moments of unease.

There have so many of them, the moments of unease caused by the embarassment that follows the realization of a careless word, or action, that I have lost count of them by now. The variety of of such incidents that have resulted in me squirming with unease and be red-faced are so comprehensive that I could, had I noted them down in a notebook or some such thing, have authored my own '1001 ways to embarass yourself' guide. Some of them have been caused by a careless word the consequences of which I had not had the maturity to think through, while there have been some that my dear friend Nitin aptly describes to be falling in the category of 'Kulhaadi pe pair maarnaa' which for the benefit of not-so-erudite-in-Hindi clan means 'throwing your leg on an axe-blade'. Yet, there are some that are enforced on me without my own consent and despite my vehement opposition to the same. I have tried to fight them off on many occasions, but before I could express my angst at one and say, 'What the ...', there pile up many more of them against my name. If one is wondering why am I suddenly initiated into memoirs of my embarassing moments, the answer is simple enough - it happened once again yesterday. And so embarassed I am, more so today, about the incident and that there seeming to be no escape from facing it, that all I could think of to bear it was to look at this in comparison to some others from the past and then try to it-could-have-been-worse myself. I have learnt to laugh at myself on such occasions, for without any sign of escape, there seem to be very little options than sit and laugh at myself and pretend to be brave about it.

Arranged Love?

Well, I am not exactly saying that my time is running out, but if things continue in the same vein for some more time, facing such a crisis may become a reality that I will have to face. By my own admission, I am a person, while appearing passive to the concept of love on most occasions, a romantic soul seeking love. So far the story has only been sad for me with the objects of my love either not appreciating my feelings or not reciprocating accordingly. With my grandmother all excited with eagerness to see me in marital bliss, I am now wondering if I too will have to rely on the efforts of my parents to find me a suitable girl. If that is so, I wonder if I will ever be able to do justice to the relationship! The awkwardness that I perceive between such a couple, at least in the early days of their togetherness, is enough to pull the rug under all the bliss that one hopes to experience. Not that I am one in the league of hunks or those able-bodied specimen that appear in television commercials going about in their nonchalant manner riding bikes and charming women at the same time. Neither girls are as dumb as they were traditionally supposed to be in the ancient world dominated by chauvinist males who thought themselves to be worthy of more than one sample of the opposite sex at any point of time. If anything, it is exactly the other way around these days, the situation made more precarious by dwindling sex ratios and generously assisted by those too-keen-to-kill-female-foetuses parents. It is interesting to know if they ever wonder if everyone goes about killing female foetuses like this then how are they going to find a bride for their dear son unless they have already presaged about his sexual orientation in the opposite direction. Thankfully the situation is not so extreme and there are, I hope, girls available for the bachelors of my generation, at least for a bachelor with a post-graduate degree in computer science and engineering and a job that pays him a handful. This is the hope that resides in my heart when I am in my usual rounds at the Forum Mall looking hither and thither for the young and the beautiful, the and being used in the inclusive sense in this case. A hope that one day one of these would find time and an occasion to lift their eyes off the hunk whose arm happens to be around their shoulders and throw a glance, even if cursory, towards me and recognize the romantic heart that beats inside, and for once, realize that beauty and sex-appeal can also be found in a dark skin, balding head, and bulging waistline. Until then it will be a race between me and my grandmother. Yes, I wait for the day when love will find its way into my life along with a girl. One only hopes that it is not led into; led by my grandmother, that is.

A few drops of water

The sun was scorching and the heat unbearable. There was not a trace of any clouds that could hide the sun and provide any relief, momentary though it may be, on the burning body of Uttamacharya as he trod haggardly on the sand in the midst of a desert praying to God for help. He was trying to remember every good deed he had done in his life to implore God to help him survive.

Uttamacharya was a renowned priest in the town of Swarnapuri and was respected for his profound erudition of scriptures and religion. Any pooja that was performed in Swarnapuri had Uttamacharya in attendance, and in most occasions, as the chief priest. His fame had spread far and wide and in due course of time with a generous grant from the King himself, Uttamacharya had grown considerably in affluence. As Uttamacharya gained more acclaim, invitations from kingdoms far away were sent out for him. On one such journey to a foreign kingdom, his caravan was trapped in a sand storm at the end of which Uttamacharya found himself alone in the middle of nowhere. With no instruments to guide him in the right direction, and with minuscule knowledge of the desert, he started off at the direction he deemed to be the most likely to take him to a civilization.

It had been three days of wandering without any water to quench his thirst in the desert and he was beginning to wonder if his prayers might end up being in vain after all. Add to this, the trauma of discerning a water pool at regular intervals only to discover it as a mirage was proving to be excruciating for him. Soon enough his courage failed him and he fell on his knees having pivoted all his hopes on a miracle from God.

It was dark when he opened his eyes. He did not know how long he had been lying there, but when he came around he saw that he was on the floor at the centre of a thatched hut. His throat was parched and he longed for some water to quench his thirst. At one corner was a man puffing into his choolha with all his might to get the embers to turn into a flame. Uttamacharya gave out a little dry cough and the man turned around. He smiled at the scholar and took a glass full of water out of a nearby pitcher and humbly offered it to him. Uttamacharya looked at him and a certain resemblance to someone he could not place became apparent to him. Nevertheless, he took the glass with gratitude and drank the water in gulps.

After satiating himself, he thanked his host profusely and introduced himself. The host having accepted Uttamacharya's gratitude paid respects to the scholar and inquired after his health. Uttamacharya could not overcome the nagging thought in his mind that he had met this person somewhere sometime earlier. Unable to contain his curiosity anymore, he inquired, "Oh kind soul! Have we met before? I ask this as I perceive a certain familiarity in your face."

"Yes, sir! We have. At the doorstep of your house in Swarnapuri."

"Then how is that I do not remember anything about our meeting."

"Because I was a child then and had come with my father. The similarity that you allude to is probably due to my resemblance to my father. My mother had fainted on the street in front of your house and my father had come to you asking for some water."

Uttamacharya still could not recollect the incident being narrated to him. However, having found himself in many such occasions of generosity, he considered this to be one such trivial incident which would not have found a place in his memory owing to lack of any significance attached to it. He however did not let that prevent him from acknowledging this and he continued,

"It must have been a brief acquaintence then, and I am happy to see that a glass of water offered in generosity goes as far as etching a permanent place in your memory. I am really flattered."

"Yes, sir! It is a glass of water that has enabled me to remember your face distinctly. It is unimaginable that an untouchable like me would ever find an occasion to serve a noble soul like you but it is God's grace that He has provided me with an opportunity to pay you back. For it is now that you shall learn the ultimate lesson of humanity."

Uttamacharya winced a little. Drinking water at the hands of an untouchable was not something his pride would have allowed, yet there was nothing he could do about it now. He was not sure whether he understood exactly what his host was trying to convey. Whether it was a comment in his praise or criticism, he could not say, but there was something in the man's eyes that betrayed a sinister feeling. As these thoughts started creeping into his mind, his head went in a swim.

"I am not sure if I understand you correctly, young man. Have I offended you in some way?"

"You will not understand. You did not understand even on that day. My father pleaded with you invoking all the pity in you to help my mother. It was just a glass of water that all he asked for, but you did not relent and my mother died right in front of your house. It is the glass of water which you did not provide that made me resolve to take a revenge on you one day. And it is a glass of water that will make you realize and repent your mistake today."

Uttamacharya's eyes widened on hearing this. His face went pale and the limbs trembled with trepidation. It dawned on him what had transpired. Realizing that there was little time left for him, he said a silent prayer to God, and addressed the man with much difficulty,

"Young man, I have sinned by not helping another human being. I am happy that God has chosen the most appropriate way to make me realize my mistake. Please forgive me for my sins. May God bless you!"

With these words, Uttamacharya's head jerked back, his body fell back on the floor, and after a heave, his lungs perished. The glass tumbled out of his hands and out trickled the last few drops of the poison.

My travel logs.

Here is a not-so-brief account of my travel to Tirupathi and Kanyakumari not very long ago.

Tirupati - the temple of seven hills

The journey began on the 27th April in not very extra-ordinary
circumstances. The shortest way to reach the temple town of Tirupati
from the shores of Goa is through Bangalore, which could be reached
quickly but not-so-often conveniently by bus on a road punctuated by
numerous potholes that had almost succeeded in their endeavour to
obliterate any resemblance to an accepted definition of a road.

My base camp for Tirupati was Chennai. The rationale behind this
choice was the presence of numerous Travel agents and their pre-
arranged one-day tours to the seven hills.

To anyone who is visiting Tirupati for the first time, the tours can
be a good option. The tours are conducted by both, Tamilnadu Tourism
Corporation and private operators, the former being more reliable
and therefore enjoying more popularity among pilgrims and tourists.
The more adventurous type may catch a bus directly to Tirupati.

Here, a little geographical detail becomes mandatory. The main
temple dedicate to Lord Balaji is situated atop the hill of Tirumala
(The holy hill) about 25 kms or an hour away from the town of
Tirupati. The road is winding and curvaceous but the journey is
pleasant. There is a government bus every minute going uphill and
downhill. For those who seek a more religious approach to the temple
premises, there is an option to climb up a series of about 4000
steps. The town of Tirupati is well connected by rail and road to
many important cities in South India.

The most difficult part of a visit to the temple of Tirupati is
entering the temple itself. It is not uncommon to find people spending more
time waiting for Darshan than they spend traveling to get there. A
lot of measures have been taken up by the temple authorities to make
things a lot easier for pilgrims but they come with a price
attached. The time spent waiting for a Darshan in a queue is
inversely proportional to the money one is ready to shell out from
one's pocket. A free Darshan may not materialize for more than 24
hours in the worst case, the entire duration of which is spent in
closed enclosures with hundreds of other people in conditions which,
the temple authorities' efforts to maintain otherwise
notwithstanding, are overwhelmed with the filth perpetrated by the
visitors. There is lot of eatables for sale while you suffer through
the excruciatingly long wait. There are baths and toilets available,
the former being subjected to the same treatment as the latter.
Those intending to follow this option are requested to keep handy
additional clothes to change into.

The more affluent options come in the form of tickets and
appointments. Tickets with bar codes are issued and stuck around
one's wrist at various counters situated at Tirupati Railway
station, Balaji Temple at T. Nagar, Chennai and the temple premises
itself. The ticket indicates a time when the bearer is supposed to
report for a Darshan. The bearer is then asked to join another
shorter queue that takes far less time than the free Darshan line to
reach the objective. The price ranges from Rs.40 to Rs.1000, the
latter offering the privilege of a longer darshan combined with the
good fortune of performing an archana etc. for the lord. For the
less fortunate ones, the darshan lasts only a few seconds. The
temple is open for Darshan between 0300 hours to 0000 hours
approximately.

On the plus side are the impeccable lodging arrangements, transport,
amenities and, last but not the least, the idol of Lord
Venkatachalapati or Lord Balaji. I must say it was one of the most
breathtakingly beautiful idols I have ever seen. There are no
photographs allowed inside the temple so you will have to see it to
experience its enchanting beauty. If there is one reason why one
must visit the temple, it is the Darshan.

The story behind the temple is a very interesting one, and though my
version is based purely on hearsay, I will reproduce it as I heard
it. Legend says that while Lord Balaji was roaming around Tirupati,
he saw Devi Padmavati and fell for her enchanting beauty
immediately. However, Devi Padmavati was a princess and would marry
a person who was in status higher to her family. To fulfill this
condition, Lord Balaji took a huge loan from Lord Kubera. Though the
marriage ceremony was completed soon thereafter, Lord Balaji could
not return to his heavenly abode at Vaikuntha until the debt was
repaid. The Lord, therefore, asked his followers for help and it is
with this faith and every one of those who visit the temple donates
loads of money to it. It is also said that those who donate money at
the temple are blessed by Goddess Lakshmi to attain more wealth.

There are a number of touts and frauds and "agents" that one must
beware of. Though, with proper negotiations things can be done
pretty efficiently and quickly with their help.

Overall, the journey was a bag of mixed feelings, the end result of
which was quite satisfactory. I would advise everyone to pay a visit
at least once to this temple and undergo an experience that is
shared by an astonishing hundred thousand pilgrims everyday!

---

---

Kanyakumari - The virgin Goddess

India is probably one of those privileged lands which have high mountains on one side and oceans and sea shores on the others. Often in literature, the former are likened to the crown of the country whose feet are washed by the oceans. India is also one of those rare countries that have their shores shared between not one, not two, but three great seas. And there is probably only one place in the whole world where one can witness the “confluence” of three great seas; and that place is Kanyakumari. This unique geographical phenomenon has made this little town in the southern most tip of mainland India one of the significant destinations in any religious or pleasure trips that one seeks to undertake in this country. The fame of Kanyakumari has in the past attracted great saints like Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi. There is beauty in every part of this little town and one has to be there to witness it.
The town is well connected by rail and road to many cities in the south India. In fact, it was also one of the end points of the longest railway journey in our country for a long time (The privilege is now enjoyed by Tiruananthapuram and Guwahati). Best options would be a train from Chennai or a bus or train from Trivandrum.
The oldest and the most ancient landmark in this town is the temple of Goddess Kumari who prayed to Lord Shiva to be accepted as wife by him. The name of this place has taken after the name of the Goddess. During the Raj, it was also known as Cape Comorin, which according to me is probably a British spoilt version of “Kumari”. The town is so small that an enthusiastic tourist may actually walk the entire length and breadth of the town and not shed a drop of sweat. Anyway, buses are available and the fares are rock bottom. The auto rickshaw fellows may seek to fleece you but their higher limits of fare exaggerations still seem reasonable to someone who has had the past experience of auto rickshaw nightmares at Delhi, Mumbai or Chennai. In short, traveling in and around Kumari is not expensive.
The temple is rather small by South Indian standards, but comes with the usual ingredients of Pujaris, Poojas, Kumkums, and Prasads. The street to the temple is lined on both sides by Shops wherefrom one can buy little curios, essential stuffs, food items etc. After the experience at Tirupati, it was quite relieving to find unrestricted entry at the temple. Strangely, all men are supposed to enter the temple with bare torsos. I could not figure out the reason behind this except that, as described by a Pujari, it is a mark of respect to the Devi. The reason was good enough for me and since I have visited a few more temples in South India where such a rule existed, it was not a surprise to me.
The major attraction for any tourist at Kumari is the Vivekananda Rock Memorial.
The Rock is about a hundred meters from the shore and a regular ferry service exists between the mainland jetty and the rock. The tickets is 20/- for a ride. The Rock has two Mandaps; one belonging to Swami Vivekananda and the other belonging to a Holy Foot. The Holy Foot is a foot shaped carving found on the rock and is believed to be a foot print of Goddess Kumari who stood on this rock on one leg and performed the Tapasya. The Rock memorial has a tall statue of Swamiji whose photographs we are not allowed to take from inside the hall. Below the statue was mentioned the year of death of Swamiji and the “probable” dates when Swamiji attained Samadhi on the rock. Besides these, there wasn’t much to see on these rocks.
There is another rock adjacent to Vivekananda’s, and this one is dedicated to arguably the greatest Tamil poet, philosopher and saint – Tiru Valluvar. The rock supports a huge statue of the saint carved out of many rocks that were then joined together. It was inaugurated fairly recently. The statue is about 133 feet long which corresponds to 133 chapters in the greatest epic written by the saint – Tirukkural. Tourists can climb up to the feet of the statue. The view from this point is quite breathtaking! Inside the base of the statue, the entire Tirukkural is inscribed on the walls and also its translation in English. It makes a very entertaining and enlightening read and inspires one to lead a very principled life. It is a must read for anyone who visits this place and one is requested to take out at least half an hour for this exercise.
Such is the beauty of Kanyakumari that lot of people find themselves attracted to it. Mahatma Gandhi too could not resist its charm and there is a place here dedicated to him called Gandhi Mandapam. My interest in this place was two fold – A curiosity about how and when Gandhiji got associated with this place, and the fact this was the place, as told to me by a local, where one could witness the “Sangam” of the three oceans! Apparently, Gandhiji did happen to arrive here and succumbed to the beauty of the place as described in his beautiful words inscribed below his portrait in the Mandapam. Also, after he died, his ashes were brought to this place and kept before they were - for the lack of a better word - given out into the sea. At the place where the ashes were kept, stands a small stone which receives the Sun’s rays only on the 2nd of October every year through a small hole on the roof. It is amazing that on no other day does this phenomenon occur! At least, this was what I was made to believe and I did not find reasons to disagree with it.
The greatest attraction for tourists in Kanyakumari is the Sunrise and Sunset. Unfortunately, my itinerary did not permit me to witness this often beautifully described natural phenomenon. However, one is requested to find time to witness these if possible.
There are numerous hotels, residencies etc. in and around Kanyakumari and therefore, staying over will not be a problem. But there are agents, touts and brokers in every nook and corner looking for unsuspecting tourists. Vivekananda Kendra can be a good option for people looking for accommodation.
A note of caution for casual travelers – There are some travelers like me who do not like to carry enough cash with them with the hope that there are those ubiquitous ATMs to bail them in times of immediate need of money. Astonishing it may be for them that there are no ATMs in the town except for one belonging to the State Bank of India. Others are located at least 18kms away in the town of Nagarcoil, the bus fare to which is a measly Rs.11.

Modern Man - Back to basics.

A brief look at the habits of all the animals that we classify as uncivilized will convey to us that their lives are nothing more than a repeating sequence of eating and sleeping punctuated by acts of species propagation in their respective mating seasons. Only the species of Human beings evolved into a life of more complex and inter-twined individual and social life with duties specified as diverse as keying in obscure code into computers, creating and disposing of the garbage, taking care of parents, families, children, and cheering for home team. Well, I am not delving into a Human's life other than the one that concerns him at the most basic level. The basic duty as chosen by nature for many animals, and especially for monkeys if we believe in Darwin's theory, is that male hunts, gathers food, eats, sleeps and occasionaly finds a female to mate with, while the female hunts, gathers food, eats, sleeps, occasionaly finds a male to mate with, and more importantly, propagates the species forward by giving birth to its young ones, introducing them to the big bad world, and teaching them the techniques to survive and multiply.

In most of the species, the male is the stronger sex, the strength being used to impress the female and thus presenting strong credentials to be deemed eligible for mating. Not that health is not an important eligibility for a female, but strength is solely in the male domain, and a distinguishing feature between the males of the species. Human, it seems, was (or should I say, is) no different going by the information that historians have gathered about the cave-men.

As Humans evolved, responsibilities were added to the male's life. There were duties assigned to him with respect to his family, his herd, his community, his land etc. At the primary level, a man was supposed to earn bread for his family while the female took care of their children. As the Human race went through various struggles, it became more important for the male to protect females who were not as strong as him. It would not be far from the truth to assume that the institution of marriage was established only as a consequence of this need for a man to protect females in his community.

This institution underwent numerous changes for thousands of years to evolve into the form we know it as today. However, in the meantime, the roles of the male and the female have undergone innumerable changes, more significantly in the female domain. The female is not only interested in just raising her children, but also in earning bread for herself, in devising schemes and methods to protect herself. The man, on the other hand, has remained limited to the job of earning bread and protecting his family. However, even this job has become redundant given the female propensity to be more and more independent of her male counterpart.

This brings us to a very basic question. What will be the role of the Human male if the female attains more and more independence in her life? Will it boil down to just eating, sleeping, and occasionally oblige a female by participating in the process of copulation with her? A life, I dare say, not many males will mind leading.

blah...

just so wanted to write something, but my mind goes blank.

just so want to discover some excitement now.

read some code, fix some bugs, read blogs, write blogs, check email and life goes on...

it rained yesterday in bangalore, and the weather was pleasant.

gol-gappas in bangalore suck!

If only...

Last week, I was on a trip to the north, visiting Punjab, Dilli, and Nagpur. Though the trip was nice, I was almost made to regret my decision not to postpone the trip by a week. Here are the reasons why I could have gone a week later on this trip.

1. My mom would have accompanied me.
2. I could have played the all-important, do or die, cricket match of the first round for Trilogy.
3. I could have attended the marriage of my friend's sister in Dilli.
4. The national roaming rates came down by a third starting May '05!
5. I wouldn't have had to cancel two tickets that I had booked on Rajdhani, and wouldn't have had
to toil in the sleeper class with the Indian summer at its peak!

If only....well, that's what life is all about. :-)

Update...

I. In the last couple of days I came across two people with who I had a brief interaction and briefer still introduction. Funnily enough, both interactions were online, and were initiated from the other side.

I am really amazed at how the communication revolution has helped people develop more contacts with fellow human beings. The distance is now immaterial. I talk to my mother almost every alternate day over the phone, and really, since cell phones have become our primary instrument of communication, I do not feel homesick as much as I used to before I acquired the gadget.

Blogging is another technology that simply amazes me. It has been able to keep friends and relatives informed about ourselves, or voice our opinions to other, or form communities with shared interests, or develop acquaintances with strangers. It is incredible to see the different kinds of people and their varied blogs that we encounter on the webspace. Yes, the variety does exist even if the bloggers are not entirely honest in their online avtaar.

I wonder what the next communication revolution will be!

II. I am seriously thinking about the future course of my life. I have converged on two paths and it is a matter of I choosing one of them which, I must hasten to add, is proving to be an extremely difficult task. The first path, hold your breath, is to pursue a PhD and though a little intimidated I am with the thought, especially after the ordeal I went through during my Masters, it seems to me to be the next logical step now. The other path is UPSC, or more popularly known as Civil Services, or IAS as is usually referred to. The reason I want to go for this is the immeasurable power that I will be in possession of, and the perks that I will be eligible to enjoy which are available to the common citizenry only at a premium. The disadvantage, of course, is the lack of money and a chance of I ending up in an insignificant desk job in an obscure department.

III. The honeymoon with Trilogy seems to be coming to an end. Now the tough and mundane life of a regular job seems to be catching up. It is not as exciting as it used to be though not half as bad as how some other people find their jobs.

IV. Two films I want to watch - Mumbai Express & Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events . I read the first three books of the latter, and though they are what one might describe as suitable for a young audience only, I found them very interesting and humourous to read. I intend to buy or borrow the next eight books in the series and read them.

V. Bunti aur Babli has nice hummable songs, and definitely downloadable.

Should we even care?

A bus service is announced between Sri Nagar and Muzaffarabad, and the media men hail it as a stepping stone toward lasting peace between India and Pakistan, the politicians project it as one of their major accomplishments toward bringing about a "solution" to the problem, and the people are in general made to feel as if the world is now turning into Utopia.

Then comes out of nowhere a threat from militants, or as Mushy likes to put euphemistically, "freedom fighters" who boldly announce to the world that they are ready to kill their own people if they decide to mingle among themselves. That allowing kashmiris to meet kashmiris is in a way trying to divide kashmir and kashmiri people. Interesting!

The people are alarmed, the government under pressure, and the media in a frenzy. I beg to ask why we should at all be bothered. If the militants are so keen to cause harm to the people whose rights they apparently are fighting for, why should we even bother with the security cover etc.? The Indian government is doing the best it could to ease the tensions, and if the militant organizations are hell bent on earning ill-will of the people, so be it.

If anything, this will be good for the Indian cause in the long run.

no more jammin'

Lately I have been doing a lot of coding. And surprisingly, it has not been at work. Earlier, there was Bitwise 2k5 organized by IITKgp, and then there was the contest of all contests - Google Code Jam, the India edition.

Having spent a lot of time coding during the days leading upto the Bitwise2k5, one would have thought I would have gained considerable amount of expertise to code quickly and correctly. That did not happen. I failed miserably at Bitwise.

Then, having spent a significant number of hours logged onto the topcoder site to practise for Google code jam, one would have placed a high bet on my qualifying through to the next round. But, that too did not happen.

My motivation to take part in these competitions was to assess my coding skills, although I would be lying if I say that money was not an important factor in both the cases. After having failed in both the events, I have to now concentrate anew on my coding skills and have to improve my thinking, designing, coding, and running time.

I have understood in my last seven months in the Industry that coding correctly is not good enough, the speed and efficiency plays an important role if one desires to advance up the corporate ladder quickly.

I am looking out for suggestions to achieve these goals as of now. If anyone has any important tips to give, please do so. It will be kind of him/her.

thoughts....

kya khauf hai tumko humse
kis baat se katraate ho
hum dosti ka haath badhate hain
tum haath jhatak kar jate ho

kuch aur nahi hai chaaha humne
fir kyun humse sharmaate ho
na kha jaayenge tumko hum
jo itna tum ghabraate ho.

gar baate ye itni galat hai to
kaan pakad khada ho jaunga
par haske tum do baat kaho
to khushh bada ho jaunga


ps:

are o! aasman wale bata, is mein bura kya hai
khushi ke chaar jhonke gar idhar se bhi guzar jaayen!

Jack and Jill

The bihari version :-)


Jackwa aur Jillwa
Gaye upar Hillwa
Paani bhari ke waaste

Jackwa gir gawa,
uka khopdiya phoot gawa
aur Jillwa awat ludkan pooore raaste


ps:


Jack and Jill
went up the hill
to fetch a pail of water
what they did,
I don't know, but
when they came, they had a daughter.

I hate <b>IT</b>.

I just hate IT. IT always makes its presence felt when I least expect IT. IT always wants to be with me when the going seems to be very easy and pleasant. I never asked IT to be with me. IT is an unwanted nuisance. I would like to eliminate IT entirely from my life. Everyday, I pray to God that IT should disappear permanently. I am sure God will listen to me someday and will bring about complete destruction on IT.

IT spoils all the good things in my life. An immense amount of heartache - yes heartache, that is it, and nothing else - IT causes. If only I could strangle IT to death, crush IT, stamp on IT, mutilate IT, and dispose off IT, I would be happy.

If not, at least let me find a way to live normally even when IT is around.

Oh, just how much I hate LOSING!

Another example

Just why do I believe that media is not helping the deteriorating situation.
A retd. colonel has this to say, "The media, under the garb of 'transparency,' has been sensationalising such events, and has taken a self appointed adversarial role vis a vis the armed forces. It should take a leaf from the book of the Western media that is very, very careful when it comes to coverage of the military".(ref: this link)

Again, it may be noticed, that the mediamen are only bothered about the "news items" which can further their careers and do not apply mind, logic, heart to their obligations and responsibilities vis-a-vis their country.

ps:
Finally, Laloo has managed what he set out to do - cover up the asses of those who burnt the train at Godhra. With assembly elections approaching in Bihar and given Laloo's history of caste/religion politics, it comes as no surprise. The game of law-in-the-hands-of-politicians continues.

pps:
The game continues in TN too where Ms. Jayalalitha has the audacity to unabashedly say that she is not interfering in the Kanchi Shankaracharya's case. The day the senior Seer was released, the junior Seer was arrested who was till then not even a co-accused or a suspect! The charges - just the same as were slapped against the senior Seer - without adding a single string of evidence to the trash that was rubbished just two days prior by the Supreme Court.

We - the Indians.

Much has been said, published and displayed about the Tsunami disaster that struck our shores on the 26th of December 2004. Before we let time and distance wipe out these memories from our minds, let us look at the disaster from a new perspective. Once again, as has been witnessed in the past, the disaster affected not just those whose lives were directly affected by it, but also those who were hundreds of miles away from it. People from all over the country have come forward to extend their help to the victims of the disaster without sparing a moment to think about their caste, creed, religion, language, state, or region. This is a direct slap on the face of those politicians and reporters who seek and engrain in the minds of the people of our country that there is no more to our lives than caste, creed, religion etc. People have parted with large sums of money without thinking twice about who the money will eventually go with or whether it will indeed reach the needy at all. This is a clear indication that there is an underlying principle that binds all the people of this country and however it may be bombarded with divisive talks and ideologies, it manages to prevail in the end and guides our actions, especially in times of distress as was seen during Kargil, Gujarat earthquakes, and Tamilnadu tsunami.

It is distressing to see sometimes that journalists who are bound to the cause of information to all, indulge in misrepresentation or presentation of biased news. While, it is a matter of pride for our country that we have taken up relief operations in all earnestness, there is a small number of people who would like to dilute the self-pride by maligning it with stories the have the divisive politics as their genesis. Some such reports have appeared on rediff itself that tend to play up the caste issue even while there is commendable work being done in the region to rehabilitate the victims. My appeal to them is to stop debasing us, our society and, our culture in this manner while being a passive spectator to it. A journalist’s responsibilities might end with a news report, but a citizen’s duty begins just there. I would urge these journalists, for once, to take an active role in eliminating such issues that they experience in the society. It will do the society no harm if they spread awareness among people educating them about the ills in the society and inspiring them to work together for each other’s benefit. It is my conviction that if they are such good writers, their oratory skills will not any less efficient either in putting across their good thoughts to people. I remember a journalist in Mumbai witnessing the rape of a minor mentally retarded girl in a local train as a mute spectator. If only he had shown a little courage and initiative, he could have influenced far more number of people to act against such atrocities than his written column would ever have.

It is time that we looked at our country as our own and thought it our responsibility to take steps that benefit it and its people. It is time that we stopped looking at the problems in our society as an outsider because we are part of the same society that we criticize. If those problems do not affect us, then either we are not part of this society at all, or those problems do not exist at all.

It is time we looked at ourselves for who we are; we, the Indians.

ek choti si prem kahani

liye gilaas haath mein
dekhe nazar bachaaye
ladkee jab koi paas se
hay! matakti jaaye

hay! matakti jaaye
hum dil ko ye samjhaaye
dekh ke mujh ko ek baar
vo muskaati jaaye

vo muskaati jaaye
nazar humse takraayee
dekh ke uska roop rang
dil ne li angdaayi

dil ne li angdaayi
ek josh humpe chaaya
pyaar ki duniyaa mein
humne kadam badhaaya

humne kadam badhaaya
ki jaa ke haath milayen
dil ki baatein bol kar
usko gale lagaayen

bas itna hi tha sochaa
ki apni kismat phooti
dekh ke uska boyfriend
saari himmat chooti

saari himmat chooti
ki uski aisi kaaya
jaise manush shareer mein
ho khud bheem samaaya

socha chalo chhod de
hum nahin naadaan
dil ke badale jaan ko
hum na kare kurbaan

Another song - and more goose pimples.

One of the best written songs in Hindi film music - definitely.

"Bekas pe karam keejiye sarkar-e-madina..." from Mughal-e-Azam.

The song can be found here.

For those who find the Urdu a little heavy, here is a little help .

To all followers of gregorian calendars...

Wishing you all a very happy new year.

Insignificant.

That is what we are. We very often forget that and tend to consider ourselves above everything else in this world. We seek to conquer people, land, nature, God and, God only knows, what else!

Yet, there come times when we are sent a rude reminder that shakes us out of our fantasies and proves to us our insignificance to the Nature. That was so evident in yet another catastrophe that rocked India and some other countries yesterday.

All it took is some seconds and everything - including every pride and every prejudice - was levelled out. My heart goes out to all those who suffered. May God bless them.

The man in the aircraft.

Shailen's marriage over the last weekend has provided me with enough reasons to remember it for a looong time. For one, it was the first marriage of a friend that I attended. Secondly, the responsibilities that marriage brings with it and considering that I may probably opt to face one day scares the daylights out of me. Thirdly, I met Mr. and Mrs. Narendra together for the first time (I had not even seen their photograph taken together earlier), and most importantly, there was hardly any perceivable difference between the amount of fat that I carried and the fat that Nitin carried around his waist. Also, it was probably the only Gujarati marriage where there weren't enough girls; a reason good enough to put poor young lonely buggers like me, Shyam and Ashu into the depths of sorrows and disappointment. And last but not the least, I got to use my newly acquired digital camera a lot.

Anyway, the entire experience was good and enjoyable despite Nitin. :-)

While returning back to Bangalore the next day (this story is also interesting and merits its own entry in the blog), there sat a gentleman in the seat next to mine. I would have probably not noticed him ever if he had not taken out his laptop after we had taken off and started working on it. Desirous that I am of a laptop, the curiosity attached to the make of the laptop and the nature of his work drew my attention to him and with that a curious thought crept into my mind. Is work sometimes so indispensable that we cannot let go of it even for the few minutes that we get between the take-off and landing of an aircraft. The slice of time, in an otherwise casual environment, would be too insignificant to even cause us to feel guilty about letting it go without any creative effort invested into it? Is this phenomenon inevitable, especially in a field I am involved in where laptops or their likes are the only tools available with us?

Not venturing deep into the philosophical train of thoughts that flowed through my mind in that brief period when I was closer to heaven and God, I would like to mention here the prose that took seed in my mind then. With a generous help from Aldrin, I have been able to give it some semblance of a poem. It is as follows (as usual in a Romanized hindi script).

abhi subah ka aalam tha ki abhi shaam dhal gayi
jane kab nazar ke saamne se zindagi nikal gayi

kaamyaabi chhoone ki jwala jo dil mein jagayi thi
sholo mein uski apnon ki yaadein jal gayi

sajaye the maine bhi sapno ke kai shandar mahal
khuli palak to khwabo ki duniya pighal gayi

manzile-kaamyaabi ki oar bhaag raha tha 'aks'
ki pairon ke neeche se zameen hi fisal gayi


Sometimes, I wonder if what we think is important is really important in life!

"Mausam hai aashiqaanaa,
ae dil kahin se unko
aise mein dhoondh laanaa.."

"firte hai hum akele
baahon mein koi le le
aakhir koi kahaa tak
tanhaaiyon se khele
din ho gaye hain zaalim
raatein hai kaatilaanaa"

how true... just my feelings..

Shocking!

What are they going to do next to sully Hinduism?

- The most respected, venerable 'seer' attached to the most prestigious Hindu math in India is arrested in connection with a murder of an accountant!
- The arrest takes place in the most dramatic of all ways. And on the most auspicious day for all Hindus, Deepawali!
- After four days of arrest, there is still no case presented against him. The only other arrests in this case are the "killers" who allegedly carried out the murder.
- He is "alleged" to have planned an "escape" to Nepal. C'mon. How gullible can one assume us to be? If one had to escape, one would escape to Saudi, Portugal, Pakistan, or Bangladesh, at least. Why would one choose a country where there isn't even a need for a visa? And is there anything extra-ordinary for a Hindu seer to visit the "only Hindu country" in the whole world?
- He is not allowed to perform his Pujas in the jail (as if that is against law!), no special food to him (despite he suffering from Diabetes).
- And all that we (read all Hindus) would do is sit and be indifferent, or in some extreme case, express "shock" on an obscure blog that no one reads.

I wish we (read all Hindus) could do more! If this indifference continues, we might see other Shankaracharyas, Sants, and Pandits being subjected to similar treatment. If we continue this way, I seriously believe, we don't deserve a Shankaracharya!

The highs and lows of Indian society.

One look at the subject, and probably every Indian worth his/her salt would have a fair idea of the topic being discussed in the following lines. Yes indeed, it is the caste system prevalent in the predominantly Hindu society, though I have come across numerous examples where this phenomenon pervades over other religious groups in the Indian society. There have been various arguments in favour or against this system, but nothing has been able to convince the other party entirely. I, in this piece, present no arguments either for or against this system and make no attempt to label this system either a "boon" or a "bane" for the society. I intend to explore the validity of this system in the current context and whether the society could live without such an outdated classification.

Before embarking upon this oft-trodden path, I would like to claim that classification of a group of humans by themselves can never be avoided. It is in nature of human beings to identify more and more reasons to divide his society in groups, more often to attain/maintain power than anything else. Every society, whether in the past or the present, has had a "class" system and it is only natural to expect more in the future. Therefore, the question pertinent to us here is whether we need to steadfastly stick to an outdated system of classification even though it (probably) holds no relevance in the existing society.

Let us, for the sake of an easy argument and for the sake of my personal opinion, assume that the answer to the above question is NO. The reasons for this are the following; 1. The classes are too few and we need more to accomodate many more professions like doctors, engineers, bus drivers, HR Managers, Stock broker, electrician, plumber etc.; 2. People from different castes are already performing jobs which are traditionally different from the ones defined by their caste profiles; 3. There can be no argument that justifies that a corrupt doctor is in any way superior to an honest sweeper.

Hindu Society probably could never been more divided on caste lines as it is today. The constant playing of the caste tune in the minds of people by media, politicians, blog writers like me etc. has made people more aware and fanatic about their caste status. This is detrimental to the Hindu society itself and probably a cause for greater concern in the overall religious context.

In most parts of Bihar, the caste-based clashes are so prevalent that people have dropped adding their surnames to their names. Surnames in our society, as we all know, perform the additional function of announcing one's caste to the addressee. The knowledge of one's surname directly purveys all information of one's status in the social structure to others. It is sometimes funny to see a Lieutenant Colonel in the armed forces carrying the surname of Sharma or Pandey even though the profession he is in is in no conformance with his caste status.

Why do we then still persist with the surnames? In Tamil Nadu and Kerala, there is this beautiful tradition of not attaching a surname of the name (I am, of course, an exception, and there are many more such exceptions!!). The name typically consists of one's father's name and optionally one's native place along with one's first name. Hence, no surnames, no castes. Though there are other ways of finding one's caste if one intends to do so, this method essentially eliminates entirely any bias that one may cultivate upon hearing one's name. This is useful when awarding jobs, during admissions in schools and colleges, during selection of cricket teams etc.

Gradually, the "Caste" would stop playing a role in one's mindset and gradually we may start looking at everyone as they are - human beings.

Well, there will be divide among the rich and the poor, the whites and the blacks, the communists and the capitalisits, but we can deal with them later. As of now, we must find a way to bridge the divide that plagues our society. Hinduism has been a religion of constant reforms, and I sincerely hope that this will only be yet another of those reforms that have enabled the relgion to sustain itself for centuries.

Why?

Well. I had almost made up my mind to write something that had bothered me for a long time. But, considering that it was too personal and probably of no consequence either, I decided to ditch the idea just as quickly.

Some questions that come to my mind as I am writing this.

1. Do people write blogs for others to come, read and comment on them? If so, are they not those desperate attention seekers who want attention and continue to remain in it?

2. Do people write blogs to let their feelings out? If so, why do they do it on a public forum like this?

Hmmm...

Some Shers....

Duniya badalne chale, hum akalmand nahi the
Humen sab pasand, hum sabki pasand nahi the
-----

Kya khoob teri adaayen thi, kya khoob tera bahana tha
tum keh gaye ki fir miloge jab laut ke nahi aana tha

-----

Ye na poocho humse, ki kis taraf ishara hai
vo ho jaye badnaam, ye na hume gawara hai

-----

ghum-e-dil ki ghazal hum yun gunguna lete hain
dil se nikali aahon ko shero mein suna dete hain

-----

beenam the, aaj shoharat ki unchaiyon tak utha diya
kabhi nazaon se gire the aapki, aaj palkon pe bitha diya!

-----

(c) Akshay Iyer MMIV

The right to say NO!

Democracy is a great concept. It allows people to say what they want, and gives them a chance to get it. At least this is what the conventional models of democracy are based on.

Democracy is a funny thing. Funny because people often end up getting what they never wanted. Because they never get the chance to say what they do not want.

We have had numerous examples like this in our country ever since it embraced democracy. As an illustration, consider a legislative assembly constituency that has three candidates standing for elections. The mandate is distributed and the relative percentages of votes that each candidate (for our example, A, B and C) gets is 40%, 30%, and 30% respectively. Clearly, none of the candidates has found the support of the majority, and A wins simply because he or she has got more votes than the others.

Now, what if the other 60% (those who did not vote for A) never wanted A to represent them. We have a situation where people have found a leader whom the majority did not want! Ironic it is, right?

It is time that we "modified" the definition of democracy to cover this loophole. Every voter should be asked to select two candidates; one that he or she wants, and the other that he or she would never want. The end result (or worthiness) of a candidate can be measured by simply doing a subtraction between the number of "positive votes" and the number of "negative votes" that one got.

This way we may not get the leaders that we wanted, but we can certainly prevent the ones we did not want to lead us.

Swades - Music Review

After reading the music review that my friend Aldrin posted on his blog , I was inspired to write my own music review for Swades


The soundtrack of Swades is a unique mix between the music of Taal and Lagaan. Well, that is a very vague statement to start a review, but believe me, you will feel the same when you hear the soundtrack.

The opening song "Yeh Tara Vo Tara" is a song with a social message that will remind you of the song "Mitwa" from Lagaan without the considerable energy that the latter carried. The song is good and the lyrics, though not of the best quality, are meaningful.

This is followed by a lullaby "Aahista Aahista" which is so good at its soporific job that if you are not careful enough, you might find yourself waking up from a deep slumber while the album is nearing its end.

The song "Ye jo Des hai tera" is a soothing song with a mild flowing quality about it. It definitely reminds one of another of Rahman's creations "Nahin Saamne" from Taal. And if you are tired of other NRI-directed patriotic songs, this one is for you. It will sure inspire you to some extent.

If "Radha Kaise na Jale" was the best song in Lagaan, Ashutosh Gowarikar tries again in Swades with a song dedicated Lord Rama this time - "Pal Pal hai Bhari". The song is composed on the context of Ramlila. It does not have the charm of its counterpart in Lagaan, but is good nevertheless. The lyrics, keeping with the trend so far, are good.

The song "Dekho na" is passable and "Sawariya" is plain bad. Rahman should be doing better than these.

But the best of the lot is "Tu hi chala chal". The song is beautifully sung and the music is catchy to keep your feet tapping throughout the song. No wonder, it is turning out to be the most popular song from this movie.

Overall, the album is a good buy and one would not be entirely disappointed with the offering. Certainly not the best of Rahman, but then, a mediocre Rahman is still better than all other Bollywood Music directors at their creative best with all numerological assistance. :-)

Divided we fall...

The year of 1947 would be forever etched in the memories of Indians not only because they earned their liberation from the British but also because the year witnessed the largest human migration ever in its entire history. The "partition" as it is now famously recalled displaced lakhs from their houses, sowed the seeds of enmity between people who had until then lived as one. Till today, and probably forever, this event will cause heartache to many people.

Sadly, this phenomenon gave fuel to what is now known as a secessionist attitude. It added strength, rather unfortunately, to their belief that the only way to achieve prosperity was to form a state for them and people who belong to their clan. Since independence, we have seen numerous such demands - Dravidanadu, Khalistan, the North-east, Jharkhand, Uttaranchal, Chhatisgarh, Vidarbha and so on. The first three relate to demands of new countries and the latter pertain to states within India. The ideology behind all of them being the same - prosperity is only possible if their clan got their own independent state.

It is surprising how they do not see a further disastrous extrapolation of this phenomenon; that is, further secessionist demands cropping up in time within subgroups/subclans until it is no longer possible for the entities to sustain itself and finally be usurped by a larger entity. History has set numerous examples before us how this ideology has failed, and yet, somehow, people are forced to take this option.

So, where does the fault lie? Within the people, or the Government?
To me, human psychology is inherently inertial when it comes to change. We have never accepted changes easily if we are happy with the way things are going for us. As long as this condition is satisfied, human mind does not venture out to seek changes. So, putting the blame solely on the people is not appropriate. This is in no way an attempt to condone the secessionist's acts. It can be argued that its the greed that overpowers reason that makes people resort to a secessionist attitude.

But, we must not absolve Government of the blame either. The British may have had reasons to cause parition of India, but Government of India has no reason to create environment where such demands could get cultivated. Take the example of the north-eastern states, and it will not be hard to imagine why people of these states feel so neglected. Till today, the region can boast of only one National Highway and one Railway link! There is no industrial growth there, no employment opportunities for the educated youth, no infrastructure.

For any society, an increasing pool of unemployed youth is a sign of deterioration. "Idle minds are devil's workshop", they say, and combined with the aggression and energy of the youth, form a potent weapon for unscruipulous elements to use against the state and the country. This is the reason behind whats happening in Kashmir, the north-east, the Telangana and elsewhere.

The politicans, instead of attacking this problem, use the same problem to further their politicial careers even though they could do it by finding a solution to it.

The heart of the matter is that a sincere effort should be made to provide opportunities to the youth to pursue their dreams, be it acads, be it sports, be it industry.

The matter of the heart is that it is our motherland and it should pinch all of us every time a talk of dividing it is brought about. We are brothers and we have shared a long part of the history together. There is no reason why we must now go separate ways. Remember, "United we stand".

Melody rules!

I was just listening to a beautiful song "hum tere pyar mein sara alam kho baithe" composed by Shankar Jaikishen.

Lata's voice exudes so much love that gives me goose pimples. God bestows only a few privileged ones with a voice as sweet as hers.

Long live melody!

Importance of a vision.

If one were to track the entire histories of all the successful enterprises, one would probably witness a single underlying theme among all of them - a vision. A vision toward which all the actions, policies, plans, ideas are directed. A vision that dictates everything that the enterprise thinks or does.

Why is a vision important? It is difficult for a human being to be motivated toward his/her work if he/she does not have a definite goal to reach. It is difficult to perform actions if their purpose, or more importantly, the goal is not defined. Actions without goal, without purpose, without vision, often end up creating chaos and more confusion in the minds of men. The enterprises duly realise this and often set up long-term, if not permanent, vision which guides their functioning and also acts as a guiding tool for the employees of the enterprise to base their actions on.

If vision is such an important integral part of an enterprise, it is indeed surprising that none of the governments of India, after Jawahar Lal Nehru's has bothered to come up with a vision for India's growth!

Most people agree that the development rate was the highest during Pandit Nehru's term and we have struggled to keep pace with it ever since. Even the non-Congress government that came to power have been unable to define a vision for India.

The vision could be something as simple as "Make India a developed Nation" to "Making India the most suitable place to live". Unfortunately, it has not happened.

However, in the recent past, the President, Dr. Abdul Kalam has often reiterated the need to have a vision for India. His vision is "Make India a developed Nation by 2020AD". It is very evident that all his thoughts and actions are guided by this thought and he pursues his vision with passion. It is also sad that successive governments haven't bothered to appreciate his vision, let alone make it part of their national agendas.

On this 57th Independence Day today, we must set for ourselves a common vision, a common goal, a common idea toward which we must all work relentlessly. It is only when the efforts of one billion people are directed toward one goal, that significant breakthroughs can be achieved and realization of goals will become reality.

Happy Independence Day!

May India achieve more glory and greatness in future. May we all contribute to it in some way or the other.

Vande Mataram.

Jai Hind.

Another Year.

I am 24 today. :-)

The first day at Trilogy

was fun!!! :)

Trying to settle down in Bangalore.
Got a credit card,
got a phone connection,
got a house.

I am already a man in debt!!! :D

Story I wrote.

The Reward

“Yes Sir!”
…
“Ok Sir!”
…
“I will do it, Sir!”

The phone having been replaced, Inspector Shinde let out a sigh, threw himself into his chair and wiped the beads of perspiration on his forehead with the sleeve of his Khaki shirt.

The exercise had become a matter of routine within the four walls of Arya Nagar Police Station. It had always been like this; his predecessors did it too, and he had no courage to break away from this unsaid tradition.

The call had come from a high place – The Commissioner’s Office – and Sahib himself had been addressing him. It had startled him at first. The stern and forceful voice of Commissioner Sahib had jolted him out of his otherwise sedentary life and sent him into a state of trepidation.

There was work to do, and it seemed to matter much to the Commissioner. He decided to write down all that he was instructed to do before his memory failed him. This was his golden opportunity to get himself into Sahib’s good books. Sahib had promised him a big reward if everything went well.

A man had shot a businessman in broad daylight in the marketplace a short while ago. There had been some high-speed car chase, at the end of which the criminal was eventually apprehended. It was likely that he was to be brought to Arya Nagar Police Station later. The man, apparently, was related to the local Minister who happened to be a close friend of Commissioner Sahib. Needless to say, it was Commissioner Sahib’s turn to return favours, and he did not wish to disappoint the Minister.

Inspector Shinde’s job was to acquit the culprit immediately and indict another man instead for the crimes committed. The entire operation was to be carried out before the culprit was presented in front of the Magistrate and the Media. Therefore, it all had to be done quickly. It was not an easy job, nor correct, but the prospect of a “reward” had overwhelmed any such hesitation that he may have cultivated.

The replacement was not difficult to find. It was an unfortunate day for the local small-time pickpocket loitering outside a cinema hall. The job was done very efficiently and there had been no suspicions aroused. The media would be too agitated by the audacity of the crimes committed to listen to the poor pickpocket’s cries of innocence. In short, the operation was successful to say the least.

Almost as soon as he sat on his chair with the intention to grab a cup of tea did the telephone bell ring. He sat up with eager anticipation. Commissioner Sahib would surely be happy with his work. The time for his reward had come and not able to contain his eagerness anymore, he picked up the receiver.

“Hello!”

“Is that you Shekhar? I am Sunita here.”

Her voice betrayed her emotions. She was on the verge of breaking into tears.

“Sunita, what happened? Is everything alright?”

“Shekhar, Bunty is dead.”

He could not believe his ears. Surely, his wife was behaving insanely, he thought. Visibly shaken, he uttered somehow,

“How?”

“In the afternoon, while Bunty was coming out of the school, a man in a speeding car ran over our dear child. Apparently, he was running away from the Police. That devil of a man did not hesitate to kill the little soul. I had been trying to call you for the last half an hour, but the constables won’t let me through. They said you were busy and had ordered not to be disturbed…”

The receiver had already fallen off his hand. He was on the floor, dazed, shocked by the news. The constables rushed towards him. In the background, there arose from the receiver, a bellowing cry.

Thank You!

Thank You Chunni, Ashu, Manti, Aldrin, Shailen for the good time I had (not sure abt u guys!) in Pune.

Thank you Madz, Bhids, for the nice trip around Pune and the delicious home-made lunch.

Thank you Vamsi for taking me to FC Road and for the treat (visual too) that followed. ;-)

Updating after a long long long time...

The blogger wakes up, and the blog is revived. :)

Interesting thought...

Injustice, if not questioned, has a tendency to feed on itself, and grow.

Well said, Mr. Panicker. Well said!

Finally...

I graduate as M.Tech.
I am happy.

Dost dost na raha...

this is what happens when one shows too much enthusiasm for a chocolate. he ends up losing one instead. check out Nitin's chocolate losers list.

ps: I am not going to let my Rs. 25/- so easily. ;-)

ps: will now post only after my defence which is tomorrow in the morning. (biting-my-nails-emoticon to be put here)

India down under...

Somebody figure out a way soon to get that bloke called Ponting out quickly. It seems the only way India can get him out is by first allowing him to score a double hundred!

Kumble is turning out to be the spear head of Indian attack! Is it because he is bowling far better in Australia this time than he ever did, or is it because he is the one-eyed-man among the blind ?

A suggestion to Ganguly - Start wearing a foot long high heels shoes. That may enable him to play down all the short balls that he receives from the Aussies.

The umpiring in this series has been of pathetic quality. Though they have erred on both sides, it is the Aussies who have benefitted the most out of the umpires' blunders.

Ashish Nehra may just walk to the crease and roll his arm over. It doesn't matter how fast he runs if all that he can manage to put is a modest 125 kmph of pace on his deliveries.

The only swing one gets to see when India is bowling is the free swing of bats of the Aussie batsmen.

India, on this tour, has quite successfully been able to wrap up the opposition tail in quick time!

More on India's tour down under later...

The dissertation...

Yes. Its finally happening. On moday, another chapter in my life will come to an end. Well not exactly, but it would have taken a definite step in that direction. Its a mixed feeling I am carrying today. I am scared, I am excited, I am happy and I am worried. Let us hope that it all goes off well.

It might not be very soon before I leave IIT. Most likely, I may have to stay back for a month or so. But, that is all secondary to me. I do know one thing for sure. I am going to experience an unimaginable level of happiness the day I am through with IIT life. It has given me a lot in the last 2-1/2 years and I guess that was more than what I sought anyway.

Want a Chocolate?

Interesting way to lure people to sign in on one's Guest Book! Chk out Nitin Verma's homepage for one such gimmick. :)


An honest suggestion: Do not succumb to the temptation! ;-)

Merry Christmas to all!

Dull...

Mood-I ends today. From tomorrow IIT will be sooooo dull. I wouldn't want to go out of my hostel. It will be so depressing not to find any of those babes I had been chasing for four days!
:((

manzil...

zindagi ki nayi raah leke hulchul aayi hai
mujhe nazar mere saamne manzil aayi hai

tanhaiyon mein dube the dil ke sab armaan
lehron pe kashti khwabon ki machal aayi hai

bhatak raha tha main kin anjaan rahon par
vo kaun jo sahi raah par le chal aayi hai

nakamiyon ke veeraano ka mujhpe saaya tha
raah mein jeet ki ik shama jal aayi hai

kya kahe 'aks' us khuda ki meherbaani ka
khud uske dar se (meri) kismat badal aayi hai

I am waiting for the 29th!

Ghazal!!!

After going thru the Ghazal fundaes on Aldrin's blog, here is my attempt at putting all of them into practice. My first official ghazal. :-D

once a lovely day, to write, we sat
from the morning to night, we sat.

that which could lay a sword to rest
with a pen of such might, we sat.

sleepy we feel lying on the couch
on a chair, bolt upright, we sat.

restless by nature that my mind is
holdin' our thoughts tight, we sat.

there ain't a respect for shayars here
Oh 'Aks', this despite, we sat.

Sometimes...

Gay Abandon has to make way for caution!

Innocent friends can inadvertently bring one more trouble than shrewd foes...!

Moral of the story:

Another important lesson in life for me to learn.

count down begins...

too much work and too few days..!!!!

How to get smarter?

Well, I was watching the National Geographic today and there was a program on Human Brain. Since I have a great interest in Biology and especially the Brain, I was watching it intently until I was forced by Nitin to leave my chair and leave for the lab. :D

Anyway, here are some interesting pointers to people who want to see themselves smarter in a few years' time:


1. Run and get smarter
http://www.canoe.ca/Health9902/23_fitness.html


2. for the lazy bums, here is a hardware alternative :D
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2843099.stm

Updates...

1. Was away in Delhi for my cousin's marriage. Attended it, enjoyed it.
2. It is much too cold in Delhi as compared to Mumbai.
3. Guide is away for 11 days, so enjoying the vacations.
4. I am happy. :)

Time travel...

I watched the movie "The Time Machine" yesterday and I must say I was quite impressed by the little explanation that it provided to the question of our inability to change our past and how even time machines are futile in fulfilling that ambition of ours.

The protagonist in the movie loses his lady-love to a freak accident and then decides to build a time machine to change the past. But, in his re-attempt, he loses her again. This makes him wonder why he could not prevent her death to which he gets an answer later, that had she not died, he would never have invented the time machine and thus he himself is the reason for her death!

That means, whatver we may do, we may never able to prevent what fate has in store for us. Thus, somehow, bringing into our lives, an unknown known as providence and a theory to naively explain the unexplained; a theory that is popularly known as God!

And some thought science could overcome religion! :)

Remixes...

Oh! I just hate them. Whatever crap they bring out in the name of remixes does not do any justice to the efforts that original composers had put in the song. Remix artists not only kill their art but also have the audacity to term it as "creativity". More appalling is the "use" of female models in the skimpiest of all outfits in their videos, as if to distract the viewers from the actual trash that they are being subjected to.

I wonder why would anyone even opt for a remix when they are far below the original in terms of emotions, melody, and quality. Buying remix albums is like abetting plagiarism and supporting unscrupulous intentions of some lousy lethargic good-for-nothing people who want to make quick buck on someone else's hard work.

Dating...

No! This is not about my (fictitious) date last night, or about any fundaes on the art of dating. I am pretty much inexperienced, goofy and a nervous wreck when it comes to asking girls out on a date. :)

This is about my friend who was until not so distant past considered to be worse than me in the matters of female acquaintances. It is amazing to me how in the last month or so, he changed so much that makes me feel like a nut sitting in the coziness of my lab typing this on my blog when I should have been sharing a delicious cup of coffee with a delightful young lady. :(

What is it that has brought about this transition in my friend? As far as I know, he did not attend any "classes" to learn this art, no lectures, no books, no secret meetings of losers etc. It was almost as if one fine day he decided to get out of his bed from the other side and things changed for him completely thereafter.

Oh I know, "life is like that.. and good things will happen to me too...", but hey, I am not complaining. I am sure my day will come too. I just have to figure out the right side of my bed to get out from. :D

Ho Gaya!!!!

Paper select ho gaya... I am happy. :)
I am excited. I am scared. I am delighted. :D

Worries..., but why?

"If a problem has a solution, then there is no point in worrying about it.
If it does not have a solution, then worrying will not get you one."

Heard this wonderful dialogue in "Seven Years in Tibet".

Very interesting words! Not the movie though.

"Pane"less Windows!!

This is especially for people like Zoheb and Bill Gates in particular. In its bid to make operating system ridiculously user-friendly, Windows has actually made jobs for people like system administrators and developers a tedious one. Why? Why can't there be a developer-friendly or SysAd-friendly clause in Windows philosophy?

I have been struggling with an upgradation of Windows NT to Windows 2000 Server while upgrading my hard disk simulatenously from 6 GB to 40 GB one. It is really a "pain" in the neck!

Kill "Bill", anyone?

"Everything that has a beginning has an end"

I guess what began as a great idea in sci-fi movies, bordering on philosophy, amazing dialogues, breathtaking action, and fantastic story in the minds of Wachowski brothers had to end someday. That sure seems to be the case in the third instalment of the Matrix trilogy. The directors seem to have run out of any more ideas. The story - well if you care to call it a story at all - did not move at all. It was more like watching a Hindi movie; high on emotions and less on content. Not that I attempt to undermine Hindi movies; they do their part pretty well. But to expect a movie that has almost created a cult following to end up in a such a way was utterly saddenning.

Anyway, those who have watched the previous two, would go for the movie, this "mini-review" notwithstanding. But those who haven't, and are unsure about watching this movie, are sincerely requested to spend their time and money on a more fulfilling activity.

The hour of truth arrives...

I do not know whether to take this as a positive sign or a turn for worse, but the discussion with my Guide today was a landmark one. In the course of his usual criticism of my work, to which I have, more or less, grown immune, he popped a question to me asking if I was actually interested in NLP, and my answer to that
question, in a moment of truth and courage, was a confident NO. There were the usual questions as to why this was not communicated to him earlier and how lack of interest (read passion) can affect the progress of a project.

I was surprised that such a discussion was actually materializing in front of me. I know I have had this reluctance to communicate since the time I can remember. It was there in my childhood, my schooling and during my under-graduate years. Initially, I had thought an M.Tech in NLP will not turn out to be so bad. Then, the optimism had turned into a feeling of loyalty, then finally into a desperation for my Masters. However, in all these periods of transitions, the communication did not happen!

Lesson in Life: If there is something that you feel, want to convey or express, do it immediately. This way we could avoid a lot of inconvenient situations for us and for others.

After another round of his critical remarks, which by my usual standards were quite subdued, we came to some consensus about my work and decided on a problem, the initial report for which is due to be submitted the next week. I am not sure if I did the right thing by being honest with him, but I know one thing that a BIG BURDEN has been taken off my chest and I am happy with that feeling. :)

The moment of truth had arrived!

"We all float down here"

This line that lured the children in Stephen King's "IT" sometimes presents to me a very tempting alternative to our life styles. We all seem to be running for something. A lot of us do not have a remote idea as to what is that they are running for. Yet, the race continues.

And in times of stress as these, I feel I should just let myself free of all these shackles and "float". "floating" is analogous to a feeling of freedom, levity, a dreamy existence, and a feeling of uncontrolled movement where we are free to go wherever we wish, do whatever we want and there are no restrictions, no bonds, no constraints etc.

Yup, the clown really knew how to tempt the children! :)

New home...

Ok! This is for all those who are reading this.

Just redid the look of my home page. Isn't it cool?

Contrast it with the Old home page .

Please comment (only) if you like it. :D

Waning skills....

Finally, the probability of not getting selected into the Institute's cricket team yet again stares at me. Although there are hundreds of reasons I can probably enumerate for this mishap, I am unable to bring myself to the reality that probably I am no longer a capable player. :( It is tough to come to terms with this fact. I guess it is part of life that while we learn new skills & knowledge as we move on, we tend to forget a lot of others too. Or probably Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's law of use and disuse applies to skills and knowledge too. :)

I am learning a very important lesson in my life and that is - I cannot be good at everything that I do. There are some who are better than me in some of the things that I do. Whatever I am good at, I should not ignore it and let it die; I must keep indulging myself in that activity to keep myself good at it.

As of now, I seem headed to book a place in the stands for the Inter-IIT cricket matches.

home sweet home...

jab shaam ka ghana saaya pada
rah mein liye suitcase khada
ek lift ki taak mein rah to taktey
kabhi aage to kabhi peeche jhaanktey

aankhon mein ek chamak si thi
hoton ki muskurahat bejhijhak si thi
na koi ticket na koi plan bada
suitcase mein jaane kya saamaan pada

bas utha liye jo aaya haath mein
jo dikha use le chala saath mein
ab to ghar jaa ke hi aaraam hoga
teen dino se pehle na koi kaam hoga

ye haath na ruke ye kadam na toote
aisa sunahara mauka na choote
nikal pada bina kuch soche
koi fikr nahi ki koi kya pooche

India-Australia ka koi match tha
dekhne walo ke man mein romanch tha
kintu use tyagne ka bhi koi gham na tha
ab itna sab sochne ka bhi dam na tha

tha ek paper jo submit kiya
vohi jo do baar pehle pit gaya
ab na jaane kya parinaam honge
mere liye to bas ab ram honge

ab to keval vohi rah dikhayenge
meri naiyya kabhi to paar lagayenge.

Jai Ramji ki!

I wish all software in this world belonged to a single religious analogue of computer science. There would be no conflicts between codes, no missing "dll"s, no exceptions ... !!

Grrrrr... x-( I have been struggling with installing PHP for IIS for two days now, and it doesn't seem to be working.Damn Microsoft!!!!!

Black Hole!!!! In all my life, I have been accorded a number of adjectives, appreciating me or condemning me; some based on the colour of my skin, some on my belly etc. Never have I been called a BLACK HOLE! Well, this title was finally conferred upon me today. Why? Because apparently "there is no response from me on anything I am asked to do". Can't blame anyone, can I? It has been my attitude since childhood to let my work speak while I keep my mouth shut. This, somewhere down the line, extrapolated into an attitude that would prevent me from communicating until I have finished the work. Sometimes, the results are immediate, but more often than not, they take a lot longer than what I presume. This results in suspicions in the minds of those who had asked me to do the job, leaving them wondering whether I am actually doing it or not.

I have realized this over a period of time how important is communication. Lack of communication can cause serious mis-conceptions to rise. On the flip side, too much communication can divulge more than what you may have liked to convey. Communication is an art; an art of varying styles that depends directly on who one wishes to communicate with. A corporate organization runs on communication. Weekly meetings, presentations, seminars are held in order to communicate the status of work.

Question in my mind: Is it necessary? Why cant we follow a more simplistic approach of "packet-switched networks"? A statement/request/order is issued to someone and then no communication until:
1. One finishes the work and then wants to communicate this important fact to all.
2. One comes across a dead-end and desperately seeks help.
3. One cannot do it and wants to let others know abt it.
4. The Coffee machine is broken and the boss wants to know who did it.

Why does it always have to be a "circuit-switched network" wherein one needs to always be in touch with who-is-who of the organization to let them know what have you been upto? It will be interesting to know if any organizations run on my principle and not CSN. If yes, I would like to know how successful they have been.

As for now, this black hole must revive himself.....

Its nice to get in touch with one's roots, in touch with one's history, traditions, culture. I always hear my parents with interest when they narrate stories of their childhoold; what were the restrictions on them, what was the social outlook then, how did they get around them and lots of stories that reflect a lot about the kind of family background I hail from. Far more interesting are the stories that I get to hear from my grandparents; how life was back then in villages, how they managed to get around problems (mostly financial), what, if any, great deeds did any of my family members commit? It is wonderful to hear about their lives, the hardships they had to face to come where they are now; a position where they could provide their children a life far more comfortable than what they had to experience. It is inspiring!

Also wonderful are the old songs that my grandfather would sing for my father, the devotional hymns that my grandmother taught my mother and which were passed on to me partially. I still feel exhilarated to hear my grand dad's voice on the tape recorder. Hearing him sing, I realize how far back do the singing genes in me go. I would feel blessed if I could sing half as well as he did. Some of those songs have carved a permanent place in my heart and can never be obliterated till the end of my life. I wish I would be able to imbibe much of the great culture that I belong to and be able to pass it onto the future generations for them to treasure it.

Well... nothing much to write these days.. life is going through a monotonic phase where I am labouring through my MTech Project, the final stage of which is due and things dont seem to be looking very bright currently. The offer letters for PSPL have arrived. We are officially on board! Just want to climb atop a hill and scream my heart out, sing a lot of "senti" songs and complete "IT" that I am reading currently.

Btw, "IT" is one of Stephen King's creations and my first experience of his writing. Though the description is a tad too verbose, the story keeps one on tenterhooks almost all the time. Already, I see images of each character floating in front of my eyes. Maybe, one day I will make a film based on this story. RGV, here I come! :)

Until then, one would have to rely on the book to experience "IT"!

History repeats itself! My belief in this adage has been strengthened today. What was to happen two years back, happens eventually while in the meantime I have nothing more to show except the time I have spent and the experience that I have gained here in IIT Bombay.

Two years back, there was this novice computer engineering student aspiring to earn a good job, who lands up in the city of Pune. Of the hundreds of software companies that had cropped up in the previous two years, he had just one in mind; a company he and his mates back in college looked at in awe, mostly for the money that it promised to its recruits. After undergoing a test and two rigorous inteviews testing him on every aspect of his technical knowledge, he finally managed to fulfill his ambition - Akshay Iyer had joined PSPL, Pune.

Cut to the present times, a computer science graduate, hoping to become a post-graduate, still no better than the novice computer engg student in every respect is sitting nervously on the edge of the sofa in the placement office, waiting for his turn to be called in to face the interview panel. In the evening, there was the same anxiety as he had felt two years back, the same uncertainty that was to turn into a pleasant happiness soon. The news trickled in slowly and history had repeated itself - Akshay Iyer got into PSPL again!

Yes, ironically with same salary that was being offered two years back, the same status in the member hierarchy in the company. Good or bad, I am not sure, but Akshay Iyer has managed to remain where he was two years back!

Here I am, finally. After a long time, the desire to key something down has re-kindled in me, partly inspired by the blogs of some of my friends and partly due to the guilt of letting this blog go unattended. The last week has been eventful. The placement thing, the resume writing, the convocation, the confluence of my friends back in IIT, Malharfest etc. has left me with some mixed feelings in the end. The convocation is a great event; its grand nature, the pride and happiness on the faces of students, exceeded only by the pride and happiness of their parents, is an indicative of the pleasure that hardwork, success and achievement (in that order only) bring along with them. One of the proudest moments that a student can ever experience is receiving the President's Gold Medal, indicative of a student's superlative intelligence and dedication. There has not been an occasion when I have not gone misty-eyed after attending an IIT's convocation. Watching my friends gleefully receive their respective degrees left me with a sense of sorrow, and a burning desire to be with them out there stretching my hands towards the director in anticipation. I wanted to get out of IIT, face the world, meet the challenges and yet here I was reconciled to the fact there was a long way to go before that could happen.

Money, one may believe or disregard it, has certainly become one of the world's prime desirable object. And placements bring us closer to our tryst with the materialistic world and its pleasures. The temptation to get a job, to earn some money is too overwhelming to be taken lightly. After all, money has become the only solution to all the problems that confront the human kind in this world. We spent a great amount of time preparing our curriculum-vitae, full of honest yet mysterisouly misleading facts about ourselves, with the intention to somehow project ourselves as someone better than what we are. The game of placements makes an interesting one and I somehow tend to think the opponent party is well aware of our tricks, howsoever adroitly we may try to conceal them. Yet the game is played and we all expect to be the winner.

One of the most over-hyped events in the college scenes here in Mumbai is the Malharfest. Though it commands an appreciable participation from colleges in and around Mumbai, the event in itself is highly dry and provides absolutely no environment of enjoyment unlike IIT Bombay during one-of-a-kind Mood Indigo. There are too many officials, volunteers, co-ordinators touting radio sets, talking loudly in them, looking scornfully at everyone else as if they are all there with the sole intention to sabotage their precious event. Countless number of restrictions on people's movements and complicated rules and procedures for registration only adds to a general college going dude's frustration. Amidst all this chaos, one finds students, in the most outlandish of all clothes, trying to look more beautiful than each other and failing miserably. Young women and men flaunting their sexuality, and nothing else, in a desperate bid to grab attention of everyone else. And there are some for who even just clothes or lack of them won't matter. They must wear on their arm a specimen of the human species of the opposite sex as if announcing a trophy of their youthful beauty, an indication of their status above the common general public like us, made even more profound by the scowl that they wear on their face whenever they happen to throw a glance in our direction. All this exhibition only makes me smile to myself as I return back to my hostel by a train running amidst scores of people living in the filth of urban life oblivious to all that was going on within the four walls of the St. Xavier's college.

Latest:
1. Went on a trek to Rajmachi. Enjoyed it.
2. Finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
3. Finally learnt swimming. Can now swim without the annoying "red-cap" on my head. :-)

Do you think Policians are doing their job properly? If not what reforms do you seek from them?Hmmm.. makes an interesting topic. Alas! a straightforward one and absolutely worthless if put in a debate. Politicians, here or anywhere, have never won the satisfaction of the people they govern.

So, do I think they are doing their job properly? The answer to that has been, is and will be NO. Also, let us understand what constitues a politician's job. The answer to this can be either subjective or objectively given. Let us explore each of those aspects one by one.

Subjective: A person comes to me and says, "Hey there! I am Tam, you are a Tam too. I am an Iyer, you are an Iyer too. I am a Hindu, you are a Hindu too. We have always been neglected by the government.These blah blah.. rules are against our interests. VOTE FOR ME. I will ensure we people get JUSTICE."

Another one comes and says, "Hey there! I am a fellow citizen of this country. I see there were so many poor people living in the slums. I want to bring their standard of living up. I want to provide them proper shelter and food. I want to give employment to the unemployed. Btw, I do not have any specific agenda for any specific community."

And I think.. boy! the first person is doing so much for me. What the hell do I care for those people living in the slums. If I am able to get the blah blah.. laws twisted in my favour, me and my children can lead a better life in the society. Let me vote for him/her. The first candidate gets elected, does whatever he had promised to me to ensure that my loyalty to his party does not digress in the next election. The poor are left where they are. I am happy and I do not care if the candidate, in the meantime, has creamed off some of the government money.

To me, the politician works just fine and as long as he is in power, I am happy.

Objective: This is an extremely difficult answer to give. "It is impossible to keep everyone happy all the time". To understand and appreciate what constitutes true progress of our society, even if some of our own individual benefits are hurt in the process, takes a lot more than just literacy or awareness. To me, society is like a huge team where we all are playing a part to take the team ahead. Team-work is the key here. Anyone who gets individualistic hampers the working of the entire team.A few things that an average Indian lacks today are discipline, education (mind you, this is different from literacy), patience, self-esteem and contentment. Most of us carry a tendency to break rules especially when one is asked not to. Most of us are not educated enough to think rationally, scientifically and intelligently. We all want quick results, and will do anything to achieve it. This is evident in reckless driving that we all face on our chaotic roads, crowding at a ticket counter when a queue is mandatory, bribing officials to let our applications through the official machinery faster even though the machinery is fast enough etc.

Also prevalent is the tendency to foolishly and fanatically follow any individual or organization without analyzing their activites, falling at their feet and go on to cause trouble to others, if confronted. The great ancient Indian quality - Contentment is something that we no longer carry. We would still need the best shoes, the best car, the biggest TV, a big house, the best jewelleries, the best clothes etc. We support capitalism (which I equate to pure greed) that leads to exploitation of every available resource around us. But hey, who cares as long as I have all the materialistic pleasures in the world.

Without the above essential ingredients, it is impossible to even expect people to form a notion of what it takes to propel a nation forward. As long as an Indian looks at one's benefit and convenience before others', we will continue to elect politicians who will have self-centered outlook towards the people, soceity, their duties and towards the nation.

Hence, an objective answer to the question whether our politicians are doing their job properly is difficult.

To surmise, I can say politicians do what their people want. To take care of their self-interests. If tomorrow people were to wake up smarter, things would change. It is difficult, especially in a democratic setup, for a government to function against the wishes of its people. Politicians are selfish by nature. They would indeed even work for the welfare for the entire soceity and the country, IF ONLY THE PEOPLE WANT IT.

How do we improve the situation? Well, the initiation for this has to come out of us. We are the new generation. We have to improve ourselves, our outlook, our mindset. We have to think beyond ourselves and think for the country. Not only this, but also propagate this attitude in the next generations. Only then, would the situation improve. It will take some time, but it will definitely happen.

If one ever needs any reason to understand why there are millions in this world who still listen to Ghazals, here are some of them:

1.

Ranjish hee sahee, dil hee dukhaane ke liye aa...

aa phir se mujhe chhod ke jaane ke liye aa....

Oh darling! If you are upset, at least come to admonish me. If only to leave me again, you must come to meet me.

2.

Maikade band karen lakh zamaane waale..

shehar mein kam nahi aankhon se pilaane waale.

The world might close all the wine-bars.. but there is nostopping me from getting intoxicated by the sheer beauty ofa woman's eyes.

3.

Tere pyaar ne mujhe gham diyaa, tere gham ke umra daraaz ho...

Voh zamaana aaye khuda kare, mere pyaar par tujhe naaz ho ...

I have suffered in your love, may you equally suffer too. May Godmake you understand the importance of my love one day.

Try as I might to maintain the emotions of these "Sher"s in the English translation, they can never match the sheer beauty of the original language.

If there is one quality that separates Human Beings from other creations of God on this earth, it is the ability to communicate with peers. From the times of cavemen, when Men (pardon me for my chauvinism; considerate people may read it as Men/Women) started painting on the walls of his cave or invented other extraneous signs besides the natural gifts of sounds or facial expressions that natured has bestowed upon him, was the wheel of communication set to roll, the termination of it is unimaginable as the end of time. The advent of a script to represent verbal language added a new dimension to communication. But the beauty of communication has never been better expressed than from one's own mouth. Even today, expression of one's love for another finds its way out of heart more often through the mouth than the hand.

Human creativity reached its peak, when he added dimensions of time and scale to his speech and invented something that has become such inseparable part of our life that its presence is almost taken for granted. This, which I dare term the greatest invention of Mankind, is Music. So integral to our lives has Music become, that life without it is something that I even shudder to think. It is a universal language; one that touches the hearts of millions regardless of the inherent differences that most Humans would like to believe they carry with respect to another specimen of the same species. It is indeed amazing how a sequence of notes can make one cry, laugh, or jump with joy.

It is a gift handed down to us from our ancestors that we must cherish and preserve.

There are certain moments in life when one has to make some very difficult decisions; decisions that may make or break one’s dream, alter the course of one’s life and possibly other’s too. Dilemmas, in their ever-annoying form, shake the confidence of even God when confronted with situations from which there is no pre-defined escape route. It is then that one is compelled to choose one among the two paths in front; one, that is easy, convenient to follow as one knows the way, but certainly will not take one to one's goal, and there is one that is difficult, unknown, unexplored, yet will provide one immense happiness if it takes one to one's desired destination. Moments like these make life what it is – an unpredictable, unseen, exciting adventure.

What is it that makes dilemmas an annoying, nerve-wrecking experience when the choice before one seems to be so obvious as to merit immediate attention and not result in any hesitation at all? Ironic it is! Fear, in one of its innumerable forms, takes its toll here too. Human Being has always sought convenience. The undying hunger for increasing convenience propels the mankind toward creating and identifying new methods to achieve his or her ambitions. Convenience could be material, emotional or physical. Fear of losing it is overwhelming enough to make one stop and re-think the path that one has chosen to follow. What is it then that gives people the courage to take the plunge and set about on the unexplored path that is so conveniently left, well unexplored? What has made people over the centuries to brave the current and swim in the other direction? The answer to that lies the in golden gift from God to mankind – Love. It is the dream of attaining the immeasurable happiness at the end of the ordeal of the unexplored path that propels one towards it.

However, following the other path does not always guarantee paradise. This is where the gamble of life comes into play and this is where one has to take one’s chances if one has any intentions of winning anything out of it. One may end up on the losing side but then unless one tries one may never ever be able to attain something that one so desperately desired.

In our lives, there are a few moments when one experiences a strong sense of love, desire and passion for someone when one dreams about a wonderful future with the other pictured in it. There arises a feeling of an ever-lasting relationship with one’s beloved; a relation of love, caring, belonging, trusts etc. It is truly amazing how the beauty of one, physical or otherwise, enchants the other to such an extent. While there is one school of thought that seems to attribute this to Fate, there is another that discards this idea of a super-natural role in our lives. According to the latter, love arises out of acquaintances, of the close nature, when one spends an adequate amount of time with the other to understand and appreciate him/her. To some, seeds of love are borne in a friendship.But is falling in love, in the shroud of friendship, justified? Is it not cheating on one’s trust? One who trusted you with all that a friendship demands suddenly faces a question that requires one to discard all the notions and trust that one had built around you and start afresh, only this time with an added ingredient of intimacy. Seems far-fetched, and justifiably so. This is where the fear makes its unwanted appearance. A relation that was convenient to all, where everyone was happy with the course of things, had to be jeopardized for one person’s desire of that extra love. One fears the loss of a friend for want of the intimacy that one has so desperately wanted over a period of time and that one desires to receive from the other person. And that is when the seeds of doubt are sown and a dilemma is born.

The obvious convenient path would be to compromise oneself with the existing situations and tread upon the known and tested path. The other, of course, would be to follow the unknown and wait for the outcome. If it is success, the joy has no bounds. If it is not, then one has to find new ways to achieve it. Upon what theory then should our efforts be based? What would ensure success in situations as these where the probability of a loss, which would be colossal, is much more than the success which would of course be unimaginable? The answer to that again lies in the words of wise men – Honesty is the best policy. A person with a clear conscience has nothing to fear. So long as men have practiced honesty in their efforts and intentions, they have had none to fear, not even God. A voluntary disclosure of one’s love for other as and when it happens is the only way the sanctity of friendship as well as the purity of love can be maintained regardless of the nature of the outcome. A pure mind with a pure heart is blessed by God’s love and all that one requires to do is keep the faith.