Ghost Movies

All ghost movies are almost same. Initially only one person feels the presence of someone else and rest all characters deny ghosts. Later, people start dying or disappearing. Ghost generally kills coward people first. One ghost is enough to deal with all the actors. There is lot of shouting and loud music to scare viewers. Ghosts wear dirty, blood stained and torn clothes and dark makeup. They open big mouth shout even louder than their victim or some do not speak at all and convey written messages through walls. Most have long hairs. They have big dark circles too. I understand they don't sleep during night but what do they do during day??

Ghost movies require small budget. No big stars. No big sets. No foreign locations. You can show any amount of bakwass. No need to justify anything.

The most shocking and time waste recent ghost movie is Talaash. Where in the end all the blame is put on a ghost. You never expect this from Aamir's movies.

I recently watched Conjuring, its a decent ghost movie.

My Bench Poem

In a Big Corporate Office I work,
Surprisingly, Not having much to do.

Reading blogs of random people,
What am I up to?

This period is called bench,
When I am waiting for work.

I think I am getting insane,
At colleagues, who are busy, I smirk.

Are They Really Beggars?

On hearing "Beggar". The first few images that form in my mind are of a sick differently-abled adult wearing filthy, old and torn clothes. A helpless widow with a child crying in her arms. A hungry and thin teenage boy or girl. All of them asking for food or money in the name of Allah and give you Dua in return.

However, you cannot relate these images to beggars in Zakir Nagar(My locality) during Ramzaan. During this holy month you come across a new breed of beggars. By simply looking you cannot differentiate between a beggar and a common man. There is exponential rise in their number as if someone have outsourced them to my locality for this month. Zakir Nagar and adjacent Batla House are muslim localities and as prescribed all the people here indulge into good deeds like charity in holy month of Ramzaan. This is what attracts beggars from all across Delhi and Allah better knows from what other places they arrive.

These new outsourced beggars are well trained for begging. They use very different and new tactics for attracting attention. I faced some of them:

1. The other day I was returning from office a women in burqa called me "Beta suno". I thought she knows me or she is lost and she is asking for some address.
I stopped, "hmm. Bataiye".
She replied "Beta bhook lagi hai, kuch khilva do". And pointed to the Nihari shop in the corner.
I was surprised. She didn't look like a beggar from any angle.

I started moving and she followed me for about a minute shouting "Beta suno. Beta suno". I was embarrassed.

2. I was buying pakodis today just before a few minutes to iftaar. Someone poked me from behind. I turned and found a girl standing behind. She didn't say anything just spread her hand for begging. Being already late and irritated with sudden poke. I said "Maaf karo yaar".
And I turned back expecting the girl to have gone seeing my irritation and angry look.
To my surprise she poked me again. Controlling my anger I again said, "Maaf karo", and turned back.
She again poked me and also poked the guy standing next to me at that crowded shop. He also turned and gave an angry look. Then she again poked me the fourth time. I got my stuff packed and left the very next moment. I cannot describe how irritated and helpless I felt at that time. I really hate poking.

3. One of my friend offered Biryani when a beggar came while he was eating at a shop. 

Biryaniwala asked "Bhai bade ki(Beef) biryani dun ise ya Chicken".
My friend replied, "20 Rs. ki beef biryani de de".
To this the beggar added, "Chicken dilva do bhai".
And my friend was shocked. He was himself eating Beef biryani and the beggar asked for Chicken. For your information Chicken biryani is costlier than Beef biryani.

There are many other ways they attract attention and ask for money as if you have borrowed it from them.

They are so professional I even found two beggars sitting in sun with umbrella at mosque's gate. They don't want to miss any opportunity even if they have to sit in shining sun during summer.

The most important thing to note here, Allah is no more involved in any of these transactions. They have stopped asking in the name of Allah. Don't expect Dua in return.

I Want More Social Pressure

Today I am not surprised to realize that I am living my life in a particular way which is very common. This is the way life have to be in my world. This is how everyone lives here in my society. My problem is that I think I am different and I should not live like this. The most obvious and immediate questions are:

• What is wrong living this way?
• What is my way of living, if there is any?

Answers:

1.

Good grades in school. Respecting parents and other elders. A Bachelor’s degree from a well known institution. A well paying job. These are the social expectations till early twenties. Your neighbors and relatives create lot of pressure on children for good grades. They destroy your teenage life by constantly asking about your percentage, admission and later placement.  After you achieve all this. Later they want you to marry a girl of your parents choice. Then you are supposed to keep earning  good amount of money and keep your family happy. Even a slight deviation from this path may attract severe criticism. I am fine till here. But what doesn't matter now a days is how you are bringing that “good amount of money” home. These ideal social characteristics can be relaxed to any extent if you are rich. Is all the pressure I faced since childhood was only for money?  There is no emphasis on being a good human. Everybody even pretends to be religious. Though no religion teaches you to be only rich. No one is ready to sacrifice. All great people were selfless and some even sacrificed their life to teach us. Today even donation is for the sake of showing off.

2.

I haven't developed any new way of living. But I just want to live like what I have read in books since childhood. Our society is full of double standards. I was made to learn so many chapters of moral,social and environmental sciences for scoring good grades. But now when its time to implement those concepts. I can easily follow the opposite path. I don’t feel any social pressure. I am not a superhero nor I am a saint. I still need those relatives and neighbors who should stop me from doing anything wrong and push me for doing good work.

Some more Questions:

• Why some people have to be poor and their life full of problems in society?
• Why not these poor and rich settle among themselves and let middle class people like me live in peace?
• I am not doing anything so why can’t I become a little more selfish and stop even thinking all this?

Romance and Realizations

After this long and tiring week, tonight I watched Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. The movie I once watched in childhood and later kept watching it in parts on TV. Everybody knows it was a blockbuster, but I felt this today after facing the magic of this movie. I think this is my age when I could give value to every scene. It really is one of the most romantic movies. Which makes me realize that there is right time and age for everything. I did not liked DDLJ in childhood that much. But its really awesome.

A Scene from DDLJ

And, Its so hot outside that you cannot think of going out on weekends in Delhi now a days. This makes it best time to watch movies at home. After spending whole week in highly Air Controlled environment in Office it is more difficult to face heat now. You can imagine how people cannot live without things which are considered luxury in society. This is one of the ways to make people slave. 

This is the end of this weekend's realizations. And the search for "Mere Khaboon Me Jo Aaaye.." begins.

Turning into James Bond

My every morning begins with a chase. I chase a 15 seater Tempo Traveller, picking up corporate slaves across South Delhi. This vehicle reaches Batla House Bus Stop at exact 7:55 AM. Even I reach the place at the same time. And sometimes a few seconds late. I am supposed to board that Tempo along with few others at the Bus Stop to reach office.

I leave my apartment at exact 7:50 AM. Five minutes is just enough time to reach Batla House Bus Stop from Zakir Nagar by a rickshaw. The time is so idealistic that if rickshaw-wala is lazy(or Old) or there is traffic its sure that I will miss the tempo by a few seconds. Then I have to hire an auto-rickshaw or board a Red DTC bus if its there in the vicinity at that point in time. And the chase begins. I have to reach Kalindi Kunj before the Tempo via another short route. This way I have my share of morning adventure. Nothing is more refreshing than reaching that point and catching the Tempo. This becomes my first achievement everyday.

I run like Bond but I don't look like him. He is too old.

My list of similarities with James Bond:

• Like all Bond movies my day begins with a chase.
• I am dressed in complete formals.
• Like Bond, I have to answer my Lady Boss if I fail.
• I am working for a big organization which operates across the globe.
• I am connected with others who tell me the location(of Tempo) via my Sony phone. :)
• I use multiple transports while chasing. (Rickshaw, Auto-Rickshaw, Bus and sometimes I run too)

Although I can rephrase it in many ways but being late is a bad habit. And I am doing this since college days. Many times I missed attendance and good grades coz of being late(there is always something to blame for bad grades). However, college is not just about attendance and grades. Vaise bhi "Old habits and bad habits die hard".

No Place to Die Peacefully

Death sounds like the end of everything. All thoughts, aspirations, feelings everything. But there is one thing you should not expect even after death. Peace. Especially if you have spent all your life in the middle of chaos in a modern Indian city and you die there.

You must have struggled whole life to find a decent place to live. But you will also need a place to get buried. Some space in a nearby graveyard. And if you think you will get that space easily and will sleep there till the Day of Judgement, you are wrong. Even after death you are not supposed to sleep.

If you live in one of many overpopulated localities in Delhi like Jamia Nagar. Let me tell you that there is just one graveyard which is already full. Whenever a new grave is dug now a days, its found to be already occupied by someone else's bones. So people try at some other place and even there they find bones. Then after repeating several times they find a place with no bones or maybe a place with only few bones which they hide in a corner.

Modern expectations after death:

• So even if you find a place near the boundary of the graveyard. Please expect children, from the locality next to the boundary, playing on your grave. And don't think you can scare them by making strange sounds and pretending to be a ghost from inside your grave. Now a days nobody is scared of ghosts. 

• Please expect loud music because humans are also living nearby. And if you want you can go and dance in their functions too. You can easily mix up with ladies with excessive makeup. Just make sure to take a deep bath in mud(to look similar) if you are lying in grave for more than a decade.

• Please do not mind if people dig your grave every few months and hit your old decaying bones with a hoe or shovel. Actually they are just trying to adjust one more person in the graveyard.

• And please do not get annoyed if people slowly acquire the graveyard land illegally and build their house on the top of your grave. And even I expect you to repair their sewer pipes if they pass through your grave or they are nearby. Come on! You were human once.

Jamia vs Madras Match

Jamia Millia Islamia played against Madras University at Jamia Sports Complex on 27th February. And very first time after renovation of Sports Complex, Jamia students got a chance to watch a National Match which is broadcasting live on TV. Jamia has earlier hosted many Ranji Trophy matches and even Women's World Cup.

Union External Affairs Minister, Salman khurshid and Jamia VC, Najeeb Jung at the match.

Jamia Team worn green dress and Madras team was in blue. It looked as if India is playing against Pakistan. The difference was everybody supported the same team that day. Actually, In Jamia Pakistani and Indian supporters are almost equal in number. Even sometimes I feel Pakistani supporters are higher in number or maybe they are more passionate than Indian supporters. So, there is always a chance of clash. Keeping this in mind the University Administration always deploys Jamia Bulls(security guards) at hostel common rooms.

Supporter on a Tree

The stadium got fully packed even before the match begun. Hundreds of students came to cheer for their own team. Girls turned up in unexpectedly high numbers. There was separate seating space for girls. They shouted even louder than boys whenever Jamia team took wickets in last overs. Many girls got inked in green color for supporting their team. Even some of them shook a leg on their favorite song.

The entry was closed within an hour after the match begun. But as always Jamia students found a back door to enter in the event. One guy climbed a tree to support Jamia. Students had a hot exchange with security over entry inside the pavilion.

About 20 students gathered near the gate.

"Ander aake kya karoge? Wahin raho", argued the guard at the gate when students asked him to open it.

"Yahan khade hain. Ander baith kar match dekhenge. Plz open this gate", replied a student.

"Ye match dekhne ki jagah nahi hai. Chalo peeche hato yahan se.", guard shouted angrily.

"Mujhe pata hai ye Hospital Emergency Ward hai. Aur me Doctor hun. Ab to khol de gate", said a student sarcastically. 

Everybody around laughed.

"Aur ye peeche mere saath nurse bhi hain", added another student.

"Aur mujhe heart attach aa rha hai", added someone else. 

People laughed gain.

University Administration put this banner outside the venue. I think it was for controlling the crowd.

Jamia won and everyone shouted all the way till the last ball of the match. This was an easy win for Jamia. In typical Jamia Language, "Halwa match tha. Agar hamari team bayein haath se khelti to bhi jeet jaati". :)