Effortvescence

Representing India or Cremating it!

2011-08-16T23:17:00.000-07:00

India is growing to be a leading economy in the world and disruptions of certain magnitude are extremely detrimental. It is thus impertinent on the part of the government to make sure that the smooth workings of the country are intact. It is a growing economy in a world, which is facing doubt and recession. In such a situation if India has to continue to attract FDI, domestic harmony is a pre-requisite. The opposition needs to wake up and enforce dialogues, which are developmental and not accusative.

Anna Hazare fasting for a corrupt free India, which without doubt is the most sensitive topic for the middle class of India. A superb move! The kind of urban support for the Jan Lokpal Bill is exceptional and it is definitely a wake up call for the government. Corruption is pulling the country downwards and may be one of the main reasons to put India on a downward spiral. But for the government it is a matter of prioritizing issues facing the country. Whether it is inflation, poverty, education, healthcare, FDI or handling mavericks fast right in the middle of the capital of the world's biggest democracy??

Corruption is an appendage of politics and governments world over suffer from it. Protests of this nature reinforce, the need for a transparent system but it is not an overnight change. By passing a Jan Lokpal, are we not creating a bigger evil? If the highest levels of elective representatives like the PM come under the Jan Lokpal, are we not giving an independent body too many rights? And does this body come under the ambit of a democracy; will some self-instated moral bodies then take our decisions?

Decoding Org Charts.

2011-07-01T05:47:00.000-07:00

Amazing that how by just by looking at the org charts we can say so much:

Google-Confused, how to diversify.
Microsoft- Each division is ready to kill other division’s innovation, (thus never pioneering innovation).
Apple: Steve Jobs calls the shots and everything revolves around him.
Amazon/Oracle: Too hierarchical; vision doesn’t percolate.
Facebook: Seems to be the only one working its synergies across all platforms.

Very interesting.

[Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/big-tech-org-charts-2011-6]

Crucial Conversations

2011-02-18T01:42:00.000-08:00

What is a good dialogue? How do you bring back meaning into conversations when emotions are running high and tears about to flow? How to not begin to just argue for the sake of winning? Let me share my take-aways from the book Crucial Conversations which deals with the sensitivities of the mind and situation when stakes are high and dialogue a necessity.

If you begin to feel that your emotions have taken over, step back, gauge the purpose of your discussion, look deep, and delve into your heart to see why you are in this dialogue in the first place. Do not let yourself make a negative story in your head by assuming facts. Give the other person the benefit of doubt and trust his/her intentions. After having convinced yourself and gotten back the sanity, get back into the conversations with renewed respect for each other and try to find a mutual purpose for the discussion. Try to build a safe environment for the other person to participate fully and allow them not to get into their shells feeling defensive and offended.

A good discussion is when both participating individuals/teams can bring out both their view points without hesitation and with finesse. This is only possible when they have trust in each other’s motive to be there and feel safe to bring out their side of the story. Try to clarify your thought process and point of view as much as possible, also not merely as facts but as you feel it. Allow others to make their points heard and then come up with a mutual solution either through consensus, vote, consultation or command depending on situation. Action the results and make progress visible to all involved.

In a nutshell, I feel most of the crucial conversations whether they be personal or professional can be smoothly concluded with the above outlined skeleton. But most definitely we need to practice all of the above before we can actually control our thoughts and bring out the best in us when emotions flow and stakes are high. J

Jettisoning Stress

2011-02-16T23:07:00.000-08:00

"Stress= Pressure/Resilience"

What we call stress in daily life is basically derived from this simple formula; remember those initial Physics classes. So what is actually happening is that the pressure keeps mounting day in and day out but the denominator either stays as it has always been or since we have forgotten completely about this formula we pay little or no attention to the denominator at all.

Every individual needs to come up with his/her own way of developing this faculty. Needless to say, since the denominator remains a constant and even decreases due to ignorance, the result keeps increasing to mammoth proportions only to realize we are a pressure cooker just about to explode.

If pressure is seemingly a constant, reduce it by increasing resilience. Bust stress by killing it at the source.

Zeebo

2010-12-12T04:07:00.000-08:00

I recently saw the movie ‘Marley and Me’, which with its plot centered on a Labrador was endearing indeed! It brought me back memories of my pet dog Zeebo. I do not remember much as I was very young when he passed away but he still remains a part of all our memories till date.

My dad already had him when he married my mom way back in ‘85. He was well fed, agile and a good looking black lab who apart from all the outwardly glamour was also very loyalJ. He came to my dad’s rescue may a times. One instance would be when he fought with a snake, which was perched dangerously close to his face, and shooed it away when dad was sleeping in a tent during an outdoor field duty. When dad got married, for obvious reasons he hated mom. He didn’t like to share the attention he got and all his anguish was directed towards mom. To my mom’s dismay he learnt to free himself from his leash and once, when dad was out for work, he ransacked and tore many of mom’s clothes and left my dad’s belongings untouched. Remarkably intelligent for a dog I say! But as time progressed they became good friends. When we were born, we treated him like our personal vehicle. Sitting on him, playing with him and running after him. He was always obliging.

I recollect the day when he died. It was a Sunday and he started whining loudly. He was old and was under medication already. I went to check on him but was of no use, as to him I guess, I was just a kid. Dad came along and perceived his whining to be his need to answer nature’s call. He untied his leash and as he was opening the door to take him out, he held dad’s feet with both his front paws. A memory, I can never forget. His desperate attempt to signal what was to follow. Dad sat down and put Zeebo’s head in his lap and caressed him. And quietly, Zeebo passed away. He had just been waiting for that touch to slip into peaceful slumber. God Bless!

'Mr Advertisement!! :- Leave us alone'

2010-12-11T08:12:00.000-08:00

If we let Rupert Murdoch, the media billionaire baron, have his way we may soon be paying for online news and reported journalism. Two minutes into this thought and I begin to feel positively about it. Currently all business online is driven by advertisements. Even Financial Times which enjoys the position of being an indispensable part of the financial community and follows a paid model for its news heavily depends on online advertisement to pay its employees.

It is a fierce fierce market out there and each product/brand plays with the hearts and minds of the helpless customer, who has the money but is entangled in the myriad options available for every item of necessity and luxury. So if we start paying for what we actually need, will our lives become much simpler? Murdoch isn't thinking on these lines; he is old, doesn't understand the internet, wants to make money for his articles and just cannot see them distributed for free. But spare a thought and question, is it a revolution underway? Next year will see $250 billion dollars being pumped into online marketing. The advertisements are going to come at us with more force and we need to be prepared.

Even to the extent of sounding archaic Murdoch has a point, I would rather pay for my basic necessities and keep it simple. Pay for the news you read rather than being tempted and badgered to buy a cheap pair of head phones on a newspaper site. We might seem to be at a disadvantage at the onset, but freedom from mindless marketing could be a welcome change for consumers at large.

The Goldilocks Enigma

2010-11-28T09:09:00.000-08:00

A recent book which I read, Paul Davis’ ‘Goldilocks Enigma’ happens to churn up a few thoughts within me. The book deals with questions and various explanations on how and why the universe is just right for life in it. Why are we the chosen few? Why are we here? What is our purpose? The book tries to touch on a number such philosophies on why life is just right like Goldilocks’ Porridge. The below is what I got from an extremely mathematical yet interesting read:-

The first school of thought believes that we can all just consider the existence of the universe to be a miracle and accept that there is no way we can prove why and how it came to exist as we know of it now. The proponents of this theory feel that there is no way physics can explain this phenomenon and if a few brains have been able to comprehend it, it is because they have evolved to understand and recognize patterns which exist around us.
The second belief is that that there are strict quantum mechanics rules and mathematical models which exactly fit into the models of the universe. So only after these rules were satisfied by some phenomenon which too can be unraveled by science, the universe came into existence.
The third belief is of the theory of multiverse. This says that there is an ensemble of universes which came into existence and each one of them has a unique set of rules. But we cannot see all of them due to some visionary delusion as the author put it. A lot of gaps still exist in this theory but sounds quite plausible to me. For example: After the big bang, on the periphery of the explosion sphere there have to be a set of points which all satisfy the same condition.
Then there is an interesting theory which feeds on the belief of GOD. A unique designer that created such an intricate marvelous design has to be GOD. But one interesting angle to this is, why believe in the traditional monotheism, why can’t the creator be a community of all GODs, or a supreme civilization in another part of the world, a supreme brain in other part of our universe or maybe we are just a simulation of a super duper computer.
Another explanation provided is on the concept of teleology. It says that only since life and mind exist in our universe that is the reason our universe exists. So what happens within is duplicated on the outside
The last explanation which is also probably my best bet and logically agreeable too, is that all evolution which exists is the one that is self-sufficient and self-creating. So we are, in effect survivors of a schematic process. We are able to see only those parts of such an evolution that we can recognize or something that exists within us, in life and in mind. Like may be the ubiquitous Fibonacci series as explained in the below video:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIY0yZk6Fbo

Has India found her punching bag??

2010-10-20T07:03:00.000-07:00

The face of CWG happens to be the target of all of India's pent up frustration against corruption. He seems to be the face that Indians have decided to give to the ubiquitous 'hera-pheri'. But can he really be blamed?? I feel he is just become a scapegoat. No decision in India is taken alone. There are so many levels to every decision and where what went wrong can never be pin-pointed.

Mr. Kalmadi has shown nerves of steel. He has been booed nationally and been critiqued ever so million times; but that man has been as calm as a toad in the sun. Only very recently did he reply back to the Delhi CM clearing that he only had 10% of the budget what she had and if misappropriation of that level was done, all departments need to be scrutinized.

But whatever said or whoever is guilty, whether it is ever proved or even not; he will be either remembered as the man who was audacious enough to face the public/media after so much fraud or as the man was deeply wronged even after he delivered a fabulous and the best CWG to the world. To me, the man is innocent, he might have had the visibility to all of the Indian CWG jugad but he chose to suffer for the broken foot bridge which wasn't even a part of his task focusing on the games pre-CWG. The way he reacts publicly is far from how a culprit would. Give the man some credit for the games village, the organization of the event of such magnitude and in the end for being so gracious in taking all the criticism that has come his way.

Nature vs Nurture

2010-10-16T03:01:00.001-07:00

How much part does nature play in who we are? Does nurture make any difference and are parents important at all??

In the book ‘Freakonomics’ the author makes a number of observations on how parents affect a child's well-being. He says it's not what you do as parents that matters as much as who you are. For example, a stay at home mother till the child goes to school matters not for what the child grows up to be. I seem to understand from this that the 9 months a mother carries a baby is the most important period defining the babies complete life ahead. Ultimately, it is how your DNA has been structured, how the neurons speak to each other, and how different nerve centers are invoked that define who a person is. What instances trigger what emotions and what circumstances make a person react in a particular way is probably already coded in a person's DNA. So does it means nurture does not play any part?? It is nature, along with impressions you gather while still in the womb?

However, studies also seem to show that apart from just those DNA's, Nurture has a BIG part to play. Whether it be providing a good education, a good neighborhood, good mannerisms and a good life style; Parents are solely responsible for all of those and more. They do not probably define who you are, but who they are definitely defines you. I recently read an article of a girl traumatized by her childhood impressions of her drunkard father. She now has her own company but fails to enjoy her present many times due to her past experiences. This going to show that you cannot detach yourself from your nurture however strong your nature is!

A lot of it is already hard wired into us when we get here, but how we interpret our strengths, realize our potential, and understand life in general is mostly dependent on how we are raised and nurtured.

Real Reality

2010-10-14T22:01:00.000-07:00

The wheel moves, the wind mill turns, words are spoken etc... So many such things appear to be the ones behind the bigger picture, like a moving car, generating electricity and communication. But then is there is lot more than just the very apparent reality?

How much of our lives do we spend judging people around us? A lot of time in lifetime I say, is it of any use? The amount of time we spend is not enough to get to the 'not so apparent truths'. Similarly, no magician ever reveals his tricks, as there so much more than just what is apparent. As he manages to misguide us with just a few visible tactics, imagine how much we don't seem to notice every day in our lives.

The wheel does not move; it is the axle that moves. The wind mill does not turn on its own, it is the wind that makes it turn, Words are not spoken automatically it is the thoughts. What appears is not what it actually is; there is more to than what is evident. And there is always more.

Flavored Harbor and the Asian Las Vegas

2010-07-21T09:59:00.001-07:00

I am just back from yet another trip, which was a figment of my dad’s very very ingenious mind as usual!! The recent previous one’s being to Vaishno Devi and then Auli. But I am not complaining :).

The start of the journey began with a replica of what was to follow, rushing to the airport after getting delayed after a nice family meal and then the Delhi Airport Traffic Jam. A nice international AI flight and then the picturesque landing between 2 little island hillocks. A completely breathtaking site!! A great airport, who can complain if we have superfast trains connecting terminals. We knew that Chinese were rude but so rude, it was the first time we landed in their country and all what our tour operator could say was ‘we leave in sharp 10 min, if you miss it you make your own arrangements.’ It was 8am and we all wanted our respective rounds of tea and coffee, ignoring her 10min warning and believing in the goodness of humanity we ordered beverages only to realize her forcing us to get up and leave. But what followed was a great experience. We had a nice hotel with great breakfast, which filled us in for the hectic days. We walked and walked till dusk and still again till it almost struck midnight. We had just 4 days and with 4 women in the group our main focus was shopping and mainly window shopping with lots of bargaining. My poor dad, who was left on his own most of the time, did well on electronics though :)

Hong Kong is very very commercial; it is a shopping hub with every lane sprinkled with branded show rooms and chic malls. The harbor city has quite a few attractions, one being the laser show on the banks of the Kowloon and the Hong Kong Island, where lights are coordinated on the residential complexes, malls and financial centers. The best part is how people were just so disciplined during the show, the show was on the bank without any protection against people jumping off, but how they all sat, saw and appreciated was worth mentioning. One of our tour guides said, ‘In Hong Kong you have the freedom to do everything but it is not a democracy, like in India’ and yes the discipline comes from this inherent understanding of till where this freedom spans. Hong Kong to me was total razzmatazz, with its night bazaars, streets studded with branded shops, discos, pubs, people decked to the hilt with ‘designer signatures’ all over them, topped with a few nefarious activities, and what you get defines ‘happening’ ;)

Followed was the visit to Macau, the Las Vegas of Asia, was an eye opener in many ways. How people just gamble the whole day, youngsters squandering away all they have in the Venetian Casino, legalized betting and gambling, occasional car racing on the city roads and waking up only in the afternoon to get ready for the night that follows destiny and luck. I would have never imagined a whole country depending so much on gambling for their economy. But the casinos were royal, with glittering gold everywhere. Another attraction was the Macau tower, the highest point in Asia for Bungee Jumping. It was just incredible to see small kids stand tall and take the leap. Breathtaking!!

The final destination was Shenzhen, China’s Southern commercial hub. After visiting the fabulous Windows of the World which was home to all the miniature architectural wonders of the world made to scale. We had our Taj Mahal, Sanchi Stupas, Banks of Benares, and Southern Temples. They know how to rope in tourists, have a few well maintained places to visit and do I need to mention the shopping paradise it is. After this, we were very well rewarded by visiting the super duper Chinese shopping mall, a shoppers’ paradise, we went berserk. The confusion to what to buy was just compounded by the bargaining that goes on. May be it was a marketing gimmick, over-price goods first and then just reduce it enough to make profits. It’s a win-win situation, the customer is happy to have bargained and the shop keeper still makes profit. That was the fastest 4 hours, running and making decisions :) Thoroughly enjoyed the experience and then the train journey back to Hong Kong through the China-Hong Kong border countryside just made it all the more enjoyable.

Back to Hong Kong and you can only notice how very well groomed men and women are there. Everyone seemed to sport the best brands, the most stylish hair styles, best nail paints and extensions. The men and women are genetically gifted with the best hair, skin and bodies, but one just cannot stop marveling at the attention they pay at grooming and pampering oneself. May be this is desperation to be noticed and loved, as the society did seem a little harsh with little warmth. Each one was always on their own.

PS: Food was just too smelly:- octopus, mollusks, sea weeds seasonings, pork, beef, everything was just too much in abundance that the good old chicken was lost somewhere in all that jazz; it was cup noodles and ready to cook meals which saved our days.

When everyone is expected to be an Eagle??

2010-06-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

The recent suicide by a school student attributed to his principal beating and humiliating him publicly, stirred a few thoughts. Hitting or not hitting is not the question. The situation is not so Black and white. As always Shades of grey (Shobha De yet again). ‘No hitting’ combined with a stricter education system where students can’t take the teachers for a ride. Or hitting with more responsibility on the part of teacher on how it is done and to what degree. We can’t be sure of both. And then if we can’t be sure, it is better to play safe.

I say the latter now as I was reminded of some instances which were also reported in the media sometime back wherein in certain schools in a village canning was used so very brutally as to devastate a person for life, another case was when a little 3rd standard girl was made to stand in 40 degrees scorching heat for 4-5 hours and died of sun stroke, then somewhere a teacher pulled a girl's hairs so hard as to uproot it from the skull. Not all teachers are trained the way they should be, as for most teachers the profession is a back-up plan. They are frustrated and are there for the heck of it.

On thinking about this I feel hitting in today’s day and age it might be too much. By en large students are much pampered at urban homes, have their own voice, views and opinions and they want to be treated as adults. So it’s a big blow to their ego when publicly humiliated as the social image matters a lot to today’s kids. Today's children are vulnerable; they have very little tolerance to handling such insults when compared to children of the decades gone by. The tolerance levels have anyways reduced in the society as such. The children of the yester years respected the discipline in school as a part of growing up and curriculum, today the schools are looked as just institutions where you have to go to before tuition classes. Canning was a part of the regime when teachers were already treated with a lot of respect. In today’s free world, that doesn't seem to work well.

Today's children are so unruly that if a teacher scolds them, they take it upon themselves to personally attack the teacher and I have seen it happen. The culture comes from home, and in my class the ones who came from more cultured families behaved better. So the parents have to discipline children and have the right to ‘hit’. As a forethought, the question is if banning such punishment in schools will lead to banning such things at home in future. Then we will only be pushed to a more and more western society which even when progressing has lost the fabric of a family as no one cares for no one. And disciplining at least at home comes from caring, we can’t ensure that anywhere else. Also, the teachers who work their way with love have won in my case hands down and I have also seen misbehaved guys behaving nicely in a sweet teacher’s class. Hitting might not be such a good idea and in today’s child’s psyche it might have an adverse impact. The society and the educational setup have under gone a change.

The parents should have the right to deal with their child for any offence committed, barring something as adverse as murder. We have to equip schools with councilors and remove the stigma around approaching them. If a few children are too vulnerable and less tolerant that one such incident can drive them to such levels, then we need to play safe. We can’t expect everyone to be an eagle, when we have fledglings too.

Ways of the World - 'Time'

2010-04-19T02:26:00.000-07:00

I had written this post a couple of months back but never got to posting it. So much of it appears so naive now, only to re-enforce what I wrote back then. Here it goes:-

Time heals, seals and a lot of times gives that extra zeal. It is not coincidence that all successful and experienced individuals value time and are aware of the power in being disciplined by it. There are three categories of time:-

1. When our time management is our parents prerogative-‘ School’
2. When wasting all time at hand is our only aim-‘College’
3. And when we have no time (weekdays) and all the time (weekends) packaged together-‘Work’

The way we use these 'times' of our life defines an individual, his outlook and priorities. Time flies and hence it becomes all the more important to use every minute with awareness and discipline. To learn and implement every next minute what the previous one teaches us. (Now I am guilty)

I have completed over a year at work and I as many others cannot vouch more for how much time teaches. How naïve we are, how protected and how we see the whole world with rosy colored glasses. One year in the corporate world has taught me what maybe I hadn’t learnt all the years of my life till now. Agreed it’s a different world and a different experience, but with it comes a lot of maturity and wisdom which no other experience can teach you. You real growth professionally takes place when you are responsible for your work and are no longer a trainee. When suddenly you are expected to churn valuable suggestions and are supposed to be answerable for things other than just your own self.

This is when the real learning’s of the so called lucrative corporate world begins. When people look at you as competition, when people are ready to trample you, and a lot of times, use you to climb the ladder of recognition. You are the most vulnerable when you are in this period when you are still naïve and still learning the unfolding of this world, its functioning and its processes. It might sound very cynical, but it happens and it is the most sensitive period for all those freshmen who are put in environments where you are graded against your commitments and compared directly with your peers. And at the end of the day we are resources, we need to be worth more than what we are paid. Simple!

This is the also the period where you learn the most, and a lot of how you tackle this situation will lay the foundation of how you will handle similar situations in future. Every time you change a job, you are a fresher; and you need to be able to adjust to the new environs. And to be able to seamlessly do that, we need to have an attitude nurtured over years. Coming back to from where I started, time, time is the biggest teacher. When I look back now, from when I started work around 15 months back, I feel the growth. I can feel the change in my thought processes, my reactions and my priorities. A lot of you might say that it is just the natural process of growth, but the trajectory is the highlight here.

However much I would have disagreed before with the industry opinion of experiencing this exponenetial time trajectory before embarking on a managerial pathway, I now completely second it. But all those who have missed on this learning, I am sure you have it in you to expedite the learning curve now, attributed to the sheer skills you possess by the virtue of which you are where you are. All the best!

Ways of the world - 2

2009-12-27T09:05:00.000-08:00

'Change is the only constant'. We all remember reading it, memorizing and hearing the countless fables on the same. But the actual meaning of all these infinite quotes we had memorized comes to light only when we are out in the open, far far from the protective world we had been living in a little while back.

I would like to believe that it is not the quarter life crisis which is so in vogue. I would rather attribute it to a coming of age than some crisis, which to proclaim is just part of fashion and existing trends like the green revolution. The funniest being when celebs vouching for green revolution end up in huge events propagating the same leaving behind an unaccounted for carbon footprint. So basically getting back to the point, it is no mean crisis, its wisdom :) Everything changes and to hold on to something is no option. So when in dumps, trust the ubiquitous change to lift you through into greener pastures.

When a lot can happen over coffee itself, why think of a couple of years incapable of being the carriers of change :) Personally what I felt sucked most in the last couple of months, look the most appealing now. What seemed to me as an eternity sometime back are just minutes of thought. However, expensive a watch you wear; the time still runs out.

I need to learn to give those men/women the due credit for having said what they said out loud, making it easier for us to relate:) At least, now I know one thing sure, those quotes we learnt way back in school were not just meant for coursework and evaluation :)

"Change is the only constant":- Hail Heraclitus,the Greek philosopher.
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Heraclitus

Ways of the world - 1

2009-12-24T23:33:00.000-08:00

Life has its own way to keep you on track. Positive or negative, never mind the tone in which it has that effect on you, it just does. No class or parental guidance can prepare you for what lays in store ahead and I am not being cynical here at all. But as I usually say it has its shades of grey. :) This thought originates in me from a quote by Shobha De, which I think did have an effect on me given I still remember it verbatim. It said: Nothing can be categorized as Black or White; there is always a shade of grey. Every time I go over it in my head I do pause and think. These thought provoking lines have the ability to justify, explain and shred all human behavior.

However, it is up to us to decide the percentage composition, whether the white dominates or the black. There will be times when black dominates and times when ultimately white (the angel with a halo) conquers all!! As we age, or to put it better mature, with all the wisdom also comes cynicism. The more I interact with middle-aged people, the more I feel right. Everyone ultimately gets caught in the race but as one of my friends recently pointed out: - the winner of a rat race is also a race. Sadly, though there are little opportunities to break out of this mold and the destiny which we destine ourselves is of a RAT, just a well-paid one eating Italian cheese.:P

Don’t let life exploit the child within you. It will help you get the childlike grace and also that attractive innocence. Moreover, It will help you retain your ability to appreciate, to appreciate without reason, to let you be appreciative without being judged of your motives and to get appreciated without reason too. So ladies and gentlemen, shed the shackles that maturity forces on you just feel good and do good!

Rock on children :) !!

Regional religious biases! How Long??

2009-12-13T09:25:00.000-08:00

Was the future of religion always a divide? At least, the history of India has always reflected this not so arcane fact. Whether it is being ruled by the Tughlags, the Lodhis or the Mughals; or being mowed down by the British for over a century, India has seen it all. However, there is one common observation:-All of these escapades were deep rooted in the exploitation of the Indian religious and cultural diversity. They came, they squandered and left victorious, robbing us of all the esteem and grandeur. What is left of the golden bird is a vast divide in the economic status of the major strata of today’s society, finger pointing at others religion and the increasing communism with some untoward religious conflict very often.

Small, fledgling political parties using such base ideals to further their own agenda, whether it be the ‘Marathi manoos’ campaign or it be the ongoing tussle for ‘Telangana’, only do harm. The current debate for Telangana is an old one which just resurfaces from time to time. The only reason to this is more seats for our local politicians and (on the positive side) it may lead to increased attention from the center in terms of funds for development (just to be squandered away on some personal property purchases ;) ) Ohh I was supposed to be positive.
What I hear and read in the dailies here is that the main point of discord between the two states (oops neighbors) is that more attention has always been paid to one child (Andhra) and Telangana has always been treated as a step offspring. This has led to growth in one and the other still struggles with backwardness. But the proponents of Telangana do not understand that they may need Andhra to prosper, they probably just need a better advocate of their case. Also, as I read, Hyderabad which is the only asset Telangana would have, is completely dependent on IT for its sheen. This dependents on brainpower and so is very sensitive to the idea which the state projects. Probability against the success of Telangana-Hyderabad combination is rides very high. But still the tussle goes on, whether it be for power, whether it be for politics, whether it be for a long lost identity; the common man suffers; I had to cancel my weekend movie plans due the damn bandh last week. It’s a democracy after all!!

Slowly and steadily we are being pushed in to an India which is less united and less tolerant. Instead of looking forward we have begun to look and move backwards. We are committing the same mistakes which will push us back into an era where we will either be ruled or give rise to extreme chaotic communism. I think it is time to look inwards and bring forth the humanity in us, to nurture love and respect for every religion and every individual. Before religion came humanity, and if we have decided to move backwards why not turn the clocks to a better yesterday!!

“Religion divides us but it is our human characteristics that bind us to each other.”
-Hermann Bondi

Pratham Varsh Ganth !!

2009-08-15T05:03:00.001-07:00

In retrospection, my independence day had a parallel meaning last year. For a long time, I had been clutched by a feeling of incompetence in regards to penning down my thoughts. It was then that I got enticed by the idea of my own blog. 1 year and 39 posts later I think I have come a long way! :) From being a naive impressionable writer to being one with her own views and style, it has been an enriching experience

It all started when I was waiting for my joining last year, with nothing much productive to do at home I picked up on the idea of a personal site. Also, with all the hoopla around people owning their own blog site and posting things of interest and depicting their viewpoint, I was interested too. My aim was more to be able to formulate my thoughts, get some honest feedback, better viewpoints, good discussions and then off course some appreciation:)

A lot has happened since then, and a lot is yet to happen. There have been times when I have had so much to write about and some times when I have been completely devoid of reasons to write. I have seen my own thoughts transform, felt my own feelings change and pondered on my changing views. I am sure If I go back to my earlier posts I would hate the style, the points and find it a bit naive. It is all so circumstantial, things that appear right now don’t at a later point in time. The whole thought seems very scary for its sheer dynamicity. I can either look at it as evolution/development or indecisiveness/instability. Its Dynamic, everything is!

One year has gone by..phhheww and my pink little blog has seen almost 350 visitors. All through, a lot of my readers have asked me the meaning of the name of my blog “EFFORTVESCENCE”. When I pondered on the name back then, this came to my mind almost instantly.. Its a combination of words “EFFORT” and “EFFERVESCENCE”, signifying enthusiasm and liveliness bubbling from the effort put in! The word hopes to make it to the dictionary some day:)

I thank all the readers and followers of my little space for reading through the blog over the past year and I hope for an equal participation if not more in future!! I am grateful for all the appreciation and criticism alike :)

15th August, 2009:-Happy Independence Day!

Has the Indian education System done us some good?

2009-07-19T08:21:00.001-07:00

Listening to Hillary Clinton speak in the Teach India campaign on the requisites of a good education, I have an urge to redo and reinvent my school and college days.

Our education system teaches us to be blinkered horses, we are tested on our memory, not on our actual abilities. We are tested on who is a better absorber of what is said in the class, better memorizers of what is written in the book and better user of exam guides!! Whereas, we should have been taught how to ask questions, to be inquisitive, to be curious but anyone doing that in India's institutions currently are told to shut up and find the answers from the books assigned. The only necessity to stunt the growth of a child’s mind. The whole purpose of education is to to get knowledge, generate knowledge and share knowledge. Unfortunately, we are only taught to memorize already stated facts, nowhere are we given the opportunity to even build up on facts , more so even our books are not written in ways to allow us to think more than what is required to just meet the expected answer structure.

The root cause of the dropping educational standards is also attributed to non-equipped, unskilled teachers. The kind of respect we give to our teachers baring a few is unfortunate. The dedication they show is equally alarming. A teacher’s job is accepted only when all other options fail a person. This is a systemic failure and should be addressed, though exhaustive academic training, increased compensation and targeted behavioral training. The rising number of urban students taking extra tuitions is alarming. The amount of time they give in to such practices is mind boggling often driving children to regions where feelings of depression, uselessness and self abnegation dominate. The building and dreaming years of a child are burdened with so much competition, rendering them inadequate of personal development and of being able to pursue their interests.The real talent of a student should be identified rather than entrusting a whole gamut of subjects.

A rather strange irony is that instead of giving into so much pressure which the Indian education system burdens its student with, a majority of individuals do very well for themselves. Whether is be internationally or be it proving and building on indigenous projects, the Indian mind has always garnered accolades and acknowledgement. In my opinion, the need for an Indian student to perform is more than any of its global peers. This need arises from the societal pressures, financial emancipation, family requirements to name a few. The need is enough reason for an Indian student to put in more and outperform others. Most of us are usually self taught.The only advantage that arises from the way we have studied is the capability of being able to put in crazy number of hours at work.

The betterment of the educational institution is a systemic change and would require a lot of commitment from all. Moreover, the foundations of this system should be reworked to focus more on humanity and concern for fellow students rather than the killer instinct of competition. This itself will teach children to help each other in their quest of knowledge and help them grow up to be better, sensitive people.:)

4th July: Spirited Salutation to American Independence.

2009-07-07T02:20:00.001-07:00

It was a casual discussion with Satish, he had mentioned all about his weekend escapades to faraway places with the Hyderabad Bicycling Club. Immediately, I had enquired all about the early morning trips, the overnight trip to Anantgiri, and the mind boggling fitness levels of the members to the boundless levels of fun these guys have. Curious to test myself and also be a part of such a thrilling experience I had expressed my eagerness to be a part of such a ride. I didn’t know the day of my first ride with HBC would come so soon..

It was 4^th of July and HBC was celebrating the American Independence. It started with a power ride by the stalwarts of the group, smoothly sailing through the 50km scheduled ride at 3pm from the Gacchibowli stadium, I obviously was not a part of the ride, I had not even volunteered, who wants to wallow in self pity seeing such fit individuals soar past you in a jiffy and you are left alone pedaling in wilderness. A decision well taken, I was all set to ride with the entourage at 5pm for the casual 17.76km drive (America’s declaration of independence is dated 4^th July, 1776-so the symbolism). The guys were bang on time from their power ride, after a breather we were all set.

The weather was a blessing, the breeze so refreshing and the sun very understanding. We set out on the 15Km journey to Osman Sagar Lake via the life sciences institute crossing Gandipet. It was so beautiful, riding through the countryside, crossing agricultural fields, passing under the shadow of trees and being looked by the awe filled gaze of complete strangers. Just a couple of stoppages mid way for water and we were soon to hit the Osman Sagar Lake. I was hoping for us to stop but then it was the HBC I was riding with, we climbed uphill which to me looked like a no-man’s land, only to find that the hill culminated in a nice spot making us feel on top of the world, with a view worth a million bucks. The weather added to the picturesqueness, it was just lovely. There on the hill we already had Matt and his car loaded with loads of eateries, drinks and crackers. Parallelly, much to my consternation we had Shay, Sandy, Ankit, Sunil and others re-climbing the hill again, for that ‘rush’ as they put it.

We then, had the bicyclers at their best, with Matt taking charge of getting the sausages, baked beans and sandwiches ready for all of us. With drinks and chips already at our disposal, it was great to be sitting on the hill top after a hard workout. As it neared dark, the firecrackers were on full display followed by a couple of good Independence Day speeches by Matt and Ed. It was a perfect end to the picnic followed by some good music from Matt’s car.

Alas!! It was time to leave and tread back home. It was dark and I had no idea as to how we were going to get back with no clear cut route map and the scarcity of night lights. But we had Shay Baba as he is fondly called in the group, to lead the pack. The beginning of the journey was rather tough as we descended from the hill top taking a shorter route full of pebbles, sand and scrubs. The only time I heard concern was now when a few were worried about someone having a flat tire in the middle of nowhere. Scary thought!!. The route was slippery and needed utmost concentration to ride through that dark patch. Thanks to all the good guidance we were all out of it in no time, and what followed was our victory lap.

It started to drizzle and it seemed to make a perfect end to the perfect adventure. The drizzle soon turned into rain and the enjoyment trebled. Cycling back 10Km in the rain, was surely ‘the’ way to end my first trip with Team HBC. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience with the team, a special thank you to Shay for the Cycle which was a joy to ride, Satish for the motivation and for putting everything in place and not to forget Sunil, for his helmet with the flickering red light which gave me the confidence of not being lost:) :). Thank You, guys.

Team HBC Rocks..Cheers.

->Sakhee.

PURE Breed FAUJI KID

2009-06-22T21:21:00.000-07:00

(This is a forward I couldn't stop myself from Posting; so true and hilarious:)
Dedicated to all my army co-brats..

You know U are a PURE BREED FAUJI KID......IF:-

1. You were born in a Military Hospital

2. Half your toddler years were spent being looked after by Bhaiyas ( no explanation here)

3. You went to school either on Bhaiya's cycle or in a Shaktiman

4 .You know what a shaktiman is. ( No! it isnt the TV serialabout half man and half machine starring AB lookalike)

5. Jeeps & Jongas dont excite you - they were your regular mode of transport!

6 .The only alternative to the Central School was the Army School.

7. You always called Kendriya Vidyalaya Central School. Gosh even today that sounds better!

8. Your entire family could survive in one room temporary quarters with 25 trunks, wooden crates, the dog, the bedroll and two bhaiyas flitting around.

9. The smell of Brasso & shoe polish was regular staple.

10 .Mess was not what you created in your room, it was where you went every Friday for the free "English" movie.

11 .The "English Movie" was very often a western and you couldnt follow a word! Sometimes you just went for the samosas and the local drink that they insisted was Cola.

12. At the end of the month your dad had to pay for many pink slips showing how many samosas and local drinks that they insisted was Cola you had consumed. They never missed any!!!

13. You attended many May Queen Balls before you knew what Miss India was.

14 .Your mother regularly got dressed, perfumed and dissappeared for the Ladies Club.

15 .You knew towns like Mhow, Wellington, Deolali and Bhuj

16 You werent a millionaire but hey you had Swimming, Horse Riding, Squash, Tennis and Golf!!

14. You thought the main reason to have a Golf Course was to have a Holi Bash.

15. You can still take one quick look at the epaulets and figure out the rank.

16. You discussed wednesday's Chitrahaar in the Shaktiman.

17 .You can still recall the special & particular smell of the CSD canteen! A special prize for the correct concoction - mine is - it was a mix of Hamam Soap, Ponds Dreamflower Talc & Surf; I think. In some corners it had overtures of Brooke Bond Red Label as well.

18. Your vacations were a package deal consisting of D-forms, Sharma Uncle Ka jonga and Army Mess ka kamra.

(The one's in green are so truly 'US')

New Age Romance!

2009-06-17T23:11:00.001-07:00

I was listening to a few old songs when I noticed the innumerous anachronistic(almost) words used by the lyricists' of those times. Songs like mere 'haathoonn main 9-9 chudhiyaan hain', 'zhumka gira re bareili ke bazaar mein' , 'Saajan ji ghar aaye', 'Rajnigandha phool tumhare mehke yuheen jeevan mein' to soo many which suddenly escape my memory due to their not so common word usage.

The expression of love has changed over the past decade like never before, more so even the depiction has. The emotions which were very subtly shown by the conjunction of two flowers in a garden or two Maina's crossing heads, has changed to the show of feelings flowing freely in movies & television soaps for families to savour;) The songs have newer lyrics to portray love; from 'you are my sonia' to 'hote raseele ', 'zara zara touch me touch me' in comparison to the earlier ' mujhe na choona..pari hoon mai' or 'yeah sama sama hai yeh pyaar ka'. ..

The coming years, will redefine expression of love not only in our movies but elsewhere too. Through PDA's the visual expression is already getting very indulgent but the audio is deteriorating further more, from classy sophisticated expressions to lewd, mawkish words which hint everywhere but the centerdness of love (though the technology is like never before).

I am sure likes of Anu Malik will be fast to catch up with the tech revolution and we will soon hear songs expressing love like:

You are the ringtone of my blackberry,
I hope it comes soon in the color of cherry.

You are the wallpaper of my Iphone.
I look at it whenever I am alone.

Let not the wifi, intercept our flying kisses:)
only power outages will cause misses.

When I look at you, I know you are mine,
As since I have seen you, I havn't been able to work online...:) :D

Spirituality and Religion

2009-06-14T20:38:00.000-07:00

The difference between spirituality and religion is only in the approach they take. Religions incorporate symbols and rituals for the purpose of finding oneself which is not the case with the former. I think we all go through a phase or phases where we realize the importance of our presence and ponder over the need for our existence. I often think of my purpose of life, though the quest is lifelong due to the dynamics involved in the journey of life. Spirituality is about using self as an instrument to know your soul. It is about forgetting the outer existence for a feel of the universe within.

Ultimately, the goal of both religion and spirituality is to go deeper into oneself, know yourself and be at peace with yourself. This leads to peace within and peace around. Only a happy and contented person can spread beauty and joy around. Have you ever seen a frustrated, haggard person making his neighbor happy? At this point, I am reminded of: - What you sow is what you reap. You sow happiness you get happiness, you can't expect something back without giving. And this concept is universal.

It’s pathetic that the beauties of religion have been so misconstrued and skewed by people for personal whims and fancies. It's not uncommon to relate a certain misconduct to people of a particular religious community. Where we could have extended the holy writings with the current learning’s of progress, we have actually jig sawed them for personal gains. In spirituality, we have nothing which can be misconstrued. Its only you and your quest to be at peace with yourself and know yourself. Many feel ahh I am happy, do I need to learn to make myself happy. They laugh and chuckle. It's not about need it’s about holistic betterment. Spirituality and meditation, apart from just making you happy, they help you to go deep within where no one has gone before... to the land of knowing yourself, so that next time you get angry and are about to shout, you have this someone within saying..Caught ya...”now you r gonna shout...” and then you smile! :) It happens!!Not that you shouldn't shout, shout and be aware so that you are quick to damage control! :)

It's a challenging place to be in, where you get to analyze and criticize yourself. Ask questions, get answers and see things falling into place. A lot of this is what I think could be. I am just motivated to stick on, but surely an experience worth experiencing for all!

Australian Misconduct!

2009-06-10T01:28:00.000-07:00

"India has seen yet another round of racial attackes in Australia", reads a breaking news headline on the slew of news channels monopolising our life's. Sensationalising news has became the only reporting technique. I think the whole matter is being blow out of proportion to the usual whims and fancies of the media. They see an event as a prospective news maker and then starts, the array debates, discussions and big fights. Dignitaries are called in, questioned and made to seem as the only ones' responsible for crimes happening overseas.

What happened in Australia, "may" not be racially driven at all.Even if it is, by overhyping the whole situtation we are creating racial bariers all the more. In schools, a simple fight between a white and a black student will be misconstrued as racism by the black child, just because he is more aware of the term now. In the process of finding solutions we are actually deepening boundaries.

No doubt there are undercurrents of racism in the country as reports suggest. But then all incidents can't be attributed to racism. Also, portraying all indians to have been living in the country in abject danger of racial atttacks eversince is also not very probable either, when the attackers are not Australians but Lebanese by origin. The attacks took place in the low economic strata zones, know to have had a reputation of mugglers and goons. Even natives of that area find it inappropriate to linger around that area, wonder what the indians were doing there. Either they were not educated and aware enough of the geographies of the city or it was young blood wanting to explore. Also, young students in any country are prospective and easy targets by mugglers for their vulnerability as targets.

What needs to be done is not the incessant debates leading to no solution, neither do we need Indian students stabbing the perpetrators of such crime. I say crime and not racial attacks as these situations are usually opportunitic and racist in the same measure. Also, mostly it has some roots of instigation in the past.

We would be hypocrites if we said Indians don't racially discriminate. In times of multicultal society we need to educate all to respect the diversity we have. In the present context, Australia should just focus on diffusing the current feeling of alienation within the indian community and then doctor a long term plan for sustained removal of such incidents in future.

Pop..goes my Shoe!

2009-04-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

I have done it again; I can easily make a record. I think I can try for the limca book of records now. I have yet again managed to break my footwear, 5 foot wears in 4months. I don't know what to blame, the quality, the usage, my luck, or just plain ME. I wear decent brands, they seem strong too initially, not exorbitant but then good. So much as I would like to wear the likes of Jimmy Choo ,Valentino,Louis Vuitton,Tommy Hilfiger and Parada; gosh they are an investment and given my track record I think I am left with no option but to stick with our very own desi brands. But then I think it helps a lot of causes, I am supporting my indigenous industries, generating employment and in these days of struggle and recession not squandering our hard-earned Indian money on some bl**dy( i just felt like using it) firangi designer.

The framework of all these intelligent designers is such that they make Us throw away OUR money for their marketing and publicity. It’s ultimately their brand, their name, their label which we end up showing off, actually feeling very privileged and proud of having a Chanel or Diesel. We are just furthering their cause of money making and not even being acknowledged of our contribution in being their brand ambassadors. However, somewhere a part of me is compelling me to write; A couple of such brands are fine to own, just don't get too involved with its publicity..damn I am giving into their strategizing and product placement.:D

But yeah brands or no brands things are just getting too too expensive, I happened to go to a children store, had to buy a gift. What do I see, a Barbie is placed at 800rs, if the Barbie looks better, the more the parents/gift givers pay. How are we to provide when things just keep getting soo expensive, I think I have to just give up the idea of a Jimmy Choo...Pop, here goes my shoe again!

'Hooked on to THEATER"

2009-04-05T21:14:00.000-07:00

“Lights, camera, action!” - this is what I feel like graduating to, after a grueling, fun filled 2 day theater workshop with Evam’s CUT(a theater outfit teaching theater through fun methodology). The best part about it was that 25 of us were all equally uninhibited to show their wild, unhesitant side. It usually happens that not everyone is able to get into the same mood of letting it all go and just be yourself. I think this is what contributed to a lot of fun and masti between us complete strangers.

The event made me feel nostalgic, nostalgic about the days when such activities were, by default a part of our lives. We didn’t have to think of getting ourselves formally enrolled in them and think of how they will contribute to our betterment. But yes now everything you/I/we do is calculated and thought about(we pay:d).I was an active participant in plays during schools and have had opportunities to play Cinderella, Saraswatiji, a single eyed mafia, a model, Phool wali and what not(eww it all sounds so crass now). I still remember how my dad made my magic wand for my role as Cinderella and surprised me with it (Thanks Dad for all that encouragement). I don’t know why I was away from acting/Theater for a long time (I don’ t know why I didn’t take it up in college), but I feel a renewed love for it now. And the best part is I think I can act, orate, narrate and enjoyed the whole process of learning the aspects of direction, lighting and costumes.

The workshop was a medium to allow you to think about yourself, others and different aspects around us. A good actor is the one who can bare himself on stage and be able to share his deepest fears, feelings, thoughts and secrets with his audiences. He must be totally comfortable with himself, be able to trust others and give everyone the due respect in terms of not hogging the limelight but still shining in their own little way. Through various ingenious ways we were taught how to best do that. It was a great experience filled with fun, thought provoking conversations, team activities which did force a few of my usually dormant grey cells to get working to decide on the story, the plot and the characters.

Something different and something, I have been wanting to do for a long time, "get on stage". However, naïve I sound now; “I want to do theater.”

Democracy-(Entertainment=IPL)=Blog Post

2009-03-25T08:34:00.000-07:00

The media is in action again, hosting debates, getting viewpoints, getting dignitaries to respond and forming a public opinion, as to, Is IPL moving out of India a national disgrace. Is IPL moving out of India a National Disgrace, seriously, is it that big a deal? Our Home Minister Shri Chidambaram put it in a very straightforward manner; the Godra was a national disgrace (Also this was his way of subtly getting back at Mr. Modi, that people with such backgrounds cannot spurt dirt on others.)

India is a democracy and the elections are of utmost importance to the democratic framework of the country. The elections and the mood of elections should not be tampered with. With the IPL being held in the country, it would have led to diminished focus on elections. Not just that, the security concerns are a prime factor in the government taking such a measure. The opposition was very tersely rude in saying it is the government signaling that the security force is not enough to handle two major events in the country. Yes, that could be the case at least the government is being realistic in handling such a situation. The country is not short of miscreants, and given the election season surfacing of such miscreants won’t take time. I actually feel happy that the government Is being practical about the whole situation, the country has already gone through a lot in the past one year with subsequent blasts in various cities and then the scarring Mumbai attack whose trail is still on. With neighbors like that who beat around the bush and don’t even own up to acts accurately planned by them and oppositions like BJP who have lost all personal agenda and are waiting to pounce on any mistake the Government makes. I think the government is just being practical and avoiding any havoc which could lead to deteriorating the social fabric of the country during a delicate period and during an event which means a lot to the framework of the country.

Given all that, all those people who think they will be missing the razzmatazz of IPL in India, most of us anyways see it on television. Many will argue about the whole concept of it being diminished since it’s all about the Kolkata , Mumbai and Delhi teams..But comm’n IPL is supposed to be a global format(Yes an Indian idea-But doesn’t it give it more visibility being held in South Africa). Off-course the people who had tickets to the event (which form just 1% of the whole country) would be disappointed (not getting to see Cheer Leaders :D) but then comm’n guys please place the country before entertainment for once.

Interesting Read (hahaha)

2009-03-17T20:05:00.000-07:00

Interesting & Meaningful Equations – Don't forget to read the conclusion in the end

Equation 1

Humans = eat + sleep + work + enjoy

Donkeys = eat + sleep

Therefore:

Humans = Donkeys + Work + enjoy

Therefore:

Humans - enjoy = Donkeys + Work

In other words,

Humans that don't enjoy = Donkeys that work.

Equation 2

Men = eat + sleep + earn money

Donkeys = eat + sleep

Therefore:

Men = Donkeys + earn money

Therefore:

Men - earn money = Donkeys

In other words

Men who do not earn money = Donkeys

Equation 3

Women = eat + sleep + spend

Donkeys = eat + sleep

Therefore:

Women = Donkeys + spend

Therefore:

Women - spend = Donkeys

In other words,

Women who do not spend = Donkeys

To Conclude:

From Equation 2 and Equation 3

Men who don't earn money = Women who don't spend

So Men earn money not to let women become donkeys!

And women spend not to let men become donkeys!

So, We have:

Men + Women = Donkeys + earn money + Donkeys + Spend money

Therefore we can conclude

Men + Women = 2 Donkeys that live happily together

Happy W-Day

2009-03-08T04:11:00.000-07:00

A very very Happy women's day to all those women out there. Comm'n we are the God's best creation. The sad part was until my mom called me to wish me, I was unaware of it being today(Yes, I hadnt seen the newspare yet either). But does it matter, it's just that having a day specific for it reiterates the fact just a little more, that yes women are rising, Women empowerment is fast becoming a reality. And also we get added discounts on labelled brands, which I found one of my male friends complaining about, that why not have an international Men's day with 70% off on a men's brand too. A valid plea.. But till the time I get it I am happy.

But the truth is, we do need to have such days, and above all women's day. We, the city, urban women are just lucky enough to be born into liberal families who emphasise on independence, education, identity, opinions and dignity. We are just lucky to be born in this day and age and the circumstances we have been living in . Even today rural women are suffering, sufferring daily, the brunt of their own families, the life, the lack of respect, the lack of identity and above all the lack of decision. The deep rooted evils of child marriage, dowry, marriage against will, physical assualts of all kinds, victimization and just subjecting her to pointless indiscretion of all kinds in all spheres need heightened attention to uplift our women so that they can lead a normal life- A life they have been destined for. Hoping the emancipation drives and making people aware of such existing malice make women more and more aware of their rights to a standard of living.

Truly, It's a day to celebrate our identity. I read an awesome article by Tanuja Chandra today, were she emphasizes her single indentity and rises above the norm of single women as being a bane in society. " If you do not tread the regular road it does not mean your life is less meaningful or fuller in any way". Women now search for a companion in their partners not an identity. It's time men leveraged the situation to their advantage, because ultimately its a women who can nuture a family to its maximum. Cheers to WomanHood!! and at the same time Cheers to ManHood- since you have to drive the change guys!!

Till then Rock on girls!

Shaadi & Show

2009-03-05T01:03:00.000-08:00

Our Indian weddings are soo much of razzmatazz. It’s a treat to be a part of them and be a party to all its ceremonies and traditions. I am just back from one and the lingering feeling of being detached from celebration is beginning to set in as the real world beckons...

The build up to the wedding and the wedding itself is so exhausting and exhaustive. We sleep less, eat more, crib less, talk more, hide less, meet more. It's great to see how the happiness of two people so easily moves to all present there. Its celebrations, where a few of the family are caught up in making sure all who attend don't go unsatisfied and a few make sure they are looked after well. It’s meeting family living far across the globe in festive environment and catching up. Shaadi is 'the' place to feel connected again with people, family, traditions and food. The mithayees of different types, all which one would avoid eating otherwise are pounced upon, complete indulgence. From jalebi's to halwas to ice cream to gulab jamun to firni to rabri to my fav malpua - WOW!! Heaven!

I sometimes wonder why do the hosts spend soo much money on the lighting the venue, the shimmering lahenga's, the dazzling sarees, the studded hair-do , the glamorous make up and the 100 watt smiles all can make up for a power failure there anytime. Ladies flaunt the most expensive sarees and gents the most expensive suits. I am proud to say one of my uncles wore Versace..indulgence!! Its funny that how in Delhi people are scared to go out on the roads after 7-8pm especially ladies but come wedding season and decorated, decked up women wearing their most prized and expensive jwellery set out on the roads to grace the baraat without feeling the fear of being robbed. This is Shaadi precisely - where the spirit and excitement overpowers such fears. All the way the spirit reigns.

Cheers & wishing the newlyweds a happily ever after. God Bless.

Slumdog(Slam-d-dog??) millionnaire takes it all...

2009-02-28T10:03:00.000-08:00

The movie with overtones of Indian poverty has made it to the biggest arena where the beautification of India doesn’t seem to work forever. None of the stalwarts of Indian cinema from our Karan Johars to Sanjay Leela Bhansali to modern day Bhandarkars have been able to do what Danny Boyle has done. Beat foreign counterparts in their own category. Totally unimaginable till a few years back when our films still struggled to make it to the foreign film category and then obviously loose.

This has been a surprise, though a lot of people want to completely take the credit off India given it is made by a firangi but given all that the story is Indian, written by an Indian, set in India, made in our studios, with Indian musicians and with Indian Actors barring a few including our not so handsome Dev Patel (ohh okay now he famous!! so the Handsome Dev Patel).

The movie is Indian so I guess India deserves all the credit it has been getting for the movie. Fine I agree it has portrayed or as a few people have mentioned romanticized the poverty of India; it in no means has shown something which is not real. Dharavi exists and so do the underdogs who live in Dharavi. It is just too brutal a portrayal for us Indians. We have this habit of shoving things under the carpet and behaving all goody goody. This attitude exists everywhere and so does in our cinema, but then when in India we can go and personally visit the Slums why pay for it in a movie!!

Also the argument of showing the wrong side of India to the foreigners through the movie, is a bad argument, everyone knows the situation in India, 'the land of snake charmers and elephants'. Truly, when have u and me seen a snake charmer or an elephant lately? At least the movie shows what it is! The world has begun to see India as a budding power, its good people got to see its challenges too. I am hoping at least a few NRI's would now be more sensitive towards improving the conditions of our slum dwellers.

Also the movie is based on a book and everyone has a right to creativity and why not just take it as fiction, we should, before raising all this hue and cry. It’s not a documentary, it’s not real. Smiley Pinky is for real and it is real. Agree to it that it’s just been a good year for Indian cinema, giving us higher visibility and hoping for more collaborations with the west for better entertainment. English direction with bollywood masala. I am already waiting.

On the flip side, doesn’t it sound weird..Suddenly India has gained visibility on such a high platform of excellence. I was having a discussion with my cousins on this, and we came up with a very logical explanation. Remember when India won a series of Miss World and Miss Universe crowns. It was this sudden recognition of Indian beauty at the renowned pageants, never before had Indian women got such admiration and accolades. What happened suddenly? This was when Indian markets had just begun to open up to foreign goods. By making India visible, they made the ground for customer consumption. All of a sudden there was this influx of foreign goods, creams, shampoos, oils, designer wears, gowns, brands. The names which we didn’t know of till a few couple of years have now become household names. From coke to Pepsi to Pepsodent to Chanel to Loreal to Gucci to Versace, All got visibility and a vulnerable market. A laarge market!! The strategy worked very well.

Now in these troubled testing times of recession where Indian companies are still doing much better than their counterparts in various other parts of the world, I guess they want a few favors. Tough to believe right, but it seems quite a plausible explanation. They have the resources, the intelligence and the credibility for such strategizing. Think!! It the time to think before they hollow of our roots as they have already almost done to our food bazaars!! They are on the conquest again!!Gear Up...

Confusing 'Confusion'

2009-02-10T20:58:00.000-08:00

What is confusion? Does everyone feel confused? How and when do we get confused? Is getting confused a weak character trait? Does being unsure of things around you, your choices, likings, aspirations and looking at others decisions for a confirmation of your decision a sign of extreme confusion. I have heard a lot of people talking, facing and feeling such a situation in their lives and also I wouldn't disagree to how confused I get sometimes.What is confusion: coming back to this question.Confusion is when you have more than one option, and I feel you can have more than one option only if you are intelligent enough to find out more options.But then its not soo helpfull, you see. You need more intelligence, decision making skills, contemplation and energy above all to make an informed decision.More so their is sooo much to feel confused about in our daily lives and I am sure each and everyone one of us faces it. From trivial(hehe-not so trivial) example of not being able to choose a particular brand without confusion, buying a perfume or for that matter complete confusion when you get torn between choice and price, so not totally trivial, happens.Whether it be being confused about how your life looks in future or how you want to shape your future, career decisions, whether to follow or chart a course which can be followed. Or for that matter gettng into something you want to or getting into something which others want you to get into.

Futhermore, knowing yourself. You think you know yourself, but the self is so constantly evolving that you don't realise when you start being this completely new person. Then their is the confusion of self. This is something I am sure everyone faces, suddenly you realise, I never thought I could speak like that or write like that. Then their confusion of the way you think you will behave the next time in a similar situation.Ohh!! whole lot of confusion.Also so much so that for all of us who have just started a new part of life called work life, confusion is a huge dimension. Confused in what way to think, what to say and how to develop to be what we want to be.

Decisions form an important part of the cause of confusions in our life.If at all every decison could be made before hand, I am sure even if we have that power a certain section of society would want to go ahead and face it all on their own.Justified!Now the question is,is confusion good? It's again about being aware that you are confused and then trying to come to a conclusion, close to a decision and evolve with every confusing feeling you have.I think so!!

>>Void or Devoid<<

2009-01-31T00:42:00.000-08:00

For a lot of days now, I wanted to write but then I didn’t have anything to, my mind was devoid of anything to write on. This is weird because sometimes a person has so much to speak, is at his/her communicative best, glib and voluble, But a few other days is at a loss of words, loss of expressions and loss of thoughts. Some days I want to express so much, thoughts will be pouring in and I actually contemplate noting them down so that I don’t forget then due to such an influx. While some other days, the mind is actually void and so calm and restful. It’s actually a great thing when your mind is at that sort of restful state. I think its human, when we have just so many thoughts through are head we meditate to let the mind settle down and not wander unnecessarily but when we have that state, we ourselves reflect on it as being devoid of thoughts ideas and opinions. Weird isn’t it.

I don’t know how many of you reading this have noticed that as we grow old we start developing two personalities, one what we are by the grace of God and the second that we want ourselves to be. For example, you may inherently be short tempered when things are not happening as you want them to, you realise your shortcoming and put in all your thought, focus and energies to curb it down so that nobody else gets to see what you know of yourself. This is the person you want to be, who is calm and composed in situations which are not falling as per his/her perceptions. But given that I feel the basic quality of a person’s fundamental nature remains, this is the person you are and whenever he is caught unaware, the basic instinct resurfaces. I maybe wrong because at the same time nothing is impossible, we can completely mould ourselves to the way we want to be, depending on our judgements and experience. Here also the existence of a paradox comes into picture where we are not sure what is better for me, my judgements or his creational acumen.

Also when I started writing this I had nothing to write about which again sounds like a paradox now. :D

Revisting 'ARMY'

2009-01-20T21:12:00.000-08:00

This time on my visit to to my parents I had a very weird feeling of revisiting my early years. The feeling of being back to the Cantt and the world of Army charisma.Not that I had been away from it for long but I seemed to appreciate it more this time.

Lucknow cantt is for itself one of the better cantt's our Indian Army can boast off, but my new outlook gave it a further more heightened status. I love the feel of home coming when I walk into a cantonment, the security, the ambience , the cleanliness and the class. I can feel the chivalry, I can feel the concern and above all the spirit of just living life to the fullest. Whether it be the open air theaters, the sports complex, the walking plaza, the small momo shops, the parties, the im-promtu call-on's, the awesome display of the best sarees in ladies club, the cultural events, the dance balls, the monthly club tambola's, the chiken tikka's, the monthly movies, the uniforms, the conduct , the highly pampered and revered treatment to ladies..ohh I soo love it all.

I had the opportunity to be witness to the AMC yearly anniversary celebrations on Jan 1st, which also boasts of a well coordinated parade of the batallions posted under the AMC center there. Moreover it was more special for me given my father was commanding the parade with subsequent appearances in newspapers the next day.Looking at the unravelling of the parade proceedings, sitting in the carpeted makeshift shelter, I did feel royal, only I missed wearing a gown with a hat decorated with flowers and fruits(like old regality in a polo match) and huge dark sunglasses. Pampered!!

I am just happy my Dad decided to join the army 25 years back and also that my connection with the impressive and lavish life of the army continues since my dad sang "I am in the Army now" and then continued the early morning PT's letting us enjoy the subsequent add-on's. Cheers !!

>>>>>Demo'Tech'crats<<<<<

2009-01-08T22:05:00.000-08:00

http://shobhaade.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-beginningsor.html

I loved this article by the established Shobha De and especially how seamlessly she manages to drift from the virtual arena ofb her thoughts to the reality in Goa. Its all about smiling, and I loved reading it because a smile can help you be in a state of floatation in any situation and also let no one know what kinda of situation you are in. So I Guess thats gonna be my mantra in 2009.

Her solution of letting a few corporate biggies do the honours of running our city/country and be directly answerable to the citizens sounds good and impressive. But given the current political and democratic condition and the present face of the country such a tradeoff is desperately needed but does not look possible in the current context.

Also 2 days after the chairman of Satyam owned up to a fraud of 5000 Crores, the trust which probably the corporate honchos dwelled in and deserve too for their prowess, skill and expertise in handling massive organisations is in doldrums currently. If a man of that stature can risk the future of as many as 53000 employees, now Mrs De I think your suggestion needs much thinking. But who is to be trusted?But true One man cannot form the basis of all are opinions and prejudices but then yes no blind trust on their prowess and skill.

Whatever said and done, we probably need a change and I dont mind electing new leaders(no diplomacy needed now by sayng I believe in my leaders of today), change technocrats to democrats. The future though will be answerable whether "technocrat" becames a compliment or a slander.Time will tell, whether the change even happens.

2008-12-23T21:04:00.000-08:00

Breathe.., Let Go,

And Tell Yourself ,

That this moment is the only one, you know you have for sure!!

-Oprah Winfrey.

Worth One's Salt:-

2008-12-22T20:31:00.000-08:00

Everything no matter how small makes a huge difference to the way your life charts its course. Every small step, consider crossing the road-one wrong step and you know what? Every Small fillip can change your life; imagine having a revolver and accidently killing someone, or being a terrorist or an encounter specialist. Every small signature has the capacity of making you bankrupt; consider signing on a blank cheque. I know I am being a little too vile but then this is how it is (I don't even know how all this is popping up in my head right now-could be my sleep deprived mind).

Consider cooking(I have recently), till the time all the spices are not in the right quantity the dish doesn't turn out to the way it is supposed to be. The delicious, delectable, exquisite and aromatic curry will not be the same unless you put in the masala's in the most accurate measure to the last pinch, cook it for the right number of minutes and at the right burner strength. Then the smallest quantity of salt can make or break what you make or a little more bake will spoil your cake (ohhh!! it rhymes). So basically every small thing affects the larger picture in a great way.

Every small action can form national headline, remember George Bush ducking and dodging a Shoe, fine but what made news was the Size 10 shoes and the journalist. Shobha De's comment asking SRK to wear a saree and bangles given his incompetency in being able to comment on 26/11(give him a break, he only plays characters don't ask him to play politician), and nobody can beat India TV with its array of weird news from a ghost in the house to God speaking and eating on a particular day. With the un-groomed claws of newsreaders ready to pierce into anything, every small thing you do, can become a piece of national trivia, let alone Mihir dying on the soap opera 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhie Bahu Thi' a few years back, people still remember it as a national tragedy. And I have been soo carried away by the news that has made unnecessary headlines that I have transgressed way past to get back to where I started, another hazard of a small thought change leading up to a bigger damage. Here though not that much, but capable!!

Scientific Spirituality & Chaos

2008-12-18T10:33:00.000-08:00

There is so much randomness all around and but so much order still. Its completely upto us to choose to be a part of which organised chaos existing around us. Walking on the chaotic roads is a task , booking movie tickets is a greater task(given I coudn't go for Rab ne Bana de Jodi due to theatres being packed),and more so taking your own decisions can become a mission. Organising the chaos in your head is a bigger challenge that exists every moment and every second. Every breath brings with it a new thought and a new feeling. To be capable of aligning all those thoughts to take a decision, to be able to tame that chaos that exists within the periphery of your own hearts and soul can take mammoth proportions.

It's worth paying attention as to how everything within and around us is soo chaotic; from our thoughts to the traffic to the sensex to the myriad TV channels to the manifold programs and the innumerous Breaking news.
But there is still order, day still becomes night, summer will still give way to winter, you will definitely see the full moon, you will always smell fresh mud when it rains and you will definitely see the old leaves give way to the new ones. There is something which knows that above all chaos there is order and that order tells us to respect our existence.

Science has also come to conclude the existence of a single life source flowing through all of us, the wisdom is only then when we nurture this life force and nourish it to improve everyone's life experience and prevent the growth of resentment, arrogance and aggression. In the process, eluding the mushrooming of many chaotic brains, which can create more resentment via deaths.

"Buses" - Again

2008-12-07T09:40:00.000-08:00

I don’t know whether it is my affinity for buses or the bus’s affinity for me. I don’t seem to be getting over them, over and over again I end up travelling by buses. I have travelled by the local buses in Chennai , then Pune and now Hyderabad. But no matter how different the place may be, the bus culture is same everywhere, people running to catch them, pushing each other to get in first, shouting at people in the front to keep moving clearing the entrance, the conductor and driver keeping a strict vigil to not allow people to get in from the front door to only allow passengers to get down from there. The various so very nice aunties who are ready to clutch your belongings when you are left doing the balancing act. The friendly conductors who are ever ready to guide you and confirm your last station, not frustrated by the large number of queries they have to face each day in as a part of what they do. Every journey brings with it new set of experiences and often really nice one’s.

To experience the culmination of India’s people, the local buses provide u all the insights. From vegetable vendors to IT professionals, all travel together leaving behind the artificial garb of hypocrisy. But it does get a little messy too, more often than not. Standing in the overcrowded uneven terrain, its tough to keep oneself collected. Its tough to not look at the oil brushing on your hand from a heavily oiled ladies hair while hanging on to the railing. Their was once this small little girl who decided to stand right next to me with her cup of vanilla ice-cream, her mother obviously oblivious to the dangers she posed to me. Every time the bus braked she nearly fell on me, she had her priorities right(Eat and be merry-rest shall follow). I warned her to hold on to the seat for her own safety, rather sternly..comm’n she almost dropped the ice cream on me and nearly smudged uff those dirty hands on me. Luckily, she got down on the next stop..relieved I so was!!

There is one person I would like to dedicate this piece to, An unassuming lady, all of 70, she travelled everyday via the bus I took in Pune (as a part of her hitch hiking route she trudged on daily). Not letting the age get to her, she had to feed people at home, she worked as a baby care-taker at one of the hospitals. I used to just see her, and everyday when my spirit and strength broke travelling by buses day in out, she gave me the inspiration. I gathered the courage to go and speak to her and tell her how I admired her power and strength. She only smiled and said “Karna padtha hai.”
I thank you for a valuable lesson in life.

Sakhee.

Where is my TAJ!!

2008-12-02T00:30:00.000-08:00

"Enough is Enough", is NDTV's new slogan for the country. It has hidden within it cries of us,
representing the 62 hour long carnage at Taj, bloodshed at Oberoi and mayhem at CST very accurately along with highlighting the perfidious attitute of the echelons of our democracy. This year has been the worst for India, the death toll rising beyond proportions making India next only to Isreal in terror killings. Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Surat, Delhi and now MUmbai, our neighbour has left no stone unturned to hurt our spirit. It has realised that they cannot outdo us at war so lets bleed us to death. The bloodshed has affected the top, the rich , the powerful, the top brass of proffessionals, tourists and all those who give definition to Mumbai on the global map. The attacks so accurately planned to hit where it hurts most, The Taj which is the symbol of Indian hospitality to the world and a object of awe to all of us Indians.We have lost the brave, the selfless servants of the land, Hemant Kakare, Major Unnikrishnan, so many unsung heros, faces which contributed to our lives from Sabina Saika, TOI editor or the family of Taj GM or the employees which laid their lives to save others.

Mumbai is at War and our politicos still refuse to take the responsibility of being responsible for
what they are elected for. If at all things have happened, atleast don't go ahead and snub it as a
regular happening in a big city according to the union minister.This time around the people of India do not want condescending pat of resilience on their back, they do not want to go on and forget as if nothing ever happened and let the bureaucrats use the real life tragedy to hasten their political agendas.This time around it seems different, as Prasson Joshi in his poem dedicated to the episode emphasised.."I will not let the wounds heal, no matter how much it pains", or as Barkha Dutt put very subtly in one of her coverage, "The will of people to take action is a silver lining in a very dark cloud."

The need of the hour is offcourse to stay united as the PM said. To have faith in us as a community and not single out or fasely implicate others without evidence. This is the time to also show faith in the system and take more interest in democracy and its functions. The whole fabric of democracy rests in the people chosing their representatives and being able to proactively get what we want fromt them.Its time for becoming active in demanding what we want.

Change has come to America and its time it came to India too.

Amen.

Between Positive/negative, What??

2008-11-23T10:35:00.000-08:00

Thoughts define what we are and thoughts also define what we end up being. A thought might seem to be a trivial part of the million/zillion things we think about in a day but a thought is what constitutes all what we do, aspire and become. Our will power, destiny all are just thoughts. Thoughts constitute our quarrels, arguments, fights, a small change to the way we think can change the way we live. A small change in the way we think about people can nurture relationships, build bonds, strengthen ties and better lives.

The glass can either be half full or half empty. We are often told to think positive for our betterment, but is that so? In the quest to always reject negative thoughts or ‘bad’ feelings that pop in my head, I fortunately have an excellent explanation in this excerpt by my Guru in his book “God Loves Fun”.

The power of positive thinking might seem to be doing some good in the beginning. It touches you only on the surface level, but pushes all that garbage underneath the carpet. How long can it stay there? For a day, two months ,one year or two. You will find everything fine and wonderful, “Oh it works”. And then you see underneath the carpet, it starts stinking. Lots of garbage comes up. We don’t need to think positive; we don’t need to think negative. We have to transcend the thinking, understand the thinking. Thinking is like a cloud in my space. They come and go. Watch and observe and you will see you will get into another plane of existence. That is the true you. That is freedom.

Q:-When positive or negative thoughts come up, we have a choice, shouldn’t we favor the positive thoughts??

Now see, when you chose between thoughts they have already come and gone? A positive thought has already come and gone. A negative thought has come and it has gone. When something has gone there is no point in choosing them.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji.

(-1) * (-1) != (1)

2008-11-12T09:32:00.000-08:00

Do two negatives make a positive? Is (-1)*(-1) = 1 always true? Can we apply this to all our life situations? A friend has made me ponder on this trivia and I can’t help, but think about relating this simple fact to a few of life’s dimension. As far as I can think we have know this fact since our 3rd grades but does it hold true in every which way?

Do two negatives always make a positive? Will two bad dishes make a good meal? Will two negative people make a successful marriage? Will two expletives make a compliment? Will two enemies give the same pleasure as that of a friend? Will two negative words in a sentence make a positive sentence?

I had heard mathematics fits directly into real life, or real life is just an interpretation of mathematics. The mass, energy, light, colours everything but then do two negatives always make a positive? At least the English language does abide by this pious rule. But can two negative people make a successful marriage, may be they might, assuming they appreciate each others negativity and detest their positivity. Now this is really intriguing, how often do you end up feeling positive after two bad days? How lame, isn’t it to give such stupid, pathetic, obtuse examples. A few may be extreme but comm’on I have made you think and I am still thinking.
Why and how does two negative always make a positive?

Ssssuuper Power

2008-11-07T22:27:00.000-08:00

I was in this official gathering, basically an orientation program for training, where we were asked a simple question,”What super power would you want to possess”. Our creative juices were supposed to flow and somehow we were expected to come up with something incredible.

Some people did, from possessing powers to freeze time, to go back in time, to be able to know what others are thinking, to possess the power of being able to absorb other’s super power, to be able to know what others are thinking and to be able to get all your wishes fulfilled. When I think about mine, I wonder why I didn’t turn pink with embarrassment, what I said was to be able to transcend boundaries and traffic, to be able to reach any place when I wished for it, across cities, countries, continents and yes I also added planets on a little persuation by the senior lot sitting there. Basically, avoid the traffic which consumes so much of the “ME TIME” and also to be home whenever.

I am also reminded of someone’s superpower wish, 'to posses a super brain like that of the super Bill Gates'. Now a power is super only if the human possessing it is also super. When I think about it again, slight additions to such a wish can actually elevate the wisher to the status of a super human.
A super brain, used properly leads to a super company, leads to super employment and leads to a super human.

Just to revisit my super power wishes (without more embarrassment), the super power I want, is to be a super personality(now who doesn’t want that) and be able to do everything that needs to be done to become that.
Spare a few moments to enlighten me on your wishes,..and who knows after my wish is granted I “might” grant yours!!

Jim Jam and Man

2008-10-29T05:08:00.000-07:00

Have you ever eaten or just seen the jim jam biscuit, the one which has a small blob of mixed fruit jam in the middle. I personally love that biscuit. Recently, while on my way to almost finishing the biscuit I realized, how little time I spent on eating the periphery layered with vanilla cream (but being cautious at d same time)to be able to get the jam part of biscuit in whole(& devour it). It’s just so satisfying to be able to eat the jam part in whole but still somewhere it falls short of being what it promised to be. I reckon the taste buds want more (it is so tiny).

The interesting part is that this maps one on one with every life situation and also to every individual (my observation - people who differ might comment). We all spend time eating on to the edges frivolously, trying to finish it off, waiting for something better to happen. We all want to, just rush through the things in our lives hoping for things to change in the future and run past our present experience on the hope of a better future. So don’t we see a similarity with the Jim Jam biscuit here..hurrying through the things in hand(which constitute a major part)or thinking about better things in future(Like the jam )… but unfortunately when we actually get there we realize how shortlived this joy is and we might as well have enjoyed the passage, the path which ultimately led us to that sought after place or thing.

Ultimately amounting to a wholesome and satisfying journey.And for people who have not tried this biscuit , do try .. it will add to your experience while on the journey:D.

Hyd Diaries

2008-10-23T08:55:00.000-07:00

The weekend has been nthng sort of feeling like being a part of a tourists’ entourage visiting Hyderabad. Visited Ramoji Film City, Golconda Fort and Salar Jung museum, and while I type this I still feel residual reminisces of tiredness. It’s been over a week in Hyderabad and have been on my toes since I landed here, given even my flight was an hour delayed, but I have been jst too excited to let it settle.

Ramoji Film City was a gud experience as it is celebrated ( at least in it’s premises) as a visionary’s vision. Constructed by Ramoji Rao around 6 years back, the biggest film city spread over a few acres and home to the biggest shooting stage in Asia. The place has duplicate representations of trademark places in India (the Mughal gardens from Delhi being the best), recreated areas which give out a feel of different regions from Kerala to Africa to Europe, airports, banks, high courts , u name it. And I did recognose quite a few being used in our hindi movies. We were also given a run through the movies making process, superimposing visuals on a staged act depicting basanti on her tanga, a poor lady from the crowd was given the opportunity of playng that part(others like me jst cudnt stop chukling to c her struggle). It was fun to c the fragile tanga almost topple when she climbed on it.Regret missing the stunt show, but then there was a much more important calling then, hunger. A good place to hang out, given a number of joy rides but a not so very scary bhoot bangla., but I guess a gud place for husbands to try to scare their not so scared wife’s,(this is what got me more entertained, in that kinda bhootiya place).

Golconda Fort is a massive marvel giving an insight into the grandeur of that era. Tho it did take a gud one and a half hours to cover the whole stretch which included climbing 480ft through the temples, mosque, baradari, the rani mahal(even tho in ruins now I wudn’t mind reliving as the occupant of dat place then) , the special dancing arena for a few courtesans. The star attraction was being able to hear the clap at 0 ft at 480 ft ,the topmost point dat served as a warning in case of an attack, the way in which water was circulated even tho it required against gravity movement and the courtesan’s arena being visible from the seat of qutubh shahi kings. A gud trek blended with a detailed background from r very sweet fatherlike guide..who screamed if we didn’t pay attention to his description(nearly got slapped on payng more attention to photography).

Salar Jung museum, had been patronised by my grandfather and yes it was worth the visit. The museum is the largest assemblage of a single man and his collection tho not very antique, held vast regional importance. The best part and also the most popular is a musical clock. More than 400 years old, has been functioning non-stop since then. It has a very unique assembly where in a small boy like figurine hits a bell evrytime it strikes hour. And then mesmerising part was yet to come, the veiled Rebecca, a marble statue of a young to be bride, the veil looks like a real georgette chunni. Evry expression so true and so real and every fold of the cloth still visible from under the marble veil. So very real.

The city has a few more places worth a visit including the birla temple, the tombs of the qutub shahi kings and a number of nicely kept gardens along the hussain sagar lake. A great veiw of this lake , the necklace road was worth a watch from the birla temple.All in all a lot of places of historic importance but hardly ny to meet to r window shoping needs, sob sob...

Changing Changes!!

2008-10-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

Change has to happen, change keeps happening and all we as people can do is to accept it willingly, else what happens also is change. A change of our stress levels, anxiety and peace!!
Like recently I moved to Hyderabad, it was a huge change at every front, adjusting knowingly to change is slightly easy, unknowingly even more easier, I suppose. Bcoz if u know of change u keep thinking of how it will unfold its surprises for u. I it just happens being what we are ..and actually we don’t have any option, no matter how advanced we get we will still be forced to accept d adjustment dat comes with r lifes at any stage.
Not dat I have been forced to get into sum tremendous change but a thot whch crossed my mind. Like again we have to change r perceptions continuously and get used to it, I excepted Hyderabad to be a much developed place, the cyerabad tag..but to my dismay..its not., it might be on the process of getting there but right now all I c are dug up roads and maddening traffic. But then the airport is nothing short of being of world class standards. I was also taken by surprise, actually I chuckled to myself after I saw a telgu newspaper for the first time in the plane replete with pictures of local filmstars. I now enforce my love for my bollywood stars.
Now sumthngs can’t change and when we can dictate those little sumthngs..why not…That’s what we do all the time form opinions, change them, think abt others forming opinions abt ourselves and blah blah..so very dynamic and every action changes r thots , r impressions and the expressions. When everything nyways changes..why am I giving it soo much thot ..its meant to.

A JOURNEY-------->>>>”THE JOURNEY”

2008-10-04T07:57:00.000-07:00

Warning: “A resemblance to any person living is purely coincidental”

Our relationship is all of 2 years and still going strong! It took us some time to know each other, but things did fall into place. I knew exactly when he was coming. Still, I would wait for hour’s altogether to meet him. My ecstasy knew no bounds when we would finally meet, my spirits jubilant and rapturous. Like every relationship, the initial few months were exploratory, getting to know each other. As time progressed my long waits turned into pit-stops, but one thing that did not change was his moody demeanor. He would often tease me, looking right in my face, tantalizing every vein in my body, move across as if I am made of glass, unperceivable! In a jiffy, he would be gone.

However, eccentric he may be, there are a few qualities I can only admire. The way he dresses, though he doesn’t seem to change too often. The way he treats me when I am with him. It’s hard to believe, but every time I am with him I get a dated memoir for remembrance of our meeting, which initially I collected but then like everything, monotony caught on. Poor guy, I hope he knows how much I detest paying for the diesel on our long drives together. Initially, I was fine with the arrangement, but when the hike in diesel prices incited him to ask me to contribute more; I already had, had enough by then to move on….

For all those who thought I was in love, you are NOT completely wrong but it’s our very own Pune PMT Bus Seva, I was in love with. Obviously, if you spend two hours daily commuting you do fall in love with the medium of transport itself. Seasons come and go but the buses don’t seem to swindle. One of the best networked and organized bus services in our country and I am very proud to cite that it won the best mode of transport award on Radio Mirchi in February.
“I have not been paid by the PMT for these lines”.

Honestly, the last two and half years commuting by bus, have not been the best. It isn’t easy to reach home hitch-hiking .Waiting for hours in the sun, and finally when the bus does come, all of a sudden, you start to feel invisible. Even if you do manage to get in, you have to prove Newton wrong. I have to learnt to work against gravity, trained the muscles in my arms and feet to rise above, leaving behind the others in the race to get hold of the bar of hope (some of the few things you can be sure to get hold of in case of an impetuous break in lieu of ubiquitous potholes and brave motor bikers jeopardizing their life). I have also seen astute people, negating the theory that ‘People can not be stable standing on one foot for too long”.
There have also been times when all the childhood training in dodge ball has come handy; u cannot but put it to work when people decide to spit from alternate windows in the bus. As disgusting as it sounds, imagine having a real time experience, for me it is an inexorable reality!! Those street urchins, who unfortunately always end up getting a seat next to me, their hands defying the meaning “dirty”, ever willing with every speed breaker ,to lay them on me. So much for washing and ironing my clothes early in the morning! I can’t help but share this one incident that happened recently, where my MP3 player was hanging loosely around my neck and an old lady(I presume from the Alandi village nearby)was sitting in front of where I was standing. Impulsively, she reached for my player (as startled as I could be), asked me if it was a phone. In that state I could only point towards my earphones. But I am sure, it would be hilarious to hear them speak over a cup of tea-their topic of discussion-“young girls and their hearing aids”.

If you ever want to find out the latest fashion trends on which a number of fashion houses base their livelihood, it’s got to be the buses to Alandi, the exquisite jewelry, bright turbans, the inscrutable dhoti , the mind boggling number of ear piercing and so many varied designs of a simple ghagra-choli, it’s all there. So all you fashion buffs, leave your boring two-wheelers and head for the bus stop near you!!

These experiences have left such an indelible mark on my psyche, that I have gone a step further devising newer technologies for its betterment. I have dreamt of modern and electronically equipped bus stops, with technology in full control. My impregnable spirits didn’t stop there, at a point of time I had gone to the extent of deploying infrared ray transmitters on top of every bus and a reader on every bus stop. This would have sent signals telling exactly how far the bus was from the bus stop. A blessing, certainly, for all those who wait at bus stops looking intently in the direction, as if their spotting the bus first, would get them an Oscar!

I hope the PMT comes up with a software department soon. For all those who have not succumbed to irritation and managed to reach the end, I hope with all my heart you be the first to get absorbed in the ‘PMT software firm’, Cheers!!

(This is another one of my previously written articles, It was published in my college magazine in 2007.)

........................MANKIND

2008-10-02T22:51:00.000-07:00

I often wonder, why did GOD create man?
To be happy, or to be sad,
To plunder or to destroy,
To live or to let live.

I’m oft entangled in the web of such thoughts.
I’m disturbed, I’m melancholic
The child within me replies:-
God doth create man for his own entertainment
To laugh and cry
And attain perfection in his art of creating man

But a confronting voice soon replies,
God doth create man to support
The trees, the rivers and the plains
We are his eternal creations
Almighty we give you only pain!!.

(This was sumthng I wrote abt 7-8 years back during my school and had it published in my school magazine in 2003)

Terrorism yet again

2008-09-29T22:36:00.000-07:00

"Terrorists are not only those who target citizens with deadly bombs but also those who terrorise innocents by unleashing frenzied mobs." The worst fear comes to light when what you begin to imagine becames a reality and this is what happened today. Reading these lines when I turned on the television today, all I could see on every channel were images of stampede at the Chamunda temple in Jodhpur. Enthusiast devotees and followers were on time to flag off their 1st vrath of Navratri's in an auspicious manner by visiting the 450 year old temple, but never did they know it would be their last.

Stampede's are not natural, they have to be caused. They have to be incited. No devotee will start off chaos in the place of his worship. Most people who turn up in large numbers are there just for the sake of bribing God to get their wishes fulfilled. (And why not if that gives them the satisfaction to move on), what I am trying to say is that these god fearing people will not even in their dreams think of causing such widespread devastation on a day like today. There has to be some stronger force behind those who cause such wreckage. Some motivating and mind washing energy which moulds people for the sake of their own gains and aspirations. A stampede will always have a reason, probably a bomb scare, which makes a man run for his life. Little does he know of the planning that has gone in to make him the first victim of their murderous intincts and in the bargain killing several more.

There is a frenzy to mastermind such events to get leverage in their political careers by throwing mud at the government and furthering their own political agendas. Durgaji residing at the chamunda mandir has seen the murderers carry out what they set out with efficiency, lets see till when can they walk over the bodies of the innocent and reach pinnacles in their career. I refuse to believe it was an accident. May the architects of this mayhem suffer and suffer till death.

Terrorism - A grave problem...

2008-09-28T22:35:00.000-07:00

Another bomb blast in the country and so many more injured, more mentally than the tangible reality of destruction. Terrorism in the country has been on a rise ever since the attack on our parliament a few years back. The problem is, such incidents cannot be stopped, at least immediately. When well educated people consummate such events using articles of least suspicion, a Tiffin box or a cycle who can doubt their intentions and why?? Is it possible to look at everyone with eyes of doubt??

The only way to avoid it is to get to the root cause which has resulted in terrorism and not blatantly label every one from a particular faith as terrorists. One reason is the omnipresent vote bank politics, wherein every party on the Indian political scenario uses an event (bad or good) to their advantage to get into power. One of them brazenly use their self created rift between hindu’s and muslim’s to their advantage.
Whether it be godra followed by the gujrat riots, be it the demolition of babri masjid or the very recent anti Christina sentiment and their victimization. Time and again they have created situations which have stirred up the nation, resulted in unnecessary violence and deaths, divided people on caste and have shaken up the very basis of secular India for the sake of furthering only their ambitions.

Another reason being, the laws to deal with such situations are effective mainly on easy targets. The law abiding citizens are penalised for their tiniest error, for the sake of upholding the name of justice and on most occasions the accused roam free. POTA the law, came into existence to put an end to expansion of terrorism in India and dispense harsh punishments to those found guilty. The means they resorted to gave rise to huge resentment among people. This law gave the police the right to arrest on suspicion, subject people to harassment, prolonged jail term and third degree without them having the proof or the nature of crime committed by them.

A major chunk of the terrorists operating within India have risen and mushroomed in various parts of our country due to the deep resentment the vote bank politics and misplaced laws have caused among youth. They have been falsely accused in breaking the foundation of the country and targeting other faiths. Also a lot of those who lost their loved ones in communal riots and those who have seen their family members suffer due to laws like POTA even when they were innocent.

When such people retaliate we will have to face destruction. It is their angst that has to be dealt with sensitivity, understanding and intelligence. The cause has to be tabbed, no laws can handle this situation from the point to where we have let it mature. This situation will only worsen and I say that because every attack brings with it a new set of terrorists. People who want to justify what happened to them.
We can only pray for those who lost their lives and those who have treaded the wrong path in search of an answer. May they be healed soon enough not to wound others.Amen!

2008-09-27T00:24:00.000-07:00

Sunrises and then sunsets
Full moons and no moons
Green leaves and sometimes no leaves
Warmth and cold
Smiles and tears
Happiness and sorrow
Day and night
But,U and me

So much now and nothing then
What then, what now
Past is what it used to be
Present is now
How it used to be
Now is, den not
What cares and what worries

Today is what it is
U can’t run
No past to remember
No future to plan
Only present to live
U and me
Past is what it used to be
Present is now

Learning d Hard Way, bt why??

2008-09-25T20:08:00.000-07:00

This happened two days before I left for a short visit to Dubai from Pune, I had surrendered my mobile, I had kept just optimal fuel in my beloved two wheeler Kinetic Zing, just enough for one trip to the station and had all my belongings in place, in short well prepared. All what was left was, to collect my air ticket from an agent close by. Dropped to the agent’s office by a friend, Megha, I had planned to finish collecting my ticket till she finished off her work within 20 min.
I had to just pay the ticket money, pick it up and leave, not even in my dreams did I think that such a task would end up gaining mammoth proportions. I had taken my credit card and thought it convenient to pay through that mode. When I reached there, the agent told me that paying by card would cost me an additional amount, which wasn’t that much either. .but the last few days in college had already skewed my funds in a big manner. And also the guilt of spending so much in the near future, a trip abroad, I decided against paying that extra money and actually why should I??, extra charges being levied by commercial organisations.

The next task was to look for an ATM, and as expected when u need it most u never find it. I decided to take a bus and reach the ATM closest which was approx. 3km away. I stood for the bus but as expected Pune’s buses otherwise, so very frequent but when u need them most…., it seemed an eternity. I took an auto, withdrew money, and got back, finally relieved at the pretext of finally getting my ticket with abated breath, hiding my excitement at finally finishing off what I set out to do.

But then again, just when I was about to get myself my ticket, here it was totally in my face “Madam what is your passport number”. And yes, I didn’t know it nor did I have my passport. Filled with dismay and consternation, all I could do was curse my dad for having not told his poor innocent sweet daughter the basic requirements (how was I supposed to know- being the first time I was managing stuff on my own away from home-and this is not common sense(comm’n, a little benefit of doubt here). Yeah…why am I mourning already when I could have called home and checked my passport number, but then again thanks to my wanting to get over with things, I had surrendered my phone well in advance of my moving out of the city. .huh!
Disheartened, I started back to the meeting point set by us. Atleast she was wise enough to carry her cell phone and not surrender it way in advance; I got my passport number and with her benevolence was driven back to the agent’s office.
With all the preceding hiccups, finally the first touch of my ticket triggered in me a feeling of triumph, victory and a conquest well won….soon enough to be disparaged by a feeling of complete worthlessness and being extremely good for nothing.

Well, morale – Things never happen as you plan them out to be and off course credit card might be easy to carry around but you gotta PAY for that convenience (everything comes for a price)!! And yesss if ever you do make such a mistake err “Human Error” be WOMAN enough to pay for it (and den enjoy the saved time and harassment). To all those who are a tad wiser, cheers!!

PrObAbLiStIc ExIsTeNcE

2008-09-10T22:43:00.000-07:00

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty together again.

What if Humpty Dumpty never lived!! What if it was not a living thing at all!!What if the most remembered nursery rhyme was based on a fragment of imagination!! Or What if Humpty Dumpty was the queen’s favourite chinaware artefact, which the king broke (Lord, save him)!! Can u imagine our beloved Humpty Dumpty being an inanimate article of decoration? We will find it extremely difficulty to overwrite our first childhood imagery, if any of the possibilities were to be ever proved true.

Our lives are nothing but possibilities. We live with possibilities. We live for possibilities and we crave for possibilities. We hope to have had made better choices from the various possibilities offered to us in the past. We endeavour to successfully cross the labyrinth of probabilities of choice now and we hope for an even better array of possibilities in times to come. Any miscalculated step can change the course of one’s life. An action performed is history and undoing it, is being able to go back in time. This is fiction and recreational in reality. To be able to choose from the potpourri of visible options, and be able to prioritize the working probabilities of the presented possibilities could surely be mind boggling.

An example, to this could very well be, the case of Sanjeev Nanda, the accused in the BMW hit and run case. His life could have been completely different, Had He Not driven in that inebriated state way past mid-night in 1999. It has been 9 long years, anticipating his term in the jail he must have lamented enough already, learnt the lesson, repented and mourned his single decision-“To be behind the wheels then”. !!!IF!!!, But there is still more in store for him. There are many more like him, whose one decision has ruined their lives, scarred their families and moreover, a lifetime of guilt.

Is it destiny or do our decisions actually have the power to turn the course of our lives?? I think destiny is supreme, but out of our control, so why not try to better what we have control on - so at least we won’t regret later and can easily blame it all on destiny(Now that’s smart)!!!

an ERA - Well gone BY!!!

2008-08-30T23:50:00.000-07:00

My recent casual banter with my grandma turned in a very insightful conversation.She was,suddenly hit by a bout of nostalgia, where she went into her life before marrriage.

She was reminded of her mom.Her mom got married,hold ur breath,at a tender age of 12.Obviously females were just a liability 3 generations back,their education was thought as a waste of money,there mere existence was for the sake of making life easier for men. They were there just for the sake of cooking food and and the other chores of womanhood, bearing their kids, whose number and names also the father didn't remember. So implausible a situation, but understandable when we hear the number of children that were churned out from every household.

The family structure was of a large joint family where such young brides, fell in the lowermost echelons of superiority.They were mere followers of orders from either their husbands, the eldest daughter-in-law or such others. They remained in the four walls of their house,No I think kitchen is what it actually was, cooking and cleaning and our hindu calender of festivals was no respite either.Imagining their plight sends shivers down my spine, now try imagining no microwave, fridge, mixers etc which make cooking so much simpler today.They used wood in place of gas and come rainy season that also began its agitation when it refused to burn, leaving the females momentarily blinded by its smoke.

The death rate of females was so high because no one actually thought them worthy of any concern and time.They were mere subordinates who had the right to live only if they made life easier and satisfying for men.Thankfully with the advent of education the awareness among women improved and they developed the courage to ask for what they rightly deserved, after all a mother shapes the young who chisel the world.And atleast some visionaries realised how important that was!

The situation has been continually improving with initial backing from the goverment along with the recent additions to the women's bill.The stature of women in a family has improved and more and more women are becoming economically self sufficient.But most of this progress has remained concentrated in the urban areas where slowly women have started to get their dues,I think more needs to be done for the upliftment of a rural female who still needs the much needed exposure to her rights and privleges to live with her head held high and experience the virtues of living which were designed to be equally enjoyed by one and all.I would like to urge and pray that the woman, so admirable gets all the respect,contentment and felicity she truly deserves.

What is it really??

2008-08-15T22:50:00.000-07:00

Is faith what is driving most of us in todays age??This question is all what comes to my mind when I think of the millions affected by the various different attrocities, some man-made and the other natural ones, the tornadoes, the tsunami , the hurricanes ,the earthquakes...The bomb blasts, the jammu land row or the stampede at a temple in north.

What keeps driving us? Is it that we have become so selfish that multitudinous such news and the extra spiced up coverage by the media has made us immune to such instances. If that is the case I think the apathetic condition will one day drive us into a maddening silence of its kind. Where even tho there is chaos all around , we would learn to just ignore the situation and just carry on mercilessly, aren't we becoming inhumane, The resilience, which we are so proud of right now will drive us all so insane, push us into our cocoons, very drawn from the lives of others around us, mechanically fulfilling are duties, commitments and chores. In case of attrocities, just overcoming those as if nothing really happened, whether it be in a place separated by us via seas, to our own neighbour, or to our own family memebers.

Is being able to cope up with such situations only a matter of ignorance or there is something more to it. Is it faith?Faith gives a lot of strength, when u know you have someone to blame for your foibles and imperfections, without any rebounding tantrums. When you have someone to tell all you feel and all you desire without being scared of any judgements. When you have someone to be discerningly thoughtful, faith gives you a lot of strength. In these hours of adversity I think more than ignorance faith gives you the courage to walk through them with your head held high.Maybe this was how it was supposed to be, remark most humans! Coming to the point that we are at the end of the day humans and have gotten to believe that whatever be the situation we are capable enough to pick up the broken pieces and persevere with life ahead.

Faith has the capability to heal, faith in almighty, faith in god, faith in your own self, faith in karma, faith in being able to deal with situations,Faith in being able to rise from the ashes of time..But for us indians, I think the resilience comes from the faith that yes we will rise!!Till then obviously, as we Indians are used to saying, "baghwan barose".

My Dubai-logue!!!

2008-08-15T22:11:00.001-07:00

June saw me and my friends finish my engineering. A welcome end to four years of trying to learn and sharpening the ‘technical skills’ which I would like to believe are still lying dormant in some corner of me. Though I want to elaborate on the great final days of college, what really is overpowering me at this moment is my trip to Dubai which also has its charm for its’ timing. A great way to culminate my graduation. Luckily for me, I have a home there, my bua who was spending her last few months there readily plunged in to show me around and also it was the last time she was doing it, so the same places were visited with renewed vigour.

My first impression of Dubai, The Airport-I was scared!!, sudden change in the attire, bearded men, wearing their national white gown. Everything just feels so different. My flight from Mumbai had only workers barring about 3-4 people who were like me. At the airport while getting my immigration done, after peeking into the documents of my neighbours in the line I realised the whole airport was filled with men and women holding servant visas. God I said, where am I standing in between African Negro’s, Afghanis and a few Pakistanis, all of them getting into the new form of bonded slavery. The more accomplished sheikhs got their servants through with all the procedures in a jiffy, leaving lesser mortals like us behind still trying to figure out the changed atmosphere, the grinning sheikhs, the smiles looking more sly than welcoming, the heightened security, the iris scan, the chaos and the great airport.

Dubai is a beautiful city, great buildings- every building has a story to tell. Whether it be their Burj-Al-Arab, the only seven star hotel in the world; The soon to be completed Burj Dubai which will be the tallest tower in the world; The world famous Palm Islands and its constant beautification; The Hydropolis, a underwater hotel or be it the several malls all having a theme to themselves, from European, Indian to Pakistani to just being festive. Dubai knows to keep the pulse of its citizens alive by hosting various shows in their malls from time to time. I saw one in the Mall of Emirates where two painted men and a woman performed balancing acts on each other-Par excellance.

The citizens there respect law and order, Its really awesome to see cars and taxis actually waiting for a pedestrian to cross the road-can u believe they actually stop if you ask them to. Yes, and coming to the point Dubai is a shopping paradise, quite obvious it being home to so many malls, but only for the rich. I became acquainted with so many brands from Loius Vuitton ,Gucci, Zara , Guess, Fendi. Surely, those were not meant to be bought, just admired. But I found my alternatives slightly cheaper ones u c, who can afford a bag worth 20grands!!Hoping I can in future, a few kicks to satisfy desirous shopping. Talking about just kicks, I had my first starbucks coffee- a staggering 150bucks. Also, Cars, awesome!! I saw my very first Rolls Royce, My childhood fav Jaguar(4m d NFS days).

The only place where you actually feel that you are in a desert is when you go for the desert safari, dashing against the sand dunes in a land rover, followed by Lebanese food, drinks, sheesha and belly dance, everything amidst the endless stretch of desert.
Another place where we feel the desert and actually feel its contours is the dune bugging experience, riding a three wheeled super powerful motorbike on your own on the sand dunes is an experience in itself, of power of fun of momentum. Bouncing through the dunes surely gives high, but off course you need to get used to balancing the heavy duty machine.

All in all a great experience, though I have still not written about everything, the creek- Dubai’s lifeline, the meena bazaar, the gold souk, and many more interesting man made facets which are enough to sustain Dubai and its people long after it seizes to be the trade centre and also the soo many underground x-rated activities. Still It is a vision, executed to perfection by its current ruler, and I think that’s why they don’t hesitate to say long live the ruler. Hoping for such visionaries to lead India to greener pastures soon. And don’t forget to take a night flight to Dubai, it’s a delight to see the superbly organised awesomely lit up city from the precincts of the sky.