Words

the last free people in the world

posted by adee on 07/03/2011 in Uncategorized
in the outer reaches of the universe, it is just another morning in an advanced world. an advertising agency writer is having his morning stimulant beverage and thinking about a news clip he saw last night at office.

not that he goes anywhere physically for work, his pad turns into a workplace, home, hangout zone at the flick of a button. in his world, traveling is limited only to the discovery of exoplanets in the far reaches of the known universe. and this is exactly what the video was about.

just when they thought that the whole world was known and conquered, in a distant and minor spiral galaxy millions of light years away, a tiny blue planet has been recently discovered. and it is teeming with primitive bipedal life forms!

“the last free people in the universe” their discoverer said about them. he wonders for how long they’ll remain free. soon his civilization’s vast machinery will move-in to claim its right on their lands, their resources and even their lives. many reasons will be given for this, that ‘they’ are primitive and must be civilized, that they will go extinct if we don’t go and help them out, that their mineral wealth (if any) is needed for the continuation for his own civilization…. but underlying all of them will be the notion that his is a superior race and being superior, it can do anything with an inferior race.

he ponders what being civilized and advanced really means? meanwhile, as he’s getting late for that urgent campaign he was supposed to deliver last night, he flicks the button and enters his office. as he starts typing, a thought sneaks into his mind, what if his own world was some other world’s primitive world?

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a fictionalized account inspired by this video featured on BBC’s YouTube channel. the questions it generated in my mind are not fictional though.


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"What the hell is going on in this country?" -Supreme Court

posted by adee on 03/03/2011 in India
“SC pulls up Centre for slacking on money launderers”, says a headline. A guy who is alleged to have stashed around USD 8 billion in foreign banks, was served a notice for a tax demand for about Rs 50,000 crore!!! Our government is not bothered about where and how he got this huge amount of money, whether he has anti-national connections, nothing, as if he is just a tax offender! No wonder the honorable court had to show its exasperation!!!


Another order by the Supreme Court today, quashed the appointment of P J Thomas as CVC, slamming the Prime Minister-headed High-Powered Committee for the appointment of a person facing a criminal case. Just think about the sheer brazenness of our government. Here is a post which is supposed to upheld the highest standards of probity in the country, and the person you are appointing for it is already facing a corruption case against him! Still he was chosen by the three member HPC in which the leader of the opposition was vehemently against this appointment! And now our PM will say that we looked only at his bio-data!!! C’mon guys, even in a normal corporate job, a thorough background check is done to see whether the person you are hiring is good for the post or not. Even for a housemaid the police advices us to check her background and credentials! Who are these guys trying to fool?

And these two are amongst the few issues in the news. I shudder to think of the many more future headlines still under wraps, waiting for a whistle-blower or diligent media person to uncover, like in the case of 2G scam.


How in the world can our so-called ‘honest’ PM be ignorant of these things happening right under his nose? Ignorant will be the wrong word, actually he and his party are just dismissive of these things now. 

I wonder what the Indian voter is thinking or doing. I’m asking the same question as the honorable judges asked, “What the hell is going on in this country?” Are you too?
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ये कैसी अंग्रेजी बाबू

posted by adee on 22/02/2011 in India

ये कैसी अंग्रेजी बाबू
माँ हुयी है मम्मी बाबू
काँटा-छुरी के हेर-फेर में
छुटी हाथ की ममता बाबू 
कुरते से पायजामा बिछड़ा
माथे से तिलक है उजड़ा
जींस-टॉप के फैशन में
बिंदिया हुयी परायी बाबू
ये कैसी अंग्रेजी बाबू…
देख ज़माना कैसा बदला
त्योहारों का रंग-ढंग बदला
valentine day के चक्कर में
बसंत पंचमी भुलाई बाबू
ये कैसी अंग्रेजी बाबू…
खेत से नाता टूट गया है
गाँव पीछे छूट गया है
इंडिया के संग भारत भी है
पर देता नहीं दिखाई बाबू
ये कैसी अंग्रेजी बाबू…
माना अंग्रेजी बेहद जरूरी
दुनिया से मिटाती दूरी
पर अंग्रेजियत के नशे में
भारतीयता क्यूँ भुलाई बाबू
ये कैसी अंग्रेजी बाबू…
disclaimer: more than a comment on the so-called westernization of the Indian society, it is a personal statement on loss of the traditions that make us Indians what we are. and the irony is, i’m writing this in English 🙂
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हमारी गिनती हो गयी है! we’ve been counted!

posted by adee on 16/02/2011 in India
9 से 28 फरवरी 2011 तक, डी और उसके जैसे हजारों स्कूल शिक्षक एड़ी-छोटी का ज़ोर लगायेंगे, हमारे घर आएंगे, दुनिया के सबसे बड़े जनगणना कार्यक्रम में. हमारा फ़र्ज़ बनता है की हम इन मेहमानों का स्वागत करें और हर तरह से इनकी सहायता करें. और फिर गर्व से दुनिया को बताएं, हाँ हमारी गिनती हो गयी है! 🙂


from 9th till 28th of February, Dee and thousands of teachers like her will run from pillar to post in the biggest census exercise in the world. friends, let’s welcome these guests to our homes, help them to the best of our abilities and tell the world with pride, yes we too have been counted 🙂





this time, there are 2.5 million enumerators this time with thousands of teachers amongst them.
i feel more concerned for the women teachers because they are the really hard-pressed ones. sending them after school, on holidays, to complete strangers’ houses where they are not even welcome… and we know how thankless we all can be 🙁


that’s why this little attempt to spread some awareness. hope it’ll be of some help 🙂

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कहानियों की नगरी

posted by adee on 14/02/2011 in Uncategorized
बहुत बड़ा शहर है दिल्ली, और जितने लोग, उतनी कहानियां! अपनी रोजाना की ज़िन्दगी में तो हम एक set pattern follow करते हैं, सुबह घर से उठते हैं, काम पर जाते हैं, उन्ही पहले मिले-मिलाये लोगों से मिलते हैं, घर वापस आ जाते हैं. पर अगर थोडा सा दायरा बड़ा कर लें हम अपना, रुक कर रास्तें में अगर देखें आस-पास तो पाएंगे के चेहरों के भीतर कितनी कहानियां छुपी है इस शहर में.

कहानियों के इस शहर से चुन कर कुछ आधे-अधूरे व्यक्ति-चरित्र पेश करने की मेरी ये कोशिश उम्मीद करता हूँ आपको पसंद आयेगी. किरदार बहुत हैं, और मैं कहानी के सूत्रधार की तरह सबसे जुड़ा रहूँगा, और हम सबको बांधे रहेगी ये महानायिका, मेरी, आपकी दिल्ली.

पहली कहानी – नानी

मेरी पहली कहानी एक बूढी नानी की है, जो दिल्ली के सैकड़ों मोहल्लों की हजारों दादी-नानियों की तरह बेनाम है. उन्हें सिर्फ अम्मा के नाम से जाना जाता है, रास्ते में दिखने पर पाँव छू लिए जाते हैं और फिर भुला दिया जाता है. sunday के दिन ऐसी ही एक नानी ने अपने घर से ऊपर वाली मंजिल में रहने वाले दो लड़कों से उनकी छत पर रहने की इजाज़त मांगी!

नानी की भाषा थोड़ी अबूझ है, वो दोनों सिर्फ इतना समझे के समधियाने से कुछ लोग उनके यहाँ रहने आ रहे हैं तो अपनी बेटी के घर रहने वाली वो नानी अपने ही घर में नहीं रह पायेगी. अब जब तक वो लोग बेटी के घर में रहेंगे, नानी छत पर अपनी खाट डाल के रहेगी, वहीँ अपना चूल्हा-चौका करेगी और अपने पंछियों को दाना डालेगी. बस सुबह नहाने-धोने के लिए वो उन दोनों लड़कों से उनका toilet इस्तेमाल करने की इजाज़त मांग रही थी. आपको क्या लगता है, मना कर पाएंगे वो नानी को?

नानी को अपने पंछियों से बड़ा प्यार है. रोह सुबह मूंह-अँधेरे उठ कर, छत पर दाना दाल कर आती है. और उन्ही पंछियों की वजह से छत पर रहना मंजूर है, पर किसी रिश्तेदार के यहाँ जाना नहीं! कहती है, जिस दिन मेरे पति की मौत हुयी थी, उस दिन भी मैं ऊपर पंछियों को दाना दाल कर आई थी और उनसे माफ़ी मांगी थी, “अब तो घर का खर्चा चलाने वाला चला गया, अब सेवा न कर पाऊँ तो माफ़ कर देना!”

ऐसी नानी को भला वो दोनों कैसे मना कर पाते?

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Delhidreams Weekly Digest: Vol. 4, 13/02/11

posted by adee on 13/02/2011 in Uncategorized
CREATIVITY
Google “Art Project” Brings Great Paintings and Museums to You
“Google is rolling out a new tool called “Art Project,” which gives you access to more than 1,000 works of art appearing in 17 great museums across the world.”
You can also create your own museum, own the artworks of your dreams. Read the full post here: http://ht.ly/3ORdW


Short Film “AASAI”
“Selvam, a little boy who works in a grocery shop is fond of Telephones. His aspiration was to speak in Telephone to his mother who is at Tirunelveli (district in Tamil nadu) that too from his hard earned money. Near b y STD booth lady helps him to find out how much money is needed for Selvam to speak to his mother for five minutes. Selvam practices what all he wishes to speak to his mother within that five minutes by speaking with himself. Selvam speaks to his mother or not?”
Watch the movie here: http://ht.ly/3Od0k Don’t worry, its only 11 minutes! You’ll like it 🙂


Brilliant thriller of a short story featured in Tehelka
“Is he fresh? aka Kaula hai? http://ht.ly/3PfKD


HEALTH
India can achieve zero transmission of polio in 2 yrs: Gates
“India could see zero transmission of the crippling polio virus in the next two years, according to business magnate turned philanthropist Bill Gates.”
Read the full report here: http://ht.ly/3OK8y


Every year, 3000 die due to air pollution in Delhi
http://www.hindustantimes.com/3-000-people-die-in-Delhi-prematurely-because-of-exposure-to-air-pollution/Article1-660897.aspx
I’m sure all big cities face this problem!


Infertility in women rising due to lifestyle disorders
http://www.themedguru.com/20110211/newsfeature/infertility-women-rising-due-lifestyle-disorders-86143626.html


CRICKET
When Sachin played under Imran!
http://ht.ly/3SXte


‘I’m no celebrity’ 
http://ht.ly/3UFP9
Harsha Bhogle’s interview


MISCELLANEOUS
The road to the past
On a trip from Bangalore to Ooty, Kestur Vasuki discovers tradition, art and a lot of life. Nice, pretense free, travel article, and that is why am asking you to read it here:
http://ht.ly/3OFGQ


Fashion simplified for you!
This girl has started a blog on fashion, and I like it very much. Do check this recent post: 5 myths about the fashion industry here: http://ht.ly/3SeSd


340 Free Movies Online!!!
http://t.co/oXOaBIm
Now this is called stumbling upon a treasure!


Each person is inundated with 174 newspapers’ worth of information EVERY DAY via television, emails and post
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1355892/Each-person-inundated-174-newspapers-worth-information-EVERY-DAY.html
Now I know where my day goes!!!


ENVIRONMENT
The Real Price of Fashion
PLEASE DO WATCH THIS VIDEO ONCE: http://ht.ly/3OG7o and share with all those around you.


ADVERTISING
Now this is called product placement!
http://adsoftheworld.com/media/dm/diesel_kneej
Sheer brilliance 🙂 loved the idea, and the guts of the agency!


“Advertising Pick-Up Lines”
http://ht.ly/3T74M
The Best Thing I Discovered These past few days!


The new MacDonald’s ad – how it is promoting stereotypes!
http://blog.livemint.com/livelounge/let-kids-be-kids/
And I completely agree with the writer’s views!
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news flash: my first published article

posted by adee on 12/02/2011 in India
“As a part of my New Year resolutions, I decided I’ll start writing a diary about my favorite sport – cricket. You see, while growing up I was dubbed the ‘Rahul Dravid’ of my mohalla cricket team. Though my playing career didn’t go any further, I feel am as much a student of the game as the esteemed Mr. Dravid. And now that life has brought me into a position where my main job is daydreaming and writing advertisements that not many like to read, I can devote ample time to writing about my passion that cricket is.”


So here it is, my first cricket related article in a mainstream website.


Do click on the title and leave a comment or two at the page. I’ll be really glad if you share it with your friends as well 🙂 Hope you’ll like it enough!
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Delhidreams Weekly Digest: Vol. 3, 31/01/11

posted by adee on 31/01/2011 in Uncategorized

New ad for Oliver Peoples. Really loved the gorgeous video though I won’t say that it’s an ad J

Must check the video here: http://vimeo.com/17013920

Who knew throwing paint in the air could be so beautiful? J

Watch ‘Highspeed footage of flying paint’ : http://vimeo.com/16052801

Incredible idea: Making the world a better place with every credit card swipe!

SwipeGood is a credit card service that rounds your purchases up to the nearest dollar and donates the difference to a charity of your choice: http://ht.ly/3FalZ

OMG! i’ve never seen anything like this before!!! ‘Civilization’ http://ht.ly/3FaNe

“Civilization, a video mural created for the new Standard hotel in New York City, by Marco Brambilla, depicts a journey from hell to heaven interpreted through modern film language using computer-enhanced found footage. This epic video mural contains over 300 individual channels of looped video blended into a multi-layered seamless tableau of interconnecting images that illustrate a contemporary, satirical take on the concepts of Heaven and Hell. One of the most impressive and fully realized affect effects projects you will ever see. Bravo Marco.”

A very useful infographic on Facebook and how it is affecting our lives.

Soon, your life will be nothing but Facebook http://t.co/5xU4bSe

No one like Steyn

A beautiful article by Cricinfo Assistant Editor, Dileep Premchandran. Must read if you are cricket fan!

“He’s the only one today who matches up to Lillee, Thommo, Maco, Wasim, Waqar and the other fast-bowling greats of the past.” Click here: http://ht.ly/3HbB5

A timely message from Greenpeace on the need to save our oceans.

“Time is running out. Evidence shows that the oceans cannot sustain this level of abuse and remain whole. They are not the inexhaustible supply that those who profit from them would have us believe. They are living, breathing, incredibly complex systems which, miraculously, if left alone and not abused, have the ability to recover.”

Read the complete post and please share it with all you can: http://ht.ly/3HbOl

 

Is a clean energy world possible in next 40 years?

A carbon neutral solar and wind powered world in 20 to 40 years?

“Is it achievable? You bet! All it takes is the political and social will to make it happen says two California based researchers who have just published a study of the material resources and technology required to power the world 100 per cent by carbon emission neutral alternative energy technologies. It would also save 2.5 million to 3 million lives a year through slashing water and air pollution and simultaneously slow global warming and the problems of climate change, and develop secure, reliable energy sources and at costs comparable with what we spend on energy today.”

Read the full report here: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/01/26/18670313.php

Why don’t we truly value poetry?

“Yet again, a major literary prize has been won by a book of verse, and the genre has rarely been more popular. So why does it feel as if poetry is losing its way, asks Philip Hensher.”

A brilliant and timely article, read it in full here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/poetryandplaybookreviews/8284846/Why-dont-we-truly-value-poetry.html

Music review of Saat Khoon Maaf

As I wrote in the comment to his post, this gentleman makes me love reading about the album more than actually listening to music J do check the fabulous post at: http://ht.ly/3NmX7

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Another year of life begins

posted by adee on 28/01/2011 in Uncategorized

It is the 26th of January, 2011. He is at his bachelor pad relishing a morning of calm. It is a holiday, the nation’s Republic Day, and thus there is no hurry to get up early and get ready for the office. Like a rare Sunday morning when he has nothing to do and no one to meet. He loves this solitude.
But this will not last for long. In a few hours from now, the girl he loves and a few close friends will come over to celebrate his birthday which was two days ago. 31 years! He is thirty one years old now! The feeling is still to sink in though. He wanted to write how he’s feeling for the past two days. But he couldn’t. Maybe because he doesn’t know what to write.
And he is writing this with a new gold and silver ball point pen in a new notebook made of handmade sheets of paper. Both of them being his birthday gifts. Also, this morning he started reading Damon Galgut’s ‘In a strange room.’ This book was also a (belated) gift for his last birthday.
He is enjoying the book. It is written in short, clear but somewhat broken sentences. And there are lots of pauses in between. This is exactly like how he likes to talk. To talk less and, to think more. By the way, these pauses of his are legendary by now. (And he takes a pause at the use of the word ‘legendary’. He realizes that it has crept into his vocabulary due to Barney Stinson and the amazing proclivity of youth to use superlatives. Youth?) This was an example of the way he talks with lengthy pauses in-between. And that’s why he is liking the book.
The maid comes. After doing her chores, cleaning the floor, the balcony and the bathrooms, she is out quickly. He thinks that labor class doesn’t get any holidays. What is the meaning of the Republic Day holiday for a maid working in a middle class locality? Last night, when coming back from the office, he saw a guard’s cabin outside the swanky and huge DTC millennium park depot. Rows and rows of big green and red buses locked inside the gates while outside in a tiny cabin, a solitary guard sat under the light of a single yellow bulb. He wonders who was guarding whom.
Anyways, he has to start getting ready now. In a few hours, the people he loves will start showing up. He has to get his room in some sort of order, have a bath and preferably something to eat as well. Oh, she is calling him now and he’ll talk to her, enjoying the prospect of meeting her today.

Maybe today he’ll get a sense of a year gone by, of another new diary, written by a new pen. Maybe he’ll write well this year.

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traveling back in time, notes on Raja Deen Dayal photography exhibition

posted by adee on 19/01/2011 in Uncategorized
images swirled around my head and i amongst them, a few moments ago i was in 2011 and when i landed at the bottom of the rabbit hole i’d traveled almost 125 years in time, to the India of the late 1800s!

medieval forts and palaces, long abandoned even 100 years ago; new cities of Bombay and Kolkata, unspoilt and uncrowded; Red Fort’s Diwai-e-Khas and the Jama Masjid of Delhi, ‘only’ 28 years after the mutiny/revolution; the Nizams of Hyderabad, their noblemen and their families in all their royal splendor; the hunting parties; the foreigners who traveled to catch a glimpse of the exotic; the Kings and Queens and Princes lording above the poor natives who sadly still remain in more or less the same condition- all of this seen through, photographed and recorded for posterity by the keen eye of India’s pioneering photographer, Raja Deen Dayal.

this Sunday, i went to the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) where an exhibition of Raja Deen Dayal’s extensive oeuvre is on till February. for three hours i roamed amidst these hundred of images framed on walls, images of a distant yet vaguely familiar India, because the more India changes, the more it remains same.

the Kings and Princes are long gone, but a new royalty is seated in their place; these days tigers are not sported as trophies, business deals are the sport; SUVs are the new elephants; corporate houses and political parties are the new kingdoms; and still, the common man is as common as he was a 125 years ago.



only the veneer has changed, the world Raja Deen Dayal a hundred years ago still is the same, bafflingly contradictory, sanely insane.
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created a slideshow out of the images i clicked there. do keep in mind that the image quality is quite low as there was a lot of reflection and all these were clicked by my Nokia C-6 only 🙂 and here you can watch it full screen

 

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related links:
Raja Deen Dayal’s Wikipedia page

two pages from the IGNCA digital archives, Raja Deen Dayal Collection and the legacy of Raja Deen Dayal

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