Hard at work

The moment she said those words to me, she knew she was in deep trouble.
A friend asked me this afternoon - "So what are you doing? Hard at work?"
I thought for a moment and thought again.
The answer was no indeed. The company I work for has banned gmail and orkut and facebook and any other website known to help mankind pass their time. You get the drift right? How could I be hard at work when I was working so hard? There was simply no reason. And it wasn't in the morning.
I have this problem. Not the one where you are never hard at work, but something else. I can't help it when people say things filled with innuendo, deliberate or otherwise. For some reason, I am able to see or hear things hardly ever intended. This was one case. There are countless others. Wait till you say something like that to me :P

Discovering TedTalk and wearing a nice t-shirt....

I can't believe it, but I discovered TedTalk only yesterday. It is fabulous. Thanks FB for leading me to it, and I found a lot of awesome videos. Link 1 , Link 2 and many more.
The video about Sixth sense, from Media Lab at MIT is incredible. This guy, Pranav Mistry, really is a genius. The generous applause he gets at TedTalk seems to be completely deserved, and recognition at such a forum can be a great career booster. Hats off.
A tall, attractive girl today complimented me on my t-shirt. In fact, she did it twice. Got me thinking. Well, if I hadn't been so much in love with Strato (Yes, I finally admit it in my blog), I would have tried to continue the conversation a little longer, and I believe I stood a good chance of making a good friend with her.
No, I am not reading too much into a simple compliment, but her demeanour does seem to indicate that she doesn't think I am as hideous as I sometimes I am. Anyway, ever since the love story with Strato started, I have really lost the enthu to make new friends - beyond a pleasant acquaintance.
At my cha cha class, there are a lot of interesting people. The instructor is a very funny guy who points out our mistakes and corrects them and adds humor to the whole process. The girl instructor is a beautiful lady made all the more attractive by the wonderful way in which she dances. When the two instructors dance, (I don't know if they are a couple or not), it is a sight to behold.
Then there is a girl who has just cleared her Class 12th exam. Considering the rate at which my hair are falling, I am not wrong in thinking of her as a bachchi! Well, she has a very pleasant smile and she dances reasonably well. Then there is the girl who complimented me on my t-shirt. There are others, most noticeably a gentleman, around the age of my dad, who is so well-mannered, I must tell you I am impressed. In simple gestures, he shows a gracious demeanour. If he were younger, he would be popular among the girls!

How time flies by...

It seems like it was yesterday that I blogged about cha cha classes. It was yesterday that I came back exhausted from my cha cha class. And it was only yesterday that I was celebrating another weekend. Apparently.
I just finished reading 'Weighing the Soul: Scientific Discovery from the Brilliant to the Bizarre'. I loved it. It describes the development of a few puzzling concepts in science which were incredible when first proposed and is a treat for lovers of scientific history.
The one thing I absolutely love in a book is its ability to present itself as a conversation rather than a lecture and invoke some kind of thought process in my head. The two classic examples, and amongst the ones I often use as a benchmark for judging books I read are Organic Chemistry by Boyd and Inorganic Chemistry by J D Lee. These names might force you to label me as a maggu and I hotly dispute that, but let us keep that as a separate thread. These books are benchmarks because these are among the first few books I really loved reading.
Both these books have, in my opinion, set standards that have made me reject a lot of books. Sometimes, serious fiction might not suit the conversational style, but it often has. I loved reading Great Expectations and I still remember the feeling of being told a story when I read it. Then there are novels where you have to read and figure out the story. Almost invariably, I stop halfway through them - if at all I reach there.
I started reading Mother by Maxim Gorky. Serious literature. I picked it up, read the summary and liked two things - it was about a culture I know little about, so reading it would be like exploring a new place and Gorky is a name that has always intrigued me. He is reputed and I had read none of his books. A third of my way through the book, I gave up. It was way too taxing for me.
I have started reading Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. Having read Fooled by Randomness and mildly agreeing with Taleb's argument, I do not find Gladwell's arguments very convincing. He does have a point when he talks about how we like or dislike a book in the first few sentences we read from it. Snap judgements they are. But they are as likely to be right as to be wrong - Halfway through Blink, for instance, I am not enthused to complete it. Definitely not when it competes with sleeping and cha cha for the very little free time I get. Contrast that with 'Weighing the soul' , which I used to read even at midnight out of curiosity.
I am thinking of watching X-Men 4 but I am not sure what to expect. Ladies go there with the allure of Jackman, but whats there in it for men except some fast paced action?

Life's like that.

Small pleasures, big pains!
I take delight in small accomplishments. A problem had been haunting me for some time. Then, after a brain storming session, I went back to my previous approach, and with slight modifications, I was able to achieve a result close to what I had been wishing for. No money made, in fact, if the proof is in the pudding, I have only gotten to the point of reading up the recipe on the internet. There is much more to be done before it leads to any tangible benefits but I felt happy.
I have also gotten addicted to Cha cha cha. I just love dancing to the tunes, though I am scared of doing it in the presence of anyone other than the people in my dance class. Suddenly, there is some novelty, something new to create excitement in life.
On personal front, I am really trying hard to get things to move. I am determined to not celebrate the new year alone - if you know what I mean !

Too much in the name of show off

Our social lives are attuned to the custom of showing off. A marriage ceremony is treated as an opportunity to impress the magnitude of affluence on others, even if it results in budgetary cuts over the next few years. Parents save over years (actually decades) to be able to spend on that one occasion. It is fine to spend, but the problem is that a wedding ceremony becomes a circus performance. The bride and groom wait for gruelling hours, standing and smiling, their cheek hurting from having to maintain the grin for extended hours. How encouraging is that?
My own experience of wedding ceremonies (as a friend or close relative) tells me that not many people might want a simple ceremony, but those who do cannot express their desire without risking displeasure of family members. After all, log kya kahenge.
I am full of contradictions. I am socially conscious about minor things such as appearance, but on major issues, I really really think 'log kya kahenge' should be the last bit of concern. Who I am marrying, what career I want to choose for myself, how I should celebrate something - things of such importance shouldn't be decided based on 'log kya kahenge'. I have one life and should I choose to do something in one particular way, I needn't worry about people's perception.
This does not give me the licence to parade naked on the road (who wants to do that anyway!),
but yes, the bounds of social norms are imposed far too stringently in our society than I believe befits a liberal one.
Our society is not liberal, you might say. So what are we doing about it, I ask you!

Sway with Cha cha cha

I have started learning Cha cha cha. In fact it has been 4 weeks. At a session a week, the pace seems slow, but we have been taught some pretty complicated steps. At my level of initiation, a lot of things seem complicated. But I am trying.
I absolutely love this song :



I really want to go on a trip somewhere. The last time I went on a long trip was in last November. The length of the trip was a meager one week. That is what a working life reduces us to - beasts of burden. I wonder what it must be like to be able to take a month off from work and travel around the world.
With a busy work life and lousy social life, I really have no choice. And when my friends tell me about their lucky travel plans ( one to Bondi beach, another to Brazil! ) I can only say Lucky Basses [The obvious expletive avoided to keep this a paarivarik blog ].
My dream travel destination : Scandinavia. I have been there once, but I can't get enough of it! It is just too beautiful. [ And way too expensive! ]

The skipping of a movie by the Coward Vyom Gupta

Well, what more can I say?
The movie has a long name and slow pace.More importantly, there was no actress - none till I watched. How long could a single guy in a long distance relationship have waited? I mean, the movie is serious and on any other day, it would have made for a good choice. However, a gripping movie can cripple the gripping power of any other movie for the next few hours and I had just finished watching Frost/Nixon when I started this one.
May be I will complete it some other day.

Frost/Nixon is a fantastic movie. Gripping, serious drama. It is intriguing how a whole movie has been made of a very small (though with over reaching effects) set of incidents. I suppose the small-ness is only in the length of the time over which the incidents are spread. Recommended stuff for history buffs and (Nixon,drama,Michael Sheen) fans. Movie buffs don't need a recommendation anyway - they watch whatever is screened or available on hard drive.

What larks eh?

This is an expression from a novel I loved. Truly loved. Since I am a fan of Dileep Kumar style tragedies ( I would award Devdas an Oscar if I could!), -(well, so is God, why else would I be writing about all this! ) (- oh I also love writing sub comments inside brackets!), I loved this novel. The other haunting expression from this novel is 'What have I done'.

Without sounding like a boring old widower, I must assert that I am suddenly feeling quite empty. Most of my friends tell me times will turn around and it will all be ok. But this period definitely has proven to me how important some people have become. Not that I had forgotten but still...

I have a long weekend with potentially nothing to do. A few movies on the laptop, probably one in a hall (alone) and sleep - thats how I hope to while away my time. No wonder I reach office pretty early on Monday mornings - I am so bored of spending a lonely weekend!

That was quick...

My manager said that to me, when I showed him the results of a thing I was working on. It completely made my effort worthwhile. It also made me realise that I am better at what I am doing right now than what I was doing before this. It also made me happy enough to leave office at 7 pm. What precipitated my action, actually, was a frantic phone call from my flatmate. He had kept the house keys at a safe location near the gate and was concerned that someone might have seen him do that.

I had a long conversation with a friend about faith in this world. My opinion turns out to be that when it comes to money, trust is not a central issue. When the stakes are high enough, most, if not all, people will make the transition from the ethical to the not-so-unethical. People shouldn't be naive enough to trust others with their money. I stand by that!

Today's song

Driving is fun...

I have begun to enjoy my drive to work - it is a cool 15 minutes journey and other than being punctuated by canine corpses, it is rather uneventful. The showers this morning made it a much more breezy affair.

Just this morning, my flat mate commented - "Teri biwi bahut khush rehne wali hai!". That was after I made a quick banana shake in the morning - a concept almost alien to most bachelors my age. I enjoy the process as much as I do the outcome. I wish I could tell Strato and remind her of what she is missing.
Well, every hour reminds me of what I am missing. The amount of time spent on phone has drastically reduced. Some of it has been replaced by anxious thoughts about the future. The remainder is still blank.

Having joined a small firm, I get much lesser holidays. This friday is a holiday for most people but not for me. Anyway, it is better to toil and do something you like than to while away the time doing nothing most of the time and something you hate some of the time.

Celine Dion - I Drove All Night (Video)
Uploaded by sagelion13

A lover of poems

As it happens, I love poems. And short stories.
I have written a few of both, but that is beside the point.

Just yesterday, I came across this very moving poem (again). It completely moved my cheese:

Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the first was made:
Our times are in His hand
Who saith "A whole I planned,
Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!"
...

[http://www.poeticexpressions.co.uk/POEMS/Grow%20old%20along%20with%20me.htm ]

I am missing Strato, as is to be expected. The only other person I have ever missed more is my housemaid in Mumbai. She once vanished for a full fortnight and the housing society members threatened to evict us because of the foul smell coming from our house. It also explained the dizzy feeling we got whenever we came near the kitchen door - from the other side; to enter the kitchen was a long forgotten ritual by then.

Actually I am missing Strato very much. In a fit of rage, she refuses to speak with me. Anybody who reads this and knows her email id, please do send across a soothing email to her. Anything I say right now is only going to add (rocket wala) fuel to the fire. She is smoking hot, man! (Sounds so weird without the comma, doesn't it?)

I am working at a start-up right now. Everything is closely monitored and I am enjoying my work. I am in office at 9 and leave around 7:30pm. I was hoping they would make me the employee of the year, but then, since there was no cash award, I think it is alright not to get it! Not to forget that I am a fortnight short of the 3 month duration which is a minimum to be assessed. (It just struck me as strange that assessing has got nothing to do with asses. Probably they used asses to assess in ancient times and therein lies the origin of the [species] word).

Kudos to Jarnail Singh. Next I hear he is being signed up by Nike for an ad campaign.

No songs today - mood nahi hai.

What else, another tragedy.

Another tragedy in the life of Dileep Kumar. What else did he expect?

Still, it is quite surprising. Life seems to have come full circle. A long circle full of joy rides and a big bump at the end. Wait, its not the end - I am still hopeful it will work out. 'Against hope hopen'. One thing that I have indeed understood is that it is very difficult for others to understand your predicament. Sometimes even people you trust seem to not understand that there are deeper issues than what appears at the surface.
Life is complicated and patience isn't that common a virtue. I wish it were.

This might sound cryptic to most people except one. The one who seemed to be the one. I still think the one is the one. But who is to tell the one!

My head is spinning in full circles. Rapid circles.

For the first time in my life, I will allow things to settle down. Hope that everything works out. When I try, it goes in the opposite direction. So I better keep it slow. People who love you will miss you soon, won't they? I hope they will. I sure as heck already do!

There will be blood

Ref: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0469494/

It is a movie based in USA about how an oil-man (a self-presribed term) finds oil in a village and builds a big business. In doing so, he suffers numerous tragedies, including heart-breaking silence that is created in his relationship with his child. The village dynamics are affected and the effects are unforeseen. The story concludes with the death of a self-professed healer from the village.

This movie is very different from a typical Bollywood movie. It answers no question, raises no social issue, lionises no one and preaches no philosophy. For the interested, however, it offers deep insights and a thought-provoking drama. The hard working business man also becomes a ruthless murderer when someone antagonises him. The doting father disowns his own son and calls him an orphan and other very offensive things.

While oil plays the central role in the story line, the emotion most dominant in the movie is that of revenge. Anyone who is in a position to does so. The healer manipulates the business man when he knows the business cannot be done without church's help. The business man avenges the slight when his business has flourished.

The most touching aspect and the most confounding one is the relationship of this protagonist (if one can call him that) with his son. In the first half, he loves him very much but once the son gets hurt and apparently mentally affected (apart from losing his hearing ability), the father sends him to a hostel. In a moment of remorse, the father calls back his son. In the end, when the son wants to open his own company in Mexico, the father disowns him, calling him an orphan and a competitor.

It seems strange how oil can shape the life of this person. It dominates his thought process, makes him cross swords with numerous people and defines his relationship with his son. Success in an oil field makes him disillusioned about God.

All in all, this is serious drama. Not to be watched when one desires something light.

Recommended for the more pensive mood.

Noises Off and miss communication

This Sunday I watched Noises Off. Its Rael Padamsee's adaptation of the original play by Michael Frayn. 

To tell you the truth, I have only watched 3 plays in Mumbai so far - meaning, in the last 1.5 years. That statistic is a poor representative of my enthusiasm for watching plays. Instead, it exposes the effect the first play had one me. It was aweful. I do not like serious plays unless they are extra ordinary. The first one wasn't. 

The other play I saw was Anything But Love. It was amazingly funny and refreshing. Almost an Indianised version of Friends. Only, it was far more contextually relevant and comprehensible.

If ABL was fun, Noises Off was uber fun. Three acts, two breaks, 2.5 hours - the statistics look daunting indeed. The first half of the first act seems to reinforce those doubts. But once the humor sets in, there is no stopping the laughs, chortles and unwitting sounds from people facing inability to control their laughter. It was easily the heartiest laugh I had in a long time. Not that I have been deprived of laughter therapy. With friends like mine, a loud burst of laughter is a common phenomenon. This time it was different. Louder and more difficult to control.

If you get a chance, don't think twice. Watch it. We paid 250 bucks a person and it was absolutely worth it. 

 

In the intervening period, there have been three important birthdays - Strato, sis and coffeemate. I had taken a day off for Strato's, so we had a nice time. On coffeemate's birthday, we went for a midnight buffet to Le Meridien. 

Let me tell you something. French is funny. Indians trying to speak French are funnier. 

I mean, Le ,prima facie, should sound similar to Bruce Lee. Or Brett Lee. Unfortunately, it is more like the La of Lala. Phew.

On Coffeemate's birthday we went to the dinner buffet at Lala Meridien. And I hogged like a wild boar. 

Two rounds of starters, one round of main course, and two rounds of desserts. I could have gone to the dessert table once more, but I had been feeling lonely in my pursuit of food nirvana. Everybody else was eating in minuscule quantities. The food was delicious and at least for me, totally worth it. After this, I only ate at dinner the next day. And still felt full. 

Also I had this interesting conversation during break at Noises Off involving me Strato and Godov, a funny friend.

Me to Strato: I want to go to the loo. Come along - lets take a walk. You wait near the coffee stall  while I irrigate the land. I mean, relieve myself.

Strato: No. My body clock says I will need to go 42mins 32 second from now. You go with Godov. 

Me: Pls/Lets go na.

Strato: No

(repeat a few more times)

Me to Godov (privately): Lets go for some baywatching

Godov to Strato: Look what he's saying. He wants to go ...

Me (creating commotion to drown out Godov's last few words)

Strato: Go with him na

Godov: What? 

Me: (laughing loudly albeit silently)

(some more confused conversation between Godov and Strato)

Godov still doesn't believe his ears. Strato still doesn't know whats the issue. I am still smirking.

[ The movie seems to be bakwas. But I like this song. ]

What they say and what they mean

Oh.we should totally meet up sometime. Lets plan something.
Why don't you spend your time with your trophy wife/gf and leave us alone? May be send the home video production if you care (and if you understand what I mean) - we bachelors won't mind it. Unlike the upholders of our cultural ..er.. culture, we never took offence when hollywood celebrities uploaded their home video productions and made them available for free.

Your voice is good and you sing in a nice tune.
Probably you need to sing in ultrasonic frequencies. That will kill all those bats in our colony. Then the colony children won't play cricket on the street.

No Sweetheart, go and meet your buddy. I have no problems.
I am already picturising you whispering sweet nothings into his ear. He asks you what you are wearing inside and you say - Nothing. You can choose whichever hotel you want - but please don't go to the hotel we went for our honeymoon. They are still looking for the missing paintings on the wall.

I love my job. It is very exciting and challenging. I am not looking around for a change.
I don't have an option. Period. If I had one, I wouldn't be here licking the dirtier end of your alimentary canal. I would be kicking your donkey instead. But since that is not the case, let me file your tax claim, drop your kid off to school and help your wife with household work. Wait. You haven't seen The Graduate, have you?

Sir I would like to tell you about our investment plans. When are you free sir?
Tell me your name and contact details and I will automatically start this plan for you. Oh and your account details as well. Don't care if you don't want this plan. I need it. My bhookha bhai and beemaar maa need it.
I am busy right now. Can you call me later?
Send me your photo. Then we will talk.

TOW we choose easy targets

There is this lady who sits in my office in the row behind me and whose telephone's decibel levels are exceeded only by white ambassador's 'power horns'. She made a loud (as usual) comment on how MB has set the Indian industrial development back by a few decades. Before you start visualizing factory workers engrossed in sleazy literature (MB) ignoring work at hand, let me warn you. It turns out, the issue is far more serious.
MB here stands out for Mamata di. From Kolkata.
She is the one who is allegedly inciting violence in Tata's Nano plant. She is the one allegedly responsible for the bundling away of the plant and the prevention of many more investment projects from coming to Bengal.
It is a very easy thing to do - see the one person who is the face of the violence and blame her. What people who take up these issues during office lunch hours do not bother to do is to dig deeper and separate the two issues.
Let me ask you:
(i) Do you know how much the affected farmers are being compensated for their land?
(ii) I want to build a factory over your land. The government *forcibly* takes it away from you to give it to me and pays you less than what you expect to be paid. Will you not protest?
(iii) Do you know that the government has the right to take away your land for public purpose? Do you know how wide the net of 'public purpose' has been cast by our lawmakers?

The two issues are - land rights and mob violence. In both of these, the Indian government and the state governments have been errant - giving far too leniency in the latter case while limiting a citizen's rights far too much in the former.

Two related articles:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=a4Iv4YW9ggb0&refer=home
http://ajayshahblog.blogspot.com/2007/03/mystery-of-capital-by-hernando-de-soto.html

My understanding of law in this case is low but clearly the individual's property rights are limited. That is an issue which needs to be tackled as we proceed on our path of industrialization.

Companies will have to improvise on how they compensate landowners. The government needs to make the process more voluntary and transparent. We need to think before we take sides on such serious issues.

If we want to curb violence, we need to listen to the non violent voices of protest. That is the best way to prevent dirty politicians from hijacking genuine socio-economic issues.

TOW I link a lot

I spent Sunday morning reading articles on the web. There was the usual Lehman drama. Then Ike. And now, there's the news on New Delhi bomb blasts.
Chronology of major bombings in India
How many more blasts will it take for the government to take a more stringent attitude against terrorism? This is not going to help:
Shivraj Patil mouths old statements, old excuses
Sometimes I really really wonder how shameless these people can be. I mean, I can't see any change of tone in his voice. He is saying the same thing he said last time. That the situation is turning more grave with each serial blasts incident does not seem to be having an effect on senile ministers incapable of strong and firm action. 
Anti-terror law: NSA backs Gujarat demand
This is just one of the instances where he has simply refused to accept advice coming from several quarters - state governments and police officers included. We can speculate and discuss his reasons but the outcome of his actions is being seen in the way serial blasts recur as the headlines of daily news.

Shame on you Mr Patil. 

Shame also on people who are creating a issue of a convicted terrorist's execution. 

Ms Mehbooba, and all your supporters, a terrorist is a terrorist is a terrorist. He must be executed. While Arundhati Roy raises several pertinent questions about human rights violations, nothing in her article is a justification for the execution once the guilt has been established. There IS a hurry to punish terrorists, Ms Roy, and that is needed to send a strong signal. 

Now I am not saying that the police do not inflict human rights violations. Sure they do. That needs to be enquired and brought to light. But when several courts convict a person of a terror act, it is but natural justice that he be punished. 

Google is starting to act like a monopolist
I guess Google doesn't think monopolism is an evil. 

Scary, Isn’t She?
Mighty talented and very tall, yes. But scary as well. Lucky for her that she is born in USA where she is at least getting the opportunity to shape her career. In India, the idea of a girl competing in a male dominated sports, or for that matter, considering sports a full career itself would be frowned upon. Such a world we live in. 

TOW I try to be funny

Hmm. I have been to Germany twice, and I thought it was so cold that I really wished I could bath with my sweaters on - for most of the year except June. Contrast that with Mr Kranig:

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL343921120080903

In the same country, this happens: http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL336567920080903

I dread the consequences of skateboarding half that fast on any Indian road - even the expressways these days sport speedbreakers - a misnomer since they should be called carbreakers.

Also noteworthy is this:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/03/opinion/edconley.php?WT.mc_id=rssmostemailed

This Wednesday, I saw Rock On. And it really does rock. I mean, which was the last Hindi movie I enjoyed so much? Rang De Basanti, Taarey Zameen Par, Dil Chahta hai? In fact, there is an eery commonality in these - Aamir Khan and Farhaan Akhtar. 

On personal fronts, life is going through a rough patch. The time when I wrote the last email was a particularly nasty one. Things are cool now, though it  is somewhat like sitting on a hot stove after coming out of a furnace.

From Jodha Akbar, beautiful lyrics....

Kaise kahen kya hai sitam
Sochte hai ab yeh hum
Koi kaise kahen woh hai ya nahi humare

Karte to hai saath safar
Faasle hain phir bhi magar
Jaise milte nahi kisi dariya ke do kinare

Pass hain phir bhi paas nahi
Humko yeh gum raas nahi
Seeshe ki ek diware hai jaise darmiya

Sare sehmein nazare hain
Soye soye vaqt ke dhare hain
Aur dil mein koi khoye si baatein hain

TOW life s*cks...

Have you ever wondered how it feels :

-when you are hanging on the edge of a cliff, your hands slipping fast and your mind unable to comprehend whether the person standing nearby - and the only one who can help - is going to offer a helping hand or just let you go. The infinite uncertainty in the instant when you know that the next moment means life or death, but that the choice is not yours to make, and the one who makes this choice isn't inclined to tell you.

-when you realize that the lottery ticket you tore away last night has won a million dollars today

-when one small action, inconsequential by your standards, ends up as the concluding argument in 20 discussions in a single day

-when you jump into the middle of an empty road at the exact moment when a bus suddenly appears and you realize that the next thing under the bus tire is going to be your head

I think I know how it must feel. It is a complicated situation to narrate. And a one as well.

I am increasingly getting defeated. I think there's something in the design of this life that makes it difficult to achieve a smooth outcome. Especially when you are trying to prove popular wisdom wrong.

I always thought that it was humanly possible to have boundless love for a person. And that love, in its entirety, could solve all problems. The conviction that such a strong emotion would bring should be enough to tackle all problems - isn't it.

Well, I will soon find out.

[http://www.lyrics007.com/Eagles%20Lyrics/Love%20Will%20Keep%20Us%20Alive%20Lyrics.html]

I was standing
All alone against the world outside
You were searching
For a place to hide

Lost and lonely
Now you’ve given me the will to survive
When we’re hungry...love will keep us alive

Don’t you worry
Sometimes you’ve just gotta let it ride
The world is changing
Right before your eyes
Now I’ve found you
There’s no more emptiness inside
When we’re hungry...love will keep us alive

I would die for you
Climb the highest mountain
Baby, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do

I was standing
All alone against the worlk outside
You were searching
For a place to hide
Lost and lonely
Now you’ve given me the will to survive
When we’re hungry...love will keep us alive


[ http://kamjoshworld.blogspot.com/2007/06/kadmoon-taley-hamaare-kuch-zamin-bhi-na_01.html ]
कदमों तले हमारे एक ज़मीन ना थी कभी
आस है एक आसमान की मोहब्बत-ए-खुदा से फिर भी
ज़िंदगी में मोहब्बत की कमी तो ना थी कभी
तरसेगा तेरे प्यार को यह अकेला मन फिर भी
यूँ तो कमी ना थी एक हमसफ़र के आँचल की कभी
तरसेगा तेरे साथ को यह दिल फिर भी कभी
याद करेंगे तन्हाई में बीते लम्हों को जब हम कभी
रो दिया करेंगे चुपके से , बिन आसू कभी कभी...

Behold our moral hypocrisy!

Why is everyone making such a big controversy about the alleged(till proven) MP bribery scandal? Sample this:

-One doesn't get his pension unless the babu in-charge gets 'the cut'

-To get a passport, you have to bribe the police to clear your background check. Otherwise they will sit on your papers till the end of time

-One cannot set up and register a company without paying a number of babus in several different departments

-One can easily obtain a driver's licence without ever having to give a test by bribing the officials concerned through an agent

-My mother filed for a government loan through her salary account. The loan was sanctioned but the babu refused to sign the documents unless he got a suitable cut.

-There have been several incidents of crimes done by policemen - Matunga scam, several rapes and encounter killings of innocents.

What makes any of these less outrageous than an MP taking a bribe to vote for the government?

I think the statement that sums up the situation quite appropriately is this - People get the government they deserve.

The babu at the government office has no right to criticise the MPs. The police hawildar who routinely accepts 50Rupee notes from erring (and sometimes innocent) citizens has no right to criticise.

If we ourselves can't resist the lure of money, why blame the MPs?

There are several government departments where bribery is the norm. It is justified on the ground that the elite babus need money to sustain a lifestyle that their position entitles them. Think about the logic here. They think they deserve a lifestyle which the government is not providing them. Hence, it is acceptable to take bribe.

This logic effectively portrays them as a victim.

Let us not indulge in blatant moral hypocrisy.

Since this bribery system is so endemic, why not legitimise it?
A pension office be entitled to 1% of the pension disbursed. Let the police officer who fines a person for errant driving pocket the amount.

Let us have a moral system which discourages people from doing things in private that they can't admit in public.

I am aghast at the level of moral hypocrisy we have come to accept.

Either stop taking bribes or stop making such a fuss about those MPs.
Incidentally, I don't think the people are outraged as much as the media is portraying. That could easily be because many of them lack the moral ground to be outraged.

Incidentally again, I don't condone this behaviour of the MPs. At the same time, I have very little hope that anything is going to come out of all this moral outrage drama.

Lord save this country!