Life Monthly (February, 2015)

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Editor

Design

Aamoye Choudhary Kanika Kant Sapna Singh Naman Kaushal Rishi Shukla

Pratik Shetty Rishabh Shukla

Photographers

Anoop Shukla Pratik Shetty

Contributors Manu Muraleedharan Abhinav Gupta Vijay Vedula Lenin Kharat

Omkar Bariya Aditya Shetty Rushabh Dedhia

Cover Photo : Anoop Shukla

Editors' Note 3

Back from Sabbatical!

F

ebruary, the month that hosts a lot of activities in a compromisingly lesser number of days is up. When I started planning the February issue, I predicted that we’d stick with traditional Valentine’s Day fare: chocolate recipes, romantic datenight ideas, decorating with red, and so on. Classically theme doped.

So imagine my delight when, via a little bit of karma or coincidence, the stories in this month’s magazine came together to offer a very different take on the meaning of love. You’ll meet Dayashankar, who's love and affection for his people at Ambujwadi slum, made him quit his job so he could do something for the underpriveleged women; The love of the devotees at Vindhyachal Mandir, but their unawareness about the unclean surrounding and what it might cost them; ICC World Cup and Valentine's day crashing together this year. So single's don't fall idle this year, unless you're not a cricket lover. Also, Read and find out our speculation for this year's top team analysis.

Coming back from the sabbatical, Life Monthly promises you 'Columns of Hope'. We aim to discuss events that has occured in the previous month, and talk about the necessary changes to be made.

Whereas for the upcoming events and occasions, we not only aim to keep you apprised about it, but also help you prepare for it.

I wish you a very happy Valentine’s Day, and I thank you for all the ways you love your neighbors—in February and throughout the year.

"I could call this break as a Sabbatical, but I'm not a Jew. So lets just go ahead with 'Paternity Leave'." @ShuklaJi_(Anoop Shukla)

Thank You

Anoop Shukla

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@LMonthly

@LifeMonthly

www.lifemonthly.com

Interiors

Voice of Art Paying our respects to Charlie Hebdo & discussing creative freedom of an artist

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Cover Story

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Addressing the Sanitation & Cleanliness issues of the holy pilgrimage, Vindhyachal. Also, the measures to fight it.

#DreamProject Sakhi Navnirman Udyog An Initiative by the slum dwellers of Ambujwadi Slum to empower women of their vicinity.

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Spcl. Feature

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Insight on the psychology of couples & their notions on Valentines Day. Also Romantic Destinations inside & outside the town.

/LMonthly.com

@LMonthly

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Interiors

LM Take

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Our Opinion on the events that took place in the month of January & how they effect the Demograph of our Country.

Picture Perfect Photographer Aritro Mukherjee Submits his Odisha Travel Journal.

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Entertainment

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The Establishment.

The timeline. The Flourishment of the Indian Metal Scene. Also Featuring Big 69.

What To Do This Month?

Can't Figure out what to do this month? We Handpicked it for you....

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www.lifemonthly.com

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HelloMonthly

Valentine's Day is up this Month. Check out what singled and mingled readers have planned for the month. To see yourself fill this space, tell us what you're psyched about in the month of March.

Email us at mail@lifemonthly.com

Roshni Gupta

Ankita Tendulkar

(Student, KJ Somaiya) Too excited to work for this organization named Engage! Finally Will b associated with it, and will be working for it. Super excited!

(Employee, Here Maps) I'm psyched about everything this short month's got in store for me. I have a family vacation by the end of the month, the annual festival at my Alma Mater and 2 most awaited movies, '50 Shades of Grey' and 'Roy'.

Raveena Pai

OnKar Kulkarni

(Engineer, Lokmanya Tilak College of Engineering) This Valentine's day,I'm going to take my ladylove to lunch; and since we've both Sports lovers, we're gonna go someplace nice, where we can enjoy the IndoPak match.

(Chief, Engage Charitable Trust) I m excited cos it's the month of love and I can't wait to see what's in store for me.

Februaury is d tym of our cultural event, Sojourn. Cant wait to break a leg on the dance floor

HelloMonthly

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Ankita Shetty

(Chartered Accountant)

Pratik Chhadwa

(Employee, Brand Whiz) Who says Money can’t buy happiness Money can buy me a ticket to Maldives A Romantic Candle Light Dinner Some Lovely Carnations The World’s Best Red Wine A Saxophone Playing in the Background And A Ring. My pseudo plan for the month.

This Valentine's day is going to be a really special one for me., as its my first Valentine with my guy. We plan on going far off from everyone.

Just the two of us. We'll have the best romantic ambience, someplace close to nature, our favourite playlist. I'll make a good meal for my sweetheart, while he sings for me, LIKE A CROW. :P

Udita Mehta

(Employee, Here Maps) Some of my friends have decided to tie the knot in the month of love.

So I intend to join in the celebration right from prewedding ceremonies in different parts of Mumbai to big fat Indian wedding at Taj. This time I only plan to shop for traditional wear, spread the aroma of henna/mehndi and dance to the tunes of Bollywood songs

Saqib Khan

(Employee, JP Morgan)

Excited to Take our NPO 'Engage' to a whole new level roud to handle the mantle to a bunch of energetic Engagites. Some constructive stuff planned for this month. Anxious about it

8 LM Take

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he president of the world’s oldest democracy recently visited the World’s largest democracy. There is romantic symbolism attached to it, isn’t it?

65 years of being a democracy, India now stands on its most optimistic phase of development.

The “Modi Sarkar” bid of the BJP has worked out well and it was clearly evident when the Indian prime minister visited USA in September, that there is optimism now associated with India. In his

famous speech at Madison Square, Modi had said “Let the force be with you” quoting Star Trek and the crowd went bananas, cheering for him. Similarly Obama quoted Srk of DDLJ and his famous “Senorita” Dialogue and there was a similar response from the Indians as well. It seems all good, doesn’t it? Everybody is happy, USA is supporting India in becoming a part of the NSG. The civil nuclear deal which was struck in 2008 is finally moving. However, is everything happy and all smiles?

India just isn’t friends with the

US, and getting close to the USofA may just result in making enemies with other countries which doesn’t have cordial relations with the USA. This article is about President Obama’s Visit to India and explains whatever that is concerned with it.

THE VISIT ITENARY President Obama Landed in Delhi on the 25th with his wife First Lady Michelle Obama and Nancy Pelosi, the minority leader of the house of representatives.

Upon landing he was escorted to the Rashtrapati bhavan. He went on to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi. The next day he attended our famous Republic day parade and the communist style military show, following which he went to the Prime minister’s official

LM Take 9 residence, the 7 RCR, then he had talks along with the PM in the CEO forum, with CEOs from leading firms. The next day he spoke at the SIRI fort in New Delhi, following which he left for Riyadh, to offer condolences to the late Saudi Arabia king.

THE PREPARATIONS The US president's car is known as The Beast. The US and Indian security officials had serious differences over Obama's trip to the Rajpath on Monday morning, Going by tradition, the chief guest and the Indian president arrive together in the latter's car for the military parade.

But apparently US security officials want Obama to use The Beast instead.The car "is a fortress on wheels equipped to protect him from terror attacks and keep him connected to his office at all times". The car is bullet proof, Rocket proof, The tyres are made of a certain material which is resistant to puncture. The driver is a CIA trained personal. The car can also fire Tear gas shells from its chassis.

Approximately 15,000 security cameras had been put up in New Delhi for Obama's visit. About 165 cameras had being installed just on one thoroughfare - Rajpath, from where the US president will watch the military parade; the footage was monitored by American security personnel as well as Indian officials.

The road had been cordoned off for almost a week, with a large number of troops keeping a close watch on things.

All 438 rooms of The Maurya Sheraton had been booked for Obama and his entourage, with no guests to be allowed in the hotel or its premises. Former US presidents

George Bush and Bill Clinton were put up in the same hotel during their previous visits to the country.

Obama himself stayed here during his last visit in 2010.The hotel had delegated a team of staff to look after the president and his associates. The president's security team had arrived in advance to check the door handles, locks and air-conditioning ducts of the hotel to make sure that there were no cameras or secret listening devices, THE HAPPY INDIA Let’s Face it. President Obama is the most influential person in the world and we got a chance to sit with him and watch the republic day parade. That seems a nice gesture doesn’t it? President Obama was pleased, so was his wife. Thus, rightly said Indo-Us Relations have reached a spring.

What started with mistrust in 1960s, which resulted in hate (Nixon-Indira) in 1971, followed by the distant handshakes in the 1990s and the 2000s, has now resulted in close friendship.

That has resulted in wavier of the intrusive checks and finally, the civil nuclear deal has set rolling.

Which can only mean one thing, that the rural areas will now get cheap electricity, maybe a few years from now?

Obama ended the 26th Jan, with a $4 Billion pledge in terms of trade.

Frankly speaking we still have a long way to go in the department of trade with the USA. Though USA houses over 3 million Indians, we still have just 2% of the trade share in imports, and 1% in exports. India’s trade with the

10 LM Take US has AHEAD OF OBAMA’S VISIT”:This was the heading of an article on the NEW YORK POST on 23rd Jan. Yes it was true, people were given Rs 300, to hand scrub the streets ahead of the US President’s visit to Agra, which later got cancelled. The Americans have technologies to clean the streets using automated vehicles, sadly we don’t. Hence we labored our own people to clean the streets manually. What about the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan? Why couldn’t reached $100 billion dollars, but the celebrities do some cleaning even then it’s just a fifth compared when it actually mattered? It is to USA’s trade with China. Over this double standard which we the past few months Us investment Indians are so proud about leads to in India has doubled, and now PM name calling. It is this reason that Modi has announced that we shall no matter how much we develop, do away with the notorious red tape we always shall remain slaves. The and make India a favorable place 3rd world. to do business. Most significant The ibntimes.com website of was an agreement that facilitates CNN-IBN ran an article about American corporations to set up American was least interested in nuclear reactors on Indian soil. As Obama’s visit to India. FOX news said above, which can only result ran coverage about how President in electricity for the people. Cheap Obama will inhale the most polluted air in India. or not, is debatable.

The preparations which are THE UNHAPPY INDIANS “OVER 600 WORKERS HAND written above led to utter chaos in SCRUB THE STREETS the capital. Roads were cordoned

off. This led to unnecessary Traffic jams. Yes we are used to it.

Whenever some important person visits us, which happens more or less throughout the year, there is this chaotic environment.

Should we put up with it? On one side we are this “soon to be a major power” country, and on the other side we are people enslaved with our own prejudices and adjustments. The debate continues.. and perhaps will continue till long, but no matter which president of which country visits, we shall always have people manually cleaning the streets and then a week from then it will be dirty again.

INDIA-USA AND OTHERS Can India have a stable and continuous relation with The US? Does India and USA have same interests? The answer is a striking NO. Yes we are democratic and USA seems to be the propagator of democracy but even the interests of USA and India collide in many departments. Not only that, there are many allies of India that will sit up and take notice of the fact that we are strengthening ties

LM Take 11 with The USA, and the main ally cum distant friend cum one time war opponent is our next door neighbor. The People’s Republic of China.

The two largest economies of the world have conflicted interests, and the fact that New Delhi is forming a triangle with strengthening relations with both partners is a good sign. However getting close to one may induce coldness from the other side.

India was a champion of the Cold War times, with its policy of non alignment. However, currently the situation is different. USA’s military interests in India, is evident to keep a check on China’s promotion of instability in the countries of the South China Sea. India wants USA to help it militarily because of the growing influence of Chinese troops on the unmarked territories of Himalayas. All this alienates India from its neighbor.

This is how the official Chinese media Xinhua agency wrote about Obama’s visit to New Delhi.

“The shortened three-day visit is more symbolic than pragmatic, given the long-standing division between the two giants, which may be as huge as the distance between them,” read an editorial.

And this is how Swaran Singh chose to put it in the China Daily.

“Apart from China’s unprecedented rise, its increasing assertiveness in regional and global matters is often cited as a possible trigger for India’s policy drift in favor of Western countries.

Modi’s repeated mention of “expansionism” and maritime terrorism, underlining the need to ensure freedom of navigation and over-flights suits the US, which has introduced the “pivot to Asia” and proposed the Trans-Pacific

Partnership to counter China’s rise.(Source:- IndianExpress. com) Besides, India has trade interests with Iran regarding oil and gas. A country which is under sanctions. India wants to build the charbahar port on Iranian soil, To counter Chinese offence in the Indian ocean and the bay of Bengal.

A something which USA sees against its interest.

Russia has been the closest friends of India, since the formation of the USSR. Getting too close with the USA also casts a shadow over the relations of India and Russia.

THE TAKE All though the visit by Barrack Obama was a very significant step in the progress of India, it is yet to be seen about how significant it will be in the long run. It was no doubt hyped.

Just as everything about the current Indian government is hyped. President Obama is not considered to be the best of the US presidents, contrary to which was speculated back when he was elected in 2008. The US govt is set to change in 2016, which is a year from now. The bilateral talks and trade deals signed now will have little or no significance once the new government comes to power.

Obama has lost his power lobby in the US congress, and the visit is highly insignificant, as considered by the Americans Siding with USA in the rush to become global power will alienate us from our own allies. But despite that, we need the USA to help us with infrastructure and military.

It is highly speculated that USA’s interest with Pakistan will reduce,

now that it has removed troops from Afghanistan, which is a good sign for India.

Obama during his speech in SIRI fort, talked about improving trade with India. Considering that the next president will feel the same, It will be a great step for India.

But the bottomline will always remain the fact that this meet was a giant leap in terms of Indo-US relations, but India and US have many areas of conflicted interests.

Both of the countries are great in their own ways and are democratic nations and hence relations should remain amicable in the following years to come as well.

12 LM Take

Manu Muraleedharan @mmmanu1992

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he entire globe or probably the humongous cricket loving community had their foots in their mouth during the 2011 ICC cricket world cup finals when they noticed decisions like Yuvraj Singh, one of the most consistent performers of the world cup being sent down the pecking order and someone like S.Sreesanth being sent to bat ahead of R.Ashwin or during the 2007 T20 world cup an experienced medium pacer being chosen to bowl the pinnacle jaw dropping final over. To those who aren’t familiar with basic knowledge of Indian cricket, these were decisions which seemed highly illogical and flabbergasting and enough to end a Captain’s career. But the one man who roared past and came out shinning out of the other end of the tunnel was Mahendra Singh Dhoni or more popularly known as MSD, Mahi,

MS so on and so forth.

MS has been regarded as one of the most successful cricketing captains of all times with the most test series wins as an Indian captain playing 398 matches in all competitions since 2008, most by an Indian. He is also the first Indian to complete 10,000 runs in all as a captain. Being awarded the Rajiv Gandhi khel ratna, Padmashri and numerous accolades, MSD went from being the Jharkhand boy with long resplendent hair to a captain taking India to the empyrean glory of celestial world cricketing summits.

He was brandished as 22nd, on the Forbes list of highest paid athletes.

MSD was batting on 24 when the test match vs Australia was called off early at the Melbourne Cricket ground and

the world seemed to be at peace.

Two days later all hell broke loose and as Joker, from the movie The Dark knight would say “Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos”, BCCI announced MSD would be retiring from the Test format with immediate effect. But what caught people off guard and astounded was the way it all was ostended. Even during the customary captain press conference, neither did he exhibit any hint of the decision nor did he manisfest it in any way and the BCCI announcement was the only piece of information available,which stated MSD citing “excess strain due to playing all formats of cricket”.

In a country where a bowler like Praveen Tambe plays in the IPL at the age of 41, tirelessly, Dhoni’s snide remarks seemed hardly plausible ergo followed by

LM Take 13 with

sundry conspiracies and umpteen criticisms. Tom Alter, a renowned theatre artist and actor even quoted that MSD should never be allowed to play for the Indian team again and that it was disgraceful that he left, AWOL even before the Test series completion. Of course it was a tad bit harsh on the actor’s side and just the momentary emotions in him catapulting logic. But to be critical and pragmatic MSD’s unsullied image did see a decline ever since the inception of the IPL. He was linked with Gurunath Meiyappan who was then rumored as an apparent Chennai Super Kings (Dhoni’s IPL team) official.

Meiyappan was later on arrested on charges of a betting scam and fixing IPL matches. He was also a regular visitor to MSD’s hotel room during IPL 6 and Dhoni would discuss the team strategies with the former which in turn Meiyappan allegedly used to provide bait to various bookies. It is also rumored that Dhoni is listed as “Individual 2” in the Mudgal committee report, a legal case hood looming the corridors of the Supreme court.

Besides, N Sreenivasn, former BCCI chief and Meiyappan’s father in law allegedly subverted BCCI’s constitution, in connivance

others, to allow his firm, India Cements to buy CSK which casted a shadow of doubt over MSD who was named as the vice president of India Cement. Though it is unlikely any names would be revealed with just a few days left for the world cup 2015, MSD has been left on a sticky wicket due the the association with Meiyyapan.

Also if rumors are to be true, CSK won’t feature in the next edition of IPL.

For a player who went galloping around the cricket ground for Sachin Tendulkar and Saurabh Ganguly;s farewell there was neither a farewell speech nor a standing ovation on his departure, simply because PEOPLE DIDN’T KNOW! Captain Cool who usually isn’t known for wearing his heart on his sleeve, apparently did have pensive last minutes in the dressing room after informing them of the news.

Some pundits and detractors say he was forced to step down because of 6 straight

series defeats, a major slump in his batting overseas and also traces of stagnation in his wicketkeeping.

Also being said by many that he has been under extreme duress because of the protracted IPL case in the Supreme court in which he has been dragged into insinuation and allusion rather indirectly.

Apparently people have also tried to depreciate him for the excess endorsement deals he’s appearing in and chiding him as an indirect money launderer. “Haters gonna hate”

And there are angelic and Dhoni lovers stating “Part of being a good captain is to know when to go” . Also one of the gazillion tweets said “What a helicopter shot is to batting, this manner of farewell is to retiring”.

For those who didn’t get it in the first go, the missing word was “unbelievable”.

The problem at times with TV and news channels is that they are on a pursuit for conspiracy theories at places where there are none. OR IS THERE any truth to it. Obviously being a MSD fan myself, I’d like to be believe that he’s just the good guy and a wonderful sportsman, that he has portrayed himself to be. When you require 4 runs of 11 balls during a world cup final and you attempt a risky lofted shot? Who does that!!

But then again as it is said “The more cleaner they look, the more dirt they’ve swept under the rug”.

So innocent until proven guilty.

14 Cover Story

Anoop Shukla

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indhyachal is a town in Mirzapur District of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. Vindhyachal's holy factor lies in the temple of

Cover Story 15 Vindhyavasini, who according to Markandeya Purana had incarnated to kill the demon Mahishasur.

Mythologically goddess Vindhyavasini is believed to be the instant bestower of blessings, which is why a stagnant footfall of 25,000-34000 devotees is seen both at the temple and the river banks of Ganga, the holy water body that flows through the Hindu pilgrimage. Big congregations are held during Navratras in Chaitra (April) and Ashwin (October) months.

Kajali competitions are held in the month of Jyestha (June), during which the 1 lakh and more devotees, from all parts of the country are seen paying their respects to the Goddess, seeking her benediction going by their beliefs.

The local population and the regular tourists at Vindhyachal city is like sand on both sides of the hourglass. Places with such divine and historic significance require astute administration that keep its working and functioning on the edge. Holy places like Varanasi, Badrinath, Tirupati and various other pilgrimages face the same issues of overpopulation, lack of shelter, absence of hygiene and most importantly FILTHINESS. Cleanliness is the prime factor of all administrative variables as an unclean surrounding draws water prone diseases, unavoidable stench, wastewater and excreta that consist of water, micro-

organisms (including human pathogens), and organic and inorganic substances including nutrients that pose a potential threat to human health and the environment. Efficient water sanitation and health(WSH) measures are responsible for the living and sustainment of any colony or territory; and at such places its a bigger challenge than the usual.

Walking down the streets of Vindhyachal, one witnesses the path painted with cattle dung, gutters overflowing the pavements, waste disposed off on the streets, making no way for the transportation. Marks on every wall indicating a recently occured bloodshed but infact are pan stains. An individual in Vindhyachal consumes about 150 Pans per week, as informed by the local wendor.

Talking about the ghat, its a whole new subject to be addressed. The ghats were reconstrusted with ladies changing rooms, improved cemented structure of the banks and well planned bricked platforms for performing rituals.

Initially what looked like an organized, much needed, beautiful piece of infrastructure, gradually turned out filthy in a quarter of a year's time. The ghat hosts multiple devotional activities such as bathing, mundan of the early born and other Puja ceremonies, but the most significant of all, is the cremation ritual of Hindus.

Ramagaya Ghat is the funeral ghat, its believed that Lord Rama along with brother Laxman & Sita performed prayer here for the eternal

16 Cover Story peace of his departed father, after taking the dip in the Holy Ganges. Since then, its considered as the the most auspicious location for this ritual. 15,000-17,000 bodies are cremated annually.

Although in many cases, the cremation is done elsewhere, but the ashes are dispersed into the river near the Ghats, followed by a Puja that again pollutes the banks and the rivers. The holy river Ganga was so holy that in older days, when a man was bitten by a snake or any poisonous creature, the man's body was left in the river expecting the man to automatically heal, because of the minerals in the holy water. Today, the river is not sacred anymore, but the practice continues.

The people who are bitten by a snake or young brahmin kids & teens who have not gone through the ritual of themselves being approved as a Brahmin, are not cremated. They are simply dispersed in water with their legs and hands tied, with a lower expentancy of the person coming back to life, but majorly because the legacy calls for it. What

is a petrifying, nauseous, unexplained state of visual element to a tourist in North India, is a regular sight for the locals out there, who practically dont even react to a dead body passing across them with themselves being in the river.

The real question right now is not about who to point fingers at. Its about how to make it right and sacred again? Blaming it all over the poor governance is neither going to make situations any better, nor will open gates for us to see things through zero percent opacity. What makes The State not 'entirely' liable to that is because of its decent attempts to keep Vindhyavasini Dham running its course in the previous decade. The primest of all jobs, was the renovation of the ghat, in which The Uttar Pradesh State Government put in a whopping amount of Rs.1 Cr 65 Lkhs .

The ghat that was initially built in around 1700 A.D is believed by some that it was made by

Cover Story 17 traders of that time. However the brick and mortar of that era had taken its toll, and the worshippers sought a makeover of the ghat, so it was done as per its need and demand. Today the same ghat is a 4 feet base to an 8 feet of elevated waste right on top of it, all around it, eroding more with each day. While coming from Vindhyavasini temple towards the river bank, there is only one entry and exit from the ghat. Its just highly appaling to enter the ghat of a pilgrimage and crash into this humongous 8 feet tall, filthy, stinking wet sludge, right at your feet. You're supposed to enter the ghats with sheer diligence. The ghats had ladies changing rooms, that was again covered by all the sludge collected by the waste over the time. These changing rooms are now a shelter to the cattle and also facilitates the dry-up phase of the Cow dungs.

To encourage and maintain cleanliness, The State Government has assigned people on each street on an adequate monthly wager, to clean their respective lanes.

The State Government had also allotted dustbins on every lane for the people to be encouraged to throw their waste in the dustbin, but not only did the civilians stayed in their habitual shell of throwing dump and waste on the street, they also stole the dustbins from the

streets for multiple domestic uses at home. Cleanliness is not a guideline, its a way of living, and one does not simply adapt to it, unless they see the merits and demerits of the whole deal.

Even the authorities pass by a buck load of waste around the street, and dont even pay attention to it as that pile of dirt is not an unusual sight to them. When we're in the middle of all wrong things at around us and we negect the basis ethics and amneties, we lose the right to be called 'civilized' thereafter.

MEASURES THE STATE SHOULD TAKE: Better Cleanliness Plans: History is evident of one fact that effective local mass movements have bought about the change in a much sooner span of time. The Prime Minister understands it and therefore launched 'Clean India Campaign', as everyone witnesses that the morality kicks in when a mass movement is driven.

Not necessary that everyone will be a part of a movement, but atleast you succesfully convey the change the masses are going ahead with, and its clear to the rest that it'll be a foul move to follow erstwhile actions. Politicians, who play with delicate matters in a state thats a delicate cup with the hot chocolate of varied cultures, they can finally do politics for the greater good. Localised, immovable dustbins can be allotted in every area so they are not stolen anymore.

Improve WSH Methods: The combination of safe drinking water and hygenic sanitation

18 Cover Story facilities is a precondition for success in the fight against poverty and hunger, primary education, woman empowerment, gender equality, child morality, maternal health, HIV/AIDS. it also helps in maintaining sustainability in the environment and bridging global partnerships. Therefore, achieving this is a primary step towards the movement.

Effective Law & Order: There should be people kept for supervision and inspection of waste disposal. anybody who attempts to throw waste or make dirt anywhere thats remotely close to a public vicinity, they should be charged with a nominal fine for the wrong doing. Also, various other guideline to make sure that cleanliness is kept at topmost priority.

Promote Literacy: One turns out to be who they want to be in the society, decided on the grounds of the surrounding, circle of contact and effective upbringing.

Uttar Pradesh is a state that is known for its lenient approach towards education, which is why the education has never been

a highlight among the poor inhabitants of UP. Free education for the poor with subjects that showcase the emphasis of a sustainable environment, importance of cleanliness, and many other aspects can be covered throught creative interactive methods like slogan making, or a plantation march, and etc.

Awareness: When the pioneers of innovation sought the need of some necessary changes that had to be made in the society. To get those into working, they targetted it with a different method, which was mythical, spiritual, just plain 'God's word'. For example, Its said that the use of sindoor(vermilion)

by Hindu married women along the parting of their hair, was originally for the cleansing of their scalp and hair, at a time where there were no shampoos & conditioners, but to get it into implementation, they affliated the application of Sindoor with the long life of their husbands. It was a time where religion was used as a spine for the greater good, unlike today where its a common 'holy fraud'. To reach out to the mob and

bring out the necessary change, you need to figure out where their spine lies today. In today's time, it massively lies in their icons, their belief in movements on both real and virtual grounds.

A planned campaign that targets the unbroadened minds of North India would bring about a real change.

Conclusively speaking, its important that you introspect, what are the things that are wrong about the day, and how have you contributed to make it right?

Unless you do that, you dont earn the 'Right of Fury'. The problem with Vindhyachal is that its civilians, authorities and tourists dont think a dirty, shabby, unclean and reek vicinity is a threat at all.

Its their collective way of lifestyle.

It has to go and its got to meet the international standards of maintaince for being one of the significant pilgrimages of India; but its impossible to bring about any change without the urge for just a better surrounding.

One such initiative is whats going to lock the trajectory of Vindhyavasini Dham towards development.

With all the news of renovation of Varanasi and the purification of Ganga, its important that The Central Government also addresses the important needs of Vindhyachal.

C'mon now, its only 70 KM away from Vindhyachal, we're sure The Japanese can drive one and a half hour and wave their developmental wand once a while.

Waste Accumulated at the only entry to the Ghat

20 #DreamProject

A dream to see our skills turn into weapons, in times of jeopardy

Vijay Vedula Sakhi Navnirman Udyog supports underprivileged women, by teaching them the art of sewing. Under the remarkable guidance of Mr. Daya Shankar and Teacher Fareeda Shaikh, women at Ambujwadi Slum now have a way to contribute to their families and means to stand up for themselves.

O

ur story begins like most, in the midst of turmoil. An idea that has come to define Mumbai's history since the beginning of the new millenium found itself being violently birthed in the slums of this metropolitan city.

For more than a decade now the question of what to do with regard to the presence of shanties and their possible relocation to free the prime property many of them are built on, for redevelopment purposes, has been a question that has proven to be a thorn in the side for each state administration since the late ninties. In 2004 the issue reached tipping point when thousands of lives were thrown out of their routine when demolition crews erased the roof over their heads on the orders of the Brihanmumbai Muncipal Corporation(BMC). Amidst a wave of resistance led by a motley group of slum dwellers and concerned NGO's such

#DreamProject 21 as the Medha Patkar led Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan was an unassuming changemaker known as Mr Daya Shankar.His first taste of what is now a longdrawn battle, was in 2006 when his local community Ambujwadi, faced the ire of the demolition crews.A first hand witness to both the emotional and physical scars of this event, a realisation dawned on him that something had to be done to allow the distraught members to heal.Lives could not be allowed to waste away in a never ending and ever growing well of despair and futility. Led by beliefs inculcated in him during his early education, through stories, of freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh and Subhash Chandra Bose, who selflessly gave up their lives for the idea of freedom, Mr. Dayashankar in his own way wanted to provide a source of hope to his fellow society members with a focus on empowering the women sent

adrift in this plight.

The thinking behind it was simple. Unlike men who could go and get jobs involving hard labour or long hours as a means to recoup their losses women were not in a position to follow suit.

If they had to be provided with an avenue to chip in and make living feasible as well as meaningful again, they would have to be given a vocation that allowed them to retain their flexibility to tend to other needs. Luckily Mr.Dayashankar was the perfect man for the job. A tailor by profession, he realised that he could impart his knowledge to the women of his community thus allowing them to derive a supplementary income by selling goods made from items that recycled unwanted pieces of cloth into handicraft items.These items range from purses and handbags to pouches and pencil boxes. He found a support system and a

22 #DreamProject mentor in Medha Patkar and in 2008 he opened his first training center called 'Sakhi Navnirman Udyog'.

Located in Malvani this training center has donned many roles over the years and at each stage they have emphasised the ideology of the man himself. This philosophy is based on the principal of self reliabilty,self sustainability and self respect, it begins with learning the skills of his trade.

Mr. Dayashankar educates the members through a training regime involving three stages.

Practise using paper involes the first phase. Women are trained, for a month, to make entire garments and accesories from it before they progress to the next level which involves familiarising themselves with the sewing machine before they finally begin work using cloth

materials.The raw materials are generally received via grateful donations from a variety of places and range from old bedsheets to sofa covering.These pieces of material then go through a

transformation which ends up giving them a newfound lease of life which in many ways can be seen as a parallel of what the centre does for the women and children involved in this programme since its inception.

the has

Along the way centre found

supporters in the form of people like Asha Kamble as well as Bhagyashree Madam who is a member of the Mumbai Gram Panchayat.

They provide an avenue for the handicrafts to be sold through exhibitions.

Events like the Kalaghoda festival and college functions also prove to be worthwhile venues.

The trips to college events prove to be specially meaningful to Mr Dayashankar for they allow him to show the children trained in the centre, the scope of possibilities the world has for them.The impact of the experiences have been so positive that in some cases the children have gone back to pursuing

#DreamProject 23 Farida Shaikh, Teacher

their academic career with newfound determination while the ladies proudly make enough money to ensure that their day to day needs are fulfilled without compromising on their other responsibilities.

Like a caring father he ensures that certain rules are followed so as to ensure that the lessons retain a meanignful impact.He collects a nominal fee to ensure that his students understand the meaning of responsibility. He further demands that anyone who receives training from him for more than 3 months goes on to teach at least 10 more people, thus spreading the knowledge and ensuring that the students never forget their roots. Fareeda, a teacher who aids him in delivering these classes is a prime example of this.After acquiring the knowledge she has stayed on and works regardless of the income she makes having

gone for months without receiving pay when sales have been poor.The beauty of Mr Dayshankar's philosophies can be seen in the motivation his colleagues have to stay for the cause without a second thought for the monetary returns they may achieve.

When asked about what drives people like Fareeda to cope up with this, when they can have fix jobs. The answer was that now she believed that she was meant for it. She saw herself as the medium of imparting training to girls, who ought to become woman in near future. It would be of great support to them.

In many ways, the centre has become a source of positivity and hope. A place for the community members to bond through a common desire to improve their lives for in the words of Mr Dayashankar himself, "there is no point to these efforts if they

do not provide a future for the next generation who grow up in tentative conditions".

He cites the case of Valna. A girl caught in the clutches of poverty and shackled by a lack of freedom,she used the skills she learnt to provide for herself and her family and now spends her time teaching and passing on the skill to other people free from the pressures which she may have otherwise succumbed to. The far reaching affects of his idea have affirmed his belief in the untapped potential of the long discounted village women. His dream is to see a government instated fund which would allow him to take his efforts a step further by creating similar centres in villages where they could then flourish into self sustaining production centres of eco friendly quality goods.

His views strike a chord when he says "I am pained by the fact that we spend millions of rupees importing goods from

24 #DreamProject

countries like China instead of investing it in our villages which would be a cause for national pride"

In a time where the future of the country is in question initiatives like these which strengthen the roots of the nation shall be of utmost importance.

In a race to make ourselves presentable and respectable at the world stage we run the risk of forgetting the lessons of history which repeatedly state that only the toughest

survive. With the passing of time expectations and disparities between the citizens of this great nation keep increasing and we may soon find it impossible to resolve issues that run the risk of crippling the world's largest democracy and that is, in the humble opinion of this writer, unacceptable.

Ideologies like that of Mr Dayashankar may very well be the roadmap to the ideal future where co existence triumphs the need to self exist and the success story of initiatives like Sakhi Navnirman Udyog are the ones which will justify it for they acheive the goal of providing a silver lining regardless of the situation.Any aid you would like to provide to the cause is gladly welcomed and whole heartedly encouraged for though time may forget us let history show we made an effort.

Some of their Handcrafted Products.

26 LM Hero

Vijay Vedula

Advocate Pooja Saini

H

eart warming episodes of how the ordinary become extraordinary through grit and determination Life enjoys its surprises.It hides events both good and bad under many layers like a Jack-in-the-box which always pops out when you least expect it.In my opinion the wait is the interesting bit that truly imbibes in us the aspect of faith and allows us to believe in a purpose that we are all meant to fulfill a need.This story is one such event where we find an unlikely heroine aiding people she would never have imagined until fate played its cards and made their worlds collide.

Ms Pooja Saini had a relatively normal upbringing in the heart of Mumbai.

Born into a well educated household she was well equipped to achieve great things.A curious and free spirited person she decided to experience life with a hands on attitude.In 2006 she

took a sabbatical from her education and joined an event management firm as well as a BPO.Driven by her desire to better acquaint herself with life her decision opened her eyes to the importance of the need for persistence and hardwork to achieve her dreams.Armed with her new found experience she found a new zest in her life and upon her mother's advice,a successful lawyer herself,she applied herself in the pursuit of a degree in law.Her studies found her travelling out of the country to London in pursuit of her dream.

Her curious spirit soaked in these experiences like a sponge adding more arrows to the quiver preparing her for the challenges ahead.

Time passed like a blink of the eye and soon Ms Pooja was learning the ropes of her trade from experienced and practised lawyers such as Mr Ayaz Khan amongst others.At the

end of her apprenticeship she found herself facing a new challenge.She needed a cause to invest in.Her father,a homeopathic doctor,steered her towards pursuing philanthropic purposes to test the waters.Once again we encounter fate playing its aces ever so carefully.

Unkind events were to occur for a travelling family on their way home from the marriage of their relatives.In May 2012 there was an unfortunate mishap on the MumbaiPune Expressway that claimed the lives of many and left many more injured.21 people were killed in a bus accident and the report of these incidents in her morning newspaper caught Ms.Saini's eye. Supported by her mother, she chose to act on her instincts. She began by travelling to the scene of the incident.She quickly found herself in the midst of a storm of emotions and biased purposes

LM Hero 27 with multiple lawyers jostling to take a slice in the piea. Refusing to take external aid, she began following the meagre leads she found by herself.

Trips to police stations became a norm but through perseverance she found a way to contact the relatives of those involved.When asked about the driving force behind her during the initial stages,she said "There were many who wanted to help the dead but no one had seemed to spare a thought for the injured as they did not believe it would be worth the effort." Her words bring to mind the sayings Honor de Balzac,a nineteenth century playwright, which I quote below. “Laws are spider webs through which the big flies pass and the little ones get caught.�

Though fate may have set in motion the wheels for our champion the journey was far from over. Getting to

the affected families was relatively the easy bit.Convincing them to pursue legal recourse would prove to be a much more difficult situation.

As with all such cases to broach the subject with those affected and their near and dear ones often proves to be challenging. No one appreciates the presence of money hungry hounds, while they try to adjust and mourn the loss of their beloved family members just days after an incident of such magnitude, where children were orphaned in moments while others disabled beyond description.

Some of the survivors had lost their minds from grief and the atmosphere was one of gloom and discord.

However time is never on the side of the unlucky and Ms Pooja knew that if she had any chance of turning things around in favour of the aggrieved, it was only while the iron remained hot. So she put her efforts into bypassing the precarious web of human emotion and relation. Her first step was to allay fears of being just another lawyer trying to make a quick buck. Over hours of conversation she finally found a way to get her message across and bridge the disconnect between her and the afflicted members of the community. She believes that what truly swayed them in her favour was her honesty and willingness to put in the effort to aid the surviving members unlike the other lawyers who had been interested in the cases of fatality."They related to my

story of a struggling lawyer trying to make a mark and somwhere amidst our discussions we connected" she says when asked to recount those moments.

Unfortunately in the grand scheme of things this was a small success.

The promise had been made but its fulfillment carried the true returns for all the members involved.It was time to build the case.She began collecting all the evidence necessary for her to make their case in court.

In many ways it was a crossroads moment for Ms Pooja as she shed the last vestiges of her childhood and stepped into court a true professional making a name for herself amongst her peers. It was a Sunday when in front of a six judge panel of the Maha Lok Adalat she made the case for her clients painstakingly helping them stake their claim and fortunately for all those involved it was a truly joyful moment when they received their just rewards.It was a fitting and happy end to what had been a painful and depressing journey for all the families caught in the situation. Fate had once again righted a wrong and given rise to a new hero.

Today on the back of her initial success, Ms Pooja Saini has managed to grow and continues to practise law with a willingness to push her limits and find new ways to help aid those whose voices go unheard in the ruckus and din of life.In parting she advises aspiring changemakers to proceed with determination and conviction to achieve their goals.Life Monthly is proud to celebrate the achievements of Ms Saini and wishes her the best of luck in her future endeavours.

One of the Injured Victims from the Khalapur Bus Accident

28 Acumen

Kanika Kant

V

alentine’s day is an occasion that is hard to ignore whether or not you are in a committed relationship. As soon as you enter any mall, you find that all the Archiese and Hallmark stores are bursting with heart shaped gift items and cards.

The florists too ensure that they have fresh red roses available in abundance, along with a variety of other flowers and bouquets. Suddenly all those action movies shown on TV, be it Dabang or RaOne, are replaced with Dil toh Pagal hai, Kuch Kuch Hota hai and the recent Ye jawaani hai Dewaani. The radio channels too aren't far behind.

Our very own ‘Love Guru’ begins to feature far more than he did before and songs like ‘pehla nasha’ are part of several playlists belonging to RJs across stations. The most

dangerous, especially for men, is the increase in jewellery advertisements which often show the male protagonist purchasing extravagant platinum rings and diamonds for his better half. All the above indicate that critics aren't wrong when they state that Valentine’s day celebrates more commercialism and spending than love. Thus this mass-marketed day and surrounding season is the stimulus for many couples to purchase romantic goods (e.g., roses, chocolate, jewelry) and services (e.g., massage certificates, vacations) for their significant others.

The field of Psychology has shown considerable interest in gender differences in gift-giving behaviour. Not surprising at all is the fact that psychologists have

found women to engage in gift-giving far more than men(Caplow 1984).

Men often have negative attitudes towards gift-giving and view it more as an obligation by either their partners or institutions(eg.Media) rather than as a gesture of affection (McGrath 1994) Interestingly, men tend to enjoy gift receipt more than gift-giving, for obvious reasons. But before you jump to a conclusion that men are selfish beings, a study

by Belk and Coon (1991; 1993) suggested that men often place equal, or more value upon intangible gifts as they do upon tangible gifts. In fact a survey conducted by Otens et al (1994) revealed that men prefer to celebrate the holiday in a low-key manner, without feeling obligated to meet the heightened expectations of others. Therefore, if you

Acumen 29 are thinking of cooking your man a simple meal with his favourite food items, as per these psychologists, it would not go in unappreciated.

Now, with respect to women, a study conducted by Close and Zinkhan found that females prefer gift exchanges that are meaningful to the couple, thoughtful, or unique. So for all the men who fall prey to the jewellery adverts on TV, you could easily please your lady love by simply writing her a poem. Being the complicated gender that we are, besides expecting gifts, women also indulge in self-gifting. Selfgifts are gifts that are given to oneself so as to try and appear more attractive in the eyes of their partner(Huang and Yu 2000). Thus on occasions such as valentine’s day, women often purchase perfumes, cosmetics, lingerie and even clothing that would make them more appealing and such behaviour is often found greater for women in relatively new relationships.

This is because with an increase in length of the relationship, there appears to be a decrease in the pressure to look “perfect”.

An interesting finding of several studies (e.g., Huang and Yu 2000; Polonsky et al. 2000) is that the greater the length of the relationship, the greater is the likelihood of giving gifts with selfless

and altruistic intentions.

Psychologists also reveal that a higher percentage of males and females in a new relationship expect gifts, as compared to those in a more established relationship.

Thus, as the duration of the relationship increases, both men and women expect fewer gifts from their partners. This is often because they begin to feel comfortable and confident in the relationship, and may not feel the need to impress the other with gifts.

Evident from the discussion above is the fact that, like love, the dynamics of gifting on valentine’s day is very complicated. There is no right answer for what the ‘best’ gift could be since it depends largely on the preferences of your partner. In my opinion, however, in today fast paced world, time is a gift that will be valued and appreciated by all.

Be it your wife, your husband, mother, father, girlfriend, boyfriend, best-friend or even your pet, I suggest that you spend time with anyone that you care about as a way

of expressing your affection towards them. As for me, I have decided to spend my Valentine’s day with my longlost lover-my very beloved bed, with the TV remote in one had and a cup of hot chocolate in the other.

30 Spcl. Feature

As Valentine's Day is around the corner, we hope all you love birds are doing something fun and exciting to celebrate it. Valentine's Day is a celebration of love, romance, and everything that relationships stand for.

With this not being just a typical day, your day shouldn't be typical either. Below are the 5 best ways in which you can celebrate this Valentine's Day with your partner.

Cruise It Up

t Party The Traffic Ligh 17, Door, Unit No. A le tt Li e Th ? re Whe nayak Plaza, or, Shree Siddhiva

Ground Flo dheri New Link Road, An Plot No. B 31, Off 53 (W), Mumbai, 4000 t so interesting concep This place has an usual do is ditch the all you have to aring ntine's Day by we le Va is th ts ar he right to give off the the traffic colors what ’s ttle Door. Here signals at The Li : the colors indicate and r = complicated be Am n, ke ta = Red Green =single,

ble d to have a memora re su as be n ca u Yo y g as the DJ will pla evening. Shake a le e us ho from disco to fabulous music e th cial throughout to EDM to commer o , the entry is als evening. To add on free!!

Where? Sunset Yacht Cruise at Gateway of India, Colaba Treat your Valentine to a sunset cruise on a luxury yacht complete with fabulous hospitality and surrounded by breathtaking views. You can enjoy an extr avagant evening consisting of wine, beverages, gou rmet food, roses and romantic music that will create memo ries of a lifetime.

Romantic Dinner

Where?

Vicinia, Ground Floor, Chinoy Mansion, Off Warden Road, Kemps Corner, Mumbai, 400026 With romantic dinners the most common way of celebrating Valentine’s Day, There's lot of love in the air this Valentine's Day at Vicinia. Take your partner for a romantic candlelight dinner, complete with soothing music and a dreamy atmosphere. The offer consists of a sumptuous, four-course meal for two along with a bottle of imported wine. Cost for two people would be around Rs 2500 (including taxes). How Romantic!!!

Spcl. Feature 31

Him & Her Cocktails Where? Penthouse 37th Floor Palladium, High Street Phoenix, No.462, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai

Make this Valentine's Day unforgettable for your partner with a scrumptious feast and delightful 'him' and 'her' cocktails, which includes exotic beverages like Romeo and Juliet, made with Malibu, raspberry liqueur, fresh pineapple lime juice and sugar syrup for 'him' and white rum, Cointreau, blood orange puree, fresh strawberries, rosemary syrup and lime juice for 'her'.

Freezy Date heit – Fine Dine Where? 21 Fahren i ) (Oshiwara, Andher th dim-sums and If candle-light wi ur mind, this is Thai curry was on yo 1 Fahrenheit .2 where you should go level building at is actually a two the fine dining Oshiwara which has second floor.. restaurant on the p by Mumbai’s You can also dro lounge for a first and only ice t already. And bit, if you haven’ ) before mplimentary desserts o (c n o up co t un o sc wnload the free di don’t forget to do 1500] .

Rs ge cost for 2 – ra ve [A e. er th go you

32 Spcl. Feature

If you are one of those who feel celebrating Valentine’s Day in your current city will become very monotonous and unexciting then below are the 5 best getaways from Mumbai where you can celebrate your valentine’s day in the most romantic style. Check it out!!!

Tarkarli

Shriwardhan Where? Located in Raigad District of State of Maharashtra

and kissed sands, calm Gentle wind, sun ach Be Shriwardhan clean waters make iet h lovers. It is qu irresistible to beac king e large crowds ma and bereft of th er. th ge mantic time to it ideal to spend ro of e shallow waters Take a swim in th in hes. If you are ac be ’s an dh ar riw Sh a history, then hire mood to catch up on rds the north of towa small boat and sail e the original residenc re plo ex to y ba e th lish Peshwas. If you re of the legendary ce pla e riwardhan is th sea-food, then Sh to be.

Where? 8 km south of Ma lvan and 546 km from Mu mbai on the west coast of India, at the confluence of the Kar li River and the Arabian Sea. Arguably one of the most beautiful beaches, Tarkali’s scenic beauty will surely leave yo u impressed. Hold hands and down the sea-shore edged walk by the sparkling blue waters .

If looking for some adv enture fun, then go fo r some snorkeling or scuba diving . If not for the marine life, then the underwater swim will cer tainly leave her impressed.

Do not forget to try some of the delectable sea food that Tarkarli is famous for.

Vengurla

Where? Located in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra, North of Goa The beaches of Vengurla are perfect for couples seeking places to enjoy romantic excursions without having to worry about crowds. Vengurla is more of a laid-back town and its beaches will certainly live up to your idea of an ideal beach holiday.

Out of the five beaches in Vengurla, Nivati Beach and Mochemad Beach are the most fascinating. With five beaches in close proximity, you could spen d your entire holiday hopping from one beach to anot her and enjoying some sun.

Spcl. Feature 33

Mahabaleshwar Where? Located in Sa tara District of Maharashtra at about 120 km southwest of Pune and 285 km from Mumbai.

Mahabaleshwar is one of the evergreen forests of the world located in the West ern Ghats region. This region is renowned for its stunnin g views of the densely forested valley. The humm ing sound of the river Krish na and the lush foliage at th e milieu, Mahabaleshwar is a wonderful weekend retrea t easily accessible from Mumbai. Do not forget to take a boat ride in the La ke Venna.

Goa Beaches on India.

Where? Western Region

y destination in the countr Goa is an iconic tourist d en s for a romantic week ce pla st be e th of e on and with getaway. Goa is adorned party pristine beaches, the Goan atmosphere coupled with most cuisines flavored with great exotic spices makes it a and destination for the couples party freaks too.

34 Sports

A

cricket carnival, a month full of joy, the ICC Cricket World Cup is back and will be held in the Australian continent in Australia and New Zealand.Generally it is considered that the home team always comes up with the advantage, as far as the conditions and the types of pitches are conserned; but the trend in the World Cup has been contradicting. In 2011,when India lifted the world cup in Mumbai,it was the first time that a team had won the world cup on their own soil. Here we will have a look at the top 5 teams to look forward to, in the World Cup. Rishi Shukla

INDIA

I

ndia, a country where cricket is more than just a sport, a passion, it is a relgion. Being the defending champions,there is an additonal pressure on the boys in blue to perform. More than anyone it is a challenge for MS Dhoni, who off late has been in enormous pressure both from the media as well from the former players following India's miserable show in tests in both Australia and England. His mindest is often termed as defensive and is often considered to be way too defensive for anyone's liking. But what the circumstances maybe in test cricket,the color of the jersey brings a great change in

attidue of the captain and the players. India have been one the best ODI teams of the past year demolishing England, in their own backyard and then thrashing West-Indies and Sri-Lanka on their trip to India 3-0 and 5-0 respectively.

It is often said 'A good start is half the job done', but as far as India is considered, they haven't been the starts they would like. India's openers in one day cricket have been performing but not as pair. As we come to middle order, Virat Kohli is the star, his charishma drives his game. He is a treat to watch as a spectator but a nightmare for the bowling lineup against him. He is bit of a run machine when it comes to Indian batting. Even after having a start stop year,he managed to score around 1000 runs in ODI cricket. He will have be a pearl in India's crown if India was to repeat history and win the world cup.

Then we come to the lower middle order and the pair of Suresh Raina and the Indian skipper is argubly the best in the business. They have bailed India out of trouble on numerous occasions and when needed have become the explosive force India needs. Seeing their recent form, it would be no surprise if they do it regurarly in the world cup. Now we come to the Indian bowling which has been under scrutiny for quite some time. Indian pacers have not been delivering consistently in partnerships and there have been numerous injuries which havent helped their cause too. The trio of Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar have one of the least averages and the highest economy rates in the past year which is a bit of a concern. They need to back their batsmen up if India are to have chance on the pacy wickets in Australia where spinners won't have much assistance from the tracks.

To sum it all up, I would say that for India to succeed the trio of Virat Kohli,Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni are the key.

Sports

35

South Africa

A

country with immense talent and enormous potential, South Africa always come into any World as favourites but when it comes to the knockout stages they fail to live up to their true potential. Talking about their team, they have some great players. Hashim Amla is a typical example of a player who proved his metal in the test format and then switched to one day cricket and in some fashion. Recently he surpassed Virat Kohli to become the fast to 5000 runs in ODI cricket. Being an opener, his consistency at the top will be the key if South Africa are to remove their tag of CHOKERS. Now we come to argubly and for many probably the best batsman in world cricket, AB Devillers and as many call him Mr. 360. He possesses all the qualities one could have as a batsman. He once scored 33 off some 270 odd balls to save a test match and now a couple of weeks ago, and now scored a magnificent 100 off just 31 deliveries to rewriting the record for the fastest century in international cricket. His all round game is a spectacle to watch and which is why he would hold the key to South Africa's success in the upcoming World Cup.Now when it comes to their bowling, there is no better bowling pair to watch in action than Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn. From one end, there is a fiery pace and hostile bounce of Morne Morkel, while from the end there is mixture of pace and swing from Dale Steyn. They have caused trouble to most of the batting line ups on almost any pitch around the world and are the reason behind South Africa being one of the most feared sides around the world.In the end. If they all perform as a team, then this might be the time when they prove their critics wrong and might just win the World Cup.

36 Sports

A

team that may be called a world cup legend having won more than 20 matches on the trot and a trophy cabinet consisting of 4 world cups, Australia has gone through a change in the way in which they play their cricket, the main reason for this being the retirement of many greats and cricketing giants like Ricky Ponting and Brett Lee since the last world cup. But not to be misled this young team has a considerable chances of lifting the world cup on their home. Their strength chiefly lies in their batting. In the first few over it is the destructive duo of David Warner and Aaron Finch that set tone for the innings and inflict an early damage to the confidence and morale of the bowling side. And at no. 3 we have one of the most versatile modern criketers Shane Watson who if gets going then can make the going get tough for the opposition with his ability to hit big shots at will.

But the actual distpute for the Australian batting lies in their middle order because of their captain Michael Clarke getting injured consequently making his cricketing future uncertain. If Michael Clarke does not make it to the World Cup due to his injury, then his batting and experience both will be missed by Australia as they would've been a huge asset for them. Also subsequently then the burden of the middle order will go in the hands of Steve Smith, George Bailey, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell and Brad Haddin, some of whom will have to wait on the bench for their turn. Though each of them is throughly talented and a match-winner in himself, it is their inexperience that will worry the selectors and coaching staff the most. Another worrying point I think for Australia will be their somewhat blunt bowling this time that consists of Pat

Australia

Cummins, Xavier Doherty, James Faulkner, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc. Some may consider Mitchell Johnson as someone to lookout for this tournament but there no one on the order side to partner him with equal intensity. Also this they lack a quality spinner. Still I think that it is their will to succeed that makes Australia one of the top contenders for lifting the cup.

Sports 37

Sri Lanka

S

ri Lanka has this abitly to up their game in an ICC tournament and that is what makes them a contender in this World Cup as well. Led by captain, who has been in startling form off late, Angelo Mathews, it is also his side's unpredictability that takes many oppositions by surprise. Having an expirienced and destrutive opener like Tillakaratne Dilshan is not something that many teams can boast of. Also their middle order consists of two modern day greats Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene who on their day have the ability to carry the innings on their shoulders. Now talking about their bowling, they have managed to somehow get bowlers like Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Dhammika Prasad, Nuwan Kulasekara, Rangana Herath and Sachithra Senanayake who are are miles apart in their bowling styles from each other. But each one is equally important for Sri Lanka's World Cup campaign, especially Lasith Malinga who with his impeccably accurate yorkers has many a time snatched wins for his team from the jaws of defeat. They have also got some good allrounders like Thisara Perera and Jeevan Mendis but in my opinion their weakness lies in their young players like Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne who are yet to be tested properly. But if they are to chieve what Ranatunga's young side achieved in 1996 then they will have to play to the best of their abilities.

New Zealand

I

f there's any team you would expect to relate the phrase 'Expect the Unexpected', it would be New Zealand. Inspite of not having an explosive side over the years,they managed to reached the world cup semi-finals on 6 occasions beating sometimes even the most difficult of the oppositions, the latest ofcourse being South Africa in the 2011 world cup.

Lead by a man who has been a hot property in International Cricket off late, Brendon McCullum, it his ability to score quickly and accelerate according to the demands of the the situation is what make him the main cause of the hopes of New Zealand winning the World Cup this time. At the top they have the experienced Martin Guptill and the relatively new Tom Latham who provide great balance in the first few overs. But it is their middle-order that is the main explosive in their arsenal. At no.3 they have their Mr.Dependable Kane Williamson who has been scoring bucket full runs for his national team. And then there is the experienced duo of Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum who are tremendous in complementing each other and forming huge partnerships. Both of them also have the competence to just knock the bowlers out of their rythym with their hitting ability. Another person that has this capability is the allrounder Corey Anderson who along with Luke Ronchi, their wicketkeeper will carry the responsibility providing momentum to their team in the end overs. Their bowling atack too looks quite balanced and having a great mix of experience along with youth with bowlers like Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Daniel Vettori. So, do New Zealand have what it takes to lift the prestigious trophy and show the world that they are no more the dark horses of cricket.

40 Entertainment

t

ara h K n Leni

H

eavy metal in India is different than in other parts of the world. It all started in the 80s when metal music started spreading.

Communication barrier and distance was the fundamental reason of metal music not reaching till the listeners.

There were very few music stores who sold Black Sabbath, Judas Priest etc. Metal is often considered as aggressive and satanic form of music. Various stereotypes are attached to the people who listen to metal like if the person listens to metal, he/she must have been

worshipping Satan or doing drugs. But the irony is metal music talks about serious topics like socio-political issues, personal issues, mythology etc. The idea of forming a metal band was not easy.

Millennium is known to be the first Indian heavy metal band started in the year 1986.The band focused on playing originals than covers. They went famous in the local circuit.

Also, they opened for international acts such as Deep Purple and No Doubt. Suddenly, every corner of the country had a metal band. A bunch of teenagers from North East started their own metal band called

Post Mark.

Later, they also managed to release a full-length heavy metal album which was revolutionary.

The 90s was the era of metal movement in India. Bangalorebased old school thrash metal band Kryptos was born in 1998. They are one of the longest standing bands in the history. Another Bangalorebased death/doom metal band called Dying Embrace released a mini-album (EP) called “Serenades of Depravity� in the same year. The very next year, progressive thrash metal band Thrienody played at Strawberry Fields, celebrated music festival of National Law School, Bangalore.

In Bombay, speed metal band Naked Earth, formed in 1996,

Entertainment 41 released their debut album in 2001.

The previous year, the famous symphonic death metal band Demonic Resurrection was formed.

The front-man of the band Sahil Makhija, popularly known as The Demonstealer started his own music label called The ‘Demonstealer Records’ at the age of 19. Bands like FATE, Morticide, and Sceptre also played an important role in shaping up the metal scene.

Extreme metal in Chennai was rising in the 90s. Bands like Bone Saw and Blasphemy were formed in the time.

The members of Bone Saw started a festival for all the local and national bands called “June Rock Out Festival” in the year 1999. The next year, Bombay saw its first extrememetal dedicated festival called, “Domination-Deathfeast. Organized by the members of Morticide, the gig was held at the famous Razzberry

Rhinoceros popularly known as Razz. The most popular festival for Indian rock artists, Independence Rock started featuring metal artists as well.

In 1993, Amit Saigal gave the local bands a platform to share their music in the name of Rock Street Journal which was dedicated to the Indian artists. Often referred as ‘Papa Rock’; he started his own music festival known as “The Great Indian Rock” festival in 1997.

It was a two-day festival held in Kolkata, West Bengal. India’s only heavy metal festival Bangalore Open Air (BOA) started in 2011 by the founder, Salman Syed featured bands like Animals as Leaders, Ihsahn of Emperor fame, Kreator, Iced Earth, Dark Tranquillity, Destruction, Rotting Christ. This year’s line-up will feature Grindcore giants Napalm Death, blackeneddeath metal band, Belphegor and black metal band, Inquisition. The BOA 2015 edition will take place on 6th June in Bangalore. Another festival called Cultfest will take place on 11th April featuring Florida death metallers Cannibal Corpse and American deathcore

band Suicide Silence.

As the metal scene in India started rising, more international bands started touring the country. In 2007, metalheads witnessed the heavy metal giants, Iron Maiden live in Bangalore for the first time.

That gig opened the gates for many international bands. Thrash metal icons Metallica also did a tour in Delhi and Bangalore in 2011.However, the Delhi gig got cancelled due to security reasons. Bands like Opeth, Gojira, Lamb of God, Megadeth, Slayer, Korn, Karnivool, Skindred, and Testament have played here.

Now, an Indian metalhead cannot complain as there are gigs happening in numbers, right from club gigs to big festivals. Nowadays, there are gigs happening in jamrooms, too. So there are plethora of gigs organised featuring various subgenres of metal.

The recently happened heavy metal dedicated festival BIG69 is the brainchild of Ashutosh Pande and Himanshu Vaswani. BIG69 is the bigger and better version of Bombay’s B69, a venue for the local metal and rock bands. Most of the metal bands have performed at B69 including French metallers Hacride. Pande played guitars in a band called Xenon which made him realise that

42 Entertainment

no one really supports metal. Later in 2005, he founded an e-commerce website dealing in musical instruments known as Bajaao.com. Also, he set up the India’s famous and first 24/7 special soundproofed jamroom, N.O.C. where almost all the Bombay metal bands who made it big, started in that very jamroom. In 2010, B69 was born, an underground venue in Andheri East for the Indian metalheads which showcased the talent of Indian metal. Later, the venue shut down due to some unavoidable circumstances in 2012.

BIG69 is a two-day festival featuring 23 bands in which 4 of them are international headliners and 3 stages. The line-up was very promising as day one was for the old school metalhead featuring Carcass and Fleshgod Apocalypse whereas day two was for the modern metal lover featuring Hacktivist and SikTh. The two-day festival was held at India’s first iron foundry, Richardson & Cruddas in Byculla. BIG69 was using the Soundcraft VI3000 digital music console. This console makes the output sound crystal clear. This festival’s first edition bought many people to attend the concert.

The gates were opened at 2.30 pm in the afternoon.

Slowly, people started coming to the venue. As the gig was supposed to start at 4 pm, meanwhile, metalheads checked out the various stalls like the Gibson guitar stall which had beautiful Les Pauls and Flying V guitars for showcase, the merchandise stall had numerous merchandise of Indian as well as international bands.

The gig also had a 10-feet Gibson guitar installed on which Gaurav Basu(vocalist of Inner Sanctum) a.k.a Acid Toad live-painted the guitar brilliantly. As heavy metal and beer go hand in hand, BIG69 tied up with Pune based micro-brewery called ‘Doolally’ for the

liquor partner at the gig. They also came up with a special beer, the ‘Altbier’ which was available during the two days at the festival and named it under SikTh’s album, “Something wild”. The Altbier from Germany is known for its fruity and malt flavour.

The first band that shook the stage was Pune thrash/ groove act Halahkuh. Their energetic performance made people go crazy. Next up was death metallers Plague Throat from Shillong who covered the famous Death song, ‘Crystal Mountain’ followed by death-grind act Gutslit and death/thrash act Devoid. All the three bands nailed with their performance. Meanwhile, on Redbull Tour Bus stage, Bombay’s horror metal band Albatross kicked off with their dark and melancholic riffs followed by Chronic Xorn. They played their song, ‘Lick It to Die’ which saw a massive mosh pit. Bangalore based groove metal act Inner Sanctum tore the stage apart with their angry, mean groovy riffs and Gojirainspired drumming. Bangalore based thrash metal band Kryptos played an amazing set. Tunes from their album ‘The Spiral Ascent’ were a hit. The main stage, Harman Live Arena audience saw the Indian metal veterans Demonic Resurrection perform. They played new songs from their new album, ‘The Demon King’ as well as old classics like ‘Apocalyptic Dawn’ and ‘The Unrelenting Surge of Vengeance’ which set the mood for the evening. Italian technical death metallers Fleshgod Apocalypse were ready to hit the stage. They delivered an explosive set with their famous songs, ‘The Violation’, ‘Minotaur (The Wrath of Poseidon)’, ‘Hypocrisy’ and ‘The Forsaking’. Unfortunately, the band couldn’t play the whole set due to the drummer Francesco Paoli’s health issues. After the set, people kept chanting his

Entertainment 43 name ‘Francesco’ to cheer him up.

They played an extremely tight set with symphonic orchestra, fast blast beat drumming, heavy guitars and powerful vocals. Then came the mighty death metallers from UK, Carcass. The crowd went mad when they played their popular tunes like ‘Buried Dreams’, ‘Heartwork’, and ‘The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills’ and made sure their fans were not disappointed.

Day two kicked off with death metal band Elemental. This promising young band made a mark with their performance. Low guttural vocals were the highlight of their set.

Pune’s progressive/experimental metal band Noiseware impressed the crowd with their tunes including their old classic ‘Maut ki Ungli’.

Next up were the crowd favourites Providence followed by Zygnema.

Both the bands played very well and the crowd loved every part of it. On stage 2 i.e. the Redbull Tour Bus, Delhi hardcore act Grammy Winning Effort, Bangalore progressive metal band Escher’s Knot played an intense set. Underside from Nepal played a very surprising set as the audience were not aware of the band much, but as they played, people gathered

near the stage eventually. The Delhi nu metal band Joint Family reunited for this gig. The band, formed in 2004, went hiatus in 2008 as some of the members moved abroad for further studies. The band lived up to the hype and played a tight set.

Undying Inc. from Delhi played an awe-inspiring with their groove and technicality. The highly anticipated act Bombay Metal Project blew the minds away with the recognised covers of Metallica, Killswitch Engage, Slipknot, Cannibal Corpse and many more. This 16-member line-up featured members from metal bands Bhayank Maut, Devoid, Zygnema, Gutslit, Afaque Azad (Infernal Wrath), Krishna Jhaveri (Skyharbor), Cosmic Infusion, Pangea, Goddess Gagged, among others.

UK-based djent rap pioneers Hacktivist played their famous tunes including the all time favourite song, ‘Niggas in Paris’ (Jay-Z & Kanye West cover) and left the crowd spellbound. The highlight of BIG69 was progressive/technical metal band SikTh’s set. They opened with their song, ‘Bland Street Bloom’ from their 2006 album ‘Death of a Dead Day’ which made the crowd go berserk.

The band’s playing was

extremely tight and technical. Songs like Peep Show, Skies of Millennium Night, Flogging the Horses, and Hold My Finger were the main feature of the set.

The crowd got more than what they expected of the grand twoday festival and are eagerly looking forward to the next edition of BIG69.

Concerts like this, gives a ray of hope to the metalheads to watch their favourite bands play live in India. Exactly, a decade ago, no one thought that metal would get so prominent that metal bands would consider touring India. With the growing metal scene, the number of metal bands has increased rapidly.

Seeing that there are enough metal bands, organisers are giving a chance to the young and new bands, also which keeps the scene pretty much alive.

Kudos to all the organisers and the bands for giving us pure metal music.

44 Voice of Art

Aamoye Choudhary

T

“I prefer to die standing up than live on my knees.”

hose are the lasting words of Stéphane Charbonnier, the editor of the French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo, who on a brutal Wednesday morning in Paris did, in effect, die standing up. Charbonnier — who as a cartoonist went by the nickname “Charb” — was among the 12 people, including three other cartoonists, who were slain by masked gunmen who struck during an editorial meeting at Charlie Hebdo’s

offices.

What Charb’s rallying cry speaks to, really, is a decision — the decision for provocative commentators. Today, as much as ever, each true satirist makes a choice: How far will I go to stand up for my commentary?

Where, in other words, does each cartoonist draw the line when drawing potentially “blasphemous” lines?

Over the next decade, many satirists found themselves facing the question: How

bold do I want to be amid this clash of free expression and religious extremism? In 2010, for instance, “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone attempted to depict, even satirize, Muhammad before Comedy Central reportedly demanded changes.

Those episodes drew a threat from the extremist group RevolutionMuslim.com, which in turn prompted at least 17 Pulitzer-winning cartoonists to sign a letter condemning the

Voice of Art 45

threat.

“Freedom of expression is a universal right,” wrote the cartoonists, adding: “We reject any group that seeks to silence people by violence or intimidation.”

So does a cartoonist’s rights to free expression curbed in this manner? India-based cartoonist Kanika Mishra who has received the Cartoonist Rights Network’s Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award received death threats when she satirized a religious leader in our country. “I never thought that somebody would really go to that extent in the name of religion and kill people,” Mishra tells about Paris attack.

“But I was wrong and living in denial.”

Charlie Hebdo is a magazine that has paid a price for its satire.

Are we heading for a world that dare not laugh because it could offend someone-anyone? The killing itself proves as a sign that lack of humour is fatal to civilization .This is not to

defend crass jokes made a expense of each other’s gods .Or each other .But surely a harmless cartoon where the prophet says “a hundred lashings if you don’t die laughing,” or another one at expense of ISIS leader Al Baghdadi, or an announcement that certain prophet has guest-edited an issue of Charlie Hebdo, Do not merit death?

The right to offend is integral to the creative arts .The idea of Rabelaisian humour is central to the idea of democracy and free speech of the west and increasingly in rest of the world .Jokes , like mismatching socks , are subversive .And nothing is more crucial for sanity in a world rabidly turning politically correct to the point of paranoia .Hindu fanatics do not take kindly to laughter at the expense of their gods ,

though Krishna is one of the most amusing practitioners of Irony and Humour That goes for hard-core Christians , Muslims, and Sikhs.

The fact is god – if he exists— can’t care less, he is likely to be too busy with all the troubles he clearly has unleashed all over.

The observance of religious righteousness goes hand in hand with other trends in political correctness. Animal lovers don’t like their pets made fun of .Women’s rights activists are only too quick to read sexism in an offhand remark. Perhaps like no other time in history each of us demands other be “correct” – or else. And equally perhaps at no other time in history has

46 Voice of Art humour been under siege. Slowly , but steadily, caste, colour, age, gender, religion – the big issues of the day in fact—are all being erased, like a smile from an unsuspecting face. This is the age of correctness, and it’s dry as dust.

If cartoonist can’t draw, a comedian can’t crack jokes, a writer can’t offend, an artist can’t mimic, dogmas will grow. This does not make people serious it instead makes them stupid. And there is nothing as dangerous as stupidity. Charlie Hebdo is a satirical magazine. Its job is to make people laugh and think. They were just doing their work that includes the right to offend, be it against gods or the powers that be. For a few the gunmen would have been heroes but for us they are just an obstruction to free speech and expression, they are the deadly serious duds in hoods. Terrorism is intolerance taken to its extreme. They live for the worldproof of sound of laughter and humour. Samuel huntington has talked about the clash of civilizations. That is a very big concept. The simple point is can you take a joke? The answer is No. Number of cartoonists join in the spirit of Charlie Hebdo by joining the movement “Je Suis Charlie” which means “I Am Charlie” to share the solidarity and to prove the terrorists that if they silence one pen a million others will come up. The 7th of January will be remembered as a black day for France and all the values country stands for, notably freedom of expression and secularism.

48 To-Do List

LET GO TOUR EVENT

Date and time: February 7, 2015 Saturday 6:30 PM - 10:00 PM VENUE: DON BOSCO COMMUNICATIONS, MATUNGA Matunga East Maharashtra Mumbai, Maharashtra

INDIA AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGY FAIR Date and time: February 26, 2015 - February 28, 2015 Venue: Bombay Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) Mumbai, Maharashtra

5TH MUMBAI WINE FESTIVAL EVENT Date and time: February 28, 2015 Saturday 2:30 PM - 10:00 PM VENUE: THE PIER, RADIO CLUB 157, Arthur Bunder Road, Colaba Mumbai, Mahārāshtra 400005

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA OF INDIA SEASON: SPRING 2015 Date and time: February 5, 2015 Thursday 7:00 PM

BARCLAYS CODE PLAYGROUND TRAINING SESSION

VENUE: NATIONAL CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS NCPA Marg Nariman Point Mumbai, Maharashtra 400 021

Venue: Mumbai Hotel Lotus Suites Andheri Kurla road, Andheri Mumbai, Maharashtra

Date and time: February 12, 2015 Thursday 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

To-Do List 49 Badlapur Release Date: 20

February, 2015 Director: Sriram Raghavan Cast & Crew: Varun Dhawan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Yami Gautam and Huma Qureshi

Roy Release Date: 13 February, 2015

Director: Vikramjit Singh Cast & Crew: Ranbir

Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Jacqueline Fernandez

Mr. Turner Release Date: 6 February, 2015 Director: Mike Leigh Cast & Crew: Timothy Spall, Paul Jesson,

Dorothy Atkinson, Marion Bailey, Karl Johnson

Jupiter Ascending Release Date: 6 February, 2015

Director: Andy Wachowski,

Lana Wachowski Cast & Crew: Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, Sean Bean, Tuppence Middleton

Verdict: A lowly janitor who learns that she has a great genetic destiny

Fifty Shades of Grey Release Date: 13 February, 2015 Director: Sam Taylor-Johnson Cast & Crew: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Eloise Mumford, Luke Grimes, Rita Ora

50 Picture Perfect

PAPA!!

Sit Back and.. . . . .Stare

Stairway to Coven

Picture Perfect 51

The little.

The Bigger.

The MOTHER.

A Market Splash of Colors..

The Very First Tug of War

52 Pick of the Month

Baseless. Plotless. Senseless.

Don't even watch it for Manoj Bajpai.

First Succesful Indian Espionage Action Thriller

Not frightening. Copied several scenes from Hollywood

A war movie by Clint Eastwood.

Nuff Said

Broadway on Cinema. A movie that goes in continuum

Pick of the Month 53

A top notch thriller and compulsive read.

1.Ultra Nate vs DVBBS ft. Dropgun - Free Pyramids (Lo Zio extended mashup) 2.JapaRoll & Kenta - Bring the House(original mix) 3.W&W ft. PitBull & Pussycat Dolls - Bigfoot Quatro(El'darius Mashup) 4.Joey Dale - Zodiac(Original Mix) 5.Moska & Nezzo - Barbarian(original mix)

I feel sorry for people who are trying to judge a light-meaning comedy show on lines of morality, gender equality, right to respect to people and other sentimental criteria which is as comical as the show. I found the show incredibly funny. The actors were subjected to jokes ranging from their castes to their personal lives. And the best part was, they laughed along and laughed aloud. I feel that's what makes a great person great, the habit of not getting offended easily. That was visible and hence the show proceeded very smoothly. The comedians were impeccable with delivery of their jokes and all the jokes had such an unexpected punch, that one can't laugh without getting tears in their eyes. No one was less than anyone else. Even the audience. When intermittently the camera moved to show their expressions, they looked as happy as they can be.

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