Thursday, November 27, 2008

Terror strikes again...

I was lucky to see the sunrise today. The morning breeze convinced me of the safety of my folks....
The humanity was in ashes on the western coast. 101 people were killed and the hopes of millions were shattered. You never know if you will get to see the next morning, play with you children, fulfill all the wishes of your parents, do whatever you always wanted to do.
For many, it was an end to dreams, hopes and aspirations. The victims, of terrorists’ strikes in Mumbai last night, have lost it all. They have fallen prey to some fanatical religious principles. Either there are attacks claiming that religious doctrines stand supreme or they go on killing people saying that, that is how the evil will end. You attack, then counter attack and then nothing remains. The humanity will end one day if this goes on.
I was trying to heal my broken heart, when I realized there are many other people who are going through a lot of pain. Only if God heeded once…
My condolences to all the families who have lost their loved ones…. May their souls rest in peace…
And salute to the undying courage of Mumbaikars…

One out of the many seemed to have survived the attacks. An insight to his mind may go like this…

When I was twenty and two
I fought for peace and independence too
I thought the air one day shall be clean
The joy after struggle, our children will redeem

But now when I try to see
I wonder why I don’t have the lucidity
The floors appear red, the sky appears black
After 60 years and more, it’s the peace that we still lack

I feared nothing, but now I know
I may not come back from where I go
The fireworks happen irrespective of occasion
Some lose lives, while some are taking up probation

The human spirit that once reigned
Has been replaced by vengeance, terror and pain
Man is killing man for the sake of greed
I wonder if this was inevitable, indeed

Today, I am eighty and two
I wonder, with all my might, what I can do
Succumb to those who claim they are strong?
Or blame the system and people who are wrong?

I prefer to start from where I stand
To protect the air, and my motherland
And set the aims with absolute clarity
Of saving and retaining the humanity.

Let there be peace....

Monday, November 24, 2008

Waiting for you...


Goodness is reigning again
There isn’t any grief or pain
The winds are blowing towards the east
There is peace and tranquillity in the beast
The black clouds are friends with the blue
It’s evening, I am still waiting for you..

The soldier in the house next door
Is on another journey seeking for something more
The kith and kin don’t seem sad
They have accepted the departure of the nomad
I believe in intuitions, even if they seem untrue
It’s evening; I am still waiting for you

The Children have vacated the playground
The Crickets have started conversing in their peculiar sound
The street bulbs are making the tar appear bright
They say, the sun is gone, and it is night
But night is the time when talks start anew
It’s past the evening; and I am still waiting for you.


PS: Somewhere, some song inspired me to write this down. The wait of someone who has gone since long is really tough. The wait is the most frustrating period. Especially when you know you’ll have to do it all your life, until the next one, when you can only hope and pray that you don’t have to do it all over again…..

Friday, November 14, 2008

My day.. Friday... Children's Day.. :)

The day is about to end. I had a really hectic day. I was supposedly busy, delivering products to clients. Was I supposed to do that today? Today is Children’s day and children can do whatever they like, on their special day. But I did not get to do what I wanted to do. :-(
Nonetheless, I got some spare time to wish myself a Happy Children’s Day. It’s way too late to get chocolates or pastries for myself. The day has almost ended. That is how things are in an IT industry.
It has been long since I saw the sunset, ran in the playgrounds with friends, been careless about bleeding knees and elbows.
It’s been really long that I took sometime out to relish on Ice-gola, not bothering about my dress. Been really really long since I mimicked my neighbour to entertain my pals…...
I miss those times so much.
The naughty brat within me is desperate for some celebration. After all it is my day. I have been celebrating this day since so long, right from the time when Ma’am Marina (the teacher whom I detested) danced on a rock-n-roll number (and then I loved her infinitely), when I was in Std 1,on children’s day, until last year, when we bought balloons and chocolates and played out-out.
Today I got nothing to do, but write down all my babyish feelings in a blog post.
Every time people tell me “Behave, you are a grown up now”, the kid in me says “Not yet.. There is an eternity left… “

I hear someone screaming “Stop behaving childish, and get back to work”. Huh… How ‘bout a bunk from the office today???


BTW folks, Happy Children’s Day, Have fun, coz I am gonna have some, right now…
Catchya later ;)... i need to get going, before some uncle/aunty catches me again ... :D :D :D

Monday, November 10, 2008

Peppermints and Life.....

She stumbled upon an invisible rock for the umpteenth time and froze staring at all the spectators. Embarrassed like always, she gave reasons before any one could give a lecture on why she wasn’t careful while walking. She smiled and replied “My legs got no eyes, you see”. Another stupid alibi and she was spared the horror of a big lecture from all her friends.
She was considered as one of those talcum powder boxes which contained nothing but was kept because the container would be of some use someday. She was like the cream on the milk which was avoided by calorie conscious people. She was supposed to solve all the programming errors in a single go. She listened to the entire news, also about economics, which she hated the most. She was a weirdo.
I had only heard about her from Shashi aunty, until I met her. She was supposed to come and stay with us in our apartment for a few weeks. She was Shashi aunty’s niece.
I wasn’t very keen on adjusting with her, because I did not like modifications and I would have had to change certain things so as to maintain peace and good relations. Somewhere deep inside, I knew this would be one good experience. With apprehension, and excitement I waited for her arrival.
The next morning, I heard some strange sounds outside my door and thought it would be her. I opened the door and realised she was desperately looking for something in her handbag. After some amount of investigation she looked at me. Her eyes were one of the most beautiful pair I had ever seen. Her nose was not quite perfect. Her lips existed, but I couldn’t make out where they were. She looked like a giraffe to me, with a slender neck. “Hi, I am Meera”, she exclaimed. Her smile wouldn’t fade and her eyes retained the size of a 2 Rs. Coin. I understood that she was waiting for a reaction. Gathering my wits, I replied back “Hey Meera. Welcome”. Suddenly her expressions changed and she frowned cursing herself. I asked what the problem was. She said she wasn’t able to find her ID card. I said she could come in, relax and then look for it. She replied,” How can I come in without one?” She pondered over what she’d said, for sometime, and then hit back saying “Damn, I am sorry, can you help me with my bags”. Finally she stepped in. I couldn’t believe she was looking for her ID card to get into the house. Things were indeed getting interesting. But I was strictly asked not to bully her.

As days passed by, I got used to her, her addiction to peppermints and also the smell… oops…fragrance of her musk perfume. She would say “Some peppermints are really deceptive. They are yellow in colour and they taste like orange. Naughty little coloured mints. But that is how life is… Don’t you think so? “
She was tacky. She was weird. She was an IT professional, yet she did not know how to store email ids in outlook. She always spoke the opposite of what she meant. She would always speak a lot trying to convince people about her opinions on certain things. Speak the wrong thing first and then correct her mistake, laughing on her foolishness.
I became used to her. So did many others. So did she. The game of confiding began. I won hands down. I was her best friend. She told me all the nonsense she thought and did. And one fine day she told me how she fell in love and how she made herself fall out of it. People made fun of her, because she never stopped stumbling on invisible things, making fun of herself. Her workplace was cheerful, probably because, she made an attempt, knowingly or unknowingly, to look at life from a funnier perspective.
The three weeks with her were a treat; she is that talcum powder container which people retain because the fragrance never dies, even if the talcum powder gets over. She is that cream of the milk which turns into a delicious sweet to be savoured. She is that spark which lightens up your life. It lightened up mine.
I still relish upon the peppermints she left for me, and I cherish her musk perfume fragrance that brightens up some of my cardigans, I live the moments of laughter and fun that I spent with her.
“The peppermints and life have a lot in common”, she’d always say. I agreed…. I still do… : )

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Klueless, not anymore :-)


The best thing about being a child is that things are never complicated.

Once upon a time, I realized I had grown up.(In all terms ;-) )… The games of hide and seek and treasure hunts no more excited me. I was used to playing Solitaire on my PC, surf the sites which increased my knowledge (which was of no use.. ) and aid my ignorance.. Until I found out that ignorance was indeed bliss.

Twice upon a time, I thought of doing something that the big people did… Appear for the MBA entrance. I did that with all my gut feeling of not getting thru, and guess what?, the gut feeling was indeed correct. I didn’t make it to any of the elite institutes. I got a certification for my aptitude. It was only 60 and 5 percent… Nonetheless, complacency reigned as I chose not to fret over what had happened.

Thrice upon a time, I was asked to increase my knowledge base to survive in the IT industry so that I get some promotion (as if I cared about it).. I thought of overcoming my inadequacies and increase my aptitude of a 60 and 5 to a 90 and 8. (I haven’t been successful till date). I tried to find out what the guys at the IIMs did.

And then once upon a very good time, I found out an amazing thing called Klueless which was being devised by the 90 and something aptitude holders.
The best thing about being Klueless initially and then ending up with all the answers that you were looking for, for an eternity, is that you get a high like you’ve caught your friend hiding in the most unpredicted place. That was the game of hide and seek that we played.

And today there is Klueless. Things are so complicated, yet so simple. The Klues are so obvious, yet invisible, The frustration is horrible, but so satisfying ….
I have completed Klueless 4 today. The high, the euphoria is inexplicable.

I know, most of you guys have no idea about what I am talking, but trust me this is worth a try… hit it :--> http://www.iimi-iris.com/iris%2D2008/klueless/

It’s always good to think the way it is not supposed to be. Trust me we were far better when we knew less, because we thought just what was needed to be thought of… nothing more, nothing less.

Klueless takes you back to Simplicity through many complications.

Me thinks, that above mentioned url is worth a hit…

I am a satisfied soul today…

IRIS guys.. thank you :)

if there were no dreams

  if there were no dreams the permanence would slowly take over and the little escapes into the terrain of subconscious existence would deli...