Two of my poems have been published in the February edition of Serenelight Inc.. Click here to view the poems at Serenelight.

Serenelight.Org is a non-profit organization networking women across the globe. Their support services include New Friends - Assistance for immigrant women, Programs in rural areas, workshops, etc.

And their site hosts this beautiful motto -

May the light we share
With Kindness, Compassion and Care
Brighten our Life's journeys
With Hope ,Love and Serenity

"Cry, my beloved India" is a nice article by Francois Gautier. It can be read at - http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/jan/25franc.htm

We have grown up hearing the puranas on how evil forces troubled the non-violent, pure, gentle forces - how the asuras troubled the devas. We never imagined that this era would also witness history repeating itself. Do we need a hundred policemen inside a Mutt to arrest a righteous Saadhu ?

It is said in the holy text of Thirupaavai that when Mutt heads are ruffled, the sea will rise in protest. How else would you explain a tsunami which is otherwise unheard of in this part of the globe ?

Truth will prevail. Sathyameva Jayathe.

God bless us all and lead us from ignorance to knowledge.

If someone's debut movie gets nominated to the Oscars, turns out to be an IIM case-study, generates rave reviews on being a brilliantly classy entertainer and creates a major impact at the box-office, then how would you expect his second movie to be ? Anything that Ashutosh Gowariker makes is bound to be compared against the standard he has set - the historic Lagaan. And Swades is nowhere near Lagaan.

Swades lacks the magic ingredient that Lagaan had, although the undercurrent is the same in both movies. A goal to be achieved, suppressed societies, a motivating leader, team work and a victorious finale - all this interspersed with minimal romance that does not hinder the flow of the story. Though Swades is not even half as convincing as Lagaan, it was definitely fun.

Swades is about Mohan Bhargav, an NRI NASA Project Manager, who visits India in search of his childhood caretaker - Kaveri Amma. His five-week India stay open up to him all that he hadn't felt about India until then. Witnessing all the struggle, poverty, illiteracy and lack of empowerment that seized the nation, he takes it upon himself to do his might for the village where Kaveri amma stayed. As the first step, he succeeds in bringing electric power to the village. And for the rest of the steps, he has to get back from the USA for good. And whether he gets back to his roots or not is the climax - well you wouldn't call that much of a suspense either. It was an obvious ending.

Shah Rukh is perfectly understated without any of his usual histrionics. Gayathri Joshi does well for a big screen debutant. AR Rehman's music is awesome. Udit, Rehman and Hariharan's vocals are amazing.

Still Swades is no Lagaan because of its weak storyline. Swades - we the people are kind of disappointed.

May you always have enough of whatever touches your world with love, your life with beauty and your heart with deepest joy. Happy New Year Folks.

Though the new year was preluded with nature's angry tidal waves, I guess we should look at it as nature's gentle instruction to humankind to mend its destructive ways. It is also an opportunity to serve the affected people, thereby upholding the fact that human values have not yet perished.

It has been highlighted that, though the tsunami stuck several places, it spared many ancient temples close to the seashore. This goes to show that places of worship are power centers. Man should strive to imbibe more "satva" in his life and indulge in more prayers, meditations, service and the like. This would increase the positive energy all around, compensate for the negativities and elevate human consciousness above such calamities.

Wish you all a fabulous 2005...:-)

Oh My God ! The kind of ads that catch my eyes these days. They are... well, scary would the right word to describe them. Advertisements need to be effective enough to inscribe the product in the minds of prospective buyers. But I have a feeling that these ads will never make a positive impact whatsoever.

There was one ad that wants to get across this message - "Dress To Kill". And the visual to get this message across is a lady dressed in clothes from this particular shop, and there is this guy who is dead and lying on the stairs with blood all around the place. Is this the only way to get across the message ? Is the message they want to get across right in the first place ? I actually avoid looking in the direction of the hoarding that hosts this gory ad. Its kind of inauspicious to look at, first thing in the morning, when you set out to work.

There is this other ad which potrays creativity at its peak - It says "Thoughts Unzipped" and has the picture of a tonsured head and a zipper that runs through the head, the zipper unzipped to half the distance of the head. Instinctively, I moved my eyes away from the ad. To date, I have not bothered to check what that ad was for.

So whats the big point in making ads aimed at being head-turners, but end up turning heads away in disgust ?

There's more to write, but some other day maybe....