The famed / defamed Twilight series

After a lot of turning and twisting, I finally decided to run 3 movies of the Twilight series on the vlc player.
Honestly, I did get a head ache..but that was because I was watching it at a close proximity.

Let me tell you what I think of the Twilight series, the three movies which I saw atleast.

The movies looked good to me. Technically, it was pretty well made. It was not extra ordinary, but it was decent. It was slow in many parts where they were trying to focus on parts of the movie, but there is always Candy Crush to give you company at such times. So you do not really have to look at the screen. You know when the movie has progressed, just by listening to the dialogues.

The main character Bella and Edward seemed a little weird to me. I wonder how old Robert Pattinson is in real life, he looked really old in the movie. The girl Bella however was young and looked good throughout the movie. Some places the make up was used to make her look older and prettier than she really is. Good job Make up people!
The wolf guy, Jacob was also quite an attraction. Personally, I felt that Bella should have chosen him over the really really white and lanky guy. But well, wolves are not for everybody.
The wolf character that Jacob turned into was a very good looking wolf. It reminded me very much of my dog and hence I can confidently say that the particular werewolf was my favorite character.
Then came Dakota Fanning and her troops. All of them have done a very good job with their acting and costumes.
The graphics are also not that bad.

At one point, I felt they were really trying to copy LOTR, by seeking support from everyone and gathering an army to fight a war - All this was in the last movie.
It was pretty similar I'd say and the movie ended well with no real fight sequence, except one in the vision of Alice.

One thing I did like about the movie was the casting. The actors were chosen very well based on the characters. They fit their roles pretty well, except maybe the lead characters Bella & Edward. I guess they could have chosen better actors in their places.

Overall, the movie was just like any other Bollywood movie with a little bit of Tollywood in it (Rajnikant style).
I will say that you can watch the series, if you are bored and have nothing else to do. Helps to kill time.

Just don't expect too much from the movie. It might disappoint you then. 

A King's responsibilities

We get one call a day on an average about how people are not able to keep the animals they love so dearly in their lives due to some reason or the other. Here is what I have to say about this. Please read on.

a) Would you put your parents in an old age home while you are still alive and capable against their wishes just because it is too much work to take care of them? 

b) Would you give up your child because it is cries too much and makes too much noise?

c) Would you give up your wife / husband and children if you got a better job and had to move to a new place?

If the answer to 'Would you give up your pet for XYZ reason?' is Yes, then at some point in life, you will be able to do all of the above.
I am not saying that you will do a, b or c because you give up your pet , but that you are capable of doing a, b and c.

A choice is rarely ever made because someone holds a gun to your head. A choice is made because you prioritize something over the other.
There is nothing in this world which you and I cannot do. It is a matter of thinking, planning and execution always.
Everybody always has a choice of 'Never saying Never'. It is about our ability to exercise that choice.

Think about it.

Just because you do not have the courage to take care of your pet in a situation which most likely you created yourself, why should that poor being which trusts you with its life suffer? Why should your pet bear the brunt of the situation?

If you know yourself to be such a non committal person, then do not get pets at all.
The animal or bird does not see you as a non committal jerk, but as its parent who will love them and care for them forever.
Remember that had we lived in an ideal world, it would have probably lived with its parents and then once it came of age, would fly away or make its own clan or move away. But since we (human beings) have interfered and messed with the cycle of life, we cannot really talk about the pets we have being with their own parents.

On a parting note, what you do to your animal speaks volumes about you as a person.
How you keep them, how you treat them, the decisions you make for them shows what you could do if you were king and the world was your kingdom.
You are the king of the animal and it respects you with all its life. 

PAL 2013 Calendar Teaser Video

The day I yelled out taboo words on stage!

Today we had an awareness campaign in a management college in Belapur. It was a really good experience for PAL as well as for me personally.
For the first time in my life, I was honoured as the chief guest in a function for doing something I loved. We were asked to meet the director and they even let me use his washroom!

I entered the fancy seminar hall on the second floor and for a minute I had my heart in my mouth. The room was full of people!
I remember giving presentations and speeches to such a large audience in school and college. Times were different then, I had time to write and prepare a speech and by heart it and then speak on the d day. Normally, I always received a prize as well. My parents were happy.

However, I have grown up now. No more prizes. No more speech writers. No more nothing. I am pretty much on my own now.
I looked around and told myself - This is the one thing you can do and you do not need to be prepared for this. After all it is what you believe in.

I went on the stage. The first few slides, I was a little slow and kept wondering if people were actually listening or not and was doing the ummm..and hmmm...and yea and like language quite a bit.
As the slides moved on, my confidence increased and I was all over it..started expressing better.
I stopped fumbling for words and somehow the words came out by themselves.

I spoke about death, killing, adoption, pregnancy, how heinous society is in reality, our lack of understanding our own problems, abortion, getting fixed, mating, breeding, sex and last but not the least I shouted out prostitution as well. It was a truly liberating experience. There was applause, there were ahs and oohs from the crowd and silence and I could see they were all listening to each and every word. Coudn't have asked for more!

All in all, I can definitely say that it was an awesome experience.
Many people came up to me after the session, introduced themselves and wanted to know more.
Hope there are more such opportunities. I really enjoyed it :)

Alcohol and the Dog

A beautiful black labrador full of life and energy. Wags its tail to greet you and makes you feel like there is noone else in this world who loves you more! So hugs, licks, wags and there you are on the ground and she has made you feel that life is worth living after all!! Someone loves me...
A black labrador, gasping for air. The last few minutes of its life and it opens its eyes feebly and there is a gush of liquid, water like substance along with some blood which flows out of the mouth and nose. It gives one look saying that, " I am sorry, I cannot take it any more. I waited for you to come back, exactly where you left me day before yesterday. I am giving up on life now."
The first one, many of us come across on a day to day basis. The second one is also not that rare these days. We chanced upon it at 11pm a few nights back. We arrived at the scene hoping to help the animal or give it some treatment, but it was already called. The fluid around it looked like a lot of water, but vomiting out water while dying is not a common thing now is it?
We looked around and saw that it was in front of a Wine shop.
The heat is unbearable as it is. Hungry and thirsty it probably went to someone who offered it something to drink. Little did it know that it's liver would not be able to take the alcohol that it so thankfully drank thinking it was water.
The site was very terrible and we did not wait around to test the liquid and see if it was alcohol. Some people around said so.
It is very disturbing to see such things and see the loss of life and the fact is that today they gave a dog alcohol, tomorrow they might try it on a child who might not be able to take it and pass out or even die.
This is not normal behaviour. It is deeply disturbed and destructive behaviour. We should see to it that such individuals should be told that what they are doing is wrong and we should change these people. We should nag them, beg them, coerce them, do whatever it takes to stop and make them see the consequences of their actions.

We did not try hard enough ~ RIP Lily

We do things most of the time to suit our need and as per our convenience. Pushing ourselves beyond that is a humongous challenge, for any human being. I think all living things are built this way, to prioritise their needs over anything else. We feel that something does not deserve our attention right now, that it can be done later. I think the art of procrastination originated from here.

Today, I have learnt that all of this is a luxury that comes at a very heavy price. We lost someone today, a very dear little doggie, Lily.
She had gone through so much in her short life, it is hard not to feel bad when u hear her story, even if you think u are super strong. And if you see her, the little thing was so full of hope and love. The last time I saw her, even though she could barely move, when we called her, she wagged her tail.
I feel a very strong sense of guilt and I feel like hitting myself for not having given her fluid on Saturday and sunday. She ate chicken, so I assumed she did not require it. I should have pushed more and made the vets take a blood test and made them do the needful.

Life and death are not things that you normally have control over. They are things which noone really knows the truth about. I do not believe in god but I want to hold on to the logic of karma and hope that is applicable for after life as well. If it is, all the ones who have gone, especially this one, will have a good life ahead. Some suffer needlessly in this world and I do not think there is any way I can justify the suffering. I am afraid to look for the reason because of which they suffer, I rarely ever find one.
This one in particular had a growth on her left leg which got very bad and we were informed about it at a stage when the leg had gone beyond treatment. We tried our hand at treating her and then she was admitted to a hospital nearby because everybody believed her leg would have to be amputated.
The deed was done and she was sent back. She was compromised and found it very hard to fend for herself on three legs. The other dogs did not spare her and she started growing very thin and finally she reached a point where she could barely stand up. This is when we were informed and we started the treatment. It was late but there was still hope.
I feel that we should have checked on her when she was dropped back after the surgery. Maybe things would have been better. So many things could have been different had we put in a little more effort and been more aware of the consequences.
All, I can do now is feel bad, write a blog and hope she has all her legs back and is running around wherever she is.
RIP Lily!

A huge realisation pointing out very clearly that we need to step it up, need to go with much more force into whatever we are doing.
We need a place to call hospital, so we can do surgeries ourselves and do post op care ourselves.
Definitely a reason to go after some much needed infrastructure. 

The great minds of the nation

This might sound like a very opinionated entry and some might even say that I should wait before jumping to such conclusions. But I am not one who ever cared what society says or does, what I think is right and is the way to go.

So, I was walking around with a pack of biscuits hoping to feed some of the dogs in the campus, atleast the ones who looked hungry and emaciated. Btw, I am at my latest and new workplace, the Indian Institute of Technology where India takes shape or so they say. Getting back to the story, I was walking around and the heat is really bad today. So I am guessing all of them went in hiding.
As I was heading to the management school building where I had spotted one fellow panting heavily and lying down..he looked like he was a little ruffled, probably in a little bit of a fight or something, but not hurt, I spotted a little girl playing in the mud. There is a new building which is coming up right beside this one and there is a lot of cement, dust, gravel, etc lying all over the place. Once earlier, when I was on my way to some place for an exhibition, I noticed that the construction workers were very friendly with the dogs around. One of them was sitting on the side walk and the way he was playing with one of them and the love with which he was petting and patting the fellow really moved me.
So, I spotted the girl and she seemed to be having fun in the mud and sand on which she was. I stopped and I dont know why, I just asked her if she had eaten anything. She said that she hadn't eaten anything as nothing was made at home. Her parents who were working in the building would get money today for the work that they had done and they would all have dinner at night. Having seen these kind of kids and people many times before, I was not brought down to tears or anything, but I definitely felt that I should give her half of the packet of biscuits, which I did. I asked her about the dogs around and she said there weren't any around at that time.
I looked around a bit more and then came back to her and handed her the pack. Interestingly, while I was looking for the animals and talking to the girl there were many people who passed by and I am sure many of them even saw her when I wasn't around. I dont think anybody really cared. Noone stops, I overheard conversations about PhDs and how the world would fall apart if their research failed, but noone seemed to hear the hungry stomach of the little girl.

It saddens me that we are a race who don't care about anything else but ourselves. It hurts to be a part of this obnoxious species. I am pretty certain our definition scientifically should fall under that of a parasite and we should be cited as the best example that science has ever come across. I am sure if we tried hard enough, we could put leeches to shame.

Bottom line -
I am surrounded by the great minds who shape the young minds who come in. I am surrounded by those who shape the nation. I am surrounded by the great minds which actually might even shape other nations. All I can say is, I am glad I am not a great mind.

Also, this is a post to all those who say -
Oh so u work for animals, how about ur own kind. and for those who say, I wish I could do stuff, just can't cos I have so many other things to do!
Dumbfucks, take a step, do something..anything. Just don't sit around and pretend to want to do stuff, just dont wait for the right moment, JUST DO IT.
I hate those who say that they admire what I do and think I have courage. It is nothing extraordinary or not something unavailable - courage, it is a matter of prioritising and making a choice, that is all it is..really .
We just don't want to do it. So don't admire or praise someone just because you cannot get up and do what is required.
In the end remember that you probably have only one life and you really need to be happy at the end of it or whenever you die. And happiness does not come by just wishing that you could do something or saying that oh I wish I could do what u do....Do something, find out in what way you can do something and just do it...

PS - I hope someone reads this!