Mumtaz Jahan Begum Dehlavi …URF…Madhubala January 10, 2012

Madhubala… a stunning beauty of the Hindi Cinema that is even today regarded a highly talented actress of her time.  She blew the world of Bollywood away with her very first movie Basant which was released in 1942, which hit the box-office with a high rate of success. Mumtaz received her elegant name Madhubala which means “a woman of honey” from actress Devika Rani whom was very amazed with her great skills of acting at such a tender age, and understood the potential of her rising in the future.  At the age fourteen she received her big break of a lead role in the movie Neel Kamal which went well but was unable to be her best. Finally at the age of 16 she gained all popularity on her hit Bombay Talkies captivating the audience’s eyes. Madhubala’s beauty left her fans dazzled and came to be the critic’s biggest issue. A beauty like her is not found on our Bollywood Cinema again. Our Cinema is so full of enlightment today only with the cause of actresses and actors like her who gave us the true meaning of acting. In her time it was not about having less clothes on and a face pounded with heavy make-up…it took a lot more than that to impress the audience. It took real acting. An acting which is not so much possessed lately in our Cinema I believe. The movie Mughal-E-Azam still lives in many of our hearts and many still hope to see such an incredible talent once more. At the young age of 36 she said good-bye to the screens of Bollywood due to her death. She had a hole in her heart but performed for her fans till her last breath. She never let her sickness disrupt her acting and continued to be dedicated and was able to appear in over 70 films. No words can praise her enough. Madhubala was a woman of grace.

Born on February 14^th, 1933. And died in 1969.

-Syed Maria Alam

The Legend! September 13, 2011

The bollywood world is filled with so many dazzling faces. We have stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Superheroes like our Salman Khan, and the king of the hearts our Sharukh Khan. And so the list goes on of these famous names that make the bollywood world today. BUT… what is the one name that comes to our mind even today when we watch a movie and think of acting? Who is the one that strikes to us when the word “ACTOR” is presented to us? For me? Dilip Kumar. His name itself still holds so much power to it and makes people still awe in the memory of his amazing acting he provided in the world of bollywood cinema. Dilip Kumar a fine actor filled with numerous talents. One thing a lot of his fans probably do not know was his real name was not Dilip Kumar but instead was his considered nickname. His real birth name is Mohammed Yusuf Khan. Our greatest “Tragedy King” has provided us with over 50 films with acting which is un-touchable and cannot be compared to anyone in the industry I believe. In our Hindi Cinema he was the first actor to receive a Film Fare Best Actor Award and has held the record for having the most number of Film Fare awards in the same category. Movies like Devdas (1955), Mughal-e-Azam (1960), Kranti (1981), and not to forget his last film Qila (1998) cannot be topped or been as successful without the legend itself and I am sure it is to be agreed that “The Ultimate Method Actor” is dearly missed on the screens and eye’s wander on the big screen to see such talent again. Just some words of mine for our dear Dilip Kumar. 

 

-Syed Maria Alam

 

A Maria Moment! =] July 11, 2011

Ever thought what life would be like if it went exactly the way we wanted it to? Would it be perfect or far from perfect? More over what is it exactly we want our life to be like? It’s a question that has been coming to my mind for the past couple of weeks and I can’t come to a definite answer for it for myself. It’s completely blank in my mind and I’m standing in this road which leads this path which has two ways but the question is which one is right? Or is there even a right or wrong? One is filled with dreams of a child that I once was and the other path is the one I never really thought I’d walk down but I see myself heading towards it each day. Being a kid was easy and being the person I am today is quite harder then I realized it would be, Years ago if I fell I could cry then brush my scraped knees and run to the tender warmth arm of the mother, When I fall in my today my tears don’t seem to comfort the pain but rather add on to the hurt of the impacted fall, there is no scraped knees to leave bruises but there is the struggle of  wanting to make it  to the top of what I’ll consider a mountain. It’s funny but at the same time questioning how we expect things to work out in a certain way but the exact opposite the outcome turns to be. I am able to find the reflection of myself in the mirror but fail to see the person I had hoped to be… but then I also find myself accepting the person I came out to be. Absurd? Possible but I find it moving past the *what if*. And learning to grasp the truth of what has happened. Maybe it’s me just settling or it could be that maybe what I thought of was just not cut out for me? Questions *sigh* there endless and answers seem to be just not there or it could be I’m just not looking for them in the right place but either way they go un-answered. Lately when I come across new faces I think to myself did it all work out for them? Or are they another one of those faces with the restless thoughts like the one I’ve been fighting/arguing a lot with lately? Hah! The beauty of life! Words can be written in the form of feelings but feelings can’t be poured out from the soul within. That stays and keeps you tossing and turning as the days pass through. At the end is it all going to work out? The choices that have been made and that are pending to be made will they lead the way of a secure future? But I’ve been told plenty of times life has no guarantee? So is that to be my answer? Accept or shall I decline? I’ll leave that un-answered for now since I don’t think I’m pretty sure what I plan to do. If someone asked me 4 years ago how I saw my life, I’d probably give them the most fairytale answer they could imagine but if the same question was asked today this very minute it would be probably too realistic for the person asking the question more over he’d probably think I’m the oddest creature on this planet which we choose to call earth. The point of all this? Nothing! This kind of nonsense of mine usually occurs when I am given the bliss of some alone time on my own and so the crazy part of my mind begins to speak. Seeming to be enjoyable? Or has it just left you in a state of confusion? If so it’s ok! It shall fade soon. *chuckles*. I plan to master the questions I seek but first need to understand the reasoning of them, I guess thats what we call being young and not wise. I must keep falling no matter how much it tends to hurt me because that is what will hopefully teach me to rise so the wise father of mine  tells me. I think that seems to be quite correct eh? Life…it sure is something. I’ll let you know when I figure it all out and if I don’t then I’ll continue trying to figure it out. But at least I know I can tell myself at the end of the day so far everything and each day has been quite an adventure and very worth while. Not many are able to say that and I’m blessed that I can.

-Syed Maria Alam

A Man’s World??? I Think Not. May 17, 2011

It’s not a story but rather a truth
of a reality; A pretense of good relying on the wrong doings.  An existence of one divided in two parts;
breaking boundaries of how it should be, but accepting faith as it deceives us
in the eyes.We hope for simple; And in the end
get pushed to the edge. It’s a man’s world I have always heard but refused to
believe but today as I perceive things from a closer view, I believe what I
denied to accept holds a truth behind it. A man can walk away with pride at
the end of the light; and she shall hold self-respect tightly. Pathetic is this
shallowness that leaves such a trail. He walks with broad shoulder; she follows
with her gaze lowered. Coming from a cultured Indian
background I am astonished on the realization no matter how far we reach as women,
we are stepped on? Walked all over? And our voices still go unheard? I’ve been
told this is not my place to speak, I ask why? The man above has blessed me
with a mouth to speak from and it holds a voice that is used to be heard. So I
shall speak. How is it a man’s world when a
women herself gives them birth? I don’t wish to hear the excuse of a women’s
creation is concluded from a man’s rib because that does not come to a theory
that a man is any superior. My point is not to vent hate on
this topic but more of a disagreement on such double standard. No matter how
much we progress in the years, why must women have to deal with such hypocrisy? Its true women tend to use their heart
majority of the time rather than their head but the thing is I believe the day
every woman starts using the guidance of her head and over looks her heart,
will be the day where the ignorance of men will be shattered. A man and women should walk as
equal. And more over I think women have proven them self over the years of how
capable they are. It’s not a man’s world. They did
not create it and so they do not own it.

-Maria Alam

Expectations March 12, 2011

Trust.  There is five
letters in this word. It’s a very small and simple word which is considered to
hold deep meanings behind it, Deep meanings that seem to be meaningless in today’s
world. The word is handed around like a toy. Many don’t agree with me and then
there are some that understand the perspective I’m speaking from but no one
really digs into the idea of why I conclude to this. My conclusion ends with
the answer of the surrounding of people I have come across. I am ok with people
thinking my opinion seeming negative but the truth is at the end of the day
there is no one you can rely on but yourself. As people have noticed even your
shadow leaves your side. At one point or another, the one you least expect can
leave you alone at the end of the tunnel. Negative? No, this is reality. Of
course this is my own opinion that I have perceived but this is what I have
realized the more I grew as a person. It’s not a hateful understanding but
rather a small wakeup call inside to trust in oneself and not hold expectation from
others, so when the fall through does occur you can only hold it together. Love
surely does probably exist somewhere but to sit there and trust one guy or girl
will die for you is absurd. To expect a friend will take a bullet for you is ridiculous.
Now key word I said expect before any misunderstanding occur for people, I am
sure there are people out there that might do that but don’t expect or trust on it.
The problem is we make our life so complicated by believing in this made up
fairytale world that we lose the real focus of the big picture…that there is no
big picture, It’s just you at the end of the day. You come alone and you go
alone, so why do we stand there trying to make others be the reason for our achievements
or failure. Expect but enough to keep yourself together and not to the level in
which you are breakable. Learn to trust yourself and expect from your own self.
I was asked by someone who do I look up to? My answer?  The man above and no one else. Growing up I
would watch my parents, brothers, and family the way they took this life but I
never looked up to them or wanted to be just like them. I admired their strengths,
observed their weakness, and learned from their mistake. Each one of them are
great in their own way but for me to actually idolize them and try to be like
them kills the whole idea of being my own person. You take wisdom from all
area which is presented to you not just one. When you look up to someone and
expect the best out of them and they don’t come through you just dug your own
path to the road of disappointments. No one is great everyone bears many flaws…
Look up to yourself and expect great things from yourself. You live with your
choices and the people you choose to trust. No one else does for you. Simple.

-Maria Alam

Life January 24, 2011

Sometimes I think I have it all figured out and in split seconds I am back to square one completely tangled with the confusion of the  basics of what we call “life”.  So many answers to this question of what it really is but no definite understanding which can conclude to what ideally it is. Life is filled with so many expectations that in the end of the day it shakes up the whole aspect of it. Success, money, fine clothes, popularity, glamour and etc.  Is this the definition? Is life to revolve on being fake as plastic? I find it so pathetic when I come across certain people who portray the image of life in this angle, there is so much more to this word then such shallow way of perceiving it. Personal belief for me in life is all that can bring a smile to the face, all that I can feel  real within one which does not include being anything but true to one’s self. Life is what we live in… not something we live to pass jealousy and contagious hate. Each day brings a new ray of light in our *life* and it’s supposed to be there as a mission to teach us to live in the moment to embrace kindness for us and other but no one bothers to accept that. Backbiting, lying, watching others success bring pain… it’s so sad how low we let our self’s fall. This is reality and this how it really is all around us and it’s a shame. The point of all this is to take a minute to see how far we all have come along and how grateful have we been for every step of it? How much have we really appreciated the life we have been blessed with?  We each get one life and as each day passes we are one day closer to its end. We can’t deny that everything in life does come to a farewell at one point or another, nothing is forever. Think about it.

-Maria Alam

Music! December 17, 2010

What can be a better topic to start out with besides music? I apparently could not find one  =].  I find music to be a passion that comes from within; its essence becomes a necessity in our today, I could be wrong but it can’t be denied music is one thing we all  can rely on to relax the mind. May music be for a broken heart, two love birds, or just for the pure mind to embrace the bliss of its creation but it is an attachment that we all hold on to. It’s rhythm speaks to our body giving it the drive to feel the real feelings inside of us; giving us the beats to express our personality in our own kinds of tune. Various kinds of music are presented in our lives nowadays and each one is different, and it is the difference in all kinds of music that makes it so unique. So beginning the first step in reaching out to you all please let me know what music means to you? What value it holds within you?  To me music is love, a love that can reach to everyone.

 And also I am open to any discussion, stories  or topics you guys would want me to touch basis on, You may drop me an email at mariaalam02@yahoo.com.  I am looking forward to this journey with you all! =]

Maria  Alam