There is nothing concrete that I wish to write about today or if I could phrase that better it would be that, there is no one issue I want to talk or write about. Hence the title! They are thoughts that have come and gone. Some have stayed. I keep telling myself that there is a need to keep a writing book whereby I can just note down random thoughts and then it would help when I get down to doing stuff like this.
Anyway for now let me just ramble on.....
Watching a programme on t.v. which has Anu Malik in it. And just have this thought that I cant quite figure out who I dislike more, Anu Malik or Himesh Reshamiya! I have no idea why the comparison. Maybe its just the 'dislike' factor that is intense and common!
Speaking of Himesh, his songs and lyrics just go from bad to worse but yet get more and more popular. Its almost like its inversely proportional! And its amazing that this man actually gets roles of a hero! All the people involved in the making of a film which has Himessss bhai in it are either too courageous or are too foolish! Just throws light on the 'never say never' philosophy! Most people even when asked as part of a research randomly , whether they would ever see Himesh as a hero would have laughed away or said 'no way!' and see what happened!
Moving on. the October heat just does not seem to be receding. Literally speaking its still October but hoping that the advent of november brings along an actual season change as well! Personally for me there is an indiactor, probably very different from the general ones, that marks the arrival of the winter! Its a strange phenomenon which possibly may not have struck anyone or most people but I have marked it from year to year. There is an 'aroma' in the air and it smells of some kind of a spice. The closest that I can come to describing it is that it smells somewhat like nutmeg or alternately a mix of cinnamom, clove and nutmeg! I dont know where it comes from but I am guessing that some or many trees emit it. Its a wonderful aroma that almost lifts your spirit at once! This aroma has already set in, indicating that the winter has indeed arrived. Now the season just needs to take off! The aroma will just get more and more intense as we get into the thick of winter. Its lovely!
The whole hype about the F1 races in Noida just left me with one thought, especially after I watched glimpses of it on some news channels on t.v. and that thought was " Why cant we give the contracts for our roads to the people who built the track!" If they can do such a great job there bring them on to do this mighty herculian task!
Saw Ra.One! Went with no expectations and came back feeling nothing! It was not bad but neither was it great! Given that it revolved around gaming etc, I have a feeling that 'boys to men' would probably like the film by virtue of pure content alone! When the song Chhamak Chhalo was being aired initially, I did not seem to like it but overtime it has really grown on me and I always catch myself grooving to it! Akon has sung it very well and the part where he says 'akkiyon se akkiyan mila le' instead of 'akhiyan', somehow sounds very sweet!
Diwali has come to an end. The good part being that the pollution levels will come down which were enhanced due to the crackers. The sad part being that the lights will also now dim down and the festivity will disappear only to reappear during Christmas and New Year! The lights , the diyas will simmer away and the festive air will suddenly vanish! During diwali there is so much to do and there is such a 'feel good' factor attached to the festival that everyone's spirits just soar! One to two days post Diwali, all of us feel the vaccuum and say "Oh its already over!" Such is life I guess, everything being transitory in nature.
This year somehow seems to have flown by! We are nearing the end of another year and it just feels that it has been quick! I often wonder if we had no days, dates, months and years and no such measures of time how would it be or how would it feel!
When I began writing there were way too many thoughts in my head and now suddenly it all feels blank, like atleast as of now I have nothing more to say! There is music that I am listening to while writing this post and there is a thought relating to that too! What would life be without music and thats not a very pleasant thought I must add! There is nothing more apt and better than music to perk you up, anytime, anywhere! It can change your mood in an instant and can linger on and on, in a good way! So much so that I sometimes feel that when you visit a doctor for any/every ailment, there should be a note emborsed on every page of their prescription pad, more like a P.S. which says " Listen to music!". Music heals in such a miraculous way!
I end this post while I am still listening to some of Jagjit Singh's ghazals. One goes something like this " koi yeh kaise bataye ke woh tanha kyun hai", and the other one goes " tum itna jo muskura rahe ho", both from Arth! If there is a word more appropriate than 'profound' I would use it for such awesome lyrics and an even more awesome rendition of the same! I still cannot get myself to believe that this great singer has left this world and is no longer with us.
Ok something in me wants to end on a happy note so I am wondering what that should be! Maybe a happier song! So it's got to be "tumko dekha toh yeh khayal aaya, zindagi dhoop tum ghana saaya!" :) Its not a totally happy happy song but still is one of the happier ones and somehow just feels very soothing and reassuring. And its from an absolutely lovely film called Saath Saath!
The last part of this current post feels like an extension to my earlier post on Jagjit Singh but since I like this man so much I almost always get carried away while saying anything about him and I always feel the need to let it flow!
Tomorrow begins another day and another week and something happy and hopeful to look forward to and that part comes from the die hard optimist in me :)
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
The Ghazal Maestro!
When I switched on the radio this morning I just felt nice because I heard some of my favourite numbers and then I soon realised they had a common thread, that of being sung by Jagjit Singh. Then there was this sadness that crept up with a sudden realisation that dawned on me! They usually play such clusters either when its someone's birthday or when someone dies and the probability of the latter was higher since he was in the I.C.U. And then I finally heard one of the Radio Jockeys announce that this great singer with such an enchanting voice had indeed passed away. It felt sad , like a void and a vaccum and the corresponding thought was that we may no longer have songs that will reflect our deepest sorrow, pain or hurt, in relationships and in life! That feeling of 'wow someone understands our intense emotions and actually puts them into words and renders them as beautiful songs that touch the deepest core of our heart and soul" suddenly felt alien enough like it was some distant dream! Sure the songs are usually penned by profound writers but to lend a voice to those words that render them so soulful, is no small task!
Jagjit Singh has this deeply profound and haunting ( in a good way!) kind of voice which can tug at your heart strings and linger on and on much after the song is over. The pain in the voice is that of a person who sings from his heart and has seen life with all its peaks and valleys. I do know of his personal tragedies where he lost his daughter and then his son early on in life ! The classic "chithi na koi sandes" was written after his son's death, in his memory apparently. So the real pain always reflected in his singing as well. It was like this man felt and lived every emotion and feeling that the words in his songs evoked. He knew what it felt like when he rendered compositions like " apni marzi se kahan apne safar ke hum hain", or like " tum itna jo muskura rahe ho , kya gham hai jisko chhupa rahe ho!" These are my all time favourites . You almost felt like someone just peeked into your life and got out stuff that was burried under the many layers in your soul , like way down there where no one could go ! And that feeling was as daunting as it was reassuring!
I remember as a child we had this music album on an LP which had songs by him and his wife. I had two favourites then and those were the first ones I had heard. Till then I did not really know who this man was. One was " saare pindich puare aaye" , it was a punjabi song , so sweet on your ears that u really did not care that u coud not understand most of the words. And the other one being " woh kagaz ki kashti , woh baarish ka paani'. I was a kid then, so the profanity of the words eluded me, but I enjoyed listening to it nonetheless because it had words like nani etc and kids could relate to what was being described in the song in a childlike manner, though not in the way it was meant to be or in the way you would relate to it as an adult! After that introduction to this genius called JS , there was no looking back! 'Honthon se chhoo lo tum' and 'tumko dekha to yeh khayal aaya' are so soothing apart from being lyrical masterpieces and couple of my most favourite lines in the latter are " hum jisse gunguna nahi sakte , waqt ne aisa geet kyun gaya..... aaj phir dil ne ek tamanna ki , aaj fir dil ko humne samjhaya"..... so so beautiful and his rendition of the same have just made these ghazals evergreen classics. These songs literally give me goose bumps, especially when I listen to them in some specific phases of my life, when they suddenly become so meaningful and true!
There is something about his songs that anyone or atleast most people I know love. Everyone has atleast one favourite JS song if not more! And given our own life stories, we identify with the ones that resonate most with what we have individually gone through. For me that one or rather two are which I have already mentioned above! 'Apni marzi se' and 'Tum itna jo muskura rahi ho'! There is a phrase in hindi which does complete justice to his voice and describes it perfectly. It says "unki awaz mein itna dard hai ke seedha dil ko chhoo jaati hai". Literally translated into english will make it lose its essence, so I shall let that pass!'Hoshwalon ko khabar kya' is also a lovely song but my own bias against Sonali Bendre just dilutes its whole effect for me! I wish it was sung in honour of some true diva!
Its sad that he cud not do his last concert with another legend, Ghulam Ali! That would be so memorable, yet it came as such a disappointment for the fans who made sure they booked well in advance so they dont miss this beautiful opportunity. And what a stroke of fate that he took ill the same day or just the night before! Life can be so strange and unpredictable at times. But the bright part is that even after he has gone he will continue to live forever in our hearts through his soulful melodies. There never was and there never will be another like him! May his soul rest in peace and may his songs live on for generations to come.
Jagjit Singh has this deeply profound and haunting ( in a good way!) kind of voice which can tug at your heart strings and linger on and on much after the song is over. The pain in the voice is that of a person who sings from his heart and has seen life with all its peaks and valleys. I do know of his personal tragedies where he lost his daughter and then his son early on in life ! The classic "chithi na koi sandes" was written after his son's death, in his memory apparently. So the real pain always reflected in his singing as well. It was like this man felt and lived every emotion and feeling that the words in his songs evoked. He knew what it felt like when he rendered compositions like " apni marzi se kahan apne safar ke hum hain", or like " tum itna jo muskura rahe ho , kya gham hai jisko chhupa rahe ho!" These are my all time favourites . You almost felt like someone just peeked into your life and got out stuff that was burried under the many layers in your soul , like way down there where no one could go ! And that feeling was as daunting as it was reassuring!
I remember as a child we had this music album on an LP which had songs by him and his wife. I had two favourites then and those were the first ones I had heard. Till then I did not really know who this man was. One was " saare pindich puare aaye" , it was a punjabi song , so sweet on your ears that u really did not care that u coud not understand most of the words. And the other one being " woh kagaz ki kashti , woh baarish ka paani'. I was a kid then, so the profanity of the words eluded me, but I enjoyed listening to it nonetheless because it had words like nani etc and kids could relate to what was being described in the song in a childlike manner, though not in the way it was meant to be or in the way you would relate to it as an adult! After that introduction to this genius called JS , there was no looking back! 'Honthon se chhoo lo tum' and 'tumko dekha to yeh khayal aaya' are so soothing apart from being lyrical masterpieces and couple of my most favourite lines in the latter are " hum jisse gunguna nahi sakte , waqt ne aisa geet kyun gaya..... aaj phir dil ne ek tamanna ki , aaj fir dil ko humne samjhaya"..... so so beautiful and his rendition of the same have just made these ghazals evergreen classics. These songs literally give me goose bumps, especially when I listen to them in some specific phases of my life, when they suddenly become so meaningful and true!
There is something about his songs that anyone or atleast most people I know love. Everyone has atleast one favourite JS song if not more! And given our own life stories, we identify with the ones that resonate most with what we have individually gone through. For me that one or rather two are which I have already mentioned above! 'Apni marzi se' and 'Tum itna jo muskura rahi ho'! There is a phrase in hindi which does complete justice to his voice and describes it perfectly. It says "unki awaz mein itna dard hai ke seedha dil ko chhoo jaati hai". Literally translated into english will make it lose its essence, so I shall let that pass!'Hoshwalon ko khabar kya' is also a lovely song but my own bias against Sonali Bendre just dilutes its whole effect for me! I wish it was sung in honour of some true diva!
Its sad that he cud not do his last concert with another legend, Ghulam Ali! That would be so memorable, yet it came as such a disappointment for the fans who made sure they booked well in advance so they dont miss this beautiful opportunity. And what a stroke of fate that he took ill the same day or just the night before! Life can be so strange and unpredictable at times. But the bright part is that even after he has gone he will continue to live forever in our hearts through his soulful melodies. There never was and there never will be another like him! May his soul rest in peace and may his songs live on for generations to come.
Monday, September 19, 2011
A Menace called Rickshaw drivers !
Today I want to focus and concentrate on something that has annoyed me since a long time and the state of affairs just seem to be getting worse. Its been a really long time since autorickshaws have been plying on Mumbai streets. Years ago I clearly remember never having a problem with getting a rickshaw for commute from one destination to another. The rickshaw drivers were courteous and cooperative. I cannot clearly recall when and how things changed and why! But currently it has deteriorated to such an extent that it can be tolerated no more purely because there can be no justification to the behaviour and demands of these drivers.
Firstly they callously refuse to take you from one place to another, which if someone could just remind them is precisely what they and their vehicles are meant for. Earlier, they had issues about going from east to west or vice versa. Now they even have issues taking you within the east or the west. For those who know Mumbai and the suburban areas well, would understand the following. There are times I have tried to hail a rick from SV road santacruz to say SV road khar or bandra, just one straight road, and they have refused. Sometimes I actually feel like asking them if they would rather fly somewhere because they seem to have issues going anywhere and everywhere. Then there are those that will tell you that they will take you to a certain point and not beyond or into a particular area. And the tone is more like they are doing you some favour, though its on their terms and conditions. At such times, firstly people should ideally tell them to buzz off or if desperate to get somewhere just say 'Ok I will pay you less than what the meter reads cos you are not taking me where I want to go'! Then another norm these days seems to be them not having/ wanting to return change back to you. An easy way for them is just to say that they dont have it. Breaking signals is their right and they do it all the time ,even in stark daylight , which not to mention adds to the ever increasing traffic and creates more of a commotion. Thanks to all this our city just seems to be getting more and more uncivilised by the day and chaos seems to be the order of the day. Another aspect that almost always baffles me is that you may be going from point X to point Y almost daily ie the same route and the same place and the meter reading almost is different everytime. Once in a while you can blame it on the traffic or some other factor but not every single time. Its like say you have to go to a place which you know will be a minimum fare of Rs 11, given the distance, but in my experience and that of many others I knwo, it ranges from 11 to 15 or even more sometimes. If that is not a case in point of meter tampering then what is !!!
Then are the days of some problems that the city faces in the form of heavy rains or some other such aspects and again these very asses have the gall to ask for more fare and not go by the meter. Some heart and some audacity! I clearly remember that even on days of the train blasts some rickshaw drivers asked for more fare to transport people. These are days when they should have ideally gone out of their way to cooperate with the irate and vulnerable public and help tehm out in whichever way they could. But instead they added to their woes and stress by acting like totally irresponsible heartless human beings!
According to me, by far, the worst that they have done and continue to do is when they turn down old, invalid people. That is downright inhuman and unacceptable. I have heard of people complaining that they literally plead with them to take them where they need to go especially if its an emergency situation and someone needs to get to a doctor or a hospital, and they still refuse to cooperate. Its so disheartening to see an old person standing on the road and trying hard to hail a rick with no luck and most ricks just saying NO and going off like they have something better to do than their very own job. At such times I often wish we were empowered with certain rights as citizens to take strong action against such offenders or complain to an authority, which for once will handle this sort of stuff efficiently.
Most times we as women might just feel why take panga with such people as you never know what kind of an idiot you are dealing with and what if you get into trouble etc. We read incidents in the newspapers where these guys get violent. In the recent past an old man lost his life because he got into an arguement/ fight with one such character and then a gang of other drivers joined him to harass and beat up the old man who was eventually hurt on his head and lost his live eventually! These incidences do give you perspective and you wonder if its worth getting into any kind of interaction or dialogue with these people. To add to that we also have a conditioning that goes,' ke aise logon ke mooh nahi lagte' . The whole point is lagna bhi kaun chahta hai but how much nonsense can one tolerate! How long are we going to be held ransom to their whims and fancies. Today they have the guts to go on strike because they are being made answerable for their own follies. What kind of warped logic is that! In normal situations anyone not doing their job 'well' is also pulled up. Here, let alone "well", they are refusing to even do the very job they chose to do and they are allowed to get away with it, just because their union is handled by someone with the right connections and enough clout.
I think as citizens it might be a good start to give them a befitting reply by boycotting rickshaws for a day or like a weekend as the latter will not inconvenience people given that there is no pressure of reaching their work place etc! Maybe then, whether or not it makes a difference to them monetarily, atleast as citizens we are sending out a loud and clear message that their blackmail and bull shit will not be tolerated. If you are here to do a job just shut up and do it. As it is we deal with their fuss almost on a daily basis apart from dealing with ever increasing and tampered with fares. And the least we deserve is that our commute should be peaceful and problem free in the otherwise chaotic city that we live in!
Firstly they callously refuse to take you from one place to another, which if someone could just remind them is precisely what they and their vehicles are meant for. Earlier, they had issues about going from east to west or vice versa. Now they even have issues taking you within the east or the west. For those who know Mumbai and the suburban areas well, would understand the following. There are times I have tried to hail a rick from SV road santacruz to say SV road khar or bandra, just one straight road, and they have refused. Sometimes I actually feel like asking them if they would rather fly somewhere because they seem to have issues going anywhere and everywhere. Then there are those that will tell you that they will take you to a certain point and not beyond or into a particular area. And the tone is more like they are doing you some favour, though its on their terms and conditions. At such times, firstly people should ideally tell them to buzz off or if desperate to get somewhere just say 'Ok I will pay you less than what the meter reads cos you are not taking me where I want to go'! Then another norm these days seems to be them not having/ wanting to return change back to you. An easy way for them is just to say that they dont have it. Breaking signals is their right and they do it all the time ,even in stark daylight , which not to mention adds to the ever increasing traffic and creates more of a commotion. Thanks to all this our city just seems to be getting more and more uncivilised by the day and chaos seems to be the order of the day. Another aspect that almost always baffles me is that you may be going from point X to point Y almost daily ie the same route and the same place and the meter reading almost is different everytime. Once in a while you can blame it on the traffic or some other factor but not every single time. Its like say you have to go to a place which you know will be a minimum fare of Rs 11, given the distance, but in my experience and that of many others I knwo, it ranges from 11 to 15 or even more sometimes. If that is not a case in point of meter tampering then what is !!!
Then are the days of some problems that the city faces in the form of heavy rains or some other such aspects and again these very asses have the gall to ask for more fare and not go by the meter. Some heart and some audacity! I clearly remember that even on days of the train blasts some rickshaw drivers asked for more fare to transport people. These are days when they should have ideally gone out of their way to cooperate with the irate and vulnerable public and help tehm out in whichever way they could. But instead they added to their woes and stress by acting like totally irresponsible heartless human beings!
According to me, by far, the worst that they have done and continue to do is when they turn down old, invalid people. That is downright inhuman and unacceptable. I have heard of people complaining that they literally plead with them to take them where they need to go especially if its an emergency situation and someone needs to get to a doctor or a hospital, and they still refuse to cooperate. Its so disheartening to see an old person standing on the road and trying hard to hail a rick with no luck and most ricks just saying NO and going off like they have something better to do than their very own job. At such times I often wish we were empowered with certain rights as citizens to take strong action against such offenders or complain to an authority, which for once will handle this sort of stuff efficiently.
Most times we as women might just feel why take panga with such people as you never know what kind of an idiot you are dealing with and what if you get into trouble etc. We read incidents in the newspapers where these guys get violent. In the recent past an old man lost his life because he got into an arguement/ fight with one such character and then a gang of other drivers joined him to harass and beat up the old man who was eventually hurt on his head and lost his live eventually! These incidences do give you perspective and you wonder if its worth getting into any kind of interaction or dialogue with these people. To add to that we also have a conditioning that goes,' ke aise logon ke mooh nahi lagte' . The whole point is lagna bhi kaun chahta hai but how much nonsense can one tolerate! How long are we going to be held ransom to their whims and fancies. Today they have the guts to go on strike because they are being made answerable for their own follies. What kind of warped logic is that! In normal situations anyone not doing their job 'well' is also pulled up. Here, let alone "well", they are refusing to even do the very job they chose to do and they are allowed to get away with it, just because their union is handled by someone with the right connections and enough clout.
I think as citizens it might be a good start to give them a befitting reply by boycotting rickshaws for a day or like a weekend as the latter will not inconvenience people given that there is no pressure of reaching their work place etc! Maybe then, whether or not it makes a difference to them monetarily, atleast as citizens we are sending out a loud and clear message that their blackmail and bull shit will not be tolerated. If you are here to do a job just shut up and do it. As it is we deal with their fuss almost on a daily basis apart from dealing with ever increasing and tampered with fares. And the least we deserve is that our commute should be peaceful and problem free in the otherwise chaotic city that we live in!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Are we really so HELPLESS!!!!????
My next post was supposed to be a happy one .... I wanted to write about my serene monsoon getaway and another overdue one..which I promised my friend Asha ... that on Gulzar ... For now these two will have to wait ......... My frame of mind is different ....It is a mix of emotions ...... that of anger, fear, hurt, hatred, vulnerability, helplessness and the list goes on......
Another bomb blast and another list of innocent victims ....The common man is angry, and all that he gets to hear is a series of monotonous and shallow assurances ...... The same words , the cliched speech ...... it almost makes one nauseous.... and one cannot help but wonder .. " are we really that helpless"........ as usual there is a public outrage ... there are many questions and no answers ..... is the common man's life so invaluable and worthless ?!How long are we going to continue to be targets whilst the government continues to be as inefficient as ever and blurt out absurdities in the name of explanations that are as foolish as they are unbelievable........
How many terrorist attacks does it take to pull up our socks and say 'enuff is enuff".....On the one hand we have India which short of laying out a red carpet for these terrorists has done everything to make such attacks conducive ..... and on the other hand we have 'The Big daddy" who goes right into countries and flushes out the terrorists, with or without proof..... They just avenge and owe no explanations to anyone ....... and is that not the way it should be.. Its only logical apart from being the only way to send out a clear and loud message to anyone and everyone who harbours such malintentions........If not anything else, atleast our country can take a lesson or two from the way America goes about these matters ..... The recent operation which smoked out Osama is certainly a case in point........
Another factor that is absolutely annoying and provoking is the fact that such a big deal is made out of our spirit and resilience ...... Honestly is there any other option or choice?! Life has to go on and no one can afford to sit home 24/7 given that this fear lurks around all the time.....
We have a Qasab whose fate still hangs when ideally and as per law he is th eone who should....... A news channel reported that the government has already spent close to 32 crores on him...... even if that is an exaggerated figure , any approximate estimate would still be a huge one and a total waste of our resources all the same ....... Justice delayed is indeed justice denied.... And what more proof than having soild evidence in the form of footage of CCTV cameras ........ You have this man who went about killing people ruthlessly and it was for the world to see...... and then we have a mercy petition for the same ..... How absurd and ridiculous is that?! And then we have the issue of human rights.... what about the human rights of those who lost their precious lives in these attacks .... Didnt they have the right to live .. Why dont the human right activists fight for that ............
The politicians have high level security and they havent even earned it ...... What kind of a warped constitution decides these things ...... These corrupt selfish morons need to be protected but the average citizen of this country is always left to fend for himself .....how should he go about his own security and save himself from these coward dastartdly acts committed by lunatics in the name of religion .........Why cant we have a system in place where the 'aam aadmi' receives the security and protection that he rightfully deserves, even if that means diverting the resources and stripping the netas of their protective shield and cover.......
Maybe we need a high profile figure to be targetted to take terrorism as a serious threat to the very fabric of this nation and all that it stands for......Im not sadistic but at the same time I feel its high time that something happens which forces the government to pay enough attention to these matters and do the needful, which has been long overdue.......Or maybe we need another "Anna Hazare" type of movement to bring about a change or atleast set things in motion.......
Its sad that we have become so immune that any news of a terrorist attack just makes us numb after sometime.. We go through all the same emotions and at the end just feel helpless! And that is the bigger question ... Are we really and actually that helpless or are we just made to feel that way by the same silly reassurances that serve to be just lip service rather than a genuine ray of hope ......... Its become such a joke now ..... Some loonies come in, plant bombs , kill innocent people and walk away feeling proud and satisfied while we rave and rant which anyway falls on deaf ears ......And at the end of it all we have our home minister saying some rubbish like this time around we had better systems in place and the police did a better job..... Of what ???!!!! And a robot of a prime minister assuring the country that we will not succumb to these acts of terror ..... Its like everytime something like this happens, it looks like some button has been switched on and he delivers his ridiculous sppeech and then the button is automatically turned off!! I have yet to hear a more monotone speech than the one this man delivers each time.......We succumb time and again and we have this wonderful man, supposedly at the helm of affairs making such false, empty promises on behalf of a nation that is tired and angry, and certainly does not voice the same sentiment as his, but all the same does not know what to do ......... Like I read somewhere or someone said, we do not know whats worse .. these terrorists that come from outside and attack us or the internal terrorists in the form of the politicians who are corroding the roots and foundation of our wonderful country.........
I end this feeling the anguish, the insecurity and the despair as I do not know what lies ahead, for us............ I do not know when the common man will feel safe enough leaving his home for work and be assured that he will return home safely at the end of a laborious and hard day .........I do not know when there will no more be a fear in the eyes of the near and dear ones of a bread winner when they bid him goodbye at the start of a day ..... I do not know when we will feel safe enough to visit places like malls, markets,places of worship and theatres without the dread of being blown up into pieces...........
And the fact that I do not know .......makes me feel helpless enough!!!!
Another bomb blast and another list of innocent victims ....The common man is angry, and all that he gets to hear is a series of monotonous and shallow assurances ...... The same words , the cliched speech ...... it almost makes one nauseous.... and one cannot help but wonder .. " are we really that helpless"........ as usual there is a public outrage ... there are many questions and no answers ..... is the common man's life so invaluable and worthless ?!How long are we going to continue to be targets whilst the government continues to be as inefficient as ever and blurt out absurdities in the name of explanations that are as foolish as they are unbelievable........
How many terrorist attacks does it take to pull up our socks and say 'enuff is enuff".....On the one hand we have India which short of laying out a red carpet for these terrorists has done everything to make such attacks conducive ..... and on the other hand we have 'The Big daddy" who goes right into countries and flushes out the terrorists, with or without proof..... They just avenge and owe no explanations to anyone ....... and is that not the way it should be.. Its only logical apart from being the only way to send out a clear and loud message to anyone and everyone who harbours such malintentions........If not anything else, atleast our country can take a lesson or two from the way America goes about these matters ..... The recent operation which smoked out Osama is certainly a case in point........
Another factor that is absolutely annoying and provoking is the fact that such a big deal is made out of our spirit and resilience ...... Honestly is there any other option or choice?! Life has to go on and no one can afford to sit home 24/7 given that this fear lurks around all the time.....
We have a Qasab whose fate still hangs when ideally and as per law he is th eone who should....... A news channel reported that the government has already spent close to 32 crores on him...... even if that is an exaggerated figure , any approximate estimate would still be a huge one and a total waste of our resources all the same ....... Justice delayed is indeed justice denied.... And what more proof than having soild evidence in the form of footage of CCTV cameras ........ You have this man who went about killing people ruthlessly and it was for the world to see...... and then we have a mercy petition for the same ..... How absurd and ridiculous is that?! And then we have the issue of human rights.... what about the human rights of those who lost their precious lives in these attacks .... Didnt they have the right to live .. Why dont the human right activists fight for that ............
The politicians have high level security and they havent even earned it ...... What kind of a warped constitution decides these things ...... These corrupt selfish morons need to be protected but the average citizen of this country is always left to fend for himself .....how should he go about his own security and save himself from these coward dastartdly acts committed by lunatics in the name of religion .........Why cant we have a system in place where the 'aam aadmi' receives the security and protection that he rightfully deserves, even if that means diverting the resources and stripping the netas of their protective shield and cover.......
Maybe we need a high profile figure to be targetted to take terrorism as a serious threat to the very fabric of this nation and all that it stands for......Im not sadistic but at the same time I feel its high time that something happens which forces the government to pay enough attention to these matters and do the needful, which has been long overdue.......Or maybe we need another "Anna Hazare" type of movement to bring about a change or atleast set things in motion.......
Its sad that we have become so immune that any news of a terrorist attack just makes us numb after sometime.. We go through all the same emotions and at the end just feel helpless! And that is the bigger question ... Are we really and actually that helpless or are we just made to feel that way by the same silly reassurances that serve to be just lip service rather than a genuine ray of hope ......... Its become such a joke now ..... Some loonies come in, plant bombs , kill innocent people and walk away feeling proud and satisfied while we rave and rant which anyway falls on deaf ears ......And at the end of it all we have our home minister saying some rubbish like this time around we had better systems in place and the police did a better job..... Of what ???!!!! And a robot of a prime minister assuring the country that we will not succumb to these acts of terror ..... Its like everytime something like this happens, it looks like some button has been switched on and he delivers his ridiculous sppeech and then the button is automatically turned off!! I have yet to hear a more monotone speech than the one this man delivers each time.......We succumb time and again and we have this wonderful man, supposedly at the helm of affairs making such false, empty promises on behalf of a nation that is tired and angry, and certainly does not voice the same sentiment as his, but all the same does not know what to do ......... Like I read somewhere or someone said, we do not know whats worse .. these terrorists that come from outside and attack us or the internal terrorists in the form of the politicians who are corroding the roots and foundation of our wonderful country.........
I end this feeling the anguish, the insecurity and the despair as I do not know what lies ahead, for us............ I do not know when the common man will feel safe enough leaving his home for work and be assured that he will return home safely at the end of a laborious and hard day .........I do not know when there will no more be a fear in the eyes of the near and dear ones of a bread winner when they bid him goodbye at the start of a day ..... I do not know when we will feel safe enough to visit places like malls, markets,places of worship and theatres without the dread of being blown up into pieces...........
And the fact that I do not know .......makes me feel helpless enough!!!!
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Insomnia .......
Insomnia strikes again...... sounds almost like a disease or an epidemic which has suddenly raised its ugly head yet again....... And while I write this, I realise that Im not the only nocturnal creature awake at this unearthly hour .... I hear voices of the lovely people staying downstairs ..... At first I ask .. are these voices in my head... do I think im hearing things which Im actually not ... and it freaks me out so I decide that it must be the people living under us ..... Its strange how u get the most weird, unwanted thoughts at times like these ....... and then u realise that its best not to entertain them ........ U wud rather get thoughts that choose to entertain u at such times......
So back to the sleeplessness bit....... I wasted 3 hours just "trying" to sleep and then when the radio also refused to cooperate given that the cell went dead, was when I finally pushed myself out of bed and decided to make some good use of this wonderful phenomenon called Insomnia ....... Till date I have rarely used this to my advantage ... In other words I have almost never used this time period constructively ..... Its so ingrained that " U shud try to sleep nahi toh jitni neend aa rahi hai ya aanewali hai, woh bhi chali jayegi"...... and then you wonder who the hell came up with this hogwash... Kahin mil jaaye toh uski neend bhi uda dein....... The conditioning is so strong that it takes long and arduous effort to break away from ......
The next thought is trying to identify and pin down the culprit who has been responsible for this state ... and after much thought the only thing that comes to mind is that I had tea rather late this evening .... And though this is a pattern and it always follows the same cause and effect path ... I still feel ...What the hell ya .. so what if I had tea late ...... why should that be a problem but like many other questions , this one too does not have an answer.. If it does , it does and u just have to take it in ur stride and do what u have to do which ideally is not have tea afte a certain time..... Im still not convinced but it has happened way too often to not be convinced ........ So if I dont learn I have to face the consequences or not being a good learner ........
This time around another "ullu" friend of mine was up and awake as she is now on way to fetch her darling hubby from the airport ... So till now we exchanged a few smses and I finally took her advice and started to write my blog.......
And the first thought was .. what better subject to write on than this ..... And just when I was about to begin, I heard some growling sounds from my tummy so I decided to start by nourishing and feeding it.....I wanted the creative juices to flow better, so as to facilitate the thought flow needed for writing rather than being distracted with the hunger pangs...... Since I wanted them to flow in the direction of my brain and not my tummy I gave in and ate my favourite Bourbon biscuits..... after which I felt satiated and began to write .......
As I logged in, the yahoo home page came on and suddenly there was this pop up of "shaadi.com" which said ... 'meet ur life partner on shaadi.com" ... I suddenly felt nauseous and the whole joy of eating bourbon just vanished ......The kind of people I have come across and actually met when I accessed that site, the less said the better .. I wud have rather seen an ad flashing which stated.. " meet a partner and then suffer life imprisonment together"........ Before my nausea could grow more I quickly got out of there and got down to doing what I had set out to.......
Its been an incessant downpour all night and somehow , for once I dont know why but Im not enjoying it.......I dont know if thats part of this whole syndrome...... I just chatted with another friend now in America ... on such occasions the time difference is such a boon and a blessing ..... U feel less isolated and lonely......... Now she is gone so Im back to my writing .......
On most nights like these I just listen to music on my cell and try to sleep....... Sometimes God is kind also .. atleast he makes sure the songs being aired are soulful and enjoyable and sometimes he is so kind that all the songs are your favourites ... but the epitiome of his kindness is when most of the favourites are also associated with or remind u of a feeling , emotion or a memory long forgotten or dug away deep inside somewhere ......... The painful chord is struck and then suddenly it gets raked up all over again.... So along with insomnia, as a bonus, u also get to enjoy these perks ...... The only phrase that comes to mind to throw more light on this kind of a situation is " when rape is inevitable u may as well lay back and enjoy it"............
The good thing is that now my mind is distracted enough and Im flowing with the writing process...... though in bits and pieces I am reminded of my long day tomorrow and how it will go since I have a track record of being cranky, whiney and irritable when Iv not had my fair share of sleep..... And the cherry on the cake is when on such days I have my counselling sessions ...... At such times I almost feel like telling my client.." ok we are doing a role reversal today :)" .... The only trick on such days is to be as busy as possible so u have no time to think and the day just passes by and before u know it , night arrives and then u can look forward to some good quality sleep ........Sleeping in the day is not a good idea as that screws up my body clock even more .....
By now Im actually listening to many voices and people laughing loudly .... And Im like .. wow people do this by choice as well.. as in the 'staying up' bit .. but the people downstairs are pure night birds .. they are up almost all night and must be catching upon some beauty sleep in the day ..... On most nights my house floor vibrates because they blast on music and have parties way too often...... In jest I have invited the lady owner of that house to come over and experinece the wonderful vibrations herself the next time around, and all she does is smile and the suddenly laughs out loud ..... and dashes any hope I have that this pattern might end .....I know she has no intention to change anything..... And then from somewhere another thought pops up which says ...'Atleast someone is enjoying life to the hilt irrespective of what others think or feel'...... And sometimes depending on my mood I either think ...'what the hell... we shud complain .. how can u not think that you are disturbing others' or then..' what the hell.. they are only having a good time which by no yardstick is a crime'....... So all in all I just let it go..........
Its 4.30 am and all I have are some teeny weeny bits of sleep in my eyes and I know if I even try to go to bed in this state, all optimistic and hopeful, that my sleep will befriend me and we can sleep together happily ever after ..... this myth will be busted as soon as I hit the bed and all Il do thereafter is toss and turn for the next couple of hours .......A total waste all over again.... So not worth it .......
The feeling that your halfway there but have still not been able to cross over to the other side and cover the entire distance to your sleep, is not a good feeling at all...... It leaves you even more restless than when you started out.......I can still hear the pitter patter of raindrops outside my window .... this time softer than earlier...... almost sounding like they are also tired and want some respite ........
5am and am wondering ... should I really call it a day or actually a night and try to go to bed ... Am undecided and unsure which doesnt leave me feeling too great.... And suddenly something happens which transforms my confused state to one of certainty as to what Im going to do next.....My mother walks through the door and throws a glance which has " have you lost ur marbles' written all over it and Im quite sure that all I want to do now is to go straight back to my room and jump into my bed whether or not I get sleep otherwise tomorrow I might get a nice sermon of a concerned mother or rather concerned parents...... Anyway, since I have nothing more coming to me in the form of words, I kinda decide to end this piece and sign out ......... Till ofcourse my uninvited guest decides to knock on my door yet again.......
So back to the sleeplessness bit....... I wasted 3 hours just "trying" to sleep and then when the radio also refused to cooperate given that the cell went dead, was when I finally pushed myself out of bed and decided to make some good use of this wonderful phenomenon called Insomnia ....... Till date I have rarely used this to my advantage ... In other words I have almost never used this time period constructively ..... Its so ingrained that " U shud try to sleep nahi toh jitni neend aa rahi hai ya aanewali hai, woh bhi chali jayegi"...... and then you wonder who the hell came up with this hogwash... Kahin mil jaaye toh uski neend bhi uda dein....... The conditioning is so strong that it takes long and arduous effort to break away from ......
The next thought is trying to identify and pin down the culprit who has been responsible for this state ... and after much thought the only thing that comes to mind is that I had tea rather late this evening .... And though this is a pattern and it always follows the same cause and effect path ... I still feel ...What the hell ya .. so what if I had tea late ...... why should that be a problem but like many other questions , this one too does not have an answer.. If it does , it does and u just have to take it in ur stride and do what u have to do which ideally is not have tea afte a certain time..... Im still not convinced but it has happened way too often to not be convinced ........ So if I dont learn I have to face the consequences or not being a good learner ........
This time around another "ullu" friend of mine was up and awake as she is now on way to fetch her darling hubby from the airport ... So till now we exchanged a few smses and I finally took her advice and started to write my blog.......
And the first thought was .. what better subject to write on than this ..... And just when I was about to begin, I heard some growling sounds from my tummy so I decided to start by nourishing and feeding it.....I wanted the creative juices to flow better, so as to facilitate the thought flow needed for writing rather than being distracted with the hunger pangs...... Since I wanted them to flow in the direction of my brain and not my tummy I gave in and ate my favourite Bourbon biscuits..... after which I felt satiated and began to write .......
As I logged in, the yahoo home page came on and suddenly there was this pop up of "shaadi.com" which said ... 'meet ur life partner on shaadi.com" ... I suddenly felt nauseous and the whole joy of eating bourbon just vanished ......The kind of people I have come across and actually met when I accessed that site, the less said the better .. I wud have rather seen an ad flashing which stated.. " meet a partner and then suffer life imprisonment together"........ Before my nausea could grow more I quickly got out of there and got down to doing what I had set out to.......
Its been an incessant downpour all night and somehow , for once I dont know why but Im not enjoying it.......I dont know if thats part of this whole syndrome...... I just chatted with another friend now in America ... on such occasions the time difference is such a boon and a blessing ..... U feel less isolated and lonely......... Now she is gone so Im back to my writing .......
On most nights like these I just listen to music on my cell and try to sleep....... Sometimes God is kind also .. atleast he makes sure the songs being aired are soulful and enjoyable and sometimes he is so kind that all the songs are your favourites ... but the epitiome of his kindness is when most of the favourites are also associated with or remind u of a feeling , emotion or a memory long forgotten or dug away deep inside somewhere ......... The painful chord is struck and then suddenly it gets raked up all over again.... So along with insomnia, as a bonus, u also get to enjoy these perks ...... The only phrase that comes to mind to throw more light on this kind of a situation is " when rape is inevitable u may as well lay back and enjoy it"............
The good thing is that now my mind is distracted enough and Im flowing with the writing process...... though in bits and pieces I am reminded of my long day tomorrow and how it will go since I have a track record of being cranky, whiney and irritable when Iv not had my fair share of sleep..... And the cherry on the cake is when on such days I have my counselling sessions ...... At such times I almost feel like telling my client.." ok we are doing a role reversal today :)" .... The only trick on such days is to be as busy as possible so u have no time to think and the day just passes by and before u know it , night arrives and then u can look forward to some good quality sleep ........Sleeping in the day is not a good idea as that screws up my body clock even more .....
By now Im actually listening to many voices and people laughing loudly .... And Im like .. wow people do this by choice as well.. as in the 'staying up' bit .. but the people downstairs are pure night birds .. they are up almost all night and must be catching upon some beauty sleep in the day ..... On most nights my house floor vibrates because they blast on music and have parties way too often...... In jest I have invited the lady owner of that house to come over and experinece the wonderful vibrations herself the next time around, and all she does is smile and the suddenly laughs out loud ..... and dashes any hope I have that this pattern might end .....I know she has no intention to change anything..... And then from somewhere another thought pops up which says ...'Atleast someone is enjoying life to the hilt irrespective of what others think or feel'...... And sometimes depending on my mood I either think ...'what the hell... we shud complain .. how can u not think that you are disturbing others' or then..' what the hell.. they are only having a good time which by no yardstick is a crime'....... So all in all I just let it go..........
Its 4.30 am and all I have are some teeny weeny bits of sleep in my eyes and I know if I even try to go to bed in this state, all optimistic and hopeful, that my sleep will befriend me and we can sleep together happily ever after ..... this myth will be busted as soon as I hit the bed and all Il do thereafter is toss and turn for the next couple of hours .......A total waste all over again.... So not worth it .......
The feeling that your halfway there but have still not been able to cross over to the other side and cover the entire distance to your sleep, is not a good feeling at all...... It leaves you even more restless than when you started out.......I can still hear the pitter patter of raindrops outside my window .... this time softer than earlier...... almost sounding like they are also tired and want some respite ........
5am and am wondering ... should I really call it a day or actually a night and try to go to bed ... Am undecided and unsure which doesnt leave me feeling too great.... And suddenly something happens which transforms my confused state to one of certainty as to what Im going to do next.....My mother walks through the door and throws a glance which has " have you lost ur marbles' written all over it and Im quite sure that all I want to do now is to go straight back to my room and jump into my bed whether or not I get sleep otherwise tomorrow I might get a nice sermon of a concerned mother or rather concerned parents...... Anyway, since I have nothing more coming to me in the form of words, I kinda decide to end this piece and sign out ......... Till ofcourse my uninvited guest decides to knock on my door yet again.......
Friday, August 19, 2011
Better late than never ..........
I could not think of a very patriotic title for this post so this is kind of a working title ...... It will remain so if I cannot think of a better one by the time I finish writing this ..........
This post is for all thats happening in our country at present ...... We all wanted this ... we wanted to see a change or atleast the begining of it but none of us knew what to do or where to start ...... We just felt so small and insignificant in being instrumental in bringing about any change and kept justifying it by saying 'what can a few handful of people with good /right inetentions do'....At the same time we were also so pessimistic that we almost always said 'nothing will change ... this country and the systems here suck'..
And ONE MAN , who is 74 years old has taken the initiative and proved us all wrong and HOW! .... One tiny man, with high stature has done the 'so called impossible'..........Given the skepticism which is so ingrained and which is so much part of our conditioning due to all that we see around us, day in and day out , still makes me feel, "I hope I/WE am/are not speaking too soon"........
I had heard of things that happened as part of our freedom struggle and seen them in movies ..... But what it really feels like, is what we are all getting to see now ..... Maybe its too premature to talk like that or feel elated, but it certainly gives more than a ray of hope to all of us who have just cribbed and ventilated about the sorry state of affairs in this nation .........
But even if this is mometary ( and I hope its not) ,I want to soak in all its glory .....Its so heartening for a change, to see the police providing a security cover to Anna Hazare and his supporters , rather than to a bunch of moronic buffoons (politicians) who have most certainly not earned it nor are worth it .......
The humungous crowds, all chanting in one voice that we want to do away with corruption and providing whole hearted support in whatever capacity they can to this great man's greater vision .......This is so amazing to say the least .......
And again from a common person's perspective I think the media is doing a good job and getting across that voice to people all over the world ... It feels reassuring to hear callers from different parts of the world , like New Zealand, America etc calling in to support this noble cause and say that if this bill is passed and if it looks like something will really be done against corruption , they would want to come back to their own country as these are the very issues that made them think of relocating in the first place .........Or to see Indian people lead marches in other parts of the world where all Indians have come out in huge numbers ...... It just shows how U can take an Indian away from India but u cannot take India away from an Indian..... Indian always at heart and proud to be so!!!!!!!!
For once the government seems all quiet after doing ridiculous things like calling Anna Hazare corrupt and trying to malign him or saying that this facade will die down and no one will be able to do anything and the fuuniest or the most insane thing I have heard a minister saying is US is behind all this ......Till now they only tried our patience , now they are even trying our intelligence ...... The fact that this movement is happening right under their nose is a tight slap on face of the government and they should ideally bow their heads down in shame because the writing on the wall is very clear for once and it shouts out aloud and says, " We put our faith and trust in you, voted for you and see how terribly you failed us "........Any self respecting Party who is in power would give up their power and walk out if such a 'no trust' motion is being passed ... but we unfortunately are talking about power hungry, corrupt, hardened criminals so to speak who want to stick to their chairs and are so thick skinned that nothing affects them.......
Even at a time like this ... seeing our parliament in session is so amusing ..... the government in power and the opposition are busy slinging mud at each other and trying to pull each other down...... They all look like a bunch of uneducated and uncivilised people and they are actually the ones in power.. How very sad and disillusioning is that.........And what upsets me more is that we have given them that power ....... Is there no way to undo this damage ? Is there no way that someone like Anna and the likes of him form a political party and are voted into power however idealistic it may sound... Hopefully we can start afresh and on a clean slate .......
We have always had the option of only choosing between the frying pan/ fire or between the devil/deep sea....... Why dont we ever have a better option ........ When will we see a day where India is not seen as a corrupt country and the term politician will no longer be synonomous with hooligan, buffoon, bloodsucker, goonda, uneducated, uncivilised, corrupt, criminal, inadept and the list can be endless........
Today this movement signifies a "no confidence' vote BY the people .. Is that not enough to implement a change ????? What every Indian sees on any news channel on his t.v. set is PEOPLE POWER and I wish this does not die down.. I hope this gains more and more momentum by the day.......... And we all can continue to do our bits ..... visavis not buying tickets in black even if we are dying to see a particular film with our favourite movie stars in it, or not bribing a cop who was willing to cut out a receipt for a certain amount fr eg, Rs 200 but we paid him a 50 or a 100 to not do that just because we did not have the time to get into 'procedural' hassles, or we do not encourage donations which amount to ridiculous figures, just for getting our children into BIG schools which are more commercial organizations and have very little to do with academics ........ We are all guilty of what we are trying to do away with , though in smaller proportions, but we have contributed to the corruption in this country.........
If we want the CHANGE we have to be the part of it and instrumental in bringing it about and we have to be sure of our own principles visavis what we will /will not do just to make life either a little bit more easy for us or get away in the name of the typical 'sab chalta hai' attitude or console/ justify ourselves by sayin "mere ek ke na karne se kya fark padega" .... It may seem insignificant today but in the longer run it will certainly go a very long way when the singular translates into the plural!!! And we are all already witnessing a glimpse of what can happen if that comes about ........So never say never..... We have to change our own attitudes first ... We have to become law abiding , conscientious, civilised citizens of our own country and then we will ceratinly see the country of our dreams being turned into what we have always visualised it to be.......
Even as I end this piece ... the news channel is on and I see this frail looking ANNA seated in front of a huge picture of the MAHATMA....... One who was responsible for a revolutionary past and the other, hopefully a revolution in the near future ....... I still cannot believe the heart warming support in the form of thousands if not more, of Indians gathered on the ground to stand up as ONE against what we have already had enough of!!!!
I love my India !!!!!!!!!!!!
This post is for all thats happening in our country at present ...... We all wanted this ... we wanted to see a change or atleast the begining of it but none of us knew what to do or where to start ...... We just felt so small and insignificant in being instrumental in bringing about any change and kept justifying it by saying 'what can a few handful of people with good /right inetentions do'....At the same time we were also so pessimistic that we almost always said 'nothing will change ... this country and the systems here suck'..
And ONE MAN , who is 74 years old has taken the initiative and proved us all wrong and HOW! .... One tiny man, with high stature has done the 'so called impossible'..........Given the skepticism which is so ingrained and which is so much part of our conditioning due to all that we see around us, day in and day out , still makes me feel, "I hope I/WE am/are not speaking too soon"........
I had heard of things that happened as part of our freedom struggle and seen them in movies ..... But what it really feels like, is what we are all getting to see now ..... Maybe its too premature to talk like that or feel elated, but it certainly gives more than a ray of hope to all of us who have just cribbed and ventilated about the sorry state of affairs in this nation .........
But even if this is mometary ( and I hope its not) ,I want to soak in all its glory .....Its so heartening for a change, to see the police providing a security cover to Anna Hazare and his supporters , rather than to a bunch of moronic buffoons (politicians) who have most certainly not earned it nor are worth it .......
The humungous crowds, all chanting in one voice that we want to do away with corruption and providing whole hearted support in whatever capacity they can to this great man's greater vision .......This is so amazing to say the least .......
And again from a common person's perspective I think the media is doing a good job and getting across that voice to people all over the world ... It feels reassuring to hear callers from different parts of the world , like New Zealand, America etc calling in to support this noble cause and say that if this bill is passed and if it looks like something will really be done against corruption , they would want to come back to their own country as these are the very issues that made them think of relocating in the first place .........Or to see Indian people lead marches in other parts of the world where all Indians have come out in huge numbers ...... It just shows how U can take an Indian away from India but u cannot take India away from an Indian..... Indian always at heart and proud to be so!!!!!!!!
For once the government seems all quiet after doing ridiculous things like calling Anna Hazare corrupt and trying to malign him or saying that this facade will die down and no one will be able to do anything and the fuuniest or the most insane thing I have heard a minister saying is US is behind all this ......Till now they only tried our patience , now they are even trying our intelligence ...... The fact that this movement is happening right under their nose is a tight slap on face of the government and they should ideally bow their heads down in shame because the writing on the wall is very clear for once and it shouts out aloud and says, " We put our faith and trust in you, voted for you and see how terribly you failed us "........Any self respecting Party who is in power would give up their power and walk out if such a 'no trust' motion is being passed ... but we unfortunately are talking about power hungry, corrupt, hardened criminals so to speak who want to stick to their chairs and are so thick skinned that nothing affects them.......
Even at a time like this ... seeing our parliament in session is so amusing ..... the government in power and the opposition are busy slinging mud at each other and trying to pull each other down...... They all look like a bunch of uneducated and uncivilised people and they are actually the ones in power.. How very sad and disillusioning is that.........And what upsets me more is that we have given them that power ....... Is there no way to undo this damage ? Is there no way that someone like Anna and the likes of him form a political party and are voted into power however idealistic it may sound... Hopefully we can start afresh and on a clean slate .......
We have always had the option of only choosing between the frying pan/ fire or between the devil/deep sea....... Why dont we ever have a better option ........ When will we see a day where India is not seen as a corrupt country and the term politician will no longer be synonomous with hooligan, buffoon, bloodsucker, goonda, uneducated, uncivilised, corrupt, criminal, inadept and the list can be endless........
Today this movement signifies a "no confidence' vote BY the people .. Is that not enough to implement a change ????? What every Indian sees on any news channel on his t.v. set is PEOPLE POWER and I wish this does not die down.. I hope this gains more and more momentum by the day.......... And we all can continue to do our bits ..... visavis not buying tickets in black even if we are dying to see a particular film with our favourite movie stars in it, or not bribing a cop who was willing to cut out a receipt for a certain amount fr eg, Rs 200 but we paid him a 50 or a 100 to not do that just because we did not have the time to get into 'procedural' hassles, or we do not encourage donations which amount to ridiculous figures, just for getting our children into BIG schools which are more commercial organizations and have very little to do with academics ........ We are all guilty of what we are trying to do away with , though in smaller proportions, but we have contributed to the corruption in this country.........
If we want the CHANGE we have to be the part of it and instrumental in bringing it about and we have to be sure of our own principles visavis what we will /will not do just to make life either a little bit more easy for us or get away in the name of the typical 'sab chalta hai' attitude or console/ justify ourselves by sayin "mere ek ke na karne se kya fark padega" .... It may seem insignificant today but in the longer run it will certainly go a very long way when the singular translates into the plural!!! And we are all already witnessing a glimpse of what can happen if that comes about ........So never say never..... We have to change our own attitudes first ... We have to become law abiding , conscientious, civilised citizens of our own country and then we will ceratinly see the country of our dreams being turned into what we have always visualised it to be.......
Even as I end this piece ... the news channel is on and I see this frail looking ANNA seated in front of a huge picture of the MAHATMA....... One who was responsible for a revolutionary past and the other, hopefully a revolution in the near future ....... I still cannot believe the heart warming support in the form of thousands if not more, of Indians gathered on the ground to stand up as ONE against what we have already had enough of!!!!
I love my India !!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
An Ode to Friendship.....
The title for most of my dear pals would be 'an ode to frandship' and they would understand .... :) Today on friendship day ..... I just feel like celebrating the spirit and essence of friendship ...... Life would really not be so interesting without friends .... They all add so much colour and flavour to our lives ..... I cannot imagine my life without my 'frands' ..... and Im talking about all.... the ones whom Iv known for years, but still dont remember when and how we became friends and honestly thats the last thing that really matters .. It just feels like we have known each other forever...... and the other ones who came into my life in the recent past and we have grown so thick in the shortest span of time ... that I almost wonder how these things happen........One of the wonders or miracles of nature .......and just as well cos I would like to have it no other way ........
And what really stands out for me is the "timing" of how someone who is practically just nothing more than a stranger, just walks into your life from nowhere and becomes someone so special and stays there for keeps..... Most of my dearest friends are the ones whom I havent really gone and seeked out .. They just came into my life by chance and circumstances and became an integral part of my life ... I feel a lot of gratitude towards someone up there cos this certainly wud not be possible without his grace ........
The happy times become far more enjoyable and memorable when there are friends to share them with and the sad or tough times become so much less stressful and easier to cope with, only cos of the support and love of true friends who are always such strong pillars of strength standing by our side whenever we need them.......
Whether its something sad to share and offload , or something happy to enjoy, or something bitchy to gossip about, or then last but not the least, the pure unadulterated nonsense and madness, the fun is in doing all this ONLY with ur pals .........
To me , friendship means ..... fun, laughter, joy, heart to heart chats , sharing some of my most silly thoughts and most quirky moments ....... to be able to be myself totally without the fear of being judged or condemned....... to be there for your friend through both their best and worst , to be able to take off on each others whims, fancies, idiosyncracies and quirks but at the same time not let them affect the love and feeling you have for each other.......to be able to be completely crazy and do mad stuff that you can remember and laugh about for years to come..... and to cherish all this, always and forever :)
I always think that people who have good friends are truly blessed.... and Im fortunate to have some really lovely people as friends in my life ........So on this friendship day this one is certainly dedicated to all my dearest pals whom I cannot imagine life without :)
Normally words come so easy to me on any and every topic and this one is really close to my heart so I thought there wont be a derth here , but suddenly I am at a total loss ... maybe Im just overwhelmed!
Had stopped writing midway as went to meet my friends at barista in honour or friendship day .... and am resuming it now........ and I realise that there still is a lot to say or share but am not finding the words ... Somethings can just be felt and cannot always be expressed in words ........ And today evening's meeting also highlighted that ...... The group together ... laughin , chatting away , reminiscing old times , talking a fair load of senseless stuff and still enjoying oursleves to the hilt...... and ofcourse missing the rest of the group members along with their unique quirks .......
Something that happened this evening would sum up this piece very well cos it depicts the true essence of friendship ....
Barista was unusually cold with strong air conditioning and I had worn a sleeveless top, not realising that it would be that cold within .. Given our past few experiences at the same barista we have usually complained about the AC not working at all ..... My friend Manjusha had a shawl on her and she offered it to me which I politely declined cos I knew she would need it as feels very cold ..... But she insisted that I wrap it around myself as I was just about recovering from a viral ...... I still tried to resist but she did not relent so I wrapped it around me and felt comforted and warm instantly .... Alongside we tried to get the guy there to turn the AC down but that did not happen for quite awhile ..... During that time I knew that my friend was feeling quite cold herself, but did what she did cos that was the concern of a friend ..... To me thats FRIENDSHIP ...... These are the gestures that just throw light on what friends are all about and what friendship really means ....... And if you are true genuine friends then this comes so naturally ...... None of us would think twice or even make a big deal about something like this cos thats what most of us would do, given the way we feel for each other .....
I have just put this out in words .. It sounds descriptive but the feel of it is as overwhelming as it is fulfilling! There are many many more such instances that keep happening between 'friends' and just add to this whole journey of FRIENDSHIP that we have all embarked upon together................. Its like a comforter that completely engulfs you and provides enough warmth to take care of yourself when you need to......
So this one goes out to all my lovely lovely friends who have been with me and continue to do so...... We have built a treasure of memories of all these lovely moments spent together, which I truly cherish.......... And here's to many many more memorable ones in the times to come.......... Love you all...............
And what really stands out for me is the "timing" of how someone who is practically just nothing more than a stranger, just walks into your life from nowhere and becomes someone so special and stays there for keeps..... Most of my dearest friends are the ones whom I havent really gone and seeked out .. They just came into my life by chance and circumstances and became an integral part of my life ... I feel a lot of gratitude towards someone up there cos this certainly wud not be possible without his grace ........
The happy times become far more enjoyable and memorable when there are friends to share them with and the sad or tough times become so much less stressful and easier to cope with, only cos of the support and love of true friends who are always such strong pillars of strength standing by our side whenever we need them.......
Whether its something sad to share and offload , or something happy to enjoy, or something bitchy to gossip about, or then last but not the least, the pure unadulterated nonsense and madness, the fun is in doing all this ONLY with ur pals .........
To me , friendship means ..... fun, laughter, joy, heart to heart chats , sharing some of my most silly thoughts and most quirky moments ....... to be able to be myself totally without the fear of being judged or condemned....... to be there for your friend through both their best and worst , to be able to take off on each others whims, fancies, idiosyncracies and quirks but at the same time not let them affect the love and feeling you have for each other.......to be able to be completely crazy and do mad stuff that you can remember and laugh about for years to come..... and to cherish all this, always and forever :)
I always think that people who have good friends are truly blessed.... and Im fortunate to have some really lovely people as friends in my life ........So on this friendship day this one is certainly dedicated to all my dearest pals whom I cannot imagine life without :)
Normally words come so easy to me on any and every topic and this one is really close to my heart so I thought there wont be a derth here , but suddenly I am at a total loss ... maybe Im just overwhelmed!
Had stopped writing midway as went to meet my friends at barista in honour or friendship day .... and am resuming it now........ and I realise that there still is a lot to say or share but am not finding the words ... Somethings can just be felt and cannot always be expressed in words ........ And today evening's meeting also highlighted that ...... The group together ... laughin , chatting away , reminiscing old times , talking a fair load of senseless stuff and still enjoying oursleves to the hilt...... and ofcourse missing the rest of the group members along with their unique quirks .......
Something that happened this evening would sum up this piece very well cos it depicts the true essence of friendship ....
Barista was unusually cold with strong air conditioning and I had worn a sleeveless top, not realising that it would be that cold within .. Given our past few experiences at the same barista we have usually complained about the AC not working at all ..... My friend Manjusha had a shawl on her and she offered it to me which I politely declined cos I knew she would need it as feels very cold ..... But she insisted that I wrap it around myself as I was just about recovering from a viral ...... I still tried to resist but she did not relent so I wrapped it around me and felt comforted and warm instantly .... Alongside we tried to get the guy there to turn the AC down but that did not happen for quite awhile ..... During that time I knew that my friend was feeling quite cold herself, but did what she did cos that was the concern of a friend ..... To me thats FRIENDSHIP ...... These are the gestures that just throw light on what friends are all about and what friendship really means ....... And if you are true genuine friends then this comes so naturally ...... None of us would think twice or even make a big deal about something like this cos thats what most of us would do, given the way we feel for each other .....
I have just put this out in words .. It sounds descriptive but the feel of it is as overwhelming as it is fulfilling! There are many many more such instances that keep happening between 'friends' and just add to this whole journey of FRIENDSHIP that we have all embarked upon together................. Its like a comforter that completely engulfs you and provides enough warmth to take care of yourself when you need to......
So this one goes out to all my lovely lovely friends who have been with me and continue to do so...... We have built a treasure of memories of all these lovely moments spent together, which I truly cherish.......... And here's to many many more memorable ones in the times to come.......... Love you all...............
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