Lady Santa with her magic

A charming day. The lady santa had made full preparations for the X-mas celebration. She bought the santa-cap the other night and was cheerful for the Christmas eve for the next day. She had bought some sweets for distribution in office. She was glad and I was happy to see the gladness on her face when we reached office on the 24th of Dec. It was fun. The office environment was gleaming with decorative displays. It was no work meant that day and everyone were in a mood of celebration. I too had inner contentment and was enjoying the moments; it was as I felt like everywhere there happy faces and everything just seemed perfect. The lady santa had created this magic for sure and she had even cajoled me to wear the fancy t-shirt which I had bought but was waiting to wear it for an occasion. The occasion – was not needed actually because every day it is an occasion. My confidence rose like rocket and I felt utmost contended. The tasks in office were carried out like routine but I had more zeal to close it fast and leave early for the day for a good evening celebration back home. But to mention another thrilling part of the day was the utmost thrilling experience in office – they had arranged for a movie show. It was real fun, Golmal 3 full comedy. (although we had seen this movie in theatre), but seeing it in group was more ecstatic; There were snacks of all kinds to make the matter best. Pop-corn, sandwiches, chips, colas, and we had a full-stomach. So much that there was hardly any space left in the tummy for the grand evening dinner that night. But all in all, my part of enjoyment was more because I was glad the lady santa was having a cheerful time. Frankly for me, the time spent more on the bi-weekly report, which I circulate in office.



The next day was a holiday obvious because it was a weekend day of Saturday. The late wake up in morning was what we were waiting for on Saturday. We had a good break at home after a long and hectic schedules in Office. Good food, good lunch, good winter sleep – what else was wanted. We had good day all in all and there no external adventure, since we preferred to stay at home. The pending grocery shopping was completed and we had plenty time at home to get bored. This was intentional in the hope, we would plan something outdoors for the new year. Well that’s in pipeline now. Lets wait for the big-day and we shall have another glamorous experience to share.


Cheers


Bhola

The North East (India)

Its mostly a pre-conceived notion. It’s just an idea of dismissal from the existing norm. It has been further alienated from the very owners of the mainland. But do anyone care about the genuineness of the stuff they all talk about the North East India. Yes, ‘considered’ the most ignored and alien place in India, this issue has been further deteriorated with the people’s attitude for the place. And the inhabitants has only the more reason to feel the same for the Indian mainland. What worse, the general survey will only indicate about the common man’s IQ of the NE India. Its not uncommon to find that many people will not know how many states are there in the NE label, or that still worse know the names of the city capitals. This might even prompt you to check your knowledge of the same, but as person who comes from the NE, I will say you just don’t need to know the names of states and cities. There are infact much more to know, the culture, living standards, the truth of exaggerated fear from terrorism, the tourist attractions to visit. Yes I say ‘exaggerated’ terrorism because what I have studied from the people I interacted on their opinion about the north-east India, it was simple they just know its not the safest place in India and that these are just understood issues. At once I knew about this ‘understood’ issues because to tell you the truth, in recent times I have seen more terrorist/Naxals or Maiosts attacks in the Indian Mainland than the NE. Then why this step-motherly behavior towards the NE? The main reason what I conceived would be the geographical location and terrain. Situated at one corner and surrounded by neighboring not-so-developed regions or countries, this was bound to happen with the north east India. The railways are only connected to few NE states with Assam having the major share, and hence the most progressive state in the NE. the development could not reach out to the deep-down. Further plagued by hilly terrain of the roadways, it made miserable effort for the development to occur. You could comprehend what I mean when I say when you travel from Tura to Shillong (both in Megahlaya), you need go via Guwahati. Then there are places and routes that will take shorter to reach by road then the Railways. All these instances I just implied about the small issues which add up to the create the dissatisfaction. Keep aside terrorism as failure factor for the NE, because that is one of the common issues everywhere else now. There are unhappy instances but they are not the worst part here.



Infact there are much more unexplored resources and aspects of the NE. Yes resources not only in terms of minerals, raw materials and crops, but the human resources, development resource of the untamed region. The 7 NE states are sisters waiting just the acceptance from the Fatherland India. Politically we have the support, but what the NE needs is the same treatment like all other states because it has been left aside like a scolded child. The capable human resource have been moving out of the region due to lack of opportunity and better career aspects elsewhere. This would be the case with all major locations, but since the NE is primarily deprived of major corporate development, there is very little scope for the capable and developed man-power. The tourism industry again has ample scope in NE, but then the distant from developed regions makes it a choice last in the list. The ‘Scotland of the East’ (pls google it in case you don’t know what it is…. I suppose this you should know) and the Himalayan hilly regions of Gangtok and Darjeeling have somehow survived and got promoted top in NE tourist list, but there is much to be done for these places to come to par with major attractions with the Indian Mainland. However one thing which I would like to make a special mention is that common man in the NE is by large a wealthy-at-heart person. The general concept is live life happily and make best use of your talents. They are very hard-workers and they have simple concept of living. There are landmark differences about the way of life and in treatment of common issues in the rest of India - the stringent religional biases, and gender-differences. In that terms, NE India will be a proud region and it has only more bliss to offer to its inhabitants.


Cheers
Bhola

The Vacation in Meghalaya

I feel disgruntled. The dusshera vacation is over and I am now to pack my bags and head back to Pune. Huh.. good days are spent so fast or is it really a practical experience of Einstein’s theory of relativity – that modifies the clock with respect to places. Whatever be it, at the same time, I possess a mixed feeling, blended with contentment. The fortnight vacation in my hometown – Tura, the wonderful hilly town in Meghalya, was an amazing trip that fullfilled the promises of a beautiful stay. First and foremost, the Durga Puja festive could never have been any more wonderful than spending it here, a town know for its mixed population. But this being a town in the North East, Durga Puja is always a celebration time of the year. The city is beautifully decorated with lights and there are majestically decorated mandaps all over the town. Since the Puja is celebrated by all local groups and is not only limited to Bengalis, hence this adds more charm for the entire population here. The Bengalis, Marwaris, Hajong, and the Nepalis – all tribes celebrate the Durga Puja with all the more charm and zeal here and this is the major reason why this place holds a special attention for the Puja celebrations. Entire crowd would come out of home and visit the mandaps to offer the prayers to Maa Durga and seek her devine blessings. It’s a mandate that people must visit most number of mandaps and must come out of the house on both the days – Ashtami and Navami. Most of the ladies would be performing the Navratra Puja at home and this woud mean a holy engagement for the full 9 days. Childrens have all reasons to cheer since the school remains closed for about a week and they would be utmost busy with their fun games with pistols and laser beams.
The main Charmer however is the way ‘Bisarjan’ is carried out on Dushami. This holds a special and emotional connect with the devotees as they carry out a grand procession of Maa Durga and entire city jumps into the streets bidding goodbye to her. Chanting holy praises of Maa Durga: “Durga Maai ki Jai’ and “when she is coming next?: Next Year” the entire crowd would dance to the fullest strength and greet each other. This is a time when – elder or younger, male or female everyone out there is engaged in celebration mood. There is drum beats everywhere and people would dance to the choir of those beats. Meanwhile there are others who have come out with drinking waters for the crowd – the homemakes have gathered into the streets with tea and biscuits for the devotees who would be tired with their dancing antics and holy slogans.
All these affairs were witnessed by me and I had all the more reasons to be proud of these people, the stuff and the city. The much awaited vacation gave to me all that what it promised and hence I am all praises for it even though all good things come to an end, this one did come early. My face gleamed with happiness and contenment since I had visited my hometown after 1 long year. Also given the fact, this is my first visit after my wedding, this visit holds a special place in my heart and mind. The good thing was that my wife enjoyed the stay too and she was actually bit apprehensive initially at the thought of coming to a mediocre town in North-east. But I had calmed her feelings and assured her that the North East was as peaceful and serene as any other place in India.
All in all I end this blog once again in a happy note and also this is the end of my wonderful trip here which I will miss for sure for atleast one year after which I am supposed to come back again for a fresh vacation. But this is a long time and I can only wait for it for the moment. After all coming home is the only desire in the heart, when one is immensely occupied with the hectic office shedule. Long live these vacations.

Insaan - ek Khoj

The Verdict day. And finally it proved to be a justified one since it ensured a non-biased verdict. Atleast this the thought of the majority. It took decades for settlement, but all’s well that ends well.
Hundreds of opinions were flashed in status messages in FB/mails and sms and one thing was for sure, the mass only wanted peace and nothing else. It was touching to see the intelligent minds displaying extra-ordinary messages. But my mind was equally perturbed by other class of people – mainly the political support group who just know to create hullabaloo and has no reason for the ultimate cause. There are goons paid to create fuss and uproar in society and they have no religion whatsoever. I was anxious to see how much power these goons would display when the verdict is out.

Power is mis-used word here but then what I meant is sheer brute power to harm the innocent man. The saddening part is that the very common and innocent crowd fall prey to their political and religious trap. And more saddening part is the sheer number of such supporters for them. It is here where the story takes a beating and the unthinkable would come to truth.

Happy that none of these kind was part of the day and it went off peacefully. I was furious initially when it was a self-declared holiday in office and was fearing a social clash in the country. But at 4.30 PM the news channel gave a relief message and finally I felt contended also to have half day off from work.
Here are excerpts from the messages posted in FB for the day:
“Kya mandir kya masjid banayenge, agar ban saka to siyasi maukparasto ko insaan banaynge”

“Kya banane aaye the, kya bana baithe; kahin mandir bana baithe, kahin masjid bana baithe,

Hum se toh jaat bhali parindon ki; kabhi mandir pe ja baithe, kabhi masjid pe ja baithe...”
“Time to forget Past and Start a New Begining (PEACE).......JAI HO....India Rocks...!!”



“Neither Saffron nor Green...have chosen white as the color of life from our flag ...”

“Mandir to ban jaayega, Par Ram kahan se laaoge?

Uss masjid ki deewaron ko, Kya paak kabhi kar paaoge?

Jis chaukhat par log jale, Ram wahan na jaayenge,

Jin galiyaron mein khoon gira, Maula kya reh paayenge?"


“lambi chal rahi hai ladayi jaat paat dharm ke naam kii....

koi kahta hai masjid kii jagah hai koi kahta bhagwan raam kii....

aaj nateeja aana hai, haath jod ke prarthana hai prabhu tumse...

Naa hindu kii, naa musalmaan kii... aaj jeet ho insaan kii”

An Unwasted weekend.

It feels lethargical. Its a wasted weekend and I never took out my step out of the house except for buying the vegetables. Sometimes I felt quite boring and bit sentimental and at the same time I had a mixed feeling of surrenderness. Thats how normally many of such weekends have spent, and I feel I have no idea of its justification in terms of how does really it matter. But yes, it sometimes quite matter when you have nothing to think about. This sounds like crazy. Its sounds more abysmal; I dont really justify myself being so confused at times. While at others, I feel I am quite contended with the way things have been going so far.
Well the office project seems to be headed nowhere with the usual stuff of never ending issues and more problems faced or better created everyday. Everyone goes with it but not anyone really drives it. I took for the same and calmly accepted to go with the flow rather than trying to try a different approach. But I ensured, whatever I did, was in good taste for me and my boss. I was more to be happy with my current role than my erstwhile sting with TCL and the hectic work life.
Hey I thought to mention about today's climate when I started with this blog. Its amazing view outside and the rains are uncessant. It was little bothering when I was out buying the bhindi and gobi. But it was drizzling beautifully and I thought thats a perfect evening to spend... at home cook some good food (red meat) and have nice supper. Yes, this took me some time to compose this blog in installments, coz I was invloved in spending my activities for a great evening. The good thing was that it rained continuously and this being a sunday today, there were no worries. It looked a cool environment today and the weather lost its heat. I must say it was bit shivering in afternoon sometimes. I gazed through the glas-panel of the balcony and only saw mist on it. It was such a fantastic view quite filmy and quite mood-setting. I just felt calm and my mood steady. In the evening, it was all satisfying since I thought the was day not all wasted when I thought I was wasting it. Now I must close this blog else my ice-cream would melt and I would miss the fun. Well it has not yet started to melt, given the reasons I already explained about this weather. But my mouth has already started melting and I must stop my fingers here... and wait for the next very interesting topic to be discussed in my next blog.
Cheers
Bhola

Need for Communication 2

FaceBook, Twiiter, LinkedIn, Orkut, Blogger and what not. Social Networking has become an inseparable part of the modern day civilization. Social Networking (SN) was vaguely designed few years back, to reflect what it actually does today. It was a luxurious affair to send an email to a distant friend, but now it has become a necessity to even do a video conferencing with several people far off. It has grown from a toddler to a Sabu. IT has changed the face of the world and has shrunk it with beautified lining. Data, data and even more data and communication are the requirement everywhere. Thousands of miles of under sea fibre cables and terabits of data speed is only indication of the implication of the need for communication. Multiple telecom terminologies, Optics, SDH, SS7, Ethernet have only drastically reduced the complexity of easy communication. In this age, a person may not be expected to own a ration card, but he must have at least 2 things: a Mobile Phone and an email address. Why people are even developing thier own social websites forget those FB and Orkut. Wedding invitations are now customized online and people put their testimonials and design according to their choices the contents and the factuals.
Well I thought I almost wrote the preface on a book I am about to write. Indeed I was actually infatuated by the popularity of these networking sites and status updates of friends and the mutiple witty comments on them. Thanks to these sites, you are now friends with even the lesser known individuals in your real life. I am even concerned that how these sites are competing not only with each other, but even with Office Software and applications. People tend to relax by taking breaks from their schedule and posting some amazing wits on their status. Some share funny applications and has to judge what Paul the Octopus has to forecast about their fortune. People get hooked to these sites for the reason to get connect. You are so flabbergasted with these sites, that you dont stop pulling even your leg by indirect means. Huh these addictions, I am not an exception too.
See I have been hooked to these sites and I find more comfort in sharing my thoughts in the SN this very blogger site.
Nonetheless I always thought my productivity was directly affected by the proportion of time I spend on these sites, but than I just could not curb accessing these sites. It is a virtual world for me sure like for all others and I find social solace in them. Actually I couldn't have deciphered the benefits I derived out of these sites, but certainly I feel elated reading friends posts and witty comments and feel bounded to them in social world in this busy world. Sophistication prompted easy advantage but addiction led to sheer popularity. So far so Good. Better far better best.

Democracy vs Development

I start on a happy note today. Its been good time; my parents are in town and infact its quite amazing to find pleasurable moments at home. The weather has grown awesome and the mighty sun has disappeared in the sky since couple of days. All you can see are the thick black clouds and the strong winds honing over them. Perfect mood setting environment for a fun-filled atmosphere. Hence No more the usual topics today. Instead as per suggestion from one of my closest colleague, Punit, I start to discuss on a very debatable topic: The Indian Democracy - the worthiness of being a democratic nation. Truly the term 'democratic' has first been misused and misinterpreted by a huge section of Indian Population and politico. Well India was never prepared for being a democratic nation untill it had first addressed the equality in caste and checked for the corruption. Huge Population has always been the biggest problem and you can imagine the impact of sheer numbers in democracy. How I wished democracy was based on brains and not simply on numbers. For even the cattle-class and four-legged species account for huge numbers. They too can claim a liablity in their role in the Indian democracy. Its either way, there is no respite for the common Indian. Its either the rich man's game - the money power, or simply the huge illterate mass effect - the number without logic. Democracy can never be justified when people vote for their leader when they least know about ther leadership. Truly the large masses have the voting appeal for a same-caste leader or even region. There is simply no logic applied in this kind of political arena. Leaders like Mamta, Mayawati, Lalu do not in plain context qualify in simple terms for being even a polite human being first, forget about they being huge political figures. How on earth can you as a literate and democratic citizen be a mute spectator to the dirty games played at the name of democracy. Surely the intelligent minds know the kind of cunning leaders there are and even know their own personal gains and startegy, how these other section of the society nominate these leaders tells lot about the negativity of democracy in India. How there are internal terrorists, naxalites and maoists and why cannot the government tackle these issues like the US. Simply because the government does not want to lose the voting numbers. Feels pathetic at the plight, there are countless cases of political menace, the misuse of political power or money. The goondaraj from the sons and daughters of eminent but worthless political figures. These politicians play nice cunning games - they will highlight and blame Pakistan for any external terrorism act and do all noise in showing how worse a country like Pakistan is. But what they do for internal Naxal and maoists strikes? Keep mum and people will forget everything. They can't take chances in combating them and losing the political battle. Sheer disgusting.
The common man is to be equally blamed too. Not that Jaago-re campaign is minuscule or unimportant, but that majority of the masses have to take the initiative to change the system and not be just spectators. A refrom is needed in the Indian administration to change the figure of its political charm. We cant be happy calling ourselves democratic when really our age old issues are still unaddressed when we say the power vests in our hands. This is so untrue and unjustified that we call it a democracy. Perhaps there are more things to resolve the issue. Perhaps the population problem will be the toughest for Indians to handle. Perhaps India will take years to still remain on the path towards a developed nation. We dont like to live in future, we prefer to spend time in present. We like to call ourselves a 'developing nation' and for same reason, we shall not exactly change for a developed one.