You Know You Grew Up in India in the 90s When…

(Disclaimer: This article was NOT written by me (but only edits here and there!) it was an email forward and I’ve no clue who wrote it!)

You Know You Grew Up in India in the 90s When…

1) You know the words to ‘In-pin-safety-pin’ and ‘akkad-bakkad’ by heart
2) Cricket is almost a religion for you, and you idolize at least one of Kapil Dev/Rahul Dravid/Sachin Tendulkar/Saurav Ganguly
3) You have read at least some Chacha Chaudhary or Tinkle comics
4) You’ve watched Shaktimaan on TV at least once in your life. And you can immediately recognize the character when you see him.
5) You have some ‘NRI’ relatives.
6) You couldn’t wait for it to be December so you could have the Toblerone chocolates your NRI relatives brought you 7) You watched Cartoon Network, and then the late night movies on TNT that came after Cartoon Network ended.
You watched corny dubbed versions of Small Wonder, Silver Spoon, and I Dream of Jeanie
9) You were THRILLED when McDonald’s opened in your neighborhood (or even eight kilometers away)
10) Your first burgers were at Wimpy’s or Nirula’s.
11) A visit to Pizza Hut used to mean a special treat
12) You have seen Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun at least 5 times each
13) You still remember the theme song to Hum Paanch.
14) You have played hours upon hour of running and catching, chu-chand , lagori, gilli-danda, ‘Doctor, doctor, help us!’, ‘Lock and key’
15) You have played ‘Oh ma goshi eh eh eh’ more times than you can remember. (And you still don’t know what it means!)
16) Dog ‘in’ the bone was your favorite co-ed game.
17) Much of your free time in school was spent playing UNO.
18) You collected trump cards of wrestlers, cricketers, and airplanes, and did not quite understand why your younger siblings were obsessed with Pokemon and the other Japanese trends that followed.
19) Your summer vacations were often synonymous with visiting your grandparents 20) Your parents, at some point, told you ‘Dark Room’ was a bad game to play. But you still loved playing it.
21) Bole mere lips, I love uncle Chips!
22) You know the song ‘Made in India’ by Alisha Chinai
23) You have seen many many many episodes of ‘Antakshri’ on Zee TV and know the only thing constant in the show is Annu Kapoor.
24) Many evenings have been spent watching little kids gyrate vulgarly on Boogie Woogie on Sony.
25) You were the coolest thing in class if you had a computer in your house while it was still the 90s.
26) You learnt LOGO and BASIC in school!
27) You couldn’t wait to start 4th standard so you could start writing with PENS instead of with pencils!
28) You often use terms and phrases like ‘two-say’, ‘same to you, back to you, with no returns’, and ‘shame shame, puppy shame, all the donkeys know your name.’
29) You most probably saw Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge at the cinema at least once. You also fantasized about singing songs in mustard fields as in the movie.
30) You have seen David Dhawan and Govinda movies and laughed at them. 31) You have said ‘haw’ or ‘yuck’ when you saw people kissing in English movies
31) You have seen Titanic at least 12 times.
32) You thought seeing English movies and speaking English made you the coolest thing ever.
33) You remember the Orissa cyclone, even though you didn’t know what a cyclone was.
34) You remember the Gujarat earthquake very clearly and could possibly tell everyone EXACTLY what you were doing when the earthquake occurred (yes, this happened in 2001, January 26, 2001, to be exact — but this group is about the things that Indian kids that GREW UP in the 90s remember and identify with).
35) Barbies for girls, and GI Joes for boys were the ultimate status symbols. You just wanted more more more and more. And how can I forget Hot Wheels, for both boys and girls?
36) You have worn weekender kids and wearhouse clothes while growing up. And you thought ‘imported’ clothes were definitely way better than ‘made in India’ clothes (never mind that a lot of clothes brought from overseas by NRI relatives were actually made in India, before ‘Made in China’ started appearing on EVERY existing thing)
37)You used to watch figure it out and legends of the hidden temple on nickelodean once you came back from school. 38) At some point or other, cool was your favourite, and therefore, most overused word.
39) Captain Planet was your first introduction to environmental consciousness.
40) You have tried to convince people around you to not burst crackers on Diwali, and then gone straight back home and burst them yourself.
41) You have had endless packets of Parle Gluco G biscuits, and of Brittania Little Hearts biscuits.
42) You loved licking off the cream from the centre of Bourbon biscuits.
43) There were no Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Puma- Bata and Liberty was the way to go for your sports shoes.
44) You have probably consumed more Frooti in your lifetime than there is oil in Iraq.
45) You watched Baywatch on Star World even though (or because) your parents said you shouldn’t watch it.
46) You bought packets of potato chips for the specific purpose of collecting Tazos. And you had Tazos depicting everyone from Confucius to Daffy Duck to Daffy Duck dressed as Confucius.
47) For the longest time, the Maruti 800, the Premier Padmini, THE Fiat, and THE Ambassador were the only cars you saw on the road, and the Contessa was cool because it was bigger.
48) You would literally jump up in excitement if you ever chanced upon an imported car (Oh my gosh, is that really a MERCEDES?)!
49) You spent a good part of 1998 drooling over the Hyundai Santro and the Daewoo Matiz , debating which one was better.
50) You used to Fuzen gum. You also chewed Big (big) Babool and/or Boom Boom Boomer chewing gum. They were bright pink and disgusting tasting, but you loved them for the temporary tattoos.
51) Talking of temporary tattoos, you sometimes had contests with your classmates about who had more tattoos on their arm, leg, knee, hand, forehead, wherever.
52) You thought Mario and Tetris were the coolest things ever invented, especially if you were a boy.
53) You knew that having the latest Hero or Atlas bicycle would make you the coolest kid on the block.
54) You can imitate Sushmita Sen’s winning gasp to perfection.
55) You have, at some point of time, worn GAP clothes (real or fake) like SRK in KKHH.
56) Seemingly senseless acronyms like SRK, DDLJ, KKHH actually make sense to you.. 57) You have at some point debated who was more beautiful- Aishwarya or Sushmita.
58) If you lived in Bangalore, The distant thought that there would be a forum mall one day would bring a twinkle to your eyes!
59) Baskin Robbins ice-cream was THE thing to have!
60) You know what Campa Cola is. And you also knew that Coca Cola was THE drink.
61) When you would watch WWF keenly every evening/afternoon and really think that Undertaker had 7 lives and he made an “actual” appearance in the Akshay Kumar- starrer Khiladiyon ka Khiladi.
62) When all backpacks (or ’schoolbags’) and water bottles and tiffin boxes had strange cartoon characters that were hybrid versions of seven or eight different characters, and you still bought them, because a green man wih a water pistol, boots, a jet-pack, Johnny bravo hair, a rajasthani mustache, gloves, and underwear (long johns) over his pants, called ‘Mr. X’ was OBVIOUSLY a status symbol.
63) You remember the Nirma tikia jingle.
64) You remember the Nirma girl.
65) You remember the ‘doodh doodh’ ad and also the ‘roz khao andey’ ads.
66) You grew up reading, if you read at all, some or all of Nancy Drews, Enid Blyton books, Hardy Boys, Babysitters Club, Animorphs, Goosebumps, Sweet Valley series, Judy Blumes, and Tintin, or Archie comics. Because naturally, reading foreign authors made you much cooler than reading Tinkle.
67) Towards the late 90s (1998-99) at least some of us started our Harry Potter obsessions!
68) You absolutely HAD to go to Essel World if you wnet to Mumbai! “Essel World mein rahoonga main, ghar nahin nahin jaaonga main!” (I never went but always dreamed of going there!)
69) You watched the Bournvita Quiz contest on TV pretty religiously. The smarter ones amongst you actually took part in it and had your entire school and your entire extended families watch you on it!
70) “Jungle jungle baat chali hai, pata chala hai. Chaddi pehen ke phool khila hai, phool khila!”
71) Maggi 2 Minute Noodles = ultimate snack (and tiffin, lunch, dinner)!
72) If you grew up in the early 90s, you recall the nation’s obsession with Mahabharata on TV
73) In the later 90s, you religiously followed Hip Hip Hooray on Zee. Maybe Just Mohabbat on Sony too.
74) You eagerly awaited Friendship Day, so you could give friendship bands to all your friends, and get bands from them in return. Then, of course, those with the most bands loved to show them off .
75) This list made you smile.

And I miss that age, it was sooo awesome!

General Compartment.

I just returned from Mumbai and the local trains there were an experience of sorts…This I observed is the typical scene in a general compartment in a local train in mumbai.

A middle aged clerk in a small time office, with frown lines on his forehead which read that he’s probably the sole bread winner of his family, wearing his thick glasses sits and eats his apple.

A college going girl wearing a chic tunic with peep-toe shoes and music plugged in her ears is reading a book

The group of giggly salwar clad girls huddle and look to be discussing the news with a lot of enthusiasm, probably of the latest couple in their college or someone who was not-so-cool!

Two or three men who are in their mid forties with receding hairlines, sitting and discussing how the politics in the country has taken a toll for the worse, and how it was better in the good ol’ days!

Women who are selflessly going to a faraway place for work, and spacing out are probably thinking “Did I switch off the gas stove” “Has my daughter reached school safely ” “I wonder what my husband is doing right now”

A young techie, who’s carrying his heavy laptop is sitting blankly, with puffy under-eyes and looks like his soul has been sucked out by a dementor.

Maharashtrian aunties who are wearing the paithani saris are discussing the “bhaav” of vegetables and how they are unable to keep up with the soaring rates and other household affairs.

The working class people who are making a loud chatter in some vague language that only they understand and cleaning and chewing unprocessed tobacco with their litter of kids dangerously running around everywhere.

An old couple who are traveling to a function or someones house, proudly discussing their son who stays abroad and sends them tidy amounts of money every month.

Rich hypocrites who don’t want to be spotted in the general compartments who hide their faces, but don’t want to blow 80 bucks on first class and look at everyone else with disgust.

And a few here and there’s like me, who are just observing and absorbing all the proceedings without much thinking!

You can find a pot-pourri of people. It goes to show how all kind of people are equal and travel in the same manner irrespective of their background! It boils down to this. It was really an experience for me cos I’d never seen such different kind of people, altogether in one place.

This is outrageous

26/11 2008 A day that will be etched in our memories for the rest of our lives. Why? Because India faced one of its biggest tragedies ever, the amount of people dead and physically and mentally injured and the amount of losses faced is irreparable.

And how can we forget Hemanth Karkare, Major Unnikrishnan, Ashok Kamte and all those martyrs who laid down their lives. Of course some exceptionally cheap people had comments about these people too. But anyway, the past is the past, let’s come to the present.

As we all know Ajmal Kasab was caught at the scene of the crime, he was CLEARLY A TERRORIST. This he himself is not denying. If you ask me or a billion other Indians this b****rd, son of a b***h should have been shot dead then and there. He was arrested and some brilliant idiot (who should be killed before the terrorist himself) had the idea of giving him a “fair trial.”

Firstly, a trial is given to a person who is “accused” of a certain crime, not some body who is caught red-handed. Secondly the kind of crime he has committed is not one that can be forgiven under ANY circumstances. He has taken innumerable number of lives. He is much more dangerous than any ordinary murderer. He is a TERRORIST. When will these people get the actual meaning and depth of that word. His basic job is to KILL and not in ones or twos, but en-masse. In hundreds and thousands.

These people have put him in jail and now Mr. I’m-the-king-of-the-world is unrepentant. He thinks what he did was completely right and people like Karkare, Unnikrishnan and all those innocent children, loving parents, and law-abiding good citizens deserved the most horrible death they could get.

Mr. Kasab is now sitting in the prison and is expecting red carpet treatment from the world. He wants flavored toothpaste, a perfume, an Urdu newspaper, walks in the prison veranda and he also wants his prison money to be put into a bank.

I’ll tell you what’s worse? The government is obliging. This is not even close to sheer audacity, it’s just much much worse. He has the bloody ba**s to come and make such demands.

The government is a horrible let-down. They are very crassly using Kasab and by keeping him alive are looking for the Muslim votes. And the people of our country, seem to want the same government again. This is downright unbelievable. All those people who laid down their lives serving the nation, serving these b****rd politicians are getting this in return.

I’m not only angry at the way things are going now I’m deeply disappointed and immensely scared. At this rate of advancement of the Taliban, they will not only take over our country. We never know when we could die.

Think before you vote. It’s very important. Do you want to be alive and safe or take sides to support religion?

Why the Taj Mahal is one of the 7 wonders of the world?

A rather debated topic.  A lot of people think there are better monuments in the world and this is not even close to some of them… But I recently visited Agra and I found so many things about the Taj Mahal that make it so special. The kind of architecture and ideas are used in probably no other monument in the world.

As we all have read in the history text books, that it was built for the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan’s wife, Mumtaz. Getting back to a little history, Shah Jahan had 3 wives, I’m not sure of the names of the other 2. Mumtaz being the youngest, he loved her dearly, and the other two didn’t bear him children, whereas Mumtaz bore him 14 children out of which only 6 survived. 4 boys and 2 girls. One of them was Aurangzeb.

When Mumtaz passed away in 1631 the construction of the Taj Mahal started and went on for 22 years, which are marked by white domes on the main gate. The Taj is a perfect example of symmetry. From all the four sides, it looks exactly the same.
And the minars or towers that are there on the four sides rise upto 55 metres and are tilted 2 degrees outward, in order to avoid any kind of harm to the main Mahal in case of a flood or an earthquake.
The entire Taj Mahal is made of pure Marble and can be tested by passing light through it, marble is translucent they say and you can see it.

The kind of art work done in the Taj is just painting, but the marble has been carved and semi precious stones have been embedded into them. And when the moonlight hits the inner of the taj, it is said to light up. Of course, the government has it’s rules about entering the Taj Mahal at night and also about entering certain areas.

Since marble is Calcium Carbonate, it is easily corroded by acids, so there are very strict rules about what you can carry inside also. The Taj has already been affected by acid rains in the past. Since UNESCO has named it a world heritage site a lot of care and maintenance is required for the Taj.

Another interesting piece of information I received when I went there was that, there was supposed to be a black Taj Mahal built adjacent to the already existing one. The foundation was ready and so was the plan apparently, but Aurangzeb dethroned his father Shah Jahan and put him to jail before he could do that. And there is also another story around this… That when Aurangzeb asked his father what is the one wish he would like to be granted… Shah Jahan requested that there be a window in his prison from where he could get the full view of the Taj.

Legend also has it that Shah Jahan cut off all the labourers hands after they were done with the Taj, of course some oppose the theory… All in all this is one fascinating masterpiece and as Indians we should be proud of such a monument. It is breathtakingly beautiful!

A tale of two wednesdays

Have you seen the movie A wednesday? If you haven’t I suggest you go grab a DVD and watch it.

Why have I titled this post as “A tale of two wednesdays” you will understand only if you’ve seen the movie. Wednesda november 26th2008 was a catastrophe, with the terror attacks and mass murder like it was nobody’s business. What is the solution to all that? Can we also pull off a Wednesday in return to what they did to us? I think it’s completely possible. We as citizens should play an active role in changing the system.

After all, they’re taking the common man for granted. In the age where common man is the hero we can’t wait for Superman to come and save the day for us. All of know it’s fictional!

Now everybody is talking about what we can do. Nobody is sure what we can do. I’m sure none of  us can pull off a Naseerudin Shah! But there are steps. First of all, we should all stop talking about it and take some action.
Writing a blog about it is a good way to start off. If you’re influencing even 5 people trust me it’s a good start. There are other educated and sane minded people who are also starting a whole lot of initiatives. Take for instance, this one, it might take 5 minutes of your time but a small contribution to society.

The other thing that we as the youth of India can do is, participate in the peace rallies. A whole load of them are going on in every city. I really appreciate the effort and spirit of the people who initiate these events. I think we should also follow on their footsteps or at least go participate, and show are support and appreciation for them. I think this is a good way to send a notice to the passive government. If we don’t react and respond, then nobody will even care. And such events will only continue. We will just be subjected to more tyranny and it’ll be only because we’re pushovers.

I think awareness is important and we are empowered with facilities like the Internet and other communication devices and we should use them to help with the cause. If we as educated individuals fail to help, then nobody will. So take a step further and spread the good word. Because it’s high time we support and safeguard ourselves rather then leaving it to some dirty ol’ codgers who aren’t interested in anything but their own decietful money making schemes!

The nightmare

Myriads of human carcasses lying like a pile of trash, blood flowing everywhere, fire erupting out of nowhere, deafening sounds of bombs and firing… These were the sights and sounds that one could hear if you switched on the Television.

The huge attacks on Mumbai… At ten places was gory. More than 300 deaths they say. And we’re bound to be mute spectators. Not because we want to, but because we have to. The terrorists are no match for us, now are they? I, like the rest of the country was glued to the news channels and one person sms-ed saying, “Terrorists don’t just attack, they also come asking for votes” I couldn’t have agreed more. The politicians are bigger villains in this country than the terrorists. The terrorists atleast came and did their goddamn job and went. It was their job to kill people and they were thorough professionals (Let me clarify, I’m not for the terrorists, just that I’m more against the politicians than the terrorists)

The entire incident was taking place and we had “great leaders” of this nation coming to mumbai to “console” the families of the deceased. This was blatant and dirty vote-bank politics. When so many people were dying there, where was Raj Thackery who wanted to drive out all the Biharis. The Biharis died saving people. Not Raj Thackery, who was probably sitting pretty at home or making the most of the situation to usurp the Cm’s seat.

Hypocrisy reached its zenith when Narendra Modi who was calling Late Mr. Hemanth Karkare names a few days ago made this man his ”hero” To gain public sympathy. Only people like Mamatha Bannerjee are recognised as great heroes by the government and not Mr. Hemanth  Karkare. When V.P. Singh died, the government declared a holiday and 7 days of mourning. And when Mr. Karkare, Mr. Kamte, Mr. Unnikrishnan and others died… People only came to their support to grab the limelight. I mean that V.P. Singh with all the Mandal commission ruined how many innocent lives and he is more respected in this country than these honorable martyrs.

India’s not a poor country. It can afford all the ammunition that the terrorists had. We can afford very high security. But all the money that the citizens pay from their pockets, their hard earned money isn’t enough to fill these politicians’ stomach. A man like Karkare puts his life on risk everyday and that’s what he’s paying as tax. His flesh and blood. I think the politicians and bureaucrats don’t have half the heart as the terrorists do.

I think the citizens of India have to stand up against this injustice. In any small way that they can.
I’m more shameful about what happened, than scared. It’s a terribly pathetic state of affairs. It’s very heartbreaking to see all those people mourning the death of the loved ones and so much grief together. May their souls rest in peace.

(P.S: I’ve blackened the header as a sign of mourning for those numerous lives, that were lost in this battle with terror.)

Happy Diwali!

Hey… Have a very happy and safe Diwali!

I love this time of the year, the lights are so bright and it’s so festive and cheerful everywhere you go! Wow! It makes you feel so happy and so at home! That’s the best part about Diwali, everybody celebrates it in some way or the other!

Well there are a lot of reasons why Diwali is celebrated. Legend has it that Rama returned back to Ayodhya on this day after rescuing Sita and fighting the evil Ravana and defeating him. Hence crackers are burst to celebrate this happy ocassion.

But in south India it’s celebrated in a different way and for a different reason.
We have Naraka Chaturdasi on the first day. A day devoted to wroshipping Mahakali and Balipadyami which is marked as the day when Lord Bali gave his head as offering to Vamana (an avatara of Vishnu.)

My grandmother told me this story yesterday… She’s a very intelligent old lady and she gave me a nice explananation as to why we light diyas.
The season changes now, from autumn to winter and there is a change in weather which brings along wiith it a lot of diseases. So by lighting up the place, we’re also keeping the atmosphere warm which kills the disease carrying germs.

But with all the pretty lights comes the sound of crackers. I think it’s a waste of money and totally bad for the environment. Air pollution, sound pollution and a whole load of dirt on the road. I mean all that effort of bursting crackers and taking in so much pollution just for bad, unplesant noises, not worth it. I believe it’s literally burning money down.

Anyway I love all the sweets and bright lights!

Happy Diwali again! Keep it safe and think about global warming too!

Go GOA!

Goa! The land of the most amazing beaches in the world! Phew what an experience. I’d gone to Goa on what the college knew as an “industrial tour!” But boy, you can’t imagine the amount of fun one can have in that place.

For me personally the beaches are the best part. Just lying around on the sand and feeling the waves hit you is just the most beautiful feeling ever. And when you go to a beach the next time, sit down at the shore, hold the sand in your hand and you’ll realize that it has so many things to tell you.

Personally I’m more of a nature person than a booze person and the only two options you have in goa are 1. You can go hit a bar and booze till you snooze or 2. You go spend all the time you have on a beach. Evidently I chose the latter.

My friends and I had an awesome time doing like a various bunch of things that we thought we’d never do.
1. Parasailing. Trust me you’d never ever have felt so “on top of the world!” (Literally and figuratively)
2. Water Scooter. Speed and Water are two things that I absolutely love and a combination of both is just mindboggling!
3. A banana boat ride. You feel it’s a normal boat ride until you’re toppled off the boat in the middle of the sea! You fear your life, but still an experience you’d never forget!

And spending time away from parents means no deadlines! And crazy night outs. We went out familiarizing ourselves with the streets of Goa! And the various restaurants that are open till late night.

One particular night, we spent at the beach. It was a near full moon night, the sky was well lit and the waters really torrent. That experience was surreal, something I’d never forget. The beauty I saw in nature isn’t something that I can explain in words. But it made me realize that there was a superior power. When you sit under the sky that defines infinity and a roaring wild sea and soft brown earth underneath you, you’re overwhelmed with emotion at the beauty of the sea. This no man can ever create… What we prefer to call God lies in nature.

Goa is one place that you HAVE to visit! It’s the most amazing place ever. And make it a point to spend the night  at the beach and enjoy the waters, just like I did!

Another Hero martyred

Another life taken… In the terrorist encounter that took place in Delhi yesterday, Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma was shot at… 4 bullets in his system and he succumbed to his injuries on Friday night. He was the mastermind in the investigation of the recent Delhi blasts. He was the best encounter specialist in the Delhi police force after ACP Rajbir Singh who was killed a few months ago. He was successful in tracing the people down. 2 killed and 2 caught. A highly efficient officer. He had 150 medals and the encounter of 35 terrorists, to his credit.

The nation mourns this gallant hero’s death. But this hasn’t been the first.

There are so many people that are killed in encounters, fighting for the nation, fighting so that we sleep peacefully at night. Isn’t it overwhelming to see such people martyred? It’s saddening.

If you ask me there is no God that is fighting all the crime in the world as religion believes. It’s people like these who selflessly fight to protect the nation against cruelty and crime… While on the other hand there are criminals and terrorists who are waiting to kill innocent people for no fault of theirs. Because they’ve been born into a certain religion. That’s not justice. These are the people who are giving justice to those victims.

All these people die, but the question is do they die fruitlessly? After all these years and probably thousands of people who have died, terrorism is still rampant in our country. There is still war and there are a lot more lives that have to be given for there to be complete peace…

May his soul rest in peace and spare a thought for all the people who have been martyred for the country. All those men who have died for us. All those people who we haven’t been grateful to. We owe our lives to these great souls.

God bless them and May all their souls rest in peace.

M. S. Subbalakshmi

M. S. Subbalaskhmi is arguably the best singer ever. She was music personified. Of late I’ve developed this habit of listening to the Vishnu Sahasranama while travelling in the bus every morning. It leaves me mentally refreshed and charged up for the day.

If you’ve heard it by M. S. Subbalakshmi (if not, you can listern to it here ) you’ll realise that there is no other instrument being played other than the tambura (the shruthi) But it still sounds so rich. It sounds like a hundred other instruments are being played with her voice. Her voice was probably the most cultured and firm. I don’t think any Lata Mangeshkar can match up to M.S. Though Lata was good in her own way, M.S was outstanding, nobody in any generation can ever reach up to her level I suppose.

What also made M.S’ voice so distinct was the amount of Bhakti she sang with, she genuinely meant every word she sang and that came across in her songs. She brought depth and meaning to the songs she sang.

Though this amazing lady is no more Her voice is immortal, with generations to come.