My kite and my balloon..

The winds made it sway swiftly from one direction to the next. It had reached new heights where only eagles and seagulls soared.. the joy was aplenty, to reach new heights, by breaking its own records and trying to set another new ones.. Down, the town looked like a miniature portrait, with all the humans as ants crawling on the floor…Its only competitor -the kite, was also way below.. so whistling and swaying from side to side, it doles its way through the clouds… the helium inside had worked wonders. Balloon paid all its due respect to helium inside – it was with helium that the journey it took, reached new heights while making it so light that it could afloat like those rain bearing clouds, high above.. lighter hearts always remain afloat…

While kite below, in its own mood, took its own strides, aware of gap between balloon and it. It was aware that it was its own effort that made it reach where it is today, unlike balloon. Living this state with all the poise and sharpness , it was aware of balloons limitations as well, that if balloon tried to travel farther then its own capacity to bear the air pressure , it might give way to air pressure but that air pressure which might affect balloon may not affect it as it was free from any conflict between internal and external forces peering on its surface.. Being said and done it maintained its poise and cherished the scenery it bypassed.. Keeping in mind that it was the journey that mattered along with the heart to cherish and reach new heights made to self for the self..

barah ka show..

…and the sound of claps covered the hall and then faded to silence... while Rani and Jodha were brought back behind the curtain - standing like a barricade high above, like the several others.. and were rested at their respective places.. Audience moved like a snail towards the exit and almost apparently looked like they didn’t move but just stood; wanting to see some more of these acts...

While behind the curtain, Rani and Jodha were now almost steady from their last movement of being notched to their respective places. The lights from the stage were turned off. The able hands which had made Rani and Jodha play their characters, had moved off, and they lay still like the others, rested in silence..

Scared of silence and the enthusiasm to act still more made Rani blurt out to Jodha, almost weeping, hoping that the able hands may hear it and act accordingly - why did the able hands move off when I still wanted to act more, were the audience so bored of our characters that they moved off like this, why I don’t have energy like able hands to move myself when I want to, why do I’ ve to depend on the able hands..

Jodha stood like a caring mother to Rani , listening as patiently as she could and then when Rani stopped lamenting quoted “ Rani , we are puppets in the hands of the able hands and there is no way we can act without the extra energy of the able hands.. But what you are provided, which no able hand can snatch is the power to think of your own, convey your wishes of what you would like to act during the act of puppetering to the able hands and the able hands will make you move accordingly.. it is that power that u need to utilize and enjoy your acts that you wished to enact within the time period of puppetering… ” With that answer there lay the silence in the auditorium , no regrets , no laments ,only hope to see the new tomorrow ….

How could I judge you, when I am trying to discover my ownself...,
and yet we judge others more often than we judge our ownselves....

The Unsung Heroes, the Flawed Patriotism and the Change Agents…

15th August came and went , celebrations of the 60th year of independence observed harmoniously, chimes of Jan Gan Mana , Vande Mataram etc , being played almost everywhere , with people hoisting the small plastic flags sold at the traffic junction.. and wow we did show our streaks of patriotism..

Why have we found satisfaction in the superficial living, where we just make do with the showbiz only? I guess somewhere deep inside that superficiality might be pinching us also and may be probably for many it’s gone for a blind eye where one doesn’t even realize that difference..

If for an instance, someone asks you, how should your living be – most of us will come up with an answer, a happy and a peaceful living (inclusive of all the materialistic pleasures, if that’s what makes a life happy and peaceful). Yet we forget the glory of all the unsung heroes- the armed forces, which takes care of our nation from the evil enemy eyes- to save us and our nation or our freedom fighters also – whose only purpose of living was to make this country free from the long tyranny rule.

Why can’t we appreciate every single individual’s efforts, whose shoes we cannot put our feet in…

The people in the armed forces would be living a tough life, looking to the norms, rules and regulations that they have to stick to, in order to follow the discipline, law and order of the forces. In that case they are not at a liberty to do what pleases them unlike us democratic civilians. Then why do we have to be remembered of their deeds or sufferings. And if they could give the most precious thing they own – Their Own Life for us, why can’t we do or act even a bit to bring to order even a single thing that draws our concern, like the messy and dirty roads and surroundings, impure drinking water, uneducated mass etc etc..

We need to be the change agents and bring about change in whatever field that draws our concern and not just lay our hopes and blames on someone else and be content by just hoisting the flawed and superficial patriotism on just two important days in the history of Indian independence..

The Lead India campaign by the TOI is indeed a step forward in that direction ( wouldn’t matter even if its one step at a time as far as the road leads to positive progress ) and I wish that they prune out many dynamic leaders who can lead others while putting their heart and soul to change the face of the nation..

Chak de Indyeah….

Chak de India!! Now this is the flavour of the season, the song of the season, and the spirit of the season as India steps into the sixtieth year of independence..
Went to see the movie yesterday and I must say I was impressed by the movie and for the first time impressed by Shah Rukh’s acting..

What’s impressive about the movie is that it revolves around our National sport – Hockey and all the more about Women’s hockey.
I am sure this movie is going to act as a booster in the game’s popularity among the youth and all the more make it crave back its long lost stand against cricket.
The movie quotes many finer things subtly.. How our society discourages a girl child’s likings and motivations and yet the girls don’t succumb to the society norms and stick to their passion – to play hockey for the nation ( am sure this movie is going to add to more of girl power and encourage more girls through out the nation to have courage and take a leap to make their dreams come true) , about how girls unite to chuck some rowdy boys , about how if a team needs to win – team work, motivation and right guidance are so important, about how never to give up on hope, about how important it was to play for the nation , being identified as one from this nation and not one belonging to a particular state..
So this movie was neither too heavy nor too serious but an inspiring one and more so there was nothing like a heroine and a hero in the movie singing songs but a one that touches us somewhere down the heart and mind.. ( that is my take :) other critics can have their views )

This is where media and theatre play a very big and effective role in changing the mind sets of people and mass at large or rather make people start thinking of their own view points viz a viz as what the movie or media projects.. If this medium is used in the right fashion it can bring about a revolution and am glad more directors are coming up to provide with such subjects which can help make us into better citizens.. am sure with the present genre of people with the changing mindsets , such movies are going to gain acceptability..

Wishing all a very Happy Independence day in advance ...

The promise of a new day..

Let each new day begin with a humble prayer..that is what we are taught at school and at home.. to make us into a good human being.. and that we all have our own individual prayers to pray to God too ..
School taught me many prayers, slokas- some difficult, some too long, and its ages that I have prayed those prayers.. but there is this little prayer taught in my pre school, that we used to pray when the day ended at the school...Dont know why I remember this only after years of me passing the school ( because of a small and easy prayer or because it was the prayer, prayed when I was relieved from the scores of lectuers at school).. its a simple yet a meaningful one..
" O God , I am a little child, to you I always pray, forgive my sins and keep me yours throughout the night and day."

What could be the promise of a new day...
Let this day bring in me ample faith in me and my life ,
Let it help me to take the right path and the right stand,
Let it bring strength to face any new challenges that lay ahead in the path,
Let it harness my virtues and demise my vices...

(Though its published at the end of the day , it was meant to be published at the start of the day..)

One gaze and the notings ..

Random musings but concrete observations..

Walking past a construction site of over bridge being built in Ahmedabad , I note two larri walas , one selling chai and some bitings while another selling guthka , bidi etc, at one corner of the over bridge being built.
Nowhere would this site be seen, leaving apart aapnu Gujarat – the enterprising entity..
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Shopping and sale season, with sale tags being displayed at almost all the shops, what I wonder is why does one need to keep so high a price or such a high margin of profit for a piece of cloth or for any other bid on sale that the owners or the brands can actually go on and claim for a 70 % sale or 50 % sale etc. And yet people throng in to shop the discounted goods in all the bheed – bhad, to get the best buy. But we still love the sale season ( and I am a part of that we :) ) ..
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While we are looking for a company who’s alike, yet we are also in a look out for a company who’s not alike us but who supplements and complements us…

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While paying a visit to an extremely popular temple or place of worship ( it became popular because the wishes were granted apparently ) we find that everyone out their, bow their heads and with hands folded ,ask for their wishes to be fulfilled. Hardly anyone out there would have wished for person standing next to us that his/her wish be fulfilled leaving apart ours.
With such a huge number of followers, God would be wondering whose wish to grant, but had there been a rule or numbers given to each of us for our turn for our wish to be fulfilled, we would have always wished and prayed for the people ahead of us that their wish be fulfilled faster so that we get our turn fast…


6-8-2007

is the justice served ?

I have all my sympathies for Sanju Baba. Why was he brunt with a Rigorous imprisonment of 6 yrs for an act he did almost 14 years back of which he already served his imprisonment for 13 months and later on worked in a positive direction to change his image from the real Munna Bhai to a subtle and down to earth Sanju Baba.

Chief justice and several others alike think that this is a way to serve justice and teach the rowdy a thing or two. But where did this sense of teaching justice go during several other occasions where the terrorist were left free in a trade between leaving the passengers safe of IC 814, Kandhar hijack episode or several other such occasions. Why is there no check to teach the terrorists absconding free or left free on demand of several other bhai’s and why no act is taken when such relieved terrorists run into other such ruthless terrorist acts or rather have several such unaccounted acts on their books ? Where is the chief justice’s justice?
And what more can one, teach a person who has changed his course of action and learned from his past mistakes? Would working with other fellow jails mates make him any better?

Justice needs to be seen holistically, to make one realize his/her mistake and make him/her take a path of self improvement such that they lead several others like them and guide them from their own mistakes…

3-8-2007

ABCD's

About fifteen days back we were privileged to have a convention called “America days”, organized by Saurastra University and few other bodies in affiliation with the US consulate, Mumbai with media partner being BIG FM. This was a novel effort happening for the first time in Rajkot (being a grade C city). Various lecture series on various topics like Visit US, Higher education in US, Visa issues, US-India Business Opportunities, Cultural aspects in Communication, geography of US, Climate changes, etc. were arranged and various dignitaries from US, US consulate Mumbai and few dignitaries of various fields from India had come to deliver the lectures. I did take this opportunity and attended few selected programs of my interest and concern. The sad part was people here are in such slumber that they hardly took the advantage of such programs. Consulate had presumed that people will throng to attend and had booked a big auditorium but to add to their disgrace, the big auditorium was barely filled to a quarter. I wonder if they will ever undertake such series in future here at Rajkot.

During this program series, one evening a Carnatic music program was arranged. The performers were ABCD’s, who had received Fulbright scholarship to attain Masters in Music from maestros here in India and had traveled all the way from Banglore, where they are taking their coaching, to perform here, bearing in mind that there is no direct flight to Rajkot from Banglore so they took a flight to Mumbai and from Mumbai to Rajkot. The audience as like the other days was to the bare minimum. But to my delight both the performers, were exuberant, bubbly, confident, young, performed wonderfully and were least concerned whether the crowd was there or not or whether the crowd was active or passive , good or bad. They were into their performance leaving apart all the external factors. The Carnatic singer has educated in Neuroscience but was into the singing since the age of eight and was here to get mastery into Carnatic vocal while the violinist majored in western classical but was here to learn Carnatic music on violin. The promptness with which they sang and played from classical numbers to bhajans to Indian numbers and western on demand of the audience so swiftly was praise worthy.

While my sister and me did congratulate them for their performance and had a general chat with both the girls, what impressed me most was that they were in no way American born confused desi(ABCD) but American born confident desi’s. Kudos to both of them.
While we are loosing our culture and going western, it is such people in west retaining the culture of the east.
2-8-2007