K : Kids & Lockdown #AtoZChallenge2020

My son Meharaj is a little over 3 years old. And he misses going out of home in this lockdown. Going to movies! Going to school! Going to market! Three places, he clearly understands, are not home. He also asks me daily, if I am going to office, in his half baked vocabulary, when he sees me getting ready for my 'Work from Home' routine. The point I am trying to make here is that though he can't articulate or understand it, he definitely feels the impact of being under a lockdown. He looks forward to his terrace visits once or twice a day. The moment he wakes up in the morning, he goes to the balcony and looks at the outside world with an intense longing. 

During this lockdown he has started playing a really silly game with me, which I call 'Oh!Wow!' game. He must have played it before the lockdown also, but now he does it more frequently or may be I noticed now, that there is a pattern. The game goes something like this - 

Meharaj: Papa kya kal (kar) rahe ho (What are you doing papa? )

Papa: Watching TV Meharaj

Meharaj: Watching TV? Oh! Bao! (He pronounces 'Wow' as 'Bao')

After some time

Meharaj: Papa kya kal (kar) rahe ho

Papa: Working on my laptop

Meharaj: Paptop? Oh! Bao! (And he laughs every time he says it)

After some time

Meharaj: Papa kya kal (kar) rahe ho

Papa: Having tea!

Meharaj: Tea? Oh! Bao! 

Another version

Meharaj: Papa yeh kya hai (What is this papa? Pointing at random things)

Papa: Curtains!

Meharaj: Curtains? Oh! Bao! 

And I keep playing along, because he laughs every time he says "Oh! Bao! ". Some times I reverse the roles and I ask him these questions and before he can utter those words I say "Oh! Wow!" and he realizes that his papa stole the opportunity from him and he laughs even more intensely. 

Engaging kids during this period is a big task. Also ensuring that he doesn't disturb me too much,  while I am working in my room that now serves as my office, is difficult. And we also had to ensure that he enjoys washing his hands often. 

Not always successfully though, here are some of the things we have tried so far to engage him.

1. Give him time and company in open spaces available like terrace/balcony. He takes a walk along with me or replicates his mother doing her exercises.

2. We use his playschool worksheets and some learning games to keep him busy. Every few days we introduce a new game so that he doesn't get bored.

3. There is a time, off and on, he gets on my laptop to see things happen on MS Paint. He basically makes me do stuff as he watches. 

4. He watches Chu Chu TV for some time everyday on You Tube. He watches this particularly irritating Indian version of Johny! Johny! where Johny rides everything from a bicycle to a plane. The rhyme has no rhythm. But he watches it on loop. He doesn't allow us to play anything else. 

5. Her mother reads to him for sometime a day. 

6. We made hand-washing fun for him by telling him about foam and bubbles. Sometimes he over does it.

How are you managing with the kids at your home? Any tips? 

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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 K

2017: Kipps Bakery

2018: Kindness

2019: Killer Dialogues & Cheesy Dialogues in Hindi Films / Bollywood

K : Killer Dialogues & Cheesy Dialogues in Hindi Films / Bollywood #AtoZChallenge 2019

Indians love to talk! Talk a lot! Even when they want to shoot someone, they don't shoot! They talk! They shout! They abuse! They just can't keep their mouths shut! 

This explains bombastic rhetoric and claptrap dialogue in Hindi films. And yours truly is a sucker for such dialogue. I don't just like dry action. I like it with a lot of oral (pun intended) activity. Dialogue creates drama. Dialogue creates recall value for the films. 

Imagine watching an action film or a revenge drama. They are all the same. Same story arcs! Similar screenplays! But even after all these years I remember Ghayal and Ghatak because of the following dialogues. Raw power! 

It seems Sunny Deol can never go wrong with dialogues which only a Mard (a heroic man) can deliver with such panache. We have seen sparring between a hero and a villain so many times. But how many times that sparring can be iconic. In Damini it is! Watch the video below. It is sad that dialogues in Hindi films these days have become more functional and normal.

When it comes to dialogue delivery with a deadpan face, no one does it better than Nana Patekar. In a police procedural Ab Tak Chhappan, this scene has the dialogue which will convince you that police force works this way only and there is space for no other way. Sheer power of words and how they get delivered!

All love stories are the same too! A boy meets girl. They first have a conflict. Then they fall in love. Then they face a conflict. We get to see their hardships. They either die or win over the conflict at the end. But one of the many reasons Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge is the ultimate love story, is its pithy dialogue delivered by Shahrukh Khan. He doesn't even need to fight the bad guys. His dialogue is enough.

The writer duo Salim-Javed and actor-writer Kadar Khan are people behind histrionics of Amitabh Bachchan in early 70s  through the way of their powerful dialogues. Whether it is Sholay or Sharaabi, each scene had memorable dialogues. There are many films these people wrote whose words resonate even today, after decades. As Bachchan got older, his dialogue delivery led to several films which had long monologues from him, establishing him as an alpha patriarch in those films. Watch this scene from Baghbaan to know what I mean! 

Good dialogues are not only limited to heroes. Villains also had a great time with them. Who can forget Amrish Puri spouting 'Mogambo Khush Hua' in Mr. India! Recently among heroines, Kangna Ranaut has got dialogues that are funny and poignant at the same time, making them memorable. "Hum thode bewafa kya hua, aap toh badchalan ho gaye", says she in Tanu Weds Manu Returns and gets all the applause from the audience.  

I am happy that some of the cliched dialogues have vanished from Hindi Cinema. These dialogues were used so often in earlier films, that just by hearing the dialogue you can guess what happened in the scene. Sample few. 

Bhagwaan ke liye mujhe chhod do (For God's Sake leave me!) - If you hear this it meant a bad guy is forcing himself on a woman

Kanoon ke haath bahut lambe hote hain (Hands of law are long!) -   A law enforcer warning the bad guy

Main tera khoon pee jaunga kutte (I will drink your blood, you dog!) - Dharmendra (Sunny Deol's father) threatening Amrish Puri. 

At the same time, I am sad that now we rarely get powerful dialogues. Yes, writing quality has improved a lot. With Gully Boy and Zindagi Naa Milegi Dobara, we have great writing and thus good dialogues too. But the fire is missing! May be that explains why dialogues of films like Gangs of Wasseypur are so good and old school! The characters in this film are inspired by heroes of 70's and 80s. Watch the scene below to know Tumse Naa Ho Payega!

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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 K: Kipps Bakery - A anecdote about stuff from school years. Click here to read.

2018 Challenge Post from Letter K: Kindness - Remembering the kind acts of others. Click here to read.

K : Kindness #AtoZchallenge

The best portion of a good man's life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of  love ~William Wordsworth 

We are taught throughout our lives, either by instruction of our teachers, mentors and parents or by our own observations. We learn about success and failure. We learn about happiness and sadness. We learn about dreams and aspirations. We learn about manners and integrity. 

We aspire to be successful but don't learn how to deal with failure. We want to be happy, but can't handle sadness and despair. We don't know how to help someone when dreams are shattered. Or help ourselves for that matter. Manners and Integrity we learnt in school, dissolve the moment we witness the hard reality of the world. And it happens, way too often. 

An act of kindness, at the time we have failed, can help us stand up again. Few kind words, can boost our spirits, when we are sad. Cruel behavior can only be tempered with kindness. Then why we are never taught to be kind? (just paying lip service in schools is not enough)

I believe kindness is learnt by observing and sharing acts of kindness. Therefore I am sharing few acts of kindness where I was the beneficiary. 

1. No worries boy - I was in class 4th and had participated in a recital contest for the first time. One of my favorite teachers in school was listening to the recital. I was fumbling all through, forgetting what I had learnt. She was very patient and was constantly encouraging me to continue. At one point, I just gave up and stopped reciting. She didn't show any disappointment because of my failure. She remained calm and used warm words. She rescheduled my recital to next day and asked me to prepare again. Next day I was able to complete it. After that, I participated in that contest every year and did well. But had she not given me another chance that day, I don't think I would have succeeded. Thank you Baljeet Ma'am!

2. The Three Wheeler Ride - I used to travel from Lucknow to Faizabad for field visits and often used to take a shared cab (Commander / Bolero / Sumo were common at taxi stands). Then, in 2003-04, it was a three hour journey. On that fateful day, it was raining and roads were slippery. Half way through our journey, our Sumo veered off the road and hit a tree in the ditch by the side of the road. The driver ran away. Passengers on the front seat were injured badly. I was on the middle seat and had got injuries on my face, legs and possibly head. But I was so traumatized that for few minutes, I didn't know what was going on. After few minutes, when I regained control of my senses, I found myself lying on the road, and others had dispersed. I called my channel partner - Gagan ji - at Faizabad from my mobile phone (thankfully I had recently bought my first mobile phone) and informed him about my situation. He was far away to provide any help. But he called few of my colleagues and tracked one near my location. My colleague, Pradeep Munde, reached me in double quick time on a Mahindra Champion three-wheeler. He was in a nearby dealership. I was taken on that three-wheeler to the dealership. I was given first aid and then he took me back to Lucknow and a clinic. I was fine and had escaped the mishap with few injuries. After leaving that job, I lost touch with Pradeep. Much later I came to know he committed suicide due to personal reasons. I wish someone was there to offer a kind word to him at his lowest point. Thank you Gagan ji and Pradeep!

3. Lindt chocolates - I helped one of my senior colleagues once in making a presentation that he was going to deliver at some international forum. He was not my reporting manager. He briefed me on a Friday evening and was expecting the presentation over the weekend. I was more than happy to do it, because I had learnt a lot from him over past few years and I always felt a close bond with him. He is like a mentor to me. Next week, he messaged me after he delivered his presentation, and updated me on how it was received at the forum. On his return to India, he sent me a big box of Lindt chocolates along with a Thank You note. I was overwhelmed by his gesture. He didn't really have to do it - update me or send chocolates or say Thank You. I have helped many people in such things, but never expected anything in return. I was used to it. So this gesture of his not only made me feel happy, but also was a reflection of his kindness, which is so rare. And a lesson learnt as well. Never let a good deed go unappreciated. Thank you Jaideep Sir!

There are many people whom I can thank for their benevolence including my parents, wife, close family members and friends. We should actively do the following and world would be a kinder place:

1. Say thank you often
2. Compliment people
3. If someone shares his / her dream with you, show enthusiasm.
4. Regularly tell the people you love, that you love them.
5. Always reply to messages
6. When you read a new book, share your learning with at least one more person
7. Always share your food, if you are not eating alone
8. Smile and laugh as often as possible
9. If you promise to meet someone, meet. Don't ditch them.
10. Wish people on their birthdays

I am sure, I have missed out lot of things in the list. Be kind and add.

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My last year's challenge post from letter K was about an incident at Kipps Bakery. 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. 

K : Kipps Bakery

Once upon a time, there were no coffee shops, or many places to hangout for school going kids, in Ludhiana. In fact, the pocket money was never enough to go to such places. 

But there was this one small bakery, near our school, which seemed to be everyone's favorite. It had some seating space as well. (If you go to this place today, it is not recognizable. It has changed with times and is now very grand). So we often used to go there to have our fill of puffs and pastries after the school. As we learnt the art of bunking classes, even during the school. Kipps Bakery had something for everyone.

I don't remember the timeline clearly, but P was in 11th or 12th standard and she was my house captain. She used to wear spectacles and I think she is the sole reason, that I always end up liking girls who wear spectacles more than others. Poor eyesight seems to turn me on. I had a huge crush on P. I don't think she even knew me. Or she would have ever noticed me. She bumped into me once and I felt a pain. I think it was in my heart or may be some part else. She said sorry, and moved on. That is the only interaction I ever had with her. She used to participate in everything - sports, speaking competitions etc. I used to collect each piece of poster, paper or any substance on which her name used to appear. Then I used to fold it diligently as if I was an origami expert, to ensure I could only see her name and nothing else on that paper and used to keep such papers in my geometry box.

It was sports day. She was wearing our house color shirt. Yellow. She looked more beautiful than ever before. She just had completed a race. I felt my heart sinking. I decided to tell my inner feelings to someone. So I slipped out of the school along with a friend of mine. We went to Kipps Bakery. As we sat across the table, I told my friend about my feelings for P. Before my friend could advise me on anything, I felt a strong hand on my neck holding me and a booming voice piercing through my ears. "You are too young for all this stuff. P is like your elder sister. Stay away from her or you will get a beating. You are just in 7th standard." 

He was P's classmate. May be he liked P too. But seemingly he had better chances to win her over. He was her age and in her class too. I was 5 years younger than P. My face went red with pain. I realized that day that just like exams, debates and ownership of latest video games, love is a competition too.