3 Latest Musketeers

So what all this fuss about marriage as soon as you cross 26. Okay ya, even I thought that my parents are super cool until 22nd July, last year. Someone told me marriage is full of restrictions. You either die young or married else see yourself becoming old and grumpy all alone. But no one tells you the story of what happens until you die. Lets assume I know three people. Bittu Banwari, who is not going to live for more than, say;3 years. Second one, Bhanu Chudasama is of course married, because her family wanted her to die a slow death and the third is my friendly neighborhood, The Grandpa, living next door.

Now Banwari is a guy who live in slums of India originating from Patna. My non-Indian folks can go and watch Slumdog Millionaire to know more about Slums. Banwari has this fantasy of going to Bangkok and banging chicks there before he gets banged by life. Hot girls in Bangkok is what he keeps hearing from his friends all the time. Apparently, he is saving money for this purpose. What he does for a living? No, he does not sell movie tickets in black. That will be stereotyping him. He also does not happens to be a small time smuggler. Perhaps, he sells pan masala at a bus stop. Why only chicks of Bangkok? Well may be as they say; one life, make it large.

On other hand Bhaanu is an underrated, over hyped IT professional apart from being a Gujju girl, married to Jiten Chudasama. Her only aim in life was to get married apart from being an independent girl. She achieved it. What she is doing in this story? Well that's the next part. How I know her? She buys smoke and condoms from Banwari's shop apart from the pan masala. What to say, Banwari keeps it all. The fantasy of her life, which is on the verge of having say no to sex, is to get a divorce from Jiten and live a separate life. Date men, boys, girls, women, drink, puke, sky dive, bungee jump, climb mountains and bang every one along the way. She thinks she can do this all but the stand alone factor that keeps her at the rim is the society. The paradox is the way society keeps faith in you to allow your life being ruined by another jerk who can do the same to you, without being even noticed or bothered. 

The Grandpa living nearby is another classic example of what to do and what not to do in life. He got it all from life. A successful business, five bungalows, and four wives, (God! The last one was a hot girl of tinsel town). No wonder he had a marvelous life. He is 84 now. Living in a 1 BHK apartment in New Delhi, all alone. As he says and I quote,"Yes, I had all the fun I wanted but what I miss more is the essence of true love my first wife had for me." I could sense the fun he misses and the fun he missed. At 84, he lives it all, parties, boozes, eat everything he wants, go places he wants, with just that one regret of doing this all alone.

Asking myself what I want from life, what I am going to have from it, I am clueless. Lives of Banwari, Mrs. Chudasama and Grandpa have nothing in common but that flavor of love that was always missing. As far as I am concerned, after being dumped in the last weekend of 2010, I am going to propose this awesome girl tomorrow morning. I hope she says. And yeah, I am the guy who gets his hand down on weed with all these three.

And I Met the Girl with Yellow Stole, Again…

Three years have passed, and I am still there in that rain, fully drenched with longing eyes. Every now and then I get lost among those curls of her hair playing around with her cheek. Rain was dousing us both, but at that moment, my soul was touched by those tiny drops. I still remember the wind that came to me, touching her. That aroma made me forget all my tension. I don’t remember anything that happened before that moment or anything that followed after that. What I remember, is a beautiful girl battling up with her stole, her curls and her umbrella, all at the same time against the strong wind. God bless that wind. I still don’t know whether she saw me or not. Of course she did not. But maybe she did. What if she did? Oh! I must have been ignored. After 25 years of mere existence, I was believing in and admiring God’s creation that night. Since then whenever it rains, I travel back in time. The rain that gave me a memory of life time.

Well one more thing I do remember which happened that night. My office laptop was stolen while I was admiring The Creator's creation where technically he was supposed to watch my back. Logically, you have to deal with your own shit, Creator's prime teaching. Anyhow, I am still stuck with Mr. Dixit (Dick-Shit, as we all know him to be) who is now a Project Manager. We don’t work in the same line of business, can’t say whether I should be thankful to that. Indeed I am stuck in this project because still, a team member. Apparently, there are strong rumors that I might be the next Project Lead. So in a way, Dick-Shit gets to screw me directly now. At least I was about to witness some growth in my life. Today, the moment I entered my office, Himanshu came running to me and whispered about a hot girl waiting for me near my table. A young girl, young enough to be an intern, was waiting for me. Well, frankly speaking Himanshu finds every second girl hot, but Oh lord! She was hot. All those Yo Yo Honey Singh’s songs that tells you how hot his girl friends are started to play inside me. She was Varsha, and she was hot. I sat and we discussed about her internship. I was supposed to be her mentor until, DickShit laid his reptile eyes on her.  And introduced me to our new Project Lead, Chitralekha. 

And on her very second day in office, she scolded me and the hot intern for being late. She was just like her name, uninteresting, bland, and prosaic. May be I was over reacting because she was offered my position. Days were passing, and then a whole month passed. I was about to become a walking dead. Dreary eyes, long work hours, no motivation to even jerk off, until Chitralekha asked me to join her over a cup of coffee in canteen. Because it was then where she made an atomic explosion like comment, “I remember you watching me on that rainy night while you were losing your laptop bag!”

What the fuck did she just say!

Who's the Pawn

P.S.: To get your election candidate’s background check, visit the below link of Election Commission of India’s website: http://affidavitarchive.nic.in/DynamicAffidavitDisplay/FrmElectionAffidavit.aspx

Many years ago there was a house, a small house, of about 10 people living in it. They themselves managed the whole house. Right from doing the odd jobs to the complete maintenance was there day to day task. Flooring, cleansing, cooking etc., all managed peacefully and perfectly. Then came a time when the family size grew. It grew up to 30. Managing a family of 30 became tad difficult for each one as resources were limited. So they mutually decided to divide the house and family to distribute the work load. Idea was good. Everything was restored to good as earlier. But then again some years later, the family in each house grew big. Total number of members went up to 100. This is the time when all people together thought and decided to have a head elected amongst them who’s only task would be looking after the comfort and requirements of the people of the houses.  Idea was brilliant. So a person was elected who can perform the desired task as per his capabilities.

Initially all went better than the expectations. The elected person proved to be a great asset to everyone. Prosperity was restored. Slowly number of people and eventually the number of houses started to increase. Apparently, the number of elected members also increased and that fraternity of elected members chose a leader who can lead the group of elected members and has vision to help in providing services to the people of a much bigger society now.  And as legendary Toby Maguire aka The Spiderman had said, with great powers, comes greater responsibility; the same became applicable to the panel of elected members and to their Chief. But alas! The vision that the first elected person saw, to frame the structure of the society, could not be achieved. Power and authority made the elected hollow. Engrossed in self remuneration, the leaders forgot the intent of constructing a democratic and united society and instead manipulated it into a society of fickle minded commoners who think themselves to be a pawn of their master, completely reverse to the whole purpose of their existence.

 And today here we stand amidst this election again searching for our purpose, the sole existence in the society and a leader. A leader who can guide us to towards the mountain of prosperity, who can transform the fate of many; but has it ever occurred to anyone that we are supposed to elect a leader and not any crazy illusionist Genie who does AabraKaDaabra to make your wish come true. In the past few months, I have seen all combinations of craziness, a craze that I see after every five years.  To me, it is like a fifth year plan. And the plan is:

              1.       Do not do your part of good deeds to contribute to your society.

              2.       Do not engage yourself into horrendous activities like not helping the needy.

              3.       Do not respect each other’s individuality.

              4.       Do not say no to corruption done by the commoners but ask for no corruption                      done by the leaders and,

              5.       Do not involve oneself in patriotic activities unless,

                                                              i.           Its a cricket match

                                                              ii.         Its election time

                                                              iii.       Its Satyamev Jayate being aired.

People whom we want to be our leaders are no different from us. In fact they are our thoughts that have come to life. So if something is wrong, it’s with us. But as they say in the jungle, who cares. Yes, none cares. So why this shout about Modi, Rahul, Kejrival  or any random piece of our thought, when we have turned deaf to our inner voice. No leader can shape our future or guide us towards it. And a mere vote is not going to change your life. It will change only when the man which you have become will change. There is no man of steel standing out there. He is inside you. One has to decide what kind of man one wants to be. Whoever that man is; good character or bad, he's going to change the world, a quote from Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece.

Remember, this is our movie, our story. We are the protagonists, then why to make someone else your hero. Do Vote. But don’t just vote and expect, then forget and then start expecting again. Be a hero and drive your nation towards dignified glory. Be the good to witness the good.

                                                                       ab bhi jiska khoon na khaula,

                  khun nahi woh paani hai,

                  jo is desh ke kaam na aaye, 

                  woh bekar jawani hai

Fools are my theme

Ah... It feels so fresh to be here after months of distractions and all the so called liabilities. Coming back here is as cool as the morning breeze that I have always desired for. Well, when demand soars, supply has to be revamped. So here I am with some distorted and unquenchable thoughts.

Looking back into a not so distant past, I find lot of happenings over tea parties, inside Republican parties, outside political parties (there is nothing really fascinating to tell about political parties’ inside story, especially Indian), the Summit’s which are far from “good for us”, the border tussles, India’s rejection of stiff gender law and Ishant Sharma’s terrific performance spree. I mean I just don’t know whether I got lucky to be bubbled up with so many heart warming stints for me or this era is doomed; well this was bit harsher on Ishant Sharma though. Finally, I pick my topic up and move forward.

When I was 10; okay may be not that small. So when I was 15, marriage was an exciting affair or rather event for me. Girls and ladies giggling around, male friends and cousins trying for the best catch, the dancing and the romancing; everything under one roof, a typical Indian wedding, marvelous.  I used to enjoy every moment of that. Then I entered 24, about to finish my under graduation; I know a bit late to finish your undergrads but still. Marriage was no more an exciting event for me but rather, conspiracy by parents and relatives; of course I skipped the time when I was in love. So what I intend to say here is that marry only when you have your basics right. That’s what my coach and teacher told me, not for marriage but for Cricket and Mathematics; for marriage, its basics of life and people. Apparently, one gets this by age and experience. But baby Shano’s dad’s thoughts were otherwise, just like the Republican parties thoughts on Obamacare. He personally appealed to the Dr. MMS, India’s sick Prime Minister (he is not keeping well these days you see) on behalf of all the sick morons- literally, an adult with an age of 8 or 12- of India to keep himself and India away from signing the first-ever global resolution on early and forced marriage of children led by the UN. This resolution was one of the agendas of the UN Human Rights Council to provide a better social status to girls and women, globally.

 What, a better social status for girls and women of India globally, seriously?

P.S.: We do not provide social status to women in India, forget about on a Global level. It is against our formulated constitution of myths by the legends. 

Eventually an SMS was sent from Dr. MMS to the UN guys.” India’s stand remains firm on the women issue. No social status, only rapes, abuses and her freedom. Our woman matures at a faster rate than the woman of rest of the world for marriage. It’s like Sachin XI Vs World XI, no match.”

Well UN, you people don’t get it straight. India is a competitive market. We all learn this in our childhood and follow that until we die. Right now India is facing tough competition from Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Chad, Guatemala, Honduras and Yemen in terms of women’s social status and we stand firm just above Yemen. Readers please. Dare not speak about the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) Council; it is for the economy market which has nothing to do with our women, so why to lose the cut throat competition.  

Well this is not sad; we have women in our political parties too doing other odd, err... I mean important jobs. Just the other day a teenaged boy was caught while doing that eve tease thing on a woman leader of some national party. Later people found he was trying to spit the gutka out. (For my non Indian sub-continent readers, gutka is one of our traditional edibles, an inclination to look elegant).  Nevertheless, baby Shano is now happily married to a man of her town. He is 35. A man, mature enough to take up his social responsibility; haven’t you heard, women mature faster than men.

Gaurav, a friend of mine came back from Zurich last Sunday, after 4 years. He said he was ashamed of being known as an Indian, back in Zurich. I don’t know whether he was right or wrong, but people in other countries have now started identifying India not as a land of Rama or Krishna or of Murgh musallam, Chicken Curry or Paneer Masala but as a land of licentious and cold-blooded people. It’s on us, and will always be on us to choose who we want to be. The good we make our today, the better shall be our tomorrow.  When wounded, you don’t leave the wound on time and people around you to heal it. You know what you do. Do the same to your society. Don't let the bamboozle capture you because once you give him the power to control you, you will never get it back. Apparently, taught in our Civics classes back in school; Democracy is for the people and by the people. make use of that.

There is an old saying in the jungle; We always do have a Choice.

Life .. As we see it!

I see love wherever I go. Mommy's love, Papa's love, best friend's love, love of soul-mates. Then I feel like saying," Oh dear God, it's a beautiful place down here". Our lives share a strong network with people we know and with those whom we know not. It may happen that someone unknown, unknowingly teaches us the way to live life. It could be a stranger passing by road or a new student in class or a small chirping bird. Even sunrise gives enough. Because all these elements when work to set things right for us, they shower nothing but love, in their own way which restrains itself from being visible to them and to us. All that one needs, is love.

                                                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edward Jones, a retired clerk of Mumbai telephone exchange; lead his whole life searching bliss. Now, he is old. He is 78. Once he thought he would never require anybody to make his life better. But here he is, sitting outside his house on chair thinking about his lost love, wasted life, his son - who would never return and his own house that is under the hammer of auctioneer. He wants to sit and talk about everything happened so far but the later is missing. He thinks; when we are young life is too short to do big things and when we grow old, suddenly life seems big. Big enough to grant you your share of happiness, your wishes and big enough to engulf it all.

                                                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Seema Bhandari, a young ardent painter from Mumbai. She always felt that the colors she puts on the canvas so aesthetically are like life, vibrant. Her dream art was to put life onto that leather canvas of her's. Painting and admiring beauty of life was the only thing she knew. Putting in other words, life was her perfect dream.
Now what she dreams about is that horrible night when her love for life, the passion for people and enthusiasm was ravished. The violators may have got the deserved judgement after four painful years, but she finds no reason to paint, smile or giggle or laugh.
Life has suddenly become a burden on her which was once a beautiful aspiration of an artist. Outside that big window of her room, the world seems so small to her. She is not able to find a place where she can go and get back that same smile on her face, that enthusiasm and that life.

                                                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chotu alias Aashrit, an eleven year old child who knew only football and cricket. He never knew what life was. A bliss or a curse, a burden or a companion but thought it to be limited to cricket and football. He never knew that many aren't blessed with a caring father and a loving mother. He was scared of only one thing, home works. But now, he knows everything. That what and how it is like without a caring father and a loving mother. He has realized at such a young age that the world is much bigger and unfair outside the football ground. It's not that his Papa and Mommy are dead or they have left him. It's just that after that Sunday when he went to play football, he could not see the next day with his dear ones. When he woke up, he found himself at a  construction site. Then he was traded to a restaurateur.
It has been eight months now since then and he has no where to go other than the small tea stall, his work place. Now, he is afraid of nothing. What he hopes and prays now is nothing but for monsoon. He feels no connection with god until it rains.

June 6th, monsoon has come as early as humans allowed it to. Well, I guess everything has got it's constraints.

                                                                                                       
The very first drop gave the feeling of freedom, happiness, peace and that bliss which they all searched for. Unlike Chotu, Edward and Seema couldn't feel God but certainly love touched them. A sense of joy ran through their spines. As of Chotu, this was his happy moment. May be their problems won't get solved, but this moment belongs to them which no one can take away.
That's how life is. It never gives solution for our problems, but it definitely gives ample to rejoice for.
And guess what? I found love between raindrops and those three musketeers. 

Fun is funny .. now & then!

           Not much but 6 years earlier, we never had any list of friends. Best friend concept was momentary. Exchanges of "Hi" or "wassup dude?" happened only when friends met. But today, when I sit at my desk in a state of nostalgia writing this article; 4 friend requests of friend's friend, 3 out of 7 messages of my ex flames and 12 notifications due to the shit I've been doing up this whole day on facebook, are pending. I have a friend's list, well some may be referred to as acquaintances. Talking of acquaintances, Bablooo, my roommate is an alien kind of creature who has some similar thoughts for his roommates. He was never socially very active as I guess, he couldn't find people of same wavelength around him.. ammm, OK! on the contrary, people felt the same for him. Nevertheless, those people are now in his friend's list as all share a common interest, "FACEBOOK", unlike previous times when there was nothing in common. 

            Apparently, internet has it's adverse effects. Earlier the tea shop guy, banana vendor and people like Srimadaddankithirumalavaraahavenkatathaa Ayyapaswamy (No, I bet this is not the longest name in the world, but definitely among those mighty South Indian names), Bablooo's boss, always waved at him expecting some benefits for that single hi. But sooner they were quite insistent that he adds them in his facebook account as friends [acquaintances]. He was out of options. Perhaps, now he has around 1326 friends/acquaintances. Most of his friends in online world are from sites such as www.youareanass.com, www.screwmebaby.com and other pointless internet argument forums. He has started maintaining groups so as to keep them categorized. The smallest group being " ". Well yes, he almost went for everything on the internet. He had few friends whom he didn't meet after his lower secondary school or people who stopped meeting or contacting him because .... but now they are friends on facebook. He keeps them under the group "". Well past cannot be referred to as from historical backgrounds, as we still don't have that technology. But suppose, for instance if we had, then what! Nothing much, Lord Buddha would have updated a comment, "Thinking to start a new religion!"; Jesus Christ, Muhammad, Dalai Lama and 1,445,544,555,773,033 people would like this with Lord Krishna's comment, "Thank GOD, nw I'll have sum personal tym :)". 

            His final group of acquaintances are of females, "Famme Fatale". They are sub-divided into minor groups like "My Fantasies", "Hot and Committed" and "Unbearable". Not surprising, but this group is the most attached one to him. This lad spends hours in browsing his female acquaintance's profiles, checking their pictures and relationship status. For one thing is sure that there is nothing more interesting to find hot women who recently broke up. Well of course this is sad, but then who would like to miss a chance of consoling a good, charming, sweet, astonishing, outrageous,seductive, hot wench. 

             Well, internet is indeed a source of unlimited ecstasies for most of the people around us definitely not unlike Babloo. Perhaps, I am sure of one thing. If social networking and Bablooo would not have existed, then there was still a lot for me to browse and research for. Like Megan Fox, Tim Kardashian, Sunny Leone, Blake Lively etc. Lolz .. :)


www.vodafone.in/fun

Journey of childhood ..

                 So much is there to say, we are quiet. So much is there to showcase, we hide all. It is all happening in front of our eyes. No, I am definitely not going to write about any political fiasco or historical movement. On the contrary, I am trying to throw some light on one of the darkest side of this human race. We all are born free. We live our whole life searching for that particular halcyon moment. Few get, others mourn for it! 

                 A child comes to this beautiful world. At the age of five, he realizes that he’s an orphan. He lands into the hands of a ruthless man who happens to be a contractor. Predictions can't be based upon factitious arguments. But tis true Michelangelo, thy world outside is barbarous. What the contractor will do to that child? That, is not my question. And this is not about only those children who are orphan or posthumous. It's about all of them, the divine gifts. 

Before a child's birth, we want to know the gender. Is it so important? For some unreasonable people, it is. Then follows infant killing. Our inhuman behaviour does not stop here. Wish of a healthy child leads a couple to either kill or discard the one who is physically disabled. The child is not deformed, but such acts are. Why such deformity in our thinking? Apparently, the problem with our society is, we still find it difficult to accept such children who need special attention.

                  There can be no reasons to support our sin. Child abuse is no new to this society. It's a disease spread by social animals to satisfy the sexual instinct inside them. Child abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in horrendous activities. Research has shown that traumatic stress, including stress caused by all sorts of physical abuse, causes notable changes in brain functioning and development. Various studies have suggested that severe child sexual abuse may have a deleterious effect on brain development. Children getting exposed to such violent streaks suffer neurological damage. 

Incest between a child or adolescent and a related adult has been identified as the most widespread form of child abuse with a huge capacity for damage to a child. According to a research, more than 70% of abusers are immediate family members or someone very close to the family. Another researcher stated that about 30% of all perpetrators of sexual abuse are related to their victim, 60% of the perpetrators are family acquaintances, like a neighbor, babysitter or friend and 10% of the perpetrators in child sexual abuse cases are strangers. The idea is not to just put figures and facts, but is to help some shut eyes open wide. 

                  It was reported in 2010 that Thailand and Brazil were considered to have the worst child trafficking records. Trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children can take many forms and include forcing a child into prostitution or other forms of sexual activity or child pornography. Child exploitation can also include forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude, the removal of organs, illicit international adoption, trafficking for early marriage, recruitment as child soldiers, for use in begging or for recruitment for cults. Trafficking in children often involves exploitation of the parents' extreme poverty. Parents may sell children to traffickers in order to pay off debts or gain income, or they may be deceived concerning the prospects of training and a better life for their children. They may sell their children for labor, sex trafficking, or illegal adoptions.

                  We have no definite mechanism to fight this deformity of our society. I take no privilege or pride in stating myself a human. I have never seen God, but I do believe in blessings. Raising a child is an opportunity to see the real person inside you. Children are indeed, a blessing in disguise.

Elizabeth Lawrence once said, "There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colours are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again". Our karma is to look after the garden. Preserve their essence and innocence. A child needs a role model more than an abuser or a mere critic. All of us have moments that test our courage and will to stand humane. Taking child into a house with a white carpet is one of them. Brace yourself and embrace the innocent.

That girl & her yellow stole ..

It was going to be 10 pm and my sick project lead Dixit (preferably Dick-shit) was pissing me off. It was like all those usual days when he used to give us small dosage of irritating advices. To me he was a perfect "catalyst"- A substance, usually used in small amounts relative to the reactants, that modifies and increases the rate of a reaction without being consumed in the process. Altogether my whole day was screwed. I always gave my 100% to the job. 13% on Monday, 20% on Tuesday, 25% on Wednesday, 35% on Thursday and 7% on Friday. 

It was Friday, supposedly a day on which people want to freak out. On the contrary, Dixit was freaking me out. Finally, I left office at 10:35 pm. I would have travelled only a mile, when it started raining. I didn't want cough and cold as the next bad thing. Parking my motorcycle near to a closed tea shop, I went under its shelter. 

P.S: I won't waste time in describing the length and width of the shelter. 

It was raining heavily. It seemed that weather was never as good as it was then in Chennai. Something distracted my swinging mood. It was a stole. A pale yellow coloured stole. Strong wind worked enough to snatch her stole away. But that girl was in no mood to give up. Her umbrella was of no use in those conditions. She was all wet. Long curls of her hair were playing with the cheek. I was lost in the beauty of that moment. I don't know how, but I felt that my heart skipped a beat. Enchanted by her charm and grace, I ignored the fact that I was completely drenched in rain. Suddenly, everything around me became so romantic. I could sense a connection between us. Any word to describe this connection would have been inappropriate. 

She never saw me or maybe she did. But that time was not to think about all this. The moment for which I even didn't care about my iPhone getting wet in rain was, she crossing the road with all her attention on the not so busy road and mine on her curls and the yellow stole. I saw her disappearing in dark. It stopped raining. I was feeling like a piece of burning wood in a dying fire. My heart never felt so happy and content. Such incidents might be common for many, but how can I ignore the fact that my heart did skip a beat.

I can never define that part of my life, those 10 minutes. It's just a pious feeling. But the memory will always be there, undefined! That girl and her yellow stole ...  

Terror strikes, yet again!

On 13 February 2010, a bomb explosion at the German Bakery in Pune killed fourteen people, and injured at least 60 more.

Three explosions went off in the Indian capital, New Delhi, on 29 October 2005 killing more than 60 people and injuring at least 200 others. The high number of casualties made the bombings the deadliest attack in India in 2005. It was followed by 5 bomb blasts on 13 September 2008. 

Mumbai has been the most preferred target for most terrorist organizations, primarily the separatist forces from Pakistan. Over the past few years there have been a series of attacks, including explosions in local trains in July 2006, and the most recent and unprecedented attacks of 26 November 2008, when two of the prime hotels, a landmark train station, and a Jewish Chabad house, in South Mumbai, were attacked and siege.

On 13 July 2011, within 15 minutes, 3 bombs go off in Mumbai at three different places.

What's the message? What's the agenda? 

Peace/humanity/freedom. 
No religion allows us to take life at any expense. 

What's Security? 
-A word found in dictionary of ministerial fools, meant for long speeches to get vote bank. 

How to keep sovereignty of India?

-By having minimum $1000 million scam (at least) / year; letting rapists/murderers free, to give them another chance: "Guess, only God and government knows; chance for what!"

Today's common man is confined within day to day life pressure. In the morning, he wakes up with neighbours untuned comments. He is frustrated at everything. Right from his buildings hanging lift to the city traffic. In office, with his colleagues, boss... even the peon; all are the cause of his mental distress. And when a chance of tea break draws him out of his uncomfortable zone, a bomb blast takes away the rest. That he jeopardised his life for one cigarette and apparently one cup of tea could be a ministerial fool's point of view. But actually, this unveils the naked truth. Truth of our paralysed system. It's "How safe are we inside our own home". 

"Terrorist Attacks has been reduced to 99%, merely 1% is left"- Rahul Gandhi.

I need not to say any more on this. Readers are mentally balanced enough to infer from the above statement. Dr. Manmohan Singh is sorry for the mishap. Mr. P. Chdambaram- "A black day in Indian history". 

Mr. Prime Minister and Defence Minister respectively, merely feeling sorry and colouring the days blue and black won't let the grave grief go. Loss is something which is inexplicable. Support via words won't help. We don't need reasons. We don't want explanations. We want results. We all know that Kasab is still alive. Are we so incapable that even after 3 years, we are unable to prove the guilt? Isn't that a question on the constitution's competency? 

Such is the dreadful situation of our country in the 21st century that a girl cannot go out after 9 at night. Chances of being molested are high. A normal man can't go about anywhere in India because he is not safe out there. Either he'll be killed on the name of being a resident of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, South India, other part of India or will have to pay some heavy duty to get established in his own country. Is that what we want out of this so called civilised and balanced society? Ironically, we are United.

Common man doesn't fear the foe sitting outside, ready to hunt. But he does fear the disguised demon standing right beside him. If might is right, then shall we step out to change our world ourselves. What's stopping us to do the right? A bunch of 1000 morons can stop 1 or 5 or 10 or 100 mighty spirits. But can they stop millions. More than 50% of India's population is youth. It's only about self realisation. It's high tide, today or never. Let's not sit back and be a silent observer. Are we going to be the change we wish to see or be a resilient forever? 

And, We're Still Developing!

CENSUS: A nation of 1.21 billion; High growth, few jobs; Will milk fortification benefit the poor? Private sector wants to adopt public health bodies; Land acquisition! Is it democratically justified? India losing biodiversity hotspots ..

Well, these aren't thoughts of a stagnant mind. Such queries stimulate directly from the policies established by the Central Government. It's not about who forms the government; rather, it's about the righteous form of government. Nothing will sound strange or stunning, if I say that current policies of government are actually based on the one made in 1950. As a matter of fact, the same constitution was followed till 1991. Amendments were made in 1992. 2011, we follow the same with few more amendments. We don't need amendments in the constitution, only. Something greater must be done to revive the policies and laws. 

Violence and pace of land acquisition in Uttar Pradesh underscore serious flaws in the law. Fertile land is up for grabs in western Uttar Pradesh. Private developers are acquiring it to build apartments, industries, IT institutes, and even F1 race track. Farmers, who have known no profession other than agriculture, have nowhere to go. The landless are left with no farms to work on. On the contrary, government has quoted a pricing system to benefit the farmers. A Greater Noida farmer gets about Rs. 820 per sq metre for parting with his land. As the distance from Greater Noida increases, the amount decreases. In Tappal, a district near Noida, for instance, a farmer gets Rs. 570 per sq metre for his land. The amount a Greater Noida farmer gets translates to about Rs. 8.2 million per hectare. When the same land is developed into apartments, the cheapest rate the Authority gives to a developer is Rs. 35,000 per square metre or Rs. 350 million per hectare. So what is the agenda of Mayawati's govrnment in Uttar Pradesh? To make business by holding an office of no profit. 

We all know about the agitation by the farmers from May 7 2011 to May 12 2011. Urgency clause under Section 17 of the Land Acquisition Act was enforced. The clause allows government to acquire land without giving land owners the right to a hearing. There is no uniformity in the land rates offered to farmers. In Greater Noida, farmers got much more than what those in Aligarh received for the same project. Even if farmers on an average gets Rs. 0.75 crore, what about those who don't own any land and earn their living by working on other's land. In fact, a large section belongs to this fraternity.  

People in the villages around Ratlam are paying a heavy price for living near the industrial town in Madhya Pradesh. Their groundwater has been polluted by over 23,500 tonnes of hazardous waste dumped at two factory (Sajjan Chemical and Investment (pvt) Ltd and Jayant Vitamins which closed over a decade ago due to management problems) premises and other sites in Ratlam. The quantity of toxic waste lying at the defunct Union Carbide plant in Bhopal city—350 tonnes—is only a fraction of Ratlam’s toxic legacy. Another study by Madhya Pradesh’s State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) in 2007 showed the soil in the area has been contaminated with organic pollutants like naphthalene and binaphyle sulfone. More recently, in March 2011, a study by the PHE department found the total dissolved solids (TDS) and iron levels in groundwater were way beyond permissible limits. The TDS level in some of the samples was about 3,000 mg/litre; its permissible limit is 2,000 mg/litre. The water is red mainly because of iron, which along with other contaminants makes it unfit for consumption. And as usual, authorities have failed to act.

These are some of the issues taken out from shinning India's magic box. 

One quick question: Can we give Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Azad, his India @ 2020 in this scenario? 

• Number of people, in India, who are below poverty line = 30 crore approx.
• Number of people, in India, who are unemployed = 30 crore approx.
• JOBS which need to be created every year, to fulfil the aspirations of the people of India = 1 crore
• Number of people, in India, who are below 35 years of age = 70 crore

(http://www.wakeupcall.org/administration_in_india/poverty_line.php)

No doubt, that the growth has taken a formidable shape. But that won't bring India down from the top rank, among the corrupt nations. Myth or fact, $1.5 trillion of Indian money in Swiss Banks? 

And still the government isn't aggressive enough. Is that the change our forefathers dreamt of? Is this what we dream for our shinning India? 

Cause of worry for India

• Share of total employment in agriculture decreased from 63.3 per cent to 55.7 per cent between 1995 and 2008
   
• Share of employment in industry increased marginally from 11.2 per cent to 12.8 per cent between 1995 and 2008
   
• Share of employment in the services sector increased marginally from 21.3 per cent to 25 per cent
   
• Real wages in this period grew marginally from -1.8 per cent to 0.7 per cent

(http://www.downtoearth.org.in/node/2242)

I would like development to start in the villages. It would be an incentive for people to stay. Development should be what you gain in the long run. It's like success, no short-cuts.

The parrot of love!

Men aren't necessities, they're luxuries. I don't say this, though my friend Richie Rich says so. Smart, talented, good persona, charming, actually a cuisine that girls love to order. But he's among those that are served in 'dhabas'. Girls do go gaga over him, but yet no money gives him no honey. 

Yesterday I had a chat with him on his recent love market crash. He didn't seem much worried but was in a deep thought. "Hey Richie, are you fine?" 

"Yes Rathore, I am fine. Busy in figuring out something." On asking, I got back a boring yet emotional story of a lover boy who failed in his love life in spite of getting all the applauds. I came back home thinking and still trying to figure out the actual problem behind his break up. I'll just share his thoughts over his own love life. 

P.S.: Resemblance to any living or dead is purely coincidental. Generalising the event is on reader's discretion.

Love is a mutual self-giving which ends in self-recovery. Love is like a war, easy to start and difficult to end. According to Richie, love is a cuckoo's song. Soothing in morning and irritating for rest of the day. It's purely like Indian seasons, changes in no time. You search love throughout your life. If lucky, you get to hear the song. Bazzinga! You are entrapped. The love that seemed angel's gift to you was an enchantment. The charm works well and the cupid’s arrow finds its target. You see your incomplete world, complete.

"Poor prey, you are already dead. Because a mindless body is scientifically dead" as quoted by Albert Einstein. On the contrary, you don't die at once, as in tasting cyanide. But it’s something like you die running whole life behind love for love! This kiss of love is actually meant for 4 days, and rest, the side effects.

Soon love becomes an illusion and life a myth. And one day the cuckoo goes off just like that and poor parrot is left behind with no song. You spend your whole life behind the same genre of song and then one day you become old thinking of past glories. Who says Men are from Mars and women from Venus. Men are from Earth. Women are from Earth. Deal with it! 

"To love is to suffer. To avoid suffering one must not love. But then one suffers from not loving. Therefore to love is to suffer, not to love is to suffer. To suffer is to suffer. To be happy is to love. To be happy then is to suffer. But suffering makes one unhappy. Therefore, to be unhappy one must love, or love to suffer, or suffer from too much happiness." So that's love. Lovely yet complicated. 

Black Hawk Down

My friend's father wants to be with his family. It has been 16 months since he went home. Uncle's father is ill, a heart patient. I got to know that after a long time the commanding officer gave a 10 day leave. Finally, Major Yashwant Pratap Singh will be with his family for a short span. But will Air India fly him to his native? Apparently no. He's posted near Ladakh, defending the frontier for his fellow citizen. What he's getting? Perhaps, a long wait to meet his beloveds. But such facts are mere a piece of daily news for his countrymen!
It's the 10th day of Air India strike. About Rs. 120 crore of national loss has been done. The national carrier has been able to operate only 10 per cent domestic flights and has been losing Rs. 20 crore per day for the last three days. The airline, as a result of the strike, has curtailed 90 per cent of its domestic flights till May 6. Rs. 3.65 lakh per month, salary much higher than the pilots of other flights. But their appetite seems to be malfunctioning. They want JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee) to probe in and unveil airline's mismanagement. Being entitled for such a luxury, they can certainly go for strikes like these. Can Major Yashwant? No. Because he's there for a cause like the pilots. Instead of rescuing the sinking ship, more punches are appearing on our once called nation's pride. I too support calls against corruption, but won’t support any idea that brings shame and loss to nation. 

The management is against all their demands. It's not ready to reappoint the 3 sacked pilots. All stern and rigid. Each fraternity has its own agenda. It's about, who winks first. With no breakthrough in sight, the High Court slammed the pilots and the airline's management for the continuing state of affairs. It admonished the pilots' association, saying, "How much loss are you going cause to the nation? Who will foot the bill? There's a court order telling you not to go on strike. You've taken the law into your own hands. I don't understand what you'll achieve." 
For JRD Tata, Air India was his baby. Nurtured with love, care and affection. It is not without reason when he was the chairman (took only Re 1 as salary) Air India was considered among the top 5 airlines of the world. In his times, Air India was the nation's pride. 
He always said, “I don't believe in ideas that gives personal benefits, but one that generates national benefits". 
I unlike other cabinet ministers don't agree with our civil aviation minister Vylar Ravi when he says the pilots are only 10+2 and crying for more when they earn at least 3.65 lakh a month. There is no question of qualification. Even an ill-literate person understands national pride. Being an Indian, how can I forgive those professionals who fly everyday across the city and world, knowing all the realities at ground zero and still behaving like rogues?     
After a long time our country is taking a stand together against corruption. Let's not spoil the party. Have a proper and transparent inquiry over the corrupt. Put them behind bars. Let the Black Hawk fly. Money will flow.

It must stop now!

Democracy, Freedom, Sovereignty. On the platforms of such agendas, social activist turned politicians have always managed to be in the limelight. Are these words meant to be a tool of hypocrite reformers? I write this draft not be in the limelight but to unveil the assassins

of humanity. 

The society is actually going through turbulences. Turbulences due to some untold truth. Each day, in and around the city, across the streets, outside the window, human right is violated. Modern human slavery, sex trafficking, child labour, forced labour; that's what our developed, urbanised and educated society comprises of!

Commercialisation of organised crime has formed an ugly face. Its not a worry only for India and it's subcontinents, but is a global concern. Huge amount of human consignments are exported everyday especially in Europe and Asia. In fact female trafficking is not illegal in countries like Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia. 80% of transnational victims are women and girls. It is a lucrative industry where investment is too low as compared to the profit margin. Apparently, trade of arms and drugs has been combined to give more profit percentage. Generally, women and children are trafficked by giving them job offers in city. Poor goes to the city and falls as prey in the trafficker's hand. It's not that trafficking is done only for cheap labour but for commercial sex too. 

Small children are forced to work on cheap wages. They are either smuggled from orphanages or kidnapped. Even sold to military. The military use of children takes three distinct forms: children can take direct part in hostilities (child soldiers), or they can be used in support roles such as porters, spies, messengers, look outs, and sexual slaves; or they can be used for political advantage either as human shields or in propaganda. Ironically, children are the future. 

Women are bought to work as slaves and the same are sexually exploited. The main types of work offered are in the catering and hotel industry, in bars and clubs or modelling contracts. Poor economic conditions and social problems create a climate which is favourable to trafficking. The sorrow of such women is way beyond imagination. Trafficking victims are also exposed to different psychological problems. They suffer social alienation. Due to the addiction of drugs, their comfort zone gets affected. Mentioning about the rescued victims; even they don't, most of the times, recover from the trauma. In many cases traffickers initially offer ‘legitimate’ work or the promise of an opportunity to study. 

Although the good and effective work done by the governments have shown results, but yet the commoners are still unaware of the wretched crime happening in the society. This is due to ignorance. How much blame shall we post on the government until we are not donating our part of action? They are solely not responsible for the sufferings. As a matter of fact, we play a larger role by staying immune to such atrocities. Perhaps, truth is stranger than fiction.

Lets join hands and raise together against the assassins of humanity. Put some effort to make this a better place for all. As quoted in Gita, "To bring the change, be the change".