Zero Harnesses.. Infinity Thoughts..

Yours, Forever

2011-10-14T02:38:00.000-07:00

She waited outside the window in the pitch dark night, looking at the drama unfolding inside. She knew it would be time soon.

People inside were shedding tears of sorrow, while she was drenched with tears of joy. After all these years, she had almost forgotten that this situation would have normally demanded a grim attitude. She had lost all of those feelings now. And moreso, she knew he was going to come, so there was no possibility of any sorrow.

Suddenly, the wailing inside increased. At the right moment she moved in through the window, and stood beside his figure. The people surrounding him on the bed were beating their chests and wailing sorrowfully. The doctor drew the white sheet over his head.

She welcomed him with a smile as he rose from the bed without effort and held her hand. She had waited long enough. He planted a kiss on her forehead as they started walking through the people and drifted towards the sky without ever looking back.

The Last Breath

2011-05-01T08:41:00.000-07:00

He felt suffocated, trapped in the warm liquid. Its stench around him was unbearable. The need for fresh air was increasing as his nostrils started getting clogged. His throat soon started burning with the gush of the liquid within. He prayed for light & air but felt dazed and groggy. A strong force was helping him towards the much needed freedom but wasn't strong enough to help him out. In moments, he was saved by a painful yet strong pull but he couldn't breathe due to the liquid in his lungs. His head throbbed and his heart felt weak pumping as much blood it could. He tried opening his eyes unsuccessfully. He couldn't let out any sound as much as he tried. The pats on his back were harder now and he could hear faint voices. His fight soon ended as he breathed his first and last while he let out a gurgling sound. The doctor turned to the nurse and spoke with dismay, "It was a boy!"

So, flipkart reverts back to me

2011-02-24T21:11:00.000-08:00

It was a pleasant surprise to have found an e-mail in my inbox first thing in the morning from a person working with flipkart. In the e-mail were a 'Thank You' and a link directing to the changes made on the website which will now alert potential buyers to the fact that the book isn't an authentic Jane Austen but it is a version which is 'Retold'.

I thank the individual for owning up to the mistake and for taking proper corrective action.

The changes are the title which now clearly indicates that it is 'Jane Austen's Pride And Prejudice: Retold by W. Sequeira, A. D'Souza (Illustrator)'. The picture below contains the corrections.

And to add to everything else, I even got a phone call from 2 executives at flipkart.com. I was pretty overwhelmed by their gesture. They've promised me a replacement for the book and as mentioned above, the website has also undergone changes. A number was given to me by one of their executives on which I'm supposed to call in case I face issues in the future.

In this world of fierce competition, it feels good to see a company take efforts to delight customers. Despite their initial mistake, my respect for flipkart now has been restored. As the old Hindi saying goes, 'Subah ka bhoola agar shaam ko ghar aa jaaye toh usko bhoola nahi kehte' .. :)

'Retold' - Does this word seem significant?

2011-02-24T07:23:00.000-08:00

Yeah, the title is stupid! But, considering what I've gone through in the last 4 days, it doesn't seem to me as insignificant a word as it seems to you.

www.flipkart.com.. this is where I do most of my shopping for books. And I'm a Bibliophile (read: Bibliomaniac), so I don't order less than 7 books a month. On Feb 20th I ordered the book, 'Pride And Prejudice' authored by Jane Austen. I was always fascinated by her, and I'd read some part of her book 'Emma', years ago as per a friend's suggestion. I couldn't finish it, as she was shifting from her residence and she was a Bibliophile (read: Bibliocentric) herself; so, she went away taking the book with her, as if it was the last copy of 'Emma' on this Earth; and I completely forgot buying a new book. So, years later, some days ago, I decided that I would complete my then-incomplete feat and read all books by Jane Austen. 'Pride And Prejudice' seemed to me, a title apt to start off with. So, I went ahead and ordered 2 books, the one mentioned and 'Sense And Sensibility'. The books came one at a time, the latter preceding the former. (FYI: flipkart provides Home Delivery on COD basis too :) ).

'Sense And Sensibility' seemed in perfect condition. I read a few pages till 'Pride And Prejudice' was delivered. I was at college when the latter arrived on 23rd Feb. After reaching home at 11.30pm, I held the book in my hand. It was a hard-bound copy. I immediately realized my first mistake. With hardback, comes the issue of convenience; and FYI, I carry a 3kg laptop with me everyday (I usually do most of my fiction reading in the local train while travelling).

So, moving on, I opened the book. My first reaction was 'What the FF...'.. !! The book was, to my horror, ILLUSTRATED and the font size was so big that I'd have to strain NOT a single eye-muscle to read it from even THE MOON. :( .. The real problem had not dawned on me yet. I thought at that time, 'It's ok! It looks like a Fairytale book. So what! My friends would laugh a bit. But it's ok. It's our Jane Austen after all. And that's all I want.'..

I started reading the book; carried it to college too.. Friends sneered.. I said, "WTF is your problem!" I continued reading it, but with a sense of skepticism. Why was my dear Austen using such basic English! And why was she so hell-bent on narrating the story in such short sentences! Why wasn't I being given the description of every single feeling, every emotion! And WHY THE HELL was she addressing some Mr. Bingley as 'her'. Mr. Bingley was a Mr. and that makes him a 'him'. I got seriously annoyed; closed the book and returned home from college.

I searched online for Austen, J books and downloaded 'Pride And Prejudice'. I started reading, and to my horror, the language used was so different and so good as compared to the hard copy I had. I opened the book. And KABBOOMM.. On the 2nd page were the words.. 'Retold by W. Sequeira & A.D' Souza'. I got wild, went online, and checked my order. Nowhere was it written that the story in the book was RETOLD. I wrote to flipkart expressing my disappointment, and asking them to replace my copy. It wasn't my fault I believe, yet, the incident made me understand the value of one word.. 'Retold'.. :)

I know what I did in the last 7 months

2011-02-20T04:22:00.000-08:00

So, I'm back again.. back to the world where I had loved living the most.. back to the world which kept me occupied for most of my 'unoccupied' time.. back to the world where nothing required second thoughts.

When I was stamped 'a loser', this world helped me win.. this world gave me a mode to express, a mode to share, a mode to opine. So, this BLOGGING world meant a lot to me. Despite that, it's exactly 7 months that I've blogged. I start again today, and promise myself to never stop again. :)

A lot has happened in these 7 months. I saw the world (literally, the world), that I'd never ever seen before. I saw and met some kind of people that I'd never ever seen before. I saw myself, like I'd never ever seen before. Before you start thinking that I'm giving you some philosophical crap, let me remind you that I'm doing an MBA currently.. :)

I've learnt a lot of new things in these 7 months. A lot many new words (good, bad and ugly, alike :P ) .. scores of new theories, dozens of kinds of human behaviour, names of umpteen brands & their parent companies, dozens of names of all kinds of liquor, tons of names of crappy old CVO movies, new ways of getting work done from people, and last but not the least.. I've learnt how to behave.. behave as if nothing's happened, even if the sky came crashing down.. behave in a rational manner, even in the most irrational of situations.. behave using your intellect, and chuck your heart out of all situations.. behave practically, and leave no room for emotions. In short, I've learnt awesome sense of control in these 7 months, which is the most important learning I've ever got in my life.

These 7 months also were those months wherein I did nothing apart from going to college, studying, finishing assignments, hanging out with only my B-School friends, and being part of adventures I had never thought I would ever take part in. And thus, I was left feeling so tired at the end of the day, that I completely stopped reading and writing. So, starting last week, I made a list of things I'd do in the coming 15 months (till I complete my MBA) and many more months to come, in order to not lose touch with my literary side. And the first of the things in the list is to complete reading books that I always wanted to, but never got the chance to, either due to unavailability of the book, time or money.

As a finishing note, here are some of the books from my list.. :)

1. Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel
2. The Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
3. The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell
4. Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell
5. Blink - Malcolm Gladwell
6. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
7. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
8. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
9. Emma - Jane Austen
10. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
11. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
12. The Argumentative Indian - Amartya Sen
13. Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
14. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
15. The Satanic Verses - Salman Rushdie
16. Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell
17. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
18. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
19. Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
20. We, the living - Ayn Rand
21. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
22. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
23. India Unbound - Gurucharan Das
24. The Puma Story - Robert-Herbert Peters
25. Tuesdays with Morrie - Pitch Albom
26. Maximum City - Suketu Mehta

Regards,
Pooja Menon

P.S.: I realized that I wrote out the 'Regards' above, without realizing that I was blogging and not e-mailing. Yet, I chose to not delete it, to remind myself, that I need to blog more often.. :)

"Not-so-feminine" ME

2010-07-20T04:11:00.000-07:00

Nethra.. Thanks for tagging me.. :-) And sorry for doing it so late.. Some issues are keeping me real busy since a couple of weeks.. So, I'm away from social networking.. Though, I'll be back soon..

The following are the ten Not-So-Feminine features about ME.. Hope you all will enjoy the read! :)

All people who know me well, will for sure not believe what I've written below, 'coz I love being called feminine and I'm mostly called so by many. But, all of it is true. Only my Mom, brother and one or two friends have witnessed in person what I'm confessing below. So read on.. :-D

1. I always used to fancy riding heavy bikes, in place of stupid pink scootys (No offence intended to the ones who ride any :-D). The most bizarre thought that caught my mind was a few months ago, when my brother was supposed to sell off his Unicorn, to buy a car. That was when I thought of approaching him, and asking him to sell me the bike instead. :-P .. Don't ask me if I ended up asking him or not. Read the 2nd point of my last post instead. :-D

2. I prefer wearing t-shirts (which are meant for men and thus, tend to be 10 sizes bigger than mine) and boxer shorts (meant for men) when at home, instead of feminine shorts or track pants. This is due to the simple fact that I always prefer wearing what I feel comfortable in.

3. I hate going to the beauty parlor. Not that all girls love going to a parlor, but my reasons for hating it are not so feminine. I love being natural; without any traces of foreign particles on my skin, hair or nails. I'm the happiest when I haven't plucked my eyebrows, waxed my skin, bleached my face or manicured my hands for about three to four months. :-P

4. I like sitting like men, without any inhibitions. With hands crossed behind the head, elbows stretched outwards and one foot resting on the knee of the other leg. Only a handful people have seen me in this pose, 'coz I'm mostly pretending. :-P (Once in a blue moon, you may catch me standing like a man too, when I'm not paying attention :-D)

5. I love fighting with my nephew the way his dad (my brother) fights with him. Not that this quality is really masculine, seems kiddish instead. :-P

6. I have a rather husky voice, instead of the typical feminine sweet voice. That makes me sound rather too old for my voice to some, and too young to some.

7. I have a coffee mug which is too loud and bold to be possessed by a female. I had purchased it from CCD after having liked the pattern on the mug.

8. I don't haggle with vendors or shopkeepers for reduction of prices. Like many naive males, I end up paying what I'm asked to. That's sounds real stupid of me, but sincerely I hate shouting at the top of my voice and letting all around me know what I'm purchasing and for how much!

9. I don't have a craving for chocolates like many females. Instead, I hate eating sweets. Only when required, I can have a piece or two of a sweet of my choice.

10. Lastly, the quality that makes me feel proud about myself and for sure will be a boon for my partner. I HATE GOSSIPING AND BITCHING even with girls. I never join girly groups to discuss good-looking boys or bitch about girls. I rather hang around with guys or with girls when they're not bickering. :-P

So, these were the 10 'not-so-feminine' things about me, according to me and some close friends. Hope it was a good read. And, I ain't carrying forward the tag because it's too late now and most of my blogger friends have already done it or have been tagged by someone else. Adioss... :-)

3 things!

2010-06-26T23:59:00.000-07:00

Firstly, Nethra ... Thanks for the tag :)

Here goes..

* 3 Famous Names of Mine: Pooja, Poo, Menon

* 3 Things that Scare Me: My Elder Brother(though he's not a thing), Darkness, Dogs

* 3 Things that make me Smile: Soft Romantic Songs, Playing with Babies, Eating Chicken

* 3 Things that I Love: (Since it's things..).. My Laptop, My Collection of Books, Tasty Food .. :P

* 3 Things I Hate: Unnecessary Attitude in wannabes, Being in the Limelight, Hunger for Power in people

* 3 Things I don't understand: Shakespearen English :P, The Caste System in India, My Love for HIM :)

* 3 Things I am doing right now: Thinking for & Writing this post, Eating Lays :P, Listening to AR Rahman

* 3 Things I can't do: Say 'NO' to someone, Compromise over something, Climb a Tree :P

* 3 Things I think you should listen to: Birds at dawn, Me..singing :P, My MOM..shouting at Me (you'll marvel at how much I can endure :P)

* 3 Shows I watched as a Kid: Disney Hour, He-Man on DD, Tom & Jerry shows

* 3 Things I want in a Relationship: LOVE, FIDELITY and COMPATIBILITY

* 3 Things of the Opposite Sex that appeal to me: Height, Maturity, Confidence

* 3 Favorite Fictitious Characters: Aladin (the one with the magic lamp), Mowgli, Howard Roark from The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)

* 3 Favorite Hobbies: Writing, Reading Fiction, Eating my nephew's head :P

* 3 Beverages I drink regularly: Tea, Tang, Buttermilk (Salted Lassi for Starters :P)

* 3 Things I like about myself: My Tolerance, My Love for Mom, My Patience with Kids

* 3 Things I hate about myself: My Laziness, and thus My Weight Gain, My Ego

* 3 Things I'm wearing right now: A miniature hair clip, Shorts, T-Shirt

* 2 Truths and a Lie: I Love Living, I Hate Confessing my Love to Someone, I NEVER LIE :D

* 3 People I pass this tag to: Vibushan, Romeo Das, Sriram Agarwal

Hope you people do the tag, and pass it on.. Adios.. :)

Hidden

2010-06-05T06:23:00.000-07:00

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 11; the eleventh edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

Hari sat sweating on the leather couch, his pulse racing with every gone second. "Should I, should I not!" His thoughts were in a constant skirmish with one another. His phone rang; he answered. The voice said, "Remember, you are hidden, only some minutes to go!" He stared into oblivion for some time.

The briefcase screamed from the corner of the room, "PICK ME UP!", it seemed to say, "TAKE ME!" Hari got up from the couch.

He checked his tie in the mirror and when all seemed perfect, he shouted with all his strength for the one last time, "God, forgive me!!!" He started crying. Then, wiping his tears, he collected himself and started for the door. The briefcase smiled at him and wished him luck. He picked it up, came out of his hotel room, locked the door, took the elevator, smiled at the bellboy, reached the reception and checked out.

He walked some distance and hired a cab. His phone rang, it said, "You know what you got to do, ain't you?" He hung up cursing, tensed. He got out of the cab. Walked and reached the location. His briefcase shouted, "Not this one fool, the next one!" He stopped. He was tired of playing hide-and-seek for the past 5 days. He had to be hidden from everybody. But he knew, he couldn't hide from himself.

The train arrived and he boarded. It was jam packed; somehow he managed to get a seat in one corner. He sat, clutching at his briefcase.

He closed his eyes and drifted back into memories. His first bicycle: his father had saved for the money for 10 months to get one for his son; he rode on it for the whole day and had reached home bruised and aching all over. The first time he got burnt: he had accidentally stepped on a burnt firecracker and his mother had shed buckets of tears. Praneeta, his first love: he had failed miserably to satisfy her for the first time and had broken up. His first salary: the gleaming sari for his mother and the coat for his father. His marriage: he had got married amidst a lot of fight; his wife was an outcast; but their love helped them win over everybody. The birth of his son: how his son resembled him was the hottest story amongst all relatives, still. And then, this phone call one day, on his son's 7th birthday. "Sumi, Arpan, where are you, Ohh God!!" he had shouted on returning back from office to home. The caller said, "Trust me, they are with us. Trust me even more, you fail there, your wife gets raped and your son, castrated!"

He opened his eyes, moist. The lady beside him, with her 2 year old son, asked him if he needed some water. The son eagerly offered him water from his pink bunny-shaped water sipper. He took a sip. His briefcase pleaded for some fresh air. He needed some too, he thought.

He came out of the crowd to the door and leaned outside. His briefcase breathed openly, quite aware it were the last moments. He opened his arms, looked at his watch, "It's time! Time to reveal the hidden!", he screamed.

11 July, 2006 - 6:35pm: There was a huge explosion on a fast train bound to Virar from Churchgate at Borivali station.

Hari, now unhidden, lay on the track minus his limbs, with parts of his briefcase and the pink bunny-shaped water sipper beside him.

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

Love, *Conditions Apply!

2010-05-31T00:29:00.000-07:00

This post has been published by me as a team member of The Rodeo Writers team for the SUPER 6 round of Bloggers Premier League (BPL) – The first ever unique, elite team blogging event of blog world. To catch the BPL action and also be part of future editions and other contests, visit and register at Cafe GingerChai

Love - A 55 Fiction

Love, *Conditions Apply!

“I love you darling, but…” It disturbed Ravi, the ‘but’. Two years ago, he had left everything for his love. The same love was betraying him today. The end had neared. After having fought against the society for so long, Amey’s sorrowful words pierced through Ravi’s heart, “…I have to go back to my wife!”

P.S.: See what other "Rodeo Writers" have written for the contest: Nethra, Anney, Mahesh, Swathi, Pranjal, Arjit and Anurag

The Last Touch

2010-05-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

55 Fiction. It is a form of micro-fiction that refers to the works of fiction limited to maximum of fifty-five words. This is my third and hope to better myself each time I write one.. Read on..

The Last Touch

She kissed his palm. He felt the hot tears on her cheeks. They kissed each other. She saw his haggard face; and remembered it was time. Sobbing, she closed her eyes; placed her hand on his chest. The heart which lived for her was not beating anymore. She kissed his forehead for the last time.

P.S.: I was inspired to write on a theme based on love after I helped a friend with a post yesterday. Love has a very deep meaning. Love derives more meaning and becomes stronger once the one who loved you, leaves you due to NO fault of either of the two people in Love.

The second inspiration was this song, 'Unchained Melody' by Airsupply. The guy, in the story, had died earlier and had got some powers due to which he came back to earth, and the girl could ONLY feel him but NOT see him, even after his death. He finally had to leave the earth forever and that was when the song was picturised. Listen to it, and I bet, you will shed a tear or two..

RAPE: Death of a Soul & its Murderers

2010-04-27T05:34:00.000-07:00

This write-up was written by me long ago. The urge to post it now was due to a heated argument I had with one friend on this topic..

Death is described as the termination of life when the critical organs of the body cease to function after which the soul is believed to live on forever in the universe. In short, in death, the body gives up, but the soul lives on. What happens when the reverse occurs? The body lives.. but the soul dies. This can be better explained by somebody who has lost his/her dignity due to some unfortunate event.

RAPE.. A forced sexual assault by a person on a victim, involving sexual intercourse without the victim's consent. When such a heinous activity is inflicted upon a girl, her body becomes a burden because her soul breathes it's last. It leaves her bereaved.. bereaved because she mourns silently for her soul which gets robbed.. by some shameless zombie-like human who derives pleasure by inflicting pain upon her just to satisfy his unexplained monstrous hunger. She is left without any feelings, without any emotions. She does live, but a dead life.

The female could be someone who was supposed to get married, someone who was supposed to appear for her board exams, someone who's the mother of a kid, someone who was supposed to get back home to her ailing parents after work. I've heard of females of all ages getting raped.. from infants to 70+ yr old ladies. Not even pregnant ladies are spared. How much more to go? According to National Crime Records Bureau, in India, 18 women are raped every hour. The number of rapes a day have increased 700% from 1971 to 2006. And only 1 in every 70 cases gets registered. Why the apprehensions ? Why don't the affected women come ahead and bring the perpetrators to book?

Think about this.. Most of the rapists are people who are close to the victim. They could be the victim's friend, relative, uncle, neighbor, brother, father, etc. This makes it much easier for the rapist to lay a trap for the victim. The victim, in order to preserve the dignity of her family and herself, keeps mum. Add to this, maximum victims are from the lower strata of the society, women who are not well-educated, and young teenagers; hence they are not brave enough. Forget being brave, they don't even know what an FIR means! The rapists take advantage of this vulnerability of the victim. Further, in some rural areas, the punishment to the rapist is 'marriage to the victim!' I mean.. WTF?? What you're doing is, preparing the victim for getting raped lifelong. Now look at this.. a particular guy likes a girl and she rejects his proposal for marriage. What he can do is, go and rape her; the system will eventually get them married. Great!

Next, let's take the case of educated women, young adults and women with some power. Can they escape. The answer mostly is NO. Remember the Marine Drive rape case! We are expecting those people to solve our problem and give us justice who once upon a time were the ones who themselves committed this crime. It's like being caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.

Now let's focus on our media and our urban judiciary system. Imagine a victim who has gone through this odious act. She gathers some courage and registers a case. A trial is carried out against the alleged. She, first of all, is asked questions which are so shameful that she prefers to live her life in solitude rather than face all those people who know what she went through. The trial drags on so miserably, that, all the victim wants is to get over with it. The best part is, when the alleged is someone who's kin have high connections, like the son of some education minister of some state. The trial comes. Furor is created. Media-hype follows. Solidarity activities gain momentum. Candles are burnt. The trial goes on. Months pass. Years pass. The alleged is forgotten. What happens next is not known. Either the alleged gets away with an imprisonment for some amount of time or some compensation is given to the victim. All is forgotten. Again a major case of rape is brought to light. Again these series of activities get repeated. All past similar acts gain publicity. GOSH..!! Where is the victim in all this? Does anybody feel what she goes through when, she, day in and day out keeps seeing & hearing about her miserable fate? The only positive things that happen in such a case are that TRPs of media channels shoot up, people unite for a common purpose and; politicians, NGOs and Mahila Mandals get a chance to do some social service and get a name for themselves.

What does the victim want? Some peace. She's gone through something horrendous. She needs some solitude for some time, some months. She needs love, counselling, and NOT publicity. The relatives of the victims shouldn't treat them as outcasts. When it comes to the media, they should see to it that unwanted hype where in the female is projected as pitiable, miserable and helpless should be avoided. Solidarity activities without much fanfare are needed, only to generate awareness and to pressurize the judiciary system. Along with all this, she needs justice, without any loopholes to it. For justice, what is needed is a preventive set of laws coupled with laws that aim towards punishment. The punishment norms should be such that prospective crime-doers feel goosebumps even when they think of committing such a abysmal act. That is when the number of such cases would diminish and women would be able to live freely.

Increased number of NGOs, awareness about the available laws, is needed. When it comes to women in rural areas and slums, the governement should see to it that they focus on creating awareness even in the remotest of areas. When we can have advertisements issued in public interest for eating eggs & domestic violence, then why not RAPE? Why not include this as a subject in schools and teach 14-15 year olds about this crime and the mechanism in place to get justice? Why not forcefully get young females to attend classes for learning self-defence tactics? Why don't we have more number of female police officers? Even if you have one for every police station, that does it!

Adding to all this, some people raise arguable points.. One; that women should be watchful and avoid wearing alluring clothes. Two; that India is better off as compared to countries like USA, where 1 woman is raped every 2 minutes (approx.). As far the former point is concerned, aren't saree-clad women raped? Don't women have the right to freely move about and wear clothes that they wish to? Agreed, killing the cause serves the purpose; but here, the cause isn't the attractive appearance of some women. The cause is the attitude of the crime-doers who feel that they can escape with some minimal punishment. Some men think that it's something natural, something that's to be blamed on their hormones. How sick can that get! This is something that should be killed with stronger preventive laws. Considering the second point that India is well-off than other countries, let me say that any problem whether small or big, has to have a solution. Belittling the statistics will do no good. If progress is aimed for in every sphere then why not this issue?

All said and done, I neither mean to criticize any legislative or judiciary body when I say all of these things nor am I censuring the media or the power of people. All I want to say is, when some sensitive crime like rape is committed, why is it that the entire thing gets bloated up and the focus is lost? The focus is justice.. to the victim. And the harshest punishment.. to the criminal. All activities should be streamlined towards these two issues, taking care of the fact that the victim gets as much privacy as possible. Getting famous for some positive achievement gives a lots of joy.. But fame generated out of loss of dignity is no delight!

P.S.: This article is centric only to one crime. I have full awareness of the fact that our judiciary system has to improve when it comes to not only 'rape' but also all other crimes in general. Also, I have covered only the male-female type of rape with full knowledge that it represents a larger part in the pie of 'rape' as a crime..

Sources: http://www.4jat.com/jat_community_article.asp?jat_community=149

http://www.global-sisterhood-network.org/content/view/498/76/
http://www.legalserviceindia.com/articles/rape_laws.htm

Target 17-17 in MBA-CET GD PI

2010-04-14T05:28:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks,

The CET results being out now, the only hurdle ahead of us is to crack the GD PI and improve the chances of getting into a good B-school.

CETKING workshops (Andheri, Mumbai) help you do exactly that. With our workshops you can..:
1. Target 17-17 in GD-PI
2. Meet JBIMS/SPJain alumni who have been there, done that
3. Get primers/notes on all latest events & news and improve your content knowledge by leaps and bounds
4. Get tips on how to give a perfect interview
5. Take part in as many as 2 GDs in every session and evaluate & view 4 others (You can avail of 4, 8 or 12 sessions as per your needs)

The 3rd batch starts 24th April, 2010. So, do not waste time and CALL 9619599064 for more information and to register yourselves.

.

BRAIN DEAD!

2010-03-28T22:46:00.000-07:00

This post was written by me on 28th March 2010 at 10:30pm. After an irritating day and no friend to talk to (all of them managed to be busy at the same time), I wrote this.

I feel like doing nothing! Tonight my brain seems to make no sense at all. There have been such times when I was all alone, fuckin' irritated due to some small reason, but tonight seems to be different. My irritation has shot up to such a great level that it has rendered my brain lifeless!

The words of the book I am trying to read seem to be like a dull set of incomprehensible black objects. My ipod looks like a slab of scrap metal and the songs sound like the rambling of that pestering landlady who drops in at your door every now & then asking for unpaid rent. The pages of my scribbling notepad have become 100 times heavier and turning them over is more tiresome than lifting a grossly overweight baby. I am somehow dragging along this slender object in my hand which seems to uniformly squirt some blue liquid onto the page as & when I apply some pressure and take it ahead. My handwriting hasn't looked worse! My laptop stands shut at the edge of my bed on the standby mode, its blue light flickering on & off, looking like a guy winking at me, seeming to call me to open its lid and flirt with its keys. It isn't aware of my mood tonight! The cologne that I have applied on my wrists (which I always do before bed-time) has spread its fragrance all over my body, but I am as indifferent to it as a mother is to her small kid who constantly keeps pestering her to buy the new toy he saw at the departmental store. My cellphone is dancing with exuberance beside me but I seem to have no energy or will to engage my left hand and a ear with it. My family is watching IPL in the hall but the sixes, fours, constant cheers and even my fave team Mumbai Indians winning the match seem to generate no interest in me whatsoever!

So, I'm sure now! My brain is dead tonight; the numbness and it's reason is unfathomable. The best thing now seems to be just hitting the bed and drift away into dreams. I hope my dead brain enlivens once my body has slept!

P.S.: Can you imagine I couldn't sleep as well. I got a call from a friend at close to 11.30pm and kept blabbering for some hours. He managed to uplift my mood and, finally, I managed to watch a movie and sleep off at 2am.. :-)

The Betrayal

2010-03-12T06:19:00.000-08:00

55 Fiction. It is a form of micro-fiction that refers to the works of fiction limited to maximum of fifty-five words. This is my second and hope to better myself each time I write one.. Read on..

The Betrayal
Some men were leading her to an unknown place after having fed her well. They halted after some time and stroked her neck. She wondered, 'They take such good care of me! They seem God-like'. Suddenly she felt a deadly sting on her neck and collapsed in a pool of blood. She had been betrayed.

Novel Ways of Saying Sorry

2010-03-07T05:11:00.000-08:00

Just a few hours ago I read a blog post in which the author was unsure of the existence of best & true friends and I put up a comment saying that indeed they DO exist! I wasn't aware that God would reinforce that fact to me so soon. Towards evening, at around 6pm or so, a close friend of mine (a great artist) with whom I was angry since today morning, drew a sketch & mailed it to me, a very beautiful "I AM SORRY".. I was so touched that I felt like hugging that friend of mine. Now I can gladly say; YES, BEST & TRUE FRIENDS DO EXIST.. :-)

The following is the picture my friend sent me. I am sure you all will agree that it's a great sketch.. Thanks dear friend.. :-)

Review on Karthik Calling Karthik

2010-03-05T22:56:00.000-08:00

Please click on the link below to read the review of Karthik Calling Karthik

http://bit.ly/9uEgQh

Back Again

2010-02-25T03:39:00.000-08:00

It's been more than a month since I last blogged. It's impossible for me to believe that my studies could actually keep me away from writing for such a long time. 2 weeks of hard-core & sincere effort (despite deciding to study for 30 days) is what I put in for my last MBA entrance exam for this academic year. It's actually way more than what I studied for my final year degree examinations. :-P

The sheer fear of losing out on one more year, like I did last year, made me put all the effort this year. That's the only reason I stayed away from the internet and eventually from blogging for one long month. The moment my exam was done, I decided I would be blogging, just that I didn't know on what topic. Finally after loads of pondering over the idea of what topic to write on, I thought this time I'll just write and not think. 38 days to go for my results. Till that time, I have vowed to be positive about it. :-) And till that time I have nothing to do. So, I have decided I'll be pampering the first & second love of my life to the max, which without the slightest doubt are reading & writing.

After my exam, I treated myself to all things that I possibly could. Saw a movie (unfortunately MNIK), went to a nice mela with friends, ate fattening & unhygienic food, had lots of teenager-like fun there, ate chicken & drank like a fish at a cafe, shopped at Colaba, saw umpteen old movies at home, downloaded all new songs & movies according to availability, purchased loads of books to read, some movie DVDs to watch, and now making a list of other things to do as well. :-)

Yesterday, I purchased 'Wolf Hall' by Hilary Mantel from Strand Book Stall at Bajaj Bhavan. This was one book that I really wanted since a long time. And by the way, all bibliophiles, it's just 3 more days to go for the Sale at the Book Stall. I urge you all to go and give yourself a feast. :-)

Finally, it's getting too long now. And yeah, have decided to take part in Blog-a-Ton 8, my first; and other such contests. Gearing up for a long 30 days of date with words. :-) Ciao...

The Dark Journey

2010-01-21T07:29:00.000-08:00

55 Fiction. This concept had really amazed me when I first heard of it. For starters, 55 Fiction is a concept where a story has to be conveyed in less than 55 words. I always thought I'll go through a couple of such stories first and then come up with my own. But I never got a suitable topic for writing one, given the word limit. Finally when I came up with a topic, it didn't even take me 2 minutes to convert my thoughts into words. Here's my first in the world of 55 Fiction. Enjoy..

The Dark Journey
He crouched within the dark space wondering when he'll get fresh air. The air was closing upon him to throw him out. He felt suffocated but relieved in anticipation that his dark journey would now end. Finally, he was forced out and he let out a wail as he was patted on his bottom.

Remote Control

2010-01-09T03:38:00.000-08:00

Competition.. A race to be ahead of others can take a toll over kids/teenagers who start feeling that their elders who pester them to study are actually their enemies.. No late-night parties, no clubbing, no friends, no late-night chats but excellent percentages; that's what many parents want of their children.. This poem is dedicated to all kids/children who feel that their life is unreasonably controlled by their parents/ elders..

My life operates with a remote control,
Press a button & I'll grow cold;
Press another, I'll speak,
Slap me hard, I'll squeak.

Ask me to talk, I'll open my mouth,
When the need's over, I'll go to my couch;
Ask me to lie down, I'll obey,
I'll fold my hands, make you God & pray.

You shout, You bark, You kick,
You scream, I won't give a shit;
I'll watch all you do without retaliating,
After all, I'm not a human being.

Notification for my New Blog..

2010-01-01T07:08:00.000-08:00

As the year 2009 went by, I came across a lot of new people, new incidents and new experiences; some negative, some positive. I realized, I learnt a lot from all of such things. If such learnings can be summarized into one line, I would be able to remember them for the rest of my life. I have shared, and will keep sharing in the future, some of such thoughts of mine in my new blog, the link of which is.. http://gyaanshyaan.blogspot.com/

Happy Reading..

And a very HAPPY NEW YEAR to all readers... :-)

Inspired again!

2009-12-27T06:09:00.000-08:00

Inspiration for me doesn't come easily. Only twice in life before this have I got inspired. For the third time, I got inspired; this time from a movie.

3 idiots. The finest movie of 2009. It sent out a very sensible social message which said, "Strive for Excellence, Success will follow". I immediately made note of it and realized that most of us always state "Success" as one of our goals little understanding that it is only our goal and not the path to reach the goal. In simpler words, the destination is "Success", but the road to be taken is "Excellence".

If you strive to be good at what you do, you needn't worry for being successful. When you are good at your work, success comes to you with open arms. But for that you need to do what you love doing. Most of us always run behind lucrative careers. We leave behind all our aspirations just to earn money and end up being in the wrong field. It strains us and leads to unhappiness.

After watching the movie, I decided; now I am not gonna let go the love of my life. I will pursue it no matter how much inconvenience it causes me. This actually changed me as an individual. Now it really doesn't matter to me if I don't be successful in my field of interest. I know I am good at it; and that's what matters most.

CAT 09 Tales !!

2009-11-29T01:46:00.000-08:00

The post below is purely a work of fiction.. Any resemblance to any person/persons living and/or dead and/or any institution is purely co-incidental..

Last midnight, there was a calm knock on my door.. I opened it to find Pythagoras and Shakespeare standing at the steps in their regal postures; Pythagoras with his typical Greek robe on and Shakespeare wearing a large white collared suit.. I pulled out 3 chairs, handed them a cup of green tea each and Shakespeare said, "What art thou waiting for? Open thy books!".. Cursing, I removed my books & a pen, and started solving sums in Math and English when both knocked menacingly on my head to tell me I wasn't following rules related to their respective fields well.. I frowned.. :-( .. Pythagoras drew me a large right-angled triangle with all its medians, altitudes, angle-bisectors & perpendicular bisectors, and asked me to find out the length of the circum-radius & in-radius.. Shakespeare handed me a fat book, opened the page to 'Julius Caesar', asked me to read it aloud explaining the meaning of each verse and understanding the figures of speech used.. Both kept bombarding on my head when, suddenly, it started raining inside my house.. "Get up!", growled my Mom with a jar of water in her hand..

Yeah.. For those who are baffled by now, the above mentioned para describes my latest dream.. And for those with me, I am sure thinking of going to my family physician and I wouldn't be least surprised if he tells me that I am suffering from Arithmophobia..

CAT, meaning the Common Admission Test, is scheduled for me on 2nd December 2009.. For starters, CAT is an entrance test for MBA aspiring candidates conducted by the highly coveted IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management) situated at 7 locations pan-India..

CAT and I have actually had a long term 'love & hate' relationship.. Long time ago in the year 2007, in a bid to woo it, I dared to flirt with it.. The result; it kicked me out of its region like a filthy whining stray dog.. I had taken some coaching for 4 months then, but made the mistake of over-estimating myself and under-estimating 'the CAT'.. Thereafter, I stayed away from it like a rain-drenched teeny mouse stays away from the literal cat..

After 2 years now, I jostled up some courage and decided to give it a peck once again.. Filled up the form for the sake of it; but realized that I am supposed to study, pretty late.. So, starting my preparation 5 days ago and a week before my CAT, I have gone berserk.. Yet, not being prepared completely will not deter me this year as well, being the shameless individual I am! But still my spirits are high and I am sincerely hoping for some miracle to happen since Pythagoras and Shakespeare are indeed backing me this time.. :-P

Falling in LOVE..!!

2009-11-22T22:17:00.001-08:00

This one was the first concrete poem I ever wrote some 4 years ago.. Being very emotional at heart, I penned this one down when I realized what's love.. When I read it today, I chuckle owing to the innocent childishness the poem possesses.. Yet, its purity still amazes me..

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Falling in Love is like a dream,
I want to, but cannot scream.

His name is etched on my heart,
To love him endlessly is on my part.

I feel, I'm on top of the world,
"I am yours", is what he told.

Trust is what he always asks for,
I'll give it to him, that's for sure.

Our love is as pure as the Ganges,
It will never die for ages.

One day when our hair turns gray,
All I'll do is just pray.

That when I take my last breath,
And come face to face with death,

It's his lap, on which i wanna lie,
And say goodbye to the world and die...

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Confused As Always!

2009-10-28T06:40:00.000-07:00

OMG... 'Confusion maxima'.. That should be the phrase I should attach to my name..

I am often always confused.. Confused as to what decision to take, which course to follow, which friend to meet, what to eat, which book to read.. and so on and so forth.. :-(

I often wonder why I get torn apart in between choices so badly.. Say, if given 2 options, I always prefer BOTH.. :-D .. God knows what would happen if I participate in shows like "xxx ka Swayamvar" et al.. :-P

Being the LIBRAN that I am, I have always been like this. Today, I changed my blog template for the umpteenth time.. I never seem to get pleased with any template; even if I do, I never know which one pleases me the most.. I have used almost all the templates blogspot has to offer.. plus, have tried other tutorials too.. But nothing seems to fit the bill.. Minima, Rounders, Scribe, Harbor, Denim, Snapshot, Thisaway, Tictac.. have tried all at least once.. :-P

On the flip side, this attitude of mine works positively for me as well.. Because in the process of deciding what to do (and what not to do), I often end up thinking so much that maximum light is thrown on all aspects concerning the point.. It helps me a lot when brainstorming with friends on many issues..

But, still, I am confused.. Is this attitude of mine more of a boon or a curse?? Maybe... BOTH... :-D

The Pain Of Parting!

2009-10-25T10:58:00.000-07:00

A lump in the throat, a pinch in the heart, unspoken words, moist eyes, crying thoughts…

Separation from a loved one is very agonizing… The moments spent, the happiness shared, the songs sung, the laughs laughed, the fights fought, the love expressed; will be the only things that would be left with me…

The final “bye”… I wanna be with him, yet I don’t wanna be with him when he would head off. Witnessing the departure by my own eyes is something for which I don’t have any strength.

I thought a thousand times as to whether I should ask him to stop; to not leave me & go. But the reasons for going are unavoidable. I know he has to go. The feeling is that of desertion. My heart yearns; for a one last moment, a one last hug, a one last glance into his eyes, a one last peck with love… I wish the world could stop! I wish I had the power to hold time and live in his arms forever!

But, then, it’s not possible… All good things have to end. These moments would also end. What happened was very good, very loving!

Still I know & hope, that the way bad supersedes good, one day good would also supersede bad. He will come back for me. He will be there for me… close to me… again in the same old way... with the same old enchanting love…

Moments..

2009-10-16T06:32:00.000-07:00

Everyday when I open my eyes to the sun’s first rays in the morning, I wonder how many more days will I get to live like this. Lying on my warm and cozy bed I always feel that there would be a time when all this would cease to exist. My mother who always gets me a cup of tea when I get up, my father who without fail wishes me a ‘good morning’ each day with a big smile, my kid nephew who comes to me for a kiss on his forehead the first thing in the morning and all such events of small happiness & the feeling of being at home… how long will all of this stay with me? Life moves along. I would have to forsake all this some day either when I get married or when I leave for further studies or a job. Life would never be the same. My house, my room, my study table, my dressing table, my pet birds, my pet fishes… how long will I be able to stay with them in the same way as I am living now? This feeling sent a shiver down my spine.

There is a typical question you are always asked in an interview, “Where do you see yourself in xx years?” (xx being anything ranging from 3 to 15). The answer to this, as many people know, is either ‘at a big position earning whole lots of money’ or ‘having a business of your own’. I asked myself this same question. The answer I got was, “I don’t know. But all I know is that, then, I won’t be as happy as I am now. Because nothing of what is there in my life would exist in the same way as it is now.”

There are so many people on this earth who are not happy with the way they are living their life currently. They crib, complain about small inconveniences, hurl abuses at the slightest of frustrations, fight with their family, hit their wives and kids… the list is exhausting. The fact is they’d never be happy how much ever they get in life, because most of them link happiness to money. They slog right since their childhood, keep studying, earn degrees, get a good job, get a girl/guy, get married, but still keep slogging. Where is the time for real happiness?

This was the time when I thought that I too am doing all of this right since I was born. I was never happy with the way I used to look, with my mark-sheet, my friends, my wardrobe, my school, blah blah… I kept slogging little realizing that God had indeed given me umpteen happy moments which I always managed to overlook due to constant sorrow over some things I never had but others had.

Shortly after that, I decided that I would list down all the moments when I was really happy and look at that list whenever I felt that I was lacking something. The list was so exhaustive that I almost forgot I was ever unhappy. I became aware of the joy around me and the little time for which it would stay with me. It gave me a very happy feeling that I have many a things for which I should be thankful to the Almighty. We all have such moments of exultation in our life, but, for the time being. Therefore, I urge all you people to look around you carefully, notice the small things in life. Reminisce about the moments that made you happy or even better, jot them down. Don’t miss that chance of living and re-living such moments. They would give you the peace you need in life but they would never come back. So, value your life, value the little happiness you have in it instead of crying for what you don’t have and spoiling even the joy you could have actually had.

Just for sharing with you readers; listed below are SOME of such moments in my life which gave me immense happiness (starting in ascending order of my age):

1. Small glimpses of my first birthday are still embedded in my mind when my brother lifted me and kissed me happy birthday and I cut the largest & sweetest cake of my life.

2. At the age of 3, when mom came to pick me up after the first day of my nursery school, I was so so so happy to have seen her that I started wailing.

3. When I used to go to the temple with my father, he never used to allow me to walk and always used to lift me in his arms. I still remember how protected I used to feel in his arms.

4. When I made my first friend in nursery school, I realized we both shared a common name and she was very friendly. She is still a best friend of mine.

5. In the year when I turned 14, 5 friends of mine and I went to the terrace of our building on the 31^st of December at 11.45pm and flew a left-over Diwali rocket in the sky at exactly 12.00am and welcomed the new year, hugging each other and eating sweets.

6. On the first day of my Degree College, all students were ragged but somehow I was left because there wasn’t much time left for the day… (What a relief that was!) :-)

7. My 18^th birthday, when my entire college group of 7 guys and a girl came rushing into my house unannounced, I was left dumbstruck as I wearing a gown and had half-done my make up.. (

8. The days of college when I used to travel with my friends in the local train from Churchgate to Kandivali, were the best days of my life. We used to play all sorts of games from Antakshari to what not and used to be head turners for all the other passengers.

9. The day when I was sitting in a restaurant and having tea with my best friend. He happened to roll up a ball of tissue paper which he flung aimlessly. It went flying into a South Indian lady’s cup of tea behind me. I remember her hurling unheard abuses in her language. I have had the heartiest laugh of my life that day.

10. I remember very well the most successful presentation I gave in my college life. My professor, with whom I was loggerheads in the beginning, actually told me later during one of our online chats that he was proud of me. I have never ever felt more satisfied in my life.

11. I received an unexpected call from one of the MNCs after graduation saying that I had cleared the interview and that I was selected. The icing on the cake was that my best female friend and I got placed in the same firm.

12. One of the latest events that gave me happiness was; when I, along with a friend, went up on the escalators but in the opposite direction. We both were a sight to see with all others around us, cheering and clapping for us.

For all of you reading this; if you think this list is complete and has only 12 events, then you’re wrong. Because there are 1000s of such events which crossed my mind while writing this, but due to space, time and personal issues I have not listed them down.

I urge all of you to do this. Trust me, it has left me with a reason to live life happily and thank God for all those 1000+ events he has bestowed upon me so far…

Happy Diwali to all of you… and live a happy life with full of happy events… :-)

My Long White Friend

2009-10-11T09:33:00.000-07:00

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Looking up at the blues, I sip it on…
Watching the birds perched few, I sip it on…
Wondering what went wrong, I sip it on…
Life is not very long, I sip it on…

I took a close look at you,
Filled with brown dew;
Covered with a white sheath,
You fill me with happy heat!

I kissed you at the base,
And took a deep breath in haste;
You exited me as a snow white cloud,
And engulfed me in a heavenly shroud.

I felt a feeling I never felt before,
Like sitting on heaven’s shore;
Something lifted me high,
And pulled me towards the sky.

You have filled me with euphoria,
I feel I have reached utopia;
I love you, my long white friend,
I wonder why people call you a fiend!
...................................................

Statutory Warning: Cigarette smoking is injurious to health

This poem was written after I heard my friend describing to me how heavenly it was for him when he first had had a smoke. Thereafter, he became a chain smoker. I strongly recommend to all reading this... smoking just to show off or to bust stress, is no good. Once you start with it and become regular, you will find it very difficult to wean yourself off it, if you get addicted. So, please stay away from tobacco and do not cut short your already pollution-stricken short life...

Inspired..!

2009-10-03T00:16:00.000-07:00

I am never really inspired by any words of wisdom or any human being as such. Neither do any acts nor do any words of preaching make me alter my way of looking at life. I live by my own principles and thoughts.

For the first time, I happened to get inspired from this one book I read recently. It left such an impact on me that today I know what I lack and what I ought to change in me to improve my weaknesses.

The book differentiated between "selfish" people and "selfless" people. But the shocking aspect was that it upheld the values of selfish people and made them seem nobler than selfless people. The book said that selfless people preach altruism and consider others before self. The selfish people consider self before others. But there's no wrong to it. These so called selfless people are always bothered about others. They give charities, attend preachings by religious saints, act as philanthropists; but they do it only for the world to say that they are noble individuals. They want to be seen as great, they want other people to help them to fame and achieve the goals they had set for themselves. Their lives have no meaning. Such people are also called as "second-handers".

God has given each individual his own ability to think and decide. Each human has the right to think his own way and live & decide for himself. Selfish people think about self. These selfish people were the "creators". Creators of various inventions that are helping us live our lives today. But they never thought of others when they created something. The creators of "fire", "wheel" were all shunned in the very beginning. These creators thought individually because they had a selfish vision which helped them create with their own thought-process. Every man who invented, invented because he needed it for his own self. Such selfishness which leads to the betterment of all cannot be wrong.

The "second-handers" as mentioned above, do not have any brain of their own. They always want to know what others think of them. They quote famous proverbs and cliches rather than making their own. They act in order to be noticed, praised, to become famous. They have no life. They follow, copy, and act as desired by others. They think with umpteen other brains but forget that they have been given one by the Almighty. The best example is the fad for "zero-size". No one ever thought for himself whether it was correct or whether it brought happiness to one. No one ever aspired & worked for zero-size because it was their vision. All who worked for it, worked because a famous celebrity and the society preached that it makes one look stunning and ravishing. These "second-handers" were selfless, because they achieved that coveted body just so that others could look at them and include them in the elite category of "zero-size".

"Second-handers" believe in collectivism and selfish people believe in individualism, the self. The selfish or the creator always stands alone because he is opposed by many, who are the "second-handers". These "second-handers" do not have the courage to be the one who is correct and hence, opposed. If the society keeps thinking in such a manner then, true progress will never be attainable. Selfish people aren't bad. It's just that since ages our forefathers considered the word "selfish" to be a synonym for "evil". And just because we are "second-handers", we kept believing in this trend all throughout. It's time to break out of our so-called thinking which is based on others and have our own say on everything that concerns self.

Being selfish does NOT mean being rude and hurting others for pleasure of self. Truly selfish people never derive happiness or sorrow from others. They get it from their "self". Others never come into the picture. Being selfish means living for self without thinking what others would think of one. They are independent and free of all prejudices. They think, create, destroy, but all for their own self.

Lastly, the greatest irony is that I would love to follow all what the author has preached in his book and start being selfish, but then, wouldn't it make me a "second-hander"?

The Girl Next Door

2009-09-04T05:10:00.000-07:00

Another one of my poems which was written after I read about a case of 'girl child abuse'. I was deeply moved by the incident. Even after entering the 21st century, people are still ignorant and superstitious. We are at a peak of advancement and urban life has improved a hell lot! Still, there are pockets in the rural areas where a girl child is shunned because she is unwanted. This poem is a clear message to all such people, who have at least once in their lifetime thought that their daughter/wife/sister or any female for that fact is a burden on the society, to stop thinking so and to start respecting them...

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She’s abused, she’s tormented;
Beaten and cursed, till she bled.

She’s ignored, she’s snubbed;
Starved, not given a grub.

She’s chided, considered a bad omen;
Scared, she hides in her small den.

She’s vulnerable, she’s terrified;
Of her own father, she’s petrified.

The world’s her foe, her enemy;
She’s looked down upon, by many.

She cries, howls, wails,
Major attention, all this entails.

What’s her fault, she was born a girl;
They wanted a guy, that’s what we were told.

This discrimination has to end;
This is the age, when girls are left to fend.

Let’s unite, voice our opinion as one;
Such practices, the society has to shun.

Empower the female, make her feel strong;
She’s a life-giver, she’s done no wrong.

..............................................

The Lost World.....

2009-09-03T01:59:00.000-07:00

One day while just sitting and whiling away my time, I fell into deep thought... I felt, even if the world today is at it's peak of technological and intellectual advancement, day by day it is dwindling ecologically... That's when I penned down my recent poem...

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Beauty gone, enrichment lost forever,
Green days, we’ll get back never.

Gone are those twinkling smiles,
Atop those flowers on every mile.

Misplaced, Mislaid, Disoriented,
Fruits and berries; blue, black and red.

Lost are those bright sparks,
Salmons, dolphins and large sharks.

Animals killed for pleasure,
For their ivory and their leather.

The fields losing their sheen,
The sun keeps getting mean.

Humans killed, blood spattered everywhere,
Love’s lost, there’s no scope for care.

No water, no food, no peace,
The earth has, sadly, fallen onto its knees.......

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When you fail to succeed...

2009-09-01T07:50:00.000-07:00

Failure; there's not a single individual who can deny having faced it at least once in their lifetime. After having achieved loads in life, you get a sudden shock when you realize that what you thought of being easily attainable was actually challenging. I define such setbacks as 'speed-breakers'..

In your quest for success, as and when you ride through the journey of life, it's very important that you come across such breaks which stumble you at the beginning but help you become a mature individual later. They help you chasten down and make you respect life the way it is. They help you see the small mistakes you committed. You suddenly start feeling pressurized but in the bargain you tend to give your best performance the next time... After that, success tastes to our soul exactly in the same way as sweet water to a parched land...

In the meanwhile, one should never forget to 'not give up and keep trying'... That sure does sound like a cliche but it's often cliches that give us a respite when you're feeling all down and low. So... I am waiting and waiting and waiting to taste that sweet water while I keep trying... :-)