This post doesn't deserve a title

I am writing this post just for the sake of writing. It's been almost a year since I wrote anything on my blog and the last time I wrote was for a social media marketing assignment. It's confounding how the things that we really love to do during a particular phase of life doesn't excite us a bit in another. Something similar happened to my inclination towards writing as well. The quality of my posts would corroborate that fact too. While the whole world is busy writing about the latest political drama or churning out some life-altering advices on dreams and relationships or bursting the balls of every inane movie coming out of bollywood; I can't think of a single topic to write upon that would empower my readers (if any) and push them towards the road less taken. With just 7 days left before I start out on my new job, I sincerely hope to find something to blabber about.

The Viral Fever: Power of Social Media

No one could have thought one and a half years ago that a harmless spoof video uploaded on Youtube would catapult this unknown channel into dizzying heights of fame and thus transforming into a rage among the youth. If you have still not recognized it, I am talking about India's 1st organized online TV for youth (as they claim on their channel info), The Viral Fever aka TVF. When last counted , the channel had close to 71000 subscribers and a whooping 10 million overall views. 

Founded by a bunch of IITians who left their jobs in pursuit of their dreams to create good entertaining content, TVF has come a long way. The video that turned the tables for them was a spoof on the popular TV show aired on MTV, Roadies. It is still the most viewed video on their channel with more than 2 million views. It was hysterically funny and outrageous. Since everyone could identify with the spoof of Roadies (which has now become the butt of all jokes), people started sharing this video all over facebook and thus TVF came into limelight. Thankfully, this was not a flash in the pan. The founders had a lot of aces hidden up their sleeves. They regularly uploaded new humorous videos and some of them including 'Gaana wala Song', 'Gangs of Social Media-1 and 2' and 'Shit Engineers Say' became hugely popular. A few weeks ago, actors Ayushmann Khurrana and Kunaal Roy Kapoor appeared on one of their videos, 'Roadies XXX' to promote their new movie 'Nautanki Saala'. If that's not all, Freecharge.in, an online recharge service, created a branded entertainment video in partnership with TVF recently to 'advertise' their service. You can read the full story here.

The success of TVF is a great example of the power of social media. Nothing can stop a creative mind in this age of social networking to pursue a dream while getting paid alongside for it.

The MBA conundrum

It's a strange world out there. Before joining a 'prestigious' course like MBA, you are made to answer a lot of 'behavioral' questions which doesn't require much skills apart from good storytelling. This skill seems to be in abundance in youngsters considering the number of Me-too Chetanbhagat books popping up every month. So anyway, we all managed to answer some highly intellectual questions like 'Describe a challenging project or a seemingly impossible task which you have undertaken."  and "Describe an instance in which you took the strongest stand of your value system" and some similar crap. And not to anyone's surprise, many of us also managed to get away with these answers in the interviews helping us land in our dream institution. 
[Dream here doesn't mean the aspirations that you had in childhood. It actually doesn't hold any meaning and is just a made up word to justify your 'safe' decisions]
Now that we have all entered this amazing place by putting loads of hard work, we all get down to fulfill our single purpose of existence here-Get that fucking placement. We work harder than we ever worked, sleep lesser, feel happier since we are super busy and we are slowly reaching our goal. A goal to make someone else rich. Awesome! And all this environment turns us into something better. We now become better storytellers. Yes, we can write better resumes now, waste an ample amount of time writing, fudging and beautifying past 'achievements' again and again instead of trying to achieve something new in life. We get down frivolously to answer those holy questions again. And sample this answer to one of the questions on taking a stand : ...I was very keen to bring it to the notice of my supervisors. My fellow colleagues were aware of the issue but did not want to rake it up.... I knew it would be unethical to know about it and not action it. I mustered all my courage and presented to my Program Manager.... I had to take a tough stand and my job in the project was at stake... WHAT a big pile of heart breaking SHIT. 
But this is the shit we all write. And we present it to the interviewers who come for hiring as if they will buy into this. But if the employers themselves know the uselessness of such questions, why do they ask them in the first place. Students innocently reply that they will verify in the interview and will know who is lying and who is not. But maybe that's the whole point. Maybe the employers are judging who is a better liar. They want to find out who is the better storyteller among all. That person will bring in the moolah for them. And organisation fit is another blanket term for crap which employers keep throwing around. As long as the person can work tirelessly without asking much questions, he is perfectly fit for any organisation. He is the perfect employee. And that's what we are being trained for. 10 Lakhs is a huge amount of money that we have already shelled out. Let's not waste time on thinking. Let's all join the bandwagon and also welcome all the aspirants who will be joining us. Let's all strive to become the perfect Storytellers.
  

The City that Never Sleeps

I clearly remember the day when our train reached Mumbai.It was 26th June 2011. We all stepped down at Andheri station and looked here and there to get a gist of this city that people fondly call as MayaNagri. A swarm of people was rushing here and there, oblivious to our presence. We came out of the station to stand in a queue to get an auto. Yes, I repeat that. A queue for an auto. Now this was a new sight for us. A policeman was guiding this whole process of assembly line autos coming from nowhere and gulping in passengers. One such auto readily took me and my friend to the guest house that had been allotted by Deloitte to us.Ofcourse, this incident was an exception. We realised later on, that its easier to get a girl to bed on your first date than to get an auto in Mumbai despite of being omnipresent and even omnipotent,in some situations.
After the autowala threw us at our destination and charged us by looking at the most important innovation in the history of mankind after Graham Bell's telephone, The METER. Trust me, that's a gadget that comes with a halo not at the back but in front of it, literally. This gadget comes with a sheet which has some conversions done through a strangely applied formula that might even put the 'IMDB formula' to shame. When every citizen thinks that he knows the sheet by heart now, (as he has gone through all the permutations and combinations while travelling his side of the city), the sheet replaces itself with a fresh one. The numbers have increased and the autowala grins at you with a victorious smile. You pay him and go on with your job. And again ofcourse, this was a parallel universe I was talking about where you have managed to get an auto.
So now, back to my story.What all happened after we reached our guest house, I will have to fast forward that because truly speaking, I don't remember much of it either. All that I can remember seems like a set of visuals moving back and forth on a picasa album. This is what the city does to you. It makes you forget about your past and epitomize the oft repeated phrase 'Live your present'. The never-ending heavenly rains, bustling local trains,vada pav and pav-bhaji, the night clubs,Bandra Bandstand,good looking women,BEST buses,ferry across the sea, malai kulfi at chowpatty, the frustration when it takes an hour to move a distance of just 100 meters, and when you forget completely about that frustration the moment you set your foot on Marine Drive, the Western Express highway, piles of flats on top of each other, slums cramped up in places you never thought existed, the joy of spotting a star walking past you, watching a movie with an audience full of movie lovers like you, entering the Taj Mahal Hotel as if you owned it even though all you would do is take a piss and come out (or if you can afford something from the menu that starts with a Rs.400 tea exclusive of taxes), potholes in which you can take a holy dip......this film reel can never end. But the most important thing in that reel which I missed, which is true about every city, is its people. The friends that you make in a place you are new to, decides if you are actually going to like that place or not. Without some good company, I believe, even a Las Vegas or a Hawaii would appear boring. And fortunately,I found one hell of a company here! With my short stint of 8 months in Mumbai nearing its end,it would be hard to forget anyone that I met over here.

Now before this memoir or whatever you want to call it, runs out of steam and starts sounding like the article that Konkana's character writes in the climax of 'Wake up Sid', It would be wise to stop typing and just enjoy the beautiful Arabian sea in front of me.A person sitting alone with his laptop on Marine Drive and typing, with a plethora of passionate couples around him busy smooching each other,isn't exactly a sight that you would normally expect. But then, this is Bombay for you.

The Secret in Their Eyes

"The worst part is I am starting to forget. I have to constantly make myself remember her. Every day...-And I dont know if its a memory ; or a memory of a memory I am left with."
These and many other such beautiful lines from this highly intriguing and Oscar winning movie continue to haunt me. 'The Secret in Their Eyes' is a movie that I came to know about when I read on somebody's wall mentioning its name. I checked its rating and info on Imdb. It was an Argentine Crime thriller which had won an Oscar in the Best Foreign film category in 2010. I immediately put it on dowload. Though, it ran like any normal good-old thriller would in the initial minutes- murder setup, federal agent assigned its investigation, some hints of comedy here and there, some sub plots etcetra. But slowly and gradually the movie starts holding you. The mesmerizing acting of Ricardo Darin and all the other actors sucks you into this gem of a thriller. I knew for sure this movie won't have the ending that was being formed subconsciously in the back of my mind. And ofcourse , it didnt disappoint me. It had one of the best endings I have seen in crime thrillers like these. Except that this movie cannot be included in any such genre. While our protagonist is on the hunt for the killer, there are many layers of emotions that the movie goes through and touches upon several issues. And with the climax scene, it turned into something else.
There is also a long story associated with this movie which makes it all the more special to me. A story which I hope to discuss some day in my blog. Meanwhile, do yourself a favour and enjoy this wonderful Argentine art.

Thank you for Smoking

Not to be confused with a similarly titled 2005 Hollywood movie, I have given the following piece of work this rubric as I take this as an opportunity to thank all the people around me for –obviously-smoking.
Now before I submit myself completely in expressing my gratitude towards those unfortunate souls who have never been given their rightful due, I just wanted to pay my obeisance to the great Marlboro Men: David Millar Jr., Wayne McLaren and David Mclean. These great men were no less than any martyr puffing away one cigarette after another, and in the end, meeting a poetic demise succumbing to lung cancer. [FYI, Marlboro men were the advertising ‘heroes’ of Marlboro, the largest selling brand of cigarettes in the world].
There are many reasons for thanking all these people but the constraints of space and time can only allow me to mention a few. First of all, I wanted to thank some of my friends whom I grew up with in school where we used to design posters highlighting ‘Smoking is Fatal’, ‘Don’t blow ur life in smoke’ and other such hypothetical statements with great passion. They have finally understood that posters are only for telling others and apply no logic to the people who make them. Secondly, I would like to thank the people whom I met in college who despite being so vulnerable, resisted the temptation of living an ‘air’free life and chose the tortuous path of smokes, emphysemas and ashtrays. And how could I forget all the other innocent beings around me who have made their own life shorter just to make our life seem longer. They deserve all this adulation as they have not only contributed to the already populated environment one more cause of concern but also expanded our dictionary by defining ‘passive smoking’. Hence,in the process, giving mere mortals like us a chance, to help them share their load passively. They have time and again, lived upto the claims of ‘smoking causing impotency’ thus assisting in bringing down the inflating population. With their lungs being reduced to the size of table tennis balls and lips getting a shade blacker with every passing day; they have given an oppurtunity to the less blessed people around them to look more beautiful than ever. Despite the warnings printed on every packet that Smoking is injurious to Health, they practice the ultimate dharma of keeping their eyes closed towards every step that might push them away from their untimely heroic death. I know this could go on forever but I have to stop somewhere. So lastly, I would just like to thank all the people who unwillingly read the above 470 words and also request them to please help me and billion others find atleast one reason why smoking isn’t STUPID.

“Cigarette is a pinch of tobacco rolled in paper with fire at one end and a fool at the other!”
-Anonymous

IF...

This poem by Rudyard Kipling is one of the most inspiring poems I have come across and it continues to remain my favourite (p.s. i m not into poems AT ALL but this is an exception). So I just wanted to copy it here as I really wanted to have this in my blog. So, here it is..

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!