Meanderings of my mind!

 Disclaimer : This article is written by one of my friends. I found it nice and hence posted here. 

Mind is the most beautiful thing, sometimes I feel. It’s so wonderful creation of a master worker. It has created marvels of marvels with all what nature gifted us with. A will to go beyond the seemingly unsurmountable impossibilities posed by nature. The impediments of distances, depths and heights, unthinkable and unfathomable as they were, but no longer. Not to mention the barriers of cultures and climates. So many inventions we take for granted so many things around us; small everyday commonplace things. We forget the beauty imbued into trifles, as they seem. Rains on rooftop, the smell of a lawn cut freshly, smiles all around you, of small kids or strangers and your loved ones. I feel like dancing, when I listen to a tune played somewhere., on a radio on a loudspeaker. Songs, they lift the heart in a way nothing else can. Nature has given from her coffers so much, and we have used the gift of intellect bestowed upon by the lord to recreate the magic. Sometimes I sit and think of the things I daily use and my heart is filled with awe and admiration to what we have achieved, as humankind.

Let me start with getting up from my bed thing, by the pleasant sound of the alarm in my cell phone. Now cell phone is an amazing piece of engineering. A music player, a phone of course, message storage box, radio, internet and what not. Name it and you have it. Taking a bath on the third floor, under a shower seems pretty normal, except if you can imagine bringing the same amount of water from a well. Then comes dressing up with clothes I feel comfortable in. And last but not the least my shoes, Lee Cooper ones. So nice they are, so cozy. I just wonder who would have invented a comfort so necessary. Hats off to the guy/gal, who built the first shoe.

And also to the hundreds and thousands, who created small things of daily use; a needle, a mirror, a wheel, a button, a zip and thousand other things. Can we imagine our modern day Lives without any of them? Then there are some personal favourites, like the steam engine, a printing press, a typewriter, a telephone and internet. All of these spawned amazing progenies; the sparked desires. Desires to shorten distances, to bring all humanity and the knowledge together as one. Increased productivity in terms of material wealth and basic necessities. Better houses, better sanitation, better medicines and better life for one and all. Recreation is as important to man as work is. It takes us back to the primal source of all knowledge, the thought. Dance, music and other such fine arts make us transcend the normal limits of traditional thinking and reach a sublime sphere of being. A place where everything is beautiful and untainted. A flute sounds like a cuckoo singing, a drum like a thunderstorm. The magic of nature created from the creations of nature and human genius. T he musical instruments are among the most marvellous of our inventions along with the colours, paints, the pen and the paper. For centuries they have kept the legends alive, nurtured the soul of mankind with milk of sweetness and hope. They created awe and inspiration for the generations; to achieve the impossible, to go beyond the unknown. 

I am currently reading the autobiography of Helen Keller. For those of us who do not know her, she was a deaf and blind woman. She was the first deaf-blind person to achieve a Bachelor of Arts degree. The book is a gem for all of us to feel rather than just read. I would suggest everyone to read it, for it will show what determination and grit can achieve. More than that, it makes you appreciate the sensory faculties we have been blessed. Ability to see, hear, speak, touch and think; just imagine what your life will be without one of them? 

And yet here we are, most of us going through the whole of life putting all those small jewels of time down the drain of ego; a murky, obnoxious mixture of petty feelings, jealousy, arrogance, hatred and so many negativities. Why do we need to feel superior to everyone around us, usually in a tyrannical sort of way? A foolish will to control everything around us, knowing very well you can’t. And in the end wrecking our lives and hurting the ones we claim to love. It’s so confusing and disturbing. Quarrels and fights on matters so non trivial. Which god to pray and how, when hardly one in a million will have the real knowledge of what praying really means, what actually god is. But I will slit throat of innocent people, burn houses without remorse, if your thinking differs from mine on anything and vice versa.  

A continuous march to the grave or funeral pyre as the case may be all of us are onto. So my friend, why not make the path more serene, blissful and blessed for our children who follow us and make our ancestors proud who went ahead. Why can’t love each other without thinking of return or authority? Why can’t we let our children grow in a world full of mutual respect, love and help, instead of the deceitful and pathetic one we are creating? Everywhere I see people dividing themselves in name of god, caste, language, colour and creeds. Not considering even for a moment the hollowness of these criterion as we apply them today. People blowing up themselves for a reason they do not understand the implications of. Ages have passed and will pass. Hundreds of Buddha and Christ will walk and yet the earth will be deluged with blood of innocent men and animal for pleasure and insanity we pursue unabated. Leave the war fields and other such big things. Just look into our very own daily lives. Walk in front of a mall today. We can buy a pair of jeans or an ear ring or a Mcdee Burger, spending a large amount of money on something so frivolous. And yet giving a 5 Rs coin to a beggar we feel ourselves as King Vikramaditya, who it is said would donate one lakh gold coins every morning. Our generation is destroying itself in smoke, alcohol and promiscuous relationships.  

You need not go far, just look at the young generation, guys and gals working in large cities, in sectors new and paying handsomely. They are flush with so much money, hard-earned though it is; they know not what to do with it. The vices are just around the corner in such cases to prey upon them. We walk blindfolded on the promontory eventually to fall in the sea. A rush is there to nowhere, and the end is not in my sight. And yet as someone truly said “Faith is the bird that sings, when the dawn is still dark”, I too have hopes. Hope that someday we are out of this stupor. So that we work for those who can not afford to help themselves.  

I feel we are all connected, all humans and beasts,deep within. Otherwise why do I feel sad when a car crashes or a misguided guy blasts himself to pieces; when trees are cut just to create just another mall or something equally stupid? Why am I happy when I see a puppy jumping on all fours, a kid playing naked in rains smile, or when someone braves all difficulties to help a complete stranger? I am happy and sad with every one of you, as you are with me, knowingly or unknowingly. Just try and feel it, and you will know. May the best thing we have, our brains; the thing that created this keyboard I am typing on and the net which will give you this message, be calm and peaceful. Let us all grow in a spirit of togetherness, preserving our individual cultures and harmonizing with others. May we overcome petty habits of food, creed and language. They were created to group ourselves as one, not to be the cause of battles. We lower ourselves than the brutes that roam or the spineless creatures which slither, when we offend the spirit. And we know when we are wrong, just that we do not want to admit. Only because of a false sense of pride; a pride bound to go, whatever the reason of it be. 

One day your body will fade away and your thoughts too. So will go away the name and riches you desire. We are not the centre of this Universe; we are mere specks of dust floating in this vast universe. It is all beautiful and happy, only you need to look the right way. And you will see the light, shining beautifully, beckoning you.

Let peace be unto us.

Book Review : 2 States (The story of my marriage)

Love marriages around the world are simple:

Boy loves girl. Girl loves boy.
They get married.  

In India, there are a few more steps:  

Boy loves Girl. Girl loves Boy. 
Girl’s family has to love boy. Boy’s family has to love girl. 
Girl’s Family has to love Boy’s Family. Boy’s family has to love girl’s family.
Girl and Boy still love each other. They get married.

Each of the steps above is more difficult than the previous one. And that is what this book is all about. Many would say step 1 in itself is too difficult, let alone the other steps. The story is that of Krish and Ananaya who meet up at IIMA, fall in love and want to get married. Step 1 is complete. Now all the challenges in their life start. Krish is a Punjabi whereas Ananya is a Tamilian. So there is a hug task in front of them – to gel into the families of their to be in-laws and to unite two culturally different families. The story nicely explains the North Indian – South Indian cultural divide.

 Well the price of the book is Rs.95. The same as that of ‘Five Point Someone’. In the last book ‘The Three mistakes of my life’ Chetan had talked how difficult was it to maintain the same price. Surprisingly the price has remained same even for this book. I really appreciate him for that. It ensures it doesn’t burn a hole in the pockets of a middle class Indian.

 And BTW this book is dedicated to his in-laws, which according to him may be the first time in the history of the books. The statement comes with an asterisk saying ‘which does not mean I am henpecked, under her thumb or not man enough’. Now what is that suppose to mean ?J. Also in initial acknowledgements page Chetan says ‘I would also like to tell all South Indians I love them’ which can be read as ‘be ready, you are the butt of all jokes in this book’

I liked the narration. Its soft and decent. Again like other Chetan Bhagat books, this one will get you glued till the end. I would say this book is better than his previous two. Its enjoyable and practical. If you are working in a MNC, then you would be able to connect well with the Krish’s office life – the way he clears his interview faking himself… hyping team names eg. CSC-Consert Steering Committee… meetings ending with no conclusions… and when the stocks crash and clients lose money instead of admitting the mistake, claiming that the stocks  are in ’self correction mode’. That was too good. There are a few funny lines in the beginnig but as the story moves it gets serious. I am not going to reveal any story. Its worth reading once.

Congrats Sachin.. Well Done India..

sachin

    Sachin has crossed 17K runs in ODI. That’s a remarkable achievement. And the way he played in today’s match against Australia is simply amazing. Hitting 175 off 141 balls was unbelievable! His today’s game reminded me of the Master Blaster I used to watch in my school days. I was a fan of Sachin and loved watch him play in every game. Fours, Sixes, sending balls to every corner of the ground.. It was Sachin’s era then. But wait. He still rules. His era is not over. Remember he scored his 45th hundred today. He is truly a legend! One of the legends of cricket whom the world bestows upon, the legend whom the upcoming cricketers would take ideal as.

    And what do I say about today’s game. Australia set a target of 350. And India lost by 3 runs. Now that’s reaaaaaaaaly close. This is the second match in the series India is losing so closely. India deserved to win today. Aus would have won, but in the whole series India is emerging as a stronger team and dominating team. There are no easy let-offs. Ind – Aus series are fun to watch, especially when finishes are the ones like todays.

Writer’s Block!

Was thinking i was the only one facing it. But no ! Even these people are in the same boat !

These are the blogs which i more or less visit frequently.

http://allirekha.wordpress.com/

http://moregyan4u.wordpress.com/

And thats not all, this guy who used to blog everyday is thinking of deletion.

Whats wrong with ppl ?

http://mirrorcracked.wordpress.com/

Any suggestion to come out of this block ?

Fake IPL player more popular than IPL

The Fake IPL player takes 2nd position in the google trends (india) whereas the ipl live score takes 5th position.

 

Just check out the google trends results. There are more people searching for the fake ipl player than the ipl itself. Check out the posts by the fake ipl player @ www.fakeiplplayer.blogspot.com. This guy has got wits. This mysterious blogger claims to be a player from KKR. Some ppl believe this is a publicity stunt from PR of KKR while others believe its someone with a decent knowledge of cricket faking himself as IPL player. But whoever it is, his posts are real fun.

 

We love mystery.

Delhi 6 : Movie Review

    What was this movie all about? I am confused. For facts, this is a movie directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra of Rang De Basanti fame. Lyrics by Prasoon Joshi and music by A.R. Rahman. The movie stars Abhishek Bachchan & Sonam Kapoor.

 

    I would like to describe the movie in 2 parts, the one before the intermission and one after.

 

First Half -

    Roshan (Abhishek Bachchan) returns to India from US of A to with his grandmother so that she can spend her last days in Chandni Chowk, a part of Delhi. He gets familiar with the neighbours, gets to meet Bittu (Sonam Kapoor), spends good amount of time clicking pictures with his Motorola handset and watching Ram Leela innumerable times with his grandmother. The movie goes on with subtle humour here and there. There is one plot where a inspector is seen bullying locals. Amused Roshan demands that the inspector can’t treat people like that and reminds him he is a Public Servant. Inspector replies ‘Kya mein tumhein servant dikta hoon ?” and gives him one tight slap! Roshan slaps back and ends up getting arrested. Ali (Rishi Kapoor) comes to his rescue and gets him out by bribing the inspector. Rumours start spreading about mysterious Monkey Man with several people claiming to have seen it creating menace. The local TV channels keep telecasting the Monkey Man stories.

The first half is really enjoyable and I would rate it 4/5.

 

Second Half -                                                

     Roshan falls in trouble with one of the episodes of monkey man. He decides to go back to America, but finds out that something is stopping him. He realizes that he has fallen in love with Bittu. Meanwhile riots breaks out between Hindus and Muslims over the issue of Monkey Man. Thereafter the movie completely loses the plot. Sigh! It was sort of torture to watch the second half. I would rate it -1 / 5. (Minus one on Five)

 

    The best aspect of the movie is its Music. Nice work  by Rahaman. Also the bylanes of Chandi Chowk are shot nicely. Sonam Kapoor is decent. So if you want to enjoy the movie, then watch it till the intermission. That’s my advice. The movie is nowhere near RDB.

 

Image courtesy : www.wallpaperspecial.com

Happy Birthday Blog!

This blog was started on this day exactly a year ago!

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLOG! It had been a wonderful experience here. You opened me up to a totally different world. You gave me company when i was bored. You gave me info on varied subjects. You ROCK!

Moral ? Immoral ?

     While media and consortium of pub-going, loose and forward women are belting Sri Rama Sene left, right and centre, I try to present a slightly different picture. Honestly I feel the issue is blown out of proportion by the media. There was absolutely no necessity to make it a national issue. Even Sri Ram Sene wouldn’t have imagined in their wildest dreams that they would become household names overnight! Thanks to Indian media where any event is presented as breaking news, and when there is breaking news I don’t need to tell how it is reported. I have written about the disgusting media culture before.

     Lets forget media for the time being and shift the focus back on Sri Rama Sene. Instantly it reminds me of the mangalore pub attacks. And remark of Pramod Mutalik as custodian of Indian culture. Though the whole episode is not taken down well by the media, there is a brighter side to it. And now Mutaliks eye is on Valentine’s Day celebration. Its no wonder that every year on pretext of valentine’s day, several young women get cheated. More often the ones who are regular to pubs, bars, discos etc the so called places of entertainment for the forward women. By imposing constraints on the women entering pubs, Sri Rama Sene is/has tried to save future of several women, saved several women from falling into trap by cheap men who look at them as mere entertainment commodities. When your parents object you to visit some place keeping your safety in mind, do you protest against it saying it violates your fundamental rights ? Do you send them pink chaddis ? Duh!

     Nowadays TOI is carrying an article everyday opposing the moral police. They are hell bent on lifting the curbs on nightlife. There were days when TOI initiated campaigns like Lead India, Teach India etc. I felt really proud and had hoped there was someone who can bring change in the society. But now after more than a year of Lead India Campaign what has changed? Where is the Lead India winner R.K. Mishra ? Recently I read in one corner of TOI that he will be starting a project for community development and will get 30 lakhs aid from TOI. But is 30 lakhs enough ? That too after he has worked on the project preparation for a year. And why there is no noice about Teach India ? Did TOI do all these just for its publicity ?

     At the end of it, I see no point in cribbing about moral police. We have bigger problems on our hands. There are rumours of terrorist plots everyday. The country is suffering due to economic slowdown. Lets stop fighting among ourselves. Lets focus on solving the real problems!

P.S. : I am not a member of Sri Rama Sene or associated to it in anyway. This was an attempt to provide a different perspective of the incident, a totally different one than the one which we read in newspaper everyday. Ofcourse i do condemn the attack on girls.

Will a bailout help US Automakers ?

 

Since past few weeks, the Detroit’s Big 3 are pleading with congress for a bailout . But will a bailout really help an ailing automotive industry? The US govt. is skeptical. With falling sales month on month, and with the US economy in recession for almost a year now, US automotive industry is going through a tough time.

 

Where did the US automakers fail? There seems to be several reasons. First and foremost GM, Ford and Chrysler did huge investment in producing SUV and likes, which consumes fuel in larger quantities. When the oil prices shot up, naturally the demand for SUV’s were down. Consumers started buying more and more fuel efficient vehicles, and the Big 3 failed to respond to this. Meanwhile Japanese and German automakers entered the market with compact fuel efficient cars and US automakers failed to compete. Also US automakers couldn’t match the quality of Japanese and German cars, and this further led the consumers drift away from the domestic carmakers.

 

Another important factor is labour cost. US automakers have their plant located in places where labour costs are pretty high as compared to their foreign counterparts. And on top of it GM still pays for the health care costs of its retired workers, which is bigger than its current workforce. Coupled with it the strict labor laws are definite drawbacks. All these started eating into the profits of GM.

 

Will a bailout solve the problem? Looking at the above factors, a bailout will only give a temporary solution. It can only delay the fall. So the best option would be to file for bankruptcy, restructure and invest more in producing fuel efficient cars. Listen to the market and invest more in producing electric, hybrid cars.

 

Photo courtesy : news.bbc.co.uk

Harbhajan caught on wrong foot, again !

 

 

Harbhajan Singh has embarrassed me again. This time not on the field, but with his off field antics. After embarrassing the whole nation with the slapping episode, Bhajji seems to have learnt no lesson. I guess some people never learn. The reason for my angst? The reality show “Ek Khiladi, Ek Hasina”, where Harbhajan was seen dancing enacting Ravan with Mona Singh representing Sita. And the song? ‘Jane ja you are my love’ from the movie Partner. Ravan and Sita dancing together! WTH ?

 

What a disgusting concept. This shows religious obliviousness. And sorry, this can’t be tolerated on the name of creativity. I know Bhajji didn’t come up with the concept, but he should at least have thought once before doing it. The Sikh community is rightly upset with him and is demanding an apology.

 

Dear Bhajji, try to respect people and religion! In India people worship cricket. That doesn’t mean you are God and whatever you do is acceptable. Remember that you are only making a fool out of yourself by involving in such controversies. At least learn something now!

 

Photo courtesy : www.ndtv.com