Lest We Forget Them

RIP Steve Jobs. You were really a game changer. Put up for adoption, dropped out of college and fired off your own company and yet became a legend. Your story shall be an inspiration for generations.

RIP Jagjit Singh. Your velvety voice crooning some of the best numbers in Indian music shall be missed forever. The pain of the protagonist of the song was clearly reflected in your ghazals. Hats Off Sir!

Last week was a week of such (perhaps even more illustrious eulogies) and anything I say would perhaps be just an understatement on the sheer genius of these great souls, but this is not the theme of this post. All this while, I pondered upon the question – “Where were all this Apple & Ghazal fans when these two were alive?” They were still respected but on this scale??

In a way, the posthumous deluge of emotions, respect and awe of their genius is parallel to our own lives. Around us, we have people who are an indispensable part of our lives. We might not realize it but these people do little (or even crucial) things in our lives which touch us knowingly or otherwise. But we don’t bother to acknowledge their contribution to us: their love, their endless sacrifice. They are just in the background all the time, letting us take all the limelight. Only when they go away from our lives, do we realize their importance. Sometimes it’s because of our own ignorance, other times (like in these scenarios) it’s beyond our control.

I just wanna thank all those people who have been the Steve jobs & Jagjit Singh of my life: My parents, some of my close friends (whom I chose not to name), and some of my other friends on whom I often bank on for petty favors.

Do you have someone in your life too to whom you have ignored all this while? Go thank them. Or else you too shall be singing eulogies for them saying all that you wished to say but never could.

LOVE

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J

Happy B'day to me

Yay!! *does a little jump*

I turned 19 a few days ago (on 28 September).. It felt soooo good as for the first time celebrated with so many friends.. My 18th one was a disaster as only two of my friends turned up, but this time 7 of my besty besty friends celebrated my b'day with me..

Ya, 1-2 werent there, but i guess I'm being over-ambitious :P

So, as you'd have guessed already, this one is strictly about the person I love the most... ME :) :)

19 years of existence. Phew! It already feels so much more, something like 23 odd.. But the number 19 reassures me that I am still young yaar :) :) (Stuart little, one of my friends says :P)

So, the transition from 18 to 19, i.e the last year was a real learning experience. One that made me a lot more mature and much wiser. I know, it doesnt reflect in my behavior as for now :P but thats the way it is. Ya, first love, getting over past crushes , proving myself that I havent lost my acumen both in college and GRE.

GRE se yaad aya, 1430 has sadly become my epithet and sometimes it even irritates me. Ya, I know I got 1430 in GRE (highest in my batch) but come on!!! It is not what my defines..

Talking about defining me, I myself have failed to do so, leave others defining me.

The year ahead, I hope to be a much more fun-filled and a bit of learning too. For instance, I need to diversify my sense of humour which is often cutting to some. In terms of looks, I am fine (I hope so :P).

Career.... Naaaaa.. Am in no mood to talk about that. :P

Thats it.

KISS ;)

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J

(P.S- To those who think the ending was too abrupt: It was intentional)

Man is 'Mitey'

Bill Bryson's 'A Short History of Nearly Everything' is the best book I've ever read in my life. I have just read half of it and I love it more than India loves cricket. It is such a good book despite being from a non-fiction genre and that too SCIENCE, of all things. Any bibliophile who hasnt read this book doesnt know what a book is. Its about well, A short history of nearly everything. Starting from how earth was born to our present state.

But a book review wasnt the sole intention of this post. As I read more and more about our universe, I was just awestruck on how biiiiig it is. The fact that it is millions and billions of light years in size made no impact on me when I learnt them in school. But if you see them through analogies which are related to our daily life objects, it is literally 'Beyond Imagination'. And then, when I look upon myself, or even the human race as a whole I feel we are nothing more than a mite(hence the title). The universe is enormous, gigantic and so huge that adjectives fail to describe its scale.

Humans are bent on destroying this wonderful planet incessantly for what they call is 'technological development', but they forget that even though they may be very' might'y amongst current life forms, on universal scale they are to small to be even a 'mite'. Just a small event some light years away (i.e some billion odd kilometers away) and we'd be wiped from the face of earth, somewhat like the dinosaurs.

Its time we realize and feel humble about the life that has been given to us and our relationship with such a special planet which is our home. The forces of nature, not to mention the universe are too great to be tamed by any damn creation of we humans. All these talks of 'human spirit' and 'grit' are non-sense if there are no humans to tell the tale. The past is a witness of what became of even the mightiest of creatures. I know people might question it saying, what has the universe has to do with the amount of deforestation and mining, yada yada yada. But those who have carefully read the history of universe and the planet will not raise such cynical queries.

The sooner we mend our ways, the better.

KISS ;)

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J

Till Death Do us Part

I am not a big fan of weddings. My cousins and uncles and aunts often tease me that they'll make sure my marriage will be Hard-core ritualistic event. I often rebuke vehemently giving them some Masala (Spicy talk) to talk about.

But lets leave all that in the closet. Just from a purely objective point of view, I like those British-Christian kind of weddings. All those guests in suits and pretty dresses and the bride in white dress, coming down the aisle. Ya, I know probably its all movie-inspired, but that's the way it is.I dont quite prefer the best man & women kind of things. (The kind of 'cross-connection' they show in movies...)

I am a classy person at heart. Even though currently I might not have resources for that life but one can always dream :)

Anyways, another thing I like is the lack of senseless pomp and show. Marriage is a solemn affair and I see no reason why all of the town should be invited to it. It is consistent with my philosophy of "Keep it simple Silly.." It doesnt mean you dont celebrate.. Why else should there be a grand lavish party at night? ;)

I know the comments shall be- "Are you planning to get married?", "Who's the lucky girl" blah blah.. My ans- Nothing guys!! just a random thought came to my mind. I have no intentions to get married for atleast the next 7-8 years. Am just 18 Yaaaarr!! :)

Just A random, silly teenag-ish post this one. :P

KISS ;)

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J

Another Strike! Yet Again

So, another terrorist attack on our nation. This time at High Court, New Delhi. They have struck the heart of India and whats even more disgusting that they had carried a similar blast at the same place on 25 May.. What does this suggest?

Indians have been used to such attacks now. Someday or the other a blast takes place, a few die..

An uproar for a day or two. Some idiot intellectuals blabber on News shows and we all forget.

News channels always carry taglines -"The spirit of Mumbaikars", "Dil walon ki dilli" and all nonsense..

What else are we supposed to do? We feel so helpless.

Over that, idiot politicians (I dare not use any more adjectives or I shall be served with a breach of privilege notice) come out making the most incredible solemn face and say- "These attacks cant be stopped". I feel like slapping them. Why the hell have we elected you if you cant stop them. Better step down and let someone better take charge.

Secondly, everyone shouts that "Terrorism has no religion". Another very big lie. and thanks to ultra-stupid & criminal members of something called-"Abhinav Bharat", the volume has increases even more nowadays. It's a obvious fact that 90% of the terrorist attacks aren't carried out by Hindus.

This bring me to another point, Minority appeasement. The Congress (& several others too) have explicitly supported minorities and trying to portray them as the innocent bystanders whenever a group of that community has been found involved in such acts. May it be Rahul Gandhi advocating for SIMI, or that Digvijay (Only I know how much restrain have I shown for not putting any adjectives) shouting on Batla House & the prolific factory of terrorists- "Azamgarh". And following the same policy, people have got the guts to ask for pardon to AFZAL GURU? You seriously believe he should be pardoned???

I am not suggesting that all people belonging to a minority are terrorists. But no other community votes on the basis of whether a terrorist should be pardoned or not. Whether they should be allowed to carry out attacks or not? The entire community shouts when a suspected terrorist is nabbed.. Doesn't this cast serious questions on the patriotism of that community..

I am not a RSS supporter, I have nothing to do with BJP or any "Right-wing" organization either.

But the questions mentioned above are not only just thought provoking but also need to be put forward to the media, to the politicos, to the entire nation.

May God bless the nation in these painful times.

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J

A Topsy Turvy World 2.0

Ya, I know the titles is sounding a bit used up & cliched. You might be thinking that have I run out of ideas?
No, I spent almost 2 days thinking about the title but I could fine none better than this.
Well right now my Life is in a delicate stage. Not that something crucial is coming up but the fact is I have lots & lots of time. Free time, Leisure time, Holidays and a lot more.
The reason I call it topsy-turvy because I am in an absolute state of fix on how to go about it. Every moment of the time I spend will have a hell lot of significant impact on the days to come. Someday I do things well, with considerable utilization, other days are just pure wastes.

Also, its not like that I dont have anything to do. Infact I have more than I could handle. There's CSI, IEEE, College studies, CAT preparation, working hard on my studies, working on my research... You know what's the stranger thing? I just dont seem to enjoy books.. Books were my best friend. I used to devour novel upon novel in a week, and now.. Now, the stage is such that I dont like reading even 4-5 pages..

I am in a real confusing stage right now. When I do something, my mind gets diverted  to other things that I am not doing! I feel like I am missing out on something.. My friend suggested me to prioritize things but its easier said then done.
I cannot hide behind the "teenage behavioural" excuse. Because earlier this year when I was more teenag-ish, I gave my best performance in past 4 years, battling through similar circumstances..

Thats the benefit of venting out, when you discuss the problem you get a solution to it. :) I guess I am expecting too much from myself. In the process I have forgotten that I am 'living'. It seems in all the furore surrounding my existence, I just forgot to live
I must take a step back and take one step at a time. Do what the immediate task is. As Paulo Coelho puts it so beautifully- "When in doubt, just take the next small step." :)

So, let me take a step back and let things sort themselves out :) Perhaps I have made them more complicated than they actually are(nt)
I hope my next post will bring some positive news :)

Ciao
Love
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J

India & You

As we stand on the brink of the 65^th anniversary of our nation, the overall atmosphere in country is a gloomy & apprehensive one. The only news people hear is either of a new scam surfacing, some acts of protests suppressed by a seemingly oppressive regime, rising prices and an uncertain future.

On the other hand there are partisaned experts who tell us that things are bad, but could’ve got worse. Almost every time loyal to the government, they go on to enumerate the things that are better in India as compared to ‘what could have been’. The cynics, as always, point out flaws even in them.

Virtually , all the slugfest is between the oppositions’ – “What should (& shouldn’t be done.” & the Govt.’s - “What is (& isn’t) being done?”. Both have their reasons, some are valid, others are not.

Hold on! Take a pause. Go into a brief flashback (I highlighted the word brief because I don’t like to linger in the past much). Think of those ideals which were the foundation of our freedom struggle. It was nothing but pure nationalism; putting the country & the society above self. (The cynics who say they are antiquated can close this window & go criticize something else elsewhere)

Now, look at yourself. Not the government, Not the politicians, not the bureaucracy, but you. Try to remind yourself when was the last time you skipped a red light, the last time you used your ‘contacts’ for a ‘favour’, the last time you threw that plastic cup out of the train, the last time you littered around and (in the same stride) complained about the filth around you. I don’t think your memory was strained much. What image of your ‘self’ comes to your mind? I know, a very common reply will be – “So what?”. Nothing, just mentioned

The point I am trying to make is YOU criticize the contractor for potholes and the corruption in roads. That contractor (as an individual) would complain about the Babu at some office for asking a bribe. That Babu would yell at someone for rash driving. That rash driver will complain about the lack of electricity (caused due to illegal usage of it) and the chain goes on. It never occurs to anyone that when we point fingers at others, they point their fingers at someone else and ultimately this circle ends in someone pointing a finger at us. The irony is all of us seem to be very patriotic during national festivals and feel proud of our nation, but do we act in a way to cherish those ideals, cherish freedom? Do we bring in ourselves the change we want to see? Do we make our country proud?

I am not exonerating the government on the weak governance or the massive amount of corruption it has indulged in. They are culpable and should be meted the maximum punishment under law. Neither am I questioning the common man’s right to speak out. The simple point I am suggesting is YES, things are bad, and almost all of us wants change. But our small daily deeds having their roots in the love of our nation and the concern for building a strong and healthy society which is civilized will atleast prevent things from worsening. It will spend a strong message to the corrupt and irresponsible people at the top, that the civil society is in ‘deed’ civil, the problem now lies entirely with them. And believe me these small acts will have a much larger impact than they are (under)estimated to have.

It might seem inappropriate to people but still, I would end by quoting JFK -

“Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country”

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J