Thursday, May 20, 2010

Shopping Malls killing Marketplaces



I read one interesting article today which talks about mall culture and how its killing local marketplaces. Not so long ago, we have seen places like South Ex, PVR Saket complex and PVR Priya complex (Basant Lok) is fully crowded during weekends.These were considered as posh markets with lots of international brands setting their stores in these markets. Rents of these shops went skyrocket in the early phases.

But now in the last year or so, these places are empty. Nobody wants to shop here. These markets are now fighting for their identity crisis. The main reason of this is probably the opening up of 4-6 new shopping malls in South Delhi. These new malls are fully equipped with all the modern facilities. Moreover, people don't want to go to these congested places anymore, where parking is the biggest problem. There is no proper parking facilities whereas in shopping malls there are 2-3 underground floors for parking. The shops in markets were blowing hot air from gen-sets and air-conditioners. On the other hand shopping malls provide fully air-conditioned shopping experience.

The government should do something to renovate these markets, maintenance is required in these shopping complexes. MCD should pitch in to provide cleanliness and good parking facilities. Otherwise these markets will only be the thing of past.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Caste based census 2010

There is lot of debate going on whether caste based census is necessary or viable in a democratic country like India. The census process has once again been started and the expected time of completion is about at the end of the year. But the real topic of discussion is the advantages and disadvantages of caste based census.

I have seen many people saying that it should not be done and its a caste based. I don't know whether these guys have any sense that why caste based census is important at this time. Guys..you must have seen seats being reserved for SC, ST and OBCs at various organizations and institutions. According to government study these people are in minority but no exact numbers are available. To validate whether these people are in minority and do they really need reservation at all in the organizations, this caste based census is necessary. People think that these people are in minority but so many castes are now being fighting for SC, ST and OBC status, it is absolutely necessary to know whether these people are in minority or majority.

I am not against SCs, STs and OBCs but I am against reservation. No one in India needs reservation and if people are capable and good enough, they can get jobs and admissions easily by themselves.

There is no reason at all cursing this caste based census rather people should support and cooperate with the government officials who will come to their houses and ask for any information. This will also help in deciding future government policies. Please support this and don't think that this census is caste based. It is a need of an hour.

Monday, May 10, 2010

When I get older I will be stronger

Soccer world cup fever is running higher day by day. Whole world is waiting for 11th June 2010 to watch the most famous extravaganza. Here is the official anthem of 2010 Soccer World Cup- South Africa by K'Naan and the song is called as "Waivin' Flag". Here is the brief description of K'naan:

K'naan is a Muslim.
Few years ago, he spoke in the UN against Bush's evil polices & evil wars in Afghanistan & the Islamic world. He wrote this song against evil polices. He donated $1,000,000 for Haiti victims.

You can watch the video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYfa0__P_pI&feature=related

Here is the lyrics of the anthem.

Ooooooh Wooooooh, Ooooooh Wooooooh

Give me freedom, give me fire, give me reason, take me higher
See the champions, take the field now, you define us, make us feel proud
In the streets our heads are lifting, as we lose our inhibition,
Celebration, its around us, every nations, all around us

Singing forever young, singing songs underneath that sun
Lets rejoice in the beautiful game,
And together at the end of the day.
We all say

When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a wavin’ flag
When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a wavin’ flag
So wave your flag, now wave your flag, now wave your flag

Oooohhh, Oooooooooh wooooohh, Oooooooooh wooooohh

Give you freedom, give you fire, give you reason, take you higher
See the champions, take the field now, you define us, make us feel proud
In the streets our heads are lifting, as we lose our inhibition,
Celebration, its around us, every nations, all around us

Singing forever young, singing songs underneath that sun
Lets rejoice in the beautiful game,
And together at the end of the day.
We all say

When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a wavin’ flag
When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a wavin’ flag
So wave your flag, now wave your flag, now wave your flag
Now wave your flag (4x)

Oohhoooohh Woooh Ohohooooh Wooohoooh

We all say
When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a wavin’ flag
When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom, just like a wavin’ flag
So wave your flag, now wave your flag, now wave your flag
Now wave your flag (4x)

Oooooh woowoo ooh Wooo ooohh ooohoh
And everybody will be singing it
Oooooh woowoo ooh Wooo ooohh ooohoh
And we all will be singing it

Saturday, May 8, 2010

ni woofer tu meri, mei tera amplifier

This song making me crazy these days.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuCFRaFWjwY

And here is one of the coolest lyrics of this song I have ever heard of.

Kaaliyan baariyan we gaddiyaan nu mein lawaan
speed mein 220 di chalaan, POLICE de samne mein nai rukhda
i am a knight rider

breakaan maar maar tardi mein chiekh kad da
sari loki takde we ki hogeya, lagda we injh mera dil rukda
unu mein puchda

ni gaddi sadi beja ni jattiye,
ni door tenu lehja, we arriye
ni woofer tu meri,meri
mein tera amplifier, fier

ni gaddi sadi beja ni jattiye,
ni door tenu lehja, we arriye
ni woofer tu meri,meri
mein tera amplifier, fier

gaddi meri tenu wi awaaz mardi,
black leather seetaan uttey aah bendhi
tenu weh main ser karawanga ni
puri dunya di

Kendi, garmi we lagdi weh seene ni
pijh gai weh kurti paseene di
challi digrees di tooph pendi
on kar AC
(my favorite lines)

ni gaddi sadi beja ni jattiye,
ni door tenu lehja, we arriye
ni woofer tu meri,meri
mein tera amplifier, fier

ni gaddi sadi bedhja ni jattiye,
ni door tenu lehja, we arriye
ni woofer tu meri,meri
mein tera amplifier, fier


jaandi eh club das tere ki erade
Dj nu puch ki lewa main tere gaane
lehja mein lehja tenu jithe we tu chaawain
ekh waari aawe moodh banawe


ni gaddi sadi beja ni jattiya
ni door tenu lehjja we arriye
ni woofer tu meri, meri
mein tera amplifier fier

Thursday, May 6, 2010

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

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 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.
8) 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) A visit to Pizza Hut used to mean a special treat
11) You have seen Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun at least 5 times each
12) You still remember the theme song of Hum Paanch. (Hum Paanch, Pam Pam Pam Paanch!)
13) You have played hours upon hour of running and catching, chor-police, lagori, saankli, ‘Doctor, doctor, help us!’, ‘Lock and key’
14) You have seen girls play ‘Amina Super Sina’ more times than you can remember. (And you still don’t know what it means!)
15) Dog ‘in’ the bone was your favorite co-ed game.
16) Much of your free time in school was spent playing UNO.
17) 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.
18) Your summer vacations were often synonymous with visiting your grandparents or cousins
19) Your parents, at some point, told you ‘Dark Room’ was a bad game to play. But you still loved playing it.
20) Bole mere lips, I love uncle Chips!
21) You know the song ‘Made in India’ by Alisha Chinai
22) You have seen many many many episodes of ‘Antakshari’ on Zee TV and know the only thing constant in the show is Annu Kapoor.
23) Many evenings have been spent watching little kids gyrate vulgarly on Boogie Woogie on Sony.
24) You were the coolest thing in class if you had a computer in your house while it was still the 90s.
25) You learnt LOGO and BASIC in school!
26) You couldn’t wait to start 4th standard so you could start writing with PENS instead of with pencils!
27) You often used 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.’
28) 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.
29) 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. (nowadays kids are used to it!)
30) Titanic was your FIRST favourite english movie.
31) You thought seeing English movies and speaking English made you the coolest thing ever.
32) 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).
33) 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?
34) 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)
35) "Jungle Jungle Baat Chali Hai Pata Chala Hai! Chaddi Pehen Ke Phool Khila Hai Phool Khila Hai!" You watched "The Jungle Book" every Sunday morning at 9.a.m" and just loved mowgli, bhalu and bagheera. A few years later, you watched Disney Hour, which had cartoons like Aladdin, Gummy Bears, Tail Spin, Uncle Scrooge!
36) At some point or other, cool was your favourite, and therefore, most overused word.
37) Captain Planet was your first introduction to environmental consciousness.
38) You have tried to convince people around you to not burst crackers on Diwali, and then gone straight back home and burst them yourself.
39) You have had endless packets of Parle Gluco G biscuits, and of Brittania Little Hearts biscuits.
40) You loved licking off the cream from the centre of Bourbon biscuits.
41) There were no Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Puma- Bata and Liberty was the way to go for your sports shoes.
42) You have probably consumed more Frooti in your lifetime than there is oil in Iraq.
43) You watched Baywatch on Star World when nobody was home even though (or because) your parents said you shouldn’t watch it.
44) 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.
45) 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.
46) You would literally jump up in excitement if you ever chanced upon an imported car (Oh my gosh, is that really a MERCEDES?)!
47) You spent a good part of 1998 drooling over the Hyundai Santro and the Daewoo Matiz , debating which one was better.
48) 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.
49) Talking of temporary tattoos, you sometimes had contests with your classmates about who had more tattoos on their arm, leg, knee, hand, forehead, wherever.
50) You thought Mario and Contra were the coolest things ever invented, especially if you were a boy.
51) You knew that having the latest Hero or Atlas bicycle would make you the coolest kid on the block.
52) You can imitate Sushmita Sen’s winning gasp to perfection.
53) You have, at some point of time, worn GAP clothes (real or fake) like SRK in KKHH.
54) Seemingly senseless acronyms like SRK, DDLJ, DTPH, KKHH actually make sense to you..
55) You have at some point debated who was more beautiful- Aishwarya or Sushmita.
56) Baskin Robbins ice-cream was THE thing to have!
57) You know what Campa Cola is. And you also knew that Coca Cola was THE drink.
58) You would watch WWF keenly every evening/afternoon and loved Bret Hart "Hitman"! really thought Undertaker had seven lives and he made an “actual” appearance in the Akshay Kumar- starrer Khiladiyon ka Khiladi.
59) 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.
60) You remember the Nirma tikia jingle.
61) You remember the Nirma girl.
62) You remember the ‘doodh doodh piyo glass full doodh’ ad and also the ‘laal kaala peela, gulabi hara neela classic hai badia bristles wala’ and 'roz khao ande' ads.
63) 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.
64) Towards the late 90s (1998-99) at least some of us started our Harry Potter obsessions!
65) You absolutely HAD to go to Essel World if you were with cousins! “Essel World mein rahoonga main, ghar nahin nahin jaaonga main!” (I never went but always dreamed of going there!)
66) 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!
67) Maggi 2 Minute Noodles = ultimate snack (and tiffin, lunch, dinner)!
68) If you grew up in the early 90s, you recall the nation’s obsession with Mahabharata on TV
69) In the later 90s, you religiously followed Hip Hip Hooray on Zee. Maybe Just Mohabbat on Sony too
70) You remember parzan dastur sayin "JALEBI!!!!" in the Dhara Ad
71) 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.
72) Backstreet Boys' "Quit Playing Games" was one of the first english songs that you LOVED!
73) Andaz Apna Apna is and most probably will always be your favourite comedy flick!! "Aila Jhakaas!!!"
74) This list made you smile.

And I miss that age, it was sooo awesome!