Time and again, people have encouraged me to jump off the fast track to take the road less traveled. Not to live their own dreams. Not to live their hopes for me. But for me to live up to what they believe is my potential. When I say 'what they believe', I use that reference as I believe in the testimonial of others around oneself as a barometer rather than your own.
While people may admire the limited talents that I may possess, I for one believe that its not talent that gets a person to his goals. If there is a single thing that makes a difference between a prodigy [without calling myself one] and a success: its COURAGE. The courage to jump across that crevice to traverse a seemingly deep abyss to land on the side of self fulfillment and ecstatic joy. The real question is: Do I have the courage to leap? Aah well... not right now. Tomorrow? Only time can tell. As for me, I sure hope so. Then again, the Tower Bridge was not built in a day. All I can hope for is that I am crazy enough to jump.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, May 09, 2009
And just like that...
It all started much like most things do; a seemingly distant dream. The dream, while rosy, did not consider the distance that one would have to travel even to get to the starting line. A long laborious road ensued. Then, as the flowers blossomed radiantly one final time before grudgingly yielding to autumn, we made our way to the City.
The City was vibrant, as at any time of the year. Skeptical faces surveyed through the conundrum, looking for familiarity in an expansive sea of the unknown. Enthusiasm ran high, as did the tabs at every conceivable bar in the neighborhood. Ever as slowly through the mist appeared, half a pint at a time, the new kids of the block.
The unknown beat a hasty retreat to accommodate the evolving bonds. Time flew by in the blink of an eye. The first act was on and the appearances changed to suit the occasion. While the circles remained, content was conspicuous by its absence. The mission: not to kill, but rather to not be killed. The alcohol had quickly sunk, allowing the water to float above. While conversations were aplenty, interest was left at the door. The song and dance was quite elaborate, just as the wine and cheese were cheap.
As time passed by, the race was getting clear. While the thoroughbreds pulled through to gain a lead, the also-rans watched with a sense of awe and bewilderment. Nevertheless, in true Hollywood-esque manner, the odd dark horse nudged through the crowd to make it a true photo finish. While the winners painted the town red, the mere mortals were left to clean the mess. Lessons were learnt and backs were broken. It was the inevitable truth and yet none of it was spoken. While many chose to blend into the background, a chosen few rose through the ashes, a phoenix at a time.
Elsewhere, the Trojan horses snuck through the gate, the guard opening his eyes too late. The enemy emerged from within the Trojan, attacking all in sight with toxic waste. And as they attacked the heel of Achilles, the mighty fell one at a time. The king saw the writing on the wall, change was plotting a mighty fall. The world as we knew it saw change; we doubled as unpaid targets at the shooting range.
When we thought we weathered the storm, another one rocked the boat. Life has taught us many a lesson, none as many as the time here. There was suspense; there was drama, a pinch of romance and some action. Why, there even was an elaborate Bollywood song and dance. Preached we were by the god and the soothsayer. We even learnt that greed is good. Some made us laugh, some made us weep. Some made us listen, others put us to sleep.
We look at the mirror, where we are today. We reflect on how things were two years back. And we notice the change. Change beyond just the debt and the long list of Facebook friends. Change in the attitude and the knowledge. Change in the attitude towards life. A few friends made for life. The number of bars visited in NYC. Change was the flavor of the season and that is what we saw.
Along the last mile, few moments away from walking down the river quay, we wonder whether it was a good dream, a nightmare or just another two years of life. The answer would be different for each of us. In many ways, it may be all of the above. All we know is that we spent a good time of our life here and had a great time whilst doing so. We leave with a mixed emotion of exhilaration and disappointment. Like all great journeys, this too has come to an end. It started one windy morning in August… and just like that, it will all be over.
The City was vibrant, as at any time of the year. Skeptical faces surveyed through the conundrum, looking for familiarity in an expansive sea of the unknown. Enthusiasm ran high, as did the tabs at every conceivable bar in the neighborhood. Ever as slowly through the mist appeared, half a pint at a time, the new kids of the block.
The unknown beat a hasty retreat to accommodate the evolving bonds. Time flew by in the blink of an eye. The first act was on and the appearances changed to suit the occasion. While the circles remained, content was conspicuous by its absence. The mission: not to kill, but rather to not be killed. The alcohol had quickly sunk, allowing the water to float above. While conversations were aplenty, interest was left at the door. The song and dance was quite elaborate, just as the wine and cheese were cheap.
As time passed by, the race was getting clear. While the thoroughbreds pulled through to gain a lead, the also-rans watched with a sense of awe and bewilderment. Nevertheless, in true Hollywood-esque manner, the odd dark horse nudged through the crowd to make it a true photo finish. While the winners painted the town red, the mere mortals were left to clean the mess. Lessons were learnt and backs were broken. It was the inevitable truth and yet none of it was spoken. While many chose to blend into the background, a chosen few rose through the ashes, a phoenix at a time.
Elsewhere, the Trojan horses snuck through the gate, the guard opening his eyes too late. The enemy emerged from within the Trojan, attacking all in sight with toxic waste. And as they attacked the heel of Achilles, the mighty fell one at a time. The king saw the writing on the wall, change was plotting a mighty fall. The world as we knew it saw change; we doubled as unpaid targets at the shooting range.
When we thought we weathered the storm, another one rocked the boat. Life has taught us many a lesson, none as many as the time here. There was suspense; there was drama, a pinch of romance and some action. Why, there even was an elaborate Bollywood song and dance. Preached we were by the god and the soothsayer. We even learnt that greed is good. Some made us laugh, some made us weep. Some made us listen, others put us to sleep.
We look at the mirror, where we are today. We reflect on how things were two years back. And we notice the change. Change beyond just the debt and the long list of Facebook friends. Change in the attitude and the knowledge. Change in the attitude towards life. A few friends made for life. The number of bars visited in NYC. Change was the flavor of the season and that is what we saw.
Along the last mile, few moments away from walking down the river quay, we wonder whether it was a good dream, a nightmare or just another two years of life. The answer would be different for each of us. In many ways, it may be all of the above. All we know is that we spent a good time of our life here and had a great time whilst doing so. We leave with a mixed emotion of exhilaration and disappointment. Like all great journeys, this too has come to an end. It started one windy morning in August… and just like that, it will all be over.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Locus Standi
As the Sri Lankan Army closes in on the LTTE in the Jaffna Peninsula, there is a huge call for a ceasefire. This obviously makes sense on humanitarian grounds as innocent civilians may be [and probably are] killed in the melee. There has been a call for Indian intervention of some sort, especially from the Tamilians in the country.
Without trying to make ANY sort of political statement and in all my naivete, I ask the following: If Kashmir is an integral part of the Republic of India and Pakistan, UNSC and the US have no locus standi on Kashmir, an internal and sovereign issue, what locus standi does India have on the happenings in the internal matters of the Republic of Sri Lanka?
I have heard certain people say that LTTE are not terrorists. If so, the Mujaheedeen are not considered terrorists by many, nor are the Lashkar or the Jaish. We cannot apply two different yardsticks. A terrorist is a terrorist.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Kya Tha Woh Seherr
manzil pohounch humne jaana
kya haseen tha woh safarr
tha kya woh jalwa
tha kya woh seherr
mile jab hum pehlee baar
naach aata naa thaa
chhaa jo hum gaye manchh par
aangann ab tedaa naa thaa
dheere dheere haule haule
unki ungli pakad hum naache
mitti se shuru toh kiya
antt mein bane pakke dhaanche
manzil toh hai aa gayee
naa rahee koi kasar
shuruwaat thi toh tal se
jaa kar pohounche hum gadar
chehre the woh naye
dost humne jo banaaye
naacha khoob saath saath
sukhbir ke dohe gungunaaye
iss hasee gaane ke baad
ek mayusee hai ab chhayee
dil baith sa hai gaya
vidhaiee ki ghadee jo aayee
raah apni apni pakad
jo hum hai chale
aao milke ek saath
bolein balle balle
-max
kya haseen tha woh safarr
tha kya woh jalwa
tha kya woh seherr
mile jab hum pehlee baar
naach aata naa thaa
chhaa jo hum gaye manchh par
aangann ab tedaa naa thaa
dheere dheere haule haule
unki ungli pakad hum naache
mitti se shuru toh kiya
antt mein bane pakke dhaanche
manzil toh hai aa gayee
naa rahee koi kasar
shuruwaat thi toh tal se
jaa kar pohounche hum gadar
chehre the woh naye
dost humne jo banaaye
naacha khoob saath saath
sukhbir ke dohe gungunaaye
iss hasee gaane ke baad
ek mayusee hai ab chhayee
dil baith sa hai gaya
vidhaiee ki ghadee jo aayee
raah apni apni pakad
jo hum hai chale
aao milke ek saath
bolein balle balle
-max
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Down to Business - I
“Promise me that you won’t become a Yankee fan” he said. As Ted Sullivan laughed at his own joke, Rohan was not sure if he was serious or whether he was joking. Ted was from Boston as he told him later. A manifestation of a deep-rooted rivalry, Ted did not want to be the recruitment officer for the rival camp. Rohan did quip guardedly, “I am a soccer fan and I am not much into baseball. So, I guess I will not be a Yankee fan.” As Ted proceeded to stamp the visa and told Rohan about the amazing times he had had in New York City, Rohan realized that he was two more stamps away from the big apple.
Rohan had never doubted the fact that he would get the visa. He had been to the US before, travelling to New York and Los Angeles for work. That was a fun trip. He work hard and partied hard. While most of his brethren thought of spending frugally in the US, Rohan had gone all out. This time it was going to different. He was in pursuit of his dreams; something he had dreamt of every night for the past two years.
Picture Source: NYU Webpages
The tie came off, as did the jacket. As awesome that he felt, it was a hot June afternoon in Mumbai and the sweat was slowly trickling down his forehead. Realizing that he would soon miss the small things in life back home, he stopped for a cold glass of sugarcane juice. One glass quickly turned to three as sudden pang of hunger made him realize that he had not eaten since morning. As he sauntered down the street in search of a taxi, his mind wandered again. Rohan could see a bagel with cream cheese in front of his eyes. He wondered whether it was the heat, the hunger or the call of the City.
He still had two months to go, but Rohan was already thinking as though he had to leave the following night. He decided to make the most of the next few days. The first stop was a roadside vendor where he picked a couple of wada pavs to fill himself up. The juice had left him pretty full, but he coaxed himself into gobbling them down. It was almost as if this was his last chance to appreciate the staple fast food of the city. The city that he had come to call home for three eventful years.
Picture Source: George Koshy
A few blocks further down the road, Rohan found that elusive taxi. Torn between taking the taxi all the way and hopping onto the train, he knew he had lost it when he mumbled to the driver, “Bhaiya, Mahalaxmi chalenge?” Mahalaxmi was the closest train station to the American Consulate. While the trains would not be crowded at this hour, it was not exactly wise to travel suited up. The crowds, the heat, the humidity and the ensuing sweltering feeling were not entirely conducive for the formally dressed traveler. Rohan stood at the door, half to beat the heat and half to feel the wind in his face. And as he felt the cold breeze rustle his previously well-kempt hair, he could not help but wonder whether these were the winds of change…
This is a pilot for the book: Down to Business
Rohan had never doubted the fact that he would get the visa. He had been to the US before, travelling to New York and Los Angeles for work. That was a fun trip. He work hard and partied hard. While most of his brethren thought of spending frugally in the US, Rohan had gone all out. This time it was going to different. He was in pursuit of his dreams; something he had dreamt of every night for the past two years.
Picture Source: NYU WebpagesThe tie came off, as did the jacket. As awesome that he felt, it was a hot June afternoon in Mumbai and the sweat was slowly trickling down his forehead. Realizing that he would soon miss the small things in life back home, he stopped for a cold glass of sugarcane juice. One glass quickly turned to three as sudden pang of hunger made him realize that he had not eaten since morning. As he sauntered down the street in search of a taxi, his mind wandered again. Rohan could see a bagel with cream cheese in front of his eyes. He wondered whether it was the heat, the hunger or the call of the City.
He still had two months to go, but Rohan was already thinking as though he had to leave the following night. He decided to make the most of the next few days. The first stop was a roadside vendor where he picked a couple of wada pavs to fill himself up. The juice had left him pretty full, but he coaxed himself into gobbling them down. It was almost as if this was his last chance to appreciate the staple fast food of the city. The city that he had come to call home for three eventful years.
Picture Source: George KoshyA few blocks further down the road, Rohan found that elusive taxi. Torn between taking the taxi all the way and hopping onto the train, he knew he had lost it when he mumbled to the driver, “Bhaiya, Mahalaxmi chalenge?” Mahalaxmi was the closest train station to the American Consulate. While the trains would not be crowded at this hour, it was not exactly wise to travel suited up. The crowds, the heat, the humidity and the ensuing sweltering feeling were not entirely conducive for the formally dressed traveler. Rohan stood at the door, half to beat the heat and half to feel the wind in his face. And as he felt the cold breeze rustle his previously well-kempt hair, he could not help but wonder whether these were the winds of change…
This is a pilot for the book: Down to Business
Unke Jaane Ki Chubhhan
saal bhar ho aaya hai
dil mein abhi bhi hai aggan
janaaza toh kab ka hai nikla
hai abhi unke jaane ki chubhhan
nazron se gire hai woh sabke
unke jaane ka phir bhi hai gamm
saal bhar ho aaya hai ab
ye dard na hua hai kuchh kamm
nakhre unhone humaare jo uthaaye
dekha unhone jo humaara bachchpana
kabhi woh unka hona gussa
kabhi humaare baalon ko sehlaana
woh toh thhe do sunehre saal
dil mein kitni yaadein hai bharee
unka woh lamba sa kadd
unki woh kameez haree
har raat dil ye hai mujhse poonchche
hai kahaan woh samaa apna
kya hai ye iss din ki haqueqatt
hai kya ye ek buraa sa sapna
saal bhar ho aaya hai
dil mein abhi hai aggan
janaaza toh kab ka hai nikla
hai abhi bhi jaane ki chubhan
-max
dil mein abhi bhi hai aggan
janaaza toh kab ka hai nikla
hai abhi unke jaane ki chubhhan
nazron se gire hai woh sabke
unke jaane ka phir bhi hai gamm
saal bhar ho aaya hai ab
ye dard na hua hai kuchh kamm
nakhre unhone humaare jo uthaaye
dekha unhone jo humaara bachchpana
kabhi woh unka hona gussa
kabhi humaare baalon ko sehlaana
woh toh thhe do sunehre saal
dil mein kitni yaadein hai bharee
unka woh lamba sa kadd
unki woh kameez haree
har raat dil ye hai mujhse poonchche
hai kahaan woh samaa apna
kya hai ye iss din ki haqueqatt
hai kya ye ek buraa sa sapna
saal bhar ho aaya hai
dil mein abhi hai aggan
janaaza toh kab ka hai nikla
hai abhi bhi jaane ki chubhan
-max
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Fear
In this journey called life
feeling the fear of crash and burn
Winding down an unknown road
Feeling the fear of a wrong turn
Astray seen the charm of life
Being led into a well gone dry
Unless we choose otherwise
Giving ourselves a try
Deep down lingers the feeling
Lest it does not work out
Horrid is the walk away
before the start of the bout
Trust in thy instincts
giving self the chance
shall sand slip through fingers
shall the horse prance
when things do matter
choose not to hate
charting the course ahead
not leaving it to fate
precious water you lose
untamed deserts as you chart
elusive will be the oasis
unless you choose to start
-max
Monday, April 06, 2009
The Stern Dog Millionaire
So what happens when you take a bunch of creative students in a premier business school? You get the SternDog Millionaire, a parody on the highly successful movie Slumdog Millionaire by Danny Boyle.
The entire video has been worked on by NYU Stern students [and Dean Frasier]; right from the concept, the story, the screenplay, the lyrics, the vocals, the actors and the entire production.
More than 50 students worked on this project. Let us see whether any of the schools have a decent enough response. The only one that comes to mind is Rammy Babaji from Fuqua who created the 'Damn it feels good to be a Banker'.
Enjoy the III part video
Part I
Part II
Part III
A fitting memory to the two years in school.
The entire video has been worked on by NYU Stern students [and Dean Frasier]; right from the concept, the story, the screenplay, the lyrics, the vocals, the actors and the entire production.
More than 50 students worked on this project. Let us see whether any of the schools have a decent enough response. The only one that comes to mind is Rammy Babaji from Fuqua who created the 'Damn it feels good to be a Banker'.
Enjoy the III part video
Part I
Part II
Part III
A fitting memory to the two years in school.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Forgive or Forget
The Stupid neither forgive nor forget
The Naive forgive and forget
The Wise forgive but do not forget
The Naive forgive and forget
The Wise forgive but do not forget
Monday, March 23, 2009
Inquilaab Zindabad
Picture Source: WikipediaHomage to three of the greatest martyrs for the country.
- Shaheed Bhagat Singh
- Sukhdev Thapar
- Shivram Rajguru
Inquilaab Zindabad!
Shame on you Sonia Aunty
They dressed up our two most famous Slumdog children in their Oscar clothes to go to Delhi last week to see the Queen. Little Azharuddin Mohammed wore his American tuxedo and Rubina Ali a black gown for their meeting with the Rajmata of India. While they waited in the sun outside 10 Janpath they entertained the media circus that trailed them by singing ‘Jai Ho’ and telling them what they would talk to ‘Sonia Aunty’ and ‘Rahul Uncle’ about. It was a sickening celebration of something that must never be celebrated—India’s grinding, hopeless, shameful poverty.
Its ugliest face has been on display in The New York Times this past week in the form of a slide show of starving Indian babies who look as if they have been through famine, war and pestilence. In fact they are just products of normal peacetime ‘shining’ India. The story that accompanies the pictures reminds us that two-thirds of India’s children are malnourished by the age of two, that 8 million are visibly starving and 60 million more manifest malnourishment in their inability to grow normally. My only objection to Slumdog Millionaire is that it depicts poverty as something that can be joyously overcome. It cannot and living with it is about the most horrible thing in the world. The children who acted in the film have returned to their hovels in Mumbai and admit that they can no longer deal with the horror of being real life slumdogs.
India’s real life billionaires love to boast in the forums of the world about India being a ‘young country’. Half of India’s population is younger than 25, they like to say, so there is no question that the 21st century will be India’s century because in an ageing world we can provide the human capital to keep the wheels turning. Really? With half of India’s children suffering from various degrees of malnourishment is this possible? Malnourishment does not just stunt the body, it stunts the brain. How many mentally stunted children do we know who grow up to become employable adults?
What makes India’s poverty such a disgraceful, dark thing is that it would not exist if the poor had not been the Congress Party’s most reliable vote bank. Indira Gandhi used this vote bank to its fullest in the ‘Gharibi Hatao’ election with that most famous of her campaign slogans. ‘Woh kehtey hain Indira hatao, main kehti hoon gharibi hatao’. The poor remained poor after she won and the vote bank remained intact until copycat Congress leaders like Mulayam Singh and Laloo Yadav lured the Muslims away and Mayawati took away the Dalits. More than 90 percent of the poor in India are either low of caste or Muslim.
They would not be poor if the crores and crores of rupees spent on poverty alleviation programmes had not been wasted on unwieldy, leaky efforts like Sonia Aunty’s favourite NREGA scheme. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme serves mostly to keep poor people in poverty for the rest of their lives but because it has the blessings of Sonia Gandhi it has now been spread across the country. If the money spent on it had been invested instead in an Akshaya Patra type midday meal scheme there would be no starving children in India today and our slumdogs would go willingly to school to eat that one hot meal a day. In Karnataka where Akshay Patra began studies show that school attendance went up to nearly a hundred percent and school performance improved dramatically. So if it is so easy why does nobody do it? Well, in the opinion of your humble columnist it is because when the Bharatiya Janata Party had its brief moment of ruling India it chose not to redefine governance but only to enjoy the thrills of power. If the Government of Atal Behari Vajpayee had changed only the functioning of the ministries that deal with the social sector India may really have ended up ‘shining’.
India can never shine or become an economic superpower as long as the majority of Indian children remain malnourished, illiterate and living in urban slums or villages that are worse than slums. Hollywood can be forgiven for celebrating our slumdog children and fawning over them as they enjoyed their fifteen minutes of fame on the red carpet. It is much harder to forgive our own political leaders for seeking to exploit the desperate, sickening poverty that these children have returned to. Shame on you Sonia Aunty. For this lack of basic compassion if for no other reason you deserve to lose the elections. Our problem is that on our bleak political landscape it is hard to detect one person or political party that deserves to win.
- Tavleen Singh
Source: This article appeared in the Indian Express and can be found here
Its ugliest face has been on display in The New York Times this past week in the form of a slide show of starving Indian babies who look as if they have been through famine, war and pestilence. In fact they are just products of normal peacetime ‘shining’ India. The story that accompanies the pictures reminds us that two-thirds of India’s children are malnourished by the age of two, that 8 million are visibly starving and 60 million more manifest malnourishment in their inability to grow normally. My only objection to Slumdog Millionaire is that it depicts poverty as something that can be joyously overcome. It cannot and living with it is about the most horrible thing in the world. The children who acted in the film have returned to their hovels in Mumbai and admit that they can no longer deal with the horror of being real life slumdogs.
India’s real life billionaires love to boast in the forums of the world about India being a ‘young country’. Half of India’s population is younger than 25, they like to say, so there is no question that the 21st century will be India’s century because in an ageing world we can provide the human capital to keep the wheels turning. Really? With half of India’s children suffering from various degrees of malnourishment is this possible? Malnourishment does not just stunt the body, it stunts the brain. How many mentally stunted children do we know who grow up to become employable adults?
What makes India’s poverty such a disgraceful, dark thing is that it would not exist if the poor had not been the Congress Party’s most reliable vote bank. Indira Gandhi used this vote bank to its fullest in the ‘Gharibi Hatao’ election with that most famous of her campaign slogans. ‘Woh kehtey hain Indira hatao, main kehti hoon gharibi hatao’. The poor remained poor after she won and the vote bank remained intact until copycat Congress leaders like Mulayam Singh and Laloo Yadav lured the Muslims away and Mayawati took away the Dalits. More than 90 percent of the poor in India are either low of caste or Muslim.
They would not be poor if the crores and crores of rupees spent on poverty alleviation programmes had not been wasted on unwieldy, leaky efforts like Sonia Aunty’s favourite NREGA scheme. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme serves mostly to keep poor people in poverty for the rest of their lives but because it has the blessings of Sonia Gandhi it has now been spread across the country. If the money spent on it had been invested instead in an Akshaya Patra type midday meal scheme there would be no starving children in India today and our slumdogs would go willingly to school to eat that one hot meal a day. In Karnataka where Akshay Patra began studies show that school attendance went up to nearly a hundred percent and school performance improved dramatically. So if it is so easy why does nobody do it? Well, in the opinion of your humble columnist it is because when the Bharatiya Janata Party had its brief moment of ruling India it chose not to redefine governance but only to enjoy the thrills of power. If the Government of Atal Behari Vajpayee had changed only the functioning of the ministries that deal with the social sector India may really have ended up ‘shining’.
India can never shine or become an economic superpower as long as the majority of Indian children remain malnourished, illiterate and living in urban slums or villages that are worse than slums. Hollywood can be forgiven for celebrating our slumdog children and fawning over them as they enjoyed their fifteen minutes of fame on the red carpet. It is much harder to forgive our own political leaders for seeking to exploit the desperate, sickening poverty that these children have returned to. Shame on you Sonia Aunty. For this lack of basic compassion if for no other reason you deserve to lose the elections. Our problem is that on our bleak political landscape it is hard to detect one person or political party that deserves to win.
- Tavleen Singh
Source: This article appeared in the Indian Express and can be found here
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Us Indians will all cry
The UPA is in disarray
The allies are parting away
The Congress has lost the plot
All set to give the treasury spot
Manmohan Singh, have you no spine
Your command is Madam's whine
Rahul Gandhi, what is the big deal
A nobody, without the Gandhi seal
The NDA has problems of its own
Jaitley and Rajnath fight for the bone
Discipline gives way to whining
A bleak future for India Shining
In the name of secularism
The NDA becomes the untouchable
With no other alternative
The future becomes unwatchable
The future seems in a quandary
As Third Front, the goons get together
Nothing in common between them
Brothers from a different mother
Deve Gowda, could it possibly be?
Or Mayawati as the Queen Bee
I foresee a botched up marriage
The country with a sad miscarriage
It is this scary thought
That makes me want to say
BJP and Congress, do something
Keep Mayawati at bay
She will shoot the bird down
From up high in the clear blue sky
The world will laugh
While us Indians will, all cry
-Max
The allies are parting away
The Congress has lost the plot
All set to give the treasury spot
Manmohan Singh, have you no spine
Your command is Madam's whine
Rahul Gandhi, what is the big deal
A nobody, without the Gandhi seal
The NDA has problems of its own
Jaitley and Rajnath fight for the bone
Discipline gives way to whining
A bleak future for India Shining
In the name of secularism
The NDA becomes the untouchable
With no other alternative
The future becomes unwatchable
The future seems in a quandary
As Third Front, the goons get together
Nothing in common between them
Brothers from a different mother
Deve Gowda, could it possibly be?
Or Mayawati as the Queen Bee
I foresee a botched up marriage
The country with a sad miscarriage
It is this scary thought
That makes me want to say
BJP and Congress, do something
Keep Mayawati at bay
She will shoot the bird down
From up high in the clear blue sky
The world will laugh
While us Indians will, all cry
-Max
Thursday, March 19, 2009
For the bookworms
The BBC list of books to read
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 1984 - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Inferno - Dante
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 1984 - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Inferno - Dante
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Upto you
There are no magical fixes. It is ALL upto you. Get up off your ass, get out and start doing your work. And if you are scared of it being hard, realize that nothing in this world that is worth having comes easy.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
New Beginnings
Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending
Here is to yet another new beginning with hope for a great ending!
Here is to yet another new beginning with hope for a great ending!
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Fooled by Randomness
25 random things about me...
1. My name means ‘without boundaries’ in Sanskrit. It means ‘friend’ in Hebrew.
2. My name is often misspelled, something that irritates the hell out of me.
3. My brother gifted me a box of pencils at the hospital when I was born.
4. I wanted to be a pilot, eyesight killed that dream. I wanted to be a doctor, my aunt [a doc] knocked sense into me. I want to be a banker, is that dream killed already?
5. I once sported a haircut like the Brazilian soccer player Dida
6. My friends call me MAX
7. I hate jewelry. Unlikely to wear an ‘engaged’ ring
8. As a kid, I was an avid philatelist and had over 7000 stamps from 60 odd countries
9. I often street raced on my Kawasaki in India. Top speeds, weaving through traffic and straight-lining curves were not uncommon. I have had 5 accidents.
10. I write poems and short stories. I tend to dramatize a mountain out of a molehill when I write
11. My friends and I once watched ‘Friends’ for 18 straight hours.
12. I have never puked due to alcohol consumption. I feel nauseated in the back seat of a car though.
13. To celebrate India’s famous victory over Australia in cricket, I lit firecrackers on the college campus, causing a huge commotion.
14. I am allergic to tea. I have had tea four times in my life.
15. I almost drowned in a white water rafting expedition in the Ganges when our raft overturned in a grade 4 and I was stuck underneath the raft
16. I have gone through three days without any sleep. I sleep 4 hours on average
17. The love of my life is Rex, my German Shepherd in India
18. I have two blogs, but never had the discipline to update them regularly
19. I have never read a Harry Potter or watched any of the movies. Something about it just does not appeal to me.
20. my poison is Jameson’s 12 aged Irish Whiskey when had neat. For a cocktail, I love a vodka with lime cordial, tonic water, pepper, tinge of Tabasco sauce and lots of ice.
21. The head trader at work once asked me if I was British because of my accent.
22. As a dare, I once had 12 raw green chilies.
23. I was to swim across a river in India, but my dad never gave me the permission
24. I broke my leg as a kid jumping off the 2nd floor of my house, attempting to be superman
25. I am attempting to live my dream of writing a book
- max
1. My name means ‘without boundaries’ in Sanskrit. It means ‘friend’ in Hebrew.
2. My name is often misspelled, something that irritates the hell out of me.
3. My brother gifted me a box of pencils at the hospital when I was born.
4. I wanted to be a pilot, eyesight killed that dream. I wanted to be a doctor, my aunt [a doc] knocked sense into me. I want to be a banker, is that dream killed already?
5. I once sported a haircut like the Brazilian soccer player Dida
6. My friends call me MAX
7. I hate jewelry. Unlikely to wear an ‘engaged’ ring
8. As a kid, I was an avid philatelist and had over 7000 stamps from 60 odd countries
9. I often street raced on my Kawasaki in India. Top speeds, weaving through traffic and straight-lining curves were not uncommon. I have had 5 accidents.
10. I write poems and short stories. I tend to dramatize a mountain out of a molehill when I write
11. My friends and I once watched ‘Friends’ for 18 straight hours.
12. I have never puked due to alcohol consumption. I feel nauseated in the back seat of a car though.
13. To celebrate India’s famous victory over Australia in cricket, I lit firecrackers on the college campus, causing a huge commotion.
14. I am allergic to tea. I have had tea four times in my life.
15. I almost drowned in a white water rafting expedition in the Ganges when our raft overturned in a grade 4 and I was stuck underneath the raft
16. I have gone through three days without any sleep. I sleep 4 hours on average
17. The love of my life is Rex, my German Shepherd in India
18. I have two blogs, but never had the discipline to update them regularly
19. I have never read a Harry Potter or watched any of the movies. Something about it just does not appeal to me.
20. my poison is Jameson’s 12 aged Irish Whiskey when had neat. For a cocktail, I love a vodka with lime cordial, tonic water, pepper, tinge of Tabasco sauce and lots of ice.
21. The head trader at work once asked me if I was British because of my accent.
22. As a dare, I once had 12 raw green chilies.
23. I was to swim across a river in India, but my dad never gave me the permission
24. I broke my leg as a kid jumping off the 2nd floor of my house, attempting to be superman
25. I am attempting to live my dream of writing a book
- max
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Flip Over
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title:--Romeo, doff thy name;
And for that name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself.
Juliet in Romeo & Juliet - William Shakespeare
What's in a name is something people ask me when I correct them on the pronounciation of my name. Maybe not much. But then again, maybe a lot. The point is, what do you have to lose? Nothing I would reckon. My given name has a very similar sounding and more common twin. More often that not, it leads to people choosing the mundane over the exotic. One then has to correct people in the hope that they would get it right. Sometimes it is right. Sometimes it is not. Only time will ever tell.
The year has changed. What's in a number dare you ask? You may most certainly NOT. The world flipped when the century was about to turn into a new leaf. As did the fortunes of any and probably every Indian in the space of Information Technology. The time you missed your train because someone read out the time to you wrong. And most importantly because I like those numbers when I see them.
The flip is important. The year has changed. A year will soon add in my life. A challenge will soon appear. The one that I currently have, will refuse to go away. That bend in the road will look ever too closer. That shining star in the sky will look just as far away out of reach.
And yet, nothing will have changed. Resolutions will have come. Some would have briefly lasted. Some not at all. Some a lot longer. New people will have come and others will have left. And yet, the world will mostly be the same. What will have changed is merely the version. It would now show 2009. Lets see what it has in store.
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title:--Romeo, doff thy name;
And for that name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself.
Juliet in Romeo & Juliet - William Shakespeare
What's in a name is something people ask me when I correct them on the pronounciation of my name. Maybe not much. But then again, maybe a lot. The point is, what do you have to lose? Nothing I would reckon. My given name has a very similar sounding and more common twin. More often that not, it leads to people choosing the mundane over the exotic. One then has to correct people in the hope that they would get it right. Sometimes it is right. Sometimes it is not. Only time will ever tell.
The year has changed. What's in a number dare you ask? You may most certainly NOT. The world flipped when the century was about to turn into a new leaf. As did the fortunes of any and probably every Indian in the space of Information Technology. The time you missed your train because someone read out the time to you wrong. And most importantly because I like those numbers when I see them.
The flip is important. The year has changed. A year will soon add in my life. A challenge will soon appear. The one that I currently have, will refuse to go away. That bend in the road will look ever too closer. That shining star in the sky will look just as far away out of reach.
And yet, nothing will have changed. Resolutions will have come. Some would have briefly lasted. Some not at all. Some a lot longer. New people will have come and others will have left. And yet, the world will mostly be the same. What will have changed is merely the version. It would now show 2009. Lets see what it has in store.
Monday, December 08, 2008
To Those who died
Picture Source: NDTV.comTO THOSE WHO DIED & THOSE WHO SAVED & THOSE WHO ONLY STARED……
If not for you,
I would have never known
How Courage transforms men
In times of greatest fear
If not for you
I would have never known
My country’s real Heroes
Who care not for their own
But save the lives of men unknown
If not for you,
I would have never known
The shamelessness of men
who watch the burning show
as if it were a thing
that happens now and then
If not for you,
I would have never known
A servant’s true loyalty,
To save a two-year old
From horror, none would ever know,
Had she to run alone
If not for you,
I would have never known
How 21 year olds -
The worst of Frankensteins -
Could pulverize a modern world!
If not for you,
I would have never known
That the managers of Hell
Have spread their tentacles
Into our daily world –
“No place is safe no more”
If not for you,
I would have never known
That killing one another
In the garb of religion
Could seem so meaningless
When terror strikes –
which has NO religion
If not for you,
I would have never known
Unity can still prevail
Amidst the people of my land
If only one would have
Leaders like once upon a time
It is to YOU -
O’ soldier in the uniform,
and even ‘sans’ a uniform -
that I pay obeisance, and cry
with humility and also pride
and say :
“MERA BHARAT MAHAAN”!!
--Ms. Monica Aurora [A dear friend's mom]
Sunday, December 07, 2008
The City that I call home
Photo Courtesy: National Geographic Archives“Terrorists attack the Taj Hotel in Mumbai”. As I saw this text message on my phone, I had a lump in my throat. I quickly called my cousins in Mumbai to check on them. While my family was safe and sound, the city that I once called home was not. Some of the most prominent landmarks of the city, such as the Victoria Terminus, the Taj Mahal Hotel and the Oberoi Trident were attacked. Over the next 60 hours, while the security personnel were able to eliminate the danger, the city lost 188 people, Indians and foreigners. Many others were injured. As terrorism raised its ugly head yet again, public anger was imminent and the terror attacks drew world-wide criticism.
Mumbai is, and has always been, the crucible of India. Since the Portuguese took possession of seven tiny islands off the west coast of India and called it Good Bay, it has brimmed with entrepreneurs eternally in search of their dreams. A channel for millions of ambitions, it is the land of possibility. The financial capital of India, home to the country’s thriving media and film industry and the second most populous city after Tokyo. Bangalore gets a lot of attention with its dotcom boom and its software prowess. Nevertheless, one simply cannot compare a Silicon Valley with a New York. Mumbai is what the Indians call Mayanagari, the city of dreams.
It was this dream that terrorists have often tried to wreck. Mumbai has seen more that its share of terrorist attacks. Be it the terrorist attacks at landmarks in 1993 or the 2006 bomb blasts that targeted its lifeline, the suburban metro rail transit also called the local. I remember being circumspect for a while every time I boarded the metro after the train blasts. And yet, the city took this in its stride and marched along unperturbed.
These recent attacks were different. We see a lot more emotions across Mumbai, India and the rest of the world; emotions of anger, anguish, pain and resolve. The public opinion this time around is vastly different and sustained. Not to say that there was no public outcry the previous times. This time, it is different. It may be because people are tired of the mindless killings that the city has seen before. However, I think it is because the terrorists struck at the very heart of the Indian dream. They targeted places that epitomize modern day India. The Taj Mahal hotel overlooking the Arabian Sea symbolizes the vast riches and opulence in the city; eschewed by many as they walk along the waterfront, gazing dreamily.
I am not from Mumbai. Nevertheless, like many, I too made it my home. It embraced me with open arms. I would often travel to the very stations that were attacked. I would enjoy a cold pitcher of beer in the very café that saw a mindless spray of bullets. I would visit the Taj hotel, always wanting to come back. Soon, this attack will become just a tragic date in history. It will be business as usual. However, for most of us, the blood of innocent victims will have left behind indelible stains.
I tell the story of Mumbai. But, this is not just the story of Mumbai alone. The same is the story in New Delhi, Islamabad, Colombo and Tel Aviv. Let us not forget New York, London or Madrid. India and Pakistan have been at loggerheads for over 50 years. Israel and Palestine haven’t seen eye to eye. Sierra Leone, Angola, Congo and other countries in Africa continue to fight bitter civil wars. There is no end in sight for America’s war on terror in Afghanistan and Iraq. This is not a problem of a city or a region alone. It is a virus that plagues the whole world; a disease that has spread its tentacles wide and hides under a garb of a ‘cause’.
Every terrorist has a cause, a reason that he uses to camouflage murder. Cold blooded thoughtless murder of innocent victims. The reason put forth could be religion, freedom, money, power or revenge. However, there is no reason that justifies senseless killing. The true spokesperson of non-violence, Mahatma Gandhi, once said “An eye for an eye will make the world blind”. The world is already blind with greed, hatred and jealousy. Let us all resolve to not let this blindness obliterate humankind.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
The response
I read a brilliant article in the New York Times by Suketu Mehta, a professor of journalism at New York University and the author of 'Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found.'.
The right attitude to the situation at hand.
So I’m booking flights to Mumbai. I’m going to go get a beer at the Leopold, stroll over to the Taj for samosas at the Sea Lounge, and watch a Bollywood movie at the Metro. Stimulus doesn’t have to be just economic.
I too hope to grab a beer and fish & chips at Leopold, Chicken Bhuna and rumali roti at Bade Miaan, and watch a Rahul Da'Cunha play at NCPA.
You may read the entire article here.
The right attitude to the situation at hand.
So I’m booking flights to Mumbai. I’m going to go get a beer at the Leopold, stroll over to the Taj for samosas at the Sea Lounge, and watch a Bollywood movie at the Metro. Stimulus doesn’t have to be just economic.
I too hope to grab a beer and fish & chips at Leopold, Chicken Bhuna and rumali roti at Bade Miaan, and watch a Rahul Da'Cunha play at NCPA.
You may read the entire article here.
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