26 And STILL YET TO BEGIN !!!

Last year around the same time i wrote a small piece about being 25 and yet to begin. With the year gone by , with a bit more wrinkles on the forehead , with a bit more experience of people and of the world i believe its apt to think and write about what we middle class working professionals suffering from a mid life crisis go through.
I use this term for people in a particular age group with a very different outlook towards the world but yet related by a very similar crisis that we go through in our lives.

The time in the life when you should have at least got to start doing what you really want to do, the time when you should have a firm hold over your live's responsibilities , the time when you should have a good financial stability, the time when you should have finally decided upon the person you think can bear spending the whole life with you but instead of having achieved any of these you are rather spending days and nights in surviving the rat race that somehow manages to suck the life out of you. The very race that kind off doesn't allow you to fully explore your dreams and wont let you think about realizing your own passions.

These are the times when you probably have amazing ideas in your minds, ideas that according to you can shape a generations's future, ideas that you believe can restructure and revolutionize an entire set of people but instead of getting mad and following our own ideas we don't seem to come out of the rut that the professional space has created for us.
We think a lot about present and the future but we lack the necessary willpower to execute the ideas , the strength to make our very own ideas see the light of the day. Some might call this plain bad luck but in more precise terms this can be aptly called a lack of self confidence. The confidence that has somehow been dented by our very own actions in the corporate world that we have been a part of, the confidence that never gains an inch when the person you discuss your gigantic ideas with plays you and your ideas down not because he or she doesn't like it but partly because they are not ready or willing to come out of the already setup comfort zone and fight the whole damn system which in general terms is pretty tough but not impossible.

The times when you can clearly judge and understand that the more you grow in terms of positions and money in the corporate amalgamation the more your expenses grow and with it grows the ultimate desire of being satisfied in job and in life. The desire that you always thought would reach its pinnacle when you had a certain amount of money and certain passions to follow but we always tend to overlook the fact that this desire of ours could have never set a bench mark for itself instead it was always directed by our insatiable hunger of material benefits in life.

Its also a point in life when you are not able come to terms with the fact that your salary hasn't touched six figures and the passing out students from top notch colleges are still turning down salaries that extend well into eight figures for pursuing their dreams and doing something they always wanted to do.
It makes us wonder how can we unleash the inner demon of ours onto everything that stops us from taking the handle of our own lives and what can be done to sensibly follow the path that we set and remind ourselves of every night in our sub conscious minds.

In nutshell , Dream but with open eyes because no matter what your age is and what crisis you go through in life it is the dreams that always makes us go to infinite lengths to achieve something that we have always wanted to...!!

P.S--  The writer is about to be 26 and still Yet To Begin.. !!!

Haider - An outside perspective from an almost Insider !!

Having read all reviews, political statements, appreciations, rejections, expert comments from many esteemed people I finally decided to watch possibly the most politically tumultuous Bollywood movie made in the recent times that made headlines for all the right and wrong reasons ( the reasons being based on different perspectives which differ all around) and write my own thoughts towards it.

The movie ‘HAIDER’ an adaption of the iconic Shakespeare play “Hamlet” and based on the city from where I actually belong to but have never seen as an adult even though I am always told that I went to a heaven named  Kashmir with my family when I was 6 months old ( obviously I don’t even have a faint sense of memory of that trip) has a cast ensemble that probably brings together the most graceful actors of Bollywood and a script that somehow brings out the better from the best.

As the expert reviewers have pointed out that the movie has put the Indian Army in a bad light , some esteemed people have said that they have only shown one side of the story neglecting the plight of Kashmiri Pandits who were displaced from their homes , that the movie missed the bad conditions in which the Indian Army had to face the wrath of the terrorists , also that they have not shown anything about the 1995 kidnappings etc but in my viewpoint I believe that all this can be summarized by the fact that “Haider is just a movie”. You read books which depict and try to decipher what happened in the heaven on earth but it’s very difficult to get your hands on some book which tells you the stories from all the ends.  Our moon has blood clots, The Curfewed night and The Meadow  all tell you stories and facts from only one or a couple of perspectives and never take into account all the thoughts and perspectives all around which are important or not is precisely based upon what you want to actually believe in.

I was brought up at a time when the daily newspaper headlines in the Daily Excelsior in Jammu city had pictures of terrorists with bloodied faces, the pictures of army officers with the arms and ammunition seized, the stories of the Ikhwanis ( the terrorists turned counter insurgents) going astray and betraying one side or the other , when encounters and bomb blasts were such common news that it was a welcome sight  to see something else as a front page news , the real time first hand account of all the close relatives who were displaced from Kashmir and everything related to violence which usually breeds a revengeful spirit in the inside of a human being. The revengeful spirit which on one side tells you that all you have to do is to avenge for what all transpired against you or your loved ones but on the other side brings in front of you many ways by which vengeance can be avoided and yet help can be provided while maintaining grace and peace all around. The spirit which makes the decision making such a conundrum that many people are lead to do something which deep inside they never wanted to.

In my view point whatever the Indian Army did in Kashmir or has been doing even now is totally apt in the situation they have been in. Even though there have been many cases of Human rights violations , fake encounters which have been reported many a times in the national dailies it is a very strong notion that every coin has two sides to it and every situation is bound to have its pros and cons. It is upon us to see what side you want to look up to. There might be many who strongly disagree to this but you need to listen first hand to the stories and the plight of the Army soldiers as well , stories of the valor they have to put up when their own families are attacked and they are bound by their duties to first save the Nation’s borders and the other innocent people who are in the same danger as their own families.

For the point of showing the plight of Kashmiri Pandits, I strongly agree that it must be showcased someday but I also believe that what is more important to be shown to the world is the impact the post migration struggle had on the lives and careers of the Kashmiri Pandits who as a matter of fact are so mighty successful right now that they wouldn't have ever dreamt about seeing such huge acclaim in such tiring and painful circumstances. The very same people who were distraught and destroyed when they were forced to leave their homes to live a life of refugees in their own country yet never gave up on the adversity and instead turned it upside down by grabbing the life by its collar and turning into a success story staring deep down into the dark tunnels that life had made them go through.

The emotions that swell up when you hear the stories of all that happened some 24 years ago does bring tears to the eyes but these tears never try to come out or dry up themselves for they shall remain there to build up in the inside of us a tenacity to achieve something against all odds and to make us never forget the fact ( quoting a line from Haider ) that revenge always gives birth to revenge …!!!

P.S Viewpoints of a Kashmiri Pandit who has never been to Kashmir !!!

Mistakes and conflict of interests/perspectives are strongly apologized for !!!

Virtually Amicable Yet Socially Reclusive

The moment in a person's life when due to the advent of virtual technologies , messaging platforms , social networking sites and everything that ceases to exist make him wonder about his social value in this damn tough world. The value that everyone says increases by networking , socializing, the value that is inculcated in the people after they meet face to face and exchange a few words instead of sitting / standing for long hours and exchanging messages over the numerous applications , the value that wise people say also tends to increase after long telephonic conversations instead of exchanging the all so stupid smileys over the virtual world to let the other person know your so called virtual emotional self.

It is the same moment when the person starts to get jealous when all his friends are preparing plans to hang out at the coolest lounge around , planning to visit the nearest exotic hill station , chalking out stuff to meet often and all he can do is to sulk looking at all the awesome pictures that the friends share over the virtual platforms for being in a different city with different set of individuals and totally different set of responsibilities brings out the emotionally vulnerable side in the toughest individuals.

It is also the moment when the person in question is in a state of weird confusion after having been denied a hang out opportunity time and again by more than just a couple of friends who some how always have a more important task at hand , friends who are caught up in more important responsibilities , friends who more often than not are always there at the tip of a whatsapp message but some how do not manage to call up and check out the iceberg of emotions that gets stacked up with the passage of time yet are always hidden from the virtual world or in some special cases tend to remain hidden from the actual world as well mainly because of his own actions or as a matter of fact his own in actions for he just like his friends never calls them up to check on their side of life and never manages to spare some time from the monotonous life to inculcate some time to chill out with people the wise say should be kept closer to your heart and soul.

It is also a weird moment where in he puts aside all the nagging messages that keep his phone notification light running all the time and instead decides to take out all his frustration on the running track in a cool pair of recently bought shoes and to add to the woes comes across a group of all decked up similar aged youngsters ready to hop on a friend's car and go to a party but all he does is to concentrate on the task at hand and burn the track filled up of dirt with all his might and feelings that some how always manage to hide behind a veil of self induced righteousness on his face.

The track so dimly lit up at the end of dusk that the long lost shadow of his own socially reclusive self stares in his eyes and lights up a strong belief in the core of his heart that even with all the emotions running through the human heart and soul you can always look this so called dream " the human life" in its eyes , grab it by the scruff of its neck and mold it which ever way you deem fit for it was not only about failing and rising up every time , rather as they say it , life is also about standing up to the storm that can only be withered down by your own self belief and self inculcated will power.

P.S - For all those who had tried crying their pain out in the rains , do give a try to run over the same pain on a dimly lit track at the end of dusk for it not only increases your heart rate and brings out the emotional might , it also bring forth in front of your eyes a self induced belief that tends to get lost over the period of a life so monotonous that even the boring might feel bored.

Delhi Metro - Sunday Diaries

Sunday might be a normal day for the home staying or the mall frequenting Delhiites but for the metro bound people it is more of a treat rather than a weekend. Fully filled coaches with lots of luggage on them , all the chirping people who somehow never pay attention to the fashion trends and form the so called lower middle class or the upper poor class of the city visiting their relatives in all the far off corners of the city , all the love birds who cant afford theaters or malls or coffee shops and instead prefer the corners of stair cases on metro stations form a huge part of the nexus for whom Sunday in the national capital is just like any other day just that it brings with itself a lot of change in the life's priorities.
Expecting a far less number of people you tend to get surprised by the number of inhabitants of the city traversing through the System , even though its quite fair to put up that travelling to the far flung areas by the best yet the busiest transport system the city has is only possible on a Sunday for you never ever even try to imagine travelling that far on the weekdays due to magnitude of the pushes and shoves you might have to endure from the people thirsty to not even loose a second of their time.

For the last day of the week or logically the first , the week does always start from a Sunday brings to the mind not only the peace loving relaxing feelings but also the responsibilities that people do still tend to follow , people who still believe that whatsapping a relative is not a fashion trend , people who do not rely on telephones to get to know about their loved ones , people who instead tend to strongly adhere to the old principles of visiting their loved ones once in a while even though it means sparing some moments from their precious time lines.
It is these people who still tend to show to this country that there are places where you can go on a Sunday , where you can rewind , where you can chat,eat and drink without a worry in the world and yet not feel in a plastic environment of a mall or a coffee shop.
These very people make us firm in our beliefs that it is not necessary for a function or a tragedy for you to meet up your loved ones but instead it should be your conscience that should be touched once too often when you fail to adhere to the responsibilities that should fall upon you once you become an adult and are not shy anymore to at least say a hi to the people who do matter a lot in the life.

P.S - Life isn't about the people whom you choose to be a part of your life but instead its about those who made you a part of their's. 

Delhi Metro- Continued !!

Away from the swanky cars , out of the plush flats and bungalows , away from the vicinity of the spacious malls lies an image of this city that is some how totally opposite to the all decked up fashionista behavior portrayed by its citizens.
An image that is so prevalent  yet so hidden , so amusing yet so surprising , so common yet so weird all at the same time. An image that can generally be associated with a Mumbaikar, "these Mumbai people and the city find an unusual mention in all my posts ( the 8 years Effect has started to Rub In i guess)".

An image that for a moment makes you become oblivious of the fact that you are present in one of the most fashion conscious cities in this whole Damn World , where people dress up and behave in a way that apparently exceeds their own dressing sense as well as their own pockets , where going out of your place is like enacting a competition with the individual standing or sitting next to you ( depends upon where you are ), where wearing bathroom slippers to a mall can invoke hate filled stares , for here looking better than others is something considered pretty cool and chic.
Examples like these in a way define the landscape of the dressing demography in this particular city yet contrary to all the written so called facts above there is another set of people who kind of set a trend of being glamorous yet laid back and who for a change as well as a sigh of relief are comfortable in whatever they are wearing and are not at least bothered about the footwear worn by that Fat rich looking brat at the corner of the Showroom or the Gown worn by a not so elegant 60 year old female.
These People form an image that can only be witnessed upon constant observation of the same set of people over and over again and what better that the System ( the Delhi Metro ) to gaze into the hearts and minds of the travelers. As a matter of utmost fact observing a person's dressing sense and behavior in a public place does give a strong insight into his/her personality , For these are those few who are least bothered about the bad crease on their trousers or the look of the so in fashion crumpled T-Shirt they wear ,  even though there are some who constantly carry off trousers and shirts with bad stains with elan but that class of people is miles apart from what the whole post is all about.
For it is more about a set of people who make Show Off's look pedestrian while giving Swag a new address , the set of people who definitely want to look good but not overdo the looking part just for the sake of it , the people who dress up for their own selves and not to please the masses.
For it is only them that makes the opposite sex take a long hard look ( a sense of admiration  , not to be confused with the stares and lewd comments of the cheap people here ) and even turn around to have a second thought that's sometimes necessary cause of the charisma and the aura these people spread around themselves.
P.S - Dress up and dress up good for only oneself for you never know what might happen tomorrow. !!

Delhi Metro- search of right moments

Travelling regularly on the metro in the national capital of rapes and not witnessing a single case of touching or molestation , or any complaint regarding the same can be surreal yet enthralling experience.
 The experience of being enthralled by the city that some how manages to cast a shadow on its true self and instead displays an amazingly pleasing to the eye mirage that feels like a reality to the non curious kind and acts as a catalyst for the quest of finding the right moment for the curious ones. To burst this city's bubble you just need to be in the right place at the right time to see a tired looking female using her whole power to grip a man's shirt collar amidst the crowd at possibly the busiest station of this system.

The right moment that can be summed up by the fact that for the first time in as many months the writer got to sit albiet for a few stations on possibly the most crowded time and the most insanely filled up metro route.

The moment when you see an old lady stand a few paces away from where you are sitting and you hold off stiff competition from the standing hungry for seat males to offer your seat to her. Doing this does't make you proud or worthy of an oscar but it does remind you that the immensely important humane values are still left back in some and need to be deeply inculcated in some individuals.

The right moment which makes a pretty woman to sit right next to you when all this while you had been just looking and admiring her from the corner of your eyes. Do take a note that this is a once in a blue moon moment and can lead to serious nervousness and speech stuttering in homo sapiens.

Having seen just one arguing case happening between grown up males on the topic that has lead to most wars in the history (females) while travelling in a city famous for its bad temper can be quite intriguing but seeing a lot of males keeping away from staring at those pretty females can be either mindblowing to a sane mind or can rip an insane's mind totally apart for it is the moments that make up the life and the right ones just add some flavoured spice to the life's curry.

To sum up it aint necessary to search for the moments , when we are capable enough of making our own..!!

Dreams Unplugged !!

It ain't often that the life comes a full circle but when it does it brings many amazing moments in the monotonous periodicity of a mediocre being and when it goes a full circle from a hopeful yet a dull point up to a point of no return it can bring a mesmerizing adventure in the thoughts about the life's future.
Leaving a cushioning job in an IT firm with a lot of chances of going Onsite in the upcoming months for joining the Indian Armed forces can be such an example ( the second case ), something which not only leads the person in question to dream in awe about the future the life beholds but also brings a moment of pride to all the known beings.
The pride that can not be justified by the congratulatory greetings alone but also invokes a certain inspirational moment in everyone's life for there are not many times when a human's childhood's dream is realized or to sum it in an apt manner not many have the damn guts to follow something that they have always yearned for and finally lay their hands upon it.

For Life has always been about the process of adjustments and adaptations , about falling down and realizing that we need to stand up to face all the adversities to step on the ladder defined as Success and in all these scenarios the dreams ought to take up a back seat. The dreams about which we constantly think and fantasize but do not have the wherewithal to follow and realize by tearing everything apart , owing to the responsibilities and the relations we need to take the utmost care off.

But as they say it , Life is what happens when we are busy making other plans.
For those who never had any childhood dreams , i hope this deed shall act as a catalyst for dreaming more and working towards achieving the same , for laying your hands upon the golden goose you once woke out of sleep with can actually be the most satisfying moment in the human's Life.

I firmly believe that the three years of dullness of sitting slouched in a chair staring at a computer screen shall vanish the moment you step onto the Grounds.

P.S - Your Moment of Pride has finally come up. Live it to the fullest as you always have. !!

Mumbai to Delhi A Transformation

I don't really know whether you can term shifting between two culturally different cities as Transformation but going from a life of a Male Bachelor living with friends to starting living with your Family can be definitely termed so.
It has been a complete month and yet again the time flew like a hundred meter race , the case has been same since the last eight years when i had left my small town home to study in the city of cities , Mumbai. The month i should admit hasn't been boring at all as i used to live a monotonous life of almost the same intensity at my previous place as well but yes , that place had a difference. The difference in the fact that you never faced any questions about anything , you were never bound to come until a certain time lest anyone would get worried and start calling you frantically , you could go and have a chilling night out sitting by the sea looking at the moon and contemplate about life, ( the sea and the walks in the dead of the night are something that are sorely missed) and yet not worry about being safe for that place had something in the air that made a human go carefree and live the moment in the best possible way.
But to view it as a larger picture all the rules and regulations , all the late night worries etc comes with a slightly advantageous feeling of being loved by the family , the feeling of being taken care off by everyone around , the feeling of sharing the responsibility of the house and to top it all the feeling of belonging to something abstract that goes by the name "Home".

So getting a feel of the Delhi heat instead of the Mumbai's famed humidity , a foothold in the Delhi metro instead of the long serving Mumbai local , writing about the streets and the people of the national capital instead of the intricacies of the financial capital , observing the so Famed Delhi People's attitude instead of the never interfering Mumbai people, arguing with the auto rickshaw wallas instead of sitting carefree in one of them even at the dead of the night and last but not the least doing a bit of "Bird Watching" for Mumbai , Navi Mumbai for that matter did not have even an iota of the fashionista image possessed here , all and a lot more has been a part of this so called change

Don't really know what more is gonna be a part of this process of undergoing a sea of change but as they say Hope is the bestest medicine the world has got , so lets keep up the good work and continue Hoping.

Delhi , as I see it --- Part1...  

Mumbai's Saturday Night High !!!

The way of life that we associate with the City that never sleeps , the city of dreams - Mumbai regards the last day of the week - Saturday in the highest order. For this is the day where in you get to set your priorities in order as per your own wishes. For on this day you don't have to face the bickering orders from a senior at your workplace , you don't have to answer the numerous calls / texts from your loved ones about the going on day at work , you don't have to sweat your brains out about reaching your destinations at time , you don't have to worry about sleeping and waking up the next morning at the stipulated hour lest you miss the Fixed Morning local and above all the city that we are talking about in this particular post offers something for every age group to enjoy the day.

Regardless of the above written lines the Saturday Night is something that's revered and sometimes even asked for in wishes in front of the Gods to arrive a bit early for it is something that gives our generation a high even  with its thought. The bustling market places , the never sleeping streets of the suburbs , the classiness of the Southern Island , the discos , the pubs , the lounges , the eateries ,   the road side vendors are a part of the folklore for who so ever has spent even a chunk of his life in this city.

The high that people get in a party in this city be it a club in South Mumbai or a cheap disc in the suburbs can never be tasted in any other city in this country. The free flowing alcohol , the  chilled out , non interfering people , the handsome hunks and the pretty eye candies all mixed together give rise to a cocktail of emotions going on pretty rapidly in the mind of an individual who cannot refrain himself from getting drowned and drowsy under its effects. I would not like to talk about the food tastes , the availability of the drinks , the pleasing crowd for there are many web sites to let the people get accustomed to the same rather its about the pleasure of dancing with your friends or loved ones to the ear bursting music , the anxiousness about going forward and speaking to that pretty stranger who has been smiling at you through the evening , the feel of the atmosphere soaking into your mentality , the energy that lets the individual to think about going to multiple parties through the night , the spirit of the moment , the emotional outbursts all combined into a single piece of non mellowed down life that enthralls the common masses up to a limitless point.

A wise man once said that whilst you are working your life will be shaped by what you do on the weekdays and how much hair you let down on the weekends , i don't  know if i am the only one but this city's Saturday Night fever does write in itself a melancholy that holds these above written lines pretty much in the true sense.
For here in this insomniac city it is not about the money that you earned through the hard working toiling hours you put through the week days rather it is about the money that you spent on the garnering the fun you had on the weekends and yet remain humbly grounded for life never really gets epitomized by the social status that you cherish or the coolness that you show off in front of the masses , rather it is about something abstract , something that makes a man or a woman in fact overwhelm themselves with its high.!

P.S -  This was writtenlong back on a rather dull Saturday Night in Navi Mumbai ( Separated from Mumbai in almost every aspect) :P

The Old Age Adversity !!

Seeing an old couple fending themselves off while travelling in local trains can be a heart wrenching affair even for the very strong hearted individuals.The tenderness in their caring touch , the heart warming smile of togetherness of so many years , the respect for each other in their eyes are some of the things that our generation might only witness and not experience. Looking at these amazing human beings , people of our generation in their 20's can only wonder how would their twilight years be spent.

It can only compel us to think more about our parents who lived their own life bringing us up and for the sake of our careers allowed us to stay in metros while they are still confined to their regular small city lives. Seeing the Old Age homes where in amazingly weird children leave their so called parents to let some strangers look after them often tend to show case a pathetic scene about the parent child relationship in this country. A mere westernization in the job scene has led to some strange cultural drift in the minds and hearts of certain individuals who some how forget their childhood as well as tend to overlook their future at the same time.

Instead of feeling lucky for having elders and parents around we tend to become a bit more self oriented than required , as a result loose the opportunity to enjoy the warmth of the loving relations which in every case come without any self centered packages or selfish motives like many other relations. We basically forget it too often that the next generation which has started growing up with all the technological advancements around them might never be able to come to terms with something called emotionally amicable relationships that are way different than the virtual social relations that rule the roost in today's world. All of us tend to forget that taking care of our parents isn't any forced upon duty rather its their moral right to be taken care of after what all they did and sacrificed for us.

This isn't an individual getting emotional for his loved ones , rather a human being who cannot watch the apathy being showered upon the totally calm and collected parents and elders who in these times of adversity still manage to mesmerize the hearts of a selected lucky few.

P.S - The ball has always been in your court. Its upon you what you do with it.!!!

The Breakaway Month - June for an Indian Student !!!

The Breakaway Month, a period of 30 days that can literally transform lives of millions of Indians from an ordinary hard working high school student to an Undergraduate at a prestigious college or an extremely talented awe inspiring human looking for average colleges all over.

It is the month that can some how make or break a child's career. With the ever so increasing pressure of cracking the much acclaimed entrance exams along with the expectation to score high in the High school exams can make the best go insane with desperation.
It is the same time when almost every school student goes into a bewildered sense of joy owing to the summer holidays and the pupils in the class 12th are given the so called magic mantra of study and excel now the future will be easy by their parents. The magic mantra that fails to exist even for an iota of time given the unprecedented tough nature of undergraduate courses all over the country. The IIT's , NIT's , AIIMS and all other prestigious colleges that the whole nation wants to have a pie off become a part of the folklore that are enhanced and spoken about like bedtime stories to these children.

The want to achieve more and dream less takes a hell lot of toll on an average child's brain and he is stacked up against all the odds the country's education system has to offer and at the end of it all some lucky and some amazingly intelligent hard working students get through into the awesome top notch colleges in the country and the rest are left to fend for their own selves.Its an obvious thing that there is another stream of people who do make up with admissions owing to their lack of talent but the topic has been untouched for now.

Regardless of the disturbing differences in the education being offered by the different graded colleges in the country , its an alarming fact that  10 years after passing out of colleges that are almost non comparable two people can have almost the same remuneration. This not only offers a stark difference in the attitude of the entire population towards a child's career at the end of his school education also it gives a far greater insight into the amazing opportunities the Whole Market gives to the people who dream of making it big irrespective of where they are coming from.

The whole theory of a child deciding to do what his/her aptitude is somehow stands negated at the tender age of 18 , as according to the general perspective life's greatest decisions are taken at this time. Instead the aptitude does keep on changing with the change in the practicality towards life and effects the decisions made earlier by a great deal.

At the end of it , it some how does not matter where and how the child does the studies from , instead what he/ she does with life and the people involved in it that makes the actual outcome of the Life worthy in our own eyes.

Delhi Metro- 2.Continued...

There's something weird and exciting in seeing a foreigner push his way through a thick crowd in a filled up to the brim metro. Moreover this weird excitement can form the basis of writing about "The System" on yet another night.

System where in you get to see and observe a hell lot more people than you can even imagine to think and write about in the capital city of India.

People who as a matter of fact redefine the landscape of someone's thoughts about Delhi , people who by their actions can lead to a change in the whole settled mindset of an outsider towards the National Capital , people who by their small acts can leave an imperishable print in the hearts and minds of the observers , fifteen days aren't much to fully have a broad perspective about the system but some examples like an arrogant looking young woman standing up from her seat to let a partially handicapped young adult have her seat or a hot blooded youngster letting a pretty girl sit around her without the girl having to worry about bearing the continuous stares at her bare neck and many others likewise that have made me stand up and take notice about the hidden specialties and the species this city has about which the People of this country have no clue about , species who are completely concealed by the enormous misconceptions and the general perceptions of this nation's population.

But to put all the amazing things about this system and the national capital in to a garbage can is the scene outside the AIIMS metro station. The station that houses the traffic from the areas around the best Hospital of the country is so filled up with people who are not able to find beds inside the Hospital or are not able to afford the so called Amazing hospitals that charge everyone a bomb. Seeing a poor man lying around the stairs with a glucose drip in one hand and something to eat in the other can be a sight one must never forget. The sight like this that doesn't allow we Indians to forget about the poverty all around while we are busy making what so ever money we make in our comfy jobs and offices and also leave an ever lasting imprint in our hearts for doing something about these poor people can not only bring joy to them and their family , it somehow also leaves us happy and content.

To Sum the day up - going outside of the metro i was taken aback when an auto rickshaw started his meter as soon as i took my seat inside it and asked to pay by the meter rate which in fact was fifteen bucks cheaper than what normally we need to shell out.

Peace Out.

Delhi Metro ... To Be Continued...!!

The Peak Hour Conundrum !! The Delhi Metro !!

It is without doubt the second most unsolvable conundrum in the Capital City of India after the amazingly obnoxious traffic snarls.
"The Peak Hour Rush" associated with , i would say what right now is the lifeline of this city , the Delhi Metro.
I prefer to call the Metro a " System " as it is pretty well planned and handled just to be called a medium of transport. Just like the Mumbai Local is the Lifeline of Mumbai , the "System" is the mode of peaking into the minds and souls of the people of Delhi and NCR

For every amazing thing in this universe has its cons and this piece of art that has made travelling like a cakewalk in the city has many that are unseen to the common man's eye. As a matter of fact the advantages are way beyond the few cons the DMRC has and that is surely the main reason for it resounding success. A success of a magnitude that the Model is being replicated to other parts of this Nation speaks a lot about the initiative and the time spent in the meticulous planning and execution of the whole damn system.

Yet it has taken just a fortnight for a fellow traveler from the Financial Capital of this Nation " Mumbai" to somehow have a perspective about the magnitude of the weird state of the minds and the confused souls of the people who commute through the system regularly.
It is a widely known fact in the country that the people of Delhi are the most amazingly non flexible when it comes to loosing their temper but some how in the "System" you tend to observe the flashes of brilliance among the people that just makes the above written so called known fact totally redundant. Seeing some one step on your shoes and hearing a low voiced sorry does give you a feel that you are not actually in Delhi , instead you are amazed at the peculiar calmness the system has bestowed on the minds of the people.
Nevertheless fights , arguments do happen , some might lead to fist fights as well ( never witnessed one till now ) but that has more to do with the confusion of the commuters with where to actually stand and how to give way to the fellow commuters when some highly influential station is about to be reached.
For the people in this city do like to stand in the space between the doors on the either side instead of going in the middle of the coach or utilizing the vast spaces that have been left by the manufacturers at the junction of two coaches. I don't know whether it has something to do with the prevalent impatience that the people in this city have or is it simply their unawareness about the fact that the Metro's Air Conditioning System is at its strongest at the junction of the Coaches.
Among st all this commotion and confusion and the hurry , the most important thing that a person (who likes observing ) never misses to observe in this city is the promiscuous eyes and the reaction of the prey to the continuous stares and the passing of comments , but in this context i can frankly state that the mindset of the people in this city has undergone some vast changes with time ,especially on the Peak Hour System when everyone is in a mind boggling hurry to reach their destinations. They still cast some curious glances over some pretty faces but that is something you can do once in a while and no one would hold any objections against it.
On a serious note the truth is , this city might be called the Rape Capital , but it has another facet of it that is somehow hidden from the outside world by a cloak, the facet that can only be experienced once you start being a part of this magnanimous city and are completely immersed in its benevolent "System".

New Delhi && Delhi Metro Part1 ... To be Continued !!!

NH4 - Around the State via the Roads

The Indian National Highway that holds together four of the Ten Most Populous Indian Cities , not been to many highway rides but surely this is worth betting your money on. Away from the maddening crowd of the expressway the NH4 offers not only a cheap and pretty motorable road , it also is serene enough for people not having a hurry to get down and click a few memories on the way to make it all the more memorable.

Do not ride in the summer heat , it is sweltering and bad for health :P

Imp Note - People Going to Lonavla , take this way round instead of the expressway , you gotcha be spell bound by the immense beauty when the rains come along. !!!

Matheran- The Smallest Hill Station

For people living in and around Mumbai , visiting the smallest Hill Station of this country is like a ritual. The accessible and easy to drive on roads ( even though they are bumpy ) along the valley make it a must go location for the public.
The place whose name means " Forest on the Forehead " is a scenic and serene hill station during the rainy seasons. We somehow visited in the burning heat of March - April and yet it doesn't cease to amaze. The greenery was less , the waterfalls were missing , the usual huge quantity of people were not there yet it all seemed a good cherish able experience. The Maruti Omnis being driven as taxis and the railway lines struck up in the middle of the roads all added to the old times fervor.
Those English people really had some adventurous nerves in them to go and explore all that we witness nowadays.

In the final days around Mumbai , it seems important to visit some places and pen down the memories.
To Be Continued...

Mumbai- The City that casts its spell

Mumbai is a city , Bombay is an Emotion.

What better than this phrase to start writing something about a city that is loved and hated , envied and cherished all at the same time.

A City that people say never sleeps , a city that leaves people spell bound with its magic that even jotting down a small article about it can make anyone go jittery , a city to write about which you need to be engrossed deeply in its landscape , in the feelings of the individuals putting up here and more often than not in the lanes and by lanes that can take your mental being to a very different level.The Five star hotels surrounded by the sky crappers , long sea line with the exasperating shining lights , the always out of time crowd of people , the night crawling chai wallas , the local trains and its commuters , the all very enticing night time eateries , the so very famous night life. These things and so many others that define this city and have become a part of its rich folklore , a tale that's been around for many years now and shall never diminish neither in its stature nor in the ambiguity always surrounding it. It is home to possibly the largest variety of people in this whole country or maybe the world ( not so sure ) , but it never ceases to exist in harmony or in correlation.

You can study , work , live and do what so ever you want , all that you hear when you go back to your home town is the curiosity of the people about the life of this city , the cursory glances that you get when you say that you are single even when living in Mumbai , the stupid misconceptions about this city and all the same things that add to the luminous effect this Town has on the people of this whole country.

It would be totally unfair to write about Mumbai and not talk about its best months , the rainy season. The four months which for some very weird reason totally refine the whole beauty and glory of this city , even though it does a lot of damage but as a whole the view on Marine Drive with rains lashing out at you and the sea with its amazingly high tides makes it all worth it. The long drive to the hill stations with serene beauty on either sides just adds a glimmer to the ever shining magnificence of this city.

For an outsider to spend 8 years in and around this city would make him/her feel privileged , honored etc but it does not do any such thing as it does not give ample time to its inhabitants to think that way or maybe its just molded in a way to make people witness a spectacle and cherish it forever without having to think about missing the same when they depart from its shores.

They Say the beauty lies in the Eyes of the Beholder !! For Mumbai the City Of All Cities You just add "er" and your outlook is somehow completely redefined  !!

To be Continued.....

loneliness- A Poem

I love to  be alone,

To look into  my own,

Ponder  about my thoughts,

To view life as it plots.

Looking towards  the  sky,

Seeing the  stars and  the moon,

Fading  into  oblivion  way too  soon.

I wonder  why this night doesn't last  forever,

Redeeming  all those  who seek it's cover,

Hiding from the truth,

They seem  to be lost,

Not seeing the ice mist and  frost.

Trying to  forget the time gone  by,

Hoping for a brighter day as it comes by.

Being alone is an obsessive virtue,

I can look into  my mind,

As the thoughts come through,

About the  imperfect past,

And the world so vast,

About the goals not achieved,

And  the words i didn't pay any heed.

Thinking where  have i gone wrong,

And  what's the place i truly belong,

So  as to  rectify my faults,

Experiencing  life in different slots.

Thinking  what i wanted to  be,

And  what have i become,

Hoping to  learn something,

On a strange  path that i have come.

Fighting this battle  of  life,

I feel a sense  of solitude,

Stung by all these  losses,

Hope is the best thing i protrude..

*****************************

A boy - Poem

One night it rained in the woods,

Deep there in  the shadow of hoods,

Strode a  young  boy,

Trying to achieve a  sense  of joy.

He had a dream to live  by..,

To show this world that thy can fly.

He had come all this deep,

Running away from the  cruel world,

Losing the love of his loved..,

Away  from the madding  crowd,

For he was feeling  so proud.

To do  something his heart pinched for,

Whenever he set his eye for the goal so far.

Losing everything on his way,

All set to reach the bay,

Not frightened by the  stormy night,

He walked with all his might.

To  fulfill his passions,

And breaking his   soul's  inhibitions,

To win it for once n all,

And to make his detractors fall.

For he had promised to return,

To  make everyone's head turn ,

So walked the boy  in  the woods,

Shielded  from the  rain by the hoods.

**********************************************

Rains and Life - Random Poem

It was just another night,
to be followed by a day.
It all seemed so quiet,
no one  could dream of making hay.

The sky was overcast with a tinge of black,
moon was fading with stars at it's back,
Finishing up their chores people were dozing off,
into the slumber of this dark night,
Unaware of the surprise someone had set up,
to be  ready for tomorrow with all their might.

Feeling the heat that showed no respite,
they were  at the mercy of heavens with no one  to fight.

Surprising everyone  the heavens opened up and the water started to pour,
rain was here there and everywhere.

Struck with joy people rushed out,
seeing the water and their fortune's swerve.
The scent of rain was enticing,
the soil was so pure,
the sound of gushing water,
made heavens to open the door.

The mud was wet , the path slippery,
the dead olive grass came alive.
Young started to make merry,
while the elders wanted their lives to thrive.

The rush of water was such,
it made people go crazy.
Dancing in the rain were they,
as if walking on a pale daisy.

For it had rained after a year,
the people had everything to cheer.
Celebrating in this dark night,
waiting for the bright sunshine,
not being tired of the fun and joy,
careless about the job they had tomorrow at nine.

Inspiration - Poem

long drawn in the tunnel so deep

i see light as i peep

i feel i have been here for a lifetime

but i hope i am in still in ma prime

a lot of times have i fallen but still from the fall have i arisen

there's so much darkness around

n i don't want anybody around

so much alone i feel in this fight

but still I'll go n catch the light

and in my heart of heart's i feel

One day I'll have the world at my heel!!!!!

LIFE AND HOPE - Inspirational Poem

Defeat was staring right into my eyes,
there was just darkness around,
feeling stung by this loss,
i had to cover a lot of ground.

Life had taken a heavy toll,
on my mind , body and soul.
Tired, i was walking by the roads,
watching the kids play n feeling alone,
feeling the obscurity of the moment,
i was beginning to feel for my own.

The fear was looming around,
the fear of a meek surrender,
in this game called life,
that just makes us to strife.

But still i had hope,
to win this battle of life,
to go far n above the rest,
to be called one of the best.

Hoping to see a brighter world,
ending this ordeal of life,
becoming a better person
for it just makes us to strife

Solitude - Poem

deep der into the nite...
with nothin 2 do.. i decided 2 write..
wd eyes full of sleep..
songs keepin me awake..
still full f energy n zeal..
keen on jotting down somethin deep................
something tat could touch ma soul...
which no one could call as foul...
smthin tat is realistic
yt diffrnt frm ds maddening world...

the enchanted words cuming out f ma heart...
feeling of sleeplessness creeping in...
the lines tat culd b called as divine..
makin me high as if havin a wine.....

far away frm this selfish lyff..
into the realmz of unforseen thoughts...
in the middle of an isolated island
surrounded by the demons of a rough sea..
willing to row the boat into the unknown
feeling the water on the face
the wind drenching the mind and the soul
it seems as if travelin in a black hole....

the strength leaving the arms...
going forward with all the might
still fightin to keep up with the night..

for this night doesnt seem to end..
travelling the length of the ocean
the life is surely gonna take this bend....

for if four in the morning i can jot this piece..
i can surely make a master piece.........!!!

****************

Smell of Rains and Coffee - Poem

To keep the eyes from shutting too tight,
The effect of sleep and its awesome might.
The rainy morning adds to the extreme delight,
The smell of hot coffee yet the loneliness fright.

The sound of the rain adds clatter to the cheer,
The smell of the wet mud gives life a new flair.
The splash of water on the windows makes life seem all the more bright,
The smell of hot coffee yet the loneliness fright.

The dark clouds add a tinge to the gloom,
The sparkling sun  makes the hearts to bloom.
Life shall unfurl with each passing sight,
The smell of hot coffee yet the loneliness fright....

The days Gone By - Poem

Those days are long gone by,
When it all seemed a trance.
Lurking in a shady corner ,
Getting high and dreaming of a life in France.

It all seemed surreal,
For we never thought of life as real,
All it took were a few twists and turns
For the ash to go up in burns.

Going crazy was the rule of the roost
Utter madness was the path we choose.
Now this life seems more of a test
Coz with some people it was more than a fest.

Paradigm Shift !!

This was being written at the time when another shifting was looming at our heads. The shifting of the flats that is very normally associated with each and every bachelor living in the city of dreams or for that matter in the ghost city the Future of Mumbai "Navi Mumbai". The life that we spend away from our homes , away from our parents , away from being under the watchful eyes of elders that almost everyone calls as independent, out of the box living can be sadistic at times.

The Paradigm shift that actually should take place once every eleven months and has taken place in our lives 6 times in exactly 4 years and truly and undoubtedly has made the life relentless.
The void that gets created when you leave a place where in everything had been made to look settled in the past can be wretched at times. The feeling of restlessness of shifting to a new place and the overall effort along with the tiredness not only stresses the body but leaves the mind in a tizzy.

Even more amazingly difficult is to cope up with the fact of having to say goodbye to your room mates or for that matter the Family of friends ( it would be apt) and moving on to new places with new faces , the energy sapping work of having to adjust and start all over again.
The extended family never ceases to be friends while also coping up with the responsibility of acting like a pseudo family and the act of moving on can lead to separation symptoms in any human being.

If studies are the make or break time , the bachelor period of one's professional life is like a thin balanced thread hanging between imaginary skyscrapers always willing to move you down into the ground for you can only do is to hold onto something and never give up.

P.S - Life is a test of character and the Paradigm Shift is just a small question that if answered correctly would not only give you a bonus of new friends but also help you explore life up to unknown avenues..

A Tribute to the Prodigal Genius. ! - Poem

To play was to follow the strokes of Thee,
To dream was like a reminiscence of the effortless glee.
To hope was a medicine learnt from Thou,
For you commanded respect in Sky and Snow.

Not even could be a deterrent , a fever of 103,
for magic it was to watch that 98 at centurion 2003.

Your retirement call would make a generation feel old,
they grew up to the hoopla of your cricketing gold.

The centuries at Sharjah would be a memory to cherish,
seeing those mesmerizing strokes would hence become a fetish.

All the ardent fans grew up with your cricketing folklore,
stories we shall tell seeing your records galore.

To emulate you would take a dedication of a life time
you are the child prodigy who dictated through the rhyme.

Politics !!

In these times of economic downgrade its hard not to think about the amazingly undue advantages that the politicians of this country hold over a normal middle class individual. Earning around 1lakh per month tax free , roaming around in Red Beacon cars to whatever place they intend to along with  spending crores of rupees on petrol without even a formal degree of education.
Like the Indian Citizenship law has a fixed date for being described as an Indian National why cannot the parliament and constitution have a fixed DOB or education levels for the politicians. If they are the guys who run the country , make the rules then like other citizens they should be entitled to taxes and oil subsidies. Why have all of them been kept above the stature of law they themselves have conjured up.

On one hand the inflation keeps on rising every year yet the salary growth of a middle class person in India is not able to come to terms with the increase in the expenses. Yet the so called rule makers of this nation are given a free hand in all the small to large range deals that take place in all the corners of this huge nation.
Like an employee in any organization is forced to report everything to his reporting authority why don't we set the same for these amazingly high headed people so that all the citizens of this great nation can be collectively said to be under a single roof.
Its time for the so called educated people who have never voted in their life to wake up and reach for their voter ID's.
PS - Its time to cast the ballot and ring in a change.!

good old days - Poem

To again write about the good old times,
Some quiet time is what I need,
Friends, parties and the moments well spent,
It all should come back indeed.

It began on that terrace so high,
And ended in the flats so serene,
Up above the smoke that curled,
For our lives was never about a sigh.

The concerts , the trance , the butt kicking high,
Served in the memory hot is TP's half fry,
The biryanis , the kheemas have all lost their taste,
Fun in today's times is all but a haste.

The night long revelry on a holi night,
The sweets , pakodas and thandai served so cold.
For never would those days be forgotten,
When the nights had lost their hold...

A Day After Sachin !!

It was close to the end of the final exams of my Upper Kg  , It was the around the end of March 1994 , a faint memory of watching a cricket match on a small black and white television set that used to be quite a fad in those times.
The match i guess it was a highlights package or something as Doordarshan never showed the Overseas matches live in those years , i guess it still doesn't. The match in which a youngster batting as a makeshift opener smacked the bowlers to all possible corners of the stadium much to the joy of the countless followers of the gentleman's game in the nation. I remember the sudden gasps that followed the fours and the aerial shots , for the common Indian Fan was averse to the idea of someone taking the attack to the opposition. Yet it was not until the 1996 world cup that i finally got an insight into the Game of Cricket and more importantly a man , a child prodigy , a scintillating Genius who for the next 17 years would assure in his own quiet way that the Present and the Future of the Indian Cricket is in his Safest hands. The man who with his desert storm made me follow the game to a Television set in a barber's shop and made me wonder about the improbable things that could be done with a cricket bat in tow yet remain so down to earth , so humble that even the most simplest of the common men would appreciate the tinge of softness in the voice and attitude.

The man who not only brought to life multi-million dollar deals to the Game of Indian cricket but also gave a hope to all his ardent fans that money could be earned in tons , if you have the will to follow your passion without fail. The man who could make us laugh , cry and still be anxious all at the same time in one single moment of cricketing frenzy. The man who with his knocks could mesmerize a fan's high fever to go away in a matter of hours. The man for whom so much has been written that even the best of the writers can fall short of impressive words to be put together .

The man we all grew up idolizing , for his shots were as pristine as his mannerisms  , for his attitude towards life was as breathtaking as his panache towards earning money and respect at the same time yet remain inexplicably far from any controversy , the man who proved that adulation and humility can go hand in hand.For his rise coincided with the growing up of a whole new generation of this country , a generation that not only followed him but also hero worshiped him till their last breaths , a generation who would be happily satisfied if they earned even an iota of the Respect and Money that he got in the last 25 years.

He is rightly called the God but more importantly he has always been the only Cricketer who seemed to be the perfect source of motivation for achieving what ever you set your eyes upon , without loosing the paramount abstract of life " Respect "

SRT  - Respect \m/ " You shall be cherished "

Random Poem

When we are alone and have nothing to do of our own, listening to the squeaky voices in the middle of the night, keeping your eyes open instead of sleeping tight.

Thinking about the past , present and future , all thoughts come rushing back to the mind. Stuffing up the brain like a stack of wood , burning in an old forest keeping the people warm

And with the rising sun always comes the Dawn.!!

Tehelke ka Tehelka !!

In the times when all the abstracts of the human life have gone inside to rot down an unimaginable fear inducing deep sea of malice , the times where the things that used to be of utmost importance to the humans of this nation have taken a back seat as far as one can imagine , the times when some how the crime rate that was always high has finally started to reach the masses , the times where the generation that was so callous towards the national problems has finally begun to take amazing strides towards integrity albeit slowly , the times when all of a sudden the assaults against the Female population has become so prevalent that instead of only being voiced against in Newspapers  , TV channels and Silent Protests , the bloggers have started a widespread channelization to make this so brutal and inhuman act against the conscience of a human to reach the masses.

That was quite a long statement about the times we are living in , but seriously something needs to be done to this country and its male population. If what they are saying Mr Tehelka did to a junior colleague in that lift or whatever the details hold is proven true, i believe that there is gonna be a widespread opening of the can of worms against the corporate sexual advances thing. Even though just hearing stories doesn't make me liable to write about this , but the thing that the ShowBiz industry calls " Casting Couch " has been going on in almost all the industries world wide.  The Media industry , the BPO sector do consist of some of the most intimidating secrets of this so called obsessive disorder that prevails in the minds of a hell lot more population than what the Aam Aadmi thinks it does.

I myself never paid too much heed to the media industry and the Tehelka magazine as such but reading the articles doing the rounds on the net it seems that a lot of people did have high regards for Mr Tehelka an with these accusations the so called belief in the goodness of the deeds and the people has once again been back stabbed. It is more or less the same affect that was cast on a world wide following of the greatest cyclist of all time Mr Armstrong , when the flabbergasting revelations of his doping scandal came to light.

Time has once again started to defy the logic of being good without any blemishes but we as humans must never let our belief on the abstract values of goodness  , kindness and dignity wander for even a bit for they are pretty much important for letting the humanity stay grounded in us Humans. Its time when we for a moment or two stop idolizing all those celebrities we have been looking up to since long and instead awaken our own selves for the drastic needs of the nation

P.S - Elections are coming closer. Go make your Voter ID's \m/