Overdose of Bollywood!
Over the last 1 week, I have watched more Bollywood movies that in any other 7 day period in my life. The movies include Mumbai Matinee, Bollywood/Hollywood, Swades, Paisa Vasool, Chameli, Run. As you see, the quality of movies varied from mundane to magical to everything-in-between. One thing I realized after watching all these movies is that Bollywood dancing is distinct from western dance and I would love to learn how to do the jhatkas and the matkas. A friend on the west coast teaches Bollywood dance and she has graciously agreed to teach me too. Now, I either need to find an internship in San Francisco or hope she moves to the East Coast!
Swades starring Shah Rukh Khan and Gayatri Joshi, was by far the best movie of the lot I watched in the last week. It was an extremely inspiring story. If you haven't seen the movie, you probably have read a review somewhere. Like with most opinions, you will find reviews ranged across the spectrum.
I have had the fortune of interacting closely with a couple of individuals who have returned to India and succeeded in making an impact on the lives of people around them. In both cases, I found their enthusiasm very infectious. Seeing these instances first hand convinced me that it was possible to return to India after leading a successful life in the West. There remains so much to be done in the country and I am sure every person who returns can make a difference.
As I exchange thoughts with others who have similar aspirations, a common thread seems to be the lack of impact of most post MBA jobs. While the jobs are intellectually rigorous and financially rewarding, when you end your work day, you cannot convince yourself that the work you did has any impact on a poor family in drought stricken Rajasthan that lives way below the poverty line. A few years ago, when I did a volunteer stint and lived with some such familes and saw first hand the abject poverty, I was shocked for a few days. Someday, I hope to make a difference to their lives. Someday, I hope to return and light a bulb. In the process, if I find my Gayatri Joshi, it would make life totally filmi! Oops, I don't think I will ever work as Project Manager on a Global Precipitation Management project for NASA. So, it will not be completely filmi afterall. :-D
posted by Tagad_Tale @ 1:49 AM
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