Socha hai... Kya ye kabhie?

With time, I have realized, that the world is not as simple as I thought it to be. In my attempt to understand it, I kept asking myself a lot of questions...some trivial, some grave, some serious, some funny. Sharing some of them...

Why is the thought spoken less important than the language in which it is spoken?

Why is somebody else's admiration more important than our own satisfaction?

Why in India, an unreasonable bias towards a religion which is in minority is considered secular while speaking for the one followed by a majority brands you as an extremist?

Why does a successful person gets the right to preach others about anything under the sun?

Why do we fight most with the person we love the most?

Why is it that irrespective of how much (or less) we study, we are always short of a few hours for a perfect preparation for any exam?

Why in a restaurant do the dishes ordered on the table next seem more delicious than ours?

Why do we experience the calmest and sweetest sleep when the alarm has just 10 minutes to go?

Why are whats more important than whys and whens more important than hows? (Now, this can be confusing :))

Any answers to these? or more questions? Please do write in...

I love cricket ... Do I?

Yes. Absolutely...would be my answer till about a few days back.

Ritesh and I had discussed cricket twice...no, thrice in the six months of our courtship. Ritesh says he was fairly impressed by my knowledge on the subject, though I had made it pretty clear that my interest in cricket starts and ends at Sachin Tendulkar.

Yesterday, when we came back from shopping for our home, Ritesh naturally first checked the 'cricinfo' site on his laptop to get the score of the ongoing India-England test-match. I have never entertained myself on something so dull. I mean reading every few seconds updates like- Flintoff to Gambhir (from South end): Played in the off-side, no run. No offence to the web-site. The amount of detail it updates about every single ball played in the game is certainly impressive!

Anyway, we went in the kitchen and our conversation breezing through various subjects moved towards my favourite and we (or I?) started talking about the decor we would have if and when we move to a bigger, better house. About half an hour later, I noticed Ritesh's pensive mood. Has he come up with some big idea? Curious to know his thoughts, I suggested that we sit comfortably in the living room and talk. Very gently, I asked him,"What are you thinking about, dear?" He replies,"Sometimes, I wonder that are all the cricket matches fixed? How come after having completely dominated England in the One day series, we are having such a tough time in the Test-match?"

Ahem, was he thinking about it all this while? Off go my coffee-table, flowers and lamps...

And, do I love cricket? Well, huh, it depends...I am not sure!

Getting up after a long-long time...

It has been a week to Mumbai attacks. Though I was sitting with my laptop all this while, reading news and hoping everytime I logged in that it would be over, I hadn't written anything about it. I couldn't. I was enraged at the whole thing. How can someone enter our country and attack us so brutully? Ofcourse, they are the terrorists and they are supposed to do so. But, our leaders? How can they be so insensitive? Why couldn't the Patils react responsibly? Why wasn't our Prime Minister strong and convincing enough?

Are we, the citizens of India responsible for this situation? I have recently read Dr. Narendra Kohli's 'Yudhh', based on Ram-Katha, which describes the famous Ram-Ravan war. Towards the end, when it became evident that Ravan would be defeated in a matter of few days, a group of common man 'Aam Janta' from Lanka comes to visit Ram. Their leader tells Ram that they are innocent people who are not involved in politics and so it does not matter to them whether their ruler is Ram or Ravan. All they want is peace and the assurance that they wouldn't be harmed or robbed when Ram wins and Lanka's current king is overthrown.

Now, my favourite part is Ram's reply. Very patiently, he tells them that his army is people's army and a disciplined one. So, even after the victory, it would not indulge in looting and troubling people. "But, it is not a matter of pride at all to say that you are not involved or interested in politics. If you cannot differentiate between Ram & Ravan, it is not due to your peacefulness, but due to your cowardice and selfishness".

I feel it is very true and relevant even in today's scenario.

How many times sitting comfortably in our living rooms, have we discussed that we don't care about who is elected as long as our life continues the way it is?

How many times instead of going to cast our vote, we have elected to go for picnic to make use of that holiday?

Who has given these leaders the guts to behave so irresponsibly in a crisis situation like this?

Who has given them the freedom to show inactivity & take our security so lighly?

I believe this attack by Pakistan supported terrorists in the heart of our country's commercial capital was a wake up call for all of us. Even if the international community is showing concern and support, the truth is that all the countries have their own interests and priorities.
This becomes clearer if we analyze the dynamics of our position on the global platform from our independence till date.
Its time we realize that our nation's security is not only our responsibility but our right too. I wish our leaders could take a strong stand in a grave situation like this. What angers me is the urgency with which our PM had assured Pak that we would not attack it. Yes, we wouldn't but why open all our cards? I think we could have used this situation and have opted 'give and take' policy by saying that our decision would depend on the keen-ness (real) Pakistan shows in helping India solve this case.

Having said all this, I know that the time for inactivity is gone. We have to constantly keep our politicians on their toes and make them do some REAL work.

PS: I write this on December 3, the day on which 24 years back, Bhopal Gas Tragedy took place, killing thousands of people and affecting many others due to exposure to toxic gases.

This was the result of the use of poor maintenance and insufficient safety equipments/techniques in the Indian subsidiary of Union Carbide (a US based pesticide company) unlike its plants in the USA.The then chairman and CEO of UC- Warren Anderson was declared fugitive from justice by Indian Courts in 1992 and attempts for his extradition from US have not yet strongly made by our government.

O Lord Ganesha...

Give me the happiness and Auspiciousness...Take the sorrows away!

These were verses we all were singing on this Sunday(7th Sept.) during Ganpati Visarjan.

We were quite excited when we came to know that we could get (had to book it beforehand) 'ganapati's idol, made of clay' from a temple near by and so we could celebrate 'Ganesh Chaturthi' here in Canberra as well.

There's a big enough Hindu community and Ganesh festival is being celebrated since 1995 here. Special permission is granted for Visarjan in a lake on the Sunday after 'Ganesh Chaturthi' every year.

About 50 people had gathered for the pooja and bhojan prasadam. As it was a multi-linguistic, multi-cultural crowd, bhajans were sung in various languages like Marathi, Kannada, Hindi, English etc. There were devotees who had settled in Australia from all parts of India. The lunch was pooled by all of us and was really an eclectic collection of Indian cuisines - from sambar rice to aloo-chhole(chick-peas), from payasam to halwa-barfi.

We were just a bunch of Indians collected to give a warm farewell to Ganapati.

Isn't it an irony that we have to move out of our country's border to come to think of it as a nation without internal boundaries?

So, after lunch, we all started for the lake. The Ganesha's idols in a ute, with a few people in it chanting 'Ganapati Bappa Morya' and about 25 cars following it. Oh, it was fun. We all were driving at a speed of 20 kmph in a 80 kmph zone, ofcourse we all stuck to the leftmost lane, letting the other vehicles pass by.

At the lake, a wooden half-bridge kind of structure let us to the middle of the water-body. Our excited chantings of 'Ganapati bappa Morya, Mangal Murti Morya' had attracted some Aussies, they even called their kids to see the colourful procession :)

As Ritesh stretched his arm to let go the Ganesh-statue in water, I noticed the change of his expression and felt a lump in my throat too.

On our drive back home, we discussed the significance of 'Ganesh -Visarjan', have found this piece on net which explains it pretty well.

What does little Birdie say?

One of these days, while going for an afternoon walk (instead of morning walk, due to the cold weather), I passed through a stadium in our locality and came across a family playing a ballgame.

It was a wonderful sight. A young couple and their two kids (a son and a daughter) happily playing, playfully arguing. 'Picture Perfect' family in today's busy lifestyle. I wondered how come the parents are not at work on a Monday afternoon...

And then I remembered an incident of my childhood, when I was 5 year old and my elder brother and I commuted to school by bus. Our school was quite far off and my very responsible brother took care of me on our bus ride back and the walk from the bus-stop to our home.

After the school bell rang, we went in a queue to our respective buses, helped by a maid. One of my friends who lived near by was picked up by her mother, who stayed at home. I loved to see their union after school.

So, after a couple of days I went back home and asked my parents to come and pick me up from school , the next day. I also asked them to lift me up while I walk towards the bus. Everything planned, yes! My brother, more mature for the age he was, thought that it was an unreasonable demand as both of my parents were working and it was practically not possible for them to be present in the school at 1.30 in the afternoon.

But, I walked towards the bus next day, confident that I would not need to enter it. And I was right!

'They lift me from the queue, hug me tight and kisses shower.' Whoa... Just as I had imagined! My Mom had taken a day off from her college and my dad too had taken a half day leave from his bank. So, my brother and I didn't go by bus that day. Infact, we did not go home directly. We had lunch at our favourite restaurant, visited the toy shop, played in the park till the sunset. One of the most memorable days in my life till date :)

Years later, when I asked my mom that why did she take my silly demand so seriously, she replied that she wanted me to know that I could always count on her. She also explained that it is very important for a kid to know that her parents always have time for her, no matter how busy they are with the jobs. This assurance is required for a child's overall development. Great thinking , more so keeping in account the fact that they didn't have an easy access to child psychology books and internet then.

...I kept standing on a corner of the playground for, no idea how long, floating along the memories close to my heart, suddenly coming back to the present when I realised that it had started raining. Yes, I saw a drop on the ground. I looked up to see that the sun was shining brightly and there was no cloud in the sky.

I started walking homewards, feeling grateful towards my parents for making me what I am today - independent, confident, honest and brave...

The verses of a poem I had read in class I, and which was my mom's favourite of the lot then, come to my mind...

What does little Birdie say,
In her nest, at peep of day?
"Let me fly", says little Birdie,
"Mother, let me fly away";

"Birdie, rest a little longer",
"Till the wings are little stronger",
So, she rests a little longer,
Then, she flies away.

Perturbed...

I am not able to concentrate on the work at hand from the time I have read - 'The Kite runner'.

Well, I have not finished reading it. I could not read past 70 something page. And, it is a 300+ page book. I am worried what lies ahead.

It is not that I have never read a book describing the bad deeds/tortures of a part of human race over other. Though, such thoughts have always made me sad, this one was different , had a worse effect.

The story is set in the 'pre-war' Afghanistan, that is before the U.S.S.R invasion. Even then, the split in the society on the basis of sects was very pronounced.

What disturbed me was the fact that a 10-11 year old kid with his two friends was able to mercilessly beat and torture another kid belonging to the other sect. What made the child filled with hatred to this extent towards a fellow human? The society? Yes, I think so. The schools confirmed (according to the book) the upper-hand of one sect over other and the older members of the society easily ignored serious offences committed by the kids of the so called better sect as playful tricks.

I am forced to think that where was this society anyway headed to?

No, this does not justify the erstwhile USSR invasion or the more recent US attacks. But, I am just trying to picture this- With the deep rooted hatred and violence and the very narrow mindset, minus the invasions... was it possible for Afghanistan to have started moving on the path of progress?

On the other side of the counter...

With lot of free time at hand, I decided to be a bit adventurous in my job hunt. I thought, let me do something I have never done before but I think will be fun doing.

Shopping has always been a stress-buster for me and apparels -my passion. So, I went to an Australian fashion store to enquire about job opportunities there. I was selected after a couple of interviews as 'consultant' and was required to work for that brand in one of the biggest department stores. It all sounded quite exciting, that is untill I actually started working.

As I started my first day at work, I soon realised that it wasn't as creative as I thought it to be. My work basically was of selling clothes. And that required me to keep standing all day.

Though, I am an ardent shopper myself, I found it difficult to talk people into buying things that they didn't intend to. I soon realized that this isn't the kind of job I would love to do. And, if I continue, I wouldn't do justice to my work.

So, I quit just after 5 days of my employment.

But, in those 5 days I got a chance to know a few local people. One young girl, for whom I had developed liking, had passed her school and moved to Canberra from a small town and joined work here. She told that she too wished to go to the university some day like me but, she had not yet decided what subject she wanted to study and so was doing this job to earn a living.

Then, I met a Chinese woman who loved her job and was very enthusiastic to serve the customers. Though, her English wasn't fluent, she successfully managed to convey her message and was instantly liked by all for her friendliness.

During my short stint at work, I was able to understand the Aussie accent and even picked up a few one liners which obviously would come handy to me. Like , I now ask - "How are you going" when I meet someone instead of -How are you doing? That reminds me of an incident Ritesh told me about. His friend had joined a new job and his boss asked how was he going, to which the simple guy replied -By bus!!! Not his fault...

Bye-byes are difficult for me even if the acquaintance is as short as 5 days. It was over-whelming to see how my co-workers came over and spoke to me when they realised that I had planned not to continue the job. Some of them who knew about my background commented that they had expected it as I was too good for the job.

But, believe me, I left the job, not because I considered it lowly. Infact, I appreciate the way people work there, their enthusiasm and hard-work. But, I was not fit there, it was difficult to connect to that job and I think that it is important to be honest in what we do, to be able to do it properly.

On my way back from work on the last day, sitting in the bus, lost in contemplation, I was going over the conversation which I had with my colleagues again and again. I even started doubting my decision.

When I sighted Ritesh on the bus-stop, waiting to pick me up, I was delighted having realised for the first time that day that I don't need to go back to that work any more.

As I sat in the car , I knew that my decision was right... If I'm so glad at the thought of quitting the job, how can I be happy in continuing it?

From Bangalore to Canberra ...and beyond

While I was doing my engineering, I always wanted to go , work in Bangalore (India).Whenever my friends asked the reason for this desire, I replied that I feel like going there.I wasn't ever sure of the reason myself.Though, I had read an article about Bangalore which said that it's the most romantic place in the country and a survey said that there were more hunks than beauties there and I think that the above facts certainly played a role.Afterall, when you are young, don't you live in your own fantasy world?Like a child walking on a sea-shore, without knowing which pebble she'll pick to add to her treasure.

Well, so I went to bangalore.Though, I had a better reason to justify my going there.I got a job with Wipro Technologies during campus recruitment, Bangalore being its headquartes had a lot of opportunities and so I went there to be in the midst of activity. On landing there, I instantly fell in love with the city.The weather was amazing. I often say it has natual air-conditioning, temperature is just right all through the year.

The work kept me busy but I never complained.Infact, I enjoyed every bit of it. The team was cohesive and the boss-dependable.On weekends, I with my friends usually ate out, shopped at Forum Mall,went for a movie in Inox at Garuda Mall and walked down the very busy lanes of Brigade and MG Road.Often my friends and I wondered where have all the hunks disappeared :)
In the due course of two and a half years, which I spent there, I came to know a lot of locals.I was impressed with their simplicity and sincerity.I completely felt at-ease with them.
Sometime, in future if Ritesh and I decide to go back to India for good, Bangalore will top the list of cities to live in.

But, at the same time, one of my closest friends who was stuck in a project with unrealistic deadlines and an unreasonable manager, is unable to appreciate the city.So, while I am all praise for it , she hardly has anything good to say about it.

Now, that forces me to think that we make our impression about things and even people (if we extrapolate the observation) mainly on the basis of how they have been to us. A place is neither good nor bad. It is our experience with it which makes it so.

Hmm...having realised that, I have decided to stop whining about the slowness and lack of opportunities in Canberra which made me live at home without job for more than four months now.These four months weren't as fruitless as I made them sound at times.Like I tried out my hand at cooking , took care of our home, got lot of time to read and was able to give my undivided attention to my dear husband.Yup, it is a bliss :)

And, as far as Canberra is concerned, what all has it got to offer...time will show.

Just like that...started

I was thinking about writing down my thoughts from quite some time.Ritesh wanted it too.
Partly, because he realized that I had never sat at home for so long and kept suggesting things I could do without feeling bored , and partly because he expected that would prevent me from pouring my anger (against the state of economy, choice of industry) on him.

On a Sunday evening, after a busy day of dusting, cleaning and washing, Ritesh suggests to cook the dinner all by himself.
I sit with the laptop, watching him cook, smiling and finally start writing...