Valu

I was at the preview of a Marathi film last night – Valu. Valu is set in a village in Maharashtra. The villagers live in mortal fear of a wild bull, which no one seems to be able to tame. The bull creates havoc in the lives of the villagers and the sarpanch finally decides to get some help. A forest officer is called for the same and his brother decides to make a documentary on ‘The taming of the bull’

Soon the village is abuzz with news of the arrival of the forest officer and the documentary film maker. The focus of the villagers quickly changes from the bull to being part of the documentary. Everyone harbours ambitions of being in the documentary and makes his/her won plans for the same. Eventually, with the help of the villagers the forest officer manages to catch the bull. The taming of the bull is nothing but making sure that it is held captive and not allowed its freedom.

The film is a welcome change from other slapstick Marathi movies. Visually Valu is a delight and the characterization of villagers is interesting and endearing. The humour is understated and lies in the finer nuances of the situations and characters. The star cast is interesting - Atul Kulkarni, Dilip Prabhavalkar, Mohan Agashe, Girish Kulkarni and Bharathi Achrekar. It is going to be interesting to see what the reaction of audiences to Valu is going to be like.

Hauz Khas Deer Park

Around a fortnight ago, I watched this very disturbing news report. It was on the pitiable condition of the deer at the Hauz Khas Deer Park, New Delhi. Almost all of them are sick and injured. They have open wounds, that are left untreated and more than half of them do not even have their horns on them. One image that I saw is going to stay with me, to haunt me, for a long time. It was that of a sick deer that was so weak that it was lying down lifeless. A crow was trying to peck at its wounds and this poor deer did not even have the strength to shoo off the crow! There is no veterinary doctor on the campus of the deer park.

Going by what I read on the net, the Deer Park is supposedly one of the main tourist attractions of Hauz Khas. Unable to forget the images I watched, I tried to contact the Deer Park to enquire if a donation from me would help the cause of the deer. With no contact details listed on the net my next best bet was Peta, India with whom I have been associated in the past. I spoke to Anuradha Sawhney there and she said that this is the condition of most animals at zoos and circuses in India. Infact things are particularly bad in north-east India. I donated some money to Peta, feeling that in some way I have contributed towards the betterment of these innocent and helpless animals.

Please do not advocate visits to the zoo and circus. The animals there are kept hungry, and are not well looked after. Most of them are lonely and depressed and death is the only respite for them. Just a couple of days later I read about animals in this zoo in Orissa going hungry for a day because the staff was on strike.

The best way to do something for them is to personally volunteer at the zoo. However, if that is not possible even a small donation helps. On such organization I know of is PETA India. Those interested can send their cheques written in favour of Peta, India and post it to –

PETA INDIA, P.O. BOX 28260, JUHU, MUMBAI 400 049.

I am not a member of Peta and this is not an advertisement for them, but this was the only thing I could think of doing for this cause. Do write to me if you know of a better way to help.

Nice story

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor, cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do. After 2 years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream."I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leakout all the way back to your house." The old woman smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have alwaysknown about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path,and every day while we walk back, you water them." "For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.

Some interesting health tips.....

I have this amazing juice counter in the office canteen and I have been having a lot of fresh fruit juices lately. Here are some interesting facts......

HEALTHY JUICES


Carrot + Ginger + Apple - Boost and cleanse our system.


Apple + Cucumber + Celery - Prevent cancer, reduce cholesterol, and improve stomach upset and headache.


Tomato + Carrot + Apple - Improve skin complexion and bad breath.


Bitter gourd + Apple + Milk - Avoid bad breath and reduce internal body heat.


Orange + Ginger + Cucumber - Improve Skin texture and moisture and reduce body heat.


Pineapple + Apple + Watermelon - To dispel excess salts, nourishes the bladder and kidney.


Apple + Cucumber + Kiwi - To improve skin complexion.


Pear & Banana - regulates sugar content.


Carrot + Apple + Pear + Mango - Clear body heat, counteracts toxicity, decreased blood pressure and fight oxidization .


Honeydew + Grape + Watermelon + Milk - Rich in vitamin C + Vitamin B2 that increase cell activity and strengthen body immunity.


Papaya + Pineapple + Milk - Rich in vitamin C, E, Iron. Improve skin complexion and metabolism.


Banana + Pineapple + Milk - Rich in vitamin with nutritious and prevent constipation.