Dhanushkodi - The atlantis of India !

Seldom you go to a place that stays with you long after you have left it.

Dhanushkodi is one such place which haunts your memory and pulls you towards it long after you have returned. It’s the Dead end of India – the Lands end!

It’s a narrow stretch of land, approx 1 KM wide and stretches almost 25 Kms into the sea. One side you can see the Indian ocean, and at the same time see the calm and tranquil Bay of Bengal on the other side. The difference is perceptible.

There is a small fishing community who still live there, atleast 1 hour away from nearest telephone, medical facility or even basic supply of daily needs. You can hear the constant hum of the ocean on both the sides with the winds hitting the Indian landmass at great speeds. The fishing boats dot the horizon of the ocean, where they brave their lives just to make ends meet, braving not just the fury of the waves but also the coast guard of our neighboring country who frequently nabs them for no good reason.

Imagining Lord Rama and his vanara army building the great causeway gives you goosebumps, whether you believe it to be history or part of the Myths. There are markings to show where Rama worshipped Siva and started to build the causeway to reach Lanka. There is a tiny temple where you can see the stone which floats on water.

Then there are the remnants of the Ghost Town which was ripped apart in the devasting Ceylon cyclone in 1964. There are parts of a Church with its tapestry still standing. One can also see the tracks of the Trains which Connected the Remote Dhanushkodi to EGMORE !!  This small town was a entry point to Sri Lanka and an important port till then.

There are horror stories of how winds at 160mph hit the land and people survived clinging to the Pamban bridge, while many others perished before the fury of the Nature.

I struck a conversation with a Souvenier shop owner and was surprised at the Fluent Hindi of the person who rarely left Dhanushkodi. I was in disbelief when he told me that they live on this remote piece of land without even a phone connection, and which is disconnected from mainland when sea is high.

He told me they get fresh water on the island itself!! He told me that he loves the peace of the place and the uncomplicated life. He says that he can provide for his family and has all the time to do as he pleases.

It reminded of the Remote places in Ladakh which are under snow for 9 out of 12 months an year. When asked, why they survive these conditions ?! The farmer had replied that, here he is an owner of 3 acres of land and If he went to Delhi, he has to sleep under a flyover! What choice does he have.

Though I can’t imagine doing anything like that, I do want to camp out in Dhanushkodi, in the lap of the ocean for a few days. They say it’s dangerous for non-locals to hang around there, would definitely make this trip before I leave TN. 

Trip to Thattekad Bird Sanctuary, Kerala

Periyar River

Bird Trail

Looking for the elusive forest birds

• An arctic Tern is a bird which flies 2.4 million Kms in its lifetime.
• Racket tailed drongo can imitate 26 different birds.
• Hummingbirds fly at 54kmph.


Interesting creatures… their flight, sense of freedom, colors and variety has always fascinated us!

In 1933, While he was travelling from Travancore to Munnar on the old British highway, Salim Ali , a world reknown ornithologist, had to stop overnight at a Govt Bungalow at Thattekad. He was on his way to Munnar to study the endemic birds of the Malabar-Nilgiri area.
To his surprise, he counted 167 different birds in his 2 days stay at Thattekad. He remarked that this is one of the richest bird habitat’s he had seen in Peninsular India. Later he sent one of his students to study and document all these different species of Kerala. He recommended the government that a bird sanctuary be opened here, which they fortunately did almost 50 years later (sigh)!

Dr Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, Thattekad: It’s a little known place on Indian tourist map, though quite popular on the international circuit. Many foreigners travel to this place to sight hard to spot bird species.

The two rare bird sightings are:
Ceylon Frogmouth: Belongs to Sri Lanka, has the colour of dead leaves, difficult to spot.
Malabar Trogan: Extremely colorful bird, becoming rarer by the day.

Since the place was only 54 kms from Cochin, Adarsh and I drove to the sanctuary on Saturday afternoon. It was a pleasant drive through the Kerala countryside with the air getting purer and landscape getting greener as we approached the forests.
Fortunately we found a home-stay within the Sanctuary, owned by a Naturalist and Bird-watcher Vinod. He told us that the best time to watch for birds is, just before sunrise and late in the afternoon, when they forage for food. So we set out in the afternoon to watch some birds.

Around 4 pm, we left for a jungle trail and spotted many birds like :Jungle babbler, Emerald Dove, Racket tailed Drongo, Malabar Parakeet, Black Cormorant, Whistling Duck, Kingfishers: red and blue, Water Hen, Yellow Oriole, Little Tern, Coucal, Ash tail, Crested Woodpecker, Rufous Woodpecker.

Next day morning:It was difficult to wake up on a cool Sunday morning at 5 am, while its drizzling outside, and is nice and cozy inside the home stay room ! Dragging ourselves out and getting dressed, we picked up our binoculars and headed for a hilly trail, where we can spot the birds out for their breakfast!

A short trek into the forest led us to a hillock. As we climbed it , we were treated with a fantastic view of the hills with the mist shrouding them and sunlight breaking its way lazily through the clouds.
We spotted many a rare and endemic bird today: Crested eagle, Ceylon Frogmouth, Iora, Orange Minivet, Wagtail, Greytit, White breasted woodpecker, Ash Drongo, Jungle Myna, Common Myna, Crested Goshawk and some birds whose names I forgot! Each bird more beautiful than the other.

Another good thing was watching a Southern Birdwing, the largest butterfly in India! … and Parisian Peacock. Both exceptionally beautiful to look at! It’s quite a task to get a hang of how to view through a field glass and adjust the focus in a short while, as our winged friends are twitchy and disappear into the trees if you are not quick.
As it was just after the rain, we got lucky with the sightings, as many birds were drying themselves in the sunlight on the treetops.

The best time to visit this place is November-February, when msot of the migratory birds flock to this place in winters.Many birds fly in all the way from the Himalayas. Spending some time in the nature away from the daily chores and work is a great way to restart your mind and body!

After we returned from the trek, we left for a swim in the Periyar river with some Columbian tourists who were staying in the same guest house. The dip in the river was cool and refreshing. Though, as the water level was low, we couldn’t manage Kayaking 
Apparently, birding/bird watching is quite popular hobby, with some enthusiasts tracking and seeing as many as 12,000 species. Some hop across continents to study / see these endemic birds.

Overall, it was quite an experience to spend the night in the forest, and the whole experience had a very calming effect. Let’s see how many species we can tick off! A weekend certainly well spent.

How to reach: 54 kms drive from Cochin crossing Kothamangalam. Bus/Taxi: best way to reach.
Where to stay: Hornbill camp, Soma bird song. Home-stays: Bird Song, Jungle bird
What to do: Bird-watching, Kayaking, Nature Trail/ Trek, Cycling, Swim!
Where we stayed: Birdsong Home-stay.
Contact: Vinod: +91 9764248274, +91 8943894087
www.thattekadhomestay.com, vinodnatu1@gmail.com
Per day: Rs 2000 for stay + Food , Rs 750 per guided tour.
Decent place with basic amenities, friendly people and good homely Kerala food.

Nehru Trophy: Kerala Snake Boat race

People travel thousands of Kms to watch the Legendary Chundan vellam - Snake Boat race in Alapuzha, so staying just 70kms away and not going there felt like a crime! Hence we decided to move our lazy selves to tick this off our list.

This year the rains have been reported to be over 60 % higher than usual norms, many rivers flooded their banks and the infamous flooding of the Cochin Airport by Periyar river happened this year too! Fortunately today rain gods have been a little merciful today, and it’s been a light drizzle instead of the usual afternoon downpour.

Background:

The origins of these boats go back to the era of raja-maharaja’s. The rajas of Changachery, Kottayam, Kottarakara were all vassals of the Travancore kings for most of the time. Yet, there was constant rivalry amongst them for gaining an upper hand over others and controlling the trade and hence the revenues of their regions. Since Kerala is enmeshed with water bodies, it was frequently patrolled by their navies and spy-network to maintain control. This led to competition amongst the chieftains or Raja's to design and own the fastest-strongest and most powerful boats helping them patrol their waters and also to win in the constant conflicts in the backwaters and seas.

Thus over time, these snake-boats were developed with specific designs to help them move fastly and swiftly in times of need. They are smeared with oil or oil skins of the animals to help reduce the friction over water. Most of the designs of these ancient boats are carried and used till date.

Back in 1952 the proud PM of the oh-so-proud-and-free India Sri Jawahar Lal Nehru visited Kerala. He was given a rousing welcome with people queing for miles to get a glimpse of him and some with even audacious ambitions of shaking hands with Panditji. He was taken on a boat ride in the calm backwaters of the Punnamada Lake in Alleppey and a procession of boats followed him. The people are said to have cheered him for a full 2 hours. He then presented a token trophy to one of the boats which had reached the shores first. Since then on the 2^nd Sunday of every August, there is a fierce competition to win the prize and bring honor and acclaim to their village or club.

Since last year, a women’s race has also began to be conducted separately from men. They are clad in the typical cream-white sarees with golden or colored borders and adorned with flowers in their hair. They row with equal fierceness and competing spirit as men do.

Approaching Alapuzha:

Surprisingly the traffic wasn’t as bad it usually is on these potholed roads from Cochin to Alleppey which is a 90 min drive. As traffic was barred on the main approach road to the Starting point, we left the cab on the main road and started walking towards the main stands.

There were pandals and makeshift shades like the shamianas along the coast with some chairs in it. There were some paid stands ranging from Rs 500 – Rs 2000. Those who wish to watch the races comfortably can book those tickets on internet or from reliable sources in Alleppey.

The rest of the stands are mostly free for all and you can simply walk into these stands. We were conned by a local into buying some free passes to these stands who must have run to the closest BEVCO shop (govt liquor stores) with our money. Do NOT buy complimentary passes from anyone there.

Unlike most of the other parts of India, people are extremely courteous to visitors and look at them with some degree of curiosity. If you are a foreigner, you are sure to be ogled at all the time.

Foreigners or touristy looking people are allowed by the locals to walk to the front side of the stands to get a better view. If you are carrying an SLR, you are moses, for the crowd parts infront of you to make way and help you get a better shot!

Let the Race Begin:

There are teams from various clubs and affiliations, which only the locals are aware of. Some of the men carry soft drinks laced with the happy potion and pass it around. After some of the happy potion goes in, they start singing and chanting boisterously cheering their own teams ahead! The cheering rises and falls in rhythm with people carrying the plastic whistles and horns whenever something happens or doesn’t happen!

You better carry some drinking water and wear the right clothing as it’s not possible to get out of the pavilion once you are in and you might have to sit down on the damp floor to let people behind you get a view of the race. Policemen are deployed in all stands as some of these gatherings have got rough and violent in the past. This time there was great order in the crowd.

The Umpire boat does a survey of the waters and once done, it waves a white flag signaling the beginning of the race. All the boats then travel to the starting point one after the other amidst roaring cheers from the audience.

 

Some of the boats are unbelievably long: with over 100 feet and carrying 100+ men, and are said to be the longest water vessels, used for sporting purpose, in the world. In centre of the boats, you can see men with drums or long wooden poles hitting the base of the boat to create beats with rhythmic intervals. This helps the rowers to maintain their timing and sync their movements for maximum speed.

Once the race begins, these boats compete with each other and it’s quite a sight to see these men row in unison with beats and trying to outdo each other. These races amidst the picturesque setting of coconut trees and placid waters of the lake make it a terrific vista!

The races typically take about 2 hours to complete. It is quite a spectacle to watch the tight competition between the boats close to the finishing line. The audience erupts into cheers and the trumpets blow continuously till one of the boats reaches the end line.

There are series of races based on lots and at the end of the races, the winner is announced based on the timing and handed over the Great Nehru Trophy which is a rolling trophy passed on over years.  

The current winner of 2013 has been winning it for last 3 years and was quite the favorite among the locals.

NEHRU TROPHY OFFICIAL WEBSITE
 

Can be better:

Though the arrangements were kind of adequate. The number of people estimated to view the races is around 2-2.5 lakhs who are crowded into the stands and some are forced to sit on the damp floor (like us) and others are forced to stand Jostling into each other. It can be a problem sometimes when you are travelling with kids and women.

Since its an event of international repute, our Tourism ministry can do much more to make the experience better for the audience and also to use it to promote Tourism during this off-season !

1. Organise the stands in a better fashion.

2. Ensure proper communication about the tickets and other arrangements for the event and publicise it in India and abroad adequately.

3. Help people build some connect with the competing teams with their brief history and other details available on the internet or by distributing brochures along with the tickets.

4. For the common stands, they can charge a nominal fee and utilize the money to make the stands a little cleaner and comfortable.

 

5. Be a little more organized and control the chaos !

 

 

 

 

 

 

Differences in Shia and Sunni prayers

Gulliver's travels contains one episode where Liliput and Blufescu are at war with each other as they hold different views as to which end of an egg must be broken first - Little or Big.

Differences between Shia and Sunni :

The Shia (or Shiatul Ali) are the 'Party of Ali' or those who believed Ali Ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law, as the rightful successor of the Prophet. The Sunnis did not regard him as the rightful successor.

1. Shia Muslims pray three times a day and combine Maghrib and Isha salat whereas Sunni Muslims pray five times a day.
2. Sunni Muslims fold their arms whereas Shia Muslims do not fold their arms during namaz.
3. Shia Muslims add “Khayr al amaal” whereas Sunni Muslims add “Nawm.”
4. Sunni Muslims touch their heads to the ground whereas Shia Muslims use a wooden block or tablet of clay to rest their heads during prostration.
5. Shia Muslim scholars prohibit the use of word Amen during the namaz whereas Sunni Muslims consider it as a must.
6.Shia sit comfortably on the folded feet whereas Sunni sit on twisted foot and so on.

For these differences, we blow up each other ! !

Heard somewhere: If i am asked to summarise last 2000 years in 2 words, my reply would be : Religion, Science.
While science took us to the moon, religion gave us crusades and extremism - not only in islam but in christianity, hinduism and many religions too.

DISCLAIMER: I was going through this on purely academic interest and reserve no judgement on the following. Hope no one issues a fatwa in my name.

Top 10 Led Zeppelin songs

Led Zeppelin created music which is truly one of its kind. I can hear them in an infinite loop without ever getting bored.

Though difficult to pick top 10 songs ... in no particular order are:

1. Going to California

2. Tangerine

3. When the levee breaks down

4. Whole lotta love

5. Lemon song

6. Immigrant song of coz

7. Stairway to heaven

8. Good times, Bad times
9. Heartbreaker
10. Ramble on !

Religion. Identity. Existence.

Those who experience constant happiness are bored of it, those who are not happy are constantly pained by it.

We tend to measure our lives more often by things that we do not or can not have, often remembering our failures more often than our successes.

But that’s the truth of life, successes will be few and far in between and we must appreciate the journey between them.

Though when conscious, most of might brush these essential questions as imaginary hypothetical or philosophical musings.

But deep down inside, we all are trying to find out who we are, and what is the bloody purpose of this life. Does it actually mean anything, Am I supposed to accomplish something while trying to stay alive ??

Some take these questions too deeply and become either philosophers or religious or go insane. Most of us though are able to keep It below the conscious surface and pretend to ignore it.

To come over these questions is the precise reason, we have invented the religion… most of the religions in their own strange ways, try to explain these questions . Since most of the religions were invented much before we even discovered that the earth goes around the moon, these are somewhat bizarre imaginations of the men of long gone days. And with time, as these were passed on, each generation added its own imagination, and we now have to bear the burden of imaginations of about 200 generations, and in some other religions much more than that!

Very few men create their own independent identities on basis of their genius or exceptional luck. The masses however need their own bit of identity too. That’s where the religion steps in and tells them that your life is not futile and meaningless. Nothing drives human beings more than a ‘divine’ purpose. This strategy was ofcourse shamelessly during the innumerable so called holy wars in the medieval times and since we don’t tend to learn, is still being used all across the world in various forms and for more various purposes. The key strategy however tends to remain the same: exploit in name of religion.

To create an identity, we have to differentiate from others. The most striking differentiation being in the appearance. Since the Jews had long beards and hair, the Christians began to do the opposite. The tribals in the Arabian peninsula had no beards and longer moustaches. Hence the prophet ordered his men to grow beards and have shorter moustaches. The main idea was to distinguish his own followers from the others. The drive was more political and military than anything else. When Hinduism and islam threatened to engulf Sikhs into their own fold, by claiming that it was just an offshoot of their religion, the last Guru ordered Sikhs to entirely revamp their appearance. They were to sport beards , long hair and a small weapon all the time, which is characterized by the five k’s supposed to be on a Khalsa sikh all the time. Thus a religion creates some sort of identity, without which one would be as lost as being nameless. It gives an identity to even those who reject religion entirely.

And in it’s name, so many of us seek purpose and a justification to our actions. It also proves that the psychological drivers are much more powerful than the material ones, well some might argue … not always!

If one goes through all the holy books of the major religions, atleast briefly, it is absolutely stupefying how so innumerable number of wise sane people are driven into a fervor just based on the writings and the sayings of a few men, however great they might have been. The fact that their actual thoughts might have undergone infinite mutations and propaganda driven changes, goes completely unnoticed.

With the rise of science, the number of atheists is growing and at the same very time, so is the number of fanatics. Well in the end then …. Is our existence totally Sisyphean or indeed has some divine purpose ? ?

Thotlakonda and Bojjannakonda budhist sites

Thotlakonda: Vishakhapatnam was once upon a time a great hub for budhist activities. We can find many ancient budhist sites nearby. The most famous being the Thotlakonda site. It is located on the very scenic sea side drive towards Bheemli. The ruins of the stupas and the quarters of the monks are located on a hill with a splendid view of hills on one side and the sea on the other.

Bojjannakonda rideMost of the travels i have been doing lately in coastal andhra were in cabs / buses / trains. I had been longing for the rush of freedom which only zooming my bike can give.

I located Bojjanna konda which was around 50 kms from Vizag. The pics on the net looked a little promising. So i just picked my jacket and got onto my bike.

The usually crowded highway was clear and i could happily cruise on 100 kmph without many breaks. The site is located just before entering Anakapalle from the highway near a village called Sankara which derives its name from Sangharam.

The ruins are believed to be dating around 4th century AD. The site acutally comprises of two adjacent hills called Bojjannakonda and Lingalakonda. That was the peak of activity, and historians believe after that era it decreased due to the rise of hinduism.

The main stupa is rock cut and encased in a brick structure.There are many rock cut caves which were possibly used for meditation or as a center of learning. There are many miniature Stupa like structures on the hill adjacent to Lingalakonda.

During the excavation they found many coins and earthenware dating to that era. One would expect them to be displayed near the site in a small museum, but despite being a protected site by the ASI... there is hardly anything except a board mentioning about the site briefly.

These sites were discovered in late 80's and pushed the history of Vizag back by 2000 years. Some even say that Vishakhapatnam derives its name from an ancient but very famous Budhist monk.

Sitaron se aage jahan aur bhi hain : Meaning

Sitaron se aage jahan aur bhi hain
Abhi ishq ke imtehan aur bhi hain
Tahi zindagi se nahin ye fizayen
Yahan siakdon karwaan aur bhi hain

Khana’at na kar aalam-e-rang-o-bu par
Chaman aur bhi aashiyaan aur bhi hain
Agar kho gaya ek nasheman to kya ghum
Maqmat-e-aah-o-fughaan aur bhi hain

Tu shaheen hai parvwaaz hai kaam tera
Tere saamne aasmaan aur bhi hain
Isi roz-o-shab main ulajh kar na rah ja
Ke tere zameen par makaan aur bhi hain

Gaye din ke tanha tha main anjuman mein
Yahaan ab mere raazdaan aur bhi hain

A loose translation is given below:

Beyond the stars there are more worlds
Our quest yet has more tests to pass
This existence alone does not matter
There are boundless journeys ahead

Do not rest on what you have
There are many more paradises to explore
Why worry if you have lost one abode
There are a million worlds to claim

You are the falcon, flight is your passion
And you have higher skies to transcend
Lose not yourself in the cycle of days and nights
There are many more deeds within your reach

Gone is the day when I was lonely in the crowd
Today those who resonate my thoughts are around me



Mohammed Iqbal
Naujawaan ke Naam, Bal-e-Jibraeel, 1908

Birthdays. Facebook. Telephone

I’ve heard a few cynics retort ‘Why do people celebrate birthdays .. ab bache thodi rahe?! ’. But ...there are a few good things about birthdays... some people try to make you feel special no matter who you are. A lot of people atleast acknowledge you existence and according to their priority list and where you stand - deal with you accordingly. In a few rare occasion you might even get a gift ! If your friends are insistent and you are gullible, you might even end up throwing a party. In the end you have good time for atleast a day for sure !

These days Facebook has made it very convenient to wish people on their birthdays and you don’t even have to worry about remembering their dates. The person being wished also knows that you might just have logged into your FB account !
I have noticed that people maintain a certain pecking order in dealing with birthdays:
1. If it’s a BFF or someone you have been trying to impress - they take the trouble of selecting and sending a gift !
2. If its a good friend - they might even call you to wish
3. In most of the other cases - they just copy paste ‘Happy birthday’ from the previous post on your profile
4. Since there are atleast 3 - 4 birthdays on most of the days - they are now posting Happy birthday X ,Y,Z in a single post - X , Y , Z are expected to go to their profile and thank for the wishes !

Since we have talked about wishing on phone i have also noticed a strange behaviour. Most of the times people tend to thing its rude / uncomfortable to say ‘bye’ and disconnect the phone. I have noticed weird ways of saying ab bahut ho gaya .. rakhte hai . Among my friends a few are below:

Sunil - What else dude (after every sentence)
Shanti - Oye .. mere boss ka phone a raha hai ( on a sunday ??? !! )
Sagar - Mera balance khatam ho gaya hai - tu call kar (after college who uses a pre-paid ... gawd!)
Vikas Soni - Aur sir sab badhiya .... ?
Arpit agarwal - Lagi padi hai yaar !
Shabda Raaj - Chal gaana ga / Ma_ _i se baat hua ?
Ankit Varshneya - Oye ..... ‘uska’ call a raha hai .. main baad mein karta hun !
Bikash - KK .... Shadi kab kar raha hai ?
Manik - Aur kaise chal raha hai (main itni der se kya bata raha tha ? ! )
Dev - $#@%^ (inappropriate for a public forum)
Sasanka - inkenti mama .... ? !

R.I.P - Indian Cricket and Indians

The naxals are blasting away the policemen to hell and back. The terrorists are blowing up our markets, gunning down unarmed citizens at will. After more than 20 bomb blasts in just 3 years, there are not even 2 convictions with one certain Amir Ajmal making a mockery of our judiciary demanding transcripts in urdu and non vegetarian food in the cell. The Prices are zooming with the inflation threatening to rival that of Zimbabwe. The financial crisis seems to take the W shaped recovery. The exporters are badly hit by the global recession. Countries like China and the US are building up oil reserves and grabbing rights all over the world for the precious few resources. There are millions of unemployed, whose energies if not channeled properly with due opportunities, might turn against our nation state. There are major scandals erupting implicating the ministers at union level itself. The chief ministers like Mayawati and Madhu Koda are swindling public money in not less than thousands of Crores.

These are probably 1 % of the problems staring in the face of India, in no particular order. With so many issues plaguing our country which has succesfully been a 'developing nation' for over 65 years now … there is one thing that we are majorly concerned about… The Indian Premier League!
The naxalite issue was discussed in the parliament for one day with no particular conclusion … but the IPL muck is dominating the news channels, the parliament, discussions in local trains, school / college / office canteens. We don’t give a damn to any of the above glaring problems, but are concerned if some Sunanda Pushkar was given sweat equity for free.

There is one particular phrase in Sanskrit - “Yatha Raja tatha praja !” but unfortunately has been phrased in reverse … it should be “Yatha praja, tatha Raja” !
People get rulers they deserve. We certainly deserve no better than Lalu yadav , Mayawati, Sharad Pawar etc … etc !

Even if you look at the IPL from sporting perspective, the T20 format is more entertaining and good, but there ought to be some restraint, even from business perspective ... it is being overdone and the public interest will burn out in a few years.
The IPL is held every damn year and it runs over 2 months. The T20 world cup is held every 2 years and add to that the random cups and T20 tournies that are held every year. Whatever happened to the one day internationals and test matches where there was a proper contest between nations? The franchisee owners are raking in millions of dollars and also everyone is eyeing the money making machine. And the public will feed on anything related to cricket. We just don’t give a damn to whatever is happening in the background as long as we get our daily dose of entertainment. You could possibly blame the horrible programs and soaps dominating the TV that people are desperate to see anything different, which IPL succesfully provides in ample, nevermind the "I'm Dashing .. I'm Karbonn" kind of commercials after every ball instead of between overs as before.

So for million problems, what is the solution?

India is still a developing nation and our parents generation is probably the first which could provide good education and all modern day comforts to their children. Our generation will be more encouraging in terms of sports / entrepreneurship / other adventurous career options.

We don’t have in us to change the world, we care more for our comforts than changing the world… all that is fine, but can we atleast behave as responsible citizens.We need to be responsible as citizens, journalists, and do atleast our part!

Pretty random post meandering about many things? … ya I’m a lazy guy who just believes in comfort of armchair philosophy :D .

i want to be ....

On a lazy afternoon sitting in the cozy cane chairs in our college library, we were going over the magazines and papers saw that Morgan Freeman had just bought a private jet worth 36 Crore rupees for himself. One of my friend remarked ' I wish my name was Sunil Nusserwanji Tata ' another said ' I wish i would have still been a maharaja of my now erstwhile kingdom'.
I was trying to think about whom i would want to be ... with every name i thought of, there was some struggle involved in early days, or some problems associated with the present. Few were born with a platinum spoon and just got to chill all their lives... if they did they turned out to be psychos like Uday and Qusay Hussein. Can I conclude that human lives are ephemeral and are condemned to Sisyphus like endeavors?

I can’t refrain from quoting Tyler Durden ‘Our lives are devoid of any passion, no great war, no great depression to fight, our lives are our great depression …. When I look at the clock, I see my life ending minute by minute’.

Then it just struck me … What if im not a human being … I wouldn’t like to be time, because it’s a mute spectator doing nothing, not beginning anywhere, and not seeming to end any time sooner!
I wish I am God.
I would enjoy looking at the world. Look at how tensed you people get at silly things, how you undermine yourselves in things you could have done very easily. How you give up before even taking a start. How you resign to your fate without putting a fight.
How fragile egos rupture longstanding relationships. How you dream about a million things and complain you don’t have them, instead of taking a tiny step towards achieving them. How you are prisoners of what you perceive are your limitations.
It would be like watching 6 Billion movies together … on a giant screen! I can even change the stories in the middle if they get boring. I would enjoy putting twist endings and laugh at the exasperated expressions on your faces. I would enjoy putting tiny obstacles in your paths and smile at seeing you give up so easily.
It would be funny to see some of you doubt my existence, some fighting in my name about things I never said, defending the faith they themselves they don’t have. It would be amusing to see some of you taking pride in believing that they don’t need me. At the same time it would be sad to see people reposing total faith in me without caring to put their own efforts, don’t they still understand that I let people do what they want, intervening rarely if ?
I wouldn’t need to worry about pleasing anyone, putting up a fake smile; I would simply make people I don’t like disappear. After all ... I’m god! The infinite power wouldn’t be too bad either, cause who will complain even if im infinitely corrupt! :p
It would be great fun to be god … coz it would FEEL LIKE GOD!

A stranger once taught me something!

Once in a while there are incidents which keep coming back to you, mostly when you are alone. Either you were too stupid in that episode, or you were too smart, resulting in a smirk or ending in a smile!

One such incident happened to me while i was returning from my office more than an year ago! It was a long day and the next train to my place was around 45 minutes away. Unable to wait on the dark and mosquito ridden platform, i decided to board a train which goes close to my home so that i can catch an auto from there.

It was around 9:45 p.m. and apart from me another middle aged gentleman got down at the station. As we walked out , there was one solitary auto standing at the entrance. I was walking ahead of the gentleman and was thinking that i would have a long walk if i miss this auto.

Just when i was considering this, the other man broke into a sprint and caught the auto and sped away, leaving me feeling like a total loser! I was apprehensive that running for that auto might looka little uncivilised, just the way we contemplate a second helping of the dessert, at the place of an acquiantance we don't know too closely!

His sprint made me wonder, why was i bothering of what that stranger would think of me. I would never have met him again! He reminded me that it is ok to be a little self centred, as i have seen only those people being smug and in comfort while the altruists suffer in silence! Coming across such people who don't even flinch once in name of decency have forced me to reconsider my stance.

Just when i decided to get meaner and make the 'sprint' in the future, i come across those rare people who don't mind letting other people scramble and don't even complain about them. They don't mind sharing their pie, even to those who wouldn't share theirs with them!

Like always im again confused as to whose stance is right, so i keep meandering between the two paths, i sprint when i badly need it, i let go when i feel its ok to!

3 kinds of people

Past few months: I had been longing to blog for quite some time but kept away due to sheer laziness! Over the past few months I have travelled into the interiors of rural Mahbubnagar in Andhra Pradesh and lazed along the beaches of Goa and ‘Raved’ till 4 am , I drove along the highway from Bombay to Pune and finished the 2009 with a visit to Ganapati Phule a beautiful beach some 350 kilometers from Bombay.

Past few years: It was a happening year which happened pretty fast and as many (mostly older people) people around me keep saying that since mid 90’s time has been flying. I guess it’s due to the advent of recreational facilities in which the cable TV saw us gluing to the idiot box and with the onset of late 90’s the internet / mobile took us by storm. So there’s hardly any time to sit and stare... In the coming years when the entertainment revolution really reaches its zenith it will change the way we waste our perfect Sundays or vacations!

What I thought: All along these travels I had been wondering about many people I met … more so during my internship when I was wandering the rural areas in the bus mostly sitting alone … (the rattling makes it strainful to read anything over a long period of time) There was a myriad of people I met throughout mostly because of my constant shifting of cities and schools every 3 years!
I felt that we can identify most of people we met into 3 categories, mostly because most of things in life are in black, white or most popularly in grey. The middle category is always the heaviest! I wonder why I find it easy to categorize everything into 3 !!

3 kinds of people! The wild and maverick types mostly seemed to be highly individualistic in whatever they do … the other bunch seemed to be of nice wand warm people, but I mostly found that it is a tad tiresome to be with nice people! They are the ones who would stick with you through your thick and thin, but they aren’t exactly the lot you would like to hang out with when you want to have some fun! The wild ones are good to party with and have fun, but they do not prefer to be weighed down by strings attached!
I was always confused as to which group do I belong more. I felt that I’m the nice and boring type when I’m with the wild ones … and I feel that I’m the outrageous and adventurous types when I’m with the nice and docile types! Thus I mostly settled for the people in the middle … who tend to be nice and a tad adventurous at times as much as their traditional sensibilities would allow them.
Among these 3 kinds of people there are varying shades of narcissism. Predictably the wild ones are the sometimes the most self centered with the shades varying sometimes with predictable patterns and sometimes with more exceptions than rules! The line between self-centeredness and selfishness is too damn fine! I find the selfish variety to obnoxious to handle, and consciously stay away … but sometimes you can’t have all the choices in this world. You have to bear with the other people’s idiosyncrasies, just as they bear with yours!

With this I remember one line from The Departed which I watched again yesterday … The wedding ring shows people that at least one person can put up with this SOB apart from few other things!

Are we really Shining ?

This is the slogan which ruined a party and crashed the hopes of a PM hopeful. There have been a million theories that when a country is doing good in sports it means that it has arrived economically.

There's a reason for it... when a country has enough for its basic needs and a majority of its people are doing well, they start thinking about sports, different career options. They encourage their kids to play more sports as the pressure to take a job and start earning decreases. I know people who have performed at national and international level for India, but have taken the academic route and are my batchmates @ SP. This happened due to lack of availability of funds and the pressure to get a job.

But seeing that India is doign a very decent job at the international arena in al sports, i have a feeling that we started developing few years back, as such changes take time to manifest.

But still we have a lonnnng way to go!

Tale of 2 crashes!

This is about two deaths in aircrafts... one hardly drew any attention with no one noticing his name ... the other was the most televised event of the year!

They just keep saying that MIG(Mikoyan Gurevich) s are flying coffins. Yet they keep operating them. We have lost some of our finest pilots in such crashes.

Earlier they used to form headlines with some tabloids putting them on front page in blaring red.. nowadays they are mentioned a little apologetically and stashed away on the inner pages. RDB brilliantly portrayed the extent of rot in the Defence ministry and the procurements. One stint in any ministry and your generations to come will be taken care of. There apparently is no limit to the extent of corruption and nepotism.The swindling is in 1000 's of crores of public money. Now even the press is tired of reporting these incidents and even the public is bored to read about them.

The honorable minister of external affairs SMK and the twittering minister Shahsi Tharoor who pretends to be a saint on the twitter stays in 5 star hotels with rent as high as a lakh rupees per night.

Mr Tharoor - The public money you spend every night on stay alone can send 1000 more kids to schools for an year!

I also take this opportunity to pay homage to the ex CM of AP - YSR. Though he is reported to have swindled around 60,000 Crore rupees in past 6 years and though he tried to usurp the land of Tirumala Hills to build churches and use his power to spread Christianity and though he awarded major infra projects to his son and built a media empire for him ...

He was a man of masses ... he radically developed Cuddapah, his constituency, he brought in many schemes for the welfare of rural people, though populist, his schemes did benefit many rural people especially the BOP. He did a lot for the farmers of Andhra and just as he began working wonders for the people ... he met with an untimely death!

His death is a terrible loss to Congress , Cuddapah, and the people of Andhra Pradesh in that order. May his soul rest in peace and may his son turn out to be a blessing in disguise ... as his becoming a CM seems inevitable.

M.A Jinnah split India. Period.

Sometimes people just love shooting in their foot. Once in the past Advani had done that to prove that he is a moderate. He confused both Pakistani’s and people back home. But since he is a major leader he got away with it as one rare mistake. He is 81 years of age and has lost his last elections and also the chance to become the Prime Minister of Indian Republic. This started the power struggle among the BJP senior leaders to become the next head. Jaswant Singh has long been in the waiting and got a feeling that he is being sidelined by others like Sushma Swaraj, MM Joshi and others who are close to the Sangh.

He was desperate and wanted to do something drastic which would swing things in his favour. Both of which could force a man to abandon his reasoning abilities and act with emotions. He took the radical step of writing a book on Jinnah and went to the extent of repeating Advani’s mistake, but also went ahead to criticise Sardar Patel. He not only shot himself in his foot, but also hacked it, and threw it away! BJP is without in a self destruct mode, now unless Congress really messes up this term or some wonderful leader comes to the rescue of BJP ... I guess we are heading on a road to becoming a unilateral party!

As far as Muhammad Ali Jeenah(this was how he used to sign his name) is concerned, he was a sorry and confused guy. He was jealous of Nehru and felt that he is not getting his due. The britishers were successful in nurturing his inferiority complex and self doubts. They planted the idea of two nations theory. It was initially turned down by the Mahatma and Mr Jeenah too! Gradually he was convinced that the only way he can become the ruler is to split India, else Nehru would sideline him after independence. So he was essentially he was a liberal to some extent, but his ego and selfishness dominated his senses. Had he been a selfless man like the Mahatma, history of the subcontinent would have been different.

As to why Nehru and Sardar Patel supported the partition, im clueless for lack of information!

So after partition, Jeenah got what he wanted hence the Quaid-e-Azam announced in the constituent assembly of Pakistan that people can practice their faith and their religion is not the business of the state.

If you had seen the Lion King you would remember the pack of jackals who surrounded the Lion King, used to influence his thoughts and finally led to his death attempting to save his son Simba. A similar thing happened to Jeenah. He was sidelined after the partition. But Jinnah wanted to organise plebiscite in Kashmir, and if they wanted to go to India, he was willing to agree. But others (the jackals) were against the idea.They wanted to separate Kashmir from India.

His trusted man Liaqat Ali Khan was killed. Jinnah was suffering from TB already, then complications in Lung cancer also developed and wanted to return from Quetta to Karachi. Quaid-e-azam was denied even an ambulance, and timely medical attention which could have saved his life. Since he was becoming an ideological threat to the jackals and was aiming at making Pakistan a softer state. Thus, he died a sorry death and could not enjoy the fruits of the separatist state he created and is misinterpreted widely.

His life is an example of the line “I slogged for it. I got it. Shit!”

Are you confused whether I like Jinnah, Well I think I pity him. I am fine with his ideology, but hate him for partitioning my happy country. I will never forgive him for being a weak man and misleading the muslims into believing they are insecure in India and leading them to live life of a Mohajir in Pakistan - a 2^nd rate citizen! But my respect for the Mahatma has certainly increased over time. Though I disagree with him on few ideas … but then he was born 116 years before me… so Generation gap!

Hollywood vs Bollywood

Well i rarely write about movies .... everyone who has an opinion and had access to internet has already written reams about it. While i was watching Indiana Jones and the Crystal skull on my laptop today, i was wondering..... Btw i am a major fan of Indy ,probably because of my love of history, adventure.. or the subtle humor ... or the way he jumps across continents or a common hate for reptilians or fascination for his Fedora hat and his famous whip!

O.K .. i stop here ... the point here is not to sing praises of the movie,! But i was wondering about the budget of the movie .. it was $ 185 Million. I was comparing it with indian Sci-fi movies like Krrish or other mythological movies. The highest budget of an indian movie is the unfinished Dasavatharam of Kamal Hasan .. which was inaugurated by Her majesty Queen Elizabeth the second.

The most expensive Hollywood movie is Pirates of the Carribean: Worlds end which cost $ 300 Million i.e 1500 Crore Rupees.

The most expensive Indian movie is Dasavatharam with budget of 130 Crores. Now there are talks of "where are you Sophia" by Nagendra Karri from Visakhapatnam proposed to be of 150 crores.

We complain of the shoddy graphics and the cartoonish images and bad stunts! Well the average budget of a high flying Bollywood movie is around 40 - 50 crores. The talent one can get is also on that scale. The reason is simple, Hollywood movies earn so much too... POC 3 earned around Rs 4805 crores... go figure!

We can make reasonably good movies in budgets of 50 crores .... we have in the past... but we chose to make movies like Kambakht Ishq and Singh is King !!

The best talent in Bollywood , Lollywood, Kollywood and all the wother woods in India recieve meagre budgets of 1 - 5 crores, and they have done brilliant job with that. Most of the hits in past few months(barring the strike) have been low budget movies with brilliant scripts and storyline.


Bollywood: You can not complain that the viewership is falling by making crappy movies like KI, New York etc.

We proudly claim that we make largest number of movies in the world... true ! .... but numbers and statistics are like a Bikini, they hide more than they reveal!