How I changed sides

The world got divided into two groups as soon as Barrack Obama was announced the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize-one group cheered him….and the other group jeered.

The whole morning I contemplated which group to be in….I finally decided that I should belong to majority (as we all know “majority wins”), so I fell into the group that jeered and happily ridiculed him along with my friends.

Apparently the Nobel Committee had given him this award to encourage his peace making initiatives. Wow! Nowadays the Nobel Prize is being given to encourage too. At this point I must say that on a second thought, in spite of my jeering, somehow the optimism bug bit me. For many people like me who are “jack of all trades but master of none” this news symbolizes hope for the future. We could one day write a mediocre novel and win a Nobel to encourage us to write a better one………we could solve petty quarrels and win a Nobel to encourage us to pacify two fighting countries…………or we could perform simple chemical experiments and win a Nobel to encourage us to invent an immortality drug………the possibilities are numerous…..and the “encouragement” is worth a mind boggling 1.4 million dollars! In this dog eat dog world what could be more desirable than a little encouragement for our sincere attempts? So dear next door neighbor do not stop stargazing……you could win a Nobel in astrophysics. Psssssst…I do not want to beat my own drum but I guess I will be encouraged one day to write a bigger novel.

Indeed Barrack Obama is a symbol of hope for millions of people waiting to achieve something……..but wait……I just realized that I have changed sides…….by the tone of the article I guess I should be belonging to the group that cheered him. Now that’s unfortunate. I’m in the minority group and I’m going to have disagreements with my friends and family. Anyway it can’t be helped…………this is the magic of hope………..thanks Mr. Obama.

An age of chameleons

Today while returning home,on a crowded bus I heard a woman loudly exclaiming that all muslims were bastards(obviously in bengali) in response to a shove she got from the man in question.I really didn't understand how she came to the conclusion that he's a muslim.This sentiment is probably common in most people,even those who claim to be "highly educated".The communal divide that was created in our minds 62 years back by the English has remained intact even though we claim to be a modernised and liberal society.The divide is not only inter religion,but also intra religion.Few days back a Hindu Brahmin friend of mine declared that she's going to marry a Brahmin only and will never settle for the other low statured castes of the Hindu religion.I wanted to ask whether her Brahmin status will ever help her to escape a tsunami or become a multimillionaire.
I can't help remembering what Chetan Bhagat said recently in an interview.Well he said marrying outside your community is the best way of showing your patriotism.Its the best thing someone could have said to portray the mindset of almost all Indians.Even a Punjabi Hindu could face caste issues if he decided to marry a Tamil Hindu because the latter could be from a different sub caste,sub-sub caste etc....The "broad minded","free thinking" intelligentsia accepts and acknowledges the diversity of our nation only as long as they don't have to live with them.In diversity lies our unity.........I guess I heard this many times...but now I know that it means holding hands and declaring ourselves to be brothers and sisters in front of the media.It definitely doesn't mean the union of sperms and eggs!!
Recently a Hindu girl i know,suddenly broke up with her Christian boyfriend because she realized all of a sudden that her parents wont allow her to marry a non Hindu.Could there be a more dumber reason?If she had even spent half the time analysing her own life rather than analysing her future marriage she could have been a much better person.Anyway this is what our society is- chameleon like-pretending to be open minded but recoiling as soon as it comes to personal dealings.
Analysts say India is on the path of becoming a developed country.The GDP is rising,India shining,roads broadening,industries prospering,ministers smiling.......but the mind is narrowing.The divide and conquer algorithm of the Britishers had worked then and its still working....now on a higher scale.
In short we are yet to recover from the colonial hangover.
Well we are an independent country-in the sense that we now make our own government.But our minds are still ruled by the ideas inserted by the Brits,for their own benefit.
The age of chameleons is here to stay!

The Jinnah effect

The book about Jinnah written by Jaswant Singh has created quite a stir and my curious probing mind at once activated itself in an attempt to understand the reason behind this.Well, lets get the facts straight first.Mr Singh wrote a book on Jinnah and got himself expelled from the BJP party.Supposedly he spent four and half years writing this book.According to him Nehru and Sardar Patel conceded Pakistan to Jinnah.In the controversial book he has persistently glorified Jinnah,calling him a secular person while critiscising Nehru and Patel.Apparently his opinions on the ghosts of history did not find favour with the whole party.However his expulsion from the party exposed the weak and repressive face of the BJP party.Nothing less than this could be expected from a hindu fundamentalist party,headed by Narendra Modi-who played an integral role in the Gujarat communal riots of 2002.
I am too much of a layman to analyze the cause behind writing this controversial book,but I can see it has generated quite a lot of publicity.And inspite of my limited knowledge about this world and politics I can guarantee one thing-publicity,whether good or bad is certainly beneficial.His narrow minded party may have expelled him but he earned a lot of accolades from Pakistan.A lot of eminent personalities have applauded him for displaying "intellectual honesty and academic integrity".
This move by the BJP party has weakened its position even further.The narrow mindedness,limiting nature of our political parties is one of the major reasons of our underdevelopement as a nation.Instead of occupying themselves with the welfare of our country they like to occupy media space and spend time over frivolous issues blissfully forgetting that every Indian is entitled to his or her own view and has the right to express himself.
I'm quite curious about this fresh take on partition from a knowledgeable man.I think its quite interesting to get different views about a particular event.Anyway its just a book where a person has expressed his opinion.Does it change history?Certainly not.
A simple book manages to ruffle so many feathers of a "democratic" nation where people turn a blind eye to poverty,starvation and famine.What could be more ignominious than this?Its high time that we broadened our outlook and stopped creating an issue out of a non issue.

Book review

Recently i got hold of a book called "Bombay rain Bombay girls" by Anirban Bose.The first impression was bad.The unimpressive and unimaginative title made me feel that its another amateurish attempt by one of those numerous authors flourishing every where.
However it turned out to be quite the contrary.
Infact I couldn't keep down the book once i started reading it.Its a story about a small town boy Adi who has just earned himself a place at a prestigious medical college in Mumbai.The boy in question suffers from a huge inferiority complex and thinks that its just a stroke of luck and not his merit which made him secure the high rank in the medical exams. Someone tells him that there are two things he should look for in Bombay-the rain and the girls.So with excitement and anticipation he lands at the Victoria Terminus all the way from Ranchi.
Every page of the book turned out to be gripping.The book is fast paced and bubbling with energy.There was hardly a dull moment.Adi's tryst with love,his repulsion at the sight of a woman giving birth in the obstetrics class,conflicts with his closest friends provided an enjoyable read.
In the backdrop of Adi's life the author also highlighted some real and practical issues about our society.For instance he illustrated through his story how we Indians consider the northeasterners aliens because of their chinese features.In their own country they are often taunted and given the sense of being "different".In another instance he pointed out the dismal state of affairs at our government hospitals and the ill treatment meted out to the poor people who are unable to go to the private hospitals for treatment.
Anirban Bose has beautifully merged individual themes to create an overall charming effect which makes me think about the characters every now and then.An undercurrent of humor runs through this engrossing read.I applaud his efforts for providing the right dose of everything-romance,humor,practicality.
To summarise it all I would just say go grab the book!!!!!

Intriguing

I have noticed there are certain kinds of people whom you hate with all your heart,but sometimes you just cant stop yourself from being tender towards them.Its a really weird phenomenon.
There's a person i know who is almost equivalent to a stone.She's devoid of emotions and could be mistaken for a robot.She'll come to you only for help,and never even try to give anything in return.Her acts of selfishness are too obvious.
Yet something is different about her.
There are many people like her and i have always been pretty rude with them because i cant tolerate mean mindedness.But with her i feel its impossible to be rude.Infact i often end up talking to her as if she were my best friend.That's the thing about her which is mysterious.
You know that she's just fooling with you and probably talking to you because she again needs to be helped.Yet you go weak in your knees while talking to her.I've spent a lot of time thinking why this happens and I'm sharing this blog with you so that you know such a person when you meet.
Well i have partly understood the cause.The fact is that she appears sick,not in appearance but literally.Looking at her you'll feel like she's a delicate fragile creature,who'll faint any moment.She's got this delicate aura about her,which makes her so intriguing.
Come to think about it,if I suddenly become selfish and make it very obvious to people,I don't think anyone will even bother to talk to me again.But not with her,she'll overcome anything in the world with the silent announcement "I'm sick help me please!!!!!!".

Hope you are reading this-Mr Zardari

Have you heard that widower of the assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto-the present president of Pakistan-Mr Asif Ali Zardari or rather Mr Ten Percent has now lost his sense of humor??

Whats the big news in this you'd say?Indeed there is.A man who has for long joked about the welfare of his country,turned a blind eye to the rising corruption,political instability and economic meltdown has suddenly become serious!!!!!!

Infact so much is the extent of his seriousness that Pakistanis joke about Asif Zardari through text message, email or blog risk being arrested and given a 14-year prison sentence.
The country's interior minister, Rehman Malik, announced the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had been asked to trace electronically transmitted jokes under the new Cyber Crimes Act.
This former polo playing playboy suddenly developed thin skin at the barrage of jokes by the civillians and claims that it is a taint on the 'political leadership of the country'.
Well i feel glad that I'm not a Pakistani,coz I'm going to write really rotten stuff about you and let everyone read them.
Here are some of the jokes i got from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/5878525/Pakistan-president-Asif-Zardari-bans-jokes-ridiculing-him.html

Zardari jokes:

• "Terrorists have kidnapped our beloved Zardari and are demanding $5,000,000 or they will burn him with petrol. Please donate what you can. I have donated five litres."

• To commemorate the ascension to the Presidency, Pakistan Post has officially launched a new stamp. But the people of Pakistan are confused which side on the stamp to spit on.

• Robber: "Give me all your money!"

Zardari: "Don't you know who I am? I am Asif Ali Zardari."

Robber: "OK. Give me all my money"

Now comes my contribution:

Mr Asif Ali Zardari,

You are the epitome of gaucherie

What a long name have you got

Yet your actions stink of egg rot!!!!!

Lets see Mr 10% what you can do about this!!!!!

An eye opener-for KFC lovers

Know what these are?Wild guesses anyone?


This is what your favourite KFC outlet gives you to eat-GENETICALLY MANIPULATED ORGANISMS!!!!!!!

These are kept alive by tubes inserted in their bodies and these horrible fleshy 'chickens' have shrunken bone structure to get more meat out of them.

So all KFC lovers out there if this doesn't revolt you then probably nothing will.

Keep this image in mind,next time you have the mind numbing urge to taste the 'yummy' and 'delicious' fried 'chicken'!!!!!!!!!!!

my observations

The title must be baffling to you because i must have observed a million things since the day i was born.So it doesn't give you any clear indication about what exactly i am going to talk..........Well i observe the same things which i observed twenty years back but now the perception has changed.When i was a kid i saw black and i saw white but not the grey shades lurking between them-threatening to change the whole view of a person.......I also saw a straight line straight but now when i see the same line,i am surprised to find that it has become crooked..........I know what you are going to say now-my eyesight has gone bad,and i am probably a mad hatter who doesn't know what she's talking about.But there you are wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The line was always crooked but as a child i couldn't see the bend.

If you are a keen observer then you'll notice the grey zones everywhere,at least in most places.So keep observing.Meanwhile i'l be boring you with my heavy duty talk and my honest observations about life,love,sex,society,politics.....etc.