Category Archives: Life

The Melodrama Called AAP

Image April 8, 2015 jcisnowjs Leave a comment

I have always believed that real life is much more fascinating and captivating than any TV Drama Series or Soap Opera; AAP has once again proved it right.

Make no mistake AAP here is not a new Drama series starting on your cable, but it is recently emerged Indian Political party which has created shock-waves across by winning Delhi elections with huge majority.

But, it’s not the winning which creates interesting news; it is the way you handle your winnings, is what matters. Believe me when I say that AAP was not as fascinating before as it is now, with its ongoing internal party drama.

Infact daily I visit news articles hoping to see some new twist and turn in AAP, and it does oblige me with something new unbelievable twist in the story. To name a few of its dramatic turn of events – leaking of audio tapes of one of Arvind Kejriwal cursing his fellow party leaders, or just trying a negotiation for horse trading; or leaking of internal emails where party leaders are showing discontent with each other; high point was expelling of two key members in a highly inappropriate and anarchistic way; and then their press conference which was topping all the reality drama television. It was like perfect drama – better than any Roadies, or Big Boss, or The Bachelorette.

You may ask but what is so special about all this? Isn’t every political party is like this?

Yes, you are right. Every party is like this and every party has its own internal dramas, but why AAP stood out more in this political mess is because AAP was created with the mindset that every political party is similar, and nation wants a new system/party which is more transparent and reachable to common men. It was the sacrifice, struggle and crusade of so many honest Indians against corruption which gave birth to AAP.

Now those same honest party volunteers are asking their donations back. Clearly, the trust is broken. Trust that they had on their leaders to provide them an honest alternative in today’s times of dirty politics; but alas; when it came to Power, every party behave in same way. Infact AAP has left behind other parties in its showcase of drama and anarchy.

Question which should be raised to these so-called honest party leaders is that – Why now? Why they didn’t expelled or reported dirty politics before elections? Why only after they won the election and now wants a share of Power, that they started pointing out the problems in party leadership? Problems which were not new but started about year back.

Why now?

Kejriwal was always presumed as an anarchist, who prefers to have his way, be it right or wrong. He wants to be high command. He prefers having ‘Yes Man‘, and not voice of differences.

Yadav and Bhushan have invested so much in this party, be it their time, money, ideas, efforts, actually everything. Now, they want equal standing in the party. They want an equal say. They are not wrong in this demand, although their timing is suspicious.

If yadav and bhushan were that honest, why didn’t they reported the atrocious things going on in their party? Was winning Delhi elections, more important than keeping your party honest to its basic vision? Didn’t they were fooling their party workers/volunteers and people of Delhi who voted for them.

Looks like in this party everyone is same, just like in any other party.

To end, a Quote from Abraham Lincoln – “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”

Delhi Election 2013: Best thing that has happened to congress so far.(jcisnowjs.wordpress.com)
What Kind of Government We Want?(jcisnowjs.wordpress.com)
Delhi court slams Arvind Kejriwal, summons him in defamation case at 2 pm(dnaindia.com)
Kejriwal rapped by Delhi Court(niticentral.com)

Life, Movies

The Imposter – When Real Life is more Riveting than Reel

Image March 24, 2015 jcisnowjs Leave a comment

What does it take to be someone else in hope of living your dream life? What does it take to welcome a loved in your life, who was taken from you, years back? What does it take to live a lie?

A lie of being someone else. A lie to see your son, in the face of a total stranger.

After watching this documentary movie, it took me an hour going through all the articles and interviews of the persons involved, to convince myself, that this was really a true authentic story and not a fiction.

Imposter, directed by Bart Layton, is a documentary based on the 1997 case of Frederic Bourdin, french national, who impersonated a missing American boy, Nicholas Barclay. Why this case is special, I will tell you later, but why this documentary is special, because it is so far being treated like a documentary.

Bart Layton has shown this story with both main protagonists sharing their views, and at the end this makes you wonder, if the victim is really a victim here?

Story is so riveting and thrilling that you will not believe it even when at the back of your mind, you always knew that this is based on a real life event.

Nicholas Barclay, a 13-year-old Texas boy went missing in 1994, never to be found, until one day a phone call from Spain says otherwise.

Bourdin is a 23-year-old man, who makes his way through life by impersonating teenage boys and living in child shelters. His life of lies is going on too well, until one day Judge asked him for his identity or go through finger print identification system. Fearing that he may get caught and imprisoned for life, he soon blurt out a new story that he is actually American and got kidnapped from there to Spain.

Through his ultra sharp mind and super cunning convincing skills he manage to strike gold when a missing boy from Texas, America, Nicholas Barclay seems to have the same description as Bourdin. Authorities now took control and lie is now so out of control that now even the creator of these lies, Bourdin has no power over it.

He tries to go with the flow, changing his color blonde, tattooing his hands, covering his eyes with big dark goggles and hiding himself in layers of clothing. But, are these enough, to fool a loving sister who has not seen his brother for last three years?

Looks like it is.

Nicholas’s sister didn’t even flinch seeing Bourdin for the first time. Infact she shows him all the family photographs detailing on every family member possible. It was enough for Bourdin to pass the authorities and acquire a US passport and citizenship.

His so-called mother, uncle, cousins…. everyone is convinced that he is Nicholas. Is he that good an actor/impersonator? Maybe.

Gaining confidence like never before, Bourdin’s tales now encompassed torture and sexual abuse by military personnel and child traffickers, raising alarms through every section of community from media, to private investigators and FBI too.

A private investigator suspecting story of Nicholas’s escape take special interest in this case and soon share his doubt to FBI agent Nancy Fisher, that this Nicholas has different ears than the one who went missing 3 years before. Nancy took this investigation further and take Nicholas to a forensic scientist, who also confirms that this Nicholas is a fake and is not raised by an American family. Only thing now needed to do was check his DNA and confirm all the allegations.

But, Barclay family denied. Nicholas’s mother refused to give DNA samples saying, “We know who he was”.

Why?

Why would you keep a total stranger in your home, when everyone including government is saying that he could be dangerous, in fact a spy or a terrorist?

A mother/sister no matter how desperate they are to get reunited with their long-lost family member, can ignore drastic differences of physical appearances of impersonator.

Nicholas had blue eyes, Bourdin had brown.

Nicholas had blonde hairs, Bourdin had black dyed blonde. Within their 3 months of stay they couldn’t see the color of his roots.

Nicholas would have been 16 if alive, and Bourdin was a 23-year-old man.

Nicholas had tattoos when he was 13, Bourdin had them fresh.

Most importantly, Bourdin didn’t recall anything from his past life. His school, his friends, his memories all lost. His accent totally different. Everything was different.

This documentary leaves you with so many questions. Most revolting is the one who Bourdin himself raised to authorities after being imprisoned for his deeds. He told them, that Barclay family has killed real Nicholas and they accepted him in their family to hide this gruesome killing.

Who is a victim here? Who to believe?

We may not know all the answers, but this story is far more thrilling than any other film story.

My take on Inferno – book by Dan Brown(jcisnowjs.wordpress.com)
Thousands of Mass. residents fall victim to imposter schemes(wwlp.com)
Caught out! Imposter posed as former Pakistan cricket star to trick the BBC into paying him repeatedly to appear on air as a pundit(dailymail.co.uk)

Life

Killing ‘Nirbhaya’ Once Again

Image March 6, 2015 jcisnowjs Leave a comment

A feeble attempt by the Indian government to save tourism in India or just to prove that no matter who rules the government, its mindset is always the same – and that is to ban everything which raises questions.

By putting ban on ‘India’s Daughter‘ documentary which was based on the December, 2012 brutal rape of a medical student; Indian Government has once again raped and killed so many ‘Nirbhayas’, all over again. This government has snatched their right of freedom by muting their voice.

‘India’s Daughter’ is a documentary directed by ‘Leslee Udwin‘ for BBC. Film was based on the most historic and revolting incident happened in India in recent times – Rape of a girl.

Study suggests that every 20 minutes one rape takes place in India, then what was different about this rape.

Their was no difference. None. It was just a Rape. Just a Rape. Nothing new. Nothing new in India. Just another day. Just another girl.

A young girl who wanted to be a doctor, ‘Jyoti Singh‘, my namesake, who was returning around 8-9 pm with her friend, after watching a movie; took a bus; where 6 men (I don’t know whether to call them men, or monsters; will just call them rapists), rapists, raped her, beat her almost to death, and then throw her out of a moving bus along with her friend, to die in cold December night on Delhi‘s streets.

It was so brutal that her whole intestines were out of her body. She has bite marks all over her. She was beaten with iron rods and was gang raped with rapists taking turns in mutilating her.

It was then in 2012, when whole India cried and revolted for this brave girl; who despite of her trauma and serious medical conditions, detailed her ordeal to police to help them catch the culprits. She wanted justice and was served some partial judgment too, when court ordered death for 5 rapists, excluding one juvenile. She died. Her rapists are still alive and gloating.

What this documentary ‘India’s Daughter‘, has shown is a rapist, and his lawyer, saying what actually most of Indian Men still thinks – that, it is a Girl’s fault if she is Raped.

If a girl is out at night/evening, precisely after 6:30, or if she is with a male friend, or if she is a girl; she needs to be Raped and Killed….. so, she can learn a valuable lesson. A lesson that a defense lawyer very proudly says, that In great Indian culture, there is no place for women. A woman is like flower or diamond, and if diamond is on the road, dogs will take it. Another one says, if her daughter or sister will have premarital sex/love affair, he will burn her in front of whole family.

They don’t even flinch, while saying these things. I don’t flinch either.

If you are a woman brought up in India, you will realize that what they are saying is actually you have heard whole your life.

“Don’t go out. It’s evening now.”

“Who is calling you? Is it a male? You will not have phone anymore.”

“Why you have male friends? You are not supposed to have any male friends.”

“No skirts.”

“You want to watch a movie. Go with your husband, when you get married.”

“In our family, girls don’t go out on college trips.”

“Why you were talking to neighborhood boy?”

“We would prefer to kill you than marry you to your choice of husband.”

“You love someone. You are a slut.”

India is a patriarchal society, heavily. So much, that even the old generation women there thinks that all such thing are right. A girl should know her place, and her place is in kitchen only. Mindset of a society can not change in a single day, but there was a chance for the Indian Government to put forward a Rapists viewpoint and show to society, if you also think like him – then you are also a Rapist.

It does not matter if you have raped a woman or not, if you still think that all such statements are right, then you are a Rapist.

You have raped a woman of her freedom, of her right.

Her right of being a human being, just like you are.

She is a human, a person. She is not your property.

You can not question her.

You can not blame her for what you did to her.

You can not mute her.

You can not.

Because she is a person.

Stop your boys, not your girls. Make India a safe, not only for tourists, but for all.

What Kind of Government We Want?(jcisnowjs.wordpress.com)
India says it will act against BBC for airing banned film(thehimalayantimes.com)
BBC Documentary Nirbhaya India’s Daughter(kanthalaraghu.com)

Kids and Me, Life

Happy Birthday My Darlings – Otu & Renne

Image February 26, 2015 jcisnowjs Leave a comment

Time flies….and when it comes to your kids… time flies faster than a rocket towards moon.

It was just yesterday when my twin bundle of joys, my twin boys Otu and Renne, were first came in my life and now it seems like, they are running my whole life; or, I am running after them, all the time.

On your third birthday, I wish that you grow up to be gentlemen and always be honest and respectable.

I Love you, boys, and here is a little dedication to you from me and your Papa, on your third Birthday.

My Kiddo Wants to Marry Me(jcisnowjs.wordpress.com)

Life, Random

Going Cukoo Over Aliens

Image February 25, 2015 jcisnowjs Leave a comment

Has it ever happened to you that when you start watching a TV series on Netflix, you begin to see its theme relate to your daily life; more you watch more you relate.

Like when you a crime investigative series you start to notice every crime happening in the world. You watch Dexter, and suddenly every bespectacled person seems like a potential Dexter. (not everyone, just trying to come up with a better example)

I remember the time I was watching ‘House‘, I somehow convinced myself that, more rude a doctor is to his patient; more genius he is in his field. 😛

Or, when I watched ‘Medium‘, I started feeling presence of every dead relative of mine. 😦

Now, don’t even ask me, what happened when I watched all three seasons of ‘American Horror Story‘.

Now, that the context is set, let me come back to the right topic, I want to discuss today – Aliens.

I watched ‘Ancient Aliens‘, and it did raised so many questions in my mind.

First of all, how we discourage someone from seeing something as extraordinary as a UFO.

So many people report seeing UFOs, but we label each one of them, as crazy or under the influence of drugs. We call their experiences hallucinations. It could be that all those people hallucinated about UFOs, but who has given us the right to call them attention seekers or liars.

What if they are telling the truth?

Now, when even our scientists believe that taken the vastness of this universe, galaxies and innumerable Stars; it is quite possible that we are not alone. Why do we still think, that we are only intelligent race existing in the universe.

Why are we not asking questions?

Why are we so worried that we will be labeled as silly or crazy?

Why block our mind to a possibility that can exist?

Why stop asking, what if we are not alone?

It’s a lot to digest and a lot to believe, but if we can believe in miracles and our more than miraculous mythological characters, then why not Aliens?

It’s an irony, that we can believe in a religious God, but we do not trust technologically advanced Aliens.

I do not believe everything that this documentary stated but I do believed in one thing that after watching this series, it was easier for me to believe in God and miracles; as I can now see the science behind them.

Watch this space, as there is more to come from this crazy mind…..