Like you, I too have heard countless expressions of this word and it's significance to people. Here's my take to this 4 letter favourite -
Love is not about going out of way and doing something for that ONE, breaking stars, leaving family and friends behind, buying expensive reasons or defining yourself by him/her. It's also not about sullying your life if you didn't get the acceptance from the one you love and nor is it about feeling your best if you ever did find it...
Love is just about missing... it could be the way his/her hair moves in a gentle afternoon breeze, the smile that might be so special for you but common for others, the funny accent he/she speaks with, the way he/she narrates a story or talks, funny movements they do while talking or standing and scores of others.......
ONLY when you start missing these things about that person..........you should know that you're in love.
It's these moments that you miss about that ONE what 'Love' is in the true logic. These moments could last for a few seconds...few mins...few hours...few days...a full week...many months or for years.... Well!!! if you're fortunate, they would last for a lifetime....but as moments they will end.
ONLY if one grasps that as moments they will end someday, one will find immense peace/serenity and gratification in conceding that your life was great because you got a chance to experience those moments.
Short or long...rather than feeling annoyed, despising or blaming them or feeling any other adjective of HATE for the ones you love.
Thus, cherish that every small 'moment' of 'love' that has come to you and remember that you can always look back at them and smile.Regardless whether the moments are today there with you or not...
The time has come for the fundamental to be changed, man will take his rightful place in the celestial wonder,
The Gods have played their mercy song for long, the corner stone hasn't moved an inch since their reign,
The excuse cannot be granted any more, as there is no hope left to pray for,
Towards the unimaginable desires of the human mind, the new course has to be carved by his own deed,
The creature is now the architect of the creator's game, and for all this truth remains the same,
Utopian deliberations will be acknowledged no more, and echo of them will result in more sore,
The nature of the beast will be at test, parasites were not created and thus such feeling should be put to rest,
and the destiny will be shaped,
The Power will be forgotten, and in truce will man will march together,
Victorious he will be and the future vivid, as he has finally chosen to be the rulers of his providence.....
It was a sunny Monday afternoon and the sun God must have gone crazy that day. As I drove to a lunch appointment, I could
feel the heat passing through the windscreen and literally blistering my arms
and face. Even with the car air conditioning at full I couldn't escape the
wrath of God that day. Amidst the helplessly accepted honking, I
faintly remember hearing the radio presenter saying that
the temperature is clocking 44 degree Celsius or 111 degree
Fahrenheit ( for our friend from West). If you have been lucky and never faced such temperature, facing
winds at this temperature can give fatal heat strokes if not taken
precautions. Coming out of Nat geo channel, at this point I was sitting comfortably inside the car and could only imagine how it would it be to stand outside and face the brunt of nature.
From a distance, I saw the Sony World junction approaching ahead and prepared
myself to forcefully spend at least 5-10 mins at the infamous red light. Though it's recognized but cursing makes me keep peace with my self. After a few mins
I reached the stop sign me and my buds call the "point of no return".
In this case our patience!!!
While sitting there and losing my patience to the black hole, I
started observing a regular group of less fortunates( I hate to use the B word)
running to the people sitting in scores of cars, bikes and public transports
asking for money. I usually keep some spare change
in the cigarette ash tray (Now that doesn't mean I
don't smoke but definitely not in the car) for buying small stuff from people
selling off the street. If you've noticed, since the last few years many people now sell on the streets. These could be from small
gift items, daily utility items to books and magazines. If you look at most, you can easily figure out that these are the now reformed "less
fortunate" who must have been approached by some small unit of a much larger
nexus (purposely chose the word) of NGOs. The arrangement would be have been simple, you sell these items(that some smaller vendors probably can't sell off TSN , famous
Tele Shopping Network) for usand we'll give you a daily wage. They in turn will get big
profits directly from the companies. That could explain why we don't see everyone
latching on to this idea and earning a decent living. I'm no judge!!!
Among the group I saw a young boy, probably about 15 yrs, running
from 'prospect' to 'prospect' asking for money. Undeterred by the frowns and
the curses he was able enough to convince the few faint hearted for some coins.
At the same time I noticed an old man with no legs desperately trying to drag
him across the street and reach up to the windows of the cars and to the
pillion riders. Not to guess that he wasn't really successful to do his sales
no.'s for the stop light. Seeing his condition, reached out to a currency note hanging out of my
"money box" and I thought I should give it to him. As much as I am
against giving money to these people, I couldn't ignore the plight of this man.
To help him, I honked and waved my hand at him. He turned towards the direction
where he thought the sound came from and was delighted to see my pitiful
face and more necessarily the ten rupee note in my hand. He forced
himself to react as quickly as he could to reach my car. Suddenly the traffic
light turned to green and the sweet sound of Oliver Lucas's simple invention of
a steel diaphragm and electro magnate done in 1910, surrounded the entire
areas. The kids of the traffic devil started moving. At this point I was
concerned about getting the ten rupee note to this man. I saw the cripples face
turning red with confusion and fear. He looked up at me for one last time and
dragged himself back to the pavement on the other side of the road. I felt
saddened. However, even before I could take the moment and let the irony of
life seek in to my heavy heart, I saw the other young
boy suddenly appearing next to my car running and reaching out
for the ten rupee note. Which was still in my out stretched hand. By
that time I didn't mind him taking it from me. I drove off with a different
outlook to the life of the les malheureux.
I reached my destination and the memories of this incident became
lucid during the day. I recall it was about 8pm when I was coming back
home. We had plans to meet a good friend and his wife over dinner. I wanted to
pick some flowers from the florist next to the coffee shop near the
"PONR" crossroad. As I approached the stop sign I looked out of the
window to the other side of the road. My attention was diverted by a group of
young and middle aged men standing beside the liquor shop. They were
shabbily dressed and were swearing and shouting. I was about to ignore the
irritants when I saw the young boy from the morning. He was shouting and
drinking as if he was basking a hard day’s work. As I left him with them,
there was only one thought in my mind - What a waste of a perfectly good human
life...
Somewhere feeling cheated and fooled, I passed the crossroad and
went ahead. As I passed the crossroad, I saw the cripple waiting at the same side of
the road expecting the traffic signal to turn red soon. It was clear that it was another day he couldn't get enough to retire for decent meal. A similar yet far contrast in life.
The thought still lingers somewhere in my head - Those who don't
realize what they have got.....
To the readers - This is an email reply that I gave to one of my single friends when he was trying to convince us to go for an IPL match between RCB n KKR...the names are changed but the mood would be evident to you all..Hope you like the funny twist to young couples trying their hands at saving money...
Dear Major General Patton Majumdar aka 'Beer Tanker's
tunnel',
I'm confused, why haven't you been preview to this change
in the ongoing "Battle of Finances aka hold of IPL". All parties fell
back on the charge due to significant casualties on their finance front. The
news about the retreat was relayed through the corporate band over the WWW
network. The message was encrypted and sent with utmost secrecy.
The 4 platoon commanders came up to this decision due to
following reasons -
1. Commander Phull - When the order came, at first
Commander Phull aka 'Khajanchi calculator' was brave enough and decided to lead
the charge without his longtime trusted Lieutenant, Pinki Phull aka 'Joshilee
Punjaaban'. However, after being briefed by her on the immobility caused to the
movement of the currency soldiers due to the bombardment by HaDaFaaCee(deadly
arm of the infamous Kamakaze squadron) on the newly acquired bomb shelter, he
decided to give Lieutenant Pinki Phull a hand in gathering the currency
soldiers for the renovation and decoration of the bomb shelter.
2. Commander Baruah - As you're aware he has a fully
stacked garrison which has a great supply of existing INR soldiers and now
backed by the US currency soldier aid given during his trip for the US treaty
negotiation. Moreover, with the current coalition with the partisans resistance currency soldiers,
Commander Baruah aka 'Silent drinker' was the first to send his troops for
attacking the fox hole dug by the ticket counters. He was determined to blow
the IPL ticketing counters out of their fox holes to kingdom come along with
the fierce Lieutenant payal Baruah aka 'Dynamically Darpok Lalita ji' .
Unfortunately, he was given the sad news of the other 3 Commanders not being
able to the "Battle of Finances aka hold of IPL" due to the overall
casualties in the ongoing "WAR of Expenses", he remembered that every
currency soldier is worth saving when the time comes. Hence he decided to back
out for now.
3. Commander Pant - Commander Pant was determined to give
out a fully fledged, all out attack at "Battle of Finances aka hold of
IPL" and so agreed when he heard that all his trusted fellow Commanders
have agreed to go to the battle. Bizarrely, somewhere in his excitement of
gathering the precious FUEL and reliving the daily war games with friends, he
forgot the war field diagrams and intricate mission planning that his stern,
calculative, right hand WO-man, lieutenant Babali Pant had done for the future.
After reading the official deployment orders accepted by Commander Pant, she
confronted him. She briefed him about the heavy push that the ferocious
Banker's Brigade will put on them when they will be mounting attack to win the
Home post. Sadly, he had to hold his adrenaline rush and ask his currency
soldiers to form position in the ammunition factory called the 'ladies purse'.
4. Commander Mukherjee - He was also among the first few
to blow the whistle to his calm and calculative subordinate Lieutenant Romita
Mukherjee aka 'Shaant Toofaan''s plans of fortifying their current position
with newly liberated currency soldiers that have joined after she rescued(and
continues to..) them from The Publishing House POW camp. Realizing Commander
Mukherjee aka 'Timepass Pujaari' 's Gung-Ho attitude and his weekend mission to
sabotage the IPL ticketing counter's propaganda meeting of their secret service
groups RCB and KKR, Lieutenant Mukherjee lured him to a more important
espionage adventure. She told him about the ultimate plan of cutting supplies
to the most dreaded henchmen in the 'War of Expenses', General Tax collector's
headquarter IT department. So TP has set out on the espionage mission to invest
his currency soldiers on capturing the Concorde(their house project) fighter
plane.
As you can see the vigor was to do give you total support
on the "Battle of Finances aka hold of IPL" but due to the
enlightening revelation of bigger 'WAR OF THE EXPENSES' decided to hold off the
advance until everyone regroups with filled BANKS(pronounced TANKS) to support
you in the future battles.
Looking at your kind cooperation to support us by your
currency soldiers kept on reserve. If you can provide them to us the 4
Commanders and their Lieutenants would do their best to lead your troops at the
"Battle of Finances aka hold of IPL" and provide you required support
to make it a memorable WIN.
Destination of a soul isn't defined by the place of origin of the body!!
- Blogger's original.
Born in a family with a defense background, I grew being influenced by the stories from my granddad, dad and uncle during WW2, China aggression or the infamous wars with our “neighbors”. The selfless acts of heroics by the armed personnel were a delight and revelations for my young psyche. Out of the scores of adventures, one particular story stuck with me for life. This incident happened when British troops were ordered to infiltrate the Japanese resistance in Burma after their invasion in December 1941. After suffering heavy causality in North Africa, the British Army was not ready to launch an operation until the British army was trained in guerrilla warfare. In January 1943, the task of advancing into Burma was given to the Indian troops. The 14th Indian Division, with troops mainly from Madras, and they included Tamils, Telagu, Malayalam, Singalese, Goalese, Gurkha, Pathan and Baluchis, started along the Burmese coast to the port of Akyab. Burma was criss-crossed with jungle, mountains, rivers and mangrove swamps.
Where the Japanese were stationed, they had dug themselves in. Most could only be destroyed by heavy artillery and moving such equipment about in Burma was extremely difficult. Combined to the well-placed and well-built bunkers, was the fighting spirit of the Japanese who fought until death.
It was among the troops of the 14th Division that the story unfolds. After 14 days of dreadful journey on foot the division CO(Company Officer) received intelligence about a heavily fortified bunker with 2 type 92 heavy machine gun(nicknamed “woodpecker” because of the particular sound it made when fired) and probably 1 or 2 type 94 90mm infantry mortars with about 10 men holed in. The team had to move very warily as there was an evident threat of sniper fire. The CO was a young Punjabi lad from Amritsar and the only senior officer to take orders from HQ. It was imperative that the CO is guarded and kept alive until they reach the allied out post. The second in command, who was mid age Chennai (Madras) man insisted that he would wear the COs hat and overcoat so that the Japanese snipers would mistake him for the CO. So he wore the COs accessories and walked in the center surrounded by 4 soldiers. The team had taken just 10 steps when a shot was heard and the man’s forehead was cracked open. Anyone could tell that he had died even before he fell to the ground. There were no more gun shots as the work was done and the Japanese sniper knew the troops we direction less and will be ambushed anytime soon. The body was retrieved and another soldier who, as grand dad recalled, was a Goanese sipahi (foot soldiers in Hindi) quickly picked up the blood stained hat and overcoat to sacrifice his life for the rest of the squad. I never got to know how many people died during that 5 kilometer hike but this episode of extreme selfless sacrifice left a sense of great pride and unity in my mind for the Indian spirit. The life which was saved many times that day was not questioned on the basis of which state it came from and what was its “mother tongue”.
This brings me to the prevalent ignorance that I was a preview to when I moved to the Southern part of India a few years back. I shifted to a major cosmopolitan city in Karnataka sometime around 2007. Even before becoming the silicon valley of our country it was a desired destination for students from across India because of the inconceivable availability of seats for Medical and Engineering colleges. Thousands of Indian students came to this, once a quiet and peaceful place, popularly known as the “Pensioners Paradise”. The city witnessed a great influx of students from around the country but primarily from the Northern and the West side. Law and order blamed the rise in crime rate to the increase in population and extravagant night life. Somewhere during this time, they conveniently held the so called “HINDI” speaking “North Indians” responsible for this mayhem.
During my stay in the city in the next 2 years, I came across many occasions when I was asked if I knew the local language, Kannada. To which I replied that I don’t need to as my office colleagues or my local friends either speak with me in little Hindi or suitably converse in English (“Queens language” is more comfortable). The majority of the ignorant lot used to ask me why is it that I continue to speak in North Indian mother tongue, Hindi (also assumed to be my mother tongue) and haven’t tried to learn the local language as I’m staying in the southern state now. I chose to stay silent…
Few incidents happened which made me pen down my reaction to this generously accepted perception of HINDI being a North Indians “mother tongue”. First to mark was when I visited a short course on international communication at IIM-B( No brainer now!!!!) and one of the esteemed lecturer made a silent cry about how resident from North India come to Karnataka but still speak in Hindi and don’t make an effort to learn Kannada. A few months back a local corporator or some “TYPE” of politician made a statement that any resident who has either bought a house in Bangalore or has been living for more than 10yrs will have to learn Kannada. To him – what you earn comes from the pocket of the people who are paying tax for the state. Secondly, every state has a mother tongue and language of its own. Hindi is just the commonly used language across India and once stated as the National language of India.
As Hindi is not a language that comes from any particular state in the northern side of India, every citizen has some or the other mother tongue that they follow. Every state in north or east have their own local language. - UP has multiple languages, Awadhi, Bundeli, Braj Bhasha, Kannauji, Bhojpuri and Bagheli, in Rajasthan people speak Marwari, Mewari, Dhundhari, Mewati and Harauti, Uttarakhand has Kumauni and Gardhwali, Gujrat has Gujrati, Punjab has Punjabi, etc.
Hence, if one feels that anyone who speaks Hindi comes from North and that Hindi is his Mother tongue and should learn the local language, It's a sincere request, that please realize that it's not. And anyone would love to learn the state language but should only do it if it's extremely needful and moreover if the other are willing to learn their mother tongue!!!! Because HINDI is not a typical North Indian's mother tongue.
Otherwise, to think of it - At this rate we should gear up for learning at least the 22 languages recognized in the constitution of India to start with.
I hope that in it's own way this small piece was able to shatter the myth!!!
Again, let’s not obliterate the essence of India which is inimitable to any other only because of the Unity in diversity. Our constitution in itself is written by the people and not just for the people by someone.…
Leaving with the Preamble –
“ WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;
and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;
IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.
