Change lives with your change...

TCS Short Story competition winner...

There was a contest in TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) to write a fictional story for 500 words max which would start with the line " On a dark and foggy night, a small figure lay huddled on the railway tracks leading to the Chennai station " This is what a guy wrote for the contest....... and surprisingly, it was adjudged the best short story : ))



On a dark and foggy night, a small figure lay huddled on the railway tracks leading to the Chennai station. At once I was held back to see someone in that position during midnight with no one around. With curiosity taking the front seat, I went near the body and tried to investigate it. There was blood all over the body which was lying face down. It seemed that a ruthless blow by the last train could have caused the end of this body which seemed to be that of a guy of around my age. Amidst the gory blood flow, I could see a folded white envelope which was fluttering in the midnight wind. Carefully I took the blood stained envelope and was surprised to see the phrase "appraisal letter" on it.
With curiosity rising every moment, I wasted no time in opening the envelope to see if I can find some details about the dead guy.The tag around the body's neck and the jazzy appraisal cover gave me the hint that he might be a software engineer. I opened the envelope to find a shining paper on which the appraisal details where typed in flying colors. Thunders broke into my ears and lightening struck my heart when I saw the appraisal amount of the dead guy!!!!! My God,it was not even, as much as the cost of the letter on which the appraisal details were printed.... My heart poured out for the guy and huge calls were heard inside my mind saying "no wonder, this guy died such a miserable death"... As a fellow worker in the same industry, I thought I should mourn for him for the sake of respect and stood there with a heavy heart thinking of the shock that he would have experienced when his manager had placed the appraisal letter in his hand. I am sure his heart would have stopped and eyes would have gone blank for few seconds looking at the near to nothing increment in his salary.
While I mourned for him, for a second my hands froze to see the employee's name in the appraisal letter... hey, what a strange co-incidence, this guy's name is same as mine, including the initials.This was interesting. With some mental strength, I turned the body upside down and found myself fainted for a second. The guy not only had my name, but also looked exactly like me. Same looks, same built,same name.... it was me who was dead there!!!!!!

While I was lost in that shock, I felt someone patting on my shoulders. My heart stopped completely, I could not breathe and sprung in fear to see who was behind......... splash!!! Went the glass of water on my laptop screen as I came out of my wild dream to see my manager standing behind my chair patting on my shoulder saying, "wake up man? Come to meeting room number two.
"I have your appraisal letter ready"

RTI AD Campaign...

Life during recession...

Stop Female Feoticide...

Team Building Exercise...

uncensored: Mishra Ji at his best...

Uncensored - ab sabki pol khulegi

UNCENSORED: Part II

Sujata ki kahani...usi ki zubaani

Uncensored - Part I

Keep watching this space for more such videos...

Indian Cinema: Part III

Angry Young Man: By the 1970s, a strong sense of cynicism has crept into the soul of the nation and by extension, into Hindi-cinema. As a consequence, the violent action-packed thriller was born and the song and dance-laced romantic capers of the 1960s lost ground at the box-office. India entered a phase of intense political instability, economic uncertainty and social dislocation. Right through the 1970s and 1980s, Hindi films were about heroes and anti-heroes who took on the system, bent the rules as and when it suited them and, in the end, emerge triumphant. The rise of Amitabh Bachchan to superstardom during the 1970’s must be seen in the context of the anger that was brewing in society. He was the antithesis of the conventional Hindi film hero, starting his career in low-key films such as Saat Hindustani and Anand. He was not particularly handsome; he was gangly and awkwardly loose-limbed. However his height, sonorous voice, and piercing eyes came to epitomise the angry young man’s quest for revenge and injustice. Emerging as the onscreen nemesis of wrongdoers, Bachchan attained cult status.

QSQT and MPK: These films heralded the portrayal of perfect romanticism in Indian cinema. These movies showed a significant deviation from the popular stories from the previous decade in which the hero of the film had an objective, which used to be either seeking vengeance, reinstate family honour, restoring law and order in his country, more often than not love played second fiddle in the story. After these movies, Love became the new purpose the hero wants to sacrifice his life for. It was as if a tired nation, exhausted by all the political ferment, seething anger, and forced self-reflection, turned to the rejuvenation of youth – of new stars, new directors.

Designer-Cinema: By the mid-1990’s, a new phalanx of directors who were ready to embrace global influences, establish their credentials as exceptional craftsmen. Aditya Chopra, Karan Johar, Sooraj Barjatya spearheaded the charge of the youth brigade. They shunned the blind, all-out Hollywood fixation of their predecessors. Instead they invented a median mode of filmmaking and storytelling, and authored some of the decade’s biggest box office hits – Hum Aapke Hai Kaun, Dilwale Dulhania le Jayenge and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. These Superhits inaugurated the age of the designer film – a carefully packaged and branded products in which every little visual and physical detail, from the components that make up the backdrop to the attire and accessories of the stars, is of utmost importance. In the unapologetically consumerist times that we live in, that is what matters. Also the burgeoning Indian Diaspora discovered the slick new face of celluloid potboilers from back home.

Multiplex-Cinema: The concept of a universal, all-India hit took a backseat once an emerging tribe of anti-formula filmmakers discovered that they could target their films at a niche audience without having to make too big a compromise on the size of their production budgets. This happens primarily because the sale of a film’s music and overseas distribution rights emerged as principal sources of revenue. Consequently a first time director like Farhan Akhtar could conceive of a film as refreshingly different from the general run of Bollywood potboilers as Dil Chahta hai. Multiplex cinema has given fresh directors and actors, the opportunity to explore different themes. Bheja Fry, Khosla ka Ghosla,Iiqbal and Mithya are some of the key examples. Multiplex cinema often depends on content rather than star-power to pull in audiences. Clearly mature, discerning lovers of popular Hindi films never had it so good.

Indian Cinema: Part II

International Recognition: In 1946, Chetan Anand’s Neecha Nagar became the first Indian film to win an award at the Cannes International film festival. Bimal Roy’s Do Bigha Zameen won the Prix-International in 1954. Later Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali won the Prix Best Human Document in 1956.However it’s with Mehboob khan’s Mother India that, Indian-cinema made its mark globally. The Film became the first Indian Film to be nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Film Category and at the 1958 Academy Awards. Thematically, Mother India, made in 1957, is one of the most successful as well as one of the most idealistic films in Indian terms. It was one of the most powerful performances by Nargis. This film became the flag-bearer of Hindi-cinema and a legend in its own right.

Golden-Age: Is defined by the arrival of these three maestros of cinema-

Raj Kapoor, a star who went onto production under his own banner, R.K. Films and created, with himself as hero, a passionate romantic team with Nargis. He wove into his plots a novel kind of romantic music that had his unmistakable directorial stamp. His themes cantered around the dreams and longings of youth, its thirst for social justice, with traces of Chaplin’s tramp. This was most evident in two films Awara and Shri 420. Yet, Raj Kapoor could be influenced by the Italian neo-realists, as seen in his production, boot polish, a film about orphaned children, a wicked aunt, and a smuggler with a heart of gold. It was a sentimental tale and a complete departure from his hallmark romances.

Bimal Roy, who started his film career in Calcutta as a camera man and director, introduced Bengali literature to Hindi-cinema and transformed the latter in many ways. Greatly influenced by the neo-realist Italian films and other post-war films. Bimal roy’s Do Bigha Zameen remains a landmark film, with a highly sensitive performance by Balraj Sahni as a rickshaw puller. He made some of his most memorable films-Parineeta, Biraj Bahu, Madhumati.

The later years of golden-age was marked by the brilliance of Guru Dutt. He became a cult figure in India and abroad. Starting with Baazi and Jaal, that had more conventional themes, and even a comedy, Mr and Mrs 55, it was Pyaasa, made in 1957, that marked Dutt out as a filmmaker with originality in both the theme and its treatment. Two more films that he made in this period, Kagaz ke Phool and Chaudhvin ka Chand further confirmed this. The director’s eventual professional decline and lonely death in an empty studio are considered among the most unforgettable moments in Hindi-cinema.

Parallel-Cinema: Parallel cinema created a phalanx of incredibly talented actors such as Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi, to name only the famed quartet. The gradual public acceptance of these actors and the acclaim of many awards kindled among mainstream stars a hankering for similar critical recognition. The man who discovered these great new talents and defined ensemble acting in Indian cinema was Shyam Benegal who can be called the leader of Hindi parallel cinema even though Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome was the first offbeat film made in Hindi. Benegal’s creative stamina and fecundity qualify him for the honour.

Indian Cinema: Part I

There is nothing anywhere in the world quite like Indian-cinema. It is a unique inimitable brand of cinema that, at its most typical, is a fictional and seductive universe peopled by handsome and righteous heroes, ethereally pretty and virtuous heroines, and venal and wily villains. No mainstream Hindi film, as the world has known it for several decades now, is complete without a long, emotional, dramatic, sanctimonious speech or two, a complement of elaborately shot songs and dances, much buffoonery for comic relief, a story line packed with high-pitched sentimentalism, life and death conflicts and importantly, a happy ending where all problems are miraculously resolved. It’s impossible to summarise a century old cinema in few words but let’s discuss some defining moments in the history of Indian-cinema.

Introduction: The first defining moment of Indian-cinema was the introduction of cinema. Cinema was introduced to India on July 7, 1896. It began with the Lumiere Brothers' Cinematography, unveiling six silent short films at the Watson's Hotel in Bombay, namely Entry of Cinematographer, The Sea Bath, Arrival of a Train, A Demolition, Ladies & Soldiers on Wheels and Leaving the Factory.

The Beginning: Dhundiraj Govind Phalke inaugurated Indian-cinema with Raja Harishchandra, the first film in India to be shot with an entirely Indian crew, which featured a tale drawn from India’s vast mythological repository. Phalke’s subsequent films between 1914 and 1919, mohini bhasmasur, satyavan savitri, lanka dahan, shri Krishna janma and kaliya mardan, were all based on Hindu myths.

Talkies: Hindi cinema came of age with the emergence of talkies. They arrived like an upheaval, for better or for worse. Never did an art form or mass medium ever undergo such an array of changes in such a short time span. It was like a second birth of cinema, marked by the advent of a whole new structure and format. Since entertainment has always thrived on the new and the amazing, talkies became an instant success. Ardeshir Irani of Imperial Movie-tone released Alam Ara, the first full-length Indian talkie film at the Majestic cinema in Bombay. This film very effectively broke the golden silent era and laid a milestone that marked the steeping into the new talkie era.

Welcome friends

Welcome to my blog...
you guys must be wondering why a blog? and why this name?
ohh..what are you saying..u not wondering...??
anyways still i'll tell you why...

During the two years of my management education i have learnt a lot, i have worked on many projects and won lots of competitions. so I think i must share this rich experience with others so that I can help them out in some or the other way...you guys can come and read my blog and I promise that you will have something to learn everytime...

zyada ho gaya...??don't take it seriously...just kidding yaar !!