Anhoni ho gayi honi aur world cup jeet gaya dhoni!

The evening saw a large number of youngsters, shouting patriotic slogans like “Vande Mataram”, “Bharat Mata Ki Jay” etc. The roads were blocked, police vans blared sirens and the hooligans fully utilized this exciting situation by doing their usual stuff of ‘hanging around’ in their patent style.

But this isn’t a freedom struggle or the scene of some Doordarshan documentary film. This was ‘LIVE’ – just like a freshly-cooked meal of ‘LIVE’ news by 24 hour news channels. Only this was actually ‘LIVE’.

This was the scene of streets, crowded with overwhelmed cricket-buffs, when India saw its win in the T20 World Cup by beating Pakistan by 5 runs in Johannesburg. I came to know this only when I heard the neighbour’s children burn crackers and scream in sheer excitement.

I was happy too, for we won a World Cup. But more than that I was happy the tournament was over. Phew! I got a glimpse of my favorite serial only after convincing my cousin that Katrina Kaif will be playing a cameo in it. He wasn’t ready to believe that Katrina has taken to TV. But clever me! I said she does a special appearance in the program n will be there for only a minute or two. And I got him..:) But then I knew every time I will have to think of some new trick to get the remote control in my hands. So, good that this Twenty-Twenty is over. Now it should return only in the year 2020.

I am ready to field the tomatoes!

My Trip to Pachmarhi

The following video is a summary of my trip to Pachmarhi in January this year, which was part of a social service campaign organized by a philanthropist, fondly called ‘Bauji’ by everyone. I was very excited to volunteer and be a part of this social campaign, which saw a good amount of school girls of a remote village in Madhya Pradesh, as its beneficiaries. The school is free for all and only meant for girls of nearby villages.

Me along with some other volunteers had a great time for these five days, interacting with these village girls, who were not as ‘bholi-bhali’ as was shown in the old Sayara Bano films. Some were smart and some were naïve but far from being ‘dumb’.

But they all had a sad story to tell and were the real fighters. In spite of less or no support from the family, they looked forward to leading a beautiful and a happy life. Some were extremely poor, couldn’t even afford to have enough food, some were rich enough to afford education but were still were being sent to a free school. Why? Because ‘ladkiyo ko padhana zaroori nahi hai’ according to their parents. ‘per kyunki ye free ka school hai isiliye bhej rahe hai’.

Anyway, the experience was fabulous. Here’s what it looked like.
(kindly bear with the quality.)

PART ONE

PART TWO



In order to read a detailed version of the trip, check-out the following link..:)

http://sneharmonic.blogspot.com/2007/05/up-close-and-personal-with-nature.html

The school premises. The girls welcomed us with the colors of holi.

Jiska darr tha wahi hua…my fav contestant in Voice of India is out! Toshi was a contestant whose voice had a feel of the Indian soil. He was the best contender for the VOICE OF INDIA.

Being a true marwari I usually don’t vote for any such contestant, no matter what a powerhouse of talent he or she might be. But I broke my rule and did vote for him twice!! Now, for a marwari like me, to sms for someone for whom my vote might just be an atom of oxygen in his ocean of votes (genuine or sham, I do not know), was certainly a bad idea. But I became fond of this particular contestant and really wanted him to win. But as was expected, a true winner has to fight a bigger battle, and success doesn’t come easy for him. Toshi is no more in the race of VOI.

I was right. This voting system is all bakwas. I pray that all the good singers who were 'voted out' by aur junata judges continue to sing and entertain the world and don’t take this talent hunt seriously. After all it’s just a matter of time and luck! Remember Abhijeet Sawant??