Reflections

बापजन्म - जीवन जगण्याचा, आपली जवाबदारी निभवण्याचा आणि   त्यात संतुष्टी घेण्याचा धडा शिकवणारी एक विलक्षण गोष्टं आहेे.   हा   एक खरंच अदभुद   चित्रपट आहे ,   आणि   खूप खूप प्रेमानी   मांडलेली कहाणी   आहे. एक अशी   गोष्टं जी   तुमच्या मनाला व अंतर्मनाला बांधून ठेवेल आप्ल्यात ... जिला वसरणं इतकी सोपी गोष्टं नाही . तुम्हाला ह्याला पुन्हा पुन्हा बघायची खूपच तीव्र इछा राहील. मन भरणारच नाही फक्त एकदा बघून... कमीत कमी मी तर ह्या मनमोहक चित्रपटाला   बघून स्तब्ध झालो! ह्या चित्रपटाची गोष्टं मात्र खूप सादी आहे : इथे अपलयाला पुन्हा स्टोरी आणि स्क्रिप्ट चा फरक कळतो. अजूनेक बिंदू असा आहे कि स्टोरी ची सेटिंग पण किती महत्वाचा असतो हे समजतं ह्या अतिसुंदर चित्रपटातून . अश्या गोष्टी जणू कितीदा    सांगितल्या   गेल्या आहेत अजून पर्यंत - पण ह्या चित्रपटाची ओढ विलक्षणच आहे, माझ्या मते ह्यात काहीच वाद नाही ! आणि ह्या सगळ्या बरोबर जर उत्तम अभिनय भघायला मिळाला - अजून काय हवं? इंग्रजी ची एक म्हण आहे - icing on the cake:  ...

I have been consistently highlighting the ethical aspects of a professional workplace in my writing. In the course of writing these articles, I came to realize that this is not a topic too many people like to discuss openly; this is a raw nerve for many people, due to various reasons. These reasons may be due to fear or worry of impact in their professional careers, but it is real. I too have felt this raw fear whenever I write on this topic – Ethics. Rare is the person who joins with my thoughts on this matter; I would certainly like to connect on a social plane with other such like-minded people. My articles have introduced me to many such people, happily – which has helped me to gain a far more positive outlook towards Corporate India. I am pleased to note that there are many people out there who have the same outlook, and are silent for various reasons. I   have had many conversations on this or related topics on various social media; most I cannot place on my blog...

What do you do when the movie you are making starts on a very high note? Realistically, you have no option whatsoever: you have to maintain the narrative at the same level – or preferably a higher level… and that can prove to be a real challenge when the movie starts with a gripping love scene set in mysterious settings; with girl leaving her wedding to be with her love – a scene set in a riveting backdrop of black hues for added effect. At this, point you might expect a bitter flashback, or some such thing; or perhaps a sad story from that point. Instead, you are treated to a stunning twist, as the boy murders the girl, saying I don’t have any option… I have been saying in most of my admittedly sparse reviews – a script in one thing, a story another. Even a much-told story can be re-told, with the right script and the right direction & narrative. गोष्टी मध्ये नावीन्य हवं ... काहीतरी वेगळं असायला पायजे असं अगदीच नाही. Why is the point so important? Reason – this {or ra...

This article, or rather   -series of thoughts – is based on The Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta, Chapter 15, verses 5-9 and Chapter 18 verses 56-60; while reading these, some realizations and thoughts came to my mind – on the nature of our interaction with the outside world, our responses, thoughts actions and reactions. Before I go ahead – let me document the first verse and its translation so that the base can be established for our introspection. This is taken from Swami Mukundanand Version; (a similar translation can be found in the Geeta Press Version): निर्मानमोहा जितसङ्गदोषा अध्यात्मनित्या विनिवृत्तकामा : | द्वन्द्वैर्विमुक्ता : सुखदु : खसंज्ञै र्गच्छन्त्यमूढा : पदमव्ययं तत् || 5|| Those who are free from vanity and delusion, who have overcome the evil of attachment, who dwell constantly in the self and God, who are freed from the desire to enjoy the senses, and are beyond the dualities of pleasure and pain, such liberated personalities attain my eternal abode. ...

Nehru’s India : Essays on the Maker of a Nation is a collection of essays on the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, by a series of eminent personalities who have had   personal experience of the great man, or knowledge of some rarely known aspect.   The book is an excellent resource for all of us, and a short reminder of what a tremendous contribution he made to the nation, and that Modern India owes a debt of gratitude to this great personality. It brings out a series of rarely known aspects of the former Prime Minister and Freedom Fighter, and introduces us to him as a human being, a real person – not just a character or historical figure on the book pages. That is the strongest part of this book : its personal approach, and its success is creating a realistic image in our minds. The string of facts is suitably intermixed with personal quirks, or other characteristics that all come together to create a real person in our minds, the closest ...

A book on Economics is prone to be one that can be classified as a serious bit of study, and a truckload of hard complex reading, full for jargon and indecipherable terms {even to economists, ,no joke there};   a subject to be broached only in a particular mood and mindset. One does not normally look to find anything but the above, especially if the book has been penned by one of India’s better known economics writers on Business Media. Well, the above is just about exactly what this book – ReStart, Last Chance For The Indian Economy – written by Mihir S Sharma , is not. THE BOOK This is a book that approaches it the core question – how do we genuinely grow – in a refreshing new look, basis hardcore fundamentals, devoid of jargon and needless complexities. It is divided into 5 parts : Why We Fail, When and Where We Failed, The Real Reasons Behind What Went Wrong since 2011-2012, How and Why Private Companies Have Failed To Be Innovative & Failed to Drive Growth, ...