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Exploring the dark side of love; Vinaya wins a Rs.300 gift voucher from our sponsor, Zaarga for her entry to our Love Story writing theme.
Vinaya Bhagat, in her own words: An IT Professional and a mother of an over active toddler. The hectic pace of work and family commitments leaves very little time for leisure. Writing is an old passion and I make most of the little time I get to lose myself in the lives of imaginary characters.
“Rajjo pani!”
The old couple begs her. They are writhing on the floor as if possessed by unseen demons.
Once again they beg her for the pitcher of water she is holding. She cannot bear to see the sight of her aunt and uncle thrashing around in agony. She wants to go to them, give them the life saving water, but something is holding her back; someone with a tight grip on her heart.
Rajjo wakes up drenched in sweat, in a mass of tangled sheets and blankets. The water pitcher is on the table at its usual place. The burnished copper of the pitcher glows in the dawn sunlight shimmering through the window. Her mouth is dry, her tongue a lethargic mass sticking to the roof of her mouth with her glutinous saliva. Thirst is burning her throat, yet she cannot bring herself to touch the water pitcher.
The house is slumbering. Ghostly gray shadows are everywhere, like wild animals lying in wait of a prey. She runs into the kitchen and hurriedly switches on the light, banishing the shadows outside the pool of harsh yellow light that floods around her. She lets the tap run as she washes the glass again and again trying to rid it of invisible traces of poison. She gulps down two glasses of water and then busies herself with breakfast preparations. Today is the day of the karela juice. Its bitter taste was the cover Jeevan has asked her to seek.
“They will never know the difference.” Jeevan had said last night caressing the bare skin below her blouse. “Then once it is over, once they are gone, all this will be ours”, he had said pointing to the big house with cars and cupboards full of money and jewelry she has seen with her own eyes.
“We will load the car with whatever we want and then fly away like free birds. No one will ever find us.”
“Can’t we just take what we want when they go out?” she had beseeched him.
“And have them inform the Police and throw us in jail?” No, he had been very persuasive. He had convinced her that unless her aunt and nncle died there was no hope for them. For their love to survive the old couple had to die.
He had promised her a prosperous life filled with love in the big city. In the darkness of the night those promises had seduced her like the glowing lights of the big city. But now those promises seem cheap and tawdry, like the yellow and green plastic bottle in the loft with the poison he has asked her to add to the karela juice. She climbs on a stool and gets down the bottle. It is heavier than she remembers from last night. She must finish before her aunt and uncle wake up. But instead of going to the dining table where the breakfast is all laid out, she heads in the opposite direction out of the kitchen door to the backyard. She pours the contents of the bottle down the toilet and hurriedly rinses it before throwing it over the boundary wall on the rubbish heap behind the house. She washes her hands again and again but she is still unsure whether they are clean.
“What is the matter Rajjo rani?” Her uncle wants to know when he comes into the kitchen and sees her standing near the table staring into space.
“I think the karela is very bitter today”, she says.
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What I loved was how there is so much in the movie of the SRK we have known, and also a totally new star. The gestures, the smile, the wit and the charisma are all too familiar, but you also witness a rawness, an edginess.
When a movie that got the entire nation in a twist – for the right and wrong reasons – hits the theatres, there is bound to be noise. From ‘I am going to watch it – first day first show’ to ‘Boycott the movie and make it a flop’, social media has been a furore of posts.
Let me get one thing straight here – I did not watch Pathaan to make a statement or to simply rebel as people would put it. I went to watch it for the sheer pleasure of witnessing my favourite superstar in all his glory being what he is best at being – his magnificent self. Because when it comes to screen presence, he burns it, melts it and then resurrects it as well like no other. Because when it comes to style and passion, he owns it like a boss. Because SRK is, in a way, my last connecting point to the girl that I once was. Though I have evolved into so many more things over the years, I don’t think I am ready to let go of that girl fully yet.
There is no elephant in the room really here because it’s a fact that Bollywood has a lot of cleaning up to do. Calling out on all the problematic aspects of the industry is important and in doing that, maintaining objectivity is also equally imperative. I went for Pathaan for entertainment and got more than I had hoped for. It is a clever, slick, witty, brilliantly packaged action movie that delivers what it promises to. Logic definitely goes flying out of the window at times and some scenes will make you go ‘kuch bhi’ , but the screenplay clearly reminds you that you knew all along what you were in for. The action sequences are lavish and someone like me who is not exactly a fan of this genre was also mind blown.
Recent footage of her coming out of an airport had comments preaching karma and its cruel ways, that Samantha "deserved her illness" because she filed for divorce.
Samantha Ruth Prabhu fell from being the public’s sweetheart to a villain overnight because she filed for divorce. The actress was struck with myositis post divorce, much to the joy of certain groups (read sexist) in our society.
A troll responded to Samantha’s tweet, “Women Rising!!” by adding to it “just to fall”. She replied, “Getting back up makes it all the more sweeter, my friend.”
Here’s another insensitive tweet by BuzZ Basket showing fake concern for her autoimmune disease. “Feeling sad for Samantha, she lost all her charm and glow. When everyone thought she came out of divorce strongly and her professional life was seeing heights, myositis hit her badly, making her weak again.” Samantha responded, “I pray you never have to go through months of treatment and medication like I did. And here’s some love from me to add to your glow.”
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