Life is an endless wait...

Life is an endless wait...

Wait to be born, wait to have the first tooth.

Wait to be a teenager, Wait to pass out of school.

Wait for the first best friend, wait for first crush.

Wait for the first cycle, Wait for that first adrenalin rush.

Wait to earn that first cheque, Wait for the first night out.

Wait to get your own room, wait to laugh out loud.

Wait to have someone you commit your life to.

Wait to take on the responsibility of u two.

Wait to drop ur kids to school on Day-1, wait to see them grow.

Wait to celebrate ur teen's birthday, with a raised brow.

Life moves fast. Time even faster...

All these years, u've strived to make it only better.

Watever it be, don't let urself wait too much,

Cz life's pleasures come uninvited, remember, as such...

All it needs is just a thought...

Imagine a world which never knew that nature had painted the plants green;

That the polar bears were white and the tigers had ACTUALLY been.

When every human soul would be penetrated by flesh-melting sun rays;

When air-conditioners would become a sweet memory of the good-old-days.

When water shall still exist, and so shall its thirst;

It’d be the nature’s way to teach us to put “first things first”.

When elevators would stop, when sky-scrapers would become haunted;

It’d be that day, that the human would curse himself for turning the perfect picture tainted.

So, when the time still remains, don’t get yourself caught;

Coz all it needs is just a thought.

Whatever have we acquired from our ancestors is not our property;

That we pass this onto the next generation safely is our liability.

So, use whatever we “need” to, and make sure it is replenished;

Coz there is no end to a man’s greed, either otherwise or famished.

Let’s be aware and stand against the injustice done to Mother Earth;

Lat the hands come together to make Earth a better place to live and eliminate the appalling dearth.

Coz, of course, we wouldn’t want our grandchildren to stare with empty eyes;

On our mention that once upon a time, on the mountains and poles, existed a thing called ICE…

Another let down...

Hi all!!

Yet another time has come that i have been thrown an opportunity and have failed, not miserably though. In yet another essay writing competition, for which i had sent my entry, i lost. Not that i feel bad. But, now i realise that just being good doesnt help. You have to be the best, or...atleast better than the rest. Else, being good is no good.

This is what i had written. Judge for yourselves.

India has betrayed the martyrdom of its freedom fighters

Shaheedo ki chitaao par lagenge har baras mele;

Vatan par mitne vaalo ka yahi aakhiri nishaan hoga…

It’s amazing to see how just a couple of lines can induce patriotism in an otherwise-dormant-patriot. Reminds me of The singing legend Lata Mangeshkar, clad in a crisp white cotton sari, standing elegantly at the India Gate, teary eyed, singing “Ae mere vatan ke logo…” The song was powerful enough to make it impossible for us to fight back our tears.

It is, surely, at times like these that a sudden urge crawls in, to do something for the land that has given you so much, while you are still spared with atleast some breaths more. But, it takes just a pragmatic thought to shun the idea away. For some fraction of a second, we might feel guilty of being selfish but then, it’s somehow more comfortable sitting back home, and shedding tears for the departed than going to the frontiers and let others back home do the same for you.

Now, a question creeps in. Who would, in our country, go on to join the Indian Army knowing the meager recognition and compensation provided?

Besides, of course, if he/she sees nothing but a row of badges on their chest when they grow up, or even dying for their motherland, since the day they get their first toy gun.

I would say, majorly the GOI is to be blamed for this. Not only is the contribution of the valiant soldiers given due recognition, but also the families of the martyrs are driven endlessly for the scanty pension posthumous. The only time we come to know who did what during which break-out is the Republic Day when these soldiers/families of the martyrs are awarded.

One thing that I have come to notice of late and is not appreciable is that India Gate, the centre of attention of the National Capital Territory of the Republic of India bears the names of 90,000 soldiers of the erstwhile British Indian Army who lost their lives fighting for the British Indian Empire, or more correctly the British Empire in India British Raj in World War I and the Afghan Wars. Where are the names of the Indians who died in scores of wars be it against Pakistan or China or even the British Raj itself, for that matter.

“No guts, No glory” is what their official website claims. Surely, people who jump into the Army have the craving that makes them blind to the other side of this issue and which becomes trivial to them then. I remember, there was a time, around the Indian Independence era when atleast one of the many progenies of every Punjabi family was sacrificed to the service of the nation. That was the spirit of India then. Even now, when people there own limousines and likes, the feeling has hardly died. If at all it does, the morning and evening services at wagah border is enough reignite the spirit. They give meaning to the lines “Us desh ki sarhad ko koi choo nahi sakta, dis desh ki sarhad pe nigebaan hai ye aankhein.”

A country stands strong when its citizens feel for it. The 3 armed forces represent its combined force. India possesses the courage and strength to give a hard time to any super-power in the world. The need is just to incubate it and take care that it doesn’t die down. We are huge in number. The catch is to channelize the passion and spirit of the youth in the right direction, for the good of the nation, else:

Two men have the arms and power to use them. What makes a soldier different from a terrorist is his responsibility to use them both.

Are we really what we are?

Hi to all!!!

This time...though original, i want to put up an article that i wrote sometime back for the college magazine but the board dint find it substantial enuf to publish.... :-)

No worries!!! Its here now:

Why are mad people called just that - “mad”, ever thought of it? No! I am not accusing you. Even I myself didn’t, until sometime now. Anyways, the answer is, according to me, too controversial. Actually what I feel is, mad people are ‘mad’ because they have no inhibitions.

The “sane” world is, we can call, a bunch of people trying to confirm to the society-led norms. Therefore, experiencing (read showcasing) extreme fear, anxiety, pleasure or any emotion is out of question. What they do all the time is to present themselves as a composed personality, no matter how hollow they are from within.

This remembers me of Charlie (the escapist, remember?), the central character of the first chapter of class 12 English course book (Vistas) - “The Third Level”. “Sane” people like him are the ones who, fed up with the monotony of life, seek new avenues, even if it means thinking ‘out of the box’ or…….being called “mad”.

In class 12, though, the chapter merely held any importance except as a medium for fetching marks. But now, I see its relevance.

Another funny, yet notable thing that’s worth mentioning here is the “Pagalpanti bhi zaroori hai” ad campaign. I mean, how truly and honestly and of course, successfully these people have come up with an idea such as this! Kudos!!

Ok. Coming back to the main point, the society is gradually getting converted into a kind of…..mmmm…….machine, if I can put it this way. I mean, if I don’t feel like saying “excuse me” if I sneeze, then will the people out there hang me? Or, if a colleague of mine irritates me endlessly, why can’t I just shout back at him/her and stop the torture for once and for all??!!!

The problem is we put in so much of effort in showcasing ourselves as someone who the world wants to see as, and not what we actually are.

In the process of complying with the protocols, we miss out on our inclination, what we want to be.

The other day, I came across a father-son duo, on a verge of fight, where the son insisted on being a painter (the one who paints on canvas, and not walls!!). The father had this to say – “Fine. You want to paint. But, what do you want to do in life?” ahem! No comments on that.

Does only being a manager, or a doctor, teacher, scientist (and the list never ends…..) mean something to do???

But as it is, all these talks make sense only on this sheet of paper. If we go around talking about our “inclination”, we’ll be called MAD! So, watch out!