Happy Independence Day

Its around 0030, 15th August... So far, the only wishes concerning Independence Day have been those on FB status msges, or gtalk messages. This is quite unlike few days back, when ppl were so enthusiastic about friendship day...! Kind of gives u a real good insight as to how quickly we all forget a day so important.

Even I am guilty of this crime. There used to be a time, when each Independence Day would mean me drawing atleast 5-6 flags of India, eventhough it was never perfect. I never got those 24 spokes correctly or equidistant. even then, I used to make it.. But now, all Independence Day means for me is just another holiday. And the worst part is, m not feeling as guilty as I should..

There used to be a time when I would wake up with the crack of the dawn, cycle my way to the school for the flag hosting ceremony, come back as soon as possible, and here the PMs speech. I never missed one... But now, each one would have heard what Barrack Obama had to say when he got elected.. But no one cares what Manmohan Singh has in store for us.

Is it a sign that we have stopped caring..? Is it that for us, a national festival just means a National Holiday..? There are so many of us who blame ppl who have left the country for a better future.. but to neglect our country right on its birthday, is according to me, much worse...

Or is it, that celebrating Independence Day serves no purpose... It aint glamorous, it aint happening...? Or is it that it aint worth celebrating.. I dont know about you, but to me, each of this reason sounds as lame as it can get. The simple reason is that perhaps we have stopped caring.. For us, 15th August is just a national holiday, a day when we can sleep late..

Pity this year its on saturday, and pity it has to be a dry day...

A Reason to Celebrate

Its 12 midnight and I get a msg... Some jazzy msg which ended up wid a Happy Friendship Day. I knew this wasnt written by the sender, and I never bothered to read it.. Just replied to it wid a polite "thnx and same to u" and was done wid it.

Honestly speaking, I never got the concept of celebrating Friendship Day. We celebrate bdays, anniversaries etc etc because they act as a milestone in our life. But why friendship day..? I asked the reason to a friend of mine who wished me, and i got a response, to remember all the friends u hv had and honour them..

2nd question.. how do u honour ur friends? by remembering them on just one day in an entire year, and that too often wid a forwarded msg..? if this is how u wish them, u might as well call it an acquaintance day... I wld look at it more as an insult u know...

The basic difference between a friend and acquaintance is that a friend makes u feel at home. You might not meet for years, but even then u know that the moment u guys see each other, the old closeness will return.. There is no message or call in this world which can mirror that feeling.

You might argue that u need to tell a friend how much they mean to u..? Again... why on that very specific day.. You say this the moment you realize this.. And most of the times, u neednt say this.. Your actions always prove the point..

Impulse

Sale!! 50% off!!

Well, this sign is pretty common, specially in apparel stores... But when u come across similar sign hanging out from Levis Showroom, cant help but feel tempted..

So, the MBA in me did a quick maths.. A nice Jeans costs around 2000 bucks at Levis... I can get it in 1000... Good deal... ok ok.. i know getting 50% off on that jeans was a long shot, but well, i needed a reason to convince myself into goin into that showroom...

As I entered, the cashier looked at me as a hungry wolf... Must be thinking "Ek aur Bakra!!". Even inside the shop i cld see 30% or 40% off banners hanging... there must been a 50% banner too... but i missed it...

I carefully approached the Jeans section, but something else caught my eye... and it was a real cool black Tshirt... Now this wasnt my fault... It was strategically placed below the Jeans section u see... so instead, I made a bee-line for the T-shirts... Shortlisted couple of them, but then saw that they were only offering 20% off... and that black one wasnt that good in second look... so went back to my previous plan...

But then i noticed awesome shirts nearby... well, it never hurts to look.. Right?

Wrong! It does... Checking out is never Free!!! I liked a shirt, but it wasnt my size... aaand, my size in same design was not having any discount... Come to think of it, no shirt in my size had discount... But me being the impulse shopper that i am, decided to go for it... (Obviously i vowed to buy nothing else for next couple of months!!)

Then I went back to the Jeans section (That is what i came for..!) After few trials, me and my friend zeroed on a jeans, decided to buy it... But then, I came across another one which looked as good... Wanted to buy them both... But the sensible person in me kicked off and persuaded me that it was a bad idea...

Even then I ended up spending double of what i thought... Damn this tried and tested promotion schemes!!!

And on my way back, i spotted a Westlife showroom, which m not gonna visit ever in my life!!

An old poem

Used to sing this song in my music class... one of my favs... thnx to bhaskar for posting this on orkut community.. and this is not the complete thing... still searching for it...

Insaaf Ki Dagar Pe,
Baccho Dikhao Chal K,
Ye Desh Hai Tumhara,
Neta Tumhi H Kal K!

Yeh Waqt Na Thehera Hai,
Yeh Waqt Na Theherega,
Doori Ye Guzar Jayegi,
Ghabrana Kaisa

Ye Sukh Dukh Jeevan Me ,
Aate Aur Jaate Hain
Dukh Pehele Aa Jaye To
Ghabrana Kaisa

Sagar Ke Sine Se
Moti Jab Paaye Hain
Ab Pathhar Mil Jaye To
Ghabrana Kaisa

Jab Kadam Badhaye Hain
Manzil Mil Jayeegi
Hai Rah Zara Mushkil
Ghabrana Kaisa.

Randomness

Dedicated to DvD... he teaches me everytime before exams and even then somehow manages to get as poor grades as me!!! :P

Reasons why I hate writing exams..

1) There is no tool for checking my spelling mistakes.
2) I cant read my paper after I have written them.
3) I cant use a simple formula for finding average and std deviation.. I have to do it the hard way!! :(
4) I cant press Alt-Tab to check my orkut and Facebook time to time.
5) My fingers get stuck together after holding pen for so long!
6) For drawing diagrams, I have to pick up a scale and pencil.. Why cant i just do it by a click of mouse!!! :-|
7) I actually think that the time can be used to do something else... I mean, what good can ever come out of sitting idle for 2 hrs...?
8) I cant increase the font size to make it look like a larger answer after i find i am 2 pages short of allotted 4..!
9) If i make a mistake, I have to go back, erase the whole bloody thing and then rewrite it..! So much for efficiency!!
10) I feel stupid when i look around and see everyone writing as if there life is dependent on it..!

The Peak

Dedicated to my Bua... she had me realize this...

For those of u who don’t know me, I am one of the biggest fan of Harry Potter. I hv read each book atleast 10 times and critically analysed each and every movie for hours…!! Harry Potter books have been my area of specialization for over six years now… Recently 7th and last book of the series was released. The book had its ups and downs… both good and bad guys dying…

But what made me saddest was when the main villain, Voldemort died. Coz it meant the end of a brilliant series… I just didn’t want him to die.

Ankit also went through similar experience while reading LOTR. And this is one thing which happens inevitably when u watch some movie which is extremely good, or when a really good football match cms to an end… and somehow this is linked with why u feel sad when Yuvraj Singh gets out after a really explosive innings.. You just don’t want the fun to end, and in the end, tht is what makes it memorable!

Imagine how it would be if Yuvraj Singh hit hell lot of runs but got tired and is not able to hit a single ball… How will this innings be remembered now? Or if Harry potter series went on to explain in painful details on to how each and every character lived happily ever after… will the charm remain?

And that is why, every good thing should end when they are just about to decline. Cause that is how they will be remembered… Don Bradman wouldn’t have been same had he decided to come out of his retirement and been on either side of 99.94. And all the Ganguly Supporters like me will remember him as a person who tried hard to prove his point even after being discarded like that… And he did it in the end…

Its just like Kurt Cobain said.. “Its better to die than to fade away in this world”

And that is why I think all the stars, be it bollywood, cricket or any field, should call it a day when they feel that they have started to decline… Dev Anand must have been a great actor.. But that is not how he is considered to be now… same goes for Rekha…

Even Tendulkar is dragging on now… just like Amitabh Bachhan, Rahul Dravid and so many other ppl. It is high time that they leave before they are squeezed out..! Atleast the vacuum their absence will create should be felt. Though not intentionally, but that’s what Kajol ended up doing.

The Good, the Bad and The Ugly

Dedicated to Arpit. One of very few who seemed to agree with this viewpoint.

I often fail to see how we can classify old rulers or leaders as barbaric or revolutionary! Be it Ashoka, Akbar, Alenxander or Hitler. One might argue that what they did was wrong. We must not kill any one like this. But if they were this wrong, why did they have an entire empire of millions of people ready to do anything at their command? And are we in a better position to judge Alexanders deeds as compared to those who were alive at that point of time?

Genghis Khan took Mongols from a point of starvation to one of the largest empire on Earth. Was he wrong in doing that? We all say that what he indulged in was senseless murder. But don’t murders become senseless when all of us wanted India to wipe Pakistan from the face of this universe after 26-11?

Every powerful person, even Hitler, has had an entire army and population at his command. And I think that we should trust intelligence of those people to atleast judge what is justified. I don’t see a person whom we discard as barbaric or senseless rising to helm of an empire and making it the most glorious kingdom of that age. But that is what Alexander did, Genghis Khan did and Hitler did.

It is because we have been ruled by England for so long that we all think of any European expansionist as great and any non-European expansionist as barbaric. It has always been the winners or the more powerful ones who have written the history.

True, some of the things which they did are not concurrent by today’s rules because today we value human life more than anything else. But they were justified by rules of those days. How can we judge those who lived 1000 centuries or decades back on the basis of today’s values? And tomorrow, when future generations regard forests above all, will the era of industrialization considered as Dark Ages?

Betrayal!

And my heart betrayed all emotions...
I could hear my breath even if I did not breathe.
Now the swooping tides wash over me...
And the freezing breath flies through me...

I cannot see...
Been ravaged by the mystic beauty,
Ruined by the unreal temptations...I cannot flee...
Betrayed by my own beliefs...

Ambitions

Dedicated to my long lost friend Janak, with whom I share most of these dreams!

There was this time when I wanted to be a train driver. I love trains. And I was always intrigued by Indian Railways. I loved the sound of train changing a track, the sound of train going over a bridge, or train halting on a station and most importantly, the green field or jungles as they passed by! One day dad, mom, bro and I were on a scooter and I was standing just in front of my dad like little kids do. And a train was just passing by. Dad refused to stop the scooter when I wanted to watch the train go. I just turned off the key and a scooter going at 50 kmph halted to a stop!! They always let me watch a train go after that! This was some 15 years back when I was still a small boy.

In next few years, like anybody in my age, I wanted to be a cricketer. Well, not Sachin. I wanted more to be like Rahul Dravid. I absolutely loved the way he played. His determination, consistency and also the fact that he was one of the best fielders at that time. And obviously, the fact that he must be mighty rich!!

Next in line was becoming a Hero. And that too one without any flops in my career. How exciting it would be to be romantic wid all the hottest girls who are out there J And being so famous and again rich.

By this time, I was in class X and knew a bit abt how the “Real World”, but my dreams didn’t. I wanted to an army officer next. Not a high level one. An army officer who fought from the ground and brought down as many Pakistanis as they could. Or maybe a commando who fights ppl for homeland security and saves hostages from tricky situation.

I became an engg, but I wanted to be Prime Minister of the nation. To tell the truth, I still want to be a politician. Not necessarily PM, but some1 who has a say in administration. M sure ppl who know me well will laugh on this… but well…

And here I am.. doing my MBA from one of the most coveted institute in the nation. And to tell the truth, I love it. I love the thought of being a manager and earning millions by next year (assuming economy is good, of course J) I will be in one of the high up positions in the corporate (hopefully). Something worth dying for!

But sometimes I wonder if the 7 year old boy who loved trains would have wanted this! A office going and suited up person who has no fun in his life. But that’s how it is. As we grow up, things like Money, power and the Greed to do something for your nation or for the society become much more important in your life and you discard every ambition you have ever had as worthless or not feasible. And this makes me feel guilty of not being faithful to my younger self who wanted to love what he did to death. And this makes me love the kids more for their innocence and childish dreams which they will come to hate as they realize that when they grow up, they will be expected to contribute to the world and they will end up loving it!!

Quotations..!!

Dedicated to Balli... yesterdays chat wid him compelled me to write this..!!

how often has it been that you do some act, which infuriates one of ur frnds, and u justify it by quoting some really jazzy line you heard somewhere..? Like, you have been very slow in your work, your coworker asks you to speed up, and you respond by a very nice little line "Slow and Steady wins the race"..!

I find it extremely irritating at times. Like, there was this time that certain habits of friend of mine wer quite irritating.. I said so, and in came the reply "My friends shouldnt try to change me, they should just accept me the way I am..!"

I sometimes just dont get the point of how can some1's experience, some1's thinking dictate the way YOU live. When each one of us is unique, our experiences ought to be unique. Giving quotations or jazzy lines as a reason is just like living some1 elses life.

Also, before quoting, one should have understood the context in which the line was said. Like in the Hare-Tortise story, the morale is not that if you are fast, you tend to falter. NO. At times, being fast is what is needed. The morale is, that much more important than speed is consistency. You have to be a consistent performer.

Like, you just cant say "Slow and steady wins the race" for a 100 m dash. Thats what you say for a 1500 m race or for a marathon. Same holds true for almost each and every quotations.

I was told yesterday that you just cannot go on doing things just coz every1 else is doing it. And I admit thats what most of us do. How many of us want to do MBA just coz every else wants to do it. I for 1, wanted it for same reason. It was only in the final yr that i found MY reason. Guess I was just lucky..

Similarly, each incident in your life is different. You just cant stop trying to better yourself by saying "Perfection cannot be achieved". There are FEW things in which it cant be achieved. But sometimes, it can be. Also, just coz you cant become perfect doesnt mean you shld stop trying.

Being stuck in the world of quotations is a mistake i made for a long time. Thankfully I grew over it. For me, now they are just a collection of well written lines. Nothing more. :)

Dreams

Dedicated to all the heroes I fantasize abt!!! :)

Have you ever wondered of how cool it will be if you were one of the heroes of some great movie... Like Harry Potter, or Aragorn from Lord of the Rings? Or maybe Yuvraj Singh when he hits 6 sixes in an over? or maybe Messi when he beats 6 players to score a legendary goal?

Well, I do... I do that a lot... I keep imagining myself in their shoes... Keep imagining killing Voldemort, or summoning an army of dead... Bit stupid... But u know wat... It is fun... Big time fun... and i can spend hours thinking abt it...

I know its too random... but well, thts how i am... completely random thoughts.. :)

LIFE @ K

Dedicated to Ankit, Abhinaba nd Nikhil sir.. Wldnt hv been here otherwise..

Its been more than 8 months since i joined IIM K... I still remember the first few days out here... I was so excited of what was ahead of me... Admittedly, I was bit afraid before joining... After all, this is one of the best colleges in the country. I was afraid of being too insignificant kind of. Of whether I will get any new friends out here...

But couple of weeks in the college, and I already had a new home. I had few good friends, also, I was able to cope up with the subjects and most important of all, i was enjoying it... I still am...

Also, this place is really really beautiful. I really wonder if I will ever be able to enjoy a hill station again. I mean, being in a college, situated on a hill top and you looking down almost everyday down to tree cover is something..!! This place is called Gods own Country for a reason u know...

This place is so very different from Nagpur. But even then, its good in its own way. There are many times when I wonder how much things have changed. I have become more talkative for one. My old friends will be so shocked to see the changes in me.. Dunno good or bad... Or maybe, they wont be... They have seen some more Radical Changes... :P

Every one out here has a focus. Something they want to do... Things are much more serious @ K. the stakes are much more higher.. It was never like that in Nagpur. We just used to live for the day... for the next DOTA game we were gonna play. We used to be awake just coz v wanted to eat the poha @ shankar nagar square. One of us felt like felt like not eating @ mess, and all of us will be trooping to CRC with so many more orders of rolls.

Here gaming is never a reason... Its just a way to pass next hour or so... Outings are much more rare. And to find a person outside speaking Hindi is like a Eureka moment!! But even then, its fun... seeing people fight like nething on IP, few debates on recession (I never thought I cld be part of such debates..!!) and analysing its affect on our placements, or preparing for a competition only to see being rejected at the very 1st stage. It is exciting...

Seniors hv finished their college... Next year, by this time, hopefully I will be a manager too..!! feels bit wierd u know... I am quite nervous abt how the next yr will be... will i get a good job..?

There are so many ifs... but guess they will always be there... Just the other day, I reminded myself of the dialouge of LOTR which i loved so much... "Remember this day.. coz today, Life's Good!!!" :) :)