Common man once flew...

And it was not long back when he started. There is this Captain Gopinath who took him for a flight. And the common man flew. Following him, thousands of other common men took to sky and saw the earth, which was the only thing they had, for the first time from a distance high above which they always dreamt of.

Air Deccan flew the common man, which was also depicted as the ‘common man’ of R.K. Laxman on many of its aircraft, starting August 2003.

And everyone was happy because the common man of this country was happy. A new revolutionary pleasant era was started. More and more airlines ventured to give a flight to more and more common men. ‘No Frills’ they called it, but the common man was not concerned about the frills, he was happy with the other title ‘low cost airline’. An air-trip was possible for him and he thought ‘i’ll fly atleast once now!’

“In October 2007 Air Deccan changed its name to Simplifly Deccan and introduced a color scheme that compliments that of Kingfisher Airlines.”

Mallya took 26% stake in Air Deccan and the common man was replaced by the flying kingfisher.

The common man has now grown wings! Hope to see him fly as simply and easily as he did through 2003 to 2007.

issues at hand...

two - three of them,
SMS voting
I condemn it strongly. the results during past few weeks support my stance. the shows meant to hunt the talent and groom it end up in favouritism. public votes, in the beginning of the shows may be for the talent, yes, but as the show proceeds the votes gets skewed towards the favourite participant and not the good, let alone the best talent. and if this doesn't happens then the results still smell fishy and people saying, 'he was not most favourite and best but still he won, we dunno how!?'
no one is to blame as you cant make millions of voters not to vote for their favourite. heart rules over mind here. to an extent, the judges can be held responsible, those eminent chairs who often themselves get onto this track of favouritism. then they fight (for best talent/TRP/ego or whatever) and confuse the voting mass instead of guiding them.
ends defying means... these shows are like movies where you appreciate the actors, their efforts, crib about the director, technical team and dont feel good after coming out of the hall.
amidst all these controversial hours on tv, you still feel good to have a clean talent show, that is 'Boogie Woogie'. running awesomely good since a decade, still fresh and getting better everytime. (me into favouritism here)

Nuclear deal
Red face Manmohan and Sonia and Congress
cant imagine what ppl in US will be talking about us!

India poised
"This site is not being updated.
Having sucked on extra caffeine during the launch of 'India Poised', the administrators and moderators of this website were having trouble remaining glued to their chairs. We decided to send them on a short break."

read this on the official India Poised website. i dont remember when this campaign was launched and the other one called DO. i think one was on 26th Jan and other on 15th Aug.
why Times is doing this... i think just to advertise and associate biggies with itself. coz i dont see any substantial result anywhere where i can see the name of the campaign associated! how many people even recalled it after 15 days of launch of each? if it was to just make the people feel good for some time then i appreciate Times.
so look at the statement above... the campaign seems 'paused'. what was it for and is the purpose getting solved is still a question i have?
even a movie Guru, which was made only for commercial purpose, spirited the people, made them realise themselves and change for better did more than what it was meant to! so whats happening to the campaigns which are made keeping 'people' in mind?

and now we have this Lead India campaign. the shortlised ones are not talking any different from any other 'common man' who also knows whats going around him and hence his responsibility. we want some change agent but we know it would be very difficult to do some good on a big level (which this drive is meant to, leading India) in the existing system. and changing the system, now when we have a lot may intellects and powers already, would be a very tough ride.
so i suggest, dont choose just one leader out of this small bunch of selected ones (public voting here again! phew*). instead, let them work together. they all have good missions in their mind, each with a different idea and different way to execute their mission. i am sure we will see better and 'apparant' results if they work together.

In dark
mobile service providers usually dont declare/inform about the premium sms rates, obviously which are pretty high, that are applicable to subsribers if they are voting for these polls!

feel good
posting after a long time, feeling good!

happiness is...

... waking up at 5 on sunday morning after 3 sleepless nights for a trip to green hills and rains!
... witnessing the skyline change from bricks to trees hanging on the door of local train!
... 7 people stuffed in an auto-rickshaw for an uphill ride!
... counting waterfalls on opposite hill!
... leaving the road to start a trek for the rest of the journey, girls in enthu as well!
... bathing in every waterfall of the same stream uphill!
... holding hands, grabbing legs, pushing, pulling through slippery rocks along the stream!
... pulling a friend, hanging only by your hand, up a fall... like in movies... if the grip goes loose, he drops 7 meters down!
... cuts, bruises, bones hitting rocks, pain... all, courtesy... mother nature!
... wondering, while crossing those tracks, how a train could run on rails just 2 feet wide!
... girls sighing in relief stepping on a flat ground, the road!
... despatching girls with all your lugs in a taxi to the destination and choosing a dangerous up-trek on a straight hill-face with 4 other friends!
... catching a small crab and watch the crustacean wrestle with all its limbs and claws against your fingers, its tiny mouth bubbling!
... grabbing roots of plants, small projections in rocks, searching for the smallest hold or grip when ascending about a 1 km high hill-face!
... turning back, looking down in amazement at the last walkable/drivable path and wondering 'just how did we made it upto this height?'!
... numerous snake holes all around, but not mentioning them to fellow rookie trekkers!
... washing off small squiggly leeches from your arms and legs in stream water!
... exhausting reaching the top, on the road, getting a lift for the rest 2 kms in a swanky luxury cage (i.e. car)!
... (calling a car 'cage' in the above line ;)!
... heavy, very heavy downpour and no shield at hand!
... no mobiles (which are in the lugs with other 6) and no number in mind to contact others!
... clutching a glass of hot tea, sipping it with parle-G in a shanty while you, trees, clouds dripping heavily!
... holding that hot glass in both hands even after the tea is over, not letting a minutest degree of warmth go waste!
... marching in rains, among the trees shouting "angrezo bharat chhodo, inqalaab zindabaad, jai mata di..." on top of your voice!
... finding your lost group in the first restaurant... smart people!
... tea, coffee, (some helping themselves with whiskey pegs), hot aloo parathas to savour and comfort your drenched and shivering bodies!
... rain-water flowing through the restaurant floor!
... setting off for return journey, fudges, paan to start with!
... setting free your short-term pet... that small crab, its small bulb-like eyes wiggling, like saying bye!
... still raining, whats called 'cats and dogs'!
... clouds all around you, visibility shrinking to just 15 steps around you!
... challenging each other to spit-as-far-as-you-can on the roadside!
... the loser challenging others for yet another round of pee-as-far-as-you-can and losing again!
... a friend saying “this is wilderness I saw in movies and read in books”!
... shouting slogans again, this time to ban himesh reshammia and asking him to leave India!
... leaving hills and reaching flats in no time in another cage (a maruti van), having airplane-ear ‘coz of this speedy altitude change!
... cursing railways for train delay!
... standing dangerously close, your nose just 2 feet away from a train passing at about 95 kmph!
... capacity-defying mumbai local!
... a gulp of fresh air and light by cocking your head above the crowd’s shoulders, arms, face etc.!
... getting down from the train and fly-kissing the ground!
... girls commenting that they were comfortable all he way!
... at home!
... hot water bath for a drenched and tired body!
... food and bed!
... a great trip to Matheran!

... with a cigarette in my hand...

yesterday i was reciting the lines of 'The Tiger' when i remembered these lines i've first heard in a tv commercial of some footwear company. i then recalled another ad, rather a social message, a campaign, which was aired during the initial days on Zee tv. and i searched for those lines...

a song, vocals by Gary Lawyer, with a guy in loosened fomals and tie was remembering his first cigarette days and those that followed. a dusky dark-shadowed video with glowing cigarette smoke prominent in all scenes and these lines sung on a catchy tune in background...

It was, I remember, many years ago,
When I had failed to distinguish between a friend and a foe,
When they had invited me, holding open the pack,
When I lost to curiosity, instead of being taken aback,
When on that fateful day, for the first time,
I held a cigarette in my hand.

It was, I felt a part of being in the teens,
And what had started with a puff or two became a routine.
The smoke's illusion blinded me for as it arose,
Arose my spirits too, and I muttered to myself, "I can" because,
With a cigarette in my hand, I felt like a man.

Soon it came out in the open, for it had become a habit I could not hide,
I was helpless, for I could not help but continue,
Even when I knew, it was eating me up from inside,
I was sick... my body and my soul and I realized,
With the cigarette in my hand,
I was a dying man.

Soon I was just a lifeless form, a hollow,
People shunned me everywhere, I wished,
If only had I done something which others could follow,
But it was too late, I had taken the wrong path,
And I was ignored, because
With a cigarette in my hand,
I was a hated man.

All the time, tears filled my eyes,
For people had bid me their good byes,
I wept because my cells, my body was choking,
If only on that first day, my friends had been joking,
And then one day, the cigarette dropped from my hand,
I was a dead man.

nice lines for an awareness message.
but then, when you search "with a cigarette in my hand" (with quotes), you'll find in most of the searches people stating that with a cigarette in their hand they feel more confident, relieved, omposed, thinking, manly, and all other positive psychological individualisms in themselves!

was this the reason why the ad didn't continued for long on tv and was never heard or seen anywhere else?

gears of my bike named...

coming here after a long time and the stay is again short... was too very busy!
anyways... yesterday as always while riding my bike, my mate, i was talking to it. we were doing through traffic, water filled potholes, rains, slick roads which, for some stretches, were empty. and in those talks, we were talking about its gears. the 5 of them which i was using at different times and conditions.
feeling each of theirs efficiencies and expertise for different purposes, i named them...

1st Gear: Raw Power. too very eager to pounce and getting us running
2nd Gear: Smootho. moving slow was never so smooth, best friend of 3rd!
3rd Gear: The Bridge. preparing well for speed biking... hidden power!
4th Gear: Old Friend. since my first biking days... this is the best. still as good as always.
5th Gear: Gracious Gift. extra for extra gliding speed... and 3 digits on speedo!
these make me feel like i have 5 more mates other than my bike!

a year hence a year ago!

yesterday, on 6.6.07 me completed One year of my career.
Me started my first job on 06.06.06... din't knew it before but as per people, it was The Devil's Day! that date with 3 chhakke! couldn't find something relevant on wikipedia tho.

whatever, the year went well, i did fairly well, lots of learnings, experience, people, works, too less holidays/leaves and many rough bumps in the ride in last few months. thats always there with the rest.
am very happy but still have to learn a lot. best thing was my confirmation which as per the company policy was scheduled after one year from joining. quite a long training and probation term. hehe!

and this starts with phenomal increased responsibility from now on and i think am ready for the roll! me wish myself all the best!

when you dont play the game, you dont make rules!?

a bike freak and loves biking, am on roads with other vehicles and their riders/drivers since many years... dont remember, well from my first cycling days, that is! so, by now have a lot of sense of roads and its users!

am a member of a biking community, rather a website of Indian bikers. simple reason, me bike freak and a new owner of an awesome machine! (Pulsar 180DTSi UG3... fans call it Phantom, mine is Dragon!)

road sense, other than many things, includes responsibility of the vehicle and its rider. will share and explain this topic in deep. road sense also needs moral responsibility. now, few days back, we had a disscussion on this website about our moral responsibility on roads. and i shot a question, a satisfying answer for which, not yet received from any rookie or senior biker.

we were discussing an incident when a guy witnessed on a traffic signal that the signal suddenly turned red coz of which a mid-aged in his car suddenly braked. the youngs on the bike behind the car couldn't control and struck the car. though no major accident nor damage, still those guys came up shouting fowl words to the man in car, dragged him out and started beating him. all else around were just looking, including this guy who narrated the incident. he said he preferred staying out of others' matters more because of those mawali kinda guys. i think most of us will do the same!

now the question i asked... when we read such kind of news or watch it on tv, don't we always think, comfortably sitting on the sofa, about the onlookers "what these people are doing there just looking at the brawl? shameless! why is no one coming forward to stop the wrong or help? such insensitive public? no responsibility?" don't we?
and when 'we' are one of the 'onlookers' what do 'we' do other than staying off the matter? why then 'we' dont think that someone must be watching us on tv or even from the nearby building window and will be cursing 'us'? shameless irresponsibles are 'we'?