The Big Boss Dilemma!

If there is something that is really considered derogatory in terms of your choice of TV viewings, it is surely watching Big Boss. Although, the connoisseurs of classic test match Cricket also find following IPL derogatory but in relative terms watching Big Boss is considered to be a bigger sin. It’s almost akin to the fact that you don’t have any real class if you watch these supposedly tailored/scripted chunks of entertainment doses. So it’s hardly surprising when you find a strange sense of reluctance in some ones admittance to the fact that he/she does follow Big Boss. More often than not you end up gazing which way the wind is blowing before deciding upon the level of your involvement in that discussion J.

But the most interesting thing a midst all this is the popularity of the show despite its predictability every after year. So every year when the season begins there is a general rant that the contestants this time around aren't that good and are boring compared to the last year. Then right from the very beginning lots of new relationships are formed, ranging from brother-sister, father-daughter, sister-sister and so on. And as the show moves on there are those characteristic high decibel fights, violence led short term evictions, brewing romance, late night dim light mushy tamasha, in the loo romance, through the season cat fights, periodic doses of wild card entries and the ever so similar streak of no-brainers.

And not so interestingly even the kind of contestants that take part in the show every year are pretty much the same, so there is for sure a petulant character that stays in the show till the last week, to single handedly take care of the TRPs (read Imam, Dolly, Sambhavana et al), there is an estranged couple to keep up a parallel track going (read Rajeev Delnaz, Dimpy Rahul et al), there is invariably a couple madly in love with each other (read Anupama Aryan, Kushal Gauhar, Upen Karishma et al), there is a drama queen from the TV sops to keep up the drama quotient intact (read Urvashi, Pratyusha, Shweta, Deepshikha et al), there is a bevy of gorgeous models/unsuccessful TV actresses (read Tanisha, Minisha, Mehak, Diandra et al), a representative from the transgender community, a self-proclaimed saint cum agony aunty (read Puneet Issar, Navjot Singh Sidhu et al)and a lot many peculiar type casts. And you can pretty much predict who will do what and what will happen next to the absolute precision. But you are still never quite sure as to who was right and who was not during the week till Salman comes up and opens his card on the weekend. His charisma, his charm and his madness definitely does wonder to the entertainment quotient but in the hindsight its hilarious how the entire nation awaits his verdict on right or wrong during the week with a bated breathJ.

I for that matter brazenly follow the show with the same interest level and invite a lot of wrath for it both at home and among my friends as well. But interestingly the people who detest me for following this piece of crap are also the ones who watch it as diligently as me J. My wife for instance, hates me for supposedly hijacking the remote from 9-10 every night and curses me for my cheap taste and lack of class. But somehow that doesn't stop her from watching the show as religiously as I do and even have strong views on her favorite and not so favorite contestants J. When I counter argue as to why do you watch it when it so cheap and low class, pat comes the reply ‘do I have a choice’, the ever so obedient and accommodating Indian wife J. And the funny thing is all the anti-Big Boss lamenting usually happens either during the commercial break or when the show is not on J. Similarly, one of my close friend who is out of the country for work is so busy these days that he couldn't even call his wife back home every day nevertheless he still manages to catch every episode of the show as if it’s a part of his Job Description. Another close friend of mine laments her tale saying that even his husband is super annoyed with her mania for watching Big Boss and keeps on cursing her on all forums for this irritating choice of hers but then he is the one who sits in front of the TV set bang on time at 9 every night and tunes into Colors J.

So it won’t be wrong to say that people who crib and curse it the most are the most avid followers of the show. If you don’t watch it, its fine, there is no discussion at all. But if you watch it and still cry over it, saying its crap, cheap, class less etc. it’s the most two faced thing possible. Understandably, it’s all scripted, predictable and beyond sanity but then it’s all tailored to keep the masses involved, engaged and captivated. After all, who doesn't like watching a beautiful couple getting cosy and comfortable at prime time at the confines of your living room or for that matter two people shouting at each other at the top of their voices and throwing fists at each other. Can it get any more entertaining? If not, you always have the remote in your hand to switch over and watch something more sensible, sane and classy, as they call it J.

And as the popular adage goes, you may love it, you may hate it but you can certainly not ignore it!

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Gabbu Singh Diaries 1 | An unforgettable week with my sweetheart…

By the time our annual vacation was coming to an end, everyone in the group was sad for different reasons. One common reason was an end to one of the most exotic holidays we all have ever had during our week’s stay in Spain and the other prominent reason being the start of the same monotony at office all over again. My wife was a little more worried as she was resuming her work after a 5 month break, worried not just about with the anxiety pangs of her new job but more so with the fact that how will his beloved son do without her in the day time or for that matter how will she do without her darling son during the day. She was also concerned about the fact that in the first week of her job her not-so efficient albeit carefree hubby will be donning the hat of being a full time care taker of her son. So when others were trying to come to terms with work related challenges ahead for the new year, I was bracing myself for an altogether new and a unique challenge of being the sole full time care taker of my 18 months old son, Avyaan.

So as the eventful Monday neared, her anxiety rose exponentially and her questions to me started becoming all the more irritating. ‘ Will you be able to properly drop and pick him up from his nursery’ (No, I will book a cab for the toddler and let him manage on his own). ‘Will you be able to feed him his meals properly?’ (No, I will eat his cereals and baby food and keep him starving). ‘Will you be able to sing all his lullabies and make him sleep properly’ (No, I will give him some sedative and let the dose do the needful). I so wished to reinstate the fact that he is my son too but I refrained from getting into any such vicious discussion and curtly kept on replying with a ‘polite yes’. But expectedly she was not so convinced with my answers and kept on feeling that I am not too concerned or geared up for the challenge ahead. To be honest, I was not at all thinking about the week ahead, I was just trying to keep myself as blank as possible with a mind-set to tackle things as they come. As this how I have dealt with most of the key events of my life.

Not only was she worried about the week ahead, Delhi (read in laws )was in a state of numbness, Chhattisgarh (read parents) was breathing heavily too. As if their darling son/grandson is all of a sudden going to get into some not so safe custody. So for me to perform and survive in such a not so comfortable, hostile and discouraging environment wasn't an easy task. But then I was more concerned about managing my darling bwoy well, then fretting this unanimous lack of confidence in my abilities J.

So the day finally arrived and the day started a bit early too, as Mrs had to leave early for her first day at office. She left early but not before shedding a bucket full of tears, probably double of what she would have shed on her ‘bidai’ night, so much for the pain of going away from her son for the first time for this long. I too got ready by the time she left with an intent to keep my entire focus on the man of the hour. So the task ahead included feeding him a bowl of milk/cereal, getting him ready by putting on 6 layers of clothing as prescribed by her mother, getting his baby bag all decked up for his nursery and leave at least 20 minutes in advance so as to reach his nursery well in time. To make matters a bit more interesting Avyaan chose to lighten himself up minutes before leaving the house, so I had to do the 6 level undressing, cleaning up the mess and changing his nappies and dressing him up all over again. So if feeding, dressing and other stuff weren't some task in themselves, this was probably an added twister of the morning. Anyways, we eventually left for his nursery and he had no clue as to where was he heading to. Her mom kept on texting incessantly that ‘when you leave him there stay back for some time, he might cry and would want to come back, don’t just leave him there and rush back…’, I choose to ignore all of it and replied to none of those messages. After all, I was the boss now!

We reached there on time and when we entered the nursery Avyaan got visibly disturbed and started crying inconsolably. It was a tough moment, all the more tough when you have to leave him there crying and being all by himself. The staff there advised me to leave immediately and not to worry at all. I abide d and came out with a heavy heart, it wasn't a good feeling. But by the time I came out, I had 6 missed calls and 8 new messages on my cell, no points for guessing whose no. was it. I called her up and she did all the  talking for next 10 minutes, ‘So did he cry’ – Yes | ‘Did he cry a lot’ – Yes | ‘ You came out immediately’ – Yes | ‘ Can you hear him crying now too’ – Yes | ‘Can you peep in and see if he is fine’ – No | and so on…. I decided to stay outside and stroll around for the entire duration of his nearly 2 hour session and her texts kept on coming all this while. I went in by the end of 2 hours to see Avyaan standing at the door still crying hard and probably waiting for his dad or mom to come and take him home. And this was all the more gut wrenching. I asked the care taker how was his day today, to which she said, he kept on crying for the most part but that’s normal, things should improve in days to come and he will be alright. He jumped on to me and hugged me hard, probably as he has never done before, I could imagine how uncomfortable and disturbed he was with this sudden change in his life. We came back home and he was normal pretty soon. In between there were calls from Avyaan’s mom to know about everything that happened in these 2 hours and probably a lot more too. There were calls from Delhi too, to know about the grandson’s well being. And not to forget, in between I attended some official meetings too, over the phone wandering on the desolated streets of London, outside my son’s nursery, after all I was not on leave J.

Back home, act II - It was the time to cook, cook for Avyaan, cook for myself. So I cooked for both of us,  patiently invested 50 odd minutes to feed him his bowl of vegetable khichdi and then sang him his lullaby clinging him on to my chest and making him fall asleep in about 20 odd minutes. So where cooking for him and feeding him were quite an important milestones achieved, making him asleep was probably the icing on the cake J. He slept well for over two hours and that helped me to complete lot of my office work and answer lot of calls from around the world, giving minute by minute updates about the monster’s day so far. He woke up fresh, full of energy and engaged himself in his own world thereafter, I once again held fort and successfully fed him his portion of rice pudding to complete my last important task of the day J. The mommy dear arrived soon and reunited with Avyaan as if they were meeting after ages. I was told to once again narrate the entire day as it happened ( probably the innumerable calls and the texts during the day were all about discussing PM Modi’s plans for a cleaner India). I repeated the entire string of events as it happened, with a hope of getting some accolade for my supposedly brilliant job during the day, but that was not to be.

The rest of the week continued in the same vein, Avyaan’s crying in the nursery gradually decreased and he settled through as the week ended. The two and half  hours stroll around his nursery and office meetings on the roads of London continued. The cooking, feeding and sleeping efforts went on as diligently as did Mrs’ frequent calls and texts. I kept on expecting some token of appreciation from some corner or the other but Delhi and Chhattisgarh attributed this seamless and rather successful week to Avyaan’s character and him being such a hassle free child and his mommy dear brushed aside any such demand by saying  ‘you have not done anything extraordinary, this was expected out of you being his dad’ and ‘this is what I have been doing for months, have you ever applauded me for the same’. I neither had an answer for this backlash nor had the energy to indulge in an argument to rightfully claim my piece of appreciation. All I had after this eventful week was a great sense of joy, contentment and pride in the way we (dad son duo) have both collectively dealt through this rather challenging week. And for me this excitement and thrill was probably the same as it was when he was born on a sunny Sunday morning J. This indeed was an unforgettable week for me which not only brought me a tad more closer to him but even taught me a lot of things.

And for all the greed for some applause, I would say the confidence that all my friends bestowed on me by pinging me over the office communicator or over the phone throughout the week and asking ‘ How is Avyaan  doing’ or ‘What is there for lunch today’ or ‘ Has he slept’ and so on has been the real dose of encouragement and praise to get me going so well J.

A week seemed to be a long time but salute to Avyaan’s mom who has been doing this for months, my mom who has been doing it for years and all the moms in the world who have been doing this for ages!. You all rock. Thank You J

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The 2015 Resolution Bustle!

Its new years’ time, time to enjoy, celebrate, have new hopes and look forward to  some new and exciting things ahead. It’s also the time to make some resolutions or break some of them by now or make fun of those who make such resolutions J. And fortunately enough I am not perfect, so I have this habit of making some resolutions and getting mocked off by a lot of my friends for indulging in something as nonsensical as this, but then that has hardly ever been a deterrent. I took some last year and will be taking a few this year too, that keeps me going and excited for the entire year and when your friends know about them you rather try harder to meet your resolutions to a greater extent to avoid some kick-ass banter J. So before I jump on to this year’s list, it’s important to assess last year’s progress J

So the list last year was a rather interesting one and here’s my honest report card on the same –

·         2014 Resolution 1: To write at least 2 blogs every month – I penned down 23 for the year, which I believe would be acceptable by any standards J

·         2014 Resolution 2: To explore the world of sea food – O, I made a killing on this one throughout the year and passed out with flying colors J

·         2014 Resolution 3: To not indulge into any unnecessary arguments or wittily mocking anyone – It’s actually a bit tricky to evaluate or quantify this one and I won’t say I didn't do this at all but I had it at the back of my mind throughout the year and I tried my best to stay away from such indulgences.  So I can safely assume that this was as well not a total failure

·         2014 Resolution 4: To read at least 12 good books this year – And I failed miserably on this one, I could read just 6 books for the year. Mainly because of the relocation and related instability at London but having said that I did fail to achieve this one by a big margin

·         2014 Resolution 5: To gift something really good to my wife – Hmmm…another tough one to quantify and qualify. I did my best to accomplish this one, gifted her and shopped for her throughout the year so that should let me pass through this one as well. But then my wife is yet to approve this so probably this might also go into the ‘hold’ category for now

In a nutshell, I couldn't achieve all my targets but then it wasn't a miserable show as well. And but for the relocation bit I would have rather fared much better on most of the unsuccessful ones as well. Naturally, the show last year does inspires me to do better this year round and be upbeat for the new resolutions. So after a lot of contemplation, the list for this year is as stated below –

·         2015 Resolution 1: To write at least 2 blogs every month- This one remains as is and I hope to achieve this in totality this year, probably a bare minimum expectation for the my love of writing

·         2015 Resolution 2: To read at least 6 good books in the year – I wish I could have resolved for a bigger number, but given the work and parenting schedule I will have for this year, I would rather aim low and try to achieve higher

·         2015 Resolution 3: To gift lot of goodies to my near and dear ones – The happiness and joy this brings in is certainly unparalleled. I did quite a bit of it last year as well but I have that greed of greater joy and hence putting this as well in the resolution bucket. However, more than anything else my wifey is already curios to know who all fall or will fall under this ‘near and dear ones’ category J

·         2015 Resolution 4: To work out for at least 150 days in the year – The least I could do to satiate my fitness pallets and since this in a way translates into thrice a week workout, it shouldn't be an arduous task. And I would really love to be disciplined on this one to the extent possible

·         2015 Resolution 5: Commit myself to do at least one instance of charity -  This resolution is to not only do some good to those in need but also experience that sense of satisfaction by indulging in a good social cause

There could be a few more things that I would like to certainly do in 2015 like being a movie buff, watch a lot of good movies, which I couldn't do a lot last year. As always, to commit myself for at least two good holidays in the year, though I am sure I might exceed this one for sure in 2015 J. Spend some more time with my close friends, as any time spent with them is unarguably just not enough. Be a little more kind and polite in the way I conduct myself and to an extent do away with my carefree and blunt self. If not anyone else, the success of this last bit would certainly keep my wife in high spirits J.

So the clock for the year has started ticking and the pressure to accomplish these rather big mouthed but achievable goals will only increase with every passing day. I hope I accomplish each of these by the end of this year, if not better all of them. As the gratification after achieving anything that you have aimed for is much more than making fun of those who make such resolutions J.

Happy New Year 2015!

Be Resolute J

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