Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Spoofed Nationalists

How many of you remember the national pledge we used to recite in school? I can only remember the part India is my country. All Indians are my brothers and sisters. Now, not remembering the next lines don’t make me an anti-Indian n neither does knowing the entire pledge by-heart make me a patriot. Why to make the national song Vande Mataram to be sung compulsorily everyday in schools? As it is, we already sing the national anthem along with the pledge. To be frank, I don’t know the meaning of each n every word of our anthem and neither can I tell how many regions are mentioned in it at the drop of a hat. But still I luv my country. Fine, I agree it is not wrong in singing the national song but making it compulsory is bad. Worse is making it a political issue n sparking off community hatred. But we can expect only this frm our politicians. Why do u go to a movie theatre? For pleasure.. right? Now why do we have to play national anthem in a place where ppl come to unwind themselves. The sadder part is many ppl keep on munching to the popcorn or slurping the coke while standing. Why the hell bring disrepute to the anthem like tht. Call me a traitor if u want but I hate this forced-nationalism. The sense of pride or feeling of gratitude towards ur own country shld come frm ur heart n not necessarily frm ur mouth thro songs of praise. If the politicians want everyone to be like tht then get someone to sit n transmogrify everyone.

Last night I was reading an article on the sudden influx of spoofs of best-selling novels. Spoofs/parodies are meant to be taken in a light way n the satire might be difficult to digest if one doesn’t has a taste of tht kind of humour or the original author is one of ur favs. I Moved Your Cheese is a spoof of Who Moved My Cheese. Till yest I was thinking tht Spencer Johnson had written the next part of the latter one. Lord of The Rings got Bored of The Rings while Star Trek turned into Star Wreck. But the best name of the spoof according to me is the on one of the famous books Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. The name of the satire is Women are from Bars, Men are from Penus. After reading the original version would luv to skim thro’ the spoof as well. Has anyone read any spoof novels? While we are on spoofs, yest one colleague shared a parody on Harry Potter. It is awesome n Lindsay Lohan with xtra assets makes it super awesome. A laughter riot of 5 mins 20 secs.. search for it on youtube or any other sites n post the link in comments if anyone finds it. Would have mailed u all if the size was small but it is 50 Mb.

Btw, if u have ur mail id in ur blogger profile n got ur comments bounced off my mail id then m sorry for tht. Let us blame the system guys for this; have changed the comments-delivery to gmail again. It was gud when the comments directly landed in mail box so it was a refreshing change to read tht frm the official mails n boring forwards. Now, I have to refresh the whole page in free time to check for comments. So pls don’t expect a reply on a comment in posts in archives. I am thinking of starting a series on blog.. details in one of the upcoming posts.

38 comments:

AnonymousBlogger said...

1st?

AnonymousBlogger said...

1st.

AnonymousBlogger said...

You know what I don't like, is the whole national anthem before sporting events.

Why do we need that? It's a waste of time.

We sung it in school every day until grade 6. After that, we stopped, which was nice.

Tarun said...

Is it second or is it fourth?
ANyways.
Not read many spoof novels but have seen some spoof movies.
They are really cool.
Forced Nationalism sucks.
I think there should be no opposition people singing Natinal Anthem (Jana Gana Mana) and National Song (Vande Mataram)

Aditi said...

I didnt have to say the national pledge or sing the anthem except for flag hoisting. We had the saraswati mantra, which in a way made sense cuz it was a school, but I can see how now it would be a topic for a broiling controversy.
Everything is a topic for a broiling controversy, nowadays.
Isnt Vande Mataram being made mandatory in schools the same idea as the national anthem playing before movies? There is no purpose except reminding people to be patriotic and I dont think its working too well.

ishipishi said...

i rem we wld go "all indian...pakistanis...germans...british....americans...thai...chinesee....." so on and so forth...lol...it got us into trouble yes for disrupting the assembly but we wld be like "what did we say rong??" and in anycase if everyone's gonna end up bein my bro, who do i marry??

jokes apart, a sense of pride for the nation comes from within...and i don't have to be forced to show that but nor do i mind showing it...

it's sad that one should have to resort to forcing something that shud come naturally to everyone...

and...as far as spoofs are concerned....sometimes they can be fun...at times u're left wondering..."wat was that abt? huh?"....:)

and baaki how r things wid u? :)...busy wid work?

Anand said...

hey I didnt know spoof books existed!!
!
This sounds hilarious..will try and get my hands on one of these!

Varsha said...

spoofs...wow..i love spoofs...*claps in glee*

I don't mind National anthem before movies...since after school thats the only time I get to stand up for the anthem...(ok 15 aug and 26 jan are holidyas and i prefer sleeping late those days)

Anyways nice blog and nice template....

preetishere said...

hiii

i tried remembering the pledge..geee..me too stopped after the second line :((

i feel its like bringing shame to the anthem by introducing it in movies...people dont have respect for it and when they dont stand its a real dis-honour to it.

i completely believe in not reciting the songs aloud...even the prayers..in school it was compulsory to end the day with shouting "thank u god for the world so sweet......" i just hated it and said my prayers in ma mind. u r not praying to show people!!

dont know bout spoofs..

last para kuch samajh mein nahi aaya....

babyeeee take care :)

preetishere said...

and we would say --- India is my country.All Indians are my brothers and sisters except one!! ;)

Sudeep said...

@Sean: I expected another one of oh god really i m 1st comment.. lol.. kidding
'bout the games, many nations compete for their pride so it is a part i think

@Tarun: light house se niche aa phir medal milega.. he he
If u r hinting at movies like Scary Movie they are hilarious..
there shld be no opposition but no compulsion either is my view

@Aditi: If something is forced then generally the tendency is tht the opposite thing of the desired result happens..

Sudeep said...

@Ishita: i know.. we used to say All indians are my brothers n some are sisters.. as kids we are (at least we were) never taught its importance.. just say it everyday
i really want to get my hands on one of the original n its spoof now..

@Anand: Me too.. n the more surprising bit is tht some of the spoofs are written by more well known authors than the originals n some have sold more copies than the parent one

@Varsha: hey.. welcome here :)
now u made me even more determined to read one of them..
ur first part is also a valid point..
thnx .. but i m being compelled to change my template.. lol
c ya arnd

Sudeep said...

@Preeti: hey we also had something like tht at the end of the school.. but it was only for one yr.. so dont remember it now
u used to say 'except one' n we used to say 'except some'.. he he

Sudeep said...

@ALL: Having a busy schedule for 2 weeks.. might not be able to read all ur posts n comment. Bear with me.. will be back soon.
Tk care n keep smiling

teacup said...

I agree with u completely...I love singin the national anthem and even vande mataram...but it should not be forced...I think they -play national nathem only in Inox naah? I rem we came early Once for a movie and I was shocked to hear the anthem playin! I mean I didn't know then, tho I stood at attention my frnd kept on munchin on popcorn, tho wen I nudged her she stopped but many ppl don't care about national anthem...it makes me feel bad...but I still believe that patriotism should come from heart like u said...and about spoofs have never seen or read! nor do I think I will:P

btw ur comment thing...got nuthin of it!watever u do don't stop replyin to our comments:)

Dalicia said...

yeah national anthems :) not only the national anthems, also the district anthem, school song and the pledge. *LOL*

i think when you do it too much. it kills the anthem. at the end, it become meaningless. actually, i don't mind singing the national anthem. it brings people together.

you know what, i actually seen those books are around :)

Deepak D Jadhav said...

Well if Laloo and Rabri can sit thru a national anthem, I can snort coke at a multiplex :-)

Keshi said...

National Anthem should be reserved for certain events. Not for anything and everything. Where's it gonna be sung next, toilets?

btw what really shows one's pride and love towards his/her nation is living life that way - not just singing the anthem!

U like Lohan? EEEEEEEEEKS! lol!

Keshi.

Kathy said...

lol! speaking of national anthem, we do it too in Phils. ^_^ u need to stand up when first movie showing in the morning and the last one at night! ^_^ and im doin' it seriously for always... me patriot like u hehe! :P

... i think ur busy checking youtube always hehe ^_^ lol! u like Lohan??

... and 3 weeks less orkutting?? what the hell is that Mr.Orkut?? will do rally in front of Neilsoft lol!! hehe... Sudeepuuuu awwww will miss ur crazy scrap dear :P

... anyway, will bug u either on mails ^_^ or let me talk to the boss to let him give u free time to scrap ok? give my no. to him or my YM so i can chat w/ him ^_^ while u scrappin' lol!

... u take care sweetie muaahh!

cheers,
-kathy-

Raghav said...

in mumbai the national anthem plays before evry movie.. i found it a bit starnge.. but maybe a lot of people find that really 'natinalistic' too.. so to each his own !

Ekta said...

Hey I completely agree with u..i hate this forced nationalism! abd the worst being that if ur staying outside the country it is assumed that ur not a patriotic person which is sick!

AnonymousBlogger said...

I guess if it's a game involving international teams, then it makes sense, but your average league game doesn't seem like the right time for that sort of thing.

I can't imagine it in movie theatres. I didn't know they did that anywhere.

~*. D E E P A .* ~ said...

hey

so many posts to comment on :(

Ar Ar Ar Arrrrr said...

Then I think you should also read paraody of "Five people you meet in heaven" by Mitch albolm - "Five people you meet in HELL"....hehehe

Now that you mentioned Lindsay with extra assets...believe me...mujhe kuch kuch hone laga hai....and I wanna see those assets asap :)

Reegarding national anthem...I've one post coming on it....

Have a nice weeknd dude!!!

Tarun said...

Light House se haste haste neeche gir gaya.
*Dusts the dirt off his clothes and starts laughing again*
:D

Shruti said...

hi sudeep,
natinol anthem is not for pleasure..it is the respect towards are country which has to be given...

Unknown said...

It is sad but true many Indians actually do not know their National Anthem 'coz it wasn't forced. I;ve always sung it in school & even now when I do I feel asense of pride! In every country the national anthem is a matter of pride , sadly not in India!

Rashmi.

Sudeep said...

@Yashita: yeah its Inox..
which comment thing u didnt get? last para wala or the one above u?

@Elaine: u sang a lot..
yeah anthems do bring ppl together

@dOne: yeah i saw tht pic.. they are sick bastards
thnx for dropping by here.. c ya around :)

@Keshi: lol @ toilets.. hope they dont otherwise it will be difficult standing there n still do the job :D
yeah i like her..

Sudeep said...

@Kalpz: glad tht he stood.. did they play the entire anthem in the movie or a part just to bring tears in the eyes of audience?

@Kathy: So they play the anthem b4 movies in Philipines too? youtube is not accessible here otherwise would have drooled on Lohan.. lol

@Sandeep: u scared me .. our systems head has the same name.. lol.. or is it him? let me check ur page n confirm this..
i agree with ur lines.. thnx for dropping by.. c ya around :)

Sudeep said...

@Raghav: it is same for every theatre? here it is played in only 1-2 theatres..

@Ekta: ohh.. tht staying abroad point is sad indeed

@Sean: yeah for games within the country it shldnt be played except for the grand finale or medal distribution ceremony

@Deepa: welcome back.. missed ya
sirf 3 hain

Sudeep said...

@Zoonie: will pass over the link to u soon..

@Tarun: kis baat pe itna hasriya hain bhaaya? :D

@Shruti: exactly n it is our responsibilty to see tht others also respect it

@Rashmi: long time..
i hope it gets the pride status in every citizen's mind

Keshi said...

lol hahaha!

Keshi.

Neha said...

wat??really???
but yahan tou we dont play the anthem before movies!
gosh!i wish we (bangaloreans)dont get to hear that at movie theatres...
its a ridiculous idea!
imagine u going for this movie..totally anti nationalism, or anti humanity, or an adult movie, or with intentions of romancing with ur partner in the dark corners, and u get to listen to the anthem before the movie begins...well...sounds wierd!
dunno...
dint like the idea!

Sudeep said...

@Keshi: ;)

@Neha: not all theatres play but one multiplex does... n unfortunately tht has got the most comfy chairs in the dark corners.. lollzz

@Kalpz: i know tht kid sang it.. i had been tortured to watch tht movie.. i meant did he sing the whole or it was a ploy to please the audience?

Priyanka Mahanta Pandiyan said...

I think its a good practice to play the NA before the movie. This i have only noticed happening in Mumbai. I don't know if any other city follows it. But what the hell? It isn't asking for too much,is it? We are atleast reminded just for that 1 minute of our roots,of our forefathers' sacrifices,of our being Indians. I believe its a very proud feeling and a healthy practice. Nothing to feel bad about or spoil the movie mood...

Keshi said...

om shanti shanti shanti...

The goddess with miracles is here...Sudeep where art thou?

Keshi.

The Girl Who Sold The World said...

I HATE forced stuff of any kind. I think it brings out the negativity in a lot of people, like me. I end up hating that forced stuff, no matter how good it is. And in India, this kind of happening is so bloody common...forced anthem, forced pledge (though my school assembly used to skip the latter :D), forced respect to the flag, forced this, forced that. Where's the damned individual will? If I wanna respect my country's national anthem or song, I will. If I don't, then, not even a hundred forced singings every day can make me do it. I know I'm proud of my country and I know that I love it. Now, what else do they want me to do? Sing Vande Mataram every morning grumpily even when I'm not in the mood? And they gotta accept it that for a lot of Indians who can't understand shit about Sanskrit or any weird and twisted form of Hindi, that song IS hard to sing, irrespective of religion. Sheesh, I ended up spewing out too much venom. :P Pffft, I'm so pissed off at the system for the past few months. x-(

Sudeep said...

@Priyanka: i only object coz ppl dont pay respect to it in places where u come for pleasure.. n how many remember the freedom struggle while it plays? those just have become like lines for many

@Keshi: lollzz.. if u r goddess then ur pic will be on my desktop beauties.. ;)

@Navdeep: agreed on the negativity part
lol.. wht happened for the past few months? govt office ke chakkar?