Three incidents

While I was waiting at London heathrow terminal for my next flight to Delhi, I never thought time would pass so quickly.

A lady, in her late 50s was sitting besides me and talking on the phone with her relatives in punjabi. She almost covered all the topics of discussion I've ever witnessed in my life so far. From food to jewellery to clothes to land deals, and even to the extent of hiring some famous goons to get some job done.

But soon enough, I had lost interest in her talks. 

A man, again probably in his fifties came up to me and complimented my skills for photography which I was doing an hour ago. Apparently from his accent, it was evident he was from southern part of India. He was going to India for a two weeks visit to meet her mother and to attend a vocational course on spiritual teachings in Chandigarh. He told me about his native place, somewhere near Mysore. Since his city was at the juncture of three states- Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala: he could speak almost five languages fluently. I was pretty impressed by his knowledge and his simplicity. Then he left to make some phone calls, hence ending the discussion on a sweet note.

Suddenly another guy, this time an American in his forties, came up to me. After usual introduction, he told me that he was going to India to meet a girl whom he had found through shaadidotcom. I was amused listening to an American guy going to India for the very first time to meet his to-be-future-soul-partner. I know India is never a pleasant place for the first time visitors. Just to make sure that this guy shouldn't get into any trouble, i asked him if he had ever talked to the girl's mom and dad or other family members. Here i got the first shock, though i was expecting it to come somehow. Girl had been brought up in an orphanage and she was living alone in Pune. This could be a very well planned trap to make some money from this rich American guy. But i couldn't muster the courage to tell him so. He told me some colleague of that girl was coming to pick him up from Mumbai airport and from there on, they'll drive to Pune. I wished him best of luck, and at the same time prayed to God that all would be good with this guy.

And we parted our ways from the lobby to our respective flights: mine to Delhi and his to Mumbai. 

Written while sitting in plane on October 23, 2013.

Everything ia looking gloomy after the much awaited yesterday's visit. We did what we could have done, yet it seems unfruitful. What was destined to be the unforgettable memory, soon became a horrid one.

Wish I could do much more than my potential. But I'm still not losing the hope. Everyone gets another chance. I will get it too. But won't let you slip from my fingers at any cost..

Justice for all

Why this treatment (which they undeniably deserve) is not meted out to numerous victims of rapes which go unnoticed into the trash in form of morning papers, tea-time discussions and mere facebook statuses? Just because this society (which i believe plays a major role in becoming what it has become in modern time) can't re-play the drama again and again to say 'enough is enough'. This death sentence raises a very valid question on the operations of our judiciary. Was the death sentence rewarded just to satisfy the conscience of all those people of who protested day and night for one whole week demanding appropriate action? Or to put in straight words, i think this decision has been taken in wake of mounting pressure from society and other rape victims will not be given justice which they deserve in equal measure like any other citizen of India.

The judiciary must not act in order to satisfy the collective conscience of a society, but to reach out to those unfortunate victims of such heinous acts for whom the word judiciary is just another unrealistic utopia. Nevertheless a step in right direction has been taken; hope it'll give a glimpse of light to those who are fighting for it in dark for ages. In my opinion, those who think it'll deter the culprits from doing it again can't be more wrong.

Victorious struggles

The days of struggle are numbered now. But we must not lose the courage to deal with the remaining blows. The grit to keep moving ahead on the chosen path will take us to our destination. Someone had rightly said, "Harder the battle, Sweeter the victory". Keep nudging forward on the path, many will try to stop you, many would become the barriers, many would try to dishearten you; but remember the victorious thumping of drums will sound the sweetest. The smell of success will be tempting like never before. No matter how bleak the present seems, our future will be as promising as one could ever imagine.

Another love affair

Finally came closer to achieving one more milestone, rather the first I had ever set in my life. I realized your importance in my life a little too early than most people do in their lives. Since school days, I was the one who followed you passionately irrespective of rain or sun or day or night. I had set infinite alarms for midnight or 2am or even 4am just to catch a glimpse of you. It never mattered to me in which part of the world you were roaming or with whom you were roaming, all I wanted was to be a part of you like all other gentlemen had done in past. Very few things or persons have hold such importance in my life so far, as much as you do. Cricket, you never ceases to amaze me. Since childhood, I've loved you like none other sport and I still cherish your memories just like a newly wed couple tries hard to bring harmony to their relationship.

Thousands miles apart from where we first met, I again met you in this beautiful city of Melbourne located at Florida coast. Started playing regularly with ten overs matches every Sunday, with few practice matches in between. For last few months after settling down with my new job, I again find you closer to me with the same passion with which I've loved you during my childhood days. Plus a regular job with little less worries of the surrounding world brought you even closer to me.

Since last month, perhaps just watching you on tv and playing you for sometime was not sufficient, I joined a cricket club here in Florida and instantly promoted to the playing eleven. This would have never been possible in India, with so much talent in youth. Today played the first match with a seasoned leather ball and the results were far from being pleasant, yet my heart is dancing with sheer joy of experiencing you so close to me.

One more toast to our never-ending affair. Cheers...

Struggle

Everyone gets a life to live, but very few of us have the privilege to do so. Yet my heart embraces a sense of accomplishment thinking about those early days, when even the existence in a city like New Delhi was never less than a struggle in itself. In those mundane struggles of routine hardships was hidden the essence of life. Riding a bus, getting into metro, going to a shopping place; all seemed full of struggle yet I cherish those moments profoundly in my heart.

Keeping pace with your life, many times, becomes a tedious task. But somewhere down the memory lane, those unimportant moments of glory brings the utmost satisfaction. Those victorious moments brings the real meaning of life to our existence.

Another Friday

Another friday is here. But this one is not like the other Fridays, which had always brought in the feeling of losing myself in this deafening solitude. Unlike those Fridays which were full of dilemma on what to eat, what to watch and so many countless situations, today is special. While some will be remembered for a movie or a talk which engulfed the entire Friday night.

But this one is special, when I'm preoccupied with so many to-do-things this weekend. Apart from the mundane routine, this is probably the first-time when all I'm looking forward on a Friday night is having some good food and catch a good sleep. And what makes this weekend even more special is that I don't need to bother about cooking. Many more such weekends to come..

Life's leanings

Some days are not the happiest ones, but they do teach you more than those joyous days; about life, about the harsher realities, about the dreaded truths of this world. And then we make sure the celebrations for the upcoming days never fell short of our expectations.

The reality is as far away from our imagination, as the truth is from a rumour. But then it adds another dimension to your thought process, which again might not hold true next time you're stuck at divergent paths.

That time again, it'll teach you something new; and this is precisely the definition of life. Ever changing with each breath of air.

Aspirations

I followed many persons in my life, sometimes aspiring to be like themselves, sometimes out of respect, and many a times just to be in their shoes to see the world from their eyes. But i couldn't be like some one else for a long time. After all, one starts feeling dejected and lonely while pretending to be someone else and yet trying hard to prove his/her own unique identity in this world.

This is where it gets complicated. Just like everyone else, i too began the tedious walk on the same footprints just like everyone else did in past. When people started comparing me with the person, whom i had admired so far, the mission was accomplished. There were no proud moments after that, and none was left to accomplish. Then i moved ahead in my life and came across another such person and the history repeated itself again.

Perhaps that is what many would call a 'life'. But it shouldn't end just imitating another personality till your last breath. Life is all about finding your own unique identity, doesn't matter how boring it may seem, it matters least how unproductive or wasteful it may appear. But each one of us has something special, which no one else owns in this whole wide world. And life is all about finding that trait of yours, which sets you stand apart from the crowd. Then it may be something as sweet as becoming a singer or becoming a batsman who can time his cover drives second to none in this world.

Brits' Cricket

Cricket is probably one of the best things, Brits had brought to our country. And to me, it certainly is the only game which needs mental strength and strategy for every session much more than any other game. Test match is the purest form of cricket. You could never realize the love for cricket, unless you have met an Englishmen. I always thought of cricket as nothing less than a religion in India, but there's a gentle way of loving the game and that's how Britishers love it. #Respect

Priorities

Think of a person whom, you think, you love or care the most, and imagine not being able to see or meet that person again in this life. Slowly and surely you'll see your doubts melting away, giving your priorities a thought to ponder upon. Life must revolve around the people who are important to you, job/money/career are just a way of keeping your life under consistent rotation.

June '84

I have a story to tell. It was June of 84. My youngest sister was about to arrive in this world and my grand mother had come from bombay to help. She wanted to sleep out in open. So i slept with her. Incidentally we shared a common wall running across the full length of Gurudwara and we had big lawns and courtyard in front. At around midnight there were bullet shots and we saw army men entering in our house firing towards Gurudwara. Me and nani scampered inside and the whole night was spent in terror with bullets being fired. In morning the whole Gurudwara was army cantonment as they had been tipped off of some terrorist hiding there. I remember my grand mother's sentiments were badly hurt. Then around noon, they started taking out all male members from houses in our area on streets to inquire. My father waited with bated breath. No one came to call my father. Then when the army was to leave , their officer or whoever was leading that operation came to see my father. He said i wanted to meet my father as every 'HINDU' man in our locality had vouched for my father requesting to not 'dishonour' him. Now let me tell you why, because our family was famous for sheltering Hindus in our Sikh dominated area at time of communal riots. For this he had received threats many time to...but he always said ...'puttar insaan di jaan di keemat har cheez toh vadd hai' And two wrongs can't make a right. Whole 'Kaum' can't be blamed for wrongs of few people. Many of our close relatives outside Punjab were badly affected in riots but still the feeling of looking at wider ab=venue was instilled in us. Am proud that i was bred on love not hatred so it is easy for me to understand what you say and be distressed at so much residual hatred!

Excerpt from someone's dairy of Operation Blue star.

First Smartphone

I wasn't feeling well, so i thought i would give a call to my friend to ask what was needed to be done in home-work. I picked the phone diary, which was neatly placed over the wooden desk wrapped in a black leather cover coming out from the edges. My fingers quickly ran through the alphabetical list to locate the friend's name and with other hand i started dialing the number putting my finger in the little pores adjacent to the numerals.

The above is a forgotten tale. No more phone diaries, no more wooden desks especially bought to place phone over it. Sometimes i miss it, but then soon enough i realize it has changed for good. The next thing is a smart phone. Most importantly you can still make or receive calls, but sometimes it can does what no one expects it to do. I am no different in this case. I bought a Blackberry bold 9900 when i first came to States, and was in love with it the moment i hold it in my hand. It certainly was the best thing i could have gotten in exchange of few dollars. Soon enough, i was addicted to my phone. But i never did let it slip into a stage, where i wasn't aware of how the things were working in background. Slowly and steadily, i took it for granted for all the various purposes which were solved by using it. Then as the times changed, the technology brought a new revolution with it. It was Android. To those who are finding it hard to understand what exactly is the difference between all these terms which at first appears so techy, but trust me, these are not. Android is the operating system, which drives the phone in a manner similiar to an engine which runs an automobile. The technology has changed the engine of phone, it has changed the way our phone processes the data. Moreover Android is an open-source platform, which means any manufacturer can use it for their phone models. Samsung did the same and launched their own series of smart phones.

On the other side of world, i was still happy using my Blackberry model with an outdated version of operating system, which stands nowhere in front of Android. But then two years were too much to stick to the same phone, and that too in a world, where people don't hesitate to switch their partners too. So i got an Android phone, or it would be more suitable that i bought a Samsung smart phone. I said it so, because the brand Samsung was both the driving force and decisive factor in buying a new smartphone. Though very unlikely, i missed my blackberry for first few days (sometimes even now too). But then the change to a new phone was very smooth and hassle-free.  Its been more than 2 months now that i'm using it and loving it more and more with each passing of day. But i do admit sometimes it eats much of my important time, but then blame should go to my brain instead of this phone.

Sometimes before sleeping, i stare at my phone and it makes me think what would have happened had i been using the same normal phone even in present? No more applications, no Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp or Blogger. Just a phone with which i could either make a call or receive it. That's true, but then won't i miss all the things which are just a click away from me? Won't i miss feeling so better talking to my loved ones over the weekend? Hasn't it been useful in the times when i have no one but this phone to share my feelings with.

And then life is all about change, so be it..

FIR (First Information Report)

A tale narrated on Twitter by @cyclingsultan when he had to go to the nearest police station to file FIR for his stolen wallet in New Delhi.

Do I have to go to the nearest police station to register a FIR? I just found out my wallet was stolen on the railway station last night. Does anyone know what the procedure is when one loses a wallet? I just blocked my bank cards. Now what, next?

Thanks a lot for all your helpful suggestions. heading to the police station now to register an FIR. I lost my PAN and Election ID Card too.

If this is what I had to go through in just getting an FIR from the police, imagine the plight of someone who needs police help in distress. I had it relatively easy as I could exercise privilege by speaking to them as an empowered citizen. I managed to get the stamped letter.

Despite digitizing complaint system the police still fill forms in triplicates. I had to write the same letter three times (just like that). First they kept made me change the word 'stolen' to 'lost' because it would be hard to prove in the courts. Rewrite the letter again. I did. Second, after writing the letter second time, it got passed around and within five minutes was promptly lost among the various desks.

My diction/clothes helped too. The police know class divisions better than most. I lost my temper and gave a earful. In return, the officer gave me one too for having too much on his plate. But why lose a letter I gave? Third attempt at writing letter, while a junior police officer was assigned to simultaneously copy the letter in word on a computer.

After a 30-minute wait, I was finally given a letter, which was promptly signed & stamped. I thanked them all & left the station. Phew! They didn't want me to write all the items I had in my wallet. They didn't want me to mention cash. They wanted me to mention 'lost in Agra'. The officer made it clear. He said don't make our life difficult. Just say you lost your bank cards and your official ID cards. That's it.

He was dictating the letter to me like I didn't know how to write. If I formulated my sentence, I was being out of line with his template. Another chap (not from Delhi) who had lost his laptop on the train was told not to stress them as they should take care of their belongings.

The police station in India has to be the most depressing (frustrating) place in the country (apart from government hospitals). I still had it easy. I was out in an hour from the police station unlike others who are made to wait & wait till they give up on the system.