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In the recent past, we have had some refreshing Hindi films centered around the spunky leading lady, instead of the hero, for a change. Tumhari Sulu, and Qarib Qarib Singlle were two such films, in which the heroine was not a glamorous doll or a weepy willow, but a personality of her own. Even her age group was 30+ rather than the usual 18-20. None of them were vociferous feminists, but quietly believed in themselves. Sulu or Sulochana, played by the inimitable Vidya Balan, is a happy housewife seeking a job to boost her identity. She lands the job of a Radio Jockey for a night show, and despite having to make several adjustments in her routine, takes up the challenge with a smile and "can-do" attitude.  Braving lewd callers, her husband's growing discontent, and the open disapproval of her relatives, she doesn't budge from her stand and continues with her job. She also seeks out an ingenuous solution for keeping the frustrated husband engaged and happy. In ...

Recently in Kolkata, two back-to-back revolting incidents shook the public, both involving one of the most hallowed institutions of all times: the school. Children as young as three and four were sexually assaulted by school teachers or support staff, in the school premises, within school hours!!! So much for the famed strict discipline and propriety our elite English medium schools boast about! What have we come to as a nation? Where is our sense of morality? Are we so depraved that even babies are not spared these days? How will a child regain her self worth and her faith in adults? These questions fill our minds as we read the gruesome details in daily news. Parents shout slogans and corner school authorities, and demand the resignation of school heads. The ICSE has woken up from its slumber and insists that each school be covered with CCTV cameras. But among this hullabaloo, what comes uppermost in our minds is the reaction of the reputed school authorities to the incidents....

Performance appraisal and evaluation is at the core of human resource management. We all work to earn appreciation, rewards, and a steadily increasing pay package. At the end of the appraisal period, when all this is denied to us saying we haven’t performed as per company expectations, it comes like a slap in the face. Why didn’t they tell me earlier? You want to scream. If you had sought out feedback on your performance from time to time, perhaps you would have sensed that you would have to put in extra efforts to come up to expectations. You would have understood the deficiencies in your output and would have corrected the areas where you were going wrong. So performance feedback is the key to doing well on the job. Performance feedback constitutes: Periodic exchange of feedback between your boss and you on how you are doing in your job Comparing actual job performance as against what was planned at the beginning of the performance review period Two-way exch...

Right now in India, the raging topic on social media and on television is the controversy related to the Hindi film " Padmavati ", made by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, with reigning Bollywood queen Deepika Padukone essaying the eponymous role.  Since the time Bhansali has started making the film, sundry Rajput groups have claimed to have been offended by the fact that their revered queen Padmini or Padmavati (who was devoted to her husband, and desired by the enemy - Alauddin Khilji), and who had committed jauhar or self immolation to avoid being captured by Khilji, was being belittled in the film.  Somehow, it has gone into their heads, or perhaps been drilled, as part of a political agenda, that the maker was insulting their culture and bravery by making this film. They burnt down the sets, protested violently and created enough ruckus to make their displeasure felt. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that the director had cast the real-life couple of Deepika ...

Aamir Khan has done it again! Put his money where his heart is...backing a small heart-warming film that addresses a number of serious issues, while telling the story of Insia, a teenager dreaming big. Secret Superstar is the story of Insia, a budding singer from an average middle-class Indian family, who makes her dreams happen by sheer hard work and talent. But it is also the story of her mother, a battered housewife, who rises from the ashes to take reins of her life. It is a brave film, for it addresses an issue long swept under the carpet in Indian families - that of wife beating. It happens in almost every backyard, yet no one acknowledges it. It's almost as if wishing that if you don't open your mouth it will go away. Wife battering, domestic violence, gender discrimination, female infanticide, all these are issues we are uncomfortable bringing out in the open.  Secret Superstar not only highlights these sensitively, it also shows the triumph of a battered woman...

The world is now on our plate…Literally! Food preferences of the Calcuttan, or Kolkatan as they say now, have changed and how! People are experimenting with new forms of cuisine like never before. Of course, the average Calcuttan has always been adventurous as far as trying out new food is concerned. We adopted chicken noodles and pork dumplings as favourites, long before the rest of India did. Continental stuff like sizzlers, steaks and lobster thermidor were long on our list of favourites. We love the Punjabi saag as much as the Kerala appams, Chicken Chettinad rubs shoulders with Dum Biriyani, Gujarati Khaman dhokla is as popular as Schezuan dosas. But a revolution of sorts has taken place in the last decade or so. With food blogging and the popularity of global cuisine on the rise, thanks to TV programs and restaurant reviews, people are hungry for change. The Bong palate is really evolving! Hitherto unheard of food items have made their way into the Calcuttan’s ...

"Mahishasura Mardini" or "Chandi Path" (ode to Goddess Durga), booming in the immortal voice of Birendra Krishna Bhadra at the crack of dawn on Mahalaya, has ushered in Devi Paksha or the fortnight of Durga Puja celebration in Bengal. The days counting to Puja are getting fewer and more frenzied. Festivities and gaiety are in the air for all Bengalis across the world. It's that time of the year when the non-resident Bengali yearns for the sights and smells of his/her homeland. When the clouds clear up and the sun shines bright after monsoon, the first signs of Durga Puja approaching near are the swaying kaash phul in the autumnal breeze. The sweet scent of shiuli phul fills the air at night. Dawn starts getting a little nippy, and days a little shorter. For Bengalis and those who worship the Supreme Goddess, this a time of faith being renewed, of ties being strengthened and of hope and goodwill being restored. No one can miss the bonhomie between two Be...

STRESS has become synonymous with living these days. From the time you are born to the time you take your last breath, stress will not leave your side. It becomes your staunch companion from the moment you begin to make sense of your environment. STRESS is present in lesser or larger degrees in each human mind, but feeds particularly on the following factors: INSECURITY OVER-EXPECTATION PERFORMANCE PRESSURE ANXIETY  FEAR OF FAILURE INABILITY TO ACCEPT FAILURE STRESS is a great equalizer. It doesn't distinguish between rich or poor, haves or have-nots (though it tilts more towards the haves), successful or not, clever or stupid (again the tilt towards the clever), businessman or athlete, politician or academician. Neither does STRESS differentiate on the basis of age. A child of seven, appearing for periodic class tests, probably faces the same levels of stress that a corporate honcho faces during making crucial decisions. Fear of failure and performance anxiety do ...

The Indian women's cricket team, so long neglected and generally ignored by the cricket-crazy, but male-obsessed Indian public, has made it finally! Despite the hurdles, despite lack of support and sponsorship (which is perhaps not even a fraction of what their male counterparts get), despite the general apathy of Indians towards women playing cricket, they have managed to create a permanent place in the history of women's cricket. Yes, they lost in the World-Cup finals, but what a tooth and nail resistance they gave to the far better-trained, seasoned English team. Skipper Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandana,Punam Raut, Deepti Sharma, Veda Krishnamurthy, have finally wrested recognition for themselves and for women's cricket from the Indian media and general public. They have managed to secure a place in our hearts with their bravura performance. Individual achievements have been exceptional, creating and breaking records on the ground. Whe...

Some films shake you with their incisive humanistic take on a certain relevant topic, while keeping you on the edge of your seat with the thriller element. Mom is such a film. Dealing with rape and it's chilling aftermath, the film follows a mother's journey to get justice for her daughter. What happens when a parent fails to secure just punishment for her child's tormentors? Expecting justice from the Indian judicial system - riddled with gaping loopholes - that lets the criminal go scot-free while pointing a doubting finger at the victim, is like hoping for the impossible to happen. So the victim relives the horror and shame of the dastardly act again and again, while the law remains a mute spectator. And a family is shattered, and lives are destroyed just like that. Mom traces the journey of a mother, played with searing sensitivity by Sridevi, from law abiding citizen to avenging angel, who is pushed to the corner by an insensitive court and police. The film op...

An expatriate Indian writer, writing in English, tends to fall into the stereotype of diaspora story telling. Typical themes of diaspora writing are conflicting world views of Gen X and Y expats, settlement and adjustment issues, dealing with culture shocks, dealing with discrimination and racism, etc. Very rarely do you find an author who brilliantly merges the worlds of traditional wisdom with an incisive view of the western way of thinking. So vivid are her characters, ranging from the rural Indian grandmother to the ultra modern disillusioned gen Y, from the academic in a state-of-the-art US university to the clerk in a modest sweet shop, from a wannabe beautician to a business magnate struggling with emotional issues, that one wonders where she gets her material from? Some extraordinary stories abound in "One Amazing Thing", "Arranged Marriage and other Short Stories", "Queen of Dreams", "Before We Visit the Goddess", "Mistress of ...

So the Board exam results are out. Students all over India have been released from their month-long tension. Some have expectedly fared excellently, while some have managed to just pass muster. Some have reached for the stars, while some have had their world crashing down. Parents are either in congratulatory mode, sharing their kid's achievements on social media, or are have taken social hibernation, warning their kids to keep their shameful result under wraps. As a nation obsessed with academic results, it is no wonder that these months are a child's most stressful time of the year. All everybody seems to be bothered about is how the child will fare in the Board exams of 10th or 12th standard. As if that is the holy grail of all examinations in life, and failing to come up to expectations means a total negation of worth and identity. Has anyone ever studied how these examination toppers fare later in life? Do they continue to shine throughout their academic and career li...

The daily business of living is becoming more complicated by the day. Life shows it's erratic, ephemeral nature every now and then. Accidents, sudden collapses or illnesses, terrorist attacks, emotional breakdowns, all these have unfortunately become part and parcel of our daily lives. Today's reality becomes tomorrow's uncertainty in a flash. Actually, I am not really philosophizing about life. I am wondering how we humans still find time to crib, complain and hold grudges against each other for days at a stretch. How egos and self-importance become more important than basic humaneness and empathy. We go on complaining about our lives and situations, people and jobs, immune to the pain and suffering around us. Our minor troubles assume larger than life proportions, blotting out all that is good and positive. Somehow our problems are the worst, and we are the unluckiest. Some of our typical gripes: "I am a nobody...my life is not worth living" Or ...

A key factor in a long-term romantic or married relationship is the effect of passage of time on the relationship. Time can either cement or ravage a relationship. If you are in a healthy relationship, you will settle down into quiet adjustment and enjoyment of each other’s company. If not, you will continue bickering and nagging all your life. Tolerance and acceptance are the cornerstones of a happy relationship. If you are fortunate enough to be in a positive relationship, have you noticed that as you grow old together, you and your companion (spouse/partner) increasingly think, sound and behave like one another? Maybe it has something to do with the influence of each other’s company, or maybe people do change and adapt to each other in such a way that they adopt the other's characteristics and make them their own. Lifestyle habits: Take lifestyle choices. A couple I know has adjusted to each other so much that the husband doesn't even remember that he was a lat...

The Oscar nominated LION is definitely worth a watch, given its theme of search for identity and one's roots in a post-Google Earth global scenario. Set in India in the first half, the movie traces the journey of a 5 year old Saroo from his home town in Khandwa, to Calcutta, and later across the globe, to Tasmania in Australia. The journey is both within and without, in the sense that the internal quest of the protagonist for a sense of belonging and roots merge with, and culminate in his external voyage halfway across the earth. Sheer grit and determination, coupled with a raw intensity of emotions and memories of his lost childhood, propel Saroo to launch a search for his estranged mother and family a good many years after he lands up in Australia. True to the real story, the movie shows Saroo's struggle to blot out the memories of his life in India and attempts to settle down to a life of cushy comfort in his adopted country. His conflict is understandable; he feels his...

The annual rigmarole of final examinations is on us once again. Look around you, and you will find students crazily cramming up facts, figures and formulas, and parents nervously egging them on. As for teachers, they compete with each other on how many questions they can squeeze in an examination paper. After all, each minute detail of the syllabus is important, and needs to be reproduced on paper. That's how they have been trained by our education policy makers and school authorities. One thing is certain in the Indian education system: Much as we crib and curse the examination system and rote learning, they are here to stay for a long time. Because no one is willing to risk on experimenting with an alternative system of assessing students or evaluating real learning. It is too much hard work - overhauling the entire system, sensitizing policy makers, retraining school principals and teachers, counselling parents, and preparing students alternately. Who has the time or inclinat...

Ever faced a situation when you were walking blindfold and fumbling your way through? Performing a job without seeking feedback is somewhat like that. You grope your way through hoping you will somehow reach your goal, but chances of that are quite slim. You need to know where you are going, whether you are doing the right thing or not, and how you are doing. The only way to find out is through performance feedback. Performance appraisal and evaluation is at the core of human resource management. We all work to earn appreciation, rewards, and a steadily increasing pay package. At the end of the appraisal period, when all this is denied to us saying we haven’t performed as per company expectations, it comes like a slap in the face. Why didn’t they tell me earlier? You want to scream. If you had sought out feedback on your performance from time to time, perhaps you would have sensed that you would have to put in extra efforts to come up to expectations. You would have...

Bollywood seems to have woken up and smelt the coffee....of late, its movie offerings have become more realistic, authentic and grounded. They have actually begun to make a lot of sense! You don't have to leave your brains at home, and the take-away from Hindi movies can actually be very positive. Recent Hindi films like Queen, Neerja, Nil Batte Sannata, Dear Zindagi, Jolly LLB are quite engaging while being firmly rooted in reality. Sentimentalism and maudlin melodrama are kept firmly in check, and larger than life heroes without any flaw do not emerge to solve all problems. The ultimate is of course Dangal, which is actually a slice of life story, based on the struggles of the Phogat sisters. Kahani 2 and Akira have raised pertinent social issues as well. What is even more heartening, is the involvement of top stars and the backing of big production houses in these projects. Stars like Aamir Khan have always been involved in backing socially responsible films like Taare Zame...

Have you faced a situation at the workplace when you have felt that all your coworkers were the worst possible you could ever had? And that everyone seemed to be busy plotting and scheming against your plans, and was gleefully waiting for your downfall? Welcome to the club. Every single working person has faced this situation at least once or more in his/her professional life. Professional life is full of landmines, created by the push and pull of office politics, the changing equations between people working together. And it does not matter whether you are working in a corporate office, or educational institution, or NGO, as long as you have coworkers, you will have to deal with power struggles, conflicts and stress. Managing co-worker relationships involves walking the tightrope between friendly and not too-friendly, creating a balance between aloofness and bonhomie. You need to be friendly to garner the support of your coworkers and have a healthy work atmosphere. A...