At Kala Ghoda Festival 2013

Author : Omkar Khandekar      Blog : Candid Lounge      Date : 3/27/2013 2:25:00 PM

'As any newspaper will tell you, the Kala Ghoda festival is a melting pot of culture, concepts and glitterati. The usual action involves visiting the venue for about an hour, moaning about the crowd, posing against the art-installations and for those who can't afford the overpriced menu of Bombay Blue, eating that fantastic chaat you get in the sidelines. How else can you explain the strictly average response you got at some of the most memorable workshops I was fortunate to attend i(...)'

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The Day "Tiger" Became Extinct

Author : Omkar Khandekar      Blog : Candid Lounge      Date : 3/14/2013 11:15:00 AM

'Image Courtesy: The Free Press JournalThe day Balasaheb Thackeray died, you could reach out and touch the electric tension in the newsroom. There were rumours as to how the man had died a few days earlier than Saturday. The death, they said, was hushed up in order to prevent the town from coming to a standstill. What was the situation like? It wasn't a mass-grief that would have engulfed the city, mind you. Opera House didn't down shutters at 4 pm because Ambaniben's shopping s(...)'

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Boggarts and Braggarts

Author : Omkar Khandekar      Blog : Candid Lounge      Date : 3/6/2013 8:25:00 AM

'Why I did not put this up sooner? Possibly because in these days, good ol' Facebook is the only place you run to show off.I had long since ceased to be a blogger, one you would normally expect to update regularly, go on to networking sprees, share symbiotic 'Follower' relationships and the like. These days, I only post the discourse that comes out as a part of my quest to earn a living. But I have had my share of those activities. It only feels appropriate to acknowledge - and (...)'

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Time to Break the Stereotypical Mould

Author : Omkar Khandekar      Blog : Candid Lounge      Date : 2/24/2013 5:11:00 AM

'(As published in Free Press Journal 'Weekend' edition on February 24, 2013.)They appear as objects of titillation, if not the mother of sacrifices. When the director is bohemian, they are also able to stride deep in muck and together push an ambulance out of mud while the males just gaze at them gratefully. But no, it’s not women’s physical strength and the innate social responsibility of helping which is being projected. It’s that pristine washing powder which Rekha, Jaya and Sushm(...)'

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The Labyrinth

Author : Omkar Khandekar      Blog : Candid Lounge      Date : 10/22/2012 10:20:00 AM

'Book Review: The LabyrinthPublished by litizen.comA collection of short stories from writers belonging to Mumbai Short Story Writers Group.M.R.P. Rs. 140.In one of his interviews, the bestselling Indian author Chetan Bhagat was grilled about the quality of his works. He had one self-satisfied argument he clung on to, ‘I have made people read.’ His point – if a person who is not well-educated picks up a Bhagat book and finishes it, he develops confidence that unarguably accompanies r(...)'

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City Snippets

Author : Omkar Khandekar      Blog : Candid Lounge      Date : 9/26/2012 9:04:00 AM

'And finally yours truly got a job, without any contribution of the Cover Letter. Being a reporter is fun, especially when you have more people than one believe that you are worth a 5 digit pay-cheque. The writing is seldom fulfilling, what with the inverted pyramid and Gonzo meted out the step-motherly treatment. However, every journalist has bursts of self-indulgence. That is how columns that look from the reporters' rather than the report's lens are born. You might be familiar wit(...)'

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Dear Employer,

Author : Omkar Khandekar      Blog : Candid Lounge      Date : 6/24/2012 9:16:00 AM

' Cover LetterOmkar KhandekarBachelor of Mass MediaFreelance Content Writeromikhandekar@gmail.comSir,Fresh out of the media bakery, I am told that I will have to make a portfolio and indulge in frills like a cover letter to go with it. These, I understand, will help me land a job. A CV is reasonable but why the prospective employer would be taken with gratuitous words like ‘ambitious’, ‘dedicated’ and ‘team player’ on a piece of word document pompously called ‘Cover Letter’ when(...)'

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Of Sex, Murders and Happy Endings

Author : Omkar Khandekar      Blog : Candid Lounge      Date : 4/22/2012 5:44:00 PM

'By Omkar KhandekarEdited by Radhika DhuruA resident of Belapur in NaviMumbai, forty five year old Clementine was an ultra-modern woman. She livedwith her fifty year old husband Francis D’Souza. Of youthful disposition,Clementine loved to lead a life of women half her age and often surroundedherself with such youngsters. She shared an active sex life with her husband thinkingof it as an important ingredient for maintaining herself. However, it allchanged the day Francis suffered a he(...)'

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