Of Random Ravings and Rantings

Racism Redux

2007-02-23T13:35:00.000+05:30

Let me continue my previous thread on racism. You would be very wrong if you thought that the dirty “R” word only relates to color of skin or caste, or stems from xenophobia. Maybe you should crawl out from the cozy rock you have been hiding under.

Recently, there was the Cauvery verdict. Triumph of reason over irrationality, if you ask me. To me, for once, our justices system came through and offered some succor to water-starved Tamilnadu. As a protest to this “partiality”, Karnataka closes down and you could actually feel the wave of anger. While scouring through some news sites and forums I subscribe to, I was shocked to read the comments of “educated common man.” They started with asking Tamils in the state to return back to Tamilnadu and then blossomed in to the full-on show of hate for “other immigrants!” They blamed “immigrants” for all of Bangalore’s problems – from traffic to state of morality. Some bright spark wrote “If these immigrants stop flooding Bangalore, Karnataka will be back to its wonderful state of yore.”

Similarly, we read about poor laborers from Bihar being targeted everywhere - from Assam to Maharashtra. The “great” Bal Thackrey blames all the ills of Mumbai on the Biharis and wants them all thrown out of Mumbai. Some poor bread-winners-for-their-families Biharis are actually killed while the “great” Thackrey is frothing at the mouth. The Assam extremists actually send a big number of these poor and helpless Biharis back home in body bags. Hitler would have been proud!

No, I’m not getting in the history/civics/geography or politics of who’s right and who’s wrong. As a casual observer, all I see is that an Indian is being prosecuted in India. If we feel like this about fellow Indians, can we blame if a Brit/Canadian/American/Saudi/ doesn’t want us in their country?

Is it racism when a rich, gorgeous, educated movie star is bullied by not-so-educated natives in a contrived situation, but a poor man who goes to another state of his own country so that his family can subsist on the lowest of wages is treated as unwanted trash?

If I could make hypocrisy a sin, I would add it as the eighth member of the list of other deadly seven.

Beside making good money working at home, away from the corporate dirt, I want to live to see the day when any Indian will be able to go anywhere in their own country and not treated unwanted. I have a dream.

Storm in a Fish Bowl

2007-01-29T11:47:00.000+05:30

Yeah, I’m referring to the Shilpa Shetty episode. One hell of a way to start the year! She earns tons of moolah, has become a household name in Britain, and most importantly, has achieved what no Indian other than Mahatma Gandhi could – being discussed in the British parliament! Good going Shilpa!

I find it a storm in the teacup. Or fish bowl, if you will, which is what Big Brother/Big Boss is about. Useless and over-hyped.

I’m not amazed at the existence of racism, no Sir! A lot of us are hard-core racists. It’s just that we’ve discovered over the time what’s politically correct to say and what is not. What I’m amazed at is the response of the Brits to this entire episode. Not the media, but the people. I’ve been reading the comments of the aam-aadmi on various sites and I have to say that I see remarkable maturity over the issue. It is good to see that lot of them are whites, not just of Asian community.

Makes me wonder if we’d act mature enough if we were subjected to soul searching on something that did not show India in an unflattering light. Take my profession – technical writing – for instance. Each time someone dares point that most of our writing is not yet on par, we bristle, raise our voices, start defending. Last year, Reader’s Digest named a city in India rude and we wrote and spoke reams screaming “foul” and “how rude!” Hell, during Shilpagate, in retaliation to the Jade Goody’s rude comments, India Tourism board (or some such organization) published a page-long press release in all prominent Brit newspapers trying to prove how healing India is and how wonderful. I’m gagging.

I see two separate issues here. Racism and India.

Let me start with racism. I find it funny that we cry racism in Shilpa’s case. My experience says we are no virgins in this matter. Reminds me of an incident that has stuck forever in my mind for all the wrong reasons. In the university, we had friends of varied nationalities – Latin American, English, Dutch, Sri Lankan, Arab, African. You name it. The foreign community being not too big, every body knew everybody. But, I remember an “esteemed” Indian senior who refused to invite Africans to his party because they were black! Back home, there’s casteism and there’s regionalism (Madrasi, Bong, what not). Heck, we discriminate on the basis of sex! Oh, and not to forget, how tolerant are we to gays and transvestites? It’s time we take a hard look at ourselves.

Now, let me talk about India, the second issue, as I see it. Mera Bharat mahan. How long are we going to hang on to the coat-tails of past glory? When an outsider comes to India, the first thing they notice is the cleanliness. Or rather, the lack of it. I’m told the surroundings of world-known Taj Mahal are nothing to write home about. And we tout it as the major tourist attraction! We show it as the face of India. How fitting! This brings to me another incident when we needed to travel by train to Pune. Unfortunately, we ended up with a Brit couple and a Danish couple on their way to Goa from Agra. The two couples got talking to each other and after holding back for a long time (probably because of politeness), they started comparing notes about their travel. The Danish girl was disgusted with the lack of hygiene and was desperate to go home. Her companion kept repeating that they were conned in to coming to India after the lucrative ads they saw back home. The Brit couple was in no better shape. They had their fingers crossed that Goa would be a bit better. We wanted to disappear.

And I’m sure that Brit couple or the Danes for that matter, even if they are not racists, will in a way agree with Goody’s comments about the state of cleanliness and they’d make fun of the chest-thumping we do. So, all I’m strongly advocating is the need to see above the patriotic jingoism and learn to extract the truth that comes from criticism rather than going hyper-patriotic.

Disclaimer: I’m not anti-India. In fact, I love it maybe more than you do. The difference is that I'm not blind to its faults.

Of Corporate Stepford Wives

2007-01-23T10:39:00.000+05:30

If you’ve read this book by Ira Levin, you’ll know what I’m talking about. If not, then I recommend it. If you are not a book buff, try the movie. It’s good too.

For the uninitiated, Stepford is this rich community (or town) where the wives are beautiful, submissive, and live to please their husbands. Everybody, especially the men, is impossibly happy and the wives giggle and squeal of joy all the time. Everything is rosy and all’s right with the world. Only, there is a sinister undertone to it all and in time you realize that the women are more like drones than real characters. They never lose temper or control and there’s not a single bad-hair day. Then arrives this newcomer who doesn’t agree with this perfect way of life. They smile when she shows her irritatation. They forgive her “tantrums” when she asks too many questions. And of course, she is called what she is, a troublemaker. No, I’ll not bore you with details or give away the plot, in case you’d want to read it.

When I was watching the movie, I was struck by the parallelism between the Stepford way of life and the corporate way of life. In both you are expected to act in a particular way. Pleasant, happy, always smiling (giggling, if you want) eager to please. Always putting the “larger picture” (whatever that means) before personal good. Never ever giving in to your emotions. Drone way of life, innit?

Any time someone in the “fold” departs from this templatised behavior, we feel hurt, try to understand what basic flaw in the person drives them to behave thus. Over the time, we try to beat the “aggression” out of the person. If we succeed, we pat ourselves on the back for the success of the Herculean task and welcome the sinner back in to the fold with victorious magnanimity. If we don’t, well, then the person obviously doesn’t fit. Duh! And so, is of no use. It doesn’t matter if this bloody aggressor gets the work done, theirs as well as yours. There’s more to work, than work. Obviously.

Why is it that what is sinister in fiction is so readily (even greedily) acceptable in real life?

Suffer the Children…..

2007-01-18T15:47:00.000+05:30

Says the Bible. And we humans try our best to make them until they meet the maker.

Somebody, when they learned that I lean towards the psycho-thriller genre, commented that the “West” is depraved. So many psychopaths and sociopaths out there. So many necrophiles, cannibals, pedophiles! Look at the documented instances. They are a huge number. We don’t have Jack the Rippers or Ted Bundys. Nor any Sons of Sam. We are a “mild” civilization!

So they said.

But, since when do we equate absence of proof as the absence of evil? Just because our police force is a bunch of illiterate imbecile jackasses, we can thump our chests and claim moral superiority?

The Nithari killings should be an eye opener. And they keep discovering an odd skull now and then. 30 and counting.

The worst kind of criminals are the ones who harm children. In any way. Anyone who harms a small defenseless kid is a monster. According to the evidence and confessions, the children suffered horribly and are gone. I cringe and suffer when I hear or read about it. But the image that persists in my mind is of desolate parents showing a pic of their little one asking if someone knows whether their kid was among the discovered. I wonder if they’ll get a closure sometime. I truly and sincerely hope they do.

And I’m sure the two killers are reveling in the “fame”.

I’m not sure about God, heaven, or hell. But, if it were true, I sometimes wonder if there’s a special hell for the tormentors of the kids.

This ugly incident has brought a spate of child-related crimes to light. And worse, the situation of poor kids. We beat them, we starve them, we overwork them for pittance, we use them for perverse gratification. A society is judged by the way it treats its children. And we don’t measure up.

I wish I were smart enough to have a solution. I don’t. And until I do, I’ll write useless articles like this and feel absolved.

Of Israel

2006-09-11T16:16:00.000+05:30

Okay. I’m back to life. I haven’t written for a while because I have had my nose to the grind and more importantly, because I haven’t wanted to. And I noticed that the world worked fine despite the lack of commentary from me. And now, I’d like to take back the charge, please! *Evil grin*

Pretty late to write about it, now that the dust has settled and the cowardly Hezbollah have crept back to holes where they crawled from; but what the heck!

I am a huge fan and a supporter of Israel. They are a country who grew farms and miracles out of poisonous marshes, founded cities in deserts solely on courage and innovation, who were despised all over the world; who were prosecuted world-wide for being different; who lived in terror for more than a millennium and finally decided enough was enough. This small bunch of brave-hearts dared to form a country, faced the dirty might of biased English at the height of their power, fought their first war of freedom against the British-backed Arab world when they were outnumbered in ammunition as well as manpower. They’ve lived to tell the tale of facing moneyed joint Arab forces more than eight times. And every single time they’ve emerged victorious.

Oh yes, they are awesome and to me are a symbol that everything is out there if you have the guts.

The detractors will cry that they are US-backed. But for once, America gets my vote. I know US doesn’t do it for the love of humanity, but for political reasons; but I’m not counting!

I abhor the fact that civilians, who had nothing to do with it, were hurt in the recent Israeli retaliation. My sympathies, as always, for the Lebnoni families who lost their loved ones and those who lost their homes. I’d have loved to see Israel come up with an “answer” where they tackled Hezbollah, without hurting the civilians. I’d also love to see Hezbollah grow a spine and come out and fight in open. The same old story of coulda, woulda, shoulda…

But, in all honesty, Israel did drive the fact securely in thick heads that they were serious about anyone (kidnapping and) hurting their soldiers (people).

When I see the constant spate of violence in Kashmir and see the innocent suffer because of a lost cause; when I see the cowardly terrorist attacks in the country; I wonder if it is time for India to take a strong stance, a la Israel? When I read about Indian POWs in Pakistani jails for more than 30 years, I feel doubly proud of Israel.

The first thing an outsider notices in India is the lack of discipline. Everywhere. Maybe if all of us had to serve compulsorily in armed forces for two years, as they do in Israel, maybe the country would be in a bit better shape? Maybe, if the pre-requisite for even being able to serve in armed forces would be a certain level of education, maybe we’d a little more proud lot?

A lot of maybes. But, I’m a dreamer. What do you guys think can help India actually shine?

Of Poetry

2006-07-20T16:27:00.000+05:30

This post is thanks to a stimulating and a very enjoyable conversation I had yesterday. As they say:

“Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee and just as hard to sleep after.” -- Anne Morrow Lindbergh

When I was growing up, I wasn’t big on poetry. It’s a cultivated taste for me. Until I read this excerpt from John Donne as Hemmingway’s opener in “For Whom the Bell Tolls”. I fell in love with it. In entirety it’s a morbid piece about death, but as standalone lines, they are, to me, the most beautiful lines that came my way. Here they go, and I’m safe in quoting them without the fear of being sued…

No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manner of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.

Another piece I love from the man is:

GO and catch a falling star,
Get with child a mandrake root,
Tell me where all past years are,
Or who cleft the devil's foot,
Teach me to hear mermaids singing,
Or to keep off envy's stinging,
And find
What wind
Serves to advance an honest mind.

Note: If you read the alternative lines of “Go and catch a falling star”, they make perfect sense too. In fact, I like them better that way.

Ah. Did I say, I love Gulzaar’s poetry too. For me, he represents the best of Hindustani.

Who are your favorite poets?

Of Closed Minds

2006-07-14T16:10:00.000+05:30

Today, I was reading an article about the “Mika – Rakhi Sawant Controversy” in one of the magazines in the office pantry, The article actually was about kissing in (urban) India and showed the shot where Mika was found pressing his case a bit too strongly on Rakhi’s lips. Rakhi (or rather, her back) was shown dressed in a backless red number.

As we all know, it was played out as a major controversy and hooha by the media.

A colleague walked in while I was reading this article and wanted to see what I was reading. I showed her. Her next comment shocked me, although I should have known better. She said that Rakhi Sawant deserved the forced kissing, given the kind of clothes she wears.

I was disgusted because the comment came from this seemingly “new-age woman”, who is independent, literate, and probably celebrates her emancipation on the Women’s day. I’m not known for masking my feelings or stiff upper lip. So, it was no mean feat that I went back to the article repeating to myself that she had a right to her opinions, as I have to mine.

But, that got me thinking. We are literate, surely. But are we educated enough?

7/11 – Mumbai

2006-07-12T12:39:00.000+05:30

Any act of terrorism, big or small, is the most despicable crime against innocent people. It is planned and carried out by invertebrate-spineless-sad-excuses-of-human-beings, who do not have the courage to fight for a cause “in the open”, whatever that “cause” is. So, they choose to sit in the safety of their homes and bring about untold misery and destruction to people who have nothing to do with their “cause”.

My heart goes out to the families who lost loved ones in yesterday’s tragedy. May they have the courage to get through this stupid unnecessary tragedy. May all your loved ones be safe.

Thanks to a poster in the mailing list I subscribe to, here’s a link that you could use to contact people you are desperately trying to get in touch with:

http://mumbaihelp.jot.com/WikiHome/PhoneNumbersToBeContacted

Education, Wot?

2006-06-08T14:06:00.000+05:30

I hear about IITs and IIMs and their graduates conquering the world. Although, the specimens of this illustrious breed I have worked with so far have failed to impress me. But, that’s my opinion entirely. Anyway, this post is not about them. This post is about an uneducated person.

Lately, we’ve been busy with the apartment and have been dealing with all sorts and that reminded of this forgotten phenomenon.

Back in 1998, when we were renovating our house in Delhi, we needed a contractor. We all were working and we needed a builder who could get the quality work done with minimum fuss and follow-ups.

It was a Sunday noon and the entire family was lazing. Insistent doorbell that you couldn’t ignore. So, I went to shoo away the person. On the door was standing this guy asking for Dad. He talked gruffly and wouldn’t look at me. Now, that always gets my hackles up. So I was curt to the extent of rudeness. I fetched Dad and left in a huff. At dinner time Ma’ told us that they had found the builder to do the renovation. And it turns out this annoying man was the person. I didn’t like the idea, but he had agreed to do the work within our budget and that was a big plus.

The work started. When you told your ideas to him, he would listen without speaking until you were done talking and then he’ll talk haltingly. But whatever little he talked, it always made sense. He always would enhance the idea, would always suggest an economical and better way of doing something and most importantly, was punctual. His planning was foolproof. If he promised that he’d finish something on a given date, he’d deliver it at least one day before it! IIMs, eh?

He slowly grew up on us. It was evident that he was not a literate man; he could barely sign his name, but this man had taught himself basic math. He could calculate stuff and could never be taken for a fool.

Over the time, in bits and pieces we learnt that he had come to Delhi from Rajasthan eight years ago as a penniless laborer, who had started by earning a few bucks for back-breaking work of an entire day. He was already married and had a kid to support. He had started by carrying bricks, but he paid attention and learned. Within a year he was made the foreman of the building. But, he never stopped learning. And when he gained enough confidence, he started taking up small contracts on his own. There, he learned to deal with different people and manage his workers. For this, he taught himself math, I think from his son’s books. Learned to sign because it was needed for bank operations. It was fun to see him read. Slowly and painstakingly. But when he did, you felt proud, as if you had achieved something.

When you grow from grass-root levels, you either become arrogant or really humble. Our man was latter. He treated his workers fair and square and tried to educate them a bit. He helped them and took care of them. And most importantly, he took pride in his work.

After our house was done, he moved on to other challenges and gradually we lost touch. And I’m sure, wherever he is, he must be doing exceedingly well.

He had his faults. His daughter did not go beyond school and was married off by the age of 17/18. When asked, he told us that it was enough for her, but his son was educated properly. Male chauvinism, but you gotta pick your battles. All this notwithstanding, we were lucky to know him. He taught us that you can make best of whatever you’ve got. Whenever I think of him, I feel inspired.

A life well lived, huh?

A Piece of Eternity?

2006-06-05T14:27:00.000+05:30

I’ve been married a bit over three years, now. I recommend it. Highly. As the saying goes, you cannot blame everything that goes wrong on the government. You should have someone always available to blame the rest on.

And I’m already digressing from the intent of this post.

People, read as nosy "friends" and even nosier relatives, wonder why we don’t have kids yet. What about the impending biological clock ticking away? What about carrying the family name? And then starts the emotional arm-twisting. What about the joys of having a baby? What about raising a good human being? What about a part of you surviving forever? It happens on the phone, on mails, face to face. During vacations; more so when there's a new birth in the family (tree). Hey! Deaths are not spared either. ARGH!

I have just one answer to all of them. I’m not scared of extinction.

Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that this post and I have nothing against people having or planning to have little critters. Go ahead, have your stab at eternity.

Till Death Do Us Apart

2006-05-30T17:05:00.000+05:30

Yesterday marked an end of era for me.

I’ve known (I’ll call him) Sunny for a long time. More than 15 years now. He was our stone of Gibraltar when my brother and I were frightened freshers at RU. The country was new, the place was unknown, and we were fresh out of home for the first time.

Sunny bhaiyya (We added the “bhaiyya” out of love and immense respect we had for him) took us under his wings and cared for us and generally took it up on him to act as our guardian. Then, one day, he introduced us to (I’ll call her) Eva. The love of his life. The quiet firang who understood Hindi. You had to be blind to miss the love between Sunny and Eva. It was not a showy love, but strong nevertheless. And then one day after dating for ages, they got married.

Luckily, Eva took to me and my brother as well as Sunny bhaiyya. Wonderful were the times and vacations that we spent at their place. Their place was our home far away from home. Then their son arrived on the scene and we had a brand new toy. And then arrived their daughter to add to the fun. The kids taught us quite a few lessons in patience, love, and cuteness. That was the time I started loving kids.

Often, I used to wish that if ever I got married, I’d be half as lucky to have a partner like him or be a partner like her.

And then we finished our studies and returned back home to start a life for ourselves. We all got busy, but we kept in touch. But, apparently not in touch enough. When you think you are close to someone, you kind of develop a sixth sense for them. For the past two years, I'd had that nagging feeling that something was not right. There were signs that I missed or probably chose not to see. He stopped responding to my mails. I couldn’t catch them together on the phone. Both were mutually exclusive. The pics I would get of theirs did not have them together. Them with the kids, yes. Together, no.

Yesterday, after a long long time, he came online and confirmed that they’ve been separated for the past three years. He went through a very bad time, and I’d like to think so did she (though she never mentioned a word in the numerous mails I get from her.) He assured me that kids are doing fine and that everything is OK, but I'm sure that it took him a long time to come to terms with his loss. Wish I'd been there to lend a shoulder like the times when he was there for us.

All day yesterday all I could think of was why them? Not them! Is nothing sacred anymore?

Some More Random Notes

2006-05-10T10:40:00.000+05:30

Finally, after the hooha, we have touched the home base. We are proud owners of a house and a 20-year mortgage. Good enough. I call the house the “Money Pit” for obvious reasons. TG prefers “Wit’s End”.

I feel sorry for Kaavya Vishwanathan. Of course, she has lifted passages from more than one authors and books and she is guilty. But, what makes me feel sorry for her is that she is so young. Not to forget the glee and malice shown by media and people in general that she got caught. I could never understand the fun people take from someone else’s downfall…

Hey, there have been allegations against Alex Haley’s mangnum opus, “Roots”. It seems Martin Luther King helped himself liberally with information from someone’s work in his (PhD) thesis. And there have been more.

I’m not saying she was right in doing what she did, but now that she has been thoroughly discredited, let her be. I hope she picks up the pieces and makes the best of her life.

With the movie version of Da Vinci Code being released, Opus Dei, the organization to which Silas, the albino monk belongs to, is in limelight. Check this link for some interesting read on Opus Dei.

Times of India achieved its rag status quite some time back. (I only buy it for the daily crossword, which is easy enough for me to solve. Feel good factor and all ;-)).

Spelling errors have been a persistent part of this rag for a while, even in the headlines articles. (Wonder what the newspaper editors earn their salary for.) Have you also come across instances when they refer you to a page to finish a story they started and you don’t find the rest of the promised article there or elsewhere? I’ve even come across instances when an article I came across months ago on the Internet was quoted verbatim, with no acknowledgement to the original writer or site? Even if they paid the site(s) in question for the article(s), wasn’t the citation required?

So, I found it hilarious when they were publishing Kaavya Vishwanathan story with obvious relish. Hello pot! Kettle here!

Tom Cruise is planning to sell his daughter's pictures to the magazine that bids the biggest amount. Poor guy. Must be in the need of the money.

What beats me is that why would anyone want to pay a huge amount (that could probably feed an entire African nation for a year) for a wrinkly baby?

We live in a funny world, huh?

Seen the latest 7-Up ad? They are advertising the shape of the bottle more than the product. Hmmm. Have they already given up on their product?

Judas Priest

2006-04-11T11:47:00.000+05:30

So, Judas was not the villain he has been made to be for the past 1800 years. So suggests the recently discovered and deciphered Gospel of Judas.

As per the gospel, Judas was the most trusted friend of Jesus and was asked by him to be "betrayed". Jesus also warned him that for this request, Judas will be hated forever. Despite knowing this, Judas agreed to do the deed.

It seems that there have been more than 30 gospels out there, but the “great” church only made four official and others were deemed heretical. The four that suited the story church wanted told. Most of the copies of the other gospels were confiscated and burnt. (There also seems to be a Gospel of Mary (of Magdalene) if you are interested). And by doing that they condemned Judas Iscariot to hatred for eternity.

You’ll never see anyone called Judas. Mark, Matthew, John, Luke; but never Judas. He was used by the Christians as a stereotype of Jews: selfish, cunning, money-minded, and most importantly, as betrayers. So many centuries of genocide has been put squarely on his shoulders. By blaming Jews, so much blame has been put on him. If you believe the church, he is the reason for all the ills in this world.

I'm neither a Christian, nor a believer. So, why am I writing this. Because, I believe in justice and that truth should be told. Always. And as a colleague mentioned sometime back, I seem to have something going for the underdog.

One thing, I’m really at sea with. It was the Romans who killed Jesus. The cross was their invention. It was them who prosecuted the early Christians and made them go through unbelievable suffering and torture for the fun and entertainment value of it, to enthrall blood-hungry masses in arenas. So, why have been the Jews blamed? Do I start hating Christians because Hitler was one?

I’m not mean and power-hungry enough to be able to understand it. I hope, I never am able to understand it.

But, if what the gospel presents is the truth, then Judas, you were a very strong man. The strongest. But, was it worth it?

Is Friendship Possible in Office Environment?

2006-03-20T17:01:00.000+05:30

This is a question that has been on my mind for a while now.

We spend most of our lives in office. This is especially true for us Hindustanis. We usually have very little life outside of office. And mostly, even if we go out on weekends, it’s with our “friends” from the office. We visit their parties, marriages, and go clubbing, pubbing, and outing with them. Out side of the office, when we meet, we again talk of the “events” at office. The usual office gossip.

But, is it “friendship”, really? Or is that our interests or views match and so we tend to herd with “our kind”? Does this friendship stand the test of time? Will these friends be there, when your interests collide? Suppose, it was your hide versus their hide on the line. Will they come through as a friend? Will they stand by you or you stand by them when the need be? If your interests clashed at office and you were at loggerheads, will any one of you be “great” enough to forgive and forget?

Of Bullshit Filters

2006-03-20T16:38:00.000+05:30

There are some people who make your skin crawl by the smallest communication, no matter how many wires are there between you and them.

Blessed are those who have the power to ignore, to forget…

For a happy life, what I highly recommend are bullshit filters. Very useful things these! Scott Adams might have oame up with the term, but TG is loaded with them. When will I acquire (even) one?

Of Cultism

2006-03-20T15:05:00.000+05:30

While reading the Dilbert blog, I came across the following observation. I agree with this so completely that I had to repeat it here.

I believe that all people favor what they think is in their best interest and then rationalize it with absurd philosophical arguments. Or worse, they join a “team” and agree with whatever the leader tells them.

To add to this profound piece of truth, I believe that this is where we see the birth of slogans, vision statements, counter‑slogans to defend a philosophy (or a leader) and such time-waste, but feel-good nonsense.

Do you subscribe to cultism?

Apocalypse Now?

2006-02-22T17:00:00.000+05:30

Yeah, the title is pretty dramatic. But, in the past three days, two bits of news caught my eye. Both the incidents remind me that we are rapidly regressing to a police state all over the world, not to forget the cartoon controversy.

Google has come up the hard and innovative way to become one of the most admired organizations in the world. They are young, motivated, and smart. They’ve withstood the takeover attempts from Yahoo! and have not submitted to the muscle power of Microsoft. And in the corporate world, they are the best place to work, I’m told.

So, why am I miffed at Google? Because they gave in to the Chinese government and have blocked anything to do with “Dalai Lama” in the search results of their search engine for the Chinese subnet.

No, I don’t have a particular affinity for Dalai Lama. He’s a smart man and knows how to sell the idea of Tibet. My grouse is about the freedom of expression. It’s about the loss of it.

Et tu Google?

A British journalist was sentenced three years prison term in Austria because he insisted that holocaust never happened and there were no concentration camps [in Austria]. So, Auschwitz never happened. He was slated for 10 years, but at the end of trial he changed his stance and agreed that these things did happen.

As shameful as the episode of holocaust is in the human history, I still don’t think that the man deserved a jail term. It’s like dealing with a problem the same way Nazis did. What’s the difference?

Whose Religion Is It Anyway?

2006-02-20T16:20:00.000+05:30

You can exorcize the devil, but how do you get rid of God?

I’m disgusted by the spate of violence that a few cartoons have started. It’s a monkey-say-monkey-do scene out there. One Arab country started the protest and now everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon. And every new country that takes up the protest wants to prove itself “more dedicated” than the previous. And so, the violence-graph progresses proportionately upwards.

“It is the test of a good religion whether you can joke about it.”
-- G.K. Chesterton

I’ve had this quote in my quote collection for a while. And every time I read something about this cartoon-rage episode, I’m inevitably reminded of it.

But, come to think of it, what other religion does take itself lightly? None! I’ve read about Hindus going in to a tizzy because some god was depicted on a T-shirt/bag/blah. The Sikhs are protesting because they want to carry “Kripan”, an avatar of dagger, in a school classroom in distant France. Christians, well, they still hate Jews after 2000 years because wasn’t it the Jews who killed Jesus? As if Jesus weren’t a Jew himself! The new pope, who calls himself Benedict with a number, wants all Harry Potter books banned and burnt because they are about magic and hence anti-Catholic and anti-Christ. One Harry Potter book will teach a child more about honesty, courage, and tolerance than all the so-called religious literature, Mr. Pope.

Religion is just a very convenient tool in the hands of weak. Who wouldn’t want to be an agnostic or even an atheist?

“All religions are the same: religion is basically guilt, with different holidays.”
-- Cathy Ladman

Then, why are we fighting/killing/committing the worst crimes against humanity in the name religion?

Of Random Notes

2006-02-14T16:19:00.000+05:30

Every time I hear “Fur Elise”, it captures me with its simplicity, beauty, and yet profoundness. The tune has been beaten to death commercially and there are many many wonderful symphonies, tunes, and musical works out there, but this small piece still makes me stand and listen.

If ever I build a house, I want it on the lines of “Fur Elise”. Does that make sense to you?

A former colleague used to mock a mailing list most people in my profession (in India) subscribe to. He called it a place for absolute morons and losers. In his own words, he was absolutely “ashamed” to be the part of the community of dimwits. (And before you start banging my head on the wall defending him or prosecuting him, please note that it’s his point of view I’ve put across. Not mine.)

Sometime back, he had to leave the organization. And now, when I see him active on the same list, answering practically every question on the list with patience and saintliness, it makes me wonder.

Do we need validation? If so, from who? From ourselves? Or is it the case of "how the mighty have fallen"?

You must have heard of the phrase ”a murder of crows”. TG, my “champion” husband has come up with a new phrase. “A gaggle of women”. I loved it and thought it should be shared.

I’m used to his short, to-the-point descriptions and parodies. Another of his gems worth knowing – “Bangalore: A village on steroids”.

Don’t throw that shoe at me, Madhoo! I'm just the messenger, here. *Evil grin*

What would you want written on your epitaph?

No no. I’m not being morose. Just curious. Epitaphs for me (the stress is on “for me”. I’m not responsible for your opinions *Eviler grin* ) represent the underlying principle on the lines of which we live.

So, no matter what age I die, I’d want mine to say “The Good Die Young”.

What about you?

Listen Without Prejudice

2006-01-12T17:10:00.000+05:30

For those who are George Michael fans, this will be a very familiar title. But, no this post is not about raving about this work of art. This post has been long in coming and is about listening (really listening) to people and then digesting the stuff you heard or learnt.

Most of us have this vulgar habit of listening to someone talking about a third person and forming opinions about this third person without even knowing anything about them. In doing this, we forsake the use of our brains and blindly accept the second person’s opinions, which might be tainted with numerous factors, right or wrong! And the subsequent interactions with this person, if any, are doomed right from the beginning. Who knows, we might have killed a relationship even before giving it a chance.

A popular belief is that if 10 people say something about a person, it might be true. Maybe in 70% cases, but not always. Sometimes, all the 10 people might be wrong.

So, no matter what you hear about a person from another person, do not form an opinion until you have interacted with them yourself.

Best Wishes

2005-12-30T14:30:00.000+05:30

Another year soon to be a part of the past.....

Personally, for me this was a year big on learning. I lost two loved ones and it taught me to let go of what I think is most precious. I faced a lot of lies and it taught me to stand my ground, no matter what and not become like them. A lot of my work was acknowledged and it taught me to work harder. A lot of my work and contributions went unacknowledged and it taught me that I have to do what needs to be done, whether I get any credit or not.

Am I looking forward to the next year? At the moment, the answer is no. I’m not. I still don’t want to believe that my Ma’ would not be with us this time. But, I hope you are. May all your dreams -- the ones that you’ve dreamt and the ones that you yet haven’t so far – may come true. May you have a year that you’ll remember always, for all the good reasons.

Have Cell Phone, Will Shout

2005-12-29T10:57:00.000+05:30

People screaming in to their cell phones is one of my pet peeves. You don’t want others to know what you are planning for lunch/dinner, what you wife/friend/girlfriend/boyfriend/mama/dad said to you day before/yesterday/today, why did you fight with A/B/C, or what you are planning for Christmas/New Year/ Holidays/Vacation.

It truly gets my goat when you are forced to listen to a self-important (mostly, one-sided) conversation in a public place. And, what does it take for you to keep a cell phone off in a meeting, movie hall, or even a conference?!

How much starved for attention can you be? Or is it that you never heard of something called p-o-l-i-t-e m-a-n-n-e-r-s?

Another one of my pet peeves is when in a group, two (or more) people start talking in a language that is not understood by others.

As Stephanie Tanner from Full House would say, “How rude!”

Of Success, Religion, and Madhu

2005-12-28T11:25:00.000+05:30

I found this recently. The minute I read it, I thought of Madhu, and so it is dedicated to her. This also happens to be my definition of religion….

Success

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.

Why Are We in Such a Hurry?

2005-12-27T13:01:00.000+05:30

With the spate of reality shows on TV, it is hardly possible to ignore them. One of them is Indian Idol, the country cousin of American Idol. Personally, I prefer the acid of American idol. Compared to it, Indian Idol is a somewhat sweetish and watered down version.

In these shows, you’ll see a lot of people, mostly hugely untalented, having a go at the chance of fame and riches. And when they lose, they cry and you feel sad for them. So did I, until TG asked me why would I do that? According to him these are people who want fame and all that jazz, but only without really working for it. In short, they are just looking for the shortest shortcut to success (too many “shorts”, eh?). So, I’m wasting a lot of my resources by feeling bad for them.

How right! As usual, he makes a lot of sense.

But, that also got me thinking. Why are we in such a hurry to succeed?

At office, when I see the politicking, the ass licking, and the sycophancy, I wonder why do we want to be promoted in a hurry? All the people that I’ve respected personally and professionally are the brilliant ones that have grown the hard way; have taken the longer route. Not because struggle is glamorous, but because when a person grows despite all odds, the person in 99.9% cases is the one who’ll be universally respected, looked up to, will have solutions to problems. This would be a person who knows his stuff, can stand for his ideas, is the leader. (Remember my earlier post about Professor Dumbledore?)

I long for the times when promotions were deserved. A Francisco is a Francisco because he grew from the grass root level. He worked 20 hard and long years to be where he is today. The TG I love, respect, and admire wouldn’t be what he is today if he ever tried to grow up in a hurry.

When people grow in a hurry, in their hearts of hearts they usually cannot justify it. After all, there is something called conscious in us, no matter how hard we suppress it. So, we make ourselves believe we are the best and the smartest around and proclaim ourselves to be “geniuses”. (Brings an erstwhile colleague to mind.) We surround ourselves with people who hang on to every word we say. We develop very fragile egos and not-so-fragile insecurity. We start believing that people are jealous of us and our eclat. We do things we believe will not be caught. Or in worst cases, we think we are so great that we will not be caught. And the saddest thing is we support such other “characters” and help them grow. Sycophancy begets sycophancy and politicking begets more of its kind.

Close your eyes, think back through your career and jot down all the good (real-leader-quality) supervisors you ever came across. I can bet my life on it that you wouldn’t be able to go beyond one finger. If you do, you are either the luckiest person ever (and why I cant make myself believe that?) or time for some soul-searching!

Some Everyday Myths Shattered

2005-12-27T11:13:00.000+05:30

This piece has nothing to do with lies. Read on if you know the difference between lies and myths.

We all come across all sorts of myths everyday. When we wanted to buy a microwave as a gift to someone, a newly acquired relative proclaimed prolonged death at the top of her voice. About how many things have you heard that have been claimed to be harmful, but scientific evidence proclaims otherwise. So, I decided to compile a list of so-called-facts that I have discovered to be myths over the time.

Here goes my contribution to society:

Microwaves are not safe for cooking. They are. Read up on this subject before you let anyone sway you away from microwaves.
Eating late can result in weight gain. I used to force the dinner down mine and TG’s hatch by 7 PM, max. But, once I read that this is just an urban myth, I’m a bit relaxed with the dinner timing now.
All Sharks are man-eaters. Absolutely wrong! Most of the Sharks are harmless to human beings. It’s only certain species that attack humans! (Too less, says I.)
Coca Cola is bad for teeth. Nah, not all! A tooth left in a glass of Coca Cola will not dissolve.
Swallowing a chewing gum can [jam your innards/ may take seven years to be completely digested/…] Relax! If you swallowed a gum, you are not going to die of jammed innards, or indigestion, or something else. Your body is a powerful machine and it will be able to process the culprit the same way it does cake! Praise the Lord! Or evolution, should I say?
You get rich hair growth if you shave your head once. Wrong! Neither hair nor nails behave that way. It’s growth or lack is all coded in your DNA.
Do not go swimming one hour after eating or you’ll drown. Now this one’s my favourite because it is one of TG’s more-favoured warnings. Nah, I’m not going to drown, pal. You ain’t getting rid of me so easy. *Evil Grin*
You should not eat Bananas when you’ve got cold. Poor Bananas! How did they end up with this allegation. It’s perfectly safe to splurge on Bananas, even if you’ve got a nasty case of cold.
Do not take a bath in the night. Huh?

These are but some that I can think of, off the cuff. If you’ve got a contribution, leave a comment and watch this list grow. If you want to know more, search the ‘Net. I’m sure there will be many sites to shatter a few more myths we’ve been brought up with.

Of Professional Gatherings and Writing

2005-12-23T13:48:00.000+05:30

Have been out of loop for a while. And not to mention the viral fever definitely adds a few more loops to an otherwise loopy existence.

By the way, the word loopy brings two things to my mind. Hobbes after a spin cycle and TG. The fact that both are equable in my mind is beside the point.

Got the chance to attend the latest STC conference in Hyderabad. Technically speaking, I find conferences a bit of a bore. All the self-importance and the show of knowledge. If that knowledge were converted to water, a lot of famine-struck areas of the country (if not world) might get irrigated to everybody’s satisfaction. Anyway, that aside I find attending them a break in tedium and routine. Good time pass.

You get to meet all sorts. The good, the bad, and the downright ugly. The stud-macho kind who think that if you look at them gives them the license to make a pass at you and women folk who think they are “queen of Egypt” in the words of a colleague. You also get to attend a few presentations. Fun, fun, fun, all around.

Beside the 7-Star comfort and the viral fever that played spoil sport, two things made this conference very special for me.

The first was meeting a sniffer dog called Rocky. An absolutely adorable 2-year old Labrador. Absolutely melting eyes. And cute to the boot! That brings me to the fact that we need a dog. But, TG says that we get a dog either when we retire or when “working from home” is possible in India. A long wait seems to be on cards.

The second moment came when an absolutely unknown person walked up to me to politely enquire if I was the same who has written a book on Storage Networks. My first instinct was to deny it, but that would make me a loser, wouldn’t it? So, I saintly agreed that that would be me. I was shocked when I realized that the man was pumping my hand vigorously and had a smile on his face. He told me that he is from HCL’s Storage Networking division and that his team uses my book to understand the technology. Anyone, who joins the team, has to go through the book as a part of induction. He also informed me that there are 25 copies of the book in their library and that none is ever available. He then promptly called his team members and introduced them to me. That was a defining moment. Suddenly, I liked the conference. *Evil grin* That kind of made my day, even in the haze of the fever.

That brings back another memory. TG has this favorite shop for technical books in Pune. Whenever he goes to Pune, he has to make a pilgrimage there. And usually he comes back loaded. After 15 years of this pilgrimage, he’s pretty friendly with the owner of the store. So, last year he’d gone there, as usual. He was browsing through the books and he found the Indian version of my SAN book. Cisco Press had sent me a complimentary copy when the book was published, but despite that he could not resist the temptation of buying the book. While billing, he mentioned that the writer of the book was his wife. There and then the book’s price was slashed by half and the owner asked him to bring me along sometime to the store. He came back and told me all this with a huge grin. More than the storeowner’s response, I was even more hearted by TG’s. It makes me feel really wonderful to be appreciated by him, the epitome of technology.

Initially, when the book was out and despite being a #1 on Amazon’s sales site, I was completely disheartened by the review messages that were posted. But, it has taken me a long long time to understand that the readers who really are satisfied won’t have time to waste. Only the disgruntled ones would. But then, you can never satisfy everyone in the world. There are people who criticize even Tanenbaum’s work, and I’m just a small fish in the pond.

These bouquets and brickbats have made me realize one thing that I find to be the gist of my work. Writing is an extremely responsible profession. You better know what you write, because someone will be reading it and using it and might be harmed by misinformation and any mistakes you made advertently or inadvertently.

OK, I’ve been known to drive my co-workers up the wall for my penchant for checking and rechecking things, but I’ve learnt not to take anything for granted.

Now that I’ve digressed and indulged in wholesale narcissism and philosophy, time to get back to the Earth and my take on the Conference. I’m feeling self-important today!

Another defining moment was to talk to Eddy Skau. I have respected him for a while now. If I have a professional icon in my mind, that would be him. Here’s a man who doesn’t speak nonsense and more importantly, knows what he is talking about. He’s open and doesn’t mince words. I wish I had more time to talk to him. But, he is also a popular guy and I didn’t want to be pushy. Now I wish I were.

Two presentations that I really liked were Andrea Ames’ and Francisco’s. These are the people who know how to hold their audience captive. Much to learn there.

Does being hit upon by an apparently younger lothario qualify for a good moment? Nah. It leaves a bad after taste in mouth. But, good for ego? Sure! *Eviler grin*

What I’ve Learned

2005-11-11T10:22:00.000+05:30

This came in the mail today. Touched something in me. Here goes, minus the pictures. The ones that I particularly loved are italicized.

I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is stalk them and hope they panic and give in.
I've learned that one good turn gets most of the blankets.
I've learned that no matter how much I care, some people are just jackasses.
I've learned that it takes years to build up trust, and it only takes suspicion, not proof, to destroy it.
I've learned that whatever hits the fan will not be evenly distributed.
I've learned that you shouldn't compare yourself to others -- they are more screwed up than you think.
I've learned to not sweat the petty things, and not pet the sweaty things.
I've learned that we are responsible for what we do, unless we are celebrities.
I've learned that 99% of the time when something isn't working in your house, one of your kids did it.
I've learned that the people you care most about in life are taken from you too soon and all the less important ones just never go away.

Of Cynicism

2005-11-08T10:48:00.000+05:30

Somebody very recently accused me of being extremely cynical. They were right. I am. But, the comment got me wondering what goes in to making a cynic. And here’s what I came up with.

I think, some people grow up expecting highly of human beings. What with the unique gift of reason and all. And then when they really look around and pay attention, they realize that reason (or even common sense) and kindness is a rarity. The last thing that is ever used, or maybe not at all. When they understand that everyone would rather be a slave to traditional way of thinking, as long as they don’t have to tax their tiny brains, and to enormous greed that replaces the use of brains, they get extremely disillusioned. And so, cynicism is born.

Long live cynicism! Without it the countless disillusioned will not be able to survive this jungle.

Of Utter Loneliness

2005-11-07T10:03:00.000+05:30

There are times in your life when you are completely and utterly alone. When not even your loved ones can reach you. Death of a loved one is one such time. And then you have to reach deep into yourself and draw on small caches of strength and will to go on.....

The Big Small Surprises

2005-10-11T11:53:00.000+05:30

I’ve been so disgusted with lies and dishonesty lately. I've seen quite a bit of it. And I can't say that it hasn't affected me, deeply, 'cause mostly I've been at the receiving end of these lies. But, sometimes the smallest things restore your faith. Temporarily. But, until it lasts, you feel good about belonging to the human race.

We have this ironing guy in our block who appears every Sunday. Very poor. Can barely afford a hand-pulled cart where he does his ironing. Having a permanent place where he can do his ironing is out of question. So, he keeps moving from shelter to shelter until he’s kicked away to the next in the block.

TG and I like the man. He only speaks Kannada and we hardly utter a word of it. So, conversations are usually hand signals. But, his smile makes up for everything.

He’s also very good at what he does and so far we haven’t had any major complaints about his work. Once he burnt a delicate top of mine. The man had the guts to come and show it to me immediately and insist that he wont take money for that day’s labor. TG had to insist to pay him. Tells a bit about his decency, doesn’t it?

He has a kid (at least we’ve seen only one so far). Sometimes, he used to bring the kid along and we used to give the kid biscuits, eatables, etc. Once the kid got comfortable with us, he became bold and we started finding him to be a tad irritable. But a kid is a kid, right?

A few months back, our man turned up at our place at 8 in the night and very laboriously explained that he needs 1000 bucks to get his kid started in a school. It took us a while to understand what he needed. He looked a bit desperate, so, we told him to come next day and to take the money. Neither of us looked too thrilled at the prospect. Not because of the money, but because a simpleton like him figured we were morons and can be taken for granted. We have a history of it….

Next day the man turned up on time and left with the money. We kissed the money goodbye and mutually agreed that we’d never see it again. Next Sunday, he turned up for his ironing and I wanted to see if he’d take money from us for that day’s ironing. He did. And I was furious about the thanklessness of the man. Anyway, a 1000 bucks was not too big an amount and we forgot about it and life returned to the usual pattern. Only change was that we did not quite like the man like before.

A few months down the line, the man turned up to collect the cloths for ironing on a Sunday, as usual. After he left, TG came back with a very strange expression. He opened his hands and there was this small bundle of money. Mostly in 10’s. He’d returned the money back. Every penny of it. And must have worked hard for it and saved it, week after week. We sat still for a while, feeling very guilty and small. We’d misjudged the man despite knowing that so far he’d been very honest in all his dealings.

That brought back to me a small incident from the past. An extremely well-paid man at the office cheated for a paltry 100 bucks last year. Micro-Peanuts (if you will) for him compared to the ironing guy who stands in sun all day to earn a few bucks. Life is an extremely funny thing…..

Here, my feel-good story ends. But, I’ve been wondering lately. The more we have the more we become greedy? The more we know, the bigger our arena of knowing and hence cheating?

Something to smoke in your pipe.

A Tribute to the Art of Sycophancy

2005-09-28T13:49:00.000+05:30

Sycophancy is a very important art form one must know in today’s competitive world. In fact, the only art or talent that actually matters.

You might not know what you are doing. Or what it is even about. All you need to know is how to fawn obsequiousness and wax eloquent. The bigger the better. And that’s it! That’s all you need to ensure success and you are set to go way way way ahead. More than you ever dreamed of or hoped for….

Contrary to all belief, sycophancy is a tough art. It makes you invest practically all of your time in pleasing your superior(s) or anybody else who can push you upstairs or get what you need. It needs absolute devotion. You might not like the other person. That shouldn’t stop you! You should be selfless to the cause. You got to love the person(s). You ought to be their best friends. Even better than a canine friend, if you can. You might have to devote after-office hours, weekends, and holidays for the betterment of the future. But remember! It’s all in the name of good cause.

No work done?! Hey! But, work is for morons. They work. You talk. Anyway, these are not the days where work speaks for itself. These are the days when you speak and create all‑important perceptions. Complain at least 10 times a day about how much work you’ve got on your plate. How hard things are, but how valiant you are to handle all of it and some more! Complain about lack of time. Toot your horn when you accomplish something trivial. Hard! And for God’s sake don’t feel bad about it. After all, making small things look huge and gigantic takes up so much of time, energy, and creativity. Why waste these things on work? As I said, you’ll always find Asses to do the “dirty” work for you.

All you need to ensure is that you are in good books of people who really matter. You can always complain as much as you want about them when their backs are turned. And that’s the right way! The only way!

And then, one day, all your dreams will come true. You’ll be promoted. You’ll grow. You’ll have people to lick your boots and posterior for a change. Nourish the culture. But, never rest! There are always [higher] places to go, more boots that need cleaning. Evolve!

Of Lies and Liars

2005-09-28T13:33:00.000+05:30

People lie for various reasons. Some lie to save their skins. Some lie out of necessity. And then there are some who would lie just because they lacked the spine to tell the truth.

To me, all lies are pathetic and indicate the severe lack of that trivial part of anatomy of the body, the spine. But, the most abhorrent to me are the lies told by people in power. They lie to get their way. They lie to hide from reality. And then they lie because they can get away with it.

What is more pathetic than lying is that when these people are confronted, they will use everything in their book from more wrong reasons to anger (of all things!) to shy away from explanations.

Conscience is an over-rated commodity perhaps?

The Man Who Sold the World

2005-09-22T10:12:00.000+05:30

Those who’ve heard this song (originally) by David Bowie and (later) by Nirvana, know it’s a fabulous song. I’ve been singing this song incessantly for over a month and driving TG up the wall. But, I can’t help it. The song has a hold on me!

But singing the song makes me wonder. Nice words, but I cant figure what the heck is the singer trying to say exactly.

Do you?

For All the Loved Ones

2005-09-08T13:33:00.000+05:30

Besides John Donne’s and Blake’s poetry, I’ve also liked most of the stuff by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. Found this small poem by her some time back.

The sad truth…

“There's one sad truth in life I've found
While journeying east and west -
The only folks we really wound
Are those we love the best.
We flatter those we scarcely know,
We please the fleeting guest,
And deal full many a thoughtless blow
To those who love us best.

Of God, Disasters, and Future

2005-09-06T18:33:00.000+05:30

I’ve been keeping an eye on the happenings in New Orleans. It’s sad to see the scale of devastation, but what’s very interesting for me is to watch the US government officials scramble like headless chicken. More than nature and Katrina, it is a huge human failure. I could have expected something like this in a “developing country” like ours or maybe even somewhere in Africa. But, in the only “self-proclaimed super power”! Now that is interesting.

While going through a site, I came across this comment that caught my interest. Here’s the snippet:

“Exactly who caused the hurricane? Your "God" of course! That's why I'm an atheist.”

Interesting. The commentator must have his reasons, but I disagree.

We are the ones who’ve caused this disaster, ultimately. We are the ones with this endless greed. We are the ones who are exploiting this earth as if we have some place else to go. We are the ones who are meddling with the nature and changing its course. We are the ones who have caused the extinction of so many species, big and small, in the past 100 years that might not have happened in past millennia. We are the ones who widened the hole in the Ozone layer. Even the Polar bears and the Penguins in far off lands of Antarctica are bearing a brunt of our greed and insanity. Three disasters of major and minor scale in past 9 months. Do we need more proof?

Bottom line. We are the viruses. We don’t give anything back to the nature and earth. We just live off their bounty. But, this bounty is going to run out some time, sooner than later. What will we do, then? Get on our spaceships and go looking for greener pastures?

I’ve noticed that every futuristic sci-fi I’ve seen, the future is bleak and dark, where the survivors are a very sorry lot who survive like rats. Some glorious future.

Nah, I don’t want to bring up my kids to give them a world like this. I’m not a very proud member of this race, either.

Somewhere I read that if we (as in “mankind”) were just to disappear from the face of earth today, it will soon (as soon as 50 years) bounce back to its rich state before we came along. But, if insects were to disappear the whole system will collapse into endless chaos.

Puts the whole thing in to perspective, doesn’t it?

Man and the Nature's Fury

2005-09-02T13:16:00.000+05:30

A disaster brings out the best and the worst in man, but, nothing matches nature's fury. Some people forget what's good for them and reach out a helping hand to others, more needy. Some people give in to baser instincts and take advantage of the weak.

Mind you, I did not use the term "animal instincts" deliberately. I have huge respect for animals. They fight fair and kill only when hungry. Man is the only creature that kills for fun...

Katrina is a very pretty name for a hurricane and she has wrecked havoc. Read this link (http://www.livejournal.com/users/interdictor/) from bottom to top for an eyewitness account of the heights and the depths a human spirit can reach...

I'm a cynic. My adage is "Guilty until proven innocent". But, cynical as I am, I still am hopeful for our future. I hope we wake up before it's really too late...

A Grudging Tribute

2005-08-31T10:11:00.000+05:30

MotoGP for me is an acquired taste. TG introduced me to it. And he is a HUGE fan. You have to be dead to live with TG and not be affected by his enthusiasm for this need-for-speed-sport. Many have been the Sundays when we have planned our life around these races.

Have been watching this sport for a couple of years now. I now share the enthusiasm for this sport with TG, though my enthusiasm is still nothing compared to TG’s.

After I started understanding the small nuances of the game, the names, the teams, and so on, I started liking some riders and disliking some. I started by liking Valentino Rossi, The Doctor. He was riding an inferior bike and still giving Sete Gibernau, who was on a superior bike and his main competitor for the title, a very good run for his money. And I remember I used to out-shout TG in supporting Rossi.

Rossi was such a good and consistent performer that at the end of the last racing season, he emerged the undisputed champion in the 500 CC class.

I liked him. He is very good at what he did. He is a daredevil. And he plays (or rather rides) to win. The most competitive man I’ve ever seen.

Then I started disliking him. I like gracious winners. He was winning hands down. But, he was not gracious. He behaved atrociously towards Sete Gibernau. An instance that is fresh in mind. I remember the race when he and Gibernau fought real hard for the first place and Rossi won. When Gibernau came to congratulate him, Rossi just ignored the man. You could see that Gibernau was dumb-founded. The people who saw it were too. The commentators were pretty vocal about it. Rossi was not the flavour of the moment and Gibernau could have taken advantage of the fact and turned the sympathy tide to him. But, when asked later by the Press, Gibernau did not dwell on the subject. That’s when my admiration for Rossi took a deep plunge.

When this year’s racing season started, my loyalties changed and I was rooting for Gibernau. Sadly, this is not Gibernau’s year definitely. He is not regained last year’s form and is making a lot of mistakes. Though the season is going to end very soon, Gibernau hasn’t won a single race as yet. He’s not even close to the second place of last year’s. On the other hand, Rossi is winning every damned race. One more race win and he walks away with this year’s championship as well.

I still don’t like Rossi. I still hate his behavior and his arrogance. But, I have to say that I now respect his enormous talent, albeit grudgingly. He makes you respect what he’s got. He is only 26 years old and is one of the best riders the world has seen so far.

This is a first for me. I have never come across anybody in my short life who I hated, but still respected as much.

The Ring of Greed

2005-08-22T13:29:00.000+05:30

Watched the three “Lord of the Rings” movies recently. While watching, TG, my saner half, made a profound comment that I found interesting enough to share with others.

He said that if you think of the “Ring” as greed, then the entire story of LOTR (and life) falls in to perspective.

How true. Greed is so easy to give in to and once beheld, has a very strong grip on one’s entire being. Greed is the thing that turns a human being in to a Gollum. Greed is the reason for all the wars and unrest. Greed is the singular reason for all the injustices. Greed is reason we never know peace or ever will.

Uncontrolled greed has been the reason we are killing our Earth slowly and might be the sole reason we will become a “has been”.

Will be ever be able to control this “Ring”?

Of Friends and Friendship

2005-08-22T13:10:00.000+05:30

Have been watching episodes of “Friends” back-to-back on DVDs. Watching it has inspired me to write about something that is really close to my heart. This is the summary of things that I’ve learnt from friendships lost and gained….

Somewhere I read that friends are God’s apology for the relatives we have. I agree. Friends are the people you find (or acquire) who fill a void you never know existed and the people who you feel comfortable with.

But that is not what I see in this world of today. I see friendship today being treated as something you do out of necessity. Something as a means to push you forward in something you need badly. Or merely out of boredom. I’ve seen people, who are the best of “friends”, but the minute the other person’s back is turned; make fun of them in the worst manner. That doesn’t bode well for me, idealistic as I am. That is definitely not friendship. That’s just a parasitic relationship.

Friendship is not something you take lightly. It is like marriage, if you ask me. You work at it. Hard. You nurture it and you grow with it. If you accept someone as your friend, the first thing you give to them as a friend is loyalty. And the other thing that makes the whole thing worth is that you truly have to care for their good. The rest takes care of itself.

Like any other relationship, you will have hordes of problems in a friendship. But, if the friend means a lot to you, you work them out. And the most important thing here is time. If you let something fester and you do not work it out with your friend while it is still fresh, the problem (or the misunderstanding) gains the proportions of an avalanche.

Also, you must learn to accept a friend as they are. A lot of problems arise because we tend to treat our friends as our own reflections or extensions. Not good. They are their own people and they will behave in their own unique way. Don’t force them to behave the way you want.

Another important thing. Be honest and true to your friend. That’s a maxim nobody can teach you. You’ll have to decide for yourself how much the person means to you and how much you want them in your life and act accordingly.

One caution to friendship. I’ve known jealousy to be a big factor in ruining a perfectly good friendship. From what I’ve learnt over the years, the triumphs of people you are close to are more difficult to take than of people who are strangers. (Here, I’m not talking about family, mind you.) Don’t agree? Search your heart and memory. That’s where you have to do your own part of growing. If you really care about a friendship, then you will have to learn to deal with these twinges of jealousy (the degree may vary from person to person, though). They are the worst dangers you’ll have to deal with.

One more thing to remember. “If it's very painful for you to criticize your friends - you're safe in doing it. But if you take the slightest pleasure in it, that's the time to hold your tongue.” -- Alice Duer Miller. I couldn’t have said it better.

These are the lessons I’ve learnt over the years from the losses I’ve borne. I’ve been unfortunate in losing a friend and have been fortunate in gaining two new. I hope I know now to treat them good. And I hope I will always have the most special friend in life in TG, who was dumb enough to marry me.

Now, something to ponder that I have found to be true to a larger extent…

“Men kick friendship around like a football, but it doesn't seem to crack. Women treat it like glass and it goes
to pieces.” -- Anne Morrow Lindbergh

A Tribute to Loved Ones

2005-08-05T15:19:00.000+05:30

No one could ever know me, no one could ever see me
Seems you're the only one who knows what it's like to be me
Someone to face the day with, make it through all the rest with
Someone I'll always laugh with
Even at my worst, I'm best with you
Yeah!

For Prashant.....

2005-08-05T14:49:00.000+05:30

Here are some lines that remind me of you...

We don’t even have pictures
Just memories to hold
That grow sweeter each season
As we slowly grow old

The Rel Family Saga

2005-07-28T15:55:00.000+05:30

Occasionally, you get lucky, even if you don’t know. We, my better half and I, were blessed as well.

This February (or was it March?), we found small pieces of an erstwhile rope scattered in our kitchen. The cleanliness freak in me freaked out and I made TG figure out the point of entry of the creature, which turned out to be a squirrel, and close the point. My ever-patient man did that. After that we kept a very close eye on the whole situation. No more pieces to pick, literally I mean. We decided that we had seen the last of our intruder and congratulated ourselves and got busy with our lives.

We have these empty cartons stored on the loft in the kitchen. A month back, we heard noises among these cartons. The usual freaking-out by yours truly. Enter TG, the rescuer. After lot of patient research, it came out that there was this small squirrel baby prancing all over the place (loft, that is). He or was it a she? OK. In absence of evidence, I’ll call it “it”. It was small and absolutely gorgeous, with the boundless energy and the curiosity of the little ones.

It absolutely won our hearts. We mutually agreed that we would sacrifice our cleanliness and we’d let it and its mother stay.

One day, we found that it was feeling a little adventurous and was all over the kitchen. The little one was probably trying to explore its to-be world. But, I think it overestimated its capability and was stuck on the kitchen window-grill. TG, the soft-heart, went in armed with a roll of newspaper and tried his best to get the chintu to descend on it. But, our little friend was absolutely scared and wary of the big entity. The more TG would try to help him the more he would retreat from him. Ultimately, TG decided to open the window to give him more space and our little friend climbed the window and was out in the open.

We decided that it was scared of us and we would give it space and time to regain its dignity. So, we went back to watching the TV. However, we kept peeping in the kitchen every 10 minutes or so. Sometime later, we did not find it on the window either! Further investigations revealed that it must have fallen from the window ledge and landed on the sill far below. We spotted it scared and shivering.

We had no way to get to it and even if we did and picked it, there was this fear that its mother might reject it. So, we stood and watched helplessly.

After about half an hour, we saw a sight to gladden anybody’s heart. The mama had come to the rescue of its baby! It was cradling the shivering baby. We were so awed by the wonderful sight that for a long time we forgot to click a snap! After that TG scrambled and took a few pictures.

Sometime later, the mama and the baby were safely back in the kitchen and we felt as if somebody close to us had been rescued and was safe now. After that TG was on a naming spree. He named the baby “Mr. Squi” and the family was christened as the “Rel Family”.

After this episode, I never ever grumbled again whenever I had to pick up the small tidbits of cardboard Mr. Squi would have gnawed on. Occasionally we would hear noises and occasionally we’d catch a sight of Mr. Squi prancing around in the loft. And we would nod and coo as if MR. Squi was a family member.

Haven’t heard the noises lately. No sight of Mr. Squi either. Looks like the Rel family has gone on to greener pastures.

Bye guys. We miss you and were blessed to have you around….

Top 10 Sayings We'd Like To See On Those Office Inspirational Posters

2005-07-26T11:57:00.000+05:30

Got this in mail, courtesy Meera. A very good example of truth being spoken wrapped in humor :D

Some points that they do not teach you in B-schools:

Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings, they did it by killing all those who opposed them.

If you can stay calm, while all around you is chaos, then you probably haven't completely understood the seriousness of the situation.

Doing a job RIGHT the first time gets the job done. Doing the job WRONG fourteen times gives you job security.

Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity.

A person who smiles in the face of adversity probably has a scapegoat.

Plagiarism saves time.

If at first you don't succeed, try management. (Corollary: Those who can do it, do it; those who cannot, manage.)

Never put off until tomorrow what you can avoid altogether.

TEAMWORK: means never having to take all the blame yourself.

Ayn Rand’s Teachings That I Must Unlearn

2005-07-25T19:10:00.000+05:30

Blast AR!

I’ve been a very late bloomer. What people would learn at 15, I would learn at 19 and some of the things that people knew all along, I still haven’t learnt. But, one thing I think learned much too early for my own good. Ayn Rand’s philosophy.

As I said, I was a late bloomer at 18. I had just started discovering me and the world around. I was learning about books, boys, ideologies, and an independent way of thinking. In fact, living in Riga had a lot to contribute to the last. I was a little more serious than I should have been; a little shier than for my own good.

The best things I discovered was books. My friends. My companions. My teachers. They started me on my journey of self-realization. I discovered the gods and goddesses – Hemmingway, Somerset Maughm, Oscar Wilde, Bernard Shaw, Leon Uris, Daphne Du Maurier, M. M. Kaye, and the countless lovelies that I cannot recall just now. I loved them, devoured their words, and most importantly learnt from them.

Then I found Atlas Shrugged. Somebody told me that it was her new bible. I was a bit intrigued. Why would that be? I started reading the book. Even then (when I was least judgmental) I found her writing a tad more detailed, than necessary. Excruciatingly detailed, actually. I used to lose my way in the maze of words. Why wouldn’t she get to the point! (I know many Rand fanatics will be screaming blue blood by now. Grin.)

One thing gripped my attention, though. The idea presented in the book. That got me, and how! It was something I always knew, but couldn’t put words to! And when she presented that “unknown feeling” in words, I knew I had a crony somewhere, dead or alive. She honed in me the idea of working to the best of one’s capability. She taught me to love work. She taught me to care about work, more than what normal people call normal. She taught me to treat my work as I would myself. And even better.

I then came across Fountainhead. That was just the prelude to Atlas Shrugged. Ah yes, wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure I’m an Atlas Shrugged-woman through and through.

She spoilt me for life, though, that woman. For a long time now, for me, only two categories of people exist. People who are really good at work - the doers - if you may, and the fakers.

So many years that I’m out in the world and it has pained me through and through to see that the fakers rule the world. The slimy. The spineless. The parasites. Look around. You’ll see what I mean.

I rave. I rant. I lose temper. I get angry. I get depressed. Most of all, I lose patience.

I’m sorry Ms. Rand. I’m not strong enough to take the pain to a point and forget it. It festers in me.

I used to wonder about the last part of Atlas Shrugged. Why would the people who absolutely loved what they did would abandon it. Now I know.

All these years out there in the world and I’ve learnt that if I want to “succeed”, I would have to learn to be a faker. Realizing, imbibing, and living AR’s philosophy was the easiest thing I ever did. But I must unlearn all of her teachings. This will be the most difficult thing I’ll have to learn. I must!

But, can I?

Goodbye, Professor Dumbledore

2005-07-25T17:29:00.000+05:30

Goodbye, Professor Dumbledore. Until J. K. Rowlings killed you, I did not realize how important to me you have been.

You were always there. One was always sure that Harry wasn’t all alone in the fight. You were his biggest strength. You loved him, took care of him, and came to his rescue, when he needed it the most. Harry stood tall because you were right behind him.

Why am I moaning your death, when you are just a fictional character?

Because, to me, you represent the true leader. The all-knowing, you took care of your people, whether you loved them or not. You led by example. You were the best in your field. (Even Voldemort is supposed to be wary of you, isn’t that so?) You were gentle and scary, as required. You had that inner strength of character, the strength of conviction. Even when you knew you were fighting a losing battle, you had the conviction and guts to keep on fighting it.

You did not send out “your men” to the battle. You equipped them and developed them to such an extent that most of the times we did not even realize you were there. A true leader……

I’m not the imaginative type, but you make me wish I were that Harry Potter. I would be extremely proud to follow you. In fact, if I ever come across someone who could combine even two of your qualities that I listed above, I would happily follow them to hell and back.

Why don’t they make more like you in real life?

Albeit a fictional character, your absence makes my heart heavy. Very heavy indeed.

For all George Michael Fans

2005-07-12T17:06:00.000+05:30

There’s always the one who you get hooked to, the minute you listen to them. That happened for me with George Michael. It was love at first note. And the song was “Hand to Mouth”.

And then I wanted to hear more of him. And so I discovered “Faith”, the album. Was I ecstatic! Those were the days of tapes. And I must have played the cassette so many times that within a few months the rich baritone of George’s sounded like a woman gone hoarse. I loved every song on the album. I loved the wit and playfulness, not to mention the satire.

I wanted to know more about the man. So, I started searching the ‘net (yeah, I was on VAX machines and was using Lynx back then.) And I was glad to know that before going solo, he was a part of “Wham!”. And then I was on the buying spree. I bought everything of his I could lay my hands on, even if it came as a single song as a part of a miscellaneous collection. Those were the days…..

And then I got tackier. I went ahead and bought a poster of his. The classic GM with his signature guitar. Hah!

Then came “Listen Without Prejudice”. I bought the tape, inserted it in the slot, and eagerly waited for the notes and sounds. Ahoy! It was nothing like I was expecting! I was looking for the same spirit of fun and playfulness that I had found in "Faith" and "Wham!" numbers! By the time the tape had run its course, I was thoroughly disappointed. I felt let down. So, I promptly forgot the tape and moved on to new acquisitions.

After a few months, I was looking for something and I found the abandoned tape. I played it. And again. And again. It got me! It was different from his earlier work, but it was richer and more somber, a bit darker, very personal. Honest. Satirical still. Now I understood, why he had called it “Listen Without Prejudice”. George had grown up. I loved the album and wouldn’t stop playing it over and over. You be great!

Then came “Older”. I liked it, but LWP had raised the bar of expectation very high. So, I did not like it as much as I loved LWP. But again, his stuff gets to you slowly. Some of the songs in the album are class apart.

His songs give you a glimpse of his personality. Sensitive, whimsical, funny, hilarious, angry, private. An adorable and likable man, sometimes hard to understand. (Just like his “Outside” video. Why would he make that, now? He handled the scandal well, but the video was bit of a letdown. It was vulgar, very unlike him!) Anyway, he’s also a very humane man. Gives millions to charity, jumps on the first opportunity for a cause, and is outspoken about things he doesn’t like. Stays away from limelight.

I loved his announcement that for future endeavors, he was going to give away his music for free over the Internet because he did not want more money.

Some time back I read he is planning to come back with another album. Come back George. We miss you and would like to see and hear more of you.

Hunger and “Mankind”

2005-07-12T14:45:00.000+05:30

Some days back, when I was reading the newspaper, I came across this small photograph of a Sudanese four-year old who had walked all the way to a small food center and collapsed there, never to wake up.

The kid’s photo reminded me of living dead who were rescued from various Nazi camps all over Europe when Allies marched in to nations and regions captured by Nazi Germany.

All these years of trying, but I could never understand the hatred and sadism that could have driven a handful to make so many undergo so much pain, humiliation, and suffering. I thought the Nazi-Jew episode was the pits in the history of humans. (I cannot make myself type the word “mankind” here. There is no kindness in “man”. Don’t think so? Look back. Think of the Crusades in 11^th century. Go back to Spanish inquisitions in the middle ages. Think of Irish famine in 18^th century. Think of slavery in America. If you ask me, “mankind” is an oxymoron for me. Man is anything but kind…)

But, what did the child do? Why did he die at an age of four and suffered so much more than most of us fortunate ones, who will not suffer even a fraction of it in our whole lives?

I was wrong. Nazism was not the pits. A child suffering and dying for the want of a few morsels at the age of four is THE pits, when there is no shortage of food. Millions of kids dying young, witnessing the ugliest facet of “mankind” is.

Shame on us!

They organized Live8 to address the situation. I hope to God that it reaches the right people at the right time.

Amen.

Of Shantaram, Gregory Roberts, and Firangs Who Write About India

2005-07-12T13:12:00.000+05:30

Was flipping channels this Sunday and hit upon this interview of Gregory Roberts. The interviewer was Pooja Bedi. Not a great fan of hers or of her interviewing, but sometimes the interviewee makes it all worth it.

I’d heard about a new book called Shantaram, which would be a major Hollywood movie soon. And guess who is going to be the lead actor? Johnny Depp. Now, here’s an actor who’s intelligent and a sight to behold. But, looks to me as if the man is ashamed of his handsomeness and will do anything to divert attention from it. Shades of Robert Redford? And I love his adventurous nature. Look at all the challenging roles he has taken and done justice to. AND then, I love the fact that he is big, but he hasn’t let it go to his head. He consciously tries to stay away from limelight. Ah, reminds me of another…Kevin Bacon!

The joys of digression!

OK, back to Gregory Roberts and Shantaram. As, I was saying, the man is fascinating with a capital F. Unlike many of us, he’s lived so many lives in one lifetime. Here’s his story, in my words.

He comes from a very learned family and was being hailed as the youngest would-be Philosophy professor in whole of Ozland. Then, he fell in love and got married. Added a daughter to the Roberts clan and when she was very young, his wife left him for an American. Only to come back after 2 (or is it 3) years later to claim the kid. The man loved his kid and fought hard and long to retain her, but he lost the case and his daughter was dragged away from him. In his own words, he returned home and was looking for ways to kill himself so that his family will not have a big mess to clean after him. A friend of his appeared then and introduced him to drugs. He was an overnight junkie.

He got in to drugs so bad that he’d sold everything of value within months and was desperate for money. So, he took a toy gun and started holding up banks. Funnily, he’d only take the amount he required and was very polite during the hold ups. Soon, he was being called the “gentleman robber”. And then a friend of his gave him away and he was sent to the maximum-security prison in Australia. There, he spent 10 years of his life being brutalized and tortured and doing the solitary stint for four years. Never lost hope and after many attempts, escaped from the prison. (Shades of Papillion?) Wanted to lose himself in Europe’s mainland and for that he took a ship for Germany. The ship had a two-day stopover at Mumbai. According to him, those two days stretched over to 8 years.

He says that he spent the best part of his life in Mumbai. He hid in slums, acted as a (novice) doctor for the slum people. Learnt to love them. Learnt to live there. Learned Marathi and Hindi. Got involved in local gangs. He says that the old-time gangs were lot more decent than the gangs of today and had lot more stricter honor code. And then he left for the Americas and was reborn as a writer. His book, Shantaram, is his story to an extent.

During the interview, despite the varied and most of the times blackguard background and going through so much in life, the man was impressive! Nothing over the top. Wise. Understanding. Forgiving even. In fact, Chunky Pandey, who was invited along with Gregory Roberts, came out loutish and boorish and wanting in comparison! Uncultured and overbearing are the words. Rahul Bose was better.

And now, I’m dying to read the book. Usually, you read a book and are impressed by the author. And then when you read an interview or come across something when they are caught off-guard, most of them are antithesis to their own talent. But, Gregory Roberts is an opposite experience for me. Here’s the case when I heard the man first and that has inspired me to read his book. Please do not let me down Gregory…

When a white man writes about India, I find the books boring and their condescending attitude is a big turn off. The only exception I’ve come across so far who has shown genuine love and understanding towards India is M.M. Kaye. People love her “The Far Pavilions” better, but in my opinion, “Shadow of the Moon” is her best. And then there is “Trade Wind”. Not about India, but Zanzibar. But wonderful, all the same. Mary Kay is gone, but I wish she’d have written more of those books. I love that subtle sense of humor, cutting wit, and satire only she can pack in an innocent-looking sentence. (Ah! Reminds me of George Michael, now.)

Read some Indian authors writing about India a few years back. Most of them are eminently forgettable! You can forgive a foreign author who writes about the complexity called India and botches it, but if one of your breed makes that mistake…no‑forgive‑can-do.

Where Has All The Music Gone?

2005-07-11T12:21:00.000+05:30

Have you noticed that of late music is not what it used to be? Turn on MTV or V and all you see is the Hip-hop/(c)Rap nonsense. Rhythm and Blues used to have rhythm when the likes of Aretha Franklin used to sing it. Now is just gives me blues. Have you noticed that lately any good song that catches your ear is a cover version of an old song? Have you noticed that now the good music you hear is on other channels that are not supposed to show music?

Where has all the music gone? Where are the likes of Queen, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, George Michael, Tears for Fears, Alan Parsons Project, Def Leppard, Billy Joel, Bee Gees, Depeche Mode, INXS, Joe Crocker, and all the others (I can’t recall at the moment) gone? All I hear is a Brtiney Spears, Christina Augilera, Nsync, and countless nameless that I’m not even interested in knowing their names.

Today, the scene is so desperate that what is called the “Alternative” music is the only music I hear. Thank God for you guys! Thanks for keeping some semblance of music alive.

They focus more on the off-screen and on-screen antics of these so‑called‑musicians. Who cares if Britney Spears is having a baby or Mariah Carey is emancipated after all. (Et tu Mariah? How could someone who started with “Vision of love” sink so deep?)

Why I’m raving and ranting? Because yesterday when I heard Alphaville and Tears for Fears one after the other, it made me ache for the days when I would turn on the radio or the TV and hear something good. Now, all the good music I hear has shrunk in capsules of one-two hours and is called Retro/Classics.

Am I growing old too soon?

For Someone I love...

2005-06-28T15:44:00.000+05:30

I got the bright idea (not to say help) to write a blog from my better half (in every way). I just have to ape whatever he does. Dont I? :D