It’s Independence Day, 15th august, a day frozen in our history, history of contemporary India; 61 years of Independence preceded by more than 150 years of struggle, struggle to live freely, to express freely and to pursue happiness, to pursue Freedom. Our independence was a dream, A dream shared by 40 Crore people, and we are now the flag bearer of this dream & shame be served upon us, for we have failed to even realize what was the dream all about, let alone of fulfilling it.
It’s true that every nation has to struggle before it reaches a threshold, or a platform which would help it to take a giant leap. However efforts must be put into building a solid platform, but here in India we are accustomed to knee-jerk reactions. A simple word “provocative” do not figure in dictionary of our erstwhile acclaimed politicians, bureaucrats, and administrators responsible and accountable for certain duties conferred on them and I do not want to cite even a single example in support of this contention, for the list would run so long that it would be daunting.
How do you respond if your own prime minister tells you that the land which has been taken by China is useless because it is uninhabited and fails to grow a single strand of grass?
This is what our then honorable Prime Minister Pt. JawaharLal Nehru told the entire nation in response to China occupying a large piece of Indian Territory after 1961 war.
How do you respond to increasing failure of our information and intelligent agencies failing to check terrorist groups operating in our country?
How do you respond to failure of agencies responsible to prevent the Godhra and other communal riots in parts of Gujarat?
Do these problems sound too big for a common man?
Leave all these international and national problems, why do we fail to ask questions, even when we suffer year after year, in monsoons, trying to make way through waterlogged non existent roads.
Isn’t it our right to ask all those responsible for such a mess, to provide genuine solutions? Aren’t we tired of fake promises elections after elections? Why do we keep paying taxes to provide funds for hefty paychecks of these non-functioning politicians & administrators?
I fail to see any point in implementing recommendations of sixth pay commission, in fact I fail to see any point whatsoever as to why even such a commission was set up, which doles out pay hikes without fixing any accountability. Ask these babus to work for a single day in a private company. Just a single day would be enough to knock these non performers to dirt.
Well for me Independence Day means, a day to relax, for it is a guaranteed holiday. I do not wish to repair this system, because you cannot overhaul a system which has its vital parts missing.
I am all open for a new system. Please give me an autocratic ruler with a vision to take India forward, an autocrat who has it in him to shoot at sight a corrupt officer. Even if such step requires me to surrender my 2 cents worth of freedom, I am all open for it.
For god’s sake rise, rise you dead sleeping Indian, or you will always be celebrating a non existing freedom, and so called Independence Day.
Circa, July 2006; a boy with shattered dreams, enters the premises of NIT Kurukshetra. He has fought & fought awkwardly yet brilliantly. He gave his best for cat 2005, but it was not to be. He has it in him to crack into an elite MBA institute, but as I said, it was not to be. So with nervousness, he sets afoot into the “Oh So Dead” NIT campus. He has been admitted into the first ever MBA batch of NITK. A batch of 60 students, 60 so called non-NITians, we liked to call ourselves MBIans. Some of them had brilliant academic records and yet they were here in “oh so DEAD” college, and he had an average pathetic, academic record & he too was here.
But it wasn’t too bad for him!!!!!!!!
His name was Yogesh & he is a different person now, altogether a different person, A Boy Transformed into a Man.
It was a real experience to stay in hostel. I learned much more there than I did in classroom. I am having this itchy feeling to narrate major incidents which transformed me.
Mass Bunk that was never there: It was a mass bunk that didn’t materialized. Nobody liked to attend after lunch classes. One day there was a buzz that there would be a planned organized mass bunk of Neenu Madam after lunch class, our first (&last) planned mass bunk. I took the initiative, informed girls through Nidhi, not to attend the class, told hosteliers in mess not to go for class, and informed day-scholars through punit. Punit was however agitated that how can we hosteliersdecide for the whole class without considering Dayskis. I told him, that you guys weren’t present over there. Anyway he told me straight that I would attend class & since it was necessary that none of us should be present to salvage the attendance, I knew that all plans have gone honky-donkey. Ihad to inform everyone that class will take place, and in response to all this I faced wrath of everyone. This event also marked the line between hosteliers and Dayskis.
Lesson learnt: Garner Support for a Cause Then Act.
First GT Party: It was a challenge, thrown open by Aarti Madam on Wednesday, in tutorial class, a challenge taken by Apeksha & achieved by Yogesh with the help of Sakshi. Day scholars (again punit) categorically refused to organize GT at such a short notice, they even refused to attend, but nevertheless they came, they danced, and danced so well.(Thanks for your support guys, GT was not meant to sideline you guys)
Lesson learnt: Try Before You Fail.
Elections: Gaurav Mukhija was elected unanimously as president of MBA society. Six committees were under him. Politics can be quite funny.
Vishal clear cut choice for literary committee, backed out. Nikhil with 2 votes get to be secretary, but he did a great job. Gagan selected unanimously for Bulls & Bears, Sorry to say this buddy, but you disappointed. Hiamnshi selected for culture activities and man has this bindaas attitude. Accolades to you girl. Richa Lal: GT secretary, well frankly speaking she won because, other candidate was Anurag, a dayski, who didn’t had a single vote from hosteliers. Nadeem was chosen for sports , and he stole the show with basketball match between MB1 and MB2 groups. Finally it’s my area, an acrimonious battle between Apeksha and me for the post of Finance secretary. I never had the support of Dayskis, and it didn’t helped that other candidate happened to be a female. Somehow I won with the margin of a single vote.
This activity provided fuel to increasing fire between hosteliers and dayskis.
Apart from this divide other battlelines were being drawn in our hostel
This was a battle between uparwale and neechewale. First evidence of it was to come through “Change of mess” all of us agreed, that our mess was indeed a in a complete state of Mess. But uparwale summarilyrejected to change the mess because neechewalon ka proposal tha. But no grudges, because we too opposed them bitterly for trivial causes.
Lesson learnt: Weigh Down your opponents, before they weigh you.
Talent Hunt: It was a war between me and 3 other guys, popularly known as Trimurti. They made every effort to corner me, but I didn’trelented. However triplets managed to add to their ever increasing nuisance value, one of them went on to call the event a grand success, which according to my core group was a farce.
Lessons learnt: don’t recognize your failures publicly, never deny your success in public.
1st Common Room meeting: Another evidence that I was really unpopular, was a common room meeting which followed within days of talent hunt show. I was the centre of mayhem, that was one of ugly faces of politics, but I had a supporter, the man, the president himself “Gaurav Mukhija” & that made me believe that truth will prevail. Rival camp then went into damage control mode & what followed was a proxy war.
In fact I was all alone till that common room meeting, but after their move backfired, I got many supporters, notably among them were Kuldeep and Depankar. After that it was a relatively cool 2nd semester, till placement committees were formed.
Placement Committee: Trimurti took the onus to do placement work, starting with summer training, nothing of concrete value came out of their efforts, but it laid a foundation stone of feeling of disgust for them. It also divided the whole class into three groups. They , Us and neutrals. (Neutrals weren’t really neutral but they were taking their time to jump into one boat or other)
Lessons learnt: Sometimes you should try not to compete, especially when you know conditions do not warrant any competition.
2nd Common room Meeting: Initial Placement committee was changed many times over, placement brochure was being designed by six members, and other six members were working on contents. This was the time when neutrals started jumping on one boat or others, dayskis came in our boat, some girls came to our side too. We lost Vishal though. That was another stupid mistake on their part to touch a lion’s den. You cannot take the credit of work which has been done by Gaurav Mukhija. They tried and failed miserably. Somehow I was pushed into Placement committee, yet the control remained with the triplets. However there wasn’t any silver lining in sight. It didn’t helped their cause that even faculty was dead against them. Attention of whole class was shifting on them, they needed a culprit to pass on to masquerading crowd, and who better culprit than their staunch critic, Yogesh. With this move, they could have eliminated me and hence the 2nd common room meeting was organized. However I had the support this time, so again it was not to be, in fact it provided us more supporters, notably among them were Jaswinder, Ashutosh and Arun. This event marked the entry of Sumit & Vishal into placement committee. It was efforts of Vishal only that we did managed to achieve a near 100% placement.
Lesson learnt: fight well even ifodds are against you, because you never know who your real enemy is, and who your real friend is.
Girlfriend: In between all this frenzied activities a girl silently walked in my life, almost unnoticeably. Which helped me in losing some of my friends (in fact all of them except two) and I am still clueless for how having a girlfriend bothers some of my friends to such an extent that they decide to launch another battle.
Lesson learnt: don’t try to fulfill everybody’s expectations
Umang07, IIT Kanpur: It’s a secret well kept, we won accolades, we won media attention, we had public sentiments with us, but I failed, and I am sorry that I let 12 people down including myself
Lesson learnt: don’t promise which you cannot perform and don’t perform which you haven’t promised.
In the end it was Hari’s chicken only which helped me in staying at campus. And yes I cannot forget 3 thingsabout NITK campus:
Fake attitude of so called superior engineers, you sucked guys, you really did.
Nights spent in CCN, downloading movies.
Long walks to Brahma Sarovar and Railway station.
Now I am left with some happy, and some gory memories, but nonetheless fascinating memories.
Thank you guys, thank you faculty members and thank you life for making me a part of this wonderful experience.
Amit Is one of my frends....hu happens to be quite of poet..so it's high time that his poetry is published..dude here i m putting ur poems, an exclusive post meant for ur poetry only.....starting with
Friends We met, we part, On the road of life, Where everybody gets aside, We are together though we are miles apart.
We dream, we share, On the shore of life, Where usually everybody leaves, You stayed with all your love and care.
We broke up, we made up, On the curves of life, Where no one bothers to hold on, You anchored and never let me drowned.
We fought, we stopped talking, Halfway through the life, Where no one tries to burn up the strife, You silently lent your shoulder and kept on walking,
We cried, we lied, Throughout the journey of life, From where no one comes out alive, Our friendship survived.
We ate, we played together, During the tough times, Where every one looks after themselves, You proved once again that we are FRIENDS FOREVER
Boredom Sitting on computer, Listening to songs, Getting bore, Here I compose, A useless cum senseless, Please forgive me for this nonsense.
Neither it has a starting, Nor an ending, I am out of words, I am just like a nerd, Thank you for giving it a read, From boredom now I am freed
Yet another dope test blunder by SAI. Yet another athlete denied an opportunity to compete at highest level. Chances of a medal jettisoned even before the competition begins.
So what new? It has always been like that. Media will give the case a push. It will be in the headlines, depending upon the media buoyancy provided readily for the sake of Monstrous TRP’s, and as all other headlines do, this will too, die a gradual death. Notwithstanding certain Baichung Bhutia supporting the weightlifters cause.
And we will still be hooked on to some news channel, serving a hot clandestine story which would be titled something appropriate as “kamishnar ka kutta mila”, dishing out details such as “roomy 3 dinon se lapata tha”, “Delhi police ney shahar ka chappa-chappa chana” and toped with an enticing break, which in fact is there bread and butter, and which in fact is root cause of such stories being served as “BREAKING NEWS”
WTF, SORRY GUYS GIVE ME A BREAK, NEED A GOOD DAMN BOOK
First Ever individual gold medal in Olympics:
Finally after the agonizing wait of long years, India’s moment under the Olympic sun has arrived courtesy: Abhinav Bindra, a man who performed when expectations of more than 10 billion people were weighing on him. As he shot at his target again and again, he went at a place where no other Indian has ventured, though some came tantalizingly and agonistically close. Karnam Malleshwari managed a bronze, Rajvardhan Singh Rathore brought a silver, but somehow Gold eluded ?India, a land of more than 100 Crore people, was none of them good enough to win a gold medal, but now the same question has been answered by a man called Abhinav Bindra.
As this piece of news sank in, Rewards were being announced by various state governments and institutions at a frenetic pace.
Rs. 1 Crore by Punjab Government, Rs. 25 lakhs by Haryana Government, Another @5 lakhs by BCCI, Rs. 10 lakhs by Mahrashtra Government, and still counting.
First the bright part; that winning a medal in Olympics is no mean achievement, considering it’s a gold is like icing on cake and this has been achieved in an individual event is like having your cake an eating it too.
Perhaps Abhinav should be rewarded for his glorious efforts, but every bright sky has a darker side which is often neglected, though the truth is that darkness in itself makes sure that brightness is brighter.
Am I like walking the walk, or talking the talk?
No, I have a point; compare this achievement to SAI’s blunder. Perhaps consider the scenario in which Abhinav is treated Positive for a dope test, instead of weightlifter, .
Had that happened, then probably India would still be looking at a distant moment under Olympics sun. The achievement of Abhinav becomes even bigger considering the kind of sports institutions (like SAI), which are responsible for management of sports in the country & treatment sportsmen receives in this shoddy Country.
And now the darker side, which ironically adds more stature to Abhinav’s Gold medal (Notice the word used Abhinav’s, and not India’s, to me at least, it belongs to Abhinav only). Why celebrate the success when in fact you haven’t created an iota of chance for it to happen.
Ask all these institutions, agencies and states, who are all lining up to celebrate Abhinav’s success, by doling out bundles of cash to Mr. Abhinav Bindra, were they “Sleeping Dead”, when he or for the matter of fact any other sportsmen was aiming training, practicing and striving for that coveted piece of metal. Wasn’t it the duty of these governments & institutions to promote other sports in this cricket frenzied nation. I have nothing against cricket, for it is also a beautiful game, and I have played cricket all through my life. But what were these institutions doing prior to this amazing act of an ace shooter. Fuck them for me it’s like remembering a dead man (read sports) whom you have killed in front of this very public, not very few days ago and glorifying his death by bringing his dead body out of closet, and setting it up for public display. Public which was remorsefully shocked few days back will now be cheerfully happy?
It’s not first time, and it is certainly not the last time either. For me sports have died many times, and will continue dying till institutions like SAI continue to look after the sports in this country.
Abhinav I congratulate you for reaching where no other Indian has ever ventured & your name is now immortal. May you inspire numerous athletes who can claim their stakes as being world’s best despite having once insurmountable roadblocks, which of course can be overcome as you have shown.
For now I can proudly say, in MORE THAN 100 CRORE INDIANS, EK TO MARD KA BACHHA NIKLA.
And for the rest of fellow Indians, you have found another demigod.
Checked NTPC’s Website. Results will be declared in third week of August. Ever since I have read this line, tranquility has given way to anxiety. Earlier it was a feeling of “Been there done that”, now makes me dizzy. A sense of euphemism has surrounded me. The mental bouts of “What If” have begun.
So got my hands on much talked about “3 mistakes of my life” well I don’t wanted to create a special post exclusively for Mr. Chetan Bhagat as it would have added to his nuisance value anyway, but I ended up creating a new pos , just because of sheer volume of its content. Now moving back to the 3 mistakes, after reading ¾ book, I cannot understand why it has created a buzz, in literary circles. Its not that I m venting out against Chetan. For instance I liked his first attempt titled “Five Point Someone”. As it provided a much needed fresh air, with its buzzing campus language. Incidents narrated were like just out of life, taken straight out from a real campus. So it connected with readers particularly the young ones who were either set to join in a campus, or were already in the campus, and also with those who cherished their campus memories. The main hero was a normal and typical Indian boy. I fear a theme stretched too far by Chetan in his other attempts. So hari was amongst us, he was one of us, and so we connected well to him and others in Five Point Someone. Then came the dull one night @ call centre, wow that was a serious attempt to shoo away your readers. I particularly didn’t liked his idea of a borrowed story, the setting were too imaginary, to be digested. One night @ call centre was shoddy, and below par to say in most humble manner possible. Its climax or rather anticlimax of it was horrible. I don’t understand what the idea was. Booze, sex and god altogether, in a single package. Biggest mnc’s of world will take a good look before offering such package, and you Mr. Bhagat did it in so nonchalant manner. And then with 3 mistakes of my life, May be it was your idea to over promise and underperforms. Or even if it was vice versa, then according to me, one night @call centre has already under promised and “3 mistakes of my life” has clearly over performed
By the way I must appreciate increasing boldness of female characters. Neha did it in her home, knowing particularly that his father will not be home n the meantime Priyanka managed in a quails, parked in a secluded place. Vidya had it on terrace, and considering that probability of someone coming on terrace, wasn’t as low as calculated, it was a really dare devil attempt.
I guess next time it would happen in bathroom of a swanky mall, or in elevator, or better still in Buddha Park Any takers
Just finished reading “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosennini. All in all a good effort to portreay modern history of Afghanistan, particulary war history, while giving it a certain Feminine hue. Though reviews on Cover page were out of this world (in fact more the generosity shown in comments, lesser is the quality of work), but nonetheless a good read. Simple yet elegant, vivid and colorful in detail.
Capricious Rating: 7/10
Can anyone provide me a little insight a little peek-a-boo on another Title “The Kite Runner” by same author? Don’t want to spend 80 solid bucks without being sure of content.
Right now I am into Chetan Bhagat’s third misadventure titles “3 mistakes of my life”. More on that later.
So it was business as usual, as I lost yet another series at MCG. Save 3 continuous series win back some time, I have lost all but one or two of them. Ever since I have returned from kurukshetra, I haven't been playing anywhere near to my potential. May be this has got to do with my fitness, as I have grown a considerable belly which do not allow for quick movements on or off the field. My performance can also be linked with phases of life I m currently going through, or rather my happiness quotient. But nevertheless, I am not the only one who is not doing well. Basically it is a one man show only, that one man being saurabh makkar. It’s only him who wins series after series & all others around him also win. In fact I rate myself as good as any other batsman or bowler, except him, but nowadays I am performing so miserably that players like Rajan are entitled to curse me. On any other normal cricket ground I will be among top 3 players, but since their is no way to get these guys out from MCG, I cherish my opportunities. However now since I m taking this challenge, I m sure I will do justice to myself, and my abilities. May god's wishes be with all and may Best Team win
P.S. In fact best team always wins, because best team at mcg is the team which has makkar!!!!!
Day 1 after resolution: As I mentioned in my previous post, I will cherish my opportunities at MCG. As expected, I received a call to play & as promised, I played somewhat better than my previous outings.in fact I managed to win a series with sudhir suri, who along with Rajan is my staunch critic, but his remarks are not personal. Also the manner in which he gave away his wicket in both matches was questionable to say the least. Also his keeping wasn’t as good as expected, though he did manage to take a wonderful catch behind the stumps. However all is well that ends well.
Day 2 after resolution: Yet another series win though with Makkar, & not before I lost 2 series with Sudhir Suri. However I m not counting those series because I played better than before, even better than day 1. All in all it was a good day (or night) though there were momentary lapse of concentration which could explain some of missed chances on account of poor fielding. Also I personally feel that fielding would improve automatically if I manage to get my act right in batting and more importantly bowling. Let’s look forward to some good future now.
