Economics of Love

Since time immemorial humanity has glorified Love . Many great minds did devote precious time in knowing length and breadth of the same. In the process , history did see many great exponents of love who became part of folklore . Ironically all great lovers were losers . This grave truth has not stopped generations from falling in love . As civilizations rose and fell , economy did influence love as it had to be sustained by materialistic approach to life. Many Wars and battles were result of some direct/indirect influences of hate induced due to love. Love did bring to the fore the poet in Kalidasa who gave imagination new heights in Meghdootam . Manu advised to keep distance from lovers when it came to get wise opinion. Ignoring other aspects , its interesting to see love from eyes of an economist . Here it goes...

Some start it as early investment , some wait for right opportunity and apt sentiment , some subside due to lack of know how . Like monsoon it keeps everyone guessing , those who are interested , those who are not.Some have all the know how , infrastructure and time but they lack the human resource. Some daring enough go for a " start up " when each lovable moment is hard earned. We do see many whose life seem a successful love story , but may be the actual story is difficult to decipher . We know a few who achieve this with wise maturity . So far so good , the story continues for those who become part of the game , for others its simple bane . For those who are in the game , suddenly things achieve unmanageable proportions. Fiscal deficit haunts the most when there are financial liabilities to be completed with cash crunch and no help of FII . Current account deficit is strained by b'day , monthly celebrations , random lunch , dinner and gifts and other " invisibles ". Entertainment taxes force you to take austerity measures e.g take cheap public transport , enjoy street food etc. But the austerity measures are difficult to sustain for the whole financial year. Soon you have to pretend as if you've really deep pocket. If availability of foreign brands was cause of  headache , thanks to 100% FDI in single brand retail , things are sure to get more difficult as policy measures will open up the market further e.g more foreign brands to consume Hot money. How can the monetary and strategic regulators e.g Mom-dad would remain subdued for long. Their policy measures to tighten up the liquidity in your bank account is something which you had ratified once you came into this world. With regular audits the anomaly in the balance sheet becomes apparent which leads to warnings and apprehensive words. Rates are revised regularly to keep control on  the spending and other 'self welfare' requirements. In addition to Mom-dad-regulatory-Body  your Love interest ( LI ) acts as self appointed vigilance-officer and information-commissioner . Your every activity is tracked and your actions are heavily regulated . LI's advice becomes the rule , every request has to be pre approved. Capital investors ( friends ) loose confidence in you and your credit rating takes a hit e.g junk.

With present looking hopeless and grim , long term benefits seem almost a void from the relationship . Can this scenario lead to meaningful and sustainable result ( Happy Marriage ) .what policy reforms can be taken to avoid complex situation and maintain NPA ( non performing assets ) to the minimum? Same old question comes to mind whose answer will remain unknown for ever i.e What then love is? May be its a journey after which you can say/write , " It has been long and unexpected journey and i'm proud you were on my side in this " . The journey which is long will for sure have bullish and bearish phases . Sometimes paradise will be lost due to cruelty of time , but the quest will continue . May be better lovers and true soul mates will walk on earth in future and new folklore will be created . Some best paintings are never complete , some stories will not find conclusion because journey itself is the destination.

On other side

"Graha is dancing over your head...Soon it will be taken care of" , Loose translation of hindi line ," Tumhare Sar par grah naach raha hai.....Jaldi hi utar jaayega " . This sweet little warning from mom/dad reverberates in my ear drums when i think of word "graha" from yesteryears when they were angry due to my idiosyncrasies. The meaning of the warning was very much implicit , " Behave yourself or you know the consequences" . Those were the days when one was learning the good/bad of the world . family values were being injected which were to define me in the future to come i.e when i was to take decisions based on those values. But there is small price one had to pay while being typecasted as good/bad. What about being in the other territory? Can i know , always , what is bad without getting a feel from other side. In short , difficulty of being good can not be ignored for ever. Without much effort one used to venture into other side just for sake of curiosity and sometimes out of power of rebel inside . What were some of the joys of being on wrong side ? Here it goes....

1: I remember i took out rupee 20 from dad's pocket bypassing chain of command . I had breached my discretionary powers only to be caught while availing the gains of misappropriated hot money. The amount of money, in class two days , was enough to raise alarm among the self proclaimed security agents ( Seniors ) . The money was confiscated immediately and rest is another small story i.e  After returning home i was handed unceremoniously to mom for further action. This was first memorable instance from being on wrong side moment.

2: The child grew , he reported honestly all his movements to concerned authorities e.g. mom , dad , brother , sister etc . However on some occasions he used to trespass to mango/Guava/palm orchids . Sugarcane field was another noted attraction . Being chased by the Garden watchman was experience worth having ; James bond type feeling!!

3: Watching movies in Cinema hall was a no no in our family . Entertainment expenses were minimized for financial reasons . Later on i did get chance to watch late night shows . It feels strangely good when you walk home at 1 am in night on deserted road. Specially when you have crazy friends with you who try to scare each other with ghost noises. We used to warn each other that police will catch us for walking at this time on road . Somehow that never happened.

4: We knew that 11 pm is the time for college campus main gate to close . Most of us had not been on other side of the gate after 11 pm . We had heart stories of daredevilry and caught-by-patrolling-guards stories of more accomplished college friends who were regularly on wrong side of the gate on most nights. The moment came in later half of stay in college . When gate keepers don't allow you to enter from main gate and one has to take forbidden route through jungle , you can't help but appreciates  the joy of being on wrong side.

5: Quite a few train journeys i did take when i had no reserved tickets . With over crowded general compartment , the attraction was to get into sleeper class . At least i will get space to stand . Sight of TTE was scary moment , but the ready made answer was , " Sir student!!! " . Sometimes they used to smile and move and on other times was asked to move to general compartment . Times change, the joy of being on wrong side become part of sweet memories .

Bottom line remains , there is no harm in crossing the line to be on other side to know the pros and cons . May be you will realize that it's not wrong by any standards . Life is about looking at various shades of grey. At the same time one should not hurt someone in the process . Retract to your territory in time . Enjoy the dance of graha over your head until it is "taken care of" :)

p.s : Graha is associated to Astrology.

p.p.s : There are other memories of Being-on-wrong side. Hopefully words will be found in due course.

My 100 fav songs@100th Blog entry

After almost four years of meandering the count has reached the numerical figure of 100 . May be the numbers speak more than it deserves but this numerical  count gives chance to take notice of good and bad which did take place. To be specific , this is my 100th blog entry at blogspot.As quite obvious, at  the beginning it was difficult to comprehend the love which i was to generate for Reading/writing in general and blogging in particular. It can be safely  said my best is yet to come , ant it's far away, as i am yet to give  better words to my thoughts, but the journey is very much on...

Question was what should i write for this blog entry and the answer eluded me for quite sometime. During last few months i was updating one file containing my favorite songs list . Some of these songs continue to entertain my eardrums with reasonable frequency. These are some associated memory with each song in the list. This list is very much random, not sure but i may have missed some of my favorite songs. But this list essentially contains the majority of my  favorite songs over the years.Here it goes...

1: Main tenu samjhawan : Rahat Fatah Ali : Listening to Rahat Ali takes you to different world, music is some sort of medicine for sure .

2: Tujhko Jo Paya : From movie crook : Somehow its difficult to ignore songs picturized on Imran Hashmi.They are reasonably good most of the times , this song is certainly in positive list.

3: Tune Jo na kaha wo main sunta raha : New York : Liked it for slowness and consolation one tries to attain.

4: Mere sang to chal jara : New York : Another one from this movie , was in my playlist for good duration.

5: Lila lila lilla  :  Kim Kay : While hopping though some Arabic compositions i did come to know about this . When played at full volume it was a delight.

6: Uthe sab ke kadam : Baaton baaton me : I can not resist humming this song.

7: Jonny we hardly knew : I had read many articles on Irish wars , this song said many things about the same.

8: Piya na man basiya : Tanu weds manu : This movie had surprisingly all good songs . They became my favorites in no time.

9: I see you everywhere : Beautiful composition http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E8popAkPm8

10 : Main to tere pyar me diwana ho gaya : Dilruba : A gem from Kailash kher , he used his distinctive voice beautifully in this song.

11: Jugni : tanu weds manu : Liked it for the energy and Mika factor.

12: Badri badaria : coke studio : Flow of the songs makes you sing it while listening it.

13: Madari : coke studio : No wonder singing has been termed as art. Traditional music can be fused with other forms quite easily and with good effect.

14: Chadd de murakh : coke studio : Liked it for philosophical content.

15  tonight i'm loving you : Enrique : A must have when you want to dance

16: Baby i like it : Enrique at best in this song

17. LMFAO : I'm sexy and i know it :  This song became a rage not for no reason

18  Dungar dukh na de  : A love song , folk music , Artistic singing , loved it!

19: Baatein kuch ankahin si : One wonders how the music world might had been without glorification to love.

20: Counting crows : Accidently in love : Came to know about this while watching Shrek . World seems better place with love around.

21: Unforgiven 2 : Metallica : I was curious to know why people are so crazy about Metallica , i got answer with this song .

22: Fuel : Metallica : This happens when you sing a song with Mt. Everest like energy.

23: Sabka katega :  Bodhi tree : Though other song from same band is more celebrated , this one is quite a beauty as well.

24: LMFAO : Party : Aptly named " Party anthem "

25: Aarambh hai prachand : Gulaal : A song full of vigor and strength. We were introduced to class of Piyush Mishra through this song.

26: No woman no cry : Bob Marley : One of better songs from Bob . Liked other variants of this song. Same lyrics can be given a totally different and equally
good music.

27: All good things come to an end : Nelly furtado : This was in playlist of blogger friends. It's like knowing secret from girl's world , girls are more 
crazy about love than boys can imagine.

28: Choti si Asha : From movie Roja : Mr. Rahman overwhelmed quite a few with this melody . I was one of them , used to wait for 15th August when "Roja" 
came on doordarshan.Innocence of this song has only few competitors in its genre.

29: Neele neele Ambar pe : Kishore da : You certainly want to learn to play Guitar after listening to this song , Kishor Da is at usual best in this song.

30: PSY Gangnam style : A Korean song will take the world by storm, a hard to believe reality. This will certainly become a case study for the Viral Marketing Moguls.

31: Hey jude : Beatles : When i started listening to English songs Beatles was obviously first in the list.Listening to their albums i can say  this song stands apart. It seemed me all great things have already happened before i came to this world.

32: Ruby Tuesday : Rolling Stones : This song was referred in the novel "God of small things". I got introduced to world of "Stones" from this. Very 
emotional song , one can feel the pain even if one is not in love.

33: Summer of 69 : Ricky Martin : Being Nostalgic can get this cool . Just play this song when when you want to feel the power of Nostalgia.

34: Guanthanmero : Richard stallmann : Those were the days when i did come to know about "Open Source". It was curiously strange to know that Mr Stallmann 
has such distinctive taste for music. Beautiful song even if you don't get the Spanish words in it.

35: Ek fariyad dil me : Tum bin :  My room mate had audio cassette of this. Rest is history :)

36: Jungle jungle baat chali hai pata chala hai : From the times when i actually believed that there exists a world of Jungle book. It is a master piece from
Guljar Sahab. unforgettable!

37: Nani teri morni ko : This song beautifully represented the family bonding which one developed as child . No wonder every child ,it seemed , was crazy about this song.

38: Lakdi ki kathi : This song was sang by a group of seniors as part of weekly school program. It was new experience , people could remember whole song and sing with such alacrity . Everyone became a fan of this song and it became a regular occurrence in weekly cultural meet of the school.

39: China company : Nepali song :  Only one word to describe it , sweet.

40: hat ja Tau : Haryanvi :  Haryanvi is cool 24/7 , When you want to dance weird , this is the song .

41: Bade Miyan diwane : Rafi Sahab showing strength of his might.legendary song from great singer.

42: Ek ladki bheegi bhagi si : How many times we did come across a situational song and say 'wow'? Not many

43: Hangama kyu hai barpa : Ghulam Ali : Ideally a song for the drunkards who are not able to sleep. But this song has equally good effect when you are unable to sleep at 1 am in the morning. My exam time favorite , you can study with this song.

44: Madhusala : Whole poem in song : Certainly a must have when you don't want to use your eyes to read this poem.

45: Naina milaike : Kawali : No Kawali session is complete without this , more you listen to this more you love the power of kawali.

46: Hips don't lie : If the song has nothing special about it , the video is special for sure , You wonder who can dance like that...Shakira Shakira!!

47: Dilruba : Kailash Kher : Another must have song from Kailash Kher.

48: Comfortably numb : Pink Floyd : Song to fall to in frustrated moments  when it seems you can't take anymore , you are useless and the path is blocked completely. After the song you are re-energized without any external inputs.

49: Yellow submarine : Beatles : The group song effect of this makes it special .

50: Jaane Kya Chaahe Maan Baawra : Pyar ke side effects : This song is 'hat ke' and distinctive for the lyrics used .

51: Baatein Kuch Ankahein Si : Life in a..Metro : I tried to remember lyrics for this song , partially successful.

52: Aashayen : From movie Iqbal : A song for the moment when you want to set up high standards for yourself . Its a reminder to achieve the bigger things in 
life.

53: Subha Ho Gayee Mamu : Munnabhai MBBS : A song for every morning when you have so many things to do , happening!!....Subah ho gayi Mamu!

54: Jaane kyu log pyar : Dil Chahta hai : A beautiful composition supplemented by nice music . The conclusion remains , no one knows why people fall in love.

55: Tu Aashiqui Hai : Jhankar beats : Glorification of love , accepted for now :)

56: Hothon se chu lo tum : Immortal singing by Jagjit singh in this.

57: kitni muddat baad mile ho : Ghulam Ali : World of Ghulam ALi is wonderful and this song is a rare gem.

58: Chalat musafir moh liyo re : Reminds of the village life where people celebrate life while singing. Hats off to the greats who could being to screen such
unadulterated celebration of life.

59: ye jeewan hai : Listen to this when you feel down , low and going gets tough. Music can catch up very diverse moments .

60: kun fayakun : Rockstar : World of sufism when music takes one to higher level . Intoxicating!. You don't have to a believer to enjoy the power of sufi 
music.

61: Aawarapan Banjarapan : Jism :  Became fan of this song when first time i did listen to this.

62: Chot dil pe lagi : This has been a regular in my playlist .

63: Jaadu hai nasha hai : Jism : Another good one form the same movie

64: Abhi Kuch dino se : Dil to baccha hai ji : Light and good. You end up singing this every time you listen to this

65: Lagan lagi tum se man ki lagan : If you are  a fan of Rahat ali you will get variety for sure , this is distinct in style and effect is same i.e lovable

66: Soch raha hu kis se puchu os ladki ka naam : From grand old days of kumar Sanu . One can easily like it for the flow of the song.

67: Dayal baba kola khaba : Bengali song : Due to richness of our culture we can love the songs of different languages. Catch up the video for stylish , weird and beautiful dance.

68: Tere Ishq Ki Inteha Chahta Hoon : Rahat fatah ali Kawali : This song will tell how kawali becomes part of tradition. You listen to same thing from 
different people and appreciate them equally.

69: Rules.. Choro na mujhe : For the moments whan you search for someone special.

68: Wahan kaun hai tera : R D burman : Has philosophical content . The message is clear , when you walk , slow down and enjoy the surrounding because When you move fast, things become hazy.

69: Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya : Relaxing!!

70: Baanwara man dekhne chala ek sapna : From Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi : This song is as good as this movie , used to play it incessantly.

71: Dil Ka Bhanwar Kare Pukar : When they say old is gold they mean it.

72: Dooba dooba rahta hun : Listen to this and you will know Mohit chauhan was as good as he is now.

73: Allah ke bande : May be this will remain best song of Kailash Kher even if he will become a better singer.

74: ye hawa kahti hai kya : Easy to sing this song when you are alone .For the moments when you become your entertainer , best way to keep yourself entertained when nothing else is available.

75: Sar jo tera chakrae ya dil dooba jae : Memorable for duo of Rafi-Jonny walker ( Badruddin Jamaluddin Kazi )

76: Jaane kahan mera jigar gaya ji : Innocence!!. See the video to relish one of better songs of our film industry.

77: Hai Apna dil to awara : This was quite a regular in Sunday Morning "Rangoli" on Doordarshan. Later on i realized this song had made into my favorite 
list.

78: O sanam muhabbat ki kasam : This song of Lucky ali with Arabic locales in video was special. One wondered , do Beautiful girl wander in desert without any reason?

79: Mere sajan Hain os par : Certainly a classic! . Its good to choose from such great collection of old songs we have in our film industry.

80: Meri duniyan hai maa teri aanchal me : A tribute to all mothers ; Among all species.

81: Mera naam karega rausan jag me : I still remember when dad was very particular about showing this song to me. I was sleeping that Sunday morning , he 
woke me up to show this song on "rangoli". Quite a few memorable moments associated with this innocuous program of doordarshan.

82: Baby i was born this way :  Lady gaga : You can love/Hate lady gaga. If you want to love her, this song will certainly help.

83: love you the way you lie it : Rihanna & Eminem : Rihanna is a phenomenon of our times . This song is another example of the fact that girls are crazy 
about love , sometimes more than boys. Eminem will make you think why rapping is such a cool thing.

84: Don't stop the party : Black Eyed Peas : There are many songs which will make you dance , this is certainly among top of them.

85: when i need you : Leo Sayer , Celine Dion : romantic song , Just play it and carry on with your work, soothing!

86: My heart will go on : Celine Dion : World is certainly small place, you can listen to someone from Canada love it like everyone.

87: Downtown : Petula clark : Loved the hope signified in this song.

88: Gali Gali Sim Sim : Title track of Our Own Sesame Street : The child in us never subsides ; Everytime i listen to this title track of the show i feel 
like 10 year old boy who loved to eat milk powder.

89: Mamma Mia : ABBA : Beautiful song and good to have in my collection. From this i got slight idea how saying "Mamma Mia" became a common thing.

90: Bego to oont Gado : Rajasthani Song : One of first songs that i did come across on You tube making my diverse collection richer. 

91: Lamha Lamha : Gangster : Another song which one can easily remember and sing as per requirement.

92: Ye ladki zar si diwani lagti hai : Love story : Special for the happiness that comes out after listening this.

93: Yu hi chala chal rahi : Swades : Its effect is best when one is traveling. A song to be played in full volume.

94: Ye duniyan agar mil bhi jaaye to kya hai : Pyassa : A song which which truly represented the frustration like never before and never after. Then our 
movie industry had high standards. When we can get next such intense song?...lets wait.

95: Do Dil Mil Rahe Hain : Pardes : Truly romantic track , one word for it "soothing".

96: Rula ke gaya sapna : Don't know when this song became regular in my playlist , a spontaneous entry.

97: Bulla Ki jana main kaun : Rabbi : I thought i will miss one Punjabi song in the list. Punjabi has rich tradition and culture. An area to be explored 
more. For the moment his song is favorite for the music and style of singing associated with it.

98: Es diwane ladke ko koi samjhaye : This was my favorite in those days and used to wait for this song to play on Vividhh Bharti ( radio )

99: Jadu Hai Tera Hi Jadu : Movie Gulam : Nice song from not so nice movie . Those were the times when Rani Muknerjee was adorable. long time!

100: Ye tumhari meri baatein : Rock on : Slow songs slowly earn a niche for themselves. This song stands apart in the album.

Before closing , I am thankful to my friends who did patiently read my blog entries and gave feedback. Looking forward to new friends and would like to know more human souls.

The Sunday Afternoon : Tata Crucible Delhi Edition

It happens only a few times when you get chance to do what you love.  Life does take many twists and turns , in a way one had never thought when one was a kid . Its not so difficult to see there are so many intelligent brains moving around. Time and again one does experience the fact , " Its not impossible man!". One gets chance to admire the confidence , tenacity , almost mountain like energy ; Its difficult to not get motivated. From school quizzes in obscure town to getting chance to see the National level competition , things can become really happening . Finally , I got chance to be part of Tata Crucible Delhi Edition-2012 ( A business quiz ). Looking back , i knew there was something called Bournvita quiz on TV but never got chance to see that as we had only Doordarshan at our home. Scanning through 'wisdom', 'Gk today' and news papers became regular in coming years. With Priorities changing , did drift away from the quizzing world and got immersed in calculus-coordinate-Organic-Algebra-optics etc. Some interests remain attached to you forever...

With location of the quiz at Hotal Taj palace i did get chance to enjoy hospitality that Taj offers. Truly admirable i must say , without much effort one feels very special and can't help but appreciate the elegance of the place. More than 100 teams did turn up for the event with fair presence of fairer sex. To believe that business quiz can generate interest among girls is slightly difficult. Anyways girls have clearly made huge mark as cricket fans , so they can surely enter other male dominated areas, certianly welcome signs. Girls made their presence felt with their witty answers to questions passed to audience. Age band of participants was not less admirable , from guys fresh out of college to uncles reaching their retiring ages. Highly distinctive participation for sure.

G Gubramaniam aka 'Pickbrain'' , the quizmaster , was at his usual best as i had heard/read.His humor quotient was sufficient to entertain the packed crowd. Prelims had 25 questions , something for everyone to take interest.Level of competition was quite tough as it is supposed to be at place like Delhi. NTPC ran away with Non-TATA track finals with their almost invincible show of quizzing. TCS took the TATA track after overcoming stiff resistance from other teams in finals.

After long time i got chance to see such energetic crowd with thirst for knowledge. Palpable excitement filled the hall throughout the Sunday afternoon.It felt like going to a temple when one has full faith in existence of absolute power. When i came out the motivation leval had improved , some negative energy gave way for hope and determination to make the future count.

Hilarious moment of the day : Picture of Maria Sharapova was shown as one question i.e guess the brand she was endorsing . Someone tried with wild guess i.e Huggies . " Pickbrain" remarked , " sharapova and Huggies!!!!???? "In the mean time one gentleman interjected with information that recently sharapova had pregnancy scare and that's why she didn't participate in cincinnati open. "pickbrain" quipped back , " hhhowwww do you khow this?" . Evryone fell into long laughter!!. Truely hilarious moment for the day.

                                                                                              
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Prelims questions :

1: Which company in hospitality industry has taken initiative Planet21

Ans : Accor

2: Innerwear from jagannath textiles , comes in three parts Basic , next , extreme.

Ans : Crusoe innerwear

3: CSI in hospitality industry  , something which we eat.

Ans : club sandwich Index

4: Clearvue range glass , R&D in India for india .

Ans:  Philips

5: Ad campaign photograph.

Ans: United colors of benetton ( UCB )

6: Danish Shipping Magnet , died on Apr 16 2012 . Name of the company

Ans: maersk

7: Bank in Italy , started in 1397 , What was name of the family.

Ans. Medici family

8: Economist and president of American economic association. Was Australian minister of finance 1948.

Ans. Joseph Schumpeter

9: Logo horse chariot

Ans. Hermes

10: Sara Blackly started with savings of 5000 dollar

Ans. Spanx

11: Founder of National stock exchange and credit agency CARE

ANs: R.H Patil

12: Name of package of benefits that allows employees to make choices.

Ans:  cafeteria

13: First published in 1968 , had character name Cheeku.

Ans: Champak

14: " Babu samjho esare " : which car was used?

Ans: Chevrolet

15: Advertising agnecy from india ( Could not get the question )

16: Difference between actual and potential GDP?

Ans : Okun's law

17: Nodal agency for buying Agricultural commodities?

Ans : NAFED : NAtional agriculture co-operative Marketting federation of India.

18: chocolate from parle containing cardamom ; had become virtual currency. Company had to stop its production.

Ans. Kismi bar


19: Beyond universe waste management , in partnership with NIKE. What is name of organisation?

Ans. NASA

20: Photograph of Maxis deal accused.who has been alleaged to paid bribe to Marans.

ANs:  Ananda Krishnan

21: What LOPSOD means? It's Based on political party manifesto . Index to measure Advertisement promished.

Ans. Long on promise , short on delivery

22: In 1897 Bayer chemist created new drug which cured his fathers rheumatism

Ans :Aspirin

In 1899, a German chemist named Felix Hoffmann, who worked for a German company called Bayer, rediscovered Gerhardt's formula. Felix Hoffmann made some of the formula and gave it to his father who was suffering from the pain of arthritis. With good results, Felix Hoffmann then convinced Bayer to market the new wonder drug. Aspirin was patented on February 27, 1900.

The folks at Bayer came up with the name Aspirin, it comes from the 'A" in acetyl chloride, the "spir" in spiraea ulmaria (the plant they derived the salicylic acid from) and the 'in' was a then familiar name ending for medicines.

23: 1897 this company sponsored almost everything for queens visit to India : but one tea was not sponsored...what was that?

Ans. Lipton

24: What Grexit means?

Ans. Greece exit

25: Ad campaign : Never hide

Ans. Rayban
 

p.s : My favorite song for the moment is title track from movie 'Barfi'

Some changes and Independence day

The Independence Day ( 15^th Aug  )eve takes me to memory lanes when future was not anxious wait and past was not significant to be taken as good/bad experience. Many people were yet to meet me , journey called life had just started . I was sweetly innocent and was brimming with energy each morning. Then, the best thing for me was watching Sampras-Agassi duals on tennis courts and getting  dhania-chutney (coriander-chutney) for breakfast-lunch-dinner. Even though Diwali and Durga-Puja were festivals to wait for ;Independence day did find equally high importance in my family . I was yet to read any significant book on India but mom was able to successfully tell me why this day was important.

The independence day mornings of childhood days were nothing less than any religious urgency. Everyone used to be in some sort of hurry. School Independence Day celebration was given a miss as I had to attend/see functions at other places. We ( 3-4 wandering friends ) used to sincerely visit all government offices in our locality. It seemed as if some top priority assignment was given to us to ensure that national flags are hoisted on each building without a fail. Saluting the national flag at each building gave us some crazy and unknown joy. The wandering activity used to conclude with ‘official’ flag hoisting ceremony at my place ( around 10 am ). Dad was always chief guest for that and being in police uniform he used to give some necessary weight to the event. The great Indian sweet Jalebi was placed as if it was some sacred offering for the celebration. We used to eat the same only after hoisting the flag and singing national anthem in full volume and  repeating  “bharat mata ki jai” , “bande mataram” and other slogans  a few times ,  giving full stress to our vocal chords. The eventful day used to end with me taking the flag down with due respect. 

In coming years the pattern of my independence day celebration got evident change when attending the school flag hoisting used to conclude the activity for the day for me. What remained memorable was going on prabhat pheri  in the town ; Covering almost each important roads of the town.In later years I  did prepare speeches on few occasions and did participate in Nukkad Natak to add different dimension to my celebration experience. 

The boy did grow with passing years. The world which was so simple for him suddenly became complex for him. He saw there was disparity in society evident as poverty. He knew what being from lower-middle class family means. He was surprised to know people, even learnt and respected,  can hate each other and  can kill each other in the name of god/pride. The boy saw how world looks like when seen from the eyes of a non-believer. It felt some sort of low to know  people who always tried to outsmart other with their wit. Why one has to fool other?  Boy was amused to see selfish souls really exist in this world. The question came to his mind ,” why I am here?” , “which path I should walk on?” Questions galore, none were answered. May be some questions are not meant to be answered.

It saddened the boy that his country faced so many problems. He couldn’t believe the fighter planes he had seen were not made in his country. He did not become happy to know there are billionaires living in his country. Amidst all the changes one faith continued to gain strength in him. The boy fell in love with his country. I know there will be many chapters in this story; the love will be tested in due course. One thing is sure, there will not be any break-up in this love story.

This story will continue with unique twists and turns…….Happy Independence Day

p.s : Song Badari Badariya is my favourite for the day :)

Predicamant of hope

The Excitement of uncertainty,
Joy of happy surprises,
Being confused is not such rarity,
Hope of the tenacity,
Will situations be memorable.

Work till it becomes easy,
extract life from the still objects,
You are the master of your own craft,
Struggle will continue with oneself,
Enjoy the company of unknowns,
Invisible faces which give you hope,
To be better than yourself.

Run fast to reach the predefined,
Remember , Undefined can be meaningful, someday,
What you love today , tomorrow it will be distaste,
You laugh , got sad , got emotionless,
Sound of loneliness and triumph,
You said it and forgot the words.

When struggle becomes tougher,
You look things in retrospective,
Repeat jokes to different subjects,
You talk good in secret,
In front of them you remain speechless.

Of speaking too many words and listening less,
Words ringing in your ears forever,
You wonder why it had to happen,
What will happen from now?
Some good , some bad , not so memorable,
One can come good the other day,
Can life achieve that unmatched proportions?
When life won't be same,forever...


The predicament of confusion it is,
Wait will continue till that moment.

Driver Made it Large

Hari Mastan Khargosi , 25 year old from Jhalawar, Rajasthan , has made country proud by getting job offer of 1 crore per annum , plus other benefits. He has been selected for assistant Driver HT-truck, Trainee job profile in the well known transport firm JVS : Just-V-Speed with job base location in Ottawa , Canada . All India Driver's Association chairman , Bekabu Jahaji revealed this in a press conference here in Varanasi. Elaborating the news Mr. Jahaji thanked former PM Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee for giving the nation golden quadrilateral. He said," On Golden quadrilateral we can really utilize our driving talent.Khargosi cleared 10 rounds of rigorous driving test followed by HR interview with NOT-So-HOT HR representative of JVS. Some tests were held in Thar desert , at Rohtang Pass , Gandhi Setu Patna , Darjeeling Hills etc ". Mr Jahaji did conclude with words , "Its really nice that world is now looking for diverse job profile in our country. From doctors and engineers now we drivers are also making India proud".

This news has not come without share of controversy.Many skeptic have blamed this as another form of brain drain . President of All India Khakhor Association 3J ( Jaadu-Jalebi-Jabbar ) has commented that this type of astronomical job offer from foreign firm is clear attack on country's HR ( human resource ) . He added , " our country needs many drivers like Hari".

There was festival like atmosphere at Hari's home town Jhalawar. Elated town folks celebrated the feat by distributing sweets . Now they know there are other avenues then becoming engineers/MBA grads/IPL players. This has given them hope and inspiration. Hari thanked all friends and family members. Hari added that he wanted to become a Mechanical engineer .He gave up the idea after having a "brain wash" session with a frustrated mechanical engineer who is preparing for CAT just to increase his salary prospect. Hari , Like all guy-next-door has a dream , he dreams of buying one home for his Mom-Dad.
The village headmaster expressed happiness on hearing Hari's achievement. He recalled Hari was always mischievous . He added , " Hari always had special affinity with machines , he used to flatten my bi-cycle tyre quite often. I knew his this love will take him miles in future. He will surely cover miles , now in Canada".

Air India pilots have intensified their stir on hearing this news . They said if a truck driver can get such salary why we AI pilots are being exploited , we are getting only 60 Lac per annum. Civil aviation minister Ajit Singh declined to comment on this.

Some drive just for fun i.e. rich brats on Delhi roads , Other make handsome earning by driving , earlier Narain karthikeyan then karun chandhok and now we have Hari Khargosi...who's next?
 
p.s : Above content is purely imaginary , Just for fun.

The Lovable protocol

Some years back( year 2005 ) a friend had remarked looking  at a photograph in a newspaper of a dangerously beautiful lass  , " why i am not there to console her". Girl was pictured with sad face , she was paying tribute to victims of Beslan school massacre. With due respect to sensitivity associated with mentioned scenario ,  guys have strange capability to look for something extra in all situations.Strange protocols are formed , manufactured , self-imposed in due process , over the years .

The problem is compounded by the fact that in front of girls its difficult for guys to converse for long time , at least in India. This can be attributed to various reasons. Here main reason under consideration is , 90% of guys talk simply can not accommodate a girl in the conversation. So guys have to manage with 10% of their know how .What is the solution ? They take respite in being a good listener , girls anyway are better speaker. But this is difficult to manage scenario as one will be termed as a bore and shooed away in minutes.Not to forget some guys have god given capability to speak words what every girl dies to listen. A rare species for sure. Coming back to the protocols that get created over the years , guys have to prepare answer to generic universal questions i.e

1: What is your favorite color?
( they have to make one if they don't have) . If one's favorite color is blue , to be on safer side one should take lessons for differentiating between between , Light blue , Majorelle Blue , Oxford Blue,Palatinate blue etc.

2:  What is your favorite movie? ( read romantic movie )

3: Do you love pets? ( one has to say yes ) 

4: what is best gift that you got? ( Its hard to explain for a guy of lower Middle class background, gift is alien word , one has to stress the memory cells  and find what he got which can be called a gift)

5:  what did you do on your last birthday? ( One has to make it interesting even though it was normal veg-Manchurian-paneer-butter-masala-Naan session with friends...Yes , guys can mix Chinese with Indian dishes while eating )

Having prepared these and similar questionnaires one has to try to compensate your reduced 90% word strength with something called idiosyncrasy. No wonder for gals,  guy talks soon become boring and repetitive .Defeat accepted , guys come back next day only to give a better try , wondering what those stupid looking boys with strange accent talk for so long and same creatures around them giggle on every line!!

I would like to recall a short lived protocol of mine, i called carry-two-pen-protocol.I used to carry two pens with me since the forgetful day when one girl, who was lovable to everyone, did ask for pen and i had none. My stupid smile and apologetic words were of no help. I finally gave up this activity of carrying 2 pens after philosophically conceding , " some moments can not repeat" .

The protocol creation and maintenance  doesn't end here. As one should not look desperate , he shows as if his surrounding is not so special . When the phone rings and the caller happens to be "that" girl, its time to delay the pick up and let the ringtone live full life .When in reality one is dying to press the green button and say hi-hello-etc.obviously the heartbeat rate increases exponentially in the mean time.No wonder some stories which might had taken beautiful proportions are not able to find initiating words.

Recently , we could not stop laughing incessantly when one friend did narrate , how helpless he felt when one girl asked him to accompany her while going home . "Sadly" he had no car with him. He cursed his salary for the "misfortune". He has no problem riding on crowded bus, but as per his rule book ,  when there is girl with him she has to go in a car. For him, guys are made up to face all the hardships and only gals should get best possible.

Such acts may not define love in general , but these certainly make love more lovable. Special mention to the answer given by an eight year old girl when she was asked to define love. She said , " Love is when you say to a guy he is looking good in the shirt he is wearing and he wears that shirt everyday".

The Distributed Role Models

In those days dad was posted at beautiful sleepy town of Thakurganj , in Bihar , i was in class 5.The town had modest population count of around 2000-3000.The town had admirable culture of playing cricket and other sports activities. There was one humble guy there , i am sure everyone knew him by name , at least for we children he was a cult figure , a man of respect , dignity and unmatched calmness . We could associate the word gentleman with him. He was rightfully admired Mr. cool of the town . He did extract genuine respect from people around him . Presently what he must be doing? My one vague guess is, he must be teaching underprivileged children ( He had got job of Government School teacher in primary school ). Those pictures are still vivid in my mind.

The name of the person mentioned above is Mr. Rajaram Mahto. He was role model for all children of Thakurganj. This was for his passion for cricket in general and mainly for other attributes associated with him as mentioned above. He was the captain of the cricket team of the cricket crazy town.What inspired everyone was the way he handled with smile the leg pulling sessions with his friends in public ( It was fun to watch the same , just imagine 20-30 people targeting one with unique antics) . The elan with which he used to walk, the way he talked , the signature style of his riding the bicycle ( too slow for youngster ). One Routine activity of Mr Rajaram needs a mention here. He used to pass from road near our house , on his bicycle , on way to school where he taught . The road had quit steep slope. Instead of allowing the bicycle to reach maximum speed Mr. Rajaram used to apply breaks to maintain his unusual signature speed of a tortoise.Sometimes , people who inspire you can make you smile with their awkwardness .

It's almost impossible to find a complete person call him a role model. I used to appreciate some people over the years only to become critic of them .Down the line, i have realized, its very much natural. As our thoughts broaden and views are molded , opinion change is quite expected . At the same time its very much easy to find role models in bits and pieces who keep on inspiring you everyday. Here are some instances...

1: I haven't tried selling anything till now , but i know how difficult the proposition is , when you try to sell your goods to complete strangers. The Marketing skill of the vegetable vendors is appreciable. Specially the enthusiasm with which they sell their vegetables. Special mention to the not so fortunate vendors who get corner location in the vegetable market/mandi.

2: Hard work is not personified better than the farmers. Luckily i got opportunity to see farmland and dreams associated with same with close quarters. The pleasure of hard work becomes obvious when the reaping season comes. The Moral is , as you sow , so you reap.This actually happens.

3: The perseverance is exemplified by the blacksmith. Burning coal can melt the iron which can be given shape one wishes to. One has to see this to believe , thanks to 1st year engineering workshop , i did actually see iron melt.

4: The impeccability with which the housemaid does everyday cleaning activity is remarkable. Monotonous work requires a lot of will power and appreciable expertise.

5: The security guard at office who greets you without fail : " Good morning!!" . You learn this lesson of human relations ( HR ) , everyday ; obviously with a smile.

These bits and pieces combine to give a wholesome effect, and its heartening to know how people can teach you without saying a word.The distributed role models, You do think about them and gratitude comes automatically. One is indebted to so many souls....knowingly and unknowingly. I wish i could tell Mr. Rajaram he had such effect on at least one soul..that's me.

Moments in the Sun of Summer

This year, here in Delhi, rise of temperature has been delayed by sometime . The weather these days reminds me of the summer vacation of yesteryears ; Sadly, i am not eligible for the same .Surrounded by monotonicity of grown up life , with mad rush and pursuit of catching dreams one has to move forward.Children are at mischievous best during the summer vacations. With ample time to kill , they do find unusual ways to amusing/entertaining themselves and do end up enjoying in the set up created by themselves. Summer afternoons are agonizingly long , there has to be a lot of planning to make the hours count. We used to wonder why we can't have our summer vacations as in books and movies i.e. visiting relatives , discovering hill stations etc. Years later , as i try to recall , it was not so boring either. There were so many memorable moments which can be vividly captured in words. Some moments are generic and most can be specifically associated to the summer season...Here it goes....

1: Door bells were a rarity in those days. Everyone was hugely fascinated by the door bells in particular and all bells/whistles/sounds in general. There was curious way to show this fascination . We used to run away after ringing the door bell of someone's house. It was kind of open invitation when we knew uncle X and family is not at home i.e. on vacation.

2: Electricity meter was equipment of huge interest. checking count of electricity meter was everyone's favorite activity. To be specific, the excitement of noticing the red point in the rotating circle was reason to get elated.

3: Telephone , as they said , was wonder of science. Not sure of the working of the same , we used to believe that we can listen to the talk going on the phone by bringing the ear close to the telephone wire. We were sure of one thing we won't get electric shock by telephone wires. This listening activity was tried , we never got to listen any voice on phone. I had to wait for many more years to get chance to listen human voice on phone. Then the mechanism was quite obvious , but still it felt great listening to human voice on phone , it was dad's voice on the other side.

4: Everyone had strange stories to tell. Take this example: Rupee 1 coin becomes magnet if kept on the rails over which the railways train passes. No wonder Alice in wonderland was very believable story for us, So were Donald duck , jungle book , Aladdin etc. My love for cartoons and animation had germinated in those days , that has continued till this date. Recently i watched "the toy Story" part 1,2,3 , i realized, i might had enjoyed this movie more as a child.

5: Movies were big talking point. Checking for pictures of actors and actresses at any location i.e. stickers , auto rickshaw and obviously spending a lot of time in front of cinema hall posters were fun activities. The location of our school which was not far from a movie hall did act as a catalyst. Some lucky friends used to describe the world inside the cinema hall .Extensive discussion of the actors and their style was on every-day's agenda of childhood friends meetings. Emulating actors was one of the better moments. Even we used to simulate fight sequences with sound effects produced from mouth ex. a typical dishum!! with fist movement. we were believers of Dara Singh's super human capabilities . we actually believed that he can not sit on a chair as any chair will break if Mr. Dara Singh sits on that.

6: Thanks to Ramayana and Mahabharata TV Serials , children were inclined heavily towards archery. Everyone had their own bamboo made arrow and sow. One of my misadventures was when i aimed correctly at the honey bees hive. My face was swollen for many days due to Honey bee stings.My fanfare with bow and arrow continued for some more years.

7: Some TV serials were indispensable .example : Alif Laila . Discussing missed/watched episodes of "alif Laila" was a must do activity. There were some privileged friends who had power back-up at their homes. They religiously watched all "important" episodes , so that we did not miss the continuity by listening to the story ( in case there was power cut/other unavoidable circumstances).

8: I was very fond of gardening . I used to grow flowers in in front/back yard of the house. ( was lucky to have the space for the same ). Sunflowers actually change direction and synchronize their faces with the sun.For us it was nothing less than a wonder. Similarly there were other flowers which used to bloom at particular time of the day/night.Growing flower was some sort of competition then , there was healthy competition as all friends were some sort of gardeners.As i recollect , Marigold was the flower which did require least care.


9: Another specific event during summer vacation was cricket match with teams from neighborhood localities. We used to contribute money for the match , half of investment was for the chewing gum to be used for the match. Usually chewing gum was at stake for the game i.e. winning team used to get chewing from opposite team with a lot of handshakes and hugs. This explains the investment of the other half of the contributed amount. Everyone claimed to posses special cricketing knowledge. The height was when we used to believe in stories of kapil hitting six in Lords and the ball did fall in Eden gardens!!.

10: Evening walks were concluded only when mosquitoes were swarming over the head. Friend having maximum number of mosquitoes over the head was termed as Mosquito king. This was followed by game of transferring the king's crown .As none of us wanted to have that crown over our head, the activity was associated with a lot of noise and running.

11: Summer is season of mangoes. we used to explore all the mango trees in and around the locality. Eating the unripe mango ( Kaeri , as it is called ) with salt is literally mouth watering . I wanted to own a mango tree , when i said this to mom , she said it takes 5 years for a mango seed to become a tree. I sown the mango seed. Looked after my would-be-mango-tree-with-mangoes for three years . Sadly,dad was transferred from the place , so we had to relocate . However,i did get the information later on that the small plant actually did become a big mango tree and people were actually eating fruit from the same. Sometimes to souls which love each other have to separate for ever. But i am happy as i know the dream of having a mango tree was fruitful.

12: Summer is the season of the he power cuts ( At least it is felt most in summer season ). I used to wonder why they cut power so frequently in summer. Dad used to explain, "there is extra load due to heavy usage in summer season". He used to earnestly make statement , " India is a poor country and we don't have enough power". Power cuts also lead to common point of discussion with everyone cursing the bleak power scenario. Power cut led people to come out of houses to get some relief and socialize at the same time. Strangely , we find good things even in sufferings.

Its great to trace back and locate the hobbies which we don't write in our resumes, they surely shape our lives. Moments of innocence , of great learnings , of curiosity , awe , anxiety ; a lot of things happen in the journey called life.The beginning , sometimes can be traced easily and sometimes with difficulty. May be we learn many things from time spent with books , at the same time, time spent away from books are not less important , specially during summer vacations. Summer is not that bad season if the vacation word is associated with the same.

p.s : Moments mentioned above did take place at various places in Bihar where peak summer season is May-June.

Somes Names and friends

There are situations when we subtlety try to make some moments understood by others. One situation is characterized by these questions e.g. How was one supposed to make new friends? What words one had to say? Was there any well defined ritual? I did try to find these questions and would be answers in childhood days. One of the innocuous activity then was touch of forefingers followed by a handshake . Not to forget the excitement that followed . I am still not sure how swami made friends in "Swami and friends-By R.K Narayan " . But they can be taken to be ideal friends , at least for me it was the definition . Another open question , how was one supposed to end the friendship? , yes there was easy way for this ( because it was part of friendship ) . The ritual was to touch little fingers of the forelimb and exchange unfriendly stare.

How was one supposed to identify the best friend? Again answer to this was abstract rather than absolute. May be you knew someone is best friend when you had to separate , not to meet again. An interesting activity , regarding best friend , i got to know from dear mother. She said for them it Was easy and mandatory to find your best friend ( everyone had one best friend ) . They used to call each other with same name because they were best friends. I always knew there was "engine Mausi". My Mom referred to her best friend as "Engine" . I did understand the full scenario when i actually heard "engine Mausi" calling my mom as "Engine". Its amazingly sweet , even now they refer to each other with the same word i.e. engine ( How they found this word for each other is another story ).

A corollary to above scenario is situations when you call some friends with unique names .This name is used by only you and not others in general .Some unique names become so popular and everyone in friend circle will use the same for person under consideration. We do end up giving really unique names to some friends , i remember, i nicknamed one friend "NDTV" because he always had unending "news" to share. His name was later modified to more sober "ND". It's creativity at best when you can nickname people around you without fear of hurting them . You can only gesticulate wildly on hearing those weird names , sometimes you are at receiving end :)

Next question comes , how often we get chance to nickname friends? Some friends are there only for few hours. You suddenly realize what if you had known him/her for better? There is unknown conspiracy to send some people to meet you only for few days and some only for hours , serendipitous. There is realization of the truth , you can't save many good things for tomorrow.

As i look for concluding words , in few days i shall have to shift to new city . Present acquaintances will become part of memory lanes. Some moments will be part of the sweet memories for sure....The Smiling face of newspaperwala when he came with monthly bill , the ever helpful kirana store bhaiyaji who knew what i shall ask for , the repetitive question from the house Maid on weekends , " Bhaiya aaj chutti hai kya?" , the waiter at restaurant who knew i did learn to eat sambhar-rice at his place , the Paan shop i did visit only to buy the match stick box of rupee one , the chicken Centre guy who did give apologetic smile when his stock did end. These Small but beautiful moments define life.

Talking about the nickname replication activity , it is strangely cute occurrence when you call someone special as "baby" and as return you are called as "baby" by the same person . Obviously, the person in question will be more than friend for you i.e. THE ONE for you.

The sly company of people who care : Some Lines

Recently i did finish reading many books. One of them has been "The Sly company of people who care. " Thanks to lazy me , i have not updated my blog for quite sometime.Here are some lines from the book which made me read them again and again.

1: Water is essential truth of guyana. One's encounters with it were so frequent that one felt little amphibious.

This is how we feel in rainy season.

2: The way diamond wink at you , no gal could wink at you like so.

If et al any girl winks at you :)

3: You can take something for a diamond , but never a diamond for something else.

We may make mistake of assuming some bad person to be good , but good persons can not be taken to be as bad or something else.

4: When horror is of such a scale , it begins to feel like fantasy and fantasy is easier to digest.

All seems good when we imagine the worst scenario possible.

5: Though there was no watch on it , I Sprang up as if to show i was running late.

Beautifully described in this line , how we pretend to do small things.

6: Often he would point out someone and start a story about them.

There many people we find who have so many stories to tell.

7: Everywhere individuals were looking interested in each other.

This situation is so weird , when it seems everyone has someone to listen their stories.

8: Everything which can be glorious is worthwhile.

All it matters is to give second thought to something which can be glorious.

9: She was prepared to tackle the world because the world to her was not absurd.

Life becomes easy if we start to accept that everything is not so absurd .

10: I walked and walked , I walked out of fear of stopping.

We do many things just for the sake of doing.

11: Whatever done in darkness , soon comes to light.

Nicely written , and easily signifies, the inevitability of the wrong doings.

12: I wished there was girl equivalent of the man . I could walk with , slower and closer than they , laugh sweeter than they.

13: I knew her like quick addiction.

Some people become so special in small time, weird but true.