Some better Daily soaps to watch

Hi All

I mean those of us who had shunned the TV in disgust and  as a revolt against all those Saas Bahu serials .2016 seems to have brought a  whiff of fresh air , better themes tackled in a better way , mature direction etc ---I hope you are all noticing the degree of comparison I am using ,the second one  " Comparative degree or degree of comparison " because where as we have crossed the positive degree we are yet to achieve the superlative .

Anyway coming to the serials being aired these days---Star plus

                                                                                     1Meri Tamanna--for a change there is no scheming m-i-l or d-i-l but a scheming hubby  who  tries to dominate and sabotage a wife's dreams and ambitions by acting the poor "bechara" who has been wronged in life who has been the underdog due to his shyness , the helpless one  who wants to fulfill his dreams with the help and love of his wife .
The poor innocent and loving wife all the time believing him , loving him sacrificing for him until of course she sees through his plans and then when she finds that he  even suspects  her fidelity she hands him their daughter's paternity test results  .  His complacent  noncha lant reactions to this when he says " Chalo maan liya ki Shubhangi  meri beti hai  ( ok agreed she is my daughter .. )"  and then he resumes  his typing on the  laptop as if it was just a normal everyday thing asking his wife for proof of fidelity  no regrets no feelings nothing  But almost immediately his  reaction of surprise and disbelief when  together with the paternity test papers she hands him  papers seeking divorce.   I loved the way she says "Ye wo hai jo aapko chahiye aur ye wo hai jo mujhe chahiye" absolutely cool and calm and nonchalant no drama .... beautiful theme and mature and subtle handling of situations by the director no drama , no melodrama  Everything shows the woman's strength and disgust and the man's smugness.

The trailor and adds for this serial say ---its the story of a woman's love for cricket and how she fulfills her ambition BUT NO it has nothing to do with her fulfilling her dreams or ambitions its all about a woman's self respect and dignity her attempts at setting up a home with love and adjustments She never wanted to pursue her cricket after marriage she had resigned herself to the fact that for her  husband ,home and hearth were the priorities of life and in that order too . She tells her father too that   her husbands likes and dislikes were more important for her than her own likes and dislikes . Its  only when her ex coach comes into the picture asking her husband permission to let her play , and the hubby allows( aiming at projecting himself as a nice person )  her that all the tension arises . She even rebukes her coach that he is not always right he should understand that for her its her husbands wishes and happiness that are more important ....

The husband is a time server , scheming and always tries to emotionally blackmail her telling her about his insecurities , his helplessness and his love for her .

All in all I find this an interesting and serious theme tackled maturely and spending 30 mts for it is not  waste .

The second serial I would recommend is DAHLEEZ  again on star plus and this one too seems to be a mature handling of a mature theme . the cast too is full of talent .



Some other serials which seem to be trying to better the standard for the daily soap watcher are

Parvarish
Krishnadasi
Kuchh Rang Pyar ke aise bhi
Ek Duje ke vaste


No harm in trying them when one has nothing to do


And this one is a goood comedy " Bhabhiji Ghar pe hain? "






                                                                                    y

वो यादें ये पल

आ ज बहुत दिनों बाद 
मैंने कलम को उठाया 
सोचा कुछ लिख लू 
 , कुछ ऊकेर लू 
इससे पहले की वो यादें धूमिल हो जाये 

पर ये क्या 
कलम की स्याही सूख चुकी है 
कागज़ के पन्नें पीले पड़  गए है 
और रूखे भी 
कलम नहीं चलेगी उन पर 
टूट जायेंगे  वो 

लगा जैसे वक़्त उलाहने दे रहा है 
कह रहा है 
तुमने खो दिया है कुछ , 
गवां  दिया है सब कुछ 

पर मैंने   देखा खिड़की से 
रौशनी कुछ कुछ बाकि थी 
शाम गुज़री नहीं थी 
अँधेरा आया नहीं था अभी तक 
और मैंने जकड लिया जाते हुए वक़्त को                                    

नयी कलम उठायी 
लिया  कागज़ भी नया 
यादें धुंधली नहीं हुयी थी 
हो भी नहीं सकती 
वो यादें है  हमारी 
मेरी और तुम्हारी 


वो यादें है ही नहीं 
वो तो पल है 
जो हम जी रहे थे 
जो हम जी रहे है 

Review -of the book Guy On The Sidewalk

Just finished reading "Guy On the Side walk " by Bharath   Krishna .

There is something about the book which goaded me to write a review.What I mean to say is that there was something about the book which I liked so much that I wished that the book  be read by more people .

The book deals with the feelings of a NRI in America and his feelings about his own country . If I had a choice I would have called this book "Patriotism Redefined" ---because that is what this book is all about a 'mature comparison between India and the US of A.' I repeat a ""Mature Comparison "

This book  "A Guy On The Sidewalk " means exactly what the title says  it shows the  indecisiveness of a guy on the side walk whether he should remain  there or whether he should jump onto the main road . The debate in his mind to come back to India leaving the luxuries of America or to stay behind and enjoy the benefits all the time aware that he did not belong to this country.

There are  a few lines which show his feelings and prove his patriotism like when he says that no one present in their group could be called a patriot because all that they had been thinking was about their career , their family , their problems and never about the problems of their city , their neighbourhood or for that matter their country . and then he goes on to say " ... But what have literates like me done  for our motherland other than living in America and earning dollars "

I wouldn't want to go on citing lines and paras from the book in fact I would want that people read  for themselves because as a patriotic  Indian the protagonist does not dwell on heavy literary words and comparisons instead he has made reading interesting by mentioning trendy American food , ( which we Indians know about more than our own traditional dishes ) , he has been witty enough to compare our Indian bathrooms with the American restrooms . All in all it is a book about Patriotism redefined
And of course there is romance and friendship thrown in to make things more plausible and interesting --it has dwelt on the camaraderie among fellow Indians how helpful they are to each other there is romance and real feeling of love which are  the lifeline and strength of a person's life even if they have to go their own ways in the course of life ---but the LOVE remains .

I would recommend this book for the sheer pleasure of reading ---no heavy philosophy, no heavy words , nothing frivolous but everything serious  and thought provoking .




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