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...

Gustakhi

Tum se pyaar karne ki humne jo gustakhi ki,
Ab Zindagi ko tumse zyada pyaar kar na sake,
Tumhare saath itne door chalne ki humne jo gustakhi ki,
Ab tanhayee mein khud ko sambhal na sake,
Un Naino mein doob jaane ki humne jo gustakhi ki,
Ab khud ke wajood ko hum paa na sake,
Tumhare pyaar mein jeene ki humne jo gutakhi ki,
Ab zindagi mein kissi aur se pyaar kar na sake,
Tum se pyaar karne ki humne jo gustakhi ki,
Ab Zindagi ko tume zyada pyaar kar na sake......................

The job, the mob and whole bunch of slobs...

i am employed........!.... yes you can slap yourselves to come out of disbelief but some wise men have made the blunder and you can bet your last penny that they will repent.:) It has been almost 2 weeks since i have started working( yea... you are aware of every second once you get paid to spend it!) and already so much to yap about my work life. let me give a preview about what exactly i do:

i reach office on time mostly but if i reach late, it so happens that all our senior people are standing at the entrance as if waiting for me! but yaa coincidence it may be . i have not been warned or admonished yet so i have no worries. I have stepped into a new phase of life. a life whici am an Analyst with an independent Research Firm named "Center For Monitoring Indian Economy" or just CMIE. These people swear by Queen's English and are run by some of the great economists of the country. i have to sit with lot of figures........ not 36-24-36...........but those 50-60 pages of hardcore numbers and analyse it. we get one week for the time being to finish a complete research report which would eventually be more "challenging" as they say later. i work from 9:30 am to 5pm............ i am very punctual.......... i leave at dot 5 pm!........i get served coffee twice, get an hour lunch break :)......... i know i am damn lucky but i deserve it for the time i had to wait for a nice job. we have a very casual work culture , i can chat with the directors, crack a joke with my business head and talk endlessly on the phone. But i cant open orkut there! i cant open Gmail there!.....Life can be rude and hard but i will have to accept it. So thats about my job.
To reach my work place, i have to battle a mob to place my foot and sometimes my body in train.
this mob is no ordinary mob, its a bunch of rowdies who don't bother to have bath and stick their stinky armpits on your face, who fart when you are actually gasping for fresh air and offer a grumpy look as courtesy for finding a place next to them on the train. Yes, this is the mumbai Life which everyone here is so used to but i will always hope for a better life for myself and the city. After the Harrowing train journey comes the painful Bus journey. my office is just a 15 minutes from station to give you a sore ankle so Bus ride is the only feasible solution. the mob in Bus are one step ahead of the train mob. you step no their line and you get the elbow. No room for courtesy. In fact no room for a fly also. A bus queue which stretches almost 200 metres is not something you should even try to mess with, Hospital is near by anywhere and the Traffic would ensure you never reach the hospital alive. So, i have to pounce on any bus which has something to hold on to reach my office.
h would be judged by the moolah i make and not the person i shape out to be. a phase where most of my dreams and aspirations are achieved. a phase where mistakes are no longer ignored 'coz you are not supposed to make them. a phase i waited for so long which would pass by in a jiffy. or maybe the best time of my life which would never end............. Lets see

Where is the spirit of Celebration yaaar?

i finaaly get to write about something which has left me confused occasionally and disgusted mostly after dealing with the 100th solicitation by mail or pop-up for the " Cheapest, most romantic Valentine gifts and ideas"!. Damn!, these internet search engines have become smarter but let me tell you that the lowest priced gift was around thousand bucks! The Price you have to pay to love your dear ones is getting dearer and dearer...........

Picture this- i need to get an expert financial planner to plan in advance for ... not insurance , education, marriage and all du-uh!, but for valentines day, Mothers day, Sisters Day, Teachers Day, Father Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Romeo met Juliet For the first time Day, Romeo forgot to call up juliet Day, Friendship Day, Haloweeen, Presidents Day,.................. the list is very very long. Honouring these God sent loving souls is very much appreciable but using it burn gaping holes in someones wallet isnt sweet. Before you get an impression that this view is coming from someone who is a leader of the cheap and miser group, let me clarify that the issue which i will bring up is not anywhere close to money.Being a MBA in Finance, i just can imagine a handful of noblest gesture done today without gain/ulterior motives.Since its Valentine's Day i would use it as the red carpet to arrive at the Grand entrance to my topic.

Valentine's Day besides being the day for bringing smiles to all girl friends and tears to their boyfriends, it also setss the cash registers ringing across the world.Please Go through this link to see the magnitude of business done on valentines day.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08044/856882-28.stm

This day is abused so outrightly in this world that i would end up loosing my beloved if make her feel special everyday of the year but valentines day!. The "Single and Virgin" stigma attached only to America started spreading its fangs to all parts of the world. It has come to such a sad state that i have heard very few in my lifetime someone saying" i love someone".......... all i hear is" i have a Boyfriend/Galfriend". it is hep to be hitched and laid rather than to be loved. So, we have everyone celebrating love every year, with no more love gained..... or worse lot lost. Apart from commercial viability, do we really value these special relationshipss and days we celebrate?. No one can do justice to a mother, sister, friend or even your country by remembering them for a day, then why do we fall into the nets trapped by people with vested intrests. it has been an on going debate to know "if Business and Ethics can go hand in hand" and however hard people try its is a saddening fact that one hand twists the other at some point of time. But the cost being paid to sustain business of "caring about others" is not something worth for. the number of age old homeless people, divorce cases happeneing, violence in states,.......... the numbers are not dwindling at all. its growing at an alarming rate.We as Soul-less creatures being totally oblivious to anything which doesnt bother us intend to snuggle in our cocoon of bliss till eternity to make us feel better.

The recent event happenings in Mumbai has put the entire city in shame. we boast of Unity in Diversity,religious tolerance , and lots more but r cowered down by a few handful people. Is this the Spirit of MUM-bai????? is it what we boast about being Indian. i feel less guility of not making a voters id card till now......... it is high time that we try, to understand , to introspect, to value and to live each and every occasion of our life, Maybe,someday the spirit of celebrations would be revived and every day would be a celebration

limping leg, lost match, and a dead puppy........

if i ever had to correlate an entire day by the sunrise......that has to b today. i have never seen the Sun so shy, hiding behind clouds and totally unwilling to bloom . i know i have this overbearing effect on people when i luk t them but even the surya devta finding it difficult just flatters me beyond belief.
nyways i needed an Ego boost and some motivation today as it was our football eliminations round......... i reached college at 9 and Quickly got into my football gear. our match was delayed by 2 hrs and the very fact that we wud b playing under the same sun which was as coy as a newly wed bride in da morning and slowly turning as intimidating as phoolan devi was becoming bothersome. Still not worrying about our complexion we practised for whtever time we got. some of da guys in the team had their first confrontation with football , which was being kicked every where in da ground other than where it should have. Game Plans , strategies wer pouring in every minute and every guys eves dropping in to every other teams strategy just tells how competitive management students can get.:)
Finally at 11 our match started under da blazing sun..............and even before da game started teams got into an argument as to who wud b da coach and then later for da toss.............. after all da initial drama the match started. to turn a fun luving game into a blood bath........... an incompetent refree is all wht u need...... and our fellow refree was an ace in this matter in wht ever he did. from arranging farewells to using his intellectual capabiliies. we wer awarded with four fouls in less than four minutes and within some time the 5th one thanks to our refree who lost his coool with opponent team booing for his abilities............ A purrrrrrfect picture of Chaos.
the opponent team was awarded a penalty shootout as is da rules of ring football. with dice falling with all da right numbers for them today i was not very disappointed with the goal. soon halftime was over and we changed sides and also decided to become offensive. we wer busy near da goal post but the much needed goal always eluded. we managed to let the other team commit 5 fouls and we got a chance for a penalty shootout.
A scene stolen outrightly from "Chak De india" we had one shot to draw level ......... i cudin take da shot coz i had hurt my leg dam badly my fellow team mate tuk da initiative to become the hero of da day. i kept mumbling to myself........"hit it straight".......... he never bothered to luk at me niether de he goal........Anticlimax.!!!!......... shud ask Mr Kabir khan how was he able to do tht?:P
dejection and dissappointment was etched in each of our face. with alll da entusiasm and josh gone thru da drain, the pain in my left thigh became all da more excruciating. draggin myself to 3rd floor i somehow reached my class and kept my foot up for a while. the pain was not decreasing at all and 3 hour economics lec starting......... i knew i had to brace myslef for a tough day ahead. Sir taught us a bit of Advanced eco today about IS and LM curves and BOP curves which went over head like those fighter planes in an Air show. My stomach was making earnest plea to b fed and and cud hear all kinda weird sounds it made. finally the much wanted break arrived and i again had to drag myself to 5th floor. as expected the canteen was jam packed so all da plans of having a wholesome meal was outta da window. i had to grab a pack of biscuit and tell my stomach to b content with thth for sometime. the lec started soon and now with pain n hunger i had fatigue to fight with....... i tried every possible way to sit and sleep without Sir noticing me but failed to do so and somehow kept my head upright till lec got over( catching a few winks in between)............like a battle worn soldier i headed home and after a painstaking 40 mins.............. got a bus in which i cud sit................
by 5 i reached home and mom told me to get milk if m intrested in having coffee. so again had to limp to dairy to get milk. after spraying my leg and having coffee and a decent meal, took my dog out for a walk since he has been having an upset stomach for a few days. that is when i heard the dreaded news that one of the two small puppies who used to always play wid me died noontime. holding back my tears for God knows what reason, i strolled for sometime out.
Feeling da cold this world has to offer and brooding over tht pupppies death ...... all da memories of how he used to grab my slippers and bite my foot and fall over and rest on it like it was his haven . all these thoughts went like a breeze never to come back but with a feeling of despair.....
i look outside, seeking for that sun which i saw this morning,to ask him whether he knew all this wud happen and he never wished that he rose today for me too go thru this pain.........

with a limping leg, but even more painful memories i am waiting for him to rise tommorow..........

hello to everyone.......

hi guys,
After endless delibration, i finaaly decide to signup here for blogging. i have been an avid blogger since few years and have one small world of my own in MSN spaces. the most wunderful thing i find abt blogs is that one can make da life of others better or sometimes worse through blogs. blogging for me is a thorough pleasureable experience as i manage to bring a Big smile to most of da ppl who read my blogs. if at all u are feeling low or really depressed i would recommend you to have a dekho at my MSN spaces. My blogs are usually filled with my poems, my view on life, hillarious jokes, and sometime unbearable crap. Since am doing My MBA, finding time for blogging will always be luxury.......but u can always expect da unexpected from me. the title for my blog was appropriately chosen coz countless events happened and happening and will happen in my life which wud make u stick on to ur seats................

Well this was just a lil wee bit sneak peek of wht m upto..................to know more and stay happy Do keep coming here:)