2013 - The year it was

It started with proving the Mayan’s prophecy (of the world ending in 2012) absolutely wrong. If it had been true, then I would have spent, most of my conscious life, either studying or watching movies. (Can’t decide what I must have done more!)

I can’t possibly compare how much I have evolved in 2013 in comparison with the past year- not just because I bagged 2 internships, though that is something I am really proud of, and it has helped me grow a lot, undoubtedly. But also because I could see life with a clearer view. It made me realize that there exists no such thing as “happily ever after”. Right after school ended, all of us – the whole gang, exchanged promises to meet up, call up and basically stay in touch. But over time a lot of us drifted apart. The relations soured, day by day – jealousy, insecurity, all of that. Sometimes we just couldn’t talk. We had come a long, long way. I hate to admit but it was true – we had nothing left in common, anymore. We both were on the phone, but there was an awkward silence. The same silence seemed comforting when we were in school.  We could discuss right about anything under the sun, then. But now, we had nothing left to say.  You know, many people blame things on “time”- how it changes, blah, blah, blah. But in reality, time doesn’t change at all, it’s just us. People change. Mainly because of the choices they make.

2013 was a year of sequels and ‘threequels’ – Dhoom 3, Krrish 3, Murder 3, Race 2, Aashiqui 2, OUATIM 2, YPD 2, Grand Masti and so on.Some unconventional movies which worked well were Ship of Theseus, Lunchbox, and Table No. 21.  The popular ones were Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and YJHD. We also saw Yo Yo Honey Singh gyrating to “Lungi Dance” and “Blue eyes”, and Ranbir showing off his chest hair a la Anil Kapoor style. With SRK’s surrogate son AbRam to Kat’s leaked bikini pictures, Bollywood definite;ly had its own share of wackiness. We also witnessed Sachin’s retirement, finally!

We read about the infamous Pedder Road RIL- owned Aston Martin accident, with Ambani junior being alleged as the driver ramming into a couple of other cars. We mourned the deaths of Manna Dey, Nelson Mandela, Pran and Paul Walker. We bore testimony to “Selfie” being declared as the Oxford Dictionary’s ‘Word the Year’.

As the year draws to a close, we have a look at the top newsmakers of 2013:

  

5. Jiah Khan 

Her suicide letter came as a shock for everyone. With a dream debut opposite Big B in Nishabd, she later went on to work with Aamir in Ghajini, and Akshay in her last movie- Housefull. What was earlier touted as ‘impulsive suicide’ over a spat between Suraj Pancholi and Jiah, turned muddy with evidence later pointing out to her death being a murder case.

4. FYUP

DU - professors and students alike, opposed the dictatorial move by the VC to bring in the Four Year Undergraduate Programme in both a hushed and rushed manner.  They lament that they have no time left for self-study. It is encouraging rote-learning. Most of them want a roll back to the old Annual System. The feedback had comments ranging from “FYUP is a code for Four Year Under Pressure program” to “Humei kya mila FYUP se? Babaji ka thullu.”

3. Sheila Dikshit

Sheila’s triple winning streak ultimately came to an end with 2013’s Delhi elections. This was my first-ever-vote and I felt really proud to have made a difference. Brimming with enthusiasm and jumping with joy on finally being able to vote, I smiled smugly at my dad and bragged “I’m going to research about the candidates and then only cast my vote. We are the next gen voters.” Meanwhile, even when Sheila resigned, she didn’t fail to amuse us with her humor – When asked why she failed to foresee the mood of the voters of Delhi, she replied “ Bevkoof h na!” http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x185yol_bewakoof-hai-na-says-upset-sheila-dikshit-after-losing-delhi_news She has to her credit other statements like : “My own daughter feels unsafe in Delhi.”, “One should not be adventurous being a woman.”

 2. Homosexuality – Sec 377

Karan Johar’s brave attempt to make Bombay Talkies – the story of a homosexual man trying to find love, was soon eclipsed by the Supreme Court judgement recriminalizing homosexuality, both incidents happening in 2013. What was even more surprising was that people welcomed the judgement saying homosexuality is against our culture. They clearly don’t know what they’re talking about. India – the land of Kama Sutra, has witnessed homosexuals even in the era of kings. References can be found in Manu Smriti, the cave paintings, Mahabharat and so on. http://www.littleindia.com/life/1835-homosexuality-and-the-indian.html

http://devdutt.com/blog/did-homosexuality-exist-in-ancient-india.html

For the homophobic people, Imran Khan has found a solution. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/how-to-ungay-a-person-imran-khan-stars-in-aibs-satirical-video/441659-8-66.html

 

1. Arvind Kejriwal

Topping the charts is none other than the new Delhi CM, our very own Mr. Arvind Kejriwal. He has really turned around the way Indian politics is looked at.  From an IIT Kharagpur graduate, to Joint Commissioner of the IRS, he surely has come a long way. His efforts to bring in the RTI Act made him the deserving recipient of the Magsaysay award. He launched the Aam Aadmi Party and defeated Ms. Dikshit by a margin of around 26,000 votes. People may badmouth him, but even BJP and Congress can’t deny his spectacular debut victory.    

BJP and Congress, both are no moral saints. And neither is Mr. Kejriwal. But he’s the best we’ve got. There’s a 0.5 probability that his funding is dubious, and there’s a 0.5 probability that it isn’t. Even if his foreign funding is questionable, it’s just 20 crores. Much lesser than BJP’s and Congress’ funding that extends to some lakhs of crores. He may let us down, or may not. Both BJP and Congress have had enough chances. It’s time to give the new guy a chance. 

So for now, Mr. Kejriwal is here. And he's here to stay.

THE LEGEND WHO SOLD HIS FERRARI!

At a time when the social networking sites are flooded with die-hard fans of Sachin Tendulkar hailing him as God and even going to the extent of updating their Facebook status as “Cricket will now be a religion without God” – as Sachin finally retired from international cricket after playing his 200th and final Test (thankgod for that! – pun intended), sending me in a complete state of bafflement – mainly due to the frenzy surrounding his retirement, I wonder if people are merely posting statuses to garner some hundred likes or if they actually revere him as GOD.

At the risk of inviting strong backlash from blind(in reference to their blind faith)-staunch-proponents of Tendulkar, I finally decide to throw some light into all the blind fans’ hearts.

About 10 years back, in 2002, racing legend Michael Schumacher presented the Little Master with Ferrari -360 Modena when he equalled the record of 29 Test centuries, earlier held by Australian legend Don Bradman. Soon after, our little Master sought an exemption on the stipulated 120% import duty on the premium sports car. The amount — about Rs 1.3 crore — was waived. This led to some controversy with some people filing a PIL, about the exemption, and in turn serving of notices both on the Finance Ministry as well as Mr. Tendulkar. With the issue getting out of hand, Fiat India agreed to cough up the import duty, bringing an end to the mess.

In late June, 2011, Mr. Tendulkar sold his gifted Ferrari to a Surat businessman, Jayesh Desai, who is one of the promoters of the Rajhans Group, for an undisclosed amount.  This was the final nail in the coffin. The supposed-God sold his gifted Ferrari, which was presented to him by none other than the legend himself, Michael Schumacher.

"When Sachin got his Ferrari as a 'gift', he wanted duty & excise exemption; now that he has sold it will he ask for capital gains exemption?" wrote Tushar Gandhi, great-greatgrandson of Mahatma Gandhi, on social networking site Twitter.
Writer Shobhaa De described Tendulkar as 'The Legend who Sold His Ferrari", an ironic reference to Robin Sharma's novel 'The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari', a book with the message of simple living and high thinking. "Didn't know times were this bad", Shobhaa De added in her Twitter post.
Well, the times weren’t bad. Or so it seems. Refer to: http://www.motoroids.com/features/sachine-tendulkar-sells-gifted-ferrari-buys-a-new-gt-r/

So, I think we should let him be what he is, just a cricketer. Not God, definitely.

Beyond the Veil

 This short-story was published in Yamuna:SRCC's literary magazine under the cover theme "Veils".

It was 5 am, ‘Monday morning’. Suhana dreaded this cursed hour .The alarm clock rang in full vigour, breaking her dreamy world and making her jump out of bed. She was dressed in a nightgown, with her beautifully curled locks falling on her face. She looked surreal and exuded ‘princessly’ charm. Her large almond- shaped eyes, smooth skin and rosy lips made her look like a Greek goddess.

 As she tied up her hair in a bun, went to the kitchen and prepared breakfast, her mind drifted off to another world. What a robotic and monotonous life she was living, how she married so young, right after graduation, and how her dreams (she dreamt of opening a hotel chain) would never see the light of the day. Hers was a love marriage, resembling a typical Bollywood movie. She had met Kunal in college, and their friendship soon blossomed into love and finally they took their wedding vows, just 2 months after their graduation ceremony. Suhana was crazy about him, then. She was crazy, even now. Even after 3 years of their marriage.

 She went up to the bedroom, where Kunal was asleep. K-u-n-a-l. He was breathtakingly handsome and lovingly adorable, even now. Or so she believed. As she stroked his smoothly cropped black hair, waking him up for breakfast, she realized how a gap had crept into their lives. Almost a vacuum. He barely had anytime for her. He was always into his job, meeting deadline, working overtime and making presentations for his clients. His office was his priority, his new life.

 Her trail of thoughts came to an abrupt halt. Kunal had woken up and was gulping down his morning tea. Without a word, he stormed into the shower. Suhana felt dejected. She wanted him to talk to her, spend time together, go out for dinner , or even a walk in the park. Anything. Just they both should be together, just like the good old times. How badly she longed for him.  “I’m going, Suhana. Will be late today. Have a very crucial meeting with a client. Take care. Bye.”  All she could manage to say was “Okay. Bye.”

After Kunal bid goodbye to her, she sat on the couch, tears welled up in her eyes. She was trying to suppress them. Trying not to cry.  But at that very second, a teardrop trickled down her cheek and she burst into tears. She couldn’t hold it together anymore. She wept unendingly and totally broke down. Her world had been ripped apart .She couldn’t endure it. Not anymore.

 

 

Kunal’s phone had buzzed, while he was in the shower. The phone flashed “ 1 new message”. Suhana was in a double-minded state. She was confused, whether to press the “Open” button or not. She had never checked Kunal’s phone or bill records earlier. How could she? It was K-u-n-a-l. No way. Her hands trembled as she pressed the open button. It said, “Waiting for you at the apartment, sweetheart. See you at 9. Love you lots, Aisha. XoXo” She kept the phone back, and returned back to the kitchen, preparing breakfast, bearing it all inside her heart.

 But after Kunal went, she couldn’t hold it anymore and had burst into tears .He had deceived her. Completely deluded her .But, Suhana’s love for him was not a false display or pretence. She truly, one-sidedly loved him. She couldn’t decipher what was her fault, after all. What had she done to deserve such a betrayal? Was she not a good wife? Or was she not that attractive after all these years? Or maybe she never knew Kunal properly and fully? They had rushed into marriage, very early in their lives and maybe there was a side of him that she was totally unaware of. Maybe. She didn’t know the answer to any of it.

She wiped off her tears and consoled herself to be strong. She promised herself that she wouldn’t create a scene, or confront Kunal. No matter how much she wanted to. As it would only lead to two possibilities, neither of which was acceptable to her: One, he could be indifferent about the matter and refuse to respond properly; Two, he could move out of the house, after a series of fights. She didn’t want any of this melodrama. She wanted Kunal to realize his own fault, his temporary indiscretion and come back to her, in his true sense. She promised to stand strong with valiance and grit. She promised to bear it all with a smile. She put up a brave front, a façade smilingly, in the hope that he will come running back to her and everything will be alright.

Today, Suhana wears her own veil and Kunal, his own. It was funny how on their wedding day too, they both wore veils, (Suhana was clad in a ‘ghunghat” and Kunal wore a ‘sehra’), but how starkingly opposite were the veils they both wore today.