This happens everyday. I start from my cubicle in office about fifteen minutes before the buses are scheduled to depart. But still I fear not finding a seat or finding the last seat. A few rounds of inquiry later when I near my bus, I join a queue to make an entry in the trip sheet before boarding the bus. Suddenly people rush in from somewhere and after confirming the bus route, pretend as if the queue is full of Hollow Men and Women. A few Taunting looks and words
later they acknowledge us, poor souls. After that disgusting disgruntled feeling of not being able to use certain words for such people when I get into the 'partially' full bus, I'm greeted( ?) by dull ,familiar faces, almost all tilted to one side or the other and at various angles. They're on the phone, and most of the rest are using headsets. I start looking for a seat. The last row is vacant. The row before that with dimmed lights hosts a couple(the usual one). All other empty seats are reserved by bags (mostly ladies), empty tiffin boxes, id cards and even human beings. People here somehow find ways to allocate themselves with required resources. I find myself a seat. Only to find a disappointed person at the next seat. The reason for the disappointment might vary with gender but is very understandable and relatable. Within seconds I feel like I'm at different places at the same time. A call center with multi-lingual customers, a 3-D psycopath movie and don't know what not. The noises are so many and so varying that it takes sometime for the brain to filter out the useful ones and throw a "No results found" message. I try to get the windows opened. But the Windows (expectedly) open very slowly. Seemingly, they're very tightly shut and only that's why the person next to me is "can't able to open it". I move to another seat to accompany a bag on the neighbouring seat. For some relief when I peep out of the window, I notice a a few girls strolling around, with tilted heads, of course. Most of them look sad, a few smile, on the phone (i.e.) as if it was a favour , a non-functional requirement. With five minutes to go all of them get into the buses. One of them replaces the bag near me. I'm not that disappointed. Soon, she gets a call. And the rest as they say is Her-story. I suddenly get an idea to note down so many different events around. What'll I do with it? I ask myself. "Write a blog" pat comes the reply. "Who' s going to read it" I wonder. "Who needs to?" I decide. I start typing on my mobile. I'm not accustomed to typing on the handset I'm using. I struggle for quite some time. Meanwhile, the girl nearby gets curious, pushes her seat backwards and tries to read. She can't . She couldn't have. My handset's display is totally messed up. Only the first and last word on the first and last lines are visible. She resists a murmur. I control my smile. And stop typing. After sometime, when the road gets better again, I 're-start'. By the time I finish typing all this, the bus reaches my place. I get down and look to cross the road. I wait for the next bus to pass by. It stops just in front of me. But I still don't cross. I see the bus no. and then look for the driver. He's busy looking at the door, making sure all the girls get down safely. Nothing wierd, except that it's the same driver who had directed me to another bus saying that his bus was not supposed to stop at my place. As I crossed the road, the driver starts honking, but stops when he notices and remembers me. A sigh induced smile later , I wonder if he might have felt ashamed. but he wouldn't have.
After all, this happens everyday.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Numb-errs
I've always been fascinated with numbers. And I'm very lazy. Thus began my exploration of shortcuts to simplify maths. Since addition and subtraction were the simplest of all, I tried to search shortcuts to ease multiplication and division. This curiousity continued with every new concept that we learned in Maths. Percentages, percentages in terms of Profit and loss(or is it the other way round) and so on. My friends din't help either. Vivek and me used to calculate percentages for all the toppers. We'd always be stuck with some girls' score. As they were very secretive about marks (like some boys). But still managed to get most of it from reliable sources. And my first real Eureka moment happened after I learned the rule for divisibilty by 3 and 9. The rule: For a number to be divisible by 3 (or 9), the sum of the digits of the number should be 3(or 9) or its multiples. every number I came across was put to the test. I used to spend all my evenings with my Dad at the shop. And sitting there, I started applying the test to the numbers of the Vehicles that passed by. My challenge to self was to test as many numbers as possible. Just for the heck of it. The hunt for the shortcut begun. Soon , I observed that adding 9 was of no use. So I started leaving out the 9s. And then started forming 9s first and then counting the rest and so on. I was very excited to find out something new about numbers on my own. And told it to a few friends of mine. They asked " So what??". I could never answer that question. Not Yet.A few years later when all this seemed childish, I lost interest. More so when I heard my Dad's friend stating my "acute Observation" in a matter-of-fact manner, while discussing Numerology. (Probably, that's a reason why I hate numerology). It was common knowledge, it seems. And so it ended there.Last week I met a friend of mine after a long time. While in flashback mode, I told him about this. He said that CAT material has a lot of such shortcuts. So instead of searching the already -found and widely known techniques, better read it. He wasn't as discouraging as the last line seems to me. But that night, it all started again. This time it was (or were) multiples of 7. I found a pattern in the their sum of digits till you get them into single digits. And the next morning multiples of 13.
Here it is:
7---------7
14-------5
21-------3
28--10--1
35-------8
42-------6
49--13---4
56--11---2
63-------9
70-------7
77--14---5
84--12---3
and so on..the pattern was 7,5,3,1,8,6,4,2,9,7,5,3,1,8,6,4,2,9,7................
With 13, its a bit more complex though
13-------4
26-------8
39-------3
52-------7
65-------2
78-------6
91-------1
104------5
117------9
130------4
143------8
The pattern this time is with the alternate numbers 4 8 3 7 2 6 1 5 9 4 8 3 7 2 6 1 5 9.
What was still unknown to me, was the use of these patterns. I could not think of using it aywhere. Keeping that disappointment aside, when I told this to another friend of mine all he said was "Read CAT material, there's more useful stuff there." This was far better a response than the one that I feared. " So what????"
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Fear has a new address
That was the note he left. Vijayan hadn'tshow any signs of worry, fear or despair. So when he disappeared from office all of a sudden, the shock was too rude. Everybody was spreading around their versions of the story. But none of the reasons seemed convincing, to me at least.
A week passed by and by now the fear was raging epidemically as more such cases of sudden disappearances started surfacing. All chit-chats were centred on this single 'issue'. The new IPL ad seemed prophetic now. Even at home, my roommates shared similar incidents involving their colleagues. A lot of these cases had untraceable causes ( and subjects) and each of the rest had numerous causes speculated. The most prominent of them; getting two '2's. Initially it was only the appraisal rating that people were applying this criteria to. With time and a rising headcount people started getting hysterical about the two 2 's theory. Some started changing their phone numbers, others shifted their cubicles and all in the process were crossing unattainable levels of stupidity. "Catch 22 situation" It was called. I asked one of my group of 'believing' friends about how this was related to Vijayan's note that had the number "13" and not 22. Someone said " 3 minus 1 ...Two..""Fine..but where's the other two?" I retorted. Mr. Five pointer answered " 3 plus 1 is 4 and two 2 s are 4..that's it." I was stunned. "You better stay away from it" he added.
Shocking or Ridiculous??? I was confused. as scenes from movies like Number 23 and 13B started running through my mind and I now starting counting my TWO bits..None since I'd started working..But ...my Birthday ...22nd DEC...Suddenly a shiver as cold as Titanic's climax ran down my spine. But that eternal optimist in me still felt that the Logic seemed skewed. But that seemed normal around here, especially with Numbers. People considered 3.99 as 3 and then blamed Arithmetic Atyachar on weirdly shaped curve. (It's got to be the only curve that I hate.) And the rusted Irony...they call the process NORMALisation.With pretty decent appraisals so far, that devil seemed too far to be feared. This was something else, I was sure. With my eyes fixed at the code ahead and mind counting the number of 'if' s and 'else if' s of the possible dreaded logic, I had entered an infinite loop. The loop broke with a "New Mail" pop up. Hoping for some relief I opened the mail only to realise that it was like a spray of iodised salt and black pepper being showered on an fresh and open wound of the size of a fist with an adamant middle finger. Our project was being scrapped and all of us were to be released this week itself. Before I could drown into sorrow I turned towards my Teammate for some company. Rakesh with his consoling but confused smile asked me "Next is what??" and started giggling. I used line that quite often after I'd picked it from a Samsung ad. And the last I had used it was two weeks ago. Vijayan had just got released and was going to....Before the sound of that Thunder could end and the loud BGM begin, I leapt over to Vijayan's place to check his note. The one that was written with blood coloured ink using MS Paint. As I took the print out in my trembling hands, I realised that all I had to do was connect the dots, all of them. The joy of solving the mystery rammed straight into the chances and fear of me being the next victim of the curse. You can run from it. You can even hide from it. But you can't sit on the BENCH.
A week passed by and by now the fear was raging epidemically as more such cases of sudden disappearances started surfacing. All chit-chats were centred on this single 'issue'. The new IPL ad seemed prophetic now. Even at home, my roommates shared similar incidents involving their colleagues. A lot of these cases had untraceable causes ( and subjects) and each of the rest had numerous causes speculated. The most prominent of them; getting two '2's. Initially it was only the appraisal rating that people were applying this criteria to. With time and a rising headcount people started getting hysterical about the two 2 's theory. Some started changing their phone numbers, others shifted their cubicles and all in the process were crossing unattainable levels of stupidity. "Catch 22 situation" It was called. I asked one of my group of 'believing' friends about how this was related to Vijayan's note that had the number "13" and not 22. Someone said " 3 minus 1 ...Two..""Fine..but where's the other two?" I retorted. Mr. Five pointer answered " 3 plus 1 is 4 and two 2 s are 4..that's it." I was stunned. "You better stay away from it" he added.
Shocking or Ridiculous??? I was confused. as scenes from movies like Number 23 and 13B started running through my mind and I now starting counting my TWO bits..None since I'd started working..But ...my Birthday ...22nd DEC...Suddenly a shiver as cold as Titanic's climax ran down my spine. But that eternal optimist in me still felt that the Logic seemed skewed. But that seemed normal around here, especially with Numbers. People considered 3.99 as 3 and then blamed Arithmetic Atyachar on weirdly shaped curve. (It's got to be the only curve that I hate.) And the rusted Irony...they call the process NORMALisation.With pretty decent appraisals so far, that devil seemed too far to be feared. This was something else, I was sure. With my eyes fixed at the code ahead and mind counting the number of 'if' s and 'else if' s of the possible dreaded logic, I had entered an infinite loop. The loop broke with a "New Mail" pop up. Hoping for some relief I opened the mail only to realise that it was like a spray of iodised salt and black pepper being showered on an fresh and open wound of the size of a fist with an adamant middle finger. Our project was being scrapped and all of us were to be released this week itself. Before I could drown into sorrow I turned towards my Teammate for some company. Rakesh with his consoling but confused smile asked me "Next is what??" and started giggling. I used line that quite often after I'd picked it from a Samsung ad. And the last I had used it was two weeks ago. Vijayan had just got released and was going to....Before the sound of that Thunder could end and the loud BGM begin, I leapt over to Vijayan's place to check his note. The one that was written with blood coloured ink using MS Paint. As I took the print out in my trembling hands, I realised that all I had to do was connect the dots, all of them. The joy of solving the mystery rammed straight into the chances and fear of me being the next victim of the curse. You can run from it. You can even hide from it. But you can't sit on the BENCH.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
"I'll Manage"
One bright morning,
in a chariot of gold,
with four white horses,
all of the racing mould,
I set out on a journey,
towards the prosperous west.
Leaving the clouds behind,
we surged without any rest.
"This looks very pretty,
Easily, I'll manage" I said.
While I enjoyed the ride,
with nowhere to steer,
the horses kept leaping straight,
not knowing where to veer.
One by one each of them,
had started and now raised the whinnying.
But I wasn't going to stop,
Not till I wasn't winning.
In their pain, I saw no reason.
"Weak horses. But I'll manage" I said.
With the sun setting down,
and light fading away,
I began to ponder,
if we were losing our way.
To be where I wanted to be,
a map I needed to plot.
In my haste and gleeful frenzy,
this I most certainly forgot.
Ah!! these blind horses
"How'll I Manage? " I wondered.
Adding to my woes,
came a frightening jolt.
All of a sudden,
we came to a halt.
Devoid of thoughts,
some help I brought.
A ridiculing laughter later he said
"Why have cubical wheels, you got?"
Dumb horses or Mute Mules?
"However, I'll manage." I said.
Dragging along and
struggling throughout
We barely scrapped and
made our way out.
I could've planned
and got round wheels,
let the tired horses
cool their heels.
I was warned enough,
but went for the gambit.
Though the mistake mine,
had others pay for it.
No matter how much the damage,
I always told you "I'll Manage"
in a chariot of gold,
with four white horses,
all of the racing mould,
I set out on a journey,
towards the prosperous west.
Leaving the clouds behind,
we surged without any rest.
"This looks very pretty,
Easily, I'll manage" I said.
While I enjoyed the ride,
with nowhere to steer,
the horses kept leaping straight,
not knowing where to veer.
One by one each of them,
had started and now raised the whinnying.
But I wasn't going to stop,
Not till I wasn't winning.
In their pain, I saw no reason.
"Weak horses. But I'll manage" I said.
With the sun setting down,
and light fading away,
I began to ponder,
if we were losing our way.
To be where I wanted to be,
a map I needed to plot.
In my haste and gleeful frenzy,
this I most certainly forgot.
Ah!! these blind horses
"How'll I Manage? " I wondered.
Adding to my woes,
came a frightening jolt.
All of a sudden,
we came to a halt.
Devoid of thoughts,
some help I brought.
A ridiculing laughter later he said
"Why have cubical wheels, you got?"
Dumb horses or Mute Mules?
"However, I'll manage." I said.
Dragging along and
struggling throughout
We barely scrapped and
made our way out.
I could've planned
and got round wheels,
let the tired horses
cool their heels.
I was warned enough,
but went for the gambit.
Though the mistake mine,
had others pay for it.
No matter how much the damage,
I always told you "I'll Manage"
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Good Old days
No nostalgia to be poured. Just a rant on a very disturbing trend I observed and was wondering if it was only me who's feeling this way.
From what's happenning around me and what I read and watch on TV, somehow I get a feeling that being "BAD" is the "IN" thing. The meaner, the cheaper you speak, behave, the higher you raise yourself on the "Youth" qoutient. They seem to be no spoilt or misguided youth. Instead they seem to have deliberately chosen to wear this "Attitude". Roadies , Splitsvilla (from whatever little I've seen) seem to be the torchbearers of Gen-$#@$%#...Almost every second word on the show is beeped. What should have been a measure to hide the expeltives has now become a sort of attention seeker. I wonder if the people who speak all those words actually count theirs and are appraised on that criteria. Almost, all my friends use expletives (including me). But make sure it reaches ONLY the intended audience. Here, its a totally different story. Actually the reverse. Speak as much ill as possible of all those who are not present. And thats one thing catching up a lot. I myself have witnessed many such instances. Criticising or making fun is one thing and ridiculing and humiliating "friends" in their absence is another.
And of course this "I'm bad" trait spills on to every other aspect. Social conciousness is something that's become as extinct as Ganguly's antics. On asking my friend to not litter on road, I got one the most ridiculous responses one could ever come across. " Come on, its public property and I'm public" . That Abhishek Bachchan's punchline from Guru could be misused to this extent would 've been the last thing that even Mani Ratnam could've imagined.
Even if these things seem trivial, how about people preferring to read "Chennai Times" over Times of India on the day after (the nth) Serial Blasts.(they aren't any different otherwise). I could go on and on with this rant. All I could gain is being titled as "Preachy". And tat reminds of a superb Public Servive Message that used to air on DD
"Shaitan banna aasan hai,
par kya insaan bane rahna itna mushkil hai??"
Roughly translated as:
"Its easy being evil,
but is it that difficult staying human??"
From what's happenning around me and what I read and watch on TV, somehow I get a feeling that being "BAD" is the "IN" thing. The meaner, the cheaper you speak, behave, the higher you raise yourself on the "Youth" qoutient. They seem to be no spoilt or misguided youth. Instead they seem to have deliberately chosen to wear this "Attitude". Roadies , Splitsvilla (from whatever little I've seen) seem to be the torchbearers of Gen-$#@$%#...Almost every second word on the show is beeped. What should have been a measure to hide the expeltives has now become a sort of attention seeker. I wonder if the people who speak all those words actually count theirs and are appraised on that criteria. Almost, all my friends use expletives (including me). But make sure it reaches ONLY the intended audience. Here, its a totally different story. Actually the reverse. Speak as much ill as possible of all those who are not present. And thats one thing catching up a lot. I myself have witnessed many such instances. Criticising or making fun is one thing and ridiculing and humiliating "friends" in their absence is another.
And of course this "I'm bad" trait spills on to every other aspect. Social conciousness is something that's become as extinct as Ganguly's antics. On asking my friend to not litter on road, I got one the most ridiculous responses one could ever come across. " Come on, its public property and I'm public" . That Abhishek Bachchan's punchline from Guru could be misused to this extent would 've been the last thing that even Mani Ratnam could've imagined.
Even if these things seem trivial, how about people preferring to read "Chennai Times" over Times of India on the day after (the nth) Serial Blasts.(they aren't any different otherwise). I could go on and on with this rant. All I could gain is being titled as "Preachy". And tat reminds of a superb Public Servive Message that used to air on DD
"Shaitan banna aasan hai,
par kya insaan bane rahna itna mushkil hai??"
Roughly translated as:
"Its easy being evil,
but is it that difficult staying human??"
The Nation’s Call
(Following the HR people’s policy of boring a person to the core, but beginning with another boring game, let me start with discussing a very popular game.)
The most popular game in our country is obviously not Cricket. Even those disinterested in cricket indulge in this game called “The Blame Game”. (On a more serious note).The current state of affairs in our Nation is a consequence of this never-ending game. Many campaigns have been launched, even more movies have hit the screens, but they don’t even seem to touch the self-built wall of ignorance that surrounds us.
And so, one fine day, I decided to ‘call it a day’ from this game. Then began, the phase of self- introspection. Umpteen questions were hovering all over my mind. Questions that I was I forced to ask myself about the world around me. Questions that we all (CITIZENS of this Nation) need to ask ourselves. “Do we demand our rights???” , “Do we perform our duties??” , “Are we actually aware of them???”, “ What exactly is the reason for this mess??” , “Finally, What is the solution to all this???”
Then, came the answer form within. “Nationalism”. This was the one-word answer that echoed from my conscience. . The Media refrains from using this word fearing the “Right wing” tag attached to it. But have the media ‘Intellectuals’ ever tried to ‘Press’ for a debate on the issue of Nationalism. The lack of the feeling, or, misuse of the word. Never !. Forget it. Anyway, this a very popular feeling , but a dormant one. Nationalism needs to be cultivated in proper manner among the easy-going GEN-X.
By inculcating Nationalism, I do not mean that each one of us should sacrifice comfort and start a crusade against Corruption or plunge into politics because that again needs courage, which most of us lack. But we can at least add an additional thought before every deed of ours. I feel that if most (if not each one) of us start considering our acts in the perspective of National Interest, even the Heavens would envy our Motherland.
National Interest lies in the less talked about deeds like Dumping Garbage in a dust bin, saving water and obeying Traffic Rules to the highly publicized issues like Corruption, Terrorism etc. Now, I cannot put an end to these, neither can you. But together, WE can at least reduce it.
“Cleanliness is next to Godliness”. Most of us would‘ve heard this, few of us would’ve seen it and even fewer of us would be following it. The reason is that we never thought the consequence of dumping garbage on the road as we were busy discussing the shine on foreign roads. It costs us nothing to keep our surrounding clean, but making it dirty costs us, our reputation, tourism and most of all our Heath. There’s no use of being a Wealthy nation if we aren’t a healthy one. Saving water and obeying Traffic rules don’t seem to be issues at all. Are they?? But just imagine the lives that are lost because of the Draught and speeding, out of control vehicles. I believe we can save a lot of them if we actually practice what we read in those umpteen forward mails or blogs.
Don’t I have anything good to say about our people? Yes, of course I have. There are Indians figuring in ‘Richest on Earth’ list and their count is next only to Americans. But then, why does one among every three of us live (and may be die too) below poverty line. Again, we all know the reason. On one hand we refuse foreign monetary aid and in fact help out neighbours during disasters such as the 2006 Tsunami and on the other hand we pile up NATIONWIDE Flood Relief Scams. Today, as onlookers we blame the officials, but tomorrow (not the immediate one) when we are in-charge, we do the same. It’s a strange paradox that most people hate corruption but almost all follow it. (This virus seems to be multiplying at a rate faster than our population). A nationwide crusade is a fading possibility, but we can do our bit by at least not demanding a BRIBE, when we are the babus.
Another menace that we face today is Terrorism. The new age war has shifted from ‘highly’ militarized border to civic locations like places of worship, busy markets, crowded buses and even more crowded trains. The danger is now even greater as the threat seems to be coming from within the Nation. That these crimes involve sophisticated technology and impeccable planning shows that there is no dearth of Ignited minds. Only, the fire here is destructive. And the leaders, whom WE ‘elect’, instead of extinguishing it, are using the heat to bake their cake. This fire, if used in National Interest can definitely fuel our Success journey.
Issues like these make a long list. But listing them down is of no use, until we understand that since we created them, we need to solve them as well. The time has come for us to stop discussing solutions, instead, be a part of it. The time has come for us to come out of the Individualistic mindset, instead, be part of a Nationalistic Movement. The time has come for us to erase the welfare circles that we drew around our family and friends, instead, consider our actions in the context of Country’s welfare. The time has come for us to devote our senses to the Motherland. The Nation’s call is quite loud and clear. Lets wake up, open our eyes, listen to the call and answer it with more than just a
JAI HIND !!!
The most popular game in our country is obviously not Cricket. Even those disinterested in cricket indulge in this game called “The Blame Game”. (On a more serious note).The current state of affairs in our Nation is a consequence of this never-ending game. Many campaigns have been launched, even more movies have hit the screens, but they don’t even seem to touch the self-built wall of ignorance that surrounds us.
And so, one fine day, I decided to ‘call it a day’ from this game. Then began, the phase of self- introspection. Umpteen questions were hovering all over my mind. Questions that I was I forced to ask myself about the world around me. Questions that we all (CITIZENS of this Nation) need to ask ourselves. “Do we demand our rights???” , “Do we perform our duties??” , “Are we actually aware of them???”, “ What exactly is the reason for this mess??” , “Finally, What is the solution to all this???”
Then, came the answer form within. “Nationalism”. This was the one-word answer that echoed from my conscience. . The Media refrains from using this word fearing the “Right wing” tag attached to it. But have the media ‘Intellectuals’ ever tried to ‘Press’ for a debate on the issue of Nationalism. The lack of the feeling, or, misuse of the word. Never !. Forget it. Anyway, this a very popular feeling , but a dormant one. Nationalism needs to be cultivated in proper manner among the easy-going GEN-X.
By inculcating Nationalism, I do not mean that each one of us should sacrifice comfort and start a crusade against Corruption or plunge into politics because that again needs courage, which most of us lack. But we can at least add an additional thought before every deed of ours. I feel that if most (if not each one) of us start considering our acts in the perspective of National Interest, even the Heavens would envy our Motherland.
National Interest lies in the less talked about deeds like Dumping Garbage in a dust bin, saving water and obeying Traffic Rules to the highly publicized issues like Corruption, Terrorism etc. Now, I cannot put an end to these, neither can you. But together, WE can at least reduce it.
“Cleanliness is next to Godliness”. Most of us would‘ve heard this, few of us would’ve seen it and even fewer of us would be following it. The reason is that we never thought the consequence of dumping garbage on the road as we were busy discussing the shine on foreign roads. It costs us nothing to keep our surrounding clean, but making it dirty costs us, our reputation, tourism and most of all our Heath. There’s no use of being a Wealthy nation if we aren’t a healthy one. Saving water and obeying Traffic rules don’t seem to be issues at all. Are they?? But just imagine the lives that are lost because of the Draught and speeding, out of control vehicles. I believe we can save a lot of them if we actually practice what we read in those umpteen forward mails or blogs.
Don’t I have anything good to say about our people? Yes, of course I have. There are Indians figuring in ‘Richest on Earth’ list and their count is next only to Americans. But then, why does one among every three of us live (and may be die too) below poverty line. Again, we all know the reason. On one hand we refuse foreign monetary aid and in fact help out neighbours during disasters such as the 2006 Tsunami and on the other hand we pile up NATIONWIDE Flood Relief Scams. Today, as onlookers we blame the officials, but tomorrow (not the immediate one) when we are in-charge, we do the same. It’s a strange paradox that most people hate corruption but almost all follow it. (This virus seems to be multiplying at a rate faster than our population). A nationwide crusade is a fading possibility, but we can do our bit by at least not demanding a BRIBE, when we are the babus.
Another menace that we face today is Terrorism. The new age war has shifted from ‘highly’ militarized border to civic locations like places of worship, busy markets, crowded buses and even more crowded trains. The danger is now even greater as the threat seems to be coming from within the Nation. That these crimes involve sophisticated technology and impeccable planning shows that there is no dearth of Ignited minds. Only, the fire here is destructive. And the leaders, whom WE ‘elect’, instead of extinguishing it, are using the heat to bake their cake. This fire, if used in National Interest can definitely fuel our Success journey.
Issues like these make a long list. But listing them down is of no use, until we understand that since we created them, we need to solve them as well. The time has come for us to stop discussing solutions, instead, be a part of it. The time has come for us to come out of the Individualistic mindset, instead, be part of a Nationalistic Movement. The time has come for us to erase the welfare circles that we drew around our family and friends, instead, consider our actions in the context of Country’s welfare. The time has come for us to devote our senses to the Motherland. The Nation’s call is quite loud and clear. Lets wake up, open our eyes, listen to the call and answer it with more than just a
JAI HIND !!!
Fences all around
Longer than the list of castes in our country is the list of problems that we face. One such problem that resurfaced recently was "Regionalism". Regionalism is like a tumor. It stays in an organ and grows, but kills the organ as well as the entire body.
I find it impossible to concede to the idea of earmarking areas of single nation for people of different races. Its an insult to the whole notion of our Nationhood. How can anyone treat our country like a toilet. The whole meaning of being citizens of one nation, saluting one flag singing one anthem is fed to dogs (pun intended).The politicians who advocate it are the only people to gain from this national disease.
Being the shrewd creatures that they are, they present it in a different form to the masses. Wrapped up in poetic phrases, qouting some equally stupid (but now dead) "great" and voice modulation (rather animation...either of which are Oscar worthy), they feed it to the scores of jobless wannabe-saviours of the regional identity.
As in the case of all our other problems, the responsibility for this one too is Collective. Its we, the people who feed the growth of these micro-organisms and causing this dreaded diseases. Now, its already an epidemic. Highly Prevalent during the election season, but dormant to the level of extinction, during the post-election "negotiations". Among us are the people who get swayed by such ill-intended thoughts, people suffering from an identity crisis. People deprived of self-pride. Its these drowning people who in desperation get hold of a sleeping python's tail , taking it for a rope, and come out only to be swallowed by it one day.
And WE, knowing it all, with our coward mentality that doesn't allow us to treat these people the way they deserve, reamin mute spectators untill affected and mute-sobbing-victims thereafter.
Groupism is practically unavoidable in such a diverse culture as ours. But its this diversity that provides us an oppurtunity to learn, to know about each other and imbibe in us the best of of all cultures and call that the great "Indianness". Instead, today with our divisive politics, we've screwed it up to make it the greatest "Indian Mess".
Since the scope of recovery seems limited only to a few patriotic movies ( supported by Rahman's rousing scores), we can just pray to not get affected by it. The fence is much more safer. And so all we do(other than reading blogs and writing one too)is just wait there and watch. The longer the wait, the heavier we bear. To help, there are a lot fences around as well.
I find it impossible to concede to the idea of earmarking areas of single nation for people of different races. Its an insult to the whole notion of our Nationhood. How can anyone treat our country like a toilet. The whole meaning of being citizens of one nation, saluting one flag singing one anthem is fed to dogs (pun intended).The politicians who advocate it are the only people to gain from this national disease.
Being the shrewd creatures that they are, they present it in a different form to the masses. Wrapped up in poetic phrases, qouting some equally stupid (but now dead) "great" and voice modulation (rather animation...either of which are Oscar worthy), they feed it to the scores of jobless wannabe-saviours of the regional identity.
As in the case of all our other problems, the responsibility for this one too is Collective. Its we, the people who feed the growth of these micro-organisms and causing this dreaded diseases. Now, its already an epidemic. Highly Prevalent during the election season, but dormant to the level of extinction, during the post-election "negotiations". Among us are the people who get swayed by such ill-intended thoughts, people suffering from an identity crisis. People deprived of self-pride. Its these drowning people who in desperation get hold of a sleeping python's tail , taking it for a rope, and come out only to be swallowed by it one day.
And WE, knowing it all, with our coward mentality that doesn't allow us to treat these people the way they deserve, reamin mute spectators untill affected and mute-sobbing-victims thereafter.
Groupism is practically unavoidable in such a diverse culture as ours. But its this diversity that provides us an oppurtunity to learn, to know about each other and imbibe in us the best of of all cultures and call that the great "Indianness". Instead, today with our divisive politics, we've screwed it up to make it the greatest "Indian Mess".
Since the scope of recovery seems limited only to a few patriotic movies ( supported by Rahman's rousing scores), we can just pray to not get affected by it. The fence is much more safer. And so all we do(other than reading blogs and writing one too)is just wait there and watch. The longer the wait, the heavier we bear. To help, there are a lot fences around as well.
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