Growing Up Again!
It was a usual Friday Night weekend party at a friend’s place. After all the ‘hungama’ and ‘masti’ with half of the crowd falling asleep, just before sunrise some of us started playing the game “Truth or Dare”. The most entertaining and deadly “DARES” did their usual rounds with all of us, and then it was our turn to finally play the TRUTH game! Some of us got away with some easy questions while some of us were cornered with some embarrassing and trying moments. With a closely knit group, there is never a need to lie but sometimes remembering a past moment in our lives can be rather embarrassing or at times an eye opener! One question that was etched in my mind even days after the party – “Tell us three things / events in your life you repent the most!” Well an ideal answer that we all like to give is “I repent nothing in my life, as I have learnt something from every experience of mine!” yes, this is a great answer probably in an interview for a job, but does this answer seem true to any of us? I am sure we all have some actions or events to repent in our lives which we never like to admit and keep covering them up by saying - “yes I admit it was a mistake but I don’t repent it as I learnt a lot from it!” Well that sure is a brave front to take and I am sure we learn a lot from our mistakes, but I am also sure of this that there are some mistakes that we wish we never did!
I would have never gone back in time to relive my past, had it not been for this article. “Growing Up Again!” – What an optimistic thought. I look at it as a chance to live my life again! Well that is technically impossible, but imagination can be as wild as that! And if I have to imagine this then some of these mistakes I would like to undo. Yes of course many of my mistakes did teach me a lot, and were definitely required to mould me into the person that I am today. Imagine what a wonderful feeling it is to have the maturity of a 30 year old and still have the ability to change or undo certain actions that I did in my adolescence or may be childhood! Life would be so perfect! But these imperfections in life itself teach us the path ahead! Those sweet mistakes which accidentally introduce us to the love of our life, or which cause a fight between two thick pals only to bring them closer together, would never see the light of the day! Those days of hiding a Mills & Boons behind the science text book pretending to study, and then crying over a low percentage, those days of splurging our pocket money in the first week of the month, only to beg and borrow for the remaining weeks, fighting with our dad for a low pocket money least realizing that it is silently teaching us to plan our finance, those days of cribbing over not having a room to ourselves only to grow up and realize how much we miss sharing the bed and secrets with our siblings, those days of envying older cousins on having their independence waiting for the day when we will start working ourselves, only to realize that childhood was that golden period of our lives which will never return, etc. etc. these are experiences, and sweet mistakes which are worth every tear, smile, frown, and sleepless night they bring along with them. But even today when I introspect, I remember certain situations which probably haven’t affected me much, but have troubled someone else in many ways! These are mistakes I may have committed unknowingly which may have hurt someone and in the heat of adolescence I must have never bothered to even make up to that person! Today as a 30 year old my reactions are far more calculated and thought over, but as a teenager I know I must have hurt a friend, or a loved one least bothering about his or her feelings. These are some of the spoken words, or actions that I would like to undo if I get a chance to live my life again!
I have been very fortunate to have had a wonderful, secure and happy childhood unlike many people I know! Childhood comprises of those formative years of our lives where the experiences and learnings actually mould us into unique individuals. Although we were 10 people living in one house, our family extended over a larger group with other cousins living in the same building as us. We were a family of almost 30 living under the same roof! In school I remember telling my teachers on various occasions that I live in a joint family, least knowing that mine actually was a unique joint family with almost 30 people living in the same building sharing, playing, celebrating, cribbing and crying together! We had the most wonderful vacations and never needed friends to spend time with, as our cousins were our best friends! We had what many children could only dream of - A financially and emotionally secure childhood! But what I appreciate today, I took it for granted as a child. At that time, at any given time, I could walk into any of my uncle’s home and find someone to talk to or play with right from a 75 year old to a 5 year old! Today I miss having all those people around me. On the third floor of our building all flats were occupied by our family, so often in the evenings, the main doors of those flats would be wide open and we would walk in freely and move around and play wherever we like. As a kid I used to hate to see those doors shut and would always assume that it is against the family’s tradition to keep those doors shut, but today, I am eagerly waiting for all of them to just come back in the re constructed building to live together not even bothering about those doors open or shut! When my parents decided to leave that flat and settle in Vikhroli, I visited my empty home many times before relocating myself…. But many years later recently when I saw pictures of our building terrace posted by a cousin on Facebook, I realized that I missed giving a last visit to that terrace which is witness to some of the most memorable moments of our lives. It was our cousins’ so called ‘adda’ where we have celebrated all festivals, played holi, organized fun n fares, had our birthday parties, in fact some of us must have celebrated all our milestone events on that terrace right from our own naming ceremony to birthdays to wedding sangeets, to baby showers and probably completed the circle with our kids’ naming ceremony too! This ‘adda’ cannot be replaced by any other hang out area in the world; still as a kid I never really appreciated it as much as I do today! Such a wonderful childhood probably could have just bettered had I appreciated all these things while I experienced them! If I have to grow up again, I would want to live exactly the same childhood with the awareness of being given life’s best childhood and the ability to appreciate the same at the same time!
Growing up again! – In a matter of a few hours I could relive my complete life and imagine what I would want to retain and undo in my life in a jiffy! Imagination can surely reveal some truths that we often overlook in reality. Well many situations and experiences in our lives happen out of our own or other’s actions and reactions. But there are some experiences that are led by fate and are not governed by anyone’s actions or reactions. Are we destined to see happiness and pain in the degree that we actually do or do we decide that degree ourselves? Can we rule our destiny? If I have to grow up again, Can I make that small change in my life, where I can plan my destiny? Can I undo an event when I have lost a dear one? Can I undo a mishap in the life of a close friend? Is it possible to evade a natural calamity? Will I still see that much pain in some other form, if these events have to change? May be yes, or may be no! I don’t really know the answer to this, but it would be great if in my second chance of growing up I could edit my life in such a fashion that I could contribute in a larger way towards my fate not merely through my actions and reactions, but by changing certain patterns in life which seem rather unpleasant. I know this isn’t possible in reality, but imagination need not be bound! It is only in our mind’s eye that we can see fiction and wishfully think of living it someday! Alas! Growing up again does seem to be a great option, but is not a reality… we are here to live just ONE life, and we must do all we can to live it to the fullest!! Here’s wishing all the readers a very Happy Diwali and as we step into the New Year, I wish another healthy, happy and prosperous year for all of us to live to the fullest!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
June 2011 Editorial - The Making Of Pratyush
By the time you all read this article, the verdict will surely be out. But it is just the end of May, and as I write, my mental state of mind currently is all jitters thinking about our most awaited event of the year – Pratyush 2011 which will be showcased at Rangsharda Auditorium, Bandra (W) on June 11, 2011. Well the program needs no introduction. Most of us have been a witness to this extravaganza! This is our third consecutive year and I am confident that we shall rock! For the last two years, I have had the pleasure and the privilege to cover the event in Prabhu Tarun and the opportunity to thank everyone on and off the stage for putting up a massive show like this! Since this year, our event is held in the second week of June, we will be covering the event only in July. So that leaves me not much scope to talk about what and how it all happened! So I found an alternative way of covering Pratyush…
Well, for all of you Pratyush is an event which is slated to happen somewhere in June, and I hope you all have booked your tickets! But for US (Pratyush event organizers) it’s a journey that began three years back! Journey filled with tears both of joy as well as sadness, excitement, fun, tension, anger, frustration, happiness, pride, overwhelm, bliss and I can just go on. From the day we conceptualized this show, till date, it has been the most unpredictable journey.
Way back in November 2008, we conceptualized an event with dance! All we wanted to do was re-create the magic Prabhu Tarun created some years back in 1997 in Amrut Mahotsav, which was the 75th year of Prabhu Tarun, and the whole year was celebrated with various events. Although we were very young, and barely contributed to the organizing of the show, we were participating in it and loved every moment of the rehearsals. For us ‘dance’ was all that mattered, most of us were in college and studying in our crucial years, but still would find time to make it on time for rehearsals with loads of dedication. Our then choreographer Mrs. Nandita Dhurandhar did a great job and trained us to perform various dance forms on that stage. The then Editor of Prabhu Tarun Late Mr. Suhas Kothare was indeed successful in getting a bunch of youngsters together to put up a good show, which surely left an indelible impression on young minds like ours! Such great memories, and we were simply looking forward to reviving the same magical moments! All we wanted to do was bring the youth together and provide them a platform that we got years back to showcase their talent, which otherwise gets lost in the competitive world of academics and corporate life! We got a tremendous support from the Prabhu Tarun Board and soon we got going with conceptualizing the program. Mrs. Puja Ajinkya – The director for the first year, and Mr. Vishwas Natekar – The choreographer for the past three years did a fantastic job! We got a remarkable response from the community and could put together almost 70 participants on stage! The community witnessed the first of its kind mega event and everyone associated with the show won accolades for themselves!!!!
The next year, was even tougher as it raised expectations from people. This time we brought in a new director Mr. Satish Joshi, who brilliantly wove a script with various dances and Mr. Natekar again at his best, put up a massive show! Well, the output was sheer brilliance!!! With accolades coming from every corner of the community, it was a very overwhelming moment for us! Because, rising above already high expectation was a tough task, but we sailed through. All this was possible because of a great team that worked persistently to put up such a mega event! And here we are, all set to rock the same stage all over again!
Well the journey so far sounds very good. But behind this journey there is a lot of heartbreak, disappointment, and fear. Is that very shocking to know? Well it may be shocking but, it is true. If you all have noticed I have been referring to ‘US’ as ‘Pratyush event organizers’. These organizers are a part of the ‘Yuva Manch’ committee and have selflessly given their time and have put in efforts to make this show happen. They volunteer for work only because they feel the urge to give something back to the community and by choice put in all the efforts without awaiting any orders from the Prabhu Tarun Board. But some who want to only be called a part of the committee for their vested interest, with time choose to walk away. It is indeed very strange to see success get into people’s heads. It is very unfortunate that some people just need more attention. They start thinking that the accolades are only for and because of them, but the fact will always remain that it’s the team effort that makes it happen. Talent is appreciated when it is exhibited humbly. People play politics on a stage which for us is nothing less than worship; such power seeking people can never garner respect and hence start drifting away from the team’s joint missions. The way a rotten potato spoils the entire basket of potatoes, similarly, they drifting away also leaves their residual negative energy and stench. We as a committee suffered in the bargain, losing many participants to this rotten potato!
Pratyush is all about the people participating in the show. As long as such negative vibes are only restricted to the committee, it is easy to handle. But when it starts trickling down towards the participants, it gets difficult to manage. Participants are ultimately young bloods, who get carried away by the words spoken by some who are all out there to ruin the show. Now you may ask that why would there be anyone who would want to ruin the show? Well we have experienced people whose nuisance value has risen to the hilt only because they have not been able to get the power to rule and the attention they feel they deserve while planning a program like this in spite of working in the committee. I know it sounds absurd and immature, may be it seems even more childish for someone like me to mention it here. This is not because I want to express my woes to you, but this is because we as a team want to appeal to all the participants.
We so eagerly wait every year, for your participation in this show, which provides you a platform to showcase your talent. We were never as lucky to get professional guidance in various art forms and stand on such a massive stage and perform. Here we are bringing it on a platter for you all and the least we want is a little bit of cooperation and support by being there and participating. Now that’s not asking for too much. Don’t wait for your friends to come, as here is where you originally met your friends, so if some don’t come never mind, you will make new friends! It is the art that binds the people together, and with clean intentions and a thirst to learn there will always be scope to find like minded people and grow your network even bigger.
All this may have dampened our spirits but we still have it in us to give this year our best shot! Not for anyone but for those participants who without complaining have always supported us through thick and thin. We started off on setting up a stage for the community and we are continuing our mission. We don’t know how long we can continue, but we are proud of these three years we have slogged it out along with all our participants. So all of you hold your breath, and raise a toast to the best event that could have happened in the history of our community, as we unfold Pratyush 2011. Starring a huge bunch of enthusiastic PPs, drama scripted and directed by Sanjoo Talpade and Bhakti Pradhan Shete, and dances of course choreographed by Vishwas Natekar! We guarantee you a rollicking ride as you experience another extravaganza from our kitty! Looking forward to seeing all of you come and cheer our little, young and old participants. I personally wish to dedicate this year’s Pratyush to all those participants who have stood by us like rocks through all the three years by contributing in their own way and encouraging us to keep coming back with a bang!
Well, for all of you Pratyush is an event which is slated to happen somewhere in June, and I hope you all have booked your tickets! But for US (Pratyush event organizers) it’s a journey that began three years back! Journey filled with tears both of joy as well as sadness, excitement, fun, tension, anger, frustration, happiness, pride, overwhelm, bliss and I can just go on. From the day we conceptualized this show, till date, it has been the most unpredictable journey.
Way back in November 2008, we conceptualized an event with dance! All we wanted to do was re-create the magic Prabhu Tarun created some years back in 1997 in Amrut Mahotsav, which was the 75th year of Prabhu Tarun, and the whole year was celebrated with various events. Although we were very young, and barely contributed to the organizing of the show, we were participating in it and loved every moment of the rehearsals. For us ‘dance’ was all that mattered, most of us were in college and studying in our crucial years, but still would find time to make it on time for rehearsals with loads of dedication. Our then choreographer Mrs. Nandita Dhurandhar did a great job and trained us to perform various dance forms on that stage. The then Editor of Prabhu Tarun Late Mr. Suhas Kothare was indeed successful in getting a bunch of youngsters together to put up a good show, which surely left an indelible impression on young minds like ours! Such great memories, and we were simply looking forward to reviving the same magical moments! All we wanted to do was bring the youth together and provide them a platform that we got years back to showcase their talent, which otherwise gets lost in the competitive world of academics and corporate life! We got a tremendous support from the Prabhu Tarun Board and soon we got going with conceptualizing the program. Mrs. Puja Ajinkya – The director for the first year, and Mr. Vishwas Natekar – The choreographer for the past three years did a fantastic job! We got a remarkable response from the community and could put together almost 70 participants on stage! The community witnessed the first of its kind mega event and everyone associated with the show won accolades for themselves!!!!
The next year, was even tougher as it raised expectations from people. This time we brought in a new director Mr. Satish Joshi, who brilliantly wove a script with various dances and Mr. Natekar again at his best, put up a massive show! Well, the output was sheer brilliance!!! With accolades coming from every corner of the community, it was a very overwhelming moment for us! Because, rising above already high expectation was a tough task, but we sailed through. All this was possible because of a great team that worked persistently to put up such a mega event! And here we are, all set to rock the same stage all over again!
Well the journey so far sounds very good. But behind this journey there is a lot of heartbreak, disappointment, and fear. Is that very shocking to know? Well it may be shocking but, it is true. If you all have noticed I have been referring to ‘US’ as ‘Pratyush event organizers’. These organizers are a part of the ‘Yuva Manch’ committee and have selflessly given their time and have put in efforts to make this show happen. They volunteer for work only because they feel the urge to give something back to the community and by choice put in all the efforts without awaiting any orders from the Prabhu Tarun Board. But some who want to only be called a part of the committee for their vested interest, with time choose to walk away. It is indeed very strange to see success get into people’s heads. It is very unfortunate that some people just need more attention. They start thinking that the accolades are only for and because of them, but the fact will always remain that it’s the team effort that makes it happen. Talent is appreciated when it is exhibited humbly. People play politics on a stage which for us is nothing less than worship; such power seeking people can never garner respect and hence start drifting away from the team’s joint missions. The way a rotten potato spoils the entire basket of potatoes, similarly, they drifting away also leaves their residual negative energy and stench. We as a committee suffered in the bargain, losing many participants to this rotten potato!
Pratyush is all about the people participating in the show. As long as such negative vibes are only restricted to the committee, it is easy to handle. But when it starts trickling down towards the participants, it gets difficult to manage. Participants are ultimately young bloods, who get carried away by the words spoken by some who are all out there to ruin the show. Now you may ask that why would there be anyone who would want to ruin the show? Well we have experienced people whose nuisance value has risen to the hilt only because they have not been able to get the power to rule and the attention they feel they deserve while planning a program like this in spite of working in the committee. I know it sounds absurd and immature, may be it seems even more childish for someone like me to mention it here. This is not because I want to express my woes to you, but this is because we as a team want to appeal to all the participants.
We so eagerly wait every year, for your participation in this show, which provides you a platform to showcase your talent. We were never as lucky to get professional guidance in various art forms and stand on such a massive stage and perform. Here we are bringing it on a platter for you all and the least we want is a little bit of cooperation and support by being there and participating. Now that’s not asking for too much. Don’t wait for your friends to come, as here is where you originally met your friends, so if some don’t come never mind, you will make new friends! It is the art that binds the people together, and with clean intentions and a thirst to learn there will always be scope to find like minded people and grow your network even bigger.
All this may have dampened our spirits but we still have it in us to give this year our best shot! Not for anyone but for those participants who without complaining have always supported us through thick and thin. We started off on setting up a stage for the community and we are continuing our mission. We don’t know how long we can continue, but we are proud of these three years we have slogged it out along with all our participants. So all of you hold your breath, and raise a toast to the best event that could have happened in the history of our community, as we unfold Pratyush 2011. Starring a huge bunch of enthusiastic PPs, drama scripted and directed by Sanjoo Talpade and Bhakti Pradhan Shete, and dances of course choreographed by Vishwas Natekar! We guarantee you a rollicking ride as you experience another extravaganza from our kitty! Looking forward to seeing all of you come and cheer our little, young and old participants. I personally wish to dedicate this year’s Pratyush to all those participants who have stood by us like rocks through all the three years by contributing in their own way and encouraging us to keep coming back with a bang!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
February Editorial - She's Always a Woman to Me
“In order to impact my world the way I wanted to impact it, I was going to have to become a woman of substance.” – Susan Meier (Author)
What defines a woman of substance? I think a woman of substance is someone who by sheer living makes a difference in this world. She is the one who attempts and fails, but does not mull over the failure! She is the one who can lead unconditionally! She is NOT a spectator but she is the EXECUTOR who is willing to stand by her decisions however wrong they may go! For her family and friends, SHE is a part of the SOLUTION.
We often misunderstand a Woman of Substance to be the same as a Career Woman. A woman need not be a career woman to become a ‘woman of substance’. There are many women I know who are struggling to find their identity in the corporate world, while that does not stop them from being the women of substance, a working status does not qualify them to be one either. A woman proves her metal at home by being the perfect homemaker, multi-tasking between the kitchen and the kids and others in the family! She is the one who moulds the children in the house, helps them grow and become better and successful human beings! For a homemaker her job is well done if she has successfully fulfilled her duties towards her family keeping her own identity intact. Duties she easily fulfills but she often forgets to prioritize her own needs and desires, losing her identity in the bargain. Being a homemaker is a 24/7 job, therefore it is very crucial for her to voice her personal priorities, do the things she likes which give her satisfaction. She has to have her own world which gives her enough space to move out of the mundane. I know of women who are homemakers and still take time out, this is their “ME” time! They run classes, or join hobby classes, do gardening, charity, explore places, meditate, cook, paint, decorate their house or even clean their house! But they certainly do not sit at home and pity their state and expect empathy in return. These women know to respect themselves and their time and therefore command respect from others as well. Many of us when asked to name one “woman of substance” we know, will name our own mothers! These mothers are the ones who have got IT right! That makes them efficient, effective at the same time happy individuals! And after all, A happy homemaker makes a happy home!
Yes indeed homemakers are role models in their own way, but we cannot leave the ‘corporate woman’ out from this discussion. The status of women has been subject to many great changes over the past few millennia especially in India. In modern India, women have adorned high offices on the corporate as well as political front and have contributed to some of the most path-breaking success stories in the history of Corporate India. There is no doubt that we are in the midst of a great revolution in the history of women.
But the corporate world does not change rules by gender, therefore today; a woman has to be as tough as a man to prove her metal here! She has to fight preconceived notions that she will compromise on work because of her commitments at home. Or that she will NOT be able to physically manage the job like the way men do it! Rather there are men and sadly even some women who think that a woman is best where she deserves to be i.e. home! Now that’s nasty!
By nature women are great at multi-tasking, when at home they can gossip over the phone while watching a TV serial! They can run through their child’s studies while setting up the washing machine! They can cook as well as instruct the house helpers about their daily chores! In short while men at home boast about being uni-functional devices, which they so proudly claim if asked to contribute in household chores, women seem to be the best bet in the corporate world, if they have the right opportunity to prove their talent and use this same multi-tasking ability at work. And with time women have successfully found their foothold in the corporate world, and climbed to the topmost rung of the corporate ladder, far above the glass ceiling, shattering it to smithereens. From Shehnaz Hussain & Indira Nooyi, to Chanda Kochar women have proved that they are here to widen their own horizons and enrich the corporate world with what they have to offer. Like them, many women today have understood their scope and identified their area of expertise in whichever field they opt. Today, a woman does not mind doing that extra struggle juggling between her home and work, if at the end of the day she has mental satisfaction through work and peace through her home. She is independent and there for a cause! She has a point of view in the decisions both at work and at home, and she loves her struggle and her “no time for nonsense” status as her focus is well defined. Every such woman in my eyes is a woman of substance. She knows what she wants and also knows how far she can go to achieve it and then relentlessly works towards her goals!
International Women's Day (8 March) is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women: past, present and future. While I believe that we co-exist with men and do not need such days to celebrate US, I also feel that such days give us a reason to look within ourselves and appreciate ourselves for what we are. May be the men think it is not fair to have a special day for us, and we don’t have such MEN’s days to celebrate them! But for all you men out there, on this very occasion of the upcoming women’s day go ahead and wish at least two women who you think are “women of substance” giving them reasons why you feel so, and you shall be made to feel SPECIAL for the rest of your lives ! This suggestion coming from another woman cannot be futile! Try it and you will realize that women are those special species on this earth that can make your lifetime as special as you like it! If you are still not convinced then let me conclude and remind you of a song written by a MAN dedicated to all WOMEN describing them! And the song goes…..
She’s Always a Woman to Me
- Billy Joel
Oh--she takes care of herself
She can wait if she wants
She's ahead of her time
Oh--and she never gives out
And she never gives in
She just changes her mind
She is frequently kind
And she's suddenly cruel
She can do as she pleases
She's nobody's fool
And she can't be convicted
She's earned her degree
And the most she will do
Is throw shadows at you
But she's always a woman to me
What defines a woman of substance? I think a woman of substance is someone who by sheer living makes a difference in this world. She is the one who attempts and fails, but does not mull over the failure! She is the one who can lead unconditionally! She is NOT a spectator but she is the EXECUTOR who is willing to stand by her decisions however wrong they may go! For her family and friends, SHE is a part of the SOLUTION.
We often misunderstand a Woman of Substance to be the same as a Career Woman. A woman need not be a career woman to become a ‘woman of substance’. There are many women I know who are struggling to find their identity in the corporate world, while that does not stop them from being the women of substance, a working status does not qualify them to be one either. A woman proves her metal at home by being the perfect homemaker, multi-tasking between the kitchen and the kids and others in the family! She is the one who moulds the children in the house, helps them grow and become better and successful human beings! For a homemaker her job is well done if she has successfully fulfilled her duties towards her family keeping her own identity intact. Duties she easily fulfills but she often forgets to prioritize her own needs and desires, losing her identity in the bargain. Being a homemaker is a 24/7 job, therefore it is very crucial for her to voice her personal priorities, do the things she likes which give her satisfaction. She has to have her own world which gives her enough space to move out of the mundane. I know of women who are homemakers and still take time out, this is their “ME” time! They run classes, or join hobby classes, do gardening, charity, explore places, meditate, cook, paint, decorate their house or even clean their house! But they certainly do not sit at home and pity their state and expect empathy in return. These women know to respect themselves and their time and therefore command respect from others as well. Many of us when asked to name one “woman of substance” we know, will name our own mothers! These mothers are the ones who have got IT right! That makes them efficient, effective at the same time happy individuals! And after all, A happy homemaker makes a happy home!
Yes indeed homemakers are role models in their own way, but we cannot leave the ‘corporate woman’ out from this discussion. The status of women has been subject to many great changes over the past few millennia especially in India. In modern India, women have adorned high offices on the corporate as well as political front and have contributed to some of the most path-breaking success stories in the history of Corporate India. There is no doubt that we are in the midst of a great revolution in the history of women.
But the corporate world does not change rules by gender, therefore today; a woman has to be as tough as a man to prove her metal here! She has to fight preconceived notions that she will compromise on work because of her commitments at home. Or that she will NOT be able to physically manage the job like the way men do it! Rather there are men and sadly even some women who think that a woman is best where she deserves to be i.e. home! Now that’s nasty!
By nature women are great at multi-tasking, when at home they can gossip over the phone while watching a TV serial! They can run through their child’s studies while setting up the washing machine! They can cook as well as instruct the house helpers about their daily chores! In short while men at home boast about being uni-functional devices, which they so proudly claim if asked to contribute in household chores, women seem to be the best bet in the corporate world, if they have the right opportunity to prove their talent and use this same multi-tasking ability at work. And with time women have successfully found their foothold in the corporate world, and climbed to the topmost rung of the corporate ladder, far above the glass ceiling, shattering it to smithereens. From Shehnaz Hussain & Indira Nooyi, to Chanda Kochar women have proved that they are here to widen their own horizons and enrich the corporate world with what they have to offer. Like them, many women today have understood their scope and identified their area of expertise in whichever field they opt. Today, a woman does not mind doing that extra struggle juggling between her home and work, if at the end of the day she has mental satisfaction through work and peace through her home. She is independent and there for a cause! She has a point of view in the decisions both at work and at home, and she loves her struggle and her “no time for nonsense” status as her focus is well defined. Every such woman in my eyes is a woman of substance. She knows what she wants and also knows how far she can go to achieve it and then relentlessly works towards her goals!
International Women's Day (8 March) is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women: past, present and future. While I believe that we co-exist with men and do not need such days to celebrate US, I also feel that such days give us a reason to look within ourselves and appreciate ourselves for what we are. May be the men think it is not fair to have a special day for us, and we don’t have such MEN’s days to celebrate them! But for all you men out there, on this very occasion of the upcoming women’s day go ahead and wish at least two women who you think are “women of substance” giving them reasons why you feel so, and you shall be made to feel SPECIAL for the rest of your lives ! This suggestion coming from another woman cannot be futile! Try it and you will realize that women are those special species on this earth that can make your lifetime as special as you like it! If you are still not convinced then let me conclude and remind you of a song written by a MAN dedicated to all WOMEN describing them! And the song goes…..
She’s Always a Woman to Me
- Billy Joel
Oh--she takes care of herself
She can wait if she wants
She's ahead of her time
Oh--and she never gives out
And she never gives in
She just changes her mind
She is frequently kind
And she's suddenly cruel
She can do as she pleases
She's nobody's fool
And she can't be convicted
She's earned her degree
And the most she will do
Is throw shadows at you
But she's always a woman to me
Monday, November 8, 2010
November 2010 Diwali Issue - The Last Day of the World
Let me take you to my secret place
High above the earth into outer space
Only God knows where, only God knows how
I will take you there somehow
If this was the last day of your life
What would you do to make things right?
If this is the last day of your life
Who you gonna call to make things right?
- Last day of your life: By Glass Pear
Yes, this may just be a song which holds an apt place right now as we all elaborate on how we plan to spend the last day of our lives! When we decided on this as our topic this Diwali Special Issue, we got different points of view from many of our friends. Some said it is a sad topic to write on such a festive occasion. Some said, it’s too early for me to think about my last day I am still very young! But surely there were many, who understood the depth of the thought and gave us very interesting articles. Some may have used humour to make the topic lighter, whereas some have given the true picture of how they would like their last day to be. Some have in fact left some philosophical thoughts for us to ponder on!
My luck that I got to see the movie 2012 featuring on HBO over the weekend. In which, the protagonist and his family do not lose hope of being able to survive the natural catastrophe which had hit the world where, the world was coming to an end that day! The movie ended with the world completely destroyed but there sure were some survivors who then started a new year 01 – 01 – 0001. So the question that comes to my mind is will I be one of the survivors? Or will this day surely be the last day of my life? Well before I saw the film, my intentions were to simply imagine the end of my life and then write this article, but now, I want to give myself the hope of my family being some of the survivors! This means, my last day will surely be a havoc trying to run away from every catastrophe and reaching the safest zone as quickly as possible with my family like in the case of John Cusack in the movie 2012. I will surely not sit down either sulking on the fact that I may die soon, or also not sit waiting happily in the cuddly arms of my family waiting for the end to arrive, or accepting that the end is near. I will ensure that my family is all pepped up to fight the natural disaster till our last breathe! Of course it takes a few minutes of destruction to ruin the whole world, but ultimately those few minutes have to fade off, and if my family and I are able to survive those few minutes then there is a whole new world at the end of this one! Sounds like a grueling LAST DAY but will surely be worth it, if I along with my family can actually see the dawn of 01-01-0001!!
Getting as imaginative as possible, I’m sure media will play a vital role in exaggerating the end of the world, almost months before the actual last day arrives! What better proof can there be than the sheer existence of this movie 2012 itself, which is based upon the realistic assumption that the world is indeed coming to an end on 2012! So if media does play an important role, then I’m sure I will have a list of some of the Dos and Donts already with me! Some of the places which may seem to be the safer options will be worth a try for us to reach as we near the final day! Certain things which may find a place in my TO DO list could be:
- Encashing all the money I have in my bank account? May be exchanging all of it into US Dollars? May be not? What if Rupee gets stronger in the next world? What if none of these currencies exist? What if the age old barter system begins as it was at the beginning of civilization? Then may be converting all of it into gold makes sense? Hahaha well again, maybe not as you never know, gold mines could surface at the ground level and gold will lose its value!! Maybe then it makes sense to simply exchange all the money I have for food and other necessities and leave it with me to distribute to my people on the final day. Wonder how much of it I can really sustain with me in the bid to save my life!
- Meeting all my friends and distant family relations. Well it goes without saying that my immediate family and I will see the end together or rather fight the end together as long as we can, but I would like to meet the others who have ever touched my life, my friends with whom I have shared life’s most memorable moments. Thank them, seek forgiveness, may be seek explanation for any wrong they have done, reveal hidden secrets if any! Etc. etc. My extended family, who we call relatives! May be bid them a final good bye with a hope of meeting them again in the new world.
- Wonder how much it would help to carry my personal official documents like a PAN Card or a passport. Well in the movie, 2012, a green card did help a Russian get on board the submarine which was moving to a safer belt. May be in that case it is better to be safe than sorry, so I would rather gather these documents and keep them handy.
- Make a list of my favorite restaurants, holiday destinations, and spas and visit each one after the other. Enjoy some mouthwatering roadside chats and other junk food.
- Equip my family and myself with basic warm clothes and monsoon wear. You never know which weather the new world will greet us with!
- One more item which will become a collectors’ piece will be the World Map and the Atlas! I think I will have to grab one and keep it as safe as I can. You never know mountains could turn into valleys and some new islands will emerge and the old ones will submerge. This will help me in my own navigation also; I could auction it in the new world and make a fortune for my family with it!!!
- Last but not the least, I will teach as many life’s basics as I can to my son, to prepare him to face this world without me, in case he survives and I don’t. This will only be then my wishful thinking that he has indeed learnt his life’s lessons in the shortest time and will fight his own battle as long as he can.
Hey all this sounds like preparing me for a long holiday or an adventure trip! Well, if that’s the outlook, then it may get easier to handle the truth that life will never be the same here on. If life really ends then the story is over there. The end will rather be a tough one, since I will die fighting every breath to live more, in worry of my son’s wellbeing, my family’s whereabouts and so on. But if the new world begins with the old living creatures still alive and then if I have to be one of them, then life will never ever be the same, for as long as I live my balance life! What a weird thought! Today, a person’s status or ability to enjoy life’s luxuries depends on the disposable income he has but only as long as he lives, when he dies he leaves everything behind. His existence is a combination of the friends he makes, the enemies he defeats, his learning in his failures, and his experiences in his success! With the ending of the world, the amount of destruction will be so enormous that we will lose count of our friends or enemies alive. Money which ultimately is sheer paper will either burn or get destroyed in massive flood waves. With money goes the power, and that brings all of us on the same platform. We will then have to create a new life in the new world, with new people irrespective of their caste, creed, or nationality! Which means it will almost be a re-birth with the same face and soul!
Well, my imagination took me on a long adventure ride with a one way ticket out of this world! Either into the new one, or then into a new life! But the journey only allowed me to introspect further on things that I have always wanted to do but could not! I may have not mentioned them in this article as I never lost hope of surviving the end of this world. But my mind did touch upon those areas and opened up various clogs which will now allow me to venture into lesser known zones, take risks and live life to the fullest. It has made me realize how criminal procrastination can be to my own well being which I always knew but didn’t follow. I have always known, but not always done the urgent and important things in life thinking that I can do those tomorrow, but what if this tomorrow never comes? This journey allowed me to refresh the love and respect I have for my family and close friends, and how much they mean to me. I could actually in my mind form a sort of a ‘Circle of Concern’ that comprises of my own people and how do I currently rank them in my life. I suddenly could remember some of my old school friends whom I have not spoken to for ages while I travelled on my imaginative journey. I could remember some old friends who tried really hard to keep in touch with me, but due to my ignorance I lost contact with them. To sum it up, this journey helped me look at my own life through a third party perspective. It has broadly given me a new set of a ‘Circle of Concern’ and has helped me revamp or re-align some of my short term plans. It has re-instilled some of life’s basic teachings back in the forefront.
My message to all those who thought that this was a sad topic to write on, is that, unless you explore an avenue you can never conclude or judge the outcome of the same. The depth in this article lies in its strength to shake the person inside YOU, to refresh all that you already know, in a way which brings a new perspective of your life at the forefront. It might not teach you something totally new, but it will surely help you realize and feel what you already know. Often, only when you are at the verge of losing someone or something is when you realize the importance of the same thing it holds in your life. This is precisely the crux of this exercise of imagining your life coming to an end. It will quickly like a computerized brain put all your priorities in the order that they should be in and suddenly you feel if you have a little more time, you can sort your life for good! Hope this Diwali and the New Year bring a fresh dimension to our lives and make it a more meaningful life for us and our families. What can be a better occasion than Diwali to start this new journey in our lives!!! Wishing you all a very happy diwali and an even prosperous new year!
High above the earth into outer space
Only God knows where, only God knows how
I will take you there somehow
If this was the last day of your life
What would you do to make things right?
If this is the last day of your life
Who you gonna call to make things right?
- Last day of your life: By Glass Pear
Yes, this may just be a song which holds an apt place right now as we all elaborate on how we plan to spend the last day of our lives! When we decided on this as our topic this Diwali Special Issue, we got different points of view from many of our friends. Some said it is a sad topic to write on such a festive occasion. Some said, it’s too early for me to think about my last day I am still very young! But surely there were many, who understood the depth of the thought and gave us very interesting articles. Some may have used humour to make the topic lighter, whereas some have given the true picture of how they would like their last day to be. Some have in fact left some philosophical thoughts for us to ponder on!
My luck that I got to see the movie 2012 featuring on HBO over the weekend. In which, the protagonist and his family do not lose hope of being able to survive the natural catastrophe which had hit the world where, the world was coming to an end that day! The movie ended with the world completely destroyed but there sure were some survivors who then started a new year 01 – 01 – 0001. So the question that comes to my mind is will I be one of the survivors? Or will this day surely be the last day of my life? Well before I saw the film, my intentions were to simply imagine the end of my life and then write this article, but now, I want to give myself the hope of my family being some of the survivors! This means, my last day will surely be a havoc trying to run away from every catastrophe and reaching the safest zone as quickly as possible with my family like in the case of John Cusack in the movie 2012. I will surely not sit down either sulking on the fact that I may die soon, or also not sit waiting happily in the cuddly arms of my family waiting for the end to arrive, or accepting that the end is near. I will ensure that my family is all pepped up to fight the natural disaster till our last breathe! Of course it takes a few minutes of destruction to ruin the whole world, but ultimately those few minutes have to fade off, and if my family and I are able to survive those few minutes then there is a whole new world at the end of this one! Sounds like a grueling LAST DAY but will surely be worth it, if I along with my family can actually see the dawn of 01-01-0001!!
Getting as imaginative as possible, I’m sure media will play a vital role in exaggerating the end of the world, almost months before the actual last day arrives! What better proof can there be than the sheer existence of this movie 2012 itself, which is based upon the realistic assumption that the world is indeed coming to an end on 2012! So if media does play an important role, then I’m sure I will have a list of some of the Dos and Donts already with me! Some of the places which may seem to be the safer options will be worth a try for us to reach as we near the final day! Certain things which may find a place in my TO DO list could be:
- Encashing all the money I have in my bank account? May be exchanging all of it into US Dollars? May be not? What if Rupee gets stronger in the next world? What if none of these currencies exist? What if the age old barter system begins as it was at the beginning of civilization? Then may be converting all of it into gold makes sense? Hahaha well again, maybe not as you never know, gold mines could surface at the ground level and gold will lose its value!! Maybe then it makes sense to simply exchange all the money I have for food and other necessities and leave it with me to distribute to my people on the final day. Wonder how much of it I can really sustain with me in the bid to save my life!
- Meeting all my friends and distant family relations. Well it goes without saying that my immediate family and I will see the end together or rather fight the end together as long as we can, but I would like to meet the others who have ever touched my life, my friends with whom I have shared life’s most memorable moments. Thank them, seek forgiveness, may be seek explanation for any wrong they have done, reveal hidden secrets if any! Etc. etc. My extended family, who we call relatives! May be bid them a final good bye with a hope of meeting them again in the new world.
- Wonder how much it would help to carry my personal official documents like a PAN Card or a passport. Well in the movie, 2012, a green card did help a Russian get on board the submarine which was moving to a safer belt. May be in that case it is better to be safe than sorry, so I would rather gather these documents and keep them handy.
- Make a list of my favorite restaurants, holiday destinations, and spas and visit each one after the other. Enjoy some mouthwatering roadside chats and other junk food.
- Equip my family and myself with basic warm clothes and monsoon wear. You never know which weather the new world will greet us with!
- One more item which will become a collectors’ piece will be the World Map and the Atlas! I think I will have to grab one and keep it as safe as I can. You never know mountains could turn into valleys and some new islands will emerge and the old ones will submerge. This will help me in my own navigation also; I could auction it in the new world and make a fortune for my family with it!!!
- Last but not the least, I will teach as many life’s basics as I can to my son, to prepare him to face this world without me, in case he survives and I don’t. This will only be then my wishful thinking that he has indeed learnt his life’s lessons in the shortest time and will fight his own battle as long as he can.
Hey all this sounds like preparing me for a long holiday or an adventure trip! Well, if that’s the outlook, then it may get easier to handle the truth that life will never be the same here on. If life really ends then the story is over there. The end will rather be a tough one, since I will die fighting every breath to live more, in worry of my son’s wellbeing, my family’s whereabouts and so on. But if the new world begins with the old living creatures still alive and then if I have to be one of them, then life will never ever be the same, for as long as I live my balance life! What a weird thought! Today, a person’s status or ability to enjoy life’s luxuries depends on the disposable income he has but only as long as he lives, when he dies he leaves everything behind. His existence is a combination of the friends he makes, the enemies he defeats, his learning in his failures, and his experiences in his success! With the ending of the world, the amount of destruction will be so enormous that we will lose count of our friends or enemies alive. Money which ultimately is sheer paper will either burn or get destroyed in massive flood waves. With money goes the power, and that brings all of us on the same platform. We will then have to create a new life in the new world, with new people irrespective of their caste, creed, or nationality! Which means it will almost be a re-birth with the same face and soul!
Well, my imagination took me on a long adventure ride with a one way ticket out of this world! Either into the new one, or then into a new life! But the journey only allowed me to introspect further on things that I have always wanted to do but could not! I may have not mentioned them in this article as I never lost hope of surviving the end of this world. But my mind did touch upon those areas and opened up various clogs which will now allow me to venture into lesser known zones, take risks and live life to the fullest. It has made me realize how criminal procrastination can be to my own well being which I always knew but didn’t follow. I have always known, but not always done the urgent and important things in life thinking that I can do those tomorrow, but what if this tomorrow never comes? This journey allowed me to refresh the love and respect I have for my family and close friends, and how much they mean to me. I could actually in my mind form a sort of a ‘Circle of Concern’ that comprises of my own people and how do I currently rank them in my life. I suddenly could remember some of my old school friends whom I have not spoken to for ages while I travelled on my imaginative journey. I could remember some old friends who tried really hard to keep in touch with me, but due to my ignorance I lost contact with them. To sum it up, this journey helped me look at my own life through a third party perspective. It has broadly given me a new set of a ‘Circle of Concern’ and has helped me revamp or re-align some of my short term plans. It has re-instilled some of life’s basic teachings back in the forefront.
My message to all those who thought that this was a sad topic to write on, is that, unless you explore an avenue you can never conclude or judge the outcome of the same. The depth in this article lies in its strength to shake the person inside YOU, to refresh all that you already know, in a way which brings a new perspective of your life at the forefront. It might not teach you something totally new, but it will surely help you realize and feel what you already know. Often, only when you are at the verge of losing someone or something is when you realize the importance of the same thing it holds in your life. This is precisely the crux of this exercise of imagining your life coming to an end. It will quickly like a computerized brain put all your priorities in the order that they should be in and suddenly you feel if you have a little more time, you can sort your life for good! Hope this Diwali and the New Year bring a fresh dimension to our lives and make it a more meaningful life for us and our families. What can be a better occasion than Diwali to start this new journey in our lives!!! Wishing you all a very happy diwali and an even prosperous new year!
Nov. Diwali 2010 Issue - Introduction to the Section 'Sach Ka Saamna'
Sach Ka Saamna !!
“The mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship is one of the most complicated human connections. It comes with a built-in conflict before the relationship even begins: two radically different views of the same man. One woman always will see him first as a man; the other always will see him first as her child.”
The above statement was made by Elizabeth Graham, who wrote the article, “The Other Woman”. Does the term “The other woman” remind you of one of the bollywood movies “Pati Patni aur Woh”! But here we aren’t talking about that “other woman”; we aren’t discussing an ‘extra marital affair’! We are talking about the other woman who is for some women your son’s wife or for some your husband’s mother! For times immemorial the relationship between a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law has been unique. It has often been the butt of all jokes, with many cartoonists always finding enough matter to fill pages depicting their relationship. Like the following saying which depicts an aspect of this relation - "I wish my daughter: the sun of the winter, I wish my daughter-in-law: the sun of the summer." And I’m sure if a daughter has to compare her mother to her mother-in-law she will give a similar point of view!
With changing times, the trigger points between these two women have also kept changing. Earlier these women had their lives revolve around that one man. For the MIL the only concern would be losing her son to his wife, and for her son’s wife, her only concern would be to make her presence in her husband’s life above his mother and sadly they would leave the poor man to sort it out for them who would further ruin the situation! HAHA!! Well today the story might be slightly different. Many a times both the ladies of the house are working and therefore have strong egos that clash! Or then it is the kids who bring in new set of issues which lead to the difference of opinion between the two! Basic lifestyle changes and adjusting to each others’ habits can also be a trigger point. For years a tradition followed gets suddenly revamped by the daughter-in-law can be a killer! And the worse is yet to follow if the family reciprocates positively to the changes she brings in! Similarly it’s a battle lost for the daughter-in-law if her mother-in-law’s age old recipes are still a hit with her husband than her high fibre calorie controlled salads and soups! Ultimately the crux of the matter remains to be that the mother can’t look beyond her son who is the apple of her eye and her son’s wife cannot stand this very fact! It’s a classic power struggle between two women fighting over the same man!! WHAT A TRAGEDY!! LOL….
Well others’ Tragedy is often a topic of conversation and gossip for us humans. We love hearing what is NOT happening right in someone else’s life. We all know how enjoyable it is to hear two ladies gossip in the train about their respective mothers-in-law. Ever tried eaves dropping on someone else’s telephonic conversation? It is FUN!! How many of us can confess to the fact that we love reading news about petty domestic violence or small time robberies than read about a global merger on international news? I think we all can!! It gives our subconscious mind a sort of a solace to know that we aren’t the only ones going through problems, but there are others facing graver issues than us. Why are serials like ‘Kyunki Saas bhi kabhi bahu thi…’, ‘Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki’ etc. such popular hits? - Because they are almost telling our own stories, but on a highly exaggerated scale. The ‘tu tu main main’ between a ‘saas’ and ‘bahu’ is a very entertaining concept which many TV channels have minted money on. But every saas and bahu need not always fight. It may not be an unconditional relation, but it definitely works on a give and take basis. I’m sure they all have their light moments to cheer each other. They can sometimes get along like a house on fire! They can also team up with each other against the ‘OH SO Important’ one MAN in their lives. They can even bond over shopping, gossiping, and of course narrating TV serials’ stories if one of them has missed an episode.
To capture a similar love hate relationship between some of our PP “saas – bahu” jodis, we have created a very light segment exclusively for them. As I said earlier, we love knowing more about others’ tragedies, here is a quick glimpse into not someone’s tragedy but a sneak peak into the lives of a couple of sporting ‘saas-bahu’ jodis who have very enthusiastically answered some of our questions. The plain intention of doing this section was to give our ladies a chance to share a light moment with their respective ‘saas-bahu’ and definitely to create some very interesting content for our readers to read.
All the “saas and bahus’ reading this section please make note of this special disclaimer:
“All views expressed in the following section are purely realistic and non-fictional and any resemblance to a person living or dead is purely intentional.”
Please read with an open mind and allow it to tickle your funny bones and do not stress over the same. Have a crackling DIWALI!!!
“The mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship is one of the most complicated human connections. It comes with a built-in conflict before the relationship even begins: two radically different views of the same man. One woman always will see him first as a man; the other always will see him first as her child.”
The above statement was made by Elizabeth Graham, who wrote the article, “The Other Woman”. Does the term “The other woman” remind you of one of the bollywood movies “Pati Patni aur Woh”! But here we aren’t talking about that “other woman”; we aren’t discussing an ‘extra marital affair’! We are talking about the other woman who is for some women your son’s wife or for some your husband’s mother! For times immemorial the relationship between a mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law has been unique. It has often been the butt of all jokes, with many cartoonists always finding enough matter to fill pages depicting their relationship. Like the following saying which depicts an aspect of this relation - "I wish my daughter: the sun of the winter, I wish my daughter-in-law: the sun of the summer." And I’m sure if a daughter has to compare her mother to her mother-in-law she will give a similar point of view!
With changing times, the trigger points between these two women have also kept changing. Earlier these women had their lives revolve around that one man. For the MIL the only concern would be losing her son to his wife, and for her son’s wife, her only concern would be to make her presence in her husband’s life above his mother and sadly they would leave the poor man to sort it out for them who would further ruin the situation! HAHA!! Well today the story might be slightly different. Many a times both the ladies of the house are working and therefore have strong egos that clash! Or then it is the kids who bring in new set of issues which lead to the difference of opinion between the two! Basic lifestyle changes and adjusting to each others’ habits can also be a trigger point. For years a tradition followed gets suddenly revamped by the daughter-in-law can be a killer! And the worse is yet to follow if the family reciprocates positively to the changes she brings in! Similarly it’s a battle lost for the daughter-in-law if her mother-in-law’s age old recipes are still a hit with her husband than her high fibre calorie controlled salads and soups! Ultimately the crux of the matter remains to be that the mother can’t look beyond her son who is the apple of her eye and her son’s wife cannot stand this very fact! It’s a classic power struggle between two women fighting over the same man!! WHAT A TRAGEDY!! LOL….
Well others’ Tragedy is often a topic of conversation and gossip for us humans. We love hearing what is NOT happening right in someone else’s life. We all know how enjoyable it is to hear two ladies gossip in the train about their respective mothers-in-law. Ever tried eaves dropping on someone else’s telephonic conversation? It is FUN!! How many of us can confess to the fact that we love reading news about petty domestic violence or small time robberies than read about a global merger on international news? I think we all can!! It gives our subconscious mind a sort of a solace to know that we aren’t the only ones going through problems, but there are others facing graver issues than us. Why are serials like ‘Kyunki Saas bhi kabhi bahu thi…’, ‘Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki’ etc. such popular hits? - Because they are almost telling our own stories, but on a highly exaggerated scale. The ‘tu tu main main’ between a ‘saas’ and ‘bahu’ is a very entertaining concept which many TV channels have minted money on. But every saas and bahu need not always fight. It may not be an unconditional relation, but it definitely works on a give and take basis. I’m sure they all have their light moments to cheer each other. They can sometimes get along like a house on fire! They can also team up with each other against the ‘OH SO Important’ one MAN in their lives. They can even bond over shopping, gossiping, and of course narrating TV serials’ stories if one of them has missed an episode.
To capture a similar love hate relationship between some of our PP “saas – bahu” jodis, we have created a very light segment exclusively for them. As I said earlier, we love knowing more about others’ tragedies, here is a quick glimpse into not someone’s tragedy but a sneak peak into the lives of a couple of sporting ‘saas-bahu’ jodis who have very enthusiastically answered some of our questions. The plain intention of doing this section was to give our ladies a chance to share a light moment with their respective ‘saas-bahu’ and definitely to create some very interesting content for our readers to read.
All the “saas and bahus’ reading this section please make note of this special disclaimer:
“All views expressed in the following section are purely realistic and non-fictional and any resemblance to a person living or dead is purely intentional.”
Please read with an open mind and allow it to tickle your funny bones and do not stress over the same. Have a crackling DIWALI!!!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
September 2010 Editorial
Life – A five ball game!
“Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. They are Work, Family, Health, Friends, and Spirit and you are keeping all of these in the air.
You will soon realize that Work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls – Family, Health, Friends and Spirit – are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for it. Work efficiently during office hours and leave on time. Give the required time to your family friends and have proper rest. Value has a value only if its value is valued.” – Bryan Dyson
A friend shared this with me as one of the shortest and effective speeches given by the Former CEO Mr. Bryon Dyson of Coca Cola Co. This seems to be an aspiring thought for many of us who want to prioritize as per Mr. Dyson. But most of us do exactly the opposite all the time. WORK is usually treated as the Glass ball. Most of us are slaves to this Rubberball perceived to have been made of Glass. Competition, hunger for success, unending desires and the jungle rule – “survival of the fittest” are some of the characteristics that have become a second nature to all of us. And why not, when all of these attributes put together give you the power to achieve life’s set goals, and live a worthwhile life as we dream it to be! This Rubber ball has definitely made its way to the top of our wishlist, since it is impressed upon us to be a key to all our troubles and worries. Yes I agree, this is that ball which opens our doors to one of the most powerful privileges, The Power to BUY! WORK gives us the power to buy almost everything under the sun. Yes when I say almost everything, I literally mean ALMOST everything, but not EVERYTHING! Work gives money, and money can buy a movie ticket, a candle light dinner at one of the most expensive hotels, a car, a house, a holiday, etc. etc. But it can’t buy you TIME which is what you need the most to be able to enjoy all these pleasures of life! And it definitely can’t buy you PEOPLE to share this time with, as we all know, life’s precious moments don’t have any value unless they are shared! Shared with your loved ones i.e. family and friends! This reminds me of one of the popular ads of a credit card, which emphasizes on these priceless moments and tries to nudge us to experience these moments of spending our time effectively with those people who matter since that is priceless, and for everything else there is money that can buy you anything!
Recently I had visited my sister in the US for a good one month. I tried observing the work patterns of most people living there, one of them being my brother-in-law. He holds a senior position in his company, and is a successful professional there. What was most impressive about his work culture was their respect towards OTHERS’ time and the accountability they hold towards the job. These have been the defining factors of their work culture in my opinion which drastically differentiate them from us. They not only respect your time while on duty, but also respect your personal commitments and allow flexibility because they know that you will be accountable for the job assigned to you. Here in India if you ever come across such people, we put them on a pedestal and call them ‘professional’. But no one looks at it this way that in a “profession” we all are meant to be “professional”.
A Professional set up at work helps in maintaining good spirits, which is then carried forward to our homes as well. A healthy atmosphere at work always escalates one’s efficiency leading to faster turn-around time for all jobs and projects undertaken, thus giving us scope to wind up each day on time, but that rarely happens! Every organization has its own set of people who are typically known for wasting their own and others’ time. Well nowadays there are innovative ways of wasting time. Most men or nowadays even women spend their productive work hours in smoking. This smoking is also accompanied with loads of gossip and grapevine which they term as networking! Umpteen number of “cutting chai” through the day is the other culprit both for longer working hours and heaps of acidity!! Computer games, social networking sites, untimely snack breaks, and if all this was not enough, then “Project BOSS” is always on agenda! Well “Project BOSS” only is a nicer way of putting one of the most used formulae by many inefficient fools in our organization known as “CHAMCHAGIRI”. I’m sure we all know at least two to three ‘chamchas’ in our office who are forever wagging their tails around the BIG BOSS. May be that is their only route to success, since their work rarely speaks for them!
We often fear the thing we want the most. A skyrocketing career is what we all want and the thought of not being able to get it is what we fear the most! So automatically we have one person in our lives that we fear by default – our boss! However great the camaraderie between the boss and his team, his juniors always have something to crib about their bosses behind his back. For that matter, even I always made an attempt to memorize things I have disliked about my boss so that when I become one, I don’t repeat the same. But I must confess that today many of my reactions remind me of my boss, and I sometimes wonder if my team ever detests me on any occasions. In either ways, the bottom line does not change; this boss-subordinate relationship will always remain constant. In a bid to carve a niche at our work place, we spend a lot of time doing everything but work during work hours, a lot of time is spent pleasing this most important and scary person in our lives – OUR BOSS and then by the end of the day, we often realize that the actual work has remained pending. But the fact remains that whatever we are willing to put up with is exactly what we will have. All this stress, and workaholic behavior definitely fetches us accolades in our career, but one of the most vital aspects of our life gets ignored in this bargain – our health.
The most popular phrase used and heard around is ‘health is wealth’, still in the struggle to earn this wealth we allow our health to take a back seat, sometimes let it slowly deteriorate. Today’s fast life leaves us no scope for a healthy lifestyle. Sedentary jobs, loads of stress and unhealthy and untimely eating habits are a standing invitation for all chronic cardiac problems. Constant exposure to pollution while travelling only adds to our health woes. We are allowing health hazards like diabetes, obesity, hypertension a permanent residence in our bodies. Health is that glass ball which if broken once, will collapse the other balls in the game too!
All said and done this rubber ball called WORK is the one which needs the most attention to keep the other balls juggling. The ones, who are willing to risk it, either have a back-up plan or tremendous confidence to make it big anyways. Probably they have their own success stories to share. But, every success story has a painful experience behind it, without which success does not taste as sweet. Which means at some point in their lives they have had to sacrifice one of these balls? Then the question is which ball are we willing to hurt to get to success? May be of all of them hurting the rubber ball could be the best bet for a few, but for some it could be the only ball they live for. Though broadly we all have similar priorities in life, but our approach and experiences in life compel us to take decisions which then decide the fate of these balls in our lives. It is therefore difficult to generalize and pass a verdict on how each of us have to prioritize or play this game of balls, as we all will seem right in our own circumstances. May be mastering the art of juggling, so that we are able to balance all of them at any given time of our lives is the best answer. Whatever we do, enjoying every moment to the fullest is important because it is not about how LONG we live, but about how BIG we live our lives that will decide how worthwhile our life has been. Life is like a road trip, where the journey makes the trip enjoyable and at the end of this road all we can do is introspect! So let us all play the game such that when we introspect we emerge as the winners of the game!
- Mayura Nayak
“Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. They are Work, Family, Health, Friends, and Spirit and you are keeping all of these in the air.
You will soon realize that Work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls – Family, Health, Friends and Spirit – are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for it. Work efficiently during office hours and leave on time. Give the required time to your family friends and have proper rest. Value has a value only if its value is valued.” – Bryan Dyson
A friend shared this with me as one of the shortest and effective speeches given by the Former CEO Mr. Bryon Dyson of Coca Cola Co. This seems to be an aspiring thought for many of us who want to prioritize as per Mr. Dyson. But most of us do exactly the opposite all the time. WORK is usually treated as the Glass ball. Most of us are slaves to this Rubberball perceived to have been made of Glass. Competition, hunger for success, unending desires and the jungle rule – “survival of the fittest” are some of the characteristics that have become a second nature to all of us. And why not, when all of these attributes put together give you the power to achieve life’s set goals, and live a worthwhile life as we dream it to be! This Rubber ball has definitely made its way to the top of our wishlist, since it is impressed upon us to be a key to all our troubles and worries. Yes I agree, this is that ball which opens our doors to one of the most powerful privileges, The Power to BUY! WORK gives us the power to buy almost everything under the sun. Yes when I say almost everything, I literally mean ALMOST everything, but not EVERYTHING! Work gives money, and money can buy a movie ticket, a candle light dinner at one of the most expensive hotels, a car, a house, a holiday, etc. etc. But it can’t buy you TIME which is what you need the most to be able to enjoy all these pleasures of life! And it definitely can’t buy you PEOPLE to share this time with, as we all know, life’s precious moments don’t have any value unless they are shared! Shared with your loved ones i.e. family and friends! This reminds me of one of the popular ads of a credit card, which emphasizes on these priceless moments and tries to nudge us to experience these moments of spending our time effectively with those people who matter since that is priceless, and for everything else there is money that can buy you anything!
Recently I had visited my sister in the US for a good one month. I tried observing the work patterns of most people living there, one of them being my brother-in-law. He holds a senior position in his company, and is a successful professional there. What was most impressive about his work culture was their respect towards OTHERS’ time and the accountability they hold towards the job. These have been the defining factors of their work culture in my opinion which drastically differentiate them from us. They not only respect your time while on duty, but also respect your personal commitments and allow flexibility because they know that you will be accountable for the job assigned to you. Here in India if you ever come across such people, we put them on a pedestal and call them ‘professional’. But no one looks at it this way that in a “profession” we all are meant to be “professional”.
A Professional set up at work helps in maintaining good spirits, which is then carried forward to our homes as well. A healthy atmosphere at work always escalates one’s efficiency leading to faster turn-around time for all jobs and projects undertaken, thus giving us scope to wind up each day on time, but that rarely happens! Every organization has its own set of people who are typically known for wasting their own and others’ time. Well nowadays there are innovative ways of wasting time. Most men or nowadays even women spend their productive work hours in smoking. This smoking is also accompanied with loads of gossip and grapevine which they term as networking! Umpteen number of “cutting chai” through the day is the other culprit both for longer working hours and heaps of acidity!! Computer games, social networking sites, untimely snack breaks, and if all this was not enough, then “Project BOSS” is always on agenda! Well “Project BOSS” only is a nicer way of putting one of the most used formulae by many inefficient fools in our organization known as “CHAMCHAGIRI”. I’m sure we all know at least two to three ‘chamchas’ in our office who are forever wagging their tails around the BIG BOSS. May be that is their only route to success, since their work rarely speaks for them!
We often fear the thing we want the most. A skyrocketing career is what we all want and the thought of not being able to get it is what we fear the most! So automatically we have one person in our lives that we fear by default – our boss! However great the camaraderie between the boss and his team, his juniors always have something to crib about their bosses behind his back. For that matter, even I always made an attempt to memorize things I have disliked about my boss so that when I become one, I don’t repeat the same. But I must confess that today many of my reactions remind me of my boss, and I sometimes wonder if my team ever detests me on any occasions. In either ways, the bottom line does not change; this boss-subordinate relationship will always remain constant. In a bid to carve a niche at our work place, we spend a lot of time doing everything but work during work hours, a lot of time is spent pleasing this most important and scary person in our lives – OUR BOSS and then by the end of the day, we often realize that the actual work has remained pending. But the fact remains that whatever we are willing to put up with is exactly what we will have. All this stress, and workaholic behavior definitely fetches us accolades in our career, but one of the most vital aspects of our life gets ignored in this bargain – our health.
The most popular phrase used and heard around is ‘health is wealth’, still in the struggle to earn this wealth we allow our health to take a back seat, sometimes let it slowly deteriorate. Today’s fast life leaves us no scope for a healthy lifestyle. Sedentary jobs, loads of stress and unhealthy and untimely eating habits are a standing invitation for all chronic cardiac problems. Constant exposure to pollution while travelling only adds to our health woes. We are allowing health hazards like diabetes, obesity, hypertension a permanent residence in our bodies. Health is that glass ball which if broken once, will collapse the other balls in the game too!
All said and done this rubber ball called WORK is the one which needs the most attention to keep the other balls juggling. The ones, who are willing to risk it, either have a back-up plan or tremendous confidence to make it big anyways. Probably they have their own success stories to share. But, every success story has a painful experience behind it, without which success does not taste as sweet. Which means at some point in their lives they have had to sacrifice one of these balls? Then the question is which ball are we willing to hurt to get to success? May be of all of them hurting the rubber ball could be the best bet for a few, but for some it could be the only ball they live for. Though broadly we all have similar priorities in life, but our approach and experiences in life compel us to take decisions which then decide the fate of these balls in our lives. It is therefore difficult to generalize and pass a verdict on how each of us have to prioritize or play this game of balls, as we all will seem right in our own circumstances. May be mastering the art of juggling, so that we are able to balance all of them at any given time of our lives is the best answer. Whatever we do, enjoying every moment to the fullest is important because it is not about how LONG we live, but about how BIG we live our lives that will decide how worthwhile our life has been. Life is like a road trip, where the journey makes the trip enjoyable and at the end of this road all we can do is introspect! So let us all play the game such that when we introspect we emerge as the winners of the game!
- Mayura Nayak
Monday, June 14, 2010
Pratyush 2010
A feeling of déjà vu is settling into me as I proudly announce another triumph, another feather, a rather bigger feather in our cap! Yes, we have done it all over again; the verdict is out that Pratyush 2010 is a SUPER DUPER BUMPER HIT!
June 6, 2009, witnessed the beginning of a new rising – Pratyush (as the name suggests). Pratyush’09 was the first show of its kind organized in our community. With approx. 70+ participants, a meticulous and professional choreographer like Vishwas Natekar, a talented director like Pooja Ajinkya and a tremendously enthusiastic team of Yuva Manch, we knew we had a winner in our hands! We just could not go wrong with our formula and of course we didn’t! Pratyush’09 still goes down in the history of Pathare Prabhu’s as the first ever mega event organized within the community! We had marked our arrival and we were here to stay!
But history is witness to this fact that such magic can rarely be repeated! As we all know there can never be another movie like SHOLAY, we were aware of the pressure of recreating Pratyush. Expectations were soaring high and we would not accept faltering on these expectations! We were determined to defy history this time! From the time we started conceptualizing Pratyush 2010 till the final execution we all knew at the back of our minds somewhere deep down inside, that we had to excel our past performance. We had the whole community eyeing us to know what we do next and we had to live up to all your expectations!
After six months of ground work and planning for the event, and one and a half month of rigorous rehearsals, the day had finally dawned, June 05, 2010. We all gathered at the auditorium at 8.30 a.m. in the morning to conduct a final round of grand rehearsal. Soon the stage was ablaze with glittering lights and the backstage was buzzing with all the performers queuing up for their performances. All participants lined up for their make-up, our director Mr. Satish Joshi and choreographer Mr. Vishwas Natekar performed a quick ‘puja’ on the stage, gave us their blessings and then it was SHOWTIME!
The curtains rose to a packed auditorium! As soon as the audio-visual flashed the thundering sound of claps filled the auditorium and we could sense a slight feeling of victory nudging us already then, but we resisted the temptation of allowing it to take over our minds. Pratyush 2010, presented a story of two Pathare Prabhu families portrayed by some of the talented members of our community, well woven with dance performances that entwined the complete story. The story had all the ingredients of a typical ‘bollywood masala’ flick. Comedy, drama, action, romance, tragedy, you name it and it was all there! This musical drama had an array of dance performances. From Bhangda to Lavani, from mushy romance to peppy numbers, from retro to funky songs, from sizzling item numbers to folk songs! We had dancers grooving to all kinds of music! Dancers from all age groups rocked the stage! Thanks to Mrs. Pramila Talpade with whose initiative we had senior ladies grooving to a popular retro song – ‘Shola jo bhadke’. They looked lovely on the stage winning numerous cheers and screams of ‘once more’ from the audience! Their enthusiasm and grit to go up on stage at that age and perform to a live audience unhesitatingly was much commendable. Vishwas sir would fondly call them ‘little ladies’ they were indeed little pretty ladies! If on one hand we had our senior members the juniors were not lagging behind! We got a roaring response with around 20 kids live on stage the youngest being a little more than 2 years old if I am not mistaken. These kids were the star attraction of that evening! No stage fright, full of confidence, and exuberance, these kids just stole the show! And now coming to the rock stars! Yes our very own dancers and actors who slogged for one month continuously to make the show what it is. It is indeed difficult to believe but for many of these actors it was their first stint at acting! They had to learn as quickly as they could and deliver at the same time! Indeed a tough time for most of them learning the dialogues, expressing, understanding timing especially for comic scenes, I must say! And now talking about our dancers! The efforts that these dancers have put in cannot be expressed enough in words. Whoever has seen the dances, will surely agree that as far as the choreography is concerned, the bars had been raised higher. Thus making it even more difficult for not just the non dancers, but also the dancers to get a grip over the dances! But the rock stars that they all are they could all manage it in the limited time span of one month given to them! A great team effort by the committee members, the hard work and perseverance of all the actors and dancers along with the cooperation of the Prabhu Tarun board made this event a grand success!
Of course my editorial is incomplete without thanking a few people who have contributed in a big way towards this show. Firstly a big ‘thank you’ to all the donors who have generously contributed funds, so that we could give this platform to our community members to showcase their talent. I’m sure with your support we will grow manifolds in the future and also form a base for bringing this talent on one platform and do more work within the community. We are very grateful to our event sponsor Videocon International for their support. And even more grateful to Mr. Vinay Nayak, who has helped get the sponsorship. We also take this opportunity to thank Mr. Pradeep Dhairyawan for helping us in our times of need, by providing us a venue for rehearsals completely free of charge. Of course Pratyush 2010 would never be the same without Mr. Vishwas Natekar and Mr. Satish Joshi. For Vishwas this was his second year with us and he had painstakingly worked on this project as his own baby! Although a professional he went out of his way to see that this show was a hit by creating some wow moments in the show. His assistants Shraddha Chavan and Aniket Jadhav along with him toiled through the days and nights, to ensure our participants were getting their each move right! Training a set of non dancers within a span of one month and making them perform difficult steps and stunts was an impossible task at hand, but he made it happen! Hats off to you Vishwas sir! For Joshi kaka this project began more than two months back, from the time we briefed him on the show. He was the brain behind the script and also directed the play. He had given his two months to this show, and ensured that we were able to put up a great act together. Understanding our requirement and then scripting accordingly as per the taste of the audience wasn’t an easy task. It was his dedication and hard work that such a convincing act could be staged. On behalf of Prabhu Tarun I would like to wholeheartedly thank both Vishwas sir and Joshi Kaka for their priceless contribution towards Pratyush 2010. Last but definitely not the least a very big ‘thank you’ to all the 70+ participants and all the backstage and on field volunteers who dedicated themselves to this show and made Pratyush 2010 what it is!
Before I conclude, I would like to share some of my thoughts or should I say lessons that we learnt during the making of this show. When we began planning for the season 2, we had certain apprehensions like; will we have the same number of participants this year as last year? Can we put up a show as great as or better than last year? Will the community support us again and come to see our show? Etc. Apprehensions were many but no solutions! We decided to take each day as it comes and work out every task as it comes. Slowly everything started falling in place just like a jigsaw puzzle. We learnt that sincere effort and hard work coupled with good intent is always rewarded. Whether it was for the skit or for dance, we got an overwhelming response from the community. Of course there were some who didn’t turn up, but there were double the number of fresh participants whom we welcomed with open arms! When something on such a large scale is organized it is not possible to keep everyone happy, you win some you lose some! With changing times expectations also change! Way back in 1997, as teenagers when we used to dance in community events we used to be happy with just a venue available for rehearsals. The icing on the cake would be occasional visits by the then Editor of Prabhu Tarun Late Mr. Suhas Kothare who used to often treat us with ‘vada pav’ and soft drinks! We never even dreamt of demanding snacks or refreshments while rehearsing and would happily sustain on just water for most days, which was also brought from our respective homes! Today it is binding for us to offer these comforts to our participants as is what they expect from us. We never even had the audacity to question the choreographer’s choice of dancers or even suggest who he should take in which dance back then because we had full faith in him. But today we have to handle such issues not only from dancers but also entertain parents’ requests. In this process if we have hurt any of the participants or their family members then we would like to clarify that there was no intent of doing so, but we were only trying to be as impartial to all participants as possible giving all a fair chance! Here, I would like to take the liberty and proudly state that today Pratyush is not just a platform for talented people to showcase their talent, but it is a ground to hone our skills and do things which we would never be able to do, anywhere outside. We appeal to everyone to please look at this platform as an opportunity and appreciate what it can offer you, than mull over what you could not do. If we all work together with this mind set we all will be better artists and deliver bigger and better performances in the future. Well, as they say “As you sow, so shall you reap.” I can proudly declare that we have got our due credit for all the efforts we have put in the show. Together with our gang of participants we have recreated SHOLAY, and will keep doing so for years to come! ARE YOU ALL WITH US?
June 6, 2009, witnessed the beginning of a new rising – Pratyush (as the name suggests). Pratyush’09 was the first show of its kind organized in our community. With approx. 70+ participants, a meticulous and professional choreographer like Vishwas Natekar, a talented director like Pooja Ajinkya and a tremendously enthusiastic team of Yuva Manch, we knew we had a winner in our hands! We just could not go wrong with our formula and of course we didn’t! Pratyush’09 still goes down in the history of Pathare Prabhu’s as the first ever mega event organized within the community! We had marked our arrival and we were here to stay!
But history is witness to this fact that such magic can rarely be repeated! As we all know there can never be another movie like SHOLAY, we were aware of the pressure of recreating Pratyush. Expectations were soaring high and we would not accept faltering on these expectations! We were determined to defy history this time! From the time we started conceptualizing Pratyush 2010 till the final execution we all knew at the back of our minds somewhere deep down inside, that we had to excel our past performance. We had the whole community eyeing us to know what we do next and we had to live up to all your expectations!
After six months of ground work and planning for the event, and one and a half month of rigorous rehearsals, the day had finally dawned, June 05, 2010. We all gathered at the auditorium at 8.30 a.m. in the morning to conduct a final round of grand rehearsal. Soon the stage was ablaze with glittering lights and the backstage was buzzing with all the performers queuing up for their performances. All participants lined up for their make-up, our director Mr. Satish Joshi and choreographer Mr. Vishwas Natekar performed a quick ‘puja’ on the stage, gave us their blessings and then it was SHOWTIME!
The curtains rose to a packed auditorium! As soon as the audio-visual flashed the thundering sound of claps filled the auditorium and we could sense a slight feeling of victory nudging us already then, but we resisted the temptation of allowing it to take over our minds. Pratyush 2010, presented a story of two Pathare Prabhu families portrayed by some of the talented members of our community, well woven with dance performances that entwined the complete story. The story had all the ingredients of a typical ‘bollywood masala’ flick. Comedy, drama, action, romance, tragedy, you name it and it was all there! This musical drama had an array of dance performances. From Bhangda to Lavani, from mushy romance to peppy numbers, from retro to funky songs, from sizzling item numbers to folk songs! We had dancers grooving to all kinds of music! Dancers from all age groups rocked the stage! Thanks to Mrs. Pramila Talpade with whose initiative we had senior ladies grooving to a popular retro song – ‘Shola jo bhadke’. They looked lovely on the stage winning numerous cheers and screams of ‘once more’ from the audience! Their enthusiasm and grit to go up on stage at that age and perform to a live audience unhesitatingly was much commendable. Vishwas sir would fondly call them ‘little ladies’ they were indeed little pretty ladies! If on one hand we had our senior members the juniors were not lagging behind! We got a roaring response with around 20 kids live on stage the youngest being a little more than 2 years old if I am not mistaken. These kids were the star attraction of that evening! No stage fright, full of confidence, and exuberance, these kids just stole the show! And now coming to the rock stars! Yes our very own dancers and actors who slogged for one month continuously to make the show what it is. It is indeed difficult to believe but for many of these actors it was their first stint at acting! They had to learn as quickly as they could and deliver at the same time! Indeed a tough time for most of them learning the dialogues, expressing, understanding timing especially for comic scenes, I must say! And now talking about our dancers! The efforts that these dancers have put in cannot be expressed enough in words. Whoever has seen the dances, will surely agree that as far as the choreography is concerned, the bars had been raised higher. Thus making it even more difficult for not just the non dancers, but also the dancers to get a grip over the dances! But the rock stars that they all are they could all manage it in the limited time span of one month given to them! A great team effort by the committee members, the hard work and perseverance of all the actors and dancers along with the cooperation of the Prabhu Tarun board made this event a grand success!
Of course my editorial is incomplete without thanking a few people who have contributed in a big way towards this show. Firstly a big ‘thank you’ to all the donors who have generously contributed funds, so that we could give this platform to our community members to showcase their talent. I’m sure with your support we will grow manifolds in the future and also form a base for bringing this talent on one platform and do more work within the community. We are very grateful to our event sponsor Videocon International for their support. And even more grateful to Mr. Vinay Nayak, who has helped get the sponsorship. We also take this opportunity to thank Mr. Pradeep Dhairyawan for helping us in our times of need, by providing us a venue for rehearsals completely free of charge. Of course Pratyush 2010 would never be the same without Mr. Vishwas Natekar and Mr. Satish Joshi. For Vishwas this was his second year with us and he had painstakingly worked on this project as his own baby! Although a professional he went out of his way to see that this show was a hit by creating some wow moments in the show. His assistants Shraddha Chavan and Aniket Jadhav along with him toiled through the days and nights, to ensure our participants were getting their each move right! Training a set of non dancers within a span of one month and making them perform difficult steps and stunts was an impossible task at hand, but he made it happen! Hats off to you Vishwas sir! For Joshi kaka this project began more than two months back, from the time we briefed him on the show. He was the brain behind the script and also directed the play. He had given his two months to this show, and ensured that we were able to put up a great act together. Understanding our requirement and then scripting accordingly as per the taste of the audience wasn’t an easy task. It was his dedication and hard work that such a convincing act could be staged. On behalf of Prabhu Tarun I would like to wholeheartedly thank both Vishwas sir and Joshi Kaka for their priceless contribution towards Pratyush 2010. Last but definitely not the least a very big ‘thank you’ to all the 70+ participants and all the backstage and on field volunteers who dedicated themselves to this show and made Pratyush 2010 what it is!
Before I conclude, I would like to share some of my thoughts or should I say lessons that we learnt during the making of this show. When we began planning for the season 2, we had certain apprehensions like; will we have the same number of participants this year as last year? Can we put up a show as great as or better than last year? Will the community support us again and come to see our show? Etc. Apprehensions were many but no solutions! We decided to take each day as it comes and work out every task as it comes. Slowly everything started falling in place just like a jigsaw puzzle. We learnt that sincere effort and hard work coupled with good intent is always rewarded. Whether it was for the skit or for dance, we got an overwhelming response from the community. Of course there were some who didn’t turn up, but there were double the number of fresh participants whom we welcomed with open arms! When something on such a large scale is organized it is not possible to keep everyone happy, you win some you lose some! With changing times expectations also change! Way back in 1997, as teenagers when we used to dance in community events we used to be happy with just a venue available for rehearsals. The icing on the cake would be occasional visits by the then Editor of Prabhu Tarun Late Mr. Suhas Kothare who used to often treat us with ‘vada pav’ and soft drinks! We never even dreamt of demanding snacks or refreshments while rehearsing and would happily sustain on just water for most days, which was also brought from our respective homes! Today it is binding for us to offer these comforts to our participants as is what they expect from us. We never even had the audacity to question the choreographer’s choice of dancers or even suggest who he should take in which dance back then because we had full faith in him. But today we have to handle such issues not only from dancers but also entertain parents’ requests. In this process if we have hurt any of the participants or their family members then we would like to clarify that there was no intent of doing so, but we were only trying to be as impartial to all participants as possible giving all a fair chance! Here, I would like to take the liberty and proudly state that today Pratyush is not just a platform for talented people to showcase their talent, but it is a ground to hone our skills and do things which we would never be able to do, anywhere outside. We appeal to everyone to please look at this platform as an opportunity and appreciate what it can offer you, than mull over what you could not do. If we all work together with this mind set we all will be better artists and deliver bigger and better performances in the future. Well, as they say “As you sow, so shall you reap.” I can proudly declare that we have got our due credit for all the efforts we have put in the show. Together with our gang of participants we have recreated SHOLAY, and will keep doing so for years to come! ARE YOU ALL WITH US?
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