The Last Lap !!!!!

"Come On, You're almost there........
Don't let go of it now........
You've worked so hard for this........
There is no one else who can do it.......
. You are meant for this.......
. Just push a little harder and the victory is yours........"

Welcome to the Last Lap!! After every possible endeavor has been done, after every stone has been turned, after every drop of sweat has been profusely spent and after a roller coaster ride of a big adrenaline rush- comes the last lap. There are so many sports where this last stage differentiates between "WHO IS" and WHO COULD'VE BEEN" .This difference, which is decided in split seconds at times, marks a clear distinction between the champion who takes it all and the runner up whose dead heat loss would haunt as a nightmare in the future. It is the stage that defines a gamut of traits for the road map of success immaterial of the goal one has chosen to pursue. This stage demands gruelling physical balnce and tremendous mental calmness, it demands proactive motivation and the optimism to be a finisher and not a choker. It demands self belief that can bog down the weight of expectations carried on the shoulders and it demands the mental toughness to still focus on the target inspite of all these things running in one's head to accomplish VICTORY. After all, who wont want to end up being the one to open the champagne's cork as a sign of pride and a symbol of supremacy? The winner gets the gold, everyone else simply live with the consolation.

The likes of Michael Schumacher, Lance Armstrong, Usain Bolt, Mohammad Ali, Sachin Tendulkar, Zinedine Zidane have been the legends who've faced the music of this gruelling stage for many years and they not only learnt to live with it, they made it dance to their own tunes. All these consummate legends share the trait of speed, agility, focus, diligence, power, toughness and dogged determination to make it through the last lap of their battle and emerge as victorious Spartans. Their examples reflect that one needs to be equipped with these essential traits to be the last man standing. But what if you don't have any of these traits and you're suffering from many ailments- mentally and physically and are left with no purpose in life. Even the other end of the victory post looks nebulous and you aren't even sure whether the destination is a sign of victory or defeat.

Welcome to the Last Lap!! Forget speed, forget proactive motivation, forget optimism, forget toughness and forget focus. Here you're now in the last lap of the circle of life. The last lap of a person's life is the absolute opposite of what a sport's last lap represents. After embarking a very long journey with myriad ups and downs,content or discontent, fulfillment or regret, laurels or ignominies, comfort or struggle, a person is left with the memories that provide him/her a window of retrospect to look back at the time spent. Its not that anything would be changed on looking back at the road travelled so far, but maybe it is the platform to move away from what might have been the cause of all problems- DENIAL!! Guilt and redemption are positive traits because they make a person move a step away from DENIAL and towards ACCEPTANCE.









Life is a great leveller and the best testimony to this facet comes in the dusk of life. Be it a hedonist who relished the cornucopian luxuries or a mendicant who always lived in a hand to mouth state in life, the last lap is a struggle for both.Just put yourself in the shoes of an 80 year old person who has lived a satisfactory life and has performed all the responsibilities expected by the society and commands the respect of the people who know him. But that was in the past, what next? Is comfort a sufficient substitute for purpose? Is existence good enough to make us forget about life? Imagine the struggle each day presents where one really has little to contribute or convey. What exacerbates the situation is the prevalence of various ailments. The lack of pupose is worsened by the prevalence of various problems such as vision or hearing impairment, dementia and a big list that i really dont want to get into. Picking only the normal vision and hearing impairments, imagine how difficult can life get when communication becomes difficult. Imagine the jolt to a person whose opinion has been sought after all through the life and now the person can't even be part of a normal conversation. Imagine looking around all day but getting nothing more than a hazy picture of what is around. Immobility, dependence and growing altercation with the family(just to fight with one's own frustration) are repercussions whose thought itself is pretty depressing. A person's prowess rises and sets like the sun and the dusk is really a difficult time to deal with even though the twilight may give sporadic reasons to celebrate.



This is the stage of life when a person transforms from a reader of spirituality to its aficionado. Maybe the process is a bit late in the day, but the little drops of tranquility that thinking about God, morals and virtues give them is the perfect way to sprinkle purpose. This is the stage where the grandchildren become their best friends and a small session of talk or a little laugh with them becomes the purpose to spend the remaining days. They look forward to these sessions and it is the time that makes them forget everything else.








This is the time when the mind transcends and there is an uncanny trance in their minds which is inscrutable for others. This last lap is diametrically opposite to the last lap we talked about earlier as here even the definition of victory isn't known. It might be a silent death for some without being any trouble to anyone, it may be trying to fulfill that one last wish that has been impending for long- the bucket list that was long forgotten. What lies beyond the final line is still an enigma for everyone, but maybe unraveling this mystery is what provides the long missing purpose in their lives.

Now I'm not here to question or empathize or educate anyone to work for ameliorating their plight. I'm no pedant. It is a rambling that came to my mind and I decided to put it in words. I don't expect anything out of others and I wont ask anyone to do anything. A sense has been gifted to everyone which works and if listened to properly, it directs in the right path. The last lap is an inevitable process of life and has to be dealt with. Change is a nature of life and one generation has to make way for the next one and if this is the way chosen for it, then let it be. Maybe a smile next time you see an old person might be the trick. After all, even this small gesture can give them a purpose to move on.

But there is one common aspect in both the last laps i mentioned- there is a persistent struggle and at the end of the day everyone does cross the finishing line. There is a similar perseverance and there is a similar patience. The victory doesn't matter in the latter case. A feeling of ACCEPTANCE is the perfect denouement to the scheme of things.


Anyhow is there still a last man standing????

Singing In The Rain

An overcast sky gives people a perfect opportunity to roll up their sleeves and participate in a fantastic prediction game called -RAIN OR NO RAIN!!! Maybe a game not identified by people across the world but we in India just cannot resist the temptation to flaunt our expert opinion and astute acumen in predicting whether the overcast sky would eventually lead to precipitation of water or not. We seem to've an unbreakable bond with the rains. Many of us wait for the monsoon season and are joyous at its arrival. The farmers are happy as this is the Guardian Angel that make sure how well they are going to fare in the coming year. The rain isn't a mode of enjoyment for them, but a necessity.

The urban population's connect with the rain is not only on account of the necessity factor. Of course rains help in filling the water bodies that ensure the supply of our basic amenity of water consumption and blah blah blah blah... but i don't want to talk about the cliche serious stuff associated with rains. I mean come on guys, rains are supposedly a fun time right?? They evoke such a wide spectrum of emotions in people. There is such a wonderful essence in the air that fills the heart with unparalleled invigoration. Just recall the times back in school when it rained really heavily, you still were compelled to go to school and on going there you find out that the school has declared a holiday due to the heavy downpour. Visualize the happiness that your face exuded, wasn't there sheer ecstasy and a silent hope that it should rain like this each day so that you can come back home dancing?









Maybe the excitement wasn't because of the holiday, but the sheer unanticipated declaration made it super fun for us. I still cant stop smiling recalling the fact that i used to come back home and enunciate the entire course of events to my mother from the entrance of the home only. Mothers being the sweethearts that they are, not only made sure that she listened with intent the fable of her little boy as if he had just won a battle against dragons, but also simultaneously took a towel to make sure that the drenched hair is dried .(Now let me clarify here- we left home with the entire raincoat, but putting up that cap of the raincoat on the head??? No way.. that is just one of the step cousin sisters of the all so feminine scarf. Call it male ego, but i always hated to sport that and still swoop out of the home stealthily without it. I even hate that trouser of the raincoat. Its like posing like a pseudo stripper.) Watching the rain fall outside,sipping a cup of coffee along right now transports me back in time to those wonderful times.


When you peep out of the window to see the downpour it just gives such a calming effect. It gives an avenue to do so many things. You can call up a friend for a chitchat, you can sit with your family and fill the void of a long impending talk, go for a long drive, simply go out in the rain and drench yourself to take every worry out of the system,you can listen to some favorite tracks of yours and let the music amalgamate with the music of the rain to create a majestic effect, you can simply feast over pakoras, samosas or bhutta to add on to the spice of the ambience,you can try to imagine a scenario as to how wonderful it'd have been if you had a girlfriend to coochy coo with in the romantic ambience[:P], and if you already have one you can give a call to your love and sing her a romantic song and reiterate how beautiful she might look with her wet hair in the rain [:P]. The others can play a game of football or cricket with friends and come back home all muddy or simply sit quietly with a coffee mug in the hand and enjoy the rain. Just simply allow the rain to be the nexus between you and a long impending thing( it can simply be being with yourself). Now every person's association with the rains can be different and I'm sure everyone has an interesting story associated with it.


Even though i do crib sometimes when it rains on my way to some work and when it douses me completely(slight side effect of a two wheeler) but I have to admit that i love it thoroughly . If I'm coming back home from some place and then if its raining then mostly i avoid the raincoat much to the chagrin of the family members. I've been lambasted a lot over it, but I just cant let go of this habit. I mean how can i miss the fun of driving in the rain, singing songs(sometimes even to the top of my voice) while driving and enjoy my few moments without the cellphone(somehow it takes the rain to keep the phone away from me, need to get rid of this addiction). So even though the repercussions are well known, i still fancy soaking myself head to toe than just being a pseudo stripper covered head to toe who dries the raincoat after coming back home and neatly folds it after that to prepare it to fight against the next rainy escapade. Sorry just not me!!!

Even when its not the monsoon season and there is an unanticipated downpour you just feel like leaving everything aside and go about enjoying it. Your age is absolutely immaterial for you to relish this fantastic experience. You can be a child, no matter how old you are and allow the innocence to take over your personality for once when the rain gods smile.







Maybe it is the chance to remind you of going back to the basic,elementary style of return to simplicity. As it is very well said that " It is so simple to be happy, but it is so difficult to be simple" Here you get an opportunity to revisit both.

So next time when it rains- look at the spectacle, appreciate its beauty, understand its calmness, hum its symphony, feel its fragrance and sip a cup of coffee to capture a perfect moment. Go on ladies and gentleman, look into the sky and see what's coming for you. There is certainly a ray of hope and a drop of happiness. Both are priceless!!!

Heil the Maverick !!!

"Is brahmaand ka ek ansh hai ye sansaar ye dharati ye dhara ye prithvi.
Isamein jivankarta paalankarta aur sangharkarta ko bhagvan ishwar aur parmaatma ya vishwatma kehate hain.
Par hamaari ye kahani us ishwar ya bhagvaan ki nahi is vishwa mein aayi huyi un aatmayon ki hai jo parmaatma ka ek ansh hain.
Aur wo ansh jivaatma ka roop lekar dharati par aata hai to manushya kehalaata hain."


But is it a Manushya whom we're talking about here??? Lets evaluate - He's the only guy i've met in person who can lose weight drastically and the unceasing process has become a liability now than an asset making him the perfect choice to play Christian Bale's part in hindi version of "The Machinist." He is one of the rarest species on this planet who doesnt like chocolates.





He is a phenomenal blabbering machine who can give Usain Bolt, Schumi or Lance Armstrong a run for their money in terms of speed, u just need to raise a controversial toast and then sit back and enjoy the show for the guy would take the conversation( maybe even a monologue) to a different terrain.






He has watched movies- left, right and centre and the plight now is that the entire world industry is finding it difficult to keep up pace with this consumer's requirements. He can learn the uncanniest of dialogues in movies and can use them in the most wierdest of situations to exude awe(tho disgust at times :P :D) amongst his listeners.There have been analogies in real life as well based on the reel life Maverick -Iceman, Vegetta- Kakarott and The Great Danton- The Professor to identify and appreciate not only his love for the movies, but the sheer living of onscreen feasts.


He enjoys quite a unique style of humour( Read:- Not funny :P) that pretty much leaves him in splits with the others left ruminating over how to get over it.







He is outrageously in love with the dubbed versions of South Indian Cinema with a special penchant for telugu cinema's demi gods Mega Star Chiranjeevi and Power Star Pawan Kalyan( pronounced as Pawn kalyan by this gentleman). He will repeat those stupid cheesy dubbed lines and go gaga for hours over how macho these action scenes are. In short his taste in movies covers the entire gamut from the ubiquitously renowned classics to the full-on mass appeal masala potboilers. Off late , the love for these masala movies has added a new dimension with mad recitation of the most preposterous( yet amazingly melodious) movie songs, a trait we've fallen prey to and even the streets of nagpur witnessed it when they were sung in loud cacophony by the two of us.

A person who does believe that Hitler was correct in many of his actions and also propogates him; his modern day heroes also include the likes of Nadal and Ganguly( ahem ahem.. for the latter). We seem to be always supporting the different guys, maybe reflective more of the characteristic traits. He loves the flamboyant and rebellious Nadal, Ganguly whereas my support lies with the more consummate artists Federer and Dravid. This has led to myriad discussions, criticisms and banter amongst us, of course this is just one of the issues amongst many.We have debated and literally fought over almost every issue on the planet and conclusive or inconclusive, this has led to fabulous value addition in ideas. One of the issues where we do mellow down is the entire issue of "Mythilogy and Idol Worship" !!!! That eases off the animosity of the conversation and brings a more subtle approach.

So ladies and Gentleman, he's a maverick to the core- the one who hates to follow the tested paths and wants to tread into alien territories( dont get into why, what, how). Makes tonnes of friends, keeps them, pampers them(girls take notice). He's quite a gentleman with the ladies and I've been lambasted by a common friend to learn this trait.




He's quite a charmer with the fairer sex and his boyish persona is quite popular amongst them and this has earned him quite a few admirers.





There have been many instances where he led from the front and did make an exciting journey. The Times CEB venture, his idea of the GD club, his fantastic service for FFC are just a few of the illustrations out of a list of many where this guy has never shied away from doing something different. As it is famously said that leadership qualities cant be inculcated but are present in you or not- this guy surely does have oodles of that. Confidence, spontaneity, powerhouse dynamism, bohemia are just few of the characteristic traits that define him. I see more paraphernalia being added in the future that would make the arsenel more ready to fight like a spartan against the mightiest of oppositions.

By the way he's very "helpful" as a person, he has been really helping to all of us since long. We all appreciate the fact as to how much helpful he has been. though he modestly refuses to acknowledge it, i use this platform to say this.. if there is just one word that defines Karan the person, it is - "HELPFUL". In the past four years, being friends wit him has also made me acquainted to one of the universal truths of life that -"Karan is always right". Its like a gospel that all of you must remember if you interact with him. No matter what the topic is, no matter how much you know about it, no matter if every other aspect condradicts this dictum, just remember this doctrine- 'Karan is always right". These are pearls of wisdom ladies and gentlemen, if you follow it, the chances of you getting successful exponentially rise.

A person who doesnt try to be moderate in his opinion about issues, a trait aptly reflected in his writing style. His blog www.maverick-kj.blogspot.com comes up with pertinent and thought provoking articles that do leave you with things to contemplate over for sure. It is ostensible in there that he not only thinks when he writes, he also feels for the issues. He believes in having this no holds bar thing in expression style and moderation is a sin for him.

Now coming to our friendship, its been quite a story. We are two different personalities altogether, sharing very limited characteristic traits(maybe none). We hardly talked in the first year of college and it actually took a group discussion club to bridge in the gap for madness to follow. Since then, there has been no looking back. Classic case of respecting the differences and appreciation of talent has been one of the cornerstones. Have been teams in various competitions and to good effect as well . THe KJ's have been quite an eventful duo so far.

Since the gentleman for whom this post is dedicated hates to read long blog entries, so I'd rather cut it short. On this day of his birthday in this very crucial year of life, I wish him the best of success. He dreams big, like the Karan Johar larger than life movies without throwing out RGV's realistic approach out of the window. That is a dynamite combo and m sure it'd take him places.




The world awaits to be conquered. This epitome of Corporate Social Professional would be a much sought after people in the times to come. Wishing you a gr8 life ahead. Let's all get together in wishing Maverick the best in life - Happy Birthday Pal !!!!

Utopia Or Dystopia?? Oh Darling, Yeh Hai India !!!

The knowledge wave as described by Alvin Toffler is a testimony to the burgeoning information and intelligence around us. But it has its by product in the form of people having an opinion about everything(which i assume is their prerogative in a way). So we have the intelligentsia and the esoteric, always ready to pass critique on a gamut of issues, the most favorite of which is - Our country is heading towards murky waters. Now this intelligentsia is a smorgasbord of academicians,experts of varied professions; people who've been there and done that.I wonder that does experience breed pessimism and make people naysayer or is it just that the reality check has taught them to play it safe??Everyone's heart suggests that life is meant to be good to them, maybe their experience suggested otherwise.


Maybe this is the difference in the way a 21 yr old thinks and a person who has seen more of this world thinks.No doubt we have impending impediments to deal with, but the 21 yr old in me still sees light on the other side of the tunnel.

What we're talking about is neither Utopia nor Dystopia(if they can ever exist that is); what we talk about is India. "Koi desh perfect nahi hota, use perfect banaana padtaa hai."

The gravity doesnt lie in where we stand right now, but instead in where we're heading.I see us heading in the right direction, though the peregrination is slow.We've travelled from being called the land of snake charmers and rope tricks to being described as the digital housekeepers of the world(Still A parochial definition ).



We provide a service, the world wants what we have and they want the best. We're in business together,so lets stop getting judgemental about it. The world has become an inextricable knot where interdependence is indispensible.we are no more the electrons revolving around, instead we're part of the nucleus oozing out positive charge.


We're no more lackadaisical avoiding work surreptitiously wearing the cloak of socialism.The Graffiti has spelt the need of the hour- U want to subsist,then U got to deliver. THe change is conspicuous and the world is taking notice. Never before have Indian Professionals been so good at multitasking and never before have we seen the number of employment generators ameliorating at this rate( Read Rashmi bansal's "stay Hungry Stay Foolish"). I think we're heading towards the right balance of the bracket of people where they know what they want and since they are the prime movers of any society, i wont even bother about the nebulous ones.

We question the Govt's role in their policies. But when our Finance Minister gives a budget favoring the aam aadmi, the corporate half cries out loud for lack of reforms and the same happens vice versa when it is pro industry. I'd not like to blame the Government, if we ourselves are so manipulative(Jugaadu)that we find novel ways of mending the laws.
So if the govt. gives 50% grant to infrastructural projects concatenated by 20% by state govt., my city's municipal corporation fails to raise even 30% of the amount and the entire project of Urban Development is scrapped. Why should i blame the Govt. for that??


Our condition is not as bad as Gotham for something elemental to come up and rescue us;what we need is a cabal of people like Michael Mukherjee(Yuva) or Mohan Bhargava(Swades) to take up the mantle and drive the change. We've gentlemen like Arvind Kejriwal and Anand Kumar, seeing whom i dont consider my optimism as fatuous. Never before have i seen non-profit seeking ngo's in such a large number to serve for a purpose.The wheel is rolling for sure.

But like i mentioned,We're no Utopia.We still have people fighting to get their basic rights- a woman fighting for dignity after opting for a divorce,homosexuals fighting for dignity after the law against them has been revoked. For them jurisdication is just a part of the entire panorama; its the attitude of the ones around, that'd give them the confidence of being egalitarian.


We've the problem of the original termite of any system, THE MIDDLE MAN. This bridge between the Govt and the common man has myriad chinks and hence when funds want to cross this bridge, they succumb to the chinks falling straight into the ravine of Middle man's pockets.





This is precisely why i wont compare us to Japan or Germany who made progress like a juggernaut after being annihilated so brutally. Corruption persists there as well, the only difference is people there who ask for bribes do the needful after that. But we being what we are, we take bribes and still won't work.Proud to be a democracy!!!!



But i still see optimism at the end of the tunnel,i still envisage a new dawn at the horizon.I see the burgeoning Purchasing Power Parity of the middle class; who likes to spend the weekend in a mall,watch movie in a multiplex and enjoy a meal at a
fancy restaurant. This is a reflection that something positive has struck this land. I see class consciousness as a very positive facet which i believe would promote Darwin's postulates. We may still be hypocrites on many aspects:we still have inequality, we still have people below BPL starving to death, we still have farmers committing suicides,we still have domestic violence; but it was never prognosticated that the change would be made overnight, it was never prophesized that i'd wake up from a dream and i'd see that in tangibility. Reforms take time, they need dynamism, they need unity, they need cognizance.





But Maybe this is the difference in the way a 21 yr old thinks and a person who has seen more of this world thinks. I like to see the light at the end of the tunnel ,but the one who got a reality check would simply say " Goddamn!!! u first need to get out of the quagmire u're in,to reach there."

Maybe Syncretism of these ideas is the solution. Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what u're gonna get.The anomaly exists, but at the end of it all if you've earned it, u're going to savor the entire box of chocolates.

Love Don't Cost A Thing

The chartbuster JLo song of the same title is certainly an oxymoron. Now i'm neither a love guru or an economist to be pedantic about either of the concepts - love and cost. And neither have i been there or done that to share a page out of my love life. But an apt functionality of my senses is a potent enough paraphernalia for me to have an opinion on this issue; lest not judgemental.

Love is one of the most overused yet one of the least understood concepts we come across. It makes an interesting discussion amongst all circles: age, sex, intelligence - no holds bar. Questions like what,why, how are often discussed; of course with the added punch of if's, but's, whether's, hence's and so's. People love to debate on it and since its not rocket science ( tho maybe a deeper quagmire), everyone has an opinion about it.

Now, does love really not cost a thing???

TAKE 1- Long lost are the days when a guy used to woo his lady by showing her the mirage of a dream castle and an assurance to bring down stars from the sky(cant believe the lady used to fall for it, but it didnt cost the guy anything). THey used to sit in some secluded corner in the soothing shade of a tree evading the scorching sun;with hawkers intermittently perturbing them with their unique marketing skills of selling chana Chor garam or ice candy (Poor guy has to buy one, maybe not out of concern for the lady;but to shoo away this watchdog).





By the way, we still have these hangout spots where couples coochy coo and the witnesses of their oozing affection frown. These lovers provide the best source of entertainment to the pedestrian miscreants, who've nothing better to do than tease them.Maybe not being the one with the lady, burns them up, and vengeance bursts out.

TAKE 2- Welcome to the new age, post liberalization youngistan which finds the former way of expressing love as earthbound. Opening up the economy has opened them up to an all new avenue to express love- commonly referred to as the DATING culture( "Seeing each other", "going out" are synonyms of the same phenomenon). The Gen X and now the Gen Y believe they are more pragmatic with relationships, since they give it more time before they could sing " Janam Janam ka Saath hai, Humara Tumhara, Humaara Tumhaara". Or instead it is "Tujhme rab dikhta hai" that goes better with the Youngistani love birds.

But, now this LOVE (if one can refer to it that ways) does cost a thing. Today's ladies would either kill or dump the guy, if he calls her to meet in an isolated corner of a garden to talk about how they are meant for one another in all their next lives ( rightly so i guess, even the sound of it is gross).
So, the dating joints have shifted from roadside lakeviews and parks to fancy restaurants, coffee shops,discs or lounges. Now here, there are two classifications-CHIVALRY and PRAGMATISM. The former category is the one where the guy is always expected to pay for the lady (STRIKE 1). It becomes a non negotiable agreement- THE GUY MUST PAY. And adding insult to injury is the the girl's PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS (SIZE 0 to be precise) which makes her order the whole caboodle, but she leaves most of it untouched. And not only is she cautious about her own figure,but she wants the guy to be meticulous about his physique as well; thus preventing him from hogging like a guzzler.

Now the PRAGMATICS- they pay for themselves, they make sure they order sensibly and finish it and thankfully here the girl'S obsession is in bearable limits. The gospel is "Khao or khane do: the central idea is to have a good time". But still, here as well, the moolah is the cynosure and does creep in as a major factor(thankfully the burden is shared).

The favorite kid of new age india- mobile phones are next in line. Now, people who are seeing each other, have found the perfect companion in this gadget to keep them connected 24*7. Be it In college, on their vehicles, in the bathroom, in the bedrooms(playing with the pillow), standing on the porch, walking on the terrace, climbing up the stairs, climbing down the stairs or while taking food (before swallowing, while swallowing and after swallowing), the love birds just cant have enough of each other. How much closer does it bring them is debatable, but it certainly brings the telecom companies closer to whopping moolah(Fancy Airtel crossing 100 million customer base;major chunk being youngsters). Feeling the ethical responsibility of being the facilitators of the conversations(balderdash actually !!!), these companies keep coming up with offers to lure the young minds and to keep the cash bells ringing for themselves. Now, here the love does cost them a hefty sum if not whopping (STRIKE-2) and of course the bible of love says- getting regular topups done for each other is an integral part of a strong relationship.





The elder sister of mobile revolution, INTERNET- is another avenue to achieve the same. Now, it isn't as brutal as the former because it comes under the cloak of the so called "Internet-Is-So-imporant-for-the-career" psyche and hence cushions the blow. But the social networking sites and the chatting IM's do cost a chunk of the time if not money; the height of preposterous activity being chatting and talking with the same person simultaneously.



The next in the list is -fuel(STRIKE-3). Now, for this there is no count at all. Meeting at diffent joints, taking her for a ride,taking her for shopping, taking her to a movie(Chivalrous- be ready to pay for the ticket as well), going 10 times around the girl's house are paragons of how stealethly love empties the pockets and one even loses count of it.

Moving on, we've the cornerstone and a prerequisite of any relationship- GIFTS(STRIKE-4). We've birthdays, first meeting anniversary (monthly that is),first date gift, first date anninversary gift,first movie anniversary gift, first kiss anniversary gift;the list is more than the count of your hair. Why i adore the Pragmatics is because they dont indulge in this futile ostantatious flaunting, which is supposedly an avenue to reiterate your belief in the relationship (GROW UP!!!!!).




Now comes the icing on the cake- the situation when the partner gets angry and stops talking (STRIKE-1,2,3,4 CONGLOMERATED).You're supposed to do all the above mentioned things to woo your partner, to make her take a way back into love and the expenses shoot up more than when the sensex hits the upper circuit. Like an old classic hindi song of the Amitabh starrer 'majboor' puts it - "Roothe Rab Ko manaana aasaan hai, roothe yaar ko manaana mushkil hai."

Now, the pragmatics being the sensible beings,are intelligent enough to find a way out of all the situations mentioned , so that its not only one out of them to bear the brunt. They are practical enough of not getting grandiloquent in the expenditure.Its the chivalrous group that suffers big time(unless the guy's dad is a multi millionaire). But doesn't it reflect a very sorry state that love somehow never stays the nub of the relationship and materialism takes over??

I always had a question lingering in my mind and there hasn't been a rational reasoning to quell my curiosity. Is there even one logical reason as to why the guy should pay mostly if he himself is dependent on his parents and takes money from them for varied reasons??

Now, i'm not against the concept of dating.I agree that ladies are Archangels who deserve all the mollycoddling, but when its done at the expense of not one's own hard earned money but that of one's parents', that's when i have an issue with it. And its the responsibility of both people involved, to take a cue from the Pragmatics. They need to understand that once they're in a position to be someone on their own, that's when the romantics can kick out the economics out of the window.

The patrons of love, who claim its only the other person's demeanor and assiduous deportment which matters to them, i ask the question that why then do we fall in love with equals or the more well off ones?? Why doesnt a guy or a girl who is mediocre in the basic parameters of the assessment we've inculcated, get a chance to portray his/her demeanor, his/her love?? how often do we care to even give a chance to take them into reckoning?? How often do we care to find his/her nature first and leave aside the conspicuously alluring facets??

I see we mostly ignore it. Lets face it, love is conditional (The Unconditional element sounds good only in silver jubilee blockbusters-but there also the hero falls in love with the leading lady only, never even bothers to find out that her friend may be a better person). We all are that ways, and i'm not asking one to change. Its perfectly acceptable that we all want the best for ourselves: the respective Greek Goddesses and Prince Charmings,we all want stability. But we refuse to accept it. We need to accept that here as well love comes at a cost; at an expense: the expense of a condition and hence is not as pristine as it is made out to be. So, let us be honest with ourselves for once and accept that we're proponents of conditional love. It is high time for us to face reality and stop propagating the spurious theory that "LOVE DONT COST A THING".

NOTE :- The grammatically correct usage is "Love doesn't" and not "Love don't". The usage here is just to correlate with the song. The author wont entertain allegations of misdirection [:P]

QUEUE SERA SERA

I read an interesting quote sometime back which said "An Englishman, even if he is alone,forms an orderly queue of one". The quote though sarcastic, took me in a pensive mood to ruminate over the phenomenon of queues. Indians have an unbreakable nexus with queues, and not only have they learnt to live with it, but have found out ways to mitigate the pain of the stultifying process of waiting in a queue.

To be honest, its with the advent of education only that this QUEUE-LOROFORM is sprayed on us. I can still recall the sound of my teacher shouting at the top of her voice- "All the students go to the assembly in a straight line", " Hey you, walk properly in a queue", " Dont you have any discipline that you're walking waywardly??", and of course my personal favorite: The gospel of most teaching manuals- "Keep silence when you walk in a line". Oh God!! now that's callous. Its not an exaggeration but place yourself in the shoes of a young toddler of today; a toddler who's already engrossed in unravelling the mysteries of his/her lost teeth, who carries a bag that's double his/her own size,who cant figure out whether his/her english teacher is worse than the hindi one or is it the maths teacher who beats them hands down, who already has the onerous task of becoming a Tendulkar, Abdul Kalam and SRK(mind u all of them and not just one of them) in the future, who faces the diurnal conundrum of whether to resort to pokemon on tv or CounterStrike on the PC once back home after a long day in school, who has to settle for a mediocre kurkure packet when he/she is adamant to eat out at the new pizza outlet around the corner, who has to not only remember the latest chartbusters by heart but also maintain a staunch general awareness aptitude by reminiscing the show timings of Cartoon network,pogo, hungama, disney and god knows how many channels. Now isn't it unfair to expect from a little child, who's already preoccupied with so many grave obligations and has so much to discuss, to keep quiet in a queue and also to make sure that the movements are minimal. My sympathies to them. Wish this big bad world could understand their point of view for once.

So we become part of the queue movement since we learn to stand on our feet and the instances with the queues start queuing up. What starts as a discipline developing excercise, becomes an inevitable humdrum in our lives. For me, queues are synonymous to just one thing- a saturnine period of wait which just goes on and on and on.Its the same as how the long lost lovers in our hindi potboilers put it "Ek Ek pal sadiyon ki tarah lagta hai". Sorry to steal the thunder away from one of the most sought after lines of love birds, but it describes my predicament perfectly.

And the situation exacerbates for a lackadaisical ruminating person like me ( Ah!! forget the euphemism- i mean a lazy bum like me) who gets impatient on seeing a queue and the pain grows in direct proportion to the length of the queue. But as they say " The more one whines, the more ill luck shines". I've been part of this excruciating process quite a few times of late. But this is not about me only,i shouldn't be parochial.I'll try to give a general perception and will try hard not to let my personal grudge intervene(tho i may fail sporadically). people start the quest of queues right from the time of getting admission in a school, then to fill the fees, to be part of some fancy children's club because the neighbour's kid is part of it as well, then in college for every x, y and z reason. But the real winner are queues to get some document verified. For each document u need to be part of a queue, to get them photocopied u're part of a queue, to verify them you're again in a queue and i'm not even getting into the scenario where your request may be rejected at any of these places and you've to be part of it all over again. Phew!!!!

So be it banks, courts, RTO,bus stands,hospitals,temples, bill payments or movie tickets, we witness ourselves being part of a queue at some point or the other. The latest rage being the auditions of reality shows. Just to see thousands of people flocking up, standing one after the other, waiting for eternity until their chance comes,makes me fall in admiration of these brave souls who're ready to fight out heat, hunger,fatigue, boredom and sometimes obnoxious company. They have the audacity to come and stand a day before, just to make sure they are not in the nether half of the line. Kudos to these people, they deserve a medal of honour.

Fancy the gentleman here who has found a thing to cheer about even here.



The famous Mumbaikar spirit that the entire world talks about has this striking knack of forming queues. i was flabbergasted to see the way the mumbaikars arrange themselves in a queue anywhere, anytime, anyhow. Its a commendable trait where one can witness people conglomerating one after the other and they never even crib about it.

But queues do give us the opportunity of witnessing some really interesting people. We encounter a wide gamut of people of varied psyche, backgrounds and temperaments. While some are too engrossed with their mobile phones coochy cooing, some dont leave the chance to discuss the fallacies of the Political system or the underperformance of the cricket team, some keep losing temper intermittently to indulge in vituperation (#$%@^*$#@%) meant for the officials, while some get the solace of finally finding a listener and they dont hesitate in putting their hearts out. On many occasions, people gel so well in the ghastly waiting period, that they end up exchanging email id's ,contact no.s (the more ostentatious ones flaunt by asking directly - "Are u on orkut or facebook"??). Take that for human networking!!!! We hear jokes, we have guys who keep searching if there is a pretty face in the ladies line and we've people like me who just have one thought in the mind - "Mera number kab aayega"????


Like it or not, queues are an integral part of our lives, and no matter how tech savvy we get by making everything online; queues are here to stay, atleast for our generation. There is no denying the fact that it is a sign of discipline and of an organized setup.So either i keep cribbing about the sheer pain in the neck that this phenomenon is or i take a cue out of the books of the people who somehow manage to make the wait a fun process. I feel the solution may lie in me being less QUE(UE)RULOUS and envisaging the scenario to be on the other side of the queue i.e. being queued up for.

UNITED to stay DIVIDED

"United to stay Divided" might sound as an oxymoron to many, but isn't paradox the most fitting word to describe the hypocrisy with which we spend our lives?? Philosophy(Theology in particular) has myriad works to boast of to proclaim the equality of men and the creation of an egalitarian society. The message has been straight and clear: human beings are all equal and they should pursue a symbiotic relationship. The Communists,atheists themselves, are the biggest exponents of egalitarianism (talk of paradox !!! ).

Since time immemorial, there has been division in the human society. The yardsticks have varied or rather unfortunately piled up in number to come up with a novel way each time to divide the species. Talking specifically of India, what started as four sects of society -Kshatriya, Brahmin, Vaishya and Sudra, has persisted with multitudinous more sub classifications to exacerbate the situation. Now , we're divided on the grounds of religion, caste, creed, colour,community, economic status,gender,class, geography,intelligence and what not. Its ostensible in a way, that a school of thought is devoted for this purpose only and have nothing better to do.

Reservation issue has been the most talked about topic in modern India and it is the only topic that the youths is , apart from cricket and movies. It has evoked a wide range of reactions in the past decade or two; seemingly a favorite darling of conferences and live debates. But, the issue is a classic paragon of how divided and shallow we're from within. When the entire political circle was united in dividing the country on the basis of social class (mind you not economic else that'd have debunked the real BPL figure much to the chagrin of the people in power), the opposing students or a paltry section of the Intelligentsia never resisted with a united uproar. The incidents of resistance were sporadic and imbued,it involved only the ones who had to bear the brunt immediately and thus the resistance fell like a pack of cards.It died down like our first Sepoy Mutiny in 1857 and for the same reason- intermittent and diffused renegade(Some people never learn from history!!). So the proponents of division were united and the apostles of unity were divided- a grim yet an inevitable cliche.

India has enticed many foreign invaders over centuries to commit blitzkrieg and vandalize us of our resources. A different aspect of this is that it has allowed India to be a potpourri of different religions and communities; which has ameliorated the ethnic fabric of the country but the friction has been tantamount as well. People have been divided on this ground for ages(the independence struggle being a slight exception; still the inception of Muslim League is a testimony to the fact), and the situation has aggravated in the last three decades where communal hatred has ripped apart the once proud standing secular fabric of the Indian Republic.



Communal extremism has seen its peak over the years and with a disguised cloak of fundamentalism, they've amassed people with themselves by shamming as the Evangelists of their rights. And we have no right to blame the authorities for it, because they are people like us and though its difficult to accept, but deep down we all want division in the society. We all are united to the T to promote division.

We've been born and brought up in an environment where circumstantially we do a lot of things that promote division. Like most of us believe in friendship among equals and this gospel has been preached to us since we're infants. Earlier in school, it's on the basis of intelligence that parents want their kids to be with the best or someone at par with their ward's intelligence and later the dogmas keep adding up.

Here's just a simple day to day situation which showcases an unusual way of division (many may frown over it).Fancy the situation that a girl meets with an accident, its very courteous of people around to spring into action like a lightening to make sure she's fine. But when its a guy to fall off his vehicle, the number of volunteers to help plummets by a surprisingly steep number; sometimes even touching the nil mark. Now, i'm not a chauvinist and this may seem as a paltry instance to mention, but this comes out of personal experience and what people around me have faced themselves and we all cant be wrong. It is certainly very important to be courteous to ladies, but the guys deserve some attention at least when in an excruciating situation. Maybe a less germane example to many, but it is veracious for sure.

If one looks within to introspect their own behaviour towards their servants, janitors, drivers or simply the less privileged; the picture becomes conspicuously clear. We all are the followers of a theory which we condemn ourselves. maybe its easier to digest and accept this harsh reality that we are hypocrites to the core. We all love to DIVIDE AND RULE (within our limited capabilities of course).

The entire phenomenon of Capitalism is a prima facie of inequality where in the world is divided on the basis of being rich or poor. It may again seem as a macabre belief, but i see less evil in it because they openly propagate what they do. There are no pretensions of being here for only the welfare of people. Instead they are more beneficial for the society as eventually their avarice for more is giving back more to the society( Read : The Invisible Hand). Thus avarice is a deadly sin, but put hypocrisy on the other side of the court and I'm sure it'd beat avarice to emerge as the undisputed winner in the game of "The Ultimate Sin".

Racial Discrimination is certainly the worst of it all. Even after the long fought battle against apartheid which led to a historic victory, even after realization of Martin Luther King's " I have a dream" with the appointment of US President Barrack Obama at the helm of affairs, racial discrimination persists. The headlines in the media "A black man becomes US President" itself is a quintessence of racism. We admit or not, racism exists ubiquitously, but thankfully the cognizance against it is on a high and we can hope that the menace would see its nemesis and meet an end soon.

Geographic discrimination is an absurd phenomenon;especially when its within the same country. And its preposterous when its done in a country like India which gives a fundamental right to its people to move freely across any part of the country and get employed anywhere at any place in the country. But, the ludicrous act is being done in a brazen manner: MNS's recent spree against north Indians and Shiv Sena's movement against South Indians in the 70's being the instances that come to the top of one's mind.

So it has been done in the past and it may persist in the future. We've been united to stay divided for long now and either we leave the dream of an egalitarian society or at least be honest enough to stop propagating it creating futile hope amongst people. I don't want to sound dystopian but lets face it, some dreams are just not meant to be realized. The reason is not because they are chimerical, but because we are just not ready to face the reality.