Poetry - A Child's Play?

Not really.

I've tried my hand at poetry, just as I've tried my hand at painting, playing basketball, writing, dancing etc.


However, I was a budding poetess when I was young, I can't say anything about now. Recently, about 4 months back, I won an award for poetry writing from school but the poem sounded, for want of a better word, gay. That was quite obvious actually, for I wrote the poem in approximately ten minutes. This implies that my poem would either have been too shabby for words, or too gay for words. As you read this poem, you'll realise that it belongs to the latter category much more than the former. [Taking inspiration from my fellow blog-writers, I've decided to put up some of the poems I've written, however silly they might be]

Here's Presenting: Nature, Our Perennial Source Of Inspiration [well, that was what the authorities told me to write on, anyway]

'Twas just yesterday,
I felt blue
My tear-bedimmed eyes peered out the window,
The foreboding feeling inside me grew;
I feared what the window would reveal, would show.

The fear was in vain, however,
The view had much to offer.
Nature and creatures, harmoniously living together
I wonder if it'd been this way forever.

I took out a pencil and attempted to draw.
My fingers attained a mind of their own
The end result was perfect, but one flaw:
The harmony in nature had not been shown.

I tried looking thru the window again,
This time with an open mind,
Taking in the wind, sunshine and the rain
I then realized, nature is divine.

There was much to learn from nature;
I'd been completely ignorant about this boon;
Never thought outside the box, never!
Not even outside my room.

Instilled with a feeling of intimacy
With nature and with everything around me
I realized that there was no conspiracy;
The feeling made me feel so free

And thus my once tear-bedimmed eyes
Were bloodshot and full of tears yet again.
I'd attained self-actualization and I realized
My life would never be the same.

More later.
Signing Off.
Mallika Priya Khullar.

Nickelodeon - Whatever happened to the good old days?

We began by watching shows on Cartoon Network. Many of us can still remember those continuous rumbling of Shaggy's stomach, constant laughing of Pebbles, and the barking of Courage. We grew to love Noddy and his nodding head [WHO knew that Enid Blyton created the first Noddy?], Tom and his uncountable tricks in attempts to lure Jerry out of his mouse hole, the Mayor of Townsville and his jar of candy, Popeye's overlarge muscles, and DiDi's overly curious nature. We still sing or simply hum the theme songs of various shows on Cartoon Network sometimes just because we can't think of anything else and sometimes because we feel like reliving our childhood.

But then came the revolutionary Nickelodeon. It released in the year 2001 and took our lives by storm. I had never before in my life seen something so enthralling and captivating as the shows on Nickelodeon. My parents would pull out their hair when they saw the amounts of hours I spent rooted in front of the television, my eyes glued to the TV screen.

The shows I loved the most on Nickelodeon include:

• Figure It Out- This was a game showed hosted by Summer Sanders [I used to adore her when I was a kid]. Since it involved filling blanks and at the start of every episode, Summer Sanders would announce the number of blanks by saying something like "Blank blank blank blank blank" or "blank blank THE blank blank", the show came to be known as BLANK BLANK BLANK BLANK in the household [yes, my folks used to watch it as well]. There would be three rounds to the game where the panelists [ four people who used to air on popular Nickelodeon shows played the game as panelists] would ask the contestant of the day yes-or-no questions [if they got a yes, they were allowed to ask another question.. this would go on till they got a no] in an attempt to guess his secret 'talent' [he might be able to do something special, might have won some competition, might have invented something etc]. Clues and SLIME were a common part of the game and it used to be LOVELY to watch the panelists perform the secret slime action [which would usually be something like, say the word 'like', or scratch their ear, or think about bananas.. or something along those lines]. So, anyway; if the panelist guessed a word of the contestant's 'talent' then a blank would overturn to reveal the word on something called 'Billy the Answer Head' which was where the blanks were located and were overturned. The show ends by the contestant revealing his 'talent' and showing it to everybody.. Grand prizes would be won by the contestant if the panelists aren't able to guess his talent by the end of the three rounds. Grand prizes included trips to Florida etc. *sigh*.
  
  
• Rugrats - It is Nickelodeon's longest running show, and for good reason. Rugrats shows us the daily lives of - Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil and Angelica - a group of toddlers. Tommy is the leader of the group. He is the son of Stu and Didi Pickels. He is the most adventurous of the group and often leads the way for the rest of his friends. Chuckie and him are inseparable and Chuckie admires Tommy for his courage. Chuckie is the eldest of all the Rugrats. He has BRIGHT RED hair, which I suspect is the leading factor of his irrational phobias. He's loyal to his friends and often overcomes his fears to come to the rescue of the others. Phil and Lil are twin brother and sisters that have absolutely everything in common. They both like mud, they both are identical, and love eating worms. However they argue a lot. Angelica, is not actually a part of this group, but Tommy's elder cousin. She is the cutest antagonist of all times. She's always bossing the babies around and is a spoilt brat. She turns on her charm and manipulates her dad into buying her anything she wants. Her daddy calls her, 'His Little Princess'. She was the eldest of the Rugrats and was the only one who could communicate with both the toddlers and the adults. Later versions of the shows also introduced new characters like Dil [Tommy's little brother], Susie [a neighbourhood friend who stops Angelica from tormenting the kids] and Kimi [Chuckie's step sister, who made her first appearance in the movie Rugrats in Paris].

• Hey Arnold! - This was one cartoon I could completely relate to. It's about a young fourth grader kid - Arnold - and this group of friends and the various incidents that take place in their lives. Arnold is a sweet boy, always willing to lend a helping hand out to anyone who needs it. His room is the neatest room anybody can find in the whole of NY. His grandparents [who he is currently living with, as his parents died when Arnold was a young kid of three] are proprietors of their boarding house which is called Sunset Arms [this is a slightly unusual name, but I'm not complaining]. Arnold's best friend, Gerald, has the kind of hair every guy would dream of having in his childhood. It stays up without him having to apply gel every five minutes. Gerald is also the occasional voice of reason (just when Arnold needs it) and the teller of the schoolyard legends. One of Arnold's classmates is Helga, who is the person the story usually revolves around, though the story obviously concerns Arnold. She's the bully of the class and calls Arnold 'football head' though with good reason. She secretely has a HUGE crush on Arnold and that becomes the main cause for her bullying him. She doesn't want him, or anyone for that matter, to get to know about her crush. I could totally relate to this show as during the time of the show, I used to have the major hots for this guy. Since I was a kid, so I couldn't do anything about it at that time. I just used to bully him around just like Helga. But then I realised that that was a stupid idea, so I gave it up soon.

The above mentioned were my absolute favourite, but apart from these, there were so many shows I used to love watching. I wonder why I didn't manage to land myself with a pair of 'Brille'.

• 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd
• As Told By Ginger
• The Wild Thornberrys
• Global Guts
• CatDog
• Legends of the Hidden Temple
• Double Dare 2000
• ChalkZone [It JUST ended on August 23rd in the States]
• Aaahh!!! Real Monsters
• Rocket Power
• The Fairly Odd Parents
• Blue's Clues [I have all the songs memorised .. !]
• KaBlam!
• All That [The Lori Beth and Danny Tamberelli era]
• The Amanda Show

The current Nickelodeon is just distressing. Ninja Hattori? Perman? ARE THEY RETARDED ?!?!Sorry, I just get very sentimental when I compare the old Nickelodeon to the new ones. Drake and Josh, and Kenan & Kel - the shows I actually used to enjoy, either come late at night on weekdays or don't come at all.

Whatever happened to the old Nickelodeon? Why do Indians [sorry for generalising, but I don't quite know who to blame for this one] think that dubbing all shows and airing them in hindi is 'in' and is what the children of this country want?

More later.
Signing off.
Mallika Priya Khullar.

Friends - Has the Meaning Changed Over the Years?

The meaning of the word 'friend' seems to have changed over these past few years.
The word 'Friend' refers to someone who will welcome your company and show extreme loyalty towards you. They have your best interests at heart and desire what is best for you. A friend will try to best honest with you, for your own sake, but would never want to intentionally hurt you. Yes, being a good friend is not easy. You have to constantly make sacrifices, things cannot always go the way you want them too. You have to stand up for your friends under any circumstances, but point out their faults when you know that they are going the wrong way.
Once again - being a good friend is not easy. Perhaps that is why today's youth have seemingly taken the reins of this world into their hands and feel that they can alter the established definition of the word friend. Now, I think, the word stands for a person who just hangs out with you but can turn their back towards you whenever they wish, for whatever reason they wish and in whichever manner they wish.

Perhaps you can see I'm extremely infuriated at the moment. A person who I thought my friend has commited an atrocious deed. The worst part is that he was capable of doing something like this, only I didn't admit it to myself. Well, now, I'm paying for placing my trust in him.
Anyway, I don't want to let this thought linger in my mind any longer. I wish to be free of it. To achieve that, I'm am going to .. 'kick his ass' tomorrow [please pardon the language, I'm in a foul mood and I need to take it out somewhere].

Anyway, on a happier note, tomorrow is a very special day for me. Lets leave it at that for now. Anybody wishing to know the significance of tomorrow [wait, I think it's past 12.. So it should technically be 'today'] can contact me at coagulated.blood.urgh@hotmail.com [Repulsive, I know]. 28th of any month is a very special day for me and a few people around me. ♥

That's all for now [this post was VERY random and I will edit it when I get the time].
More later.
Signing off.
Mallika Priya Khullar
:)

Bachna Ae Haseeno - Worse Than OSO?

-Contains Spoilers! Read at your own risk-

Bachna Ae Haseeno, the much awaited Siddarth Anand film starring Ranbir Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Minnisha Lamba and Deepika Padukone, proved to be almost as big a disappointment as Om Shanti Om [which was, sorry to say, absolute crap].

Bollywood's latest heartthrob, Ranbir Kapoor plays 'Raj' in the film [is the film industry unimaginative in reality, or do they really like the names Raj and Rahul?], a boy-searching-for-love-turned-playboy, who breaks the hearts of two girls, before having his own torn and thrown away.

The first half of the film shows Raj romancing with Mahi [Lamba] and breaking her heart. It then takes the viewers into the lives of Raj and Radhika [Basu] who are living together. Raj escapes marriage just in time, leaving Radhika and flying off to Australia on the day of the marriage. After that, Raj meets Gayatri [Padukone], who is a taxi driver NRI, and falls in love with her. He befriends her and learns that, like him, she does not believe in the institution of marriage. However he realizes that he is falling in love with her and finally proposes. Gayatri however, turns him down and walks out on him.

The film takes a totally different turn in the second half where 'Raj' realises how badly it hurts when someone breaks your heart and leaves on a quest to apologize to Mahi and Radhika. Eventually, Gayatri changes her view on marriage and sends a lot of letters to Raj expressing her love for him. The movie ends, showing Ranbir and Gayatri happily together in an embrace.

Giving Anand the credit of directing a film like Salaam Namaste which became the biggest hit of the year 2005, I am extremely shocked he would allow his standards to drop so drastically. I realise that Ta Ra Rum Pum wasn't such a big hit, but that doesn't give him the liberty to continue to direct such flop films. One would expect this movie to top the charts with the impressive cast. However, it didn't turn out quite that way.

The only thing I can compliment the movie on is the music [with the exception of the song 'Lucky Boy']. Khuda Jaane is pretty much a sensible song. The lyrics are meaningful and the melody is impressive. The cinematography, however, was disappointing. If you notice, all Deepika is doing throughout the song is wearing beautiful dresses and twirling her hands. Rotating them, again and again. And again. And again. It is so pissing off would be an apt phrase here.

And what's wrong with these people? Who on earth is the lyricist for 'Lucky Boy'? Oh yes, it was Anvita Dutt Guptan. Of course! He wrote the lyrics for the songs of Tashan! No wonder Lucky Boy had the misfortune of being born a pathetic song. It is self contradictory [Sort of like an oxy-moron]. The lyrics go somewhat like this:

Lucky boy, you’re my, lucky boy
Jaane kaun banega mera lucky boy

If she already knows .. that 'YOU are my lucky boy' then WHY is she wondering 'kaun banega mera lucky boy'.. ?

Its complete nonsense. Nowadays, the public gets caught on to anything with a catchy tune. For example Dard-e-disco [yes, from OSO]. The song is meaningless and purely STUPID, but who tells everyone that? When the movie came out, one could hear this stupid song being played EVERYWHERE. And so is the case with this so called song.. "Lucky Boy".

One last thing I fail to understand is.. If Gayatri [Padukone] was so adamant on not getting married in the first place [she gave the reason that her husband would never let her live life so independently and drive a taxi at night or work as a shopkeeper in an unfamiliar country], then why did she change her mind all of a sudden? Nothing significant happened to actually prove to her that Ranbir would allow her to live her live independently. Infact, the reason why she turned his proposal down was that she considered him just like other men.

The response towards the movie cannot be classified into 'good' or 'bad' for they are sort of mixed. However, a majority of the reviews are poor. So is mine. I personally think the film was a big disappointment and performed below expectations. This almost beats OSO, which needless to say, is my favourite movie of all time ;).

More later.

Signing off.

Mallika Priya Khullar

x{

Today's Revelation

Well, after having a revelation that I was fat, a long run seemed in order. I went downstairs and took precisely twelve rounds around my complex. It is HUGE, mind it. In mid-process, I noticed people giving me odd looks. I wasn't quite able to comprehend those looks and simply put them out of my mind for the time being. I had more pressing matters to think about, such as my new-found fatness. It was (still is) a serious issue and demands strict actions.. I don't want to end up being the 'fat chic who sits at home and hogs the computer screen'. Really, it feels as if HOGGING the computer screen is all I'm doing nowadays.
The worst part is, my MSN messenger has officially shown it's bogus-ness to all who live in this house. Now, I don't even have a messenger. I suppose I'll have to make do with meebo for the time being. How depressing.

Anyway, let's forget about my depressing and hopelessly pathetic life at the computer for a minute. I've been thinking a lot about our country's deteriorating conditions of late. All those history and political science classes discussing India's sub-standards with my professor has really ignited a spark of patriotism that was earlier invisible to me. Hmm. Wait, no. The POTENTIAL for a spark of patriotism to be lit was invisible to me. What's with the rain? Seeing Delhi in this condition kills me inside. Keep in mind that this is PURELY subjective. There's no way seeing Delhi covered in mud puddles [which is in fact the least of everybody's problems] would kill me 'inside' LITERALLY. If the case was so, then I would probably have been dead a long time ago.

Another thing I've noticed lately is the growing presence of a thing called 'attitude' in today's youngsters, the so called 'GenZ'. The other day, my beloved ex-biology professor had asked me to mind a couple of kids before this huge performance on the Independence Day. Huge is probably the only positive adjective I can conjure up for the performance. So, anyway, while I was minding, I was forced to get pally with a couple of these kids and, you know, make them feel happy that a senior is taking actual interest in what they've got to say. [Well, frankly, I despise kids. I hate the way they cry, loathe the way they whine, and abhor the way they utter pure gibberish continuously. So one of my friends, releasing how pure and strong my hatred for kids was, decided to offer some advice. He told me to treat them like adults and not like babies/kids/nuisances. He told me to talk to them as if I didn't consider them pests. So I tried following it. With unfavorable results] They looked all around when I approached them, as if they didn't quite believe their eyes that this teenager was really talking to them. Slowly they opened up and started telling stories about their families. One of them told me about this sister of hers who had been gobbled up by a shark I refuse to believe exists. It was kind of like when the Ancient Mariner [yes, the one in the 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner'] stops one of the wedding guest and goes on and on with his boring tale of the boring old bird and the boring old ship. He 'holds the guest with his eyes'.. and the wedding guest finds it hard to escape. Kind of like the same way, I found it hard to escape the seemingly never-ending tale of that young kid [that I was because I couldn't possibly run away yelling 'kid screaming lies about a shark' in public. If I did go around shouting stuff in public, I'd prefer it to be something more along the lines of 'kid smells like poop' .. or maybe just 'kid smells!']. So I told her to wait for a couple of minutes while I went to do some 'important chores' but she wouldn't listen. I tried over and over again with different approaches. Tried being the good cop, the bad cop, the smoker dude who just walks into the police station as if walking into his own home, but all in vain.

When I said I hate kids, I meant it. It is also an unwritten yet well known fact that I am NOT good with kids. They probably hate me as much as I hate them. Or, you know what? Maybe they don't hate me. After all, who could REALLY hate an angel like me.. ;) ?

More later.

Signing off.
Mallika Priya Khullar

By the way, I found out later that there was toilet tissue stuck to my shoes. That is why everybody was staring at me. You know, giving me the 'look'. How very pleasant.