Injustice !!

Benazir Bhutto, the first woman leader of Pakistan was assassinated yesterday apparently by an extremist group. She was the daughter of the famous leader Zulfikaar Ali Bhutto, who was given capital punishment under the leadership of then PM Zia Ul Haq. Benazir's two brothers died in mysterious circumstances and now after her death whole family has been washed away solely by some fanatics who think ideas, vision, name and freedom can be obliterated.

What worries me more are the kind of reactions that I came across after her demise. I received a few messages justifying the gruesome attack. A friend wrote - "there exists a balance, one pays for his or her own deeds" and other said - "to savor sweet fruits, one needs to sow the right seeds". However, my stand on this is strikingly different from my dear friends. I condemn the attack on her, as the right to live is universal in nature and applies equally to all whether an innocent or a leader. When a baby is born, the ideology, religion, status ... are things that she inherits from her family, from people around ... from the society. Killing someone just because her vision and ideas are different from ours ... is not justified on any grounds. Great revolutionaries and visionaries helped to reform the ideas and beliefs, the non violence way ... with violence the differences will only exacerbate.

The proponents of death and destruction need to be condemned by all and one ... Benazir's return to Pakistan was not because she wanted to restore back dictatorship ... she was one amongst those who wanted democracy ... and democratization of Pakistan, we do not realize is good for India too. She returned with a vision of empowerment and development ... and her death for sure has halted the process at least for the time being. It is a tragic incidence not just for Pakistan but for the entire world community and should be condemned by all.

May god rest her soul in peace !!

Che Guevara !!

Clinging on to the Marxian Ideology, he changed the world ... for the impoverished. He was a versatile writer, philosopher, photographer and loved traveling !! A true Revolutionary ... for his simple gestures, real vision and great activism !!

A night at PSR !!

A few days back I visited a friend at JNU. JNU, the most respectable universities in the country is known to be the nurturing ground for academicians and intellectuals. The place where the so called leftist ideology is groomed is now famous for the best corporate placements. Ironical ... well not really !!

I went there to collect some material for a research proposal and to my disbelief ended up spending the day walking in and around campus, tasting chai, fish and chicken at almost at the dhabhas(Ganga, 24*7, Godavari to name a few), rock climbing and what not. Later in the evening two of my good friends also joined us. We decided to spend the night at PSR – Partha Sarathy Rock – drinking, eating and discussing both trivial and non trivial issues. Around 21.00 we decided to search for a place where we could light some fire. Since it was windy some elevated ground near PSR and OAT served as the right place. Bon fire and a few drinks helped us to let lose the self intellectuals and debate endlessly.

The topic of discussions ranged from extreme leftism, its criticisms, conservative right philosophy, alternative economics system, role of history, assumptions, definitions, idealisms etc. By the end of it, one could clearly see the formation of three distinctive groups – so called radical leftists, right conservatives and moderates. The conflict between the right and left was exacerbating and moderates wanted to escape the discussions by proposing a consensus … the easy way out. Everyone was trying to dictate solutions for circumstances and problems that apparently our country is facing. These solutions were based on lot of assumptions, theories, models, perceptions etc. But what amused me was that when a group of 5-6 individuals can form groups and categorize themselves as so and so … and the conflicts seem unresolved ever, how is it possible for a polity so large to sustain the democracy. Our country is still functioning as one even when the population is over 100 crore and the mind set is heterogeneous. Nevertheless, by 2.30 in the morning we had a consensus to end the discussion and have some dinner at 24*7. Each one of ordered different platters, shared and savored them without any further arguments or critiques.

Small things in life help to appreciate bigger realities. Even when everyone tries to criticize the policies and actions in our country … the truth is that we have been able to sustain the democracy like no other country. And I am proud of our achievements … yes there is scope and potential that an average Indian is still working for. Cheers!!

Baabaaji !!

Baabaji, my father's colleague's father, was like a father figure for our family.

He pampered me n my brother like his own grand children. Dad and Baabaji would sit and chat for hours over a cup of tea and would get into endless discussions on their favorite topic ... law and liars !! I stopped missing my grand father because of him. He always told us ... to be on our own .. and to be like their "bahu" ... my mom ... he had the highest regard for her and would often cite her as a women of dignity and simplicity ...

He passed away when I was in high school. I did not mourn over his death ... coz for me he was still alive . His soul somewhere ... guides and protects me always. I was going through a bad phase for the past few months and could not come in terms with reality on my own. Few days back ... Baabaji came in my dreams. He said ... "let go of things, don't work too hard on them. Don't let a part of ur body to dominate ... free urself ... from the bondage ... look at the zenith ... u need to fly ... and u will fly only when you have the desire to do so"!!

The dream changed my perspective, about myself and my life ... I got up in the morning with a huge smile on my face ... coz I was blessed ... Baabaji blessed me ... and I decided to take on my life .. with respect and enjoyment. Past is past ... it has passed ... spoiling ur present means a greater burden of regretful past later in life ... I did not want to do that. I wanted to live my life yet again ... on my terms ... So, it was because of him, that I gained the self confidence to move ahead in life and I have moved on ... now I laugh at how I made a fool of myself ... indulging in situations that were beyond my control.

Thank you Baabaji ... though I know this word "thank you" is not suited to our relation, as you are a part of me now, a part of my sub conscience ... But nevertheless ... thank you for making my life ... wonderful yet again :)

Diplomacy ... an art !!

Today I had a discussion with a friend ... on whether diplomacy is god gifted or man made ... n whether this man mad trait .. if at all it is one ... is good or bad generally ...

Later in the day, I thought about it alot ... and realised that nothing is god gifted ... i mean even if things are gifted .. they will be in the primitive stage ... unless u dwell on them, u wont excel ... so yes diplomacy is acquired. Its like an art ... a degree ... that u get only when u practice it ... learning by experience .. :)

Now this acquired art can be good or bad ... depending on the circumstances. Actually I hate to use the words good or bad ... I mean what is good and bad according me will always be influenced by my prejudices ... and since its always relative ... I have no right to call anything good or bad, unless I got facts to back my beliefs ...

So if I feel m straight faced ... and someone else is diplomatic ... so what ... I like to be straight forward ... n the other person likes being socially correct all the time ... different people and different perspectives ... There just one law that applies here ... comparative advantage ... If I specialize in some trait that I can sell ... and if I gain coz of the sales ... it means its worth it !! So if you are diplomatic (or if u like to be one) ... and can sell it well ... with no gains and no loss situation (ur actions do not effect others) ... then dude ... its worth it !! And if in case u fall in the category of extremes ... (like me) ... does'nt hurt to be one ... till the time you are urself ... n love urself and dont hurt anybody else ... who cares ... what characteristics u have or u dont have ...

Conclusion :) ... why judge anybody ... diplomatic or whatever ... we r individuals ... and let that individuality remain ... if u feel hurt or something coz of somebody ... go kick his/her butt ... rather than wasting time in knowing him or her ... :P ...

Memories ...

It strange .. how things change. What looked obvious once, may be deemed abnormal now. Life is about moving on but there are some treasured memories that u would always cherish ...

Memories, belong to you ... no one in this world has the right to take them away ... Must have heard the famous elvis presley song .. You can burn my house, Steal my car, Drink my liquor From an old fruitjar .. u can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoes ... Replacing "blue suede shoes" with "precious memories" ... exemplifies my point ... :)

Last year ... I celebrated this day ... coz t'was my (then) best frnd's b'day ... and those memories r still intact ... this year ... circumstances changed ... ppl moved on ... gradual metamorphosis occured ... and I could'nt even wish that frnd ... it was as if a pigeon was trapped in a cage ... desperate to come out in open n express its love for the nature ... but alas !! there r boundations ... there is a locked cage lid ...

But here in my blog ... I give up all the norms ... the so called norms set by individuals and society ... and wish my frnd ... a peaceful and serene b'day ... "once a frnd ... frnd for life " ... is what I strongly believe in ... and yes ... i agree it may be unidirectional ... so what ? I don't look for rewards and gifts ... at times you just feel like wearing some old torn uncomfortable shoes, to live bak in memories ... the precious, treasured memories ...

"Self Love"

Self love is the best love ...

love yourself ...
know yourself ...
Respect yourself
good or bad ...
accept yourself !!

Judge yourself ... yourself
But never ever ... regret,
being yourself ...
As you move ahead ... if its required,
change yourself ...

But do love yourself ...
you are born as an individual ...
comparability, similarity ...
may .... or may not be there ...
you don't need to prove urself,
if u know urself ...
As, you are the one ... one of your kinds ...
different from the rest ...
and surely the BEST.

So love your self ...
if you dont ...
you wont be able to ..
love anybody else ...
To feel love ... love urself ... coz,
self love is the best love ...

This goes to all my friends (to name a few kuhu, vivek, ridham, malu, G, Ambi, Joy, Shekhu, nidhi, mahi, kalai ... ahh the list is endless) ... who have been there thru my thick n thin ... i love myself ... because of them ... because of the fact .. that so many ppl around you care for you ... and love you ... so there ought to be something special .. about you ... !!

Judgement !!

Why is it that we always judge things on the face value ? What if the outer surface does not reveal the contents inside ? But then .. many of us would say ... Is that the problem of those judging or the ones getting judged ... Well !! its perplexed ... Even I donno the answer ..

The only people who would never judge you are ... your true friends and parents ... for them ... you will always be the one, taking the right moves and decisions ... and if they feel you have'nt been fair ... rather than judging ... they will come up n be vocal ... about what they feel should have been done ... they wont ever force things on you ... like many others .. who will judge you at your back and try and provide solutions, gossip about what and how you did it ... without putting themselves in your shoes ... (shrewdly judgmental is wat i would call them) ...

People forget ... that circumstances dictate ... so where you landed today ... yesterday some one took off from there ... tomorrow, u will follow and move on ... those judgments are short lived and therefore will vanish with time ... till the time you cultivate fresh grounds for some more ... Criticisms are invited but no judgments for God's sake ..