Thursday, October 13, 2005
Are you being served?
· 
‘Look at all these newbies that dot the landscape’, he thought. ‘Not even one of them has my charisma or my style. Or my gelled 80mph haircut. Or a dancing daddykins. And above all — a high-profile soap-making sister.’ Depressed, he sat in front of the computer humming ‘nikamma kiya is Bollywood ne ..’ ‘Ooooh! Let me Google myself!’, said he. Everyone’s allowed a vanity trip, after all. Firing up a browser, he typed in — ‘Tushshar Kapoor’. ‘Damn that Vashu Bhagnani and his numerological fundas‘, he muttered.
One of the results was a blog. He eagerly clicked on the link only to be rudely shocked. ‘What do they mean I cannot act?! And that if I was the last man left on earth with the last woman, she’ll mutate and split into two beings rather than be with me?! They can’t do this to me! I shall teach them a lesson!’, he thought, picking up his phone and pressing the speed-dial button 1. ‘Daddy! Somebody doesn’t like me! I wanna sue him!‘.
Tomorrow, that blogger could be me. And Tusshar Kapoor could be .. well .. Tusshar Kapoor.
I may be indulging in my usual silliness, but this is no laughing matter. This is more of an issue to be hopping raving mad about. I am sure, most of you have already heard of the recent appalling developments in the blog world about the IIPM matter. I could write an irate rant about it, but there are others who have said it much better. For those of you just catching up, Amit has a complete roundup of happenings, Neha takes it international at Global Voices, and our folks at DesiPundit are tracking all updates.
It’s a lot of links but please read them all, if you can. And if you are concerned about this topic’s ramifications, please link to it on your blogs and help publicize it. This distasteful issue needs more MSM attention and as bloggers and blog readers we can do our part in spreading the word. Kudos to Gaurav and Rashmi, and a big pat on the back for the blogosphere’s solidarity.
They say a million monkeys with a million keyboards can generate a masterpiece. A million monkeys did a lot more than that. Yes, nicely timed with the Dusshera season and all — a million monkeys also helped wipe out the big bad guy, and we can do it again. So what if this time around he has a ponytail?
Megha, Thank you for the note at Saara Aakash. When we first met, she was indeed Ms. Bansal. These days, I believe either of the salutation works fine (as long as it is Ms and not Ms.)!
Thursday, October 13, 2005 @ 4:28 AM
Great to see this issue captured on the clouds.
I too have added my 2 cents of support on my blog.
Thursday, October 13, 2005 @ 7:02 AM
AC is toooaaast! wheeeee!!
(nice dussehra touch, btw)
Thursday, October 13, 2005 @ 8:00 AM
Am reading this, first thing in the morning, and its as good as I thought it’d be. Kudos!
Thursday, October 13, 2005 @ 8:14 AM
Whats the most sought after thing among Indian Bloggers Today?
A Legal Notice!
Thursday, October 13, 2005 @ 9:40 AM
Nice how you tied in the Tusshar Kapoor bit to the Support-Gaurav-Sabnis theme! Adding my blog to the many that are writing in support…
Thursday, October 13, 2005 @ 10:14 AM
A real eye opener.. hope all new undergrads or MBA aspirants come across this before putting their money/career on stake.
Thursday, October 13, 2005 @ 10:20 AM
So, the monkeys unite! (Yesh, this monkey was early to jump on the bandwagon, simply because this monkey likes to.. well… umm… jump!)..
Thursday, October 13, 2005 @ 12:10 PM
OMG!! I didn’t notice the “ponytail” part.. and did you call us donkeys? I thought we were monkeys. Plus, “Monkey” makes it easier for us to jump on bandwagons and hurl stuff at weird things with ponytails.
Thursday, October 13, 2005 @ 1:01 PM
Lots of bloggers seem to have taken a keen interest in what you’ve brought up. And youve covered it quite nicely too.
Thursday, October 13, 2005 @ 2:25 PM
I have done my bit
to voice my displeasure at this sequence of events.
Thursday, October 13, 2005 @ 3:10 PM
and i thought madam would never post :)
Thursday, October 13, 2005 @ 10:08 PM
i wonder what daddykins would find when he googles himself ? would he find that all the white-shoeprints he had left on the sands of time are being washed away by karvan-loads of fresh ham ?
Friday, October 14, 2005 @ 2:57 AM
yeah its a bit wierd.. but blogging has been taken seriously now by corporates.. I have changed my blog for one of those reasons.. Sigh
Pallavi
Friday, October 14, 2005 @ 3:36 AM
been reading ’bout this episode quite a bit…
so looks like the blogworld is also subject to freedom of speech n what not!!! I mean what if you are anonymous - do they stoop down to tracking ur IP ????
Friday, October 14, 2005 @ 5:02 AM
oh and now the fake IDs have started spamming on comments of bloggers. Leaving links to iloveiipm.blogspot.com and whatever other nonsensical links..
And poor ravana..! ;-)
Friday, October 14, 2005 @ 7:41 AM
Y’know, that’s exactly how I feel about Tusshar Kapoor!
But what you’ve said re-IIPM is really worrying; it really delegitimizes serious bloggers and their opinions.
Friday, October 14, 2005 @ 3:06 PM
Megha, question. What did you use to create the categories on your site ? It looks good.
Friday, October 14, 2005 @ 8:32 PM
[megha]
i can make ***** comparisons between the 10 headed ravana and the 10 dick-headed bloggers who created blogs for just one goddamn post and write about their “sone ki lanka”, IIPM… aapke blog pe aake kaise kaise insaano ki creativity badh jaati hai (calling myself insaan, funny hai naa)… waah waah…
on a more serious note, kudos to everyone, not just rashmi and gaurav, who give their all to fight for the truth…
Saturday, October 15, 2005 @ 12:34 AM
Hey Megha,
Was waiting for ur comments on the IIPM hooplah…but wasnt quite pleased the way u brought up the topic…thru Tusshar…why?..well u see…I consider Tusshar an “actor” with Rickshaw Driver looks and Sunil Shetty’s acting skills…but then I realised…Ive seen almost all his movies…right from Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai…to..Kuch tho Hai…to Kya Kool hai Hum…(which in fact I liked)….and reality dawned to me….IAM HIS FAN !!! [*** Has that pained (constipated?) look on his face, like Alok Nath ***]
Btw…Herz a idea to summarize the whole post…How ’bout a new Bolly movie with Tusshar as lead…with a pony-tail…playing the chicken counter and egg hatcher…
Saturday, October 15, 2005 @ 8:16 PM
[NPOjha] Ah, I had no idea. Mea culpa. Thanks for the clarification and for dropping in!
[Invincible] Glad you have. I hope the issue doesn’t lose steam.
[BCS] Thankoo :)
[Devdutt] Thank you. And nice to see your own post on the issue! Loved the ponytail bit :)
[Santhosh] :)
[Taz Snow] Glad you wrote about it too!
[scorpigle] Yep, and I hope IIPM is taken to task for everything they’ve done.
[Sriram] Yesh the monkeys unite against the ponytailed ass. My that’s a lot of animals in a single sentence, now that I think about it. Nice to see your bit of investigative blogging, by the way :)
[Archster] Yes, this issue has taken the Indian (and to an extent the non-Indian) blogosphere by storm. One hopes it doesn’t lose momentum soon and AC is brought to task.
[Rohan] Glad that you are spreading the word.
[Sagnik] Madam thought that you’d do a better job of heckling AC’s ponytail, but since you refused, she had to comply :)
[kuffir] Daddykins’s place in history is safe I think. Ham may come and ham may go, but jumping stick figure darting around screen in a flash of white, will remain forever :) Nice to have you drop in!
[Pallavi] I noticed the new URL and template. Very cool! Love the leaf :)
[Swathi] Yeah, something like that, I guess. Have you seen the kind of language in the legal notices sent? Total supari-style ‘I know where you live’ type veiled threats in them. Tsk tsk.
[RT] I usually have a soft corner for Ravana, and don’t care for Rama very much, but i’ll get on that blasphemous trip some other time, and go with symbolism for now :) Yeah, the fake blogs that have sprung up are howlarious! :)
[Sharon] Yay! Another Tusshar Kapoor sufferer :) Glad you agree with the seriousness of the issue. And thanks for dropping in!
[The Desi Nole] Since blogger doesn’t allow post categories, the categories I use are actually hand-coded. No other fancy way of doing it. However the expand-collapse structure that I use in displaying them is a bit of JavaScript trickery. I’ll be happy to share code, and explain how I did that part, if you wish. Let me know! Thanks for stopping by! :)
[Rumpy] Ooh, I like the ten-headed funda :) Glad to know that I provide such twisted inspirations. Makes me feel glad that I am not the only crackpot on this blog :)
Sunday, October 16, 2005 @ 11:38 PM
[Jammy] Aww, am sorry to have hurt your Tusshar loving sensibilities ;) But Tusshar reminds you of Alok Nath? Ouchh! :) Nice movie idea, btw.
Sunday, October 16, 2005 @ 11:56 PM
don’t know if you came across this on my blog, but the bloggers of bangalore group plan to take out a silent sit-in demonstration next monday. details on my blog (including threats from IIPM ’stuednts’ that have already started pouring in) or on everymanscity, our cola-blog.
Monday, October 17, 2005 @ 10:12 AM
Hey, can I use your 55 word story for this compilation?
Monday, October 17, 2005 @ 4:33 PM
[kaashyapeya] Came across it on DesiPundit, I think? Thankoo for the info!
[Gamesmaster G9] Ooh, nice idea! Please to add mine! :)
Monday, October 17, 2005 @ 4:40 PM
The monkeys reference reminds [GHE] about the eminently forgettable movie, “The Planet of the Apes” but the point is that Pony-Tail and his cohorts must surely feeling the pressure. If nothing, it should deter some folks from spending their hard earned money on worthless places like IIPM. oops, did i say that, will I also get a “legally notarized” email now ? btw, GHE did his part in the battle by “seeing” (rather attempting to see) Rok Sako to Rok Lo (Prof C’s one and only magnum opus) !!
Tuesday, October 18, 2005 @ 9:14 AM
Megha,
Thanks for the levity ! You have a real fun-in-the-sun blog !
Wednesday, October 19, 2005 @ 1:11 AM
All those who like Tushar Kapoor raise your hands. May you be eternally cursed with dreams of (no-lace-white-shoes-30+) Jitendra!
Imagine a bus as broken so as to make Bglore’s BMTC look like luxury. Add a gruelling 1200kms distance between Bglore-Bbay. Schedule this rickety ride on a sweltering summer day (last min booking may I add). Now get a pirated VHS cassette of TK’s Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai, recorded on a cheap grey-mkt handycam from Manish Mkt, in some B-grade seedy theatre. Throw in two blaring speakers at full volume, and let the left speaker have a loose connection so that it turns off every once in a while, and screams back to life at the next bump/pothole. Get yrself an aisle seat right above the front tyres. Now, play this excuse of a movie twice on that trip. Ladies, gentlemen, countrymen and Megha, all I want to know is: Is there no God? or is this God’s idea of atonement for my sins?
The only thing which can qualify as worse than that is to actually pay lacs of rupees to ponytail’s WhyWhyPeeYem. But then, we aren’t talking about him, are we?
-The Kazi
Wednesday, October 19, 2005 @ 1:24 AM
[Suhail] - Think, think, if u were a bigger sinner, u might have been subjected to a Mithun-da movie. GHE slunks away remembering the time(s) he has seen Mithun-da movies in “luxury” bus
Wednesday, October 19, 2005 @ 9:03 AM
Hello Megha, it think its tomorrow now…
Therefore,
1.My deer, Id like to tell you that you spelled ma name wrongly.
I need to sue you for that.
2.You comment so disgracefully about me..
I need to sue again.
But!!!!
I quote myself
“Sue kar, isko kar, usko kar, kisi ko bhi kar! Par mere dost sirf ek baar kar! Sirf ek baar”
Coz 2 baa sue karne pe, things get really dirty dirty…
(suesue)
Any suggestions ??
Wednesday, October 19, 2005 @ 11:40 AM
[Hokie] Yes, one hopes some good will come of all this besides a whole lot of posts in the blogosphere. Sometimes I wonder if as bloggers, we just delude ourselves into thinking that we can make a difference, when in fact, the only difference we are making is within a world of our own.
[ceara] Thank you! Nice to have you drop in on it :)
[Suhail] “Throw in two blaring speakers at full volume, and let the left speaker have a loose connection so that it turns off every once in a while, and screams back to life at the next bump/pothole.” - LOL! :) My heart weeps for you. Amidst cackles of laughter I deeply sympathize :) Although, as someone who has watched a number of Tusshar Kapoor movies (and I am NOT gonna tell you how many, so don’t even think about asking) I personally think Mujhe Kuchh Kehna Hai is one of his better performances :) *saying this she goes and hides in a bomb shelter shivering in fright*
[Hokie] There are a lot of things you can get away with on this blog, but you cannot put Mithun on a rung lower than Tusshar and think that I won’t notice. Hokie, how could you!? And you of all people? The one person who cares more for Mithun’s izzat than even the [GreatBong] himself? Nahiiiiiiiiin! Mujhse tumse ye ummeed nahin thhii! *exits dejectedly*
[Tusshar Kapoor] I have watched every single Padmalaya movie that your daddy every chose to step into with his pristine white shoes. Tohfa, Himmatwaala, Mawaali, Justice Choudhry et al. Doesn’t that count? Shouldn’t I be spared? Haven’t I suffered enough already? Doesn’t that explain why I am the way I am?
Wednesday, October 19, 2005 @ 12:12 PM
Megha, At first I thot I’d spear you…. but I think its okay to spare you…. you see im a kind-hearted guy..(im really modest too)
-tushaar
Wednesday, October 19, 2005 @ 12:17 PM
[Tusshar] You are most kind. And gladdened to know that all those years of ghisofying the VCR finally paid off. Much thankoo!
Wednesday, October 19, 2005 @ 12:24 PM
[GHE] yells Yehawwwwwww. Well, I am still the biggest fan of Mithun-da and Bappi-da, but see after seeing “Movie who shall not be named”, I have lost all semblance of mental stability (not that I had it to start with but…). The “Movie who shall not be named” has had a profound impact on me and it will take repeated viewings of Mithun-da movies to bring me back !! GHE sings “I am a disco-dancer” and slunks away
Wednesday, October 19, 2005 @ 2:15 PM
Mithun-Da is an icon, “eeaaah”
feels good to be back home, I got much reading to do, thanks to the millons of monkeys ;)
I shall join the bandwagon probably after another week.
Thursday, October 20, 2005 @ 1:29 PM
This post has been removed by the author.
Friday, October 21, 2005 @ 6:45 AM
your style of presenting the issue is damn good.
Friday, October 21, 2005 @ 6:46 AM
http://indianinstituteofponytailmanagement.blogspot.com
Wednesday, December 7, 2005 @ 2:22 AM