my impressions from watching Jaane tu ...

NOTE: Spoilers ahead!
Maybe I'm watching too many random hindi movies. But really, you have to agree that this is a currently popular Bollywood movie, which is many steps ahead of the rest.
Ratna Pathak is a widow who's not, lo and behold, graying and wearing a white sari! She is struggling to deal with her past, tradition, loss and trying to do whatever she can for her (and her son's) future.
And guess what! The girlfriend doesn't actually turn into a vamp the moment she is dumped. She's in a really sticky situation and she says - I'm alright, I'm the way I need to be - and if you can't deal with it, so be it. Without you, my world won't end, Surprise!
I liked the brother too. They all called him crazy and then finally ate their words. People are different and everyone cannot fit into the mold. His obsession with his art, his fascination with the rat - were all very endearing.The exchanges between the aforementioned girlfriend's parents are downright disturbing - but you don't see her getting too melodramatic about it.
When the hero finds out about his father, he's not wailing or weeping!These are all people with very serious, very real problems. But they're not painting the town red. People go through severe, brutal personal tragedies and still go on - if they didn't it would cost them their sanity. Besides, maybe I needed some of that thing too ...
D'uh, of course the movie was cliched. And puh-lease, you cannot call it great art. Besides, it's Bollywood. It's bashing the Box Office! But you know what! I thoroughly enjoyed the movie for all the little things that it was able to say under the garb of a Bollywood hit.

I turned pro-reservation yesterday.

Yesterday was the day that we had a dosa-fiesta in college. It was also the day I turned pro-reservation. But you know what I am not a sociology student, and know nothing about what 'really' goes on when it comes to dalits and OBCs, I'm not a social worker, I am not even a capitalist, and so I probably don't deserve to have an opinion. Plus, my opinion is not balanced and comprehensive, and so I totally don't deserve to express it - but anyway, I want to and it's my blog, so what the heck. I am also a grad-student - so first and foremost - about the dosa-fiesta.

it was the NYC Dosa Cart, serving a hot and crispy masala dosa, with sambhar, chutney, with an mini uthapam and vada thrown in for good measure, for $5. The event was from 6-8, it was publicised on Facebook, and was a stone's throw away from the CS Dept. It was the perfect recipe for festivities and incidentally, for disaster as well.

We landed up at 6:15 and began waiting in the already snaking long line. The Dosa Cart hadn't warmed up yet. Apparently, they forgot to mention 6-8 Indian Time on that Facebook page. Never mind - aaye hain tho kha kar hi jaayenge. Meanwhile, it was almost a mela. The people in the line, before and after us became kindred spirits joined in their anticipation and devotion to the Dosa. All the while people were pouring in. It was a reunion of sorts with missing room-mates, their friends, cousins, ex-lab-mates, buddies - it was veritably a distinguished social gathering of brown people.

As more and more people poured in, we gleefully realized we were amongst the early ones. But to my surprise, the line behind us never grew longer. It turned out that everyone who knew someone, and of course the everyone was desi and so was someone... actually stood exactly where their long-lost friends, relatives, neighbours, and TAs were. The line grew fatter not longer.

How desi is that.

Anyway, finally got to eat at 8:45. What was annoying was that My Very Own friends who strolled in at 6:45 were out by 7. Drat and double drat. Thanks to the awesomest principled yet devoted and entertaining company I had - I stood my ground. Where I would have left (much earlier) in utter disgust, I left (much later) freezing, but with my hunger satiated and my taste-buds delighted.

Now to make the connection with reservations ... I believe in social justice man, not in social acceptance of status quo. Which is what happened yesterday in the trivial circumstance of a Dosa Fiesta. It was easy, damn easy to do the right thing yesterday, which in my case included standing in line for 2.5 hours). When it is really time to stand up against deeply entrenched social biases who will stand up and how many?

Yaar, let's admit it. We're just so 'chalta hai' in our attitude, ki social justice ka ek hi tareeka hai ... laws and reservations.

I rest my case.