Monday, December 7, 2009

Paa and a true case of Progeria

Children afflicted with Progeria endure a lot of stares, sickness and a very short life. I checked online and found numerous cases of kids affected by this disease. Basically, a sufferer ages too fast with limited mobility and a lot of pain usually associated with the old.

Amitabh's 'Paa' is one of Bollywood's more beautiful movies and destined to hit International theatres soon. The movie succeeds in drawing the attention of the viewer to the plight of similar children from around the world.

I wish there is a cure for this disease so that these children can grow up normal and healthy lives like the rest of us. I wish God had created everybody equal.

Here is a link on Zachary Moore, a child who died at age 3 with the disease. May God bless his soul. - https://www.oldatage3.com/Home_Page.php

Friday, November 20, 2009

A proud moment - Burj Dubai


As a grown-up who spent his childhood in Dubai, my heart swelled with pride when I read that the new building Burj Dubai is the tallest skyscraper in the world.

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Here are some other interesting statistics:
Height: 800+ meters
Floors: 160 floors
World's fastest elevators - 64kmph
15,000-strong workforce, mainly from India
Premises has a musical fountain that is the same height as a 50 story building
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Dubai has changed a lot over these past years and its transformation into a world-class city is the greatest story never told. I am sure that one day the UAE will be given more power and visibility in the International stage. A big thannks to the ruling Sheikh family and the expatriate population for helping the UAE reach where it has today.

Psycho Killer

One fond memory from childhood is me gyrating to an awesome song called 'Psycho Killer'. This number by Talking Heads has a strong bass and rhythm that will leave you mesmerized! I recently downloaded its mp3 and I realized that I still am in love with its tune...

Today, I decided to check up more about the song and found out that it was written to represent a serial killer's thoughts. With a title like that, I guess this fact was a foregone conclusion.

Well, I still love and enjoy this song. I hope you do too!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Hail King Nano!

The TATA Nano is the most revered car in India. Period.Want proof, huh? Line up a Nano along with a Merc, a BMW 750 and a Bentley. An Indian passing by will only notice the Nano and will stop by to admire its 'beauty' and 'architectural marvel'. This is a prime example of Indian pride for you.

Here, in my humble opinion, is a list of the most revered cars in India:

1. TATA Nano
2. Maruti 800
3. Ambassador
4. Contessa
5. Premier Padmini

The cars mentioned above still elicit a sense of nostalgia and a strong sense of pride in being Indian. What more could we ask for?

A humble message to the Nissan-Bajaj working on a Nano rival - if you can re-create the hype that surrounds Nano, then you have a winner car in your hands!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Kerala Health Minister's embarassing English

If you do a survey to find the country with the most boring leaders, then India would win hands down. Our PM Manmohan Singh always has this sleepy grin on his face, while Sonia's speeches can drive even the faithful into a coma. The less said about our President, the better.

It took the likes of Raj Thackeray, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Amar Singh and Rahul Gandhi to inject some life into Indian politics and this is why the media adore them. Kerala has its share of popular leaders and Shashi Tharoor leads from the front, albeit for the wrong reasons. He presents himself as highly sophisticated and wordly(he really is) but gets himself into unpleasant situations, thanks to his 'tweets'.

I believe his mannerisms and penchant for speaking in English has rubbed on to some other Kerala leaders as well. Foremost among them is P.K. Sreemathi, who delivered a speech in English with highly embarrassing results.

Is it necessary for a politician to know English to do his job well? Does a regional leader have to give a speech in English to prove his caliber? Since our politicians rarely do anything for the common man, it will be difficult to form opinions on the matter.

The bottom line is that India's politicians should do good for the people who voted them to power. Knowing the local language and being confident and authoritative are what is mainly required.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Happy Birthday Juhi Chawla!

Juhi Chawla just turned a year older - 42 to be precise and looks as beautiful as ever. Juhi had numerous on-screen pairings and those with Aamir, ShahRukh and Rishi Kapoor were particularly successful.

At this juncture in her career, she now has all the creative freedom in the world to choose movies that appeal to her. Recently, she turned in a fun-filled and humorous performance in 'Luck By Chance'.

For me, the fondest memories of her are from a movie called 'Love, Love, Love', in which she was paired opposite Aamir Khan. The movie bombed but I had seen it a thousand times.

I hope she continues doing sensible roles.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUHI

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Amitabh - the Supremo!


Most of you already know that Amitabh had a comic superhero based on his persona. Well, I learnt about this only 2 days ago. Even though I gorged on his movies, I never had a liking towards Amitabh, the superstar.

Being a die-hard fan of comics, I was immediately smitten by Amitabh, the comic superhero. Which other movie star can boast of having his own comic?

The 'Supremo' comic was released for only 2 years in the 80s. It's a pity that we don't have any of them anymore. Does anybody have a copy of Supremo :-)?

I noticed that the Indian version of Spiderman wears a dhoti just like Amitabh's Supremo. I guess its safe to say that the creators of the Indian Spiderman were 'inspired' by Amitabh's Supremo!