Although I have already mentioned about this term in one of my earlier posts, I think it holds more meaning in the present context.
In the good old days, traveling wasn’t easy. It was full of hazards, risks and danger. And that’s why whenever someone used to go out on a journey, his/her close ones would say with good reason ‘God be with you’. And due to lethargicness of humans, the phrase got shortened to ‘Good-bye’ with only hyphen left to indicate that it is a word made up of more than one word.
I got reminded of it recently when, as a result of attacks, I saw many people seeing off their close ones with ‘sambhal ke jaana’, ‘khayal rakhna’, ‘be careful’ rather than with those cute ones ‘good-bye’ or ‘alvida’.
Sourav..

Well, at this point of time when everything is calming down, I don’t know whether it’s appropriate to once again ponder upon this issue but since I have already written it and eagerly want to share it, I am taking the plunge hereby.

Over the last two days, though quite naturally, there have been lots of discussions going on, whether in print or online or on air, on the role of media in these situations. Well, on personal level I always curse them for the kind of news they have been covering these days, particularly those hindi news channels, or for that matter the way in which they have covered this particular issue. I mean the scenes such as showing the position of NSG commandos or mentioning out the way in which NSG is carrying out their operations or showing the scenes of injured people running in pain rather than helping them out or giving out any other type of important information is just crossing the line of control. And and ironically there is always a subtle sense of joy in their tone (barring few such as Nidhi Razdan, Rajdeep Sardesai) whenever a news of high altitude (or devastation) reaches their ears. So its like I, atleast, always see them as an intangible weapon available to many facets of destruction whether it be militants or any other silent assassins within the country itself.

But it was till I came across an article written by Mr. Jug Suraiya, who seemed to had been echoing the same views throughout his write-up but surprisingly ended up with an unanswered question:

‘But who create(s) the media?’

Sourav..

Its been sometime since the Coca-cola came up with this beautiful Limca ad. I don’t think I have seen any better cold-drinks ad than this one till date. It has become a rage these days with brands such as Airtel, Hutch, TOI, Insurance ads etc all trying to hit the emotional quotient of people and with this ‘freshness of emotions’ theme, I think, Coca-cola has gone one step ahead.

The idea of splashing of water was very refreshing and the cool melodious score in the background was just icing on cake. It reminds me of the song ‘bhaagey re mann kahin’ from chameli where most of the things except the purpose are quite similar to the ones in this ad. It maintains a subtle pace throughout the show and the perfect balance in all respects keeps everyone glued to it till the end. It’s a treat to watch it at the end of a long hard day work and the lyrics is also so soothing that one keeps humming it throughout the remaining time. With it providing both visual and audio appeal and the perfect execution by actors, singer and other artists, it has certainly gone down well with the young adults of our generation. Its something that everyone in todays fast moving world can relate to and it definitely deserves a place in my all time favourites. Kudos to it and would like to end with its lyrics only:

“Fuhaarein, baucharein, nazaare chura lo na,

Kuch boondein chura lo na,

Thaki si zindagi se, ruki si zindagi se,

Kuch lamhe chura lo na.

Kuch yaadein, kuch sapne chura lo na,

Thaki si zindagi se, ruki si zindagi se,

Raftar chura lo na”

Being a die-hard cricket fan, it would be unfair if I do not take this oppurtunity to reflect on one of the most historical moments in Indian cricket. Its a universal fact that only when someone departs/retires, his abilities are more recognised and his presence missed more than ever. Its the same today when Kumble, whom I always look upon as the man with immense spirit, courage and die-hard attitude, retires. He is a man with recognised superiority and the aura which he carries with himself is always reflected when he talks, when he walks and obviously when he bowls.
Actually this moment is notable for more than one reason and all being significant in their own respect as far as Indian cricket is concerned. Firstly, obviously his retirement marks the end of an era and I dont see anyone in the near future quite capable of filling this void. Secondly, Dhoni is all set to enter the big stage where the real test lies. It will be interesting to see how he uses his instincts here. Thirdly and importantly this also marks the start of an inevitable journey which is going to end with the departure of four greats (considering sachin is not going to retire soon). Here the interesting aspect would be to see how the other three justify their retirement. All in all its one of those very sweet moments.
Now since he has retired, considering his placid way of expressing things and his passion for photography, I am eagerly awaiting his autobiography to be published. It will be a treat to see his eighteen years of journey from his own eyes.

Sourav..