Not in this Life......

It was 8 am in the morning and Prem was honking in front Kusum's house continuously. After 10 minutes she came running carrying a half eaten sandwich  in one hand and clutching appointment diary in the other. With a bit of kohl in her eyes, a little blush, hair curling over her face she was looking nothing less than an angel draped in a black designer saree. As she reached the car, she saw Prem looking at her with an awe. She shouted at him "Are donkey.....what are you looking at? Can't you see my hands are full, open the door". Prem, as if came out of some trance, opened the door, let her settle in and drove off.

As the car moved Prem said to Kusum "Hey babes, when are you moving in with me. Are you talking to Dad or shall I come and talk". As Kusum gave the expected answer  Prem was in lipsync with her mouthing her words "Not in this life". And then they both laughed to their hearts content.

This was a regular scene from Prem and Kusum's life for over a year now. Prem and Kusum worked for a multinational and knew each other for more than two years. Prem was an IT consultant while Kusum was part of HR team in the company. Prem was a flirt and that was a known fact about him in the company while Kusum was straight forward, to the point girl yet when they bumped into each other during a recruitment drive the friendship just clicked. 

The relation that started just as casual friendship, over the time, grew into a very strong bond. There was nothing that the two didn't share with each other. They used to talk on almost everything, their work, their family, their ex-es and even sometimes the socioeconomic conditions of the country.

Prem was dumbstruck with the mix of intelligence and beauty that Kusum added to his life. Unknowingly, he started falling for her. One day while he was driving Kusum home, he told her how he felt about her and expressed his love. Kusum, knowing about Prem's flirtatious adventures brushed him off with laugh and told him it was just a momentary attraction and nothing else. But Prem was more than sure. He had been in many relationships but it was nothing like he had experienced earlier. It was something different. He kept pursuing Kusum.

Two months ago, he formally proposed Kusum. Kusum was taken aback with his gesture but then controlled herself and told Prem, she could not marry him, not in this life. He is a perfect man but she has some criteria for her groom and he simply does not fits the bill. Prem was very sporty about it, but then on he always asked her the same question and used to get the same answer "Not in this life".

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Today, it was 8:30 am. Kusum was pacing anxiously in her verandah waiting for Prem. He was never late.  She had tried Prem's mobile a couple of times but he was not responding. Suddenly, her phone rang. She looked at the screen, the number that flashed was that of Avinash's; Prem's colleague as well as flat mate. Kusum was not sure why he was calling, he never called her. They knew each other just formally. With a bit of hesitation she lifted the phone and said "Hello". On the other side Avinash was panting heavily, he said "Kusum, where have you been I am trying to reach you for last 45 minutes, your phone was unreachable. Prem met an accident while coming to pick you up. There are serious injuries on his head and he is being operated right now at the Apollo hospital. Can you make it here quickly". Kusum was stoned, she could not understand how to react. She spoke to Prem barely an hour ago when he told her that he was on his way to pick her up. Finally, after a minute or two she told Avinash she would be coming.

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It had been 4 hours since the accident and operation was still on. Kusum had reached hospital and was sitting along with Avinash near the OT when the doctor came out. Avinash reached to the doctor and asked about Prem's health. Doctor said, its a tough situation. There has been a lot of blood loss and severe injuries to Prem's brain. Right now he is in comma and there is one chance in hundred of his revival. Kusum, who was still sitting on the bench heard the  news and sulked into her shell. She was slowly remembering all the fun filled moments she had with Prem, his charm, the way he used to take care of her and then she started crying and praying for his good health.

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A week had passed by and there was no improvement in Prem's condition. He was still in comma. It was Sunday, weekly off. Kusum was in hospital since morning, sitting next to Prem. There was no sign of improvement so far. Suddenly, the pulse meter started to show some activity. Kusum was about to call the doctor but found Prem holding one end of her duppatta and calling her near. He was trying to say something. She went more close to him and heard him say "Kusum you told me always, you will not marry me in this life. For almost every question of mine you had just one answer - "NOT IN THIS LIFE".  See your GOD has given me an opportunity to go into next life. I am moving on but remember I will wait for you in my next life. In my next life, I will surely marry you". Then suddenly the pulse meter became silent. There was no activity on it, just a simple straight line. Prem was no more. Kusum was standing next to him, her eyes fixed on his (they were still shining).

A moment later as if a dam of emotions was unleashed she burst into tears and kept saying - "What was the hurry Prem, what was the hurry? I used to say NOT IN THIS LIFE, but I never meant it.......I never meant it".

 

Chanakya's Chants

"Adi shakti namo namah, sarab shakti namo namah
 prithum bhagwatee namo namah,
kundalini mata shakti,
mata shakti namo namah"

The aforementioned shloka is the base of the political thriller by Ashwin Sanghi and it's his second book after the equally successful "The Rozabal Line". The plot is simple, the protagonist wants his protege to be crowned as the premiere of the Indian Democratic Republic and he derives his inspiration from the world renowned master strategist "Chanakya".

There are two stories running in parallel. One, of the protagonist Gangasagar Mishra and his protege Chandni Gupta and the other is of Chanakya and his protege Chandragupta. The story line in particular is nothing new and mostly revolves round Gangasagar and his tactics to make sure that his protege reaches the epitome of politics. What's interesting is the way Gangasagar implies the strategies which Chanakya used more than 2000 years ago to ensure his protege becomes the Prime Minister of Democratic Republic of India. He uses all the four mantras "Sam, Dam, Dandh, Bhedh" i.e. reasoning, money, punishment and division. Chanakya mentions to win over any opposition the four principles will always work and should be followed in the same order. First, one should try to reason with opposition and convince them about his/her ideas, if it agrees nothing like that. If opposition do not agree then apply the second principle "Dam" which means to buy them out. If that does not works use the third "Dandh" i.e. punishment, make oppostion fear one's authority and get the work done. If none of the first three prinicples work, use the fourth "Bhedh". "Bhedh" can have two meanings and both of them are equally good. "Bhedh", creating differences between the opposition will lead to a divide in the power of the opposition and thus can easily be won over. "Bhedh", using the hidden facts/secrets of opposition to bring it down.

Gangasagar, to acheive his goal of making Chandni the rising star on Indian political arena uses all possible mechanisms. He gets down to lowest level of politics and commits things which a normal readers conscience might not approve. He even murders(twice) the lover of his protege just to make sure that she is not diverted from her duties towards the nation. But then if its not dirty, its not politics.

Even though, the story line is not new yet the way it is presented keeps the reader engaged. Pace of the story does not allows the reader to put down the book. The way Ashwin Sanghi has narrated the two stories going back and forth from one to another, defining Chanakya's methods in one and their implementation by Gangasagar in the other is quite mesmerizing. Writer's vivid imagination to add fiction to history is also captivating.

All in all a book worth reading.

SHAHID

Hmmmm....what do you call a person who lays down his life while helping the needy, or those who can not stand for themselves? Yes, right you call him "SHAHEED", a martyr. And I think this 30 something lawyer did what befitted his name best, laid down his life serving others.

Late lawyer Shahid Azmi was one such person. His life seems to be full of ups and downs. He was born to a muslim family in 1977 and was third child of his parents. When he was just 14 he was picked up by police for being part of the riots that broke out in Mumbai in 1992. Feeling insecure he fled to POK and stayed there in a terrorist training camp for while. In 1999 he was held for conspiring to kill a senior politician and sentenced five year jail but was later acquitted. After his acquittal he continued his studies and went on to become a lawyer. He started his own practice and fought criminal cases for people who were falsely implicated. He was killed in Feb 2010, while he was defending one of the prime accused of 26/11 attacks. The accused was later acquitted with full honor restored.

Ok, now lets talk about the movie. Shahid is an exceptionally well written and well directed movie. Its a biopic based on the life of aforementioned lawyer Shahid Azmi. The movie opens with the scene where the lawyer is shot dead in his office and then goes into the story of the lawyer. The movie is very slow paced but well narrated. It takes you through a series of events in the lawyers life, starting from year 1992-93 where he was first implicated in the riots, to his taking asylum in a terrorist camp in POK, to getting a sentence for conspiring to kill some politicians, to becoming a lawyer and finally shot dead. Raj Kumar Yadav has done full justice to the role and seemed at ease with his character in the movie. If you are movie buff and like no nonsense movies then SHAHID is a must watch for you, but if you are looking for entertainment don't even head towards the theater. 

We the people of India folk to watch movies like BOSS and Atharintiki Daredi but we will not shell out money for movies like Shahid. And still blame film industry for not making meaningful cinema.    

At the end, I give you one more point to despise religion and aspire to be an Atheist. Investigations indicate that Shahid was killed by a gang to display its supremacy in the underworld. However, with whatever little brain I have I can guess that it cannot be that simple. Why would a gang kill a lawyer who takes up cases of persons who are implicated as terrorists by the law? He would be an asset to them as they could possibly use his services, isn't it. Shahid was killed by contract killers and someone must have paid for his death. Who could it be? Yes, your logical brain is thinking right it can be a person or a group belonging to a particular religion who simply despises muslims and when that person/group felt that Shahid was trying to save someone who was implicated in an act of terror they got furious and had him killed. Radical groups have radical ideas which lead to radical activities. So you see being religious could lead to killing of MAN who was just doing his job.

A day without you

Over the last few months it had become a routine to pick you up and drop you back home. Rather, I would say it had become a habit to start my day with your charming face and end it the same way. 

After so many days, driving all alone to office today seemed like ages. No one to chat with, no one giving me directions as what to do, which way to take. No one to share a cup of tea. No one to change the songs on player. I was so lonely. When you were with me, the 45 minutes drive to your office and back never felt so long. Today, it was just 15 minutes and I kept thinking to myself when is this going to end. You know, in the evening while returning I took the longer route home, the one which we usually take. Thought, I could get a feel of you. Thought, I could smell you in the evening breeze but no, it didn't help. I was still alone. It was just first day, yet I felt so lost, so deprived.

Now you may ask, what if we cannot meet but we can talk over phone, get each others updates, isn't that enough? No, it's not enough for me. For me, I need to feel your presence with all the senses that god has given me because you are a blessing of that almighty bestowed upon me. And when I see you, hear you, smell you, touch you I feel being unified with GOD itself.

 

I know, slowly over a period of time this will become my routine. I would learn to drive without you giving me directions, but today was the first day without you and let me tell you honestly it was painful.......so painful.

Your's forever......

All beautiful stories come to an end, so did ours and not all stories have a "happy ending" so don't worry.......if it has not ended the way we wanted it to. Read somewhere every end is a new beginning.

Our story, wasn't it a fairy tale in itself. None of us expected that our paths will cross each other in a way they did. At-least I never imagined, what happened would ever happen.One fine evening you simply gushed into my life like a gentle breeze and took me by surprise. I still remember the evening vividly as if it all happened yesterday. It was a rock concert and you were dressed just right. We were introduced by a common friend, I looked at you and thought "ummm.....nice", but next moment another thought came up "hold it boy, don't be too fast, have patience" and I just kept quiet. You might be thinking that I am grumpy or a bore but that's how I am. I don't open up too quickly with strangers and that night you were a stranger. After the concert we went our ways and I never thought of seeing you again.

But you don't know what games fate can play. And as if, it was our destiny that our paths crossed again. This time I decided I should not be a spoil sport and should approach you. You were generous enough to respond kindly. And that's how our fairy tale started. I remember when I purchased my new bike I asked you out for dinner and dropped you back home, that was the first chapter and after that there was no looking back for me. That night the way you enjoyed your food, the music in the restro, your sweet smile, your innocence all was hitting the right chords in me. I was head over heels in love with you.

Days passed by and the closeness increased, just like you say a bond developed. We started spending time together. The long-drives, the gossips over a cup of coffee, our lunches and dinners. Between all these good times we had our share of lows as well. The moments when I hurt you, when I made you cry. I know those moments have left a permanent scar on your memories and I am sorry for that but what has happened cannot be changed. I remember all of that and I know you are generous enough that some day you might even forgive me.

Suddenly today you walk out of my life and there is nothing I can do about it. It is nothing that I was unaware about or something I was not expecting but I am going to miss all the beautiful moments I spent with you, the drives, the gossip sessions, our little fights, your beautiful smiles, curls of your hair, the way you taught me English, each and everything that is related to you. And more than anything else I will MISS YOU.

I don't know whether you will ever be mine or not, but I will be yours forever.

A gift of LOVE

There is an old indian saying "Miyaan ki jooti, miyaan ke sar" which means hit oneself with his own shoes. Today I understood the meaning literally.

It had been a month my wife was nagging to buy me a pair of shoes, and I was deliberately & constantly delaying since I knew I would have to go along with her for shopping. Many of my married friends here will definitely agree that shopping with wives (and unmarried friends can talk about girl friends) is more difficult than finishing a project before deadline. Let me do a comparative study here to bring out the ordeal in both cases  and then you can decide on your own.

Shopping with wife		Finishing a project
You don't know what you are shopping for.		Requirements are freezed.
There are multiple shops where you get the same thing at more or less same price but you have to visit each one of them.		Your toolkit is fixed.
If a discount sale is going on in a nearby store, you have to visit there once.		You don't need deliver something everyday.
Your opinion would be asked every now and then about a specific dress/product but will be ignored, if they like it.		Your opinion will be asked & discussed even if it is rejected at the end, but ignored, never.
Most important, you have to pay the bill.		You get paid for what you deliver.

  

Well, that said I simply conclude project delivery is easier. 

Anyways, luck is not always on your side and today mine was neither, so I had to take my wife for shopping. We visited a couple of shops (thank god, only a couple) and then finalized a pair of shoes and surprisingly enough I didn't have to pay the bill. My wife said it's a gift from her and I was all smiles. I was about to kiss her but then in India, PDA does not go very well with people so I controlled my emotions. 

On our way back we had our dinner and then stopped by one my friends place for a gossip session. As the girls started discussing there serials, we poured ourselves a scotch and moved to balcony. Looking at the stars in the clear sky (and with the event that happened at the store) I was bit overwhelmed and narrated the whole thing to my friend. Not only that I went a step ahead and showed him the newly bought shoes. He took the shoes, inspected them and then slowly looking at me said "nice, now that's what I say miyaan ki jooti, miyaan k sar". And I said what? what do you mean? He laughed at me and said "Bro, now that your wife has paid for the shoes, whenever she feels like hitting you with something she can always ask you to take out your shoes and you will have no choice but simply give her the shoes so that she can hit you because she is practically the owner of shoes".

Thus, I understood the meaning of an old saying. Nevertheless, I am loving the gift of love from my love and in a part of my heart praying that she should not try to vindicate the saying.

The Visa Lord

India, is a country of GOD's and why not, when alone Hinduism as 33 million gods and besides those we practice almost every major religion existing on this planet. The 33 million God's come in all shapes, sizes, color and every one has something or other to offer for the betterment of this human race for example "Agni dev" has fire, "Varun dev" controls air while the king of devas, "Indra dev" governs the rain. But of all the 33 million God's, three are respected, revered and worshiped throughout India. They are the holy trinity of Hinduism, the Generator - Brahma, the Operator - Vishnu and the Destroyer- Shiva. If you ask me who is my favorite, its Shiva, not because he is the destroyer but because of many other aspects which I will cover in some other post dedicated to my favorite GOD, the Shiva.

Another, most revered GOD across India is Sri Hari Vishnu who is designated as the Operator in the trinity. According to Hindu mythology, Vishnu incarnated on earth many times to set up the balance between good and evil. There is verse in "Geeta - a holy scripture" where Sri Krishna (one of Sri Hari Vishnu's incarnation) tells Arjun ( a character in Mahabharat - another epic) that whenever and wherever there is a rise of evil, and decline in religious practices, at that time I will descend myself (to correct the balance). 

Of his many incarnations, one of the popular "avatars" is the "Venkateshwara Balaji". The story of Balaji's incarnation is quite interesting. It is said that Lady Lakshmi got angry with Sri Hari Vishnu and left him. Lord Vishnu then came down to earth and started meditating for Lady Lakshmi's return. A temple is built for Sri Balaji and Lakshmi at the same place where Lord Vishnu was meditating. Currently, this temple is located in Tirumala.

There is one more story which says that one of the devotees of Sri Balaji used to regularly visit the temple at Tirumala. Once he was seriously ill and could not do so. Then he saw the lord in his dreams who told him that he need not visit Tirumala, as Sri Balaji is reisding in a nearby jungle. The devotee followed the directions received in his dreams and found an idol of Sri Balaji. That same place today is known as Chilkur, and the devotees who are unable to visit Tirumala, come to Chilkur to pay their homage to Lord Balaji.

Now that we have learned about Lord Balaji, let's come to the point. Why is this post here? That's because today I got a chance to visit the temple.The Balaji temple at Chilkur, is also known as the Visa Balaji temple. Anyone who wants a visa can come here, pray to Balaji and his visa will be granted. The ritual is simple, take 11 "parikramas" (rounds) of Balaji idol and make a wish, once the wish is fulfilled, visit again and take 108 "parikramas".

To my astonishment, the temple is very simple, quite, peaceful and serene. With everything that I had heard about I was expecting a huge structure, lot of pomp and show, donation boxes at multiple places, special privileges for VVIP's but it was nothing like that. Everyone was equal there, and it was an amazing site because I have been to many other such hyped temples and seen the difference in how they treat a regular devotee and a VVIP devotee.

Well, I liked the place, peaceful and calm only noise you could hear was of the devotees shouting various names of their deity Sri Hari Vishnu.

Since now I visited the VISA Balaji, I am planning to apply for US Visa and get it confirmed. Fingers crossed. Govinda, Govinda!!!      

      

Why girls can't reason(listen)?

Ok, the question might sound as MCP's remark but it is quite obvious. Many ladies reading this post might not like it but most guys would second my opinion. As I said just now, it is purely my personal opinion. Any resemblance with any person living or dead is either a coincident or has been made deliberately :). No one else, especially the male community should not be held responsible for my views.

Have you ever tried to reason with any lady/girl? Not necessarily your girlfriend(no amount of reasoning can satisfy her) she can be anyone, your mother, sister, friend, wife, daughter, niece, cousin or even someone crossing the road you bumped into unknowingly. What was the outcome? I think I know. You must have had the feeling to runaway to some distant island and decided to never come back. You must be startled, your hair all starightned as the cartoon characters when they are in a shock, isn't it. Yes, I know, I have been through all those things a number of times.

Well, ladies please don't be offended. Let me elaborate with a couple of examples. Now there is my sweet lil sister who wanted to buy a laptop. She calls me up 10 times a day to confirm on which laptop to buy, what should be its configuration and other stuff. After I am done with my bit of research I suggest her X and ask her to go and buy that laptop. She went to the showroom, saw Y and bought it. I ask why and she tells me the looks of Y are beautiful than X and I am like awwwwwwwwww so cute. WTH? you are buying a laptop for it's performance or looks.

Another example, I have this beautiful friend who was looking out for a job. Same thing she was in X industry, was trying to get in Y industry, puts in lots of effort to learn the knowhow of Y and then suddenly one day I come to know that she is negotiating with some company in Z industry and tells me that she always wanted to do that stuff. I am like, Oh Really? then why put so much of effort in learning the tricks of Y, why not directly go for Z? When I tell her that 'you are not clear with what you want' and try to reason with her, the response I get is "you are not happy for me, you don't encourage me, support me, you are so negative" and many more such things. What did I do now, nothing I kept silent and wished her luck cause any more words of wisdom from me would have invited a hell in my life :D.

One more superb example, I know this lady who is our neighbour in my hometown. She has three son's. The younger two are twins.  The elder son is 30 (married) and the younger one's are 26. One day when I was in my hometown all the three came to me with a strange request. They wanted me and my mom to talk to their mother about one of the twin's marriage. They told me that their mother is releuctant about his marriage. She was reasoning that since the twins were born together they should get married together. The other one of twin's is still setting up his business and is not sure how long it may take to get established and have a sound source of income. It can be a year, or two or even five and till that time the other one had to wait. When I heard the story I was just shocked, what kind of reasoning is that? My mom and I went to talk to that lady but all in vain she was simply adamant and was not ready to listen to us. So we had to return without any success. 

And just to quote I remembered a line from the movie "Pyar ka punchnaama" where the hero points out that you can never argue with girl, because for men to argue the basic need is there should be some sense/logic in the argument but for girls sense/logic is something that they care a damn about.

From the above three instances and some other observations, I have drawn few inferences, correct me or add if you have something more to say:

1. Speak only if you know that your words are going to make them feel happy, doesn't matter even if you have tell something "wrong" is "right".

2. If you are asked a suggestion, try to find what they want to hear from you.

3. Never tell them that they are wrong and I said NEVER.

4. Accept that you are wrong even-though if you are not (this increases your life expectancy)

5. And last but not least Reasoning and Logic should not be expected during any arguments.