Coming up with a list of my top five women of the future required a lot of deliberation. Obvious names which keep cropping up all the time like Indra Nooyi, Kiran Shaw Majumdar etc, I decided to ignore. Not because, they do not merit the credit but because, they belong to a passing out generation.
My quest was to identify young torch bearers and futuristic women of potential. Sorry guys but Katrina, Aishwarya and Kareena simply cannot hold the candle to these gusty others. Don’t get me wrong but I have no patience for someone who cannot get herself to even converse in the very same language that helped her showcase her only talent (read looks). Kareena and Bips own precious little in the higher department and lose points each time their inter-“views” and personas are aired. Aishwarya falls just short of reaching the top five. Much as I admire her wax-like beauty, she could have done a lot more than just working for personal gains. While I have cited the reasons for the why-nots, the toppers get only a brief generalization for being chosen.
1. Brains as indicated by their ‘word of mouth’ or pen/keyboard.
2. Actions in real life that range from community service to personal lives to business acumen.
Those wanting more credibility can do their own research. Please understand these are my top fivers and you can beg to differ. I do not pay heed to character certifications or cast value judgements. Hence, feel free to take your own stand. So without further ado, my top five women for the future in alphabetical order are –
Preity Zinta
Priyanka Chopra
Sagarika Ghose
Sunitha Krishnan
Sushmita Sen
Having a point of view is important.
Sunday
To be or not to be
It was quite upsetting to note in a recent survey that Shashi Tharoor did not qualify in India’s most eligible bachelor list. Which idiot cares about an age gap when a man has brains in spades? And then found he had married again :P. Nevertheless, it requires a significant size of guts (not using the b-word for propriety) for a public figure to express a personal opinion with candour, court controversy as well as risk the ire of seniors.
It is a known fact that certain regressive policies of certain haloed individuals set India backwards by a good many decades. If facts come as a shock to some old bones and some newer, much softer ones, then I recommend shock proof vests for them. Tharoor, join a better party. Better yet, start a newer and better one.
Granted, his TED India talk wasn’t great. Granted, the five star accommodation fiasco could have been avoided. But hey, no one is infallible. I like my heros real.
It is a known fact that certain regressive policies of certain haloed individuals set India backwards by a good many decades. If facts come as a shock to some old bones and some newer, much softer ones, then I recommend shock proof vests for them. Tharoor, join a better party. Better yet, start a newer and better one.
Granted, his TED India talk wasn’t great. Granted, the five star accommodation fiasco could have been avoided. But hey, no one is infallible. I like my heros real.
Wednesday
Could have been much better
Multiple technological inconsistencies in 3 idiots wrt laptop models, airtel usb modem, scooterette models etc. Bane of in-film advertisement - Timing it right. 10 years ago some of these items were not even in existence...let alone in India.
The film failed to live up to my expectations. But Aamir is still my favourite and Madhavan and Sharman rock as well.
The film failed to live up to my expectations. But Aamir is still my favourite and Madhavan and Sharman rock as well.
Saturday
Wake up Chetan
'The two states' was a good read. But will someone please tell Chetan Bhagat that, life is not all about him and his experiences. There is more to life than he, his and himself. So wake up and stop being so full of yourself.
Tiger of the Woods..An exaggeration?
Exaggeration sells and the media knows it. So to hell with "Responsible Journalism" or even reporting ethics. Tehelka was "Investigative Journalism" not the Liberhan report expose and subsequent name-calling. The sugarcane price rise somehow seemed a bigger issue to be addressed than a report over thirteen years overdue and in effect nothing more than a piece of paper. The associated costs of that report (over 8 crores of tax payer's money) and its beneficiaries seems a much better topic for discussion. Farewell newspapers and magazines...welcome tabloids.
It is alright to record a live footing of a girl being humiliated and paraded in broad daylight in Patna & doing nothing to rectify it. It is alright for the media to point fingers at the late-comers, namely - The Police. It is alright for the media to air that same video over and over again on mass-media for hours on end. It is alright to bemoan the burning of priceless tapestries when an entire city is under siege. It is alright as long as the collective opinion of a public debate is exactly that of its renowned host. The media is the king. Jai Ho!
With all the tamasha over Tiger Wood's morals or the lack thereof, I kept waiting for at least one article somewhere with a humane approach. From the actual count of Tiger's mistresses, to what Elin could get out of it, to Tiger's continuing relationships, to the loss of his endorsements, to the best divorce lawyers in the country, everything was covered. The only thing left out, was the impact on the Wood's kids. The trauma for a three-year-old and a ten-month-old over losing a parent and the news being splashed all over the place was happily overlooked. It is not tabloid, hence, doesn't sell. No doubt the media will find the best shrinks for these babies when the time is right.
Under what category of 'Maslow's needs' do we classify "Tiger's Itch"? Whether or not he clears the murky waters of multiple relationships, this Tiger certainly seems better suited in the Woods. To Tiger, I have nothing to say. What compels successful men and women at the top of their careers to commit professional suicide, I am yet to find out. But in a recent article of a well known Indian daily, a journalist supposedly asked a serious question. It made even a completely uncaring person like me, fume. The question was, "Do a few transgressions mean that one loves his family any less?". Well DUH!
The question is not about the respective differences of cultures or civilizations. The question is about right or wrong. There are certain generally accepted notions of right values and moral conduct, which hold good irrespective of which part of the globe we live in. I doubt if anyone would have asked this question if Elin had been the one to slip up. So my dear brothers and sisters of the media world, go back to doing what you do best - Exaggerate - and spare us the horror of your questioning the middle-class-morality.
It is alright to record a live footing of a girl being humiliated and paraded in broad daylight in Patna & doing nothing to rectify it. It is alright for the media to point fingers at the late-comers, namely - The Police. It is alright for the media to air that same video over and over again on mass-media for hours on end. It is alright to bemoan the burning of priceless tapestries when an entire city is under siege. It is alright as long as the collective opinion of a public debate is exactly that of its renowned host. The media is the king. Jai Ho!
With all the tamasha over Tiger Wood's morals or the lack thereof, I kept waiting for at least one article somewhere with a humane approach. From the actual count of Tiger's mistresses, to what Elin could get out of it, to Tiger's continuing relationships, to the loss of his endorsements, to the best divorce lawyers in the country, everything was covered. The only thing left out, was the impact on the Wood's kids. The trauma for a three-year-old and a ten-month-old over losing a parent and the news being splashed all over the place was happily overlooked. It is not tabloid, hence, doesn't sell. No doubt the media will find the best shrinks for these babies when the time is right.
Under what category of 'Maslow's needs' do we classify "Tiger's Itch"? Whether or not he clears the murky waters of multiple relationships, this Tiger certainly seems better suited in the Woods. To Tiger, I have nothing to say. What compels successful men and women at the top of their careers to commit professional suicide, I am yet to find out. But in a recent article of a well known Indian daily, a journalist supposedly asked a serious question. It made even a completely uncaring person like me, fume. The question was, "Do a few transgressions mean that one loves his family any less?". Well DUH!
The question is not about the respective differences of cultures or civilizations. The question is about right or wrong. There are certain generally accepted notions of right values and moral conduct, which hold good irrespective of which part of the globe we live in. I doubt if anyone would have asked this question if Elin had been the one to slip up. So my dear brothers and sisters of the media world, go back to doing what you do best - Exaggerate - and spare us the horror of your questioning the middle-class-morality.
Monday
Wednesday
Thursday
Monday
On fumes!
The women in my family have always had one complaint - They cannot find anything to complain about the men in the family! - Ours is a woeful story.
My cousin brothers were disgusted when despite their repeated attempts to teach, I could not learn to drive a car. My father was relieved when I learned to change the fuse and watched him tear apart (& repair) my cherished and only, two-wheeler. One day, I had an accident and the shock absorbers of my scooter were twisted such that the front wheel and the handle turned perpendicular to the foot-guard. I drove back home with a nicely bleeding arm & stiff bottom while praying that my bike could be repaired. The scooter was new and I had expected a lot of scolding but eventual pampering. To my surprise all I got was a resounding WOW! Of course dad immediately took me to the hospital for a thorough check and a tetanus shot (Yuck!). Later all the men in the family embraced my tenacity and enterprise and were curious to see what angle I had held the steering handle when the wheel was turned in such a fashion! I only got some 'ohh-ahhing' from the women. Sigh!
I am blessed to have extremely sweet creatures as my friends (many of them boys). When they discovered my pitiful experience at smoking and drinking (which was by choice & not force) they took it upon themselves to prove the worthiness of these activities. They offered me flavoured tobacco ranging from double-apple, to strawberry, to mint and so many more that I cannot in all honesty remember them all. They offered me fruity and veggie concoctions of rotten grape juice (called cocktails and believed to be quiet fashionable). My father and subsequently my uncles and aunts have repeatedly asked me to join them over drinks ever since I was old enough to vote. I still cannot stomach the fumes but have learned to endure the company.
I truly believe that what we consume should always be a matter of personal taste. But fail to understand the psychology of those who willfully consume what has been rotting for ages! I once witnessed a poor girl (scorned by her lover) attempt suicide by consuming phenyle. The doctors fought a tough battle to save her. The family went through hell. In an article somewhere, it said that the basic components of a cigarette are actually used to make phenylalanine.
- Why then do seemingly happy men and women love to indulge in slow-poisoning themselves?
- How can someone consciously want to lose consciousness?
- How do people manage to drink so much that they have to throw up?
- If you can force yourself to drink and die, what stops you from forcing yourself to die of starvation?
These might sound rude and premature to some. Yet, what is the point of making the filthy rich richer while killing ourselves? If all that people spend on liquor and tobacco is donated to charity, the world will be a happier, richer and infinitely healthier place.
Quite recently, an extremely witty relative happened to visit us. On learning of my apathy towards dad's premium scotch, he declared that I was destined to be born again. According to him, when we reach the pearly gates, the greatest book-keepers of the universe, consult their excel sheets and run a checklist of our experiences and achievements. Those (like myself) who are found miserably inexperienced in all that the lord himself created (irrespective of eventual jurisdiction), are sent back for another attempt at redemption. While those experienced in all the seven vices are sent to the reference section of the library in heaven.
I enjoyed the humour and truly wish it true for the sake of all those I love to reach heaven. Maybe someday, we shall share all eternity together. In the meantime, I am content with collecting different types of stirrers and cocktail decorations. Cheers!
My cousin brothers were disgusted when despite their repeated attempts to teach, I could not learn to drive a car. My father was relieved when I learned to change the fuse and watched him tear apart (& repair) my cherished and only, two-wheeler. One day, I had an accident and the shock absorbers of my scooter were twisted such that the front wheel and the handle turned perpendicular to the foot-guard. I drove back home with a nicely bleeding arm & stiff bottom while praying that my bike could be repaired. The scooter was new and I had expected a lot of scolding but eventual pampering. To my surprise all I got was a resounding WOW! Of course dad immediately took me to the hospital for a thorough check and a tetanus shot (Yuck!). Later all the men in the family embraced my tenacity and enterprise and were curious to see what angle I had held the steering handle when the wheel was turned in such a fashion! I only got some 'ohh-ahhing' from the women. Sigh!
I am blessed to have extremely sweet creatures as my friends (many of them boys). When they discovered my pitiful experience at smoking and drinking (which was by choice & not force) they took it upon themselves to prove the worthiness of these activities. They offered me flavoured tobacco ranging from double-apple, to strawberry, to mint and so many more that I cannot in all honesty remember them all. They offered me fruity and veggie concoctions of rotten grape juice (called cocktails and believed to be quiet fashionable). My father and subsequently my uncles and aunts have repeatedly asked me to join them over drinks ever since I was old enough to vote. I still cannot stomach the fumes but have learned to endure the company.
I truly believe that what we consume should always be a matter of personal taste. But fail to understand the psychology of those who willfully consume what has been rotting for ages! I once witnessed a poor girl (scorned by her lover) attempt suicide by consuming phenyle. The doctors fought a tough battle to save her. The family went through hell. In an article somewhere, it said that the basic components of a cigarette are actually used to make phenylalanine.
- Why then do seemingly happy men and women love to indulge in slow-poisoning themselves?
- How can someone consciously want to lose consciousness?
- How do people manage to drink so much that they have to throw up?
- If you can force yourself to drink and die, what stops you from forcing yourself to die of starvation?
These might sound rude and premature to some. Yet, what is the point of making the filthy rich richer while killing ourselves? If all that people spend on liquor and tobacco is donated to charity, the world will be a happier, richer and infinitely healthier place.
Quite recently, an extremely witty relative happened to visit us. On learning of my apathy towards dad's premium scotch, he declared that I was destined to be born again. According to him, when we reach the pearly gates, the greatest book-keepers of the universe, consult their excel sheets and run a checklist of our experiences and achievements. Those (like myself) who are found miserably inexperienced in all that the lord himself created (irrespective of eventual jurisdiction), are sent back for another attempt at redemption. While those experienced in all the seven vices are sent to the reference section of the library in heaven.
I enjoyed the humour and truly wish it true for the sake of all those I love to reach heaven. Maybe someday, we shall share all eternity together. In the meantime, I am content with collecting different types of stirrers and cocktail decorations. Cheers!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
