Its a wet and chilly New Year Eve for Lucknowites

It rained throughout the day,we had a wet shivering morning,a sloppy puddle drizzle day and a very wet evening as well.Its very cold and wet too so enjoy but take care to protect yourself against cold.We don't want our new year spoiled by cough,cold or pneumonia.

Why Rohit committed suicide?

 Rohit was a nice courteous boy that studied in my younger brother's class,though in a different section.He was the only brother of three sisters and youngest in the family.A shy introvert Rohit found his life turning into a living hell when 7 th class onwards some bullies of his class started teasing him because his voice had yet not broken.They made fun of his voice called him names,he was too reserved to complain to Principal "Father" or to his Parents.He had this strange notion of not being a tell-tale or not complaining about his roguish classmates even if they made his life difficult.He went on suffering,though some-days would be better when they left him alone or were too busy harassing other hapless students.

But one day when he came to my Brother's section and some boys called him vulgar names,calling him sissy etc.,his eyes welled with tears which he somehow contained within his eyes.He could no longer suffer this public humiliation,somewhere his heart broke for he had studied with these classmates since he was a child.He could not understand how these boys with whom he shared joys and sorrows,played and studied with them ,shared tiffin could be so cruel to him.He understood that day,that they do not care about him or his feelings at all and would humiliate him all over again just for mirth and laughter or just to have some sadistic evil fun.He lost his will to live or go on in this world filled with such kind of people.

Next day when my brother went to School ,a holiday had been declared,when my brother asked why? class-teacher told them that Rohit their classmate committed suicide yesterday night consuming "sulphas" tablets leaving behind his devastated doting sister and distressed Parents.

P.S. In Lucknow sulphas tablets were kept inside food grain sacks to keep it safe from worms in the 1990s.

Sulphas Tablets is aluminum phosphate. When aluminum phosphate enters the intestines, it releases phosphine gas, a vascular toxic, causing hypo-tension or a drop in the blood pressure. This leads to multiple organ damage and there is no antidote to this except supportive treatment. There is a close to 100 per cent mortality rate.’’

Lucknow Mahotsava 2013

National Botanical Research Institute Flower Show

Christmas Eve At Cathedral School Hazratganj Lucknow

Chhota Imambara, the Imambara of Hussainabad Lucknow

This Imambara was built by Mohammed Ali Shah in the second year of his rule in 1839. Mohammed Ali Shah must have built this Imambara as a token of allegiance to his faith

The glittering gold-plated large and smaller domes of the imambara which are radially ribbed can be seen from a distance and attract people from far off.

The King, Mohammed Ali Shah and his Queen Malka Afaq Jahan had the foresight of depositing an amount of rupees twenty six lakh with the East India Company and forming a Trust to look after and maintain the religious buildings that they had built and for observance of Muharrum and other connected religious functions. Now known as the Hussainabad Endowment Trust it takes care of the Chhota Imambara. From 7,h to 9lh Muharrum, it arranges the profuse illumination of the Bara and Chhota Imambaras and their gateways. This presents a dazzling spectacle and attracts people from far off towns and the rural areas as an event not to be missed.

Dhoom 3 success creating new records every day

Bollywood icon Aamir Khan's latest release Dhoom 3 has broken and created many new box office records.

1)In neighboring Pakistan's largest city of Karachi, Dhoom 3's box office receipts from 56 screens on its opening day was around Rs 20 million. This easily broke the record set by the Pakistani film Waar last month for the highest box office collections on the first day of release.

2)'Dhoom: 3', starring Aamir Katrina Kaif and Abhishek Bachchan, has already smashed the opening day and opening weekend collection records in India, which were set by Shah Rukh Khan's 'Chennai Express' and Hrithik Roshan's 'Krrish 3'. 'Krrish 3' is the highest grosser of 2013 so far, collecting Rs 244.47 crore since its release.

3)'Dhoom 3' has also set new benchmarks in Australia and New Zealand, becoming the highest grosser ever there. The total collection of the film has gone up to NZ$ 331,578 (Rs 1.68 crore) in New Zealand and A$ A$ 1,152,769 (Rs 6.35 crore) in Australia.

4)According to Koimoi, on day six, the film's total worldwide collections is Rs 313 crores. While the domestic box office reports stand as tall as Rs 173 crores, on the overseas front 'Dhoom 3' managed to gross Rs 84 crores.

5) The film recorded an opening day earning of US $1,279,000 in U.A.E-G.C.C, which is the highest ever in the circuit.

6) The film earned US $1,100,000 in North America (which includes both U.S.A and Canada) which is again the highest opening in that circuit.

7) In U.K, the film earned US $400,000, hence making it the highest non holiday income ever on its opening day.

And finally 'Dhoom 3' box office collections are set to surpass Rs 400 crores.

Dhoom 3 - The Biggest Bollywood Copy-cat of all times

Dhoom 3 has gained the distinction of being the biggest copy-cat of all times in Bollywood history besides being the biggest Blockbuster of all times.Copying from a dozen Hollywood films of recent years.

1)Its opening scene of a young Aamir Khan played by Sidharth Nigam were so reminiscent of Martin Scorsese's Hugo which won Best Picture Oscar of 2012.

Here are few Inputs from my Yahoo Answer Colleagues

DHOOM 3 is a rip off...(what do u think ) ?

i think the movie is a ripoff of all the top blockbusters of the recent years.. i was couldn't believe the stupid screen writing . a blind man can see all its stunts were copied

like


1)the first scene of Amir Khan robbing the bank --- from batman (The Dark Knight Rises)

its the exact same thing, bane robs the stock market and escapes with a bike .


2)amir khan enters the underpass and gives a thrilling chase--- batman


3)the scene from uday chopra where he was held captive by south indians.

a COMPLETE RIP OFF from the the movie"A- TEAM"
where its the exact copy of the scene of Bradley cooper held captive by Mexicans
and the similarities still continue , in both the movies the captive is saved by the main hero suddenly making a opening entrance with a unique vehicle .

in "A-TEAM 2" Liam Neeson was riding a Humvee to make the dynamic ENTRANCE through the sand
in "DHOOM 3" Abhishek Bachchan was riding a auto through a building


4)the auto riding on-around poor peoples sheds(homes)

scene ripped out of movies like BAD BOYS and FAST FIVE


5)Abhishek Bachchan's plan by mocking the thief on a TV interview to catch him

there are many movies with concept ..actually to me its directly ripped out of death note (movie) among 100others.
mainly because the main ANTI-HERO openly meats the detective from the interview and offers help even though he knows he can be caught if they tried.
the detective casually allows him in his team as he is suspicious about him.

5)the stunt on the ROOF OF THE BANK escaping from the cop by a zip line

need i explain its directly copied from batman(dark knight) where he kidnaps the accountant from china .
when the police surround him he escapes using the zip line

6)water scene with the speed boat
from the action movie xxx


7)the anti-hero suddenly are 2 doubles who are magicians act..
ripped off the blockbuster movie "The Prestige"

8)the double is a "slow" twin..really its in soo many flicks .


THOSE ARE NOT EVEN HALF OF THE LIST...but its clear that its a movie directly taken from other

 From "Son" Yahoo Answers


 it is very much similar to what happens in Prestige(2006).

for someone who has already seen this movie,the scene in D3 will not have much effect,it would be at the most just a surprise,not 'mindblastin' as the filmmakers would have wanted it to be.

AJK Yahoo Answers

Christmas Eve at Cathedral Church Lucknow

Aamir Khan's Claudette Colbert Connection & Dhoom 3

In 1991 came Mahesh Bhatt's Romantic Comedy starring his daughter Pooja Bhatt (who had just given critically acclaimed movie "Daddy") and Aamir Khan.This movie was interestingly based on and inspired by a Frank Capra movie that came 57 years ago "It Happened One Night" starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert .This was the first film to win the Oscar "grand slam" (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director and Screenplay).Incidentally this movie also inspired Raj Kapoor & Nargis starrer "Chori Chori",which was a successful romantic,musical comedy.

 Why I suddenly remembered Claudette Colbert is because of this scene in Dhoom 3 where Aamir Khan and Abhishek Bachchan are having a really good time at a Fare which has exciting Joy-rides.This warm friendly scene brings a feeling of  nostalgia for it seems so similar in spirit to the scene in "The Gilded Lily" where Claudette Colbert and Ray Milland (Best Actor Oscar winner for "The Lost Weekend") are just getting to know each other and enjoying each others company.


Claudette Colbert was a great actress who did so well in comedy,she had this charismatic capability to lift a film from its written words and give it a new life by her charm.In Dhoom 3 Abhishek Bachchan has a dishonest intention to indulge in friendship which again invoke a pang of sadness for we all have gone through such a phase.This sadness and on the other side the positive warmth of Aamir Khan trying to make a friend for the first time in his life creates altogether a unique feeling in viewer's heart.And this warmth and nostalgia which we attach with stars we love is a feeling we all like to cherish.

Dhoom 3 a Shahrukh Khan Movie that Aamir Khan did

Why there's a general feeling that Dhoom 3 was tailor made for Shahrukh Khan is firstly the Circus backdrop remember before making it big in Bollywood he did a Television serial called "Circus" on Doordarshan.He played a stammerer in "Darr" which was his first film with Yash Chopra banner and was a huge hit.So playing twin with a stammer would be a cakewalk for him.Also all those super-human stunts performed in Dhoom 3 would be easy for him because of his experience in Ra-one.Also Dhoom 3 reminded audience of Chennai Express for the Uday-Abhishek funny chase track involved a south-Indian guy.

"The rumours that Shah Rukh would soon follow in the footsteps of Hrithik Roshan by playing a villain opposite actor Abhishek Bachchan in the "Dhoom" series began when British news website femalefirst.co.uk first reported it.

According to the article which was published May 26, a source was quoted as saying: "Shah Rukh had been approached by the banner to play the main villain in the most successful franchise of Bollywood - the 'Dhoom' series - and he has immediately given the nod. Last few days there has been a lot of buzz that Saif Ali Khan has signed the dotted line for the same role but it seems they were just plain rumours." From http://www.hotklix.com/link/Movies/Bollywood/Shah-Rukh-Khan-039-s-presence-in-039-Dhoom-3-039

Dhoom 3 Review

Dhoom3 is enjoyable in the first half but second half drags till climax holding it back is Aamir's twin with a stutter.Aamir's double role is revealed at the end of second half.But the climax is just awesome with both Aamir's jumping in a canyon committing double suicide.This climax scene was shot at Verzasca (Contra) Dam on the Verzasca River in Ticino, Switzerland.This dam became a popular bungee jumping venue after a James Bond stuntman jumped off it in the opening scene of the 1995 film Golden Eye.

 Katrina Kaif's role is just like the two piece she wears,just two songs and a couple of scenes,nothing much to do for her here,but she excels in "Kamli" song and creates magic on screen whenever she is on silver-screen. Her introductory scene is really well done which culminates in this "Kamli" song which is more like a disguised Cabaret song for she comes wearing a hat,spectacles and  a long over-coat all of which goes away bit by bit revealing her well toned gym physique like Amazon woman in a two piece.

Theater Audience loved the first half clapping joyously at the chase sequences and the clever way Aamir Khan is shown eluding cops.But boys especially were bored and even booed in the second half.We have seen Shahrukh stutter in Darr and he was loved,we have seen Ajay Devgan stammer in Deewangee and the movie didn't went down well,let's see how Aamir fares in Dhoom3 though he has a advantage of double role.

Sidharth Nigam,the child actor who plays Aamir Khan's childhood part is just excellent,I wonder how did he learned such good acting such magic that he just somersaults into your heart.Jackie Shroff evoke pathos of a father who commits suicide in front of his son.

Uday Chopra is just loved by the audience as they identify with him as a funny common guy like them.Abhishek Bachchan is his own self as always.This is not as good as Dhoom2 but still its unique and enjoyable.Direction and locations are great which is evident in the chase above the slum houses.

The starting few scenes reminded me so much of Martin Scorsese "Hugo",just like Hugo we have Sidharth Nigam the child who plays Aamir Khan's childhood part running nimbly in the streets and then deftly climbs up houses to vanish away.Aamir Khan reminded me so much of Tobey Maguire from Spiderman,he smiles and acts so similar.Katrina Kaif comes out as good a dancer as Hollywood Legend Cyd Charisse who was renowned for her long legs from "Silk Stockings".Chases featuring Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra are as funny and thrilling as in Steven Spielberg's TinTin especially the one in a feeble "Auto" whose all three tires come out at the end of the chase.Equally funny and breathtaking is Katrina Kaif's introduction scene where she rides a Bicycle with the finesse of a teenager up the steps of "The Great Indian Circus" and into the area where Aamir Khan has just finished auditioning girls.Katrina Kaif reveals her super fit body like a gymnast in "Kamli" number,and girls were just over awed by it,think you would see more Indian girls lining for the Gym then ever to get a super-fit super-toned body like her.While watching Genius stammerer Aamir on Joy-rides with Abhishek Bachchan I was reminded of Claudette Colbert's "The Gilded Lily" which has this warm friendly atmosphere of just having a good time with someone you like.Aamir Khan's twin suicide was so surreal that it brought back memories of Sherlock Holmes going down with wicked Professor Moriarty,though their they were sworn enemies.Its uncanny the way twin stammering Aamir Khan is introduced just at the end of first half,but if you have seen Christopher Nolan's The Prestige (2006) this pivotal scene in Dhoom3 will not have much effect,it would be at the most just a surprise,not 'mindblasting' as the filmmakers would have wanted it to be.

 Few things are not logical why a caring father like Jackie Shroff kills himself before his son knowing this incident could scar a child for life,or why Aamir Khan starts robbing the Bank when his father forbid him to beg,If he did not approve of begging he would hardly approve of his stealing.Also this is kind of a anti-Bank film which may echo sentiments of people worldwide.But the money bank has is of other people its not for the Bank to give it away.If you want charity go to a Charity Trust,you can't expect commercial organizations to do charity with other people's money,it would be unethical.

Its a great watch for the weakened though prepare yourself for a weak and dragging second half.

Can you identify this flower

Chrysanthemum

BJP using Congress Leader Sardar Patel's Legacy to get votes

 

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel known as India's Iron Man was the first home minister of this country who worked to unify small princely states into this vast country.Together, Patel and V.P. Menon cajoled, coerced and convinced maharajas and nawabs to accede to the Indian Union.

Narendra Modi in this election year is trying to project himself as the gen-next Sardar Patel by infusing patriotic fervor in people by using the name of this great freedom fighter.He plans to build "Statue of Unity",a 182-metre statue of Sardar Patel which is tipped to be the world's tallest and is coming up in the middle of the Narmada river.

Narendra Modi's latest Speeches were broadcast live by main stream News Channels and keenly watched.And as Nitish Kumar Chief Minister of Bihar State and other colleagues of Narendra Modi pointed out how historically inaccurate and factually incorrect his speeches are.Narendra Modi on other hand is one of those politicians who actually have done post-graduation in Political Science.

Its laudable that Sardar Patel is being remembered today but are we citizens so naive as to not see through it that its just being used as a election ploy.B.J.P. owes its meteoric rise to power to L.K. Advani's Rath-Yatra which promised to build a God Ram Temple at his birth place in Ayodhya.Though the Rath-Yatra failed to build a Temple but it did demolished a medieval Mosque build by Emperor Babar and which in turn resulted in Nation wide Hindu-Muslim riots.This phenomenon of Mass-hysteria where people's religious belief are used to mobilize a political base to gain power can only be compared with Orson Welles radio drama "The War of the Worlds" which spread panic of an alien invasion in 1938.

Narendra Modi though never convicted of inflaming Gujarat riots is accused of doing so by political opponents.More than 800 Muslims and 250 Hindus died in Gujarat riots.2002 Post-Godhra riots were a major factor in B.J.P. loosing Parliamentary election in 2004,though Modi has been winning consecutive State Assembly Elections.

B.J.P. thinks Narendra Modi could win them 2014 Parliamentary elections that's why they are projecting him as Prime Minister candidate.Which obviously makes Indian citizens apprehensive.Now Modi is deftly using and manipulating Social media in his favor as well as trying to project himself as the next Iron Man of India.Though his political rivals indulge in name calling using "Fascism" and "Hitler" to describe him.

"You (Modi) are telling people 'chun chun ke saaf karo' (wipe them out one by one). You can win by getting votes, not by wiping them out... It is not just dictatorship, it is fascism, and those who believe in fascism, their icon is Hitler. They will do what Hitler did... The language of fascism will not work in a democracy," said Nitish Kumar Bihar Chief Minister, addressing the Janta Dal (U) Party state convention in Rajgir.

Gay rights and Hypocrisy of Indian Society

If you read the recent Supreme Court judgement it sends ball rolling back to Parliament asking it to either repeal criminal law I.P.C. 377 or introduce a new law.Supreme Court also adds that this law has rarely been used to prosecute anybody.Though L.G.B.T. community wants the Court to legalize their relationship and for this court has instructed government to take necessary action.Gays and Lesbians now want more rights and if possible even get legally married.

So this notion that they will be persecuted after this decision seems to be misplaced.Now turning back to the society around me we have men commonly making gay jokes flirting with other men and at work-places even sexually harassing other men.Most of them acknowledge they had a gay sex fling in their teen or youthful years at least once.So they will occasionally indulge in gay sex but if you ask a direct question they will be in self-denial mode.As a study pointed about U.K. women that 90 percent of them had some Lesbian fling at some moment in their life same would be true for Indian male,but they are never frank and found it easy to lie.

Then when the Gay rights issue comes these same men are opposed to it.Proposing harsh punishment for those indulging in such relationships.Saying only the harshest punishment would deter other men or women from having gay or lesbian relationship.So its understandable when we have a sexually harassed Muslim guy vehemently opposing Gays or Gay rights for he has been sexually harassed by a man having homosexual tendencies.But its funny to see the Homo-bully Boss opposing gays too,proposing harsh punishments for them.Its equally humorous to see closet gays supporting him for they fear to come out and express their sexuality for they know they will be ostracized and endlessly persecuted.Why Indian citizens never have an ounce of empathy for Parents of a Gay or Lesbian child,why they never think what they would do if their children turn out to be that way is anybody's guess.Thankfully Indian Media has come out and supported L.G.B.T. community,people like Arnab Goswami are championing their cause on Prime Time News Shows.

Finally its a strange notion that Gay go around turning other people into Gays.Its just the opposite for in Colleges and schools we see lusty young boys bullying their weak effeminate classmates and if they complain about being sexually harassed and molested by their class-mates,School seldom takes any action and instead blames the student for his own harassment.My brother had a gay guy in his class who was teased and harassed through out his growing years and in high school he just could not take it any more and committed suicide by consuming poison.And obviously no action was taken against any student nor the matter discussed.Similar incidents are seen at work-places and society around us.Point of the matter is that not even 1 percent of these sexually harassed men come out and complain.

Somebody pointed out yesterday that Lord Ayyappa was born out of union of God Shiva and God Vishnu,but actually it was Mohini an Avatar of Lord Vishnu.People are supporting I.P.C. 377 saying Gay sex is a disease of Western Countries,what they purposefully forget is that I.P.C. 377 was Lord Macaulay brain child who was a English Man.The same Law was repealed in U.K. in 1960 so why keep following an outdated western law in India.They also conveniently forget how Indian Constitution incorporates good points of Constitution of U.K. and U.S. and other western countries.Can you imagine the hypocrisy of Indian male in a country ravaged by constant news of gang rapes.

United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay said on Thursday "Criminalizing private, consensual same-sex sexual conduct violates the rights to privacy and to non-discrimination enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which India has ratified,""Yesterday's Supreme Court decision in this case represents a significant step backwards for India and a blow for human rights."

Amid an uproar over the Supreme Court verdict on gay rights issue, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Thursday said she was disappointed that the apex court had reversed previous Delhi High Court judgement decriminalising homosexuality and hoped Parliament would address the matter."I hope that Parliament will address the issue and uphold the constitutional guarantee of life and liberty to all citizens of India, including those directly affected by the judgement," "The high court had widely removed an archaic repressive and unjust law that infringed on the basic human rights enshrined in our Constitution.

"This Constitution has given us a great legacy, a legacy of liberalism and openness, that enjoin us to combat prejudice and discrimination of any kind," the Congress President said in a statement.

She said, "We are proud that our culture has always been an inclusive and tolerant one".

Law minister Kapil Sibal said the government has not abandoned efforts to make homosexuality legal, and that the country must take swift action to challenge the Supreme Court decision. Sibal said he was for decriminalising homosexuality, hinting that the government could seek a judicial review of Wednesday's Supreme Court decision or that Parliament could enact a new law.

"We need to take quick and firm action," he told reporters, noting that millions of people in India do not want homosexuality to be a criminal offense.

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today expressed his displeasure over the Supreme Court verdict that overturned a High Court verdict decriminalizing gay sex."I personally believe that these are matters of personal freedom. I think, I would agree more with High Court verdict," Mr Gandhi said.

Janata Dal United [JD(U)] leader and Rajya Sabha MP Shivanand Tiwari on Wednesday said the Supreme Court ruling that homosexuality would continue to remain illegal in the country, is not right. "I don't support the Supreme Court verdict. It is not right. I think the Delhi High Court order was practical and constitutional," Tiwari told reporters.

"Homosexuality happens in our society. The people who get into such relationships believe it is natural for them. So why should the Supreme Court stop them?" he said.

Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar said that appropriate steps must be taken to ensure individuals are treated equally, including those having same sex preferences.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) Politburo member Brinda Karat termed the SC order wrong and said sex relations which are consensual cannot be criminal.

Indian Supreme Court re-criminalizes Gay Relationship

Stonewall Riots

This was a really heart-breaking day for Indian Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender community when Supreme Court in a knee-jerk attitude over-ruled High Court judgement and re-criminalized Gay relationship saying its not Supreme Court's job to change Criminal Law of the country and Legislature should deal with issue.

Our children who are different from others in sexual orientation have faced social discrimination for long.They have been harassed in school and colleges and at work-places too.The same Judiciary takes no action on Justice Ganguly who is found guilty of sexual harassment of a Law intern.The same judiciary is too sensitive to women rights but has no empathy or sensitivity for Gay rights and the basic right of a human being to be able to choose whom to love and how to love and to be left alone by the state.

Our esteemed court leaves the decision of repealing or changing criminal law on politicians who cater to their own vote banks and their own petty medieval politics and who are largely considered corrupt.These politicians have done everything in their powers to stop Women's Reservation Bill from Passing in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.So is it right to expect them to do any thing worthwhile on the Gay rights issue.Do we need "Stonewall Riots"  for Gay Liberation in our country. Stonewall riots which coincided with Gay icon Judy Garland's death are widely considered to constitute the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for gay and lesbian rights in the United States.

I have personally known about school going young boys who committed suicide because they could not take insensitive harassment of their class-mates any more.And we read in newspapers about cops brutalizing gay men in lock-up.We have also heard a lot about Gay men harassed by their bosses at work-place.That's why so many misty-eyed Indians had expression of futility written on their faces when they came to know of today's judgement.Hearts get heavy and people just feel so sad especially parents of those young boys who are no more.

NBRI Flower Show - 2013