The 'Art' of Respecting Women...

It is sometimes disparaging to see that somewhere we are claiming to be the country with the highest youth population and on the other hand, we are on top of the lists and surveys, which scream about the condition of women in our nation. If we are actually progressing, if we are actually a bunch of aware and alert people, then where do such biases find their way from? Is it a thing of pride, to belong to a certain gender? We all, at one time or the other, have turned a blind eye to incidents of this chronic problem around us - among relatives, friends, and neighbourhood.

On rumination, I realize the fault lies in the upbringing of children in Indian households. I speak openly and I am not scared of stating the fact that we have a serious parenting problem when it comes to gender bias. It is a common sight to see parents around us contributing towards making their sons typical male chauvinists. Daughters are always supposed to serve their brothers, do the household chores, and not retaliate to any abuses or comments of their brothers. It is this attitude that leads to those kids becoming supremacists in future expecting the same from their own wives. At parenting, therefore, we are facing a serious problem.

It is not a fresh news that I am breaking, but a fact that women-even little girls- in our country, are constantly bombarded by negative, exploitive messages and unrealistic expectations in the media and world in which we live that exacerbate insecurities about themselves. They need to be reassured and reminded that they are beautiful, and that beauty does not mean perfection. When it comes to manners, open the door for her, or hold it open a few seconds longer if she is right behind you. It won't let you down in any way. Let her go first or pass in front of you. If her glass is empty, ask her if she would like a refill. Set or clear the table, and always pay for her meal. Ask her what she likes and dislikes. Chivalry is evidenced by thoughtfulness in action, such as those who pick up and drop off their wives or girlfriends near building entries/exits when it's cold or raining. It's not about men insinuating that women are weak or can't do things for themselves,rather, it's about showing that we care, and expressing kindness in tangible ways.

I am no authority or saint to teach anyone how to treat women, or how to respect them. If respect ever came by reading, then Google would have taught that to Indian men long back. We need to think about this a little more. Think about what women actually mean, and what they actually are... Our country can be on top one day, but for that day to come, we should first respect those brought us into this world.

I would close this perfectly, with a poem which is not mine, and I read it somewhere:-

"The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears,

The figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.

The beauty of a woman must be seen from within her eyes,
Because that is the doorway to her heart,
The place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole,
But true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.

It is the caring that she lovingly gives,
The passion that she shows,
And the beauty of a woman
With passing years
Only grows..."

Yes, its the time for us to grow and change as a nation - https://www.facebook.com/sftimetochange

The Reverse Gear...

The year has reached its dusk. As we stand here and look behind at the events that took place, we feel nothing but dejected. If there could ever be a crestfallen period for the country, it is now! We are in an alarming situation where we cannot do anything but weep. Yes, we can leave the country and go abroad in search of 'better opportunities', but then that would be running away from the situation, although we can hardly help.

I say that we cannot help, because for sure, we, as normal citizens, cannot hang Ajmal Kasam, we cannot pass the Lokpal bill, we cannot bring the Retail FDI in the country, we can hardly improve the condition of females in this nation, we can never punish the wrong doing politicians at our will... we are pretty helpless in a country, where our roles end the moment we cast our votes. The 'vote bank' politics has lead our country into a crisis where we are although not in recession or depression but definitely a major REGRESSION... Since independence we have been on a path of self destruction where we have no one else to blame.

For the votes of farmers and rural population, the demands and needs of the normal urban youth and families has constantly been ignored - we have to continue consuming the adulterated kirana material even if we want to purchase the up market products. For the votes of minorities, again, the innocent rest-of-population is forced to face dejection in examinations and employment opportunities. For the vote bank of religious groups, we have constantly been living under the illusion of "secularism", where the politicians themselves create a row and again themselves settle it on the account of being secular.
The deteriorating condition of females is still like that bad patch of itching on your body - you know its there, but you don't want to talk about it. Neither they are respected for what they are and nor are their contributions highlighted. They is a major portion of households where still women are treated as a to-be-kept-aside home object. This is absolutely depressing, for until and unless we keep turning a blind eye to this, we will never be a prosperous country - and all that we are left to boast about is a hideous-to-look-at 933 sex ratio.

The few of the above things are just a mug out of the ocean of problems and crisis we are currently facing. We are concerned at heart but we actually can't do anything but suffer. We are a bunch of hard working corporate youngsters and we can hardly collect on streets and shout slogans on each one of those issues. The only thing which we can do, the only thing which is still in our hands, is to talk about it as much as we can - spread it, share it, write about it and bring these issues up every time we get a chance... however even that right is going to be snatched away from us by the censorship on social media, very soon. Ah! we are definitely going through a rough patch of circumstances.

:\


http://facebook.com/sftimetochange

The Slap Song...

A few things recently gained a lot of publicity and created a lot of brouhaha in India. One, of course, the 'karara chaanta', I mean, the hard-hitting, quite-satisfying slap, that Sharad Pawar received, and other, without a doubt, Why This Kolaveri Di... :) 
Slapping and hitting of politicians has been a common phenomenon that we have witnessed in last few years. From George Bush, to Sharad Pawar now, they all have been thrashed by public. The public anger has to come out any way, and I am sorry, but the Gandhi days are a thing of the past now. Though, of course there are hypocrites who claim to be raising their voice in the Gandhian manner, and ask their supporters to be non violent and YET, make fun and enjoy the slapping of Sharad Pawar. I know its satisfying, but what's with the double standards?


As the saying may change to "A slap a day, keeps inflation away", I really feel, that if the common man of India is continuously harassed by the politicians, as is happening, we might be witnessing more 'slapping' in the near future. I wish we could get Harvinder Singh's email id, and could forward him a list of all politicians we would like to see being slapped. 
With all the videos of "THE SLAP" being circulated across the internet and media, I am sure Sharad Pawar must be having the song "Why this Kolaveri Di", on a loop these days... ;) 

Rockstar and Revolution - The New India...

Two things created a lot of buzz relatively recently - Imtiaz Ali's Rockstar and Chetan Bhagat's Revolution 2020.  I have no intention, nor the authority to critically review these two things, nor am I getting wads of INR to praise or slam any of them. However, one thing that struck my mind like a Church bell, was the striking similarity in two recent 'phenomenons'. Besides the superficial facts that both target the youth, both are a product OF youth and both have been created by the masters of their respective fields and both carried a lot of expectation among the target audiences, there are a lot of other things that define the Indian youth and the practical India - the NEW India.

First of all, we have to notice the fact of life that has been well presented in both and hold true for anyone and everyone - no one is successful without facing austerity in life. As they say, a coal becomes a diamond after going through the worst of the processes. In Revolution 2020, we find the protagonist is always the one lacking behind, is the one who doesn't know what he wants to be, has no idea what life is all about and is always jealous of his closest buddy. So is in Rockstar... where the guy who has an inborn talent of music in him doesn't recognize the seriousness of life, has been living in comforts and does not know about the real challenges offered by this journey called life.  It is only when they face hardships and challenges, that they become successful, they achieve the zenith.

However, other thing that shocks and scares us, but brings us to reality is that a person stands alone at the top. That is something every young aspiring person in our country needs to know. Aiming high is not bad, but success brings its own cons with it. A person becomes practical, shrewd and judicious when he is successful. The role that love plays in lives of both successful protagonists is also worth noticing. Besides only after living beyond the comfort zone, leaving behind the confines, rules and restrictions, a person can become big. A person can be successful without investing money, without having an educational qualification, without support, without a godfather... but never without hard work and struggle. That is something inevitable and the basic driving force.

The last things, that comes to my notice is that both the movie and the book portrays the real youth of the practical India. The central characters are no good heroes like sappy bollywood flicks and no dirty villains like Gabbar and Pran - we all have a streak of grey between the black and white of life. It is no bad to be practical, to live in the real world. I am sorry, but Gandhi, Nehru and of course, Harish Chandra are past. We have to live by taking the lead, we have to be dominant, we have to rule, we have to answer back and we have to take the path which leads to success. As they say, sometimes Its good to be bad.... :)

And finally, I would close by saying that both things I talked about hold their importance and speak much more in depth than it appears. Every person is a Rockstar from inside and every person can bring about the much needed Revolution... :D

The DIWALI ISSHPECIAL... :)

उत्सव दीपो का है आया - दीपावली
हर दिशा है जगमग, हर ओर खुशहाली
बाज़ारों में रोनक है और सड़कों पर है धूम मची,
पटाखों से आसमान खिल उठा और धरती भी है गूँज उठी...

चौराहों, मंदिर, गलियों में, लगे हुए है मेले
नज़र पड़े जिस ओर दिखे, बस खुशियों भरे चेहरे
झिलमिल-झिलमिल बिजली की, रंग बिरंगी लडियाँ
नन्हे नन्हे हाथों में, दिल जीत लें फुलझड़ियाँ

जब रात के बारह बजते है, सब लक्ष्मी पूजन करते है
रात की कालीमा को हटाने के लिए, दीपों से उजाला करते हैं
अंतर्मन के अंधेरे को दीपों से डोर भगाएँगे
नयी आस के दीप जला कर, नैनों में स्वप्न सजाएँगे

सत्य की आग में झूट जलाकर, हर अंधकार हटाएँगे
बुराइयों का अंत करेंगे, हर शाम दीवाली मनाएँगे
हम मुस्कुरा कर मॅन ही मॅन, ये प्र्न भी लेंगे
प्रेम की ज्योत से हर दिल को ज्योतिर्मय करेंगे...

The DIWALI Deal...

When you start feeling unsatisfied and disappointed with the things you own, you must know that DIWALI is about to arrive! I say this because the only aim of newspaper and TV advertisements during this time of the year is to make you fed up with the stuff you thought was complimenting your home. When the first page of the newspaper in the morning screams "Does your AC make too much noise? Do you feel your AC is not working when its 45 degrees outside?", you suddenly realize that the answer to all these questions had been a yes since a year. The Ad agencies today work on this principle. The SALE tag outside shops and in print ads starts giving you a nausea after a few days to such an extent that your favorite past time becomes to calculate the difference between a "50+40%" and "90%" SALE.

What irks even more are the deals which surround you in a shopping mall like ghosts in a graveyard - "Buy 2 get 1 free" or some stupid and illogical ones like "Buy 2 kilograms of Meethi Sugar and get 3 bars of soap..."!!! Am I supposed to use the sugar after having a bath with those soaps!! I mean, what is the logic! At times, during my empathetic moments, I think what must be going on in the minds of poor salesmen. These docile and ever patient beings help Moms and daughters in their 'window' shopping, when they know that the probability of their buying something is 1/500. I feel, what these salesmen must really hate are the irritating kids like me who constantly force our Moms to leave early and pull them out of a showroom before they start trying one after another outfits.

But that is the magic of Diwali in cities like Jaipur that the whole city seems to be out on streets and when you plan to go for shopping you have to leave well 1 hour in advance. Meanwhile, I close with a little bit of information - when I looked up for the word "spree" in dictionary, only then I realized why is it used with shopping (as in 'shopping spree'). This was because its dictionary meaning clearly says "a wild activity". Oh yes.. For shopaholics (read: girls), shopping is no doubt the wildest activity, where it would have been better if 2-3 people were individually employed for holding bags, considering the amount of bags 6 hands can hold as compared to 2!

So, enjoy the Diwali deals which are overflowing like floods around you and get flown in the feel of this beautiful, colourful and bright festival... You never know, I might launch a "Get 1 Blog post free with every Blog post..." offer very soon... ;) :D

The DIWALI Dhamaka...

I woke up early in the morning due the hue and cry raised by the maid. No, it wasn't because she had broken mom's favorite crystal piece and nor was it because she wanted a hike of salary. It was because of her announcement of leave for a week during Diwali. Such proclamations hit you best when they are made early in the morning when you are not even out of bed. Suddenly it dawned to us that Diwali...umm, THE Diwali was approaching! Besides the wonderfully smiling lights in the house, loads of eatables, and numerous of free gifts (sometimes on purchase worth Rs. 10,000/-), there is an altogether another scenario to this otherwise gleeful festival.

Dressing up like nomads right from the morning and extending a hand of help to parents is not an easy task to be done! It includes setting up of an entire 'workshop' of things required to do the cleaning, shifting of household stuff from one place to other (which is usually expected from a 20 year old boy), and cleaning up your own personal room before anything else (after all charity begins at home..umm, room...). As soon as Mom starts going hysterical about the dilatoriness of the young generation, you rush towards your room to attempt cleaning it yourself, to save it from being raided by her. After all, she would never understand the importance of old CDs, numerous types of chargers of different kinds of devices, and the significance of entangled wires (which sometimes we ourselves forget) in our wired lives.

But such the is the magic and miracle of these beings called "Moms", that we always happen to lose this battle and at the end of the day we are happy to see the results, when the Living room actually finds its literal meaning. Diwali is definitely an eventful festival and more than just those five days, it covers almost a month of our year.  The house resembles a battlefield with all the weapons of mass 'construction' piled up in a corner right now, which would soon end up being lighted beautifully expressing the delight on the return of Lord Ram... :)

Every person in this world needs to see an Indian Diwali before dying. This is after all, just a beginning to this beautiful festival. A lot is there to come, including my blog posts on this amazingly awesome festival...

Adios! :)

The Unseen INDIA - with a tinge of humour...

DISCLAIMER - I have tried to refrain from passing racist comments and caste-based comments as much as I could. Please ignore the humorous comments as I take all countrymen as my own... ;)

I might be considered lucky that I got an opportunity to go around and live the life of four different and very major cities of our country over a span of 15 days. The best part all over is to see the diversity and variety present in our country. We are not obsessed with a single religion, language or culture. In fact, we want to explore, we want to develop relations, we want to build bridges across cultures...and that is what makes us a huge and united country. I will recount my experience in my style, but I would definitely say, not to consider this while planning your trips... ;)

BANGALORE - Ah! Bangalore is a city of ...umm... city of 'people', mainly because you get to see a lot of them. As Cosmo as it might get, but Bangalore might never be able to leave its South Indian-ness. You get a lot of Kannada, lot of 'lungi's, and lot of idli all around. The locals try to co-operate with you by speaking as much English as they can, but every now and then they elapse into their own language. The good part is with a large number of youngsters all over the big city, the metropolitan has definitely moved beyond petty things like caste, religion, discrimination and traffic sense! Traffic of Bangalore is such that after a few minutes on road you might get a feeling that by the time you get out your 12 year old neighbourhood girl might get married! But Bangalore is a lively city, where you can go for 'Go Karting' (closest to F1 that you can get), 'Bowling' and a lots of books. But beware the hangover of Bangalore, otherwise on being asked for coffee in the aircraft by the air-hostess, you might just end up saying, "Illa Coffee..." ;)

DELHI - Delhi is as crazy as it has always been. The amazing familiarity, the dangerous goon-like taxi drivers and the high density of Punjabis complete Delhi. The speed and uniformity with which Delhi has developed truly takes you by storm. Gurgaon has also caught up really fast in last few years and looks no less than a foreign country with loads of corporate offices, residential apartments and metro bridges. When you have totally crazy friends in an equally crazy city like Delhi, you are sure to have some unforgettable time!

JODHPUR - Jodhpur is like a younger sister to Jaipur, given that it seems like a few decades younger. Reason - just because its like a flat land, in the sense that neither there are any towers to look up to, nor there are any fly-overs to smoothen the traffic. In fact, let alone the fly-overs, the city does not even have traffic signals! Any ways, Jodhpur is a heart warming place because of the famous Rajasthani hospitality and of course, the scorching sun. Jodhpur always wants to feed you with both hands. If you have no instructions of diet control and no worries about gaining weight, then this city might just be world's best location. It has so many delicacies to offer, that you sometimes blame God for providing you with just two hands...

BOMBAY - This might be a biased opinion, but then Bombay has always been my love. The way the city embraces you every time is totally amazing. The moment you step our of the plane you get struck with a bolt of lightening. The air of Bombay has two components in it - one, the Bollywood and other ...of course, the 'fish'. The coastal breeze seems as welcoming as ever. Glamour resides in every nerve of this city, right from its trends to the waves of the sea, which just keeps turning more beautiful as the day passes. This city makes you want to live here and complete let go of yourself. Embrace it and it will love you back! And of course, if it does not rain when you visit Bombay, then...umm..maybe you did not visit Bombay at all... :P

The Forgotten Life...

I was quietly reading my course book in my room upstairs. There was an eerie silence apart from the cracking sound of the fan. I was pretty much immersed in my work when i heard loud shouts and yells and ecstatic screams down somewhere... I closed my book, keeping it in the shelf I went outside in the balcony. The weather, like the last few days was cloudy and rains could be expected in next few hours. I looked down to see the source of the noises and evidently it was the large group of colony kids playing the traditional game of Sitolia which had been handed down from one generation to the next in our colony. 

I was instantly transported back to some 3-4 years back and I walked down the memory lanes as i became nostalgic. I remembered how as kids, we use to ring the bells of all our "team-mates", at sharp 4 pm. Not a minute up and not a minute down. The brick was laid and the seven shining marble stones were set beautifully on the red brick. We warmed up much like the professional players, passing the ball to each other till everyone collected at the meeting place - the road! Lines were drawn, boundaries fixed and players ready... Now it was the time of team division. We divided teams by locally and personally developed ways and had a toss, not of heads or tails but generally of white or brown which used to be the color of a roadside stone!!! As the game started, there was a lot of physical, mental, technical and stressful work included. We played with all our strength and hearts and gave our best shorts for our teams each day... As the sun set leaving behind a dark and cool night, and as the calls of "mothers" started coming for dinner, we used to part with the promise to meet the next day again...We returned homes all messed up and dirty much like the warriors after a victory.


I came back to the reality and suddenly felt that the stress and pressure of the real world had actually confined all of us - my generation, to the confines of our rooms. Within the four walls, we have the internet of course, and we feel connected to the world - The global community, right? But are we really "connected"? To traditions? To our roots? To our long lost childhood? But we can definitely play games over the internet with our friends sitting thousands of miles away, we can celebrate Diwali, Holi, Rakhi, everything virtually no matter in which corner of the world we are... But my friends, we have lost that personal touch, that "life" long before and we did not even realize what we are losing.

My heavy course books, the tuition load, the study pressure won't allow me to go out and play Sitolia - My all time favorite game like my childhood days... So, i just sit here and wait EA Sports to launch a PC Sitolia game, so i can at least play it "virtually".... Kudos to Technology!

:-)


Adios!

A Drive Back Home.... In India :)

It was close to 7, the other day when I left my office in the evening. The evening breeze was unusually cool and the weather was pleasant as per Jaipur standards (for all those who have never been to Jaipur - Cool evening breeze here is like a cuddly toy of Saddam Hussein). I felt elated as it meant a great two wheeler drive back home. I happily boarded my vehicle and left for my home. The first turn brought me to a main road, which was too small and dingy for the traffic which had ended up here. The huge buses had decided to take a stroll in these congested lanes of the city, which unfortunately threw me in a corner of the road, like a domestic servant at the time of a party in the house. Suddenly, due to my (as well as the government's) benightedness my foot landed, in a heap of garbage which had been gracefully thrown on the open road. It was a mix of banana coverings, mango guthlis, and loads of other tits-bits, which had turned black and smelly due to constant ignorance.

Having been a very optimistic person, I regained quickly and continued my journey trying to get out of the lane as quick as possible. Little did I know, that a few seconds later, in an attempt to maintain my balance on the bouncy road, my other, the only clean foot now, would land up in a muddy puddle. My foot was now totally covered with mud as high as my socks went. I felt bad, but still maintained my composure. I continued and finally moved to an open and much better road. I sped up happily, when I realized that something terrible had happened. A few people had collected in the corner and were silently watching something. On staring and   sneaking, I found that an accident had taken place. A young man was lying unconscious. The people were creating a havoc around, and discussing the pros and cons of an accident. Nobody realized that the man was profusely bleeding from the cheeks. I don't know how but  a fight had also erupted between two men there, who were shouting abuses in the middle of the road at the rate of 2 per second, in some local language, which I failed to register. Like hundreds of other Indians, I moved on.

A few minutes later, I halted on a traffic signal. The cow which was standing right beside me (also following the signal of red obediently), suddenly decided to defecate. I felt inferior thinking about the freedom which the cows have as compared to humans in our country but I let the thought pass and moved my vehicle a few paces forward.
A traffic jam ahead, due to the sudden decision of elephants to cross the road, made me impatient. The pollution from buses, the honking of the drivers and the lethargy of the cyclists, in absence of any kind of 'lane driving' got on my nerves. Anyways, we follow 'lane driving, insane driving', so I was not new to any of these. Still, I remained calm and bucolic. As I took the final turn, toward my home, I sped up in an attempt to reach 'Home sweet Home' as fast as I could. But suddenly a series of potholes came which shook up all my insides and completely digested the samosa that I had gorged a few hours back in an instant. I felt as if my stomach had jumped up to my throat. I felt a snag in my vehicle and slightly turned my head to have a look at the rear tyre while driving. Another pothole - And my spectacles came loose and fell on the road. A car which had been following me, instantly crushed my red coloured specs, which breathed their last that very second. (R.I.P - specs).

I entered my home with one foot smelling and other foot completely covered in mud, lost spectacles, coughing  wildly and with my eyes paining due to pollution. I announced my return to my mother, as her warrior son was back. Not because I had a tiring 9 hour work at office, but because I had an exhausting 25 minutes drive. I stood in my balcony, now feeling the cool breeze and just then the first few drops of rain fell on my forehead! I realized that it was all usual and as normal as it could be.

Its best to enjoy the weather at home... Adios! :)    

Ye Haath Mujhe Dede Thakurrr.... - A Tribute to Indian Cinema

We respect Indian cinema and we love it to the core. After all, every Friday hundreds of crores are at stake and so is the future of so many actors, artists and film makers. And why not! We are the largest movie producing country of the world! We love the action sequences where people are flying around due to the punch of our protagonist, we completely adore the song sequences which takes us through 4 European countries in 4 minutes, we hold our breaths when the doctor typically terrifically announces "Ab sab uppar wale ke haath me hai...", we cry our hearts out when the hero announces "Mai yeh ghar humesha ke liye chod ke jaa rha hu..." ...

And why shouldn't we? After all, we are the emotionally active and sentimentally childish people. And what is wrong with that? Doesn't every mother feel proud of herself, when the mother in the movie, who is invariably an epitome of ultimate sacrifice, announces "Kya isi din ke liye tujhe paal pos ke bada kiya tha?". She has the right to say this because she is the one jisne apne bache ko Doctor ya Lawyer banane ke liye duniya ka har gum aur zaalim zamane ka har jakhm jhela hai. It is really bereaving to see her crying because "Hum kisi ko muh dikhane layak nahi rahe", due to the 'kookarm' of her daughter! Although the conversation between mother and son is limited to usually three dialogue filled with honey like sweetness which could give you a diabetes. These are - "Maa...Maa, mai aa gaya hoon" (where the hero announces his return to his home), "Maa dekh main tere liye kya laya hu..." (trying his best to surprise his mom), and "Maa...Maa...Maa..." (just like that...)!

Another stereotype of an old hindi movie could be the hero's/ heroine's friend. It is this character who gets some of the high-on-emotion dialogues sometimes. They can be instrumental in defining the financial status of the hero in front of the third party ("Uska dosh sirf itna hai vaqeel babu, ki wo ek...wo ek GAREEB hai"). They are also very less demanding, but when they demand, it is usually the precious life of their valuable friend ("Bhagwaan, maine aaj tak tujhse kuch nahi maanga...lekin aj..."). They might also be temporary doctors, announcing the medical condition of the protagonist to their parents, ("Arrey, isko to tez bukhaar hai maa ji..."). These characters can best be played by Chunky Pandey, Jugal hansraj, Shatrughan sinha, Jimmy shergill and Arshad Warsi.

Since this discussion can go on and on, we would prefer it to continue in the next blog. However, I would not dare to miss another stereotype of our bollywood, i.e. the inverse proportion between the financial condition and "neeyat" of the characters. The characters which are rich, are invariably extremely bad...oops sorry, they are neech, kapti, or maybe a gandi naali ka keeda. On the contrary, the characters from a humble background have a heart of gold, they are the saviours of their respective villages...in short, jinke paas Bhagwaan ka diya kuch nahi hota, siway pyaar ke...

On this note, I close with the promise to bring more on our very own country India - with a humorous touch...

Adios! ;) 

ज़िंदगी एक तलाश है...

वक़्त तो रेत की तरह उड़ता जाता है,
और मैं उसी जगह खड़ा रह जाता हू...
चोट ऐसी खाई है वक़्त से
की दर्द तमाम तो यू ही सह जाता हू...
वक़्त तो दौड़ता सा जा रहा है
तो मैं भी नीर बन के, इसमे बह जाता हू...

ज़िंदगी की इस दौड़ में, खुद के लिए एक लम्हा भी नही,
भीड़ में तो तन्हा हू, और अकेले पूरी तरह तन्हा भी नही...
ज़िंदगी ऐसी पहेली है, की खुद को ना समझ पाया हू, ना ढूँढ पाया हू,
चाहे कितने हो आईने घर मे, अक्स अपना ही मैं ना तलाश पाया हू...

क्यू संतुष्ट नही है इंसान, कभी बेचैन है, कभी हताश है,
खुश्क से होठों पे, एक अनकही सी प्यास है,
कही लहरों को साहिल की, कहीं ज़ख़्मों को मरहम की,
कही दिल को धड़कन की...बस एक तलाश है....



(21 May 2010 को लिखी, मेरी खुद की एक रचना...आज हिन्दी दिवस के उपलक्ष में आपके सामने प्रस्तुत की है...)

The Traffic (Non) Sense...

Driving any kind of a vehicle in India is a chimerical potion of sound, spectacle and an enduring experience. The roads and the vehicles are absolutely on their own, paying no heed to who or what is driving alongside them or whether any so called 'traffic rules' need to be followed. Even the traffic policemen truly and sincerely follow the worldwide rule of 'Customer is King'. We have an amazing tendency to assume immortality when we drive for ourselves and for fellow road users. In fact, Indian traffic is also like the Indian caste system, there are certain kinds of reservations for some sections of society. These are allowed to pass or overtake or cross the road on their own wish and in case of any accident these 'reserved' categories are never to be blamed! A few elements of this reserved sect include cows, elephants, pigs, bicyclists (which are evidently of two types in India - goods carrying and passenger carrying). 


Secondly, we take the use of horns as our birthright and can abuse anyone any time in case we are denied that right. We use the sonic fender in a number of ways. One is the 'urgent' call, usually used for clearing dogs, pedestrians and the flock of sheep which suddenly decided to graze the road. Next is the 'desperate' call, which we use along with the flashing of the headlights. In a decent and straightforward language, by this desperate call, we simply mean, "I am going too fast and have no intentions of stopping. So unless YOU decide to stop, we shall both meet in heaven"... And even after these two types, there still exists a third one, 'casual' call (my favorite one). It is basically used when we spot someone out of the 122 crores Indians who we recognize, or more often than not, we haven't used the horn for several minutes... ;)


 We have also gained expertise in multi tasking over the years (thanks to the development of MS Windows). While driving we love performing the amazing feat of text messaging our friends or even updating our facebook status to 'Driving in helluva Traffic.. :) '. We do not realize that these manoeuvres may be the reason of the traffic jam and the blaring horns behind us. another important aspect is overtaking. Come what may we always have the right to overtake. Every moving vehicle irrespective of its size, side or shape has the right to overtake every other moving vehicle also irrespective of the fact that it has just overtaken you! 


Another chronic problem of Indian vehicles on road, which is as serious and widespread as yellow fever in Africa, is of Overloading! But for this, I have devised a simple formula. The number of passengers a vehicle can carry = A²  , where A is the actual number of passenger allowed on a vehicle. As an example, the number of passengers allowed on a bicycle is 2, but the actual number that will be seated comfortably on an Indian bicycle = 2X2 = 4... So the next time you see an overloaded vehicle, do apply this formula for the test of its applicability and truthfulness. 


With the increasing number of accidents on Indian roads, I just wish that some sense is infused in the drivers for more safety in future. Finally, just one advice of crossing an Indian road - Look left, then right, then left again before crossing a ONE WAY road... ;)


Adios...

The Bath with Daily 'Soaps'...

SCENE 1 - 11 year old Yash enters his house without ringing the bell and goes straight to his mother. His mother, has the lunch ready for him as he rarely eats his tiffin in school and usually returns hungry and famished. But today, he seems quiet than usual. He does not scream on top of his voice for food and does not start recounting his school incidents to his mom like every day. His mom enters his room, where he is serenely seated on his bed. She observes him and realizes that he has a bleeding thumb which is hurting him. She immediately rushes to the other room and arranges the best first aid she can. She pampers him more than he actually needs. She sits with him and feeds him with her own loving and motherly hands... Yash is happy... and immediately cured.

SCENE 2 - (5 years later) - Yash is 16 years of age now and like other weekdays enters his house. The things have changed. His mother no longer has the lunch ready for her because she has her favorite daily soaps lined up back to back till 3 pm. She asks him to wait for some time or take everything himself from the kitchen and eat. He does not eat. He straight away walks away and gets locked up in the confines of his room... he starts crying his heart out. Not because his mother ignored him (that has been a daily instance for some years now), but because today he is facing a difficult teen problem and is going through a great dilemma of his life. He is in depression and wants to share things with someone close and personal. His friends are of the same age and therefore, as immature as him, he knows that...Time passes by and by the end of next three days, Yash learns to live like this... Yash is sad.

These two situations are a very basic and underlying problem we are going to face (or we already are?) due to the daily soaps being aired on television. Today, mothers are more interested in the tears of the protagonist's sister's sister-in-law because her husband is in love with her brother's wife. They do not care if there little kids are lying unattended in the cot next to them. The illness of the protagonist's mother-in-law's sister's husband might be of a greater concern than the illness of her own daughter crying in the next room. This has become a chronic problem of the over-emotional and highly impractical population of our country. And the main problem - the serial directors realize this fact. They have content not even worth of a single minute's attention which astonishingly continues for five years. Most of the women watch the episodes daily and more regularly than they would bathe or eat, and also abuse the directors for creating such an asinine episode, thus creating a juxtaposing situation.

I have no solutions to present on this, nor do I have any liniment of this perennial disease that a large chunk of our intelligent and bright population has been affected by. Anyways, I just wish and hope that some sense is infused in the creators and promoters (read: viewers), of such daily soaps, to stop creating such utter piece of ****, and switch to some better and more perspicacious content on television and please let the family system and family love of India intact.

Adios! :)

"The Great Indian Wedding" - The Diary of a Bhukt-Bhogi Teen-ager

24th October 2008
11.20 p.m.

Sorry Dear Diary, as I got late in writing to you today. I couldn't help it... After all, the food today was so exquisite and piquant, that it gave me loose motions. My stomach is aching and I dare not tell my mom about it, as she was continuously trying to stop me from overfeeding myself.. but when you have at least over hundred stalls all around you offering different types of appealing meals from across the globe, and when an electrifying aroma is raiding your nose, you dare not hold back your mouth! But,
 "Ab Dard-e-pet ka haal kya samjhogi tum, Aye Diary,
Tum kya jano Paneer Lababdaar ki Mehak ka jadoo kya hota hai..."

But anyways, I had to attend my cousin sister's wedding today. To be humble and frank, I basically did not even know her properly... She is my mom's cousin brother's sister-in-law's daughter... umm.. Never mind... But we are Indians and as long as your mother went to the "Naam-karan" of a kid, a couple of decades back, you have all the right to raid their wedding party (not to mention, the food...). Indian weddings and ceremonies confuse as well as bore me. First of all, being from the bride's side is a bane, I tell you... You have to wait for the 'baraat' to arrive before you can actually conduct a loot on various stalls. A BAD rule... :( ... I had to wait almost an hour and a half, because the 'baraatis' were dancing like maniacs on the main gate of the wedding location for almost an hour (as told to me by the giggling aunties, because I was standing at the golgappa stall waiting for it to start).

As soon as the 'baraat' arrived, there were a host of long-established and doctrinal ceremonies at the gate. Maybe they did not realize that I had skipped my lunch to prepare my stomach for the evening flood. After that, the groom proceeded to the centre stage receiving as much attention and ministration as the President receives on Republic Day function. But the face and habits of the groom clearly advertised that this was the first time he was receiving so much importance (and maybe he was aware of the fact, that it was the last too). After a minutes, the garland exchanging ceremony started where the bride was lifted by her family members high above to prevent the groom from garlanding her. She was about to fall when they gave up, I wondered why they agreed to the marriage in the first place, if they wanted to prevent it from happening... ... Never mind, I dug my hands further down my jeans pocket in an attempt to clean my fingers off the 'Tikki chole' remains (I lost my handkerchief in the school and did not tell my mom about it).

I overheard some uncles in the corner cracking jokes about marriage and guffawing loudly. I did not understand most of the jokes but did hear that Marriage for men just means experiencing pain and buying jewellery. I just thought that my friend would live very happily then, as he had an ear pierced and was familiar with both. I ignored the useless comment and moved on with my "Paneer Tikka". I noticed that now the bride and groom were getting their pics clicked with everyone and anyone. The family members had the expression of utmost content, as if they had just witnessed Urvashi and Menaka performing on "Aaja aaja Mai hoon pyaar tera...". On the contrary, the bride and the groom looked pestered and I even alluded that the bride just yawned widely, I pitied her...

Meanwhile, I had moved on to the main course after 8 snacks and 28 golgappas. The main course had a lot to offer, ranging from Paneer vegetable, mixed vegetable to a few other non-edible vegetables, maybe for the aged strata of the guests. There were two types of Daals,  and a few types of rotis. After having a satisfying dinner, I ate two rasgullas and a chocolate flavored ice cream, gladly accompanied by a Kulfi and Gulkand Paan to give it a perfect ending.

Therefore, May god bless the bride and groom for a bright future.... umm... and May god bless their parents for such an amazing meal... May they get married again and again and again.... :)

Adios...

ANNA-GLYPH - The Black and White of it...

Before jumping to the point, I would like to take you all in your past... When we were little kids, we often made irrelevant demands of bootless and stupid toys from our parents. On being out rightly refused, we often threw tantrums of different sorts - which included shunning the scrumptious food, keeping ourselves locked up in the room for hours, or crying and blackmailing our parents. When we crossed our limits, and continued our stupid and childish acts of conniption, we were often gifted with a tight slap across our sweet little faces... and? And the matter ended there and then... :P

Coming to the point now, what made me nostalgic was Anna Hazare's behaviour. Declaring a fast until all your demands are met and disrupting the normal functioning of the nation along with earning a free footage of 24 hour news channels seems to be the most futile attempt at something so grave. The thousands of people coming together against "corruption", do not even know what basically Jan Lokpal bill is... I made this point in my last post too and I make it yet again, that is fasting until death and throwing tantrums, the only solution to a problem so grave. Is Jan Lokpal Bill, a magic wand, which will eradicate the deep rooted problems in a  jiffy?   

Or is it correct to force the Bill on the parliament and other 122 crores of people across the nation. I would rather say, putting forward the demands in the way Aruna Roy did, would be much better, democratic and peaceful. 

Another things is that I have actually met people so lame and stupid, that they think if I am not in support of Anna Hazare, and if I am not taking to the streets and shouting slogans on top of my breath, then I am a corrupt person, who supports the government. First of all, since when has this movement become a Team Anna v/s The Ruling party war room? Team Anna's only demand  is Jan Lokpal Bill, and I would like everyone to read the JLB draft of Team Anna, just to look at how frivolous it is, and it is just like creating another bulky and unmanageable system for the country to cope up with. I do not support the stand or the statements of the government, nor do I disrespect Anna, or doubt his 'genuine' intentions (despite the fact, that  it was found that he once spent Rs. 20 Lakhs on his birthday celebrations, he was found drinking milk shake with dry fruits in one of his earlier fasts, and the fact that he was guilty of maladministration in two public trusts), my point remains that who is going to profit from a massive and berserk bill, which is being forced by Team Anna. 

Finally, a little note to various people/groups:-

Team Anna - You guys are not the only intelligent people left in the country to make laws. Please listen to others and give them a chance. Other people (read: Aruna Roy or JP) might have something better to offer too. 

Anna Hazare - Stop being a puppet in the hands of Arvind Kejriwal, and please stop creating a chaos in the country. 

Congress - You guys are famous for holding double standards since ages. Its time to wake up, please come out of your dreams, and take actions. 

Dr. Manmohan Singh - Just because you have stupid colleagues doesn't mean that you start behaving like one too. You and Anna share things in common - you both are puppets, to start with... ;)

Rahul Gandhi - God gifted you with something beneath the nose, guarded by 32 teeth... USE IT...

Followers of Anna Hazare and People of my nation - (I am repeating this from my previous post) - think for yourself and do not depend on a law to change things. Be the change and change your own mindsets... then talk about an "India against corruption".... 

(I hope this particular blog post reaches far and wide and urge people to know more about something that they are following, or maybe just serve as a wake up call)

Adios! 

The Ultimate Uproar

Not more than 5 percent of the Indian Population knew about Anna Hazare before the "India Against Corruption" Movement... but now, there are not even 5 percent people who don't know him. From the very civilized sophisticated youth to the retired old civilians, everyone has become a part of this massive uproar taking place across the nation. In fact, people now almost give out a sigh of sympathy and support even when photos of Anna Hazare with a little 3 year old girl are flashed on the national news. Was it a desire to raise a voice, curbed somewhere inside the people of India which came out through this movement, or is it just the anger against corruption that is now erupting like a volcano?

When I watch the news, I actually realize that most of the people joining the movement just want to get rid of the corruption, they do not even know what basically Lokpal Bill is... This means that people are against the government, fair enough? But then, if we have single look at the Lokpal bill proposed by Anna Hazare, the fact shines like a diamond that it is absolutely impractical and too perfect to be implemented in a vast country like ours. Anna Hazare has definitely become the hero of the people of India, and soon he might even be termed as the Father of the New Nation, but we still have a long way to go before we get rid of corruption. Mere implementation of an Act or a law will not eradicate this age old problem of our country, after all how many laws do we actually care about? The real change has to come about in our own minds and in our own acts. Anna Hazare is no doubt a great activist and an honest person, in fact the work he did in his village Ralegan Sidhi was not only commendable but truly great. But we need to have a look at the realities too...

To conclude, I am against corruption too, but let us start the change from our own mindsets. Let us not depend on a particular law for this mammoth task. And as far as Anna's fasting is concerned, May he live long and may he earn even more media footage (after all, even SRK never appeared on TV for 24X7)... I just fear that the next child born in India might come out screaming, "ANNA TUM SANGARSH KARO... HUM TUMHARE SAATH HAI..." ;)

Adios! :)

P.S. - for people who are wondering what this article was all about, please visit www.annahazare.com

Ye Result Kyu Aata Hai... ?

2 Days before my 12th Board results were to be announced, I had a dream. I was in a dark cave, amidst hideous and hungry crocodiles. Suddenly, a dark woman appeared in front of me with deadly black teeth, messed up hairs which looked like jute ropes, horrendous red eyes with blood in them... She started hitting me with a hunter! I was screaming in pain. There were sounds of mourns and growls around me and I continued screaming in agony. Snakes were now crawling up my legs towards me, I knew those were my very last moments on the face of the Earth... I asked her a last question out of curiosity, "Who the hell are you?"
She gave a plain laugh, the ones which gives you goosebumps. She stared into my eyes and spoke in a whisper, "I am.... RESULT....bwahahahaha!!!!..."

I woke up panting like a dog. I looked around me to examine my surroundings. I took a sigh of relief on seeing the familiar coziness of my room and the usual mess of clothes and books. I got up rubbing my eyes with laziness and realized that the my board result was just 2 days away.
Luckily, I scored pretty decent at that time, but I realized something... No matter how old are you or no matter how insignificant the exam is or no matter how well you think you have done, when the last week before your results are to be announced, starts, you feel a weird sensation in your body. The normal processes of digestion, urination or even more basic ones like thinking, are naturally disrupted.

Every time someones asks you, "Heya... when is the result coming out?", having a feeling of hitting them straight on the nose, is very common and perfectly normal. Every time someone mentions the date of your result in some other context also, you feel like puking or peeing. Its all normal! We have a common tendency of exploiting all the 330 million deities of India, and we suddenly gain respect towards all the religions... we start regretting over all the mischief we did in the past and start apologizing to God for putting a bomb under the teacher's chair when we were in X standard!!
Also, the period between giving the examinations and the announcement of results is something we take as our birthright to enjoy. We do all sorts of crazy and kooky things and then all of a sudden we start regretting! However, as soon as the exams are over, we never look back at how we did or we never try to evaluate ourselves. The authorities keep screaming at the top of their voices that the suggested answers have been issued but we keep a considerable and safe distance from such 'useless' notices! But, only when the week before the result starts, we take a look at those answers with great anticipation and fear, by which time we have forgotten all the answers that we actually wrote! And it is this time, when we start repenting on our wisecracks that we made during the exams like, defining 'syntax' as the tax paid by sinners!!!

Anyways, So here I sit on my chair in front of my laptop waiting for the "Khooni Manzar", as has been rightly put by an Event on Facebook... 'God' Save me... :) :D

Love - THE UNANSWERED QUESTION...

Everyone wants to read about Love, that is actually the topic that interests people, i have realized. On my previous blog, till the time I wrote sensible things, the views remained maximum upto 25-30, but when i wrote things like love, relationships, romantic songs, the views jacked up to 50-60. So here I once again attempt to write something on the brobdingnagian subject. This time I have tried to delve deeper into the topic about What actually is love?

Though philosophers, psycologists, experts, poets et aliae have tried to define love in more ways than one. Whether it is a relationship, it is friendship, it is something platonic, spiritual, religious or a mere feeling, this I fail to discern, but one thing I can say is that Love is the eternal truth of Mankind. And definitely, saying that Love is the reason of our existence, is not a hyperbole.

What did William Shakespeare mean, when he said, "Love all, trust few and do wrong to none..." My point is the same! Since ages people have wrongly confused love with girlfriend/boyfriend. The fact is that a mother loves a child unconditionally and no love can parallel that feeling or emotion. Sufism concept of love has also been a matter of my engorssment. Sufis have always associated love with God, which is another form of pure feeling. Psycology potrays love as a cognitive phenomenon with social cause having three components: Intimacy, Commitment and Passion. However, ancient philopohers, scholars and poets have always agreed one a common point that Love is nothing but Tolerance. I have observed that Love has remained the favorite topic of painters, sculptors, authors and poets. Is it because of the wide scope and extent of Love, or just because "Love" is a topic of people's interest? There is a whole book by the name "The general theory of Love", which explains the topic into great details!!! My point is that a single blog post is too small and bantum to define and explain love. 

People often ask me, how to make someone "fall" in love with you? There are two fundamental problems in that question. One, which is very obvious is that no one "falls" in love. Love is not a pit. One rises in Love, as i feel. Secondly, no one can be "made" to love. Love happens naturally. It is not an exact science based on fixed principles and truths. On the contrary, love is an absolutely tenebrous, fuzzy and amorphous emotion. It is as impromptu as it can be. Therefore, one piece of advice as i close (for those, who felt this article was vexing and schlocky) - Be together, share your joy and sorrow, understand each other, provide space to each other and surely Love will blossom to strengthen your relationship... :)

Adios! :)

3 Years of LOUD SILENCE...

3 years back on the evening of a hot and sunny Sunday, I launched my poetry collection LOUD SILENCE, in a small but personal event with close friends and family. It has been 3 long years and a journey which has been special every second. Lot has happened in last three years and lot has changed too. "Loud silence" was a collection of my feelings, my expressions when i was young, a bit immature and a bit whimsical. But life is not a piece of cake, if it presents you with offers and achievements, there are also times when it is a total wreck and gives a feeling of a sinking ship.

After the launch of my first poetry collection, i came across even more riveting, enthralling and defining moments of life. Out of a usual proclivity more than just a habit, i penned them down as poems too. And as a self-judgement i find them better and more abstruse than the previously published ones. Life always has something to teach you, and so there is always a scope of improvement. But one thing that hurts me somewhere in the corner of my heart, or rather pinches me, is the fact that as we are moving deeper into the 21st century, we are losing the insight to understand feelings. As a matter of fact, I know, that my poetry collection "Loud silence", would be kept in most of the houses in a corner, accumulating dust over the years...

But, anyways In the end i would like to thank all those people who recognized my work and appreciated it. I have received over 50 e-mails and numerous calls over the years, of known and unknown people to whom my work has reached and affected. It feels good when you get appreciated and it encourages you to write more and write better too... I aim at improving and constantly thriving towards perfection. however, support of the close ones is always necessary. thanks for making my maiden attempt successful!. I am grateful to one and all... :) :)

Adios! ... :) 

GLUTTONY - The story of My Transition...

What do you do when the first thing someone says on meeting after a few long months is, "Dude, you have put on so much weight?"...what would be your reaction when your relatives fail to recognize you and tell you, "Beta, you have grown so fat over the last few days..." ... And only thing that comes to your mind is, hey! Eureka!! I knew that...phew!...This has been my plight for the last few days because everyone person I have been meeting after my exams got over, turns my enthusiasm into guilt within seconds... though having been subject to this humiliation has made me kind of obstinate, but when the people you care about the most and the people whose opinion matters to you, tell you the same thing, you feel inflated to the extent that you just consider getting a liposuction done from the surgeon next door....

My continuous gormandizing and my recent feat of studying for long hours in the confines of my four walled room, has lead to the disaster. People see you, get shocked and instantly have loads of suggestions. every person is a qualified dietitian-cum-doctor-cum-trainer when it comes to giving advice on "how  to reduce weight". Some people go to the extent of calling it a "beer belly"!!! And my reaction is..."What!"... It would rather be a "bear belly' than a "beer belly"  guys...
Hogging has become such an irreversible habit of mine that I might literally become a "hog" soon...which thought makes me shudder with fear...

For the time being, my only aim remains to reduce my weight and come back to normal, because a "healthy body is a healthy mind"... and for that i will have to give some pain to myself. So, "Dear body, get ready to suffer some bit, because i am going to deprive you of the thing you love the most - FOOD... " ...
So, here i put my jogging shoes on, and here i go on my new stint...YO!!!
:)
Adios!