Ajmal Kasab Wanted Jannat : So be it!

There are various articles, discussions, forums that have talked about how the infamous and ongoiing trial of slain accused Ajmal Kasab is prsently undergoing in Mumbai. At first the controversy whether such a person carrying out such gruesome acts needed a trial, but then as a democratic country we needed to stamp our said position by giving the accused a fair trial, ok, alright. But at day 51, with still a long way to go and all of the tax payers money being used up to feed such a criminal, are we really justifying or stamping anything? One one hand the special Public Prosecutir Ujwal Nikam claims that kasab is a terrorist and ofcourse which we belive with all those evidencies of him holding a AK47 and shooting at the CST been flossed around in the media, to top it off there are eye witnessess from all over the country and from small to old who have identified Kasab, yet Kasabs lawyer maintains that he dosent understand a thing going on in court. So what is all this happening here? The media rightly covered the happenings during 26/11 with all their possible possibilities, but then why dosent the media campaign for a quick trial in this case. For millions its just a open n shut case with the punishment being of the maximum yet why are we sitting here and reading, discussing and writing about it. I would personally like to see the media take a bold step to start a campaign to put the words of the public at a level where it matters.

Reading some of the articles and blogs by renowned journalists on the day to day happening at the special court undertaking this trial, one wonders whether Ajmal Kasab is truly sane? He has been pursuing some out of the world acts like grinning and smiling about instances and witneses that have been accusing him of hosting the bloody bath on that night of 26/11. Is he making a mockery of the whole thing? Or does he really dosent understand? He had been promised with a little money and jannat for doing such a heneious crime, so why don’t we fulfull his desire of jannat on a fast paced trial by convicting him on all the charges that are being filed against him. How long will our judiciary system be an irony to itself, preach of being fair and then take light years to give judgement on an open and shut case. Why is ther being so much of prcecious time being spent of the honorary judges, lawyers, administrative officers and all others invloved in a case where everyone is watching. Are these people scared that they would give a wrong judgement?

After all this and if by luck the murderer gets a conviction, will there be more beurocratic loops in the system to keep his judgement at bay and take the matter upto the supreme court, I as a citizen of the country wonder and wonder where is this going to end up in. All those people who lost their lives have gone to a place beyond our understanding, yet those who live on with those memories have somehow taken the path back to their life’s. Is there anyone other then Ajmal kasab who wants this to get over, I wonder if he does too.

Everyone needs an explanation to the complexity of this case, if there is any?

Is everyone Reading ?

In the task bar on the right side corner of my machine in office, appears one tiny envelope, indicating I have a new mail in my outlook, thankfully I don’t have those that were showed in the movie “U’ve got mail”, starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks which graphically says “ U’vvve gotta New Mailllll “ with a sound TINNNNNGGG!. The thought of it being a work related email arises only for a mere millisecond but the thought of it being a much so called internet fwd rules over it. So then I open it to much of my delight that indeed it is an internet fwd. Internet fwds have been a common pastime for all we outlook users( or rather internet users) who have the MS outlook open forever on their machines as long as they r on their desk. What you get in these fwds are varied forms of expressions, information, do n don’ts, a hello fwd, a good morning fwd, it’s the weekend fwd, and the list goes on till eternity. What makes us read these fwds? The first thing that comes to my mind is inquisitiveness, hell we all are inquisitive about what’s going to be inside of that email. Be it of great importance or rather just a blonde joke, as long as there is a mail fwd from an acquaintance, it needs an opening. Sometimes though, I wonder if some emails need a Grand Red Carpet Opening. Ha !

Many a times than not, most of the emails are nothing but some passing chain of crap which comes bundled and covered with the best wrapping paper u could ever imagine. Or sometimes you receive a fwd of some insane incidents happening in some bizarre place in the universe and then u come across it again claiming that it happened in your neighborhood, I pray, God have mercy. This takes me to the thought of the originator or shall we call him “ Mr. Jack Ass “ of such emails; sure does the person need help I wonder. But nevertheless some of the fwds are ridiculously funny, creative and etc. So then comes a point, where each of us, the smart ass of all, needs to be vigilant of what he/she grabs into his life. There indeed comes a time where one needs to decide for himself the difference. The difference between what? The difference between your willingness to accept and what not to accept. There is always a thin line between the truth and fiction, in cases, where you aren’t the performer, but just the audience for such a performance. To applaud such a performance lies within us, to applaud for oneself coz random it is that the next person who would receive such information doesn’t care about the person sending it to him. Arguably in some cases yes but more than often it is a no.

A honest case in a world of today gets lost within the very diasporas of such smart ass vigilant audience, who for the smart ass they are tend to make the wrong decisions. Decisions where one could have a possible contribution towards achieving or rather giving contemporary happiness to ones that matter and of course to the ones that don’t matter. But for the short term individualistic gains that we are known for we don’t, because after all its just a piece information that could be incorrect coz of our assumption. So what does this all bring to? That information be withheld? Or we continue to admire and applaud without making a difference? Well I certainly don’t have the answers yet for sure, so I continue to open every tiny envelope that pops up at my task bar and so shall Mr. Jack Ass.

Michael Jackson - A name, lived with Time and Now Beyond

25^th July 2009 , what a day it was for millions of music buff’s. The tragic and shocking news of the death of music industries undisputed star in the history. Micheal Jackson. MJ as he was known to all. I don’t think there is any person with a little sense of life that does not know about MJ, not necessarily for all the good reasons, but for reasons without reasons as well. MJ might have been an icon a star an epic a hero, but in the end succumbed for the end.

An end that brings anxious moments for people who hear the details about his end, and what an irony hearing details about life after death.

When I first heard the news on Friday, it was like normal disheartening news that one hears on TV, but then as days went by, 6 to be specific, when closely followed this news, it brought me lot of agony and some concerns. Agony coz it made me wonder what a life he led to come to an end like this, and concern coz the final details of his death will not be known for another 2 weeks. A country that boasts about being “thee best” in technological achievements, cannot categorically put down in black n white the reasons of someone’s death. Ha.

This person MJ, has come out with music of its own class. I am not an out n out MJ music fan, but yes the music that he came up with, definitely needed an ear or rather ears to listen to it. He made some great tracks like , thriller, bad, Billy Jean , Black or White , Cry , You are not alone, Earth Song, Dangerous, Blood on the dance floor, just to name a few which I can recollect. Every song of his had this over the world, over the universe feel to it. The videos of each song were different, creative and amongst the best. This music was what made him a billionaire and these billions too brought an end to him. His lifestyle for the past years has always made him a target. A target which people thought was worth aiming at. From the 90’s child abuse to the latest his ex-wife alleging that MJ didn’t father the kids, was way of life to him. His eccentric behavior, frequent change in appearances bought him to the limelight forever.

After his death pathologists confirm that at the time of his death MJ didn’t have any food in his stomach but only had tablets. The abuse of prescribed drugs is what people are talking about, drugs that are narcotic was his prescription. MJ started getting acquainted with these drugs after his downfall during the child abuse case that started in the 90’s, a child abuse case which ended in 2005 which acquitted MJ of all charges due to lack of evidence. He always maintained that he was being targeted by some cheap stints, which now proves to be right as the child’s father Evan Chandler asked his son Jordan Chandler to tell lies regarding the child abuse by MJ, and now Jordan Chandler has decided to speak up in guilt, to say sorry. Sometimes one wonders isn’t this murder? It was because of this very reason MJ went into depression and got addicted to narcotic drugs. But then a sane mind would not do to oneself what MJ did to himself. The report that came out in the media was shocking, Insomniac MJ literally begged for sedatives to put him to sleep, didnt he know that these drugs were one day going to put him to sleep forever? The findings which apparently were not revealed yet leaked in the media said that injection wounds were found above or near to Jackson's heart. All appeared to have resulted from attempts to pump adrenaline directly into the organ in a failed bid to restart it. The autopsy also found unexplained bruises on Jackson's knees and on the fronts of both shins. There are also said to be cuts on his back, indicating a recent fall. The King of Pop's face bore scars, while the bridge to his nose had vanished and its right side had partially collapsed. He also suffered several broken ribs as rescuers pumped his chest after he collapsed in cardiac arrest. Michael's fans will be horrified when they realise the appalling state he was in. He was skin and bone, his hair had fallen out and had been eating nothing but pills when he died.

With such a battered death, I wonder if those things what he did good did any favors upon him? Apparently Michael donated and raised millions of dollars for beneficial causes through his foundations and charity. Ironically, Michael now has a 500M $ debt which nobody knows how its going to be collected. But he was preparing for his come back, a series of tours starting in London on the 13^th of July. Some say the funds that will be raised through his incomplete music will fetch more then what he is indebted to. So I guess its all settled in for those of whom he owes. But those millions of fans wanting more of his music will have to be content with what he has left for us to cherish. Cherish in times where one needs happiness, cherish in times where one wants to be alone with music, cherish in clubs, cherish in sadness, cherish for the unfortunate, cherish in times of war, cherish in times of hatred, cherishing all those heartfelt songs that he has given us.

So heres some great lines from MJ to MJ :

"Gone Too Soon"

Like A Comet
Blazing 'Cross The Evening Sky
Gone Too Soon

Like A Rainbow
Fading In The Twinkling Of An Eye
Gone Too Soon

Shiny And Sparkly
And Splendidly Bright
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like The Loss Of Sunlight
On A Cloudy Afternoon
Gone Too Soon

Like A Castle
Built Upon A Sandy Beach
Gone Too Soon

Like A Perfect Flower
That Is Just Beyond Your Reach
Gone Too Soon

Born To Amuse, To Inspire, To Delight
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like A Sunset
Dying With The Rising Of The Moon
Gone Too Soon

Gone Too Soon

Down Memory Lane...Mombasa, Kenya

I moved to Kenya somewhere in August 2002. I was the Engineer In-charge to build an extension to the already existing floating Dock in one of the major shipyards in Mombasa, Kenya. My decision to take up this job in a “place” like Kenya did raise a lot of eye brows within my fraternity. I kept getting sarcastic “ All the best” during my tenure when they learnt about my would be venture. Neither did I exactly know what is going to be my fate on this safari of mine. Infact as the person I am I would not think too far away from what I am being offered. It never crossed my mind regarding culture, people, food, time, place weather, etc. But I took it up, at first it was the monetary demand which made me think in favor of it, it was nothing that I can boast about but just the thought of earning 5 times more to the existing made me make that decision. The thought of fulfilling my dreams, dreams that were seen and pledging to fulfill them were at hand now. Dreams that were seen when times of hardships have overcome you, time when you have seen your parents wanting to give you the best and in return keep their desires at rest. That’s when my dreams emerged, to give them back 10 times more what they need.

I landed the Nairobi airport somewhere mid morning, the morning cold breeze sweeping through. Nairobi they say is cold for 12 months a year, I wondered if the warmth in people too had been eroded by this cold. For the first time I saw the local African beings. Never at their first sight could I imagine any kind of characteristics that were visible. I was on a high vigil as stories told to you while traveling always kept coming to my mind, I was then swayed through the rush of people to the Domestic terminal where I would board my flight to Mombasa.

Mombasa, the commercial capital of Kenya, and the entry and exit point of goods from the world over to the interior of Africa. The natural harbor made it possible for ships to come in the port from various parts of the world. The only other port which did not come even close to the Mombasa port was Dar-es-salam in Tanzania, but due to the available water draft, Mombasa could harbor in bigger ships. What infringed me was the difference in temperature between Nairobi and Mombasa, 45 minutes ago I was shivering in the cold and now here I am sweating my guts off while loading my baggage in the back of Salim’s car. Salim, a stout, small, curly haired dressed in faded jeans and T was waiting at the exit with the placard surprisingly with my name spelt correctly. Blazing he’s ever naughty smile nodded to me as he saw me approaching towards him. With a gentle yet robust handshake we moved on. A 35 min drive from the airport to my destination awakened me if I had made the right choice to come to Africa.

I lived for 5 years in Mombasa, traveling around Tanzania, Zanzibar and Kenya. I spent most of those 5 years working in Mombasa, a place known as a tourist hotspot for its beach resorts. The sand at the beaches are white unlike in India, and if you want to spend some great amount of time at the beach got to make sure you cover your eyes with sun glasses or else the harmful sun rays could really do the damage to your eyes. Nothing like a chilled bottle of Tusker beer at the beach, I have indeed tasted some of the best beers and this one comes up right there at the top in terms of taste. All beer lovers know that a beer is all about the taste.

Most people imagine that the local African people could be violent or harsh but with my experience living there I can comfortably conclude that these people are most humble and ever inviting. As long as you don’t have any foul interest they don’t mind your existence. Every Kenyan is well aware of the political happening in their country; a political debate over a chilled beer is always on the cards at nearby tables.

Right choice , we all make choices and when we make them weigh our pro’s and con’s which suit us, sometimes we manipulate our pro’s against the con’s or the con’s against the pro’s because that’s what we think is right. Its about the mind v/s the heart, we make choices to suit us, if we come out of it victorious it was the right choice and if we don’t we manipulate it again.

Now sitting here in Abu Dhabi as I write this post I am definitely sure I did make the right choice then, the experience of Life in those 5 years were exhilarating, and experiencing life is what I look forward to.

On this day..

On this day the 28^th Of April

In summers of the year 1982

When the lovely breeze defied the scorching heat

They tapped their legs and danced to every beat

They ran with a smile helter & Skelter

And must have ran brushing my shelter

They announced to the leaves

And they announced to the trees

They announced to the rooftops

And they announced to the shades

A girl has arrived with a smile that shall never fade

Years drifted like an Ocean tide

They come back today in my sight

Same Old Breeze defying the scorching heat

With their soft and hazy smiley treat

I hear them giggle as they whisper in my ear

Wishing my wife a blessed year

On this day the 28^th of April.

- Makarand

NewYork - Movie Review

Star Cast: John Abraham, Katrina Kaif, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Irrfan Khan;

Director: Kabir Khan

Music : Pritam

Rating : *** ½ / 5

New York. By far the best flick for the Yash Raj banner after Chak De! In terms of performance, direction and whether for box office is much needed to be seen. But the film drought factor might be an additional booster apart from that it is a good movie.

The movie starts with a very intriguing scene in New York where the FBI nabs Neil for smuggling arms in his cab. This scene by far exceeds expectations, and is definitely worth comparing to some of the Hollywood scenes within the same genre. Neil is detained by FBI agent Irrfan, who reveals to him that his college buddy John is a terrorist suspect and persuades Neil to act as an infiltrator into the married life of John and Katrina. John Katrina and Neil have been close friends during college sharing some great moments as pals, but at the end of their college days Neil falls in love with Katrina but at the same time is heartbroken as Katrina expresses her love to John.

That’s when 9/11 happens, Neil because of the heartache leaves his buddies and disappears.

7 years post 9/11 when Neil is nabbed by Irrfan , Irrfan convinces Neil to bring in information about John. Neil agrees to do so because he wants to prove that John can’t be a terrorist neither can he run a terrorist cell and also puts in a clause that the FBI wont kill John if he surrenders. If John is a terrorist and whether he truly runs a terrorist cell is for you to see when you watch the movie.

Kabir Khan is just 2 movies old, but shows what an entertaining director he is. He’s knack of creating scenes and bring the audience to the edge of the seat is repeated in various scenes throughout the movie. The very first scene of Neil being nabbed is definitely one of them, some of the scenes about the tortures in the detention cell are good, one particular scene where Katrina , wife of John is frisked by a NYPD officer and then the scenes that follow it are some of the best shot scenes. Another one worth mentioning is the climax of the movie, which arguably couldn’t have been shot in a better way. All in all this Kabir Khan is all set to entertain us movie buffs for a long time to come.

Talking about performances, the all talked expressionless, John Abraham is simply amazing. He definitely has grown, and as John himself says it’s like writing a new series of John himself. His performance stands out as an actor now. He’s definitely proves that he can be a good actor if it can be extracted from him. Katrina, well well surprise surprise, this broad can act too. What ever is said about the electronic voice makeover and stuff, is all useless if the emotions aren’t depicted on the screen, and she has done it remarkably. Neil Nitin Mukesh is good, though he could be better, with the amount of screen space he had in this 2 hr 20 min film he could have added a touché better, but nevertheless doesn’t let you down. Irrfan Khan, well this guy is like Mr. Cool, as if the screen is meant for him. The timing of his dialogues his body gesture, just explicit. He actually could talk you through his eyes only. Infact some scenes with his FBI seniors are damn good. His got his own way of convincing or putting the agenda right through you.

The music is very airy to the ears, Pritam once again proves his worth. None of the songs are in lip sync mode but travel through the entire movie to give you that feel of the emotions.

So all said and done, watch the movie without any intentions to see any ground breaking reasoning towards global terrorism. This movie though is based on terrorism is a Yash Raj production which does not include gruesome Lovy dovey part in it. So if the atrocities shown in the detention centre are diluted by including a slow track don’t mind it. But watch the movie for some good bollywood entertainment.

Happy Watching.