How much does it cost ?

Lately I have been hearing from people around me that the cost of living has become too high , the prices have gone up steeply, and it takes lot of money to spend good time. Well yes, the cost of living is high, and the prices have gone high too, but i definitely don't agree that one has to spend lot of money to have good time. So how much does it really cost to have fun ? That depends on what people mean by "Having Fun". Some think going away from the rush and madness of the city and spending time in a nature resort peacefully is a way of spending good time. Some even complain that there are no places around Hyderabad where you can have fun, or Hyderabad is such a dry and boring place.. there is nothing around.. First thing , I get offended when someone talks bad about Hyderabad and next You can spend lots of good time in and around Hyderabad.... Again it depends on what is your idea of having fun, spending good time.... Yeah resorts and holiday packages cost you a lot... pubs and discos cost you a lot.. fancy restaurants cost you a lot..... But these are not the only means of spending a good time.... So let us see my view of how much does to cost to spend a good time .....

1. A winter evening, friends meeting at a cafe` eating hot samosas and drinking irani chai
2. You and your friend or life partner, your bike, 100 Rs petrol, open highway, long ride.....
3. Old friends, seperate cities/countries, with coffe mugs and an internet messenger, laughing away over the memories....
4. Rain on the tin roof of a small roadside shop, smell of hot frying pakodas, with friends, nestling closer for warmth..
5. Exams time, mignight 12:30.... Parwaz hotel, hot steaming Hyderabadi biryani......
6. Warm summer nights, on the roof top, lying on the back looking at the stars, wondering and talking about everything under the sun....
7. A good book, A Beverage in hand, A Comfortable Sofa, Endless imagination.....
8. You and mom, summer night, coconut oil, head massage, talking about the absent family members

Yes you can spend thousands, even lakhs to have a good time, but according to me the only thing you need to spend is TIME.... Some photographs of me and my friend spending great time on the tank bund road and we didnt have to spend money......

Bandey mein tha dum

This blog was the reason i ever wrote my last blog. We went to this movie "Lage raho munna bhai", and happened to land in McD's for a total disappointment.

So it was after a long time and with expectations of having fun, me, myself and my wife ventured out to watch this movie. After a long time i could actually say that i have watched a good movie. Its about a bhai who is inspired by Gandhi and his principles, leaves dadagiri and goes around doing gandhigiri. This movie also features Gandhi appearing in the background whenever the bhai thinks of him. A good movie with a great message.

Whenever Gandhi appears in the movie or whenever munna bhai is carrying out his gandhigiri a lyric is played throughout the movie. Which goes on "bandhey mein tha dum, vandemaataram".

Recently we had some discussions over Gandhi, many were along the path of

Does he deserve the kind of attention he was given?

He favoured Nehru which caused the division of India and Pakistan.

He has been selfish all the way...

He stole the concept of Complete Independence from Bhagath Singh...

we would have got independence long back if we did not follow his track...

However i was more interested in his principles.....

Satya(Truth), Ahimsa(Non Violence)

I really appreciate him for all that he had gone through, all the pain and suffering he had to undergo along the path he followed. I really appreciate him for sticking to his principles all the way.

But, i doubted if Ahimsa was the best weapon that could be used to achieve what he and all his followers achieved. Yes it worked well against British and we finally achieved Independence. What if it was not British we are fighting against, if it was somebody else, would ahimsa be still the best weapon.

What if we were ruled by Hitler and his Nazi army instead of the British empire, would ahimsa and non co-operation still work. I am sure Hitler and his army would not be interested in our co-operation or the lack of it. They would have eliminated everyone who stood in their way violent or non-violent.

Now we sit happily enjoying the fruits of Independence without even feeling the pinch of all the struggle and consider ourselves eligible to comment on the motives and principles of those who were actually there.

How many of us would stand against what is wrong, stand for the truth, take a bullet for what we believe in. It is easy for us to talk without being there, it is easy for me to doubt and analyse if Gandhi's principles would really work. I am sure Gandhi didnt have any Hitler to compare and analyse. He wouldnt even have a way of knowing if ahimsa would work against the British unless he practised it. So he practised ahimsa, satyagraha, stood his ground for what he believed in was right and never stumbled.

So i am very sure......

Bandhey mein tha dum.....

Vande Maataram.

I am lovin it

This is a bit hard to digest for those who know me well but, yes i have started dieting. Have you ever given a thought about "die" being a part of a "diet". So i stopped eating at nights and survive with a glass of buttermilk and at times a couple of phulkas.In mornings i have a standard South Indian breakfast and pack the same for lunch. So lunch essentially forms my last meal of the day. I have done this before but i gave in to my craving for favourite food. so this time i came up with a plan. I maintain my diet every day but will give an exception once in a while and eat junk food or food i really like. Things are going smoothly with the adjustments i have made. Yesterday was the day i thought of having some junk food, something that is deeply fried in oil.I have already had Chinese so it was time for some American fast food.

There are two options KFC and McDonald's. I personally prefer KFC but, we were going to watch a movie and McDonald,s happens to be in the same building. So i thought fine, lets eat at McD's "The family restaurant".

The advertisement for the restaurant features different characters saying " I am Lovin' it".

So we enter the restaurant and its packed, cant really blame the restaurant, people always crowd into the restaurant for various reasons. So we stand in a lengthy line looking at the options we have on the menu. Not really many options, but still wanted to make the best out of it thus satisfying my craving for junk food. So i thought of a chicken Mc Maharaja and chicken Mexican wrap with regular fries and large pepsi. So i started placing my order.

Me: Can i have one Chicken Mc maharaja and some....
He: Sorry sir we don't have that...
Me: but you put it on your menu...
He: yes sir but its not available sir, we are very sorry about it
Me: ok give me Chicken Mc grill and some...
HE: sorry sir we don't have chicken Mc grill, however we have the regular Mc chicken
Me: What the... ok give me a fillet O fish and chicken Mexican wrap and make it a ....
He: I am terribly sorry sir we don't have that too....
Me: Ok I cant guess anymore so why don't you tell me what all you have...
He: McChicken, fillet O fish in non vegetarian
Me: I am sure Mc veggie is also not available
He: yes sir, sorry sir (smiling 32 teeth out) how did you know...
Me: I was going to order that next....
He: hehehehehe(shyly)
Me: ok i will have a fillet O fish, make it a combo with regular fries and a large pepsi.
He: I am Sorry Sir we don't have large pepsi....
Me: What the bloody hell you just have to pour pepsi in a larger container what do you mean you don't have it....
He: Very sorry sir we are short of containers
Me: How about a kids meal?
He: SO...
Me: Wait, i know what you are going to say, Sorry sir we dont have it... and you dont even have chicken nuggets right
HE: (Smiling broadly)
(If physical assault wasn't illegal, i would have had my share of it)

I take my food and sit at the table cursing him deeply for ruining my junk food evening... The i started looking around wondering why the hell are all these people crazy about this place... Then a couple sitting beside us with ice cream cones caught my attention. I saw that both the cones were dripping. The guy was searching for handkerchief and asking for some tissues simultaneously... before anyone could respond ice cream from both the cones just fell off the cones.. don't ask me how and the cone was crumpled and lost its shape as if it was made out of paper.. the couple were so pissed off they started shouting.. the manager appears within no time smiling broadly and asking how he can help.... he analysed the situation and got the couple another ice cream which was suffering the same fate as earlier... Now the guy drops both the cones on the floor before the ice cream falls out by itself and they leave......

Do i have to say ...... " I am lovin' it"......

Don't be proud, Dear Death

DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
.......................
........................
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.


These are the verses from a poem i read during my school, beautifully composed by John Donne. Of all the poems that i have admired this one kept on lingering in my head while others nested in the archives of my memory.

This poem mocks at death asking it not to be proud because of the stature it is given by the people.

What is death? What happens when you die? Many have given different interpretations of it. Science says death is the absence of life and happens when you either stop breathing or your heart stops beating. What is life, what part of the body does life reside when your body is still alive and kicking. How does life enter your body? Well everybody knows its the sperm that fertilizes the egg and the egg evolves into a human body. Can sperm be called as life? There is another part of science which says the cells of your body keep dying from the day you were born (the day the egg was fertilized). But there is another process which reproduces the cells. Only, in the beginning the production of the cells is much faster than the deterioration and as time goes by it is reversed and finally the deterioration of the cells gains momentum while production of cells diminishes. When the production of cells stops, your body will slowly stop functioning and gives in to death. The deterioration of body cells happen even after we consider somebody dead, only it happens very rapidly. Doctors consider somebody dead when their heart stops beating, why does the heart stop beating, because the blood pressure decreases why does the blood pressure decrease? Oh well enough of science about death and this is not even the reason i started this post.

Every religion discusses the duality of life, body and soul. When these are together someone is said to be alive. The body is destructible where the soul is eternal. We came into this world naked, but we start wearing clothes when we gain the knowledge that we are naked. Generally our parents have the knowledge by the time we are born, so they cover us up and tell us the importance of putting some clothes on, to cover your naked body. From the time we started wearing clothes we change numerous pairs for various reasons, the clothes faded away, they are too soiled, they are torn, they don't fit us anymore, they are out of fashion etc. We are happy about shopping for new clothes, discarding the ones we cant wear anymore for the reasons mentioned and put on the new ones. Clothes have become so important than the body itself that, the clothes you wear represents what you are. Similarly a soul wears a body to represent or identify itself physically and uses the senses that come along with the body to See, Hear, Touch, Smell, Taste, Think and Communicate. In due course of time the body gets soiled, it is subjected to wear and tear, or the soul grows, rather attains higher states and doesn't fit into the body anymore, and even the body goes out of fashion. I would like to attribute it to evolution. Did you notice that the homo sapiens were fully covered with lots of body hair and as the body kept evolving it lost all its hair and the bodies these days come with far lesser hair. Today hair all over the body is considered gross and person with lots of hair is treated prehistoric. Bodies with less hair is the in thing for the souls these days and that should be reason almost no souls come with lots of hair on their bodies.

So death essentially means the destruction of the body that the soul has been wearing. What happens when your clothes are destroyed, You wear new clothes and the soul wears a new body. When you are happy about discarding old clothes and wearing new ones, you should be happy about discarding an old body and wearing a new body. In that case maybe death should not be treated with such disrespect and fear. So why are people scared of it, why do people shudder at the mere mention of the word Death (like all the witches and wizards shudder at the mention of name "lord Voldemort" ). Why are they worried, why is death considered bad when it is as natural a process as birth which is considered good and celebrated. I think i have answers.. As we have evolved ourselves through ages we started attributing so much importance to the clothes we wear than our body itself that, clothes formed our identity, you have become what you wear, your clothes reflect your character. Almost everybody feel bad when discarding their favourite clothes. Similarly we have attributed so much importance to the body that the souls wear, rather than the soul itself that we started identifying the soul by the body. Hence we are afraid of leaving the body, we have grown affectionate of the body and are so attached that we feel sad about leaving it one day. If only we realize that we are the soul and not the body we are living in, we might not treat death the way we treat.

There are other reasons too. What happens when you realize that your clothes are getting old? Those who are rich and can afford costlier and better clothes are happy because they have shopped enough already. Those who are financially stable would go and shop for clothes, they might not be the clothes that the rich wear but are good enough. Those that have saved just enough would go and shop only when necessary and the budget is restricted to what they have saved. Then there is a class of people who neither earned nor saved enough, they hang on to the clothes they are wearing because, they cannot think of newer or better clothes. The only clothes they currently have are the ones they think they will ever have.

Similarly rich or evolved souls never worry about death and are happy because they have realized that the body deteriorates and they have to leave it one day only to enter into a new body, hence they are prepared, they have already shopped.(when i say they have shopped, it doesn't mean that they already have another body to get in. It essentially means that they have nurtured their spirit towards self actualization ) There are souls that learn about the truth in due course of time and work their way towards spirituality. These souls are said to be in the process of evolving and they are ready before the time comes to discard their old worn out body. Even these are not worried about death. Then there is a category of souls who worked so much on nurturing bodily pleasures that they know the truth all the time but don't accept it until the time comes. They nurture their spirit when it becomes essential just enough to make it to a new body, not necessarily a better one. The last category of souls are very much attached to the body and live in constant fear of death because they never attempt to realize that the soul is eternal. These souls identify themselves so much with their body that destruction of the body essentially means the end.


In ancient Greece when someone dies they do not mourn, they carry out celebrations for 12 days, because it is believed that the soul goes around for 11 days and enters another body on the 12th day. Even in India after a person's death a ceremony is done on the 11th day and a feast is organized. Very few know the underlying concept of the 11th day ceremony.

So death do not be proud because i have realized i am the soul and not the body and know you are just a stage between discarding my old worn out body and and wearing a newer and better one. You are just a short sleep before i wake up eternally.

God will punish you

I am sure everybody must have received mails which either contains a original photo of somebody or some Chinese good luck charm or some mantra which, if not forwarded to 15 people will bring bad luck.
What is it with God and forwarding emails?What is it with the number 15 or 20?What is it with getting the results quicker by sending the email to more number of people? Why would, not forwarding an email make God angry and punish the unfortunate soul with bad luck? Some emails have to be forwarded within a time limit for good results and some say that they should not be sent tot he person who sent them.

Is it God who has initiated the email chain? If so, does anybody have his email address? I would really love to send some queries on the confusions i have over sending forwards which would bring me good luck. Some of the questions would be..
Does he prefer a yahoo ID or a gmail ID?
Does he IM too? Im would be better so that i can get instant responses.
Does he use a laptop or a regular PC?
Windows or Linux?

The questions can go on.....

If it is not God (which i am damn sure) then who initiated it? Is he a messenger of God ? Did God himself asked him/her in some divine way to send out an email and see who all forward it and whoever does not forward it punish those non believers with bad luck. Why does God care ? I mean what is so auspicious about forwarding emails that he feels that those who don't forward must be punished. Is this a test of faith or something which separates the saints from sinners?

What if i got an email which i should forward but i am marooned in a remote island away from traces of civilization. Will God consider that as an exception or will he still punish me with bad luck? And look at the long list of people who actually do it religiously. What if a mail is sent asking people to make a difference in a poor man's life by giving away one third of what you earn or else God will punish them with bad luck. How many would do it? I have the answer .... Almost None. Then why do they forward emails, because it is free and you don't have to put much effort.

Then there are other mails which when forwarded you will get a reward from Bill Gates and then another email forward which says some girl needs to be operated and every forward you do will earn her $2.....

Why does anyone get paid just for forwarding emails (Except Software Engineers ;) ) ? And that is the reason everyone is shifting to computers and thats another story.

Ripple Effect

For those of you who watched and liked the movie "Rang De Basanthi" would have loved the punch line "A Generation awakens". My friend's blog Ripple Effects forms the base for this blog.

It is about a boy who succumbed to sexual abuse by his seniors at college in the name of Ragging, a boy who did not want to become one of those many stories that were washed away in the form of tears in the silence of a dark nights, a boy who did not give in to self-pity, a boy who did not want to suffer silently like many others.

He believed he need not be silent because he is not the one who has commited a hideous offence, He believed he is not the one to be bending his head in shame.

His mother committed suicide giving in to the fear of the Society around her.

She sure has left him in a dilemma not to mention the endless grief and guilt, where he would spend the rest of his life thinkig if what he believed in was correct. If society is to be blamed for ill-treating the victims, then she as a part of that society should be blamed for it. It is the shallow pride that the parents carry around with them and are in constant fear of losing it which would mean worse than death like being banned from the fellowship of the community. They lose it if thier kids dont do well in exams, they lose it if their kids are in love with someone, they lose it if their kids dont land in well payed jobs. It is this false prestige that made her kill herself. Every society or community has its share of black sheep, if only she believed in what her son believed if only she could stand ground like her son did she could have made a lot of difference. Yes there are people in this society who wait for a chance to feed on the miseries of others but at the same time there are people who care enough and strive for a better community. It is the responsibility of each individual to associate themselves with right kind of people and give two hoots to those who dont care. You are identified by the company you keep.

I pray that the boy who has the strength and courage to stand and voice out against the crime that was committed would find the strength to come over the death of his mother and still believe that he is correct. If that happens then i would say ... indeed "a generation has awaken".

The Object of My Affection

Have you ever noticed that if you hate something long enough it will become a part of your life and you will actually start liking it (hating someone is an excetion though :)). I dont know about others but it has happened to me. It has happened to me so many times that i can definitely tell that almost everything around me is something i hated some time back.

When Scorpio was launched in India I thoroughly hated it for its looks and its lack of sophistication. By the way i am a big fan of SUVs and crazy about roughing them at top speeds and i keep track all the mean machines that hit the market. So when this dull grey colored thing appeared before me for the first timewith the ingenuity of Indian technology i gave it an Ugly Duckling kind of treatment. I even prophesised that this baby is going nowhere. One year into the market and it was awarded the best car of the year.

That was when i gave it a second look and still filled with disgust was determined to find out what made it the car of the year. i could see that the transformation of the Ugly Duckling has begun. It became the first car to experiment with dual colors for the exteriors and i have to admit that a combination or two caught my eye. That was when i thought maybe its not as bad a car as i thought it would be. With the advent of CRDe, a technology that makes the car more fuel efficient and less noisy the car bagged the best car of the year for 2005-06 again.

That was when i thought maybe i should buy this car, after all it has survived everything and became very popular. So if anybody asks me i would say i would buy a Scorpio but still there were other cars under consideration. Then one day one of my colleagues asked me if i checked out the ad of new Scorpio with 43 new features, I opened the website to take a look and there it was "The Ugly Duckling" that transformed into "The Object of My Affection". I immediately fell in love with it and whnever i see the all new scorpio on the road i just stand there admiring it. Now if somebody asks if i will consider buying anything else i will say "Nothing else wil do".

Back from the living dead

It has been a long time since I have posted my last blog. I almost forgot that I even used to blog. Then out of the blue my friend asks if have visited her blogs, which i didnt.... so after some swearing she made me say that i would visit her blogs regularly....well that was 2 days ago....

Today being the last working day before a long weekend, with nothing to do took my own sweet time to go through all her blogs and slowly realized that i have lost touch with myself and i guess thats the reason for the emptiness inside me... So keeping the promise to a friend i will keep posting my blogs regularly