A - Z of Films: Tag from Prerna

I have succeeded in creating a serious image of myself. Prerna feels that posts are very serious and that she would like to read a fun post. She said this in a tag she has passed me.

Humour is Gopinath’s forte. I am more somber in comparison. I have tried my hand at humour and shall request Prerna to read this post - "Should I or Should'nt I - A Quirky Dilemma"

I have been scratching my head hoping that some divine inspiration strikes me………..and I will soon respond to Prerna’s request.

Now let us get on with the tag. List of movies to cover all alphabets from A – Z. Before I started, worry about X started looming large…Other alphabets protested saying that was not fair and I must be equally worried about the others. I was taken aback and decided taking on twenty five on them would be too much, so I beat a hasty retreat saying “I have been misquoted and my comments were twisted out of context by anti-national elements to deliberately create mischief.”

I now turn to the real task at hand…….

A – Aradhana, Abhiman

B – Back to the Future, Bheja Fry, Border

C – Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Chak De

D – Dil Chahta Hai, Devil Wears Prada

E - ET

F – Fedora, Forest Gump

G – Guns of Navronne, Gaddar, Guide

H – Hitch, Harry Potter series

I – Independence Day

J – Jaane tu ya Jaane Na, Jurassic Park, Jaws

K – Kabhi Kabhie, Khosla ka Ghosla

L – Last Emperor (The omitted), Lagaan, Lage Raho Munnabhai

M – Munnabhai MBBS, Miss Congeniality

N – National Treasure

O – Omen, Oceans-Eleven, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest

P – Padosan, Parineeta

Q - QSQT

R – Roman Holiday, Reincarnation of Peter Proud, Rangeela

S – Swades, Sholay, Sound of Music

T – Taare Zameen Par, Titanic, The Sixth Sense

U –

V – Viraasat, Veer Zaara

W – Welcome to Sajjanpur, Wait Until Dark

X -

Y – Yaadon ki Baarat

Z – Zanjeer, Zubeida

Now I also have to deal with U (no - I have not seen Umrao Jaan) apart from X. Cannot even coin a limerick on this...

Feminism - The Unchanging Core Essence

IHM tagged me on the topic "Feminism".

I wondered whether I was competent to comment on such a topic. After all as an adult Indian male, brought up in an indulgent atmosphere, my comments could be predictable and traditional or probably cliched.

I then realised that I am reasonably well qualified to comment on this. In our household, I am outnumbered by females four : one... The female brigade comprises my mother, wife and two daughters. This ratio was five : one till my grandmother passed away last year.

The dominant side at home is the feminine element and feminism (not in any derogatory sense and for want of a better word) is definitely present, all-pervading but under stated. There is no place for the bra burning type here, not because it is a cause of insecurity to the male but because of a calm sense of self-esteem and respect prevailing.

I have had the privilege of seeing the feminine element across four generations. The core essence never changes. The only change is in the outward manifestation and that is a function of the time we live in. It is comforting to sense and feel that the core essence is constant. This facilitates change, as it should, and, at the same time retain a strong connection to our roots.

As far as I remember, there has been no deliberate attempt to drill in the concept of "female" as something separate. Every one was same and worthy of respect. As one grew up in this atmosphere, it was not unusual to accept "female" as an equal. There was no attempt to demean the "female" nor any attempt to place the "female" on a pedestal.

Respect was natural and it was shown effortlessly. It was neither solicited nor offered grudgingly. It still is....without any dilution. I am happy to see my daughters growing up to be confident and noble souls with a mind of their own. They grow up to believe in certain values that will be their protective shield in a world which could get biased.

I may sound alien with what I have had to say, as I am painfully aware that this may not always be the case. Whilst in some societies, women may be seen as a disadvantaged lot facing discrimination and lack of freedom. We also hear of physical and mental abuse that they are subjected to.

Rightfully, there is sense of outrage at this and stop it must.

Feminism, as is understood or potrayed today, is more activist in nature, more reactive and perhaps driven with a sense of achieving equality and undoing real and perceived discrimination. However, unless the change is brought about by inner conviction and genuine feeling, the whole effort remains superficial and end result is status quo-esque.

All process of evolution begins with compulsion, education, inculcation of "Human Values" and adhering to these values till it becomes a habit. We have a joint responsibility to initiate this process of evolution and see it through to its logical conclusion. It is immaterial that this task may not be complete in one's lifetime.

Thanks IHM for the tag. I understand that it is a tradition to pass this tag on. Let me pass this on to Gopinath. I am sure he has a tongue-in-cheek comment to make and give a humourous twist to this subject.

Should I or Shouldn’t I - A quirky dilemma

Just the other day as I was blog surfing, I noticed that IHM (Indian Home Maker) had tagged me. I would certainly have missed that tag had I not spotted it that day. This tag requires me to list my “Quirks” and “Addictions”. This was the first time I have been tagged and I was gaping at the screen thinking, "Quirks" - but I do not have any and "Addictions" - what is that???

I have seen this “tag business” a couple of times on other blogs. Many were interesting, some were quite amusing and a few tended to be bordering on the “outrageous”.

The next thing in my mind was “What is this – should I ignore this?” or “Hey come on – be a sport and play the game”. Then it went “But, my blog is not personal – I talk about everything else about India” and “Should I dilute this positioning”. The other side of the brain went “You speak your mind on various issues – Here the issue is yourself” and “What positioning – stop taking yourself so seriously” and so on till I realized a week had passed.

I woke up when Priyank sent “Blog Recession ka – Jara update kara ki” (Why this blog recession – Please update) I took it as a directive and shed all my vacillation.

Here we go (IHM – please note)

My first - is this great human quality of indecisiveness. I vacillate like an oscillator before I am forced to decide out of sheer exhaustion.

My second – is this amazing ability to sleep any time any where. A five minute nap whilst taking a ten minute ride is a piece of cake. After long years of traveling in Mumbai local trains, I have perfected the art of sleeping whilst I am standing (in the local train only).

My third – is this absolutely maddening ability to keep a straight face when some one has cracked a joke (a good joke that is) and stare through that person saying “So…”. This wet blanket is so infuriating that I almost expect a WHACK…on my face….

My fourth – is a “masti” or “keeda” (this is Mumbai Hindi) when driving my car. Drive slowly in the fast lane and induce road rage or do not start immediately when the signal turns green and watch people go hyper and get palpitations.

and

My fifth – is having a “puran-poli” which has been drenched in “Heated Ghee” (aka as “toop” – t as in “talwar”), taking an hour to finish it and then sit licking my fingers contemplating on “How beautiful Life is…..(for puran-poli eaters)”. This is my idea of heaven on earth.

I solemnly state that the above mentioned is the Truth – the Complete Truth – and Nothing but the Truth.

IHM – I chose not to ignore your tag. Cheers!!!

Who should I tag this on to? I will think and vacillate and oscillate and decide next week……..after all that is my first quirk.