Indian lost in Maharashtra...

Mumbai is news. And for political reasons. The recent spate of events which lead to the killing of a youth from Patna by mumbai-cops & another one, a UPite was killed by alleged MNS activists over the brawl of occupying a window seat in local train. The political turn of both these events has turned very ugly & there is a high level drama aptly potrayed by the media. The state goverment is challenged of its abilities to curb gundaraj & at the same time, the rift between Marathi & non-Maharashtrians has widen a lot. Ahh Indian Politics. You feel pitied over the things how they take dramatic & pathetic turn. Not sure if any body in the stage there has real concern for the affected, or are just using these events for thier own political gain. Most would agree to the second point though.
Mumbai meri jaan- the phrase now scares me somewhat. In my last post in the blog, I had talked about how the people are considered decent & helpful & how there are very few offenders of law in this great city. I am scared now the picture is not that factual & infact the place might just be seeing a reverse turn. This is not a judgement on my part but internally I do feel things might not be smooth in coming days. Politics is the game & the main culprit here & frankly I have no understanding of it, neither any interest for discussion. I am just worried about the innocent sufferers & wether God has destined ill-fate to many a fellow human beings.
Not feeling really worth to describe more of this today.
Not cheering again.
Bhola

Yeh hai Bombay meri Jaan

Next is Diwali...the lighteous festival known for bringing happiness & joy in the hearts of people.
All 'outsiders' rush to home to spend the glamorous festive moment with loved ones.
I didnt have the chance for the 8th consecutive year now to light the diyas at home with my loved ones... I was there during Dusshera at home...& now I have to be here in Mumbai.
And I have my own company for myself - my roomates are away to their hometowns. I think this will be the first time I will be celebrating (or rather spending) Diwali all alone. Lets see how it goes.
Ok, talking about Mumbai (I still like calling Bombay), it would require a great deal of real adventure to bring out the real enthusiasm in spirit. I mean you just cant describe things based on unexperienced facts. You need exposure to get the feeling & the reeling. Described in some respects in one old song by Rafi (yeh bombay meri jaan...), the firts line indicates it is indeed really tough to lead a life here. The song brings out all the anomalies & the peculiarities specific to this mahacity. Another refernce of the place is also made in one of the finest song by Kishore (ee hai bombay nagariya tu dekh babua...) wherby it is described as the place of millionaires. Again it brings out similar comprehensions about the city - from peculiarity to the greatness. Same is applicable to 'insiders' residing in mumbai. No doubt, over the years, the place as well as its residents have come out with prosperity in diversified fields. It is said that the average Mumbaikar is a nice chap & there are very few offenders of law. Well, rightly so. Otherwise I guess it would have been very tough for a huge population to survive in this city. Yes the number in figure is brainstorming & you step out of home & meet more people. Be it anytime of the day, a chap is always engaged in something out there for you to notice.
My goodness, I really do respect the people here, when they show a compromised zesture of arranging themselves in a line for a queue at any place (right from waiting on the street for an autorickshaw, buying subarban rail/road/movie tickets, or arranging themselves in line whenever the count is more than one person).
Its like the inhabitant here has developed an understood mindset to be decent enough & do the favour to others as well himself to arrange himself in a queue, moment he sees any other person standing sideby. While the queue at railway ticket counter in understable, sometimes when the line extends upto the middle of the road, the newcomes gaze in wonder whats happening out there. Sometimes there is even a queue people just get themselves into, without much info, only to realize later, that it never existed- caused just because of sheer ignorant crowd. Its nice as well amusing to watch people standing right out there. You feel contemplated & will have bound to have mixed reactions. I just wonder should I respect the perspirating man standing in the line for quite sometime in the mid-day sun, or should I pity for them, those unlucky chaps, vowing to chose only the tiresome path, but never ever realizing to find the alternate route.
This is the story of a common Mumbaikar.
Cheers
A Bombaikar.

Its again a working day, & thanks to the main MPLS Switch in my office it has refused to work today, thereby allowing free time for me. I know again all those escalations will come to me later on, but there is nothing much I can do, except for taking out some time to put comments in my blog & describe whats going on outside.
There is report of streak violence in the city, on the protest of the popular Raj thackrey arrest. Yes, the CM has taken a call to get him arrested denying any political pressure. He is sent to judicial custody till Nov-04. Ah till then, the city will have many things to report in news. Infact since morning today, the environment is grippled with fear, many people preferring to take a casual leave. Its afternoon now & I just had my afternoon tea in a nearby stall. The street looked so deserted, there was an atmosphere of fear; there were 3-4 constables on guard. You will say, "My goodness, what a reck; Raj is so powerful man in Maharashtra". & yes, his popularity is made from all reasons. He is always in the news, always known for his comments sparkling some people's sentiments. & thats how is so famous. India is truly a political country & more than democracy, everything else rules high. But you cannot just blame a big nation, the blame goes to the innocent big population.& thats the biggest price the country is paying for all problems & will pay in future too. I have been thinking of ways how the situation in the country can be improved but have come with little ideas which can help to improvise. The country is facing so many problems -terrorism, political games, poverty, inflation, communal violence & the greatest issue- the population. & we still say we are a developing nation, though, ironically except for development, all actual problems are on the rise.
See the happiness of the indian people when Abhinav Bindra won the only Gold medal in the 2008 Olympics. The entire country felt like India have listed itself as no 1 country in the Gold medal tally. (I fear how many of the countrymen remember the soldiers who lend their life in shooting at the LOC). Such is the irony of this country.& yes I will mention the responsibility the media plays in the Indian culture. Well actually media is the game player, & it is the deciding factor to infuse feelings/manipulate the way they want the citizen to comprehend things. Media have got to potray things at will & they have taken the mass as slave. They overtaken the mind of the people & have defeated their wits. This has infact to do something with the viewers too, because some viewers tend to go with the glamour & see only what glitters, rather than what matters. No doubt the news of Aishwarya Rai getting a cold will capture more attraction, than the news of a soldier killed by the enemy. This is India; & these are the indian Citizens. My dear motherland, pls help me & give that confidence so that I can proudly claim my citizenship.
NOt cheering this time.
Bhola

Getting a bit Philosophical

Late night, or early morning, its 1:00 AM Sunday 19th of Oct-08. Half of the world is asleep. 2 of my roomates are playing 3-pattee & I have indulged myself to listening my fav nos of Kishore & Rafi. Well what more to say about the great legends whose voices are world famous even now. I wont make an exaggeration by displaying my true regards for both the singers, but then certainly I just would like to mention that my during my childhood & late-school days their songs were my favourite friends, I had spent plenty of soothing moments with. It was then like a craze & I was so indulged in them that I had mustered up all the good numbers & soon I had become famous for being a fan of them. Anybody who required the lyrics of any particular Kishore/Rafi's song, just knew only one name - Bhola.
Their songs certainly had the appeal & still considered evergeen. Thats not my comment but what the whole music-maverick mass beleive. Not to forget the great lyricians of that time who had landed classic work with great style & the equally commendable work by the musicians. Ah, no words can justify their praise. They were great legends & the whole world still revere them. One of the finest lyrics which turned my attention since childhood was the song "Duniya banane waale kya tere man me samayee....kahe ko duniya banayee.....tune..." sung by Mukesh. Man, I can promise it still provokes the basic thought of human existence everytime this song is played. You just cant beleive essence of the deep wit in the words describing an unknown fact with such an ease. The song have a mention of one point - that even God himself must have felt the pain after creating such souls with desires & wishes. It makes you think that when God created human kind, he was actually trying to bring out a picture of himself which could fulfill his own unknow desires. Sure, one has to be philosophical enough to get into the thoughts which the writer wants to convey in this song. Well, the question in the song still remains unanswered, but surely it has hinted to valid point of human existence, that life of mankind is just a stage, a drama hosted by unknown power but has no basic purpose of existence. This may seem a trivial question, but fact is there is no answer to this. Whatever Science can best prove the theory of evolution of life, the interesting point here is that science can never answer the purpose - why such an evolution?

Cheers
Bhola

Not such conducive Environment

The Vacation is over. The mind is contended but not the heart. The spiritual being is still in want of more homely rest. I steal some time from my office hours to put some comments after many idle days. The environment is unchanged from what I l left for vacation. Still those fighting mails flowing through inboxes. Still those same attitude from bosses & abundant criticizing emails & still many silent souls breaking head on their desks but pleasing no one. You feel like you are in a world surrounded by idiots & there are bullies everywhere. My dear mind, we are in a corporate world & this is how it works here. Its all blame game & trying a point to prove worth. No, its not again like I am putting these lines in utter frustation, but I am trying to mention what is actually a process here. Resignation no 15 from my section came last week & I am still wondering why my turn has not yet come :(
Anyways, when luck would have it, I will be happy to write the resignation mail.

Well, I have taken 3 days in offline to complete this small blog entry. But the heart had many things to express- feelings of emotion & fun. Some important topics I thought worth desciribing, but just could not compete with time availability; I think I will have to limit my sentences everytime I write entry from office. & that too, my dear you would agree to the fact that office is not a conducive environment to bring forth happy emotions. Perhaps I will have to wait for weekends to bring my poetic thoughts to the peak; from office I doubt any interesting ideas will crip in my mind. Allow me to wait till weekends.
Cheers
Bhola

Some serious business here...

So the day has ended today & Dusshera has passed off joyously. Mixed feeling - with the 10 day festival coming to a sudden end & this being the last day, the mood is set with a heavy heart. People have celebrated the victory of good over bad, the defeat of the evil & the destruction of the ill. Greetings & Happy Dusshera messages flew through SMSs to relatives & friends & well wishers expressed their sincere well being & prosperityto fellow beings. Sweets are ubiquitous everywhere & best of recipies are processed in the kitchen in every house. But the day marked a sharp demark from a noisy, lighting, crowded navratri night, to a silent, sober but a contending Dusshera evening. People quietly agreed to mark the end by celebrating the Bisarjan with the best of the arrangements & efforts. The action is done & now the wait for the next season has kicked off. With this, even I realize my 2 weeks long break has now approached ending & I am left with 2 days to calm my heart. Its always a hard feeling to experience when you leave home & family members, but you cant do anything expect for the fact that you have to take in the right spirit. Oh yes, I didnt mention about an important topic during my stay here- that of getting me married. I realized now that my mom was in full feldged form & in set mood to do her part & get me a life partner. Without even disclosing me, she along with my dad did much & got some photographs of marriagable girls from our caste & thier biodata. My dad even showed the list of phone numbers whom he had contacted for marriage purpose. This made me wonder if I was ready now to think of marriage. I had given a thought to it no doubt, but I didnt give a serious thought to it frankly. Given the seriousness with which my parents have taken the case of my marriage, the alert message has ticked my mind & now I am forced to think of the issue more deeply & plan for near future. We all discussed, my parents, me, my eld sis, my bro, sis in law. Everyone opined their thoughts& expressed their interests & my intersts. & Interestingly my opinions were provoked with theirs. Infact everyone agreed to the fact that the mind of the person who is about to get married, becomes a lethargic stock. I felt so & this convinced me more. More I thought & more I realized the same thing. Mixed responses came from my heart & my mind. I was clueless & finally I became thoughtless. But all in the end I decided, after having set my prefences & wishes clear, I should leave it for them to decide the best. More of this topic to continue in my next blogs for sure. After all this a major topic relating to me & this cant be ended in few words.
Cheers
Bhola

Morning bloom

The time is 7 am Monday morning 6th of Oct'08. I have rarely seen the clock strike 7 am while in Mumbai. The timezone difference is so obvious. I always considered myself as being the laziest, but seeing my lifestyle here, I doubt as to how much I can display a change in moodset. I felt contemplated initially getting up early in morning even before the sun has set properly in the sky. The entire day seem so fresh & so charming. The freshness of the day injects a poetic feeling in both mind & soul. You feel young in age, just like a child in his early teens, ready for his entire life. The mind is so fresh & so ready for the action for the whole day. The pollution levels are at minimum, the heat factor is nill. Plus the added benefits of vacation; the festive season of Dusshera, the get together moment for family- its all so moodsetting & mind relaxing. I feel I could not have come here at any other time of the year. But as I mentioned in my earlier blogs, time seems to run fast & its only at the end you realize it. But the important thing to notice here is the quality of time rather than the quantity & I am more than happy since I have concentrated on the former. Well the charm of Dusshera festival has already blended the prestine environment with devotion to Goddess Durga. The pandals are built with great show of artism, the street lights are ubiquitous & the street music is in full swing. Every individual person seems to be enchanted by the thrill & devotion of this great festive season, irrespective of age, creed (I cant say caste, but I do mean this too). Dusshera signifies a happy festival, a win of good over evil; the destruction & defeat of ill-power.There are has to be much said but I am forced to stop here (putting this blog hayware) but I promise once again, like many other incomplete topics, I will discuss more on this; let me pls frame these words as part of last sentence of this blog.
Cheers
Bhola

Soothing moments

Time flies so fast when you start enjoying it. This is fact; because when you are happy, you dont bother to count days. Hence they pass very fast. This is the 5th day at home & I was amused to realize this. I have spent quality time with my mom, dad & my elder sis, & yet I feel the days are passing so quickly. During this 5 day period, I went out from home only twice; I yearned to spend most of the time only with my family members at home.There is nothing much outside - Dehri is just a small town in Bihar & there is no thrill anywhere here. At home, though there are not much to do- the electricity is supplied for counted hours (in break) during 24 hours; the hot season has stretched till Oct now & there is no sign of releif, plus the added woes of mosquitoes which are so abundant here. But these negative aspects couldnt deter my happy mood. Afterall, I realize how restless & eager I become when I am out to my workplace& miss my hometown -where there are family members, love, relatives, memories, good food, & above all, the giveway for a tension-free mind. I am happy I could make good use of the time I already spent & now I am more eager & much enthusiastic to spend the remaining days with more vigour & bond some good moments to remember. With this I think my blog will suffice for the day.

Cheers

Bhola