Y : Youth & Regret #AtoZChallenge2020

The dreams of the youth are the regrets of maturity 

~ Tim Curry, English Actor & Singer

Extended lockdown period is also about to get over on 3rd May 2020, and many of us in red zone districts are not sure about its further extension. While everyone in my social circle is making efforts to stay positive, some have faced few moments of anxiety and in some cases moments of regret too. Regrets which cloud our peaceful existence in idle moments! Regrets which we shouldn't carry into our old age / maturity! This led me to a poem, I had written on a whim in 2016, but never shared it with anyone. It is the job of a novice. But I didn't want to regret later, that I never shared it on my blog. 

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Poem : Youth & Regret

I remember my harum-scarum youth,

When I kissed you in the school booth.

I remember the freckle on your face,

Getting you in my arms was no less than a chase.

I remember the day, when we took different routes,

You forgot me completely, but I missed you in bouts.

I remember the years where worth remembering happened nothing,

I got lot of action but stopped feeling a thing.

I remember getting married and having a grown up son,

It was too late when I realized, you were the one. 

Today, I am alone on my death bed,

Looking back on my life, some tears I just shed.

I wonder where you are and what you are doing,

I wish I hadn't slapped you that day, it was my undoing. 

***

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My theme for this year's #AtoZchallenge is Lock-down Blues. I intend to write and talk about how I deal with it, what it inspires me to read or watch or any aspect of it which fascinates me. You can read the theme reveal post here. 

Previous Challenges : Letter Y

2017: Yumdude

2018: Yes and No - The success mantra

2019: Yash Chopra's cliches - Hindi Films / Bollywood

Y : Yash Chopra's cliches - Hindi Films / Bollywood #AtoZChallenge 2019

Earlier in this #AtoZChallenge2019 (Theme - Hindi Film Industry / Bollywood cliches), I did a post on Karan Johar's cliches. Because he heads one of the most powerful production houses in Bollywood and in the films he has directed, he has introduced several tropes / cliches which are worth documenting. But did you know that Johar often calls Yash Raj Films - the film production and  distribution company founded by Yash Chopra - his film school? So, I found it apt to do a post on the cliches introduced in Bollywood by Chopra.

Yash Chopra, who passed away in 2012 at the age of 80, is considered among the best Indian film-makers. He has won 6 national film awards and is also the recipient of Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2001). He has also won umpteen fraternity film-awards. Chopra's career as a director can be clearly divided into two parts. Pre-Chandni and Post-Chandni. Chandni (Moonlight) released in 1989 and was a runaway hit. Before Chandni, Chopra used to dabble in multiple genres. He made hard-hitting social dramas (Waqt in 1965), suspense thrillers (Ittefaq in 1969), angst filled action films (Deewar in 1975; Trishul in 1978) and great love stories (Silsila in 1981). And I personally feel those are his better films. But after Chandni, Chopra's film-making became formulaic. It doesn't mean that he made bad films after that. But he stopped doing the new. Romantic love-triangles became his forte. And in how many ways you can tell the same story! Really! This post is about some of the cliches I found silly in his post Chandni films. 

My biggest peeve is representation of the state of Punjab in his films (the ones he either produced or directed). His Punjab is idyllic rural / agrarian state where you only see mustard fields. In his Punjab, everyone is always dressed in bright colors or in folk-dance costumes. And a dhol (a kind of drum), will always be heard in his Punjab with everyone just waiting to break into Bhangra or Giddha - the folk dances of Punjab. The following image is for representation purposes only, but this picture is how Chopra imagined Punjab and beautified it further in his films. 

The reality is far from it. Punjab's cropping pattern oscillates between wheat and rice. These crops consume huge amounts of water and thus water tables are lowering in Punjab every year. This is leading to disastrous circumstances and agrarian stress. How can farmers be happy and dancing in this situation! While Punjab is one of the largest wheat producing states in India, it is nowhere in top for mustard production. 88% of Indian mustard production happens in states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Even the yellow sarson is more prevalent in eastern and north eastern states. In Punjab it is grown as a catch crop only in winter seasons for a short duration. 

Punjab also has several industrial districts which are highly polluted. I wish the air was more cleaner like in Chopra films. As far as art is concerned, if you throw a brick in Punjab, you are more likely to hit a really bad singer than a Bhangra dancer. Nearly 20 new songs are produced in Punjab everyday and nearly 20% of the consumption on music streaming app Gaana is for Punjabi songs. (Refer this article) And not everyone dances to these songs. They are played in bars and cars.

I felt 2018 film Manmarziyaan (Heart's wish) directed by Anurag Kashyap represented a more real Punjab. It is no coincidence that one of the leads in it was a singer who wanted to cut an album. 

Another standard trope which Chopra introduced in his films was shooting of songs in foreign locales. Mostly Switzerland's snow capped mountains! The heroine would be dancing in a chiffon sari not feeling cold, while the hero would be covered from head to toe in pullovers and jackets. Borrowing the line from a comedian which is apt for this situation- "Mard ko dard nahi hota par thand lagti hai!" (Hero doesn't feel pain but he feels cold). Many a time, these songs were dream sequences. After all, how many middle class Indians can afford to go to Europe! By the way there is a Yash Chopra statue in Switzerland. Presumably because his films boosted Swiss tourism. 

Ironically, Karan Johar, made fun of this very trope (dancing on mountains) in one of the scenes in his 2016 film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (Oh heart! It's difficult). Watch the clip below!

After he directed Chandni, Chopra directed 6 more films. Four of them had Shahrukh Khan in the lead. Clearly no trope works better than Shahrukh for Yash Raj Films and Dharma Productions. 

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My theme for this year's #AtoZchallenge is Hindi Film Industry / Bollywood cliches. You can read the theme reveal post here.

2017 Challenge Post from Letter Y: Yumdude - A post about food memories. Click here to read.

2018 Challenge Post from Letter Y: Yes and No - The success mantra - A post about decisiveness. Click here to read.

Y : Yes and No - The success mantra #AtoZchallenge

I once knew a man, who was strange, in one particular aspect. Let us call him "The Boss". 

When posed with a categorical question, a normal person would respond with a specific answer. Especially if the categorical question is the classic Yes or No question. 

Example Question: Would you visit my blog again? (It is categorical and a Yes or No question)

Possible Answer 1: Yes

Possible Answer 2: No

Agreed, the world became more crazy when Market Research was invented and a third possible answer got added to the list.

Possible Answer 3: Maybe

But "The Boss" was special. He manufactured a Possible Answer 4 and used it very often. And you, my dear reader, can easily guess, who was at the receiving end. Every time he spouted the Possible Answer 4, I was left scratching my head. I had to make sense of it fast, so as not to look like a fool. And I failed miserably. Every time. Every awful time. And here is his invention - 

Possible Answer 4 : Yes and No

Do you realize the futility of it all? It is not a 'Maybe'. It is not a 'It depends'. It is a 'Yes and No.'

Example Question I posed to "The Boss":  Are you delusional?

Answer: Yes and No. 

My interpretation: Yes, he is, in office. No, he isn't, in front of his wife.

Real Question I posed to "The Boss": Do you approve of the creative?

Real Answer by him: Yes and No.

My interpretation: Yes, he approves it now. His opinion will surely change after some time. Let me work on more options.

Real Question I posed to "The Boss" : Do you agree customers are getting more demanding? (In context of changing a particular course of action)

Real Answer by him: Yes and No.

My interpretation: Yes they are. But he doesn't really give a damn and wants me to do what he thinks is right. 

But the thing is that "The Boss" was immensely successful. And I believe Possible Answer 4 was the reason behind this success. And I want to be the smart one. And definitely, I want to be successful. So I have decided to use Possible Answer 4 in the following situations.

1. Whenever my direct reports want me to take a decision but I don't want to take one. At the same time I don't want to look indecisive. 

Example Question by my direct report: Can I take a leave tomorrow?

My Answer: Yes and No.

What should my direct report think about my response and me : Yes, I can take a leave. But not tomorrow. My boss is so cool.

2. Whenever I am in a meeting with two powerful people who differ on an issue and they ask me to break the stalemate. And I don't want to offend either of them.

Example Question by them: Person 1 - Should we give a pay hike to the employees this year given company's bad performance? (Person 2 wants the pay hike given his body language, while Person 1 is responsible for cost cutting)

My Answer : Yes and No.

What should they think about my response and me: Yes, hike should be given. But only to the people in this room. This guy is really smart and cares for everyone. 

3. When I am asked my opinion on a subject that I lack knowledge in. And I don't want to sound dumb.

Example Question by a colleague: Do you think government should introduce tax breaks on bosses farting in front of their colleagues?

My Answer : Yes and No

What should the colleague think about my response and me : Yes, tax breaks for me. Not for my smelly boss. My colleague is such a sorted person. 

4. When during my appraisal I am asked a tricky question. And I don't want to sound boorish and risk a fat paycheck. 

Example Question by boss: Is money more important than a challenging responsibility for you?

My Answer : Yes and No

What should my boss think about me : Yes money is important for him. No challenge scares him though. He is the best resource I have.

I should write a management book titled "Replace your OR with AND : Make your path to the corner office rosy." 

Do you think I should write this book?

a. Yes

b. No

c. May be

d. a. and b. 

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My last year's challenge post from letter Y was about my food memories. The post was titled after my Zomato handle Yumdude. Read it here.

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My theme for this year's #AtoZchallenge is all about writing stories, anecdotes and observations from my life in form of easy to read listicles. You can read the theme reveal post here.

Y : Yumdude

Yumdude is my handle / user name on Zomato. 

For the uninitiated, Zomato is a leading food ordering, restaurant search and review app in India. They are present in other countries too.

For the ones, who are not aware of Indian mythology, Yama is God of Death and Doot means messenger. Yamdoot is Yama's Messenger and my handle is a play on that. I thought I was being original and relevant while keeping this name. But, to my disappointment, much later, after I made this handle, I discovered a T - Shirts brand called Yum Dude and Snapdeal did a campaign with a character called Yam Dude. Huh! One can never be sure in today's world. And I think being original is going to be increasingly difficult.

If I haven't lost you already, let me tell you that this post is not about originality or Zomato handles. I am a foodie and I wanted to document my love for food in some way. I have done almost 100 restaurant reviews under this handle and I feel my journey has just begun.

They say a Punjabi's adventure gets over at the last Sher-e-Punjab Dhabha on his journey. I don't know if that is true, because I enjoy all kind of cuisines. When I eat somewhere, I don't add ketchup or salt / pepper to what is served. I love to eat food the way the cook wants it to be eaten. I had heard somewhere, this is a respectful thing to do for your host or chef. Over the years, due to this habit of mine, I developed a taste for different cuisines. Yes, some foods are still off the table, like pungent smelling foods. I won't ever have reptiles and insects. I will never fall for the fad of eating live food. But I mostly try everything otherwise.

I can't name my favorite food, but I have a weakness for sweets. I remember every time my school results would come, I would ask my mother to buy a Bengali sweet called Chena Murki (made with Sugar & Cottage Cheese). So this sweet reminds me of success. 

Whenever I smell, a mixture of flour, ghee and sugar being roasted, I get reminded of my grand-mother, who used to prepare delicious Pinnis. No one can cook Makki ki Roti and Sarson Ka Saag better than my mother. I think every proud Punjabi son thinks the same about his mother. But the memory associated with this food is so strong, that every time I go home, I know my mother will cook it for me. And I think I get a dopamine hit in anticipation, before I even reach home.

While I enjoy all my fine dining experiences, if I have to choose my best food moments, they are not related to a very costly restaurant or any complex dish. Chena Murki, Pinnis and Makki ki Roti with Saag will be at the top always. And there are few places / food moments which are etched in my memory very strongly. 

Once during our school vacations, my father took us to a trip to Kullu and Manali. A long stretch of the journey was along the river Beas. Beas had gushing ice cold water. We sat at one such spot and got some mangoes chilled in that water and then we ate them by the side of the road on the banks of the river.

On yet another trip to Manikaran Sahib, we had a breakfast of hot stuffed parathas with butter and really sweet tea at a road side dhabha. Cheap, yes. But at that time, it was the most heavenly food.

There was a shop near my home that served Chhole Bhature. I used to go there often, but my favorite part was when the cook used to keep two fresh pieces of paneer on the plate. That was like a reward for eating there.

I discovered cheesecake very late in life. I was on my honeymoon, and we were shopping in Kuala Lumpur and we saw a cheescake shop. I had never tried it before. And when, I had the first bite, I knew Chena Murki and Pinni had a strong competition. After that I tried cheesecakes everywhere. But I got my best experience at the Cheesecake Factory Dubai Mall. This is what I had there. If food can kill, this is the way I would like to die. Tell me your food story.