DesiReflections

Have you ever heard of a girl of 12 years whose mother wanted to see her to become  a surgeon but she started composing her own poems insisted to be a literary persona. Looking her passion, mother agreed her to pursue literature.The girl has grown up, she has many hats, poet, story writer, film maker, actor, teacher, official interpreter for many Indian Prime Ministers,Head of Russian Language Services of All India Radio, TV Presenter et al, No Guess she is Dr Lavlin Thadani. But in recent time Dr Lavlin is in news for her role of Amrita Pritam in the play  'Amrita -A  Sublime Love Story'' directed by veteran theatre and film director M S Sathyu. The play has been staged in Delhi, Hyderabad, Banglore, Patiala, Chandigarh, Indore and received commendation from viewers and critics. She quips,'When the producer, Shri KK Kohli and Director Shri Sathyu chose me, they did not know that I was Amrita ji's neighbour and enjoyed a close relationship with her despite an a...

  ‘PLAY’, a celebration of the digital narrative  at 17th Mumbai Film Festival Mumbai,  OCTOBER 26, 2015  – Jio MAMI 17 th  Mumbai Film Festival with Star India is going digital with a new section called ‘PLAY’ which will be held on Sunday, November 1 st  at 12 noon, PVR Juhu. Digital front-runners like All India Bakchod (AIB), The Viral Fever (TVF), East India Comedy (EIC), SNG Comedy and Aditi Mittal will be showcasing their original content and bringing the house down in this interactive session. The original Yash Raj Films YouTube series from their youth studio,  Y - Films  ‘Bang Baaja Baaraat’ will be premiering at ‘PLAY’. The web series is a hilarious take on what happens when two families from different backgrounds come together for a wedding. The series is directed by Anand Tiwari and features Ali Fazal, Angira Dhar, Rajit Kapur, Shernaz Patel, Gajraj Rao, Ayesha Raza and Neil Bhoopalam, who wi...

 ‘Aligarh’, the latest film from National award-winning film maker Hansal Mehta, has been selected as the opening film at the 17th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival on October 30th 2015. This pivotal film marks the first time that a Hindi film will open the festival since 1997, the inaugural year of the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. My native place ,Moradabad,  is hardly 68 km away from Aligarh. While I saw "Aligarh", I  had a real feel of the area in the movie. Set in a small town in Uttar Pradesh from which the film takes its name, ‘Aligarh’ is the story of a professor (Manoj Bajpayee) fired for his sexuality and a young journalist (Rajkummar Rao) who tells his story to the world. Based on true events, the film follows Dr. S R Siras, a professor at the Aligarh Muslim University who, when discovered to be homosexual, was fired from his position. The film depicts the unlikely friendship between Dr. Siras and a reporter investigating his first big story, a relationship that...

The race is on in the space of alternate fuel  cars . Reportedly cash rich smart multinationals  like Apple and Google also jumped in this race.  This time some updates about secret project of Apple.  "Project Titan" is their project and   the company is currently facing problems as it plans out a manufacturing site for the anticipated "Apple Car." It is believed that the company's timeframe, in which it would like to begin manufacturing within five years, may result in Apple seeking out a partnership with another, already-established player in the automotive space.   Apple is apparently eyeing new property it purchased in San Jose lfew months back as a potential site for "Project Titan" development, and perhaps even eventual assembly. The company paid $138 million for a 43-acre building plot currently featuring nearly 2 million square feet of office space. It was also suggested that the design and technology behind "Project Titan" remai...

मैं पैदा तो स्वतंत्र भारत में ही हुआ था फिर भी मैं बचपन से देखता था कि  हमारे यहाँ के अधिकाँश लोगों के मन में ब्रिटेन और ख़ास तौर से लन्दन को लेकर बेहद ईर्ष्या और सम्मान की भावना थी, यही नहीं लन्दन रिटर्न व्यक्ति की बड़ी इज्जत की जाती थी. इसके पीछे शायद यह उत्सुकता भी रही हो कि  आखिर  ब्रिटिश लोगों  में ऐसी क्या खूबी है जो हम पर 300 वर्षों तक शासन कर गए. यही नहीं दुनिया ने एक  दौर ऐसा भी देखा था  कि ब्रिटिश   राज्य  इतना फैला हुआ था कि उसमें सूरज कभी डूबता ही नहीं था।   जब मैंने अंग्रेजी साहित्य में पोस्ट ग्रेजुएशन किया तो  काफी सारा  ऐसा साहित्य पढ़ने का मौक़ा मिला. जिनकी  पृष्ठभूमि लन्दन की ही थी,  वहां की सड़कों, बाज़ारों, गलियों का वर्णन खूब पढ़ा था , आज से 40 वर्ष पूर्व पढ़े चार्ल्स डिकेंस के 'ओलिवर ट्विस्ट', आर्थर कानन डायल  के  'द साइन आफ द  फोर' , थॉमस हार्डी के   'द फिडलर आफ द रील्स' , ऑस्कर  वाइल्ड के  'द पिक्चर ऑफ़ डोरियन ग्रे' ...

स्काट लैंड  : हैरी पाटर का तिलस्मी संसार  सुश्री जे.के. रोलिंग  की  उपन्यासों  की हैरी पाटर शृंखला अपने आप में एक तिलस्मी दुनिया है, दुनिया भर के लोग इसके दीवाने हैं ।  जब हमने स्काट लैंड   में घूमना शुरू किया तो लगा कि उन उपन्यासों की दुनिया महज काल्पनिक नहीं है, वह तो सच में पूरे स्काट लैंड  में बिखरी हुए है , सुश्री  रोलिंग ने तो बस उसमें कुछ सतरंगी पंख लगा दिए हैं  ! वैसे भी सुश्री  रोलिंग ने अपने हैरी पाटर उपन्यासों को  लिखने की शुरआत स्काट लैंड के ऐतिहासिक शहर  एडिनबरा  से की थी.  यह  सुनने में बहुत ही अजीब लगता है लेकिन यह सच है  कि अपने प्रारंभिक  लेखनकाल के दिनों में  इस लेखिका  के घर में बिजली का कनेक्शन नहीं हुआ करता था, वे यहाँ की मार्शल स्ट्रीट में अवस्थित एलीफैंट एंड बेगल्स रेस्टोरेंट के कभी बैक रूम तो कभी सामने लैम्प पोस्ट के नीचे...

WPP is the world's largest communications services group, employing 179,000 people working in 3,000 offices in 111 countries.  Its headquarters are in London.If you look at the world ranking of advertising agencies globally, this is among the top league. The company has very strong presence in India. Now WPP and the Indian School of Design and Innovation (ISDI), a fast-growing recognized leader in arts and design vocational education, has officially unveiled its ISDI WPP School of Communication campus in Mumbai.   The ISDI | WPP School campus was inaugurated by Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO, WPP along with its inaugural batch of 60 students. This  marks WPP’s first foray into the Indian education sector. The partnership aims to create India’s first professional three-year undergraduate certification program in communication-based on a unique work-study model that will bring together a strong academic and creative curriculum combined with practical application. W...