Old is Gold --------- Anyday!

As you open your television nowadays, there are so many channels awaiting your viewership. In fact so many of them that by the time you zero in the channel, which you would like to watch, half the program is gone. It is actually not the number of channels that turns me off, but the types of programs that are on air put me off. Well, if you are a music freak, do not expect more than a 3.6 minutes entertainment as their contents get repeated after that. If you are a lady in mid 40s, it is more likely that 3-4 channels try to attract your attention by showing some form of family drama which to me seems outdated at the minimum. For youngsters, there are some typical channels who try to show silly reality bites – of course which relate to a boy-girl relationship. Thank God – K-Jo just sips his coffee with renowned celebrities! Then, there are few reality shows which are designed to appeal to masses. Some are good, some are average and some are really pathetic. I mean it – some are just pathetic. None of the Hindi news channels are worth watching. Out of all Indian English news channels, there is only one (perhaps two) which you can watch during the prime time. In my opinion, the Doordarshan (DD) news is still better than those dedicated news channels.

Over the past two decades, the choice on the television has indeed elevated from a single channel DD to multi channel cable network. However, I feel that the quality of information and entertainment broadcasted has deteriorated like never before. They have given us the options – no doubt. But, they have killed the urge for something special. It has become more sort of a pastime rather than the real entertainment. If you were born before 1985, you would definitely remember the satisfying wait of some very good programs – be it Reporter on Mondays, Hamraahi on Tuesdays, Byomkesh on Wednesdays, Surabhi on Thursdays or Chitrahaar on Wednesdays and Fridays with Rangoli setting up the tone on Sunday Mornings. Late night Big B flicks was a nice way to cherish the glory of Hindi Cinema of 70s and 80s. One thing that I know is that we cannot go back in time. However, what we can do is switch on the flashback once in a while and regale in the beauty and reverence of the past. What we can do is refresh our moods with those lovely creations, compositions and collections of the past. Here I present some old romantic songs which used to be aired on DD during those days. The fragrance of these songs is still the same and the joy unparallel.

1. Pal pal dil ke paas

2. Ye shaam mastani

3. Aaj mausam bada

4. O saathi re

5. Dard-e-dil

6. Tum aa gaye ho

7. O Hansini

8. Chhukar mere man ko

9. Zindagi ki na tute ladi

10. Pyaar hua ikraar hua

11. Aasmaan ke niche

पैगाम ये, आप के नाम

खामोश नज़रे, प्यारी हसी है,
आँखों में मेरी, तेरी सूरत बसी है,
मासूम चेहरा, दिलकश अदा है,
साथ ये तेरा, सबसे जुदा है,

बातें तुम्हारी, दिल को लुभाती,
यादे तुम्हारी, दिल को सताती,
ये दिल तो हुआ, अब से तुम्हारा,
कैसे होगा, बिन तुम गुज़ारा,

झुकी सी पलके, सहमी सी साँसे,
ज़हन को हमारे, शुकून दे जाते,
रुठते मनाते, हँसते रुलाते,
होते होते हो गए, हम बस आपके!

Will “propriety and integrity” prevail in Indian politics ever?

Out of curiosity, I googled ‘definition of politics’ and as defined on Wikipedia, Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. It consists of "social relations involving authority or power" and refers to the regulation of a political unit, and to the methods and tactics used to formulate and apply policy. Going by this, the politicians must be the people who make these decisions, regulate the political unit and who tactfully and methodically formulate policy.

How the decisions impact the political unit and how the policy is laid down is a subject matter of “propriety and integrity”, supposedly. I am convinced beyond any doubt that that is how the civil governments should be run to uplift the mass to a new level of advancement and prosperity. All the readers of this blog will be convinced about this fact too and many of those who do not read this blog except our own politicians would be convinced too. Over the past two decades, the greatest worm of our politics has been corruption which is not the subject matter of the post at hand. I would like to keep myself to two words only – “Propriety and Integrity”.

The intent of politics has perhaps not gone down very well with as many as 90% (just a rough approximation, could be more) of our politicians. CWG games becomes a hit and here comes a bunch of people in Dhoti-Kurta claiming for its success. Tata wants to set up a factory in Bengal and here comes a 'lady draped in a saree with blue borders' claiming to be the sole protector of rights of 'Aam-Janta'. 26/11 happens and here comes Mr. L K Advani (Leader of Opposition) to the site on that very tragic night blaming government for failure of everything that could have gone wrong. People from Bihar and UP migrate to Mumbai for work and here come a self proclaimed universal protector of 'Marathi Maanus' and his troops beating them up. Obama visits India and statements from the opposition party says why did not he mention the P-word in his opening speech at the Taj. The list will go on and on.

I fail to understand the intent of the acting party in each of the above and many more cases. Where are the “propriety and integrity” elements? Will ever our politicians understand what the 'Aam-Janta' needs and what their cause of concerns are? Can they please take a clue of administration from Narendra Modi-sans-hindutva, Sheila Dixit and Nitish Kumar (yet to be proven, but by many counts he has handled Bihar very well). This will clearly tell what we need as general citizen of this beautiful country. I sincerely hope that we get to see "propriety and integrity" in daily affairs of politics some day.

Happy Celebrations!

It is real amazing how the entire ambience turn into a festival mood all of a sudden and there are so much of vibrancies at this time of the year. Honestly speaking, external drive and passion is so powerful that even the laziest of all cannot but be filled with energy to come forward to make the most of this moment. As the week progressed day by day, preparations picked up all round the corners for a grand Deepawali. Office canteens were almost empty since Monday as all the parents back home waited patiently for their children to join them on this occasion, morning rushes on the roads vanished and it became a joy for those who hit the road during that time, SMS poured in great numbers since late Wednesday, gifts wrapped in bright red cellophanes was a common sight past couple of days, sweets and chocolates have dominated the daily food intakes, sales of C2H5OH (Ethanol) has surged and so on. All in all, entire week shaped up nicely for a wonderful day of celebrations and joys.

Wishing you all a very Happy Deepavali and great new seasons ahead! May God continue to offer each one of us blessings, wisdom and health! May our chase of an enduring happiness never cease!

As I tend to sign off, this song keeps coming to my mind…