Des Hoyaa Pardes

"Darshan, you are an Indian, a proud Indian!"

Yes.. I am! I am proud of my country, the beautiful colors, the culture, the natural beauty.. :Unity in Diversity!" The first sentence imprinted on my mind from the history book. All the history I was taught was baout how India has suffered and how we have peacefully fought it back, won our freedom! What I am taught is to love my motherland and turn a blind eye towards her fallacies.. And, this is where I miss the other side of the coin. In my love for my mother land, I forget it is the same country that has instilled innumerable instances of injustice on it's own citizens!

Ain't it the same India where Hindu's killed Muslim's and Muslim's killed Hindu? Did they forget "Vasudhaiva Kutmbakam"? Ain't it the same India where temples and mosques are demolished? Ain't it the same land where a old soul wearing one piece of cloth, was shot while walking to prayers, and they took pride in it? The India where "under-the-table" phrase rules the bureaucracy. The India, where people go missing, never to return!

For all fanatically proud Indians like me is the movie, "Des Hoyaa Pardes." If you can see it in one go, let me know!
(http://www.veoh.com/search/videos/q/des+hoyaa+pardes#watch%3Dv15652007mNzEqhC3)

I was proud to meet the top official of one of the Indian police services, that takes pride in protecting Indian land in 1985! I was in awe, inspired, the typical "me" reaction! After watching this movie, and listening to a few who have been through the tyranny of Indian Police, I am not sure which of my reaction is right? The one I felt then, or the one I feel right now?

I am not denying the greatness of my mother land, neither the potential to be one of the places for humanity to thrive. Pride and love for one's country is great, but not at the cost of reality. Because the moment I blind myself of reality, I loose all the opportunities to improve that can be improved!

I find answer in a sher by Mirza Ghalib..
ज़िन्दगी के सफ़र में किसी को इतना मत चाहो, के वो तुम्हारी चाहतों का कातिल, वफाओं का सौदागर बन जाये | - मिर्ज़ा ग़ालिब

I would not love my country blind folded, that it would kill my love, and deal my integrity. I'd rather love my country with open eyes, so that I do not miss upon the opportunities to make it better!

P.S.: This article represents only one side of the coin, the dark one. India has a huge positive side, that I love, and would ever do! I love my India!

In class...

History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon. - Napolean Bonaparte

This is mhy quote of the day, my status message on gtalk! Sitting in my class of Global Programs, discussing Peace and Security as a Global Public Good, I am enjoying sneaking in some blog time. Ain't a class all about expressing your ideas, either in class or blog... ;)

Actually what brings me here is the discussion in the class and the relevance of this quote! It is awesome to sit in this class discuss genocide in Rwanda or United States's occupation in Afghanistan. While being trained to be a Peacemediator, we do need to study the theories and what theories speak of peace process. The contradiction is, the course does not allow us to visit or perform internships in conflict prone regions.. It is a long story.. I will come to you all with soon..

Till then, back to what's happening in class! Adios..

Zakir+Shivkumar

Feeling like a celebrity.. My birthday celebrations have already started! After the launch of Friends' Society 10 years back, my birthday has been dissolved in the FS celebration. This year, when I am away from Pune, it seems, the birthday is back on track!

With a couple of friends joining me yesterday night for "Save Earth" hour, they surprised me by gifting three bottles of "Grey Goose." (One of the best I've had...) The whole day was celebration, started wiht lunch with Ahmed (the Iraqi journalist), and then visit to his studios, and then the dark evening with friends! Today, I woke up pretty late, and had my personal "official birthday" plans! A gift I gifted myself, a ticket to Zakir Hussain and Shivkumar Sharma concert at Duke!


Exhilarating... Breathtaking... Elemental... Pure... Erotic...

All the adjectives will short fall of describing the concert experience. Have you ever forgotten breathing, and then suddenly realized that you need to breath? have your eyes been so concentrated on what you are seeing that you literally have lost vision beyond the focal point? Have your ears been in resonation with what they are listening, so much so that there's no other voice heard? Have the every cell in your body vibrated such that you can feel those vibrations in your blood stream?

I experienced all of this today.. Much more.. Tabla has always attracted me, rather, as a child, I had tried my hands on it too.. Needless to say, it was a big failure, but my ears loved the rythm. Since then I had adream, a dream to see Zakir Hussain live. While in Pune, he had visited the city once, but the expensive passes were out of reach, and the the massive crowds scared me off. Here, in an auditorium of a 1000 people, sitting in seat K-104, I was living one of my childhood dreams!

Birthday ho, toh aisa... Let's see, what next 3 days have to bring.. [gifts, chocolates, any and everything is welcome.. ;)]

Mohabbat..

मोहब्बत इक जज्बा है, नग्मा जिसका अनजान
कुदरत की इस गुफ़्तगू ने हमें किया नादान |
- शून्यांकीत

(Some Sher's find me incapable of translation.. A Sher usually has three meanings, the apparent one, the subtle one, and the spiritual one.. Not all can be encompassed in an English translation.)

If anyone of you can translate this one, I would love to read the same!

Khanna & Iyer

Absolute nonsense, idiotically synchronous, and pragmatically irrelevant...

That's my movie review.. ;) If you have nothing else to do, and are in no great mood, either to laugh or to get serious, I would strongly recommend this movie..
(I can afford to do that, cos none of you will be able to reach my neck while I am in US..)

mouse in trap..

This forward was a laughter roller-coaster... Thanks to R...

Call for technical support:

Caller: Hi, our printer is not working.
Customer Service: What is wrong with it?
Caller: Mouse is jammed.
Customer Service: Mouse? And how it is related to the printer?
Caller: Mmmm... Moment please, I will send a picture.

FFF: Free Food Fiasco

Me and my friends back home used to tease, "जे जे फुकट, ते ते पौष्टिक," implying, free food is always nourishing... Unless you land being caught with your hands in the jar.. ;)

On our forth-nightly shopping trip, we saw a pamphlet in the "Little India" store: Inauguration of Green Leaf restaurant. Free meals the whole day. Day: March "XX" 2009.

Three students, saving every penny possible, the pamphlet itself got our mouths watering. There was an immediate consensus, Saturday, we are headed for this new place. Saturday morning, my roomie wakes up at 11:00, gets ready within half an hour, and we are set to leave. No one has eaten anything, cos it is going to be a feast.. FREE FEAST.. The third friend drives down, picks us up and we are on our way.

At the end of the road, according to the address, we land at our destination. All of us staring at each other... We have actually reached the Little India store. While wondering where the place might be, we look around and see the small board of Green Leaf. It is the same old Indian restaurant we have been deciding to visit since long, but apparently the name has changed and it seems it is the re-inauguration today. The three muskeeters start marching towards the small door, ready to attack all the food inside. Wasn't it waiting for us? Surely, it was, the leaflet said, free food! We enter the place, nicely decorated.. A buffet laid ahead.. ATTACK.. Our plates are full, and we on table.. First bite, and yummm.. It is delicious.. The waiter gets idlis.. I have seen idlis literally after ages.. It is time to gobble up as much as we can... We eat, eat till our stomach is overloaded.. While eating, there's a slight distraction.. A giy is standing at the reception counter and taking out something of his wallet. We don't care to pay attention..

Hush.. Finally done wiht the meal, we are ready to leave! And, comes the moment students are usually afraid of.. The head waiter comes to the table, with a broad smile on the face, 'Sir, how was the food?" We, "Great, delicious, we'll surely be back!" The waiter gives a broad grin, showing all his yellow teeth, and then in his hoarse voice comes the next statement, "Thonks.. If you come yesterday, we give free meal. Today, our day two.." Three of us stare at each other... Just day before we had finished with our budgets, and realized, all of us had over shot our limits.
We go to the counter, and next terror awaits us there.. The bill is: ONLY $ 36.88 + 20% tip..

Rolling with laughter, carrying our overloaded bodies and a bit lighter bank account for me (cos it was my turn to pay), we three walk out to the car...

(image from internet..)