Reflections

She sat by the window in her apartment and gazed out into the night sky. As the darkness outside pressed in from all sides, she closed her eyes to be closer to the storm that was brewing inside her. Scenes flashed across her eyes, bits and pieces of her life screaming out to be solved like a jigsaw puzzle. The futility of relationships seemed to have dawned on her, finally. "Every relationship comes with a limited period warranty", she thought out aloud. Blame it on the fast paced life, or the human need for instant gratification, very few relationships stand the test of time, she ascertained. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. She could hear her heart beating but an intense feeling of loneliness engulfed her from all the sides. Outside, the night had become chillier and a cold breeze blew on her face caressing her hair but making her body shudder. She sighed and continued looking into the night sky hoping to spot a falling star that she could wish upon.

Fear - Life of Pi

I am currently reading the fiction "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel and I read an excellent and intriguing chapter on fear. It is just brilliant. So thought of sharing the excerpt.
Here goes:

"I must say a word about fear. It is life's only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life. It is a clever, treacherous adversary, how well I know. It has no decency, respects no law or convention, shows no mercy. It goes for your weakest spot, which it finds with unerring ease. It begins in your mind, always. One moment you are feeling calm, self-possessed, happy. Then fear, disguised in the garb of mild-mannered doubt, slips into your mind like a spy. Doubt meets disbelief and disbelief tries to push it out. But disbelief is a poorly armed foot soldier. Doubt does away with it with little trouble. You become anxious. Reason comes to do battle for you. You are reassured. Reason is fully equipped with the latest weapons technology. But, to your amazement, despite superior tactics and a number of undeniable victories, reason is laid low. You feel yourself weakening, wavering. Your anxiety becomes dread.

Fear next turns fully to your body, which is already aware that something terribly wrong is going on. Already your lungs have flown away like a bird and your guts have slithered away like a snake. Now your tongue drops dead like an opossum, while your jaw begins to gallop on the spot. Your ears go deaf. Your muscles begin to shiver as if they had malaria and your knees to shake as though they were dancing. Your heart strains too hard, while your sphincter relaxes too much. And so with the rest of your body. Every part of you, in the manner most suited to it, falls apart. Only your eyes work well. They always pay proper attention to fear.

Quickly you make rash decisions. You dismiss your last allies: hope and trust. There, you've defeated yourself. Fear, which is but an impression, has triumphed over you.

The matter is difficult to put into words. For fear, real fear, such as shakes you to your foundation, such as you feel when you are brought face to face with your mortal end, nestles in your memory like a gangrene: it seeks to rot everything, even the words with which to speak of it. So you must fight hard to express it. You must fight hard to shine the light of words upon it. Because if you don't, if your fear becomes a wordless darkness that you avoid, perhaps even manage to forget, you open yourself to further attacks of fear because you never truly fought the opponent who defeated you."

Slumdog millionaire

Amitabh Bachchan has criticized Slum Dog Millionaire. He says India is not all about slums and dogs. There is more to the country.
In his words, ""If SM (Slumdog Millionaire) projects India as [a] Third World dirty underbelly developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots, let it be known that a murky underbelly exists and thrives even in the most developed nations."

I have not seen the movie and definitely cant comment on it but there is a lobby of people here who seem offended. Well, when the theme of the story is about a boy in Dharavi, Dharavi is what you will see in the movie. Why would the director be bothered about what portrait of India is being shown to the world? This is not a documentary on India and hopefully westerners see that. The director's goal was to rake in big moolah and man, has he done that!

But an interesting observation here. When the West takes out its telescope and zooms in on the East, what it expects to see is countries full of slums and poor people struggling hard for their next meal. Stories about poverty sell. This is a fact. They have this "Frog in the well" mentality and in a way they are reassuring themselves that their life is blessed.

But, we have to also understand that the countries in the Asian continent had to see so many invasions and wars. Something from which the western world has been relatively shielded. We have so many internal problems that threaten our very being. We are still finding our foothold in the world arena. So, poverty will definitely be a part of our countries as is with other "developed" nations. But what the West should also recognize is that being a poor country doesnt really take away from the beauty and the culture that each of these countries possess. There is nobody superior here and coming from a particular country or having a certain skin color doesnt really bestow upon you the happiness or the "blessings" that we all strive for. The truth is that We are all just a species named "homo sapiens" lucky enough to get favourable conditions to survive on a small planet that we call the "Earth" in a big galaxy that again, we have named the "Milky Way". What is beyond that, nobody knows and nobody understands.

Hmmm...I think my train of thoughts is moving faster than what I am writing. Started with a movie and ended with something else! Been a long and tiring day. Time to sign off.

Political hungama!

There is a lot of nautanki going on in Indian politics....A new drama is unfolding every time you tune into some news channel....

First we had our honorary BJP leader LK Advani accusing our PM, Manmohan Singh of being a "Madame" ka ghulaam....That he runs to "Madame" Sonia Gandhi for every small decision....

We had Manmohan Singh reciprocating the love saying that all that happened during Advani's reign was some riot....

Advani fumes and challenges Sonia Gandhi to a live TV debate to which Sonia Gandhia "politely" refuses..Manmohan Singh is challenged next and he refuses too!

Advani fumes some more and mocks at the Congress saying that they were a "weak" party and lacked the guts for a live discussion ( why do i feel that if there really is a debate, nobody will be heard because everybody will be yelling at the top of their voice at the same time!)

Elsewhere we have our "maanneeya BJP netha" Varun Gandhi giving anti-muslim speeches which seems to have caught the media's attention big time! In a second he is everywhere on the TV (the new poster boy! ) and his speech is aired a zillion times so much that I now know the speech word to word...Congress jumps onto the bandwagon and accuses BJP some more..Varun Gandhi is arrested and his supporters create a big hungaama and there is a mini riot..Police fires at the crowd...there is some bloodshed..there are 3-4 FIRs against Varun Gandhi, one being that of attempted murder! ( Murder!!?? where did that come from?Is he really being framed?Poor chap was just starting off his fledgling political career!)

Maneka Gandhi makes an appearance saying that her son is being lynched and this is a big Congress conspiracy...She says that people from the other religion were responsible for the riot and Varun is being outrightly framed..(Hmmm...kahaani me twist...)

Like father, like son, some smart alec's are quipping on the news channel....Priyanka Gandhi says she is disappointed with Varun...( there definitely is no khaandhaani pyaar there...)

So between all this Congress Vs BJP war, you wonder kab iss jhagde ka "The End" hoga and kab we all will live happily ever after..!!!! You really dont need to watch the daily rone dhone waale soaps any more! just tune into a news channel, grab some popcorns & well, "Lights, Camera, action"!!!!!!

The face in the mirror - A poem

THE FACE IN THE MIRROR
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There are times in life
When it cuts like a knife

You feel the pain
Everything seems to be in vain

"Why me?" you cry
Deafening silence but no reply

In times like these
When hope seems to cease

A helping hand is a must
And a somebody you can trust!

She has been with you
when you were feeling blue

At your jokes, she laughed
While others had scoffed

She stayed with you, be it day or night
Like a string attached to a runaway kite

She is your hero, your only hope
If you find yourself at the end of the rope

You know her not?!
Oh, it’s a pity!
Fret not
She lives in the same city!

Just look at the mirror
There's no escaping her!
Well, but it’s a known face I see
Staring back at me!
Oh, now I see!
The hero lies in me!!!!

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Auto drivers, anyone?!

Here’s introducing the auto rickshaw drivers in Bangalore!!

Wow, what do I write about them?! On second thoughts, maybe I am the best person to write about them! I travel by auto everyday. Well, not really out of choice but out of necessity and I would like to lay the claim that I know the breed very well. I share a very cordial love-hate relationship with them and absolutely adore them! Confused?! Read on.

I don’t want to be partial here but I want to lay in front of you some of the super qualities of our auo-waale bhaiyyas that makes them so adorable!

You thought negotiation skills were something only an IIM educated MBA Grad had?! No sir! Picture this.

Here I am, hailing an auto at the auto stand in front of my apartment. I tell the auto driver my destination and that puts him in a deep thought! I brace myself for thesweet onslaught. "100Rupees ma'am", I hear him say. "Excuse me, why does thevehicle have a meter?! Put it on and I will give you how much ever it comesto", I blush. He looks at me with his deep soulful eyes and says, "Ok chalo90Rs then!” Bargaining, huh?! I stay adamant and he brings down his price, ‘Okay madam I will put the meter, you give 10 Rs. Extra”!! So endearing.

You thought “the need for speed” syndrome existed only in James Bond?! Nope. Hold your breath right there James Bond fans! Well, on second thoughts, keep breathing. This will take a while. Presenting to you our very own desi auto driver Bond, Mr. Krishnappa Prasad (Or your highness can choose a name.)

Krishnappa Prasad’s specialty – he hallucinates and thinks his auto is a Formula One racing car! He has the uncanny ability to snake around the heavy Bangalore traffic in such top speed that poor you is left clutching your dhak dhak heart in your mouth and hoping that the heart doesn’t fall right onto your lap. Literally, of course! Why pay money to sit on amusement park joy rides when our very own auto drivers can take us for the ride of our life! Read, double savings! Why spend money on those senseless amusement parks, anyway?

You thought to be able to give smart repartees and one liner you need to be a smart Alec from Harvard!? Picture me in an auto and my hero is as usual in full James Bond mood! I yell, “Boss, go slowly!!!” And he obeys me obediently but the only problem is that he starts going so slowly that even a bullock cart could have overtaken us! He looks at me with a shy smile, “Ma’am, you only asked me to go slow na!” Aaah, you can’t beat them, can you! So sweet.

The last time I started counting all the super qualities in the auto waale bhaiyyas, I had used up all my fingers and toes! Guess that means you would have to wait till my next post to learn more about this breed. Keep watching this space.

I have one parting shot which I hope will go down in history as one of the quotable quotes, “Can’t live with or without them!”

Jai Auto Rickshaw!

(Disclaimer: The following article is totally non-fictional and any resemblance to an actual person or event was not co-incidental. Satire or pun in the article was intended and no animals were harmed during the course of this writing. Although I should add, a certain mouse was moved around a lot and it was made to do a lot of “click” like squeaking noises. The mouse is now living on borrowed time!)

The White tiger (?!!)

I have read the book "The White Tiger" by Aravind Adiga which won the Booker prize this year. I thought the book was well written and showcased the big difference between the rich and the poor in India. The protagonist of the book was in no way a hero, but to my surprise, i found myself sympathizing with him at several occasions. They dont make Dhirubai Ambanis everyday and it is a sad truth that many poor people do resort to illegal ways to get out of their wretched lives.

This is the main gest of the story : Balram Halwai, a chauffeur, murders his employer, and justifies his crime as the act of a social entrepreneur.

Many may think the book shows India in a bad light. The book does seem to exaggerate at several places. The westerners cocooned in their own pretentious world might enjoy reading about a country ridden with poverty, corruption and what have you! But there is also no denying that no country in the world has a bigger class divide than India. There are two worlds here, one belonging to the rich and the other to the middle class and the poor. A living example of this is Bombay with its sprawling Dharavi slum and the towering skycrapers surviving symbiotically next to each other.

The author has to say this:
"With their tinted windows up, the cars of the rich go like dark eggs down the roads of Delhi. Every now and then, an egg will crack open - a woman's hand, dazzling with gold bangles, stretches out of an open window, flings an empty mineral water bottle onto the road - and then the window goes up, and the egg is resealed."

Everything said and done, I definitely recommend this book to everybody. It might just change the way you look at the society!

Shifts shifts shifts

Aaah...My current job requires me to work in the afternoon shift. That is from 1PM to 10PM. Well, am i really complaining? Guess not. For one, I miss the morning and the evening traffic rush! (Praise the lord!) Also, I dont have to rush early morning to catch my company bus.

My timings are still ok. I think about the people who have to work on night shifts everyday. Say, from 7PM to 4AM. They live in a different plane. They sleep when others are awake and work when others sleep (Well, in reference to the people in the same timezone). But are they complaining? Atleast the people i know are not. They are happy with their job. They have friends at work. They enjoy their work and well, you always have the weekends off.

Well, for each one his or her own!

Sea of poppies

SEA OF POPPIES - BY AMITAV GHOSH - My review

Sea of Poppies is a tale of some ordinary people from different walks of life whose lives unexpectedly entwine aboard a ship as they cruise towards an uncertain future, a future which seems as formidable as thier past! The story is set in 1838 in colonial India when opium trade was a huge business and poppy farming was a legitimate agricultural practice, thanks to the profit it brought to the rich zamindars & englishmen. It is amazing to know that poppies, one of the main ingredients of the drug opium is actually a beautiful innocent flower, a flower which can warp and distort the whole world! At the centre of the story is "Ibis", a ship which in its heyday was used to transport opium(read drugs) and slaves to far flung parts of the world. It is going to be used for the same purpose again with the lives of numerous people at stake.
The amazing part of this book is the careful etching of the characters.

Be it Deethi, the widow of an afeem-khor, a drug addict who could not resist the lure of the opium which he consumed to overcome the pain that his diseased body caused him. Kalua, an untouchable ox-cart owner who dared to rescue Deethi from her husband's burning pyre.

Paulette Lambert, the IBCB (Indian born confused British!!) who is more comfortable speaking Bhojpuri and wearing Saree than following the strict etiquettes of her British bred counterparts and who has spent most of her childhood with Jodu, the son of the muslim maid who raised her in a palatial bangalow on the banks of the Ganges in Calcutta. Jodu, the son of a maid who nurtures just one dream, the dream to cross the seven seas and who completely adores his munh-boli sister, the thin and lanky Paulette whom he lovingly calls Pathli.


Raja Neel Haldar, the ruling King of Rakshali who finds himself aboard the "Ibis", being transported to Kaala Paani to serve in one of its notorious prisons when he is sentenced for seven years for not being able to pay the huge debts that he inherits from his deceased father. A King whose fall from grace is so dramatic that he gets beaten up by the same Hawaldars who once guarded his palace! His close bond with Ah-Fatt, the fellow chinese convict who has his own story to tell.

Zachary, the son of an American slave and an assistant captain on the ship who is trying hard to hide his roots. His love for the wierd Ms. Paulette and the extra effort he puts in to understand the "Hinglish" that his crewmen speak!

The spiritually inclined Babu Nab Kissin who has some very strong reasons to believe that Zachary is the incarnation of Lord Krishna himself and asks him questions like, "Is your neck blue in colour?" , "Do u eat a lot of butter?", "You eyeing those slave women, huh?", much to Zachary's amusement!

Each one of these characters and the numerous others find themselves "in the same boat" heading towards a fate which is astonishing. These characters strike a bond with you and you become a part of their voyage across the ocean! I will not reveal the story as it would take away the fun of reading this book. But take it from me, the story is very promising.

This book is part one of the trilogy and Amitav Ghosh, the author has received rave reviews for it across the world. It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. I have noticed that most of the authors from the Asian continent use a lot of prose and play with words than their Western counterpart. Arundhati Roy and Salman Rushdie are the other authors who come to my mind. The one thing that really brought a smile on my face with this book was the use of Bhojpuri and "Hinglish" (Hindi + English) in the book. The use of these languages is definitely not a deterrant and you can often understand the meaning of the word from the context but for some of us who can actually follow the lingo, it is a treat!


Go for the book and see yourself aboard the giant ship, the "Ibis" and meet all the characters as they go through the excruciating journey from Calcutta to an unknown destination!
Happy reading guys! :)