U name it

Busy

2006-06-23T13:02:00.000-07:00

Have been very busy lately ....hardly anytime to blog..would get back as soon as possible....

Running the Gauntlet

2006-06-10T23:30:00.000-07:00

Driving on Highways in India is like running the gauntlet, it’s a huge relief when you make it safely home. Its almost unbelievable, about hundred thousand people perish in accidents in India every year. The Government seems to be least bothered, may be they think its another way of keeping population growth in check. Most Highways are still single roads, for both way traffic. Then there are all kind of settlements all along the Highway, Villages, towns, etc. No effort is made to stop these settlements.

The traffic itself so bizarre, on that 20 feet wide road you have the people on cycles, bullock carts, pedestrians, autos, stray cattle’s, you name it and you have it there….all going at there own pace, stopping where ever they want too, in the middle of the road. Worse, if u leave out the cars and mobikes, most of the other vehicles don’t have tail or the break lights, so u don’t have any warning when they are going to stop, you realize at the last moment that the guy in front of you has stopped moving, so either you hit him from behind or manage to cum to a screeching stop. The people, they walk along on highways as if its there neighborhood park. Night time its almost impossible to drive in those blinding lights from the on coming traffic, which are constantly in your face. Its very very risky to be driving in those conditions, for one I don’t drive at night, unless its really urgent. Majority of accidents occur during night time, not only due to poor visibility but also due to the fact that most of those truck drivers are under influence of alcohol.

A large part of the blame rest with people too, who have absolutely no road sense, they do all kind of stupid things, like running across the road from no where, the cyclists just turn without even bothering to look behind, and if by chance you fail to ‘save them’ and are involved in an accident, the local people will pile on to you, as if you are the one responsible for it, even though you did absolutely nothing wrong. They will thrash you, at times people have being killed too in this madness. Once on the Highway on a mobike, as the last truck passed by, I saw this guy on a cycle coming right across the road, there was no way I could have braked, I increased the speed and even went off the road hoping that he wud break, but he kept coming and finally…I went flying over the mobike, which got entangled with the cycle, stopped some 10 yards ahead, kind of miracle that I was in one piece, just my left hand was badly bruised, blood trickling from everywhere. Looked at that idiot..he would not move at all, shit is he dead….few people came running ..how you ride you killed him….it was time to counterattack…are you blind…you did not see what happened….being weak would have meant a thrashing, few jumped to my defense, amidst all this chaos the guy finally sat up and I left the place… Since then I am very cautious when ever I see pedestrians and cycles (the rural people), their behavior and those of animals is almost same, without any signal without any warning they will just do what they feel like…seem to be staunch believers in the nike advertisement ..just do it……Not only we need better roads, but road sense has to drilled in the minds of the people, If you don’t value your life its all right find another place to commit suicide but at least let the others live.
Tomorrow I am hitting the highway again, going to Delhi for about 10 days, I don’t know if I would be able to blog but would try whenever possible, till then you people be good. : )

Some Pics

2006-06-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

Here is another of my numerous hobbies.......tht's clicking pics.....havent learnt any where..but i think i have some sense tht tells me wht will make a beautiful picture. How i wish i had some one to pose for me ..a beautiful gal :( but until tht time i wud i will have to do with nature.....the birds/sky /trees etc. Actually i am posting this cozz Suji thinks she is better than me haha ....
The pic of tht Bulbul (2nd last pic) is my all time favo., the one with tht white cloud..the moment i saw it it looked to me as if a Gorilla was floating with his hands in front thru the air...and each time i see tht pic it seems excatly like that....

Will U Save Him

2006-06-01T01:20:00.000-07:00

This is an advertisement from Times Of India, dated 1^st June 2006, the little boy is from a poor family suffering from Cancer, I feel we can all contribute a little to save his life, if you think the cause is worthwhile then please put the link on your post too and tell your friends about it, so that we can have more people coming forward to help.

Master Yash Pradeep Shevade, a 5 yr old boy, is presently suffering from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (a type of blood cancer), certified by a doctor and is being treated at a hospital in Mumbai. His family monthly income is Rs 2500/- and therefore cannot spend Rs 4 lakhs needed urgently for his treatment and as such his death is imminent if we do not help him. Your timely help could give him a new lease of life and he can lead a normal life.

We appeal to you to send your donations by Cheque/DD in the name of “Cancer Aid & Research Foundation” addressed to Cancer Aid & Research Foundation, Byculla Municipal School Bldg., Room No. 15-18, N.M. Joshi Marg, Near S Bridge, Byculla (West), Mumbai-400011, India. Please write the patients name on the reverse of the Cheque/DD and also your PAN number incase the donation is more than Rs 50000/-. The donor should give his/her full address and telephone number if any, to enable us to send the receipt of the donation and 80 G Income Tax Certification.

NRI’s /Foreign donors can credit directly in IDBI Bank, Prabhadevi Branch, Mumbai –25 SB AC number 026104000088372.

Other donors can donate through their bank directly to State Bank Of India SB AC number 10041949740, Jacob Circle Branch, Mumbai 400011 or IDBI Bank Prabhadevi Branch SB AC number 026104000080088, donors can also donate through our website by credit card… www.cancerfoundation.org for more information you can call 91 22 23005000/7000/8000 or contact through mail cancerfoundation@yahoo.com
I sincerely hope that our little blog world will come forward and make a difference. What are you waiting for pull out that credit card now.

Lord Of the Ring

2006-05-31T13:12:00.000-07:00

Zinedine Zidane, for me without doubt the greatest football player of all times will not be there any more on the field after the World Cup in Germany, without him football will not be the same again. His creativity, his magic has no parallels. He took football to another plain, sublime, the joy of watching him weave his magic hard to describe. Have watched lot of great players, but Zidane’s dribbling, his ball control just amazing, the ball always seemed to be glued to his feet. The kind of things he did, left the spectators baffled and crying for more. The bigger the occasion the better he was. Two stunning headers in world Cup Final buried Brazil in 1998, that made him the most popular man in France. In 2000, he starred again as France won its second European title, scoring a penalty to beat Portugal in the semifinals. Unfortunately he was plagued with injuries during the last World Cup.
He had retired from the national team, but when France looked struggling to qualify for the World Cup 2006 he came back from retirement. He was immediately reinstated as Captain, that is the stature of the man.
So during the World Cup the Lord will be seen for the last time, for all of you whom this isn’t making any sense, just watch him in that number ten jersey during the Cup.
He played his last match recently for Real Madrid, a star studded team, with names like Ronaldo, Beckham, Figo, Raul and a few more big guns. Real had paid a whopping US $ 82 million for his transfer from the Italian Club Juventus, the biggest transfer fee. He was voted three time as the FIFA player of the year and also the best European Footballer in last 50 years.

Bulls Eye

2006-05-28T03:18:00.000-07:00

Recently I got my first gun, a 315 rifle, no it isn’t for those predators. Its absolutely deadly weapon, I fired it on a wall and it left a 10 inch deep hole, it can be effective up to a 1000 meters. Actually Dad was more keen but since he already has three licenses he could not get another one so I got the license. Yeah in India you have to first get a license to keep a gun. The kind of environment we live in I think one should have something for safety. In our family every one can handle a gun, including the females. With a gun I can go to any place at any time without fear, I have carried a pistol to the University for some time, we got entangled with some bad elements. Either you give in to them, or you stand up. The bad guys too fear for their lives, perhaps more than ordinary people. So when we made it loud and clear that we would not hesitate to kill if any harm came to us they backed off, and we never had any problem since then, if that day we had surrendered it would have been life long bullying.

Fortunately we never had to use a gun, the only place we did was at shooting ranges. Dad won the District Championship a few times, though he never took it seriously as a sport. Once he was dragged to State Championship and without any practice he managed to bag the silver medal in Pistol shooting.

I was involved in shoot out at the District Championship once in a Shot Gun event, it went on and on other events where delayed, finally I lost the first place to the guy from the army. At the School, once the NCC boys where having shooting, with .22 rifles, I wasn’t old enough to be in NCC. I went and pestered the NCC teacher to let me shoot. The event was supervised by two guys from the army. So the teacher asked me to borrow a uniform and use the name Vij, some one who was absent. I was there, 5 shots, each one of them bulls eye, the guys from the Army wanted me to go to Delhi for Republic Day Competition and the teacher was ‘arre yeh kya kiya marwoge mujhe’ (wht did u do u will get me killed) since I wasn’t from the NCC. The high point was when in NCC I used the Light Machine Gun, that was some fun.

But keeping Guns means a lot of responsibility and any one who is short tempered, the kind of people who just loose it, should not keep one. Never ever play the fool with a gun, the saying is, empty guns fire, so pointing a gun towards any one even if we are 100% sure that its empty is a strict no no. While firing a gun lot of things have to be made sure off, especially when it’s a long range weapon like a rifle. I would never fire until I am sure about the final destination of the bullet, it should either head for the sky or the ground or be hitting something which I can see. The angles are very important. Stray bullets have resulted in many accidents. And always keep out from the reach of the children. As a 7-8 year old I almost shot my sister. I picked up the Air Gun, thinking it was empty, aimed towards my sister from a few meters, ‘aaj mai tumhe khatam kar dunga’ and pulled the trigger and it actually fired, thankfully since it was too heavy for me I missed her, it could have been a real disaster, even though an Air Gun but from that close it could have been lethal.

To Kill or Not To....

2006-05-22T11:53:00.000-07:00

We have this little garden at the back, which is frequented by many birds especially during the summer months. We leave plenty of water for them to drink and bathe, you can sense their happiness. It’s fun to watch them bathing, drying themselves and singing merrily. They let us come so close, perhaps they know that we will not harm them. Quite a few of them make it there home, nest and lay eggs. It gives me so much joy to see they building the nest, lay eggs, the excitement when the chicks hatch and when they grow a little big the parents teaching them to fly. However all those birds have begun to attract quite a few predators, attacking the birds, taking away the chicks, the eggs etc. and that leaves me so upset, like that ‘bulbul’ in the picture, a day after her chicks hatched the nest was attacked by a cat.
Both the little ones of the dove (the one in pic) were taken away by a hawk, the next time they laid eggs a mongoose cleaned the nest. It really upsets me, I want to kill these predators. You see those birds putting in so much effort and then it ends like this in a disaster. The dilemma is that a part of me stops me from killing those predators, I feel that by doing so I will be interfering with nature, after all they kill to survive, to feed their young ones. But what about my birds, the birds who trust me, who take refuge in my home. I actually keep an eye on the nests when ever possible but how long and more often than not those idiots win the battle…what do I do????

Colors

2006-05-13T23:48:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the art work which i have done on computer, using photoshop, though there is so much more to learn there. The first painting is a copy of Van Gogh's work..titled yellow House. Unfortunatley i have not been able to post my favourite painting here, beacuse of it's size, and the kind of tools i have used there doesn't let me reduce the size....anyway.....i know some of you here paint i would love comments and suggestions, especially since i have had absoultely no clue, i mean i have no formal knowledge about the art.

Corruption Free

2006-05-09T12:23:00.000-07:00

The CBI raids on Chautala’s (ex Chief Minister of Haryana) is again a grim reminder of the corruption that prevails in our Country. Imagine Rs 1500 Crore worth of property and cash have been discovered. In a country where almost a third of the population still struggles to get two meals a day, another section of the population is hell bent in robbing the scarce resources we have. A house alone worth Rs 35 Crores, if I cud have my way I would put a bullet in your head and send you to another home.

No matter what the country has failed to stem the rot, and I don’t think it will ever change, how you can expect one thief to catch another. We need something more dramatic something revolutionary, here are some of my suggestions, if you have any ideas please share……..

Do away the system of competitive exams, when the bosses the politicians don’t require any education and still run the country then so can others… yes you need to just be say High School pass, now instead of the competitive exams, we will have competitive bidding. The one who bids the highest gets the job.

Government would not pay any salaries, one will be free to rob the ordinary people as much as possible. The Government gets a fixed sum depending upon the post one holds and plus a 20% cut in all earning beyond a certain limit, which will be again specified. The individual departments will dole out incentives like Swiss holidays etc for the people who contribute more to the State.

The benefits from this would be tremendous, the Government not only save billions of Rupees paid in Salaries but would also earn a substantial amount, we will get the auditors working to calculate how much we stand to gain.

The money needless to say earned thus would be ploughed back to improve the lot of the poor. Another outcome of this will be that we will dramatically, improve our position in the eyes of the world. We are constantly up there as one of the most corrupt nation, this position will be altered since bribes etc will not be henceforth looked as crime.

Before I forget, we will have a package too for the reserved category, they can get jobs just paying 25% of the bid amount, but their earnings will attract a higher rate of deduction.

Once More

2006-05-03T12:22:00.000-07:00

All right this one is courtesy Has to be me…..here I go…….

Name 10 of life's simple pleasures that you like the most and then pick 10 people to do the same (optional). Try to be original and creative and no to use the things someone else has already used.

Try and be original….yeah I am no clone……..and be creative I thought this is something ur born with……now how can I be creative..can I buy a lil of creativity somewhere :) ….anway

1. Sleep: I don’t think there is anything better than that

2. I love the beaches, the mountains, the forest ….i never tire of these things

3. Being with loved ones is something I always look fwd too…..though it’s a rare occurrence now : (

4. being with my pets….lil doggy n parrots ..wow what fun

5. watching TV…..almost can’t live without it…….don’t laugh now..sometimes I watch 3 channels at the same time..i have two sets side by side plus one of them has PIP…but mostly when we are having football n cricket games….and yes tennis

6. I love driving….but only on highway…..those real long drives lasting 5-9 hrs..btw hate driving in cities esp Delhi

7. I enjoy clicking away pics..birds, trees, sunset…….

8. Yeah sometimes I paint but only using PC…never tried on canvas

9. It’s a pleasure to interact with you ppl thru this blog…..

10. Love playing games..anything and everything…

Do I have to go thru the second one too..anyway here its is

1.Grab the book nearest to you, turn on page 18 and find line 4.
(haven’t understood y we are stuck with pg 18 line 4)

for a change here is pg 97 line 1 Readers Digest : )..it says……Its midnight in San Antonio, Texas, and I am wandering the Menger Hotel’s elegant lobby looking for maid Sallie White….(haunted) (why the maid at midnight . ) )

2.Stretch your left arm out as far as you can.
& catch air?
……I stretched both my arms..feels good
3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?
CNBC..about stocks….
4.Without looking, guess what time it is?
4.05
5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?
4.15
6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
Birds in the garden…
7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
half hr back..went to meet someone for work……
8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at?
my self in the mirror..i had to get ready na for this lol
9. What are you wearing?
jeans n black T shirt….
10. Did you dream last night?
don’t think so ..mostly when I do I remember it…..
11. When did you last laugh?
hour back when I spoke to my sis…….
12. What is on the walls of the room you are in?
hmm calendar, clock, a plastic plant, a souvenir from Canada and pics of brothers kids
13. Seen anything weird lately?
yessssss I have been seeing this thing for months…….around 7.30 eve…I see this small light moving in the sky, which appears like a satellite…..moving frm South to North….and then at one particular place….it suddenly turns so big n shinny.say one third size of the moon…for a few seconds and then it fizzles out.to its normal size and continues on its way ..have seen it at least 2 dozen times..wonder wht is tht….
14. What do you think of this quiz?
wonderful …. : ( who devised this….
15. What is the last film you saw?
Along Came Poly
16. If you became a multimillionaire overnight, what would you buy?
Would buy a big mansion in Shimla….where I wud host all bloggers during summers
17. Tell me something about you that I dunno.
After midnight I turn into a blood sucking vampire : )
18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
Erase all boundaries created by man……..one world one people…… and the language LOVE
19. Do you like to dance?
yeah I do……
20. George Bush.
Bush full of thorns
21. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
I will have a poll on the blog …..
22. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
shame as 21….. I mean same
23. Would you ever consider living abroad?
yes …..because this country will never change..small unthinkable things are huge problems here….power, water WTF
24.What do you want GOD to say to you when you reach the pearly gates?
been looking out for u for quite a while..this place was so quite without u
25. 5 people who must also do this in their journal.
No I am not going to name nyone…….but if some one wants to do it plzzzz go ahead……

Buddhu (fool) Buddhi

2006-04-30T00:16:00.000-07:00

Vikram Buddhi Graduate Student at Purdue University in USA, was caught by the Secret Service for having posted what the authorities termed as inflammatory messages on a yahoo finance board, he has been charged with threatening to kill Bush, his wife, Dick Cheney and top Republicans.

Buddhi was really buddhu he should have known what he was getting into, and now days net/phone conversations are closely monitored in the States, no matter what they proclaim the society isn’t free any more.

But I think Buddhi was just a little buddhu I am sure he never meant what he wrote, may be he had a few drinks, to bring all those charges against him is crazy, but then who could beat these people at stupidity (only saying tht abt the authorities). Sometimes back they had picked up this guy traveling to Canada from US, on suspicion of being a terrorist, chained him, and did what not……..have you ever taken flying lessons……in reality he just a seedha sadha Indian guy…… I think all budding pilots need to move to another part of the world, I am wondering why all drivers aren’t questioned, remember Oklahoma. On a serious note every one should resist from saying anything which can land you in a soup, even harmless things are misconstrued. This one is from India, two guys where talking in Urdu, one of them used the word “maisail” (meaning issue), some one called the Police, two guys here are talking about Missiles.

wrrrronnnggggg number

2006-04-25T12:46:00.000-07:00

There has been a revolution of sorts where telephone communication is concerned in India. Everyone has a cell phone today, there was a time when people used to pull out there cell phones while waiting at traffic signals and just pretend to talk…it was a big deal then. Anyway today the Dhoodwala, the Subziwala every one has it……people who have never used a electronic gadget… I was at a shop when this guy turns up with his cell .. ‘yeh theek kar do, jab phone aata hai yeh current maarta hai’(this thing gives a shock whenever I get a call)…..the guy at the shop fiddled with it for a few minutes and took Rs 50/- its done………he actually just switched off the vibrator.

However the home idiot..the landline.. is still the same, hasn’t changed its ways much. Sometimes its big pain, there was a time when we used to get so many calls that weren’t meant for us.. you come running all the way n just end up saying wrong number…….some point of time I just got tired of this and began take those calls and it became a source for fun……some of those conversations:

Caller: Hello..cold storage

Jack: yes tell me what do u want

Caller: I want 40 blocks of ice, I have taken them earlier too from u……how much does it cost?

Jack: arre u are our old customer we will charge u a very reasonable price ..u come tomorrow morning…

(don’t know what happened in the morning at the cold storage)

Caller: (lady) taxi stand

Jack: yes madam what can we do for u

Caller: we had asked for a taxi, but now we don’t need one…

Jack: no problem

(must have been a problem when the taxi turned up at the house)

Caller: (lady) Doctor saheb I am Swati Gupta

Jack: yes Swati ji tell me how are u

Caller: Doctor Saheb the surgery u had performed on my stomach ..it hurts

Jack: click

(I wanted to prescribe some medicine but then realized this is serious so I just hung up….wonder what happened when she spoke to her real doc..did she tell him that she spoke to him b4 too)

Caller: Cold storage

Jack: yes

Caller: what happened to my potato bags which had gone missing

Jack: Oh I have been waiting for your phone..we have traced your bags, u come here tomorrow

Caller: shall I bring a tractor trolley

Jack: now u cant take all those bags on your head ..bring the trolley

(I am sure they ended up in dishoom dishoom next day)

Caller: is Raju there

Jack: get lost

Caller: why are u being rude

Jack: now u will teach your father how to talk I am in-charge of the police station..where are u calling from let me send a cop

Caller: sorry saheb I did not know…I am really sorry

There have been numerous others too and its funny no one has ever turned back and said that u r not the one u r pretending to be. I really don’t understand how and why this problem but people dial up for all kinds of things and places, District Magistrate’s Office, Commissioner’s Office etc, some how these days its been a bit quite.

I Miss

2006-04-20T01:01:00.000-07:00

Been tagged by Kusum, never done it before. Even though it means having to push back some of the new posts that I had in mind. The things I miss? …..all right here I go:

Her: The numero uno spot has to go to her, someone who gave so much joy, so much love and then was gone. No matter how hard you try some memories never leave. You were a big cheat……all the time asking me, you wont leave me……..and then went away yourself ..i know u are sitting somewhere up there and smiling but you wait one day I will be there and then no one would be able to save you.
Bully: He was the Golden Labrador dog which my uncle had, with whom I stayed, while at University. I don’t know how and when but the guy became a slave to me. Almost every minute he would just follow me around, if I went to the bathroom he would be sitting outside the door. When I came back home he would be at the door, be so angry for having gone away he would grab my shirt in his mouth and drag me along. One day was sitting with uncle on the bed, we started this lil boxing thing…..Bully was watching, he thought it was for real, he cud not tolerate some one hitting me… he jumped on the bed and threatened my uncle. Who by now was running around with Bully in pursuit and if he really wanted to he would have got him but he was sensible enough not to bite. And my uncle his face red with fear and anger I am going to kill this F_____dog. Sometimes just wonder how animals can love any one so much. Then bully got very very sick and one day he was gone.
My School: Yeah those were real nice days, even though to begin with it seemed like a concentration camp but by the time we reached senior classes it was so much fun. I was the College Captain and for all other extra curricular activities I was like the undisputed king : ). Also miss the old lady, she was Vice Principals mother, sometimes when the VP wasn’t home, we (a frnd) wud sneak in, smoking her cigarettes, while she made stuff like ‘paraathas’ etc for us and we wud just sit there and chat about our romantic encounters, learn the old tried n tested techniques to woo the gals haha ..she was gr8. I could write a book about this one : )
Miss all my relatives, who have are abroad, even though we do meet once a year but it’s just not the same without them around all the time. Good news is that most of them are coming over during the summers : )
Miss all the people (except one) from my MBA class, especially all the gori chori’s .) It was an eye opener, there were people from so many diff countries and before I reached there I had my reservation, but as I settled down I found out that even though from different cultures people’s nature generally is the same. What a relationship I had with them…so much fun. Except one…..hmm he used to stink sooo muchhh…..was this Romanian guy.. you had be at least 15 ft away from him otherwise you would die of suffocation. With the country in flood now hopefully he can wash himself clean now : )

I could go on but lets just keep it short and crisp, .) don’t want people to complain about the length : )

Btw will the following accept this lil tag …..Uttara, Sunita and Suji…….

the rest of you I like u all a lil more than these three, so don’t want to put you thru this grind . )

Real Life Hero: Javed

2006-04-16T00:19:00.000-07:00

This is just saying thanks to big young boy, a tribute to a boy of real courage. A lesson for all those people who just turn away…it doesn’t concern me. 18 year old Javed happened to be at that Festival in Meerut that fateful night. There was a consumer festival at Meerut about 80 kms from Delhi. Thousand had gathered there for shopping, when a fire broke out in one of the enclosures and within minutes the other two enclosures where in flames too. The kind of material used in the enclosures caused havoc. With just one exit many got trapped in there. About 60 people perished that day and there would have been another half a dozen added to that list but for Javed.

Javed got out unscathed but then he saw this group of children trapped in that inferno. He could have just stood there watching, walked away like many others but he wasn’t any ordinary mortal……he ran back pulled one kid out, the next and the next, 6 kids were out, the fire becoming more dangerous by the second, he went in once again, but luck finally deserted him, a big chunk of the roofing fell on him, by the time he was rescued he had more than 70% burn injuries. He was rushed to a hospital but he died the next morning.

Truly an amazing deed, most will only run from that fire not jump into it, but this guy….man you belong to a rare breed, even though you may have gone but your sacrifice I am sure would be remembered for a long long time. Death doesn’t spare any one but you are lucky one to die like a hero…..you are a real life hero. May your soul rest in peace and your act inspire people to think beyond me and mine.

...............................

2006-04-15T01:22:00.000-07:00

How to be a Good Muslim

2006-04-11T01:44:00.000-07:00

If u want to be a “good Muslim” you have to adhere to the following….

…from your rooftop shout everyday, that u arn’t anti national

…..shout you are not fanatic

…shout that u arn’t a terrorist

…..don’t say a word if ppl choose to abuse your faith/religion…its their ‘freedom of speech’

....forget any self respect and dignity

….be ready to walk tht fire every day (like Sita)

I just can’t not be the good Muslim the kind this world approves….i have too much self respect and pride. My post was just about some comments but the kind of reaction it has generated is amazing…any way have ur say…..ppl are entitled too and I am entitled to bid good bye from here……..

It sad tht it shud end like this but it’s time to say good bye………there are lot of wonderful out there and it was fun knowing you people thru this place. Thank You.

Un Veiled: Thru My Eyes

2006-04-08T10:48:00.000-07:00

This one is inspired by Keshi’s last post, ‘whispers of veil’ rather by the comments left there, I could have had my say in the comments there but then hardly any one else would have read that. I think the people in their comments went way beyond the ambit of the post. Should women be forced to wear a veil….nooooo but it did not end there. Some comments where sensible, intelligent and some based on ignorance, disgusting, the kind of people whoz views are limited and blinded by western media.

Do actions of a small minority necessarily represent Islam…absolutely not. The problem discussed isn’t even so wide spread, yes it does happen in some middle east countries but hardly beyond that. Why only the veil, there are so many ills in those countries, the Monarchies would have long gone too, but for the continued support of the US, which works overtime to keep its Oil needs secure, so much for freedom and democracy.

Suddenly people are taking so much interest into what happens within Islam and a lot focusing around women. Give us a break, a big majority of them are happy by there condition. They are not in bondage, as they are all thought to be in, many of them are working and lead respectable lives. There are few women from other religions who are happily married in our family, who have accepted Islam and I have never heard anyone complain. Not to say that there are no problems in the society but they have nothing to do with religion, I think the Hindu women face a lot of problems too. Its more due to the situations people are in, the kind of environment in which we exist.

How about West, is everything really as good as it is made out to be, I don’t think so, not according to my standards, I think in lot of ways there condition is far worse than women in India. I don’t know how people see wife bashing, which is so widespread, teen sex, unwed mothers. How many in India would not be bothered if there teen sister/daughter was sleeping around, how many would not be jolted if there 16 yr old came and said mom I am pregnant. Last night happened to be watching Trends(fashion channel), walks in this Model in a bikini, un straps the bra I thought she wud just hold it there but she flung the bra on the ramp and did a lil jig is that the right thing, may be for her but not for me. The gal (in USA) who asked me if I would come to a nude party by the pool, where is it going to end??? The two extremes, the veil and the bare all, now what is right and what isn’t who decides???

As far as treatment of women within Islam, it was the first religion which came down heavily on child infanticide, which was rampant during those days, especially when the child was a girl. Somehow it still persists, you can read my post ‘mummy I want to live’. The Prophet himself married a widow, something which was a big taboo even in India, as late as last century and in some places even now they aren’t respected, watch Deepa Mehta’s film ‘Water’.

Some one talked about Modernism, for him some how wearing skimpy clothes is kind of being Modern, how ridiculous. Does wearing a bikini make a gal more modern than one wearing a traditional dress. I think modernism is much more than that. I consider my Grandfather a truly Modern man, though he was very religious, but he recognized the need for good education, he sent his children to school. In a place/community where no one had ever gone to one, no one gave a shit to education, but he sent his children to a boarding school, people laughed at him, ridiculed him but now every one admits to how he changed lives of people of that town and almost every kid goes to a school.

Clothes, wear whatever you are comfortable with, but why impose your likes/dislikes on to others, why judge people by your standards. People are different and have different values, and they should be respected by others. The society in India for example, isn’t mature enough to allow people to do whatever they want. So people have to follow certain rules of the society they live in. More over in different parts the line is at different places. Wear a short skirt in Mumbai or Delhi and one may not raise too many eyebrows, but come to a small town in your short skirt and you will become like a Pied Piper, with droves of people looking at those beautiful legs, go to a village and wear a bikini, within minutes the entire population would be there……..so most people have to play according to the rules irrespective of their religious beliefs. Yes people rebel every now and then, Protima Bedi running naked on the beach but these are just a handful of people.

So people live according to their culture, their customs, their religion and no one should pass sweeping judgments on one another. I don’t think there is one right path for everyone, just let people choose the path they want, lets respect people for what they are, instead of trying to mould them the way we want them to be.

Take it easy Doc's

2006-04-02T12:24:00.000-07:00

I was shocked to see the junior Doctors at GTBS Hospital at Delhi partying within the Hospital premises …in the open…right next to one of the patient wards…...music blaring at full blast and dancing away, part of their annual festival. I don’t have any problem with the partying, but dancing on the head of all those 100’s of patients is really appalling. I know for you Doctors to see people dying, lying in pain is just a job, but please spare a thought for those struggling for their lives, those grieving relatives who may have just lost a dear one, for those anxious people who are looking helplessly at their dear ones gasping for their last breath. Common guys be a little sensitive to others feelings just be a little more human. I am sure that loud music caused a lot of discomfort to many patients. It was sickening to just watch the event on television.

I am also surprised that no one came forward to stop this event. You see signs near all hospitals refraining people from blowing horns. There is a Supreme Court order too, which restrains use of loud speakers after 10 PM. And here is a party which continued almost all through the night and in the very heart of Delhi and yet nothing was done.

The Park: In Pictures

2006-03-29T11:20:00.000-08:00

The Elusive Tiger

2006-03-23T11:21:00.000-08:00

Yes I am finally back, arrived the day before but was so tired that could not write anything. Almost 2000 Kms by car during those 10 days and poor road conditions left every muscle and bone in pain. Nevertheless driving is my most preferred mode of travel. So I always drive down to Delhi, takes 8-9 hours, its bit tiring and boring to be driving that long alone but then I can have my car to move around once I am there.

On the second night in Delhi, one of my uncle’s landed up and he said I am going to Jim Corbett Park tomorrow morning if u want u can come with us. Now this is something I had been wanting to do for a long time but it just did not happen so now I just could not let this chance go.

Next day 8 AM we where on the way, the park is about 315 Kms from Delhi, one of the oldest and best kept parks. Not too many species of animals there, elephants, deer’s and yes tigers. Everyone who goes there has just one aim, to see the tiger in the wild. This is the place where the recently released movie ‘Kaal’ was shot. Late afternoon we are there, dense forest, with patches of open grasslands and hills and yes the river I found the surrounding so beautiful and fresh, the sky so blue, the water so clean just fell in love with the place. No wonder my uncle’s frnd who came along with us has been there 15 times. The accommodation was nice and comfortable, though a lil scary right into the heart of the forest, but they have a electric fence all around to keep the animals away. And it was like being cut off frm the rest of the world with no cell phones working, no TV or radio permitted but for a change its good.

Day two we went out in the forest twice, in the morning and then again in the evening, yes the mission was to find the tiger, all we got to see was deers and more deers. Some how the forest appeared so calm that it seemed that there are no tigers around. But some one had spotted one, they have a board where people write down if they saw one. And you want to meet the lucky ones, how …where, you just wish that you were there too, seeing them in the Zoo’s is one thing and tracking one down in the wild is just another experience.

Day three, got up at 5 AM, this time around we took an elephant to go deep in areas where the jeeps cannot go, may be this time we would have better luck. All we got to see where some carcasses of deer devoured by tigers sometimes back, yes we did see the pug marks near the river, but tiger noo where. However we did manage to get within 50 mts of wild elephants heard before the dashed off. Had a quick breakfast and we were back in the forest this time with jeep, it was getting a bit frustrating by now. We tried to cajole the tiger, playing hindi song on the cell….ek baar aa ja ..(come one time) and then those insulting dialogues ..ma ka dood piya hai to bhar nikal….(if u have had ur mother’s milk come out ..lol)……kya sab ne chudiyan pahein li hain (have u all started wearing bangles)..but nothing worked. Finally we headed back, the driver going a lil fast, as we came on the straight, on those winding roads suddenly found this huge elephant hardly 20 mts away, crossing the road, as the jeep screeched to a halt it turned towards us. Shit ..back off …angry males can be so dangerous but thankfully this one after a brief pause continued on its way. But it was scary, what we had been a lil faster we would have ended up being right next to it. Another excursion in the evening too drew a blank.

Last day again we got up early and took a final tour of forest, in an open jeep, standing on top it was so uncomfortable, too cold and I had nothing to keep me warm. Our last hope, in fact half the group refused to come, we are too sleepy. However, today somehow the forest seemed a bit different, suddenly the forest guard Babban said he heard a Sambhar ‘call’. Animals have a peculiar way of warning there gang when the tiger is around. First time we had heard that call. There was so much excitement, we waited there for 30 mins….nothing…….we decided to move to another place….just then we saw another jeep…the guide waived us over….he said he had seen a tiger who disappeared in the tall grass, we kept waiting there for about an hour, was it a hoax, then suddenly the deer grazing there look anxious, there tail up, one of them barked….surely its there….but another hour passed nothing happened…..it was time to head back……disappointment writ large on everyone’s face…Babban’s prayers too did not help…..atleast I had some nice pictures which I cud take back….we drove towards our guest house…..Babban whispered..i have heard a monkey call….behind us…lets turn back….a few deer frightened came out from the bushes…we turned back and had barely gone a few yards….suddenly it was there..right in the middle of the road just 40-50 yards from us….the most majestic beast of all….and then it vanished in the bushes on the other side….will never forget that moment…its so hard to put in words how I felt at that time…..mission accomplished…….

Before i go

2006-03-10T11:19:00.000-08:00

Yes its Sebia’s birthday today (11^th March) …..wish you a very very happy birthday ….not that I wanted to paint this one for her but I was threatened…..you dare not forget and bribed ….that long comment on the previous post…..and then we both are Pisceans and she being the shark I have really no choice, since we both dwell underwater……some of you must have heard that saying “paani mei rah kar magarmach se bair nahi” (something ..when u live in water you don’t offend the crocodile). Jokes apart, even though I have known her just for a few months but I can vouch that she is wonderful person, her simplicity you cannot ignore, caring, genuine person….she is not the shark but that lil goldfish everyone wants…I hope you will never change…..

There just a few people whozz birth date I know, cud u all kindly leave ur birth date here………

Since I will not be here at holi….yes day after I am going to Delhi for about 8-10 days don’t know if I wud be able to hang arnd here……so I wud like to wish each one of you a very happy and colorful Holi….have gr8 fun……….Pinki and Ishita…have the color ready

Hats Off:

The blasts at Varanasi ….innocent victims….its so disgusting, whoever has done that should be brought to justice. What hurts that there are people and political parties who are ready to get mileage out of a tragedy. Insensitive politicians hell bent on dividing the nation along religious line. There may be a few mischief makers but by and large the Muslim community has nothing to do with terrorism in India. Yes we have a problem in Kashmir and those people happen to be Muslims, why cannot we just call them Kashmiri militants why are they referred to as Islamic terrorist. There struggle in Kashmir has nothing to do with Islam, and I don’t think the Muslims from the other parts of India are any way involved in there activities.

However the purpose of this lil article is to salute the few Muslims gals…..Najma and her gang…..who amidst all the rabble rousing..even in that hostile atmosphere went to the hospital and donated blood to the injured …who were Hindus……hats off to you gals your deed is much more responsible and mature than any politician of this country…….you bring hope of a new India where people will all be treated with dignity and honor ..like human beings irrespective of their religious affiliations. Where innocent people would not be victims of terrorists. The aim of these terror groups is to create situations that would bring people face to face on religious lines and thus it becomes our responsibility to stand united and not let them succeed in there ugly desgin.

Ooopssss

2006-03-02T10:50:00.000-08:00

At some time or the other we have all made a fool of ourselves, we all have done things which where embarrassing, the time when we wanted to run and hide. I have had my share of such moments, two such incidents that I would always remember I share here with you people.

Been a natural sportsman, represented the College in every single game that the College took part in. however never got a chance to play Tennis, although I have been an ardent fan and follow it closely on TV, looks so easy. One day this gal invited a few of us to play tennis at her farmhouse. Even though I had never held a racket I was so excited. Finally we were there 7-8 guys n gals. The game began and it was my turn to show that untapped talent…. time for me to serve. Threw the ball up and came down real hard at it….the way Andy Roddick does it all day….hey where is the ball……is the court a bit small….the ball had sailed over the court….the 12 feet high fence at the back too wasn’t high enough.. it had disappeared somewhere in the tall grass outside……felt so embarrassed, and in front of all those gals……what to hide you know how guys always want to put there best foot forward in front of the other sex…….and here I was making a fool of myself…….

The other incident not too different ..someone dragged me along to a Golf Range while in was in London. You pay and get a basket of balls which u can hit. Again I had never held a club, anyway I put the ball down….this guy gave a few tips……..feet a lil apart….don’t bend that elbow……I was ready …. soo sure that I going to hit this ball real long…..by now a few guys had gathered there….waiting for there turn……finally i swing ..but the ball hasn’t moved an inch……can’t really believe that…..

Hmmmmm another swing and same result…..shit……...what these guys must be thinking……one more time………the ball still sits there mocking at my plight……wanted to smash it to bits and bury myself ………

How about you people narrating at least one such incident ….i am sure you can say it here…. I promise not to tell any one else : )

Get away with murder

2006-02-22T22:07:00.000-08:00

If you have the money, the right kind of political connections you can get away with murder. The acquittal of all accused in the murder of Jessica Lal proves this point beyond doubt. Jessica Lal was a model, who stood at a friends bar that fateful night seven years ago. A group of guys asked for drinks after the permitted hours, she made the mistake of going by the book and refused and one of them pulled out a pistol and shot her in front of everyone.

Many people saw that, and to begin with there were people willing to give evidence in the court but by the time the case finally went on trial, no one came forward, the manner in which the Police presented the case, it wasn’t effective enough to nail any one. But then the accused weren’t ordinary people, the prime accused Manu Sharma’s father is a big time politician and Minister in Haryana Government, Vikas Yadav son of mafia don cum politician D.P. Yadav, Yograj Singh father of the famous cricketer Yuvraj Singh. Vikas Yadav incidentally is now involved in another murder case, he shot and then burned his sisters boyfriend. These people make a mockery of the law.

The whole system is so disgusting, it sucks big time, corrupt and inefficient. You can get with anything if you can pull the right strings. This was one of those open and shut cases but still the criminals managed to evade the law. The Police probably bribed, did not carry out proper investigation. The witness either bought off or threatened. Where does the ordinary citizen go for justice. Sometimes I wish there was a group of vigilantes who could send these people to the place they deserve to be.

Toon Controversy

2006-02-17T23:45:00.000-08:00

The publication of the Cartoons showing the Prophet Muhammad is in poor light, a deliberate attempt to further create divisions in the world. I don’t understand how and why any one would do that, especially at a time when the world is already facing a crisis of sorts. The so called intellectuals should know what kind of reactions their actions are going to generate. Protests leading to loss of property and death of people was it really called for.

Making fun of some one so revered by people all over the world is so disgusting. Without getting into the good and bad of religion, I don’t think any one has right to poke fun at another’s religious belief what ever it may be. How can the so called civilized people be so insensitive is something to ponder about. Not so long ago they were selling undergarments with pictures of Hindu Gods printed on them. Using pictures of Hindu Goddess to sell beer, where are we going.

Then people defend it in the name of freedom of speech, should freedom of speech and expression be absolute. Does my freedom of speech give me permission to abuse some one. Not only the publication in Danish papers but subsequent republications after seeing the kind of hysteria it has generated is plain mischief and nothing more. Then u have tht clown Bush coming in support. We all know how much of freedom exists in USA, almost every phone call is put under the scanner, we all have heard about the spying missions of CIA.

Showing the Prophet as a terrorist, there by implying that the whole community is terrorist, which is far from the truth. And who decides whoz a terrorist and whoz not, are there any parameters. If the World Trade Center, the London and Madrid bombings are terrorists acts then the massacres in Afghanistan and Iraq are much bigger terror acts. Just like all those innocent people killed in New York, London and Madrid deserve sympathy so do people who have and are been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Would never understand why there is so much hypocrisy in the world, why the people so shackled that they don’t raise there voices against such nuisances, have we all lost our self respect or we just too engrossed in our own world to bother about anything else. I feel it’s the responsibility of every individual to raise his voice when he comes across any injustice, any wrong, its time people looked beyond His…. Mine and Yours. Its our World its our responsibility to save it otherwise one day it will just fall apart, divided and bleeding.

Happy Valentines

2006-02-14T05:02:00.000-08:00

Wishing you all a very Happy Valentine Day.....
hope u all have a great day flirting.....just painted the ulitmate symbol of
love n romance for u ppl.....could have done better but just rushed through
it.....tube light der se jali : (

Celebrity Encounters

2006-02-08T11:39:00.000-08:00

I am not the kind to go crazy about these so called celebrities, but occasionally u come across one of ur favorites it makes u feel good. Last week I met this gal Shewta who works for one of the news channels. I find her quite attractive, but when I saw her at the station I wasn’t even sure if its her, so it took some courage to walk upto her n ask her if she…..and indeed she was….actually some thing u don’t get to know from TV is the height..most of the time u just see them sitting and this gal was soo short and tht caused all the confusion…….she has beautiful eyes…n was nice enuf to talk to me for a few minutes…………

The first encounter I remember took place when I was just a kid, when a frnd invited me to watch a film shoot which was taking place at his house, as I took my chair on the balcony I saw this man sitting a few feet away….whozz he…hez some Nasiruddin (he is one of the finest actors in the country has worked in Hollywood too)…did not even merit a second look then.

Then one day ran into the beautiful Twinkle (actress), her mum Dimple was there too and I actually found her looking straight at me and when she realized tht I was looking at her too she looked away…..ok ppl I am not hinting nything..probably she did that unconsciously….

Was at a film awards function, VIP pass n all so we got to sit where all these actors where sitting, look up n see Sonali standing rt there……uff the heart missed a beat…..have had this massive crush on her…….

Now the Cricketers love to talk n brag about the game ….found myself sitting next to Madal Lal (ex test cricketer) on a flight from Delhi and I was stupid to ask him why India doesn’t produce the kind of fast bowlers Pakistan has…once Madan began to talk it ended only when the flight touched down…..for those 90 minutes I just said yes yes ………ufff

Then again was on the plane, bored n tired looking outside ..waiting for it to take off….all that perfume announced that some gal had just sat next to me. When it finally got moving I looked arnd…….hmm it was Pooja Bhatt (actress/director/producer)…….i was in a bit of dilemma shall I talk to her..what if she has those starry hang ups……who cares if she is a star……but wont she think I am weird …with everyone else giving her so much attention n this guy……….so finally I did say hi ….n she was cool hmm super cool…..just another next door gal….. we talked all through that 2 hr flight….infact her dad too was there n he was sitting some 2 rows back…..he might have thought I was harassing her so he asked her to come back but she just said I am fine here……….remember this 70 yr politician he cud not sit still ….wud get up every now n then look at her n then sit down…..in fact we both laughed abt it..the old man seems to be crazy abt u…some ppl had those confused look…..ok she is Pooja but the who the fuck is this guy : ) ……..finally it was time to walk out…..then heard Mahesh …Pooja who was tht guy…ohh he is Jackal ..winkz. I was really surprised to find her so normal n down to earth….she is a darling…ok ppl make sure u watch her latest movie “Holiday”.

Sonu Nigam..i hate him since the day we took the same flight……we all know ur a famous singer….but just sit down yaar…..the guy wud not sit still……..may be there where ants in his trousers….there were lot of empty seats n the guy wud get up n change his seat every 20-30 minutes..just trying to get attention….i already shook hands with u at the Airport wht the F_ _ _ more u want…………….

Mummy i want to live

2006-01-31T11:14:00.001-08:00

If unborn baby gals cud speak from the womb this is what they wud be saying……aborting baby gals and even killing the newly born is still so rampant among the Indians. I always thought it was due to illiteracy, however I was shocked to find out that the problem is as grim among the Indians even in places like England and New Jersey in US. I think it is one of the most shameful and ugly part of our society. The numbers are absolutely shocking on the whole there are only about 937 females to every 1000 males, but in some parts these stats are much worse for example in Karnataka there are only 870 females to every 1000 males. If you compare the all India stat for second born children then female ratio stands at 917………

What is most disgusting that only are girls being killed in the womb, at places they are being killed even after birth. I was horrified to see this report on TV where villagers were paying this woman ‘dai’ (the one who helps in delivery) to kill the child at birth if it was a girl. These women actually smother the newly born girl child by putting a wet towel on her face and just declare outside that the child died during birth. Everyone knows what actually took place but no questions are asked. In one of the villages they showed there are actually no female children at all only unmarked graves outside the village.

I think a lot of it comes from the religion which says that a son should be there to light the funeral pyre, God see’s the son lightening the pyre but doesn’t he those cold blooded murders? And then from the society, where mothers of girl children are looked down upon, the dowry racket, where parents are required to pay large amounts to get the girl married, the girl is supposed to be a burden and the boy a helping hand, but can really any justification be good enough to carry out such hideous acts.

The Government is doing its bit to stop the problem but its hardly making any impact. Ultrasounds just done for determination of sex have been banned, but the greedy doctor’s continue to perform them. They wont give u in writing but at some places after the ultrasound they just greet the parents Jai Shriram and Jai Sita Ma and u know what he is trying to say. More than the law u need to change the mind set. The gals should strive a v bit harder to throw that burden tag, tell the world that they are not less capable in any way. They should also refuse to marry a guy who seeks dowry, a few girls have walked out from the wedding ceremony and there is no reason why others cannot do it. In any case I think the kind of guy who seeks help in shape of dowry doesn’t have any self-respect, he is not the kind of guy to be there for you always he isn’t a man. Why marry such an idiot.

I don’t understand all those sense less abortions too, they are as good as murders, why do people after all those precautions available now need to go in for an abortions. The other day I was with this absolute gorgeous looking gal n we were kind of discussing these issues when I was told that her mum too was keen to abort her, I was kind of shocked and did not know what to say, if others had not convinced her mum otherwise this gal wud not have made it to this world.

All I want to say to the people who feel that what is happening is wrong..stand up and be counted. Most of us feel so aggrieved about things but tend not to do anything, thinking how they can alone change it, but I feel that every one needs to do whatever lil he can…….

Imagine

2006-01-26T10:29:00.000-08:00

I came across this old song of John Lennon…..Imagine….found the words so relevant and apt to what’s happening in the world today……..

Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
No religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say i'm a dreamer
but i'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one...

Some day I wish things could at least come a lil closer to as described in this song……the world will then become so much a better place to live…

Hidden Eye

2006-01-19T23:10:00.000-08:00

The other day was reading Dewdrops post about privacy, indeed privacy is non existent today. Nothing has however caused a bigger dent to privacy than the cameras. The hordes of TV channels trying to out do each other have used these cameras with telling effect, giving nightmares to all corrupt officials n politicians. The Sting operations have been a blessing for all those tired of corruption. Although nothing new but they have exposed those people to the world. Imagine those Parliamentarians who where showed taking money for asking questions in the Parliament. Not only it showed there greed for money but also there stupidity, how can any one at the position accept money from unknown individuals, and tht too such small amounts. The sting operations at Income Tax office, Sales Tax Office, the high security Tihar Jail and now these MP’s have shown the world how deep rooted corruption is in this country.

These are the positive contribution of these devices, but here I want to draw attention to the dark n ugly side, which all of us need to be wary off. No place seems to safe from the peering eye of these cameras, it seems there is a camera waiting at every place, the first incident I heard was when store owner selling ladies clothes was caught. He had a camera placed in the changing room, imagine been caught on camera while trying clothes and the pictures finding there way to those porn sites.

There was this couple on honeymoon they spent a few days at one of the hotels, after a few weeks a friend called up, he had seen the couple in the act on a porn site, which also had a video of the wife in the bath. Apparently some one from the hotel had placed a camera in their room and the bathroom, can anything be more disgusting than finding your self on some xxx site. I have just mentioned one incident but numerous such types of cases have been discovered. At one such Hotel the newly married couples would all be allotted one room, which had hidden cameras and you can guess what happened to those pictures.

Frequently gals are been caught in the trap, mainly by unsuspecting friends. The operation is same, mix something in the drink and when the gal is out of her senses clicking all kinds of pictures, then selling those pictures to porn sites or just using them to blackmail this gal into sexual and monetary favors. Very few have the courage to stand up and report the matter to the Police and the exploitation continues. The latest case of this Model from South Africa, who on New Years eve was drugged raped and pictures taken shows how vulnerable gals are to such maniacs. Fortunate she went to the Police and culprits where caught.

Its gone way to far, at every corner some one has the camera, clubs, swimming pools, schools. The MMS of tht Delhi school gal n Kareena’s tongue twisters u name it n u have it. The mobile cameras are a big nuisance and I feel they shud be banned by the Government.

People should be very careful and take a more than closer look if they are checking in hotels, using changing rooms at clubs, trial rooms at stores u want to make sure that there are no hidden cameras. U don’t want too be on a porn site……..so be on the guard….

Fever talks

2006-01-14T03:31:00.000-08:00

Yeah I was a bit sick ..down with fever……it was awful to begin with…..woke up around 4 AM feeling soo cold…..shivering like anything….all those layers of blankets did no good……amidst all this I needed to use the toilet…..n even though I have the luxury of an attached toilet but getting out from the blanket …the room so cold…..yeah homes don’t have ny permanent heating here………finally I had to get out of the bed but taking those few steps was like having to run naked on the Himalayas…….

Around 6 used my cell to call mom for medicine, it was dad who answered……send some medicine for fever n some water……dad did not recognize my voice…..where to send ….uff its meeeeee…….felt a lil better after taking the tablet ………it was on Eid day……..Eid..this one the day of sacrifice……God asked Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice something he loved most ….for Ibrahim it was his son…..so he was all set to sacrifice his son…….thrice he tried but he wud see his sons face n just cud not do it…….the son told his father to tie a cloth on his eyes. So Ibrahim tied a cloth and used the knife but when he opened his eyes it wasn’t his son there but a sheep instead………since then this Eid has come abt..this is one those incidents which Christians n Jews too believe in…..

Anyway did not miss much since to me its only going for the prayer n hugging a few dozen ppl there…uff get tired of hugging…so after a few hugzz I just put my head down n keep walking towards the door…..there is so much hugging on Eid tht it cud be named the hugzz day………….ohh yeah was looking forward to hug Sebia using Eid as an excuse since she doesn’t let me hug her : ( but …… I missed tht opportunity………..but I am sure one day I wud….wht they say in English ….looks towards Keshi ….yes every dog has his day…..talking of hugzz u can’t miss Strawy..there is so much warmth n love in her hugzz….may be if I was dying n she came arnd n gave a hug I wud sit up once more. Hugz I think do wonders if it is from some one who matters..when some one means it…..there is exchange of soo much positive energy….

Energy reminds me of Nitika Deepa n Cheesy who all seem to have loads of it……Keshi’s energy is no secret …posting almost everyday is no joke…….since Cheesy has put her self up for adoption …..sometimes I am thinking shall I ……it wud be so much fun to have her arnd…..but then there are so many rats at my place I cant take tht chance u c……

There is another lil secret which I want to share with u ppl….the other day I saw Praveen’s picture on her blog..n she is so beautiful tht my heart went…agar tum mil jao to zamana chhod denge hum..(if I get u..i will leave the world) Pinky is tht translation alrt ? but u know wht….found out she already has some one …uff poor me ..tears rolling like dew drops frm the leaves in early morning….. Shikha can I have a tissue…….i better end now I am alive but confused…..a belated bug Eid hug of all of u ……..

Common Sania

2006-01-06T01:43:00.000-08:00

Saw Sania lose to Venus yesterday and I was mighty disappointed, not because she lost but the way she lost. She was still committing the same mistakes, it wasn’t any different from the game she played against Maria Sharpova at US Open some 6 months back. She had such a good chance yesterday with Venus struggling with injury. She was leading 3-1 but after tht it was Venus all the way the score line 6-3 6-3. Sania continued to make mistakes and Venus did not really have to do any thing. Though seeing her condition Sania shud have just concentrated of making her run and keeping her on the court for as long as possible.

Although she has been working under the famous Tony Roche but I don’t think it has made ny difference to her game. The fact the career span of a professional tennis player isn’t very long Sania has to learn fast. Losing like this would otherwise dampen her will to put in all tht effort which is needed to become a champ.

The way I see it, her game is as good as the top ten, except for her serve, what is really missing is the belief in her ability tht she can knock those players off. I think this works on her mind all the time, so she tries not to get into rallies with her opponents, she is going all the time for the lines and tht results in to a lot of unforced errors. I don’t have the figures but in every match I think she hands her opponents almost 30% of the points by her errors. Now those top players are very clever when they see this kind of game they just sit back n wait for her to commit those errors.

So Sania should not be shy of rallies and stop going for the line all the time, when she pulls off those booming forehands it’s a delight to watch, but thy are not going to win her too many matches against the top players. Since all the time they are followed with lot of un forced errors. She has to be patient at times, wait for others to commit mistakes. Some one has to drill her the belief tht she is good enuf to engage those players in long rallies….let them commit mistakes ……….if she can do tht I think in a year or two she wud be in top tem without doubt…………..

Any one frm Hyderbad…tell Sania to read this and if she wants more help them she can get in touch with me…….

Watch Out

2006-01-02T10:26:00.000-08:00

I have mentioned about this letter in one of my earlier posts ‘Don’t be Conned’, recently I again came across a news on TV where some criminals where trying to cheat people using the same modus operandi, hence I thought of posting the entire letter here. I think its basically a gang of Nigerians who is behind all this fraud. They first send u this kind of mail and once anyone gets into communication with them u are asked to send transaction fee n to pay for some other expenses, and since the sum is not very large ppl do send the amount, but by the time you realize that ur being cheated u have lost few 100 dollars. If any one of u, ur frnds or relatives receive this kind of mail, get in touch with the Police. The Police can track them down, a few have already been caught but there are lot more on the prowl.

Dear Friend,

I am Andrew Chidi, the director in charge of auditing and accounting section of Union Togolaise du Banque Lome-Togo in West Africa with due respect and regard.I have decided to contact you on a business transaction that will be very beneficial to both of us at the end of the transaction .

During our investigation and auditing in this bank,my department came across a very huge sum of money belonging to a deceased person who died on november 1997 in a plane crash and the fund has been dormant in his account with this Bank without any claim of the fund in our custody either from his family or relation before our discovery to this development. Although personally,I keep this information
secret within myself and partners to enable the whole plans and idea be profitable and successful during the time of execution. The said amount was us$14M (fourteen million united states dollars).

As it may interest you to know, I got your impressive information through the business directory at chamber of commerce and Industry here in Lome- Togo where I was seaching for a good relaible contact to do the business with.I was elated the time I saw your address to propose the business to you.Meanwhile all the whole arrangement to put claim over this fund as the bonafide next of kin to the deceased,get the required approval and transfer this money to a foreign account has been put in place and directives and needed information will be relayed
to you as soon as you indicate your interest and willingness to assist us and also benefit your self to this great business opportunity.

In fact I could have done this deal alone but because of my position in this country as a civil servant,we are not allowed to operate a foreign account and would eventually raise an eye brow on my side during the time of transfer because I work in this bank.This is the actual reason why it will require a second party or fellow who will forward claims as the next of kin with affidavit of trust of oath to the Bank and also present a foreign account where he will need the money to be retransferred into on his request as it may be after due verification and clarification by the correspondent branch of the bank,where the whole money
will be remitted from to your own designation bank account.

I will not fail to inform you that this transaction is 100% risk free.On smooth conclusion of this transaction, you will be entitled to 30% of the total sum as gratification,while 10% will be set aside to take care of expenses that may arise during the time of transfer and also telephone bills,while 60% will be for me and my partners. Please,you have been adviced to keep top secret as we are still in service and intend to retire from service after we conclude this deal with you.

I will be monitoring the whole situation here in this bank until you confirm the money in your account and ask us to come down to your country for subsequent sharing of the fund according to percentages previously indicated and further investment,either in your country or any country you advice us to invest in.All other necessary information will be sent to you when I hear from you.I suggest you get back to me as soon as possible stating your wish in this deal.

Best Regard,

Andrew Chidi,

Chai .......Chaiiiiii

2005-12-22T10:43:00.000-08:00

Chai ..chai…..im sure all who have traveled by train in India, have heard tht call on railway stations…… here are tit bits frm the train journeys tht I have undertaken……the hustle bustle..the dust make train journeys so much different from the West…….though now some trains are as comfortable as in West otherwise its more like the fight to survive…….without reservation .. urgently needed to get to Delhi……imagine ppl asking money to get u in the compartment…..how …..well they made ppl stand in front of the door and then pushed them inside ….i did mange to get in but it was so crowded it seemed I wud die with suffocation some how managed to clamber out………

The best journey without doubt was to Calcutta when I used to travel with the school team…the whole coach used to be reserved for us…and it used to be gr8 fun…..even though it took some 20 hrs……however once it almost turned into a nightmare…..the train stopped at some station n some one tried to get in our coach, when one guy just pushed him out n locked the door….now tht guy did not get down…he was just hanging outside …the train crossed the flooded Ganges river…stopped at the next station ….which was very small.n suddenly some 60-70 college students appeared…..threatening n abusing us….for having thrown out tht guy…wht if tht guy had fallen in the river…we just sat inside with doors n windows locked…..suddenly heard those cries…put the coach on fire……all so tensed ..so scared…some of those young gals n guys began to cry……not a single cop in sight……I knew something had to be done otherwise we cud be roasted alive there…..i opened a window guys thought I was crazy …..very politely I apologized to them…we are all like ur younger brothers n sisters…we are also students like u guys….wht if ur own younger brother made a mistake……it more than worked…they actually shouted slogans….students ekta zindabad (long live students unity)….

Its so difficult to sleep in trains…….u so worried abt the luggage ……there are so many thefts…fortunately never happened with me…..though once some one tried to snatch my watch ..i was sleep when this guy opened the window, frm outside.. as the train left the station he tired to break it free from my wrist….i managed to grab his hand..but he got away ……though lot of women get bleeding ears….when the ear rings are ripped off…..gold chains are easy target too…….then there are those conmen at railway stations….once I got down to buy a drink..when this old man walked up..some one stole my wallet..have no money to get home….i bought his sob story gave him Rs 50….two weeks later happened to be at the same place..the same guy begins his story…..then he recognized me n hurriedly left….

From school we often went for those adventure walks….tht day we were going along the tracks ..kind of forest area..four of us…..barely teens…..suddenly this goods train came n stopped….it was headed towards the city and we jumped in thinking tht it wud stop some where b4 it got to the station and we wud come back…….it eventually stopped on the station…..as we got down….a cop is already waiting……where’s the ticket…wht ticket …do goods trains have a ticket ? …told him wht had happened but he wud have none of it…lets go….god if he went n complained we wud get away frm here but when the school principal comes to know surely we wud be thrown out……plzz we wont do it again…….finally all right……give me Rs 16…..(4 for each)…..i pulled out a Rs 20 note here.. I don’t have the change.. keep tht too…..but no..he was a very honest cop . ) come…takes us to a tea stall….orders tea for us…..brought the kids to show the station……gulped tht hot tea and walked back all those 7-8 kms to the school…..wht a joy ride…….

Hmmm got on the train frm delhi…..put my things n look up…..wow wow……..there was this really beautiful gal …don’t know how it started but soon we got talking ……who cared if other ppl were getting ready to sleep….walks in a villain from some where (must have been some relative of hers)…..is this going to end so soon…..he offers the gal another seat ……hmmmm ..she says she is fine am not going any where…….not again…..after some 15 mins it’s the TC (ticket collector )….even though she protested but he changed her seat to all ladies coupe……..why why……n tht was it…..did not c her again……..will always hate tht TC…….

Guys/gals below 18 can skip this one………..in a second a/c coach there are 4 berths which u can separate frm the passage with a curtain…….so when the train pulled out frm the station arnd 9 PM.. there were 4 of us..me a frnd….an Inspector General of Police and a middle aged woman…..those two looked liked or pretended to be strangers to each other….we talked for while then went to sleep….the top two berths we had taken….IG was on the one below mine……..must have been arnd 3 am when some how I woke up…..wht are those sounds……aahhhhh ahhhh ouuccchhh…..oh god….glanced at the ladies berth….hmm empty……how desperate n bold …..must salute the Indian Police for having such bold officers………….

Englese

2005-12-17T22:49:00.000-08:00

When I left for Italy I did not imagine that language wud be such a problem, I was under the impression that my English wud be enuf. But hardly had I reached there… I was sitting in the immigration office at the Rome Airport, looking like a criminal, apparently there was a problem but wht ..i had no clue …finally after 30 mins they got some one who cud speak English. On my visa, date of entry was erroneously printed (in Italian), anyway they let me go, but I had already missed my connecting flight.

The guy who came to pick me at Venice Airport, was so kind, thankfully he decided to wait for the next flight too. Then he tells me tht u must recognize these currency notes, just remember the colors, he wud hand me over n then explain, this green color one is Lira 5000, the blue one 10000. By the time I had seen one I realized tht it was written on every note..Lira 5000, Lira 10000, I thanked him for his help and politely told him I can read all right and tht I can manage without remembering the colors . )

The first time I landed up at a grocery store, I cud hardly buy anything, since everything was marked in Italian, next time I had to take a frnd along who showed me that this packet with ‘Latte’ was milk, ‘Burro’ was butter.

I did manage to pick up few words but surely that was never enuf to have a conversation. Then there were those strange encounters on the streets, so many times ppl wud pull up their cars and ask for directions and I had no idea what they were talking abt…then I learnt to tell them ..’non capito Italiano’….(I don’t understand Italian). This only lead to more weird looks, most ppl thought I was Italian too frm South, dark hair …and not so brown skin…so when they heard frm me tht I don’t speak Italian they thought I was just trying to pull a first one……….The best was when this man of African origin pulled up next to me and began to say something in Italian. Some how I guessed he was American frm the near by base, I asked him if he spoke English, u had to see his face, he just cud not believe wht he had just heard…..like everyone else he too thought I was Italian……..

One day I was there with a few frnds when this Chinese gal (some one we knew) walked up to me with this big grin, u know ur first name in Chinese means ‘bandit’…..as she walked away I cud not stop myself laughing……..now I (think) am too much a gentleman to tell her that her first name in my language meant ‘shit’.

At the grocery store u had to put in a lira 500 coin to get the cart out, u got it back when u put it back. One day I had no coin so I asked a frnd for one, he did not have one either but instead he gave me Romanian coin which he said, he used sometimes. Any way I shopped at the store and as I was going to put the cart back there was this lady who wanted the cart, she gave me this 500 lira coin, god I wanted to tell her that I had this other coin which had hardly any value…..but surely cud not explain all this too her with my Italian…..so reluctantly I took the coin n walked away….i don’t know wht she thought off me when she put that cart back………

Its surprising how few ppl spoke or understood English, but some did……took one frnd along to act as interpreter when I had to buy an air ticket….when I got there I told my frnd to ask this guy for a ticket to Londra (London), that agent spoke in perfect English….we have couple of flights….but my frnd (don’t know where he was lost)…tells me he is saying there are number of flights…..next I asked agent for any early morning flight…..yes there is a BA flight….my frnd again….there is……finally I had to stop him…plzz I can understand wht he saying u don’t need to repeat tht : )

So embarrassing…..out on the beach …. freezing cold….with two frnds……and no other soul in sight….suddenly this gal passes us ..jogging....just wearing a shirt and short pant…….the idiot thinking she was Italian n wont understand English …says…how hot she is feeling….the gal stops and walks up to us…in perfect English...did u say some thing ….. : (

Come US and it hovered arnd pronunciations, esp the University I was at had this huge Indian population but I think almost all of them belonged to South India, so for most Americans, only those type were Indians. Where are u frm? Im frm India…….no way….wht makes u say tht..well u speak differently, u look different ..then u had to explain to them how big India was…how many different languages we spoke and how ppl look different ……..But those explanations were frequently required in the beginning…I was anything but Indian : ( …….

Even tht drunk gal…..some idiot dropped her on the middle of the road n drove off…she wud have hit the road had not I quickly caught her arm……which apartment I asked…..u aren’t American are u….no…….Espanola ..Deutsche …im Indian…..u not telling me..she went….i said right now u just tell me ur apt # and my nationality we will discuss another day.

At a South Indian restaurant in DC, with my frnds, I order the food…..when we finished I strolled out for a smoke…while the frnds paid the bill……the Indian guys frm the restaurant, wanted to know frm my frnds where did I come frm…..he knew so much abt Indian food ……..

I think I speak English like any other North Indian, may be a lil better, my accent may be comes frm all tht time spent listening to Cricket commentary frm Australia and England, since I was a kid. But still I think its very normal…never understood wht was so different abt it..ok I can understand its different frm the South Indians, whose English has such a heavy dose of there mother tongue too…….

Latest news..kicked out frm an auditon…..one of the judge the not so beautiful Pari Zorabian says….ur accent is too foreign…..my foot………

Climate Terrorist

2005-12-14T00:51:00.000-08:00

Global warming is assuming dangerous proportions and threatens the very existence of this world. The green House gases are gradually destroying the Ozone, layer which in turn leads to increase in temperature.

The Artic is the barometer of the world and the indigenous people there are the mercury, reflecting the pitch of the fever afflicting the planet. The four-year scientific study has discovered that the Artic region would warm by 4-7 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. The Artic ice cap is expected to disappear in the next 60 years, raising sea levels, inundating several islands and low lying coastal areas through out the world. Artic glaciers are melting rapidly, draining ice sheets and dumping tens of cubic Km of fresh water into the North Atlantic. The phenomena is affecting the flow of ocean currents, hampering movement of warm currents towards the North, and upsetting climate patterns, leading to powerful storms, desertification and extinction of species. While Western Europe is expected to grow colder, Artic and equatorial regions will become warmer. The worst affected are the people living in the Artic, whose habitats are warming at twice the rate of the global average. Just think about the consequence, pretty scary. Imagine island countries just disappearing.

Kyoto is a tiny first step in a drive to brake a warming most scientists say will lead to wrenching changes. The Kyoto Protocol aims at getting nations to reduce these catastrophic emissions, however countries like US and Australia have pulled out saying that it would be to costly for their economies. The US is the biggest emitter of green house gases. Attempts by Canada to coax the US into a parallel voluntary agreement to reduce GHG emissions outside the convention have failed.

Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin said, “the world cannot walk away from its responsibility”. If the US continues to be a climate terrorist the rest of the world will have to no option but to boycott and penalize it as part of a global action against terrorism. Martin also urged Washington to "listen to the conscience of the world".

The Inuits have already sued the USA for its climate Policy, which they is threatening their survival. The Inuits petition urges the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights to investigate the role of the US in accelerating global warming and endangering livelihoods, and to make the US adopt the mandatory limits to green house gas emissions. Even if the a ruling by the Commission would be symbolic, it will show up the US as a serious violator of human rights, and set a precedent to hold climate offenders morally and legally responsible for their actions.

Development is necessary but at what cost, tomorrow if the world is not there then what is need for all that development. The attitude of USA is indeed shocking, how can it be so callous about something so catastrophic, it surely deserves to be dubbed as Climate terrorist.

Don't be Conned

2005-12-08T10:23:00.000-08:00

I don’t know why people are so gullible especially when I comes to making easy money. Investment Companies promising to pay weird rate of returns have duped so many people. Its sad that people invest their had earned money without realizing as to what they are getting into. Then there are those petty criminals waiting to lighten your pockets given the slightest opportunity.

Over the last 6-7 years these investors have lost about Rs 75,000 Crores. The main culprits have been the investment companies. Most of these Companies almost follow the same modus operandi. They promise huge rate of return, people begin to invest in them, for a while everything is normal, u get those nice returns. You talk to your friend he is excited too, he puts his money also, the word spreads slowly and once the Company has a substantial amount, they just vanish in thin air. That swanky office and everything is gone and you are left licking your wounds.

This is just a little attempt to prevent people from losing their hard earned money.

There was this lady in Punjab, who ran one such investment Company, the Interest rate was a whopping 10% monthly on your investment. You invested Rs 100000 at the end of the month it wud become Rs 110,000, without thinking so many people invested their money, for a few months everything was smooth but one day she had gone, taking along with her those crores of rupees.

My brother in law was telling me about one such Company in which he had invested some money. He was telling me how he gets his interest every month, which was 30 % per annum. The Company had very diverse business and running very well. I asked him to get his money out as soon as possible, because this Company is going to disappear, he wasn’t convinced but he did get his investment out. But many others were not so fortunate, the Company had gone.

I am no magician, I don’t have that crystal ball to gaze. Its just plain common sense. When a Company is paying an interest rate which is much higher than the rate at which the Company can borrow from the bank, there is surely some thing fishy. If a Company is into sound business, and it needs funds it shud be heading to a bank from where it can raise money at 14-15%, why shud it be paying those weird rates of return to people. So if they are not borrowing from the bank then either there business plan is not sound or they have some other motive, that is duping the public.

Many people burn there fingers by jumping into equity markets without having any knowledge whatsoever. People shud invest in equities only if they are well informed, investing money in stocks because xyz said, or some one told u that this is a nice bet is only inviting trouble. I have seen people putting money in Companies of which they have no clue.

Although the Securities and Exchange Board (SEBI) does its best to prevent scams but still there are people sitting to snatch your hard earned money.

There are many small companies which don’t have a very large market capital (market capital is the number of shares of Co. in the market x by its share price), these are the Companies which one shud be vary off, since the number of shares is not very large individuals get together to manipulate prices of these stocks. First individuals wud quietly keep buying a particular stock, when they have accumulated the quantity they wanted, they artificially jack up the price. See how it works, I have my friends sitting on different terminals, the current market price is say Rs 8, I place a order to sell 5000 shares at 8.50 Keshi buys that, then Keshi places a sell order at 8.75 and Sebia picks up those stock. Sebia then places a sell order at 9 and Fairy buys that. So this goes on for a while, stock prices increase by 4-5 times. The people oblivious of the game we had be playing, watch how the stock is going up everyday and they jump into. I don’t know why people in stock market have a herd mentality but they do, so when these guys jump in my frnds quietly sell off our holding which we had picked up at very low prices.

So don’t get into equities if u don’t have a clue, and if ur really keen u can go through the records of the Companies that are available on the internet or u can invest through well known funds and let professionals manage your portfolio.

Then there are those petty criminals, on the net, on the roads every where, waiting for an opportunity. On the Net lot of u must have come across that mail, we have this huge amount lying in an unclaimed account, if u help them transfer that money then u get a fat percentage. Once u bite the bait u are asked to send the initial processing fee etc, and by the time u realize that u are being conned, u have lost a few hundred dollars.

A nice trick very popular on the streets of Delhi, is that the prospective victim is sitting in his car waiting for some one, with his bag lying on the back seat. A guy walks up quietly drops some money, and tells him that probably u have dropped ur money. U think may be I did, u get down to pick up that money. When u got home u realize that ur bag is gone, when u were picking up that money another accomplice disappears with the bag. So next time some one tells u that u have dropped money, pick it up but before that make sure ur belongings are safe…lock ur car……

I hope this wud help at least a few people in making wise investment decisions and not falling victim to some conman, don’t just read this post, share it with ur relatives and frnds and if u have any similar experience lets hear…..

Most Foul

2005-12-03T02:08:00.000-08:00

I have read two of Keshi’s post hitting out at death penalty, but I am really not convinced that we shud do away with it. Its very good to be compassionate, I am companionate too but my compassion lies with the victim, with their families and their folks. I am not sure if a first time drug trafficker shud have been handed out death penalty but there are so many criminal acts, so ruthless and dastardly that the ultimate punishment and nothing less is called for. Remember its not putting an end to an individual criminal, it’s a way to end crime, by deterring people, for making world a safer place to live. Even with death penalty there is no fear, if it is totally done away with what wud happen is any bodies guess.

Especially in a country like India, where there are so many incidents every day, rape murder, you open the television and there u are, and I get that sinking feeling. I cant stop my self from thinking about those last few seconds those moments when some was being raped or some one was being killed, the helplessness of the victim comes to my mind and more so when the victim is a girl or a woman, men still have a chance to fight back but……….

The crimes committed by people whom the victim knew and trusted. Early this year Dhananjay was hanged to death, for what he had done, I think it was absolutely right to hang him. He was watchman for the building where his victim lived. A young school going girl, her parents must have been assured that there was this watchman, so they cud leave there daughter alone in their apartment. One afternoon when this girl came back from school, Dhananjay knew she was alone, he rang the door bell ……raped that girl and killed her. Ask all those people who loved that girl, how they felt when they found their darling lying in a heap.

Three incidents that took place over the last few weeks have left me wondering as to whether we can trust any one at all.

There was this Hindu girl who fell in love with her Muslim neighbor, the girls parents where dead against any such relationship, but the girl wud not listen so they sent the girl to Temple, where she was kept forcible. However the girl wud not relent, so parents hired some people to kill their daughter. While the girl was sleeping the mother opened the door for the assailants, and she watched those people strangle her daughter to death. You just shudder, a mother can get people to kill her child and then sit and watch …..

The next victim was a girl who taught at a Computer Center, the guy who helped knew she wud be the last person to leave the Center that afternoon, so each time he gave her Tea it was laced with sleeping pills, by the time everyone had left, this girl fell asleep. Then that guy tried to rape her but she managed to put some resistance, so he killed her.

The last incident is really unbelievable, how cud any one think leave alone do it. The guy gets engaged to this girl whom his parents had chosen, even though he had a girl friend. For sometime he went around with his fiancée, one day he took her for a drive. He stopped the car at a secluded spot and asked the girl how much you love. The girl did not know what was coming, innocently she said she cud do anything for him even give her life for him. Then this guy said all right you lie down in front of the car, she hesitated but the guy made her do it, she must have thought it’s a joke, but he actually drove over her with the intention of killing her, though thankfully she survived.

Now what do u do with these cold blooded criminals, feel compassionate towards them, let them loose so they come back for more blood………

The idea of Capital punishment is not to kill people, its about saving the innocent, by deterring the people from committing those crimes. To have a society where there are no criminals and no victims.

The idea behind this post is also to warn those girls going out to study and to work. Never let your guard down, even when you are with people whom you know and trust. You alone can prevent yourself from becoming a victim. If u have to stay back late and alone (u being the lone female) ask some female friend to wait for you, you can do the same in return. Avoid places and situations where u cud be the likely…..how about carrying pepper spray……..

Seen A Ghost ??

2005-11-26T00:54:00.000-08:00

Since childhood have heard so much about the ghosts but never seen one myself, do they exist or … I am sure each one of you has heard lot of those ghost stories. I don’t know how many of you actually believe that ghosts exist, how many of you are scared of them.

I remember as a kid in school I had my fears and it was terrible. The school being housed in 18th century French castle, and located a secluded spot, fit to shoot horror movies. All kinds of stories used to float around. On one of the windows, in the dormitory there was an old painting, we where told that the guy who was making this fell from the window and died and his ghost roams around in the dormitory at night. On another wall there was this door which had been sealed, that door actually led to what was supposed to be the art room that again was said to be haunted.

Then there were stories about the French General who was buried in the basement of the main building and some other English soldiers who were buried around the school building, how their headless bodies rode the horses on the full moon nights. As a kid u lap all those stories. In ur mind there is always fear lurking.

One night I woke up, just past midnight, heard a strange sound, it appeared someone was walking around, but I did not see any one. I was so frightened, and the same thing happened the next day, in fact it became a daily routine. I wud wake around midnight and hear that same sound, scared to death, I wud be sweating even, whole day I wud be thinking about it. It continued for weeks, when one day I said I had to face it no matter what happened, that night when I heard that sound I just sat up, after a few seconds I realized it was the guy sleeping on the next bed, the sound was coming from there, went over to his bed and realized he was sleeping. It was his teeth that made that sound, I was so relieved that day, the next day I changed my bed to another part of the dormitory and got rid of the ghost.

Some where along I got rid of all fear for the ghosts, in fact by the time I was in senior dormitory I wud pretend to be a ghost myself. The dormitory was on the first floor with rows of door opening on the terrace, there were many statues, especially two large ones of tigers, so sometimes late at night I used to go out on the terrace with a white sheet, hold the sheet high just to create an illusion as some one very tall, then gently walk across the terrace, sit down, then hide behind one of those statues and re appear. I don’t know if any one ever saw me doing that and if any one did then how he felt.

The most credible story came from my aunt, but then again what she saw ....was it a ghost or a spirit or some thing else ? The first floor room at my maternal grandma’s place was supposed to be haunted. One evening my aunt was teaching a cousin of mine in that room, she sat facing the door when she saw this bright light entering the room thru the door and she said what’s this and then my cousin who sat facing the window said n what was that……that light. entered thru the door and went out thru the window …..once another aunt was sleeping when she got up in the middle of the night, saying she felt that some lay down next to her on the bed, when there was no one around.

Although I have spent so much time there but never came across anything, though once I was sleeping there with an uncle of mine. When I woke up early morning I did not find him on the bed, later when I asked him what happened he said at night he felt that a tall bearded guy was standing at the foot of the bed trying to say something, so after a while my uncle just went to another room downstairs, how mean he did not even tell me that he was going.

I don’t know where the truth lies, but today I am firm believer that there is nothing like a ghost or a spirit, I think its more an illusion as a result to what’s going on in ur mind, or how ur mind has been shaped from childhood. Lets hear what u ppl have to say on this one, has any one come across one?

Enough

2005-11-20T09:52:00.000-08:00

Clinton finally says that attack on Iraq was a mistake, but the mad man Bush still goes about unperturbed by the sheer stupidity of his actions. Post World War II no one has been responsible for as many deaths and destruction as this lunatic. There was an opportunity for the American people to get rid of this mad man but……..

It’s a shame that a nation that so much prides itself about its democratic values and its human rights has brought so much destruction, horror and deaths all over the world. The only country which has actually gone ahead and used nuclear weapons, now has assumed the role of watch dog aiming for a nuclear free world, rather rest of the world. How hypocritical, that it would go to any extent to stop countries from getting nuclear technology, while it continues to posses the biggest arsenal of nuclear weapons. It also holds large quantities of chemical and biological weapons. The anthrax used in attacks in US, came from the stocks of US military. Chemical and Biological weapons were freely used during the Vietnam war by the Americans.

What is happening today in the World is not accidental, its part of very well thought of strategy, with the sole aim of benefiting the US economy, post the collapse of soviet Union, the US needed some enemy to keep the tensions and conflicts going in world, because sans wars and these tensions the massive defense industry in US would collapse and hurt the country real bad. So it was decided to shift focus to Middle East, that would also ensure a hold on Oil. A decade back theories were already floating in US about the next clash, books were written, when I read one such theory, “Clash of Civilizations”, I thought these people were crazy, I just could not see then a clash between the Christians and Muslims, but it has happened because some people in US worked overtime to make this happen.

Iraqi’s were all the time in touch with US authorities when they invaded Kuwait, the secretary of state assured Saddam that it was all right with the US, if Iraq takes over Kuwait. Saddam never imagined that the US would use this as an excuse to destroy Iraq, because a powerful Iraq was seen as a threat to Israel.

9/11 was used as an excuse to destroy Afghanistan, not that there was much left in the country any way after the Soviet invasion. And then Iraq again, for the second war there was absolutely no justification, this time even the United Nations refused to tow the US line but in blatant disregard to all rules and regulations the Americans went ahead and attacked Iraq a second time, this time most of the countries refused to go along with US except for its lackey England.

The three wars have left hundreds of thousands dead, orphan children, people without homes. All this to end terror, but they are far from accompanying there goal, the path chosen by the US is bound to fail, rather it has led to an upsurge in violence. US by its actions has assured that ordinary, innocent people will continue to be victims of more terror attacks.

Unless until the US government radically alters its policy in the Middle East, there will always be people out there willing to cause havoc. It is the US itself which fuels this terror. Its support of the monarchies in the Middle East where there is not even a semblance of democracy, its hold over the Oil is one of thee factors which has led to this upsurge. Why does US support the dictator in Pakistan. People have realized that US concern for democratic values is a big sham. No one will ever understand who has given US the right to become play the global Cop. Now it threatens Syria, Iran and North Korea, without realizing that such an adventure would provide a massive boast to the terror groups.

I sincerely hope some day some one in US would realize that the country has lost the respect of vast majority of people in developing world because of its stupid policies. Its in their hands to have peace not only in US but rest of the World too. The world has had enough of madness.

Besides death and destruction another thing that really hurts, is that that billions of dollars are spent on senseless wars. If people had heart this money could be spent to feed the millions that die each year in Africa due to hunger, to provide for children dying of malnutrition and due to lack of medical facilities.

First time i..

2005-11-12T04:23:00.000-08:00

All right after all that serious stuff here is something light and beautiful it’s about love. Something which makes u do crazy things, which can give so much joy and pleasure and which can also be the source of never ending pain. Being in India, with all those restrictions being in love has some additional excitement. So this one is about the first time I was bowled over by someone.

I was still in school then, in the 12 std, lived in the boarding house, kind of a hero for what I did on the sports front. The all boys School, was located about two miles from the City, though we had a girls School too but that was in the City. It would be one of those rare days when u got to see a girl on the campus. But whenever one showed up whole lot of guys would be clamoring to get one look. Girls would almost at all times be the topic of discussion. One of those days I heard about this new girl Sonam at the girls school, how beautiful she was blah blah….

Few weeks later I was at the girls school to play a friendly basketball match with their team, part of their trainig program. I was the first one to walk on the court, when this girl wearing black shorts and a brown silky top, turns arnd and throws a ball to me, while I just went wow..she was really beautiful …. it was Sonam.

A week later these girls were coming over for a dance party, every year we had 3-4 such parties and it created so much excitement. Being the School Captain I had to start that dance which after few minutes the others wud join in. For those initial few minutes it wud be me and my partner alone on the floor. One of the guys threw a challenge at me, that I ask Sonam for the first dance. That’s what I did, we danced for some time, the challenge over I made an excuse that I had some work which wud take a while, just to get away, but this girl, she says I am waiting for you. When I came back after some 30 minutes, I did not expect her to be waiting for me but there she was sitting alone in the corner where I had left her, a big smile when she saw me, that moment floored me, her innocence and simplicity got me, the fact that she was really beautiful was a bonus.

To meet her was so difficult, my school had military like discipline, the guys in boarding house cud not go out without permission, which was given in rare cases. For each activity guys wud be counted to make sure everyone was there. Anyway I found out how she went home after school, both of our schools gave over almost at the same time. She walked some distance to the bus stop from where she wud take the bus. So I wud slip out of my last class a few minutes earlier, borrow a mobike, stop near her bus stop and then start walking towards her school, and so we used to bump into each other, we met just for few minutes because I had to rush back for lunch. Initially I pretended that we ran into each other by chance, though I am sure she guessed what I was up to.

Then I went to the University, while she moved to a girls College, where my sister was also studying. My sister got princely treatment from her, she wud not let her do anything, Sonam wud take care of everything. Sometime I went to visit my sister with my family dad n mum, when it used to be the time to return I wud be the last to get into the car, I had to wink at Sonam who wud be there my sister. Life was so beautiful, occasionally we wud talk of getting married but then before that we wanted to do something, settle down. Especially since we belonged to different religions there was always doubt wud the parents accept something like this.

Meanwhile Sonam applied for and got flight attendants job with an international carrier, suddenly we were like a 1000 miles apart, but we kept in touch, initially she used to ask me to join the Airline too, but that was not part of my plans. But i wud find all kind of excuses every now n then to travel to Mumbai where she was based, but gradually we just drifted apart, being on International Flights she was mostly away from the country. The distance got too us. There was this sinking feeling when the realization dawned that she was no longer mine, 8 yrs is a long time to be together with some one and then……she was such a wonderful person, so caring…..

Took some time to get back to my normal life. Then I went abroad for my MBA, on my return the first thing I did was to try and find her, may be we cud work out something, because no matter what had happened but we both cared for each other a lot. But there was absolutely no trace of her, I was told she had joined another Airline. I went to her house but her parents who were in some government job had moved too. She kind of just vanished in thin air. Some time I just sit n wonder where she is what she is doing……I still think tht some day we would run into each other and embrace each other in an everlasting hug………

All I have now is all those vivid memories, sometimes I hate myself for my memory.

How Long

2005-10-29T12:58:00.000-07:00

Feeling so bad today, to begin with there was this train accident down South near Hyderabad, seeing all those dead bodies being pulled out.

Then comes evening and those senseless bomb blasts in New Delhi, which left almost 70 dead and 100 injured, some of then very seriously battling for their lives. I don’t know how long will this madness continue, how long innocent people would be targeted. The scenes from the sites were so horrifying. Imagine the plight of the people who have lost their loved ones. Don’t understand how anyone could perpetuate such horror. For so many families the light has been snuffed out of the coming Diwali and Eid festivals. I hope God gives courage to relatives of the victims to overcome this grief.

Sadly people in position to stop this menace continue to play political games. The lives of ordinary people seem to be expendable for them. Wish n hope someday there would be leaders who can put and end to all this. The world, the innocent people have had enough, every one has right to live peacefully. Will ever there would be a world where people can live without fear ?

Paintings

2005-10-26T11:32:00.000-07:00

While I put together a new post i wud like to share some paintings which i have made on the Computer. Normally i use paint and photoshop. Unfortunately i cud not post my all time favo due to some technical problem. Hope u people like what i have done and yes i have really made them, because i have had ppl turn back and ask where did u get them from : ). The one with the yellow houses is a copy of Van Gogh's master piece called Yellow House. Night Sky was an experiment to see if i cud make something worthwhile by just using black, white and grey.

Left Alone

2005-09-23T13:54:00.000-07:00

Large number of people from India go to other countries to study and to work. The quality of life is so poor in India that most of them choose to stay there permanently. They make huge amounts of money which is unthinkable if ur working in India. However, this has led to a very painful lonely life for there parents back in India. Most of the parents don’t want to leave the country because of there strong roots here. There children don’t want to come back because of the reasons mentioned above. So many parents are left alone here with no one to take care of them. Its sad that people who have spent there lives making u what you are, are left alone when they need there children most.

I can never forget what happened with some one I knew, the old man lived alone here, while his two sons worked abroad. He had some eye problem which needed surgery so the poor guy was at the hospital all alone. The doctor said aren’t any one accompanying you, he said they would be here later, the doctor said u tell me the phone number I would call then, so our man said that he forgot his phone book at home, not wanting to say that he had no one here.

Few months later the old man expired, he had died during the sleep at night it was only in the morning that some one discovered what had happened. Trust me they had to find people to take him to the grave yard.

I don’t know how u people see it but I felt so bad, that day I vouched that no matter what I would never leave my parents alone, even if I have to sacrifice my own personal life. I also have two brothers who studied here and now work abroad, while I studied abroad but now I am back with my parents, I don’t think any amount of $’s can give me the same satisfaction which I get by just being there with my parents.

But to get the joy of being with then has meant that I have virtually given up my life. Its been tough but I don’t see a way out. If I too had been working abroad I also would have been sitting with a huge bank balance, a wife, kids n all but I have none of it. May be I can understand why people don’t want to return, but then what about the parents, its all so complex, I dint know how it should be tackled but there is a problem which is very painful very lonely and very very sad.

The Prankster

2005-09-20T12:58:00.000-07:00

Still remember the afternoon my parents left me at the boarding school, when I was about 8 yrs old.

Life at school to begin with was so difficult, sometimes it resembled more like an army camp with such strict discipline, but once I got used to the Head Master’s cane it was ok, I cud still do my own thing and if caught then take my punishment.

Life was boring most of the time and we had to look for ways to keep going. Some time then the prankster in me was born. I did so many weird things, wud like to share some of them with u ppl.

Once in two yrs we used to travel to Calcutta for the sports meet, so we were on the train to Calcutta. I find so difficult to sleep in trains, while most of the ppl were sleeping. Then I thought y shud these ppl sleep, so I got up went to this guy asleep, shook him by the face, b4 he realized wht was happening slapped him on the face and ran back, this went on for a while. The last guy I thought I did this, was a class 7 student but something was wrong, how cud he have such a thick beard. As I lay wondering a lil while later one of my earlier victim came and solved the puzzle it was the football coach who was also a teacher at school.

Another time we were playing with a tin on Sunday afternoon, kicking it around, making so much noise, the teacher who lived close to our rooms heard all the noise and asked us to stop playing. He told me to stop !! The moment he went in I was back at it, as soon as I heard him open the front door I wud disappear, the 4^th time I did this n turned back there he was, he had used the back door..grrrrrrr for next one month there was no outing for me……..

Another victim was a guy in the school who wanted me to get him introduced to some gal, the gals college was located few miles away only the resourceful few cud meet the gals. I said tht’s easy u write her a letter and I wud give it to her. The guy wud cum with the letter which we read and few days later give him the reply frm the gal side, after a few such letters it was time for bigger things…we told this guy tht 2 days later its tht gals B’ day n he shud send her a cake, so there he was with the cake and chocolates, the moment he left the room there was this mad scramble for the cake n it was finished b4 u cud blink. U know how hungry all the ppl in the boarding house are. After few weeks this guy said tht he was going to meet this gal, now we had to stop him otherwise we wud be exposed…….so another frnd went caught tht poor guy n shook him…heard u been pestering my lil sister : ( this finally put an end to tht budding romance…

Ok this is last plzz ……during my MBA normally we wud have Saturdays off, but sometime we wud have guest speakers coming n ruining those Saturday afternoons. During one such session, as I sat bored in the class looked arnd, I noticed tht hardly anyone was paying attention to wht was being said . ) I pulled out a paper, heading ‘there wud be a test on this session on Monday afternoon all those interested in extra credits plzz sign on this sheet….put my signature there got the ppl sitting arnd me to sign it and then passed it arnd……5 mins later u had to see the transformation ppl sitting with rapt attention, scribbling notes. I quietly slipped to the back of the class put my bag under my head n went to sleep : )

I am sure u ppl have done similar things...lets hear

The beauty of the sky

2005-08-23T11:43:00.000-07:00

Since last few months i have been trying to learn Photography, want to share some of those pictures with u ppl. The sky arnd sunset during the rainy season has so many colors, i spend a lot of time just gazing at the sky, the beauty is breathtaking the Colors mind blowing, so to begin with i am putting out these pictures. Wud love to hear wht u ppl think.