After a long time I did an "Analyze an argument" exercise :)

Amitji got (I must admit) a well written article published in The Statesman by Derek Bose on him. Yet, IMHO the arguments made by Mr. Bose is flawed on the very fundamentals. And yet Amitji refuses to comment on it. I guess Amitji is bored of commenting on such articles for several decades now ... :) So ... I, very humbly, choose to do the honors this time ... Njoy!

Here is my comment on it:
http://blogs.bigadda.com/ab/2008/08/30/day-129i/#comment-103636
And here is the actual article:
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=19&theme=&usrsess=1&id=220229

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Aah .. u r not commenting .. Let me do the honors on this one:
The author says:
(1) “Letting their ‘work’ speak for themselves, obviously, does not fit into this scheme of things.”

The author has a very narrow view of ‘work’. The promotions, tours, meet and greet, etc are part of the work of an artise and the author has forgotten that a work of art has to be ‘made known’ for people to go to it.Author confuses ‘work’ to be only doing it and sit back and relax. This is never true, even a work of science never speaks of itself unless published and advertised. Yes, even the nerdiest scientific work has to be submitted for conferences and journals of the field and accepted to be published. Yes, I had to get up, travel and talk about my work for the community to take a note of me. Publishing and talking about your work has always been part of any serious endeavour. The same is true for software that I have been part of: we had to advertise every feature that we add to be ‘made known’ to the consumers. Advertising and making your work known IS and WILL BE part of the work. For work of science by publication in major conferences and for software to be released for consumers, or for a piece of art … it ought to be made known!!

(2) “Blog wars: The ultimate free-for-all space for every self-obsessed star to brag and abuse, rave and rant, crib and curse”

Firstly, it seems the author reads a blog only if it is abusive or is filled of curses. I am not sure why would anyone NOT read any other kind of blog. The author forgot to read the best blog ever: you blog on your mother, or even the blogs about the concert or innumerable blogs that are mostly positive .. or even my little insignificant blog http://saurabhaditya.blogspot.comAah .. there are so many good blogs and I pity the author of having missed so much … catch up dear!
Secondly, a blog is by definition personal. Thus, I think “self-obsessed” has to do with the definition of a blog, while the author is accusing blog writers of beeing narcissistic to write their own blog! Of course a blog is an expression of the blog writer’s thoughts, it is about his/her self, experiences .. and everything personal.

(3) “Bachchan has taught them that there is no age for retirement in films”

I remember Dilip Kumar, Ashok Kumar, RajKumar, A.K. Hangal … and innumerable others working until they could … there has never been any age for retirement in films. It is the love of work that keeps you going and not that you are ‘taught by’ anybody. At least in the country I live in, there is no age for retirement in any profession. I can choose to keep working as I wish. The same is true as I see in the Hindi movie industry. I don’t think any artist is naive to have learnt this only by Mr Bachan’s example.

By the way Amitji, what happened to the concert in Germany? On the website it doesn’t say anything after London, Wasn’t there something in Germany and/or Netherlands and then in India too!!
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Somebody did click after all :)

Thanks to another fan who clicked this photograph and sent to me.

I have uploaded all the Unforgettable related photographs that friends emailed to me or I clicked at the following url: http://saurabhaditya.dotphoto.com/CPViewAlbum.asp?AID=5457658
Few other photographs are at: http://saurabhaditya.dotphoto.com/CPViewAlbum.asp?AID=5464585

Happy viewing!

By the way, I saw Andy Garcia (Casino owner in Ocean's 11,12; Godfather III, Untouchables) shooting for "City Island", a drama comedy to be released next year in spring. They shot in the tram that I take every day to Roosevelt Island. He shot till ... phew ... 1 am, aah .. I am not the only hard working guy :) ... and then the next night too for late in the night for the waterfront scene. Didn't take any of his pics, he just said: "Hey, How are you doing?" while smoking a big cigar!! Just after that, his colleagues called him in for shoot. I guess he was taking a tiny smoking break between shots when he saw us.

Goodbye and farewell to the Unforgettable concert cast

(writing for Wed Aug 20 2008) I changed my route from office to home so that I can visit them everyday the last whole week. Today they are gone ... limousine service managers Samad (he gave me the Preity Zinta signed King's XI Punjab T-shirt that I am wearing!), Imran and Arjun; Ishq-Vishq actress Shenaz Treasurywala, lots of dancers, composers Vishal (mostly with a guitar) and Shekhar (he has a little daughter named Bipasha), .. and of course the Bachchans: Amitji, Jayaji, Aish and Abhishek; Ritesh Deshmukh, their bodyguards, event managers I didn't talk to but they said as some Jotwani ... and so many more artists and most of fans: Rochelle Goldman, Abdul Baksh, Seema, Sarraf, and so many more and ever increasing :). Felt like home outside their hotel ... just being there .. talking to fans, waiting for artists, sometimes even getting to talk to them when they are rushing around ... congratulating them ... wishing them luck for London ... getting pics with them ... comparing and discussing dresses worn by them with the other fans ... wasting my time around :) it was great!! And yet all good things come to an end. How do I know?

Amitji writes on his blog we are leaving tonight!!! I am shattered ... Nooooooooo ... what should I do? I have already had "Unforgettable, the best concert!" poster hand-written in my child-like handwriting shown to many of them. I talked with Shenaz, Abhishek wrote me an autograph, but wait, I didn't meet BigB!! Worse, I couldn't even say that his blog on his mother was the best ever. Here I get a reason and a zeal to do something more: I create another poster: this time on a bigger paper: "Best Blog Ever: "My Mother Teji Bachan". Yes, I wrote it in my weird child-like handwriting, WRITING with non-virtual pen and paper after a long time! I didn't want to print it; I remember Hema Di telling me when I was a kid that she liked hand-written letters because they look more human and personal; and I just wanted to convey my personal feelings to the 66 year old man who wrote this beautiful piece for me to read and get lost in the nostalgic thoughts of my own childhood and mamma-papa. I didn't want to recruit somebody else to write that for me, as it would be difficult for anyone to understand my child-like enthusiasm in an office where they are used to my arguments on asymptotic complexity and most recently why my template specialization should not be deleted from code :) But I digress.

I went in the lunch break to do a takeout from a Chinese restaurant that is connected to the hotel. They have a $8 lunch takeout deal which given good enough quantity, I consider a great deal in Manhattan! On door of the hotel I see Rochelle Goldman. I show her my poster, she likes it .. oh my .. I misspelt Bachchan as Bachan, ... and now u know how I scored in high school English (my bad English of my blog says it too.. doesn't it :) !! She tells me she has been waiting for Amitabh since 6 am ... yes she is the craziest fan of Amitabh I have ever known, well .. she is THE craziest fan EVER of anybody I have ever known! Even Amitji has acknowledged this. She has already hugged Amitabh, the Bachchan family knows her by her name, she went to all the Unforgettable shows in US, she is on the top nine exclusive fan list of Amitabh (he invited her!), still she wants to say Goodbye to Amitabh before he leaves NY!! And of course ... she has "I Love Amitabh" written on her hoodie ...

Impressed, I am stuck with her looking at her photographs. She wore an Indian dress when she went to see Amitabh on fan meet. And yes, there was this 'legal hug' photograph of her hugging Amitabh :) sweet!! Another fan joins us, I help Rochelle to show photographs to her (and yeah Rochelle recently bought laptop and Verizon internet, etc all just to read Amitabh's blog and like Amitabh not very comfortable with "technical things"!! Guess what, you've got me dear!!).

I: "Jayaji, Can I have a picture with you?"Jayaji: "Let me pack these things and then I will come." In the meanwhile I order my take out lunch at Chinese restaurant at hotel. I get into Chinese restaurant, nice decor (Shengchao said good decor = unauthentic Chinese food :), I order shredded chicken with Garlic Sauce, she tells me 10 min wait. There I meet Hoshdaar for third time, he works at the hotel and I saw him waiting for his takeout once more in the exact same manner. First time I asked him if the sushi bar at the hotel is open for lunch ... lol ...

I ask for restroom key from the Chinese looking lady and walk past to the hotel for restroom. Coming out, I see that down in the lobby I see familiar faces: Jayaji, Aish, Abhishek, etc all obliging family and friends for pictures. I rush down the stairs in the lobby and join for pictures. ...I show Jayaji my poster: "Best blog ever: My mother Teji Bachchan" I wrote by my hand. Jayaji is pleasantly surprised and visibly agreeing. She has a sweet rythmic motherly voice with an upward inflexion at the end of her sentences, which sound like authentic Indian English! The bodyguard also sees it and starts smiling, so rare to see such an occurrence for once I thought that I wanted to capture him rather than Amitji or anybody else smiling ... hahaha ...

I: "I want to give it to Amitji".

Jayaji: "Give it to him, (whisper)he is outside in the car." I walk around, outside the lobby looking at the cars ... can't find him ... go further outside .. see a bunch of people ... I am sad ... after a while Jayaji comes out..

Jayaji: Did you show this to him?

I: "I couldn't even find him."

"Come with me ... (in hushed voice)" ... "but don't bother him much"
And there he is .. Amitabh, he is happy seeing it, seeing him happy I am happy. He doesn't seem to me on top of his health. He says thanks and seeing people materializing around me gets uneasy, closes the mirror.I get back and after a bit of time his bodyguard comes to me ... He wants me there in front of him. Really!! I go there, looking around that there is nobody else, he again pulls down his mirror and asks more like grandfatherly voice: what do you want? (his voice is not in its best and deep rich baritone)

I: I just want a picture with you.

He: okay come, stand on the side of the mirror quickly. (opens the mirror)

The crowd bangs in, some people put their hand inside the mirror and even touch him. I am not happy with all this and a bit guilty of being a cause of this for Amitji. And now I know why they are afraid of fans. Among the fans I see middle-aged women they are the worst behaved, though Rochelle Goldman, being a middle-aged woman is the best behaved and yet the biggest fan!

I try to give my camera to Rochelle but eventually I know I have never been good at such kind of me-first, me-first street-level bodily competition. I budge and give way to others. Before that I ask a lady to click on me too .. she nods. I know that smiling nod of women, it says yes, but it means I don't care. Amitji rolls up his window and it is their flight time ... the fleet of cars leave one by one. I ask the lady if she got my picture. And she says: "I was clicking on Amitji, not you. If you want any of their pictures I can email it to you, I have lots of them but they don't have you!" And she has that look and a wicked smile that I thought and wished I will never get since I left high-school. The look says "You emotional intelligent fool, I am street smart and can get anything I want. It makes me so happy in being mean to you." I am afraid of this look because I have learnt from experience the oxymoron of emotional intelligent fool is actually true in my case, but hey c'mon I am glad the world is big enough and her kind is a minority while my kind is not!! I smile with deja vu of old memories and afraid of myself recalling the last time I got angry the guy was in hospital with stitches and me house arrested ... when angry just leave!

I have to go to collect my lunch and rush back to office to work on templatized, generic data structure that can sort, update, insert, remove, filter, prefix match, page, random advance page ... and God knows what more .. all in most efficient, scalable and compile time polymorphic way!! ... And this time I am not digressing ...

Thanks Rochelle Goldman, Abdul Baksh, Abdul Samad Khan, Vijay Bhatia (http://www.trinityjewelsusa.com/), Darshan Kapadia (http://www.theshaadistory.com/), Ashutosh Pandey and several many for clicking pictures and just being around and being a big happy family!

Thank you everybody for everything!!

Aditya

http://saurabhaditya.dotphoto.com/CPViewAlbum.asp?AID=5464585
http://saurabhaditya.dotphoto.com/CPViewAlbum.asp?AID=5457658(will post more pics as and when friends will mail to me)

Independence Day Parade in NY

It was all over colorful India in New York. So many Indians, from sexy models/air hostesses of Kingfisher to the saffron-clad Veda and Yoga guys, to An hour long parade from 41st and Madison to 26th and Madison. At the end of the parade Deepika Padukone, who played Shanti in the movie 'Om Shanti Om' turned up on stage. I have put up that day's pictures at the following url:

http://saurabhaditya.dotphoto.com/CPViewAlbum.asp?AID=5464585

The biggest superstar: Rochelle Goldman

I just work in R&D for Bloomberg in Manhattan .. a typical job for a nerdy Indian! I don't do much of anything else.

Amitabh Bachchan does his work ... he is an actor. Something else he does is blogging .. and he writes really well and direct from heart ... he really doesn't do much else!

However, this person Rochelle Goldman stands out ... she flies to Toronto, LA, Houston .. commutes to NJ, NY .. wherever she could go .. waits for hours to see and meet Amitabh! .. has all her t-shirts and parapgernalia filled with "I Love Amitabh", even bags written all over with phrases from his movies .. "My name is Anthony Gonzalez", ... all as a fan .. and yet keeps up with her job in NY by sleeping for couple of hours!!!! Amitabh, Abhishek and Aishwarya all know her by face and name .. Aish only smiled once and that too to her .. aah .. Wow!! ... it's hard to impress me and Rochelle Goldman does that bang on :)

Btw, she also loves and watches almost every Hindi movie ... is a punker vegan and animal activist, travelled all over the world (including Egypt and Israel as yours truly could too!), she has a great personality and is single ... just don't ask her age :P

BigB

He had to leave for movie .. so I couldn't ask for a photo with him ... and there was somebody prettier than him for me: Shenaz!! :)

Nevertheless, this guy has just written the best piece ever .. do check this one out: http://blogs.bigadda.com/ab/2008/08/14/maajis-photograph/?cp=17

BigB

He is actually big! No .. I mean it .. he looks tall and giant and he is not lean and thin .. so he looks overall big. He just gave out the best blog ever .. he wrote on his mother today on her birthday ...

Unforgettable

I stepped out of my office for home and found the biggest fan of Amitabh Bachchan on street: Rochelle Goldman. As expected she was waiting for Amitabh :) One by one lots of Bollywood stars turned up there ... she wasn't waiting in vain ... in Manhattan something keeps happening!! Here in this photograph is Ishq-Vishq actress Shenaz who played the bubbly Alisha ... she is actually very tiny, nevertheless sparklingly beautiful ... now you know why I couldn't get a pic with Amitabh .. just kidding!