Review of movie Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl

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Producers: Dharma Productions, Zee Studios

Cast: Janhvi Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Angad Bedi

Written by: Nikhil Mehrotra, Sharan Sharma

The only good thing I see coming out of the present COVID – 19 scenario is that we all have to wear our masks and that includes Gunjan Saxena. It will protect her from answering embarrassing questions about the movie. It’s supposed to be a biopic of a strong willed, independent woman who broke through the glass ceiling again and again to prove to the world that women are equally capable. But what finally turned out for all to see was a total disaster. Instead of inspiring the girls, it created doubts about the regressive mindsets in the Armed Forces. If there was a bigger distortion to how the Armed Forces were depicted in the movies, then this one takes the first place. 

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Independence Day

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As 15 Aug approaches, the patriotic fever starts spreading among the enthusiastic populations of India, irrespective of their understanding of that feeling. Each year we gather to celebrate our independence from the last of our oppressors – the Britishers. But is it truly that, that we are celebrating today? The Britishers left us and we rose like the phoenix to reclaim our position in the world. We have conquered and captured every possible sphere and made our mark – be it academics or corporates or health, yoga or even social work. But we need to stop and ask ourselves what are we celebrating independence from now? Read more →

Book Review: Suheldev – The King Who Saved India

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The storyteller was at it again. If someone has been able to spin magic into our stories from long ago, then it’s Amish always. Suheldev – The King Who Saved India is the latest from his repertoire and set in the time much closer to our times. It’s the story of a brave warrior prince who comes into his own under compelling circumstances. From the brattish younger prince, he transforms into a leader who inspires people and unites them with their common love for the country of their birth, India. Read more →

Education Now

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What the purpose of education? Is it being able to reproduce loads of unrelated or irrelevant data without a pause? Or is cramming information about every subject being offered without truly understanding its significance or relevance? Or is trying to make sense of the mechanisations of our world, our existence or even ourselves? Education for each of us means something different and that’s a given. But doesn’t its meaning need a change like everything else in these changing times? When our whole concept of living in a free society has been shaken to its very core, doesn’t education also need to change to adapt to the changes in the society? Read more →

Train Journeys

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The excitement was not about the school year coming to an end but the anticipation of the summer vacations looming ahead. Summer vacations meant endless hours of playing in the garden, eating freshly plucked mangoes, swimming, reading endlessly, and most importantly going on the train trips. Yes, the train rides were the highlight of the summer vacations.

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Travelling, Rambling, Reminiscing.

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The sky was a pale pink with smudges of soft red and orange. A few traces of gold and blue highlighted the coming of another morning as the sun readied itself to make its grand entry. The breeze was soft and pleasing, almost like a gentle caress. Suddenly a tiny bright red head peeked from behind the wooly tuft of cloud. The colour of the cloud transformed from a weak, greyish white to something bright and incandescent, glowing from within as if going pink in its vain attempts to hold on to a secret, but of course with the grace of an ethereal beauty. This whole spectacle was reflected in the still waters of the creek. And it looked unbelievably surreal when a lone fisherman’s boat crossed the flaming red river of rays reflected in the waters. The sun continued to climb higher into the sky, searing the clouds with its blazing oranges and yellows. All this before I could even take the next sip from my cup of tea. How can so much happen in so little a time?

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Happy Mother’s Day!

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Mother's Day
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The definition of Mother has undergone a change now. No more the all sacrificing, virtuosic figure glorified by the Bollywood mothers like Nirupama Roy. The new age mother is all that and more. She has come to realise that she too is an individual and one of the primary roles that she’s essaying is that of a mother.

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Book Review – The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

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It’s after a long time I’ve read a book which covered what’s close to my heart – a love for books. It’s the kind of book which needs to be savoured, for some of the sentences were so easily relatable by the bibliophiles. And this is the first book which I’ve read after I had watched the movie. I generally don’t like to watch movies, and especially not those which are based on books as I feel they don’t do justice to the story or the characters. I just happened to stumble upon this movie, watched it, loved the story and then immediately ordered myself a copy of this amazing book. And believe me, the book is anytime better than the movie.

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