Why? Why.... oh why?

Why did you teach me about fairness
about morals... truth... honesty
about independence... dreams... friendship

Why didn't you teach me about games of life
about manipulation... diplomacy... society
about colleagues... ambitions... dependance

I feel unequipped to lead this life
every decision of mine is incorrect
every person I trust stabs me

I dreamed of being good... nice... honest.. straight forward
I realized it was futile
I have to be manipulative... diplomatic... ambitious

I don't have time to think.. to breathe.. to live

Idiot Box

What with everyone talking about 'Rakhi ka swayamvar' I decided to add a few words to it. Like her or hate her you just cannot ignore her. Every few months she barges into your house through the TV and your ear drums vibrate with the sounds of her life... whether it is Mika smooching her or her plastic surgery or her breakup and subsequent make up with Abhishek.
I do admire her perseverance. Rakhi reminds me of KC... (he is going to kill me for this). 2 years back she had featured in a Minto fresh ad. Minto fresh being major competition for us we freaked out thinking their sales would zoom upwards and ours would nose dive. KC had smsed when he watched the ad for the 1st time. I teased him and said; "You are obssessed with her and she is your fav".
Anyway... I was expecting Rakhi to shoot off her mouth on the show (like she always does) but she is suprisingly demure and gharelu. It is quite ridiculous. Everyone is curious... will she marry... won't she? If she does, how long will it last?
Last Sat Boss and me were discussing the show. He was of the opinion that she will marry and why shouldn't she? After all, 90% of Indians opt for arranged marriage. This is a glorified version of arranged marriage... except that Rakhi's real family is not on the show.

Yesterday I was watching the auditions of 'So you think you can dance?'. I was surprised to see so many forms of dance. I mean... how many Indian dances do we watch except Bollywood dance? Is it 'coz other Indian dances are complicated and not too entertaining??? Or is it 'coz they are not part of the general Indian culture??? What I like and appreciate about such reality shows is that you get to see real talent minus the crappy sob stuff. There are worse reality shows on US TV but the good ones surpass those on Indian TV in all aspects.

Pending things I wanted to blog about

• Shiney Ahuja rape case:

Somebody told me; "Why would he rape his maid? He is a Bollywood actor. Obviously, he will have better options". I disagree. Rapists are horrible men and they pick victims based on their helplessness and not on looks. Why else would children get molested/raped everyday? His wife did a Hillary Clinton by supporting him in the media. Lady, atleast wait till he is proved innocent. Gone are the times when women were expected to support bad husbands. Speaking out against him after the DNA test had proved the rape would have garnered more sympathy. It is so sad... everyday the newspapers are filled with news of rape... it is very scary too. Sometimes I look around and think the world is all wrong.... too wrong.

• Death of MJ:

I don't know what the hue and cry is about... yes, he was an excellent singer... yes, he was a great performer.. but he ruined his life. It was fraught with scandal, drugs, plastic surgery. Is that the example an icon should set? And he is probably responsible for his own death... how wrong can you go when you have EVERYTHING at your beck and call? Seriously. I think people shedding tears for him is silly... Mithun had even said; "My God has died".

• New ads:

I love the new Cadbury ads. They were played all day on MTV on 1st July. People were discussing it even on Facebook. Good work.
Another good ad by Idea... "Walk when you talk". Very good line of thought.
The new Coke ad "Strange Love" is brilliant... have not seen anything like it on TV.

• Surat rape case:

The news of the rape case chilled me... school girls being raped by well off guys and blackmailed? How terrifying. Tomorrow (many many many years later) my daughter could go through this and I would never know. But then, molestors/rapists targeting young school girls is very common. Don't believe me? I was molested at 6 am while going for my 12th std tutions in A'bad in a deserted lane. Thankfully, there were 2 old men with a dog taking a morning walk. I escaped and went to them for help. The molestor sped off on his bike. Like I said, everything is wrong with the world.

Ice Age 3

I loved the first 2 parts... obviously, the 3rd part was going to be great... But... something is lacking. I don't know what exactly... maybe there are too many babies in the movie (babies repel me)... maybe I was exhausted while watching it...
A must watch.

Unaccustomed Earth

I had avoided this book since it is a collection of stories. But last week its review in 'Femina' got me intrigued. I was hooked. This is the best collection of short stories I have read in a long.. long.. time. I could identify a little with every story. Each story sucks you in till you are part of it.
A thumbs up!!!

The Kapoors

This book is a brief biography of the Kapoor family. I prefer biographies to autobiographies. I doubt if anyone will put the unvarnished truth about their life in a book for everyone to read.
The book is good and does justice to the Kapoor family... it is unbiased mixing the good with the bad.
I got to know a lot of new things:

• Raj Kapoor had an affair with Nargis even though he was married. She left him and married Sunil Dutt secretly 'coz she felt side tracked in his films and his life.
• All Kapoors have a drinking problem
• Neetu Singh worked in films since the age of three. She was probably given drugs by her mother to make her mature faster (just like it was done to Hansika Motwani)
• When Rishi Kapoor's career started its descent he would get drunk and beat up Neetu Singh. She turned to her mother-in-law for help who turned a blind eye. She had even approached the cops.
• Babita and Randhir Kapoor are separated but not divorced.
  
• All Kapoor men except Shashi Kapoor are famous for having extra-marital affairs

These people are beautiful, rich, famous. It is un-nerving to read that they are no different from common people... they go through the same... maybe even worse.
Worth a read!!!

Twilight

I had read somewhere that this book is the next 'Harry Potter' not 'coz of identical stories but due to its popularity. Curious, I picked up the book. The cover says:
"About three things I was absolutely positive.
First, Edward was a vampire.
Second, there was a part of him- and I didn't know how dormant that part might be- that thirsted for my blood.
And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him"
Thats the gist of the story.
It is a kiddy book... not too bad... not too great but original.
Hopefully, the movie (based on this book) is better. I will try to get my hands on the CD.