Happy Holi

Holi kab hai? Kab hai Holi?

LOL! This is the famous dialogue that has made Holi immortal in Indian Screen Entertainment – TV and Cinema. One would find Gabbar Singh always asking this question in Sholay, the biggest blog buster of Indian cinema. Well, I have an answer to him today. Holi aaj hai – today is Holi. Wish you all a very colorful Holi and wish that God makes your days as colorful as you were today, while playing with colors.

Holi was today. And in my native place, it will continue tomorrow too. Today is Dol Purnima there and Holi will be celebrated tomorrow. We Bengalis do not burn the Holika Hut as in North India, but what we do is play with Abeer all day long and put Abeer on Gods’ and elders’ feet and seek their blessings. Also we eat and distribute sweets. Well, nothing happened to me today. All day, somewhere deep in heart, I was waiting for someone to come with Abeer and paint me all Green, Yellow, Blue, Pink, Red and Purple. Hahahaha – a dream, may be. Nothing happened. Nothing happens here – in this big bustling cities. Nothing happened at home too…

Did not get a single drop of purple on my body today. Did not even touch Abeer. And? And Holi is over! There was a time, when I used to pour Abeer on pictures and think that my Abeer has touched the person’s body – now, things are changed. People stay in closest vicinity, but not a drop of color splashes. Nothing happens.

Anyways! Change is life is the only constant thing. Lets talk about variables or differences now.

There are lot of differences between our small Agartala and my big BANGALORE! In Agartala on this day, one would think 17 times before leaving his house. Be it your office hours or you are coming back from office at the end of the day. Whenever you are seen on road on ‘good’ dress, you are gone. You need not search for people who know you to get assaulted, all those who see you in that fashion will just pound on you and send you back home – in purple color! Hahaha! What a sight would it be for your family who might have sent you to office or the market in washed clothing to bring fish! Be it any time of the day or night. Wonderful!

Here? Well, I went out to market today. In the evening though. And was actually thinking, if there would be any gang painting people on Holi. There were none like that. I saw a few boys playing Holi with colors and I was passing them – they never even looked at me! May be because of the dark. Hehe… I laugh! I think of those days back at home and I laughed again. As I went pass the Bangalore Central – I saw nothing new in there. I don’t know if they have decorated the inside for Holi, but from the outside, there was nothing. Not even a small percentage of what they did during Christmas! Well, I don’t know – don’t want to think much too.

Wish you a very happy and colorful Holi once again. May your life be full of colors. God Bless!

First Ever ODI Double Century

Sachin Tendulkar, the small wonder, has done it! He has scored the highest individual score in ODIs. For the first time in the history of the game has anyone scored a double hundred in a 50 over match! This was something long awaited for. This was something that everyone said could be achieved either by Sehwag or Gilchrist. But then, it was achieved only by the master blaster. Who else? Who else could do it? Who else would do it?

In the second match of the ongoing ODI Series against South Africa, Sachin Tendulkar scored an unbeaten 200 in 147 balls. He thrashed the likes of Steyn, Parnell, Langeveldt and Kallis. The first 100 came in just 90 balls whereas the second one came in a staggering 57 balls!!!

Bravo Sachin! You make us proud. Keep going… We all love you :) [24/2/2010]

Six Traits of a Wife

In Indian culture, the sages and learned people of the yesteryears had defined almost everything – from a needle to the sun – everything was assigned a significance and responsibility of its own. And they had huge list of things that that small thing needs to be related to.

I do not like Ekta Kapoor’s Serials (and any daily soap for that matter) but there are things in everything that you can learn from. And when I heard this old sloka used in one of the serials, called Bandini, I was awestruck! I really liked the thought – not because I am a man and I want my wife to be as described in the sloka, but I have seen my mother and other elderly women in my family and I can so much relate this sloka to them – both for and against! LOL…

Anyways, there is lot to learn from the Sloka – for the wives. For any woman, for that matter. Read it:

Karyeshu Dasi

Karaneshu Mantri

Bhojeshu Mata

Shayaneshu Rambha

Roopeshu lakshmi

Kshamayeshu Dharitri

Satkarma Nari, Kuladharma Patni

It means, a wife…

Works like servant

Advises like minister

Feeds like mother

Makes love like nymph

Is as beautiful as Lakshmi and

As forgiving like the earth.

These are the six traits of a good wife who can be an example for everyone. In the process she would make her family proud!

In this world of today, it is very hard to find someone with all the above characters. I can write a whole paragraph on the same, comparing the six traits with my wife, or my mother or my aunt, but I wont go into that details here. Just wanted to share this with you, so that ask yourself, (if you are wife to someone) and see if you are actually having the same traits. I am not concluding anything – I cant. But I wish all women to keep this thought in the back of their mind – always!

BTW, thought of writing the meaning as:

With Wife

          Works like servant

          Advises like minister

          Feeds like mother

          Makes love like nymph

          Is as beautiful as Lakshmi and

         As forgiving like the earth.

End With

LOL… Only people using VB Coding would understand, if I would have written it thus :P

Well, I was waiting for my wife to come back from office and I am still waiting. She is yet to leave from office. And then I thought of writing something – I have not written for a long time. And I wrote a small poem – Valentine in Love. Yes – I am waiting for my Valentine to come back home. Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day and it will be our 4th V’day together. 4th in 12 years of love in 28 years of life – little too less, I know. But think of it – from now on, it will just increase and will keep on increasing!

Saint Valentine’s Day all over the world is celebrated as a day of love. For young lovers around the world, this is like independence day (lol) or may be Christmas or may be Eid! And in our India? We have Pramod Muthalik and a few similar lead astray minds, who have converted this day into a scary day. People are scared to go out on this day – be a married couple or one in love – even a brother thinks twice before picking his sister from school, in fear that these molesters may intervene and assault them on road. How pathetic is that? I remember the case last year – in Mangalore. I saw the scenes on TV how these filthy ‘dead’ people beat those teen girls. I have never seen any girl getting thrashed like that – that too, a gang of those hooligans attacked a handful of girls in a pub. The government did not do anything – nothing that could bring these people on ground and teach them a lesson. Neither the effort from the mass could do anything measurable. The Pink Chaddi Campaign did not help, it seems. This year again, these good for nothing gundas have stood up saying they would boycott the celebration. At times I think who would take care of us? The army is busy standing on the border, shivering in cold nights and waiting for the foreign foes to attack us. What will happen to the enemy we have inside the country? Who will take care of these heartless nincompoops? No, the government will do nothing for us – it has never done, and it will not do anything, apart from saying in a press conference that strict action will be taken, only after there is a massacre – so, wait and let that happen first…

Well, this post is not only anti-Muthalik or his terror group called Sri Ram Sena, I just wanted to write about this thought that came to my mind when I saw a few common men being brave and abuse that fanatic in public. A couple of days ago, while Muthalik was chipped in an interactive session on Valentine’s Day celebrations organized by some Kannada TV channel, a few valiant ‘common men’ took pen ink and blackened his entire face, right beneath the nose of his Sena and police stranded for his security. I am happy that the crowd present there and the policemen did not try to capture any of those brave hearts. I loved his face, for once. And I really appreciate the people who did that – from the bottom of my heart.

Go on people. Go out with your Valentines and prove that love still exists and will continue to exist and will not be deterred by this toads in the well. And I wish to get some severe punishment to these extremists. If we can fight the Maoists and the LTTE so wide and open, we can easily throw these gangsters out of our society. The other groups that I mentioned had a thought in their uprising. That could have been correct too – but I have never read about those philosophies and hence, I am in no position to comment on them. But I know what Sri Ram Sena and Muthalik in Karnataka, Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, VHP all over the country and similar groups in other parts of the country are doing is wrong. Let us come together to fight these too. Why would the government protect them, while the police should protect us from these pests of the society? Let the names ‘Muthalik’, ‘Thakrey’ be an abuse. Let it be a curse and let every mother in India come up and say, ‘I would rather be barren, than having a son like this filthy fellow and all those who support him.’ Only then, when we would resolve our own issues inside our own country we will be able to develop and fight foreign invasions. We need to clean and sterilize our home, before trying to do that to our neighbors.

Phew! Chuk it!

Have a good time people and enjoy life. And yes,

Very Happy Valentine’s Day!!

The Tiger

Tiger Tiger. burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye.
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

These are the lines from the famous poem, The Tiger by William Blake. I heard these lines from my father when I was in my growing years. What a wonderful Poem! At times I feel the poet might have travelled to India and looked closely into the eyes of the Royal Bengal Tiger before penning down the immortal lines. The poem, no doubt will remain immortal; but will the subject be? If we do not care and do not take steps right now, the subject of the poem, the tiger will not remain with us for long. India is one of the countries of the world which has shown drastic and rather alarming fall in the population of tigers over the last few decades.

The country started the last century with a count of over 40,000 tigers spread all over. Now, after a hundred years, as human population rose in multiples extensively, the population of tigers has fallen down and the count as of today is mere 1411 – a shocking number! And I am afraid that the tiger populace may be falling further as I am writing this.

It is time that we stand up to the cause of saving the tiger – our national animal. Yes! Its time we do something. It is not only the duty of the government or the NGOs working towards establishment and sustentation of a poacher free country to bring back the tiger population. It is our job too – the mass; the common man; you and I can make a difference. If we realize the loss we will incur by expunge of tigers from our country and if we want to prevent that from happening, we need to take the oath ourselves, stand up and contribute. This is the time when we are needed and this is the time we can show that we care.

The situation is same outside India too and the world is feeling the need to act together and save the species. Different initiatives are on all over the world to save the tiger. India is fighting back too. It is just that we need to plunge into the movement and save our tigers ourselves, before they too, go extinct. The last of the Bali tigers was killed in 1937. The Caspian tiger was declared extinct after 1950. Javan tigers were not seen after 1972. The South China tiger is almost extinct now. The Royal Bengal Tiger, would soon also be extinct, if the poachers of Sundarban are not stopped. A major part of Sundarban has now been converted for human dwelling, decreasing the tiger habitat in turn.

The two major reasons for depletion in the tiger numbers are poaching and loss of natural habitat. With increasing human population and in a quest for more and more living area, we are converting natural tiger habitats to human residences – knowingly or unknowingly. Here is the need to spread the thought and educate the people who live in and around the natural reserves for tigers about the necessity. Cutting down of trees for paper and furniture and molesting the forest environment bringing up sky-scrapers also cause diminution of natural habitat of tigers (and for any wild animal for that matter) in turn provoking more and more reduction in the overall population.

Tigers are poached and killed for different parts of their body. It is illegal to use animal fur or any other part of animal bodies in many countries around the world. However, the demand for the same in the black market is high. Different parts of tiger body, ranging from the corpus, skin and nails to their teeth are in high demand in the illegal poacher market where these items are sold for millions of bucks. This is the reason, poachers and dacoits tend to kill tigers and get some easy money in return – the irreversible extinction of the animal from the planet is not what they would cry or mere think twice for.

This has to STOP!

And this has to stop immediately. The government has been trying hard to save the tiger but as we can see around us, it is not enough. We need to stand by the organizations that are working day and night towards saving the tigers and other near-extinct animals of the world and our countries. We have taken much from the wild and it is time we should return a bit back to them. If not, it will not be surprising if our children read William Blake and ask us what he was talking about. We only see a Dodo in clippings of Ice-Age; we only see a Kiwi on cover of shoe polish. Let this not be the only destination of our beloved, respected and feared tigers. Let’s hold hands and let’s stand up. We can make a difference and stop the downfall of tiger dynasty only if we stand together. Let’s roar – let the spirit be heard – let the tiger live for ages to come! Let us take a pledge and work towards saving the tiger – our national animal!

As Bapu (M. K. Gandhi) said, “Be the Change you want you see (in others).”

Here are some links, if you want to browse through and know more about tiger and various activities going on around us to save our tigers.

• The Tiger - a poem by William Blake
  
• Tiger Reserves in India
• SaveOurTigers – an initiative by Aircel, India
• WWF India
• ProjectTiger.nic.in
• IndianTiger.Org

The above list is not exhaustive; but sadly, the tiger population may exhaust in no time, if we do not SAVE the TIGER NOW!

A head full of Qs

Everyone in this world has something to tell about. I was just going through the blog-roll I follow and it was really weird and bizarre to read the titles of the recent posts of each blog, in sequence. There were so many varied topics that my blog-mates have written on. Someone wrote a forwarded joke; one of them wrote about Indians in Australia; someone else wrote on Shiv Sena and Shahrukh Khan while some wrote poems or stories from the deepest part of their hearts and posted in their own blogs. So many things people were thinking about in the last couple of days and have depicted their thoughts in their blogs. Its really eerie when you go through the blog rolls or browse through various different kinds of blogs. Today was such a day for me.

There are so many more things that I think that need to be pointed out. Who will write about all those? Not one man can do that. There should be many. Many can do that but only an organized group of such people will be able to write about all that needs to be written about. That group of people who write about various things going around the world in an organized way and present them to the mass to read or understand/know is called the media. The media (be it newspaper or news channel) is supposed to bring us the news – as it is and as it should be presented for a better and elaborate understanding. But are they doing that? I am not sure. When I see Pranoy Roy and Barkha Dutt and their colleagues perspiring in search of news I tend to believe what they tell me. When I see the death toll after a recent quack being shown in one channel as 500 and in another as 250, I still try to tell myself that it can be anywhere between 300 to 400 and still believe what I see. Well, many of us do the same. But now, Ram Gopal Varma has released Rann – the war against the media where they show how they modify, amend and alter news and present in a way that will benefit these channels the most. I am yet to see the movie, but want to watch it soon.

The thought just came to my mind, while going through the blog roll. The newspapers in olden days used to be the same. With variety of news being printed and published on paper where you can just browse through and get to know what is happening around you. It would often include poems and jokes also and some advertisements, that we see on most blogs too. Everything was there in a paper – but somehow, people are losing interest on reading papers these days. There are so many gadgets and e-papers available around you that you need not read it at all. I miss those times.

But then again, Abhishek Bachhan and his Idea group will say that we should restrict usage of paper to save trees and use mobiles and these gadgets more. Too many things to tackle! Too many things to rattle your thoughts! So much happening in the world, and we still need to find out some time for House Loan, ECS, buying Fish from the distant shop, the ever increasing belly, the job and its new goals and learning, the blog-mates who would again ask you why you don’t write, and friends calling and asking why you don’t call them! Well, I’m blessed that my relatives do not call me at all – and do not bother me with these unnecessary questions. In a way, I feel like I’m mapped one to one (me and my wife) and hence, less pressure! (LOL) This is life – this is the pressure of it. I wonder, how my father (or many other fathers in the world) take this pressure each day for long decades!

Don’t laugh mate. I know I did not make much sense on this post, but this is something I was thinking all night yesterday, when I came from office, cooked something, ate, watched Dulip Trophy Final highlights and news channels during breaks and woke up this morning and browsed through the blog-roll. Its weird, I know. Let it be! Sometime, I intend to find answers; but for now, I am filling my head with all questions and I like it. If there are no questions that I search an answer for, then there is nothing much left in life to seek. Well, will try to answer one after the other soon. And that would be more to me!

Thanks for reading. Have a good time!