Life is a joruney.....long, never ending yet exciting. And my mind misses no chance to go on a joy ride on his own. My mind is personified and is free to make his choices. My minds knows every corner of my life like he has been riding the thought bike for ages now. He certainly is smarter than me with the twists and turns.
I have been a constant companion but he is the boss- THE GUIDE. There are times I feel like telling him that it isn't fair for him to rule over me, but he seldom listens to me. I have a dominating mind....constantly scruitinising and on the go! There have been times when he has given me wrong instructions but at the same time I cannot ignore the fact that most of the times he has given me accurate and precise orders.
Long live my not so sane mind! You help me be practical and non-judgemental. You help me think and give me the ability to reason. Thanks for being around. And yeah do not forget about the CAT preparation we are doing together. Dude, you gotta help me here.....LOL.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
Russell Peters: “why don’t you see many Indian athletes? Because they are not hardworking”.
Stereotypes are as old as human culture itself. They reflect ideas that groups of people hold about others who are different from them. Stereotypes can be either positive ("black men are good at basketball") or negative ("women are bad drivers"). But most stereotypes tend to make us feel superior in some way to the person or group being stereotyped. Stereotypes ignore the uniqueness of individuals by painting all members of a group with the same brush.
Media has given way to many such stereotypical thoughts like, “All bearded Muslims are terrorists”, portrayal of homosexuals in media or youngsters are restless and impulsive etc. These ideas generate from an event which is later turned into a mass thought process. In the case of stereotypes the mass society theories of media are often discussed because of its impact on people.
Stereotypes of a group of people can affect the way society views them, and change society's expectations of them. With enough exposure to a stereotype, society may come to view it as a reality rather than a chosen representation. The media can be a powerful tool in creating or reinforcing stereotypes. For example people look at India as a country full of snake charmers and elephants walking on the road, which is a general perception. This impression has been largely created by media.
Russell Peters broadly talks about various racial stereotypes focusing mainly on his Indian roots and also South Asian culture. In one of his acts he mentioned why not many Indian athletes are seen on international arena which a few years back was a fact but is no more a reality. Though he clearly once said that he doesn’t create stereotypes he just talks about the already existing ones but what he definitely does is reinforce these stereotypes in the minds of people. His comedy acts belong to the unconventional form of media whose effect might not be far reaching but the message stays with the audiences because the action is happening right in front of their eyes.
Unlike television he makes sure that his message is understood through feedback and interaction. Though he is very carefully while selecting his use of words so as to not get into any kind of controversy. Like once a white guy came up to him and said, “I really like it when you crack those Paki jokes.” And he replied, “'I will knock your f****** teeth out if you ever say that word to me. Have you ever heard me say 'Paki' in my act? No. Then don't f*** with it and twist it.” Here we are introduced to yet another topic about social responsibility and media.
Knowingly or unknowingly a lot of wrong messages are communicated to the people and this also gives rise to stereotypes. It generates through biases and opinionated approach towards a particular community. Russell Peters has often been accused of doing so but all is fine when it comes to fun. Guess taking it with a pinch of salt is his advice to his critics.
Most of Peter’s acts revolve around his upbringing in a white neighbourhood. He has witnessed a lot of prejudices and biases and hence his material is based on these fine lines that make people hate people from other community. Through his comedy acts and wide travelling experiences he has tried to explore this difference. His topics range from India culture, arranged marriages in India, the great Indo-Chinese friendship, perceptions that whites have about Asians. He has also dealt with issues like racial slurs and he claims to call it like he sees it.
Let us critically analyse the content that makes his show so popular with the audience and leaves a few sour.
“If you have a tensed situation, just pop in the Indian accent”, says Peters. He heavily emphasises on how funny English sounds in an Indian accent. Quoting his father and his way of talking, he often has the house laughing their hearts out. But he also cleverly makes it a point to make his fellow Indians feel good by doling out some nice and not so nasty jokes.
He says, “Vietnamese talk English so fast that it almost sounds like Vietnamese again”, “when Koreans speak English it looks like they have had a breathe”. He further adds, “When Chinese speak English it feels like they are chopping words like vegetables.” Traditionally certain accents carry more prestige in the society for example the American accent is considered to be the elitist. The UK accent is considered to be sophisticated while Indian accent is often laughed at abroad. Many Indians settled abroad make it a point to adapt to the local accent so that they do not feel left out or out of place.
He calls china and India as the two largest populations and finishes it with saying, “sooner or later we gonna h*** you”.
In another act he talks about how different cultures are mixing and comes up with really funny terms for mixed breed offspring of such couples. For example, Jewish and Indian can have a Hinjew kid, Cuban and Iceland will have little ice cubes. The funniest is French and Greek together will give birth to Freaks!!!
In his DVD called Outsourced he talks about how Chinese and Indians cannot do business together. Because Indians cannot live without a bargain and Chinese will never let you have one. These stereotypes make an impression in the minds of the audiences that Indians are thrifty and money minded. Moving from business he goes to employment in the US. “Today I saw a very funny thing. A white guy driving a car. This is not right, you cannot steal our jobs.” This statement gives a notion that Indians abroad only drive taxis. But the reality is totally different; many Indians are working in IT sector, research and development. He has promised his fans of a new material in the coming shows about Indian call centres.
“All Asians are Chinese”. This statement can be counted as being a positive stereotype because here he tries to say that all Asians are not Chinese but you have other groups like the Indians, Pakistanis, and Srilankans etc.
Media has given way to many such stereotypical thoughts like, “All bearded Muslims are terrorists”, portrayal of homosexuals in media or youngsters are restless and impulsive etc. These ideas generate from an event which is later turned into a mass thought process. In the case of stereotypes the mass society theories of media are often discussed because of its impact on people.
Stereotypes of a group of people can affect the way society views them, and change society's expectations of them. With enough exposure to a stereotype, society may come to view it as a reality rather than a chosen representation. The media can be a powerful tool in creating or reinforcing stereotypes. For example people look at India as a country full of snake charmers and elephants walking on the road, which is a general perception. This impression has been largely created by media.
Russell Peters broadly talks about various racial stereotypes focusing mainly on his Indian roots and also South Asian culture. In one of his acts he mentioned why not many Indian athletes are seen on international arena which a few years back was a fact but is no more a reality. Though he clearly once said that he doesn’t create stereotypes he just talks about the already existing ones but what he definitely does is reinforce these stereotypes in the minds of people. His comedy acts belong to the unconventional form of media whose effect might not be far reaching but the message stays with the audiences because the action is happening right in front of their eyes.
Unlike television he makes sure that his message is understood through feedback and interaction. Though he is very carefully while selecting his use of words so as to not get into any kind of controversy. Like once a white guy came up to him and said, “I really like it when you crack those Paki jokes.” And he replied, “'I will knock your f****** teeth out if you ever say that word to me. Have you ever heard me say 'Paki' in my act? No. Then don't f*** with it and twist it.” Here we are introduced to yet another topic about social responsibility and media.
Knowingly or unknowingly a lot of wrong messages are communicated to the people and this also gives rise to stereotypes. It generates through biases and opinionated approach towards a particular community. Russell Peters has often been accused of doing so but all is fine when it comes to fun. Guess taking it with a pinch of salt is his advice to his critics.
Most of Peter’s acts revolve around his upbringing in a white neighbourhood. He has witnessed a lot of prejudices and biases and hence his material is based on these fine lines that make people hate people from other community. Through his comedy acts and wide travelling experiences he has tried to explore this difference. His topics range from India culture, arranged marriages in India, the great Indo-Chinese friendship, perceptions that whites have about Asians. He has also dealt with issues like racial slurs and he claims to call it like he sees it.
Let us critically analyse the content that makes his show so popular with the audience and leaves a few sour.
“If you have a tensed situation, just pop in the Indian accent”, says Peters. He heavily emphasises on how funny English sounds in an Indian accent. Quoting his father and his way of talking, he often has the house laughing their hearts out. But he also cleverly makes it a point to make his fellow Indians feel good by doling out some nice and not so nasty jokes.
He says, “Vietnamese talk English so fast that it almost sounds like Vietnamese again”, “when Koreans speak English it looks like they have had a breathe”. He further adds, “When Chinese speak English it feels like they are chopping words like vegetables.” Traditionally certain accents carry more prestige in the society for example the American accent is considered to be the elitist. The UK accent is considered to be sophisticated while Indian accent is often laughed at abroad. Many Indians settled abroad make it a point to adapt to the local accent so that they do not feel left out or out of place.
He calls china and India as the two largest populations and finishes it with saying, “sooner or later we gonna h*** you”.
In another act he talks about how different cultures are mixing and comes up with really funny terms for mixed breed offspring of such couples. For example, Jewish and Indian can have a Hinjew kid, Cuban and Iceland will have little ice cubes. The funniest is French and Greek together will give birth to Freaks!!!
In his DVD called Outsourced he talks about how Chinese and Indians cannot do business together. Because Indians cannot live without a bargain and Chinese will never let you have one. These stereotypes make an impression in the minds of the audiences that Indians are thrifty and money minded. Moving from business he goes to employment in the US. “Today I saw a very funny thing. A white guy driving a car. This is not right, you cannot steal our jobs.” This statement gives a notion that Indians abroad only drive taxis. But the reality is totally different; many Indians are working in IT sector, research and development. He has promised his fans of a new material in the coming shows about Indian call centres.
“All Asians are Chinese”. This statement can be counted as being a positive stereotype because here he tries to say that all Asians are not Chinese but you have other groups like the Indians, Pakistanis, and Srilankans etc.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Forbidden truth........
I have been left wondering often about the credibility of everything that is true, everything that is untold and kept away from us. The reason things lie in the closet is because either it is untrue or people dont treat it as being factual. There are times when people are not ready for the truth and many times they just want to ignore it. This is what I term as forbidden truth. And am sure we wont fall short of examples if it comes to explaining it........
We fall pray to all kinds of experiences- good, bad, ugly, nasty but truth surpasses all these parameters. It is something that create ripples of unknown emotions and more than anything a sense of neglect. All this while I was talking about the truth the pinches and pricks, truth that becomes unwary of any further explanations.
We fall pray to all kinds of experiences- good, bad, ugly, nasty but truth surpasses all these parameters. It is something that create ripples of unknown emotions and more than anything a sense of neglect. All this while I was talking about the truth the pinches and pricks, truth that becomes unwary of any further explanations.
Monday, July 09, 2007
This time its not me, but a friend who would like to share something......and am more than happy to give her the space...Nikita, keep writing...
YEH DHUAN.....
Have you ever watched someone smoke?
Ever observed the eager fingers flick a match and light up?
The slow, deep breath of restoring nicotine. Drawn in as though inhaling, trying to fill up the whole being with smoke.
Insubstantial. Bearing only vestiges of life. Incipient hope. Reassuring consolation.
A quick look of pained defiance.
And now back to floating in moribund heights of ostensible freedom…
Before I say anything else, I would just like to make it clear that I do not believe that smoking makes people “bad company”. One is not in danger while hanging out with a smoker. Why? Because it’s just isn’t about them!
Smoking is an extremely complex, personal and difficult thing to understand. I still don’t perfectly get it. But I do know enough to make my decision against it. The same goes for drugs and alcohol. I choose not to “indulge” in any of them. Not even try. Not once. And no, that doesn’t make me a dork, just shows how well I know myself. I know very well that even if I just try there’s a really good chance that I’ll be addicted. Many people overestimate themselves and think that it won’t happen. But it does- it’s happened to a friend of min, I’m sure it’s happened to a friend of yours! So what makes you the exception?
The way I see it, the best way to win this battle is to fight before it starts. When the vision is not obscured by towers of smoke, it is easier to look at one’s reflection. And decide…
The worst thing about smoking, to me, is the dependency. The mental hazards are far more debilitating than the physical ones. To know that every day, to get some relief, or to find oneself, one needs that little inflammable wrapped-up object. And quite ironically, smokers are believed to be the most independent and individualistic people.
All in all, it’s not about right or wrong, this issue is a subtle shade of the very same smokey gray. Everyone needs to deal with it in his or her own way. But the important thing is to make sure that we do! And soon…
YEH DHUAN.....Have you ever watched someone smoke?
Ever observed the eager fingers flick a match and light up?
The slow, deep breath of restoring nicotine. Drawn in as though inhaling, trying to fill up the whole being with smoke.
Insubstantial. Bearing only vestiges of life. Incipient hope. Reassuring consolation.
A quick look of pained defiance.
And now back to floating in moribund heights of ostensible freedom…
Before I say anything else, I would just like to make it clear that I do not believe that smoking makes people “bad company”. One is not in danger while hanging out with a smoker. Why? Because it’s just isn’t about them!
Smoking is an extremely complex, personal and difficult thing to understand. I still don’t perfectly get it. But I do know enough to make my decision against it. The same goes for drugs and alcohol. I choose not to “indulge” in any of them. Not even try. Not once. And no, that doesn’t make me a dork, just shows how well I know myself. I know very well that even if I just try there’s a really good chance that I’ll be addicted. Many people overestimate themselves and think that it won’t happen. But it does- it’s happened to a friend of min, I’m sure it’s happened to a friend of yours! So what makes you the exception?
The way I see it, the best way to win this battle is to fight before it starts. When the vision is not obscured by towers of smoke, it is easier to look at one’s reflection. And decide…
The worst thing about smoking, to me, is the dependency. The mental hazards are far more debilitating than the physical ones. To know that every day, to get some relief, or to find oneself, one needs that little inflammable wrapped-up object. And quite ironically, smokers are believed to be the most independent and individualistic people.
All in all, it’s not about right or wrong, this issue is a subtle shade of the very same smokey gray. Everyone needs to deal with it in his or her own way. But the important thing is to make sure that we do! And soon…
Friday, July 06, 2007
I am proud of you!!:)
I was really happy to see him after a long time. " Aye!", I called him out and he tried his best to hide away. I went a little ahead to catch a glimpse of his face and for once I knew he was the same little devil, Yuvraj.
I had met him or I would rather say chased him at the same place a few months back. It was a hot afternoon and I was dancing around holding a huge chocolate I had just got from a dear friend. Like a wind he came and snatched away the chocolate and looked back so that I can see the naughty grin.
I ran behind him not for the chocolate but to give him a good lesson. But unfortunately he was faster than me and in no time he was lost in the crowd of millions walking on the road. Determined I stood there for a long time chatting with his friends about his family and discovered the realities of their life something so true and dramatic that even a bollywood director might get inspired to make a movie on.
It was more than an hour but I somehow knew that he would return to his friends and as soon as I spotted him i quickly caught hold of Yuvraj. Scared to even open him mouth he silently said, " Didi , Bhook laga tha" ( I was hungry). After a few rounds of questions he finally told me who taught him to steal. Me and my friends tried our best to make him understand that stealing from someone is really not helpful but somewhere down the line I thought he would do the same thing again.....We took them out for a Vada paav each and returned home with a hope that Yuvraj might just listen to our sermon.
When I saw him today selling those roses I knew he had changed. But the doubtful mind of mine forced me to ask him whether he has stopped stealing and pop came the answer, " Kasam se...abhi nahi churata". ( I swear I do not steal anymore).
I had met him or I would rather say chased him at the same place a few months back. It was a hot afternoon and I was dancing around holding a huge chocolate I had just got from a dear friend. Like a wind he came and snatched away the chocolate and looked back so that I can see the naughty grin.
I ran behind him not for the chocolate but to give him a good lesson. But unfortunately he was faster than me and in no time he was lost in the crowd of millions walking on the road. Determined I stood there for a long time chatting with his friends about his family and discovered the realities of their life something so true and dramatic that even a bollywood director might get inspired to make a movie on.
It was more than an hour but I somehow knew that he would return to his friends and as soon as I spotted him i quickly caught hold of Yuvraj. Scared to even open him mouth he silently said, " Didi , Bhook laga tha" ( I was hungry). After a few rounds of questions he finally told me who taught him to steal. Me and my friends tried our best to make him understand that stealing from someone is really not helpful but somewhere down the line I thought he would do the same thing again.....We took them out for a Vada paav each and returned home with a hope that Yuvraj might just listen to our sermon.
When I saw him today selling those roses I knew he had changed. But the doubtful mind of mine forced me to ask him whether he has stopped stealing and pop came the answer, " Kasam se...abhi nahi churata". ( I swear I do not steal anymore).
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