Fantastico Piku and endearing Bengalis

(Image Source)

“Piku is fantastico. Therefore, it’s winning so many awards in the award ceremonies. A film on Bengalis and Kolkata is sure to be a hit.” Mr. Banerjee said with pride.  

“Indeed! Last time, Bidya (read: Vidya) took all the accolades for Kahaani and this time, it’s Deepika grabbing all the award and limelight for Piku. Bollywood needs more movies like this.”  Mr. Sen said sipping tea.

“And look at our children! They have opted to settle in other cities. They have thousands of complaints against Kolkata. And my son uses Hindi words even while talking to me in phone.”Mr. Chatterjee said with disgust.

“Still better. My daughter keeps shouting that Bengalis are lazy and that we are so eccentric.”

“This generation has gone crazy. They are too foolish to know that where there is eccentricity, there is genius lurking in its lap. And we are not lazy…we just love the finest things of life like food, music, literature, theatre, adda, football and naps.”

As a writer, I have this compulsive habit of eavesdropping. And this conversation at Coffee House between these three middle aged friends didn’t fail to delight me at all.

People of Kolkata have an uncanny sense of humor. Many times, they themselves don’t understand how funny their conversations sound. But this city has a lot of warmth and soul. They feel proud of Sourav Ganguly in a way as if they are all related to him. No wonder why he is the universal Dada.

And no matter whether the Bengalis get irked by our CM, Mamata Banerjee or feel proud of her, she is still called Didi by all. Now, this kind of warmth you can expect only in Kolkata. After seeing Deepika Padukone as Piku, my entire family seems to have developed a huge fondness for her. The reason is she played the role of a typical Bengali girl who got annoyed with a guy just because he hadn't watched any Satyajit Ray movie till date. There is surely one Piku in most Bengali families.

That’s the reason why I can find so much happiness around me when Deepika Padukone is announced the best female actor in all the award ceremonies, including Filmfare and Star Screen. In fact, my grandmother identifies Deepika Padukone as Piku. What love!

The people of Kolkata are really endearing. Once they find a connection with someone, they can’t help showering their love for them. Just a connection is all they need…a Bong connection, a Kolkata connection, a food connection, a music connection…just any possible connection!

So Piku is the movie that gave them a lot of connections. Almost all Bengalis have at least one relative who lives in C.R Park in Delhi. Secondly, they consider Amitabh Bachchan as Bengal’s son-in-law after he got married to Jaya Bachchan. So he was the ideal Bhaskor for them with all the eccentricities.

I remember I was watching Piku in the theatre and there was a scene where Amitabh Bachchan dances funnily on an old popular Bengali song after coming back from a party, drunk. The people around me were clapping and hooting as if it is the best scene they have ever seen.

As I told, Bengalis just need a connection to love something or someone. And this time, it is the Fantastico Piku that seemed to have won all of their hearts, along with the awards, of course.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

Stand-up comedy: The best form of entertainment

Life should be lived to the fullest, even amidst hectic work schedules and meeting tough deadlines. Without entertainment, life is such a waste. The best way to live life is to work hard on the weekdays and party harder on the weekends.

You can scope out the most happening bars and pubs that suits your style in www.liveinstyle.com. The bars such as Blistering Barnacles and Big Pitcher are brimming with fun and energy. They have an array of amazing cocktails and liquor options. The ambiance of such a place would surely make your weekends exciting and let you have an amazing time.

The best thing about these bars is that they feature performances of some great stand-up comedians such as Kanan Gill, Vir Das, Gursimran Khamba, Ashish Shayka, Aditi Mittal, Tanmay Bhatt, Praveen Kumar, Abish Mathew and Rohan Joshi. Can anything else be better than this?

Humor makes us see the lighter side of life and stand-up comedy is the best medium to make people laugh. Everyone cannot be a stand-up comedian. Stand-up comedy requires courage and confidence to step up in front of a large audience and perform your act.

During the first few minutes, you may find your mind shouting and begging you to stop and run, but you continue your act with confidence. Soon, you can hear the giggles and laughter from the crowd, which brings a huge relief. Stand-up comedy is about being bold enough to try to make people laugh, without having the fear that no one would laugh at your jokes.

www.liveinstyle.com is encouraging Stand-up comedy not only by featuring the popular stand-up comedians in the several bars and pubs that are listed on their site, but also by supporting the Comedy Hunt contest on YouTube.

A stand-up comedian is someone whose wit and humor gains him thousands of fans. So if you think that you have the power to make people laugh effortlessly, then you must take part in the Comedy Hunt contest. You just need to send a short funny video which should be maximum 3 minutes long. The video just needs to be funny and nothing else.

As we talk about Stand-up comedy, I just remembered that famous Irish proverb:

“A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures for anything.”

So true, isn’t it? Stand-up comedy is one of the best forms of entertainment which works as a major stress buster in our fast paced lives. You won’t find a single person who doesn’t like to have a good laughter. And there are only a few gifted ones who can make people roll on the floor laughing.

Are you one of them? 

The Great Indian Litterbug (TGIL) speaks

(Picture source: http://greatindian.timesofindia.com/)

Interviewer: Tell us, how are you feeling today to be called “The Great Indian Litterbug”?

TGIL: I never wanted to be ordinary, you know. I always wanted to grab all the attention of the world. And today when I see the country knows me by the name The Great Indian Litterbug, I feel so proud of myself and for all my deeds.

Interviewer: How did you embark on this journey, Mr. TGIL?

TGIL: Well, where should I start from? Hmm…let me start with my school days. Mom used to give me bread and bananas for lunch break and I got an uncanny happiness in throwing the banana skins all over the classroom, escaping everyone’s eyes. Some days my classmates used to slip on the banana skins and some other days the teachers used to have a great fall. I used to laugh my heart out and started understanding the fun of littering.

 

Interviewer: That was an amusing incident. Well, any memories of college days, Mr. TGIL?

TGIL: Ah! Yes. There are plenty of them. I became a Romeo in my college days and used to scribble the names of my love interest in the bathroom walls, in the classroom desks and the classroom walls. Later, I also started writing lyrics of Bollywood songs wherever I noticed a clean white wall. You see, I made so many women smile by this action. I feel so proud.

Interviewer: Do you have anything to say about the Swachh Bharat Campaign?

TGIL: It is a funny campaign. I think in this selfie era, people want to take a selfie with the broom and so they have named this selfie-taking campaign the Swachh Bharat Campaign. 

Interviewer: So, you don’t take this campaign seriously?

TGIL: Are you serious? If people think that great fellows like me will stop urinating on walls or stop spitting on roads, then they need a psychiatrist for sure. How can we afford to destroy our talent just like that? This took so many years of perfection and now they want us to adopt cleanliness.

Interviewer: How tough is the competition to be the best Indian litterbug?

TGIL: You won’t believe how intense the competition is in every city. Every city wants to produce the best Indian litterbug. I am so happy that I could make my city proud by achieving the title of The Great Indian Litterbug.

Interviewer: Congratulations! What were the special things that you did to achieve this prestigious title?

TGIL: See, I made sure to empty my bladder in the road every time. Even when I was lazing in my home and the pressure started building on my bladder, I walked outside and urinated in the open. The fun obtained in urinating in the open air is incredible. Then, I threw the garbage of my home in the open road everyday so that the street dogs could play with something and the crows could peck at something. (See! I am so charitable!) Apart from this, I also did with true devotion all the general stuff that the other litterbugs do like throwing away fruit skins, water bottles and wrappers on the road.

Interviewer: You will be providing a great challenge to the Swachh India Campaign. We would be waiting to see who wins in the race.

TGIL: Do you have a doubt? Of course, I and my fellow followers will.

P.S. This post is my humorous take on The Great Indian Litterbug.

It is written for #TheGreatIndianLitterbug campaign of Times of India in association with Indiblogger.

You can find out more about The Great Indian Litterbug here: http://greatindian.timesofindia.com/.

A jocular conversation between a spoon and a fork

(This post is an entry to the The Great Indian Blogging Contest, as a part of the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2015.)

                                      (Sketched by me for this particular blogpost)

Amit: You look happy.

Deep: Yes, brother! Finally I got the promotion.

Amit: Ha! Promotion. This is called getting the price for buttering that bald fellow.

Deep: Ha ha ha! Butter is quite expensive and if am buttering someone on a daily basis, I deserve a price for it. Don’t I?

Amit: You dull head! My little son has more brains than you.

Deep: May be I am not intelligent like you, but you can’t argue that I am less hardworking.

Amit: Ha! Hardworking my foot!

Deep: Not your foot! My inconceivable capability! I know each and everything about boss starting from his favorite food to his shoe size. I even keep more details about his wife than I keep of my own wife. This takes a great deal of commitment and hard work.

Amit: Don't tell me you are interested in that fat woman.

Deep: Fat? Madam is not fat, she is just concealing her beauty with few extra layers of skin. 

Amit: Boss is nowhere in the sight. Stop being his chamcha now.

Deep: Actually Amit. I am thankful to you for not being part of my competition.

Amit: I have a backbone Deep, unlike you. I don’t need to be a spoon. 

Deep: And I have an invisible tail. I can wag it whenever needed.

(Amit’s phone starts ringing)

Amit: (Yes, honey…I will be late…Try to understand…I am working overtime…) The stupid bald boss in office and the annoying wife at home will give me a migraine now.

Deep: Relax bother! I have a suggestion. Once you reach home today, just start complimenting your wife on everything…that how beautiful she is…how wonderful she cooks…how melodiously she speaks…etc etc.

Amit: Hell! I don’t need to be my wife’s chamcha.

(Deep’s phone rings at that moment)

Deep: Hello…. Aww darling…your voice is as sweet as a cuckoo. It makes me want to dance with joy. And I miss you so much. 

Amit: Cuckoo? She was shouting man!

Deep: I know she was thundering but as I said those words, she is not angry anymore. It worked. It always works!

Amit: Ridiculous! Have you gone to a school for chamchas?

Deep: No brother! Practice and determination made me a master in this skill and of course, a lot of hard work. You start practicing and I can be your mentor if you want.

Amit: A spineless spoon trying to be the mentor of a fork

          He nods his head saying, “Yeah yeah yeah!”

          Before his mind grasps a single word

         And he wags his tail shamelessly when anyone speaks, “Blah blah blah”

         Without ever getting irked or tired.

         He calls it hard work, I call it sycophancy

         He calls it talent, actually he is a chimpanzee.

       Dear Mr. Chamcha! Keep sparkling that white teeth

      You will soon be awarded “The Great Indian Chamcha” indeed.

Deep: (grinning from ear to ear) Thanks brother for making poetry on my skill.

Thank you Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2015, The Great Indian and Kolkata Bloggers for organizing this contest and for giving us the opportunity to write on this wonderful topic.