Living in the Social life!!

Where do you live these days??

Few days back I read one of the articles on how social networking has influenced on us. I was really influenced on this article on the influence of social networking . The article starts with a great illustration with two pictures wherein one of the pictures show a lot of people walking on the street and reading newspaper. Exactly under this, there was another picture which had the same people walking on the same street but focused on their mobiles phones.

Welcome to todays social networking!! A new age drug that has taken the entire new generation and which hasn't left the old generation behind. No Generation gap here. I have seen the older ones are more active and involved than our new kids on the block :p

Few years back, there were avid readers who were so attached to reading that they used to take the reading material even while attending natures call. Today, ofcourse I would not like to say they dont exist but they have been overtaken by mobile users alias social networkers. If you think about it, this has also increased the actual time being spent on nature call today ;)

I know a few who have lost -  sorry,  flushed their smart phones during such nature calls and had to pay good price for getting a not so smart phone again :p

I still have to figure out the blue tooth, a device called as handsfree. I understand the meaning and the actual safety it gives to you while driving a vehicle but I have seen many many people using it even when they are not driving. Maybe they use some invisible vehicle which Iam not able to see. I think if you are not driving, your both hands are free, you can use the mobile phone and speak. But think about a person who is standing in front of you, a mobile in his pocket, a blue tooth device which is not visible to you. Suddenly, he looks at you and starts smiling and whispering a "Hi". May god help us to have the vision of knowing that this Hi was for someone else. Ofcourse my puzzled face with a big question mark staring right on him made him somehow understand and he smartly removed the handset from his pocket.

Seriously guys, wake up. Just imagine how it looks when you see a person talking alone, smiling and counting his steps, looking everywhere and you cant see his goddamn handset and not even the tiny blue tooth. You look crazy man!

Coming back to the smart phones, the apps are so fantastic and addicting. All credit to Orkut who influenced us and we smart fellows slowly figured out which app is the best for humanity. Followers followed and leaders leaded. Today every smart person has all the smart apps and gets fun in connecting with the same friends, sharing the same jokes, liking the same posts in different forums.

It turns out to be funny when some naughty posts are posted in the wrong groups because the " Sharif" suddenly gets exposed. Poor fellow has to plead the Admin to quickly delete the post before people who know him as a decent / Sharif guy has a look at his post :p But the damage to his Sharifgiri is done!

You find plenty of friends who are On and Off inside some groups. Some are followers, some are active. Some have time, some dont. Some dont have time but multitask and stay connected. Some have time but have no zeal to contribute. Some are creative and want to always stay ahead and are hungry for likes. There are some who dont like to contribute in groups but like to privately chat with everyone. Fact remains that everyone today does have time and they spend it their way.

Earlier we used to spend quality time on reading something or making use of our creativity by writing something or spend time with our families and friends. We used to get a quality time for ourselves, a privacy that we desperately need to hibernate in our thoughts and actions. In todays world, where newspaper have been replaced by smart phones  and real meetings have been taken over by virtual individual and group chats, we have lost our original self.

It is good to stay connected with our near and dear ones, get constantly updated about everyone but we are slowly getting drugged and have got attracted to this virtual world. The constant notification, the beep and the vibration, the constant search of a like or a comment on the flashing mobile is something everyone these days aspire for. Catch hold of a great video, a hillarious joke or an interesting forward from someone, you immediately want to share with everyone on your virtual scanner. So much you get used to that you always expect a lot of comments and likes for anything that you share.You want everyone to like what you like, accept what you express, share what you uploaded. Sometimes it doesnt happen the way you wanted the response to be and you get a bit upset. If you are too low in your confidence, it makes you worthless.

Life today needs a balance. Change is important and if today demands you to be social the virtual way, be the change. But experience the real world, meet real people occassionally. Have a good drink with your real friends, get social with you family, give more time to your kids and wife.

To sign off, if you wish to stay back in the virtual world, try to be creative and express your self more instead of depending on forwards. Update whats on your mind and not someone else who gave a ready made thought as if he read your mind.

Whats the right word!!

So what language do you speak in English ?

English is a funny language and to confuse more we have the American English and the British English. The accents while speaking can confuse if you are wrong or the creators of this language.To top it, we have the slang and the most deadly one is the mixing of local accent to this.

Come in India, we make new babies of the language and ofcourse we name them. Why to follow the Americans or the British? the Indian follow his own style and add English at his will. For example a typical North Indian will speak Hinglish ( A mixture of Hindi and Indian English), a Marathi manoos will speak Minglish ( Marathi + Indian English) and so on....

A simple word "Office" in Minglish is pronounced as 'Hophis" :p

You travel different state and you will hear different accents that will make you feel if you are pronouncing the right way or them.

The confusion doesn't end here. If you travel South East Asia, you might give a small kick to yourselves as it will turn out that you speak too fast than the South East Asians. Ofcourse, you will be understood more than the Americans or the Brits because they speak the fastest and have crazy pronunciation according to many of the South East Asians I came across.

Indians are blessed with a great tongue and they know how to stress and I think they use Phonetics more than any other country today.To give you a small example, lets take the tiny amphibian " Turtle". If you are an Indian, I am sure, you will hit your hard palate with your tongue a definite two times while making the pronunciation. But visit anywhere in South East Asia and you can see and hear "Ta.te" Use phonetics when they pronounce and if you haven't seen a turtle, you will keep guessing the real meaning.

Indians will make sure they stress every letter carefully and will not care about facial expressions unlike many other neighboring countries. The letters "T' , "R", 'L" are created more for Indians than anyone else. Come South East Asia, all these letters are not in their pronouncing dictionary.

One of the countries I visited in this region, a local colleague there asked me if we have the " big Shoppy Mau Jian Cafu" ( as pronounced by him)  in India as well. This was a question he asked while we were travelling in a car. I could construct with my limited command over English that he meant " Big Shopping Mall Giant" . I intelligently replied that I never heard this name before and I thought we don't have it in India. Fortunately, a few minutes later, he took me near this mall and to my surprise, he asked me again, " Cafu, you dont have in India??"

It was " Carrefour'....  Ofcourse, we do have it India but we never pronounce it that way, do we??

So a simple way I adapt is to put some 'L', "R" and 'T" somewhere when i try phonetics in these countries. I suggest you all can do the same ;)

It took me a while to figure out when one of our partners commented on one of his staff member that he is an "ESSO". Sorry guys, its not easy as its an abusive word. Maybe I help you with the last letter O which by phonetics is " Hole".

Before you figure out what the word was, I thank you for having the patience to read my blog. Do come again and bless me :)

Review life!!

Happy Republic day to you dear Indian Reader!!

Its been a while to add some good contribution to my personal blog. Handling a company blog is a daunting task which takes even the personal interest but this is my place so I can use all the time in the world :)

Today, Iam tempted to write a review on a great Marathi movie which I chanced upon yesterday night in a theatre nearby my place. I felt I need to make a review to my non-marathi friends and open up their minds to think about the next generation kids. Our kids are innocent and they are always curious to know things and we as a parent, as a guardian have a lot to think about and answer. We always have a tendency to avoid bad influences, shaky surroundings and we keep trying to avoid questions for which answers are not right for them to hear at their age. This movie is all about it.

The movie makes a great start by a Franklin D. Roosevelt quote “We may not be able to prepare the future for our children, but we can at least prepare our children for the future. ..

This movie takes a great point for discussion and dominates on the need to view few important points while upbringing our children. The name itself will ring bells for many as its called B.P. Yes, thats the name.

Before you bring your ethical devil out and start yelling, please read it till the end :)

The name B.P is abbreviated as Balak Palak ( literal translation : Child & Guardian). Ofcourse, it covers the same thing that you first thought after hearing the name. ( A Blue Film).

The story begins with a father who is completely disturbed and is thrashing his teenage son as he finds some adult CDs in his room. The boy confesses to have been seeing and takes the beating. The father is completely frustrated and the actual story begins when he asks his wife on what goes wrong. The wife narrates the story in a complete flashback mode.

The story revolves around 4 teenagers ( 2 boys and 2 girls) who are full of life. Four of them resemble the average teenagers that we know or resemble us when we were of that age. They are of the right age where there are no barriers, no evil thoughts, bubbly, naughty, mischievous  and just like any normal kid, they also have a lot of questions to be asked and answers to be obtained. For these kids, every day is a new adventure, new things to learn and just the right age to get influenced with evil things.

One afternoon, in the village where they live, when the kids are returning from the school, there is a lot of chaos in the neighbourhood. They get a glimpse of a 19 year old girl ( whom they know and have played with her) who is whisked away in a three wheeler accompanied by her parents amidst a lot of crowd and gathering. ( The background of this incident is that the girl had an affair and was impregnated.) Naturally the kids have absolutely no clue of these things nor they understand any terms on how someone gets pregnant and so on. In all the chaos, they overhear a typical adult term used by a typical woman (a common character  interested more in interfering others lives)  in the village.  The term used in Marathi language in the film is " Shen Khalla ( literal translation : Ate cow dung :p) The same term is also used in Hindi as " Mu kala karke Aai. ( Blackened her face). :p

The kids somehow feel uncomfortable with the event and are confused. They try to ask each other as to what happened to that girl. Why did she ate "Cow Dung"? Why did the villagers gather for such a small issue? They feel there is something fishy about this remark. They finally promise each other to find out the real meaning for this word as they believe that the girl who got punished must have done something wrong.

Each of them try to check with their own parent as to whats the real meaning of that remark. What do you mean by "Shen Khalla?"  All of them get tight slaps and return as losers. Somehow, they become more curious as they feel everyone is trying to avoid the answer and are very secretive.After a lot of struggle, one of the boys gives an idea that they should meet one of his friend who lives in a slum area and is basically an orphan aged 15years or so. This slum dweller is a typical character whom every parent would like to ensure that their kids are isolated from. He is a school dropout, has all the bad habits, knows more than an average boy of his age should know and has unnecessary answers for everything ;)

The lives of the four kids change drastically as soon as he is introduced in their group. This slum boy makes them understand on how girls get pregnant and gives them a lot of books to read and spoils all the innocence. The kids get influenced and within a short span of time, they get engaged in activities like reading porn books, doing extra work to collect money so that they can buy a porn video and watch it together. The entire outlook of seeing the world from the innocent eyes change. One of the boys and girl get attracted to each other and fall in love, while the other boy gets attracted to a girl aged 22years in the same neighbourhood. The young girl initially doesnt realise that the boy is attracted to her but he does a lot of crazy things like following her repeatedly, making regular advances by shaking hands, trying to sit next to her every now and then.

All hell breaks loose when this kid proposes the 22 year old girl :D and then she realises that he and the other three kids whom she knows personally are undergoing a lot of changes in them. She decides not to complain to anyone as it might become a big issue. She becomes concerned with the developments in the kids lives and fears that they might do something wrong. Tomorrow the kid might try to be cosy and befriend someone else. It was important to somehow change the thinking of these young teenagers.

She involves an elderly person, popularly called as Uncle, from the same village who is respected by all the villagers and is the moral police for all the young children. Together with him, they first decide to speak to one of the kids parent. He meets the boys father and tries to convey the message via a story in which he claims that a teenager of his sons age proposes to a 22 year old girl. He also mentions that it is not love but out of lust. The father, typically, an ignorant soul laughs at the story and makes fun. He claims if it was his son, it would have never happened and even if it would have, he would have killed him.

Uncle decides that it would be a disaster if he mentions to this father that it was his own son who did it. He believes that if the kids are wrong, someone has to ensure they are appraised with it and prove them it was wrong. Every kid at this age has a lot of question, and there is a need to listen to them, answer them. If it is not attended, they have their own way to get the answers and this is how they do it. There are a lot of bad influences like the Slumdweller kid and there is a need to ensure the kids do not search for their answers contacting such people.

He teams up with the 22year old girl and asks her to make the kids comfortable. She smartly convinces the kids that she also would be happy to enjoy the video that they saw earlier and manages all of them at one place. Everything is set and the teenagers are about to start watching the movie when suddenly the door bell rings. Seeing the elderly uncle makes it a very tensed situation however Uncle decides to make them comfortable and informs them that he knows what they are upto. He claims he is also interested to see it along with them. The Kids are puzzled and try to avoid the embarrassing situation to sit with an elderly man.

He tells them that he knows each and everything about them and has been watching them closely. He reveals that he also knew that one of the boys proposed the young girl. He explains them that being kids is the best thing in life and what they been now doing will only loose their innocence. He explains them that things they are watching are ugly and are presented in a very ugly way. There will be a time in life when they will actually enjoy such things in the most beautiful way. All the first things that time will be stale for them and it will also spoil the current way of looking at people. He explains them that its not a crime to know about these things however there is always a definite time for everything. He also agrees that their parents do a mistake by ignoring these things and do not explain it to their kids. He suggests them to keep chatting with their parents and add two extra friends instead of adding the likes of the slum dweller boy. He says they should keep making a try and have a constant dialog with their parents and the same should happen for parents. They also should try to slowly educate their kids.

The story ends here from the flashback and the wife who narrates the story turns out to be one of the 4 teenagers and her husband is the other. They realise that they have a lot of such negative influence in todays world like Internet, mobile phones etc. There is a need to accept these things in life and ensure to have constant chat with your kids. They decide to forgive the mistake of their child who was caught by the father and make a fresh start again in adding value and educating the child on things they are curious for.