It's Gandhi Jayanti again!

Last year Babetude mused on Gandhiji's Birthday...


http://thebabetudeblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/remembering-mahatma_02.html


Gandhi who came up with so many ideals for the world to follow will always be special for many more centuries to come. In many parts of the world!

In India, someone known was right when she tweeted not very long ago, how Gandhi would be sad about so many ideals of his, being murdered in the country.

Let's hope and pray things get better for the world and for Gandhiji's India...

"Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram, Patita pavana Seeta Ram.Ishwar Allah Tero naam, Sab ko sanmati de Bhagwan..."

9/11 & beyond...

Some pictures from when yours truly got a chance to visit Ground Zero in New York. It would have been nice to see the twin towers more than a decade ago or better still the horrible incident of attack towards humanity should never have happened.Many peace lovers of the world would easily agree.

I remember as a child praying miles away in a small town in India.

Now the site looks like this- a shrine.

An organisation that stands up for causes says that it's great now that the memorial is filled with trees. Nature is soul soothing. Signifies peace.



Millions watched the program, in fact had been following up since the beginning of September.

But must say, Enough of negativity and destruction in the world...May God bless. May there be peace now. Amen.

P.S The sad event happened 10 years ago and still remembered solemnly and serves as a reminder and such unfortunate events hardly happen in the US anymore. Sadly in the country of my birth, India, such attacks have become a habit. Before and after one of the worst, 26/11 there were many such as in July 2006 and as late as July 2011 and September 2011. Why on earth have they made it a habit? Yes some citizens are concerned and some like me who don't live in India anymore, are saddened and alarmed too. But the politicians and the people in power there have the same stories- of how much sad and sorry they are, how they would look into it, how it wouldn't happen again and so on and so forth. In fact by now it seems many citizens have taken such things very lightly too...Very sad. It's time to analyse and take major steps. There are problems all over the world- some places have it more, while others less. It's tome for big changes in the largest democracy of the world who is aspiring to be a super power in the future. India's neighbor China is already an economic super power and one doesn't things like these happening there. It's High Time...

Oh, the golden age...

The reading in the last few days about the aftermath of the loss of one of the revered figures of the Indian industry just brings to mind these thoughts.

Mr. Bachchan in his blog has put forth some somber thoughts as well of the days gone by.

Yes, the days gone by in the Indian industry were different...Shri Shammi Kapoor ji was indeed a one of a kind actor, performer and dancer.

Films like the ones he made weren't that technically sound, no special effects et al and formulaic too, but had a soul and reflected Indian culture...And the music was one of the best...

There are some good films been made now, experimental ones, but the ratio is skewed. Originality in actors is difficult to find...


Time to go down memory lane a bit when there were real and original men and women...
These are unforgettable melodies rendered powerfully with beautiful lyrics that hold a lot of meaning ...Not too many songs of today have this kind of staying power...

And there are so many wonderful and beautifully picturized songs!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCZjI9A6yFU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J1PUEiilUU
http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=-J1PUEiilUU
Courtesy- Youtube
































Babita Shivdasani used to look gorgeous with her future uncle-in -law.She really had a lot of charm in her hey days and for some even more than what her daughters Karisma and Kareena had in the future...





(More videos will be uploaded soon...)

Is the mind without fear and the head held high?

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake

Rabindranath Tagore

On the 64th year of Indian independence can this beautiful poem stand true for the country of my birth, India?

Anyway, before dwelling too much into a negative discussion, a look at some links of the real heroes...

http://www.timesnow.tv/Tribute-to-men-who-fight-for-the-nation---Part-3/videoshow/4381300.cms

Well, as child in school a little more than a decade back I remember reading about how the population explosion, unemployment et al has held the nation back. These issues are still around.

The corruption according to most is the biggest problem.

Add to it, things which have been around for years as well- the large scale poverty, the disparity between the rich and the poor, nepotism for power posts in entertainment, politics, corporate world etc which has at so many points deprived true talent. The weakness of the country is blatant to the world thanks to many conscious citizens of the world.

Social activist Anna Hazare's struggle for the common men is ray of hope for the Indian nation burdened by years of corruption. So the conscious and common citizen of the nation has found a hero ...

http://www.avaaz.org/en/free_anna/?fbpost_08162011

http://www.annahazare.org/

And a chance to prove the following wrong! But the question is will it happen soon?

Sir Winston Churchill had reportedly written this 64 years ago about India :

"Power will go to the hands of rascals, rogues, freebooters; all Indian leaders will be of low caliber & men of straw. They will have sweet tongues & silly hearts. They will fight amongst themselves for power & India will be lost in political squabbles. A day would come when even air & water would be taxed in India ."

P.S- Being a person who's studied history, art, cinema, music et al and delved deep into it, I must add something about entertainment here. Yes, there are still a few good Indian movies which are being made.But their number is low and the percentage isn't encouraging.

Rang De Basanti, a patriotic film which came out almost five and a half years ago had the ability to touch the youth of the country deeply. It had a message. And it also talked about the corruption killing and eating up the country

But where the actors of the film now apart from Aamir Khan who has an intelligent understanding of cinema and also is a smart/ suave business man?Well, they are not stars in B-Town.They hardly do much work and such meaningful movies are hardly made apart from a Taare Zameen Par from time to time. Historicals such as Jodhaa Akbar relect Indian culture but there aren't much of that sort any more either.

Instead some who do silly similar kind of movies, shake their bodies, are expressionless to the core, a few bimbos who can't even speak Hindi but probably can excite a few Indian males( never mind that people and men internationally don't care about that kind of botoxed, plastic, silly, brainless type) are so called stars in Bollywood or B-town. God. It really seems things are going to the dogs...

No wonder most Indian movies are ridiculed worldwide.Apart from the name Bollywood( for being a copy of Hollywood). The likes of Mr. Bachchan not liking that name is quite understandable indeed.

The one of a kind hero Shammi Kapoor's loss is A GREAT one indeed. It just happened a day before Independence Day. Have been talking about the tragic events in the month of July. August gave a blow as well to a lot of cine viewers.

He was from a time when people were original. He had an original, unique style.

There was a time when men used to be real men in Indian cinema. The music was original and the lyrics beautiful and meaningful.The stories were kind of similar, yes but they were closer to Indian culture. But sadly we don't see much of that anymore...

Mr. Bachchan's tribute on his blog is a wonderful and touching read.

A you tube song and many tributes dedicated to him by the common fans are here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J1PUEiilUU&feature=feedlik

Batters and dough!

http://thebabetudeblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/cook-bake-with-love.html

And yes, I've started cooking much more now. Not that I never cooked before. In Mumbai and before that in my small Indian town I have cooked the normal Indian stuff- rice, dal, vegetables, rajma, chole, chappaties etc from time to time. But I took it more like a duty.

It's going to be two years in a couple of months and I've enjoyed the art since then. And I must say I'm getting better and better at trying out new dishes.

Well as I said, when you enjoy the process the results are far better!

Baking was never my thing. I only baked 2/3 plain cakes in my whole life and that too as a very young adolescent.But things have changed now. Yes indeed!

In the last one year I've baked oatmeal cookies, oatmeal scones, salty scones, honey-bran muffins,home cooked breads, corn breads, and Caribbean corn meal special "coo coo" & followed an Italian recipe to make sessame seed cookies.

And recently I went on a fruit bread making spree---Banana nut bread, muffins, carrot bread( Pictured above), mango nut bread...

Coming up soon-Pineapple date bread, orange date bread!!!Will keep the updates coming...

But have to add here that July hasn't been a happy months despite American independence day- seeing Grandma's tragic exit day almost two decades ago as a little one. Life changed so much since then and in the years many sad events in this month of the year happened- Kargil heroes tragic and brave sacrfices, a beautiful ex Miss India giving up on life, followed by a young up coming singer's tragic accident. God. Also so importantly, Monty Clift's memorial day is in July as well.

Well, even after being in NY, unlike once when I visited the wonderful actor's brown stone in Manhattan, couldn't visit his Brooklyn resting place. But someday that sure will happen...

Talking of July, the 26/7 happens Mumbai floods had happen in July followed by blasts and attacks on innocent people in a July of 2006, a year later. This year it had to happen again! Tragic. It seems common lives aren't valued in India and some other unfortunate parts of the world as well!.All in all, July doesn't seem like a bright month for many things, but would like to focus on the brighter things...

Here's a picture of a beautiful salad a family friend made..Simple pleasures of life make life beautiful indeed! And takes one's mind away from the negativity.

Was in NY, still couldn't visit Brooklyn. Thanks to the strict routine. But will do so soon.

Courage, Hope, Righteousness in the face of unfathomable evil...

Oh how time flies. The years just pass by...This article I wrote way back in Dec 1998 when I was sort of a kid myself.

A substantial topic indeed. And everything came rushing back when I saw the diary of Anne Frank yesterday( June 12) on the occasion of her birthday. God, some topics are immortal.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diary_of_Anne_Frank_(1959_film)




It is a 1959 film based on the Pulitzer Prize winning play of the same name, which was based on the diary of Anne Frank. Directed by 'A place in the sun' director George Stevens, the film was aired on my favorite back in times channel TCM.

Pretty actress Millie Perkins in the movie acted just about okay. She didn't get great reviews as she was slightly grown up and looking too glam. But the story as a whole will always touch and there are other movies on the topic too...


Yes, of course it's a movie based on human spirit and courage in the face of unfathomable evil...Life has been hard for many over the years and how some people have triumphed in spite of all odds and their names have lived on.


Now as I am older, I realize everything described in the diary only happened between 1942-1944, in the life times of elderly people I currently know and have known in the past. The fact that a few months made so much difference is heartbreaking.

Only if Anne and the other 7 people in the secret annexe were found about 8-9 months later in 1945( instead of Aug 1944 after being betrayed by someone), World war 2 would have ended. The others apart from her father Otto Frank would have survived the ordeal too.

Well, in life we don't quite think of these things much and end up taking the good and safe times for granted, but a few days, a few moments, a few weeks let alone months can make a hell lot of difference during tough times.

Apart from the other heroes emerging out of this tragic yet brave story, Miep Gies's name will always remain special. It's been said without this great woman, the diary( the one she saved after the Nazi raid) wouldn't have been saved.


It was a blessing that this woman lived to be a 100 and a few months and only left the world in 2010...She can be considered as one of the biggest heroes of recent history.More like her are needed to shepherd the weak in today's world is needed, than the ones that destroy.
She is worthy of being a wonderful inspiration till today.

This sites are worth visiting time and again.
http://www.miepgies.dk/

http://www.annefrank.org/

A fashionable birthday!

It's been a year of blogging( even though Babetude joined blogger in May 2010) and Natalie Portman has turned a year older today.

Wow!!!!!!!

Last year, while doing my first post I had talked about it and also why I admire her, the reasons being she's been a fearless actress from day one, exudes warmth, is youthful, classically beautiful, talented and will make a great Mommy.

And guess what, she's going to have a baby this year after conquering the Oscar for Black Swan a few months ago.

God, how time flies. In the nineties Natalie became famous as the talented and cute child star of the wonderfully made 'Leon' opposite Jean Reno. Though I saw the film much later, I would remember part of decade as my growing up phase as well. Those days of childhood were beautiful indeed and it's not unnatural to miss them. It's nice though to see Natalie grow up so beautifully in the public eye which in itself is a hell of a task. There were many stars during those days and before and even after but many faltered and lost a lot of respect and fan following, But Natalie has remained cool, confident as the days go by. She's been a great icon who's leading life and doing her duties beautifully.

Fans she has many. Some of her Facebook fan pages are filled with wishes and many more are coming as the day progresses.

I love some fan tribute pics of hers and decided to put some up here...

In the pic above she's gotten an Indian look, but that look minus the bindi/ tikka can help her play a Mother Mary kind of role as well.

Check out Johnny Depp's face in the painting like image above. It's his birthday too today. The lady with him looks like Natalie though I'm not too sure...But it would nice to see them together in a movie...

Yeah, apart from being an Oscar winning star with lovely classic looks Natalie has also been a fashion icon who dared to experiment and looked effortlessly and carelessly sexy and beautiful many times. Some are celebrating a fashionable birthday for her.

http://www.stylelist.com/2011/06/09/natalie-portman-beauty-evolution/?fb_ref=article&fb_source=home_oneline#photo-1

Well, some people are worth being written so much about.

Fans of Indian movies are celebrating Indian star daughter Sonam's birthday, a rookie star who's trying to better herself as an actress. I made a fleeting mention of her last year on my post. She's a tall Indian beauty and her style sense is good too...All in all 9TH of June seems to be a good day to be born.