split must we?

we are getting divided
yet again
the splits are for loss
or, can't reckon, gain

one fasted silently
during the big partition
other abstined upto death
for another division

more want the markers
new borders to be drawn
more want clearly divided
a mornig from the same dawn

"this not your land
that not our land
you and us in the same hall
we both just can't stand!!

"you unaware of history
we were seperate once
perfect is the logic
we should slice hence

"sure it will pain a little
where the limb will break off
lust, not time, will heal
when we alone will show off"

who won?

look... it is perfectly logical that eventually a handful of terrorists will surely be brought under control either by capture or by kill by any anti-terrorist force. it was to happen when their ammunitions were exhausted. so an arrest of one and killing of rest few is not an impact. impact was what they made. killed hundreds and damaged millions. they did what they came for.
pardon me, but i am not too proud of our police/military force on 26/11. they just got passing marks and the government escaped with grace marks.
here we din't fought. yes, we saved a few lives but otherwise we let the actions happen. we were defensive. we waited for our turn and thought of it after they had taken theirs. just a handful against a big force! victory and fight was there, on the peak of Kargil. there was the pride. there were martyrs.
we were not prepared in mumbai. not long ago did the '06 blasts happened. we didn't did our homework. we didn't learned our lessons.
we can still be under attack anytime. who knows? can anyone even predict let alone declare? are we safe? and how longer our country will be the favourite soft target? where are the tough guys? seems useless to say or question anymore. we have to live like this. let the world flow and we too floating on it like a dry leaf. sometimes stuck against rocks, sometimes in rapids, sometimes hit by a stone some boy has thrown.
that force was not at fault. they followed orders. the system which ordered was malicious.
we will have a contingent of cops at a single square to catch hold of vehicles without helmet or seat-belts but too few or none to stop two terrorists at a huge railway station. these will be carrying sophisticated speed guns to catch a speeding vehicle but not enough advanced ammunition to stop terrorists roaming on our streets and in our hotels!
we don't have power and are at the receiving end, so we care. and those who have the might... who cares?

intention and gesture

the hall was half full. all were standing as the Tricolour fluttered on the screen and Jan Gan Man played. there was minor, almost negligible movement among people. almost all were well poised. i felt good. could even hear a few humming and me too let out my slow voice. a phone rang in front of me and this guy cut the call!

and the next time we people stopped at the entrance itself coz we could hear the anthem there.

i presume, in fact believe, this act of us was not out of any sort of compulsion. everyone knew what one should do and was doing it. and this was in contrast of all other activities we consciously or unconsciously take pleasure in doing when we are told not to. like parking at no parking or spitting at do not spit.

of course we all had a respect for the anthem. maybe we all remembered the teaching in civic, how to respect our national anthem and flag. "We should do this" was what we were taught. i think we never took this as an instruction or a rule that we would enjoy breaking. and if we ever thought so, maybe we were also thinking that atleast lets not break this rule.

now i dont expect we all would be doing the same if we heard the anthem when we were on street or in a meeting or in a restaurant. we would feel a bit sorry and will continue with our chore. the intention will be more important then than the gesture. like i always touch my parent's feet whenever i meet them after long but maybe i'll miss doing it if they stood there with open arms and we hug. no one would mind!

well, though i do feel bit awkward to see some players of our cricket team with their hands on chest in american style when they should be standing attention. either don't do it or do it properly? an immature thought! hehe.

intention above gesture my friend! intention above gesture! and we all have good intentions... atleast for one thing. and its great to see this :)

Why do people risk their lives for others

an important conversation.

in the episode #70, at the funeral of The Third Hokage

Naruto: Iruka sensei. Why do people risk their lives for others?

Iruka sensei: When one person dies... he disappers. Along with his past, current lifestyle and his future. Many people die in missions and wars. They die easily and in surprisingly simple ways. Hayate was one of them. Those who die have goals and dreams. But everyone has something as important as those. Parents, siblings, friends, lovers... people who are important to you. They trust and help each other. The bond between the people important to you ever since birth... and the string that binds them becomes thicker and stronger as time goes by. It's beyond reason. Those bound to you by that string will do that. Because its important.

Naruto: Yes... I think I understand, somewhat. But... it's painful when someone dies.

Kakashi sensei: The Third didn't die for nothing. He left something important in all of us. You'll find out what eventually.

Naruto: Yeah, I think I understand that too, somewhat.

Iruka Sensei: (thinking) It seems like the small leaves in the Hidden Village of Konoha have inherited that fire of will you spoke of, Third. The fire on the leaves will eventually burn greater and stronger. It will flash its light and protect this village.

special day

yesterday my friend said "sunday is father's day". tv channels were showing gifting ideas and bachchan dad and bachchan son. i asked him when's mother's day? he told me.

i remembered something and fetched the newspaper again. there were a few articles telling and talking about child labour. it was 'Anti Child Labour Day'. but i was of no use by then for this day. scanned through tv channels... they are as it is of no use.

prayed after a long time and slept.

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!

... 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?

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'?