Independence Day

[Ya I know 15th August was 10 days ago but home comp's not working, so couldn't post]

Well its just Independence Day and not 'happy independence day' or 'another independence day', because what's added before or after depends on a lot of things. Of course I don't wish to get into that. Why the nick then? Well every time Independence Day comes around I feel its like a birthday. The one day everyone contemplates something about their life. Either the previous year or the last few years or their whole life or the coming year or coming whole life. That's but natural, seeing the sort of day it is. But somehow everytime Independence Day comes around, I actually think about India, its 'freedom', the struggles of its people in the past and the present, etc etc.

Of course not much changes every year - I end up thinking of corrupt politicians, scams, over population, illiteracy, schemes that never seem to work, poverty, unemployment, farmers who commit suicide, slum lords, and a whole list of everything that's wrong with this country - to that list, this year I have added floods and bomb blasts too.
I don't believe this is the India our forefathers envisioned. I don't think this is the India anyone wanted or even wants. Sure we are shining, sure we are the rising star, sure we get compared to China but what are the ground realities? How many Indians are happy? How many Indians are free? Is the India of 2006, the India freedom fighters died for? Are we today worthy of those people dreams, aspirations, hope, death?

The biggest tragedy of it all is that we are part of a county that has such a rich heritage. Such a deep history. A culture that could surpass many, and we do nothing with that. Our past is something we see no value in. Neither do we appreciate the past nor do we think enough about it. Take a small example of yoga. How many of us here are gaga over yoga? Yoga is getting a real hype now only because its gone to the west and become so famous amongst the westerners. We are a totally useless bunch...

The British might have taken a lot away from us, but like the irony that life sometimes like to throw in our face - our strongest weapon in today's economic warfare is something the British bought to us and gave us, whether we wanted it or not - the English language. Haha I cant wait to see China in the next 5 - 8 years, when majority of their 'contributing' population will be english speaking. Where will India be? Watching on TV how members in the Lok Sabha throw things on one another, not able to watch TV because some dude things that everything should be censored, shitting bricks cause we will be importing not only wheat but other food grains too...

We could also have an India that is actually flourishing. An India that thriving. An India that the rest of the world is jealous of. What do we need to get there? I think there is only one thing needed - accountability in our political system. You don't do your job well, your outta here. If we don't have strong, charismatic, visionary leaders, we wont get anywhere.


On the note of freedom - What is freedom anyway? I don't seem to be able to figure. In my mind one has freedom only when one can live life on his/her own terms. How many of us can do that? Very few I think. Sometimes it's not possible to be free, but unfortunately most of us believe that we don't need such freedom. Everything else must come before self. I don't believe in this philosophy. The 'Individual' must come before everything else. By the self coming first here I don't mean politicians filling their pockets. It's all about knowing who you are and standing up for who you are. Fighting for what you believe in. Being open minded enough to take the world in but also being tolerant enough to realise that the world doesn't revolve around you. Buckling down under pressure because other people say something or believe something is not cool. Its not something anyone should accept. Actually nothing should just be accepted. Everything must be realised. Haha, I can already imagine my mom and aunts cringing... we have no future I tell you, not unless we start thinking differently.

Anyway I'm going on a totally different tangent here - will write something more on 'independence day' sometime in the future. Maybe next year....

Home comp's busted :(

Bas ek pal

Well of course this comes from the song and therefore the movie...
But I like the though of it...bas ek pal...just a moment....
life can change in just a moment...
tragedy can strike in just a moment...
magic can happen in just a moment...
an opportunity can be found or lost in a moment...
a brainwave takes a moment...
all i need is a moment...just a moment...bas ek pal

Why why why why

Firstly I was totally surprised that no one asked me what my nick meant. Usually there are atleast a couple of people who comment / answer very strange nicks.
Anyway the 'why why why why' is because I have realised and now days reminded very often that there are certain phases or and actions that I keep repeating - examples - 'you have got to be kidding me', 'the funda is', 'apparently', etc etc.
Now I would think there is nothing wrong with something like this, cause everyone has their own style but now it seems to me that most people dont do such things and therefore when I do, its funny for a bunch of them.
The hilarious things though is this too happens in phases. So today and for the next 2 weeks I will keep saying 'oh come on' and then after 2 weeks it will be 'thats such BS' and then after 2 weeks it will be 'there is NO way'....
Ah well 'the funda is' that 'apparently' 'there is no way' to term this as only my nakhras so 'come on' stop all this BS and let me live in peace...

We all need to do our own thing...

When will I have the luxury?...

Ya ya so I want too many luxuries in my life - so what? Everyone does.

Well anyway this is a different sort of luxury I am talking about - not about being able to fly to another country whenever I felt like it (I think I mention this the most often).

The reason this thought came to mind was because I was in a cab going to college to sign some forms and was going through Marine Drive. It was suchhhhhhhhh a beautiful day. Cloudy but no rain and bright but not hot. The sea of course looked brown but still the effects of the light made it look wonderful. Everything looked so nice. And as I sat looking out the window, taking in as much as I could, I wished I could just get off and sit there the whole day. Go home only when I got tried or bored - neither of which would have happened. But obviously I could not do what I so badly wanted to - not only because of my form signing but more importantly because I had to get to work. If I were in college I could still have skipped class, but you cant bunk work right. That's the luxury I am talking about. I wish I had the luxury of sitting at Marine Drive for a whole day if I desired it...sitting home to read a novel and drink hot chai on a rainy day...getting on a flight and flying off to some place because I wanted to travel lol sorry couldn't resist....

CSI is backkkkkkkkkkkkk

Hell yeah I'm euphoric.

I loveeeee CSI.

But the original and only CSI.

CSI Maimi and CSI NY suck big time. CSI Las Vegas totallyyyyyyyyy rockssssssss.

I am booked on Sunday afternoons between 1-2 p.m.

Where is the peace...

Where is it? I don't see it...
I can't find it...
Do I need it?
Will I be satisfied once I have found it?
But how do I find it? I don't see it...

Well a friend of mine did some soul searching and got quite a bit out of it. I too decided to do some soul searching, but haven't sat down and thought about anything yet...I ask myself if i need to, and I keep getting an answer that says 'yes', when I ask myself why I need to, no real answer comes back. I am content with my life... I have more than what most people would need. Yet there is always this urge for more. And I ask myself - Is there really something like total satisfaction? I don't want this when I am dying. I was peace, peace of mind, and I want it now. Am I in a state of unrest? No. I can go each day without feeling much agitation but I don't feel any peace either...
Is this odd? I don't know.
Am I making sense? I don't know and I don't care
Can I stop asking questions I don't have answers to? I WISH

What I hate more than the Bomb Blasts are the sick people who actually make up hoaxes about more blasts...

What kind of sick pleasure can any one get not only by bringing parts of the city to a stand still, creating panic, getting agencies that would be doing other work involved in something thats just a 'prank' for fun. The worse is the emotions involved. The blasts werent something small. People have to live with that fear for a long time...

The people of this city really need to give up their 'chalta hai' attitude

The original nick was 'The people of this city really need to give up their 'chalta hai' attitude and their great spirit' and so lots of people went on and on about how I could be so silly, and how I had got it all wrong etc etc etc.
Well I didn't get it all wrong - everyone has their opinions and this is what I truly believe. I am not saying don't stand out in the middle of the night distributing water and biscuits to stranger, I am not saying don't stand on roads and help divert traffic cause there aren't enough cops, I am not saying don't rush to the disaster site and help people there. Damn I am so PROUD to be a Mumbaikar because only the people of Mumbai are like this. I was getting home that night around 11:30 in my friends car and I was so overwhelmed looking at common people out on the roads, doing things they didn't have to, just so that someone else from their city was a little more comfortable.
Nor am I saying that everyone should sit at home all day and not do things that they would have/need to. I understand that people sometimes don't have options. They have to do certain things and they have to do them a certain way.
Nor am I saying that common folk should get to the roads, start riots, exploit the situation - even if its for a good cause. No I don't want that.
What I am talking about though is that things SHOULD NOT be back to normal. Bomb blasts are not normal incidents - and therefore this city should not be back to normal. We cant just say 'oh whats happened has happened, what can you do, it was destiny, blah blah blah'. We have to stand up and say enough is enough. We have to stand up and say we want no more of this. I too agree that you cant prevent things like this from happening but there are lots of things that can be done. How about spending more resources on intelligence gathering? How about holding people responsible for shoddy crisis management? How about catching these terrorists and hanging them? How about more security measure on our railways? How about questioning our politicians who only talk big, especially about peace processes? How about putting our foot down and telling Pakistan we will make their life hell if they don't do something about the terrorist organisations? How about teaching kids more about tolerance? How about taking international help (since everyone seems to want to fight terrorism) to actually try and figure what we can do to change the situation in Kashmir? ....
What we can actually do is limitless but the tragedy is that we do nothing. We go back to our normal life. We praise ourselves for bouncing back. We pat ourselves on the back for being so great - greater than any other city would have been in this situation ...
Thats all we do...
Don't you think we should give up our 'chalta hai hota hai' attitude? Don't you think that our 'great spirit' needs to go beyond just helping out during the crisis

Bloggers Park - Mumbai Mirror

Mumbai Mirror has a section called Bloggers Park where they take and issue and pick a few blog entries - usually give 2-3 lines and the blog address. Its very cool since blogs are so big now. Actually goes to show how important blogs have become. I wouldnt be surprised if this feature moved from a page 30 in the physical paper to a page 5 or so. Only problem with people reading the paper offline is that they have to be savvy enough and enthu enough to actually get online and read more. Its an interesting development none the less.

Todays topic was on the Mumbai Blasts (this blog got featured there). Would have provided the link (it was up for a couple of days) but it seems dynamic and therefore the page keeps moving to a new URL everyday.

Bomb Blasts happening in Mumbai...please take care

Very scary - 7 bomb blasts in Mumbai. All blasts happened in trains - 1st class mens compartments - I guess the terrorists decided that to be gentlemen and not hurt women.
Anyway this is totally ridiculous. 7 blasts - just goes to show how vulnerable the people of this city are. The worse part about this blast will be that, Mumbaikars will become survivors and saviors and after 2 days life will be back to normal - and everyone will sing praises about how great the spirit of Mumbai is and nothing will be done to stop this happening again and again and again. I really wish the people of this city would stop accepting these incidents as 'things that just happen' or things that you can predict and prevent. I am not saying things could/should have been stopped and the police and other authorities have not done a good enough job (I don't know about this yet - stuck in office - no TV). But really we should have a better crisis management plan, we should have better intelligence, we should have harsher punishments, we should demand more accountability...

Its about time we start waking up and realising we don't have to exist the way we always have...

Back in town - I wish life was a vacation...

For those of you who don't know, I was out of town - Phuket and Bangkok (from 29th June to 9th July). I had SUCHHHHHHHHH a blast...it was awsome. I wish everday could be a holiday like that. Do nothing other than chill all day. Have fun with friends and relatives. Dance and shout. Sleep late and wake up late. Mannnn thats the life. I now want a VERY early retirement. Oh man 5 star luxury, with a sea view and great weather. Fantastic. I am now counting down the days to my next vacation, which will happen only after a year *sob sob*.

I'm leaving on an aeroplane - unfortunately for you, I'll be back again....

Well yup...flying out today...doesnt feel like it though. I guess on my way to the airport I'll be really excited. Maybe the last few days have been so 'normal' that it doesnt feel like I am going to be flying out...well lets see...have been looking forward to a vacation for so long...of course this isn't a vacation vacation...more like a stressful trip - just out of the country in an exotic location hehe...
Well it should be fun, and I plan to chill out quite a bit...meet new people...unfortunately I will also be making a fool of myself - both at the time of dancing and giving my speech :( but whatever...I HAVE TO enjoy myself cause when I get back...my next vacation will be a long way away and my need for a vacation would have increased 10x

Nisha would be proud of me...

Yup...I got nail polish on my toes and will get some nail polish on my hands too, within the next 3 hrs...and I will have polish on my nails for the next whole week....



I hate it...

Someone please explain to me why Mittal so badly wanted Arcelor...

Vivek - To produce 3 times more steal then the competition.
Bims - same reason microsoft would want to buy apple
Mahesh (K not M) - Mittal wanted Arcelor for two reasons...
one...to become the biggest steel producing company in the world..
two...his ambition later was followed with his ego...

Whats with all the lightning?

Well 46 people have died and many more injured due to lightning strikes this year. Never before have I heard of more than 3 deaths due to this reason. I am sure lots of people are worried about lightning striking them this year.
Of course there has been more lightning this year than most years...
So my question is, what happens when you start to fear what you consider divine?
How does this question pop up here you wonder?
Well I consider lightning and thunder divine...they are totally MIND BLOWING. Nothing gives me a bigger thrill than watching lightning and hearing the thunder that follows...its music to the soul...but I will be honest...this year even I am a little weary of lightning. I still think it totally rocks...but I wont go out of my way this year to try and catch a glimpse of some.

Think Differently...

That what I have to do.
Thats what I am going to be getting paid for.
Thats whats going to help me do my job.
Thats whats going to help me make more money.
Thats whats expected from me....

Flying in 9 days...

Well nope I am not doing a count down...but I wasnt fast enough in changing my nick, so Trig (who says he keep a track of all things bolt - or all things that use to be bolt hehe) said 'whats going on, I see 10 yesterday, I see 10 today, whats going on?' so I changed it and made it 9...and that was yesterday. Its 9 today too when it should be 8 hehe...but trig wasnt online today ;)
Anyway I am excited and worried like I said before but it seems so long ago since I sat in a plane (which was just one year ago - which means I am getting too use to the idea of travelling). Of course last year when I sat in the plane I hadn't watched any episode of NatGeo Investigates (hehe they usually investigate lots of place crashes) so I will be a little nervous this time around. Doesnt help that I am flying in the monsoons or with a new airline (Thai - we usually fly Cathay - of course we have always ended up in only HK and Manila).
Anyway I am already looking forward to next years trip - which would be at least HK if no where else. Love the city. Maybe I can check out Dubai.
I am soooooooooooo grateful that I have family scattered all over :D

Flying in 10 days...

Yup, flying out on the 28th...10 days away...both excited and nervous...slightly depressed too because my HK plan got cancelled *sob sob*, but bleh I'm still glad to be going on vacation. My new worry though - neither are the dances ready, nor is the speech I have to give. Hopefully by the time its my turn to give the speech, I will know a lot of people there and they will think I'm real nice and sweet, and so they wont make fun of me when I have to give the speech. Lets see.
Anyway the timing of the trip is bad - Got a new boss and things are getting ummm interesting at work. But I do need a break - clear my head out, plan ahead. Meet new people. Do new things - like dancing in front of 100+ people aghhhh...Take lots of snaps yayyyyy - this is my fav. Try and have a good time :)

Back to college?...

I'm thinking of doing MCom this year, to get my 16th year of education (incase I do plan to go abroad in the future). Lets see if I can get back into my previous college. Getting in might not be too tough, seeing how they give prefrence to students on certain criteria - and I was in a good handful of societies and clubs and really did do some work for them. Lets see what happens...I will know by the 22nd.