Life and a lot more...

Khwabon ki Udaan

2012-02-25T01:36:00.000-08:00

Another attempt in Hindi (written in the English alphabet )

Khwabon ki udaan hai meri

Koi patang nahi jo kat jayegi

Hum to udte rahenge umar bhar

Lehrate, Lehrate

Jo kisi ne pech ladane ki koshish ki

Jo kisi ne haemin harane ki koshish ki

Uchayi aur badh jayegi

Ye zindagi ka safar ik udaan hi to

Ik tere saath ki zarurat hogi thodi

To jo kabhi main thak jayun

Ladte ladte ak jayun

Baith jayun

Tu mujhe uthana

Aur jo main na uthuun

To bas thoda sa muskurana

Khwabon ki udaan hai meri

Koi patang nahi jo kat jayegi

Is anyone right on Lokpal??

2011-12-20T09:22:00.000-08:00

The first time I heard of a person called Anna Hazare was in April this year. Call me ignorant! But when the 73 year old announced his intention to sit on an indefinite Hunger Strike to coerce the Government into acting, he won my heart along with a million others. A lot has happened since then-Joint Drafting Committee, Another fast, some great debating in the parliament, Standing Committee & a lot of mudslinging in the public. Now, we have finally reached a stage when the Lokpal Bill can become a reality after nearly 48 years of having come to light. A lot still needs to be decided and the Government needs to get its act together but given the amount of public pressure, it would be a historic blunder to not fall in line.

Yes, Anyone who has even remotely followed this movement would be able to tell you that the Government has made several flip flops.They have made all attempts to subvert the credibity of the people behind the movement- be it the personal attacks by Mr Digvijay Singh(The less said the better) or be it the IT cases against Arvind Kejrival. Abhishek Manusinghvi could have done his father proud(who introduced the concept back in 1963) but instead, he decided to please his party leadership. The end result that the Standing Committee came up with was what some people like to call as "Jokepal."

But, is Government the only party who has made mistakes or rather, shown arrogance??

What about Team Anna or the NDA??

While the NDA & the Left have been saved because of them not being in power and like it is rightly said, only the party in power can pass a bill or make a law. But still, they have not let go of a single chance at Political Opportunism. A specific example that can be talked about here is the curious case of Sharad Yadav. He slammed Team Anna in the parliament, he fully supported them at Ramlila Maidan & then he changed his stance at the All-Party meeting. While Arun Jaitley & Sushma Swaraj got all the adulation for the wonderful speeches during the Lokpal Debate, they have also not taken a clear & specific stand till now.

Now, moving on to the biggest players in this game. I am, without doubt, talking about Team Anna. I admire the work done by the likes of Kiran Bedi & Arvind Kejriwal in their respective fields, and for mobilizing public opinion on the Lokpal Bill. But, at every step along the way, they have tried to tell the people of this country that the the representatives chosen by them are useless(some of them maybe, but not all). Remember Kiran Bedi's Dupatta act? I am no legal expert but I do tend to watch a lot of TV Debates and from what various experts say, their way in not the only way. Yet, "CBI under Lokpal" is the only solution according to them. The Government's proposition might be absurd, but there are other ways. And last, but not the least, is what my biggest problem with Team Anna is-Lokpal is the "cure-all" solution! A false hope has been developed among the people that an institution called Lokpal will eradicate corruption from this country. Yes, they haven't said it outright but that seems to be the theme. Most of the readers of the blog would know that is not the case. But, what about the common man on the street?

So, while the UPA Government at large or the Congress Party in specific maybe the biggest spoilers, who has "Rin ki Safedi?"

The Girl in Red

2011-10-23T02:45:00.000-07:00

With the water all around

She watches her step

Holding her small blue umbrella

The girl wearing red

As a bike passes by

Splashes mud all over her

Tears filled in those eyes

Emotions mixed with anger

Standing with tears rolling down

Murmurs of “mommy will be mad”

A boy her steps up

“Don’t cry or she will be sad”

She looks at him and smiles

He blushes the boy so shy

The girl offers her umbrella

Her way of saying hi

That innocence, that purity

Where they get lost

In this mad rush

The ethos we love the most

Afraid of getting wet

2011-10-16T10:20:00.001-07:00

I look around as the rain comes down

In the dimly lit night sky

I look at the shining leaves

They are enjoying the touch of droplets

I am just sitting on the side

Afraid of getting wet

Some children going crazy

A mother trying to stop her son

I am just sitting on the side

Afraid of getting wet

The soil is absorbing the water

Smelling so good

I am just sitting on the side

Afraid of getting wet

An old man smiling into the horizon

His wife smiling at him

I am just sitting on the side

Afraid of getting wet

I look around as the rain comes down

In the dimly lit night sky

I look at myself

Wanting to go out and let loose

But I am just sitting on the side

Afraid of getting wet

Every Moment, Every day!!

2011-10-10T11:12:00.001-07:00

Though I know I can’t be there

But I know I can’t stay away

So, I have to find a way

To be with you every moment, every day!!

I am sitting a thousand miles away

Yet my thoughts travel to you

Do your hear them when they say?

I miss you!

Looking at the sparkle in your eyes

Or if ever they see you cry

Do you feel it when they touch you?

And kiss you!

Sitting on the bed or roaming on the street

Or When your heart skips a beat

Do you feel it when they hold your hand?

I am with you!

Every morning when you get up

And in the night when you go to sleep

Do you see that gaze from the corner of your eye?

When I look at you!

Though I know I can’t be there

But I know I can’t stay away

So, I have to find a way

To be with you every moment, every day!!

The Volvo Connection-2

2011-10-07T10:13:00.000-07:00

It was 11 o clock in the night when Aamya reached the Kashmiri gate bus stand. Despite all the filth and stench covering the area, Aamya felt a strange sense of love and affection whenever she came to the bus stand. It was more than a year now since she had met Ansh at this very spot and had fallen in love by the time they reached Chandigarh.

Everytime she stepped onto the Volvo stand for Chandigarh, she went back in time and could see Ansh standing in that row and visualise herself handing over that chit to him. She was again going through the very same emotions. Despite the initial inhibitions she had felt, the last year had been rock steady for both of them. “What a beautiful night that was” she said to herself, “and everything after that.” She had a great urge to call him right then and just listen to that voice of his that remained with her all the time, yet she couldn’t live without listening to it. But, he had gone on an outdoor trip with his office team, and the bloody place didn’t even have network. “So much for joining a telco” she thought.

There was no queue at the counter, which was a welcome surprise but again brought back some old memories. “You may say it a million times that you hate queues but deep within you love them, don’t you?” Ansh had bragged many a times in the last year and he wasn’t wrong either. Afterall, It was a queue which had sown the seeds of this relationship.

Aamya had quietly settled into her seat in the bus which was already parked in its spot when she arrived. There had not been much rush at the counter but the bus was still pretty much occupied with just a few seats vacant here and there. “Leaving by the 11:30 Volvo” she messaged Ansh as he had the habit of getting over-protective if he was not knowing her whereabouts.

The bus had just got out of its parking spot when the driver stopped again and another passenger entered the bus. After the conductor was done with a round of heckling with her, the girl who had just entered came and sat next to Aamya. She had not been able to have a clear look at her but still she was glad that it was a female. Though, she loved meeting new people and striking up conversations-with males or females, but she didn’t fancy the idea of some dude trying to flatter her through some cheesy remarks which seemed cheesy only to him. Or worse still, some man in his 30’s trying to do the same. She may have met her prince charming in this manner itself but she had experienced the other types as well.

Aamya was engrossed in the last pages of Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, which she was reading for probably the umpteenth time but still, she couldn’t control her eyes from going watery as Harry and Ginny accompanied their son for his first journey to Hogwarts.

“Hey. Harry Potter han! Is he hot or is he hot??”

As Aamya turned her eyes towards her fellow passenger, “I am Isha” she said and offered her hand for a handshake. Aamya, meanwhile, was in a state of shock. “What do I do? Shall I shake her hand? Ofcourse I have to! Shall I just change my seat afterwards? But no spare seats!” She was struggling with all these thoughts in her head even before she had heard that name. She remembered that face clearly. One of the most high-headed, yet most talked about seniors from college. But that didn’t even matter but what boggled her mind was that she happened to be the ex-flame of her own flame. Reluctantly, she offered her hand and returned to the book in order to avoid any conversation. “And your name?” asked Isha. Though she had avoided telling her name earlier, she had to say it now. “Aamya” she said. This led to a few seconds of awkward silence. Aamya had no idea if Isha was aware of who she was and if she had, how she felt about her? “In the world of Facebook, its impossible to not know whats going on with your ex” Tia had told her once when the topic of Isha had come up. “Are you the Aamya I think you are?” said Isha. So, Tia was right indeed! Aamya was again at crossroads with herself. Her bubbly and friendly nature had gone for a toss now. She liked talking to people, but she had never thought about such a situation coming up with her boyfriend’s ex. Yes, Isha was known for the airs she carried in college and anyone else would have been glad to give it on her face, “Yes I am dating the guy who dumped you.” But, that was not what Aamya was. She didn’t like hurting people. That is what made it so awkward for her.

“And which Aamya are you thinking about?” She replied, delaying the obvious and hoping for some miracle to get her out of the situation. But, it was not to be.

“Ah. So you are!” said Isha.

“Ya. Kind of” Aamya replied in a low voice.

Isha-So finally we meet. Have heard a lot about you, I must say

“What she heard about me? What could she know about me that could be damaging?” she thought.

Aamya-Ya, finally we do. And what have you heard?

Isha-All the nice things you can think about.

“Stop being paranoid” Aamya told herself and scolded herself for being such a weirdo till now. “So what if she is Ansh’s ex. Its not some hindi movie where the ex would try to rip apart your relation and want to win her man back and stuff. Even if she does, who gives a damn. She can’t make or break anything”

Aamya-Thanks. And sorry for behaving a bit weirdly! Its a bit uncomfortable you know!

Isha said with a tinge of laughter, “Don’t worry. I understand. And don’t worry otherwise also. I am happy for you and him as well.”

“Doesn’t look that high headed now. Does She?” thought Aamya

The conversation had again broken off. Though Aamya had fought away the demons lurking in her head but she still wasn’t party to the idea of having a merry conversation with Isha.

It had nearly been two hours now since the journey had commenced. Aamya had fallen asleep as the bus had crossed the border and Isha had immersed herself in the treasures hidden in her ipod. Vibes of uncertainity and mistrust were pretty evident to Isha. She had never really cared about what people thought about her but she had always been a friend worth having to everyone she was close to. And in a normal world, the current girlfriend of your ex shouldn’t give you sleepless nights either but somhow she wanted them to be on good terms. So, she slightly nudged Aamya as the bus came to a half near Karnal. “Wanna have tea or coffee?” said Isha. As Aamya regained her senses, she couldn’t ignore the irony that lay in front of her. “The place where Ansh first asked me out. What better place?” she thought. Not wanting to be rude again, Aamya agreed and moved out alongwith Isha. “So tell me something about yourself” said Isha as they both grabbed some coffee. Aamya told her about her origins from Chandigarh and some basic stuff like current job with HCL in Noida. She had carefully avoided Ansh in the intro.

Isha- So you are also from UIET right?

Aamya-Ya

Isha-How come I never saw you?

Aamya-Well, I was never one of those famous ones like you. So!

“Famous or Imfamous like me??” said Isha and followed it up with laughter filled with sarcasm. “You surely feel I am a wicked lady or something. I know people really didn’t like me in UIET and I am sure you would have heard some more nasty stuff from you-know who?”

Aamya-Nothing like that. Actually, we hardly talk about the past. Does no one any good. As for what was said in UIET, I really don’t buy all that stuff. People just blabber because they don’t have anything to do. Anyway, what do you do these days?

Isha- I work for IBM

As the comfort level began to grow between the two of them, they kept getting to know each other better. The common revulsion for the IT sector had helped. They had constantly avoided Ansh coming to the discussion but the name invariably came in from one side or the other.

“I know I kind of destroyed our relationship. He might have been the one who broke up eventually but it was all me before that” Isha said at one point.

Aamya didn’t know what to say at that point and Isha could see that on her face.

“Its ok. You don’t have to say anything. But I am glad that both of you are going good. And by what I have seen, He couldn’t have made a better choice” said Isha.

Aamya was again left short of words and she could only muster a “Thanks”

The bus was now about to reach Chandigarh and both of them had now started relishing each others’ company. Aamya even missed her stop at 35 as she was busy talking to Isha. Isha had also shared the details about her present relationship which had calmed Aamya further. “She seems happy so why would she want to win my guy again” she thought. She laughed at her own stupidity for not being able to totally get rid of these thoughts every now and again.

As, Aamya was trying to take out her luggage from the overhead cabins, Isha had already got out. To her shock, she now came face to face with Ansh. “Talking with the gf was fine but girl, this will be uncomfortable” she thought. It had been a long time and both of them had successfully avoided each other at functions and gatherings but now it was inevitable. Before they could exchange any pleasantries, Aamya came out and was totally thrilled to see Ansh and came running to him. As she tightly hugged Ansh, she realised the presence of Isha and let go. “You rat. You lied that you are on an outdoor when you were here” she said to Ansh. “Anyway. I will just be back” she said and went aside not wanting to be a part of the weird situation Isha and Ansh were in.

“Are you mad. How could you leave them alone??” Tia had said later but Aamya’s unquestioned trust in Ansh let her think beyond what Tia could see.

After exchanging the customaries Both Isha and Ansh were speechless. Solving the conundrum they were in, Isha bid adieu and said “Don’t let her go. You have got a gem here” before she left

“Hey. Atleast say Bye” said Aamya as she saw her leaving. “Oh I am sorry. It was great meeting you. Hope to see you again” said Isha as both of them hugged like they were the best of friends.

Ansh was looking in disbelief.

“What was all that?” he asked as soon as Isha was gone.

“Long story”

“By the way, you idiot!! I get down at 35. What were you doing here?”

“If you had got down at 35, I wouldn’t have had to drive my bike till here in this early morning cold” said Ansh said Aamya again hugged him tightly. There was so much she wanted to talk to him about. But, first and foremost she just wanted to be with him.

* The Story is a sequel so if you are at a loss somewhere, here is the link to the original The Volvo Connection *

Open Letter to a "madrasan"

2011-09-14T08:10:00.000-07:00

Just came across a blog where the author has given her viewpoint on “Delhi boys” and “Punjabis”. A friend of mine suggested that I write about my own experiences in South, where I have been for the last 3 months but will that solve a purpose?

The writer in question has wrote a brilliant piece of writing if you consider how much it got read or how much it is being shared on facebook. May be that was the motive.

She has made a lot of poignant points like Punjabis’ obsession towards Punjabi music, our love for SUVs and blah blah. Is she right? Hell yea she is.

As a proud Punjabi, I do love Gurdas Mann but as an Indian, I respect each and every south Indian artist who is doing a good job. Just because I don’t get the languages doesn’t give me a right to disapprove of them. If some people do, that is because they are jerks or just because they are talking in good humour.

Would I want to drive a SUV, Why not! Do I love my branded clothes, Sure! Is it a crime to like good things in life??

And who said only North Indians form stereotypes!

I am a vegetarian & I don’t consume pan masala or gutka etc etc. And every person I tell this to down here looks at me with horror in their eyes. Does that give me a right to say South Indians are stupid?

I am a hindu and I am a Brahmin but how does it matter. But still half of the people can’t resist but ask me, “What is your caste?” Does that give me a right to say Southies are casteists?

Whenever I am with a bunch of kannadigas, more often than not they start ignoring me and start talking in Kannada. Whenever they laugh, I assume its a joke on me and I can’t even count the number of people who have told me, “First Learn Kannada and then work here.” Does that justify if I hate Karnataka or the language or the people here.

Priyanka Chopra is my favourite actress but then I liked Aishwarya more before Priyanka hit the silverscreen. Does that mean, I turned from being a “south of the vindhyas” guy to a north Indian?

Heard a name-Chetan Bhagat? He is a delhite, He did go to an IIT, He is one of India’s highest selling authors and ironically he is married to a “madrasan.” So what is he?

Heard a name-Kiran Bedi? The woman who has shaken the entire political and bureaucratic class in the country through her utmost bravery? She is a woman and the last time I heard, she was still a Punjabi!

I am not looking for answers to the above questions. We all know them!

I am sure the girl who wrote that stupid blog would have had a torrid time because she met some morons but there are others who face similar situations down south as well. It comes as a package when we live in country as diverse as India. But, what matters is our ability to accept the positives and reject the negatives. After all, someone said very recently, Hate doesn’t kill hate!

What really surprises me even more is that the article here came about from a girl who is talking about “being a writer” or “going to IIT” as a very important point in favour of South Indians. I think before talking about all this, you need to learn the concept of “India” and then you may be qualified to write!

Home

2011-08-25T07:35:00.000-07:00

It just feels different

In new surroundings

But you adjust

With time

But that urge remains

Home!

Around those you love

Heaven on earth

This you miss

Everyday

But the memories remain

Home!

Being Lazy all day

Then the scolding

You want that

Every second

Wanting to fly back

Home!

It feels so right

Those two faces

Mum and Dad

Timeless

What makes it special

Home!

Pehli Mohabbat

2011-08-17T08:39:00.000-07:00

Yun to wo bolta nahi kuch
Par chup bhi nahi hai
Ankhein karti hain dil ka hal byaan

Duniya se chahta hai chupana
Batana bhi chahta hai
K kyun hai ye dil bekaraar

Sehma hua hai thoda
Aur khush bhi bahut hai
Pehla pehla hai jo pyar

Ehsas pehli mohabbat ka
Izhar pehli Mohabbat ka
Anmol hota hai
Khushian to aati hain aur bhi kai
Pehli mohabbat ka andaz kuch aur hota hai

I think of You

2011-08-16T10:05:00.000-07:00

I look around

I feel lonely

I close my eyes

And I think of you

I look around

Surrounded by you

I take a step

Try to touch you

I look at you

And that bright smile

I smile with you

And I look at you

I wish you were here

Every moment

Till that time

I will think of you

So I close my eyes

And I think of you

A lucky breakdown

2011-07-17T03:52:00.000-07:00

Mumbai never sleeps they say. At anytime of the day you can see autos and taxis covering the face of the city. In short, Mumbai is cramped-in the locals, on the roads, on the beaches or wherever you go. There are people who love the city and there are people who hate the city. You can’t be neutral to Mumbai.

Manju was an auto rickshaw driver in Mumbai. It was one of those cramped, hot and humid afternoons in Mumbai. There was nothing special about the day. It was just one of those days where Manju would travel almost the entire city, get struck in some traffic jams and be exhausted at the end of the day. It was round about 3:00 p.m. and Manju was currently passing the Veera Desai Road after having dropped a passenger at the Andheri Sports Complex.

Shreya was in a very foul mood. Her car had broken down. She had been standing on the side of the road for the last 15 min after having waited for a good half an hour in the car. The driver had tried his best but he had not been able to fix the problem. “Why have you not called a mechanic till now?” blasted Shreya.

“I have Mam. He will be here any moment.”

“And how much time will he take to repair the car?”

“Don’t know mam. All depends on the problem. I have not been able to figure it out.”

“What the hell. I am going to get late and you know I never get late to any of my functions. Get me an auto!”

“What?”

“Ya. Get me an auto.”

“But Mam, it won’t be appropriate for you.”

“What is not appropriate is me standing on the side of the road and waiting for the car to be fixed when there are people there waiting for me. So just do as I say.”

The driver tried to stop a couple of autos but none of them seemed interested in going to Bandra. Even a couple of taxis gave him a cold shoulder. Meanwhile Shreya’s frustration was increasing by the moment and she was about to vent out all her anger on the driver when an auto pulled by and agreed to go to Bandra.

“hum hain tere deewane, deewangi ki kasam” were the first words she heard as she got into the auto. She was thrilled to listen to that song. It was one of her personal favourites as well.

Shreya: Kitna time lagega pahunchne mein?(How much time will it take to reach)

Manju: Aj traffic thoda zyada hai mam. Ghanta bhi lag sakta hai.(It can take upto an hour as the traffic is too much)

After some time she realized that among all the songs that had played till now, the only thing that was common was the actress who was she, herself. As another chartbuster featuring her started to play in the background, She decided to start off a conversation with the autowallah.

Shreya: Ye to sabhi us Shreya actress ke gaane hain na? (All these songs have been picturised on the actress Shreya?)

Manju: Han Madam (Yes, Madam)

Shreya: Aapko achi lagti hai kya? (Do you like her?)

Manju: Han Madam. Maine unki sabhi picture dekh rakhi hain. Mujhe wo bahut zyada pasand hain. (Yes Madam. I have seen all her films. I like her a lot.)

Shreya: Acha, kya acha lagta hai unmein? ( What do you like about her?)

Manju: Madam wo kehte hain na k wo poora package hai. (As they say Madam, She is a complete package)

Shreya couldn't control her laughter after hearing this. Manju also started to laugh a but as he saw Shreya laughing.

Shreya had had a tough day till now. She had a very bad fight with her boyfriend, who happened to be an actor himself. She was feeling very sad and depressed because of the constant fights and quarrels she had been having with him. Her latest film was not performing well at the box office. She had just got to know in the morning that a leading cosmetic brand she endorsed had decided not to renew her contract. She had read an article in one of the leading film magazines where the author had declared her as a thing of the past. To add to that, her car had bust in the middle of the road. She was feeling as if everything was going against her. But, this auto journey and talking to someone who totally adored her was a breath of fresh air for Shreya. It was something she seriously needed to rejuvenate herself.

As Shreya and Manju kept on talking about Shreya and her movies without Manju having any idea about who he was talking to, Manju asked, “Ye mooh pe kapda kyun le rakha hai apne?”(Why have you wrapped your face with a cloth?)

Shreya: Wo dust padti hai na(Because of the dust.)

Manju: Hmmm. Waise apki aankhein Shreya ji se bahut milti hain. Aur aawaz bhi thodi unke jaise hi.(You eyes and voice are like Shreya’s)

Shreya started laughing and said “Thank You.”

Shreya was thinking, “Why did he say voice is also somewhat like her. I am her! Do I actually sound different on screen? Or is it because of all this traffic? Or is it because of the dubbing?”

No one had ever mentioned something like this to her. And if someone had, she wouldn’t have cared. She was at the top of her career till about 6 months back. But her last two movies had bombed at the box office and critics had also slammed them. There was a growing sense of insecurity in her. Anything anyone was saying was having a huge impact on her now.

Shreya again engaged Manju in some chit chat. She asked him about what time he starts his work and till what time he goes on. She asked him about his family, his native place and a whole lot of other things. Manju was surprised to see someone asking so many questions. Most of his passengers just sit and he drops them . A few yeses and nos apart, he hardly talked to his customers. But he was liking this conversation.

Shreya: kaisa lagta hai sara din shehar ghumte rehna. Hum logon ko to apne kaam mein dhang se shehar dekhne ka bhi time nahi rehta.(You must like driving throughout the city all day. We don’t even get the time to explore the city because of your schedules)

Manju: Are Mam, sochne ki baat hai. Sara din kaun itni garmi mein auto chalana chahta hai. Par pet ke liye karna padta hai.(Its just a way f thinking Mam. Who wants to drive an auto al day in this heat? But you have to do it to earn your bread.)

Shreya knew he was right. She hadn’t thought through before saying this. She felt bad for having asked this.

After sometime, Manju asked, “Aap kaam kya karti ho?” (What work do you do)

Meanwhile Shreya had fallen asleep. Manju noticed this and kept on driving.

After another 10 minutes, Manju woke up Shreya and told her that they were about to reach. As he was pulling up the auto, he asked again, “ Aap karte kya ho waise?” (What work do you do?)

As a few press reporters saw her and came running, She removed the cloth from her face and said, “ Actress hun.” and gave Manju a smile. Manju was astonished and he couldn’t control his happiness. He asked her for a autograph which she readily gave. He also asked if he could have a photograph with her. She said, “Why not?” and asked one of the bystanders to take a pic on Manju’s phone.

She said “Thank You” to Manju and moved towards the press. Meanwhile a few press reporters surrounded Manju to ask about what had happened.

“Shreya travels in an auto” was the headline that day with a subheading “Autowallah’s Dream comes True.”

“Failing star’s last ditch effort for publicity” read another headline. Shreya looked at it and just laughed and kept the paper away.

Sometimes we feel that nothing is going right or that life is unfair or million such things. But, in the end the smallest of things/occurrences bring us content and happiness which makes those not-so-good times totally worth it.

*A work of fiction

I Hope its Me

2011-05-21T02:48:00.000-07:00

I don’t knw what you want

I hope its me

In the night when you sleep

When you sleep, When you dream

There is a face that you see

I hope its me

When you think you’re caught

When all hope is lost

The thought that lets you free

I hope its me

I Hope its me

When you are in a bad mood

Nothing seems right

Those eyes bring you glee

I hope its me

When that D-day comes

When you say I will

Someone on his knees

I hope its me

I don’t knw what you want

I hope its me

The Curious Case of Ram Jethmalani

2011-05-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

Ram Jethmalani can arguably be called one of India's best lawyers, which is a very subjective term so lets call him one of India's most paid lawyers. But he is weird. If you think he is not, wait and read further!

He takes a moral high by fighting against the black money stashed outside India. He joins Anna Hazare against corruption. Then, he defends Kanimozhi?? Do you know he also defended Harshad Mehta & Ketan Parekh. If these names haven't rung a bell, let me remind you that these were the people who were behind the biggest stock market scams in India. Isn't that Black money Sir?

He has also defended some very high profile but infamous names like Manu Sharma & Afzal Guru. Afterwards, he has used excuses like , "Didn't want Afzal Guru to die easily but rot in jail" and "I have some obligations to some peoplE" in Manu Sharma's case.

He has had a very strange Political career as well. He was a minister in the Vajpayee government and then he went on to fight againt AB Vajpayee in the 2004 Lok Sabha Elections and in 2010, he was again a BJP MP in the Rajya Sabha. He has also started a couple of political outfits in the past which didn't really pick up.

I am not judging him. He certainly is one of India's top lawyers and everyone has a right to proper defence in a court but for a person taking high moral ground of issues of black money, Should he be taking such cases?

All I am saying is that he seems to be a confused personality.

Filled With Burden

2011-05-14T14:00:00.000-07:00

I aint a soldier who will look back
In front I see a man just like me

I will catch the fish in the sea
Her fault is that I am hungry

I am furious & I am angry
I will take it out on you

I just have to make it through
No one cares how or why

Always coming up with a new lie
Trying to hide my sins

Having lost myself for those wins
I keep wishing for more

One day will crash into the floor
Filled with burden is my sack

Osama gone, Mystery remains

2011-05-04T11:38:00.000-07:00

Almost the entire peace loving world is celebrating the killing of Osama Bin Laden, the rest (peace loving) are busy trying to read between the lines in this whole affair. Osama has died but the mystery remains.

So much is there which needs to be answered(and the list is not robust)..

1.       What was Pakistan’s role in this whole operation? Did they know or did they not?
2.       If Pakistan didn’t know, as the US and Pakistan claim, why was the areas cordoned off and electricity cut off in the region?
3.       Did Pakistan know about Osama being in the region? They say no but I find it difficult to believe. Even if for a moment you assume that he didn’t move in and out of the house, what about his dialysis? USA claims no dialysis equipment has been found so wasn’t the Military hospital in the vicinity the only possible option?
4.       Living there is one part but OSAMA BIN LADEN shifted to a high security area in the heart of Pakistan and no one seemed to notice. I find it hard to believe.
5.       On a similar note to the last point, US forces had the house in question on surveillance(right next to the Pakistani Military academy) And no one noticed. If this is true, it doesn’t put Pakistani forces and intelligence in good light.
6.       Why did the White house suddenly chance its stance about Osama being armed to being unarmed in 2 days? If he was unarmed, why wasn’t he captured? They say he was killed while resisting arrest, well can’t more than a dozen trained Navy seals arrest an unarmed person?
7.       He was unarmed they say. It would be a fair assumption that even Osama wouldn’t carry a gun 24*7 but the operation lasted for 40 minutes according to the White House which means it took them 40 minutes to reach Osama and even after those 40 minutes, he was unarmed. Are we trying to say that the World’s most wanted man was living in a house without any ammunition?
8.       Last but not the least, Why doesn’t Obama want us to see the proof?!

Like I said before, all the good people in the World would have liked to see the end of Osama but at the same time everyone would have wanted this end to be final and free of controversies. This seems like a screenplay in narration rather than the end, which we all want to see.

The Biggest Indian Cover Up??

2011-04-28T12:16:00.000-07:00

Some of us may never have heard the names of Kim Davy or Peter Bleach. Well I hadn't till today. But this is all a good cover up is all about.

To bring everyone upto date, Kim Davy & Peter Bleach were the key accused in the Purulia arms drop case. What was the Purulia arms drop case? Simply put, it was one of the biggest internal security breaches that India might ever have had. A air plane carrying ammunition entered India from Pakistan without being tracked and dropped ammunition worth $450,000 at a place called Purulia which is on the West Bengal-Bihar Border. The arms were supposed to have been delivered for an anti-left organisation called Anand Marga in West Bengal. This all was done to help Anand Marga in a armed mutiny against the West Bengal Government. Peter Bleach, who was the arms dealer involved in the case served 8 years in Indian Prison before being given Presidential Pardon. But, he spent those 8 years without ever getting to depose in front of an Indian Court. Kim Davy had apparently fled from India and was untraceble.

An Indian News Chanel(Times Now) today, somehow, got in touch with Kim Davy and Peter Bleach and aired their interviews. The revelations were startling to say the least. Peter Bleach claims that he had informed the British Internal Security service MI5 about this whole plan before going ahead with it and they in turn had informed the Indian Intelligence, not once, not twice, but three times. He also claims that right after having been caught, he had written a 30 page statement where he shared all the details about the plan and gave it to CBI officials who later refuted that such a statement was ever taken. He claims that he was never even brought in front of an Indian Judge so that he could tell his story. Eventually when he was given the pardon, he was rushed out of the country when he was supposed to appear before a court in a couple of days which was 8 years later and by then NDA was in power with Trinamool Congress as an ally!

Kim Davy, who was & is a Anand Marga symphatiser, alleges that he was helped by an MP at that time(Pappu Yadav) and CBI official JK Dutt to get out of the country via the Nepal Border. He also claims that Pappu Yadav had assured him that he had backing of someone from the PMO. Kim Davy has been living in Denmark after that and he wasn't living a life of hiding, he was regularly talking to the press. Whereas, CBI was telling the court that he is not traceble.

There are a lot of question marks in this whole episode.An patriotic might look at Davy and Bleach as two foreigners and criminals at that trying to defame India but at the same time a critical look at the matter poses many questions, What did the intelligence agencies do about the warnings they received? How could a airplane enter India(from Pakistan) and not given raise an eyebrow? Why didn't Bleach face a court for 8 years? How could the CBI claim to not being able to find Davy when he was in Denmark all this while and living an open life? Why was he rushed out of India, was it British Government's pressure or political compulsions for the NDA? Why didn't the British say anything while Bleach was in court when Bleach claims they knew about the whole plan? Did the British Govt. also had a fishy role in the whole affair? Sceptics may also say that Why has this story seen the light of day when the Left is almost certain to be thrown out of West Bengal?

Lets hope we get the answers someday, and sooner the better!

aLIVE!!

2011-04-26T11:40:00.000-07:00

Alive seems to be the perfect title for this post, considering the fact that this blog has been dormant for a long time. But more than that, this heading is appropriate because of the contents that are about to follow.

25th April, 2011, to me, would always be a day of victory for the Indian Media. A day when Suresh Kalmadi was arrested and a day when Kanimozhi was chargesheeted. Not taking the claims of Indian Politicos on the face values and not being bogged down by the threats of certain high profile people, Indian media followed the two cases-2G & CWG with utmost perseverance and dedication. When Mr. Kalmadi thought that he could get away with looting our country of crores of rupees, Navika Kumar from Times Now brought crucial evidence from England that implicated Kalmadi and despite his dozens of attempts to threathen them and dissuade them, Times Now stood ground. Not to take any credit away from other news channels, they soon picked up the story and made sure that the people concerned are not able to get away with their deeds.

Similarly, in the case of the 2G scam, when almost everyone thought that A Raja getting caught was enough, our friends in television and print media kept following it and now we know, (as Subramanium Swami said) , "Raja hai to Rani bhi hogi hi."

But what has been more heartening has been the efforts of the media itself to downplay the arrests of Kalmadi and Kanimozhi. Rather than trying to showcase themselves as heroes, they themselves have accepted that Kalmadi and Kanimozhi might be people acting as the fall guys and the big fish might still be out in the open.

There is still a lot to be answered and a lot that has to be pursued. But with the kind of excitement shown by the civil society and a alive & LIVE media, I am sure the Bosses of the Kalmadis n Kanimozhis and Hasan Alis will soon be chakki peesing & peesing in Tihar Jail, which apparently is the latest hotspot for VIPs :P

My Dear Friends

2011-03-03T09:38:00.000-08:00

Walked a few steps together
What a beautiful journey
You made it a pleasurable ride
Oh my dear friends

Met some great friends on road
Had some tussles here and there
Wouldn't want to change a thing
Oh my dear friends

My fellows in this laugh riot
And some dark days
You helped me get through
Oh my dear friends

Now its coming to an end
This beautiful journey
Wish we stay the same
Oh my dear friends

The future will be bright
But god forbidden
Lets stand for each other
Oh my dear friends

Knowledge v/s Lenience

2011-02-16T09:32:00.000-08:00

Some of them are simply the best, some of them you wish you had never known. If there is one set of people in this world you just can't generalize, they are teachers. And this is that class of people which you just can't do without for about the first 20-21 years of your life. We have all been enamoured by some of our schools teachers( by the teaching part I mean :P ) and we have all just dreaded the sight of some of them. So, as I come to the fag end of my journey in life as a student(in a formal manner) I have, out of sheer abundance of time, tried to define the types of a teacher.

Since we are doing it, Why not do it MBA style! So, I have developed a 2*2 matrix for the same. The quality of teachers, according to me, can be judged based on two factors:-

1. How Good is his/her knowledge of the subject? or rather ability to share that knowledge

2. How Lenient is the teacher with the students?

Now looking at all the categories one by one.

Tough Taskmasters :-They are damn good in the subject that they are teaching. They will constantly give insights which actually make you think. Since they take their work seriously, they expect the students to do the same. You can't go to their classes, do nothing and come back. You have to work! They are not loved by the students but they get on to you with time and one starts to appreciate them.

Good For Nothings :- They think that they know everything and keep trying to showcase their authority in the class. But the fact is, their knowledge is too limited and they don't know how to teach. So, undestandbly the students don't pay any attention in their classes which they can't digest. Hence, the false aggression and self obsession.

Spoilers :- These are those teachers who don't know a lot and are ready to accept that or they have knowledge but are just not good at dissipating it. But, they don't create a lot of fuss in the class. Students are generaly not disturbed by them when sleeping. They generally have a smile on their face. Students like them despite the fact that knowledge addition is minimal. But they spoil you in the long run as no matter how sweet, a teacher's primary job is to teach.

Teachers:- I have named this category as teachers as they are my favourites or rather every students' favourite. They are rarely found but wherever and whenever they are, they have so much information and knowledge to share that they garner a huge fanbase from day 1. But at the same time, they don't bother you a lot with assignments etc and generally don't even bother you in your sleep. They are good and they know it so they don't need any self assurance. As a student you just can't not pay attention to them.

Thats it from my side, Looking forward to some interesting feedback! :)

Love is in the air

2011-02-14T03:24:00.000-08:00

A Valentine's Day Special

What is love to me

Looking into her eyes

Playing with her hair

Love is in the air

Irritating her 24/7

Inviting that glare

Love is in the air

Doing something stupid

Then wanting to share

Love is in the air

Picking her up

Carrying her up the stairs

Love is in the air

Fighting all the time

Being a perfect pair

Love is in the air

What is love to me

With nothing left to say

3 words wanting to hear

Love is in the air

"Those" Punjabi songs

2011-01-29T09:40:00.000-08:00

In January, 2006 came a punjabi singer by the name of Gurinder Kaur Kainth and she became a sensation named Miss Pooja. Her stardom reached a stage where songs in the same genre came to be known as the "miss pooja type songs" even if she was not one of the singers. Off late I have had extensive access to such songs thanks to my dad's chauffeur who aparently has a new CD of her songs every 3 months I go home. 1500 songs in 4 years, how else can you justify that? Because of this exposure, I have had a new look at this genre of songs and my views have changed significantly, and in a positive way. Judge me if you want to, but wait till you read it all.

The so called miss pooja songs have done something which no other singer or genre of songs could do before that-Bringing to light the comtemporary issues faced by the people in Punjab. When I say people, I am not talking about people like you and me but people who are staying in the interior towns and villages of punjab.

Babbu Mann might have sung "Mittran Di Chattri" to exemplify the "married off to Canada" concept but the shayari and nicely written lyrics might make a lot of sense but it really doesnt hit the problem of girls being married off against their will. But when one of "those" punjabi songs come up with the lyrics , "maape kende vihah k kudi torni caneda vicho munda aayuga", it makes a point. Its simple, its straight and hits the issue on the head. If we actually look at the problem and its roots, its more apparent at the lower/mid strata of the society and people from that strata can easily relate to such "desi" lyrics.

Another category of songs which are famous/infamous have been songs related to conversations of lovers and the problems arising from that. There have been innumerable songs where the girl is trying to explain why she can't talk while at home as her mother can listen to the conversation. A lot of us might not have faced this problem but in a society where the concept of girlfriends/boyfriends or rather just guy and female friends is not accepted, it is a genuine problem. When such people hear such songs, they easily relate to them and enjoy these songs at the same time. There also have been some songs where wives complain about the excessive drinking nature of their husbands. It is a big problem and is being addressed through this medium.

Another issue these songs have been able to address is the problems faced by the farmers of punjab. There was an entire series of songs named Jhona in which the songs specifically talked about rice growing in Punjab and problems related to it. This issue is of utmost importance in a state which is one of the highest rice and wheat producing states in the country.

Chandigarh is arguably one of the most overused word in punjabi music. I guess only Bullet & Mobile can compete with it. I often joke with my friends that there is not any other city about which so many songs have been written. But, Whats the reason for that? In marketing terms, I would say ASPIRATION. Chandigarh is an aspirational location for youth living in different parts of punjab and this aspiration is being targetted through the songs which, to me, makes perfect sense. In similar songs, the abuse of power in Punjab has also been well depicted like in one of the songs the protaganist sings " chandigarhon phone aaju wadde saab da, fer marde saloot vekhin sare." This is a very mocking take at the power of "approach" in Punjab.

In all, I think Miss Pooja and other fellow singers have played a major role in bringing forward such issues and at the same time making sure that the common man understands the idea. There are ofcourse non-sensical songs that come along but where not? Or How else do you justify the success of "Munni Badnam Hui" & "Sheila ki Jawani."

Those 15 men!

2011-01-17T01:33:00.000-08:00

Come Feb 19, 2011 and the whole of India would be glued to their TV sets for the next 40 odd days. The reason-World Cup of Cricket is back and this time in India alongwit Sri Lanka & Bangladesh. India went out in the semis both in 1987 & 1996, the other editions of the WC that were held in the subcontinent. Can we do two steps better this time around??

The team on which the onus lies to win back the World Cup for us after a gap of 28 years has finally been announced, and those 15 men are:-

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yousuf Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, R Ashwin

Most of the players actually picked up themselves either on the basis of performance or image. These are the ones in bold. The rest of the players were dependent on what balance the slectors and Dhoni wanted in the side. Some of the major names that missed out despite decent performances would be Rohit Sharma, Sreesanth & Pragyan Ojha.

So, there might have been some discussion about Yousuf or Rohit but Yousuf's explosive style and bowling abilities must have taken things into his favour. The thing that confuses me the most is Why our selectors have gone with 3 spinners. I know its the Sub-Continent and the ball will spin but 2 spinners with Sehwag, Yuvraj and Pathan as more than average part time spinners would have been a good combination. Taking an extra spinner at the cost of poor Rohit Sharma has been a bit harsh on him

Sreesanth performed very well in South Africa and deserved a call up but in place of whom? His biggest positive has always been the ability to pick wickets and the biggest problem has always been his ability to ball bad deliveries in every over. The selectors must have thought his as a high risk-high gain proposition so they decided to hedge their risk by taking a Munaf Patel who can contain the batsmen after the field is spread out.

The third major name to miss out- Prayan Ojha has been a bit undone I feel. He has virtually done nothing wrong whenever he has played for India and his performances in the IPL for Deccan Chargers have also been exceptionally well. Maybe his inability to bat and provide some useful runs played into the hands of Piyush Chawla who can bat decently.

Overall, I feel there is noone in the side who didn't deserve it, but some surely have missed out who deserved it a bit more. Will this side win the world cup for us? Let us hopse so!

And Sold...IPL Auction Day 1

2011-01-08T06:28:00.000-08:00

IPL is back or atleast the auction is. After months of speculations and legal battles, all the 10 teams made it to the auction table but there was the last surprise in store with Rajasthan's total budget being reduced to $7 mn instead of $9 mn as it is for everyone else. The reason is still a bit uncertain.

If we have a look at the teams building up, one thing is for sure-A lot of player and team loyalties are going to be tested as besides Chennai, very few teams have brought many of their ex team members. Chennai, though went all out to buy who were there own-Ashwin,Badrinath,Boullinger & Hussey. To this, they have added Dwayne Bravo and Wridhiman Saha. And remember; they had retained Dhoni,Raina,Vijay and Morkel. So this looks to be a great team with a good mix of domestic players & foreign players,bowlers & batsmen. They will again be one the favourites, like in the previous editions.

Mumbai Indians were the other side who had retained the maximum allowed limit of 4 players which were Sachin, Harbhajan, Pollard & Malinga. Neeta Ambani bid aggresively for Rohit Sharma which was a great buy but extremely affected the overall budget. The other buys were James Franklin, Andrew Symonds & Davy Jocobs. This looks like an interesting side developing here but MI will have to just fill around the other spots because they don't have a lot of money left. But, SRT is known to have a good eye for youngsters and a knack of backing them so that may not be a big problem as they have the master tendulkar who seems to running the show(aggresive bidding for rohit sharma being a proof). Will be interesting to see though, how Bhajji and Symo get along after "Monkey"gate!

Deccan Chargers seemed to be the team who did the smartest bidding. They didn't go too hard, but stole some gems at a bargain. They now are home to Steyn, Sangakkara, Cameron White, Pieterson, Pragyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Shikhar Dhawan & JP Duminy. A perfect mix of bowling,batting, domestic, foreign, stability and firepower. To add to this, they are still the team which maximum amount left in their exchequer. Great Work Chargers.

The schewd and smart Vijay Mallya was calling the shots for Bangalore with some smart advise from Kumble being a bonus. RCB knew the players they just needed to have and went all out for them. Be it Saurabh Tiwary or AB Devilliers. They now have a deadly pace attack with Zaheer and Dirk Nannes, one of the smartest spinners in the world-Daniel Vettori, A dependable and destructive Dilshan,young and talented Chiteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli being the one they retained. Just too good a side to have. But with the budget dwindling, they will have to make smart choices to build the bench strength.

Delhi Daredevils made a slow start to the day with no bids early on. They got aggressive with Irfan Pathan for whom they fought ferociously with Kings XI Punjab. After that they concentrated mostly on foreign players with David Warner coming back to revive the Veeru-Warner deadly partnership. Their other buys were Morne Morkel, James Hopes, Aaron Flinch and Naman Ojha. They still have a lot of money to spend and they will be very aggresive on day 2.

Kolkata Knight Riders were the ones who started the day with a frenzy and paying a whopping $ 2.4 mn for Gambhir, who certainly is worth it. A proven performer and an ODI captain with 100% winning rate(I know it was New Zealand but still-statistics). Gauti can certainly turn the ship for KKR provided he has good company which we now know is being provided by Yusuf Pathan, Jacques Kallis, Shakib Al Hasan, Manoj Tiwary, Brett Lee, Eoin Morgan & Brad Haddin. This is a great side but a bit lacking in the bowling department as Lee's fitness is always a concern. They will be looking for some steals in the bowling department on day 2. Gambhir and Pathan were incidentatlly the two most expensive players today. SRK always goes hard for whom he wants.

Kings XI Punjab would have been pleased just to be sitting there after all the drama surrounding them in the last few months. They were unlucky that whichever players they pursued were wanted badly by someone else as well so they missed on Pathan as a case but Preity Zinta didn't lose that pretty smile despite, which was good to see. KXIP bagged the services of Adam Gilchrist, David Hussey, Dinesh Karthik, Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar, Abhishek Nayyar, Stuart Broad & Ryan Harris. They seem to have gone a bit overboard with Nayyar as he is not really a T20 specialist but he is a stable batsmen and someone who can be banked upon. Whats lacking in this side are big names which seems to be a hige shift from the earlier strategy where Yuvraj, Lee, Pathan being the marketable faces(besides the talent) in the side. A couple of real good buys in Praveen Kumar & Hussey in this side. They need to focus on some domestic players now as they have plenty of foreign talent in the side now. They will be the darkhorse in IPL 4, I guess but I hope they do a Rajasthan Royals(IPL 1). Go Kings XI!!

Rajashthan Royals didn't have the presence of Shane Warne on the table but his word was certainly important in what they did. With the budget being 7 against 9 for others, they needed some smart buys which came in the form of Paul Collingwood and Ross Taylor. They only brought Johan Botha and Rahul Dravid besides these two. They paid $950 mn for Botha which is strange as they already have a world class spinner in Shane Warne. Besides Warne, they have retained Shane Watson. They will be heavily relying on Shane Warne's eye to spot some really good domestic players as otherwise $2 mn deficit will surely be a disadvantage.

Sahara Pune Warriors were one of two new teams entering the fray but they had done their homework well. They bid heavily for Robin Uthappa and Yuvraj Singh, who are explosive when it comes to T20. Yuvraj seems to have been paid well for his capability and allround abilites because his batting in the earlier editions has just not been upto the mark. Kings XI tried to get him back till a point but then they backed off against the aggressive Pune. Angelo Mathews, Ashish Nehra, Grahme Smith,Calum Fergusson, Tim Paine and Nathan Mcullum were the other buys. There strategy was similar to KKR's-Bid heavy for a couple and try to get some cheap buys.

Kochi are the other new team into the IPL, who still havent decided on a name. They were involved in a lot of bidding wars, winning a few and losing a few. Their prized posessions are Mahela Jayawardene and Murali. They also have one of the best opening bowling combos in RP Singh and Sreesanth, who will be the hometown boy. They will also be having Ravindra Jadeja, Brendom McCullum, Brad Hodge, VVS Laxman, Parthiv Patel, Steven Smith and Ramesh Powar at their disposal. They have build a good roster here but they lack some dependable players. Sreesanth, Jadeja, McCullum & Jayawardene can all be amazing on their days but just fall away on others. But they still have decent money left with them so lets see whom they buy on day 2.

These are the teams and all of them look competitive but today will be remembered for the players who weren't bid for i.e. Ganguly, Lara and Gibbs. There were many more but these are names who would have been part of most World XI's a few years back and now noone even wants them. With Lara, its understandable as he has played no cricket for the last 3 years and failed badly in his brief ICL stint but Ganguly and Gibbs must have been more shocked. But, there is till hope left as they come back for auction when all the players available have been put up on auction once.

What could have been

2011-01-06T11:57:00.000-08:00

So, the much talked about India-SA test series has finally come to an end and as most would agree, to a fair end. India were thrashed by South Africa in the first test and India came back strongly in the second match to show what they can do, even on green tops.

However, differenciating the 2 sides in the 3rd test is next to impossible.While kallis anD Steyn were out of the ordinary throughout the match, India had the services of SRT,Sreesanth,Harbhajan & Gambhir to thank at different points in the test match. I have been reading a lot in the last few hours about how some people felt that India didn't play as a true champion and how India should have gone for the win etc etc. I, on the contrary, have a new found respect for the Indian side after today's display. I am not a strong believer in the No.1 or No.2 debate. So, I don't feel as a "No. 1" team, India had to try and win the game at all costs. Wouldn't we all have loved to see India winning? Ofcourse we would have, atleast here in India! But being realistic, When was the last time a team scored 340 on the last day to win a test match? When was the last time India did something like that? Infact, India have a very poor reputation when it comes to batting on the final day or the last innings. So, going for the victory is great as it sounds but it invariably means taking the risk of losing. If that had been the case, the same people who feel India should have gone for the "win" would have been writing about how India can't play to save a match.

I feel the entire Indian batting showed a lot of class and composure in the way they batted today. At tea on the 4th day, everyone in the Indian dressing room would be looking forward to a series win but the way Kallis and co batted in the last 2 hours on the 4th day, they just took the match away from India. India knew they had let the opportunity slip away but rather than doing something extravagant and going on a blitzkrieg, they did what was sound and logical-They tried to play for a draw on a pitch where scoring freely was not really an option. But, the way they played to save the match was what caught my imagination. Similar attempts have been made in the past by our national team but invariably they have had to bite the dust as we have never been good at being extra defensive. But the way each and every batsmen applied himself on the field today was admirable. Gambhir did a Kalllis for India when he carried on with an injury to take India to safety, Sehwag did what we thought he just cant-control himself, Dravid was a rock solid wall, Sachin showed that his class is not just in the runs and centuries he has scored but in his capability to adjust according to situations and VVS showed he is what he is.

So, I dont see this as having let go of a possible win because we did that on the 4th day. I see this as a beautiful display of craft by what is often defined as the best batting line up on paper.

Amplifier-English Version!

2011-01-03T04:24:00.000-08:00

Sometime back I posted the lyrics of a Punjabi song-Lock Up in an English Avatar, which was highly appreciated by all you guys. So, another attempt in the same league and this time we have arguably the most popular Punjabi song in the last decade-AMPLIFIER!!

Original Punjabi Lyrics

Kaaliyan baariyan ve gaddiyaan nu mein lawaan
Speed mein do sau bees (220) di chala Police de samne mein nai rukhda
I am a knight rider

Breakaan maar maar tardi mein chiekh kad da
Sari loki takde we ki hogeya lagda we injh mera dil ruk gaya
Onu mein puchda

Chorus-2

Ni gaddi sadi beja ni jattiye
Ni door tenu lehja ve adiye
Ni woofer tu meri meri
Mein tera amplifier fire

Gaddi meri tenu ve awaaz mardi
Black leather seetaan uttey aah bendi
Tenu ve main sair karawanga ni
Puri duniya di

Kehndi garmi we lagdi ve seeney ni
Pijh gai weh kurti paseeney di
Challi degree c di tooph pendi
On karan AC

Chorus-2

Jaandi eh club das tere ki iraade
DJ nu puch ki lawawa main tere gaane
Lehja main lehja tenu jithe bhi tu chaave
Ik vaari aawe moodh banawe
Jaandi eh club das tere ki iraade
Dj nu puch ki lawawa main tere gaane
Lehja main lehja tenu jithe bhi tu chaave
Ik vaari aawe moodh banawe

Chorus-4

Mein tera amplifier, fire, fire (*5)

Now, the English Version

Black doors my car is having

At 220 speed I am driving

I don’t give a damn to the police officers

I am a knight rider

Applying brakes to make the tyres shriek

All heads turn to see

Seems today my heart has stopped

So her I stalk

Chorus-2

Please sit in my car you beauty

I will take you far away you sweetie

You are my woofer, mine

I am your amplifier, fire

My car is calling your name

So come sit and be a game

I will take you on a world ride

Take the leather seat on my side

She said she is feeling the heat

Clothes getting wet because of the leather seats

The temperature is 40 degrees

I said, “Shall I turn on the AC!”

Chorus-2

Are you in a mood to go to a club

Whichever you say-A disc or a pub

I will make the DJ play your songs

Just life my spirits and come along

Are you in a mood to go to a club

Whichever you say-A disc or a pub

I will make the DJ play your songs

Just lift my spirits and come along

Chorus-4

I am your amplifier, fire,fire

I am your amplifier, fire, fire

P.S.- I have tried to stick to the original lyrics as much as possible but have taken creative liberty at points to make it rhyme

Nostalgia

2010-12-12T12:05:00.000-08:00

Silence is so beautiful
I hear the sound of life
In this life these moments of lull
I so thrive

As the fog covers the hills
Becomes visible the beauty of white
No matter how you capture these stills
Nothing matches living this sight

Travelling in a train u look out
That tiny cottage brings a smile
With memories you surround
You want to go home after a while

Surrounded by strangers you feel alone
You wish there was someone to talk to
But reality hits like a stone
For the meanwhile, talking to yourself will have to do

You get rid of the sad thoughts
Pick up your bags and step out
Smiling thinking of haves and have nots
To survive here you know you will have to stout

England-Bad losers or FIFA-corrupt rulers

2010-12-09T11:35:00.000-08:00

FIFA Executive Committee handed over the hosting rights of Football World Cup 2018 & 2022 to Russia and Qatar. This much is fact and rest we have heard and read are opinions and claims.

You must already have read and heard a lot about these claims being made by various parties concerned from the British, American and Australian bid teams. I chose not to write about it as almost everything was already sadi but when I read a press statement by Sepp Blatter about England being Bad losers, I couldn't help but read between the lines.

I would like to bring up to date those who have not been following this controversy closely. England were being considered the favourites to win the 2018 World Cup hosting rights and they turned no stone unturned with David Beckham, Prince William and Prime Minister David Cameron as the face of the bid. But Russia was being seen as a close competition because of FIFA's vision to take the game to far fetched corners of the World. England were supposedly promised votes by as many as 7 members but in the end they got 2 votes. This after England were rated as the best techical bid by all assessments and the promises ofcourse. Similarly, Australia and USA had bid for the 2022 World Cup and they were also rated as the best bids. In the final votes, England got 2 out of 22 out of which 1 was there own representative. Australia and USA got 4 votes together. So this accounts to 6/44 votes for the BEST bids.

BBC carried a story against corruption in FIFA few days prior to the vote and this seems to have played its role. There have a lot of voices since, many accusing FIFA of having sold the rights to the "Highest Bidders." Well, Russia and Qatar-makes sense. Sepp Blatter reportedly reminded ExCom members about the BBC story before the vote and the same man comes in front of press and says that England are bad losers. I am not trying to portray the English as Gods, they have done there share of blunders in the world but in this case, they seem to be right.

Now reading between the lines. Sepp Blatter's exact words were, "What can be wrong if we start football in regions where this sport demonstrates a potential which goes far beyond sport?" What I understand from this statement is, :-

1. I gave them the World Cup
2. I gave them the World Cup because I want the game to spread
3. There is nothing wrong in doing this

Well, this statement is in noway an acceptance of corruption, We Wish! But it certainly seems to be an acceptance of the fact that the vote is a joke and the World Cup Hosting Rights are given by the whims and fancies of FIFA ExCom Members or rather Sepp Blatter himself.

Yar mere Dildar

2010-12-04T14:49:00.000-08:00

A punjabi poem, written in english to reach a wider audience

Yar mere Dildar
Meri Zindagi di bahar
Tuhade Dil cich hai bas pyar
Yar mere Dildar

Tuhadi Yari mera sansar
Tusi milo har janam har bar
Yar mere dildar
Mere dil da karaar
Mere haq ch khadi talwar
Yar mere Dildar
Kende honge menu chad sentiyan na mar
Sare ekko ek star
Yar mere Dildar

The Mystery

2010-12-03T10:28:00.000-08:00

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 17; the seventeenth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

ACP Brijender Singh was lying in his bed with one hand constantly flickering the night lamp. Shalini, his wife, noticed this for some time and chose to ignore it. She knew he had a lot on his mind currently. They had made it a rule in their marriage not to interfere in each other’s work. But after watching this go on for 15 minutes, she said, “ Whats the matter Brij? Still thinking about the case? Let it rest for some time and go to sleep. You have not slept properly for 5 days now.”

Brijender was lost in his own thoughts and did not respond. Shalini touched his face and said, “ Are you Ok?” Brijender was startled but said,” Ya ya I am fine.”

But Shalini knew that he wasn’t. Brijender had not slept properly for the last 5 days. She knew the reason, the entire world knew by now.

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

It all started on the 1^st of May when Atul Malhotra, a well known journalist was found dead in his office late in the night. Later it was found out that he was strangled to death at 8 PM. The media had soon got hold of the story and it was immediately flashing as the headline on most of the top news channels. All the national and regional newspapers had the story running on the front page next day.

Rajat & Amita Aggarwal had come in late last night from a foreign trip and had had no time to catch on with the news. When Amita read the news of Atul’s death, who was a close friend of Rajat, she was shocked and went running towards Rajat to inform him of this incident but she couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw her husband lying on the ground,dead. Amita let out a huge cry and all the servants came running. Amita had got up 8:55 AM and had been out of the room for only 10 minutes. Rajat was the head of a Delhi based publishing house.

The primary evidence showed the murders to have taken place in an identical way. There was no straightforward logic that related the two murders and that is when the case was handed over to Brijender who had developed an image of seeing what was hidden in the one year he had been an IPS officer. The murders seemed to have been done in a perfect manner. No one had seen anyone enter or leave the victims’ house near the time of the murders. Brijender spend the whole day trying to figure out a connection between the two murders but no matter how deeply he dug into both victim’s work or life he couldn’t find something that would tell him who did this or why?

It had been more than 60 hours since the first murder had taken place but still Brijender was no close to finding who did this. Brijender was about to leave for home when his phone rang at 6:45 PM on the 4^th of May. His heart sank when he heard the news that another murder had taken place in exactly the same manner. The victim in this case was Meera Gulabchand, another giant from the publishing world . He rushed to the spot and to his horror, the press was there before him. He was bombarded with questions about who this serial killer was, Why were all the targets publishers or media persons and what he was doing to stop him? This was when Brijender finally realised that his major worry is not to find the killer but to save people who might be his next targets.

It was 6^th May now and this news was all over the news and Brijender was in the line of fire but it was not the press that bothered him. He was worried if there could be someone else as well and if yes, Who? And When?

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

Brijender tried to divert the topic and asked Shalini, “what are you reading?” Shalini was herself in the publishing industry but she was very new into the world so Brij was more or less certain that she could not be a target all the targets till now were bigwigs. Shalini replied, “ Just a manuscript I picked up today in the office. I read a couple of pages and found it interesting. Some guy wrote it a few years back but it was rejected. Don’t know why?”

Brij- What is the title?

Shalini-THE MYSTERY, written by some Akash Mehra

Brijender had across this name somewhere in his investigation. He thought for a couple of minutes and suddenly a spark appeared in his eyes. He asked Shalini for a pen and paper.

Shalini-Why?

Brij didn’t answer

Shalini was confused.

After scribbling for sometime, Brijender asked Shalini to call her boss.

The call went through.

Shalini: Hi Sir. Sorry for calling so late. My husband wants to talk to you.

After about 15 minutes, and a lot of Questions, Brijender cut the line.

Brij-I think you just solved the case for me.

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

As Akash Mehra entered the house of Ajay Pratap Singh AT 1:58 PM on 7^th May, he thought his revenge is soon going to be complete and completely according to the script. First Atul Malhotra, who called himself a friend, but still didn’t help him one bit in getting his book published. Then it was Rajat Aggarwal and Meera Gulabchand’s turn who had told him that he should stop writing as his writing “simply not upto the mark” & “Just not good enough.” Their words still echoed in his ears. He had saved Ajay for the last as Ajay, CEO of Penguin India, had humiliated him the most. He still couldn’t forget the day when Ajay, in front of his entire top management team, had told him to try writing for a children magazine or rather teach maths in a school like his protagonist in the so called novel. He couldn’t ever forget that torture he had gone through.

Suddenly a person in a white shirt and brown trousers came running towards Akash and pinned him to the ground. As Ajay frantically tried to release himself, Brijender took a sigh of relief.

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

Brijender jotted down the words THE MYSTERY on a piece of paper. And started writing numbers underneath.

T=20

H=8

E=5

M=13

Y=25

S=19

T=20

E=5

R=18

Y=25

T=20

THE=33,24+9

THE MYS=90,24+24+24+18

THE MYSTERY=158,24+24+24+24+24+14

1/5/8 - 8 PM

2/5/8 – 9 AM

4/5/8 – 6 PM

7/5/8 – 2 PM

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

Luckily for Ajay Pratap Singh, ACP Brijender Singh’s wife worked under him.

Brijender and Shalini decided they should infact discuss work at home.

Akash Mehra has been in prison for the last two years. He was been given Death Sentence for multiple murders.

P.S.-I have used the concept of EJOTY. For details visit http://www.ludism.org/mentat/AlphabetFeats
24+9 means one full day plus 9 hours & so on for others

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

The Greek Tragedy

2010-11-30T09:10:00.000-08:00

K had said it a hundred times by now but decided to repeat it once again,” I am going to settle down here. The girls are so damn beautiful.” The second part of the statement was hard to argue and the first, well K is known for exaggerating.

Greece was turning out to be as beautiful as or rather more beautiful than we had imagined it to be. Ofcourse Greece had its own set of problems-Illegal immigrants being one of them. A Pakistani shopkeeper warned us right on our arrival that we should keep our passports safe as they are the most stolen thing in Greece. But it was not a problem to our travelling as long as we paid heed to his advice, which we did. We had planned to visit Athens, San Torini and Olympia (if time permitted). Our first stop was Athens which was living lesson in history-the Acropolis, Temple of Zeus, Ancient Olympics stadium and so much more. The two days we spent in Athens were a treat if we ignore the incidence when M & A were stopped on the street by SWAT type police officials and asked to lean against the wall with hands up. They were left alone after passport verification etc. Though A remained in shock for some time but he got relief from the fact that they were policemen and not muggers.

As we took a ferry to San Torini we were all super excited to have a look at the trademark white houses of the island(Remember Tauba Tumhare Ye Ishare) and the beaches of Black and Red beaches of the island. For anyone who has been to San Torini would know that it is impossible to explore the island unless you rent a car or a bike. We chose All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs). That is when things started to go a bit wrong. ATVs are not the easiest thing to drive and M soon realised that as he banged into a car whose driver started shouting stuff in Greek which made no sense to M but he did catch the word “Police” to which M’s only response was “No Police!” The driver agreed to that bit but only after M paid him 300 Euros.

Things became smooth after that as M,G,H & K got comfortable with the rides. After having seen arguably the most beautiful sunset in the world, all of them headed back and returned the ATVs. Next day started off with a visit to the Nea Kameni Volcano but we were free by around 3 PM and our return ferry was to leave at 10 PM so we still had a lot of time so we decided to head off to the Red Beach on the island. Hence we again rented the ATVs which was not an altogether unanimous decision. As we reached the destination, we parked our ATVs and were about to walk towards the beach when A, who had been riding pillion to M all this while asked H if he could drive his ATV. So A took a very small round at incredibly low speed with H following him throughout to make sure nothing unwanted happens. Watching this, B, who had been pillion to K throughout asked H if we could also ride the ATV? So this was B’s turn. B also took a small round and he decided to test the ATV a bit more and took it straight which was slightly uphill but it was fine. The problem was the journey downhill. As B brought the ATV downhill, He didn’t realise the road had a slight curve towards the cliff and the ATV slowly kept moving in that direction. H shouted frantically and asked B to press the brakes but B had lost control by then and he went off the cliff along with the ATV. Meanwhile, G & M were being photographed by J on the other end of the cliff and hence they saw B and the ATV flying. After the initial shock of a couple of seconds, everyone ran towards the cliff. Underneath there was a sea of sharp edged rocks and water was constantly gushing against them (SEE: Bandra Bandstand). A fear gripped everyone and we shouted B’s name and were relieved to see him not his head. K & M headed down to bring him back. M made a brave attempt to bring the ATV back as well but it was not the easiest task in the world. M immediately headed for a doctor alongwith B. J & G left to look for a pick up van whereas K, A & H waited.

A lot happened in the following 3 hours but it was nothing compared to what had happened just now. Otherwise, a dog getting on top a scooter and being up against G’s chest and G&J escaping after letting the dog get on top of the person who tried to help them would have been a story in itself.

As the night set in, we were feeling better as the doctor assured that B was fine but having paid 1800 Euros for the ATV, who could have been fine. To top it all, one of us lost his phone.

As hours went past, we started to get a bit relaxed again. Everyone was trying to cheer up everyone else. It felt great to be with a bunch of people all of whom were standing up for each other in the times of trouble. We headed for our ferry with a hope that the bad luck may get over with San Torini but the sadly, it was the Greek Tragedy not the Tragedy of San Torini.

As we got off the ferry at Phireaus, we decided to get our tickets for Italy booked and that is when it dawned upon H that he does not have the Eurail Passes of himself and two others he was carrying. As everyone searched their bags, calls were made to the hotel guy in San Torini if something was found in our rooms. We made efforts of getting a replacement but the stupid Eurail rules don’t allow that.

Tired and gloomy, we headed for Patras to head back to Italy. After having reached Patras, we relaxed for sometime at the port. Just when we thought that the worst is over, H realised he had lost his sunglasses in the bus. But ironically even H himself didn’t feel very bad about it. After all that had happened it just seemed like a drop in the ocean.

As we were heading into the ferry, we were asked by the port authorities to wait as we were required to be checked by the port police. We waited for some time patiently but soon anger and anguish started to grip us as all the fair looking people were being let into the ferry without any checking whatsoever and we saw this as a racial discrimination without a shadow of doubt. We tried to argue with the port authorities, asked them check our passports but to no avail. M & A went and talked to some official inside the port who finally checked our papers and let us go. But this was after we had been standing there for a good 2 hours. By the way, another fellow who was not even European and was let inside by the captain of the ship despite a couple o people asking him not to. A few Euros must have been exchanged there. Alongwith us another person was let in who later told us that he had a fake passport. If this is how they check, Why Check at all!!

And hence ended THE GREEK TRAGEDY!

And who am I you must be thinking. I could be anyone of A,B,G,H,J, K or M. We all suffered the same, just the money that got burnt differed.

With love & Peace

2010-11-15T16:07:00.000-08:00

“Kal tak tan ji khatte hi si, o tan ena ne aiven hi vand te”

“We were One till yesterday, they divided us for no reason”

These were the words used by a Pakistani national when I met him in Greece and I couldn’t have agreed more.

After having spent around 3 months in these foreign lands, I have experienced the love Indians and Pakistanis share for each other. Sitting at home, in India or Pakistan, there can be anger and disgust towards each other for various reasons but in the end, we are the same. It has been just 60 odd years till nothing of this stupid rivalry existed. The love and affection of thousands of years can’t just evaporate in such a short period and the fact is, it should never evaporate.

Being a punjabi, I feel elated when I meet someone speaking punjabi in Europe. In a lot of cases, that person is not an Indian but why should that matter when he speaks the same language, wears the same clothes, has the same culture. If you come to think of it, India's history is incomplete without Lahore and Pakistan's history is incomplete without Delhi.

The funniest part to all this the fact that those who are responsible for separating us and those who have tried to make sure that we don’t see eye to eye are often offering to act as arbitrators in Indo-Pak talks. I think we can manage without them, rather we can progress without them.

Diwali of 2010 would always be etched in mind for what happened that day. We were in Athens and we wanted to have some Indian food and hence we headed to a Pakistani restaurant we had been to the previous day as well. As soon as we entered the restaurant, we saw a jam packed hall with Pakistanis watching Pak play SA in an ODI match. We were about to turn back when the owner saw us and recognised us from yesterday. He came running towards us, got some tables and chairs vacated for us and served us in the best possible manner. He indulged in a small chat with us when he discussed the bad economic condition of Greece which was forcing loads of Indians and Pakistanis to go back home. When he was talking to us, it never felt that he belongs to a different nation because deep within, there are 2 countries divided out of the same nation. I don’t think there could have a better diwali celebration than watching cricket sitting amidst separated brothers and having your own food.

This is just one of many examples that I have of how I have enjoyed and relished the company of people from our neighbouring nation. In my college in France, we have loads of Pakistanis who are studying as full time students. They have been more than willing to lend a helping hand if it came to searching for accommodation, advising where to buy groceries from and even invitations to play cricket.

The person whose quote I used right at the start of the article met me in San Torini, Greece asked me after observing me and my friends for some time , “ Punjab to?” I had made out from his accent that he is from the Pakistani side of Punjab so I replied, “ Hanji India wale Punjab to han.(Yes, From the Indian Punjab)” And he was quick to add,” tan ki ho gaya ji. Punjab tan Punjab hi hai.(So What, Punjab Is Punjab)”

I quoted this instance to my dad and he said,” waise dona punjaban nu chahida aape khade ho k koi reunification movement chala den.” Or “Both Punjabs should themselves start a reunification movement.” Though he said it in a light mood, this may be the only hope we have. Some fanatics, who don’t belong to any religion or any nation have created all these unnecessary problems and some politicians are not letting this die. Reunification is a far fetched dream but the least we can do is-Live like two brothers should, with love & peace.

Naraz to tum bhi ho

Naraz to hum bhi hain

Galtiyan kuch hamari bhi hain

Galtiyan kuch tumhari bhi hain

Par kum tak yun roothe baithe rahenge

kab tak ik dusre se kuch na kahenge

kab tak yun dono taraf aansu bahenge

bhula do gile shikwe

do kadam tum chalo, do kadam hum chalenge

Celebrations

2010-11-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 16; the sixteenth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

Sunil Dev had now been a professional tennis player for 13 years. After struggling to set his foot for the first 2-3 years, Sunil had been a huge success. He was currently the 3rd best ranked player in the World and had been in the top 3 ranked players in the world now for more than 10 years.Being the only player ever from India to be ranked No. 1 in the world was won of the biggest achievements for Sunil. He had tasted success of on surfaces, winning 28 titles in total including 7 grand slams. But he had always been eluded of that one Wimbledon crown he egarded the most. He had always been good on grass but fate had just not been in his favour. 3 finals, but always on the loosing side. He was now 30 and was beginning to lose his pace. New players like Peter Rogers and Gordon Jacobs had emerged onto the scene in a bg way and were now regular features in grad slam showdowns.He knew if was to come, it will have to come soon.

The Championships in the year 2020 began on the 22nd of June. Sunil had a decent draw and the experts were expecting him to make it to the Quarters with ease and that happened as expected. Sunil came up against his old time rival Craig Withers in the Quarters and won the match in 4 sets. It was looking as if things might finally turn his way. He came up against Gordon Jacobs, the current World No. 2 in the semis and Sunil was not the favourite. The match went down right to the rubber. The score after the first four sets was 6-3, 4-6, 7-6. 2-6. Gordon had won the 4th set with ease and it seemed as if Sunil's old legs had worn off. But the Old Warrior still had a trick or two up his sleave and he won the 5th set 6-1 in just 25 minutes. The Closing remarks of Roger Federer during commentary being, "Not even God knows where that came from."

Sunil had now reached the stage where he had been 3 times(2013,2016,2017) in the past but had always had to be content with the plate instead of the trophy. His opponent in the final was the 21 year old sensation Peter Rogers. Peter had risen to No.1 position on the rankings in merely 2 years. But it was his 1st Wimbledon final. Peter and Sunil had faced off only twice in the past. Peter had won on both occasions, that too in straight sets. No one was putting his or her money on Sunil. But, there were a few who knew the Indian could come up with one last surprise in his career. The sun was shining brightly in the village of Wimbledon. BBC had roped in legendary Indian doubles specialist Leander Paes for commentary on this special occasion. Leander started off, "This could be a historic day for Sunil and for India."

The match started off with Peter Rogers serving. Peter won the game at love with two aces and not having had to face a return. But, Sunil soon found his groove and both the players were matching each other shot for shot. Peter won the frst set 7-5, Sunil took the next one 7-6, Peter was back in the next one-winning 6-3. Peter was looking set for a maiden Wimbledon title when he was leading 3-0 in the 4th set. But while serving the ace that made it 3-0, Peter twisted his ankle. The doctor was out attending to Peter as Sunil was desperately loooking on. He wanted the Wimbledon crown, but he wasnted to win it. As Peter got up and started to jog a little & the crowd started to roar, Sunil had a sigh of relief. As the half fit Peter came back, Sunil made the most of the opportunity and dominated the set from there on, winning it 6-4. The 5th set brought out the best in both players, with each matching each other point for point, game for game! Peter was fighting the pain in his ankle the best he could. As Sunil finally got a break point and a match point, leading 9-8, he knew he couldn't let it go. As Peter served deep on the right corner, Sunil antipated the move and his return fell of the left hand corner on the other side of the court. Peter made a diving attempt to return the ball but Sunil had hit the shot to perfection. As the reeling in pain Peter got up,he challenged the decision but he lost the challenge. Sunil had his hands up in the air. Peter threw his racket down on the grass. The youngster couldn't take the pain or the loss and was all tears. Sunil was lost in his own glory and forgot to head to the net so that he could shake hands with Peter. Sunil was straight off into the crowds to hug his parents and his wife. The crowd roared him on. Peter kept waiting at the net.

Shehnayiyan bajti hain tumhare ghar
Hamari aah nahi sunta koi
Tum haste haste chal padte ho
Hamara hath nahi pakadta koi
Aisa kya garoor jeet ka tumhe
Bhul gaye tum Hamesha jeetta nahi koi

As the emotional Sunil headed to collect his trophy, he had realised his error. He headed to Peter and bowed to him.

Har kar yun na ho mayoos
Yun kya hi hoga haasil
Har ka kar istikbaal
Ho tu bhi jeet k jashn mein shamil
Fir kar le khud ko tayar
Fir sajegi mehfil-e-jung
Aamne Samne honge tum aur hum
Marle lena maidan aur fir dekh jeet k kya hota hai mehsoos

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

Children at heart

2010-10-28T03:57:00.000-07:00

As they got down at the train station in Alpnachstad, the first thing they noticed was the steep train ride they were now supposed to take. It was not hard to believe that the ride from Alpnachstad to Mt. Pilatus is the steepest Cogwheel train journey in the world. It had been 2 months now that Adarsh, Ashish, Mandeep, Mitesh & Aditya had been in Europe for their Student Exchange Programme but still everything gave them something new to relish and savour. As they started with their journey towards the top of Mt. Pilatus, Mitesh (being the information collector in the group) had the weather report ready and informed everybody that its very foggy and snowing atop the hill. This brought a mix of emotions and snow meant fun but fog meant so panaromic views of the beautiful snow clad mountain peaks. But they were anyways bored of panaromic views by now and snow was going to be exciting and it was.

As the 30 min cogwheel ride came to an end and they walked into the areas of pilatus that were open to tourists, the first thing Ashish said was, " The best decision in my life was to come on exchange cause isne jannat dikhadi" which was correct in every true sense of the word, Switzerland aftelall is the heaven on earth. As they started walking on the snow, they could feel the slight chill because of the cold climate but who cared! Off they went- making snow balls and throwing them on each other, picking up snow and putting into each others' clothes and what not. Ashish & Mandeep thrashed Adarsh & Aditya and in the snow ball competition. Mitesh acted as the judge, whom Aditya and Adarsh continuously accused of being biased. Any bywatcher might have considered them to be 12-13 years old but the child in you never dies and the 12-13 year old in them was full in action that day.

Adarsh made an attempt to climb a wall being made by the snow, after 3-4 steps, he realised it was not that easy a task as his feet started to freeze but "photo to banti hi thi" so mitesh was up for the task. This made Mitesh want to have a pic of his own in the same position but found it a bit difficult to climb the wall, ended up taking just a step into the snow and Adarsh took the picture immediately so that Mitesh could come out of his not-that-comfortable situation.

Mitesh wanted to cover himself in snow and be a real "SNOW-MAN" and the task was completed by Ashish and Adarsh in a very short time period with Mandeep doing the honours by cicking the photographs. Aditya, being a mumbaiwala couldn't handle the cold for long and went and sat inside but that was after he had had his own share of fun.

As they started to walk back towards the point of departure, Adarsh said, " Aaj to Gloves and jacket ki importance pata lag gayi. Thand ka pata hi ni laga, warna to jam hi jaata" and Mitesh said, " Mujhe to underwear ki importance pata lagi warna aj snow man banne k baad uth na paata."

Off the went-Smiling,talking,Buzzing.

The Story of Bahadurgarh

2010-10-01T11:45:00.000-07:00

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 15; the fifteenth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

Brijender was an upcoming writer who was slowly making a name for himself through his poems about nature. His success was quick for a 22 year old. He was currently living in Delhi and was headed to Shamli, the undisputed king of hill stations in India. He was thinking of shifting permanently to Shamli as living in nature would give him more ideas on how to portray nature.

Brijender was sleeping in the train when the train sounded its hooter and disturbed his sleep. He looked out of the window and was astonished to see the beauty being created by the fog getting immersed into the mustard crops in the fields. Thoughts started flowing into his mind and he started to write...

Its all white out there

But I know there is yellow

Heavens must have sent me here

For my poetry to be mellow

Or is it heaven only

For it can't be better

Sitting silently so lonely

As if nothing else matters

As the train came to a halt at the station, he felt a voice attracting him to this city. He thought for a while, what If I get down here only? But, he thought, I have no place to stay here! As he was battling his own mind, the poet in him won the battle against the sane mind in him. He picked up all his stuff and got down at the station. He had no idea what was the name of the place he had got down at. He had no idea what this place had to offer. All he knew was that this place was just like the place he imagined and dreamt of whenever he sat down to write a poem. He had no idea what was he going to do now. He was going around the station when he saw "Bahadurgarh" written on a signboard at the station. He went to the station tea shop and asked for a glass of cutting chai. After having his chai, he asked the tea wala if there is a hotel or a guest house in the village. The chai wala laughed and said, " Sahib, yahan hafte mein ek rail gadi aati hai. Yahan koi hotel kyun hi kholega." So he enquired if he could stay somewhere. The chai wala first confirmed what exactly was he doing there. Though he wasn’t entirely convinced by Brijender's reply, he decided to help. He told him of the village Dak Ghar where he could get a place to stay for a couple of nights. Brijender finally reached the Dak Ghar and after much convincing, he was given a room by the caretaker.

After staying there for a couple of days, he began to get to know people. He also came in touch with Pritam Bahadur who was the youngest in the line of Bahadurs, who ruled the area with an iron fist. The Bahadur family had faced a couple of tragedies in the last couple of years and now there were just 3 members remaining in the family- Rai Bahadur(50), Rai's wife Sarita Bahadur(44) and their nephew Pritam(22). Rai Bahadur was the name that was given to the head of the family and whenever someone became the patriach, he was rechristened as Rai. Pritam had read a couple of poems written by Brijender which made things easy. Brijender was soon living with the Bahadurs as a guest. His poetry was moving along and he was suddenly writing twice as much as he used to. Only a month had gone by and He had already written 30 poems and 17 short stories which were somehow related to Bahadurgarh. He decided to dedicate a complete book to Bahadurgarh. As he kept on writing, he had a huge collection of writings specifically dedicated to the village of Bahadurgarh which he sent for publication. As he was already a known name in the poetry circles, he easily got a publisher. Soon, the book was released and the sooner it became a huge success. People were getting enamoured by the beauty of this place just by reading about it. The book was released on June 27, 1927 and by the end of the year it had become the largest selling book by an Indian author ever. Bahadurgarh soon became a highly popular destination for High Ranking British officials. The frequency of trains to Bahadurgarh was now up to 3 trains a week.

Residents of Bahadurgarh also considered Brijender to be their guardian angel. The village was supposed to have been haunted by a spirit. People believed that the spirit had somehow disappeared after Brijender came to the village.

Meanwhile, Sarita Bahadur, the only female left in the Bahadur family had developed a superstition that the bad luck of the family has something to do with the family's name being used in the village's name. She was pestering her husband to change the name of the village.

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

It was a rainy night in July, 1904 when 3 men held a woman by her arms and dragged her to the railway station of Bahadurgarh. The woman was crying and constantly claiming innocence but the three men were in no mood to let go. They held her tight and pushed her into the train. Al this while she was accompanied by her father who walked and didn’t react even once.

Inder Kumari was the only daughter of the Railway Inspector at Bahadurgarh, Ram Mohan. She had committed the eternal sin of falling in love with a Bahadur, who by tradition couldn't marry outside their clan. Their relationship had reached a point of no return and she was soon to give birth to their child. The Bahadurs got a sniff of this and summoned Inder's father and asked both father and daughter to leave the village or face dire consequences.

Ram Mohan and Inder moved to the nearest city, Shamli where Ram Mohan got a new job but he never forgave her for what she had done. They rarely talked but he took care of his daughter as a doting father. Inder had made up her mind that she will take care of the child as a single mother. She had studied till 10th standard so she could have got a decent job as well. But, life had other tricks to play with Inder. Just when she thought she could resettle in life, Ram Mohan passed away. The same night, she gave birth to a baby boy. Though she was a strong woman, the death of her father had a huge impact on her. She took the boy and kept him outside a temple with a note-His name is Brijender!

She took the next train to Bahadurgarh. She lived at the station, hiding, for a week. The next week, when the train was arriving at the station, it ran over Inder. This incident was to haunt Bahadurgarh and the Bahadur's for the next 22 years

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

As Brijesh Bahadur took a flight to London on June 27, 1904 he had no idea he would return never to see his beloved Inder.

Inder was afraid yet happy, she was planning to tell Rai about their yet to be born child after his return. She had already thought a name for the boy(if its a boy)-Brijender.

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

As the formalities to change the name of the city village had been worked out, a huge function was organised to officially rename the village. The function was to take place at the railway station. Bahadurgarh was now a known name in the entire area so the function had guests like the Lord Anthony Bates, who was the head of the British Empire in North India and Devinder Singh, who belonged to the Royal family of Patti wala.

Lord Bates got on to the stage and announced the new name and pulled the cover from the station's signboard which now read the new name-Inderpur!

Rai Bahadur had a tear in his eye. He thought of that dreaded day, when he was still Brijesh, and he took that flight to London. He thought of the irony in the boy's name and smiled. This was his tribute to the only lady he had ever loved.

Brijender was proud. He had no idea.

P.S. - Just thought using coblogger's name is a lucky omen :P

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

Credits
Image - Alston Station by Wandering Soul
Courtesy - www.deviantart.com via www.blogaton.in

The Classroom Scene

2010-10-01T05:13:00.000-07:00

The Professor enters with a smile
Starts to observe after a while

Someone taking notes
Another Participating loads
Someone playing with a pen
Another thinking how to get 10 on 10

Someone looking down
Another has a frown
Someone wants to sleep
Another already asleep

Someone trying to impress a girl
Another(the girl) giving her hair a twirl
Someone playing with his phone
Another laughing alone

Someone talking to the neighbour
Another tasting lays' new flavour
Someone writing, maybe a poem
Another looking out, adoring the autumn

The Professor leaves with a smile
Keeps smiling for a while

India is my name

2010-09-23T04:30:00.000-07:00

I am dirty & I am populated
Just two out of hundreds of blames
But I am hungry & I am motivated
India is my name

I was wealthy & I was rich
The Golden Bird-My claim to fame
But I was robbed & I was ditched
India is my name

Many a hurdle I have crossed
Have failed for which no excuses that are lame
Still recovering from what I have lost
India is my name

I love all religions & castes
Filled with plateaus & plains
My diversity is so vast
India is my name

My people respect all relations
Not backward But love our shame
Filled with history & tradition
India is my name

I am proud of my people
Lost pride who are trying to reclaim
Growing despite the cripples
India is my name

Not to be confused as weak
I want peace to remain
Through discussion solutions I first seek
India is my name

Giving the world star after star
Across centuries it is still the same
From Zero to Nano car
India is my name

Renowed world over as a great host
My people help & don't think of any gain
Squeezing resources to get the most
India is my name

Home to the Taj & land of the Ganga
Leaving the world amazed
Always flying high is my Tiranga..India is my name!

The Indian Problem

2010-09-16T05:41:00.000-07:00

Travelling from Paris to Aix-En-Provence (a city in south of France) in a TGV train is an amazing experience. 800 kms in 3 hours-Well o Well! Having a look at the French country side that accompanies you on this journey, or for that matter on any train journey in this beautiful country, brings a whole lot of positive energy. You can’t help but say-This is the place to be!

Coming to France is my first trip outside India and I think it is a country that just has so much that I wish we had in India. You step on to the roads and you will realise that there is not a single piece of waste lying outside. You try to cross a zebra crossing and you will realise the respect people give to people travelling on foot. Look at the light turning red and HALT! Ask anything, say anything and whatever the conversation be; it will always end with “Merci” or “Thank You” as we know it in English. Visit a museum and look at the way the masterpieces have been preserved.

The first thing one looks out for at traffic lights in India is the traffic police, so that you can break the rules at the first given opportunity. People travelling on foot live a nightmare when they just can’t cross the road as no one will stop the car/bike/bus/truck for them. Someone asks you something weird and your reactions vary from “Kya!” to “I am in a hurry” to “Pagal lagta hai” to “Idiot” etc etc. I am not saying everyone does this, but most do.

And I think, France is heaven and India is so far away.
But in the same train, looking at the same country side, I find myself listening to Hindi/Punjabi songs on my phone. Then I start to think on opposite lines. Is it possible that the problem is not with the nation but with our attitude towards our nation? What is it that we have that some of the so called modern countries don’t? My language, my music, my movies and a whole lot of other things will be lost if I ever settle outside India. This makes me introspect-This is something I just can’t have here

Step onto any street of Delhi or Mumbai at any point of the day and you will see a world of activity going on. You find so much energy in whatever we Indians do. The loud music, the high pitch of our speech etc can be taken as us being loud but I think it just shows us to be expressive and passionate. Ask an Indian mother, who is the son of her sister’s brother-in-law’s nephew (not the sister’s son ofcourse  ) and in most probability she won’t take more than a second to answer. We love our relations and these relations are a chain that has no end. I don’t remember when was the last time I had food and someone didn’t take a bite of two from my plate. This is something unknown in this part of the world. Isn’t it amazing to share your food with friends and family, it just shows so much love and affection.

We have some of the most hard working and smart people in the world. An average Indian shop runs from 9 to 9 against 11 to 7 in France. As lovely as the Louvre might be, I can’t help but think-If we had not been stolen from umpteen times by people all across the world, we would still have all our relics and the resources to preserve them. If we had not been the victims of fate, we would still have been the “Golden Bird” and people would have had food to eat and the energy to take care of the surroundings. With 40% of the country not getting proper nourishment, a clean and crisp surrounding is a bit too much to ask as people have a lot more serious issues to worry about.

I am in no way trying to demean any other nation. Ofcourse there is a lot that is there to learn for us from the West. Every country, every society has quite a lot that it can teach the world. We Indians ourselves have started to think that we don’t have anything to share which is totally false. Let us not be critical, let us try to change!

DCET & The Changing Face of Student Politics

2010-09-05T17:22:00.001-07:00

One of my first memories of Panjab University, Chandigarh is Ankit Malik & Puneet Rooprai, two 2nd year seniors coming to my room and giving me my first lesson in Panjab University Politics, in process making me a SOPU member for life. But I also remember me having thought at that time, “ I have not come here for politics, I will study!” That might have been the case with most of the people entering Department of Chemical Engineering and Technology as politics is perceived as a thing for the law or arts guys. But PU is a place where you just can’t stay away from SOPU-PUSU or INSO & ABVP & SOI as well some may say. Looking at it all in hindsight, I don’t think I regret having been an active supporter of SOPU or being “involved” in politics. I think it in reality, it lead me in discovering a totally different side of myself.

I was as staunch a supporter of SOPU as one could be but I was good friends with a lot of people who didn’t support my party. There used to be a tradition in our hostel that some seniors were baptised as fathers of some juniors, based on how close they are to each other. Ironically, my “godfather” was Rahul Ravi- a PUSU member and so were most of his friends. But that never was a bone of contention in our relations. We did our best to make sure that we bring success to our parties but we never fought our such stuff. I don’t remember having seen any Senior-Junior alternations because of politics during my first couple of years in DCET. Now that I am no more enrolled as a student in the University and am not directly involved in the elections or any related activities, I realise things have drastically changed. Or were they changing when I was there?

Panjab University Campus Students Council elections have recently concluded and PUSU won 3 out of 4 seats in the council. I am myself disappointed by the result, but what pains me even more is the Facebook wars going on between various supporters of both parties from my department. What hurts me even more is the fact that in majority of the cases, it is a case of seniors(in some cases- passouts) and juniors having a full frontal attack on each other. Something that was unheard of in “our times.” I don’t know what is the reason for it-It can be the sudden rise of Facebook which has given wings to people’s thoughts, It can be the fact that now “ragging” is banned unofficially as well as officially so juniors probably have no real nor apparent respect for the seniors, it can also be due to our dedicated efforts in making our juniors loyal to our party more than anything else or it maybe due to some other reason or maybe due to a mix of reasons. But, I know it is not good for the future batches of my beloved DCET( can’t get used to UICET).

So just a heartfelt request to my fellow DCETians, support your party as much as you want to, just have some respect for your fellow batchmates, seniors & juniors even if they support some other political outfit. I think you will enjoy your stay in the university much more.

The Indian Trip

2010-08-24T14:27:00.000-07:00

Jeremy Baines was a 32 year old businessman who had recently taken over from his father as the Managing Director of their £ 500 mn family business based out of Southampton, England. Baines Textiles Co. manufactured clothes under the brand name of YOUNG which was a Semi premium clothing brand & was considered among the best in this segment in the United Kingdom. Jeremy was a commerce graduate who went on to do his MBA from Cambridge University, just like his father. There family business was now 45 years old. It was started by Jeremy’s grandfather Thomas Baines at a local level, taken to a national level by his father Colin & Jeremy aimed to take this business international. Baines’ were already getting their clothes manufactured from Ludhiana in India, which was known for its textiles industry. Hence, Jeremy thought that it would be a good idea to start his international experiment from India, since India was an upcoming economy with people constantly shifting towards branded clothing, there was huge business potential in the country.

For this purpose, Jeremy thought of entering into an alliance with an Indian company which could market the clothes in India as the Indian market couldn’t be handled the same way as it was being done in England. He decided to go and personally meet the two companies that had been shortlisted by the marketing department of the company. Jeremy was being assisted by Rajat Malhotra, an Indian friend who had been of great help while finalising the Indian manufacturing contracts as well. As Baines Co were also in the process of finalising possible alliances in US and Canada as well, Jeremy made sure that the meetings took place on the same day so that he had to spend minimum time out of office. Both the shortlisted companies were based out of Bombay so his meetings were scheduled on the same day, one on both sides of lunch.

Jeremy’s wife, Trish and 6 year old daughter, Stacy were very excited with Jeremy’s India trip and Jeremy agreed to take them along. The Baines landed in India the night before the meetings were scheduled. The return flights were booked for 3 days later. They were to put up in Hotel JW Marriot in Bandra, where the meetings were also scheduled to take place.

Jeremy’s first meeting started at 1000 and in the meanwhile Trish & Stacy left to have a look at the city they had all heard so much about. Stacy was particularly excited about visiting the Gateway of India which she had recently read about in her history books. They were accompanied by Rajat’s wife, Anjali. They spent most of the morning in and around Bandra. They went to Bandra Bandstand and to Juhu beach. They were particularly surprised by the number of people standing outside the houses of Shahrukh Khan and Amitabh Bachhan. Anjali explained to them the reason for this hoard of people outsides the houses. They ofcourse had heard the names but had no idea how big they were. Stacy put into perspective when she said, “So, they are like the Beckhams of India.” Anjali had to agree but added, “Maybe more. Atleast in India!”

At about 5 pm, Jeremy called Trish to inform her that he had decided to award the contract to Arvind Textiles but it will take him another couple of hours to finalise the contract and some other formalities. Since, Jeremy knew about Stacy’s excitement towards visiting the Gateway of India, he fixed a date with his wife and daughter to catch them for dinner at the Taj Mahal Palace at 8 p.m. In the meanwhile, Anjali decided to take the mother-daughter pair for a trip to the south of Mumbai. The resemblance this part of the city had to the English style and architecture was almost impossible to miss. Trish was surprised by how different this country and city was from what all she had read and saw. She had a totally different mental image of the city after recently having seen Slumdog Millionaire, which was currently a huge hit in Britain. But, she was also surprised by how much variety this city had to offer, where some parts of the city were full of slums and filth, another part of the city looked like the home to the elite. It was a city where you could find a group of burqa clad women walking next to a group of women walking in their ultra modern attire and no one seemed too shocked or surprised looking at the other. She felt she had already learnt more about India than she ever could from books and movies. She decided to convince Jeremy for a full fledged vacation in India next time around. Stacy on the other hand was having an experience of her own. Having been brought up in the calm and relaxed environment of Southampton, she was enjoying the mad rush of the city. Where her mother was despising the traffic, she loved it whenever there car stopped at a traffic signal and a line of cars would soon queue up behind them.

At 8:10 p.m., Trish and Stacy reached the Taj Mahal Palace along with Anjali and were greeted by Jeremy and Rajat in the lobby itself. Rajat and Anjali excused themselves citing prior commitments despite a lot of persuasion from Jeremy and Trish. They headed towards the restaurant Rajat had recommended after seeing them off. Trish had always taken a lot of interest in the business so Jeremy updated Trish about all that took place that day. He was rather satisfied with how it had gone. Stacy was getting bored with all the business talk. So it was her chance to explain to her father what all she did during the day and what all she found interesting about the city. Jeremy was also getting excited to learn more about the city. He was glad when Trish proposed the idea about visiting India their next vacation.

They asked for the cheque as the clock struck 10. Stacy was still not satisfied as her wish of visiting the gateway had still not been fulfilled. As they came down to the lobby, Stacy got super excited as she got a glimpse of the Gateway. Jeremy asked Trish to go after Stacy as he went to the washroom.

As Trish and Stacy crossed to the road, and were moving towards the Gateway, they heard gun shots. Trish turned towards the hotel entrance and saw some men entering the hotel with guns in hand. Stacy was crying, Trish had no idea what to do but she knew she had to get her act together. She took Stacy and hid behind the Shivaji Statue in front of the Gateway of India. One of the terrorists who had attacked the hotel noticed them while entering the hotel and came back and shot in their direction. The Maratha Warrior was there to save the mother-daughter duo. As the terrorist moved back in, Trish’s first reaction was to grab her phone and call Jeremy but she just couldn’t reach him. She again tried calling Jeremy but the same result. She tried again and the operator informed her that the phone is switched off. She was panicked and afraid. It had been 15 minutes now that she had been hiding behind the statue. She saw a rush of police vehicles followed by Press Vehicles arrive. She wanted to talk to someone to get some information about Jeremy but didn’t want to move as Stacy was also in danger. She couldn’t leave her alone as she was in no position to stay here by herself. She had been crying from the moment this started. She decided to wait. Her wait went on and it had been an hour when a couple of reporters came towards her to set up there station. She waved frantically as she was still afraid to make noise. One of the reporters saw her and they came running towards her. She explained the situation to them. They told her that its impossible to get inside the hotel but they will try to get any information if possible. Just when her hopes were dying down, she saw a group of 5 men come running out of the Hotel’s front entrance. She saw him running out in his black suit. A look from 100 metres far was still enough to spot him. As Stacy saw her father, she made a run for him but Trish was quick to catch her. She still couldn’t take the risk of letting her daughter run free in that situation. But she couldn’t stop Stacy from shouting, “DAD.” This was enough for Jeremy to spot his daughter. He came running towards his wife and daughter. He came and hugged both of them. This was the
first time after her birth that Jeremy was happy to see his daughter cry as he knew it could have been worse.

The Baines did return for their Indian holiday.They were the first to check into the hotel after Taj Mahal Palace reopened two years later.

A work of fiction,inspired from a real incident

*Dedicated to the 166 men & women who lost their lives in 26/11 terror attacksin Mumbai*

The Volvo Connection

2010-08-22T08:42:00.001-07:00

It was a cold January night in Delhi with temperature having fallen to 2 degree Celsius. The rain was making it worse. He had just missed the 0030 Volvo by a whisker. The next Volvo was to leave at 0130 hours. He couldn’t even think of travelling 5 hours in a normal bus in this chilling cold. It being a Friday night meant that there was already a big queue at the ticket counter, which made him realise that even if he had reached on time he wouldn’t have got a ticket for the 12:30 bus. He was no. 10 in the queue which gave him a sense of relief as he was almost certain to get a ticket. It had been a year now since Ansh Arora had been regularly taking this Delhi-Chandigarh Volvo, that too on Friday nights in most cases, but he had still not got used to this mad rush and standing in queues for the bus. The sale of tickets had still not started as the bus was yet to reach the bus stand. The number of people behind Ansh was way beyond the number of seats in the bus. He never understood why people wasted so much time in the queue when they had no hopes of getting a ticket. All of a sudden there was a lot of commotion around the counter as the bus had come and the conductor had taken his seat at the ticket counter. Some people made an attempt to give money to others standing in the front of the queue so that they may buy a ticket for them, which always was accompanied by shouts and abuses from everyone at the back. Suddenly a girl came towards Ansh and said, “Hi Rahul, Here is what you asked for” and handed him a note which read:

Please do me a favour. Buy a ticket for me and I will pay you in the bus .If you don’t have enough money just call for me and ask for it.
Aamya

Ansh was surprised at first but after reading the note, his first reaction was “Nice Move.” He turned and looked at the girl. Her clothes were drenched with water and water was dripping from her hair. But she still had a certain class about her and her beauty was quite visible. She was wearing a red coloured jacket with blue jeans accompanied with a nice pair of footwear. Ansh had always believed in the philosophy he picked up from a story he had read in school-You can always judge a person by his/her footwear. The story had actually talked about just the colour, but Ansh made it more subjective and if the footwear were to his liking, he considered the person worth talking to. Since the girl passed the footwear test, wasn’t half as bad looking and was certainly pretty clever, he thought he is going to have a nice journey. He thought of making a move of his own and looked at her. She had now changed into a new set of clothes-A black cardigan to go with a new pair of jeans. He said, “Hey, Aamya. Why don’t you grab a couple of packets of chips?” and ended it with a wink. Aamya couldn’t help a smile.

As Ansh got out of the line with two tickets in hand, people had no idea how a 20 something Aamya Chauhan had got her ticket without getting into the trouble of standing in the queue and one person who was supposed to get that ticket would now have to go shivering in a normal roadways bus.

The bus was supposed to leave in about ten minutes and Ansh made a move towards his fellow passenger. Since he had asked for two tickets, it was understandable that they got adjoining seats. As he handed over the ticket to her, she took the ticket and said thanks. Ansh introduced himself, “By the way, Its Ansh. Rahul is too common” to which she replied, “ Mine will still be Aamya.” Both of them started to laugh.

Both of them took their seat in the bus as the bus started its engines. After the initial customaries, Aamya had not shown a lot of interest in Ansh and had got busy with her phone-A couple of phone calls and then some texts. The first thought that crossed his mind was what any single(or maybe not) young male in his early 20’s would have-Whether or not does she have a boyfriend?

Aamya was currently having this conversation with her best friend Tia.

A-What sort of a guy is he. There were 10 people in front of him in line, I could have approached anyone of them but I chose him. Isn’t that a signal enough that I am interested in him? Now does he expect me to bend over and kiss him?

T-I am sure he won’t mind that...lol...Maybe he is just showing attitude? Does he seem like that kind.

A- No, not at all. Hes just so sweet, I don’t think he is at all the attitude types. Already has a girlfriend maybe

T-But you said on the phone that you have not seen him talking on the phone or texting since you saw him

A-Not all couples are like that-talking all the time. Anyways, I am on roaming right now. Can’t message anymore. Will inform you if something happens. Catch ya in the morning. Gn. Tc

Ansh had never been diplomatic with his words so as soon as Aamya kept the phone in her bag, “Boyfriend?” he asked. Aamya just managed to control her laughter and managed to say, “ No, a friend.” This was enough of a signal for Aamya to understand that the guy is interested, maybe a bit shy. She decided to play the waiting card as she didn’t want to show him that she too was interested.

Almost forty five minutes had passed and the bus was about to leave Delhi, Aamya had fallen asleep and her head fell on Ansh’s shoulder. As soon as she noticed, Ansh kept on looking at her beautiful face slowing alongwith the orange lights across the city. He felt an urge to touch her soft cheeks or play with her hair but he knew he will have to control himself. The driver had to put instant brake as a cow turned up in front of the bus. Aamya woke up with the jerk and caught a glimpse of Ansh trying to turn his face, but he was just a bit late. Aamya felt a bit embarrassed but had a smile on her face because after long she had met a guy who was admiring her beauty and wasn’t being ridiculous at that. Most of the guys she met acted too smart and would try and flatter her with remarks about her face and beauty. She was liking the way Ansh was secretly looking at her so she decided to do away with the “never be the first mover” rule as she anyways had made the first move at the bus stand.
“Don’t like talking to girls?” She said

Ansh- Nothing like that. Just that you came and got busy with the phone so I thought you were just interested in the ticket and may think of me as some despo who starts to pester a girl just because he bought her a bus ticket.

Aamya-Well if someone helps me get into a bus which I had no hopes of getting into, I won’t consider him trying to talk as pestering. You think of me as some bitch-Just Interested in the ticket...huh

Having recently come out of a relationship having spanned a good two years, it wasn’t easy for Ansh to start a conversation with a girl or to “hit” on her so as to say. Flirting with some cheeky lines was one thing but actually being involved in a proper conversation was something different.

Ansh-I am sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.

Aamya- Its ok. I am just kidding. So what do you do?

Ansh-I am currently pursuing my MBA from IIM Indore.

Aamya-Oh. So an IIM guy! No matter you think it beyond your level to try and start conversations with girls

Ansh-Believe me IIM guys are the last people on earth who can have that arrogance.

Aamya-What makes you say so.

Ansh- You haven’t seen the kind of girls we have in our batch. We have a popular joke that girls at IIMs should be rather addressed as Non-Males. Even those who are decent looking have hoards of men after them as they are rare. Guys like Chetan Bhagat are rare as he himself has pointed out in his book.

Aamya-I am sure you are exaggerating. It can’t be that bad

Ansh-Well, ya maybe not that bad but if we mellow it down then girls like you won’t take pity on us and we may lose the chance of being considered by some good girls.

Aamya-I take this as a compliment, Thank you. And where were these plethora of words lost before I started this conversation. I was beginning to doubt myself.
Aamya laughed at her own flirtatiousness.

Ansh-Told you, didn’t want you to think of he as some mauke ka fayda uthane wala.

Aamya-Maine bhi to wahi kiya. Bura Kya hai!

Both started to laugh.

Ansh- What about you. What do you do?

Aamya- I just passed out of UIET, Panjab University last year. Currently working with TCS in Mumbai.

Ansh- Oh really. I passed out of DCET, a year prior to you I think.

Aamya thought for a while and asked, hoping she is wrong, “ Are you the Ansh Arora who was dating our senior Isha Singh?”

Ansh was not expecting this at all.

Ansh-Ya. I was the one.

Aamya read(or imagined) a certain reluctance in his voice

Aamya-You didn’t seem to like the question

Ansh-Ah, Not exactly. We broke up some time back. We are still friends but I don’t want my past to hamper any chances I may have in the future.

“Or in the present” she thought and almost smiled. But she had a doubt cropping in her mind-Was he over her, as they were known to be one of the most popular couples in college. People thought they may even go on and marry.

It had been more than an hour since they finally started talking but the last hour went before it came. They both knew there was a chemistry going on but both had some doubts. Will it end as just another crush or will something bloom from this chance meeting?

The Bus halted near Karnal for about 15 minutes. Some people got off the bus, others preferred to sleep inside the cosy atmosphere of the bus instead of the facing the teeth clenching chill. Ansh & Aamya were just sitting when Ansh asked, “Would you like to out on coffee with me?” Aamya was impressed by how Ansh always had a cheeky line for every moment. She had no option but to say yes, she was in awe of this guy from the moment she saw him and the feeling kept getting stronger from the moment he started to talk. But, she added, “ I thought you will never ask me out. And here of all places?”

Ansh was again swift with his reply, “ Can’t take the liberty of being late with everything. Can I?”

It was the most unique first date Aamya had ever had-Having coffee at a roadside joint which isn’t exactly a Barista! But then, nothing in this meeting had been the usual for her. A girl who was no stranger to guys hovering all around her felt strange falling for a guy at first sight. If that wasn’t enough, having to make the first move.

As they got back into the bus, they both felt a bit sleepy but both were trying to get rid of their sleep and the coffee had helped a bit in that regard. Soon they knew where both of them lived, what cars they drive, who were there best friends and all the details one might have thought of getting to know in the first meeting.
This time it was Ansh who slept on Aamya’s shoulder. But, what Aamya did was more or less what Ansh had done. She just kept looking at him. All doubts she had of whether or not he had forgotten Isha were gone but what about him? She could tell from the way he was looking at her throughout the journey that he also felt a connection but was he ready? She thought of calling Tia and consulting but she was afraid that he may get up and will certainly not like to hear whatever she felt like asking. She decided to go with her gut instinct.

As the bus reached Sector 35 , she reluctantly nudged Ansh to wake him up. Ansh had no idea that he had been asleep for almost an hour. She lived in Sector 37 so she generally got down at 35 but she gave it a miss this time. He got up and gave her a smile. She reciprocated. As the bus finally reached its final halt, they both got down . Aamya had decided that she will go whichever way he took her-If he wants to take it forward, she will be glad but if he feels he is not ready, she will just let it be.

Aamya-“So thats it”
Ansh-“Would it be alright if I dropped you home in an auto.”
Aamya’s apprehensions flew away
She just smiled, walked to him & held his hand.

Love Doesn't need time, it just needs a chance

This is my first short story. So your feedback will be highly appreciated and will go a long way in helping me improve in the future.

A welcome change

2010-08-21T10:17:00.000-07:00

Political debates in India have generally been about Congress and BJP ripping each other apart, with the third front (if one exists) parties taking a side whichever is convenient to them. The last week has been a welcome change in that regard. Be it the nuclear liability bill or be it the increase in salaries of MPs, the two parties have shown a united face. I don’t earn my bread through premature interpretations or by creating controversies hence I won’t make an attempt to read between the lines. I am just happy to see the two principal parties in the country come together on some issues and forget secularism or pseudo secularism for some time. At the same time, I feel it is necessary for the media and other sections of the society not to develop unnecessary connections and mislead people into territories which stregthen the already very strong anti-political sentiment in the society. We should just see this as an attempt on part of these two parties to seek whats good for the country, unanimously.

It was great to see Manish Tewari, the Congress Spokesperson, saying on television that there will always be two schools of thought as in how to run the country which is infact good for the country as people have two choices. Of course, this welcome change has not been welcomed with open arms by the likes of Lalu Prasad and left parties. Lalu Prasad has accused BJP and Congress of a secret deal where BJP has supported the N-liability bill in lieu of Narendra Modi going scot free in the Gujarat Riots case. This outrageous accusation(outrageous because this is Congress’ biggest accusation and point gatherer against BJP so there is no way Congress will let go of Modi) stems out from the fact that Bihar elections are due this year and Lalu wants to garner some Muslim support. But I guess Mr Lalu has already got more publicity than he deserves so enough of him. On a question of why such unity is not seen more often, one of the senior members of CPM said on a TV show that BJP and Congress keep changing their statements depending on whether they are in government or in opposition, hence we should not expect the “coming together” that often. To this, Manish Tewari was quick to point out, “so you are conceding that atleast you will never be coming to power” which brought a laughter to all panellists sans the left leader. Such calm and jovial atmosphere is generally not visible these days but if it continues, we can have a situation where good discussions on the floor of the parliament may help the MPs, atleast from the main parties, justify there “300%” salary hike.

Lock Up "English Version"

2010-08-11T00:57:00.000-07:00

Preet Harpal's famous punjabi song-Lock Up, which went on to become one of the biggest hits of 2009 is being presented underneath in a totally new form-in english. But first the punjabi lyrics have been given in case you don't know them...

Mahengian zameena khula bapu kole cash
Chandigarh pare munda kare puri aish
Rahe ghumda oh sari dehari
Mape kende jaajh ban-na munda hawalat geya kai vari...

Gaddi de bonnet utte rakh k shraab
Pegg khichi jande varo vari o janab
Geya chakea o sane safari
Mape kende jajj ban-na munda hawalat geya kai vari....

Naal bethi hove jado sohni class mate
Red light ute v nai lagdi break
Maar jande dono shimle udari
Mape kende jajj ban-na munda hawalat geya kai vari...

Pind ja k PREET aukha kam karna
Sara din duph vich cham sarna
Rendhi yaad sada colegiaan di yaari
Mape kende jaajh ban-na munda hawalat gaiya kai bari...

Now, the English Version

Real Estate and loads of cash
This is what his father has
Studies in chandigarh
Roams around with many a lass
Judge his parents want him to become
Hes generally in jail or on the run

His Safari acts as a bar
Drinking capacity won him many a stars
Police acted one day
Caught him along with his car
Judge his parents want him to become
Hes generally in jail or on the run

When driving with a hot looking babe
Dont ever feel like pressing the brakes
His bike becomes a flight
A flight to Shimla they take
Judge his parents want him to become
Hes generally in jail or on the run

Village life is very very rough
In the heat, things become real tough
Oh my dear college friends
Of you I can never have enough
Judge his parents want him to become
Hes generally in jail or on the run

P.S.- I have tried to stick to the original lyrics as much as possible but have taken creative liberty at points to make it rhyme

The City Beautiful

2010-08-08T03:49:00.000-07:00

A place where life will always be colourful
The City Beautiful

We often Complain about the life at night
But in the day a "tota" is never out of sight

Be it Rendezvous, Silver or Score
Guys come with a hope to score

Roads that don't know what are jams
All thanks to Carbousier's plans

If you love Mercs n BMWs the city is a treat
Home to the elitest of the elite

Wondering why FR, DT n Centra are so small?
Just because 17 is so tall

Chandigarh, Panchkula or Mohali
Tricity is in a different shade till new year starting Diwali

Uphill is such a famous word
Morni & Kasauli complete our world

SOPU n PUSU always on the hunt
Sometimes brutal, sometimes just a stunt

PEC, DAV or University
Filled with students and diversity

Be it terrace,rock or rose
Of sheer bloom it is a dose

When it rains the city shines
With beauty Chandigarh rhymes

What I miss the most,Is it the lake?
Or those sector 10 shakes?

Those drives better known as geris
Or girls like the ones in fairies?

Coffee at CCD, barista & Java Daves
Or Nik's fruit punch I most crave?

I think it is just the city
And all its nitty gritties

Facts

*Words like "tota" and "geri" are trademark Chandigarh...In case you are unaware,
Tota- A good looking girl-Not derogatory, rather the biggest compliment
Geri-Drives in front of girls' colleges

*Nik Baker is a Chandigarh based bakery/coffee shop

*Kasauli & Morni are small hillstations near Chandigarh

*PEC & DAV are colleges

*SOPU & PUSU are the principal student parties in Panjab University

*FR,DT & Centra are the malls in Chandigarh

*Le Carbousier was the architect who designed Chandigarh

*Rendezvous, Silver n Score are all discs

Goodbye

2010-08-06T20:31:00.000-07:00

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 13; the thirteenth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

A tribute

It just doesn’t seem right
Because he did nothing wrong
Now, forever, he is out of sight
But he did nothing wrong

His parents loved their son just like anyone else
But what can they do now
All the plans they had have to be shelved
But what can they do now

Smiling & laughing with friends in the morning
Gone he was in the night
Laughter turned into mourning
Gone he was in the night

Makes you take a different look at life
Loss of someone you know
Devalues stupid rivalries and strifes
Loss of someone you know

Life will have to go on just life before
Goodbye, Rest in peace
But he will be missed, who is nomore
Goodbye, Rest in Peace

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Grandfather of Cricket

2010-08-03T02:07:00.000-07:00

Donned the mantle for 20 years now
He has managed it for so long. How?
Having won us many a match
What defines Indian Cricket is Sach!

November 1989 was such a long time back
Since then he has been collecting runs stack after stack
He might have been eluded of that 300
But who else can claim a ODI 200

Humbled them when he was just out of the cradle
Then went on to invent the paddle
He kept hammering them all
Fielders were left chasing the ball

No matter how hard Bucknor or Denness tried
Or keepers claiming edges lied
Be it ODI’s or tests
He kept making bowlers look like a jest

Not a player him who doesn’t admire
Some “experts” keep asking him to retire
He carries on that cover drive followed with a nod
That is why for billions he is GOD

He gave Warne nightmares
Even the Don thought he is rarest or the rare
As he turns the grandfather of international cricket
Hope even longer he stays on the wicket

Traces

2010-08-01T04:28:00.000-07:00

People come and people go
But they always leave traces
Those traces make life glow

Some friends and some foes
But they all play a role
Then you don't but in retrospect you know

I met a jerk sometime back
I thought why me?
But now to spot such jerks I have a knack

Some friends weren't friends afterall
But I forgive them
They introduced me to friends I give late night calls

Life never does just like that
As absurd as it may seem
It always involves a thinking hat

More than meets the Eye

2010-07-29T07:25:00.000-07:00

It was one of those rare sunday afternoons in January,2007 when the Sun came out.
Sahil and me had gone to some educational seminar in Sector 33. Ya you can say-What sorta guys go to such seminars but in my defence, that was my first and last time. Anyway, as we were looking for an auto to come back, we couldn't find one and came by foot to Sector 32 Government hospital where we finally got lucky. This journey from Sector 32 to Panjab University turned out to be the most outrageous auto ride I have ever had in life.

As soon as we reached the first of those "typically Chandigarh" round-abouts, our auto was about to hit another one when our auto-walla started to hurl all sorts of abuses in the typically bihari accent at his opposite number. This was something that always happens among auto-wallas but our man seemed to be of a different level altogether. Mother,sister, wife and what not; he didnt spare a single memeber of the poor fellow's family. As we moved on from there, another poor soul had the misfortune of crossing paths with us, this time on a rickshaw and he was greeted with similar greetings. During those 15 something minutes that we were in the auto, He made it a point that he spit his paan on the road every 10 seconds. A minute didn't go by when he didnt shout at one of the poor cycle, scooter,bike or car wallas who were unlucky enough to have crossed us on that journey. Me and Sahil were looking at each other time and again; sometimes laughing, sometimes bewilered-What is this guy?

As we reached the university, we were somewhat relaxed that it was over but somewhere we would have liked to contine as well-It was actually fun as long as we were not on the receiving end. We were supposed to give him a pre decided sum of Rs 60 but we were not carrying any change so he stopped the auto near the University market after a brief mention of how utterly stupid we were for not carrying change. I went to get the change and Sahil stayed back. But, I was in for a shock when I came back with the change. Sahil was involved in a deep conversation with the auto-walla, in English! As I kept on staring, looking at Sahil and then at the auto-walla. He looked at me, took out his hand and introduced himself as Mr X, Regional Manager for Whilpool.He said he started this auto-thing as a weekend time-pass and started to enjoy it and decided to continue. I was totally perplexed and didnt know what to say. He went on to tell us that his father was a doctor at Aligarh Medical College and his wife was a doctor at PGI. His auto was rented out to some "proper auto-walla" during weekdays. He said he generally doesnt reveal his identity but he thought of doing an exception when Sahil told him that both of us were also engineers like him. When we asked him about the abuses and the paan, He said, " If I don't do that stuff, people won't believe that I am actually an auto-walla."

As we started to walk towards the hostel, I think I was pinching myself to confirm if this actually happened.

Revealing Mr X's identity won't be good for his business i.e. if he still is driving autos on the roads of Chandigarh as weekend time-pass.