LIFE OF SIXTY MINUTES

While going for a walk my colleague asked me an impromptu question, "Eram if you get only an hour to spend with your beloved what will you do to make it memorable?"And my reply was...

Lie in on his lap, oh so soft,

ruffle my hair on his feet, may he be besot,

look deep in his eyes, oh so lost,

hold his hand warmly, and beat the frost,

make him decipher my murmur, a secret let out,

entangle him in the enigma of my talk, then laugh at his doubts,

kiss him and mollycoddle his soul, will start with the supple pout,

I Love You, a feeling that will echo lifelong after the shout,

Pull his cheeks, make demands, let him say where's the wand,

make him think how to fulfill, and grow more fond,

crack jokes with no funny bone, but elicit a response laugh lorn,

with all this and more those sixty minutes will be gone,

But will have happiness till eternity,

a memory etched with tinges of affection and divinity,

a desire for more such sixty minutes and pray for their longevity.

YOU ARE YET TO DREAM!!

Till the time others don't laugh at your dreams, Tom you are yet to dream,

Till the time eyes don't pop in disbelief saying, "Those achievers were different," Dick you are yet to dream,

Till the time they don't say, How will you go about it? Harry you are yet to dream

The time you elicit these responses you will be out of being Tom Dick and Harry.

Close your eyes and just ask yourself when did you last fly on the wings of your far reaching dreams. And it will explain whether it was a fling with life or genuinely an affair to remember.

WHAT SHOULD I SAY!

God kneaded damp mud to create man and then blew his spirit in him.

His mud moulding manouveres, sometimes hard sometimes soft punches made and shaped us. But I often think the pre-creation kneading and pushing continues even now in the post creation period . Every experience adds in our dough of life the required amount of moisture, dryness, sometimes sweet sometimes sour filling, making us the relishable or a desirable specie. Every incident is like that kick and nudge which we might have recieved before coming down on Earth. Isn't it? What made me talk of this thought is the eager hunt for a suitable Boy for me yaar! It is at that time I interrupted and said no. Not knowing why an improptu no to this groom hunt for me. Is marriage genuinely an important ingredient to make my dough of life fine to taste and perfect in shape. Recently I blogged on my seniors blog where I read about the fading affection in marriages after a gap of long years, and a usual promising start at the onset of every marriage bond. Some even said that single is the status to be in and I'm utterly confused what if I be what I am abhi. A single ladki!

CINE-MAA'S TALENTED CHILDREN

WHAT made 2008 great. Sorry for the delay in unlocking the brusary of the year goneby. As the trove was opened I found focus lights blinding both the 11 yr old Darsheel Safary and 65 yr old Amitabh Bachchan, and ear shutting applauses telling the world if you have it in you then you can romance the audience at whatever platform number of life you are. Whether 11 or 65.

The year 2008 defied the age adage, there was the competing spirit between the bunny teeth and tied white hair,

Darsheel smiled away into audience heart with his white protruding wealth,

Even Ghaasphus vegetatively spread greenery of love among those in their dotage,

If the expert chef tickled the love bud in his mid aged object of affection,

The cherubian from dyslexia showed deflection,

One had spontaneous questions ready,

the other had pat replies to the queries of doddering mom and sexy,

For him getting happiness was all about encircling the pillar, and for his younger half it was all about finding the pillar(Nikumbh).

All in all the brushstroke and the stirring in the bowl made a good recipe(indicative of Amitabh's craft) on the canvas (indicative of Ishaan's Art) of cinema.

FLIP FROM THE FLICKS

THEY too hopped onto the bandwagon, only to fall flat on their faces. The initial success on the BO of two reigning themes in Bollywood – Retro (OSO) and Sports (Chak De! India) – had other filmmakers too wishing to ride the wave. But while both OSO and Chak De... were highly ap preciated, the subsequent flicks in the respective genre – Khoya Khoya Chand and Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal – failed to make the same impact, despite a competing publicity blitzkrieg. LT analyses the contrast between the movies of these two genres, which rocked 2007 and those which were docked.

SPORT IT LIKE WHOM?

Shall cinema stick to sticks? Those hockey sticks wielded power and scored maximum points on box office scoreboard, while the (foot)ball was not on roll.
Juxtapose Chak de! India and Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal, and you'll find a number of similarities, except their ultimate fate. Imagine a country that worships cricket accepting it's stepbrother, hockey. To the bad fortunes of its director Vivek Agnihotri, Goal came when people were already in awe of Shimit Amin's baby. The regionalism of Chak de! India was far more understandable than the racism of Goal. Rivalry between team members was more of a treat to watch than the white and black difference. While Chak De... flowed with the kudis from different regions who united on the field, Goal was stranded in the field of cinema. Despite the common thread run ning in the plot where the teams are lurking in darkness, sans sponsers and boosters, Chak de!... clicked, while even Billo couldn't play a supporting role to sell bad direction or the weak plot of Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal.
70'S BIGGER THAN 50'S?

Khan we say Khan sells? Whether it was his item number powered by six pack abs, or the 31 stars who descended on the dance floor, the rocking 70s of Om Shanti Om had the box office tinkling more than the golden era of 50s Bollywood in Khoya Khoya Chand. While Sudhir Mishra's moon got lost in translation, the intricate weaving of contemporary starlet Deepika Padukone's role with the stars of yesteryears Rajesh Khanna, Sunil Dutt and Jeetendra in OSO was accepted with open arms. Asking for alms was Khoya Khoya Chand, which stood out for its staginess and clueless characters. OSO, on the other hand, was overflowing with energetic and vibrant performance. It is an irony that a superstitious belief like reincarnation was a hit, while the much-castigated casting couch failed to grip attention. Khoya Khoya Chand left us conjecturing whether the film was a replay of instances from Meena Kumari, Madhubala or Guru Dutt's life? On the contrary, King Khan's OSO made sure you got the 70s dose in plenty, with the quintessential gestures of Manoj Kumar and Dev Anand's swagger along with Mithun da's jiggy moves.

eram agha

(This piece appeared in Lucknow Times, for those who missed it there catch up here.)

Here's another take on life.........

"LIFE IS A GIFT TO BE SHARED AND NOT A PROPERTY TO BE DEFENDED" By Anonymous

Thought for the Lifetime

GOD SMILES AT THOSE WHO SMILE AT OTHERS...........(try it!!)

by Eram Agha