Took the entire family to watch Singh is Kinng Friday at the 6:15 pm ka show. Granted I am in the US but there were hardly 20 people in the entire theater even with the high and growing desi population here and the samosas were also not ready to munch on. Maybe the 9:45 show will see a lot of them.
The much awaited Singh is Kinng begins with Continue Reading »
Song of the day: Kisiki ki muskuraahato pe ho nisaar…
This year has already been so eventful, a real roller coaster ride. From hitting rock bottom to flying sky high and then diving down again to slowly raising my wings out one more time. So if someone asked me “Hows the year going so far?” I’d say, Its goin’
Some very important lessons that I have learnt, not just this year but over many years. Now, I am not an expert on wisdom and lessons learnt but its nice to pen them down somewhere to look at during times when the roller coaster of life takes that 90 degree dive downwards.
Lesson 1 - When you have achieved everything in life by working just enough, you get used to it. Failure and rejection are the best teachers in life. They should motivate you to rise after each fall, and do better. Don’t ignore that failed task and take up a new one. Finish it. Succeed at it and only then move on to a new one.
Lesson 2- You did not get to choose your own family because it takes special people to stick by you through thick and thin, and not all of these can be picked by you. Some divine intervention needs to pick them out to stand by you through all those crazy things you do in life.
Lesson 3- You cannot seek love, nor can you run away from it. But you have to recognize it when its there, acknowledge it, embrace it, and most important of all, believe in it.
Lesson 4- When someone says something harsh, or something you did not like, or just something that was true but bluntly put, don’t stop talking to them, or run away from them just yet. Sometimes, they might apologize the next day and what if you weren’t there to really know that they realized their mistake and regretted saying it?
Lesson 5- People can walk into our lives easily, and can walk out just as easily. Just when you think you would never get in touch with that friend that moved away when you were in 4th grade, he/she might just pop up on orkut and say hi and all those memories would come rushing back. It will make you think back and say wow! I never thought I would hear from them again.
Us humans are a social lot, you cannot search for meaning in every friendship/relationship you make, because sometimes the purpose could be as simple as bringing that huge smile on your face after many many years.
Lesson 6- There is no such teacher as travel.
Lesson 7- Phone companies are out there to get your money. There is never a no hassle deal! Always a catch!
Lesson 8 - Put your feet up, let your hair down every once in a while and go crazy. It can be very therapeutic. Or just spend some “me” time - alone!
Lesson 9- I am the best! Okay okay just checking if you made it to the last one. I got more lessons but no one can be bothered by the lessons of a 20-something girl! I will write more 20-some years later now.
Song of the day: Baawri piya ki
The customary new years resolutions have to be made and published at the end of each year, but I am going to keep them to myself for right now. Maybe reveal them one at a time? 
However, the customary end of the year post is here. Something new this year with my personal best and worst of the year. Start with movies and music, shall we?
Best Movie: Khosla Ka Ghosla
In spite of the numerous big banners and names this year, my personal fav is this low budget movie based in Delhi. Apart from a taut script and excellent performances, this film is very down to earth and realistic, not to forget the amazing dry humor! Undeniably noticeable, it outruns all the other major movies that I enjoyed this year. A full review remains…
Best Song: Baawri Piya ki – Baabul
I am an ardent Sonu Nigam fan and this song from Baabul (the only decent one in the whole album) takes the cake. There were not really many songs that stuck to the heart this year. The only one that comes close to this number is “Mere haath main” from the film Fanaa which also runs a close second in terms of movies this year.
Best Actor: SRK, Hrithik or Johnny Depp
Okay okay! I digress from the “what’s really important” here because I am biased. Biased with these actors and the Punju will not agree on these “best” ones for sure! So lets move to the next one ;)
Best Actress: Eh?
Best Place Visited: I didn’t really travel many major places this year. Just here and there. The place visited this year is the only major outdoor vacation that I took and the glory goes to Las Vegas, Nevada!!!!! Tis’ true that Vegas is like adult Disney land. Your first time there, all you do is gape at the lights and more lights of the sparkling city. Ditto when you enter your first major Las Vegas hotel. For me it was The Luxor, where I stayed. The lights, the glitter, the moolah, the cards, the roulette, the dealers, but most of all the gamblers, it was all very well…err…Vegasy! Vegas is a must visit atleast once in your lifetime. Even if you are not a big gambler, its just worth popping those eyes out at the glamour of this huge blob of light,energy, money, and alcohol in the middle of the desert!!! Moreover, I also met Neeraj and Poonam for the first time during this visit. I never did a travelogue on this one…should have. Just remember…everything that happens in Vegas, happens late! :p
Best New Experience: this year was full of new experiences and adventures that included playing blackjack in a Las Vegas casino. However, my fav new experience was watching the famous Broadway show, Mamma Mia!: hilarious with lots of music and completely entertaining, a jaw dropping experience. Loved it!
Best Moment: I thought I would have to scratch my grey matter real hard to remember ALL those moments that happened over the past 365 days, but it wasn’t too hard. Undoubtedly it was the moment when ma, pa, and I drove back from a weekend vacation in the mountains to find my license to practice waiting between the front door and the screen! Its indescribable, when the moment that you spent years preparing for and eons biting your nails over is finally there!
The worst? Well let’s see, why fret over what was bad and ugly? I will just let those worst things be and look forward to good things next year. Overall, 2006 was a good year. B agrees. A lot of changes took place within my life. Several of them were life defining and important ones that are already charting the course of the years ahead! There were quite a few defining changes at B’s end as well. To add icing on the cake, ma and pa finally started talking about B! What a year!!!!
Ah, I forgot to mention. I must have increased the “times watched” number of Maine Pyar Kiya and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge to a gazillion this year.
Wishes for a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR to all from Ms.Gujju and Mr. Punju. Hope 2007 is a FANTABULOUS year for all of you ahead.
For the nth time today I came across this misspelling of GANDHI, ofcourse misspelt as gHandi.
The line “English is a very funny language” immortalized by Amitabh Bachchan in Namak Halal never rang a louder bell before. You see, the premise of Americans misspelling this last name lies in their phonetics. Us desis pronounce the “dhi” part as “dhee” but firangis say “Dee” but they know there’s an “h” somewhere in there so poor “h” gets thrown before the “g”. I am sure we could blame it all in bits and parts on phonetics.
I thought only a few phonetically and google challenged people committed the mistake. But I came across this whole page about Mahatma Gandhi on 43 people and SO many searches on google . Ofcourse google is smart and it defaults quite a few pages.
The other day I taught a friend how to sing “taal se taal mila” . She just couldn’t say “ta” in “taal”. Ofcourse if she sang it (”ta” as in tamatar”) in front of Mahatma Gandhi and my dad the way she did, would they be banging their heads together? Literally?
Maybe we could ask Mr. George Bhus to spell it for us someday?
It was a fiery June afternoon,
Please let it be a boy,
Please let it be a boy.
The stork was to come, soon!
It was the second time,
he already had a daughter.
Like the desert asked for water,
“a boy, a boy”, he would chime!
They said she did not cry much,
and brought a smile on his face,
When for the first time, he saw her decked in lace.
He wouldn’t need a boy, her radiance was such!
Two decades and still going strong,
He smiles because he knows -
Tt was a good thing, and the happiness shows.
A girl, he says, has proved him wrong!
He, once for all she did, called her “the son”.
She wouldn’t take it that way,
Daughter papa, NOT a son as you say…
For only a daughter can do what I have done!
***************************
The epitome of love and that of sacrifice,
For the happiness of others and there’s no vice.
With a strong head, and a commanding walk,
Everyone seeks to listen, when they talk.
They wake, and cook, and work till dusk,
Come home and clean and crack the husk.
The strength inherent, the power to lead,
They are the women of today, His best deed.
Yet, there are many - beaten each day
They wake, and cook and work in their hay.
Where is the respect that they deserve?
From the men whom they don’t forget to serve.
A girl is raped, killed, being succumbed to fantasies,
Yet the nation watches, seven years past the obscenities.
They have come a long way and yet a long way to advance,
They are the women of today, dignity is their stance.
A day, a week, a month isn’t enough to celebrate - said Pri
How true! Freedom and no strings should be the decree.
Her celebration of womanhood, I continue.
lets face it, if not for a woman - you wouldn’t have been you!