Diwali, 2009

Diwali Prayer

Tu jagmagaaye teraa deep jagamagaaye
Saare jahaan ki khushiyaan tere bhi ghar ko aaye
Ganga aur Yamuna sa nirmal ho tera mann
Ambar aur dhara sa swachh ho tera tann
Is nagar mein teri jyoti chamchamaaaye
Tu jagmagaaye teraa deep jagamagaaye

Achchhe karmon se jag mein naam hogaa tera
Teri aahat se buraiyaan lengi nahin basera
Tere marne ke baad bhi log tera naam gaaye
Tu jagmagaaye teraa deep jagamagaaye

Mit jaaye andhera jo teri dagar mein aaye
Aaye kabhi na gham jo deti chintaayein
Naam amar ho tera ek taaraa timtimaaye
Tu jagmagaaye teraa deep jagamagaaye

Door karna chhuachhut mandir masjid ka jhagra
Koi mare na bhookha koi rahe na kangala
Aane waalaa kal tera naam gungunaaye
Tu jagmagaaye teraa deep jagamagaaye


[Source unknown]

Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani: Cool Pairing

In "Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani" Ranbir Kapoor plays the character of Prem, a depressed lover boy who is madly in love with the beautiful Jennifer(Jenny), played by Katrina Kaif.

The best thing about this upcoming movie is the cool pairing, on-screen. Katrina & Ranbir look awesome together!

The film is tagged as the craziest love story.

As the hero, Prem (Ranbir) supposedly crosses all limits to make Jenny (Katrina) fall in love!!!!!!!!

But that's what all lovers are supposed to be.... act crazy that is.... no?

Directed by Rajkumar Santoshi (an over-indulgent filmmaker known for some good and some not so good but engaging films), the film is expected to release in November, who knows if it will work for the viewers or not, but as of now I cannot stop gushing over the cool pairing!

Bhaichung

In India, where football (soccer) ranks second on the list of popular team sports, and all the fanfare is accorded to the cricketers, Bhaichung Bhutia is considered to be a torchbearer. He has taken Indian football to the international arena, where he has not only made a mark for himself, though on a much lower scale, he has also given the game of football a wider recognition & visibility thanks to his playing the game in all its seriousness and also sprinting leaps & bounds beyond the playing field, to become a well-known sports personality for the masses.
Bhaichung at a glance:
Age: 32 years
Height: 1.73 metres
National caps: 102
Goals: 42+
Position: Striker.
Club: East Bengal.
Debut, in Indian football scene: In 1993, as a sixteen yr old!
Sex appeal: Boyish looks, well endowed though.
Dreams of: Playing in 2011 Asia Cup.
Career best: Nehru Cup victory.
Career low: 6 month ban on skipping practice match
and stance on Tibet, skipped the prestigious Olympic torch relay
in protest(?).
Extra skills: Dancing; won reality-show championship on satellite television.
Weakness: Not enough international exposure, the Barcelona pre-season experience notwithstanding.
Loves: To swim, also to flirt (though is happily married, and is a doting dad).

Jesse McCartney

Jesse McCartney is one of the most promising young singers.
He also is an actor and is currently a great favorite amongst American teenagers,
and young adults worldwide.
The critics initially were dismissive of Jesse saying that he was just another cutie-pie singer, but they have woken up to his new song 'Leavin' whose rocking video has captured the imagination of millions.
The hit single is from Jesse's album titled "Departure".
Jesse can no longer be termed a poor man's version of Aaron Carter.
Listening to the songs, I must admit that I felt that Jesse is likely to be the next big thing among young & inspiring singers. He still has a long way to go though.
I found the songs 'How do you sleep', 'It's over', 'Bleeding love', 'Told you so', and 'Not your enemy' rather interesting as far as teen-pop is concerned.
They might not exactly be soulful ballads, yet they charm.... kind of.
Here's wishing him all the luck.

No Complaints!

Scent Fundamentals

THE very word 'perfume' has feminine overtones to many male ears. Men can be sold 'deodorant' and possibly 'aftershave', but the idea of all those dinky little bottles with their fussy paraphernalia is too much for the sensitive male ego. Yet no industry can afford to neglect half its potential market, and perfume-makers are ever keen to crack the shell of male reticence. Now they may know how to do so.

It is known that appropriate scents can improve the mood of those who wear them. When a man changes his natural body odour, it can alter his self-confidence to such an extent that it also changes how attractive women find him. How perfumes work to make people attractive is not as obvious as it might seem.
There are three broad theories of perfume use. One is that people employ it to mask body odours that they perceive as bad. The second is that some perfumes contain chemicals that mimic human pheromones—elusive, mysterious (and possibly mythical) substances believed by some to play a role in mating. The third is that people use it to heighten or fortify natural scent, and thus advertise sexual attractiveness or availability.
All three theories could be true. In particular, the role of perfume as an olfactory disguise is obvious. Even here, however, there are some subtle twists. Bad smells are not just a matter of poor hygiene. Illness and old age both bring characteristic odours of their own, and neither state makes people more attractive. Perfumes may spoof these messages.
As to pheromones, whether humans have these is questionable. A pheromone is a chemical that elicits a specific behavioural response at a distance. Some insects, for example, can release sex pheromones that will attract a mate from many kilometres away. The most likely human candidate is a substance called androstadienone. This is a derivative of testosterone that is found in men’s sweat and is known, from brain-scanning studies, to promote activity in parts of women’s brains. That this results in changes in behaviour has not, however, been clearly demonstrated. In fact, they might exist but they do not function as an attractant. They will elevate one’s mood but not attract a mate.
The most interesting area, though, is the interaction between perfumes and natural scents that carry messages but do not have the specific properties of pheromones. Odours co-ordinate a wide range of human behaviour. Mothers can recognise their children by smell. Children can recognise each other. Relatives can be distinguished from non-relatives, even to the extent of understanding who is genetically different enough from the smeller to be a good choice of mate. The sexes themselves smell different, too, and women can glean information about a man’s social status from his smell alone.
As long ago as the 1950s, a perfumer called Paul Jellinek noted that several ingredients of incense resembled scents of the human body. It was not until 2001, however, that Manfred Milinski and Claus Wedekind of the University of Bern wondered whether there was a correlation between the perfume a woman preferred and her own natural scent. They found that there is.
The correlation is with the genes of what is known as the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). This region of the genome encodes part of the immune system. It turns out that one of the most important aspects of mate choice in mammals, humans included, is to make sure that your mate’s MHC is different from your own. Mixing up MHCs makes the immune system more effective. The MHC is also thought to act as a proxy for general outbreeding, with all the hybrid vigour that can bring. Fortunately, then, evolution has equipped mammals with the ability to detect by smell chemicals whose concentrations vary with differences in the MHC of the producer.
That means people are able to sniff out suitable MHC genomes in prospective partners. A woman, for instance, will prefer the smell of T-shirts that have been worn by men whose MHC genes are appropriately different from her own. Women, it seems, choose not the kind of smell they would like on a partner, or even one that might mask a nasty odour of their own, but rather something that matches their MHC. In other words, they are advertising their own scent.
There are many useful inferences that might be drawn from this research. One would be that a woman’s choice of perfume will resist the vagaries of fashion. This may explain why most innovation in the industry involves changes in packaging and marketing, producing all that fussy paraphernalia, rather than changing what is in the bottle.
Another implication is that it is probably best that people choose perfumes for themselves rather than for someone else—unless they happen to know what the recipient likes. If one has made a good genetic choice of partner (i.e. someone with a significantly different MHC), then the theory suggests that one should not be able to choose something that smells nice to them based on one's own preferences. One might, though, have better luck choosing for a close relation!

The research also raises the question of what so-called unisex perfumes are for. In any genetically successful love match, one of the partners ought to hate a unisex perfume. Perhaps, in a world of olfactory fakery, this is one tip for the wise. If one's partner has a strange knack of being able to pick out all the right perfumes, this may not be a good sign at all. And that, of course, means that the best one can hope for is that one's lover or spouse has bought you a perfume that you absolutely hate!!!!!!!

Just Imagining

Imagination
is the process
of forming
mental images
or concepts
of what is not
actually present
to the senses.
We spend more time
in our imagination
than most people ever realize.
Within our imagination,
we create our ideals,
role models,
heroes,
perceptions on love,
how to live & survive in life,
plans, goals,
ideas of pleasure, fun,
pain, insult, offence etc.
In other words,
we form our personalities
around our imagination.
On one hand,
we escape from
the harsh realities;
as in an imaginary world,
life is exactly as we want.
On the other hand,
imagination, as an escape from reality,
can become addictive and debilitating.
In dwelling too long,
we run the risk of
losing touch with
the real world.

Happy B'Day, Lily Allen!

Lily Allen Allen was born (on 2nd May, 1985) in Hammersmith, West London. She happens to be (for the uninitiated) a pop-singer, songwriter and a talk-show host who has a wide following, especially among the youth (inclusive of the teens & the pre-teens) in the U.K. as well as in the U.S. - and also happens to be my latest fancy.
Her hit songs like 'Smile', 'Littlest Things', 'Alfie' and 'The Fear' keep me alive and bouncy! She hits the notes with her confident yet sweet vocals. She is much talked about for the postings on her MySpace blog which often get her the controversy tag. This year she has also shot into the tabloid discussions for having been voted as one of the sexiest women of the world by the readers of FHM, the men's magazine.
Of late, Lily Allen has also taken an interest in environmental and social concerns, which is praiseworthy indeed!
Here's wishing her all the best & a fantastic birthday celebration!

The Many Moods of John

John Abraham (born Farhan Abraham) was born on December 17, 1972, in Mumbai, Maharashtra (India). His father is a Malayali Syrian Christian while his mother is Parsi. John received his education in the Bombay Scottish School and later in Jai Hind College, where he completed his BA (Honors) in Economics. He was an avid sportsman, captaining the college football team. He earned his MMS degree from Mumbai Educational Trust.
In 1999, he won the Gladrags Manhunt Contest, thereafter he went to Singapore for Manhunt International event, where he bagged the 2nd place.

After having shot to fame as a model on the ramp as well as in select commercials and in music videos, John made his film debut with 'Jism' in 2003. Though his voice in the film had been dubbed, the film became an average success at the box–office. John had his first blockbuster hit in the Yash Raj film 'Dhoom' (2004), where he played an anti-hero. He got noticed, and much written about & featured in the film tabloids and glossies, for his unusual looks, beefy charm. His skewed stare and skewed smile soon became an alluring draw for moviegoers. In films like 'Zinda', 'Garam Masala', 'Aetbaar', 'Madhoshi', 'Lakeer', 'Paap', 'Elaan', 'Karam', 'Kaal', 'Viruddh', 'Salaam-e-Ishq', 'Taxi No. 9211', 'Baabul', 'Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal', 'No Smoking' and 'Saaya', John's himbo image often came under a scanner, but he proved his detractors wrong by making them lift the non-actor tag from his name after two diverse successes in 'Kabul Express' and 'Dostana'. He received critical acclaim and appreciation worldwide for the Deepa Mehta film 'Water' which even received an Oscar nomination in the Best Foreign Film category. John has received the 'Rajiv Gandhi Award' for his contribution to Bollywood in 2006. Further, he has been awarded for his contribution to Indian cinema in 2007 by the Giant International Awards.

[Photos: Courtesy-Yahoo & Google Images]

Just Justin

Justin Timberlake (born Justin Randall Timberlake, January 31, 1981; Memphis, Tennessee) is my all time favorite pop star. He won my heart when he was one of the members of the boy band, 'N Sync. Timberlake and four others joined together to form 'N Sync in 1998, and became an instant hit, releasing three albums in a row, all of which sold millions of copies. In 2002, Timberlake released his first solo album, titled, 'Justified'. He co-wrote all the songs on the album, which took two Grammy awards: one for Best Pop Vocal Album and one for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the single "Cry Me a River". His 'FutureSex/LoveSounds' was released in 2006, and included two US No. 1 hit singles, "SexyBack" and "My Love".

Even as a kid, Justin had tasted the flavor of show business as one of the Mouseketeers in the 1990's version of Walt Disney's 'Mickey Mouse Club'. As an adult, aside from his singing, he has appeared in several movies, including 'Edison', 'Southland Tales', 'Alpha Dog', 'Black Snake Moan', 'Shrek the Third' (voice of Artie), 'The Love Guru' and 'The Open Road'.

Justin trivia:

*After breaking up with his girlfriend Britney Spears in 2002, Justin was named the most eligible bachelor in America.

*Justin is a self-confessed fan of Björk, the Icelandic singer.

*He loves skiing and snowboarding.

*Dated three gorgeous actresses Cameron Diaz, Scarlett Johansson and Jessica Biel, not at the same time though, one after the other!

*Justin has written the hit song "Rehab" for Rihanna, and has also sung it alongwith her.

*Justin had to face a lot of unnecessary flak after the Superbowl 38and it's halftime show, when his co-performer Janet Jackson had a wardrobe malfunction. In fact, Janet & Justin were putting on a really great show, then Janet had the unintended exposure after which the things were just blown out of proportion by the media.

*Justin Timberlake is the executive producer of a new reality TV game show called 'The Phone'. Each episode will begin with two strategically placed cell phones ringing at opposite ends of a major metropolitan city. Once answered, a mysterious guide gives contestants five seconds to decide if they want to play the game. If they accept, the competition begins, throwing the two contestants into an intense race, where they must communicate via cell phone to succeed.

*Justin has put in a guest appearance in the video of the band named The Lonely Island, a single called "Jizz in my Pants", alongwith Molly Sims & Jamie Lynn Sigler.

*Justin had recorded the hit duet "4 Minutes" a Timbaland-produced track with Madonna, where the words go: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions, yeah (sung by Madonna)/ If I die tonight at least I can say I did what I wanted to do, tell me how about you? (sung by Timberlake)"; it made the grape-vines crazy!;-)

Favorite Justin quotes:

"I think music will always be a big part of my life. I can't go five minutes without singing, sometimes unconsciously. And people stare at me, and I'm wondering why they're staring, and then I'm realizing that I'm belting out a tune."
~
"True love, to me, is when she's the first thought that goes through your head when you wake up and the last thought that goes through your head before you go to sleep."

~
"I'm a perfectionist. I can't help it, I get really upset with myself if I fail in the least."

The Valley of Unrest (My favorite poem)

THE VALLEY OF UNREST
by Edgar Allan Poe; 1831
_Once_ it smiled a silent dell
Where the people did not dwell;
They had gone unto the wars,
Trusting to the mild-eyed stars,
Nightly, from their azure towers,
To keep watch above the flowers,
In the midst of which all day
The red sun-light lazily lay,
_Now_ each visitor shall confess
The sad valley's restlessness.
Nothing there is motionless--
Nothing save the airs that brood
Over the magic solitude.
Ah, by no wind are stirred those trees
That palpitate like the chill seas
Around the misty Hebrides!
Ah, by no wind those clouds are driven
That rustle through the unquiet Heaven
Unceasingly, from morn till even,
Over the violets there that lie
In myriad types of the human eye--
Over the lilies that wave
And weep above a nameless grave!
They wave:--from out their fragrant tops
Eternal dews come down in drops.
They weep:--from off their delicate stems
Perennial tears descend in gems.

Christopher - an ode

An ode, in pics, to my favorite male model named Christopher:
Christopher has been photographed by Paul Farnham. The great beautiful desert skies serve as the backdrop. Amazing.
[Pic courtesy: Google]

Feeling Hot-hot-hot!!!

It's hot to be young,
It's hot to cut loose,
It's hot be put in the water with the sharks,
It's hot to try out fresh manoeuvres...
It's hot to be hangin' on to the sacred pleasures
And secretly celebrate a whole lotta shit.
Yeah, yeah, yeah... it's hot to live life
Like there's no tomorrow,
Even playing with ya life, there's nothing right
There's nothing wrong
After all, life ain't no walk in the park -
It's a make it, or break it
Life lasts as long as one feels
The hot pulse, the hard throbbin',
heart-pumpin', adrenalin rushin' youth!
Play it in the raw!

The HeebieJeebies

Am I having the heebie-jeebies - a nervous depression - or am I past it?
If it is the latter, then I would like to heave a sigh of relief and in a bout of celebratory madness would very much like to yell my lungs out and scare the birds away!
And, if it is the former, then would like to look at the illusory pics below (assembled from the Net) that would make me question the apparent sanity and normalcy that hides under the surface of a disturbing reality and turns the tables on the questionable parameters guiding our vision & our perspectives!

Memories......

Memory and emotion are intimately linked biochemically, with hormones like adrenaline actively involved in forming the neurological patterns we call memories. Any kind of emotional experience will create a stronger memory than otherwise would be created. We remember our embarrassments, our failures, our fender benders.
On the face of it, that doesn't seem especially surprising: We feel strong emotion at important events, which are obviously more memorable than ordinary moments. But the connection is much deeper than that and dates back to our deepest evolutionary past. The major purpose of memory, is to predict the future. An animal that can remember the significance of that large, nasty-looking thing with the big teeth and sharp claws will survive longer and produce more offspring.

Net Funda [Courtesy: Google]:

What happens biochemically is that when faced with an emotion-charged situation, such as a threat, our bodies release the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Among other things, these signal the amygdala, a tiny, neuron-rich structure nestled inside the brain's medial temporal lobes, which responds by releasing another hormone, called norepinephrine. Norepinephrine does two important things. First, it kicks the body's autonomic nervous system into overdrive: the heart beats faster, respiration quickens, and the muscles tense in anticipation of a burst of physical exertion.

Second, even as it's kick-starting the body, the amygdala sends out a crackle of signals to the rest of the brain. Some of them put the senses on high alert, ready to deal with a threat. But these signals also tell the neurons that any memories recorded in the next few minutes need to be especially robust.

Memory can indeed be enhanced artificially. It's not necessarily a good idea, though. If someone is given a shot of adrenaline, the memory temporarily improves. But it also drives up the heart rate, so it could be dangerous for the elderly. Other memory enhancers, like Ritalin or amphetamines, used by college students to cram for exams, are highly addictive. Unfortunately, for people with truly serious memory problems, existing drugs are not yet powerful enough or nice enough.
For people haunted consciously or unconsciously by painful memories, there may be hope. The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder syndrome is the result of brain chemicals reinforcing themselves in a cerebral vicious circle. In the aftermath of a traumatic event, we tend to think more about it, and the more we think about it, the more likely we are to release further stress hormones, and the more likely they are to act to make the memory of that event even stronger.

Even without anything approaching a complete understanding of the complexities of the human brain, neurologists and psychopharmacologists have come up with dozens of medications to treat schizophrenia, depression and other disorders. The next batch of psychoactive drugs could provide ammunition against the even more mysterious disorders of memory.

The Other Side of Childhood

When recalling my own childhood memories, I realize they are so disturbingly emotional and painful at times that I dare not speak about them on a public platform. I never do. I try not to open up on those lines even to my so called 'close' friends..
One of my early memories was one of terror. I was very young, about seven or eight years old. I found myself being physically violated by one of my teenage cousins. I had been taking an afternoon nap, when this brother of mine came from behind and slid under my blanket, it was winter. I had the blanket pulled almost nearer to my head. I remember a lot of the trivial details like the color of my shirt and and that of the balnket and many other similar stuff. But I cannot really recall the sequence of that traumatic experience. However, to this day, I can’t stand anything over my face and head.
I remember being accused of saying something derogatory about that cousin of mine sometime later, obviously I had not spoken about the actual act of sodomy - I could never have pleaded helplessness, that's what I thought, that's what bothered me, I couldn't prove it wasn’t me who should have been reprimanded!!!!!! Perhaps that’s why I can’t tolerate movies about people who are charged with crimes they didn’t commit.

Vijender & Akki

Since I wrote last on my blog, many things have happened (nationally, internatonally & also in my personal sphere), but I am feeling disinclned to post a write-up recollecting the key events (I have commented on many on others' blogs or on e-space in general). Rather, would like to take a bow to two personalities - one from sports & the other from cinema - who came together for a rare event last October for the 'Make A- Wish' foundation in Mumbai. Olympic Bronze medallist Vijender Singh and action hero Akshay Kumar are two of my favorites, and here's taking a bow to these 'heroes'.

HeLLo OnCe mOrE

Hello!!!!!

I have apparently been branded a slow blogger by many of my e-friends, who have scrapped their disapproval on my Orkut scrapbook. Well, I cannot blame them..... I AM writing again after a REALLY LONG TIME!

SLOW BLOGGING, as I found out from the Net, is "a rejection of immediacy … an affirmation that not all things worth reading are written quickly” - and more. Obviously, I have NOT consciously preofessed such cultivated differential statement and nor do I choose to uphold such a manifesto. So, here I am..... saying HeLLo OnCe mOrE!