DOST LOG ZINDABAD :)

I will remember you....

2007-08-29T20:22:00.000-05:00

I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don’t let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

Remember the good times that we had?
I let them slip away from us when things got bad
How clearly I first saw you smilin’ in the sun
Wanna feel your warmth upon me, I wanna be the one

I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don’t let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

I’m so tired but I can’t sleep
Standin’ on the edge of something much too deep
It’s funny how we feel so much but we cannot say a word
We are screaming inside, but we can’t be heard

But I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don’t let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

I’m so afraid to love you, but more afraid to loose
Clinging to a past that doesn’t let me choose
Once there was a darkness, deep and endless night
You gave me everything you had, oh you gave me light

And I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don’t let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

And I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don’t let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories
Weep not for the memories

---"I will rember you" by Sarah McLachan

Blogs for Dogs

2007-08-27T19:52:00.000-05:00

This is an ice-breaker after 6 months or so...haven't written blogs off-late. Now I get my inspiration: Dogs

Yes Dogs. In my view, Dogs are in my top 5 best things that can happen to us, in a list headed by Great Health, Parents, Friends and Education (& hence Job) . I was around 4 years old when my parents gifted me a wonderful book about Animals and that book had a section dedicated to dogs specifically. Section which covered about basics of Dog breeding and their origin. Sections with awesome pictures of German Shepherds and the Magnificent Bull-dogs and the ever loyal Labradors & Golden Retrievers. That 1 simple book has the left the most long-lasting impression of my childhood. That book was like a job to me! Every morning along with Marie biscuits with the best tea prepared by the most graceful lady who walked the face of this Earth, my mother. And then during those morning breakfast times, I always asked my mom and dad to get me a dog......and they would just keep quiet. They never said "No" strongly. They never made fun of me or scolded me. They just kept quiet. And allowed time to dilute my wishful-thinking.

As time passed by, books & TV documentaries about Nature, Earth and World of animals came as a value addition to our lives. My father would take me to early morning walks and the building dogs & other stray dogs would chase us and try to play mischief. It was fun and a little scary to play around with those dogs; chasing them around, to be chased around, climbing on the top of water tank reservoir and teasing dogs 'cos they couldn't climb up!! I have always wondered why dogs are their peak energy during early morning hours......My father had this soft corner towards dogs and he passed that trait onto me. But being a middle-class family living in a fairly small apartment was always a major deterrent for us to own a dog from a pure-bloodline-reputable breed. It's not that we didn't like our Building dogs or Stray dogs, it's just that all those dogs were are all cross breed of some kind and then there was the uncertainty of inherent diseases passed on from unknown dogs, which is frequent in stray dogs. We never took that risk and I always had the hope of owning one pure breed or a genuine breed taken from a professional breeder. My main inspiration to own a dog came from one of my close cousins of Southern India who owned a gorgeous German Shepherd called "Dyna". To me, German Shepherd (also known as Alsatian OR GSD) is the King of Dogs: Highly Intelligent, Protective, Fearless, Playful, Strong and always Alert. I have read and heard that Alsatians love their owners to death. I wanted a dog as good as German Shepherd, but I was always nervous of them because of the fearful reviews about GSDs.

But as more time passed by, needs and priorities always kept that one desire at the bottom of the page. The desire to own a dog never faded away, it was always there at the bottom of the page till now. A few of my school friends had dogs and always talked about them and I always shared discussions with them with utmost sincerity. I never lost a chance to discuss new things about Dogs and increase the breath of Knowledge in that domain. After all, Dog becomes a part of family once it joins one and it's worth thinking about it.

A phase of life came when Dogs weren't a part of discussion anymore and more so because of the busy life of my hometown, Bombay. Things like Education, Jobs, Career etc overwhelmed the childhood desire. But I knew it was just a matter of time which could range from 5 to 10 to 15 years to 20...before I could own a Dog. And now that time has come. I am planning to own a Dog that will be great friend and loyal companion. Especially, after you lose your loved ones, something like this becomes a thought worth giving a consideration.

German Shepherd is no more on the top of my favorite list mainly because of the inherent aggressiveness & danger that could be imposed to surrounding people. GSDs are very protective and territorial and don't generally have the temperament of a cool Labrador or Golden Retriever or a Boxer or a Swiss Mountain Dog. If at all I manage to own a GSD, it will be one of the mildest tempered ones, which will require a lot of research on Professional GSD breeders. But Labs , Golden Retrievers, Swiss Mountain Dogs (Swissy) are by thumb-rule considered to be very good people-dogs...Affectionate, Patient, Playful, Energetic, Obedient and Courage: you name them and these breeds have 'em !!

Someday I will be fortunate to own two dogs...may be a Lab or a GSD or a Swissy..only time will tell if this will be true or not :)

Dogs forever!!

Social Discrimination: The main Evil in India

2007-02-13T15:46:00.000-05:00

Recently there was an article about Human rights activists concerned about the lower strata of Hindu society, i.e., Dalits. It's truly shocking to know that even today this discrimination is prevalent. It brings a tear to many people's eyes that people are ill-treated, deprived and isolated from the normal society.

The point is: wipe out the "caste" distinction and stop it right now. Now . Everyone is same. Why ask silly & point-less questions like: "Ohh so you are a Brahmin?", "Are you from this caste?", bla bla bla..It's shocking to know that I have been living in USA for the past 2 years or so and still I have faced less discrimination in US than in our motherland. Is this what our country about? 21st century still cannot clear many minds in this developing country. When will people lose their brains from testicles and start using the real brain in their heads? When will the discrimination, nepotism, corruption and snobbish attitude give way to common-sense, logic, ethics, principles and honesty?

Education and a much more humane touch could be the only 2 solutions to sweep this Evil into non-existence.

Jai Hind if and only if:we act worthy as true Hindustanis.

Being numb and dumb: Revision AA

2006-09-30T01:45:00.000-05:00

Hello people! As I am writing this, I ponder upon the wonderful days of the past wherein some of us used to stay in touch with each other regularly. Days when we used to yap about anything & anyone, as if it was a normal routine of our system. Talks which we used to cherish, the discussions and phone calls which we used to make endlessly and friendly secrets that gave a childish flavor to us.

Now, as we "progress" ahead with our "tasks" in our lives, a lot of things occupy our minds..With the first quarter of our lives getting over in a heartbeat, we plan to make the next quarter the most fruitful part of our lives; not that the first quarter hasn't been special. Think about it: Successes, failures, friendships, relations, accomplishments,losses, accumulated memories, disasters around our world, wars, science & technology, funny moments and so many events have occured in our first quarter. Mathematically, the first quarter has left us with indeed infinite number of memories, experiences and lessons. It's like a gigantic solution space with lots of solutions in response to tons of problems which were encountered. Three cheers to the first quarter of our lives ! Everything is stored in the memory of our mind, however, only a part of it retained & absorbed. The rest of it doesn't get forgotten either, it just goes into a state of non-regular attention, which when left unattended might go into the state of "rarely used activity/action/observation".

As we grow, new events occupy this already populated mind and replace the existing events/solutions&problems with newer ones. Priorities change. Perceptions change. Attitudes change. The "library" of our mind grows and a lot of existing thoughts change the priority line with the new ones.

The surprising thing is that we don't even realize this, until we write a piece of crappy blog like this. I am suprised, at the same time a little numb, are you?

Bachpan ke dost-log !!

2006-09-25T19:10:00.000-05:00

Some of our childhood friends hold a special place in lives. They bring a sense of nostalgia and delight. The same kind of delight when a child wins a snake & ladder game or when he/she successfully manages to get a mango from a tall tree or when a smart catch is made in hide & seek game ! About 15 years ago there was no internet access, cell phones were rare and even land-lines weren't that common. There have been some friends who have been lost for a long time. But now Internet has connected all of us so brilliantly ! Thanks to the internet, I was able to find one of such friends...It was simply great to see her back after so many years. All the school memories, those great teachers (some not so great !), those peons, those "bhel-walas", those great canteen vada pavs, those recess rings, pakda-pakdee games, science-quiz and numerous pranks :) will always have a special place in all our hearts 'cos they are so ineffably lovely. Hopefully long-lost friends will be found and once again become an integral part of our lives in some way or the other !

Cheers! :))

All by myself

2006-07-18T17:27:00.000-05:00

When I was young
I never needed anyone
And makin love was just for fun
Those days are gone

Livin alone
I think of all the friends Ive known
But when I dial the telephone
Nobodys home

All by myself
Dont wanna be
All by myself anymore
All by myself
Dont wanna live
All by myself anymore

Hard to be sure
Some times I feel so insecure
And love so distant and obscure
Remains the cure

All by myself
Dont wanna be
All by myself anymore
All by myself
Dont wanna live
All by myself anymore

--ERIC CARMEN: GREAT SONG !

The Unknown Fury

2006-05-28T12:25:00.000-05:00

Nothing's as dangerous as Nature's fury. The recent Indonesian earthquake re-affirmed the dominance of THE FORCE, which can destroy anything, anytime. Just goes to show that we can be sucked up into the abyss and reduced to nothing-ness in no time. Donno why Nature has specific location in mind...especially after the same region was crushed about one & a half year ago. Is there any patterns in this? Is there any reason ...for this kind of destruction? May be that's how it's meant to be. Imagine the home taken away in an instant, the closed ones buried so fast that even their memories go with them forever; leaving suffering at its worst. Such thoughts send shivers throughout the body.

Spared are the ones who are fortunate, people like us. Thank that FORCE for not using Its wrath on mortals like us. Just live for the moment, and hope that we never experience Nature's fury. It's the scariest thing in the world.

LIVE IN PEACE, AS LONG YOU ARE ALLOWED TO ;).

Please don't forget to reserve my a$$

2006-05-23T18:28:00.000-05:00

The 27% Quota reservations has finally beaten the prevailing sense in India. I wonder if these quotas could lead to a large impact..Imagine a country split into 2: Open and Caste-quota people. But alas, that can never happen :( But theoretically that will solve the problems for people seeking education and jobs.

Let's sit, watch and laugh. Abhi to aur bhi life mein problems dekhne hai :) Save energy for future frustrations like: Homes only for OBC, Flat/Apartment reservations for lower caste, College for only lower castes, Internet access only for OBC, Cricket team only of castists, Restrooms only for OBC and SC, "XYZ BISCUITS: OF THE OBC, FOR THE OBC AND BY THE OBC", Petrol discount for OBC, Train seats only reserved for OBC, "Maggie Noodles; With a new OBC looks and taste", Tax-reduction for the "less" priveleged, TV shows like Who needs Talent anyway? , Bilboards like "Worried about future: Come to us, we'll convert you to OBC and SC and take care of all problems", Counseling Centers for Open-category People depressed by the Corrupt leaders; which by the way will be coincidentally run by OBCs....

"Game khelne mein bada maja ayega" -- Teja from Andaz Apna Apna.

All of you !

2006-05-12T16:39:00.001-05:00

Let's watch a movie people, what say !
Let's go to a music concert hmm?
Let's hang around the campus and check out beautiful gals..it's not even a question !
Let's rush to the cafeteria and grab a bite or so..it's gonna be mah treat anyway :)
Grab your notebook and let's listen to music and play some...
How about playing cricket at the good ol' place?
Or may be ping pong at the college gym?
Or may be just a peaceful drive through the silent streets at midnight....
Or watch anything you say !
How about mimicking somebody and laughing our hearts out?
How about a nice lill conference call?
How about a prank to enjoy?
Or a self obsessed photo session?
Tell anything, do anything, think anything, sing anything and we'll enjoy...betcha !
It's been a pleasure and will be privelege with all of you fabulous friends !

Finding the priceless Cure

2006-05-02T17:13:00.000-05:00

One tiighttt Slap..

The idea of including castem system and quotas in the Private sector is a testimony of India's helplessness to cope up with one of the mankind's worst DISEASES, the disease is called "BHEYD-BHAV". This is a real complex problem and it's gonna take one helluva effort to rout this biggest piece of crap from India. We Indians should look for a breakthrough to find a permanent cure for this DISEASE, along with other diseases like AIDS, Tuberculosis etc. which have made a lot of our junta to suffer. Caste System is indeed a DISEASE, and it not only creates a life-long frustration , but also deprives a lot people of their day-to-day peace of mind.

It's an INTRA-RACISM. It's sad to see even in a place like USA, that people from various parts of India form their own lobby and prefer their own caste people. Their explanation is that : "We find it easy to relate with people of the same caste". Agreed, but why the ignorance for other caste people. They look down to people of other caste and also mock them. Someone said to me that in India, people take pride in their own "state culture" and they are conspicuously biased...which to a substantial extent is true. Sad but true. Is UNITY IN DIVERSITY really demonstrated?? or is it just becoming a pretense ! I think our punch line should be "UNITY IN ADVERSITY". Yes, unity in the presence of adversities like caste-hatred, anti-religious thoughts and corruption.

It's because of things like caste system, young people have become hopeless of things like: hardwork, equality etc..everything seems futile in the presence of caste system. Caste system is raping the talent of our country and it's high time that we all do something, in some way or the other. The question is: WHO WILL START THE WAVE, THAT WILL KICK THE CASTE SYSTEM'S SORRY ASS OUT OF OUR COUNTRY.

I won't hesistate to admit that we all have been fags to just talk about this and do nothing. May be we should do something.

Are you ready..?

2006-04-26T17:02:00.000-05:00

Let the game begin:

Waiting for the pinnacle, only to be shattered again and again,
Waiting for the real dream to come, only to be thrashed everywhere,

This is indeed getting an ordeal, but nothing seems to be sweeter than pain,
And the the best company seems to be myself,

As I wait and watch the next series of ravaging blows come to face,
Planning how to escape 'em and how to deal with 'em if encountered,

Will always be happy to give you that extra nail to pin inside this mortal body,
Let the new game begin, I am ready for your attack, ready to be attacked;

Walking down the road with unstoppable energy,
If you got 10 million tons of pain to offer, I'm ready for 1 more to take:)

Come satisfy your hunger, come and eat away all my visions, I'll have new ones!
Come and try to scare me, you will realise that you are the one whose most scared,

Come and try to look into my eyes, you'll realise that you have balls less than me !

Why did you leave?

2006-04-21T15:47:00.000-05:00

Just another Simple free style poem :)..

You have been the most graceful person, ever since I came into this world,
You taught me to come out of every troubled situation and cold,

The lessons I learned from you were to laugh, give and love,
Everything you did were a class, everyone else's above,

You were our savior whenever there was any turmoil,
You took control of everything and never let our sadness pile,

Things you always sacrificed unconditionally made perfect sense of how to live,
That's why it was always so easy for us, in you, to believe

You will be an eternal smile in face of difficulties,
Because of you, we will create sense out of difficulties,

Your touch was the gentlest I could ever get,
I hope your teachings will never let us your valuable lessons forget,

And I am glad to write this for you, for you deserved a lot better than life,
This life is dedicated to you for you will help us erase every strife,

All I need to say is thank you in the sincerest sense,
May we never lose hope and smile in your ever-lasting presence.

The Purity Quotient: Who's got how much??

2006-04-21T00:56:00.000-05:00

This does matter, big time.

We were once all peaceful and pure, but what does being pure mean, and how did we act? Impurities are chains that make us soo senseless that we become ignorant, unconcious and lazy. PURITY sets us free. It gives us the key to Knowledge, Peace, Happiness, Power and the Ultimate Force.

PURITY is so precious, so rare, so powerful, we have to die for it. We have to destroy the old self, the old vices that are so much part of us; anger, greed, attachment, infatuation, ego to name a few...PURITY's light is such that we are not confined by boundaries of color, sex, race, religion, etc. but we can see far beyond and experience each and every human as a genuine friend. Its might is such that nothing can shake us, its light is the one which will be the brightest.

Love it easy

2006-04-20T08:59:00.000-05:00

Learn and Go up in life

Recently, we discovered that it'll be a lot better if we had "love" education, just like sex education in school/college days. We should have a seminar or a short 2 credit-hour course dedicated to this and it should be mandatory core-course. This course-work will be dedicated to teach young-naive people about the distinction between "Good" Friendship, Admiration and "Love" (only in Heterosexual terms). Two exams could be possibly held with bi-weekly practical assigments and a mid-term project.

Falling in love is a very complicated thing; many including me are still trying to figure out what it means. Getting out of it is another challenging proposition. So fall in love (according to what you define love as) only if you can easily get out of it. Orkut groups like "kuch khone ke liye kuch paana padta hai" tries to explain this using varying topics of discussion, ranging from childhood memories to WWF (note: many things in that community might seem irrelevant or unrelated, but in the end the true realization will dawn upon us).

The main focus of this couse-work will be to impart discipline to our thought process and anti-stress mechanisms (for stress caused by purely 1-sided love).

Any comments or feedback are welcome. Let's make this happen and liberate ourselves from the danger of falling in love, when we can't afford to.

Another Terrific Day

2006-04-19T09:03:00.000-05:00

Well, the season seems to get beautiful day by day. Great sunshine to start with, awesome weather, slow day at work though. This kind of day makes me wanna reiterate on behalf of all of us that a great morning leads a great day ahead. Hope this enthusiasm and energy keeps on spreadin', credit to the glorious morning Sunshine. Thank you Sunshine !!

Sing Sing Sing.....

2006-04-17T19:13:00.000-05:00

Sing a song:
To sing is to show your enthusiasm,
To sing is to let out your trapped voice
To sing is to leave your worries behind,
To sing is to show love for something,
To sing is to kick your shyness,
To sing is to entertain yourself....
So no matter how your voice is, don't forget to sing, 'cos it'll surely make someone laugh or mesmerised or make them wanna mock you (neverthless you are a source of laughter !! ha ha ).........And if you forget the words, then do remember that there'll always be a friend to remind you the words :)

Canal Square: Welcome to Apt#367

2006-04-16T11:40:00.000-05:00

Woke up an hour ago and feel very quiet today. There's a cool water fountain just in front of our apartment below...our apartment has this beautiful canal view. Our apartment is way far away from the street, undisturbed by the noise of vehicles. Just the sound of water gushing in and out. Reminds of some serene trekking place of Sahyadris with waterfall :) People love to walk in this place. During summer, it's even beautiful, 'cos people play church-music, offer prayers, get married just near the same fountain. It's truly amazing that presence of water makes your surroundings transform into a super-lively-bright place. What I love the most is that there are ducks and geese that swim in the canal and people let their dogs into the canal for their dogs to play with 'em..it's real fun seeing the dogs swimming after those ducks/geese and chasing 'em. Just feel fortunate to have this apt, 'cos it makes your morning wonderful !

Inspiration to live and be great

2006-04-15T22:16:00.000-05:00

It's very easy and tempting to get carried away by emotions, especially when everything seems to be lost in this world. At that very moment lies the true test of how brave we are, how sensible we are to control the negativities within and around us. Once we take charge of our untamed emotions, we get out of the unreal world of false hopes & fears. We then truly stand on our own feet, firmly grounded, with our chest held high with purpose and our head at its steadiest. After this, we seek discipline with which we move ahead. Discipline the most luxurious vehicle, yet under-rated. With an unshakeable attitude, wisdom, knowledge and application, life does seem to be extremely worth living. God is one form of discipline. Incorporate God in life and cherish each and every effort in your path. Accept what's offered on plate. Ask not why it happened, know why it happened. The only way to sustain momentum is to keep the motivation clear all the time. Keep it pasted on your forehead, on your palms, all over the body so that you live for that motivation, live with that motivation :) .
Abstain completly from unwanted, impure, unhealthy substances, irrespective of "what I did in the past or what an ass I was in the past". Help others whenever you feel that you can afford to do so. Never lose an opportunity to help sincerely needy people. Help yourself by never being too harsh or critical to yourself or wonderful people around you. Whether you win or lose, never forget to give a whole hearted laugh :) .Earn money for the wise reasons and never get lost in the materialistic race. This seems to be one of the cool mantras for life. This is the real inspiration in itself.

Song birds

2006-04-15T15:41:00.000-05:00

Song-Birds are special birds of Spring season..their voice is amongst the sweetest offered by mother nature. They are so unique. As the new buds and leaves branch out from plants and trees, these wonderful birds get busy to plan nesting. I was walking down the street last week with my mp3 player on and yet I could hear the beautiful chirp of birds on trees. I stopped my player, undid my ear phones and quietly started observing the gifts of nature. Birds of great color combinations which which might have surely inspired MAN to start music from early existing days. The sounds are truly melodious, which along with the gorgeous morning sunshine makes life bright and optimistic.

Thoughts on a Merciful day

2006-04-15T14:59:00.000-05:00

Mercy:

To the world, the murderer condemned to die has no mercy. To the murderer, the world has no mercy; and so the long, strong chain of man's inhumanity to man continues. It is the story of man judging his fellow-men and extracting what he thinks is the price to be paid for an action..non-action. There is awalys a price to pay.

Nowadays, it is felt by some people that to show mercy is a sign of weakness in character. Not true. Rather it is a sign of great strength, vision and wisdom. To be merciful is to show accurate understanding of the situations in life which go way beyond the fact and evidences as they are presented visibly.

To be merciful (in any situation, however small or big) indicates an elevated consciousness, so high, that inspite of disparities and overwhelming negative temptations, we can have the strength to say: I understand and forgive. Let's walk on.

You pick the winner :))

2006-04-15T14:40:00.000-05:00

Two Wolves:- (taken from an old story...)

Once upon a time, in a beautiful village, a small boy asked his wise old grandfather: "Why do people always fight amongst themselves?" The granfather replied: "Because they tame different wolves in their bodies"...the little boy was perplexed...to which the grandfather immediately replied: "Son, there are 2 types of wolf inside my heart. One is the wild, dangerous, cruel, greedy, aimless, bhooka-bhediya types and the other being calm, loving, kind, friendly and wise. These two always fight between themselves"....to which the boy asked:"So, which one is winning, or which normally wins??"...the wise man replied: "The one which I feed wins"..the little boy gave a wonderful smile and made a promise to feed the wise wolf always, no matter what his surroundings offered.

Three cheers to Potatoes

2006-04-15T14:27:00.000-05:00

Potatoes have been always been a life-saver in starvation periods. When out of grocery, potatoes never let us down. We have so many options: Simple curry, Pav-bhaji, boiled potato, mashed potatoes, hash browns, etc..Potatoes remind me of good ol' days , when in winter, we all friends used to light up a small fire and roast potatoes whilst warming ourselves from the cold after playing badminton or volleyball.
Bhel puris have a special relation with potatoes, they mix so well with each other in terms of taste. Other chats & snacks that use the taste of potatoes are Ragda patties, Alu-paratha etc..I wish we made these dishes regularly :) ..and who can forget the lays chips ! as I end this, I make a list of grocery with potatoes leading the list...I am outta potatoes in kitchen and I am satisfying my appetite with this blog.
Long live Potatoes !

PEACE OUT :)

2006-04-15T14:18:00.000-05:00

Just a simple poem by me:

Take peace, take peace, It's not for sale or on lease,
It's just a way to live And make everyone's dreams achieve,
Take peace, take peace, It's what the cold is to fleece,
It's a door to all "ships", including the biggest of 'em all called "Friendship" ...
Take peace, take peace, It's not just a notion gees!
It's a reality that'll remove a face's crease,
Make peace, make peaceLive and let live without breaking a single heart in piece
Try and get addicted to Peace!