with Brother Gervasius who was the brain behind in the making of the registration cards design and earning the bouquets for it...

Thereafter followed the official recognition of the other contributing students as the documenting members of the event taking the pains to stand at the camera, courtesy Anand, Dhananjaya, Fr. Vineesh and not to forget Gargi and Fr. Andrews as the compeers for the event...

The icing on the cake were the Samosas and Ladoos and tea served to the students as an appreciation for their hard work and participation...!!

Confetti, Glitterati, Champagne come one and all for there is celebration time

Dhan-Te-Nan...

with Apologies towards one and all

God Bless You all...

Satires galore...

2010-03-22T01:25:00.000-07:00

Pics: from top, popular culture artwork from the offwork series on Seminars and last but not the least the Dilbert comic features on the same, courtesy, Google Images...

Ole Folks

How is life?

How were the weekends...

Well just back from The National seminar held at the Constitution Club at new Delhi this Saturday( 20-3-10) a grand event which every Niscortian was anticipating...

The Theme just to give in some details was the Regional Resurgence and Media Responses ...

Will be a writing a chronicled report on it soon..do go through it all...

Well picked some amusing observations from the event, was forced to jot it down...Here goes...

I had not slept for quite a good number of weeks and was feeling drowsy at the event ..OK, let me shake off my slumber and not bore you all with my narration of these sicknesses...!

Did know that i will get bored at the event but that feeling shook up after an explosive speech by Mr. Amit SenGupta , a no-nonsense Journalist who had started his reporting career at 19 years of age covering the Anti-Sikh riots at Delhi after the assassination of Indira Gandhi .

Well in the morning was flipping through the pages of George Orwell's classic satire, " Animal Farm. " I am not intellectualising but felt an urge to equate the events at the beginning of the Seminar running on the lines on Orwell's genius work.

My legs are too small for the author's boots...!

The students, boys especially were looking their grand best with formal executive shirts and trousers...with our institute being a home to people from all across the country, some of the girls belonging to the North Eastern region were in their traditional attires...

The night before the seminar there was quite a hullabaloo in the boys hostel with some of the boys ironing their best shirts and trousers and some going as far as buying new shoes, accessories as well as shirts...

I too was swayed by the event with earning a slightly better physique compared to my earlier avatar went for the brand i am addicted to Levis Strauss Signature ( a Green Polo Neck T-shirt) and accesorised myself with a new converse shoes ( which must say got for a good deal in the mall nearby our institute)

I walk a lot and my unputdownable KILLER canvases were worn out!!

The Girls were in loud makeup...with no disrespect meant to their styling ways, appeared to be living advertisements of cosmetic brands !!

Sumedha Mishra Madam, faculty of MABJ in our institute ( Master of Broadcast Journalism) group and my teacher in the 1st and second semester looked grand in a bottle green Saree, thanks to her Kashmiri descent...

Well it gave an impression that the boys seemed to be faking their busy attitude at the run up to the seminar !

They were everywhere around the place and why not for its a big day as far as NISCORT is concerned ...They were frantically running up and down the lobby with some holding group discussions at the pretty three chair tables at the lobby itself.

The management staff seemed to give an air of impression that they were rejoicing at the glory of the work done ! The Dean seemed to be smiling and walking briskly while brushing everybody aside in the process!

The nearest case would be ... as said in Media parlance, Infotainment...this event didn't bracket itself only as a forum meant for " Grey cell " rejuvenation but also provided one the giggles in this way!

The ghosts of the event didn't die even when the event was over with students in the responsibility of the food, transport and finance handling at the event taking turns to explain the finance nuances and other formalities much to the harassment of students who sprung up the question or the curiosity to know about the details, for instance booking of the hall for the event so on and so forth...( i was also given the honour of being in the same department!!)

Some students started intellectualising in the bus what insights they were provided with at the seminar, well for me was lucky to grab a copy of Mr. Amit Sengupta's work " Colour of Gratitude is Green " and had it autographed by the great man himself...

The positives from the seminar was that it will carry on Niscort in good stead and give it improvisation, focus and exposure to keep its chips burning

So long folks

Life is a playground for exploration, discovery, creativity, openness of ideas, constructivity et al...

Be happy and let others also do the same...!

God Be with you all

Cheers !

flight runs in the family...!

2010-03-13T04:05:00.000-08:00

Pics: from top, Movie poster of the 1984 super hero production Supergirl followed by a publicity photograph autographed by actor Helen Slater herself, a still from the movie and its DVD cover

Hello folks

What's on?

Licensed to Kill...

2010-03-13T03:12:00.000-08:00

Pics: As seen from top, an artwork of author Ian Fleming's famous creation, James Bond followed by Hoagy Carmichael on whom this fictional M16 spy is said to have been modeled upon and two scans of the author Ian Fleming himself.

Hello Folks

What's on?

Satire withstanding time...

2010-03-12T04:16:00.000-08:00

Pics: Author George Orwell and followed by the modern day cover of his classic satire, Animal Farm.

Hello Folks

How is life?

Peace, Love and Music

2010-03-12T04:07:00.000-08:00

Hello Folks

How is life?

performer,entertainer of generations...

2010-03-12T04:01:00.000-08:00

Hello Folks

What's on?

The verdict for women...

2010-03-12T03:48:00.000-08:00

Hello Folks

What's on?

The Universal Prophet...

2010-03-11T00:50:00.000-08:00

Pics: The Family Tree of Prophet Mohammad ( Peace be Upon Him) followed by a message

Hello Folks

What's on?

classic case of rhtym and melody...

2010-03-11T00:41:00.000-08:00

Pics: from top, the poster of the movie, Sound of Music that generations have grown up watching followed by a still from the production with Julie Andrews as the Music teacher

Hello Folks

What's on?

The Parliament beckons...

2010-03-10T03:26:00.000-08:00

Hello Folks

What's on?

Well the week has been quite hectic ( a weak and stereotyped word, i suppose!!) loaded with skill furnishing assignments and a issue based Presentation programme.

Phew, like they say an idle mind is a devil's workshop, won't trouble you all with these valuable yet oft repeated cliches !

Today( 10 /3/10) Niscortians visited the Rajya Sabha of the Parliament or Sansad as it is popularly referred to in Hindi comprising of the MA AVC group( Audio Visual Communications), MA BJ( Broadcast Journalism) and last but not the least the seemingly unglamourous and dry MA MJ( Master in Journalism) !

Women's Glory

2010-03-08T05:52:00.001-08:00

Hello Folks

What's on?

Women's Glory...

2010-03-08T05:52:00.000-08:00

Hello Folks

What's on?

pulp fiction Investigator...

2010-03-04T21:57:00.000-08:00

Hi There Folks!

What's on in life?

Egos Galore...!

2010-03-03T20:14:00.000-08:00

Pics: From Top Cartoon on the Human element of " Ego " from Cartoon stock Images, followed by a painting from surreal art and another sketch from the site Taskboy

Hello Folks..

How is life?

Ego, a small word is inevitable in a Human being's entity and psyche. It is said in theology ( Though i am no authority in religion or Spirituality) that Prophets of the Semitic religion didn't posses it for they had the Almighty God's Light which is reffered to as Noor in Muslim culture.

The Saints who in traditional renderations and narratives as it is told, gave symbolic expression for instance by way of dialogues.

Here we can take up the case of Delhi's Patron Sufi Saint Hazrath Nizamuddin Aulyia( just for information sake, Auliya means plural for direct friend of the Almighty God) when he stated that "Dilli Hanoz Doorust" which means that Delhi is still faraway in reply to the invading party still on the way of the then Muslim ruler , miraculously the troops got killed on the way including the ruler.

Egos it seems apparently creates a stumbling block in an individual's life. he/she becomes limited in the prowess one possesses.

The main objective in life as it progresses is seeing beyond the obvious not again compartmentalise by labeling as he/she is philosophical in his/her mindset.

One should try to laugh upon oneself and also the silly, ironic events in one's life. Psychologists suggest many feel-good techniques in this era of Information Explosion and constant dream of a success being measured by the so-called hallmark of money, gold, diamonds and other precious/semi-precious metals or stones.

Everybody has some sort of pride instilled inside him/her. We can say that in the ideal sense, that is in Christianity, the seven dreaded sins are: Not to kill, Not to steal, Not to engage in Adultery, Not to be Proud, Jealousy, Dissatisfaction, Lust/gluttony ( Ten Commandments Source) Coming to the Bible, it is Strife, Envy, Jealousy, Lust, Pride, Gluttony, Adultery.

Speaking of Gluttony, I remember having read in a moral science Textbook while in the 6th standard about a rich person owning a mansion who used to eat like a glutton but a beggar used to arrive at his gates very hungry, trying to eat the thrown and wasted food outside.

My grandfather( Maternal) is a role model for me . He was a constant driving force and vitality behind me and my younger brother's life.

A little bit about his background...He was the second son of Ghulam Sarwar Khan( My Great Grandfather ) , Commander-in-chief of the Royal Afghan Army who had crossed over to India with 5 more Military families ( one of them i remember by what my mother told me, settled in Dehradun) after a military coup in Afghanistan)

My Grandfather did his education in Dhubri district of Assam, studied his degree in Persian at Calcutta University acquiring the gold and silver medals for toppling the score of the Arabic student as the course programme guidelines had proposed.

The Medals were from the family of Tipu Sultan of Mysore ( 18th Century Ruler and staunch opponent of Colonialism) .

My grandfather was appointed the vice-principal of Cotton college Guwahati, Assam. Coupled with these, he was a follower of the Chistiya Tarikha( Chistiya Order or branch) of Sufism belonging to the order of Khwaja Garreeb Nawaaz Moinuddin Chisti of Ajmer, Rajasthan. His Spiritual teacher was from Jaipur who also had a dynastic business of precious Stones.

I got some more inputs today to add to my note and show off myself as a wannabe intellectual.

Yesterday Evening at the Library of Our institute something which was very shameful, if told in the crudest sense...

Today i.e., 5/3/10 is the presentation programme on the theme of Naxalism at the basement for which many weeks of hard labour has been put into but most amusingly the day before an indifferent participant turns up and dictates points of alteration in the text format of the programme and also a change of the paper to be presented by specific students.

The student is Albert Abraham, a brother( a Christian post from the Seminary) before attaining Priesthood. he is a 2nd year student from Master of Arts in Audio Visual Communication( MA AVC). It seemed he was throwing his attitude around and misbehaved with the teacher, Nidhi Anand who was the guide of this particlar group presenting Naxalism as their theme.

I would like to know from you all folks what he said that doesn't it tantamount to verbal abuse at a woman...

Pointing his finger towards her when she told you were not involved in the contributing process why are suddenly dictating terms... to which he replied i don't need to call you a teacher, you are not a Faculty Member...added to these was his uttering of the word, fool...he told her " You Fool!"

As far as i am correct he is a gold medalist from kerala in economics before he was sent to NISCORT.

I don't know why people have such an air about themselves, it's funny...maybe a buffoonish trait too...

Believe me folks swearing in the Almighty's name, i want to consciously crush my ego...it seems that its nothing but volunteered " self destruction..." it kills from within...limits an individual's thought process, his ability to learn while on the move, in every step of his life...

A person's work speaks for itself...Sachin Tendulkar the highest run getter in One day internationals says that i let by bat do the talking...the rest is history

The recent ruckus of Shah Rukh Khan with the Shiv Sena over his alleged comment for Pakistani Cricketers included in the coming IPL tournament.

Maybe it can be a publicity exercise from the superstar but from one angle it can be interpreted this way that it is a moral victory of the Superstar over the Sena with his refusal to say sorry for his comment and he accidentally becomes a " National - Icon !"

One should try and laugh upon one self, how foolishly one tries to have a high regard for himself/herself.

Keep Loving, Living and enjoying the Life that comes only once and literally broom aside the negatives....

God bless all

Performing all the way...

2010-03-03T20:06:00.000-08:00

Pics: Photos of Veteran Hollywood Actress, Meryl Streep

Hey Folks!

What's on?

The Musician Priest...

2010-03-03T20:03:00.000-08:00

Pic: portrait of Priest and Composer Antonio Vivaldi

Hello Folks

What's on?

Financial Blockbuster...

2010-02-23T23:30:00.000-08:00

Hello Folks

Money speaks, this cliche might have been familiar to many a ear.

a cut above the rest...

2010-02-22T03:32:00.000-08:00

Pic: Academy Award winning costume designer, Bhanu Athaiya

Hello Folks

Arts is a vibrant field...performing arts have evolved over centuries regardless of time and space.

This vast arena has had many niche departments if we like to call them to its credit all along the way.

Birth of Communist Manifesto...

2010-02-21T04:27:00.000-08:00

Hello folks,

How is life?

Eurasian extravaganza...

2010-02-18T22:58:00.000-08:00

Good Day to all of you folks!

How is life?

Well Culture and heritage have been quintessentially human world's prime elements in carving out a meaningful significance from his history on this earth so far.

In contemporary times, we have special "beats" in Media organisations dedicated to this niche in Human life.

February 10th to the 11th of the same month, the National Capital of Delhi saw the events of meaning and significance in this regard.

It was the 45th Anniversary of the Russian Science and Culture Center ( RCSC) .

Having been invited by the president of the Russian Cultural Association, Madam Yelena for the Essay competition event on the theme, " Russia in my life ." Having finished it, was left to witness the motley of cultural offerings the center had in store for the invitees.

Officially Olympiads, seminars, Concerts, competition with participation of the language course of the center was what the brochure read.

One will be awed while being a part of the audience in the Concert Hall of the center which an hour ago was having the Russian Language history and nuances seminar for all the students of the language within no time had prepared itself to hold a culturally rich song from this Eurasian nation itself.

The songs were in a chorus like renderation with the Russian embassy participants pooling in to add authenticity to the lyrics coupled with the tantalising tune and rhythm with a veteran on the percussion.

This was followed by the Master Class practice. This is nothing but a public exercise of the language students at the center to refresh whatever they have all learnt. Essentially it was a Power Point Presentation with one of the exercises being the student to identify the territories of the nation with its National map projected atop the stage.

Interestingly the teacher for this programme was also giving the anglicized meaning of the terms and East in Russian means " Bocktok."

There also followed Russian Dance forms with three participants from the embassy. The performance was graced by folk music playing in the background. The Fourth and Fifth joins the performance at the middle with lyrics being added in the track at that juncture.

This was saved from being a simple performance when acrobatic moves by the performers were exhibited with one girl in the dance group displaying a move which was nothing short of exceptional.

What she displayed cannot be written even in graphic detatils; her whole upper body bending backwards and adding a sort of climax to the performance.

Kyoto Protocol Genesis...

2010-02-16T21:13:00.000-08:00

Hello Folks

What's on?

Vancouver 2010...

2010-02-15T00:34:00.000-08:00

Pics: from top, the logo of the 2010 Winter Olympics at Vancouver, followed by the Mascots of the event.

Hello Folks

How is life?

Surajkund Escapade...

2010-02-14T20:13:00.000-08:00

Hello Folks

What's on?

Our group of Seniors( Audio Visual Communications and Master of Journalism) Batch had hit off for the Surajkund arts and Crafts fair @ Surajkund, Faridabad in Haryana.

Following are the snapshots from the fair.

The Enigma of Mandrake...

2010-02-13T22:05:00.000-08:00

Hello Folks

How is Life?

The Ghost who walks !

2010-02-13T21:54:00.000-08:00

Pics: Scans of the first costumed comic book vigilante crime fighter, the Phantom created by Lee Falk

Hello Folks

What's on?

Enterprise Management and Mass Communication

2010-02-13T21:50:00.000-08:00

Hello Folks

How is life?

Love is in the Air...

2010-02-13T21:45:00.000-08:00

Hello Folks

How is life?

Colourful Collage of Arts and Culture

2010-02-13T21:27:00.000-08:00

Surajkund, 10 Feb: Move aside plush malls! There are enough glitterati to be found here! This seemed to be the message at the annual Crafts fair at Surajkund; Faridabad. The fair is a grand event as far as promotion of Indian arts and crafts is concerned. The Fair is witness to the intricate craftsmanship of indigenous crafts from all across the different states of India. It is seen that the icing on the cake is the special theme accorded in this carnival of sorts by highlighting a state and its cultural ethos. This time around Rajasthan won the status-quo. Rajasthan as is well known is a haven for arts and culture for it has such a rich treasury of handicrafts, folk music and dance.

Besides, the grandeur of the fair, the important part of the event to be taken note of is that, it provides a platform for solo artists and handicraftsmen to flourish in this cut-throat age of globalisation and its market forces.

Here tourists as well as fellow Indians throng in large numbers to either pick up the decorative items rubbed magic on to by the skillful hands of some craftsman or either be a part of the event.

The Artists here showed their skills on pastel or oil works with one stall from Maharashtra whose artist was from Bijapur, Karnataka even trying his hand at drawing the famed Gol-Gumbaz ( Round Dome) belonging to the Sultans of Bijapur many centuries ago.

The Rajasthan pavilion had local artists performing to their folk compositions. One wouldn't be surprised to hear the original renderation of “Nimbooda” (lemon) included in the soundtrack of the Bollywood movie “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam” by Musician Ismail Darbar.

The local dances brought the spirit of Rajasthan alive with veiled lady dancers gyrating and swiveling to the timeless music of this land of Rajas and Maharajas.

There was the human interest element found in canvas artist Anjali’s tale of struggle. “I am from Haryana and the place doesn’t have much scope for fine arts even though I have a degree in this discipline, I was not getting a platform until this fair helped me” she said.

Besides the rich exhibition of the nation’s Crafts and Fabrics, the fair attained an enviable status with participants from the SAARC nations also pooling in with their local craft items. These included Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Egypt, Nepal and Bhutan.

The Tajikistan stall of the composite region of Central Asia were displayed with fares made out of the stunning mineral stone “lepislezzuli” which is also found in Afghanistan. The stall of this nation was in a triumvirate pattern, the dealer Valiev Sarif was all smiles as his pendants were selling like hotcakes. Other than these accessory items the stall had in store intricately embroidered Kaftans for women as well as the eye catching handicrafts for instance the map of Tajikistan done in detail by the mineral and semi-precious stones.

The Egyptian stall was the product of the Government of India’s efforts to strengthen strategic ties between the two nations. The proprietor of this stall, Ahmed Shalabi had flown in the fare all the way from Egypt. The store had exhibits for sale in the form of exotic carpets in different details like random lea eves strewn across a solid background of earthy shades or decorative wall hangings, sets of dining table-cloths and table-mats.

The variety to this fair was added by artists dressed as mythological characters from Ramayana and other Hindu Mythology as the demon-king Ravana with his dramatically rendered dialogues. There was the Monkey-god Hanuman complete with his inseparable weapon-his mace.

Amidst the prevailing tension provided by the rat-race of urban life, where success is measured in terms of money and high rise buildings patrons of this fair were all smiles and this very fact added the overall colour to this event organized by the Haryana Tourism Board.

Long Live arts, Culture and Heritage

so long folks...

Russia in my Life

2010-02-12T22:50:00.000-08:00

Hello Folks,

How is life?

How was the week?

Well maybe its time to reflect on the week gone by...

Nobody would like to hear about by personal developments but maybe this is an outlet for my emotional outpourings! To speak the truth, this week was quite hectic for me.

To begin with, last Saturday i watched an Italian Movie at The Italian Embassy Cultural Institute located in Chanakyapuri. I am blogging the review shortly.

This was followed by an excursion of 9 Students ( the Audio Visual department as well as the Print department where i belong) to Suarjkund, Faridabad in Haryana some 35 kms from my institute.

The very next day had an invitation from the President of the Russian Cultural Association, Yelena Madam at the Russian Science and Culture Center at FerozeShah road. I was also given the privilege of being made part of their official New Year Celebrations last year.

I attempted the Essay, the title of which ran as: " Russia in my life. "( am awaiting the results)

Russia is an enchanting land indeed...thanks to its timeless Folklore and Heritage. This strange snow clad nation has the tales of Rapunzel with her legendary long silky hair, the chivalry of Ivan in the renderations involving the Princess, Ludmila.

These run harmoniously with the Philosophical and Politico-analytical works of Leo Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, added to these the nation's own " Hans Christen Anderson " Nikolai Gogol and Alexander Pushkin.

The Nation keeps giving birth to luminaries like Vladimir Elich Lenin and so on.

My understanding of this " Eurasian " country is that it is a cauldron of different races and ethnic communities blossoming in harmony. This Nation has Cossacks, Turks, Tajikhs etc to its vitality.

Speaking of Cossacks, they are known to be a chivalrous race. I had first found their mention in Alfred Tennyson's poem, " Charge of the Light Brigade " while was in the 12th standard.

My Uncle( my mother's elder sister's Husband) was posted at Moscow in the All India Radio. He was an announcer there.

They had been living there some 10-12 years ago when USSR was in existence. I share a thing common with the Russia of that time.

I have learnt from my mother that we are the direct descendants of the Mystic Sufi Saint, Hazrath Yaqub-E-Charkhi ( Yaqub in English will be Jacob) whose shrine is at Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Central Asia.

My Mother is the second generation born in India and speaking with her had also learnt that after every one or two generations there is a Saint in our dynasty.

My aunt used to tell us ( me and my younger brother) about their stay at Moscow and other places around it. The Sturdiness and hardworking capacity of the Russian citizens she had encountered still are embedded in my memory.

I remember my Mother having mentioned about the craftsmanship of a Vinyl material school bag gifted to my younger brother by my aunt from Moscow.

I would like to give in some details: the flap open part of the bag had a push button which in turn had a shining graphic sticker embedded on it. The purpose of this little embellishment was that if light fell ( say of a vehicle's headlights) on the sticker, it would light up and help the rider or the driver spot the child carrying the bag.

My aunt used to say that toys manufactured in the nation were very sturdy. she also spoke of King Peter the Greats' relics and souvenirs in a museum full of his items.

She also mentioned that how skilfully The nation's leader Lenin's body was preserved inside a glass case with embalming done on the remains.

Thus study about a nation encompasses many things, its socio-economic-politico conditions and other aspects. The Nation is called " Eurasia " and the folklore,mores and folkways of Central Asia ( its former part) are well integrated in it.

A day dediacted to books

2010-02-10T21:00:00.000-08:00

Hello Folks

How is life?

Nuances of English Language

2010-02-10T05:56:00.001-08:00

Hello Folks

What's up?

Nuances of English Language

2010-02-10T05:56:00.000-08:00

Pic: Mr. Manoj Mayankar speaking to students at the media training center, Niscort.

Hello Folks

What's up?

This Friday, the 5th of Feb Niscort had a visitor in the form of Mer. Manoj Mayankar, have just prepared a writeup on his lecture, here goes...

Importance of correct English diction in Indian Media

Niscort, 5 Feb: “English is one of the funniest and complex languages in the world.” clichéd Mr. Manoj Mayankar, guest speaker at the 104^th World Around Programme here at Niscort media training institute.

The guest for the interactive session has had 21 years of association with the All India Radio ( AIR). Down these years he is also well versed with languages as Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Urdu as well as Hyderabadi.

Taking his cliché of English being complex and funny he stressed that in Popular culture the Hindi Movie, “Yaraana” (Friendship) is a classic example.

In the celluloid offering starring Amitabh Bachchan and Amjad Khan as friends, there is a slight misunderstanding as to why the pronunciation of the term “Go” is not “Goo” despite the letter “O” in it.

Stressing further he said that this language is open to interpretations and this is the very juncture where the problem arises. This is so for regional influences of speakers in different geographical location creeps in, he said.

“This is the accent problem,” he highlighted. It is seen that this further results in the speakers facing problems to communicate at a higher platform. Even people speaking what is called “Neutral English” are akin to this problem, he said.

Elaborating further on the topic, he construed that normally in interviews the purer variety of the language is spoken. He intelligently equated the medium to a structure when he seemed to propose that, “English as a language has a purity of hierarchy.”

His lecture went on to clear myths and cobwebs regarding the nuances of the medium with him adding that “there is no kamal (Lotus as pronounced and spelt in Hindi) ka “ka” in English.”

He highlighted that the problem with speakers is that not much care is taken note of the right sound for a word, a common case point at hand is how people pronounce the term “Education”, he suggests. Adding further to this he said Teeth play an important factor in pronunciation

He said that language is a different ballgame altogether and stated that “in the practical sense, it’s difficult to mathematically quantify purity of a language.” This seems to justify the use of audio-softwares for the language-learning packages available, he said.

To diminish anomalies’ the technique of sound forge is used with the end result being that the pronunciation and purity cannot be enhanced, but simultaneously the spelling can be checked with its implementation, he informed.

Taking the problematique to a practical level he showed to the students an analogical and hypothetical model which went on to explain the hierarchy of purity in the medium. He interestingly equated the pronunciation levels with purity of metals like Gold with the highest and correct level of diction earning the A+ category against a hallmark of 24 karat gold margin.

Speaking to engrossed to students who were much to the amusement of all were trying pronounce the correct version of words spelt by Mr. Mayankar, made him add that south of London residents takes proper note of its diction.

In terms of nuances creeping in a medium, he said the diction of the residents of places like Dadar and Borivili in West India will be a classic example.

Much to the awe and speculation of the students, he took up the case of the pronunciation of the term “ Sorry” in the South of the nation, where he adds, the “O” of the word in hand is spelt softly with it making “ sorry ” akin to the term “so.”

He went on to add that one of the commonly found components of pronunciation is where the stress of the word is applied. He further added that more than social ramifications, it is the financial aspect behind one’s correct usage of the medium and applied diction.

Taking a cue from Popular Culture he reflected on Channel V’s spoof on English Language usage with the make-believe anchor, Lolla Kutty making people laugh in awe at her antics. He added that off-screen the actor doesn’t speak in such an accent but her histrionics make her speak so.

Speaking on the hierarchy module the guest speaker opined that B+ is a level where Mother Tongue Influence (MTI) gradually tapers away giving way to a certain level of clarity and neutral word structure. This can be due to a number of reasons which can be correction in the educational institutions, interaction, with peers, social grooming so on and so forth.

It is generally seen that most students in the country use B+ while speaking to their friends. In terms of language usage in Media, the baseline and the punchline in advertisements is of refined English.

He opined that in Human comprehension Purity signifies “Class” which emanates from an intrinsic desire of humans to exert class so shouldn’t it be the same while one speaks?

he reasons.

In course of this lecture he ignited many a nostalgia when he went on to mention about Pratap Sharma, who happens to be actress Tara Sharma’s father, adding that he was the most expensive voice with regard to voice over in advertisements aired during the DoorDarshan days.

It has been found that in electronic media, if one speaks about the sports commentary and that too with regard to Cricket in India, Sunil Gavaskar and Harsha Bhogle tops the list.

In European and western media, he gave the example of Tim Sebastian, anchor of hard talk. Mr. Mayankar had a word of advice for aspirants thinking in terms of correcting their diction. According to the linguist, listening habits as well as practices like speaking, reading aloud coupled with writing which has a strange co-relation with thought processes and are akin to an X-ray, he suggested.

He also spoke about the newly crept “Americanism” in this language, the immediate examples of which will be the text messages or SMS as they are called. Speaking on the inculcation of correct diction he had a word of caution for the budding students, when he opined that “It is not a BPO or an I.T. Culture and wouldn’t necessarily come in three modules as claimed by the language packages.”

Speaking on new trends, he reportedly likened the suddenly crept Americanism in the B and B+ usage to “ a crow with peacock feathers.”

He allegedly stated that the current generation growing on packaged dictums and falsely guided notions of throwing attitude should understand and figure out where they stand which is why openness and humility will help them move out of their shells.

so long folks...

Keep loving life...

myriad traditional sights and sounds...

2010-02-10T05:53:00.000-08:00

Hello Folks,

What's on?

complexity of human relations...

2010-02-06T05:10:00.000-08:00

Hello folks
What's On?

counting the stripes...

2010-02-05T21:29:00.001-08:00

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Tahir Hussain: a tribute

2010-02-02T22:53:00.000-08:00

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Birth of the dark dichotomy...

2010-02-01T20:37:00.000-08:00

Pics: Comic book and art images of Bob-Kane created, DC Comics, Batman

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World Wetlands Day

2010-02-01T20:18:00.000-08:00

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February 2nd is a special day for Mother Nature, its the World Wetlands Day

The Cuban missile crisis...

2010-02-01T01:08:00.000-08:00

Pics: from top, The U-2 reconnaissance photo shows concrete evidence of missile assembly in Cuba, shown here are missile transporters and missile-ready tents where fueling & maintenance took place ( image courtesy: CIA, Wikipaedia) followed by a newspaper report from the Washington Post at the height of the crisis

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The little Dragon...

2010-02-01T00:38:00.000-08:00

Pics: From Top, statue at Hong Kong followed by images of the late Martial Arts superstar, Bruce Lee

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The Mahatma Lives...

2010-01-30T21:59:00.000-08:00

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opportunism at the sake of love...

2010-01-30T04:46:00.000-08:00

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Communication and Humankind...

2010-01-29T02:04:00.000-08:00

Pic: Mr. Shantiveer Kaul addressing students at Niscort media training center

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Communication and Humankind

NISCORT : “ Communication is common to all forms of Human existence ” thus exclaimed Mr. Shantiveer Kaul, the guest speaker for the 103^rd World Around programme here at the National Institute of social Communications Research and Training.

The lecture on this somewhat abstract subject was not approached in a general problem solving style but encompassed with all the forms of Art, Literature, Cinema as well as Theatre and with a predetermined objective to find the meaning of Communication.

Speaking to students here at the media institute he stated that “Ideas, wisdom and knowledge are catalyst that helps us seek something or the other.” He disseminated the very idea of communication. Stressing further on the concept he stated that in his search for an answer he is intrigued by the question as how to speak, talk, with carrying across the right message coupled with various other forms to communicate.

“The mood determines it all; the transmission of the message is just the end product of a long process.” Thus exclaimed Mr. Kaul elaborating the subject.

He seemed to put forth a question by stressing that producing or writing something is meant for whom? In brief what he meant to say is that which target audience is a certain message directed towards?

Elaborating further, he stated that “Does it (the message) fulfill the need of the addressee or the addresser?”

He seemed to liken the whole process of communication with a living entity when he proposed that there are side doors in the passageway and where there are entrants who try and make sense of what one said to someone or somebody?

He disseminated the whole framework of Communication when he arrived at the conclusion that there is the two-mode way of spreading the message across which tantamount to gestures and facial expressions. Adding further, he told that in regard to speech this will be done through a microphone or an amplifier.

Talking to students he elaborated that in the human world there is the conscious and unconscious participation of muscles and facial expressions. The variations of which may range from anything to smile, love towards others, satisfaction and joy.

These seemed to give rise to inevitable questions in the students’ minds as how and what affect they have on humanity. These very questions seemed to again give rise to counter questions as is this the reality of mankind?

In this whole process of concept dissection Mr. Kaul quoted Guitarist, Steve Wallace’s song titled “ Things remain as they are..”

The thrust of the song was Intrapersonal Communication and its many facets. He brilliantly drove home this point by showing the use of the technique of soliloquy and monologue in Drama and theater.

“Theory wise there is a pyramid model of communication which is facilitated by certain social causes, needs for the environment to get higher and nobler in its lifespan” he explained.

Communication arrived at in the broadest sense will go on to justify the psychology of invention in the Mathematical world. He equated the problem of communication with Indian terms as “vinambara.” Which connotes positive aspect of language with the medium a creative part or the going away of the objective of Communication.

Mr. Kaul belongs to the minority community of Kashmiri Pandits of the valley of Jammu and Kashmir. This made a junior student at the institute query,” What is your identity as a Kashmiri? ”

This query was handled by the guest speaker in the most dispassionate manner when he said that “ when he was young there would be random thoughts in his mind regarding the turmoil the trampled condition of people in the valley but now due to the dawning of chronological years on him, it doesn’t disturb him that much.”

So Long folks

Keep loving Life...

Train diary

2010-01-28T03:58:00.000-08:00

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Erich Segal : a tribute

2010-01-28T03:39:00.000-08:00

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Independence Fighters of Latin America

2010-01-27T04:06:00.000-08:00

Pics : from top, images of Cuban Revolutionary figure Ernesto " Che" Guevara, Panama resistance fighter, Victoriano Lorenzo and finally Venezuelan independence fighter, Simon Bolivar.

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The legend of Zorro...

2010-01-27T03:54:00.000-08:00

Pics: from top, a statue of Mexican pop culture legend vigilante, Zorro at Posada Del Hidalgo, El Fuerte, Mexico followed by an artwork and a painting

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Saving the "Weaker Sex"

2010-01-26T22:42:00.000-08:00

Pics: from top, Stamp released commemorating National Girl Child's Day and a Sunday Express News item showing action oriented endeavour towards the girl child dated 24th of Jan 2009.

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Investigative Wag...

2010-01-25T04:16:00.000-08:00

Pics: Photos of the American Investigative Woman Journalist, Nellie Bly

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Mixed Martial Arts extravaganza...

2010-01-23T04:48:00.000-08:00

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Grey images amidst silver lining

2010-01-23T04:32:00.000-08:00

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occult, espionage and experiment meets graphic novel

2010-01-14T05:12:00.000-08:00

Pics: Poster from the movie Hellboy, a comic book with the backdrop of Second World War

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The"Superman" in Christopher

2010-01-14T05:04:00.000-08:00

Pics: From top Late Hollywood actor, Christopher Reeves(52) with his late wife Dana Reeves(44) followed by some single snaps.

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Unconventional voice...

2010-01-14T03:59:00.000-08:00

Pics: Different scans of the late lead singer, Kurt Cobain of the music group, " Nirvana."

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a performer cut short...

2010-01-14T03:51:00.000-08:00

Pics: The Australian origin Hollywood actor, Heath ledger.

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Media Conflict and citizens

2010-01-14T02:40:00.000-08:00

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Haven't been posting for quite some time...

Well, last week was fruitful for some Grey Cell rejuvenation ! This 6th of January the B.Barooah college in Guwahati city of Assam saw a seminar talk on the topic , "Media Conflict and Citizens."

Though it is usual for a city to be have events, seminars, talks and discussions but it was for the first time Guwahatians saw such a forum open to the public as the members participating in the seminar who again were its audience were from various disciplines besides the field of Media.

The icing on the cake was that the event saw Miss Sevanti Ninan( columnist from Chennai based the Hindu and the Hindi daily Hindustan ) as well as Editor of " The Hoot " which is known to be South Asia's Media Watch Website.

She also authored books among many others, " Reinventing the Hindi Public speaking" (Sage publications).

While The city's journalistic fraternity saw the coming of Mrs Indrani Raimedhi, Assistant Editor of the Assam Tribune, Teresa Rehman ( Journalist and media consultant) as well as Mr. Naba Thakuria ( General Secretary, Press Club)

The talk tried to analyse media's relation with its supposed "consumers" which is the public and which included its attidute towards the industry.

It is assumed that sheer pervasiveness of the media brings students from all walks of life into a public spectrum for either discussion, debate or opinion sharing.

Indian Media's progress can be studied when one sees the graph of its growth specifically in post conflict areas Diphu ( N.E. India) , Kashmir, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur while Assam having its traditional media setup.

Given the fact that media setup in regions of the N.E. India are not much revenue generating because of scarce advertising leading up to questions as: " who is funding it ?"

Journalists are also poorly paid compared to their counterparts in the country's Capital.

Nagaland in the year 2003 saw the publication of dailies. The reshuffling and the troubleshooting measures suggested by the media persons was that there should be an urgency for restraint in terms of language published.

There should also be adequate training to the workforce of an media organisation with maturity being the aid in times of crisis situtions.

Commenting on the existence of what is labelled as "Commercial Journalism" the guests for the day cited that elements and practices of sensationalism runs side by side which tells that fiction is also there.

The disseminating of news should try to involve the trio of options, coverage, background, the mediapersons said.

Speaking on these lines the media persons took the case of the news of the arrest of Ulfa ( United liberation Front of Assam) leaders last year and the consequent creation of human drama and sensation along with it.

It is important to see how citizens view conflict. Mr. Naba Thakuria reportedly said that the militant in the news is at the end someone's son and then the situation takes a turn for the worse.

On the question from one of the participants on the issue of objectivity, Indrani Raimedhi said that hidden agenda of media organisations sometimes takes away the objectivity of a news item.

Harbour Blitzkrieg..

2009-12-07T01:35:00.000-08:00

Pics: old file photos depicting the bombing of the Pearl Harbour, which makes the U.S. join the 2nd World war

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sports oriented movies...

2009-12-07T01:24:00.000-08:00

Pics: From Top, Chak De India( a Bollywood movie based on Hockey), Jerry

Macquire, The Tiger Woods story

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much more than a T-shirt revolution...

2009-12-05T02:34:00.000-08:00

Pics: From Top, the map of the republic of Cuba, the National flag of Cuba and the personalities instrumental in bringing about the Cuban Revolution.

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being Social..

2009-12-05T02:26:00.000-08:00

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Comedy of errors...

2009-11-30T03:58:00.000-08:00

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The odds you meet...

2009-11-23T03:37:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody,

How are you doing Folks!

May the sunny element of the Bright Sun be embedded in all your lives

God out of all creations, it is said in religious texts attributes humans to be his best creation. But what do you all think about it?

Man has the talent to dive to the farthest and deepest ends of oceans and bring out rare gems and jewels. Again he has the brains and resources, a by-product of his brain was to reach the moon.

The Biblical text, The Quran and the Commandments of the Jews or for that matter Gita and all other holy books condemn and shun Envy, Pride, Gluttony and other ill behaviour and thought.

It is also said in some cultures that God has given the smallest ounce of his characteristic of tolerance in a mother's heart universally, hence the care and concern for the child despite his/her's truant ways, ill-behaviour and in a bottomline being an imbecile.

Let us think it this way if going by faith, how much the creator or the power which is driving the universe and the thousands and thousands of galaxies is tolerating the uncalled for attitude, behaviour, approach.

Not being idealistic, but there are some statesmen, revolutionaries, leaders, poets, authors, dramatists, philosophers and so on who have from their quarter and limited capacity have tried to bring about a change in human society.

There was constructiveness, positivity and conviction which led Swami Vivekananda to utter the introductory lines of his speech which the American people found charismatic as all of you would be knowing: " Brothers and sisters of America. "

People carry on with their false egos but let all of us imagine that when a man or a woman stands in front of some mountains how tiny he/she looks.

There are some people who have been poked fun by master satirists like Gilberth Keith Chesterton and Oscar Wilde and others as being very vain for their physical appearance, but again may be they are swayed away by some constant and fixed psyche and the emotions-negative or positive accompanying it.

The moods and other changes in behaviour of an individual can also be attributed among the other host of elements as the change in climate, lack of some supplement in one's daily food diet, social background, childhood experience, economic status and so on.

Again if we want to delve in the vast field of Psychology, we can study the various theories of Sigmund Freud.

I am not reading too much, but If we are introspective we can also say that the human body which is made up mostly water and other chemicals, hence imbalance in them might create some unnatural behaviour.

Well Sociologists and Social scientists say that Political allegiance of a certain community has also to do with the changes in the outward behaviour of individuals.

Again, there are highly qualified people like diplomats as Shashi Tharoor whose twitter remark on the Austerity drive of the government, i.e. the cattle class issue was taken in the wrong shade, for he is an Indian whose credentials carry him forward to the hot seat of the United Nations.

Definitely his intellectual thrust would be different and people will be able to understand his statement if they are of an equal rank, so as to say are of the diplomatic level.

The lack of Financial stability also drives one to behave in an uncalled manner.This is not being biased but the Nehru family which is a genuinely rich family wouldn't stoop themselves low for money, at least to a certain extent.

a laugh riot...

2009-11-16T02:21:00.000-08:00

Pics: Posters from the latest rom-com flick, Ajab Prem Ki gazab Kahani...

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joys of childhood...

2009-11-13T22:47:00.000-08:00

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