It was definitely fun to watch him fight with his mom (my aunt) since that kept me out of the arena. I actually had thought of him as this cool ice prince who just shrugs off and gives a smile no matter what anyone tells him. That, I realized was a mistake on my part. He was just a regular guy who now with his new found habit of reading is on “a path to greater good”. Well then maybe not really but as of now he is on “a path to UK”.

Dated: 27.07.08

Two days back there were several bomb blasts in two of the leading metropolitan cities of India; Bangalore and Ahmedabad. Bangalore is the IT hub of India and a city that had been spared from the radical attacks in the past until now. There are more threats to other cities all over India as well.


I’m really confused as to the statement that these people intend to make; are they trying to say that “Oh those unsuspecting people going about on the roads trying to make ends meet are so easy to kill! So why not kill them and make a point!” what the point is, is still a mystery to me though and I’m sure so it is to a millions of others too. I don’t really remember having heard any religion telling its followers to go ahead and kill innocent people carrying on with their daily lives. I don’t find the excuse of having suffered when young worthwhile enough to explain the mass murdering of gullible men, women and children.


These so called terrorists say that they are fighting for freedom and that they have no choice but I call that rubbish because every human being has a choice: choice of action. Being blessed with life by god definitely can’t be for the purpose of destroying his other creations. If they really wanted to change the world, they should do so by bringing justice to thousands of people out there. They should put their resources and caliber into preventing crime and maintaining harmony. I guess then, I would believe them to be true heroes but as of now they are nothing but aimless murderers who operate like rats, who instead of coming up front and talking, stab innocents in their backs.

I've just recently begun reading a book called the Baghdad Burning, which is actually the collection of blogs written by an Iraqi woman 'Riverbend' during the Iraq occupation in 2003. I must admit I was someone who was never into politics. In fact I detested it, mainly the reason due to which I never bothered to know what’s actually happening around me.

I could even say that I was so caught up complaining about my life just like any other average human being that I totally failed to see the world around me. The book opened my eyes up to a lot of things that I was blind to. I myself was resident of Kuwait (Iraq's neighbor) at the time when George Bush had declared a war on Iraq (“The war against terrorism”). It was true that Saddam wasn't exactly the 'favorite' in anyone's books but I don't believe anyone hated him as much as they hated Bush at that instance.

Well I’m not the one to speak about the political 'stuffs'. Well, one thing I realized and was really affected by, was Riverbend's account of the constant fear that they experienced for their lives and that its easy for people in other parts to discuss about such things whereas the emotions of the people who undergo such great atrocities is just incomprehensible.

I still remember, towards the end of the occupation, a lot of news in the media about the torture and humiliation inflicted upon the people. There used to be discussions, debates, speeches and such competitions where this used to be the major topic where we sympathize with all those suffering while sitting in air conditioned rooms with all luxury and comfort. The truth of the matter is, no matter how much we sympathize with anyone we shall never really be able to fathom the minutest of their pain. It in a way made me realize how important it was for me to be aware of what was happening in the world and to do something to make the slightest of difference......

I’ve been thinking a lot recently... no; don’t be amazed, ‘I do think’. Well what has been bothering me recently is “what is the ‘correct culture’ really?” Culture’s dictionary meaning is “the ideas, customs and art of a particular society”. So what is the perfect one?

India supposedly is the unique land of diversity where unity prevails. I guess to a certain extent on the surface some sort of a “we think all are the same” farce exists but I have to confess after spending about four years here even I have a small tendency to let bias creep in while interacting with people. And then there is “the culture”. This place is exceptionally gifted with a great culture so I’ve heard but I do wonder “Is a ‘culture’ that has no capability of tolerating new things a great culture?” A place where you can’t move around without inviting comments from people who are more interested in your business than their own and who won’t be there at the time you need some help… do they have the perfect culture?

All these ofcourse could be anywhere in the world too that is why I’m of the opinion that we can never say that the culture a particular society has, is ever perfect or the correct one. People’s ideas, customs etc. maybe good or bad, just the thing is no one has any right to say which the correct one is because of the plain reason that no one declared us the ‘God’.

Tuesday June 17, 2008 8:12 PM

I read an awesome book yesterday, it was so interesting that I began in the morning and concluded in the evening and no, I certainly did not skip any pages or paragraphs. Well you’ll just have to take my word for it anyways. The book “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari” is a captivating tale in addition to a sort of spiritual awakening written by Robin .S. Sharma, one of North America’s electrifying professional speakers.

The book tells a story of a famous lawyer Julian Mantle who reigned in his profession. He pushed himself to the top of the ladder of success through nights of sleeplessness and hard work till eventually he began to get drained off his vivacity and ended up with a heart attack.

This, in a way struck a chord in his mind and caused him give up everything, to embark on a soul searching journey into the East i.e. India and into the Himalayas, to the sages or the yogis as they were called there. It is the part where he spends valuable time with a yogi called Raman that makes a person really rethink his/her life. The stay with the yogis is actually presented to the reader as Julian Mantle’s narration to his close friend and colleague.

The details take us to a zone way beyond normal thoughts. It in a way questions the basic purpose of our lives, its meaning and in a way made me realize I wasn’t actually mad when I always felt something missing or a sort of emptiness in my mind and soul and couldn’t exactly pinpoint its origin. I suppose that maybe everyone feels that way once in a while i.e. you have everything but that doesn’t just fulfill or complete you and makes you so frustrated at just ‘not knowing’ and not being able to convey it to anyone. This is a must read for those who scorn at spiritual talk because this has definitely been written by a very sensible and educated person. I have to admit though; I haven’t exactly started to follow everything in the book head on and transformed or anything, but it’s definitely a start.

It has greatly enriched my mind with the knowledge about mind control and setting goals as well a lot of other related things like the value of sheer will power. I also believe that the book can’t be fully comprehended by reading it just once. As I said this was just the beginning. I really have to thank my cousin for pointing out this book to me.

Now, as I’m doing my final year of college, I occasionally flip through the pages of my life of the past three years. When I entered the college, I was filled with novel ideas about college life from all movies I’ve seen and all stuff I’ve read. But then I eventually came to realize that none of those things really happens for real. The college life kind of hit me hard; being used to living in my fantasies where everyone was good, no one hurt anyone else, land of total bullshit which I came to realize much later.

By the end of my first year I learnt lesson number one: everyone in this world is selfish and that didn’t exclude me. Second year, I realized that my father wasn’t my enemy after all. Somehow it was like building a basement for my mind, setting up some basic principles for my self. Suddenly the curtains were raised from my eyes and I could picture the whole world for what it was…. A battleground of scheming, backstabbing, lying creeps and opportunists. Well life was definitely much simpler to live then on because I could watch my own back.

Nothing really changed around me. Everything was same but when I started living life following a principle: "Remember the past, think about the future, but live in the moment” a new sort of happiness unfolded before me. The college still sucks, but I got some great friends, and they really did make a difference in my life, they sort of gave a new angle to my way of contemplation of things around me. I’m now not too keen on the end of my college life because I’ve had some of the greatest fun in my life here, pain too but the three years have taught me a lot of things that I know shall last a lifetime.

Every day I wake up to see
A golden path laid
On the gentle ripples
Of a shadowed mat
And thus rises a vast
Horizon of heavenly lust
With a sense of purity
Only that of the gods
Clad in shining armour
There, soars above to glory
The king of Gods himself
Just a shining ball of fire
To the mortals down below
But very few know
The true secret behind
The Break of Dawn.

The pure beauty of thy golden vision
Enfold in strange dreams of a world
Draped in the mists of knowledge beyond
In a belief for a happiness forever
We strive forward to build a heaven
In search for our joyous paradise
An embrace of love,full of life
Stagger we in this world of myth
The Unbroken chain of hopeless hope
Instigates a pursuit for a forever
In a reign of the eternal bliss.

Something new that ne'er was there
Gripped my heart
In a hungry snare
An unknown horizon
That I thought never existed
Swept me off on a wild mare
Emotions set in a turmoil
Deepest passions aroused
Nothing ever said now
Words just a drifting dream
And eyes empowering the soul
In the twilight of a mystery moor
Airborne on an enchanting gale
Wishing to fly,and fly away
Fresh air of freedom
Fill my lungs
Once again, my life restored
A new reason, for a new world.

Is this what life is?
Bound by rules and laws
Not really knowing
Why we are
In this vast world
Alone forever
Knowingly or unknowingly
Alone in this crowd
What is emotions?
What is love?
All the relationships
Is it all true?
But why does my heart say
There' something much beyond
This small sphere of life
For once just close your eyes
And learn to dream.

A golden spirit
Glittering in the horizon
Rises gently
Brushing all with its gold dust
Of freshness and life
A small murmur, then a giant roar
Of a lion, no longer alone
Music flowing like rivers
Of birds, the melodious singers
Flowers blooming, badgers burrowing
And all enjoying
The mystic light
Of the morning sun

The smoke has enveloped the sky
The waters poisoned with toxins
And no more do the raindrops remain
A pleasure, a thrill
for children to sail their boats
In the puddles
Lands are destroyed
Children are deprived of their toys
War has replaced peace
Just as death has replaced life
"World is progressing"so it is said
But for whom? I wonder.

A clear sunny day
Suddenly brought to an end
By a black myth
Flying in the sky
Then a bang
Thor's hammer has hit
The enemy, and the heaven was lit
In an eerie glow of triumph
The earth shook
And the trees moaned
Then a shower of crystals fell
Along with a fiery gale
The seas were turned
And ships tossed about
The nature's fury was felt by all
Then it all ended
Leaving behind, a glistening trail.

A glow at the end of the tunnel
Dark and winding
keeps us moving
Moving forward
with a ray of hope
To find it all untrue
All the sorrow,the misery
Just a mirage
Just a hallucination
To find a world
A world, too good to be true
Free from hatred,filled with love
To find that it all
had been a nightmare
And it's now time to dream

Let us open our eyes each day
to see the world in a different light
to try again where we once failed
To understand those we were unable to
To correct those mistakes
We once committed
To do the right for every wrong
To learn something we never knew
And help others, be it few
So let us begin each day
With hopes and faith in our hearts
To have no regrets
when we look back into the past

Time like now has ne'er been seen
When the gods in their silver chariot
Ride across the night sky
Throwing showers of silvery beams
That strike the earth draped in gloom
Left behind is the mystique trail
That intoxicates the world
In a strong enchanting gale
Of magic and mystery
Binding all in an entrancing spell
An unknown realm awakens
Amidst the lustrous stardust
The fairies and the elves move
To the rhythmic notes by a pool
Of dancing diamonds and pearls
until a faint glimmer is seen
In the horizon, a red giant rising
Unfolding its powers in a new vision
And for ever remains hidden
The nature's secrets in its spirit.

A Wreath of flowers
On every grave
How many? T'is hard to say
Young and old all are there
A dull black gloomy glare
That struck the earth
At a time not known
A black death that has been
And shall be again
Value of life remains no more
The darker side of man
Revealed in a nightmare
Will there be an end?
Cry the suffering souls
Will there be an end?
To this world of evil.

My mind is captured,
I can't help being fascinated,
Of all the mysteries of the universe.
But one alone, captures my complete attention,
T' is nothing other than the unusual space,
Where strange lights glow,
And sends through us a sensation,
which seems to bestow,
On us, a wonderful dream of success.
Shooting stars, flying hither-thither,
Giving us plenty of wishes,
That which never withers.
It is a place of eternal light,
Its limits are unknown.
We are just a speck of dust in this vast place,
And in this enchanting world we are blown,
Though never do we stop to think
What a miracle, it is to live.

Oh! Nature, How beautiful were you?
Every tree at its best
With their leaves glowing under the godly shine
Giving all creatures a place to dwell.
Suddenly, I woke up
T' was all a dream
I went and drew the curtain aside
To see nothing but buildings and streets
All built to perfection
Yet making humanity imperfect
By causing utter destruction
To those creatures, that meant us no harm
The very creatures, the very plants
Who'd give us anything we want.
I'm shocked, I really am
To see man's cruelty
Much as to this.
I now know, t' is true what they say,
That nature never kept upto this day,
For now, man himself pays for his terrible deeds.

Life, an eternal mystery
A strange illusion
Believed to be reality
A wonder with origin unknown
From where we have come
Where we shall go
T'is never to be known
Questions that remain forever
Never stops haunting mankind
Life knows no bounds, no limits
Reaching far beyond facts
A realm of dreams
For all it can be
Yet, it shall remain
Forever a mystery.

I remember the time when I had taken part in an elocution competition in my school, I was quite good at public speakingand stuff like that but that was my first Gandhiji based speechand I had got some material from the net and then added my ownmatter to it. I spend at least a week trying to memorize the speech while I stood in front of the mirror or while I was in the toilet and even during my classes. It was a mix masala of Satyagraha, non-violence, determination, courage and all that Gandhi stuff. What became of me at the competition? ...I was a total flop. I was totally nervous with my knees shivering and knocking against each other, I forgot the lines in betweenand by the time I was finished, the way I was dripping from head to toe in sweat, the Niagara Falls would have seemed small in front of me.

By now you must be thinking that maybe I'm writing about theworst moment of my life or something however I'd like to assure youthat I was fortunate enough to have experienced worse humiliating situations. So it wasn't really that hurting.The point that I'm actually trying to make is that I went on to do something withouteven feeling for or really thinking about the real meaning of whatI was writing or saying. Thus the outcome was obviously inevitable.Later on I did finally accomplish the great feat of using my brain and I thought: Many people write and say how great the Mahatma was and that there really can't be anyone like him in this world, nevertheless I believe that there a Gandhi in every one of us (now doesn't that sound absolutely barmy). Let me explain thisextremely wild idea of mine, We all want to have a world that's totally peaceful without any problems and from what we know evenGandhiji wanted the same thing. The only difference is that he made an effort to make the dream come true and went so far as to sacrifice and devote his whole life to achieve his world. Maybe in the future there will again be someone like him...

Isn't it weird that this whole world is set in an intricate web of inferno? To think that we could be in this vast universe and be utterly insignificant and then yet again think of maze of life that beholds its mysteries to those who discover it. We all go along in this world so conscious of who we are, I mean daily we just get up look into the mirror and try to fix up the uneven twists and curves on our faces or fret and grumble about those devilish little pot bellies creeping out slowly out of nowhere. Then there are the clothes that can never satisfy the appetite of the wearer or there's even a bad hair day. After carefully applying a variety of scrupulously studied tactics the person eventually sets out to tackle the rest of the cruel day with unending embarrassing situations like an uninvited burp, an uncontrolled burst of a snort while laughing- Oops! where did it that come from? Even worse are the more awkward noises or actions, which I don't necessarily have to mention.

But do all these really matter? Just think of the millions and billions of people simultaneously pondering over themselves. The funny thing is that while one person is thinking how the other person accompanying him is evaluating him, the other person, more or less will be doing the same. Thus no one ever really gets the whole picture. Sometimes I wonder, what kind of world would it have been where people were free minded. Even if someone were to irritate you, someone of a higher authority, under normal circumstances you would have put up with it and acted all polite while you were thinking of the 10 best ways to torture the person to death, but what if you thought this way "Every second of my life is precious, he or she could waste hers as much as possible through petty insignificant thoughts and arguments, but why should I waste mine thinking or doing the same?" Almost everyone in this world is engaged in earning money (I say 'almost' because there are still few places left for our so called 'civilization' to creep in yet.). Those rectangular pieces of paper and those round coins happen to control three fourths of our emotions and life (Not that I would personally mind getting my hands on few of these notes & coins myself). Still don't you think that we all are living a really lame life? If I had it my way I could go on writing about it but I believe that it is left to the people themselves to figure it out..

All about this humble, zimble, zimbly me!