I am in Mumbai, waiting for a miracle

Mumbai 26 th November 2008: 10 Terrorist attack...take the city hostage
60 hours later: the last terrorists are killed.....
looks like a leaf out of a thriller from Federick Forsyth....Jeffrey Archer...or Arthur Hailey......
But no it isn't...it is a drama which played out in front of billions of eyes glued to their television sets.....

70 Hours later: Home minister resigns.....Some more heads to roll.....People express anger...

80 hours later: Chief minister gives movie director a guided tour.....Deputy CM tells "it happens..."...more anger is poured out.....Candles are lit...dead security people are decorated...

100 hours later: Chief minister and deputy CM kicked out ...talk of a Federal intelligence Agency....Better infra for NSG...more hubs for NSG....still anger and frustrations continue.....and more candles are lit..people want "Action"...some want dictatorship...some want War....intelligence says info was given to govt...

200 Hours later: political parties will point fingers at each other....divide us..we will get divided.....the people who want dictatorship ..cringe if their belongings are searched when they g to a mall..or asked to show their Id when in Office..... people who want "War"......are worried about their investments in stock market..and ask govt to cut spending...Navy says it was not conclusive..

some time in Future the cycle repeats itself......difference bieng today it ismumbai tom it can be Delhi..Bangalore...chennai..Hyd...Kolkatta...god knows when it will end.....

I don't have any solutions at present...but we really need to look into ourselves not our neighbors....will we able to stand up..and be counted as an India....will we change....for every person is like a lamp..who lights up anothers darkness...there is a beautiful chapter in Hindi on change...and it ended with saying is "agyan rupi andhakar ko hatana ke liye ek diya jalana kafi hai...is ek ke lau se hum ek aur jala sakte hain aur aise hum sare agyan rupi andhakar ko gyan ke prakash se door bhaga sakte hain"....so change u r self..be more responsible...each one does their duty...we can work to annihilate terrorism.....

Well as to the reason for the heading for my post...it is te title of a song from Raghu Dixit Experiment...its my latest taste to the wonder called hope.....here is the lyrics
"

Aankhon mein sapane hazaaron leke aaya
Na koi ghar hai na jeb mein rupayya
Hazaaron chere par main akela
Eekha hai maine yaaron jindagi ka mela
Well I am in Mumbai…

Raat mein koi jaaga din mein hai soya
Paise ke peeche dekho har koi bhaaga
Dhoond rahi hai insaniyath yahaan
Kahin na kahin mil jay eek insaan

Well I am in Mumbai, waiting for a miracle

Kisi ka saya ho ya jeb mein rupayya
Nahi toh phooti teri kismet bhaiyaa
Has rahi hai maut yahaan
Har kahin dekho bhaiyya bhook ka mela.

Well I am in Mumbai, waiting for a miracle

Koi bane raja bas ek din mein
Toh koi ek raat mein aaya sadak pe
Kaisa raaz ye shehar ka bhaiyya
Har kisi ko apnaaye jaisi meri maiyaa

Well I am in Mumbai, waiting for a miracle"

Hope a miracle touches our lives soon...atleast for the sake of my country...which seems to running low on Miracles and hope....

Adios "Dada"!!!!!---> haloa Dhoni!!!!!---> Change ....."Obama"--->Hope...

hmmm...A billion hearts bid adieu to a man close to thier hearts...some loved him...and some hated him..but he does leave he legacy of Assertiveness and killer instinct to indiain cricket....he has built a base on which ...it the turn of another going to be great captain Dhoni...can bnuild his Sky Scraper....and when India reaches to the very Top it will remeber these two men and thier contribution to the game....three fav incidents with Ganguly have been firstly him Irittating the great Steve Waugh....Him dancing topless at Lord's....and the famous Indian Huddle....."Dada" you rock.....
Well over to Captain cool M.S Dhoni....God bless him in his quest...the first baby steps have been taken....


Well on the subject of Change...lets congratulate the one who has madechnage a mantra...a mn who created hisory....a truly enagmatic orator and idealist......well its none other than the 44th president of the United States of America..Barack Hussein Obama II.....hmm..here is some of what makes him so popular:
"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. "

"People of Berlin - people of the world - this is our moment. This is our time. "
"

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.

We are, and always will be, the United States of America."

Hello Any body out there in India...listening to this...please wake up.....

Straight from the Narrator of a new Best Seller “The Book Thief” ….

Guess, Who I may be??? Ha…I am Death* Himself……..man am I busy now days….thanks to all of you…Bomb Blasts..Hate crimes…Wars…Especially u guys the species called "Indians"…really endangered u r…though officially u r numbers are astronomical…but every time I am either called in to take busloads of Hindus or Muslims or Christians or Marathi or Bengalis….Tamilians or Kannadigas….somehow I seem to have never met an "Indian"….but have felt the despair…the despair of death of an Identity...God help u ppl…and me too…by putting some sense into you….maybe in the future I will meet an "Indian"…..

As I told my dear "Book Thief"…I will let you in on the only Truth…I am haunted by Humans.

After the ranting of my friend Death…I am really afraid…if Death himself is afraid of us Humans…we are mere mortals….God save us from our self centered existence…Ideally in such a pathetic mood …would leave you to sulk in the gloominess….but it was just Diwali…and the I hope the lights of Diwali will bring some brightness to cheer up the gloom….

Hangover......:-)

Officially it has been just three months...since we have left...the environs of our wilderness...but these three months have been very long drawn...where every moment has been filled with the memories of yesterday...and I have not been alone in this..everybody u meet from the wilderness seems to uncontrollably in one way or the other yearn to be back in the wilderness...the two years took us to such a high..that we going to be hung over the same for a long time to come... as we step into world class organizations to start of our new careers..we feel dwarfed in front of their massive size and stature...but at the end of the day we know that the two years have made capable enough to stand up and be counted in the sea of humanity which surrounds us...

I wonder when life will settle down and we all be busy with not just surviving but outrunning our peers..will these memories fade away to be filled in by new ones..or these bonds we have formed are strong enough to withstand the erosion of time... to end of here is a song which sums up pretty well what i feel right now -

"Once upon a time, there was a tavern
Where we used to raise a glass or two
Remember how we laughed away the hours,
Think of all the great things we would do

Those were the days, my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we'd choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way

La La La La La La
La La La La La La
La La La La La La La La La La

Then, the busy years went rushing by us
We lost our starry notions on the way
If, by chance, I'd see you in the tavern,
We'd smile at one another and we'd say

Those were the days, my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we'd choose
We'd fight and never lose
Those were the days, oh yes, those were the days"
Mary Hopkins - Those Were The Days, My Friend
(http://artists.letssingit.com/song-v7x2lgm)
He he somethings never change....

A trip down Memory Lane.......

Past few days was spent in walking up and down the memory lane...the wildwerness was relieved....the memories visited...fill us with hapiness...and a strange feeling of sadness....long live the wilderness....lookout for our comeback in october...as I try to soak up the euphoria...there is a lot of madness and Sorrow around...50000 die is China Earthquake ....100,000 in Myanmar....and even hen the Govt there doesnt want any help...are they even Human...or r they just greedy B*****ds...why is there no concious in their souls...hmm...

The IPL is going on full swing...the Bangalore team has been a let down for most of the tournament...but thre is still hope in the form of Knight Riders...Well some perks I get from bieng a Bengali form Bangalore....ha...ha...till today i never understand why people want me to take a stand as to what i am??? a Kannadiga or a Bengali...why should I why cant I be both...why cant I just be an Indian or a Bangalorean....Why??? Why must I choose between the two states of exixtenece?? Why this Binary perception of my identitty???...

All this is killing the euphoria....so getting back to here is a song I am listening to while rwriting this....all about remebering the good old days...

hmmmmmmmmm……..hmmmmmmmm
coffee house er sei adda ta ajj ar nei ajj ar nei
kothai hariye gelo shonali bikel gulo sei ajj ar nei
nikhiles paris e, moidol dhaka te nei tara ajj kono khobor e
grand er guiterist gouaniz d’souza ghumiye ache je kobor e
ka ke jeno bhalobeshe aghat peye je shes e pagla garod e ache roma roy
amol ta bhugche dhoronto cancer e jibon kore ni take khoma haiiiiiiii
coffee house er sei adda ta ajj ar nei ajj ar nei
kothai hariye gelo shonali bikel gulo sei ajj ar nei
shujata e ajj sodo sob cheye shuke ache
shunechi tu lakh poti shami tar
hire r johorot e aga gora mora she
nami dami bari ghari ache tar
art college er chele nikhileshaonlal biggapon er chobi akto
ar chukh vora kotha niye nirbak srota hoye d’souza ta sodo bose thakto
ohhhhhhhhhh
coffee house er sei adda ta ajj ar nei ajj ar nei
kothai hariye gelo shonali bikel gulo sei ajj ar nei
lalalalalalala
ekta table e sei 3/4 ghonta
char minar sodo thote jolto
kokhono bishnu dey kokhono jamini rai
ei niye torko ta cholto
rod jor brishti te jekhanei je thakok
kaj sere thik eshe jortam
charte te suro kore jomiye adda mere
sare 7 tai thik uthtam
coffee house er sei adda ta ajj ar nei ajj ar nei
lalalalalalallalala……..
kobi kobi chehra kadhe te julano bag
muche jabe amol er naam ta
ekta kobita o tar holo nako kothao chapa
pelo na she protiva r dam ta
office er sosal e memture natok e
roma roy obhinoy korto
kagoj er reporter moidol eshe roj
ki likheche tai sodo porto
coffee house er sei adda ta ajj ar nei ajj ar nei
kothai hariye gelo shonali bikel gulo sei ajj ar nei
sei 7 jon nei ajj table ta tobo ache
7 ta peyala ajj o khali nei
ek bhagane je ajj esheche nutun kuri
sodo sei sedin er mali nei
koto shopner rod uther ei soffe house e
koto shopno megh e deke jai
koto jon elo gelo
koto jon e asbe
coffee house ta sodo theke jai
coffee house er sei adda ta ajj ar nei ajj ar nei
kothai hariye gelo shonali bikel gulo sei ajj ar nei
hhhmmmmmmmmmm lalalalalalala

and here is a poem by wordsworth...which is such a feel good piece to make the mood much lighter and mellow...astala Vista....

"Daffodils"

I wander'd lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the Milky Way,

They stretch'd in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

Will the cycle be complete????

As per Mythology Life always comes a full cycle........But I dont know why I started this entry.........speaking of which there hasnt been anything noteworthy happening other than IPL....Hmm...interesting....hmm....I thing the Cycle was meant to denote my journey to Chennai , for Mom's Visa interview...Something I have always wanted to go to...but something has always come up...keeping me away...

I am a MBA............and then...

As the fateful day ariveth...there was a lot of butterflies...but ...the graduating class of 2006-08...passed with flying colours....so the time for the final farewell to my wilderness..had come...the stars and waves are now going to be memories...ones which will last for ever....yep these were some of the Best days of my Life...well Time to move on to ..into an Oblivion...into the unknown future...in pursuit of Happiness...

The other day I saw this movie which is called ""The Lives of Other"..its a German movie...which endears the soul of a free man...about the joys of free thinking and action...the ignonimity of feeling powerless..in control..is something we grapple with every second of life...well all said and done the movie was worth watching and got an applause from the audience...a poem which is popping into my head...by Tagore goes as follows:

"WHERE the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake. "

It is very apt for the movies different protagonists...in its own way....So signing off in my new journey..in Pursuit of Happiness..........

Rubber Balls...and Crystals....

BTW this is not anything vulgar....rather is a little boring...Its Convo season...My sister had hers on 24th...my cousin today and in another 3 days is mine...so The Chief Guest at my cousins Convo at IIMB...gave a very interesting analogy for managing Family and work...the analogy goes likes this:

"Friends , Family , Principles, Health and work are all Balls , which we need to Juggle in our lifes..and sometimes to keep balance we need to drop a ball....and work is a rubber ball which will bounce back but all the others are made of Crystal which will break..." The thought is inspiring..but is it feasible in this world of cut throat competition...intersting thought??

Then our very own Mukhesh Bhai...(Mukhesh Ambani)..gave an awsome speech on how the future of our country depends in hands of the budding mangers of today...truly speaking we are in a time when our country is on verge of greatness....and it is going to be our decisions which are going to steer it to its destination to the top...but is this generation of Techies and Managers upto it...will we be able to handle the burden of change...of course there is always Hope that we will succeed....

Speaking of Hope hers a passage from Jerome K Jeromes Three Men In a Boat...

"Once upon a time, through a strange country, there rode some goodly knights, and their path lay by a deep wood, where tangled briars grew very thick and strong, and tore the flesh of them that lost their way therein. And the leaves of the trees that grew in the wood were very dark and thick, so that no ray of light came through the branches to lighten the gloom and sadness. And, as they passed by that dark wood, one knight of those that rode,missing his comrades, wandered far away, and returned to them no more; and they, sorely grieving, rode on without him, mourning him as one dead.

Now, when they reached the fair castle towards which they had been journeying, they stayed there many days, and made merry; and one night, as they sat in cheerful ease around the logs that burned in the great hall, and drank a loving measure, there came the comrade they had lost, and greeted them. His clothes were ragged, like a beggar's, and many sad wounds were on his sweet flesh, but upon his face there shone a great radiance of deep joy.

And they questioned him, asking him what had befallen him: and he told them how in the dark wood he had lost his way, and had wandered many days and nights, till, torn and bleeding, he had lain him down to die. Then, when he was nigh unto death, lo! through the savage gloom there came to him a stately maiden, and took him by the hand and led him on through devious paths, unknown to any man, until upon the darkness of the wood there dawned a light such as the light of day was unto but as a little lamp unto the sun; and, in that wondrous light, our way-worn knight saw as in a dream a vision, and so glorious, so fair the vision seemed, that of his bleeding wounds he thought no more, but stood as one entranced, whose joy is deep as is the sea, whereof no man can tell the depth. And the vision faded, and the knight, kneeling upon the ground, thanked the good saint who into that sad wood had strayed his steps, so he had seen the vision that lay there hid. And the name of the dark forest was Sorrow; but of the vision that the good knight saw therein we may not speak nor tell."

To me the Vision he talks about is nothing but manifestation of HOPE......

The Final Countdown.....

In about another 137...hours the greatest two years of my life will come to an end...the stage is set...its time to pass out and move on...the world is beckoning...the future is ..hazy...the chaos in on the rise...the uncertainty is killing silently...the stars look distant...the sound of the waves sound distant...but the future beyond them now seems to be filled with the clangour of chaotic voices...pulling me in different direction....god will it ever end...will i be ever be free...again..I wish I could be an captain Jack Sparrow...who can...set sail...across the world's seas...free as a bird...without a care in the world or Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Eneterprise travelling through the uncertainity of space....some how this poem by Rabindranath Tagore is popping up....

" Child, how happy you are sitting in the dust, playing with a broken twig all the morning.
I smile at your play with that little bit of a broken twig.
I am busy with my accounts, adding up figures by the hour.
Perhaps you glance at me and think, "What a stupid game to spoil your morning with!"
Child, I have forgotten the art of being absorbed in sticks and mud-pies.
I seek out costly playthings, and gather lumps of gold and silver.
With whatever you find you create your glad games, I spend both my time and my strength over things I never can obtain.
In my frail canoe I struggle to cross the sea of desire, and forget that I too am playing a game."

13 days to go...so help me group 13..........

there is a lot to write but no time...am too lazy...coming to the point its almost time to say goodbye to the wilderness...time to get back to all the responsibilities… all the troubles…the control….man…I hope these last few days never end…the place will go so will the people…but what will remain are the memories….the silent memories…of all the great moments spent in this wilderness we have fallen in love…with….I await the final moment with apprehension in my heart…as to what lies beyond….. Well it will be tough to say adios to this world of ours…..hoping for the best….trying to relive as many memories …

Yep its ....2008

10....9...8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1...0.....Yahooo.................its 2008...a new year...a new beginning.........well the conotations were good...but life has strange things stored for us....it could not have started in a worse of fashion....but as a wise man once said "You Never Know"...so hope this new year bring Hapiness and cheer to everybodies life...it is time for Speed and Dinasia....its time to fight hard again...adios amigos and welcome to 2008