Making of a Star

The world has changed all over. Its now about instant gratifications and about cashing in on the hidden desires of the common human mortals. Somehow even big and small giants of the industries take the consumer for granted, but then they also know there is always a shortcut to success.

Lets recreate a very popular phenomenon these days of how a reputed media house and a new age artist go on to boost their publicity. See the making of a new actress into one of the most desired stars of the industry and among the masses. You just need a bit of an innovative controversy as everyone is used to the usual ones by this time.

Storyline: Set in the Indian sub-continent in some century.

Characters in the play: a I-grade Movie, a reputed Media-house also the producer of this film, a newbie Actress, a reporter employed in the same media-house but pretends to be an ex-employee of it, a Social-Activist and a Radical group, the self appointed destructor's of culture in this land.

Now the Plot: Scene 1: A new age artist with a perfect desirable figure struggling to find a foothold in the industry stars in a movie with an outlandishly poor storyline. The media-house cum producer, to rope the maximum moolah out of the film gets in touch with the newbie actress to do a Photo-shoot with a theme of a Social Cause (well their are so many these days - Save the Unicorn, Save the Ant and blah blah).

The photo-shoot as is expected goes all holds barred leaving everything to imagination (not nothing) and every part of the nails and hairs are tried to be covered mercilessly during the shoot but alas who wants to hold the linen. Its better to keep yourself hands and knots free, else who comes to the party.

Scene 2: Now its about displaying to the whole world, but Google baba here plays truant. Its so called page-ranking system will not allow it to be displayed on the front pages. So now what. The actress goes about joining any and every social networking site on the web with a few so called hot shots on display and boldly announcing her oh so big 'Save the Mosquito' campaign and how she wishes to bring her body to full glare to enable the mosquitoes to have a free go round of her and within days the Photos are on air.

Scene 3: Now the so called ex-employee of the media house steps in and mostly it's played by a female, who tries to save the world from visual pollution. Her duty is to visit all the earlier created social networking pages of the actress and try to seek the attention of the radical groups and the social activists with some cataclysmic words to arouse their sleeping ethos and spews her full venom at the newbie actress for destroying her land and house.

Scene 4: As expected radical groups steps in starts threatening the newbie actress, social activists screams for justice and protecting the gullibility of the country from the disturbed morons and it becomes instant headlines, flashing from the todays 24 hours channels to channels. And the voyuer in you and me searches every inch of google to get those exclusive all-holds-barred photos to your hidden folders.

Scene 5: The movie is released and with the entire radical groups and social activists behind it, A NEW STAR GETS BORN UNDER THE MOON.


Epilogue: Now she is started to be seen everywhere from the little bosses to the shake your bon bon shows, to all the covers which lay below your pillows and bedsheets. In short she is now the most happening and the talk of the town.



disclaimer: All the characters in this drama are completely fictional and a figment of the authors imagination. Any similarity or resemblance between famous/non-famous persons living, deceased or fictional is purely coincidental.

. . .

Obama In Osama Out

The beginning of the 21st century marked a new word in the dictionary and that too in a big way- Terrorism. Although till the end of the 20th century there were murmurs of terrorism especially in the Indian context but nobody paid heed to it.

It was the visuals of the 9/11 World Trade Center attack where the 108 storied twin towers was melting into flames after a hijacked passenger aircraft ripped through the buildings heart (now the place infamously called the Ground Zero), that the whole world for the first time saw a beginning of a new era where another event of scariness entered human minds.

As expected the US under Uncle Sam (George Bush Jr.) stormed the bylanes of Afghanistan and later Iraq (although for debatable reasons aka Saddam Hussein) to crush the attackers (al qaeda and taliban) on their feet and make the world a little bit more safe, but their web was to enlarged and too complicated to finish them off in a single strike. They retaliated and terror ran supreme through the entire planet. Developed and western nations were basically targeted but to broaden it, no country was spared even in a small way.

And the mastermind behind it was declared to be Osama Bin Laden and a huge prize was scalped on his head and after a long run of 10 years, the US president Barrack Obama on the night of 5/2 officially announced the death of the Big L, who had been on the run and was the most dastard fugitive since the 9/11 World Trade Center attack. The entire world has been eagerly waiting for his capture since the last decade.

Osama Bin Laden has been reported by New York Post  and Washington Post to be killed in Abottabad near Islamabad in Pakistan by US forces.

. . .

The Royal Wedding

There is still something in the Kings and their Royal families that the wee downtrodden still revere and always are in awe. Somehow although the whole world has changed over time with more and more emphasis on democracies and more people’s participation in governments, but our love for their style and way of working still remains. Maybe we are a bit lethargic towards mass governance or maybe we still love being subdued and let somebody make the entire decision making. Why take the hassle of it! The more democratic we become, the more we go back to our history.

And nothing can justify more our love for Royalty, than the coverage or the interest generated in the Royal Wedding of Prince William & Catherine Kate Middleton to be held on 29th April, 2011 in Buckingham Palace.

The grapevine is buzzing with activity from where Kate will spend her last single night, to her wedding dress, to the snubbed Royal guard, to the who’s missing in invite list, to the menu and to their probable Honeymoon spots and even a rumour is aloof whether the web will crash on the wedding day. And that’s how much popularity the royal wedding has generated.

The Brits get a four-day weekend starting Friday and as a wedding bonanza they can look forward to longer pubbing hours, Papa John's pizzas bearing a salami-flecked portrait of the newly-weds, the world's first beer to be laced with Viagra. The lucky invitees can treat themselves to commemorative condoms from Crown Jewels, presented in a timeless souvenir heirloom collector's box.

catch a video here

And now read some more interesting trivia about the marriage gathered from the web. I promise the well groomed anti-monarchists will also love to read it.


Bad Scheduling: Kate Middleton and Prince William Share Royal Wedding Date with Adolf Hitler…well the wedding planner is on the block for this but then if your consider the entire world to find the perfect day perhaps you're looking for some excuse to not marry.

The Obamas Aren't Invited to the Royal Wedding, Either...Now that’s big news, eh!...why throw more salt to the already bruised wounds by now...Poor chap!

Does Kate Middleton Want Charitable Donations Instead of a Blender?...now that will give some fresh press coverage and a feel good news. Long live charity!

Will Making Kate Middleton's Wedding Ring Kill Baby Fish in Wales?...and for a start we are not talking about the royal menu here. Some serious environmental issues...lets keep that aside for a moment!

Facebook Bans Kate Middleton — No, Not the Famous One, the Other One…maybe facebook now needs a twitter like verified account system with more personal details and direct contact if necessary, if somebody shares a famous name.

Kate Middleton Condoms: Has Cashing In on the Royal Wedding Gone Too Far?...this much says it all and for the noobies it’s a royal tradition. Just read the main post and you’ll get some idea from there.

The Ultimate Royal Wedding Regift? Will Victoria Beckham Give Kate Middleton Her Own Dresses?...now we know somebody else is looking for some free publicity.

Some British Companies Will Make Employees Work on Royal Wedding Day…now breaking a well-known tradition also brings in some good public exposure. Poor Brit blokes have to delay their boozing plans.

App Counts Down, By the Second, to the Royal Wedding…well the popularity in anything in this world these days is known more by the number of APPS created and downloaded, and for those still scratching their heads think about your mobile and you get it.

a sample invitation card

Well the hysteria will surely continue for a long time and if you also want to be part of this Royal wedding from the comfort of your couch or the one being snubbed by not being invited to the royal reception, you can always go to the web to catch it here http://www.youtube.com/user/TheRoyalChannel except the Westminster Abbey coverage.

. . .

April Fool

Once upon a time everyone would be waiting with baited breath for this day to play the meanest pranks with their friends and family and till get away through the April fooling route. But not any more, now it seems almost everyday is a April fool's day and the internet has taken away all the fun of this special day. Everyday the internet is full of hoaxes and as they say a lie repeated 10 times becomes a truth, these hoaxes also develop some kind of believable levels with its ability to perpetrate a large amount of people at a shorter time.

Some of the best April Fool's day hoaxes:

1. Twitter switch for Guardian, after 188 years of ink:

Consolidating its position at the cutting edge of new media technology, the Guardian today announces that it will become the first newspaper in the world to be published exclusively via Twitter, the sensationally popular social networking service that has transformed online communication.

2. Branson buys Pluto, reinstates as planet

Sir Richard Branson is setting his sights on the final frontier in his latest business venture announced today. In a universal first Sir Richard has revealed that he has bought the former planet of Pluto for an undisclosed sum. As a firm supporter of small businesses Sir Richard is hoping to set an example for struggling entrepreneurs facing setbacks by having Pluto reinstated as an official planet, after its declassification by the International Astronomical Union in 1996. Already at the forefront of space travel with Virgin Galactic, Sir Richard is having a special deep space vehicle built that will help bulk up Pluto to its required planetary mass.

3. Introducing Gmail Motion

In 1874 the QWERTY keyboard was invented. In 1963, the world was introduced to the mouse. Some 50 years later, we’ve seen the advent of microprocessors, high resolution webcams, and spatial tracking technology. But all the while we’ve continued to use outdated technology to interact with devices. Why? This is a question that we’ve been thinking about a lot at Google, and we’re excited to introduce our first attempts at next generation human computer interaction: Gmail Motion. Gmail Motion allows you to control Gmail — composing and replying to messages — using your body.


To end in the words of Mark Twain, "Let us be thankful for fools. If it weren't for them, the rest of us could not succeed".

. . .

Any Time Milk

These days ATM's are not only milking money but soon they could be dispensing Milk too. Now you don't have to thirst for your regular morning cup of tea while eagerly waiting for your milkman to ring the bell and cursing him all the time and pondering about changing your doodh wallah the very next day.


Pune will soon get to see Milk ATM's installed in different parts of the city by Katraj Dairy Milk Products, where you can walk in anytime with a separate Milk Card for the purpose and can have a pouch of fresh cow milk any time. The machine will have a cooling system to keep the milk fresh all the time. Other milk products are also being planned to be added soon to the machines.


A few other places in Kerala and Gujarat does have few machines but it hasn't really spread on as anticipated. Guess more companies will be interested now after their success.







Perhaps there will now be more reason to sip a glass of milk everyday. Remember the classic Milk ad by Amul....Doodh Doodh Doodh Doodh Wonderful Doodh...Doodh hai must in every season. Piyo doodh for healthy reason...

. . .

Jasmine Revolution

There is one thing common these days in the middle east world when you wake up everyday and open your morning paper sipping a cup of streaming tea is the Uprisings in one country or the other. In some the rulers finally give in and in some rulers fight till the last, but one thing is common, its not after some bloody strikes from either side for those who want change and for those who don't. The main thing is life should be paralysed.

Sometimes the un-disputed leaders till then try to lure away protesters by offering carrots or other freebies, but most of the time that also seems to fail. So the last alternative is the un-glorious exit. Here also one thing is important, on which side the Military is. If the military is on the rulers side, the common mass finds it more difficult but if the military is on the public side, the ruler is left with no chance but to accede to the demands of the common mass and if he is lucky enough can escape from his country with a few million dollars, gold and other costliest luxuries.

The people of the Arab world are all trying for their tryst with democracy after living in oppressive dictatorships for decades. People are fed up with dictators who just accumulate all the wealth they can and with rising food prices, corruption and inefficiency. It all started in a small country of Tunisia a moderate Islamic nation in December 2010 Inside the historic popular upheaval that began in Tunisia and after the bloody successful campaign for a month after which its president finally resigned, the rulers of the Arab world started panicking with ominous signs in the horizon. And USA remains a silent spectator in all this perhaps from their past experiences. Some are trying to lure their citizens with lots of freebies but it too little too late.

Although the Tunisian revolution received less media coverage in the entire world but Egypt really brought the focus to the Middle east uprising. Egypt had shown that peaceful mass movements against regime changes till today is possible without using muscle power, but to the advantage of Egypt was that it own military was also backing the common public, So after repeated requests from their president going un-heard he had no other choice but to flee his palace.

But as the world we live in not everything is possible without violence it was now turn of Libya to come to fore-font to oust their tyrant ruler and no-body perhaps expected it to be this bloody as it happened. With president Gaddafi using his military to bombard and airstrike opponent and public hotspots, the world could not have been a mute spectator. The Western forces combined to teach Gaddafi the lesson, in the language he better understands and the fight goes on...

Similary other smaller Arab nations like Yemen, Somalia, Syria and others are also trying their way to topple their un-challenged governments. It is also sending tremors to other non-democratic governments and China being one of them. It needs to be seen how these countries cope with new regimes and how it shapes up as we have seen from earlier examples of Nepal and other countries, real Democracy is still alluring them. Only time will tell the success of the new found democracies.

. . .

Faking it!

Its the time of fakes and fakes in every sphere of life. Gone are the days of originality. Earlier it used to be a case of leaking roofs or barns only and then after the internet revolution, we came to know about faking Org's and then after Baywatch about fake b**** , but now a days fakes are becoming an inherent part of life.

Even if we leave the part of us being faking as multiple individuals to others, but the more grave is of faking photos, where day can be created into night and vice versa. And as they say Knowledge multiplies when shared, so came about faking fantasies through the dream world of Photoshop, where you can morph your way to where one corner of your mind craves.

Then its the turn of faking numbers. Its all started with faking marksheets intially, so that your parent does not scold you for not being able to get 90 percent marks just like your neighbours son and then by the theory I narrated earlier, Numbers in Balance sheets of Organistations were started to be faked, faking marksheets took a more serious turn when it was started to be produces for securing jobs and now there are fake licenses.

Here I must mention I'm not talking about that fake license of the spoilt kid car driver ot that fair price shop owner, but one is of fake license to kill. Yes, these days even pilots are providing fake licenses and flying high without caring for a moment of the precious lives they are flying, forget his/her own life. That may actually be his/her fantasy (I have used the word 'her' deliberately because even the female squad has also came to light doing the same).

These days they have gone one step ahead in faking, than what best till the other day they were known for. More importantly this is just what has seen the light of the day till now. We don't know yet there are how many of them more enjoying their fantasies and playing this Cat and Mouse game with our lives.

Some how we have never been content with what we are actually. We have always tried to go beyond ourselves and tried to re-create for what we could have been. But Originality gives you something you can cherish and take pride upon for a lifetime and not a few moments.

. . .

The Moon Show

Well some romantics like to term it as the 'Arrival of the Moon' and some as another celestial phenomenon, but whatever it is the Moon will appear 10 to 15 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter to the naked eye also being term as the Lunar perigee or the SuperMoon and this happening after a long 18 years.

Whatever it may be the moon seems to have quite a psychological impact on human minds, whether from the astrological point of view or the astronomical one. With everyone having thier opinions and trying to create a negative psychosis aroind it, perhaps I guess things have been over-hyped this time with people in the coastal areas trying to flee places, astrologers blaming it for bad-phases and a few also creating dooms day predictions of catastrophes striking earth.

The moon seems to be enjoying all the publicity. Well if you are a sky-watcher like me, don't forget to tune into the live telecast tonight and just wish the skies are clearer.

Happy Mooning!

. . .

Japan Nuclear Disaster

Nuclear Winter: Its almost like the proverbial Nuclear winter tales that's going on currently. Japan is experiencing some of the worst snow-falls and a biting cold weather adding to its already Tsunami and Earthquake shattered miseries and thus plaguing rescue and settling down efforts.


The recent developments in Japan has once again brought out a nuclear debate in the entire world. Sure every country is trying to defend its positions by still holding on to their safe position theories, but Japan has exposed building on nuclear power technology in the long run perhaps not such a safe idea after-all. With such a technologically advanced country floundering with USA in its side staunchly supporting its protection efforts, we can only imagine about the third world or the so called developing countries trying to gain nuclear momentum.

Time and again nuclear events have shown, its one artificial or natural disaster which takes quite a troll on not only human life but a country's economy as a whole. From Hiroshima to Chernobyl to Bhopal, Nuclear disasters have been un-relenting, and the important part is Nuclear technology is something artificially developed. But countries are just building on their positions. And most important is the cost of it also. Building on a nuclear platform ain't cheap.

Where in most developing countries poverty and nutrition levels are below standards, Country's still jump on this risky asset, which not only is costly but also life taking. I guess at that amount of cost if the major countries of the world come up together, they can jointly develop some other alternative to our rising fuel and power needs. Japan has already signaled scrapping few of its nuclear plants on the danger zone with continued radiation even after massive safeguard efforts both by Japan and USA. This is a time countries should ponder about continuing in this luxury. An interesting quote I read somewhere- "Most kids can't understand why a country that makes atomic bombs would ban fireworks".

Some famous quotes by some of the most influencing people.

* If only I had known, I should have become a watchmaker. - Albert Einstein


* I am become death, The destroyer of Worlds. - J. Robert Oppenheimer


* The world is a very different one now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty, and all forms of human life. - J.F. Kennedy

The earth itself was created out of Nuclear fission and fusions and perhaps its..... Now as they say man himself has become the reason for his own destruction, perhaps God has planted its seed for a harsh winter ahead for everyone of us!

. . .

Remembering Japan

A devastating earthquake in the magnitude of 8.8 in the Richter scale has shaken the North-eastern coastal areas in Japan once again triggering a Tsunami worldwide in the coastal areas. We all pray for the speedy recovery to normalcy for Japan and is affected citizens.

. . .

Earthquake in Haiti -- Tsunami Watch For the Bahamas

I was preparing dinner last night at around 6:00 PM and I received a phone call at my Paradise Island home. It was our friend Monika. She told me to turn to channel 32 which is CNN in the Bahamas. There was a tsunami watch issued for the Bahamas. It was a chiller.

I turned on CNN, and sure enough it was true. The magnitude 7.0 earthquake had struck Haiti. It will be horrors and devastation. The loss of life, I fear will be horrendous. It is a huge catastrophe. Haiti is the bad luck story of North America.

There are many Haitians in the Bahamas. They send remittances back home from the mere pittances that they are paid here. Just yesterday I gave away a whole pile of shirts to our Haitian gardener who always has a use for them.

I was personally relieved that the tsunami watch was lifted shortly after it was issued. The Lovely One is still back home in Canada, and she wanted me to leave the country immediately after it was issued. Between the hurricanes, the earthquakes, and possible tsunamis, somehow Canada seems a lot more stable than the Caribbean.

Forbidden World

The Chinese story has always mystified, charmed, amazed and also fazed the entire world. Its beautiful culture, oriental music, romantic surroundings, tempting food and the zeal of the place has always lured the civilization to this wonderful country. But in all its diversity and awe, China has always somewhere struck a bitter chord in the hearts of the people for its high-handedness. Somewhere a insecurity always showed in the functioning of the country. And thats where developed the way of silent suppression.

Inspite of being the largest country in the world in terms of both land and population, the crave for more always remained. It never wanted to be projected bad and silenced critics in its own style. Freedom was the last word for this country. A sense of restricted freedom always prevailed in the minds of its people even for natural birth and growth. For the might it was it tried to silence the entire world but could never have been a force to reckon with like the USA or the erst-while undivided Russia.

In its race to become to be seen as a protectionist, China silently became a impositionist, trying to control anything and everything. A country which could have been a world leader for its might and the influence it could have had, it lost out to its own in-securities and a feeling about thinking twice before doing anything in this lovely country.

. . .

The Curious Case of Melting Glaciers

Its no more hot news of a news of a melting glacier or the rising sea level or any abrupt weather change. The news has been  repeated so many times that it probably have lost its oomph factor. Earlier still a few eyebrows would have been raised, a few debates arranged, but now its almost like a regular issue and until it affects us or our neighbourhood directly, why the heck over it. Or may be a feeling that perhaps these Climate fanatics are over-exaggerating or sorely has a profit motive behind it.

Human beings perhaps has never been do in-different like ever before. In these age of quick news and instant food, our thought processes has also come down drastically. Debates have been replaced by flash quizzes. Our overall social life has changed. Although there is a social in Social Networking but that has cut our face to face interactions or our weekend visits to ouir neighbours.

So now the reader may wonder whats the connection between Glacier and Social Networking. My point here is about us being going indifferent towards nature. And a few are just doing some lip-service in the name of green conservation. Carbon Credit feature are simply being used by Giant companies to re-furbish their balance sheets and not keeping in mind the actual cause and once the balance sheet purpose is fulfilled, its back to square one.



Glaciers melt, sea levels rise and the smaller islands get lost forever from our earths surface. Sometimes we do wonder in awe when we see on television, the glaciers crumbling like nine pins, but hardly ever go at the root of it, or to how we can resist it. Its alright Earth or the universe has its own way of doing things, but what about the artificial factors behind global warming.

Can we not slow down the destruction of our mother earth. Maybe we can if the entire world as a whole stand up and recognize this colossal calamity and then work jointly towards at arriving at a solution which our next-generation can enjoy. And here the main factor will be Every country for whatever its size or strength should for once forget about its might and prescribe to a globally accepted standard for the betterment of our planet.

. . .