Coherent Rambling

The head is now empty....

2007-09-08T13:28:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader...

The head is now empty. The incoherent mind that generated all the coherent ramblings is now void.

Coherent Rambling will now cease to exist. Its place will be taken by www.emptyhead.in

Please do visit me at my new home, and also update any links to my blog that you might have.

This journey is not over, I've just taken a new vehicle to travel ahead.

Hoping for your continued support....

Ashish

Hug Me...Sanjay.....

2007-08-27T08:39:00.000-07:00

And so it has happened. A government has proved that people very low down in the hierarchy are no better than bugs. Bugs who can be squished anytime, for as little reason as possible.

"A constable who hugged Dutt, convicted under the Arms Act in 1993 Mumbai blasts case, has been suspended while the eight others whose friendly gestures towards 'Munnabhai' of silver screen were seen in a live coverage by television channels all over, will be facing a departmental probe, jail superintendent Rajendra Dhamne said on Sunday (August 26). "

Imagine being a constable serving at a jail in Pune. Being overworked and underpaid for several years. Being constantly used as a personal servant by your superiors. Living a life of nothing, but sheer misery.

And then comes a moment you've always hoped for. Munnabhai himself lands up to serve time in the prison you work on. You are suddenly a happy man. For someone who has only dreamed about movie stars, seeing one in reality is a big thing in itself. Being close to one, is just an outrageous dream come true. You are happy. All your relatives know that the iconic film personality, the original "khalnayak" of bollywood is spending time in your proximity. Your wife boasts about it to the neighbors. You go to work every morning with a smile on your face, looking forward to a day where you'll get a close glance at Sanjay Dutt.

Life doesn't get any better. Sanjay is released on bail. And you, in a moment of sheer joy, hoping to share a moment with the man himself, steal a handshake or a hug. Being the nice man that he is, Sanjay acknowledges.

You are on seventh heaven. You have shaken hands with one of Indian Cinema's biggest star, made Munnabhai himself give you his Jadu Ki Jhappi. You world has come to a stop.

But wait, save the hyperbole. You are going to need it soon. The very next day, you are fired for the very moment of joy you had dreamed of. Now your world has come to a stop.

"However, questions are now being raised over the constable's suspension as Baba Siddique, the state minister for food and civil supplies who has been constantly spotted accompanying Dutt and seen hugging and shaking hands with the actor. Many are wondering if the same treatment will be meted out to the Minister. "

First, let me put out a question. Is hugging, or shaking hands with a criminal illegal? This question is easy to answer. Under the Indian Penal Code, it is not. The next question should be, should Police and law enforcement agencies shake hands with criminals?

Well, this almost sounds rhetorical to me. It is a well known fact that in India, Police very regularly shake hands with criminals. They do more than shaking hands with criminals. There have been instances when the Police have been blamed of accepting bribes and letting criminals go. Cops and robbers do make strange roommates, but then, who'll watch them.

Now enter the minister, who has landed the iron fist on the hand shaking cops. But isn't there a very old saying - People who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others. Criminals and ministers are regular bedfellows, and some ministers actually play both roles with aplomb. States of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are known for appointing certain ministers only if they have a few murder charges on their heads. So what's new about shaking hands with a criminal anyways?

Apparently, the particular politico in question was upset.

"Sources claim a very peeved Patil ordered an immediate inquiry after he saw visuals of of policemen rushing to greet Dutt at the Yerwada jail which he thought "sent a wrong message" about his force. "

Sending a wrong message? Please Mr. Minister, shaking hands with Sanjay Dutt hardly does that. And what is the right message that you are sending. That if you are a minister, you can shake hands with whoever you want. But if you are a constable, you cannot. That you are peeved when a poor constable gets a moment of limelight, but you do nothing when another minister in the same cabinet as you goes around doing the same?

You can squash the bug Mr. Minister, but you cannot stop the stench of the bug rotting under your foot.

Kudos to Times Now, for picking up the ante. I will hope that your positive journalism spreads across the world of mass media, and saves the job of a few poor constables.

All quotes are taken from this article on the Times Now Website

A blogger's conundrum.....

2007-08-22T09:59:00.000-07:00

In the world full of stuff to write upon, what does a blogger write? This is the conundrum that faces me tonight, and I intend on sharing it.

First, let me put down a list of most obvious topics that most "celebrity" bloggers would write about(maybe some have already written about these):

1. 123 - The nuclear deal between India & US. And how the left is reacting to what seems to be right.
2. Sanjay Dutt getting bail from the Supreme Court.
3. The shocking murder of a Mumbai teenager, who was kidnapped, apparently by some "Angel" he met on Orkut.
4. India's great performance in the test series, and even better performance in the first one dayer against England.

Obvious topics done, here are the topics I would usually talk about:
1. Some analysis of a broken heart.
2. Some review of an ad, a movie or another blog.
3. Some random rant about any of the news item above.

Now these are not what I am going to write about. Because I do not know what to write about today. There is so much to write about, but for some reason, I do not feel like writing about any of these. Why? Because there are some days when silence remains the better choice. There are times when words are all powerful, but then there are times when one needs to be silent. Why?

You must be thinking, he's lost it this time! Well I have news for you, I never found it to lose it. Go figure.

60 years...

2007-08-14T21:49:00.000-07:00

Its been 60 years today....of being a free country. On the 50th anniversary of Indian Independence, I heard a statement from an old man. He said, "Your generation does not understand the meaning of freedom, because you were born in a free country." Just having entered into my teenage then, I simply ignored the statement, thinking of it to be another rant from an old man. Today, ten years from that day, the importance of this statement is crystal clear to me.

Consider the simplest of analogies. We all take breathing air in and out of our bodies for granted. But what would happen if we spent a few days with the air supply strictly rationed. If every breath of air that we take with so much of ease right now was not so easy to take. That is when we would realize its value, its true value.

Freedom is pretty much the same. We do not know what slavery and oppression is like. We have never seen it in our life, only heard about it, or read about it. We do not know, and maybe we will never know what it is like being ruled by another country, having no say in the working of our own country. Without a right to protest, without a right to even raise our voice, maybe even without a right to write blogs freely.

What if we there were censors restricting our right to speak, write and see?

Of course, it will be a nightmare. And this nightmare will make us realize the value of freedom, the true meaning of being an independent nation that we are now. Maybe then, we will start to take our freedom seriously. And do more than just change our "Orkut" profile pictures to the national flag, to wear saffron, white and green, or to send e-mails and SMSs shouting out "Happy Independence Day".

Maybe we will take a good look at our country, and realize that there are people who are still slaves. Slaves to poverty, slaves to bureaucracy, slaves to illiteracy, slaves to oppression from people with "power".

Remember, our freedom fighters were not selfish. They knew that the freedom they are fighting to achieve will be for the future generations. Remember Bhagat Singh, who gave his life to free the country, but never saw what being free was like. There were thousands like him, unnamed, but who gave their lives for the freedom that we enjoy from the comfort of our air conditioned homes.

Let us free those still under oppression, who are slaves to the system that we live in. Let us do our little bit in making lives of others better.Let us free others from whatever holds them to slavery. Only then will we have lived a free life, only then we will know what freedom means.

Only then, we will be free.

Vande Mataram - I salute you, o motherland.
My ancestors freed you from British Rule,
and though you are free today, many of your sons and daughters are still slaves.
Slaves to ignorance, slaves to poverty,
slaves to the system, slaves to those in power...
Give me the strength to free those under oppression,
and do my bit to see them set free.
Only then, o mother, will you be truly free.
Vande Mataram.....

Embedded below is the best ever tribute paid to the countless soldiers who have lost their lives to protect our freedom, in the timeless voice of Lata Mangeshkar. Listen to it. I am sure if I wasn't able to stir your thoughts, then this will. Jai Hind.

A Random Act of Kindness

2007-08-10T14:39:00.000-07:00

Finding a slot to park my car was a tough job. The place that never had more than 5 cars parked in its big parking space had now over 50 cars parked. After a bit of struggle, I find a space to park. As I bend into the rear seat to pick up my novel, I hear a broken voice from behind me. It says, "Bhaiya, aapko marathi aati hai?"(Brother, do you speak Marathi?). Having attended my engg. college in a small, non-descript town on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border, I knew a fair bit of it. So I answered, "Yes". The guy started to talk in Marathi, his eyes full of tears, his clothes ragged and soiled, and his voice sounding tired but relieved. Relieved that it had found ears willing to listen.

"A week ago I came to Delhi with my old parents to meet my brother who works in Gurgaon. But we were robbed on our way here from Delhi, and lost all our money, and my brother's address. We have been running around this city, hungry and thirsty, with no money or means to go back to our village. I don't know what to do. Will you help me, brother?"

I was stunned. First I thought, this is one of those beggars with another of their stories to pull money out of people. Then I noticed the old parents sitting on the pavement, teary eyed. And I noticed the struggle in the young man's eyes, who was forced to ask strangers for help. Something deep down in me told me that this lad was genuine, and so was his story. I wanted to help him, but there was a tiny bit in me that kept saying, "Ignore this guy, how do you even know that he is genuine? He could be another one of those liars that run around in this big city."

I ignored, but I ignored this voice that came from inside of me. The city of dreams was turning me into a person I wasn't, and a person I couldn't be. And I could actually hear in my head the broken voice of this lad, trying to approach a lot of strangers, and being rebuked, rebuffed and kicked off everytime he tried to help his poor parents and himself.

I put my hand on his shoulders, and told him to relax. Then I proceeded to give him a 500 Rs. note from my wallet, and told him to directly go to the railway station, buy tickets for himself and his parents, and head back to his home.

Far away from this city of dreams, that converts ordinary people into uncaring, unwielding monsters. I don't know if I was able to help him enough, I don't know whether he will be safely able to reach his hometown with his parents.

But I know one thing, at least the man from a small town will know that there is still some humanity alive on this planet. And that one day, he might be able to help another person in need.

A person he might not know, a person he might not care about, but a person he will help. Because when he was in need, he was helped!

Just think, how many days have passed since you did a random act of kindness? Helped a complete stranger, maybe helping an old woman cross the road, stopping your car to let the pedestrian walk by, giving a lift to a person stranded in the rain?

Remember, kindness just spreads. You just need to do your bit and pass it on. If the day comes when your car breaks down in heavy rains, you will find someone ready to stop over and help you out. And that will be the day you really appreciate the value of a random act of kindness.

Justice...or is it?

2007-07-31T08:31:00.000-07:00

The last of the sentences in the '91 Mumbai Bomb blast case are out, and with this the curtains are drawn on an investigation that has lasted for over 10 years.

Today's sentencing was the one probably most awaited. A sentence on which 100 crore Rs. were hanging in mid-air. And it did come, and it wasn't very good. Sanjay Dutt was pronounced to serve a term of 6 years in jail( read the story here). Most of the country, and the film industry is in deep shock. But the question in everyone's mind is, is this fair? Did Sanjay deserve this sentence, or is it too harsh?

Arms Act(1959) says, and I quote "Whoever has in his possession any arms or ammunition with intent to use the same for any unlawful purpose or to enable any other person to use the same for any unlawful purpose shall, whether such unlawful purpose has been carried into effect or not, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years, or with fine, or with both." A glance at this law will tell you that the maximum term for an Arms Act violation is 7 years imprisonment. For a complete reading of the Arms Act, go here.

So from the law, the court has done its job correctly by awarding 6 yrs prison. But the question is, should good conduct have been considered for a lenient sentence? 6 years is a long time, and for a good actor like Sanju baba, his acting career might well be over till the time he is out of prison! At this point, just consider the offense. Possession of an AK-56 rifle, and then asking two people to destroy the rifle. AK-56, named as 56 after its year of production, has a magazine capacity of 30 bullets-each of which is a powerful 7.62mm calibre bullet that can be fired with a muzzle velocity of 735 m/s at a rate of ~600 rounds per minute (Data from wiki). In layman terms, a very powerful weapon, a killing machine that can unleash a wave of destruction. Why does a film star, knowing well that the weapon he has in his house is such a powerful tool of murder, agree to keep it? All we know is, he did. And that mistake is what lead to his conviction today.

What if it was someone else who had kept this weapon? Not Sanjay Dutt, but a common man, should he be sentenced the same? I bet that if it were a common man, the news wouldn't even have made it to the last page of the newspaper, forget the TV channels.

The law will take its course, Mr. Dutt will file an appeal in the Supreme Court, and he might get a reprieve from this sentence. But is this harsh? Has the judge tried to set an example?

If he did, he most certainly succeeded at it! May God give Sanjay the courage to stand through these tough times, and prove to the world that tough times never last, tough people do! Always.

God save the team!

2007-07-24T02:31:00.000-07:00

India, as they say, is God's own country. And if "they" are to be believed, then the Indian cricket team is nothing short of God's own cricket team!! But it seems that though the Gods are good at other things in the universe, cricket is not a speciality. This is easily known by the sorry state of the Indian cricket team. So when India was about to lose another test match yesterday evening, cricket enthusiasts in the country were praying. Not for M.S Dhoni to stay, not for sreesanth to hold his nerves at the crease, but for the rain gods to intervene.

And intervene they did, stopping play just in time to rescue the team from losing another test match. This match will go down the records as a draw, but the sorry performance of the Indian team does not seem to end. One of the most formidable batting line-ups in the world collapsed twice in 5 days to a very inexperienced english bowling attack. I wonder what the Aussies would have done to this attack.....making mincemeat of it would be my closest guess.

The biggest problem with Indian cricket seems to be the reluctance to take action. If my performance was as pathetic as Sachin's, or as lacklustre as Rahul's at what I do, my boss would have kicked my ass for sure, if not fired me straight. Being the highest run scoring batsman in the world is one thing, but what good is such a batsman if he stops scoring?What good is being called "the wall" if you crumble as if made of poor quality concrete?

I'd say, kick out Sachin and Dravid, and let some good youngsters take their place. Let the team know that nobody is infallible. Let performance be the only criteria for players to be in the team.

Otherwise leave the team in God's hands, very much as it is now. God will help, but as is said, only those who helps themselves.

My suggestion to cricket lovers who sit in front of their TVs every time India takes to the field? Well, switch to cartoon network. Entertainment can't get better than Tom & Jerry running around. Cricket is somehow not worth watching anymore. Unless of course, Australia plays South Africa.

A tale of two scrambled eggs!

2007-07-13T03:16:00.000-07:00

Well...there is no tale. The eggs got smashed, beat up, had their wounds salted...and were finally cooked on a hot pan. They end up on a plate in front of me a while later.

Kind of sounds similar to many of those victims of the great Indian vigilante justice system, save for the fact that I don't get to gobble them up!

Note to self: Stop being a disgusting pig thinking about devouring humans.

On the same note, I believe that I am justified in being so. After all, men are pigs, aren't they. You can find us all over the streets, ogling at any woman who is of an age group that they are interested in, some going to the extent of even teasing them and some extremists even force themselves on these poor, helpless women.

Pigs!!

Although this brings me to my second theory, at proving why men are better managers than women are. Here goes. One of the most common work-place related euphimisms is that haggling with your manager for a higher pay is like wrestling with a pig in the mud! After a while you realise that you are all dirty, and the pig is enjoying it. Combine this with the universal "MAP-Men Are Pigs" theorem that most women will so gladly preach, we can deduce that men are better managers than women.

I can already hear chants of "Chauvinist Pig" from the female readers...but ladies, this does nothing more but to prove my point.

Enough bacon for the day...let me divert my attention to my scrambled eggs, and the most interesting bit of news that is doing its rounds these day....the amazing race for the next president of India.

I will not go into the plethora of allegations and counter-allegations that are being thrown around. What I'll rather do is ask a simple looking question: Is this how India, or rather Indians, would want to get their first woman president? Even though the President is more of glorified rubber stamp in India, if not anything else, being one is the dream of most retired politicans who are in the fading stages of their lives, as well as their political careers.

Most Indians are in favour of the current president, Mr.A.P.J Abdul Kalam, getting a second term. The man himself has expressed his unwillingness for the same, and his reasons can be well understood. The man has had enough of being a rubber stamp, and being forced to sign on bills like the reservation bill that he is so much against in principle wouldn't have gone down too well with him. But it doesn't matter now, as two candidates for the post are already covered in mud...now we can't even tell one from another.

Already half way through the eggs, and by now wondering what they were cooked in, I turn the newspaper. Only to see the news of a DIG being hunted down for trying to molest two women aboard a moving train. These pigs, I tell you....

Another fifteen flips later, the newspaper comes to an end. And most of the stories are either about terrorists, al-quaeda, or bipasha's attempt at kissing Ronaldo. Or was it Ronaldo's attempt? Never mind, I am least bothered. John will be. A lot.

24 pages of utter rubbish. That's what newspapers have come to. Though I don't think its fair to blame it on the newspapers. After all, they'll publish anything that people want to read...and most of it is utter rubbish. This is one of the magic tricks of a democracy, what the majority wants is usually rubbish. But this topic is for another day.

If you have read through this plate of scrambled eggs....I would like you to read my friend Bhavna's blog for this recent post and restore your sanity.

Though this time around, I will not put up a post on top of hers. No point in trying to make some points, I guess.

Oh...and today is Friday the 13th...again. For the superstitious, I will suggest you head home straight after work, and find a bed to sleep in.

For the deviliously inclined, like me, just relax...its another day for us. Unless you know one of those folks who has just scrambled under a blanket for the fear of people like us. If you do, justify their fears. Let the legend of Friday the 13th live.....whooooooohahahahahaha

Now I must spend the rest of my time trying to figure out what I am going to do for the rest of the weekend, other than sleeping, and scrambling more eggs.

So while I yaaaaawwwwwnnnnnnn away to glory in front of a mailbox full of work, go on, break a couple of eggs, scramble them and have fun. Oh, and if you happen to be a veggie who detests at the thought of breaking eggs, let alone eating them, well...find something else to break. Just stay away from my head...I will not let you break it!

Adios

Desire...

2007-06-25T22:10:00.000-07:00

There is other things I want to write about, India's plan to host a F1 race, the pressures of work and some more ad reviews and so on....but for some reason I am not.

I will, instead, post a song. This song is sung by Ryan Adams.You can listen to it here.

Two hearts fading, like a flower.
And all this waiting, for the power.
For some answer, to this fire.
Sinking slowly. The water's higher.
Desire

With no secrets. No obsession.
This time I'm speeding with no direction.
Without a reason. What is this fire?
Burning slowly. My one and only.
Desire

You know me. You don't mind waiting.
You just can't show me, but God I'm praying,
That you'll find me, and that you'll see me,
That you run and never tire.
Desire

Song credits:

Artist/Band: Adams Ryan
Lyrics for Song: Desire
Lyrics for Album: Demolition

Lyrics courtesy: http://www.cowboylyrics.com/

Ad review - 1: The maggi mania

2007-06-11T03:50:00.000-07:00

The first ad to be reviewed in this review series is of a product that has been around for many years, and is a very popular snack. I am talking about Maggi, a brand that faced a virtual wipe-out from the Indian market till a few years ago when it reinvented and re-positioned itself to grab leadership in this segment. And once Nestle had things going for their Maggi brand, they started to experiment.

The rice flavoured noodles which this commercial tries to sell is a new member to Maggi's expanding portfolio. The ad features a teenager bringing the new rice-based Maggi noodles home, and the mania that follows. So has this ad worked? Lets find out.

As with all maggi ads, the message is very clear in this ad. The target consumer group is also shown from the teenager to the grandmother, which is quite vast. And with the noodle pack being shown as a replacement to Rice(that it targets to replace) the relevance of this ad is spot on.

Relevance: ****

Now, there isn't much of a head required to understand what is going on in this ad. It is a simple and clear message by Maggi to its consumers that a new flavour is launched, and it must be tried. Simple, effective and easily understood by the consumer.

Acceptance: ***& 1/2

With the earlier Maggi ads showing the entire family going ga-ga over a pack of noodles, this one isn't much different. There is a family, and one by one everyone is driven to a "mania" by a pack of noodles. So as far as freshness of concept goes, this ad scores poorly.

Freshness: * & 1/2

The ad makes sense for the product it is trying to sell. But to me, it does not make a lot of sense making a noodle ad with people shouting mania mania all over the place, and doing a pathetic dance around a pack of noodles. It must be noted here that I am not a big fan of the Maggi "Sambar" flavor ad either, where a Sardarji goes nuts over a pack of maggi. The only Maggi ad I liked was not in the noodle segment, but in the soup segment. Very silent, and very very relevant. If you are going to make a noise, either have a lot of nonsense around it, or try to be a little quiet.

Nonsense Factor: ***

Of course with the so much mania being shouted around the place, the audience is expected to retain a little bit of it in their heads when they go out to buy a pack of Maggi. It must be said that out of the ten odd times I tried to watch this ad completely on TV, my hand switched the channel instinctively as soon as the ad came on. This ad is really irritating, and completely forgettable. The worst part is though, it manages to stick around in my head convincing me that this is a product I should skip.

Recollection Factor: ***

So, has this ad worked? No. Maggi could have had a better job done with this ad. The ad is boring and drives the guy watching it nuts. Most people would like to change channels the moment this ad comes on air. Like I do.

The verdict for this ad? Well, it doesn't seem to work the way it should. In my opinion, consumers won't be drawn to buying a pack of rice Maggi just by this ad. And so, the ad does not serve the purpose it is made for.

Overall Rating: **

Do let me know your opinions on this ad, and which ad would you want reviewed next.

Till then...

P.S. Find the maggi ad on youTube here

Ad reviews!!!

2007-06-06T22:10:00.000-07:00

Finally I find time to write, after a few weeks of back breaking work. And I am glad to introduce a new review series, where I will be reviewing the various advertisements that rule the Indian telly.

Earlier on this blog, I had started a review series on blogs, called Breview, that went along for a few posts, after which it suffered a premature closure owing primarily to my being distracted with a lot of other things. Bringing Breview back is a tough ask, but if you want me to breview your blog or a friends', do let me know.

Now, on this new Ad-review. I will be reviewing ads based on the following parameters:

1. Relevance: How relevant is the advertisement to the product that it is trying to sell?
2. Acceptance: How well accepted/understood is the ad in the Indian context? This because there are several global firms that use their international ads in India without much of a context change. So, is the ad accepted?
3. Freshness: How fresh is the ad? Is it a use of the same old boring concepts that were always used to market that category of product, or is it something totally new?
4. Nonsense factor: Does the ad have a lot of nonsense in it? And does the nonsense in the ad make any sense after all?
5. Recollection factor: Do the audience watching the ad remember it when they go to buy a product? Or rather, will the audience buy a product based on this ad?

Based on these factors, and a lot of coherent rambling as always, I will be reviewing a lot of ads in the coming days. So watch this space, and do comment to tell me which ad goes under the scanner next, along with your views on the ads reviewed.

Watch this space for more....

Law and Order

2007-05-16T04:45:00.000-07:00

Every citizen wants their country to be safe. Be it an Indian citizen, an American citizen, or a German citizen for that matter, every citizen wants to live in an environment of safety and security. And for this safety, citizens pay a price to the government...called tax.

Now once a citizen pays for his/her safety, it becomes the government's prerogative to provide it to them. Safety from external threats is usually provided by a country's military force. And internal security is provided by the police.

You might be wondering where I am getting at with all this talk. I am getting to the law and order situation that prevails in India.

Some of my fellow countrymen(and women) might say, law...what law? Does such a thing as safety exist in India? Can a family leave their home for a vacation without worrying about it being burgled?Or can women walk on the streets alone without being eve-teased?

There are two very clear reasons for the law and order problem that exists in this country. I will talk about both.

The first problem lies in the enforcers of the law, i.e, the Police. According to the Indian constitution, police is a matter of the states to take care of. Each state is responsible for its police force. And Police is responsible for maintaining law and order in the state. However, that does not happen in India. Police is virtually non-existant in most states in India. On my recent visit to the US, I was impressed by the response time of the police to a 911 call. Try calling 100, the police response number in India. I am quite sure that if there is a response to your call, it will be hours before anyone actually arrives.

Now I happen to know quite a few policemen, both at the lower ranks and senior ranks. So I went forward and asked some officers, and a few constables, why is the Police force in such a miserable state.

Officers have a fixed reply, we have shortage of cash, there is shortage of manpower, there are too many bureaucratic hurdles in police reforms etc etc etc... Talk to the lower ranks, the constables, and a different picture emerges.

One constable, to whom I put this question to, said.."Sir, when do we investigate a FIR? Most of the time we are used as a personal servant by our officers, to bring their kids from school, to drive the mem-saab to the markets...and when we have a little time, how much do we investigate? We don't have a means to go around(this particular person had a bicycle!), we are not educated enough, we do not have weapons...and we do not get enough money."

This is the reality of the Indian Police force. When we citizens stand up and blame to cops for mis-handling of evidence, we do not see the fact that they were never taught how to handle evidence in the first place! When we talk about improper handling of witnesses by cops, we ignore the basic premise that they were never taught how to handle witnesses. The situation might be better in police forces of uptown cities like mumbai, delhi etc, but by and large, the situation is pathetic. Police force is in much need of reforms, and lower ranks who are the ones who really work need to be made more efficient, paid better, their living conditions need to be improved. Unless this happens, I do not think we can expect a lot from the rag-tag group that we call the police.

Now the second culprits. You might think I am going to talk about the judiciary, but no. Judiciary comes in third on my list of culprits. The second reason for law and order problems is the so-called "law abiding citizens" of this country. Citizens who love to take the law into their own hands, and jump on the streets whenever there is an incident. And then there are riots. Some vehicles are burnt, shops are broken, and after all this is over, no one is arrested.

The most recent incident of Sikhs going on rampage in Punjab is a wonderful example. If something illegal was done, have a peaceful march. Go and follow democratic ways of registering an FIR against the person you think has done wrong, and then follow it up. But no, we as Indians now believe in taking matters in our own hands. We'd rather go ahead and burn, break and riot all over the place. If a bus runs over a person on the street, all by-standers will take out their anger on the bus. No one thinks that this mindless destruction of property(in most cases, public property) does no good.

Yes, the police lacks in their duty when they fail to stop all this rioting. Yes, the judiciary fails in its purpose when it sits all day processing cases of film stars being kissed in public, or some artist making a painting rather than speed up murder and rape case verdicts. But the biggest culprits are we the people, who choose to get on the streets, throw stones on police, break shops...and cause disturbance.

And no, rioting is not the only way of having your voice heard. There are better ways, that involve less damage to public property. We as people do not have the right to pronounce guilty verdicts, or take the law into our hands.

But who listens? The only evolutionary progress we seem to have made is from being monkeys jumping around in a forest, to humans roaming around in concrete forests. Other than that, nothing!

I have more thoughts, but this is enough for one post....maybe a part 2 will follow. Till then....

Oh..its good...to be back home...again...

2007-05-13T10:17:00.000-07:00

So sang John Denver...and so sing I...

Being back home in India is good....it may be hotter than hell, but if you are the devil, you feel good in hell..

Now the reason why I have metaphors going all over the place is that I am on vacation in my hometown...and will remain on it for another week. So I should be posting more this week...before I get back to New Delhi....

I'll go get some sleep now...maybe tomorrow is the day when I post something sensible...

or maybe day after tomorrow !!

as they say... Procrastinate...now!!!

adios

In no mood to write tonight...

2007-04-19T20:46:00.000-07:00

So i will just put up some pictures from my recent trip to Washington. Hope you like them.

Also, I will be travelling back to India next weekend. This will bring a 3 month visit to the USA to its end. This has been a good trip for me, and I have learnt a lot about the culture that I had only heard of. I've met a lot of wonderful people, and I am carrying many fond memories back in my baggage, to last me a lifetime.

The next post will be from India, so till then... adios.

I Tube, You Tube

2007-04-01T11:01:00.000-07:00

The big buzz in the online world is that the daddy of video sharing, You Tube, is being sued by the mommy of network television, Viacom. Mummy dearest, it seems, is not happy about daddy allowing everyone to have a bite out of mummy's delicious cooking. Ouch.

So mummy drags daddy to court. And all that dirty linen falls out of the closet and into full public view, where mummy and daddy will now wash the dirt and blood out of it.

In the meanwhile, daddy's found himself another muse, in the name of Fox. Now the muse in interested in daddy putting out samples of its cooking, so that people get to taste it. If they like it, they can pay for it and buy it. If they don't, well, who cares. That's just a sample that's gone out.

In case I have you wondering by now, the above more or less summarizes the legal wrangle between Viacom and google(who incidentally happens to own youTube now), and also the discussions going on between FoxTV executives, and Google. Without the legal jargon, of course.

There are a few interesting questions that have come out of this debate. One being the whole concept of legality of content. Of course, a TV show, its copyright and everything are owned by the producers(or whoever in the production company). Once the show is aired, typically it gets assigned to a bin from where it can be picked in case a rerun is needed. YouTube, doesn't allow copying of content by its users..so you just cannot go to YouTube and copy a video. But you can surely watch it, and upload one. Uploading is where it gets tricky. A user can upload almost anything to YouTube, of course adhering to the upload policies.(I believe they have some new rules about copy righted content now) So whom does the onus of responsibility lies with? The guy who is generously allowing you to post videos for all to see, or the guy who is actually copying copyrighted content without permission and uploading it?

Let the lawyers decide this one..

I will move on to a more interesting issue...why have this issue in the first place? I live in India, but I enjoy watching several programmes that are aired on US based networks. It is on a really lucky day that Star, or Zee decides to air these programmes in India(as is with the popular series Friends). But I can go to youTube, watch a scene or two and get my laughs. Or I go to youtube, and see music videos that I have never seen. Well, if you live in India and are a fan of english music, you will agree that there is a limited number of channels that actually air good english music videos. YouTube intoduced me to George strait, whose music I really loved. Now I have 3 CDs that I purchased(well, thats as many as I could find).

Point is, YouTube ultimately promotes content. Like Fox has realized, it can be used for promotional purposes. We anyways live in a world where music has lost its spirit, people do it just for the money. Which is clearly proven by all the DRM issues that are being raised, and the noise a few years back over Napster. It definitely is all about the money, but what about people who would enjoy listening to content more than actually owning it? Why do they need to pay 69 cents everytime they listen to a song?

Call me a socialist, or a communist for that matter..but I believe that channels like YouTube where great music, great videos are shared should not be clamped down, but should be promoted. Who wants to see a half hour episode on youTube, but give me my funnies...give me the videos that have disappeared from the channels....give me the music that no one plays anymore...

and stop being the capitalist jerks that you are...there are people in the world who might not be rich enough to pay you, that does not mean you can take the music out of their lives!

P.S: As for me, I am beginning to enjoy my stay in Baltimore...another travelogue will be up shortly. And Happy Fools Day to all of you. If you are still on this planet, you are a fool. So while you are here, enjoy your day :)

Passport to refreshment

2007-03-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

And this passport bears two words on it - Coca Cola.

Coke is the older of the two fighting colas. One of the biggest global brand today, Coke had its humble foundation in Atlanta more than 100 years ago. What better reason to go and pay a visit the World of Coca-Cola, that pays tribute to the legendary brand that introduced the world to its favourite drink, the Cola.

World of Coca-Cola is one of the biggest attractions of Atlanta. Situated at Martin Luther King Jr. drive, it is a must see destination for all Cola fans.

We headed out on a sunny Sunday morning, boarded the Marta to 5 points station in downtown Atlanta(read the previous post for more on Marta). They said that to get to WOCC, we needed to walk "underground" for a while.

Before a shock takes over you, I should tell you that "underground" is another of Atlanta's tourist attractions. Underground Atlanta has a glorious past, and more about underground can be read at their website.

I will narrate my experience, which was no less than awesome.

Underground Atlanta is actually underground, and it gives the appearance of a flea market. Citizens of delhi will be able to relate it to Palika bazaar, though the underground is way too cleaner, is much more organized and has a lot of culture attached to it. There are several old cars, perfectly restored, that are parked at various places in the underground. And most of the shops are on carts. There is a food court, some excellent dining places, live performances, and most of the knick-knacks you'd expect to find in a typical city market. A truly wonderful experience.

After walking through the underground for a few minutes, we came out and saw WOCC staring at us. I must say that the location of WOCC is stunning, and it sure will take your breath away. The old time charm is also restored to some extent by horse-carriages that take you for a ride around the avenue.

We entered WOCC, purchased our tickets(reasonably priced at $9 for an adult), and headed straight in. The lift took us straight to the third floor. This floor contains a lot of historical artefacts, many dating back to early 19th century. Also on display is a mini-bottling machine, that shows how the bottling process works.

Moving ahead, there is a soda shop, with a real "soda jerk" behind the counter showing how coke was made in the good 'ol days. And it cost only 5 cents!! But I guess 5 cents was a lot of money back then.

After the soda shop is the most interesting room in the entire building. It is the sampling room, where one can sample the drinks that are served by coke all across the world. From tutty-fruity to a bitter italian flavor(that I liked), the room presents a unique, soda filled challenge for the taste buds.

After that trip to the WOCC, we spent some time exploring the area, and not before long we were at the Georgia State Capitol. The capitol has a magnificent building, with a gold dome and a replica of the statue of liberty atop it(well, that's what it looked like). The capitol is open for visitors from Monday to Friday only, and as it was a Sunday we could not get in. But its outside is no less magnificent. It has statues of famous US presidents, cannons from the US civil war, a lamp lit for the martyrs of World Wars I & II, and of course, the gold dome that is visible from a distance.

After spending half an hour looking around, we decided to head back to end our tryst with the history of one of the world's favourite drinks, and some history of the place I spent the last month and a half at.

Now for the good news, bad news drill.

Bad news is, this was my last Sunday in Atlanta. I have come to like this city very much, it has a lot to offer for the tourist and a nice place to stay too. My stay here was also made wonderful by the staff of the Residence Inn Alpharetta, where I stayed during this trip. Thanks a lot guys.

Now the good news. My trip to the US still continues, and now I am headed for a new destination. My next stop is the city of Linthicum, located in the state of Maryland. This will also land me close to Washington DC, and it luck be, I might pay the power center of the US a visit. So for now, its good bye Atlanta, hello baltimore.

The next post will be from my new destination. Till then...watch this space.

A Thursday in Blueland...

2007-02-25T10:20:00.000-08:00

Thursday was the day scheduled for our tryst with destiny, which can be plainly stated as our day to visit Atlanta downtown, and the many attractions it offered.

We started our journey with MARTA. Before you get any ideas, MARTA is the local rail transport system that ferries people from one corner of Atlanta to another. A very efficient and easy way to get around the city of Atlanta, Marta will save you a lot of those traffic & parking problems. As is said, a city's transport system is its lifeline, and MARTA does its job really well at that.

After a 30 minutes journey, we reached downtown Atlanta. A short walk later, we were at the Georgia Aquarium. The Georgia Aquarium is "the world's largest aquarium with 8 million gallons of fresh & marine water, and over 100000 animals representing 500 species from around the globe. " Sounds impressive.

And it sure is. The variety of marine life kept in this aquarium is mind-boggling. From jelly-fish to piranhas, from penguins to eels, from sea-lions to stingrays, from sea-horses to beluga whales, the aquarium gives you a feeling that you have explored all creatures of the sea. Enough of me, now let the pictures do some talking..

Fish, fish in the tank..

Beluga Whale
African Penguins
A sea of colour
Mr. Tortoise

There were two very important lessons I learnt from my trip to the aquarium. First, that there is a massive effort involved in making any species feel at home in a foreign eco-system. The georgia aquarium is doing a great job in making all these animals feel perfectly at home.

The second lesson is, that animals kept in closed enclosures like to pose for cameras! I have clicked otters, sea-lions, beluga whales(photo above), tortoises(photo above) posing gracefully for the visitors. I don't think there is anything special the aquarium does to ensure that shutter-happy photographers like me get a good collection of photographs. I tend to believe that its not only humans that enjoy their celebrity status, but several animals exposed to being photographed also do. Ever wonder why those lions in all those safari photos pose so gracefully? I bet every time a lion sees a photographer he goes "Honey, straigten up your mane, the paparazzi is here!" , "Oh not again, I am just finishing off that gazelle. Hold on, let me get some more of that blood on my teeth".

Whatever.

Aquarium done, we started to walk towards Philips Arena, for our rendezvous with ice-hockey. On the way, we walked into the Centennial Olympic park. For the uninitiated, Atlanta city played host to the Olympics in 1996, which also happened to be the 100th Olympics after Baron Pierre de Coubertin revived the ancient Greek tradition of Olympics in 1896. The Centennial Park is built to commemorate the 1996 Olympics celebrated in Atlanta. Again, I'll let the pictures do most of my job:

Olympic Memorial

The Torch
Entrance to the Olympic Park

Sports are followed religiously all across the world. Every country/region has its own favourites. Asia has cricket & Europe has football. US has a large collection of sports, each having its own dedicated fan following. And we were about to witness one of them.

Ice-hockey is originally a Canadian sport(officially Canada's winter sport). Simply referred as hockey, but played on ice with a puck. Here in US, NHL is the league of professional ice-hockey teams. The teams come from different regions from the US, and as is with each sport here, the team names are most exciting. Examples: Devils(New Jersey), Flyers(Philadelphia), Panthers(Florida), Hurricanes(Carolina). We were here to witness the encounter between Thrashers(Atlanta) and Lightening(Tampa Bay).

The atmosphere at the arena was electric. There was so much adrenaline, so much excitement, so much thrill & anticipation in the fans, that it made me remember a live India Pakistan match that I had seen once. And being the home team, Atlanta Thrashers were obviously the favourites.

The match lasted for 2 hours, and I can say, not even for one moment were we any far from the edge of our seats. Ice-hockey is a very fast paced game, and with the fan-frenzy reaching crazy levels every time the Thrashers controlled the puck, the experience was a one-in-a-lifetime experience for us. Even the breaks between periods were amazing, with tiny-tots donning ice-hockey gear and having a go at the game.

Here are some photos for you to feast your eyes on:

Thrashers...Thrashers...

The usher
The guy with the toughest job in the rink
What the puck are you waiting for?

The Star Sprangled Arena

Kids have their go

Waiting....

And so..a wonderful evening comes to an end.

Of course, this post would not be complete without thanking our gracious hosts for the evening, who took as around and made this experience an everlasting memory. Thank you guys...you are the best.

With this post, Coherent Rambling completes 100 posts, and also marks its second anniversary. It is a major milestone for me, considering the lazy writer that I am. There were many times in these two years when I contemplated closing the blog, came close to doing it actually a few times, but there was something that brought me back. Maybe this blog has evolved from being more than a medium. To me, coherent rambling is a manifestation of my inner self. My soul speaks freely here, expresses itself, and many a times I end up writing not from my head but from my heart. My medium has now become an image of me.

Or has it become me?

Do keep reading, and commenting. Your thoughts are more valuable to me than my own. On this note, I will sign off for today.

Adios

Happy Saint Valentine's Day

2007-02-14T09:26:00.000-08:00

A very Happy St. Valentine's Day to you all. For a more historical perspective, please visit Wiki

Valentine's Day has evolved into a celebration of love. Love, in all its varying forms, is the most complex of human emotions. An emotion that can bring happiness in one's life as much as it can bring sadness. It can be linked to both joy and sorrow, to smiles & tears, to peace & to anger.

Though more commercialized today, love has become a commodity more than an emotion. There is still a group of old-schoolers who believe in the orthodox definitions of purity & sacrifice in love. The rest are just there to cash in. In today' world, love has contorted into a feeling that is not complete without physical intimacy. Most of the cases of so-called 'lovers' that I see are in it just for the intimacy, nothing else.

And mainstream commercialization takes its pride in putting a price to everything. So your love is not true till you have gifted that 100$ teddy bear, or that 50$ bunch of roses. Putting a price on love is most certainly not romantic.

Having said that, what is the one thing I'd want to do most with the person I love? Spend some quality time with her, maybe go out on a beach, or a small trek, or a long drive. A gift definitely indicates how special that person is for you, but it certainly does not mean that a gift is all it takes to love or not love a person.

And before I leave, here's some fodder for your thought on the day when love is the biggest celebrity of all :

"People walk around today calling everyone their best friend, the term doesn't have any meaning anymore. Mere acquaintances are lavished with hugs & kisses upon a second or at most a third meeting, birthday cards get passed around offices so everybody can scribble a snippet of sentimentality for a colleague they barely met, and everyone just loves everyone. As a result when you tell somebody you love them today, it isn't much heard..." -Allan Shore, Boston Legal

The Atlanta Post - Late night edition

2007-02-07T19:00:00.000-08:00

Well..late night edition coz its 10 pm here...no other reason..honest!

All right, the headlines. Yours truly has reached atlanta safely, after a tiring 17 hr non-stop flight, followed by 3 more hours on the airplane. It was literally a pain in the proverbial butt.

The one thing that hit me as I entered US was the chilly wind. The last time I was hit by such a wind was at 3000 m above sea level. I was surprised to find such fresh air in a country that has the most number of automobiles in the world. More on this later.

My travel did not end yet. There was another 40 miles of drive left, but this was a breeze in the cadillac that had come over to recieve me(ya..some perks do come with the job).

The hotel suite is also wonderful. I am still waiting for my camera to arrive, so I will post pictures of my suite, and more later.

Well, whether I am liking it here in the US? Yes, of course. I have always been a game for new challenges, and I am loving it here.

Will I want to stay forever in the US? No. That's as direct as it gets. US is a wonderful country, no doubt. The people here are amazing, lots of shopping options...but..I like India more. Living in the US for a few months is a great idea, and worth every bit of the experience. But what we have in India is called a life. Even though the traffic is unruly, and the streets are dirty, but at the end of the day, home is home.

How do I know? Well, i've been out of mine for the last 6+ years :-)

More on atlanta to follow.

Post #97

2007-02-01T01:35:00.000-08:00

The countdown to the 100th post has begun, and what a post that is going to be!

Reason? Well, coherent ramblings will now be posted from the US of A. That s correct. Yours truly is flying out tonight to the land of dreams, but not for very long.

Post #98 will be next week, after I get the 20+ hrs of travel out of my head. Till then, comment on the "why" series below.

adios for now..but promise to keep visiting, as I promise to post my travelogues, and my usual ramblings here...

till then...

The "why" series

2007-01-29T05:37:00.000-08:00

Why is there no action against the lawyers who tried to deliver vigilante justice to the nithari accused, when there is swift lathicharge & arrests of students conducting peaceful demonstrations?

Why does India cry out against "racial abuse" in Big Brother, but not make a single noise when Neo sports airs advertisements saying "It is tough being a West Indian/Sri Lankan in India" ?

Why do news channels keep following mr. bacchan and his to be wife, Ms. Rai, all around the town, when there is better news to show?

Why does the income tax dept. chase and rob salary earners, but takes no action when politicians spent lakhs & crores just "celebrating" their birthdays?

Why is the govt. so interested in "talking" to ULFA when all the talk about is killing more Indians?

Why is Gujarat ashamed to watch Parzania that portrays the heart wrenching true story of a family ruined in the riots?

and last, but not the least..

Why are normal marriages not allowed by "astrologers" if there is "mangal dosha", but if the people in question are two famous celebs, there is a "workaround"?

answers, anyone?

The analysis of a heartbreak, and more... - Part II

2007-01-19T01:48:00.000-08:00

This follows the previous post, and is mandated as a response to bhavna's comment on it. So please read the previous post and its comments before reading further.

First, I strongly believe that in the Indian society, marriage is definitely the only consequence of love. The other options of two people loving but not getting married are not really socially acceptable in India. I am not implying that they do not exist, all I am saying is that a massive part of the Indian society is still strongly against them.

That settled, let me move ahead. One topic coming out of this discussion is the definition of love. How does a person know when he/she is in love with another? How do others judge if two people are actually in love?

An interesting observation here is the conflicting views about love. It is said that loving is all about letting go, leaving the other person free...etc etc. However, a flip side to this is the fact that if a person really loves you, and wants to be with you, then he/she should stand by you during the tough times when you are talking to your parents. Contradicting, right?

I tend to believe that the whole philosophy of letting go is just existing for the consolation of people who have been dumped in love. The human mind needs something to hand on to, and in tough times the sole consolation of "true-love-being-in-letting-go" is what helps you through it.

In my opinion, true love is in wanting to stay with the person you love...always being in the company of the one you love, be it in reality, or in your head. Leaving or letting go are not options in love.

Another question is, is it love only when both people are in love with each other? I again disagree. One sided love is a very painful reality. It is like chasing a dream, it is stupid, it is senseless. But as with love, if it happens it cannot be stopped. As love knows no rationale.

I do believe that an important aspect of love is respecting the feelings of your partner. And making all attempts to keep your partner happy. This is why when I was told to leave, I have always left. Not because I believed that love is in letting go...but simply because for me, love is always keeping the other person happy. And if her happiness is in breaking off and going away...so be it.

Shouldn't get personal....

Now the interesting discussion of obeying our parents, or rather not obeying them...well I don't see why the other option is so easily ignored. Fine, my parents are my parents...but I am their child too...I too deserve some level of trust, love and respect from them. And at a mature age, I would certainly wish that they stand by me in the decisions I take in my life. I am fine if they stop me from taking a decision on a genuine reason, I will accept such a mandate. But reasons that are without reason & logic, well, are unacceptable to me. Our parents have lived for more years than us, but it certainly does not mean everything they tell us to do is the right thing for us. We might accept most of what they tell us, but all of it...I don;t know.

It is not about trust, but it is about the simple fact that everyone makes mistakes...and accept it or not...but our parents are equally susceptible to making mistakes as we are.

At least with my parents, I openly discuss their decisions, ask for the reasons behind them. Call me a bad boy, a disobedient son or whatever, but I do not accept any of their decisions that is not soundly justified enough. I do not lead a life where decisions are made based on hearsay or anything that makes no scientific/logical sense to me...

The advantage is that I never regret even a single decision I have ever made. The disadvantage is that it is tough to live this way. Very tough..there are battles lurking around each corner..and I will strongly dissuade you from following this way of living. It is much easier to accept what your parents say, and live life quietly and happily. My way of life might appear glamorous on the outside, but it is tough. So don't follow it. Period.

I don;t know if love is the most complex emotion, but it is the most painful. Without question or argument. Everyone who I know, who has loved aomeone at one point or other in their lives, know that it is painful. But it is worth every bit of it.

On this last argument, the defence rests...

The analysis of a heartbreak, and more...

2007-01-10T03:59:00.000-08:00

A recent post on my friend bhavna's blog really set my mind into action(yes..i can hear the shouts of "its been a really long time since that last happened, duh). Jokes apart, I would first want you to read her thoughts.

Having gone through similar situations in my life(yes, its situations and not situation)...I must say I am well equipped to comment on this. So here goes....

When a person falls in love with another, the mind and heart think as one(yes, if you are in true love, this WILL happen). And the mind follows what the heart say.And all lovers care about is being together with each other.

In the great grand Indian society...togetherness forever is marriage! A man and a woman being good friends, being lovers but not getting married is suspiciously viewed by the so called "society" to the extent of persecution. And then this poor couple, and their love life crumbles under the pressures extered hitherto.

So let us accept that marriage is the only way forward for a couple desperately in love. The next step is of course in convincing the upholders of our families, that is, our parents. Let me add here that cases where close relatives, distant relatives, and even neighbors & "society" in general are big factors in any decision that parents will make. For a person in love, the goal is convincing their parents by hook or by crook that all these factors are nothing when it comes to the happiness of their child.

Unfortunately, this argument does not hold out..it loses to equal(and time tested) arguments of experience, life...and in the worst case if no argument is left..then parents use their ace. The ultimate blackmail of making a choice...between the person you love, and between the people who have raised you and cared for you since you were born.

Needless to say, love loses out. At least in my cases, and in many others that I have seen around me, it does. There is only one case where I have seen a person hold out, not make a choice, and ultimately emerge a winner. But such cases are a rarity. If you don't believe me, consider yourself in this ultimate blackmail situation for days altogether....and you will also lose out.

Am I making a villain out of the wonderful people that our parents are? Of course not. Yet the fact remains that most relationships fail because of some or the other affects of parental pressures. It is difficult to document all cases here, so I will just leave it at that.

And what antidote do parents have to a heartbreak?Marriage, of course!!I speak so because I have downed this option multiple times in my own life...but I have seen a lot of people take the path of roses..and be happy forever. I do not want such happiness in my life.

Tough to be impersonal...but I will continue...

Now the reasons why lovers are turned down...the biggest in our country is caste differences. All of us, and our parents are really sympathetic to the cause of reservations...and no one wants to divide this great nation based on caste(at least no one sane would).

But when it comes to letting in a person of another caste in our families, we are scared...we are afraid of what the society would say. We lose our appetite, our sleep..our peace of mind...and in extreme cases, get heart attacks..thinking why??Why my family...why my child had to go off and fall in love with a person from another caste???We will go to any extent to stop them from doing so...otherwise our family will forever be cursed with an "outsider".

This is what goes in a parent's mind....and the symptoms are clearly indicative...no one eats properly in the household for days...parents stop talking to their children..treating them as outcasts..as if they committed multiple murders in one night...no siree...this is the worst crime possible. The retribution is swift...no is almost always the answer..any opposition is met with the ultimate blackmail i mentioned above.

In all this, what has happened to the lovers? Their relationship stretches to breaking point, and soon the day comes when one begins thinking that getting rid of the relation is the best way forward for both of them. And a love story dies.

A painful death at the hands of people who care...of those who matter...

What happens when a relationship ends?Heartbreak....the mind dissociates itself from the heart...cold brutal logic engages in never ending battles with the heart...the soft heart is cursed endlessly for trusting another person...for expecting...for dreaming that life could be beautiful....

This battle, more than anything, takes a toll. And believe me, suicide often appears as an option. Whether I ever considered it is a story for another day, but i know it does. And the only thing that can keep that thought away is just to keep fighting. Keep trying to survive. Remeber that its always the path ridden with thorns that leads to happiness..just keep removing them from your feet..and keep walking.

And well...real love is in letting go. I can say this because I have let go...more than once...caring for the other person's well being...not even keeping any malice in my heart or my mind...

Is it easy to forgive? yes it is.

Is it easy to forget? I don't think so....at least I haven't been able to.

Is it easy to fall in love again? I don't know...really....more so because this is something I randomly read...

"you fall in love only once...the rest is just life"

I could go on and on on this..but I must stop...before more memories come back to flood my heart and my eyes...some other day, perhaps.

4 degree celsius...

2007-01-08T04:31:00.000-08:00

and still without a sweater, a jacket...or any kind of warm clothes. Yep..thats me. Its fun to feel the chilly wind hitting you flat on as you walk on the road....

Staying without any kind of warm clothing in Delhi's chilly winter can be best described in one word..insane. And I have heard it so many times over the last two weeks that i got myself a really thin jacket from CP yesterday. Not because I feel cold, just to keep people satisfied...and to be left in peace....and as one of my friend's dad put it, to "respect the season".

CP was a lot of fun yesterday. I had gone there with a friend, and managed to do a little bit of shopping. It was decently crowded, and not over crowded as it usually is. Maybe because it was a Sunday. Central park was crowded, as usual. Maybe its a ritual to visit central park, and crowd that place everytime you visit CP. Luckily, I skipped the ritual.

And I managed to watch the sun set from CP yesterday...of all the sunset points in the world...I get to see it at CP. But it was a decent view, watching the sun set between two high rises..mountains of today I suppose. Whatever....

And to top it off..I did not click it...maybe it was the wonderful baskin robbins double scoop in my hand that was the centre of my attraction.

Though I will post a sunset picture...this is the last sunset of 2006, as clicked from my patio.

Sunsets always have a certain charm. They represent the end of a day...and like this one...the end of a whole year...

But in all the gloom and the impending darkness...a sunset is so beautiful that for a minute it takes your mind off the night to follow...and the night can be spent thinking of the sunset that preceded it...and the sunrise that will follow it.

But till the night is over...and another dawn beckons...its the darkness...the chill...the 4 degree celsius....and memories of the sun that set...hoping that it would rise again.

Will it?

Happy New Year 007

2007-01-04T02:04:00.000-08:00

Chinese mythology assigns an animal to each year as it begins, like the last year was the year of the dog(was it?).

This time it's gonna be different. Coz this is 007.

The year of Bond, James Bond....

bring on another martini, will ya' *hic*

Welcome 2007....and my state of mind is the same as my martini...shaken..but not stirred!!

Happy New Year to all!!!

and on an unrelated note, my blog gets the following New Year's gift from google/blogger.

Congratulations! Your move to the new Blogger is complete.

Happy blogging,
The Blogger Team

And for those scanning this post for New Years' Resolutions, here they are:

1. Write more regularly(wait a minute, wasn't this last year's resolution!!!)
2. Go for more outdoor treks, post more pictures.
3. Be a good boy(he he, what's wrong in wishing eh?)
4. [INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT DETECTED. REPLACED WITH *]
*****************************************************************

$#!t...this new blogger's smart...or I've had a martini too many...

*Hic*cy New Year to you...

Merry Christmas...& A Happy New Year

2006-12-18T19:51:00.000-08:00

On window panes,the icy frost
Leaves feathered patterns, crissed & crossed,
But in our house the Christmas tree
Is decorated festively
With tiny dots of colored light
That cozy up this winter night.
Christmas songs, familiar, slow,
Play softly on the radio.
Pops and hisses from the fire
Whistle with the bells and choir.
My tiger is now fast asleep
On his back and dreaming deep.
When the fire makes him hot,
He turns to warm whatever's not.
Propped against him on the rug,
I give my friend a gentle hug.
Tomorrow's what I'm waiting for,
But I can wait a little more.

MERRY CHRISTMAS....And A Happy New Year to all of you...God Bless.

P.S :Poem courtesy Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes.

What lies ahead....

2006-11-27T21:02:00.000-08:00

Another journey to take....another trip to make....

A trip down the memory lanes...a trip to see what might lie in the future...

am I hopeful? am I apprehensive? am I scared? am I worried?

I know not...whether I should let my emotions play with me...or should I keep my head firmly on my shoulders....

either ways..it is a tough one.....

pray for me...coz i have seen a lot of darkness...and it seems to keep getting dark...

pray that I see the dawn...that i so much want....

any last words...of course...here they are:

It's a new world
It's a new start
It's alive with the beating of young hearts
It's a new day
It's a new plan
I've been waiting for you
Here I am

i know not if I will be back here...ever again...

so thank you all...for being there..and praying for me always....

Goodbye...for now...maybe forever...

The Red pill...or the blue....

2006-11-13T06:58:00.000-08:00

The door on the left, or the one on the right...life is full of choices. Just like Neo was faced with the choice of either going out to the machines, or saving the life of trinity, whom he loved...he chose to do the second. Was that the right thing, being selfish about his love when there were a million lives to be saved? I don't know. I cannot be the judge. For I myself don't know what my reaction is going to be if I am in such a situation.

Though one thing is for sure, life always presents you with choices. And the irony with a choice is, that there is no way of knowing if it is the right choice. You cannot bank on your own experience, or the experience of people elder to you, to make the right one. Simply because there is one variable in life, which is time.

Now I've ranted about time earlier. The relentless variable, the catalyst of change, whatever you call it....though choices are unrelenting as well. And they are tougher to make.

Its just like deciding whether you are going to live on a coin toss, and the only choice you have is to call either heads or tails. What might appear a right choice when you are making it, could actually turn out to be the worst.

What is actually wonderful is that the human mind compensates in its own ways for the such bad choices. It moulds itself in a shell of compromise, that makes all mistakes appear good, and it makes life to look sweet.

I was having a discussion with a friend today, about life, and love and stuff. I found myself putting an interesting point. As we move forward in life, and make compromises for whatever reasons we do, we lose the ability to love. What we do gain, is the ability to appear to love, and care...but the true feelings are lost forever. I just hope I do not lose my ability to love with a true heart...but the thought surely scares me.

I digressed! Well, that is what happens when you have a thought too many going around in your head. So, coming back to making choices, is there ever a right way to make a choice? unfortunately no...there isn't. Life is inevitable, so are its numerous choices, so there is no avoiding decision making. Just that be careful, be very careful. As some decisions can cost you a life...not someone else's, but your own.

And here's a beautiful thought that a friend mailed me...

Don't let some one become PRIORITY in your life when you are just an OPTION in THEIR life

Straightforward, harsh, and sadly very true. The question is, how easy is it to become a priority in another person's life, and how easy is it to not make a person a priority in your life?

The question forms a perfect circle, right? Do you have the answer?

I certainly do not!

Quote of the Day...

2006-11-12T21:05:00.000-08:00

Humans are disgusting
- The Sloth, Ice Age -1

The conundrum...or whatever

2006-11-04T00:00:00.000-08:00

These days, I have been living in a perpetual space-time conundrum. Don't get alarmed, I am still on the border where insanity meets language, so no more heavy words.

I have heard this word, space time conundrum, somewhere on Discovery Channel. And since then I've been trying to find out what it means. Yeah, I know google exists, but there is more fun in knowing words and attaching your own meanings to them. So I made one for space time conundrum.

It means " A person exists in a space time conundrum when (s)he has no idea of how much time (s)he has spent in a particluar space(place), or has lost a sense of location and direction".

The next experiment to try out was, of course, to get lost in it myself. Though I perpetually live in a state where my mind handles several varied thoughts at one time, this was challenging, I thought. To be lost so much that there is no sense of time.

Needless to say, I managed to enter the state. Where time had no meaning, I was lost.

And that is when I felt my past, my present and my future come to me at once, and remind me that getting out of time is really a tough thing to do. I was out of it as soon as I got in.

Every event in a person's life has a profound impact. Everything that a person does has a ripple effect on many other lives around him, lives of people he might know and people he might not. I tend to agree with the philosophers who say that God is to be found within yourself.

If my actions have a profound impact on even one more life, doesn't it go to say I have an element of God in me? And the same hold for everyone in the world.

So the next time you do something, just think. Anything you do will affect another life. Your anger can cause a lot of pain to someone, your haste can ruin other lives....your attitudes and opinions can ruin a life...

Be rational, be practical, be positive...and remember....God is good as long as you are...coz God is you....

and you are God...in ways small....yet you are....

I'm Glad...

2006-10-30T22:02:00.000-08:00

Two posts in just as many days is too much by my standards, but I can't stop myself from posting this beautiful song, that I am listening to..and means a lot...

artist: Lobo
title: I'm Glad I've Got Someone (Who Loves Me Like That)
album: Sometimes

She wants to know where I am all the time,
Who I talk to what I do
When I'm away she calls on the phone,
You'd think she's checking up on me
She says she just wants to hear my voice
And make sure I'm ok

I'm glad I've got someone
Who love's me like that
Someone who always misses me
And just can't wait till I get back
She can't love me too much...
I just can't get enough
I'm glad I've got someone...
Who love's me like that

I'll have a day at work
When everything has gone wrong,
I want to spend some time alone
Out on the freeway
Feeling sorry for myself,
I hear the ring of the car phone
She says "Hey baby how's it going
Are you on your way home?"

Find this song, and listen to it...it's really worth it!

A few spins, a few turns...

2006-10-29T21:09:00.000-08:00

It is always difficult to write a post when I have a lot going around in my mind. Everything wants to be put down as a statement, and yet there has to be a coherence, a meaning in what is written. or should there be one? I don't know, so here goes.

I've been wondering about time. Time, that is the catalyst for change, that keeps changing even if everything else wants to remain the same...and once time has changed, it catalyses change. From a purely analytical point of view, time keeps moving because the earth keeps spinning on its axis, and around the sun. Most philosophers will cringe at such a dry explanation of time. But this is the disadvantage of being an engineer, you develop an ability to view everything in a terribly analytical fashion. Yet, however analytical I get about time, I cannot stop it. Or even so, make it go back.

There is only one shot you get at life, they say. Some believe you are re incarnated, and thus will get another shot at life. Hindu mythology believes that the human form is achieved after a soul goes through 64 thousand different life forms(called yonis). Many believe that the human soul is destined for heaven, or hell, based on what you have done on earth. I don't subscribe to this view. In my opinion, all payback happens in the same very life that you are living, no balance is carried forward.

So where am I trying to get to with all this heavy philosophical babble. Actually, I don't know. And even if I were to know, whats the point? So let me get back to the topic at hand..

So time keeps moving, and pulls life ahead with it. Our actions of today become memories of tomorrow, and might even be forgotten the day after. Tomorrow is just a day away from being today. In the big picture, the sun is going to explode and annhilate this planet forever. But I am not going to live for that long, am I? So let me not worry about the tomorrow that I am never going to see. But in a smaller picture, I see people ravaged by hunger, countries ravaged by fighting, children crippled by landmines, the polar ice caps melting, wars, tears, pain, anger....

The way we are going today, I don;t think we need the sun to wipe out our planet. We look like we'll self-destruct.

Is there a solution? of course there is, everybody knows it. But nobody will implement it. Inflated egos need to be maintained, world supremacy and dominance must be held...who cares if thousands are murdered in the name of protecting freedom. Who is the terrorist? Why do we focus on bringing these "terrorists" out of their holes and killing them? Why do we kill in the name of God? Why don't we try to help people to leave their weapons? Why don't we ignore those selfish leaders who interpret holy words of peace in their favour and start off wars, killing innocent people?

Why do we forget that all we have in life are a few spins, and a few turns...before we log out? Pretty ironic...isn't it?

Just sometimes....

2006-10-17T02:28:00.000-07:00

There are times..when all you can speak is less, and you end up thinking...

"Man, There's so much to say, and so little time"

And yet, there are times, when you try to speak, but fall short of words..

Shortage of vocabulary is not a reason on these days, just that life overwhelms you so much so that you lose all words..

and then...there is silence....

but can silence last forever...can the unspoken words be heard...be understood...

Human life starts with a loud noise...of the baby crying when it is brought out of its safe hiding place..into the cruel world..

And at the end of it...we are so overwhelmed..that its always silent...

loss of words...loss of emotions...loss of feelings...loss of all dreams...desires..expectations....

and yet...without the eternal hunt of glory that man spends his life in...

he finds peace..in silence....

UPDATE: 20 Oct 06 : Coherent Rambling wishes you and your family a very Happy & Prosperous Diwali...This year, celebrate diwali with joy, and do something for a needy person. Your diwali will be good, so bring some light and joy in another life. God Bless You all!

Gandhi...and Munna...and me?

2006-09-24T23:00:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, I had gone to see Lagy Raho Munnabhai (finally). And the movie, in addition to leaving me impressed, left a lot of random strings of thought, and questions in my mind. Let me try to share them.

The movie, on a broad front, tackles two issues. One is the fast fading principles of Gandhi. It seems that the only memory of bapu is left(as very correctly said in the movie) on all those MG roads, on our currenct notes, on those Gandhi Parks...and on 2nd October, that is spoon fed into our memories along with 15 August and 26 january, as a national holiday. Gandhi jayanti...it is called. But how many of us actually ask why is it a national holiday?

Bapu is everywhere, but in our hearts. We have forgotten his principles, his way of life, his teachings. I had many a friends in college, who used to hate Gandhiji coz he moved around with two young ladies. What they never saw was that bapu tested his self-control by being with two women, yet not being attracted to them.

There used to be an ad-film, that was aired on Doordarshan a long time ago. It said " The greatness of this man is his simplicity. " And yet we are nothing but simple today.

The movie highlighted one of Gandhi's favourite ways of protest, the satyagraha. A peaceful, non-violent way of protesting for your rights. And it does need a lot of guts, and willpower not to slap back when you are slapped. But does our generation believe in non-violence? No. We proudly call ourselves the RTB generation, where we do not believe in the power of non-violent protest. Or putting it in another way, we do not have enough patience to wait..wait for the result of our non-violent protest. The truthful path is always long, full of thorns, but victory is guaranteed. The path of violence, anger is always short..maybe you can win a battle or two, but you will always lose the war.

Will Lagey Raho....change our way of thinking? As much positive I want to be, I know that it will not. Because we have evolved into a very impatient generation. We want everything to happen quickly, waiting is a word not in our dictionary. And why should we wait, what are we going to get by waiting, is anyone ever going to listen? No...let us not wait, let us pick that brick, and throw it...whether the target is the police, or the house of our VC, or our own college for that matter. Why should we care?

Confused? No I am not changing the direction of my post. I am simply including those arguments that will come up against it. The question I ask is, why does no one listen? Not because they don;t want to, simply because they know that people will shout, take a protest march, make up for two minutes on the news and a day long breaking news on the ticker...and then fade away. They will listen if they are met with a bunch of protesters, who march non-violently, bearing the brunt of water cannons..but not giving up...day after day after day....

Let us accept it, we lack patience. When it be standing in a line outside the ATM when an old man is taking his time to withdraw money, we curse under our breath, but none of us volunteer to go in and help him out. When it be waiting in front of a red light( if we have stopped for it), we keep honking away to glory...You can just think of the last week in your life, and you'll realize how impatient you as a person have become.

This was one. The other topic, that this movie very subtely addresses, is our faith on astrolgy, astrologers and horoscopes. We will not accept that we didn't work hard enough in the office to get that promotion, but we will blame it on mars, venus or jupiter. How convenient. We will enforce irrationalities, taboos...things like being a manglik, or not being one. We will conveniently blame the planets and stars for all our problems, and think that adding that extra k will solve all our troubles.

Every day has a night. There are good times in life, and there are bad times. There always will be bad times. How do you expect me to appreciate light if I never know wat darkness is?

And yet, we believe in all this non-scientific mumbo jumbo. We believe that Ganesha idols can drink milk. We believe that wearing a gold ring with a pukhraj stone will bring us good luck.

What we don't believe is, that truth, hardwork, determination are the only ways to succeed.

Can Lagey Raho...change the way we think? The way we act? Can it make us more rational, more patient and more determined people?

I have tried my bit to spread the word. Now I'll request you, to spread the word, not only to others, but to yourself too. And as a mode of feedback, please let me know by commenting here how do you plan to do it. You can be completely anonymous...all I want is for you to write your committment down, and be firm on it.

I alone can't make a big change to things around me, but I can change myself. Can you?

Vande Mataram..

2006-09-12T21:33:00.000-07:00

O my motherland, I salute you..I bow in front of you.

I am a patriot. I love my country, I love being a responsible Indian citizen, hoenstly paying off my taxes, even if they go to the pockets of corrupt politicians, to the homes of lazy government officials, to the bank accounts of tyrranical policemen. I take care not to throw any garbage on the road, or spit out in public places. Neither do I break any traffic signals.

But today, this honest, law-abiding citizen is saddened. I am saddened to see my fellow countrymen become selfish to immoral extents. What else should be said, when murder culprits are left free to walk your streets, o mother, but the wutnesses are imprisoned? What else remains to be seen after watching students murder their own teachers, in the name of student rights? What else remains to be heard, after listening to our chosen leaders speak in parliament, using the worst possible language? What more remains to be understood after witnessing quotas and reservations being doled out, just to appease vote banks?

What has happened to the country that gave the word Gautam Buddha, Guru Nanak, Lord Mahavira, Mahatma Gandhi? Nothing...nothing has happened to the country, but its citizens have lost all sense of responsibility. Every act of opposition, every rally, every morcha...is no longer a democratic way of protesting...its just a way to serve someone;s self-interests...

We have turned into a country of selfish people, who care for no one but our own self.

Though there is still a ray of hope...there always is a ray of hope. It lies with you, it lies with me. Let us just work at making ourselves good, try to be peaceful ourselves. No mass movement can cure this country, each and every single one of us have to change. Including politicians, including bureaucrats, including the police, including everyone. Let us just remember gandhi's talisman...to remember the face of the poorest man we have seen..n think how our decision touches his life.

Let us not shy in paying our dues to our country, so what if we won;t be able to afford those mercs and cadillacs...we'll make our country the best place in the whole world

vande mataram

This post was inspired from Melody's post on her blog.

Amazing Grace & Chuck

2006-09-11T02:38:00.000-07:00

Just when you think that today's students know nothing but violence to get their voice heard, a refreshing movie comes by. No, I am not referring to lagey Raho Munnabhai, but I am referring to a little known movie called Amazing Grace & Chuck. Let me tell you its story..

In this small town of US, there lives a kid named chuck. He's the star pitcher of his baseball team, and his dad is a fighter pilot. One day, students from his school are taken to a trip of a nuclear missile silo..where chuck comes to know the killer power of nuclear missiles, when the scientist tells him " Imagine your sister dropping a spoon in the kitchen.If one of these missiles happens to land in a 30 mile radius, your sister will be vaporised before the spoon hits the ground"

This has a huge effect on chuck, who refuses to play in the little league match of his team. slowly, a major league baseball star listens to this, and teams up with chuck. Now chuck goes silent, vowing to talk only when all nuclear weapons are dismantled. subsequently, this catches on, and children all around the globe go silent.

Many twists and turns later, the movie has a happy ending, with both US & Russia dismantling their nukes, and the kids of the world talking again.

Now this could be a great work of fiction, but will it work in real life? I guess it will...a civil disobedience movement was launched by the father of our nation, that was absolutely non-violent..and yet it succeeded.

Violence always creates more violence. Hatred creates more hatred...

The world certainly needs neither of these. It needs love, compassion, non-violence...

Please remember, it is always easy to slap someone...but it is tougher to hold back..and even tougher to present your other cheek.

Whatever our civilization may be, whatever culture or religion we might belong to...we must remember that violence is not a reply to violence.

True salvation is always in forgiveness...in compassion...in peace...and in love.

Let us all make this world a better place to live in.

The author pays his homage to the countless victims of terrorist strikes across the world, on a day that has now been embossed in our memories as the worst day ever in the history of humankind. May all those souls rest in peace

I am back....

2006-09-06T06:01:00.000-07:00

Hello good people...

I am back after a long time..and for all those of you guessing as to where I was, well I have a good news for you.

I have switched jobs..and today is my 3rd day in my new job..it feels good...the people are nice....but there's always the old friends left behind...

well life, in its own ways, does move forward...and i guess its better to flow in the current rather than put up a fight against it...

though there are times when a fight becomes necessary..and that is when the saying goes...

when the going gets tough, the tough get going!!

i'll end the post on this note..but from now on, it;ll be regular updating from me...

ciao

Scheduled blogging break....

2006-08-21T23:48:00.000-07:00

Well I am making it sound technical, but that is what it's gonna be for some days. I will be off blogging, and also blog hopping for a good part of the coming month.

Although I'll be making my best efforts to return to blogging as fast as I can, it could still be some time.

The reasons for this break, well if I tell them now, what would I write when I am back? So keep guessing...

ciao

Speechless....

2006-08-04T01:17:00.000-07:00

I had some other plans in my mind for this post, some other things I wanted to write...but this left me speechless...

What you resist, persists!

2006-07-31T05:14:00.000-07:00

One of the bigger truths of life...that I heard for the first time in an Art-of-Living course, and have kept with me. It is the truth that the more you resist something/someone, the more it persists. The only way is to stop resisting it...it stops persisting. So simple...

Doesn't quite work though. As mortals, it is in human nature to keep thinking of the past, more so of events that were not good rather than the good ones, more of the sad events than the happy ones. We say that we have left our past behind, but we never truly do. There are those moments that keep coming back. Those people whom we can never forget. The betrayals that we can never get over. Life moves on, but do we allow it to?

Many would say that time is the biggest healer of all. I don;t think so. Time may heal the wounds, but what about the scars? Everytime you look at the scars, the pain comes back..and hits you the hardest when you least expect it to.

Which brings me back to the title of this post....stop looking at the scars, they say. There is no point in thinking of the hurt that is now past.

But isn't it our past that shapes our future? Don;t the mistakes of our past become lessons for the future?

Stop resisting...my mind says...

but alas, the heart is deaf...

and dumb, and blind....

it only feels....sorrow n pain....anger n hurt....

and on those lucky days...some happiness...some smiles....

it wants to see light..but alas ... it doesn;t wish to realize...

it is forever blind!!

Bombs...rockets...missiles....

2006-07-24T22:18:00.000-07:00

The recent crisis in middle east has set me thinking, why does the world bombs? Have they ever done anything but take lives.

For a minute, imagine that a "bomb" was a person..and whenever this person went, he/she (i want no gender bias here) caused destruction and nothing else. What would we have done to it?

If it were the US government, it would have made special arrangements to make sure that Mr(s). Bomb produced as many offsprings as possible, and then stored them all away in silos. After this it would scare the world with its power, and would send one to any country who even hinted at having one.

If it were the Russian government, it would force Mr(s). Bomb to reproduce uncontrollably, and then without the resource to handle so many Bombs, things would go out of its hand. So now almost the entire world, except for the US, would have a bomb.

And if it were the chinese government, it would force Mr(s). Bomb to have only one child, and then neuter it. You know, thats how it is in China.

Ha ha

And on a totally different note, it has been reported that parents are now encouraging their

children to play near dangerous wells. Apparently the riches bestowed by the government on a

child who was recently recovered from a 60 ft borewell has prompted many parents to do so, some

even shoving their own childern down a well.

And on an even lighter note..italian footballer materazzi was served with a three match ban after being hit by Zidane on his chest. This has prompted several appeals in US courts by convicts who were punished for mugging and brutal assault. These convicts are asking the courts to also sentence the people whose heads, arms, legs etc. were broken, following the example of FIFA.

Now to end with a question. If conventional fuels (petrol, diesel etc.) are a dying breed, and are slowly growing more and more expensive, what on earth is keeping Honda from mass producing its fuel cell vehicle, which according to the claim on its website has been approved for commercial use since 2002???

Any answers????

6 wierd things about me

2006-07-04T05:26:00.000-07:00

Ok Ok, I know all those of you out there who know me would say that I am myself a wierd thing, but lets leave that one aside.

Following are six wierd things about me:

6. I can stay up till very late, and get up early in the morning

Of course, this is not including those times when night turns into morning, yet...

5. I can think of many things at a time

Quite wierd, right? Considering the fact that I can think about work while eating, think of what I am going to cook for dinner while in a client call(of course, paying equal attention to the client )

4. I can cook well

Many people won't believe me when I say this, but I am a decent cook. The only thing that keeps me from cooking daily is wierd thing 3, that is:

3. I am lazy

When it comes to being lazy, you just can't beat me at it. I was lazying this post off too, but....

2. I can remember a lot of things

Thats quite wierd you know, considering the fact that I still have clear memories of times when I was 3-4 years old...

1. I have seen God

Believe it, or not! I have seen God, had a chat with him, and then came back to this planet.

That;s why I am not afraid of dying, I know what;s on the other side of life.

The only important thing is, this is the only life you get. Thou shalt reap what thou sow!

Ok, now anyone whose feeling all pumped up reading the wierd things about me, why not take up the challenge n put up some wierd things about yourself up on your blog.

More posts to follow after another week, as I am travelling to Gujrat, MP & if time permits, the wet city(Mumbai)....

ciao

A prayer...

2006-06-19T00:21:00.000-07:00

I saw Bruce Almighty after a long time yesterday...wonderful movie.

Though its the prayer at the end that inspires me most. Here it is:

BRUCE
If I could have just one thing in the world. It would be for Grace to live a happy, joyful life. And that she finds someone...(getting emotional as he realizes what he's saying)...that she finds someone that will treat her with the love and respect that she so deserves.

God smiles the most satisfied of smiles.
GOD
Now that is a prayer.

That's what I prayed for too...

Bruce Almighty Script courtesy IMSDB

Moving on....

2006-06-10T00:20:00.000-07:00

Its been really long since I posted something. And the reason is that it is always hard for you to face up with yourself, have courage to look adversity in the face and shout out "i'm alive". I have built up that courage.

It is difficult to stand up, when you have fallen on your last attempt to stand, no, you have been kicked to the ground on your last attempt to stand. It is difficult to sleep in the nights, its difficult to cope up with the loneliness and silence. But then, I decided, something must be done.

It is the weak who bow down, but I am not weak. I have to turn around. I have to find my feet..I must stand.

Sometimes it is amazing how one person, one moment can bring your whole life crashing around you. The future that was building inside your head smashed by the tsunami of tears triggered by a powerful earthquake that has rocked your life.

But you are a survivor, I keep telling myself. You can kick adversity away.

I always tell people, impossible is always possible. And this time I had to practise what I preach.

But have I succeeded? Have I been able to stand? Only time can tell. Though for now, I think its enough to say that I have buried the ghost of past.

To move on to the future...

Yes, the pain remains, the anger builds up at times, but I am trying to control my mind, my soul..I must not think of the past. I have to emerge as a stronger person.

And I tell my life, hey, you cannot win against my will. At the end of the day, it is me who shall win.

And yes, I am back. From now, I'll write regularly, start some of the older topics(like breview).....

As they say..."Allah ke bande hasde, jo bhi ho kal fir aayega"

Hindsight - 1

2006-05-06T06:32:00.000-07:00

It was evening, and I was on the terrace talking to myself. And waiting...

Then suddenly, in a flash, one of my longest standing questions was answered. And I found tears streaming out of my eyes. Tears of pain, tears of sadness but above all, tears of apology. I had always blamed her, my first love, for whatever went wrong in our relationship. Always thought that she had never told me why she left me. But it all came to me yesterday.

It wasn't her, it was me. I was the one who had stopped caring, without even realizing. I was the one who took her love for granted. I was the one who wasn't with her when she needed me the most. It wasn't her, it was me all along.

And now, I have no way to tell her this. I don't have her contact number, or her working e-mail id. Life has its own ways of getting back at you. I am sorry, sorry for blaming her...sorry for not being there. I don't want her to look back, no. Just want her to know that I realize that it was me, not her. And I apologize.

But will she know?

And what opened my eyes? Well I was at the receiving end...and it was in those moments I thought, I had also did with her what was happening with me today. Life does come a full circle, and you pay off all your debts here only.

My only wish is that the person who was making me wait shouldn't ever suffer or realize this, like I did today. May life never come a full circle for her....

amen

---------UPDATE 11-May-2006----------------

Another beginning has come to an end....and another end beckons a beginning. This is what makes me feel a little better..

What should you look forward to in life....

2006-04-28T01:41:00.000-07:00

when there is nothing to look forward to?

Nobody loves me....

2006-04-08T06:29:00.000-07:00

Nobody loves me
Nobody cares for me
I'm goin to the garden
To eat some worms
Big fat squiggly worms
Small thin wriggly worms
I'm goin to the garden
To eat some worms....

P.S I had this poem in a moral science book, way back in 4th class. Of all the stuff I read that time, this is the only one I remember clearly.

I'll never know why.....

Question.....

2006-03-27T05:23:00.000-08:00

If you have a seemingly impossible problem in front you.. what is the better option.

a) To fight the problem till you beat the problem or the problem beats you
b) To opt for any easy way out, and live with the problem.

FYI...I always try a), and I fail miserably....do you think i shud go for b)?

Down in the dumps again....

2006-03-21T06:34:00.000-08:00

Yes dumpsters...I am back amongst you...

Reasons for being back in the dumps I wont discuss....it already hurts enough....

and for the first time in my life...

i realized why people think of ending their lives...

not that I want to, no....

I can take much more pain....

bring it on....

The day after tomorrow....

2006-02-24T06:17:00.000-08:00

How many times has it happened that the day after tomorrow becomes a day that you are scared to face..?

When you don't know what turn your life will take, the day after tomorrow...?

When you don't know whether the day after tomorrow is goin to be the best day you can have, or the worst you can in your life?

um, God? Can I take a quick peek in my future..so that thoughts of the D-Day don't spoil my today?

please.......

Thoughts......

2006-02-13T22:08:00.000-08:00

Why does hope exist? Why does the ray of sunlight break thru a cover of thick clouds when it knows it cant break them? Why do mirages exist in the desert when no one can take them?

Why is there always a small pause in the middle of every storm? Why is there a distant light in the darkness ever at all?

When the ray of light has to go back, when the mirages have to disappear, when the pause has to cease and give way to the fierce storm, when the distant light is going to fade out after all....

Are these just reassurances....to let man bear thru the dark n the storm, the desert n the dark...

or are they just a creation of man's mind? a search for hope when there is none...a search for water when there is desert for miles and miles....

is hope the only means of survival? why? why not finish it all at one go, kill the hope n kill the soul.

kill the future..n kill the goal...

let tomorrow never live...if darkness is what exists...

if darkness must remain, never show the light....

if hopelessness must prevail, let hope never rise!!!

Something more.....

2006-02-09T20:28:00.000-08:00

You fill up my senses
Like a night in the forest
Like the mountains in springtime
Like a walk in the rain
Like a storm in the desert
Like a sleepy blue ocean
You fill up my senses
Come fill me again

Come let me love you
Let me give my life to you
Let me drown in your laughter
Let me die in your arms
Let me lay down beside you
Let me always be with you
Come let me love you
Come love me again

Let me give my life to you
Come let me love you
Come love me again

Song: Annie's Song
Singer: John Denver

This is almost all that I have to say.....

This one ... specially for u...

2006-02-09T01:08:00.000-08:00

Shed a tear 'cause I'm missing you
I'm still alright to smile
Girl, I think about you every day now
Was a time when I wasn't sure
But you set my mind at ease
There is no doubt you're in my heart now
Said woman take it slow
It'll work itself out fine
All we need is just a little patience
Said sugar make it slow
And we'll come together fine
All we need is just a little patience
Patience...
Ooh, oh, yeah

Sit here on the stairs
'Cause I'd rather be alone
If I can't have you right now, I'll wait dear
Sometimes, I get so tense
But I can't speed up the time
But you know, love, there's one more thing to consider
Said woman take it slow
Things will be just fine
You and I'll just use a little patience
Said sugar take the time
'Cause the lights are shining bright
You and I've got what it takes to make it
We won't fake it, Oh never break it
'Cause I can't take it

...little patience, mm yeah, ooh yeah,
Need a little patience, yeah
Just a little patience, yeah
Some more pati... (ence, yeah)
I've been walking these streets at night
Just trying to get it right (Need some patience, yeah)
It's hard to see with so many around
You know I don't like being stuck in a crowd (Could use some patience, yeah)
And the streets don't change but maybe the name
I ain't got time for the game
'Cause I need you (Patience, yeah)
Yeah, yeah well I need you
Oh, I need you (Take some patience)
Whoa, I need you (Just a little patience is all we need)
Ooh, this ti- me....

Artist: Guns N' Roses
Song: Patience

I hope you understand me....

@ AKRUTI

2006-02-06T06:16:00.000-08:00

baatein to kayi hai jo kah sakte hain hum
aapke chale jaane pe ro sakte hain hum
humari duayen humesha hai aapke saath fir bhi..
jaate jaate aapko ek muskurahat to de sakte hain hum!

akruti...i wont ask you to come back, but I want you to....otherwise even silence will stop expressing itself.

and something that should bring you back, at least I hope so.

shaam se aankh mein nammi si hai
aaj phir aap ki kami si hai
shaam se aankh mein nami si hai

dafan karr do humme ke sans mille
nabaj kuch derr se thami si hai
aaj phir aap ki kammi si hai

waqt rehta nahin kahi tikk karr
iski aadat bhi aadami si hai
iss ki aadat bhi aadami si hai
aaj phir aap ki kammi si hai

koi rishta nahin raha phir bhi ek tasvir lajmi si hai
shaam se aankh mein nammi si hai
aaj phir aap ki kammi si hai

Laziness..thy name is....

2006-01-24T05:40:00.000-08:00

me, of course. Who else can be so lazy as to create a new post even after opening the "create" page of blogger once every day? And who else can be so lazy to not blog-hop for so many days....

But the truth is that lazy is not the accurate word to describe my state right now. I am kind of busy-in-office-occupied-in-mind state that does not allow you to do much. So I rather prefer to call myself lazy, plus this gives me a lot of excuses otherwise too.

There's been too much going on, too much to the extent that I am not behaving like myself. Fending off Mom's anxious queries "beta(that's son, for the non-hindi speakers) are you all right? You seem to be worried?" with a careless yes-mom-im-fine-its-just-the work statement.But am I really fine? I know I am not, coz this is not how I am...useless blabber this one was.

anyways...

and at this moment I am quickly trying to hop thru all the blogs I usually read, just to work away my potential guilt...tough job, but I 'm trying ok...

There's so much I want to do...but all I end up soing is procrastinate(did I spell it right?)..hell I don't know why but this is becoming one of my favourite past-times recently..though its my personal stuff I end up pro..whatever, so no harm done on the office front.

Right now I am trying to read blogs + write this post + listen to music + thinking whether I should have a coffee or just hit the sack?

Why is life full of choices, and why do our choices seem wrong in hindsight...

I must stop looking at my hind...rather my past I left behind.

And frankly speaking, I do not know how many are going to reach this point, but if you do, I must really appreciate your patience for reading this gibberish so far...and at the same time admiring my patience of writing so far(its lighter on my conscience(to hell with spellings) to not call it gibberish while writing).

And on an unrelated note, I got a promotion to the post of Senior Software Engg. ( the best compliment I received was from a dude was to refer to my designation as a Stupid Software Engg..ha ha ). So all you party hunters, increase that count by one more, and remember it when you catch me.

And on an even more unrelated note, coherent rambling completed one year of its existance. This one year has meant a lot to my life, and so has coherent rambling. My sincere thanks to all of my friends who read this blog, those who comment and those who not...you have always been a source of encouragement to me...and I dont think its wrong to name a few of you close to my heart here:

Neelima, Nupur, WD, Recca, Phantom, J, sophie, Somu, Smyta, Melody....

and all who've read my blog ever....

just two words sum it up for me today "THANK YOU"

Deja Vu - 2

2006-01-16T21:02:00.000-08:00

P.S. I wrote this when I was in love with a very special person..someone who taught me how to care, how to feel, how to find happiness in small things...how to dream..how to dare...how to love. Today, when its a full year of darkness in my heart, I guess there can be no better tribute to the person who was the first one to light up my heart, and also the first one to take the light out of it!

Date: 3-October-2003
Place: Computer Networks Lecture, 7th Sem
Time: 0930 am

Love. Said to be the most wonderful thing that can happen to any human. The association of a person with love starts from the day he is born, his first love being his mother, who is the reason for his being. As he grows up, he starts falling in love with a lot of people and a lot of things around him. But he never understands what is love. True, very true that love can be felt, can be experienced, can be shared, can be given and takenm but yet cannot be understood. You never know why you are in love. Maybe that is what true love is all about, being in it but not knowing why you are in it.

Love may be the most wonderful gift to get, but nothing satisfies more than giving love. The feeling is something that is worth all the happiness you give, but remember, give it without expecting any returns. For love does not see, it is blind.

adios..

Goodbye 2005.....Welcome 2006

2005-12-31T02:36:00.000-08:00

In 2005 we had...

terrorrists who had many a blast...in India, Iraq, UK...and many other places...

a defiant US, who reciprocated blast by blast...

Saddam captured as a rat in a hole...

And Osama still at large...

Big B ruling India's heart...

And metro winning Delhi's heart....

sensex crashing down...and then proving itself as a phoenix...

abu salem in the dock...and dawood still a free bird...

men acting more and more as scavengers of females...

and some men also acting as saviours...

women of tomorrow making their mark...and women of yesterday forcing theirs...

one katrina winning hearts in India...

while the other ravaging US...

Mumbai showing its infallible spirit....inspite of being soaked....

and politics being proved as the dirty mudhole everyone knew it was..

schumaker finally losing off to Alonso...

and Narain speeding away to glory...

as Sania served a delight...while Anand happliy moved a knight....

And as always, Calvin says:

a year that came with many promises...that it passes on to the next one....

wishes, aspirations, dreams, desires....

hopes, feelings & resolutions...

for a better life...for a better world...

tomorrow...and the day after.

May God bless all of you..and may all your wishes come true.

HAPPY NEW YEAR FRIENDS.....HAVE A GREAT TIME.

And remember...in 2006..

1. Plant a tree.
2. Walk if can...dont burn fuel.
3. Dont litter.
4. Spread love, peace n smiles, not war.
5. Fight injustice.
6. Keep reading coherent rambling :-)

ciao.

P.S: On a sombre note...2005 began with a heartbreak...and ends with another one for me....Hope 2006 will be better :-)

Deja Vu - 1

2005-12-21T08:56:00.000-08:00

Date : 22-August
Year : Unknown
Time : Unknown

Soltitude, something that you always need, rarely have. But when you begin having it & enjoying it, it takes the party out of your life. If you prefer to be left alone for some time, everyone prefers to leave you alone for all the time. Something I really don't understand. After all, everyone must be left alone for some time. But then I mustn't generalize this, no. Not everyone will let you have peace un your soltitude. And not everyone will be disrespectful of the fact that you need some time alone. To talk to yourself, and by this I do not mean standing in front of the mirror & watching your reflection cut you down to suze. What I mean is introspection, something that more has to do with you giving a first person account of yourself. Introspection is tough, because most of the time we think about us in a very relative fashion, relative to what others think of us, how does the society behave when we enter it.

Knowing one self is difficult, but when you know yourself, you know all that you need to know. In other words, you get closer to perfection. But don;t aim to become perfect, neither can you.Because that defies the very basis of our existence on this planet, that is to do something even the almighty cannot do : Making mistakes!

P.S: Deja Vu is a collection of some of my ramblings from college days, word-to-word. Hope I sound sane :-)

ciao

Every war....

2005-12-20T20:40:00.000-08:00

...has its own decorated heroes.

and every war...

...also has its own unsung heroes.....

Life ain't fair to everyone....

Looks new, doesn' it?

2005-12-15T09:35:00.000-08:00

Oh yes it does...thanks to the same wonderful friend who was responsible for the last template change( the dull white to the cool blue ). And this time its the black-grey template...

Well if only I were not so lazy...anyways...

Thank you my friend...for giving me such a great template...and keep doing this every few months !!!

About the absence, well there's a lot of hectic work goin on in the office, so hardly any time left for blogging :-( But this wont be forever and I'll be back soon.

Along with my regular Breview series (that needs to be restarted), I am also going to very soon begin another series, that will contain some of my college day ramblings. I used to ramble then also, but it was on a notebook, and I found it recently. So that's going to be coming up soon....

Though I still don't know what to call this series..suggestions, anyone?

The best suggestion gets, umm, selected!!!
(Ok Ok I m not a big B to go around giving crores...so this is all u get..)

On second thoughts, an ice-cream is up on offer for the winner...:-)...happy?

still not happy!!! sigh...you people are never satisfied!!!

signing off with this dilemma...

P.S: And no, I m NOT dropping off asleep today, for a change *YAWN*

Taggie Taggie again...

2005-12-07T05:40:00.000-08:00

Well its Nupur who's tagged me again...

So, as Miss Norah Jones crooned.."here we go again...."

1. What time did you get up this morning? 0630
2. Diamonds or pearls? (If ur a guy - what can u afford for 'her'!) Diamonds
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Hindi: Deewane hue paagal,
English: Harrry Potter and whatever
4. What is your favourite TV show? Friends, BBC auto show.
5. What did you have for breakfast? Gobhi-matar ki subzi and parathas
6. What is your middle name? none!
7. What is your favourite cuisine? all....
8. What foods do you dislike? Excessively spicy.
9. What is your favourite crisp? --?! Lays', tomato tango
10. What is your favourite CD at the moment? Pyasa, Mark Knopfler(Ragpicker's dream)
11. What kind of car do you drive? Maruti Suzuki WagonR
12. Favourite sandwich? Butter
13. What characteristic do you despise? Back-biting, hypocrisy, ego.
14. Favourite items of clothing? A formal suit(though i dont get to wear it often:( )
15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you? GOA
16. What colour is your bathroom? White
17. Favourite brand of clothing? None
18. Where would you retire to? A villa by the beach in Goa.
19. Favourite time of the day? late nights/early mornings
20.What was you most memorable Birthday you ever had? 21st...
21. Where were you born? (I cant remember the name!) indore, India
22. Favourite sport to watch? F1 racing
23. Who do you least expect to send this back to you? No one....
24. Person you expect to send it back first? Again, no one
25. What fabric detergent do you use? Tide
26. Coke or Pepsi? None...left them long ago.
27. Are you a morning person or a night owl? night owl :-)
28. What is your shoe size? 10
29. Do you have any pets? No!
30. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with your family &
friends? I am still working late hours!!ok its not exciting but i m pissed enough with it
31. What did you want to be when you were little? never gave it so much of a thought then
32. What were you doing today? Designing software, coding, testing, User Experience..
33. Name a movie you've seen recently that you're sure many have not and its worth watching. Hotel Rwanda.

Ok...now who should i tag?lets se...with Nupur already tagging half the world in her post :-) , i guess i'll tag her back, so she can tag the remaining half...Nupur will u pls be a darling and do this one for me? I am too laazyy.....

*zzzzzzz.....*

P.S: The author has dozed off to sleep again...so the readers are requested to do thy bidding!!!

"Existence is not only temporary, it's pointless!"

2005-11-30T03:02:00.000-08:00

And even then, here;s the day that reminds me that another year of my existence has just ended...

and a new one just begun.

Thank you very very much Akruti...for the wonderful wishes....and I promise to make my best shot at making you smile always...

So far, its been a wonderful birthday, a lot of good wishes coming my way, and I thank everyone for it.

Was also surprised and pleased to receive Somu 's call today...and i couldn't guess who its from initially...well...i sure am getting older.

From now on, I'll connect the dots my own way.

and before signing off, a poem Neha wrote for me...

"Your birthday's not just any day -
It's when the world was blessed
With an angel of a person
Who does his very best

To share a warm compassion
That keeps other's needs in mind,
A bright and sunny outlook,
And commitment to be kind,

Then adds a touch of humour,
A true and honest heart,
And a certain little sparkle
That sets angel-types apart..
Your birthday's not like any other day
The whole year through
'Cause it celebrates the day
The world was blessed
With very special YOU!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! "

"Things are never quite as scary when you've got a best friend."..and I happen to have so many:-)

adios

Why am I sad today?

2005-11-28T06:34:00.000-08:00

I am sad today...and I am tensed.

coz one of my best friend is about to go through the same hell that I went through 2 years ago....and I m feeling really sad...

sad, becoz I cant help ...sad becoz I see the tears & feel the pain...but cant be of much help....

the only thing that I can ask God is to give her the strength to go through it....and hope that things will turn out in her favour.

and very soon i'll see her smiling again....

oh lord,
i pray for her to be happy
i pray for things to go her way
i pray that she doesn't suffer...
like i did just yesterday.

give her the strength
to go through this test of fire...
to come out of it smilin...
and things going as her desire.

oh lord, give her...
what u never gave to me.
make all her dreams come true..
thats the best that can be!

amen.

Here she is...

2005-11-25T05:28:00.000-08:00

Here are "her" much awaited pics....

Doesn't she look great??

Oh I am so much in love.....sigh...

And she's just done a 1000kms!!! Didn't I tell u they get better with time?

adios

P.S: Breview coming up next.....

Here I am...

2005-11-11T21:41:00.000-08:00

This is me..
And there's nowhere else on earth i'd rather be..

So crooned bryan adams....and so say I.

I am back from a very very long break. And I apologise for the length of the break, which wasn't in my control. What else could I say for two weeks of sick leave from office, and bed-rest at home. Sucks, right?

Anyways all that s past now. I am fit n fine, and back at work :-( Also back at blogging and blog hoppin, so i'll be at all your blogs to pester you.

Smyta, thank you..i'll also cherish you as a friend...and what more can be a better friendship present than this return post :-)

Nupur, thanks for the wonderful words. The car is parked in Gurgaon, & I m takin good care of her....:-)

While at the vacation, there were many things going around, in my life, in the world, that I so much wanted to blog about, but couldn't. Life ain't always that fair. Anyways....

My car is doin great. Already 700+ kms, she's in for her 1st servicing today. And I simply am not able to upload the pics due to some problem with photobucket. Will try to resolve it and quickly post those snaps up.

and in the last few weeks, terrorism has proved that it can only claim innocent lives...in New Delhi, in Jordan, in Iraq.....all around the world. If not bin laden, then al-zawahiri(or whatever), if not him, some one else.....

is there an end to this menace? well, moderatism is a way out, but how many are willing to accept it is questionable. Tolerance is not easy.....

And what really surprised me was a small news item that appeared in Times Of India New Delhi edition a couple of days ago..it was about the death of two kids in Chechenya, who were apparently playing throw ball with, guess what, a hand-grenade!!

Shocking, isn't it?

ciao

P.S Thanks to all of you for your Diwali wishes, please accept my best wishes to you and your families.

Here I go again.....

2005-10-13T00:51:00.000-07:00

Well its been quite some time that I have written. So here I go...

Nothing new, just that I have been keeping very bad health for the last week...some throat infection that has grown out of control, so my doc has ordered me silent for a few days...and the strong medicines make me feel sleepy(*YAWN) all the time, so I am off bloggin & blog-hoppin...

This is goin to remain as it is for a few days till I get OK, so all my blog-friends will have to wait for me for some time. Hope y'all don't mind. :-)

signing off...

(P.S: I have purchased a new car. More about it in my next post...)

Wonderful Words...

2005-10-05T21:18:00.000-07:00

This one for all my friends who are goin through a tough phase in their lives.....

When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone,
When you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on
Don't let yourself go, 'cause everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes

Sometimes everything is wrong. Now it's time to sing along
When your day is night alone, (hold on, hold on)
If you feel like letting go, (hold on)
When you think you've had too much of this life, well hang on

'Cause everybody hurts. Take comfort in your friends
Everybody hurts. Don't throw your hand. Oh, no. Don't throw your hand
If you feel like you're alone, no, no, no, you are not alone

If you're on your own in this life, the days and nights are long,
When you think you've had too much of this life to hang on

Well, everybody hurts sometimes,
Everybody cries. And everybody hurts sometimes
And everybody hurts sometimes. So, hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on
Everybody hurts. You are not alone....

Song: Everybody Hurts
Artist: R.E.M
Lyrics Courtesy : www.lyrics007.com

bahut baatein....

2005-09-29T06:27:00.000-07:00

bahut baatein hain jinhe dil mein chupaye rakhta hoon
kayi gum hain jinhe seene mein dabaye rakhta hoon

zamana to humse bahut kuch chahta hai
lekin apni chahat ko zamane ki nazron se bachaye rakhta hoon

kayi gam hain jinhe seene mein dabaye rakhta hoon

jab kabhi kisi ko dekhta hoon gum mein
uske gum ko khushi mein banana chahta hoon
dil mein dard hai, phir bhi hothon pe hansi banaye rakhta hoon

kayi gum hain jinhe seene mein dabaye rakhta hoon

zindagi mein woh sab mila jiski chahat na thi
woh shohrat, woh izzat jiski zaroorat na thi
ek cheez chahi thi kabhi zindagi se
lekin ab uski hasrat ko aasuon mein bhigaye rakhta hoon

kayi gum hain jinhe seene mein dabaye rakhta hoon

ishq ke liye humne kya kya na kiya
apna sab kuch gavaya, aur dil ka sauda kiya
abe usi dil ke tukdon ko deevaron pe sajaye rakhta hoon

kayi gum hain jinhe seene mein dabaye rakhta hoon..

(to be contd...)

Fifty-Five...

2005-09-24T04:22:00.000-07:00

Fifty-five,Fifty-five,Fifty-five,Fifty-five,Fifty-five,
Fifty-five,Fifty-five,Fifty-five,Fifty-five,Fifty-five,Fifty-five,Fifty-five,
Fifty-five,Fifty-five,Fifty-five,Fifty-five....

Dude what's fifty-five?

Look there...

Where?

Whack!!!

Fifty-six, Fifty-six, Fifty-six, Fifty-six, Fifty-six, Fifty-six, Fifty-six.....

I tag Somu, Fairy & akruti

18 September ....

2005-09-19T02:16:00.000-07:00

A long time ago....

on this day

i learnt that life is all about smiling...

sharing, caring, loving....

giving all away and still being happy....

knowing that i have someone special in my life....

who'll make me feel special every day...every min...every sec...of my life...

a life...

that was to last only 3 years....

18 September 2005

i am lost...

i am alone...

i have a headache....

not to mention the pain in my heart....

RIP my life: 18-Sep-long-time-ago to 18-Sep-2005

I am dead....

or am I??

BREVIEW -3: toeragz

2005-09-15T07:12:00.000-07:00

This one has been pending for quite some time, and here it is now:

Teachers teach us a lot of things, they teach us how to add, they teach us how to write... they teach us how to spell, and above all they teach us how to live.

And some teachers blog too...probably they're the best at it too, coz u know, the teacher knows it all.

And this holds true for Sangeeta, who has a wonderful blog, toeragz, all about shouts and whispers, in her own words.

I have been a regular reader of this blog, and there's a few things I really like about this blog. One is that the posts are usually short, crisp, and interesting. Most of the times the posts are full of stories of li'l kids whom Sangeeta teaches(thats jsut an assumption), and they are really sweet stories that make u smile.

Now about the blog template: Very simple fare, the usual white background-black text combination that is very simple, but is always best for readers. There's a mix of some bright pinks & purples in huge fonts at times, but its far & few in between, & I guess thats fine as long as its not overdone.

All in all, a great blog. The only problem is that Sangeeta disapparates for long periods between posts, but what the heck, so do I.

BRATING: **** and 1/2

Sangeeta, I know you rarely read my blog, but I have been reading yours regularly. Your blog is widely acclaimed, and I can only say that keep going on the way you are.

ciao

( DISCLAIMER: Opinions in this post are entirely the Author's. The author does not intend to cause any hurt to the blogger whose blog is reviewed. In case a blogger is uncomfortable with his/her blog being breviewed, please comment on the breview & the post shall be immediately withdrawn. )

Up Next: Breview 4 - PHANTOM

So till then...keep waiting...and watching.

And do tell me how I fare as a reviewer.

Shaken, but not stirred

2005-09-05T09:08:00.000-07:00

I should've said, broken, but undeterred *YOUCH*

Now the facts. Sunday morning 1030 to 1730 was spent playing cricket, with a season ball (leather, red one, u know) , *ow*, and now each and every part of my body is aching...no its hurting like hell!!!....

*oo*aah*ouch*...

iodex doesn't help...and so don;t 100 odd comments that need to be resolved tonight...

*sigh*its gonna be a long night*ouch*

P.S: Both the author's hands are bruised black & blue. He seems to have major swelling in his right hand, and not so minor in his left hand. There is no guarantee of the next post, only if he manages to survive this pain*YOW*..

But it was worth it!!

Love...is it for real?

2005-08-29T06:39:00.000-07:00

Another existential question, this time I m questioning the existence of something as fundamental as love.An emotion that identifies life, or rather is embodied by all life forms.

And I say, there's nothing called as love. Love is nothing but compromise. The amount of love u have for a person is actually the level of compromise you are ready to make for that person.

Funny, and also outrageous, you may say. But try to think of it, and you wont find any argument that negates this opinion. Simply becoz all forms of love translate into some or the other kind of compromise...that one/both people involved have to make.

Not satisfied? Ok, let me discuss some situations. Your parents love you unconditionally. This translates into the fact that they can compromise to any level for you. And your love for them is also measured by the amount of compromise(or you can call it sacrifice) that you can make for them. So in simple terms, its the amount of compromise you make.

Still not convinced? Another situation: If you say you love someone, it translates into how much you are ready to let go for him/her. Which again translates into a compromise, doesn't it? And it all usually ends up in marriage, which is another compromise, where the girl compromises by leaving her parents' home, and the guy compromises by accomodating her and looking after her. Any let up in this compromise, and u see marriages in trouble.

So you see, what exists is not love, but compromise. Which is why people find it so tough to define love....

This may be a hard hitting post, but I feel whatever I have written here is the truth. I do not know if some philosopher has already said this, and I dont give a damn if they already have. But this is my own realisation, and I am most willing to hear any arguments otherwise...

adios

Lazy Bum!!!

2005-08-24T07:15:00.000-07:00

Yeah that s me....

and in order to live up to my reputation *ahem*...I am lazying off and not putting up a big post....

So this is a lazy bum saying that he'll put up a more readable post very soon *yawn*

till then...*yaaaaaaaaawn*....

adios

P.S. I'll be back!!!
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.........

BREVIEW - 2 : Akruti

2005-08-11T03:23:00.000-07:00

If speech is silver, then silence is golden. And when we have silence expressing its thoughts, there can be nothing more valuable....

and that, more or less sums up what Akruti has to offer to her readers. Thougts, freely flowing, beyond the barriers of language, feelings unhindered..that go all the way & touch your heart. Beware, you'll get addicted to this blog once you read it. And this is proved by the number of hits on her blog in the 1 year she's been around.

Writing largely in English, with few bits here & there in Hindi, most of the posts are contemplative, and mostly about her life, and the various experiences she has. One thing I must say here is that though the posts are long, they never get dull for a moment. Espacially when different moods, expressions are highlighted by different colours.

Something about the blog template:

All in all, a very soothing template. The light-brown background has a sobering effect on the reader, who feels nice & relaxed while reading the blog. Each post has a mix of various colours, that keeps the reader engrossed even if the post is long(which it invariably is). Lots & lots of pictures, that blend very nicely with the post. And there s lots on the right-panel, specially the footprints part.

All in all, if you have n't read Akruti, you are missing something.

BRATING: **** and *

Akruti, you have been lighting up many a lives, and encouraging many people(including yours truly) to move forward in life, keep doing so forever.

May the force be with you!

Up Next: Breview 3 - Toeragz

Watch this space...

adios.

( DISCLAIMER: Opinions in this post are entirely the Author's. The author does not intend to cause any hurt to the blogger whose blog is reviewed. In case a blogger is uncomfortable with his/her blog being breviewed, please comment on the breview & the post shall be immediately withdrawn. )

P.S: I am going on a week long sabbatical, starting tomorrow, where all my net access will be cut off! I will come back sometime around 22 Aug.

And tell me how I fare as a reviewer

Life...this week.

2005-08-06T07:40:00.000-07:00

This summarizes how this week has been for me...

Hope the next one is better.

adios

BREVIEW - 1 : Wise Donkey

2005-08-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

Its not every day that you see a wise donkey, and to this day,I haven't seen a wiser one.

I am talking ofThe Wise Donkey, whose wisdom has made an ardent admirer out of me. Even though the title of the blog advises you to "carefully administer the doses"...I'd say its better to generously administer the same.

WD's posts have always made me think, see a perspective which I would have missed otherwise...and the Aargh diaries really speak of situations that are very much possible, and keep happening in our daily lives.

Now something about the blog template itself ( the usability guy in me speaking out now..)

A very simple, uncomplicated, white background, that does its work well to put the focus more on the text posted on the blog, much as WD would have liked it. The blogroll is a bit cluttered, and I don't know if this is how its meant to be.
Though pink & green seem to be the donkey's fav colours, as they appear as background colours on most of the left-pane, and also on the comments pane.

All in all, a must read blog!

BRATING : **** & 1/2

P.S: Currently, WD is on a vacation, but I hope for an early return. We all miss your wisdom, donkey.

Up Next: BREVIEW - 2: Alochana

Watch this space...

And do tell me how I fare as a reviewer :-)

ciao.

( DISCLAIMER: Opinions in this post are entirely the Author's. The author does not intend to cause any hurt to the blogger whose blog is reviewed. In case a blogger is uncomfortable with his/her blog being breviewed, please comment on the breview & the post shall be immediately withdrawn. )

Who will guard the guards??

2005-07-26T00:07:00.000-07:00

This post is inspired by the recent happenings all around us. The BREVIEW series will shortly follow.

Consider the following three incidents:
1. London, UK : Scotland Yard's Anti terrorism cell shoots down a suspect suicide bomber, only to discover later that he was innocent.
2. Kashmir, India: Rashtriya Rifles' Jawans take down four poeple suspect to be terrorists, only to discover later that they were a part of a marriage party.
3. Gurgaon, India: Haryana Police circles a set of protestors and beat them black & blue.

The three incidents listed above(and the many similar incidents that happen almost daily), indicate that law enforcement agencies around the world are on their nerves, shooting just almost anyone who looks like a terrorist.

The London incident is a really shameful blot on Scotland Yard. Consider this, the "suspect" was shot 5 times at point-blank range, and officers who shot him thought he was a suicide bomber coz he was wearing a heavy overcoat on a hot day, and took an "unusual route" into the train. I can't comment on the unusual route, but if you shoot someone at point blank range, it means that you could have avoided the shooting also.

So is the Kashmir incident. Did the RR guys even once try to stop those people & search them, maybe that would have saved 4 lives? Or is it that being trigger-happy can solve the problem of terrorism?

The third incident is what happened yesterday, and has shaken my faith in the law enforcement agency, that calls itself "Police". Does being a policeman means you can round people up and beat them like hell?? Yes, the mob had gone unruly, but then its the job of the police to control the mob, not to remove their frustration by beating them up?? The job of the police is to "PROTECT", but they seem to think that their job is to dominate, not protect. Of course, their are honest policeman, whom every Indian must be proud of, but it is incidents like these that shakes the common man's perception of the law enforcement agencies..

There may be an opinion, that says, "Hey, every war has some collateral damage". Yes, but try explaining it to the mother of that innocent brazilian, shot 5 times, by people supposed to protect him.

His mistake: Wearing a thick coat on a hot day......

My Diary Updated

2005-07-22T23:36:00.000-07:00

Hi

I have updated my diary...a must read post....check it out.

coherent rambling

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABBBBBBBBBBBB....

2005-07-21T05:30:00.000-07:00

You know what s that ??? It means long time no c(see)...

Ok Ok bad return joke...

Feels so nice to write again, after a long break from blogging...though this break broke much of my back....anyways enough breaks for now!!!

Last few days were hectic, and office seemed hotter than hell (OK I dont know what hell's like, but college labs wualify enough). Now with a lot of work behind my back, i'll finally get some rest...

And somehow i think this work has had some effect on my brain ( what, did i hear you say its non-existant???)... but i m not sure.

I'll be posting more regularly now, to restore some level of sanity ( at least ).

Also i am planning for a series of BREVIEWS, that is, reviews of some of the blogs i read, why i read them, what i like about them etc.

And that will be the next post...

till then, have a great time.

ciao.

Blog-breakers

2005-07-11T10:19:00.000-07:00

Yeah that's right. blog-breakers- Those bloggers taking a break from the blog world.

This is an increasingly large community, with members being added everyday.

I am glad to announce the existence of this community. It seems that lots of bloggers(including yours truly) are taking breaks from the blog world, for reasons unknown.

Why? Work Pressure? Blogger Block? ET forces?

I have no answers.

adios

P.S The author has gone back to his blogger-break for an indefinite period now. Though he will be consistently bugging other active bloggers thru his vegetative state.
Any one willing to join the blog-breakers community is requested to leave a comment at this post. Maybe there will be a post listing all bloggers taking this break.

I .... WILL....BE.....BACK

2005-07-04T05:36:00.000-07:00

in a week's time....

just hang on ...........

Sifting through the debris.....

2005-06-25T05:22:00.000-07:00

Today...almost 6 months after the explosion that shook my entire life...i sit to sift the debris that it left (see this)

....trying to analyse what went wrong...why did all my dreams suddenly turn into nightmares...why did all those sweet memories suddenly meta-morphosize into painful thoughts....

and all I see is my fault.

Had I given her a little more time than I did.....

Had I taken off a week and gone to visit her, spend some time with her and give her some confidence...

But am I the only culprit who triggered this? Couldn't she have trusted me? Why did the trust end...and took our lives down with it?

I seem to have absolutely no idea....though taking more blame for this seems to be making me feel better...

somehow its so comforting to know that you were wrong..and not the one you loved! She was right, and maybe she still is.....

i'll retain this debris though...who knows when i'd have to go through it again....some day!!!

who knows, at least not me!!

Thank You....

2005-06-21T01:08:00.000-07:00

Let me tell u a story..

Once upon a time there was a lazy bum who wrote a blog. As he made more friends, they all asked him to update the look of his blog. But as we said, he was a lazy bum...so he searched efor an excuse here and there to avoid this work.

Then one day, a Good Friend came along. And took control of the blog, and made it look fresh.

This is the story behind this new look. Though I am not naming this wonderful friend of mine.... :)

My friend is the one who deserves all this wonderful feedback about the new look.

And a big THANKU from me!!

Thanx....

P.S There are a still a few minor changes to make. The hit counter & blogroll would be coming up soon!

appRAIS(E)al - Part 2

2005-06-16T05:50:00.000-07:00

Part one was the sad part of the story, part two is the traditional Happy Ending!

Yes...today I finally got the mail for my new compensation...and man..it ROCKS!!!

Its way too much ...far beyond my wildest imagination.....

For a person with just 10 months of work ex (as of date), the hike is mind-boggling..

and all i can remember are my manager's words when I asked him about the raise last time..."you won't be surprised by the hike, you'll be shocked!!!"

Shocked ....? Yes I am....

Happy .... I very much am....

And so is my mom...she is on cloud nine....and should be.

Its been many years since she's been there.

Something I'd say...I'm here today coz of u only, ma! I know u don't surf the net, and u definitely won't see this, but I just want to say its not my hardwork, but yours. Its you who has put me here, and I won't disappoint u ma....

Promise....

ciao.

P.S: Oh, and for all the party seekers, you are invited to a place of your choice at a time of my choice :-) .... so tell me the place..i'll tell u the time!!!

Software Engineer Jokes

2005-06-15T07:25:00.000-07:00

Somu pls don't mind...ur name is there many times in these...

Here we go....

Ramu : Hey.. my submarine software is not sinking into the water!!what could be wrong?
Somu : may be u have used float instead of double in the software

-----------------------------------------------------------

Ramu: i am very very sure that the guy who just talked to me is a Software engineer...
Somu: how do u say that?
ramu: he asked my physical address instead of my home address!

-----------------------------------------------------------

Ramu: shhhh...I think the SW Engr who is sitting in the next cabin must be a farmer before .
somu: How do u know...?
Ramu: he asked me today if there is a way to cultivate the bit fields..!!

-----------------------------------------------------------
Somu : Hey Bull, Can you do me a favor?
Can you pass on this 500 ruppees to Suthi..?
Bull : Sure... why not? But tell me one thing. Tell me whether its pass by value or pass by reference...
-----------------------------------------------------------

ramu: Hey... I think that SW Engg is very very naive..
somu: How do u say that?
ramu: He believes that there is an Arabian Sea next to Arabin Sea.

-----------------------------------------------------------

ramu: Hey.... whats time now?
somu: System time or local time...??
-----------------------------------------------------------

ramu: Hey... I have a problem. My system is not booting up!
somu: may be, its internal buses are on strike...check out!

-----------------------------------------------------------
ramu : (while browsing the TV) what is this? I have heard of Star Sports, Star Movies and Star Plus. Whats this Star Equals??? Is it a new Star channel?
somu : No, = operator has been overloaded in Star Channel.

---------------------------------------------------------

seetha : I think that SW Engr is very naive...
geetha : how do u say that?
seetha : He believes "Rascal" is a new version of Pascal!

----------------------------------------------------------

Ramu : why are u wipping ur terminal very often with
a cloth?
Somu : clear command is not working properly for my
terminal. that's why?

-------------------------------------------------------

babu : yesterday I bought a new TV whose terminal is
compatible with computer... but its audio portion
is not at all working
gopu : may be its compatible only with dumb terminals???

------------------------------------------------------

Vanish: We have shifted our home to RK Puram now...
soni : right shift or left shift??

-----------------------------------------------------------

Software DT in Heaven:
ramu : hey.. I coudlnt send a mail to Hell
today...it says mail "demon" not running...
somu : ur case is better! ... for me, it says "ghost
not reachable" and bounces back!

----------------------------------------------------------

enjoy...

adois.

My Diary Updated

2005-06-15T01:39:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,

please check my updated blog .

Best Wishes
coherent rambling

Thoughts...

2005-06-13T07:11:00.000-07:00

Why can't I control my thoughts....control my mind, and tell it what to think & what not.

Had a chat with her again on the fone today...its like scratchin wounds, preventing them from healing..and it hurts. Hurts me, and I think it hurts her too. I think, but I don't know because I can't say I know her. After what happened, no, I don't know her as well as I used to think.

We both know we are running away, not from each other, but ourselves. It is always so easy to go away from someone, but its not easy to go away from yourself. That also when a part of you wants those wonderful times again....

Those mornings in college, those evenings in the temple, those nights on the phone.

I don't know...but I just want to roll up in a corner & cry...very unmanly, yes, but still. Its like releasing a dam....just that this one is bound to fill up sooner.

Many of my friends say...Hope I was you, but do they know its not so easy being me.

Its just me, myself and the endless black sky. No light....

Going back into the dark....and soltitude.....when will my life be like a life?

I have no answers. Only questions....

bye

SOS (Save Our Surroundings)

2005-06-06T22:04:00.000-07:00

Well , now that Somu has set me up for this, i'll continue further...

here's a list of things that i'd like to do for the earth:

1. Use recycled paper, and any products made of recycled material.
2. Say an absolute NO to plastics of any kind, especially the ones u get while u shop.
3. Plant a sapling every month.
4. Buy a non-polluting vehicle ( i'd love to drive a bicycle, but its too hot in delhi for it).
5. Try to reduce wastage, if any of my friends do it.

hmm....i'd pass this on to.
Phantom
Shantz
Deepak
Recca
Neha

and all those who want to pick it up and carry it forward!!

adios

Some poems that I like:

2005-06-06T08:02:00.000-07:00

Just a compilation of poems that I'd like to share:

I Am Not Yours
by Sarah Teasdale.

I am not yours, not lost in you,
Not lost, although I long to be
Lost as a candle lit at noon,
Lost as a snowflake in the sea.

You love me, and I find you still
A spirit beautiful and bright,
Yet I am I, who long to be
Lost as a light is lost in light.

Oh plunge me deep in love - put out
My senses, leave me deaf and blind,
Swept by the tempest of your love,
A taper in a rushing wind.

How Do I Love Thee?
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Hope Is The Thing With Feathers
by Emily Dickinson.

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

And finally.....something that hits something deep in my heart, whenever i read it.

Home They Brought Her Warrior Dead
by Lord Alfred Tennyson

Home they brought her warrior dead:
She nor swooned, nor uttered cry:
All her maidens, watching, said,
‘She must weep or she will die.’

Then they praised him, soft and low,
Called him worthy to be loved,
Truest friend and noblest foe;
Yet she neither spoke nor moved.

Stole a maiden from her place,
Lightly to the warrior stepped,
Took the face-cloth from the face;
Yet she neither moved nor wept.

Rose a nurse of ninety years,
Set his child upon her knee—
Like summer tempest came her tears—
‘Sweet my child, I live for thee.’

just these for now...btw what are your fav poems ppl?

ciao

The story of a raise....and a party thereafter.

2005-05-30T07:59:00.000-07:00

So here it goes...

Once upon a time there was a raise..that took forever to appear.

Well thats the sad story folks. The raise announcement has been delayed to third week of June, and it will be effective from June's salary(that'll appear in July)..so summers 'll b probably dry.

All this due to some 'delay' on part of our managers. Well it shud be a fair game. If I work overtime to avoid delaying my work, shudn't they do the same?? This is a forbidden question, I know...but still...it's gotta be asked.

But as they say, every cloud has a silver lining. So the lining here is that the incentive is going to come in may salary(that'll come day after tomo)...

So i'm still game for a small party(possibly at someplace in ggn), once the incentive arrives. and for my friends not in delhi, well guys n' gals..its just gotta be when we meet...

adios

appRAIS(E)al

2005-05-27T08:13:00.000-07:00

thats how that word shud be spelt(hope that oxford guys are listening)...

well its the raise part that is more important...but that s getting delayed. so i still dont know how much of a hike am i goin to get...though my boss man says its goin to make me happy...hope it does.

but the rest is fine. the review of my performance was good, with the boss man being happy with my performance. so things look good.

and to all ye treat seekers....ye shall have yer day. when i meet you, you can claim the treat then.

will update this once my bank acc gets updated.

till then..keep waitin.. even I am !!!!

ciao

Busy, busy...BUSY!!

2005-05-24T21:37:00.000-07:00

Ya I am busy at the moment....actually I am sort of stealing a few moments to write this.

Coding has begun. And life is beginning to get hectic. With the user interface being approved, the work has begun. And its tough taking time out to even have lunch.

All this when its really hot. So there s not much respite even after office, when the rusty old air-cooler fails to cool.

Today may be judgement day. Our appraisals are scheduled for today. Lets see how it turns up. Hope its good.....

The fingers remain crossed.

adios

What did I do?

2005-05-20T07:10:00.000-07:00

This is the sequel to the last post. Lots of comments & opinions on whay should be done, and what not, but nothing near to what I(rather we) did.

First of all, to remove any misconceptions, let me describe my physique. I am 6 ft, around 85kgs, and referred to as Goliath by my friends(they use more exotic names than that, but i'll leave it here :) ).

Now, me and 3 friends(lets say A,B,C & me) go to this hotel. We order teh rice, find the roach after consuming it, and get it on the bill. So C gets outraged and calls for the manager. Who comes in the managers' place to meet us is the head waiter. the guy is really apologetic(again) and takes the bill, telling us that he'll see what he can do.

After ten minutes of waiting, we get the change back(we had given him the money), and to our surprise, there was no change.

As we get up, the manager approaches us.
Manager: "So how was the food?"
A: " It wasn't good"
Manager:"Why?"
A:"There was a cockroach in the rice"
Manager: "So everything got spoiled,huh.."

And we were shocked!!!! The guy had the audacity to say this. Not to be outdone, I add....actually its not fair on your part(the manager is staring at me now). Your waiter took the rice away...we couldn't even eat the roach, and we even paid for it.

The rest, as they say, is history...i said this loud enough for the entire hotel to hear it, so most of the faces were shockes, the ladies started poking around in their food, searching if they'd get one....and we were laughing like anything.

Oh..and the look on the manager's face was worth it. We just left after that...not even asking for the money.

The cockroach was compensated by the look on the manager's face.....

So thats about it....

What do you guys say now...was this the right thing to do??

ciao.

What would you do?

2005-05-16T02:07:00.000-07:00

Consider this situation...

You go to a very nice hotel with your friends to have dinner. After eating a substantial portion of rice, you discover a dead cockroach in it(yechh). You call the waiter & show it to him, and he profusely apologises and asks you if u'd like a replacement. You deny.

Later on, when the bill comes, you notice that the rice is included in the bill...

What do you do???

Paraskevidekatriaphobia..

2005-05-13T07:23:00.000-07:00

No tis is not one of my latin ramblings....this means fear of friday the 13th, and today is one...

Amazing to note how many people believe in this superstition that 13 th falling on a friday is unlucky. And even more amazing is the fact that this superstition exists in the so-called developed nations like Eurpoe, Britain, US. What's there to fear in a number , I say.

But my friday the 13th was amazingly well. I finished most of my work, got a little word of appreciation from my CE, and that's about it. Otherwise this has been a very much normal day..

though I don't know the origin of this phobia...can anyone educate me on this one?

A Dream within a Dream

2005-05-11T09:20:00.000-07:00

A beautiful poem by Edgar Allen Poe... Read on

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep - while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

Figure this..

2005-05-10T22:41:00.000-07:00

that my blog now has a blog of its own...though it exists in, and carries my profile (that devilish grin creeps back on my face)...

the address is: http://diaryofablog.blogspot.com/

and I won't post on it...this blog of mine will.

aloha

Oh, My suffering blog

2005-05-10T07:41:00.000-07:00

My back is broken
And my fingers hurt...
My head is spinning
Due to all that work....
And I want to write
But too tired I am....

I know this ain't sense...
Neither does it rhyme
But oh, my suffering blog...
Thou shalt have your time.

Protect man from harrm by wife!!!

2005-05-04T21:06:00.000-07:00

so goes a heading in the times of India today....here's the link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1098622.cms

Sheer example of women power, I'd say. So this reinstates my belief that there are cases of men being harassed also. And I also know that there are many such cases that go unreported, of uncooperating wives, nagging wives, wives who think they are smarter and try to look down upon their husbands, sometimes even embarrasing them in public. In countries like the US, husbands are also entitled by the law to file harassment cases against their wives...but do we have such provsions in India?

Then there is this another interesting story : http://epaperdaily.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?
Daily=CAP&Enter=true&Skin=TOI&GZ=T&AW=1115266656218

where a man is asking the court to prevent his wife from having an abortion. This is a really complicated set of questions out here.

1. Does a woman have the absolute right to abort a child, without the consent of her husband?
2. Does the court have enough authority to prevent a woman from aborting, on request from her husband?
3. Even if the woman is stopped from aborting the child, will she also not have the right to ever visit or see that child(considering that she never wanted the kid in the first place)?
4. Can a man be given the full responsibility of raising the kid alone(considering that the mother is needed during the first few months)?

The funniest part in this entire episode is the reason for the couple's seperation. In the husband's words: “Upon her return she began to have bouts of homesickness and said she could not bear the thought of spending the rest of her life here,”...homesickness after marriage?? Another debatable issue...

Can homesickness be a ground for divorce? Does marrying a man who lives in another state not mean agreeing to live with him far from your home??

Lets see how these two cases turn up in the future!

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Artist/Band: Adams Ryan
Lyrics for Song: Desire
Lyrics for Album: Demolition