Raapchik with Ramola- Gossip column

Will you do the frandship with me?

A leading news daily reports that the average teenager checks his facebook account every 45 minutes. Social interaction these days is not just limited to your physical being- cyberspace is the new ‘hot spot’ for meetings, chilling or just HANGING OUT! Newspapers are obsolete as twitter is soon to become the news carrier for the yuppies of the global village. Your friend list on fb is your new status symbol- it is no longer necessary to be charming, eloquent or adventurous to win friends – a disembodied, impersonal message through a site is all it takes to do the trick.

In the midst of this tech-cyber evolution of ourselves, we cannot ignore a worldwide phenomenon – the rise of the ‘frandshippers’.
The frandshipper has been popping up on nearly everyone’s’ profile page every now and then, “wanting to do the frandship”. Creeps, weirdos and stalkers have never had it better. Never before was it this easy to track someone down online and memorize their faces and their phone numbers. The stalker has evolved from a heavy-breathing; gasping sound travelling down phone lines to a real live image on facebook/Orkut. Typical cases are accompanied with a Display pic (sunglasses and a badass pose with a rockstar gesticulation at the camera) and a message. Proposals for ‘THE frandship’ are worded discretely and subtly as shown in the examples below
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1) “I want to say u something?”
2) “U shld know, i am not stranger, i am pilot.. so be my frnd!”
3)”its not love at first sight or anything… it is not magic”
4)”….Many girls are wanting me…..!”
5)”Hey babes… do u want to sit at the backside of my bike..?”

“Some of them go the whole length and email you as well.” says another keen observer of this phenomenon.

Ignoring requests is the only option we are left with, as avoiding them seems impossible. The worse situation involves people faking their accounts, hiding behind a cyber image of a celeb or a socialite.
It is true that, the world is now shrinking. But more than the world, it’s the frandshippers who need all the ‘shrinking’ there is.

My name should be in the Guinness book of world records – Himani Shivpuri

A quaint set at Cine Classic Studio is alive with spot boys and technicians, waiting with baited breath as Himani Shivpuri gets ready for her shot. I manage to frisk her away from the assistant directors calling her for her scene every 2 minutes, for a few words as she gets her makeup done. Almost an Organic Chemistry major, a theatre personality, an actor, an instructor, a lecturer; Himani Shivpuri has many facets to herself.   I try my level best to summarize her three decade long career in a brief yet soul-stirring conversation.

Born and brought up in an academically inclined family, this Doon School alumnus bagged a US scholarship for an Organic Chemistry major in the 1980s. She could have earned laurels in the field of chemistry, but instead chose to follow her passion. Chemistry’s loss was the art world’s gain. Call it the 3 idiots effect youngsters today get inspired to follow their passion after taking motivation from films. However, when you ask Himani Shivpuri about what drove her to defy tradition and turn her dreams to reality, she nonchalantly replies, “Movies are Movies, but real inspiration comes from within you. In a small town like Doon, nobody expect you to make bold choices and in my time, a career in the entertainment field was looked down upon. I was lucky my parents supported me as I took the plunge into acting though it took a lot of convincing.”

She played the lead in the famous Hindi play “Mitro Marjaani”. She was well-loved as the “Devaki Bhaujayi” in the TV series “Hum Rahi” and as the quirky ‘Bua’ in DDLJ. I ask her how different each medium is from the other and pat comes the reply “Theatre Is my first love as it is an actor’s medium. Scripts are the heroes in TV shows today. Theatre allows you the time required to get into the skin of the character.” With a wry smile, she quips “TV actors today have become bonded labour. If you forget to sign on the call time register, you miss your daily wage.” She goes on to comment on the vanishing creativity and the compromise on quality that we see on television today, owing to deadlines and telecast issues. “Everyone is rushed to follow schedules. It s a run against time which puts everyone in a no win situation.” Her little-known film Debut was ‘Ab Aayega Mazaa’, but her first commercial success HAHK was what made her a household name.

Child actors earning as much as professional’s such as her seem to be ruling prime time. Does this phenomenon bother her? Her light-hearted demeanor is suddenly replaced by a look of grave concern as she puts her thoughts together on this issue “I am not very happy to know that kids these days are working full time away from school. Childhood is the only time you are carefree. It is a time for learning, not for earning.  Whether a child is working on a set or begging on a street, he is still deprived of a normal childhood. “

Just as the conversation gets more engaging and candid, she is again beckoned to do her shot. My mind is swarming with a million things to ask her, but I only have time for one question. Her lengthy stint in acting has given her opportunity for diversity, but I want to know which character has been the most challenging to play till date.   She thoughtfully replies, “Even the character of an aunt or a bhabhi is a challenge to play differently in different movies. The ‘bua’ of HAHK was different from the ‘bua’ of Pardes.” I probe her more for specifics and she gives in “The prostitute in ‘Prem Grant’ was perhaps the role that demanded the most from me as a performer as I had to reveal in the film which I was a little reluctant about.”

She jokes that her name should be in the Guinness book of world records for playing bua in so many films and shows.

I leave the vanity van of an actor who resides in the hearts of people not just as a serial typical Indian aunt but so much more.

Emotions of Emptiness

                                           
                                                       

Making love memorable in “Manori”

Mahie Gill in Dev D as firebrand “Paro” bundles up a mattress and cycles to the fields for an amorous rendezvous. Well the scene very well depicts that we have come a long way from hesitating to talk about sex to PDA.

Call it a sex revolution or the quest to know it all; the Generation X surely wants to take their relationship to the next level. With premarital sex eliminating as bad notion people are taking their partners to places they can remember about. And one such place is Manori. A beautiful island connected to Mumbai via road. Though sea route is relatively shorter and it takes approximately 15 minutes to reach Manori from Marve beach. Adding to one’s romantic experience is the ferry ride that takes you there.

People have converted their homes into lodges and resorts and believe it or not if you are looking for a place to make love memorable, Manori is the place. Rooms are available at reasonable prices depending upon the number of people and hours. “The rooms are spacious and homely. When you come from the beach to change and chill in the resort you just won’t feel that you are missing something” says a visitor on the beach.

                                                                            (photo: Prabjhot)

A room for a day in one of the resorts will cost you from 500-1500 rupees. You can order food of your choice and enjoy every part of it. The place is considered to be safe, far from the hassle and hustle of Mumbai. A location where people say love can be felt in the air.

Young couples all round the year make small one day trips to Manori to explore the physical aspect of their relationship along with emotional and mental understanding. It’s just not the couples but even groups of friends and people with their families that come to enjoy the scenic beauty. The emergence of the place as a shelter for sex is not something that people living on the island are oblivious to. “The open mindedness and business attitude of the shack owners, rickshaw drivers and other people is what makes Manori a comfortable place for romance” says shraddha (name changed), who spoke to us while checking out from the resort.

For those who think that there might be a shady touch to the stay at Manori must know that there is a proper identification that is done before the allotment of rooms in these resorts. Managers ask for identification proofs and license numbers when they register the names of the guests making an entry and exit.

 Couples making out are shooed away by policemen every now then from places like bandra-worli sea link road and band stand. Manori serves as a perfect escape. Considering a lot of people in a relationship face accommodation problems in an overcrowded city like Mumbai and stay with their families; so rooms on an island like Manori is the best place you can ask for to satisfy one’s sexual urge.

Amidst all the chaos and cacophony of Mumbai, Manori’s overall culture is very reminiscent of Goa and the place provides a mini-Goa experience within boundaries of Mumbai city.

Truth, love and a little malice : Book Review

Truth, Love & a little Malice is a blunt and honest autobiography of India's most renowned, read, lauded, critically acclaimed and controversial living author and journalist Khushwant Singh. He starts it by apologizing for writing an autobiography and calls it a swansong of his profound career and eventful life. It is a memoir with footprints on the sand of time.It contains some unforgettable experiences both good and bad, unbelievable experiments both successful and flop, undeniable truths and a life both worth reading, writing and remembering about. Written with utmost candidness it talks about his relationship with his grandmother, parents, friends and colleagues.

The novel being an autobiography is written in sequential manner beginning with the childhood episode of KS to the present day. Singh who has been a witness to all the major events in modern Indian history- from independence and partition to emergency and operation blue star remains forthright in telling them. He also has stories to tell about many influential people like Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Lady Mountbatten, Jinnah, Amrita Shergill and many more.

 He records the comforts and disappointments in his marriage of over sixty years; his first, awkward sexual encounter; his phobia of ghosts and his fascination with death. In one of the chapters he writes about the ingredients essential to be a good writer. It also gives us a glance into the frailty and fragility of communal harmony, unenlightened masses in times of crises and political propaganda. "It is written in a simple, lucid and unpretentious style characteristic of Khushwant Singh"-India Today.

The story is captivating, unmatched and full of meaningful quotations and poems.  The Last but One Chapter is the last chapter of his autobiography where he mentions his desire to die the way his parents died. He wraps up his life’s account by saying that he would like to go as Allama Iqbal exhorted strong men to go
“Nishaan-e-mard-e Momin ba too goyam?
Choon marg aayad, tabassum bar lab -e-lost”
(You ask me for the signs of a man of faith? When death comes to him He has a smile on his face.)