Flashes in the again, but.....

... all dedicated to the best President India has ever had.

Waiting for the next President

For the records, Pratibha Patil is the person who shall take over the dignified auspices of the premises that have been home to some of the greatest visionaries India has produced. But somehow, it seems that something somewhere is missing. The pieces of the jigsaw are all there, but still, the picture is not complete.

Maybe I am waiting for a president whose addresses to the nation would consist of roadmaps to the future. One who had not only a vision of India's future, but also ideas about how to go about it. One whose life had been dedicated to the purpose of making India a developed, confident and dignified nations. One who was above all politics and dramatics that our 'men in white' indulge in. One who was as proud an Indian as can be. And above all, one who made the Rashtrapati Bhawan a 'People's Palace'.

Maybe, somewhere in the lobbies of Rashtrapati Bhawan, as the outgoing First Indian citizen packs his baggage and leaves, a nostalgic voice will call and say, 'We will miss you, Kalam Sir'.

India will miss you, Kalam Sir.

The drama and irony of the democracy

All the way, since I was a child and started learning about country and government from the NCERT Civics books in school, I had developed a deep sense of security in the system that we are so proud of... democracy. And today, I wonder...

Is the number of Indians that want Kalam out of office less than those who want a change? If yes, I sit down and shut up. But if not, then i question the very basics of the system of presidential election. Are the voices of Indians so badly lost out to political rhetorics and communal dramatics that we are nobody but numbers in the game called politics? Our votes do count. But then, is that the end of it? Our voices don't count?

Questions are many. any answers?

Advice to Team India

Everyone is doing it. So why should I remain behind?? Here Goes.

Virender Sehwag:

We like the swing of the bat.... but the ball has to reciprocate the swing of the bat... not carry on its own swing, and crash into stumps from the bat

Sourav Ganguly:
Remember just one thing... you led India to the world cup final. And also, the fact that you are wearing pads, chest guard, helmet, shin guard, even an Al-guard. And that stepping out of crease and hitting the ball for a six are not independent activities... you have to do the latter in order to make the former worthwhile. And also, dude... they don't call you dada for nothing.

Uthappa, Munaf and Kaarthik:
Enjoy the world cup. What else to tell you... your teammmates will tell you the rest. If they understand, that is.

Rahul Dravid:
Go out there on the pitch with your bags and baggage. If needed, sleep there. You are the wall. You are the spine of India. You need to stay on the Pitch. Jammy needs to lick each and every bowler out there.

Sachin Tendulkar:
You are the master. You are the blaster. Just keep urself up. There will be lesser mortals around you and you just have to live with them. Also, you have to make learn why there can be only one Sachin.

Yuvraj Singh:
Remember your name. Remember the 84 run debut. Remember the 325 Natwest chase. Remember the match winning half centuries. Challenge the impossibilities like you have always done. Just remember to be more careful while playing KhoKho next time. Glittering catches will take care of themselves.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni:
Survey the area around the stadium. Suevey all the stands. That is where you will dispatch the balls, and we do not want to lose precious moments by letting hapless opposition fielders search for the balls. And yes, your mane rocks. So do your shots. And before I forget, i think you also keep for India na? Keep it up.

Ajit Agarkar:
It doesn't matter whether you bowl in death or opening. Just bowl wicket to wicket. Wicket is a set of three wooden staffs, parallel to the ground on either side of the pitch, in a plane perpendicular to the ground. Usually it is concealed behind the batsman. By batsman, I mean the one who is taking strike. Non strikers / runners are not considered to be in front of the wickets.

Zaheer Khan:
Trapping Sourav Ganguly in County and Ranji is not enough. You need to trap Gilchrist, Gibbs, Lara, and so on. That includes players from Bangladesh and Bermuda.

Harbhjan Singh:
Bhajji, Shane Warne bowled the ball of the century.
Bhajji, Shane Warne bowled the ball of the century.
Bhajji, Shane Warne bowled the ball of the century.
Bhajji, Shane Warne bowled the ball of the century.
Bhajji, Shane Warne bowled the ball of the century.
Bhajji, Shane Warne bowled the ball of the century.
Bhajji, You are playing instead of Kumble.....

Indianisation of the West??

So, TATA bought Corus and became the fifth largest Steel conglomerate, striking a vibrant note in the Indian industry, unending rounds of applause and even rhetoric, and stories of India making its presence felt in the international arena.

Jamshedji Tata was once famously scoffed at by Chief of British Railways, who said that If India ever made steel to British standards, he will eat every ounce of it. Well, if not TATA steel, he might be eating a humble pie, to say the least.

To TATA, well done. Just hope that the champagnes don't fizz out quickly, and the acquisition reflects in the quality and quantity of the Indian products, which are still competitive only in terms of prices... so theat 'India Poised' and 'India Shining' dreams come closer to reality.

Too early to call it Indianisation of the West, but certainly one more thing that inspires Indians to Dream bigger and better.

A moment to sit back...

Last week was one of the best ones in my life as a 'Professional'. Not because of anything 'great' that I did to L&T or L&T did to me... but because i got to meet four dear old friends...

More than anything else, I realized how much I had been missing in my life...

Coz with friends, I finally had someone asking me not what I had been doing, but how I had been... someone with whom I could again become who I was... ppl with whom i could again touch that innocence that, I realized, I had long long lost in the furious pace of life that I have already started enjoying... people who could take me back in time, to the world that I miss now.

Coz after zapping around with things like job, career, future and the like, it pays to unbelong... to forget everything else and talk nonsense... to be me, again... and more than anything else, a moment to sit back and watch life go by!!!

One fine Tuesday....

One fine tuesday, there was a heading in Times of India: 'Munna Not a Bhai'....That same tuesday, a major news on BBC read: 'Hizbul Mujahidin's Most wanted terrorist 'Sohel Faisal' killed, Indian Major loses his life'

On News#1, experts like Salman Khan were reiterating their faith in goodness of Sanju Dada on front page. News#2 never made it to National newspaper Headlines.

News#1 told us how Sanju dada was the sole bread earner for His family, and how he put this point across in the court, which was 'moving'.

As far as news # 2 is concerned, Major Manish H Pitambare also had a family. But he didn't think 'I have a little daughter' (18 months old daughter, his wife and his old parents survive him) when he recieved the whereabouts of the Hizb Commander.

Ironically, as if to further link the two stories, Major Pitambare was killed with a bullet fired rom AK47.

Salute to the men of honour who fight and die for our motherland, so that we can live happily and smile at Sanjay dutt stories

Flashes in the pan... Part II

Yet another day when the free slack in my activities is allowing me to diverge from my critical path. In other words, m a bit free today. So another one of the flashes....

Talked to a lot of old school friends after 4-5 years... Orkut is Great!! Felt amazing how the distances of years can be erased in minutes.... in the same world where minutes are deemed sufficient to wipe away eras of trust and friendship...

Sometimes, I feel whether it is wise to sit back and let life take its course or to take control of it... although a staunch advocate of the latter, right now I seem to be favoring the former. Just to see what happens, if for nothing else. So for a while, life itself will decide. Unless of course, I revert back to my usual self, which I trust more than life, luck or destiny. I suspect I will...

Hoping against hope, but still hoping for the best...

Jeetega Bhai Jeetega

So, Team India lost another match. Well, not the first time. But now, somehow, this time our hon'ble MPs want an answer.

Well, when Team India lost against Australia and underperformed against Namibia in WC03, fans attacked Mohd. Kaif's home. When we ended up runners up, why didn't these MPs demand an answer from those who did this reckless deed? When some hooligans booed Sachin Tendulkar in Wankhede, where were these demanding MPs? When Ponting and Company misbehaved with Pawar, what great were these MPs doing?

They demand answers? Let them demand answer from the authorities of places where people are killing themselved for the want of food. Let them get an answer from people who have left our Kargil Heroes out in the cold. And let them ask themselves why they do not talk business in any bill, except perhaps the bill of reconsideration of their own salaries.

About Team India and Chappel, well, they are guys who can take care of themselves. They do not need to answer anyone, except the common Indian, who still cheers every wicket of Zaheer, Every boundary of Sachin and every six of Dhoni. And answer they will, not in rhetoric but in performance.

Cheers to the spirit of Team India. Cheers to the Support mail of BCCI. Cheers to the legendary ring that we form after every wicket fall.

Jeetega Bhai Jeetega............

The Fight Ain't fair

A long while ago, The Tramp told me to read one particular entry of his blog... and comment.

For the second time in my blogging history, he deserved more than a comment. It read

It’s a shocking tale of two Indias, the irony of which is clearly indicative of the stark socio-economic disparity.While the country’s business entrepreneurs raised a toast to BSE benchmark Sensex breaching the 13,000 mark on Monday, thousands of miles away in Bihar, a man committed suicide for not having eaten for 13 days. (more...)
"it's not that we don't care,we just know that the fight ain't fairso we keep on waitingwaiting on the world to change"
- John Mayer

and the blog ended. Abruptly.

The question is not whether we know or do not know...

Someday, each of us gets a chance to make the world a better place for someone we hardly kow. Then the question is, when that day comes, do we choose to look the other way, or do we fight our bit to make the fight fair?

Someday, the number of people doing their bit will rise.
Someday, our India will change.
Someday, Indians will change India.

Waiting for that day? Forget it. Its already time to stop waiting and start working for it.

Walk Through the Past

Yesterday I had a walk through the Churni Road streets... the same ones that we roamed during the unforgettable winter tour that we had in 3rd year... and it took me into a tour of the past...

Goa Beaches... sand in the feet, breeze in the face... stars in the sky, dreams in the eyes... "Abe Ultimate Jagah Hai"... "Samajh aata hai log honeymoon manane yahaan kyu aate hain"... "Tu Bhi yahi aayega, mujhe maloom hai"... "Time kya hua hai? Night out hua ke nahi ab tak"... unforgettable moments....

Uttaranchal... Snow all around... Himalayas towering, mystical and dreamy... Fog ahead, clouds below... "Abe yahaan ek baar aur aaoonga at least, aur is baar akela nahi aaoonga"... "Oye tu akela to abhi bhi nahi hai, hum hain naa"... "Teri Aisi ki Taisi"... The trips that we spent 4 years planning, and proved worth the wait... and I was thinking... 'If at all I get a chance to relive my life, I will start from here'

Some days, when I am alone, I think of the best friends that I have had for life. And I close my eyes. And I am back there, in 106-L, 64-De, 16-Viveka or 191-Viveka... I still feel like I can take 5 steps and see ashu in the next room, I still think that the silence will be shattered by the irrepressible Anu singing 'Chanda Chamke'... I still think that there will be a power cut in the night and Saransh, Pari and I will be singing Kishore-Rafi songs... I still feel that I can make out the ever comforting image of Roy somewhere out there in the lobby....

Cheers to the moments that made up those golden years of my life....

Touching 100!!

"Congrats Priyank. Today you have completed 99 working days." Words of my boss, guide and patron, 'Shukla Sir', as i call him. Who else but the best planning engineer could have kept track of a time span as irrelevant as this one!! Apart from comparing his announcement with NDA and UPA government milestones (which he thankfully laughed at), I said 'Thank You'.

Well, he might as well have said '99 days of your new life'. It has been a new lifetime of sorts.

It has been the worst of times. I have spent the most unsatisfying part of my life, doing a job that I hated. I have learnt how it feels being hit in the face by life. My heart and mind have gone through the most tempestuous of phases in these days. I have been shouted at on the job for no mistake of mine. I have experienced the agony of real life.

But then, it has been the best of times. The 'unsatisfying phase' has given me the stomach to go for what I really want from my life. I have learnt how to hit back when it hits you. The tempest has been preceded by the most blissful of experiences. In job also, I have made people get up and take notice of me. I have felt the ecstasy of achievement and the joy of little victories.

And some things never change. Daddy still prefers that I give him a missed call rather than a call. Daadiji still tells me to watch out for Aeroplanes before moving around the airport. Mummy still calls me whenever there is an 'Aloo ka Paratha' treat at home. Friends still talk with me in the same lingo that we used in hostel. Pretty much the same as it has always been.

I love my life.

Its only words!!

Today, having little else to do in office (for a change), I spent time pondering over things people said, used to say, keep on saying, and so on… A representative sample of my thoughts::

Roy:
From ‘Oye ye 14kg ke weight mein bahut dust laga hai… reading accurate nahi aayega’ to ‘Oye aaj Maiti ka lab mein jaane ka hai???’

Anupam:
‘Oye main soch raha hoon….’
‘Oye yaar meri samajh mein aati kyu nahi tumhari baat…’
‘Kaddu ki Taayi…’

Ashutosh:
Ashu vs Shukla… CED, ITBHU… need I say more? ‘Frankly bata rahe hain, maza aa gaya thaa!!’

Lota:
‘Really Yaar…’, on a decibel level enough to bring down a few walls of the crumbling hostel!!

Mintu:
From ‘Kantaap Maar Denge’ to ‘______ phenk ke maarenge’ to ‘One Man, Maar it, Paar it…’

Bunti:
From ‘O ________, Anoma Shah!!!’ to ‘Saadhe Dus minute bache hain, 11 pages…’ before an end sem, all in front of Cafeteria

Chintu:
From ‘Main achha hoon sir, aap bataaiye kaise hain!!’ to ‘Sir main apne aap ko missed call nahi de sakta, itni si baat aapko samajh nahi aati!!’… all to Maiti!!

Raaka:
‘With folded Hands!!!’

Pakaau Singh
From 'What Great have you done today' to 'This Venky and Pathak is a terrorists!!!!'

Champa:
From ‘Kyaa Karein, humara to phaaka lagega…’ to ‘Kyaa Karein, humara to phaaka lagega…’ The guy hasn’t changed!!!

_________:
From ‘Ab peechha chhudaana aasaan nahi’ to ‘I don’t think there is anything left to be sorted out’

"Aajkal tum Blog mein itna rote kyu rehte ho?"

Another well meaning comment from a friend of mine.... a brutally honest one, if I can call it that!!! Followed by a comparison of life with a sine curve (phew!!!) which no one else could have done!! (I hope i am not a dead man once this blog is read :D )

After a while, it felt good to see someone giving a damn... just the kind of Phirki I was talking about the other day... in the blog entry below....

And again, for the record, it wasn't crying, it was 'Reflecting'....

Do I hear u say 'Watever'??!!!

Chhoti Chhoti Baatein...

It was a wednesday... late in the night. We were coming back from office after a long day. Had been late. Again. All of us had either missed out on a late night 'garba' plan, or missed another chance of goin out with family, or was plain unhappy to be late. Typical end-of-the-day gloom...

Then suddenly, at a traffic jucntion, there was a man selling a small toy for kids... a thread-mounted Phirki and i bought it for no apparent reason whatsoever. I couldn'y play it properly, and soon the whole group in the car was busy trying to teach each other how to do it right, chuckling, giggling and laughing all the time. The next one hour drive was as pleasant and cheerful as could have been.

And I was later left wondering why we need triggers to make us happy and become sad and gloomy spontaneously...

I still keep that Phirki that changed the mood of the car pool the other day. Just hope that somebody or the other keeps inserting a Phirki into each others' lives every once in a while... just for an ocassional heartfelt smile, if for no other reason!!!

Flashes in the pan

I am not known to myself as someone who lets out random thoughts... or so I like to think. But who cares... a lot of things I have done in recent past that I didn't know that i would... and life has not exactly been bookmarked in recent past... keeps on getting more and more weird by the way...

Monsoon seems to have passed in Mumbai as well. Doesn't rain much. I miss the rain... not because of my love of weather and seasons, but because of the memories that Mumbai rain associated with it... the ecstatic feeling of love, moments of nostalgia and dreams of future... most of them gone now... just like the rains. Something tells me I should have associated them with sun rather than rain... at least wud have been perpetual, if not permanent...

Everybody has heard that life is a battle. I seem to be at war with life itself... it keeps on testing me with smashes and bruises, and I am keen to see whether the number of brickbats in its store is enough to stop me from keeping well and fine... till now, i guess I am winning... for I have my own stockpile of happiness, friendships, wishes and thoughts!! Makes memories sweet... dsn't it?

Yesterday a friend's friend's friend commited suicide. End sem results. Second year back. And suddenly everybody is critical of volatile nature of youth, and the affinity for impulsive decesions. Why should a life be defined not by the moments that made it up, but by those that ended it? Why should we not talk about the good man he was, and emphasize on totally irrelevent things?

Will add some more whenever get time next. Got work to do now...

Back to square One!!

Today, I am eating crow, and I am happy that I did not keep my word this time. So today, i will start from the last line from my first blog...

"And the day your dream lies shattered beside you, have the courage to keep your chin up and spirits high. For Dreams never Die. Niether do Dreamers."

So, in a way, I give up on one word, only to stick to another one... forget it... even I don't know why I am trying to justify a good thing that I have done, because of which the dream still lives on!!!

Today, I can think of no other way to restart my blogging days than with a tribute to the people who have always been mine... through thick and thin, through good and bad, through joy and sorrow. They are the people who have made my life worth living. I can think of no order, so I go with the alphabetical order.

Anubhab Roy... the dude of the branch, the ever flamboyant guy who will always bring out the silver lining from each adversity that anybody faced. Been lucky enough to have spent some great times with him... the one thing that I learnt from him once and for all is to look for solutions rather than excuses, and to dare.

Anupam Gupta... the unfathomable ocean of maverick ideas, which made up his daily life. With constant antics, he would keep everyone's mood fresh. Never the one to say 'no' (at least to me ;), i can say that). Such a dependable guy, will go to any lengths to help you out, and will never ever expect something in return...

Ashutosh Srivastava... the guy who knew me in and out, kept me going through all the roughs, who always told me never to think that I do not deserve what I want... always ready with something or the other to keep me alive and jumping. And most importantly, a shoulder to lean on. I wish we will convert some of our late night talks into reality... (not 'that' one... the other ones)

Kumar Anubhav... the oldest friend of mine... the guy who knows me for more than anybody else... always ready with friendly and matter-of-factly advice whenever I needed... and will make me feel cared about when I needed it the most... almost like my extended family... par pata nahi Mummy ko Madam kehna kab chhodega...

Parijat Naha... the more you say about this dude, the less it is... unlimited energy, as many talents as there can be in a guy, and very genuine as a person. Having had him by my side throughout the four years made the roller coaster ride through the other side of ITBHU feel like a cakewalk

Sunny Verma... another member of my extended family... gem of a person... took so many pains to be there for my family when I was not there... amazingly remembers all the crap that we studied in class XII... and teaches my sister!! I can't do that... for all that I am, I can smiply not do that!! And the one thing for which I will remember him is the red rose... thanks yaar...

Thank you friends... Thank you all!!!!

In the End.....

I tried so hard, and got so far...
...but in the end, it doesn't even matter!
I didn't even fall... but lost it all...
...but in the end, it doesn't even matter!!!

Well... so here i am again. This time the source of my amazement is the way all questions that I talked about just faded away in wake of the mother of all questions, both of which i managed to answer. So I got the bigger ones, but was (and am) totally lost in the smaller ones. So here go the answers.

Q1. How could you simply believe all that is said?
A1. How could I not believe what is said, given the person who was saying it?

Q2. If you really are in Love, how could you let her go?
A1. If I am really in Love, how could I (and why should I) stop her?

I know, I know. the answers are also questions. Vicious cycle, eh?

A dear friend of mine told me three reasons why people blog.
1. They are preparing for CAT
2. They are having nothing else to do
3. They are in Love

Well, everybody knows that I have never had any intention for getting through CAT. or GRE. or GMAT. And ever since I joined a multinational, the second option got struck off. And the dear friend of mine has obviously no idea of whether or not one can blog when he is in the condition that I am in.

So i guess this is gonna be my last blog. And anybody, for whom Priyank has ever sounded like a nice name, pray that I restart this blog (mind you, restart, not start a new one). and if the 'anybody' who happens to read this blog happens to be, like me, a non believer of sorts, just wish me good.

I know, I know. This is not the way Priyank ends things. so here it goes... my way.

Well... I hope that i will wake up to realise that the last seven days were a bad dream. (Well, they are unreal, for sure). And I hope that I will get a call saying that this was all a good joke!! (Did her voice tell me anything? Maybe it did.)

Hoping against hope? Maybe. But hope is such a wonderful thing. An option that I never strike off, unlike the three listed above.

Will be missing the inspiration behind my blogs.

Take care
Priyank Kulshreshtha

The belt doesn't match...

"Your belt doesn't match with your shoes today, Priyank!!! Mujhse pooch naa.... Brown belt mein mast lagega...."

The cheerful comment from my still sleepy flatmate... Not exactly what you wish to hear the first thing in the morning. Well, my moods don't match today. I don't know whether to be happy or sad. My attitudes dont match today. I dont know whether or not to laugh at things. For that matter, my life doesn't seem to match today. I dont know whether it is all blank out there or is it just haze that I am unable to see through.

And some part of the world still cares what color my belt and shoes are.

"Ya right. I should have thought of it". As if I have all the time in the world to consult Gucci and Versace to coordinate my accessories.

Why me?

Yet another one on questions… and I presume this is not gonna be the last…

A tennis champion (forgot the name… ) when diagnosed with an acute disease, was asked by a fan, “Why did it have to be you?” He replied, “When thousands watched as I lifted 3 grand slams in a year, I didn’t ask ‘Why me?’. So even now, when I inch closer to death, I do not have the right to ask, Why me.”

Today, I feel myself in a similar situation. Nothing threatens my life, though. But even then, it is as if something is slipping out of hand. Not that it was unexpected. Or maybe not even unfortunate or something I might not have deserved. But the way it did, I stand and feel the urge to ask, not exactly 'Why me?', but just 'WHY?????'

P.S. The comment is better than the post, so i decided that it needs a mention rather than a hyperlink. so, here goes...

The Tramp said......

Well the chap in question is the tennis legend Arthur Ashe...The incident goes as follows..During his battle with AIDS, from the world over, he received letters from his fans, one of which conveyed: "Why does God have to select you for such a bad disease"?

To this Arthur Ashe replied: The world over -- 50,000,000 children start playing tennis, 5,000,000 learn to play tennis, 500,000 learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5000 reach the grand slam, 50 reach Wimbledon, 4 to semi final, 2 to the finals, When I was holding a cup I never asked GOD "Why me?". And today in pain I should not be asking GOD "Why me?"

Tujhse Naraaz Nahi Zindagi....

Not so long ago, i posted about questions. Some got answers, some didn't. Those which didn't are still there... some hanging in the air, some pinching for answers, still others which tickle, tease and fly away, only to be back again. And those which did, well, simply come back again... I guess that is the beauty of it all....

Sometimes when both your heart and your mind think that you have it all sorted out, up comes a question... innocent yet innocous. Sometimes when you think that life is finally on track, back it comes to hit you hard at the least opportune moment. For the latter, you can give it in the face. But the former, you can only laugh at, cry about, think deep and hope that it will go away. It does, and it doesn't. At the same time. It's tough, but then, it's life!!

Yes, I went for the best when better was not good enough. Yes, I listened to my heart when mind was not good enough. And yes, I am happy that I did. Can just hope that whatever comes out is good... or should I say, best??

Happy Independence Week (? or !)???

It was Independence day two days ago. People pinned tricolors on their pockets two days ago. Speeding cars oozed patriotic songs two days ago. Guys talked about our Independence two days ago. Rallies and gatherings remembered our martyrs two days ago. The brave soldiers and toiling farmers were saluted two days ago. I received 7 Happy I-day messages two days ago on SMS.

What is striking and stands out is not the fact that it all happened, but the fact that it all happened two days ago.

In a land when marketing strategies involve extending friendship day to friendship week, where Valentine's Day is an awaited 'tryst with destiny (ironic, eh?)' for the youth, where anything from 'Sarkaar ka Bhrashtachaar' to 'Cricket team ki Haar' generates media attention that spans weeks if not months, the Independence day loses its sheen in two days.

When I used to play 'Vande Mataram' on my computer anyday, someone would come and ask 'Why?'. Nobody bothered whether or not today is Valentine day when I played Ishq 'Samundar'. And I am still receiving Happy Friendship Day SMSes.

True, we dish out money for N-Blasts of ours, cry for our soldiers when there is a Kargil, Shout 'Vande Mataram' on Independence Day and Republic Day. But, as N. Vittal pointed out... "Can we afford to be Part-time Patriots?"

Any answers????