Monday, April 6, 2009

Jaane Kahan Gaye Wo Din....

What a craze it was!!!! at least 10-15 or more years back! todays kids thrive on Superman, He-man, SpiderMan, X-Men and all the other western heroes, while Indian Super Heroes are suffering due to the ever increasing fame of Western Super Heroes, here comes a time to revive the memories of long forgotten our own Indian Heroes, the legacies of Diamond and Raj Comics.

First and foremost in mind can be no other than Nagraj; the green skinned man,with a lock of hair shaped like a snake's hood and snakes flowing out of his wrist as and when he wishes!


he is the creation of Parshuram Sharma, Nagraj is the Ichhadhari Naag (A snake which can take the form of a Man at wish) . He is the protector of the Metro City-Mahanagar and is the enemyof evil, of terrorism. His perennial enemies are Nagpasha-his uncle, Prof. Nagmani, Thodanga, Nagina, Vishandhar,Nagpasha, Gurudev. he remains victorious because of the guidance of his mentor Guru Gorakhnath, blessing of his deity- Dev Kalajayi, devotion of his wives Visarpi and Bharti, and all the snakes which residein his body. his powers include his ability to become invisible, ability to blow the poisonous breath and kill the enemies, lots of snakes coming in and out of his body, his yoga power and much more! he is one of the most most admired and loved super heroes of India

And then if Nagraj is the top name in Indian Heroes then Anupam Sinha's creation Super Commando Dhruv is the epitopme of a Human Being without naturally bestowed power, who proved that you dont have to have a spider bite you, or to be born on another planet, to be a super hero! you just need to have passion and compassion! you just need determination! this is what Dhruv is!


this orphan, born and brought up in Jupiter Circus is nimble and a master in Martial Arts, a great and unmatched Trapeze artist; since he lived with animals and birds for most of his young life, he can understand and converse in their language! the various skills he learned in the circus, he nurtured and developed! plus is great common sense! he was adopted by a Inspector General Rajan and his family, Rajan's daughter is also a Super Heroin (Chandika) and she puts her life at risk for her brother often! He comes often in comic books with Nagraj, and saves the world from the attack of Terror. in the latest series, which is almost a depiction of Ramayana (Varan Kand, Grahan Kand, Haran Kand etc), Nagraj has a character similar to that of the Rama and Dhruv depicts Lakshamana. He also trains his neighbor hood kids to combat, top utilize resources, to use common sense and to be the Commando force! He is in love with Commander Natasha, daughter of his arch enemy Grand Master Robo, and got separated from her father voluntarily to marry Dhruv, they have son named Rishi. Another great ally of Dhruv is Dhananjaya, an Aqua-Human character who helps Dhruv in most difficult of circumstances. this character of Dhruv has stolen many a heart and is part of many fantasies! :)

If all super heroes are good and pure, there are few who defy law, who believe in eye for an eye and who don't think twice before taking an action! this description best suits Doga. this Angry Young Man of the Streets is the savior of those unfortunates, who cant save them selves. And he has an army of dogs, who would die at one signal of Doga, without hesitating!




first time a well known Indian Super Hero is going to be on Silver Screen, and Doga is going to be the one to get the credit! Kunal Kapoor is going to act as Doga in Anurag Kashyap's would-be flick.
Doga was originally Suraj, an orphan, who was brought up by a Daku Halkan Singh, who treated him as a Dog, hence Doga. he left the Daku to be with Adrak Chacha, his mentor and guide and his brothers. the four brothers trained Doga in Gym, Marksmanship, Boxing and Martial Arts. Suraj became Doga when these brothers were killed mercilessly by Killota. This fighter of the streets is misunderstood by the law and police for his ruthless behavior but he is admired and feared as well. his secret identity is known by a few of his trusted- inspector Cheetah, and Monika who is his long lost love Sonu, whom he takes to be dead. he also has a sister Kiran.

and then comes Bhokal! the warrior, the male pari or tha Protector of Fairies, king of Parilok! This ancient age super hero is the protector and defender of Vikasnagar. in Parilok, his parents are killed by Fuchang, whom he kills with the help of his friends Shootan, Atikrur and Turee, whom he loves and finally marries. this Hero invokes the name of the his Guru Mahabali Bhokal to gain super strength when he needs it, and he can fly, gets the most powerful shield and sword. he also had a pair of wings, but that was destroyed by the enemies. Bhokal had three wives, Tureen Rupsi and Saloni.

Other famous super heroes are Parmanu, Shakti, Tiranga, Inspector Steel, Agniputrs Abhaya, Shaktiman, Captain Vyom and many more.

We as kids used to thrive on these comics and series, they used to transport us to the unknown lads of adventure and fun. they made us feel the importance of good and bad, of winning the inner devil in order to conquer the world. they taught us that we don't need super humane power to be a super hero; it just takes determination and compassion. Now a days television sets and computer games take over the lives of the kids, how unfortunate is the life of an average kid today! No more nurturing of fantasy the way we used to do through books and comics. the fun associated and the enigma hidden in the next page was used to be so scintillating! i still read those comics and remember those long lost glories of these characters.


Monday, March 16, 2009

its raining inside!

its raining inside...
While i show the happiness,
While its sunshile on my face
...its raining inside.
Its raining so hard,
its difficult to hide.
And my smile broadens
to force the sunshine.
The dark clouds are
swirling in my mind...
Without the cliche of silver line...
This rain is not pure,
it is full of tears.
This rain is not soft,
it hurts.
This rain is not a thing of beauty,
it is full of aching.
This rain does not wash away grime and dirt,
It blackens.
This rain is accumulation of my past sins,
of my past guilts.
This rain is killing me,
I can show it,
cant share it,
cant do anything but weep in my heart.
Its raining inside,
very hard.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

International Women's Day: Is it Time to Clebrate Yet?

Today is 8th March, International Women’s Day… it seems we have, in India, reached a climax of irony! At one side we have such achievements and pride associated with the “fair sex”; be it Glamour-Aish, Sush, and the famous triology of Priyanka, Lara and Diya; be it Politics- Sonia, Sheila Dixit and Jayalalitha; be it Corporate World- Naina Lal Kidwai, Indra Nooyi, and Chanda Kochar; be it Cinema- Meera Nair, Gurinder Chadhdha; be it Sports- Mamta Kharab, Sania Mirza, PT Usha, and Aarti Shah,; be it Space- Sunita Williams and Kalpana Chawala; be it Freedom Struggle- Durga Bhabhi, Sarojni Naidu and Kasturba Gandhi… yes these names and so many more in so many diverse fields fare such fame on one side while on the other we have Honor Killings and Dowry Deaths.
We have people like Ram Jethmalani defending the murderer of Jessica Laal by saying that it was her fault as she challenged the manhood of the accused. Yes, he is a great lawyer, he is just doing what he was paid for, but this somehow reflects the attitude. Doesn’t it? And then there is that great Goa rape case- signifying how we not only defile women from our own country, but women from other country are victims too- whatever may happen to ‘Atithi Devo Bhavah’! And how can I forget to mention the glorious Ramsena who use thename of God and religion to derogate something so pious as love while claiming that they are the “custodian” of Indian Culture and women are going astray!!! Among many controversies, this one did not get enough lime light but case of Soumya Vishwanathan, a journalist in Delhi is as painful as of Jessica Laal, more so because Mrs. Dixit, CM of Delhi made a statement that one shouldn’t be too adventurous… its all a pity… and last but not the least of the sad cases which I would like to mention is Arushi-Hemraj Murder, how it is that a family itself can defame a child of 14 after she has been murdered!
Is all these sad incidents are the result of women fighting back? Or is it the increased insecurity of men that there might be a danger looming o their so called and treasured ‘male ego’.
My aim is not to prove that women are better that men, my aim is not even the quest for equality, but my aim is just to show the reality. There was once a time when women were as much a participant in creation of Vedas as any man and now they are not even allowed to read Veda or even listen to Vedic chanting! There was once a time when women were worshipped as Shaki but now they are not even allowed to enter a few temples. There was a time when they were revered as the creator, as a mother now they are taunted upon for giving birth to a girl child.
We are the so called Next Generation- though I am clueless and don’t know how but we can make a change. It depends on us. Somehow… anyhow. It seems this an abrupt end but can there be any smooth and sophisticated finishing line for such a topic?...

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Eureca Euphoria???

Eureca Euphoria????
some times its so wierd!!!! the attachements and emotional involvements....

I remember my first day here in ASB, it was scary- all those rule, strictness, and those strange unknown faces.... and now when more than three fourth of the journey is over, I dread the day when all this would end, I some how fell for these rule and I somehow felt so comfortable with those oh so strange faces....

And then came the blow, people who are close to me get selected for Eureca... yes, I am feeling what I am supposed to feel- pride in their achievements, happiness for they are going to discover new horizon- but more than that I am feeling what i should feel- anguish, for I feel left alone; fear, that I may end up losing them; envy, that I am not one of them; anger, at my laziness; sad, for I will miss them...

Yes! I wish them luck for their new endeavour and I wish myself luck now that I am venturing onto an unknown path (jobless and MBA on a finishing point), I pray that I keep on meeting such strange faces who are so comfortable to be with, faces with so genuine smiles... there is so much original in that strangeness...

I wish you luck dear Jogi, Varun, Sarthak, Gajanan, Anoop, Shashikant, Kiran, Dixit, Kotha, Aditya and all those who went to Europe. May God Bless you. this first blog of mine is dedicated to our friendship. see you in convocation.