Random Strokes

"Auto" We shouted and hired an auto. "Malad west" I said. Driver turned the meter down and it started showing minimum fare and waiting time. We drove around 0.4 meter ahead and meter started showing waiting time. Yes, it was traffic jam ahead. "It's because of Metro work going on" He said. "It was bound to happen." We didn't reply. "Metro has affected our business a lot and so has new taxi companies nowadays." He left a sigh. We kept listening. "It's really getting tough to survive in Mumbai. We will have to search another option of job or anything else if this continues. May be watchman or some kind of such job. At the end, we have to fulfill the family requirements. Education is also getting costly for children. What to do? You can't just blame destiny and cry over situation. One who has learned to survive in Mumbai can live anywhere in the world." He took a pause. We were already in pause mode. ...

Date: 13/01/2017 Time: Just before the lunch Place: A bank in Ahmedabad All the employees are busy doing their work (Whoever had some). A person enters in bank. He has come to make a fixed deposit of a small amount for a term and asks for the same. He is been given a 9 pages long form to make an FD from an account from the same branch. He goes ahead with the process and starts filling it. After writing some same data for 4-5 times, there comes another page asking for personal information which are other than the formal and needed ones. It begins with Religion, then category for caste... Then Education... I don't know whether these details like religion, caste or education make any difference for making a term based fixed deposit. But the form doesn't end here. The next details to be given were assets I own like Housing plot, commercial property, agriculture land, car, two wheeler, Ac, LED Tv, Washing machine, refrigerator, microwave (I mean really Microwave?!), Computer, lap...

Around 5 Years... More than 1600 days... And you know the next lines are for hours and then minutes and then seconds and... There you go. Coming directly to the point is I Am Back...! If I can feel that so can an avid reader of RS too for sure. Feeling like Arnold Schwarzenegger. No, I didn't mean aged. He was used to say I'll be back. So... Let it be. Post no 50. It takes years to reach even a half century. This shows the dedication given in every article and post. Or actually it shows how difficult it actually is when you give up on something. And then you've to start it again from the point you left it. With the same energy, torque, graph and madness. Well, for first three, you need to work. Last one is genetic. So with that last attribute, let's begin the journey once again. I have no clue where it will be heading. All I know is it has started again. And all you have to suffer again. ( I meant for Journey - safar). Cool. So stay detuned for next updates. As this on...

Lights, camera, action… These are  the three words that capture all the attention for an outsider. Well, we'll  check for the middle one first. Camera… We'll go for types of camera angle and  types of coverage shots in this post. And in part 2 we'll study how camera  angles define or reflect the need of the scene. So let's not waste the time  and start the thing of concern. Physically camera  angles can be of various types (that we'll see in part 2) but theoretically  they are of three types. Objective, Subjective & Point of view. Objective angle is  the most common one that we see normally in any of the film. You watch the  film as in you are just watching it. It is the "fly on the wall"  viewpoint where the audience sees what is happening but feels safely removed  from the events as though they were there, but invisible. The actors must  never look directly at the camera lens for that will destroy the illusion of ...

Hi folks. As promised ago, I’m starting here some notes on Filmmaking related things. We’ll begin with introduction & as it is the first one, I’ll keep it very basic and fundamental. We will move forward in detailed things one by one. So let’s begin. In earlier days, Films were used to be silent i.e. only visuals, no sound. Then came talkies and it gave a meaning to the scene. So a film became an audio-visual presentation. But not every audio-visual is a film. A footage of a street with all background voices/noises or a video of a birthday party has both audio and video but it is not a film. So how films differ from these? Well, a film should convey a story. If that street or that birthday party is having a character that portrays some part of a story and then that footage has become a part of the film. Cool, so more or less a story is needed to be told. Now the way you convey the story is what we call a screenplay. I.e. how will the scenes be played on the screen? (N...

IPL is on. And the gentlemen’s game matters for 20 overs an inning. Ocean of runs and so of wickets resembles the unpredicted mode of life. Life changes the way game changes in a T20 match and so on. All is well for excitement and entertainment but at the end a fake image of what we think life is. Life ain’t always about all is well, it’s about… Let me elaborate it… While working with Metaphor of cricket for life, it’s neither T20 nor even one day match that suites perfectly. Life’s more about test cricket. Being a batsman you can’t hit boundary on every ball. You got to wait for right ball. You need to wait for bowler to make mistake and give you a chance to make runs. This needs patience and much much more patience what we call temperament. Circumstances may go tougher day by day, it’s your vision and endurance of not losing wicket that keeps you in the match called life. Now certainly T20 has got limited overs so chances of losing game in different conditions increases but on ...

General Vijay Kumar Singh PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC, the 24th Indian General of the Indian Army and current Chief of Army Staff, is in the media nowadays. Breaking News, headlines, he’s at all those places where channels claim to be first while showing the news. But they all are fascinating enough for comments of the individual personas. So who’s gonna tell you the story beneath? Certainly it’s the place where you are currently. (Self praising isn’t a bad act when confessing the truth.) Well, we’ll narrate a screenplay that can ease you to understand the scenario. Let’s begin. Disclaimer: All the characters in this movie are real. Some assumptions were taken to bridge the gap. No animals were injured during the making. (Some may get injured after reading the post. But Author is not responsible for suicidal acts like reading Random Strokes… ;>) Story goes non-linear. Fade in: June 2011 Int. General’s Office. Day. General receives a fax regarding his retirement. WT…Hell. He goes ...

Post of February. The month that we remember for a date, the 14 th . And posting on leap day should contain the equivalent data of other three years. (On the note it should balance the last boring and lengthy Ghost/Soul fame scientific horror post…!!!) So here we go. This post is actually sequel of the post #38:  Friends, Life, Dreams and… and here is the aftermath of and… (The remaining fourth, last and most important element) #45: It’s in the air. Yup, it’s love. What to write? Too much literature is available on love and all have failed to exemplify it too. It’s not just biochemistry of hormones. It’s a bit more. It’s not a subject to study yet it’s an unrevealed… I guess I’m doing what others have done by far so let’s not go into the structural behavior of love and the assumptions and presumptions associated with it. Let’s just feel the feel of love. Feel… Perhaps it is what love is meant for. But post #38:  Friends, Life, Dreams and… was written to relate the common...

Again a Random Topic. What else Random Strokes are meant for? Discussing Soul, Ghost & Reincarnation and that too technically*…! (*All technical aspects are imaginary and states concepts only) What…? Don’t get scared. This won’t be scary. But common statutory warning is still there: “The following article can be boring. Read at your own risk. Reader’s discretion is expected.” Along with a serious statutory warning like: “The following article does not claim existence of ghost or reincarnation. Thoughts are penned just to convey concepts if they really exists.” All formalities are done. Let’s start getting bored. Soul. We’ll begin with soul. Because ghost and reincarnation are different status of soul in the manner what happens to it as per common definitions. So once done with it and it’ll be easier to understand other two. What is soul? More alike energy. Consider a TV or computer. Electric energy is what makes it run. A Car. Chemical energy converted into heat energy and ...

Multiplying Chetan’s book 2 states: story of my marriage with 2 is what we get a song in Don 2. Confused??? The relation is between 4 States: Story of Uttarpradesh to Hai ye Maya… Yup, again a Monthly Analysis Report (MAR sounding Mar diya jaaye ya chhod diya jaaye kind…) is what facilitates me in writing yours once a month quality reading post. From Kingfisher’s tale to FDI in retail, from a slap on Sharad Pawar’s face to oppose to Swami Agnivesh and Sunny Leone in Big Boss, from Bhanwari to why this kolavery kolavery and many more… It’s easy to write about all current news in a single post as one not need to go in detail on individual news, so all in writer’s favor to just give a personal view which is more like No comments section. And that’s what exactly I thought this time. Here we go on top stories this month with my expertise in No Comments tab. News: Anna asked Raju not to write blog on his behalf. Comment: But who asked Anna to ask Raju the same… Parde me rahene do…! ...

Disclaimer: The post is totally fictitious and resembles no real interview. Hello, aadaab, lei ho, aloha, ciao, vanakkam, salaam Namaste. This is your favourite host Shashvat Saxena back again with yours all time favourite show…  Face 2 face with Shashvat Saxena. Interlude drum…  As always I’ll begin the show with a question that I’ll answer at the end. And that question is… Which is the most dangerous pickle in our country? Think about it and time to begin the show with calling the guest of honour today. He is an Ex-Army man, serving the nation with his social works, the man behind RTI and nowadays fighting for the cause of passing a bill in assembly called Janlokpal. People call him “Desh ka naya Gandhi…” Please give a big big hand to the Man himself Kishan Baburao Hazaare popularly known as Anna Hazaare. Interlude Trumpet, with clapping. SS: Hello sir. Welcome to our very reputed show Face 2 Face with Shashvat Saxena. Anna: Ha, wo mein ...

Finally the date has been arrived. Maanas is going to perform it's First Silver screen appearance on 8th Oct at PVR cinemas, Ahmedabad. A film that took almost a year to complete is ready to compete now. And what better time to publicize it on it's Official Media Partner Random Strokes then now. Below are the links to the various web addresses relating Maanas. Maanas Facebook Page IFFA Website Maanas Theatrical Trailer Maanas Title rolling Song Maanas @ Competitive Category in Feature Films at IFFA Be ready to get on the high voltage emotional ride of your life. Be ready to learn that No matter how tough it gets, life is to be lived. Be ready for it. Maanas is all set to strike now. Keep pouring your love and support. Keep reading yours favourite Random Strokes. Love - DJ.

August had been a month of news and events. From Anna to Ankit, Manmohan singh to Mehul, Delhi to Darshniyaa and from N for something to ND, it has been good news, events and celebrations. But what matters actually is what it takes to reach that reason of celebration and no other can understand that feelings except the one who knew it was going to happen but kept the lips silent until it’s done and that’s what this post say it all. This post could be termed as On the Edge Part III or Miles to go Part II but I guess it’ll be too early to say until it’s done. Every being (and not only human being) has foreseen a dream with no regards to size, length or nature of the dream and trust me, the whole universe celebrates when that dream accomplishes then whether it’s a rock climber tracking a mountain, a salesman selling his first packet of job or a small kid learning to drive a bicycle. They all cherish the celebration of living their dream along with the world but the strength paid i...

Flight 764 Munich to Mumbai just landed on the Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport, Mumbai. It was early morning 03:45 hrs. “So, how was your flight?” Diwakar asked while positioning on the driver seat. He was looking good though in nightwear. “Pretty much like a flight…” Henry replied from back seat. He seemed a bit tired. “Relax Henry.” Derick said. “It was good Diwakar.” “I just don’t believe this Mr. Jefferson.” Diwakar was exited. “Since I’ve said to my family that you and Henry are coming to India for Jahnvi’s wedding, they all have gone mad. The world famous Derick Jefferson is attending his past student’s sister’s wedding. What else one would needed? Thanks a lot for coming sir.” “Don’t be Diwakar.” Derick replied. “The way you had insisted, I guess, it was difficult to deny. And it always feels great being to India and that too with a reason for celebration. I was needed to come for sure.” He smiled. “How your journalism is going on?...