Perspective .. Obstructive.. Destructive.. !!!

If you have seen the famous Bollywood movie, DEEWAR, starring Amitabh Bachchan, I am sure you would remember one of the most impact-ful scenes from this movie. The scene being, Amitabh Bachchan becoming a big gangster and his boss throwing money at him. Amitabh says - "Main aaj bhi pheke huve paise nahi leta.." He also narrates how as a kid, he polished shoes and even then he never took money which was thrown at him.. As a kid, he might have earned Chillar as his earnings but as the gangster he might have earned millions...!!!

Putting this into perspective, we notice that the value of money changes as we move up the social ladder. Recently, I was travelling to one of my relative's place in a bus. While returning, our bus stopped at a railway crossing somewhere on the highway... Suddenly, a young boy of probably 7 or 8 years sprang into the bus with a basket of Makka butta/Corn. He was trying to sell his goods in the bus. Three to Four people bought the Makka buttas from him.. Contented with his sale for the trip, the boy got down and started counting the money that he earned. He probably earned around 10 Rupees or so but he felt so happy. I could make out from the expressions on his face. It was an expression of total delight and contentment. A few days back, I got my salary along with the yearly bonus. I was looking at the salary slip, frantically calculating the tax which was cut. I got quite a lot but I was still lost in thought trying to figure out why I could not get a bit more... Although I earned lot more than 10 Rupees.. I was not happy, leave alone contented.

Does more money create more craving??? Does more money make our life unhappy??? Does more money make life too complicated??? Does more money bring with it excess baggage of image, superiority, status????

Let me confess that I am no saint and have not really relinquished worldly pleasures but then I am sure all of you must have got this thought of how much is enough to survive in this world??? The rigmarole of day-to-day life appears more and more like a vacuum cleaner sucking anything which comes in its way...!!!! Infatuation with money seems to be making us gluttonous to an enormous extent... Pardon me if I am generalizing a bit too much... I know there are many better people, unlike me, in this world who do things just for the love of it without expecting any monetary benefits... I may be one of those in the minority who just thinks about money in everything.. I may be one of those very few who seldom care about others.. I may be one of those very few who just thinks about obstructing others' progress to my advantage..!!!!!!

Being obstructive might give us short term gains... It might lull us into a comfort zone which ultimately could lead us to the path of destruction. A path devoid of remorse... a path devoid of care.. .a path devoid of empathy... a path full of gluttony... a path full of hypocrisy.. a path full of subservience towards wealth...!!!!! All of this is nothing but a perfect recipe for destruction...!!

Kabiraa Maan jaa..!!!!

कैसी तेरी खुदगर्ज़ी ना धुप चुने ना छाओं।  कैसी तेरी खुदगर्ज़ी किसी ठोर टिके ना पाओं। 

बन लिया अपना पैगम्बर, तर लिया तू सात समंदर। फिर भी सूखा मन के अंदर क्यूँ रह गया?

रे कबीरा मान जा… रे फकीरा मान जा… आजा तुझको पुकारे तेरी परछाइयाँ।  

I am sure you must have heard this famous song from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani..!!!

I am also sure that knowing me and my blogs, it is easy for you to guess that I am going to bring in Bollywood here. As an aficionado of movies, it is apparent to bring in some Bollywood link here. Recently, I was fortunate enough to watch Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. I know it released close to an year ago but i never watched it until it came on television. 

Although, the entire movie may not have been really appealing but parts of it were really thought-provoking. One such scene is this - 

We generally keep chasing things on which we don't have control and then get unhappy on not achieving it. It is the same case with everyone. Sometimes, circumstances force us to give up some things and we just keep thinking about it without focusing on our present. If we keep brooding over our past or future then our present cannot be enjoyed. I heard a fantastic line on this somewhere. It goes something like this - "Past is like an outdated cheque.... Future is like a promissory note... Present is the cash that you have... And that is what matters...!!!!"

It is not that I don't know about this or all of you don't know about this simple truth of life but it sometimes really rankles me as to how I always tend to forget this very basic tenet of life. Rather than worsening the already sickened wounds, it is better to just live the moment. Enjoy it as if it is the best day of your life. 

But then, I find solace in the fact that I am not alone in this unending race to assimilate the rays of success. I see everyone doing the same. I find everyone in the same rat race. This is very comforting. Then again, being one among the crowd makes the situation even more 'unendearing'.

Ultimately, it is a matter of just being happy come what may. Happiness and Sorrow is in our mind. If we want to be happy, we will be happy. If we want to be sad, we will end up being sad. 

It is always easier said than done but an attempt can definitely be made...!!!! Kabiraaa Maan jaa...!!!!!

Innocence of deceit

It was 8:30 AM in the morning and Raman was not yet ready. He had a very important meeting in his office to attend which was scheduled at 9:30 AM.  Despite the best of traffic conditions, it would take 45 minutes to reach office. But now that he was already late, he dreaded his boss’ reactions after reaching office. He quickly grabbed his bag and bolted towards the parking lot of his eight-storied apartment complex. Aaargh…!!! There was a power-cut. Now he had to take the staircase to go down six floors. Somehow, he reached the parking lot and saw that it was 8:35 AM. He tried starting his bike but it would not budge. He kicked and kicked the ignition rod but the bike stood there devoid of any life. Finally, gathering all his strength, he kicked one last time and the bike burst into life. He checked his watch. It was 8:40 AM.

Raman was a 33-year-old marketing professional. He was neither tall/dark nor a handsome guy but was the usual guy-next-door. He was about 5 feet 6 inches tall with very thick, curly hair. He had an equally thick moustache which was everyone’s envy.  Over the years, he had a paunch which he took great pains to hide. He would hold his breath while talking to strangers so that his paunch could contract. This was his way of hiding his paunch. Raman lived with his family in the suburbs of the pearl city, Hyderabad. He had recently bought a three bedroom flat and was getting used to riding long distances to reach his office. His office was a good 35 kilometres away from his house and he commuted on his bike every day.

Raman’s boss was an authoritarian martinet who hated late-comers. Of late, Raman had been late to office quite often owing to his long journey. Just the other day he had faced the wrath of his boss and he shuddered to think what would happen today. Moreover , there was this important meeting with a client. With these thoughts in mind, Raman sped his bike criss-crossing the traffic, avoiding the slow moving autos and the stationary buffaloes. He honked his way through the traffic.

Just as he was waiting for the signal to turn green in Kavadiguda, he saw that there was a huge commotion nearby. He heard a young boy crying for help. Curiosity got the better of him and he turned his head in the direction of the commotion to see what was happening. He saw that there was a young boy, around 11 or 12 years old, who was crying for help. There was a police constable beside him. It seemed as though the constable was beating up the boy. Humanity inside Raman wanted him to go and check the problem but the fear of his boss was not allowing him to. After a difficult 45-60 seconds, Raman’s conscience got the better of him and he parked his bike on the side of the road and went towards the boy to check.

The boy was crying and yelling that he was not a thief but the police constable was not listening at all. He was persistent that the boy was a thief. At this point Raman went to the policeman and asked him what the problem was.

The policeman replied - ‘Sir, this boy is a seasoned pickpocket. I have been searching for him since the past 2 months and I have finally caught him red-handed today.’

‘No Sir, this constable is lying. I am not a thief. I am a daily wage labourer and he is harassing me since the past 1 hour. He is hell bent on taking me to prison. He says that I am a pickpocket but trust me I have never stolen anything in life.’ , the boy said gulping tears of distress.

‘It’s all lies. I can prove that he is a thief. Look there are 800 rupees in his pocket. From where will a daily wage labourer get so much money? I am sure he has stolen it from someone. I am going to make him rot in jail.’ Saying this, the policeman slapped the boy.

The boy started crying again and pleaded that he was not a thief but the policeman was not ready to budge. He started pulling the boy’s hand. At this, Raman stopped the policeman and spoke to the boy – ‘ Look boy, I am here to help you. Tell the truth. Are you a thief? If not, from where did you get this money?’

The boy responded-  ‘Sir, these are my savings of last 2 months. I don’t have a house and there is no place where I can save this money. I have to keep it with me all the time. Otherwise, some street urchins would steal this money from me. I have saved each and every penny that came my way. ‘

‘He is lying. He stole this money. Wait, let my lathi do the talking. People like him will not listen if you talk. They only understand the language of kicks.’  The policeman now started pulling out his lathi to launch another assault on the boy.

But this time Raman was alert and he stopped the policeman and spoke to the boy – ‘You said you live on the streets then why do you need this much money. Tell me what are you up to.’

‘Sir, I want to go to school and become a big officer. But I don’t have the money to go to a school. That’s why I am saving money so that I could go to school one day to get myself good education.’

Raman was in a dilemma now. He was overwhelmed by the boy’s words. The innocence in the boy’s eyes was not allowing him to believe that the boy was a thief. The self-belief and the enterprising nature of the boy made an indelible impression on Raman. He thought that the boy must be saying the truth. He thought to himself – ‘There are so many underprivileged people meandering along on the streets with minimal food and clothes. And most of them tend to take the anti-social path but here is a boy who is making an attempt to reform himself. Here is a boy who is taking pains to get himself a good life. Here is a boy who is trying to redeem himself. Here is a boy who is fighting against all odds but the world is not allowing him to come out of the slimy confines of the murky streets. I must do something to help him. This is my chance to help someone realise his dream. I must help him. Yes, I must.’

Raman, then, spoke to the policeman – ‘Sir, I understand that you are helping the society by taking care of the thieves but I believe that this boy is not a thief. I think your job is such that you have to look at everything with suspicion. And I totally agree with your point of view but looking from the perspective of a common man, I think this boy should be given a chance. I can sense the truth in his unwavering voice and I trust him entirely. Please leave him. I know a friend of mine who runs an NGO to help educate street urchins. I will take this boy to him and help him get educated. Please leave him for me. This is my sincere request to you.’

‘Look Sir, you look like a respectable person. Why are you unnecessarily involving yourself in this matter? Why are you wasting your time saving this untrustworthy boy?’

‘Please sir please. Let him go with me. I take full responsibility of him. I will ensure that he gets good education. Please sir.’

‘I must say that you are a very stubborn person. I would never have allowed this boy to leave but since you are insisting, I am obliged to accede to your request. You can take him with you. But I must say, it is because of people like you that this world is not yet extinct. I salute you for your magnanimity.’ Saying thus, the policeman went away.

Raman was completely filled with happiness. He was feeling proud that he was now helping someone attain his goal. His heart was filled with complete happiness. He never felt so happy before.

Raman asked the boy to come with him. He then asked the boy to sit behind him on his bike and both of them rode away to Raman’s friend’s NGO. As he was riding his bike, he realised that Rs. 800 may not be sufficient for the boy. So, he wanted to give some more money to the boy. But he did not have enough cash with him. He saw an ATM nearby and stopped his bike to get some cash out of it. He took out Rs. 5,000 for the boy. Suddenly, he realised that he also had to take some money home to arrange for the monthly groceries. So, he withdrew Rs. 20,000 from his ATM. He put the money in his wallet and started going towards his friend’s NGO.

Just as he neared Paradise, the boy sitting behind asked Raman to stop the bike. Raman stopped the bike and before he could ask the boy about why he had asked him to stop, he saw that the boy jumped from the bike and started running in the opposite direction.

Raman didn’t understand what was happening. He was perplexed as to why the boy jumped so suddenly. He called out to the boy but he didn’t come back. Raman was very annoyed and disappointed. Suddenly, he remembered about his meeting and started to go to his office.

Raman reached his office well past 10 AM. He wanted to have some tea before he ventured in front of his boss. He went to his usual tea-stand to have his tea. Raman was still thinking about the boy as he drank the tea. But he still couldn’t understand why the boy ran away. Raman finished his tea and reached towards his pocket to take money from his wallet. There was no wallet to be found..!!!!!

                                              **********

Somewhere in the outskirts of Hyderabad, the boy was sitting with his uncle, enjoying a lavish lunch. His uncle patted on his back and said - ‘Well done my boy. You acted very well. Now give me 500 rupees from your catch today. I have to pay for the rent of this police uniform.’

The Sparrow

Well, first things first, this is not an article about Jack Sparrow... If you thought this would be about that character, then I am sorry.. This is about a sparrow much more endearing.. much more charming... much more desirable..!!!!

Back in the 90s, when I was reading newspaper in the mornings in our verandah, there used to be a ubiquitous and soulful sound in the background. As my house was very near to Kachiguda railway station, I heard the sound of the train chugging along. I heard the sound of the train's long and often unending horn... Agreed, this was ubiquitous but this was definitely not soulful...!!!! The sound that I am talking about is that of the chirping of birds sitting on trees outside my verandah. We had a small garden of sorts in our house. There were lots of trees in our aangan. We had a guava tree, a coconut tree, small plants which bloomed with flowers like jasmine, swastika flower, Hibiscus, Pink Rose and last but not the least - Nyctanthes arbor-tristis (known commonly as Night-flowering jasmine). There were lots of birds chirping around sitting on these trees. Crows, Pigeons, Koels, Parrots, etc.  But amongst this chirping, the one of THE SPARROW would always stay with me.

The sparrow was a lovely bird and it used to have a nest in our verandah. I can vividly remember the mother sparrow getting food for its infants. The father sparrow building the nest straw-by-straw. It was really very fascinating to note all this. We had a big ventilator in our verandah and the sparrows built their small, little nest on it. Although I never really gave a focused attention towards this bird but somehow the thoughts and memories of this bird are firmly entrenched even in my unusually fickle mind..!!!!!

Sparrow has always been viewed as a saintly and sober bird by me. I don't really know why I feel it that way but it indeed felt very calm, at peace with itself, carrying on with its work in a diligent manner. I was generally very partial towards it and whenever I had to choose between the crow and the sparrow, it was always the sparrow... !!!! Summer holidays were the best. This was the time when I had lot of time looking at the sparrow, wondering about its leisurely life, wanting to keep watching it all through my life.

If you carefully observe one of the previous paragraphs, I used the sentence The sparrow was a lovely bird. There is some essence to that sentence. These days I seldom see the sparrow. Where is it? I have not seen a sparrow for the past many years. Its disappearance is really strange. But then this should have been anticipated what with concrete jungles bestowing us everywhere with very little lung-space. Where would a sparrow find food for itself and its progeny??? There is so much of concrete around. It obviously cannot survive on brick and mortar...!!!! And alas, the sparrow has left us. It has gone to a place where it can survive, away from the din of this ultra-fast and furious metro.

In a large way, the sparrow stands as a metaphor to my childhood. A childhood which was wonderful, soothing, endearing, lovely and beautiful. Just as I don't see the sparrow anywhere, I don't see my childhood as well. It is pretty nearly extinct. My childhood too has just remained a wonderful memory. There doesn't seem to be that innocence in my eyes anymore. I don't seem to have that cherubical nature anymore. Where has all this gone?? I know this has long gone by, may be this has left me along with the sparrow. But it must be living somewhere just like the sparrow. The onus is on me to find it. I know it exists. It is just a matter of finding it. And I am sure I will find it one day. I will find my Sparrow- my childhood one day.

India or Bharat????

Over the past week, there has been clamour across the news channels about India, Bharat, etc. There were some really vociferous debates among some seemingly menacing activists, political commentators, news anchors and politicians. I thought why don't I too join this debate and put forth my views on this. Although I may not be as vociferous as they were but then let me express my views on this so-called 'debate on India and Bharat'...!!!! To take this debate forward, I need to go backward... FLASHBACK...!!!!

Once upon a time, many years ago, to be precise 29 years 5 months 5 days 6 hours and 21 minutes ago, a messiah was born in the heartland of Deccan Plateau. He was courageous, valorous, resplendent and radiating. The shine in his eyes was nothing short of ethereal. The calmness in his actions was nothing short of divine. The sharpness in his intellect was nothing short of perpetual. He was born in an year when India had just won the Cricket World Cup. 

Hang on, I was just kidding, everything mentioned in italics above is all fake...  It is just a figment of my over-worked and zealous mind... :P

Let's get the suspense out on who was born on that felicitous day. Well, I am sure you must have guessed it. Yours truly, Manish as I am known to the world, was born on this day.... :P Also, born on this day was Rinku.

Rinku had similar traits, behaviour and beliefs as Manish. Rinku had similar emotions like Manish. Rinku didn't like things which Manish didn't. Likewise Manish liked all the things that Rinku liked. There was an uncanny similarity in the way Manish and Rinku thought, envisioned and executed their plans. Well, all this is bound to be because Manish and Rinku are both the same individual. Yes, my nickname in my home is Rinku.

They call me by that name even today. In fact, many of my relatives still do not know that my real or official name is Manish. They all address me as Rinku...!!! What difference has that made to me? Even if someone addresses me as Manish or Rinku, I am still the same. I react the same way. I talk to them the same way. But why this fuss when talking about India or Bharat????? Isn't it something worth pondering over???? Or is it???

Rowdy Rathore was one of the biggest hits of 2012. It was said that this is a movie which catered to the masses. It catered to the rural belts. It catered to an audience which wants masala.  Rockstar, which released in 2011, requires a good deal of concentration and imagination to understand. Likewise, a Hollywood flick like Inception needs remarkable amount of concentration to understand what is going on. I enjoyed a Rowdy Rathore as much as a Rockstar or an Inception.

So, based on the logic of differentiating between India and Bharat, I am both an Indian as well as a Bharatiya. But my point here is - Is this sort of differentiation really needed?? Even if India was named as Hogsmeade, I would have still loved it with the same fervor and passion as I do it now.  Our country already has so many divisions based on language, caste, religion, etc. Is this sort of new differentiation really necessary?

This reminds me of a dialogue from the movie - Khatta Meetha (2010). It goes something like this -

Yahaan pe Indian kaun hai??
America mein jaao to American milenge... Germany mein jaao to German milenge...!
France mein jaao to Frenchman milenge... England mein jaao to Englishman milenge..!!
Aur India mein jaao to aapko milenge Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Malayali, Bengali... Indian kahaan hai..???

Well, although at first sight, this may not appear to be true but honestly I think this is true. Sometimes, I feel that if the British had not invaded India, we may have been a group of 28 different countries...!!!! I think the anger of Angrez ruling us brought out the nationalism within us.

Everyone wants this country of ours to be prosperous, happy and full of opportunities for everyone. Everyone wants this country to be the best in the world. Whatever name you may want to refer - India or Bharat - we still want our country to progress...!!!!

Just as Manish is Rinku and Rinku is Manish.... India is Bharat and Bharat is India...!!!!! And that's a fact. You may use any name you want..!!!!!

Why did the world not end on December 21st, 2012??????

22^nd December 2012

When I woke up in the morning today, I was quite relieved to know that I was still alive and kicking. The previous night, I had visions of a huge earthquake causing a great hole sucking up all the buildings on its way. I had visions of a massive wave from the Indian Ocean gulping everything - ships, houses, towers - on its way…!!!! I had visions of the Three Gorges dam bursting away and inundating the Himalayas..!!!!! I had visions of a huge meteorite striking Earth and causing massive ripples and ripping apart buildings, flyovers…!!!! I was feeling a sense of déjà vu. Why did it feel as though I have been through all this? Was it that this is my new life and I had witnessed all this in my previous life?? Why did it feel as though I was party to all this before??? Then I realized that there has to be only one answer to this question - I had to feel a sense of déjà vu because all that I described above are scenes from the Hollywood movie, 2012. :P

Although I was totally relieved to be alive, I was perplexed as to why this world did not end. There must be some reason behind this. How could the ancient seers be wrong in predicting precisely that the world would end on the 21^st December, 2012? Was it a misinterpretation on our part?? Or was there some divine intervention??? Why did the world not end on December 21^st 2012???

The questions above rankle me no end. I am pretty sure this is exactly the sort of questions that you might have in your mind. To help myself and all you folks answer these bamboozling questions, let me try to unravel the mystery…!!!!

Before we go any further, let us first understand why there has been a talk about the world ending. It is said that there is an old calendar prepared by the Mayans. It is widely believed that the Mayan calendar ends on December 21^st 2012. There is no other date after that. This made everyone think that the Mayans must have unraveled something out of the ordinary to stop their calendar at December 21^st 2012. But who are Mayans? I would like to believe that Mayans are the descendants of Maya. But who is Maya? Wait a minute… I know who Maya is. I think I heard about her when I was a kid. And in fact, I now have the proof of who Maya is. Please watch the video below to understand who Maya is. (There is no point reading further without watching the video. To understand the mystery ahead you need to watch the video.)

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

Now that you have watched the video, I am sure you understand that Maya is a feeling – Ehsaas in Hindi…!!! Maya has no form or features. No one has seen Maya. If you ask me, Maya transcends the human feeling… In fact, Maya has not even entered the mind of SRK. Maya is still a Maya… :P Now now now, don't get flustered. Read on... :)

Since we have confirmation that Maya is just a feeling, the theory behind Maya having a calendar does not really have much substance. Ok, just for a minute, for the sake of argument let us assume that Maya indeed had a calendar. Those old calendars were inscribed on stones. It is a very time consuming process what with you having to chisel the stone to make those markings for dates. How much can a person keep on writing? The person who wrote on those stones must have got bored of writing the dates and must have taken a break. After taking the break, he must have forgotten to re-start the work or may be he lied to Maya that he completed the calendar but left the work mid-way by preparing the calendar until December 21st, 2012. There is a distinct possibility of this happening. :P

Let us think about some other scenarios that could have stopped the world from ending. I think even mother nature wants to see Sachin Tendulkar play. If the world had ended, Sachin's career would have ended abruptly. So, mother nature might have restrained herself from wreaking havoc on us. If this theory is correct then Sachin should keep playing on and on. I hope even my grandchildren see him bat. :P

Coming to the next theory, the world may not have ended because Mother Nature's baap - QuickGun Murugan did not give her the permission. Or may be QuickGun wanted to play cowboy cowboy for some more years....!!!!! 

The reasons quoted above are just some of them. There are many other reasons possible like mother nature might be waiting for Sallu miya to get married or Ramesh Powar to dance to the tune of Ganganam style or Lalu Prasad to become prime minister of India or Mannubhai to get his long awaited MBA...!!!!! There could be myriad such reasons which might seem unfathomable to some. 

As long as all these things don't happen, the world is not going to end. It will keep running day in and day out. That's why it is probably better for everyone to just stop worrying about all these frivolous things and enjoy every day like it is your last day...!!!!

TIMES COMES FOR EVERY DOGS...!!!!!!

I am sure most of you would be thinking that Manish has lost his senses as the title of the article doesn't really make any sense. Well, honestly speaking, I wanted to have the title of the article as 'Every Dog has its day' but I suddenly remembered about one of my old friends. This dear friend of mine was not too well versed with English and had the habit of creating his own indigenous words, sentences and sometimes, proverbs..!!!! The title here - 'Times comes for every dogs'  is one of his wonderful creations. :)

Now that you know the history behind the title, please watch the video before you proceed any further.

This is a video of a match between India and Pakistan back in 2005. It was the time when one of the greatest captains of India, Sourav Ganguly, began to have a downward trend. A few youngsters made their way through to the team in that year and one among them was Mahendra Singh Dhoni a.k.a. MSD.

It is quite ironic that this article is coming at a time when MSD finds himself in exactly the same spot as Dada was in back in 2005. Let's get back to the point of discussion here. Ashish Nehra was a fine young medium pace bowler and was relatively a senior bowler in 2005 when MSD was a newbie. You can easily see and hear in this video on how Nehra hurled choicest of abuses on MSD. My question here is - Would Nehra dare do it now if MSD drops a catch? The obvious answer is a BIG NO...!!!

Well, this shows us that every human has something called as a Golden period in his life. It is that period when everything that he or she touches turns into Gold.

But Life, like cricket, is definitely a game of glorious uncertainties. One day you might have the world at your feet and the other day the world may not even want to account your presence...!!!! There is no guarantee that a person who is on the pedestal today may not fall down and similarly, someone who is at the foot of the pedestal may not go to the top...!!!!

When you have the world at your feet and everything goes your way, it is imperative not to be too carried away because you never know when the carpet on which you are standing might be pulled away. If you are not ready for it, you will fall down and might even break your teeth...!!!!! Mind you, vice-versa also holds true...!!! You might be walking on the road today and suddenly might find the magical carpet which sends you soaring high..!!!!!! I am sure many of you must have experienced this in your life. But on a personal note, I had a steep fall when I was flying too high..!!!! But such falls are good, to some extent, because they teach you to be grounded and humane..!!!!

The fact of the matter is that definitely you will get a time when you are on top. Even the Dog, often referred, in old Hindi movies might have its day. (Remember the dialogue - Kutte main tera khoon peejaaunga.. :P)
But then you must also be ready to face any eventuality.It is all about patience and perseverance. You just need to hang in there. Times definitely comes for every dogs...!!!!!!

Some extravagantly unhappy, Some Happily subsisting..!!!

This is an old post written in May but I forgot to publish this... I never realized that it was still in draft status..!!!! Nevertheless, better late than never..!!!


It was a hot day of May.... 29th to be precise. In fact, the entire week had been unusually hot. Generally, Hyderabad becomes slightly cooler with some drizzles during this time but this year it was quite different. As a matter of fact, the entire nation reeled under an unusually hot summer. Naturally, many a news channel carried programmes showcasing the hardships of the oppressed denizens. One such piece was carried out by NDTV on the tryst of the capital's distressed citizens.

The reporter first took an interview of a family from the dingy by-lanes of Old Delhi. It was a family of modest means. The head of the family was a daily wage laborer. The family lived in a decrepit single room house. It was embellished with just a ceiling fan. In this oppressive heat, it is quite but natural to use the fan but more often than not a fan is not enough to cool our excruciatingly hot heads..!!! The reporter was inquiring about how the family beat the heat.. Well, since the family found it tough to meet both ends meet, there was no other option for them but to live in that small dingy room. But the family came up with indigenous ways to fight the heat. They drenched their bed-sheets in water and slept on them. This helped keep themselves cool.

I felt really sad and happy after watching this. Sad, because of the hardships the family had to endure. Happy because the family did not allow their deprivations to come in the way of their cheerfulness and happiness. They were happy with what they had..!!!!

Picture shifted to the next family staying in an upmarket plush colony of New Delhi... And they had a different tale to tell....!!!

The family in question had 5 air-conditioners in their house, one in each of the rooms. Apart from this, the family would hit the swimming pool both in the mornings and evenings to beat the heat... But still they were morose all through the interview. They looked so gutted as though the entire burden of this world was on them. There was not a single cheerful face in that family. I don't know if that was a bit of over-dramatization by the family, but it really irked me on ends.

This contrast of lifestyles once again brought to the fore the glaring differences between the haves and the have-nots. The differences between extravagance and subsistence. I am still nonplussed by the way life is... Someone who has all the material benefits with him is not happy whereas someone who is deprived of basics is cheerful...!!! This again shows that man's wants and desires are never-ending. The more we have the more we crave. This also inadvertently results in undue sorrow, gloom and distress..!!!!

But how would this world change. I have absolutely no idea whatsoever. Even I am one of those who is never satisfied with what I have. I am desperately trying to come out of this vicious and debilitating cycle of wants and desires... BUT HOW...????????????

Duty-bound Day, Honest Hour, Mirthful minute, Sinless second..!!!!

Yesterday, I was sitting in my home doing virtually nothing when my mobile phone came alive and blurted out the message tone. It was one of my friends asking me if I was observing "EARTH HOUR". I bluntly replied that I was not. Well, I don't really observe earth hour just for that one day. I observe it every day, hour, minute and second of my life. It can be as simple as using a fan only when you need it. It can be as simple as switching off lights in your bathroom when no one is using it. It can be as simple as plugging leakages in your kitchen tap.

I really hate it when people just do lip-service and make a huge hue-and-cry about the so-called "EARTH HOUR". The celebrities have their twenty-minutes of fame by posing in front of the shutter bugs. Yes, agreed, there are some who are genuinely concerned about the environment but practically speaking, they are quite few and far between. I was amused to see the Page 3 of my newspaper today. Lots of wannabe celebrities were flashing their impeccably polished dentures holding rechargeable lamps..!!! If my basics of physics are still well-conditioned then definitely there has to be some source of power for these rechargeable lamps. From where does this power come??? Obviously, it has to be charged by plugging it. This is akin to clearing forests to plant more trees...!!!!

Let me quote you a small instance of my life when I was working with Infosys. I think it was somewhere in 2007. As most of you know, Infosys campuses are probably the best office campuses in India. There is lush greenery everywhere. The buildings are totally magnificent. Approach roads to the buildings completely spic and span. You would have to really concentrate with all your might and still you would not be able to find even a semblance of trash anywhere. That speaks volumes about the dedication and efficiency of the house-keeping team as well as the discipline of the employees. You would seldom find employees littering inside the campus. Once you are in the confines of the campus, you would feel as though you are transported to a completely different world. And I used to think all employees are really sensitive about keeping the surroundings clean.
Once on my way home, I was sitting in my office bus chatting with my friend. One of the employees, sitting in front of me, devoured a packet of Lays and without a blink of an eye just trashed the packet on the road. When my friend and I questioned her about littering the road, she gave a weak smile and said - "Chalta hai..!!" This is the sort of lip-service I am talking about. When educated individuals do such things, you cannot really blame others.

When we talk about changing the world, we should actually be talking about ourselves. The change has to come from within. First, we must try to change ourselves. The world will change consequently. What we need is not platitudes like Environment Day, Earth hour but it should all be about changing the way we live. Changing our perspective. If each and every one of us can strive to have a sinless second, a mirthful minute, an honest hour and a duty-bound day every second, minute, hour and day of our life that will go a long way in making this world a better place to live in. There would be no need of publicity gimmicks like EARTH HOUR anymore. I know it would be difficult to follow this but at least an attempt can be made. This reminds me of a dialogue from the hindi movie GHULAM -

"Leheron ke saath to koi bhi tair leta hai.. magar asli insaan wo hai jo leheron ko cheer ke aage badhta hai..!!!"

PENCHAR... PENCHAR... PENCHAR..

Teri Tirchi nazariya dil ko kar de PENCHAR.. PENCHAR... PENCHAR... PENCHAR...

When I heard this song for the first time, I did not understand the meaning of the word - Penchar. I googled the word and got myriad explanations about it from netizens. But two explanations caught my attention and both fit in here perfectly well.

The first one said that Penchar is a rustic and crude word used in Old Delhi for Puncture. When I tried fitting this word into the song, it made perfect sense...!!!

The second explanation said that singing aloud - Penchar, Penchar, Penchar multiple times would remind one of a very very commonly and routinely used expletive in the north of Vindhyas. This expletive is not so popular towards the south, but yes, with more and more songs like this, there is bound to be substantial followers and users of this expletive...!!!!!

Ever since Delhi Belly, with all its slang and expletives, was released, there have been numerous critics singing paeans about the so-called "boldness" in the movie. Using foul-mouthed dialogues seemed like path-breaking to them. No hard-feelings towards the makers of this film but it is the critics and media who seem to have enjoyed those dialogues more than anyone else.

But if you look at the Hindi movie industry, it definitely has become "bold" in the past few years. There have been movies with some crude and rather embarrassing dialogues. I remember a dialogue in Ishqiya which twisted the complete meaning and pronunciation of Sodium Sulphate.. Na2SO4.. if my chemistry is good enough. My chemistry professor is definitely bound to cringe at hearing Chh****** sulphate. It was just gross and obnoxious if I were to quote one of my friends.

Indian movie industry has been very conservative in terms of using foul language. In the olden days, it was just the Kutte Kaminey main tera khoon pee jaaoonga. Hearing this dialogue so many times in hindi movies makes me wonder if the protagonist in the movie is a human or a vampire???? If it had it's way then man's best friend would have sued the dialogue writers for using their names along with the villians... :P

I remember when I was in 3rd or 4th standard, a telugu movie, Bhadram Koduko had a few expletives in it and I was totally shocked to hear it on television...!!!!! But alas, the kids these days keep singing Bhaag DK Bose DK Bose DK Bose DK Bose DK. Although we too, in our childhood, must have used expletives but using them blatantly on screen was a big taboo... !!! Not now... Changing times????

Well, personally, if just using expletives makes a movie path-breaking then why not have it in the title itself... Or if one is a bit conservative then they can possibly take a cue from Amitabh Bachchan of Buddha.. Hoga tera baap.. They can name the movie as BEEP BEEP.. or BEEP KI BEEP..!!!!

Bottomline is that despite using the expletives in day-to-day life it still makes me cringe to hear it on-screen particularly if you are watching the movie with your family.. Using expletives or erotic scenes in the movies does not constitute boldness but baldness...!!! Baldness of thoughts and intellect..!!