Intruders, trespassers..

For last one week, I have been on a mission. Mission Impossible?!

I am trying to make my house "cockroach-free" This apt that I got for myself in Blr, is a brand new one, but already infested with many small-time cockroaches. Unfortunately, all my attempts have been futile till now. One Sunday evening after investing my whole weekend, I thought I have killed every damn creature, next day the manic monday morning, from one corner a tiny one appears, looks at me and waves its antenna as if to say a hello, crudely reminding me " cockroaches can survive nuclear explosions, who the hell am I?" ! In Pune, I had innumerable count of ants attacking anything edible that they came across, i thought they were only interested in sweets, but I guess they can suck glucose from a spicy morsel of Haldiram Bhujiya, afterall they are Indian pests! When we lived in Jaipur, houseflies used to plan strategies to ruin our lunches every summer afternoon, may be the armies of the world can pick up a trick or two. In Calcutta, I was attacked countless times by the mosquitoes, they successfully injected the malarial parasite three times into me, leaving me frail and weak..and my home in Allahabad, has been invaded a number of times with those "homely" rodents, as if some Piped Piper was playing and showing them the way in.

I wonder why these creatures want to live so close to the vicinity of human beings, we Indians feed them well, as we have a "good" habit of throwing waste anywhere, besides its designated place allocated by the municipality, on the roads, on the footpaths, in the parks, in the staircases of our shopping malls, infront of our next door neighbour's house, or in the current apartment system - throw everything out from the balcony and Newton's gravitational pull doing rest of the job. These living creatures have so many places to feed or overload their tiny stomach, why do they need to intrude our households and then getting themselves killed in the bargain for good food? Live happily by feeding on our wastes. Spare the already tired, exhuasted, overworked homo sapiens alone! Huh, are these creatures listening? Perhaps they never would! I read up somewhere, the wealthy neighbourhood of Beverly Hills saw some rodent attacks recently, then why will they exit from a household of a urban middle class family from the third world nation err..a developing nation.

Democratic India!

The Bangalore weather has been the same for the last two weeks, no trace of rain, but cold moist wind sweeping the mother earth, the sky is covered with threatening clouds, as if the heavens will open the doors any time..a weather for which Bangalore is famous for. :) An ideal one to go out for a picnic or a trek!
The new chief minister of state of Karnataka has taken the oath, the first saffron rule in Southern India. And he is already facing the first crisis..farmers revolting for low stock of fertilizers. Like any other leader in the opposition party (Congress led UPA being at the centre), a stereo-typed political answer from a first time chief minister. He briefs the media and pacifies the farmers saying that the centre is not cooperating, it is not releasing fertilizer to the state of Karnataka. We listen, shake our heads and sit quiet.
Another state under saffron rule, Rajasthan..there is a deeper crisis going on there..gujjars want to be given a scheduled tribe status as promised during election campaigns..it has led to wide spread violence and bloodshed and not to forget the loss of national property and economic losses to the country. And opposition leaders of the state of likes of Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot sit in their chair with folded arms, describes it as an unfortunate incident and demand an High Court inquiry, and their job is done..again a stereo typed answer. We listen, shake our heads and sit quiet.
Now lets go to West Bengal, a state ruled for ages by the Left, an ally of the UPA @ centre. A bandh and "lal jhanda" has become a part of the integral culture there..A steep fuel price hike of Rs. 5/- had them go head over heals to declare a week long bandh in Left Ruled states, the flights and trains into Calcutta disrupted for two days, the city coming to a grinding halt for a day and half..people agitating..despite the whole world knowing that the crude oil prices are touching $138 a barrel, and the Left expects govt and PSUs to bear the burden, cut down sales taxes, the government empties the coffers. A very traditional answer from a Communist party, which believes that rich people are the immoral, despite Jyoti Basu's son being one the richest man in West Bengal. We listen, shake our heads and sit quiet.
Now lets come to the centre, the whole country is ruled by a lady residing at 10, Janpath...inabilities by her government is successfully covered up by putting the blame of the opposition. Left and congress hate each other, they are falling apart, but still they hold on to avoid elections, an election, which would have them voted out of power! Laloo Yadav is waiting to become the PM of India, afterall he has turned India's largest PSU into a profit centre. Sharad Pawar the baron from maharastra...one is unable to understand how he and Congress are seperate, same idealogies, same manifestos, but different parties! And the great art our honourable PM, Manmohanji (one of the most educted politician our country has got) and Soniaji have learnt of patting each other's back, the amazing way of befooling the mass..and then Rahul "baba" all of a sudden going to a Dalit house in UP and sits in a dharna there, to let the world know about his concerns for dalits in a state ruled by BSP, a dalit party..and the very next moment he takes a flight to see a match at Eden Gardens in company of Shahrukh Khan. And again, We listen, shake our head and sit quiet.
Five years go by...its election time, and we dance to the tune of democracy, oust the ones in power and get the opposition in power and blame it on incumbency! If there is no clear majority, buy MPs, split parties, house-arrest MPs in some secluded place, have them paraded before the President...people of opposite ideologies, who fought each other tooth and nail in the election, join hands to form one coalition ...and how it happens...Money, as its said money can buy "iman", do our politicians have "iman"?
The new rule begins with vows of change in policies, promise to undo everything done by the previous govt..some attractive policies are declared, some IAS and IPS officers are transferred, ...but then all cools down and netas become extremely busy thinking about comman man...you must be kidding....loading their pockets with hoards and hoards of money! This is democracy!
Isn't it all easy, so easy is the art of politics, so easy to make a fool of the man on streets of democratic India!? sujalaam sufalaam malayaj sheetalaam sasya shyaamalaam maataram...vande!

Jonathan Cainer has an unique style of writing, he seems to be a mind reader, his words are so accurate, very well articulated..I wish I could meet the person who actually phrases those lines.
Since I have moved to Bangalore, there are many new things that make my emotions sail from a high tide to a low one..despite the rough sail of emotions, I feel my life has never been so monotonous, so slow paced, so dull and unenthusiatic. And resultant, I have too much time for myself..and as the famous saying goes "empty mind is devil's workshop", so readers....I AM THE DEVIL :D :D.
I will trust what Jonathan has predicted for me, hoping against hope that what he says comes true..
When our horse comes in - or our number comes up - we consider ourselves to have been blessed. When it rains on our parade or when our plan goes pear-shaped, we suspect we have been cursed. Where, though, is this divine dispenser of help or hindrance? According to what criteria are we punished or rewarded? Just in case you think the question is simple to answer, consider this. Some 'lucky breaks' turn out to have exceedingly unfortunate consequences. And vice versa. You may not consider yourself now to be exceptionally well taken care of. But you are... as you will soon discover.

State of Mind

Beheta Hai Mann Kahin, Kahaan Jaante Nahin, Koyi Rok le Yahin
Bhaage Re Mann Kahin, Aage Re Mann Chala, Jaane Kidhar Jaanu na

There cannot be better expression than this of my restless state of mind..

It hovers from past, present and the future..takes me through a roller coaster ride of emotions...happiness, anger, sorrow. It takes me to my contended childhood days in Jaipur where every evening I used to wait for the clock to strike 4 and I could go out and play, it takes me to my home in Allahabad, which lies deserted and lonely without its occupants..it makes me travel to Dhaka, to that annual day celebrations when Sister Barbara hugged me tight for winning 10 awards for the year for my accomplishments in sports, debate, literature and drama....and then suddenly it flies to the day when I left Delhi for Pune, an unknown city, leaving behind loads of good and bitter memories...it races to the joyous day when I got my first salary cheque..and all of sudden when I bask in joy of that memory, my mind takes me back to that rainy day in Dhaka, my adorable pet's last loving gaze...my mind flies to those anxious days in Jaipur, when I used to eagerly wait for my brother to come home once a year for his vacations...from there it takes me to that garrulous Brazilian lady cab driver of Bentonville, who told me in every detail of her first love and her first date under moonlit night at Sao Paulo...it is then transcended to the day when I said goodbye to Pune, a city where I thought I will not be able to stay more than 6 months, and I spent 6 valuable years of my professional life under the able guidance of some intelligent souls, and then all of a sudden all my wandering halts at the ICU of the Hinduja Hospital Bombay, when I last spoke to my father.

But why I wonder, why is my mind so restless, why does it make me cry and smile at the same time? Why is my mind expecting from those who shall not look back, why does it give me a ray of hope about the coming days? Why does it give me consolation that to every cloud there is a silver lining?...perhaps Milton said it right...The mind is its own place, and in itself Can make a heaven of Hell, a hell of Heaven.

Dhhundhhu main kahaan usko, batlaaye koyi mujhko; Ke haan haan haan re Bhaage re mann kahin..

Missing IPL

I am a cricket buff, and after a month long dose of Twenty 20, I am missing the IPL. It was good to see that the two things that unite India - Bollywood and cricket merge to offer entertainement and serious sports and arise mass hysteria on cricketing grounds. I cannot comment on how Indian cricket esp. the young guns would actually gain, but IPL is an emphatic success. If we consider IPL as a product, this has been one of the most successful product launches in the marketing world of current time; would make Philip Kotler proud of it. I read teams like Mohali, Knight Riders, Dare Devils and Rajasthan Royals are breaking-even and registering profits in the first year itself, what a better business case study! The already rich BCCI is richer, the Sony Entertainement Channel is oozing with profits, kudoos to Lalit Modi and his men behind it.
But we need to note that some significant things have happened behind the scene. The most important: introduction of the corporate world into Indian cricket, and business tycoons of likes of Vijay Mallaya are silently trying to bring the hire and fire policy in the game of cricket, perform or you are kicked out. Charu Sharma was the first to be shown the doors. Rahul Dravid would have been the next, but somehow his skin was saved. There has been a constant talk of professionalism in Indian cricket, I guess this may be a new dawn.
Second, introduction of club culture, will bring together the cricketers of the world. With aggression and zeal to excel, friction between cricketers are at a rise, incidents of "Abbe maa ki" will still remain a part of international cricket. But, I feel cultural exchange will benefit the cricket community at a large. On a lighter note, may be the Australians learn tit bit Hindi, and also accept the fact that the people of third world nations also have balls!!
Third, cricket and Hollywood are religion in India. Noone can deny that IPL has merged the two unifying factors. It has given a common platform for Sachin Tendulkar and Shah Rukh Khan the biggest household names of all Indian homes across the globe. People may crib, fret, state that IPL is about cheer leaders, traditional followers of game may say its only entertainment..people can frame all the negative things..but what emerges is the craze of the people of India. The blend of bollywood peppy number with the cracking sound from the willow will leave its indelible impression on the hearts of the people of India. Incredible India!

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

I just finished reading Kite Runner..the story was so enthralling, that after a long time I completed a book in two days..as I child, I have finished reading Enid Blytons, esp. the Famous Fives' in 10 -12 hours, I read my favourite book of all times "Gone with the Wind" within three days, that too just before my Xth pre-boards....during my worklife, I donot remember finishing books within such short spans...may be I have lot of time in hand these days to do things that I have always loved to..:) But yeah, its not the speed with which one can finish a book, how much one can grasp the thought put behind a book, is more important.
Kite Runner is a painful, honest story about raw emotions. It is a story of love, loyalty, loss of innocence, betrayal, repentance, a story of Amir "Jan" and Hassan, story of Baba, Ali and Rahim Khan, story of Shorab, set at a backdrop of a politically turmoiled Afganisthan - the downfall of the king, the attack of the Soviets, and the Taliban effect.
I have not read much about the Middle-East region or Afganistan and Pakistan, except a very few like "Not Without My Daugther" or "My Feaudal Lord". Somehow, I cannot make myself read much on the sufferings of people during war, or the cruelty that fanatics can inflict on comman man. It always leaves a bitter taste in my mouth and fills me with hatred, hence I keep myself away from stories scripted out of Iraq/Iran/Afghanistan.
A good friend of my brother, insisted that I should read it, and i am happy that I heeded to him. The book bares open one of the strongest relationships in the world – the relationship that is shared between two friends, one master the other a servant, one who is a legitimate child of Baba and other illegitimate, of two half brothers Amir and Hassan. The reader sails through a voyage of emotions...of disgust when Amir watches from behind a house Hassan being physically assaulted, of anger when Amir plots against Hassan of theft and compels him and Ali leave their house, of shame when Amir enjoys his success in the American world and Hassan struggles in Taliban Afganistan, of saddness when Shorab lies in the hospital and whispers "I am so kastha" I am so tired, of joy & triumph when Amir runs after the kite for Shorab under Fremont skies and utters " For you, a thousand times over"
I agree this book could have been better crafted, technical elements of style in literature may be missing, but it is not written with literary contibution in mind. It is a story told by a physcian, of human emotions, of Amir's contant struggle to triumph over his inability & cowardice.