All of us have been at the receiving end of it at some point of our lives, infact it’s a universal malaise, it emanates from various sources; relatives, colleagues, neighbours and even complete strangers, now I am ending the suspense, it’s called unsolicited advice. Nearly 10 years back I dutifully wrote down the following quotation in my diary without any intention of using it in the future,”No one gives nothing so freely as advice” but today I have after being given an unsolicited advice about how to manage my finances by a distant relative of mine whom I am not even remotely close to. I did mind his advice but did’nt choose to retaliate , although I had enough ammunition to rattle him for example I could have said that he should improve his dressing sense that he should brush up his rusty English that he should stop living in a time warp that he should learn some manners ,because he is much older to me but this incident left me seething and made me think about all those people who have to take this nonsense from such incorrigible souls who think they are divinely ordained to give advice without being asked to.

What should people do in such a situation? I think they should very firmly tell the ever so generous advice givers to mind their own business. No need to get nasty with them. I have decided not to take this nonsense from those who are not close to me. If they do it they will regret it instantly.

Today I am going to write about two singers, Atif Aslam and Himesh Reshmmaiya,who are known for their distinct styles of singing.

Atif aslam has given innumerable hits in bollywood during a very short span and is liked by a lot of people especially youngsters who love humming his songs. When his album Doori was released in India a few years back I was captivated by his unconventional voice, it was full of life and energy and very different from other singers. I was one of his biggest fans and often got into heated exchanges with people who criticized him for singing in a flat style. I liked his voice so much that Once I emphatically declared in front of my cousin , a vociferous critic of atif, that I was in love with his voice, and she just laughed. Well times have changed and I am ready to eat my words, see I can eat anything ,even words.and declare equally emphatically ,this time in front of a slightly bigger audience comprising of not more than half a dozen hapless souls who are forced to read my blog because I will snap their heads off if they don’t,that I am no longer in love with his voice,that his singing is flat and that he needs to undertake classes of classical music in order to become a better singer. Are you listening? There is not much hope because he is tone deaf.

Himesh reshmmaiya has got a new voice after undergoing vocal cord surgery four months back, and it is so pathetic that I miss his old nasal voice which I disliked intensely and hoped that he would stop singing. His nasal voice won him millions and millions of followers, and most of his songs went on to become chartbusters. I must admit one thing despite being one of his fiercest critics that his nasal voice was completely different from others and that’s why it appealed to people.Himesh can you do something to bring your old voice back ?Or you should stop singing because this new voice of yours will not take you anywhere.

What a glutton i am

Bakhreed festivities are over but the meat stored in refrigerators certainly isn’t , people will continue to eat it for many days to come. Two days back I had an awesome mutton biryani ,the very thought of this dish is mouth watering, yummy,I can eat it any time (I don’t like chicken biryani because chicken doesn’t have a taste of it’s own) and here is a suggestion for all you veggies just try it and you will become it’s instant converts .SO think about tasting it OK, and afterwards you will thank me. Looking forward to your thank -you cards. Well if I continue with my biryani prem the other non vegetarian dishes will feel neglected. So I should devote some of my blog space to them as well.

Last night my mom prepared kaleji,it was a culinary delight, I polished off half of it ,my gluttony on full display, and got a minor scolding from my mom because of this ,but who cares, for good food I can endure any insult. Then came the turn of kebabs, shami kebabs, and in my prejudiced opinion no one I know prepares them better than my dear amma .Honestly speaking, I have lost count as to how many I ate. They were so soft and tasty. Oh no, I have forgotten to mention gurda’s(kidneys) that I savoured at a relative’s place,my memory is failing me as I am unable to remember the names of my fovourite dishes,not a good sign but I would worry about it later,right now I am eagerly looking forward to enjoying the Payas that are almost ready and I will gorge on them in the dinner.Please guys nazar mat lagana.

Shiv sainks have struck again ,this time ransacking the Mumbai and Pune offices of IBN Lokmat ,a news channel, because it had severely criticised Shiv sena supremo Bal thakrey for his anti Sachin utterances in Samna,an unforgivable sin in the party’s dictionary. From digging up cricket pitches to beating up north Indians to stopping the screening of movies shiv saniks have indulged in several acts of vandalism. It is apparent that tolerating dissent is not in shivsena’s DNA. While it’s supremo Bal thakrey can threaten and abuse people he dislikes or does not agree with but he is unable to tolerate any criticism directed at him or his brand of politics,and those who dare to do it are attacked by his army of goons.

The latest attack proves shivsena’s desperate attempt to wean back it’s traditional vote bank which has been steadily shifting towards Raj thakrey led MNS ,as was evident in this year’s Loksabha and Vidhan sabha elections as the latter has been raising the issues of Marathi manoos more aggressively.But the party does not realise the fact that it’s exclusivist agenda can not propel it to power nor can it’s brand of brand of politics. Marathis are peace loving and modern citizens and do not believe in vandalism that’s why Shivsena could come to power only once and it was elected not because people approved of its rowdyism but because they wanted a change in the government ,and once they realised that it’s policies were worse than that of the previous congress government they did not give it a second chance.

Shivsena is worried about MNS growing influence but it is certain that both of these outfits will remain only fringe players in Maharashtra’s political scene as

long as they continue practicing their narrow chauvinistic political agenda

As a parting shot I would like to say that strict action should be taken against those involved in the ransacking of IBN Lokmat offices. For too long shiv saniks and mns workers have been treated with kid gloves ,now the Maharashtra government should deal firmly with them because violence has no place in a democracy.

I AND MY LAZINESS

Three days back I was having a voice chat with my sister , based in Saudi Arabia, discussing everything under the sun when I, suddenly, informed her about the death of one of our close relatives. My astonished sister told me that she had died six months back so how could she die again. For few seconds I remained quiet then I remembered my mom making a call to her daughter to express her condolence over her mother’s death, nearly 6 months back. OK I said if it were not her then it must be her younger ailing sister who had died. By then my sister was exasperated, she chided me for making wild guesses and asked me from where I had got the information. I began by telling her about the visit of a maid servant , employed at the maternal house of the relative whose death I was so sure of, to my uncle’s house and telling my aunt that achchi dadi had died. Now her relatives called her by that name,that’s why ,I told my sister I was sure it was she who had died. In case you guys are wondering as to how I got to know about the maid servant’s visit to my uncle’s place, well it’s situated next to mine, and I had heard the entire conversation between the 2.Not convinced by my explanations my sister instructed me to make further enquiries. So instead of going to my uncle’s place and confirming the news, which was the most sensible thing to do but I was feeling very lazy,I picked up my mobile phone,mobiles are great they save so much of your time and energy well I will talk about them in another blog, and dialed the number of another relative and asked her whether she had heard about achchi dadi’s death, she said no and promised to get back to me after talking to achchi dadi’s niece who happened to be her friend. In the meantime my sister having a text chat with her brother who lives in another city told him about this news but also that it was not confirmed. I waited for my relative’s phone for some time and then I called her again .She said she had a talk with her friend and casually asked her if everything was fine and the answer was in affirmative. It means she reasoned that the lady was alive. By that time my family members were calling me up wanting to know what had happened .Finally I did what I should have done earlier ;I went to my uncle’s house and asked as directly as I could as to who had died .There had been a death alright but 0f a servant and the girl who came was not the one I thought she was and clearly i had mis..heard and achchi dadi ,even though ill, was very much alive. If only I had not been that lazy but kya karooon......

On the 25^th death anniversary of Indira Gandhi I heard a report on BBC Hindi ,presented by Rehan Fazal, about the anti -Sikh riots of 1984 in which more than 4000 thousand Sikhs were massacred(according to official estimates though unofficial estimates put the toll much higher, over 7000) all over India. Listening to the victims heart wrenching accounts as to how their near and dear ones were killed and raped in the most brutal manner , their houses and businesses burnt by the rampaging crowds led by Congress leaders shook me to the core and I wept not only for the victims but also for the perpetrators of those horrendous acts, more so for the latter because in their momentary madness they descended to the level of the beast ,losing their right to be humans forever. I know I am being very emotional but I can’t help it.

In the anti sikh riots the role of the police was shameful. In most cases they remained mute spectators and did nothing to protect the Sikh community from the attackers (the same police inaction was witnessed during 2002 Gujarat riots)and in some cases actively supported the rioters.But the most painful thing in this whole episode is that no stringent action has been taken against any of the erring police personnel even after 25 years.

Jagdish Tytler,Sajjan Kumar,Ajay Makan and R K Anand, allegedly involved in the Delhi massacre of the
Sikhs were rewarded by the Congress by being given Lok Sabha tickets.The four were indicted by ndependent commissions of inquiry, including the People's Union for Civil Liberties, the People's Union for Democratic Rights and the Citizens' Justice Committee,and once they got elected they were made ministers im different congress goverments.In 2009 Congress decided to drop Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan kumar,from the electoral fray after Jarnail Singh’s shoe throwing incident only because it feared it could end up losing seats in Punjab where it was expecting good results.Congress should not have given tickets to them in the first place but they were because of their loyalty to Gandhi Nehru family.

Meanwhile, the sikh community’s quest for justice continues despite the fact that the conviction rate is very poor, not more than 2 % and the police are solely responsible for this . Initially they were reluctant in filing FIR’s, later most of the cases that were registered never reached the court. Very few cases reached the court with most of them resulting in the acquittal of the accused because the police did not make any serious attempt to collect evidence. How shameful it is. Police were toeing the line of their political masters.The result is that the people responsible for carrying out such heinous crimes are free and leading normal lives while the victims continue to suffer.

NDTV Imagine needs a makeover

When NDTV Imagine was launched a little over an year back I had high expectations from it,after all you expect nothing but the best from Pronoy roy. I hoped that this new channel would provide wholesome entertainment without compromising on the quality of contents unlike other channels which ,in order to boost their TRP ratings, were dishing out mindless fare,and for I while, I must say, it did maintain a good standard of programmes. Shows like Junoon… kuch kar dikhane ka and radha ki betiyan kuch kar dikhayengi(there were other good shows but these two were my favourites) were entertaining as well as realistic. I would like to write a little about junoon kuch kar dikhane ka; it was a music show with a difference, sufi and folk music, genres which are not given much importance in other music competitions, were an integral part of it.

But somewhere in the middle NDTV Imagine lost it’s distinctive identity,the lure of earning mega bucks was perhaps too tempting to resist, it was the time when reality shows were becoming increasingly popular,it launched it’s much publicized reality show Rakhi ka suvayamvar, in which rakhi sawant had to choose a boy as her future husband from 16 contestants and the show was very successful and boosted the TRP ratings of the channel. But in the eyes of the discerning audience channel’s image took a beating because they could not stomach the fact that the channel would dilute the quality of it’s programmes so much so that it had to rope in rakhi sawant for the sake of money and trp. Now buoyed by the success of rakhi ka savayamvar the channel is all set to launch Rahul dulhaniya le jayenge in which Rahul Mahanjan, whose only claim to fame is that he happens to be the son of slain bjp leader pramod mahajan,will be choosing his wife from ,I think 16 contestants but I am not sure about it, but one thing I am sure of is that the latest offering from ndtv imagine will be a flop for Rahul is not even remotely funny while rakhi’s tantrums are sometimes entertaining.

After the failure of Rahul dulhaniya le jayenge the channel,hopefully ,will go back to airing programmes which are entertaing realistic ,original and are of good standard/

ANNOYING HABIT OF MR AMITABH BACHCHAN

I am a big fan of Amitabh bachchan, most of us are. His acting and oratorical skills are well known but i am not going to bore you by talking about them. Here, ,instead ,i am going to write about one of his habits which i find extremely annoying; his reciting of MADHUSHALA, a poem penned by his poet father Harivansh Rai Bachchan whom he respects a lot and regards as a great hindi poet, at the drop of a hat. Granted it's a very famous Hindi poem but does he have to recite it every now and then? I am not alone there are a number of people who share my opinion. In my view he is taking undue advantage of his celebrity status, like so many others of his ilk,and subjecting us ,his audience, to listen to his baritone voice reciting Madhushala accompanied by a very boring music.

Though i don't expect mr Bchchan to read my blog but i do hope someone close to him does and conveys to him the feelings of countless of his fans to discontinue his annoying habit. We will be very grateful.

FEAR OF LIGHTNING

Oxford dictionary defines phobia as an extreme and irrational fear of something..Each one of us suffers from at least one phobia . I AM A HOPELESS ASTRAPOPHOBIC .Whenever I see lightning flashes at the horizon even if they are far away I want to hide myself in a place where I would’nt have to see and hear the terrifying lightning flashes and deafening thunder sounds, but it’s not possible so i sit curled up normally on a chair,tension writ large on my face, reciting the Quranic ayats that come to my mind at that dreadful time and fearing to be hit any moment by the lightning. My dad who regards lightning as a natural phenomenon , a thing to be admired not feared, is highly irritated by my behavior and gives me a severe dressing down but his scolding can not take away my fear. He has to deal with two astrapophobics; me and my brother.

When i was a child my astrapophobia was at it’s peak I used to stuff my ears with cotton , close my eyes tightly and snuggle into my mom’s arms , over the years the intensity has lessened, but only slightly.. Hopefully in the distant future I would be able to overcome my astrapophobia and enjoy this so called phenomenon, I am calling it SO CALLED because in the present I can not bring myself to view it that way,like my dad.

For the last couple of months i have been suffering from a sore throat and to get relief from this ailment i went to a homeopathic doctor(i avoid allopathic drugs ) who gave me medicines for five days along with strict instructions that i was not to eat anything sour , oily and cold and this during Ramadan when such delectable delicacies are served with most of them sour if not oily, so you can understand my disappointment , nonetheless I tried to follow the good doctor’s advice for four days; I use to sit on the table at the time of iftar and would half heartedly pick up ,say, a lowly matar while others feasted on phulkis, pyaze kebabs allo tikki lemon juice fruit chat chaumien samosas burgers and what not. It was too much to bear because I just love eating ,so on the fifth day I decided not to pay heed to doctor’s instructions and instead listen to my heart which was asking me to enjoy the dishes I was depriving myself of . I listened to my heart and I am still paying the price but it’s ok. You may call me foolish or indisciplined but what to do I just can not keep myself away from tasty food for long even if it is harmful for my health.Although my throat is not well last night I had pyaze with a lavish smattering of tomato ketchup followed by a spoonful of cough syrup.. FUNNY NA

Miser's tale

Misers are no fun to live with but they make great ancestors” how apt this quote is. I wish I. too, had one such ancestor. Although none of my close relatives falls in this category I, for sure , know a person who is famous for his legendary kangoosi.

In his 60’s and unmarried he draws a good pension and has substantial amount of money in his various bank accounts (you may be wondering how do I have so much information about his wealth the answer is that i know him quite well) still when you meet him you may be forgiven for taking him to be very poor because he dresses shabbily, lives in a dilapidated house and spends ridiculously small amount of money on food and has been caught many times for travelling on bus without ticket. When well meaning friends advise him to loosen his purse strings and live life properly his token reply is ‘’ I am enjoying my life fully”.

Sometimes I wonder how does stinginess becomes such an integral part of some people’s personality, may be they had a hard childhood when money was scarce and they grew up believing that when they earned money they would spend it wisely so that they would’nt fall back on hard times And even after earning well they end up spending a little too wisely.

I wish I had atleast one such ancestor kitni rich hoti main

Hakimullah Mehsud, the newly appointed chief of Taliban after the assassination of Baithullah mehsud in a drone attack,is known as rash and ruthless in the intelligence circles and has ambitions in both Pakistan and Afghanistan unlike his predecessor whose focus was limited to Pakistan only.Under his leadership Taliban are reasserting themselves by carrying out a wave of suicide attacks in north west frontierand Islamabad. In a daring attack a Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up inside Food and agriculture organisation’s headquarters in Islamabad killing four people including two women and a foreign national. The FAO building was situated only a few metres away from president Zardari’s private residence. By carrying out this attack Taliban want to send out a strong message to Pakistani army and it’s American counterpart that they have the capacity to strike at will anywhere in the country even in heavily fortified areas. The situation is really explosive in Pakistan. Taliban are deeply entrenched and defeating them is going to be very difficult.

Hello friends i am back (as if anyone has been waiting for my blog entry but i am sure in the near future they will be) after a long time. TODAY the weather has turned quite pleasant and there is a slight chill in the air and it seems winter is knocking at the door, but i may be wrong as the weather has the habit of turning predictions about it upside down..The sky is cloudy and the sun which had been tormenting us with it's heat is able to peep out of clouds occasionally and i am loving it.I fervently hope this pleasant weather continues.

I created this blog nearly a week back but it's only now that i have gotten around to writing my first blog entry,very typical of me for i have this habit of putting things off..it's well past midnight, and i am typing away at the computer though my typing speed is not upto the mark and i commit many errors while typing in a hurry.