An affair with truth

Truth is a living being

that must be nourished and fed

and loved

then it grows and blossoms

filling the air with pure aroma

making us gasp with delight

Truth is a friend

that asks for loyalty

and acceptance

then it enters our hearts

dissolving the boundaries

freeing us from loneliness

Truth is a demanding lover

that requires constant affection

and endless gifts

then it rewards us

with a glimpse of indescribable beauty

making us faint with satisfaction

Truth is an empty hand

that asks for and requires

nothing

The soul of freedom

What should we do

what is the purpose of life

here is the endless task

to do nothing well

here is your purpose

to be free of any purpose

why do we suffer so

how can we end the pain

here is the source of suffering

in the desire to end suffering

there is no end to pain

nor an end to joy

within the soul of freedom

The "Grass eaters"

The word "Recession" has been doing the rounds in every possible piece of land inhabited by humans across the globe. A couple of years back, you would have your first interaction with this word only from your boring economics professor during college. This same economic terminology today is fathomed in a much more pristine manner even by a juvenile whose birthday presents are not that grandiose anymore just gives an idea of the fury of this wildfire called slowdown. As even the mighty countries grope in the dark to tackle this problem, a score of other problems stemming due to recession are cropping up. While most of them are of grave concern to us, there is this "freak" one which can break any one into a slight chuckle at least:). Believe it or not, recession is bringing the next stage of evolution in men and I solely mean males here. The evolutionary process has already begun in Japan. These new breed of men (Dont't think can refer them as men for too long) are called "Grass eaters".

Japanese males are now being classified as being flesh eaters or grass eaters. The flesh eater, now being seen as something passe, is the stereotypical Japanese executive who works hard and plays hard. His main focus is his company, which will take care of him for life. When not slaving away for the firm, his interests are golf, watches, cars, and a good night out on the town. Enter the grass-eater : A 20-30 year-old Japanese male who lives with his mother, is uninterested in women, is de-motivated at work, and is an herbivore. Yes, that's right, he eats grass, but not bush. We are talking about the young men of Japan. When most of the people of their age are supposed to be basking at the glorious period of manhood, here are a bunch of disgruntled men who have lost all intrest in life and women!. In Japan, sex is translated as 'relationship in flesh,'" Takuro Morinago, who coined the term said, "so I named those boys 'herbivorous boys' since they are not interested in flesh." The situation here though is far worse than lack of libido. These herbivores are gradually becoming effeminate or to put it plainly, becoming women. They spend on make-ups, beauty products and various unmentionables. They even answer the natures call seated! To think that economic aspects can bring about such drastic effects on the biological aspects of these men is simply beyond anyones wildest imagination.

Japan , even though being a developed nation, has to deal with a strange problem of falling population. A large chunk of their population belong to the oldies group with little or no hope of sustaining population growth. The young men are mostly career oriented,so much so that they don't indulge in women at all during their early career phase. Perhaps, the root of the problem of these grass eaters lies here. They dreamed of careers which were as rewarding as the generation before them. The broken pieces of dreams built have wounded them badly now. They are totally disenchanted and feel cheated with their country's economy. Disappointed enough to even loose your manhood? So, can a threat to a countries economic progress actually be a threat to the race of its men? Well, the sliding sales of contraceptives in Japan surely makes a point.

This event can be easily disregarded as territorial and isolated, but its causes cannot be. Just to ring few alarm bells, contraceptive sales in India have dropped in 2008-09 after very long time. Someday, economic stimulus package would include Viagra at 50% discount:)

"Slumdog Millionaire"--Movie Review

It is a big task to watch a movie with no pre-conceived good opinion when everybody is feeding rave reviews about it into your ear from every quarter of the world. It becomes one helluva task when that same movie bags four golden globe awards...( i guess it sweeped all the awards it was nominated for.. am i right??). "Slumdog Millionaire" or SM has sweeped all the acclaimed awards of the world like a tsunami and all that beckons is the the ultimate prize........Oscars. The movie is due to be released in India this weekend and people are waiting.......i couldn't, so i flew to UK and saw it....( am so against piracy:P). So here goes my unbiased take on this movie.....





SM, as the name suggests is a story of a slum dog ( called jhopadpatti ka patti by mallus in mumbai:):)...........) who goes onto win 20 million rupees in a game show 'Who wants to be a millionaire? and is nabbed by the police who suspect him to be a cheat. The story is as simple as a nursery rhyme and needs no deeper meaning to understand. Or maybe it isn't. Coz' i assume the director(Danny Boyle) must have done something astoundingly brilliant to win the golden globe. The movie begins with a question and four options..... in typical KBC style . The movie ends with answer to that question. Most of us who are well acquainted with movie scripts already know the answer as we see the options in the beginning. Danny Boyle's brilliance lies in holding our undivided attention for 2 hours weaving a story whose end the audience already knows!

Coming back to the story line, the story revolves around "the three musketeers" as they like to call themselves-Jamal Malik, Jamal's elder bro Salim and Jamal's love Latika. The movie showcases the travails, adversity and so called adventures these three go through in their childhood, adolescence and teenage phase. The storyline moves giving explanation as to how Jamal Malik is able to know the answers to the questions in the show. Coincidence never seemed so purposeful ever!. Simon Beaufoy (the screenplay guy of the movie) does amazingly well juxtaposing the growth of actors with that of the story. It is very hard to convince ourself that a firang can etch such a real picture of mumbai slum life, amitabh mania or 1992 riots. Although initially the movie seemed to take the audience in all possible directions, it quickly manages to come back on track as Jamal emerges out of the pile of shit( that was gross!). From there, the movie makes you stick to your seat for the whole of two hours.

Casting for this movie was done by Lovleen Tandon as far or little as I know. Brilliance or lotsa guts, she chose a cast which would give our big producers bollywood second thoughts before putting their money. If an unknown Indian from Britain, Dev Patel, with a pronounced British accent is chosen to play a slum dog doesn't put a smirk on your face, Anil Kapoor trying to recreate Amitabhs KBC magic would at least break you into a chuckle. After the movie, i just smiled sheepishly at myself.

And then there was the magic of 'Mozart of Madras' as he is called in the west. I prefer to refer him as AR Rehman only( i have no fascination for Mozart's symphonies and Madras is now called Chennai:) ). Rehman does nothing special here. He does what he always does, breathes life into music. I am still getting in terms with the lyrics of most of the tracks but "Jai Ho" in the end credits sure gets my feet tapping.

I purposely haven't mentioned about actors in the movie as the movie did not require any super relative effort. Every person fits into their respective role without any visible discomfort. The entire weight of the movie is on Dev Patel's shoulders. For a newbie, he is impressive. Don't know if can emulate such performance without a powerful script. Wish him all the luck for Oscars anyways. The story of this movie is strong enough to raise the bar of all its actors.

I haven't seen the other movies that were nominated for golden globe. I don't know how wonderful this movie actually is. Just as I began watching the movie, i thought this seems like just another over hyped marketing trick. I instant messaged my friend on Gtalk that the movie doesn't seem that good to win a golden globe or have a shot at Oscars. By the end , my opinion had changed. Go for this movie if you don't wanna miss out on a conversation this weekend. India is going to talk a lot about Slumdog Millionaire.

My Religion

My Religion

You ask me "what is my religion"?
Now what if I say I have None?
You'll be wrongly impressed,
And unduly distressed
So wait - I have only begun.

My creed in the sense that you mean it,
Has no single symbol, or sign.
Big, impressive, or small,
There is good in them all,
So perhaps Your religion is mine.

My doctrine is any that stands for
The honor and virtue of men.
For whatever we preach,
We're all striving to reach
A mutual goal in the end.

My church is the one that is nearest
Wherever I happen to be.
The place where men go
Their devotion to show,
Is good - and sufficient for me.

What matters the name on the mileposts
That stand by the path you have trod?
If the pathway leads up
Then at last you shall sup
With the infinite army of God.

Finding my place........in you

Finding my place…in you

I see you crying
And I want to cry too
I hate to see you sad
So I'll stay strong for you

I see you smiling
And it makes me smile
Because I know you are happy
If only for a while

I feel for you
Because you are my friend
Through thick and thin
Until the end

I'll be a shoulder
For you to cry on
And I won’t budge
Until the pain is gone

I'll sing you lullabies
To wash away your fears
And give you a tissue
To wipe away the tears

I'll be your hope
When you're not strong
I'll be your ears
To hear hope's song

I might not always show
How special you are to me
I’ll be lost easily in the crowd,
But always found when there are not many you can see

I may not offer the warmth you need,

On a cold winter’s night,

I’ll be your much needed strength,
To keep you going till the Sun shines bright

All I want is to etch some part of me,
In some place in you very few know,
Even if some one steals your heart someday,
I will be always found in a place…..in you.

Never loose hope.....

NEVER LOSE HOPE

If you can look at the sunset and smile, then you still have hope... 

If you can find beauty in the colors of a small flower, then you still have hope... 

If you can find pleasure in the movement of a butterfly, then you still have hope... 

If the smile of a child can still warm your heart, then you still have hope... 

If you can see the good in other people, then you still have hope...

 If the rain breaking on a roof top can still lull you to sleep, then you still have hope... If the sight of a rainbow still makes you stop and stare in wonder, then you still have hope... 

If the soft fur of a favored pet still feels pleasant under your fingertips, then you still have hope... 

If you meet new people with a trace of excitement and optimism, then you still have hope... 

If you give people the benefit of a doubt, then you still have hope...

 If you still offer your hand in friendship to others that have touched your life, then you still have hope... 

If receiving an unexpected card or letter still brings a pleasant surprise, then you still have hope...

 If the suffering of others still fills you with pain and frustration, then you still have hope... 

If you refuse to let a friendship die, or accept that it must end, then you still have hope... 

If you look forward to a time or place of quiet and reflection, then you still have hope...

 If you still buy the ornaments, put up the Christmas tree or cook the turkey, then you still have hope... 

If you still watch love stories or want the endings to be happy, then you still have hope... 

If you can look to the past and smile, then you still have hope.... 

If, when faced with the bad, when told everything is futile, you can still look up and end the conversation with the phrase... yeah....BUT.. Then you still have hope...

Hope is such a marvelous thing. It bends, it twists, it sometimes hides, but rarely does it break...

It sustains us when nothing else can... 

It gives us reason to continue and courage to move ahead, when we tell ourselves we'd rather give in...

 Hope puts a smile on our face when the heart cannot manage... 

Hope puts our feet on the path when our eyes cannot see it... 

Hope moves us to act when our souls are confused of the direction.... 

Hope is a wonderful thing, something to be cherished and nurtured, and something that will refresh us in return... 

And it can be found in each of us, and it can bring light into the darkest of places... Never lose hope...