Happy New Year

My New Year Wish is for the soldiers who will spend the New Year away from their families, in an alien land that hates them, and that they hate. Both, not without reason.

To Indian Army widows who lost their husbands this year. To Army fiancees who stepped into holy matrimony with dreams in their eyes, and the awareness that their dreams are pawned to the terrorists in Kashmir.

To the terrorists in Kashmir, who have not known love and forgiveness in years, and what can be more unfortunate than to perenially live in hate?

To the North east, where the people are as beautiful as the land, and to the unrest there.

To the Pakistani army, that was taught to hate the people who are nourished by the same rivers and are their cultural twins.
To the Indian Army jawans who will spend their days without knowing what it is to blog, to come home every night, or to earn INR 25,000 per month.

To the Iraqi army jawans who are taught to target their own countrymen, and who actually do it . To the American army teenagers who spent their Christmas in a land that hates Christmas and doesn’t care about the New Year. To the houses they destroyed.

To the Mall hopping big salary earning young people who know what it is to eat at Ruby Tuesdays, but have no idea of the food their soldiers eat while defending their plush IT park and SEZ offices. To the people who earn and live happily because of the sacrifices these men in uniform make everyday, and who secretly deride the defence man for not making as much money.

This year is dedicated to the soldiers and the deemed soldiers across the world. I wish them Peace!

Happy New Year!

Online Hindi Magazine.

अभी अभी एक नयी चीज़ देखी - अनुभूति . ये एक हिन्दी पत्रिका है जो पूर्णतया नेट पर उप्लब्ध है.

आज मेरे साथ एक वाक्या हुआ. किसी क्म्पनी में फोन करने पर जैसे एक आवाज़ सभी से पूछ्ती है, कि वे हिन्दी में बात करेंगे या अंग्रेज़ी में, तो मुझसे भी पूछा गया! मैने हिन्दी चुनी, क्युंकी हम अमूमन हिन्दी ही चुनते हैं. फोन उठा और उस व्यक्ति ने तपाक से कहा, “Good Afternoon, this is ________, how may I assist you?” तो हमने भी तपाक से कहा, “__________ One, I asked for the Hindi option, and Two, ________”

पर हैरत मुझे इस बात पर हुई कि उस व्यक्ति को हिन्दी बोलने में कितनी कठिनाई हो रही थी.. और ये दिल्ली का हाल है!

Just found an online Hindi Magazine - Anubhuti . Its a gap that one has felt for quite some time.

Another interesting thing happened today. I called a call center , and like all centers, a recorded sweet voice first asked me for the language preferance. I chose Hindi, bcs i always choose Hindi. The phone was transferred and a well trained voice went "Good Afternoon, this is ________, how may I assist you?” . And rightaway yours truly went “__________ One, I asked for the Hindi option, and Two, ________” . The person, obviously embarassed, asked if I would like him to continue in Hindi, to which i responded in the affirmative.

But what struck me was his obvious difficulty with the language, in the middle of the Hindi heartland - in Delhi!!

This post is dedicated to the reverse romantic. The incorrigible romantic who is so lost that no living human can possibly match the surge in the heart. So, the surge in the heart is left to be alone. That way, at least it is complete.

When you direct that romance towards a living person, the direction of the surge is seized by the limit of the recipient. But the surge in the heart is the size of a tsunami, and most people are not even Shiva enough to handle a river, let alone a tsunami. The choice, is to tame the tsunami and to find something like fulfilment, or to let the tsunami be and to attempt self annihilation.

So far, the self annihilation part hasn't worked out. But the tsunami remains. It cannot a river be.

Kabul Express

Just saw Kabul Express and HAD to blog about it.. its a SUPER movie.

I went with a very bored another-concept-film-all-gone-wrong-neither-concept-nor-entertainment attitude towards the film. That spectacular jaane kuda na jaane khuda video was to blame. They should never have made that video. Grossly misrepresents the film.

He has made such a nice film, no money should be wasted on adding masala to a way above par product.

One, its a sincere, true film.
Two, it talks to you without talking down.
Three, it doesnt look and feel like a documentary, but does the job of one.
Four, it uses Pashto with English subtitles where necessary!

The messages of the film are haunting, and true. The way the characters are juxtaposed creates a sort of complex chemistry that I have not seen since Schindler's List.

The actors are superb!! Its the kind of acting that makes you realise what you've been missing. No sorry apology for acting will ever do after you've seen this film.

GO see this film.. its under 2 hours, and is a sound investment in yourself.

Then, come back and tell me what you think. People outside India can use a DVD and people in the US really MUST see it..

Have you ever observed a situation where a person was paid attention to(unwanted attention, that is), by a person who is about half their age?

I happened to observe this lately, and the initial amusement at the plight and irritation of the older person gave way to a series of questions which refuse to die out. So here they are, for you to chew and respond:

1. What makes a 14 year old kid pay that kind of attention to someone twice their age?
(the only thing that struck me the most about the situation was that the kid was so young.. just 14!)

2. If a person can make someone older as nervous as the victim in this case was, imagine the plight of younger victims of this person. What are the young men around us doing? Especially to younger children of the opposite gender? Have you ever observed anything like it?

In working with child abuse cases, we used to worry about abuse of young teenagers by adults of both genders, and am yet to get over this reverse situation.

Charred remains of the day
On a ghostly night
Bid farewell
To silenced dreams
Of Dawn.

This poem is more a reminder of the days that await us, should we want to go back to communal hatred and religious myopia.

Its about the memoirs of the partition.

GOT IT! GOT IT!! GOT IT!!!

3 AERIAL SOMERSAULTS!!

Here it is:

ਚਦਹ ਫਟੇ ਮੈ ਟਕਿਆ ਲਾਵਾ
ਅਂਬਹ ਫਟੇ ਕੀ ਸੀਨਾ ?
ਖਾਵਿਂਦ ਮਰੇ ਤਾਂ ਹੋਰ ਕਰਾਂ ਮੈਂ,
ਆਸ਼ਕ ਮਰੇ ਕਿਣਾਂ ਜੀਨਾਂ ?

Chadar phateyan mein takiyan laawan
Ambar phate kya seena?
Khavind mare hor karan mein
Ashiq mare kina jeena?

(I can patch a sheet if torn
But can I stich the sky?
A husband dies, I remarry
A lover dies, can I live?)


Mein ik lok geet,
Be-nau, hawa vich khara
Hawa da hissa
Jeenu changa lagan
Oh chete bana lave
Hor changa lagan
Te apnaa vee lave
Jee awae tan gaa vee lave
Mein ik lok geet.
Siraf lok geet.
Jeenu nau deeKadi lor nahi paindee.

(I am an unnamed folk song,
A part of the flowing breeze,
Those who appreciate meMay remember me,
Those who admire meMay own me
Those who cherish meMay even sing me
I am a folk song
Just a folk song
That does not require any name)

ਮੈ ਇਕ ਲੋਕ ਗੀਤ,
ਬੇ- ਨਾਊ, ਹਵਾ ਵਿਚ ਥਙਾ,
ਹਵਾ ਦਾ ਹਿਸ੍ਸਾ,
ਜਿਨੂ ਚਂਗਾ ਲਗਾਂ,
ਓ ਚੇਤੇ ਲਾ ਲਵੇ,
ਹੋਰ ਚਂਗਾ ਲਗਾਂ,
ਤੇ ਅਪਨਾ ਵੀ ਲਵੇ,
ਜੀ ਆਵੇ ਤਾਂ ਗਾ ਵੀ ਲਵੇ.
ਮੈ ਇਕ ਲੋਕ ਗੀਤ,
ਸਿਰਫ ਲੋਕ ਗੀਤ,
ਜਿਨੂ ਨਾਊ ਦੀ
ਕਦੀ ਲੋਣ ਨਹੀ ਪੌਂਦੀ

Looking for The Week..

The Week, in the December 3 Edition, has a story of Imroz's love for Amrita... and it has 2 superb pieces of poetry... methinks both by HER..

Can someone please please lay their hands on this copy and get me those two pieces of poetry?

In the meantime, read this and you will know why one is so desperate to get that stuff..

Amrita once wrote of her love for Imroz:

kisi ka jurm ho, karte hain tere naam rakm,
Gila hai jo bhi kisi se vo tere sabab se hai..

No matter who wrongs me, the blame rests with you,
All my anger, with anyone in the world, is because of you..
(Don't bother trying to make sense of this in a rational model of love)

And this, in her own words, is the sarmaya(gist) of her life:
kuchh dard tha, jo maine cigarette ki tarah kiya hai
kuchh nazmein hain, jo raakh ki tarah jhaadi hain..

nazm kaagaz ko dekhe, aur yun munh mode,
Jaise kaagaz paraya mard ho...

उस दिन, एक साल
जब हम
हर साल की तरह
पींगें झूल रही थीं
भरी गर्मियों में
तो तूने
मेरी चोटी खींची थी, और मैं
तेरे पीछे भागी थी,
अपनी लड़ के कमायी हुइ पींग भूल कर

उस दिन, एक साल
तू हर बार की ही तरह
हिरणी की तरह भागी थी,
पर उस दिन
जब पकडी गयी थी हम ,
तो तूने
मेरा नाम लगा दिया था सारा , और सारी मार
मैने अकेली ने खायी थी.

आज जब हम मिलती हैं,
तो तू,
मेरा नाम नही लगाती,
मुझसे पूछ्ती है,
बाल बच्चे कैसे हैं,
वो कैसे हैं,
पर सच दीदी,
अब तू मुझसे
उतना प्यार नही करती,
जितना उस दिन करती थी.

This is a bad translation, because the original is most beautiful in its simplicity. It uses the everyday language of a part of rural India. cannot replicate the effect in English, but here goes the feeble effort:


That summer day, some year
When, like every other year,
you and me
were on the swings,
you pulled my hair
and ran.
And I
ran after you -
forgetting about the swings,
I fought to get at.

That summer day, some year
Like every other time,
you ran like a doe
and when
we got caught
you conveniently blamed me
for the entire episode
And I was punished alone.

Now, when we meet
you do not
place blames on me.
You ask how I am doing,
about the kids, the husband..
But you know what didi(elder sister),
You do not love me now,
the way you loved me , on that summer day.

Happy Children's Day!

Things I like about childhood
1. The smell of winter
2. Being short enough to crawl into tiny spaces and get out of really low railings.
3. Fighting about who is my best friend and why they should not talk to other people
4. The new clothes and the memories of festivals.
5. My grandmother used to read out stories from the scripture to us.

Things that make me feel happy about being an adult
1. School Uniforms.
2. Homework
3. Fighting about who is best friend and why they should not talk to other people
4. Not being able to decide on anything I wanted – no clothes(no money at home) , not my favorite toys, nothing.
5. Being made to drink milk.

3 books, 4 films, and one Diwali.

Last week, I finished three books in a week - Veronica Decides to Die(Paulo Coelho), one Agatha Christie, and Karmbhoomi(Premchand) .

This week, it was 4 movies in 3 days - Jaaneman, Mixed Doubles(twice), Corporate (re-run, I've seen it earlier), and Dor(finally!) All 4 Hindi films.

And then there was Diwali!

One could obviously write reams on how wonderful the Diwali was.. but none of that would do any justice. Let's just say that this Diwali, we made some wonderful memories. Everything that was done was normal, like every Diwali.. but the memories feel very nice.. the painting of diyas, the making of sweets for prasad, the floral rangolis and the electrical lights outside the house.. everything! :-)

How was your Diwali?
**************
PS: For readers outside India, Diwali is arguably the biggest festival here in India.

This is the festival of lights. A lot of myths are associated with the festival, and they have all combined to give the festival several delightful rituals. You must see it sometime if you can!

8 Random Things about me...

Neeramathalam tagged me...

So here goes - 8 random things about yours truly..

1. I can READ. My reading speed was 400-500 wpm before finishing Class X(that was bcs yours truly took the speed reading course in Class 8), and the reading habit has not quite left yet.

2. I love the color white and everything associated with it. This includes expensive white dresses, watches, platinum jewelry, sterling silver, diamonds, but does not include white cotton sheets that I am responsible for keeping white and starched.

3. Am hopelessly old fashioned and conservative. This means that I am conservative at my convenience and modern about your inconvenience!

4. I don't like to appear in a picture. EVER. (This is especially intended for readers who know me personally)

5. Value brevity. A LOT. love people who can fit a sentence into a word. Especially since I never can accomplish the feat!

6. I have the bestest brother in the world, who is also the best human being I have ever met. OK, and all my other relatives reading this.. forget it, none of my other relatives are in any danger of ever reading this.

7. have an impossibly low tolerance for pain. Especially physical pain. Which means you had better not be around when you let that snake loose on me. Or that cockroach. Or that safety pin prick.

8. This is a difficult tag bcs there is so little to say about self!! Seriously, ask me 10 random things about the world. The world is random!

At the end of this really confounding post, is the passing on of the tag(imagine a cheshire cat grin) to.. (imagine a bigger, more gleeful grin), 8 people .. To Zoe, Chiya, Deepa, Wriju, Aradhna, Twisted DNA, Trailady, Sophie.

And the first 8 visitors to this blog after putting up the post... you're tagged too!!!

ENJOY!!

One More

If we are certain that the birth will be through a surgery, is it Ok to decide on a time and date of birth beforehand? That is like deciding the birth of a life, right? Do we have the right to decide when to marry, whom to marry and what to do with that marriage? Is it your right to decide what to study, where to work and when to stop working?

If you can decide all the small things in your life, and in other people’s lives, incl what time they should be born, and whether your next child should be born, then why can’t you decide on the biggest thing in your own life – when should it end?

Can the society that values my life so much, guarantee that I will not suffer from hunger or the pain of chemotherapy or the pain of a terminal illness? Can the society guarantee that I will not suffer from depression? Can the society guarantee that my life will be what I consider worth living? If it cannot do that, what right does the civil society have to prevent me from taking an important decision of life? And still call itself a free world? How can a world be free where people have no right to decide something as basic as this?

I am NOT saying that people should commit suicide. I am just saying that if a person decides to kill himself and acts on that decision, we have to remember that the person is going against the natural instinct. And that must be a VERY STRONG influence if it negates an inborn instinct. Eating is a natural instinct. Imagine what would make you want to not eat. Its that strong an influence.

A person already in enough pain to act against the natural instinct does not need criminal proceedings against himself. That will not restore his faith in life. He needs a society that enfolds him instantly in a lot of love, caring and acceptance. An eagerness to understand what happened, rather than a series of calls from the police station. What kind of society can penalise people who are already sad and expect them to still identify with it??

That is the most preposterous treatment of anything that I have ever seen!! Whoever made that law needs to explain how s/he expected to get a suicidal person to become non suicidal by subjecting him to the torture of the police station??

And for people who do want to end their lives, they have a right to. Your rights end where my nose begins. And this is my whole life, not just my nose!!!

Heard this from a colleague over a really sad dinner:

Wealth is like salt in your food. Too much, and life loses its meaning, Too little, and life is tasteless.

Priceless quote, that!!

Random Acts of Kindness!

Random Acts of Kindness – RAK is English for “neki kar dariya mein daal”.

It means getting 2 cups of coffee from the vending machine and handing one to the first colleague at his/her desk who looks like they could use one, without their asking.

It also means throwing an impromtu invitation to watch the kids for a friend while the couple get an evening out.

It can also mean baking a cake that says “I love you” and cutting it, just like that, to celebrate love…

It also means giving your help a day off, or promising to double up for a colleague at work. A Colleague who has never been nice to you.. no wait, the last one, would not be a RAK. That would be Gandhi-giri.. :-)

**********************

PS: For those outside India, we have a new film here (in India) that shows us how to apply the principles of Gandhi to our everyday life. The movie is a huge commercial success and is actually changing the face of public protests in this country. More and more TV channels report how people use the Gandhian means of protest to try and change the larger system that they are a part of.

Nearly 60 years after the Mahatma was killed by a bullet, a simple comedy movie is teaching us how those principles still ring true, because they do not come from Gandhi, they also come form someplace within us! :-)

To Happy Posts!

Just finished reading a book “It was on fire when I lay down on it” by Robert Fulghum. Honestly, feels like someone’s blog – a very well written blog.. personal narrative.

Each piece in the book is a little drop of positive energy – and feels like nectar. I like people who write small positive notes on their blog. It makes them happy, and makes the reader feel better!

This post, and the 7 posts that will come after this, are dedicated to being happy, to seeing the sea and ignoring the stench.

To Happy Posts!

Post 1:
I like it when anyone goes to the mountains in the season of blossoms. The hills are green just after the rains, and the flowers make it look as if the fairies came down in the night and painted a lovely picture for everyone to see at dawn…

Splinters

Splinters

Tears.
Smiles.
The Zoo
The Park
The Swings
The popcorn
And the dolls
we couldn't afford.

The dresses
The shoes
The Cards
The gifts
The movies
And the comparisons
we couldn't draw.

The gowns
The recipes
The children
The homework
The parties
And the picnic
we could never go to.

Splinters All
And Life,
A Collage of Splinters.

M Back!!

In Class 7, the kid moved to a new school. And hated Physics. And Chemistry. The Physics and Chemistry teacher would ask the kid a question in class. The kid would stand up and say “I don’t know.” The teacher would not punish or shout, or ask why. The teacher would ask her to sit down, and then say loudly, to no one in particular, but with total conviction in her voice: “She knows, she is just not able to say the answer right now.”

The teacher did that for 3 years. Then, it was Class X. The kid finally opened her books to read Physics and Chemistry. The kid studied, made notes, and kept at it till the subject was friends with her and vice versa.

On the day of the annual(board) exam, the kid had a fight with her brother, and the brother hid her Physics and Chemistry textbook so she would fail. The kid went to her exam with only as much as she had read upto the fight. She passed with 75% marks in the subject, way more than the 40 % that she had scored consistently for 3 years.

Thank you, Mrs. Manickam, for the silent faith that lasted 3 years. Happy Teachers' Day!!

PS: In India, September 5 is Teachers' Day.

First, I’m sorry for the last 2 posts(they’re no longer visible). They were valid ideas, but empty.

I have an actionable in mind because of those posts(and the comments on them). However, at the moment, there is no courage to take it forward. Hence the thread of thought is aborted.

And we try another track.

Silence.

Will come back when there is something to say.

Here It Is..

Hi People..

It sure has been informative.. the count is 15 people think I am a guy and 10 people think I was born a girl(and haven’t had a sex change operation yet).

The general stuff is here.. the rest of the answers are either in response to your comment on the previous post, or on your own blog..i’ve answered every single guess.. and I’m really grateful for your time and your patience.. Thank You!!!

Whatever comes under this is less important than the one line that I most identify with. It comes from Anne Frank: I am a bundle of contradictions!

And yes.. do tell me if this exercise made u rethink the way we take our stereotypes for granted.. though this exercise appears to be about me.. it was actually about you.. and about all our stereotypes.. you can think of me as the guniea pig used for this simple experiment.. ENJOI!!!!
And don’t forget to write in what you thought!!

Age – 29.5 years.. will be 30 soon .. L

Location: We have a house in Delhi, but work will keep me in Mumbai for a few months.

Passions: Poetry, Poetry, Poetry… new Indian poetry, preferably in an Indian language.. this country is pretty much my passion too…

Addictions: Blogging and Ryzing and Scrabble and Reading and .. CHOCOLATES!!

Nature: (Very) Sensitive. Well, I can’t stop laughing when I start. Am not too friendly,and don’t mind being called a geek… because am convinced of being one! J

Marital Status – Happily married for over 3 years now… (Touch Wood!!!)

Am interested in reading up the news.. habit picked up from granddad.. then dad.. (m a lot like my dad btw) .. and very interested in social issues around me.. blame my idealism!

And now for the gender… I was born a……











Baby Girl!!!

You're Tagged!

Everyone who comes to this blog is now tagged.. in addition to people who are in the right bar.

What do you think my age and gender is?

And, if you want to make it more interesting: What else do you know about me from the blog?

The tag is obviously not open to people who know me personally... unless they want to tell me they've discovered my alter ego.. :-)

This blog was started anonymously because I did not want to carry the baggage of my stereotypes. If those stereotypes do not colour your view, what do you see?

PS: Don't belive Wriju's comment.. thats my alter ego according to him!!
He was good enough to spoil the party with that awfully misplaced first comment.. though Nicaragua does sound like a good place to be!!

Re. whether your guesses are right or wrong.. obviously I'll tell u in my next post!!!

On the Rat Race...

The one that some of us fight every day in office, gunning for that next raise, that next promotion etc... i wrote myself this prescription some years ago.. it seems to have cured at least one person :-)

We jump
from emptiness
to emptiness

All the time
believing
that we cross milestones
while it is
just
another boulder really
In a sea of boulders

No matter how many
you skip over,
you're not getting
anywhere.

Another Long Post

I did not intend to write on the cola controversy, primarily because the public memory is, unfortunately, so short.
But the US warning to India, that this cola ban will impact US investment in India, really got the blood boiling.
Read about the threat here:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1891049.cms
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4789615.stm

It took a lot of research to come out with this, and you are welcome to point out if I am wrong anywhere. My memory was not so short after the last controversy and I have religiously monitored reports of what Coke is doing with its neighborhood and the water in particular.

Therefore, Mr. President and the general population of the US:
Coca Cola and Pepsi have the following modus operandi:

1. The Govt. of India notifies certain areas, which cannot support agriculture or other traditional vocations for local people, as "Backward" areas. Companies investing in manufacturing and other job creating ventures in these zones are given tax sops and other benefits.
2. Companies like Coke create factories in these backward area zones(remember the tax sops and the easy access to REALLY cheap labour). Then, they draw whatever little water is available in the area, practically drying up the ground water and bringing the farmers to unmitigated doom.
3. Farmers are given no assisstance, but Coca Cola Company gets to use the water whether there is any for the locals or not.
Rain or no rain, there is water for Coke:www.indiatogether.org/2005/may/env-plachmada.htm

4. After using the water, the toxic waste is released by the company IN THE SAME NEIGHBORHOOD, thereby poisoning the scarce ground water.

5. Afterwards, when the same ground water is used by the cola company, it is obviously polluted and then the company blames the groundwater for the pollution in the drinks and asks the
governments to clean up their groundwater act first.

Local communities do not like to dry up. They also do not like to be the local garbage can.

Read the following articles for more:
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=7508

www.indiaresource.org/campaigns/coke/2004/Brochure.pdf

www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=10641

www.domain-b.com/companies/companies_c/coca-cola_india/20051122_equity.htm

And now, re. the threat:
A. Your companies have not come to India for charity. Each one of those companies have done extensive soil testing of their own, and have gone where they liked best - some have gone to the Phillipenes, some to Indonesia/Malaysia, the majority to China, and some to India. Make no mistake. No one is doing India any favor. Not one of those companies.

B. Your FIIs have been swinging the Indian Stock Exchange for at least a year now.. a manipulation that is so evident even to novices. In the process, they have obviously been making a lot of money. The same, however, cannot be said of the individual small investor in India.

Be my guest, do take back all the "investment" that you have so "generously" given to India, and get the hell out of this country.

We would like to get rid of the toxic waste companies that treat India like the global supplier of cheap labour and the global toxic waste dump.

Guess what? India survived when you in your shining armour were not around.. and India can survive again.. without the McDonald's of the world.. and be more healthy... Thank you!

Come, Love,
Sit by the fire
that we lit
out of ourselves -
As the world dissolves
and we smile
at the shadows
it leaves behind..

People
Screaming
Like creatures
left out of Noah's Ark..
Not realising,
that there IS No Destination
except the one
on the shores of their hearts?

Where will they go
Who have not yet
Reached themselves?

To all Accountants out there...

My 13 year old cousin was updating me with the latest shayaris in her diary, and i chanced upon this gem. I love the deliberate use of very relevant metaphors, and it made a hardened criminal like me think. So am posting it here. Let me know if it makes any of you think...

Your happiness is your profit, your sorrow is your loss,
Your soul is your goodwill, your heart is your fixed asset,
Your duty is your outstanding expense,
Your friendship is your hidden adjustment,
Your character is your capital,
Your knowledge is your investment
Your patience is your interest
Your mind is your bank balance
Your bad thoughts are your depreciation
Your behavior is your journal entries
Your spouse is your partner
Your child is your long term goal,
Your Death is your Closing Stock..

50th Post!!

This, I think, is written by Nida Fazli, but am not sure..

Chup tum raho, chup hum rahein,
Khamoshi ko, khamoshi se,
zindagi ko, zindagi se...
Baat karne do...

चुप तुम रहो, चुप हम रहें,
खामोशी को, खामोशी से,
ज़िन्दगी को, ज़िन्दगी से...
बात करने दो...
Let us be silent,
you and me...
Let the silences talk to each other..
And let life talk.. to Life..

Bypassing Blogs Ban in India

To bypass the blogs ban in India, go to :
www.pkblogs.com and u r ready to roll!!

Incidentally, my friend tells me that this site came up when the Pakistan government banned blogs in Pakistan after the Danish cartoons controversy.. another instance of how the people are exactly the same.. Unfortunately, so are our politicians... equally bad on both sides of the border..

Ab Agar Aao..

I don’t know who has written this ghazal.. I have heard it from Jagjeet Singh..

The translation is done by me and is therefore limited in quality..

Roman Script:
Ab agar aao to jaane ke liye mat aana
Sirf ehsaan jataane ke liye mat aana

Maine palkon pe tammanayein saja rakhi hain
Dil mein umeed ki sau shammein jala rakhi hain
Ye hasin shammein bujhane ke liye mat aana ..

Pyaar ki aag mein zanjeerein pighal sakti hain
Chaahne vaaloe ki takdeerein badal sakti hain
Tum ho bebas ye bataane ke liye mat aana…

Ab tum aana jo tumhe mujhse muhabaat hai koi
Mujh se milne ki agar tum ko bhi chaahat hai koi
Tum koi rasm nibhaane ke liye mat aana

Devanagari:
अब अगर आओ तो जाने के लिये मत आना
सिर्फ अह्सान जताने के लिये मत आना

मैने पलकों पे तमन्नायें सजा रखी हैं
दिल में उम्मीद की सौ शमें जला रखी हैं
ये हसीं शमें जलाने के लिये मत आना

प्यार की आग में ज़ंजीरें पिघल सकती हैं
चाहने वालों की तकदीरें बदल सकती हैं..
... तुम हो बेबस ये बताने के लिये मत आना...

अब तुम आना जो तुम्हे मुझसे मुहब्बत है कोई,
मुझसे मिलने की अगर तुम को भी चाहत है कोइ
तुम कोइ रस्म निभाने के लिये मत आना...

Translation if you are not from India:
If you come, don’t come to go away again..
Don’t come to do me a favor..

I have desires on my eyelids,
And the lamps of a thousand hopes in my heart..
Don’t come to extinguish the lovely light….

Love can melt chains,
And Change Destinies…
Don’t come back to tell me how helpless you are..

Come, only if you love me too,
And if meeting me matters to you..
.. Don’t come for any rituals no more..

World Laugh a Little More Day!

.. Just invented by Me!

Leela Hai!

Indians have two of the most amazing survival concepts known to me. They are "Karma" and "Leela/ Maya".

Karma, simply means Action. The concept of Karma means that whatever you do, will catch up with you. Since we do believe in cyclical birth, it means that one death does not mean the end of your ledger balance, and that death is no escape. You will have to face the results of your deeds anyway.

Leela is a little better than that. It is the theory that all the world is a stage on which the Gods are playing, and all the beings are pieces in this game being played by the Gods. Maya means that everything we see, is make believe.. just as the pieces in a game get killed, win, lose, but we all know that it all amounts to nothing. Its just a game. Likewise, human beings, and all other creatures, are pieces in a cosmic game. They lose, they win, they die, and they come back on the same board. But it all amounts to nothing.

Therefore, in the middle of a crisis, personal or public, the Indians are likely to go "Sab bhagwaan ki leela hai!" meaning.. it is all a game.. what does it matter? Such profound wisdom... so easily received!

Of course, this concept of life also gives us the Hindu Rate of Growth... :-)

The Mumbai Blasts.. am too numb to say anything. Only one question keeps coming back to me: To what end?? What did they want??

Assume the world is terrorised... and comes on its knees to these people.. what will they want to do to the world? Is there a sense of purpose? Or is violence the only purpose?

तू मुझे कभी कुछ देती क्यों नहीं ?

कोई गाली
ज़ो तेरे दिल से निकली हो?
कोई शिकायत
कोई बेर
जो तूने खाकर जूठा किया हो
कभी ठूंसती क्यों नहीं
मेरे मुंह में?

चुप्पी सुनाती हैं मुझे
तेरी चूडीयां
खाली सी खनक
भरी रहती है
घर में मेरे !!

घर मेरा ही रख है तूने
“हमारा” बनाकर ,
जूठा नही किया कभी – क्यों ?

क्यों तेरे चेहेरे की लाली
अब भी कुंवारी लगती है?

Bad translation, but here goes:
Why don't you ever give me anything?
A swear word,
that you really mean.. ?
A complaint?
A fruit
eaten half by you, and the other half
kept for me?

I hear silence
in your bangles.
An empty noise
pervades my house.
This house, is mine yet
You have not
made it "ours" -
Why?

Why is the pink of your cheeks
So very .... virgin?

Saw this nice piece today...

If you want something you never had, do something you have never done.

Don't go the way life takes you.
Take life the way you go .
And remember you are born to live
and Not living because you are born.

I read the verbatim copies

.. on the Harvard Crimson.

After Wriju's comment, I did go and read the verbatim passages - on the original source.

You want to know what the verbatim passages are about?
Here goes:
1. A girl needs to be either brainy or pretty.
(Whats original about that thought?? Jane Austen said it!!)

2. To have a best friend who lives closeby was good enough till we got older and she had her boyfriends.
(Wow! hallelujah!! No one ever knew that we make childhood friends like that and it gets complicated as we grow up. What a Eureka discovery!!)

3. From page 237 of McCafferty’s first novel: “Finally, four major department stores and 170 specialty shops later, we were done.” From page 51 of Viswanathan’s novel: “Five department stores, and 170 specialty shops later, I was sick of listening to her hum along to Alicia Keys....”

(You decide what is so original about departmental stores and shops.. other than the magical figure of 170. That matches, yes, but i didnt know anyone had the copyright to 170. hey, please tell me all the other numbers under copyright!)

4. He was invading my personal space(in a car) and Kaavya puts it in a room.
(Guys, all psychology text books and books on PD with concepts of personal space, are out!)

5. The guy wants me as a platonic friend.
(when was the last time someone wanted someone else as a platonic friend?? Let me guess... every book on Chic-lit.. and yes, The bridge across forever has a passage where Richard Bach is convinced that Leslie is a perfect platonic friend and that is how he wants it. )

The point is this: All the so called "copying" is nothing but common nouns juxtaposed in an even more common grammatical formation. How else do you say these things?? I would like the originals to comment.. how do i say it if i want to say we went shopping and finished all the shops on an avenue.. maybe close to 200!! then, will you say that the difference between 170 and 200 shops is not enough.

The post I could get killed for

Note: Please be patient with this post. Its long, but do read the point.

I cannot remember names. Just cannot remember them. Who came up with what theory, who said what... no names! I know Einstein invented the electric bulb and Edison the theory of relativity, but that's about it.

I like to think that it is genetic to Indians. All our paintings, even as recent as 300 year old ones, do not carry the landmark signature. Though I left my history long ago, (what hope did I have with such spectacular memory of names. My memory with dates is even better), I do remember that in India, it was considered sacrilegious to attach your name to a creation.

To us, all creation is nothing but the message of Saraswati, the goddess of learning and wisdom, and repository of universal Gyana (wisdom). We are but messengers. And therefore, how can we claim credit for creating something that we are merely delivering? In our tradition, we don't even know who wrote the vedas!

Books are identified, even today, by the method of the writer including his name, if at all, in a devotional passage to the god/dess of choice, terming him/herself as the "das" (servant) asking for blessings before embarking on the task ordained. Most poets and writers do not put it, and then we depend on references made by other writers to their work, to identify who the writer was. That was how the original name of Vatsyayana was discovered - ONLY through references in other works. That is also the way we found out about Aryabhatta and Leelavati Beej Ganit - the fore-father of all algebra books.

Ustad Mansoor, the legendary painter in Jahangir's court, also did not sign his paintings. That is our tradition. Ideas do not belong to anyone. They are just things we pick up from the ocean of universal wisdom. Some of us present them to others as messengers.

Now, my question is, name one original idea in the world today. The Monk Who sold his Ferrari is plagiarised from the Geeta. As are a lot of Shiv Kheras and the rest. Of course, the fact that Buddhism presents the ideas of detachment that I also found in the Geeta makes the whole concept of plagiarism a little... well, historic.

Given this, does Kaavya Vishwanathan deserve what she got? In a book full of .. What? 2000 paragraphs or so, we are raising a storm about 40 passages? Are we saying that these ideas have NEVER been written about by anyone else? If they have been, does that mean that the "original" authors raising a hue and cry themselves deserve to be pulled up for plagiarising? What is the similarity between a girl who discloses all to a man in a plane, and a girl who decides to get a life to get into Harvard? The opportunity to create a little issue, and to sell some more copies of the book, that's what!

Well folks, be very careful, bcs the first person to put "Don't give me gyan" to his college buddy, over a cigarette in the college canteen, in a novel is going to sue you for similar passages if you write a book - ever! It doesn't matter that chicklit can depend on some very familiar themes.

Incidentally, I have found a project: Am going to look for plagiarised content in all the Mills and Boons series. And I am going to find out all the passages where Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys have borrowed from the Famous Five. AND, I really MUST find out who else has stolen from the Geeta and the Vedas.

Is a Blog protest movement effective at all?

Really.. what did we achieve by fighting the reservation battle in cyberspace on blogs? Did Dr. Manmohan Singh or MADAM so much as raise a brow on our all consuming blog protests?

Is blog protesting worth it? Another worthless question, i know.. but I ask nonetheless.. Is there a point to all this? ? To using blogs to protest ?

Application rejections

Baxter Conners
Vice President
Company 203203
Wall St.New York,
NY 10015

Dear Mr. Conners,
Thank you for your letter of February 17th. After careful consideration I regret to inform you that I am unable to accept your refusal to offer me employment with your bank.

This year I have been particularly fortunate in receiving an unusually large number of rejection letters. With such a varied and promising field of candidates it is impossible for me to accept all refusals.

Despite Company 203's outstanding qualifications and previous experience in rejecting applicants, I find that your rejection does not meet my needs at this time. Therefore I will initiate employment with your firm immediately following graduation. I look forward to seeing you then.

Sincerely,

XXXXXXXX

The Nerd Herd Club

Bebasi, bekasi, bekhudi de gaya,
Kuchh naye tajurbe, ajnabi de gaya..

Sochne ke liye pal ki mohalat na di
Aansuon ke liye, ik sadi de gaya..

Uski saudagari mein bhi kuchh baat thi
Zindagi le gaya, Zindagi de gaya..

Kheench kar le gaya jism se jaan ko
Haan magar rooh ki tazagi de gaya..

बेबसी, बेकसी, बेखुदी दे गया,
कुछ नये तजुर्बे अजनबी दे गया

सोचने के लिये पल की मोहलत न दी,
आंसुओं के लिये, इक सदी दे गया

उसकी सौदगरी में भी कुछ बात थी
ज़िन्दगी ले गया, ज़िन्दगी दे गया

खींच कर ले गया जिस्म से जान को
हां मगर रूह की ताज़गी दे गया

To the girl who taught me this song.. I know she probably does not read blogs.. but one can only hope..

To the one who knows who taught me this song.. please come back!

The Nerd Herd Club wants its founder members BACK!! Complete with the Code of Conduct!
*********************************

Was looking for all the words of this song, and bumped into this classic Javed Akhtar piece:
Enjoi!!!

jaate jaate vo mujhe achchhii nishaanii de gayaa
umr bhar doharaauu.Ngaa aisii kahanii de gayaa

us se mai.n kuchh paa sakuu.N aisii kahaa.N ummiid thii
Gam bhii vo shaayad baraa-e-meharabaanii de gayaa

sab havaaye.N le gayaa mere sama.ndar kii ko_ii
aur mujh ko ek karatii baadabaanii de gayaa

Khair mai.n pyaasaa rahaa par us ne itanaa to kiyaa
merii palako.n kii kataaro.n ko vo paanii de gayaa
- Javed Akhtar

जाते जाते वो मुझे अच्छी निशानी दे गया
उम्र भर दोहराऊंगा ऐसी कहानी दे गया

उस से मैं कुछ पा सकूं ऐसी कहां उमीद थी
ग़म भी वो शायद बराए मेहर्बानी दे गया

सब हवायें ले गया मेरे समन्दर की कोइ
और मुझसे को एक कश्ती बाद्बानी दे गया

खैर मैं प्यासा रहा पर उस ने इतना तो किया
मेरी पलकों कि कतारों को वो पानी दे गया!
- जावेद अख्तर

I am never more lonely
Than when i am with you.

Maddy Tagged me. So here goes:

I am thinking about....a lot of things, all at the same time!
I said a lot of wise words which, thankfully, no one heard!
I want a dream on a piece of the sky.
I wish for a child.
I miss a lot of people..
I hear the fan whirring in this room.
I wonder if everything in life is so gray, why do people want to live in blacks and whites?
I regret nothing.
I am ..who knows??!!
I dance when I am alone
I sing when they need to scare the cows.
I cry .. not very often, but always like the rains.. torrential.
I am not always politically correct.
I make with my hands .. lots of stuff! Mostly pottery.
I write about sorrow.
I confuse names and faces.. tremendously!
I need loving
I should try and grow up.
I start what I seldom finish.
I finish .. hmm… lets c.. Tags!!
I Tag Z, Ekta, Deepa, Nidhi, Tell me no more, Biscuit, Stellar, Nabeel.

Amir Khusro Classics..

मुकरियाँ

रात समय वह मेरे आवे। भोर भये वह घर उठि जावे॥
यह अचरज है सबसे न्यारा। ऐ सखि साजन? ना सखि तारा॥

नंगे पाँव फिरन नहिं देत। पाँव से मिट्टी लगन नहिं देत॥
पाँव का चूमा लेत निपूता। ऐ सखि साजन? ना सखि जूता॥

वह आवे तब शादी होय। उस बिन दूजा और न कोय॥
मीठे लागें वाके बोल। ऐ सखि साजन? ना सखि ढोल॥

जब माँगू तब जल भरि लावे। मेरे मन की तपन बुझावे॥
मन का भारी तन का छोटा। ऐ सखि साजन? ना सखि लोटा॥

बेर-बेर सोवतहिं जगावे। ना जागूँ तो काटे खावे॥
व्याकुल हुई मैं हक्की बक्की। ऐ सखि साजन? ना सखि मक्खी॥

अति सुरंग है रंग रंगीले। है गुणवंत बहुत चटकीलो॥
राम भजन बिन कभी न सोता। क्यों सखि साजन? ना सखि तोता॥

अर्ध निशा वह आया भौन। सुंदरता बरने कवि कौन॥
निरखत ही मन भयो अनंद। क्यों सखि साजन? ना सखि चंद॥

शोभा सदा बढ़ावन हारा। आँखिन से छिन होत न न्यारा॥
आठ पहर मेरो मनरंजन। क्यों सखि साजन? ना सखि अंजन॥

जीवन सब जग जासों कहै। वा बिनु नेक न धीरज रहै॥
हरै छिनक में हिय की पीर। क्यों सखि साजन? ना सखि नीर॥

बिन आये सबहीं सुख भूले। आये ते अँग-अँग सब फूले॥
सीरी भई लगावत छाती। क्यों सखि साजन? ना सखि पाति॥

- अमीर खुसरो

And then I grew weary
Of the world

And sought
A little pain

like salt
to add
to a perfect cup of coffee.

Etchings

I must have been
Written in pencil
Somewhere on your surface
The depths of you
Reserved for someone else
I lift, flake
And am gone
With one quick breath
Soft and bruised
I linger
My shell translucent
And you are
For all the world to see
Carved in my bones

- Patricia DeGenaro
(From Poetry.com of long ago)

This MUST be read!

Flicked this from www.sayesha.blogspot.com. Red this long post, and you will know why. Really, READ IT!!

*********************************************
Here's the story - about a year ago, Virdi posted the lyrics of the Bulla song on his blog, which incidentally all of us were in love with but we had no freakin' clue what it meant!
And Weird Hair Anil made a brilliant attempt to translate it. People who have been around here would remember it, but it was a real pity that the masterpiece was confined to the comment space. So I have decided to bring it out once again, and put it under its well-deserved spotlight.

So here it is, for all new bewdas, for the first time at Sayeshaz, some very good 'imported wine'.Presenting, ladies and gentlemen, the translation that you should read when you don't have time to go to the gym and do crunches.

And oh, please note how polite I used to be with Virdi last year! ;)
Sayesha said...
Hey Virdi,I love the song! Would really really appreciate an English translation!
Sayesha

Anil said... You ass (why do you force me to start every comment with 'you ass').. how can we understand all that punjabi? english translation please!and don't give me any gaalis :-)

Anil said... Wait, let me try to translate:

Bulla ki jaana main kaun, Bulla ki jaana main kaun, Bulla ki jaana main kaun, Bulla ki jaana main kaun.
Tell me who I am (4).

Na main moman vich maseetan, Na main vich kufar dian reetan, Na main pakan vich paleetan.
I am not my mother's son, I am not digging my own grave, I am not boring you.

Na main andar bed kitaban, Na main rehnda phaang sharaban, Na main rehnda mast kharaban.
I don't get anyone into my bed, I don't drink sharaab, I don't know how to party.

Na main shadi na ghamnaki, Na main vich paleetan pakeen, Na main aaabi na main khaki.
No one wants to do shaadi with me, No one will cook for me, and no one likes my khakhi underpants.

Na main aatish na main paun, Bulla ki jana main kaun, Bulla ki jana main kaun, Bulla ki jana main kaun, Bulla ki jana main kaun.
I have no 'drive'. Tell me who I am (3).

Na main arabi na lahori, Na main hindi shehar Nagaori, Na hindu na turk pashauri.
I am not from Arabia or Lahore, nor am I from a hindi town, not even hindu or a bloody turk.

Na main bhet mazhab de paya, Na main aadam hawwa jaya, Na koi apna naam dharaya.
I gave religion but received none, all I got was hot air, and no can can still tell me my name.

Avval aakhar aap nu jana, Na koi dooja hor pacchana, Mai ton na koi hor syana.
You think you are great, that no one else is as good, but I am also a 'shaana' (smartass).

Bulle shah kharha hai kaun, Bulla ki jaana main kaun, Bulla ki jaana main kaun, Bulla ki jaana main kaun, Bulla ki jaana main kaun
What does the Shah of Bulle eat? Tell me who am I (3).

Na main moosa na pharoah, Na main jagan na vich saun, Na main aatish na main paun, Na main rahnda vich Nadaun, Na main baitthan na vich bhaun, Bulle shah kharha hai kaun
I am not a moose or a pharoah, I cannot wake or sleep, I have no 'drive', I cannot stay or leave, I cannot sit or stand because I want to know who I am!

Tell me who I am (3) Oooooo.. Tell me who I am . ===========================================================

My favourite part? "Tell me who I am Oooooo"! :D

Things to do before I Die..

.. aka, Things that will make my life VERY HAPPY!

1. Fly a plane. I mean, REALLY Fly one.. preferably, an open chopper.
2. Read all my favorite poetry.
3. Go to Kashmir. With no deadline to return. AT ALL. I might come back in a day, or a fortnight, or never.
4. Go to Machu Puchu and see the Nazca lines.
5. Go to Harappa and Mohenjo daro with my children, and hope that they will be interested.
6. Feel the magic of the Golden Temple at dawn.
7. Do a PhD.
8. Para Glide.
9. Have an Out of Body Experience. Then to have some more, till they are routine.
10. Sit all night with my friends on an open terrace, around a fire, and talk all night about existential questions and answers for all of us.
11. Spend the night with my soul mate under the full moon sky, on a bare rock by a river bed, with the river in our ears and the moon in our shut eyes.
12. Become a teacher in a residential school based in the mountains, with my family. (Both of us teach and the kids study in the school).
13. Paint.
14. Lose weight.


What's your list?

Secrets of a Happily Married Life!

Note: Someone please teach me how to upload pictures here!!

A couple was celebrating their golden wedding anniversary. Their domestic tranquility had long been the talk of the town. What a peaceful & loving couple". A local newspaper reporter was inquiring as to the secret of their long and happy marriage."Well, it dates back to our honeymoon," explained the man." We visited the Grand Canyon and took a trip down to the bottom on the canyon by horse. We hadn't gone too far when my wife's horse stumbled. My wife quietly said," That's once". "We proceeded a little further and the horse stumbled again. Once more my wife quietly said,' That's twice.' "We hadn't gone a half-mile when the horse stumbled the third time. My wife quietly removed a revolver from her purse and shot the horse dead. "I started an angry protest over her treatment of the horse, while I was shouting; She looked at me, and quietly said, 'That's once'."

And we lived happily ever after. "

The Life Sentence

Every single day
I get up
And wish
for death.
Most days
it becomes
a fervent, pleading prayer.

And yet, nothing happens.

The Gods call it
A Life Sentence.

When they give you a long life
And make all of it
feel like
A sentence.

Why does the State charge us?

Remember the Dhaula Kuan Rape case where a student was abducted and raped for 2 hours in a moving car in Delhi? Guess the latest on that case.. an ARREST WARRANT has been issued against the.... VICTIM..for not appearing in court. She has moved to Aizawl and is therefore not available for hearings of the court case.
I would like the honorable seat of justice to get raped and then come back to face the trauma. This is a case of prosecution where the state is the prosecutioner, not the victim. Doesn't anyone in the court try to think like human beings? A person who has gone through a not so pleasant experience, is now at home.. hopefully, trying to recover among her own people, not the stuck up, arrogant, chauvinistic crowd of Delhi. What is the point of dragginer her back to a city that gave her the biggest trauma of her life, and doing that on an Arrest Warrant? The state has her statement, and needs to act on that.

The State failed to provide protection to people in a public place, after charging us one third of our salaries to do just that. Why should the State not be prosecuted for failing to fulfil its commitment? Can the State be taken to a Consumer Court?

Read these..

http://www.freshlimesoda.com/reviews/altaf_mohammed_sainath_drought.htm

http://vsequeira.blogspot.com/2006/01/p-sainath-on-crisis-in-rural-india.html

http://nosimplematter.blogspot.com/2006/02/indian-villages-for-sale.html

http://volunteerthoughts.blogspot.com/2005/09/status-of-women-in-india-overall.html

This one was written by Anita Vasudevan.

How easily we clear the clutter
from our lives today
Touch buttons to eject
people, words, memories, messages.
I'm still desperately searching
for the Erase command on my heart
in this new model of Me
that has limited card space

Here are 2 gems i bumped into.. they are written by other ppl on their pages. I loved them!

Is it you..
Or is it just that
I’ve made you wearthe love robes
I’ve been saving since the days when my sand castles
were big enough to walk around in..and strong enough
To stand guard against the tides
I cant remember who first said
That----“what you don’t know cant hurt you”
But what’s-his-name was wrong
Supposing I climb all the way to the top
Then find out……its not really you..
How do I climb back down again
All by myself?

I’ve always been afraid of heights…..

PS: I don't know who wrote this..the name is not on the page.. but she is fundoo!

Hindi books,anyone?

Incidentally, did anyone here go to a bookstore and ask for a book in an Indian language? When do we start?

Amrita Pritam poetry..

Hum ne aaj ye duniya bechi,
Aur ek deen kharid ke laaye,
Baat kufr ki ki hai hum ne..

Ambar ki ek paak suraahi
badal ka ik jaam utha kar
Ghoont chandni pi hai hum ne
baat kufr ki ki hai humne..
**************
Meri aag mujhe mubarak,
Ki aaj suraj mere paas aaya,
Aur ek koyla maang kar us ne,
Apni aag sulgayi hai...
**************
Tinkon ki meri jhondpri(hut),
Koi aasan kahaan bichhaoon,
ki teri yaad ki chingaari,
Mehmaan ban kar aayi hai..
******************

Jaane khuda ki raaton ko kya hua,
Vo andhere mein daud-ti aur bhaagti
neend ka jugnu pakadne lagi...

Sunaar ne dil ki angoothi tarash di
Aur meri takdeer us mein
Dard ka moti jadne lagi..

Aur jab duniya ne sooli gaad di,
to har mansoor ki ankhein
Apna mukkaddar padne lagi..
***************

Sooraj to dwar par aa gaya,
lekin kisi kiran ne uth kar
us ka swagat nahi kiya..
********************

- Ek Mutthi Akshar..

Amrita Pritam.. Concluding part

The next posts will start with some of my other favorite stuff.. personally, I prefer Amrita Pritam's prose. And here are the gems i kept in the personal diary!

Us ke hothon par ek hasrat thi, jo jami papdi ki tarah tootna chahti thi..
************
Kai logon ko to ishwar kahin rakh kar bhool jaata hai, par main khud hi apne aap ko kahin rakh kar bhool gayi hoon.. jee karta hai, koi ho jo mera apna-aap khoj kar mujhe de jaaye..
***************
Ishwar jab apna bhandara baant-ne laga tha, to na jaane mere hisse ki thaali vo mere aage rakhna bhool gaya, ya mere aage rakhi thaali ko jaldi se kisi aur ne utha liya, par main bhookhi reh gayi!
***************
Vo jab chhoti thi to us sapne bunti hui ke haathon se zindagi ne silaayi-an chheen li thi, aur us ke sapne udhar agey the.
**************
Phoolon ka tha ik kaafila, marusthal se nikla tha....
*************
Vo aur us ki umra ek saath nahi chal rahi thi.. kabhi use lagta ki vo kahin aage nikal aayi hai, aur umra bahut dheere dheere kadam badati aa rahi hai. Kabhi use lagta, ki vo vahin ki vahin khadi hai, aur us ki umra na jaane kab use chhod kar aage chali gayi...
*************
Aur badnaseeb arthon ka kya....?
(And what of the unfortunate meanings?)
*********

Mera sooraj, badlon ke mehal mein soya hua hai.
Vahaan koi khidki nahi, darwaaza bhi nai, seedi bhi nahi.
Aur sadiyon se haathon ne jo pagdandi banayi hai
Vo mere pairon ke liye bahut sankari hai..
***********

Amrita Pritam Contd..

This is pretty much my best loved Amrita Pritam.. from her short stories..

"Tum mujhe bhale kitni hi baar chhod kar chale jao, par jitni baar jao, us se ek baar zyaada lautna.. agar bichhadna pachaas baar to milna ikyavan baar. Yeh viyog apni baari se aata raha aur saath mein milan bhi. Ant mein milan jeetega.. ek number ke fark se... "
"Tumhara vishwaas nahi toot-ta?"
"Toot-ta hai, par phir bandh jaata hai. Vishwaaas bhale hi pachaas baar toote, par use ikyavan baar bandhna chahiye. Ek baar zyaada, bas ek baar..."

**********
Pavitrata shayad ek chhhoot ki bimaari hoti hai..
************
Mujhe lagta tha vo abhi ro padegi, par vo royi nahi. Ya phir, shayad aisa rona royi jo kisi ko dikhaayi nahi diya. Dekha! Hum auratein kaisa rona ro sakti hain! kabhi kabhi mera dil karta hai, ki main bhi zor zor se ro sakoon, aur vo bhi zor zor se ro sake.....
**************
Jo yaadein zabardasti us ke kamre mein ghus aayi thi, vo jaane ka naam hi nahi leti thi.. us ne krodhit ho kar, aur phir haath jod kar in yaadon ko chale jaane ke liye kaha, magar vo yaadein man mein na jaane kya thaan kar aayi thi... vo bade thande dil se idhar udhar tehelti hui kamre ki cheezon ko ulat palat kar aapas mein baatein karti rahi..
***************
Kabhi dukh bhi kisi ka imaan dekh kar aate hain?
***********
Tum kehti thi na, tumhara beta heere ki kani hai? Maine vahi heere ki kani kha li hai!
***************

Amrita Pritam special..

Ek Dard hai
Jo maine cigarette ki tarah piya hai
Kuchh nazmein hain
Jo maine raakh ki tarah jhaadi hain...
************************
Amrita Pritam has done a lot of work.. some of it is for sane people.. but sane people should not make the mistake of reading Nagmani, Bu(short story), Mukta(short story), Band Darwaaze, Kele Ka chhilka, Amakadi, or her work... she is dangerous, and read her only if you are willing to face the ghosts of your own passions...

There will be more Amrita Pritam on this blog though, bcs i never laid any claim to sanity, or the desire thereof!

Tumhaara naam
Chhala ban gaya hai jeebh par
Dukhta hai
Jab bhi kuchh kehti hoon..

Another one..

Kamre mein baith kar aao,
Nadi Jungle ki baat karein...
Khidki ke paar kabhi dikhta tha..
Aao, us peepal ki baat karein...
- Author unknown. This is part of my showcase of Hindi poetry 

Nadi Phir Nahi Boli

nadi pehli baar tab boli thi
Jab tumhari teekhi naav
uska vaksh cheer kar
sudoor badti gayi thi
lehron ne uth uth,
Virodh darshaya - par,
tumhaare mazboot haathon mein thame,
chappu-on ne virodh nahi maana.

Tab tumhe lauh(iron) ka, vishaal
daitya sa dhardharata jahaaz
us ki chhati par utaar diya.
Tum ne khoob raunda is ki deh ko.
Lehron ke haath duhaayi mein uthe,
Tum ne nahi suna!

Phir tum ne kitne hi yudhhpot, jangi bede,
kitne hi, jaane kitne hi
is ke and ang mein basaa,
iski deh ko akhada bana diya..
Aur kroor ho kar pooochha,
"Bolo, kya bolti ho?"

Nadi nahi boli.
Nadi phir nahi boli.
nadi phir kabhi nahi boli..
-Mayamruga..

Hindi Poetry..

OK people, I am going to do this..
I am going to use this page to showcase some Hindi poetry..
because its rather sad to see the death of the Hindi poet..

And if you like these pieces, please remember that they were picked up from assorted Hindi poetry books picked up painstakingly at roadside stalls, bcs none of the upmarket shops keep modern Hindi poetry.. so please, go out there and buy some Hindi poetry.. and in the snobbish upmarket shops where they keep fewer Indian language books than French books, ASK for books in Indian languages, and ask the managers why they don't stock Indian language books.. then buy them..

The death of a language is a sad reality, but what makes it worse is the knowledge that we are colluding architects in that death..

Please feel free to suggest other good vernacular poetry, and I'll add it here..

"Bhookh ka jhaad
Uga ho jis ke pet mein,
Bhar jaata hai kaanton se us ka kanth,
Tab cheekh bhi nahi sakta aadmi.. "
- Banaas nadi: Teen Chitra
by Radhe Shyam Atal

Why I come to blogspot

I come here for the lost worlds
That float on assorted pages,
in the sea that everyone knows of
And no one knows completely..

I come here for the lost worlds
Tears that dried in cyberspace
And joys that floated in free air,
Like Tibetan chants.

I come here for the lost worlds
For hearts that broke,
And no one heard...
Or heard, and said nothing..

So, what is my point?

My Point is this:
1. If we can ask for Deliverance from the public Sector Banks, and bad mouth the babus,why can't we ask for DELIVERANCE from the private banks who completely, unabashedly suck us dry, invade our privacy, and confiscate our property without adhering to the legal procedure? No refunds are made from the sale of property thus confiscated. WHERE THE HELL IS THE LAW?

2. I am schizophrenic, I do NOT want my personal information plastered on the screen of the next dummy who gets a walk in BPO job.. there is a reason why information is called PERSONAL. I want my bank to stick to asking ONLY the essential stuff(my annual income and the number of children i have is not essential. Its personal. )

3. Why should a bank that adopts consumer malpractices, allowed to operate? After all, we were fed privatisation with the sweet goli of "better consumer experience" weren;t we? Since that essential condition does not hold true, the bank should not be allowed to operate.

I REALLY THINK IT IS TIME SOMEONE INITIATED AN ACTION FORUM AGAINST MALPRACTICES BY THE PRIVATE SECTOR FINANCIAL ORGANISATIONS. Care to Joine me, anyone?

In Defence of Public Sector Banks

This post had to be written!

When the privatisation of banks happened.. the majority were celebrating.. what deliverance! From bank Tellers that do me a favor while giving me my own money..
From clerks who do not believe in talking to mere mortals,
From Bank Managers who thought they were GODS incarnated..
From banks that close that 1, or 2, or whatever..
From banks that make loans a nightmare... .
Remember?
What Sweet Deliverance We Were Promised By Our Private Sectore Saviours.. Like the US promised freedom to the Iraqis before rolling in..

Lets take a stock of what the private sector banks have brought in:
Scene 1: You are preparing for that all important meeting. The phone rings(YOUR mobile phone)
Sir, would you like to try out our new credit transfer scheme?
The scenario repeats itself.. Citibank, ICICI, ABN Amro... you name it!

Scene 2: You are outside the office, or in a mall, and you are accosted by a nice looking guy, "Sir, would you like to get a free ICICI credit card? Its absolutely free, no charges at all (oops! He forgot to tell you "1 year only!" )
Nicely tempted, you apply. Over to scene 3.

Scene 3: You are anywhere... any time.. and you get this call, "Sir, I am calling from ICICI bank.. this is re. verification of your credit card application.. what is your address sir? What is your annual income? What is your qualification? Do you own any car? " (IS ALL THAT EVEN THERE ON MY APPLICATION?) If you get bold, you ask, " Why are you doing this verification? I am not bound to provide my personal information to anyone. Please stick to the specific details required for verification and before I tell you anything, you tell me the entire verification process and the time involved. " The sound on the other side goes " OK, Thank you sir." And the phone goes dead.

Scene 4: OK, so your wife over-spent by 1000 bucks and that loan cheque bounced. You curse yourself for the cheque bounce charges and prepare the next cheque. One day, you get a call from someone from the bank, informing you that you have "Defaulted" (Gulp!!)
You tell them to send someone to pick up the cheque.
OK sir, I will send someone.
3 days, no one comes. the Cheque is dutifully lying in your pocket.
Day 4, another call " Sir, you have defaulted again. You were not available in your office when our rep called."
(WHAT? ME? NOT IN OFFICE? WASNT HE SUPPOSED TO CALL BEFORE COMING?)Sir, you will now have the make the payment in cash at our nearest office. (BUT I CAN'T MAKE IT THERE IN MY OFFICE HOURS!!) Too bad sir!

Scene 4: You discover a 250 rupees charge in your bank statement. (250 RUPEES?!!) Frantically, you search for the bank's Helpline number. After a maze of menu options andyour TPINs and verifications(TPINS!! THE FINE ART OF DISCOVERING THAT YOU HAVE BECOME A NUMBER FROM A HUMAN BEING. ALSO, THE FASTEST CONVERSION METHOD.) , you our wiare told that this charge exists bcs both you and your wife have registered for the mobile banking. (WAIT A MINUTE, THAT WAS FREE, AND YOU JUST ACTIVATED IT!) Yes, Sir, it was free till March. From this month, it has a fee of Rs. 125 per quarter.
"How can I deactivate it?" Sir, ,you have to submit an application in writing at the branch before the third working day of the quarter to get deactivated for that quarter. No sir, we do not take advance applications. No sir, you cannot do it over the phone, and no sir, you can get it activated online, but not deactivated.

Still wants privatisation, anyone?

I am perhaps
not the most suitable recipient
Of your affection.

I have decided
that my picture
will do the job much better.

Am therefore
leaving the picture behind
For you to declare your love to
Once a day, or maybe, once in two days,
without giving a damn
about what she really feels.. thinks... does....
No time to talk
or ask her
if she is upset about something..

I have a feeling
that your lasting, beautful love,
Is not valued enough
by a thinking, feeling, complaining person..
A statue
will do the job much better...
And make you
A very happy man!

I have also fed her
the hmmms and the A-has
which are
the only pieces of conversation
that you have wanted out of me
in a long time.

She will do perfectly well.
And you will never know the difference!

Words

They fall
In unintelligible gibberish
At a poor pace
Not caring
About the sky
that they were born to claim

Too helpless
To help
the one that they fall on and crush
under their weight..

Poor souls.. these little ones
If only they knew..
Their own little power... if only.. they had
floated lightly,
into the air
like dreams are meant to..
instead they took
reality on their shoulders
and that is a heavy burden.

No wonder they fell
not into the open sky
but on the earth
crushing the one who stood under
with open, wide arms
hoping to reap
a harvest of beautiful dreams
and instead
crushed under
the weight of these pointless words.

I am not sure who the murdered was...

And then
Just like that
I found it

She just said,
Learn to be your dreams
And they will be your reality too.
Such a simple thing, this, and I
Forgot to believe in dreams
Or their power.
Dumb.

And then just like that
I knew
That it was back
- The Incorrigible Dreamer

The one who will
never, ever, be.
And cannot
Not Be.

Aaye hain Samjhaane Log

Aaye haiin samjhaane log,
hain kitne deewaane log!!
- From a Chitra Singh Ghazal

The story so far..

I had to stop my theblogs.net blog after my password change without my intervention, and was unrecovered.. that was sad... and before this blog starts... the story so far.. more for me than for anyone else..

Omar Khayyam.. on Life and Death..
If my coming were up to me, I’d never be born And if my going were on my accord, I’d go with scorn Isn’t it better that in this world, so old and worn Never to be born, neither stay, nor be away torn? [ 15:59 ] [ Feb. 17, 2006 ]


Jo nahi hain
Unhe dekh paana
Kitna aasaan hai is se
ki hum unhe dekhein
gaur se,
jo hain....aur
jinki ore
hum kabhi dekhte nahi..

ye zaroori nahi ki
pyaar nahi hai un se
jo hain aur phir bhi nahi hain
hamari drishti mein
aksar
itna pyaar hota hai ki hum
dekhte nahi unki ore
jaise
kisi parijan ka chitra baithak mein pada pada
ankhon mein utar jaata hai
aur use
dekhne ki zaroorat nahi rehti..

mushkil hai unhein dekhna
roz nayi aankhon se
aur yaad rakna
ki chitra aur parijan mein
fark hota hai

Parijan ke chechre par
padti hain jhhurriyaan bhi

[ 01:04 ] [ Feb. 7, 2006 ]

Aankh bole, ki khwab khwab khelte raho..

The Story so far(5)

And it Starts..
It all started with a small get together at a friend's place. I met a lovely young girl who was on her way to being a journalist with a leading paper in India. That was thrilling and I said, "Well, journalism is one of my alter egos. There is so much to talk about, that people don't want to read and no one wants to waste column inches on.. but they are important issues, and I wish some journalist in India would start talking about them as sensationally as the P3 parties..At that point, something in my head went, "So, you do it!" That was how this blog started.. so now, you know the general direction..But of course, if I want someone to read it, I'll have to try and make it interesting..a little like adding salt to food.. and dessert to boiled vegetables..

Nice Quote
Saw this nice quote today and could not help posting it on the blog..

What is it in you that brings you to a spiritual teacher in the first place? It's not the spirit in you, since that is already enlightened, and has no need to seek. No, it is the ego in you that brings you to a teacher. - Ken Wilber

My Take: What is it in you that makes you a spiritual teacher? perhaps, it is the ego again.

And if the ego of the learner seeks the ego of the teacher, where is the spirit in that?
********************
The Sky is the Limit
They always told us, "The Sky is the Limit."
And one day we found out: There is no sky. There never was.[ 13:30 ] [ Sep. 15, 2005 ]
************************
Lao Tzu Quote
Always we hope someone else has the answer.Some other place will be better,some other time it will all turn out.This is it.No one else has the answer.No other place will be better,and it has already turned out. --Lao Tzu[ 12:26 ] [ Sep. 19, 2005 ]
*********************
To add for its own sake
To say something for the sake of saying something, is to invite being ignored when you do have something to say.. have been thinking of this for some time now.. any thoughts?
[ 02:35 ] [ Oct. 11, 2005 ]
**************************
The Pagal Khana..
We have an annual decoration contest in office on Diwali.. this year, my department chose the theme of pagalkhane mein Diwali(Diwali in a mental asylum).. they were trying to be innovative. In the process,they thought up things like people doing weird things, each in his/her own world.. and thereby adding to our entertainment value..

Someone once said, "At the end of our lives, we are more likely to regret the things we didn't do rather than the things that we did do."
I regret not standing up for issues I believe in.. this was not going to be one of those times.

Pagal khanas are not full of people holding up lanterns, or shouting "Aaj holi hai!" on diwali, or pretending to be poojaris.. or so on.. they are full of people who spend their whole lives in 6*8 cells, that are not cleaned. Ever. Unless a sane inmate takes pity and cleans the cell.
Sane people who are fed into a pagal khana bcs their families do not want them.
People who got away from criminal proceedings by pretending to be insane and are lodged here instead of the jail.
Women who are sexually abused without even being aware of what is happening to them.
And people who are actually insane enough to act weird. Really weird. But mostly, people who will be found brooding, muttering to themselvss, and usually, not the kind of entertainment that my colleagues expect to find.

That is the picture of the pagal khana. Which is different from the picture of the average person who needs a mental health professional. The 2 are intersecting circles, but they are not the same.

Today, a lot more people need mental health help, because we have gone the famous nuclear family and "I live for myself" route. But no one acknowledges the need and what we are left with is a BIG set of people who just need someone to talk to, but are too brave to get help,bcs of the social stigma attached to seeking help.

And great shows like this, "Pagal Khane mein Diwali", will convince someone in the audience, who might be listening to some of us trying to tell people that its better to get help than to suffer in silence, that counseling is ALWAYS confidential, that not even the family needs to know, someone who might be thinking of it as being less of a stigma, will come to this show, and go back into his/her shell again..

CAN I PROMOTE A STEREOTYPE THAT I'VE BEEN TRYING TO DEMOLISH?

NO!

Hence, the decision to not participate in the show. [ 12:32 ] [ Oct. 27, 2005 ]
****************************
The Zahir
I don't know who it was who got here and advised me to read "The Zahir". Thank You! I did.

If the book has lessons, they are only for those who choose to take them. Centuries after the Bible, the Geeta and the Quran were written, telling us to do simple things like being honest, being good etc., we still read the Deepak Chopras.. why? Because it is so much easier to read, to talk and to think, than it is to DO!

Such a simple thing.. do not lie..even simpler.. do your duty. And what do we do? Write 300 page commentaries on what do means, what not means, and what lie means... do not lie.. do we really need a 300 page commentary on the Geeta?

Do not lie.. try doing this. Not lying. Its easier than you think.

or, try doing something simpler.. do what you are supposed to do, do not worry about tomorrow.. or, simpler still, try writing a 300 page commentary on what "supposed" does and does not mean...
[ 18:45 ] [ Nov. 6, 2005 ]
*******************************************

The Story so far(4)

Hi!

One morning, I was just.. around, trying to help my brother and opened Google(Obviously!) . This is what the Google site looked like.



Incidentally, it was the 4th of January, that's Louise Braille's Birthday, and this is Google in Braille.. WAY TO GO!! [ 01:21 ] [ Jan. 8, 2006 ]

Braille in Primary School
This is the best piece of news that I've heard in a loooong time.. the Delhi Sarkar has decided that it will introduce Braille and sign language in primary school to make schools more disabled friendly.

We dont know when, if ever, the proposal will ring true. When it does, am certain it will have 99% of all parents complaining about the extra work load on a child.
I agree.

So, what will it mean? This extra work load on the child? It will mean that he knows, at the age of 5, that there are some people in the world who cannot see a sunrise.
He will know that his eyes are too precious to be wasted on TV games and TV soaps.
It will also mean that he knows that there are children who cannot see films, even though they are sighted, because they cannot hear a thing. That these are children who could die in a fire because they will just not hear the fire alarm! Or, like in the film Koshish or Khamoshi, people who could lose a loved one becuase they don't hear the screams asking for help!!! It will teach them to value their bodies. And to value the people who were not born with bodies as perfect.

Perhaps that knowledge is too much weight to carry around. Perhaps it is depressing to teach a child about disability that early in life. But if I was a parent, I would ask the school to give my child that extra workload today. They could, if they like, cut his counting. It doesn't matter if he counts a year later. But he should know, when he learns to count, that it is a privilege to be able to say "One, Two, Three..." and a pivilige to see the Apple, Boy, Cat in the picture book.
[ 16:33 ] [ Dec. 16, 2005 ]

Why that blog about the home loan?
Guess I owe an answer there.. it was also to warn other people about these entities. That is my only excuse.. :)

In the interim, the WTO talks have been held hostage by India and then the G 20s and G30s. Am proud of my country for finally standing up for a cause. Its own perhaps, but I don't remember the last time our legislators agreed on anything other than increasing the salaries of MPs.

Another significant thing. When the defence service senior officials were shown taking a bribe by Tehelka, Tehelka was finished systematically. When the MPs were shown doing the same thing.. surprise! Surprise! All the political parties went red faced and guess what? the MPs were in trouble! Seriously! And then, Natwar Singh was asked to leave, his seniority notwithstanding, bcs of the Iraq deal. Am not sure what that means... but this I do know, if politicians have started to get red faced about bribes, and if the days of "saajish hai ye" are over... these are good days for my country.. just perhaps..

Maybe it is too soon to believe that a change is coming, but hey, no one said its too soon to hope... Am hoping...
[ 16:14 ] [ Dec. 16, 2005 ]

The Story so far... (3)

Poetry
The beauty of this thing is.. it ways a lot in a few words.. if you have the time, you hear, otherwise, you understand..

This was the title song of a serial on TV. Sung by Jagjeet Singh there.

Zindagi noor hai,
Magar is mein jalne ka dastoor hai..

Ravayat hai ke, zindagi gehna hai,
ye heera hai aur chhat-te rehna hai..
Ke lamhon mein marne ka dastoor hai...

The verse is in Hindi and my apologies to people who dont know the language.. i am a poor translator..
[ 01:37 ] [ Jan. 8, 2006 ]
On getting wodden furniture made
How many trees were killed,
For this almirah?
How many trees butchered
for this nice wall piece?
That is a wonderful kitchen!
How many corpses does it rest on?

Oh! What a wonderful decoration piece... pure wood! How nice!
Who did the killing? [ 01:33 ] [ Jan. 8, 2006 ]

On Reading the Kite Runner...
It was handed down to me by someone who runs a bookstore bcs he loves books. He told me he always keeps a copy.

I took it, just like that. The title and the cover picture were not very exciting, and the last thing one wanted was another half cooked attempt at metaphors of life and story telling with very little to say.

Started reading it at a time when one could obviously do little else.

You know, some books are like haunted houses.. once you've been inside them, they can send a chill down your spine no matter how much time has passed... The Kite Runner is not a haunted house. Its the Ghost that haunts all your life. And you also realise that the things people point out to you as being the most important.. are perhaps the only things not of value.

That one day, you will be called to shed all your facades and do what you should do, and you will, on that day, have to shed the lies you've fed yourself for years and own up to being who you really are... a coward, and an ill prepared traveller.

Don't read the book. [ 01:24 ] [ Jan. 8, 2006 ]

The Story so Far (Contd.)

Shers
Koi haath bhi na milayega, jo gale miloge tapaak se
Ye naye mijaaz ka shehar hai,
Zaraa faaslon se mila karo...

One day, I sent a sher to my friends.. and true to form, they responded with more shers..none of us is a poet. Usually we don't even know who the poet is. We just love the work and share that.

Palkon mein band kuchh sapne hain,
Kuchh begaane kuchh apne hain,
Na jaane kya kashish hai aapki dosti mein,
aap door ho kar bhi kitne apne hain...

***********************
Aap se mile zamaana hua magar,
Yun laga koi hum se mil kar gaya abhi abhi..
*************************

Nanhe se dil mein, armaan koi rakhna
Duniya ki bhid mein pehchaan koi rakhna
Achchhe nahi lagte jab rehte ho udaas,
In pyaare se honthon pe muskaan koi rakhna..
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[ 10:28 ] [ Feb. 2, 2006 ]

Coffee Musings
There is something romantic about the word coffee and its association....it's non alcoholic and equally wonderful as a drink... and if u try it without milk and sugar and with some bitter cocoa thrown in, it can be quite potent. Add to that Agatha Christie, or your favorite murder mysteries, and you have the recipe for a perfect day!

Went to this Punjabi Mushayara which is an annual event, but this was my first time..

Here are the 2 I remembered:
Tere naa te rakhi sadak te hain raunaqaan badiyaan,
Teri dikhayi raah te veerangi kinni!

And this one:
Tussi mere pankh katde ho par main
Pher vi udd javaangi
Mera Mazhab hai aakaash!


There was one more.. on reservations... by a new Punjabi poet... i dont remember the name of the poet or the poem itself... but it was bful!

[ 17:35 ] [ Jan. 27, 2006 ]