Taare Zameen Par

In short, the finest Hindi movie I have seen in a long time.Someone finally made a movie on a middle class kid's growing up years in India- the pressures,the ever increasing burden of unrealistic expectations demanded by parents,teachers,peers almost everyone around you.It's all the more ironic because in our country there are millions of children whose dreams get quashed everyday because of lack of resources and biting poverty while at the other end of the spectrum,the well off middle and upper classes of the society are just too busy pushing their children through the assembly line of 'educated' engineers,doctors and the like.In the process the child's inclination,natural talents are thrown out of the door and the children themselves herded towards a never ending rat race which lasts and consumes a life time.

To me this was the broader theme of the movie.The fact that young Ishaan was Dyslexic was just a means to make it easier for the wider audience to connect with the story. He could well have been a normal boy falling behind in academic life because of the rigors and constraints applied by an unforgiving system.Well, even "falling behind" can be relative because when you have the guy next door scoring 99%, expectations can take up new meanings.

Coming back to the movie, there were atleast two absolutely stand out sequences. The first one when Aamir visits Ishaan's parents to disclose the fact that Ishaan has dyslexia and he needs care and affection instead of being pushed and put down all the time, and the second one when Ishaan's father comes visiting at boarding school to tell Aamir that he indeed 'cares' for his son.
I wish I could reproduce the whole "Khayaal Karna" stanza here, its magnificently penned and delivered.Darsheel Safari as Ishaan is the soul of the movie and his performance towers above the rest.Incredible talent!

It could be argued-"What to do about it?"-isn't the system responsible for this mess and quite simply its beyond one to bend the system..isn't it? I would agree but only to an extent,sure you have to conform to the rules but at the same time you can do well not to create roadblocks for your child and push him or her more than is needed so that their childhood is not lost in the practically worthless myriad of "90%" and "A+" grades.Like countless others of my generation I have been there and seen it all.Dyslexia or not we have all been Ishaan at some point in our lives.That our education system is in dire needs of reform is stating the obvious,but before that can happen our thoughts need to reform. Being a Painter,writer,musician or chef is every bit as respectable as being a doctor or an engineer and certainly more satisfying and lasting if you have the talent for it.

Holiday Lights

Yesterday we decided to bite the holiday bullet and ventured into the Kenwood city mall,believed to be the poshest mall here in Cincinnati. Sure it was crowded but things were pretty well organized. The mall was beautifully decorated and there was the unmistakable festive spirit around. People were rushing to complete their holiday shopping and the stores had made sure that they had "discount" prices all over the place to push up the sales. The holiday shopping season in the US is a vital sign of the general health of the economy. The news isn't too good on that front as sales are down compared to last year and there are signs of a recession looming on the horizon.

I'm an electronics junkie and could spend hours looking at gadgets, however everything else is quite simply boring specially clothes,accessories and the works. Saw a big crowd at the Apple store-ipods,iphones,nanos still going strong despite the fact that Apple never ever slashes prices.It makes me wonder- why do people buy from a store, isn't it much cheaper to look for deals online and on amazon you don't have to pay sales tax(don't ask me, I have no clue how that works but its legal as of now). For example, I was looking at a Sony noise canceling headphone listed on Amazon for $135(no tax,free shipping). I checked out the same item at the Sony store and it was listed as $199.99 plus taxes. As John Matterse would say on his daily show- doesn't that stink!?

We wanted to have Nishkarsh's picture taken with Santa but there was a long queue and when we checked back His Excellency Santa Claus was on a break(:

Little Champs

Over the weekend I watched a lot of TV and changed a lot of diapers!. We had some rough weather with a snow storm heading our way. However the 4-6 inches forecast turned out to be nothing major with hardly 2 inches accumulation,a major portion of it being washed away with the rain that followed. However, the temps really plummeted and we were down to the teens.

I have been following Zee's Little Champs for a while now. Its an entertaining show with a group of very talented and musically inclined kids performing every week. The two judges on the show,Suresh Wadkar and Sonu Nigam are legends in their own right. Their feedback on the performances with due emphasis on technical details and a fair amount of encouragement is a treat to watch. Too often you hear judges on these types of programs only parroting sentences full of praise which literally mean nothing.

Here are my two cents on some of the kids I like:

Sagar : The cricket crazy Bombay lad may not be the best singer in the group but I feel he has much more potential than is evident in his performances. He seems to be a very lively young boy who gets a little overawed by the occasion. Happens to the best of us.He's been ousted from the competition once and is back as a wild card entry. However, it remains to be seen if he's able to hold on to his spot.

Sahil: The quiet, unassuming lad from Hissar,Haryana is immensely talented. However, his nerves got the better of him and he got eliminated from the show. To my immense delight, he was back as a wild card entry and gave two power packed performances earning kudos from the judges. I would be very disappointed if he doesn't cut it in the public voting which is literally a lottery.

Vasundhara: Perhaps the most consistent and tuneful singer on the show. This girl has got amazing variety and such a sweet voice. Definitely a front runner in the race so far.

Tanmay: My favorite on the show. The little boy from Lucknow is fun to watch. He's got a style and personality of his own. A very good singer and someone who doesnt have any sort of stage fear,this little boy is as innocent as they come. Another consistently good performer so far.

Rohan: The Sikh lad is an easy going,wonderfully talented singer who performs effortlessly without a care in the world. He's given some top notch performances so far.I quite like the boy.

Vaishali: This little girl is fun but talks too much!. Not quite consistent and on the verge of elimination.

There have been couple of instances where parents have objected to some of the decisions made by the judges. I think that's absurd for the judges are doing a very fine job and know a great deal about music than the average Joe in the audience. Also, by bickering these fellows are really setting a bad example for their kids. This is a competition and all judgments are biased to some extent. How hard it is to understand that? They almost make it seem that this show is the finality of their children's career. They cannot be more in the wrong. Agreed,its fabulous to win but then this is not the end of the world.Let the kids enjoy the competition and learn as much as they can from the two fabulous singers on the show.

The kids are far more sporting and care free than their parents and its their attitude which makes this show so watchable.

Dus Kahaniyan

Caught this movie the other day. I love short stories and this movie's plot promised to weave ten brisk,interesting tales together complete with new set of actors and directors for each.I had made up my mind even before watching this one that it was going to be pleasantly intriguing and gripping.

Well,I shouldn't have had my hopes so high as I was treated to a rude shock.The first couple of stories were so ordinary and soulless that it took me by surprise when they ended. I almost exclaimed every time - "What,that's it...that's supposed to be a whole story??". It continued over and over-old wine in a new bottle,absolutely mundane run of the mill stuff being paraded as something novel and innovative. The only saving grace was the "Rice Plate" largely due to the presence of perhaps the two best actors in India-Naseerudin Shah and Shabana Azmi.They transformed what was a pretty lame storyline to something captivating and lasting by virtue of their incredible acting prowess. Naseer doesnt even have more than a dialogue in the part but his presence is unmistakable. Shabana looked the traditional religion obsessed south Indian lady in a manner which made it appear she had been one most of her life.

This brings me back to the title "Dus Kahaniyan",seven of those were a complete waste of my time. The other two worth mentioning were the stories involving Amrita Singh and the first one. I forget their titles but they were relatively watchable than rest of the crap.

Person of Indian Origin!

I had to recently apply for a Person of Indian Origin (PIO) card for my son who was born here in the US. Filling up Government paperwork ranks below the most mundane items on my list like getting a haircut or shopping for clothes. However, because I had no intentions of procrastinating this item on my to-do list I started where I always do-Google!

Found out a ton of things about the PIO card program. Apparently the dual citizenship initiative of the Indian Govt went only so far. In the interim there are two schemes for people of Indian origin who want to enjoy a visa free entry to India- PIO and the OCI(Overseas citizen of India). In typical fashion where Govt procedures make everything more complicated,this too was headed in the same direction. Well, after a bit of more research discovered that the OCI program is NOT open to children whose parents have Indian citizenship. The OCI scheme grants more or less lifelong permanent residency in India. The PIO on the other hand is also similar except that you are still considered an NRI and have to register your presence with local authorities in case your stay extends beyond 6 months.Additionally it needs to be renewed every 15 years.

Since PIO was the only option, I went about following the specified procedure.In no time encountered the first red tape- "Fill form in duplicate". Agreed this was a minor hassle,the next one was "thumb impressions" for all minors who cannot sign.The Parents cannot sign for the minor child. This is absurd,when all paperwork is being done by the parent then why on earth he or she or both cant sign for the child applicant is beyond me.Worked around that by taking thumb impressions of our 1.5 month boy while he was asleep.Also,no mention whether right or left thumb is required or it doesn't matter which.

I normally fill all forms online and then just print and sign it. This way its much easier to type in the information legibly than putting someone else at the inhumane task of deciphering my sloppy handwriting. Alas, no such luck this time. The PIO application says at the top "date in format dd/mm/yy". My acrobat reader would pop a big red at that saying "incorrect date format". Moreover the font sizes seemed all screwed up. With a heavy heart, I took out my pen and hand filled the forms in the best writing I could muster. It was somewhat frustrating because the space provided for writing was just too measly at many places.

The red tape continued. The Indian consulate wouldn't accept payment in personal checks,only money orders or cashier's cheques. This meant a trip to the bank and extra $$ in money order fees- a definite hassle.Passport photos- another rip off. This time not by the consulate but by American businesses. A set of 2 pictures costs about $10 and no digital copy provided means you go back and pay every time you want more copies. Google to the rescue again-The folks at
www.epassportphoto.com have done a BIG service . Just take a shot using a digital camera at home,use their software to crop/size the picture and print in on your photo printer-neat!.Taking a picture of a 1.5 month old with eyes open and mouth closed can be a challenging task.Anyone who has gone though the exercise will concur.

Some inaccuracies I noted - The PIO card fee has apparently been increased recently to $185 for minors. This important fact is inconsistently reported. At some places it still says $155.The address on top of the form has a different zip than the one in the mailing address.Also discovered to my astonishment that back in 1999 when the PIO card scheme was launched the fee was $1000!!.However to be fair still far less than what the US Green Card entails.

The good thing- application by mail doesn't require you to send in the original Passport.Notarized copies suffice. This was definitely a positive. Another nice thing - the form is only 2 pages and instructions are quite clear.Now why doesn't the Govt stop this business of handing out PIO's and OCI's and pass that dual citizenship bill is hard to understand. With the bill being lost in the myriad dust of Indian political establishment,whether it will ever see the light of the day is anybody's guess and your's is as good as mine.