Rest........

Having eradicated corruption in the country with his simplistic methods, I presume 'the self styled Gandhian' is now taking a much needed rest.....

Food to die for....

Fashionable foreign food...just unpronounceable fancy names of dishes that are boiled/half-cooked/bland/grilled/....NO. Thank you...

Indian daal-roti-piaz da jawaab nahi...

'At 70, who cares...' by K.J.S.Chatrath

Crossing 70, made me do a little bit of confused thinking today. Surely my life is almost over - well almost. So what is it that I would like from life in the remaining days?

My foremost wish, like every one else's, is to have, when the time comes, a quick, and as painless a death as possible.

The second wish needs some explaining. I have been a great admirer of Erich Von Daniken, Carl Sagan and Steven Spielberg. I find the idea of alien life extremely fascinating. And this brings me to my second wish - I would love to see, or at least read the confirmed news of aliens, looking not quite like us, arriving on earth during my little life that is left.......

The third wish is to see my son get married and raise a family.

I know there is a problem of lack of consistent logic in these three wishes, but then at 70, who cares!

'Sad stories of three stunningly beautiful actresses' by K.J.S.Chatrath

I am puzzled at some of the similarities in the lives of three stunningly beautiful actresses of our times - Madhubala, Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield. All were extremely beautiful, popular, had sad personal lives and died unnatural deaths in mid 1960s when two of them were 36 and the third was only 34 years old.

First Madhubala. She was born on February 14, 1933 – the date in February that is now celebrated as the Valentine’s Day.The legendry Madhubala was the Goddess of Love of her times.She was 5'-4".

Her range of portrayals was amazingly diverse- as an Anglo-Indian club dancer in Howrah Bridge, a tribal belle in Phagun and the most memorable as Anarkali in Mughal-E-Azam, just to give three examples.

The beauty of Madhubala had an ethereal quality about it. She had a sad personal life. She is said to have pined for love during her short life There were stories that she wanted to marry actor Dilip Kumar but the marriage could not be fixed as her father reportedly had objections to it. Then she was discovered with a serious medical ailment- a hole in the heart that could not be set right in that period when heart surgery was still to develop. She ultimately married singer actor Kishore Kumar who was more interested in his singing career than looking after his ailing wife.

She died, on 23rd February, 1967 and was buried in the then Bombay’s Juhu cemetery. Though we kept on remembering Madhubala and her films, but overlooked her final resting place. The news came in February 2010 that her grave had been disposed off and tomb demolished.

One does not know what is the status today but does she not deserve to rest in peace? Would it not be possible for her numerous admirers to chip in to ensure her a grave and a decent memorial?

Had she been alive, she would have been 80 this year.

Marilyn Monroe

The second young lady, Marilyn Monroe was perhaps the most popular of these three at the international level. She was born on June 1, 1926. Her nude photo was featured in the first issue of the Playboy magazine in december 1953. She had a perfect figure of 35-22-35 and was 5’-5” tall.

She received a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Some Like It Hot (1959). Monroe's last completed film was The Misfits (1961), co-starring Clark Gable with screenplay by her then-husband, Arthur Miller.Some of her other films were; Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire and The Seven Year Itch.

She married thrice and had no children. She died on 5th August 1962 at the young age of 36. It was a case of suspected suicide by drug overdose. She has had her share of rumours and conspiracy theories abound her ‘real’ cause of death.

She lies buried at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery, in Los Angeles, U.S.A.
Had she been alive, she would have been 87 this year.

The third sad tale relates to Jayne Mansfield. She was born on 19th April 1933 and died in a fatal car accident on June 29, 1967 at the young age of 34. She was 5’-6” tall. She was known for her stunning vital statistics: 40-21-35. Yes, an incredible 21 inches waist.

Sophia Loren (L) giving a surreptitiously admiring look to, should we say, Jayne Mansfield’s (R) dress?

She featured as a playmate in the Playboy magazine and a few years later, some of her nude photographs from her film “Promises-promises-promises’ too were published in the same magazine. Some of her famous films were....The Girl Can't Help It, Too hot to handle and Promises-Promises-Promises. She was a good singer too.

She married thrice and divorced thrice and had 5 children.

Had she been alive, she would have been 80. In fact today is her birthday, since she was born on 19th April in 1933.

Jayne Mansfield's grave

May God rest these beautiful ladies in peace!

Environment degradation is human rights violation?

'Environment degradation a human rights violation' says one Pof RB Singh reports The Tribune.........Come on Sir, don't overdo it....

Sartorial elegance of North Korean lady soldiers

I detest politics.So let us look at this photograph which has appeared in the newspapers and on the net yesterday, from a different, totally non-political angle.These are the North Korean lady soldiers on patrol in Sinuiju near the Chinese border town of Dandong. Would you not join me in admiring their sartorial elegance - never mind if it would be difficult for them to perform their soldierly duties clad in high heels...

The Baghpat fiasco

Anna ji- the self styled Gandhian reached Baghpat in U.P. yesterday to address a rally.
There was not even one person in the ground to listen to him....

Anna Sir, please take care of your health and dont strain too much during the summer months...May be you should go back to your village Ralai Gaon Siddhi and rest there.

Btw where are the other Anti-Corruption leaders- the Bhushans (Sr & Jr.), Retd. Hon'ble Justice Hegde, Ms Kiran Bedi, Baba Ramdev ji? Only Arvind Kejrival somehow continues to make it to the media...

Sau choohay kha kay billi Haj ko chalee?

Ref. news in today's newspapers about the current plan of a particular gentleman....Sau choohay kha kay billi Haj ko chalee?

Che' Guevara

I generally bring a map of the country that I travel to, get it framed and put it in on the wall of my living room. As you see, I made an exception in case of Cuba.

The great Indian invention.....