That Unique & Pleasant smell of Diwali...!

So it's that time of the year again when the air around is much more ebullient, moods across are unanimously joyous and people on the streets are all in a festive mode, yes it's the festival time in India once again.The festive season starts in late August with the reverberating Dahi Handi and Janamashtami bash, then it's the vibrant 10 day long Ganesh Festival which sets the tone for the festive season which is further toned up by the 9 day long Navratri festivities, where in the idols of different avatars of the Goddess are made and worshipped for 9 days and congruently the colorful Dandiya Raas adds more valor to these festivities, and all this eventually ends with one of the biggest and widely celebrated festival of the country, Dussera. Also amidst all these annual festivals we also celebrate Id with lots of fervor, which falls in the holy month of Ramzan. But the undisputed Amitabh Bachchan of these festivals is Diwali, which is celebrated by one and all irrespective of their faith,sex and race.

In my childhood whenever somebody asked which is your favorite month of the year, I promptly told them its February (that being my b'day month), but in my heart I always had a toss up between February and the months of October/November, mainly attributed to an entirely joyous and festive mood prevalent in these months. And till this day the lead up to Diwali always has an inexplicable but pleasant string of feelings attached to it, the air around is actually so buoyant with lot of freshness and positive vibes that you can virtually smell that Diwali has arrived. And this beautiful something happens every single year, giving you a feeling of Deja'vu!

The smell of fresh paint and white washing in the house makes you realize the fact that Diwali has arrived. The shopping spree in which the entire family or the entire locality or rather the entire nation indulges in before the Diwali day is infectious. All round the year we tend to plan our shopping in and around Diwali; the excitement and frenzy to wear new clothes in Diwali is absolutely matchless. That smell of Diwali special snacks cooked around all the houses is so damn tempting, those dry fruit stuffed Gujiyas, those crispy Salonis, those spicy Mixtures and Chudas, those delicious platter of umpteen variety of sweets apart from the regular Dahi Vadas, Chholey, and Puris are all in a sense a true indicator of the festive and celebration mood around.

And how about our mothers and sisters drawing those beautiful and colorful Rangolis infront of our houses, for hours, to make our houses seem even more beautiful and all set and ready for the D(iwali) Day! Then that further decorating of our houses with flowers, festoons and banana leaves, those string of colorful lights hanged all over the house to make it shine and glitter in the festive glory. That hyper exuberance and super excitement to buy and burn the fanciest of crackers and noisiest of bombs weeks before Diwali which almost turns into a show of might between the fiercely contesting neighbors, are all an experience of its kind.

If this is not all how about all the biggest blockbusters of Bollywood lined up for release in and around Diwali, making it even more special. Also those mega Diwali special offers flashed all across the town by all the leading shops and brands, be it Clothing, be it Furnishings or be it Automobiles, one can easily sense the Diwali mood in the markets which are comfortably five times more crowded than normal. Though the ways and means in and around Diwali might have changed a bit in the last few years, like a greater focus on a greener Diwali as against the noisier and the polluting one earlier, a health awareness amongst the masses to consume lighter and oil free food, even a sad diversion from the pure and natural form of sweets and snacks around Diwali to a much adulterated and a synthetic one these days but the essence and the zeal still remains the same.

Literatures and history might say that Diwali is a Hindu festival but any resident of this country very well knows that this beautiful occasion is not barbed by any religion or faith. Even a Muslim lights lamps and decorates his house on the Diwali Day, a Christian burns crackers with the same excitement as a Hindu does, and a Sikh family cooks and eats as many sweets and delicacies in Diwali as any Hindu family does. Such is the grandeur of our culture, such is the beauty of this festival and such is the unity in diversity of our great Nation.

A Very Happy, Joyous & Prosperous Diwali to All!

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Bollywood Frenzy - Big B, TV, Laughter & Dog Fights!

Big B - An Epitome of Grace and Sophistication!

Dan Dann Dannn Dann Dann Dannn Dannn Dannnnnnn......! Yes its that time of the year when the KBC jingle is back and it's back with its best executor, Mr Amitabh Bachchan! And without any surprises, the excitement, frenzy and the hoopla is on the same levels as it used to be 10 years back. Though the story and might of Indian television vis-a-vis Indian Cinema has transformed in a big way in this period but the power, panache and impact of this gentleman is still the same, if not more. And this effect is even more remarkable when you see all the Big Khans, Kumars and Chopras on some TV channel or the other which wasn't particularly the scene 10 years back. But amidst all the stiff competition this man stands apart and stands tallest in this elite crowd. And this is not due to his excellence in Hindi Cinema over last four decades or for his innumerable feats and awards for his acting skills but it is more to do with his personality, humility, conduct and respect for one and all. He is undoubtedly one of the best orators of the country we have today irrespective of the language he speaks in, be it Hindi or be it English. But amidst all this, what stands out particularly is the importance he gives to each and every participant who comes and sits in-front of him, howsoever rich, poor, good looking, learned, ignorant or ordinary the participant may be he treats them all with the highest degree of respect and makes sure that each of them feels special and not subdued by the fact that they are sitting in-front of the biggest superstar of the millennium. And when we are talking about these things, we are not at all taking into account his acting credentials or any other achievements, we are just focusing on his conduct, mannerisms and humility which are nothing short of exemplary. No wonder he is matchless, be it any of the contemporary superstars trying to rule the roost of the Television Industry. Undoubtedly Mr Bachchan is everybody's favorite and a role model for most of us. We can go on to heap truck loads of accolades for this man but probably the best way to coronate this gentleman is by calling him a 'Very Very Good Human Being', which is a rarity in present day context. He is the Big Boss, He is the Master, He is the biggest Khiladi and he truly has a multi crore Heart! Kudos to you Sir for being an inspiration for years and years!

Laughter is the Best Medicine, but today this Medicine is Adulterated!

It's a common adage that the toughest thing on earth is to genuinely make somebody laugh. And in today's world where people are so preoccupied with their self invited troubles, the value of a laughter or a smile has risen manifolds. Any thing which makes us smile or feel unburdened is well and truly appreciated and welcomed by one and all, and amidst all this the most potent medium of transmission of such a contagious and infectious attribute is the Cinema or the Bollywood. For all the countrymen Bollywood has always been the one constant which has evolved itself many a times and every single time it has offered something or the other to the audiences across a diversified strata of people. But comedy has invariably been the most sought after recipe all the while. No wonder that demand for comedy movies has always been HUGE and our film makers have never let us down. If we travel down the memory lane we just can't complete our journey without talking of the timeless classics made by Hrishikesh Mukherji, be it Guddi, be it Anand, be it Bawarchi, be it Golmaal or be it Naram Garam, the connect, the impact and the simplicity is just phenomenal and second to none. These timeless classics have touched our lives so deeply that each one of us is able to relate to these beautiful classics to an exemplary extent. Not only these movies have made us laugh out loud for years and years but they have all done so with a very good social lesson. Naturally the demand for such socially engaging, light hearted and jovial movies is still very huge. Obviously enough we still see so many of Comedy movies shelved out every single year. But unfortunately the level of finesse, excellence, connect and simplicity have declined dramatically. The comedy content in most of the today's movies is so loud, vulgar and inappropriate that they are unable to make us genuinely laugh out from our hearts. The formula e which are used today to make us laugh are that of Sex, Vulgarity, Nudity, Loudness and Homosexual puns,all being a huge digression from the movies made in 70s and 80s which always concentrated on getting as close to the common man in its conduct thereby inducing an environment of fun, enjoyment and wholesome entertainment. There is huge dearth of excellent comedy stuffs which is sans these uncalled of stuff which force us to laugh on the sheer stupidity of the act rather than the genuineness and connect with our daily lives. Though there are still quite a few exceptions who are treading the paths of Hrishikesh Mukherji, in the name of Munna Bhai & 3 Idiots fame Raju Hirani and makers of other beautiful movies made recently, like Do Dooni Chaar, Khichdi and Herapheri (only part 1), but we need quite a handful of others too, to create the magic weaved by the directors and yesteryear film makers. Because the true comedy is not about hitting somebody on the wrong body parts and forcing people to laugh on such stupid ugly acts, but it's more to do about hitting the right chord in the viewer's heart by the sheer tenets of simplicity, connect and social impact.

Way to Go Raju and others who are the true heir of Hrishi da's school of entertainment because after all laughter truly is the best medicine:)!

Dog Fight Bolly Style!

How can a talk of Bollywood get completed without some tadka, gossip and Dog Fight? The tradition of marketing, publicity and promotion by the most innovative means before the release of any movie is a common thing. But can it get more interesting when two of the most popular if not successful directors of the industry slug it out blatantly on each other. So every time Ram Gopal Verma (RGV) has his movie ready for release, he never misses an opportunity to promote his movie without taking some potshots at his fiercest foe, KJo (as he likes to be called) or Karan Johar (as his parents christened him). RGV clearly states that his movies aren't for the KJo's fan who are born and brought up watching those monotonous sob sob family movies which are unrealistic and stupidity par tolerance, according to him. He further goes on to say that KJo has only one formula which he packs and presents by different names, not even altering the cast of his movies in a considerable way. And on all this dirt the usually reticent and feminine KJo takes a masculine stand and retorts with a vengeance by quickly pointing out that RGV's collections from all the movies he has made in the last decade taken together are still short of what any of the KJo's movie have garnered. Moreover KJo goes on to say that even the crow of Phoonk 2 (one of the many flop ventures of RGV) has refused be a part of RGV's forthcoming release Phoonk 3. And what is even more interesting is the fact that both these not so gentle men vent this out openly in the media. Though its a common fact that neither KJo nor RGV are known to be the all time best technicians film industry has seen, both being on the right side of the tide at some moment or the other. But certainly their dogfight has always been a real treat for all avid cinema goers, if not their movies.

Keep slugging it out Sirs, it's truly thoroughly entertaining!

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Test Cricket Vs Rest of the Cricket!

In the fast food age and the item number era of Mallika Sherawat and Malaika Arora not many heads turn for the timeless marvels like Kajol and Madhuri, but the real connoisseurs of art always prefer spending on the later ones, howsoever arty, slow pace and contemporary their style of entertainment might be. The true ecstasy evolves from the finesses, grace and sophistication and not by the means of brazen audacity or outrageous exhibition of power and flesh. One may eat unlimited Pizzas and Burgers but for survival he has to depend on the conventional Daal and Roti; an item song can add some zing to the movie but for that movie to be a HIT you got to have some really good actors, technicians and a well written script because a bunch of item songs can’t go on to make that movie a success; a girl friend or a boy friend might seem to be the most loving, caring and understanding companion but in due course nobody can replace thy parents who are the roots of one’s existence; And this holds true in all walks of life including the unanimous religion of this nation, CRICKET, whose new variants are posing a serious threat to its ultimate format, TEST CRICKET!

In this era of nonstop 20-20 and 50-50 cricket not many heads roll when the focus shifts to the apex format of the game. The latest and the shortest version of the game provides so much thrill, excitement, entertainment and moolah that it is bound to garner more eye balls and followers vis-a-vis Test Cricket. The most common argument given in favor of 20-20 and against the Test Cricket is that when one gets more thrill and excitement in just 1/15th of time than why should one waste 5 days of his time without a guaranteed result in the match. Not only the current crop of fans and followers are shifting their focus to 20-20 but even the younger generation of cricketers are focusing to make a mark in only the T-20 arena which is in stark contrast to the Rahul Dravid’s generation where the ultimate aim of any budding cricketer happened to be that of representing his nation as a Test Cricketer. But now even the talks of being a Test player have gone for a toss, youngsters these days get themselves equipped with a tattoo even before facing their 1st ball in the international circuit (read kohli), some are so very peculiar with their hair style, that they change their beard and hair styles more often than they eventually get to play for their country (read uthapa) and some show all-round skills right from their 1st game for the country but unfortunately these are all non-cricketing skills like dancing, sledging, mimicking etc(read sreesanth). So amidst all this, Test Cricket? One must be joking:)!

Ironically all one needs to succeed in the shorter format is just the brute power against the rock solid defense, impeccable technique, excellent temperament, choreographer’s footwork, tight rope walker’s balance and acrobat’s agility required to succeed in the test format. And in true sense these are the ingredients which make the Test Cricket beautiful! Undoubtedly the shorter formats generate more revenues and are more thrilling in nature but the gratification, pleasure and ecstasy one derives from the subtle nuances of test match cricket is second to none. No wonder the course of a match changes in a few balls in 20-20 cricket but the strategies, traps and guiles of the test match over the period of full 5 days and the subtle turn which the course of a test match takes over a session of play is just too alluring to be even compared to any other format. Moreover when the concept of this game was coined it was not to make money or to thrill the audiences the way 20-20 is doing today because anyways for those purposes we still had Stock Markets and Sherlock Holmes movies; naturally the aim behind this beautiful game (read test cricket) was to play the game at its utmost sanctity and derive pleasure from it.

For that matter all those uncountable centuries and the mountain of runs scored by Sir Sachin Tendulkar in this format, those magnificent spells of spin bowling and wizardry casted by the great Shane Warne, those deadly spells of swing bowling and toe crashing Yorkers bowled by the invincible Wasim Akram, those magnificent fourth innings match saving centuries scored by the champion batsman Brian Lara on the fifth day wearing track against Australia, those innumerable wickets taken by the wily old fox Muttiah Murlitharan on even the most placid of tracks, those jaw dropping murderous batting display by destructive Virender Sehwag and that sheer artistic magnificence flowing out of the bat of Very Very Special Laxman every single time his team is on the brink of a defeat are all far more superior in class and skill than those 20 ball 70 runs scored by some Keiron Pollard in a 20-20 encounter or for that matter those super over cliffhangers which decide the fate of the match by sheer muscle power as against the class and skills which the above mentioned gentleman showcased to decide the fate of a match. And undoubtedly Tendulkar, Lara, Warnie, Akram and others are the guys who are the all time favorites of even the younger generations be it the audiences or be it the budding cricketers. And even these gentlemen played 20-20 cricket or are still playing it, but they never endorsed it at the expense of Test Cricket, in fact at some point or the other they gave up their 20-20 or ODI career to prolong their test match career, so why are the present day budding cricketers who idolize these great gentlemen, running behind the money rather than continuing with the rich tradition practiced by their predecessors. And if their only aim of playing this game is to make money, than there are many other avenues where they can make more and faster money. But the broader aim of the players, organizers and all the followers should be to preserve the sanctity of this beautiful game whose byword has always been FAIR!

But on a macro level BCCI is responsible for the current mindset which is prevalent among the masses these days, be it the audiences or be it the cricketers. Though the more established and successful players are still choosing what they want to play and what they want to skip but by and large it is BCCI who is not only dictating a majority of its players by scheduling jam packed tournaments but is also by its financial might trying to maneuver things across cricketing boards of other nations. However on the face of it every now and then BCCI tries to project that its platter is clean by converting a 7 match ODI series into a 2 match Test series plus a 3 match ODI series, but that is still not doing any good to the Test Cricket. The broader aim of BCCI should be to promote the youngsters to play Test Cricket rather than luring them to be a part of filthy rich IPL tournament. Although tournament like IPL makes financial sense for both the board and players at the same time, but in the longer run it is doing not contributing to quality of cricket as such. And amidst all this the most worrisome fact is the state of Indian Test Team post Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman! They are in the evening of their career and we are yet to find their apt replacements; and with the increase in number of 20-20 games all at the expense of Tests, things are only going be to get worse.

There is nothing wrong with 20-20 cricket or for that matter any other shorter format of the game. But this formula of shortened game, heightened excitement and quick money is only dirtying the game rather than beautifying it. No wonder with the advent of these formats the instances of match fixing, spot fixing and gambling have risen enormously. However these malpractices can’t be attributed solely to the shorter format and rather it’s prudent to treat this as a sheer coincidence that these things didn’t exist in the old age era when only Test Matches were played because this has more to do with the individual’s conscience and morals than the version of the game he is playing. At the end of it, it’s an individual’s choice as to what he wants to play or what he prefers to watch but any form of the game shouldn’t be promoted at the expense of the other. And Test Cricket being the purest, fiercest and the most competitive form of cricket should be handled with utmost care and preserved as a real gem; youngsters should be taught the importance of true values and hard work and the fact that they should adopt the game for the sheer pleasure of continuing the rich tradition of Test Cricket rather than pursuing it for just making money, money should just be treated as a byproduct of pursuing this as a career and not the sole aim of adopting it. Only then we can dare to the see new Dravids, Tendulkars, Kumbles, Warnes and Gilchrist of Test arena, all of whom not only excelled in Test cricket but by their hard earned temperament, technique, balance and poise but also marveled at the shorter formats too.
Long Live Test Cricket!

Behind the scenes – A lot of my friends laughed on me when I took a sick leave on the 3rd day of recently concluded Ind V Aus test, but luckily it paid off as the little master went on to score his 14,000th run and 49th century on the very same day:). That’s Gratification for me!

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How to tag CWG -2010, Success or Failure?

Woohoo...so we did it! What an exhilarating Opening Ceremony, stand out performances by our athletes and an equally reverberating closing extravaganza. Nobody could have thought of or asked for anything better. But what is even more surprising is the fact that how come general perception about this mega event changed so drastically in just 3 weeks time? When almost a fortnight back everybody was up and bashing the very concept of CWG being staged in India all guns out, dreading all sorts of untoward mishaps like infrastructure collapse, hygiene mess up, security breach and think what may, how come such a huge turn around in such a short span? Was it because of the fact that we never expected that we as a nation can stand up and deliver such a high quality global event or was it mainly because of the media created hoopla, with media just trying to mint money by showcasing the event in its extremes rather than being a prudent source of broadcasters or was it the general pessimist and downplaying attitude which we as a nation possess and practice?

Actually its a mix of all such negative characteristics, off-late media in general has been more concerned about the TRPs rather than serving the nation with the right quality news stuff, we as a nation have always been a self depreciating lot, low in confidence and usually a pessimist bunch. But then the million dollar question is how should we grade this mega event, Super Successful or an Utter Failure? Are our athletes really so good to have clinched all those medals which they eventually ended up with? Was the closing and the opening ceremony really a world class and a never before showpiece spectacle? And do all those financial irregularities and the massive corruption done on to the lead up of CWG, really counts for nothing, once that we have ourselves declared the games such a big HIT? Well a YES or NO answer to this question won't do the desired justice to this complicated issue, rather the most prudent and practical way of handling these set of questions would be to answer them in parts and with full objectivity.

So if we just talk of the way this event has unfolded in front of the world, it is actually remarkable, it might not be the all time best spectacle but still it ranks very much at the top. The opening and the closing ceremony were a true masterpiece which stumped, floored, wooed one and all, and even the global media was very upbeat in lauding the finesse, grandeur and magnificence of the entire show. Not only this the hospitality and the facilities which were eventually being provided to the athletes and the visiting contingents were ostentatious and world class to say the least. Though there were big doubts and question marks over everything linked to the games but at the end of it we should salute all the artists, delegates and workers who delivered such a high quality product in the end. We well and truly deserve a huge round of applause for making our nation proud in the global canvas and by being the best possible hosts to our esteemed guests. So on the whole a 10 on 10 for a marvelous showpiece, heart warming hospitality and an excellent conduct of the game!

Now if we talk of the brilliant performances of our athletes in various games, well any amount of accolade, praise and felicitation will fall short in celebrating their efforts. Over a 100 medals across various stream of sports is a truly commendable job and it shouldn't be an exaggeration if we single out these brave hearts as the true winners and the reason for the success of this mega event. These players are the ones who actually made us shift our attention from the debacles and fiascoes before the start of the event to the actual games. These are the heroes whose efforts eventually brought that smile on our faces with their valiant on field efforts.But amidst all these celebrations just a tinge doubt, how have they turned themselves into such high quality athletes overnight, when we struggle to win even a single bronze medal in the Olympics and when we are still not out of the celebration mode evolving out of the lone Gold Medal which we won in the last Olympics,so how come such a quick turn around? Well without any offence against any of our medal winning athletes, we should not forget that none of the world beating countries in the sports arena are a part of Common Wealth Games spectrum, be it USA, be it China or be it any American or European sporting stalwart. Add any one of them in these games and for sure they will wipe off all the medals in a hurry. And we should also not discount the fact that out of all the participating nations too, many of the top athletes across various sports pulled out at the last minute due to their apprehensions about the facilities and the security arrangements made for the games. But cynicism aside we should not stop ourselves from cheering up and praising each of our medal winners in the Games. So again a 10/10 for all the medal winners and other participating athletes of our country who actually made us realize that the Common Wealth Games 2010 was all about the sports and the athletes and not about the corrupt organizers and lackadaisical politicians but still a long way to go!

Now last but not the least, a thought for our corrupt organizers and politicians who overshoot the cost of organizing these events by not twice or thrice but by 117 times? Now shall we really care about such things once the games have been successfully completed without any hiccups? In fact the easiest possible thing to do now is to just dump this issue of financial irregularities in the cold storage! And that's what we have been doing all along since our independence, a flurry of scams and scandals, a plethora of investigation and probes and the unanimous outcome of all such financial quandary has been a Cipher! But if we actually want to move ahead in the global arena , its high time we treat these things very seriously and we actually do a thorough, unbiased and politics free probe and make all the culprits accountable for each and every misused penny, after all every ounce of it is the tax payers money. And even if we deploy half of the walloped amount by these greedy politicians and organizers in the welfare and development of proper infrastructure for our athletes, one day we can surely replicate this medal tally in the Olympics. Hence amongst all the accolades and glory we are showered with post the successful completion of the games, its very easy to forget everything which happened in the lead up to this huge event, but at least for the sake of our persevering athletes its very important to treat all the offenders on merit rather than treating them on their financial or political might. So even after a successful hosting of the CWG 2010, a 0/10 for the organizers who not only messed up with the common man's money but also made a mockery of our national pride!

So all in all it has been a roller coaster ride, a very peculiar case study in itself. There are plenty of things about which we should be proud of and at the same time there are some really serious issues, which if not addressed pretty soon and in the right stead can be very detrimental to our nation. It's so very easy to remain complacent and bask in the glory of successful completion of CWG 2010 and there is nothing wrong in it either, but our broader objective should be to cleanse this malignant system plagued by the vices of dishonesty and corruption only then one fine day, we can dream of being a potent contender for hosting the Olympic Games!

Bird's eye view : It's easy to criticize, tough to applaud but super duper tough to be FAIR!
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Heartening memories of the Past or Disheartening roadblocks of today?

Why does it happen that things which are no more in our control now or not in our reach presently seem so very beautiful, no matter how useless or painful they appeared at that point in time?

Why do we so dearly miss those tiffin boxes which our mother used to give us in the school days? Why are those yesteryear sandwiches still the most delicious ones we have ever had, irrespective of the variety we have today by the virtue of Mc Donald’s, Subways, Dominos and many such omnipresent outlets?

Why do we still remember, search, long and appreciate each and every toy we have played with even two, three, or four decades back even though now we have access to all the latest American, Chinese or Japanese toys just by a mouse’s click?

Why do we still remember and cherish each of those rides we took on Dad’s age old Scooter, which at that point seemed to be the ugliest automobile on the road, when now when can ourselves own and ride the most expensive sedan available in the market?

How can we still recall each and every moment of those birthday parties staged at home with the entire colony being a part of it and despite the fact that the evening menu just had five items in all, water being the fifth item other than Samosa, Rasgulla, Cake and Navratan Mixture, when now we celebrate even our Car’s birthday at one of the town’s leading Five star?

Why can’t we stop humming, grooving and literally dancing on those old Shammi Kapoor classics when we have far more technically sound and perfect artists in the name of Jackson and Hrithik?

Why do we still talk for hours on those age old Doordarshan classics like Humlog, Buniyaad, Circus, Mahabharata, Chitrahaar, Dekh Bhai Dekh etc every now and then when we have thousands of soap of various kinds running 24*7 across hundreds of channels vis-a-vis the poor Doordarshan of yesteryear which is on its death bed now?

Why do we still love flipping our black and white photo albums which had only a limited array of hardbound pictures in comparison to a hundreds of GBs of photos and videos we have clicked through our latest and most advanced Digital and SLR cameras?

How is even a 5 year old able to recognize Gandhi as the father of nation, where even half of us don’t even know the name of present Vice President of India?

Why do we still love to see the recordings of Sachin Tendulkar tonking the great Shane Warne for 15 runs in an over when today likes of Yuvraj Singh are blasting 36 runs in an over?

Why do feel so nostalgic thinking of those Software Engineering or Financial Management classes, which at that time seemed to be the most boring, irritating and bunk able lectures? Is it because we want to learn those subjects now or do we feel nostalgic fantasizing about those carefree days?

We may meet our best of friends every now and then over a cup of coffee or for dinner at a fine dine restaurant, but why is it so that every time we meet, we invariably talk and miss those street food we had during our college days?

Is it all because we as a human race are generally a sadist lot or is it a recurring reminder and a warning to live and enjoy every moment of our life to the fullest. No wonder what, not many take lessons from such hints and hence more often than not we spend our time either cribbing on our present state or pondering on those beautiful memories of the past.

It’s not that we are living a miserable or a dreadful life now, there are chances that we are super busy in our professional lives and don’t have that extra time to celebrate and cherish the beauty of every moment to that extent. But certainly life is still as beautiful as it was in our childhood, school days, college days or say 1 year back, in fact the very moments which we are cribbing and cursing now will seem to be rosy 10 years down the line. So it’s all in the mindset, it’s all about the attitude and gravity with which one conducts his life. That’s why even a poor man earning a paltry sum and living on the street seem to be much happier than most of us who have all the luxuries in life. And the reason why he is happy is the fact that his attitude is much better than us, he hardly thinks or cribs on what he is not having, rather he chooses to feel good about what he has and how those things have made his life so beautiful.

By the grace of god, human mind is very selective, it tends to retain only the happy and beautiful moments of life and erases off the sad and sorrowful moments, no wonder we don’t remember the sad moments of our lives as vividly as we remember the smallest and oldest of our happy moments. There is nothing wrong in pondering upon the memories of the past and dwelling upon them but that should not be at the expense of getting our present getting affected. As up and downs are a part and parcel of life, but only those guys stay happy and go the distance who know or who have learned the art of living their every moment to the fullest.

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Ayodhya - The Non Issue!

A national dispute which is 19 years old, may be 60 years old or probably 500 years old, has still kept the largest democracy of the planet on its toes. The Ramjanam Bhoomi - Babari Masjid dispute or let’s not leave any chances of controversy and phrase it the other way round too, the Babri Masjid - Ramjanam Bhoomi dispute, is a classic example of how emotional we are as a nation. But the manner in which our nation has handled the situation especially on the day of the verdict by the Luck now High court i.e. 30th September 2010 is nothing short of phenomenal. The same controversy shed so much blood 19 years back that it became the darkest moment in the history of this proud nation, not only it damaged the nation's image on the global canvas to mammoth levels but it also left deep scars of trust deficit in the minds of millions of innocent Hindus and Muslims. And the people of both the faiths are still paying the heavy price for that debacle by means of Godhra's, 26/11 and a lot more such heinous tragedies all across the nation. But the reason why we should pat our backs for our conduct during and post the high court verdict is that we are living in a more dangerous set up today vis-a-vis the setup two decades back. With so much media coverage and such a high degree of tension brewing up between ourselves and our neighbors, with terrorist outfits always on a lookout for creating havoc, globally too the threats of terror on the name of faith and religion has become such a major security concern, that one has to be very tactful in conducting oneself in such touchy moments, no wonder we as a nation deserve a very high degree of encomium for showing superb maturity in such a tricky scenario.

Though some might argue that if Jews have Jerusalem as their holiest place, signifying it as ‘THE’ place of their ultimate deity Jesus, Muslims have Mecca - Madina as their ultimate place of worship and place where the founder of Islam took birth, Hinduism being the third largest religion in the world , with Lord Rama being its main deity, have to still fight for a bloody, communal and a legal battle to attain the ownership of the place which they believe is the birthplace of their apex deity, Lord Rama. Now there can be various schools of thoughts on this belief but the worst aspect of this issue is the fact that it has been used for gaining political mileage by various political parties in the past, parties like BJP and Shiv Sena are the ones which came into forefront riding on the emotional wave created through this sensitive issue. Though it’s a common myth that only extremists groups like BJP, Shiv Sena and VHP are responsible for baking their bread on the Ayodha burner, but one should not discount the lackadaisical role which the oldest and self proclaimed secular party by the name of Congress has played in this debacle. The heartthrob youth leader of the 80s Mr. Rajiv Gandhi was the one who opened the gates of the disputed monument for Hindus to offer their prayers; Why this disruption of status quo? Obviously to strengthen their Hindu Vote bank. Also there was a Congress Government at the center when that horrendous act of demolishing the Mosque took place, and to believe the argument that the center had no clue about such a mass movement building up is nothing short of a big Joke. So it would be wrong to blame only a few political parties for such a fiasco, rather it can be safely assumed that all the political parties who should have acted sensibly and handle the issue with a lot of care have actually made a mess out of it for their own gains. And the tragedy is that even today there are netas who are hoping to resurrect their careers on the debris of a mosque.

But the obvious silver lining in this so very controversial issue is that the fact that the fate will be decided in the court of law vis-a-vis the bloody route which some shenanigans adopted two decades back. Though some might agree to the verdict and some might not but thankfully with the court of law being involved in the proceedings, everybody is expected to atleast respect it. Though even I am confused with some of the decisions passed on by the Luck now high-court bench, like declaring the disputed land as the actual place where Lord Rama took birth, now with facts put forth by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) one can factually come to a conclusion that there was a temple here centuries back on the ruins of which the Mosque was built, also ASI can ascertain the timelines as to when and by whom the monuments were built but how can they adjudge that this was the very place where the Lord Rama took birth, that to me is quite confusing. Though there might be various other parameters and facts which the court of law might have relied upon, but on the superficial level none of the logics supporting this premise came out in the public. Obviously it’s absolutely unfair to be judgmental on the issue or towards any particular sect based on the awareness of incomplete facts, but if decisions in the court are taken based on faiths and beliefs rather than facts and concrete evidences, it is not a fair implementation of justice, no matter whom it supports, be it the Hindus or be it the Muslims.

Though my standpoint on this issue is totally different from what is happening in the true sense, I believe neither Lord Rama nor the Almighty Allah would have preferred to be worshiped in a place which is soaked by the blood of hundreds of innocent people. And why is it so damn important for us as a nation to have either a Mandir or a Masjid there? What good will that to the poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, hunger and plethora of such problems which have crippled our nation for decades? At max it will pacify the egos and testosterones of some octogenarian politicians and will result in some more blood shedding but it will hardly do any good to the development of our highly talented nation. And how can we discount the amount of security threat it will pose to the new monument, it’s very easy to dream of a win win situation and peaceful environs once a Mandir or a Masjid is built, but by default the very day the monument comes into existence it will become a top terror target for all the mischievous outfits. So when we are already living in a set up where all the places of historic and national importance are under the constant terror threat, can we actually afford another high profile monument? Though it’s a different debate that we as a nation should be having the firepower to tackle any such probable mishaps, but nobody can deny the fact that any monument built after so much animosity and blood-shedding won't be a soft target for all kinds of unwanted activities.

Now there have been various school thoughts which have been proposed as a probable solution for this age old problem, in fact the high court has also come up with a three leg partition formula for all the (three) interested parties who are fighting the battle legally, though this solution has surprised a few, shocked a plenty and amused a section but I personally don't think that this formula of divide and unite can ever work, it will have its own share of new problems which are difficult to foresee at this stage, but given the adrenaline rush we as a nation ride upon, it will be more of a mess than an ambitious solution! I don't know why some common sense and sanity is not prevailing in the cauldrons of court rooms and government think tank offices? Why are we so hell bent in having a religious monument there, can’t they think that having a Hospital, School, Orphanage, Old Age Home or a Playground will contribute more to the society than having a place of religious importance which will be a constant cause of irk for a section of society. They can think but probably by doing so all our ministers, politicians and bureaucrats will become jobless, literally unemployed, because these are the issues which they have been giving a communal tadka all along with a vision to build their large empires, so if these issues cease to exist, they (ministers, politicians) will also fall into the category of endangered species.

But I am still very proud with the way YOUNG INDIA has handled this issue, they are very well aware that a Mandir or Masjid in Ayodhya won't contribute to their well being in Madurai, Bikaner or Aizwal, so there is no point being judgmental, emotional or stupid on this issue, which in turn is eventually a very threatening signal for our leaders but a very welcome and promising sign for our nation.

Lets us all not let this communal wave of Saffron or Green get into our nation's superfluous path of tremendous growth and prosperity today and show the world that why we are the greatest democracy in the world and a very strong super power of tomorrow!

JAI HIND!

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