Of connecting with the dead, alive and fictional!

 The following post has been written for the Indiblogger - WeChat with Anyone, Anywhere Contest. WeChat is a new way to connect.

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Every person in the world can teach you some thing. All you ever need is to have a right perspective and an ability to learn and listen. But some people who inspire us, whom we adore, or even whom we detest are just out of our reach sometimes for the simple facts that they be dead, alive and unreachable or fictional. We feel like talking to them, discussing various things with them but we just can’t. So when Indiblogger came up with the WeChat with Anyone, Anywhere contest where it was told to everybody to blog about any five people one would want to get connected with in a WeChat group and have a chat, it was an opportunity for me to do what I always wanted to do, talk about people who for some reason always gave me an urge to talk to them and get in touch with them. There are a number of people with whom I would love to get connected and have a chat. But, in a task which was very tough for me, I've shortlisted five people.

1.      Joe DiMaggio - Love is a strange feeling and no matter how much you try to understand it, you still can never understand it. But some people make it seem so simple and such an example I find it in Joe DiMaggio. Joe was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played for the New York Yankees and is perhaps

Joe and Monroe in happier times.

best known for his 56-game hitting streak, a record which still stands. But he’s also known for one more thing – for being Marilyn Monroe’s second husband. Both of them got married in 1954, but the marriage didn't work out. Marilyn died in 1962. Joe took care of the funeral arrangements and Monroe was interred in a crypt at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. For the next twenty years, red roses were placed in a vase attached to the crypt, courtesy of DiMaggio. For a marriage which lasted not even for a year, the kind of attachment which visibly Joe had for Monroe is astonishing. Given a chance to connect with Joe through WeChat which is the new way to connect, I would like to discuss and learn from him the virtue of forgiveness, selfless love and yes, I would love to know about the life of the stunning Marilyn Monroe!

2.     My grandfather – Being a grandson who grew without a grandfather, I always imagined the kind of things my grandfather would have taught and told me if he was alive. He died in 1982 and I was born in 1987. I never saw and met him in person, but the kind of things I have heard from my father about him always made me very curious about his life. My grandfather was a film distributor in the 70’s and he owned a movie theater in a small town of Kalmeshwar. The fifth birthday party pictures of my father shows film personalities like Asrani and Daisy Irani and a simple yet royal bash. My father tells me that when Sholay was released in 1975, the kind of excitement they saw in the movie buffs was very amazing. People from adjacent villages used to specially come to Kalmeshwar to see the movie which ran for twenty five weeks straight. Given a chance to connect with my grandfather through WeChat, I would love to know the kind of experiences he had during the 70’s when it came to film distributing, movie buffs and the way it has changed as compared to today. Also, what fascinates me is kind of upbringing he gave to his kids. My father is a very simple man who has seen all shades of life and after my grandfather’s death took care of his family in a very good way. If it wasn't for my grandfather’s beautiful upbringing which was tough yet taught of human emotions, it won’t have been possible. I wish I could connect with him so that I could learn about his experiences about life first hand which would have surely made my life a little more worthy!

3.     Amitabh Bachchan – The man needs no introduction and he never will need one. Amitabh Bachchan at 70 is doing almost everything a person can. He’s acting, endorsing, enjoying being a grandfather, keeping in touch with his fans through social networking and also maintains a blog! From the angry young man of the 70’s to the mature man in the recent times, he’s someone who has enjoyed an iconic status in the

The man who needs no introduction!

Indian Film Industry over the years. But has life always been simple for this formidable super star? He auditioned for the All India Radio before he started acting in films where he was rejected. Amitabh Bachchan ruled the screen throughout the 70’s and 80’s but the 90’s saw a downfall in his success, to the extent that it was reported that he was on the verge of bankruptcy. Then happened one of the most successful television shows in India – Kaun Banega Crorepati which brought him back in the game and he never looked back after that. A star as big as him saw defeat at one stage, but stood to his ground, fought the circumstances and emerged victorious. But in spite of all the success, he has always had his head on the shoulders. Success never got into his head and he stayed the same humble Amitabh he always has been. If I could connect with him through WeChat, I would love to know from him, what kept him going in tough situations and how did he manage to be a simple and humble person in spite of being the biggest star of Indian Cinema!

   

4.     Don Vito Corleone – Marlon Brando’s husky voice, powerful aura and his cold yet impactful dialogue delivery made Hollywood movie, Godfather what it is - a classic. I've seen the movie at least 30 times and yet it makes me fall in love with it every time, for the character of Don Vito Corleone is simply unnerving. The man is soft spoken

Don Vito Corleone calls the Undertaker at his service.

yet brutal, cherishes his family yet knows how to be tough with his kids. While he tells his son Michael, ‘A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man’, he also tells him ‘to keep his friends close and enemies closer!’ This Italian Mafia as a whole is someone you can’t resist and you feel like talking to him at least once. Given a chance I would love to get connected with him through WeChat and know about the emergence of mafia from Sicily, his own story and how he managed to be a fearing yet a very humble man! Who knows, even I may get an offer I can’t refuse!

5.     S Sreesanth – S Sreesanth has always been an aggressive cricket player but everybody saw his emotional side when he was allegedly slapped by Harbhajan Singh during an IPL match during 2008 which was a big controversy during his career. Overshadowing this was the spot fixing scandal which put him in the lime light in 2013. He was accused of fixing and taken in custody. While he may have made it out

When he played for the Indian Team.

on bail, but one cannot deny that there’s no fire without smoke. If I get to chance to interact to this cricketer via WeChat, I would ask him, was money bigger than the love of billions? We all know with IPL, handsome match fees during international and national matches and endorsements, cricketers today earn good. Was it not enough? If not, what will be enough? Is there an end to this greed? I would like to tell him that he has not only disgraced the game but has betrayed all the cricket fans who trusted his ability and supported him. Greed leads to destruction in the end, that I would like to learn from him. And if he feels guilty, I would like to tell him that mistakes happen, but it’s important to accept them and make amends instead of shying away from the responsibility!