Long live the King!!!

My husband called up today from office and said there is a bad news...He never usually calls me; so a call and that too about bad news......

He told me Micheal Jackson was dead...I was shocked into silence...The tears are there behind the eyes, refusing to come out. My brain went into flashback to the beautiful videos of MJ Bad, Black or White, his moon walk...

I like very few English songs, very few indeed. For some reason I cant identify with them be it Elvis or the Beatles. But MJ struck deep. Not because he danced like a dream but his songs were really really great..I was about 7 yrs old when I heard my first MJ song, Bad at someone's house. That song stuck in my head although I didn't listen to it again for years. And then as a high school student, I bunked class and went to see 'Free Wily'. The movie was good but the title song "Will you be there?" was fantastic..I waited to see in the film credits whose song it was and was pleasantly shocked to know it was the king of the pop..

MJ deserves that title because he was able to not only win over his own country but also transcend boundaries and reached the heart of a 7yr old staying in suburban Mumbai, definitely not a place for English songs leave alone MJ's Bad.

He had his share of troubles and thats probably because he was such a genius. A genius pays a terrible price for being singled out by God with heavenly talent. Something is always offkey. MJ suffered through his problems, and accusations. The saddest part is that he wasn't given a chance to redeem himself.

How I wish he had been able to at least perform one concert. Go out blazing.

Never mind, His music will remain forever. Long live the king!!! Rest in Peace.

Ban Australia!!!

Read about the attacks on Indian students in Australia....Thank you Mr Amitabh Bacchan for taking a public stance on the attacks.

Me thinks we should ban Australia....

And why not? If something like that happened in India, Australia would have issued travel advisories, banned Indian products and people.

Lets follow Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation movement. Lets refuse to use all things Australian, including their wooden tasting 'red' apples.

Lets ban all those idiotic Australian cricketers who have zero manners and even less respect for the country that fills their coffers with ad money. Their old, down & out cricketers play for our "premier" league, while our very own illustrious cricketers go begging for small jobs and perks.

Lets stop paying through our nose for degrees that have zero value internationally and even less in India. Hardly any of their unis can match upto our IITs & IIMs.

Why not use all this money to build more such Institutes & utilise our talent to better our own country?

Ban Australia......Why? They need to learn that they have to grow up as individuals, as a team and as a nation. They think they are the best. Why? What has been their achievement? Ever?

I found a book on astrology by an Australian. He had the nerve to write that Indian astrology can never be accurate because there was very little research, knowledge and anyways Indian sons always followed their fathers' profession. Yet that Australian was selling his book in India.

This is just an example of their pigheadedness & ineptness. And our generosity. We have always welcomed barbarians with open arms...

We Indians need to show them their place. Like their geographical position, its at the bottom, right "down under".

On a trip across US

Have visited Washington DC and Niagara Falls..two of the most famous attractions in US..And both very deserving..While Washington DC is a beaoootiful city, Niagara Falls shows how the Americans preserve their God given gift...

One member of our gang commented Niagara me US waalon ka kya haath hai..ye to bhagwaan ka diya hai...But i beg to differ....That place is thronged by millions and still is sqqqueakky clean...The water is so beautiful that one can perhaps even drink it...Nowhere did i spot a single...mind u a single piece of garbage...even though maximum people thronging Niagara are Indians.

Besides the arrangement they have made to get you under one of the minor falls (Bridal veil) is fantabulous..Noway on earth can anyone slip or fall or have an accident..I was impressed....

More than the falls, its the professionalism of the Americans that impressed me...

My newest crush :)

I am in a spell.. The spell-weaver is John Castle...Who is he ye ask?

He has piercing blue eyes, looks disapproving. And then when he smiles....ooh lala it reaches your heart straightaway. Atleast it did mine...

I saw him as Inspector Craddock in The Mirror Cracked from side to side, Agatha Christie's televised story of Miss Marple played by Joan Hickinson. I loved him in it. Since then I have obsessed about him. He was about 55 when he played the role, and is 70 now...God he did it so well. And he wasn't even a leading man. This picture is of John Castle at a younger age..

If I ever visit UK again, I will hunt him up and tell him how much I like him. Wish I could see him in more screen appearances.

John Castle joins the list of my crushes. Earlier and still occupied by Jeremy Brett, Tommy Lee Jones, Harrison Ford, and George Clooney. These men are all old (at least in Indian terms) and yet have the charm and personality to make me go weak in the knees. My dream is to go on a date with George, which may never happen. :(

But if it does....

Faith, Karma, Luck by chance...

Saw Luck by Chance recently...I liked it but not overly so. It felt like a documentary on our film industry. The movie did raise a pertinent point, is it Luck or Work? Does Karma have anything to do with this?

Observations & experiences have taught me to think so. Our life, lifestyle, success/failure is, I feel, quite a bit reflective of our and even our ancestors' karma. Perhaps thats why our Hindu wisdom has advocated a period of "tapasya" in each man's life...to wash out his sins and seek spiritual progress. Sai Baba has clearly emphasised on 9 ways of attaining knowledge "Atmaa-gyaan" ...Satsang, service to others, reading religious books, charity are some of them.

Our parents & theirs' performed pujas, did charity, satsang etc. Perhaps that has a given a sense of happiness to us. (World survey says we are quite a happy society). If you consider India's past, India is quite blessed. She has rich, fertile lands (or had). India has rarely faced any major natural disasters. India has shown amazing progress (despite its corrupt & useless leaders). This is, I believe, quite a lot due to the philanthropic nature of its people. Now that these values are eroding, the next generation is at a risk of losing the wealth of wisdom. It becomes our duty as parents to do everything in our power to dip into old-age wisdom & impart ancient teachings to our children.

Extremists (people who have least notions of "God" & "Godly") are putting a violent shade to religion. "Hindu Terrorists" a word I never thought existed, is now a reality. It is painful to think that we would spend our energies breaking law, people and ethics. Education system from the elite "Gurukul" system has gone down the "Donation only" drain. As a mother, the biggest terror for me is securing admission in the threatening, corrupt world of Indian schools.

Our generation has the capacity to take charge. We are better traveled, have advantage of reflection and global knowledge and resources. In the movie "Rang de Basanti", the youth take action against the correct problem, even if the solution was wrong.

Lets try to limit the mean thoughts, words & actions. Lets respect our parents, our culture & Nature.

A book on Sai Baba's life & teachings has become my bible. I will try to incorporate as much of His teachings as I can. My selfish motive is my daughter. I hope I do enough good Karma to enable her & her contemporaries. to have a good life, Luck and all.....What will You do????

Me homemaker..but do I do nothing "sitting" at home?

Disappointing to note that my opponent thinks that being a homemaker means sitting at home doing nothing but cooking and watching k serials.

That is an attitude prevalent even among women in India who are employed outside the home... Once again, it has taken the western world to recognise the role of the homemaker as the most important job in the world. And it goes unpaid too!!!

A homemaker looks after the home so that the "gainfully employed" husband can come home to a calm base (whether it remains calm or not is another topic) . She looks after the kids, ensuring that they study well, eat well and play well. In India, she also looks after the elderly in-laws (atleast thats the idea). She looks after the past, present and the future generations..all at once..

She herself however, doesnt respect her role. In the modern scheme of things, going out for a work and getting that second salary has become more important than looking after kids or parents. I am not saying working after having kids is wrong. No sir. What I feel is the future generation is compromised due to the lapse of the very Indian concept of joint family. These days we cant stay even with our own parents. So kids are pushed to day cares, out in the world, in the hands of strangers at a very early age...even before they have bonded enough with their own flesh n blood.

Solution? Perhaps one of my best friend has achieved a good balance. She works in Mumbai for an international bank. Stays with her inlaws and has arranged an apartment for her ailing parents on a floor above. She manages to look after everyone and the responsibility of bringing up her 2 yr old kid is shared by everyone. The kid gets a wholesome environment to grow up in.

But can everyone afford to make such arrangements? If not what else is out there ??????

Why blog? Why now?

Everyone who is anyone, is blogging. Everyone who is not anyone, is also burning the e-world with random thoughts. So here! I splashed right in.

This is a world where anyone can put in a word (more would be welcome, funny would be appreciated), But be warned...this is dueling place. My main opponent being some Telugu character I have never met, called Sarath Pendalaya, who tries his inept hand at belling the CAT and succeeds 95% of the time. Besides the bells, Finance, sports, & journalism interest him. Talk about having all the time in the world. He also pretends he is half my age and double my brains. A laughable ambition, I say...

But who am I? You may call me a nerd (judging by my heavy glasses). Nopeeeee...I am just a detective fiction aficionado in love with Sherlock Holmes (the one played be Jeremy Brett only). My mission is to read the entire series of any detective character I like. Having finished with Sir Doyle's and Dame Christie's work, I am in an undesirable position of looking out for new characters, who can stimulate the grey cells & the old heart.

So here goes an attempt to electronically settle duels!. The rest of the world can take sides, oppose, depose or go fly.