India keeps shocking me every new day....

I was glancing through the pages of a newspaper the other day, when I stumbled upon a headline that read, "They erected a set worth 9 lakh rupees. And burnt it." I just couldn't stop thinking. Was this worth it? Do the TRP's of a show depend on what amount of bucks are spent over constructing one set? Moreover, what amused me even more was these people burnt 9 lakh rupes to ashes knowing that the same 9 lakh rupees could have given a new life to hundreds out there. One more thing that intrigued me was the fact that all this glitz and glamour consistently happens to be in Indian Television. I understand the need of glamour but I just dont reckon that a set worth rupees 9 lakh was needed just to add a glamour quotient what with the whopping amount that is already being spent on the costumes, jewellery and make-up of the "so-called" actors and actresses of these daily soaps.

I don't think this has ever happened with international chart buster serials(daily series) what with series like F.R.I.E.N.D.S, The OC, SEINFELD, SIMPSONS etc. are reigning for years without any larger-than-life characters. Which character do we relate the most? Tulsi of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi or Rachel of F.R.I.E.N.D.S? Who do we think is more a woman of today? I am not trying to advocate international stuff over desi things. I am relating both so that we take what is good without copying and realise that the need of the day are characters that we ourselves could go about understanding. People are tired of seeing people cry, That happens on a daily basis in one's real life. Reel life is expected to be a bit more simpler, understandeable and sensible not forgetting entertaining. I suggest instead of spending those 9 lakh rupees over one soon-to-be-burnt set, if you had only spent them showing us the plight of people who are being rammed down on the pavement by rash driversit wuold have been more fruitful. Or probably how about giving a way those ready-to-be-burnt 9 lakhs to those slum-dwellers??

ANU

Maaze Gaaneee....

In Marathi, coz I am a proud Maharashtrian

Kadhi zaley swapna vedi,
Kay zaley nahi thav,
Kadhi haravle majhya,
Swapna madhle te gaav....

Kadhi haravlya vaata,
Ani sodlya me aasha,
Kadhi punha aas dharli,
Door kelya me niraashaa....

Kadhi lotlaa andhar,
Kadhi saarey sunna zaaley,
Kadhi kalokha madhe hi,
Ek chandane hasale....

Punha ubhi rahuni mee,
Chadhu lagley ha ghaat,
Ek sarli ni dusri,
Suru zali vadalvaat...

(Translation) For my english and hindi counterparts,
I dont know when I lost myself in my dreams,
I dont know what happened,
I dont know when I lost the village in my dreams...

I got lost in the roads sometimes,
And then I became so hopeless,
And then again I enlightened myself,
And heaved away the hopelessness.....

There was a time when everything darkened and nothing could be seen,
Everything was silent and haunting,
But there was also a time when in the same darkness,
There lit a star, high up in the night sky...

I stand up again,
To tread this winding road,
One stormy lane has just ended,
And here I am facing the next one.