Some Frozen Moments

What if you are given an option of freezing some of your life's moments and then have them stored in some kinda memory and replayed whenever you want? Replayed in such a way that you are actually part of that snippet of memory. I do have some of these moments of my own, which I would like to immortalize for my lifetime.

One of the memories I'd like to put away and then re-enact would be time I was para-sailing in Goa on a recent trip. I always feel at one with nature when I'm near an Ocean, or on a mountain, or even on a flight. However, I distinctly remember the feeling while para-sailing. Suspended in mid-air, engulfed by the vastness of both the Sea and the Sky, one couldnt help noticing the minute-ness of our existence. Even though we invariably know about the vastness of this universe, we somehow dont realize it in day-to-day life.

Ego takes precedence - Man, the supreme being! Man, with the power to harness and solve the biggest of problems, the power to create and destroy. It takes the genius of man to build a spacecraft, land on Mars, and it takes the genius of a man to make an Atom bomb and use it against his own kind.

It is not by sheer chance that man has come to rule on this earth, however, it will be his own undoing to disregard the sheer power of nature. Man's capabilities can be considered as a tiny surrogate of that of nature's. Will it be possible that man, being a natural nomad, be able to find another pasture, away from a decomposing earth?Will he have enough resources to be able to settle down on a new planet? Only time can tell!

Coming back to the point where I was suspended in mid-air. What did I feel? Bliss! Its a great feeling. Some people feel scared of the height or of falling in the water. I was smiling broadly and saying to myself - "This is where you belong boy!! This is where you belong!"

How I wish I could fly! I believe, someday, I will! :)

Let there be Light!!

There is so much despair
So much gloom and darkness
Eyes with the hint of a tear
Weaned of all happiness

All caught up in the unending race
No one knows where it leads
Yet they try keeping pace
Without a thought for their deeds

Chorus:
A fist here, a leg there
Grab his shirt, grab him by the hair
Pull him down, PULL HIM DOWN!
At any cost I want that crown
No matter how many thorns I want that crown
--

And in the end there is no glory
The race ends, no winners here
Blood everywhere, streets all gory
Sullen faces, ghastly looks everywhere

And Then Suddenly....
Piercing the dark skies, out of the black
Emerges a light, shattering the hue
Striking terror in the hearts of evil
Cowed down, bodies lying askew

And a voice thunders through the melee
"Time has come for things to be set right
Halt this drudgery, end this slavery
Let there be harmony, Let there be Light!"

Time for Another one...

Ah! Its been a busy month - February!! Work weeks stretching into 55 hours, family gatherings and functions by the dozen, friends getting married, birthdays, projects going live, stock markets fluctuating wildly - along with my portfolio, and a zillion other things that I could list down here, but cannot recollect!

Phew!! Just thinking about all that makes me feel tired all over again. I terribly missed going to the gym, among many other things. It started out with my gym sessions becoming erratic at the beginning of Feb and then tapering into one odd visit in a week, until they completely stopped by the second week. Yes, putting on some more flab is quite a frightening thought, so it used to irk me all the more! I did cut down on my diet, though it doesnt help much if one has a sweet tooth!

Among other things, I missed reading the newspaper! For days on end, I think I did not even venture near one. Sad, but true! Of course there are other ways to keep up with whats going on around you, thanks to the internet, but somehow you will always miss fretting over the number of people being run over by buses, the number of murders being committed, scams being unearthed, politicians being jailed, women being abused, etc. Sometimes it feels as if we are de-volving - moving back to the savage beasts that man once was. Then, he had ample time on his hands and nothing much to do except hunt, eat, reproduce and sleep. In today's fast paced world, humans are running at such a fast pace trying to catch up with the rat race, that there's no time left for compassion.

Ah well, things move on. I've got some free time on my hands for a few days now, so started back with my gym routine. I've started dabling in squash now thanks to a colleague, and after reading up the benefits on wikipedia, think I'll be pursuing the sport for some time. Looking forward for some time of relaxation!!

Choices...

Question: How would you prefer your life to be? One riddled with twists and turns at every step? Or a simple, plain walk in the park?

Well, its obvious that irrespective of what you want it to be, life takes its own course. And more often than not its the former - full of twists and turns. And at every step you have to make the all-important 'choice'! Are choices difficult to make? Yes, indeed. I like to think of choices as blind paths - you make one and then go along, come what may! While for some, its a matter of life and death, so much so that they'll spend an enormous amount of time thinking about the various choices, their prospective outcomes, and finally the effect it would have on their lives.

Both forms of decision making are double-edged swords!

If you fall into the trap of going with your gut-feeling everytime and jump into a decision, its quite possible that you overlook certain minute albeit imperative nuances. It might turn out to be a huge headache later. These types are dangerous in work-places, where a decision can make or break your career.

For the latter type, you might end up wasting oodles of time running around in circles without getting anywhere! Depending on the choices, all might seem to be equally good or equally worse, which doesnt help one at all.

Funny part is, you first have to 'decide' what you need to do with a particular set of choices - depending upon the need of the hour - is there a need for a super-quick decision or is there a need for a thoughtful review. I reckon making this decision itself should pose a sizable problem.

All we need is Radio Ga Ga...

Remember the famous song by Queen? Well, if I was a Queen, then I would proclaim the Radio to be Dead!! Such is the state of the channels on the airwaves of Mumbai. Gone are the good old days, when one would start the day with Jaggu & Tarana on Go FM! Now I dont know who to listen to - everyone sounds the same, the topics are not much different, and the songs well.. there's no variety there either!

Its a shame, really! One would think with 7-8 channels doing the rounds, there would be a tough choice to make between them, however, on the contrary, its turning out to be a dull channel switching act whilst each channel follows the same songs hour after hour.

Is Indi-pop dead? I know for sure the desi revolution has killed English songs and bands, since there's hardly any channel (baring VH1) which dares to show Angrezi stuff on TV. And the same theme has followed the Radio too, with the only English songs played on AIR's Rainbow FM and some one odd hour on Radio City. Along with the desi revolution, Radio channels have now become brand ambassadors for Bollywood songs. I've been listening for the past month or so, and none of the channels have played one Indi-pop song.. I dont even remember the artists ;) (of course I cant forget Euphoria!!)

Well, enough said! Let us pay our homage to the Radio which we once adored and which ceases to exist amidst us now!

Letting sleeping dogs lie!

Situation: I'm travelling in our beloved BEST bus on my way to work, last thursday, around 9.30 am. Obviously, being rush hour, there is the usual hustle-bustle. I'm used to dozing off while travelling and today was no different. I was suddenly awoken by a ruckus created by two gentlemen in the seat in front of where I was enjoying my nap. I couldn't follow why the ruckus was created, but the conversation that transpired went like this:

Gentleman1 (seated): Why can't you talk properly? Have you no manners?
Gentleman2 (standing): Sir, I think you are mistaken. All I was saying was please remove your bag from the pathway, so that I can stand properly!
G1 : Arey, but is that the way to speak? Have your parents not taught you any manners? Don't you know how to talk when you come from "outside"?
G2 (visibly flushing!): I'm sorry if I hurt you, but all I was saying was that you remove your bag!

At this point in time I had a rush of blood! Let me explain! G1 in the situation was a Gujarati gentleman, and G2 apparently from the Southern part of India. (I could make out by the accents that both the individuals sported!!) My first reaction was that I wanted to nudge G1 in the back and ask him - 'Excuse me Sir, but what exactly do you mean "outside"??'

I was quite flabbergasted at the question posed by G1. I've stayed outside the country for around a year, but never have been made to feel like an outsider in those countries. Its a different thing that I didn't enjoy the privileges of being a first citizen, but in no way had anyone told me that I was an outsider! And here I am in my own country hearing people call a person from a different state an outsider!! And by what right does a Gujarati guy in Maharashtra call this guy an outsider? Isnt he himself from "outside"?

Mumbai is supposed to be a cosmopolitan city where people from all across the country come to fulfil their dreams. Year after year throngs of people from villages, different states, far away places come to Mumbai to make a living. And year after year this place has welcomed them with open arms (albeit, looking at the population explosion the city is facing, its no longer a pleasant thought!).

Coming back to the topic, I felt like saying those things, but I didnt!! Why? Well, simply put, I didnt want to face the ire of the irate Gujju gentleman, lest he turn his attention to me. And all the while in the bus I was thinking whether I did the right thing. Whether I should have intervened or not? Havent we all become this way? Its not only this simple issue, but havent we become or chosen to become ignorant to graver issues?

DO YOU HEAR...

The wind blows across the earth
Do you hear the whisper sweet
The fire burns in the hearth
Do you hear the silent feet
The water splashes on the shore
Do you hear the hearts that beat

Chorus
Do you hear the unspoken words
Do you hear the unsung tune
Do you hear the beating hearts
Does it remind you of you and me

The raindrops on the window sill
Hearts burning in the midnight glare
The snow falling on the hill
And slowly the passions flare

Chorus --