Lets be pro – active

India, my country, is a completely reactive nation. For a change let us become pro-active.

Lets make it a rule that women will be allowed outside their houses only between 10am to 8pm.
Let us make it a rule that women will be forced to wear only a Saree or a Salwar Kameez.
Let us make it a rule that women will not be permitted in bar’s, pubs and disco’s.

Let us make it a rule that women are supposed to obtain written permit from Bajrang Dal, Shri Ram Sena, MNS and various such morally dignified institutions before doing anything that is banned by these morrally supreme institutions.

We will make it a rule to not talk about events such as 26/11 once they occur. Let us make it a rule to forget these events and let the killers go scot free. After all these terrorists are helping us reduce our over growing population.

Let us change name of Ahmedabad to Karnavati as we changed Bombay to Mumbai, Madras to Chennai etc… Its very important to address these things and have proper names first. Security, poverty, illiteracy, rapes, crime etc are minor issues. Lets first get the names right first, the society can wait !

Lets call the Karachi Biscuit, Karnavati Biscuit, let us ban any name that relates to Pakistan.

Let us enforce a law that names of shops should be written in only local state languages.
If a board is to be written in any other language, the shop owner should be prosecuted, if its in Urdu or English he be hanged.

Let us kill all those who converted from Hinduism to any other religion. Let us change our constitution and remove the right to choose one’s own religion secularly.

Why wait for some catastrophe and then react. Lets pro-actively indulge ourselves and change the way we act once and forever.

Lets not call ourself a liberal-secular society. Lets not ignore the short comings, let us rather include them and make them a part of our constitution. Then we can atleast say we function as per our constitution. The Shri Ram Sena has just opened my eyes. Thanks to them.

Are we actually free ?

Just have watched the news of the Managalore pub incident.

I just cannot control my rage at what was happening, all sorts of swear words were coming to my mouth, I simply am seething in anger and am really hurt when I was watching the events on TV. A young male belonging to Mangalore, was being interviewed in a Bangalore pub by the NDTV Correspondent about what he thought of the incident and he said I would like to ask only one thing, “ Are we free ?”

Incidentally, today is our Republic day, in the morning I received an email from IHM asking me to write about Republic day and what it means to us Indians, that I was tagged. I replied to IHM that I had guests and would need some time, but when I saw this event on news 10 mins back, I don’t know what to say.

Should I write about Republic Day or should I answer that young guy who is asking, “Are we free ?”

Are we actually free, I ask myself.

A few self proclaimed “Society servants” decide to take the law in their own hands, they will decide what to wear, whether to drink or not, whether to dance or not. They are the self proclaimed judges powered by their number and decide to beat up women and even men who try to protect the women. Freaking Democracy anyone ?Moral Police anyone ?

How the hell do you actually now write about Republic of India when something like just has happened that has left a foul stench in the mouth.

This event has already been tagged as the Talibanisation of India.

Now there is already a conspiracy angle being provided that there was drug trafficking happening in the pub. After all this is again a BJP run state.

I mean how the heck does any one decide to stop drug trafficking without informing the police ?? Where the f#$k do these self proclaimed morality saviours vanish when 26/11’s happen ???? Bashing up females without any consideration is moral policing ???? How the F#$k does the media even label this as moral policing ??

This is behaviour that puts me in utter shame and these are times when I feel not at all proud to claim that these bastards are also part of India.

Sorry but the whole mood, the spirit has been dampened and I cannot do anything better but sulk. I know this is not an oppurtune post, but it really hurts.

This country never seizes to infuriate you

Whatever has got into Pakistan, our neighbours is beyond me.

Don’t they want to live a life of peace?

Don’t they worry for their children’s future ?

Don’t they want the country to grow and develop and become a successful nation ?

Why would you want to shield Terrorists ?

Are there no sane minds in Pakistan?

Now they have come up with a completely weird and totally surprising move, they want China to deal for them(click Here).

But why ?

Coz China is a more powerful nation ? Coz China can make more noises ?

This is breeding on absurdity, totally, how can a nation ask another nation to talk on its behalf !!!
Phew … Isnt this running away … or another conspiracy to be on the offensive diplomatically ??

Doesn’t any soul searching ever happen in Pakistan ?

New recipe & Obama yesterday night

The cook in me has suddenly woken up !!!

Yesterday while chatting to one of my very sweet friend, zinggy mum, she is a parsee lady and a very dear friend now, (we met each other on a scrabble board online and now are friends for life) I spoke about my Biryani… eventually I talked her into giving me some parsee recipe to make..

Now most parsi recipe are made with non-veg (eggs are not veg i assume) , and I am a jain !! Although I eat non veg, at my house only my wife eats only eggs. My bro and his wife are Jains by actions !!! lol…. however I dont qualify for any religion …

p.s. : This egg eating and all is a secret fella’s, all this happens only at my indore house. If at headquarters, in Bharuch my mom comes to know about this I am gone for good !!!!

Zinggy Mum gave me the recipe for a dish called “Papeta par eedu”….

How to make it ? Well, here we go :

Ingredients : 1 onion finely chopped, 1 potato peeled and sliced with very thin round slices of potato, 1 green chilli, 1 egg, salt, garlic, ginger

Need to fry onions in oil on a slow flame and then we add garlic, green chilli and ginger paste to it as per our taste also add a lil salt as per taste. (You can experiment here and also add Pavbhaji Masala, Sambhar Masala, Chole Masala, Garam Masala, red chillies etc … but I didnt add any of those yesterday as my sunday’s Biryani was a little difficult on Monday morning !!!! lolz….)

Once the onion are slightly cooked, add the potato slices and mix them, then cover the pan and allow the potatoes to cook. Add water on the lid of the pan so that the onions and potato do not burn. Once the potatoes are cooked, take an egg and and beat it well and then spread it well on the potatoes and cover the pan again and let it cook till the egg becomes fluffy. You can garnish it with coriander leaves and your “papeta par eedu is ready”

I made it yesterday and its yummy and different. I loved it enough to post about it today morning !!!!

After making the dish I moved to the hall to watch TV and eat and I surfed news channel after news channel to find every one was telecasting live the American President coming to take his oath !!!

I mean fine its important for America, but is it so important for us ?? Does it concern us that much that about 10-12 news channels show his oath taking ceremony live !!!

However I must confess I am amazed by the amount of optimism this man has generated, there is a euphoria about everything he does. He announces “we have chosen hope over fear” and the people go delirious. The one thing I do appreciate is how much people follow him, he is a leader and he can actually influence a lot of people. In India we sorely miss such a leader who can influence so many people.

No I am not talking about getting thousands of people to listen a speech of our politicians where most have been promised money or liquor for attending the gathering. Actually people took leaves from offices, schools, colleges and gathered to see this man speak and take oath !!!!

Unreal, Overweight expectations from this one individual. Not just Americans, the whole world is looking towards him, every one hopes he will change everything.

One thing I have learnt in my 31 years of life is whenever the expectations run high, they are met with disappointment. For once I hope I am wrong !!!

Now What …. India ???

No sensible Indian wants war.

No, we did not mount the offensive but our neighbour dared us, they even promised us to fight till the last drop of their blood.

We have now given all the proof to Pakistan.

In what anticipation ???

Do you think they will act ????

As is evident so far they are going to deny this all.

They don’t even accept that Kasab is a Pakistani.

They are never going to actually act against terrorist elements at all.

Over a month has passed but Pakistan has not arrested one person, they banned Jamat Ud Dawah (JUD) because of rising international pressure. However it has been proven that the funds were already withdrawn out of JUD accounts before they were frozen. They have also changed the name of the institution and started a new one.

Can’t we see ?? For Christ sake – they couldn’t even find the killer of their own former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, don’t expect them to care about Indians.

Please do not expect that they will act. They cannot, things are simply not in their control.

Now what India ???

Yes we have to tighten our lapses. We have to build a border that is impregnable. But these are long term measures. These will not be achieved in a few days or weeks. We shall do this for sure.

However the most troublesome question that arises is –

What about the people who lost their lives at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Taj Hotel, Trident Oberoi and Nariman House ???

Some simple questions to my fellow country men

Are lives of our countrymen valuable ??
If some one takes Indian lives, will we allow them to get away ??
Are we ready to pay whatever price it takes to avenge the lives of Indians ??

We don’t want war because we value life, we understand that Pakistan also has women and children.

But then the people who died in Mumbai were also mothers, daughters, sons, husbands and fathers weren’t they ????

A friend once told me we achieved our freedom without sacrificing blood, we got freedom via Satyagrah(strike & non-cooperation) and not through Kranti(revolution)… that is why we do not value our freedom. He categorically said if Krantikari’s (revolutionary) like Shaheed Bhagat Singh had won us freedom it would be valued a lot more. What he basically meant that unless blood is spent, true value of life is never realized. I never agreed to him, it is only hypothetical and it is only an opinion of his which he is entitled to.

But after all the facts are now out and Pakistan does not act, what price are we ready to pay ??

We know there are terror camps in POK and a few other places like Muridke ??

When will we actually go ahead and wipe them out ??

Are we worried that in this economic slump we cannot afford these strikes because they might lead to a full scale war ??

We surely cannot forget the Indians who lost their lives in Mumbai, the time has come to set a deadline for Pakistan to act on the proof given to it. If they do not hand over the people behind this ghastly attack do not threaten them, simply tell them in no uncertain terms that unless they deliver there is no other alternative left for India. India’s patience is running out ….

It is time to strike the terrorist camps, it is time to finish the breeding ground for these killers….

Once again let me reiterate we are doing this not to take lives in Pakistan but we are destroying the terror camps so that they do not sit, plan and prepare to take Indian lives again. We are doing this to save Indian lives and nothing else, unless we stop them they will keep coming again.

Nothing should matter to us more than saving Indian lives, anything and everything that comes in the way must be fought even finished if the need be ….

Is the tide changing ??

Watching the various news channels yesterday, with most channel’s showing what happened in the Loksabha today, was something quite new and unique….

Normally ghastly speeches, throwing of mike’s, finger pointing, washing dirty linen or heated debates are what come to my mind when I think of the Lok Sabha… But this was quite unique and although I must confess I only heard the things the news fella’s showed, it was heartening that almost all the people were speaking the same language. (In principle)

The politicians one and all were in unison and agreed to most things be it Pakistani Hand, Fighting against terror, Security issues, Commando’s for all states or their anger at what their citizens had to face… Some even daring enough to admit that it was time to concerntrate on the ‘Aam Aadmi’ (common man) security rather than ‘VIP security’.

Could I see politicians who were angry about the terror attacks and not on some opposition party worker???? Are they actually now keeping the vigil alive, the fight against terror going, valuing the lives of Indians ????

Again hoping it is not an eyewash, something that will die with time… Are our politicians becoming leaders????? Can they actually unite and stop pointing fingers amongst each others when actually all fingers are pointing in one direction?????

Time will tell…. (hoping for a new beginning…)

It this a new beginning or a Mirage to my optimistic eyes ???

There is a strange (wrong word) peculiar (wrong word) unpreecedented (dont know what to use… Neways…
There is a strange optimism coming out, but some how the news channel didn’t want to focus on that but wanted to play live the election results so I am not sure what is exactly happening….
The news over the weekend was that John Mccain had conveyed to the Pakistani Government in no uncertain terms that India has enough evidence that Pakistani involvement was there and that there were also ISI elements involved in the attacks. He also made it clear that unless they take action, they would not be able to stop India. He also mentioned that our Prime Minister, was visibly angry about the things.
(Thank god, for our PM. He has always borne the brunt of people who think he is not proactive. But a wise man that he is, he will allow his actions to speak louder. He doesn’t demand limelight but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t act, he is not passionate for his country…)
Can it be true, that Pakistani government has been given a 48 hour deadline to act, can India be that tough ?? Can India ask America to pressurise Pakistan who is assisting them in Afghanistan ?? Can Pakistan actually act ??
I don’t know the answers, and the media is not pursuing these questions, they are busy with elections, interviewing shahrukhs etc…
But for once I feel there is optimism coming in from our top leadership (normally I never call them leaders, they are only politicians. ) But infact when I think of people like Dr. Manmohan Singh, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, Mr. P. Chidambaram… atleast I am not ashamed of saying these are some of the leaders of our country. Not being ashamed is one thing, whether I can be proud of them quite another….May be, just may be….
So how do you deal with this situation called Pakistan ?? The country has many sources of power… You don’t know who is in control of whom ?? They have nuclear capabilities, extremists… they also have innocent people… Surely you can’t mount a war on them… but you can squeeze them…
As things stand they have to now act. In the news strips on the bottom of the TV screens of the news, we read that former ISI chief Hamid Gul is to be arrested. This squeezing of political pressure by India and the world will now force the Pakistani Government to arrest a few people, who might resist or arresting them could result in protests which could be very violent against the government of Pakistan…..
So what I am actually seeing is the squeezing of Pakistan Government to act against the terror don’s who will react, this will either be quelled by Pakistan Government… or they will over power the Pakistan Government. In both the scenario’s we atleast have some solutions…
Either the Pakistan government can control these menaces and we have some peace…. Remember they are our neighbours, so if they are at peace we shall be at peace. But if the government fails and cannot control these menaces, it sends out a clear signal that these is no government in Pakistan that controls it…
This can lead to it being declared a ‘ Terror State ‘. But for this the squeezing of pressure on Pakistan Government must continue. India’s first diplomatic battle has been won, but winning the war will be a long and gruelling journey…
That is the only reason why I hope the current three Dr. Manmohan Singh, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee & Mr. P. Chidambaram should be able to have another term at their posts…
I can’t believe I want some ministers to stay… all my life it never mattered who was up there but this time it is different….

(click pic to enlarge)


Another week goes by….

This week has been quite strange, there is absolutely no new sales happening at work, and I have passed a week reading blogs and surfing. For a change I have taken a salary for doing nothing and killing time…

At the start of the week I hoped for some stern reactions from our Government to try and nab the planners behind the Mumbai attack, nothing like that has happened. As more and more days pass by, it seems in a few days we will be back to status normal.

How thick skinned we Indians have become ?? Nothing actually affects us, even myself, we friends organised one protest march. Got some 250 odd people together and that was it. For a few days we all sat together for a few evenings smoking and lambasted the politicians. Now what do I do ?? My wife says move on, lets go see a movie… “you will feel better”, “Enough of the news”, ” I hate Rajdeep Sardesai & Barkha Dutt !!”

I take her cue… thinking she must be bored… Lets see ‘Dasvidaniya’…

I cry a lot in movies, very easily…. I get too emotional…. Even today when I see ” Haathi Mere Saathi ” and whenever I see the scene where the Elephant dies, I sob. At times my wife wants to disown me in a Theatre… I don’t make noises but my tears just don’t stop….

‘Dasvidaniya’… this movie made me sob, sob and sob…. I loved the movie very very much. At the end, I felt it ended too soon… May be the movie was cut….

It was very easy to relate to the character of Vinay in the movie and thats why it made me so much more emotional…

The best part of the movie was that the guy was gonna die in 3 months and he knew it…. How simple that can make things seem all of a sudden…. In this long life, we keep planning, saving, investing (in shares that are bombing at the moment, sob sob !! ) but never quite go out and embrace life….

Infact to know that you are going to die after that many days, just makes things so so simple !!! doesnt it??

The flame flickers…

Darkness spreads,
the moon starts to shine,
twinkling stars are the audience,

the breeze brings chills,
The flame still burns,
the wax melting,

the flame flickers,
fighting against over powering odds,
weakening as the breeze picks up…

More hands needed,
More cover needed,

We shall be the shields…
We shall be the knights…