A Tribute to my mentor of English Literature - RIP Chatterjee Sir

There is a bad news for all the ex-students of Jawaharlal English School....

Our beloved English/History Teacher Mr.Robindranath Chatterjee expired on last Sunday (3rd Nov-13) ;( 

What an irony, the person who lit the light of English literature among the students, who initiated the sparks of love for subjects like History and Civics (Social Science) in his students was blown away on a Diwali Night :(

The best ever Teacher who taught History & English very passionately and actually had knowledge of both the subjects. But had to say that he was a victim of dirty politics of JES and never got the respect and place what he really deserved. 

I remember me and my ex-classmate had gone to his home and he said "Wait, don't tell me your names, let me guess....you are "Suraj Gaikwad" of 1999 batch" and also told the name of my ex-classmate. We also got a complement that ours was the last best batch which passed from JES. I have a habit of capturing such memorable moments in my camera as who knows whether we would get another chance of enjoying them...so fortunately enough, I had taken a photograph of him...to which he was shy and I convinced him that I won't put it up anywhere to which he agreed. I kept my words but now I can't resist putting it in this article for those who also really admired him and want to share a glimpse of him through his photo and it would also be a small tribute to him from my side....

Today whatever I write/speak a bit in English is the result of the passion and fire that was ignited by Chatterjee Sir in 9th and 10th Standard. We sometimes used to crack jokes behind his back but I personally always had a lot of respect for that man as he taught me directly or indirectly many things during the school days...

There are lot of memories attached to Chatterjee Sir. 

<> I remember he directed our play 'The Dear Departed' in 9th Standard. My 1st scary experience of acting in a play which had lengthy English dialogues at a tender age of 14. During the same period, I had scored 7 out of 10 in our English paper's grammar section. Usually I used to score 10/10 or 9/10 but this time my score dipped. Sir had commented in front of the class while announcing the scores that these days Mr.Suraj seems to be interested more in co-curricular activities. At first, I felt angry as why is he insulting me in this way but soon realized that I was also among the other English scholars in our class on whom his hopes were pinned. He made us love English literature than anybody else in school days via our favourite Bible of English Grammar "Wren & Martin" and its associated "Key" (both were red in colour if somebody has forgotten it!) 

<> Once an unofficial school outing was fixed by JES teachers for their family members to Mahabaleshwar. Me and few of my friends were asked if we too want to join it along with our parents which we heartily accepted. Sir had come along with his Wife and daughter. 1st time got a chance to see all the teachers along with their family members...their true colours which they showed in the bus which would never been known to me unless I was a part of that trip. Rashmi Miss and Munira Miss were pulling legs of Chatterjee Sir a lot throughout the journey by singing some funny song (non-filmy) which started like "Gaadime Chananana Chananana Hoye Re, Gaadime Baithe Do Bengali..." and then they would add some peculiarity of that couple in the next lines. Every teacher was a victim of this song :)
Whoever had brought some stuff to eat in the bus was passing it to all the teachers and their family members. That trip was like an extended family travelling together for the 1st time together.

<> Daily in the evening after the school was over, he along with his wife used to go for a walk in Maharshi Nagar area. I had accidently met him 2-3 times during those walks during my college days or even after that. We used to have a candid short talk which was equally pleasant for both the parties. The way students show respect for their teachers, their teachers also can convey respect and love for their favourite students is what I had learnt from those interactions. That same affection had taken me twice to meet him at his house.

JES had seen some ultimate teachers who were masters in their own subjects like Late. Dhonwad Miss (Marathi) who used to teach poems in very easy tunes which later I realized were tunes of famous marathi songs but it did help us in learning those meaningful poems easily. Love for poems started somewhere from Dhonwad Miss....which was shortly blossomed by Vaidehi Miss in her short stint in JES.

It had Kaveri Miss....another gem of Mathematics...especially teaching geometry was a child's play for her.

JES also had so many teachers whom all the students loved like Flori Miss, Diana Miss, Rashmi Miss (there were 2 with the same name and both were good), Annie Miss, Bharti Miss, Madhu Miss, Munira Miss and the list will continue.....

However it had very less number of Male teachers.....who really belonged to this field and shaped many lives in real sense of those who believed in him and his abilities.

RIP Mr.Robindranath Chatterjee...a real Maestro of English Literature and History..........JES and all the students whom you taught will certainly miss you Sir !!!

'Father Teresa' does it again for India !!!

Ishant Sharma....mere झिपरे....टोंगळे....'लख्ते-जिगर'... I ♥U...

You always make me and all Indians very proud !!!

While I was posting this status, Ishant just called me to tell that his bowling coach ' Mr. Ashish Nehra' congratulated him for his consistent 'Death-over Bowling' and told him that he is exactly sticking to all the basics taught by him. Certainly a Proud Coach !!!

When James Faulkner was taken for 21 runs in the last over by Dhoni, he was not worried as he knew that our 'Father Teresa' would reciprocate by feeding him more runs than what he gave. Only Ishant can have that calibre on whom opponents can also depend !!!

Few may vent their anger by saying that his ever growing hairs may be affecting his vision due to which 'Yorker' term is out of question for him and so does the word 'Stump'. For them I must ask that if Dhoni had long hairs for a substantial period of time then why not Ishant can keep them which is a good-luck charm for his consistent bowling form????

So now please stop criticizing our Bowler of the millenium.....
If your Dhoni can hit 4-5 sixers in an inning then my super-talented Ishant can concede them in a single over too...no big deal for him. 

You need to have more courage to do so....it shows his brave heart and generous nature towards his opponents....a real philanthropic man I must say....

Just pray that Umesh Yadav won't be fit to replace Ishant else you will miss an opportunity of witnessing a 'Live Social Service Act' as there is no other replacement for our Bowling Maestro - Ishant Sharma !!!

Happy Birthday Bappi Da - 18th Oct - 2013

Thank U all for wishing me on my B'day....

Especially those who spend few bucks on calls to wish me...
(Mehengai ka zamana hai bhai...isliye uun 3 lucky winners/callers ka special mention hona chaahiye....)

Thank U Onkar Alurkar, Kaushik Sharma and Mohsin Havaldar for not making my mobile feel lonely today and avoiding me feel ashamed of having a mobile especially today :)
(I hope 'Inflation' will not affect @least U in future and u continue to call me wherever I am to wish me on my B'day :P)

Special thanks to Surya Sunkara, Varad Dixit and Jagruti for making me feel that I am STILL worth a person who has touched ur life in some way or the other....
Your today's B'day wishes in ur own style which had ur personal touch really made my day....and mind U....U all 3 pleasantly surprised me.....

This is a usual trend every year...Unexpected Ppl surprise me every year by wishing me in a very nice way and those expected 1s either opt for easy way out of either msging/posting on FB or pinging me when m online or the best part....they totally 4get that I exist ;) However if I miss wishing them on their B'days, they do crib to me.....pretty strange???Believe It...'Ripley's Believe It Or Not' :D

Anyways, I also loved the way few of U still called me 'Bappi Da' while wishing me on FB :) It felt like u Ppl are still around me and we all are still enjoying that 'Golden Era of OBR'..

Many learnings from the day:

1) Not to remain awake just to wish people @ 12.00 on their B'days even when u need to wake up early in the morning for ur office.

2) Do not call and waste money when U notice on FB that ur friend's B'day is there when one can simply type a line on his wall ...which he/she may/may not check on the same day but u have diligently performed ur duty.

3) One can also try another easier option of text msg...especially if sm msg pack is activated.

4) Do not look at ur mobile @ 12.00 hoping @list sm1 will call U as for the rest 364 days U still have to be nice with ur mobile even if it betrayed U on ur B'day.

5) The best lesson learnt: You start believing that you have given a lot to the people around U and they will always remember that and acknowledge U by @list wishing U on ur B'day.....all crap.....once out of limelight, you are simply a Mr.Nobody !!!

6) Need to learn to stop keeping contact with those whom I call every year once to wish on their B'days but who are never in touch with me even on my B'day.

7) Also need to learn to stop re-dialling if a B'day Boy/Gal didn't pick ur call twice or thrice or did not even bother to give a call-back or msg U.

Gosh, birthdays can be a nightmare if U start the day with too much expectations...
So let it unfold the way it is scripted so that the surprises will make U more happy than the sadness which comes from the huge disappointments!!!

This is one damn day which shows U your real value in other people's life !!!

So again thankU to all those who made me smile today...touched my heart by their small gestures/acts....especially the 'Sole Gifter' for taking so much efforts just to give me that beautiful gift....a gift on MY B'day.... ha ha ha.....a big joke which repeated after 5 damn yrs...
(Saala ab tak main sochta tha ke 'Paagalpan' ka theka sirf maine leke rakha hai par aaj meri wo galatfehmi bhi duur ho gayi) !!!

"Lifetime Achievement Award Day" !!!

सभी पुराने एवं नए मित्रोंको यह बताते हुए मुझे बड़ा आनंद प्राप्त हो रहा है के मेरी 'शनि दशा (साडे-साती)' समाप्त हो चूकी है! 

इसी कारणवश हमारे जीवनमे पुनः पदोन्नती का योग आया है एवं हम 'Team Leader' नियुक्त किये गए है!

Moral Of The Story: I have been handed over my 'Lifetime Achievement Award' ... 

अभी भी नही समझे??? अमा कमाल करते हो आप भी पांडेजी।।।

हम आपसे अवार्ड की बात कर रहे है और आप है के हमारी उमर का हिसाब लगा रहे है!!  

हमारे कहने का मतलब ये है के ......चलो थोडी अंग्रेजी ट्राय करते है....

I mean to say ke I have been promoted as a 'Team Leader' :) 

I would like to thank all those who taught me something or the other in my entire tenure in the current organization. A special thanks to those who thought I would never make it up to this level. 

There were lot of working hands shaping me throughout this period whom I have already thanked. Yet this is again a small appreciation from my side to all those whom I may have missed in my mail or who have left the organization...but ofcourse after teaching me something great stuff !!

The most pleasant part of the day was that many people were more happy than me for my promotion as if they were more eagerly waiting for my promotion thinking that I really deserved it. 

Their faith in me and my abilities and qualities which I can harness into my next job level was shown to me from time to time which kept me going on the 'slow track pitch which had uneven bounce' !!! 

I would always cherish this truthful affection shown towards me when I needed it the most.

I pray to god that kindly keep me rooted to the ground and don't alter me much unless it is really required for my new role and please let me be an 'Aam Aadmi' among the elite league :) 

Also don't make my creativity fade away due to the burden of new responsibilities and new challenges which I would have to face. Instead, show me ways to use my creativity for the betterment of my new role.

Thanks again to all the mentors from the bottom of my heart for making me achieve this success.

P.S. Kindly do not ask the current CTC as it won't be disclosed @ any cost !!! ;)

Yours,

Suraj Gaikwad

हे गणराया. . .

हे गणराया,

• लोकांना तुझ्यापुढे 'श्रवनणीय' गाणी लावण्याची सुबूद्धी दे ! 
• त्यांना आर्त्या पाठ नसतील तर निदान वाचून तरी अचूकपणे म्हणावयास लाव.
• अवाजवी भपका टाळून त्याची जागा श्रद्धेनं घेउ दे. 
• खरी श्रद्धा ही मनाच्या गाभाऱ्यात निर्माण होते व ती भव्य-दिव्य आरास/देखावे उभे करून किंवा महागडे मिष्ठांन्ने नैवेद्य म्हणून अर्पण करून या द्वारे ती कधीच व्यक्त होत नाही याचा साक्षात्कार लोकांना घडू देत.   

( काही खाजगी मागण्या !!! )

१) "पदोन्नतीच्या" अवतीभवती "पदलातीत्य" करुन-करुन संपूर्ण   
   "पदन्न्यासच" विसरून गेलो आहे. तेव्हा तुमच्या या सुकाळात हे  
    अडलेलं घोडं एकदाचं गंगेत न्हावू द्या.    

२) 'अविवाहीत/ विना-आरक्षित ललनांची' नजर आमच्यावर पडू द्यात व 
     पडून ती टिकू द्यात व टिकून ती पुढे कायमस्वरुपी 'कामी'  येऊ द्यात 
     म्हणजे पुढच्या वर्षी आपणास 'चार हातांचा' प्रणाम स्विकारण्यास 
     सज्ज राहता येईल. 

३) आमच्या मित्रांना (व मैत्रिणींना) आमचा वेडा स्वभाव पेलण्याची ताकद 
    द्या…धैर्य द्या…त्यांचा धीर वाढवा.

४) त्यांना ही मौलीक शिकवण द्या की 'भ्रमणयंत्र' हे या पामर 
     मित्राकरितासुद्धा वापरावयाचे असते. त्याचा    
     उपयोग केवळ काही 'राखीव' व्यक्तींसाठीच नसतो याचं सतत त्यांना 
     भान असू देत.

(अजून काही विसरलो असल्यास पुढच्या ८ दिवसांमध्यॆ नक्की सांगेन…) 

तुझा भक्त,
~ सुरज~

            < सर्व गणेशभक्तांना गणेश चतुर्थीच्या हार्दीक शुभेच्छा !!!  >

"Ashuddh Videsi Chance !!!"

The poor victims who felt that "I Hate Love Stories" was a milder dose for spinning their head must surely watch "Shuddh Desi Romance" which shall complete the remaining quota of their total brain damage.

With already 2 -ve reviews in mind, we (Mircheeonksur) dared to watch this movie.

Director Maneesh Sharma tries to touch many aspects in the film like Live-in relationship, fear of commitment, ? mark about marriage system, the unstable mind of today's youth, their eagerness to try out sex before marriage, the hypocritical and over-rated things related to a marriage, ignorance of guidance received from the elders and the urge of becoming independent from parents, career, decisions, selection of a partner etc etc. 

Overall speaking, it's an out an out movie made for today's youth and this fact will also be proved by the type of crowd in the theatre ;)

Maneesh Sharma being a very smart director released this movie globally with title as "Random Desi Romance" as somewhere he knew that the major concept of this movie which is live-in won't be engulfed smoothly by Indian audience.It might take ages for live-in relationships to become a part of Indian society/mentality and that's why this movie won't do a great business in later days....although it earned 7 Crores after its release.

Anyways, let's talk about the positives of the movie:
Sushan Singh Rajput: He showed his acting skills a bit in "Kai Po Che" however this movie gives him a chance as a solo hero where he showcases all his acting as well as dancing talent I may say....and of course his kissing talent too 
(And I am sure after seeing his 27 kiss scenes (Although I never counted them while watching the movie) in the movie, Profound Professors of this branch of affection like Imran Hashmi, Randeep Hooda would have surely had their heart in the mouth seeing someone taking away their 'Bread'-winning act). 


Although there aren't many dance numbers in the movie, the song "Tere Mere Beechme Kya Hai" gives a minute opportunity to this ex-dancer of Shiamak Davar's dancing classes to show that in future, if choreographed properly, he has all the stuff in him to produce a fantastic dance song as he has looks, great physique (which seemed a bit less as compared to Kai Po Che) and flexibility required for dancing.

Very smartly he shows the small-small nuances of acting when one is too confused...nervous....ecstatic...romantic...scared or angry.

Parineeti Chopra: This gal alike her cousin sis chooses different roles and that too in the initial stages of her career which is good for her and her career. 

From her 1st scene itself, we realize that we might get to see some different Parineeti in this movie and she doesn't disappoint us. She occupies the screen with her bold and beautiful awtaar.

Vaani Kapoor: Yash Raj films has an affinity for new attractive faces and they yet again present a new face 'Vaani Kapoor'. 

This 20 yr old model never makes us realize that this is her debut movie. There are scenes where she even overshadows Parineeti. 

Her total appearance in the movie is pleasant and refreshing. Every guy may prefer a girl like 'Tara' who is a combo of beauty with brains (remember that scene where she give notes of Rs 100/- to Sushant with her contact details on it ;))

Vaani can surely go much far in Bollywood if given a proper chance...ofcourse via her acting skills only.










Rishi Kapoor: If I won't mention his name then it would be injustice to this attempt of movie review. 

This 2nd inning of Rishi's career is a real inning where he is now actually 'acting' now in a real sense. 

Atleast now thankfully he doesn't try something new which won't suit his age and thus he comes up with new and challenging roles.

It all started with 'Do Dooni Chaar'...followed by 'Agneepath' (Man....never thought that he would pull out Rauf Lala with that much arrogance and shrewdness)...continued in 'D-Day'...a must watch movie to see 'Dawood Ibrahim' portrayed by him...and now his caterer owner 'Goyal Sahab'.

Mark my words....this year's most awards for the 'Best Villain' and 'Best Comedian' will be surely bagged by Rishi Kapoor !!!









It seems like this year belongs to all Kapoors N Kapoors only...It started with Ranbir Kapoor (Barfi), then Arjun Kapoor (Aurangzeb), Sonam Kapoor (Raanjhanaa), Shraddha Kapoor (Aashiqui-2) and now Vaani Kapoor (Shuddh Desi Romance).

Your brain might bring images of Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake from "Friends With Benefits" while watching 'SDR' but the "Kabhi Idhar Kabhi Udhar" formula used in this movie easily separates it from 'FWB'.

The way 'Raghuram Shriram' and 'Gayatri' are confused throughout the movie (let's exclude 'Tara'...not because I have a soft-corner for her ;) but only because she takes a firm decision @ one point in the movie), the climax also leaves the audience in a bewildered state about what exactly the Director wanted to convey. This movie doesn't work on the pre-defined patterns and that may be the reason of that hatke 'The End' of this movie is what my small brain can say at the most.

If the common man/woman amongst you is deciding to watch this movie just by going on its name, then let me caution you (soon would-be victims), do not 'ASSUME'. There is nothing 'Shuddh' in the movie nor 'Desi'. The only word from the title which justifies the movie is 'Romance'....so if you have lost this from your life and love to see on-screen then please march ahead my brave soldiers...and thy god shall save you !!!

"Unstoppable Changes" Which Change You !!!

Sometimes U open up too much with Ppl around U and that's when they start taking U for granted...Ur frank approach may be taken in some undesirable way...

@1 point, U may b the source of a smile to sm1...and @ another juncture, U see urself as a cause of fading smile on somebody's face...an irksome reason for sm1 when U try to be as U were....

U may just do anything to bring a smile on their faces but @ d sem time, U may get hurt by the same Ppl..... U may 4give once...twice...but not again n again....

Their direct words may not come to hurt U but the gradual change in their approach towards U says it all....U may ask why things are getting changed as U never wanted so to happen...but all U get to hear is 'All Is Well'....

U may sense the 10sn in that relationship and try to firmly hold on to it b4 it slips away from ur hands but under the chants of "All Is Well"...

U are just stranded to see Ppl going away from U....or may be U dragged away from them....

U keep on apologizing for an unknown reason and try to know what went wrong....but seldom U get the actual facts to know.....

U try to hide ur anger and frustration but it finally takes a toll on U....but still U just keep quiet as U never wanted to complicate things and insult sm1 which is the easiest option available to react in such a situation...neither do U want to open up to the person hurting/ignoring U again as U did it few times in the past but things never changed in a +ve way.

In such a situation, one just feels like "Goli Maar Bhejeme, Ke Bheja Shor Karta Hai..."....

That's why I am thankful to FB which is my 1st love..always ready to listen to me....wud never change (unless Mark decides so)...the coolest part is that most of the readers doesn't get what U say and only U urself know that U have vented out everything.........and finally slept peacefully ;)

I Love U My Darling Facebook....Muuuaaaaahhhhhhhhh !!!! :)