Happiness

( i got this from a friend.. it was so nice :D )

We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married,

have a baby, then another.
Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough
and we'll be more content when they are.
After that, we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with.
We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage.
We tell ourselves that our life will be complete
when our spouse gets his or her act together,
when we get a nicer car,
we are able to go on a nice vacation, or when we retire.

The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now.
If not now, when?
Your life will always be filled with challenges.
It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway.
Happiness is the way.

So, treasure every moment that you have
and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special,
special enough to spend your time with...
and remember that time waits for no one.

So, stop waiting....
--until your car or home is paid off
--until you get a new car or home
--until your kids leave the house
--until you go back to school
--until you finish school
--until you lose 10 lbs
--until you gain 10 lbs.
--until you get married
--until you get a divorce
--until you have kids
--until you retire
--until summer
--until spring
--until winter
--until fall
--until you die

There is no better time than right now to be happy.
Happiness is a journey, not a destination.

 

So, if you want to brighten someone's day,

 

 

Work like you don't need money,
Love like you've never been hurt,
And dance like no one's watching.

Love can make the imperfect perfect

Last day I had a discussion about love with one of my good friends. I thought I will post few ideas here :)

Why do we think much before falling in love? People make many calculations... Whether the girl is rich / beautiful or working in MNC and whether the guy is rich/handsome/ well established... I mean exceptions do happen but People try to eliminate -ve factors as much as possible.

When I was asked this question, I didn’t have any ready made answers but in a matter of around 30 minutes I wrote down few things. You all will have different views about them but this is what I wrote.

Do we consider all the factors? People look all these for marriage but love its different something divine... does it happen it that way????? I am not sure I know it happens just like that, you don’t have any control over it , rest of the things are compromises , an adjustment that’s all . They think its love but I don’t think :)

Yep I am naïve but that’s what I am, that’s the way I think. Very few understand this pure language & may be that’s why I am week in heart but I still have faith in my ideas.

Love doesn’t demand anything, you cannot control it, and you cannot say that from this day onwards I will love or from this day onwards I will stop loving. It’s free like the air we breathe, flowing ….. Without any bounds, any control, raising our souls to the divinity.

Love doesn’t mean that you have to be with the person you love. Even if you are miles apart, even if you are dead the love flows, it’s un-breakable.

This is universal like lord Buddha said about the mother loves for her child. The sacrifice, the pain made for it.

Love has tremendous power. I know I can write better poems, I can write better code, I can train people in much better way I can do a lot of things which many haven’t even dreamed of .. Maybe I only require some inspiration some love which could power me for the rest of my life. If you have read the poems of Yeats or Rabindranath Tagore you will find the intensity of their love it. Tagore was one of the finest romantic poets ever.

If you have read tempest by the wizard of oz, you will know that it is the heart that matters. In that story our young heroine Miranda falls in love with Ferdinand. Her father said that he is not beautiful when compared to other human beings, ( they were staying in an island without any contact with other human beings .. good story read it when you get time), but she said that if Ferdinand is ugly then she don’t want to see others, just him :)

That what love does. Makes everything perfect & I believe it has the power to transform anything, overcome all the odds. Why should I say more, history has proved it many times?

Can u hold romantic love forever? Sometimes it may visit for few minutes, 1 day, few weeks or maybe for entire life. We should thank god for that short period. Yep we will be sad after that but don’t you think that short period can give u energy to last an entire life? We worry about the things we lost & forget about the joy experienced when we were together. The negative thoughts overshadow the good ones & it becomes a pain rather than the fire to keep us warm.

(Now u will think that I am mad ... not really just lost few nuts: D)

Most memorable moments of my life may last for few minutes , or days & I may be sad after that but I think I can continue my life with that green picture in my mind , I wont regret it.
Take the possibility that I will fall madly in love with someone but due to some sheer bad luck we can’t live together. I might have spent few good moments may be few hrs, few days or weeks but I will cherish that moments for rest of my life & it will be the fire power to keep me warm. I won’t feel bad because I heard my heart & did what was right and I won’t regret it @ death bed. Mostly we regret the things which we didn’t rather than the things we did.

When we lose some people give their life but they are cowards. They are fools, God has sent us down with some designs & I believe we have to fulfill it. I am not a coward & don’t believe in ending ones life.

Slowly I am also learning to appreciate what I have & live every moment of life without hurting others.

I can still write pages about sacrifice, pure love & all those things hmmm let me stop. For the time being this is sufficient.

Democracy or Demo ‘crazy’: India goes to poll

The grand show of the planet has begun, the largest democracy going to polls. When many nations are fighting for survival it’s a wonder that such an exercise of such magnitude is happening in this part. Media’s all over the world will be praising this gigantic effort. Such pomp, glamour, heat, passion where else can we find?

Democracy or Demo ‘crazy’

But on retrospective is this true representation of the billion people of India? The final percentage of polling will be around 60-70 % that means 30-40 % of Indians didn’t have any say in the Govt formation. This 30 % is a huge number much bigger than the total population of many countries combined. There was money, liquor, power to influence voter decision. What about these percentages?  No body has any figures. 

Add the fear and security dimension to this and the situation becomes really complex. Today news channel were abuzz with news of people killed during. Personally I don’t like violence, it is good in films but in reality it’s bad. The ideology should clash & not the bullets. But it is a harsh reality that we take ideas to our hands, trying to enforce ourselves on others by force. Personally I believe barriers break when people talk (Professionally, personally or in any field that matters).

 

Reject all

Today I was in a big confusion. Whom should I vote? There was no option between all the candidates in the arena. There was no option to reject them all. One candidate whom I would have supported openly was Shashi Tharoor but he was contesting in a different place. The election commission of India should have given me the power to reject all the choices. Most of the cases people are forced to select the lesser evil. Can’t we select some good people? Normal citizens won’t have much power in the selection of candidates for any political group. They are forced to select the devil or Satan. This is one of the factors which bring down the poll % in many areas. In some places people are forced to select between a dacoit or smuggler. (On a lighter note I think the more dangerous people should be selected in such cases for at least 5 years people will be safe in their homes)

Poll Reforms

Our great forefathers had thought about such a situation. They had kept an option called Rule 49-O. But this doesn’t give the secrecy of ballot (or EVM there is no ballot left). I got the following from Election Commission.

“It is clarified that under Rule 49-O, the voter has an option not to vote at the election after he has been identified at the polling station and his name has been registered in Registers of voters (Form -17A). The Presiding Officer shall thereupon make a note to that effect against the name of that voter and obtain his signature (thumb impression in the case of an illiterate). In such case, the voters who exercise the option of not voting at the election under Rule 49-O would only be deemed to have abstained themselves from voting and under the law, the candidate who secures highest number of valid votes polled, irrespective of his winning margin, is declared elected."

I don’t think this should be exercised openly. Nobody should know whom I voted or whether I rejected all.

 

Minimum representation

In all places decisions are taken by majority and not by the margin of leader. To get selection the candidate should get at least the support of 51 % of the people. Now even if a person get the support of only 20 % or even less (80 % didn’t want him) can be declared winner. How can such democracy function for long? For the true representation this process of selecting the leader among the pack should be abolished and only those wop can get a minimum of 51 % of votes should be elected. 

My Request

These are my suggestions for the EC of India

• Option for secret “NO VOTE”
• Power to Re-call any selected representative
  People have the power to elect so they should have the power to recall any selected representative (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recall_election)
• Ban criminals from politics for ever.
• Minimum representation
• A retirement age for politicians
• A minimum educational qualification. (This is biggest job of the country & here you don’t require any qualification, any one without any credibility can run the show!!!!!!)

 

I said what I felt; you all can share your views.

You can spread your idea by voice, articles, e-mail but no muscles or bullets :D.

Write to newspapers, blogs, TV all the places where you can be heard.

What is hope?

I read it last day in some book. In a farm the donkey was ill treated by his owner. All the other animals asked him to run away. But our poor donkey didn’t. One day the horse confronted the donkey & asked the reason for his silent sufferings. Donkey said that it was because of hope. All the others were all ears. Our donkey explained that whenever the small girl of farm owner made some mistake he would tease her by saying that one more mischief & he will marry her to a donkey and this was the hope to which our donkey was hanging on, He believed that one day his master will be serious and will do as he said!!!!!!!

May be that what we all have a hope, a silver lining to which we hold our life and move on…struggling.. fighting… till the last blood .. till the last breath.

No problems in life

Always smile because there are no real problems in life only results, no tragedies only lessons & no problems only opportunities waiting to be recognized as solutions.

There was an incident in Swami Vivekananda's life. When Swamiji was touring entire country, he came to a serene place. There many monks were praying and doing their bhajan, kirtans & other stuff. A lot of monkeys were also in the surrounding. Soon a bunch of primates started following Swamiji. Swamiji started to walk and then run; he didn’t want to hurt the monkeys. Seeing this old monk asked Swamiji to stop & turn back and face the monkeys. Swamiji did so. Seeing Swamiji stop & turn all the monkeys fled from the place. Later Swamiji said problems are like these monkeys; once you face them they will vanish.

Lonliness

Now it is Loneliness who comes at night
Instead of Sleep, to sit beside my bed.
Like a tired child I lie and wait her tread,
I watch her softly blowing out the light.
Motionless sitting, neither left or right
She turns, and weary, weary droops her head.
She, too, is old; she, too, has fought the fight.
So, with the laurel she is garlanded.

Through the sad dark the slowly ebbing tide
Breaks on a barren shore, unsatisfied.
A strange wind flows… then silence.  I am fain
To turn to Loneliness, to take her hand,
Cling to her, waiting, till the barren land
Fills with the dreadful monotone of rain

-Katherine Mansfield

My last smile

The sky was dark, stars were fading
streets were empty,
lamps were dim

Orion was slain again
Wounded Sagittarius was lost in deep forest
Down below Leo was breathing his last.

A thunder was brewing up in the sky,
the sea was stirring,
the volcanoes fuming

The southern wind swirled over me,
trying to say something
It brought me muffled voices, broken words

Tinctured breeze played the eternal note of sadness
I walked, North Star guiding me,
Southern wind leading me.

Familiar faces, friends, colleagues, relatives
They have grown old, so fast
Prayer, worry & fear were in their eyes.

Between them lay, a human form
Aged and motionless,
with scars of a lonely sailor at rough sea.

Air, Water, Earth, Fire & Sky stood still
Sea and volcanoes stood in abyss
Nobody moved, nothing stirred

Like a lightening it came,
the last flash of life, the smile on his face
a smile full of life, love & hope.

It was a familiar smile
Alas. I recognized it
It was my smile

Yes the smile!!! Once forgotten smile,
the smile of love…the smile of hope
But for whom did I smile last???

The last smile was for thee
The last cry was for thee
I was born for thee

Thou was my destiny,
thou was my salvation
Now I’m dying for thee

Death came riding the tide
swept away the last sign of life
but the smile remained ,
the last smile to grave,
the last smile for thee…

---Abhilash

How Do I Love Thee?

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints.  I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life;  and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

The lost (killed) daughters of India

It is the holocaust of India, the biggest massacre. But nobody is listening. Over 10 million female fetuses may have been aborted in India over the last 20 years!!!!!!
We have heard news about un-born foetus in drains, sacks and all other places. They were the stories of murder in daylight but still it continues.

The methods adopted to kill unwanted children in India are often cold-blooded and cruel.

The ritual is performed by a family member or a professional killer, by swaddling a new-born in a wet cloth or simply giving her a spoonful of paddy grain with milk.

It simply cuts her tender throat, suffocating her to death.

At times, the mother is forced to hire a sweeper for a small sum of 25 -100 rupees to dispose of the child by simply poisoning the baby with the latex of the calitropis plant, or holding her so close to a table that she cannot breath.

In the early 19th century, British colonel Alexander Walker recorded his horror at seeing a mother drowning her newborn girl in a trough of milk in the western Gujarat region.

But now abortion of female foetuses or "female foeticide" has become common with the easy availability of ultrasound sex tests.
It's an unholy alliance of tradition and technology. Ultrasound was not meant for sex selection.

It is a myth that who seeks to find out the sex of their unborn child is poor, rural and illiterate. We the so called educated savages are in front killing the un-born miracles for no fault of them & only because of their gender!!!!!

The consequence of female infanticide and, more recently, abortion is India's awkwardly skewed gender ratio, among the most imbalanced in the world. Infanticide is illegal in India (though never prosecuted), and laws are also in place to stop sex- selective abortions. But in some places, national rules don't hold enough sway to overcome local religious and social customs - which remain biased in favor of sons over daughters.

Campaigners have been trying to alert the government to the potential long-term social impact of the phenomenon, warning that, among other problems, it will make it harder for men to find wives. In China, where a one-child policy is strictly enforced, prenatal sex selection has resulted in an estimated 40 million bachelors.

Technology is simply making it easier to eliminate the girl child. And in a society where the girl itself is seen as a genetic product to be eliminated, this has frightening implications

India stipulates that only a government hospital, registered facility, or medical practitioner with appropriate qualifications may perform an abortion. The reality, however, is that only about 15 percent of all abortions take place under such circumstances, according to the Indian Medical Association. About 11.2 million illegal abortions are performed each year off the record. Such abortions are often "female feticide," experts say.

In Salem district, for instance, signs posted in towns reinforce the societal message: “Pay 500 rupees and save 50,000 rupees later,” a suggestion that aborting a female fetus now could save a fortune in wedding expenses in the future.

Nearly 60 percent of girls born in Salem District are killed within three days of birth, according to the local social welfare department. That doesn't count the growing number of abortions there to ensure a girl baby won't be carried to term.

Amid such stubborn statistics, activists are at work to counter the forces of tradition. A focus of their work: improving the standing and self-image of women themselves.

In pockets of India where female infanticide persists, the practice is rooted in a complex mix of economic, social, and cultural factors. Parents' preference for a boy derives from the widespread belief that a son lighting his parents' funeral pyre will ensure that their souls ascend to heaven; that he will be a provider in their later and that he will preserve the family inheritance.

Personally I prefer to be in hell rather than heaven built on the poor souls of my sisters & daughters. How could God give permission to these murderers to enter heaven? A girl or boy both are the divine form of God. Why should we discriminate against each other? By killing the un-born child we are not booking our seat in heaven but securing a free visa to hell.


Trivia
This is not a story of India alone; we can find these dark stories from every continent from every country;
In the case of China, social scientists are talking about a future in which 15 percent of men won't have wives. According to Asia expert Nicholas Eberstadt, the trend, termed the "marriage squeeze," is an anthropological phenomenon partly due to China's "one child" policy that began in 1978 with the intent of slowing growth in the world's most populous country.
"The world has never before seen the likes of the bride shortage that will be unfolding in China in the decades ahead," writes Mr. Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute, in a recent study, "Power and Population in Asia."

• Characteristics of Gender-Ratio Imbalances in India: http://www.unfpa.org/gender/docs/studies/india.pdf  
  
• Lost mothers of India: http://zoomview.blogspot.com/2009/03/lost-mothers-of-india.html
  

Lost mothers of India

Avoidable complications during child birth are killing 78,000 women in India every year. This means on an average, one woman dies from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth every seven minutes. 

On the other hand, one million children born in India are dying every year even before they become 28 days old. A child born in India is 14 times more likely to die during the first 28 days than one born in the US or UK. 

These are some of the shocking findings of UNICEF's `State of the World's Children 2009' report released on Thursday. 

According to the report, an Indian woman is 300 times more likely to die in childbirth or from pregnancy-related complications than women in America or England. For every mother who dies, 20 others suffer pregnancy-related illness. Around 10 million women annually experience such adverse outcomes. 

Despite an increase in institutional deliveries, 60% of pregnant women still deliver their babies at home. 

In India, more than two-thirds of all maternal deaths occur in a handful of states -- UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, MP, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Assam. 

In UP, one in every 42 women faces risk of maternal death, compared to 1 in 500 women in Kerala. 

As far as neonatal deaths (within the first 28 days of life ) are concerned, the worst-off states include Orissa (52 deaths per 1,000 live births), MP (51), UP (46), Rajasthan (45), and Chhattisgarh (43). 

The report points out that babies whose mothers die during the first six weeks of their lives are more likely to die in the first two years of life. "For every 100 children born in the world, 20 are from India. For every 100 children who die globally, 22 die in India," UNICEF India chief Karin Hulshof said. 

According to her, the health and survival of mothers and their newborns are intrinsically linked. "Many of the same interventions that save maternal lives also benefit their infants. Even though India has cut its under-five mortality rate from 117 per 1,000 live births to 72 between 1990 and 2007, neonatal deaths contribute to 50% of these under-five deaths," Karin added. 

According to the report, three-quarters of all maternal deaths in India occur from complications either during delivery or in the immediate post-partum period. 

A quarter of the world's unattended deliveries take place in India, which is one of 10 countries which together account for two-thirds of births not attended by skilled health workers. 

The report also points to India's shameful statistics regarding breastfeeding. Experts say universalisation of early breastfeeding, within one hour of birth, would reduce neonatal mortality in India by 22% while universalisation of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life would avert nearly 16% of young child deaths. 

However, the report says only one in four children are breastfed within one hour of birth. 

Annually, around 6 million children born in India have low birth weight. 

Eyes tell, tell me, what you tell me,

A lot of meaning in this line from Goethe ,spiritual & otherwise, i thought i will share this, immerse youself in the beauty of these lines

----------------------------------------------------

April

Eyes tell, tell me, what you tell me,

telling something all too sweet,

making music out of beauty,

with a question hidden deep.

Still I think I know your meaning,

there behind your pupils’ brightness,

love and truth are your heart’s lightness,

that, instead of its own gleaming,

would so truly like to greet,

in a world of dullness, blindness,

one true look of human kindness,

where two kindred spirits meet. 

We love Oscars not Slums : India

Many criticized the makers of Slumdog millionaire. They complained that India was projected in a bad taste. Poverty was shown but not the prosperity. 

Recently there was a case before the Supreme Court of India. In an astounding position before the SC, it has held that one has to earn only Rs 455 a month in urban areas and Rs 328 in rural areas to escape the poor tag. “At present, on 1999-2000 prices, the poverty line at all India level is Rs 327.56 and Rs 454.11 for rural and urban people per capita per month respectively,” said the health and family welfare ministry in a recent affidavit.

In the government’s scheme, the poverty line drawn on the basis of monthly income varies widely from state to state. To classify as poor in the four metros — Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai — the person’s monthly income has to be less than Rs 506, Rs 540, Rs 410 and 475, respectively. Which means, if your daily earnings cross Rs 17 in Delhi, Rs 18 in Mumbai, Rs 14 in Kolkatta and Rs 16 in Chennai, you are among those fortunate not to be counted by the government as poor!!!!!!!! Despite using these ridiculously low monthly incomes to classify a person as poor, the government has identified a huge chunk — over 260 Million — as poor because they do not even earn these paltry sums. Now imagine this number. 

As someone said we love Oscars not Slums. These figures were an eye opener for me. Certainly India is not shining for all those. We make a lot of noise when sensex drops by few points but nobody cries for the millions dying every day because they cant afford to buy food every day, because they cant but medicines, because we don’t care for them. 

I want the Indian Government to help these downtrodden rather than spending billions on war machines and all those glossy Advertisements to make India shining for elite few. These unfortunate people are also human beings. Help them. They also have right to live a dignified life. 

(Trivia: Orissa and Bihar account for more than one-fifth of the total poor in India. As per affidavit, Jammu and Kashmir is least afflicted by poverty.)

When you smile - my version

I know you all need an explanation for my version of the poem. So please read till end.

I had tried to fuse two different threads and very few understood that. As one of my friends said it is a poem of love and purity. Even though intense feelings are hidden between the lines it requires a pure heart to enjoy & understand the poem. Thanks dear for this good feedback. Rest of them were in a confused state. After reading my poem one of my friends, who is like my elder sister came running towards me with fists closed. Really I wouldn’t have survived that hit.

I will quote one feedback from my friend (she is a poet herself much better than me)”Our protagonist was waiting for her. His dream was a mirage running away. Then one day he saw a beautiful smile. He was swept over by it. Then he realized that the smile has vanished. But his admiration was so pure that he saw divinity in the smile (I have seen the divinity smile). She became an angel for him (They say you are an angel).Rather than crying he thanks Mother Nature for the wonderful creation of hers (Oh mother nature, You have shown me your divine form). His admiration transforms to devotion (a new world, a new transformation). He finds a path to reach God.

You have portrayed the idea of contentment (I am happy, I am content, I am at peace). It was beautifully written with so many ideas woven into it. Overall a great read. I will give 8/10”

Another idea, which didn’t go well with many, is of a child who sees his mother all around and yearns to be with her again.

I have written much serious stuff in my blog, some of them have generated enough debate. But this was the first time my poem was under so much scrutiny. I think I should stop asking feedback at least for the sake of my healthJ. 

The meaning of life - one moment

Life is made of moments and sometimes a moment becomes life-- EK LAMHA

When you smile

You run away when you see me
leaving more questions than answers
I would run to you but I am stuck
Like an idiot, I wonder
Like a fool, I act

With your smile,
It’s amazing how you light up my lonely soul
Scattering the beauty of pure joy, around me
The sudden rise and slow relapse of your brows
little dimples, long eyelashes…

Oh dear, your sweet smile makes me light
I was drown in your brown eyes
lost in your beautiful hair,
whelmed by the beauty of your dimples.

When you smile, my voice chokes
Body shivers, my mind stops
Every night I can’t sleep
I keep thinking of your smile.
I was waiting so long for you

I was woken from the deep sleep
Half asleep, half awake.
I wondered at my good luck
I have seen it
With a terrible joy, I realized
Deep within from my soul, so pure and beautiful
I have seen the divinity smile

They say you are an angel
Pure and fair
Quite and shy
Warm and happy

I sang in my wilderness
In praise of the divine creation
O-reckless free heart, I sang the song of my life.
Your smile liberated me from my misery

Oh mother nature,
You have shown me your divine form
Which I longed to see before I came back to you.
I prayed, I waited and now I have seen you,
a form to worship in this formless world,
a soul to worship in this soulless world.


In your sparkling smile the world grows
a new world, a new transformation.
a smile more beautiful than the morning sun,
more sweet than the purest honey,
more pure than the mist,
more gentle than the wind in summer.

I am happy
I am content
I am at peace
Because I have seen you smile……

Mother, I can come back to you
Because I have seen your divine form….

You tread on my dreams

I found this poem... it was beautiful so i thought i would post it here

“Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with the golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams beneath your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams…“

W.B. Yeats

Notebook...when i cried

Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

It will tear a hole in my heart… I will cry. These were the warnings. Hole in my heart!!! That would be the biggest news for all my friends from school, college and all those who knew me.

I had doubts, when my friend suggested this book saying that if I write a story about my life it would be something similar. We had a bet. Now who won? Well that’s the story.

A copy for me was sent across oceans. Last lazy Sunday afternoon, I started reading this story of two people who were destined to be together till eternity. This was one of the most poignant and compelling stories I have ever read.

Like a symphony from the master, the story develops and casts an irresistible spell.

Two teenagers from opposite sides of the tracks fall in love. Spending one idyllic summer together in the small town of New Bern, Noah Calhoun and Allie Nelson do not meet again for 14 years. Noah has returned from WWII to restore the house of his dreams, having inherited a large sum of money. Allie was engaged to powerful attorney Lon Hammond, who she cared a lot. Lon was also a nice man who loved Allie deeply. When she reads a newspaper story about Noah's restoration project, she shows up on his porch step, re-entering his life for two days. Will Allie choose Lon or Noah? Who are the two old people? Read and discover.

I can spill the beans here but I will not. By the time I finished I could find my cheeks wet and I knew that I had lost the bet. I was planning to read this book while traveling on Sunday during my 10 hour journey. Due to some critical work at office I slept very late on Saturday (or Sunday morning) and so it saved me from some blushes in a public place.  It is a one night read story. The language is simple with no complex twists or sub-plots. It is the simplicity which I liked the most. It will evoke so many different emotions as you continue to read. It is worth reading.

Now why would somebody have a bet with me? This story goes back almost a decade. (I have just started writing. I don’t know the climax. Even I am not sure whether anybody will publish it or not but maybe after another decade it may be the best seller:) , might be another notebook or wings of fire). It was a debate where young teenagers like me were airing their views on love in digital age. When my turn came I narrated a story almost similar. I lost narrowly (got the second place). But I believed every word I said. It was possible to keep the mind and body pure for one. It is difficult but not impossible.

Notebook also portrays the purity, simplicity and truthfulness. For being happy you don’t need enormous wealth. It is the few other wonders like books, music and such small things which are more precious. This is a story, which almost everybody wants in their life, but is afraid to work for it, ask for it.

So friends get a copy for yourself, you will read it again.

My Confessions – Sorry Friend

I'm sorry for hurting you,
I'm sorry for making you cry,
I'm sorry i didn’t realize why I didn’t sleep for days,

Now I know because I hurt you.

 

I must be a fool, 
To have hurt my friend, who has been nothing but kind! 
I only wanted the best for you, within your life;

I thought I had the solution,

But it seems that I was wrong.

I never meant to make you feel, like I’ve cut you with a knife!

It was my mistake,

I opened up completely to you,

Something I NEVER, EVER do again to anyone!

I never thought that the DEVIL, could possibly win!

I had kept him at bay for quarter of century, I thought I won

But alas!!! I lost the battle of life.

I was carried over by his worldly charm

Now a “TRUE” friend, I have really lost!?

I will never see you again,

Lest, my eyes betray me again

I have closed my eyes forever.

May be it is better to be blind.

 

God, I have broken my promise,

I had promised,

That I would never hurt anyone

Even if I am hurt, injured or dead

 

But my Magical Angel I promise,

I will never hurt anyone again

I will never do the silly thing I did to you

I will never, never, never.

 

When I look back, I don’t know where I erred

When I look around, I see people with more sins happy.

But I can’t live with my soul tainted

Forgive me, I have sinned.

 

I am an illusion, fading away

A broken twig, swaying in the wind,

A chariot with a broken wheel

You deserve a better place.

 

I have prayed for you

I have asked, God

to give you my share of happiness, if any

to give me your share of sorrows and worries

I have prayed for victory against devil.

 

- Abhi

 

(I know this doesn’t sounds great may be like someone playing Elvis on a broken guitar, There is 5 more confessions to my dad, mom, sister, God and at last to myself, yes it’s an epic, another new year resolution)

Economic bubble- man made greed

The great depression is in news; well I don’t want to add another comment to it. The entire world is bleeding because of the greed of the few. But it seems that nobody has learned. This economic bubble has hurt only the poor. The rich are still happy, but it’s the common man who is suffering. 

The US Fed has bailed out big corporations but did it help the common man??? The story is same in India, China, EU or elsewhere. Big corporations and those criminals responsible for our situation were bailed out but not the common and poor. The government should increase the money in the common man rather increasing the bank balance of these criminals. We are hearing daily about lay offs, When a single job is lost, idiots not the lost of a single person in most case the entire family has to suffer.

The bailed out Companies are giving millions as bonus but the same time millions are starved to death because of them. Countries have reduced their humanitarian aid. There is a big crisis looming over billions on our planet. They will get less food, no medicine, and no protection. There will be more riots, more anarchy, more corruption, more hunger, more diseases and many deaths. Add the color of terrorism to this and the picture is perfect!

We have seen many beggars in rags struggling for their daily bread but now we can see the modern corporate beggars flying in their private jet and begging!!! Long live capitalism 

Don’t our governments have any responsibility towards the common man or they want to save the ass of those famous??? Personally I feel all these criminals should be made to work without any pay and recover all the bonuses which they got from the sweat of the poor man. But who cares, the same people are appointed to rescue us from the mess created by them!!!

God Save us

Rape of Goa

Goa Education Minister Babush Monserratte's son Rohit, who allegedly raped a German minor girl, was granted bail on Monday. The mother of the minor had withdrawn the charges against him. 

This was the headline in almost all the news channels today. What a shame. The state with such rich culture and tolerance had become the breeding ground of pedophiles and rapists. The state was portrayed as the tourist destination of India, with it cosmopolitan culture soon we had foreign tourist swarming in large numbers. With more publicity came the bad apples, a nexus of drugs, prostitution & sex, the trilogy of destruction, the evils playground.

Dil chahta hai showed Goa in a different light where friends could hang out, part hard & spend some good time together. But now if I say to my family that I am going to Goa they will think twice. The place has earned the reputation of evil. Who is to blame – the administration, locales everybody.  Tourists come to India to see the things which they don’t get in their motherland. Creating another Paris or Bali won’t add anything. They should be treated to the rich culture of the land and not something which they can any where else.

Now going back to the main story. Once gain the money & power wins & truth is defeated. It’s not shocking that the mother had withdrawn her complaint. The agony after the rape which she and her daughter might have undergone would be much worse and brutal than the actual incident itself, The constant media attention, the threat of the powerful politician trying to save his son ( I shouldn’t give my verdict before court but…) would have created a miserable life for her.

Mr. Minister you said you are confident of the Law, where is the law when the victim is treated like a culprit with all the psychological tools employed to destruct her self belief.

It said that “ athiti devo bhava” that is guest are God they should be treated like God. Look round us; are we treating our guests like God or some criminals? 

I pray for the well being of the German tourist and many such innocent sisters who were destroyed by these two legged animals. Let’s support them by all the means we can. Surely the democracy is more powerful than the money or politics. Let us show them our power of unity. 

The mantra -  protest, protest  & protest.