Remembering John Denver

"Come, let me love you; let me give my life to you. Let me drown in your laughter, let me die in your arms. Let me lay down beside you, let me always be with you. Come, let me love you.. Come love me again." ~ John Denver

Hey everyone, welcome back! I realize that my posts are becoming increasingly sparse with every outing and every time I sit down to write; there are so many things I want to include that I end up giving it up altogether and move my attention to facebook or Youtube.. :|

Now that's not always a bad thing, cuz its Youtube where I got the inspiration of writing this particular entry (while searching for some good ol' country music). The intent, as it must have been aptly clear from the title- is to remember and discuss the life & times of one of the greatest musicians of modern times and one of the biggest musical influences in my life- the country music legend John Denver.

Now I don't wish to do a bio on John as that's what Wikipedia was invented for and thus I've given a back link to John's info page there as well. What I do wish to do is talk about his music, his influences (or at least as I understood them), his contributions and achievements and lastly some of my own fond memories attached to John Denver's music. So here goes-

John Denver- The Artist

Born Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr.; John Denver has been one of the greatest country artists of all time, and that's saying something. But what made him so and probably what was the best thing about him was that he didn't just make country songs, he made songs about the country and its evident in most of his biggest hits like Country roads, Rocky Mountain High, Montana Sky etc. He loved the world he lived in and he loved wearing a cowboy hat and riding a horse with a guitar flung across his shoulder. He loved breathing in the morning breeze of the mountains and watching the sun set in the valley from his porch. He lived the life we all like to dreamabout but are too skeptical to really try and achieve cuz we think its not in the scheme of our things to do in the immediate present and near future. John Denver did what we all secretly want to do but openly deny AND he made wonderful songs about it which made us smile, with both wonder and envy..

John Denver- The Philanthropist

While the major part of his life was what seemed like enjoyable bliss, John did have his share of sorrow like the rest of us. From being happily married to the woman of his dreams and writing the most romantic song EVER (Annie's song) in her honor and generally being the hottest selling artist of the 70's; he went to having not just one but two failed marriages, Alcohol abuse problems including two cases of drunken driving; in one of which he was found guilty and convicted. Add to all this the takeover of rock/pop music resulting in a general decline of country music's and his own popularity, and you'd have a story that you wouldn't exactly term as a fairy tale.

However, amidst all the turmoil, John found a way to focus his attention on something he felt passionately about- the nature and how it was fast depleting. Thus began his journey as an environment conservationalist and through his well established public image he started using his first passion- music to support his new found love- saving the natural resources; something he was actively involved in till his untimely passing in 1997.

John Denver and his influences on Me

This is what makes this post so special for me- the fact that John Denver's music and his work has inspired and influenced my life in more ways than I could imagine.

I still remember humming Annie's Song each and every moment of the day when I was a teenager and later taking up guitar lessons just so I could learn to play this song- its true, its impossible to be influenced by one single song more than I was and am by this one! As time went by, I started collecting a variety of John's music and his live work and have fond memories of listening to the Wildlife Concert that he arranged and performed at in 1995. I remember going to Goa and singing Annie's Song with a Goan hotel band and dancing and singing along to Calypso (esp the yodeling bit) on our tour bus. In a much more recent incident, I remember wanting to sing Leaving on a Jet plane and almost coming to tears on the day of my flight to Auckland last year; a trip that at the time I thought was gonna be much longer than it turned out to be- and ironically, on my unexpected early return I remember humming Country roads in the flight back.. :)

In October 1997, John Denver piloted on a newly acquired aircraft that he had test flown for 30 minutes just the previous day. However, as fate would have it, he forgot to re-fuel the plane for the next day's flight and in the saddest of incidents, the plane crashed down within minutes of take off; leading to John's untimely demise. The words from the song Leaving on a jet plane couldn't have been a sadder irony..

On that fateful day, the world was robbed of one of the greatest and most popular artists it has seen and 12 years on, we remember him as a singer who sang about the joy and happiness in the most simple things in this world, and how the simplicity makes them so wonderful. I truly believe that we need more musicians in today's world to put the same joy and passion in the way they make their music. We need artists to not only talk about improving the world, but to actually make music about how the world should be in all its beauty and splendor. We need people to feel the same uninhibited passion as John did about life, being alive and just being a part of this wonderful world.

Rest in peace John Denver; great musician and great man.

That's it for this one friends, till the next time I see you; Kiss me and smile for me, tell me that you'll wait for me.. :)

~ Abhimanyu.

Mirrors

How's it going my friends!

Well well.. As it is said- you start one thing and you don't know where you'd end up with it. That's exactly what's going on in my head as I find myself with a re-kindled interest in poetry writing. So as it turns out; much to my delight- my last venture wasn't a one off thing.

And to continue that, here's a brand new steed from the stables of Abhimanyu Shankhdhar, it was written for a friend who is a designer and wanted a few lines for a photo-shoot. However, once I got down to it, I decided to go on with the theme and convert it into a full blown, albeit short poem.

Here it is, hope you guys like it. Even if you don't do leave your thoughts.
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Mirrors

When the moonlight shines a pearly glow
the night mist turns to haze.
With her foot she stirs a circle below
Distorting the reflection of her gaze.

Beyond the hills, a purple night falls
Its shadow half covering her face.
In the eerie silence a soft voice calls
As the waters go still without trace.

Her soft brown hair dance gently like silk,
As the soft crimson wind by the lake
Meets the dark almond eyes turned to mirrors of light,
In their wizardry pure magic they make.

~ Abhimanyu Shankhdhar

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That was it! I think it brings out the mood I was trying to catch pretty well but I've been wrong about things before.. ;)

So like I said before, I'd love to know what you guys think. I may not be very good, but I'm better than I was before; and its got a lot to do with the fact that you guys kept saying the truth. :)

That's all for this time travestians! I gotta admit I'm liking the whole poetry thing and who knows, this may become a regular feature on this blog. Again, I'd like to know from you guys if that's something you'd like to see on here. I'd look forward to what you have to say.

Till the next time I see you, enjoy the weekend and be safe!
~ You know who

Jealousy

Dear readers,

This is an unusual and an unusually short post by me.. To be really precise, it's a short verse that I penned down today in a moment driven by a beautiful inspiration.

Some of you may know that I was a very keen poet about 2-3 years ago and used to write a new poem every week or so (no kidding!). However, over the years I have gradually gone on to write more stories, articles, reviews and of course, blog posts. :) Well here is a Return of the King sort of a day in my life and I hope its not a one-off occurrence.

This is also the very first post in this blog that doesn't have a 'Travesty..' title- which dare I say was becoming a li'l repetitive and let's be honest, no one ever said the title will have to have that word in it.. The blog itself, of course, is still called The Travesty series.

So anyway, here's the little poem- like I said, I've written it today and I will probably make up a new verse or two and add to this first attempt; as I do with a lot of my poems-

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Jealousy

I'm jealous of the Kohl that resides in your eyes; beautiful as I find it, when it meets your wonder.

I'm jealous of the clothes that drape your skin; thankful but I am to them, for keeping you warm.

I'm jealous of the water that washes your face; kind while I think it, for refreshing your senses.

And I'm jealous of the air that surrounds you; indebted though it has me, for it becomes your breath.

~ Abhimanyu Shankhdhar

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That was it guys, hope you liked it and if you did let me know. In case you think there is something amiss or you feel could be added to it, please be kind enough to make that suggestion.

I will be back soon with a full blown post about a couple of things that have been brewing up in my head and I really wish to write about them before the stirring dies down. So look out for it on your email alerts, facebook updates, text messages and the likes.

Till then, recite your rhymes well! ;)

~ The white wizard.

The Travesty of a book-to-film adaptation- Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince review.

It was, he thought, the difference between being dragged into the arena to face a battle to the death and walking into the arena with your head held high. Some people, perhaps, would say that there was little difference to choose between the two, but Dumbledore knew - and so do I, thought Harry, with a rush of fierce pride, and so did my parents - that there was all the difference in the world.
~J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

^ Brilliant quote, hey? Very inspiring. Takes a lot of courage to beat our own mind sometimes. "The mind is an amazing thing.", someone once told me. I guess they weren't too far off the mark in any way you'd like to interpret that.. :)

So, my mind told me to make the 2nd part of the HPB movie review immediately after I gave everyone that teaser in the previous post... Which in a way renders my 'cute little sneak' useless, but what the hell.. I have the thoughts in my head fresh and I'd rather post this now than later. Plus, I'd be doing two posts in a day, which has only happened ONCE before in the history of blogosphere (as far as the 'travesty..' series goes, of course)! :P

Now, as I said earlier, I was waiting for this movie for a long time, ever since it got delayed from its original date of release in Nov last year and as it is natural, the anticipation was brewing up in my mind for months. Therefore, when I went for it, I had made sure I'd view it as a movie that is based on a book and not as a mirror image of the book itself.. Something that I feel a lot of people do when they watch such adaptations and also something that I address in my previous post. So, lets look at Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince; the movie based on the book by J.K. Rowling, of the same name.

On with the review then-

Director David Yates and writer Steve Kloves return after their successful pairing in the previous Potter movie, The Order of Pheonix and again, they succeed in recreating the magic (pun intended). The film scores in its screenplay, the special effects which seem to keep getting better with each movie and most importantly it has that newness that makes it a different part of a very familiar series. Let's see how-

I'll be honest, as a huge Potter fan, one of the things that had me worried about the Potter movie adaptations till a few years ago was the feeling of repeated-ness. After the first four films, you could sense a same old, same old sorta vibe. So, it was pb a good thing that the fifth film was directed by Yates; who brought a freshness that was clear to see in ..Phoenix. In the sixth edition too, while the good things from the last movie remain, Yates add a new mix of human feelings and takes it to a very real place for the viewers.

For probably the first time, he throws light on the adoloscent lives of his 3 young protagonists and portrays them as the school going teenagers that they are. So while the usual Quidditch and wand waving continues, there is a lot more romance, jealousy, humor and sexual tension that the viewer experiences as the events unfold.

Also, I just LOVED the jokes... There was friendly banter all trhoughout the movie between Harry, Ron & Hermoine which was very real and genuinely funny. One leaf that the writers had so far failed to take from Rowling's book (again, pun intended) is that in all 7 parts, she puts in some very smart and tongue in cheek humor in there with all the serious business. And for the first time I saw that in a movie. The reason is made such a difference is cuz at the end of the day as many spells they cast and Death Eaters they fight, all 17 year olds like to have their share of laughs.

However, there were things that I didn't like; most important of them being the amount of time and explanation given to the epicenter of the story; the Horcruxes. I do feel Yates could have built more on that to leave the last movie (which he'll be making in a two-part edition sometime in 2010-11) poised even more nicely than it is.

Also, the sequence of Dumbldore's death esp; the bit where Harry stands there and watches even as he is free to act (unlike the book where he is under a 'body bind' curse) didn't quite work for me. Why didn't Harry save Dumbledore before Snape and the others come? It was just him and Malfoy! Was it just cuz Dumbledore 'told him not to'? Oh come on, since when did Harry Potter start doing everything his teacher's (including the headmaster) told him to...? So yeah, they sorta let the ball slip a little there if not entirely drop it.

But other than that, it was a GOOD film and the thing I liked most besides the real characterization was the feeling of evil stirring all along.. Something that keeps you on the edge, despite having read the book and knowing what would eventually happen - well done!

So thats it readers! My first blog review in the books! Feels good... Real good! :)

Hey, on a side note, I hope Yates or whoever makes that decision- gives Daniel Radcliffe some block heels to wear in the next two films, cuz unless he miraculously gains a few inches, everyone including Ginny weasley is gonna look tall than the hero (they kinda already are)! Ha! Well, truth be told, men with slightly above average height are much more heroic and braver than tall ones (and I say that without any prejudice).. So actually, 'ts all good yo! :P

In other news, I recently did a story for http://www.theindiatube.com/; an exciting venturer ltuto promote Indian culture and tourism - Which was published about 10 days ago. In the story I cover a very unique and interesting north Indian eating joint. You can read that story here.

Wow, I actually made this more exhaustive and sorta better than I had hoped to.. Maybe I should leave long intervals between my posts..? :P

Till next time, Dissaparte'! :)

The Travesty of a hiatus- Back with a Film review!

Like a comet, blazing across the evening sky, gone too soon. Like a rainbow, fading in a twinkling eye, gone too soon. Shiny and sparkly, splendidly bright; here one day, gone one night.
~ Micheal Jackson

Well-ah! Ladies and Gentlemen, boys & girls, Children of all ages! I am back and I am raring like a bloody steak! (did that make any sense..? Who cares? :P)

Sooooooooo.... Have you missed me? I think some of you have, if a few facebook messages, wall postings, text messages and even phone conversations are anything to go by. And I wanna say I appreciate that more than I can say - Thank you!

Now, obviously its not like I'm doing this just cuz you guys ask for it.. Which, mind, is one of the main reasons no doubt.. And I'm also not doing this just cuz I don't want the blog to die (again, a part reason none the less), BUT (and its a big but, no pun intended) I'm back today with a brand new post cuz I HAVE MISSED THIS! Yeah!:)

So, before I begin there's only one more thing left for me to ask you... ARE YOU READY??

I will take that as a "YEAH!" and begin then..

A LOT even by the most conservative estimates has happened since I last posted and the most noteworthy & saddening of them being the untimely passing of Michael Jackson.

Allow me to take a moment and pay homage to an artist who was an icon and an inspiration to more number of people than internet connections can reach out to all around the world! And that's no stretch.. You know, we hear King of Pop, highest selling solo artists etc etc.. But what people often overlook, or maybe don't realize at all- is that his was and IS arguably the most popular and well known name in the world.. Ever! At least thats what I think.. What do you think? I think you think that I think right.

So on that note, may MJ's soul rest in peace - The King is dead, long live the King! To read a more detailed and a very befitting tribute to the pop icon, check out the tribute post in Rakesh Vanamali's blog Redifing oblivion.


Moving on to happier things, I saw a first day screening of the movie I was awaiting since the beginning of this year with two other of its biggest fans that I know of and hold dearest- and I will say that I was not disappointed! Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince rocked my boat (ha!) and I don't care what anyone says, it worked for me and it worked for those I saw it with so like they say, 'ts aall good, yo! :P In fact, I'm gonna do a short review of the movie here, something I haven't done in my Blog yet but before I do that I wanna say something else related-

Now, one of the biggest complaints people usually have with book-to-movie adaptations is that it didn't do justice to the book. Well, I usually like to tell such people that they need to re-look their definition of the word justice. Now, we all realize and yet often forget is that a movie can't be more than 120 to 150 minutes long on an average and therefore, cannot have the same amount of content that a 500 page book has. Therefore, a film adaptation WILL have less detail, WILL modify sequences a little and WILL be abridged.

So, if you're someone who's constantly coming out of a movie theater with that complaint then here's my advice to you - Don't watch an adaptation. Cuz not only will it seem like a waste of your time and money, but more importantly, it will spoil the interpretation of the story in your own head.. You'd love the book and hate the movie; and will always be confused about the title as a singular entity.

Don't get what I'm saying? Picture this- If someone asks me what I thought of HP6, my reply will be "The book or the movie?" However, if I were to ask the same question to one of the people I talk about above, They invariably say, "Oh I loved the book, but they screwed up the movie!"

Well, I loved The Da Vinci code the book and HATED The Da Vinci Code the motion picture, but not cuz the movie omitted details from the book, or had a different characterization but simply cuz it was a badly made movie. The screenplay, narration, direction and other things important for making a good movie weren't done well. Simple.

Phew! With that out of the way, I have a little change in plans.. Just like series itself, I'm gonna review the film Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince in the very next Blog post.. The idea is to make you wait just a little bit more and keep you cursing me and waiting me to post the next one ASAP, both at once! ;)

Am I a vic-head, or am I just wicked? :D

Stay tuned... Expelliarmus!

The Travesty of Mother Earth

'Did you ever stop to notice all the children dead before? Did you ever stop to notice, the crying Earth is weeping sore?'
~ Michael Jackson

Hey homies! Its been a long long time and I have no excuse. I have just been so caught up in the inconsequential that finding time for myself and more importantly; my readers, were put on the back burner.. Admittedly due to my poor time management skills. :|

Anyhoo! Now that we're here let's get on with it without wasting more time. Now, before I begin with the subject of this post there're a couple of things I need to get out of the way. The thing is, that I've been suggested changes in the title, in the writing style, use of words, layout etc.. by some people lately in regards to my blog and my posts. The idea is obviously to make my blog more searchable, marketable, more 'non-generic' in terms of layout (You still use a blogspot background?), and more advertisement friendly.

Now, while I appreciate that very much and understand that these people are well wishers; I wanna make one thing clear- My Blog is purely an outlet of my thoughts and emotions. Its just what a weblog was originally supposed to be: an online journal or an e-diary. I am not looking to popularize it or SEO-ize it beyond a certain level and I'm definitely not looking to make money through it. I know that sooner or later I will take professional blogging up and that's when I would look at all these things, but till then, I'm content with the comments and kind words my readers leave and hope they become more in numbers over a period time.

So, enough appetizers! On with the main course now-

Did you know that May 5th was World Environmrent Day? I participated in a poster making competition as part of a very imaginative team and ended up winning it.. Yay! The theme of course, was 'Environment' and my group won cuz we showcased how the Earth would burn down and nothing would be left for the generations to come if we keep abusing our natural resources at the same rate as now. My question is, does our job end there? True, we gave out a strong message, made a 5 minute impact and went back to our lives of burning petrol, using paper towels and slowly killing the very planet we live in!


The hand that rocked the cradle turned it in a flame.
Lets wake up and save the Earth, cuz we're to blame.
~ Winning slogan






Something's gotta give, man! How selfish can we become? So selfish that we're not even considering the interest of our very own children? What sort of a world are we gonna hand over to them? And it's not science that we need to apply to save the world either. All we gotta do is turn the engine off at a traffic light, NOT use paper for wiping our hands in a washroom or a restaurant; I mean how hard is it to carry a handkerchief? We all were taught to keep one in school, yeah? And start a car pool people! It not only saves precious fuel, but precious money too! And that's just a few ways, there're a dozen other things that we can do in our everyday lives without breaking a sweat to prolong the life of this planet. It doesn't even take effort; all it takes is concern.

If some of us still think that all this doesn't really matter then try to watch Earth2100; an American TV program that talks about how we may end up, sooner than we expect.... Its happening, its real... Dystopia has begun! We better wake up and smell the burning future before its too late. It is our problem - Lets fix it.

Well, I won't harp on about it any further but I REALLY needed to talk about it. In other brighter news, yours truly was interviewed by tickledbylife.com recently on a topic that's been a subject of debate since time immemorial, and is also something I've touched briefly in one of my previous posts- The tussle between science and religion about the origination of this universe. In the interview, I answer questions like What is God? and God or Big Bang? etc. You can read the interview in its entirety & leave your thoughts/comments here. You could also take similar interviews at tickled by becoming a follower and active member of their unique and intellectually stimulating website.

Talking of intellectually stimulating, I'd like to recommend my dear friend and fellow blogger Rakesh Vanamali's pan 68 country Blog Redifing Oblivion to all my readers. Its a great read and if you like my stuff, then you'd find this to be much more enjoyable and thought provoking. Check it out!

Wow.. So another one bites the dust, hey? I'm glad I didn't give in to the temptation of delaying this post to another day cuz I think it came out really well and more importantly, the way I had seen it in my head. If you agree (or differ) then you know what to do - Comment! :)

Till I see you next, save the Earth!
~ Caped Crusader.

The Travesty of Black Tights.

Hello and welcome! Its late and I dunno why I'm doing this... But this was something I had written some time back and meant to convert it in a Blog post for some time now. So it'll be short, topical and really one dimensional. I'm not even sure if it'll be a big hit with anyone cuz its very interest based. But I wanna get it off my chest anyway.. So, here we go-

Now, as some of you know I have a degree in Fashion from NIFT, Delhi and conversely a keen interest in Fashion too (even though thats not what I do for a living). Therefore, when I wrote this as an article for a famous fashion magazine I thought I could curtail it and put it on here as well.

Soooo... This one’s neither here nor there; and yet, it’s practically everywhere! That’s right, the latest religion in fashion; which we might as well term The Black tight movement- certainly managed an enormous and somewhat radical following in the year gone by.

The by-now-ever-present fad replaced everything on the street; from good old denims to a pair of tall, wonderful legs in 2008, and how! It evolved from what I really believe was a need to be able to flash that little skirt despite the freezing cold, into a phenomenon that engulfed women’s fashion all around the world; irrespective of the demographics, the climate and more importantly the combination of clothes it was worn with!

Now don’t get me wrong here, I’m no sworn enemy of the black tights per se and also, to an extent agree that whoever came up with the idea originally had the novelty to combine comfort with chic quite effectively. To be completely honest, it made terrific sense to pair the tights with something leg revealing in cold weather and at the same time, very smartly concealed those slightly chubby legs that otherwise kept you from buying the hot new skirt. But like all good things in fashion, what was essentially meant to be worn selectively and sparingly, outlasted not only the winter but also the poor little skirt itself! One saw them combined with Flared Hem tops, long T’s, Kurtas, and even the prettiest dresses- at times taking away rather than lending to the aesthetics of a primary garment and weighing down the style quotient!

So, what I’m really saying here is that while the magical pair of tights is by no means passé (well, not yet), it should definitely be used as a flavor to add that little bit of spunk to the primary garment every now and then, rather than as a staple diet of dressing up where it has to be worn everywhere with everything till it has been done to death!

So, that was it really.. Yeah! In other parts of the world in the past few days, Susan Boyle went the Adam Lambert way and the ever saddening human ability to get tired of a good thing too soon reared its head. But then like I had earlier said- SuBo is already a star and she can do without the win. Although I do hope she recovers from her illness (news has it that she was admitted to a local clinic recently).

That is pretty much it boys and girls. If someone has seen Angels and Demons , the movie; then please post a short review cuz I loved the book and don't wanna be let down by an unworthy film adaption. Also, keep commenting as always. I appreciate it more than I can say!

Till I see you next, wear some black tights (or not)!

~ 'Manyu

The Travesty of being unattractive - We shall overcome!

Heyo! Listen to what I say yo..
~ RHCP

Right! As promised, it took me less than what it took me the last time to come up with a post since the last (did that make ANY sense?). That being said, this will be swift and unlike the last few times, I do have a very clear idea of what I'm going to post about. On with it then, hey?

Now, lest I give out the wrong ideas, its not a serious issue in terms of gravity but its a thought provoking one. It is also a very very popular one and I've been indicative about in my Twitter and Facebook activity lately. For those who still haven't guessed it, its the most amazing and highly popular phenomenon known as Susan Boyle. For the uninitiated, Susan is a middle aged single woman from a small village who entered the popular Britain Got Talent? reality show and was sniggered and scoffed at by the pompous snobbish young audience for her haggard appearance and less than plain looks. She wasn't taken too seriously by the judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan either; who couldn't hold back a smirk as she came on the stage and declared that she wanted to become a professional singer...

That was until she started singing... What followed, is by now legendary and let me say that you have to see it to believe it (if you're one of the very few who still haven't) but she proved one thing- we live in a world defined and governed by superficiality. We are cynics who're eager to judge people on looks and will build a person up or bury them down based solely on how they look and dress.

There are very few who dare to stand up and ask to be counted despite their unconventional looks, clothes or color of skin and even fewer who actually get a chance and manage to prove themselves. Whats even more unfortunate is that its women, who get the messier end of the this stick more often than not. Such is our society sadly, and that's what makes Susan Boyle that much awesom-er! So much so, that the 48 year old virgin from Scotland is being hailed as a mascot of victory for talent over vanity. And honestly, while I can't see her not winning the show from here (although strange things do happen and we as a society take derisive pleasure in pulling down those whom we ourselves put up on a pedestal), the fact is, that its not even about her winning the show anymore. If she does go on to win then that would only help her in living her dream but even if she doesn't (the finals are tomorrow and she is in it!) she has shown that a person can stand up and be noticed in today's world irrespective of looks, background and X-factor. Susan Boyle, is already a superstar, a hero and a symbol of hope to millions around the world! More power to her is all that I can say!

You can latch onto the Susan Boyle sensation by watching her breakout video here or watch it at My Youtube channel (where you can catch a glimpse of my other crazy random shenanigans too).

In other happenings, although Adam Lambert lost in the American Idol Finale, the show itself was a heck of a gig! Man, I cant even begin to describe how orgasmic (edit?) some moments were.. I was so tired of jumping out of my seat at one point that I decided to keep standing! No kidding! My favorite moments were the BEP reunion and performance, Allison with Cyndi Lauper and Lambert performing with KISS!! Holy Shyte!!! That was the markout moment for me without a doubt. Hell of a show if I already didn't say so.

Aaaand the IPL is over and again, I'd have liked to see the other finalist win - this time mainly cuz I'm a huge Anil Kumble fan for a variety of reason, but that on another day, hey? :)

Soooo.. That's it My preciouses **Gollum voice** ha! I'm gonna wrap this one up right here. I appreciate the kind comments I keep getting and I hope it continues. I'm gonna be back with a surprise (or maybe none) in my next post- so watch out!

Till I see you next, vote for SuBo!

~ The man with no shame.

The Travesty of Truth... And Faith

Load up your guns, bring your friends. Its fun to lose and to pretend.
~ Kurt Cobain

How LONG has it beeen!! Well, the answer is- Very long. I've been caught up, but that's not an excuse. So without further delay let's get this Mofo (edit?) on the mojo!

Now then! Whats gone down since I last blogged? First and foremost- Congress wins! YESSS!! Just what I was hoping for! **Does a li'l jig**

The BJP and its allies must be singing the famous lines at the beginning of this post :P Eat your hat out; respected Mr. Advani and not-so-respectable Mr. Modi- and ride into the sunset on your Hindutva laden bullock cart, while the nation turns a corner with the new blood riding its swanky and fuel efficient automobile!

It certainly smells like teen spirit (pun intended) as far as Congress is concerned right now. Not only did the right party win and the right person will take the top office; but more importantly, we'd probably get the youngest cabinet we've seen. Plus, a stable and durable government means a stronger economy- an indication of which we got with the Sensex jump within a day of the results.

Good times are ahead for the nation, I predict (Knock on wood)!

Changing the mood a bit, I was privy to an interesting conversation between a group of young, but very well informed and intellectual people recently. The topic of the conversation was not so young though- it was something we've been wondering and talking about since eternity. The possibility of Life Beyond this World and the Existence of the Paranormal.

VS.

Roight! So while it'd prolly not be appropriate to say who thought and said what; I can tell you that everything from Area 51, to Roswell, to the Bermuda Triangle to the haunted house in Ashok Vihar (just cuz its not on the web don't mean its not true, mister! :p) came up and of course, like it generally is with such discussions, there were varied opinions and no conclusion was drawn till the very end. Heck, I doubt those who were a party to it were looking for one anyway. Anyway, the reason I mention this in a post is cuz such conversations are not only very very fun, but they also tell you a great deal about the human psyche (thats what its always about isn't it? :p).. Now, I' m gonna break this into points A & B-

So Point A is, that when you get statements like "NASA hides a whole lot of facts from us!" or "Bermuda Triangle is really an extra terrestrial base'"(Ha!?), you can see a very inane human trait coming out in the conviction and passion with which these statements are made - Belief.

Correct. Its always about what we believe - and for us, that itself is the fact. I'm a great believer in these words- Truth lives where faith resides. Which is why I think that faith is the basis of most things in this world- including Religion.

As far as what my stand on these things is ( cuz I know that's precisely what you're thinking) - I will echo a psalm; Mark 9:23 and say what Jesus says there-

All things are possible.

So, I have faith in the existence of a higher power, a supernatural force; popularly known as God. And I believe that if the human mind can imagine it, then its possible. That's how a man landed on the moon, and that is why we have aeroplanes- Cuz some kid who spent more time playing with kites than reading books believed he could fly and got laughed at, yet believed it none the less!

That being said, having passion in what you believe and standing up for it isn't by any means a bad thing- its a good thing. A man with no faith, is a man with no hope.

Point B is a little graver- why is our first thought when we talk about ET is that would take over our world an d destroy us?

Why don't we think something like 'Okay, so the ET dudes are here.. How can we work with them to solve our problems, and see if we can help them solve some of their own in return.. Yay!" I'll tell you why- Cuz when we don't have that outlook towards fellow humans, then how the hell would we have it for some Slimy Green Goblins from galaxies away...? Says a thing or two more about human tendencies, dunnit? We doubt before we trust. We're cynics first and sensible later... Thats cool, eh (sarcasm)? Well, that's it really... I hope I made a point.


^Aliens for Peace?

In other news, Delhi plays Hyd in the 1st IPL Semi final this evening.. And the season Finale of American Idol happens tonight as well. Here's to DareDevils and Adam Lambert winning. Even if they don't though- We'll still live. :)

So that's it Elmur Fudds! (lawl).. I'm looking for a wabbit... But I'll try my best that the gap between this post and the next is lesser. Your kind words of encouragement WILL help it! You can also follow me on Twitter and FaceBook to see how my online life looks by clicking on these words in the post or on the permalinks at the bottom of my Blog page.

Finally, The weekend is upon us! And at the risk of sounding British- have a good'un, stay smashing and Cheerio!

~ He who must not be blamed :P

The Travesty of a hot, hot day II: Of sequels and prequels

Do you like sequels? I'm all about them, be it my movies, my songs, my pictures in Orkut and FaceBook or as you can see here.. My Blog!

Well, well.. It keeps getting hotter and hotter 'round here in Delhi dunnit? Again, I don't really have an agenda today but I'm realizing that as a blogger, that's a good thing! You don't have to limit yourself in the realm of one topic.

Now, the title of this post is a continuation to that of the previous but the contents would probably be a little different. I will however, as a good poster, touch on some previous points of relevance. On with the show then-

So, Prof. Arindam Chaudhry called me and offered a job on his brand advertising team. I almost accepted but the thought of the hectic work schedule made me decline politely.. Yeah, that and something to do with morning dreams were the main reasons why I didn't join in the IIM bashing shenanigan! :P Seriously though, I should clarfiy myself here- I think IIPM is one of the very best in the country as far as management study goes and any prospective management students reading this should not take my last post and an indicator in making a decision on joining that institute for a course.


Moving on, we're down to the Final TWO in the season 8 of American Idol and big surprise! Its not the highly expected duo of Adam Lambert and Danny Gokey squaring off, but Lambert against Kris Allen! The look on Simon and Paula's faces as Ryan Seacrest declared the 1st finalist to be Kris was... Well, priceless. Its anybody's guess now as far as who America chooses to be the winner of the biggest reality show (although my 10 bucks are still placed firmly on Adam Lambert's eyeliner laden garb).

^ The Final Two
Kris Allen (Left) with Adam Lambert


In other reality TV news, I've become something of a regular watcher of Zee's dance reality show Dance India Dance. The thing that makes it unique of course is a) its not yet another singing show, and b) Its a dance show free of small time wannabe TV celebrities and although I'm not a big fan of the excessive crying by almost each contestant; be it girl or boy AND the judges (read Gita Kapur) on every damn episode, I so enjoy the dancing which in all honesty is just plain brilliant!So mad props to Mithun, the 3 judges- Terrence, Remo and Gita and whoever else who came up with the idea and mad love to the contestants who put on a heck of a show week after week! In a few days or so, when we're down to last few participants, I may do a review and share my thoughts 'bout who I think is gonna win and why.

^ A still of Terrence Lewis with the participants from DID

Hmmm... What else? The polls are done and the counting is on. I just saw the trends on TV and without divulging on whom I'm rooting for, I'd say that I feel we're headed in the right direction and cross my fingers... God speed! :)

Well that's it.. Its officially just 60 days left (unless they change the release date YET again!) for the release of the most anticipated movie of the year... Yes you guessed right - Warner Brothers' Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince! I just saw the trailer, and I am super excited to say the least! If you're a fan then you can view it at - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBGbKCm_pQQ OR you can check it out on My profile page@FaceBook; I'm listed as 'Manyu Shankhdhar

Welll... Thats about it for today. Interestingly, someone asked me a day or two ago "Why is everything on your Blog 'A Travesty'..?"For those of you with similar questions, please go to my very first post which is something of a prequel and was written with the very intent of answering such a question somewhere down the road - Looks like that bend is right about... Here!

With that I'm gonna sign off, folks. I've been a li'l disappointed with the absence of any comments or feedback on my posts lately, but I hope that will change; now that the weekend is upon us and you lovely ones will have more time on your hands to take a few moments out for the Apostrophe man. :)

Till I see you next, Stay cool!

~ You know who.