Happy Navratri-1 2011... Fasting is Good!!

Jai Mata Di.... Let's ROCK. I wish Happy Navratri every year, here's the one from last year & from year before that. So, just wanna say one thing, FYI: Navratri is twice a year... One is Vasant/Chaitra Navratri (around March/April) & other is Sharad Navratri (around October/November). Seems like most of the Indians in US (specially Gujratis) think its only once a year in Winter with Garba & stuff. So I'l be doing my fasting for 1st & last day, which means Fruit & vegetables only diet, same as I do every Tuesday. Navratri-1 2011 started yesterday with my 1st day of fasting and I have my Tuesday fast today, 2 days in a row. And restricted diet for rest of the days. Fasting is good, read this article from New York Times which says that too. So... lets all fast together, get healthier & live life better. JAI MATA DI!!!


One small update I forgot to mention. I went to get my fruit Salad at the Cart on Wall Street but I forgot to take my wallet. I talk to this guy every time I see him, say Hi & stuff. As I didn't have my wallet, he was totally cool & said I can pay next time. Just mentioning here, that how small things like making contacts/relationships & being nice to people can pay in any/many ways & is good....

Rajdhani Temple & Dollar Tree

Today is Tuesday and I keep fast on Tuesdays. For part religious & part health reasons. Religious as in its a day of Lord Hanuman and people fast for that (you'll get a nice husband they say, considering the fact that Hanuman Jee was baal-brhamachaari how exactly does that happenes??). I understand that fasting once a week is good for health. it cleanses body and makes us stronger. I just eat fruits & milk today. No grains specifically and no sugar, salt, spices or any oil/fat as well. I've been doing it for more than an year now and I am quite fit as you know (Really??). I also went to Rajdhani Temple today (3rd time in 4 days, I didn't go even once when I stayed here earlier.. wow!!) and particicpated in Arti/Puja, it was nice. I remember Hanuman Chalisa completely so sung it aloud and other bhajans-keertans as well. Took the prasadam laddu which I can't eat yet as I am on fast (was almost tempted to eat that besan ka laddu, yum!!).

Then went to Dollar Tree. OMG, Dollar Stores suck... why? They have a board at entry that 'pick a cart, because you will need one'. And yeah, the cart was so full by the time I was half done. Everything there is for one dollar, grocery, food, utensils, home stuff, bathroom stuff, decoratives, medicines.. I mean everything!! And I just keep picking stuff seeing it's so cheap so I can definitely find some use for it somewhere. Atleast ends up spending 40-50 dollars. Well, they are not bad as they have some nice stuff for so cheap. Just too bad for someone like me who has addictive shopping, specially at cheap deals or great bargains. Yesterday I did nothing actually. Just cooked my famous Pachranga/Gamda Daal, it was actually nice. Nothing special I think so I'll close for now. Thanks & Take Care... JAI HANUMAN!!

Happy Navratri... जय माता दी!!!

The past week has been quite uneventful and so has been the weekends, nothing special happened. The weather was nice many times and I was mostly doing nothing. The boring TRM training was still going on in office part of which got almost over (would be totally finished in a week or two). My shoulder is getting better but i m still in lil pain. I actually showed to a 'zarrah' or 'maalishwalla'desi medicine as well. He said that its a muscle pull claimed to cure it in 3-4 days. It is not totally cured yet but its is feeling better, maybe because of the painkiller tablets he crushes & mixes in his medicine (i did see painkiller tablets lying on his table). A new experiment, lets see how it goes... On following one of my office friend's advice and he gave me some oil massage & tuesday I went towards Noida for some work and had to take Greater Noida Express Way. It's a nice road but goes on so straight & long without any proper directions/pointers that its very easy to get confused. I drifted kilometers away from Sec-127 where I had to go and then had to come all the way back. Another FYI... I was looking pretty cool that day wearing half-shirt & nice formal wear; that day I was standing outside this building just waiting for someone to come out & there were some cool girls standing/sitting outside from one of the offices there. They were looking at me very interestingly n nicely & kinda smiling too, then one of the girl sheepishly took out her cellphone pretending to be talking & tried to click my picture secretly. I am not kidding or boasting ppl, it really happened... she looked that I have seen it & after that she was really coming to talk to me; but by then the person coming to meet me from the building came out & I had to leave (still wondering who the person was, it was my DAD). Not very sure what's all going on & what should I do, I just hope it's all for good and brings some good!!

Navratri have started this week & I have planned to keep fast for all the 9 days, i used to fast for first & last day earlier. I have also been keeping fasts every Monday (not Solah-Somvaar for a good wife as ppl think... Monday is considered Lord Shiva's day) these days; but its not out of any blind-faith or something like that. It's for many decent reasons including healthy dieting (& practicing to fast & remain without food when needed if i need that in future sometime, lol) and just as a self-enlightenment process. It feels good... Alright boys n girls and dear friends, that's it for now. Please keep blogging & keep reading my blogs (& COMMENT to let me know of your views). This is RAHUL saying, Good Bye & Good Luck... HAPPY NAVRATRI , JAI MATA DI & JAI HO!!!!!

ॐ नमः शिवाय... Jai Ho (Slumdog Millionaire)???

Today was Mahashivratri, a festival of Lord Shiva and I had a 'niraajal vrat' (a fast where you don't even drink water) till evening. I am a religious guy and I am a proud Hindu as well. Also I respect all religions & I do believe in god in all its forms and ways. I have started weekly fasts this year on every Monday, for Lord Shiva (as Monday is considered day of Shiva in Hinduism) and also for fitness reasons (not because we need to save money in these days of recession but I have heard fasting once a week is good for health). Although these are 'falahaar vrat' (fasts where you can eat fruits etc but no grains/cereals, so feed on expensive fruits which doesn't helps recession or economy much) and are supposed to be good for stomach/digestion & health; probably will give me my flat tummy (& 6 packs which I have been targeting long time now). Yeah, the dream started 6 months back and I have been working hard with stable results (stable means my tummy has been stable without increasing and so has my weight been stable, not reducing much somehow though). I would like to wish Happy Mahashivratri to everyone who celebrates it and happiness to all others, may god bless everyone (what about those who don't believe in god?? may satan bless them or who ever they worship!!).

Anyways, I was going to talk about Slumdog Millionaire (SM) since LONG time and in the mean time it has won 8 oscars today (seems I got late in my movement); does it really deserves JAI HO (Jai Ho means 'hail/praise you' or 'victory be ours')?? I am happy for Rehman (whose name was not being pronounced right, they were saying REKHH-MAAN. Don't worry, Americans do that, I have been called RAAOOL!!), and for Resul & Gulzar as well. They worked for it and deserved it; in spite of the fact that I believe that all of them have done better work earlier (in fact I personally feel that SM is one of Rehman's most mediocre work in recent times, compared to all the great work he has done). But it's all about getting the right opportunity to get recognised and I am glad that they did. Danny & other's getting there awards is good too, I think because they have worked hard to earn it and it's nice to see that good work is being appreciated (except me who's still waiting to be appreciated... don't wonder what i did though, lol).

So what's my problem then?? The problem is why someone from outside India makes a movie on us, on our stories and our culture, our facts and about us... and gets all the accolades and awards for that?? Can't we come up and make a movie for ourselves?? And I think we actually have made great movies in past but they didn't get recognised at this level. Do they understand us more than us, and can express us better than we can do ourselves?? Last time it was Gandhi and now its SM, both the movies about Indians & India made by foreigners. It takes 26 years for India's name to shine in Oscars again and still done by not one of us ourselves... and we are rejoicing and celebrating it sooooo much as if I got a billion dollar lottery or something!!

The second pain is the movie itself; as an Indian it's sometime shameful to watch a movie like this. I mean it doesn't glorifies our country; even if it's not a complete lie or maybe a fact about us, it's till not a happy thing. And it has been definitely overdone too in some places. These kind of movies represent us in a very bad shape to outside world, it strengthens there misbelief. Even now there are people from western world who think of India as a country of snake-charmers & elephants & poor people and all that, I have met those people and hey really think so. Now this movie just strengthens the misconceptions. Why don't people make some movies which shows the positive side of India, the great growth and development going on & awesome things happening around us (like Chopra's or Johar's movie where Amitabh uses a chopper to go to office in K3G or the heroes go to Switzerland just to sing songs). And as such, all other countries have there share of dark side & poverty etc. Why somebody else tries to capitalize on our problems (shouldn't we be doing that ourselves; our politicians are better in that sense I guess, as they are really capitalizing all our problems)??

The third thing is why so much fuss about OSCARS anyways?? Oscars are not an International award or a Nobel of some sort, it's just an American Movie Award. International recognition for good work is always great, but why do we need an approval from an American award to tel us that we are great? I would love our work & artists to be watched by whole world as we watch foreign art & cinema but I don't think that we should create so much fuss & desperateness for an American Award for an Indian movie or artist (actor/director/lyricist/musician/technician). We are not part of there awards because those are not for our movies anyways. We don't give awards to there movies & neither do they care. If any of our movies does goes there under certain categories (like foreign movie or documentary etc) and it's greatness is appreciated it is good. Or if our people (like Rehmaan, Shyamlan, Bhanu, Resul etc) get recognised for there amazing work, which is really awesome. But we need to understand that world doesn't begins or stops at Oscars; and we need to continue appreciating & loving the great work of every artist & that's there biggest award (also we can support them by saying no to PIRACY. I was trying to rent Sarkar Raj this Saturday and surprisingly the guy was trying to sell me a good print of Dilli-6 which I didn't take as I wanted to watch the movie in theatre).

The phrase "Jai Ho" used to be very popular greeting of mine in college (wishing friends Jai Ho & all that) but then I saw some music-director/judge of Saregamapa using that and I stopped using it. But for me it's still mine & that's how many of my friends & people know Jai Ho!! Like the small beard under lip I used to keep (just because I couldn't grow a french cut beard & didnt wana grow moustache, i kept this as facial hair) which became a national craze after Amir Khan flaunted it in Dil Chahta Hai. Or my folded half sleeve shirt style which I have been sporting since college days has become a style statement after Amir did it in Ghajini (he copies me a lot i guess, even my chuha-cut hair which I had in school back in 1995 or so). Anyways, I'll stick to my style-statements & use them as & when I want without worrying about what people think... Alright boys n girls and dear friends, that's it for now. Please keep blogging & keep reading my blogs (do COMMENT to let me know of your views too). This is RAHUL again saying, Good Bye & Good Luck... JAI HO!!!!!

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