On why the song in you heart should be on your lips too

May to November...helluva long time considering i have blogging as one of my interests mentioned on my CV. Speaking of CV's, thats what has been the talk of the town (or rather the campus) out here with the summer placements in full flow. But the thoughts i am about to pen down aren't about summer placements and about IIMA, they address a much larger frame of reference. The thoughts were inspired while listening to my favorite song... "Phir dekhiye..." from rock on. The lyrics say something about..."hoton pe jiske...koi toh geet hain...woh haare bhi toh uski hi jeet hain..." Oh i would so love to live life like that!! With a song on my lips and the feeling of not caring about consequences...and people who know me before IIMA will probably think that i sold my soul to be the studious busybody i am out here. On the other hand my dorm mates are of the opinion that i always sleep, watch movies, play FIFA and in general loaf around. Well all i can say is that the difference is merely the frame of reference. Ofcourse i am not the same lazy, careless person i was before...but by the standards here i am. Is this post sounding too narcissist? pardon me if it does. My point is, why do we find it so hard always to find our true calling? Why do we feel the need to "prepare" ourselves so that we "perform" well on a given occasion? I mean when does one feel satisfied? The personal expectations never cease do they?...The only way to be happy, content and satisfied is to follow the oft repeated but seldom followed adage of  "Goddamit just Be Yourself"

For those who followed the ramblings above...good for you!!
For those who didnt and want to enter into an argument with the author...go watch October Sky(again and again)...listen to "Phir Dekhiye" from Rock On (again and again)...and dont bother the author before doing those things

10 Things ....

(I came across this article on the net, that said, we should list 10 likes, 10 dislikes, and 10 things that don't bother him/her, as the best form of soul searching. So lemme just give it a shot.)

That i love :
1. Having nothing to do or think about.
2. Meeting long lost friends.
3. Spending time with parents.
4. Watching Manchester United win.
5. Winning.
6. Pfaffing. (Talking about things that you know very little about, but still making a damn good job of it : P )
7. Music, Movies, Books.
8. Toddler talk.(In fact, anything to do with toddlers, infants and the like : P)
9. Going to sleep.
10. Fish.

That i hate :
1. Waking up.
2. Doing work. (Any kind of work, and i go ugh!)
3. Changing clothes.
4. Rain.
5. Questions.
6. Advice, both giving and taking.
7. Bills.
8. Verbose people.
9. Insects.
10. Telephonic conversation.

That don't bother me :
1. Details, technicality.
2. Foul smells.
3. Bad food.
4. Travelling.
5. Rules.
6. Money.
7. My appearance.
8. Politics.
9. Relatives (well, some).
10. Studying.

Hmmm...there it is. Maybe i didn't do this the right way, but am still looking for my soul...Go on give it a shot.

Worst among equals

So much hue and cry over the upcoming elections has been made already! I mean...for god sakes it hasn't even started! Elections and politics and candidates is the only thing on the tube these days. And to think Cricket is the national obsession! Says Who!!??Well let me jump onto the bandwagon and add my two pence worth to this whole khichdi that is Indian politics. Looking at the whole thing objectively, three options for a future Indian PM stand up, and these need not be named.

Let us start with the current Chief Minister of UP who has been touted as a candidate to the highest political position in India. In 2007-08 assessment year, Mayawati paid more income tax than industrialist and Forbes-listed Mukesh Ambani. This is an indication of the personal wealth accumulated by this teacher born to a clerk in UP. You do the math.

The next candidate is of course the incumbent PM and a man with a clean image, something that his 'not-so-clean-image' party has exploited to the fullest. But he has been accused of being 'weak' and given his political background I do perceive some credence in the allegations. After all he hasn’t yet won a popular election (Lok Sabha) and doesn’t look like he will even bother contesting this time round. He cites the examples of Deve Gowda, Indira Gandhi, et al to justify his case, but these are just constitutional loop holes that were exploited before and are being exploited now as well. For all his heroics in the 90's, it is sad to see him as merely a puppet in the hands of you-know-who today. One would wish that he can just contest an election and win it and shut up all his critics...but I don’t see that happening unless the growth of a proverbial 'spine' takes place in his body.

That brings us to the last 'haloed' option, the Indian new age 'iron man' as he is called by his cronies. He was accused by the aforesaid person of having done nothing noteworthy save the demolition of a famous mosque. There is no conceivable defense in his favour on this accord but then again, he hasn't had much of an exposure to power, except when he was deputy PM in the India Shining government, which did do some good to the country in all fairness. He remains torn between the religious fundamentalists whose support he cannot do without and the forward minded junta that is apprehensive about his 'saffron' image. All in all, this guy is no better a candidate for India's PM than the others and actually no worse either.Yeah I know what you're thinking..."whom should I vote for then?". Honestly, as of now I don’t know whom I’ll vote for...but I do know that I will vote.

Aks

laakhon baar dekha hain aks ko apne, par kya kabhi socha hain ki kya ye aks hain apna?

The last post was way back in september. A couple of heinous terror attacks and a new US president later the last post does look in bad taste. Life has been very hectic in between these two posts no doubt but thoroughly enjoyable, especially given the end result :-P. I am gearing up for my interviews to be held the next couple of months and i have never been so anxious, excited, nervous and confident at the same time. Lady luck has been kind, hope thats how it stays for the next few weeks as well. (heck, it can remain like this for the rest of my life !). Jokes apart, i am amazed at the kind of questions that are asked in the interviews. From mundane stuff like "Why an MBA?" to really inventive questions like, "Name one thing that you would change/reverse in your life.", to the downright 'googlies'....like, "Map you career to a batsman coming at 85/1 (7 overs) in a 50 over match". How does one tackle these? Can one 'prepare' for this stuff? I guess not. One of my mentors suggested that i close my eyes and reflect on my life, preferebly with soothing music playing. It is amazing what such a simple exercise can teach you. I practicaly revisited every significant moment in my life, it is a rejuvinating experience, you can learn a lot of stuff that you forgot and un-learn a lot of stuff that you shouldnt have learned in the first place. What is sad though, is that we do this sort of a thing only when it becomes a critical necessity. We look at the mirror everyday, but do we really 'look' at ourselves? Do we ask ourselves, "Is that me?...Is that who i want me to be?". I guess not. Those who do, good on ya'll, those who dont...give it a shot, i did.

'BLOW' by 'BLOW'

5 Serial blasts in prime locations in Delhi. DAMN!!

Now the tone of lament in the last statement is not just this author expressing his despair at the repeated and seemingly unavoidable acts of fanaticism we are being subject to, but it is also because the author feels a tinge of jealousy creeping in.
Yes, thats right, i am jealous of the people living in the 'BLAST' affected cities. Consider this, living in pune i sort of like to think that i am living in one of the best/biggest/hippest cities in India. But now, after BANGy (pun intended), AH!medabad (again intended), Jaipur and Delhi (couldnt play around with those :( )...believe it or not we Puneites are feeling left out.
It seems to be like a status certification of sorts for cities.What better recognition can you have that you live in a very happening city, than series of blasts engineered by fanatics who claim to be killing their own people in the name of their own God? And in that city what if you live near a place that has witnessed the 'tragedy'! You gotta be counting your lucky stars! (i guess you must be seeing them stars clear enough considering the blast is still ringing in your ears!)I mean i can almost hear a Bangalorean realty broker on the phone saying "Saab ekdum mast area hain Saab, do mahine pehle hi blast hua tha, ekdum market area hain, sab cheez paas mein hain".
Yeah, yeah i know, the righteous ones among you are all, "You wouldnt be saying that if it was you getting you head blown off...." but thats my point exactly. How long can we brood, and fret,and live in fear and be 'alert for unidentified objects lying around public places?' Should one stop living out of the fear of dying? This thing is happening so often that it is as mundane as an AAJ TAK reporter saying "AAJ TAK ka sansani khez khulasa"...
The apathy shown by the government is apalling, 50 people dying in the capital of the country, and the authorities can only say "We suspect that Indian Mujahideen, the hard line faction of SIMI is behind this"....oh yeah right!! You suspect!?? Dude, they sent you an email TELLING YOU THAT...so what else have you got?...zilch..nada..nothing. The blasts are no doubt losing their impact and the shock element. Everytime a bomb went off it evoked an AH! of pity and horror...well, now its  an OH...of cognition and the next time....a YAWN...of "yeah yeah, whats new". After all "tolerance is a great virtue", isn't it?