In Blind Faith

We have been brought up with the understanding of a good and evil phenomenon. That there is a God and a Devil that exist and a Heaven and Hell. These were then branded into different religions of Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Jainism, etc.

Over the years, we have got ourselves so entangled with religion that some of us wanted out of it and started sharing a common platform for all to exist. Slavery was abolished, caste and creed differentiation was stopped. There was a silver lining in the dark cloud.

Today, we have a new blind faith that is being created. The faith of the masses on a time bomb that we call Politics. The leaders of nations have understood that the masses follow what we feed them and allow them to believe anything they say. They can promise you the moon and the person will believe it. Education has nothing to do with the need to be associated with one or the other type of group we just need to have an association for the friends and family to make us feel higher than the rest.

Having lived in India for the last 2 decades, I have seen the rise of a small person from a nothing to being the Prime Minister of India. His growth is noteworthy and better yet, his marketing skills are worthy of praise and recognition. The most noteworthy part of his achievements is the ability to control media and the "Top of The Mind" advertising is the best yet.

The next part, this is something we all need to take heed of, is the "Bhakts". They cannot hear anything negative or derrogatory of their leader. They have such "Blind Faith" in his actions that no matter what happens, right or wrong, they will not hear a word that would be against their thinking. 

This isn't an isolated incident in this country, we have many stars and super stars who have the same or better fan following, to mention a few Rajnikanth, Sachin Tendulkar, Amitabh Bachchan and many more regional stars who have a cult based following.

The difference here is that the normal superstars and stars, do not try to manipulate their fans for more than their ticket sales or promotions of their work in a movie. We have a new super star who for the sake of a few is ravaging a country of more than a billion. And he is being praised for it.

History is witness to another leader who had a similar following and it took more than half a century for the country to get back to it's feet. But yet, they bear the brunt of having a bloody history and to live with the tarnish a single leader caused to their country and image of the country.

The need to be associated with a Brand is good, but how can you smell only one rose and think the garden would have many roses? Even a bouquet does not have all the roses perfect. The ruling party has many members and 98% of all political parties in India are based on the need to have power and money. The need to help the common man is maybe secondary or just a tertiary need of the party. How can the common man get the benefit from such leadership?

The recent demonetization drive has given us to believe that there is a leadership for the rich and nothing for the poor. The Robinhood has turned to robbing the hood, for the benefit of the few rich lads who run the major political parties with their commissions, the government had officially taken money from the middle and lower classes to fund the banks to wipe out the bad debts created by such industrialists. Major defaulters have welcome a move that will only benefit their need to wipe the slate clean and have the poor person die while standing in a queue to get the money that is rightfully his.

On this, the Bhakts are for the leader because they still believe that the hope of a brand new day is around the corner and things are only going to get better from here. There is no need to be in any rush to see people die or business close or people loosing their jobs due to the slow down in the economy. Better yet, money is flowing from the RBI and other venues to the ruling parties accounts in black or white. Money has been caught without prejudice in the West Bengal and Gujarat of the said party workers cars and houses.

What do we do when we have a leap of blind faith amongst the learned class? They either become followers who made Hitler Great or they become Terrorists who make India poor. Physically and Mentally!

To have, To Receive and To Get

In a day and age of having the best for yourself is a norm. People try different means and methods to have a get rich quick fix. We forget to live our lives in the quest to get rich and show our friends and family. To have the materialistic gains is what we have aimed our destiny.

I was made to believe the materialistic way of life is the place for all to be until I met Saraswati. She is a regular person without any hopes of making it big in the world with a simple understanding of life and the hurdles she faces.

I had to go to the outskirts of Mumbai on work and was waiting at a tea stall for the workers to come. While I was waiting, a lady came with a basket on her head and a baby in her arms. She asked the tea stall lady to help her get the basket down and lay it on the ground.

She went ahead to arrange the basket laden with toys and women's accessories. She was preparing herself sell her goods in the village near by. I was sitting and observing her as she did her work.

As she was getting her basket ready, her daughter, 1 year 5 months young, lay on her lap and slept soundly. She kept to her work of readying the basket and also caring for her daughter. It was a sight to see, how she was making an effort to earn her livelihood. I was only amazed at the courage this lady was showing in the world of material craze with the simple products she kept in her basket to sell.

I approached her and asked her why she was doing so much to make a living. She could have easily stood on the streets like a beggar and made a lot more money. She looked at me with a smile and said, "Sahab, God has gifted me with everything I need to earn my living, why should I beg for my living?" I was shocked and awed by her courage. Her answer had made a dent in my belief that the world is getting worse by the day and humanity is a dying phenomenon. Her ability to live life without the need to have the abundance of money but to have the abundance of time with her child and family was truly mind changing.

Saraswati said, she works 5 hours every day except sunday, when her husband would get an off from work and the time would be spent with family on that day. She carries her baby everywhere she goes and does all the work to ensure her child gets a decent education, something she was not allowed to do since she was a girl. Saraswati was the youngest of three siblings and the only girl. Her brothers were educated and worked in the city, where as she was not sent to school beyond class 8th as her father didn't think it was a worthwhile investment.

Saraswati was not in the shadow of being dejected of depressed with the treatment meted out to her because of her sex. Her ability to stand up and earn her living was proof in itself, to show her strength to fight the world around her in a subtle but defined manner. She was a deity in her actions.

I listened with an open mouth and a head held high to her life and her living. Her mother in law and family were very strict and didnt allow her to move out too often. She had to make them known that she wanted to do it for her and her child's happiness. She said she was blessed with an understanding husband who supported her in her wants and needs of being independent.

I was truly blessed to be within the aura of such a person in my lifetime. A person who showcased strength and courage when the world around her was only trying to pull her down. May the world be blessed for having a person like Saraswati to have, to receive and to get what we deserve and not what we want. 

The Drive.....

It was just another day going to work or was I mistaken?

A monday morning all ready to start the week, the car engine roared and I took a deep breath to focus my attention to the week ahead. As I reversed from the garage I could faintly remember the beautiful weekend that just passed by and how I wished it were a day or two longer.

The traffic was at its peak and was at snail's pace. As I waited at the signal I saw the beggars making their rounds at each car. A woman was carrying a child, not more than 2 years, on her waist and walking from car to car begging for money. She was using the child as a tool to persuade the occupants in the car to give her money.

I looked and wandered about the child and what would be his/her plight in all of this. He would be groomed to be a thief or a beggar when he would grow up. His life was meant to be doomed from the time he/she took his/her first breath of air and started to cry. The cry would have been of pain rather than of happiness to be welcomed into the world of misery.

I sat back and thought of the children who I had met, children of my cousins, friends, acquaintances. All those children would have had been born in the same manner as the child on the street but their destiny would have definitely been different to the child in front of me. The love, care and tenderness their parents bestowed on them would be only a dream for this little one.

If fate had played its cards right, this child could have been an asset to society. He/she could have been a writer, an actor, an engineer, a doctor or any other professional but because of the bad parenting he/she was to be in the life of misery with the goons of society.

The drive didnt last long as the thought of the child kept playing in my head and made me wonder. What could I have done to make this a better place for the children of tomorrow? How could we as the elders of today work to make the city a better place for all to live in?

If we all were to make our cities, towns and villages a safe haven for children that would be a start to ensuring our children would not have to bear the same brunt or anguish that we as children may have had to endure.

The drive to make this world a better place needs to begin and start at home. Else there would never be a home left for the future generations.

The Spirit of Success

I am simply amazed at the people I see around me everyday. The different facets of life that they come from and the work they do with the dreams which each one of them aspire for. Some of them have dreams for themselves and some dream for their families or loved ones. I happened to come across such an individual in a train journey in the local trains of Mumbai.

I had had a very bad day at work and all I wanted to do was reach home and get some rest so that I could face another day at work. I was in two minds whether to continue the job or to remain with the company to pursue my social career.

I boarded the train at Churchgate station which is the closest railway station from Nariman Point and on my way to Borivali. I was lucky to get the seat that would change the way I looked at life and the hurdles that came along with it. The train was fairly empty on a Saturday afternoon as the weekend had already started for most of the office goers. I took a window seat and sat starting out of the window and thinking of how I hated my job and the life that I was leading. Then they came in and sat right opposite me and were already in the midst of a conversation that I assumed had started sometime earlier.

There were two elderly gentlemen, Mukund and Salil, who were maybe in their late forties and were discussing about their lives and its problems. Mukund was explaining to Salil how his life was filled with problems. I was sitting in my own grief and didn’t want to hear another sob story from anyone to make me feel more disserted than I already was but I listened to their conversation since I had nothing better to do.

Mukund was describing the way he was married to a girl in his early twenties by an arranged marriage and after 5 years of marriage and a son of 2 years she passed away in a freak accident. Apparently, the driver was drunk and slammed into his wife when she was returning home late at night from her mother’s place. He couldn’t do anything to the driver since his father was in the high and mighty of the then ruling political party and had already threatened dire consequences if he had to pursue the case against him.

He was left with a 2 year old to take care of him and raise him on his own. A second marriage was out of the question as no girl wanted to be with a widower and would obviously not shower the same love on the child as his real mother. He took the responsibility of raising his child on his own and making sure he got all that he could give him.

It took a while before both of them had adjusted to the new life ahead of them. He had rarely cooked and cleaned the house or done any house hold chores as his wife had him pampered with just sitting and relaxing while she did the needful. Nor had he spent much time with his son in cleaning his diapers and making his meals. He was always the one who would put him to sleep or play with him while she would do the rest of the chores.

Working as an executive in a Multi-national company only gave him security of his job but really didn’t take care of the payments and the time that he could spend with his child. To add to it, his son had a weak immune system and was as notorious as hell. Mukund would be often called from his school telling him he is sick or injured himself. A single dad was no joke for him to handle and he was terrified. He thought of asking his parents to stay with him so that they could help with the nurturing and care of his son while he was away but that was not possible as they themselves were too old to take care of themselves. It resulted in years of running around from home to work and then from his school to various doctors who were poking into him and giving various medications to cure his son’s weak immune system.

Till the age of 7 he was always falling ill on regular intervals and his medical bills would always be a worry for Mukund. Apparently, all through it he had always kept his calm and never wondered of what the worst could bring. He had almost stopped meeting and greeting friends and all his other worldly pleasures had come to a standstill for that time. He was determined to raise his son and impart the affection of both the parents to him.

The thing that really inspired me was that all through this he and his son shared a bond that rarely a father and son would get to share in a normal family. His son went on to become a chef and was working in a leading star hotel and doing well for himself. Mukund said that his son was getting married in a couple of months and he was looking forward to it. Now he was busy with all the wedding preparations and was relieved that everything worked fine till now.

I was simply amazed on listening to this person who just managed to live an austere life for the love of his son and dedicated all his resources to let him live his dreams. He had none of his own and never in the whole conversation did he mention that he regretted anything except the loss of his wife. Although, he also stressed that because that happened he was drawn so much closer to his son that he may not have appreciated had his wife been alive today.

I did not know him from Adam but his synopsis of his life in the whole train journey made me realize the true meaning of success in life. I could never compare the success he achieved in raising and nurturing his son as a single parent with me who was leading a much more relaxed and convenient lifestyle.

Rendez-vous

Walking through a mall on a weekend in India is like going to a market for shopping these days. We have to wait for parking if we go later than 6 pm. The crowds are thronging at the food court, the few seats we get to see along the aisles are also occupied but the shops are not crowded with buyers.

It got my wife to think what would people do if there were no malls today. She asked me, "What would you and your friends do when you were in college?". My instant reply was that we would roam in our colony and take long walks to just stand a gate of the building and have a gala time of the things done or make one the scapegoat for the moment.

She was right to point that people have taken malls as the new destination to meet with friends and spend the evening or even a day. There was no charge to enter the mall and the air conditioning was free on a hot/ rainy/ cold day. The new generation has figured a better alternative to being confined to their buildings/ society / colony to spend time with friends.

Not only the young college going generations but also people of all ages are following the same principle, in note, as we went to observe. We saw the elderly in with their children and grandchildren, young couples holding hands or carrying their new borns. Office going crowd was always the most in the malls but in the groups their came with differed as we noticed.

Once we put our finger on this thought, we shared the same with some close friends and their experiences were even more interesting. Seemingly, one of them was called to the food court in a mall for an interview with an HR recruitment agency and yet another was comfortable to meet a person who her mother asked her to meet for marriage and to get to know the person. She felt that a food court in a mall is well crowded and she would feel safe in the midst of the multitude.

This was a new thought for us to think that every weekend, we too would visit a different mall in Mumbai. The distance to travel was enjoyed with some music and conversation of what happened in the week or just normal life conversations or just abusing the administration of the bad roads and upkeep of the city.

The point is we all have evolved in the way we meet and greet our friends and well wishers. The mall style has changed the way we observe the relationship with a friend or with an acquaintance. Think about it!!!

A Question of How and Why?

Its very intriguing to know how a "Kundli" can actually predict your future. The astrologer or pundit sits with the charts to the time and date of your birth and describes your past and predicts your future.

I have been attracted to this form of prediction in dire needs. Also, some friends suggested it to me, assuming that I would get a little peace to know that good times are around the corner. I cannot imagine what made me go for it, but I was amazed at the way the astrologer predicted my behaviour, my eating habits, my ailments and problems that I had in the past. I was swept off my feet with the things he spoke about me and that too with just numbers in front of him.

I came out a renewed individual with the strength to say that I will be ok and things will get better. But that only lasted for the time until my mind was set into motion of reasoning with the logic shared.

If this individual was able to see the future and predict it to the dot, would not it be cheating to know what my future would be? And if he did do such a good job at predicting the future, would not everyone be in a good place who believed in the astrologers advice? Why do we have to go through the rough phase if the mantras and rituals performed to keep us safe and happy do not work at the time of delivery? If the future is uncertain in all its beings, would not I be the one to mold it with my actions and not what the "Kundli" reads of me?

There were a ton of questions that were germinating in my mind and the roots of reasoning were digging deeper with more time spent on the topic. I kept pondering on the question of why? Do I want to know the future based on the past events and how can anyone know my future and pen it down. Is that what the almighty wanted us to do or are we cheating in the exam called Life?

The thoughts of confusion and paradox theories came to light, I spoke to many people on the said subject. Some less learned than I assumed to be and some less helpful in the logic shared. The internet was loaded with so much of information on the subject that I was getting more confused than ever. With every other site contradicting each other in the commonality of the logic behind astrology and the reasons for the sadness and deprivation of happiness for a few.

Another thought came to mind, of those who were not believers of the astrology phenomenon or even atheists and of those who would not have the yearning to know their future. How would they be making decisions in their lives? Astrology is common only in Asians and knowing the future is part of the eastern culture. People in the Western world do not believe in the said structure. Why are they having better economies and lives than some of us?

There must be something to the whole theory of life. Why do some people struggle with all their decisions and the subsequent results? Where on the other hand, we know of people who were walking on air and getting anything that they dreamed of with the least effort. The 7 year itch or "Panoti"(Hindi word for bad luck)  never reaches their doorstep but resides in the walls of your house to ensure that you get troubled for the rest of your life.

I cannot understand the future and cannot understand life, but I do know that with the more "Why" that come in my quest of understanding life. The calmer and peaceful I become, not in the knowledge that I can change something but that I will have to keep learning from what life has to offer till the day that I am breathing and alive.

The Beauty of G-W-L

The first sight of her is in the form of a mother, then if you are lucky you get to see her as your sister and then as your wife. All the three forms are packed with love, care and a fragile touch of comfort. There isn't a soul on this planet who would not have been touched by their presence at some point or the other in their lives. Most of the sons are closer to their mothers than their fathers. But still in our very great and progressing country there are episodes of infanticide and the killing of the GIRL child. The understanding that a girl is not lucky for a family without a boy.

I read about a couple who kept having kids but were so lucky to be blessed with girls and they had 4 of them but the husband and the in-laws were not happy with the girls as they wanted to have a boy in the family. The result was that the fifth time they got lucky. The irony of it is that when they grew old and wanted their son to take care of them, it was the daughters who came to their aid and supported them when they needed the love and comfort the most.

I have been among the few who has been blessed with two sisters, one elder and the other younger to me. Although, I was the middle one, I was pampered by both my sisters and showered with unconditional love and care all the time. I must state that I have been really greedy of it and have tried to reciprocate the same towards them when I could, but I got more than I gave!!

In the last few years, the bachelors states of Punjab and Haryana are facing a major crisis. There is a shortage of woman for them to get married to. I recently saw a documentary on one of the Indian news channels which showcased their plight. Apparently, they are going down south to find brides for themselves in Maharashtra and Kerala. The ironic part is that they are giving dowry to the girls side to get married to them and the same parents who would profess the boy is lucky for them are now treating the daughter in laws with a lot of dignity and respect. This is something that they have now started to realize and have initiated a drive of information to the literate illiterates the importance of the girl child.

World over, the most prosperous nations have been the ones where the Female sex has been given more or equal opportunities as men and the developing and third world nations are the ones that are still in the primitive age of treating them as a second to the Males. Look around you and see it for yourselves. Compare it and you will find the reasons for it is all inter-linked to the support of the people and its benefits. There are exceptions like the gulf states but yet they are progressing faster than most countries as far as equality is in question.

The Multi-Specialty Cuisines

A couple of months ago I had read an article on the restaurants in the city which have been going through a change of the menu they offered. The article stated that the traditional outlook of specialty restaurants were slowly in a state of becoming the more infamous multi-cuisine restaurant. The Pasta shops now would serve a variety of Continental and Chinese, the Indian specialty had some Chinese menu to it or that the Chinese corner now had some Indian dish to it. I was quite surprised at the revelation and as I would enjoy a meal in a restaurant I was actually reminded of this trend when I would see the menu change over a period of time and the alarming menu that would be presented to me.

In a recent outing to a Pizza joint, I was surprised to see a menu card that had more items other than a pizza. They had starters, pasta, soups and salads along with desert. While in the past, we would always venture to different places to have the choice of food that would tickle our palates now we can enjoy the same in the pleasures of a single place. This is a very good but yet and ugly trend that is being circulated in the city and we are not realizing what we are actually missing.

The times taken to prepare a dish along with the natural flavours are lost. Customers want it as soon as possible and are not ready to wait for their meal they are impatient. In a bid to satisfy the customer, restaurants are starting to employ quick and modern methods of cooking have changed the way the food would traditionally taste, the emphasis is on the presentation and not on the flavours. The food looks good but when you eat it, there is a definite let down in the taste and the flavours. Have you ever eaten a tandoori dish from a restaurant recently, 9 out of 10 times your hands will be red by the time you are done with your meal because of the excess colouring used to give the touch of red to the dish. The pasta is always either too dry or too mushy due to the stagnation in open air before it is served.

If you are a person of admirable taste and you relish what you eat, these are things that you will notice the next time you are out and enjoying an overpriced dish that has lost its flavor from the start.

• Look to see the ambience of the place, there is a definite evidence to look at the worthiness of the place and the seriousness in the owners to make the customers comfortable and welcomed.
• How are the stewards, waiters dressed? This is a clear indication on the hygiene of the outlet and the health concerns that govern the food preparations.
• The cutlery is an important read. If they are washed properly and shine in the light on the tube lights or fluorescent lights. They are the right place to be.
• The serving pattern is another important aspect of the process. Is the serving done in process or in a wayword manner? lets not follow the western philosophies of serving, there may be a reason for it but in India we like to be served with love and affection to enjoy the food we eat. 
• The last and most important aspect is to taste the food and reason out the flavours that are burried in the pores of the dish you have ordered or has been recommended by the server. This will be the judge of all the other reasons that you may forgo, like the ambience, the hygiene, the service process, the taste and the texture of the dish is the reason why we go to the outlet more than once.

Of course, there are places that have retained the traditional way of cooking and the food is mouthwatering and delicious. Places where you would not only recommend but would frequent yourself. Its time we demand quality rather than look at the quantity of the food at reasonable prices.

Faith

Faith is such an important part of our life. We are born with nothing but a notion of it and then through the teachings from our parents and elders we are made to believe in the first form of faith, namely religion.


Faith has become to be the main link to the happiness and sadness in a person's life. His/her faith in a job, a partner, a friend or a relative constitutes his trust and dependancy on the person. There is a lot that we get to learn from FAITH but what we forget is its authenticity and tend to behave in the way that the other would like us to behave. There would have been instances in each of our pasts where our hearts would have wanted something different but our FAITH in something or someone held us back from either getting it or doing it.

Lets ponder on what does faith actually mean? Is it a form of religion or is it the trust factor that one has for some one or something or is it the existence of an unknown force that will help us in the times of our needs? According to the websters dictionary faith means:

Faith
Noun
1. A strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny; "he lost his faith but not his morality".
2. Complete confidence in a person or plan etc; "he cherished the faith of a good woman"; "the doctor-patient relationship is based on trust".
3. Institution to express belief in a divine power; "he was raised in the Baptist religion"; "a member of his own faith contradicted him".
4. Loyalty or allegiance to a cause or a person; "keep the faith"; "they broke faith with their investors".

So we know we have a good understanding of what faith means but then why is it that we doubt our faith at times and we are not sure. Let me site an example on this for better understanding. Recently, I was visiting some of college friends in Delhi and I was introduced to his son who was about a year old. Since I was spending a few days with them I befriended the little boy, he had the need to taste and have anything that another person was drinking and on a night when I was sharing the evening with a group of friends and when no one was looking I offered him a few sips off my cocktail which tasted sweet to him. I realised then that this child had no clue what was there in the glass with some colourful liquid in it but that he had some sub-conscious faith in me that I wouldn't be able to harm him in any manner by offering him a drink. Obviously, what followed was a shrieking mother and a very happy child who danced the night away.

The point being is that we have faith in people that can be broken at times but these are living beings who have a mind of their own. How can we actually have faith in the unknown the and created from that the existence of a GOD. The eternal creator of all the starts, moon, planets, water, air, etc etc. I am putting forth this question to all the believers and faithful what is this faith in the unknown? The belief and ego that each faith is better than the other or that there is only a single path in the name of religion that is the main cause of hate and enemity between communities and people across the globe. I am questioning all those people who are not stopping this from happen and not those psychopaths who are doing it in the name of religion.

I think the people who are not stopping this from happening are more responsible for the hate development and promotion that those who are blindly following a leader blinded my ego and greed of power. Faith in god and the creator has been abolished and now comes a form of new faith, faith of a human being and his/her interpretation of what is right and wrong. There is such a fog of thought over what is right and wrong and how we can never have a solid differentiator between it. Faith is no longer existent in this world and not in the people who preach it for sure. There is no single religion to be cornered out here but all of them. Faith has become so commercial that any religious celebration has a political or business backing to it for profits and benefits. Where was the time when this country was proud of all the faiths that existed and harmony was never a difficulty. Today India is the epicenter for most of the religious outbreaks thanks to our diverse heritage and democracy that we have.

When are we going to learn that unity in diversity is the only way forward and not the british Mantra of division in equality! Knowledge is not helping the benefits of the learned to be more calm and think towards peace. There should be an answer and I do not have it!

Humility in India

Humility is never felt until we actually have had the opportunity to introspect our lives for understanding the wrongs and the rights. Success normally, doesnt help realise this feeling and we do tend to get arrogant and self-absorbed with ourselves. On the other hand, there is a deep need of humilty among us. Why?

Well, lets understand the need of humility and how it helps. A humble person would respect the feelings of others and share the emotion on a one to one basis. He/she is always an understanding and caring person. He/She would make an attempt to give back to the community and support their growth thus supporting a chain of success ratios in the region he/she is residing in. The urgent need of humility in our society is when there are caste, creed, gender and religious biase happening around us. The need of humility is needed when we sit in a comfortable restaurant have have a sumptuous meal while on the other side of the road sits a child with just a morself of food to take the day through. The need of humility arises when we sit in properly ventilated class rooms with mordern amenities to help us learn the knowledge of the land while a student in a village has to walk 4 kms to reach his/her school and gets little or no updated knowledge of whats happening in the world today. The need of humility is now and not tommorrow.

While most of us would feel that one who is caring is the one who is always hurt but thats only because we have this need of the other person to be humble as well and more times than one there is always someone on the opposite side who has not had the opportunity of being touched with humilty. He/she is the one who has either tasted success and is a constant winner or is just living in a dream that he/she can do everything on his/her own without anyone's help or assistance and cannot associate with a person who is not as privileged as he/she is.

Take for example a rags to riches person. He/she will definitely associate with the common man and why wouldnt he/she? He/She came from the same community that the common man lived in but he/she doesnt. In the wake of success and materialistic gains he/she forgets the roots that actually gave him/her the will and the desire of achieving the materialistic pleasures of life and in the bargain he/she forgets to give back to the place. Thus leaving his/her past as a reflection of his memory and nothing more! The most plain example are our politicians.

On the other hand, think of a person who was born with all the riches in life and then suddenly one day due to some unforseen calamity looses part or everything in life and is suddenly struck with a failure that might cripple him/her for life. He/She is suddenly faced with the most daring part in hir/her life to start from scratch and start working up all over again. In the journey he/she learns the basics of humilty and when he/she does rise like a phoenix(which most invariably do) there is a very good chance that he/she will be appreciated not only by the people around them but also by themselves. Self gratification of the human soul!!! Some cases in example have not exactly tasted failure but have not forgotten their past either. The infosys story of helping the poor and the needy to grow in contrast to most other corporates in Indian big wigs who share nothing but air with their fellow people.

We compare ourselves to the super powers in the west and have a knack of copying most of their political lyrics and jargons to suit our own fancies. Why cant we try and copy their other ways of bettering their societies? They have made sure that health and education is available to all their children(some exceptions are there in the western states). Our children need the love and grace of most of us and we owe it to the country to grow and be the next super power in the world.

But this can only happen when each of us share the humility of loving and caring for the other person sitting beside you on a train or a bus or in a flight. Respect the other for who they are and not for who you want them to be. This my friends is the true success in life. When you learn to appreciate yourself and others in the humbleness of the being and not in the superiority of the ego!

11/7, 26/11 - A Powerful Thought with Action

It will be the first anniversary of the 26/11 blasts in Mumbai which rocked the country but are we really disturbed in the country with regards to security? There was such a hue and cry of the security last year that thousands gathered at Gateway of India to commemorate the death of the soldiers and the destruction of peace in a place like Mumbai. The city saw the same clamity in 2006 on 11/7 as well when the trains in the suburbs of Mumbai were bombarded and the loss of lives much greater than that at 26/11. Nothing was done to improve security in the city or the country anymore than what is being done to now. There were so many attacks in each part of this country and our elected supremos are sitting comfortably in their seats without doing anything for the people who got them there. I was discussing with a friend recently of the lack of security and the laid back attitude of people in India as compared to the USA. How the USA made the changes in its security programs and re-grouped with a will to protect its nation from the cockroaches of terror. What I failed to understand was what are we as Indians going to do to make a change to the society that we live in? When is our security going to be more important that the political and bureaucrats? Who is going to stand up to the corrupt politicians and the self indulgent bureaucrats and make them realise that we pay the taxes for our security and not only theirs? Or should we take the easy route of migrating from this country and contributing to the betterment of another society? I have been watching the various talk shows on television and am really surprised at some of the discussions that persist. There are ideas that can change the face of the security in this nation and how we as the proud citizens of India can be safe when travelling anywhere in this country. But at the end of the day thats all that we are capable of doing. We are all talk and no action. How can we stop the brain drain in our society in terms of quality professionals and good governance? I am trying to point out that we had a terrorist attack on our country by foreign players and we need to protect ourselves from such instances in the future. But we need to understand the cause of such occurrences and the instances that will lead to the day that we will have to kiss our loved ones good bye as if every day was the last of our lives. When are we going to recognise the internal terrorists and start our JIHAD against them. There are thousands of farmers committing suicide, thousands of children not getting proper places to stay or food to eat; illiteracy and diseases. So many problems that this one article would be insufficient to make a note of it. When are we going to terminate these Corrupt Internal Terrorists(CIT)? There are so many reasons for us to be proud of our country but when we hear that a leader elected to serve us has embezzeled us for more than Rs.4,000 Crore!!! Is not that enough to remove most of the farmers in debt? Provide shelter, food and education to atleast a million or more children. And then we also have the political leaders helping rejuvenate the East India Company's policy of divide and rule, with Hindu against Muslim, Hindu against Christian, Maharashtrians Vs Indians, etc, etc. Why are we waiting for something to happen? When are we going to realise that there is more to giving and than receiving? To all my debates on how to improve this country I was asked this question, "Who is going to bell the cat?" Who will take the responsibility of having the CITs punished for their crimes? I realised that I wouldnt be the one. WHY? Because I have spent so much of time in my education and would like to lead a decent lifestyle. Buy a house someday, then a luxury car, send my children for an expensive education and then lay down to rest after working my life away. That is the cycle of life for all of us and why should we bother otherwise. The most important part of it all, is that although I have the idea of a better India, I do not have the will to initiate the change and fight the all powerful and mighty CITs. We as a nation have been used to being oppressed and ruled over by foreigners for centuries. But now we are being suppressed by the very people who we have chosen to leads us into a path of success and peace. These very people are the cause of the doom of the country that once was our pride but slowly becoming our shame. But this has to change else we will be like one of the African states in complete chaos; ruled and haunted by terror. It is time we stop watching things pass us by and not turn a blind eye to the CITs. It is time we start to make things happen rather than wait for it to happen. It is time for us to take a stand and be proud of the nation that gave us life and a name to go by. It is time for us to be Indians!!!