Disclaimer :- All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
July 18, 1920
Dear Pratap
I hope this letter finds you in the best of health and spirits. You will be glad to know that I have safely reached England. I know you are probably still angry that I left without informing you. Believe me it was not easy for me as well. I knew that if I told you that I am leaving, you would surely have come over to see me off but I don't think I would have been able to leave with you standing in front of me.
We shared a great relation in the last couple of months but it was bound to end and both of us knew it. You may feel that we could have tried to defy the obvious but do you really think we could have gone through with it without hurting anyone else? and we didn't want to hurt anyone, did we?
Hope to hear from you soon.
Yours
Elaine
July 18, 2010
Amey,
How many times do I have to tell you to stop bugging me. I am fed up of you. I have told you once that I don’t see any future in this relation. Stop giving me crap like I can’t stay without you and all this shit. For god’s sake, we were together for only a couple of months and who talks such stuff so early. We were just dating and having a good time. Now its over and it will be better for you if you accept it sooner rather than later.
Stop making a joke of yourself in front of my friends by pestering them all the time. Don’t ever dare call me or message me.
Tisha
P.S.-Don't accuse me of stereotyping. Just looking at things in extreme..
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Laughter of a Friend
Friends are people who make life what it is and this poem is dedicated to all my friends
It has always been the same
Laughter of a friend
One cracks a joke and the other goes insane
Laughter of a friend
Teased me when I cried
Laughter of a friend
Cheered me up and made me smile
laughter of a friend
Less frequent is these days
Laughter of a friend
But makes up for all the delays
Laughter of a friend
Always followed a massive fight
Laughter of a friend
Made living into what we call life
Laughter of a friend
It has always been the same
Laughter of a friend
One cracks a joke and the other goes insane
Laughter of a friend
Teased me when I cried
Laughter of a friend
Cheered me up and made me smile
laughter of a friend
Less frequent is these days
Laughter of a friend
But makes up for all the delays
Laughter of a friend
Always followed a massive fight
Laughter of a friend
Made living into what we call life
Laughter of a friend
Friday, July 9, 2010
Wish
This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 12; the twelfth 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 day doesn’t go by when we are not wishing for something or the other. Today I wish it would rain, tomorrow I would wish for the rain to stop. When I look back at what I wished for and look forward to the things I now wish for, it is not about whether or not my wishes came true or not, it is more about a pattern that exists.
My Wish When I was:-
9 yrs old- I was in class IV and there was nothing I wanted more than entering class VI and being a senior wing student in school.
15 yrs old-I was in class X now and all I wanted was to leave school as the world outside school was supposed to be heaven where I was not required to wear school uniform, where I would not have to give class tests, where I could bunk classes whenever I wanted to and where I will be with a girl whom I will start dating and have a good time with.
17 yrs old-A non-medical student in class XII can’t wish for more than getting admitted into an IIT. I wanted the same, just that I didn’t want to work hard for it.
20 yrs old- After not making it to an IIT- infact not even coming close, I ended up studying chemical engineering at Panjab University. I thought, “Maybe IIT never was my type of a thing, I am tailor made for an MBA.” Hence the latest on my wishlist was a wish to join an IIM.
23 yrs old- Now I am in an IIM and my wishes include a good job which pays well, a good business of my own someday, publishing a book someday........
When I look back at what I wished for and look forward to the things I now wish for, it is not about whether or not my wishes came true or not, it is more about a pattern that exists.
When I was a 9 year old, my wish was to go to a higher class in school. It was a wish which eventually had to come true and I knew that. But still my mind could not think beyond the things that just had to happen. So maybe, I only wish was if time could run faster or if I could skip a class or two in between.
At 15, my wishes started to evolve. I was starting to get fed up with the routine. I wanted to be independent & didn’t want any boundaries around me. My wishes now had a “wish” in them. They were things which I didn’t know will happen or not but I loved to think that they will. But if we look at the larger scheme of things, one day all this also had to happen. I may or may not have found a girlfriend in class XI/XII but someday I had to, a wife if not a girlfriend. So, the wants and fantasies of life were still real.
As I entered my late teens, I realised the importance of studies and career or rather others made me realise. If IIT was the aim in XII, IIM was the aim in graduation. I didn’t get what I wanted in XII but do I regret it now, No. I had a great time during my graduation and now I feel,” Thank God I didn’t make it to an IIT.”
Now, being the second year of my MBA and the final year of classroom education, I still have similar desires and wishes. Admission has turned into a job; a girl has changed into a published book and so on....
Putting everything into perspective, one thing that comes across clearly is that no wish is the “ultimate” wish. Had I not got into engineering, I might have got into arts and might have already written a book which I now dream of. Our wishes keep changing as we move on in life. A wish is granted, we wish for more. A wish is not granted, we again wish for the same or we find an alternative wish...
Wish I Knew what to wish for
Wish I knew what I want
Wish for wish you can & wish you will
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.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Is this what "We the People" are?
"I feel sad that I don’t have another son and that my son wasn’t married and had no children as I would have sent them as well to serve the nation." These were the brave words of Capt. Devender Singh Jass's mother when asked if she was repenting the fact that her son joined the army after he laid down his life for the country in J&K. Such passion and such courage says everything there is to be said about the Indian Army. I felt a sense of disgust while watching a discussion on the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) 1958 in We the People, a programme that runs every Sunday evening on NDTV. Some so-called human rights experts were accusing the army for all the excesses taking place on the civilians in Kashmir and the North East. Such people conveniently ignore the hardships the Indian Army goes through to make sure that we, including them, are safe. Asking for cutting down the powers of the army in terrorism affected regions like the North-East or Kashmir is like asking Sachin Tendulkar to hold the bat with just one hand while playing cricket. Just that the repercussions in the case of the army are going to be of a much higher scale.
My heart goes out to civilians and their families who have lost their lives during army operations in Kashmir and other parts of the country. There have been accusations that some of these killings have not been fatalities due to the operations but paid killings. I won't say that it is totally untrue as there never is smoke without fire but branding the entire army in the same category and cutting down their powers is no solution to this problem. We must remember that there are bad elements in every group, so we need to have checks and balances in place so that such bad elements in the army are not able to misuse the power that they have been given to serve the nation. But saying that the powers have to be curbed for proper implementation is nonsense. People in favour of this cutting down of the powers highlight the fact that fatalities in Kashmir have come down from 4507 in 2001 to 377 in 2009 which according to them shows that the situation has improved. They just tend to ignore the fact that it is because of AFSPA and the efforts put in by our armed forces that this decrease has taken place. The terrorists have on their end got stronger through better arms & advanced technology. If we commit the fatal error of repealing AFSPA, the situation can become worse than ever before.
Captain Devender Singh Jass used to tell his mother that what is there to live if you don’t live for a cause. By taking away the powers from the army, we would be telling them to fight for a losing cause. Is this how we, who according to a dialogue in my favourite film Lakshya “Are having a sound sleep because someone is awake on the border to take care of us”, want to payback those SOMEONES? Is this how we respect our soldiers? Is this what "We the People" are?
My heart goes out to civilians and their families who have lost their lives during army operations in Kashmir and other parts of the country. There have been accusations that some of these killings have not been fatalities due to the operations but paid killings. I won't say that it is totally untrue as there never is smoke without fire but branding the entire army in the same category and cutting down their powers is no solution to this problem. We must remember that there are bad elements in every group, so we need to have checks and balances in place so that such bad elements in the army are not able to misuse the power that they have been given to serve the nation. But saying that the powers have to be curbed for proper implementation is nonsense. People in favour of this cutting down of the powers highlight the fact that fatalities in Kashmir have come down from 4507 in 2001 to 377 in 2009 which according to them shows that the situation has improved. They just tend to ignore the fact that it is because of AFSPA and the efforts put in by our armed forces that this decrease has taken place. The terrorists have on their end got stronger through better arms & advanced technology. If we commit the fatal error of repealing AFSPA, the situation can become worse than ever before.
Captain Devender Singh Jass used to tell his mother that what is there to live if you don’t live for a cause. By taking away the powers from the army, we would be telling them to fight for a losing cause. Is this how we, who according to a dialogue in my favourite film Lakshya “Are having a sound sleep because someone is awake on the border to take care of us”, want to payback those SOMEONES? Is this how we respect our soldiers? Is this what "We the People" are?
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Rainy Day
Fed up of the heat,
people had accepted defeat.
rain has brought a new hope,
forced the sadness to elope.
A droplet of water fell on my face,
suddenly heaven-like felt the place.
As the water came gushing down,
cheers echoed in the entire town.
Now as the rain drizzles down,
I see smiles, smiles all around.
Dancing in the rain made me feel like a child again,
I hope forever in me this child remains.
Sing or dance or whatever be your way,
Just enjoy, today is Rainy Day!
people had accepted defeat.
rain has brought a new hope,
forced the sadness to elope.
A droplet of water fell on my face,
suddenly heaven-like felt the place.
As the water came gushing down,
cheers echoed in the entire town.
Now as the rain drizzles down,
I see smiles, smiles all around.
Dancing in the rain made me feel like a child again,
I hope forever in me this child remains.
Sing or dance or whatever be your way,
Just enjoy, today is Rainy Day!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Pokerface
They sit around a table
reading each other
they look at their cards
a smirk here, a frown there
others just pokerface
You think you have a strong hand
But is it strong enough?
It is all relative
pocket aces can ruin you
Unsuited 2&5 can make your day
A pre flop raise takes place
some1 folds, some1 does a re-raise
Flop,turn,river,heads up
The bleeding warrior comes all in
Matched,bluff caught, go home!
An alarm rings at 5
enough they say
2 more hands, a proposition comes
a few all ins & buy ins later
Poker stays awake
reading each other
they look at their cards
a smirk here, a frown there
others just pokerface
You think you have a strong hand
But is it strong enough?
It is all relative
pocket aces can ruin you
Unsuited 2&5 can make your day
A pre flop raise takes place
some1 folds, some1 does a re-raise
Flop,turn,river,heads up
The bleeding warrior comes all in
Matched,bluff caught, go home!
An alarm rings at 5
enough they say
2 more hands, a proposition comes
a few all ins & buy ins later
Poker stays awake
Monday, June 28, 2010
Go.....Go...Gone
Pressure can do two things to you-make you perform better or destroy you. Destruction is what has been happening with the England football team for a long time now. Put Rooney, Lampard, Gerrard, Terry, Ashley Cole in the same club and they will give you great results day in day out. But what England did in South Africa was not great rather no where near it.
England came into the tournament as a cetainity for Quarters with the kind of draw they had got. Fabio Capello had infact gone on record saying that anything less than the final would be an under performance. I, at that time agreed with Don Fab based on the Qualifying campaign England had where they performed with class and dominance overcoming the dissapointment of not having qualified for Euro 2008. England had infact ripped apart their nemesis in the Euro Campaign, Croatia, in both their qualifying matches. It seemed as if Fabio Capello had finally turned a group of world class players into a World Class team. But, the way England started the campaign put serious doubts over that claim. England were unlucky that they conceded a freakish goal against USA but the fact is they werent outrightly the best side on the field that day nor were they when couldnt score a single goal against minnows Algeria. The team finally showed some passion against Slovenia when they were in a do or die game but until the moment Defoe scored, England looked highly uncertain on the field which is never the case with any great team. But they seemed to have found a new will after that goal when things started to move and move swiftly.
Based on that one average performance, England made it through to the next round where because of their below par overall performance in the group round they had to face their perennial rivals, Germany- a team who also were missing their captain-Ballack but not the way England missed their's-Ferdinand. Germany made a mockery of the Endland defence and went on to win 4-1. England supporters can claim that had the linesman not made one of the worst decisions in recent times, things would have been different. But is that true? Agreed that England looked an altogether different side in the last 15 minutes of the first half. But that doesnt make up for the poor defensive performance. I have now followed England passionately for the last 3 world cups. England were underschievers then also but atleat they gave worthy performances. Those were the days when England were said to have the best defence and the best midfield, they were just missing good strikers and a good goalkeeper( David Seaman would have to live with the blunder). This time, they had NOTHING. If I reflect upon the performances of all England players, I think Ashley Cole was the only player who can say he performed well. Players like Rooney, Gerrard & Lampard showed that "What's there in the name?"
I dont think this pathetic performace can be explained by any other reason but the disability of the Eneglish players to play in crunch matches for their nations. Look at teams like Uruaguay, Slovakia & Paraguay. They dont have a single player who can compete with any of the English "greats" but they had the passion and brought out their best when it mattered the most. The Lampards and the Rooneys I feel are content with the salaries they earn at their clubs. In 2006, Beckham was dropped after having scored a match winning goal and having set up two on the way to Quarter Finals. A player who made up for the limited skill by immense passion for his country was dropped to take the "team" in a new direction. Will Rooney or Lampard be dropped this time? Or does the so called "skill" totally outweigh passion and the will to perform?
England came into the tournament as a cetainity for Quarters with the kind of draw they had got. Fabio Capello had infact gone on record saying that anything less than the final would be an under performance. I, at that time agreed with Don Fab based on the Qualifying campaign England had where they performed with class and dominance overcoming the dissapointment of not having qualified for Euro 2008. England had infact ripped apart their nemesis in the Euro Campaign, Croatia, in both their qualifying matches. It seemed as if Fabio Capello had finally turned a group of world class players into a World Class team. But, the way England started the campaign put serious doubts over that claim. England were unlucky that they conceded a freakish goal against USA but the fact is they werent outrightly the best side on the field that day nor were they when couldnt score a single goal against minnows Algeria. The team finally showed some passion against Slovenia when they were in a do or die game but until the moment Defoe scored, England looked highly uncertain on the field which is never the case with any great team. But they seemed to have found a new will after that goal when things started to move and move swiftly.
Based on that one average performance, England made it through to the next round where because of their below par overall performance in the group round they had to face their perennial rivals, Germany- a team who also were missing their captain-Ballack but not the way England missed their's-Ferdinand. Germany made a mockery of the Endland defence and went on to win 4-1. England supporters can claim that had the linesman not made one of the worst decisions in recent times, things would have been different. But is that true? Agreed that England looked an altogether different side in the last 15 minutes of the first half. But that doesnt make up for the poor defensive performance. I have now followed England passionately for the last 3 world cups. England were underschievers then also but atleat they gave worthy performances. Those were the days when England were said to have the best defence and the best midfield, they were just missing good strikers and a good goalkeeper( David Seaman would have to live with the blunder). This time, they had NOTHING. If I reflect upon the performances of all England players, I think Ashley Cole was the only player who can say he performed well. Players like Rooney, Gerrard & Lampard showed that "What's there in the name?"
I dont think this pathetic performace can be explained by any other reason but the disability of the Eneglish players to play in crunch matches for their nations. Look at teams like Uruaguay, Slovakia & Paraguay. They dont have a single player who can compete with any of the English "greats" but they had the passion and brought out their best when it mattered the most. The Lampards and the Rooneys I feel are content with the salaries they earn at their clubs. In 2006, Beckham was dropped after having scored a match winning goal and having set up two on the way to Quarter Finals. A player who made up for the limited skill by immense passion for his country was dropped to take the "team" in a new direction. Will Rooney or Lampard be dropped this time? Or does the so called "skill" totally outweigh passion and the will to perform?
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