HAIL MODI or HATE MODI?

My take on Narendra Modi...

Gujarat elections are just a month away  and Modi has become a hot topic in almost every social gathering.The very name Narendra Modi invokes extreme reactions from people. I either meet people who are Modi fanatics or who have a strong dislike for this man. The kind of responses Modi evokes sometimes surprises me. Everytime there is a discussion about this man, I don't know what to make of him. I can neither support him nor can I completely disregard him. 

I wonder whether it is actually possible to have a stance on Modi. I wanted to learn more about him. The more I read, the more I was confused. I came across articles which called him an 'agent of change' and in the very same article he  was called the 'merchant of death'. Some spoke of his landslide win in the 2007 elections and some about how he had weaved his magic in Gujarat. With development as his Mantra, Modi definitely is a firebrand leader. His quick decision making abilities and the way he attracts business into his land is a truly remarkable lesson that every CM should learn.

Having said all this...Can Modi be called a complete leader? For me the answer is NO! He has been called as a mass murderer for his complacency during the Godhra riots. Instances from the Naroda patiya and gulberg society massacres are horrifying.I dread to even imagine something like this happening in my state. It's unfortunate that this firebrand leader was unable to stop the violence from escalating. Vibrant Gujarat now was once a bloodied Gujarat. It's shocking that Modi also had people like Maya Kodnani as the minister for child and women welfare in his cabinet. Sigh! 

It is important to live in the present. He has to be lauded for the changes that he has brought into Gujarat. But a black mark like the godhra riots can never be washed away from Modi's political career. 

For a minute, forget the Godhra riots and look at Modi... he surely is the leader that every state craves for. From political stablity to development, this man has literally transformed Gujarat. But, is it really that easy to forget?

With elections just a month away, I hope the aam aadmi in Gujarat is not as confused as I am. I guess they know what's best for Gujarat.

My addiction to F.R.I.E.N.D.S

It's 1 AM and I just finished watching the first episode of Season 5 of Friends. After watching five episodes back to back, I had to force myself to stop. I could just go on and never stop...

A few years ago, F.R.I.E.N.D.S was one of those shows which all my friends watched and I didn’t . I did watch a few episodes here and there, but was never addicted to it. How I wish I was!

‘Friends’ has become my new addiction. In spite of watching not less than six episodes a day, I still crave for more. With every episode the excitement just doubles and the addiction gets worse.
When compared to all the other shows that I watch, ‘Friends’ definitely holds a special place. Here are the reasons-

1.The simplicity of the plot: Six characters, two apartments and a coffee shop. It definitely is not a piece of cake to make the everyday lives of six ordinary people this interesting. Every episode starts with a monotonous everyday activity like breakfast together, watching TV or simply ‘hanging out’ together. After you watch three to four episodes of F.R.I.E.N.D.S , you crave to have a ‘central perk’ right below your apartment or you want friends like Joey and Monica. It definitely is a task to write about mundane things like getting a duck as a pet, going for an audition or just having coffee. The bottom-line is that the simplicity of the plot simply makes the show more enjoyable.

2.The Characters: Writing a show with one protagonist is difficult. Imagine writing a show with six protagonists. I wonder how the writers pulled it off. Each character is so neatly sketched out. None of the characters are similar to each other in any way, be it in profession or in personality. It’s amazing to see equal importance given to all six characters. The characters are so defined that an independent show can be produced with each of them.

I realised that I am addicted to the show when I started looking beyond the show. I started reading about the show, I wanted to know more about the characters, I watched bloopers on youtube. I couldn’t get enough of it. I started to look at things the way Joey or Phoebe would. Being a cleanliness freak myself, I could totally connect to Monica. I wanted to crack witty jokes like Chandler. I started relating everyday events to instances on the show.

Ah! I am addicted. I wonder what will happen once I finish all ten seasons.

This post is for all those people who love this show 

Back from a break

It has been an hour since I sat in front of my laptop to pen something down. I write a sentence...Pause...I go back to Facebook. I look at some of the status updates, comment on a few and raise an eyebrow about the rest. I minimise my FB page and an empty word document stares at me. Facebook can really be a distraction when you are trying hard to concentrate on a task which you have wanted to start for a while now.

I visited my blog after a year today. It was almost like I had forgotten my blog address. Having a blog of my own was something that I desperately wanted when I was in college. It was a perfect platform to write every thought that crossed my mind. For almost a year or two, I did write very regularly. Today when I visited my blog, I was disappointed to see that I haven’t updated my blog for a year. It looked lifeless. I wanted to write.

I decided that I don’t need a special or an interesting topic to write about. I just had to WRITE. I did not have a topic in mind but I still wanted to write.

Writing is one of those things that I love doing because it makes me feel good. It makes me want to write more. Now that I have some free time for a while, I have decided to write regularly.

So my new mantra is to write as often as possible. Write everyday if possible 