An evening at Marina Bay

It may sound strange to people who have known me in the past 5 years or so. Having done all kinds of travel across cities, states and countries, you may wonder that this is the first time that I made it to the Lion City. I am not sure if lions ever lived here, but the liveliness of the city roars like a lion. Cosmopolitan nature of Singapore is quite unique in its own way, although slightly dominated by Chinese culture.

The first thing that caught my attention once inside the city was Marina Bay Sands. The attraction was enough for a first timer like me to plan an evening stroll on one of lazy weekend day. So here I was on top of the complex at the SkyPark gazing the view of the wonderful city. Beautiful indeed! As I started the stroll towards the Fullerton Hotel after measuring the length and breadth of the MBS complex, I noticed a queue of photographers alongside the bay as if some big event was about to happen. It was a pleasant surprise to know that every Singaporean is gearing up hard for the upcoming National Day celebrations.

And this was a Saturday, hence a dress rehearsal for the big event i.e. 9 August. Suddenly, the activities started and wow! What an immense joy to watch something which came as a big celebration package. Tanks, military choppers and parachutes – everything was within startling distance from the eyes. Entire atmosphere seemed to celebrate the mood of nationalism and why not! Huge buildup of the crowd said it all. Not to forget the fireworks at the end was unforgettable. I imagine if this was the rehearsal, how wonderful will be the D-day!

The day ended with a comment made by one of my colleague from a city called Goya in Argentina – “They know how to live and enjoy life. They know how to make people happy." I knew a little bit of Argentina from him and his wife who is from Santa Fe. All and all, it was a very nice evening to remember!

When will an Indian movie win The Oscar?

Cinema is considered to be the free flowing expression of thoughts, a reflection of contemporary society and sometimes screenplay of highest levels of fiction. The range itself is so wide that making a successful motion picture that appeals to all class of society in the most positive manner becomes a daunting task. However, once in a while, some movies do come from the mainstream cinema that creates an impact of a lifetime and leaves unprecedented imprint on the audience.

I managed to view one of such movies recently and was deeply moved to the core by the delightful visual representation of an Indian society which was trying to overcome from several conservative inflictions just after a hard fought independence. Set in 1950s, ‘Mother India’ was a path-breaker in Indian cinema and depicted a great combination of sacrifice, maternal love, moral righteousness and inspirational will-power.

As I talk about good quality cinema, I can also see a splurge of movies in the recent times which are adulterated in more than one way. In the name of depicting the hardcore social set-up, some movies are going overboard in their usage of unwanted expletives, double meaning and cuss words. I fail to understand how the movie industry works. After so many failed attempts, they do not want to realize the fact that mere usage of unwanted words will not make the movie great and awe-inspiring. ‘LOC Kargil’ had more expletives than ‘Border’, yet ‘Border’ was liked more by masses. ‘Ham Aapke Hai Kaun’ was a complete family movie that worked wonders on the box office. ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ was shot in typical modern set-up and yet found a place for itself among all kind of audiences.

I do understand the fact that there are portions of society where abuses/ unacceptable violence exist. I also understand the fact that youngsters find it appealing to use the diluted language in daily affairs, sometimes perhaps out of emotions. I also understand the fact that by getting the “A” certificate and following censor procedures, a producer possesses the right to show this reality on big screen. The big question though is that flooding the movie with these so called adulterated dialogues will itself make the movie great and unforgettable? Will such movies leave a legacy in the history of cinema?

Few decades later, when one tries to commemorate greatest movies of all-time, movies such as Sholay, Anand and Lagaan engulf the thoughts. No one even thinks for once about those “A” rated movies. While we make arguably most number of movies every year in India, no wonder why only three Indian movies have been nominated (mind you, only nominated) by AMPAS in the best foreign movie category in the history of 82 years!

End of an era?

Seldom is a script so perfect that one would want to forget the power of the great divine force behind moments of joy. Nothing beats the ecstasy of that moment when things happen just as you wished them to. I was hoping for such a moment last evening when Roger Federer was playing Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for a semis berth in Wimbledon 2011. Needless to say how avid fan I am of Roger. Readers may recall one of my earlier posts on this gentleman.

I rushed from the office just in time to watch live telecast of this quarter final match. To my delight, it was a perfect start for my moment of joy in waiting. Within blink of an eye, Roger flew with the first set 6-3. Though Tsonga’s serve and volley became better in the second set, Federer as usual looked pretty much in control and as always it happens, he upped the ante in tie-breaker and won second set also very comfortably. Till the tie-breaker, none to them looked like breaking the serve of the other.

It was most pleasing to my eyes and I was relishing super exhibition of play by the classy Federer. Someone thought that he became complacent at that juncture. I thought that I became more complacent than what he would have. Tsonga seemed invincible in following sets with his big serves and Federer was not able to find even a small opening to break him. It just needed three break points for Tsonga to get better of Swiss that kept Roger at bay still waiting for his seventh Wimbledon title. To my dismay, my complacency was the reason that I could not witness Federer winning the match and make it to semis.

Moments after the match was over, one thought kept coming to my mind: is it the beginning of the end for this unmatchable genius of the game. Has he lost that Godly touch which has handed him sixteen grand slam titles over the last decade? It has been six grand slam tournaments since he clinched the title – a gap which is the maximum since he first won a grand slam. He has failed to make it to last four in three out of last six occasions. He is about to turn 30 – an age beyond which it is difficult to maintain that invincibility in tennis.

A fan is a fan however! This is still a last wish that before fading away, he holds on to that Wimbledon title once again. That he regains that no. 1 seed at least for a day for which he holds a record (237 consecutive weeks)! That he beats Rafa in his own den in a Roland Garros final once before he fades away from today leaving an almost impossible vacuum in the game of tennis!

भोला बचपन, सच्चा तन मन...

कई सपने बुने थे हमने हाँ हम सब ने,
नन्ही पलकों में भी जागे थे अरमान कितने,
अपने भविष्य को कल्पना के झूले में संजोगे,
परिश्रम और सच्चाई का पथ चुना था हमने,

विघ्न आयेंगे पथ में इतने सोचा था ये किसने,
पागल मन में एक जोश सर चढ़ के बोल रहा था,
ये भी न सोचा के पाने की होड़ में त्याग देने होंगे,
कभी दोस्तों का साथ तो कभी सच्चाई से समझोता,

सपने के इस दौड़ में, पाने की इस चाहत में ,
क्यों मोहरा हम बन गए, शतरंज की बिसात में,
वो भी एक जमाना था जब राजनीति से थी हमें घृणा,
फिर क्यों हम उस राजनीति का एक हिस्सा बन गए,

इसे डर कहू मैं या कहू जीने की एक सहूलियत,
एक एक समझोते से पनप गयी एक कमजोर आदत,
कहा बिछुड़ गयी वो सच्चाई वो कर्मठता वो झुझारुपन,
बर्बर इस जनमानस के बीच खो गया वो भोला बचपन....

बंदगी सरहदों की

बेबस आँखों में हमारी नमी सी थी,
गुज़रते लम्हों में जैसे बेरुखी सी थी,
जब से तुम्हे फ़र्ज़ ने आवाज़ लगाई थी,
मायूश रहती हमारे हम की वो गली थी,

सरहद पर वो बन्दूको की आँख मिचोली,
जहा खेल रहे थे तुम खून और मौत की होली,
और यहाँ मैं सहमी सी एक टूक आस लगाए,
सोचू कब खेलु तुम संग रंगों की होली,

मुट्ठी भर ज़मीन पर कब्जे की खातिर,
खड़े कर दिए तुमने फौजों की दिवार,
टकराती है ये दीवारे, होते है बेतुके जंग,
कभी उनके कभी हमारे बुझते है दिए चंद ,

हार जीत के इस खेल में टूटती है ज़िन्दगी,
गुमनामियो में खो जाती है कितनी ज़िन्दगी,
काश सरहदों पर ये जंग ना होने पाते,
अमन से हम इंसानियत का परचम लहराते...

An outstanding commentator

A sigh of relief finally prevailed over the burning land in this part of the world. An outrageous wave of heat had roasted the capital region over the past few weeks and there seemed no respite until this morning. Thunderous spells of rains and winds came about just at the time when serenity found a place in my daily affairs too. So here comes a post after a relatively longer hiatus.

Quite often in life, people recognize somebody just by virtue of the work that they do over the years. For example, when one talks of Indian music, Lata Mangeshkar is the obvious name that comes to mind. Then there are a set of individuals who kind of play a second fiddle (sometimes third, fourth or so on) and by no means, they are less important purely because their contribution is absolutely necessary for the respective fraternity. This post is also about one such individual.

Imagine watching a cricket match on TV without a good commentary. Sounds boring. It is indeed. A good commentary aids to overall experience of watching the game on TV. In today’s world, where all the review shows and commentary teams comprise of ex-cricketers or senior players, there is one individual who has never played cricket at the highest level but is synonymous with cricket commentary for about two decades and more now.

The more I see of this person, the more I get impressed. The ease with which he brings out his knowledge of the game is remarkable. His insights are wonderful as far as the strategies in any forms of the game are concerned. Be it review shows, be it TV commentary, be it a column in newspaper or be it a post-match presentation – he leaves the reader or viewer wanting for more. He is a joy to listen or read for a cricket fan like me and without doubt, many more :)

Interestingly, this person was a student of chemical engineering and went to IIM-A. Without doubt, cricket would have been in his blood for long. Rather it would be better to say that commentary would have been his passion over the years, especially after noting that he began his career as a commentator with All India Radio at the age of 19. You may read more about this person here. His’ are one of such contributions that gives life to live broadcasting of the matches as well as the media business itself at times.