Satyameva Jayate – May Truth Prevail!

Aamir Khan on the promo ad for 'Satyameva Jayate'. Source: Internet

 Satyameva Jayate! 

The name itself is enough to offer goose bumps to true patriots. And so a show with this name can never go wrong for a true Indian to whom the truth is served in a platter with a hard-hitting tagline ‘Jab dil pe lagegi, tab hi baat banegi’

The national motto of India (which is inscribed in Devanagari script at the base of the national emblem) has been adopted as the title name of Aamir Khan’s venture in television, a show that talks about a number of social issues faced in (a not so) shining India.

After a lot of speculations and marketing efforts, the show was finally aired last Sunday (6^th May, 2012). To be frank, I did not remember to watch it. On a lazy Sunday morning while flicking through channels (a ritual and favorite pastime), I landed just in time to catch the show begin on Star Plus.

Aamir – the perfectionist that he is, made sure that the introduction to the show was as classy and impeccable as the star himself. However, the hero of the show was not the star, but the cause, the content and the contestants. This is a thoroughly researched (by team), well produced (by production house) and superbly communicated (by Aamir) show which kept me hooked onto it till the very end.

People who failed to watch the show asked me whether it was melodramatic, since all reality shows and social issue based shows are bound to be dramatic. I would say it was a well-balanced and well controlled show, not letting any emotion to be prolonging or too boring.

Though Aamir did shed a tear or two (along with the audience), but then who's complaining, after all we are Indians and we exhibit emotions regardless of anything, and he is an actor!

The format of the show was interestingly strung together with contestants and their stories, facts and statistics, Aamir’s ease with the audience and some light moments.

All said and done, I’m only hoping that this show doesn’t fizzle by the end of its season and lives up to its expectations. Also, don’t want this show to be just another show where issues are highlighted and then left hanging. Courage to face the issues and initiatives to correct them should be the final outcome of this show.

Aamir Khan can only bring the issues to the forefront, how we as audience and as Indians react to it is something to be looked forward to.

Satyameva Jayate – May Truth Prevail!

A visit to the hills - Travelogue I

 They say the preparation to a vacation is much more enjoyable than the vacation itself. And I truly believe in this adage, now that I’m experiencing it :-)

It’s the month of May and May brings freshness in the form of a holiday for many. So how can I be left behind?

I’ll be off to my summer vacations very soon with my friends (Neha, Nikhil (Nair), Nikhil & myself), to the quaint hills of the north. To be precise it’s gonna be a tour to Darjeeling, Gangtok and North Sikkim.

Darjeeling Tea Estate, West Bengal (Source: Internet)

Even though the trip is to be commenced on 24^th May, the experience through which I’m going through right now is unexplainable. There are a hundred emotions running through my mind and random thoughts which crop up every now and then. This is truly what they call pre-vacation pleasure and I felt the need to jot down this experience, lest it be elapsed in the traffic of my thoughts.

Presenting to you, my experiences of pre-vacation excitement and the subsequent day-dreaming about the same:

1.      Vacation means shopping – both before and during – and so I think of the number of shopping excursions I need to undertake so as to spend my 10 day vacation in style and comfort. Not to forget the luggage which will accommodate my brand new purchase along with my toiletries, accessories, books and other wanted and unwanted things.

2.      I think of the night before my trip, when I check and double check all my packed items against the checklist of items to carry.

3.      I think of the sleepless night before the trip.

4.      I think of the wonderful day when I get to leave office at 2pm, as against the usual 7 or 8, to take my train from Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) to Howrah. This is just the beginning (*grin*)!

5.      I think about the hurried and hasty drive to the station (since I stop in between to shop some more) while thinking about my friends curses and abuses about my penchant for punctuality (the lack of it, that is) and I reach just in time to catch the train.

6.      I think about the chaos in the train before everyone settles down. I think about the last minute remembrance to get a bottle of water or a pack of chips, to attend goodbye calls from family and friends and lecture/advise calls from mom, I think about winning the fight for window seat after I deposit the luggage, I hear the announcement blaring on the intercom signaling the train’s departure and catch a glimpse of the station before it blurs off, silently praying to the Almighty for a safe journey.

7.      I think of the co-passengers with whom we will be sharing the compartment, who will either entertain us or bore us to the end.

8.      I think of the food served on the Duronto (we will be taking the CST-Howrah Duronto) and immediately the taste of the chicken curry, the slurping sound made by Nair while finishing off his soup, flicking off a salad from Neha’s plate, the request for a second helping of desert from Nikhil, comes to my mind.

9.      I think about the games we plan to play in our journey (cards and UNO for our entertainment and antakshari and dumb charades to entertain and frustrate others), and when we are bored of annoying each other (and others), we will silently return to the world of books.

10. I think of the scenery unfolding before my eyes through the tinted glass window and snuggle up with a cup of chai to relish the moment.

Gurudongmar Lake, North Sikkim (Source: Internet)

I think of all these and many more, however, some of these experiences I want to cherish and write when I’m actually visiting them. Watch out this space for more on my travel-o-experience and some scintillating photographs.

Adios!