She's 21 years old.
She has no starry background.
She's a Canadian singing a Bollywood number.
And, by golly, she could just as well be reading the phone directory and it would still feel like angels were serenading me.
I pretty much stopped listening to English music and bands this last decade because I found that nobody seemed bothered about vocals or tunes. All that mattered was looks (  Britney... ) and fashion statements. ( Lady 'Gag'a !!! I mean, seriously ??)

But listening to Natalie Di Luccio sing was something else.
 Like many others, the first time I heard her was as a forwarded song on Facebook. It was of a girl sitting in what I assume was her home singing to her laptop webcam. It was the soulful and haunting Tu Jaane Na from Ajab Prem ki Gazab Kahani.
And it was amazing.
It was always an beautiful song but I think anyone who listens to her version will agree... she just made you fall in love with that song all over again. Minimal instruments, really heartfelt emotions and that pleasant passion for singing that is so missing in today's artists. It made me believe again.
Believe that I don't have to put up links of old bands whenever I want people to hear a good voice.
Believe that there are voices that can still be called magical.
Believe that, like Bollywood has taught me all these years, there really are people who can make your heart skip a beat when they sing.
Here's wishing you success in all you do, gal.
Because your success is music to our ears.

All it takes is the press of a red button by a trigger happy finger belonging to a despot and everything - your dreams, your aspirations and goals - all of it would come to an  abrupt end. And we may never even get to be with the ones we love in that brief moment before the flames engulf us. Nihilistic perhaps, but sadly, that's the truth of the world we live in today.
Now what if you actually had a chance to stop that finger from pressing the button ? What if you could save your dreams and goals and actually live long enough to achieve them ? Would you, if given the chance, be able to resist pressing that red button ?

Everyday, there are red buttons all around you waiting to be triggered and hasten your demise. It could be a rash driver on the road, it could be horrible work hours, it could be the simple second helping of ice cream. Some of these can be avoided and some resolved once they're identified, but what about the ones you can't identify till it's too late ? What about the ones that are 1/ millionth the size of your eyelash ? That's roughly the size of a human cell and the DNA within. Like us, they too evolve to the environment that they are subjected to. And within these tiny building blocks lie the biggest red button waiting dormant. It's a word we all dread. It's a word we all pretend can never happen to us. It's something that's been dogging us even before we could recognise it.

Cancer.

There is no easy way to deal with it. By the time any visible signs or symptoms arise, enough cells within you are affected and they've spread across the body. There are cures for some of them - Radiotherapy, Chemotherapy or Surgical excision. All of it comes with a catch though - your life expectancy is reduced dramatically. Not to decades, but years, maybe even months. The quantity of life is one thing, but what about the quality of life ? That is gone forever.
No age is immune from one or the other form of cancer. Not the newborn baby, not the child playing in the swing, not the ipod wielding teenager, the work oriented adult or the housewife cooking her meals. All of us are at risk. We cannot stop  the chain of events that come to pass once we've been diagnosed, but we can learn to avoid it. We can learn to say no to irritants that look to press this red button that will destroy us and devastate all who depend on us. Because cancer is one case where 'ignorance is definitely not bliss'.

Cancer Patients Aid Association (CPAA) is a NGO dedicated to total management of cancer since 1969. They provide untiring service to patients not just in India, but also neighbouring countries. It may have started out as a group of people who could only supply fruit baskets and newspapers to patients decades ago, but it is today a multi-faceted organisation, with doctors and well wishers all joining hands for the betterment of people suffering from cancer.

Beyond Blue Skies (BBS) , unlike CPAA, is not an NGO. They don't want money. They need our time. Specifically, 6 hours of your time every month...to teach,train and help the needy get employment and better job opportunities. Their primary focus remains educational programs for children who don't have this basic necessity. It is a unique venture that deserves due credit and applause because it allows us to share something which we all have, irrespective of our paycheque - our knowledge.


CPAA is holding a camp on the 28th of May,2011 in Mumbai with the support of BBS. The purpose of this camp is simple and selfless - qualified doctors will be there to perform a free, detailed checkup for all who come. They can help identify symptoms at the earliest and advise you accordingly on further management. There will also be an interactive session on the hazards of tobacco and the benefits of quitting.

The camp will be held at Pheonix Mills, Lower Parel, Mumbai between 11 to 4 pm on the 28th of May 2011.
I sincerely hope you make the time and effort to go for it. The few hours you spend here may save your life.

P.S. In addition, BBS also requests for volunteers for the event and also other initiatives. Anyone and everyone can contribute irrespective of their geographical location. You can write in to bbs@azureonline.net or join their group on Facebook to know more.
Who knows... a few hours of your time may save more than your life... it may actually help save others as well.

Ok, rather than simply write 4 posts, might as well finish it all at once here. So as not to bore you, I'll keep it short and sweet.

01. Thor ****
Vain, proud God with really, really strong hammer gets kicked out of his world for being a pain in his dad's ass and thrown to Earth as mere mortal, thanks to his scrawny evil brother's schemes. He learns manners, kisses Earth babe and heads home to defeat his bro and become rightful leader of land. Misses Earth babe.

( Forgive me, Marvel Comic fans... I know it's more complex than that, but keepin' it short, guys )

Plus : Excellent acting from leads with perfect casting for both the hunky beefcake Thor and the quiet and manipulative brother Loki ( God of mischief ), great graphics, Comic fans will be excited to see the links between earlier Marvel movies ( Hulk, Iron Man ) all leading up to next year's Avengers movie.
Minus : Story keeps jumping from Earth to Asgard. Needs patience.

02. Priest 3D *
In some world, priests are Bible fearing Ninjas who fight vampires that look like a cross between hyenas and Australopithecus. Vampire kidnaps a Priest's niece. He goes after her.
Plus : Film was short.
Minus : Slow screenplay, uninteresting characters, most of the film is in palettes of grey or sandy brown which really adds to the dull nature of the movie.

03. Ragini MMS ***
Girl doesn't tell her mom she's off with her boyfriend to a farm house for a roll in the sack. He doesn't tell her he's gonna make a sex video and sell it. Somebody forgot to tell them both there's a ghost in the house.
Plus : Taken in real time a la Paranormal activity. Very good acting from the lead pair. Scariest Hindi movie I've seen in ages.
Minus : Some choppy editing.

04. Source Code ***
Guy wakes up inside a train in someone else's body and train explodes. Based on a new technology, he's being sent in again and again till he finds out who activated the bomb so that he can stop the guy's 'next attack (?) '. He has to also figure out where he is in real life.
Plus : Good graphics, good acting, nice concept.
Minus : Focus is more on the guy's emotional quotient than identifying the terrorist, which is misleading. Ending is a doozie which makes Inception seem like child's play.  

"The Jungle Parable" becomes the fourth story of mine published in d.ustb.in after the thrillers "Amberville", it's sequel "Payback" and the romantic "A Love so Blind".
Happy to see it there, because it's been a big favourite amongst readers of this blog for a long time.