The Journey

The road is long gone
and the untrodden path beckons
Momentary hesitation
delays the first few steps
but then the euphoria sets in
as the virginal ambiance thrills
and the adrenalin pumps the heart
into an emotional frenzy
And then the mind is subdued
While the feelings intensify
and the orgasmic peak
Is in sight

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They know not....

A report in YAHOO India news -
As the Congress-led governments in Delhi and the centre pray for a successful Commonwealth Games, Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar Tuesday said he would be 'unhappy' if the Games were a success.

The ruling party seems to be hell bent on proving that theirs is a democratic party! Never before has there been such a show of dissent or disagreement with the party policies. Just a few days back we had Mr.Digvijaya Singh expressing his discontent publicly about his fellow party Home Minister’s attitude and decision making. Is the party indulging in the policy of Running with the hare and hunting with the hounds? If it is they could be following a self defeating path by exposing a leadership that is up there cocooned in the ivory towers. It sure does not bode well not only for the party but also for the country.

Rape

Anju and Mohan were deeply in love but not enough to make the final commitment. They had seen too many divorces happening, but they wanted to give themselves a chance by living together.
Anju started hated his early morning habits. He was addicted to her.
She accused him of rape to get rid of him.


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Politicspeak

A report on NDTV.com -
Addressing a public meeting last night, Chidambaram said he had met Prabhakaran and talked with him for hours. "He (Prabhakaran) was not our enemy. We were opposed to the path chosen by him."

Is he trying to say that basically Prabhakaran is a good guy but the path which he has adopted is wrong hence he should be revered? Would the same thinking be applied by Mr.Chidambaram to all criminals/terrorists/anti social elements?
Is this what we would like to hear from our Home Minister?
This worries me about the garden path that we are being led on.

Another report about the railway accident in which 50 people lost their lives has our Railway Minister stating thus -
"I am suspicious about the cause of the accident," Banerjee told reporters when asked about the circumstances that led to the mishap.
"We have some doubt in our mind. Whatever happened is not casual thing. We will take all strong steps against those who are behind this," she said before proceeding for the accident site.

She feels it is not casual! I mean who would, specially in an accident where 50 people have lost their lives? And if she says she has some doubts, that indicates that she must have anticipated something like this to happen. And if she did, why was prevention not preferred to cure?
In their squabble of power politics how much has the citizen to suffer?

I solicit answers.

Dog Love

The walk on the beach was meant to be romantically invigorating. But nobody had told them that it would be high tide soon.
Ramu and Shweta were so engrossed in discovering each other that they had walked deep inside during low tide.
Bozo broke their reverie and barked them ashore in time to love again.

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Patiala scotched

A news report on IBN LIVE today states -
Punjab has been dealing with the worst floods in 20 years but ruling party MLAs are not unduly worried. The Akali Dal MLAs have gone on a study tour to Scotland to study about scotch.
Even as hundreds of acres of agricultural land is under water and thousands displaced, the Akali Dal MLAs are in Scotland visiting distilleries. Heading the delegation is Speaker Nirmaljit Singh Kahlon, who was recently chargesheeted by the CBI in a corruption case. The MLAs are ostensibly on a study tour to find out how breweries abroad treat toxic effluents.
After me the deluge?
Am stumped by these nincompoops and am ashamed to state that we are responsible for electing them. Do these guys have no conscience? No morality? No sense of ethics? Priorities?
Why and how long do we have to tolerate these fools?

Dry days

The rains have taken a break and the sun is out playing hide and seek with some dark clouds that are trying to gather forces for a downpour. For the homeless it is the time to dry their meagre possessions and for the birds and stray animals it is time to sun themselves and dry their paws and feathers. The conservancy workers use this time to clean the gutters of the muck gathered, a job that should have been completed before the onset of the monsoons. But nobody is complaining. The job is being done albeit late. The potholes on the roads which had threatened to become trenches are being filled, patchwork that will last till the next session of heavy rains.
Demolition squads are on the job demolishing slums, an activity taken up in the monsoon so that the very same media which was complaining about encroachment will now portray the cruelty of the state and the ‘do good’ human rights activists will come out of the woodwork for their two minutes of fame. Politicians of all hues will be out giving their opinions on the malaise that affects our city due to unbridled migration from other states.
Slumlords will take this opportunity to provide more housing to the homeless at affordable prices.
And the cycle will continue unhindered as the rich become richer and the poor become poorer.

Animal Farm

There is this report in rediff.com that I read today that amused me.
“Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is likely to call a meeting of a dozen top industrialists soon to underline to them that an "ostentatious lifestyle" by CEOs does not reflect well especially when 37.2 per cent of the Indian population is still below the poverty line.”
Does this not apply to our MLAs and MPs? Or for that matter our Prime Minister and President? Whenever these worthies travel the traffic is brought to a halt to let their entourage pass by unhindered. Also the amount of money spent on their security borders on the obscene. Are they not responsible for their actions? Should they as leaders not lead by example? Why, if they are elected by a popular mandate, fear the public and not travel by public transport?
What about the decision by the Ministers to raise their own salaries? Is it not vulgar given the fact that 37.2% of the population for whose welfare they are in power, are below the poverty line? Some people indeed are more equal than others in a democracy.
Mr.Mukherjee would do well to remember that people living in glass houses should not be throwing stones and set his own house in order before making lofty statements.

Running scared

The Chief Minister of Maharashtra has decided to ignore the judgement passed by the Supreme Court and announced that the ban on the book on Shivaji by James Laine will stay. This from a politician who is part of the breed who always hide behind the statement ‘let law take its own course’ to protect their own skins. Now to save his seat of power, he has decided to ignore the apex court by saying that the law and order in the state is more important. By doing this he has sent out two clear messages. One is that he does not have control on the law and order situation in the State and second, it is okay to ignore judgements passed by the apex court of the country.
It is so unfortunate that we have such spineless leaders at the helm. In the fight for power the ideals of our constitution are relegated by showing fear at the threat of lawlessness by the regional party satraps. He has suddenly joined those very forces that he has been fighting all this time. This will now set a precedent for the benefit of the mischief mongers to assert their unsavoury presence.
Strange bedfellows they make at the expense of the wisdom shown by our judiciary.

Convoluted thinking

Razing 400 acres of forest/mangroves to accomodate an airport is no big deal but shifting of a Shivaji statue to accomodate the expansion of an existing airport is. This reflects the warped thinking of our governing leaders. The rot has set in so deep that saving the environment is considered obsessive and the repositioning of a statue considered the sensitivity of the politicians towards the sentiment of the common man!
Then there is the concern of the education ministry for the school children. it is their contention that the children get traumatised by failure in school hence they should not be subjected to repeating the class if they fail. They should continue their progression. They should not be subject to harsh competition and so there will not be any ranking either. On the other hand we have children competing in dance and music shows where they face elimination in front of a countrywide television audience. Why are these shows allowed? The traumas experienced by these children have even led to some of them commiting suicide! Are these children any different from those facing failure traumas in school? Why are the different ministries not acting in tandem?
When will we get our priorities right?

Road rage

Road rage is something I was quite sure that would not affect me. My confidence in my patience was high. After having tackled hundreds of irate passengers during my stint at the airport, I was immune to provocation, or so I thought.
After a tough night shift, I was driving back home early in the morning when the density of trafffic was comparatively low. ‘Deep Purple’ were belting out my favorite songs and keeping me awake and alert on my drive home. I had developed the habit of giving all the autorickshaw drivers a wide berth to let them pass uneventfully. But they are like flying cockroaches, flitting around without a care in the world, asserting their right of on every bit of tarmac they see. Everybody who has to use the road had a love hate relationship with the autorickshaw drivers. Hated them for their arrogance and loved them for the convenience they offered. They could never be ignored.
I could see one autorickshaw in the rear view mirror trying to get ahead desperately. In normal circumstances I would have let him go but on that particular morning, I decided not to let him as long as possible.
And then the fun started! He began maneuvering to pass me by inching forward at the signals. Just as he was about to pass by I dont really know what happened but I swerved into him and as suddenly realised that I was losing my temper and got back to let him pass.
Phew. That was close. Ever since, I refuse to be drawn into any such action that would result in injury to mind or body.

Transition

In the faint glow of the streetlight, the pockmarked road was treacherous. Darkness was closing in to choke the daylight out. Reema rode on regardless. She was not about to give up. The end of her long ride was near.
She did not see the road turn.
Vivek was waiting to welcome her in Foreverland.


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Differently wired - 9 (Concluded)

Life turns full circle
As I get back to square one
And start life anew.
Back to the daily routine and rigmarole of going to work now. Sometimes I do not even recollect how I reached my work place. Just some faded memory waiting to die. Is it not strange that when you try hard to remember something you forget easily and when you try real hard to forget something, you remember it all so clearly. Wonder why.
Sleep overcomes thoughts and I sleep all the way. No dreams. Sheer bliss. Wake up fresh to yet another work day and am happy for the job I have.
Life can get set by rote and it does help to bring some sort of method in the madness. But when you are differently wired its all haywire to the normal network yet normal to the one concerned. I refuse to take the elevator up not for any fitness concerns but because I hate to wait. I prefer not to eat in the canteen not because of the food quality but because I hate the way it is presented and served. I quit smoking not because of my health concerns but because I could not smoke when and where I wanted to due to restrictions imposed on me for the preservation of someone else’s health and comfort.
How much can I change my life to suit the lifestyle as dictated by the ‘society’? To maintain a semblance of individuality in the parameters imposed is a daily challenge for the differently wired.

Differently wired - 8

There seems to be no sense of accountability in Indian politics. Let us just take the recent cases of our Civil Aviation Minister and Food and Supplies Minister. When they were elected to power and were given these portfolios, the food prices were not beyond reach of the common man as they are today, nor were the national airlines in as poor a shape as they are today. By leading their respective subjects to doom due to irresponsible actions and policies, now they want a change of portfolio! They want to move out to greener pastures for obvious reasons. Though our Prime Minister has refused to do so for the time being, it won’t be long before these guys get their way. It is so unfortunate that they get away with murder and daylight robbery as they have mastered the art of fooling all the people all the time.
If anybody dares point a finger at them, they just turn around and say, ‘We have been elected’ and continue the loot and pillage. Just before the elections, they will give some sops to the electorate, and the public memory being what it is, will get back to power. The majority of our population live from meal to meal and they will be forever grateful to anyone who will provide them meals for a week.
This is democracy manipulated to suit the fancies of the rich and powerful.
Sad but true.

Differently wired - 7 (Being invisible)

When dreams come alive
The heart soars and the mind sleeps
Nothing ever lasts

Peering at the screen trying to figure what to write had my eyes tired and drooping, waiting to shut for the day. The mind also had become sluggish. No new ideas were being conceived. Everything was just blank. The mind and the Word document on the screen.
Shut down effected and I plopped down for some beauty sleep.
There was a burst of white light and a genie appeared with a tiny flashdrive that glowed intermittently.
‘This is for you. A gadget which will make you invisible whenever you wish to by just pressing this button. Press it again to be visible.’
‘Thank you but may I ask, why me?’
‘Your name was selected by the ‘Random Selector’ in the Genie Kingdom and you shall have it for twelve hours unconditionally. Of course, this gadget will not let you harm anybody. So go, do what your heart says and let your mind rest.’ Poof. He was gone and the flashdrive was in my hand.
I stood in front of the mirror to check the veracity of the gadget. And sure enough after pressing the small green button I could not see my reflection! To appear, all that I had to do press the small red button! Wow! I needed to check just one more thing. Whether my camera which I would need also be invisible if I carried it. And yes, anything that I carried would be invisible. Now I could go to the zoo and enter the lion’s cage and photograph him to my heart’s content. And if I had the time, do the same with many other wild animals out there.
So without any further ado I picked up my camera and set out for the zoo. And to my luck it was feeding time so I managed to get some real great shots of lions and tigers feeding. Got some lovely close-ups as well. This was literally a dream coming true for me.
Next was the concert by Hariprasad Chaurasiya, my favourite flautist who was scheduled to perform at the Shanmukhananda Hall in the evening. I could now go and sit on the stage with him and revel in the musical extravaganza and I did just that. But then suddenly I found that the musicians had suddenly started looking at me strangely. Was wondering why when the security was called in and I was booted out of the stage and hall. Some of them were even trying to beat me up.
Again the burst of light and no the genie did not appear. It was my wife waking me up.

This post is part of the contest 'Being Invisible' conducted by Blogadda and prizes sponsored by Pringoo

Differrently wired - 6

The country shut down
By battered politicians
Common man suffers
The arrogance of the party in power is responsible for this state of affairs. It does not wish to debate the state of affairs in the Parliament with the opposition. They are convinced that they are right and not willing to listen to any other point of view. In a democracy this amounts to inviting the opposition to take to the streets to prove their point. The ruling party in its arrogance believes that when the opposition parties do that they will invite the wrath of the common man. In effect both of them succeed in doing precisely that. All that the common man does is then fret and fume and wait for the next elections. But then as the politicians very well know, the public memory is short lived and they continue with their shenanigans.
The have-nots will be back to their fight for survival and the haves busy lobbying for furthering their interests.
The politicians will pimp, preen and plumb the depths for satiating their insatiable greed for power and wealth.
The bloggers will blog and all the players in the drama will get their day’s fame and our country will move on regardless!
Incredible India indeed!

Diiferently wirred - 5

Mobs on a rampage
Destroy the cause they fight for
When will people learn?
The latest is this call for shutting down the country for a day (6am to 6pm), given by the opposition parties, against the soaring inflation due to failed policies of the Government and another fuel price hike that would further boost the rising cost of living and increase the number of people below the poverty line. How shutting down the country for twelve hours help the cause? Nobody cared to answer. The only interesting fallout of the exercise was the coming together of all parties of various hues on a common platform. This protest was an obvious case of political posturing and not a solution to the problem.
Mobs will be formed and mindless violence be indulged in, resulting in destruction of private and public property. Antisocial elements will make merry while the law enforcing machinery of the state will be stretched. The daily wage labourer will have to go hungry for yet another day.
The electronic media will be extremely busy raising their TRPs by vying to be more gruesome than the other and encouraging the destruction that can be filmed and shown over and over again.
The politicians will make their appearance in the street only to be arrested and released so they can go home feeling good about their ‘contribution’ to the ‘well being’ of the people whom they represent.
This is one of the ways by which the great institution of democracy is abused and degraded.

Differently wired - 4

An overcast sky
Carries a promise of rain
And the birds head home
For the ride home I had The Beatles playing for me in my head. The sky was overcast and threatening to pour down to flood the streets. But all that it managed was a minor drizzle. All threat and no rain. Reminded me of all those famous people embroiled and exposed for some scam or the other who threatened that they would expose the real culprits but never did. Must be some sort of a face saving device used by all these scamsters.
The sun had set and the stage set for a vibrant night life in the city. Not for me though. My nightlife was sitting at home, trawling through various news sites and gathering information to blog about garnished with my strong opinion. I loved it when my blogged opinion drew sharp criticism and invited long debates. It was my endeavour to build a strong lobby for positive meaningful action through debate against all that I did not like. When I started out, I was told by a lot of people that there was nothing that I could do to change around me. But I was motivated by the famous saying ‘Be the change you want to see’. I modified it a bit by going online and asking fellow bloggers to join me in Being the change we want to see. The response was phenomenal. Within a few days of regular blogging, my blog managed a decent following and soon it became a habit with all participants in the ensuing discussions to identify problem areas and find solutions. Non violent vigilantism.

Differently wired - 3

The buzz fluctuates
Depending on the gossip
Whether hot or cold
I sit at my table and watch the pc come alive reluctantly. To ensure that it has its privacy while turning itself on for my pleasure, I leave my table and take a walk to the washroom and then to the coffee machine for a nice hot cup of my favourite ‘filter kapi’ of Bengaluru. Due to my inability for indulging in office or any other gossip I return to my table and feel happy to enter the virtual world. That is my comfort zone. I find it so strange that I find it easier to deal with people virtually than in the real world. In the virtual world they are real people but are so different. The reason could be that one need not be politically correct out there and just turn on or off depending on your moods and if asked can always blame an erratic internet connection. Virtually, you can manipulate the conversation and the time taken for a reply without sounding foolish. People also find it easier to compliment or dumb down someone on the internet. These days bloggers have started forming mutual admiration societies to ensure the maximisation of hits their blogs receive. Actually there is no harm in being nice. As someone famously said, ‘if you don’t have anything nice to say hold your silence.’

Differently wired - 2

The lyrics unheard
Set to a tune that sings well
Acoustic heaven
Have never been comfortable with Walkmans or Ipods, actually anything that would require me to use those earphones. None of them ever fit my ears and when I did attempt to use them, they kept dropping out hence carried all music that I liked and wished to hear, in my mind where navigation through different albums and songs was extremely user friendly. It also saved me the trouble of recording and deleting as all functions were on ‘auto’ controlled by the subconscious.
Right now, right here, it is Hariprasad blowing gently through his bansuri to reach the nooks and crannies of the mind. The soothing flow of the notes lulls the mind into visuals of vast farmland where the land meets the sky in harmony. And the sunrise colours the sky in pastel shades of pink, blue and orange.
Once the music stops the voices in the mind begin the forever debates to set out the agenda for the day as a continuum from yesterday to tomorrow.
I get off the bus and as I move on towards my work station, greet all and sundry with a smile playing on my lips and raising my hand or nodding my head in no particular order or frequency. Have realised that nobody actually cares for what you mutter as long as the gesture is complete. Is that the reason why people say ‘It is the gesture that matters.’?