Monday, September 11, 2006

dee, gandhigiri n nine-eleven

So?
what i've been upto?
have written a lot these days. thanks to a new habit. likhta to main pehle bhi tha, but didn't put it on paper. now-a-days, whatever i chance upon is recorded immediately on paper or sent as an sms to dee. this way, i catch that moment or feeling and can come back to it later. what this means is that you'll have to jhelo my 'absur-ditties' a lot more now. luv-shuv and lots more of life coming soon on this blog.

hmmm... Dee. hmmm is the first thing that comes to my mind when i remember her. people have a habit of repeating certain words or gestures while talking, this is dee's pet one. hmmm.
dee. one little woman whose big name i pathetically forget always. so i coined 'dee'. simple, short n sweet. not heavy at all. verymuch like her. and very much an aquarian, running here 'n there, knowing what's good for her and then not doing it because some things are more important than that. but we are all like that somehow.
these days, she finds herself landed somewhere in the delhi university campus, studying spencer and shakespeare, as a part of her masters in english literature course. although she would love to dance till the devil takes her away. but then, somethings are more important than that.
dee is a friend, a fellow aquarian, a poetess (wish she'd a blog) and a beautifull symbol of womanhood.



in a particularly good mood, one day, i promised dee that she'll have to watch the new movie, 'lagey raho munnabhai' with me. this is what promises should be like. and i do have a habit of keeping mine. it is another thing that she'd to leave her sunday classes for this. but then, she is sweet. and knows that.
how we managed to get those tickets and how i managed to manage her is not discussable here. i'll jump straight to the movie instead. this is a complete value-for-money, paisa-vasool stuff we are talking about. and its all about 'gandhigiri'. one word, whose importance you'll acknowledge if you were born in the india of eighties. or if you are old enough to remember gandhi.
as good as the original, if not better, this is a movie that'll move you to tears, double you up in fits of laughter and inject a healthy dose of idealism in the most subtle of measures. but beneath all this, the movie asks a question and a very pertinent one.

how important is gandhi in today's india? what would he have done if he were present today? isn't it better, that he's dead. and dead for good. everything that he stood for is almost dead now. i was ashamed at a particular scene, when a retired school teacher has to beg before a govt. clerk for his pension. sadly, this is true.
this is aaj ka india.
how important is truth, and standing up to it, leave alone 'for' it?

go, and watch you must, but don't take this movie very seriously. then you'll be asking some very uncomfortable questions. and you, your mind, your own soul will be the first one to bear those.

this takes me to the last bit. today is the anniversary of 9/11. a few years ago, some fanatics rammed a country's passenger airplanes into the very symbols of that country's financial & military might. it is the day when the world's sole superpower realised, terrorism has reached its shore. it was no more a topic of discussion in strategic board-rooms, about some far away exotic countries. it is one of those days, when the world changes for ever.
and how inadequate america had proven that day. and more inadequate has been its response.

the question is, would gandhigiri be able to solve today's problems? what would gandhi have done to fight terrorism? would satyagraha, ahinsa and fasting help us overcome this hydra-headed monster?
am dreaming. what will you do?

oops! galti se mistake ho gaya. i forgot to mention 'pizza talk'. along the road, that goes from anand vihar bus adda to waves and pacific and malls like these, on the left side, within an apartment complex you'll find this little eatery. with not more than a seating capacity of 10, and no disturbance whatsoever, this is the perfect space for waiting for that 3 hour away movie to start. cozy, but romantic... that depends on the person you are with. hmmm...

iamges courtsey: www.corbis.com

11 comments:

Ketan said...

hmmmm, well said.

dwaipayan said...

I like the post and have to see the movie bcoz of all the good reviews I'm getting to read and listen. meanwhile tell us more about DEE :P

Aditi said...

hope not twins but atleast alike in thoughts?
=)

delhidreams said...

Ketan: thanks buddy.

Dwaipayan: ji, to time mila apko. tum sab bengali ek jaise hote ho. DEE? dont ji.

Aditi: yeah, not biological but thoughtological twins we are. take care ;)

Anonymous said...

Well i dnt need to say nething,do i? N as far as the movie goes its a paisa vasool; yes,idealistic;yes, bt sumthing doesnt fit in n as far as d rest is concerned, thanx for dis beautiful recollection...luking forward to more.

dwaipayan said...

hey what do u mean by saying that hum sab bengali ek jaise hote hain??? kissa hain kya koi?? bataiye ji

delhidreams said...

hmmm: "looking forward to more", you bet ;)

dwiapayan: arre kaam karo kaam, botany ko chhodo aur vodka ko bhi, concentrate on work at hand, that's what i meant!!!

Obi Wan said...

True, what you said about not taking the movie too seriously, since it DOES raise uncomfortable questions. I guess it is not a very nice world to live in, but since it is the only world we have, let us try to make the best of it, and do something to make it even slightly better :-)

delhidreams said...

obi wan: right said fred...

dwaipayan said...

watched the movie this evening.. awesome man!!! and the new template rocks!!

btw, still waiting for a reply!!

delhidreams said...

dwaipayan: thanks man. and i replied earlier. as for ur mail, ya i do hav to reply.

dreamt before

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