The Great Indian laughter challenge, as the name indicates, is one of a kind, currently in its second series.
This time there was a motley crowd of participants including those from Pakistan. Talent on both sides of the border is unmistakable. To top it our sensibilities match. No surprise there considering there is little or no difference in language, habits, culture and ethnicity.
Any wonder then that yesteday the winner was announced and it was a Pakistani! One had expected it, not just from the fairness angle but also in keeping with the latest affirmations of cordiality between the two countries.. The Bus service to Ravalakote across the border was flagged off a couple of days earlier by Sonia Gandhi, amidst fanfare and hype.
Yet... Javed Akhtar the renowned poet, lyricist, writer, was denied a visa by the Pakistan Consulate!! He is Miffed- and rightly so. Because of the hue and cry raised by the media and others, he has been granted one on second thoughts.
MUMBAI: Javed Akhtar, who was granted a visa to visit Pakistan following the uproar provoked by the initial rejection, has asserted that he will tour the country only if its highest authority issues an apology. Akhtar was to lead a 50-member Indian delegation of prominent actors to attend the Karachi premiere of K Asif's magnum opus Mughal-e-Azam on Saturday.
Unquote.
The point I am trying to make is as follows: Will somebody please spell out just exactly where do we stand as neighbours? Are we presntly blowing hot, cold, lukewarm? Conflicting signals lead to unrest and dis-ease. Terrorism is as active as ever in POK, random acts of aggression are being reported sporadically all along the border. So while we honour the Pakistani artists who come to our country, singers, musicians, rock stars and the latest entrant in the laughter challenge( please note that the game show was Great INDIAN Laughter challenge- with a pakistani winner) yet Javed is denied visa!
About Me
- Kaveetaa Kaul
- Sachiniti' shifted base to Wordpress http://sachiniti.wordpress.com Kaveetaa Kaul topped Mumbai University, with a First Class First Honours and graduated in World History, Constitution of England and India. Subsequently, she dipped into Advertising and marketing, Montetessori training, and Yoga teachers training. She is trained in Kathak style of Indian dance and light classical vocals. Kaveetaa has produced serials for Sony, Zee and has acted and written as well. Her main priority being children and home, she has opted for a flexible professional routine. In addition, she has studied Numerology, Feng Shui, Aroma Therapy, Tarot card reading, Reiki. She lives in Mumbai with her husband and son.
9 comments:
Adding to the confusion:)
another attack in kashmir
http://www.hindu.com/2006/06/25/stories/2006062512460100.htm
with the reality showz munching into the small screen airtime, u just need to colour up for trp's!
for that u have the pak ensemble trying out humour-in-uniform!
between the nationz its just hot as hell n the pseudo secular gimmicks of bus service n cultural exchanges are horrendous acts of hypocracy! with all diplomacy arnd we won have another war on the cardz but these diplomatic farce wud continue- keeping in mind the electorate!
btw.. the pak-pak brand of humour is pathetic but india has alwayz welcomed intruders/invaders with open arms n lo! we have a commedy king from our neighbour.
'gud fences make gud neighbours'.. when wud we learn!!?
der bergwind,
i quite liked the guy from pakistan..Rauf lala.. i think.. earthy humour, not sophisticated, catering to the majority so chalta hai. though I do think that in an effort to prove 'good neighbourliness' this was done.where we stand in the relationships between the countries is highly debatable..but then why the hogwash of bus and films and premieres?
Rather unrelated, but could you turn on your RSS feed? It makes it easier for people like me to keep up with your updated content without having to visit and check. It can be done via your blogger settings.
Cheers,
Aashish
once an enemy, always an enemy. If we think that they are overnight going to leave behind their bias for India its out of question.Bus or no bus. and btw I have heard that the bus had been attacked?? is that true?as for the paki winning the laughter challenge its typical of India. why do we fawn over these guys? give it to the deserving ones..why only coz he was from the other side?beats me
der,
gud fences make gud neighbours..like that
Neha,
true.. but champion??
Dim,
When I wrote of the demolitions there were emails saying that it is fake. I knew the news was for real, also coz of the source and the denials were fake. Now the truth has emerged undoubtedly. Mixed signals therefore shaky foundations of anything lasting I suppose.
Aashish,
Thanks for the suggestion. I am switching to wordpress. So will make necessary changes.
puja,
Have seen no news of the bus attack. It would have created quite a ripple had it been true. One of those mischief making attempts, I presume.
Both my parents have their roots in pakistan.My longing to go here has never been realised. I wonder if it ever will
Neha,
Your post reminded me of javed akhtars song(btw my parents too have their roots there)
pancchhii nadiya pawan ke jhoole..koi sarhad na inhe chhoolle..sarhadein insaanon ke liye hai.. socho tumne aur maine kya paaya insaan ho ke"
says it all so nicely.
songz n the lyricz are imaginative naa... celluloid is feedin us our imagination but we are still miles away from realising our folly n guess 'we-the people' want it this way coz its just not happening.. with all shamz of cricket, cultural xchanges n feel gud verbose, pak has a counter to sashi tharoor's (mite hav got the spellin wrong!) un sec. nomination!!
just outta bad breath n blood n we still get wooed with songz n poemz.. come on! their greenz are tainted n we just shed our blood to keep the tri-colour; why the hell cant we finish this once n for all!! diplomacy n international politicz.. relationz??!! dunno.. but this proxy war is killin us slow.. maybe as they say.. 'gawd' has greater planz for the sub-continent! so patience wud be our virtue naa?? phew!
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