खेळ मांडला!

नटरंग पाहून थोडे दिवस झालेत पण गाणी अजून मनातून जात नाहियेत. कथेला अनुरूप असणार्‍या चपखल ओळी पात्रांच्या भावना अगदी अचूक समोर ठेवतात. "खेळ मांडला" गुणाच्या मनातील विखार असाच समोर आणतं. अशी एकाकीपणाची आणि हतबलपणाची परिस्थिती जेव्हा खरंच कुणावर येते तेव्हा काय होत असेल हा विचार ऐकताना अनेक वेळा मनात येऊन गेला!

तुझ्या पायरीशी कुनी सान-थोर न्हायी
साद सुन्या काळजाची तुज्या कानी जाई
तरी देवा सरंना ह्यो भोग कशापाई
हरवली वाट, दिशा अंधारल्या धाई

ववाळूनी उधळतो जीव मायबापा
वणवा ह्यो ऊरी पेटला...

खेळ मांडला-२
खेळ मांडला देवा, खेळ मांडला

सांडली का रीतभात घेतला वसा तुझा
तूच वाट दाखीव गा खेळ मांडला
दावी देवा पैलपार पाठीशी तु र्‍हा उभा
ह्यो तुझ्याच उंबर्‍यात खेळ मांडला

उसवलं गनंगोत सारं
आधार कुनाचा न्हाई
भेगाळल्या भुईपरी जिनं
अंगार जिवाला जाळी

बळ दे झिजाया, किरपेची ढाल दे
इनवती पंचप्राण, जिव्हारात ताल दे

करपलं रान देवा, जळलं शिवार
तरी न्हाई धीर सांडला

खेळ मांडला-२
खेळ मांडला देवा, खेळ मांडला

नटरंग - सुरेख!!

नटरंग येऊन बरेच दिवस झाले. रिलीज व्हायच्या आधी Zee वर त्याचं मेकिंग पाहिलं होतं. पहावं असं तेव्हाच वाटलं होतं. पण राहून गेलं. आज मोकळा शनिवार मिळाला तेव्हा पाहिला. खूप आवडला.

नटरंगमध्ये तमाशा आहे हे तर माहीत होतं. टिपिकल तमाशाप्रधान मसाला पाहण्यात मला काही, किंबहुना काहीच इंटरेस्ट नव्हता. मात्र मेकिंग पाहताना थोडी उत्सुकता निर्माण झाली होती. अजय-अतुलचं संगीत हे त्याचं कारण होतं असं म्हटलं तर वावगं ठरणार नाही. या दोघांचं संगीत synthesizer मागे टाकून आलंय. त्यांच्या गाण्यात वाद्यांची आणि शैलीची मस्त विविधता आहे आणि सुंदर आवाज देखील. त्यांचा एकूणच दर्जा हिंदीतही वरचढ ठरू शकेल यात मला शंका नाही. नटरंग मध्ये त्याची गाणी हळुवार सुरुवात करतात आणि अचानक दणका देऊन वेग पकडतात. हे सगळं होताना आपण तमाशा पाहतोय हे जाणवतच नाही. Long term मध्ये त्यांची गाणी सणासुदीला आणि वरातीत नक्कीच "वाजत" राहतील.

नटरंग मध्ये संगिताशिवाय आवडतील असं बरंच काही आहे. चित्रपटातल्या गुणाचं वेड मला भावलं. करण्यासाठी करणारे खुप असतात आणि मन लावून करणारे खुप कमी. यातला फरक कळणारे तर याहूनही कमी. ध्येयाच्या ध्यासाने जाण्याची धडपड, हतबल करणार्‍या अडचणीत आलेलं नैराश्य आणि शेवटी मिळवलेलं यश - एकदम कनेक्ट झालं आणि चित्रपट अजूनच आवडत गेला.अतुलची मेहनत प्रशंसनीय आहेच. नैना देखील आवडली.

मराठी भाषा आणि चित्रपट घुसमटत आहेत ही आता चोथा झालेली बोंब. पण याला कारणीभूत मराठीच आहे. श्वास, वळू, टिंग्या, मी शिवाजीराजे भोसले बोलतोय, हरिश्चंद्राची फॅक्टरी असे Mainstream हिंदीबरोबर स्पर्धा न करणारे, मेहनत घेऊन बनवलेले चित्रपट वरचेवर आल्यास नक्कीच बरे वाटेल. नुसता चित्रपट नाही, तर इतरही commercials आणि तांत्रिक बाबींकडे लक्ष द्यायला हवंय. साधं उदाहरण द्यायचं तर नटरंगची वेबसाइट पाहा. एक तर स्वतःची वेबसाइट नाही, त्यात अर्ध्या links चालत नाहीयेत. नटरंगची DVD पण अपेक्षित आहे. त्यात नुसता चित्रपट नकोय तर त्याचं making आणि अजून बरंच काही हवंय.

एक वेळ अशी आली होती की मराठी सिनेमा आणि तमाशा हे यशाचं समीकरण बनलं होतं. तमाशाचा आग्रह (अतिरेक) मराठी सिनेमा साठी घातक ठरला होता. तमाशाची monotony slapstick कॉमेडीने मोडली होती. आज त्याचाही अतिरेक होऊ लागलाय (सौजन्य - भरत जाधव/संजय नार्वेकर आणि कंपनी).  नटरंग मुळे पुन्हा तमाशा परत नाही आला तर बरं.

A good experience with BlueDart

I was entering my building after returning from work. The watchman told me that there was a courier for me in the noon. We were not at home and the shipment was taken back. I was expecting a "missed you" slip but there wasn't any. The courier boy logged an entry in the logbook but it was sparse. He apparently talked to the watchman but watchman couldn't remember anything.

I was expecting parcel from eBay but that would have come through ordinary post. So this made me wonder what was it. A search on few mails revealed that it was BlueDart. Tracking ascertained it. Tracking showed that the shipment was returned since I wasn't at home.

When I was browsing their site, there was a link for complaints. I quickly drafted a small note about the incident and went to sleep. Meera saw me doing it and made fun of me.

I got up somewhere early in morning and as usual checked the mail before sleeping again. To my surprise, there was a mail from Peter from Blue Dart. He is Asst.Manager–Customer services for Blue Dart.

Dear Mr Ghag,
Thank you for bringing this to our attention for an appropriate action.
Kindly await our further communication on this while we have the same
investigated and get back to you at the earliest possible.
We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused in this regard.
Please feel free to write back or call our customer services on
022-xxxxxxxx for further assistance or clarification.

Cool! I like human support responses and this was exactly that.

Next day morning the delivery boy called me. From his tone, I could feel that he has got some thrashing. Peter later called up and discussed the issue. The delivery boy had told him that the slip was left But I confirmed that it wasn't. Peter was going to follow up. However, I advised him to let it go since I had received the delivery by now.

This was unusual experience and much appreciated. I have pretty bad experiences with different vendors and such good exceptions always bring a smile.

Good work Blue Dart team. Keep it up!

Tricked by Zoomin.com - Part II

Earlier I had written about how a badly laid form tricked me into loosing precious points on zoomin.com.
I mentioned in the post, zoomin.com customer support expressed inability of reversing the transaction. It irked me pretty much, more since I felt helpless.

Realizing that nothing much I could do, I vented out on my blog. After the post was made, I dug out their site and blog again for other contacts. The blog was closed for comments. But found their PR email contact on the website. As a last resort, I sent another mail to their PR contact and marked a copy to their support mailbox. This time I provided nothing but the blog post link.

It was then almost a closed chapter, till I got this response.

Hello Kiran,

Thank you for writing back to us.

We have read your blog and took the necessary steps to ensure that this is not repeated. We have sent you an email regarding the same on 4th January, 2010. Kindly write us back with your I-mint card number so that we can forward it to our I-mint team and inform them to credit the points back to your I-mint account.

We will send your details to the I-mint team and inform you once the points are added back to your account. Feel free to write in if you have any questions or comments.

Thank you for being a ZoomIn customer. We appreciate it.
Regards,
Anil
ZoomIn Customer Service

I was surprised! This was unexpected. I sent my details and received another mail.

 

Hello Kiran,

Thank you for writing back to us.

I have sent your details to the I-mint team and informed them to deposit 98 points back to your I-mint account. Please allow some time to check this with our I-mint team and I shall inform you as soon as I get any information from them.

Once again, I apologize for the inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience.

Regards,
Anil
ZoomIn Customer Service

The points were indeed reversed to my card after few days!! I felt proud of the blog posting. Not sure why they couldn't do it earlier, but the blog really did something!!!

PS: After this incident, I did another transaction on zoomin.com. The purchase flow has not changed, the i-mint number is still taken after the payment is made. Hopefully they will iron it out in time.

Another accident case due to DUI. Will it be different?

It is another DUI (Driving Under alchohol Influence) now.

As per the news, the lady rammed into a stationary taxi at about 120kmph. She was drunk much above the limit and couldnt handle it. The car continued and came to a halt till it managed to kill a policemen and a motorcycleman. The man was being checked for DUI as per routine night check.

The policemen was sole breadwinner for his family. I am not sure if government has provided any monetary relief to his family yet. But no amount can compensate the loss the families will go through. Especially it happened for no fault of him.


This was true as well for the motorcycleman killed. His family will probably get nothing as he did not belong to the force. The taxi driver survived but he has lost the taxi. Till he gets a new one to drive, he is in a mess too. Again, no compensation fo him.

The women hails from a rich family (atleast rich enough to affoard a Honda CRV). What ridiculed me about the incident was the fact that his parents defended her. They are aware that the women is known to drink but claimed that she was not as drunk as the news claimed to be. They also maintained that she was never known to drink so much. 
 
I pity the beliefs of the parents. The woman was away from home (in USA) for higher studies. At 27 years of her age, if the parents think they know everything that the she did, I can do nothing but laugh out loud.
 
Police are trying to build a good case against her. Looking at our judicial system, the proceedings might go on for years. Media will ressurect the days when hearings are held and then conveniently forget. She will get bail eventually and move on as the authorities fight within the beurocratic ditch. In the same way it happened with Salman Khan.
 
One news said that after she hit the people, she walked up to them and said sorry, not realising that they are dead. So easy for her!
 
Is there any way that she can be fined for her wealth and that be given to the victims? The car alone that she trashed could be total earning of a police constable for next 10-15 years.



References:
- http://www.ndtv.com/news/cities/mumbai_parents_defend_woman_drunk_driver.php
- http://www.ndtv.com/news/cities/woman_drunk_driver_kills_one_in_mumbai.php
- http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/2/20100201201002010217026533aac905c/Nooria%E2%80%99s-father-comes-to-her-%E2%80%98spirited%E2%80%99-defence-.html
- http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/2/201002012010020102290361ead232a0/%E2%80%98With-Afzal%E2%80%99s-death-the-family-has-died-too%E2%80%99.html