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The Gap

Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.- Jawaharlal Nehru

This speech to the Constituent Assembly on 14th Aug 1947 still gives me a strange feeling..i don't know what that feeling is..pride..patriotism..hope...despair...its a weird mixture of all those. I have read this particular extract hundreds of times and i still keep going back to it.

There was a time when we Indians appreciated the gift of freedom..the privilege to make our own decisions and the honour of helping make this country a great one. Where has all that emotion gone...have we become so indifferent towards the progress of this nation that we spent more than 200 years to free? What has changed?

Politicians no longer enter politics out of a sense of duty to their fellow Indians...regionalism is gaining ground...corruption is rampant...the red tape stifles us..the guardians of law and order are not in order themselves...the judiciary is at loggerheads with the government....license raj is over but now its quota that rules....power and money are the only things that matter anymore!
Who is to blame? the politicians? the police? the administration?

I don't think so! We..the indifferent ones with the " chalta hai" attitude are squarely to blame for this mess. How many of us exercise our franchise? How many of us think twice before paying that bribe to the cop? How many of us accept pathetic service with silent resignation? How many of us still do not pay our taxes? Why do we have this colonial hangup that makes us feel that we shouldn't expect the best..be it product or treatment from others? Why do we indulge in senseless violence and meaningless "bandhs" all the time? Why do we even remotely consider religion a factor in making any decision when it should be merit? Why do we suffer those who do?

I don't know why i am indulging in this kind of a diatribe...its just not me...i guess its cos i happened to read this speech...and was saddened by the fact that in spite of the amazing talent and strengths that we, as a nation, possess, we are still spiralling down.. out of control.....saddened by the thought of what we could have been ..and what we are.

Monsoon

Monsoons are for riding your bike in the rain enjoying the spray on your face
Monsoons are for sitting in your balcony with a steaming cup of coffee and hot plate of pakoda’s looking out into the rain
Monsoons are for curling up in your bed under a warm sheet and not waking up
Monsoons are for some quiet introspection
Monsoons are for catching up on your reading
Monsoons are for having a romantic candle light dinner with your girlfriend
Monsoons are for trekking in Lonavla
Monsoons are for Jhingalala after losing in a game of cards
Monsoons are for being cruel to animals ( ;) Shreyan would know more about that)

Monsoons are DEFINITELY NOT for sitting in your office staring at the computer and missing out on dinner !!!!

Stalked !!

Has it ever happened to you? The feeling that there are that things happen to only you and no one else….

I have always been at the receiving end of weird occurrences…be it having the experience of getting a lift from gay drivers, or being complimented by waiters: “ Sir, you have a nice figure” were HIS( yeah…”HIS”..unfortunately) exact words…being caught by security guards with one leg on either side of the water tower gate…to having a lot of money being deposited into my bank account by mistake…to having love/lust maddened girls stalking me ( ahem ahem :D ).

Well I had another kind of a stalker yesterday afternoon. While coming back from a friend’s B’Day treat…a cloud of barely 100 m radius decided that I didn’t look clean enough and followed me all the way from Le Meridian to S.B road and drenched me to the core. Now, I don’t have anything personal against clouds or rains or nature in general, but I certainly resent being singled out this way by this cloud. I could actually see the rain falling only in a 50 m radius around me and nowhere else. What business did it have…following me around the place and raining on me?

When I finally reached office, dripping wet and miserable, people stared at me as they would at a chimp suddenly scrambling into office. I don’t blame them…its hard for anyone to understand how a person can get so totally drenched when there is not a hint of cloud in the sky.

Stupid Cloud!

Chapter III

According to Vedic philosophy, human life is divided into four stages: Brahmacharya, Gruhasta, Vanaprastha and Sanyas...

If only life was so clearly defined..i seem to be currently stuck in an undefined crack between stages...Brahmacharya apparently over...Gruhasta a long way off...and contrary to Hindu philosophy...i am experiencing Sanyas :P

Anyway..i am back in Pune ..this place rocks....after 2 years in the wilderness of Indore and 3 months in God's own backyard....Pune is like a soothing balm to sore eyes and to those with a passion for ornithology... E square, FC and DP road are the usual spots for birds to flock together....real exotic ones at that..
What one needs is a bike...and some money...the former i have...the latter..unfortunately not...hence the misaligned stage in life i guess

btw..if you are wondering what the title has to do with what i have written till now..the answer is : NOTHING...
i was planning to write about how my life has entered a new phase...Phase I at home, Phase II in college and hostels..and Phase III being the work life that i have started now..but then..i got carried away .
and in 2 days..i have learnt something already..
Lesson Learnt: we are insignificant specks of dust
Reason: Cognizant canteen with 1000's of nameless faces..and i was 1 amongst them

Wonder Years

Wonder Years...a story about the childhood of Kevin Arnold...a story that we can all relate to....every time i watch any episode of this series..i go into a kinda weird mood....it somehow takes me back to my own childhood...down memory lane...
Maybe that's why i haven't been able to watch the whole series, even though i have had it for more than 2 yrs now...after every episode...i just feel like shutting down everything else and thinking about my childhood...old school friends, teachers...the kind of family life we used to lead back then...the crushes..the games..the lil problems which seemed so important to us then...

Somehow, in the process of growing up....we forget so many incidents. so many people..friends and those not so friendly...those who were important parts of our lives..who shaped our future the way it is now....

After watching yet another episode of Wonder Years...i just feel like going down memory lane..

My earliest memories are of Anand Singh..our driver in Jodhpur..who used to come take me to school...literally having had to drag me from under the bed ..and then rewarding me for good marks by treating me to a huge glass of sugar cane juice on the way back home..this was during LKG..and whats so moving ..is the fact that this guy still remembers us ..more than 20 yrs later

Then there was Thane...with my teachers...Kadam sir..who pulled out my teeth during class...Sunita Mdm..our hot teacher :)...my friends Rishi, Karthik, Keerti, Sandeep, Bunty and Rani.....i guess those were the golden days of our childhood..maybe cos that's the only time we got to stay at the same place for more than 3 yrs continuously and i made some awesome friends.

I was a different kind of person in Cochin...more into reading and sports..swimming and sailing..and the only close attachments i made there with my neighbours Soumya and Sangeetha di's and their dog Appu..

Then we moved back to Thane..and that's where i met Vinamra..over TT :)...one of my best friends....he deserves the maximum credit for whatever little i have achieved in life :D...i like to believe that we both pushed each other to perform better in every sphere of life...sports or academically..though he always beat me in everything..including in matters of the heart :D..
Teachers who really had an impact on me ..Kalanidhi Mdm..Rikta and Padma Sagar..its strange..i have been taught by teachers who are supposed to be among the best in the country..but i still feel that i have learnt more from these KV teachers...a more lasting bond ..

Then came Pune..where it can be said..the new Siby came into being..:D...Yanku..my 1st roomate..KK..Mishti..Bapat..Mou..Paula..More memories there than can be put down...

I know i am missing so many names...some i am doing deliberately..some not..

IIM indore was one of the best experiences i have had....something i wud treasure and miss ...Shreyan..deepti.richa.tanvi..shubh..dang...my nehbur...AOE..Bike rides and wild parties..aaaaah...

Now a new phase starts...

I HATE "WONDER YEARS"...stupid thing makes me ramble..all senti and nostalgic...