Well, at least in most of our food chain drawings at school. I remember seeing tigers or lions most of the time, my science teacher pointing to it and declaring to the class, ‘Look here! This is the head of the food chain. Not man, ‘cos it is a proven fact that tigers can hunt men down.’
Sadly, now the hunter has become the hunted. They hunt humans only when they are hungry or endangered, whereas we humans, who call ourselves the only beings with ‘that extra sense’, have hunted them solely for vanity.
So then, what happened to that ‘extra sense’? What use have we put it to? Only 1411 tigers are left in our country. Isn’t it high time we did something? They have as much right to live as us. Every time I see the ad with cub waiting for his mother tears almost fill my eyes. We have no right to snatch his mother away from him. His needs his mother as much as you do.
Join the movement. All you girls out there, you drool over Surya when you watch his movie. And guys, you are ecstatic if Dhoni hits a six. Listen to them now. Save our tigers!
I am sure you do not want to rely on a soft toy to show your kid ten years later what a tiger looks like. And most importantly, don’t force our government to choose a different national animal.
Visit http://www.saveourtigers.com/index.phpto roar. Every roar counts! Tell your friends about this in one of your many calls. Sms, mail, blog... Speak up! You can save a tiger. Let us help them live their majestic lives; if nothing else, at least for our great-great-great grandchildren to look at them with awe.
One of the people that I am eternally grateful to God for creating is Walt Disney. There could be nobody who has not heard of him. This post is a tribute to that great man who is a major part of my life; making me laugh, cry and sigh in reminiscence.
All, I will not say ‘most part’, of my childhood days were spent watching Disney cartoons and movies. There was no cable at our house until recently. There was only good ol’ Doordarshan. And man, am I glad we didn’t have cable at that time. It would never have occurred to us to turn on the national television once in a while and I would have missed the best of shows.
All my school days were spent rushing back home from school and watching ‘Disney Time’ from 4.30 in the evening. It consisted of a collection of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Duck Tales, Darkwing Duck, Talespin, Chip n’ Dale Rescue Rangers and what not (Donald being my favourite character). Right from the title tracks, everything was a wonder. During weekends, there used to be a movie usually, Alice in Wonerland and Timon and Pumba. It did get a little irritating though, when they started playing dubbed versions in Hindi. :(
Thinking back, probably Disney encouraged my interest in art. I remember my very first Donald Duck cartoon that looked nothing like a duck, forget Donald. I even remember this secret wish to become a cartoonist at Disney. Glad I didn’t say it out loud at home. :P
Disney cartoons came at a time when 2D animation was just beginning to gain popularity. In fact, they were one of the first pictures to be screened, the very first ones being just animated characters scampering about without any sound. They surely have come a long way since. It is hard to believe that they are merely two-dimensional cartoons that portrayed all those emotions so beautifully; the love, hate, anger, laughter… making me laugh and cry with them. I sometimes doubt if real actors could produce such emotions.
The love between Simba and Nala was portrayed so beautifully in the Lion King, that for sometime we forget that they are lions. When Cinderella sings about how holding on to our dreams can make them come true, we completely believe it. And, who doesn’t fall in love with the Beast when he dresses up to impress Beauty? We are charmed and enchanted by their sweet and polite personality so much so that we even try to be like them. It was a world where all that was needed to fix something was a smile, a song or a kiss. Then we would truly believe that everything was indeed all right.
However, I am not as amazed or wowed by their creations these days. It’s as if they have exhausted all their geniuses and are settling for normalcy. I just wish they made more classics like Cinderella, Snow White, Lady and the Tramp…
So here is to the guy who made a million faces, big and small, smile. You will be in our hearts forever. After all, what more do you need when your special someone gives you one of your favourite classics for Valentine’s Day? :)
If your immediate response to this title is ‘Oh yeah, and I saw a flying pig’, oh well, carry on reading. Who am I to stop you? And anyway, some extra viewership never killed anyone. :P
I love movies. The ones with the happy-happy endings, of course. All it takes is a little more than an hour to restore our faith in humanity and all things bright and beautiful.
Well, why not? If that dull-looking girl could land that handsome hunk that all those hot n’ popular high school gals have been after, it would definitely boost your confidence in finding love to no end. If this guy is able to somehow miraculously provide for his family after all their long days of struggle and poverty, wouldn’t you think you had a chance to make your family too? Movies are what make you say, like Aamir Khan, ‘All izz definitely well’.
It’s true that life is not a movie, that we cannot expect any act of heroism or, sometimes even an act of kindness in reality. But there is still nothing wrong in hoping, is there? Hoping that everything will be alright, that we would have our own happily-ever-afters…
I have spent a good part of my life sighing and pouting that when it comes to someone else, things always seem so perfect and happy. My usual complain format goes something like this – ‘Sigh… just look at her. She has everything one could ask for. And what the hell am I doing?? Life is sooooo unfair.’ Oh yeah, I do drag the ‘so’. In retrospect, I have decided I am going to stop this. Well, I am at least going to try.
For one thing, I know nothing about their life. None of them are my sisters, or even my closest ‘buds’. Whatever I know about them is what I have seen or heard. And we all know that that is not to be believed. And yet, here I am, complaining about people, with no idea what they have been through, however bad they might have been portrayed, having a good life.
Everyone deserves a chance at happiness. A second chance at life, whatever they might have done earlier. It’s their own happily-ever-after and I should be happy that it still does happen. So what if it is not me? Probably I am next.
Not all is lost, is it? Wouldn’t it be boring if we were sad the entire time or happy all the time? They have to take their turns. That’s how the universe has been programmed. We laugh and sing when we are happy. We just have to learn to move ahead and hope for the best once we are done crying when we are sad.
Life happens when we are busy making other plans, they say. Just let go. What’s gonna happen is gonna happen. Give your best shot and relax. Go ahead and do what you want to do, so that you have no regrets. Let everything else; the dirty politics at work and of course, in the country, the traffic violations, the thefts and murders, take their course and come to an end when they have to. However wrong it may be, however much unfair it may seem to you, the stark reality is it has happened. Just use it as a step to move forward.
Life is not a movie. But they are inspired by life. All we need to do is believe, not become a cynic. We come out of the theatre smiling if the movie ends on a happy note. So why not in real life? That’s what friends and family are for, to go to for support and cheering up. And what more do you need if you have your special someone?
Just take a deep breath and freeze this thought in your mind – It's a beautiful life. Everything will be alright. Seriously, the time that we have here is absolutely not worth spending in sorrow.
Hope was last to come out of Pandora’s box. She probably came out last to show that even when nothing goes according to plan, she would still be there in the end, helping us get through. We should just never let her go.
So go on. Hold on to Hope. You will most definitely have your very own happily-ever-after. :)
Software engineer, hate. Artist, love. Highly opinionated, not generally appreciated. Fiercely passionate about life. A die hard Calvin and Hobbes fan.
